One of the most exclusive clubs on Wall Street now has a few more members, with the new additions resulting in some minor changes to a popular dividend-focused ETF. S&P recently added a total of ten companies to its S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrat Index, headlined by telecom giant AT&T and also including companies such a T. Rowe Price, Colgate-Palmolive, and Sysco Corp. Inclusion in the Aristocrats index requires a long history of steady dividend hikes; the benchmark is comprised of companies that have increased their cash distribution for at least 25 consecutive years. That means that companies must have both a long operating history and the record of consistently increasing payouts to shareholders–which can be challenging throughout a full market cycle [see Special Report: Dividend ETFs In Focus]. There are currently no U.S.-listed ETFs linked to the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrat Index though the SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (SDY) seeks [...] Click here to read the original article on ETFdb.com. Related Posts: Thursday’s ETF Chart To Watch: Dow Jones U.S. Telecommunications Index Fund (IYZ) Tuesday’s ETF To Watch: iShares U.S. Medical Devices Index Fund (IHI) Details Of Dividend ETFs: Consistency vs. Yield Seven Surprising ETF Holdings: Why Investors Should Always Look Under The Hood Wednesday’s ETF To Watch: U.S. Telecommunications Index Fund (IYZ)