Designed to provide broad exposure to the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market, the First Trust Large Cap Value AlphaDEX ETF (FTA Quick QuoteFTA - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on May 8, 2007.

The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $1.31 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Value

Companies that fall in the large cap category tend to 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.

Carrying lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, value stocks also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. When you look at long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in nearly all markets. But in strong bull markets, growth stocks are more likely to be winners.

Costs

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 counterparts, other things remaining the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.58%, making it one of the more expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.68%.

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 to the Financials sector -- about 19.8% of the portfolio. Energy and Utilities round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Cf Industries Holdings, Inc. (CF) accounts for about 1.21% of total assets, followed by Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) and Eog Resources, Inc. (EOG).

The top 10 holdings account for about 10.7% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

FTA seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Large Cap Value Index before fees and expenses. The NASDAQ AlphaDEX Large Cap Value Index is an enhanced index which employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the NASDAQ US 500 Large Cap Value Index.

The ETF return is roughly 10.88% so far this year and it's up approximately 38.59% in the last one year (as of 04/22/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $72.07 and $95.37.

The ETF has a beta of 0.85 and standard deviation of 14.27% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 188 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

First Trust Large Cap Value 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, FTA is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) and the Vanguard Value Index Fund ETF Shares (VTV) track a similar index. While Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $87.08 billion in assets, Vanguard Value Index Fund ETF Shares has $169.74 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV 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.