LDSF Alternatives & Similar ETFs

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

Cheapest Alternatives to LDSF

LDSF charges 0.87% annually. There are 61 ETFs in the Short-Term Bond category with lower expense ratios, going as low as 0.03%.

Symbol	Name	Expense Ratio	AUM	Inception
SPTS	SPDR Portfolio Short Term Treasury ETF	0.03%	6.07B	Nov 2011	LDSF vs SPTS
SCHO	Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF	0.03%	12.67B	Aug 2010	LDSF vs SCHO
BSV	Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund ETF Shares	0.03%	70.40B	Apr 2007	LDSF vs BSV
VGSH	Vanguard Short-Term Treasury ETF	0.03%	33.90B	Nov 2009	LDSF vs VGSH
BBSB	JPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Treasury Bond 1-3 Year ...	0.04%	55.13M	Apr 2023	LDSF vs BBSB

Best Risk-Adjusted Alternatives to LDSF

LDSF has a PortfoliosLab risk / return rank of 78. There are 34 ETFs in the Short-Term Bond category with higher risk-adjusted ranks, going as high as 99.

Symbol	Name	Risk / Return Rank	AUM	Inception
MYCF	State Street My2026 Corporate Bond ETF	99	46.25M	Sep 2024	LDSF vs MYCF
FLDR	Fidelity Low Duration Bond Factor ETF	98	1.91B	Jun 2018	LDSF vs FLDR
FLDB	Fidelity Low Duration Bond ETF	98	409.03M	Feb 2024	LDSF vs FLDB
MYCG	State Street My2027 Corporate Bond ETF	98	36.12M	Sep 2024	LDSF vs MYCG
DCRE	DoubleLine Commercial Real Estate ETF	97	452.76M	Mar 2023	LDSF vs DCRE

Top Performing LDSF Alternatives (YTD)

LDSF is at 0.95% YTD. There are 30 ETFs in the Short-Term Bond category with higher YTD returns, going as high as 2.38%.

Symbol	Name	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
DDV	Defined Duration 5 ETF	2.38%	—	Nov 2025	LDSF vs DDV
LODI	AAM SLC Low Duration Income ETF	2.24%	77.26M	Dec 2024	LDSF vs LODI
SJLD	SanJac Alpha Low Duration ETF	2.05%	1.52M	Sep 2024	LDSF vs SJLD
MYCF	State Street My2026 Corporate Bond ETF	2.03%	46.25M	Sep 2024	LDSF vs MYCF
FLDR	Fidelity Low Duration Bond Factor ETF	1.85%	1.91B	Jun 2018	LDSF vs FLDR

Lowest Volatility Alternatives to LDSF

LDSF has 2.06% 1-year volatility. There are 46 ETFs in the Short-Term Bond category with lower 1-year volatility, going as low as 0.60%.

Symbol	Name	Volatility 1Y	AUM	Inception
MYCF	State Street My2026 Corporate Bond ETF	0.60%	46.25M	Sep 2024	LDSF vs MYCF
FLDR	Fidelity Low Duration Bond Factor ETF	0.80%	1.91B	Jun 2018	LDSF vs FLDR
FLDB	Fidelity Low Duration Bond ETF	0.92%	409.03M	Feb 2024	LDSF vs FLDB
MYCG	State Street My2027 Corporate Bond ETF	0.95%	36.12M	Sep 2024	LDSF vs MYCG
TAXS	Northern Trust Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond ETF	0.98%	126.55M	Aug 2025	LDSF vs TAXS

Lowest Drawdown Alternatives to LDSF

LDSF has a 1-year max drawdown of -1.74%. There are 51 ETFs in the Short-Term Bond category with shallower 1-year drawdowns, going as shallow as -0.12%.

Symbol	Name	Max Drawdown 1Y	AUM	Inception
MYCF	State Street My2026 Corporate Bond ETF	-0.12%	46.25M	Sep 2024	LDSF vs MYCF
FLDB	Fidelity Low Duration Bond ETF	-0.17%	409.03M	Feb 2024	LDSF vs FLDB
MYCG	State Street My2027 Corporate Bond ETF	-0.45%	36.12M	Sep 2024	LDSF vs MYCG
FLDR	Fidelity Low Duration Bond Factor ETF	-0.47%	1.91B	Jun 2018	LDSF vs FLDR
DCRE	DoubleLine Commercial Real Estate ETF	-0.68%	452.76M	Mar 2023	LDSF vs DCRE

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	30	28.93%	14.26B	Jul 2015	LDSF vs CIBR
GRID	First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastru...	Alternative Energy Equities	61	21.35%	11.74B	Nov 2009	LDSF vs GRID
AIRR	First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ET...	Building & Construction	68	25.81%	10.80B	Mar 2014	LDSF vs AIRR
NFTY	First Trust India NIFTY 50 Equal Weight ETF	India Equities, Equal Weight, Asia Pacific Equities	4	-7.15%	132.86M	Feb 2012	LDSF vs NFTY
FDL	First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fun...	Large Cap Value Equities, Dividend	70	14.31%	7.48B	Mar 2006	LDSF vs FDL
IGLD	FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF	Gold, Derivative Income, Precious Metals	21	-5.84%	510.89M	Mar 2021	LDSF vs IGLD
FTXL	First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF	Semiconductors, Technology Equities	95	96.17%	2.46B	Sep 2016	LDSF vs FTXL
TDIV	First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund	Technology Equities, Dividend	45	19.14%	4.34B	Aug 2012	LDSF vs TDIV
QCLN	First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index F...	Alternative Energy Equities	59	24.93%	718.18M	Feb 2007	LDSF vs QCLN
KNG	FT Vest S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Target Income...	Dividend, S&P 500	30	8.22%	3.40B	Mar 2018	LDSF vs KNG

Often Compared With LDSF

Investors most often compare LDSF with HISF, FTCB, FMHI. These 20 comparison targets span 12 categories, based on PortfoliosLab usage data.

Symbol	Name	Category	Risk / Return Rank	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
HISF	First Trust High Income Strategic Focus ETF	Diversified Portfolio	41	0.18%	99.40M	Aug 2014	LDSF vs HISF
FTCB	First Trust Core Investment Grade ETF	Intermediate Core Bond	35	0.12%	2.54B	Nov 2023	LDSF vs FTCB
FMHI	First Trust Municipal High Income ETF	Municipal Bonds	90	3.15%	996.45M	Nov 2017	LDSF vs FMHI
FSIG	First Trust Limited Duration Investment Grade Corp...	Short-Term Bond	64	0.45%	1.51B	Nov 2021	LDSF vs FSIG
CAAA	First Trust Commercial Mortgage Opportunities ETF	Intermediate Core-Plus Bond	54	1.04%	35.44M	Feb 2024	LDSF vs CAAA
XMPT	VanEck CEF Municipal Income ETF	High Yield Muni	61	4.38%	223.14M	Jul 2011	LDSF vs XMPT
SGOV	iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF	Ultrashort Bond	100	1.90%	97.69B	May 2020	LDSF vs SGOV
VRIG	Invesco Variable Rate Investment Grade ETF	Ultrashort Bond	99	2.27%	1.75B	Sep 2016	LDSF vs VRIG
FXAIX	Fidelity 500 Index Fund	S&P 500	65	10.87%	—	Feb 1988	LDSF vs FXAIX
JPST	JPMorgan Ultra-Short Income ETF	Ultrashort Bond	99	1.77%	39.85B	May 2017	LDSF vs JPST
SLDR	Global X Short-Term Treasury Ladder ETF	Government Bonds, Short-Term Bond	85	0.55%	39.71M	Sep 2024	LDSF vs SLDR
SDCP	Virtus Newfleet Short Duration Core Plus Bond ETF	Short-Term Bond	94	1.47%	13.42M	Nov 2023	LDSF vs SDCP
LDUR	PIMCO Enhanced Low Duration Active ETF	Short-Term Bond	93	1.21%	1.37B	Jan 2014	LDSF vs LDUR
ZTWO	F/M 2-Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF	Short-Term Bond	93	1.21%	18.13M	Jan 2024	LDSF vs ZTWO
ROBT	First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence & Robot...	Technology Equities, Robotics	20	8.33%	733.99M	Feb 2018	LDSF vs ROBT
FCSH	Federated Hermes Short Duration Corporate ETF	Short-Term Bond	69	0.63%	64.60M	Dec 2021	LDSF vs FCSH
STOT	State Street DoubleLine Short Duration Total Retur...	Short-Term Bond	95	1.25%	477.48M	Apr 2016	LDSF vs STOT
USTB	VictoryShares Short-Term Bond ETF	Short-Term Bond	96	1.47%	2.24B	Oct 2017	LDSF vs USTB
ISTB	iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF	Short-Term Bond	76	0.63%	5.07B	Oct 2012	LDSF vs ISTB
LNGX	Global X U.S. Natural Gas ETF	Energy Equities	—	13.71%	44.86M	Oct 2025	LDSF vs LNGX

Compare LDSF with Any Fund or Stock

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

Symbol name

Diversifiers

Pair LDSF with funds that move differently

First Trust Low Duration Strategic Focus ETF alternatives help with substitution. Diversifiers are the next step when you want funds with lower historical correlation to LDSF.

Explore LDSF Diversifiers

First Trust Low Duration Strategic Focus ETF (LDSF) Alternatives