First Trust Water ETF
$105.82+0.39 (+0.37%)
- 0.50%
- $1.7B
- −4.4%
- 0.75%
- 0.1M sh
- $105.13
- low $98.52high $116.30
The ETF.net FIW Grade
B
Score 65 out of 100
- 1 of 6
Score 65 of 100 falls in the B 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.B66 out of 100Rank 2 of 6Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.C41 out of 100Rank 5 of 6Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.A75 out of 100Rank 2 of 6Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.A79 out of 100Rank 1 of 6Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A76 out of 100Rank 2 of 6
Our read on FIW
BWater is the least glamorous essential business on earth, and FIW has been buying it since 2007: roughly 40 companies earning real revenue from drinking water and wastewater, at a fee below most of the water field.
The fund seeks returns that generally track the pre-expense price and yield of the ISE Clean Edge WaterTM Index, which covers listed companies deriving substantial revenue from potable and wastewater activities.
Why people hold it
- Launched in 2007, it predates most of the water theme. Its track record covers a financial crisis and a rate shock, not just one friendly stretch of market.
- 0.50% a year undercuts the two best-known rivals in the space, Invesco's CGW (0.58%) and PHO (0.59%), and sits below the water cohort's median fee.
- Narrow by design: the ISE Clean Edge Water Index holds companies drawing substantial revenue from potable and wastewater work, so about 40 names instead of a loose infrastructure grab bag.
- A multi-billion-dollar fund in a thin category, and one of the stronger builds in its water peer group on cost, tradability and portfolio quality. It pays quarterly.
Worth knowing
- Concentration cuts both ways: about 40 stocks in one theme swing harder than a broad market fund, and water can drift out of favor for years at a time.
- Cheap for water, not cheap outright. 0.50% is many times what a plain broad-market index fund charges for the same equity exposure wrapper.
- Trading is moderate rather than heavy, so spreads can widen when markets move fast. Income arrives quarterly, not monthly.
FIW Holdings
- Stocks
- 38
- 41%
- A
Sectors
- Industrials58.0%
- Health Care13.2%
- Utilities11.0%
- Technology10.5%
- Materials5.5%
- Consumer Staples1.8%
Geography
- United States91.67%
- Canada3.80%
- United Kingdom2.72%
- Brazil1.81%
FIW Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
FIW$9,561
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 | FIW |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −2.4% |
| 1 month | +0.1% |
| 3 months | −2.1% |
| 1 year | −4.4% |
| 3 years | +9.4% |
| 5 years | +5.0% |
| 10 years | +12.0% |
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 | FIW |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −2.4% | |
| 2025 | +7.2% | |
| 2024 | +8.4% | |
| 2023 | +20.3% | |
| 2022 | −15.7% | |
| 2021 | +32.0% | |
| 2020 | +21.1% |
FIW in the news
FIW Dividends
- 0.75%
- $0.79
- $0.19 per share
- Quarterly
Distribution history
FIW Risk
- 15.9%
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.
- 0.32
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.
- −28.5%
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.
- 0.99
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
FIW Cost
0.50%
FIW0.50%
- The middle half of Water funds
- Median 0.54%
1 of the 6 Water funds charge less.
Other funds in Water
- BTBLUTortoise Global Water FundExpense ratio 0.40%1 year return −1.7%
- CPHOInvesco Water Resources ETFExpense ratio 0.59%1 year return −3.6%
- CCGWInvesco S&P Global Water Index ETFExpense ratio 0.58%1 year return +3.3%
- CAQWAGlobal X - Clean Water ETFExpense ratio 0.50%1 year return −4.4%
- DPIOInvesco Global Water ETFExpense ratio 0.75%1 year return +0.7%