Dividend Growth ETFs to Survive Volatile Conditions

This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com.

Income-minded investors should consider dividend-growth ETF strategies that specifically target companies with a long track record of steadily raising payouts as a way to mitigate market risks.

"Companies that consistently grow their dividends tend to be high quality with strong fundamentals, stable earnings and long histories of profit and growth. These features have generally enabled dividend growers to withstand market turmoil and deliver strong returns with lower volatility," according to ProShares.

For example, the ProShares S&P 500 Aristocrats ETF (CBOE: NOBL), which tracks the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index, targets the cream of the crop, only selecting components that have increased their dividends for at least 25 consecutive years. Consequently, investors are left with a portfolio of high-quality, sustainable dividend payers as opposed to more high-yield focused funds that may contain companies on more precarious financial positions. The ETF shows a distribution yield of 2.34%.

Related: 4 Utilities ETFs Shine Amid Market Uncertainty

For example, 3M Co., Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, Dover Corp, Emerson Electric, Genuine Parts, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble have all offered 55 years of dividend growth. NOBL components with only 25 years of consecutive dividend growth include A.O. Smith Corp., Praxair Inc. and Roper Technologies. The ETF has an average 41.5 consecutive years of dividend growth.

ProShares also offers the ProShares Russell 2000 Dividend Growers ETF (BATS: SMDV) and the ProShares S&P MidCap 400 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (BATS: REGL) for those seeking quality dividend growers in the small- and mid-cap categories, respectively. REGL tracks a Dividend Aristocrats Index. The mid-cap Dividend Aristocrats Index, though, only requires 15 consecutive years of increased dividends for inclusion. SMDV, a dividend spin on the Russell 2000, the benchmark U.S. small-cap index, tracks the Russell 2000 Dividend Growth Index, which includes small-cap firms with dividend increase streaks of at least a decade.

Related: Quick Ebbs, Flows in ETFs Reveal Trading Reliance

Investors can also diversify into international markets while tracking similar dividend growth strategies. For instance, the ProShares MSCI EAFE Dividend Growers ETF (BATS: EFAD) tracks developed market Europe, Australasia and Far East companies that exhibit a minimum dividend increase streak of 10 years.

The ProShares MSCI Europe Dividend Growers ETF (BATS: EUDV) tracks the performance of the MSCI Europe Dividend Masters Index, which consists of at least 25 European companies that have consistently increased their dividends for at least 10 consecutive years. The ProShares MSCI Emerging Markets Dividend Growers ETF (BATS: EMDV) follows the MSCI Emerging Markets Dividend Masters Index, which targets MSCI Emerging Market components that have increased dividend payments each year for at least seven consecutive years.

For more information on dividend-paying stocks, visit our dividend ETFs category.