FDD vs IGRO

FDDBFirst Trust STOXX European Select Dividend Index Fund

IGROAiShares International Dividend Growth ETF

In short

FDD Most international dividend funds spread themselves across the whole developed world. FDD skips the detour: about 30 of Europe's highest-yielding stocks, screened for dividend track record, in a fund that has been running since 2007.

IGRO Dividend growth, not dividend yield, taken overseas. IGRO tracks a Morningstar index of non-US companies with a habit of raising their payouts, spread across roughly 500 names, for a fee that undercuts most of the international dividend shelf.

Stated mandate

FDD The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the STOXX Europe Select Dividend 30 Index through an indexing strategy.

IGRO The fund seeks to track an index of international stocks with a history of growing dividends, providing dividend-focused international equity exposure for income and long-term growth.

Why people hold it

• FDD Pure Europe, no global filler: about 30 high-yielders drawn from the STOXX Europe 600, not a worldwide blend with a European slice tucked inside.yahoo.com
• Yield alone doesn't earn a spot. Constituents need a non-negative five-year dividend-per-share growth record and a dividend-to-earnings ratio of 60% or less.yahoo.comstoxx.com
• It has tracked its index tightly, which is the entire job of an index fund.
• Listed in 2007 and pays quarterly, so there's a long live record through Europe's rougher stretches rather than a backtest.

• IGRO Costs 0.15% a year, well under the typical fee for an international dividend screen.
• Does what the label says: it follows the Morningstar Global ex-US Dividend Growth Index closely, one of the tightest index-to-portfolio matches in its peer group.
• Roughly 500 non-US payers, so no single dividend carries the fund. Cash goes out quarterly.

Worth knowing

• FDD 0.56% a year sits above the cohort median of 0.50% and well above broad rivals like VYMI (0.07%) and SCHY (0.08%), which fish in a much wider pond than Europe.
• About 30 holdings means every name pulls real weight, and a yield-first screen can crowd into whichever sectors happen to be paying the most.
• Holdings trade in euros, pounds and other European currencies, so the dollar's moves land in your return right alongside the stocks'.

• IGRO It trades thin next to heavyweights like VYMI, so limit orders and calmer mid-session trading matter more here.
• The screen targets payout growth, not the fattest yields, so income tends to run lighter than yield-first international funds.
• Cheaper neighbors exist: VIGI at 0.07% and SCHY at 0.08%, though each tracks a different index with a different holdings list.

Full FDD profile⁠

Full IGRO profile⁠