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Is First Trust Capital Strength ETF (FTCS) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Making its debut on 07/06/2006, smart beta exchange traded fund First Trust Capital Strength ETF (FTCS - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of 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 First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $7.50 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the The Capital Strength Index.
The Capital Strength Index is an equal-dollar weighted index which provides exposure to well-capitalized companies with strong market positions based on strong balance sheets, high degree of liquidity, ability to generate earnings growth & record financial strength & profit growth.
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.55% for FTCS, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.26%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Consumer Staples sector - about 19.60% of the portfolio. Industrials and Healthcare round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Markel Corporation (MKL - Free Report) accounts for about 2.38% of total assets, followed by Humana Inc. (HUM - Free Report) and Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST - Free Report) .
FTCS's top 10 holdings account for about 22.61% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the First Trust Capital Strength ETF has lost about -19.29% so far, and is down about -7.29% over the last 12 months (as of 06/21/2022). FTCS has traded between $67.19 and $84.75 in this past 52-week period.
FTCS has a beta of 0.90 and standard deviation of 21.14% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 51 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust Capital Strength ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
IShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV - Free Report) tracks S&P 500 Index and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY - Free Report) tracks S&P 500 Index. IShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $272.49 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $332.94 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY charges 0.09%.
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 - Large Cap Blend.
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 Zacks ETF Center.
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Is First Trust Capital Strength ETF (FTCS) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Making its debut on 07/06/2006, smart beta exchange traded fund First Trust Capital Strength ETF (FTCS - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of 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 First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $7.50 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the The Capital Strength Index.
The Capital Strength Index is an equal-dollar weighted index which provides exposure to well-capitalized companies with strong market positions based on strong balance sheets, high degree of liquidity, ability to generate earnings growth & record financial strength & profit growth.
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.55% for FTCS, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.26%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Consumer Staples sector - about 19.60% of the portfolio. Industrials and Healthcare round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Markel Corporation (MKL - Free Report) accounts for about 2.38% of total assets, followed by Humana Inc. (HUM - Free Report) and Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST - Free Report) .
FTCS's top 10 holdings account for about 22.61% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the First Trust Capital Strength ETF has lost about -19.29% so far, and is down about -7.29% over the last 12 months (as of 06/21/2022). FTCS has traded between $67.19 and $84.75 in this past 52-week period.
FTCS has a beta of 0.90 and standard deviation of 21.14% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 51 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust Capital Strength ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
IShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV - Free Report) tracks S&P 500 Index and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY - Free Report) tracks S&P 500 Index. IShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $272.49 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $332.94 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY charges 0.09%.
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 - Large Cap Blend.
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 Zacks ETF Center.