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Is First Trust STOXX European Select Dividend ETF (FDD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The First Trust STOXX European Select Dividend ETF (FDD - Free Report) made its debut on 08/27/2007, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the European Equity ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader 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.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other 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
Managed by First Trust Advisors, FDD has amassed assets over $650.87 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the European Equity ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the STOXX Europe Select Dividend 30 Index.
The STOXX Europe Select Dividend 30 Index consists of 30 high dividend-yielding securities selected from the STOXX Europe 600 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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.59% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 4.89%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Looking at individual holdings, Aker Bp Asa (AKRBP.NO) accounts for about 5.25% of total assets, followed by Abn Amro Group N.v. (ABN.NA) and Legal & General Group Plc (LGEN.LN).
FDD's top 10 holdings account for about 42.55% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the First Trust STOXX European Select Dividend ETF has gained about 53.86% so far, and is up roughly 47.47% over the last 12 months (as of 12/08/2025). FDD has traded between $11.07 $16.78 in this past 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.70 and standard deviation of 16.06% for the trailing three-year period, which makes FDD a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 33 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers .
Alternatives
First Trust STOXX European Select Dividend ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the European Equity ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.
iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF (EZU) tracks MSCI EMU Index and the Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF (VGK) tracks FTSE Developed Europe All Cap Index. iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF has $8.58 billion in assets, Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF has $28.58 billion. EZU has an expense ratio of 0.51% and VGK changes 0.06%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the European Equity 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.
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Is First Trust STOXX European Select Dividend ETF (FDD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The First Trust STOXX European Select Dividend ETF (FDD - Free Report) made its debut on 08/27/2007, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the European Equity ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader 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.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other 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
Managed by First Trust Advisors, FDD has amassed assets over $650.87 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the European Equity ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the STOXX Europe Select Dividend 30 Index.
The STOXX Europe Select Dividend 30 Index consists of 30 high dividend-yielding securities selected from the STOXX Europe 600 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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.59% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 4.89%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Looking at individual holdings, Aker Bp Asa (AKRBP.NO) accounts for about 5.25% of total assets, followed by Abn Amro Group N.v. (ABN.NA) and Legal & General Group Plc (LGEN.LN).
FDD's top 10 holdings account for about 42.55% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the First Trust STOXX European Select Dividend ETF has gained about 53.86% so far, and is up roughly 47.47% over the last 12 months (as of 12/08/2025). FDD has traded between $11.07 $16.78 in this past 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.70 and standard deviation of 16.06% for the trailing three-year period, which makes FDD a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 33 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers .
Alternatives
First Trust STOXX European Select Dividend ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the European Equity ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.
iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF (EZU) tracks MSCI EMU Index and the Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF (VGK) tracks FTSE Developed Europe All Cap Index. iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF has $8.58 billion in assets, Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF has $28.58 billion. EZU has an expense ratio of 0.51% and VGK changes 0.06%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the European Equity 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.