In the dynamic landscape of financial markets, investors perpetually seek strategies that balance income generation, capital preservation, and sustainable growth. Among the myriad options, dividend growth investing has traditionally been regarded as a stalwart approach, prized for its blend of steady income and the promise of compounding returns. Yet, the reality of dividend growth stocks in recent years has diverged sharply from long-held assumptions. This divergence calls for a deeper, more nuanced understanding of dividend growth strategies and their evolving role in sophisticated investment portfolios. Dividend growth investing is often misconstrued as a straightforward pursuit of increasing current income or as a mere subset of growth investing. However, its essence lies elsewhere — in the intersection of financial resilience, corporate governance, and long-term shareholder value creation. The Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index exemplifies this approach, curating a portfol...