FICS vs QLVD

FICSCFirst Trust International Developed Capital Strength ETF

QLVDANorthern Trust Developed Markets ex-US Quality Low Volatility ETF

In short

FICS A balance-sheet screen shipped overseas. FICS holds roughly 60 developed-market names filtered for financial strength and lower volatility, and charges 0.70% for the sorting work.

QLVD A defensive route into developed markets outside the US: drop the weakest quality quintile first, then build the low-volatility portfolio with limits on sector and country drift. Fee is 0.12%, net of a waiver through March 1, 2027.

Stated mandate

FICS The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield of The International Developed Capital StrengthTM Index. Normally, it invests at least 90% of net assets in the index’s common stocks and REITs.

QLVD The fund is designed to provide exposure to developed-market companies outside the United States that have lower absolute volatility and financial strength and stability, the characteristics the issuer associates with quality.

Why people hold it

• FICS Rules-based quality and low-volatility screen on developed international stocks, with at least 90% of net assets in the index's own common stocks and REITs.ftportfolios.com
• Roughly 60 holdings, so the screen actually shows up in the portfolio instead of getting diluted into a market-cap blob.
• Pure non-US developed exposure with no home-market overlap, and cash comes back on a quarterly schedule.
• Running since its 2020 launch, tracking a named, published index rather than a manager's discretion.

• QLVD Cheapest in its peer group at 0.12% (net of a waiver through March 1, 2027, against a 0.15% gross fee), versus 0.30% for IQLT, 0.29% for IDHQ and 0.27% for DIHP, none of which are running a waiver.
• Quality is the gate, not a tilt: companies are scored on profitability, management efficiency and cash flow, and the bottom quintile is cut before the low-volatility portfolio gets built.flexshares.com
• The index caps how far it can wander from the broad market on sectors, industry groups, countries and regions, and strips out style bets other than volatility. A check on the pileups plain low-vol screens can create.flexshares.com
• Roughly 200 large and mid-cap names across developed markets, rebuilt on a quarterly schedule, and one of the stronger implementations among the international quality funds we grade. Pays quarterly.sec.gov

Worth knowing

• FICS The 0.70% expense ratio sits above what plain index trackers in its cohort typically charge. That is the price of the screen.
• One of the thinner traders in its category, so spreads can widen. Limit orders are the standard defense.
• About 60 stocks with a quality and low-vol tilt means returns can diverge meaningfully from broad developed-market indexes in either direction.

• QLVD Thinly traded for its category, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than in the category's heavyweights and bigger orders may take more work to fill.
• The 0.12% is net of a waiver dated to March 1, 2027; the gross fee is 0.15%, so cost can step up if that waiver is not renewed.
• Modest asset base by category standards, and the fund holds a representative sample rather than every index name, which can open small gaps against the index.flexshares.com

Full FICS profile⁠

Full QLVD profile⁠