{"id":3436,"date":"2024-12-13T22:43:19","date_gmt":"2024-12-13T22:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/?p=3436"},"modified":"2024-12-13T22:44:08","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T22:44:08","slug":"the-many-choices-of-us-dividend-etfs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/index.php\/the-many-choices-of-us-dividend-etfs\/","title":{"rendered":"The Many Choices of US Dividend ETFs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As classified by ETF Database (etfdb.com) by VettaFi, there are currently 92 dividend focused US ETFs with nearly $460 billion under management. If you are seeking dividend income from your ETFs, which should you take a close look at?\u00a0 That\u2019s the objective of the analysis in today\u2019s research blog entry.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>All 5,200+ stocks US and Canadian stocks, 16 sector groups, 200+ industries, and 600+\u00a0 ETFs have been updated:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/h5>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Two-week free trial:<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/ww2.valuengine.com\/products-and-pricing\/\"><b> www.ValuEngine.com<\/b><\/a><b>\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ETFdb divides these ETFs into subcategories as shown by this pie chart:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-3437 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/241213-Blog-Pie-Chart.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"883\" height=\"530\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The largest category is large cap ETFs, constituting about 45% of the total. Next in line are all-cap dividend ETFs which includes small- and mid-cap dividend-paying stocks but their allocations still tend to be dominated by large cap stocks.\u00a0 I was somewhat surprised to find that there are as many as 20 small cap dividend ETFs since most people think of small cap stocks as rarely paying dividends. The fact that there are five volatility hedged dividend ETFs, tailored for risk-averse dividend investors seems more intuitive. Finally, the other category includes international stocks, midcaps, sectors and\u00a0 leveraged ETFs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This analysis starts with the top 10 dividend-focused ETFs ranked by Assets Under Management (AUM).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here is a brief description of each with the help of ETFdb:<\/span><\/p>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Current ValuEngine reports on all covered stocks and ETFS can be viewed<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/valuengine.com\/dashboard\/report\"><b> HERE<\/b><\/a><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Fund<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (<\/span><b>VIG<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) &#8211;\u00a0 tracks the performance of the\u00a0NASDAQ\u00a0US Dividend Achievers Select Index. <\/span><b>VIG<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> offers exposure to dividend paying large-cap US companies that exhibit growth characteristics.\u00a0 Securities are chosen for inclusion in the fund based on their history of increasing dividends; only companies that have increased payouts for at least ten consecutive years are included in the fund.\u00a0 This methodology focuses more on dividend safety and steady growth of companies likely to have accompanying price appreciation that keeps dividend yield stable rather than high current yield.\u00a0 This is an excellent strategy for buy-and-hold investors that wish to reduce price volatility and increase holdings\u2019 quality, but not so good for high current dividend yield.\u00a0 As a result, <\/span><b>VIG<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has a dividend yield of 1.7%, just slightly higher than <\/span><b>SPY<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (the SPDR Trust ETF representing the S&amp;P 500), but with higher potential for capital preservation in a bear market.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (<\/span><b>SCHD<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) &#8211; offers exposure to dividend-paying U.S. equities, making SCHD a potentially useful tool for either enhancing current returns derived from the equity portion of a portfolio or for scaling back risk exposure within a portfolio. The underlying index methodology requires a long track record of distributions, meaning that <\/span><b>SCHD<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is unlikely to include speculative firms that are offering an attractive distribution yield because their stock price has been depressed. The methodology also considers multiple metrics, including dividend growth and dividend yield, resulting in a portfolio that generally offers an above average payout ratio.\u00a0 Its current yield of 3.5% ranks second highest among the top 10.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (<\/span><b>VYM<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) &#8211; is linked to the\u00a0FTSE\u00a0High Dividend Yield Index, which offers exposure to dividend paying large-cap companies that exhibit value characteristics within the U.S. equity market. <\/span><b>VYM<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0is linked to an index consisting of roughly 440 holdings and exposure is tilted most heavily towards consumer, energy, and industrials. Securities are chosen for inclusion in the fund based on their current yield; only the highest yielding companies are chosen. Thanks to this focus,\u00a0<\/span><b>VYM<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0offers investors broad exposure to dividend paying companies. Its current dividend yield of 2.8% ranks it fourth highest out of 10 in this group.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">iShares Core Dividend Growth Index ETF <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(<\/span><b>DGRO<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) &#8211; tracks an index of US stocks that are selected by dividends, dividend growth and payout ratio, then weighted by dividend dollars. The focus on dividend growth rather than yield makes it more similar to <\/span><b>VIG <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><b>NOBL <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(description further down). Its current 2.2% dividend yield represents the median for this group.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SPDR S&amp;P Dividend ETF (<\/span><b>SDY<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; \u00a0is linked to the S&amp;P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index, which offers exposure to dividend paying large-cap companies that exhibit value characteristics within the U.S. equity market.\u00a0 Securities are chosen for inclusion in the fund based on their current yield; only the highest yielding companies are chosen, and these firms must have increased dividends every year for at least 25 consecutive years. Its current yield is 2.4%.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">iShares Select Dividend ETF (<\/span><b>DVY<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; \u00a0is linked to a Dow Jones index that screens the equity universe by factors such as dividend per share growth rate, dividend payout percentage rate, and dividend yield.\u00a0 <\/span><b>DVY<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0can be used as a long-term strategic holding as its 100 stock portfolio is well balanced from a sector perspective. It also may serve as a tactical tool, shifting holdings towards companies that will often exhibit lower volatility in certain environments.\u00a0 It offers a competitive yield of 3.4% currently.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Schwab Fundamental US Quality Large Company ETF<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (<\/span><b>FNDX<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) \u2013 is linked to the RAFI Fundamental High Liquidity Index.\u00a0 It is a non-price-weighted index strategy that aims to deliver excess returns versus the cap-weighted benchmark. This \u201csmart beta\u201d strategy, also referred to as \u201ccontrarian rebalancing,\u201d uses fundamental measures of company size to select and weight to systematically rebalance against \u201coverbought\u201d stocks and toward undervalued ones. This combination currently results in a yield of 4.2%, highest in the group.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wisdom Tree US Quality Dividend Growth Fund<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (<\/span><b>DGRW<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) &#8211;\u00a0 tracks the performance of an index that invests in large- and mid-cap dividend-paying US common stocks with growth characteristics. With a current dividend yield of just 1.5% that is just equal to that of <\/span><b>SPY<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, this ETF fits in the quality-first, low-volatility second category along with <\/span><b>VIG <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><b>NOBL.\u00a0 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This conservative strategy does not deliver high income but ranks strongly for capital preservation and low price volatility.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (<\/span><b>RDVY<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) \u2013 tied to the\u00a0NASDAQ US Rising Dividend Achievers Index, <\/span><b>RDVY<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is comprised of securities that have increased their dividend value over the previous three year and five year annual periods, while being best positioned to continue the dividend increases. Eligible securities receive 3 ranks: by five year dollar dividend increase; by current dividend yield; and by payout ratio. Those ranks are equally combined and the top 50 stocks comprise the portfolio.\u00a0 Its current dividend yield is the second lowest of the group at 1.7%.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ProShares S&amp;P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (<\/span><b>NOBL<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) is tied to the oldest in-use index to institutionalize the rising-every-year-for-25-years methodology now mimicked by so many others.\u00a0 The twist is that it is equally-weighted, and no sector can comprise more than 30% of the portfolio.\u00a0 The methodology keeps\u00a0NOBL\u00a0diversified across most segments of the economy.\u00a0 Its current yield is 2.0%.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The table below shows how the ETFs compare in eight different categories.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3438 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/241213-blog-chart-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"826\" height=\"596\" \/><\/p>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Current ValuEngine reports on all covered stocks and ETFS can be viewed<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/valuengine.com\/dashboard\/report\"><b> HERE<\/b><\/a><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ranked by assets under management, ranging from $20 Billion to $80 Billion, the top 10 ETFs are all in either the large cap or the all-cap categories, Within the categories, however, are three different \u201csmart beta\u201d strategies.\u00a0 The current dividend yield for the top 10 has a fairly high range, from 1.5% to 4.2%.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Six of the 10, Wisdom Tree US Quality Dividend Growth Fund (<\/span><b>DGRW<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), First Trust Dividend Achievers (<\/span><b>RDVY<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (<\/span><b>VIG<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), ProShares S&amp;P 500 Dividend Aristocrats (<\/span><b>NOBL<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (<\/span><b>DGRO<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) and SPDR S&amp;P Dividend (<\/span><b>SDY<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) focus on dividend stream consistency and\/or steady dividend growth. These ETFs tend to distribute less income than ETFs focused primarily on high dividend yield.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alternatively, Vanguard High Dividend Yield (<\/span><b>VYM<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) and iShares Select Dividend ETF (<\/span><b>DVY<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) focus primarily on aggregating high current dividend yield companies using different weighting rules.\u00a0 Finally, Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF (<\/span><b>SCHD<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) and Schwab Fundamental Large Company ETF (<\/span><b>FNDX<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) focus on high dividend paying companies that pass fundamental quality screens to identify value stocks. The last category delivered the highest current dividend yields amongst this group.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ranking by recent price performance, the ETFs with the two lowest dividend yields ranked first in the three price return categories\u00a0 <\/span><b>RDVY <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">has enjoyed the highest year-to-date price gain of 22% as well as the highest 1-month price gain of nearly 3%.\u00a0 <\/span><b>DGRW<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, holding up the best in 2022, has the best 3-year annualized gain of 11.6%. <\/span><b>FNDX<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>DVY <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">also finished in the top four in all three time frames.\u00a0 On the other end of the spectrum, the worst one month loss, -2.8%, was posted by <\/span><b>SDY<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, just below the -2.7% posted by <\/span><b>NOBL<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The latter posted the lowest return on a year-to-date basis as well as for the 3-year period.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One thing that struck me as unexpected is that ranking the list of ETFs by AUM did not closely mimic the list\u2019s ranking by average daily Trading dollar volume.\u00a0 For example, <\/span><b>VIG<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, ranked #1 by AUM, ranked just 4th in daily volume. Meanwhile <\/span><b>DGRO <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ranked 4<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in AUM but 2<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nd<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in trading volume.\u00a0 <\/span><b>SCHD, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">second to <\/span><b>VIG <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in assets under management, is the trading volume titan by a six-to-one margin over second-place <\/span><b>DGRO<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and roughly 12-to-1 versus <\/span><b>VIG<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the AUM leader.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From a volatility lens, there is little difference amongst 8 of the 10 ETF with price volatility betas between 0.84 and 0.89.\u00a0 As expected, the eight ETFs exhibit below-average volatility in response to market movements. <\/span><b>FNDX <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">exhibits price volatility identical to <\/span><b>SPY <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">at 1.00. \u00a0 The real outlier in volatility is <\/span><b>RDVY <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with a Beta of 1.15 indicating it will respond to market moves with 15% greater volatility.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>RDVY <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is also the outlier in the wrong direction on expense ratio, by far the highest at 0.49%.\u00a0 The five other \u201csmart beta\u201d ETFs have expense ratios between 0.25% and 0.38%.\u00a0 <\/span><b>FNDX<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by Schwab has the low end of that range and <\/span><b>DVY<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by iShares has the high end.\u00a0 The three ETFs with the highest amount of assets under management also have the lowest expense ratios that most large institutions prefer, 0.06%. These include Vanguard\u2019s <\/span><b>VIG<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Schwab\u2019s <\/span><b>SCHD<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and Vanguard\u2019s <\/span><b>VYM. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just behind these three in AUM, <\/span><b>DGRO<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by iShares<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0has a fee of 0.08%.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now that we\u2019ve thoroughly covered the past, what lies ahead?\u00a0 According to ValuEngine\u2019s predictive model, indicated by the VE Rating column in the table above, <\/span><b>DVY <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is ranked highest in projected price performance with <\/span><b>5 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Strong Buy).\u00a0 <\/span><b>VYM<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>FNDX<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are also ranked highly with ranks of <\/span><b>4 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Buy).\u00a0 Please visit the reports on these three to learn more.\u00a0 On the other end of the spectrum, despite strong performance in the two most recent periods, <\/span><b>RDVY<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> gets our lowest predictive rating of <\/span><b>1 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Strong Sell).\u00a0 AUM leader <\/span><b>VIG <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and #10 in AUM <\/span><b>NOBL <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">are also ranked as having below average price gain prospects with <\/span><b>2 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Sell) ratings.\u00a0 <\/span><b>SCHD<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><b>DGRO<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>SDY <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">are all rated <\/span><b>3 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Hold) which is in the middle of the spectrum.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Beyond the top 10, are there any US Stock ETFs that give investors a chance at higher yields without using options, futures or swaps?\u00a0 The answer is yes so let\u2019s take a quick look at 5 smaller high-dividend-yield ETFs as ranked by yield and screened to include only ETFs without derivatives or foreign stocks.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Current ValuEngine reports on all covered stocks and ETFS can be viewed<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/valuengine.com\/dashboard\/report\"><b> HERE<\/b><\/a><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Invesco KBW High Dividend Yield Financial ETF<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (<\/span><b>KBWD<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) is a financial sector ETF only in the broadest interpretation of the term.\u00a0 It invests primarily in Business Development Companies (BDCs) and Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs).\u00a0 Both are highly speculative and are at least as prone to capital depreciation than appreciation.\u00a0 As such, this highest yielding ETF in the category is NOT recommended to most investors for further research except for the most speculative in search of yield.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Invesco S&amp;P Small Cap High Dividend Low Volatility ETF <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(<\/span><b>XSHD)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> tracks an index of 60 dividend-paying U.S. small-caps which are less susceptible to market swings.\u00a0 In doing so, it combines three smart beta factors.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Global X Super Dividend ETF<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (<\/span><b>DIV<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) accesses 50 of the highest dividend paying equities in the US subject to a volatility screen based on beta.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Franklin US Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (<\/span><b>LVHD<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) tracks an index of roughly 50-100 US stocks selected from across the market cap spectrum. Stocks are selected and weighted to emphasize profitability, high dividends, low price volatility and low earnings volatility.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Invesco High Yield Equity Dividend Achievers ETF<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (<\/span><b>PEY) <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">focuses on<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a select group of companies that have a solid track record as a source of consistent dividends and may offer attractive current yields relative to the broader market. Stocks are selected based on dividend yield and consistent dividend growth, resulting in a portfolio that should exhibit a beta less than 1.0 along with a high dividend yield.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once again, the table below shows how the ETFs compare in eight different categories.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-3439 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/241213-blog-chart-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"838\" height=\"424\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Current ValuEngine reports on all covered stocks and ETFS can be viewed<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/valuengine.com\/dashboard\/report\"><b> HERE<\/b><\/a><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first thing that struck me looking at this table is how much the expense ratio of The Invesco KBW High Dividend Yield ETF (<\/span><b>KBWD<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) is out of whack with all the other ETFs.\u00a0 This is because special vehicles such as BDCs are already managed companies, and the 2.02% ER accumulates the fees charged by Invesco with the acquired fund fees. The 12.0% yield is certainly attractive and its historical returns for the three time frames combined with that yield would certainly be acceptable going forward if that were a reasonable expectation.\u00a0 The problem is that BDCs, SPACs and REITs are more vulnerable to recession than companies in most other sectors and it is not uncommon to see many companies in these categories simply go out of business.\u00a0 The credit risk and leverage ratios are through the roof on these entities.\u00a0 Its beta of 1.40 shows how much higher its volatility is during good times. It would be even higher in a recession. On the other hand, if no recession comes in the next two years, then the total returns including the income are very attractive.\u00a0 The ValuEngine model currently rates <\/span><b>KBWD <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to perform in line with the market. Its rating is 3 (Hold).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>XSHD <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">has been this group\u2019s worst performer in all three periods.\u00a0 The ultra-high dividend yield and the relatively low expense ratio enhance its appeal somewhat.\u00a0 However, it\u2019s been the worst performer of the group in the past five years.\u00a0 Its projected future performance is also subpar according to ValuEngine\u2019s model with a <\/span><b>2 (<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sell) rating. It\u2019s also disconcerting to see an ETF with \u201cLow Volatility\u201d in its name with a beta that is 14% above the market.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Global X SuperDividend US ETF (<\/span><b>DIV<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) combines an excellent track record during the free time frames measured that is even more impressive when it is combined with a well-above average dividend yield of 5.8%. Another plus for investors looking to use <\/span><b>DIV <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to generate income is that it pays its dividend monthly rather than quarterly.\u00a0 For an ETF with a volatility screen a beta of 1.02 indicates slightly more volatility than the S&amp;P 500, which is not what one would expect.\u00a0 And as ETFdb notes, an Expense Ratio of 0.45% seems a bit excessive compared to current industry norms for an ETF with a simple index algorithm and no special data.\u00a0 Our predictive model ranks it below average.\u00a0 Its ValuEngine rating is <\/span><b>2 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Sell).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The next two ETFs are more interesting to our predictive model even though the yields are lower.\u00a0 Franklin Templeton\u2019s Franklin U.S. Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF (<\/span><b>LVHD<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) is performing quite well with a very low fee ratio of 0.27% for an ETF that combines smart beta factors.\u00a0 Although it was the group\u2019s worst performer on a 1-month basis, it is the best performer year-to-date, and it is the second best performer for the three-year period.\u00a0 Its 4.7% dividend yield is higher than any of the ETFs we looked at in the earlier group of 10 which topped out with 4.2% by Schwab\u2019s <\/span><b>FNDX.\u00a0 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Its beta of 0.76 makes it the least volatile of all 15 dividend-focused ETFs reviewed here.\u00a0 Its ValuEngine rating is <\/span><b>4 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Buy).\u00a0 The only caution flag is that its average daily dollar trading volume is the lowest among the 15 with an average of just above 48,000 shares per day.\u00a0 Therefore, it is not the type of ETF you want to trade in and out of, but it should be fine for a long-term buy-and-hold in a strategic equity allocation. I always advise to use limit orders when purchasing ETFs to ensure you are getting a price close to Net Asset Value. That rule would especially apply here.\u00a0 The underlying stocks are very liquid so if the bid-ask spread looks wide and you are purchasing 500 shares or more, use the number on the ETFs prospectus to call the fund.\u00a0 They may be able to get a market maker to get you a price at NAV. Beyond liquidity, <\/span><b>LVHD <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">appears to be a solid candidate to investigate for dividend investors. Its ValuEngine rating is <\/span><b>4 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Buy).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally, the Invesco High Yield Dividend Achievers ETF (<\/span><b>PEY<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) uses a multifactor smart beta index by Research Affiliates from an index family they call RAFI.\u00a0 The F stands for fundamental-weighting and tilts toward undervalued stocks with low price volatility.\u00a0 Its 3-year annualized return of 7.72% is tops in this ultra-high dividend group.\u00a0 It also has the highest possible ValuEngine rating of <\/span><b>5 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Strong Buy) for projected performance to go along with a dividend yield of 4.6%.\u00a0 Its unusual methodology is worthy of reading more about before considering any action on <\/span><b>PEY.\u00a0 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Its fee structure for an indexed ETF is very high at 0.59%. However, the intricate weighting scheme and need to purchase, vet and process fundamental data may justify that fee in an investor\u2019s eyes.\u00a0 As with everything else in investing, tradeoffs must be considered before making decisions.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Financial Advisory Services based on ValuEngine research available:\u00a0 <\/b><a href=\"http:\/\/www.valuenginecapital.com\/\"><b>www.ValuEngineCapital.com<\/b><\/a><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Having reviewed 15 of the 92 dividend focused ETFs, I hope this gives many readers a good window for what to look for in evaluating these products.\u00a0 To recap, the most timely ETFs now according to our predictive model are <\/span><b>DVY <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">from iShares by Blackrock and <\/span><b>PEY.\u00a0 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, as both have above-average expense ratios, fee-conscious investors who also want to take ValuEngine rating into consideration could delve into the more modestly priced <\/span><b>VYM.\u00a0 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We rate it <\/span><b>4 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Buy) and it ties for the lowest expense ratio of 0.06%.\u00a0 its yield of 2.8% is about double that of the S&amp;P 500.\u00a0 The two other ETFs we covered that are rated <\/span><b>4 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Buy) are Schwab\u2019s <\/span><b>FNDX <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and Franklin\u2019s <\/span><b>LVHD. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both have yields above 4% and strong recent historical performance along with solid methodologies. As you can see, dear reader, this is a highly competitive, some say too crowded, segment of the indexed ETF market.\u00a0 There are also many other ETFs geared to derive dividend payout income from the market.\u00a0 In such a crowded market, research is the investor\u2019s best friend.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">________________________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><b>By Herbert Blank<\/b><\/h5>\n<h5><b>Senior Quantitative Analyst, ValuEngine Inc<\/b><\/h5>\n<h5><a href=\"http:\/\/www.valuengine.com\/\"><b>www.ValuEngine.com<\/b><\/a><\/h5>\n<h5><b>support@ValuEngine.com<\/b><\/h5>\n<h5><b>All of the over 4,200 stocks, 16 sector groups, over 250 industries, and 600 ETFs have been updated on<\/b><a href=\"http:\/\/www.valuengine.com\/\"><b> www.ValuEngine.com<\/b><\/a><\/h5>\n<h5><b>Financial Advisory Services based on ValuEngine research available through<\/b><a href=\"http:\/\/www.valuenginecapital.com\/\"><b> ValuEngine Capital Management, LLC<\/b><\/a><\/h5>\n<h5><b>Free Two-Week Trial to all 5,000 plus equities covered by ValuEngine<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/ww2.valuengine.com\/products-and-pricing\/\"><b> HERE<\/b><\/a><\/h5>\n<p><b>Subscribers log in <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/valuengine.com\/dashboard\/login\"><b>HERE<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As classified by ETF Database (etfdb.com) by VettaFi, there are currently 92 dividend focused US ETFs with nearly $460 billion under management. If you are seeking dividend income from your ETFs, which should you take a close look at?\u00a0 That\u2019s the objective of the analysis in today\u2019s research blog entry. All 5,200+ stocks US and &#8230; <a title=\"The Many Choices of US Dividend ETFs\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/index.php\/the-many-choices-of-us-dividend-etfs\/\" aria-label=\"More on The Many Choices of US Dividend ETFs\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[130,1,39],"tags":[2475,2478,1925,1916,1746,1760,1761,1719,2477,1731,2472,2059,1747,2474,1510,2479,1748,2476,28,2021,1915,2473],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3436"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3436"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3440,"href":"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3436\/revisions\/3440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}