ETF Evaluator: First Trust Active Gbl Qual Inc ETF (AGQI) Follow This ETF

First Trust Active Gbl Qual Inc ETF Overview

First Trust Active Gbl Qual Inc ETF (AGQI) is an actively managed International Equity Global Large-Stock Value exchange-traded fund (ETF). First Trust launched the ETF in 2015.

The investment seeks income with the potential for capital growth over the long-term. Under normal market conditions, the fund seeks to invest primarily in income-producing equity securities. Such equity securities may include common stock, depositary receipts (including ADRs and GDRs), preferred securities and real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). It invests in U.S. and non-U.S. issuers and will typically invest at least 40% of its net assets in securities of issuers or companies that are economically tied to different countries throughout the world, excluding the United States. The fund is non-diversified.

About First Trust Active Gbl Qual Inc ETF (AGQI)

There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 10.86 years: Ben Lofthouse (2015), Faizan Baig (2015) and Charlotte Greville (2015). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: MSCI ACWI NR USD index with a weighting of 100% and MSCI ACWI High Dividend Yield NR USD index with a weighting of 100%. First Trust Active Gbl Qual Inc ETF has 37 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 39.9% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

First Trust Active Gbl Qual Inc ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity ETF group. First Trust Active Gbl Qual Inc ETF has 58.4% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 40.1% There is 58.4% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). First Trust Active Gbl Qual Inc ETF has 1.5% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $55 million in total assets, which is below the $457 million average for the Global Large-Stock Value category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

AGQI Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The First Trust Active Gbl Qual Inc ETF expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Global Large-Stock Value category. First Trust Active Gbl Qual Inc ETF has an expense ratio of 0.85%, which is 37% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a F. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. First Trust Active Gbl Qual Inc ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 64%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 46% for the Global Large-Stock Value category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, First Trust Active Gbl Qual Inc ETF returned 3.6%, which earned it a grade of C, as the Global Large-Stock Value category had an average return of 3.4%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.

First Trust Active Gbl Qual Inc ETF has a trailing yield of 1.67%, which is below the 2.34% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly and its capital gains annually.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

First Trust Active Gbl Qual Inc ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 14.2%, 0.3 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 24.4% over the past year (grade of D), 12.0% over the past three years (grade of F) and 5.8% per year over the past five years (grade of F) and 0.9% per year over the past 10 years (grade of F).

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