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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 $347.32 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
Small cap companies have market capitalization below $2 billion. They usually have higher potential than large and mid cap companies with stocks but 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. Additionally, growth stocks have a greater level of risk associated with them. When you consider growth versus value, growth stocks are usually the clear winner in strong bull markets but tend to fall flat in nearly all other environments.
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 0.71%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.12%.
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 20% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Dillard's, Inc. (class A) (DDS - Free Report) accounts for about 0.80% of total assets, followed by Lendingclub Corporation (LC - Free Report) and Meta Financial Group, Inc. (CASH - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 7.24% 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 return is roughly 19.72% so far this year and is up about 27.43% in the last one year (as of 12/07/2021). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $57.99 and $80.47.
The ETF has a beta of 1.21 and standard deviation of 30.25% 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 carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, FYC is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Growth area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
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 $11.51 billion in assets, Vanguard SmallCap Growth ETF has $15.69 billion. IWO has an expense ratio of 0.24% and VBK charges 0.07%.
Bottom-Line
Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are 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 $347.32 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
Small cap companies have market capitalization below $2 billion. They usually have higher potential than large and mid cap companies with stocks but 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. Additionally, growth stocks have a greater level of risk associated with them. When you consider growth versus value, growth stocks are usually the clear winner in strong bull markets but tend to fall flat in nearly all other environments.
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 0.71%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.12%.
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 20% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Dillard's, Inc. (class A) (DDS - Free Report) accounts for about 0.80% of total assets, followed by Lendingclub Corporation (LC - Free Report) and Meta Financial Group, Inc. (CASH - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 7.24% 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 return is roughly 19.72% so far this year and is up about 27.43% in the last one year (as of 12/07/2021). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $57.99 and $80.47.
The ETF has a beta of 1.21 and standard deviation of 30.25% 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 carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, FYC is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Growth area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
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 $11.51 billion in assets, Vanguard SmallCap Growth ETF has $15.69 billion. IWO has an expense ratio of 0.24% and VBK charges 0.07%.
Bottom-Line
Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are 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.