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Is American Century U.S. Quality Value ETF (VALQ) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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A smart beta exchange traded fund, the American Century U.S. Quality Value ETF (VALQ - Free Report) debuted on 01/11/2018, and offers broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Value category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
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.
But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.
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.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by American Century Investments. VALQ has been able to amass assets over $321.88 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Value. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the AMERICAN CENTURY U.S. QUALITY VALUE INDX.
The American Century U.S. Quality Value Index seeks to select securities of large and mid-capitalization companies that are undervalued or have sustainable income.
Cost & Other Expenses
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.29% for VALQ, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.73%.
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 VALQ, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 26% of the portfolio --while Healthcare and Industrials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Verizon Communications Inc Common Stock Usd.1 (VZ) accounts for about 2.95% of total assets, followed by Bristol Myers Squibb Co Common Stock Usd.1 (BMY) and Merck + Co. Inc. Common Stock Usd.5 (MRK).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 25.61% of VALQ's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 5.4% so far this year and is up about 16.85% in the last one year (as of 06/01/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $60.54 and $69.85
The fund has a beta of 0.81 and standard deviation of 12.44% for the trailing three-year period. With about 228 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
American Century U.S. Quality Value ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Fidelity High Dividend ETF (FDVV) tracks Fidelity Core Dividend Index and the iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF (IUSV) tracks S&P 900 Value Index. Fidelity High Dividend ETF has $9.68 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF has $26.14 billion. FDVV has an expense ratio of 0.15% and IUSV changes 0.04%.
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 - All Cap Value
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 American Century U.S. Quality Value ETF (VALQ) a Strong ETF Right Now?
A smart beta exchange traded fund, the American Century U.S. Quality Value ETF (VALQ - Free Report) debuted on 01/11/2018, and offers broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Value category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
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.
But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.
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.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by American Century Investments. VALQ has been able to amass assets over $321.88 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Value. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the AMERICAN CENTURY U.S. QUALITY VALUE INDX.
The American Century U.S. Quality Value Index seeks to select securities of large and mid-capitalization companies that are undervalued or have sustainable income.
Cost & Other Expenses
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.29% for VALQ, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.73%.
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 VALQ, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 26% of the portfolio --while Healthcare and Industrials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Verizon Communications Inc Common Stock Usd.1 (VZ) accounts for about 2.95% of total assets, followed by Bristol Myers Squibb Co Common Stock Usd.1 (BMY) and Merck + Co. Inc. Common Stock Usd.5 (MRK).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 25.61% of VALQ's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 5.4% so far this year and is up about 16.85% in the last one year (as of 06/01/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $60.54 and $69.85
The fund has a beta of 0.81 and standard deviation of 12.44% for the trailing three-year period. With about 228 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
American Century U.S. Quality Value ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Fidelity High Dividend ETF (FDVV) tracks Fidelity Core Dividend Index and the iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF (IUSV) tracks S&P 900 Value Index. Fidelity High Dividend ETF has $9.68 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF has $26.14 billion. FDVV has an expense ratio of 0.15% and IUSV changes 0.04%.
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 - All Cap Value
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.