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Should First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FTC) Be on Your Investing Radar?
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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, the First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FTC - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 05/08/2007.
The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $920.42 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.
Why Large Cap Growth
Large cap companies usually have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Overall, they are usually a stable option, with less risk and more sure-fire cash flows than mid and small cap companies.
Growth stocks have higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. While these are expected to grow faster than the broader market, they also have higher valuations. Also, growth stocks are a type of equity that carries more risk compared to others. Even though growth stocks are more likely to outperform their value counterparts in strong bull markets, value stocks have a record of delivering better returns in almost all markets than growth stocks.
Costs
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.59%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.06%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer a 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.
This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Energy sector--about 17.50% of the portfolio. Industrials and Information Technology round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG - Free Report) accounts for about 1.15% of total assets, followed by W.w. Grainger, Inc. (GWW - Free Report) and Nucor Corporation (NUE - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 9.95% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
FTC seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Large Cap Growth Index before fees and expenses. 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.
The ETF return is roughly 3.03% so far this year and was up about 4.06% in the last one year (as of 05/23/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $85.37 and $100.90.
The ETF has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 21.90% for the trailing three-year period, making it 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 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, FTC is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
The Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG - Free Report) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth ETF has $85.61 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $180.57 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.
Bottom-Line
While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.
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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Should First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FTC) Be on Your Investing Radar?
Designed to provide broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, the First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FTC - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 05/08/2007.
The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $920.42 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.
Why Large Cap Growth
Large cap companies usually have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Overall, they are usually a stable option, with less risk and more sure-fire cash flows than mid and small cap companies.
Growth stocks have higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. While these are expected to grow faster than the broader market, they also have higher valuations. Also, growth stocks are a type of equity that carries more risk compared to others. Even though growth stocks are more likely to outperform their value counterparts in strong bull markets, value stocks have a record of delivering better returns in almost all markets than growth stocks.
Costs
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.59%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.06%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer a 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.
This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Energy sector--about 17.50% of the portfolio. Industrials and Information Technology round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG - Free Report) accounts for about 1.15% of total assets, followed by W.w. Grainger, Inc. (GWW - Free Report) and Nucor Corporation (NUE - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 9.95% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
FTC seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Large Cap Growth Index before fees and expenses. 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.
The ETF return is roughly 3.03% so far this year and was up about 4.06% in the last one year (as of 05/23/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $85.37 and $100.90.
The ETF has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 21.90% for the trailing three-year period, making it 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 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, FTC is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
The Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG - Free Report) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth ETF has $85.61 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $180.57 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.
Bottom-Line
While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.
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.