Yahoo Finance Is First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Designed to provide broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value category of the market, the First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 01/07/2014.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
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.
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.
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
Managed by First Trust Advisors, RDVY has amassed assets over $7.81 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. RDVY seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ US Rising Dividend Achievers Index before fees and expenses.
The NASDAQ US Rising Dividend Achievers Index is designed to provide access to a diversified portfolio of companies with a history of paying dividends.
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.
Annual operating expenses for RDVY are 0.50%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 2.22%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector - about 40% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Energy round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Accenture Plc (ACN) accounts for about 2.14% of the fund's total assets, followed by Micron Technology, Inc. (MU) and Popular, Inc. (BPOP).
RDVY's top 10 holdings account for about 20.73% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF has gained about 5.88% so far, and is up about 1.36% over the last 12 months (as of 06/07/2023). RDVY has traded between $38.88 and $48.92 in this past 52-week period.
RDVY has a beta of 1.15 and standard deviation of 21.67% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 51 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
IShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD) tracks Russell 1000 Value Index and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. IShares Russell 1000 Value ETF has $49.69 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $96.88 billion. IWD has an expense ratio of 0.18% and VTV charges 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 - Large 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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First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY): ETF Research Reports
Accenture PLC (ACN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Micron Technology, Inc. (MU) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Popular, Inc. (BPOP) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Vanguard Value ETF (VTV): ETF Research Reports
iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD): ETF Research Reports
