Since it is March Madness I thought I would have a little fun comparing Large Cap ETF's.
To be included in the "tournament" the following conditions had to be met (Data from TD Amertitrade ETF screener). Each team is "seeded" by total assets, the top two ETF's get #1 Seeds the next two get #2 seeds, and so on. The bracket seed matchups are set up the same way as the NCAA Basketball Bracket, but only with 32 "teams".
1. Asset Class: Equity
2. Morningstar Category: Large Blend, Large Value, or Large Growth.
3. Must have atleast $10 Million in assets.
4. Volume average of greater than 30,000.
5. Greater than 95% exposure to North America.
6. Total 3 year Market return greater than zero.
Because the TD Ameritrade screener only included market return, I went to DividendChannel.com to get Total return's for each fund for the period of March 22 2009 until March 22 2012.
Round 1 | Sweet 16 | Elite 8 | Final 4 | Finals | |||||||||
Seed | Symbol | Description | 3 Yr Tot. Ret. | ||||||||||
1 | (SPY) | SPDR S&P 500 | 80.37% | ||||||||||
16 | (FTA) | First Trust Large Cap Value Opp AlphaDEX | 119.17% | ||||||||||
FTA | 119.17% | ||||||||||||
PRF | 108.05% | ||||||||||||
8 | (VV) | Vanguard Large Cap ETF | 82.36% | ||||||||||
9 | (PRF) | PowerShares FTSE RAFI US 1000 | 108.05% | ||||||||||
FTA | 119.17% | ||||||||||||
DHS | 109.81% | ||||||||||||
5 | (VUG) | Vanguard Growth ETF | 90.61% | ||||||||||
12 | (XLG) | Guggenheim Russell Top 50 | 66.77% | ||||||||||
VUG | 90.61% | ||||||||||||
DHS | 109.81% | ||||||||||||
4 | (SDY) | SPDR S&P Dividend | 78.18% | ||||||||||
13 | (DHS) | WisdomTree Equity Income | 109.81% | ||||||||||
FTA | 119.17% | ||||||||||||
IWF | 89.78% | ||||||||||||
6 | (VTV) | Vanguard Value ETF | 74.49% | ||||||||||
11 | (IYY) | iShares Dow Jones U.S. Index | 84.89% | ||||||||||
IYY | 84.89% | ||||||||||||
DIA | 81.63% | ||||||||||||
3 | (DIA) | SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average | 81.63% | ||||||||||
14 | (MGC) | Vanguard Mega Cap 300 Index ETF | 77.64% | ||||||||||
IYY | 84.89% | ||||||||||||
IWF | 89.78% | ||||||||||||
7 | (OEF) | iShares S&P 100 Index | 73.95% | ||||||||||
10 | (DLN) | WisdomTree LargeCap Dividend | 86.22% | ||||||||||
DLN | 86.22% | ||||||||||||
IWF | 89.78% | ||||||||||||
2 | (IWF) | iShares Russell 1000 Growth Index | 89.78% | ||||||||||
15 | (IWW) | iShares Russell 3000 Value Index | 77.81% | ||||||||||
Champion | |||||||||||||
FTA | 119.17% | FTA | |||||||||||
DTN | 119.00% | ||||||||||||
Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | |||||||||||
Seed | Symbol | Description | 3 Yr Tot. Ret. | ||||||||||
1 | (VTI) | Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | 86.34% | ||||||||||
16 | (PFM) | PowerShares Dividend Achievers | 71.90% | ||||||||||
VTU | 86.34% | ||||||||||||
RSP | 110.70% | ||||||||||||
8 | (RSP) | Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight | 110.70% | ||||||||||
9 | (VYM) | Vanguard High Dividend Yield Indx ETF | 83.51% | ||||||||||
RSP | 110.70% | ||||||||||||
FDL | 96.83% | ||||||||||||
5 | (IWB) | iShares Russell 1000 Index | 84.95% | ||||||||||
12 | (FDL) | First Trust Morningstar Div Leaders Idx | 96.83% | ||||||||||
FDL | 96.83% | ||||||||||||
IVW | 82.35% | ||||||||||||
4 | (IVW) | iShares S&P 500 Growth Index | 82.35% | ||||||||||
13 | (PWV) | PowerShares Dynamic Large Cap Value | 71.15% | ||||||||||
RSP | 110.70% | ||||||||||||
DTN | 119.00% | ||||||||||||
6 | (IVE) | iShares S&P 500 Value Index | 78.46% | ||||||||||
11 | (MGK) | Vanguard Mega Cap 300 Gr Index ETF | 86.64% | ||||||||||
MGK | 86.64% | ||||||||||||
JKE | 87.97% | ||||||||||||
3 | (VIG) | Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF | 71.30% | ||||||||||
14 | (JKE) | iShares Morningstar Large Growth Index | 87.97% | ||||||||||
JKE | 87.97% | ||||||||||||
DTN | 119.00% | ||||||||||||
7 | (IWV) | iShares Russell 3000 Index | 82.35% | ||||||||||
10 | (DTN) | WisdomTree Dividend ex-Financials | 119.00% | ||||||||||
DTN | 119.00% | ||||||||||||
FEX | 104.80% | ||||||||||||
2 | (IWD) | iShares Russell 1000 Value Index | 78.43% | ||||||||||
15 | (FEX) | First Trust Large Cap Core AlphaDEX | 104.80% | ||||||||||
The final 4 Descriptions
Champion: First Trust Large Cap Value Opp AlphaDEX [FTA]
Benchmark Index: Defined Large Cap Value Opportunities Index
Description: The Defined Large Cap Value Opportunities Index is an enhanced index created and administered by Standard & Poors which employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the S&P 500 Value Index.
Second Place: WisdomTree Dividend ex-Financials [DTN]
Benchmark Index: WisdomTree Dividend ex-Financials index
Description: WisdomTree Dividend ex-Financials index measures the performance of high dividend-yielding stocks outside the financial sector. The index consists primarily of large- and mid-capitalization companies listed on major U.S. stock exchanges that pass WisdomTree Investments market capitalization, liquidity and selection requirements.
Third Place: Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight [RSP]
Benchmark Index: S&P Equal Weight Index
Description: The S&P Equal Weight Index is based on the S&P 500. All index constituents are members of the S&P 500 and follow the eligibility criteria for that index. The S&P EWI is maintained in accordance with the index methodology of the S&P 500, which measures 500 leading companies in leading U.S. industries. The S&P EWI measures the performance of the same 500 companies, in equal weights. As such, sector exposures in the S&P EWI will differ.
Fourth Place: iShares Russell 1000 Growth Index [IWF]
Benchmark Index: Russell 1000 Growth Index
Description: The index measures the performance of the large capitalization growth sector of the U.S. equity market.
Closing Thoughts
I thought this would be a fun way to highlight how large Caps have done the last three years. All of the funds are known, but not well known like SPY. Compared to SPY, all the teams that made the final 4 outperformed SPY, and all four ETF's use a wide range of methodologies than SPY.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.
