ETF Evaluator: First Trust NYSE Arca Biotech ETF (FBT) Follow This ETF

First Trust NYSE Arca Biotech ETF Overview

First Trust NYSE Arca Biotech ETF (FBT) is a passively managed Sector Equity Health exchange-traded fund (ETF). First Trust launched the ETF in 2006.

The investment seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the fund's fees and expenses) of an equity index called the NYSE ® Arca ® Biotechnology Index. The fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the securities that comprise the index. The index is an equal-dollar weighted index designed to measure the performance of 30 leading biotechnology companies.

About First Trust NYSE Arca Biotech ETF (FBT)

There are 7 members of the management team with an average tenure of 16.51 years: Daniel Lindquist (2006), Jon Erickson (2006), David McGarel (2006), Stan Ueland (2006), Chris Peterson (2016), Erik Russo (2020) and Roger Testin (2006). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: S&P 500 (TR) (1970) index with a weighting of 100% and S&P Composite 1500 Health Care TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. First Trust NYSE Arca Biotech ETF has 31 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 43.2% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

First Trust NYSE Arca Biotech ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the Sector Equity ETF group. First Trust NYSE Arca Biotech ETF has 2.6% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 97.3% There is 2.6% 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 NYSE Arca Biotech ETF has 0.1% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $2 billion in total assets, which is above the $1 billion average for the Health 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.

FBT 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 NYSE Arca Biotech ETF expense ratio is average compared to funds in the Health category. First Trust NYSE Arca Biotech ETF has an expense ratio of 0.55%, which is 6% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. 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 NYSE Arca Biotech ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 37%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 40% for the Health category.

Recently, in the month of June 2026, First Trust NYSE Arca Biotech ETF returned 11.2%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Health category had an average return of 8.7%. 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 NYSE Arca Biotech ETF has a trailing yield of 0.00%, which is below the 1.12% 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 NYSE Arca Biotech ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 20.4%, 10.2 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 53.9% over the past year (grade of B), 17.8% over the past three years (grade of A) and 7.6% per year over the past five years (grade of A) and 10.8% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).

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