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Is SPDR S&P Global Dividend ETF (WDIV) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Global Large-Cap Value Equity ETF category of the market, the SPDR S&P Global Dividend ETF (WDIV - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 05/29/2013.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
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.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by State Street Investment Management. WDIV has been able to amass assets over $224.9 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Global Large-Cap Value Equity ETF. Before fees and expenses, WDIV seeks to match the performance of the S&P Global Dividend Aristocrats Index.
The S&P Global Dividend Aristocrats Index measures the performance of high dividend-yield companies included in the S&P Global BMI that have followed a managed-dividends policy of increasing or stable dividends for at least ten consecutive years.
Cost & Other Expenses
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
With one of the cheaper products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.40%.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 4.09%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Taking into account individual holdings, Cspc Pharmaceutical Group Ltaccounts for about 2.48% of the fund's total assets, followed by Apa Group (APA) and Altria Group Inc (MO).
The top 10 holdings account for about 17.38% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, WDIV return is roughly 20.33%, and was up about 15.8% in the last one year (as of 09/08/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $59.84 and $73.96.
The ETF has a beta of 0.64 and standard deviation of 13.11% for the trailing three-year period, making it a low risk choice in the space. With about 122 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
SPDR S&P Global Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Global Large-Cap Value Equity ETF segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
SPDR Global Dow ETF (DGT) tracks Global Dow Index and the Pacer Global Cash Cows Dividend ETF (GCOW) tracks Pacer Global Cash Cows Dividend Index. SPDR Global Dow ETF has $435.94 million in assets, Pacer Global Cash Cows Dividend ETF has $2.46 billion. DGT has an expense ratio of 0.50% and GCOW changes 0.60%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Global Large-Cap Value Equity ETF
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 SPDR S&P Global Dividend ETF (WDIV) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Designed to provide broad exposure to the Global Large-Cap Value Equity ETF category of the market, the SPDR S&P Global Dividend ETF (WDIV - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 05/29/2013.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
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.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by State Street Investment Management. WDIV has been able to amass assets over $224.9 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Global Large-Cap Value Equity ETF. Before fees and expenses, WDIV seeks to match the performance of the S&P Global Dividend Aristocrats Index.
The S&P Global Dividend Aristocrats Index measures the performance of high dividend-yield companies included in the S&P Global BMI that have followed a managed-dividends policy of increasing or stable dividends for at least ten consecutive years.
Cost & Other Expenses
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
With one of the cheaper products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.40%.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 4.09%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Taking into account individual holdings, Cspc Pharmaceutical Group Ltaccounts for about 2.48% of the fund's total assets, followed by Apa Group (APA) and Altria Group Inc (MO).
The top 10 holdings account for about 17.38% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, WDIV return is roughly 20.33%, and was up about 15.8% in the last one year (as of 09/08/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $59.84 and $73.96.
The ETF has a beta of 0.64 and standard deviation of 13.11% for the trailing three-year period, making it a low risk choice in the space. With about 122 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
SPDR S&P Global Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Global Large-Cap Value Equity ETF segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
SPDR Global Dow ETF (DGT) tracks Global Dow Index and the Pacer Global Cash Cows Dividend ETF (GCOW) tracks Pacer Global Cash Cows Dividend Index. SPDR Global Dow ETF has $435.94 million in assets, Pacer Global Cash Cows Dividend ETF has $2.46 billion. DGT has an expense ratio of 0.50% and GCOW changes 0.60%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Global Large-Cap Value Equity ETF
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.