Dividend Fund Provides Superb Income

Dividend-bearing investments can be found in a variety of places, and there are many choices. Of course, it seemed inevitable to me that an exchange-traded fund (ETF) provider sooner or later would pool together the best worldwide dividend-paying companies into a single fund.

Sure enough, one fund company did. The result is Global X SuperDividend ETF (SDIV), a product of Global X Funds that offers a global perspective on investing in the stocks of high-yielding companies.

This fund holds 199 securities from around the world, equally weighted and chosen for their high and sustainable payouts. SDIV generally pays a consistent dividend on a monthly basis throughout the year at a roughly equal rate, but it can offer occasional bonuses or fluctuations. For example, 2014’s end-of-year dividend was about 30% larger than a normal monthly payment — a nice Christmas bonus.

SDIV is able to provide a current yield of 5.93% using this technique, assuming no December surprise occurs this year. The fund has just over $1 billion in assets managed. Its recent performance has been somewhat weak in terms of capital depreciation.

Year to date, the fund’s value has been basically flat, losing 0.56%. Going back to September, SDIV has been down from its previously higher level, and it has been largely range-bound since then. This fund’s expense ratio is 0.58%.

Though its holdings are theoretically equally weighted, they are not always precisely balanced in practice. Its top 10 current holdings total 12.50% of its assets. The largest holdings are Evergrande Real Estate Group, 1.58%; First Bank of Nigeria, 1.41%; Surge Energy Inc, 1.32%; Veresen Incorporated, 1.21%; and Intermediate Capital Group, 1.21%.

In terms of sectors, the fund is most strongly allocated to real estate, 35.07%; financial services, 21.05%; and utilities, 10.25%. Its portfolio of countries includes the United States, Australia, Singapore, France, Finland and many others.

If you are looking to use an ETF to supercharge your income returns, Global X SuperDividend ETF (SDIV) might be exactly what you’re seeking.

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