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Is First Trust Natural Gas ETF (FCG) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Launched on 05/08/2007, the First Trust Natural Gas ETF (FCG - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Energy ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Managed by First Trust Advisors, FCG has amassed assets over $321.41 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Energy ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the ISE-REVERE Natural Gas Index.
The ISE-Revere Natural Gas Index is an equal-weighted index comprised of exchange-listed companies that derive a substantial portion of their revenues from the exploration and production of natural gas.
Cost & Other Expenses
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.60%.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.62%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Representing 97.50% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Energy sector.
When you look at individual holdings, Conocophillips (COP - Free Report) accounts for about 4.56% of the fund's total assets, followed by Western Midstream Partners Lp (WES - Free Report) and Hess Midstream Lp (class A) (HESM - Free Report) .
FCG's top 10 holdings account for about 42.76% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -9.47% and is down about -16.92% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 05/12/2025), respectively. FCG has traded between $19.37 and $27.73 during this last 52-week period.
FCG has a beta of 0.87 and standard deviation of 32.38% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a high risk choice in the space. With about 43 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
First Trust Natural Gas ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Energy ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Range Global LNG Ecosystem Index ETF (LNGZ - Free Report) tracks RANGE GLOBAL LNG ECOSYSTEM INDEX. The fund has $5.35 million in assets. LNGZ has an expense ratio of 0.85%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Energy ETFs.
Bottom Line
To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.
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Is First Trust Natural Gas ETF (FCG) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Launched on 05/08/2007, the First Trust Natural Gas ETF (FCG - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Energy ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Managed by First Trust Advisors, FCG has amassed assets over $321.41 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Energy ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the ISE-REVERE Natural Gas Index.
The ISE-Revere Natural Gas Index is an equal-weighted index comprised of exchange-listed companies that derive a substantial portion of their revenues from the exploration and production of natural gas.
Cost & Other Expenses
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.60%.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.62%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Representing 97.50% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Energy sector.
When you look at individual holdings, Conocophillips (COP - Free Report) accounts for about 4.56% of the fund's total assets, followed by Western Midstream Partners Lp (WES - Free Report) and Hess Midstream Lp (class A) (HESM - Free Report) .
FCG's top 10 holdings account for about 42.76% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -9.47% and is down about -16.92% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 05/12/2025), respectively. FCG has traded between $19.37 and $27.73 during this last 52-week period.
FCG has a beta of 0.87 and standard deviation of 32.38% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a high risk choice in the space. With about 43 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
First Trust Natural Gas ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Energy ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Range Global LNG Ecosystem Index ETF (LNGZ - Free Report) tracks RANGE GLOBAL LNG ECOSYSTEM INDEX. The fund has $5.35 million in assets. LNGZ has an expense ratio of 0.85%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Energy ETFs.
Bottom Line
To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.