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Is Invesco S&P MidCap 400 Pure Growth ETF (RFG) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Making its debut on 03/01/2006, smart beta exchange traded fund Invesco S&P MidCap 400 Pure Growth ETF (RFG - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.

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.

By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.

While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is managed by Invesco, and has been able to amass over $326.77 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth. RFG, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P MidCap 400 Pure Growth Index.

The S&P MidCap 400 Pure Growth Index measures the performance of securities that exhibit strong growth characteristics in the S&P MidCap 400 Index.

Cost & Other Expenses

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.35% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 0.71%.

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 in the Consumer Discretionary sector - about 24.60% of the portfolio. Industrials and Energy round out the top three.

Taking into account individual holdings, Cnx Resources Corp (CNX - Free Report) accounts for about 2.49% of the fund's total assets, followed by Weatherford International Plc (WFRD - Free Report) and Topbuild Corp (BLD - Free Report) .

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 20.64% of RFG's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added roughly 10.36% and is up about 12.27% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 08/08/2024), respectively. RFG has traded between $36.89 and $51.61 during this last 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 1.14 and standard deviation of 23.57% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 89 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Invesco S&P MidCap 400 Pure Growth ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF (VOT - Free Report) tracks CRSP U.S. Mid Cap Growth Index and the iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP - Free Report) tracks Russell MidCap Growth Index. Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $12.73 billion in assets, iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $13.37 billion. VOT has an expense ratio of 0.07% and IWP charges 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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