The government bailout of Citigroup (C) has lead the company to be booted from some exchange traded funds (ETFs) and indexes that track dividend stocks, such as the Dow Jones and STOXX dividend indexes.
One stipulation that came with accepting the bailout money was that Citigroup had to cut its dividend to one penny per share per quarter. This resulted in Citigroup no longer meeting the index eligibility requirements for either of the aforementioned indexes. In fact, the company departed from the Dow Jones Global Select Divided, the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend, and the Dow Jones STOXX Global Select Dividend 100 indexes on Nov. 28, states Eric Rosenbaum of Index Universe.
These indexes have replaced Citigroup with the following companies: Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index picks up Commercial Metals Co. (CMC); Dow Jones Global Select Dividend Index picks up French retailer PPR S.A.; Dow Jones STOXX Global Select Dividend 100 indexes picks up General Electric Co. (GE).
iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index Fund (DVY): is down 31.1% year-to-date. Citigroup was far from the largest holding, with just 0.53% of the assets. The fund has 45% of its assets in financials, which has hurt the fund this year.
As more companies receive bailout money or suffer from the effects of the recession, we could be seeing a lot more of this.
PowerShares Dividend Achievers (PEY): is down 37.24% year-to-date. Citigroup is 2.6% of the fund, and as of Dec. 2, it was still a component.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.