Dividend Safety Check: VIG and the Dividend Appreciation Approach
VIG's top holdings look rock-solid on paper, but one Dividend King is quietly running its payout on borrowed time, and it sits right at the heart of the fund.
All Work
John Seetoo
Dividend Safety Check: SCHD and the Strength of Its Dividend
SCHD holds $71.6 billion in assets built on a quality screen designed to survive recessions, but two of its top holdings flashed troubling cash flow numbers last quarter. Here is what those figures actually…
Dividend Safety Check: MORT and Mortgage REIT Income
MORT's 12% yield looks irresistible until you examine what the Treasury curve is quietly doing to the mortgage REITs that fund every quarterly check. The answer should change how you size this position.
Dividend Safety Check: SPHD and High-Dividend, Low-Volatility Income
SPHD has quietly grown its monthly payout for three straight years, but the same rate environment fueling that income now threatens the share price holding it all together. Here is what income investors need…
AIRR vs PAVE: Which US Infrastructure ETF Is the Better Buy?
Two ETFs chase the same US infrastructure boom, but their bets land in completely different corners of the market, and that gap has meant the difference between doubling your money and merely keeping pace.
WGMI vs IBIT: Bitcoin Miners or Spot Bitcoin for Crypto Exposure?
WGMI and IBIT both carry the Bitcoin label, but over the past year they delivered wildly different results, and the reason has almost nothing to do with the price of Bitcoin itself.
SNPD ETF Targets Next Dividend Aristocrats With 10-year Growth Screen
The SNPD ETF (NYSEARCA:SNPD) takes a narrower path than the standard Dividend Aristocrats index. Instead of requiring 25 years of consecutive dividend hikes, SNPD uses a 10-year minimum dividend growth screen to identify companies…
Why INDS Self-Storage and Warehouse Blend Offers Steadier Dividends Than Pure Logistics Plays
Pacer Industrial Real Estate ETF (NYSEARCA:INDS) targets income investors seeking exposure to e-commerce warehouses, with a 30-day SEC yield near 3.47% and quarterly distributions stretching back to May 2018. The fund tracks the Solactive…
Equal Weighted Dividends Across 54 Stocks Deliver 24.7% Returns and Growing Payouts
The AAM S&P 500 High Dividend Value ETF (NYSEARCA:SPDV) screens the S&P 500 for companies that pair above-average yields with above-average free cash flow, then equal-weights five names from each of ten sectors. SPDV…
FCG vs UNG: Natural Gas Equities or Futures?
Two ETFs chase the same natural gas theme through completely opposite mechanics, and after a decade of trading, one has quietly compounded gains while the other has lost nearly everything investors put in.
AMLP vs MLPX: Which Midstream Energy ETF Is the Better Buy?
AMLP and MLPX both hold the pipelines and terminals powering North American energy, yet a single structural difference between them has quietly produced a decade-long performance gap that income-focused investors rarely see until it…
XOP vs OIH: E&P or Oil Services for Energy Exposure?
XOP and OIH both tap the energy sector, but they bet on completely different forces inside it, and backing the wrong one at the wrong moment in the cycle has historically cost investors decades…
FIDI’s 4.1% Yield Holds Firm as Dollar Weakness Boosts International Dividends
The Fidelity International High Dividend ETF (NYSEARCA:FIDI) is Fidelity’s answer for U.S. investors seeking yield from outside the S&P 500 without paying a premium. FIDI tracks a Fidelity-built index screening developed-market large- and mid-caps…
Why BDC Income Investors Are Facing Smaller Quarterly Checks in 2026
The Putnam BDC Income ETF (NYSEARCA:PBDC) just gave its holders the most direct test of dividend safety there is: an actual cut. The April 2026 distribution landed at $0.71 per share, a 14% decrease…
Monthly Gold Income of $4.43 Appeals to Retirees; Volatility Decline Threatens The Flow
The UBS AG ETRACS Gold Shares Covered Call ETN (NASDAQ:GLDI) has quietly become one of the higher-yielding ways to own gold exposure, throwing off monthly distributions that ran from $3.47 in January 2026 to…
Vanguard’s International Dividend ETF Pays Over 100 Points More Than VYM, And Performs Better Overall
While the resurgence of American industry and business is certainly laudable, the rest of the international community is not being left behind completely. In fact, an ETF argument can be made that the rising…
COPX vs CPER: Miners or Futures for Copper Exposure?
Both COPX and CPER promise copper exposure, but what sits inside each fund creates a completely different risk profile, tax burden, and return potential when the metal moves.
SLV vs SIVR: Which Physical Silver ETF Is the Smarter Hold?
Two ETFs hold the same silver bars in the same London vaults, yet a decade of returns tells a story that most investors buying the dominant ticker have never bothered to check.
Platinum Is Down 6% While Gold Hit Record Highs and One Quiet ETF Sits at the Bottom of a Setup Most Investors Are Missing
Price ratios often operate akin to rubber bands: if the ratio starts to increase, the rubber band may get stretched, but will snap back to achieve its baseline of minimal tension. The principle…
SIL vs SILJ: Which Silver Miners ETF Wins?
Two silver miners ETFs share a ticker prefix but operate on completely different risk philosophies, and picking the wrong one for your silver thesis could cost you years of compounded returns.