Benzinga - by Chris Katje, Benzinga Staff Writer.
The company behind pure-play ETFs that cover sectors such as cannabis stocks, the metaverse, sports betting and meme stocks is back with a new fund that covers a popular investment strategy.
What Happened: Roundhill Investments launched the Roundhill S&P Dividend Monarchs ETF (NYSE:KNGS) on Thursday.
The launch followed the company's recent ETF that targeted the artificial intelligence sector.
"The Roundhill S&P Dividend Monarchs ETF is the first-ever U.S. listed ETF to track the performance of Dividend Monarchs, an elite group of U.S. blue chip companies that have grown their dividends for 50+ consecutive years," the company said.
The ETF will pay distributions on a quarterly basis, with payout dates in December, March, June and September listed on the website. The S&P Dividend Monarchs Index yields 3.51% as of October 2023.
"These companies, having rewarded shareholders with rising dividends for over half a century, exemplify financial fortitude and long-term vision," Roundhill Chief Strategy Officer Dave Mazza said. "The KNGS ETF offers investors the opportunity to tap into this elite group, providing both the potential for robust yield and the premium quality associated with enduring blue-chip names."
Related Link: Exclusive: Roundhill Launches Big Bank ETF With 6 Holdings, Highlights Diversified Deposits, Stronger Balance Sheets
Why the New ETF?: The fund tracks the companies that increased their dividends for 50 straight years. With the 50-year requirement, many of the world's most valuable companies are knocked out.
"KNGS is the first U.S. listed ETF to offer exposure to Dividend Kings, the gold standard of dividend growers having raised dividends for over 50 plus years," Mazza told Benzinga.
According to Roundhill's website, the companies included in the ETF have been battle-tested over the years.
"They have successfully weathered economic challenges, market pullbacks, wars and other various other market shocks, all whilst continuing to deliver for shareholders," the website stated.
Economic storms listed include Black Monday, the 2000s tech bubble, the 2008 Financial Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The Dividend Monarchs offers investors access to companies that have shown incredible resilience and have high quality characteristics including strong return on equity and low variability in their earnings," Mazza added.
Mazza said the companies in the ETF "exemplify financial fortitude and long-term vision."
The fund also provided access to dividend stocks, which were in favor in recent years given the challenges of the economy and stock market.
"We've heard from investors they're interested in having access to high-quality companies in uncertain market environment," Mazza said.
Top Fund Holdings: The ETF includes 36 stock holdings.
Here are the top holdings in the ETF as of Nov. 2, with their fund weighting and current dividend yield listed:
Leggett & Platt Inc (NYSE:LEG), 4.9% of fund, 7.7% yield
3M Co (NYSE:MMM), 4.9% of fund, 6.6% yield
Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT), 4.9% of fund, 4.8% yield
Black Hills Corp (NYSE:BKH), 4.8% of fund, 5.2% yield
Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE:SWK), 4.0% of fund, 3.8% yield
Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON), 3.9% of fund, 3.8% yield
Target Corp (NYSE:TGT), 3.9% of fund, 4.0% yield
Kimberly-Clark Corp (NYSE:KMB), 3.8% of fund, 4.0% yield
AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV), 3.8% of fund, 4.4% yield
Kenvue Inc (NYSE:KVUE), 3.7% of fund, 4.2% yield
Outside of the top 10 holdings, most investors will recognize other blue-chip stock names such as Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO), PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG), Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW) and many others.
Roundhill ETFs: The latest ETF launch from Roundhill Investments adds to the list of funds that cover niche sectors and overall market themes.
Among the highlights are:
Roundhill Generative AI & Technology ETF (NYSE:CHAT)
Roundhill Cannabis ETF (BATS:WEED)
Roundhill Video Games ETF (NYSE:NERD)
Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming ETF (NYSE:BETZ)
Roundhill Ball Metaverse ETF (NYSE:METV)
Roundhill Big Tech ETF (NASDAQ:BIGT)
Roundhill Big Banks ETF (NASDAQ:BIGB)
Read Next: A New Fund For 420, Here Are The Details Of The Roundhill Cannabis ETF
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