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Is WisdomTree Cloud Computing ETF (WCLD) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The WisdomTree Cloud Computing ETF (WCLD - Free Report) made its debut on 09/06/2019, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Technology 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.

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.

By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.

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

The fund is managed by Wisdomtree, and has been able to amass over $407.62 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Technology ETFs. WCLD seeks to match the performance of the BVP NASDAQ EMERGING CLOUD INDEX before fees and expenses.

The BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index is an equally weighted Index, designed to measure the performance of emerging public companies focused on delivering cloud-based software to customers.

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.

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.45%.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0%.

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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector - about 85.40% of the portfolio. Financials and Telecom round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Zoom Video Communications-A (ZM - Free Report) accounts for about 1.83% of the fund's total assets, followed by Box Inc - Class A (BOX - Free Report) and Mongodb Inc (MDB - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 17.21% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, WCLD has lost about -8.53%, and is up roughly 10.01% in the last one year (as of 09/30/2024). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $26.89 and $37.05.

The ETF has a beta of 1.11 and standard deviation of 39.88% for the trailing three-year period. With about 66 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

WisdomTree Cloud Computing ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Technology ETFs segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.

Global X Cloud Computing ETF (CLOU - Free Report) tracks INDXX GLOBAL CLOUD COMPUTING INDEX and the First Trust Cloud Computing ETF (SKYY - Free Report) tracks ISE Cloud Computing Index. Global X Cloud Computing ETF has $352.80 million in assets, First Trust Cloud Computing ETF has $2.97 billion. CLOU has an expense ratio of 0.68% and SKYY charges 0.60%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Technology 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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