Many long-term dividend investors insist on seeing a long-term proven record in their underlyings. In fact, the evidence of consistent dividend growth over many years is always the number one priority. The problem with investing in proven blue-chips at present though is that their valuations are on the high side when compared to their historic averages. Now, this may not be a problem in the short term, but it has been proven over time that valuations invariably revert to their means.
One micro-cap which came across our radar from both an income standpoint as well