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Should VictoryShares US EQ Income Enhanced Volatility Wtd ETF (CDC) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market, the VictoryShares US EQ Income Enhanced Volatility Wtd ETF (CDC - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 07/01/2014.

The fund is sponsored by Victory Capital. It has amassed assets over $810.87 M, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Value

Companies that fall in the large cap category tend to have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Overall, they are usually a stable option, with less risk and more sure-fire cash flows than mid and small cap companies.

While value stocks have lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, they also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. When you look at long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in nearly all markets. But in strong bull markets, growth stocks are more likely to be winners.

Costs

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.35%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.06%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Utilities sector--about 25.40% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Duke Energy Corp. (DUK - Free Report) accounts for about 1.64% of total assets, followed by Xcel Energy Inc. (XEL - Free Report) and Wec Energy Group (WEC - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 15.23% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

CDC seeks to match the performance of the CEMP U.S. Large Cap High Dividend 100 Long/Cash Volatility Weighted Index before fees and expenses. The CEMP U.S. Large Cap High Dividend 100 Long/Cash Volatility Weighted Index is an unmanaged index and generally consists of the common stock of the 100 highest dividend yielding stocks of the CEMP U.S. 18 Large Cap 500 Volatility Weighted Index.

The ETF has added roughly 5.98% so far this year and was up about 13.97% in the last one year (as of 09/07/2018). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $43.67 and $48.75.

The ETF has a beta of 0.72 and standard deviation of 10.44% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 102 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Bottom-Line

Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.

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.