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Is WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend ETF (DEM) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Making its debut on 07/13/2007, smart beta exchange traded fund WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend ETF (DEM - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Broad Emerging 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.
Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
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.
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
Managed by Wisdomtree, DEM has amassed assets over $2.77 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend Index.
The WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend Index is a fundamentally weighted index that measures the performance of the highest dividend yielding stocks selected from the WisdomTree Emerging Markets Dividend Index.
Cost & Other Expenses
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.63%.
DEM's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 5.36%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.
Looking at individual holdings, Petroleo Brasileiro Sa (PETR3) accounts for about 6.06% of total assets, followed by Mediatek Inc and Vale Sa (VALE3).
The top 10 holdings account for about 29.68% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 2.43% so far this year and was up about 18.31% in the last one year (as of 02/27/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $36.36 and $41.93.
The fund has a beta of 0.76 and standard deviation of 15.72% for the trailing three-year period, which makes DEM a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 491 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
WisdomTree Emerging Markets High 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 $75.14 billion in assets, iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $75.15 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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Is WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend ETF (DEM) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Making its debut on 07/13/2007, smart beta exchange traded fund WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend ETF (DEM - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Broad Emerging 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.
Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
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.
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
Managed by Wisdomtree, DEM has amassed assets over $2.77 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend Index.
The WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend Index is a fundamentally weighted index that measures the performance of the highest dividend yielding stocks selected from the WisdomTree Emerging Markets Dividend Index.
Cost & Other Expenses
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.63%.
DEM's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 5.36%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.
Looking at individual holdings, Petroleo Brasileiro Sa (PETR3) accounts for about 6.06% of total assets, followed by Mediatek Inc and Vale Sa (VALE3).
The top 10 holdings account for about 29.68% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 2.43% so far this year and was up about 18.31% in the last one year (as of 02/27/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $36.36 and $41.93.
The fund has a beta of 0.76 and standard deviation of 15.72% for the trailing three-year period, which makes DEM a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 491 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
WisdomTree Emerging Markets High 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 $75.14 billion in assets, iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $75.15 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.