The First Trust International Developed Capital Strength ETF (FICS) made its debut on 12/15/2020, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Foreign Large Growth ETF category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Because the fund has amassed over $210.47 million, this makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Foreign Large Growth ETF. FICS is managed by First Trust Advisors. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the INTERNATIONAL DEVLPD CAPITAL STRENGTH ID.
The International Developed Capital Strength Index provides exposure to well-capitalized companies in the developed markets outside of the U.S. with strong market positions that have the potential to provide their stockholders with a greater degree of stability and performance over time.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.70%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.80%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
When you look at individual holdings, Great-west Lifeco Inc. (GWO.CN) accounts for about 2.47% of the fund's total assets, followed by Poste Italiane Spa (PST.IM) and Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ALL.AU).
The top 10 holdings account for about 23.1% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 7.65% and was up about 12.29% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 08/17/2026), respectively. FICS has traded between $37.37 and $43.19 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.71 and standard deviation of 13.16% for the trailing three-year period. With about 57 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
First Trust International Developed Capital Strength ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the Foreign Large Growth ETF segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.
Invesco Dorsey Wright Developed Markets Momentum ETF (PIZ) tracks Dorsey Wright Developed Markets Technical Leaders Index and the Invesco S&P International Developed Quality ETF (IDHQ) tracks S&P Quality Developed ex US LargeMidCap Index. Invesco Dorsey Wright Developed Markets Momentum ETF has $738.86 million in assets, Invesco S&P International Developed Quality ETF has $1 billion. PIZ has an expense ratio of 0.80% and IDHQ changes 0.29%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Foreign Large Growth ETF
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 Zacks ETF Center.
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First Trust International Developed Capital Strength ETF (FICS): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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