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Is FlexShares International Quality Dividend ETF (IQDF) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The FlexShares International Quality Dividend ETF (IQDF - Free Report) was launched on 04/12/2013, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 managed by Flexshares. IQDF has been able to amass assets over $542.91 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the World ETFs. IQDF, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Northern Trust International Quality Dividend Index.
The Northern Trust International Quality Dividend Index is designed to provide exposure to a high-quality income-oriented portfolio of long-only international securities issued by non-U.S.-based companies, with an emphasis on long-term capital growth and a targeted overall beta that is similar to that of the Northern Trust International Large Cap Index.
Cost & Other Expenses
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.47%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 4.73%.
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, Bhp Group Ltd Common Stock Aud 0 (BHP - Free Report) accounts for about 3.12% of the fund's total assets, followed by Royal Bank Of Canada Common Stock Cad 0 (RY - Free Report) and Novo Nordisk A/s Common Stock Dkk 0.2 (NOVOb.CO).
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 7.19% so far this year and is up about 6.80% in the last one year (as of 08/17/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $17.72 and $23.06.
The ETF has a beta of 0.86 and standard deviation of 15.80% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 278 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
FlexShares International Quality Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the World ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
FlexShares International Quality Dividend Defensive ETF (IQDE - Free Report) tracks Northern Trust International Quality Dividend Defensive Index and the FlexShares International Quality Dividend Dynamic ETF (IQDY - Free Report) tracks Northern Trust International Quality Dividend Dynamic Index. FlexShares International Quality Dividend Defensive ETF has $27.68 million in assets, FlexShares International Quality Dividend Dynamic ETF has $69.55 million. IQDE has an expense ratio of 0.47% and IQDY charges 0.47%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the 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 FlexShares International Quality Dividend ETF (IQDF) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The FlexShares International Quality Dividend ETF (IQDF - Free Report) was launched on 04/12/2013, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 managed by Flexshares. IQDF has been able to amass assets over $542.91 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the World ETFs. IQDF, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Northern Trust International Quality Dividend Index.
The Northern Trust International Quality Dividend Index is designed to provide exposure to a high-quality income-oriented portfolio of long-only international securities issued by non-U.S.-based companies, with an emphasis on long-term capital growth and a targeted overall beta that is similar to that of the Northern Trust International Large Cap Index.
Cost & Other Expenses
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.47%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 4.73%.
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, Bhp Group Ltd Common Stock Aud 0 (BHP - Free Report) accounts for about 3.12% of the fund's total assets, followed by Royal Bank Of Canada Common Stock Cad 0 (RY - Free Report) and Novo Nordisk A/s Common Stock Dkk 0.2 (NOVOb.CO).
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 7.19% so far this year and is up about 6.80% in the last one year (as of 08/17/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $17.72 and $23.06.
The ETF has a beta of 0.86 and standard deviation of 15.80% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 278 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
FlexShares International Quality Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the World ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
FlexShares International Quality Dividend Defensive ETF (IQDE - Free Report) tracks Northern Trust International Quality Dividend Defensive Index and the FlexShares International Quality Dividend Dynamic ETF (IQDY - Free Report) tracks Northern Trust International Quality Dividend Dynamic Index. FlexShares International Quality Dividend Defensive ETF has $27.68 million in assets, FlexShares International Quality Dividend Dynamic ETF has $69.55 million. IQDE has an expense ratio of 0.47% and IQDY charges 0.47%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the 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.