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Should First Trust Small Cap Core AlphaDEX ETF (FYX) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Looking for broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market? You should consider the First Trust Small Cap Core AlphaDEX ETF (FYX - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 05/08/2007.

The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $879.17 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Blend

Sitting at a market capitalization below $2 billion, small cap companies tend to be high-potential stocks compared to its large and mid cap counterparts, but come with higher risk.

Blend ETFs usually hold a mix of growth and value stocks as well as stocks that exhibit both value and growth characteristics.

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 0.60%, making it one of the more expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.22%.

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 Financials sector--about 24.70% of the portfolio. Industrials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, United States Cellular Corporation (USM - Free Report) accounts for about 0.79% of total assets, followed by Telephone And Data Systems, Inc. (TDS - Free Report) and Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. (HPP - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 4.97% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

FYX seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Small Cap Core Index before fees and expenses. The NASDAQ AlphaDEX Small Cap Core Index is an enhanced index which employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the NASDAQ US 700 Small Cap Index.

The ETF has gained about 18.14% so far this year and it's up approximately 17.97% in the last one year (as of 01/01/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $74.82 and $93.04.

The ETF has a beta of 1.26 and standard deviation of 23.04% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 526 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

First Trust Small Cap Core 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, FYX is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM - Free Report) and the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 ETF has $66.44 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $76.98 billion. IWM has an expense ratio of 0.19% and IJR charges 0.06%.

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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