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Should Fidelity Quality Factor ETF (FQAL) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Looking for broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market? You should consider the Fidelity Quality Factor ETF (FQAL - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 09/12/2016.

The fund is sponsored by Fidelity. It has amassed assets over $1.08 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Blend

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.

Blend ETFs usually hold a mix of growth and value stocks as well as stocks that exhibit both value and growth characteristics.

Costs

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.16%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.19%.

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 Information Technology sector--about 27.90% of the portfolio. Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 6.63% of total assets, followed by Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 35.34% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

FQAL seeks to match the performance of the Fidelity U.S. Quality Factor Index before fees and expenses. The Fidelity U.S. Quality Factor Index reflects the performance of stocks of large and mid-capitalization U.S. companies with a higher quality profile than the broader market.

The ETF has added roughly 0.49% so far this year and was up about 15.65% in the last one year (as of 03/05/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $55.59 and $69.13.

The ETF has a beta of 0.99 and standard deviation of 16.65% for the trailing three-year period. With about 131 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Fidelity Quality Factor ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, FQAL is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO - Free Report) and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has $599.62 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $619.47 billion. VOO has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY charges 0.09%.

Bottom-Line

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they 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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