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Is FlexShares US Quality Large Cap ETF (QLC) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The FlexShares US Quality Large Cap ETF (QLC - Free Report) made its debut on 09/23/2015, 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?
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.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
QLC is managed by Flexshares, and this fund has amassed over $848.39 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Northern Trust Quality Large Cap Index.
The Northern Trust Quality Large Cap Index is designed to measure the performance of a universe of large capitalization securities which demonstrate characteristics of better quality, attractive valuation and positive momentum.
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 0.25% for QLC, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.96%.
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.
For QLC, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 33.2% of the portfolio --while Financials and Telecom round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Nvidia Corp Common Stock Usd 0.001 (NVDA) accounts for about 7.21% of the fund's total assets, followed by Apple Inc Common Stock Usd 0.00001 (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp Common Stock Usd 0.00000625 (MSFT).
The top 10 holdings account for about 36.67% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the FlexShares US Quality Large Cap ETF has added roughly 1.34% so far, and was up about 33.55% over the last 12 months (as of 04/10/2026). QLC has traded between $58.91 $83.49 in this past 52-week period.
QLC has a beta of 0.99 and standard deviation of 14.77% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 178 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
FlexShares US Quality Large Cap 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.
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) tracks S&P 500 Index and the Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $748.63 billion in assets, Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares has $855.18 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% 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 FlexShares US Quality Large Cap ETF (QLC) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The FlexShares US Quality Large Cap ETF (QLC - Free Report) made its debut on 09/23/2015, 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?
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.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
QLC is managed by Flexshares, and this fund has amassed over $848.39 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Northern Trust Quality Large Cap Index.
The Northern Trust Quality Large Cap Index is designed to measure the performance of a universe of large capitalization securities which demonstrate characteristics of better quality, attractive valuation and positive momentum.
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 0.25% for QLC, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.96%.
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.
For QLC, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 33.2% of the portfolio --while Financials and Telecom round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Nvidia Corp Common Stock Usd 0.001 (NVDA) accounts for about 7.21% of the fund's total assets, followed by Apple Inc Common Stock Usd 0.00001 (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp Common Stock Usd 0.00000625 (MSFT).
The top 10 holdings account for about 36.67% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the FlexShares US Quality Large Cap ETF has added roughly 1.34% so far, and was up about 33.55% over the last 12 months (as of 04/10/2026). QLC has traded between $58.91 $83.49 in this past 52-week period.
QLC has a beta of 0.99 and standard deviation of 14.77% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 178 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
FlexShares US Quality Large Cap 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.
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) tracks S&P 500 Index and the Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $748.63 billion in assets, Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares has $855.18 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% 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.