Dividend ETFs have been at the intersection of two of the hottest investing trends over the last year or so, turning in stellar performances and attracting huge cash inflows. Interest in dividend-paying stocks has skyrocketed, as these securities have double-edged appeal as tools for both smoothing overall volatility and enhancing the current returns derived from equity portfolios. In an environment with several large risks continuing to loom overhead and depressed interest rates, that combination is tough to beat. Not surprisingly, ETFs have become a preferred vehicle for accessing dividend-focused strategies; there are now more than 45 dividend ETFs accessible to U.S. investors, with aggregate assets of more than $40 billion [see Premium Report: Dividend ETFs In Focus].
Dividend ETFs have turned in some impressive performance figures over the past 14 months or so; since the start of 2011, the WisdomTree Large Cap Dividend Fund (DLN) has beaten the S&P 500 SPDR (SPY) by nearly 500 basis points. That margin is particularly impressive considering that stocks have generally been up over that period, and dividend payers should presumably be “safer” investments. [click to continue…]
Several investing trends popped up in a back-and-forth 2011, as advisors sought to tweak client portfolios to take advantage of new opportunities and adapt to a macroeconomic environment that featured a number of sudden and unexpected shifts along with a significant amount of volatility. One significant trend was a rush towards dividend-paying stocks, securities that [...]
The ETF industry finished 2011 with assets of about $1.06 trillion according to data recently released by the ETF Industry Association. Total assets grew by about 5% over the previous year, when the industry stood at $1.01 trillion. Net cash inflows for the year totaled about $117.6 billion, a slight decrease from 2010 when the [...]
As the calendars prepare to flip forward, it appears as if 2011 will go down as a record-breaking year for the ETF industry on the product development front. More than 300 new ETPs began trading this year, shattering the previous record set in 2010. But despite the record size of the ETF lineup, it appears [...]
Equity markets have taken a wild ride this past year as everything from an unimaginable earthquake in Japan to a looming debt crisis in Europe has taken its toll on investors’ confidence. As 2011 draws to a close, many are left scratching their heads in confusion and uncertainty, given the predominantly gloomy economic outlook that [...]
Investors’ confidence has taken a serious beating over the past few months as debt drama on both sides of the Atlantic ocean has paved the way for volatile price action across financial markets. Despite better-than-expected economic data releases on the home front, Euro zone debt woes have definitively taken center stage; sentiment on Wall Street [...]
This past year has been a strong one for the ETF industry. With a record number of launches, already over 300 on the year, it is clear that the exchange traded world is still in full swing. But despite all of the innovation that the year has seen, investors are still partial to their big [...]
[This article is a free preview of the special ETF research report Dividend ETFs In Focus: Finding The Best Yield . ETFdb Pro members can read the entire report here; sign up for a free 7-day trial to get your copy] Dividend investing is one of the oldest and most popular strategies amongst retail and institutional equity investors on Wall [...]
[This article is a free preview of the special ETF research report Dividend ETFs In Focus: Finding The Best Yield. ETFdb Pro members can read the entire report here; sign up for a free 7-day trial to get your copy] In the current environment, it seems as if most investment strategies have fallen out of [...]
As the ETF industry has expanded rapidly in recent years, the universe of asset classes and investment strategies accessible through the exchange-traded wrapper has increased dramatically. In addition to funds offering exposure to natural resources and volatility–two asset classes previously beyond the reach of many investors–a number of products have popped up that seek to [...]
Grim jobs data on Friday put stocks in a hole right from the opening bell as investors were quite displeased to see that the U.S. economy did not add any jobs in August. Nonfarm payrolls were unchanged for the month, posting the weakest performance in labor payroll data since September of 2010. Unemployment is sitting [...]
