Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Should FlexShares US Quality Large Cap ETF (QLC) Be on Your Investing Radar?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Launched on 09/23/2015, the FlexShares US Quality Large Cap ETF (QLC - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Flexshares. It has amassed assets over $226.51 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Blend

Large cap companies typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. They tend to be stable companies with predictable cash flows and are usually less volatile than mid and small cap companies.

Blend ETFs usually hold a mix of growth and value stocks as well as stocks that exhibit both value and growth characteristics.

Costs

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.25%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.04%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector--about 29.30% of the portfolio. Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc Common Stock Usd 0.00001 (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 7.48% of total assets, followed by Nvidia Corp Common Stock Usd 0.001 (NVDA - Free Report) and Microsoft Corp Common Stock Usd 0.00000625 (MSFT - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 34.89% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

QLC seeks to match the performance of the Northern Trust Quality Large Cap Index before fees and expenses. The Northern Trust Quality Large Cap Index is designed to measure the performance of a universe of large capitalization securities which demonstrate characteristics of better quality, attractive valuation and positive momentum.

The ETF return is roughly 18.87% so far this year and it's up approximately 25.88% in the last one year (as of 07/19/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $45.83 and $64.08.

The ETF has a beta of 1.01 and standard deviation of 16.98% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 170 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

FlexShares US Quality Large Cap 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, QLC is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

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 $500.74 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $555.18 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY charges 0.09%.

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.

Published in