Play Dividend Growth ETFs With a Long-Term View

Volatility in the oil market has dominated global headlines in the recent past amid the ongoing U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran. Oil prices briefly surged close to $120 per barrel on Monday before pulling back sharply as market watchers focused on the possibility of governments tapping emergency crude reserves and President Donald Trump’s statement that the conflict could end “soon.”

Adding to the turbulence, oil prices dropped Tuesday after a now-deleted social media post by Energy Secretary Chris Wright claimed the United States had escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz.

Gold Holds Steady Amid Energy Market Volatility

Gold prices remained largely stable.Rising energy prices have heightened concerns about inflation, which in turn has reduced expectations for interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve and other central banks. Higher borrowing costs typically hurt precious metals since they are non-interest-bearing assets. However, gold – up about 20% this year – continues to attract favor amid market stress.

Dividend Growth ETFs to Play: Here’s Why

The hunt for dividend in the equity market is always steady irrespective of how it is behaving. After all, who doesn’t like a steady stream of current income along with capital gains? And if investors are caught in the web of equity market uncertainty and global growth worries, the lure for dividend investing increases.

Investors should note that not all dividend stocks serve the same purpose. While the high-yield ones are known for offering a hefty current income, stocks with dividend growth point to quality investing — a pre-requisite to making money in this volatile environment. These companies — known as dividend aristocrats — are usually good for value investing and in demand when volatility flares up.

Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few dividend aristocrat ETFs that could be intriguing picks at the current level.

SPDR S&P Dividend ETF SDY

The underlying S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index measures the performance of the highest dividend yielding S&P Composite 1500 Index constituents that have followed a managed-dividends policy of consistently increasing dividends every year for at least 20 consecutive years. The fund charges 35 bps in fees and yields 2.40% annually. The fund is up over 7% this year versus 0.9% decline in the S&P 500.

ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF NOBL

The underlying S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index targets companies that are currently members of the S&P 500, have increased dividend payments each year for at least 25 years & meet certain market capitalization & liquidity requirements. The fund charges 35 bps in fees and yields 2.02% annually. NOBL is up over 4% this year.

O'shares FTSE US Quality Dividend ETF OUSA

The underlying OShares U.S. Quality Dividend Index measures the performance of publicly-listed large-capitalization and mid-capitalization dividend-paying issuers in the United States. The fund charges 48 bps in fees and yields 1.41% annually. The fund has gained 1.4% this year.

Invesco Dividend Achievers ETF PFM

The underlying NASDAQ US Broad Dividend Achievers Index is designed to identify a diversified group of dividend-paying companies which have increased their annual dividend for 10 or more consecutive fiscal years. It charges 52 bps in fees and yields about 1.38% annually. The fund has advanced about 1.5% this year.

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State Street SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (SDY): ETF Research Reports

ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL): ETF Research Reports

Invesco Dividend Achievers ETF (PFM): ETF Research Reports

ALPS (OUSA): ETF Research Reports

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research