First Trust Global Tactical Commodity Strategy Fund

First Trust Global Tactical Commodity Strategy Fund (FTGC) is an actively managed ETF. It holds commodity futures and swaps through a Cayman Islands subsidiary and keeps most of its money in short-term Treasury bills and cash. It doesn't follow an index. Instead, its managers shift weights to keep risk steady. That approach costs 0.98% a year, against 0.26% for BCI, a similar commodity ETF.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, FTGC returned +37.4%.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +13.1% and its 10-year +8.8%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 23.9% and regained its old high 8.1 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2015 (-22.8%); its best was 2021 (+27.9%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 59.5% (Apr 24, 2014 to Mar 23, 2020), recovered by Oct 23, 2025.

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 4 securities; the ten largest made up 31.34% of assets, and 58.09% sat in cash and money-market holdings.

The bonds mature in 0.1 years on average (weighted by size), with an average coupon of 0%.

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors added a net $336.8M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +3.31%, -1.96%, -6.41%.

FTGC doesn't track an index. First Trust Advisors manages it actively. Federal tax rules limit how much a fund like this can hold in commodity contracts directly. So the fund invests up to 25% of its assets in a wholly owned Cayman Islands subsidiary. That subsidiary holds commodity futures, commodity-linked ETFs and total return swaps (contracts that pay the return of an asset). The goal is notional exposure (the full market value the contracts control) close to 100% of the fund's net asset value.

First Trust's volatility forecasts drive the weights. The subsidiary rebalances its holdings to try to keep risk levels stable, and the managers may cut total exposure below 100% to reduce risk. The fund may hold short positions, but it stays net long on each commodity. It picks contracts mainly from liquid US and London exchanges. As of June 30, 2026, it held 26 derivative positions, including futures on coffee, cocoa, gas oil, zinc and lean hogs.

The rest of the money backs those contracts. As of June 30, 2026, four US Treasury bills maturing between July and September 2026 made up about 31% of net assets. Cash and similar holdings were about 58%. Futures must be rolled into new contracts as old ones expire. The fund also handles creations and redemptions in cash, which may make it less tax-efficient than ETFs that do this in kind.

• FTGC charges 0.98% a year, versus an average of 0.26% for the similar funds below.
• Of that, 0.95% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.

Its returns have moved mostly apart from stocks: its one-year beta (sensitivity to the stock market) was -0.06 as of October 27, 2026, and it gained during the 2022 bear market.

FTGC may add exposure to raw-material prices, which stocks and bonds often lack. It launched in 2013, so it has no 2008 record. During the 2022 bear market it returned 14.5% while stocks fell, though it dropped 20.1% from a March 2022 high and took about 37 months to recover. It didn't protect holders in the 2020 COVID crash, falling 23.9% before recovering in about eight months. Its worst year was 2015, down 22.8%. Its deepest drop, 59.5% from April 2014 to March 2020, wasn't recovered until October 2025. Anyone forced to sell during a stretch like that would lock in losses. The trailing yield was 14.36% as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly, but payouts can vary widely. The 0.98% expense ratio is well above BCI's 0.26%. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by closest holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports (no similar fund shares 20% or more of its holdings).