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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.

Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.

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.

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

The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $1.22 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Growth. FTC seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Large Cap Growth Index before fees and expenses.

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.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.58% for FTC, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 0.34%.

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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector - about 23.2% of the portfolio. Industrials and Financials round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Palantir Technologies Inc. (class A) (PLTR) accounts for about 1.2% of the fund's total assets, followed by Comfort Systems Usa, Inc. (FIX) and Robinhood Markets, Inc. (class A) (HOOD).

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 10.66% of FTC's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, FTC return is roughly 13.46%, and is up roughly 23.5% in the last one year (as of 09/02/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $116.97 and $158.18.

The fund has a beta of 1.11 and standard deviation of 18.39% for the trailing three-year period, which makes FTC a medium risk choice in this particular 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) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Growth Index and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ) tracks NASDAQ-100 Index. Vanguard Growth ETF has $184.82 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $364.47 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ changes 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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