Category Review
Municipal bond funds are down for the year after a third-quarter selloff erased the first-half gain
First Trust Low Duration Strategic Focus ETF
$18.490.00 (+0.05%)
- 0.10%
- $161M
- +1.4%
- 4.78%
- 0M sh
- $18.50
- low $18.38high $19.59
The ETF.net LDSF Grade
B
Score 66 out of 100
- 43 of 117
Score 66 of 100 falls in the B 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.A83 out of 100Rank 19 of 117Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.B67 out of 100Rank 92 of 101Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.A79 out of 100Rank 9 of 116Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.C45 out of 100Rank 68 of 117Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.D28 out of 100Rank 106 of 116Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.B60 out of 100Rank 50 of 117
Our read on LDSF
BNot a bond portfolio so much as a basket of bond ETFs. LDSF holds other U.S.-listed income funds and keeps effective duration to three years or less, actively allocated against a blended benchmark, with cash paid out monthly.
The Fund seeks current income and secondarily preservation of capital. It normally invests at least 80% of net assets in U.S.-listed ETFs principally investing in income-generating securities with effective portfolio duration of three years or less.
Why people hold it
- Short-duration by mandate: at least 80% of net assets sits in income ETFs with effective duration of three years or less, the end of the curve where rate swings bite least.
- One ticket, active allocation. A manager moves among income sleeves instead of tracking a single index, with current income first and capital preservation second.
- Distributions land monthly, not quarterly.
- Live since 2019, so its record covers the 2022 bond rout rather than a backtest.
Worth knowing
- At 0.77% a year, the fee is steep for fixed income. Core bond rivals like BND, SPAB and SCHZ charge a small fraction of it.
- Thinly traded and modest in size, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than at the category's household names.
- The yardstick is a blended benchmark, not a standard bond index, so comparing it to a plain aggregate fund takes extra work.
LDSF Holdings
- Bonds
- 9
- 100%
- LMBS
Sectors
- Health Care100.0%
Geography
- United States100.00%
LDSF 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.
LDSF$10,137
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 | LDSF |
|---|---|
| Year to date | 0.0% |
| 1 month | −0.7% |
| 3 months | −0.9% |
| 1 year | +1.4% |
| 3 years | +5.1% |
| 5 years | +2.3% |
| 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 | LDSF |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | 0.0% | |
| 2025 | +6.8% | |
| 2024 | +4.2% | |
| 2023 | +6.6% | |
| 2022 | −5.5% | |
| 2021 | −0.3% | |
| 2020 | +2.5% |
LDSF in the news
LDSF Dividends
- 4.78%
- $0.88
- $0.08 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
LDSF Risk
- 3.0%
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.
- 0.10
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.
- −7.5%
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.
- 0.47
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
LDSF Cost
0.10%
LDSF0.10%
- The middle half of US Aggregate Bond funds
- Median 0.34%
17 of the 113 US Aggregate Bond funds charge less.
Other funds in US Aggregate Bond
- BUSTBVictoryShares Short-Term Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.34%1 year return +2.7%
- BJHCRJohn Hancock Exchange-Traded Fund Trust - John Hancock Core Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.29%1 year return −1.9%
- BAFIXAllspring Exchange-Traded Funds Trust - Allspring Broad Market Core Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.20%1 year return −1.9%
- BFLIAFranklin International Aggregate Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.25%1 year return +0.5%
- BGBNDGoldman Sachs Core Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.26%1 year return −2.0%