Looking for Cash Flow in ETFs (DVY, PEY, VIG, IRO)

ETF Educational  Commentary from Wall Street Sector Selector

Looking for Cash Flow in ETFs 

In this era of ultra low interest rates, income is hard to find almost everywhere.  Money markets yield next to nothing, treasury bonds and bills are about the same, and corporate dividends were drastically slashed when profits dropped.  

Dividends are starting show signs of revival, however, and dividend producing Exchange Traded Funds are one option for investors to consider.

Dividend ETFs give you opportunity to gain exposure to dividend paying stocks and at the same time eliminate single stock exposure because you’re buying a basket of stocks.  Plus the ETF providers have the resources to pick the best candidates and so do the research for you and can save you money, time and costly mistakes.

If you’re interested in ETFs that pay dividends here are some for your consideration:

One of my favorites comes from the iShares family and is the iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index (DVY) It has more than $4 Billion in assets under management, charges a .40% management fee and returned 10.99% in 2009.  The ETFs main holdings are:

Lorillard Inc.

Entergy Corp.

Centurylink

Chevron

McDonalds

PPG

Other good candidates are PowerShares High Yield Dividend Achievers (PEY) which focuses on financial sector stocks.  For investors who are afraid of the financial sector because of its recent near death experience, Wisdom Tree offers a dividend paying ETF called the Wisdom Tree Dividend ex-Financial ETF (DTN)

Other ETFs to consider are Vanguard Dividend Appreciation (VIG), Claymore Dividend Rotation (IRO) and Wisdom Tree Small Cap Dividend Fund (DES) each of which takes a slightly different angle in search of quality dividend production.

So in today’s tough environment where growth has been tough to find and interest income options have wilted, dividend paying ETFs offer another option for investors looking for ways to try to maximize current income and total return.

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