First Trust Small Cap BuyWrite Income ETF
$19.53−0.20 (−1.01%)
- Expense ratio
- 0.86%
- Fund size
- $27M
- 1Y return
- +17.3%
- Yield · Last 12 months
- 11.60%
- Holdings
- 203
- Volume · 30D
- 0M sh
- NAV per share
- $19.78
- 52W range
The ETF.net FTKI Grade
Score 63 of 100 sits in the B 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.CScore 40Category rankMission
How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.AScore 100Category rankRisk
How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.BScore 62Category rankTradability
How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.CScore 54Category rankHoldings
What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.BScore 68Category rankDurability
Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.CScore 45Category rank
Our read on FTKI
BMost Russell 2000 income funds own the index and sell calls on it. FTKI runs an actively picked basket of roughly 300 US small caps, then writes index-level calls over the top: income first, appreciation second, paid monthly.
The Fund seeks current income first and capital appreciation second. It primarily invests in small-cap equities listed on U.S. exchanges and writes exchange-traded calls on the Russell 2000 Index or small-cap equity ETFs.
Why people hold it
- Two moving parts, one wrapper: an actively chosen small-cap stock portfolio underneath, calls on the Russell 2000 or small-cap ETFs written over the top.ftportfolios.com
- The mandate puts current income first and capital appreciation second, and the cash goes out monthly.ftportfolios.com
- Roughly 300 US-listed small caps sit under the options overlay, spreading the equity risk across the bench instead of a short list of names.
Worth knowing
- At 0.86%, it prices above index-run Russell 2000 call writers such as RYLD and RYLG. Active stock selection is what you are paying the difference for.
- Writing calls swaps upside for premium. When small caps run hard, the overlay limits how much of that run the fund keeps.ftportfolios.com
- Launched in 2025 and still a small, lightly traded fund, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than the category's heavyweights.
FTKI Holdings
- Stocks
- 203
- 22%
- US Dollar
Sectors
- Technology18.6%
- Consumer Discr.18.6%
- Financials17.1%
- Health Care10.5%
- Industrials9.7%
- Energy8.8%
- Materials7.1%
- Real Estate5.1%
- Communication1.9%
- Cons. Staples1.7%
- Utilities0.8%
Geography
- United States83.10%
- Bermuda3.44%
- Canada3.10%
- Cayman Islands2.28%
- Monaco1.86%
- Israel1.14%
- Ireland0.97%
- Luxembourg0.79%
- 3.31%
FTKI Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
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.
| Period | FTKI |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +13.1% |
| 1 month | −1.8% |
| 3 months | +0.9% |
| 1 year | +17.3% |
| 3 years | — |
| 5 years | — |
| 10 years | — |
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 | FTKI |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +13.1% | |
| 2025 | +4.3% |
FTKI in the news
ETF.net Research hasn’t filed on FTKI yet — coverage lands here as it’s written.
FTKI Dividends
- 11.60%
- $2.29
- $0.20 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
| Ex-date | Pay date | Amount per share |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 21, 2026 | Aug 31, 2026 | $0.20 |
| Jul 21, 2026 | Jul 31, 2026 | $0.20 |
| Jun 25, 2026 | Jun 30, 2026 | $0.19 |
| May 21, 2026 | May 29, 2026 | $0.19 |
| Apr 21, 2026 | Apr 30, 2026 | $0.19 |
| Mar 26, 2026 | Mar 31, 2026 | $0.19 |
| Feb 20, 2026 | Feb 27, 2026 | $0.19 |
| Jan 21, 2026 | Jan 30, 2026 | $0.19 |
| Dec 12, 2025 | Dec 31, 2025 | $0.19 |
| Nov 21, 2025 | Nov 28, 2025 | $0.19 |
| Oct 21, 2025 | Oct 31, 2025 | $0.19 |
| Sep 25, 2025 | Sep 30, 2025 | $0.19 |
FTKI Risk
- 10.3%
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.
- 0.84
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.
- −15.2%
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.
- 0.27
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
FTKI Cost
- The middle half of Russell 2000 Option Income funds
- Median 0.76%
5 of the 9 Russell 2000 Option Income funds charge less.