DGRS vs SPHQ

DGRSBWisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Quality Dividend Growth Fund

SPHQAInvesco S&P 500 Quality ETF

In short

DGRS Most quality-factor ETFs go hunting among mega caps. DGRS runs WisdomTree's quality and growth screens down in U.S. small caps instead, holding roughly 220 dividend payers and distributing monthly.

SPHQ Live since 2005, SPHQ is an elder statesman of quality investing: rank the S&P 500 on profitability, earnings quality and balance-sheet strength, hold the top 100, charge 0.15% net of a waiver through August 31, 2028.

Stated mandate

DGRS The fund provides exposure to U.S. small-cap companies with dividend-growth potential through quality and growth screens.

SPHQ The fund seeks exposure to the S&P 500 Quality Index and normally invests at least 90% of assets in common stocks included in that index.

Why people hold it

• DGRS A small-cap take on a large-cap idea: peers like SPHQ screen for quality inside the S&P 500, while DGRS applies its quality and growth screens to U.S. small companies.wisdomtree.com
• Pays monthly rather than quarterly, so income lands on a steadier rhythm.
• Roughly 220 names spread the bet across a corner of the market where a single blowup stings, and the portfolio is the fund's strongest scoring feature.
• Live since 2013, tracking a published WisdomTree index (WTSDG) through a full decade of small-cap cycles rather than a back-tested launch story.

• SPHQ 0.15% net of a waiver through August 31, 2028 (0.20% gross), below the median for quality factor funds and level with QUAL and FQAL at 0.15%.
• The rules are published and mechanical: score the S&P 500 on return on equity, accruals ratio and financial leverage ratio, take the top 100, weight by quality score times market cap.spglobal.com
• Universe discipline: candidates come only from the S&P 500, so every holding is an established large cap rather than a smaller name screened in from a broader pool.spglobal.com
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, pays quarterly, and has run since 2005. It sits in the stronger tier of quality factor ETFs.

Worth knowing

• DGRS At 0.38% a year, it costs more than the typical quality-factor ETF, where several rivals sit at a fraction of that.
• Thinly traded next to the giants of the category, so bid-ask spreads carry more weight than they would in QUAL or JQUA.
• Small-cap dividend payers swing harder than blue chips, and its risk measures land in the lower half of the quality-factor group.

• SPHQ About 100 stocks, weighted by quality score times market cap, so the biggest high-scorers carry real weight. Narrower than owning the full S&P 500.spglobal.com
• The index rebalances semiannually, so a company whose fundamentals slip mid-period stays in the portfolio until the next reshuffle.spglobal.com
• Two peers undercut it on fee: JQUA at 0.12% and VFQY at 0.13%.

Full DGRS profile⁠

Full SPHQ profile⁠