iShares U.S. High Dividend Equity Index ETF

The fund offers complex high-dividend yield exposure in an ETF wrapper. Eligible securities must pass two Morningstar proprietary screens, each designed to ensure sustainability. The first is the presence of an economic moat something that sets the firm apart from its peers. This helps the fund weather downturns. (The MOAT-US ETF uses this approach without the high-dividend yield focus.) The second is a forward-looking comparison of assets to liabilities. REITs are excluded. XHU targets 75 stocks by dividend yield. Stocks are weighted by the total dollar amount of dividends paid rather than yield. Its perhaps this last step that gives the fund it bias towards larger firms, while the sum total of all the steps produces unique sector biases. In all, XHU delivers a high-yield play with robust sustainability screens. The index undergoes quarterly rebalance and reconstitution. Sibling fund XHD offers the same exposure but hedged to CAD.