Innovator vs First Trust: ETF issuers compared

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Innovator vs First Trust: ETF issuers compared | ETF Tracker

Bonds & cash: First Trust wins, 52% to 0% 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. Small sample: fewer than 3 funds on a side.

BOX SCORE · BONDS & CASH	Innovator	First Trust
Funds in the category	2	25
Made money (W–L)	0–2	13–12
Win %	0%	52%
Money made	−$1M	$337M
Typical return	−5.3%	+0.2%
Launches · 2026	0	0
Assets	$20M	$34.8B
Fee per $100	$0.79	$0.55

The biggest bonds & cash funds on each side

Innovator

Fund	Name	Assets	1Y
TFJL	Innovator 20+ Year Treasury Bond 5 Floor ETF	$11M	−5.3% ✕
TBJL	Innovator 20+ Year Treasury Bond 9 Buffer ETF - July	$9M	−6.0% ✕

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% ✓

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

Bonds & cash: First Trust wins, 52% to 0% of funds made money

The biggest bonds & cash funds on each side

Innovator

First Trust

Twin funds: fees split evenly across 4 pairs. First Trust returned more in 2.

US stocks · 1

Sectors · 1

Buffered · 2

Tale of the tape

Bonds & cash: First Trust wins, 52% to 0% of funds made money

The biggest bonds & cash funds on each side

I Innovator

FT First Trust

US stocks · 1

Sectors · 1

Buffered · 2

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Innovator

First Trust