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

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A smart beta exchange traded fund, the SPDR S&P Emerging Markets Dividend ETF (EDIV - Free Report) debuted on 02/23/2011, and offers broad exposure to the Broad Emerging Market ETFs category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.

A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.

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.

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

Because the fund has amassed over $337.54 million, this makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. EDIV is managed by State Street Global Advisors. 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

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 EDIV are 0.49%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 4.45%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

When you look at individual holdings, Ntpc Ltd (NTPC) accounts for about 3.21% of the fund's total assets, followed by Petrochina Co Ltd H and Power Grid Corp Of India Ltd (PWGR).

EDIV's top 10 holdings account for about 27.54% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 35.40% and is up about 37.29% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 12/21/2023), respectively. EDIV has traded between $23.67 and $32.04 during this last 52-week period.

The fund has a beta of 0.67 and standard deviation of 14.56% for the trailing three-year period, which makes EDIV a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 135 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 Emerging Market ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO - Free Report) tracks FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index and the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG - Free Report) tracks MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index. Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has $70.90 billion in assets, iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $70.61 billion. VWO has an expense ratio of 0.08% and IEMG charges 0.09%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Broad Emerging 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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