Is First Trust Consumer Discretionary AlphaDEX ETF (FXD) a Strong ETF Right Now?

Core Insights - The First Trust Consumer Discretionary AlphaDEX ETF (FXD) is a smart beta ETF launched on May 8, 2007, providing broad exposure to the Consumer Discretionary sector [1] - FXD is managed by First Trust Advisors and has accumulated over $334.25 million in assets, making it one of the larger ETFs in its category [5] - The fund aims to match the performance of the StrataQuant Consumer Discretionary Index using the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology [5] Fund Characteristics - FXD has an annual operating expense ratio of 0.61%, which is competitive within its peer group, and a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.10% [6] - The ETF has a significant allocation of approximately 75.6% in the Consumer Discretionary sector, with Telecom and Industrials also represented [7] - The top three holdings include Carvana Co. (CVNA) at 2.07%, Five Below, Inc. (FIVE), and Spotify Technology S.a. (SPOT), with the top 10 holdings comprising about 15.9% of total assets [8] Performance Metrics - As of July 14, 2025, FXD has returned approximately 1.78% year-to-date and 9.79% over the past year, with a trading range between $50.42 and $68.52 in the last 52 weeks [10] - The fund has a beta of 1.20 and a standard deviation of 22.04% over the trailing three-year period, indicating a medium risk profile [10] Alternatives - Investors seeking to outperform the Consumer Discretionary ETFs segment may consider alternatives such as the Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF (VCR) and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY), which have significantly larger asset bases of $6.17 billion and $22.66 billion respectively [12] - VCR has a lower expense ratio of 0.09% compared to FXD, while XLY has an expense ratio of 0.08% [12]