Category Review
The largest alternatives fund has no one-year record
First Trust Multi-Strategy Alternative ETF
$25.05+0.07 (+0.28%)
- 0.20%
- $423M
- +15.0%
- 3.93%
- 0.2M sh
- $24.90
- low $22.56high $25.18
The ETF.net LALT Grade
A
Score 78 out of 100
- 1 of 30
Score 78 of 100 falls in the A 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.A100 out of 100Rank 1 of 30Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.A81 out of 100Rank 4 of 30Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.B65 out of 100Rank 6 of 30Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.D33 out of 100Rank 13 of 15Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A76 out of 100Rank 5 of 30
Our read on LALT
AMost funds in this corner run one playbook: trend. LALT is the sampler plate, an actively managed mix of alternative strategies from First Trust, built to move differently from stocks and bonds. The variety costs extra.
The Fund seeks long-term total return through active allocation among alternative asset categories and strategies intended to provide diversification and lower correlation with traditional equity and fixed-income benchmarks.
Why people hold it
- Actively allocates across several alternative categories instead of riding a single trend model, with a stated aim of lower correlation to equity and fixed-income benchmarks.
- Its cohort is stacked with single-lane trend followers (DBMF, CTA, ASMF). The multi-strategy mandate is what sets LALT apart from that shelf.
- A First Trust product with hundreds of millions in assets and a quarterly distribution schedule, traded like any ordinary listed fund.
Worth knowing
- At 1.18% a year it runs above the peer median of 0.95%, and above trend rivals CTA (0.75%), ASMF (0.80%) and DBMF (0.85%).
- No index to grade it against. Outcomes ride on the manager's allocation calls, and with a 2023 launch the track record is still short.
- Built to behave unlike stocks and bonds, which is the point in choppy stretches and the trade-off when traditional markets are running hot.
LALT Holdings
- Other
- 8
- 100%
- FAAR
Sectors
- Technology29.7%
- Financials23.1%
- Health Care9.6%
- Industrials8.4%
- Communication7.0%
- Consumer Discretionary6.6%
- Energy5.0%
- Consumer Staples3.7%
- Materials3.7%
- Real Estate2.2%
- Utilities1.1%
Geography
- United States100.00%
LALT Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
Not enough history yet.Not enough history yet.
LALT$11,500
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 | LALT |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +12.6% |
| 1 month | +1.3% |
| 3 months | +4.3% |
| 1 year | +15.0% |
| 3 years | +11.2% |
| 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 | LALT |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +12.6% | |
| 2025 | +10.8% | |
| 2024 | +8.8% | |
| 2023 | +0.9% |
LALT in the news
LALT Dividends
- 3.93%
- $0.98
- $0.08 per share
- Quarterly
Distribution history
LALT 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.
- 1.11
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.
- −7.0%
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.
- 0.15
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
LALT Cost
0.20%
LALT0.20%
- The middle half of Alternative Strategies funds
- Median 1.00%
No Alternative Strategies fund charges less.
Other funds in Alternative Strategies
- AQAINYLI Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETFExpense ratio 0.75%1 year return +9.8%
- AQALTSEI DBi Multi-Strategy Alternative ETFExpense ratio 0.80%1 year return +12.4%
- AHBDCHilton BDC Corporate Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.39%1 year return +2.0%
- AFLSPFranklin Systematic Style Premia ETFExpense ratio 0.65%1 year return +12.8%
- AFTLSFirst Trust Long/Short Equity ETFExpense ratio 0.95%1 year return +15.9%