Is First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY) a Strong ETF Right Now?

Question

The First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY) made its debut on 01/07/2014, 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?

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.

Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.

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.

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

Because the fund has amassed over $15.23 billion, this makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. RDVY is managed by First Trust Advisors. RDVY, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ US Rising Dividend Achievers Index.

The NASDAQ US Rising Dividend Achievers Index is designed to provide access to a diversified portfolio of companies with a history of paying dividends.

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.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.48% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.43%.

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.

RDVY's heaviest allocation is in the Financials sector, which is about 38.6% of the portfolio. Its Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Story ContinuesTaking into account individual holdings, Ebay Inc. (EBAY) accounts for about 2.52% of the fund's total assets, followed by Meta Platforms Inc. (class A) (META) and Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG).

The top 10 holdings account for about 23.33% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF return is roughly 8.19% and it's up approximately 18.06% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 07/10/2025), respectively. RDVY has traded between $51.60 and $64.37 during this last 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 1.07 and standard deviation of 19.07% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 77 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.

Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $71.1 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $139.67 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV 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

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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First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY): ETF Research Reports

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

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