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Is First Trust Consumer Staples AlphaDEX ETF (FXG) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Consumer Staples ETFs category of the market, the First Trust Consumer Staples AlphaDEX ETF (FXG - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 05/08/2007.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.
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 $561.29 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Consumer Staples ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the StrataQuant Consumer Staples Index.
The StrataQuant Consumer Staples 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
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 FXG are 0.64%, which makes it one of the most expensive products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.37%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer 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.
FXG's heaviest allocation is in the Consumer Staples sector, which is about 87% of the portfolio. Its Healthcare and Materials round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (ADM - Free Report) accounts for about 5.31% of the fund's total assets, followed by Mckesson Corporation (MCK - Free Report) and Corteva Inc. (CTVA - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 42.59% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -0.40% and is up roughly 5.33% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 05/20/2022), respectively. FXG has traded between $55.06 and $67.92 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.64 and standard deviation of 18.96% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 42 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
First Trust Consumer Staples AlphaDEX ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Consumer Staples ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC - Free Report) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Consumer Staples 25/50 Index and the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP - Free Report) tracks Consumer Staples Select Sector Index. Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF has $6.37 billion in assets, Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF has $15.25 billion. VDC has an expense ratio of 0.10% and XLP 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 Consumer Staples 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 Consumer Staples AlphaDEX ETF (FXG) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Designed to provide broad exposure to the Consumer Staples ETFs category of the market, the First Trust Consumer Staples AlphaDEX ETF (FXG - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 05/08/2007.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.
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 $561.29 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Consumer Staples ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the StrataQuant Consumer Staples Index.
The StrataQuant Consumer Staples 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
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 FXG are 0.64%, which makes it one of the most expensive products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.37%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer 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.
FXG's heaviest allocation is in the Consumer Staples sector, which is about 87% of the portfolio. Its Healthcare and Materials round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (ADM - Free Report) accounts for about 5.31% of the fund's total assets, followed by Mckesson Corporation (MCK - Free Report) and Corteva Inc. (CTVA - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 42.59% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -0.40% and is up roughly 5.33% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 05/20/2022), respectively. FXG has traded between $55.06 and $67.92 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.64 and standard deviation of 18.96% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 42 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
First Trust Consumer Staples AlphaDEX ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Consumer Staples ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC - Free Report) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Consumer Staples 25/50 Index and the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP - Free Report) tracks Consumer Staples Select Sector Index. Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF has $6.37 billion in assets, Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF has $15.25 billion. VDC has an expense ratio of 0.10% and XLP 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 Consumer Staples 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.