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Is ALPS International Sector Dividend Dogs ETF (IDOG) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Making its debut on 06/28/2013, smart beta exchange traded fund ALPS International Sector Dividend Dogs ETF (IDOG - Free Report) provides investors 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.

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.

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 Alps, IDOG has amassed assets over $300.75 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Broad Developed World ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S-Network International Sector Dividend Dogs Index.

The S-Network International Sector Dividend Dogs Index identifies five high yielding securities, based on regular cash dividends, in each of the ten Global Industry Classification Standard sectors and is rebalanced quarterly.

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.

Annual operating expenses for IDOG are 0.50%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

IDOG's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 4.42%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.

When you look at individual holdings, British American Tobacco Plc accounts for about 2.31% of the fund's total assets, followed by Engie Sa (ENGI) and Roche Holding Ag (ROG - Free Report) .

IDOG's top 10 holdings account for about 22.24% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 6.57% and is up about 16.70% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 09/09/2024), respectively. IDOG has traded between $26.12 and $31.86 during this last 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 0.84 and standard deviation of 15.84% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 51 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

ALPS International Sector Dividend Dogs 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.

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 $74.13 billion in assets, Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF has $136.19 billion. VXUS has an expense ratio of 0.08% and VEA 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 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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