The First Trust STOXX European Select Dividend ETF (FDD Quick QuoteFDD - Free Report) made its debut on 08/27/2007, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the European Equity 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.

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.

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.

These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.

Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is managed by First Trust Advisors, and has been able to amass over $228.32 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the European Equity ETFs. FDD, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the STOXX Europe Select Dividend 30 Index.

The STOXX Europe Select Dividend 30 Index consists of 30 high dividend-yielding securities selected from the STOXX Europe 600 Index.

Cost & Other Expenses

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Annual operating expenses for FDD are 0.58%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

FDD's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 3.82%.

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.

When you look at individual holdings, Aegon N.v. (AGN.NA) accounts for about 6.19% of the fund's total assets, followed by Standard Life Aberdeen Plc (SLA.LN) and Legal & General Group Plc (LGEN.LN).

FDD's top 10 holdings account for about 46.47% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added roughly 3.92% so far this year and is down about -0.46% in the last one year (as of 01/07/2021). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $8.41 and $14.36.

The ETF has a beta of 1 and standard deviation of 25.46% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 31 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

First Trust STOXX European Select Dividend ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the European Equity ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.

IShares MSCI Eurozone ETF (EZU Quick QuoteEZU - Free Report) tracks MSCI EMU Index and the Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF (VGK Quick QuoteVGK - Free Report) tracks FTSE Developed Europe All Cap Index. IShares MSCI Eurozone ETF has $5.21 billion in assets, Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF has $14.58 billion. EZU has an expense ratio of 0.49% and VGK charges 0.08%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the European Equity 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.