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Name

As of 06/01/2026

Price

Aum/Mkt Cap

YIELD

Annualized forward dividend yield. Multiplies the most recent dividend payout amount by its frequency and divides by the previous close price.

Exp Ratio

Expense ratio is the fund’s total annual operating expenses, including management fees, distribution fees, and other expenses, expressed as a percentage of average net assets.

Watchlist

First Trust High Income Strategic Focus ETF

HISF | Active ETF

$44.38

$72.7 M

5.14%

$2.28

0.83%

Vitals

YTD Return

0.2%

1 yr return

5.9%

3 Yr Avg Return

5.0%

5 Yr Avg Return

1.6%

Net Assets

$72.7 M

Holdings in Top 10

100.0%

52 WEEK LOW AND HIGH

$44.4
$43.92
$45.58

Expenses

OPERATING FEES

Expense Ratio 0.83%

SALES FEES

Front Load N/A

Deferred Load N/A

TRADING FEES

Turnover N/A

Redemption Fee N/A

Min Investment

Standard (Taxable)

N/A

IRA

N/A

Fund Classification

Fund Type

Exchange Traded Fund

Name

As of 06/01/2026

Price

Aum/Mkt Cap

YIELD

Annualized forward dividend yield. Multiplies the most recent dividend payout amount by its frequency and divides by the previous close price.

Exp Ratio

Expense ratio is the fund’s total annual operating expenses, including management fees, distribution fees, and other expenses, expressed as a percentage of average net assets.

Watchlist

First Trust High Income Strategic Focus ETF

HISF | Active ETF

$44.38

$72.7 M

5.14%

$2.28

0.83%

HISF - Profile

Distributions

  • YTD Total Return 0.2%
  • 3 Yr Annualized Total Return 5.0%
  • 5 Yr Annualized Total Return 1.6%
  • Capital Gain Distribution Frequency N/A
  • Net Income Ratio N/A
DIVIDENDS
  • Dividend Yield 5.1%
  • Dividend Distribution Frequency Monthly

Fund Details

  • Legal Name
    First Trust High Income Strategic Focus ETF
  • Fund Family Name
    First Trust Advisors L.P.
  • Inception Date
    Aug 13, 2014
  • Shares Outstanding
    N/A
  • Share Class
    N/A
  • Currency
    USD
  • Domiciled Country
    US
  • Manager
    Daniel Lindquist

Fund Description

span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;margin-left:0%;"Under normal market conditions, the Fund seeks to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a portfolio of U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds (/spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;font-style:italic;"“Underlying ETFs”/spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;") that is designed to follow the High Income Model (the /spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;font-style:italic;"“High Income Model”/spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;") /spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;margin-left:0%;"developed by the Fund’s investment advisor, First Trust Advisors L.P. (/spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;font-style:italic;"“First Trust”/spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;" or the /spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;font-style:italic;"“Advisor”/spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;"). The Fund, through its /spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;margin-left:0%;"investments in the Underlying ETFs comprising the High Income Model, seeks to provide investors with a diversified income stream by holding a blend of fixed income assets that are actively managed to seek levels of high income and total return. The High Income Model is principally composed of ETFs for which First Trust serves as investment advisor. Therefore, a significant portion of the ETFs in which the Fund invests are advised by First Trust. However, the Fund may also invest in ETFs /spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;"other than First Trust ETFs. /spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;margin-left:0%;"The Advisor employs a dynamic approach in selecting the Underlying ETFs that are included in the High Income Model. In constructing the High Income Model, the Advisor uses a disciplined process for reviewing the macroeconomic outlook, policy drivers and asset level analysis that inform portfolio construction and ongoing risk management. The process begins with a robust, top-down review of macroeconomic factors including monetary and fiscal policies, growth forecasts, trade and tax policies, global market views and current market valuations. The process combines these factors with disciplined bottom-up asset level analysis including views on rates, duration, credit, currency and current asset valuations. The Advisor utilizes this process to evaluate the relative attractiveness of the various fixed-income asset classes in an attempt to best position the Fund to take advantage of market trends and investment opportunities. The High Income Model is also designed to allow the Advisor to adjust portfolio risk for the Model on an ongoing basis, consistent with the Fund’s investment objective to seek /spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;"risk-adjusted income. /spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;"The Fund may invest in Underlying ETFs that invest principally in the following asset classes: /spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;"●/spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;"U.S. government securities (securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities); /spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;"●/spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;"Corporate bonds issued by investment-grade U.S. issuers; /spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;"●/spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;"Corporate bonds issued by non-investment-grade issuers (commonly referred to as “junk” bonds); /spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;"●/spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;"Senior loans, including covenant-lite loans (which are generally structured with floating rates of interest); /spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;"●/spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;"Securitized debt securities (including asset-backed securities and residential- and commercial-mortgaged backed securities including securities issued non-governmental issuers, known as “non-agency securities”); /spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;"●/spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;"Bonds issued by issuers located outside of the United States, including issuers located in emerging market countries, including bonds issued by sovereign and quasi-sovereign entities (such bonds may be denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars); and /spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;"●/spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;"Hybrid capital securities (securities with unique characteristics such as preferred securities, convertible securities and contingent convertible securities). /spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;margin-left:0%;"The High Income Model, and therefore the Fund, is actively-managed and is designed to be responsive to market conditions. Therefore the Fund may engage in frequent trading. However, the High Income Model, and therefore the Fund's portfolio, is constructed subject to certain exposure limits. Through its investments in the Underlying ETFs, the Advisor will seek to position the Fund's portfolio to have no more than 60% exposure to U.S. high-yield securities (consisting of U.S. high-yield corporate bonds and U.S. high-yield senior loans); no more than 30% exposure to debt securities issued by non-U.S. issuers (including issuers located in emerging market countries); no more than 20% exposure to debt securities issued by emerging market issuers; no more than 20% exposure to preferred securities; and no more than 10% exposure to convertible bonds. In determining whether a security is classified as non-investment-grade, the Advisor considers the lowest rating provided by the "big three" credit rating agencies. The Underlying ETFs may also invest in companies with various market capitalizations, defaulted securities, restricted securities, when-issued securities, to-be-announced securities and delayed delivery securities /spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;"and may utilize repurchase agreements. /spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;margin-left:0%;"The Fund will not utilize derivatives but may invest in Underlying ETFs that utilize derivatives for various purposes, such as hedging some of the risks associated with its portfolio, as a substitute for a position in an underlying asset, to reduce transaction costs, to maintain full market exposure (which means to adjust the characteristics of its investments to more closely approximate /spanspan style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.00pt;"those of the markets in which it invests), to manage cash flows or to preserve capital./span
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HISF - Performance

Return Ranking - Trailing

Period HISF Return Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
YTD 0.2% -18.5% 7.5% 94.21%
1 Yr 5.9% -23.3% 41.6% 4.27%
3 Yr 5.0%* -8.9% 9.4% 5.12%
5 Yr 1.6%* -6.9% 5.1% 5.33%
10 Yr 3.4%* -4.4% 5.5% N/A

* Annualized

Return Ranking - Calendar

Period HISF Return Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
2025 3.3% -35.0% 33.6% 2.70%
2024 -2.4% -7.0% 7.1% 100.00%
2023 1.9% -3.6% 12.1% 0.73%
2022 -13.2% -11.4% 5.1% 99.75%
2021 6.0% -4.8% 7.6% 2.31%

Total Return Ranking - Trailing

Period HISF Return Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
YTD 0.2% -18.5% 7.5% 94.88%
1 Yr 5.9% -23.3% 45.8% 8.37%
3 Yr 5.0%* -8.9% 15.2% 7.35%
5 Yr 1.6%* -6.9% 12.6% 6.97%
10 Yr 3.4%* -4.4% 7.2% N/A

* Annualized

Total Return Ranking - Calendar

Period HISF Return Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
2025 8.4% -35.0% 33.6% 2.70%
2024 2.2% -7.0% 14.7% 100.00%
2023 6.4% -3.6% 12.1% 0.73%
2022 -10.0% -9.5% 5.1% 100.00%
2021 10.2% -4.8% 11.8% 2.57%

HISF - Holdings

Concentration Analysis

HISF Category Low Category High HISF % Rank
Net Assets 72.7 M 130 K 62.8 B 90.33%
Number of Holdings 10 3 25236 89.66%
Net Assets in Top 10 85.8 M 3.05 K 11 B 79.75%
Weighting of Top 10 100.01% 6.3% 100.0% 5.23%

Top 10 Holdings

  1. First Trust Core Investment Grade ETF 25.45%
  2. First Trust Tactical High Yield ETF 19.88%
  3. First Trust Smith Opportunistic Fixed Income ETF 11.99%
  4. First Trust Low Duration Opportunities ETF 10.04%
  5. First Trust Intermediate Duration Investment Grade Corporate ETF 9.96%
  6. First Trust Preferred Securities and Income ETF 7.54%
  7. First Trust Emerging Markets Local Currency Bond ETF 5.11%
  8. First Trust Limited Duration Investment Grade Corporate ETF 4.99%
  9. First Trust Long Duration Opportunities ETF 4.99%
  10. Dreyfus Government Cash Management 0.07%

Asset Allocation

Weighting Return Low Return High HISF % Rank
Stocks 		99.94% 0.00% 62.91% 99.79%
Cash 		0.07% -35.68% 69.40% 79.32%
Preferred Stocks 		0.00% -0.03% 39.31% 39.45%
Other 		0.00% -9.78% 21.77% 52.95%
Convertible Bonds 		0.00% 0.00% 71.77% 11.18%
Bonds 		0.00% 11.31% 94.75% 0.21%

Stock Sector Breakdown

Weighting Return Low Return High HISF % Rank
Utilities 		0.00% 0.00% 48.33% N/A
Technology 		0.00% 0.00% 29.13% N/A
Real Estate 		0.00% 0.00% 99.41% N/A
Industrials 		0.00% 0.00% 26.64% N/A
Healthcare 		0.00% 0.00% 27.40% N/A
Financial Services 		0.00% 0.00% 83.50% N/A
Energy 		0.00% 0.00% 62.93% N/A
Communication Services 		0.00% 0.00% 20.68% N/A
Consumer Defense 		0.00% 0.00% 18.62% N/A
Consumer Cyclical 		0.00% 0.00% 15.36% N/A
Basic Materials 		0.00% 0.00% 32.82% N/A

Stock Geographic Breakdown

Weighting Return Low Return High HISF % Rank
US 		99.94% 0.00% 51.08% 99.79%
Non US 		0.00% -0.01% 25.18% 97.89%

HISF - Expenses

Operational Fees

HISF Fees (% of AUM) Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
Expense Ratio 0.83% 0.03% 3.70% 49.90%
Management Fee 0.10% 0.00% 1.25% 43.39%
12b-1 Fee N/A 0.00% 1.00% 0.39%
Administrative Fee N/A 0.01% 0.70% N/A

Sales Fees

HISF Fees (% of AUM) Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
Front Load N/A 0.00% 5.75% N/A
Deferred Load N/A 1.00% 5.00% N/A

Trading Fees

HISF Fees (% of AUM) Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
Max Redemption Fee N/A 0.00% 2.00% N/A

Related Fees

Turnover provides investors a proxy for the trading fees incurred by mutual fund managers who frequently adjust position allocations. Higher turnover means higher trading fees.

HISF Fees (% of AUM) Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
Turnover N/A 2.00% 380.00% N/A

HISF - Distributions

Dividend Yield Analysis

HISF Category Low Category High HISF % Rank
Dividend Yield 5.14% 0.00% 7.26% 6.67%

Dividend Distribution Analysis

HISF Category Low Category High Category Mod
Dividend Distribution Frequency Monthly Quarterly Monthly Quarterly

Net Income Ratio Analysis

HISF Category Low Category High HISF % Rank
Net Income Ratio N/A -1.22% 6.83% 17.00%

Capital Gain Distribution Analysis

HISF Category Low Category High Capital Mode
Capital Gain Distribution Frequency Annually Semi-Monthly Annually

Distributions History

View More +

HISF - Fund Manager Analysis

Managers

Daniel Lindquist

Start Date

Tenure

Tenure Rank

Aug 13, 2014

7.8

7.8%

Daniel J. Lindquist, CFA, was born in 1970. Mr. Lindquist earned a B.A. in Business Economics from Wheaton College and has an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago. He has been with First Trust Advisors L.P. since 2004 and is a Managing Director. Mr. Lindquist is the Chairman of the Investment Committee and is responsible for the overall supervision of the Separate Managed Accounts.

William Housey

Start Date

Tenure

Tenure Rank

Aug 13, 2014

7.8

7.8%

William A. Housey, CFA, was born in 1973. Mr. Housey earned a B.S. in Finance from Eastern Illinois University and an M.B.A. in Finance and Management & Strategy from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business. Mr. Housey joined First Trust Advisors L.P. in 2010 as Senior Portfolio Manager for the Leveraged Finance Investment Team and has over 22 years of investment experience having held various positions in portfolio management and research. Mr. Housey is responsible for managing fixed-income portfolios, principally focusing on below investment-grade credit.

David McGarel

Start Date

Tenure

Tenure Rank

Aug 13, 2014

7.8

7.8%

David G. McGarel, CFA, was born in 1966. Mr. McGarel earned a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Notre Dame. He has been with First Trust Advisors L.P. since 1997 and he is a Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer and the Chief Investment Officer. As head of FTA’s Strategy Research Group, Mr. McGarel shall be responsible for developing and implementing quantitative investment strategies for those Funds that have investment policies that require them to follow such strategies, on behalf of the Investment Committee.

Chris Peterson

Start Date

Tenure

Tenure Rank

Mar 01, 2016

6.25

6.3%

Chris A. Peterson, CFA was born in 1975. Mr. Peterson earned a B.S in Finance from Bradley University and has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with concentrations in Analytic Finance & Accounting. He has been with First Trust Advisors L.P. since 2000. As head of FTA’s Portfolio Advisor’s Strategy Research Group, Mr. Peterson shall be responsible for developing and implementing quantitative equity strategies on behalf of the Investment Committee.

Steve Collins

Start Date

Tenure

Tenure Rank

Sep 20, 2021

0.69

0.7%

Mr. Steven Collins, CFA, is Vice President, Fixed Income Research, and is responsible for selecting and monitoring Unit Investment Trusts (UITs) consisting of both single and multiple fixed income asset types as well as equity UITs. Mr. Collins is a member of the First Trust Strategic Model Investment Committee. He is also a member of a Fixed Income Sub-Committee providing credit analysis for the banking sector including our securities lending and derivatives counterparties. Mr. Collins is also a member of the 22e4 Liquidity Committee and is the Chairman of the UIT 22e-4 Liquidity Committee. Mr. Collins joined FTA in 2007, holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the CFA Society of Chicago. Mr. Collins received a B.S. in Industrial Technology from Illinois State University and an M.B.A from DePaul University.

Tenure Analysis

Category Low Category High Category Average Category Mode
0.09 28.73 6.4 2.41

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