Yahoo Finance Is SPDR S&P Global Dividend ETF (WDIV) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Designed to provide broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the market, the SPDR S&P Global Dividend ETF (WDIV) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 05/29/2013.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
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.
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.
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.
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 State Street Global Advisors. WDIV has been able to amass assets over $244.41 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. Before fees and expenses, WDIV seeks to match the performance of the S&P Global Dividend Aristocrats Index.
The S&P Global Dividend Aristocrats Index measures the performance of high dividend-yield companies included in the S&P Global BMI that have followed a managed-dividends policy of increasing or stable dividends for at least ten consecutive years.
Cost & Other Expenses
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.40% for WDIV, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 5.05%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Looking at individual holdings, A2a S.p.a. (A2A-IT) accounts for about 1.58% of total assets, followed by New World Development Co. Ltd. (17-HK) and Lenovo Group Limited (992-HK).
WDIV's top 10 holdings account for about 10.11% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, WDIV has gained about 2.68%, and is down about -0.90% in the last one year (as of 05/10/2023). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $51.92 and $67.16.
The ETF has a beta of 0.80 and standard deviation of 15.47% for the trailing three-year period, making it a low risk choice in the space. With about 122 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
SPDR S&P Global 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.
IShares MSCI ACWI ETF (ACWI) tracks MSCI All Country World Index and the Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (VT) tracks FTSE Global All Cap Index. IShares MSCI ACWI ETF has $17.47 billion in assets, Vanguard Total World Stock ETF has $26.63 billion. ACWI has an expense ratio of 0.32% and VT charges 0.07%.
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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SPDR S&P Global Dividend ETF (WDIV): ETF Research Reports
iShares MSCI ACWI ETF (ACWI): ETF Research Reports
Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (VT): ETF Research Reports
