News

The WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth ETF (DGRW) made its debut on 05/22/2013, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value 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.

Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.

If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.

Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.

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

The fund is managed by Wisdomtree. DGRW has been able to amass assets over $12.30 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Index before fees and expenses.

The WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Index is a fundamentally weighted index that consists of dividend-paying stocks with growth characteristics.

Cost & Other Expenses

For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.28% for DGRW, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.71%.

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.

Representing 29.50% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector; Healthcare and Industrials round out the top three.

Taking into account individual holdings, Microsoft Corp (MSFT) accounts for about 7.96% of the fund's total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL) and Abbvie Inc (ABBV).

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 36.98% of DGRW's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added roughly 4.33% so far this year and is up about 16.95% in the last one year (as of 05/01/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $61.43 and $76.30.

The ETF has a beta of 0.87 and standard deviation of 14.18% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 302 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth 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.

IShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO) tracks Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index and the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG) tracks NASDAQ US Dividend Achievers Select Index. IShares Core Dividend Growth ETF has $26.45 billion in assets, Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF has $75.69 billion. DGRO has an expense ratio of 0.08% and VIG charges 0.06%.

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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iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO): ETF Research Reports

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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.