Mid-Cap ETFs Quietly Performing

The S&P Mid Cap 400 Index MID hit a new all-time high last week to little fanfare, as attention has been placed on the NASDAQ reaching for the 5,000 level. Despite the lack of hoopla, the index has had a solid year, up 3.5 percent in 2015 and up a whopping 17 percent from the mid-October low.

There are a number of ETFs that retail investors can put into a portfolio to take advantage of the often-overlooked asset class. As the amount of ETFs continues to grow, it is important to analyze the holdings, fees, volume, etc. of each potential mid-cap ETF. A few of the options are listed below.

iShares Russell Mid-Cap ETF

The iShares Russell Midcap Index Fund (ETF) IWR is made up of 842 mid-cap stocks across 11 sectors.

The top holdings include:

• Kroger Co KR at 0.54 percent
• Cigna Corporation CI making up 0.49 percent
• Avago Technologies Ltd AVGO coming in at 0.48 percent

IWR is up 10 percent over the last 12 month and up 5 percent over the last six months. The ETF has an expense ratio of 0.20 percent. The ETF is extremely diverse and will cover all areas of the mid-cap space.

Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF

The Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF VO tracks 369 mid-cap companies across 11 sectors.

The top individual holdings include:

• Health Care REIT, Inc. HCN at 0.8 percent
• United Continental Holdings Inc UAL at 0.8 percent
• AvalonBay Communities Inc AVB coming in at 0.7 percent

VO is up 11 percent over the last 12 months and up 6 percent over the last six months. The ETF has an extremely low expense ratio of 0.09 percent. The ETF is similar to IWR with its diversity and low reliance on one position. The lower expense ratio is an attractive feature.

PowerShares Fundamental Pure Mid-Core Portfolio ETF

The PowerShare Dynamic Mid Core Port. (ETF) PXMC consists of 156 mid-cap companies across 10 sectors.

The top holdings include:

• Becton, Dickinson and Co BDX at 1.7 percent
• Equity Residential EQR making up 1.6 percent
• Ameriprise Financial, Inc. AMP coming in at 1.6 percent

Over the last 12 months, PXMC is up 12 percent and is up 5 percent over the last six months. The ETF has an expense ratio of 0.39 percent. The fact that PXMC weights its holdings based on fundamentals differentiates it from the first two ETFs, and the performance has been able to slightly outperform the last year.

Related Link: Top 4 Mid-Cap Stocks In The Gold Industry

PowerShares S&P Mid-Cap Low Volatility ETF

The PowerShares Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II XMLV provides exposure to 80 mid-cap companies across eight sectors.

The top individual holdings include:

• HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. HCC making up 1.6 percent
• American Financial Group Inc AFG at 1.6 percent
• Church & Dwight Co., Inc. CHD coming in at 1.6 percent also

The ETF is up 13 percent over the last 12 months and up 8 percent over the last six months. The ETF has an expense ratio of 0.25 percent. The 80 stocks that make up the portfolio have the lowest realized volatility over the last 12 months from the universe of S&P Midcap 400 Index constituents. Ideally, the ETF should have less volatility versus the overall index.

WisdomTree Mid-Cap Dividend ETF

The WisdomTree MidCap Dividend Fund (ETF) DON is made up of 407 dividend-paying mid-cap companies across 10 sectors.

The top holdings include:

• Windstream Holdings, Inc. WIN at 1.3 percent
• Frontier Communications Corp FTR totaling 1.2 percent
• Coach Inc COH coming in at 1.1 percent

DON is up 12 percent over the last 12 months and up 5 percent over the last six months. The ETF has an expense ratio of 0.38 percent. The portfolio is weighted based on dividends and rebalanced annually.

Of the five mid-cap ETFs highlighted, there are several strategies depending on how the investor would like their portfolio weighted. This is one of the great aspects of the growing universe of ETFs.