Designed to provide broad exposure to the Broad Developed World ETFs category of the market, the WisdomTree International High Dividend ETF (DTH) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 06/16/2006.
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.
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.
Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.
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 managed by Wisdomtree, and has been able to amass over $630.15 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Broad Developed World ETFs. DTH, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree International High Dividend Index.
The WisdomTree International High Dividend Index is a fundamentally weighted Index that measures the performance of companies with high dividend yields selected from the WisdomTree International Equity Index.
Cost & Other Expenses
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.58% for DTH, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 3.63%.
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.
Looking at individual holdings, Hsbc Holdings Plc (HSBA) accounts for about 2.9% of total assets, followed by Nestle Sa (NESN) and Intesa Sanpaolo Spa (ISP).
The top 10 holdings account for about 19.16% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 4.87% and is up about 33.49% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 03/09/2026), respectively. DTH has traded between $37.84 and $57.58 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.56 and standard deviation of 13.64% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 582 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
WisdomTree International High 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 EAFE ETF (EFA) tracks MSCI EAFE Index and the iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA) tracks MSCI EAFE Investable Market Index. iShares MSCI EAFE ETF has $72.52 billion in assets, iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF has $170.76 billion. EFA has an expense ratio of 0.32% and IEFA changes 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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WisdomTree International High Dividend ETF (DTH): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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