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Should First Trust Small Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FYC) Be on Your Investing Radar?
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Launched on 04/19/2011, the First Trust Small Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FYC - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Small Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.
The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $429.70 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.
Why Small Cap Growth
Sitting at a market capitalization below $2 billion, small cap companies tend to be high-potential stocks compared to its large and mid cap counterparts, but come with higher risk.
Growth stocks have higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. While these are expected to grow faster than the broader market, they also have higher valuations. Something to keep in mind is the higher level of volatility that is affiliated with growth stocks. Even though growth stocks are more likely to outperform their value counterparts in strong bull markets, value stocks have a record of delivering better returns in almost all markets than growth stocks.
Costs
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.70%, making it one of the most expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.10%.
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 Healthcare sector--about 25.90% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Plug Power Inc. (PLUG - Free Report) accounts for about 1.12% of total assets, followed by Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. (NTLA - Free Report) and At Home Group Inc. .
The top 10 holdings account for about 8.08% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
FYC seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Small Cap Growth Index before fees and expenses. The NASDAQ AlphaDEX Small Cap Growth Index is an enhanced which employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the NASDAQ US 700 Small Cap Growth Index.
The ETF has added roughly 19.20% so far this year and is up about 50.72% in the last one year (as of 02/19/2021). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $27.59 and $75.91.
The ETF has a beta of 1.30 and standard deviation of 29.31% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 263 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust Small Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, FYC is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
The iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO - Free Report) and the Vanguard SmallCap Growth ETF (VBK - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF has $12.99 billion in assets, Vanguard SmallCap Growth ETF has $15.80 billion. IWO has an expense ratio of 0.24% and VBK charges 0.07%.
Bottom-Line
Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.
To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.
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Should First Trust Small Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FYC) Be on Your Investing Radar?
Launched on 04/19/2011, the First Trust Small Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FYC - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Small Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.
The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $429.70 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.
Why Small Cap Growth
Sitting at a market capitalization below $2 billion, small cap companies tend to be high-potential stocks compared to its large and mid cap counterparts, but come with higher risk.
Growth stocks have higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. While these are expected to grow faster than the broader market, they also have higher valuations. Something to keep in mind is the higher level of volatility that is affiliated with growth stocks. Even though growth stocks are more likely to outperform their value counterparts in strong bull markets, value stocks have a record of delivering better returns in almost all markets than growth stocks.
Costs
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.70%, making it one of the most expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.10%.
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 Healthcare sector--about 25.90% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Plug Power Inc. (PLUG - Free Report) accounts for about 1.12% of total assets, followed by Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. (NTLA - Free Report) and At Home Group Inc. .
The top 10 holdings account for about 8.08% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
FYC seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Small Cap Growth Index before fees and expenses. The NASDAQ AlphaDEX Small Cap Growth Index is an enhanced which employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the NASDAQ US 700 Small Cap Growth Index.
The ETF has added roughly 19.20% so far this year and is up about 50.72% in the last one year (as of 02/19/2021). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $27.59 and $75.91.
The ETF has a beta of 1.30 and standard deviation of 29.31% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 263 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust Small Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, FYC is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
The iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO - Free Report) and the Vanguard SmallCap Growth ETF (VBK - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF has $12.99 billion in assets, Vanguard SmallCap Growth ETF has $15.80 billion. IWO has an expense ratio of 0.24% and VBK charges 0.07%.
Bottom-Line
Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.
To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.