Manulife Smart Dividend ETF (CDIV.TO) invests in dividend-paying companies in Canada. Investing in dividend-paying companies continues to be an important contributor to total returns and a way to generate income. As investors continue to look for sustainable sources of income in a low interest rate environment, incorporating dividend-payers could be an appropriate portfolio addition.
An Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) is a collection of dozens, hundreds or thousands of stocks or bonds in a single fund that trades on major stock exchanges. ETFs combine the diversification of mutual funds with lower investment minimum and real-time pricing. The beauty of ETFs is that they are extremely similar to mutual funds; the difference is you purchase these investments on your own with lower fees!
CDIV ETF Review
CDIV’s efficient quantitative approach focuses on companies that pay a consistent and growing dividend over time – not just the highest dividend payers in the market. Their approach screens out companies across market capitalizations, sectors and industries. The portfolio managers also optimize the holding’s weights in the portfolio through their research. As a result, CDIV portfolio allocations to different companies will often look very different than the broad Canadian stock indices. This combination of portfolio management techniques also helps to keep costs lower.
What is the Best Canadian Dividend ETF in Canada?
- CDIV.TO: Manulife Smart Dividend ETF
- DXC.TO: Dynamic Active Canadian Dividend ETF
- PXC.TO: Invesco FTSE RAFI Canadian Index ETF
- VDY.TO: Vanguard FTSE Canadian High Dividend Yield Index ETF
- XCG.TO: iShares Canadian Growth Index ETF
- ZLB.TO: BMO Low Volatility Canadian Equity ETF
Here is a table comparing similar Canadian Equity ETFs as of May 31, 2023.
| Manager |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| ETF | XCG | ZLB | DXC | PXC | CDIV | VDY |
| Inception | 2006-11-06 | 2011-10-21 | 2017-01-20 | 2012-01-10 | 2020-11-25 | 2012-11-02 |
| AUM | $77,589,708 | $3,044,690,000 | $124,800,000 | $189,385,315 | $358,350,000 | $20,500,000,000 |
| Holdings | 40 | 47 | 40 | 103 | 66 | 47 |
| MER | 0.55% | 0.39% | 0.84% | 0.48% | 0.25% | 0.22% |
| Risk | Medium | Low to Medium | Low to Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| Yield | 1.48% | 2.64% | 2.5% | 3.76% | 4.34% | 4.86% |
| Distributions | Quarterly | Quarterly | Monthly | Quarterly | Annual | Monthly |
| P/E | 20.31 | 20.30 | N/A | 13.83 | 10.67 | 11.9 |
| P/B | 2.73 | 2.55 | N/A | 1.98 | 1.56 | 1.7 |
| Beta | 0.91 | 0.71 | 0.72 | 1.02 | N/A | 0.88 |
| Manager | | | | | | |
| ETF | XCG | ZLB | DXC | PXC | CDIV | VDY |
| YTD | 6.67% | 5.52% | 1.8% | -0.05% | 4.66% | -0.81% |
| 1M | -3.41% | -4.01% | -4.5% | -5.90% | -3.78% | -6.39% |
| 3M | 2.32% | 1.07% | -2.7% | -4.92% | -3.04% | N/A |
| 6M | -0.30% | 3.19% | -2.1% | -4.16% | 1.30% | N/A |
| 1Y | 5.03% | 4.91% | -1.0% | -6.05% | -1.46% | -9.35% |
| 3Y | 6.95% | 13.30% | 13.8% | 18.07% | N/A | 16.44% |
| 5Y | 8.55% | 9.39% | 9.9% | 7.14% | N/A | 8.61% |
| 10Y | 8.16% | 10.79% | N/A | 7.61% | N/A | 8.25% |
