Is Vident U.S. Equity Strategy ETF (VUSE) a Strong ETF Right Now?

Launched on 01/22/2014, the Vident U.S. Equity Strategy ETF (VUSE) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Value category of the market.What Are Smart Beta ETFs?The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.Fund Sponsor & IndexVUSE is managed by Vident Financial, and this fund has amassed over $647.43 million, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Value. Before fees and expenses, VUSE seeks to match the performance of the Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund Index.The Vident U.S. Quality Index is a rules-based, systematic strategy index comprised of equity securities principally traded in the U.S. market of issuers domiciled in the United States.Cost & Other ExpensesExpense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.Annual operating expenses for VUSE are 0.50%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 0.78%.Sector Exposure and Top HoldingsWhile ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.For VUSE, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 29.1% of the portfolio --while Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.Taking into account individual holdings, Broadcom Inc (AVGO) accounts for about 2.86% of the fund's total assets, followed by Eli Lilly & Co (LLY) and Alphabet Inc (GOOGL).VUSE's top 10 holdings account for about 24.2% of its total assets under management.Performance and RiskThe ETF has added roughly 13.41% and it's up approximately 8.09% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 12/04/2025), respectively. VUSE has traded between $50.72 and $67.51 during this last 52-week period. VUSE has a beta of 0.95 and standard deviation of 15.04% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 124 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .AlternativesVident U.S. Equity Strategy ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.Fidelity High Dividend ETF (FDVV) tracks Fidelity Core Dividend Index and the iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF (IUSV) tracks S&P 900 Value Index. Fidelity High Dividend ETF has $7.68 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF has $24.05 billion. FDVV has an expense ratio of 0.16% and IUSV changes 0.04%.Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - All Cap ValueBottom LineTo learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.Boost Your Portfolio with Our Top ETF InsightsZacks' exclusive Fund Newsletter delivers actionable information, top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, straight to your inbox every week.Don’t miss out on this valuable resource. It’s free!Get it now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Vident U.S. Equity Strategy ETF (VUSE): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks