New Dividend Indexes May Raise Interest in ETF

Perhaps an exchange traded fund (ETF) will emerge soon to track the newest entries into Standard & Poor’s stable of dividend-seeking indexes.

The indexes cover areas such as Asia, Australia, Europe, Japan and other emerging markets.

Index Universe reports that outside of Europe, S&P has never had a dividend-specific index for the other regions and countries covered in the new index launches.

During times of unrest and risk-aversion, dividends offer a greater cushion against declining equity prices.

The new series includes:

Dividend Investor Series

• S&P Dividend Aristocrats—focuses on long-term dividend growth
• S&P Dividend Opportunities—focuses on absolute high dividend yield
• S&P Dividend Alternatives—focuses on higher income, or dividend stories with lower correlation to traditional equities

New Indexes are:

• S&P Asia Dividend Aristocrats
• S&P Asia Dividend Opportunities
• S&P Australia Dividend Opportunities
• S&P Emerging Market Dividend Opportunities
• S&P Europe Dividend Opportunities
• S&P Japan Dividend Opportunities