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Should First Trust Mid Cap Value AlphaDEX ETF (FNK) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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The First Trust Mid Cap Value AlphaDEX ETF (FNK - Free Report) was launched on 04/19/2011, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Mid Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $212.32 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Mid Cap Value

Mid cap companies have market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion. They usually have higher growth prospects than large cap companies and are less volatile than small cap companies. Thus, companies that fall under this category provide a stable and growth-heavy investment.

Value stocks have lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios. They also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. While value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in nearly all markets when you consider long-term performance, growth stocks are more likely to outpace value stocks in strong bull markets.

Costs

Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts, other things remaining the same.

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 1.31%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector--about 28.30% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, The Mosaic Company (MOS - Free Report) accounts for about 0.83% of total assets, followed by Iac/interactivecorp. (IAC - Free Report) and Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (JEF - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 7.91% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

FNK seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Mid Cap Value Index before fees and expenses. The NASDAQ AlphaDEX Mid Cap Value Index is an enhanced index which employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the NASDAQ US 600 Mid Cap Value Index.

The ETF has lost about -3.45% so far this year and is up roughly 22.19% in the last one year (as of 01/26/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $36.29 and $48.46.

The ETF has a beta of 1.40 and standard deviation of 32.31% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 226 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

First Trust Mid Cap Value 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, FNK is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Value segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The iShares Russell MidCap Value ETF (IWS - Free Report) and the Vanguard MidCap Value ETF (VOE - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell MidCap Value ETF has $14.45 billion in assets, Vanguard MidCap Value ETF has $15.39 billion. IWS has an expense ratio of 0.23% and VOE 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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