Ten-year Treasury yields have surged 27% Feb. 2, but to this point, the impact on the largest dividend exchange traded funds has been negligible.
The Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSEArca: VIG), the largest U.S. dividend ETF by assets, has lost almost $458 million in assets while the iShares Select Dividend ETF (NYSEArca: DVY) has seen outflows of $58.5 million. That number for DVY is not too shabby when considering the ETF’s 34.1% weight to the utilities sector and the drubbing that group has endured this year.
On the other hand, the Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (NYSEArca: VYM) and the SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (NYSEArca: SDY) have added over $491 million in new assets on a combined basis.
VIG, DVY and SDY, the three largest dividend ETFS, “have a combined $50 billion in assets and have all been around for more than eight years. VIG is the best performer of the trio this year but rose just 0.7%, underperforming the 1.4% gain for the S&P 500 Index. Meanwhile, DVY declined in value this year, hurt by its hefty exposure to lagging utilities and lack of exposure to more cyclical sectors such as consumer discretionary and information technology,” said S&P Capital IQ in a new research piece.
While some larger dividend ETFs have been laggards this year, leadership is emerging from some less heralded payout funds. For example, the Deep Value ETF (NYSE: DVP), which debuted in October courtesy of Exchange Traded Concepts, LLC and Tiedemann Wealth Management.
DVP tracks “TWM Deep Value Index, an advanced beta strategy created by Tiedemann Wealth Management that aims to provide investors with concentrated exposure to attractively valued dividend-paying companies with positive earnings, strong free cash flows and solid balance sheets,” according to the issuer. [Deep Value Works for This ETF]
DVP quickly amassed $150 million in assets under management and now has over $230 million, making it one of the most successful ETFs to come to market last year.
DVP’s underlying index “is comprised of 20 undervalued dividend paying stocks within the S&P 500 Index with solid balance sheets, earnings and strong free cash flow. The companies within the Index are weighted based on a rules-based assessment of their valuations so that stocks that are most attractively valued receive a higher weight,” according to TWM Funds.
The ETF is up 1.4% this year and is rated marketweight by S&P Capital IQ.
The actively managed Cambria Shareholder Yield ETF (NYSEArca: SYLD) has been solid as well with a year-to-date gain of 0.7%.
“The ETF launched in May 2013 and has $220 million in assets. SYLD is an actively managed ETF that employs a quantitative approach to select U.S. listed companies that show strong characteristics in returning free cash flow to their shareholders. Specifically, SYLD invests in 100 stocks with market caps greater than $200 million that rank among the highest in paying cash dividends; engaging in net share repurchases; and paying down debt on their balance sheets,” said S&P Capital IQ.
By emphasizing the cash component and an equal-weight methodology, which can reduce volatility, SYLD is not saddled with large exposure to prolific share repurchasers that are either using those buybacks to manage earnings expectations, funding those buybacks with new debt or merely using buybacks as a way of dealing with employee stock awards. [IBM Isn’t a Big Deal in Buyback ETFs]
The ETF’s holdings include Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL), CVS (NYSE: CVS) and Western Digital (NYSE: WDC). SYLD is also rated marketweight by S&P Capital IQ.
Cambria Shareholder Yield ETF
Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of Apple and DVY.