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Is Franklin U.S. Large Cap Multifactor Index ETF (FLQL) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The Franklin U.S. Large Cap Multifactor Index ETF (FLQL - Free Report) made its debut on 04/26/2017, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.
Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
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.
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.
The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by Franklin Templeton Investments. It has amassed assets over $1.67 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the LibertyQ US Large Cap Equity Index.
The LibertyQ US Large Cap Equity Index seeks to achieve a lower level of risk and higher risk-adjusted performance than the Russell 1000 Index over the long term by applying a multi-factor selection process, which is designed to select equity securities from the Russell 1000 Index that have favorable exposure to four investment style factors quality, value, momentum and low volatility.
Cost & Other Expenses
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 0.15%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.07%.
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.
Representing 35.5% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector; Consumer Discretionary and Financials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 7.12% of total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT).
FLQL's top 10 holdings account for about 37.1% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, FLQL has added about 19.33%, and is up roughly 15.62% in the last one year (as of 12/15/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $50.10 and $70.51.
FLQL has a beta of 0.96 and standard deviation of 14.94% for the trailing three-year period. With about 217 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Franklin U.S. Large Cap Multifactor Index ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) tracks S&P 500 Index and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $713.38 billion in assets, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has $820.63 billion. SPY has an expense ratio of 0.09% and VOO changes 0.03%.
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 Blend
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 Franklin U.S. Large Cap Multifactor Index ETF (FLQL) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The Franklin U.S. Large Cap Multifactor Index ETF (FLQL - Free Report) made its debut on 04/26/2017, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.
Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
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.
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.
The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by Franklin Templeton Investments. It has amassed assets over $1.67 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the LibertyQ US Large Cap Equity Index.
The LibertyQ US Large Cap Equity Index seeks to achieve a lower level of risk and higher risk-adjusted performance than the Russell 1000 Index over the long term by applying a multi-factor selection process, which is designed to select equity securities from the Russell 1000 Index that have favorable exposure to four investment style factors quality, value, momentum and low volatility.
Cost & Other Expenses
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 0.15%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.07%.
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.
Representing 35.5% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector; Consumer Discretionary and Financials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 7.12% of total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT).
FLQL's top 10 holdings account for about 37.1% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, FLQL has added about 19.33%, and is up roughly 15.62% in the last one year (as of 12/15/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $50.10 and $70.51.
FLQL has a beta of 0.96 and standard deviation of 14.94% for the trailing three-year period. With about 217 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Franklin U.S. Large Cap Multifactor Index ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) tracks S&P 500 Index and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $713.38 billion in assets, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has $820.63 billion. SPY has an expense ratio of 0.09% and VOO changes 0.03%.
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 Blend
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.