FTC: First Trust Large Capital Growth AlphaDEX Fund
What this ETF is trying to do
The First Trust Large Capital Growth AlphaDEX Fund (FTC) is an ETF that focuses on large companies. Based on its name and holdings, it seeks to find growth in the large-cap market. It holds a variety of different stocks across many industries.
What the numbers show
The data shows that this fund has experienced significant growth over different time periods.
• One-Year Performance: The share-price return for the last year was approximately 18.17%. When you include distributions, the one-year total return was approximately 18.37%.
• Year-to-Date (YTD): So far this year, the share-price return is about 14.73%, while the YTD total return is about 14.80%.
• Three-Year Performance: Over the last three years, the share-price return was approximately 82.48%, and the three-year total return was approximately 84.14%.
To understand how the price has changed, we can look at an estimated price from roughly one year ago, which was $155.22. The current price is $183.43. If you had invested $10,000 into this ETF one year ago, your investment would have grown to approximately $11,817 based on the share-price return alone, before considering any cash distributions.
Income and distribution explanation
This ETF provides some cash income through distributions. The distribution yield is approximately 0.15%. This number describes the cash paid out relative to the ETF's price. Over the last 12 months, there were 4 payouts, which usually happen on a quarterly basis. Most of these payments occurred on a Thursday.
It is important to remember that distributions are different from total return. While distributions provide cash, they do not guarantee that your original investment (your principal) will stay the same value.
NAV erosion explanation
"NAV erosion" refers to a situation where the value of the underlying assets in the fund decreases significantly over time. When an ETF's share price falls sharply, it can sometimes be a sign of this type of risk.
For FTC, the erosion-risk score is 100, and the label indicates "No price erosion detected." There is no severe erosion-risk flag for this fund. This means that, based on the measurements provided, the fund is not showing signs of the price deterioration often associated with high erosion risk.
Top Holdings
The following are some of the top holdings in this fund. Please note that this is only a partial list and holdings can change over time:
• EVERPURE INC CLASS A (1.03%)
• INCYTE CORP (0.99%)
• FORTINET INC (0.98%)
• INTERACTIVE BROKERS GROUP INC CLASS A (0.96%)
• MORGAN STANLEY (0.96%)
• DELL (0.95%)
• UNITED RENTALS INC (0.94%)
• EMCOR GROUP INC (0.92%)
• KEYSIGHT TECHNOLOGIES INC (0.91%)
• ANALOG DEVICES INC (0.90%)
Pros
• The fund has shown strong positive total returns over the one-year and three-year periods.
• The erosion-risk measurements suggest a healthy price history without detected erosion.
Cons
• The distribution yield is relatively low (approximately 0.15%), which may not meet the needs of investors looking for high levels of regular cash income.
Beginner takeaway
When looking at an ETF, it is helpful to look at both the share-price return and the total return. The share-price return tells you how much the price moved, while the total return includes the impact of distributions. For this fund, both numbers have been positive over the last three years. Always remember that a high distribution yield does not mean an investor has earned that same amount in total returns.
Top Holdings
Structured portfolio holdings supplied by the ETF data provider. These figures are not generated by the AI article.
| # | Holding | Ticker | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EVERPURE INC CLASS A | P | 1.03% |
| 2 | INCYTE CORP | INCY | 0.99% |
| 3 | FORTINET INC | FTNT | 0.98% |
| 4 | INTERACTIVE BROKERS GROUP INC CLASS A | IBKR | 0.96% |
| 5 | MORGAN STANLEY | MS | 0.96% |
| 6 | n/a | DELL | 0.95% |
| 7 | UNITED RENTALS INC | URI | 0.94% |
| 8 | EMCOR GROUP INC | EME | 0.92% |
| 9 | KEYSIGHT TECHNOLOGIES INC | KEYS | 0.91% |
| 10 | ANALOG DEVICES INC | ADI | 0.90% |