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Is First Trust NASDAQ Food & Beverage ETF (FTXG) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Making its debut on 09/20/2016, smart beta exchange traded fund First Trust NASDAQ Food & Beverage ETF (FTXG - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Consumer Staples 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 offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
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.
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.
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. FTXG has been able to amass assets over $901.02 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Consumer Staples ETFs. FTXG seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq US Smart Food & Beverage Index before fees and expenses.
The Nasdaq US Smart Food & Beverage Index is a modified factor weighted index, designed to provide exposure to US companies within the food and beverage industry.
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 this ETF are 0.60%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.53%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. 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 95.80% of the portfolio.
Taking into account individual holdings, Kellogg Company (K - Free Report) accounts for about 8.14% of the fund's total assets, followed by Molson Coors Beverage Company (TAP - Free Report) and Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (ADM - Free Report) .
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 58.08% of FTXG's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, FTXG return is roughly 6.01%, and is up about 6.93% in the last one year (as of 11/08/2022). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $24 and $28.98.
FTXG has a beta of 0.63 and standard deviation of 21.83% for the trailing three-year period. With about 31 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
First Trust NASDAQ Food & Beverage ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Consumer Staples ETFs segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
VanEck Future of Food ETF tracks ---------------------------------------- and the Invesco Dynamic Food & Beverage ETF (PBJ - Free Report) tracks Dynamic Food & Beverage Intellidex Index. VanEck Future of Food ETF has $2.74 million in assets, Invesco Dynamic Food & Beverage ETF has $339.57 million. YUMY has an expense ratio of 0.69% and PBJ charges 0.63%.
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 NASDAQ Food & Beverage ETF (FTXG) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Making its debut on 09/20/2016, smart beta exchange traded fund First Trust NASDAQ Food & Beverage ETF (FTXG - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Consumer Staples 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 offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
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.
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.
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. FTXG has been able to amass assets over $901.02 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Consumer Staples ETFs. FTXG seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq US Smart Food & Beverage Index before fees and expenses.
The Nasdaq US Smart Food & Beverage Index is a modified factor weighted index, designed to provide exposure to US companies within the food and beverage industry.
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 this ETF are 0.60%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.53%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. 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 95.80% of the portfolio.
Taking into account individual holdings, Kellogg Company (K - Free Report) accounts for about 8.14% of the fund's total assets, followed by Molson Coors Beverage Company (TAP - Free Report) and Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (ADM - Free Report) .
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 58.08% of FTXG's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, FTXG return is roughly 6.01%, and is up about 6.93% in the last one year (as of 11/08/2022). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $24 and $28.98.
FTXG has a beta of 0.63 and standard deviation of 21.83% for the trailing three-year period. With about 31 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
First Trust NASDAQ Food & Beverage ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Consumer Staples ETFs segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
VanEck Future of Food ETF tracks ---------------------------------------- and the Invesco Dynamic Food & Beverage ETF (PBJ - Free Report) tracks Dynamic Food & Beverage Intellidex Index. VanEck Future of Food ETF has $2.74 million in assets, Invesco Dynamic Food & Beverage ETF has $339.57 million. YUMY has an expense ratio of 0.69% and PBJ charges 0.63%.
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.