First Trust Managed Futures Strategy Fund
$52.76+0.07 (+0.14%)
- 0.98%
- $294M
- +13.9%
- 4.72%
- 0M sh
- $52.56
- low $46.42high $52.98
The ETF.net FMF Grade
C
Score 43 out of 100
- 11 of 16
Score 43 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.F17 out of 100Rank 13 of 16Mission
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.B66 out of 100Rank 5 of 15Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.B64 out of 100Rank 4 of 16Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.B61 out of 100Rank 1 of 5Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A77 out of 100Rank 4 of 16
Our read on FMF
COne of the original managed futures ETFs, trading since 2013: long, short or flat across commodity, currency, equity index and Treasury futures, aiming at returns that don't track stocks or bonds.
The Fund seeks positive returns that are not directly correlated with broad equity or fixed-income market returns. It primarily uses exchange-listed futures, including through a wholly owned Cayman Islands subsidiary, and may take long or short positions across global futures markets.
Why people hold it
- Running since 2013, one of the earliest ETFs to package a trend-following futures playbook that had mostly lived inside hedge funds.etfstrategy.com
- Goes long, short or flat across commodity, currency, equity index and global debt futures, including Treasuries, so falling trends are tradable too.ftportfolios.com
- Actively run against a diversification mandate: positive returns not directly correlated to broad equity or fixed income markets. No index to hug.
- Holds its futures through a wholly owned Cayman subsidiary, the plumbing that lets a fund wrapper carry this much derivatives exposure. Pays quarterly.
Worth knowing
- At 0.98% a year it prices above the category median of 0.82%, with cheaper takes on the same idea in WTMF (0.65%) and JPFP (0.59%).
- Thinly traded for an ETF, so the spread and a limit order matter more here than on a mega-cap index fund.
- Manager signals drive the outcome, and it sits in the lower half of a crowded managed futures group on our overall read.
FMF Holdings
- Other
- 36
- 191%
- 3 MONTH SOFR FUT Dec27
FMF Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
FMF$11,390
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 | FMF |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +13.4% |
| 1 month | +1.2% |
| 3 months | +6.0% |
| 1 year | +13.9% |
| 3 years | +7.5% |
| 5 years | +5.8% |
| 10 years | +2.9% |
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 | FMF |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +13.4% | |
| 2025 | +4.6% | |
| 2024 | +8.2% | |
| 2023 | −0.2% | |
| 2022 | +5.2% | |
| 2021 | +3.6% | |
| 2020 | +5.7% |
FMF in the news
Category Review
The largest alternatives fund has no one-year record
FMF Dividends
- 4.72%
- $2.48
- $0.23 per share
- Quarterly
Distribution history
FMF Risk
- 7.4%
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.
- 0.28
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.
- −15.0%
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.
- 0.11
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
FMF Cost
0.98%
FMF0.98%
- The middle half of Managed Futures funds
- Median 0.82%
12 of the 15 Managed Futures funds charge less.
Other funds in Managed Futures
- BHOLDHarbor Alpha Layering ETF (HOLD)Expense ratio 0.70%1 year return +15.3%
- CKMLMKraneShares Mount Lucas Managed Futures Index Strategy ETFExpense ratio 0.90%1 year return +21.9%
- DHFMFUnlimited HFMF Managed Futures ETFExpense ratio 0.95%1 year return +14.3%
- DMATEMan ETF Series Trust - Man Active Trend Enhanced ETFExpense ratio 0.97%1 year return —
- FTFPNBlueprint Chesapeake Multi-Asset Trend ETFExpense ratio 1.13%1 year return +22.3%