A smart beta exchange traded fund, the First Trust NASDAQ Semiconductor ETF (FTXL) debuted on 09/20/2016, and offers broad exposure to the Technology ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader 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.
Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
FTXL is managed by First Trust Advisors, and this fund has amassed over $2.5 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Technology ETFs. FTXL seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq US Smart Semiconductor Index before fees and expenses.
The Nasdaq US Smart Semiconductor Index is a modified factor weighted index, designed to provide exposure to US companies within the semiconductor industry.
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.60% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
FTXL's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 0.13%.
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.
Representing 100% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector.
When you look at individual holdings, Intel Corporation (INTC) accounts for about 8.89% of the fund's total assets, followed by Nvidia Corporation (NVDA) and Broadcom Inc. (AVGO).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 60.46% of FTXL's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the First Trust NASDAQ Semiconductor ETF return is roughly 100.06% so far, and was up about 215.43% over the last 12 months (as of 06/02/2026). FTXL has traded between $86.19 $262.95 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 1.69 and standard deviation of 35.67% for the trailing three-year period. With about 35 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers .
Alternatives
First Trust NASDAQ Semiconductor ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Technology ETFs segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) tracks PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) tracks MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index. iShares Semiconductor ETF has $38.76 billion in assets, VanEck Semiconductor ETF has $68.57 billion. SOXX has an expense ratio of 0.34% and SMH changes 0.35%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Technology ETFs
Bottom Line
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First Trust NASDAQ Semiconductor ETF (FTXL): ETF Research Reports
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).