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Is Northern Trust Quality Dividend ETF (QDF) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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A smart beta exchange traded fund, the Northern Trust Quality Dividend ETF (QDF - Free Report) debuted on 12/14/2012, and offers broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Blend category of the market.
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.
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.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
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.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Because the fund has amassed over $2.19 billion, this makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Blend. QDF is managed by Northern Trust Etfs. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the Northern Trust Quality Dividend Index.
The Northern Trust Quality Dividend Index is designed to provide exposure to a high-quality income-oriented portfolio of long-only U.S. equity securities, with an emphasis on long-term capital growth and a targeted overall beta that is similar to that of the Northern Trust 1250 Index and the Index are selected based on expected dividend payment and fundamental factors.
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.
Annual operating expenses for QDF are 0.39%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
QDF's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.51%.
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.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector - about 36.8% of the portfolio. Financials and Industrials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc Common Stock Usd 0.00001 (AAPL) accounts for about 9.02% of total assets, followed by Nvidia Corp Common Stock Usd 0.001 (NVDA) and Microsoft Corp Common Stock Usd 0.00000625 (MSFT).
QDF's top 10 holdings account for about 38.16% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Northern Trust Quality Dividend ETF has added about 13.32% so far, and is up about 16.65% over the last 12 months (as of 09/29/2026). QDF has traded between $77.18 $93.51 in this past 52-week period.
QDF has a beta of 0.91 and standard deviation of 13.85% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 144 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Northern Trust Quality Dividend ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF (ITOT) tracks S&P Total Market Index and the Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) tracks CRSP US Total Market Index. iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF has $96.17 billion in assets, Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF has $686.22 billion. ITOT has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VTI 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 - All 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.
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Is Northern Trust Quality Dividend ETF (QDF) a Strong ETF Right Now?
A smart beta exchange traded fund, the Northern Trust Quality Dividend ETF (QDF - Free Report) debuted on 12/14/2012, and offers broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Blend category of the market.
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.
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.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
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.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Because the fund has amassed over $2.19 billion, this makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Blend. QDF is managed by Northern Trust Etfs. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the Northern Trust Quality Dividend Index.
The Northern Trust Quality Dividend Index is designed to provide exposure to a high-quality income-oriented portfolio of long-only U.S. equity securities, with an emphasis on long-term capital growth and a targeted overall beta that is similar to that of the Northern Trust 1250 Index and the Index are selected based on expected dividend payment and fundamental factors.
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.
Annual operating expenses for QDF are 0.39%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
QDF's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.51%.
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.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector - about 36.8% of the portfolio. Financials and Industrials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc Common Stock Usd 0.00001 (AAPL) accounts for about 9.02% of total assets, followed by Nvidia Corp Common Stock Usd 0.001 (NVDA) and Microsoft Corp Common Stock Usd 0.00000625 (MSFT).
QDF's top 10 holdings account for about 38.16% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Northern Trust Quality Dividend ETF has added about 13.32% so far, and is up about 16.65% over the last 12 months (as of 09/29/2026). QDF has traded between $77.18 $93.51 in this past 52-week period.
QDF has a beta of 0.91 and standard deviation of 13.85% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 144 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Northern Trust Quality Dividend ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF (ITOT) tracks S&P Total Market Index and the Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) tracks CRSP US Total Market Index. iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF has $96.17 billion in assets, Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF has $686.22 billion. ITOT has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VTI 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 - All 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.