DGRO vs DIVB

DGROAiShares Core Dividend Growth ETF

DIVBAiShares Core Dividend ETF

In short

DGRO BlackRock's dividend-growth screen casts a wider net than most: five straight years of raises rather than ten, plus a payout-ratio cap that filters out stretched payers. About 400 US dividend raisers, large through small cap, for 0.08% a year.

DIVB Most dividend funds only count the check that hits your account. DIVB's index also counts buybacks, treating a shrinking share count as cash returned to owners, and it charges five basis points to do it.

Stated mandate

DGRO The fund seeks to follow an index of U.S. equities whose dividends have grown consistently.

DIVB The fund seeks to track an index of U.S. companies selected for a history of dividend payments and/or share buybacks, providing equity exposure oriented toward income and long-term growth.

Why people hold it

• DGRO Costs 0.08% a year, a small fraction of the typical fee among US dividend-screen ETFs.
• The screen has teeth: a qualified dividend, five years of uninterrupted dividend growth, a payout ratio under 75%, and the top decile of yielders cut before the other tests run.ishares.com
• Roughly 400 names across large, mid and small caps, weighted by the dividend dollars each company pays rather than by market cap.ishares.comcib.barclays
• Tracks the Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index about as tightly as this group gets, and it's an actively traded, multi-billion-dollar fund that has run since 2014.

• DIVB Five basis points a year, one of the lowest fees in the dividend-screen aisle, where the typical fund charges many times more.
• The Morningstar US Dividend and Buyback Index counts repurchases alongside payouts, so a company buying back stock qualifies even with a modest yield. Roughly 400 US names.
• Sits in the top tier of a large dividend-screen peer group and stays tight to its stated mandate: US dividend payers and buyback machines, nothing exotic.
• A billion-dollar-plus member of the iShares Core lineup, running since 2017 and distributing quarterly.

Worth knowing

• DGRO Chopping the highest-yielding decile is deliberate: this is built around payout growth and dividend durability, not the fattest current yield on the shelf.ishares.com
• Only dividend payers qualify, so some of the market's biggest non-paying growth companies sit outside the portfolio by rule.ishares.com
• Income arrives quarterly, not monthly, and this is plain US stock exposure: no buffer, no hedge, full equity risk.

• DIVB Buybacks return value through share count, not cash in your pocket, so the income profile can sit lighter than pure high-yield screens like SPYD.
• Moderately traded rather than a volume heavyweight like SCHD or VIG, so limit orders earn their keep, especially in size.
• All-equity, all-US. Dividends and buybacks soften nothing when the American stock market sells off.

Full DGRO profile⁠

Full DIVB profile⁠