First Trust, the eleventh-largest U.S. ETF issuer by assets, filed plans with the Securities and Exchange Commission to possibly introduce the First Trust International Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund. That ETF, if it comes to market, would be the global equivalent of the popular First Trust Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund (NasdaqGS: MDIV).
MDIV, which debuted last August, has already attracted almost $444 million in assets under management. The International Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund will track an index with the same name and feature similar investment objectives to MDIV. [Off The Beaten Path Dividend ETFs]
The new ETF “will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in non-U.S. common stocks and/or American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”) or other depositary receipts (collectively, the “Depositary Receipts”), non-U.S. REITs, non-U.S. preferred securities, non-U.S. infrastructure companies, and an index-based exchange-traded fund that invests in non-U.S. fixed income securities that comprise the Index,” according to a First Trust filing with the SEC.
Dividend stocks currently account for 25.7% of MDIV’s weight while master limited partnerships, or MLPs, get a weight of 21.1%. Real estate investment trusts, or REITs, preferred stocks and junk bonds receive weights of 19.3%, 18.6% and 15.2%, respectively, according to First Trust data.
The Guggenheim Multi-Asset Income ETF (NYSEArca: CVY) has $1 billion in assets and is the dominant name among multi-asset ETFs. Guggenheim also sponsors the $105.8 million Guggenheim International Multi-Asset Income ETF (NYSEArca: HGI) which the new First Trust fund could be a competitor to.