Back to top

Image: Bigstock

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

Read MoreHide Full Article

The Fidelity High Dividend ETF (FDVV - Free Report) was launched on 09/12/2016, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Value 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 work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.

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.

Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other 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

The fund is managed by Fidelity, and has been able to amass over $1.39 billion, which makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Value. This particular fund 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

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 0.29% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 3.35%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector - about 20.50% of the portfolio. Financials and Energy round out the top three.

Taking into account individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 4.95% of the fund's total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM - Free Report) .

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 29.61% of FDVV's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the Fidelity High Dividend ETF return is roughly 2.65% so far, and was up about 0.69% over the last 12 months (as of 03/02/2023). FDVV has traded between $33.02 and $42.25 in this past 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 1.01 and standard deviation of 24.71% for the trailing three-year period. With about 118 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 $8.20 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF has $13 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.

Published in