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Launched · SEC filings

First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund

FDMNYSE ArcaFirst TrustC

$91.59+0.93 (+1.02%)

As of Nov 2, 2026, 3:59 PM ET

C44/ 100

Rank 13 of 17 in US Small-Cap

C44/100Rank 13 of 17inUS Small-Cap
Intraday session: up, 79 prints from 90.67 to 91.59. Range 91.13 to 92.25. Use the arrow keys to read each point.91.0091.2592.0092.2510 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.60%*
Fund size
$268M
1Y total return
+25.1%
Yield · Last 12 months
1.51%
Holdings
136
Avg volume · 30D
9.39K sh
52W range
low $73.21high $95.71
Launched
Filings
SEC EDGAR

*After a fee waiver that ends Apr 30, 2027. Without it: 0.65%.

The ETF.net FDM Grade

C

Score 44 out of 100

Category
US Small-Cap⁠
Rank
13 of 17
Six-pillar profile for FDM. Scores out of 100: Cost 6, Risk 70, Mission 76, Tradability 58, Holdings 23, Durability 42. Strongest: Mission (76). Weakest: Cost (6). Leans toward Mission and Risk.

Score 44 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.
    F6 out of 100
    Rank 15 of 17

  • Mission

    Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.
    A76 out of 100
    Rank 15 of 16

  • Risk

    How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.
    A70 out of 100
    Rank 2 of 17

  • Tradability

    How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.
    B58 out of 100
    Rank 5 of 17

  • Holdings

    How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.
    F23 out of 100
    Rank 17 of 17

  • Durability

    Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.
    C42 out of 100
    Rank 11 of 17

Our read on FDM

ETF.net Research

In short

CMicro-cap, but screened. FDM's index starts with the US total market and keeps only the tiny companies that clear size, liquidity and fundamental tests. Running since 2005, at 0.60% net of a waiver through April 30, 2027.

Stated mandate

The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield of the Dow Jones Select Microcap Index.

Why people hold it

  • The index is a filter, not a dragnet: it pulls from the Dow Jones US Total Stock Market universe and keeps only micro caps meeting size, liquidity and fundamental eligibility criteria.spglobal.com
  • Listed in September 2005, one of the longest-tenured micro-cap index ETFs around, with a methodology that has been doing the same job through multiple market cycles.ftportfolios.com
  • Roughly 140 stocks, so this is a diversified basket of micro caps rather than a few concentrated bets. Normally at least 90% of assets sit in actual index constituents.ftportfolios.com
  • Cash comes back on a quarterly schedule, which is not a given in a corner of the market full of companies that pay nothing.

Worth knowing

  • Screening costs money: 0.60% net of a waiver through April 30, 2027 (0.65% gross), above the category median. Plain small-cap trackers like SCHA and VB charge 0.03%.
  • Thinly traded next to the giant small-cap funds, so bid-ask spreads can widen and sizeable orders deserve a careful look at the quote before they go in.
  • Micro caps are the volatile end of US equities. The fundamental screens narrow the list; they do not soften the ride, and the fund stays fully invested in the index.spglobal.com

FDM Holdings

Holdings pillarF23 out of 100Rank 17 of 17 in US Small-Cap
Asset class
Stocks
Holdings
136
Top-10 weight
15%
Largest holding
PD2.1%

Sectors

  • Financials57.2%
  • Health Care6.9%
  • Real Estate5.8%
  • Industrials5.8%
  • Consumer Discretionary5.6%
  • Technology5.5%
  • Energy4.4%
  • Communication4.0%
  • Consumer Staples3.9%
  • Materials0.9%

Geography

  • United States100.00%
The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 10.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueHeld by ETFs
1PDPagerDuty, Inc.2.12%336,150$5.69M79
2RIGLRigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc.1.56%81,419$4.18M74
3OSPNOneSpan Inc.1.54%160,624$4.12M86
4APOGApogee Enterprises, Inc.1.53%90,956$4.11M117
5QNSTQuinStreet, Inc.1.53%235,358$4.1M99
6REPXRiley Exploration Permian, Inc.1.48%74,352$3.96M96
7SMPStandard Motor Products, Inc.1.46%92,503$3.92M106
8ORRFOrrstown Financial Services, Inc.1.40%85,734$3.77M74
9HRTGHeritage Insurance Holdings, Inc.1.37%103,180$3.68M81
10PAHCPhibro Animal Health Corporation (Class A)1.33%91,832$3.57M106
11IBCPIndependent Bank Corporation1.32%96,757$3.54M78
12FISIFinancial Institutions, Inc.1.26%85,891$3.38M72
13FLOCFlowco Holdings Inc. (Class A)1.26%168,662$3.37M77
14GCMGGCM Grosvenor Inc. (Class A)1.26%266,425$3.37M61
15HIPOHippo Holdings Inc.1.21%88,565$3.24M63

Showing 1–15 of 136 holdings

FDM Performance

Launched Sep 27, 2005

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

FDM$12,514
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,199
Oct 31, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026. FDM $12,514. SPY $11,199. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$10,000$11,000$12,000$13,000Oct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

Returns run to the Oct 30, 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 FDM. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodFDM
Year to date+15.2%
1 month+3.6%
3 months−0.4%
1 year+25.1%
3 yearsper year+22.1%
5 yearsper year+9.7%
10 yearsper year+11.6%

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 FDM
YearReturn barFDM
2026 YTD+15.2%
2025+18.6%
2024+13.0%
2023+12.8%
2022−11.6%
2021+35.1%
2020−4.1%

FDM in the news

FDM 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 Oct 30, 2026.
1.51%Last 12 months
Payout per share
$1.37Last 12 months
Last payment
$0.38 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. 39 payments from 2017 to 2026 YTD. Mar 23, 2017 $0.12; Jun 22, 2017 $0.08; Sep 21, 2017 $0.08; Dec 21, 2017 $0.18; Mar 22, 2018 $0.08; Jun 21, 2018 $0.11; Sep 14, 2018 $0.09; Dec 18, 2018 $0.23; Mar 21, 2019 $0.20; Jun 14, 2019 $0.14; Sep 25, 2019 $0.22; Dec 13, 2019 $0.15; Mar 26, 2020 $0.20; Jun 25, 2020 $0.18; Sep 24, 2020 $0.08; Dec 24, 2020 $0.35; Mar 25, 2021 $0.09; Jun 24, 2021 $0.08; Sep 23, 2021 $0.15; Dec 23, 2021 $0.36; Mar 25, 2022 $0.16; Jun 24, 2022 $0.25; Sep 23, 2022 $0.26; Dec 23, 2022 $0.34; Mar 24, 2023 $0.18; Jun 27, 2023 $0.42; Sep 22, 2023 $0.28; Dec 22, 2023 $0.24; Mar 21, 2024 $0.06; Jun 27, 2024 $0.50; Sep 26, 2024 $0.21; Dec 13, 2024 $0.29; Mar 27, 2025 $0.28; Jun 26, 2025 $0.22; Sep 25, 2025 $0.26; Dec 12, 2025 $0.38; Mar 26, 2026 $0.23; Jun 25, 2026 $0.38; Sep 24, 2026 $0.38. Use the arrow keys to read each point.2017201820192020202120222023202420252026YTD
Ex-datePay dateAmount per share
Sep 24, 2026Sep 30, 2026$0.38
Jun 25, 2026Jun 30, 2026$0.38
Mar 26, 2026Mar 31, 2026$0.23
Dec 12, 2025Dec 31, 2025$0.38
Sep 25, 2025Sep 30, 2025$0.26
Jun 26, 2025Jun 30, 2025$0.22
Mar 27, 2025Mar 31, 2025$0.28
Dec 13, 2024Dec 31, 2024$0.29
Sep 26, 2024Sep 30, 2024$0.21
Jun 27, 2024Jun 28, 2024$0.50
Mar 21, 2024Mar 28, 2024$0.06
Dec 22, 2023Dec 29, 2023$0.24

See all 71 payments⁠

$10,000 in FDM 10 years ago paid $2,466 in dividends.⁠

FDM Risk

Risk pillarA70 out of 100Rank 2 of 17 in US Small-Cap
How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
18.7%
Annualised · 36 months to Oct 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.
0.93
vs 3-month T-bills · to Oct 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.
−23.7%
Trough May 2023
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.
0.98
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.

FMP measures it over up to five years of monthly returns.

FDM Cost

Compare FDM and VB

Overpaying vs VB, tied cheapest in US Small-Cap

$11,179

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

  • FDM 0.60%

    $11,817

  • VB 0.03% Tied cheapest

    $638

$10,000
30 years

Cost over time

  • FDM 0.60%
  • VB 0.03%
  • Overpaying
One line per fund, from year 0 to year 30. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$2.5K$5K$7.5K$10K$12.5K051015202530FDM $11,817VB $638

Year by year

YearFDMVBOverpaying
10$1,076$55$1,021
20$4,116$216$3,900
30$11,817$638$11,179
How the 0.60% is worked out

Full fee 0.65%− waiver 0.05%= you pay 0.60%

The waiver ends Apr 30, 2027. After that the fee is 0.65% unless First Trust renews it. Source: prospectus, Apr 2026.

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