Should iShares Select Dividend ETF Be on Your Investing Radar?

Designed to provide broad exposure to the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market, the iShares Select Dividend ETF DVY is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 11/03/2003.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock BLK. It has amassed assets over $17.87 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Value

Companies that find themselves in the large cap category typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Overall, they are usually a stable option, with less risk and more sure-fire cash flows than mid and small cap companies.

Value stocks are known for their lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, but investors should also note their lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. When you look at long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in nearly all markets. But in strong bull markets, growth stocks are more likely to be winners.

Costs

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 this ETF are 0.38%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.84%.

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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Utilities sector--about 28.50% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Staples round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Altria Group Inc MO accounts for about 2.94% of total assets, followed by AT&T Inc T and Verizon Communications Inc VZ.

The top 10 holdings account for about 18.21% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

DVY seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index before fees and expenses. The Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index measures the performance of a selected group of equity securities issued by companies that have provided relatively high dividend yields on a consistent basis over time.

The ETF has added roughly 3.56% so far this year and was up about 8.57% in the last one year (as of 06/18/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $102.97 and $125.75.

The ETF has a beta of 0.88 and standard deviation of 15.82% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 107 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Select Dividend ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, DVY is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF IWD and the Vanguard Value ETF VTV track a similar index. While iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF has $54.76 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $116.20 billion. IWD has an expense ratio of 0.19% and VTV charges 0.04%.

Bottom-Line

Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.

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