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Is American Century U.S. Quality Value ETF (VALQ) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Making its debut on 01/11/2018, smart beta exchange traded fund American Century U.S. Quality Value ETF (VALQ - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Value category of the market.
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.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
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.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
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
VALQ is managed by American Century Investments, and this fund has amassed over $254.75 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Value. VALQ seeks to match the performance of the AMERICAN CENTURY U.S. QUALITY VALUE INDX before fees and expenses.
The American Century U.S. Quality Value Index seeks to select securities of large and mid-capitalization companies that are undervalued or have sustainable income.
Cost & Other Expenses
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.29% for VALQ, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.70%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer 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.
VALQ's heaviest allocation is in the Information Technology sector, which is about 25.4% of the portfolio. Its Healthcare and Consumer Staples round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Johnson + Johnson Common Stock Usd1.0 (JNJ) accounts for about 3.02% of the fund's total assets, followed by Cisco Systems Inc Common Stock Usd.001 (CSCO) and Merck + Co. Inc. Common Stock Usd.5 (MRK).
The top 10 holdings account for about 24.19% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 6.15% and it's up approximately 7.98% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 09/16/2025), respectively. VALQ has traded between $54.09 and $64.86 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.89 and standard deviation of 14.07% for the trailing three-year period. With about 232 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
American Century U.S. Quality Value ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Fidelity High Dividend ETF (FDVV) tracks Fidelity Core Dividend Index and the iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF (IUSV) tracks S&P 900 Value Index. Fidelity High Dividend ETF has $6.89 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF has $22.1 billion. FDVV has an expense ratio of 0.16% and IUSV changes 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 - All 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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Is American Century U.S. Quality Value ETF (VALQ) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Making its debut on 01/11/2018, smart beta exchange traded fund American Century U.S. Quality Value ETF (VALQ - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Value category of the market.
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.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
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.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
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
VALQ is managed by American Century Investments, and this fund has amassed over $254.75 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Value. VALQ seeks to match the performance of the AMERICAN CENTURY U.S. QUALITY VALUE INDX before fees and expenses.
The American Century U.S. Quality Value Index seeks to select securities of large and mid-capitalization companies that are undervalued or have sustainable income.
Cost & Other Expenses
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.29% for VALQ, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.70%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer 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.
VALQ's heaviest allocation is in the Information Technology sector, which is about 25.4% of the portfolio. Its Healthcare and Consumer Staples round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Johnson + Johnson Common Stock Usd1.0 (JNJ) accounts for about 3.02% of the fund's total assets, followed by Cisco Systems Inc Common Stock Usd.001 (CSCO) and Merck + Co. Inc. Common Stock Usd.5 (MRK).
The top 10 holdings account for about 24.19% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 6.15% and it's up approximately 7.98% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 09/16/2025), respectively. VALQ has traded between $54.09 and $64.86 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.89 and standard deviation of 14.07% for the trailing three-year period. With about 232 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
American Century U.S. Quality Value ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Fidelity High Dividend ETF (FDVV) tracks Fidelity Core Dividend Index and the iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF (IUSV) tracks S&P 900 Value Index. Fidelity High Dividend ETF has $6.89 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF has $22.1 billion. FDVV has an expense ratio of 0.16% and IUSV changes 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 - All 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.