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Should You Invest in the First Trust Consumer Staples AlphaDEX ETF (FXG)?

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The First Trust Consumer Staples AlphaDEX ETF (FXG - Free Report) was launched on 05/08/2007, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Consumer Staples - Broad segment of the equity market.

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

Investor-friendly, sector ETFs provide many options to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Consumer Staples - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 14, placing it in bottom 13%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $636.72 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Consumer Staples - Broad segment of the equity market. FXG seeks to match the performance of the StrataQuant Consumer Staples Index before fees and expenses.

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.

Costs

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 counterparts, other things remaining the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.64%, making it one of the most expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.28%.

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 Consumer Staples sector--about 87.80% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Materials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Mckesson Corporation (MCK - Free Report) accounts for about 4.51% of total assets, followed by Sysco Corporation (SYY - Free Report) and Molson Coors Beverage Company (TAP - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 40.16% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has lost about -1.85% so far this year and is up about 8.99% in the last one year (as of 09/21/2022). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $56.28 and $67.92.

The ETF has a beta of 0.63 and standard deviation of 19.21% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 41 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

First Trust Consumer Staples AlphaDEX ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, FXG is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Consumer Staples ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

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 $6.60 billion in assets, Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF has $15.61 billion. VDC has an expense ratio of 0.10% and XLP charges 0.10%.

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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