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Is WisdomTree U.S. High Dividend ETF (DHS) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The WisdomTree U.S. High Dividend ETF (DHS - Free Report) was launched on 06/16/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value 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.

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.

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.

Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.

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

Because the fund has amassed over $1.09 billion, this makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. DHS is managed by Wisdomtree. DHS seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree U.S. High Dividend Index before fees and expenses.

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

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.

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.38%.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.83%.

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.

DHS's heaviest allocation is in the Financials sector, which is about 24.30% of the portfolio. Its Energy and Utilities round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Abbvie Inc (ABBV - Free Report) accounts for about 5.09% of the fund's total assets, followed by Chevron Corp (CVX - Free Report) and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 35.77% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added about 4.77% so far this year and it's up approximately 7.32% in the last one year (as of 04/09/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $73.70 and $86.66.

DHS has a beta of 0.80 and standard deviation of 14.58% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 384 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

WisdomTree U.S. High Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD - Free Report) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV - Free Report) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $55.43 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $114.58 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV 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 - Large 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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