As has been widely noted, energy exchange traded funds have been prime beneficiaries of the rotation into value sectors away high beta growth options.
That transition is on display again Wednesday. Although U.S. stocks are rallying, just 15 ETFs have hit all-time highs as of this writing. Including the leveraged Direxion Daily Energy Bull 3X Shares (NYSEArca: ERX) and the First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund (NYSE: EMLP), which focuses on master limited partnerships, eight of Wednesday’s all-time high group are energy ETFs. [A Favored Energy ETF Looks Strong]
The First Trust Energy AlphaDEX Fund (NYSEArca: FXN) is not on that list, but that does not mean this ETF should be overlooked. FXN, which is just a few weeks shy of its seventh anniversary, has $641.6 million in assets under management. That is enough to say the ETF is too large to qualify as “overlooked,” but “unheralded” is an accurate way of describing the fund because that is exactly what FXN is compared to its cap-weighted energy sector counterparts.
The recent resurgence of energy ETFs has been widespread with cap-weighted and alternative indexing strategies both moving higher. In the hunt for value, investors have warmed to large- and mega-cap energy names, such as Chevron (NYSE: CVX) and ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP). Throw in Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) and those three stocks combine for close to a third or more of some cap-weighted energy ETFS. [Energy ETFs Lead as Broader Market Dithers]
Many advisors and investors are comfortable with a lineup like that and that is fine. However, FXN offers an alternative for advisors and investors looking for an ETF that mutes the potential risks caused by heavy concentrations to a small number of stocks.
No stock accounts for more than 3.25% of FXN’s weight, but that does not mean FXN is littered with unproven small-caps or bereft of the energy names investors are most familiar with. FXN uses a variety of growth and value factors to select its 59 components and the value factor is apparent as names like Chevron, Conoco, Marathon Oil (NYSE: MRO) and Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) are found among the ETF’s top-10 holdings.
Nearly two-thirds of FXN’s lineup is devoted to exploration and production and integrated oil firms with almost 30% allocated to services providers. The methodology backing FXN has worked as the ETF is up 7.6% over the past 90 days, a period in which it has bested its cap-weighted rivals. [An Oil ETF With Big Upside]
Of course, 90 days is hardly a long enough period for longer-term investors to make a decision on one ETF’s superiority over another.
As is the case with nearly every alternative index sector ETF on the market today, there are times when these funds outperform their cap-weighted rivals and periods when traditional sector ETFs win. Over the past year and five years, the StrataQuant Energy Index, FXN’s underlying index, has beaten the Russell 1000 Energy while the Russell index is the winner over the three year-period ending March 31, 2014, according to First Trust data.
First Trust Energy AlphaDEX Fund
ETF Trends editorial team contributed to this post.