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First Trust made investors more money ($34.2B) and had more funds that made money (85%).
The past year, all their funds · Data as of Oct 30, 2026
Tale of the tape 1Y · lower fee wins
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 | VanEck | First Trust |
|---|---|---|
| Funds in the category | 19 | 25 |
| Made money (W–L) | 10–9 | 12–13 |
| Win % | 53% | 48% |
| Money made | $347M | $215M |
| Typical return | +1.0% | −0.3% |
| Launches · 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Assets | $23.6B | $34.6B |
| Fee per $100 | $0.29 | $0.55 |
| Fund | Name | Assets | 1Y |
|---|---|---|---|
| EMLC | VanEck J.P. Morgan EM Local Currency Bond ETF | $4.9B | +2.2% ✓ |
| HYD | VanEck High Yield Muni ETF | $4.5B | +1.0% ✓ |
| FLTR | VanEck IG Floating Rate ETF | $3.7B | +4.6% ✓ |
| ANGL | VanEck Fallen Angel High Yield Bond ETF | $3.0B | −1.0% ✕ |
| ITM | VanEck Intermediate Muni ETF | $2.3B | −0.3% ✕ |
| CLOI | VanEck CLO ETF | $1.8B | +5.1% ✓ |
| Fund | Name | Assets | 1Y |
|---|---|---|---|
| FTSM | First Trust Enhanced Short Maturity ETF | $6.8B | +3.5% ✓ |
| LMBS | First Trust Low Duration Opportunities ETF | $6.5B | +1.4% ✓ |
| UCON | First Trust Smith Unconstrained Bond ETF | $3.1B | −1.2% ✕ |
| FIXD | First Trust Smith Opportunistic Fixed Income ETF | $2.8B | −2.7% ✕ |
| FTCB | First Trust Core Investment Grade ETF | $2.7B | −1.9% ✕ |
| FTSL | First Trust Senior Loan Fund | $2.5B | +3.1% ✓ |
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.
Squares, left to right: fee · 1 year · 5 years, coloured by who won. Most gaps come from different index rules, not fees.
The past year. Win % counts funds, not dollars; money made is estimated from each fund’s assets and return. Categories with fewer than 3 funds on a side are flagged. Not advice.