SPDR ETFs, the exchange-traded funds (ETF) platform of State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), has expanded its equity income line-up with the launch of two new ‘Dividend Aristocrats’ ETFs on the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse (Xetra).

Scott Ebner, head of global product development at SSgA.

The new funds, the SPDR S&P Global Dividend Aristocrats UCITS ETF and SPDR S&P Pan Asia Dividend Aristocrats UCITS ETF (exchange tickers detailed below), provide exposure to high-yielding equities from across the developed and emerging world and Asia Pacific region, respectively.

The funds extend the hugely popular Dividend Aristocrats family, which includes the US-focused SPDR S&P US Dividend Aristocrats UCITS ETF (SPYD), now the largest dividend ETF listed in Europe, with assets under management of more than $1 billion, the UK-focused SPDR S&P UK Dividend Aristocrats UCITS ETF (UKDV), and the Europe-focused SPDR S&P Euro Dividend Aristocrats UCITS ETF (EUDV).

As per the existing Dividend Aristocrats family, the new ETFs are based on indices provided by S&P Dow Jones, namely the S&P Global Dividend Aristocrats Index and S&P Pan Asia Dividend Aristocrats Index. These indices cleverly balance the pursuit of income with the requirement to ensure dividend sustainability and growth. They achieve this balance via an approach that considers a range of factors, such as dividend payout ratio, maximum dividend yield and dividend growth, to exclude companies whose future dividend payments are less sustainable.

Commenting on the launch, Scott Ebner, head of global product development at SSgA, said: “High dividend yielding stocks can be an attractive solution for providing income and capital appreciation potential in an investor’s portfolio, especially in this low-yield environment.”

He added: “Our approach to dividend investing at SPDRs has been centred around indices that not only favour high-yielding stocks, but also focus on the sustainability of yield by incorporating objective criteria such as a company’s track record of paying stable or increasing dividends and earnings criteria to include stocks that are more likely able to continue to deliver dividend income.”

There are now 48 SPDR ETFs listed in Europe, across exchanges including the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse, Borsa Italiana and SIX Swiss. Globally, SSgA manages in excess of $350 billion across more than 180 ETFs, including the giant NYSE Arca-listed SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which has $141 billion in assets.

The  total expense ratio (TER) of the global fund is 0.45%; the pan-Asian fund is 0.55%. Both are physically replicated.