SPDR S&P Global Dividend ETF

SPDR S&P Global Dividend ETF (WDIV) is a State Street index fund that tracks the S&P Global Dividend Aristocrats Index. That index holds about 100 high-yielding stocks worldwide that have raised or held their dividends steady for at least ten years. Its rules cap any one country or sector at 25%. The fund yielded 4.23% over the 12 months to October 27, 2026, but its 0.40% expense ratio is higher than some similar dividend funds charge.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, WDIV returned +16.2%, 6th of 7 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +9.2%.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-7.0%); its best was 2025 (+27.1%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 22.2% (Jan 14, 2022 to Oct 12, 2022), recovered by May 17, 2024.

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 93 securities; the ten largest made up 16.59% of assets. It also reported 5.61% in a money-market fund, most likely cash collateral from lending out shares rather than uninvested money.

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors added a net $6.0M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +5.76%, +1.87%, -1.38%.

WDIV tracks the S&P Global Dividend Aristocrats Index. S&P Dow Jones Indices builds it from the S&P Global Broad Market Index. To qualify, a company must have raised or held its dividend steady for at least ten straight years. It also needs a float-adjusted market value above $1 billion (float-adjusted means only shares available to trade are counted) and average daily trading above $5 million. It can't yield more than 10%, and a new company can't pay out more than 100% of its earnings as dividends.

The 100 highest-yielding stocks that qualify are chosen, with no more than 20 from any one country and no more than 35 from any one sector. No stock can be more than 3% of the index, and no country or sector more than 25%. The index is fully rebuilt each January and rebalanced in July if weights drift past the limits. Each month S&P also reviews the list and can drop a company that skips, stops or cuts its dividend. As of November 30, 2025, the index held 93 stocks.

SSGA Funds Management, State Street's adviser, uses sampling. That means it may hold only some of the index stocks instead of all of them. It can also buy depositary receipts, which are shares of foreign companies that trade on other exchanges. At least 80% of assets go into index securities, and futures contracts may be used to manage cash. Portfolio turnover was 52%.

• WDIV charges 0.4% a year, versus an average of 0.37% for the similar funds below (3rd of 7, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $41 in the first year and $505 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

WDIV is built around high-yielding stocks with long dividend records and pays out every quarter, so income is its main job.

WDIV could add quarterly income from dividend-paying companies in North America, Europe and Asia. Its trailing 12-month yield was 4.23% as of October 27, 2026. It has also had real losses. It fell 9.77% in 2020, its worst calendar year from 2016 through 2025, after dropping 31.61% in the first quarter of that year. In the 2022 bear market it fell 22.2% from January 14 to October 12, 2022, and took about 19 months to recover, until May 17, 2024. Anyone who had to sell shares during a slump like that would have locked in losses. The fund launched in 2013, so it has no record from the 2008 crisis. In the SEC's standard $10,000 example, costs come to $41 after one year and $505 after ten years. Past results don't predict future returns, and an income plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by closest holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports (no similar fund shares 20% or more of its holdings).