The ETF holds 75 stocks with a weighted average market capitalization of $68.6 billion. Over the last 12 months, VSDA’s return on equity (ROE) is 28.4%, well above the 18.1% for the S&P 500.
Income-minded investors have also typically gravitated toward these high quality companies as firms that regularly raise dividends also tend to be confident about their ability to continue paying the dividends as the dividend increases are also calculated in line with future growth
Companies with a record of raising dividends are more attractive than high-yield dividend payers 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.
VSDA allocates over 44% of its combined weight to consumer staples and industrial stocks while consumer discretionary and financial services names combine for over 30% of the ETF’s weight.
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