Best ETFs
Schwab's dividend ETF returned 22.8% in a year. Its income rate still trails a one-month bill.
Northern Trust International Quality Dividend ETF
$34.49+0.22 (+0.64%)
- 0.49%
- $1.1B
- +27.1%
- 3.47%
- 0.1M sh
- $34.31
- low $28.15high $36.52
The ETF.net IQDF Grade
B
Score 61 out of 100
- 15 of 35
Score 61 of 100 falls in the B band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.C53 out of 100Rank 15 of 35Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A92 out of 100Rank 15 of 29Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.C44 out of 100Rank 20 of 35Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.D39 out of 100Rank 24 of 35Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.B66 out of 100Rank 11 of 33Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.B61 out of 100Rank 15 of 35
Our read on IQDF
BFlexShares screens overseas payers through Northern Trust's Dividend Quality Score, favoring profitable, well-run companies over the fattest yields. Running since 2013, roughly 300 stocks, paid quarterly.
The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Northern Trust International Quality Dividend Index.
Why people hold it
- Quality-first screen: Northern Trust's Dividend Quality Score ranks names on profitability and quality rather than headline yield, landing on roughly 300 international stocks.flexshares.com
- Sticks closely to the Northern Trust International Quality Dividend Index, one of the tighter index-followers in its peer group. Passive and rules-based, no manager hunches.flexshares.com
- A 0.49% expense ratio lands mid-pack among international dividend-screen funds, on a multibillion-dollar fund that has been trading since 2013 and pays quarterly.
Worth knowing
- Broad-index rivals such as VYMI, SCHY and VIGI charge a small fraction of the fee. The extra cost here buys the quality screen, not extra coverage.
- Overseas holdings mean currency moves and local dividend withholding sit between what companies pay and what reaches a US shareholder.flexshares.com
- Volume is moderate rather than heavy, so bid-ask spreads matter more here than in the category's most-traded funds.
IQDF Holdings
- Stocks
- 221
- 21%
- 2330.TW
Sectors
- Financials27.6%
- Technology20.3%
- Industrials11.7%
- Materials8.1%
- Energy7.3%
- Consumer Discretionary6.1%
- Health Care4.9%
- Consumer Staples4.7%
- Communication3.6%
- Utilities3.3%
- Real Estate2.4%
Geography
- Japan12.75%
- Taiwan (Province of China)11.69%
- United Kingdom7.62%
- Canada5.83%
- Korea (the Republic of)5.10%
- France4.65%
- Italy4.44%
- Australia3.99%
- 43.94%
Developed 63% · Emerging 37%
IQDF Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
IQDF$12,714
Returns run to the Oct 12, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | IQDF |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +16.1% |
| 1 month | −3.4% |
| 3 months | 0.0% |
| 1 year | +27.1% |
| 3 years | +23.3% |
| 5 years | +11.8% |
| 10 years | +9.4% |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | IQDF |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +16.1% | |
| 2025 | +35.4% | |
| 2024 | +6.6% | |
| 2023 | +20.1% | |
| 2022 | −14.7% | |
| 2021 | +10.2% | |
| 2020 | +3.4% |
IQDF in the news
IQDF Dividends
- 3.47%
- $1.19
- $0.43 per share
- Quarterly
Distribution history
IQDF Risk
- 10.9%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- 1.60
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −29.1%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- 0.81
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
IQDF Cost
0.49%
IQDF0.49%
- The middle half of International Dividend Index funds
- Median 0.50%
14 of the 34 International Dividend Index funds charge less.
Other funds in International Dividend Index
- BDOLWisdomTree True Developed International FundExpense ratio 0.48%1 year return +23.4%
- BFGDFirst Trust Dow Jones Global Select Dividend Index FundExpense ratio 0.55%1 year return +23.4%
- BFDDFirst Trust STOXX European Select Dividend Index FundExpense ratio 0.56%1 year return +24.7%
- BDLSWisdomTree International SmallCap Dividend FundExpense ratio 0.58%1 year return +14.8%
- CDVYAiShares Asia/Pacific Dividend ETFExpense ratio 0.49%1 year return +25.1%