The First Trust Capital Strength ETF (FTCS) made its debut on 07/06/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.

Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.

If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.

These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.

Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is managed by First Trust Advisors. FTCS has been able to amass assets over $8.07 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. FTCS, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the The Capital Strength Index.

The Capital Strength Index is an equal-dollar weighted index which provides exposure to well-capitalized companies with strong market positions based on strong balance sheets, high degree of liquidity, ability to generate earnings growth & record financial strength & profit growth.

Cost & Other Expenses

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Annual operating expenses for FTCS are 0.53%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.04%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.

Representing 24.7% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector; Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.

Taking into account individual holdings, Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) accounts for about 2.59% of the fund's total assets, followed by Monster Beverage Corporation (MNST) and T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (TROW).

The top 10 holdings account for about 23.1% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the First Trust Capital Strength ETF has added about 11.15% so far, and is up about 10.44% over the last 12 months (as of 08/25/2026). FTCS has traded between $89.88 $102.28 in this past 52-week period.

FTCS has a beta of 0.70 and standard deviation of 11.26% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 51 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

First Trust Capital Strength ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) tracks S&P 500 Index and the Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $891.25 billion in assets, Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares has $1020.38 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VOO changes 0.03%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Large Cap Blend

Bottom Line

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit

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First Trust Capital Strength ETF (FTCS): ETF Research Reports

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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