Making its debut on 11/24/2015, smart beta exchange traded fund Xtrackers Russell US Multifactor ETF (DEUS Quick QuoteDEUS - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend 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.

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.

However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.

By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.

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

Because the fund has amassed over $253.37 million, this makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. DEUS is managed by Deutsche Bank Ag. Before fees and expenses, DEUS seeks to match the performance of the Russell 1000 Comprehensive Factor Index.

The Russell 1000 Comprehensive Factor Index provides exposure to domestic equities based on five factors Quality, Value, Momentum, Low Volatility and Size.

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.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.17% for this ETF, which makes it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.50%.

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.

Taking into account individual holdings, Mckesson Corp (MCK) accounts for about 1.26% of the fund's total assets, followed by Altria Group Inc (MO) and Cash & Cash Equivalents.

DEUS's top 10 holdings account for about 7.18% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, DEUS has added about 7.53%, and was up about 18.12% in the last one year (as of 05/05/2026). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $53.48 and $63.30.

DEUS has a beta of 0.88 and standard deviation of 13.12% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 847 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

Xtrackers Russell US Multifactor ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) tracks S&P 500 Index and the Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $796.58 billion in assets, Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares has $902.54 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VOO 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 Blend

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.