The Federal Reserve meets this week and even though expectations are in place for another interest rate hike, some investors are embracing dividend ETFs. In fact, three of the top 10 asset-gathering ETFs last week, including two of the top three, were dividend funds.
That trio includes the Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF (NYSEArca: SCHD), which added $2.33 billion in assets. SCHD includes 100 stocks based on strong fundamentals, dividend yields and consistent dividend payouts for at least 10 consecutive years.
The iShares Select Dividend ETF (DVY) added $3.54 billion in new assets last week while the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG) added $1.89 billion.
Dividend growth as a means of trumping inflation could and arguably should serve to highlight the advantages of the ETFs that focus on dividend growth stocks. That group is comprised of well-established ETFs that emphasize dividend increase streaks as well as a new breed of funds that look for sectors chock full of stocks that have the potential to be future sources of dividend growth.
Companies with a record of raising dividends are more attractive than usual since they issue their dividends cautiously. These dividend payers typically include higher quality companies that are more cautious when raising dividends since they would do so without stretching their balance sheets.