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.

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

Investor-friendly, sector ETFs provide many options to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Consumer Discretionary - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 14, placing it in bottom 13%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $296.15 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

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.

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

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 Consumer Discretionary sector -- about 75.6% of the portfolio. Industrials and Telecom round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL) accounts for about 1.6% of total assets, followed by Mattel, Inc. (MAT) and Expedia Group, Inc. (EXPE).

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added about 5.63% and is up roughly 0.75% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 12/10/2025), respectively. FXD has traded between $50.42 and $70.29 during this last 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 1.19 and standard deviation of 20.38% 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 carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, FXD is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Consumer Discretionary ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

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 $6.29 billion in assets, Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF has $12.02 billion. VCR has an expense ratio of 0.09%, and XLY charges 0.08%.

Bottom Line

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