Mid-cap stocks and exchange traded funds have received ample attention this year and deservedly so. The S&P MidCap 400 Index is up 4.6% compared to a scant gain for the S&P 500.
Mid-caps outperforming large-caps is not new. From 2009 through 2014, the S&P 500 outpaced the S&P MidCap 400 on just two occasions. The downside of mid-caps lengthy spell of outperforming large-caps is that it is getting more difficult to find value in the mid-cap space.
Using dividends as mid-cap valuation metric can help unearth ETF opportunities, including the WisdomTree MidCap Earnings Fund (NYSEArca: EZM) and the WisdomTree MidCap Dividend Fund (NYSEArca: DON)
Mid-cap stocks and exchange traded funds have received ample attention this year and deservedly so. The S&P MidCap 400 Index is up 4.6% compared to a scant gain for the S&P 500.
Mid-caps outperforming large-caps is not new. From 2009 through 2014, the S&P 500 outpaced the S&P MidCap 400 on just two occasions. The downside of mid-caps lengthy spell of outperforming large-caps is that it is getting more difficult to find value in the mid-cap space.
Using dividends as mid-cap valuation metric can help unearth ETF opportunities, including the WisdomTree MidCap Earnings Fund (NYSEArca: EZM) and the WisdomTree MidCap Dividend Fund (NYSEArca: DON). [Leadership With Mid-Cap ETFs]
As the concept of alternatively-weighted indexing has grown in prominence and the ETFs employing those strategies have swelled in size, fund purists have assailed the notion of smart beta, focusing more on what does not matter (labels, terminology and verbiage) and less on what does matter (performance).
In fact, EZM and the WisdomTree MidCap Earnings Index dispel the notion that the out-performance frequently offered by alternative indexing is attributable only to the size or value factors or a combination of the two. The WisdomTree MidCap Earnings Index does not exhibit size or value tilts. [Mid-Cap ETFs for the Long Haul]
Rather than emphasizing price-to-earnings, price-to-dividends, or share price relative to dividends, proves instructive with mid-cap ETFs. Notably, dividends in the WisdomTree MidCap Earnings Index are growing at 20% per year.