Designed to provide broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market, the Fidelity Quality Factor ETF (FQAL – Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 09/12/2016.
The fund is sponsored by Fidelity. It has amassed assets over $1.07 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.
Why Large Cap Blend
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.
Typically holding a combination of both growth and value stocks, blend ETFs also demonstrate qualities seen in value and growth investments.
Costs
When considering an ETF’s total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.16%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.20%.
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 Information Technology sector–about 30.40% of the portfolio. Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA – Free Report) accounts for about 6.90% of total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL – Free Report) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT – Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 34.63% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
FQAL seeks to match the performance of the Fidelity U.S. Quality Factor Index before fees and expenses. The Fidelity U.S. Quality Factor Index reflects the performance of stocks of large and mid-capitalization U.S. companies with a higher quality profile than the broader market.
The ETF has lost about -0.05% so far this year and is up roughly 22.70% in the last one year (as of 01/03/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $53.28 and $68.47.
The ETF has a beta of 0.98 and standard deviation of 17.03% for the trailing three-year period. With about 131 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Fidelity Quality Factor ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, FQAL is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box – Large Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV – Free Report) and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY – Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $581.60 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $617.41 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY charges 0.09%.
Bottom-Line
An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they 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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