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Is First Trust Mid Cap Value AlphaDEX ETF (FNK) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Making its debut on 04/19/2011, smart beta exchange traded fund First Trust Mid Cap Value AlphaDEX ETF (FNK - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Value category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Because the fund has amassed over $207.80 million, this makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Mid Cap Value. FNK is managed by First Trust Advisors. Before fees and expenses, FNK seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Mid Cap Value Index.
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.
Cost & Other Expenses
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.70%, making it one of the most expensive products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.68%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Representing 26.80% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector; Consumer Discretionary and Industrials round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (GT - Free Report) accounts for about 0.94% of the fund's total assets, followed by United States Steel Corporation (X - Free Report) and Amkor Technology, Inc. (AMKR - Free Report) .
FNK's top 10 holdings account for about 8.39% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the First Trust Mid Cap Value AlphaDEX ETF has lost about -13.84% so far, and is down about -9.37% over the last 12 months (as of 10/07/2022). FNK has traded between $38.16 and $48.46 in this past 52-week period.
FNK has a beta of 1.26 and standard deviation of 33.46% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund 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 is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Mid Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
IShares Russell MidCap Value ETF (IWS - Free Report) tracks Russell MidCap Value Index and the Vanguard MidCap Value ETF (VOE - Free Report) tracks CRSP U.S. Mid Cap Value Index. IShares Russell MidCap Value ETF has $12.42 billion in assets, Vanguard MidCap Value ETF has $14.65 billion. IWS has an expense ratio of 0.23% and VOE charges 0.07%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Mid Cap Value.
Bottom Line
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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Is First Trust Mid Cap Value AlphaDEX ETF (FNK) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Making its debut on 04/19/2011, smart beta exchange traded fund First Trust Mid Cap Value AlphaDEX ETF (FNK - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Value category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Because the fund has amassed over $207.80 million, this makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Mid Cap Value. FNK is managed by First Trust Advisors. Before fees and expenses, FNK seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Mid Cap Value Index.
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.
Cost & Other Expenses
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.70%, making it one of the most expensive products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.68%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Representing 26.80% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector; Consumer Discretionary and Industrials round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (GT - Free Report) accounts for about 0.94% of the fund's total assets, followed by United States Steel Corporation (X - Free Report) and Amkor Technology, Inc. (AMKR - Free Report) .
FNK's top 10 holdings account for about 8.39% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the First Trust Mid Cap Value AlphaDEX ETF has lost about -13.84% so far, and is down about -9.37% over the last 12 months (as of 10/07/2022). FNK has traded between $38.16 and $48.46 in this past 52-week period.
FNK has a beta of 1.26 and standard deviation of 33.46% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund 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 is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Mid Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
IShares Russell MidCap Value ETF (IWS - Free Report) tracks Russell MidCap Value Index and the Vanguard MidCap Value ETF (VOE - Free Report) tracks CRSP U.S. Mid Cap Value Index. IShares Russell MidCap Value ETF has $12.42 billion in assets, Vanguard MidCap Value ETF has $14.65 billion. IWS has an expense ratio of 0.23% and VOE charges 0.07%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Mid Cap Value.
Bottom Line
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.