ETF Evaluator:
First Trust Senior Loan ETF ()
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(as of Aug 26)
Best Performing in Bank Loan Over the Last Year
| 5.3% | PIMCO Sr Ln Actv ETF (LONZ) |
| 5.3% | PGIM Floating Rate Income ETF (PFRL) |
| 5.3% | Virtus Seix Senior Loan ETF (SEIX) |
| 5.0% | Pacer Aristotle Pac Ast Fl Rt Hi Inc ETF (FLRT) |
| 4.7% | T. Rowe Price Floating Rate ETF (TFLR) |
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ETF Details
First Trust Senior Loan ETF Overview
First Trust Senior Loan ETF (FTSL) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Bank Loan exchange-traded fund (ETF). First Trust launched the ETF in 2013.
The investment seeks to provide high current income; the fund's secondary investment objective is the preservation of capital.
Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in first and second lien senior floating rate bank loans (collectively, “Senior Loans”). Senior loans represent debt obligations of sub-investment grade corporate borrowers, similar to high yield bonds; however, senior loans are different from traditional high yield bonds in that senior loans are typically senior to other obligations of the borrower and generally secured by a lien on all or some portion of the assets of the borrower.
About First Trust Senior Loan ETF (FTSL)
There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 6.70 years: Jeffrey Scott (2020), William Housey (2013) and Kevin Ziets (2026). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.
The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Morningstar LSTA US LL TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. First Trust Senior Loan ETF has 371 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 19.1% 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 Senior Loan ETF is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond ETF group. First Trust Senior Loan ETF has 9.1% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.0% There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 91.5% (82.4% domestic bond, 9.1% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). First Trust Senior Loan ETF has 8.5% 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 Bank Loan 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.
FTSL 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 Senior Loan ETF expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Bank Loan category. First Trust Senior Loan ETF has an expense ratio of 0.70%, which is 20% 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 Senior Loan ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 127%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 92% for the Bank Loan category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, First Trust Senior Loan ETF returned 0.6%, which earned it a grade of C, as the Bank Loan category had an average return of 0.6%. 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 Senior Loan ETF has a trailing yield of 6.34%, which is below the 7.35% category average.
The fund normally distributes its income monthly.
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 Senior Loan ETF Grades
Year to date, the ETF has returned 1.0%, 0.9 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 3.6% over the past year (grade of F), 6.6% over the past three years (grade of F) and 5.2% per year over the past five years (grade of F) and 4.4% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).
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FTSL Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| FTSL Return (NAV) | 0.6% | 0.9% | 3.6% | 6.6% | 5.2% | 4.4% |
| FTSL Return (Price) | 0.7% | 1.0% | 4.0% | 6.8% | 5.1% | 4.4% |
| NAV +/- Price Return | -0.044% | -0.112% | -0.368% | -0.128% | 0.016% | 0.000% |
| Bank Loan Avg | 0.6% | 1.1% | 4.0% | 7.1% | 5.4% | 4.5% |
| FTSL Grade (NAV) | C | F | F | F | F | D |
| +/- Category (NAV) | 0.0% | -0.3% | -0.5% | -0.4% | -0.3% | -0.1% |
| FTSL Tax-Cost Ratio | na | na | 2.5% | 2.8% | 2.5% | 2.1% |
FTSL Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| FTSL Return (NAV) | 1.0% | 6.3% | 7.9% | 11.1% | -1.5% | 4.0% | 2.6% | 9.5% | -0.8% | 2.9% | 7.1% |
| FTSL Return (Price) | 1.3% | 6.0% | 8.3% | 11.6% | -2.5% | 3.9% | 3.0% | 10.1% | -1.3% | 2.6% | 7.5% |
| NAV +/- Price Ret | 0.337% | -0.051% | 0.050% | 0.041% | 0.665% | -0.020% | 0.153% | 6.6% | 55.1% | -9.1% | 6.3% |
| Bank Loan Avg | 1.9% | 5.7% | 8.7% | 12.7% | -2.3% | 4.0% | 2.6% | 8.7% | -0.4% | 2.8% | 7.6% |
| FTSL Grade (NAV) | F | B | F | F | A | B | C | B | F | C | C |
| +/- Category | -0.9% | 0.6% | -0.8% | -1.6% | 0.8% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.8% | -0.5% | 0.1% | -0.5% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Beta: | 0.06 |
| R-Squared: | 4% |
| Standard Deviation: | 1.8% |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.87 |
| Category Risk Rating: | Average |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.15 |
| Total Risk Rating: | Low |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Yield: | 6.3% |
| Total Assets: | $ 2,318 Mil |
| Share Class Assets: | $ 2,318 Mil |
| Turnover: | 127.0% |
| Expense Ratio: | 0.70% |
| Index Fund: | No |
| Index Tracked: | Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD |
| Index Weighting: | 100% |
| Leveraged: | No |
| Socially Responsible Fund: | No |
| Capital Gains Distribution Frequency: | |
| Income Distribution Frequency: | Monthly |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 3 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 13.3 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 6.7 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Housey William (2013), Scott Jeffrey (2020), Ziets Kevin (2026) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 7/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 371 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 19.1% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 9.1% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 82.4% |
| Foreign Bond: | 9.1% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 8.5% |
Purchase Information
| Legal Structure: | Open Ended Investment Company |
| Fund Family: | First Trust |
| Phone Number: | 800-621-1675 |
| Website: | www.ftportfolios.com |
| Inception Date: | May 1, 2013 |
Expenses and Fees
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.70% (Rating: Above Avg) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.58% |
