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Is iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Launched on 06/10/2014, the iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering 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.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
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.
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
Because the fund has amassed over $39.64 billion, this makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. DGRO is managed by Blackrock. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index before fees and expenses.
The Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index is composed of U.S. equities with a history of consistently growing dividends.
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.
Annual operating expenses for DGRO are 0.08%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.99%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
DGRO's heaviest allocation is in the Financials sector, which is about 20.7% of the portfolio. Its Information Technology and Healthcare round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM) accounts for about 3.21% of the fund's total assets, followed by Jpmorgan Chase & Co (JPM) and Apple Inc (AAPL).
DGRO's top 10 holdings account for about 26.06% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, DGRO has added about 6.77%, and it's up approximately 20.17% in the last one year (as of 05/19/2026). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $61.20 and $74.01.
DGRO has a beta of 0.77 and standard deviation of 11.63% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 404 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
iShares Core Dividend Growth 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.
Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF (SPHQ) tracks S&P 500 Quality Index and the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund ETF Shares (VIG) tracks NASDAQ US Dividend Achievers Select Index. Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF has $17.56 billion in assets, Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund ETF Shares has $106.27 billion. SPHQ has an expense ratio of 0.15% and VIG changes 0.04%.
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 iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Launched on 06/10/2014, the iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering 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.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
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.
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
Because the fund has amassed over $39.64 billion, this makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. DGRO is managed by Blackrock. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index before fees and expenses.
The Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index is composed of U.S. equities with a history of consistently growing dividends.
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.
Annual operating expenses for DGRO are 0.08%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.99%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
DGRO's heaviest allocation is in the Financials sector, which is about 20.7% of the portfolio. Its Information Technology and Healthcare round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM) accounts for about 3.21% of the fund's total assets, followed by Jpmorgan Chase & Co (JPM) and Apple Inc (AAPL).
DGRO's top 10 holdings account for about 26.06% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, DGRO has added about 6.77%, and it's up approximately 20.17% in the last one year (as of 05/19/2026). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $61.20 and $74.01.
DGRO has a beta of 0.77 and standard deviation of 11.63% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 404 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
iShares Core Dividend Growth 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.
Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF (SPHQ) tracks S&P 500 Quality Index and the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund ETF Shares (VIG) tracks NASDAQ US Dividend Achievers Select Index. Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF has $17.56 billion in assets, Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund ETF Shares has $106.27 billion. SPHQ has an expense ratio of 0.15% and VIG changes 0.04%.
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.