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Is First Trust BICK Index Fund (BICK) a Hot ETF Right Now?
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The First Trust BICK Index Fund made its debut on 04/12/2010, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Broad Emerging Market ETFs category of the U.S. equity market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
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.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.
Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by First Trust Advisors. BICK has been able to amass assets over $244.02 M, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. BICK, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the ISE BICK Index.
The ISE BICK Index is designed to provide a benchmark for investors interested in tracking the largest and most liquid public companies that are domiciled in Brazil, India, Mainland China and South Korea.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.64%.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.15%.
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.
When you look at individual holdings, Wns (holdings) Limited (adr) (WNS - Free Report) accounts for about 2.17% of the fund's total assets, followed by Makemytrip Limited (MMYT - Free Report) and Yatra Online, Inc. (YTRA - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 19.55% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
BICK has lost about -2.44% so far this year, and as of 06/07/2018, is up roughly 13.99% in the last one year. In the past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $25.42 and $33.60.
The fund has a beta of 1.27 and standard deviation of 21.37% for the trailing three-year period, which makes BICK a medium choice in this particular space. With about 89 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust BICK Index Fund 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.
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 An Inclusion Index. IShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $50.73 B in assets, Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has $67.52 B. IEMG has an expense ratio of 0.14% and VWO charges 0.14%.
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 First Trust BICK Index Fund (BICK) a Hot ETF Right Now?
The First Trust BICK Index Fund made its debut on 04/12/2010, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Broad Emerging Market ETFs category of the U.S. equity market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
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.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.
Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by First Trust Advisors. BICK has been able to amass assets over $244.02 M, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. BICK, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the ISE BICK Index.
The ISE BICK Index is designed to provide a benchmark for investors interested in tracking the largest and most liquid public companies that are domiciled in Brazil, India, Mainland China and South Korea.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.64%.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.15%.
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.
When you look at individual holdings, Wns (holdings) Limited (adr) (WNS - Free Report) accounts for about 2.17% of the fund's total assets, followed by Makemytrip Limited (MMYT - Free Report) and Yatra Online, Inc. (YTRA - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 19.55% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
BICK has lost about -2.44% so far this year, and as of 06/07/2018, is up roughly 13.99% in the last one year. In the past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $25.42 and $33.60.
The fund has a beta of 1.27 and standard deviation of 21.37% for the trailing three-year period, which makes BICK a medium choice in this particular space. With about 89 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust BICK Index Fund 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.
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 An Inclusion Index. IShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $50.73 B in assets, Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has $67.52 B. IEMG has an expense ratio of 0.14% and VWO charges 0.14%.
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.