Back to top

Image: Bigstock

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

Read MoreHide Full Article

A smart beta exchange traded fund, the Vident International Equity Strategy ETF (VIDI - Free Report) debuted on 10/29/2013, and offers broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the market.

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.

Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.

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.

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.

This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

VIDI is managed by Vident Financial, and this fund has amassed over $357.80 million, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. VIDI, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Vident International Equity Index.

The Vident Core 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

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.

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.61%.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 5.37%.

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.

Looking at individual holdings, Cash & Other (Cash&Other) accounts for about 0.95% of total assets, followed by Bank Of Ireland Gr (BIRG) and Securitas (SECUB).

VIDI's top 10 holdings account for about 6.87% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 5.97% and is down about -8.90% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 04/03/2023), respectively. VIDI has traded between $19.23 and $26.85 during this last 52-week period.

VIDI has a beta of 0.93 and standard deviation of 18.85% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 246 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Vident International Equity Strategy ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the World ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should 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 $54.40 billion in assets, Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF has $108.71 billion. VXUS has an expense ratio of 0.07% 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.

Published in