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Should You Invest In The First Trust Consumer Discretionary AlphaDEX ETF (FXD)?

Published 01/29/2020, 07:57 AM
Updated 07/09/2023, 06:31 AM

The First Trust Consumer Discretionary AlphaDEX ETF (FXD) was launched on 05/08/2007, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Consumer Discretionary - Broad segment of the equity market.

Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.

Investor-friendly, sector ETFs provide many options to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Consumer Discretionary - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 10, placing it in bottom 38%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $305.72 M, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Consumer Discretionary - Broad segment of the equity market. FXD seeks to match the performance of the StrataQuant Consumer Discretionary Index before fees and expenses.

The StrataQuant Consumer Discretionary Index employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the Russell 1000 Index.

Costs

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.64%, making it one of the most expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.94%.

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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Consumer Discretionary sector--about 77.50% of the portfolio. Telecom and Consumer Staples round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Carvana Co. (CVNA) accounts for about 1.97% of total assets, followed by Roku, Inc. (ROKU) and Borgwarner Inc. (BWA).

The top 10 holdings account for about 16.28% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has lost about -1.54% so far this year and is up roughly 12.59% in the last one year (as of 01/29/2020). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $39.84 and $45.90.

The ETF has a beta of 1.02 and standard deviation of 14.48% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 119 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

First Trust Consumer Discretionary AlphaDEX 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, FXD is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Consumer Discretionary ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF (VCR) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Consumer Discretionary 25/50 Index and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) tracks Consumer Discretionary Select Sector Index. Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF has $3.13 B in assets, Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF has $15.75 B. VCR has an expense ratio of 0.10% and XLY charges 0.13%.

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.



First Trust Consumer Discretionary AlphaDEX ETF (FXD): ETF Research Reports

BorgWarner Inc. (NYSE:BWA): Free Stock Analysis Report

Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY): ETF Research Reports

Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF (VCR): ETF Research Reports

Roku, Inc. (ROKU): Free Stock Analysis Report

Carvana Co. (CVNA): Free Stock Analysis Report

Original post

Zacks Investment Research

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