Buoyed by investors flocking to currency hedged exchange traded funds, shares of WisdomTree (NasdaqGS: WETF), the fifth-largest U.S. ETF issuer, are up 43% this year.
That has elevated the company, the only publicly traded pure play ETF issuer, to a market value of almost $3.1 billion, enough to make it a mid-cap stock. As such, WisdomTree joined the S&P MidCap 400 Index last week, according to ETF.com.
WisdomTree will now be eligible for inclusion in ETFs such as the iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (NYSEArca: IJH) and SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF (NYSEArca: MDY), which both track the S&P MidCap 400 Index.
No ETF has added as many new assets this year than the $13.86 billion hauled in by the WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Fund (NYSEArca: HEDJ). HEDJ’s stablemate, the WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (NYSEArca: DXJ), has seen inflows of $4.24 billion, making the sixth-best ETF this year on an asset-gathering basis.
New York-based WisdomTree topped $50 billion in assets under management in mid-March, a number that has swelled to nearly $62.8 billion as of June 11.
While currency hedged ETFs are a hot theme, and likely to remain so as the dollar continues strengthening against other developed market currencies, other ETFs are also helping WisdomTree attract assets.
The company offers seven U.S-focused dividend ETFs and nearly 20 international dividend funds, which offer exposure to developed, emerging and frontier markets. An extensive dividend lineup gives WisdomTree exposure to the fund segment that has been one of the primary drivers of asset growth in smart beta ETFs in recent years.
As highlighted by inflows to DXJ, the weak yen has been a boon for WisdomTree, but that ETF is far from the firm’s lone Japan offering. WisdomTree issues seven other yen hedged Japan ETFs and two other Japan funds that are not currency hedged.
That group includes the WisdomTree Japan Hedged Small Cap Fund (NasdaqGM: DXJS), which has needed less than two years on the market to become a $203 million ETF.
Last month, the WisdomTree Japan Dividend Growth Fund (NYSEArca: JDG) debuted. In April, JDG’s currency hedged equivalent, the WisdomTree Japan Hedged Dividend Growth Fund (NYSEArca: JHDG), came to market. [Best of two Worlds in a new Japan ETF]