First Trust Industrials/Producer Durables AlphaDEX Fund

This ETF offers exposure to the U.S. industrials sector, a corner of the domestic market that includes transportation firms, providers of commercial and professional services, and manufacturers of capital goods. Given the sector-specific focus, FXR likely doesn't deserve a core allocation, but may be useful as a means of implementing a tactical tilt towards the industrials sector. FXR seeks to replicate an index that employs a unique strategy designed to generate excess returns relative to traditional cap-weighted benchmarks. The underlying AlphaDEX Index employs a quant-based screening methodology designed to identify stocks poised for outperformance. In return for exposure to this strategy, which has historically delivered impressive returns, investors can expect to pay a bit more; FXR's expense ratio is about 50 basis points higher than low cost options for industrials exposure such as FIL and XLI. The unique index construction methodology has some other potential advantages; FXR maintains much lower concentration of top holdings than do cap-weighted funds such as XLI. That means that performance isn't as dependent on a handful of large cap stocks, potentially giving a better way to access industrials. For those who believe in the merits of the AlphaDEX methodology and willing to pay a little extra for a shot at alpha, FXR might be worth a closer look. Those looking to keep a cap on expenses and simply own the broader market have cheaper options available to them.