MGOV Alternatives & Similar ETFs

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

Cheapest Alternatives to MGOV

MGOV charges 0.65% annually. There are 82 ETFs in the Government Bonds category with lower expense ratios, going as low as 0.03%.

Symbol	Name	Expense Ratio	AUM	Inception
SPTB	State Street SPDR Portfolio Treasury ETF	0.03%	283.18M	May 2024	MGOV vs SPTB
VGIT	Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury ETF	0.03%	49.50B	Nov 2009	MGOV vs VGIT
XHLF	BondBloxx Bloomberg Six Month Target Duration US T...	0.03%	1.91B	Sep 2022	MGOV vs XHLF
VTG	Vanguard Total Treasury ETF	0.03%	122.30M	Jul 2025	MGOV vs VTG
VGSH	Vanguard Short-Term Treasury ETF	0.03%	33.90B	Nov 2009	MGOV vs VGSH

Best Risk-Adjusted Alternatives to MGOV

MGOV has a PortfoliosLab risk / return rank of 43. There are 29 ETFs in the Government Bonds category with higher risk-adjusted ranks, going as high as 100.

Symbol	Name	Risk / Return Rank	AUM	Inception
BIL	SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF	100	46.75B	May 2007	MGOV vs BIL
GBIL	Goldman Sachs Access Treasury 0-1 Year ETF	100	7.68B	Sep 2016	MGOV vs GBIL
SHV	iShares 0-1 Year Treasury Bond ETF	100	20.86B	Jan 2007	MGOV vs SHV
USFR	WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund	100	17.91B	Feb 2014	MGOV vs USFR
TFLO	iShares Treasury Floating Rate Bond ETF	100	6.55B	Feb 2014	MGOV vs TFLO

Top Performing MGOV Alternatives (YTD)

MGOV is at 0.46% YTD. There are 29 ETFs in the Government Bonds category with higher YTD returns, going as high as 2.86%.

Symbol	Name	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
BNDD	Quadratic Deflation ETF	2.86%	67.49M	Sep 2021	MGOV vs BNDD
GGOV	iShares Global Government Bond USD Hedged Active E...	2.65%	2.91B	Jun 2025	MGOV vs GGOV
BUCK	Simplify Treasury Option Income ETF	2.42%	474.96M	Oct 2022	MGOV vs BUCK
USFR	WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund	2.07%	17.91B	Feb 2014	MGOV vs USFR
TFLO	iShares Treasury Floating Rate Bond ETF	2.04%	6.55B	Feb 2014	MGOV vs TFLO

Lowest Volatility Alternatives to MGOV

MGOV has 4.45% 1-year volatility. There are 49 ETFs in the Government Bonds category with lower 1-year volatility, going as low as 0.20%.

Symbol	Name	Volatility 1Y	AUM	Inception
BIL	SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF	0.20%	46.75B	May 2007	MGOV vs BIL
SHV	iShares 0-1 Year Treasury Bond ETF	0.21%	20.86B	Jan 2007	MGOV vs SHV
GBIL	Goldman Sachs Access Treasury 0-1 Year ETF	0.23%	7.68B	Sep 2016	MGOV vs GBIL
USFR	WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund	0.27%	17.91B	Feb 2014	MGOV vs USFR
TFLO	iShares Treasury Floating Rate Bond ETF	0.29%	6.55B	Feb 2014	MGOV vs TFLO

Lowest Drawdown Alternatives to MGOV

MGOV has a 1-year max drawdown of -3.53%. There are 44 ETFs in the Government Bonds category with shallower 1-year drawdowns, going as shallow as -0.01%.

Symbol	Name	Max Drawdown 1Y	AUM	Inception
BIL	SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF	-0.01%	46.75B	May 2007	MGOV vs BIL
USFR	WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund	-0.02%	17.91B	Feb 2014	MGOV vs USFR
TFLO	iShares Treasury Floating Rate Bond ETF	-0.02%	6.55B	Feb 2014	MGOV vs TFLO
GBIL	Goldman Sachs Access Treasury 0-1 Year ETF	-0.02%	7.68B	Sep 2016	MGOV vs GBIL
SHV	iShares 0-1 Year Treasury Bond ETF	-0.03%	20.86B	Jan 2007	MGOV vs SHV

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	30.63%	14.26B	Jul 2015	MGOV vs CIBR
GRID	First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastru...	Alternative Energy Equities	58	19.90%	11.74B	Nov 2009	MGOV vs GRID
AIRR	First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ET...	Building & Construction	72	25.41%	10.80B	Mar 2014	MGOV vs AIRR
NFTY	First Trust India NIFTY 50 Equal Weight ETF	India Equities, Equal Weight, Asia Pacific Equities	4	-8.16%	132.86M	Feb 2012	MGOV vs NFTY
FDL	First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fun...	Large Cap Value Equities, Dividend	82	14.84%	7.48B	Mar 2006	MGOV vs FDL
IGLD	FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF	Gold, Derivative Income, Precious Metals	20	-6.87%	510.89M	Mar 2021	MGOV vs IGLD
FTXL	First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF	Semiconductors, Technology Equities	94	86.01%	2.46B	Sep 2016	MGOV vs FTXL
TDIV	First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund	Technology Equities, Dividend	36	14.50%	4.34B	Aug 2012	MGOV vs TDIV
QCLN	First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index F...	Alternative Energy Equities	54	22.86%	718.18M	Feb 2007	MGOV vs QCLN
KNG	FT Vest S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Target Income...	Dividend, S&P 500	32	6.78%	3.40B	Mar 2018	MGOV vs KNG

Often Compared With MGOV

Investors most often compare MGOV with LGOV, VETZ, TRSY. These 20 comparison targets span 6 categories, based on PortfoliosLab usage data.

Symbol	Name	Category	Risk / Return Rank	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
LGOV	First Trust Long Duration Opportunities ETF	Mortgage Backed Securities	24	-0.78%	633.28M	Jan 2019	MGOV vs LGOV
VETZ	Academy Veteran Bond ETF	Mortgage Backed Securities	42	0.55%	80.69M	Aug 2023	MGOV vs VETZ
TRSY	Xtrackers US 0-1 Year Treasury ETF	Government Bonds, Ultrashort Bond	99	1.86%	—	Oct 2024	MGOV vs TRSY
LDRT	iShares iBonds 1-5 Year Treasury Ladder ETF	Government Bonds, Short-Term Bond	59	0.99%	136.25M	Nov 2024	MGOV vs LDRT
FPAS	FPA Short Duration Government ETF	Government Bonds, Short-Term Bond	27	-0.58%	—	Oct 2024	MGOV vs FPAS
SPTS	SPDR Portfolio Short Term Treasury ETF	Government Bonds, Short-Term Bond	92	0.82%	6.07B	Nov 2011	MGOV vs SPTS
IBTJ	iShares iBonds Dec 2029 Term Treasury ETF	Government Bonds	51	0.30%	1.31B	Feb 2020	MGOV vs IBTJ
XFIV	BondBloxx Bloomberg Five Year Target Duration US T...	Government Bonds	28	-0.26%	421.17M	Sep 2022	MGOV vs XFIV
IBTH	iShares iBonds Dec 2027 Term Treasury ETF	Government Bonds	98	1.30%	2.21B	Feb 2020	MGOV vs IBTH
XTEN	BondBloxx Bloomberg Ten Year Target Duration US Tr...	Government Bonds	21	-0.67%	956.29M	Sep 2022	MGOV vs XTEN
XTRE	BondBloxx Bloomberg Three Year Target Duration US ...	Government Bonds	49	0.24%	179.55M	Sep 2022	MGOV vs XTRE
TLT	iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF	Government Bonds, Long-Term Bond	15	-1.16%	42.18B	Jul 2002	MGOV vs TLT
GSG	iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust	Commodities	57	35.21%	853.88M	Jul 2006	MGOV vs GSG
SPTL	SPDR Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF	Government Bonds, Long-Term Bond	17	-1.04%	10.53B	May 2007	MGOV vs SPTL
XONE	BondBloxx Bloomberg One Year Target Duration US Tr...	Government Bonds, Ultrashort Bond	99	1.50%	758.60M	Sep 2022	MGOV vs XONE
GOVI	Invesco Equal Weight 0-30 Year Treasury ETF	Government Bonds	19	-0.77%	1.23B	Oct 2007	MGOV vs GOVI
EDV	Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury ETF	Government Bonds, Long-Term Bond	12	-2.52%	4.30B	Dec 2007	MGOV vs EDV
SMBS	Schwab Mortgage-Backed Securities ETF	Mortgage Backed Securities	50	0.76%	—	Nov 2024	MGOV vs SMBS
SHY	iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF	Government Bonds, Short-Term Bond	89	0.76%	25.67B	Jul 2002	MGOV vs SHY
IBTF	iShares iBonds Dec 2025 Term Treasury ETF	Government Bonds	99	0.00%	1.42B	Feb 2020	MGOV vs IBTF

Compare MGOV with Any Fund or Stock

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

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Diversifiers

Pair MGOV with funds that move differently

First Trust Intermediate Government Opportunities ETF alternatives help with substitution. Diversifiers are the next step when you want funds with lower historical correlation to MGOV.

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First Trust Intermediate Government Opportunities ETF (MGOV) Alternatives