Dividend.com

After decades in which investors steadily shifted money from traditional actively managed mutual funds into low-cost index funds, the growth of active ETFs has changed the conversation. Investors no longer necessarily have to choose between the potential benefits of active security selection and the liquidity, transparency, and tax efficiency associated with ETFs. Today, billions sit in active ETFs, while new funds continue to hit the market.

A net-lease retail landlord with nearly 2,825 properties across the country now pays out a forward dividend yield of 4.40%, delivered every single month rather than once a quarter. That yield sits in the top 40% of all dividend-paying stocks we track, backed by a portfolio built almost entirely around grocery, home improvement, convenience, and other necessity-based tenants that keep showing up to pay rent no matter what the economy is doing.

Nearly three-quarters of active fund managers failed to beat the market over the past year. Here are the large, actively managed equity funds that didn’t just beat it—they beat it by a wide margin. The case against active management got another data point this summer.

A diversified consumer staples company built around snacks and beverages sits at the center of daily life for consumers around the world, and its low beta of 0.36 signals how little its stock price moves in step with the broader market. The business spans savory snacks and a wide range of beverages, from soda to water to sports and energy drinks, reaching consumers across grocery, convenience, and foodservice channels worldwide.

A midstream energy stock with a 0.46 beta, a 7.20% forward dividend yield and an 11% three-year dividend CAGR has just been reaffirmed in the Best Energy Dividend Stocks Portfolio. The low beta signals price movements that barely track the broader market, while the yield and growth rate together show a payout that’s both generous and still expanding well ahead of most peers. Those numbers describe a business built for income investors who want steady returns without wild swings.

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Interval funds have quietly become one of the fastest-growing wrappers in the alternatives world, and for good reason: they let ordinary investors put money into private credit, private equity, and real estate without needing accredited-investor status or a seven-figure minimum. But the structure has a specific mechanical wrinkle that trips up more investors than it should, and a recent, very public example makes the point better than any explainer can.

A regulated utility serving homes and businesses across the Inland Northwest is paying out one of the more generous yields in its sector right now, and the portfolio just added to its position. The stock’s forward dividend yield sits at 5.24%, well above the 3.4% average for its Integrated Utilities peer group, and that gap alone puts it in the top 40% of all dividend paying stocks we track.

A well-established community bank serving New England has just seen its allocation increased within our Best Dividend Stocks Portfolio, and the underlying numbers explain the decision. The stock carries a beta of 0.79, meaning its monthly price swings run below what you’d expect from the broader equity market, a trait that matters to income investors who want steady exposure to financials without excess volatility.

This income name builds much of its own inventory instead of buying up existing homes, and that habit is now paying off in a 14% three-year dividend growth rate, one of the strongest in its peer group. That kind of pace matters to investors who care less about today’s yield and more about where the payout is headed over the next few years.