Should You Invest in the Fidelity MSCI Consumer Discretionary Index ETF (FDIS)?

Looking for broad exposure to the Consumer Discretionary - Broad segment of the equity market? You should consider the Fidelity MSCI Consumer Discretionary Index ETF (FDIS), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 10/21/2013.

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.

Sector ETFs are also funds of convenience, offering many ways 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 12, placing it in bottom 25%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by Fidelity. It has amassed assets over $727.88 M, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Consumer Discretionary - Broad segment of the equity market. FDIS seeks to match the performance of the MSCI USA IMI Consumer Discretionary Index before fees and expenses.

MSCI USA IMI Consumer Discretionary Index represents the performance of the consumer discretionary sector in the U.S. equity market.

Costs

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 counterparts, other things remaining the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.08%, making it the least expensive product in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.18%.

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 99.20% of the portfolio.

Looking at individual holdings, Amazon.com Inc (AMZN) accounts for about 23.84% of total assets, followed by Home Depot Inc (HD) and Mcdonald S Corp (MCD).

The top 10 holdings account for about 55.64% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, FDIS has gained about 22.45%, and is up roughly 16.31% in the last one year (as of 10/29/2019). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $35.51 and $47.66.

The ETF has a beta of 1.10 and standard deviation of 14.77% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 295 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Fidelity MSCI Consumer Discretionary Index ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, FDIS is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Consumer Discretionary ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF (VCR) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Consumer Discretionary 25/50 Index and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) tracks Consumer Discretionary Select Sector Index. Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF has $3.11 B in assets, Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund has $14.28 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.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.