Of note for dividend investors looking for a steady income stream, DTN pays a monthly dividend, as do all of WisdomTree’s U.S.-focused dividend ETFs.
Despite its heavy utilities allocation, DTN returned an admirable 27.6% last year as Treasury yields soared. That highlights an important point about DTN: The ETF is also well-allocated to sectors that perform well when in rising rate environments.
Technology, industrial and consumer discretionary names combine for 30% of DTN’s and those are, historically, the three best sectors when rates rise. On a related note, along with financials, technology and consumer discretionary are the largest contributors to S&P 500 dividend growth over the past several years. [Beat Inflation With Dividend Growth ETFs]
Importantly, skimping on financials has not meant skimping on returns for DTN investors with longer-term holding periods. Since the March 9, 2009 market bottom, DTN is up 295.4%, including paid dividends. That performance easily tops those offered by the four largest U.S. dividend ETFs, a group that includes VYM and VIG, the latter of which is up “just” 180.8% over that time.
Since inception in May 2009, the WisdomTree Dividend ex-Financials Index has a beta against the S&P 500 of 0.8 and annualized volatility of 11.57%, according to WisdomTree data.
WisdomTree Dividend ex-Financials Fund
