Is State Street SPDR MSCI EAFE StrategicFactors ETF (QEFA) a Strong ETF Right Now?

The State Street SPDR MSCI EAFE StrategicFactors ETF (QEFA) made its debut on 06/04/2014, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Broad Developed World ETFs category of the market.What Are Smart Beta ETFs?The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.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.If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.Fund Sponsor & IndexThe fund is managed by State Street Investment Management. QEFA has been able to amass assets over $1.04 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Broad Developed World ETFs. QEFA seeks to match the performance of the MSCI EAFE Factor Mix A-Series Index before fees and expenses.The MSCI EAFE Factor Mix A-Series Index captures large and mid-cap representation across 22 developed market Europe, Australasia, and Far East countries and aims to represent the performance of value, low volatility, and quality factor strategies.Cost & Other ExpensesInvestors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.30%.It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 2.83%.Sector Exposure and Top HoldingsMost ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.When you look at individual holdings, Asml Holding Nv (ASML) accounts for about 2.3% of the fund's total assets, followed by Novartis Ag Reg (NOVN) and Astrazeneca Plc (AZN).Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 15.57% of QEFA's total assets under management.Performance and RiskThe ETF has added about 8.36% so far this year and is up about 17.77% in the last one year (as of 06/12/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $82.92 and $99.76QEFA has a beta of 0.68 and standard deviation of 13.26% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 670 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .AlternativesState Street SPDR MSCI EAFE StrategicFactors ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Developed World ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA) tracks MSCI EAFE Index and the iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA) tracks MSCI EAFE Investable Market Index. iShares MSCI EAFE ETF has $77.3 billion in assets, iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF has $185.86 billion. EFA has an expense ratio of 0.32% and IEFA changes 0.07%.Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Broad Developed World ETFsBottom 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 >>This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks