Dividend ETF competition heats up

Dividend ETFs have grown tremendously over the past year. Vanguard and BlackRock's iShares experienced the biggest growth: $6.5 billion and $5.6 billion, respectively.

With AUM of more than $10 billion and expense ratios that are slightly higher than its peer group, WisdomTree looks to gain the most from yield-seeking investors flocking to the asset class.

In line with the rest of its ETF offerings, Vanguard is the low-cost provider among the group with an expense ratio of 0.18%, while the average expense ratio of Powershares' three dividend ETFs tops the list at 0.59%.

The average yield on iShares dividend ETFs is 123 basis points higher than its competitors.