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Should Fidelity Value Factor ETF (FVAL) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Looking for broad exposure to the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market? You should consider the Fidelity Value Factor ETF (FVAL - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 09/12/2016.

The fund is sponsored by Fidelity. It has amassed assets over $772.35 million, 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

Large cap companies typically 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. Considering long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in almost all markets; however, they are more likely to underperform growth stocks in strong bull markets.

Costs

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.15%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.62%.

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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector--about 27.10% of the portfolio. Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) accounts for about 7.41% of total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 31.98% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

FVAL seeks to match the performance of the Fidelity U.S. Value Factor Index before fees and expenses. The Fidelity U.S. Value Factor Index reflects the performance of stocks of large and mid-capitalization U.S. companies that have attractive valuations.

The ETF has added about 5.39% so far this year and it's up approximately 21.50% in the last one year (as of 04/30/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $45.08 and $57.05.

The ETF has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 17.10% for the trailing three-year period. With about 130 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Fidelity Value Factor ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, FVAL is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD - Free Report) and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV - Free Report) track a similar index. While Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $54.53 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $113.05 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV charges 0.04%.

Bottom-Line

While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.

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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