What Is LVHI? Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF

Bank of Nova Scotia at 2.2%, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce at 2.0%, Canadian Natural Resources at 2.0% and Suncor Energy at 1.9% mean roughly 8% of the fund sits in four Canadian companies. That is not a country allocation decision; it is what happens when a screen looks for high dividends and low volatility across developed markets. Canadian banks and energy producers score well on both measures, so they are selected repeatedly.

The rest of the top ten follows the same logic in other markets: Shell at 2.3%, BHP at 2.2%, Intesa Sanpaolo at 2.2%, Rio Tinto at 2.1%, Unilever at 2.1% and Novartis at 2.1%, held here through its Swiss registered line rather than its US listing. Oil, mining, banking and consumer staples, in other words, which is the standard output of an international dividend screen.

The weights are close together, between 1.9% and 2.3%, suggesting a weighting scheme that limits individual position sizes rather than letting market value dictate them. That keeps single-company risk low while leaving country and sector risk relatively high.

Low volatility screens select companies whose share prices have historically moved less than the market. It is a backward-looking measure, and it says nothing about the underlying business risk. A commodity producer can have modest share price volatility over a measured period and still be exposed to a single price. Canadian banks concentrate exposure to one national housing and credit market.

The combination of the two screens matters too. Requiring both high yield and low volatility narrows the candidate pool substantially, which is why so few sectors dominate. Financials at 25%, energy at 14%, industrials at 13%, consumer staples at 10% and utilities at 10% together account for most of the fund. Technology is not represented in the top holdings at all.

There is also a currency question. The underlying shares trade in Canadian dollars, sterling, euros, Swiss francs and Australian dollars. Check the fund documents for whether that exposure is hedged, because for a fund held primarily for its income stream, the answer changes the year-to-year experience substantially.

At 0.40% the fee is above a plain international index fund and in line with other screened dividend products. On a fund yielding 3.93%, the fee consumes roughly a tenth of the income before anything else happens, which is a useful way to size it.

Dividends from foreign companies are often subject to withholding tax in the country of origin. Depending on account type and treaty status, part of that may be recoverable as a foreign tax credit in a taxable US account and not recoverable at all in a tax-advantaged one. This is a general description rather than tax advice, but it is a specific reason international dividend funds are frequently held in taxable accounts.

LVHI is a poor fit for an investor wanting broad international exposure, since the screens exclude technology and growth almost entirely. It is also unsuitable for anyone assuming low volatility means low risk, given the concentration in banks and commodity producers. And it duplicates the value end of any broad international holding rather than complementing it.

Approximate weights as of August 2026. Each ticker links to its individual stock guide in Walnut.

There are three common ways to get LVHI exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) of LVHI directly at any major broker that lists it. Hold it as a core position and layer more concentrated ideas on top. Or build it into a thematic portfolio in Walnut, so LVHI sits alongside other holdings that express the same thesis, with target weights you can rebalance toward. LVHI trades like a stock during market hours, so you buy it the same way you would any listed share.

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Whether LVHI is a good buy depends less on any single call and more on your time horizon and what you already hold: it tracks an index of lower-volatility, higher-dividend companies in developed markets outside the US, so the real question is whether you want that exposure in your mix and at what weight. We walk through valuation, concentration, and what would have to be true for it to outperform from here in is LVHI a buy?

LVHI gives you an index of lower-volatility, higher-dividend companies in developed markets outside the US exposure in one ticker at a 0.40% expense ratio. Most investors use it as a core holding and layer more concentrated thematic portfolios on top.

Whether LVHI is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, concentration, and what would have to be true for it to outperform from here in is LVHI a buy?

LVHI yields 3.93% as of August 2026, paid by passing through the dividends of its underlying holdings. For the payout schedule, history, and how the distributions are taxed, see LVHI dividend: yield and schedule.

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