ETF Database » XLG

First Trust Rolls Out Mega Cap AlphaDEX ETF (FMK)

Michael Johnston — Fri, 13 May 2011 14:00:14 +0000

First Trust continued its wave of new product launches today, rolling out another member of its rapidly-expanding AlphaDEX suite. The new Mega Cap AlphaDEX Fund (FMK) will seek to replicate an index comprised of mega cap U.S. stocks, employing a quant-based methodology to select components from the 100 largest stocks in the S&P US BMI universe. A number of First Trust’s market cap-specific and style-specific AlphaDEX ETFs recently passed their three year milestone, and the company debuted a suite of international AlphaDEX ETFs earlier this year. First Trust has been a pioneer in the field of “enhanced” index ETFs, offering a number of products that employ rules-based screens to whittle down a broad equity universe to a field of stocks that show the most promising outlook. First Trust ETFs are one of the many alternatives to market cap-weighting that have seen a surge in popularity in recent years, and the [...]

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Do Mega Cap ETFs Offer Mega Returns?

Jared Cummans — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:44:17 +0000

The ancient Chinese curse that reads “may you live in interesting times” has always seemed more like a blessing than a wishing of ill will. But perhaps in the current investing environment, the negative side of the phrase becomes more apparent. Between lingering debt concerns in Europe, the fallout from the Gulf oil spill, China’s new currency policy, and a host of hurdles in the domestic economy, these are certainly interesting times (see Surprise Winners From A Rising Yuan). The outlook for financial markets is uncertain, and the number of bears seems to have multiplied considerably in recent months. Different investors have reacted to the current environment in different ways. Those with higher risk tolerances may establish short positions, perhaps even using leveraged ETFs to amplify exposure. Some sell off risky assets and flock to safe havens such as bonds and gold bullion, preferring to reduce exposure to equities until [...]

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Mega Cap ETFs: Is Bigger Always Better?

Michael Johnston — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:57:25 +0000

At the core of many investor portfolios is an allocation to large cap domestic equities. Because large cap stocks generally have long operating histories, established customer bases, and sufficient cash on hand, they are perceived as the least risky of equity investments, strongly correlated with mid cap and small cap stocks but less volatile than smaller companies. Moreover, because many of these companies are multinational firms that generate revenues from dozens of countries around the world, they provide some degree of international diversification within the equity allocation. Most ETF investors elect to achieve their exposure to large cap stocks through an S&P 500 ETF, investing in either SPY or IVV (although some prefer alpha-generating alternatives). Composed of the 500 largest U.S.-listed stocks (with a few exceptions), the S&P 500 is considered by many as a reliable indication of broader stocks markets. Because these S&P 500 ETFs are cap-weighted, the bulk [...]

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“Active” ETF Report Card: A Mixed Bag

Michael Johnston — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:22:41 +0000

Over the last several months, a number of actively-managed ETFs have been launched. These investment vehicles are essentially a hybrid of traditional mutual funds and ETFs, providing many of the benefits that have boosted the ETF industry (lower fees, greater transparency and flexibility, etc.), while implementing an active trading strategy in an attempt to outperform a market benchmark. While truly actively-managed ETFs (i.e., funds that permit managers discretion in trading) are a relatively new innovation, actively-managed ETFs have technically been around for some time, pioneered by PowerShares, which launched several funds in 2008. Not Quite Active, Not Quite Passive PowerShares’ actively-managed ETFs are unlike traditional ETFs in that they do not attempt to track any type of benchmark. Rather, the composition of these funds is generally determined by a two-step process: Eligible stocks are determined by certain quantitative requirements, such as size (e.g., stocks with a market capitalization of more than [...]

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ETF Database » XLG

First Trust Rolls Out Mega Cap AlphaDEX ETF (FMK)

Related Posts:

Do Mega Cap ETFs Offer Mega Returns?

Related Posts:

Mega Cap ETFs: Is Bigger Always Better?

Related Posts:

“Active” ETF Report Card: A Mixed Bag

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