Should First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX ETF (FNX) Be on Your Investing Radar?

Launched on May 8, 2007, the First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX ETF (FNX) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Mid Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $1.39 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Mid Cap Blend

Mid cap companies, with market capitalization in the range of $2 billion and $10 billion, offer investors many things that small and large companies don't, including less risk and higher growth opportunities. Thus they have a nice balance of growth potential and stability.

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

Costs

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.62%, making it one of the most expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.8%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector -- about 19.7% of the portfolio. Industrials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Lithia Motors, Inc. (LAD) accounts for about 0.47% of total assets, followed by Genpact Limited (G) and Epam Systems, Inc. (EPAM).

The top 10 holdings account for about 4.42% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

FNX 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.

The ETF has added roughly 15.45% so far this year and is up about 16.79% in the last one year (as of 09/08/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $117.48 and $147.95.

The ETF has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 18.34% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 452 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

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

The Vanguard Morningstar Mid-Cap ETF (VO) and the iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH) track a similar index. While Vanguard Morningstar Mid-Cap ETF has $107.71 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF has $125.93 billion. VO has an expense ratio of 0.03% and IJH charges 0.05%.

Bottom-Line

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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