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Is WisdomTree India Earnings ETF (EPI) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The WisdomTree India Earnings ETF (EPI - Free Report) made its debut on 02/22/2008, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Asia-Pacific (Emerging) 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.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option 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.
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.
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
Because the fund has amassed over $3.45 billion, this makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Asia-Pacific (Emerging) ETFs. EPI is managed by Wisdomtree. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree India Earnings Index.
The WisdomTree India Earnings Index is a fundamentally weighted index that measures the performance of companies incorporated and traded in India that are profitable and that are eligible to be purchased by foreign investors as of the index measurement date. Weighted Index based on their earnings in their fiscal year prior to the Index measurement date adjusted for foreign investors.
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 0.87% for EPI, making it one of the most expensive products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0%.
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.
Taking into account individual holdings, Wt India Investment Portfolio Inc accounts for about 100% of the fund's total assets, followed by Icici Bank Ltd (ICICIBC) and Jsw Steel Ltd (JSTL).
EPI's top 10 holdings account for about 100% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the WisdomTree India Earnings ETF return is roughly 12.24% so far, and is up about 13.43% over the last 12 months (as of 12/26/2024). EPI has traded between $40.96 and $50.82 in this past 52-week period.
EPI has a beta of 0.80 and standard deviation of 16.36% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 8 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
WisdomTree India Earnings ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Asia-Pacific (Emerging) ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Franklin FTSE India ETF (FLIN - Free Report) tracks FTSE INDIA CAPPED INDEX and the iShares MSCI India ETF (INDA - Free Report) tracks MSCI India Total Return Index. Franklin FTSE India ETF has $1.73 billion in assets, iShares MSCI India ETF has $10.13 billion. FLIN has an expense ratio of 0.19% and INDA charges 0.65%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Asia-Pacific (Emerging) 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 India Earnings ETF (EPI) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The WisdomTree India Earnings ETF (EPI - Free Report) made its debut on 02/22/2008, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Asia-Pacific (Emerging) 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.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option 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.
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.
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
Because the fund has amassed over $3.45 billion, this makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Asia-Pacific (Emerging) ETFs. EPI is managed by Wisdomtree. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree India Earnings Index.
The WisdomTree India Earnings Index is a fundamentally weighted index that measures the performance of companies incorporated and traded in India that are profitable and that are eligible to be purchased by foreign investors as of the index measurement date. Weighted Index based on their earnings in their fiscal year prior to the Index measurement date adjusted for foreign investors.
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 0.87% for EPI, making it one of the most expensive products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0%.
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.
Taking into account individual holdings, Wt India Investment Portfolio Inc accounts for about 100% of the fund's total assets, followed by Icici Bank Ltd (ICICIBC) and Jsw Steel Ltd (JSTL).
EPI's top 10 holdings account for about 100% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the WisdomTree India Earnings ETF return is roughly 12.24% so far, and is up about 13.43% over the last 12 months (as of 12/26/2024). EPI has traded between $40.96 and $50.82 in this past 52-week period.
EPI has a beta of 0.80 and standard deviation of 16.36% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 8 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
WisdomTree India Earnings ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Asia-Pacific (Emerging) ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Franklin FTSE India ETF (FLIN - Free Report) tracks FTSE INDIA CAPPED INDEX and the iShares MSCI India ETF (INDA - Free Report) tracks MSCI India Total Return Index. Franklin FTSE India ETF has $1.73 billion in assets, iShares MSCI India ETF has $10.13 billion. FLIN has an expense ratio of 0.19% and INDA charges 0.65%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Asia-Pacific (Emerging) 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.