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Should First Trust Small Cap Core AlphaDEX ETF (FYX) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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The First Trust Small Cap Core AlphaDEX ETF (FYX - Free Report) was launched on 05/08/2007, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $873.46 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Blend

Small cap companies have market capitalization below $2 billion. They usually have higher potential than large and mid cap companies with stocks but higher risk.

Typically holding a combination of both growth and value stocks, blend ETFs also demonstrate qualities seen in value and growth investments.

Costs

Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts, other things remaining the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.60%, making it one of the more expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.19%.

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 to the Financials sector--about 23% of the portfolio. Industrials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Adma Biologics, Inc. (ADMA - Free Report) accounts for about 0.46% of total assets, followed by Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (HE - Free Report) and Mirum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (MIRM - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 4.04% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

FYX seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Small Cap Core Index before fees and expenses. The NASDAQ AlphaDEX Small Cap Core Index is an enhanced index which employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the NASDAQ US 700 Small Cap Index.

The ETF has gained about 2.84% so far this year and is up roughly 13.86% in the last one year (as of 09/10/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $74.82 and $100.40.

The ETF has a beta of 1.23 and standard deviation of 22.41% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 526 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

First Trust Small Cap Core 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, FYX is a good option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM - Free Report) and the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 ETF has $66.27 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $81.85 billion. IWM has an expense ratio of 0.19% and IJR charges 0.06%.

Bottom-Line

While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.

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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