The First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF (EDOW) was launched on 08/08/2017, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.
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.
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.
But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.
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.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Managed by First Trust Advisors, EDOW has amassed assets over $309.76 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. Before fees and expenses, EDOW seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average Equal Weight Index.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Equal Weight Index is an equally weighted index designed to be a price neutral version of the price-weighted DJIA.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.50% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
EDOW's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.26%.
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.
For EDOW, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 20.9% of the portfolio --while Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) accounts for about 3.58% of the fund's total assets, followed by Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) and Chevron Corporation (CVX).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 34.87% of EDOW's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, EDOW has added roughly 8.57%, and was up about 17.03% in the last one year (as of 07/09/2026). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $37.96 and $45.04.
The ETF has a beta of 0.83 and standard deviation of 12.44% for the trailing three-year period. With about 31 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers .
Alternatives
First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) tracks S&P 500 Index and the Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $885.21 billion in assets, Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares has $976.24 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VOO changes 0.03%.
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 Blend
Bottom Line
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First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF (EDOW): ETF Research Reports
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).