Time to Shun Gold & Buy These High-Dividend Equity ETFs?
Gold prices have skyrocketed this year, thanks to the trade tensions, U.S. recessionary fears and concerns over global economic slowdown. Gold is viewed as a great hedge against uncertainty, considered a safe haven, making a monumental surge possible this year. Gold bullion exchange-traded fund (ETF) SPDR Gold Trust GLD has advanced 25.4% so far this year (as of April 25, 2025).But the scenario has been changing lately, due to the cues of trade de-escalation. Beijing exempted some U.S. imports from its 125% tariffs, while denied Trump's negotiation claims, on the heels of recent de-escalatory statements from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.There are hopes that the world's two largest economies may backtrack on their trade war, which have roiled markets in recent times. Note that SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY lost 1.8% past month (as of April 25, 2025) and GLD surged 8.3% during this time frame.Latest Revival of Wall Street = Pain in Gold?As hints of easing trade tensions emerged, Wall Street roared back with full force last week, with tech stocks leading the charge. The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 6.7% last week (as of April 25, 2025) (read: Tech Sizzled Last Week: Top-Performing ETFs in the Sector).Meanwhile, the demand for safe-haven asset gold dimmed a bit. The GLD ETF lost 3.1% last week (as of April 25, 2025). RBC analysts recently argued that a further rise in gold prices would require soft economic sentiments and rumors about recession to translate into weakness in hard data (read: Gold ETFs Surge on Safe-Haven Demand: Is a Pullback Coming?).What's Next? No More Worries?While positive sentiments are emerging, clouds of worry are still around.Roughly one-third of the way through the first-quarter earnings season, corporate results have largely exceeded expectations.According to early reports, the S&P 500 companies have delivered earnings 7% above forecasts and revenues 1% ahead of consensus. However, despite a strong start, there has been a dramatic reversal in expectations for the rest of 2025. Many companies are issuing downbeat second-quarter forecasts or withdrawing full-year projections altogether. Currently, the second quarter is shaping up to be the worst period of 2025 in terms of earnings performance.The University of Michigan released its final take on April consumer sentiment, and while the index was upwardly revised, it was still at the lowest level since July 2022 and inflation expectations remained hot.Time for High-Dividend ETFs?While gold is not offering respite currently and equities are also not foolproof, seeking shelter in high-income ETFs makes sense. In a volatile market, dividend ETFs normally come to the rescue. The hunt for dividends in the equity market is always on, irrespective of how it is behaving (read: 5 Dividend ETFs Surviving the Tariff Turmoil Past Month).After all, who doesn’t like a steady stream of current income along with capital gains? And if investors are mired in a web of equity market uncertainty, global growth worries and geopolitical crisis, the lure for dividend investing increases further. Dividend ETFs in Focus Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few dividend-based ETFs that have been well-positioned in recent times.First Trust STOXX European Select Dividend Index FDD – Up 3.1% past week (as of April 25, 2025)Yield: 6.26% annuallyOne-month asset growth: $47 millionAUM: $282.2 millionSchwab US Dividend Equity ETF SCHD – Up 1.8% past week (as of April 25, 2025)Yield: 3.57% annuallyOne-month asset growth: $1.83 billionAUM: $66.47 billionFirst Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund FDL – Up 2.8% past week (as of April 25, 2025)Yield: 4.24% annuallyOne-month asset growth: $227 millionAUM: $5.21 billioniShares Core High Dividend ETF HDV – Up 1.6% past week (as of April 25, 2025)Yield: 3.58% annuallyOne-month asset growth: $213 millionAUM: $10.9 billionWisdomTree Europe Hedged SmallCap Equity Fund EUSC – Up 4.3% past week (as of April 25, 2025)Yield: 3.57% annuallyOne-month asset growth: $8 millionAUM: $87.9 million Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox?Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week.Get it free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report SPDR Gold Shares (GLD): ETF Research Reports SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY): ETF Research Reports First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders ETF (FDL): ETF Research Reports iShares Core High Dividend ETF (HDV): ETF Research Reports WisdomTree Europe Hedged SmallCap Equity ETF (EUSC): ETF Research Reports First Trust STOXX European Select Dividend ETF (FDD): ETF Research Reports Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks
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