From InvestopediaTax Differential is a Long-Term Difference...

From Investopedia
Tax Differential is a Long-Term Difference Despite the equitable tax rate, - US tax rate on dividends and capital gains are the same - dividends are taxed every year while capital gains are not taxed until the stock is sold. That time factor means the equity investment increases tax-free and thus grows exponentially faster.

Thus, proponents of equity over dividends say the tax preference still holds. Moreover, they argue that companies assuming a tax differential viewpoint are focused on share appreciation and thus often have more funds available for growth and expansion than companies focused merely on increasing their dividends. In turn, that growth increases share value.

None of this is happening in AMP’s case…we have been divesting instead…and only thing that is growing is most of the EPS is not from operations.

A counter argument is that dividend payouts are a sure thing while company growth is unpredictable. This is the so-called "bird in the hand" argument. Proponents of this viewpoint also note that dividend payouts can actually increase a company's share value, because the dividends themselves are attractive to investors seeking regular income. Finally, a third argument is that dividends have no bearing on stock value. Despite decades of study, the question of dividends versus equity remains unresolved.

If we look at the stats of actual numbers of holders that should tell us who the board is sucking up too!