Harbor Dividend Growth Leaders ETF

Harbor Dividend Growth Leaders ETF (GDIV) is an actively managed fund. It held 51 dividend-paying stocks as of July 31, 2026, and its largest holdings were Apple, Eli Lilly and Mueller Industries. A manager picks companies with strong balance sheets and a record of raising dividends, instead of following an index. That approach costs 0.50% a year, compared with 0.05% for the index-based Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG). The yield was a modest 1.25% as of October 27, 2026.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, GDIV returned +14.1%, 3rd of 9 among similar funds.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2025 (+10.8%); its best was 2023 (+16.5%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 18.9% (Jan 24, 2025 to Apr 8, 2025), recovered by Aug 28, 2025.

As of Jul 31, 2026, the fund held 51 securities; the ten largest made up 33.22% of assets.

By sector

• Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $24K (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +2.05%, +0.27%, +2.14%.

GDIV does not track an index. Harbor uses a subadvisor, an outside investment firm, to pick the stocks. The fund's stated goal is long-term growth of capital. In normal markets, at least 80% of its net assets goes into dividend-paying stocks. These are mainly common and preferred shares of large companies that have paid dividends, or that the subadvisor thinks can raise them.

The subadvisor studies one company at a time. It looks at earnings and free cash flow, which is the cash left after running and investing in the business. It also looks at how a company returns money to owners through dividends and buybacks. It wants strong balance sheets, careful use of capital, steady free cash flow and a history of dividend increases. It then reviews each candidate in depth, sometimes by talking with management. This usually produces 30 to 50 stocks. The fund held 51 as of July 31, 2026, with 33% of assets in the top ten. Sector weights come from the stock picks, so the fund can lean heavily on a few sectors. Foreign stocks usually stay below 35% of assets.

There is no fixed rebalancing schedule. The subadvisor may sell when a stock hits a price target, its business weakens, its dividend policy changes or a better idea comes along. The prospectus reports portfolio turnover of 81%, which is a fairly high level of trading. The fund reported no derivatives as of July 31, 2026, and it does not use leverage.

• GDIV charges 0.5% a year, versus an average of 0.28% for the similar funds below (7th of 9, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $51 in the first year and $628 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It is a diversified fund of large-company stocks with a tilt toward steady dividend raisers, though it is more concentrated and costs more than index-based core funds.

GDIV's own trading history starts in May 2022, so it does not cover the 2008 crisis or the 2020 crash. Its prospectus shows returns from years before the ETF launched. That record includes a 12.17% loss in 2022 and a 13.86% drop in the last quarter of 2018. Since launch, the fund's deepest fall was 18.9%, from January 24 to April 8, 2025. It recovered by August 28, 2025, about 4.7 months later. Anyone who had to sell shares during a fall like that would have locked in losses.

Income is a side benefit here. The yield was 1.25% as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly, and the fund's goal is growth. Costs are 0.50% a year. In the SEC's standard example, that comes to $628 over ten years on $10,000. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.