The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that dividends are one element of investing that is predictable. The Globe's John Heinzl, unveilling his new dividend portfolio, says that even as stock prices bounce up and down, dividends exhibit remarkable regularity. His Strategy Lab model dividend portfolio is proof of that. Over the past five years, the portfolio's annual dividend income soared by 80 per cent. The total return -- from dividends and share price gains -- clocked in at 11.6 per cent on an annualized basis, easily topping the S&P/TSX composite index's annualized total return of 7.2 per cent over the same period. The columnist is not 100 per cent confident he can once again beat the S&P/TSX composite consistently, but he figures most of the securities will continue to raise their dividends. If their dividends increase, their share prices should ultimately rise, too. Many of the companies in the portfolio have come right out and said they intend to raise their dividends annually. Algonquin Power is targeting 10-per-cent dividend growth annually. TransCanada expects to raise its dividend at the "upper end" of 8 to 10 per cent a year through 2020. Fortis sees 6-per-cent dividend growth.