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Should PowerShares Dividend Achievers Portfolio (PFM) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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The PowerShares Dividend Achievers Portfolio (PFM - Free Report) was launched on 09/15/2005, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Invesco Powershares. It has amassed assets over $290.67 M, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Value

Large cap companies typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Overall, they are usually a stable option, with less risk and more sure-fire cash flows than mid and small cap companies.

Value stocks are known for their lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, but investors should also note their lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. While value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in nearly all markets when you consider long-term performance, growth stocks are more likely to outpace value stocks in strong bull markets.

Costs

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.55%, making it one of the more expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.01%.

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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Consumer Staples sector--about 18.30% of the portfolio. Industrials and Information Technology round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM - Free Report) accounts for about 4.16% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 31.6% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

PFM seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ US Broad Dividend Achievers Index before fees and expenses. The NASDAQ US Broad Dividend Achievers Index is designed to identify a diversified group of dividend-paying companies which have increased their annual dividend for 10 or more consecutive fiscal years.

The ETF has lost about -2.84% so far this year and was up about 8.72% in the last one year (as of 05/23/2018). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $23.95 and $27.75.

The ETF has a beta of 0.86 and standard deviation of 11.56% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 266 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

PowerShares Dividend Achievers Portfolio carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, PFM is a good option for those seeking exposure to the Large Cap ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD - Free Report) and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF has $36.74 B in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $36.40 B. IWD has an expense ratio of 0.20% and VTV charges 0.05%.

Bottom-Line

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

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.