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

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

Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.

Sector ETFs are also funds of convenience, offering many ways 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 1, placing it in top 6%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $749.58 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

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.63%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.83%.

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 87.50% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Materials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (PPC - Free Report) accounts for about 4.42% of total assets, followed by Tyson Foods, Inc. (class A) (TSN - Free Report) and Post Holdings, Inc. (POST - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 40.39% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added about 0.35% so far this year and was up about 5.34% in the last one year (as of 01/27/2023). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $56.87 and $67.92.

The ETF has a beta of 0.68 and standard deviation of 19.82% 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 holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, FXG is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Consumer Staples ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

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 $6.67 billion in assets, Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF has $17.01 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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