Launched on 07/13/2007, the WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend ETF (DEM) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Broad Emerging Market ETFs 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.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer 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.
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
Managed by Wisdomtree, DEM has amassed assets over $2.96 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend Index.
The WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend Index is a fundamentally weighted index that measures the performance of the highest dividend yielding stocks selected from the WisdomTree Emerging Markets Dividend Index.
Cost & Other Expenses
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for DEM are 0.63%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 5.17%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Looking at individual holdings, Mediatek Inc accounts for about 5.97% of total assets, followed by Petroleo Brasileiro Sa (PETR3) and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend ETF has gained about 10.25% so far, and is up about 18.26% over the last 12 months (as of 09/03/2024). DEM has traded between $36.36 and $44.72 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.75 and standard deviation of 15.70% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 505 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Emerging Market ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO) tracks FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index and the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) tracks MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index. Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has $79.01 billion in assets, iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $80.04 billion. VWO has an expense ratio of 0.08% and IEMG charges 0.09%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Broad Emerging Market 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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Get it free >>WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Dividend ETF (DEM): ETF Research Reports
iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG): ETF Research Reports
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO): ETF Research Reports
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