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Is First Trust Consumer Discretionary AlphaDEX ETF (FXD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Launched on 05/08/2007, the First Trust Consumer Discretionary AlphaDEX ETF (FXD - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Consumer Discretionary ETFs 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.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
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.
Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by First Trust Advisors, and has been able to amass over $244.04 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Consumer Discretionary ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the StrataQuant Consumer Discretionary Index.
The StrataQuant Consumer Discretionary Index employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the Russell 1000 Index.
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.
Annual operating expenses for FXD are 0.60%, which makes it one of the more expensive products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 0.75%.
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 74.5% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Consumer Discretionary sector; Telecom and Industrials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Fox Corporation (class A) (FOXA) accounts for about 1.92% of total assets, followed by Dillard's, Inc. (class A) (DDS) and The Gap, Inc. (GAP).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 17.24% of FXD's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, FXD has lost about -5.69%, and is down about -5.29% in the last one year (as of 10/01/2026). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $62.05 and $72.23.
The fund has a beta of 1.12 and standard deviation of 20.50% for the trailing three-year period, which makes FXD a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 113 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
First Trust Consumer Discretionary AlphaDEX ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the Consumer Discretionary ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.
Vanguard Consumer Discretionary Index Fund ETF Shares (VCR) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Consumer Discretionary 25/50 Index and the State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) tracks Consumer Discretionary Select Sector Index. Vanguard Consumer Discretionary Index Fund ETF Shares has $5.63 billion in assets, State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF has $21.52 billion. VCR has an expense ratio of 0.09% and XLY changes 0.08%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Consumer Discretionary ETFs
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 First Trust Consumer Discretionary AlphaDEX ETF (FXD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Launched on 05/08/2007, the First Trust Consumer Discretionary AlphaDEX ETF (FXD - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Consumer Discretionary ETFs 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.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
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.
Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by First Trust Advisors, and has been able to amass over $244.04 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Consumer Discretionary ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the StrataQuant Consumer Discretionary Index.
The StrataQuant Consumer Discretionary Index employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the Russell 1000 Index.
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.
Annual operating expenses for FXD are 0.60%, which makes it one of the more expensive products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 0.75%.
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 74.5% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Consumer Discretionary sector; Telecom and Industrials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Fox Corporation (class A) (FOXA) accounts for about 1.92% of total assets, followed by Dillard's, Inc. (class A) (DDS) and The Gap, Inc. (GAP).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 17.24% of FXD's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, FXD has lost about -5.69%, and is down about -5.29% in the last one year (as of 10/01/2026). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $62.05 and $72.23.
The fund has a beta of 1.12 and standard deviation of 20.50% for the trailing three-year period, which makes FXD a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 113 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
First Trust Consumer Discretionary AlphaDEX ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the Consumer Discretionary ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.
Vanguard Consumer Discretionary Index Fund ETF Shares (VCR) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Consumer Discretionary 25/50 Index and the State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) tracks Consumer Discretionary Select Sector Index. Vanguard Consumer Discretionary Index Fund ETF Shares has $5.63 billion in assets, State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF has $21.52 billion. VCR has an expense ratio of 0.09% and XLY changes 0.08%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Consumer Discretionary ETFs
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.