The iShares Emerging Markets Dividend ETF (DVYE) made its debut on 02/23/2012, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Broad Emerging Market ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.
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 Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $608.47 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones Emerging Markets Select Dividend Index.
The Dow Jones Emerging Markets Select Dividend Index measures the performance of the companies in emerging market countries that have provided relatively high dividend yields on a consistent basis over time.
Cost & Other Expenses
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.49% for DVYE, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
DVYE's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 6.77%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Taking into account individual holdings, Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd (IBULHSGFIN) accounts for about 2.16% of the fund's total assets, followed by Telkom Soc Ltd Sa (TKG) and Evraz (EVR).