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Trending ETFs

First Trust Tactical High Yield ETF

Active ETF
HYLS
Payout Change
Pending
Price as of:
$41.21 +0.17 +0.41%
primary theme
High Yield Bond
HYLS (ETF)

First Trust Tactical High Yield ETF

Payout Change
Pending
Price as of:
$41.21 +0.17 +0.41%
primary theme
High Yield Bond
HYLS (ETF)

First Trust Tactical High Yield ETF

Payout Change
Pending
Price as of:
$41.21 +0.17 +0.41%
primary theme
High Yield Bond

Name

As of 03/27/2024

Price

Aum/Mkt Cap

YIELD

Annualized forward dividend yield. Multiplies the most recent dividend payout amount by its frequency and divides by the previous close price.

Exp Ratio

Expense ratio is the fund’s total annual operating expenses, including management fees, distribution fees, and other expenses, expressed as a percentage of average net assets.

Watchlist

$41.21

$1.47 B

6.48%

$2.67

1.02%

Vitals

YTD Return

0.8%

1 yr return

12.6%

3 Yr Avg Return

0.7%

5 Yr Avg Return

3.0%

Net Assets

$1.47 B

Holdings in Top 10

24.3%

52 WEEK LOW AND HIGH

$41.0
$38.23
$41.71

Expenses

OPERATING FEES

Expense Ratio 1.02%

SALES FEES

Front Load N/A

Deferred Load N/A

TRADING FEES

Turnover N/A

Redemption Fee N/A


Min Investment

Standard (Taxable)

N/A

IRA

N/A


Fund Classification

Fund Type

Exchange Traded Fund


Name

As of 03/27/2024

Price

Aum/Mkt Cap

YIELD

Annualized forward dividend yield. Multiplies the most recent dividend payout amount by its frequency and divides by the previous close price.

Exp Ratio

Expense ratio is the fund’s total annual operating expenses, including management fees, distribution fees, and other expenses, expressed as a percentage of average net assets.

Watchlist

$41.21

$1.47 B

6.48%

$2.67

1.02%

HYLS - Profile

Distributions

  • YTD Total Return 0.8%
  • 3 Yr Annualized Total Return 0.7%
  • 5 Yr Annualized Total Return 3.0%
  • Capital Gain Distribution Frequency Annually
  • Net Income Ratio 5.11%
DIVIDENDS
  • Dividend Yield 6.5%
  • Dividend Distribution Frequency Monthly

Fund Details

  • Legal Name
    First Trust Tactical High Yield ETF
  • Fund Family Name
    First Trust Advisors L.P.
  • Inception Date
    Feb 25, 2013
  • Shares Outstanding
    42500002
  • Share Class
    N/A
  • Currency
    USD
  • Domiciled Country
    US
  • Manager
    William Housey

Fund Description

Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in high yield debt securities that are rated below investment grade at the time of purchase or unrated securities deemed by the Fund’s advisor to be of comparable quality. Below investment grade securities are those that, at the time of purchase, are rated lower than “BBB–” by S& P Global Ratings (“S&P”), or lower than “Baa3” by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”), or comparably rated by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (“NRSRO”). High yield debt securities that are rated below investment grade are commonly referred to as “junk” debt. Such securities may include U.S. and non-U.S. corporate debt obligations, bank loans and convertible bonds. For purposes of determining whether a security is below investment grade, the lowest available rating will be considered.The Fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in non-U.S. securities denominated in non-U.S. currencies. The Fund may invest in non-income producing securities including Distressed Securities (as defined below) and common stocks. Companies whose financial condition is troubled or uncertain and that may be involved in bankruptcy proceedings, reorganizations or financial restructurings are referred to herein as “Distressed Securities.” The Fund invests no more than 15% of its net assets in Distressed Securities, as determined at the time of the investment. The Fund may receive equity, warrants, corporate bonds and other such securities (i) in conjunction with the restructuring or reorganization, as applicable, of an issuer or any debt issued by an issuer, whether accomplished within or outside of a bankruptcy proceeding (or any other similar statutory restructuring or reorganization proceeding) or (ii) together with (e.g., as part of a unit or package that includes) one or more high yield debt securities (or other debt instruments) of an issuer. The Fund may also invest in investment grade corporate debt obligations and U.S. government securities to manage overall credit and duration risk. The Fund does not have any portfolio maturity limitation and may invest its assets in securities with short-term, medium-term or long-term maturities. The Fund may also invest in covenant-lite loans, defaulted securities and companies with various market capitalizations.The Fund may, under normal market conditions, invest up to 40% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in bank loans; however the Fund will invest no more than 15% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in loans other than first lien senior secured floating rate bank loans.The Fund may invest in listed and over-the-counter derivatives to the extent permitted by the listing rules of the Exchange. Derivatives with comparable economic characteristics to high yield debt securities may be used to satisfy the Fund’s stated policy to invest at least 80% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in high yield debt securities. The Fund may use certain credit derivatives to take on additional credit risk and obtain exposure to the high yield debt market, including utilizing credit default swap indices (“CDX”). The Fund may use CDX exposure in two ways: when the Fund is a buyer of CDX credit protection, it seeks to hedge its exposure to volatility in the high yield debt market; when the Fund is a seller of CDX credit protection, it seeks to gain exposure to the high yield debt market, similar to investing directly in a basket of high yield debt securities. The CDX investments in which the Fund will invest are cleared on an exchange. When the Fund obtains exposure to the high yield debt market using CDX, it will be considered an investment in a derivative with comparable economic characteristics to high yield debt securities for purposes of the Fund’s stated policy to invest at least 80% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in high yield debt securities.As part of its investment strategy, the Fund intends to maintain both long and short positions in securities under normal market conditions. The Fund takes long positions in securities that the investment advisor believes in the aggregate to have the potential to outperform the Fund’s benchmark, the ICE BofA US High Yield Constrained Index (the “Index”). The Fund takes short positions in securities that the investment advisor believes will decline or in the aggregate will underperform the Index. The Fund’s long positions may total up to 130% of the Fund’s net assets. The Fund’s short positions will range between 0% and 30% of the Fund’s net assets. Under normal market conditions, the Fund takes short positions in U.S. Treasury securities and/or corporate debt obligations, which may be rated investment grade or rated or deemed to be high yield securities.Short sales are transactions in which the Fund sells a security or other instrument (such as an option, forward, futures or other derivative contract) that it does not own. Short selling allows the Fund to profit from a decline in market price to the extent such decline exceeds the transaction costs and the costs of borrowing the securities. If a security sold short increases in price, the Fund may have to cover its short position at a higher price than the short sale price, resulting in a loss. The proceeds received from the Fund’s short sales of securities will generally be used to purchase all or a portion of the Fund’s additional long positions in securities, particularly high yield debt securities. By investing the proceeds received from selling securities short, the Fund could be deemed to be employing a form of leverage, which creates special risks. The use of leverage may increase the Fund’s exposure to long securities positions and make any change in the Fund’s net asset value greater than it would be without the use of leverage, which could result in increased volatility of returns. There is no guarantee that any leveraging strategy the Fund employs will be successful during any period in which it is employed.The Fund’s investment advisor combines a fundamental credit selection process with relative value analysis and top-down macroeconomic perspectives when selecting investment opportunities. The Fund’s investment advisor believes that an evolving investment environment offers varying degrees of investment risk opportunities in the high yield, bank loan and other fixed income instrument markets. To capitalize on attractive investments and effectively manage potential risk, the Fund’s investment advisor believes that the combination of thorough and continuous credit analysis, market evaluation, diversification and the ability to reallocate investments is critical to achieving higher risk-adjusted returns.As of January 31, 2024, the Fund had significant investments in communication services companies, although this may change from time to time. Over time, the Fund may have significant investments in jurisdictions or investment sectors that it may not have had as of January 31, 2024. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.
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HYLS - Performance

Return Ranking - Trailing

Period HYLS Return Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
YTD 0.8% -4.9% 8.2% 83.78%
1 Yr 12.6% -4.3% 26.0% 23.32%
3 Yr 0.7%* -15.6% 20.6% 80.23%
5 Yr 3.0%* -11.2% 37.3% 70.29%
10 Yr 3.4%* -4.7% 19.5% 46.12%

* Annualized

Return Ranking - Calendar

Period HYLS Return Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
2023 6.8% -4.7% 14.3% 11.34%
2022 -18.6% -33.4% 3.6% 88.40%
2021 -1.8% -8.4% 14.9% 89.72%
2020 -0.1% -13.9% 302.7% 50.59%
2019 8.8% -4.4% 13.3% 32.59%

Total Return Ranking - Trailing

Period HYLS Return Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
YTD 0.8% -4.9% 8.2% 83.78%
1 Yr 12.6% -4.3% 26.0% 23.32%
3 Yr 0.7%* -15.6% 20.6% 80.23%
5 Yr 3.0%* -11.2% 37.3% 70.29%
10 Yr 3.4%* -4.7% 19.5% 46.12%

* Annualized

Total Return Ranking - Calendar

Period HYLS Return Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
2023 13.6% -4.7% 18.7% 13.98%
2022 -12.8% -33.4% 47.8% 86.05%
2021 3.7% -8.4% 24.8% 79.45%
2020 5.3% -9.6% 325.6% 53.28%
2019 14.6% -3.8% 21.5% 33.10%

HYLS - Holdings

Concentration Analysis

HYLS Category Low Category High HYLS % Rank
Net Assets 1.47 B 1.85 M 22.6 B 31.18%
Number of Holdings 312 2 2736 55.71%
Net Assets in Top 10 335 M -492 M 4.45 B 15.90%
Weighting of Top 10 24.35% 4.2% 149.6% 15.43%

Top 10 Holdings

  1. HUB International Ltd 3.30%
  2. SSC Technologies Inc 2.89%
  3. Nexstar Media Inc 2.66%
  4. Alliant Holdings Intermediate LLC / Alliant Holdings Co-Issuer 2.56%
  5. AmWINS Group Inc 2.33%
  6. AssuredPartners Inc 2.27%
  7. Verscend Escrow Corp 2.25%
  8. United Rentals North America Inc 2.19%
  9. VERSCEND HOLDIN 08/27/25 2.02%
  10. 1011778 BC ULC / New Red Finance Inc 1.88%

Asset Allocation

Weighting Return Low Return High HYLS % Rank
Bonds
108.88% -3.13% 154.38% 1.54%
Convertible Bonds
0.89% 0.00% 17.89% 61.57%
Cash
0.22% -52.00% 49.49% 93.67%
Stocks
0.02% 0.00% 99.61% 66.36%
Preferred Stocks
0.00% 0.00% 8.06% 61.42%
Other
0.00% -63.70% 102.57% 58.64%

Stock Sector Breakdown

Weighting Return Low Return High HYLS % Rank
Utilities
0.00% 0.00% 100.00% N/A
Technology
0.00% 0.00% 33.17% N/A
Real Estate
0.00% 0.00% 86.71% N/A
Industrials
0.00% 0.00% 93.12% N/A
Healthcare
0.00% 0.00% 22.17% N/A
Financial Services
0.00% 0.00% 100.00% N/A
Energy
0.00% 0.00% 100.00% N/A
Communication Services
0.00% 0.00% 99.99% N/A
Consumer Defense
0.00% 0.00% 100.00% N/A
Consumer Cyclical
0.00% 0.00% 100.00% N/A
Basic Materials
0.00% 0.00% 100.00% N/A

Stock Geographic Breakdown

Weighting Return Low Return High HYLS % Rank
US
0.02% 0.00% 99.61% 64.04%
Non US
0.00% -0.01% 0.83% 44.44%

Bond Sector Breakdown

Weighting Return Low Return High HYLS % Rank
Corporate
96.69% 0.00% 129.69% 32.61%
Cash & Equivalents
0.22% 0.00% 49.49% 82.72%
Derivative
0.00% -15.04% 42.26% 49.69%
Securitized
0.00% 0.00% 97.24% 66.15%
Municipal
0.00% 0.00% 4.66% 38.33%
Government
0.00% 0.00% 99.07% 55.64%

Bond Geographic Breakdown

Weighting Return Low Return High HYLS % Rank
US
108.88% -3.13% 129.21% 0.93%
Non US
0.00% 0.00% 97.33% 60.80%

HYLS - Expenses

Operational Fees

HYLS Fees (% of AUM) Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
Expense Ratio 1.02% 0.04% 31.61% 47.69%
Management Fee 0.95% 0.00% 1.84% 95.85%
12b-1 Fee 0.00% 0.00% 1.00% 4.69%
Administrative Fee N/A 0.00% 0.50% N/A

Sales Fees

HYLS Fees (% of AUM) Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
Front Load N/A 2.25% 5.75% N/A
Deferred Load N/A 1.00% 5.00% N/A

Trading Fees

HYLS Fees (% of AUM) Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
Max Redemption Fee N/A 1.00% 2.00% N/A

Related Fees

Turnover provides investors a proxy for the trading fees incurred by mutual fund managers who frequently adjust position allocations. Higher turnover means higher trading fees.

HYLS Fees (% of AUM) Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
Turnover N/A 1.00% 255.00% 56.36%

HYLS - Distributions

Dividend Yield Analysis

HYLS Category Low Category High HYLS % Rank
Dividend Yield 6.48% 0.00% 35.52% 25.00%

Dividend Distribution Analysis

HYLS Category Low Category High Category Mod
Dividend Distribution Frequency Monthly SemiAnnual Monthly Monthly

Net Income Ratio Analysis

HYLS Category Low Category High HYLS % Rank
Net Income Ratio 5.11% -2.39% 14.30% 17.27%

Capital Gain Distribution Analysis

HYLS Category Low Category High Capital Mode
Capital Gain Distribution Frequency Annually Annually Annually Annually

Distributions History

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HYLS - Fund Manager Analysis

Managers

William Housey


Start Date

Tenure

Tenure Rank

Feb 25, 2013

9.27

9.3%

William A. Housey, CFA, was born in 1973. Mr. Housey earned a B.S. in Finance from Eastern Illinois University and an M.B.A. in Finance and Management & Strategy from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business. Mr. Housey joined First Trust Advisors L.P. in 2010 as Senior Portfolio Manager for the Leveraged Finance Investment Team and has over 22 years of investment experience having held various positions in portfolio management and research. Mr. Housey is responsible for managing fixed-income portfolios, principally focusing on below investment-grade credit.

Jeffrey Scott


Start Date

Tenure

Tenure Rank

Mar 02, 2020

2.25

2.3%

Jeffrey Scott, CFA, Senior Vice President, Deputy Credit Officer, Portfolio Manager of the First Trust Portfolios L.P. Mr. Scott is Deputy Credit Officer for the Leveraged Finance Investment Team. He has extensive experience in credit analysis, product development, and product management. Prior to joining First Trust, Mr. Scott served as an Assistant Portfolio Manager and as a Senior Credit Analyst for Morgan Stanley/Van Kampen from October 2008 to June 2010. As Assistant Portfolio Manager, his responsibilities included assisting with portfolio construction, buy and sell decision making, and monitoring fund liquidity and leverage. Scott joined the Van Kampen Asset Management in 2005. He has approximately 18 years of investment industry experience. Prior to joining the Adviser, he was employed by State Farm Insurance Companies where he served as an Assistant Vice President in the Mutual Fund Group responsible for product development and strategy as well as a Regional Vice President for Sales for the Financial Services Division. Mr. Scott earned a B.S. in Finance and Economics from Elmhurst College and an M.B.A. with specialization in Analytical Finance and Econometrics and Statistics from the University of Chicago. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Chicago.

Tenure Analysis

Category Low Category High Category Average Category Mode
0.13 37.79 7.12 8.17