ETF Talk: Finding Discipline for the Long-Term

“Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements gained slowly over time.”

–John C. Maxwell

The first half of 2025 has kept us all on our toes, and with the release of second-quarter earnings for many of the major publicly traded companies and tariff turmoil, it is not showing signs of slowing down.

But there is something to be said about the stocks that have proven themselves to dish out dividends reliably, even in the age where AI and new technology stocks are the darlings of the market.

I’ve always been a big proponent of consistently showing up for both myself and all those I care about. So today’s featured exchange-traded fund (ETF) is one that shares that same value in rewarding consistency, as it tracks the performance of the 100 highest-yielding stocks that have a consistent record of dividend payment and can sustain those payments.

First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund (FDL) is an Equity Income exchange-traded fund with net assets of $5.41 billion and an expense ratio of 0.45%.

FDL has a year-to-date return of 9% and a one-year return of 10.9%. The fund’s top 10 holdings, which make up over 55% of total assets, are Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM), Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), Merk & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK), PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP), Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO), Comcast Corporation (NYSE: CMCSA), United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE: UPS) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY).

Investors get the opportunity to invest in large household names but can avoid having to pick just one (or a few), since FDL provides exposure to an array of reliable companies.

Exclusive ETF Talk: Finding Value in Your Brokerage

The fund features stocks from many sectors of the market, including energy, health care, financial services, consumer defensive, communication services, utilities, consumer cyclical and industrials.

Courtesy of www.stockcharts.com.

Looking at the chart above, we can see that FDL has rebounded after a clear dip this spring, moving higher this summer.

While consistency in performance is something we love to see, it’s important for investors to note the inherent risk that comes with investing. Investors should always do their due diligence before adding any stock, fund or ETF to their portfolio.

As always, I am happy to answer any of your questions about ETFs, so do not hesitate to send me an email. You just may see your question answered in a future ETF Talk.

Jim Woods

Jim Woods is a 20-plus-year veteran of the markets with varied experience as a broker, hedge fund trader, financial writer, author and newsletter editor. Jim is the editor of Forecasts & Strategies, Tactical Trader, TNT Trader, Five Star Trader, Bullseye Stock Trader, and The Deep Woods. His books include co-authoring, “Billion Dollar Green: Profit from the Eco Revolution,” and “The Wealth Shield: How to Invest and Protect Your Money from Another Stock Market Crash, Financial Crisis or Global Economic Collapse.” He’s also ghostwritten many books and articles, as well as edited content for some of the investment industry’s biggest luminaries. His articles have appeared on many leading financial websites, including StockInvestor.com, InvestorPlace.com, Main Street Investor, MarketWatch, Street Authority, Human Events and many others. Jim formerly worked with Investor’s Business Daily founder William J. O’Neil, helping to author training courses in the CANSLIM stock-picking methodology. The independent firm TipRanks rates Jim the No. 3 financial blogger in the world (out of more than 6,000). TipRanks calculates that, since 2012, he's made 361 successful recommendations out of 499 total, earning a success rate of 72% and a +15.3% average return per recommendation. He is known in professional and personal circles as “The Renaissance Man,” because his expertise includes such varied fields as composing and performing music; Western horsemanship, combat marksmanship, martial arts, auto racing and bodybuilding. Jim holds a BA in philosophy from the University of California, Los Angeles, and is a former U.S. Army paratrooper. A self-described “radical for capitalism,” he celebrates the virtue of making money from his Southern California horse ranch.