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

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The Invesco S&P MidCap 400 Pure Growth ETF (RFG - Free Report) was launched on 03/01/2006, 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 Invesco. It has amassed assets over $246.70 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

Compared to large and small cap companies, mid cap businesses tend to have higher growth prospects and are less volatile, respectively, with market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion. These types of companies, then, have a good balance of stability and growth potential.

While growth stocks do boast higher than average sales and earnings growth rates, and they are expected to grow faster than the wider market, investors should note these kinds of stocks have higher valuations. Further, growth stocks have a higher level of volatility associated with them. They are likely to outperform value stocks in strong bull markets but over the longer-term, value stocks have delivered better returns than growth stocks in almost all markets.

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 0.97%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Energy sector--about 18.40% of the portfolio. Industrials and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Annaly Capital Management Inc (NLY - Free Report) accounts for about 2.76% of total assets, followed by Pbf Energy Inc (PBF - Free Report) and Antero Resources Corp (AR - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 23.26% 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 gained about 2.44% so far this year and is down about -6.29% in the last one year (as of 04/11/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $159.15 and $203.64.

The ETF has a beta of 1.17 and standard deviation of 26.29% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 79 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 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 $9.93 billion in assets, iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $12.07 billion. VOT has an expense ratio of 0.07% and IWP charges 0.23%.

Bottom-Line

While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.

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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