Yahoo Finance Is WisdomTree U.S. Total Dividend ETF (DTD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
A smart beta exchange traded fund, the WisdomTree U.S. Total Dividend ETF (DTD) debuted on 06/16/2006, and offers broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
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.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.
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
Managed by Wisdomtree, DTD has amassed assets over $1.22 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. DTD, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree U.S. Dividend Index.
The WisdomTree U.S. Dividend Index is a fundamentally-weighted index that defines the dividend-paying portion of the U.S. equity market.
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.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.28%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.20%.
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.
DTD's heaviest allocation is in the Financials sector, which is about 18.80% of the portfolio. Its Information Technology and Consumer Staples round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Microsoft Corp (MSFT) accounts for about 3.22% of total assets, followed by Jpmorgan Chase & Co (JPM) and Apple Inc (AAPL).
DTD's top 10 holdings account for about 23.37% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, DTD has added roughly 8.48%, and was up about 17.39% in the last one year (as of 06/17/2024). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $57.51 and $70.95.
DTD has a beta of 0.91 and standard deviation of 14.10% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 826 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
WisdomTree U.S. Total Dividend 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 Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD) tracks Russell 1000 Value Index and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. IShares Russell 1000 Value ETF has $54.39 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $115.30 billion. IWD has an expense ratio of 0.19% and VTV charges 0.04%.
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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WisdomTree U.S. Total Dividend ETF (DTD): ETF Research Reports
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Apple Inc. (AAPL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Vanguard Value ETF (VTV): ETF Research Reports
iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD): ETF Research Reports
