In the current record-low interest rate environment, dividend stocks are appealing to a wide range of buy-and-hold investors. In addition to offering passive income, many regard steady or growing dividends as a sign that a company has a robust underlying business.
UPenn finance professor and senior investment strategy advisor at WisdomTree Investments Dr. Jeremy Siegel addressed the importance of including dividend stocks in portfolios in his Oct. 27th article, saying:
"I believe the search for dividends and the reopening of the economy next year will favor value stocks over growth shares... Value's much lower PEs suggest more stability going forward than growth shares' PEs, and value will benefit from greater dividend upside, especially when economic conditions stabilize.”
We previously discussed ETFs that may be appropriate for investors researching dividend investments here}} and {{art-200546762||here.
Below we'll introduce two other funds to consider:
1. First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund
- Current Price: $49.50
- 52-Week Range: $30.60 - $49.70
- Dividend Yield: 1.92%
- Expense Ratio: 0.50%
The First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund (NASDAQ:TDIV) includes dividend-paying firms listed on US-exchanges and considered technology or telecommunications companies by the Industry Classification Benchmark, "a globally utilized standard for the categorization and comparison of companies by industry and sector."
TDIV, which has 84 holdings, tracks the NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index. The fund started trading in August 2012 and assets under management are close to $1.4 billion.
As far as industries are concerned, funds are distributed among semiconductors and semiconductor equipment (33.07%), software (13.53%), technology hardware, storage and peripherals (12.79%), and information technology (IT) services (9.29%), among others.
Around 57% of the holdings are in the top ten stocks, including Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO), IBM (NYSE:IBM), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) which head the list of names in the ETF.
In recent weeks, investors have been on a full risk-on approach. As a result, growth stocks and especially most tech names have been making new highs.
A growing number of market participants wonder if tech names can sustain the current positive momentum. We also believe it might be time to be selective in terms of which tech names to include in portfolios right now.
TDIV is up about 14% since the start of the year. Trailing P/E, and P/S ratios stand at 19.65 and 2.51. On a historical basis, these current valuations are not too rich. We'd look to buy the dip on the fund, which holds some of the strongest dividend leaders in technology.
2. WisdomTree Global ex-U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Fund
- Current Price: $74.94
- 52-Week Range: $45.02 – $74.69
- Dividend Yield: 2.22%
- Expense Ratio: 0.58%
The WisdomTree Global ex-U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Fund (NYSE:DNL) provides exposure to global businesses, outside the US, with growing dividends. The fund started trading in June 2006 and has almost $290 million in assets under management.
DNL, which currently has 275 holdings, tracks the WisdomTree World ex-US Dividend Growth Index. Top sectors represented in the fund are IT (21.01%), health care (18.24%), industrials (13.56%), and consumer staples (10.97%).
In terms of country allocation, Japan heads the list with 14.33%, followed by Switzerland (11.57%), UK (9.96%), Canada (8.01%), Taiwan (7.96%), India (7.78%), and Australia (7.59%).
The top ten businesses account for close to 40% of the fund, including Pharma group Roche (OTC:RHHBY), consumer goods giant Unilever (NYSE:UL), global miner Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO), chip leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) and health care business Novo Nordisk (CSE:NOVOb) (NYSE:NVO).
So far in the year, DNL is up over 13%. We like the diversified nature of the holdings, many of which are leading names in their respective countries or sectors. We believe the ETF could offer value to a range of long-term portfolios.