We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience.
This includes personalizing content and advertising.
By pressing "Accept All" or closing out of this banner, you consent to the use of all cookies and similar technologies and the sharing of information they collect with third parties.
You can reject marketing cookies by pressing "Deny Optional," but we still use essential, performance, and functional cookies.
In addition, whether you "Accept All," Deny Optional," click the X or otherwise continue to use the site, you accept our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, revised from time to time.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Is First Trust Growth Strength ETF (FTGS) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Read MoreHide Full Article
A smart beta exchange traded fund, the First Trust Growth Strength ETF (FTGS - Free Report) debuted on 10/25/2022, and offers broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.
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
FTGS is managed by First Trust Advisors, and this fund has amassed over $1.29 billion, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Growth. Before fees and expenses, FTGS seeks to match the performance of the THE GROWTH STRENGTH INDEX .
The Growth Strength Index provides exposure to a mix of domestic equities with filters for liquidity, return on equity, long-term debt, revenue and cash flow growth.
Cost & Other Expenses
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.60% for this ETF, which makes it one of the more expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.10%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
For FTGS, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 30.8% of the portfolio --while Healthcare and Industrials round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Newmont Corporation (NEM) accounts for about 2.76% of the fund's total assets, followed by Palantir Technologies Inc. (class A) (PLTR) and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 23.44% of FTGS's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 7.94% and was up about 6.24% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 09/25/2026), respectively. FTGS has traded between $33.11 and $39.99 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 1.01 and standard deviation of 16.25% for the trailing three-year period. With about 51 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
First Trust Growth Strength ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF (VUG) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Growth Index and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ) tracks NASDAQ-100 Index. Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF has $232.67 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $494.34 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.03% and QQQ changes 0.18%.
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 Growth
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.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Bigstock
Is First Trust Growth Strength ETF (FTGS) a Strong ETF Right Now?
A smart beta exchange traded fund, the First Trust Growth Strength ETF (FTGS - Free Report) debuted on 10/25/2022, and offers broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.
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
FTGS is managed by First Trust Advisors, and this fund has amassed over $1.29 billion, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Growth. Before fees and expenses, FTGS seeks to match the performance of the THE GROWTH STRENGTH INDEX .
The Growth Strength Index provides exposure to a mix of domestic equities with filters for liquidity, return on equity, long-term debt, revenue and cash flow growth.
Cost & Other Expenses
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.60% for this ETF, which makes it one of the more expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.10%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
For FTGS, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 30.8% of the portfolio --while Healthcare and Industrials round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Newmont Corporation (NEM) accounts for about 2.76% of the fund's total assets, followed by Palantir Technologies Inc. (class A) (PLTR) and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 23.44% of FTGS's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 7.94% and was up about 6.24% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 09/25/2026), respectively. FTGS has traded between $33.11 and $39.99 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 1.01 and standard deviation of 16.25% for the trailing three-year period. With about 51 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
First Trust Growth Strength ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF (VUG) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Growth Index and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ) tracks NASDAQ-100 Index. Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF has $232.67 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $494.34 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.03% and QQQ changes 0.18%.
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 Growth
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.