First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund
$88.85−0.04 (−0.04%)
- 0.65%
- $261M
- +25.1%
- 1.54%
- 0M sh
- $88.37
- low $72.47high $95.71
The ETF.net FDM Grade
C
Score 41 out of 100
- 14 of 17
Score 41 of 100 falls in the C band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.F0 out of 100Rank 17 of 17Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A77 out of 100Rank 15 of 16Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.B66 out of 100Rank 2 of 17Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.C54 out of 100Rank 7 of 17Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.F24 out of 100Rank 16 of 17Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.C42 out of 100Rank 11 of 17
Our read on FDM
CMost "small-cap" funds stop well short of the bottom. FDM keeps going, tracking an index of roughly 160 micro-cap names and doing it since 2005. A narrow corner of the market, priced like the specialty product it is.
The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield of the Dow Jones Select Microcap Index.
Why people hold it
- A micro-cap pure play: it fishes below the floor where broad small-cap funds like VB and IWM stop, holding roughly 160 of the market's smallest listed companies.
- Rules pick the portfolio, not conviction. It has tracked the Dow Jones Select Microcap Index since its 2005 launch, through multiple market cycles.
- Plain wrapper, plain schedule: an index fund from First Trust that pays distributions quarterly.
Worth knowing
- The fee is 0.65% a year against a 0.25% median for its small-cap peer group. Reaching this far down the cap ladder costs more than buying the broad market.
- It trades thinly, so the bid-ask spread is part of the real cost, and more so in larger orders.
- Micro-caps move harder than small-caps in both directions, and with roughly 160 names, individual companies carry real weight.
FDM Holdings
- Stocks
- 136
- 14%
- PD
Sectors
- Financials57.0%
- Health Care7.0%
- Real Estate6.1%
- Industrials6.0%
- Consumer Discretionary5.7%
- Technology5.2%
- Energy4.2%
- Consumer Staples4.0%
- Communication3.9%
- Materials0.9%
Geography
- United States100.00%
FDM Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
FDM$12,511
Returns run to the Oct 12, 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.
| Period | FDM |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +12.9% |
| 1 month | −3.0% |
| 3 months | −2.4% |
| 1 year | +25.1% |
| 3 years | +19.9% |
| 5 years | +9.5% |
| 10 years | +11.1% |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | FDM |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +12.9% | |
| 2025 | +18.6% | |
| 2024 | +13.0% | |
| 2023 | +12.8% | |
| 2022 | −11.6% | |
| 2021 | +35.1% | |
| 2020 | −4.1% |
FDM in the news
FDM Dividends
- 1.54%
- $1.37
- $0.38 per share
- Quarterly
Distribution history
FDM Risk
- 19.0%
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.
- 0.77
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.
- −23.7%
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.
- 0.98
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
FDM Cost
0.65%
FDM0.65%
- The middle half of US Small-Cap funds
- Median 0.22%
Every other US Small-Cap fund charges less.
Other funds in US Small-Cap
- CEBITHarbor AlphaEdge Small Cap Earners ETF (EBIT)Expense ratio 0.29%1 year return +20.9%
- CEESWisdomTree U.S. SmallCap FundExpense ratio 0.38%1 year return +24.5%
- CIWCiShares Micro-Cap ETFExpense ratio 0.60%1 year return +22.8%
- DQQQSInvesco NASDAQ Future Gen 200 ETFExpense ratio 0.20%1 year return +28.0%
- DTSCVThrivent ETF Trust - Small Cap Value ETFExpense ratio 0.60%1 year return —