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Is First Trust Industrials/Producer Durables AlphaDEX ETF (FXR) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Industrials ETFs category of the market, the First Trust Industrials/Producer Durables AlphaDEX ETF (FXR - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 05/08/2007.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.
The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
FXR is managed by First Trust Advisors, and this fund has amassed over $1.97 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Industrials ETFs. FXR, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the StrataQuant Industrials Index.
The StrataQuant Industrials 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
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.
With one of the more expensive products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.61%.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 0.71%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Representing 68.90% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector; Materials and Financials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Axon Enterprise Inc. (AXON - Free Report) accounts for about 1.95% of total assets, followed by Synchrony Financial (SYF - Free Report) and Mdu Resources Group, Inc. (MDU - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 14.8% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, FXR return is roughly 17.25%, and it's up approximately 17.66% in the last one year (as of 12/24/2024). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $62.64 and $83.27.
FXR has a beta of 1.19 and standard deviation of 20.35% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 139 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust Industrials/Producer Durables AlphaDEX ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Industrials ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard Industrials ETF (VIS - Free Report) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Industrials 25/50 Index and the Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI - Free Report) tracks Industrial Select Sector Index. Vanguard Industrials ETF has $5.64 billion in assets, Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF has $20.52 billion. VIS has an expense ratio of 0.10% and XLI charges 0.09%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Industrials 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.
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Is First Trust Industrials/Producer Durables AlphaDEX ETF (FXR) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Designed to provide broad exposure to the Industrials ETFs category of the market, the First Trust Industrials/Producer Durables AlphaDEX ETF (FXR - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 05/08/2007.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.
The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
FXR is managed by First Trust Advisors, and this fund has amassed over $1.97 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Industrials ETFs. FXR, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the StrataQuant Industrials Index.
The StrataQuant Industrials 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
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.
With one of the more expensive products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.61%.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 0.71%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Representing 68.90% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector; Materials and Financials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Axon Enterprise Inc. (AXON - Free Report) accounts for about 1.95% of total assets, followed by Synchrony Financial (SYF - Free Report) and Mdu Resources Group, Inc. (MDU - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 14.8% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, FXR return is roughly 17.25%, and it's up approximately 17.66% in the last one year (as of 12/24/2024). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $62.64 and $83.27.
FXR has a beta of 1.19 and standard deviation of 20.35% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 139 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust Industrials/Producer Durables AlphaDEX ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Industrials ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard Industrials ETF (VIS - Free Report) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Industrials 25/50 Index and the Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI - Free Report) tracks Industrial Select Sector Index. Vanguard Industrials ETF has $5.64 billion in assets, Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF has $20.52 billion. VIS has an expense ratio of 0.10% and XLI charges 0.09%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Industrials 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.