Nasdaq (NasdaqGS: NDAQ) on Wednesday said it will acquire the index business of Mergent, which oversees a family of dividend benchmarks, for an undisclosed sum.
The acquisition is notable for the ETF business because funds pegged to dividend-themed indices have been extremely popular with investors hungry for income and lower-risk strategies.
For example, Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSEArca: VIG) tracks the Dividend Achievers Select Index, which was created by Mergent. The benchmark follows U.S.-listed companies that have increased their annual regular dividends for at least the past 10 consecutive years. [Dividend ETF Yield Even More Critical in Sideways Markets]
Aside from managing indices, Mergent also supplies business and financial data on global public companies.
Nasdaq’s deal also includes Mergent’s Indxis business.