Designed to provide broad exposure to the Broad Developed World ETFs category of the market, the WisdomTree International Equity ETF (DWM) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 06/16/2006.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
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.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: 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.
The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Managed by Wisdomtree, DWM has amassed assets over $608 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 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.
Cost & Other Expenses
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 this ETF are 0.48%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 3.71%.
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, Nestle Sa (NESN) accounts for about 2.34% of the fund's total assets, followed by Novartis Ag (NOVN) and Roche Holding Ag (ROG).