Launched on 12/15/2020, the First Trust International Developed Capital Strength ETF (FICS) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Foreign Large Growth ETF 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.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
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 managed by First Trust Advisors, and has been able to amass over $204.51 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Foreign Large Growth ETF. Before fees and expenses, FICS seeks to match the performance of the INTERNATIONAL DEVLPD CAPITAL STRENGTH ID.
The International Developed Capital Strength Index provides exposure to well-capitalized companies in the developed markets outside of the U.S. with strong market positions that have the potential to provide their stockholders with a greater degree of stability and performance over time.
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.
Annual operating expenses for FICS are 0.70%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.95%.
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.
Looking at individual holdings, L'oreal S.a. (OR.FP) accounts for about 2.20% of total assets, followed by Gsk Plc (GSK.LN) and The Sage Group Plc (SGE.LN).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 20.81% of FICS's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, FICS return is roughly 17.59%, and is up about 16.14% in the last one year (as of 05/26/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $33.47 and $39.78.
The fund has a beta of 0.79 and standard deviation of 15.77% for the trailing three-year period. With about 58 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust International Developed Capital Strength ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the Foreign Large Growth ETF segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.
Capital Group International Equity ETF (CGIE) tracks ---------------------------------------- and the Capital Group International Focus Equity ETF (CGXU) tracks ----------------------------------------. Capital Group International Equity ETF has $635.09 million in assets, Capital Group International Focus Equity ETF has $3.64 billion. CGIE has an expense ratio of 0.54% and CGXU charges 0.54%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Foreign Large Growth ETF.
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 International Developed Capital Strength ETF (FICS): ETF Research Reports Capital Group International Focus Equity ETF (CGXU): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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