Making its debut on 05/29/2013, smart beta exchange traded fund SPDR S&P Global Dividend ETF (WDIV) provides investors broad exposure to the Global Large-Cap Value Equity ETF category of the market.
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.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
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.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $200.13 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Global Large-Cap Value Equity ETF. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the S&P Global Dividend Aristocrats Index.
The S&P Global Dividend Aristocrats Index measures the performance of high dividend-yield companies included in the S&P Global BMI that have followed a managed-dividends policy of increasing or stable dividends for at least ten consecutive years.
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 WDIV are 0.40%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
WDIV's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 4.26%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Taking into account individual holdings, Apa Group (APA) accounts for about 1.76% of the fund's total assets, followed by Altria Group Inc (MO) and Bouygues Sa (EN).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 15.05% of WDIV's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 9.80% and is up about 17.26% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 05/07/2025), respectively. WDIV has traded between $58.70 and $67.79 during this last 52-week period.
WDIV has a beta of 0.63 and standard deviation of 13.71% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a low risk choice in the space. With about 126 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
SPDR S&P Global Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Global Large-Cap Value Equity ETF segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
CCM Global Equity ETF (CCMG) tracks ---------------------------------------- and the Pacer Global Cash Cows Dividend ETF (GCOW) tracks Pacer Global Cash Cows Dividend Index. CCM Global Equity ETF has $941.65 million in assets, Pacer Global Cash Cows Dividend ETF has $2.20 billion. CCMG has an expense ratio of 0.33% and GCOW charges 0.60%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Global Large-Cap Value Equity ETF.
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.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
SPDR S&P Global Dividend ETF (WDIV): ETF Research Reports APA Corporation (APA): Free Stock Analysis Report Altria Group, Inc. (MO): Free Stock Analysis Report Pacer Global Cash Cows Dividend ETF (GCOW): ETF Research Reports CCM Global Equity ETF (CCMG): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research
