The First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY Quick QuoteRDVY - Free Report) was launched on January 7, 2014, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $17.18 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Value

Companies that find themselves in the large cap category typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Overall, they are usually a stable option, with less risk and more sure-fire cash flows than mid and small cap companies.

While 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. Considering long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in almost all markets; however, they are more likely to underperform growth stocks in strong bull markets.

Costs

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 0.48%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.29%.

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 36.1% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Ebay Inc. (EBAY) accounts for about 2.65% of total assets, followed by Alphabet Inc. (class A) (GOOGL) and The Bank Of New York Mellon Corporation (BK).

The top 10 holdings account for about 23.22% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

RDVY seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ US Rising Dividend Achievers Index before fees and expenses. The NASDAQ US Rising Dividend Achievers Index is designed to provide access to a diversified portfolio of companies with a history of paying dividends.

The ETF has added about 14.58% so far this year and it's up approximately 15.85% in the last one year (as of 10/02/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $51.60 and $67.29.

The ETF has a beta of 1.10 and standard deviation of 18.2% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 77 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers 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, RDVY is a good 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 Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV) track a similar index. While Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $72.08 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $147.89 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV charges 0.04%.

Bottom-Line

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds 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.