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Is First Trust IndustrialsProducer Durables AlphaDEX ETF (FXR) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The First Trust IndustrialsProducer Durables AlphaDEX ETF (FXR - Free Report) made its debut on 05/08/2007, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Industrials ETFs 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.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
FXR is managed by First Trust Advisors, and this fund has amassed over $1.59 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Industrials ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the StrataQuant Industrials Index before fees and expenses.
The StrataQuant Industrials Index is a modified equal-dollar weighted index designed by the AMEX to objectively identify and select stocks from the Russell 1000 Index that may generate positive alpha relative to traditional passive style indices through the use of the AlphaDEX screening methodology.
Cost & Other Expenses
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.
Annual operating expenses for FXR are 0.61%, which makes it one of the more expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.69%.
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.
FXR's heaviest allocation is in the Industrials sector, which is about 67% of the portfolio. Its Materials and Information Technology round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Agco Corporation (AGCO - Free Report) accounts for about 1.63% of total assets, followed by Owens Corning (OC - Free Report) and Robert Half International Inc. (RHI - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 14.3% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -15.17% so far this year and is down about -11.46% in the last one year (as of 05/16/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $51.23 and $63.
The ETF has a beta of 1.24 and standard deviation of 27.69% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 135 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust IndustrialsProducer Durables AlphaDEX ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Industrials ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard Industrials ETF (VIS - Free Report) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Industrials 25/50 Index and the Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI - Free Report) tracks Industrial Select Sector Index. Vanguard Industrials ETF has $4.26 billion in assets, Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF has $13.68 billion. VIS has an expense ratio of 0.10% and XLI charges 0.10%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Industrials ETFs.
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 IndustrialsProducer Durables AlphaDEX ETF (FXR) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The First Trust IndustrialsProducer Durables AlphaDEX ETF (FXR - Free Report) made its debut on 05/08/2007, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Industrials ETFs 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.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
FXR is managed by First Trust Advisors, and this fund has amassed over $1.59 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Industrials ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the StrataQuant Industrials Index before fees and expenses.
The StrataQuant Industrials Index is a modified equal-dollar weighted index designed by the AMEX to objectively identify and select stocks from the Russell 1000 Index that may generate positive alpha relative to traditional passive style indices through the use of the AlphaDEX screening methodology.
Cost & Other Expenses
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.
Annual operating expenses for FXR are 0.61%, which makes it one of the more expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.69%.
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.
FXR's heaviest allocation is in the Industrials sector, which is about 67% of the portfolio. Its Materials and Information Technology round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Agco Corporation (AGCO - Free Report) accounts for about 1.63% of total assets, followed by Owens Corning (OC - Free Report) and Robert Half International Inc. (RHI - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 14.3% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -15.17% so far this year and is down about -11.46% in the last one year (as of 05/16/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $51.23 and $63.
The ETF has a beta of 1.24 and standard deviation of 27.69% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 135 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust IndustrialsProducer Durables AlphaDEX ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Industrials ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard Industrials ETF (VIS - Free Report) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Industrials 25/50 Index and the Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI - Free Report) tracks Industrial Select Sector Index. Vanguard Industrials ETF has $4.26 billion in assets, Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF has $13.68 billion. VIS has an expense ratio of 0.10% and XLI charges 0.10%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Industrials ETFs.
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.