ETF Education Report: First Trust Consumer Staples AlphaDEX Fund (FXG)

The First Trust Consumer Staples AlphaDEX Fund (FXG) is an ETF that invests in companies within the consumer staples sector. This sector typically includes essential goods that people buy regardless of the economy, such as food, beverages, and household products.

What this ETF is trying to do

FXG aims to provide exposure to the consumer staples industry. It uses a specific selection process (AlphaDEX) to choose its holdings. Based on the provided data, the fund holds 41 different companies.

Top Holdings (as of October 12, 2026):

The fund's portfolio is partial, but its largest holdings include:

• Ingredion Inc (4.59%)

• Freshpet Inc (4.41%)

• Pilgrims Pride Corp (4.36%)

• JBS NV (4.32%)

• General Mills Inc (4.19%)

What the numbers show

The current price of FXG is $59.54. To understand how it has performed, we look at two different types of returns: price return (the change in share price) and total return (which includes the share price change plus distributions).

• Year-to-Date (YTD): The price return is -1.88%, while the total return is -0.39%.

• One Year: The price return is -4.19%, while the total return is -2.21%.

• Three Year: The price return is 1.38%, while the total return is 8.03%.

• Five Year: The total return is 15.47%.

An estimated price from roughly one year ago was $62.14.

Income and distribution explanation

FXG pays out cash to investors, usually on a quarterly basis. Over the last 12 months, it has made 4 payments totaling $1.259 per share. This results in a distribution yield of 2.11%.

It is important for beginners to remember that a distribution yield is not the same as a total return. While the yield shows the cash paid out relative to the price, it does not tell you if the overall investment grew or shrank.

NAV erosion explanation

"NAV erosion" happens when the net asset value of a fund's holdings declines over time. The supplied data is sufficient to evaluate price erosion, but it does not include enough historical NAV-per-share data to confirm or rule out NAV erosion.

However, the fund has an erosion-risk score of 94, which is labeled as "Stable / sideways" with "good" severity. Additionally, the severe erosion-risk flag is false.

Pros

• Long-term growth: The three-year and five-year total returns are positive.

• Stability: The erosion-risk score suggests the price trend has been stable or sideways.

• Diversification: It spreads investments across 41 different companies.

Cons

• Recent price decline: Both the YTD and one-year price returns are negative.

• Moderate income: The income rating grade is a "C."

Beginner takeaway

FXG provides a way to invest in essential consumer goods. While the share price has dipped slightly over the last year, the total return (which includes dividends) has been less negative than the price return alone. This shows that distributions helped offset some of the price decline.