A Possible Star Among New Dividend ETFs

There is no shortage of thirst for income and yield among investors. Nor is there are a dearth of available ETFs with which to quench that thirst as fund sponsors have met investors’ desire for income products with a spate of new dividend ETF introductions over the past year. [State Street Readies New Global Dividend ETF]

Investors have responded by pouring $3.4 billion into dividend ETFs in April alone to bring the year-to-date inflow total to dividend funds to $10.9 billion, according to BlackRock.

One of the new dividend ETFs that is grabbing a slice of the inflow pie is the Global X SuperDividend U.S. ETF (NYSEArca: DIV). DIV debuted in mid-March as the U.S. equivalent of the Global X SuperDividend ETF (NYSEArca: SDIV). Since crossing the $100 million in assets under management level last summer, SDIV has seen its AUM total surge to $667.2 million, according to Global X data.

DIV is not there yet, but the new ETF is off to a fine start, having hauled in $38.4 million in assets in less than three months of trading. Not only has DIV returned 4.7% since inception, but the fund features a 30-day SEC yield of 6.22%, [A New High Dividend, Low Volatility ETF]

The new dividend ETF “represents a compelling argument for a portion of a diversified income portfolio that is seeking sector exposure to high yield equity and alternative investments,” said David Fabian for Minyanville.

As SDIV does with its 100 holdings, DIV takes an equal-weight approach its 50 constituents. While DIV does feature plenty of exposure to common stocks via familiar dividend-paying sectors (utilities, telecommunications and consumer staples combine for 44% of the ETF’s weight), the fund offers investors an avenue for accessing higher-yield alternative asset classes such as REITs and MLPs.

REITs and MLPs combine for 42% of DIV’s weight, helping boost the fund’s yield well beyond what investors will find with ETFs focused primarily on U.S. common stocks.