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Is SPDR S&P Emerging Markets Dividend ETF (EDIV) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Launched on 02/23/2011, the SPDR S&P Emerging Markets Dividend ETF (EDIV - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Broad Developed Market 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.

Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.

On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as 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.

This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $233.92 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Broad Developed Market ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the S&P Emerging Markets Dividend Opportunities Index before fees and expenses.

The S&P Emerging Markets Dividend Opportunities Index includes 100 tradable, exchange-listed common stocks from emerging market countries that offer high dividend yields.

Cost & Other Expenses

Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.49% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 4.01%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

Looking at individual holdings, Quanta Computer Inc accounts for about 7.31% of total assets, followed by Ase Technology Holding Co Lt and Petrochina Co Ltd H.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added roughly 25.24% and it's up approximately 16.83% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 08/15/2023), respectively. EDIV has traded between $21.74 and $32.04 during this last 52-week period.

The fund has a beta of 0.67 and standard deviation of 14.73% for the trailing three-year period, which makes EDIV a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 131 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

SPDR S&P Emerging Markets Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Developed Market ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

IShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG - Free Report) tracks MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index and the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO - Free Report) tracks FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index. IShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $71.25 billion in assets, Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has $72.90 billion. IEMG has an expense ratio of 0.09% and VWO 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 Market 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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