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Is Fidelity Value Factor ETF (FVAL) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value category of the market, the Fidelity Value Factor ETF (FVAL - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 09/12/2016.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.

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.

By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.

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

Managed by Fidelity, FVAL has amassed assets over $949.32 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. FVAL seeks to match the performance of the Fidelity U.S. Value Factor Index before fees and expenses.

The Fidelity U.S. Value Factor Index reflects the performance of stocks of large and mid-capitalization U.S. companies that have attractive valuations.

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 FVAL are 0.16%, which makes it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.67%.

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.

FVAL's heaviest allocation is in the Information Technology sector, which is about 28.60% of the portfolio. Its Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 6.77% of the fund's total assets, followed by Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 38.12% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, FVAL has lost about -4.44%, and is up roughly 6.83% in the last one year (as of 03/14/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $54.50 and $65.

The fund has a beta of 1.01 and standard deviation of 16.56% for the trailing three-year period. With about 131 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Fidelity Value Factor ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD - Free Report) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV - Free Report) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $67.94 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $130.04 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV charges 0.04%.

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 Value.

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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