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Is Global X SuperDividend U.S. ETF (DIV) a Hot ETF Right Now?

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The Global X SuperDividend U.S. ETF (DIV - Free Report) made its debut on 03/11/2013, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Total Market (U.S.) ETFs 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 work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.

However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.

This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of 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

The fund is managed by Global X Management, and has been able to amass over $415 M, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Total Market (U.S.) ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the INDXX SuperDividend U.S. Low Volatility Index.

The INDXX SuperDividend US Low Volatility Index tracks the performance of 50 equally weighted common stocks, MLPs & REITs that rank among the highest dividend yielding equity securities in the US.

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 0.45% 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 6.10%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

Looking at individual holdings, Universal Corp/va accounts for about 2.71% of total assets, followed by Brinker International Inc and New York Mortgage Trust I.

DIV's top 10 holdings account for about 23.69% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The fund's year-to-date return has added about 1.20%, and is up about 4.72% in the last one year (as of 08/09/2018). DIV has traded between $23.53 and $25.83 in the past 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 0.57 and standard deviation of 10.79% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium choice in the space. With about 50 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

Global X SuperDividend U.S. ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Total Market (U.S.) ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

WBI Power Factor High Dividend ETF (WBIY - Free Report) tracks Solactive Power Factor High Dividend Index and the Global X SuperDividend ETF (SDIV - Free Report) tracks Solactive Global SuperDividend Index. WBI Power Factor High Dividend ETF has $55.45 M in assets, Global X SuperDividend ETF has $958.98 M. WBIY has an expense ratio of 0.70% and SDIV charges 0.58%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Total Market (U.S.) 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.