What this ETF is trying to do

The FIRST TRUST BLOOMBERG INFLATION SENSITIVE EQUITY ETF (FTIF) is an exchange-traded fund designed to invest in companies that may be sensitive to inflation. This means the fund looks for stocks that might perform differently when the cost of goods and services rises.

What the numbers show

The data shows that FTIF has experienced significant growth in its share price over different time periods.

• Year-to-Date (YTD): The price return is approximately 23.61%. When including distributions, the YTD total return is approximately 24.82%.

• One-Year: The one-year price return is approximately 26.96%. The one-year total return is approximately 28.71%.

• Three-Year: The three-year price return is approximately 39.59%. The three-year total return is approximately 48.10%.

To put this in perspective, the estimated price from roughly one year ago was $22.17. The current price is $28.14.

It is important to understand the difference between these numbers. The price return only measures how much the share price itself changed. The total return includes both the change in share price and the extra money earned from distributions.

Income and distribution explanation

FTIF provides cash distributions to investors. The distribution yield is approximately 1.29%. This number describes the cash paid out relative to the current ETF price. Over the last 12 months, there were 4 distributions. The fund usually pays these out on a quarterly basis.

NAV erosion explanation

"NAV erosion" refers to a decline in the Net Asset Value (the actual value of the assets held by the fund). The supplied data is sufficient to evaluate price erosion, but it does not include enough historical NAV-per-share data to confirm or rule out NAV erosion.

However, looking at price-based evidence, the fund has an erosion score of 100, which is labeled as "No price erosion detected." The erosion severity is rated as "good," and there is no severe erosion-risk flag.

Top Holdings

The following are the top holdings in the fund (note that this is a partial list):

• Marathon Petroleum Corp (2.95%)

• HF Sinclair Corp (2.94%)

• Valero Energy Corp (2.84%)

• APA Corp (2.43%)

• Newmont Corp (2.36%)

• Chevron Corp (2.35%)

• ConocoPhillips (2.30%)

• ExxonMobil Holdings Corp (2.27%)

• Chord Energy Corp (2.24%)

• Automatic Data Processing Inc (2.20%)

Holdings can change over time.

Pros

• The fund has shown strong positive price returns and total returns over the one-year and three-year periods.

• The data shows no detected price erosion.

Cons

• The distribution yield is relatively low at approximately 1.29%.

Beginner takeaway

FTIF focuses on inflation-sensitive stocks. While it provides some quarterly income, its recent history is defined more by share-price growth than by high distribution yields. When looking at this ETF, remember that total return is the most complete way to see how much value was actually gained, as it combines both price changes and cash distributions.