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FBT

GradeBNew York Stock Exchange Arca

First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index Fund

Themes · First Trust · Inception 2006-06-19 · SEC filings

$268.63−5.13 (−1.88%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 3:05 PM EDT

Intraday session: down, 67 prints from 273.77 to 268.63. Range 267.85 to 274.39. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$270.00$272.00$274.0010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.55%
Fund size
$2.9B
1Y return
+51.7%
Yield · Last 12 months
0.00%
Holdings
30
Volume · 30D
0.1M sh
NAV per share
$269.70
52W range
low $173.98high $274.99

The ETF.net FBT Grade

B

62/ 100

Rank 6 of 17 in Biotech & Genomics⁠

Confidence High

Six-pillar profile for FBT. Scores out of 100: Cost 25, Risk 73, Mission 85, Tradability 81, Holdings 64, Durability 78. Strongest: Mission (85). Weakest: Cost (25). Leans toward Mission and Tradability.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 62 of 100 sits in the B 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.
    DScore 25
    Category rank13/17 · bottom quartile

  • Mission

    How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.
    AScore 85
    Category rank3/9 · top 33%

  • Risk

    How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.
    AScore 73
    Category rank2/17 · top 12%

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    AScore 81
    Category rank3/17 · top 18%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    BScore 64
    Category rank8/17 · top 47%

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    AScore 78
    Category rank4/17 · top 24%

Graded as of Sep 22, 2026

Our read on FBT

ETF.net Research

BBiotech served in about 30 equal-sized bites. FBT has tracked the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index since 2006, spreading each dollar evenly across a short roster instead of letting a few large caps run the show.

Stated mandate

The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index.

Why people hold it

  1. 01Equal weighting hands a small cap the same slot as a mega cap. About 30 names, each sized alike, so no single giant steers the fund.
  2. 02Live since 2006, through multiple biotech booms and busts, with a billion-dollar-plus asset base behind it.
  3. 03Moderately traded rather than a thin corner of the shelf, which matters in a sector where headlines arrive fast.
  4. 04Lands in the upper half of the biotech and genomics funds we grade.

Worth knowing

  1. 01At 0.55% a year it runs above the typical biotech fund's fee, and cheaper index routes exist (IBBQ at 0.19%, XBI at 0.35%).
  2. 02About 30 stocks, equally weighted, means one trial readout can swing the whole basket. Concentrated biotech moves hard in both directions.
  3. 03Not an income holding: drug developers plow cash into pipelines, and the fund has not been sending out distributions.

FBT Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 5:04 PM
Asset class
Stocks
Holdings
30
Top-10 weight
39%
Largest holding
HALO4.6%

Sectors

  • Health Care100.0%

Geography

  • United States83.02%
  • Switzerland3.72%
  • Netherlands3.54%
  • Denmark3.54%
  • Germany3.39%
  • Ireland2.77%
The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 3.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001HALOHalozyme Therapeutics, Inc.4.57%1,188,143$134M200
002NEONeoGenomics, Inc.4.37%6,416,474$128M109
003NTRANatera, Inc.4.24%335,386$124M223
004ILMNIllumina, Inc.3.90%476,004$114M305
005RGENRepligen Corporation3.80%627,681$111M150
006CORTCorcept Therapeutics Inc.3.72%985,377$109M147
007GMABGenmab A/S (ADR)3.71%3,121,944$108M26
008REGNRegeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.3.66%136,243$107M401
009ONCBeOne Medicines Ltd. (ADR)3.64%303,104$106M35
010GILDGilead Sciences, Inc.3.58%697,344$105M482
011ARGXargenx SE (ADR)3.50%103,163$102M68
012BIIBBiogen Inc.3.35%454,617$98M331
013BMRNBioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc.3.35%1,531,399$98M181
014INCYIncyte Corporation3.33%775,742$97M364
015AMGNAmgen Inc.3.29%249,143$96M470

Showing 1–15 of 31 holdings

FBT Performance

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

FBT$15,166
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. FBT $15,166. SPY $11,723. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$9,080$12,352$15,625Sep 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 FBT. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodFBT
Year to date+32.6%
1 month+1.0%
3 months+19.1%
1 year+51.7%
3 years+23.6%per year
5 years+10.1%per year
10 years+10.5%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 FBT
YearReturn barFBT
2026 YTD+32.6%
2025+24.3%
2024+5.9%
2023+2.5%
2022−4.8%
2021−2.3%
2020+13.0%

FBT in the news

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

FBT 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.
0.00%Last 12 months
Payout per share
NoneLast 12 months

No distributions in the last 12 months.

Distribution history

Payments through 2024

One bar per payment. 5 payments from 2015 to 2024. Mar 25, 2015 $0.05; Jun 24, 2015 $0.07; Sep 23, 2015 $0.02; Dec 30, 2021 $2.21; Dec 13, 2024 $1.17. Use the arrow keys to read each point.2015201620172018201920202021202220232024
Ex-datePay dateAmount per share
Dec 13, 2024Dec 31, 2024$1.17
Dec 30, 2021Jan 10, 2022$2.21
Sep 23, 2015Sep 30, 2015$0.02
Jun 24, 2015Jun 30, 2015$0.07
Mar 25, 2015Mar 31, 2015$0.05
Dec 23, 2014Dec 31, 2014$0.05
Jun 23, 2008Jun 30, 2008$0.27

FBT Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
19.1%
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.
0.83
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.
−28.6%
Trough Jun 2022
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.
0.76
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.

FBT Cost

Expense ratio0.55%
  • The middle half of Biotech & Genomics funds
  • Median 0.47%

11 of the 15 Biotech & Genomics funds charge less.

FBT costs $55.00 a year on $10,000. The median Biotech & Genomics fund costs $47.00.