Designed to provide broad exposure to the Small Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, the First Trust Small Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (FYC Quick QuoteFYC - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on April 19, 2011.

The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $563.81 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Growth

There's a lot of potential to investing in small cap companies, but with market capitalization below $2 billion, that high potential comes with even higher risk.

Growth stocks have higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. While these are expected to grow faster than the broader market, they also have higher valuations. Additionally, growth stocks have a greater level of risk associated with them. They are likely to outperform value stocks in strong bull markets but over the longer-term, value stocks have delivered better returns than growth stocks in almost all markets.

Costs

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

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.71%, making it one of the most expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.63%.

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 Industrials sector -- about 23.7% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Information Technology round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Commscope Holding Company, Inc. (COMM) accounts for about 1.13% of total assets, followed by Perimeter Solutions, Inc. (PRM) and Mirum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (MIRM).

The top 10 holdings account for about 8.63% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

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

The ETF has gained about 15.86% so far this year and is up about 22.28% in the last one year (as of 09/26/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $61.01 and $92.23.

The ETF has a beta of 1.17 and standard deviation of 21.96% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 265 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

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

The iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) and the Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF (VBK) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF has $12.74 billion in assets, Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF has $20.20 billion. IWO has an expense ratio of 0.24% and VBK charges 0.07%.

Bottom-Line

Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are 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.