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Is First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FTC) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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A smart beta exchange traded fund, the First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FTC - Free Report) debuted on 05/08/2007, and offers broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth 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.
Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Because the fund has amassed over $1.29 billion, this makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Growth. FTC is managed by First Trust Advisors. Before fees and expenses, FTC seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Large Cap Growth Index.
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
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.58% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 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.
FTC's heaviest allocation is in the Information Technology sector, which is about 28.2% of the portfolio. Its Industrials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Rocket Lab Corporation (RKLB) accounts for about 1.29% of total assets, followed by Vertiv Holdings Co (VRT) and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD).
The top 10 holdings account for about 10.19% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 18.45% so far this year and was up about 23.47% in the last one year (as of 11/04/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $116.97 and $164.79
The fund has a beta of 1.13 and standard deviation of 17.76% 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 $203.66 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $411.44 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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Is First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FTC) a Strong ETF Right Now?
A smart beta exchange traded fund, the First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FTC - Free Report) debuted on 05/08/2007, and offers broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth 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.
Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Because the fund has amassed over $1.29 billion, this makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Growth. FTC is managed by First Trust Advisors. Before fees and expenses, FTC seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Large Cap Growth Index.
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
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.58% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 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.
FTC's heaviest allocation is in the Information Technology sector, which is about 28.2% of the portfolio. Its Industrials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Rocket Lab Corporation (RKLB) accounts for about 1.29% of total assets, followed by Vertiv Holdings Co (VRT) and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD).
The top 10 holdings account for about 10.19% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 18.45% so far this year and was up about 23.47% in the last one year (as of 11/04/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $116.97 and $164.79
The fund has a beta of 1.13 and standard deviation of 17.76% 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 $203.66 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $411.44 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.