Northern Trust US Quality Large Cap ETF
$91.56−0.87 (−0.94%)
- Expense ratio
- 0.26%
- Fund size
- $1.1B
- 1Y return
- +19.6%
- Yield · Last 12 months
- 0.94%
- Holdings
- 162
- Volume · 30D
- 0M sh
- NAV per share
- $92.65
- 52W range
The ETF.net QLC Grade
Score 71 of 100 sits in the A band. Bands: A ≥ 70, B ≥ 55, C ≥ 40, D ≥ 25, F < 25; the scale skips E.
Cost
What you pay to own it — the expense ratio plus trading frictions, ranked within its category.BScore 65Category rankMission
How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.AScore 95Category rankRisk
How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.BScore 68Category rankTradability
How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.AScore 74Category rankHoldings
What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.DScore 37Category rankDurability
Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.AScore 70Category rank
Our read on QLC
AA quality-first take on multifactor investing: Northern Trust's index grades large-cap US companies on quality, then folds in value and momentum. Roughly 180 names, 0.26% a year, running since 2015.
The Fund seeks to track the price and yield performance of the Northern Trust Quality Large Cap Index before fees and expenses.
Why people hold it
- At 0.26% a year, it undercuts the typical US multifactor large-cap fund, which runs closer to 0.32%.flexshares.com
- One index, three factors: quality leads, with value and momentum built into the same screen instead of three separate sleeves stacked together.flexshares.com
- Narrow job, tight execution: it mirrors the Northern Trust Quality Large Cap Index before fees and has stayed very close to that benchmark.flexshares.com
- Live since 2015 and one of the stronger implementations in a crowded field of US multifactor ETFs.
Worth knowing
- Trades thinly next to the category's giants, so spreads can be wider and bigger orders need more care.
- About 180 holdings is a narrower slice of the large-cap market than broad index funds carrying many hundreds of names.
- Plain-vanilla large-cap exposure costs far less: VYM and IUSG each charge 0.04%.
QLC Holdings
- Stocks
- 162
- 36%
- NVDA
Sectors
- Technology36.9%
- Financials13.0%
- Communication11.2%
- Health Care10.5%
- Consumer Discr.7.6%
- Industrials6.3%
- Energy3.9%
- Cons. Staples3.7%
- Materials3.1%
- Utilities2.2%
- Real Estate1.5%
Geography
- United States97.66%
- Singapore0.81%
- Ireland0.78%
- Netherlands0.52%
- Sweden0.23%
QLC Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
Returns run to the Sep 22, 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.
| Period | QLC |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +14.9% |
| 1 month | +0.2% |
| 3 months | +3.7% |
| 1 year | +19.6% |
| 3 years | +25.7% |
| 5 years | +15.1% |
| 10 years | +14.8% |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | QLC |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +14.9% | |
| 2025 | +23.3% | |
| 2024 | +26.7% | |
| 2023 | +26.0% | |
| 2022 | −17.2% | |
| 2021 | +28.5% | |
| 2020 | +13.7% |
QLC in the news
ETF.net Research hasn’t filed on QLC yet — coverage lands here as it’s written.
QLC Dividends
- 0.94%
- $0.87
- $0.22 per share
- Quarterly
Distribution history
| Ex-date | Pay date | Amount per share |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 18, 2026 | Pays Sep 24, 2026 | $0.22 |
| Jun 18, 2026 | Jun 25, 2026 | $0.22 |
| Mar 20, 2026 | Mar 26, 2026 | $0.14 |
| Dec 19, 2025 | Dec 26, 2025 | $0.28 |
| Sep 19, 2025 | Sep 25, 2025 | $0.20 |
| Jun 20, 2025 | Jun 26, 2025 | $0.17 |
| Mar 21, 2025 | Mar 27, 2025 | $0.12 |
| Dec 20, 2024 | Dec 27, 2024 | $0.25 |
| Sep 20, 2024 | Sep 26, 2024 | $0.13 |
| Jun 21, 2024 | Jun 27, 2024 | $0.17 |
| Mar 15, 2024 | Mar 21, 2024 | $0.13 |
| Dec 15, 2023 | Dec 21, 2023 | $0.20 |
QLC Risk
- 12.6%
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.
- 1.42
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.
- −23.8%
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.
- 0.99
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
QLC Cost
- The middle half of US Multifactor funds
- Median 0.30%
35 of the 98 US Multifactor funds charge less.