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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) made its debut on 05/08/2007, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
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.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.
The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Managed by First Trust Advisors, FNX has amassed assets over $1.2 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend. Before fees and expenses, FNX seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Mid Cap Core Index.
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
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.
With one of the more expensive products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.58%.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.86%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
FNX's heaviest allocation is in the Industrials sector, which is about 20% of the portfolio. Its Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Lumentum Holdings Inc. (LITE) accounts for about 0.74% of the fund's total assets, followed by Guardant Health, Inc. (GH) and Bloom Energy Corporation (class A) (BE).
The top 10 holdings account for about 5.18% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 11.91% and is up about 11.62% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 12/24/2025), respectively. FNX has traded between $94.92 and $130.46 during this last 52-week period.
FNX has a beta of 1.11 and standard deviation of 19.17% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the 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) tracks CRSP US Mid Cap Index and the iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH) tracks S&P MidCap 400 Index. Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF has $90.35 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF has $103.85 billion. VO has an expense ratio of 0.04% and IJH changes 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) made its debut on 05/08/2007, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
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.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.
The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Managed by First Trust Advisors, FNX has amassed assets over $1.2 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend. Before fees and expenses, FNX seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Mid Cap Core Index.
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
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.
With one of the more expensive products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.58%.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.86%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
FNX's heaviest allocation is in the Industrials sector, which is about 20% of the portfolio. Its Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Lumentum Holdings Inc. (LITE) accounts for about 0.74% of the fund's total assets, followed by Guardant Health, Inc. (GH) and Bloom Energy Corporation (class A) (BE).
The top 10 holdings account for about 5.18% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 11.91% and is up about 11.62% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 12/24/2025), respectively. FNX has traded between $94.92 and $130.46 during this last 52-week period.
FNX has a beta of 1.11 and standard deviation of 19.17% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the 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) tracks CRSP US Mid Cap Index and the iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH) tracks S&P MidCap 400 Index. Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF has $90.35 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF has $103.85 billion. VO has an expense ratio of 0.04% and IJH changes 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.