Source: Shutterstock Aside from the income dividend ETFs provide, they carry lucrative tax advantages and offer the ability to beat inflation as companies raise their payouts. Small- and mid-caps benefit from the same dividend positives as their larger twins, including lower volatility, strong financial discipline and growing revenues/profits. This includes dividend stocks, real estate investment trusts (REITs), preferred securities, master limited partnerships (MLPs) and high-yield corporate debt (junk bonds).