Although interest rates are poised to rise, income investors should still consider select dividend stocks and exchange traded funds.
Dividend growers provide an aspect of quality and growth since these firms have a long track record of raising dividends. Companies that have consistently raised dividends also exhibit stable balance sheets and consistent earnings growth.
Over the long-term, high-quality dividend-paying stock exchange traded funds could produce outperforming results. The iShares Core High Dividend ETF (NYSEArca: HDV) is one ETF that can position investors for years of consistent, dependable dividends.
The $6.6 billion, which turns six years old later this month, holds 74 dividend stocks. HDV follows the Morningstar Dividend Yield Focus Index and the ETF’s other double-digit sector allocations are healthcare and utilities. In 2014, HDV became a member of the iShares core suite of ETFs.
HDV “seeks to track the investment results of the Morningstar Dividend Yield Focus Index composed of relatively high-dividend-paying U.S. equities,” according to Seeking Alpha. “The selected stocks, in Morningstar’s opinion, must have an economic ‘moat’; business advantages that should allow the company to hold up well even in an economic downturn.”