Some sector ETFs are vulnerable to dividend cuts.
Utilities are supposed to be defensive stocks. Risk-averse investors especially rely upon utility stocks when the economy sinks into recession. Much of the appeal stems from the stocks' high dividend payouts. There's nothing like a regular income stream to soften the blows to one's portfolio in precarious times.
Not all utility dividends are created equal, though. Some are more secure than others. Thanks to the good folks at Reality Shares, the purveyors of an exchange-traded fund family based on its proprietary DIVCON rating system, we can gauge