However, potential investors should be aware that low-volatility strategies can underperform during short periods, especially in bull market conditions when riskier growth stocks typically outperform conservative, low-vol plays.
ACWV includes heavier tilts toward less-volatile sectors. The ETF’s sector positions include financials 16.9%, health care 16.5%, consumer staples 14.5%, consumer discretionary 9.8%, telecom services 8.8%, utilities 8.7%, tech 8.5%, industrials 7.9%, materials 4.5% and energy 3.4%.
Regional weights include a large 50.6% tilt toward the U.S., along with 12.6% in Japan and 10.3% in Europe.
Furthermore, as a global-equity fund, ACWV is slightly more volatile than a U.S.-centric low-volatility fund since the All-Country World Minimum Volatility ETF is exposed to both international equities and foreign currency risks. For instance, the strengthening U.S. dollar and depreciating foreign currencies has weighed in the fund’s performance.
For more information on global markets, visit our global ETFs category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.