- ISIN
- US33740F8885
- CUSIP
- 33740F888
- Issuer
- First Trust
- Inception Date
- Jun 4, 2018
- Region
- Global (Broad)
- Category
- Nontraditional Bonds
- Leveraged
- 1x (No leverage)
- Index Tracked
- No Index (Active)
- Distribution Policy
- Distributing
- Asset Class
- Bond
- Assets Under Management
- $3B
Highlights
- Avg. Volume (1M)
- 494K
- Avg. Volume Value (1M)
- $12.19M
Share Price Chart
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Performance
UCON Performance Chart
First Trust TCW Unconstrained Plus Bond ETF (UCON) is up 0.2% since the beginning of the year. UCON is currently trading at $25 per share. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of UCON shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,138.
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Compare this symbol against anything
Returns By Period
First Trust TCW Unconstrained Plus Bond ETF (UCON) has returned 0.17% so far this year and 3.17% over the past 12 months.
First Trust TCW Unconstrained Plus Bond ETF
- 1D
- -0.08%
- 1M
- -0.90%
- 6M
- -0.03%
- YTD
- 0.17%
- 1Y
- 3.17%
- 3Y*
- 5.26%
- 5Y*
- 2.62%
- 10Y*
- —
- ALL TIME*
- 3.58%
Benchmark (S&P 500 Index)
- 1D
- 0.70%
- 1M
- 0.09%
- 6M
- 7.94%
- YTD
- 9.41%
- 1Y
- 20.07%
- 3Y*
- 17.84%
- 5Y*
- 11.25%
- 10Y*
- 13.26%
- ALL TIME*
- 8.09%
UCON Monthly Returns History
Based on dividend-adjusted daily data since Jun 5, 2018, UCON's average daily return is +0.01%, while the average monthly return is +0.30%. At this rate, an investment would double in approximately 19.3 years.
Historically, 72% of months were positive and 28% were negative. The best month was Apr 2020 with a return of +3.7%, while the worst month was Mar 2020 at -7.1%. The longest winning streak lasted 11 consecutive months, and the longest losing streak was 4 months.
On a daily basis, UCON closed higher 50% of trading days. The best single day was Mar 19, 2020 with a return of +3.4%, while the worst single day was Mar 18, 2020 at -9.9%.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 0.20% | 0.96% | -1.66% | 0.85% | 0.55% | 0.18% | -0.87% | 0.17% | |||||
| 2025 | 0.59% | 1.20% | -0.24% | 0.29% | 0.29% | 1.09% | 0.14% | 0.99% | 1.22% | 0.48% | 0.68% | 0.08% | 7.00% |
| 2024 | 0.49% | -0.65% | 0.86% | -1.38% | 1.26% | 0.76% | 1.70% | 1.31% | 1.02% | -1.26% | 0.75% | -0.22% | 4.69% |
| 2023 | 2.28% | -1.83% | 1.14% | 1.84% | -0.59% | -0.35% | 1.22% | 0.17% | -1.20% | -0.54% | 2.83% | 2.60% | 7.72% |
| 2022 | -0.82% | -0.94% | -1.06% | -1.55% | 0.31% | -2.39% | 1.96% | -0.62% | -3.19% | -0.19% | 2.73% | 0.02% | -5.72% |
| 2021 | 0.28% | -0.02% | 0.15% | 0.18% | 0.24% | 0.24% | 0.07% | 0.08% | 0.11% | -0.28% | -0.34% | 0.31% | 1.02% |
Benchmark Metrics
First Trust TCW Unconstrained Plus Bond ETF has an annualized alpha of 2.81%, beta of 0.07, and R2 of 0.05 versus S&P 500 Index. Calculated based on daily prices since June 05, 2018.
- This ETF participated in 17.63% of S&P 500 Index downside but only 16.65% of its upside - more exposed to losses than it benefited from rallies.
- Beta of 0.07 may look defensive, but with R2 of 0.05 this ETF is largely uncorrelated with S&P 500 Index - low beta reflects independence, not downside protection. See the Volatility section for a true picture of this ETF's risk.
- R2 of 0.05 means this ETF moves largely independently of S&P 500 Index - capture ratios reflect limited market correlation rather than active downside protection. Consider using a more representative benchmark.
- Alpha
- 2.81%
- Beta
- 0.07
- R²
- 0.05
- Upside Capture
- 16.65%
- Downside Capture
- 17.63%
Expense Ratio
UCON has an expense ratio of 0.86%, placing it in the medium range.
Return for Risk
Risk / Return Rank
UCON ranks 47 for risk / return — above 47% of ETFs peers on PortfoliosLab. Its historical combined result is near the middle of the peer group.
Risk / Return Metrics
The table below present risk-adjusted performance metrics for First Trust TCW Unconstrained Plus Bond ETF (UCON) and compare them to S&P 500 Index.
Values are calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. Risk-adjusted metrics are more stable over longer periods — use the period switch above to explore them.
| UCON | Benchmark | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sharpe ratioReturn per unit of total volatility | -0.18 | ||
| Sortino ratioReturn per unit of downside risk | -0.21 | ||
| Omega ratioGain probability vs. loss probability | 1.22 | 1.25 | -0.03 |
| Calmar ratioReturn relative to maximum drawdown | 1.50 | 2.00 | -0.50 |
| Martin ratioReturn relative to average drawdown | 5.42 | 8.49 | -3.07 |
Dividends
Dividend History
First Trust TCW Unconstrained Plus Bond ETF provided a 4.74% dividend yield over the last twelve months, with an annual payout of $1.17 per share.
| Period | TTM | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dividend | $1.17 | $1.17 | $1.22 | $1.18 | $0.75 | $0.58 | $0.84 | $0.84 | $0.44 |
Dividend yield | 4.74% | 4.63% | 4.95% | 4.75% | 3.12% | 2.20% | 3.14% | 3.25% | 1.76% |
Monthly Dividends
The table displays the monthly dividend distributions for First Trust TCW Unconstrained Plus Bond ETF. The dividends shown in the table have been adjusted to account for any splits that may have occurred.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $0.09 | $0.09 | $0.09 | $0.09 | $0.10 | $0.10 | $0.10 | $0.65 | |||||
| 2025 | $0.10 | $0.10 | $0.09 | $0.09 | $0.09 | $0.09 | $0.10 | $0.10 | $0.10 | $0.11 | $0.11 | $0.11 | $1.17 |
| 2024 | $0.11 | $0.10 | $0.10 | $0.10 | $0.10 | $0.10 | $0.11 | $0.11 | $0.11 | $0.11 | $0.10 | $0.10 | $1.22 |
| 2023 | $0.10 | $0.09 | $0.09 | $0.09 | $0.09 | $0.09 | $0.10 | $0.11 | $0.11 | $0.11 | $0.11 | $0.11 | $1.18 |
| 2022 | $0.04 | $0.04 | $0.04 | $0.04 | $0.04 | $0.04 | $0.05 | $0.09 | $0.09 | $0.09 | $0.12 | $0.12 | $0.75 |
| 2021 | $0.05 | $0.05 | $0.05 | $0.05 | $0.05 | $0.05 | $0.05 | $0.05 | $0.05 | $0.05 | $0.04 | $0.04 | $0.58 |
Drawdowns
Drawdowns Chart
The Drawdowns chart displays portfolio losses from any high point along the way. Drawdowns are calculated considering price movements and all distributions paid, if any.
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Worst Drawdowns
The table below displays the maximum drawdowns of the First Trust TCW Unconstrained Plus Bond ETF. A maximum drawdown is a measure of risk, indicating the largest reduction in portfolio value due to a series of losing trades.
The maximum drawdown for the First Trust TCW Unconstrained Plus Bond ETF was 15.31%, occurring on Mar 18, 2020. Recovery took 71 trading sessions.
The current First Trust TCW Unconstrained Plus Bond ETF drawdown is 1.06%.
Drawdown | Fall | Recovery | Underwater | Related event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
-15.31%Mar 2020 | 12d | 3mo 13d | 3mo 25dMar 2020 - Jun 2020 | COVID crash2020 |
-9.60%Oct 2022 | 1y 1mo | 1y 1mo | 2y 2moSep 2021 - Dec 2023 | Bear market2022 |
-2.45%Mar 2026 | 27d | 3mo 5d | 4mo 2dFeb 2026 - Jun 2026 | — |
-1.70%Apr 2024 | 2mo 14d | 29d | 3mo 13dFeb 2024 - May 2024 | — |
-1.67%Nov 2024 | 1mo 7d | 3mo 25d | 5mo 2dSep 2024 - Feb 2025 | — |
Drawdown Indicators
| UCON | Benchmark | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
Max DrawdownLargest peak-to-trough decline | -15.31% | -56.78% | +41.47% |
Max Drawdown (1Y)Largest decline over 1 year | -2.45% | -9.10% | +6.65% |
Max Drawdown (3Y)Largest decline over 3 years | -2.85% | -18.90% | +16.05% |
Max Drawdown (5Y)Largest decline over 5 years | -9.60% | -25.43% | +15.83% |
Max Drawdown (10Y)Largest decline over 10 years | — | -33.92% | — |
Current DrawdownCurrent decline from peak | -1.06% | -1.58% | +0.52% |
Average DrawdownAverage peak-to-trough decline | -1.46% | -10.70% | +9.24% |
Ulcer IndexDepth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks | 0.68% | 2.14% | -1.46% |
Volatility
Volatility Chart
The chart below shows the rolling one-month volatility.
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