Is iShares Emerging Markets Dividend ETF (DVYE) a Strong ETF Right Now?

Launched on 02/23/2012, the iShares Emerging Markets Dividend ETF (DVYE) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Broad Emerging Market ETFs 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.

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.

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

The fund is managed by Blackrock, and has been able to amass over $1.27 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones Emerging Markets Select Dividend Index.

The Dow Jones Emerging Markets Select Dividend Index measures the performance of the companies in emerging market countries that have provided relatively high dividend yields on a consistent basis over time.

Cost & Other Expenses

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.50% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 5.39%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

Taking into account individual holdings, Petroleo Brasileiro Pref Sa (PETR4) accounts for about 5.82% of the fund's total assets, followed by Cia Vale Do Rio Doce Sh (VALE3) and Orlen Sa (PKN).

The top 10 holdings account for about 33.91% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 9.08% and it's up approximately 29.65% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 03/17/2026), respectively. DVYE has traded between $23.95 and $35.55 during this last 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 0.54 and standard deviation of 15.32% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 145 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

iShares Emerging Markets Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Emerging Market ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund ETF Shares (VWO) tracks FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index and the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) tracks MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index. Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund ETF Shares has $111.71 billion in assets, iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $138.87 billion. VWO has an expense ratio of 0.06% and IEMG changes 0.09%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Broad Emerging Market ETFs

Bottom Line

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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iShares Emerging Markets Dividend ETF (DVYE): ETF Research Reports

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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