ETF Evaluator: First Trust Intermediate Gvt Opps ETF () Follow This ETF

First Trust Intermediate Gvt Opps ETF Overview

First Trust Intermediate Gvt Opps ETF (MGOV) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Government Mortgage-Backed Bond exchange-traded fund (ETF). First Trust launched the ETF in 2023.

The investment seeks to maximize long-term total return. Under normal market conditions, the fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in a portfolio of debt securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government (including U.S. Treasury bonds, notes and bills), its agencies or government-sponsored entities. The fund's investments in government securities include publicly-issued U.S. Treasury securities and mortgage-related securities such as pass-through securities, collateralized mortgage obligations ("CMOs") and commercial mortgage-backed securities ("CMBS"). It is non-diversified.

About First Trust Intermediate Gvt Opps ETF (MGOV)

There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 3.00 years: Jeremiah Charles (2023), Owen Aronson (2023) and James Snyder (2023). 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 ICE US Treasury Agency & MBS TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. First Trust Intermediate Gvt Opps ETF has 206 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 61.6% 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 Intermediate Gvt Opps ETF is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond ETF group. First Trust Intermediate Gvt Opps ETF has 0.0% 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 97.0% (97.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). First Trust Intermediate Gvt Opps ETF has 3.0% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $100 million in total assets, which is below the $5 billion average for the Government Mortgage-Backed 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.

MGOV 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 Intermediate Gvt Opps ETF expense ratio is average compared to funds in the Government Mortgage-Backed Bond category. First Trust Intermediate Gvt Opps ETF has an expense ratio of 0.49%, which is 98% 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 Intermediate Gvt Opps ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 230%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 210% for the Government Mortgage-Backed Bond category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, First Trust Intermediate Gvt Opps ETF returned -1.6%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Government Mortgage-Backed Bond category had an average return of -1.3%. 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 Intermediate Gvt Opps ETF has a trailing yield of 4.43%, which is below the 4.68% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly 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 Intermediate Gvt Opps ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned -0.4%, 0.3 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 3.7% over the past year (grade of F).

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