All funds Dividend

Best dividend ETFs in Canada

A dividend ETF holds companies picked for their dividends: a high yield, a long record of raising the payout, or both. It sells no options, so it keeps all of the upside, and its yield is lower than a covered call fund on the same stocks.

Canadian dividend funds lean on banks, energy and pipelines, so a fund can pay well and still depend on a few industries. A few of these funds also borrow to invest more than they hold, and those are marked with their leverage.

On our Income Durability Score, the top 3 are ZDV (81), XDIV (81) and XEI (79), out of 43 funds from 7 providers.

Ranked by score, out of 100. Click a column heading to sort; funds marked “new” are too young to score and always come last. For more filters, use the full fund list.

Ticker ⇅	Fund	Type	Score ▼	Yield ⇅	1-yr return ⇅	Fee ⇅	Worst drop ⇅	Liquidity ⇅
ZDV	BMO Canadian Dividend ETF	Dividend	81	2.7%	+26.5%	0.39%	-27.1%	Very high
XDIV	iShares Core MSCI Canadian Quality Dividend Index ETF	Dividend	81	3.0%	+35.2%	0.11%	-23.8%	Very high
XEI	iShares S&P/TSX Composite High Dividend Index ETF	Dividend	79	3.3%	+29.9%	0.22%	-28.5%	Very high
ZDI	BMO International Dividend ETF	Dividend	79	3.2%	+15.0%	0.44%	-24.5%	Medium
CMVP	HAMILTON CHAMPIONS™ Canadian Dividend Index ETF	Dividend	78	2.6%	+20.3%	0.04%	-3.2%	High
XDG	iShares Core MSCI Global Quality Dividend Index ETF	Dividend	78	2.6%	+20.1%	0.22%	-15.6%	Medium
CDZ	iShares S&P/TSX Canadian Dividend Aristocrats Index ETF	Dividend	78	2.7%	+18.4%	0.66%	-43.9%	High
VDY	Vanguard FTSE Canadian High Dividend Yield Index ETF	Dividend	78	2.4%	+33.5%	0.22%	-21.2%	Very high
XDV	iShares Canadian Select Dividend Index ETF	Dividend	78	2.7%	+30.5%	0.55%	-43.6%	Very high
PDF	Purpose Core Dividend Fund	Dividend	77	2.8%	+22.2%	0.66%	-22.8%	Medium
PDC	CI Canadian Dividend Index ETF	Dividend	77	2.9%	+27.4%	0.54%	-24.3%	Medium
VGG	Vanguard U.S. Dividend Appreciation Index ETF	Dividend	76	1.1%	+12.8%	0.29%	-14.4%	Very high
IUAE	CI S&P US Dividend Aristocrats ESG Index ETF	Dividend	76	1.5%	+18.0%	0.34%	-9.5%	n/a
PID	Purpose International Dividend Fund	Dividend	76	2.8%	+14.5%	0.65%	-16.8%	Medium
VGH	Vanguard U.S. Dividend Appreciation Index ETF (CAD-hedged)	Dividend	76	1.1%	+9.5%	0.29%	-20.9%	Medium
XDU	iShares Core MSCI US Quality Dividend Index ETF	Dividend	75	2.0%	+19.6%	0.16%	-14.8%	Medium
XDGH	iShares Core MSCI Global Quality Dividend Index ETF (CAD-Hedged)	Dividend	75	3.1%	+19.3%	0.22%	-21.5%	Medium
CYH	iShares Global Monthly Dividend Index ETF (CAD-Hedged)	Dividend	75	3.4%	+15.7%	0.65%	-55.8%	Medium
VIDY	Vanguard FTSE Developed ex North America High Dividend Yield Index ETF	Dividend	74	2.2%	+17.4%	0.31%	-20.7%	Very high
XHU	iShares U.S. High Dividend Equity Index ETF	Dividend	74	2.6%	+28.3%	0.33%	-19.9%	Medium
ZDH	BMO International Dividend Hedged to CAD ETF	Dividend	74	2.9%	+17.4%	0.44%	-27.4%	Low
IIAE	CI S&P International Developed Dividend Aristocrats ESG Index ETF	Dividend	73	2.9%	+14.8%	0.39%	-5.4%	Very low
DGRC	CI Canada Quality Dividend Growth Index ETF	Dividend	73	2.0%	+20.8%	0.23%	-22.6%	Medium
ICAE	CI S&P/TSX Canadian Dividend Aristocrats ESG Index ETF	Dividend	73	2.4%	+21.4%	0.23%	-9.4%	Very low
SMVP	HAMILTON CHAMPIONS™ U.S. Dividend Index ETF	Dividend	72	2.1%	+17.1%	0.04%	-5.0%	Very low
XHD	iShares U.S. High Dividend Equity Index ETF (CAD-Hedged)	Dividend	72	2.4%	+24.8%	0.33%	-27.1%	Medium
ZDY	BMO US Dividend ETF	Dividend	72	1.6%	+17.3%	0.33%	-22.2%	Medium
XDUH	iShares Core MSCI US Quality Dividend Index ETF (CAD-Hedged)	Dividend	70	1.9%	+17.9%	0.16%	-22.0%	Low
ZUD	BMO US Dividend Hedged to CAD ETF	Dividend	70	1.7%	+15.6%	0.33%	-28.7%	Low
IQD	CI International Quality Dividend Growth Index ETF	Dividend	70	2.0%	+8.7%	0.52%	-19.4%	Very low
CUD	iShares US Dividend Growers Index ETF (CAD-Hedged)	Dividend	69	1.8%	+14.3%	0.66%	-26.3%	Low
CWIN	HAMILTON CHAMPIONS™ Enhanced Canadian Dividend ETF	Dividend 1.25x	68	3.3%	+25.6%	1.67%	-5.6%	Low
HAL	Global X Active Canadian Dividend ETF	Dividend	67	1.5%	+30.3%	0.68%	-23.3%	Low
HAZ	Global X Active Global Dividend ETF	Dividend	65	0.8%	+8.9%	0.76%	-15.8%	Medium
CGDI	CI Global Dividend Private Pool	Dividend	65	1.4%	+1.0%	0.97%	-5.6%	Very low
SWIN	HAMILTON CHAMPIONS™ Enhanced U.S. Dividend ETF	Dividend 1.25x	65	2.5%	+21.7%	1.69%	-7.0%	Very low
DGR	CI U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Index ETF	Dividend	64	1.0%	+8.3%	0.38%	-20.6%	Low
UMI	CI U.S. MidCap Dividend Index ETF	Dividend	63	2.1%	+11.6%	0.39%	-36.8%	Very low
DIVY	Global X Active U.S. Dividend ETF	Dividend new	n/a	–	–	0.35%	–	Very low
VIGG	Vanguard Developed ex-North America Dividend Appreciation Index ETF	Dividend new	n/a	–	–	0.32%	0.0%	Medium
VUDH	Vanguard U.S. High Dividend Yield Index ETF (CAD-hedged)	Dividend new	n/a	–	–	0.32%	-4.5%	Very low
VUDV	Vanguard U.S. High Dividend Yield Index ETF	Dividend new	n/a	–	–	0.36%	-2.5%	Low
ZDIV	BMO MSCI Canada IMI High Dividend Yield Index ETF	Dividend new	n/a	3.6%	–	–	-3.8%	Medium

Type

What the fund sells calls on.

The fund owns stocks and sells the right to buy them at a set price. It collects a fee (premium) for that right, which is paid out as income. In exchange, big rises in the stocks are partly given up. A tag such as 1.25x marks leverage; "new" means under 12 months of history, too short to score.

Full definition in the glossary →

Income Durability Score

Out of 100, coloured from red (0) to green (100).

How well the fund has turned its yield into something you could actually keep. It is built from income, capital, risk and cost measures with fixed, published weights.

How we score →

Yield

A year of distributions divided by today's unit price. A high yield is not a high return: if the price falls as much as you were paid, you have gained nothing.

Full definition in the glossary →

Total return

This column is the total return over the last 12 months.

Price change plus all distributions, assuming distributions are reinvested. This is the number that tells you whether the payout was earned.

Full definition in the glossary →

MER

Management expense ratio: the fund's yearly management fee and operating costs as a share of its value, already taken out of returns. Trading costs come on top, as the trading expense ratio (TER) in the fund's ETF Facts; the score's fee measure adds the two.

Full definition in the glossary →

Worst drop (maximum drawdown)

The biggest fall from a high to a later low, in total return, so paying out a distribution does not count as a fall. A fund that fell 30% needs a 43% gain to get back.

Full definition in the glossary →

Liquidity

How easily you can buy or sell without moving the price, rated Very high to Very low by the average dollars traded per day. Thinly traded funds can have wide gaps between the buying and selling price; use limit orders.

Full definition in the glossary →

Volatility

Over the last 36 months.

How much returns bounce around, measured as an annualized standard deviation. Higher means a bumpier ride. It counts rises as well as falls, so the score uses downside deviation instead.

Full definition in the glossary →

Beta

How far the fund tends to move when the S&P 500 moves, over the last 36 months. A beta of 0.7 means it moved about 0.7% for each 1% move in the index.

Full definition in the glossary →

Up and down capture

This column is up capture: the share of its own benchmark's gains the fund took in rising months. The fund's page names the benchmark.

How much of its own benchmark's gains (up) and losses (down) the fund took over the last 36 months. Down capture under 100% means the calls cushioned the falls; leverage pushes both above 100%.

Full definition in the glossary →

Up and down capture

This column is down capture: the share of its own benchmark's losses the fund took in falling months. The fund's page names the benchmark.

How much of its own benchmark's gains (up) and losses (down) the fund took over the last 36 months. Down capture under 100% means the calls cushioned the falls; leverage pushes both above 100%.

Full definition in the glossary →

Total return

This column is the total return per year over the last 3 years.

Price change plus all distributions, assuming distributions are reinvested. This is the number that tells you whether the payout was earned.

Full definition in the glossary →

Return of capital (ROC)

The share of last year's payout classed as return of capital.

A part of the payout that is treated as your own money coming back. It is not taxed right away, but it lowers your cost base, so you may owe more tax when you sell.

Full definition in the glossary →

Rankings are information, not a recommendation to buy or sell any fund. How we score.