First Trust vs iShares: ETF issuers compared

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First Trust vs iShares: ETF issuers compared | ETF Tracker

Bonds & cash: iShares wins, 58% to 52% of funds made money

Every dot is one bonds & cash fund, placed at its 1-year return. Right of the line = made money. The ringed dot is the middle fund.

BOX SCORE · BONDS & CASH	First Trust	iShares
Funds in the category	25	147
Made money (W–L)	13–12	76–55
Win %	52%	58%
Money made	$337M	$1.0B
Typical return	+0.2%	+0.6%
Launches · 2026	0	12
Assets	$34.8B	$975B
Fee per $100	$0.55	$0.11

The biggest bonds & cash funds on each side

First Trust

Fund	Name	Assets	1Y
FTSM	First Trust Enhanced Short Maturity ETF	$6.8B	+3.3% ✓
LMBS	First Trust Low Duration Opportunities ETF	$6.6B	+1.9% ✓
UCON	First Trust Smith Unconstrained Bond ETF	$3.1B	−0.7% ✕
FIXD	First Trust Smith Opportunistic Fixed Income ETF	$2.8B	−1.8% ✕
FTCB	First Trust Core Investment Grade ETF	$2.8B	−1.0% ✕
FTSL	First Trust Senior Loan Fund	$2.5B	+2.8% ✓

iShares

Fund	Name	Assets	1Y
AGG	iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF	$140B	−0.5% ✕
SGOV	iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF	$115B	+3.1% ✓
MUB	iShares National Muni Bond ETF	$54.5B	−0.1% ✕
IUSB	iShares Core Universal USD Bond ETF	$50.1B	−0.4% ✕
TLT	iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF	$47.9B	−5.9% ✕
IEF	iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF	$44.1B	−2.0% ✕

Twin funds: iShares is cheaper in 45 of 45. First Trust returned more in 26.

Pairs that hold the same market. Fee = per $100 a year. Returns within 0.1 points are a tie; 5-year returns are per year.

CHEAPER0 – 450 tieBETTER 1Y26 – 170 tieBETTER 5Y14 – 213 tie

US stocks · 13

FNX$0.62+15.9%+7.7%Mid caps+7.2%+16.1%$0.05IJH
FTC$0.58+3.8%+7.6%Large growth+10.3%−3.6%$0.18IWF
FYX$0.58+29.2%+8.9%Small caps+6.0%+21.9%$0.06IJR
FTA$0.58+29.8%+11.2%Large value+11.5%+29.2%$0.18IWD
FEX$0.57+19.7%+10.1%Large caps+11.2%+11.6%$0.15IWB
FNY$0.73+5.2%+5.3%Mid-cap growth+2.2%−7.0%$0.23IWP
DVOL$0.60+6.6%+5.4%Momentum+8.9%+9.2%$0.15MTUM
FNK$0.74+24.3%+8.4%Mid-cap value+9.1%+26.3%$0.23IWS
AFLG$0.55+13.8%+11.7%Active Large Cap—+15.8%$0.38BLCR
FYC$0.70+20.2%+8.9%Small-cap growth+4.2%+11.7%$0.06ISCG
FYT$0.70+33.9%+7.9%Small-cap value+8.0%+22.6%$0.06ISCV
AFSM$0.75+23.9%+8.5%Factor Small Cap+8.8%+34.3%$0.20SVAL
AFGR$0.65——Active Large Cap Growth—−0.6%$0.55BGRO

International · 7

FDT$0.80+18.9%+11.1%Developed markets+8.3%+13.4%$0.07IEFA
FEM$0.80+17.2%+7.2%Emerging markets+6.1%+11.5%$0.09IEMG
FDTS$0.80+23.1%+10.7%Non-US small caps+4.9%+12.5%$0.40SCZ
FPXE$0.70+2.2%+0.9%Europe+8.4%+12.3%$0.10IEUR
FKU$0.80+19.9%+9.4%United Kingdom+11.6%+16.2%$0.50EWU
AFEM$0.85+18.9%+9.9%

Bonds & cash · 4

FSIG$0.44+1.0%—Corporate bonds−0.8%−2.7%$0.14LQD
FCVT$0.95+0.7%+2.5%Convertible bonds+3.3%+2.2%$0.20ICVT
FCAL$0.49−0.0%+0.3%California munis+0.4%−0.3%$0.08CMF
FMNY$0.49−0.7%+0.2%New York munis+0.6%−0.2%$0.09NYF

All 45 twins

Sectors · 13

QTEC$0.55+18.9%+11.2%US tech+17.3%+13.9%$0.37IYW
FBT$0.55+45.2%+10.8%Biotech+6.2%+36.2%$0.44IBB
FXH$0.61+25.8%+3.3%Health care+7.6%+29.2%$0.37IYH
FXO$0.60+17.4%+8.8%Financials+9.9%+10.7%$0.37IYF
FRI$0.51+15.2%+3.3%US real estate+3.5%+15.5%$0.08USRT
MDEV$0.70

Squares, left to right: fee · 1 year · 5 years, coloured by who won. Most gaps come from different index rules, not fees.

Who wins each category · share of its funds that made money · 1Y

Bonds & cash: iShares wins, 58% to 52% of funds made money

The biggest bonds & cash funds on each side

First Trust

iShares

Twin funds: iShares is cheaper in 45 of 45. First Trust returned more in 26.

US stocks · 13

International · 7

Bonds & cash · 4

Sectors · 13

Thematic · 3

Income · 4

Other · 1

Tale of the tape

Bonds & cash: iShares wins, 58% to 52% of funds made money

The biggest bonds & cash funds on each side

FT First Trust

iS iShares

US stocks · 13

International · 7

Bonds & cash · 4

Sectors · 13

Share this matchup

Thematic · 3

Income · 4

Other · 1

First Trust

iShares