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Launched · SEC filings

First Trust Materials AlphaDEX Fund

FXZNYSE ArcaFirst TrustD

$75.27+0.79 (+1.06%)

At close: Nov 2, 2026, 4:00 PM ET

D38/ 100

Rank 11 of 14 in Materials (Broad)

D38/100Rank 11 of 14inMaterials (Broad)
Intraday session: up, 79 prints from 74.48 to 75.27. Range 75.15 to 76.44. Use the arrow keys to read each point.75.0075.5076.0076.5010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.64%
Fund size
$357M
1Y total return
+25.7%
Yield · Last 12 months
1.38%
Holdings
40
Avg volume · 30D
42.2K sh
52W range
low $57.87high $88.25
Launched
Filings
SEC EDGAR

The ETF.net FXZ Grade

D

Score 38 out of 100

Category
Materials (Broad)⁠
Rank
11 of 14
Six-pillar profile for FXZ. Scores out of 100: Cost 9, Risk 41, Mission 59, Tradability 66, Holdings 80, Durability 47. Strongest: Holdings (80). Weakest: Cost (9). Leans toward Holdings.

Score 38 of 100 falls in the D band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.

  • Cost

    The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.
    F9 out of 100
    Rank 13 of 14

  • Mission

    Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.
    B59 out of 100
    Rank 3 of 4

  • Risk

    How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.
    C41 out of 100
    Rank 10 of 14

  • Tradability

    How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.
    B66 out of 100
    Rank 4 of 14

  • Holdings

    How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.
    A80 out of 100
    Rank 1 of 14

  • Durability

    Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.
    C47 out of 100
    Rank 9 of 14

Our read on FXZ

ETF.net Research

In short

DMost materials ETFs hand you the sector exactly as the market weights it. FXZ re-sorts it: the AlphaDEX rules rank Russell 1000 materials stocks on growth and value measures, then hold roughly 40 of them. Same sector, different shopping list.

Stated mandate

The fund seeks to track the performance of the StrataQuant® Materials Index, an equity index that applies the AlphaDEX® methodology to selected Russell 1000® materials-sector stocks.

Why people hold it

  • Not a cap-weighted sector wrapper. The AlphaDEX screen ranks Russell 1000 materials names on growth and value measures and keeps roughly 40, so weight follows the screen rather than company size.ftportfolios.com
  • In a sector where a handful of chemical and industrial-gas giants dominate cap-weighted funds, the rules push meaningful weight toward smaller and mid-sized materials companies.ftportfolios.com
  • Running since 2007, which gives the methodology a long public track record across full commodity and rate cycles instead of a few years of backtest.

Worth knowing

  • Cost is the trade-off: 0.64% a year, one of the pricier options in the materials group, where the big cap-weighted funds (XLB, VAW, FMAT) charge single-digit basis points.
  • A screened portfolio of roughly 40 names can behave quite differently from the plain materials sector in either direction. It tracks the StrataQuant Materials Index, not the sector everyone quotes.
  • Trading is moderate rather than heavy, so spreads and order size matter more here than with the most heavily traded funds in the category. Distributions come quarterly.

FXZ Holdings

Holdings pillarA80 out of 100Rank 1 of 14 in Materials (Broad)
Asset class
Stocks
Holdings
40
Top-10 weight
44%
Largest holding
STLD5.6%

Sectors

  • Materials82.5%
  • Industrials14.1%
  • Consumer Discretionary3.4%

Geography

  • United States98.21%
  • Canada1.79%
The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 3.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueHeld by ETFs
1STLDSteel Dynamics, Inc.5.56%79,326$19.9M328
2CFCF Industries Holdings, Inc.5.26%152,602$18.8M330
3AAAlcoa Corporation4.59%418,562$16.4M176
4NEMNewmont Corporation4.54%152,417$16.2M442
5SCCOSouthern Copper Corporation4.31%86,754$15.4M213
6AUAngloGold Ashanti plc4.17%187,116$14.9M124
7AUGOAura Minerals Inc.4.14%223,431$14.8M88
8NUENucor Corporation4.03%52,644$14.4M349
9OLNOlin Corporation3.91%793,918$14M117
10EMNEastman Chemical Company3.53%189,786$12.6M164
11MLIMueller Industries, Inc.3.10%203,032$11.1M217
12NEUNewMarket Corporation3.00%13,711$10.7M158
13RSReliance Inc.2.93%23,988$10.5M239
14MOSThe Mosaic Company2.92%568,395$10.5M221
15LINLinde Plc2.80%19,446$10M343

Showing 1–15 of 40 holdings

FXZ Performance

Launched May 8, 2007

Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.

FXZ$12,574
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,199
Oct 31, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026. FXZ $12,574. SPY $11,199. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$10,000$12,000$14,000Oct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

Returns run to the Oct 30, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.

Trailing total return for FXZ. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodFXZ
Year to date+15.9%
1 month−3.6%
3 months−2.6%
1 year+25.7%
3 yearsper year+9.3%
5 yearsper year+6.2%
10 yearsper year+10.2%

With distributions reinvested.

Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.

Annual total returns for FXZ
YearReturn barFXZ
2026 YTD+15.9%
2025+16.3%
2024−16.3%
2023+16.2%
2022−0.9%
2021+30.8%
2020+22.5%

FXZ in the news

FXZ Dividends

Adds up every distribution paid per share over the last 12 months, divided by the last completed close. Distributions are counted by ex-date. Data through Oct 30, 2026.
1.38%Last 12 months
Payout per share
$1.03Last 12 months
Last payment
$0.25 per share
Paid on
Shares bought on or after this date do not qualify for this distribution.
Frequency
Quarterly

Distribution history

2017–2026

One bar per payment. 39 payments from 2017 to 2026 YTD. Mar 23, 2017 $0.09; Jun 22, 2017 $0.13; Sep 21, 2017 $0.09; Dec 21, 2017 $0.14; Mar 22, 2018 $0.03; Jun 21, 2018 $0.14; Sep 14, 2018 $0.11; Dec 18, 2018 $0.17; Mar 21, 2019 $0.08; Jun 14, 2019 $0.08; Sep 25, 2019 $0.27; Dec 13, 2019 $0.20; Mar 26, 2020 $0.15; Jun 25, 2020 $0.15; Sep 24, 2020 $0.24; Dec 24, 2020 $0.19; Mar 25, 2021 $0.13; Jun 24, 2021 $0.15; Sep 23, 2021 $0.17; Dec 23, 2021 $0.24; Mar 25, 2022 $0.09; Jun 24, 2022 $0.25; Sep 23, 2022 $0.35; Dec 23, 2022 $0.26; Mar 24, 2023 $0.25; Jun 27, 2023 $0.48; Sep 22, 2023 $0.32; Dec 22, 2023 $0.31; Mar 21, 2024 $0.19; Jun 27, 2024 $0.21; Sep 26, 2024 $0.28; Dec 13, 2024 $0.34; Mar 27, 2025 $0.21; Jun 26, 2025 $0.23; Sep 25, 2025 $0.31; Dec 12, 2025 $0.37; Mar 26, 2026 $0.24; Jun 25, 2026 $0.16; Sep 24, 2026 $0.25. Use the arrow keys to read each point.2017201820192020202120222023202420252026YTD
Ex-datePay dateAmount per share
Sep 24, 2026Sep 30, 2026$0.25
Jun 25, 2026Jun 30, 2026$0.16
Mar 26, 2026Mar 31, 2026$0.24
Dec 12, 2025Dec 31, 2025$0.37
Sep 25, 2025Sep 30, 2025$0.31
Jun 26, 2025Jun 30, 2025$0.23
Mar 27, 2025Mar 31, 2025$0.21
Dec 13, 2024Dec 31, 2024$0.34
Sep 26, 2024Sep 30, 2024$0.28
Jun 27, 2024Jun 28, 2024$0.21
Mar 21, 2024Mar 28, 2024$0.19
Dec 22, 2023Dec 29, 2023$0.31

See all 65 payments⁠

$10,000 in FXZ 10 years ago paid $2,505 in dividends.⁠

FXZ Risk

Risk pillarC41 out of 100Rank 10 of 14 in Materials (Broad)
How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
19.9%
Annualised · 36 months to Oct 2026
How it’s calculated: standard deviation

The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.

Return above 3-month US Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
0.32
vs 3-month T-bills · to Oct 2026
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio

Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.

Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.

The largest fall from a peak to the low that followed.
−34.0%
Trough Apr 2025
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown

The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.

Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.

How strongly the fund’s returns move with its asset-class index.
0.92
vs its asset-class index
How it’s calculated: beta

The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.

FMP measures it over up to five years of monthly returns.

FXZ Cost

Compare FXZ and XLB

Overpaying vs XLB, cheapest in Materials (Broad)

$10,849

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

  • FXZ 0.64%

    $12,538

  • XLB 0.08% Cheapest

    $1,689

$10,000
30 years

Cost over time

  • FXZ 0.64%
  • XLB 0.08%
  • Overpaying
One line per fund, from year 0 to year 30. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$5K$10K$15K051015202530FXZ $12,538XLB $1,689

Year by year

YearFXZXLBOverpaying
10$1,145$147$998
20$4,375$575$3,800
30$12,538$1,689$10,849

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