John Hancock Launches International Dividend ETF
John Hancock Investment Management is tapping increased demand for dividend exchange-traded funds with its latest ETF launch, as investors look for returns following a brutal year for markets.
Boston-based John Hancock, a subsidiary of Manulife Investment Management, launched the John Hancock International High Dividend ETF (JHID) Wednesday, according to a company statement.
The actively managed fund will trade on the NYSE Arca and charges an expense ratio of 0.466%, according to the company. JHID will focus its investments into large and midcap dividend-paying equities in non-U.S. developed market companies.
Dividend ETFs have gained traction this year, pulling in $55 billion in the first nine months of 2022, according to data from Morningstar Inc. There are currently 160 dividend ETFs on the U.S. market with combined assets $366 billion, according to ETF.com data.
“We’re aware of the hurdles investors faced this year with unique market conditions persisting and overall returns being challenged,” John Hancock’s Co-Head of Retail Product Steve Deroian said in the statement. “We anticipate a demand for equity income to continue into 2023 and beyond as investors refocus their portfolios.”
Investors are increasingly choosing active management over passive options like index funds, as they seek protection from falling bonds and stock markets, as well as the investments tracking them. Nearly 63% of all active funds have beaten their benchmarks since May, according to Morningstar data.
Actively managed funds have also sparked investor interest this year at the expense of index, or passively managed, funds. They pulled in nearly $66 billion, or almost 15% of the $453 billion invested in ETFs in 2022, according to ETF.com data.
Morningstar reports that 60% of new ETFs that have launched over the past two years have been actively managed, while about one-third, or 934, of all ETFs are actively managed.
Contact Shubham Saharan at shubham.saharan@etf.com
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