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Is First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FTC) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Launched on 05/08/2007, the First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FTC - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth category of the market.
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.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
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.
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.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by First Trust Advisors, and has been able to amass over $845.82 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Growth. Before fees and expenses, FTC seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Large Cap Growth Index.
The NASDAQ AlphaDEX Large Cap Growth Index is an enhanced index which employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the NASDAQ US 500 Large Cap Growth Index.
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.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.59%.
FTC's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 0.25%.
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.
Representing 28.70% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector; Healthcare and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Cheniere Energy, Inc. (LNG - Free Report) accounts for about 1.36% of the fund's total assets, followed by Nucor Corporation (NUE - Free Report) and Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 11.17% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF has lost about -25.91% so far, and is down about -19.16% over the last 12 months (as of 07/15/2022). FTC has traded between $85.37 and $124.15 in this past 52-week period.
FTC has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 26.68% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 188 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG - Free Report) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Growth Index and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) tracks NASDAQ-100 Index. Vanguard Growth ETF has $67.68 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $157.07 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.
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 Growth.
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 Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FTC) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Launched on 05/08/2007, the First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FTC - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth category of the market.
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.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
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.
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.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by First Trust Advisors, and has been able to amass over $845.82 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Growth. Before fees and expenses, FTC seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Large Cap Growth Index.
The NASDAQ AlphaDEX Large Cap Growth Index is an enhanced index which employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the NASDAQ US 500 Large Cap Growth Index.
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.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.59%.
FTC's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 0.25%.
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.
Representing 28.70% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector; Healthcare and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Cheniere Energy, Inc. (LNG - Free Report) accounts for about 1.36% of the fund's total assets, followed by Nucor Corporation (NUE - Free Report) and Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 11.17% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF has lost about -25.91% so far, and is down about -19.16% over the last 12 months (as of 07/15/2022). FTC has traded between $85.37 and $124.15 in this past 52-week period.
FTC has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 26.68% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 188 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG - Free Report) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Growth Index and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) tracks NASDAQ-100 Index. Vanguard Growth ETF has $67.68 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $157.07 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.
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 Growth.
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.