Investment objective & strategy
As of Feb. 27, 2026 · prospectusObjective. The First Trust Intermediate Duration Investment Grade Corporate ETF s (the Fund ) investment objective is to deliver current income and long-term capital appreciation.
Strategy. Under normal market conditions, the Fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in investment grade corporate debt securities. Corporate debt securities are debt obligations issued by businesses to finance their operations. Notes, bonds, loans, debentures and commercial paper are the most common types of corporate debt securities, with the primary differences being their maturities and secured or unsecured status. Commercial paper has the shortest term and is usually unsecured. Corporate debt securities may have fixed or floating interest rates. The corporate debt securities in which the Fund may invest also include senior loans, substantially all of which are expected to be covenant-lite loans. At least 80% … Under normal market conditions, the Fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in investment grade corporate debt securities. Corporate debt securities are debt obligations issued by businesses to finance their operations. Notes, bonds, loans, debentures and commercial paper are the most common types of corporate debt securities, with the primary differences being their maturities and secured or unsecured status. Commercial paper has the shortest term and is usually unsecured. Corporate debt securities may have fixed or floating interest rates. The corporate debt securities in which the Fund may invest also include senior loans, substantially all of which are expected to be covenant-lite loans. At least 80% of the Funds net assets will be invested in corporate debt securities that are, at the time of purchase, investment grade ( i.e. , rated Baa3/BBB- or above) by at least one nationally recognized statistical rating organization ( NRSRO ) rating such securities, or if unrated, debt securities determined by the Funds investment advisor to be of comparable quality. In the case of a split rating between one or more of the NRSROs, the Fund will consider the highest rating. For an unrated security to be considered investment grade, the Funds investment advisor will consider, at the time of purchase, whether such security is of comparable quality based on fundamental credit analysis of the unrated security and comparable securities that are rated by an NRSRO. Additionally, for newly-issued debt securities, the Fund may consider an expected rating provided by an NRSRO as if it were a final rating. The investment philosophy of the Funds investment advisor is based on the belief that deep fundamental credit analysis performed by a highly experienced credit team, within a risk managed framework, will generate higher absolute and risk-adjusted returns within investment grade debt strategies. This investment philosophy is expressed by the Funds investment advisor through an investment process that combines rigorous bottom-up fundamental credit analysis and disciplined portfolio construction. Risk management is a critical component of the entire process and is embedded in both the fundamental credit analysis and portfolio construction. The Fund's investment advisor's fundamental credit analysis involves the evaluation of the macro-economy, industry trends, consistency of company cash flows and valuation and management quality, among other considerations. The investment process favors companies that produce relatively stable cash flows through an economic cycle, companies that have valuations supportive of the debt balances and companies that have management teams with a sound track record. The Fund's investment advisor's key considerations of portfolio construction include yield curve management ( i.e. , monitoring macro factors that drive interest rates), relative value assessments ( i.e. , an internal process of evaluating investment opportunities on a relative basis), portfolio diversification, issuer liquidity and continuous monitoring. Under normal market conditions, the Fund seeks to construct a portfolio that has a dollar weighted average duration of +/- 1.5 years of the Bloomberg U.S. Credit Corp 5-10 Year Index. Duration measures the price sensitivity of a debt security (or portfolio of debt securities) to relative changes in interest rates. 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, the price of a debt security with a three-year duration would be expected to drop by approximately 3% in response to a 1% increase in interest rates. Therefore, prices of debt securities with shorter durations tend to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than debt securities with longer durations. As the value of a debt 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 investment advisor will utilize third-party models. Securities in the portfolio may be sold for several reasons, including, but not limited to, meeting cash needs of the Fund, deterioration in the fundamental credit quality of an issuer or a change in the relative attractiveness (relative value) of a security. Although the Fund intends to invest primarily in investment grade corporate debt securities, the Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in debt securities of any credit quality, including senior loans and other debt securities that are below investment grade (also known as high yield securities, or commonly referred to as junk bonds), or unrated securities that have not been judged by the Funds investment advisor to be of comparable quality to rated investment grade securities, U.S. Treasury securities, securities issued by agencies of the U.S. government, taxable municipal securities, non-U.S. dollar denominated corporate debt, cash equivalents, futures contracts and options contracts. To the extent the Fund purchases or sells securities in delayed settlement transactions ( e.g. , on a when-issued basis), the Fund will do so pursuant to Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act. The Fund's active trading strategy may lead to higher levels of portfolio turnover. The Fund may also invest in non-U.S. securities, mortgage-related securities, fixed-to-floating rate securities and companies with various market capitalizations. As of January 30, 2026, the Fund had significant investments in financial companies, although this may change from time to time. Over time, the Fund may have significant investments in a jurisdiction, investment sector or industry or group of industries that it may not have had as of January 30, 2026. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction , investment sector or industry or group of industries, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction, investment sector or industry or group of industries. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ICON INVESTMENTS SIX DESIGNATED ACTIVITY CO 6% 05/08/2034 | ICLR | $9.30M | 1.39% |
| COOPERATIEVE RABOBANK UA REGD V/R 144A P/P 5.71000000 | — | $8.32M | 1.24% |
| Fair Isaac Corp. | — | $6.99M | 1.04% |
| SOLVENTUM CORP | — | $6.90M | 1.03% |
| CONSTELLATION ST | — | $6.86M | 1.02% |
| SWFP 5.8 08/15/35 144A | SWFP | $6.50M | 0.97% |
| Vulcan Materials Company 0% CP 01/05/2026 | — | $6.50M | 0.97% |
| MORGAN STANLEY | — | $6.36M | 0.95% |
| RAYMOND JAMES FINL. 4.90% | RJF | $6.10M | 0.91% |
| ROPER TECHNOLOGI | — | $6.06M | 0.90% |
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 Limited Duration Investment Grade Corporate ETF · FSIG | 18% | 0.44% |
| First Trust Core Investment Grade ETF · FTCB | 14% | 0.56% |
| First Trust/Dow Jones Dividend & Income Allocation Portfolio | 9% | 0.95% |
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. As reported in the fund's prospectus performance bar chart.
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