In terms of protection against rising rates, DHS sports a combined 25.5% weight to the health care and technology sectors, two of the more durable groups when rates climb. Three of the ETF’s top-10 holdings are technology or health care names, which also boosts the fund’s dividend growth allure.
For example, Microsoft (NasdaqGS: MSFT), the largest holding in DHS with a weight of 5.3%, has delivered dividend increases of 21.7% and 15% the last two times the software giant boosted its payout. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), DHS’ third-largest holding, has one of the longest dividend increase streaks of any large-cap U.S. company. [Rising Tech Dividends Lift These ETFs]
Add to that, DHS has long outperformed some of its larger rivals. For example, the WisdomTree offering has topped by VIG by 930 basis points while being less volatile over the past three years. Since the March 9, 2009 market bottom, DHS is up 288% compared to 182.6% for VIG.
DHS has a distribution yield of 2.83%, charges 0.38% per year and pays a monthly dividend.
DHS vs. VIG Last Three Years
Chart Courtesy: ETF Replay