A smart beta exchange traded fund, the First Trust Materials AlphaDEX ETF (FXZ) debuted on 05/08/2007, and offers broad exposure to the Materials ETFs category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.

A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.

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.

These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.

This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $337.67 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Materials ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the StrataQuant Materials Index before fees and expenses.

The StrataQuant Materials Index is a modified equal-dollar weighted index designed by the AMEX to objectively identify and select stocks from the Russell 1000 Index that may generate positive alpha relative to traditional passive style indices through the use of the AlphaDEX screening methodology.

Cost & Other Expenses

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

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.62%.

FXZ's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.58%.

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 in the Materials sector - about 88.60% of the portfolio. Industrials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Taking into account individual holdings, Fmc Corporation (FMC) accounts for about 5.39% of the fund's total assets, followed by Reliance Inc. (RS) and The Mosaic Company (MOS).

The top 10 holdings account for about 44.37% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, FXZ has lost about -4.33%, and it's up approximately 3.67% in the last one year (as of 09/20/2024). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $58.78 and $72.04.

The ETF has a beta of 1.19 and standard deviation of 24.28% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 38 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

First Trust Materials AlphaDEX ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Materials ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLB) tracks Materials Select Sector Index and the FlexShares Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources ETF (GUNR) tracks Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources Index. Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF has $5.48 billion in assets, FlexShares Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources ETF has $5.56 billion. XLB has an expense ratio of 0.09% and GUNR charges 0.46%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Materials 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.

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First Trust Materials AlphaDEX ETF (FXZ): ETF Research Reports

Reliance, Inc. (RS) : Free Stock Analysis Report

The Mosaic Company (MOS) : Free Stock Analysis Report

FMC Corporation (FMC) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLB): ETF Research Reports

FlexShares Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources ETF (GUNR): ETF Research Reports

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