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Is WisdomTree Global exU.S. Quality Dividend Growth ETF (DNL) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The WisdomTree Global exU.S. Quality Dividend Growth ETF (DNL - Free Report) was launched on 06/16/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the market.

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.

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.

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.

While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Because the fund has amassed over $389.38 million, this makes it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. DNL is managed by Wisdomtree. DNL, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree Global ex-U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Index.

The WisdomTree Global ex-U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Index is a fundamentally weighted index that measures the performance of dividend paying stocks with growth characteristics in the developed and emerging markets outside of the United States.

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 this ETF are 0.42%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

DNL's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 4.84%.

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.

When you look at individual holdings, Novo Nordisk A/s (NOVOB) accounts for about 7.53% of the fund's total assets, followed by Bhp Group Ltd (BHP - Free Report) and Lvmh Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Se (MC - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 7.53% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has lost about -22.88% so far this year and is down about -21.90% in the last one year (as of 12/26/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $27.20 and $43.65.

The ETF has a beta of 0.93 and standard deviation of 25.30% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 272 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

WisdomTree Global exU.S. Quality Dividend Growth ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the World ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.

IShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO - Free Report) tracks Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index and the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG - Free Report) tracks NASDAQ US Dividend Achievers Select Index. IShares Core Dividend Growth ETF has $24.24 billion in assets, Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF has $64.65 billion. DGRO has an expense ratio of 0.08% and VIG charges 0.06%.

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