Is This the Beginning of the End for Dividend ETFs?

Dividend ETFs are on fire, and not in a good way.

Exchange-traded funds that employ a variety of strategies to invest in dividend-paying stocks have been a no-brainer since the financial crisis, as income investors have confronted artificially low interest rates. But after years of inflows that swelled assets to $100 billion, dividend ETFs have seen an outflow of $2 billion this year.1437501962508 If that isn't quite apocalyptic, it is scary, and if it keeps up, this will be the first year of outflows ever.