VanEck’s €8.1bn Dividend Juggernaut Gets an Accumulating Sibling — Sans US Stocks

VanEck's new accumulating dividend ETF excludes US equities, automatically reinvests income. Original flagship fund surges to €8.1B AUM with 23.54% 12-month gain.

Investors hungry for income are increasingly turning their backs on American mega-caps. VanEck has acted on that shift, rolling out a new accumulating version of its blockbuster dividend ETF that strips out US equities entirely, while the original fund continues to swallow fresh cash at a blistering pace.

The VanEck Morningstar Developed Markets ex-US Dividend Leaders UCITS ETF landed in April with roughly $10 million in assets. It follows the same disciplined selection process as its older sibling but collects dividends internally rather than paying them out. The accumulating structure means income is automatically reinvested into portfolio companies — a feature the flagship cannot offer due to its Dutch domicile.

The new fund carries an annual expense ratio of 0.38 percent, matching the flagship’s cost. Its index enforces strict payout discipline: companies must have uninterrupted dividend payments for at least a year, the current payout cannot dip below the five-year average, and the distribution ratio is capped at 75 percent. Individual positions are limited to five percent of the portfolio and sectors to 40 percent.

Meanwhile, the original VanEck Morningstar Developed Markets Dividend Leaders UCITS ETF has turned into a cash magnet. Assets surged from $1.2 billion to $8.6 billion in just 16 months through April 2026, and by July 1 the net asset value stood at €51.69 per share, pushing total AUM to roughly €8.1 billion. The price on Thursday sipped at €52.30, up 0.83 percent on the day, for a year-to-date gain of 8.15 percent and a 12-month advance of 23.54 percent.

Sector allocation underscores the fund’s defensive character. Financials dominate at 42.01 percent, followed by Energy (26.49 percent), Health Care (14.54 percent), Consumer Staples (10.06 percent), and Communication Services (8.52 percent). This tilt toward mature, cash-generative industries is typical of a dividend strategy that prizes reliability over growth.

The technical picture points to a pause after the rally. The ETF sits almost exactly on its 50-day moving average of €52.31, while the 200-day average lies four percent lower at €49.58. The relative strength index stands at a neutral 53.9, and 30-day volatility is a subdued 8.63 percent — suggesting the fund is consolidating rather than preparing for a breakout.

Both funds track versions of the Morningstar Developed Markets Large Cap Dividend Leaders Screened Select Index, which screens out controversial weapons makers, tobacco companies, and firms with significant coal exposure. The index rebalances twice a year, in June and December, meaning the next scheduled adjustment for both vehicles is December 2026.

The new ex-US variant directly addresses a concern that has grown among European and Asian investors: an overconcentration in US technology stocks that dominate global benchmarks. By excluding American equities entirely, the accumulating fund offers a purer play on ex-US income without the currency and sector bets inherent in the original.

Whether the younger product can match its parent’s trajectory remains to be seen — but the demand signals are clear. With the flagship adding over $7 billion in new capital in little more than a year, VanEck has good reason to believe the appetite for dividends reaches well beyond America’s borders.