We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience.
This includes personalizing content and advertising.
By pressing "Accept All" or closing out of this banner, you consent to the use of all cookies and similar technologies and the sharing of information they collect with third parties.
You can reject marketing cookies by pressing "Deny Optional," but we still use essential, performance, and functional cookies.
In addition, whether you "Accept All," Deny Optional," click the X or otherwise continue to use the site, you accept our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, revised from time to time.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Is Franklin U.S. Large Cap Multifactor Index ETF (FLQL) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Read MoreHide Full Article
The Franklin U.S. Large Cap Multifactor Index ETF (FLQL - Free Report) was launched on 04/26/2017, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Style Box - Large 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.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.
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 managed by Franklin Templeton Investments, and has been able to amass over $2.16 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the LibertyQ US Large Cap Equity Index.
The LibertyQ US Large Cap Equity Index seeks to achieve a lower level of risk and higher risk-adjusted performance than the Russell 1000 Index over the long term by applying a multi-factor selection process, which is designed to select equity securities from the Russell 1000 Index that have favorable exposure to four investment style factors quality, value, momentum and low volatility.
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.
Annual operating expenses for FLQL are 0.15%, which makes it one of the cheaper products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.06%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
FLQL's heaviest allocation is in the Information Technology sector, which is about 39.5% of the portfolio. Its Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL) accounts for about 7.9% of the fund's total assets, followed by Nvidia Corp (NVDA) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT).
FLQL's top 10 holdings account for about 37.42% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Franklin U.S. Large Cap Multifactor Index ETF return is roughly 13.3% so far, and it's up approximately 12.64% over the last 12 months (as of 10/30/2026). FLQL has traded between $65.51 $80.18 in this past 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.95 and standard deviation of 15.24% for the trailing three-year period. With about 222 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Franklin U.S. Large Cap Multifactor Index ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
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 $883.9 billion in assets, Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares has $1040 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.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Bigstock
Is Franklin U.S. Large Cap Multifactor Index ETF (FLQL) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The Franklin U.S. Large Cap Multifactor Index ETF (FLQL - Free Report) was launched on 04/26/2017, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Style Box - Large 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.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.
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 managed by Franklin Templeton Investments, and has been able to amass over $2.16 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the LibertyQ US Large Cap Equity Index.
The LibertyQ US Large Cap Equity Index seeks to achieve a lower level of risk and higher risk-adjusted performance than the Russell 1000 Index over the long term by applying a multi-factor selection process, which is designed to select equity securities from the Russell 1000 Index that have favorable exposure to four investment style factors quality, value, momentum and low volatility.
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.
Annual operating expenses for FLQL are 0.15%, which makes it one of the cheaper products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.06%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
FLQL's heaviest allocation is in the Information Technology sector, which is about 39.5% of the portfolio. Its Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL) accounts for about 7.9% of the fund's total assets, followed by Nvidia Corp (NVDA) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT).
FLQL's top 10 holdings account for about 37.42% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Franklin U.S. Large Cap Multifactor Index ETF return is roughly 13.3% so far, and it's up approximately 12.64% over the last 12 months (as of 10/30/2026). FLQL has traded between $65.51 $80.18 in this past 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.95 and standard deviation of 15.24% for the trailing three-year period. With about 222 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Franklin U.S. Large Cap Multifactor Index ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
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 $883.9 billion in assets, Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares has $1040 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.