First Trust Launches First Trust S&P 500 Diversified Free Cash Flow ETF
An index-tracking ETF that provides exposure to companies with high free cash flow yield
WHEATON, Ill.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust”), a leading exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) provider and asset manager, announced today that it has launched a new ETF, the First Trust S&P 500 Diversified Free Cash Flow ETF (NYSE Arca: FCFY) (the “fund”). The fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the fund’s fee and expenses) of an equity index called the S&P 500® Sector-Neutral FCF Index (the “index”).
“As an independent global index provider, S&P Dow Jones Indices is pleased to expand our range of factor-based indices with the recent launch of the S&P 500® Sector-Neutral FCF Index,” said Rupert Watts, Senior Director, Factors and Dividend Indices at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “By creating this index, we’re proud to offer insights on new segments of the market and expand the many benefits of index-based investing to those interested in tracking companies within the S&P 500® Index that have exhibited high free cash flow yield relative to other companies within the same GICS® sector.”
Of the many factors that can be used to determine the financial health of a company, free cash flow (“FCF”) may offer a clearer picture since it measures a company’s ability to generate excess cash after paying for operations and capital expenses. FCF can be used in a variety of ways, including to fund dividends and stock buybacks, to pay down debt, or to pursue projects to bolster profitability. Additionally, FCF Yield − FCF compared to some measure of company value such as Enterprise Value − is a metric that can be used to compare FCF for various stocks.
“In our view, companies with strong free cash flows may be better equipped to endure some of the challenges of a weakening economy and higher interest rate environment,” said Ryan Issakainen, CFA, Senior Vice President and ETF Strategist at First Trust. “We believe FCFY may be an effective core holding for those seeking exposure to the strongest, most profitable stocks in the S&P 500® Index, while also avoiding significant sector biases.”
For more information about First Trust, please contact Ryan Issakainen at (630) 765-8689 or RIssakainen@FTAdvisors.com.
About First Trust
First Trust is a federally registered investment advisor and serves as the fund’s investment advisor. First Trust and its affiliate First Trust Portfolios L.P. (“FTP”), a FINRA registered broker-dealer, are privately held companies that provide a variety of investment services. First Trust has collective assets under management or supervision of approximately $206 billion as of July 31, 2023 through unit investment trusts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, mutual funds and separate managed accounts. First Trust is the supervisor of the First Trust unit investment trusts, while FTP is the sponsor. FTP is also a distributor of mutual fund shares and exchange-traded fund creation units. First Trust and FTP are based in Wheaton, Illinois. For more information, visit http://www.ftportfolios.com.
You should consider a fund’s investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses carefully before investing. Contact First Trust Portfolios L.P. at 1-800-621-1675 or visit www.ftportfolios.com to obtain a prospectus or summary prospectus which contains this and other information about a 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.
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 and expect to continue to do so, and the Federal Reserve has announced that it intends to reverse previously implemented quantitative easing. 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. In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine which has caused and could continue to cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in Russia, Europe, 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.
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.
Information technology companies are subject to certain risks, including rapidly changing technologies, short product life cycles, fierce competition, aggressive pricing and reduced profit margins, loss of patent, copyright and trademark protections, cyclical market patterns, evolving industry standards and regulation and frequent new product introductions.
Large capitalization companies may grow at a slower rate than the overall market.
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.
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.
Large inflows and outflows may impact a new fund’s market exposure for limited periods of time.
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 classified as “non-diversified” may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers. As a result, a fund may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence affecting one or more of these issuers, experience increased volatility and be highly concentrated in certain issuers.
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.
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.
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. is the adviser to the fund. First Trust Advisors L.P. is an affiliate of First Trust Portfolios L.P., the fund’s distributor.
The information presented is not intended to constitute an investment recommendation for, or advice to, any specific person. By providing this information, First Trust is not undertaking to give advice in any fiduciary capacity within the meaning of ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code or any other regulatory framework. Financial professionals are responsible for evaluating investment risks independently and for exercising independent judgment in determining whether investments are appropriate for their clients.
The S&P 500® Sector-Neutral FCF Index (“Index”) is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC or its affiliates (“SPDJI”) and has been licensed for use by First Trust. S&P® is a registered trademark of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”); Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”); and these trademarks have been licensed for use by SPDJI and sublicensed for certain purposes by First Trust. The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P, or their respective affiliates and none of such parties make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in such product nor do they have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of the Index.
Enterprise Value is the value of a company’s common stock, preferred stock, total debt and minority interest.
The S&P 500® Index is an unmanaged index of 500 companies used to measure large-cap U.S. stock market performance.
The S&P 500® Sector-Neutral FCF Index is designed to measure the constituents of the S&P 500® Index that exhibit high free cash flow yield relative to other companies within the same GICS® sector.
Contacts
Ryan Issakainen
First Trust
(630) 765-8689
RIssakainen@FTAdvisors.com