Is First Trust Dow Jones Global Select Dividend ETF (FGD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The First Trust Dow Jones Global Select Dividend ETF (FGD) was launched on 11/21/2007, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Broad Developed World 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.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
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.
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 First Trust Advisors, FGD has amassed assets over $682.69 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Broad Developed World ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones Global Select Dividend Index before fees and expenses.
The Dow Jones Global Select Dividend Index is an indicated annual dividend yield weighted index of 100 stocks selected from the developed-market portion of the Dow Jones World Index.
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.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.56%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
FGD's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 5.67%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.
Looking at individual holdings, Hapag-Lloyd Ag (HLAG.GY) accounts for about 2.96% of total assets, followed by Mitsui O.s.k. Lines, Ltd. (9104.JP) and Nippon Yusen K.k. (9101.JP).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 18.04% of FGD's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 2.50% so far this year and was up about 1.59% in the last one year (as of 05/10/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $18.30 and $25.02.
The fund has a beta of 0.93 and standard deviation of 19.06% for the trailing three-year period, which makes FGD a low risk choice in this particular space. With about 101 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust Dow Jones Global Select 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 ACWI ETF (ACWI) tracks MSCI All Country World Index and the Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (VT) tracks FTSE Global All Cap Index. IShares MSCI ACWI ETF has $17.47 billion in assets, Vanguard Total World Stock ETF has $26.63 billion. ACWI has an expense ratio of 0.32% and VT 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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First Trust Dow Jones Global Select Dividend ETF (FGD): ETF Research Reports
iShares MSCI ACWI ETF (ACWI): ETF Research Reports
Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (VT): ETF Research Reports
