Making its debut on 06/16/2006, smart beta exchange traded fund WisdomTree International Equity ETF (DWM) provides investors broad exposure to the Broad Developed World ETFs category of the market.
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 work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.
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.
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.
DWM is managed by Wisdomtree, and this fund has amassed over $540.69 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Broad Developed World ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree International Equity Index.
The WisdomTree International Equity Index is a fundamentally weighted Index that measures the performance of dividend-paying companies in the industrialized world, excluding Canada and the United States.
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
Annual operating expenses for DWM are 0.48%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
DWM's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 3.67%.
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.
Looking at individual holdings, Novartis Ag (NOVN) accounts for about 1.79% of total assets, followed by Hsbc Holdings Plc (HSBA) and Nestle Sa (NESN).
The top 10 holdings account for about 12.91% of total assets under management.
Year-to-date, the WisdomTree International Equity ETF has gained about 9.38% so far, and is up about 16.88% over the last 12 months (as of 09/12/2024). DWM has traded between $46.50 and $57.41 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.81 and standard deviation of 15.47% for the trailing three-year period, making it a low risk choice in the space. With about 1052 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
WisdomTree International Equity ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Developed World ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
IShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA) tracks MSCI EAFE Index and the iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA) tracks MSCI EAFE Investable Market Index. IShares MSCI EAFE ETF has $56.13 billion in assets, iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF has $120.54 billion. EFA has an expense ratio of 0.33% and IEFA charges 0.07%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Broad Developed World ETFs.
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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WisdomTree International Equity ETF (DWM): ETF Research Reports
iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA): ETF Research Reports
iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA): ETF Research Reports
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