The First Trust Consumer Discretionary AlphaDEX ETF (FXD) made its debut on 05/08/2007, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Consumer Discretionary ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.
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.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
FXD is managed by First Trust Advisors, and this fund has amassed over $1.43 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Consumer Discretionary ETFs. Before fees and expenses, FXD 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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.61% for FXD, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.97%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.
For FXD, it has heaviest allocation in the Consumer Discretionary sector --about 76.30% of the portfolio --while Telecom and Industrials round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Spotify Technology S.a. (SPOT) accounts for about 1.89% of the fund's total assets, followed by Carvana Co. (class A) (CVNA) and Dutch Bros Inc. (class A) (BROS).
FXD's top 10 holdings account for about 15.96% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the First Trust Consumer Discretionary AlphaDEX ETF has lost about -8.26% so far, and is down about -3.13% over the last 12 months (as of 03/11/2025). FXD has traded between $56.55 and $68.52 in this past 52-week period.
FXD has a beta of 1.40 and standard deviation of 22.27% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 123 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust Consumer Discretionary AlphaDEX ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Consumer Discretionary ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
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 $5.68 billion in assets, Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF has $20.53 billion. VCR has an expense ratio of 0.09% and XLY charges 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.
Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox?
Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week.
Get it free >>First Trust Consumer Discretionary AlphaDEX ETF (FXD): ETF Research Reports
Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY): ETF Research Reports
Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF (VCR): ETF Research Reports
Carvana Co. (CVNA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Spotify Technology (SPOT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Dutch Bros Inc. (BROS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
