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Is iShares Select Dividend ETF (DVY) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Launched on 11/03/2003, the iShares Select Dividend ETF (DVY - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering 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.
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.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix 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 Blackrock, and has been able to amass over $20.52 billion, which makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index.
The Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index measures the performance of a selected group of equity securities issued by companies that have provided relatively high dividend yields on a consistent basis over time.
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 DVY are 0.38%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.45%.
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.
For DVY, it has heaviest allocation in the Utilities sector --about 26.2% of the portfolio --while Financials and Consumer Staples round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Altria Group Inc (MO) accounts for about 2.62% of total assets, followed by Ford Motor Co (F) and Seagate Technology Holdings Plc (STX).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 19.33% of DVY's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 9.63% so far this year and is up roughly 8.9% in the last one year (as of 10/30/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $118.37 and $143.41
The ETF has a beta of 0.77 and standard deviation of 14.66% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 106 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
iShares Select 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) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $69.19 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $148.54 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV changes 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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Is iShares Select Dividend ETF (DVY) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Launched on 11/03/2003, the iShares Select Dividend ETF (DVY - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering 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.
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.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix 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 Blackrock, and has been able to amass over $20.52 billion, which makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index.
The Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index measures the performance of a selected group of equity securities issued by companies that have provided relatively high dividend yields on a consistent basis over time.
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 DVY are 0.38%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.45%.
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.
For DVY, it has heaviest allocation in the Utilities sector --about 26.2% of the portfolio --while Financials and Consumer Staples round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Altria Group Inc (MO) accounts for about 2.62% of total assets, followed by Ford Motor Co (F) and Seagate Technology Holdings Plc (STX).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 19.33% of DVY's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 9.63% so far this year and is up roughly 8.9% in the last one year (as of 10/30/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $118.37 and $143.41
The ETF has a beta of 0.77 and standard deviation of 14.66% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 106 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
iShares Select 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) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $69.19 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $148.54 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV changes 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.