Launched on 05/07/2014, the WisdomTree International Hedged Quality Dividend Growth ETF (IHDG) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Broad Developed World ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Wisdomtree. IHDG has been able to amass assets over $888.92 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Broad Developed World ETFs. IHDG seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree International Hedged Quality Dividend Growth Index before fees and expenses.
The WisdomTree International Hedged Quality Dividend Growth Index is designed to provide exposure to the developed market companies while at the same time neutralizing exposure to fluctuations between the value of foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar.
Cost & Other Expenses
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.58%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.87%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Taking into account individual holdings, Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) A/s (NOVOB) accounts for about 4.31% of the fund's total assets, followed by Unilever (NYSE:UL) Nv (UNA) and Industria De Diseno Textil (ITX).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 34.33% of IHDG's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 2.79% and was up about 50.09% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 03/23/2021), respectively. IHDG has traded between $29.35 and $41.58 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.69 and standard deviation of 19.26% for the trailing three-year period, which makes IHDG a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 228 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
WisdomTree International Hedged Quality Dividend Growth ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Developed World ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.
IShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO) tracks Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index and the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG) tracks NASDAQ US Dividend Achievers Select Index. IShares Core Dividend Growth ETF has $17.03 billion in assets, Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF has $54.36 billion. DGRO has an expense ratio of 0.08% and VIG charges 0.06%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Broad Developed World ETFs.
Bottom Line
To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.