FEX vs SCHX: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

First Trust Large Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund

FEXBNasdaq

Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF

SCHXANYSE Arca

Overlap

33.7%by weight

Expense ratio

SCHX −0.54pt a year

FEX0.57%SCHX0.03%

Avg volume · 30D

SCHX 456.4×the volume

FEX21.8KSCHX9.93M

10Y return · a year

SCHX +2.3pt

FEX+13.0%SCHX+15.3%

FEX vs SCHX Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+62.1%FEX+71.6%SCHX

Expense ratio: FEX 0.57%; SCHX 0.03%, better
Fund size: FEX $1.6B; SCHX $73.2B
1Y total return: FEX +18.8%, better; SCHX +11.5%
Yield (12M): FEX 1.00%; SCHX 1.05%, better
Holdings: FEX 376; SCHX 753
Avg volume (30D): FEX 21.8K sh; SCHX 9.93M sh, better
NAV per share: FEX $137.55; SCHX $29.72
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for FEX, SCHX, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	FEX	SCHX
Cost30% weight	F18	A91Higher
Mission25% weight	A86	A99Higher
Risk15% weight	B59Higher	C48
Tradability15% weight	A79	A88Higher
Holdings10% weight	A88Higher	A70
Durability5% weight	A81	A89Higher

Rank among US Large-Cap funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. FEX and SCHX are both graded against the same 29 US Large-Cap funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

US Large-Cap⁠

Category · 29 funds

See all 29 ›

SCHX ranks 1st and FEX 16th of 29 funds in the US Large-Cap Category.

Rank 1ASCHXSchwab U.S. Large-Cap ETFScore 83
Rank 2ABKLCBNY Mellon US Large Cap Core Equity ETFScore 82
Rank 14BXMAGLarge Cap Ex-Mag 7 ETFScore 61
Rank 16BFEXFirst Trust Large Cap Core AlphaDEX FundScore 60
Rank 17BDSPYTema S&P 500 Historical Weight ETF StrategyScore 59

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

FEXBFirst Trust Large Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund

SCHXASchwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF

In short

FEX Smart beta before anyone called it that. Since 2007, FEX has ranked the 500 biggest US stocks on growth and value metrics, kept the top 375, and weighted them by rank instead of size. An index fund that refuses to just be the market.

SCHX Schwab's no-frills large-cap core: roughly 800 US big names for three basis points, running since 2009. One of the cheapest tickets in a crowded category, and it hugs its index tightly.

Stated mandate

FEX The fund seeks to generally match, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Large Cap Core Index. It normally invests at least 90% of net assets in index securities and uses an indexing approach to replicate the index.

SCHX The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return of the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Total Stock Market Index.

Why people hold it

FEX Weighting by rank, not size: the top scorers are split into quintiles and equal-weighted inside each, so the largest companies don't automatically run the portfolio.sec.gov
Trading since May 2007, it predates most of the factor-ETF boom and has grown into a multi-billion-dollar fund, rebuilt on the same quarterly schedule throughout.sec.gov
Roughly 400 large-cap names, with the tiered weighting keeping individual positions small rather than letting a handful of giants set the tone.sec.gov

SCHX 0.03% a year, well under the typical US large-cap fund's fee. That is the kind of cost floor only the biggest fund shops can hold.
About 800 stocks tracking the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Total Stock Market Index before fees. No themes, no screens, no manager hunches.schwabassetmanagement.com
Tracking has been among the tightest in its peer group: the fund delivers its index with very little slippage.
Live since 2009 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades heavily, so spreads stay thin and the lights are unlikely to go out.

Worth knowing

FEX At 0.57% it runs well above the roughly 0.20% typical for large-cap core, and plain cap-weighted rivals like SCHX (0.03%) and VONE (0.06%) charge a sliver of that.
Rebuilding the portfolio every quarter creates real turnover, which can mean more taxable gains in a brokerage account than a buy-and-hold index fund.sec.gov
It trades thinly next to the household-name index funds in the category, so bid-ask spreads carry more weight on bigger orders.

SCHX Large caps only, despite the index name. Mid and small caps live in a separate fund, so this is one slice of the market, not all of it.
Three basis points is cheap, not free: BKLC in the same peer group runs at zero.
Dividends land quarterly, not monthly, which matters if you're building an income schedule.

Full FEX profile⁠

Full SCHX profile⁠

FEX vs SCHX Holdings

How FEX and SCHX differ

Overlap by weight

33.7%

Shared holdings make up 99.8% of FEX and 79.7% of SCHX.

Level by level

Holdings375 in both33.7%
Sector11 Sectors77.4%
Countryby domicile98.6%
Asset classEquity100%

Sector

Sector weights in FEX and SCHX, widest gap first
Sector	More in FEXMore in SCHX	FEX	SCHX
Technology	SCHX +17.4 points	21.4%	38.8%
Industrials	FEX +7.9 points	16.0%	8.1%
Utilities	FEX +4.7 points	6.7%	2.0%
Communication	SCHX +4.3 points	4.2%	8.5%
Energy	FEX +3.7 points	7.5%	3.8%
Financials	FEX +2.5 points	14.2%	11.7%
Real Estate	FEX +1.8 points	3.7%	1.9%
Consumer Discretionary	SCHX +1.0 points	7.9%	8.9%
Materials	FEX +0.9 points	2.9%	2.0%
Health Care	FEX +0.6 points	10.4%	9.8%
Consumer Staples	FEX +0.5 points	5.0%	4.6%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in FEX and SCHX, widest gap first
Country	More in FEXMore in SCHX	FEX	SCHX
United States	SCHX +1.4 points	98.1%	99.5%
Other countries (6)	FEX +1.3 points	1.9%	0.6%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

FEX5.3%
SCHX35.3%

Securities held

FEX375
SCHX753

Asset class

FEX: Equity
SCHX: Equity

Holdings

Only in FEX0
In both375
Only in SCHX378

Only in FEX

0 securities, 0.0% of FEX by weight

Only in SCHX

378 securities, 20.3% of SCHX by weight

Alphabet Class C1.91%
Tesla Inc1.62%
Walmart0.77%
Costco Wholesale Corp0.63%
Thermo Fisher Scientific0.37%
Netflix0.37%
International Business Machines Co0.35%
Oracle0.34%
Linde PLC0.33%
Space Exploration Technologies Cor0.28%
Mcdonalds Corp0.26%
Nextera Energy0.24%
BlackRock0.24%
Deere0.24%
Intuitive Surgical0.23%
Tjx0.22%
Charles Schwab0.20%
S&P Global0.20%
Boeing0.19%
Uber Technologies0.19%
Altria Group Inc0.18%
Prologis Reit0.17%
Mckesson Corp0.16%
Automatic Data Processing Inc0.16%
Booking Holdings0.16%
Stryker0.15%
Cme Group Class A0.15%
Corning0.14%
Duke Energy Corp0.14%
Cadence Design Systems0.13%
Synopsys0.13%
Williams0.13%
Blackstone0.13%
American Tower Reit0.12%
Waste Management Inc0.12%
Howmet Aerospace0.12%
Royal Caribbean Group0.11%
Norfolk Southern Corp0.11%
Sherwin Williams0.11%
Colgate-Palmolive0.11%
Illinois Tool Inc0.10%
O Reilly Automotive0.10%
Cummins Inc0.10%
Air Products and Chemicals0.10%
Applovin Class A0.10%
Arthur J Gallagher0.10%
Aon PLC Class A0.10%
Nxp Semiconductors NV0.10%
Transdigm Group0.09%
Digital Realty Trust Reit0.09%

Weight gaps

The 100 widest of 375 Holdings in both funds.

Holding weights in FEX and SCHX, widest gap first
Holding	More in FEXMore in SCHX	FEX	SCHX
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA	SCHX +6.97 points	0.38%	7.35%
Apple Inc.AAPL	SCHX +6.88 points	0.35%	7.23%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT	SCHX +5.42 points	0.17%	5.59%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN	SCHX +3.07 points	0.33%	3.40%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO	SCHX +2.25 points	0.08%	2.33%
Alphabet Inc. (Class A)GOOGL	SCHX +2.16 points	0.21%	2.37%
Meta Platforms, Inc. (Class A)META	SCHX +1.67 points	0.29%	1.96%
JPMorgan Chase & Co.JPM	SCHX +1.21 points	0.09%	1.30%
Micron Technology, Inc.MU	SCHX +1.15 points	0.35%	1.50%
Eli Lilly and CompanyLLY	SCHX +1.14 points	0.42%	1.56%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (Class B)BRK.B	SCHX +0.96 points	0.47%	1.43%
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.AMD	SCHX +0.96 points	0.35%	1.31%
Visa Inc. (Class A)V	SCHX +0.79 points	0.20%	0.99%
Johnson & JohnsonJNJ	SCHX +0.76 points	0.18%	0.94%
ExxonMobil Holdings Corp.XOM	SCHX +0.68 points	0.39%	1.07%
Mastercard IncorporatedMA	SCHX +0.63 points	0.10%	0.73%
Intel CorporationINTC	SCHX +0.60 points	0.05%	0.65%
PTC Inc.PTC	FEX +0.57 points	0.60%	0.03%
AbbVie Inc.ABBV	SCHX +0.54 points	0.19%	0.73%
Ovintiv Inc.OVV	FEX +0.51 points	0.54%	0.03%
Roper Technologies, Inc.ROP	FEX +0.51 points	0.57%	0.06%
Permian Resources Corp.PR	FEX +0.50 points	0.53%	0.03%
Constellation Brands, Inc. (Class A)STZ	FEX +0.48 points	0.51%	0.03%
Leidos Holdings, Inc.LDOS	FEX +0.47 points	0.50%	0.03%
Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.FIS	FEX +0.47 points	0.50%	0.03%
SharkNinja Inc.SN	FEX +0.47 points	0.49%	0.02%
Amcor plcAMCR	FEX +0.45 points	0.48%	0.03%
Carnival Corporation Ltd.CCL	FEX +0.45 points	0.50%	0.05%
Cincinnati Financial CorporationCINF	FEX +0.45 points	0.49%	0.04%
Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.BR	FEX +0.44 points	0.47%	0.03%
Cognizant Technology Solutions CorporationCTSH	FEX +0.44 points	0.48%	0.04%
Arch Capital Group Ltd.ACGL	FEX +0.44 points	0.49%	0.05%
EQT CorporationEQT	FEX +0.44 points	0.49%	0.05%
Fiserv, Inc.FISV	FEX +0.43 points	0.47%	0.04%
The Procter & Gamble CompanyPG	SCHX +0.43 points	0.10%	0.53%
Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.MLM	FEX +0.43 points	0.48%	0.05%
Edison InternationalEIX	FEX +0.44 points	0.47%	0.03%
Markel Group IncMKL	FEX +0.44 points	0.47%	0.03%
HF Sinclair Corp.DINO	FEX +0.44 points	0.46%	0.02%
CF Industries Holdings, Inc.CF	FEX +0.43 points	0.46%	0.03%
Expand Energy CorporationEXE	FEX +0.43 points	0.46%	0.03%
UnitedHealth Group IncorporatedUNH	SCHX +0.43 points	0.09%	0.52%
Occidental Petroleum CorporationOXY	FEX +0.42 points	0.49%	0.07%
PulteGroup, Inc.PHM	FEX +0.43 points	0.46%	0.03%
Medpace Holdings, Inc.MEDP	FEX +0.43 points	0.45%	0.02%
Expeditors International of Washington, Inc.EXPD	FEX +0.42 points	0.46%	0.04%
PG&E CorporationPCG	FEX +0.42 points	0.46%	0.04%
Synchrony FinancialSYF	FEX +0.41 points	0.45%	0.04%
VICI Properties Inc.VICI	FEX +0.41 points	0.45%	0.04%
Charter Communications, Inc. (Class A)CHTR	FEX +0.41 points	0.43%	0.02%
The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc.HIG	FEX +0.41 points	0.46%	0.05%
Applied Materials, Inc.AMAT	SCHX +0.41 points	0.07%	0.48%
American International Group, Inc.AIG	FEX +0.41 points	0.47%	0.06%
The Allstate CorporationALL	FEX +0.41 points	0.50%	0.09%
Devon Energy CorporationDVN	FEX +0.40 points	0.48%	0.08%
Corpay, Inc.CPAY	FEX +0.40 points	0.44%	0.04%
D.R. Horton, Inc.DHI	FEX +0.41 points	0.46%	0.05%
Fox Corporation (Class A)FOXA	FEX +0.40 points	0.43%	0.03%
Incyte CorporationINCY	FEX +0.39 points	0.42%	0.03%
T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.TROW	FEX +0.40 points	0.43%	0.03%
PayPal Holdings, Inc.PYPL	FEX +0.39 points	0.46%	0.07%
Guardant Health, Inc.GH	FEX +0.39 points	0.43%	0.04%
EOG Resources, Inc.EOG	FEX +0.39 points	0.51%	0.12%
Annaly Capital Management, Inc.NLY	FEX +0.39 points	0.41%	0.02%
CRH PlcCRH	FEX +0.38 points	0.47%	0.09%
Ball CorporationBALL	FEX +0.39 points	0.41%	0.02%
Jones Lang LaSalle IncorporatedJLL	FEX +0.38 points	0.40%	0.02%
GE AerospaceGE	SCHX +0.38 points	0.08%	0.46%
Global Payments Inc.GPN	FEX +0.38 points	0.41%	0.03%
Okta, Inc.OKTA	FEX +0.38 points	0.43%	0.05%
The Home Depot, Inc.HD	SCHX +0.37 points	0.10%	0.47%
Dollar Tree, Inc.DLTR	FEX +0.36 points	0.40%	0.04%
DexCom, Inc.DXCM	FEX +0.37 points	0.41%	0.04%
First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (Class A)FCNCA	FEX +0.36 points	0.39%	0.03%
Cisco Systems, Inc.CSCO	SCHX +0.36 points	0.25%	0.61%
The Cigna GroupCI	FEX +0.36 points	0.47%	0.11%
The Travelers Companies, Inc.TRV	FEX +0.35 points	0.47%	0.12%
PPG Industries, Inc.PPG	FEX +0.35 points	0.39%	0.04%
Everpure, Inc. (Class A)P	FEX +0.35 points	0.41%	0.06%
Evergy, Inc.EVRG	FEX +0.34 points	0.37%	0.03%
Halliburton CompanyHAL	FEX +0.35 points	0.39%	0.04%
NetApp, Inc.NTAP	FEX +0.34 points	0.40%	0.06%
Zoetis Inc.ZTS	FEX +0.34 points	0.39%	0.05%
Comcast Corporation (Class A)CMCSA	FEX +0.35 points	0.46%	0.11%
Copart, Inc.CPRT	FEX +0.34 points	0.38%	0.04%
Honeywell International Inc.HON	FEX +0.34 points	0.44%	0.10%
Natera, Inc.NTRA	FEX +0.34 points	0.43%	0.09%
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.WST	FEX +0.34 points	0.38%	0.04%
Loews CorporationL	FEX +0.33 points	0.36%	0.03%
Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.ZBH	FEX +0.33 points	0.36%	0.03%
Ameren CorporationAEE	FEX +0.34 points	0.38%	0.04%
Diamondback Energy, Inc.FANG	FEX +0.33 points	0.39%	0.06%
Tenet Healthcare CorporationTHC	FEX +0.34 points	0.37%	0.03%
PPL CorporationPPL	FEX +0.33 points	0.37%	0.04%
Consolidated Edison, Inc.ED	FEX +0.33 points	0.39%	0.06%
Eversource EnergyES	FEX +0.33 points	0.36%	0.04%
Lam Research CorporationLRCX	SCHX +0.33 points	0.12%	0.45%
Expedia Group, Inc.EXPE	FEX +0.32 points	0.37%	0.05%
The Coca-Cola CompanyKO	SCHX +0.32 points	0.19%	0.51%
Exelon CorporationEXC	FEX +0.32 points	0.39%	0.07%

All 375 FEX holdings⁠All 754 SCHX holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

FEX vs SCHX Cost

Overpaying FEX vs SCHX

$10,633

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

FEX 0.57%
$11,271
SCHX 0.03%
$638

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

FEX 0.57%
SCHX 0.03%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	FEX	SCHX	Overpaying
10	$1,023	$55	$968
20	$3,921	$216	$3,705
30	$11,271	$638	$10,633

Expense ratio

0.57%FEX
0.03%SCHX, cheaper

SCHX0.03%FEX0.57%

0.00%1.25%

Middle half of US Large-Cap funds
Median 0.20%

SCHX 3rd cheapest of 29 funds

FEX 24th cheapest of 29 funds

FEX vs SCHX Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): FEX 1.00%; SCHX 1.05%, better
Payout (12M): FEX $1.38; SCHX $0.31
Last payment: FEX $0.41; SCHX $0.08
Ex-dividend: FEX Sep 24, 2026; SCHX Sep 23, 2026
Paid on: FEX Sep 30, 2026; SCHX Sep 28, 2026
Frequency: FEX Quarterly; SCHX Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

FEXQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll FEX payments⁠

SCHXQuarterly · 41 paymentsAll SCHX payments⁠

FEX vs SCHX Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

FEX
SCHX

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: FEX 13.1%SCHX 12.5%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: FEX 1.27SCHX 1.40, better
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: FEX −21.3%, betterSCHX −25.4%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: FEX 0.95SCHX 1.01; Market = 1

FEX and SCHX in the news

All news⁠

Category Review
Broad U.S. large-cap funds kept pace with the S&P 500 this year. The top 50 did not.
Updated Oct 16, 2026SCHX

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FEX vs SCHX

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it

Worth knowing

How FEX and SCHX differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in FEX

Only in SCHX

Weight gaps

Cost over time

Year by year

Distribution history

Fall from peak · 5 years

Risk facts

Broad U.S. large-cap funds kept pace with the S&P 500 this year. The top 50 did not.

How FEX and SCHX differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in FEX

Only in SCHX

Weight gaps