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Is WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend ETF (DEM) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Making its debut on 07/13/2007, smart beta exchange traded fund WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend ETF (DEM - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Broad Emerging Market ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.
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.
But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.
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.
Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by Wisdomtree. It has amassed assets over $4.18 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend Index.
The WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend Index is a fundamentally weighted index that measures the performance of the highest dividend yielding stocks selected from the WisdomTree Emerging Markets Dividend 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.
Annual operating expenses for DEM are 0.63%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.98%.
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, Mediatek Incaccounts for about 7.31% of the fund's total assets, followed by China Construction Bank-h and Industrial & Commercial Bank Of China-h.
The top 10 holdings account for about 27.03% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend ETF has added about 22.64% so far, and was up about 27.92% over the last 12 months (as of 10/14/2026). DEM has traded between $45.39 $57.22 in this past 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.56 and standard deviation of 14.36% for the trailing three-year period, which makes DEM a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 536 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Emerging Market ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund ETF Shares (VWO) tracks FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index and the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) tracks MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index. Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund ETF Shares has $126.1 billion in assets, iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $157.56 billion. VWO has an expense ratio of 0.06% and IEMG changes 0.09%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Broad Emerging Market 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 WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend ETF (DEM) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Making its debut on 07/13/2007, smart beta exchange traded fund WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend ETF (DEM - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Broad Emerging Market ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.
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.
But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.
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.
Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by Wisdomtree. It has amassed assets over $4.18 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend Index.
The WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend Index is a fundamentally weighted index that measures the performance of the highest dividend yielding stocks selected from the WisdomTree Emerging Markets Dividend 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.
Annual operating expenses for DEM are 0.63%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.98%.
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, Mediatek Incaccounts for about 7.31% of the fund's total assets, followed by China Construction Bank-h and Industrial & Commercial Bank Of China-h.
The top 10 holdings account for about 27.03% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend ETF has added about 22.64% so far, and was up about 27.92% over the last 12 months (as of 10/14/2026). DEM has traded between $45.39 $57.22 in this past 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.56 and standard deviation of 14.36% for the trailing three-year period, which makes DEM a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 536 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Emerging Market ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund ETF Shares (VWO) tracks FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index and the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) tracks MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index. Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund ETF Shares has $126.1 billion in assets, iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $157.56 billion. VWO has an expense ratio of 0.06% and IEMG changes 0.09%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Broad Emerging Market 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.