We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Is First Trust Financials AlphaDEX ETF (FXO) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Read MoreHide Full Article
Launched on 05/08/2007, the First Trust Financials AlphaDEX ETF (FXO - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Financials ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
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.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by First Trust Advisors. FXO has been able to amass assets over $771.34 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Financials ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the StrataQuant Financials Index.
The StrataQuant Financials 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.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
Annual operating expenses for FXO are 0.62%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.13%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
FXO's heaviest allocation is in the Financials sector, which is about 99.30% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL - Free Report) accounts for about 2.19% of total assets, followed by Zions Bancorporation (ZION - Free Report) and Keycorp (KEY - Free Report) .
FXO's top 10 holdings account for about 18.52% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the First Trust Financials AlphaDEX ETF return is roughly 2.13% so far, and is down about -3.78% over the last 12 months (as of 12/04/2023). FXO has traded between $33.55 and $46.46 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 1.13 and standard deviation of 23.99% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 101 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust Financials AlphaDEX ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the Financials ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.
Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH - Free Report) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Financials 25/50 Index and the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF - Free Report) tracks Financial Select Sector Index. Vanguard Financials ETF has $8.17 billion in assets, Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF has $32.01 billion. VFH has an expense ratio of 0.10% and XLF charges 0.10%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Financials 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.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
Is First Trust Financials AlphaDEX ETF (FXO) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Launched on 05/08/2007, the First Trust Financials AlphaDEX ETF (FXO - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Financials ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
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.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by First Trust Advisors. FXO has been able to amass assets over $771.34 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Financials ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the StrataQuant Financials Index.
The StrataQuant Financials 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.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
Annual operating expenses for FXO are 0.62%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.13%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
FXO's heaviest allocation is in the Financials sector, which is about 99.30% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL - Free Report) accounts for about 2.19% of total assets, followed by Zions Bancorporation (ZION - Free Report) and Keycorp (KEY - Free Report) .
FXO's top 10 holdings account for about 18.52% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the First Trust Financials AlphaDEX ETF return is roughly 2.13% so far, and is down about -3.78% over the last 12 months (as of 12/04/2023). FXO has traded between $33.55 and $46.46 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 1.13 and standard deviation of 23.99% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 101 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust Financials AlphaDEX ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the Financials ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.
Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH - Free Report) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Financials 25/50 Index and the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF - Free Report) tracks Financial Select Sector Index. Vanguard Financials ETF has $8.17 billion in assets, Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF has $32.01 billion. VFH has an expense ratio of 0.10% and XLF charges 0.10%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Financials 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.