A smart beta exchange traded fund, the SPDR S&P Emerging Markets Dividend ETF (EDIV) debuted on 02/23/2011, and offers broad exposure to the Broad Emerging Market ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the 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.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
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.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $687.55 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. Before fees and expenses, EDIV seeks to match the performance of the S&P Emerging Markets Dividend Opportunities Index.
The S&P Emerging Markets Dividend Opportunities Index includes 100 tradable, exchange-listed common stocks from emerging market countries that offer high dividend yields.
Cost & Other Expenses
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
Annual operating expenses for EDIV are 0.49%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 4.04%.
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, Cia Energetica Minas Ger Prf (CMIG4) accounts for about 3.31% of the fund's total assets, followed by Sino American Silicon Produc and Banco Bradesco Adr (BBD).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 23.06% of EDIV's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 6.04% so far this year and was up about 12% in the last one year (as of 05/08/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $32.61 and $38.33.
EDIV has a beta of 0.50 and standard deviation of 14.26% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 136 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
SPDR S&P Emerging Markets Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Emerging Market ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO) tracks FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index and the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) tracks MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index. Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has $83.61 billion in assets, iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $85.33 billion. VWO has an expense ratio of 0.07% and IEMG charges 0.09%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Broad Emerging Market 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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SPDR S&P Emerging Markets Dividend ETF (EDIV): ETF Research Reports Banco Bradesco SA (BBD): Free Stock Analysis Report iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG): ETF Research Reports Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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