ProShares Launches EAFE Dividend Growth ETF
ProShares, the largest provider of inverse and leveraged exchange traded funds, today added to its lineup of non-leveraged ETFs with the addition of the ProShares MSCI EAFE Dividend Growers ETF (EFAD) .
The new ETF follows the MSCI EAFE Dividend Masters Index, which holds members of the MSCI EAFE Index that have increased their dividends for at least 10 straight years. The index is equally weighted and contains a minimum of 40 stocks. No single sector may represent more than 30% of the index and no single country may represent more than 50%. The index is rebalanced each February, May, August and November, with annual reconstitution during the November rebalance, said ProShares in a statement.
EFAD’s largest country weight, by far, is an almost 47% allocation to the U.K., more than double the country’s weight in the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA) . “British listed companies paid $102. 1 billion in dividends last year, and since 2009 have paid roughly $441 billion,” according to the Independent. British firms accounted for 11% of the $1.03 trillion in global dividends paid last year. [The Case of U.K. Dividends]
EFAD’s next largest country weights are 9.3% to Switzerland, 8.1% to Australia and 5.7% to Japan. Australian companies paid $40.3 billion in dividends last year, nearly double the amount paid in 2012. [Saying G'Day to Australian Dividends]
The new ETF’s largest sector weights are 22.4% to health care, 21.9% to consumer staples and 14.8% to consumer discretionary.
Maryland-based ProShares has already had success with a dividend growth ETF. The ProShares S&P 500 Aristocrats ETF (NOBL) debuted in early October 2013, topped $100 million in assets under management in February and has since surged to over $230 million, according to the issuer.
“Dividend growth can be an indicator of a company’s financial strength and return potential. In fact, companies in the EAFE index that grew dividends historically produced better returns with lower volatility than the EAFE itself,” said Michael L. Sapir, Chairman and CEO of ProShare Advisors, LLC, in the statement. “We are pleased to offer an ETF that isolates the companies with the longest track record of dividend growth in the EAFE, the most popular international developed markets index.”
ProShares MSCI EAFE Dividend Growers ETF Sector Weights
Table Courtesy: ProShares
Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of EFA. ETF Trends editorial team contributed to this post.
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