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Should Franklin LibertyQ U.S. Equity ETF (FLQL) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Launched on 04/26/2017, the Franklin LibertyQ U.S. Equity ETF (FLQL - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Franklin Templeton Investments. It has amassed assets over $1.28 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Blend

Companies that find themselves in the large cap category typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Considered a more stable option, large cap companies boast more predictable cash flows and are less volatile than their mid and small cap counterparts.

Blend ETFs are aptly named, since they tend to hold a mix of growth and value stocks, as well as show characteristics of both kinds of equities.

Costs

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.15%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.97%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector--about 22.30% of the portfolio. Consumer Staples and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 1.37% of total assets, followed by Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) and United Parcel Service Cl B (UPS - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 11.83% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

FLQL seeks to match the performance of the LibertyQ US Large Cap Equity Index before fees and expenses. The U.S. Large Cap Underlying Index seeks to achieve a lower level of risk and higher risk-adjusted performance than the Russell 1000 Index over the long term by applying a multi-factor selection process, which is designed to select equity securities from the Russell 1000 Index that have favorable exposure to four investment style factors quality, value, momentum and low volatility.

The ETF has gained about 0.36% so far this year and is up roughly 7.29% in the last one year (as of 09/10/2020). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $23.79 and $36.44.

The ETF has a beta of 0.91 and standard deviation of 21.11% for the trailing three-year period. With about 253 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Franklin LibertyQ U.S. Equity ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, FLQL is a good option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The iShares Core SP 500 ETF (IVV - Free Report) and the SPDR SP 500 ETF (SPY - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Core SP 500 ETF has $213.78 billion in assets, SPDR SP 500 ETF has $297.24 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY charges 0.09%.

Bottom-Line

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

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 Zacks ETF Center.

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