Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Should You Invest in the VanEck Vectors BDC Income ETF (BIZD)?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Launched on 02/11/2013, the VanEck Vectors BDC Income ETF (BIZD - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Financials - BDCs/PE segment of the equity market.

Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.

Sector ETFs also provide investors access to a broad group of companies in particular sectors that offer low risk and diversified exposure. Financials - BDCs/PE is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 10, placing it in bottom 38%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by Van Eck. It has amassed assets over $206.06 M, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Financials - BDCs/PE segment of the equity market. BIZD seeks to match the performance of the MVIS US Business Development Companies Index before fees and expenses.

The MVIS US Business Development Companies Index tracks the overall performance of publicly traded business development companies.

Costs

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 counterparts, other things remaining the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.40%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 8.99%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector--about 100% of the portfolio.

Looking at individual holdings, Ares Capital Corp (ARCC - Free Report) accounts for about 19.73% of total assets, followed by Main Street Capital Corp (MAIN - Free Report) and Prospect Capital Corp (PSEC - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 69.45% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, BIZD return is roughly 7.00%, and is up about 2.38% in the last one year (as of 07/26/2018). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $15.74 and $18.16.

The ETF has a beta of 0.71 and standard deviation of 12.73% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 27 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

VanEck Vectors BDC Income ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, BIZD is a good option for those seeking exposure to the Financials ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

Invesco Raymond James SB-1 Equity ETF tracks Raymond James SB-1 Equity Index and the Invesco Global Listed Private Equity ETF (PSP - Free Report) tracks Red Rocks Global Listed Private Equity Index. Invesco Raymond James SB-1 Equity ETF has $193.24 M in assets, Invesco Global Listed Private Equity ETF has $270.27 M. RYJ has an expense ratio of 0.75% and PSP charges 0.50%.

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.