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Is First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX ETF (FNX) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX ETF (FNX - Free Report) was launched on 05/08/2007, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend 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.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
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. FNX has been able to amass assets over $1.25 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Mid Cap Core Index before fees and expenses.
The NASDAQ AlphaDEX Mid Cap Core Index is an enhanced index which employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the NASDAQ US 600 Mid Cap Index.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
With one of the more expensive products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.58%.
FNX's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.22%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.
FNX's heaviest allocation is in the Financials sector, which is about 20.10% of the portfolio. Its Industrials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Affirm Holdings, Inc. (class A) (AFRM - Free Report) accounts for about 0.56% of the fund's total assets, followed by Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN - Free Report) and New Fortress Energy Inc. (NFE - Free Report) .
FNX's top 10 holdings account for about 4.71% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, FNX has added about 3.26%, and is up roughly 16.20% in the last one year (as of 02/12/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $102.22 and $127.28.
The fund has a beta of 1.22 and standard deviation of 20.90% for the trailing three-year period, which makes FNX a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 451 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF (VO - Free Report) tracks CRSP US Mid Cap Index and the iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH - Free Report) tracks S&P MidCap 400 Index. Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF has $76.38 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF has $98.29 billion. VO has an expense ratio of 0.04% and IJH charges 0.05%.
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 - Mid Cap Blend.
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.
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Is First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX ETF (FNX) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX ETF (FNX - Free Report) was launched on 05/08/2007, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend 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.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
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. FNX has been able to amass assets over $1.25 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Mid Cap Core Index before fees and expenses.
The NASDAQ AlphaDEX Mid Cap Core Index is an enhanced index which employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the NASDAQ US 600 Mid Cap Index.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
With one of the more expensive products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.58%.
FNX's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.22%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.
FNX's heaviest allocation is in the Financials sector, which is about 20.10% of the portfolio. Its Industrials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Affirm Holdings, Inc. (class A) (AFRM - Free Report) accounts for about 0.56% of the fund's total assets, followed by Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN - Free Report) and New Fortress Energy Inc. (NFE - Free Report) .
FNX's top 10 holdings account for about 4.71% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, FNX has added about 3.26%, and is up roughly 16.20% in the last one year (as of 02/12/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $102.22 and $127.28.
The fund has a beta of 1.22 and standard deviation of 20.90% for the trailing three-year period, which makes FNX a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 451 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF (VO - Free Report) tracks CRSP US Mid Cap Index and the iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH - Free Report) tracks S&P MidCap 400 Index. Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF has $76.38 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF has $98.29 billion. VO has an expense ratio of 0.04% and IJH charges 0.05%.
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 - Mid Cap Blend.
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.