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Should First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FTC) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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If you're interested in broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, look no further than the First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FTC - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 05/08/2007.

The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $982.22 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. Considered a more stable option, large cap companies boast more predictable cash flows and are less volatile than their mid and small cap counterparts.

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. Further, growth stocks have a higher level of volatility associated with them. When you consider growth versus value, growth stocks are usually the clear winner in strong bull markets but tend to fall flat in nearly all other environments.

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 0.80%.

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 to the Information Technology sector--about 30.70% of the portfolio. Industrials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG - Free Report) accounts for about 1.04% of total assets, followed by Apollo Global Management, Inc. (APO - Free Report) and Constellation Energy Corporation (CEG - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 9.87% 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 13.22% so far this year and it's up approximately 9.02% in the last one year (as of 11/29/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $88.58 and $104.25.

The ETF has a beta of 1.03 and standard deviation of 20.74% 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 excellent 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 $99.08 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $223.23 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.

Bottom-Line

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

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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