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Is WisdomTree International Equity ETF (DWM) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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A smart beta exchange traded fund, the WisdomTree International Equity ETF (DWM - Free Report) debuted on 06/16/2006, and offers broad exposure to the World ETFs 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.

A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.

If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.

These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.

Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Because the fund has amassed over $546.75 million, this makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the World ETFs. DWM is managed by Wisdomtree. Before fees and expenses, DWM seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree International Equity Index.

The WisdomTree International Equity Index is a fundamentally weighted Index that measures the performance of dividend-paying companies in the industrialized world, excluding Canada and the United States.

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.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.48%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 4.36%.

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, Bhp Group Ltd (BHP - Free Report) accounts for about 3.47% of the fund's total assets, followed by Novartis Ag and Shell Plc-New (SHEL - Free Report) .

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 16.84% of DWM's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, DWM return is roughly 6.68%, and is up about 19.85% in the last one year (as of 11/03/2023). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $43.43 and $51.79.

The ETF has a beta of 0.80 and standard deviation of 15.57% for the trailing three-year period, making it a low risk choice in the space. With about 1029 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

WisdomTree International Equity 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 EAFE ETF (EFA - Free Report) tracks MSCI EAFE Index and the iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA - Free Report) tracks MSCI EAFE Investable Market Index. IShares MSCI EAFE ETF has $46.45 billion in assets, iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF has $96.33 billion. EFA has an expense ratio of 0.33% and IEFA 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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