Should Fidelity Value Factor ETF (FVAL) Be on Your Investing Radar?

Core Insights - The Fidelity Value Factor ETF (FVAL) is a passively managed ETF launched on September 12, 2016, with assets exceeding $976.98 million, targeting the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market [1] Group 1: Large Cap Value Overview - Large cap companies are defined as those with a market capitalization above $10 billion, offering more stability and predictable cash flows compared to mid and small cap companies [2] - Value stocks are characterized by lower price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, but they also exhibit lower sales and earnings growth rates. Historically, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in long-term performance, although growth stocks tend to perform better in strong bull markets [3] Group 2: Costs and Performance - The annual operating expenses for FVAL are 0.16%, making it one of the cheaper ETFs in its category, with a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.55% [4] - FVAL aims to match the performance of the Fidelity U.S. Value Factor Index, which includes large and mid-cap U.S. companies with attractive valuations. As of July 16, 2025, FVAL has gained approximately 5.16% year-to-date and 10.10% over the past year, trading between $52.80 and $65 in the last 52 weeks [7] Group 3: Sector Exposure and Holdings - The ETF has a significant allocation to the Information Technology sector, comprising about 31.50% of the portfolio, followed by Financials and Consumer Discretionary [5] - Microsoft Corp (MSFT) represents approximately 7.22% of total assets, with Nvidia Corp (NVDA) and Apple Inc (AAPL) also among the top holdings. The top 10 holdings account for about 38.51% of total assets under management [6] Group 4: Risk and Alternatives - FVAL has a beta of 0.96 and a standard deviation of 16.59% over the trailing three-year period, indicating effective diversification of company-specific risk with around 130 holdings [8] - Alternatives to FVAL include the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV), which have significantly larger asset bases of $70.24 billion and $138.31 billion, respectively, with lower expense ratios of 0.06% and 0.04% [11]