Alger Mid Cap 40 ETF

Alger Mid Cap 40 ETF (FRTY) is an actively managed fund. Alger's managers pick about 40 mid-sized growth companies, mostly in the US, instead of tracking an index. What sets it apart is how concentrated it is and how often it trades: portfolio turnover was 390%. It also costs more than index rivals, with a 0.60% expense ratio against 0.23% for iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF and 0.07% for Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, FRTY returned -1.7%, 6th of 7 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +0.2%.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-42.2%); its best was 2024 (+38.9%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 53.1% (Nov 8, 2021 to Oct 14, 2022), recovered by Jun 18, 2026.

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 41 securities; the ten largest made up 37.73% of assets, and 6.52% sat in cash and money-market holdings.

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors added a net $2.8M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +7.67%, +11.67%, +6.17%.

FRTY is an actively managed exchange-traded fund. Alger’s managers pick stocks rather than track an index, and they favor growth companies undergoing positive change. One kind, “High Unit Volume Growth,” covers firms with, for example, rapidly growing demand or market dominance. The other, “Positive Lifecycle Change,” covers firms benefiting from something new, such as a regulation, product or management team.

At least 80% of net assets goes into mid-cap stocks. These are companies whose market value at purchase fits the range of the Russell MidCap Growth or S&P MidCap 400 indexes, or falls between $1 billion and $30 billion. Holdings that outgrow that range can stay. The managers, not a formula, decide how much of each stock to hold, across roughly 40 stocks. As of June 30, 2026, the fund held 41, led by Twist Bioscience (4.8%), Western Digital and Nebius Group. It may concentrate in a sector such as technology, but it caps any single industry at 25% of total assets.

There is no fixed rebalancing schedule. Stocks may be sold when they hit a target price, disappoint, or something better appears. Trading is heavy: the prospectus filed April 28, 2026 reports portfolio turnover of 389.65%, meaning the fund traded several times its own value in a year. Cash can rise as high as 15% of net assets in volatile markets; it was 6.52% as of June 30, 2026.

• FRTY charges 0.6% a year, versus an average of 0.35% for the similar funds below (7th of 7, cheapest first).
• Of that, 0.5% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
• The fee includes a 0.17% waiver from the adviser, which may end.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $61 in the first year and $927 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It is a concentrated, actively traded bet on about 40 mid-cap growth stocks that has swung much more than the broad market, so it fits best as a small add-on to broader holdings.

FRTY could add focused exposure to mid-sized growth companies to a portfolio built mainly on broader funds. The price is large swings. The fund launched in February 2021, so it has no record in the 2008 or 2020 crashes. In the 2022 bear market it fell 42.4%, and it took about 25.5 months to climb back to its early-2022 level. Its deepest drop came earlier: a 53.1% fall from November 8, 2021, to October 14, 2022. It didn't fully recover until June 18, 2026, 44.1 months later. Anyone who had to sell shares to cover spending during 2022 would have locked in steep losses.

Income is minimal. The trailing yield was 0.18% as of October 27, 2026, paid once a year. In the SEC's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost $61 in fees over one year and $927 over ten years. Past results don't predict future returns, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by closest holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports (no similar fund shares 20% or more of its holdings).