Designed to provide broad exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Value category of the market, the WisdomTree U.S. MidCap Dividend ETF (DON) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 06/16/2006.

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.

Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.

But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.

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.

This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is sponsored by Wisdomtree. It has amassed assets over $4.05 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Mid Cap Value. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree U.S. MidCap Dividend Index.

The WisdomTree U.S. MidCap Dividend Index is a fundamentally weighted index that measures the performance of the mid-capitalization segment of the US dividend-paying market.

Cost & Other Expenses

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.

Annual operating expenses for DON are 0.38%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.21%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

Representing 22.4% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector; Industrials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Apa Corp (APA) accounts for about 1.18% of total assets, followed by Viatris Inc (VTRS) and Best Buy Co Inc (BBY).

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 10.57% of DON's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added about 13.1% so far this year and was up about 14.47% in the last one year (as of 07/28/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $49.64 and $57.80

The ETF has a beta of 0.85 and standard deviation of 15.58% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 297 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

WisdomTree U.S. MidCap Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Mid Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF (IWS) tracks Russell MidCap Value Index and the Vanguard Mid-Cap Value Index Fund ETF Shares (VOE) tracks CRSP U.S. Mid Cap Value Index. iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF has $15.63 billion in assets, Vanguard Mid-Cap Value Index Fund ETF Shares has $23.82 billion. IWS has an expense ratio of 0.23% and VOE changes 0.05%.

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 - Mid Cap Value

Bottom Line

To 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

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WisdomTree U.S. MidCap Dividend ETF (DON): ETF Research Reports

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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