Launched on September 20, 2016, the First Trust NASDAQ Transportation ETF (FTXR Quick QuoteFTXR - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Industrials - Transportation/Shipping segment of the equity market.

Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.

Additionally, sector ETFs offer convenient ways to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Industrials - Transportation/Shipping is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 12, placing it in bottom 25%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $928.5 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Industrials - Transportation/Shipping segment of the equity market. FTXR seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq US Smart Transportation Index before fees and expenses.

The Nasdaq US Smart Transportation Index is a modified factor weighted index, designed to provide exposure to US companies within the transportation industry.

Costs

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.6%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.23%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector -- about 68.6% of the portfolio, followed by Consumer Discretionary.

Looking at individual holdings, General Motors Company (GM) accounts for about 8.09% of total assets, followed by Union Pacific Corporation (UNP) and Tesla, Inc. (TSLA).

The top 10 holdings account for about 58.23% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, FTXR has added about 6.16%, and is up about 46.11% in the last one year (as of 05/04/2026). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $29.01 and $43.1.

The ETF has a beta of 1.28 and standard deviation of 22.18% for the trailing three-year period. With about 44 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

First Trust NASDAQ Transportation ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, FTXR is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Industrials ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

U.S. Global Jets ETF (JETS) tracks U.S. Global Jets Index and the iShares U.S. Transportation ETF (IYT) tracks Dow Jones Transportation Average Index. U.S. Global Jets ETF has $749.34 million in assets, iShares U.S. Transportation ETF has $2.01 billion. JETS has an expense ratio of 0.6%, and IYT charges 0.38%.

Bottom Line

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