In my latest screen, I searched for monthly dividend ETFs with above-average dividend yield and reliable dividend income flow. Most of the ETFs have raised their annual dividend payouts for the past several years, asserts fund expert Ned Piplovic, editor of Dividend Investor.
The following list contains six monthly dividend ETFs with dividend yields exceeding 4%, annual dividend increases over the past few years and monthly dividend payout higher above the previous period’s distribution.
Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCLT)
The ETF invests primarily in high-quality, investment-grade corporate bonds and comprises 1,861 individual bond holdings as of October 2, 2018. The majority of the bond issuers are in the Industrial (70.5%), Financial (16.8%) and Utilities (12.4%) sectors.
The fund currently yields 4.41% and has a 0.07% gross expense ratio, which is 91% lower than the average expense ratio of funds with similar holdings.
The fund’s share price declined slightly for a small total loss over the past 12 months, with total returns of 15% and 31% over the past three and five years, respectively.
iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (EMB)
EMB ETF had nearly $14.5 billion in net assets and contained 412 individual holdings as of October 2, 2018. The EMB ETF tracks the investment results of the J.P. Morgan EMBI Global Core Index composed of U.S. dollar-denominated, emerging market bonds.
Currently, the funds highest exposure of 6.1% is to fixed income securities in Mexico, with Indonesia (5%), China (4%) and the Russian Federation (4%) rounding out the top four. The remaining share of assets comprises investments in 52 additional countries with shares ranging from 3.9% to 0.2% of total assets.
The ETF charges a 0.40% fee and currently pays a $0.4495 monthly dividend, which is 3.2% higher than last month and is equivalent to a 4.58% yield.
iShares Morningstar Multi-Asset Income ETF (IYLD)
