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Is WisdomTree International High Dividend ETF (DTH) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Making its debut on 06/16/2006, smart beta exchange traded fund WisdomTree International High Dividend ETF (DTH - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Broad Developed World ETFs category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.

Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.

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.

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.

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, and has been able to amass over $340.22 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Broad Developed World ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree International High Dividend Index.

The WisdomTree International High Dividend Index is a fundamentally weighted Index that measures the performance of companies with high dividend yields selected from the WisdomTree International Equity Index.

Cost & Other Expenses

Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.58%.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 5.12%.

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.

Taking into account individual holdings, Totalenergies (TTE - Free Report) accounts for about 3.79% of the fund's total assets, followed by Bayerische Motoren Werke Ag (BMW) and Stellantis Nv (STLAM).

The top 10 holdings account for about 23.51% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF return is roughly 2.41% so far this year and is up about 10.19% in the last one year (as of 04/08/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $34.66 and $39.82.

The fund has a beta of 0.82 and standard deviation of 15.53% for the trailing three-year period, which makes DTH a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 521 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

WisdomTree International High Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Developed 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 $52.89 billion in assets, iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF has $114.90 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 Broad Developed 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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