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Is Global X SuperDividend U.S. ETF (DIV) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The Global X SuperDividend U.S. ETF (DIV - Free Report) made its debut on 03/11/2013, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Total Market (U.S.) 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.

Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.

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.

Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.

This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Because the fund has amassed over $487.85 M, this makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Total Market (U.S.) ETFs. DIV is managed by Global X Management. Before fees and expenses, DIV seeks to match the performance of the INDXX SuperDividend U.S. Low Volatility Index.

The INDXX SuperDividend US Low Volatility Index tracks the performance of 50 equally weighted common stocks, MLPs & REITs that rank among the highest dividend yielding equity securities in the US.

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.

Annual operating expenses for DIV are 0.45%, which makes it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 7.46%.

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.

Taking into account individual holdings, Amerigas Partners-Lp accounts for about 2.53% of the fund's total assets, followed by Compass Diversif and Coty Inc-Cl A.

DIV's top 10 holdings account for about 24% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, DIV has added about 3.32%, and is down about -3.59% in the last one year (as of 06/28/2019). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $21.69 and $25.59.

The ETF has a beta of 0.61 and standard deviation of 9.26% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 51 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Global X SuperDividend U.S. ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Total Market (U.S.) ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

WBI Power Factor High Dividend ETF (WBIY - Free Report) tracks Solactive Power Factor High Dividend Index and the Global X SuperDividend ETF (SDIV - Free Report) tracks Solactive Global SuperDividend Index. WBI Power Factor High Dividend ETF has $101.54 M in assets, Global X SuperDividend ETF has $927.05 M. WBIY has an expense ratio of 0.70% and SDIV charges 0.58%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Total Market (U.S.) 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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