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Is Franklin U.S. Equity Index ETF (USPX) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Launched on 06/01/2016, the Franklin U.S. Equity Index ETF (USPX - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Blend 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.
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.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by Franklin Templeton Investments. It has amassed assets over $2.05 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Blend. USPX seeks to match the performance of the MORNINGSTAR US TARGET MARKET EXPOSURE ID before fees and expenses.
The Morningstar US Target Market Exposure Index targets large and mid-capitalization U.S. stocks representing the top 85% of the U.S. equity market by float-adjusted market capitalization.
Cost & Other Expenses
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.03% for USPX, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
USPX's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.03%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Representing 40.1% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector; Financials and Telecom round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 8% of the fund's total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 37.76% of USPX's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 12.65% and is up roughly 14.92% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 10/02/2026), respectively. USPX has traded between $55.23 and $68.03 during this last 52-week period.
USPX has a beta of 0.92 and standard deviation of 15.08% for the trailing three-year period. With about 485 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Franklin U.S. Equity Index ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF (ITOT) tracks S&P Total Market Index and the Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) tracks CRSP US Total Market Index. iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF has $96.2 billion in assets, Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF has $685.64 billion. ITOT has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VTI 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 - All 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 Franklin U.S. Equity Index ETF (USPX) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Launched on 06/01/2016, the Franklin U.S. Equity Index ETF (USPX - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Blend 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.
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.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by Franklin Templeton Investments. It has amassed assets over $2.05 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Blend. USPX seeks to match the performance of the MORNINGSTAR US TARGET MARKET EXPOSURE ID before fees and expenses.
The Morningstar US Target Market Exposure Index targets large and mid-capitalization U.S. stocks representing the top 85% of the U.S. equity market by float-adjusted market capitalization.
Cost & Other Expenses
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.03% for USPX, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
USPX's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.03%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Representing 40.1% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector; Financials and Telecom round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 8% of the fund's total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 37.76% of USPX's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 12.65% and is up roughly 14.92% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 10/02/2026), respectively. USPX has traded between $55.23 and $68.03 during this last 52-week period.
USPX has a beta of 0.92 and standard deviation of 15.08% for the trailing three-year period. With about 485 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Franklin U.S. Equity Index ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF (ITOT) tracks S&P Total Market Index and the Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) tracks CRSP US Total Market Index. iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF has $96.2 billion in assets, Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF has $685.64 billion. ITOT has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VTI 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 - All 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.