Skip to content
Beacon
Screener

FTLS vs FTBI

First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF vs First Trust Balanced Income ETF

FTLS

First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF

First Trust

Annual cost

1.38%

Fund size

$2.3B

FTBI

First Trust Balanced Income ETF

First Trust

Annual cost

0.97%

Fund size

$20M

Key differences

  • FTBI costs 0.41% less per year.
  • FTLS is significantly larger than FTBI — larger funds tend to be more liquid and less likely to close.
  • FTLS is classified as alternative, while FTBI is mixed asset — different risk/return profiles.
  • FTLS follows a long short strategy; FTBI uses index tracking.
  • FTLS has a longer track record, which may reduce uncertainty around long-term behavior.

Side-by-side comparison

FTLSFTBI
Annual cost (TER)1.38%0.97%
Fund size (AUM)$2.3B$20M
Since20142025
Dividend yield0.91%
Asset classalternativemixed asset
Regionnorth americanorth america
Strategylong shortindex tracking
CAGR 1Y+15.7%N/A
CAGR 3Y+14.8%N/A
CAGR 5Y+10.5%N/A
Sharpe 3Y1.09N/A
Volatility 1Y8.19%
Max drawdown-20.54%-5.34%

Green dot indicates the better value for that metric. Performance data is historical and does not predict future results.

Similar to FTLS and FTBI