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Is WisdomTree U.S. Total Dividend ETF (DTD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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A smart beta exchange traded fund, the WisdomTree U.S. Total Dividend ETF (DTD - Free Report) debuted on 06/16/2006, and offers broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value 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.
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.
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.
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
The fund is managed by Wisdomtree. DTD has been able to amass assets over $1.63 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree U.S. Dividend Index.
The WisdomTree U.S. Dividend Index is a fundamentally-weighted index that defines the dividend-paying portion of the U.S. equity market.
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 this ETF are 0.28%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.84%.
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.
For DTD, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 19.6% of the portfolio --while Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Microsoft Corp (MSFT) accounts for about 3.98% of total assets, followed by Nvidia Corp (NVDA) and Jpmorgan Chase & Co (JPM).
DTD's top 10 holdings account for about 22.93% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 13.53% so far this year and is up about 16.22% in the last one year (as of 09/18/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $82.16 and $98.12
The ETF has a beta of 0.76 and standard deviation of 11.63% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 818 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
WisdomTree U.S. Total Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index and the Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF (VTV) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $110.59 billion in assets, Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF has $189.69 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV 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 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 WisdomTree U.S. Total Dividend ETF (DTD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
A smart beta exchange traded fund, the WisdomTree U.S. Total Dividend ETF (DTD - Free Report) debuted on 06/16/2006, and offers broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value 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.
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.
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.
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
The fund is managed by Wisdomtree. DTD has been able to amass assets over $1.63 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree U.S. Dividend Index.
The WisdomTree U.S. Dividend Index is a fundamentally-weighted index that defines the dividend-paying portion of the U.S. equity market.
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 this ETF are 0.28%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.84%.
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.
For DTD, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 19.6% of the portfolio --while Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Microsoft Corp (MSFT) accounts for about 3.98% of total assets, followed by Nvidia Corp (NVDA) and Jpmorgan Chase & Co (JPM).
DTD's top 10 holdings account for about 22.93% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 13.53% so far this year and is up about 16.22% in the last one year (as of 09/18/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $82.16 and $98.12
The ETF has a beta of 0.76 and standard deviation of 11.63% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 818 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
WisdomTree U.S. Total Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index and the Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF (VTV) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $110.59 billion in assets, Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF has $189.69 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV 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 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.