Designed to provide broad exposure to the Foreign Large Growth ETF category of the market, the Invesco S&P International Developed Quality ETF (IDHQ) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 06/13/2007.
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.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
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.
The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Because the fund has amassed over $779.09 million, this makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Foreign Large Growth ETF. IDHQ is managed by Invesco. IDHQ, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P Quality Developed ex US LargeMidCap Index.
The S&P Quality Developed ex US LargeMidCap Index tracks the performance of stocks in the S&P Developed Ex-US LargeMidCap Index that have the highest quality score, which is calculated based on three fundamental measures, return on equity, accruals ratio and financial leverage ratio.
Cost & Other Expenses
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
With one of the least expensive products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.29%.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 2.06%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.
When you look at individual holdings, Asml Holding Nv (ASML) accounts for about 5.98% of the fund's total assets, followed by Sk Hynix Inc (Y8085F100) and Novartis Ag (NOVN).
The top 10 holdings account for about 36.39% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Invesco S&P International Developed Quality ETF has gained about 16.92% so far, and is up roughly 32.85% over the last 12 months (as of 05/11/2026). IDHQ has traded between $31.50 $40.86 in this past 52-week period.
IDHQ has a beta of 0.92 and standard deviation of 16.02% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a low risk choice in the space. With about 207 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Invesco S&P International Developed Quality ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Foreign Large Growth ETF segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
VictoryShares International Free Cash Flow Growth ETF (GRIN) tracks VICTORY INTL GROWTH FREE CASH FLOW INDEX and the Invesco Dorsey Wright Developed Markets Momentum ETF (PIZ) tracks Dorsey Wright Developed Markets Technical Leaders Index. VictoryShares International Free Cash Flow Growth ETF has $274.6 million in assets, Invesco Dorsey Wright Developed Markets Momentum ETF has $816.63 million. GRIN has an expense ratio of 0.56% and PIZ changes 0.80%.
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 Growth ETF
Bottom Line
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Invesco S&P International Developed Quality ETF (IDHQ): ETF Research Reports
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).