Inflation fears and rising yields mean investors haven’t gotten much love from the markets post-Valentine’s Day. That said, investors can strategically position their portfolios for March with a pair of iShares funds through the iShares Core High Dividend ETF (HDV) and iShares Select Dividend ETF (DVY).
Both funds recently made Forbes list of top dividend ETFs for March. Despite rising yields in safe haven Treasury notes, these ETFs can help investors stay steps ahead of still relatively low government yields in comparison.
HDV seeks to track the investment results of the Morningstar Dividend Yield Focus Index composed of relatively high dividend paying U.S. equities. The fund generally will invest at least 90% of its assets in the component securities of the underlying index and may invest up to 10% of its assets in certain futures, options and swap contracts, cash, and cash equivalents.
The underlying index is comprised of qualified income paying securities that are screened for superior company quality and financial health as determined by Morningstar, Inc.’s proprietary index methodology. As an ETF Database analysis noted, the companies in this index “are often considered some of the safest firms in the world and tend to be in more stable industries as well, potentially skewing some portfolios that are heavy in value securities.”
Overall, HDV provides investors:
- Exposure to established, high-quality U.S. companies
- Access to 75 dividend-paying domestic stocks that have been screened for financial health
- Use at the core of your portfolio to seek income
- Low expense ratio of 0.08%
- A fund that is up about 7% year-to-date
Another High Dividend Option
DVY seeks to track the investment results of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index and is composed of relatively high dividend paying U.S. equities. The fund generally invests at least 90% of its assets in securities of the underlying index and in depositary receipts representing securities of the underlying index.
The underlying index that DVY tracks measures the performance of the U.S.’s leading stocks by dividend yield. Overall, DVY gives investors:
- Exposure to broad-cap U.S. companies with a consistent history of dividends
- Access 100 U.S. stocks with 5-year records of paying dividends
- Use to seek income
“DVY can also be effective as a tactical tool, shifting holdings towards companies that will often exhibit lower volatility in certain environments,” ETF Database adds, making it a prime option to help stave off the recent market volatility.
For more news and information, visit the Equity ETF Channel.
