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Is iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value category of the market, the iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 06/10/2014.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
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.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.
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
The fund is managed by Blackrock. DGRO has been able to amass assets over $30.38 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. DGRO, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index.
The Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index is composed of U.S. equities with a history of consistently growing dividends.
Cost & Other Expenses
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.08%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.20%.
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.
Representing 19% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector; Information Technology and Healthcare round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM - Free Report) accounts for about 3% of the fund's total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) .
DGRO's top 10 holdings account for about 26.36% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF return is roughly 18.05% so far, and was up about 34.94% over the last 12 months (as of 10/30/2024). DGRO has traded between $48.23 and $63.89 in this past 52-week period.
DGRO has a beta of 0.88 and standard deviation of 14.52% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 418 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IShares Core Dividend Growth ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth ETF (DGRW - Free Report) tracks WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Index and the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG - Free Report) tracks NASDAQ US Dividend Achievers Select Index. WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth ETF has $14.79 billion in assets, Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF has $85.90 billion. DGRW has an expense ratio of 0.28% and VIG charges 0.06%.
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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Is iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Designed to provide broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value category of the market, the iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 06/10/2014.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
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.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.
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
The fund is managed by Blackrock. DGRO has been able to amass assets over $30.38 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. DGRO, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index.
The Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index is composed of U.S. equities with a history of consistently growing dividends.
Cost & Other Expenses
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.08%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.20%.
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.
Representing 19% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector; Information Technology and Healthcare round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM - Free Report) accounts for about 3% of the fund's total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) .
DGRO's top 10 holdings account for about 26.36% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF return is roughly 18.05% so far, and was up about 34.94% over the last 12 months (as of 10/30/2024). DGRO has traded between $48.23 and $63.89 in this past 52-week period.
DGRO has a beta of 0.88 and standard deviation of 14.52% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 418 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IShares Core Dividend Growth ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth ETF (DGRW - Free Report) tracks WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Index and the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG - Free Report) tracks NASDAQ US Dividend Achievers Select Index. WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth ETF has $14.79 billion in assets, Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF has $85.90 billion. DGRW has an expense ratio of 0.28% and VIG charges 0.06%.
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.