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Trending ETFs

First Trust High Income Strategic Focus ETF

Active ETF
HISF
Payout Change
Pending
Price as of:
$43.15 -0.07 -0.15%
primary theme
N/A
HISF (ETF)

First Trust High Income Strategic Focus ETF

Payout Change
Pending
Price as of:
$43.15 -0.07 -0.15%
primary theme
N/A
HISF (ETF)

First Trust High Income Strategic Focus ETF

Payout Change
Pending
Price as of:
$43.15 -0.07 -0.15%
primary theme
N/A

Name

As of 04/24/2024

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

$43.15

$33.1 M

4.63%

$2.00

0.87%

Vitals

YTD Return

-2.3%

1 yr return

1.1%

3 Yr Avg Return

-0.9%

5 Yr Avg Return

1.2%

Net Assets

$33.1 M

Holdings in Top 10

99.9%

52 WEEK LOW AND HIGH

$43.2
$41.75
$44.98

Expenses

OPERATING FEES

Expense Ratio 0.87%

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 04/24/2024

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

$43.15

$33.1 M

4.63%

$2.00

0.87%

HISF - Profile

Distributions

  • YTD Total Return -2.3%
  • 3 Yr Annualized Total Return -0.9%
  • 5 Yr Annualized Total Return 1.2%
  • Capital Gain Distribution Frequency N/A
  • Net Income Ratio N/A
DIVIDENDS
  • Dividend Yield 4.6%
  • Dividend Distribution Frequency Monthly

Fund Details

  • Legal Name
    First Trust High Income Strategic Focus ETF
  • Fund Family Name
    First Trust Advisors L.P.
  • Inception Date
    Aug 13, 2014
  • Shares Outstanding
    N/A
  • Share Class
    N/A
  • Currency
    USD
  • Domiciled Country
    US
  • Manager
    Daniel Lindquist

Fund Description

Under normal market conditions, the Fund seeks to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a portfolio of U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds (“Underlying ETFs”) that is designed to follow the High Income Model (the “High Income Model”) developed by the Fund’s investment advisor, First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”). The Fund, through its investments in the Underlying ETFs comprising the High Income Model, seeks to provide investors with a diversified income stream by holding a blend of fixed income assets that are actively managed to seek levels of high income and total return. The High Income Model is principally composed of ETFs for which First Trust serves as investment advisor. Therefore, a significant portion of the ETFs in which the Fund invests are advised by First Trust. However, the Fund may also invest in ETFs other than First Trust ETFs.The Advisor employs a dynamic approach in selecting the Underlying ETFs that are included in the High Income Model. In constructing the High Income Model, the Advisor uses a disciplined process for reviewing the macroeconomic outlook, policy drivers and asset level analysis that inform portfolio construction and ongoing risk management. The process begins with a robust, top-down review of macroeconomic factors including monetary and fiscal policies, growth forecasts, trade and tax policies, global market views and current market valuations. The process combines these factors with disciplined bottom-up asset level analysis including views on rates, duration, credit, currency and current asset valuations. The Advisor utilizes this process to evaluate the relative attractiveness of the various fixed-income asset classes in an attempt to best position the Fund to take advantage of market trends and investment opportunities. The High Income Model is also designed to allow the Advisor to adjust portfolio risk for the Model on an ongoing basis, consistent with the Fund’s investment objective to seek risk-adjusted income.The Fund may invest in Underlying ETFs that invest principally in the following asset classes:U.S. government securities (securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities);Corporate bonds issued by investment-grade U.S. issuers;Corporate bonds issued by non-investment-grade issuers (commonly referred to as “junk” bonds);Senior loans, including covenant-lite loans (which are generally structured with floating rates of interest);Securitized debt securities (including asset-backed securities and residential- and commercial-mortgaged backed securities including securities issued non-governmental issuers, known as “non-agency securities”);Bonds issued by issuers located outside of the United States, including issuers located in emerging market countries, including bonds issued by sovereign and quasi-sovereign entities (such bonds may be denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars); andHybrid capital securities (securities with unique characteristics such as preferred securities, convertible securities and contingent convertible securities).The High Income Model, and therefore the Fund, is actively-managed and is designed to be responsive to market conditions. Therefore the Fund may engage in frequent trading. However, the High Income Model, and therefore the Fund's portfolio, is constructed subject to certain exposure limits. Through its investments in the Underlying ETFs, the Advisor will seek to position the Fund's portfolio to have no more than 60% exposure to U.S. high-yield securities (consisting of U.S. high-yield corporate bonds and U.S. high-yield senior loans); no more than 30% exposure to debt securities issued by non-U.S. issuers (including issuers located in emerging market countries); no more than 20% exposure to debt securities issued by emerging market issuers; no more than 20% exposure to preferred securities; and no more than 10% exposure to convertible bonds. In determining whether a security is classified as non-investment-grade, the Advisor considers the lowest rating provided by the "big three" credit rating agencies. The Underlying ETFs may also invest in defaulted securities, restricted securities, when-issued securities, to-be-announced securities and delayed delivery securities and may utilize repurchase agreements.The Fund will not utilize derivatives but may invest in Underlying ETFs that utilize derivatives for various purposes, such as hedging some of the risks associated with its portfolio, as a substitute for a position in an underlying asset, to reduce transaction costs, to maintain full market exposure (which means to adjust the characteristics of its investments to more closely approximate those of the markets in which it invests), to manage cash flows or to preserve capital.The Fund invests significantly in shares of the First Trust TCW Opportunistic Fixed Income ETF (“FIXD”). See below for a summary of FIXD’s principal investment strategies.FIXDUnder normal market conditions, FIXD pursues its objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in fixed income securities. FIXD’s investments principally include securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies, instrumentalities or U.S. government-sponsored entities; Treasury Inflation Protected Securities; residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities; asset-backed securities; U.S. corporate bonds; fixed income securities issued by non-U.S. corporations and governments, including issuers with significant ties to emerging market countries; bank loans, including first lien senior secured floating rate bank loans and covenant-lite loans; municipal bonds; collateralized loan obligations; Rule 144A securities; and other debt securities bearing fixed, floating or variable interest rates of any maturity. FIXD may also invest in money market funds and other cash equivalents, preferred stock and common stock. FIXD may invest a significant portion of its assets in securitized investment products, including up to 50% of its total assets in non-agency, non-government-sponsored entity securities and privately-issued mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities: residential mortgage-backed securities, commercial mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities and CLOs (collectively, “Private MBS/ABS”); up to 25% of its total assets in non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities; up to 25% of its total assets in non-agency commercial mortgage-backed securities and CLOs; and up to 25% of its total assets in non-agency asset-backed securities. FIXD may also utilize listed and over-the-counter traded derivatives instruments including, but not limited to, futures, options, swap agreements (including credit default swaps) and forward contracts for duration/yield curve management and/or hedging purposes. FIXD may invest up to 25% of its total assets in derivatives instruments that are traded “over-the-counter” and not through an exchange to reduce currency, interest rate or credit risk arising from FIXD’s investments (that is, “hedge”). Additional information regarding FIXD, including its prospectus and most recent annual report, is available without charge by visiting www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/Etf/EtfFundNews.aspx?Ticker=FIXD.
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HISF - Performance

Return Ranking - Trailing

Period HISF Return Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
YTD -2.3% -18.5% 7.5% 94.21%
1 Yr 1.1% -23.3% 41.6% 4.27%
3 Yr -0.9%* -8.9% 9.4% 5.12%
5 Yr 1.2%* -6.9% 5.1% 5.33%
10 Yr N/A* -4.4% 5.5% N/A

* Annualized

Return Ranking - Calendar

Period HISF Return Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
2023 1.9% -35.0% 33.6% 2.70%
2022 -13.2% -7.0% 7.1% 100.00%
2021 6.0% -3.6% 12.1% 0.73%
2020 -7.0% -11.4% 5.1% 99.75%
2019 11.2% -4.8% 7.6% 2.31%

Total Return Ranking - Trailing

Period HISF Return Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
YTD -2.3% -18.5% 7.5% 94.88%
1 Yr 1.1% -23.3% 45.8% 8.37%
3 Yr -0.9%* -8.9% 15.2% 7.35%
5 Yr 1.2%* -6.9% 12.6% 6.97%
10 Yr N/A* -4.4% 7.2% N/A

* Annualized

Total Return Ranking - Calendar

Period HISF Return Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
2023 6.4% -35.0% 33.6% 2.70%
2022 -10.0% -7.0% 14.7% 100.00%
2021 10.2% -3.6% 12.1% 0.73%
2020 -2.8% -9.5% 5.1% 100.00%
2019 15.8% -4.8% 11.8% 2.57%

HISF - Holdings

Concentration Analysis

HISF Category Low Category High HISF % Rank
Net Assets 33.1 M 130 K 62.8 B 90.33%
Number of Holdings 8 3 25236 89.66%
Net Assets in Top 10 31.2 M 3.05 K 11 B 79.75%
Weighting of Top 10 99.90% 6.3% 100.0% 5.23%

Top 10 Holdings

  1. First Trust TCW Opportunistic Fixed Income ETF 39.92%
  2. First Trust Low Duration Opportunities ETF 15.07%
  3. First Trust Limited Duration Investment Grade Corporate ETF 15.05%
  4. First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund IV First Trust Tactical High Yield ETF 14.94%
  5. First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF 5.07%
  6. iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF 4.89%
  7. First Trust Enhanced Short Maturity ETF 2.51%
  8. First Trust Emerging Markets Local Currency Bond ETF 2.46%

Asset Allocation

Weighting Return Low Return High HISF % Rank
Stocks
99.90% 0.00% 62.91% 99.79%
Cash
0.10% -35.68% 69.40% 79.32%
Preferred Stocks
0.00% -0.03% 39.31% 39.45%
Other
0.00% -9.78% 21.77% 52.95%
Convertible Bonds
0.00% 0.00% 71.77% 11.18%
Bonds
0.00% 11.31% 94.75% 0.21%

Stock Sector Breakdown

Weighting Return Low Return High HISF % Rank
Utilities
0.00% 0.00% 48.33% N/A
Technology
0.00% 0.00% 29.13% N/A
Real Estate
0.00% 0.00% 99.41% N/A
Industrials
0.00% 0.00% 26.64% N/A
Healthcare
0.00% 0.00% 27.40% N/A
Financial Services
0.00% 0.00% 83.50% N/A
Energy
0.00% 0.00% 62.93% N/A
Communication Services
0.00% 0.00% 20.68% N/A
Consumer Defense
0.00% 0.00% 18.62% N/A
Consumer Cyclical
0.00% 0.00% 15.36% N/A
Basic Materials
0.00% 0.00% 32.82% N/A

Stock Geographic Breakdown

Weighting Return Low Return High HISF % Rank
US
99.90% 0.00% 51.08% 99.79%
Non US
0.00% -0.01% 25.18% 97.89%

HISF - Expenses

Operational Fees

HISF Fees (% of AUM) Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
Expense Ratio 0.87% 0.03% 3.70% 49.90%
Management Fee 0.20% 0.00% 1.25% 43.39%
12b-1 Fee N/A 0.00% 1.00% 0.39%
Administrative Fee N/A 0.01% 0.70% N/A

Sales Fees

HISF Fees (% of AUM) Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
Front Load N/A 0.00% 5.75% N/A
Deferred Load N/A 1.00% 5.00% N/A

Trading Fees

HISF Fees (% of AUM) Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
Max Redemption Fee N/A 0.00% 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.

HISF Fees (% of AUM) Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
Turnover N/A 2.00% 380.00% N/A

HISF - Distributions

Dividend Yield Analysis

HISF Category Low Category High HISF % Rank
Dividend Yield 4.63% 0.00% 7.26% 6.67%

Dividend Distribution Analysis

HISF Category Low Category High Category Mod
Dividend Distribution Frequency Monthly Quarterly Monthly Quarterly

Net Income Ratio Analysis

HISF Category Low Category High HISF % Rank
Net Income Ratio N/A -1.22% 6.83% 17.00%

Capital Gain Distribution Analysis

HISF Category Low Category High Capital Mode
Capital Gain Distribution Frequency Annually Semi-Monthly Annually

Distributions History

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HISF - Fund Manager Analysis

Managers

Daniel Lindquist


Start Date

Tenure

Tenure Rank

Aug 13, 2014

7.8

7.8%

Daniel J. Lindquist, CFA, was born in 1970. Mr. Lindquist earned a B.A. in Business Economics from Wheaton College and has an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago. He has been with First Trust Advisors L.P. since 2004 and is a Managing Director. Mr. Lindquist is the Chairman of the Investment Committee and is responsible for the overall supervision of the Separate Managed Accounts.

William Housey


Start Date

Tenure

Tenure Rank

Aug 13, 2014

7.8

7.8%

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.

David McGarel


Start Date

Tenure

Tenure Rank

Aug 13, 2014

7.8

7.8%

David G. McGarel, CFA, was born in 1966. Mr. McGarel earned a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Notre Dame. He has been with First Trust Advisors L.P. since 1997 and he is a Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer and the Chief Investment Officer. As head of FTA’s Strategy Research Group, Mr. McGarel shall be responsible for developing and implementing quantitative investment strategies for those Funds that have investment policies that require them to follow such strategies, on behalf of the Investment Committee.

Chris Peterson


Start Date

Tenure

Tenure Rank

Mar 01, 2016

6.25

6.3%

Chris A. Peterson, CFA was born in 1975. Mr. Peterson earned a B.S in Finance from Bradley University and has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with concentrations in Analytic Finance & Accounting. He has been with First Trust Advisors L.P. since 2000. As head of FTA’s Portfolio Advisor’s Strategy Research Group, Mr. Peterson shall be responsible for developing and implementing quantitative equity strategies on behalf of the Investment Committee.

Steve Collins


Start Date

Tenure

Tenure Rank

Sep 20, 2021

0.69

0.7%

Mr. Steven Collins, CFA, is Vice President, Fixed Income Research, and is responsible for selecting and monitoring Unit Investment Trusts (UITs) consisting of both single and multiple fixed income asset types as well as equity UITs. Mr. Collins is a member of the First Trust Strategic Model Investment Committee. He is also a member of a Fixed Income Sub-Committee providing credit analysis for the banking sector including our securities lending and derivatives counterparties. Mr. Collins is also a member of the 22e4 Liquidity Committee and is the Chairman of the UIT 22e-4 Liquidity Committee. Mr. Collins joined FTA in 2007, holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the CFA Society of Chicago. Mr. Collins received a B.S. in Industrial Technology from Illinois State University and an M.B.A from DePaul University.

Tenure Analysis

Category Low Category High Category Average Category Mode
0.09 28.73 6.4 2.41