First Trust Intermediate Government Opportunities ETF
$19.34−0.25 (−1.28%)
- Expense ratio
- 0.50%
- Fund size
- $102M
- 1Y return
- +0.1%
- Yield · Last 12 months
- 4.94%
- Holdings
- 204
- Volume · 30D
- 0M sh
- NAV per share
- $19.63
- 52W range
The ETF.net MGOV Grade
Score 40 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 17Category rankMission
How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.AScore 78Category rankRisk
How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.CScore 48Category rankTradability
How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.FScore 14Category rankHoldings
What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.CScore 47Category rankDurability
Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.CScore 45Category rank
Our read on MGOV
CActive management in a corner of the market built on index trackers. First Trust's team roams Treasuries, agency and mortgage-related debt instead of following one benchmark, and pays out monthly.
The Fund seeks to maximize long-term total return by investing primarily in U.S. government, agency, government-sponsored-entity, Treasury, and mortgage-related debt securities. It may also use ETFs and derivatives tied to Government Securities.
Why people hold it
- Genuinely active mandate: Treasuries, agency and government-sponsored-entity debt, and mortgage-related bonds, plus ETFs and derivatives tied to government securities.
- Pays monthly, so income lands on a steady schedule instead of quarterly.
- Credit stays in government and agency territory. The manager's levers are interest-rate positioning and mortgage exposure, not reaching down into junk.
- Spread across roughly a hundred-plus bond positions rather than a handful of concentrated bets.
Worth knowing
- At 0.50% a year, it costs well above index government-bond peers like VGIT and SCHP, which run at a few basis points. The active call is what you're paying for.
- Thinly traded next to the category's giants, so bid-ask spreads and order size are worth a look.
- Launched in 2023, so the record is short compared with government-bond funds that have been running for decades.
MGOV Holdings
- Bonds
- 204
- 48%
- US 2YR NOTE (CBT) Dec26
Geography
- United States100.00%
MGOV 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 | MGOV |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −1.3% |
| 1 month | −1.3% |
| 3 months | −1.9% |
| 1 year | +0.1% |
| 3 years | +4.9% |
| 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 | MGOV |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −1.3% | |
| 2025 | +8.6% | |
| 2024 | +1.5% | |
| 2023 | +4.6% |
MGOV in the news
ETF.net Research hasn’t filed on MGOV yet — coverage lands here as it’s written.
MGOV Dividends
- 4.94%
- $0.97
- $0.07 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
| Ex-date | Pay date | Amount per share |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 21, 2026 | Aug 31, 2026 | $0.07 |
| Jul 21, 2026 | Jul 31, 2026 | $0.07 |
| Jun 25, 2026 | Jun 30, 2026 | $0.08 |
| May 21, 2026 | May 29, 2026 | $0.08 |
| Apr 21, 2026 | Apr 30, 2026 | $0.08 |
| Mar 26, 2026 | Mar 31, 2026 | $0.09 |
| Feb 20, 2026 | Feb 27, 2026 | $0.09 |
| Jan 21, 2026 | Jan 30, 2026 | $0.09 |
| Dec 12, 2025 | Dec 31, 2025 | $0.09 |
| Nov 21, 2025 | Nov 28, 2025 | $0.09 |
| Oct 21, 2025 | Oct 31, 2025 | $0.09 |
| Sep 25, 2025 | Sep 30, 2025 | $0.08 |
MGOV Risk
- 6.4%
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.
- 0.04
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.
- −6.1%
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.
- 0.26
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
MGOV Cost
- The middle half of US Treasury & Government funds
- Median 0.15%
13 of the 16 US Treasury & Government funds charge less.