Some say this is the golden age of dividends. If that is true, dividend exchange traded funds are benefiting in a big way.
Last week, it was reported that assets under management at dividend ETFs reached a combined $80 billion. Not only is that up noticeably from $55 billion last year, it is more than the $67 billion found in U.S. Treasury ETFs. [Dividend ETFs: We’re Bigger Than U.S. Treasuries]
Year-to-date, the three largest U.S. dividend ETFs – the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSEArca: VIG), the iShares Select Dividend ETF (NYSEArca: DVY) and the SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (NYSEArca: SDY) have raked in more than $5 billion in new assets. Those three ETFs rank among the 26 largest ETFs.
Hefty established ETFs have stood in the way of fund sponsors bringing new dividend fare to market. In fact, 12 ETFs with “dividend” in their names have already come to market this year, an average of better than one per month.
That group does not include bond funds, multi-asset ETFs or ETFs offering exposure to master limited partnerships. Here we look at 10 equity-based dividend funds that debuted this year that are worthy of further evaluation.