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Should Fidelity Quality Factor ETF (FQAL) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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If you're interested in broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market, look no further than the Fidelity Quality Factor ETF (FQAL - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 09/12/2016.

The fund is sponsored by Fidelity. It has amassed assets over $1.09 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

Companies that fall in the large cap category tend to 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

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 0.15%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.10%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, 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 30% of the portfolio. Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 6.81% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 34.47% 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 gained about 21.64% so far this year and was up about 38.32% in the last one year (as of 10/31/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $48.49 and $66.36.

The ETF has a beta of 0.98 and standard deviation of 17.10% 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 reasonable 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 $547.69 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $598.44 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY charges 0.09%.

Bottom-Line

While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.

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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