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Should Fidelity Quality Factor ETF (FQAL) Be on Your Investing Radar?
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Looking for broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market? You should consider the Fidelity Quality Factor ETF (FQAL - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on September 12, 2016.
The fund is sponsored by Fidelity. It has amassed assets over $1.17 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.
Why Large Cap Blend
Large cap companies typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Overall, they are usually a stable option, with less risk and more sure-fire cash flows than mid and small cap companies.
Blend ETFs usually hold a mix of growth and value stocks as well as stocks that exhibit both value and growth characteristics.
Costs
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.15%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.1%.
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 to the Information Technology sector -- about 34.2% of the portfolio. Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 7.59% of total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT).
The top 10 holdings account for about 38.98% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
FQAL seeks to match the performance of the Fidelity U.S. Quality Factor Index before fees and expenses. The Fidelity U.S. Quality Factor Index reflects the performance of stocks of large and mid-capitalization U.S. companies with a higher quality profile than the broader market.
The ETF has gained about 1.65% so far this year and is up roughly 18.03% in the last one year (as of 01/12/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $57.29 and $76.84.
The ETF has a beta of 0.97 and standard deviation of 13.91% for the trailing three-year period. With about 129 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Fidelity Quality Factor ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, FQAL is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) track a similar index. While iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $764.08 billion in assets, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has $855.09 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VOO charges 0.03%.
Bottom-Line
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.
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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Should Fidelity Quality Factor ETF (FQAL) Be on Your Investing Radar?
Looking for broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market? You should consider the Fidelity Quality Factor ETF (FQAL - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on September 12, 2016.
The fund is sponsored by Fidelity. It has amassed assets over $1.17 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.
Why Large Cap Blend
Large cap companies typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Overall, they are usually a stable option, with less risk and more sure-fire cash flows than mid and small cap companies.
Blend ETFs usually hold a mix of growth and value stocks as well as stocks that exhibit both value and growth characteristics.
Costs
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.15%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.1%.
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 to the Information Technology sector -- about 34.2% of the portfolio. Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 7.59% of total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT).
The top 10 holdings account for about 38.98% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
FQAL seeks to match the performance of the Fidelity U.S. Quality Factor Index before fees and expenses. The Fidelity U.S. Quality Factor Index reflects the performance of stocks of large and mid-capitalization U.S. companies with a higher quality profile than the broader market.
The ETF has gained about 1.65% so far this year and is up roughly 18.03% in the last one year (as of 01/12/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $57.29 and $76.84.
The ETF has a beta of 0.97 and standard deviation of 13.91% for the trailing three-year period. With about 129 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Fidelity Quality Factor ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, FQAL is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) track a similar index. While iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $764.08 billion in assets, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has $855.09 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VOO charges 0.03%.
Bottom-Line
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.
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.