Being In the Middle Better for ETFs Than Jan Brady

Among the exchange traded funds (ETFs) that focus on a particular company size and investing style, mid-cap growth seems to be leaving the others in the dust lately.

In the last three months, mid-cap growth has risen 10.2%. In the same time period, large-cap growth is up 7.2% and small-cap is up 6.2%. Gary Gordon for ETF Expert reports that one might find it tricky to locate any other size/style ETFs that are above their 200-day moving averages.

Some of these funds have been bolstered by strong performance from their top holdings:

• iShares S&P MidCap 400 Growth Index (IJK): Top holding is Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG), at 2.5%; up 2.9% in last three months. The fund is up 10.2% in the same time period.
• iShares Morningstar Mid Cap Growth (JKH): Top holding is ISRG at 1.4%; the fund is up 9.1% in the last three months.
• Vanguard MidCap Growth (VOT): up 8.9% in the last three months.
• Rydex MidCap 400 Pure Growth (RFG): Top holding at 2.1% is Encore Acquisition (EAC), which is up 50.3% in the last three months. The fund is up 9.3% in the last three months.
• PowerShares Dynamic Mid Cap Growth Portfolio (PWJ): Top holding at 3.7% is FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI), which is up 29.4% in the last three months. The fund is up 7.1% in the last three months.

Gordon says investors who believes the U.S. market is going to recover in a big way from the current mess may like a mid-cap growth fund. Since all of these are at or above their trend lines (200-day moving average), take a look and see what works best for your portfolio.

For full disclosure, some of Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of IJK.

Read the disclosure, Tom Lydon is a board member of Rydex Funds.