Flows For This ETF Issuer Show Investors Love Dividends

It may be data from just one issuer, but September inflows to Invesco's (NYSE:IVZ) PowerShares ETF arm highlight an already known trend: Investors are pouring cash into income-oriented funds at a rapid pace.

Of the 10 PowerShares ETFs that saw the largest inflows in September, four are clearly income products. A case can be made that a fifth, the wildly popular PowerShares S&P 500 Low Volatility Portfolio (NYSE:SPLV), is a dividend ETF as well. SPLV, the largest low volatility ETF on the market, allocates a combined 75 percent of its weight to consumer staples, utilities and health care names. Those are all sectors prized by income investors.

SPLV also has a 30-day SEC yield of just over three percent. By comparison, the 30-day SEC yield on the SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) is just 1.98 percent. SPLV ranked fourth among PowerShares ETFs in terms of September inflows.

The PowerShares DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund (NYSE:DBC) lead the way in terms of September inflows to PowerShares ETFs with $322 million. The PowerShares Senior Loan Portfolio (NYSE:BKLN), one of the most prodigious gatherers of assets this year, raked in $202 million to end September with $927 in AUM, according to PowerShares. Money has kept flowing to BKLN, which now has almost $1.2 billion in assets. BKLN, which pays a monthly dividend, has a 30-day SEC yield of 4.4 percent.

The PowerShares Preferred Portfolio (NYSE:PGX) was fifth-best among the firm's ETFs in terms of gaining assets in September. PGX haulded in $61 million in cash to end September with $1.99 billion in assets. As further proof the yield chase is still on and going strong, PGX is now close to $2.1 billion in AUM. PGX has a 30-day SEC yield of 6.43 percent and also pays a monthly dividend.

Not surprisingly, the PowerShares Emerging Markets Sovereign Debt Portfolio (NYSE:PCY) appears on the list as well. PCY, the second-largest ETF offering exposure to dollar-denominated emerging markets sovereign debt, has been prime beneficiary of robust inflows to EM bond funds.

PCY hauled in $55 million in September to finish the month with $2.27 billion. As of October 31, PCY had over $2.8 billion in assets. Another monthly dividend payer, PCY has a 30-day SEC yield of four percent.

The 30-day SEC yield on the PowerShares Insured National Municipal Bond Portfolio (NYSE:PZA) is just 2.98 percent, investors still poured $50 million into the ETF in September. PZA ended the month with $855 million in assets. October has been even better as PZA now has $931.7 million in assets.

The other ETFs to make the list of top-10 PowerShares asset gainers in September included two commodities funds, the PowerShares India Portfolio (NYSE:PIN) and the PowerShares DWA Technical Leaders Portfolio (NYSE:PDP).

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