

First Trust SMID Cap Rising Dividend Achievers ETF
$41.38+0.08 (+0.19%)
- 0.58%
- $10.9B
- +14.4%
- 1.01%
- 1M sh
- $41.25
- low $36.41high $45.11
The ETF.net SDVY Grade
Score 53 out of 100
- 29 of 53
Score 53 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.F12 out of 100Rank 46 of 53Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A87 out of 100Rank 17 of 50Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.F19 out of 100Rank 52 of 53Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.A88 out of 100Rank 5 of 53Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.A83 out of 100Rank 4 of 53Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A71 out of 100Rank 13 of 53
Our read on SDVY
CMost dividend-growth funds fish in blue-chip waters. SDVY takes the same idea down the size scale: a Nasdaq index of small and mid cap US companies with a record of raising their payouts, run by First Trust since 2017.
The Fund seeks to provide returns generally corresponding to the price and yield performance of the Nasdaq US Small Mid Cap Rising Dividend Achievers Index before fees and expenses. It normally invests at least 90% of net assets in securities included in that Index.
Why people hold it
- Rising-dividend screening applied where it is uncommon. The heavyweights of this category (SCHD, VIG, DGRO) sit in large caps; SDVY runs the screen across US small and mid caps instead.
- Rules, not hunches. At least 90% of net assets stay in the Nasdaq US Small Mid Cap Rising Dividend Achievers Index, which selects on dividend growth alongside growth and quality traits.
- Spread thin on purpose: roughly 190 holdings, a multi-billion-dollar asset base, and heavy day-to-day trading volume for a small/mid cap strategy. Distributions come quarterly.
Worth knowing
- Cost is the trade-off: 0.58% a year, above the dividend-screen median, and many times what the large-cap incumbents charge (SCHD 0.06%, VIG 0.04%).
- Smaller companies move harder in both directions, and this fund's ride has been rougher than that of large-cap dividend peers.
- It screens for dividends that are rising, not dividends that are large, so current income here generally runs below what high-yield-focused funds pay.
SDVY Holdings
- Stocks
- 173
- 10%
- NHC
Sectors
- Financials34.0%
- Industrials27.9%
- Technology9.7%
- Consumer Discretionary9.2%
- Consumer Staples4.9%
- Materials4.2%
- Health Care3.6%
- Energy3.2%
- Communication3.1%
- Real Estate0.2%
Geography
- United States95.80%
- Puerto Rico2.24%
- Bermuda1.51%
- Bahamas0.45%
SDVY Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
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 | SDVY |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +8.5% |
| 1 month | −3.0% |
| 3 months | −3.7% |
| 1 year | +14.4% |
| 3 years | +15.6% |
| 5 years | +9.3% |
| 10 years | — |
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 | SDVY |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +8.5% | |
| 2025 | +8.4% | |
| 2024 | +11.2% | |
| 2023 | +28.6% | |
| 2022 | −12.0% | |
| 2021 | +29.1% | |
| 2020 | +11.7% |
SDVY in the news


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SDVY Dividends
- 1.01%
- $0.42
- $0.10 per share
- Quarterly
Distribution history
SDVY Risk
- 18.5%
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.
- 0.58
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.
- −26.1%
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.
- 1.02
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
SDVY Cost
- The middle half of US Dividend Index funds
- Median 0.38%
45 of the 52 US Dividend Index funds charge less.
Other funds in US Dividend Index
- 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%
- CVSDAVictoryShares Dividend Accelerator ETFExpense ratio 0.40%1 year return +12.3%
- CFDLFirst Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index FundExpense ratio 0.43%1 year return +23.6%
- CRDIVInvesco S&P Ultra Dividend Revenue ETFExpense ratio 0.39%1 year return +19.3%