ETF Evaluator:
FlexShares US Quality Large Cap ETF (QLC)
Follow This ETF
(as of Jul 31)
Best Performing in Large Blend Over the Last Year
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| 43.7% | iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF (MTUM) |
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Risk
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Risk
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ETF Details
FlexShares US Quality Large Cap ETF Overview
FlexShares US Quality Large Cap ETF (QLC) is a passively managed U.S. Equity Large Blend exchange-traded fund (ETF). Flexshares Trust launched the ETF in 2015.
The investment seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Northern Trust Quality Large Cap IndexSM.
The underlying index is designed to reflect the performance of a selection of companies that, in aggregate, possess greater exposure to quality, value and momentum factors relative to a universe of publicly-traded U.S. large-capitalization equity securities. The fund generally will invest under normal circumstances at least 80% of its total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) in the securities of its underlying index.
About FlexShares US Quality Large Cap ETF (QLC)
There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 6.12 years: Keith Carroll (2025), Robert Anstine (2015), Brendan Sullivan (2016) and Yair Walny (2024). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.
The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: S&P 500 (TR) (1970) index with a weighting of 100% and Northern Trust Quality Large Cap TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. FlexShares US Quality Large Cap ETF has 181 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 36.0% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
FlexShares US Quality Large Cap ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity ETF group. FlexShares US Quality Large Cap ETF has 0.7% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 99.1% There is 0.7% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). FlexShares US Quality Large Cap ETF has 0.2% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $975 million in total assets, which is below the $13 billion average for the Large Blend category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
QLC Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The FlexShares US Quality Large Cap ETF expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the Large Blend category. FlexShares US Quality Large Cap ETF has an expense ratio of 0.25%, which is 40% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a B. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. FlexShares US Quality Large Cap ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 19%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.1 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 162% for the Large Blend category.
Recently, in the month of June 2026, FlexShares US Quality Large Cap ETF returned 0.1%, which earned it a grade of C, as the Large Blend category had an average return of -0.0%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.
FlexShares US Quality Large Cap ETF has a trailing yield of 0.94%, which is below the 1.12% category average.
The fund normally distributes its income quarterly.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
FlexShares US Quality Large Cap ETF Grades
Year to date, the ETF has returned 11.6%, 1.3 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 27.8% over the past year (grade of A), 23.7% over the past three years (grade of A) and 15.1% per year over the past five years (grade of A) and 14.9% per year over the past 10 years (grade of C).
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QLC Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 6/30/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| QLC Return (NAV) | 0.1% | 15.4% | 27.8% | 23.7% | 15.1% | 14.9% |
| QLC Return (Price) | -0.1% | 15.3% | 27.5% | 23.6% | 15.0% | 15.0% |
| NAV +/- Price Return | 0.148% | 0.111% | 0.284% | 0.065% | 0.032% | -0.060% |
| Large Blend Avg | -0.0% | 14.5% | 20.9% | 18.8% | 11.8% | 14.1% |
| QLC Grade (NAV) | C | C | A | A | A | C |
| +/- Category (NAV) | 0.1% | 0.9% | 6.9% | 4.8% | 3.3% | 0.8% |
| QLC Tax-Cost Ratio | na | na | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 0.6% |
QLC Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 6/30/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| QLC Return (NAV) | 11.6% | 23.3% | 26.7% | 25.9% | -17.1% | 28.5% | 13.6% | 23.9% | -7.5% | 21.3% | 9.4% |
| QLC Return (Price) | 11.4% | 23.3% | 26.7% | 26.0% | -17.2% | 28.5% | 13.7% | 24.5% | -8.1% | 21.7% | 9.0% |
| NAV +/- Price Ret | -0.013% | -0.000% | 0.002% | 0.006% | 0.004% | -0.001% | 0.002% | 2.5% | 7.8% | 1.9% | -3.5% |
| Large Blend Avg | 10.3% | 15.4% | 21.8% | 22.9% | -17.1% | 26.9% | 18.6% | 29.7% | -5.0% | 21.6% | 11.2% |
| QLC Grade (NAV) | B | A | A | B | C | B | D | F | F | C | D |
| +/- Category | 1.3% | 7.9% | 4.9% | 3.0% | -0.1% | 1.6% | -5.0% | -5.8% | -2.6% | -0.3% | -1.9% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Beta: | 0.97 |
| R-Squared: | 99% |
| Standard Deviation: | 12.7% |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.95 |
| Category Risk Rating: | Below Average |
| Total Risk Index: | 1.04 |
| Total Risk Rating: | Average |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Yield: | 0.9% |
| Total Assets: | $ 976 Mil |
| Share Class Assets: | $ 976 Mil |
| Turnover: | 19.0% |
| Expense Ratio: | 0.25% |
| Index Fund: | Yes |
| Index Tracked: | S&P 500 (TR) (1970) |
| Index Weighting: | 100% |
| Leveraged: | No |
| Socially Responsible Fund: | No |
| Capital Gains Distribution Frequency: | |
| Income Distribution Frequency: | Quarterly |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 4 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 10.8 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 6.1 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Anstine Robert (2015), Sullivan Brendan (2016), Walny Yair (2024), Carroll Keith (2025) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 181 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 36.0% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 0.7% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 99.1% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.7% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 0.2% |
Purchase Information
| Legal Structure: | Open Ended Investment Company |
| Fund Family: | Flexshares Trust |
| Phone Number: | 855-353-9383 |
| Website: | www.flexshares.com |
| Inception Date: | September 23, 2015 |
Expenses and Fees
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.25% (Rating: Below Avg) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.42% |
