FAAR First Trust Alternative Absolute Return Strategy ETF

ETF

ETF quote, holdings, sector allocation, technicals, and options analytics. Fibonacci levels

Market data may be delayed, incomplete, or inaccurate. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. Verify quotes with your broker before trading. See Terms §17.

FAAR — —
Key stats
About

First Trust Alternative Absolute Return Strategy ETF (FAAR) ETF

No description available.

Exchange
XNAS
Inception
2016-05-18
Has Options
No
Fund profile
holdings as of Oct 23, 2026issuer datathrough Jun 2026flows, SEC filings
Alternative Long/Short & Market Neutral#6 of 27 by assets First Trust Actively managed
Expense ratio
0.98%
prospectus, filed Apr 30, 2026
Assets
$250M
issuer-reported, Oct 23, 2026
Trailing yield
9.27%
paid quarterly
Average daily volume
$1.5M
30 sessions
Holdings
31
top 10 are 45.8%
Listed
May 18, 2016
Nasdaq
Last fee change
+1 bp
filed Apr 30, 2026
Net asset value
$32.73
issuer, Oct 23, 2026
30-day SEC yield
1.99%
issuer, Sep 30, 2026
Closure risk, 12 months
0.9%
low · model
FrenzyCap ETF score
34
how it is built
Cost39
Liquidity39
Scale52
Diversification0

Moves with. Long Treasuries (9% of its variance, beta -0.47); Gold (6% of its variance, beta 0.17). These factors explain 17% of its daily moves over the last year, so most of what drives this fund is something else.

Stated objective. "The First Trust Alternative Absolute Return Strategy ETF (the ""Fund"" ) seeks to provide investors with long-term total return." (from the fund's prospectus)

All 31 holdingsFlow historyOverlap toolAll Long/Short & Market Neutral ETFs

Fund flows
through Jun 2026SEC filings
Jun 2026
+$15M
latest reported month
Latest 3 months
+$17M
+9.3% of assets
Latest 12 months
+$64M
+36.0% of assets
Jul 2025: +$1.4MAug 2025: $0AugSep 2025: +$1.5MOct 2025: +$3.0MOctNov 2025: +$18M+$18MDec 2025: +$4.4MDecJan 2026: +$9.8MFeb 2026: +$4.5MFebMar 2026: +$4.9MApr 2026: −$8.4M−$8.4MAprMay 2026: +$10MJun 2026: +$15MJun
View as a table
Net flows of FAAR by month, Jul 2025 to Jun 2026
MonthNet flow
Jun 2026+$15M
May 2026+$10M
Apr 2026−$8.4M
Mar 2026+$4.9M
Feb 2026+$4.5M
Jan 2026+$9.8M
Dec 2025+$4.4M
Nov 2025+$18M
Oct 2025+$3.0M
Sep 2025+$1.5M
Aug 2025$0
Jul 2025+$1.4M

Net creations and redemptions from the fund's SEC filings, which become public about 60 days after each quarter. Every month since 84 months ago

Similar funds
FundOverlapFeeAssets1Y
FTLSFirst Trust Long/Short Equity ETF—1.38%$2.6B+10.4%compare
CLSEConvergence Long/Short Equity ETF—1.52%$1.0B+29.5%compare
QAINYLIM Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF—0.88%$991M+5.2%compare
ORRMilitia Long/Short Equity ETF——$367M+22.8%compare
BTALAGF U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund—1.40%$348M−15.3%compare

The largest other funds in the Long/Short & Market Neutral category.

Under the hood
fiscal year to Dec 31, 2025SEC census
Authorized participants
3 active
of 22 with agreements; top 3 did 100%
Created · redeemed
$52M · $21M
over the fiscal year
Redemptions in kind
0%
creations 0% in kind
Creation unit
50,000
shares
Securities lending
authorized, none lent

From the fund's annual census filing with the SEC. In-kind redemptions are what let an ETF shed appreciated securities without realising gains.

ETF Profile
holdings as of 2026-10-23
Holdings
31
AUM
$250.2M
Provider
First Trust
Inception
2016-05-18
Exchange
XNAS
Data As Of
2026-10-23
Expense Ratio
0.98%
Dividend Yield
9.30%
Distribution
Quarterly
Recent distributions
Ex-Date Pay Date Amount Type
2026-09-24 2026-09-30 $0.1372 CD
2026-06-25 2026-06-30 $0.1440 CD
2026-03-26 2026-03-31 $0.1087 CD
2025-12-16 2025-12-31 $2.6485 CD
2025-09-25 2025-09-30 $0.1759 CD
2025-06-26 2025-06-30 $0.1753 CD
Asset Allocation
Top Holdings
top 31 of 31 holdings
Symbol Name Weight % Asset Class Country
— US Dollar 54.24% Cash/Money Market —
— U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 12/17/2026 11.92% Treasury US
— U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 11/17/2026 9.97% Treasury US
— U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 12/03/2026 9.95% Treasury US
— U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 01/07/2027 7.93% Treasury US
— U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 10/29/2026 5.99% Treasury US
— BRENT CRUDE FUTR Jan27 0.00% Derivative —
— GASOLINE RBOB FUT Dec26 0.00% Derivative —
— SOYBEAN FUTURE Jan27 0.00% Derivative —
— SOYBEAN MEAL FUTR Dec26 0.00% Derivative —
— LME ZINC FUTURE Dec26 0.00% Derivative —
— NATURAL GAS FUTR Dec26 0.00% Derivative —
— SUGAR #11 (WORLD) Mar27 0.00% Derivative —
— SILVER FUTURE Dec26 0.00% Derivative —
— NY Harb ULSD Fut Dec26 0.00% Derivative —
— GOLD 100 OZ FUTR Dec26 0.00% Derivative —
— COFFEE 'C' FUTURE Dec26 0.00% Derivative —
— WTI CRUDE FUTURE Dec26 0.00% Derivative —
— LME PRI ALUM FUTR Dec26 0.00% Derivative —
— COPPER FUTURE Dec26 0.00% Derivative —
— CATTLE FEEDER FUT Jan27 0.00% Derivative —
— LIVE CATTLE FUTR Dec26 0.00% Derivative —
— Low Su Gasoil G Dec26 0.00% Derivative —
— LME NICKEL FUTURE Dec26 0.00% Derivative —
— LME LEAD FUTURE Dec26 0.00% Derivative —
— LEAN HOGS FUTURE Dec26 0.00% Derivative —
— COTTON NO.2 FUTR Dec26 0.00% Derivative —
— SOYBEAN OIL FUTR Dec26 0.00% Derivative —
— COCOA FUTURE Dec26 0.00% Derivative —
— WHEAT FUTURE(CBT) Dec26 0.00% Derivative —
— KC HRW WHEAT FUT Dec26 0.00% Derivative —
Non-Equity Breakdown
First Trust Alternative Absolute Return Strategy ETF · NPORT-P period 2026-06-30 (filed 2026-08-21)
Net assets: $178M · 32 total positions · equity 0.00% · non-equity 89.21%
Non-equity holdings — 32 positions, 89.21% of NAV
Category Weight Value Positions
Short-term investment 57.58% $102.6M 2
US Treasury 36.33% $64.8M 4
Derivative (commodity) -4.70% $-8372711 26
Chart
Seasonality
'21'22'23'24'25'26Avg
Jan0.50%4.17%1.35%1.57%0.35%8.17%2.69%
Feb4.51%5.19%-0.40%1.61%-0.91%4.30%2.38%
Mar0.81%3.58%-0.30%1.20%2.55%7.79%2.60%
Apr2.67%4.15%-3.54%0.49%-7.10%2.09%-0.21%
May1.99%-0.78%0.38%-1.05%0.30%-0.85%-0.00%
Jun-1.41%-3.35%-2.49%0.74%3.66%-6.74%-1.60%
Jul-0.35%-1.47%1.70%1.20%4.33%-0.80%0.77%
Aug-1.99%0.22%0.59%-0.95%4.35%0.67%0.48%
Sep3.91%-3.16%-1.64%-0.86%0.63%3.22%0.35%
Oct2.33%3.22%-2.80%0.65%-0.20%0.89%*0.68%
Nov-7.15%-2.34%0.21%0.76%0.18%---1.67%
Dec-1.98%-3.18%-1.58%0.21%-11.13%---3.53%
Total3.32%5.80%-8.34%5.66%-4.12%19.39%3.62%
Technical Indicators

Quick-reference for reading the values below. Indicators combine to confirm a view — no single one is a trade signal on its own.

Trend Indicators
  • SMA 20 / 50 / 200 — price above = uptrend, below = downtrend. SMA 50 crossing SMA 200 is the golden/death cross.
  • EMA 12 / 26 — faster-reacting averages; 12 above 26 is short-term bullish.
  • MACD — bullish when MACD > signal (green badge), bearish when below. Divergence from price often precedes reversals.
  • ADX (14) — trend strength regardless of direction. <20 range, 20–25 weak trend, 25–50 trend, >50 strong trend.
  • +DI / −DI — +DI > −DI favors bulls; the reverse favors bears. Read alongside ADX.
Momentum Oscillators
  • RSI (14) — <30 oversold, >70 overbought. 40–60 is neutral; trending names can stay extreme.
  • Stochastic %K / %D — <20 oversold, >80 overbought. %K crossing %D is an early momentum signal.
  • Williams %R — inverted scale: <−80 oversold, >−20 overbought.

Oscillators work best in range-bound markets; in strong trends they give premature reversal signals.

Volume & Volatility
  • Bollinger Bands — price at upper band = overbought, lower = oversold. Narrow bands (squeeze) often precede expansion.
  • OBV — cumulative volume; rising OBV confirms uptrend, falling OBV confirms downtrend. Divergence from price is a warning.
  • Vol SMA 20 / Vol ROC — today's volume vs. 20-day average. Positive ROC with price move = conviction.
  • ATR / True Range — average daily $ move; sizing and stop-loss reference.
  • HV 20 / 30 / 60 — realized (historical) volatility. Compare to IV on the options cards: IV > HV = rich premium.

Confluence matters: trend + momentum + volume agreeing carries far more weight than any single indicator. For how these feed the spread scanner score, see the algorithm docs →

Trend Indicators

SMA 20: $32.52
SMA 50: $32.02
SMA 200: $31.99
Current: $32.65
EMA 12: $32.62
EMA 26: $32.44
MACD: 0.1783 | Signal: -0.0259
BULLISH
ADX (14): 24.59
WEAK TREND
+DI: 30.79
−DI: 19.35

Momentum Oscillators

RSI (14): 55.90
NEUTRAL
Stoch %K: 68.76
Stoch %D: 70.62
Williams %R: -45.01

Volume & Volatility

BB Upper: $33.05
BB Lower: $31.98
NEUTRAL
OBV: 1,264,679
Vol SMA 20: 48,320
Vol ROC: -3.80%
ATR: $0.28
True Range: $0.27
HV 20: 8.1%
HV 30: 10.5%
HV 60: 10.3%

Data Summary

Data Points: 500
Last Updated:
Date Range: 2024-10-28T00:00:00 – 2026-10-26T00:00:00
AI Analysis

Click Frenzy-Pro™ for an AI analysis of this ticker.

Analysis includes technical indicators, news sentiment, risk assessment, and specific price levels to watch.

News
All FAAR news →
Showing 1–10 of 12
Page 1 of 2

FAAR Options Activity & IV Rank

Loading options activity...
Spread Scanner GPU
Full Algorithm Docs ↗

Each spread is ranked by a composite score built in three stages. Full documentation →

Stage 1 — Base Score (GPU scanner)

score = P(profit) × (credit / spread_width)
P(profit) from short leg delta (1 − |delta|), penalised above 85%. Credit uses mid-price to handle illiquid chains fairly.

Stage 2 — Skew Adjustment (±25% cap)

RR and BF (30-delta) from the persisted per-symbol skew snapshot — wing strikes picked by real greeks.delta, not a moneyness proxy. Put skew boosts bull puts, penalises bear calls. High butterfly boosts iron condors. Calendars are skew-neutral.

Stage 3 — Technical Overlay (±50% cap, 5 groups)
Group 1 · Directional Bias (±0.25)
  • RSI <40 bullish / >60 bearish
  • MACD crossover + histogram trend
  • Price vs SMA 50 & SMA 200
Group 2 · Momentum (±0.10)
  • Stochastic %K <20 / >80
  • Williams %R <−80 / >−20
Group 3 · Volatility (up to −0.25 / +0.15)
  • Blended ATR + straddle expected-move penalty
  • Bollinger Band signal (+ counter-trend penalty)
  • BB width — vol contraction boost for ICs
Group 4 · IV Regime (±0.15)
  • IV rank ≥ 75 → strong boost for credit spreads
  • IV rank < 25 → penalty (selling cheap vol)
Group 5 · Liquidity (penalty up to −0.10)
  • Min open interest across all legs
  • OI < 100 → −0.10 · OI < 500 → −0.05

score = base_score × skew_multiplier × tech_multiplier
Both multipliers are shown per spread. Beta is informational only — ATR already captures realized vol. Full algorithm documentation →

Enter a ticker to scan for optimal spread opportunities.

Evaluates all bull put, bear call, iron condor, and calendar spread combinations using GPU-accelerated analysis.

Skew (Wing IV − ATM IV)
DTE:
Wing Δ:
Metric:
Wing vs ATM
IV(put wing) − IV(ATM), in vol points

How much the OTM put trades above (or below) the at-the-money strike. Measures the height of the put-side tail relative to ATM — i.e. how expensive crash insurance is on this name.

  • Positive (typical) — wing IV > ATM IV. Standard equity put skew: portfolios bid up crash protection, so OTM puts trade richer than ATM.
  • Near zero or negative (unusual) — wing IV ≤ ATM IV. Flat or inverted put side. Common when there's no fear demand, in tightly mean-reverting names, or right after an earnings catalyst clears.
  • Percentile vs own 3-yr history: high = wings rich (good time to sell wing premium); low = wings cheap (good time to buy protection).
  • Not directional — high or low wings don't predict up or down moves. It's a price tag on tail insurance, not a forecast.
Risk Reversal
IV(call wing) − IV(put wing), equal delta on each side

Which side of the smile is the market paying up for? Measures the tilt of the surface — call skew vs put skew at matched deltas.

  • Negative (typical) — puts richer than calls. Standard equity behavior: hedging demand makes puts carry a premium. Most large-caps sit in the −1 to −5 vol-point range.
  • Strongly negative (< −5 pts) — heavy downside hedging, elevated fear, or an upcoming catalyst (earnings, FDA, macro event). Worth flagging.
  • Positive — calls richer than puts. Unusual for equities; signals bullish momentum, short-squeeze positioning, or takeover/M&A speculation.
  • Near zero — symmetric surface. Market sees roughly equal up/down risk. Rare for large-caps; more common in commodities and FX.
Reading them together

Wing-vs-ATM tells you how expensive the tails are. Risk Reversal tells you which side is favored. Combined:

  • High wing percentile + deeply negative RR → strong put bid; stress or major event priced in. Owning protection costs a premium; selling put premium is dangerous.
  • Low wing percentile + near-zero RR → complacency; insurance cheap and balanced. Good environment to add cheap downside hedges.
  • Positive RR + elevated wings → call-side fear-of-missing-out; common in squeeze setups. Upside calls expensive, downside puts not bid.
14 DTE / 10d —
— pts EXTREME
ATM — / Wing —
30 DTE / 10d —
— pts EXTREME
ATM — / Wing —

Percentile is the rank of today's reading within ~3 years of this symbol's own history. High percentile = wings are rich relative to history; not a directional signal. Skew is read off the chain in real time, not from CBOE SKEW.

Volatility Surface

Enter a ticker to render the implied volatility surface.

Volatility Smile

Enter a ticker to render the implied volatility smile.

IV Rank (7 DTE)
IV Rank (30 DTE)
Straddle Price (30 DTE)
Beta Analysis

Risk Metrics

Beta: -0.1359
Alpha: 9.68%
Correlation: -0.1091
R-Squared: 1.2%
Stock Volatility: 15.9%
Market Volatility: 12.7%

Analysis Details

Benchmark: SPY
Data Points: 251
Period: 252 trading days
Interpretation:
Negative beta - stock moves opposite to market
Beta & Alpha Over Time

FAAR Institutional Ownership (13F)

Latest filings — 2026-09-30

Institutional managers with $100M+ AUM file Form 13F-HR quarterly, due 45 days after quarter end. Holdings are reported gross at quarter-end market value — they are a snapshot, not a real-time position.

  • Shares — long equity positions in this name, aggregated across share classes.
  • Calls / Puts — notional value of long call / put exposure where this ticker is the underlying.
  • % of Float — holder's reported shares divided by the latest diluted shares outstanding. Sums above 100% indicate large custodian / prime broker positions where the same shares are reported by multiple filers.
  • Custodian badge — filers with more than 5,000 holdings are typically broker-dealers / custodians reporting customer-held shares, not active managers.

Each filer is counted once at its latest 13F-HR filing. New filings are ingested on a weekly cadence.

65 filers4,938,869 shares$147.72M value
# Filer Shares Value % of Total % of Float Period
1 First Trust Advisors LP 1,735,102 $54.86M 37.14% — 2026-06-30
2 ASSETMARK, INC 568,869 $18.34M 12.42% — 2026-09-30
3 Morgan Stanley Custodian 524,216 $16.58M 11.22% — 2026-06-30
4 LPL Financial LLC Custodian 196,874 $6.23M 4.21% — 2026-06-30
5 Cetera Investment Advisers Custodian 176,439 $5.58M 3.78% — 2026-06-30
6 RFG Advisory, LLC 169,240 $5.35M 3.62% — 2026-06-30
7 Simplicity Wealth,LLC 154,290 $4.98M 3.37% — 2026-09-30
8 Center For Asset Management LLC 128,611 $4.15M 2.81% — 2026-09-30
9 OSAIC HOLDINGS, INC. Custodian 108,427 $3.43M 2.32% — 2026-06-30
10 Raymond James Financial, Inc. Custodian 90,438 $2.86M 1.94% — 2026-06-30
11 CAPTRUST FINANCIAL ADVISORS 88,247 $2.79M 1.89% — 2026-06-30
12 Envestnet Asset Management, Inc. 80,571 $2.55M 1.72% — 2026-06-30
13 FIG FINANCIAL ADVISORY SERVICES INC /ADV 77,620 $2.50M 1.69% — 2026-09-30
14 LexAurum Advisors, LLC 69,770 $2.25M 1.52% — 2026-09-30
15 CreativeOne Wealth, LLC 54,372 $1.72M 1.16% — 2026-06-30
16 AE Wealth Management LLC Custodian 48,560 $1.54M 1.04% — 2026-06-30
17 VIMA LLC 33,441 $1.08M 0.73% — 2026-09-30
18 Pinnacle Family Advisors, LLC 27,914 $882.63K 0.60% — 2026-06-30
19 GeoWealth Management, LLC 23,382 $739.34K 0.50% — 2026-06-30
20 Advisors Preferred, LLC 22,671 $712.66K 0.48% — 2026-06-30
21 Stifel Financial Corp Custodian 22,074 $697.98K 0.47% — 2026-06-30
22 Balboa Wealth Partners 19,073 $615.01K 0.42% — 2026-09-30
23 World Investment Advisors 17,354 $585.65K 0.40% — 2026-06-30
24 NewEdge Wealth, LLC 17,922 $566.70K 0.38% — 2026-06-30
25 BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC 15,411 $487.30K 0.33% — 2026-06-30
# Filer Notional Value % of Total Period
# Filer Notional Value % of Total Period
Constituent Performance

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Constituents
Symbol Name Weight % Price 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month