The combination of an Average People Pillar rating and a Below Average Process Pillar rating limit  First Trust Long Duration Opp ETF to a Morningstar Medalist Rating of Neutral.  Fees are a weakness here. The strategy's lofty fees are a high hurdle to clear, as it is priced within the second-costliest quintile among peers.  

 The strategy gets a Below Average Process Pillar rating. The strategy’s management team earns an Average People Pillar rating. The strategy's parent organization earns the firm an Average Parent Pillar rating. People Pillar and Parent Pillar ratings for this strategy are indirectly assigned by a Morningstar analyst rather than algorithmically derived. Please see the notes following each pillar section for more details. The details of assigning methods can be found in each pillar section.

Analyst Rating

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund IV - First Trust Intermediate Government Opportunities ETF

Morningstar's evaluation of this fund's process aims to determine how repeatable, consistent, and reliable it is, and whether management maintains a competitive advantage. First Trust Long Duration Opp ETF earns a Below Average Process Pillar rating.    The process is bolstered by the experience of the management team, which averages 20 years at this fund. However, the rating is weakened by the parent firm's five-year risk-adjusted success ratio of 29%. The measure indicates the percentage of a firm's funds that survived and outperformed their respective category's median Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return for the period. The parent's modest success ratio suggests that the firm could do better across its fund lineup. The parent firm's disappointing risk-adjusted performance, as shown by its average 10-year Morningstar Rating of 2.7 stars, also holds the rating back. A lower star rating suggests that the firm has struggled to outperform on a risk-adjusted basis.

 The investment strategy as stated in the fund's prospectus is as follows: 


The investment seeks to generate current income with a focus on preservation of capital.  Under normal market conditions, the fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in a portfolio of investment-grade debt securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or government-sponsored entities, and including publicly-issued U.S. Treasury securities and mortgage-related securities. It may also invest in exchange-traded funds ("ETFs") that principally invest in such securities.

 This strategy's 12-month yield is 3.9%, which is neck-and-neck with its average peer. Plus, it has a 3.7% 30-day SEC yield (a measure similar to yield-to-maturity). The portfolio's average surveyed credit quality is on par with peers, with both the fund and the average being rated AAA.

Below Average

Process

First Trust Long Duration Opp ETF earns an Average People Pillar rating. The team is backed by James W. Snyder, the longest-tenured manager on the strategy, who brings over 25 years of listed portfolio management experience. The average Morningstar Rating of the strategies they manage is 5.0 stars, demonstrating stellar risk-adjusted performance. James W. Snyder has an experienced listed co-manager. Together, they average 20 years of listed portfolio management experience.  

 Note: The People Pillar rating is indirectly assigned by an analyst. The longest-tenured manager of the fund also manages a different product rated by an analyst. Their analyst-assigned People Pillar rating is combined here with the People scores (algorithmic or analyst-assigned) for the fund’s other managers on a tenure-weighted basis.

Average

People

First Trust meets the industry standard for stewardship, but it could do more to align itself with investors. It earns an Average Parent rating.

This is a team-oriented organization that eschews star managers. While exchange-traded funds represent the bulk of the firm's assets, First Trust bypasses the competitive market for low-cost beta funds, instead opting for complex strategies with higher management fees. However, the firm's focus on ETFs for future product development underpins its commitment to tax efficiency and transparency. Some of its thematic strategies appear trendy, but it stands behind them and rarely liquidates funds. 

The firm is a private partnership, controlled by Jim Bowen, the CEO. Many senior managers are limited partners. This ownership structure helps the firm stay focused on the long term and promotes retention, which has been strong for the investment team. The firm has grown considerably over the past decade and is among the largest providers of actively managed ETFs, as well as unit investment trusts. As it has grown, the firm has expanded its investment team and beefed up its technology infrastructure.

First Trust's focus is on educating advisors and providing them solutions. This may benefit investors indirectly, but First Trust could do more to directly align with investors by cutting fees and limiting trendy strategies.

Parent

First Trust Long Duration Opportunities ETF

LGOV holds an actively managed portfolio of US government bonds with an average duration of eight or more years. The fund seeks current income with a focus on capital preservation.

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iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF

Direxion Daily 20+ Year Treasury Bull 3X Shares

It generally takes a few years for changes in Federal Reserve rates to fully impact bond fund dividends. Bond funds are still benefitting from prior rate hikes. Perhaps by enough to cancel out any future rate cuts. By my estimations, and under current Fed guidance, most bond funds would only start to see declining dividends in 2025, at the earliest.

Estimating The Impact Of Lower Rates On Bond Fund Dividends

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Xtrackers MSCI Eurozone Hedged Equity ETF

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WisdomTree Europe Quality Dividend Growth Fund

ProShares MSCI Europe Dividend Growers ETF

iShares MSCI Europe Financials ETF

WisdomTree Europe Hedged SmallCap Equity Fund

iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF

First Trust STOXX European Select Dividend Index Fund

First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund

First Trust Eurozone AlphaDEX ETF

SPDR EURO STOXX 50 ETF

UBS AG FI Enhanced Europe 50 ETN

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Franklin FTSE Europe Hedged ETF

First Trust IPOX Europe Equity Opportunities ETF

Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta Europe Equity ETF

WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Fund

iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Eurozone ETF

iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF

iShares MSCI Europe Small-Cap ETF

iShares Europe ETF

ALPS O'Shares Europe Quality Dividend ETF Shares

Invesco 1-30 Laddered Treasury ETF

Pacer Trendpilot European Index ETF

First Trust RiverFront Dynamic Europe ETF

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Vanguard Long-Term Treasury ETF

PIMCO 25+ Year Zero Coupon US Treasury Index ETF

Europe is facing the risk of an energy shock-driven recession and periphery stress. That's why we think the ECB will stop hiking earlier than the Fed.

ECB May Limit Hikes As Recession Nears

Barclays Bank iPath US Treasury 5-Year Bear Exchange Traded   Note 2011-12.7.21 Ser -A- Lkd to BC 2Y US Trsry Futs Trgtd Expsre

Barclays Bank iPath US Treasury 2-year Bull Exchange Traded   Notes 2010-13.8.20 Ser -A- Lnk to BC 2Y US Treasury Futures Trg Ex

Barclays Bank iPath US Treasury 2 Yr Bear Exchange Traded

Barclays Bank iPath US Treasury 10 Yr Bull Exchange Traded    Notes 2010-13.8.20 Sr-A Lk Barclays Cap 10Y US Trs Fut Trgt Exp Id

Barclays Inverse US Treasury Composite ETN

Direxion Daily 20+ Year Treasury Bear 3X Shares

ProShares UltraPro Short 20+ Year Treasury

Direxion Daily 7-10 Year Treasury Bull 3x Shares

Direxion Daily 7-10 Year Treasury Bear 3x Shares

ProShares Ultra 20+ Year Treasury

ProShares Ultra 7-10 Year Treasury

Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury ETF

Vanguard Short-Term Treasury ETF

While there is upward pressure on market rates in 2022, it's not coming from higher net supply. In fact, lower net supply can help to richen government bonds. On top of that, we should see flatter curves over the whole of 2022. We also anticipate some upward pressure on USD Libor.

Rates Outlook: Swap Spreads To See Widening Pressure

CSOP FTSE China A50 ETF

iShares Agency Bond ETF

Xtrackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares ETF

Xtrackers Harvest CSI 500 China A-Shares Small Cap ETF

Xtrackers MSCI China A Inclusion Equity ETF

Global X China Biotech Innovation ETF

Global X MSCI China Communication Services ETF

Global X China Energy ETF

Global X MSCI China Health Care ETF

Global X China Industrials

Global X MSCI China Information Technology ETF

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Global X China Materials ETF

Global X China Consumer ETF

Global X MSCI China Real Estate ETF

Global X MSCI China Consumer Staples ETF

Global X MSCI China Utilities ETF

Global X China Financials ETF

Loncar China Biopharma ETF

Xtrackers MSCI All China Equity ETF

VanEck Vectors ChinaAMC SME-ChiNext ETF

iShares MSCI China A ETF

Invesco China Technology ETF

WisdomTree China ex-State-Owned Enterprises Fund

iShares MSCI China Small-Cap ETF

iShares MSCI Hong Kong ETF

iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF

First Trust China AlphaDEX Fund

Franklin FTSE China ETF

Franklin FTSE Hong Kong ETF

Franklin FTSE Taiwan ETF

Franklin Short Duration U.S. Government ETF

iShares China Large-Cap ETF

SPDR S&P China ETF

KraneShares Bosera MSCI China A Share ETF

KraneShares CICC China 5G & Semiconductor Index ETF

KraneShares CICC China Leaders 100 Index ETF

Kraneshares MSCI China Environment Index ETF

KraneShares SSE STAR Market 50 Index ETF

KraneShares Hang Seng Tech Index ETF

KraneShares MSCI All China Health Care Index ETF

KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF

First Trust Low Duration Opportunities ETF

iShares MSCI China ETF

Invesco Golden Dragon China ETF

Rayliant Quantamental China Equity ETF

ProShares Inflation Expectations ETF

Invesco DB US Dollar Index Bearish Fund

WisdomTree Bloomberg US Dollar Bullish Fund

Invesco DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund

The deficit spending that supported the economy in 2020 is showing up in hot inflation numbers in 2021. While I think the inflation numbers will get better in 2022, I do not believe they will get back to pre-pandemic levels because of owners' equivalent rents and wage gains in the CPI.

Mind The Bond Market

PIMCO 15+ Year US TIPS ETF

Invesco PureBeta 0-5 Yr US TIPS ETF

Schwab US TIPS ETF

SPDR Portfolio TIPS ETF

iShares 0-5 Year TIPS Bond ETF

PIMCO 1-5 Year US TIPS ETF

FlexShares iBoxx 5 Year Target Duration TIPS Index Fund

FlexShares iBoxx 3 Year Target Duration TIPS Index Fund

iShares TIPS Bond ETF

SPDR Bloomberg 1-10 Year TIPS ETF

PIMCO Broad US TIPS Index ETF

Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities ETF

At the November FOMC meeting, the Fed officially announced that it would begin tapering its bond purchase program, starting in mid-November. When the Fed began tapering its QE3 program over the course of 2014, the coupon supply from the U.S. Treasury was stable, leading to an increase in net supply takedown from the private market.

Tapering Impact On Treasury Supply

It’s no secret that yield is hard to come by nowadays, which is causing fixed income investors to search for alternate sources beyond stocks and bonds. However, in a recent MarketWatch article, Nick Maggiulli, COO for Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC, cited other opportunities that investors should consider in their search for income.

Alternate Forms of Income Aside from Stocks, Bonds

As part of its bond purchasing initiatives to help maintain liquidity in this coronavirus-stricken market, the Fed went long as in long duration bonds first and foremost in last week’s Treasury note purchases.

Fed’s Bond Purchasing Puts Long Duration Fixed Income ETFs in Focus

News for First Trust Long Duration Opportunities ETF ETF (LGOV)