5 Dirt-Cheap Index Funds That Invest in Dividend Stocks

Dividend investors typically rely on their regular income payments to either pay the bills or grow their nest eggs via reinvestment. Either way, it's vital that every possible cent in distributions makes it back into the hands of the investor - one of the benefits of investing for income via dirt-cheap index funds.

Generally speaking, buying an exchange-traded fund (ETF) or other diversified fund offers something of a safety net. While investors can go the stock-picking route and hold onto a handful of picks, a fund provides wide diversification across dozens or even hundreds of stocks, shielding the investment from the potential for a sudden detrimental shock to a single company.

The flip side? Funds aren't free. The Morningstar "Large Value" category, in which many basic U.S. dividend