ETF Evaluator: First Trust Morningstar Div Leaders ETF () Follow This ETF

First Trust Morningstar Div Leaders ETF Overview

First Trust Morningstar Div Leaders ETF (FDL) is a passively managed U.S. Equity Large Value 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 Morningstar® Dividend Leaders IndexSM. 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 designed to measure the performance of the 100 highest-yielding stocks that have a consistent record of dividend payment and have the ability to sustain their dividend payments. It is non-diversified.

About First Trust Morningstar Div Leaders ETF (FDL)

There are 7 members of the management team with an average tenure of 16.86 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 Russell 1000 Value TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. First Trust Morningstar Div Leaders ETF has 102 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 48.3% 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 Morningstar Div Leaders ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity ETF group. First Trust Morningstar Div Leaders ETF has 1.6% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 98.4% There is 1.6% 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 Morningstar Div Leaders ETF has 0.1% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $7 billion in total assets, which is above the $5 billion average for the Large 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.

FDL 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 Morningstar Div Leaders ETF expense ratio is average compared to funds in the Large Value category. First Trust Morningstar Div Leaders ETF has an expense ratio of 0.43%, which is 15% 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 Morningstar Div Leaders ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 58%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 40% for the Large Value category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, First Trust Morningstar Div Leaders ETF returned 5.8%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Large Value category had an average return of 2.4%. 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 Morningstar Div Leaders ETF has a trailing yield of 3.59%, which is above the 1.70% 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 Morningstar Div Leaders ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 18.2%, 3.8 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 26.8% over the past year (grade of B), 17.6% over the past three years (grade of B) and 13.6% per year over the past five years (grade of A) and 10.8% per year over the past 10 years (grade of F).

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