First Trust Tactical High Yield ETF
$39.98−0.28 (−0.68%)
- Expense ratio
- 0.69%
- Fund size
- $1.6B
- 1Y return
- +1.6%
- Yield · Last 12 months
- 6.79%
- Holdings
- 342
- Volume · 30D
- 0.2M sh
- NAV per share
- $40.24
- 52W range
The ETF.net HYLS Grade
Score 52 of 100 sits in the C 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 12Category rankMission
How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.AScore 83Category rankRisk
How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.CScore 41Category rankTradability
How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.AScore 73Category rankHoldings
What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.AScore 71Category rankDurability
Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.AScore 86Category rank
Our read on HYLS
CMost high-yield bond ETFs just own the index. HYLS, actively run since 2013, can also short the credits it expects to lag and stretch its long book past 100% of assets. The 0.79% fee is the price of that flexibility.
The Fund seeks current income and secondarily capital appreciation through active management. It normally invests at least 80% of net assets in below-investment-grade or comparably rated high-yield debt securities.
Why people hold it
- Rare toolkit for a junk-bond ETF: it can short issues it expects to underperform and hold long positions above 100% of assets, so the manager can lean against weak credits.stockanalysis.com
- Running since 2013 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund, with about 300 positions and at least 80% of net assets in below-investment-grade debt.
- Income on a monthly schedule, and the shares see moderate daily trading volume.
- The portfolio stays close to the brief it publishes: current income first, capital appreciation second, through active security selection.
Worth knowing
- The 0.79% expense ratio sits well above index-tracking rivals such as SCYB, SPHY and USHY, which charge a small fraction of that.
- Shorting and leveraged long exposure bring borrowing and hedging costs on top of the stated fee, and outcomes hinge on the manager's calls.stockanalysis.com
- This is the riskier end of the bond market: below-investment-grade issuers can default, and leverage magnifies moves in both directions.stockanalysis.com
HYLS Holdings
- Other
- 342
- 11%
- ROCKET COS INC 6.375%, due 08/01/2033
Geography
- United States90.49%
- Canada2.84%
- United Kingdom1.35%
- Ireland1.27%
- Bermuda1.14%
- Cayman Islands0.78%
- Netherlands0.61%
- Luxembourg0.57%
- 0.95%
HYLS 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 | HYLS |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +0.5% |
| 1 month | −0.8% |
| 3 months | +0.1% |
| 1 year | +1.6% |
| 3 years | +7.2% |
| 5 years | +2.8% |
| 10 years | +4.0% |
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 | HYLS |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +0.5% | |
| 2025 | +8.0% | |
| 2024 | +5.8% | |
| 2023 | +13.6% | |
| 2022 | −12.8% | |
| 2021 | +3.7% | |
| 2020 | +4.9% |
HYLS in the news
ETF.net Research hasn’t filed on HYLS yet — coverage lands here as it’s written.
HYLS Dividends
- 6.79%
- $2.73
- $0.23 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
| Ex-date | Pay date | Amount per share |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 21, 2026 | Aug 31, 2026 | $0.23 |
| Jul 21, 2026 | Jul 31, 2026 | $0.23 |
| Jun 25, 2026 | Jun 30, 2026 | $0.23 |
| May 21, 2026 | May 29, 2026 | $0.23 |
| Apr 21, 2026 | Apr 30, 2026 | $0.23 |
| Mar 26, 2026 | Mar 31, 2026 | $0.23 |
| Feb 20, 2026 | Feb 27, 2026 | $0.23 |
| Jan 21, 2026 | Jan 30, 2026 | $0.23 |
| Dec 12, 2025 | Dec 31, 2025 | $0.22 |
| Nov 21, 2025 | Nov 28, 2025 | $0.22 |
| Oct 21, 2025 | Oct 31, 2025 | $0.23 |
| Sep 25, 2025 | Sep 30, 2025 | $0.24 |
HYLS Risk
- 4.9%
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.
- −15.8%
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.
- 0.67
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
HYLS Cost
- The middle half of US High Yield funds
- Median 0.43%
72 of the 84 US High Yield funds charge less.