First Trust Dividend Strength ETF
$64.11+0.65 (+1.02%)
- 0.81%
- $38M
- +20.6%
- 1.67%
- 0M sh
- $62.99
- low $53.43high $67.24
The ETF.net FTDS Grade
D
Score 38 out of 100
- 50 of 53
Score 38 of 100 falls in the D 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 53 of 53Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A82 out of 100Rank 31 of 50Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.C40 out of 100Rank 36 of 53Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.D28 out of 100Rank 40 of 53Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.B56 out of 100Rank 29 of 53Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.C53 out of 100Rank 32 of 53
Our read on FTDS
DA dividend fund that screens for growth, profitability and quality instead of chasing the fattest yields, then concentrates the result into roughly 50 US stocks. Boutique size, boutique price.
The Fund seeks to track the price and yield performance of The Dividend Strength Index before fees and expenses.
Why people hold it
- Screens dividend payers on growth, profitability and quality, so the shortlist rests on the business behind the check rather than the headline yield.
- About 50 holdings, so each name carries real weight instead of being diluted inside a several-hundred-stock basket.
- Rules-based rather than manager hunches: it tracks The Dividend Strength Index, and distributions come quarterly.
- Live since 2006, a long real-world record for a factor-screened dividend strategy.
Worth knowing
- The fee is the headline trade-off: 0.81% a year, roughly double the typical dividend-screen fund, while the category giants SCHD (0.06%) and VIG (0.04%) charge a sliver of that.
- Small and thinly traded next to the household-name dividend ETFs, which means wider bid-ask spreads. The spread is part of what you pay.
- Concentration cuts both ways. With about 50 names, a stumble in a handful of holdings lands harder than it would in a broad dividend index.
FTDS Holdings
- Stocks
- 51
- 24%
- DINO
Sectors
- Financials26.1%
- Energy22.0%
- Industrials16.9%
- Technology15.3%
- Health Care6.3%
- Materials5.6%
- Consumer Discretionary4.3%
- Consumer Staples3.6%
Geography
- United States93.70%
- Ireland2.20%
- Switzerland2.16%
- Bermuda1.93%
FTDS Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
FTDS$12,058
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 | FTDS |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +13.8% |
| 1 month | −2.5% |
| 3 months | +2.2% |
| 1 year | +20.6% |
| 3 years | +17.2% |
| 5 years | +7.8% |
| 10 years | +11.0% |
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 | FTDS |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +13.8% | |
| 2025 | +13.6% | |
| 2024 | +11.1% | |
| 2023 | +11.7% | |
| 2022 | −13.5% | |
| 2021 | +24.8% | |
| 2020 | +14.1% |
FTDS in the news
Best ETFs
Schwab's dividend ETF returned 22.8% in a year. Its income rate still trails a one-month bill.
First-Year Review
Liberty One's Spectrum ETF returned 6.4%, 8.9 percentage points behind an S&P 500 fund
Category Review
The payout and the result came apart in option-income funds
First-Year Review
EASY's first year trailed the defensive index it names
FTDS Dividends
- 1.67%
- $1.06
- $0.31 per share
- Quarterly
Distribution history
FTDS Risk
- 13.7%
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.
- 0.82
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.
- −23.4%
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.
- 0.59
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
FTDS Cost
0.81%
FTDS0.81%
- The middle half of US Dividend Index funds
- Median 0.38%
Every other US Dividend Index fund charges less.
Other funds in US Dividend Index
- DKVLEKraneShares Value Line Dynamic Dividend Equity Index ETFExpense ratio 0.56%1 year return +13.7%
- CTMDVProShares - Russell U.S. Dividend Growers ETFExpense ratio 0.35%1 year return +11.2%
- DDDIVFirst Trust Dorsey Wright Momentum & Dividend ETFExpense ratio 0.60%1 year return +17.0%
- DDRVRAmplify S&P 500 Dividend Drivers ETFExpense ratio 0.39%1 year return —
- DRJDIRJ Eagle GCM Dividend Select Income ETFExpense ratio 0.63%1 year return +21.6%