The year 2022 as a whole could easily be attributed to the Russia-Ukraine war, red-hot inflation and rising-rate worries. No wonder, such worries caused an upheaval in the market this year. The Dow Jones and the S&P 500 lost 13.3% and 20.3%, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite Index shed 30% this year.

Hence, dividend investing is in vogue this year amid huge volatility and uncertainty. This is especially true as these are major sources of consistent income for investors in any type of market though they do not offer dramatic price appreciation. These stocks tend to outperform in volatile markets and can reduce the volatility of a portfolio.

Inflows to dividend ETFs are 25% higher this year than 2021’s record with positive inflows every month so far this year, per a Bloomberg article. A record $50 billion allocation to dividend ETFs so far this year has been noticed.  Money managers betting big on stable companies that have a history of paying out profits to shareholders, hoping that will minimize immense losses across the broader market.

Though cash-like treasuries are offering highest income in over a decade, dividend-paying stocks are gaining appeal in a rising rate environment as bond ETFs underperform in a rising rate environment. The Fed hiked interest rates for the fourth successive time this year, taking the benchmark rate in the range of 2.25% and 2.5% to tame inflation.

High Dividends Were Clear Winners

High-dividend ETFs mustered more assets than dividend aristocrats. Since rising rates have been prevalent this year, investors may be interested in equities that have the potential to offer capital appreciation as well as benchmark-beating yields. After all, dividends are one of the ways to ride out the turbulent times.

Even if the stock or the fund falls, higher current income would go a long way in protecting investors’ total returns. After all, high-dividend ETFs provide investors avenues to make up for capital losses, if that happens at all.

Bloomberg Intelligence estimates high-dividend ETFs could ultimately double their inflow record this year as investors -- particularly in equities – seek alternatives. On average, non-leveraged dividend funds have delivered a trailing 12-month yield of about 4.3%, according to Bloomberg data, well above the S&P 500’s 1.7%.

On the other hand, dividend aristocrats are blue-chip dividend-paying companies with a long history of increasing dividend payments year over year. These generally act as a hedge against economic uncertainty and act as a quality exposure. Additionally, aristocrats tend to skew the portfolio to less-volatile sectors and mature companies.

Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few dividend ETFs that have amassed huge assets this year.

ETFs in Focus

Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD Quick QuoteSCHD - Free Report) hauled in about $11.94 billion this year.

Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM Quick QuoteVYM - Free Report) amassed about $8.12 billion this year.

iShares Core High Dividend ETF (HDV Quick QuoteHDV - Free Report) amassed about $4.52 billion in assets this year.

SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF (SPYD Quick QuoteSPYD - Free Report) hauled in about $3.11 billion in assets this year.

iShares Select Dividend ETF (DVY Quick QuoteDVY - Free Report) amassed about $2.60 billion in assets this year.

SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (SDY Quick QuoteSDY - Free Report) hauled in about $2.59 billion this year.

Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG Quick QuoteVIG - Free Report) has seen about $2.38 billion increase in assets.

First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY Quick QuoteRDVY - Free Report) drew about $1.63 billion in assets.

ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL Quick QuoteNOBL - Free Report) fetched about $1.42 billion this year.

WisdomTree US Quality Dividend Growth Fund (DGRW Quick QuoteDGRW - Free Report) saw about $733.8 million in asset generation this year.