Making its debut on 09/23/2015, smart beta exchange traded fund FlexShares US Quality Large Cap ETF (QLC) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend 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.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
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.
The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
QLC is managed by Flexshares, and this fund has amassed over $623.47 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. QLC, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Northern Trust Quality Large Cap Index.
The Northern Trust Quality Large Cap Index is designed to measure the performance of a universe of large capitalization securities which demonstrate characteristics of better quality, attractive valuation and positive momentum.
Cost & Other Expenses
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.25%.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.95%.
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.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector - about 31.9% of the portfolio. Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Nvidia Corp Common Stock Usd 0.001 (NVDAN) accounts for about 7.06% of the fund's total assets, followed by Apple Inc Common Stock Usd 0.00001 (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp Common Stock Usd 0.00000625 (MSFT).
The top 10 holdings account for about 37.54% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, QLC has added about 17.85%, and is up about 21.36% in the last one year (as of 09/30/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $56.84 and $78.06.
The ETF has a beta of 1.00 and standard deviation of 16.05% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 169 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
FlexShares US Quality Large Cap ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) tracks S&P 500 Index and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $688.09 billion in assets, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has $755.35 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VOO changes 0.03%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Large Cap Blend
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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FlexShares US Quality Large Cap ETF (QLC): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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