Is First Trust Large Cap Value AlphaDEX ETF (FTA) a Strong ETF Right Now?

The First Trust Large Cap Value AlphaDEX ETF (FTA) made its debut on 05/08/2007, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.

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.

However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.

This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix 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

The fund is managed by First Trust Advisors. FTA has been able to amass assets over $1.21 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. FTA seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Large Cap Value Index before fees and expenses.

The NASDAQ AlphaDEX Large Cap Value Index is an enhanced index which employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the NASDAQ US 500 Large Cap Value Index.

Cost & Other Expenses

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 cousins, other things remaining the same.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.58% for FTA, making it one of the more expensive products in the space.

FTA's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.84%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

For FTA, it has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector --about 18.5% of the portfolio --while Healthcare and Energy round out the top three.

Taking into account individual holdings, Biogen Inc. (BIIB) accounts for about 1.13% of the fund's total assets, followed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (REGN) and General Motors Company (GM).

The top 10 holdings account for about 10.44% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, FTA return is roughly 2.82%, and is up about 18.93% in the last one year (as of 01/13/2026). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $67.12 and $88.84.

The ETF has a beta of 0.88 and standard deviation of 14.94% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 188 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

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

Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $74.39 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $162.29 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV changes 0.04%.

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 Value

Bottom Line

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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