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Is First Trust Capital Strength ETF (FTCS) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The First Trust Capital Strength ETF (FTCS - Free Report) made its debut on 07/06/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.
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.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
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 managed by First Trust Advisors. FTCS has been able to amass assets over $7.83 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. FTCS, 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
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.53%.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.14%.
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 Financials sector - about 27% of the portfolio. Industrials and Consumer Staples round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) accounts for about 2.34% of total assets, followed by Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) and Airbnb, Inc. (class A) (ABNB).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 22.46% of FTCS's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the First Trust Capital Strength ETF has added roughly 9.83% so far, and was up about 8.79% over the last 12 months (as of 10/26/2026). FTCS has traded between $89.88 $102.28 in this past 52-week period.
FTCS has a beta of 0.70 and standard deviation of 11.36% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the 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 500 Index Fund ETF Shares (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $875.66 billion in assets, Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares has $1029.62 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?
The First Trust Capital Strength ETF (FTCS - Free Report) made its debut on 07/06/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.
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.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
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 managed by First Trust Advisors. FTCS has been able to amass assets over $7.83 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. FTCS, 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
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.53%.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.14%.
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 Financials sector - about 27% of the portfolio. Industrials and Consumer Staples round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) accounts for about 2.34% of total assets, followed by Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) and Airbnb, Inc. (class A) (ABNB).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 22.46% of FTCS's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the First Trust Capital Strength ETF has added roughly 9.83% so far, and was up about 8.79% over the last 12 months (as of 10/26/2026). FTCS has traded between $89.88 $102.28 in this past 52-week period.
FTCS has a beta of 0.70 and standard deviation of 11.36% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the 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 500 Index Fund ETF Shares (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $875.66 billion in assets, Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares has $1029.62 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.