Fund Evaluator:

First Trust WCM Focused Global Gr Inst Overview

First Trust WCM Focused Global Gr Inst (WCMGX) is an actively managed International Equity Global Large-Stock Growth fund. First Trust launched the fund in 2013.

The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation. The fund invests primarily in equity securities of companies located throughout the world, including the United States. Under normal market conditions, it invests at least 40% of its net assets in companies organized, headquartered or doing a substantial amount of business outside the United States including emerging and frontier market countries.

About First Trust WCM Focused Global Gr Inst (WCMGX)

There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 10.91 years: Paul Black (2013), Michael Trigg (2013), Sanjay Ayer (2013), Jon Tringale (2022). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 1 primary benchmark: MSCI ACWI NR USD index with a weighting of 100%. First Trust WCM Focused Global Gr Inst has 39 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 44.9% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

First Trust WCM Focused Global Gr Inst is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity fund group. First Trust WCM Focused Global Gr Inst has 40.5% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 53.9%. There is 40.5% 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 WCM Focused Global Gr Inst has 3.2% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $1 billion in total assets, which is above the $988 million average for the Global Large-Stock Growth 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.

WCMGX 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 WCM Focused Global Gr Inst expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Global Large-Stock Growth category. First Trust WCM Focused Global Gr Inst has an expense ratio of 0.97%, which is 13% lower 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. First Trust WCM Focused Global Gr Inst has a portfolio turnover rate of 40%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 47% for the Global Large-Stock Growth category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, First Trust WCM Focused Global Gr Inst returned -3.0%, which earned it a grade of C, as the Global Large-Stock Growth category had an average return of -2.4%. 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 funds in that category.

First Trust WCM Focused Global Gr Inst has a trailing yield of 0.41%, which is above the 0.27% category average. The fund normally distributes its income annually 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 WCM Focused Global Gr Inst Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 10.4%, 4.3 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 19.8% over the past year (grade of A), 24.2% over the past three years (grade of A) and 10.5% per year over the past five years (grade of A) and 15.0% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).

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