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Is ProShares Russell 2000 Dividend Growers ETF (SMDV) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Making its debut on 02/03/2015, smart beta exchange traded fund ProShares Russell 2000 Dividend Growers ETF (SMDV - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Value 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.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: 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.
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
Managed by Proshares, SMDV has amassed assets over $775.65 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Small Cap Value. SMDV seeks to match the performance of the Russell 2000 Dividend Growth Index before fees and expenses.
The Russell 2000 Dividend Growth Index targets companies that are currently members of the Russell 2000 Index and have increased dividend payments each year for at least 10 years.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.40% for SMDV, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 2.55%.
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.
For SMDV, it has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector --about 32.70% of the portfolio --while Industrials and Utilities round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Apogee Enterprises Inc (APOG - Free Report) accounts for about 1.24% of the fund's total assets, followed by Matson Inc (MATX - Free Report) and Applied Industrial Tech Inc (AIT - Free Report) .
SMDV's top 10 holdings account for about 10.41% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 17.28% so far this year and is up about 31.72% in the last one year (as of 11/25/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $57.95 and $74.97.
The fund has a beta of 0.81 and standard deviation of 19.46% for the trailing three-year period, which makes SMDV a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 100 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
ProShares Russell 2000 Dividend Growers ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Small Cap Value 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 $30.94 billion in assets, Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF has $88.17 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 Style Box - Small Cap Value.
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 ProShares Russell 2000 Dividend Growers ETF (SMDV) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Making its debut on 02/03/2015, smart beta exchange traded fund ProShares Russell 2000 Dividend Growers ETF (SMDV - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Value 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.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: 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.
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
Managed by Proshares, SMDV has amassed assets over $775.65 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Small Cap Value. SMDV seeks to match the performance of the Russell 2000 Dividend Growth Index before fees and expenses.
The Russell 2000 Dividend Growth Index targets companies that are currently members of the Russell 2000 Index and have increased dividend payments each year for at least 10 years.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.40% for SMDV, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 2.55%.
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.
For SMDV, it has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector --about 32.70% of the portfolio --while Industrials and Utilities round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Apogee Enterprises Inc (APOG - Free Report) accounts for about 1.24% of the fund's total assets, followed by Matson Inc (MATX - Free Report) and Applied Industrial Tech Inc (AIT - Free Report) .
SMDV's top 10 holdings account for about 10.41% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 17.28% so far this year and is up about 31.72% in the last one year (as of 11/25/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $57.95 and $74.97.
The fund has a beta of 0.81 and standard deviation of 19.46% for the trailing three-year period, which makes SMDV a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 100 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
ProShares Russell 2000 Dividend Growers ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Small Cap Value 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 $30.94 billion in assets, Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF has $88.17 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 Style Box - Small Cap Value.
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.