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Should Franklin U.S. Mid Cap Multifactor Index ETF (FLQM) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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If you're interested in broad exposure to the Mid Cap Blend segment of the US equity market, look no further than the Franklin U.S. Mid Cap Multifactor Index ETF (FLQM - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 04/26/2017.

The fund is sponsored by Franklin Templeton Investments. It has amassed assets over $257.52 million, 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

With market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion, mid cap companies usually contain higher growth prospects than large cap companies, and are considered less risky than their small cap counterparts. Thus, companies that fall under this category provide a stable and growth-heavy investment.

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

Costs

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.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.30%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.33%.

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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector--about 22.50% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Cadence Design Sys Inc (CDNS - Free Report) accounts for about 1.40% of total assets, followed by Fortinet Inc (FTNT - Free Report) and Synopsys Inc (SNPS - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 10.94% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

FLQM seeks to match the performance of the LibertyQ U.S. Mid Cap Equity Index before fees and expenses. The LibertyQ U.S. Mid Cap Equity Index includes U.S. mid-capitalization companies that have favorable exposure to four investment style factors - quality, value, momentum and low volatility.

The ETF has added about 6.54% so far this year and is up roughly 3.98% in the last one year (as of 08/25/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $37.44 and $46.44.

The ETF has a beta of 1.01 and standard deviation of 17.59% for the trailing three-year period. With about 205 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Franklin U.S. Mid Cap Multifactor Index 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, FLQM is a reasonable 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 Mid-Cap ETF (VO - Free Report) and the iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF has $53.11 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF has $72.51 billion. VO has an expense ratio of 0.04% and IJH charges 0.05%.

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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