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Is First Trust Capital Strength ETF (FTCS) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Launched on 07/06/2006, the First Trust Capital Strength ETF (FTCS - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $8.36 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the The Capital Strength Index.
The Capital Strength Index is an equal-dollar weighted index which provides exposure to well-capitalized companies with strong market positions based on strong balance sheets, high degree of liquidity, ability to generate earnings growth & record financial strength & profit growth.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.52% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.19%.
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.
For FTCS, it has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector --about 25.5% of the portfolio --while Consumer Staples and Financials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Ebay Inc. (EBAY) accounts for about 2.31% of total assets, followed by The Home Depot, Inc. (HD) and Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST).
The top 10 holdings account for about 22.04% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 6.63% and is up about 2% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 10/16/2025), respectively. FTCS has traded between $81.60 and $94.03 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.80 and standard deviation of 11.99% for the trailing three-year period, which makes FTCS a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 51 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
First Trust Capital Strength ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) tracks S&P 500 Index and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $697.95 billion in assets, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has $760.43 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VOO changes 0.03%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Large Cap Blend
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 Capital Strength ETF (FTCS) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Launched on 07/06/2006, the First Trust Capital Strength ETF (FTCS - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $8.36 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the The Capital Strength Index.
The Capital Strength Index is an equal-dollar weighted index which provides exposure to well-capitalized companies with strong market positions based on strong balance sheets, high degree of liquidity, ability to generate earnings growth & record financial strength & profit growth.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.52% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.19%.
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.
For FTCS, it has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector --about 25.5% of the portfolio --while Consumer Staples and Financials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Ebay Inc. (EBAY) accounts for about 2.31% of total assets, followed by The Home Depot, Inc. (HD) and Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST).
The top 10 holdings account for about 22.04% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 6.63% and is up about 2% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 10/16/2025), respectively. FTCS has traded between $81.60 and $94.03 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.80 and standard deviation of 11.99% for the trailing three-year period, which makes FTCS a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 51 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
First Trust Capital Strength ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) tracks S&P 500 Index and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $697.95 billion in assets, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has $760.43 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VOO changes 0.03%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Large Cap Blend
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.