Launched on May 8, 2007, the First Trust Consumer Discretionary AlphaDEX ETF (FXD Quick QuoteFXD - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Consumer Discretionary - Broad segment of the equity market.

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

Sector ETFs also provide investors access to a broad group of companies in particular sectors that offer low risk and diversified exposure. Consumer Discretionary - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 7, placing it in top 44%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $329.17 million, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Consumer Discretionary - Broad segment of the equity market. FXD seeks to match the performance of the StrataQuant Consumer Discretionary Index before fees and expenses.

The StrataQuant Consumer Discretionary Index employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the Russell 1000 Index.

Costs

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.61%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.91%.

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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Consumer Discretionary sector -- about 75.9% of the portfolio. Telecom and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Macy's, Inc. (M) accounts for about 1.95% of total assets, followed by D.r. Horton, Inc. (DHI) and Dillard's, Inc. (class A) (DDS).

The top 10 holdings account for about 17.1% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, FXD has gained about 5.63%, and is up roughly 9.11% in the last one year (as of 10/07/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $50.42 and $70.29.

The ETF has a beta of 1.20 and standard deviation of 20.93% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 119 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

First Trust Consumer Discretionary AlphaDEX ETF sports a Zacks ETF Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. FXD, then, is not the best option for investors seeking exposure to the Consumer Discretionary ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are better ETFs in the space to consider.

Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF (VCR) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Consumer Discretionary 25/50 Index and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) tracks Consumer Discretionary Select Sector Index. Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF has $6.46 billion in assets, Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF has $24.68 billion. VCR has an expense ratio of 0.09%, and XLY charges 0.08%.

Bottom Line

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