iShares Select Dividend ETF (DVY) seeks to track the investment results of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index, which measures the performance of a select group of high dividend yielding U.S. equities. The fund employs a representative sampling indexing strategy to replicate the index characteristics by investing in a diversified portfolio of approximately 100 stocks selected based on consistent dividend payments, dividend yield, and other factors such as 5-year dividend growth rate, payout ratio, and financial strength indicators; top holdings typically include companies like Altria Group Inc., AT&T Inc., and Philip Morris International Inc. across sectors such as consumer staples, telecommunications, utilities, financials, and industrials. Managed by BlackRock with an expense ratio of 0.38%, DVY offers investors exposure to dividend-weighted U.S. large-, mid-, and small-cap value stocks emphasizing income generation and lower volatility relative to broader market indices.
Launched on November 3, 2003, and headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware as part of the iShares family under BlackRock, Inc., the ETF primarily serves institutional and retail investors targeting high dividend yield strategies in the U.S. equity market. The fund operates exclusively in the United States, listing on the NYSE Arca exchange under the ticker DVY, with assets under management exceeding $20 billion. It distributes dividends quarterly, providing a trailing twelve-month yield of approximately 3.43% as of late 2025.
In recent developments, DVY has benefited from strong performance in the high dividend factor amid market rotations toward value stocks, delivering year-to-date total returns of around 11.15% through mid-2025, supported by its focus on resilient dividend payers. The underlying index undergoes semi-annual rebalances in March and September to adjust holdings based on updated dividend metrics, with notable portfolio shifts reflecting evolving yields and corporate actions such as dividend increases among utilities and consumer defensive names in 2024-2025. No major structural changes, such as mergers, new share classes, or strategic alliances, have been announced for the fund in the last two years; however, ongoing index reconstitutions ensure alignment with leading dividend performers amid economic shifts including interest rate adjustments.