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Is iShares Emerging Markets Dividend ETF (DVYE) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Broad Emerging Market ETFs category of the market, the iShares Emerging Markets Dividend ETF (DVYE - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 02/23/2012.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.

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

But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.

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.

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 Blackrock, and has been able to amass over $642.77 million, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones Emerging Markets Select Dividend Index.

The Dow Jones Emerging Markets Select Dividend Index measures the performance of the companies in emerging market countries that have provided relatively high dividend yields on a consistent basis over time.

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 0.49% for DVYE, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 9.71%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

Taking into account individual holdings, Colbun Machicura Sa (COLBUN) accounts for about 2.96% of the fund's total assets, followed by Metalurgica Gerdau Pref Sa (GOAU4) and Eregli Demir Ve Celik Fabrikalari (EREGL.E).

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 1.91% so far this year and is down about -16.49% in the last one year (as of 03/13/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $22.56 and $34.16.

DVYE has a beta of 0.78 and standard deviation of 23.39% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 130 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Emerging Markets Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Emerging Market ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

IShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG - Free Report) tracks MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index and the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO - Free Report) tracks FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index. IShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $67.27 billion in assets, Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has $69.54 billion. IEMG has an expense ratio of 0.09% and VWO charges 0.08%.

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