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

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

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.

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

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.

By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.

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

DVYE is managed by Blackrock, and this fund has amassed over $578.34 million, 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.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.49% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 8.27%.

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.

Looking at individual holdings, Gmk Norilskiy Nikel (GMKN) accounts for about 2.47% of total assets, followed by Severstal (CHMF) and Astral Foods Ltd (ARL - Free Report) .

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 20.97% of DVYE's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, DVYE has lost about -24.86%, and is down about -19.97% in the last one year (as of 05/20/2020). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $25.94 and $41.99.

DVYE has a beta of 0.91 and standard deviation of 20.93% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 127 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Emerging Markets Dividend ETF 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 A Inclusion Index. IShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $46.05 billion in assets, Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has $52.29 billion. IEMG has an expense ratio of 0.13% and VWO charges 0.10%.

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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