Invest long enough, and market participants learn that interest rates don't affect all sectors uniformly. That's a lesson worth remembering today, as the Federal Reserve recently raised rates and appears likely to do so again before the end of 2026.
In an environment where Treasury yields are ominously high, dividend investors may do well to avoid sectors labeled "rate-sensitive." Consider the following. A major exchange-traded fund (ETF) comprised of the largest utilities companies by market cap slumped 13.8% for the 90 days ending Sept. 25. A major real estate ETF slid 7.4% over that period. The reason for those declines is that real estate and utilities are capital-intensive and debt-heavy, making them vulnerable to rising rates.
With bond yields high, this dividend ETF is a better bet than its high-yield rivals. Image source: Getty Images.
For equity income investors, the problem is that many high-dividend ETFs lean heavily toward defensive sectors, some of which are susceptible to adverse interest rate environments. Fortunately, there's a solution: The WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Fund (DGRW +0.18%).
Not a yield play, and that's fine
Let's demystify something right off the bat. The WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Fund is not a high-yield fund. The $17 billion ETF's dividend yield of 1.2% is barely higher than the roughly 1.1% investors earn with an S&P 500 index fund.
Obviously, this fund isn't going to win any yield ribbons at the Dividend ETF county fair. Still, it fills an important void in long-term investors' portfolios: Access to credible sources of future dividend growth. One way that objective is achieved is through a 45.8% weight to tech and communication services stocks, sectors that are often lightly represented in high-dividend funds.
Put it like this. Nvidia is a massive capital return story, including a huge dividend increase announced earlier this year. Alphabet and Meta Platforms are also new on the payout scene, but they are dividend payers. While it's difficult to find those three stocks in standard dividend ETFs, they're three of the WisdomTree fund's top 10 holdings, combining for close to 17% of the fund's roster.
NASDAQ: DGRW
Key Data Points
The reason tech is so prominent in this ETF is that its index emphasizes metrics such as earnings and revenue growth, as well as return on assets and return equity. That methodology leads to a lineup of prolific cash-flow generators that may be low-yield stocks, but the capacity is there for long-term payout growth.
A magnificent dividend idea
Interestingly, five of the Magnificent Seven stocks are now dividend payers, with Amazon and Tesla the outliers. Each member of that quintet is a top-10 holding in this WisdomTree ETF, indicating that this fund is a payout vehicle with decent exposure to the Magnificent Seven.
At a time when income investors are concerned about rising rates, this fund benefits from what it excludes. It holds no real estate stocks and has a utilities weight of less than 0.2%.
This ETF has a track record of delivering the goods for investors. For the decade ending Aug. 31, 2026, only one dividend ETF posted higher total returns than this WisdomTree fund. That renders the 0.28% expense ratio ($28 on a $10,000 stake), which is in the middle among dividend ETFs, a moot point. This fund also pays a monthly dividend, a selling point for investors seeking a more frequent income stream.
