Making its debut on 06/16/2006, smart beta exchange traded fund WisdomTree U.S. MidCap Dividend ETF (DON Quick QuoteDON - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Mid 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.

Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.

But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.

Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.

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

The fund is sponsored by Wisdomtree. It has amassed assets over $3.57 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Mid Cap Value. Before fees and expenses, DON seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree U.S. MidCap Dividend Index.

The WisdomTree U.S. MidCap Dividend Index is a fundamentally weighted index that measures the performance of the mid-capitalization segment of the US dividend-paying market.

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 on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.38%.

DON's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 2.44%.

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, Us Dollaraccounts for about 71.14% of the fund's total assets, followed by Dreyfus Trsy Oblig Cash Mgmt Cl Ins and Westar Energy Inc (WR).

The top 10 holdings account for about 108.75% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, DON has lost about -0.75%, and is down about -4.83% in the last one year (as of 11/21/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $43.28 and $55.55.

The ETF has a beta of 0.95 and standard deviation of 16.86% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 328 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

WisdomTree U.S. MidCap Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Mid Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF (IWS) tracks Russell MidCap Value Index and the Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF (VOE) tracks CRSP U.S. Mid Cap Value Index. iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF has $13.35 billion in assets, Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF has $18.75 billion. IWS has an expense ratio of 0.23% and VOE changes 0.07%.

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 - Mid 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.