Is WisdomTree International High Dividend ETF (DTH) a Strong ETF Right Now?

The WisdomTree International High Dividend ETF (DTH) made its debut on 06/16/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Broad Developed World ETFs category of the market.


What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.

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.

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.

Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.


Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is sponsored by Wisdomtree. It has amassed assets over $200.95 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Broad Developed World ETFs. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree International High Dividend Index.

The WisdomTree International High Dividend Index is a fundamentally weighted Index that measures the performance of companies with high dividend yields selected from the WisdomTree International Equity Index.


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.

Annual operating expenses for DTH are 0.58%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 4.69%.


Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund’s holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

Looking at individual holdings, Bhp Group Ltd (BHP) accounts for about 3.29% of total assets, followed by Rio Tinto Plc (RIO) and Novartis Ag (NOVN).

DTH’s top 10 holdings account for about 21.38% of its total assets under management.


Performance and Risk

The ETF has added about 4.25% and was up about 6.33% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 04/04/2022), respectively. DTH has traded between $36.83 and $41.75 during this last 52-week period.

The fund has a beta of 0.82 and standard deviation of 21.55% for the trailing three-year period, which makes DTH a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 413 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.


Alternatives

WisdomTree International High Dividend 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 $53.53 billion in assets, iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF has $101.27 billion. EFA has an expense ratio of 0.32% 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.


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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