The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday edition that soaring inflation and rising interest rates have put dividend investors on edge this year. The Globe's David Berman writes that quantitative analysts at CIBC World Markets, however, recommend investors embrace quarterly distributions. They believe dividends will play an outsized role in returns for several years. CIBC World Markets analyst Ian de Verteuil says: "Dividend yield has been one of the more powerful quantitative factors since the trough in U.S. 10-year rates in August, 2020. This fits with our fundamental work which argues for stocks with high and stable dividends, despite rising interest rates." He says the role of dividends has been decreasing since 2009. He adds: "For most of the past half century, and certainly since the financial crisis, equity investors have been 'trained' to focus mainly on capital appreciation. After all, strong price returns have made dividend yield a 'nice-to-have' but a non-crucial element in terms of investment returns." This perspective needs to change, he believes. For investors who want to outperform the broader market, even as interest rates rise, dividend stocks look like a sound approach, says Mr. de Verteuil.