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Launched · SEC filings

First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund

QABANasdaqFirst TrustD

$68.02+1.60 (+2.41%)

At close: Nov 2, 2026, 4:00 PM ET

D37/ 100

Rank 7 of 9 in Banks

D37/100Rank 7 of 9inBanks
Intraday session: up, 79 prints from 66.42 to 68.02. Range 66.86 to 68.41. Use the arrow keys to read each point.67.0067.5068.5010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.60%*
Fund size
$86M
1Y total return
+27.3%
Yield · Last 12 months
2.32%
Holdings
160
Avg volume · 30D
8.73K sh
52W range
low $52.48high $70.66
Launched
Filings
SEC EDGAR

*After a fee waiver that ends Apr 30, 2027. Without it: 0.63%.

The ETF.net QABA Grade

Based on 5 of 6 pillars

D

Score 37 out of 100

Category
Banks⁠
Rank
7 of 9
Six-pillar profile for QABA. Scores out of 100: Cost 13, Risk 60, Mission not scored, Tradability 34, Holdings 76, Durability 51. Strongest: Holdings (76). Weakest: Cost (13). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.

Score 37 of 100 falls in the D 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.
    F13 out of 100
    Rank 8 of 9

  • Mission

    Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.
    Not scored

  • Risk

    How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.
    B60 out of 100
    Rank 3 of 9

  • Tradability

    How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.
    D34 out of 100
    Rank 6 of 9

  • Holdings

    How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.
    A76 out of 100
    Rank 3 of 9

  • Durability

    Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.
    C51 out of 100
    Rank 6 of 9

Our read on QABA

ETF.net Research

In short

DThe bank ETF that starts by deleting the biggest banks. QABA tracks a Nasdaq index of community banks and thrifts that drops the 50 largest by assets, plus credit-card and international specialists. Main Street lenders, not money centers.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield of the Nasdaq OMX® ABA Community BankTM Index.

Why people hold it

  • Built as a pure community-bank screen: Nasdaq-listed banks and thrifts, minus the 50 largest by FDIC asset size and any credit-card or international specialists.ftportfolios.com
  • Trading since 2009 on an index co-developed with the American Bankers Association, rebalanced quarterly and market-cap weighted with issuer caps.ftportfolios.com
  • Spreads across roughly 160 small lenders, so the portfolio leans on community banking economics rather than one or two regional names.

Worth knowing

  • Costs 0.60% net of a waiver through April 30, 2027 (0.63% gross), above the category median and above KRE, KBE and KBWB at 0.35%.
  • Nasdaq-listed only. Community banks trading on other exchanges fall outside the index by design.ftportfolios.com
  • Thinner trading than the big regional-bank funds, which can show up as wider bid-ask spreads.

QABA Holdings

Holdings pillarA76 out of 100Rank 3 of 9 in Banks
Asset class
Stocks
Holdings
160
Top-10 weight
27%
Largest holding
WTFC4.3%

Sectors

  • Financials99.7%
  • Industrials0.3%

Geography

  • United States99.69%
  • Canada0.31%
The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 11.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueHeld by ETFs
1WTFCWintrust Financial Corporation4.32%24,542$3.74M166
2CBCCentral Bancompany, Inc.3.62%87,125$3.13M60
3CBSHCommerce Bancshares, Inc.3.32%52,177$2.87M146
4UBSIUnited Bankshares, Inc.2.76%49,550$2.39M154
5HWCHancock Whitney Corporation2.43%29,183$2.1M137
6OZKBank OZK2.32%39,665$2.01M159
7EBCEastern Bankshares, Inc.2.15%83,126$1.86M117
8TFSLTFS Financial Corporation1.94%102,017$1.68M83
9FULTFulton Financial Corporation1.88%69,450$1.63M132
10FFINFirst Financial Bankshares, Inc.1.84%52,139$1.59M132
11CATYCathay General Bancorp1.81%24,269$1.56M134
12WSFSWSFS Financial Corporation1.69%18,585$1.46M136
13CVBFCVB Financial Corp.1.67%64,023$1.45M119
14INDBIndependent Bank Corp.1.65%17,232$1.43M126
15BANFBancFirst Corporation1.56%12,222$1.35M120

Showing 1–15 of 160 holdings

QABA Performance

Launched Jun 29, 2009

Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.

QABA$12,734
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,199
Oct 31, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026. QABA $12,734. SPY $11,199. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$10,000$12,000Oct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

Returns run to the Oct 30, 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.

Trailing total return for QABA. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodQABA
Year to date+19.2%
1 month+3.4%
3 months−3.2%
1 year+27.3%
3 yearsper year+23.0%
5 yearsper year+5.3%
10 yearsper year+7.2%

With distributions reinvested.

Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.

Annual total returns for QABA
YearReturn barQABA
2026 YTD+19.2%
2025+4.6%
2024+14.5%
2023−2.2%
2022−9.0%
2021+34.2%
2020−10.8%

QABA in the news

QABA Dividends

Adds up every distribution paid per share over the last 12 months, divided by the last completed close. Distributions are counted by ex-date. Data through Oct 30, 2026.
2.32%Last 12 months
Payout per share
$1.54Last 12 months
Last payment
$0.36 per share
Paid on
Shares bought on or after this date do not qualify for this distribution.
Frequency
Quarterly

Distribution history

2017–2026

One bar per payment. 39 payments from 2017 to 2026 YTD. Mar 23, 2017 $0.13; Jun 22, 2017 $0.18; Sep 21, 2017 $0.19; Dec 21, 2017 $0.25; Mar 22, 2018 $0.14; Jun 21, 2018 $0.17; Sep 14, 2018 $0.16; Dec 18, 2018 $0.35; Mar 21, 2019 $0.18; Jun 14, 2019 $0.22; Sep 25, 2019 $0.34; Dec 13, 2019 $0.26; Mar 26, 2020 $0.27; Jun 25, 2020 $0.33; Sep 24, 2020 $0.26; Dec 24, 2020 $0.29; Mar 25, 2021 $0.21; Jun 24, 2021 $0.22; Sep 23, 2021 $0.24; Dec 23, 2021 $0.32; Mar 25, 2022 $0.27; Jun 24, 2022 $0.27; Sep 23, 2022 $0.29; Dec 23, 2022 $0.28; Mar 24, 2023 $0.35; Jun 27, 2023 $0.34; Sep 22, 2023 $0.31; Dec 22, 2023 $0.36; Mar 21, 2024 $0.27; Jun 27, 2024 $0.43; Sep 26, 2024 $0.28; Dec 13, 2024 $0.34; Mar 27, 2025 $0.31; Jun 26, 2025 $0.28; Sep 25, 2025 $0.35; Dec 12, 2025 $0.49; Mar 26, 2026 $0.34; Jun 25, 2026 $0.35; Sep 24, 2026 $0.36. Use the arrow keys to read each point.2017201820192020202120222023202420252026YTD
Ex-datePay dateAmount per share
Sep 24, 2026Sep 30, 2026$0.36
Jun 25, 2026Jun 30, 2026$0.35
Mar 26, 2026Mar 31, 2026$0.34
Dec 12, 2025Dec 31, 2025$0.49
Sep 25, 2025Sep 30, 2025$0.35
Jun 26, 2025Jun 30, 2025$0.28
Mar 27, 2025Mar 31, 2025$0.31
Dec 13, 2024Dec 31, 2024$0.34
Sep 26, 2024Sep 30, 2024$0.28
Jun 27, 2024Jun 28, 2024$0.43
Mar 21, 2024Mar 28, 2024$0.27
Dec 22, 2023Dec 29, 2023$0.36

See all 63 payments⁠

$10,000 in QABA 10 years ago paid $2,722 in dividends.⁠

QABA Risk

Risk pillarB60 out of 100Rank 3 of 9 in Banks
How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
22.9%
Annualised · 36 months to Oct 2026
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.

Return above 3-month US Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
0.83
vs 3-month T-bills · to Oct 2026
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.

The largest fall from a peak to the low that followed.
−43.0%
Trough May 2023
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.

How strongly the fund’s returns move with its asset-class index.
0.98
vs its asset-class index
How it’s calculated: beta

The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.

FMP measures it over up to five years of monthly returns.

QABA Cost

Compare QABA and PBEU

Overpaying vs PBEU, cheapest in Banks

$9,091

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

  • QABA 0.60%

    $11,817

  • PBEU 0.13% Cheapest

    $2,726

$10,000
30 years

Cost over time

  • QABA 0.60%
  • PBEU 0.13%
  • Overpaying
One line per fund, from year 0 to year 30. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$2.5K$5K$7.5K$10K$12.5K051015202530QABA $11,817PBEU $2,726

Year by year

YearQABAPBEUOverpaying
10$1,076$238$838
20$4,116$930$3,186
30$11,817$2,726$9,091
How the 0.60% is worked out

Full fee 0.63%− waiver 0.03%= you pay 0.60%

The waiver ends Apr 30, 2027. After that the fee is 0.63% unless First Trust renews it. Source: prospectus, Apr 2026.

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