Launched on 05/07/2014, the WisdomTree International Hedged Quality Dividend Growth ETF (IHDG) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering 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.
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.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
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 managed by Wisdomtree. IHDG has been able to amass assets over $2.34 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Broad Developed World ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree International Hedged Quality Dividend Growth Index.
The WisdomTree International Hedged Quality Dividend Growth Index is designed to provide exposure to the developed market companies while at the same time neutralizing exposure to fluctuations between the value of foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar.
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 this ETF are 0.58%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
IHDG's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.74%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Taking into account individual holdings, European Euro (eur)accounts for about 43.02% of the fund's total assets, followed by Japanese Yen (jpy) and British Pound (gbp).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 109.15% of IHDG's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 5.3% so far this year and was up about 10.92% in the last one year (as of 02/18/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $38.54 and $51.36
The ETF has a beta of 0.75 and standard deviation of 13.21% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 298 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
WisdomTree International Hedged Quality Dividend Growth 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 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 $38.52 billion in assets, Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF has $104.65 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 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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WisdomTree International Hedged Quality Dividend Growth ETF (IHDG): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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