The WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth ETF (DGRW) made its debut on 05/22/2013, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value 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.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Because the fund has amassed over $16.81 billion, this makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. DGRW is managed by Wisdomtree. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Index.
The WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Index is a fundamentally weighted index that consists of dividend-paying stocks with growth characteristics.
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 0.28% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
DGRW's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.29%.
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 Information Technology sector - about 33.4% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Telecom round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 7.61% of the fund's total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 37.56% of DGRW's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, DGRW has added about 8.08%, and was up about 21.84% in the last one year (as of 05/25/2026). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $79.69 and $96.67.
DGRW has a beta of 0.82 and standard deviation of 12.43% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 200 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO) tracks Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index and the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund ETF Shares (VIG) tracks NASDAQ US Dividend Achievers Select Index. iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF has $40.31 billion in assets, Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund ETF Shares has $107.91 billion. DGRO has an expense ratio of 0.08% and VIG changes 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
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WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth ETF (DGRW): ETF Research Reports
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).