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

A smart beta exchange traded fund, the Invesco S&P MidCap 400 Pure Growth ETF (RFG) debuted on 03/01/2006, and offers broad exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.

Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.

However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.

This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.

Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Managed by Invesco, RFG has amassed assets over $285.31 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth. This particular fund, 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

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.

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

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.31%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

For RFG, it has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector --about 29.2% of the portfolio --while Healthcare and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Hims & Hers Health Inc (HIMS) accounts for about 2.48% of total assets, followed by Carpenter Technology Corp (CRS) and Roivant Sciences Ltd (ROIV).

The top 10 holdings account for about 19.6% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, RFG has lost about -1.23%, and is down about -2.57% in the last one year (as of 06/20/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $39.08 and $53.39.

RFG has a beta of 1.10 and standard deviation of 22.18% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 94 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

Invesco S&P MidCap 400 Pure Growth ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.

Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF (VOT) tracks CRSP U.S. Mid Cap Growth Index and the iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP) tracks Russell MidCap Growth Index. Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $16.44 billion in assets, iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $18.79 billion. VOT has an expense ratio of 0.07% and IWP changes 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

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research