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Is Vident U.S. Equity Strategy ETF (VUSE) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The Vident U.S. Equity Strategy ETF (VUSE - Free Report) made its debut on 01/22/2014, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Value category of the market.

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.

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

The fund is managed by Vident Financial, and has been able to amass over $538.77 million, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Value. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund Index.

The Vident U.S. Quality Index is a rules-based, systematic strategy index comprised of equity securities principally traded in the U.S. market of issuers domiciled in the United States.

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 0.50% for VUSE, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.41%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.

VUSE's heaviest allocation is in the Information Technology sector, which is about 25.50% of the portfolio. Its Healthcare and Financials round out the top three.

Taking into account individual holdings, Pepsico Inc (PEP - Free Report) accounts for about 2.56% of the fund's total assets, followed by Chevron Corp New (CVX - Free Report) and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM - Free Report) .

VUSE's top 10 holdings account for about 23.27% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the Vident U.S. Equity Strategy ETF has gained about 15.58% so far, and was up about 23.87% over the last 12 months (as of 07/04/2023). VUSE has traded between $37.13 and $47.82 in this past 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 1.15 and standard deviation of 20.34% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 130 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Vident U.S. Equity Strategy ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Value segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.

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 $8.18 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF has $14.09 billion. DFAT has an expense ratio of 0.28% 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.

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