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Is WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Dividend Fund (DFJ) a Hot ETF Right Now?
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The WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Dividend Fund (DFJ - Free Report) made its debut on 06/16/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Asia-Pacific (Developed) 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 work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
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.
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
DFJ is managed by Wisdomtree, and this fund has amassed over $1.06 B, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Asia-Pacific (Developed) ETFs. DFJ, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Dividend Index.
WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Dividend Index measures the performance of dividend-paying small capitalization companies in Japan. After the 300 largest companies have been removed from the WisdomTree Japan Dividend Index, the remaining companies are chosen for inclusion in the Index. Companies are weighted in the Index based on annual cash dividends paid.
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 0.58% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.70%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Taking into account individual holdings, Sankyo Co Ltd accounts for about 0.74% of the fund's total assets, followed by Matsui Securities Co Ltd and Dic Corp.
DFJ's top 10 holdings account for about 5.73% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, the ETF has lost about -4.64%, and was up about 5.93% in the last one year (as of 08/07/2018). DFJ has traded between $71.98 and $85.46 in the past 52-week period.
DFJ has a beta of 0.54 and standard deviation of 14.54% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium choice in the space. With about 824 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Dividend Fund is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Asia-Pacific (Developed) ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ - Free Report) tracks WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Index and the iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ - Free Report) tracks MSCI Japan Index. WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund has $5.95 B in assets, iShares MSCI Japan ETF has $17.37 B. DXJ has an expense ratio of 0.48% and EWJ charges 0.49%.
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 (Developed) 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 Japan SmallCap Dividend Fund (DFJ) a Hot ETF Right Now?
The WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Dividend Fund (DFJ - Free Report) made its debut on 06/16/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Asia-Pacific (Developed) 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 work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
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.
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
DFJ is managed by Wisdomtree, and this fund has amassed over $1.06 B, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Asia-Pacific (Developed) ETFs. DFJ, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Dividend Index.
WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Dividend Index measures the performance of dividend-paying small capitalization companies in Japan. After the 300 largest companies have been removed from the WisdomTree Japan Dividend Index, the remaining companies are chosen for inclusion in the Index. Companies are weighted in the Index based on annual cash dividends paid.
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 0.58% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.70%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Taking into account individual holdings, Sankyo Co Ltd accounts for about 0.74% of the fund's total assets, followed by Matsui Securities Co Ltd and Dic Corp.
DFJ's top 10 holdings account for about 5.73% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, the ETF has lost about -4.64%, and was up about 5.93% in the last one year (as of 08/07/2018). DFJ has traded between $71.98 and $85.46 in the past 52-week period.
DFJ has a beta of 0.54 and standard deviation of 14.54% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium choice in the space. With about 824 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Dividend Fund is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Asia-Pacific (Developed) ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ - Free Report) tracks WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Index and the iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ - Free Report) tracks MSCI Japan Index. WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund has $5.95 B in assets, iShares MSCI Japan ETF has $17.37 B. DXJ has an expense ratio of 0.48% and EWJ charges 0.49%.
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 (Developed) 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.