Ex-U.S. developed market dividend payers often feature larger yields than their U.S. counterparts, an assertion proven by comparing large- and mega-cap dividend stocks from familiar dividend sectors such as consumer staples, energy, financial services and telecommunications.
One of the newer international dividend exchange traded funds on the market hails from a trusted issuer and is rapidly coming of age. Vanguard International Dividend Appreciation ETF (NasdaqGM: VIGI), which debuted in early March 2016, was home to nearly $552 million in assets under management at the end of the second quarter.
VIGI is the international answer to the popular Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSEArca: VIG), the largest U.S. dividend ETF.
VIGI, one of just two new ETFs launched by Vanguard last year, “emphasizes stocks exhibiting dividend growth and seeks to track the Nasdaq International Dividend Achievers Select Index, which comprises more than 200 all-cap developed and emerging markets stocks with a track record of increasing annual dividend payments,” according to Vanguard.
“Many foreign stocks tie their dividend payments to earnings,” said Morningstar in a recent note. “Therefore, companies that have a history of increasing their dividend payments are also likely to be those that have been consistently growing profitably. This fund’s return on invested capital comes in at 17.3%, compared with 12.5% for the MSCI ACWI ex-USA Growth Index. It also lands in the top quintile of the foreign large-growth Morningstar Category.”
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.”
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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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