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Is First Trust STOXX European Select Dividend ETF (FDD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Designed to provide broad exposure to the European Equity ETFs category of the market, the First Trust STOXX European Select Dividend ETF (FDD - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 08/27/2007.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
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.
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
The fund is managed by First Trust Advisors, and has been able to amass over $865.3 million, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the European Equity ETFs. FDD, 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
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.56% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.55%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Taking into account individual holdings, Legal & General Group Plc (LGEN.LN) accounts for about 5.66% of the fund's total assets, followed by Taylor Wimpey Plc (TW/.LN) and Signify Nv (LIGHT.NA).
FDD's top 10 holdings account for about 43.32% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 11.32% and it's up approximately 30.84% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 06/19/2026), respectively. FDD has traded between $15.26 and $19.90 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.68 and standard deviation of 16.07% 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 European Stock Index Fund ETF Shares (VGK) tracks FTSE Developed Europe All Cap Index. iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF has $9.62 billion in assets, Vanguard European Stock Index Fund ETF Shares has $29.89 billion. EZU has an expense ratio of 0.50% 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?
Designed to provide broad exposure to the European Equity ETFs category of the market, the First Trust STOXX European Select Dividend ETF (FDD - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 08/27/2007.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
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.
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
The fund is managed by First Trust Advisors, and has been able to amass over $865.3 million, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the European Equity ETFs. FDD, 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
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.56% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.55%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Taking into account individual holdings, Legal & General Group Plc (LGEN.LN) accounts for about 5.66% of the fund's total assets, followed by Taylor Wimpey Plc (TW/.LN) and Signify Nv (LIGHT.NA).
FDD's top 10 holdings account for about 43.32% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 11.32% and it's up approximately 30.84% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 06/19/2026), respectively. FDD has traded between $15.26 and $19.90 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.68 and standard deviation of 16.07% 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 European Stock Index Fund ETF Shares (VGK) tracks FTSE Developed Europe All Cap Index. iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF has $9.62 billion in assets, Vanguard European Stock Index Fund ETF Shares has $29.89 billion. EZU has an expense ratio of 0.50% 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.