We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Should First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund (FNY) Be on Your Investing Radar?
Read MoreHide Full Article
Launched on 04/19/2011, the First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund (FNY - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.
The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $204.16 M, 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, with market capitalization in the range of $2 billion and $10 billion, offer investors many things that small and large companies don't, including less risk and higher growth opportunities. Thus they have a nice balance of growth potential and stability.
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. Compared to value stocks, growth stocks are a safer bet in a strong bull market, but don't perform as strongly in almost all other financial 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 0.70%, making it one of the most expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.12%.
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 Information Technology sector--about 28% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Healthcare round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. (SRPT - Free Report) accounts for about 1.22% of total assets, followed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. (WTW - Free Report) and Five Below, Inc. (FIVE - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 9.33% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
FNY seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Mid Cap Growth Index before fees and expenses. The NASDAQ AlphaDEX Mid Cap Growth Index is an enhanced which employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the NASDAQ US 600 Mid Cap Growth Index.
The ETF has added about 14.49% so far this year and was up about 25.65% in the last one year (as of 07/26/2018). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $33.99 and $45.26.
The ETF has a beta of 0.98 and standard deviation of 14.80% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 225 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund 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, FNY is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Mid Cap ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
The iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (IJK - Free Report) and the iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF has $8.20 B in assets, iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $9.25 B. IJK has an expense ratio of 0.25% and IWP charges 0.25%.
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.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
Should First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund (FNY) Be on Your Investing Radar?
Launched on 04/19/2011, the First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund (FNY - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.
The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $204.16 M, 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, with market capitalization in the range of $2 billion and $10 billion, offer investors many things that small and large companies don't, including less risk and higher growth opportunities. Thus they have a nice balance of growth potential and stability.
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. Compared to value stocks, growth stocks are a safer bet in a strong bull market, but don't perform as strongly in almost all other financial 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 0.70%, making it one of the most expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.12%.
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 Information Technology sector--about 28% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Healthcare round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. (SRPT - Free Report) accounts for about 1.22% of total assets, followed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. (WTW - Free Report) and Five Below, Inc. (FIVE - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 9.33% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
FNY seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Mid Cap Growth Index before fees and expenses. The NASDAQ AlphaDEX Mid Cap Growth Index is an enhanced which employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the NASDAQ US 600 Mid Cap Growth Index.
The ETF has added about 14.49% so far this year and was up about 25.65% in the last one year (as of 07/26/2018). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $33.99 and $45.26.
The ETF has a beta of 0.98 and standard deviation of 14.80% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 225 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund 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, FNY is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Mid Cap ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
The iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (IJK - Free Report) and the iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF has $8.20 B in assets, iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $9.25 B. IJK has an expense ratio of 0.25% and IWP charges 0.25%.
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.