Launched on September 23, 2015, the Northern Trust US Quality Large Cap ETF (QLC) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.
The fund is sponsored by Northern Trust Etfs. It has amassed assets over $1.14 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.
Why Large Cap Blend
Large cap companies usually have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Considered a more stable option, large cap companies boast more predictable cash flows and are less volatile than their mid and small cap counterparts.
Typically holding a combination of both growth and value stocks, blend ETFs also demonstrate qualities seen in value and growth investments.
Costs
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.25%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.95%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund’s holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector — about 36% of the portfolio. Financials and Telecom round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp Common Stock Usd 0.001 (NVDA) accounts for about 8% of total assets, followed by Apple Inc Common Stock Usd 0.00001 (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp Common Stock Usd 0.00000625 (MSFT).
The top 10 holdings account for about 36.22% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
QLC seeks to match the performance of the Northern Trust Quality Large Cap Index before fees and expenses. The Northern Trust Quality Large Cap Index is designed to measure the performance of a universe of large capitalization securities which demonstrate characteristics of better quality, attractive valuation and positive momentum.
The ETF has added about 14.07% so far this year and it’s up approximately 19.19% in the last one year (as of 10/16/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $75.97 and $93.79.
The ETF has a beta of 0.98 and standard deviation of 14.73% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 162 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
