A counterpart to VIGI is the Vanguard International High Dividend Yield ETF (NasdaqGM: VYMI), which debuted with VIGI. An easy way of looking at the Vanguard International High Dividend Yield ETF is that it is the international answer to the wildly popular Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (NYSEArca: VYM), one of the largest U.S. dividend ETFs.
VIGI’s “focuses on dividend growth, which emphasizes companies that are more profitable and less likely to be in financial distress than their high-yielding counterparts,” according to Morningstar. “Consequently, this fund’s yield is lower than these yield-centric funds. Instead, the stocks in this portfolio typically represent highly profitable companies with strong underlying businesses. Strategies that invest in highly profitable companies have sound investment merit.”
Related: Smart Beta International ETFs That Have a Handle on Risk
VIGI charges 0.25% per year, or $25 on a $10,000 investment, making cheaper than 77% of competing strategies.
Other international dividend ETFs include the PowerShares International Dividend Achievers Portfolio (NYSEArca: PID), FlexShares International Quality Dividend Index Fund (NYSEArca: IQDF) and the WisdomTree International Dividend ex-Financials Fund (NYSEArca: DOO).
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