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Is First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value category of the market, the First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 01/07/2014.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.

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

There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.

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.

Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is managed by First Trust Advisors, and has been able to amass over $5.19 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ US Rising Dividend Achievers Index before fees and expenses.

The Index is designed to provide access to a diversified portfolio of companies with a history of paying dividends.

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 0.50%.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.18%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

For RDVY, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 36.10% of the portfolio --while Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Taking into account individual holdings, Ally Financial Inc. (ALLY - Free Report) accounts for about 2.01% of the fund's total assets, followed by Citigroup Inc. (C - Free Report) and Intel Corporation (INTC - Free Report) .

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 20.06% of RDVY's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 24.83% so far this year and is up roughly 52.28% in the last one year (as of 08/09/2021). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $31.60 and $49.37.

The ETF has a beta of 1.20 and standard deviation of 27.83% 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

First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.

IShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD - Free Report) tracks Russell 1000 Value Index and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV - Free Report) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. IShares Russell 1000 Value ETF has $54.55 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $83.32 billion. IWD has an expense ratio of 0.19% and VTV charges 0.04%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Large Cap Value.

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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