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Is Fidelity High Dividend ETF (FDVV) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The Fidelity High Dividend ETF (FDVV - Free Report) made its debut on 09/12/2016, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Value 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.

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.

Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.

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 sponsored by Fidelity. It has amassed assets over $1.34 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Value. FDVV seeks to match the performance of the Fidelity Core Dividend Index before fees and expenses.

The Fidelity High Dividend Index reflects the performance of stocks of large and mid-capitalization high-dividend-paying companies that are expected to continue to pay and grow their dividends.

Cost & Other Expenses

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.

Annual operating expenses for FDVV are 0.29%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.43%.

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.

For FDVV, it has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector --about 20.90% of the portfolio --while Information Technology and Energy round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 5.67% of the fund's total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 29.76% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has lost about -4.77% and is down about -4.06% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 12/28/2022), respectively. FDVV has traded between $33.02 and $42.25 during this last 52-week period.

FDVV has a beta of 1.01 and standard deviation of 24.90% for the trailing three-year period. With about 108 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Fidelity High Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Dimensional U.S. Targeted Value ETF (DFAT - Free Report) tracks ---------------------------------------- and the iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF (IUSV - Free Report) tracks S&P 900 Value Index. Dimensional U.S. Targeted Value ETF has $7.33 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF has $12.67 billion. DFAT has an expense ratio of 0.29% and IUSV 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 - All 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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