These ETFs aim for stable returns

Article Excerpt

One of the key lessons from financial market history is that stocks perform better than almost any other asset class over long periods. There will inevitably be periods of heightened volatility or even sustained market downturns. But at the same time, a focus on high-quality, dividend-paying companies will provide the best portfolio returns. Here are two ETFs aimed at focusing on stocks that gain along with the market, but that also hold on to their value in market setbacks. In addition, the managers of these funds think that their unit prices will bounce back faster when conditions improve (see page 19 for more information). VANGUARD DIVIDEND APPRECIATION ETF $99.94 (New York symbol VIG; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Conservative; Market cap: $36.4 billion) tracks the Nasdaq U.S. Dividend Achievers Select Index. Stocks are chosen from a universe of U.S. companies that have increased their dividends for at least 10 consecutive years. Other selection criteria are meant to identify sustainable dividend payers. Stocks outperform almost every asset…