Dividend ETFs remain popular as investors prefer funds that offer above-average yields and conservative strategies for exposure to the stock market.
“Dividend-weighted funds have continued to catch on, as the current quarter’s money flows prove. Some $2 billion of new capital have flowed into such products in the quarter, or 4% of the total,” says ConvergEx Group chief market strategist Nicholas Colas.
So which dividend ETFs are investors buying?
A pair of funds managed by BlackRock gathered more than $1 billion combined in the third quarter.
The iShares High Dividend Equity (NYSEArca: HDV) led all dividend ETFs with investors adding $575.6 million in the third quarter, according to IndexUniverse data, followed by iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend (NYSEArca: DVY) with inflows of $566.1 million. [A Dividend ETF That Screens Out Volatile Stocks]
HDV has a 30-day SEC yield of 3.5%, while DVY pays 3.6%, according to BlackRock.
A dividend ETF that invests in emerging markets also made big strides in the third quarter. WisdomTree Emerging Markets Equity Income (NYSEArca: DEM) collected $418.9 million. The 30-day SEC yield is 3.5%. [Emerging Market Dividend ETFs: How to Choose the Right Fund]
Other dividend ETFs that piled up inflows of more than $100 million in the third quarter include Vanguard High Dividend Yield (NYSEArca: VYM), Vanguard Dividend Appreciation (NYSEArca: VIG) and WisdomTree Dividend Ex-Financials (NYSEArca: DTN). [An ETF That Tracks Quality Dividend Stocks]