Oil turmoil, inflation worries and market volatility are reviving interest in dividend growth ETFs that offer steady income and quality exposure.
After decades of hard work and diligent saving, you want to sleep well in your Golden Years.
Dividend Aristocrats underperformed the S&P 500 in 2025, with NOBL returning 6.82% versus SPY's 17.70%. 2026 began strong for Aristocrats, with NOBL gaining 5.67% in January, outpacing SPY's 1.47%. Dividend growth for Aristocrats averaged 5.52% in 2025, but early 2026 increases trend slightly lower, raising questions for the year's outlook.
Launched on 10/09/2013, the ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value category of the market.
The ETF universe continued to expand in 2025, with a growing number of high-income products incorporating options strategies to enhance payouts. However, for many investors and advisors, traditional ETFs that own dividend-paying stocks remain a core component of a well-rounded portfolio.
ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL) is initiated at Hold, favored over some dividend peers but not top-ranked. NOBL offers strong diversification, equal-weighting, and low sector concentration, with a 0.35% fee and $11.1B AUM across 69 holdings. Recent performance lags the S&P 500 and key dividend ETF peers; NOBL returned 6.8% in 2025 versus SPY's 17.7%.
NOBL is the only ETF to track the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index, which holds S&P 500 Index stocks with at least 25 consecutive years of increasing dividends. The strategy is no longer effective, which I'll prove with a factor analysis that compares NOBL to 25 other dividend ETFs on the dividend, quality, growth, value, and risk factors. Essentially, NOBL has become a one-trick pony that's built primarily for flat or declining markets. Instead, I recommend readers take a multi-factor approach and will suggest six superior long-term alternatives.
A smart beta exchange traded fund, the ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL) debuted on 10/09/2013, and offers broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value category of the market.
I am upgrading NOBL to a "Buy," driven by falling Treasury yields and the potential for renewed interest in dividend growth stocks. NOBL offers a 2.03% yield, solid fundamentals, and a track record of dividend growth, despite recent underperformance versus the S&P 500. Valuation remains a concern, but sector headwinds may ease as lower rates favor defensive, high-quality dividend payers like those in NOBL.
The S&P Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL) may be trailing the rest of the market in the past two years, but the above-average yield (2.1%), track record of long-time dividend growers, and value focus make for a rather intriguing fund to diversify into, especially if you're ready to play more defense as you look beyond the tech sector for opportunities.
NOBL and DGRW both provide exposure to a variety of high-quality dividend growers.
Launched on 10/09/2013, the ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value category of the market.