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Is First Trust Large Cap Core AlphaDEX ETF (FEX) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The First Trust Large Cap Core AlphaDEX ETF (FEX - Free Report) made its debut on 05/08/2007, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.
The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by First Trust Advisors, and has been able to amass over $1.09 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. FEX, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Large Cap Core Index.
The NASDAQ AlphaDEX Large Cap Core Index is an enhanced index which employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the NASDAQ US 500 Large Cap Index.
Cost & Other Expenses
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for FEX are 0.59%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.61%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector - about 17.40% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Financials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL - Free Report) accounts for about 0.68% of total assets, followed by Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL - Free Report) and Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER - Free Report) .
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 5.62% of FEX's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the First Trust Large Cap Core AlphaDEX ETF has added roughly 3.03% so far, and was up about 12.85% over the last 12 months (as of 09/26/2023). FEX has traded between $72.22 and $87.50 in this past 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1.07 and standard deviation of 17.37% for the trailing three-year period, which makes FEX a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 376 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust Large Cap Core AlphaDEX 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 $344.16 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $400.76 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 Large Cap Core AlphaDEX ETF (FEX) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The First Trust Large Cap Core AlphaDEX ETF (FEX - Free Report) made its debut on 05/08/2007, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.
The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by First Trust Advisors, and has been able to amass over $1.09 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. FEX, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Large Cap Core Index.
The NASDAQ AlphaDEX Large Cap Core Index is an enhanced index which employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the NASDAQ US 500 Large Cap Index.
Cost & Other Expenses
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for FEX are 0.59%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.61%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector - about 17.40% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Financials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL - Free Report) accounts for about 0.68% of total assets, followed by Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL - Free Report) and Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER - Free Report) .
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 5.62% of FEX's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the First Trust Large Cap Core AlphaDEX ETF has added roughly 3.03% so far, and was up about 12.85% over the last 12 months (as of 09/26/2023). FEX has traded between $72.22 and $87.50 in this past 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1.07 and standard deviation of 17.37% for the trailing three-year period, which makes FEX a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 376 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust Large Cap Core AlphaDEX 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 $344.16 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $400.76 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.