Investment objective & strategy
As of Nov. 28, 2025 · prospectusObjective. The First Trust AAA CMBS ETF (the "Fund") seeks to maximize long-term total return.
Strategy. Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in commercial mortgage-backed securities ( CMBS ) with a AAA rating (or equivalent) at the time of purchase, as determined by at least one nationally recognized statistical rating organization ( NRSRO ) or, if unrated, as determined by the Advisor to be of comparable credit quality at the time of purchase. The Fund generally expects to invest at least 90% of its net assets in CMBS with a AAA rating (or equivalent) at the time of purchase, as determined by at least one NRSRO or, if unrated, as determined by the Advisor to be of comparable credit quality at … Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in commercial mortgage-backed securities ( CMBS ) with a AAA rating (or equivalent) at the time of purchase, as determined by at least one nationally recognized statistical rating organization ( NRSRO ) or, if unrated, as determined by the Advisor to be of comparable credit quality at the time of purchase. The Fund generally expects to invest at least 90% of its net assets in CMBS with a AAA rating (or equivalent) at the time of purchase, as determined by at least one NRSRO or, if unrated, as determined by the Advisor to be of comparable credit quality at the time of purchase. The Fund will not invest in CMBS with a rating below "A-" (or equivalent) at the time of purchase. However, after purchase, a CMBS may have its rating reduced below the minimum rating required by the Fund for purchase. In such cases, the Fund will consider whether to continue to hold the CMBS. In the case of a split rating on a security between one or more of the NRSROs, the Fund will consider the highest rating. The Fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing in a portfolio of CMBS. CMBS typically represent an interest in a pool of commercial mortgage loans in the form of fixed and floating rate securities. The Fund will invest primarily in non-agency CMBS. The Fund may also invest in restricted CMBS and interest or principal only CMBS. The investment advisor determines which investments to buy and sell by employing a relative value approach, pursuant to which it judges each security's risk-versus-reward characteristics against other securities. At the core of its investment process, the investment advisor utilizes quantitative and qualitative methods to assess risks and opportunities in seeking to deliver superior risk-adjusted returns. Under normal market conditions, the Fund seeks to construct a portfolio that has a weighted average duration of +/- two years of the weighted average duration of the Bloomberg Non-Agency Investment Grade CMBS: US Aggregate Eligible Aaa Index. As of October 31, 2025, the weighted average duration of the Bloomberg Non-Agency Investment Grade CMBS: US Aggregate Eligible Aaa Index was 3.52 years. Duration is a mathematical calculation of the average life of a debt security (or portfolio of debt securities) that serves as a measure of its price risk. In general, each year of duration represents an expected 1% change in the value of a security for every 1% immediate change in interest rates. For example, if a portfolio of mortgage loans has an average duration of three years, its value can be expected to fall about 3% if interest rates rise by 1%. Conversely, the portfolios value can be expected to rise about 3% if interest rates fall by 1%. As a result, prices of instruments with shorter durations tend to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than instruments with longer durations. As the value of a security changes over time, so will its duration. The Funds investment advisor will calculate the duration of the portfolio by modeling the cash flows of all the individual holdings, including the impact of prepayment variability and coupon adjustments where applicable, to determine the duration of each holding and then aggregating based on the size of the position. In performing this duration calculation, the Funds advisor will utilize third-party models. The Fund may invest in exchange-listed or over-the-counter ( OTC ) traded derivatives instruments, including futures, forwards, options and swaps. The Funds use of derivatives will be used to manage risks, serve as a substitute for a position in the underlying asset, reduce transaction costs, maintain full market exposure, to manage cash flows and/or to preserve capital. Additionally, the Fund may take short positions in U.S. treasury futures contracts in order to manage the Funds duration. Derivatives with comparable economic characteristics to CMBS may be used to satisfy the Fund's stated policy to invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in CMBS with a AAA rating (or equivalent) at the time of purchase . The Fund may use certain credit derivatives to obtain exposure to the CMBS market, such as CMBX. The Fund may use CMBX exposure in two ways: when the Fund is a buyer of CMBX credit protection, it seeks to manage its risk exposure to the CMBS market; when the Fund is a seller of CMBX credit protection, it seeks to gain exposure to the CMBS market, similar to investing directly in a basket of CMBS. When the Fund obtains exposure to the CMBS market using CMBX, it will be considered an investment in a derivative with comparable economic characteristics to CMBS for purposes of the Fund's stated policy to invest at least 80% of its net assets ( plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in CMBS with AAA rating (or equivalent) at the time of purchase. The Funds investments will be concentrated ( i.e. , 25% or more of the Funds total assets) in the industries constituting the mortgage-related securities sector. The Fund is classified as non-diversified under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act ).
Top holdings
As of April 30, 2026 · N-PORT| Security | Ticker | Value | % of fund |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSILF Treasury Portfolio, Class Institutional | MISXX | $650.12K | 2.00% |
| CSMC SERIES 2019 UVIL | — | $611.28K | 1.88% |
| BX Trust, Series 2025-DELC, Class A | — | $601.50K | 1.85% |
| Trust (The), Series 2023-MIC, Class A | THE | $564.81K | 1.74% |
| BSTN Commercial Mortgage Trust 2025-1C | — | $562.24K | 1.73% |
| CENT 2025-CITY A | — | $553.03K | 1.70% |
| SWCH COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE TRUST SWCH 2025 DATA A 144A | SWCH | $550.94K | 1.69% |
| CHI COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE TRUST 2025-SFT SER 2025-SFT CL A V/R REGD 144A P/P 5.48216000 | CHI | $527.86K | 1.62% |
| NY Commercial Mortgage Trust, Series 2025-299P, Class A | NY | $519.41K | 1.60% |
| BBCMS Mortgage Trust, Series 2018-TALL, Class A | BBCMS | $514.01K | 1.58% |
Portfolio moves
Jan 31, 2026 → Apr 30, 2026How many positions this fund opened, exited, grew, trimmed, or left unchanged between its two most recent N-PORT snapshots — net changes between point-in-time reports, not a trade log.
Similar funds
Funds whose portfolios most overlap this one, by weight| Fund | Overlap | Net exp. |
|---|---|---|
| First Trust Mortgage Income Fund | 11% | — |
| First Trust Structured Credit Income Opportunities ETF · SCIO | 10% | 0.86% |
| First Trust Securitized Plus ETF · DEED | 8% | 0.76% |
Advisers
| Firm | Role |
|---|---|
| First Trust Advisors L.P. | Adviser |
Footnotes
- Expense ratio as of November 28, 2025, from the fund's prospectus.
- Net assets and holdings count as of April 30, 2026, from the fund's N-PORT filing.
- Total return for calendar year 2025, before tax and after fund expenses. Computed by compounding the twelve monthly total returns the fund reported in its SEC N-PORT filings for 2025 (the latest prospectus does not yet chart this year).
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