ETF Evaluator: First Trust Low Dur Strat Foc ETF () Follow This ETF

First Trust Low Dur Strat Foc ETF Overview

First Trust Low Dur Strat Foc ETF (LDSF) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Short-Term Bond exchange-traded fund (ETF). First Trust launched the ETF in 2019.

The investment seeks to generate current income, with a secondary objective of preservation of capital. Under normal market conditions, the fund seeks to achieve its investment objectives by investing at least 80% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in a portfolio of U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds ("ETFs") that principally invest in income-generating securities that provide it with a duration of three years or less. A significant portion of the ETFs in which the fund invests may be advised by First Trust.

About First Trust Low Dur Strat Foc ETF (LDSF)

There are 5 members of the management team with an average tenure of 7.58 years: Daniel Lindquist (2019), David McGarel (2019), Chris Peterson (2019), William Housey (2019) and Steve Collins (2019). 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 Bloomberg US Govt/Credit 1-5 Yr TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. First Trust Low Dur Strat Foc ETF has 10 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 100.0% 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 Low Dur Strat Foc ETF is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond ETF group. First Trust Low Dur Strat Foc ETF has 13.7% 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 0.7% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 91.7% (78.0% domestic bond, 13.7% foreign bond and 0.1% convertible bond). First Trust Low Dur Strat Foc ETF has 7.5% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $161 million in total assets, which is below the $3 billion average for the Short-Term Bond 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.

LDSF 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 Low Dur Strat Foc ETF expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Short-Term Bond category. First Trust Low Dur Strat Foc ETF has an expense ratio of 0.77%, which is 175% 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 Low Dur Strat Foc ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 34%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 77% for the Short-Term Bond category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, First Trust Low Dur Strat Foc ETF returned -0.0%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Short-Term Bond 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 Low Dur Strat Foc ETF has a trailing yield of 4.68%, which is above the 4.54% 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 Low Dur Strat Foc ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 0.9%, 0.1 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 4.0% over the past year (grade of B), 5.2% over the past three years (grade of C) and 2.4% per year over the past five years (grade of B).

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