Marketing Communication

VanEck Dividend Leaders UCITS ETF turns 10: A Decade of Dividends

26 May 2026

On 23 May 2016, the VanEck Morningstar Developed Markets Dividend Leaders UCITS ETF (TDIV) listed for the first time. Ten years later, it has done what every dividend strategy aspires to do, and what only a few actually deliver: distribute income every single year, grow that income over time, and compound capital through a full market cycle.

It has done so with a portfolio that looks structurally different from most developed-markets equity ETFs available to European investors – notably with a meaningfully lower allocation to US equities, and a more diversified developed-markets footprint that has, on more than one occasion, proved its worth.

To mark the anniversary, here are ten figures that tell the story – sequenced as performance, income, stability, and portfolio characteristics.

Growth of €100 since inception

NAV-based total return from launch (May 2016) to today. Source: VanEck / Morningstar

Performance through a full market cycle

Rolling 12-month performance, % (NAV, EUR)

12-month period	TDIV (NAV, EUR)
23 May 2016 – 22 May 2017	+15.40
23 May 2017 – 22 May 2018	−0.43
23 May 2018 – 22 May 2019	+10.63
23 May 2019 – 22 May 2020	−10.90
23 May 2020 – 22 May 2021	+26.45
23 May 2021 – 22 May 2022	+24.48
23 May 2022 – 22 May 2023	+2.35
23 May 2023 – 22 May 2024	+18.78
23 May 2024 – 22 May 2025	+11.09
23 May 2025 – 22 May 2026	+26.33

Source: VanEck, Morningstar. Periods run from anniversary to anniversary (23 May – 22 May). Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

Total return of +223.9% since inception. Over the full ten-year period to 22 May 2026, an initial allocation has grown by approximately 3.2x – equivalent to €100 becoming €324, or a €1m allocation growing to roughly €3.24m, gross of distributions reinvested. This reflects one specific ten-year window; capital remains at risk of loss and future returns may be materially lower.
Annualised return of 12.5% since inception. Double-digit annualised performance over a decade is uncommon for any equity strategy, and particularly so for a dividend-focused one – often (and unfairly) seen as a pure income play with limited capital upside.

The figures above refer to past performance. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

A consistent – and growing – income profile

52% of initial capital returned in cash. Cumulative distributions of €13 per share against a launch NAV of €24.87 – meaning more than half of the initial investment has already been returned to investors as income, separately from any capital appreciation.
An average annual yield of 4.3% since launch. Comfortably above the 4% threshold most investors associate with a serious income strategy, peaking close to 5% in 2023. A reminder that dividend yield need not be a function of distress – it can be a function of discipline.
Annual distribution per share up 38%. From €1.25 in 2017, the first full calendar year, to €1.72 in 2025. Not just income, but growing income – the kind of dividend trajectory that has historically tended to outpace inflation over the long run. Dividends are not guaranteed and can be cut or suspended – as occurred across global markets in 2020 – and this trend can revert.
A yield on cost of 6.92% for day-one investors. The €1.72 distributed in 2025 represents a 6.92% yield calculated on the €24.87 paid at launch – well above the headline yield available to today’s buyers. It illustrates the quiet power of holding through dividend growth: the headline yield stays roughly stable, but the personal yield, on the price originally paid, keeps climbing.

TDIV — Annual distribution per share, 2016-2025

Bar chart of annual distributions in EUR. *2016 partial year (launch 23 May 2016). Source: VanEck.

Stability through a full market cycle

Ten years of uninterrupted distributions. Every single year, across every market environment encountered since launch – including the 2018 sell-off, the 2020 COVID crash, and the 2022 rate shock. No skipped years, no zero distributions.
Five consecutive positive calendar years. From 2021 to 2025: +26.9%, +15.8%, +11.8%, +16.0%, +23.8%. Cumulatively, +136% over five years – a stretch that spanned inflation shocks, rate hikes, geopolitical conflict, and equity volatility. Such a run should not be extrapolated – equities can and do post negative years, and this trend can revert.
A pattern that repeats: 2022 and 2025. In 2022, TDIV returned +15.8% while the MSCI World and S&P 500 fell sharply (around -12/-13% in EUR terms). In 2025, a similar dynamic played out: +23.8% on the year, with European holdings doing much of the heavy lifting. Two episodes, three years apart, in which the fund’s structurally lower US weighting turned a headwind for the broad market into a tailwind for the strategy.
A single meaningful drawdown – fully recovered within 12 months. 2020 was the only down year of real magnitude over the period; 2021 more than reversed it. Resilience is not the absence of bad years, but the capacity to recover from them.

The figures above refer to past performance. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

Calendar-year performance, % (NAV, EUR)

2016*	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026 (YTD)
n/a	+3.32	-7.53	+22.48	-10.33	+26.94	+15.77	+11.76	+16.00	+23.78	+11.87

*2016 partial year (launch 23 May 2016). Source: VanEck, Morningstar. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

Portfolio characteristics: the strategy behind the numbers

TDIV tracks the Morningstar® Developed Markets Large Cap Dividend Leaders Screened Select Index – a rules-based selection of the 100 highest-yielding dividend-paying stocks across developed markets, screened for dividend sustainability. The methodology deliberately avoids reaching for yield in fragile names; it prioritises companies with a track record of paying, and the financial strength to keep paying.

One consequence of that yield-led selection is geographic: TDIV has reached this decade-long track record with a notably lower reliance on US stocks than most developed-markets equity benchmarks – the US tends to be home to growth, not yield, so the highest-yielding names cluster more in Europe, the UK, Japan, and other developed markets. That structural difference is why the fund tends to behave differently from a standard global equity exposure, and why years such as 2022 and 2025 – when US large-caps lagged in EUR terms – have been so additive. The same tilt cuts both ways: in periods of US large-cap leadership, a lower-US allocation has lagged broad global benchmarks and can do so again.

Over a decade, that design has translated into a portfolio that has delivered both ends of the dividend equation: a yield consistently above 4%, and a distribution that has grown by more than a third in absolute terms.

What ten years means

A decade is long enough to be useful. It includes a global pandemic, the fastest rate-hiking cycle in a generation, two distinct equity bear markets, and the AI-driven concentration of the late 2020s. Any strategy that has paid every year, grown its distribution, and compounded capital through that environment – without leaning on the same handful of US mega-caps as most global benchmarks – has been tested through a full market cycle.

For an investor allocated at inception and holding through the period, the arithmetic is straightforward: 52% of the initial capital returned in cash, the residual position more than doubled in value, and a personal yield on cost that has quietly climbed past 6.9%.

That is what a decade of dividends looks like.

TDIV – Main Risk Factors: Equity market risk, foreign currency risk. Investors must consider all the fund’s characteristics or objectives as detailed in the prospectus or related documents before making an investment decision. Please refer to the sustainability-related disclosures in the document section to the KID and the Prospectus for other information and applicable risks before investing.

What’s next: extending the approach

Building on a decade of conviction in quality-focused dividend investing, we have recently launched the VanEck Morningstar Developed Markets ex-US Dividend Leaders UCITS ETF (TDVX), applying the same dividend-leaders philosophy to a developed-markets universe excluding US equities – for investors seeking a more concentrated expression of where high-quality dividends actually live, or those whose portfolios already carry meaningful US exposure elsewhere. Two products, one philosophy: rules-based, yield-focused, quality-screened.

TDVX – Main Risk Factors: Equity market risk, foreign currency risk. Investors must consider all the fund’s characteristics or objectives as detailed in the prospectus or related documents before making an investment decision. Please refer to the sustainability-related disclosures in the document section to the KID and the Prospectus for other important information before investing. Market evolution not guaranteed.

Learn more about VanEck’s Dividend ETFs:

TDIV: VanEck Morningstar Developed Markets Dividend Leaders UCITS ETF (TDIV)

TDVX: VanEck Morningstar Developed Markets ex-US Dividend Leaders UCITS ETF (TDVX)

Figures referenced are as of 22 May 2026, reflecting the full ten-year performance period since inception on 23 May 2016.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

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The S&P 500 Index (“Index”) is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and/or its affiliates and has been licensed for use by Van Eck Associates Corporation. Copyright © 2020 S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, a division of S&P Global, Inc., and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Redistribution or reproduction in whole or in part are prohibited without written permission of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. For more information on any of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC’s indices please visit www.spdji.com. S&P® is a registered trademark of S&P Global and Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. Neither S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC, their affiliates nor their third party licensors make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the ability of any index to accurately represent the asset class or market sector that it purports to represent and neither S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC, their affiliates nor their third party licensors shall have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of any index or the data included therein. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

Source: VanEck.

Performance quoted represents past performance. Current performance may be lower or higher than average annual returns shown.

The Dutch domiciled ETFs use a gross reinvestment index as opposed to many other ETFs and investment funds that use a net reinvestment index. Comparing with a gross reinvestment index is the purest form since it considers that Dutch investors can reclaim the dividend tax withheld. Please note that the performance includes income distributions gross of Dutch withholding tax because Dutch investors receive a refund of the 15% Dutch withholding tax levied. Different investor types and investors from other jurisdictions may not be able to achieve the same level of performance due to their tax status and local tax rules. Returns may increase or decrease as a result of currency fluctuations. Performance should be assessed over a medium- to long-term.

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Important Disclosure

This is a marketing communication. Please refer to the prospectus of the UCITS and to the KID before making any final investment decisions.

This information originates from VanEck (Europe) GmbH, which has been appointed as distributor of VanEck products in Europe by the Management Company VanEck Asset Management B.V., incorporated under Dutch law and registered with the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM). VanEck (Europe) GmbH with registered address at Kreuznacher Str. 30, 60486 Frankfurt, Germany, is a financial services provider regulated by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority in Germany (BaFin).

The information is intended only to provide general and preliminary information to investors and shall not be construed as investment, legal or tax advice VanEck (Europe) GmbH, VanEck Switzerland AG, VanEck Securities UK Limited and their associated and affiliated companies (together “VanEck”) assume no liability with regards to any investment, divestment or retention decision taken by the investor on the basis of this information. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) but not necessarily those of VanEck. Opinions are current as of the publication date and are subject to change with market conditions. Certain statements contained herein may constitute projections, forecasts and other forward-looking statements, which do not reflect actual results. Information provided by third party sources is believed to be reliable and have not been independently verified for accuracy or completeness and cannot be guaranteed. Brokerage or transaction fees may apply.

All performance information is based on historical data and does not predict future returns. Investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of principal.

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