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Is iShares Emerging Markets Dividend ETF (DVYE) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Making its debut on 02/23/2012, smart beta exchange traded fund iShares Emerging Markets Dividend ETF (DVYE - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Broad Emerging Market ETFs category of the 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.

Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.

However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: 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.

The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $569.64 M, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones Emerging Markets Select Dividend Index before fees and expenses.

The Dow Jones Emerging Markets Select Dividend Index measures the performance of the companies in emerging market countries that have provided relatively high dividend yields on a consistent basis over time.

Cost & Other Expenses

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Annual operating expenses for DVYE are 0.49%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 6.55%.

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.

Taking into account individual holdings, Severstal (CHMF) accounts for about 2.33% of the fund's total assets, followed by Magnitogorskiy Metallurgicheskiy K (MAGN) and Nanya Technology Corp.

The top 10 holdings account for about 17.97% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the iShares Emerging Markets Dividend ETF has added roughly 11.10% so far, and was up about 5.35% over the last 12 months (as of 07/31/2019). DVYE has traded between $36.59 and $42.09 in this past 52-week period.

DVYE has a beta of 0.77 and standard deviation of 14.63% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 125 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Emerging Markets Dividend ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Emerging Market ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should 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 A Inclusion Index. IShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $58.15 B in assets, Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has $63.39 B. IEMG has an expense ratio of 0.14% and VWO charges 0.12%.

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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