NEW YORK, June 23, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WisdomTree (NASDAQ:WETF), an exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) and exchange-traded product (“ETP”) sponsor and asset manager, today announced six WisdomTree domestic dividend ETFs have received a 5-Star Overall Morningstar Rating™.
Percent of WisdomTree U.S. Dividend ETFs Peers Beaten in Respective Morningstar Categories*
| Ticker | Fund | Fund Inception Date | Morningstar Category | 1-year 6/1/15-5/31/16 | 3-year 6/1/13-5/31/16 | 5-year 6/1/11-5/31/16 | Since Fund Inception 7/1/06-5/31/16 | ||||||||
| DTD | WisdomTree Total Dividend Fund | 6/16/2006 | Large Value | 91 | % | 92 | % | 94 | % | 81 | % | ||||
| DTN | WisdomTree Dividend ex-Financials Fund | 6/16/2006 | Large Value | 87 | % | 85 | % | 92 | % | 93 | % | ||||
| DLN | WisdomTree LargeCap Dividend Fund | 6/16/2006 | Large Value | 89 | % | 90 | % | 93 | % | 78 | % | ||||
| DHS | WisdomTree High Dividend Fund | 6/16/2006 | Large Value | 98 | % | 96 | % | 99 | % | 67 | % | ||||
| DON | WisdomTree MidCap Dividend Fund | 6/16/2006 | Mid-Cap Value | 99 | % | 98 | % | 100 | % | 92 | % | ||||
| DES | WisdomTree SmallCap Dividend Fund | 6/16/2006 | Small Value | 89 | % | 91 | % | 98 | % | 74 | % | ||||
*as of 5/31/16
WisdomTree launched a family of six U.S. dividend funds in June 2006, ten years ago. WisdomTree’s dividend-weighted approach has proven itself over the last decade outperforming most comparable cap-weighted benchmarks and active managers in their respective Morningstar categories. This period, which included the Financial Crisis of 2008-2009, demonstrates these strategies held up under extreme market conditions.
“The real time performance records and five-star ratings from Morningstar serve to validate WisdomTree’s powerful observation ten years ago that weighting equity markets by dividends, packaged in the ETF structure could revolutionize the way people invest,” said WisdomTree’s Chief Investment Strategist, Luciano Siracusano.
Mr. Siracusano further commented on the significance of WisdomTree’s ten-year track records: “Passive investing has undoubtedly served investors well over the past 30 years. Numerous studies confirm that, over time, the vast majority of actively managed mutual funds have failed to outperform comparable cap-weighted indexes, after accounting for fees, expenses and transaction costs. The question we posed more than a decade ago, and that many investors are asking today: ‘Can alternatively weighted indexes serve passive investors better than index funds based on traditional benchmarks?’ The real-time track records on many of our original indexes suggest our fundamentally weighted strategies do in fact achieve better returns, often with less volatility, relative to comparable indexes that set weights based on a company’s market value.”
Each of these six Funds has beaten at least 92% of its respective Morningstar category over the five-year period that ended 5/31/2016. The WisdomTree MidCap Dividend Fund (DON) and WisdomTree High Dividend Fund (DHS) have astoundingly beaten 100% and 99% of the mid-cap and large-value categories respectively over this period.
© 2016 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
For each fund with at least a three-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar Rating™ based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a fund’s monthly performance (including the effects of sales charges, loads, and redemption fees), placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of funds in each category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. (Each share class is counted as a fraction of one fund within this scale and rated separately, which may cause slight variations in the distribution percentages.) The Overall Morningstar Rating for a fund is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five- and ten-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics.
The WisdomTree Total Dividend Fund, WisdomTree LargeCap Dividend Fund, WisdomTree High Dividend Fund and WisdomTree Dividend ex-Financials Fund were rated against the following numbers of U.S.-domiciled Large Value funds over the following time periods: 1,174 funds overall and in the last three years, and 1,030 funds in the last five years. With respect to these Large Value funds, the WisdomTree Total Dividend Fund, WisdomTree LargeCap Dividend Fund, and WisdomTree High Dividend Fund, received a Morningstar Rating of 5 stars for the three- and five-year periods, respectively. The WisdomTree Dividend ex-Financials Fund received a Morningstar Rating of 4 stars for the three-period and 5 stars for the five-year period. The WisdomTree MidCap Dividend Fund was rated against the following numbers of U.S.-domiciled MidCap Value funds over the following time periods: 407 funds overall and in the last three years, and 350 funds in the last five years. With respect to these MidCap Value funds, the WisdomTree MidCap Dividend Fund received a Morningstar Rating of 5 stars for the three- and five-year periods, respectively. The WisdomTree SmallCap Dividend Fund was rated against the following numbers of U.S.-domiciled Small Value funds over the following time periods: 372 funds overall and in the last three years, and 331 funds in the last five years. With respect to these Small Value funds, the WisdomTree SmallCap Dividend Fund received a Morningstar Rating of 4 stars for the three-year period and 5 stars for the five-year period. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
The Percent Rank in Category is the funds' total-return percentile rank relative to all funds within the same Morningstar Category and is subject to change each month. Regarding number of funds, 1 = Best and 100 = Worst.
For the 1-year period, DTD ranked 128, DTN ranked 188, DLN ranked 158 and DHS ranked 32 out of 1,408 funds. DON ranked 7 out of 491 funds. DES ranked 51 out of 446 funds. For the 3-year period, DTD ranked 95, DTN ranked 183, DLN ranked 118 and DHS ranked 51 out of 1,219 funds. DON ranked 9 out of 422 funds. DES ranked 35 out of 389 funds. For the 5-year period, DTD ranked 66, DTN ranked 90, DLN ranked 74 and DHS ranked 15 out of 1,065 funds. DON ranked 2 out of 362 funds. DES ranked 8 out of 347 funds. Since inception, DTD ranked 148, DTN ranked 57, DLN ranked 175 and DHS ranked 263 out of 788 funds. DON ranked 21 out of 249 funds. DES ranked 59 out of 225 funds. As of 5/31/2016.
The Morningstar Rating™ is provided for those exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) with at least a three-year history. Ratings are based on the ETF’s Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure which accounts for variation in monthly performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. An ETF’s risk-adjusted return includes a brokerage commission estimate. This estimate is intended to reflect what an average investor would pay when buying or selling an ETF. PLEASE NOTE, this estimate is subject to change and the actual brokerage commission an investor pays may be higher or lower than this estimate. Morningstar compares each ETF’s risk-adjusted return to the open-end mutual fund rating breakpoints for that category. Consistent with the open-end mutual fund ratings, the top 10% of ETFs in each category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The overall rating for an ETF is based on a weighted average of the time-period ratings (e.g., the ETF’s 3,5, and 10 year rating). The determination of an ETF’s rating does not affect the retail open end mutual fund data published by Morningstar. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
To view or download a copy of the Funds’ most recent performance visit: https://www.wisdomtree.com/resource-library/pdf/wisdomtree-monthly-performance-report-1304.pdf
Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the Fund before investing. To obtain a prospectus containing this and other important information, please call 866.909.WISE (9473) or visit wisdomtree.com. Investors should read the prospectus carefully before investing.
There are risks associated with investing, including possible loss of principal. Funds focusing their investments on certain sectors increase their vulnerability to any single economic or regulatory development. Funds focusing their investments on certain sectors and/or smaller companies increase their vulnerability to any single economic or regulatory development. This may result in greater share price volatility. Please read the Fund’s prospectus for specific details regarding the Fund’s risk profile.
WisdomTree Funds are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC, in the U.S. only.
Luciano Siracusano is a registered representative of Foreside Fund Services, LLC.
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About WisdomTree
WisdomTree Investments, Inc., through its subsidiaries in the U.S., Europe and Japan (collectively, “WisdomTree”), is an exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) and exchange-traded product (“ETP”) sponsor and asset manager headquartered in New York. WisdomTree offers products covering equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities and alternative strategies. WisdomTree currently has approximately $40.4 billion in assets under management globally. For more information, please visit www.wisdomtree.com or follow us on Twitter @WisdomTreeETFs.
WisdomTree® is the marketing name for WisdomTree Investments, Inc. and its subsidiaries worldwide.