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FSGS

GradeDNASDAQ Global Market

First Trust SMID Growth Strength ETF

Factor & Screened Index · First Trust · Inception 2017-06-20

$32.15−0.25 (−0.77%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 2:17 PM EDT

Intraday session: down, 52 prints from 32.39 to 32.15. Range 32.09 to 32.37. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$32.10$32.20$32.30$32.4010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.60%
Fund size
$31M
1Y return
+2.0%
Yield · Last 12 months
0.03%
Holdings
100
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$32.51
52W range
low $28.35high $34.16

The ETF.net FSGS Grade

D

38/ 100

Rank 33 of 35 in US Growth Index⁠

Confidence High

Six-pillar profile for FSGS. Scores out of 100: Cost 6, Risk 45, Mission 61, Tradability 38, Holdings 74, Durability 28. Strongest: Holdings (74). Weakest: Cost (6). Leans toward Holdings.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 38 of 100 sits in the D 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.
    FScore 6
    Category rank33/35 · bottom quartile

  • Mission

    How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.
    BScore 61
    Category rank32/32 · bottom quartile

  • Risk

    How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.
    CScore 45
    Category rank20/35 · mid-pack

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    DScore 38
    Category rank23/35 · mid-pack

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    AScore 74
    Category rank7/35 · top 20%

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    DScore 28
    Category rank28/35 · bottom quartile

Graded as of Sep 22, 2026

Our read on FSGS

ETF.net Research

DMost growth ETFs crowd into mega-caps. FSGS drops down the ladder to small and mid caps, running a rules-based growth-strength screen across roughly 100 names. A narrow corner of growth, priced closer to active than index.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks investment results that generally correspond to the price and yield of The SMID Growth Strength Index before fees and expenses.

Why people hold it

  1. 01Goes where the giants don't: small and mid caps, roughly 100 names, while the biggest growth funds in the category (VUG, SCHG) live in mega-cap land.
  2. 02Rules-based, not vibes-based. It follows The SMID Growth Strength Index, an openly advertised growth screen, so what the portfolio is hunting is spelled out up front.
  3. 03Trading since 2017, so the screen has already been through several very different markets for smaller US companies.

Worth knowing

  1. 01Fee is 0.61% a year versus a 0.18% median in its growth cohort, and the largest peers charge a few basis points. The screen carries that gap.
  2. 02Small asset base and light trading. Limit orders matter more here than with a mega-fund, and spreads can be wider.
  3. 03Smaller companies move harder than mega-caps, and with about 100 holdings individual names carry real weight.

FSGS Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 5:18 PM
Asset class
Stocks
Holdings
100
Top-10 weight
13%
Largest holding
INSP1.5%

Sectors

  • Technology25.0%
  • Health Care20.7%
  • Financials19.7%
  • Industrials12.4%
  • Consumer Discr.10.3%
  • Cons. Staples3.8%
  • Energy3.4%
  • Real Estate2.9%
  • Communication1.7%

Geography

  • United States98.07%
  • Bermuda1.00%
  • Ireland0.93%
The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 7.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001INSPInspire Medical Systems, Inc.1.50%6,027$463K107
002HALOHalozyme Therapeutics, Inc.1.43%3,919$441K200
003ANFAbercrombie & Fitch Co. (Class A)1.41%3,202$435K174
004ESTCElastic N.V.1.40%4,952$431K146
005VEEVVeeva Systems Inc. (Class A)1.32%1,561$406K314
006DOCUDocuSign, Inc.1.30%5,783$399K217
007MANHManhattan Associates, Inc.1.28%1,869$395K182
008NUTXNutex Health Inc.1.27%1,871$391K78
009HRTGHeritage Insurance Holdings, Inc.1.26%11,279$388K83
010HRMYHarmony Biosciences Holdings, Inc.1.23%9,031$379K146
011IDCCInterDigital, Inc.1.23%1,171$378K188
012WHDCactus, Inc. (Class A)1.21%5,596$373K130
013DOCSDoximity, Inc. (Class A)1.20%14,172$370K132
014APPFAppFolio, Inc. (Class A)1.18%1,697$364K143
015GOLDGold.com Inc.1.18%7,961$362K79

Showing 1–15 of 101 holdings

FSGS Performance

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

FSGS$10,203
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. FSGS $10,203. SPY $11,723. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$8,734$10,360$11,986Sep 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 FSGS. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodFSGS
Year to date+6.5%
1 month−4.6%
3 months+4.7%
1 year+2.0%
3 years+9.6%per year
5 years+4.6%per year
10 yearsFund is under 10 years old—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 FSGS
YearReturn barFSGS
2026 YTD+6.5%
2025+2.4%
2024+6.4%
2023+16.0%
2022−13.2%
2021+25.5%
2020+10.2%

FSGS in the news

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

FSGS 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.
0.03%Last 12 months
Payout per share
$0.01Last 12 months
Last payment
$0.01 per share
Paid on
Shares bought on or after this date do not qualify for this distribution.
Frequency
Irregular

Distribution history

2017–2026

One bar per payment. 30 payments from 2017 to 2026 YTD. Sep 21, 2017 $0.07; Dec 21, 2017 $0.18; Mar 22, 2018 $0.04; Jun 21, 2018 $0.12; Sep 14, 2018 $0.09; Dec 18, 2018 $0.15; Mar 21, 2019 $0.05; Jun 14, 2019 $0.10; Sep 25, 2019 $0.10; Dec 13, 2019 $0.15; Mar 26, 2020 $0.0077; Jun 25, 2020 $0.09; Sep 24, 2020 $0.07; Dec 24, 2020 $0.15; Jun 24, 2021 $0.10; Sep 23, 2021 $0.12; Dec 23, 2021 $0.18; Mar 25, 2022 $0.04; Jun 24, 2022 $0.11; Sep 23, 2022 $0.15; Dec 23, 2022 $0.20; Mar 24, 2023 $0.10; Jun 27, 2023 $0.17; Sep 22, 2023 $0.13; Dec 22, 2023 $0.26; Mar 21, 2024 $0.04; Jun 27, 2024 $0.23; Sep 26, 2024 $0.14; Dec 13, 2024 $0.39; Jun 25, 2026 $0.01. Use the arrow keys to read each point.2017201820192020202120222023202420252026YTD
Ex-datePay dateAmount per share
Jun 25, 2026Jun 30, 2026$0.01
Dec 13, 2024Dec 31, 2024$0.39
Sep 26, 2024Sep 30, 2024$0.14
Jun 27, 2024Jun 28, 2024$0.23
Mar 21, 2024Mar 28, 2024$0.04
Dec 22, 2023Dec 29, 2023$0.26
Sep 22, 2023Sep 29, 2023$0.13
Jun 27, 2023Jun 30, 2023$0.17
Mar 24, 2023Mar 31, 2023$0.10
Dec 23, 2022Dec 30, 2022$0.20
Sep 23, 2022Sep 30, 2022$0.15
Jun 24, 2022Jun 30, 2022$0.11

FSGS Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
16.5%
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.
0.33
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.
−24.1%
Trough Apr 2025
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.
0.97
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.

FSGS Cost

Expense ratio0.60%
  • The middle half of US Growth Index funds
  • Median 0.18%

31 of the 35 US Growth Index funds charge less.

FSGS costs $60.00 a year on $10,000. The median US Growth Index fund costs $18.00.