First Trust NASDAQ® ABA Community Bank Index Fund (QABA)
  • 2024 Estimated Capital Gain Distributions
    Certain First Trust First Trust Exchange-Traded Funds are expected to pay a long-term capital gain distribution in December. For a list of exchange-traded funds expected to pay a long-term capital gain distribution, please click here. Also, certain First Trust Exchange-Traded Funds are expected to pay short-term capital gain distributions in December. For a list of exchange-traded funds expected to pay a short-term capital gain distribution, please click here. Final determination of the source and tax status of all distributions paid in the current year are to be made after year-end and could differ from the expectations noted above.
Investment Objective/Strategy - The First Trust NASDAQ® ABA Community Bank Index Fund is an exchange-traded fund. The objective of the Fund is to seek investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield, before the Fund's fees and expenses, of an equity index called the Nasdaq OMX® ABA Community Bank™ Index.
There can be no assurance that the Fund's investment objectives will be achieved.
Index Description According to the Index Provider
  • The Index is a market capitalization-weighted index that includes the common stock of all Nasdaq® listed banks and thrifts or their holding companies that are designated as banks by the Industry Classification Benchmark (or that which the American Bankers Association determines should be classified as such), but excluding:
    • Any of the 50 largest banks or thrifts and their holding companies based on asset size as determined by the most recently available call report data as compiled by the FDIC.
    • Any banks or thrifts classified as having an "international specialization" or a "credit-card specialization" as determined by the most recently available call report data as compiled by the FDIC, provided that such institutions constitute the majority of assets if in a holding company.
  • A security must have a market capitalization of at least $200 million and a three-month average daily dollar trading volume of at least $500 thousand.
  • In addition, a security must meet certain operating history, solvency, and financial statement requirements to remain eligible for inclusion in the index.
  • The Index is rebalanced quarterly and reconstituted semi-annually.
Fund Overview
TickerQABA
Fund TypeCommunity Bank
Investment AdvisorFirst Trust Advisors L.P.
Investor Servicing AgentBank of New York Mellon Corp
CUSIP33736Q104
ISINUS33736Q1040
Intraday NAVQABAIV
Fiscal Year-End12/31
ExchangeNasdaq
Inception6/29/2009
Inception Price$20.00
Inception NAV$20.00
Rebalance FrequencyQuarterly
Total Expense Ratio*0.67%
Net Expense Ratio*0.60%
* As of 5/1/2024
Expenses are capped contractually at 0.60% per year, at least through April 30, 2025.
Current Fund Data (as of 11/22/2024)
Closing NAV1$62.23
Closing Market Price2$62.25
Bid/Ask Midpoint$62.22
Bid/Ask Discount0.02%
30-Day Median Bid/Ask Spread (as of 11/21/2024)30.13%
Total Net Assets$136,910,371
Outstanding Shares2,200,002
Daily Volume124,500
Average 30-Day Daily Volume23,336
Closing Market Price 52-Week High/Low$62.25 / $42.27
Closing NAV 52-Week High/Low$62.23 / $42.28
Number of Holdings (excluding cash)121
Top Holdings (as of 11/21/2024)*
Holding Percent
Commerce Bancshares, Inc. 4.51%
Wintrust Financial Corporation 4.33%
UMB Financial Corporation 2.92%
First Financial Bankshares, Inc. 2.88%
United Bankshares, Inc. 2.75%
Bank OZK 2.67%
Hancock Whitney Corporation 2.44%
International Bancshares Corporation 2.17%
BancFirst Corporation 1.98%
TFS Financial Corporation 1.97%

* Excluding cash.  Holdings are subject to change.

NAV History (Since Inception)
Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Distribution Information
Dividend per Share Amt (as of 11/23/2024)4$0.2761
30-Day SEC Yield (as of 10/31/2024)52.35%
Unsubsidized 30-Day SEC Yield (as of 10/31/2024)62.33%
12-Month Distribution Rate (as of 10/31/2024)72.48%
Index Yield (as of 10/31/2024)82.94%
Fund Characteristics (as of 10/31/2024)9
Maximum Market Cap.$8,024
Median Market Cap.$924
Minimum Market Cap.$270
Price/Earnings13.79
Price/Book1.25
Price/Cash Flow11.96
Price/Sales3.92
Top State Exposure (as of 10/31/2024)
State Percent
Texas 9.83%
California 9.71%
Missouri 9.42%
Illinois 6.87%
Ohio 5.58%
Indiana 5.28%
West Virginia 4.73%
Arkansas 4.29%
New York 4.05%
Pennsylvania 4.00%
Bid/Ask Premium/Discount (as of 11/22/2024)
  2023 Q1 2024 Q2 2024 Q3 2024
Days Traded at Premium 123 40 30 35
Days Traded at Discount 127 21 33 29
Hypothetical Growth of $10,000 Since Inception (as of 11/20/2024) *
Tracking Index: Nasdaq OMX® ABA Community Bank™ Index

Month End Performance (as of 10/31/2024)
  3 Month YTD 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year 10 Year Since
Fund
Inception10
Fund Performance *
Net Asset Value (NAV) -1.00% 10.81% 44.64% 0.09% 4.60% 6.24% 8.68%
After Tax Held -1.21% 9.89% 43.03% -0.97% 3.52% 5.34% 7.88%
After Tax Sold -0.59% 6.34% 26.32% -0.42% 3.03% 4.53% 6.86%
Market Price -1.09% 10.75% 44.62% 0.09% 4.60% 6.24% 8.68%
Index Performance **
Nasdaq OMX® ABA Community Bank™ Index -0.83% 11.44% 45.65% 0.69% 5.27% 6.91% 9.37%
Russell 3000® Index 3.52% 19.75% 37.86% 7.64% 14.60% 12.44% 14.49%
S&P Composite 1500® Financials Index 6.34% 24.61% 46.33% 6.96% 12.17% 11.31% 12.88%
Quarter End Performance (as of 9/30/2024)
  3 Month YTD 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year 10 Year Since
Fund
Inception10
Fund Performance *
Net Asset Value (NAV) 15.42% 8.23% 36.83% 0.56% 4.70% 6.75% 8.57%
After Tax Held 15.17% 7.33% 35.30% -0.50% 3.62% 5.85% 7.76%
After Tax Sold 9.13% 4.82% 21.72% -0.06% 3.11% 4.97% 6.75%
Market Price 15.44% 8.19% 36.90% 0.56% 4.70% 6.75% 8.57%
Index Performance **
Nasdaq OMX® ABA Community Bank™ Index 15.63% 8.80% 37.76% 1.16% 5.37% 7.43% 9.26%
Russell 3000® Index 6.23% 20.63% 35.19% 10.29% 15.26% 12.83% 14.63%
S&P Composite 1500® Financials Index 11.04% 21.38% 38.75% 8.46% 12.06% 11.42% 12.76%
3-Year Statistics (as of 10/31/2024)
  Standard Deviation Alpha Beta Sharpe Ratio Correlation
QABA 27.86% -5.34 1.09 0.01 0.78
S&P Composite 1500® Financials Index 19.90% --- 1.00 0.26 1.00
Standard Deviation is a measure of price variability (risk). Alpha is an indication of how much an investment outperforms or underperforms on a risk-adjusted basis relative to its benchmark.Beta is a measure of price variability relative to the market. Sharpe Ratio is a measure of excess reward per unit of volatility. Correlation is a measure of the similarity of performance.

*Performance data quoted represents past performance. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results and current performance may be higher or lower than performance quoted. Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate and shares when sold or redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost.

After Tax Held returns represent return after taxes on distributions. Assumes shares have not been sold. After Tax Sold returns represent the return after taxes on distributions and the sale of fund shares. Returns do not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times. Market Price returns are determined by using the midpoint of the national best bid offer price ("NBBO") as of the time that the fund's NAV is calculated. Returns are average annualized total returns, except those for periods of less than one year, which are cumulative. The fund's performance reflects fee waivers and expense reimbursements, absent which performance would have been lower.

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

**Performance information for each listed index is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent actual fund performance. Indexes do not charge management fees or brokerage expenses, and no such fees or expenses were deducted from the performance shown. Indexes are unmanaged and an investor cannot invest directly in an index.

Russell 3000® Index - The Index is comprised of the 3000 largest and most liquid stocks based and traded in the U.S.

S&P Composite 1500® Financials Index - The Index is a capitalization-weighted index of companies classified by GICS as financials within the S&P Composite 1500 Index.
Footnotes
1 The NAV represents the fund's net assets (assets less liabilities) divided by the fund's outstanding shares.
2 Fund shares are purchased and sold on an exchange at their market price rather than net asset value (NAV), which may cause the shares to trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
3 The median bid-ask spread is calculated by identifying the national best bid and national best offer ("NBBO") for the fund as of the end of each 10 second interval during each trading day of the last 30 calendar days and dividing the difference between each such bid and offer by the midpoint of the NBBO. The median of those values is identified and that value is expressed as a percentage rounded to the nearest hundredth.
4 Most recent distribution paid or declared to today's date. Subject to change in the future. There is no guarantee that the fund will declare dividends.
5 The 30-day SEC yield is calculated by dividing the net investment income per share earned during the most recent 30-day period by the maximum offering price per share on the last day of the period and includes the effects of fee waivers and expense reimbursements, if applicable.
6 The unsubsidized 30-day SEC yield is calculated the same as the 30-day SEC yield, however it excludes contractual fee waivers and expense reimbursements.
7 12-Month Distribution Rate is calculated by dividing the sum of the fund's trailing 12-month ordinary distributions paid or declared by the NAV price. Distribution rates may vary.
8 Index yield represents the weighted average trailing 12-month dividend of the constituents of the Nasdaq OMX® ABA Community Bank(TM) Index.
9 All market capitalization numbers are in USD$ Millions.
10 Inception Date is 6/29/2009

You should consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses carefully before investing. You can download a prospectus or summary prospectus, or contact First Trust Portfolios L.P. at 1-800-621-1675 to request a prospectus or summary prospectus which contains this and other information about the fund. The prospectus or summary prospectus should be read carefully before investing.

Risk Considerations

You could lose money by investing in a fund. An investment in a fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed. There can be no assurance that a fund's objective(s) will be achieved. Investors buying or selling shares on the secondary market may incur customary brokerage commissions. Please refer to each fund's prospectus and Statement of Additional Information for additional details on a fund's risks. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.

Unlike mutual funds, shares of the fund may only be redeemed directly from a fund by authorized participants in very large creation/redemption units. If a fund's authorized participants are unable to proceed with creation/redemption orders and no other authorized participant is able to step forward to create or redeem, fund shares may trade at a premium or discount to a fund's net asset value and possibly face delisting and the bid/ask spread may widen.

Community banks were significantly impacted by the decline in the subprime mortgage lending market in the U.S. which brought about legislative and regulatory changes, changes in short-term and long-term interest rates, inflation and changes in government monetary and fiscal policies. Unlike larger national or other regional banks that are more geographically diversified, a community bank's financial performance may be highly dependent upon the business environment in certain geographic regions of the U.S. and may be adversely impacted by any downturn or unfavorable economic or employment developments in its local market and the U.S. as a whole.

Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of the fund in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions. As a means to fight inflation, the Federal Reserve and certain foreign central banks have raised interest rates; however, the Federal Reserve has recently lowered interest rates and may continue to do so. Recent and potential future bank failures could result in disruption to the broader banking industry or markets generally and reduce confidence in financial institutions and the economy as a whole, which may also heighten market volatility and reduce liquidity. Ongoing armed conflicts between Russia and Ukraine in Europe and among Israel, Hamas and other militant groups in the Middle East, have caused and could continue to cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in Russia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions resulting from those hostilities have and could continue to have a significant impact on certain fund investments as well as fund performance and liquidity. The COVID-19 global pandemic, or any future public health crisis, and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects.

A fund is susceptible to operational risks through breaches in cyber security. Such events could cause a fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss.

Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market.

Financial services companies are subject to the adverse effects of economic recession, currency exchange rates, government regulation, decreases in the availability of capital, volatile interest rates, portfolio concentration in geographic markets, industries or products, and competition from new entrants in their fields of business.

An index fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the index is so concentrated. A fund with significant exposure to a single asset class, or the securities of issuers within the same country, state, region, industry, or sector may have its value more affected by an adverse economic, business or political development than a broadly diversified fund.

A fund may be a constituent of one or more indices or models which could greatly affect a fund's trading activity, size and volatility.

There is no assurance that the index provider or its agents will compile or maintain the index accurately. Losses or costs associated with any index provider errors generally will be borne by a fund and its shareholders.

Large capitalization companies may grow at a slower rate than the overall market.

Market risk is the risk that a particular security, or shares of a fund in general may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by such factors as general economic conditions, political events, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of a fund could decline in value or underperform other investments as a result. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious disease or other public health issues, recessions, natural disasters or other events could have significant negative impact on a fund.

A fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for fund shares due to a limited number of market makers. Decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of a fund's portfolio securities and a fund's market price.

An index fund's return may not match the return of the index for a number of reasons including operating expenses, costs of buying and selling securities to reflect changes in the index, and the fact that a fund's portfolio holdings may not exactly replicate the index.

A fund and a fund's advisor may seek to reduce various operational risks through controls and procedures, but it is not possible to completely protect against such risks. The fund also relies on third parties for a range of services, including custody, and any delay or failure related to those services may affect the fund's ability to meet its objective.

A fund that invests in securities included in or representative of an index will hold those securities regardless of investment merit and the fund generally will not take defensive positions in declining markets.

High portfolio turnover may result in higher levels of transaction costs and may generate greater tax liabilities for shareholders.

The market price of a fund's shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the fund's net asset value ("NAV") as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on the exchange, and a fund's investment advisor cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their NAV.

Securities of small- and mid-capitalization companies may experience greater price volatility and be less liquid than larger, more established companies.

Trading on an exchange may be halted due to market conditions or other reasons. There can be no assurance that a fund's requirements to maintain the exchange listing will continue to be met or be unchanged.

First Trust Advisors L.P. (FTA) is the adviser to the First Trust fund(s). FTA is an affiliate of First Trust Portfolios L.P., the distributor of the fund(s).

Nasdaq® , Nasdaq OMX®, OMX®, American Bankers Association®, ABA® and the Nasdaq OMX® ABA Community Bank™ Index are registered trademarks and service marks of Nasdaq, Inc. and American Bankers Association (together with its affiliates hereinafter referred to as the "Corporations") and are licensed for use by First Trust. The Fund has not been passed on by the Corporations as to its legality or suitability. The Fund is not issued, endorsed, sold or promoted by the Corporations. THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO WARRANTIES AND BEAR NO LIABILITY WITH RESPECT TO THE FUND.

CUSIP identifiers have been provided by CUSIP Global Services, managed on behalf of the American Bankers Association by FactSet Research Systems Inc. and are not for use or dissemination in a manner that would serve as a substitute for any CUSIP service. The CUSIP Database, ©2024 CUSIP Global Services. "CUSIP" is a registered trademark of the American Bankers Association.

Not FDIC Insured • Not Bank Guaranteed • May Lose Value