WisdomTree Large Cap Dividend ETF Goes For Cash

A Seeking Alpha Contribution

Summary

• DLN is a large cap dividend ETF tracking the 300 largest stocks in the WisdomTree Dividend Index.
• DLN weights its holdings based on the amount of cash dividends paid.
• DLN is less restrictive in the selection process; companies that pay dividends can be included much sooner than some other popular dividend ETFs.

WisdomTree LargeCap Dividend ETF (NYSEARCA:DLN) is a different breed of dividend fund. Instead of aiming for the highest yield, the fund seeks to outperform the market. Dividends are the main criteria used to select holdings for the portfolio, but a high yield is not the goal of the portfolio even though the resulting yield is higher than the broader market’s yield….To Continue Reading, Please Click Here.

*Please note, this article was written and published as a contribution for Seeking Alpha. To finish reading the article you will be redirected to their site.

After the strongest weekly rebound in nearly two years, investors should temper their expectations over the coming days. As the S&P 500 is less than 3 percent off its all-time high, it will first require a test of support levels. Moreover, with earnings, economic data and a Fed meeting this week, there’s a greater chance for even more volatility.

Earnings season is still in full swing. This week sees earnings reports coming from Facebook (FB), Twitter (TWTR) and Baidu (BIDU) in the technology area. Pfizer (PFE), Merck (MRK), Gilead (GILD) and Amgen (AMGN) will put pharma and biotech on investors’ radar. Energy giants Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX), as well as credit card giants Mastercard (MA) and Visa (V) report. The latter two are widely held stocks and particularly important for iShares US Financial Services (IYG).

On Thursday, the United States will report third quarter GDP growth, which is expected to be in the low 3 percent range. This number has moved slightly lower in recent weeks due to data from August and September. That said, 3 percent growth will be considered good news by the markets even though it is expected.

All of the earnings reports, plus the GDP announcement, may be overshadowed by the Federal Reserve. At their meeting this week, they are widely expected to exit the third iteration of quantitative easing. The Fed tricked investors in 2013 though, pushing the taper back from the September meeting to the December meeting. Assuming the Fed exits as expected, attention will fall on the policy statement as investors try to define the future course of interest rate policy.

Outside of the United States, an important market to watch is Brazil, now that President Rousseff has been re-elected. Brazilian stocks sank in Asian trading, but this could be speculators “selling the news.” If iShares MSCI Brazil (EWZ) does not break its lows from earlier in the year, it will be a good sign that selling is finished. If Brazilian stocks cannot find support, it could be that emerging markets are not out of the woods yet.

iShares Core High Dividend ETF Relies On Defensive Sectors

A Seeking Alpha Contribution

Dividend ETFs are more popular than ever thanks to the central banks of the world giving us zero interest rate policies (ZIRP), but the word “dividend” in an ETF means different things in different funds. Some funds target very high yields, such as Global X SuperDividend (NYSEARCA:SDIV), but others such as Vanguard Dividend Appreciation (NYSEARCA:VIG) aim for growth, while WisdomTree has an entire lineup of ETFs that use dividends as a selection factor in their indexes. Investors benefit from having a wide range of choices among dividend funds, with sector and international exposure sliced and diced in many different ways. Picking the right fund for a portfolio can be a chore though, since investors can dig through dozens of options… To Continue Reading, Please Click Here.

*Please note, this article was written and published as a contribution for Seeking Alpha. To finish reading the article you will be redirected to their site.

Stocks enjoyed their best week in more than year as they snapped back from the recent sell-off. The top performer was the Nasdaq, which gained 5.24 percent. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 4.12 and 3.14 percent, respectively. The Russell 2000 also was up strongly, increasing 3.37 percent.

A diversity of sectors broke out to new highs. SPDR Utilities (XLU) pushed to a new intraday 52-week high on Friday. The sector rallied during the sell-off, but didn’t retreat when the rebound started. The sector is benefiting from lower bond yields, and some investors still nervous following the sell-off may be hanging on to their utility shares.

Also breaking out to new highs were biotechnology ETFs. First Trust Biotechnology (FBT) and iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology (IBB) climbed to new all-time highs, while SPDR Biotech (XBI) and Fidelity Select Biotechnology (FBIOX) are both very close to new records.

Also pushing to a new all-time high is Apple (AAPL). Sales of the company’s iPhones helped the firm beat analyst earnings expectations for the quarter.

The strong performance by these varied sectors is a giant thorn in the side of the bears. Breakouts are associated with bull markets and when the leading stocks and sectors are pushing higher, it signals more upside opportunities are present. There still could be some selling ahead, but the moves will be only temporary. The activity in the market over the past several weeks appears to be a consolidation before the next move higher for the major indexes.

Economic data was generally positive this week. The flash manufacturing PMI for October slowed, but is still signaling an expansion in the sector. New home sales climbed to their highest level in six years.

This week’s rally in stocks also came amid some disappointing earnings, and the market did react negatively. IBM, Coca-Cola (KO), Amazon (AMZN), and McDonald’s (MCD) all missed estimates. This was a flip from earlier in the earnings season, when the financial sector reported very strong results, but the overall market was caught in a wave of selling. This shows how psychology often dominates the market in the short-run. Another example was the newest case of Ebola in New York, which sent stocks lower overnight, before recovering in the morning.