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

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If you're interested in broad exposure to the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, look no further than the Invesco S&P MidCap 400 Pure Growth ETF (RFG - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 03/01/2006.

The fund is sponsored by Invesco. It has amassed assets over $254.27 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

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 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. Further, growth stocks have a higher level of volatility 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

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

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.21%.

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 Energy sector--about 20.40% of the portfolio. Industrials and Financials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Pbf Energy Inc (PBF - Free Report) accounts for about 2.92% of total assets, followed by Builders Firstsource Inc (BLDR - Free Report) and Kinsale Capital Group Inc (KNSL - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 24.54% 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 added about 15.20% so far this year and is up about 14.51% in the last one year (as of 12/19/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $34.48 and $41.34.

The ETF has a beta of 1.14 and standard deviation of 24.08% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 85 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Invesco S&P MidCap 400 Pure Growth 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, RFG is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF (VOT - Free Report) and the iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $11.65 billion in assets, iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $14.32 billion. VOT has an expense ratio of 0.07% and IWP charges 0.23%.

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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