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Is Invesco S&P International Developed Quality ETF (IDHQ) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Launched on 06/13/2007, the Invesco S&P International Developed Quality ETF (IDHQ - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Foreign Large Growth ETF 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.

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.

Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.

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

The fund is managed by Invesco, and has been able to amass over $398.22 million, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Foreign Large Growth ETF. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P Quality Developed ex US LargeMidCap Index.

The S&P Quality Developed ex US LargeMidCap Index tracks the performance of stocks in the S&P Developed Ex-US LargeMidCap Index that have the highest quality score, which is calculated based on three fundamental measures, return on equity, accruals ratio and financial leverage ratio.

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 0.29% for IDHQ, making it the least expensive product in the space.

IDHQ's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 2.33%.

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, Novartis Ag accounts for about 5.63% of the fund's total assets, followed by Nestle Sa (NESN) and Asml Holding Nv (ASML - Free Report) .

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 35.04% of IDHQ's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF return is roughly 10.13% so far this year and is up about 7.11% in the last one year (as of 04/28/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $27.24 and $32.14.

IDHQ has a beta of 0.89 and standard deviation of 17.30% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a low risk choice in the space. With about 206 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Invesco S&P International Developed Quality ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Foreign Large Growth ETF segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Capital Group International Equity ETF (CGIE - Free Report) tracks ---------------------------------------- and the Capital Group International Focus Equity ETF (CGXU - Free Report) tracks ----------------------------------------. Capital Group International Equity ETF has $515.70 million in assets, Capital Group International Focus Equity ETF has $3.37 billion. CGIE has an expense ratio of 0.54% and CGXU charges 0.54%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Foreign Large Growth ETF.

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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