Designed to provide broad exposure to the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market, the iShares Select Dividend ETF (DVY Quick QuoteDVY - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 11/03/2003.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $20.22 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Value

Companies that find themselves in the large cap category typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Considered a more stable option, large cap companies boast more predictable cash flows and are less volatile than their mid and small cap counterparts.

While value stocks have lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, they also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. Looking at their long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in almost all markets. They are however likely to underperform growth stocks in strong bull markets.

Costs

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.38%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 4.48%.

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 to the Utilities sector--about 27.70% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Staples round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Altria Group Inc (MO Quick QuoteMO - Free Report) accounts for about 2.44% of total assets, followed by Verizon Communications Inc (VZ Quick QuoteVZ - Free Report) and At&t Inc (T Quick QuoteT - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 17.99% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

DVY seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index before fees and expenses. The Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index measures the performance of a selected group of equity securities issued by companies that have provided relatively high dividend yields on a consistent basis over time.

The ETF has lost about -4.58% so far this year and is down about -8.35% in the last one year (as of 06/09/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $107.22 and $127.71.

The ETF has a beta of 0.87 and standard deviation of 18.70% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 106 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Select Dividend ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, DVY is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD Quick QuoteIWD - Free Report) and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV Quick QuoteVTV - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF has $49.88 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $97.89 billion. IWD has an expense ratio of 0.18% and VTV charges 0.04%.

Bottom-Line

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

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.