Northern Trust Quality Dividend Defensive ETF
$91.02−0.06 (−0.07%)
- 0.40%
- $555M
- +18.6%
- 1.56%
- 0M sh
- $90.90
- low $77.97high $91.97
The ETF.net QDEF Grade
C
Score 54 out of 100
- 27 of 53
Score 54 of 100 falls in the C 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.D38 out of 100Rank 29 of 53Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.B66 out of 100Rank 42 of 50Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.A79 out of 100Rank 3 of 53Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.C49 out of 100Rank 30 of 53Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.C43 out of 100Rank 36 of 53Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.B58 out of 100Rank 26 of 53
Our read on QDEF
CMost dividend funds chase yield. QDEF screens US stocks for quality and income, then deliberately aims for lower beta than its parent index. Northern Trust's version of a dividend sleeve built to flinch less.
The fund provides exposure to a high-quality, income-oriented portfolio of long-only U.S. equity securities, emphasizing long-term capital growth and a defensive beta relative to its parent index.
Why people hold it
- The defensive part is in the mandate, not the marketing: it targets a lower beta than its parent index while holding long-only, income-oriented US equities.flexshares.com
- Screens on profitability and quality, so dividends come from companies that earn them rather than from whatever is yielding most today.flexshares.com
- Live since 2012 and through multiple market cycles, tracking a named Northern Trust index with a published rulebook. Pays quarterly.
- Roughly 140 names: tight enough for the quality screen to actually show up in the portfolio, wide enough to avoid single-stock drama.
Worth knowing
- At 0.40% a year, it costs several times the giants of the dividend aisle (VIG 0.04%, SCHD 0.06%, DGRO 0.08%). You pay for the defensive overlay.
- Thinly traded compared with the category's household names, so limit orders matter and spreads can widen when markets get jumpy.
- A below-market beta target cuts both ways by design: the same dial that softens drawdowns also mutes participation in high-beta rallies.
QDEF Holdings
- Stocks
- 157
- 36%
- AAPL
Sectors
- Technology36.3%
- Health Care11.0%
- Financials9.3%
- Communication7.7%
- Industrials6.6%
- Consumer Discretionary6.6%
- Consumer Staples6.5%
- Energy5.8%
- Real Estate3.9%
- Utilities3.2%
- Materials3.2%
Geography
- United States97.38%
- Ireland1.35%
- Canada0.65%
- Bermuda0.48%
- United Kingdom0.13%
QDEF Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
QDEF$11,865
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 | QDEF |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +13.7% |
| 1 month | +1.0% |
| 3 months | +3.8% |
| 1 year | +18.6% |
| 3 years | +20.7% |
| 5 years | +13.5% |
| 10 years | +12.6% |
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 | QDEF |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +13.7% | |
| 2025 | +17.4% | |
| 2024 | +21.2% | |
| 2023 | +17.5% | |
| 2022 | −10.9% | |
| 2021 | +26.1% | |
| 2020 | +3.2% |
QDEF in the news
Best ETFs
Schwab's dividend ETF returned 22.8% in a year. Its income rate still trails a one-month bill.
First-Year Review
Liberty One's Spectrum ETF returned 6.4%, 8.9 percentage points behind an S&P 500 fund
Category Review
The payout and the result came apart in option-income funds
First-Year Review
EASY's first year trailed the defensive index it names
QDEF Dividends
- 1.56%
- $1.42
- $0.34 per share
- Quarterly
Distribution history
QDEF Risk
- 10.1%
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.
- 1.45
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.
- −21.4%
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.
- 0.83
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
QDEF Cost
0.40%
QDEF0.40%
- The middle half of US Dividend Index funds
- Median 0.38%
32 of the 52 US Dividend Index funds charge less.
Other funds in US Dividend Index
- BDIVGInvesco S&P 500 High Dividend Growers ETFExpense ratio 0.39%1 year return +18.6%
- CPFMInvesco Dividend Achievers ETFExpense ratio 0.52%1 year return +14.5%
- CFVDFirst Trust Value Line Dividend Index FundExpense ratio 0.62%1 year return +8.2%
- CQDFNorthern Trust Quality Dividend ETFExpense ratio 0.40%1 year return +20.7%
- CRDVYFirst Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETFExpense ratio 0.47%1 year return +23.8%