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FAAR

GradeCNASDAQ Global Market

First Trust Alternative Absolute Return Strategy ETF

Commodities · First Trust · Inception 2016-05-18 · SEC filings

$32.37+0.07 (+0.20%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 2:20 PM EDT

Intraday session: up, 59 prints from 32.30 to 32.37. Range 32.27 to 32.49. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$32.30$32.40$32.5010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.98%
Fund size
$227M
1Y return
+18.4%
Yield · Last 12 months
9.53%
Holdings
37
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$32.21
52W range
low $26.73high $35.80

The ETF.net FAAR Grade

C

38/ 100

Rank 19 of 23 in Broad Commodity Futures⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for FAAR. Scores out of 100: Cost 11, Risk 64, Mission not scored, Tradability 54, Holdings 49, Durability 64. Strongest: Risk (64). Weakest: Cost (11). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 38 of 100 sits in the C band. Bands: A ≥ 70, B ≥ 55, C ≥ 40, D ≥ 25, F < 25; the scale skips E.

  • Cost

    What you pay to own it — the expense ratio plus trading frictions, ranked within its category.
    FScore 11
    Category rank20/23 · bottom quartile

  • Mission

    How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.
    Not scored
    —

  • Risk

    How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.
    BScore 64
    Category rank9/23 · top 39%

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    CScore 54
    Category rank11/23 · top 48%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    CScore 49
    Category rank9/15 · mid-pack

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    BScore 64
    Category rank8/23 · top 35%

Graded as of Sep 22, 2026 · Based on 5 of 6 pillars

Our read on FAAR

ETF.net Research

CMost commodity funds only bet one way: up. FAAR is actively managed and can run short positions alongside long ones across the futures complex, aiming at absolute return rather than tracking a commodity index.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks long-term total return through active management of long and short exchange-traded commodity futures positions, accessed through a wholly owned Cayman Islands subsidiary.

Why people hold it

  1. 01Goes both ways. The managers can hold long and short exchange-traded commodity futures, so the fund is not structurally locked into commodity prices rising.ftportfolios.com
  2. 02Active by design. A few dozen futures positions sized by the manager, not by a fixed index weighting, in a cohort where most rivals simply track a broad commodity benchmark.
  3. 03Runs as a registered 1940 Act fund, with the futures book held in a wholly owned Cayman subsidiary. Distributions are paid quarterly.
  4. 04Trading since 2016, giving the long/short approach a live record across very different commodity markets rather than a backtest.

Worth knowing

  1. 01Active costs money: 0.98% a year against a cohort median near 0.68%, and several times what index-based peers like BCI (0.26%) or CMDY (0.29%) charge.
  2. 02No index to hug. Short positions can offset a broad commodity rally, so results track the manager's calls rather than the commodity complex itself.
  3. 03Mid-sized and moderately traded, so spreads can run wider than the largest commodity futures ETFs.

FAAR Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 5:13 PM
Asset class
Other
Holdings
37
Top-10 weight
108%
Largest holding
US Dollar49.7%

Sectors

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 2.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001—US Dollar49.68%125,481,427$125M394
002—LME ZINC FUTURE Dec269.13%235$23M2
003—GASOLINE RBOB FUT Nov269.04%167$23M6
004—BRENT CRUDE FUTR Dec267.74%197$20M2
005—GOLD 100 OZ FUTR Dec266.31%36$16M5
006—NATURAL GAS FUTR Nov265.71%474$14M3
007—SILVER FUTURE Dec265.58%42$14M3
008—NY Harb ULSD Fut Nov265.56%69$14M2
009—SOYBEAN FUTURE Nov265.32%206$13M4
010—COFFEE 'C' FUTURE Dec264.21%101$11M6
011—COPPER FUTURE Dec264.17%63$11M4
012—WTI CRUDE FUTURE Nov264.11%108$10M6
013—SUGAR #11 (WORLD) Mar273.30%408$8M5
014—CATTLE FEEDER FUT Oct263.01%47$8M5
015—LME PRI ALUM FUTR Dec262.22%68$6M3

Showing 1–15 of 18 holdings

FAAR Performance

Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.

FAAR$11,843
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,723
Sep 22, 2025 to Sep 22, 2026. FAAR $11,843. SPY $11,723. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$9,291$11,032$12,773Sep 2025Mar 2026Sep 2026

Sep 22, 2025 – Sep 22, 2026

Returns run to the Sep 22, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.

Trailing total return for FAAR. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodFAAR
Year to date+20.1%
1 month+2.7%
3 months−0.1%
1 year+18.4%
3 years+9.4%per year
5 years+8.2%per year
10 years+5.0%per year

As of the close, with distributions reinvested.

Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.

Annual total returns for FAAR
YearReturn barFAAR
2026 YTD+20.1%
2025+8.2%
2024+6.0%
2023−5.6%
2022+10.1%
2021+12.3%
2020+8.6%

FAAR in the news

ETF.net Research hasn’t filed on FAAR yet — coverage lands here as it’s written.

FAAR Dividends

Adds up every distribution paid per share over the last 12 months, divided by the last completed close. Distributions are counted by ex-date. Data through Sep 22, 2026.
9.53%Last 12 months
Payout per share
$3.08Last 12 months
Last payment
$0.14 per share
Paid on
Shares bought on or after this date do not qualify for this distribution.
Frequency
Quarterly

Distribution history

2017–2026

One bar per payment. 24 payments from 2017 to 2026 YTD. Dec 21, 2017 $0.83; Mar 22, 2018 $0.01; Dec 18, 2018 $0.14; Dec 13, 2019 $0.26; Jun 25, 2020 $0.0092; Dec 24, 2020 $0.82; Jun 24, 2021 $0.0054; Dec 23, 2021 $1.86; Jun 24, 2022 $0.0028; Dec 15, 2022 $1.74; Mar 24, 2023 $0.16; Jun 27, 2023 $0.23; Sep 22, 2023 $0.23; Dec 15, 2023 $0.26; Mar 21, 2024 $0.20; Jun 27, 2024 $0.24; Sep 26, 2024 $0.20; Dec 17, 2024 $0.33; Mar 27, 2025 $0.15; Jun 26, 2025 $0.18; Sep 25, 2025 $0.18; Dec 16, 2025 $2.65; Mar 26, 2026 $0.11; Jun 25, 2026 $0.14. Use the arrow keys to read each point.2017201820192020202120222023202420252026YTD
Ex-datePay dateAmount per share
Jun 25, 2026Jun 30, 2026$0.14
Mar 26, 2026Mar 31, 2026$0.11
Dec 16, 2025Dec 31, 2025$2.65
Sep 25, 2025Sep 30, 2025$0.18
Jun 26, 2025Jun 30, 2025$0.18
Mar 27, 2025Mar 31, 2025$0.15
Dec 17, 2024Dec 31, 2024$0.33
Sep 26, 2024Sep 30, 2024$0.20
Jun 27, 2024Jun 28, 2024$0.24
Mar 21, 2024Mar 28, 2024$0.20
Dec 15, 2023Dec 20, 2023$0.26
Sep 22, 2023Sep 29, 2023$0.23

FAAR Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
12.0%
Annualised · 36 months to Aug 2026
How it’s calculated: standard deviation

The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.

Return above 3-month US Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
0.34
vs 3-month T-bills · to Aug 2026
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio

Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.

Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.

The largest fall from a peak to the low that followed.
−18.1%
Trough Apr 2025
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown

The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.

Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.

How strongly the fund’s returns move with its asset-class index.
0.66
vs its asset-class index
How it’s calculated: beta

The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.

FAAR Cost

Expense ratio0.98%
  • The middle half of Broad Commodity Futures funds
  • Median 0.72%

17 of the 21 Broad Commodity Futures funds charge less.

FAAR costs $98.00 a year on $10,000. The median Broad Commodity Futures fund costs $72.00.