FTSM Alternatives & Similar ETFs

First Trust Enhanced Short Maturity ETF (FTSM) belongs to the Ultrashort Bond category. Below you'll find alternative ETFs from the same category, ranked by key criteria, plus funds that investors commonly compare with FTSM. Use the tables to find lower-cost options, better risk-adjusted returns, or a closer substitute for your current allocation.

Cheapest Alternatives to FTSM

FTSM charges 0.44% annually. There are 66 ETFs in the Ultrashort Bond category with lower expense ratios, going as low as 0.03%.

Symbol	Name	Expense Ratio	AUM	Inception
XHLF	BondBloxx Bloomberg Six Month Target Duration US T...	0.03%	1.91B	Sep 2022	FTSM vs XHLF
XONE	BondBloxx Bloomberg One Year Target Duration US Tr...	0.03%	758.60M	Sep 2022	FTSM vs XONE
SPTU	State Street SPDR Portfolio Ultra Short T-Bill ETF	0.05%	13.77M	Oct 2025	FTSM vs SPTU
TRSY	Xtrackers US 0-1 Year Treasury ETF	0.06%	—	Oct 2024	FTSM vs TRSY
VBIL	Vanguard 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETF	0.07%	8.40B	Feb 2025	FTSM vs VBIL

Best Risk-Adjusted Alternatives to FTSM

FTSM has a PortfoliosLab risk / return rank of 99. There are 31 ETFs in the Ultrashort Bond category with higher risk-adjusted ranks, going as high as 100.

Symbol	Name	Risk / Return Rank	AUM	Inception
SGOV	iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF	100	97.69B	May 2020	FTSM vs SGOV
BIL	SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF	100	46.75B	May 2007	FTSM vs BIL
TBLL	Invesco Short Term Treasury ETF	100	2.59B	Jan 2017	FTSM vs TBLL
VBIL	Vanguard 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETF	100	8.40B	Feb 2025	FTSM vs VBIL
BILZ	PIMCO Ultra Short Government Active Exchange-Trade...	100	1.03B	Jun 2023	FTSM vs BILZ

Top Performing FTSM Alternatives (YTD)

FTSM is at 1.79% YTD. There are 47 ETFs in the Ultrashort Bond category with higher YTD returns, going as high as 2.99%.

Symbol	Name	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
FUSI	American Century Multisector Floating Income ETF	2.99%	22.67M	Mar 2023	FTSM vs FUSI
CSHI	NEOS Enhanced Income 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF	2.66%	1.45B	Aug 2022	FTSM vs CSHI
FLTR	VanEck IG Floating Rate ETF	2.54%	2.89B	Apr 2011	FTSM vs FLTR
BUCK	Simplify Treasury Option Income ETF	2.36%	474.96M	Oct 2022	FTSM vs BUCK
FLRN	State Street SPDR Bloomberg Investment Grade Float...	2.32%	3.07B	Nov 2011	FTSM vs FLRN

Lowest Volatility Alternatives to FTSM

FTSM has 0.49% 1-year volatility. There are 33 ETFs in the Ultrashort Bond category with lower 1-year volatility, going as low as 0.19%.

Symbol	Name	Volatility 1Y	AUM	Inception
SGOV	iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF	0.19%	97.69B	May 2020	FTSM vs SGOV
TBLL	Invesco Short Term Treasury ETF	0.20%	2.59B	Jan 2017	FTSM vs TBLL
BIL	SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF	0.20%	46.75B	May 2007	FTSM vs BIL
BILZ	PIMCO Ultra Short Government Active Exchange-Trade...	0.21%	1.03B	Jun 2023	FTSM vs BILZ
VBIL	Vanguard 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETF	0.21%	8.40B	Feb 2025	FTSM vs VBIL

Lowest Drawdown Alternatives to FTSM

FTSM has a 1-year max drawdown of -0.12%. There are 26 ETFs in the Ultrashort Bond category with shallower 1-year drawdowns, going as shallow as -0.01%.

Symbol	Name	Max Drawdown 1Y	AUM	Inception
SGOV	iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF	-0.01%	97.69B	May 2020	FTSM vs SGOV
VBIL	Vanguard 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETF	-0.01%	8.40B	Feb 2025	FTSM vs VBIL
BIL	SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF	-0.01%	46.75B	May 2007	FTSM vs BIL
BILZ	PIMCO Ultra Short Government Active Exchange-Trade...	-0.02%	1.03B	Jun 2023	FTSM vs BILZ
USFR	WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund	-0.02%	17.91B	Feb 2014	FTSM vs USFR

Other ETFs from First Trust

The 10 most viewed First Trust ETFs shown here include CIBR, GRID, AIRR and span 14 categories. AUM among these funds goes as high as $14B.

Symbol	Name	Category	Risk / Return Rank	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
CIBR	First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF	Cybersecurity, Technology Equities	34	28.87%	14.26B	Jul 2015	FTSM vs CIBR
GRID	First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastru...	Alternative Energy Equities	58	19.10%	11.74B	Nov 2009	FTSM vs GRID
AIRR	First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ET...	Building & Construction	66	23.60%	10.80B	Mar 2014	FTSM vs AIRR
NFTY	First Trust India NIFTY 50 Equal Weight ETF	India Equities, Equal Weight, Asia Pacific Equities	4	-7.65%	132.86M	Feb 2012	FTSM vs NFTY
FDL	First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fun...	Large Cap Value Equities, Dividend	76	15.23%	7.48B	Mar 2006	FTSM vs FDL
IGLD	FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF	Gold, Derivative Income, Precious Metals	18	-7.95%	510.89M	Mar 2021	FTSM vs IGLD
FTXL	First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF	Semiconductors, Technology Equities	94	86.56%	2.46B	Sep 2016	FTSM vs FTXL
TDIV	First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund	Technology Equities, Dividend	44	17.47%	4.34B	Aug 2012	FTSM vs TDIV
QCLN	First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index F...	Alternative Energy Equities	54	20.15%	718.18M	Feb 2007	FTSM vs QCLN
KNG	FT Vest S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Target Income...	Dividend, S&P 500	34	8.48%	3.40B	Mar 2018	FTSM vs KNG

Often Compared With FTSM

Investors most often compare FTSM with JSOSX, PIMIX, UCON. These 20 comparison targets span 9 categories, based on PortfoliosLab usage data.

Symbol	Name	Category	Risk / Return Rank	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
JSOSX	JPMorgan Strategic Income Opportunities Fund Class...	Total Bond Market	99	1.55%	—	Oct 2008	FTSM vs JSOSX
PIMIX	PIMCO Income Fund Institutional Class	Multisector Bonds	50	1.07%	—	Mar 2007	FTSM vs PIMIX
UCON	First Trust TCW Unconstrained Plus Bond ETF	Nontraditional Bonds	54	0.44%	3.29B	Jun 2018	FTSM vs UCON
PARYX	Putnam Short Duration Bond Fund	Short-Term Bond	88	0.89%	—	Dec 2008	FTSM vs PARYX
PSDYX	Putnam Ultra Short Duration Income Fund	Ultrashort Bond	99	1.78%	—	Oct 2011	FTSM vs PSDYX
JPST	JPMorgan Ultra-Short Income ETF	Ultrashort Bond	99	1.75%	39.85B	May 2017	FTSM vs JPST
PSDSX	Palmer Square Ultra-Short Duration Investment Grad...	Ultrashort Bond	97	1.19%	—	Oct 2016	FTSM vs PSDSX
DHEAX	Diamond Hill Short Duration Securitized Bond Fund	Short-Term Bond	99	1.99%	—	Jul 2016	FTSM vs DHEAX
GOVT	iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF	Government Bonds	25	-0.43%	43.58B	Feb 2012	FTSM vs GOVT
OPER	ClearShares Ultra-Short Maturity ETF	Ultrashort Bond	100	1.94%	112.70M	Jul 2018	FTSM vs OPER
AGG	iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF	Total Bond Market	32	-0.22%	138.36B	Sep 2003	FTSM vs AGG
SCHO	Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF	Government Bonds, Short-Term Bond	88	0.58%	12.67B	Aug 2010	FTSM vs SCHO
ITOT	iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF	Large Cap Blend Equities	65	10.96%	95.15B	Jan 2004	FTSM vs ITOT
TSCM	TimesSquare Quality Mid Cap Growth ETF	Mid Cap Growth Equities	—	6.20%	22.19M	Dec 2025	FTSM vs TSCM
ICSH	iShares Ultra Short Duration Bond Active ETF	Ultrashort Bond	99	1.77%	7.84B	Dec 2013	FTSM vs ICSH
PULS	PGIM Ultra Short Bond ETF	Ultrashort Bond	99	2.13%	17.62B	Apr 2018	FTSM vs PULS
SHV	iShares 0-1 Year Treasury Bond ETF	Government Bonds, Ultrashort Bond	100	1.79%	20.86B	Jan 2007	FTSM vs SHV
JAAA	Janus Henderson AAA CLO ETF	CLO	99	2.33%	29.17B	Oct 2020	FTSM vs JAAA
VNLA	Janus Henderson Short Duration Income ETF	Ultrashort Bond	99	1.80%	3.33B	Nov 2016	FTSM vs VNLA
GSY	Invesco Ultra Short Duration ETF	Ultrashort Bond	99	2.01%	3.83B	Feb 2008	FTSM vs GSY

Compare FTSM with Any Fund or Stock

Compare FTSM with any ETF, mutual fund, or stock using PortfoliosLab's comparison tool.

Symbol name

Diversifiers

Pair FTSM with funds that move differently

First Trust Enhanced Short Maturity ETF alternatives help with substitution. Diversifiers are the next step when you want funds with lower historical correlation to FTSM.

Explore FTSM Diversifiers

First Trust Enhanced Short Maturity ETF (FTSM) Alternatives