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Is Northern Trust International Quality Dividend ETF (IQDF) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The Northern Trust International Quality Dividend ETF (IQDF - Free Report) was launched on 04/12/2013, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the World ETFs 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.
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.
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.
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
IQDF is managed by Northern Trust Etfs, and this fund has amassed over $1.14 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. Before fees and expenses, IQDF seeks to match the performance of the Northern Trust International Quality Dividend Index.
The Northern Trust International Quality Dividend Index is designed to provide exposure to a high-quality income-oriented portfolio of long-only international securities issued by non-U.S.-based companies, with an emphasis on long-term capital growth and a targeted overall beta that is similar to that of the Northern Trust International Large Cap Index.
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.47% for this ETF, which makes it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 3.47%.
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.
When you look at individual holdings, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd Commonaccounts for about 4.5% of the fund's total assets, followed by Mediatek Inc Common Stock Twd 10 and Advantest Corp Common Stock Jpy.
The top 10 holdings account for about 19.8% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Northern Trust International Quality Dividend ETF has gained about 16.07% so far, and it's up approximately 27.03% over the last 12 months (as of 10/13/2026). IQDF has traded between $28.36 $36.39 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.70 and standard deviation of 14.77% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 269 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Northern Trust International Quality Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the World ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Northern Trust International Quality Dividend Dynamic ETF(IQDY) tracks Northern Trust International Quality Dividend Dynamic Index The fund has $108.1 million in assets. IQDY has an expense ratio of 0.47%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the World 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 Northern Trust International Quality Dividend ETF (IQDF) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The Northern Trust International Quality Dividend ETF (IQDF - Free Report) was launched on 04/12/2013, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the World ETFs 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.
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.
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.
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
IQDF is managed by Northern Trust Etfs, and this fund has amassed over $1.14 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. Before fees and expenses, IQDF seeks to match the performance of the Northern Trust International Quality Dividend Index.
The Northern Trust International Quality Dividend Index is designed to provide exposure to a high-quality income-oriented portfolio of long-only international securities issued by non-U.S.-based companies, with an emphasis on long-term capital growth and a targeted overall beta that is similar to that of the Northern Trust International Large Cap Index.
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.47% for this ETF, which makes it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 3.47%.
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.
When you look at individual holdings, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd Commonaccounts for about 4.5% of the fund's total assets, followed by Mediatek Inc Common Stock Twd 10 and Advantest Corp Common Stock Jpy.
The top 10 holdings account for about 19.8% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Northern Trust International Quality Dividend ETF has gained about 16.07% so far, and it's up approximately 27.03% over the last 12 months (as of 10/13/2026). IQDF has traded between $28.36 $36.39 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.70 and standard deviation of 14.77% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 269 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Northern Trust International Quality Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the World ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Northern Trust International Quality Dividend Dynamic ETF(IQDY) tracks Northern Trust International Quality Dividend Dynamic Index The fund has $108.1 million in assets. IQDY has an expense ratio of 0.47%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the World 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.