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Should First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FNY) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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The First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FNY - 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 Growth segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $295.79 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. These types of companies, then, have a good balance of stability and growth potential.

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

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

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%.

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 Healthcare sector--about 17.90% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, H&r Block, Inc. (HRB - Free Report) accounts for about 1.17% of total assets, followed by Us Dollar ($USD) and Murphy Usa Inc. (MUSA - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 9.48% 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 lost about -16.84% so far this year and is down about -15.57% in the last one year (as of 08/24/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $53.88 and $79.63.

The ETF has a beta of 1.13 and standard deviation of 28.26% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 224 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX 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, FNY is a sufficient 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 $10.14 billion in assets, iShares Russell MidCap Growth ETF has $12.53 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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