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Launched

First Trust Small Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund

FYCNasdaqFirst TrustC

$112.85−1.18 (−1.03%)

At close: Nov 2, 2026, 4:00 PM ET

C45/ 100

Rank 28 of 35 in US Growth Index

C45/100Rank 28 of 35inUS Growth Index
Intraday session: down, 79 prints from 114.03 to 112.85. Range 112.61 to 115.06. Use the arrow keys to read each point.112.50113.50114.50115.0010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.70%
Fund size
$1.35B
1Y total return
+20.3%
Yield · Last 12 months
0.11%
Holdings
263
Avg volume · 30D
79.2K sh
52W range
low $86.85high $127.57
Launched

The ETF.net FYC Grade

C

Score 45 out of 100

Category
US Growth Index⁠
Rank
28 of 35
Six-pillar profile for FYC. Scores out of 100: Cost 0, Risk 48, Mission 87, Tradability 40, Holdings 79, Durability 59. Strongest: Mission (87). Weakest: Cost (0). Leans toward Mission.

Score 45 of 100 falls in the C band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.

  • Cost

    The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.
    F0 out of 100
    Rank 35 of 35

  • Mission

    Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.
    A87 out of 100
    Rank 24 of 32

  • Risk

    How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.
    C48 out of 100
    Rank 18 of 35

  • Tradability

    How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.
    C40 out of 100
    Rank 21 of 35

  • Holdings

    How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.
    A79 out of 100
    Rank 5 of 35

  • Durability

    Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.
    B59 out of 100
    Rank 17 of 35

Our read on FYC

ETF.net Research

In short

CSmall-cap growth, but not by market cap. The AlphaDEX screen ranks the Nasdaq US 700 Small Cap universe on growth and value factors, keeps the best scorers, tiers their weights by rank, and reshuffles quarterly. Rules-based stock picking, not index hugging.

Stated mandate

The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Small Cap Growth Index through an indexing approach.

Why people hold it

  • Weight follows score, not size: selected names are split into quintiles, higher-scoring quintiles get the bigger share of the index, and stocks sit equal-weighted inside each quintile.sec.gov
  • The screen blends both sides of the style aisle, ranking on growth factors (3-, 6- and 12-month price moves, sales-to-price, sales growth) and value factors (book-to-price, cash-flow-to-price, return on assets).sec.gov
  • The index is reconstituted and rebalanced quarterly, so the roughly 300 small caps it holds get re-scored four times a year instead of riding a static list.sec.gov
  • Live since 2011 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund, meaning this methodology has been run through more than one small-cap boom and bust rather than back-tested through them.

Worth knowing

  • Cost is the headline trade-off: 0.70% a year, well above the typical fund in its growth peer group, where cap-weighted options like SPYG, SCHG and VUG run at or below 0.04%.
  • The prospectus flags that the quarterly reconstitution schedule may produce a higher rate of portfolio turnover, with the trading costs and in-fund capital gains that can come with it.sec.gov
  • Because weights ignore market cap, the fund can concentrate in an industry group when its index does, and it trades only moderately, so spreads deserve a look before you place an order.sec.gov

FYC Performance

Launched Apr 19, 2011

Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.

FYC$12,029
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,199
Oct 31, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026. FYC $12,029. SPY $11,199. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$10,000$12,000Oct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

Returns run to the Oct 30, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.

Trailing total return for FYC. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodFYC
Year to date+18.8%
1 month−1.1%
3 months−3.9%
1 year+20.3%
3 yearsper year+30.1%
5 yearsper year+9.1%
10 yearsper year+14.2%

With distributions reinvested.

Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.

Annual total returns for FYC
YearReturn barFYC
2026 YTD+18.8%
2025+24.2%
2024+24.0%
2023+14.5%
2022−25.9%
2021+21.6%
2020+32.3%

FYC in the news

FYC Dividends

Adds up every distribution paid per share over the last 12 months, divided by the last completed close. Distributions are counted by ex-date. Data through Oct 30, 2026.
0.11%Last 12 months
Payout per share
$0.13Last 12 months
Last payment
$0.13 per share
Paid on
Shares bought on or after this date do not qualify for this distribution.
Frequency
Irregular

Distribution history

2017–2026

One bar per payment. 20 payments from 2017 to 2026 YTD. Dec 21, 2017 $0.04; Mar 22, 2018 $0.02; Jun 21, 2018 $0.0039; Dec 18, 2018 $0.01; Sep 25, 2019 $0.04; Dec 13, 2019 $0.14; Sep 24, 2020 $0.01; Dec 24, 2020 $0.06; Sep 23, 2021 $0.03; Dec 23, 2021 $0.44; Jun 24, 2022 $0.0024; Mar 24, 2023 $0.06; Jun 27, 2023 $0.07; Sep 22, 2023 $0.08; Dec 22, 2023 $0.16; Jun 27, 2024 $0.07; Sep 26, 2024 $0.34; Dec 13, 2024 $0.15; Sep 25, 2025 $0.08; Jun 25, 2026 $0.13. Use the arrow keys to read each point.2017201820192020202120222023202420252026YTD
Ex-datePay dateAmount per share
Jun 25, 2026Jun 30, 2026$0.13
Sep 25, 2025Sep 30, 2025$0.08
Dec 13, 2024Dec 31, 2024$0.15
Sep 26, 2024Sep 30, 2024$0.34
Jun 27, 2024Jun 28, 2024$0.07
Dec 22, 2023Dec 29, 2023$0.16
Sep 22, 2023Sep 29, 2023$0.08
Jun 27, 2023Jun 30, 2023$0.07
Mar 24, 2023Mar 31, 2023$0.06
Jun 24, 2022Jun 30, 2022$0.0024
Dec 23, 2021Dec 31, 2021$0.44
Sep 23, 2021Sep 30, 2021$0.03

See all 33 payments⁠

$10,000 in FYC 10 years ago paid $662 in dividends.⁠

FYC Risk

Risk pillarC48 out of 100Rank 18 of 35 in US Growth Index
How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
20.4%
Annualised · 36 months to Oct 2026
How it’s calculated: standard deviation

The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.

Return above 3-month US Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
1.18
vs 3-month T-bills · to Oct 2026
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio

Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.

Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.

The largest fall from a peak to the low that followed.
−35.4%
Trough Oct 2023
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown

The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.

Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.

How strongly the fund’s returns move with its asset-class index.
1.19
vs its asset-class index
How it’s calculated: beta

The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.

FMP measures it over up to five years of monthly returns.

FYC Cost

Compare FYC and VUG

Overpaying vs VUG, cheapest in US Growth Index

$12,968

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

  • FYC 0.70%

    $13,606

  • VUG 0.03% Cheapest

    $638

$10,000
30 years

Cost over time

  • FYC 0.70%
  • VUG 0.03%
  • Overpaying
One line per fund, from year 0 to year 30. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$5K$10K$15K051015202530FYC $13,606VUG $638

Year by year

YearFYCVUGOverpaying
10$1,250$55$1,195
20$4,760$216$4,544
30$13,606$638$12,968

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