ETF Evaluator: First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF () Follow This ETF

First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF Overview

First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF (FTXH) is a passively managed Sector Equity Health exchange-traded fund (ETF). First Trust launched the ETF in 2016.

The investment seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the fund's fees and expenses) of the Nasdaq US Smart Pharmaceuticals TM 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 designed to provide exposure to U.S. companies comprising the pharmaceutical sector that have been selected based upon their liquidity and ranking. It is non-diversified.

About First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF (FTXH)

There are 7 members of the management team with an average tenure of 9.26 years: Daniel Lindquist (2016), Jon Erickson (2016), David McGarel (2016), Stan Ueland (2016), Chris Peterson (2016), Erik Russo (2020) and Roger Testin (2016). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: NASDAQ US Benchmark TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Nasdaq US Benchmark Pharma TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF has 51 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 52.9% 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 Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the Sector Equity ETF group. First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF has 0.6% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 99.3% There is 0.6% 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 Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF has 0.2% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $911 million in total assets, which is below 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.

FTXH 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 Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Health category. First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF has an expense ratio of 0.60%, which is 16% 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 Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 35%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 45% for the Health category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF returned 1.8%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Health category had an average return of -0.1%. 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 Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF has a trailing yield of 1.09%, which is below the 1.10% 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 Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 18.5%, 8.7 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 52.4% over the past year (grade of B), 15.2% over the past three years (grade of B) and 9.5% per year over the past five years (grade of A).

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