

First Trust Value Line Dividend Index Fund
$48.09+0.12 (+0.25%)
- 0.62%
- $7.6B
- +8.2%
- 2.34%
- 0.6M sh
- $47.64
- low $44.63high $51.41
The ETF.net FVD Grade
Score 53 out of 100
- 29 of 53
Score 53 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.F6 out of 100Rank 50 of 53Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A83 out of 100Rank 29 of 50Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.C50 out of 100Rank 27 of 53Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.A72 out of 100Rank 12 of 53Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.A88 out of 100Rank 1 of 53Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A79 out of 100Rank 8 of 53
Our read on FVD
CA 2003-vintage dividend fund that runs US stocks through Value Line's Safety ranking, putting financial strength ahead of headline yield. Old-school pedigree, and old-school pricing at 0.62%.
The Fund seeks investment results corresponding generally to the price and yield of the Value Line® Dividend Index before fees and expenses.
Why people hold it
- Holdings come off Value Line's Safety ranking system, a quality screen, rather than a sort for the biggest yields on the board.ftportfolios.com
- Trading since August 2003: one mandate, one index, multiple full market cycles behind it.
- Roughly 220 US names, so no single dividend payer sets the tone, and it has tracked its stated index closely.
- A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively and pays quarterly, so getting in or out is rarely the sticking point.
Worth knowing
- The research overlay isn't free: 0.62% a year, against 0.04% for VIG and 0.06% for SCHD. Cheaper trackers crowd the front of this peer group.
- The screen prizes safety and financial strength, a different job than maximizing income, so this is not a high-yield vehicle.ftportfolios.com
- The objective targets the index's price and yield before fees and expenses, so the expense ratio comes off the top of whatever the index does.ftportfolios.com
FVD Holdings
- Stocks
- 242
- 5%
- ACN
Sectors
- Financials21.0%
- Utilities18.0%
- Industrials14.5%
- Consumer Staples10.9%
- Health Care8.1%
- Real Estate8.0%
- Technology5.4%
- Consumer Discretionary5.0%
- Energy4.2%
- Communication2.9%
- Materials2.2%
Geography
- United States81.47%
- Canada6.83%
- United Kingdom4.17%
- Ireland2.12%
- Switzerland1.28%
- Japan1.24%
- Bermuda0.83%
- France0.80%
- 1.25%
FVD 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 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 | FVD |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +5.9% |
| 1 month | −1.8% |
| 3 months | −1.6% |
| 1 year | +8.2% |
| 3 years | +11.5% |
| 5 years | +6.1% |
| 10 years | +8.5% |
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 | FVD |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +5.9% | |
| 2025 | +8.2% | |
| 2024 | +10.0% | |
| 2023 | +4.1% | |
| 2022 | −5.3% | |
| 2021 | +25.1% | |
| 2020 | −0.1% |
FVD 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

FVD Dividends
- 2.34%
- $1.12
- $0.26 per share
- Quarterly
Distribution history
FVD Risk
- 11.2%
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.
- 0.54
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.
- −16.4%
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.
- 0.49
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
FVD Cost
- The middle half of US Dividend Index funds
- Median 0.38%
48 of the 52 US Dividend Index funds charge less.
Other funds in US Dividend Index
- CPFMInvesco Dividend Achievers ETFExpense ratio 0.52%1 year return +14.5%
- CQDEFNorthern Trust Quality Dividend Defensive ETFExpense ratio 0.40%1 year return +18.6%
- CQDFNorthern Trust Quality Dividend ETFExpense ratio 0.40%1 year return +20.7%
- CRDVYFirst Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETFExpense ratio 0.47%1 year return +23.8%
- CSDVYFirst Trust SMID Cap Rising Dividend Achievers ETFExpense ratio 0.58%1 year return +14.4%