First Trust Multi Cap Gr AlphaDEX® ETF’s management team is rated Average, but a solid investment process still helps this strategy retain its Morningstar Medalist Rating of Silver. The portfolio maintains a cost advantage over competitors, priced within the cheapest fee quintile among peers.  

 The strategy's sensible investment philosophy merits an Above Average Process Pillar rating. Independent of the rating, analysis of the strategy's portfolio shows it has maintained a significant overweight position in yield exposure and momentum exposure compared with category peers. High yield exposure is attributed to holding high dividend-paying or buyback stocks, and is suitable for income seekers outside of fixed-income. And momentum exposure is rooted in holding stocks currently on a winning streak. The strategy’s management team earns an Average People Pillar rating. The strategy's parent organization earns the firm an Average Parent Pillar rating. People Pillar and Parent Pillar ratings for this strategy are indirectly assigned by a Morningstar analyst rather than algorithmically derived. Please see the notes following each pillar section for more details. The details of assigning methods can be found in each pillar section.

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Morningstar's evaluation of this security's process aims to determine the likelihood that it will outperform its Morningstar Category benchmark on a risk-adjusted basis over the long term. First Trust Multi Cap Growth AlphaDEX®Fd earns an Above Average Process Pillar rating. 

The most important driver of the rating is the fund's impressive long-term risk-adjusted performance. This can be seen in its five-year alpha calculated relative to the category average, which suggests that the managers have shown skill in their allocation of risk. This fund tracks an index, which also increases its process rating. Historical data, like Morningstar's Active/Passive Barometer, shows that passively managed funds have generally outperformed their active counterparts, especially over longer time horizons. Lastly, the process is limited by the parent firm's five-year risk-adjusted success ratio of 29%. The measure indicates the percentage of a firm's funds that survived and outperformed their respective category's median Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return for the period. The parent's modest success ratio suggests that the firm could do better across its fund lineup.

 This strategy leans toward smaller, more value-oriented companies compared with its average peer in the Mid-Cap Growth Morningstar Category. Looking at additional factor exposure, the managers have consistently overweighted yield-paying companies compared with Morningstar Category peers in recent years, shown by the portfolio's high exposure to stocks paying dividends or buying back shares. High-yield stocks tend to be associated with more mature, profitable businesses that can grow as well as provide a stream of income. Such stocks could suffer, however, if setbacks force them to cut their dividends. In recent months, the strategy was more exposed to the Yield factor compared with its Morningstar Category peers as well. This strategy has had more exposure to high-momentum stocks over its peers in recent years. Momentum is based on the premise that market outperformers will continue to outperform, and laggards will continue to lag. This means that managers are overweighting stocks currently on a winning streak. Compared with category peers, the strategy also had more exposure to the Momentum factor in the most recent month. In addition, this strategy has not maintained a defensive tilt, demonstrated by low exposure to the quality factor. This means the fund avoids holding firms that are consistently profitable, growing, and have solid balance sheets. Such positions do not tend to provide much ballast for a portfolio. In recent months, the strategy also had less Quality factor exposure than its peers. More information on a fund and its respective category's factor exposure can be found in the Factor Profile module within the Portfolio section. 

 The portfolio is overweight in industrials by 6.3 percentage points in terms of assets compared with the category average, and its consumer cyclical allocation is similar to the category. The sectors with low exposure compared to category peers are healthcare and financial services, underweight the average by 9.3 and 2.5 percentage points of assets, respectively. The portfolio is positioned across 677 holdings and its assets are more dispersed than peers in the category. In particular, 6.1% of the portfolio's assets are concentrated in the top 10 fund holdings, as opposed to the category average's 26.1%. And in closing, in terms of portfolio turnover, looking at year-over-year movements, 125% of the fund's holdings have turned over, whether through increasing, decreasing, or changing a position.

Above Average

Process

First Trust’s equity team is valuable but does not stand out as one of the industry's best, warranting an Average People Pillar rating. There’s a sizable bench of seven managers listed on the fund. The team is well equipped, with an average of 22 years of portfolio management experience. Together, they manage a total of 108 strategies, with a Bronze asset-weighted average Morningstar Medalist Rating, indicating the potential to deliver positive alpha relative to the category median in aggregate. This group has had relatively low management turnover, providing a stable environment and continuity for the strategies. 

 Note: This People Pillar rating is indirectly assigned by an analyst. Morningstar analysts evaluate the People Pillar for passive products at the brand level and may also differentiate by asset class. There is at least one other passive strategy at the firm that is covered by a Morningstar analyst, so the People Pillar rating of the fund is inherited from the rating that the Morningstar analyst assigned to investment vehicles under the same brand name.

Average

People

First Trust meets the industry standard for stewardship, but it could do more to align itself with investors. It earns an Average Parent rating.

This is a team-oriented organization that eschews star managers. While exchange-traded funds represent the bulk of the firm's assets, First Trust bypasses the competitive market for low-cost beta funds, instead opting for complex strategies with higher management fees. However, the firm's focus on ETFs for future product development underpins its commitment to tax efficiency and transparency. Some of its thematic strategies appear trendy, but it stands behind them and rarely liquidates funds. 

The firm is a private partnership, controlled by Jim Bowen, the CEO. Many senior managers are limited partners. This ownership structure helps the firm stay focused on the long term and promotes retention, which has been strong for the investment team. The firm has grown considerably over the past decade and is among the largest providers of actively managed ETFs, as well as unit investment trusts. As it has grown, the firm has expanded its investment team and beefed up its technology infrastructure.

First Trust's focus is on educating advisors and providing them solutions. This may benefit investors indirectly, but First Trust could do more to directly align with investors by cutting fees and limiting trendy strategies.

Parent

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