FTA vs SDOG: how they differ
FTA and SDOG hold 17% of their weight in the same names, and SDOG returned +20.4% over the year. First Trust Large Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund and ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF.
SDOG costs 0.22 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.6 points.
| FTA | SDOG | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.58% | 0.36% |
| Net assets, FTA as of Oct 9, 2026 and SDOG as of May 31, 2026 | $1.4bn | $1.4bn |
| Total return, 1 year | +19.8% | +20.4% |
| Holdings in common | 17% | |
| Nasdaq-100, total return, 1 year | +23.6% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 9.5% | 26.2% |
| Below its high | 6.0%, high on Aug 24, 2026 | 6.5%, high on Aug 19, 2026 |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Oct 9, 2026.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, FTA and SDOG hold 17% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Oct 9, 2026.
half
17% in common
On the same fields
FTA and SDOG on the fields both publish, as of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
FTA in plain words
FTA tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +19.8% with distributions reinvested, against +17.3% for the S&P 500 and +23.6% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.58% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 9, 2026, 93% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 187 positions, with the top ten at 9.5%. It sat 6.0% below its high of Aug 24, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.
SDOG in plain words
SDOG tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +20.4% with distributions reinvested, against +17.3% for the S&P 500 and +23.6% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.36% a year. By its holdings filed for May 31, 2026, 98% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 50 positions, with the top ten at 26.2%. It sat 6.5% below its high of Aug 19, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, FTA or SDOG?
- In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FTA returned +19.8% and SDOG +20.4%.
- Which is cheaper, FTA or SDOG?
- SDOG is cheaper, by 0.22 percentage points a year. On $10,000 held for a year that difference is about $22. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed.
ETFIQ, FTA against SDOG, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fta-vs-sdog
ETFIQ. (Oct 9, 2026). FTA against SDOG. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fta-vs-sdog
[FTA against SDOG (ETFIQ, Oct 9, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fta-vs-sdog)
Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.