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Should First Trust Large Cap Value AlphaDEX ETF (FTA) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Looking for broad exposure to the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market? You should consider the First Trust Large Cap Value AlphaDEX ETF (FTA - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 05/08/2007.

The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $1.11 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Value

Companies that find themselves in the large cap category typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. They tend to be stable companies with predictable cash flows and are usually less volatile than mid and small cap companies.

Carrying lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, value stocks also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. Considering long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in almost all markets; however, they are more likely to underperform growth stocks in strong bull markets.

Costs

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.59%, making it one of the most expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.87%.

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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector--about 23.30% of the portfolio. Utilities and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Conocophillips (COP - Free Report) accounts for about 1.26% of total assets, followed by Eog Resources, Inc. (EOG - Free Report) and Paramount Global (class B) (PARA - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 10.72% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

FTA seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Large Cap Value Index before fees and expenses. The NASDAQ AlphaDEX Large Cap Value Index is an enhanced index which employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the NASDAQ US 500 Large Cap Value Index.

The ETF has lost about -9.40% so far this year and is down about -3.07% in the last one year (as of 07/05/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $61.01 and $72.65.

The ETF has a beta of 1.13 and standard deviation of 28.73% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 188 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

First Trust Large Cap Value AlphaDEX ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, FTA is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD - Free Report) and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF has $51.64 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $94.48 billion. IWD has an expense ratio of 0.19% and VTV charges 0.04%.

Bottom-Line

While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.

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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