Krane Funds Advisors, LLC (“KraneShares) has announced the launch of the KraneShares S&P Pan Asia Dividend Aristocrats ETF (Ticker: KDIV) on the New York Stock Exchange.
KDIV tracks the S&P Pan Asia Dividend Aristocrats Index, which provides exposure to companies in China, Japan, Australia, and other Asian countries that have paid and increased their dividends over a sustained period. Studies by S&P Dow Jones Indices have shown that over the long-term, dividend-paying companies have outperformed their corresponding broad market indexes on a risk-adjusted basis.
KDIV gives investors access to the S&P Dividend Aristocrats methodology applied to the Pan Asia region, one of the fastest-growing areas in the world. The International Monetary Fund forecasts gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the region to be 4.9 per cent in 2022 and 5.1 per cent in 2023.
“KDIV is a timely expansion of KraneShares’ China and global ETF suite, which includes the USD6.7 billion KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB). KDIV is also the first US-listed ETF to apply the S&P Dividend Aristocrats methodology to the Pan Asia region,” says Jonathan Krane, Chief Executive Officer at KraneShares. “We are pleased to offer KDIV as a compelling addition to our global ETF suite.”
“KDIV gives investors access to S&P’s widely popular Dividend Aristocrats Index Series, which is tracked by billions of dollars in ETF assets. KDIV applies this methodology to the Pan Asia region, an area we are particularly focused on at KraneShares,” says Brendan Ahern, KraneShares Chief Investment Officer. “As markets remain volatile in 2022, we believe dividend growers could continue to outperform the broader market. Adding dividend growers to an investment portfolio may result in lower volatility, compounded growth on dividend reinvestment, and reduced drawdown in declining markets.”
“We’re excited that KraneShares has selected our S&P Pan Asia Dividend Aristocrats Index as the underlying benchmark for its exchange-traded fund,” says Pavel Vaynshtok, Head of Strategy Indices at S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI). “The Pan Asia index represents a key member of the Dividend Aristocrats Index Series, which helps investors and fund managers track companies that have consistently increased dividend payments on an annual basis across the globe.”
