What Is DGRW? WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Fund
Last updated September 2026
Short answer
DGRW is WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Fund, an ETF that tracks the WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Index at a 0.28% expense ratio. DGRW carries a dividend label but is built as a quality and growth strategy. WisdomTree screens US companies on profitability measures and expected dividend growth, then sizes positions by the dollar value of dividends paid rather than by yield. Large, highly profitable payers therefore dominate: NVIDIA at 7.9%, Microsoft at 5.7% and Apple at 3.9% head the list, and technology reaches 34% of assets. The resulting yield is 1.27%, lower than most funds with dividend in their name. The fund launched in 2013, holds $16.6 billion and charges 0.28%.
DGRW is issued by WisdomTree and tracks the WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Index. It charges a 0.28% expense ratio, holds approximately $16.6B in assets under management, yields about 1.27%, and launched in 2013.
Dividend dollars are not dividend yield
Two funds can both screen for dividends and end up holding opposite portfolios, depending on which number they rank by. Screening on yield surfaces companies paying out a high share of their earnings, which tends to mean utilities, telecoms, tobacco and older energy names. Ranking instead by the size of the payment and by the quality of the business that funds it surfaces the largest profit pools in the market, which today are technology companies.
DGRW takes the second route. It applies return-on-equity and return-on-assets screens, factors in expected earnings growth, and then weights by dividends paid in dollars. A company can pay a modest yield on a very large share count and still rank near the top. Weights are set at reconstitution and drift with prices in between, which is how a single position such as NVIDIA reaches 7.9% of the fund.
The consequence is that DGRW does not behave like an income fund. Its top ten spans NVIDIA, Microsoft, Apple, Meta, UnitedHealth, Coca-Cola, Home Depot, Johnson and Johnson, Broadcom and Oracle. Only some of those are what most people picture when they hear dividend stock.
What the 34% technology weight implies
With technology at 34%, healthcare at 13%, industrials at 12% and communication services at 11%, DGRW's sector shape is closer to a large-cap blend fund than to a high-yield equity fund. Investors sometimes add a dividend fund expecting it to diversify away from mega-cap technology. This one does not do that. Its largest positions are the same companies that lead a broad US index, in a different order and at different weights.
That is not a defect if the intent was quality-screened large-cap exposure with a payout discipline attached. It is a mismatch if the intent was to reduce concentration. Checking the overlap before buying is more useful than reading the fund's name, and the overlap here is substantial.
The 1.27% yield follows directly from the same mechanism. Companies chosen partly for their capacity to grow dividends are usually retaining most of their earnings to fund that growth. High current income and high dividend growth are different objectives, and a screen can only optimise for one of them.
The fee, and who this suits
At 0.28%, DGRW costs several times what plain cap-weighted US large-cap exposure costs, and more than the cheapest rules-based dividend funds. That gap is the price of the screening and the annual reconstitution. Whether it is worth paying depends on whether the quality filter is doing something the investor values, since the fund's largest names are available far more cheaply inside any broad index fund.
It fits an investor who wants a US equity core with a profitability filter applied and is comfortable that the result leans heavily into technology. It fits less well for someone drawing income, where 1.27% will not cover much, or for someone trying to counterbalance an existing mega-cap position. The $16.6 billion in assets and the 2013 launch mean liquidity and operating history are not concerns here; the question is only whether the strategy matches the job.
DGRW holdings: top 10
Approximate weights as of August 2026. Each ticker links to its individual stock guide in Walnut.
How do I invest in DGRW?
There are three common ways to get DGRW exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) of DGRW directly at any major broker that lists it. Hold it as a core position and layer more concentrated ideas on top. Or build it into a thematic portfolio in Walnut, so DGRW sits alongside other holdings that express the same thesis, with target weights you can rebalance toward. DGRW trades like a stock during market hours, so you buy it the same way you would any listed share.
New to buying funds? See how to buy an ETF, step by step.
Is DGRW a good buy?
Whether DGRW is a good buy depends less on any single call and more on your time horizon and what you already hold: it tracks the WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Index, so the real question is whether you want that exposure in your mix and at what weight. We walk through valuation, concentration, and what would have to be true for it to outperform from here in is DGRW a buy?
The bottom line on DGRW
DGRW gives you the WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Index exposure in one ticker at a 0.28% expense ratio. Most investors use it as a core holding and layer more concentrated thematic portfolios on top.
More on DGRW
Whether DGRW is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, concentration, and what would have to be true for it to outperform from here in is DGRW a buy?
DGRW yields 1.27% as of August 2026, paid by passing through the dividends of its underlying holdings. For the payout schedule, history, and how the distributions are taxed, see DGRW dividend: yield and schedule.
New to funds like DGRW? Start with what an ETF is, then how to buy an ETF, or browse the full guide to ETF investing.
Wondering how DGRW fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in DGRW with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how DGRW fits what you actually hold: what it overlaps with, what it leaves you exposed to, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
Why does a dividend fund hold NVIDIA as its top position?
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Because DGRW ranks companies by the dollars of dividends they pay and the quality of the earnings behind them, not by dividend yield. A very large company paying a small yield can still make a large aggregate payment and score well on profitability screens. NVIDIA sits at 7.9% of the fund, having also drifted upward in weight since the last reconstitution.
Why is the yield only 1.27%?
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The strategy targets dividend growth and quality rather than current income. Companies with room to raise payouts are usually retaining most of their earnings, so their present yield is low. Screening for high yield would produce a different and largely non-overlapping set of holdings. At 1.27%, DGRW pays less than several broad market funds do, which surprises people who buy it for income.
How does DGRW differ from a high-dividend ETF?
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A high-dividend fund ranks on current yield and typically fills up with utilities, consumer staples, telecoms and energy. DGRW ranks on payment size plus profitability and growth, and ends up 34% in technology. The two approaches select nearly opposite portfolios from the same universe, so holding both is closer to holding two different strategies than to doubling up.
Does DGRW overlap with an S&P 500 fund?
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Heavily. NVIDIA, Microsoft, Apple, Meta, Broadcom and Oracle are among the largest positions in both. Adding DGRW to a US large-cap index fund increases exposure to the same handful of companies rather than spreading it. If the aim is to dilute mega-cap concentration, the overlap works against that aim.
Is 0.28% expensive for this type of fund?
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It is well above the cost of plain cap-weighted US large-cap exposure and above the cheapest rules-based dividend funds. The fee pays for the quality screening and the annual index reconstitution. Whether that is reasonable depends on the value placed on the profitability filter, given that the underlying companies can be owned much more cheaply in an index fund.
What quality measures does the index use?
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WisdomTree's quality screen centres on profitability, principally return on equity and return on assets, combined with expected earnings growth. Companies must also pay a regular dividend to be eligible at all. The screen is applied at reconstitution, so a company whose profitability deteriorates stays in the fund until the next scheduled review rather than being removed immediately.
Does DGRW hold anything outside the United States?
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No. The mandate is US companies, and WisdomTree runs separate funds for international and emerging market dividend growth. Some holdings such as Microsoft, Apple and Broadcom generate large shares of their revenue abroad, so the fund carries indirect exposure to overseas demand and currency effects even though every position is a US-listed company.
Can the quality screen prevent losses?
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No. Filtering on profitability removes companies with weak returns on capital from the eligible set, but it does not remove market risk, valuation risk or sector risk. With 34% in technology and 7.9% in a single holding, DGRW is exposed to concentrated moves in a small number of very large companies. The screen shapes what is held, not how those holdings behave.
What is DGRW's expense ratio?
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DGRW has an expense ratio of 0.28% per year as of August 2026, charged by WisdomTree and deducted from the fund's value rather than billed to you separately. On a $10,000 position that is roughly $28 a year. Fees compound over time, so on a long-term holding the expense ratio is one of the few return drivers you control. It is worth comparing against other funds that track the WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Index before you choose.
How do I compare DGRW to similar ETFs?
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Put a few fields side by side: the expense ratio (fees compound over decades), the index or strategy it tracks, the top holdings and how much they overlap with what you already own, the dividend yield, and the AUM, liquidity, and bid-ask spread that affect trading costs. For index funds, tracking error (how closely it follows its index) and tax efficiency matter too. DGRW's figures are above; the full method is in Walnut's guide on how to compare ETFs.
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Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Holdings weights and fund statistics on this page are approximations stamped to August 2026; verify current figures against WisdomTree's fund page or your broker before investing.