In order for a company to continue paying a dividend, it must maintain its capacity to pay. While it is tempting to purchase funds merely because they have high dividend yields, investors must be conscious of the underlying fundamentals of those companies paying those funds because future payments may be slashed. Current equity price trends are a better indicator of financial health than dividend yields because companies rarely cut dividend payments until they lack the capacity to pay. However, market participants observe deteriorating fundamentals, causing equity prices to decline. In order to find companies with competitive dividend yields and improving fundamentals, this screen includes criteria based on increasing revenues, cash flow and book value to ensure that the firm’s ability to pay dividends is not decreasing.
POWERSHARES S&P 500 BUY WRITE PORTFOLIO (PBP) seeks investment results that generally correspond (before fees and expenses) to the price and yield of the CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite Index. The fund normally invests at least 80% of total assets in common stocks of the 500 companies included in the S&P 500® Index and writes (sells) call options thereon. The underlying index measures total returns of a theoretical portfolio including the S&P 500 Index stocks on which S&P 500 Index call options are written (sold) systemically against the portfolio through a “buy-write” strategy. The fund will write options that are traded on national securities exchanges. It is non-diversified.
SPDR S&P INTERNATIONAL DIVIDEND (DWX) seeks to replicate, net of expenses, the S&P International Dividend Opportunities index. The fund invests at least 80% of assets in securities that comprise the index. It invests in ADRs and GDRs that trade on developed market exchanges. The fund is non-diversified.
ISHARES MSCI EMERGING MARKETS FINANCIALS SECTOR INDEX FUND (EMFN) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI Emerging Markets Financials Index. The fund invests generally at least 90% of its assets in securities of the index and in depositary receipts representing securities of the underlying index.
ISHARES MSCI POLAND INVESTABLE MARKET INDEX FUND (EPOL) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expense, of the MSCI Poland Investable Market Index. The fund generally invests at least 90% of assets in the securities of the underlying index and in depositary receipts representing securities of the underlying index.
GUGGENHEIM MULTI ASSET INCOME (CVY) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before the fund’s fees and expenses, of an equity index called the Zacks Multi-Asset Income Index. The fund invests at least 90% of total assets in securities that comprise the index and depositary receipts representing securities that comprise the index.
The table below shows the detail staistics for ETFs meeting this criteria.
