Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend ETF (DEM) a Strong ETF Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

A smart beta exchange traded fund, the WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend ETF (DEM - Free Report) debuted on 07/13/2007, and offers broad exposure to the Broad Emerging Market ETFs category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.

Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.

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.

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.

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

DEM is managed by Wisdomtree, and this fund has amassed over $3.24 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. DEM, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend Index.

The WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend Index is a fundamentally weighted index that measures the performance of the highest dividend yielding stocks selected from the WisdomTree Emerging Markets 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.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.63%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

DEM's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 4.34%.

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.

When you look at individual holdings, Taiwan Dollaraccounts for about 924.41% of the fund's total assets, followed by Sar and China Construction Bank-h.

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 1453.87% of DEM's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added roughly 17.99% so far this year and was up about 15.74% in the last one year (as of 11/20/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $37.51 and $47.56

The fund has a beta of 0.61 and standard deviation of 14.02% for the trailing three-year period, which makes DEM a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 553 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Emerging Market ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO) tracks FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index and the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) tracks MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index. Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has $103.27 billion in assets, iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $114.27 billion. VWO has an expense ratio of 0.07% and IEMG changes 0.09%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Broad Emerging Market ETFs

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.

See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend ETF (DEM) - free report >>

Published in