ETF Evaluator: First Trust Active Factor Large Cap ETF () Follow This ETF

First Trust Active Factor Large Cap ETF Overview

First Trust Active Factor Large Cap ETF (AFLG) is an actively managed U.S. Equity Large Blend exchange-traded fund (ETF). First Trust launched the ETF in 2019.

The investment seeks to provide capital appreciation. Under normal market conditions, the fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in U.S.-listed equity securities issued by large capitalization companies. The manager defines large capitalization companies as those that, at the time of investment, have a minimum market capitalization equal to or greater than the minimum market capitalization of a widely recognized index of large capitalization companies based upon the composition of the index at the time of investment.

About First Trust Active Factor Large Cap ETF (AFLG)

There are 8 members of the management team with an average tenure of 6.22 years: Daniel Lindquist (2019), Jon Erickson (2019), David McGarel (2019), Stan Ueland (2019), Chris Peterson (2019), Erik Russo (2022), Chris Bush (2021) and Roger Testin (2019). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 1 primary benchmark: S&P 500 (TR) (1970) index with a weighting of 100%. First Trust Active Factor Large Cap ETF has 216 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 32.6% 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 Active Factor Large Cap ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity ETF group. First Trust Active Factor Large Cap ETF has 1.1% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 98.7% There is 1.1% 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 Factor Large Cap ETF has 0.2% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $714 million in total assets, which is below the $13 billion average for the Large Blend 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.

AFLG 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 Factor Large Cap ETF expense ratio is average compared to funds in the Large Blend category. First Trust Active Factor Large Cap ETF has an expense ratio of 0.55%, which is 33% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a D. 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 Factor Large Cap 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 158% for the Large Blend category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, First Trust Active Factor Large Cap ETF returned 1.4%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Large Blend category had an average return of -0.8%. 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 Factor Large Cap ETF has a trailing yield of 0.71%, which is below the 1.16% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly.

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 Factor Large Cap ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 12.6%, 3.1 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 20.7% over the past year (grade of B), 20.0% over the past three years (grade of A) and 12.3% per year over the past five years (grade of B).

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