ETFs
Why Dividend ETFs Deserve a Place in Your Portfolio – May 6, 2024
- (1:30) – What is the reason for the recent underperformance of dividend paying stocks?
- (8:15 a.m.) – Should investors continue to buy dividend-paying stocks?
- (1:50 p.m.) – ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF: NOBL
- (6:30 p.m.) – Can you find solid tech stocks that pay dividends?
- (25:00) – What are the advantages of investing in options-based income ETFs?
- (23:45) – Summary of episodes: REGL, VIG, DRGO, TDV, TDIV, ISPY, IQQQ
- Podcast@Zacks.com
In this episode of ETF Spotlight, I speak with Kieran Kirwan, Director of Investment Strategy at ProShares, about dividend growth and high income strategies.
Dividend-paying stocks have fallen out of favor lately. Most investors have gravitated toward growth stocks, particularly ultra-large-cap technology stocks, while dividend payers have traditionally been more mature companies from old-economy sectors.
Additionally, with rising interest rates, money market funds and short-term bonds have become more attractive to income-seeking investors.
There are two popular approaches to dividend investing: growing dividend stocks and high dividend stocks. Dividend-producing companies are generally high-quality companies with strong balance sheets and stable cash flows.
Apple (AAPL – Free report), Microsoft (MSFT – Free report) and NVIDIA (NVDA – Free report) have been paying dividends for many years, but their yields are rather low. Alphabet (GOOGLE – Free report) and metaplatforms (META – Free report) recently announced their first ever dividends.
The ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL – Free report) owns high-quality companies that have increased their dividend for at least 25 consecutive years. The ProShares S&P Technology Dividend Aristocrats ETF (TDV – Free report) owns technology companies that have been steadily increasing their dividends for at least seven years.
The Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG – Free report) and the iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO – Free report) also own high quality companies with a history of consistent dividend growth.
Covered call ETFs that use options strategies to generate exceptionally high returns have been extremely popular over the past couple of years. In addition to high returns, these strategies generally reduce portfolio volatility.
Investors should keep in mind, however, that these strategies work best in sideways markets but underperform in strong bull markets. They provide some protection when stocks fall.
The ProShares S&P 500 High Income ETF (I SPY – Free report) and the Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF (IQQQ – Free report) invest in daily covered calls with the aim of improving the trade-off between income and total return.
Tune in to the podcast to learn more.
Be on the lookout for the next edition of ETF Spotlight and don’t forget to subscribe! If you have any comments or questions, please email podcast@zacks.com.
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