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Is First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FTC) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth category of the market, the First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FTC - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 05/08/2007.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
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.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: 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.
Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Managed by First Trust Advisors, FTC has amassed assets over $1.10 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Growth. FTC, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Large Cap Growth Index.
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.
Cost & Other Expenses
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.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.60%.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.28%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
For FTC, it has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector --about 24.70% of the portfolio --while Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Vistra Corp. (VST - Free Report) accounts for about 1.21% of total assets, followed by Constellation Energy Corporation (CEG - Free Report) and Iron Mountain Incorporated (IRM - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 10.6% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, FTC has gained about 22.61%, and is up roughly 43.27% in the last one year (as of 10/24/2024). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $91.56 and $136.17.
The ETF has a beta of 1.06 and standard deviation of 19.78% 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 is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG - Free Report) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Growth Index and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) tracks NASDAQ-100 Index. Vanguard Growth ETF has $141.78 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $296.27 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Large Cap Growth.
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 Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FTC) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Designed to provide broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth category of the market, the First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FTC - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 05/08/2007.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
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.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: 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.
Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Managed by First Trust Advisors, FTC has amassed assets over $1.10 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Growth. FTC, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Large Cap Growth Index.
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.
Cost & Other Expenses
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.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.60%.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.28%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
For FTC, it has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector --about 24.70% of the portfolio --while Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Vistra Corp. (VST - Free Report) accounts for about 1.21% of total assets, followed by Constellation Energy Corporation (CEG - Free Report) and Iron Mountain Incorporated (IRM - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 10.6% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, FTC has gained about 22.61%, and is up roughly 43.27% in the last one year (as of 10/24/2024). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $91.56 and $136.17.
The ETF has a beta of 1.06 and standard deviation of 19.78% 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 is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG - Free Report) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Growth Index and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) tracks NASDAQ-100 Index. Vanguard Growth ETF has $141.78 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $296.27 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Large Cap Growth.
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.