Designed to provide broad exposure to the Mid Cap Value segment of the US equity market, the First Trust Mid Cap Value AlphaDEX ETF (FNK Quick QuoteFNK - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 04/19/2011.

The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $231.52 million, making it one of the smaller ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Mid Cap Value

Mid cap companies have market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion. They usually have higher growth prospects than large cap companies and are less volatile than small cap companies. These types of companies, then, have a good balance of stability and growth potential.

While value stocks have lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, they also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. When you look at long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in nearly all markets. But in strong bull markets, growth stocks are more likely to be winners.

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 the most expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.61%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector--about 21.60% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Energy round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (AMG Quick QuoteAMG - Free Report) accounts for about 0.83% of total assets, followed by Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (HP Quick QuoteHP - Free Report) and Jackson Financial Inc. (class A) (JXN Quick QuoteJXN - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 7.93% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

FNK seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Mid Cap Value Index before fees and expenses. The NASDAQ AlphaDEX Mid Cap Value Index is an enhanced index which employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the NASDAQ US 600 Mid Cap Value Index.

The ETF return is roughly 14.40% so far this year and is up about 29.11% in the last one year (as of 11/28/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $45.77 and $58.28.

The ETF has a beta of 1.26 and standard deviation of 22.02% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 227 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

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

The iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF (IWS Quick QuoteIWS - Free Report) and the Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF (VOE Quick QuoteVOE - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF has $14.38 billion in assets, Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF has $18.89 billion. IWS has an expense ratio of 0.23% and VOE charges 0.07%.

Bottom-Line

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they 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.