Dividend ETFs to Guard Against Volatile Markets

With the equities market showing greater volatility, investors can take a look at dividend exchange traded funds that hold up during tougher times while generating some cash on the side.

“We believe that when pullbacks happen, dividend stocks fare better than others because their yields provide downside protection,” Geoffrey Mrema and Todd Rosenbluth, S&P Capital IQ, said in a MSN article. [Five ETFs to Help Ride Out Market Ebbs and Flows]

S&P Capital IQ analysts screened for “overweight” ETFs with a 12-month yield of over 2.5% that don’t focus on specific sectors like utilities, a traditional safe-haven, dividend play. [Big Yields on Foreign Soil with This ETF]

Some dividend picks that fit the bill include:

The SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (SDY) tracks companies that have increased dividends every year for at least 20 years and includes 83 components. Top sectors include consumer staples 18%, financials 17% and industrials 13%. SDY has a 0.35% expense ratio, a 2.61% 12-month yield and is up 16.9% year-to-date.

The Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index Fund (VYM) selects holdings based on the highest yields and includes 396 component stocks. Top sectors include consumer staples 17%, energy 13% and industrials 12%. VYM has a 0.10% expense ratio, a 2.85% 12-monnth yield and is up 16.1% year-to-date.

The iShares High Dividend ETF (HDV) picks stocks based on their relatively high yields provided on a consistent basis and includes 77 holdings. Top sectors include health care 21%, consumer staples 18% and telecom services 14%. HDV has a 0.40% expense ratio, a 3.09% 12-month yield and is up 14.3% year-to-date.

The WisdomTree LargeCap Dividend Fund (DLN) tracks 300 of the largest U.S. dividend paying companies. Top sectors include consumer staples 15%, information technology 14% and financials 13%. DLN has a 0.28% expense ratio, a 2.85% 12-month yield and is up 13.9% year-to-date.

For more information on dividend funds, visit our dividend ETFs category.

Max Chen contributed to this article.

The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.