IGRO vs LVHI

IGROAiShares International Dividend Growth ETF

LVHIAFranklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF

In short

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.

LVHI Most international dividend funds hand you a currency bet you never asked for. LVHI tracks an index that hedges it away, then screens developed-market payers for high dividends, low volatility and real profits.

Stated mandate

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.

LVHI The fund tracks the Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Hedged Index, which targets profitable developed-market companies outside the United States with relatively high dividend yields and lower price and earnings volatility.

Why people hold it

• 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.

• LVHI The word 'Hedged' sits right in the benchmark's name: the index neutralizes foreign-currency moves, so what reaches you is the dividend story rather than the FX story.
• Three filters, not one. The index targets profitable non-US developed companies with high yields and lower price and earnings volatility, so yield alone doesn't buy a spot.
• At 0.40% a year it comes in under the 0.50% median for international dividend-screen funds, which is unusual for a strategy carrying a built-in currency hedge.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively and pays quarterly, and it has been running since 2016, so there's a real track record to inspect.

Worth knowing

• 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.

• LVHI The hedge works in both directions: it damps the hit when the dollar rises and equally gives up the tailwind when the dollar falls.
• You pay for the machinery. Plain unhedged index peers such as VYMI (0.07%) and SCHY (0.08%) charge a fraction of LVHI's 0.40%.
• Developed markets outside the US only, roughly 190 stocks. No emerging-market dividend payers, and no US names to lean on.

Full IGRO profile⁠

Full LVHI profile⁠