Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is WisdomTree Cloud Computing ETF (WCLD) a Strong ETF Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Designed to provide broad exposure to the Technology ETFs category of the market, the WisdomTree Cloud Computing ETF (WCLD - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 09/06/2019.

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.

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.

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.

The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is managed by Wisdomtree. WCLD has been able to amass assets over $601.98 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Technology ETFs. WCLD seeks to match the performance of the BVP NASDAQ EMERGING CLOUD INDEX before fees and expenses.

The BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index is an equally weighted Index, designed to measure the performance of emerging public companies focused on delivering cloud-based software to customers.

Cost & Other Expenses

Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.

With one of the cheaper products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.45%.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0%.

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.

For WCLD, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 92.80% of the portfolio.

Taking into account individual holdings, Yext Inc (YEXT - Free Report) accounts for about 2.33% of the fund's total assets, followed by Clearwater Analytics Hds-A (CWAN - Free Report) and Coupa Software Inc .

WCLD's top 10 holdings account for about 19.46% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 6.30% so far this year and is down about -29.11% in the last one year (as of 03/13/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $22.93 and $42.96.

WCLD has a beta of 1.08 and standard deviation of 44.60% for the trailing three-year period. With about 75 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

WisdomTree Cloud Computing ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Technology ETFs segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.

Global X Cloud Computing ETF (CLOU - Free Report) tracks INDXX GLOBAL CLOUD COMPUTING INDEX and the First Trust Cloud Computing ETF (SKYY - Free Report) tracks ISE Cloud Computing Index. Global X Cloud Computing ETF has $535.63 million in assets, First Trust Cloud Computing ETF has $2.50 billion. CLOU has an expense ratio of 0.68% and SKYY charges 0.60%.

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

Published in