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Is First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Making its debut on 01/07/2014, smart beta exchange traded fund First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY - Free Report) provides investors 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.
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.
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.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $19.74 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. Before fees and expenses, RDVY seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ US Rising Dividend Achievers Index.
The NASDAQ US Rising Dividend Achievers Index is designed to provide access to a diversified portfolio of companies with a history of paying dividends.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.47%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.13%.
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.
Representing 33% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector; Information Technology and Industrials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Lam Research Corporation (LRCX) accounts for about 3.91% of total assets, followed by Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) and Alphabet Inc. (class A) (GOOGL).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 26.64% of RDVY's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -1.77% and is up roughly 20.61% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 03/16/2026), respectively. RDVY has traded between $51.60 and $73.21 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 16.80% for the trailing three-year period, which makes RDVY a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 72 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index and the Vanguard Value Index Fund ETF Shares (VTV) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $83.67 billion in assets, Vanguard Value Index Fund ETF Shares has $165 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV changes 0.03%.
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 First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Making its debut on 01/07/2014, smart beta exchange traded fund First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY - Free Report) provides investors 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.
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.
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.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $19.74 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. Before fees and expenses, RDVY seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ US Rising Dividend Achievers Index.
The NASDAQ US Rising Dividend Achievers Index is designed to provide access to a diversified portfolio of companies with a history of paying dividends.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.47%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.13%.
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.
Representing 33% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector; Information Technology and Industrials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Lam Research Corporation (LRCX) accounts for about 3.91% of total assets, followed by Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) and Alphabet Inc. (class A) (GOOGL).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 26.64% of RDVY's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -1.77% and is up roughly 20.61% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 03/16/2026), respectively. RDVY has traded between $51.60 and $73.21 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 16.80% for the trailing three-year period, which makes RDVY a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 72 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index and the Vanguard Value Index Fund ETF Shares (VTV) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $83.67 billion in assets, Vanguard Value Index Fund ETF Shares has $165 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV changes 0.03%.
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.