Investment objective & strategy
As of Feb. 27, 2026 · prospectusObjective. The First Trust Short Duration High Income Fund (the "Fund" ) seeks to provide a high level of current income. As a secondary objective, the Fund seeks capital appreciation.
Strategy. Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in high yield debt securities and bank loans that are rated below-investment grade or unrated. High yield debt securities are below-investment grade debt securities, commonly known as junk bonds . For purposes of determining whether a security is below-investment grade, the lowest available rating is used. The Fund has a short duration investment strategy, which seeks to maintain, under normal market conditions, a blended (or weighted average) portfolio duration of three years or less. 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, … Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in high yield debt securities and bank loans that are rated below-investment grade or unrated. High yield debt securities are below-investment grade debt securities, commonly known as junk bonds . For purposes of determining whether a security is below-investment grade, the lowest available rating is used. The Fund has a short duration investment strategy, which seeks to maintain, under normal market conditions, a blended (or weighted average) portfolio duration of three years or less. 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 bank loans and fixed income securities 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. Bank loans have relatively low durations, i.e. , close to zero, which means that the interest rates on loans reset approximately every 30-90 days, on average, however, the inclusion of Secured Overnight Financing Rate ( "SOFR" ) or similar reference rate floors on certain senior loans or other factors may cause interest rate duration to be longer than 90 days. Accordingly, the Funds investment in such securities will likely reduce the blended duration of the portfolio and in turn the Funds overall interest rate sensitivity. Average duration is the measure of a debt instruments or a portfolios price sensitivity with respect to changes in market yields. The blended duration is the sum of the dollar weighted average duration of the Funds positions. Under normal market conditions, the Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in non-U.S. securities denominated in non-U.S. currencies. The Fund may also invest in investment grade debt securities, covenant-lite loans, floating rate securities and companies with various market capitalizations.
Top holdings
As of April 30, 2026 · N-PORT| Security | Ticker | Value | % of fund |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSILF Treasury Portfolio, Class Institutional | MISXX | $3.32M | 5.96% |
| ATHENA TL B 1L USD | ATHENA | $959.27K | 1.73% |
| OneDigital Health and Benefits Second-lien Term Loan 525 2032-06-02 | DIGIIN | $860.19K | 1.55% |
| WHTCAP TL B 1L USD | WHTCAP | $736.95K | 1.33% |
| DISH Network Corp | — | $700.37K | 1.26% |
| CORPBOND | BWIN | $698.05K | 1.26% |
| TIHLLC 7 1/8 06/01/31 | TIHLLC | $668.49K | 1.20% |
| WHATABURGER TERM B 1LN 08/03/2028 | WHABRA | $626.92K | 1.13% |
| OPELLA TERM B 1LN 04/23/2032 | — | $618.04K | 1.11% |
| CHTR 7 02/01/33 144A | CHTR | $577.12K | 1.04% |
Portfolio moves
Jan 30, 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 Tactical High Yield ETF · HYLS | 60% | 0.69% |
| First Trust High Yield Opportunities 2027 Term Fund | 57% | — |
| First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II | 25% | — |
Advisers
| Firm | Role |
|---|---|
| First Trust Advisors L.P. | Adviser |
Footnotes
- Expense ratio as of February 27, 2026, 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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