ETF Evaluator: First Trust Flexible Muncpl Hgh Inc ETF () Follow This ETF

First Trust Flexible Muncpl Hgh Inc ETF Overview

First Trust Flexible Muncpl Hgh Inc ETF (MFLX) is an actively managed Municipal Bond Muni National Long exchange-traded fund (ETF). First Trust launched the ETF in 2016.

The investment seeks to provide current income. Under normal market conditions, the fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets (plus any investment borrowings) in municipal debt securities that pay interest that is exempt from regular federal income taxes. Municipal debt securities are generally issued by or on behalf of states, territories or possessions of the United States and the District of Columbia and their political subdivisions, agencies, authorities and other instrumentalities.

About First Trust Flexible Muncpl Hgh Inc ETF (MFLX)

There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 5.19 years: Johnathan Wilhelm (2022), Ken Fincher (2016), Shawn O'Leary (2024) and Thomas Byron (2022). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg Municipal Long 22+ Yr TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg Municipal TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. First Trust Flexible Muncpl Hgh Inc ETF has 81 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 17.5% 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 Flexible Muncpl Hgh Inc ETF is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Municipal Bond ETF group. First Trust Flexible Muncpl Hgh Inc ETF has 2.3% 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 98.6% (96.3% domestic bond, 2.3% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). First Trust Flexible Muncpl Hgh Inc ETF has 1.4% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $21 million in total assets, which is below the $744 million average for the Muni National Long 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.

MFLX 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 Flexible Muncpl Hgh Inc ETF expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Muni National Long category. First Trust Flexible Muncpl Hgh Inc ETF has an expense ratio of 0.75%, which is 45% 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 Flexible Muncpl Hgh Inc ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 33%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 22% for the Muni National Long category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, First Trust Flexible Muncpl Hgh Inc ETF returned -1.8%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Muni National Long category had an average return of -2.0%. 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 Flexible Muncpl Hgh Inc ETF has a trailing yield of 4.17%, which is above the 4.12% 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 Flexible Muncpl Hgh Inc ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 2.0%, 1.0 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 8.4% over the past year (grade of A), 4.8% over the past three years (grade of A) and -0.8% per year over the past five years (grade of D).

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