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 68 ETFs in the Ultrashort Bond category with lower expense ratios, going as low as 0.03%.

Symbol	Name	Expense Ratio	AUM	Inception
XONE	BondBloxx Bloomberg One Year Target Duration US Tr...	0.03%	841.59M	Sep 2022	FTSM vs XONE
XHLF	BondBloxx Bloomberg Six Month Target Duration US T...	0.03%	1.94B	Sep 2022	FTSM vs XHLF
SPTU	State Street SPDR Portfolio Ultra Short T-Bill ETF	0.05%	13.79M	Oct 2025	FTSM vs SPTU
TRSY	Xtrackers US 0-1 Year Treasury ETF	0.06%	—	Oct 2024	FTSM vs TRSY
VGUS	Vanguard Ultra-Short Treasury ETF	0.07%	1.00B	Feb 2025	FTSM vs VGUS

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	99.95B	May 2020	FTSM vs SGOV
BIL	SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF	100	47.03B	May 2007	FTSM vs BIL
GBIL	Goldman Sachs Access Treasury 0-1 Year ETF	100	7.59B	Sep 2016	FTSM vs GBIL
TBLL	Invesco Short Term Treasury ETF	100	2.87B	Jan 2017	FTSM vs TBLL
VBIL	Vanguard 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETF	100	9.40B	Feb 2025	FTSM vs VBIL

Top Performing FTSM Alternatives (YTD)

FTSM is at 2.06% YTD. There are 42 ETFs in the Ultrashort Bond category with higher YTD returns, going as high as 3.26%.

Symbol	Name	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
FUSI	American Century Multisector Floating Income ETF	3.26%	22.73M	Mar 2023	FTSM vs FUSI
CSHI	NEOS Enhanced Income 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF	2.96%	1.54B	Aug 2022	FTSM vs CSHI
FLTR	VanEck IG Floating Rate ETF	2.70%	3.00B	Apr 2011	FTSM vs FLTR
UYLD	Angel Oak Ultrashort Income ETF	2.61%	1.55B	Oct 2022	FTSM vs UYLD
TUSB	Thrivent Ultra Short Bond ETF	2.58%	218.28M	Feb 2025	FTSM vs TUSB

Lowest Volatility Alternatives to FTSM

FTSM has 0.49% 1-year volatility. There are 32 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%	99.95B	May 2020	FTSM vs SGOV
BIL	SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF	0.20%	47.03B	May 2007	FTSM vs BIL
TBLL	Invesco Short Term Treasury ETF	0.20%	2.87B	Jan 2017	FTSM vs TBLL
SHV	iShares 0-1 Year Treasury Bond ETF	0.21%	20.70B	Jan 2007	FTSM vs SHV
BILZ	PIMCO Ultra Short Government Active Exchange-Trade...	0.21%	1.03B	Jun 2023	FTSM vs BILZ

Lowest Drawdown Alternatives to FTSM

FTSM has a 1-year max drawdown of -0.12%. There are 27 ETFs in the Ultrashort Bond category with shallower 1-year drawdowns, going as shallow as -0.01%.

Symbol	Name	Max Drawdown 1Y	AUM	Inception
VBIL	Vanguard 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETF	-0.01%	9.40B	Feb 2025	FTSM vs VBIL
BIL	SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF	-0.01%	47.03B	May 2007	FTSM vs BIL
SGOV	iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF	-0.01%	99.95B	May 2020	FTSM vs SGOV
GBIL	Goldman Sachs Access Treasury 0-1 Year ETF	-0.02%	7.59B	Sep 2016	FTSM vs GBIL
TBIL	F/m US Treasury 3 Month Bill ETF	-0.02%	7.22B	Aug 2022	FTSM vs TBIL

Other ETFs from First Trust

The 10 most viewed First Trust ETFs shown here include CIBR, GRID, AIRR and span 16 categories. AUM among these funds goes as high as $25B.

Symbol	Name	Category	Risk / Return Rank	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
CIBR	First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF	Cybersecurity, Technology Equities	39	28.86%	14.31B	Jul 2015	FTSM vs CIBR
GRID	First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastru...	Infrastructure Equities, Alternative Energy Equities, Energy Equities	49	17.75%	11.67B	Nov 2009	FTSM vs GRID
AIRR	First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ET...	Building & Construction	54	19.12%	10.18B	Mar 2014	FTSM vs AIRR
NFTY	First Trust India NIFTY 50 Equal Weight ETF	India Equities, Equal Weight, Asia Pacific Equities	8	-5.91%	118.19M	Feb 2012	FTSM vs NFTY
FDL	First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fun...	Large Cap Value Equities, Dividend	92	18.16%	7.77B	Mar 2006	FTSM vs FDL
IGLD	FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF	Gold, Derivative Income, Precious Metals	25	-6.56%	514.13M	Mar 2021	FTSM vs IGLD
FTXL	First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF	Semiconductors, Technology Equities	91	67.20%	1.27B	Sep 2016	FTSM vs FTXL
TDIV	First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund	Technology Equities, Dividend	43	14.88%	4.18B	Aug 2012	FTSM vs TDIV
QCLN	First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index F...	Alternative Energy Equities, Energy Equities	39	10.48%	586.61M	Feb 2007	FTSM vs QCLN
RDVY	First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF	Dividend, Large Cap Blend Equities	85	17.25%	24.89B	Jan 2014	FTSM vs RDVY

Often Compared With FTSM

Investors most often compare FTSM with JSOSX, PIMIX, UCON. These 20 comparison targets span 11 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	1.44%	—	Oct 2008	FTSM vs JSOSX
PIMIX	PIMCO Income Fund Institutional Class	Multisector Bonds	52	0.23%	—	Mar 2007	FTSM vs PIMIX
UCON	First Trust TCW Unconstrained Plus Bond ETF	Nontraditional Bonds	48	0.17%	3.26B	Jun 2018	FTSM vs UCON
PARYX	Putnam Short Duration Bond Fund	Short-Term Bond	90	0.79%	—	Dec 2008	FTSM vs PARYX
JPST	JPMorgan Ultra-Short Income ETF	Ultrashort Bond	99	1.95%	40.48B	May 2017	FTSM vs JPST
PSDYX	Putnam Ultra Short Duration Income Fund	Ultrashort Bond	99	1.68%	—	Oct 2011	FTSM vs PSDYX
PSDSX	Palmer Square Ultra-Short Duration Investment Grad...	Ultrashort Bond, Investment Grade Bonds	98	1.39%	—	Oct 2016	FTSM vs PSDSX
DHEAX	Diamond Hill Short Duration Securitized Bond Fund	Short-Term Bond	99	2.33%	—	Jul 2016	FTSM vs DHEAX
GOVT	iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF	Government Bonds	23	-0.74%	43.55B	Feb 2012	FTSM vs GOVT
OPER	ClearShares Ultra-Short Maturity ETF	Ultrashort Bond	100	2.16%	105.39M	Jul 2018	FTSM vs OPER
AGG	iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF	Total Bond Market	29	-0.56%	137.11B	Sep 2003	FTSM vs AGG
SCHO	Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF	Government Bonds, Short-Term Bond	91	0.79%	12.86B	Aug 2010	FTSM vs SCHO
TSCM	TimesSquare Quality Mid Cap Growth ETF	Quality Factor, Mid Cap Growth Equities	—	1.88%	22.19M	Dec 2025	FTSM vs TSCM
USFR	WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund	Government Bonds, Ultrashort Bond	100	2.27%	18.13B	Feb 2014	FTSM vs USFR
ITOT	iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF	Large Cap Blend Equities	67	10.57%	94.34B	Jan 2004	FTSM vs ITOT
ICSH	iShares Ultra Short Duration Bond Active ETF	Ultrashort Bond	99	2.00%	8.14B	Dec 2013	FTSM vs ICSH
PULS	PGIM Ultra Short Bond ETF	Ultrashort Bond	99	2.36%	18.30B	Apr 2018	FTSM vs PULS
VNLA	Janus Henderson Short Duration Income ETF	Ultrashort Bond	99	2.08%	3.35B	Nov 2016	FTSM vs VNLA
JAAA	Janus Henderson AAA CLO ETF	CLO	99	2.60%	29.22B	Oct 2020	FTSM vs JAAA
GSY	Invesco Ultra Short Duration ETF	Ultrashort Bond	99	2.23%	3.91B	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