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Is SPDR S&P Global Dividend ETF (WDIV) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The SPDR S&P Global Dividend ETF (WDIV - Free Report) was launched on 05/29/2013, 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?

The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.

Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.

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.

By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.

This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Because the fund has amassed over $235.83 million, this makes it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. WDIV is managed by State Street Global Advisors. WDIV, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P Global Dividend Aristocrats Index.

The S&P Global Dividend Aristocrats Index measures the performance of high dividend-yield companies included in the S&P Global BMI that have followed a managed-dividends policy of increasing or stable dividends for at least ten consecutive years.

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.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.40% for WDIV, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 5.12%.

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.

When you look at individual holdings, H&r Block Inc. (HRB - Free Report) accounts for about 2.31% of the fund's total assets, followed by Ltc Properties Inc. (LTC - Free Report) and Kt & G Corporation (033780-KR).

WDIV's top 10 holdings account for about 17.72% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, WDIV has lost about -0.07%, and is down about -5.93% in the last one year (as of 03/10/2023). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $51.92 and $68.42.

The fund has a beta of 0.79 and standard deviation of 20.96% for the trailing three-year period, which makes WDIV a low risk choice in this particular space. With about 111 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

SPDR S&P Global Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the World ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

IShares MSCI ACWI ETF (ACWI - Free Report) tracks MSCI All Country World Index and the Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (VT - Free Report) tracks FTSE Global All Cap Index. IShares MSCI ACWI ETF has $17.83 billion in assets, Vanguard Total World Stock ETF has $25.52 billion. ACWI has an expense ratio of 0.32% and VT charges 0.07%.

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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