Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have been around for 32 years in the U.S. And I’ve been scouting and investing in them the entire time. As a result, I’ve developed some biases about the ETF landscape, as well as some pet peeves about investor behavior surrounding them. And dividend ETFs bring a lot of those out.
Case in point, the current status of investing for high dividend yield. To be clear, “high yield” for me is different from investing in dividend stocks for growth, using the dividend as one fundamental signal that the business is stable. It is easier to manipulate earnings within the rules than it is a dividend payment. The former is accounting, timing of revenue recognition, etc. The latter is a payment in cold, hard cash, every quarter, to shareholders.
