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Is FlexShares International Quality Dividend ETF (IQDF) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Making its debut on 04/12/2013, smart beta exchange traded fund FlexShares International Quality Dividend ETF (IQDF - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
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.
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
The fund is managed by Flexshares. IQDF has been able to amass assets over $1.05 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Northern Trust International Quality Dividend Index.
The Northern Trust International Quality Dividend Index is designed to provide exposure to a high-quality income-oriented portfolio of long-only international securities issued by non-U.S.-based companies, with an emphasis on long-term capital growth and a targeted overall beta that is similar to that of the Northern Trust International Large Cap Index.
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.47% for IQDF, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.04%.
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, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd Common accounts for about 3.82% of total assets, followed by Roche Holding Ag Common Stock Chf 0 (ROG) and Advantest Corp Common Stock Jpy.
IQDF's top 10 holdings account for about 17.29% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 5.42% and is up about 47.56% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 04/08/2026), respectively. IQDF has traded between $23.30 and $34.14 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.70 and standard deviation of 14.06% for the trailing three-year period, which makes IQDF a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 284 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
FlexShares International Quality Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the World ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
FlexShares International Quality Dividend Dynamic ETF(IQDY) tracks Northern Trust International Quality Dividend Dynamic Index The fund has $95.8 million in assets. IQDY has an expense ratio of 0.47%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the World 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 FlexShares International Quality Dividend ETF (IQDF) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Making its debut on 04/12/2013, smart beta exchange traded fund FlexShares International Quality Dividend ETF (IQDF - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
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.
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
The fund is managed by Flexshares. IQDF has been able to amass assets over $1.05 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Northern Trust International Quality Dividend Index.
The Northern Trust International Quality Dividend Index is designed to provide exposure to a high-quality income-oriented portfolio of long-only international securities issued by non-U.S.-based companies, with an emphasis on long-term capital growth and a targeted overall beta that is similar to that of the Northern Trust International Large Cap Index.
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.47% for IQDF, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.04%.
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, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd Common accounts for about 3.82% of total assets, followed by Roche Holding Ag Common Stock Chf 0 (ROG) and Advantest Corp Common Stock Jpy.
IQDF's top 10 holdings account for about 17.29% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 5.42% and is up about 47.56% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 04/08/2026), respectively. IQDF has traded between $23.30 and $34.14 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.70 and standard deviation of 14.06% for the trailing three-year period, which makes IQDF a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 284 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
FlexShares International Quality Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the World ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
FlexShares International Quality Dividend Dynamic ETF(IQDY) tracks Northern Trust International Quality Dividend Dynamic Index The fund has $95.8 million in assets. IQDY has an expense ratio of 0.47%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the World 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.