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Is First Trust Dow Jones Global Select Dividend ETF (FGD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Making its debut on 11/21/2007, smart beta exchange traded fund First Trust Dow Jones Global Select Dividend ETF (FGD - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Broad Developed World ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
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.
Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by First Trust Advisors, and has been able to amass over $385.34 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Broad Developed World ETFs. FGD seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones Global Select Dividend Index before fees and expenses.
This Index is an indicated annual dividend yield weighted index of 100 stocks selected from the developed-market portion of the Dow Jones World Index.
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.59% for this ETF, which makes it one of the more expensive products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 4.53%.
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.
When you look at individual holdings, Bankia, S.a. (BKIA.SM) accounts for about 2.43% of the fund's total assets, followed by Yue Yuen Industrial (holdings) Limited (551.HK) and Drax Group Plc (DRX.LN).
The top 10 holdings account for about 15.52% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -7% and is down about -6.17% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 12/21/2020), respectively. FGD has traded between $13.90 and $25.20 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1.03 and standard deviation of 24.90% for the trailing three-year period, which makes FGD a low risk choice in this particular space. With about 96 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust Dow Jones Global Select Dividend 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 MSCI ACWI ETF (ACWI - Free Report) tracks MSCI All Country World Index and the Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (VT - Free Report) tracks FTSE Global All Cap Index. IShares MSCI ACWI ETF has $14.36 billion in assets, Vanguard Total World Stock ETF has $16.61 billion. ACWI has an expense ratio of 0.32% and VT charges 0.08%.
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 First Trust Dow Jones Global Select Dividend ETF (FGD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Making its debut on 11/21/2007, smart beta exchange traded fund First Trust Dow Jones Global Select Dividend ETF (FGD - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Broad Developed World ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
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.
Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by First Trust Advisors, and has been able to amass over $385.34 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Broad Developed World ETFs. FGD seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones Global Select Dividend Index before fees and expenses.
This Index is an indicated annual dividend yield weighted index of 100 stocks selected from the developed-market portion of the Dow Jones World Index.
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.59% for this ETF, which makes it one of the more expensive products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 4.53%.
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.
When you look at individual holdings, Bankia, S.a. (BKIA.SM) accounts for about 2.43% of the fund's total assets, followed by Yue Yuen Industrial (holdings) Limited (551.HK) and Drax Group Plc (DRX.LN).
The top 10 holdings account for about 15.52% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -7% and is down about -6.17% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 12/21/2020), respectively. FGD has traded between $13.90 and $25.20 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1.03 and standard deviation of 24.90% for the trailing three-year period, which makes FGD a low risk choice in this particular space. With about 96 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust Dow Jones Global Select Dividend 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 MSCI ACWI ETF (ACWI - Free Report) tracks MSCI All Country World Index and the Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (VT - Free Report) tracks FTSE Global All Cap Index. IShares MSCI ACWI ETF has $14.36 billion in assets, Vanguard Total World Stock ETF has $16.61 billion. ACWI has an expense ratio of 0.32% and VT charges 0.08%.
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.