ETF Evaluator: FT Vest SMID Ris Div Ach Trg IncETF () Follow This ETF

FT Vest SMID Ris Div Ach Trg IncETF Overview

FT Vest SMID Ris Div Ach Trg IncETF (SDVD) is an actively managed Nontraditional Equity Derivative Income exchange-traded fund (ETF). First Trust launched the ETF in 2023.

The investment seeks to provide investors with current income with a secondary objective of providing capital appreciation. Under normal market conditions, the fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in dividend-paying securities and/or investments that provide exposure to dividend-paying securities of small and/or mid-capitalization companies. The fund also seeks a secondary objective of generating capital appreciation. The fund is non-diversified.

About FT Vest SMID Ris Div Ach Trg IncETF (SDVD)

There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 2.27 years: Karan Sood (2023) and Trevor Lack (2025). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: Russell 3000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Russell 2000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. FT Vest SMID Ris Div Ach Trg IncETF has 176 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 10.6% 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.

FT Vest SMID Ris Div Ach Trg IncETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the Nontraditional Equity ETF group. FT Vest SMID Ris Div Ach Trg IncETF has 2.8% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 96.3% There is 2.8% 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). FT Vest SMID Ris Div Ach Trg IncETF has 1.0% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $909 million in total assets, which is above the $727 million average for the Derivative Income 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.

SDVD 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 FT Vest SMID Ris Div Ach Trg IncETF expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Derivative Income category. FT Vest SMID Ris Div Ach Trg IncETF has an expense ratio of 0.85%, which is 2% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. 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. FT Vest SMID Ris Div Ach Trg IncETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 122%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 69% for the Derivative Income category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, FT Vest SMID Ris Div Ach Trg IncETF returned 2.2%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Derivative Income category had an average return of -1.5%. 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.

FT Vest SMID Ris Div Ach Trg IncETF has a trailing yield of 5.87%, which is below the 19.96% 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.

FT Vest SMID Ris Div Ach Trg IncETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 14.6%, 12.0 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 22.3% over the past year (grade of B).

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