Making its debut on 02/03/2015, smart beta exchange traded fund ProShares Russell 2000 Dividend Growers ETF (SMDV) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Value 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 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
The fund is sponsored by Proshares. It has amassed assets over $672.71 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Small Cap Value. SMDV, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Russell 2000 Dividend Growth Index.
The Russell 2000 Dividend Growth Index targets companies that are currently members of the Russell 2000 Index and have increased dividend payments each year for at least 10 years.
Cost & Other Expenses
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.40%.
SMDV's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 2.41%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
For SMDV, it has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector --about 31.8% of the portfolio --while Industrials and Utilities round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Insperity Inc (NSP) accounts for about 1.14% of total assets, followed by Matson Inc (MATX) and Power Integrations Inc (POWI).
SMDV's top 10 holdings account for about 9.45% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 10.73% so far this year and it's up approximately 8.93% in the last one year (as of 02/13/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $58.95 and $73.58
SMDV has a beta of 0.82 and standard deviation of 18.89% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 105 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
ProShares Russell 2000 Dividend Growers ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Small Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO) tracks Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index and the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG) tracks NASDAQ US Dividend Achievers Select Index. iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF has $38.45 billion in assets, Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF has $104.57 billion. DGRO has an expense ratio of 0.08% and VIG changes 0.04%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Small Cap Value
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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ProShares Russell 2000 Dividend Growers ETF (SMDV): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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