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Should Invesco S&P MidCap 400 Pure Growth ETF (RFG) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, the Invesco S&P MidCap 400 Pure Growth ETF (RFG - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 03/01/2006.

The fund is sponsored by Invesco. It has amassed assets over $269.06 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Mid Cap Growth

With market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion, mid cap companies usually contain higher growth prospects than large cap companies, and are considered less risky than their small cap counterparts. Thus they have a nice balance of growth potential and stability.

Qualities of growth stocks include faster growth rates compared to the broader market, as well as higher valuations and higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. 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

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 0.35%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.35%.

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 19.60% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Shockwave Medical Inc (SWAV - Free Report) accounts for about 5.72% of total assets, followed by Slm Corp (SLM - Free Report) and Navient Corp (NAVI - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 26.94% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

RFG seeks to match the performance of the S&P MidCap 400 Pure Growth Index before fees and expenses. The S&P MidCap 400 Pure Growth Index measures the performance of securities that exhibit strong growth characteristics in the S&P MidCap 400 Index.

The ETF has lost about -18.41% so far this year and is down about -16.90% in the last one year (as of 08/01/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $159.15 and $245.79.

The ETF has a beta of 1.16 and standard deviation of 30.50% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 91 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Invesco S&P MidCap 400 Pure Growth 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, RFG is a good option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The Vanguard MidCap Growth ETF (VOT - Free Report) and the iShares Russell MidCap Growth ETF (IWP - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard MidCap Growth ETF has $9.92 billion in assets, iShares Russell MidCap Growth ETF has $12.42 billion. VOT has an expense ratio of 0.07% and IWP charges 0.23%.

Bottom-Line

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they 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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