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Is Vident International Equity ETF (VIDI) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the market, the Vident International Equity ETF (VIDI - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 10/29/2013.

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.

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.

But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.

Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.

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

Managed by Vident Financial, VIDI has amassed assets over $452.76 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. Before fees and expenses, VIDI seeks to match the performance of the Vident International Equity Index.

The Vident International Equity Index is an international equity index that combines principles-based country and securities selection with sophisticated risk management. The index balances risk across developed and emerging economies and emphasizes those with favorable conditions for growth .

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.

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.59%.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.49%.

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.

When you look at individual holdings, Cash & Other (Cash&Other) accounts for about 1.29% of the fund's total assets, followed by China Res Pwr Hldg and Aspen Pharmacare (APN).

The top 10 holdings account for about 7.53% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, VIDI has added about 10.27%, and it's up approximately 19.75% in the last one year (as of 11/18/2021). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $23.30 and $29.58.

VIDI has a beta of 0.97 and standard deviation of 22.93% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 248 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Vident International Equity 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.

Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS - Free Report) tracks FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index and the Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA - Free Report) tracks FTSE Developed All Cap ex US Index. Vanguard Total International Stock ETF has $52.31 billion in assets, Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF has $107.29 billion. VXUS has an expense ratio of 0.08% and VEA charges 0.05%.

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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