The WisdomTree International High Dividend ETF (DTH) was launched on 06/16/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Broad Developed World ETFs 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.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as 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.
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 sponsored by Wisdomtree. It has amassed assets over $369.66 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Broad Developed World ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree International High Dividend Index before fees and expenses.
The WisdomTree International High Dividend Index is a fundamentally weighted Index that measures the performance of companies with high dividend yields selected from the WisdomTree International Equity Index.
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.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.58%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 5.42%.
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.
Taking into account individual holdings, Bhp Group Ltd (BHP) accounts for about 6.10% of the fund's total assets, followed by Novartis Ag (NOVN) and Totalenergies (TTE).
The top 10 holdings account for about 24.74% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the WisdomTree International High Dividend ETF has gained about 5.16% so far, and it's up approximately 2.41% over the last 12 months (as of 02/27/2023). DTH has traded between $30.01 and $40.26 in this past 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.80 and standard deviation of 23.26% for the trailing three-year period, which makes DTH a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 545 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
WisdomTree International High Dividend ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Developed World ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.
IShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA) tracks MSCI EAFE Index and the iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA) tracks MSCI EAFE Investable Market Index. IShares MSCI EAFE ETF has $47.02 billion in assets, iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF has $93.22 billion. EFA has an expense ratio of 0.33% and IEFA 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 Broad Developed 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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Get it free >>WisdomTree International High Dividend ETF (DTH): ETF Research Reports
BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR (BHP) : Free Stock Analysis Report
iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA): ETF Research Reports
iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA): ETF Research Reports
Novan (NOVN): Free Stock Analysis Report
TotalEnergies SE Sponsored ADR (TTE) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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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.
