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Is First Trust Dow Jones Global Select Dividend ETF (FGD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Making its debut on 11/21/2007, smart beta exchange traded fund First Trust Dow Jones Global Select Dividend ETF (FGD - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Foreign Large Value ETF 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.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
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.
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
FGD is managed by First Trust Advisors, and this fund has amassed over $1.4 billion, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Foreign Large Value ETF. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones Global Select Dividend Index.
The Dow Jones Global Select Dividend Index is an indicated annual dividend yield weighted index of 100 stocks selected from the developed-market portion of the Dow Jones World Index.
Cost & Other Expenses
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.55% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 5.40%.
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, Hyundai Elevator Co., Ltd. (helco) (017800.KS) accounts for about 2.35% of total assets, followed by Robert Half Inc. (RHI) and The Western Union Company (WU).
FGD's top 10 holdings account for about 15.84% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 8.3% and is up about 25.55% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 06/29/2026), respectively. FGD has traded between $27.49 and $34.33 during this last 52-week period.
FGD has a beta of 0.64 and standard deviation of 13.08% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a low risk choice in the space. With about 111 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
First Trust Dow Jones Global Select Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Foreign Large Value ETF segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard International High Dividend Yield Index Fund ETF Shares (VYMI) tracks FTSE All-World ex US High Dividend Yield Index and the Schwab Fundamental International Equity ETF (FNDF) tracks Russell RAFI Developed ex US Large Co. Index (Net). Vanguard International High Dividend Yield Index Fund ETF Shares has $19.15 billion in assets, Schwab Fundamental International Equity ETF has $23.75 billion. VYMI has an expense ratio of 0.07% and FNDF changes 0.25%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Foreign Large Value ETF
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 Dow Jones Global Select Dividend ETF (FGD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Making its debut on 11/21/2007, smart beta exchange traded fund First Trust Dow Jones Global Select Dividend ETF (FGD - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Foreign Large Value ETF 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.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
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.
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
FGD is managed by First Trust Advisors, and this fund has amassed over $1.4 billion, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Foreign Large Value ETF. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones Global Select Dividend Index.
The Dow Jones Global Select Dividend Index is an indicated annual dividend yield weighted index of 100 stocks selected from the developed-market portion of the Dow Jones World Index.
Cost & Other Expenses
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.55% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 5.40%.
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, Hyundai Elevator Co., Ltd. (helco) (017800.KS) accounts for about 2.35% of total assets, followed by Robert Half Inc. (RHI) and The Western Union Company (WU).
FGD's top 10 holdings account for about 15.84% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 8.3% and is up about 25.55% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 06/29/2026), respectively. FGD has traded between $27.49 and $34.33 during this last 52-week period.
FGD has a beta of 0.64 and standard deviation of 13.08% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a low risk choice in the space. With about 111 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
First Trust Dow Jones Global Select Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Foreign Large Value ETF segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard International High Dividend Yield Index Fund ETF Shares (VYMI) tracks FTSE All-World ex US High Dividend Yield Index and the Schwab Fundamental International Equity ETF (FNDF) tracks Russell RAFI Developed ex US Large Co. Index (Net). Vanguard International High Dividend Yield Index Fund ETF Shares has $19.15 billion in assets, Schwab Fundamental International Equity ETF has $23.75 billion. VYMI has an expense ratio of 0.07% and FNDF changes 0.25%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Foreign Large Value ETF
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.