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Is First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FNY) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FNY - Free Report) was launched on 04/19/2011, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer 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.
Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide 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.
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.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Managed by First Trust Advisors, FNY has amassed assets over $433.13 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
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.70% for FNY, making it one of the most expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.20%.
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 in the Industrials sector - about 25.3% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Information Technology round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Ast Spacemobile, Inc. (ASTS) accounts for about 1.11% of total assets, followed by Rigetti Computing, Inc. (RGTI) and Symbiotic Inc. (class A) (SYM).
The top 10 holdings account for about 9.58% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 8.3% and is up roughly 4.8% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 11/18/2025), respectively. FNY has traded between $66.13 and $94.72 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1.19 and standard deviation of 20.05% for the trailing three-year period, which makes FNY a medium risk choice in this particular 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 $17.27 billion in assets, iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $19.52 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?
The First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FNY - Free Report) was launched on 04/19/2011, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer 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.
Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide 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.
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.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Managed by First Trust Advisors, FNY has amassed assets over $433.13 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
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.70% for FNY, making it one of the most expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.20%.
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 in the Industrials sector - about 25.3% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Information Technology round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Ast Spacemobile, Inc. (ASTS) accounts for about 1.11% of total assets, followed by Rigetti Computing, Inc. (RGTI) and Symbiotic Inc. (class A) (SYM).
The top 10 holdings account for about 9.58% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 8.3% and is up roughly 4.8% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 11/18/2025), respectively. FNY has traded between $66.13 and $94.72 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1.19 and standard deviation of 20.05% for the trailing three-year period, which makes FNY a medium risk choice in this particular 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 $17.27 billion in assets, iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $19.52 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.