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Is WisdomTree Global ex-U.S. Quality Dividend Growth ETF (DNL) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The WisdomTree Global ex-U.S. Quality Dividend Growth ETF (DNL - Free Report) made its debut on 06/16/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the 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.

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.

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

Managed by Wisdomtree, DNL has amassed assets over $576.72 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. Before fees and expenses, DNL seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree Global ex-U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Index.

The WisdomTree Global ex-U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Index is a fundamentally weighted index that measures the performance of dividend paying stocks with growth characteristics in the developed and emerging markets outside of the United States.

Cost & Other Expenses

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.42% for DNL, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

DNL's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 2.05%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

When you look at individual holdings, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd accounts for about 8.02% of the fund's total assets, followed by Lvmh Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Se (MC - Free Report) and Novo Nordisk A/s-B (NOVOB).

The top 10 holdings account for about 40.62% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, DNL has added about 5.80%, and it's up approximately 14.71% in the last one year (as of 11/08/2023). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $29.80 and $36.65.

DNL has a beta of 0.94 and standard deviation of 18.55% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 304 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

WisdomTree Global ex-U.S. Quality Dividend Growth 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 Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO - Free Report) tracks Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index and the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG - Free Report) tracks NASDAQ US Dividend Achievers Select Index. IShares Core Dividend Growth ETF has $23.49 billion in assets, Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF has $67.63 billion. DGRO has an expense ratio of 0.08% and VIG charges 0.06%.

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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