The Vident International Equity Strategy ETF (VIDI) made its debut on 10/29/2013, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Foreign Large Value ETF 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.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well 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.
Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.
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
VIDI is managed by Vident Financial, and this fund has amassed over $466.2 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Foreign Large Value ETF. VIDI, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Vident International Equity Index.
The Vident Core International Equity Index is an international equity index that combines principles-based country and securities selection with sophisticated risk management. The index balances risk across developed and emerging economies and emphasizes those with favorable conditions for growth.
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.61% for VIDI, making it one of the more expensive products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.59%.
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.
When you look at individual holdings, Sasol Ltd (SOL) accounts for about 1.01% of the fund's total assets, followed by Equinor Asa (EQNR) and Cash & Other (Cash&Other).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 7.62% of VIDI's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, VIDI has added about 23.8%, and is up roughly 50.95% in the last one year (as of 06/02/2026). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $28.64 and $41.67.
The fund has a beta of 0.75 and standard deviation of 14.87% for the trailing three-year period, which makes VIDI a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 245 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Vident International Equity Strategy ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Foreign Large Value ETF segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard International High Dividend Yield Index Fund ETF Shares (VYMI) tracks FTSE All-World ex US High Dividend Yield Index and the Schwab Fundamental International Equity ETF (FNDF) tracks Russell RAFI Developed ex US Large Co. Index (Net). Vanguard International High Dividend Yield Index Fund ETF Shares has $19.33 billion in assets, Schwab Fundamental International Equity ETF has $24.72 billion. VYMI has an expense ratio of 0.07% and FNDF changes 0.25%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Foreign Large Value ETF
Bottom Line
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Vident International Equity Strategy ETF (VIDI): ETF Research Reports
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).