Dividend strategies deploy increasingly sophisticated screening methods

With exchange-traded funds linked to dividends seeing big inflows, providers are now offering more targeted exposure to the sector

More targeted dividend exposure

The popularity of dividend strategies is pushing index and exchange-traded fund (ETF) providers to offer better ways of targeting dividend-paying companies when accessing the sector.

Dividend-based strategies in Europe have attracted roughly €800 million in assets under management (AUM) in the year to date, accounting for around 8% of all inflows, according to Nizam Hamid, London-based head of ETF strategy at Lyxor. "The search for yield has been in high-yield corporate bonds and these dividend