Looking for broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market? You should consider the First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FTC), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on May 8, 2007.
The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $1.29 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.
Why Large Cap Growth
Large cap companies usually have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Overall, they are usually a stable option, with less risk and more sure-fire cash flows than mid and small cap companies.
Qualities of growth stocks include faster growth rates compared to the broader market, as well as higher valuations and higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. Also, growth stocks are a type of equity that carries more risk compared to others. They are likely to outperform value stocks in strong bull markets but over the longer-term, value stocks have delivered better returns than growth stocks in almost all markets.
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 0.58%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.19%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer a 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.
This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector -- about 27.8% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Financials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Seagate Technology Holdings Plc (STX) accounts for about 1.5% of total assets, followed by Vertiv Holdings Co (class A) (VRT) and Mastec, Inc. (MTZ).
The top 10 holdings account for about 12.96% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
FTC seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Large Cap Growth Index before fees and expenses. The NASDAQ AlphaDEX Large Cap Growth Index is an enhanced index which employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the NASDAQ US 500 Large Cap Growth Index.
The ETF return is roughly 8.78% so far this year and it's up approximately 27.63% in the last one year (as of 05/06/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $136.29 and $173.85.
The ETF has a beta of 1.14 and standard deviation of 18.05% 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 Growth AlphaDEX ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, FTC is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
The iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (IWF) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF has $126.04 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $449.28 billion. IWF has an expense ratio of 0.18% and QQQ charges 0.18%.
Bottom-Line
Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.
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 Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FTC): ETF Research Reports
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).