The S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats is a stock market index composed of the companies in the S&P 500 index that have increased their dividends in each of the past 25 consecutive years. It was launched in May 2005. There are other indexes of dividend aristocrats that vary with respect to market cap and minimum duration of consecutive yearly dividend increases. Components are added when they reach the 25-year threshold and are removed when they fail to increase their dividend during a calendar year or are removed from the S&P 500. However, a study found that the stock performance of companies improves after they are removed from the index. The index has been recommended as an alternative to bonds for investors looking to generate income. To invest in the index, there are several exchange-traded funds, which seek to replicate the performance of the index. One example would be NOBL by ProShares, which is traded in BATS. Wikipedia