ETF Evaluator: First Trust International Eq Opps ETF (FPXI) Follow This ETF

First Trust International Eq Opps ETF Overview

First Trust International Eq Opps ETF (FPXI) is a passively managed International Equity Foreign Large Growth exchange-traded fund (ETF). First Trust launched the ETF in 2014.

The investment seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the fund's fees and expenses) of an index called the IPOX ® International Index. The fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the common stocks and depositary receipts that comprise the index. The index is a market-cap weighted portfolio measuring the performance of the top 50 companies domiciled outside the United States ranked quarterly by market capitalization in the IPOX ® Global Composite Index and represents, on average, 25% of the total market capitalization of the base index. The fund is non-diversified.

About First Trust International Eq Opps ETF (FPXI)

There are 7 members of the management team with an average tenure of 10.57 years: Daniel Lindquist (2014), Jon Erickson (2014), David McGarel (2014), Stan Ueland (2014), Chris Peterson (2016), Erik Russo (2021) and Roger Testin (2014). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: MSCI ACWI Ex USA NR USD index with a weighting of 100% and IPOX International USD index with a weighting of 100%. First Trust International Eq Opps ETF has 59 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 54.6% 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 International Eq Opps ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity ETF group. First Trust International Eq Opps ETF has 89.2% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 10.7% There is 89.2% 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 International Eq Opps ETF has 0.1% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $342 million in total assets, which is below the $1 billion average for the Foreign Large 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.

FPXI 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 International Eq Opps ETF expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Foreign Large Growth category. First Trust International Eq Opps ETF has an expense ratio of 0.70%, which is 20% 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 International Eq Opps ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 118%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 57% for the Foreign Large Growth category.

Recently, in the month of June 2026, First Trust International Eq Opps ETF returned 6.4%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Foreign Large Growth category had an average return of 1.8%. 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 International Eq Opps ETF has a trailing yield of 0.56%, which is below the 1.28% 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 International Eq Opps ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 40.2%, 28.3 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 47.7% over the past year (grade of A), 29.0% over the past three years (grade of A) and 4.8% per year over the past five years (grade of C) and 13.9% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).

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