Covered, diversified, low-volatility. A 3.31% trailing yield from 50–100 U.S. stocks screened for high dividends, profitability, and low price and earnings volatility, at a low 0.27% expense ratio. Distributions are ordinary dividends — $1.49 a share over the past year — up 9.71% year over year, with a beta near 0.55: dividend income designed to move less than the market.
Key risk: Defensive-sector concentration — utilities, consumer staples, and real estate dominate the portfolio, so a rate shock or a defensive-sector selloff hits harder than the broad market.
Changes if: Trailing distributions fall for two consecutive quarters, or the low-volatility screen stops delivering a below-market beta.
- ✓Yield check: 3.31% trailing at the $44.65 close on Oct. 23, 2026 — $1.49 a share over the past year, including $0.3830 for the August 2026 quarter.
- ✓Expense check: 0.27% expense ratio — the lowest among the dividend funds built here.
- ✓Volatility check: Beta near 0.55 with a low-volatility, profitability screen — the fund is built to be steadier than the market, not just higher-yielding.
What this grade doesn't say: It screens the dividend only — covered, real, compounding. It says nothing about valuation or price: a well-covered payer can still be overpriced, and its price can still fall.