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Should WisdomTree U.S. Total Dividend ETF (DTD) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Looking for broad exposure to the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market? You should consider the WisdomTree U.S. Total Dividend ETF (DTD - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 06/16/2006.

The fund is sponsored by Wisdomtree. It has amassed assets over $1.16 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Value

Companies that fall in the large cap category tend to have a market capitalization above $10 billion. They tend to be stable companies with predictable cash flows and are usually less volatile than mid and small cap companies.

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

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.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.28%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.38%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector--about 18.40% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 3.09% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Jpmorgan Chase & Co (JPM - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 22.81% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

DTD seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree U.S. Dividend Index before fees and expenses. The WisdomTree U.S. Dividend Index is a fundamentally-weighted index that defines the dividend-paying portion of the U.S. equity market.

The ETF return is roughly 2.38% so far this year and it's up approximately 9.52% in the last one year (as of 02/21/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $57.51 and $67.14.

The ETF has a beta of 0.91 and standard deviation of 14.31% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 827 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

WisdomTree U.S. Total Dividend ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, DTD is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD - Free Report) and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF has $53.10 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $108.65 billion. IWD has an expense ratio of 0.19% and VTV charges 0.04%.

Bottom-Line

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they 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.

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