Weakness in ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF's Process and People Pillar ratings limits this strategy to a Morningstar Medalist Rating of Negative. The portfolio maintains a sizable cost advantage over competitors, priced within the least expensive fee quintile among peers.  

 The strategy earns a Below Average Process Pillar rating. Independent of the rating, analysis of the strategy's portfolio shows it has maintained a significant overweight position in liquidity exposure and an underweight in quality exposure compared with category peers. High liquidity exposure is attributed to stocks with a high trading volume, lending managers more flexibility. And a low quality exposure is rooted in stocks with higher financial leverage and lower profitability. The team managing this passive strategy earns a Below Average People Pillar rating. Even though the strategy's parent organization has some investor-friendly attributes like substantial personal investments from managers, a cohort of unseasoned portfolio managers holds it back. As a result, the firm obtains a Low Parent Pillar.

Analyst Rating

Raytheon Technologies

Exxon Mobil

Conagra Brands

Kraft Heinz

Genuine Parts

Cummins

Williams

Chevron

International Flavors & Fragrances

Morningstar's evaluation of this security's process aims to determine the likelihood that it will outperform its Morningstar Category benchmark on a risk-adjusted basis over the long term. ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF earns a Below Average Process Pillar rating. 

The process benefits from tracking an index. Historical data, such as Morningstar's Active/Passive Barometer, finds that passively managed funds have generally outperformed their active counterparts, especially over longer time horizons. However, the rating is limited by the fund's unimpressive long-term risk-adjusted performance. This can be seen in its five-year alpha calculated relative to the category index, which suggests that the process has struggled over that period. The parent firm's five-year retention rate of 62% also detracts from the process.

 This strategy leans toward smaller, more undervalued companies compared with its average peer in the Large Value Morningstar Category. Examining additional factor exposure, this fund has constantly tilted toward stocks with higher trading volumes than its Morningstar Category Peers over the past few years. Such stocks may have less potential upside than illiquid holdings, but they are easier to trade during market downturns. In recent months, the strategy was more exposed to the Liquidity factor compared with its Morningstar Category peers as well. This strategy has also tilted toward low-quality stocks, companies with higher financial leverage and lower profitability over peers in recent years. Lacking this ballast, the fund's prospects could rest on its ability to surpass peers during economic booms. Similarly, in recent months, the strategy also had less exposure to the Quality factor than peers. In addition, this strategy's holdings have included more companies with high dividend or buyback yields than peers over these years. Higher-yield stocks can provide steady income, but also have their risks. Dividend payers may cut payouts, for instance, if their earnings fall. In this month, the strategy also had more exposure to the Yield factor over its peers. More information on a fund and its respective category's factor exposure can be found in the Factor Profile module within the Portfolio section. 

 The portfolio is overweight in consumer cyclical and utilities relative to the category average by 7.7 and 4.7 percentage points, respectively. The sectors with low exposure compared to category peers are financial services and real estate, underweight the average by 9.7 and 3.4 percentage points of assets, respectively. The strategy owns 52 securities and is less top-heavy than peers. Specifically, 22.2% of the portfolio's assets are concentrated within the top 10 fund holdings, as opposed to the category average's 27.4%. And finally, in terms of portfolio turnover, looking at year-over-year movements, 51% of the fund's holdings have turned over, whether through increasing, decreasing, or changing a position.

Below Average

Process

ALPS’s team receives a Below Average People Pillar rating. The team benefits from the portfolio managers' outperformance of peers at the funds they run, as measured by their combined three-year manager excess returns. However, the rating is held back by the parent firm's five-year success ratio of 42%. The measure indicates the percentage of a firm's funds that survived and outperformed their respective category's median return for the period. The parent's subpar success ratio suggests that the firm could do better across its fund lineup. The parent firm's five-year retention rate of 62% also holds the rating back.

People

ALPS has a ways to go to become an industry-standard steward, resulting in a Low Parent Pillar rating. Despite the negative rating, an area of strength of the firm is manager investment.  Over 34% of the firm's assets are covered by invested managers, in an effort to align portfolio manager and shareholder interests. With an average asset-weighted tenure of eight years among the longest-tenured managers at ALPS, the firm is on par with peers. Seasoned teams tend to have more experience to draw upon should they need to weather turbulent market conditions. The firm charges fees on its open-end and exchange-traded funds that are on par with category peers. On average, fund fees on its products fall in the middle quintile, giving it neither an advantage nor disadvantage compared with the competition.

Parent

ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF

SDOG tracks an equal-weighted index of the five highest-yielding S&P 500 securities in each sector.

ALPS International Sector Dividend Dogs ETF

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

Investors may want to consider giving dividend ETFs a second look. Dividend-focused investing can offer a wide range of benefits.

The Merits of Broad Sector Dividend Exposure in SDOG

TIME's Dividend Kings List of 2024 includes an elite group of stocks that have been increasing their dividends over at least a 50-year time span. A few of those are part of the top 10 holdings found in the ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF (SDOG).

Holdings in This ETF Appear in Dividend Kings List

High-yielding stocks have history on their side. As the S&P 500 continues to climb to new highs, investors needn't worry about a sudden drop in performance.

Past S&P 500 Performance Bodes Well for This Dividend ETF

Targeting stocks with high dividend yields, SDOG ends up accumulating mostly slowly-growing old-economy companies, like those from the tobacco and oil & gas industries. While possibly beneficial amid downturns, it is anything but opportune when enthusiasm returns, as value-heavy portfolios have smaller potential to participate in the bull run. ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF's smart beta strategy also boosts its value profile while detracting from growth.

SDOG: Old-Economy Value Play, Tepid Growth, Mostly Soft Performance

GraniteShares HIPS US High Income ETF

ALPS Medical Breakthroughs ETF

VictoryShares Free Cash Flow ETF

Many of us were prepping for year-end (or on vacation in Belize, in my case) in December. However, index providers were hard at work to ensure certain ETFs fully reflected the investment criteria advisors have come to expect.

What's Now Inside Some Fundamentally Focused ETFs

ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF offers high dividend yield and consistent dividend growth with its unique "Dogs of the Dow Theory" strategy. The SDOG ETF's portfolio is equally weighted, promoting diversification and reducing sector-specific risks. SDOG has underperformed similar ETFs in the past, but may be worth considering for investors seeking high dividends and mean reversion opportunities.

SDOG: The Mean Reversion Play

It's fair to say that dividend investing hasn't done as well as many would have liked in 2023. The S&P 500 High Dividend index has seen a negative return YTD, for example.

A 2024 Dividend Rebound? Consider SDOG

Amgen

Cisco Systems

Invesco Dow Jones Industrial Average Dividend ETF

Dow Inc

Goldman Sachs

Coca-Cola

SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF

Verizon

Walgreens

The Dogs of the Dow in 2023 are up an average of just 2.8%, lagging the market by the widest amount since 2006, per Bespoke Investment Group, as quoted on Investors Business Daily. But more importantly, the Dogs of the Dow trailed the market in four of the past five years, Bespoke found.

Can Dogs of the Dow ETFs Snap Losing Trend in 2024?

Alerian MLP ETF

Amplify Lithium & Battery Technology ETF

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MUSQ Global Music Industry ETF

ROBO Global Robotics and Automation ETF

Robo Global Artificial Intelligence ETF

It's the time of year when you look back at all that's been accomplished. VettaFi's covered strong net inflows into fixed income ETFs, covered call funds, and many, many, many new product launches.

8 ETF Stories Recapping VettaFi's Growing Community

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iShares MSCI EAFE ETF

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iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF

PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active ETF

Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF

SPDR Portfolio Intermediate Term Treasury ETF

Vanguard Value ETF

VettaFi's Head of Research Todd Rosenbluth joins Chuck Jaffe to discuss what investors should consider when evaluating ETFs and what's in favor in the current environment on this special episode of ETF of the Week. This was originally featured on a segment “Money Life” with Chuck Jaffe.

READ: ETF of the Week: Know What's Under The Hood

With 2023 drawing to a close, investors and advisors alike are revisiting their portfolios. While markets entering 2023 saw plenty of serious risks, from initial, fast rate hikes to fear of a looming “imminent” recession, ahead of 2024 fewer risks stand out.

Revisiting Equal Sector ETF SDOG Ahead of 2024

Global X SuperDividend US ETF

Roundhill S&P Dividend Monarchs ETF

SPDR S&P Dividend ETF

Given the recent market volatility, dividends are important to equity investors even though they are increasingly plentiful. Indeed, approximately 400 constituents within the S&P 500 currently paid a dividend at the end of September 2023, while over 600 of the S&P Mid-Cap 400 and S&P Small-Cap 600 index companies do so.

Are Dividends Payers Royalty or the Top Dog?

ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF applies the "Dogs of the Dow Theory" in the S&P 500,  sector-by-sector. SDOG has underperformed the benchmark SPY and Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF since inception and in the last 12 months. Valuation looks great, but aggregate quality and growth metrics are underwhelming.

SDOG: 50 Dogs In Portfolio, Many Are Not The Best Of Breed

When investors think of an equal-weight ETF, they may initially think of their defensive qualities. In this top-heavy U.S. market environment, adding diversification away from concentration risk does appeal, of course.

The Upside in Equal-Weight ETF SDOG

SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF

Innovator S&P 500 Buffer ETF - October

Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF

Manager Directed Portfolios - iM DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF

iShares Robotics & Artificial Intelligence Multisector ETF

JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF

Flexshares US Quality Low Volatility Index Fund

iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF

iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF

Invesco S&P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility ETF

Invesco S&P 500 Low Volatility ETF

Neos S&P 500 High Income Etf

iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF

iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol USA ETF

Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund

Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund

SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF

Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF

Hello, VettaFi Voices! Whenever I read about the economy in 2023, the one word that comes up repeatedly in various forms is “uncertain.

VettaFi Voices On: Risk Management in an Uncertain Economy

ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF

Progressive financial advisors and investors have realized that a longtime popular stock market saying is not very accurate anymore, at least when it comes to investing for yield. That phrase is: “It's not a stock market, it's a market of stocks.

Sector Allocation Matters for Portfolio Dividend Yield

VictoryShares US Large Cap High Div Volatility Wtd ETF

Adasina Social Justice All Cap Global ETF

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Invesco High Yield Equity Dividend Achievers ETF

With the acquisition of EQM Indexes, VettaFi's family of indexes now powers nearly $19 billion in ETFs and other investment vehicles. In May 2022, VettaFi was created by unifying complementary businesses who shared a common vision for client success, the value of relationships, and the importance of data.

VettaFi's Growing Thematic Index Family Supports Key Slice of Portfolios

Innovator S&P 500 Buffer ETF - September

Invesco S&P Emerging Markets Low Volatility ETF

iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Emerging Markets ETF

The Goldman Sachs Future Planet Equity ETF

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Tema American Reshoring ETF

AllianzIM US Large Cap Buffer20 Sep ETF

Engine No 1 Transform Supply Chain ETF

Greetings, VettaFi Voices! In recent months, we've talked about a lot of different issues, from the micro to the macro, but let's go REALLY big picture this week.

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Many investors and advisors have likely already thought long and hard about their big tech allocations. Earlier this year, they may have asked themselves whether they had too small of an allocation.

Overweight Big Tech? Consider SDOG

Investors have faced some contrasting narratives this year. Entering 2023, the narrative suggested doom and gloom, rising rates, and a looming recession.

Three Dividend Stocks to Watch in SDOG

O'Shares US Small-Cap Quality Dividend ETF

Level Four Large Cap Growth Active ETF

SS&C ALPS Advisors launched a new ETF on Wednesday, an active large-cap ETF to add to its roster. Collaborating with Level Four Capital Management, the firm has added the Level Four Large Cap Growth Active ETF (LGRO) to its ETF suite.

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JPMorgan BetaBuilders Japan ETF

Xtrackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF

WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund

iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol EAFE ETF

iShares MSCI Japan ETF

Franklin FTSE Japan ETF

WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Fund

iShares Currency Hedged MSCI EAFE ETF

IQ FTSE International Equity Currency Neutral ETF

Invesco S&P International Developed Momentum ETF

iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF

iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF

Hartford Multifactor Developed Markets (ex-US) ETF

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SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF

Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF

Vanguard Total International Stock ETF

There's been more talk lately about aiming for diversification through international investing, which wasn't a major topic of discussion for a while.

VettaFi Voices On: International Investing's Revival

The ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF offers a 4% dividend yield with consistent and steady dividend growth, providing investors with a growing income. SDOG selects the five highest-yielding stocks from each of the 10 sub-sectors within the S&P 500 index, with most picks being large caps. Despite underperforming the S&P 500 index and Schwab's SCHD, it could be a good addition to investors' portfolios if they are looking for value plays in case value outperforms.

SDOG: High Yield Coupled With Dividend Growth

Siren DIVCON Dividend Defender ETF

With earnings week well underway this Tuesday, investors have much to look forward to in stock news. All sorts of firms are reporting their Q2 earnings, including the intriguing high-end tools manufacturer Snap-On Inc (SNA).

Ride Snap-On Earnings in Equal Sector ETF SDOG

ALPS Barron's 400 ETF

With more than half of 2023 in the books, advisors may want to take a broader look at their portfolios.

The Role Dividend ETF SDOG Can Play in a Portfolio

News for ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF ETF (SDOG)