Sorting Out The Crowded Dividend ETF Parade

Separating the Music From the Noise The growth of the dividend ETF space appears to be maturing with about 50 plus fund choices as of this writing. Even with several product closings and some more late arrivals (especially the "dividend growth variety") - the current quantity available seems to be more than enough to satisfy most investors thirst for yield. The advantage went to the early arrivals in this space. These "first mover advantage" ETFs are quite large by market cap. The first mover advantage for the dividend ETF space with the longest history would include the popular iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index Fund (DVY), which commenced trading in 2003, and the First Trust Value Line Dividend Index Fund (FVD) also started in 2003; actually preceding DVY by a few months. The deluge then followed. Some of the funds available can be quite small. These smaller, lesser... Read more