We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience.
This includes personalizing content and advertising.
By pressing "Accept All" or closing out of this banner, you consent to the use of all cookies and similar technologies and the sharing of information they collect with third parties.
You can reject marketing cookies by pressing "Deny Optional," but we still use essential, performance, and functional cookies.
In addition, whether you "Accept All," Deny Optional," click the X or otherwise continue to use the site, you accept our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, revised from time to time.
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.
Is First Trust Multi Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FAD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Read MoreHide Full Article
Making its debut on 05/08/2007, smart beta exchange traded fund First Trust Multi Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FAD - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Growth category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by First Trust Advisors, and has been able to amass over $219.06 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Growth. Before fees and expenses, FAD seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Multi Cap Growth Index.
The NASDAQ AlphaDEX Multi Cap Growth Index is an enhanced which employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the NASDAQ US 500 Large Cap Index, NASDAQ US 600 Mid Cap Index and NASDAQ US 700 Small Cap Index.
Cost & Other Expenses
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.
Annual operating expenses for FAD are 0.64%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.51%.
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.
FAD's heaviest allocation is in the Industrials sector, which is about 23.30% of the portfolio. Its Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Vistra Corp. (VST - Free Report) accounts for about 0.59% of the fund's total assets, followed by Constellation Energy Corporation (CEG - Free Report) and Iron Mountain Incorporated (IRM - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 5.22% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 22.31% so far this year and it's up approximately 39.67% in the last one year (as of 10/15/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $92.91 and $136.80.
FAD has a beta of 1.11 and standard deviation of 20.54% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 678 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust Multi Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Growth segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
IShares Morningstar Growth ETF (ILCG - Free Report) tracks MORNINGSTAR US LARGE-MID CP BRD GRWTH ID and the iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG - Free Report) tracks S&P 900 Growth Index. IShares Morningstar Growth ETF has $2.40 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF has $20.38 billion. ILCG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and IUSG charges 0.04%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - All Cap Growth.
Bottom Line
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
Is First Trust Multi Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FAD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Making its debut on 05/08/2007, smart beta exchange traded fund First Trust Multi Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FAD - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Growth category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by First Trust Advisors, and has been able to amass over $219.06 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Growth. Before fees and expenses, FAD seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Multi Cap Growth Index.
The NASDAQ AlphaDEX Multi Cap Growth Index is an enhanced which employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the NASDAQ US 500 Large Cap Index, NASDAQ US 600 Mid Cap Index and NASDAQ US 700 Small Cap Index.
Cost & Other Expenses
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.
Annual operating expenses for FAD are 0.64%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.51%.
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.
FAD's heaviest allocation is in the Industrials sector, which is about 23.30% of the portfolio. Its Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Vistra Corp. (VST - Free Report) accounts for about 0.59% of the fund's total assets, followed by Constellation Energy Corporation (CEG - Free Report) and Iron Mountain Incorporated (IRM - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 5.22% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 22.31% so far this year and it's up approximately 39.67% in the last one year (as of 10/15/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $92.91 and $136.80.
FAD has a beta of 1.11 and standard deviation of 20.54% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 678 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust Multi Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Growth segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
IShares Morningstar Growth ETF (ILCG - Free Report) tracks MORNINGSTAR US LARGE-MID CP BRD GRWTH ID and the iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG - Free Report) tracks S&P 900 Growth Index. IShares Morningstar Growth ETF has $2.40 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF has $20.38 billion. ILCG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and IUSG charges 0.04%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - All Cap Growth.
Bottom Line
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.