ETF Evaluator:
FlexShares Quality Dividend ETF ()
Follow This ETF
(as of Aug 26)
Best Performing in Large Value Over the Last Year
| 72.4% | iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF (VLUE) |
| 39.0% | SEI QiM U.S. Lrg Cap Value Actv ETF (SEIV) |
| 34.8% | LSV Disciplined Value ETF (LSVD) |
| 34.7% | iShares Core Dividend ETF (DIVB) |
| 34.4% | Avantis US Large Cap Value ETF (AVLV) |
Risk
Index
Risk
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ETF Details
FlexShares Quality Dividend ETF Overview
FlexShares Quality Dividend ETF (QDF) is a passively managed U.S. Equity Large Value exchange-traded fund (ETF). Flexshares Trust launched the ETF in 2012.
The investment seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Northern Trust Quality Dividend IndexSM.
The underlying index is designed to reflect the performance of a selection of companies that, in aggregate, provide exposure to a high-quality income-oriented universe of long-only U.S. equity securities, with an emphasis on long-term capital growth and a targeted overall beta that is similar to that of the Northern Trust 1250 Index (the “parent index”), a float-adjusted market-capitalization weighted index of U.S. domiciled large- and mid-capitalization companies.
About FlexShares Quality Dividend ETF (QDF)
There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 7.41 years: Christopher Jaeger (2025), Robert Anstine (2013), Brendan Sullivan (2016) and Steven Santiccoli (2021). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.
The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: Russell 1000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Northern Trust Quality Dividend GR USD index with a weighting of 100%. FlexShares Quality Dividend ETF has 119 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 39.5% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
FlexShares Quality Dividend ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity ETF group. FlexShares Quality Dividend ETF has 0.3% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 98.9% There is 0.3% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). FlexShares Quality Dividend ETF has 0.9% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $2 billion in total assets, which is below the $5 billion average for the Large Value category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
QDF Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The FlexShares Quality Dividend ETF expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the Large Value category. FlexShares Quality Dividend ETF has an expense ratio of 0.39%, which is 4% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. FlexShares Quality Dividend ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 61%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 40% for the Large Value category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, FlexShares Quality Dividend ETF returned 0.8%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Large Value category had an average return of 2.4%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.
FlexShares Quality Dividend ETF has a trailing yield of 1.48%, which is below the 1.70% category average.
The fund normally distributes its income quarterly and its capital gains annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
FlexShares Quality Dividend ETF Grades
Year to date, the ETF has returned 13.0%, 1.4 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 23.2% over the past year (grade of C), 16.9% over the past three years (grade of C) and 12.0% per year over the past five years (grade of C) and 11.9% per year over the past 10 years (grade of C).
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QDF Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| QDF Return (NAV) | 0.8% | 6.1% | 23.2% | 16.9% | 12.0% | 11.9% |
| QDF Return (Price) | 0.9% | 6.0% | 23.2% | 16.9% | 11.9% | 11.9% |
| NAV +/- Price Return | -0.076% | 0.092% | -0.030% | 0.005% | 0.019% | 0.015% |
| Large Value Avg | 2.4% | 5.9% | 24.1% | 16.3% | 11.3% | 12.1% |
| QDF Grade (NAV) | F | C | C | C | C | C |
| +/- Category (NAV) | -1.6% | 0.2% | -0.9% | 0.6% | 0.7% | -0.2% |
| QDF Tax-Cost Ratio | na | na | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 1.0% |
QDF Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| QDF Return (NAV) | 13.0% | 16.7% | 16.9% | 19.6% | -12.1% | 26.6% | 5.0% | 25.8% | -7.9% | 17.2% | 17.2% |
| QDF Return (Price) | 13.0% | 16.6% | 16.9% | 19.7% | -12.1% | 26.7% | 4.9% | 25.7% | -7.9% | 17.4% | 17.0% |
| NAV +/- Price Ret | -0.004% | -0.005% | 0.001% | 0.005% | 0.001% | 0.003% | -0.013% | -0.3% | 0.7% | 1.5% | -0.9% |
| Large Value Avg | 14.4% | 14.8% | 15.5% | 13.1% | -6.5% | 26.7% | 5.4% | 27.4% | -6.6% | 17.7% | 15.7% |
| QDF Grade (NAV) | D | B | B | A | F | C | C | D | D | C | B |
| +/- Category | -1.4% | 1.8% | 1.5% | 6.6% | -5.6% | -0.1% | -0.4% | -1.6% | -1.3% | -0.5% | 1.4% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Beta: | 0.88 |
| R-Squared: | 91% |
| Standard Deviation: | 12.1% |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.99 |
| Category Risk Rating: | Average |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.98 |
| Total Risk Rating: | Below Average |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Yield: | 1.5% |
| Total Assets: | $ 2,218 Mil |
| Share Class Assets: | $ 2,218 Mil |
| Turnover: | 61.0% |
| Expense Ratio: | 0.39% |
| Index Fund: | Yes |
| Index Tracked: | Russell 1000 TR USD |
| Index Weighting: | 100% |
| Leveraged: | No |
| Socially Responsible Fund: | No |
| Capital Gains Distribution Frequency: | Annually |
| Income Distribution Frequency: | Quarterly |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 4 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 12.8 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 7.4 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Anstine Robert (2013), Sullivan Brendan (2016), Santiccoli Steven (2021), Jaeger Christopher (2025) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 7/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 119 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 39.5% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 0.3% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 98.9% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.3% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 0.9% |
Purchase Information
| Legal Structure: | Open Ended Investment Company |
| Fund Family: | Flexshares Trust |
| Phone Number: | 855-353-9383 |
| Website: | www.flexshares.com |
| Inception Date: | December 14, 2012 |
Expenses and Fees
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.39% (Rating: Below Avg) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.37% |
