ADIV vs BIDD

ADIVDGuinness Atkinson Asia Pacific Dividend Builder ETF

BIDDBiShares International Dividend Active ETF

In short

ADIV A 2006 Asia Pacific dividend fund that became one of the first US mutual funds ever converted into an ETF, in March 2021. Roughly 35 equally weighted dividend payers, actively picked, at 0.78% net of a waiver through June 30, 2029.

BIDD BlackRock lifted a 1997-vintage international dividend strategy out of its mutual fund shell and dropped it into an ETF. What you get: roughly 50 hand-picked non-US dividend payers, an active manager, and a fee under the peer-group median.

Stated mandate

ADIV The fund seeks dividend income and long-term capital growth by investing primarily in dividend-producing equity securities of companies tied to the Asia Pacific region.

BIDD The fund uses active fundamental research to invest in high-quality companies outside the U.S. that pay attractive and growing dividends, providing international equity exposure with an income focus.

Why people hold it

• ADIV Guinness Atkinson pioneered the mutual-fund-to-ETF conversion in March 2021, and this 2006-vintage Asia Pacific strategy was one of the two funds it flipped. Same manager approach, new wrapper.sec.govsec.gov 2
• Roughly 35 positions of approximately equal weight, spread across at least four Asia Pacific countries, so no single mega-cap runs the portfolio. The prospectus allows 25 to 75 holdings.sec.gov
• Dual mandate in plain terms: dividend income plus long-term capital growth from Asia Pacific equities, with at least 80% of assets in dividend-paying stocks tied to the region. Pays quarterly.sec.gov

• BIDD 0.60% a year sits below the median for active international dividend funds, and well under pricier rivals in the group such as JHID (2.17%) and ADVE (0.79%).
• Not a startup strategy in a new coat: the predecessor mutual fund, running since 1997, rolled its assets into this ETF in a November 2024 reorganization.sec.gov
• Fundamental research picks quality companies outside the US that pay attractive and growing dividends, and the fund distributes quarterly.ishares.com
• Lands in the upper half of a small field of active international dividend funds, with a multi-billion-dollar issuer's operational muscle behind it.

Worth knowing

• ADIV Costs 0.78% net of a waiver through June 30, 2029, above the category median; the gross fee is 1.95%. Peers such as VDI (0.39%) and JHID (0.46% net of a waiver through July 31, 2027) run cheaper.
• Thinly traded and modest in size, which can mean wider spreads than the category's biggest names.
• Concentrated by design and exposed to Asia Pacific currencies and emerging markets, so individual holdings and FX moves can swing results more than in a broad global fund.sec.gov

• BIDD Stock picking, not index tracking: about 50 names measured against the MSCI ACWI ex USA benchmark, so the portfolio can drift a long way from it in either direction.
• Thinly traded next to index-tracking international funds, so bid-ask spreads and order type matter more at the moment you trade.
• The exchange-traded history starts with the late-2024 conversion, so ETF-level trading and risk data is short even though the strategy itself is old.sec.gov

Full ADIV profile⁠

Full BIDD profile⁠