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Is WisdomTree International Hedged Quality Dividend Growth ETF (IHDG) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Launched on 05/07/2014, the WisdomTree International Hedged Quality Dividend Growth ETF (IHDG - Free Report) 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 long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.
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.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by Wisdomtree. It has amassed assets over $783.36 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Broad Developed World ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree International Hedged Quality Dividend Growth Index.
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
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
With one of the more expensive products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.58%.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.71%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
When you look at individual holdings, Novo Nordisk A/s (NOVOB) accounts for about 4.59% of the fund's total assets, followed by Unilever Nv (UNA) and Industria De Diseno Textil (ITX).
IHDG's top 10 holdings account for about 34.27% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the WisdomTree International Hedged Quality Dividend Growth ETF has lost about -0.82% so far, and it's up approximately 10.18% over the last 12 months (as of 09/01/2020). IHDG has traded between $26.65 and $37.66 in this past 52-week period.
IHDG has a beta of 0.71 and standard deviation of 19.04% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 230 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 - Free Report) tracks Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index and the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG - Free Report) tracks NASDAQ US Dividend Achievers Select Index. IShares Core Dividend Growth ETF has $11.94 billion in assets, Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF has $47.35 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.
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Is WisdomTree International Hedged Quality Dividend Growth ETF (IHDG) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Launched on 05/07/2014, the WisdomTree International Hedged Quality Dividend Growth ETF (IHDG - Free Report) 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 long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.
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.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by Wisdomtree. It has amassed assets over $783.36 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Broad Developed World ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree International Hedged Quality Dividend Growth Index.
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
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
With one of the more expensive products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.58%.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.71%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
When you look at individual holdings, Novo Nordisk A/s (NOVOB) accounts for about 4.59% of the fund's total assets, followed by Unilever Nv (UNA) and Industria De Diseno Textil (ITX).
IHDG's top 10 holdings account for about 34.27% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the WisdomTree International Hedged Quality Dividend Growth ETF has lost about -0.82% so far, and it's up approximately 10.18% over the last 12 months (as of 09/01/2020). IHDG has traded between $26.65 and $37.66 in this past 52-week period.
IHDG has a beta of 0.71 and standard deviation of 19.04% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 230 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 - Free Report) tracks Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index and the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG - Free Report) tracks NASDAQ US Dividend Achievers Select Index. IShares Core Dividend Growth ETF has $11.94 billion in assets, Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF has $47.35 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.