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RND

GradeDNew York Stock Exchange Arca

First Trust Bloomberg R&D Leaders ETF

Major Indexes · First Trust · Inception 2024-04-30

$33.51−0.31 (−0.92%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 3:07 PM EDT

History starts May 1, 2024.
Intraday session: down, 64 prints from 33.82 to 33.51. Range 33.41 to 33.78. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$33.40$33.60$33.70$33.8010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.60%
Fund size
$10M
1Y return
+13.5%
Yield · Last 12 months
0.00%
Holdings
49
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$33.72
52W range
low $26.25high $33.87

The ETF.net RND Grade

D

26/ 100

Rank 40 of 44 in Other Major Indexes⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for RND. Scores out of 100: Cost 21, Risk 20, Mission not scored, Tradability 47, Holdings 23, Durability 28. Strongest: Tradability (47). Weakest: Risk (20). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 26 of 100 sits in the D 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 21
    Category rank35/44 · bottom quartile

  • Mission

    How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.
    Not scored
    —

  • Risk

    How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.
    FScore 20
    Category rank42/43 · bottom quartile

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    CScore 47
    Category rank22/44 · top 50%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    FScore 23
    Category rank42/42 · bottom quartile

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    DScore 28
    Category rank35/44 · bottom quartile

Graded as of Sep 22, 2026 · Based on 5 of 6 pillars

Our read on RND

ETF.net Research

DMost index funds rank companies by size. RND ranks them by research budget, holding roughly 50 heavy R&D spenders picked by the Bloomberg R&D Leaders Select Index. First Trust launched it in 2024.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks to track the price and yield performance of the Bloomberg R&D Leaders Select Index before fees and expenses, generally investing at least 80% of assets in index securities.

Why people hold it

  1. 01Buys the research spenders directly. The Bloomberg R&D Leaders Select Index does the choosing, so lab budgets drive the portfolio instead of market cap.ftportfolios.com
  2. 02Concentrated on purpose: roughly 50 names, so the R&D theme actually shows through instead of getting diluted across hundreds of holdings.
  3. 03Rules, not hunches. At least 80% of assets sit in index securities, and the index rebuilds by its own published method.ftportfolios.com

Worth knowing

  1. 010.60% a year is above the typical index-tracking ETF and many times what broad core trackers like SCHK (0.03%) or VXF (0.05%) charge for the whole market.
  2. 02Small fund, light trading. Thin markets tend to mean wider bid-ask spreads, a cost that lands on top of the expense ratio.
  3. 03Launched in 2024, so the live record is short and there is little history for judging how closely the fund shadows its index.

RND Holdings

As of Sep 21, 2026, 5:30 PM
Asset class
Stocks
Holdings
49
Top-10 weight
63%
Largest holding
MSFT10.3%

Sectors

  • Technology45.8%
  • Consumer Discr.15.2%
  • Health Care14.6%
  • Communication12.3%
  • Industrials8.8%
  • Cons. Staples1.2%
  • Financials1.1%
  • Materials1.0%

Geography

  • United States94.34%
  • Ireland5.66%
The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 4.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001MSFTMicrosoft Corporation10.29%2,059$1M792
002AAPLApple Inc.9.03%2,654$892K707
003NVDANVIDIA Corporation8.63%3,838$853K828
004AMZNAmazon.com, Inc.8.27%3,222$817K720
005GOOGLAlphabet Inc. (Class A)7.60%2,149$751K704
006METAMeta Platforms, Inc. (Class A)4.59%682$454K683
007AMDAdvanced Micro Devices, Inc.3.74%661$370K618
008LLYEli Lilly and Company3.73%320$369K569
009AVGOBroadcom Inc.3.68%1,018$364K732
010AMGNAmgen Inc.3.67%940$363K470
011TSLATesla, Inc.3.37%913$333K509
012APHAmphenol Corporation3.34%4,262$331K441
013DEDeere & Company3.02%436$298K348
014ETNEaton Corporation Plc2.91%676$287K259
015ISRGIntuitive Surgical, Inc.2.44%612$241K406

Showing 1–15 of 50 holdings

RND Performance

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

RND$11,353
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,723
Sep 22, 2025 to Sep 22, 2026. RND $11,353. SPY $11,723. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$8,603$10,299$11,996Sep 2025Mar 2026Sep 2026

Sep 22, 2025 – Sep 22, 2026

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.

Trailing total return for RND. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodRND
Year to date+11.4%
1 month+3.0%
3 months+7.9%
1 year+13.5%
3 yearsFund is under 3 years old—per year
5 yearsFund is under 5 years old—per year
10 yearsFund is under 10 years old—per year

As of the close, 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 RND
YearReturn barRND
2026 YTD+11.4%
2025+22.4%
2024+26.9%

History from May 1, 2024

RND in the news

ETF.net Research hasn’t filed on RND yet — coverage lands here as it’s written.

RND 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 Sep 22, 2026.
0.00%Last 12 months
Payout per share
NoneLast 12 months

No distributions in the last 12 months.

Distribution history

Payments through 2024

One bar per payment. 1 payment in 2024. Dec 13, 2024 $0.01. Use the arrow keys to read each point.2024
Ex-datePay dateAmount per share
Dec 13, 2024Dec 31, 2024$0.01

RND Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
16.1%
Annualised · 27 months to Aug 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.
1.07
vs 3-month T-bills · 27 months to Aug 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.
−23.5%
28 months · trough Apr 2025
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.
1.25
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.

RND Cost

Expense ratio0.60%
  • The middle half of Other Major Indexes funds
  • Median 0.29%

31 of the 42 Other Major Indexes funds charge less.

RND costs $60.00 a year on $10,000. The median Other Major Indexes fund costs $29.00.