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

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), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 04/26/2017.

The fund is sponsored by Franklin Templeton Investments. It has amassed assets over $1.63 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

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. These types of companies, then, have a good balance of stability and growth potential.

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

Costs

Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts, other things remaining 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 1.42%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector--about 22.90% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Financials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Idexx Laboratories Inc (IDXX) accounts for about 1.34% of total assets, followed by Ebay Inc (EBAY) and Cencora Inc (COR).

The top 10 holdings account for about 11.82% 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 lost about -0.08% so far this year and is up about 4.04% in the last one year (as of 07/16/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $46.92 and $58.81.

The ETF has a beta of 0.97 and standard deviation of 16.55% 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 sufficient 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) and the iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH) track a similar index. While Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF has $83.67 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF has $96.12 billion. VO has an expense ratio of 0.04% 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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