Which returned more over the last year, FDL or FTCS?

In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FDL returned +20.6% and FTCS +4.1%.

Which is cheaper, FDL or FTCS?

FDL is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do FDL and FTCS overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 93% of FDL and 100% of FTCS by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

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FDL vs FTCS: Differences, Returns & Fees

FDL and FTCS hold 3% of their weight in the same names, and FDL returned +20.6% over the year. Net assets on Oct 9, 2026: $7.7bn for First Trust Morningstar ETF and $7.5bn for First Trust Capital Strength ETF.

FDL costs 0.10 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 16.5 points.

FDL vs FTCS: Differences, Returns & Fees
	FDL	FTCS
Expense ratio	0.43%	0.53%
Net assets	$7.7bn	$7.5bn
Total return, 1 year	+20.6%	+4.1%
What it tracks	Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index	Capital Strength Index
Holdings in common	3%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	50.4%	22.6%
Below its high	5.9%, high on Aug 24, 2026	6.1%, high on Aug 24, 2026

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 9, 2026.

+20.6%

FDL total return, 1 year

+4.1%

FTCS total return, 1 year

0.43%

FDL expense ratio

0.53%

FTCS expense ratio

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, FDL and FTCS hold 3% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Oct 9, 2026.

50%

half

3% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first

Holding FDL FTCS

PepsiCo, Inc. 4.97% 1.86%

Paychex, Inc. 0.87% 1.84%

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. 0.71% 1.81%

Only in FDL

Chevron Corporation 9.08%

Philip Morris International Inc. 6.77%

Verizon Communications Inc. 6.56%

Pfizer Inc. 6.55%

Altria Group, Inc. 4.95%

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company 3.06%

United Parcel Service, Inc. (Class B) 3.04%

Accenture plc 3.00%

Only in FTCS

ResMed Inc. 2.34%

CME Group Inc. 2.32%

Merck & Co., Inc. 2.31%

Airbnb, Inc. (Class A) 2.30%

Amgen Inc. 2.29%

Gilead Sciences, Inc. 2.28%

Mastercard Incorporated 2.19%

Garmin Ltd. 2.18%

Check overlap with more funds →

On the same fields

FDL

First Trust Morningstar ETF

FTCS

First Trust Capital Strength ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer First Trust First Trust

What it is Tracks an index Tracks an index

Total return, 1 year +20.6% +4.1%

Expense ratio 0.43% 0.53%

Already in the S&P 500 93.3% 99.9%

Holdings 100 50

Net assets $7.7bn $7.5bn

FDL and FTCS on the fields both publish, as of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

About FDL

FDL tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +20.6% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.43% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 9, 2026, 93% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 100 positions, with the top ten at 50.4%. It sat 5.9% below its high of Aug 24, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.

About FTCS

FTCS tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +4.1% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.53% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 9, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 50 positions, with the top ten at 22.6%. It sat 6.1% below its high of Aug 24, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, FDL or FTCS?: In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FDL returned +20.6% and FTCS +4.1%.
Which is cheaper, FDL or FTCS?: FDL is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do FDL and FTCS overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 93% of FDL and 100% of FTCS by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

FDL vs JAVA FDL vs SPYD FDL vs SPLV FDL vs VOOV FTCS vs PRF FTCS vs NULV FTCS vs SCHD FTCS vs VTV

FDL on its own →FTCS on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

FDL and FTCS filings on SEC EDGAR ↗FDL and FTCS prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗First Trust page for FDL ↗First Trust page for FTCS ↗

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, FDL against FTCS, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fdl-vs-ftcs

Open data

Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.