FNY vs. SPY

Last updated Apr 2, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund (FNY) and State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY).

FNY and SPY are both exchange-traded funds (ETFs), meaning they are traded on stock exchanges and can be bought and sold throughout the day. FNY is a passively managed fund by First Trust that tracks the performance of the NASDAQ AlphaDEX Mid Cap Growth Index. It was launched on Apr 18, 2011. SPY is a passively managed fund by State Street that tracks the performance of the S&P 500 Index. It was launched on Jan 22, 1993. Both FNY and SPY are passive ETFs, meaning that they are not actively managed but aim to replicate the performance of the underlying index as closely as possible.

Performance

FNY vs. SPY - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a $10,000 investment in First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund (FNY) and State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

FNY vs. SPY - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
FNY First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund	0.37%	14.03%	18.09%	21.13%	-23.80%	13.46%	36.97%	32.54%	-7.53%	25.12%
SPY State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF	-3.65%	17.72%	24.89%	26.18%	-18.18%	28.73%	18.33%	31.22%	-4.57%	21.71%

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, FNY achieves a 0.37% return, which is significantly higher than SPY's -3.65% return. Over the past 10 years, FNY has underperformed SPY with an annualized return of 12.43%, while SPY has yielded a comparatively higher 14.06% annualized return.

FNY

• 1D: 1.16%
• 1M: -6.45%
• YTD: 0.37%
• 6M: -0.39%
• 1Y: 21.64%
• 3Y*: 15.72%
• 5Y*: 6.02%
• 10Y*: 12.43%

SPY

• 1D: 0.75%
• 1M: -4.28%
• YTD: -3.65%
• 6M: -1.42%
• 1Y: 18.14%
• 3Y*: 18.48%
• 5Y*: 11.86%
• 10Y*: 14.06%

*Multi-year figures are annualized to reflect compound growth (CAGR)

FNY vs. SPY - Expense Ratio Comparison

FNY has a 0.70% expense ratio, which is higher than SPY's 0.09% expense ratio.

FNY

First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund

SPY

State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF

Return for Risk

FNY vs. SPY — Risk / Return Rank

Compare risk-adjusted metric ranks to identify better-performing investments over the past 12 months.

FNY

FNY Risk / Return Rank: 52
FNY Sharpe Ratio Rank: 47
FNY Sortino Ratio Rank: 50
FNY Omega Ratio Rank: 45
FNY Calmar Ratio Rank: 60
FNY Martin Ratio Rank: 56

SPY

SPY Risk / Return Rank: 59
SPY Sharpe Ratio Rank: 51
SPY Sortino Ratio Rank: 56
SPY Omega Ratio Rank: 60
SPY Calmar Ratio Rank: 58
SPY Martin Ratio Rank: 69

The rank (0–100) shows how this investment's returns compare to the risk taken. Higher = better. Based on the past 12 months of data, combining Sharpe, Sortino, and other metrics used by quantitative funds and institutional investors.

FNY vs. SPY - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund (FNY) and State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). Risk-adjusted metrics are performance indicators that assess an investment's returns in relation to its risk, enabling a more accurate comparison of different investment options.

	FNY	SPY	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	0.92	0.96	-0.04
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	1.40	1.49	-0.09
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	1.18	1.23	-0.05
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	1.65	1.53	+0.12
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	5.95	7.27	-1.32
Data is calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. The trend shows the change in the indicator over the past month.

FNY vs. SPY - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current FNY Sharpe Ratio is 0.92, which is comparable to the SPY Sharpe Ratio of 0.96. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of FNY and SPY, offering insights into how both investments have performed under varying market conditions. These values are calculated using daily returns over the previous 12 months.

Sharpe Ratios by Period

	FNY	SPY	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	0.92	0.96	-0.04
Sharpe Ratio (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period	0.27	0.70	-0.43
Sharpe Ratio (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period	0.56	0.79	-0.23
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	0.52	0.56	-0.05

Correlation

The correlation between FNY and SPY is 0.83, which is considered to be high. That indicates a strong positive relationship between their price movements. Having highly-correlated positions in a portfolio may signal a lack of diversification, potentially leading to increased risk during market downturns.

Dividends

FNY vs. SPY - Dividend Comparison

FNY's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 0.03%, less than SPY's 1.13% yield.

	TTM	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
FNY First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund	0.03%	0.03%	0.56%	0.24%	0.24%	0.00%	0.25%	0.28%	0.06%	0.21%	0.60%	0.46%
SPY State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF	1.13%	1.07%	1.21%	1.40%	1.65%	1.20%	1.52%	1.75%	2.04%	1.80%	2.03%	2.06%

Drawdowns

FNY vs. SPY - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum FNY drawdown since its inception was -38.91%, smaller than the maximum SPY drawdown of -55.19%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for FNY and SPY.

Drawdown Indicators

	FNY	SPY	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-38.91%	-55.19%	+16.28%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-13.48%	-12.05%	-1.43%
Max Drawdown (5Y) Largest decline over 5 years	-33.94%	-24.50%	-9.44%
Max Drawdown (10Y) Largest decline over 10 years	-38.91%	-33.72%	-5.19%
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	-7.48%	-5.53%	-1.95%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-7.66%	-9.09%	+1.43%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	3.75%	2.54%	+1.21%

Volatility

FNY vs. SPY - Volatility Comparison

First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund (FNY) has a higher volatility of 8.21% compared to State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) at 5.35%. This indicates that FNY's price experiences larger fluctuations and is considered to be riskier than SPY based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	FNY	SPY	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	8.21%	5.35%	+2.86%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	15.59%	9.50%	+6.09%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	23.70%	19.06%	+4.64%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	22.34%	17.06%	+5.28%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	22.22%	17.92%	+4.30%