ETF Evaluator: First Trust Expanded Technology ETF () Follow This ETF

First Trust Expanded Technology ETF Overview

First Trust Expanded Technology ETF (XPND) is an actively managed Sector Equity Technology exchange-traded fund (ETF). First Trust launched the ETF in 2021.

The investment seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation. The fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in the common stocks of companies identified by it’s investment advisor as either information technology companies or financial companies and communication services companies whose operations are principally derived from and/or dependent upon technology ( “Expanded Technology Companies” ). The fund’s investments will be concentrated (i.e., invest more than 25% of fund assets) in the industries or group of industries comprising the information technology sector. It is non-diversified.

About First Trust Expanded Technology ETF (XPND)

There are 8 members of the management team with an average tenure of 5.13 years: Daniel Lindquist (2021), Jon Erickson (2021), David McGarel (2021), Stan Ueland (2021), Chris Peterson (2021), Erik Russo (2021), Omar Sepulveda (2021) and Roger Testin (2021). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: S&P 500 (TR) (1970) index with a weighting of 100% and S&P 500 Information Technology TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. First Trust Expanded Technology ETF has 52 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 48.2% 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 Expanded Technology ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the Sector Equity ETF group. First Trust Expanded Technology ETF has 0.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 99.8% 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 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). First Trust Expanded Technology ETF has 0.2% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $37 million in total assets, which is below the $3 billion average for the Technology 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.

XPND 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 Expanded Technology ETF expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Technology category. First Trust Expanded Technology ETF has an expense ratio of 0.65%, which is 21% 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 Expanded Technology ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 71%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 39% for the Technology category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, First Trust Expanded Technology ETF returned -9.7%, which earned it a grade of C, as the Technology category had an average return of -9.8%. 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 Expanded Technology ETF has a trailing yield of 0.08%, which is below the 0.45% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly.

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 Expanded Technology ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 4.6%, 16.7 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 11.5% over the past year (grade of D), 20.2% over the past three years (grade of C) and 12.2% per year over the past five years (grade of C).

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