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Is First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FNY) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Making its debut on 04/19/2011, smart beta exchange traded fund First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FNY - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Mid 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.
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.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Managed by First Trust Advisors, FNY has amassed assets over $437.42 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth. FNY seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Mid Cap Growth Index before fees and expenses.
The NASDAQ AlphaDEX Mid Cap Growth Index is an enhanced which employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the NASDAQ US 600 Mid Cap Growth Index.
Cost & Other Expenses
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for FNY are 0.70%, which makes it one of the most expensive products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 0.53%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer 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.
For FNY, it has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector --about 26.6% of the portfolio --while Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Bloom Energy Corporation (class A) (BE) accounts for about 1.12% of the fund's total assets, followed by Primoris Services Corporation (PRIM) and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (KTOS).
FNY's top 10 holdings account for about 9.54% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF return is roughly 12.56% so far, and is up about 19.09% over the last 12 months (as of 09/15/2025). FNY has traded between $66.13 $90.76 in this past 52-week period.
FNY has a beta of 1.16 and standard deviation of 20.89% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 226 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF (VOT) tracks CRSP U.S. Mid Cap Growth Index and the iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP) tracks Russell MidCap Growth Index. Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $17.87 billion in assets, iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $20.87 billion. VOT has an expense ratio of 0.07% and IWP changes 0.23%.
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 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.
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Is First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FNY) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Making its debut on 04/19/2011, smart beta exchange traded fund First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FNY - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Mid 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.
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.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Managed by First Trust Advisors, FNY has amassed assets over $437.42 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth. FNY seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Mid Cap Growth Index before fees and expenses.
The NASDAQ AlphaDEX Mid Cap Growth Index is an enhanced which employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the NASDAQ US 600 Mid Cap Growth Index.
Cost & Other Expenses
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for FNY are 0.70%, which makes it one of the most expensive products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 0.53%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer 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.
For FNY, it has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector --about 26.6% of the portfolio --while Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Bloom Energy Corporation (class A) (BE) accounts for about 1.12% of the fund's total assets, followed by Primoris Services Corporation (PRIM) and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (KTOS).
FNY's top 10 holdings account for about 9.54% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF return is roughly 12.56% so far, and is up about 19.09% over the last 12 months (as of 09/15/2025). FNY has traded between $66.13 $90.76 in this past 52-week period.
FNY has a beta of 1.16 and standard deviation of 20.89% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 226 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF (VOT) tracks CRSP U.S. Mid Cap Growth Index and the iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP) tracks Russell MidCap Growth Index. Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $17.87 billion in assets, iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $20.87 billion. VOT has an expense ratio of 0.07% and IWP changes 0.23%.
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 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.