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Is WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity ETF (HEDJ) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity ETF (HEDJ - Free Report) was launched on 01/04/2010, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the European Equity ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.
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.
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.
The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Wisdomtree. HEDJ has been able to amass assets over $1.62 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the European Equity ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Index before fees and expenses.
The WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Index is designed to provide exposure to European equities while at the same time neutralizing exposure to fluctuations between the Euro and the U.S. dollar.
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.58% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
HEDJ's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 3.17%.
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.
Taking into account individual holdings, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Sa (BBVA - Free Report) accounts for about 7.31% of the fund's total assets, followed by Stellantis Nv (STLAM) and Asml Holding Nv (ASML - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 42.67% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 1.79% and is up about 7.86% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 08/09/2024), respectively. HEDJ has traded between $37.48 and $48.49 during this last 52-week period.
HEDJ has a beta of 0.89 and standard deviation of 16.42% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 154 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the European Equity ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
IShares MSCI Eurozone ETF (EZU - Free Report) tracks MSCI EMU Index and the Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF (VGK - Free Report) tracks FTSE Developed Europe All Cap Index. IShares MSCI Eurozone ETF has $7.41 billion in assets, Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF has $19.27 billion. EZU has an expense ratio of 0.51% and VGK charges 0.09%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the European Equity 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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Is WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity ETF (HEDJ) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity ETF (HEDJ - Free Report) was launched on 01/04/2010, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the European Equity ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.
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.
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.
The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Wisdomtree. HEDJ has been able to amass assets over $1.62 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the European Equity ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Index before fees and expenses.
The WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Index is designed to provide exposure to European equities while at the same time neutralizing exposure to fluctuations between the Euro and the U.S. dollar.
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.58% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
HEDJ's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 3.17%.
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.
Taking into account individual holdings, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Sa (BBVA - Free Report) accounts for about 7.31% of the fund's total assets, followed by Stellantis Nv (STLAM) and Asml Holding Nv (ASML - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 42.67% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 1.79% and is up about 7.86% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 08/09/2024), respectively. HEDJ has traded between $37.48 and $48.49 during this last 52-week period.
HEDJ has a beta of 0.89 and standard deviation of 16.42% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 154 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the European Equity ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
IShares MSCI Eurozone ETF (EZU - Free Report) tracks MSCI EMU Index and the Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF (VGK - Free Report) tracks FTSE Developed Europe All Cap Index. IShares MSCI Eurozone ETF has $7.41 billion in assets, Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF has $19.27 billion. EZU has an expense ratio of 0.51% and VGK charges 0.09%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the European Equity 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.