Back to top

Image: Bigstock

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

Read MoreHide Full Article

Designed to provide broad exposure to the Broad Emerging Market ETFs category of the market, the iShares Emerging Markets Dividend ETF (DVYE - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 02/23/2012.

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.

A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.

If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking 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.

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

DVYE is managed by Blackrock, and this fund has amassed over $636.43 M, which makes 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.

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.49%.

DVYE's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 6.69%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

Taking into account individual holdings, Severstal (CHMF) accounts for about 2.29% of the fund's total assets, followed by Nanya Technology Corp and Magnitogorskiy Metallurgicheskiy K (MAGN).

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 18.01% of DVYE's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the iShares Emerging Markets Dividend ETF has added roughly 8.77% so far, and was up about 8.37% over the last 12 months (as of 09/13/2019). DVYE has traded between $36.59 and $42.09 in this past 52-week period.

DVYE has a beta of 0.79 and standard deviation of 14.62% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 128 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 $55.34 B in assets, Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has $63.12 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.

Published in