FTLS bid-ask spread and liquidity

First Trust Long/Short Equity
AlternativesFirst Trust$2.6bn net assets1.38% fee
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As of Oct 22, 2026, FTLS’s median bid-ask spread over 30 days was 0.23%.

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Ask IQ about FTLS bid-ask spread and liquidity

Answers cite the figures on this page.

OverviewDividendsTradingFlowsCompare

IQ Liquidity Score

2 of 6 measured · Oct 22, 2026
·
Not scored
0 · Hard to trade100 · Trades like a giant

The IQ Liquidity Score: a fixed 0 to 100 scale of trading conditions, the same anchors for every fund; 100 is the easiest to trade. It measures how cheaply and reliably the fund trades, not whether to own it. Method →

One dealer
Cost to trade
0.23% median spread, 30 days to Oct 22, 2026
47.0
Capacity
Not measured · no book of its holdings is read
·
Price fidelity
Not measured · 14 days of closing premium are held, under the 20 needed
·
Primary market
6 active dealers of 23; largest 83% of creations and redemptions, N-CEN to Oct 31, 2025
70.0
Bad-day behaviour
Not measured · 0 of the 10 worst days and 14 other days are held, under the 5 and 60 needed
·
Depth
Not measured · needs trade and quote data (Phase 2)
·

Cost for your order

One way, half its 30-day median spread; sizes above $10,000 are estimates
FTLS: cost for your order at each size, round trip
OrderDollarsPercentBasis
$1,000$1.150.12%spread
$10,000$120.12%spread

Spread 0.23% median, 30 days to Oct 22, 2026. Above $10,000 the cost adds an estimate of market impact that grows with the order against the holdings’ capacity; a patient limit pays less.

Premium or discount to value

Daily, 14 days to Oct 22, 2026 · the ±1% band marked
FTLS premium or discount to NAV, 14 days+1%0−1%Oct 2, 2026Oct 22, 2026
Latest close, Oct 22
−0.17%
95% of days within
±0.18%
Days more than 1% from NAV
0 of 14
Widest
−0.18%, Oct 20, 2026

Close against the NAV its issuer struck the same day, from the issuer. Source: ETFIQ.

Capacity

What the holdings can absorb a day

Not measured: no book of its holdings is read.

Dealers

Authorized participants · N-CEN, the year to Oct 31, 2025
Active dealers
6
of 23 authorized
Largest
83%
of creations and redemptions
One dealer
No
6 active

6 of 23 authorized participants created or redeemed FTLS shares in the year to Oct 31, 2025. From the fund’s Form N-CEN, filed Jan 13, 2026.

The active authorized participants, largest first, by share of the dollars created and redeemed: Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (83.0%), Jane Street Capital, LLC (7.6%), Virtu Americas LLC (5.9%), BofA Securities, Inc. (3.4%), RBC Capital Markets, LLC (0.1%), JP Morgan Securities, Inc. (0.1%). 17 more were listed and created or redeemed nothing.

How to trade FTLS

To buy or to sell, up to $100,000
Order type
Limit: midpoint + 9¢ to buy, midpoint − 9¢ to sell.At the Oct 22 close of $76.61, that’s $76.70 to buy and $76.52 to sell.
When
ETF spreads are usually widest in the first minutes after the open and the last before the close.
Watch
The premium. On 95% of days it is within ±0.18%; beyond that a buyer pays more, and a seller gets less, than the holdings are worth.
Phase 2 · drawn now, filled when trade data arrives
Spread through the dayComing with trade data

Median spread by half hour, 30 days.

Buyers against sellersComing with trade data

Share of volume at the ask against at the bid.

Retail flow, estimatedComing with trade data

Sub-penny prints as a share of volume.

Large tradesComing with trade data

Prints above $500k, count and share.

Closing auctionComing with trade data

Share of the day’s volume at the close.

Questions people ask

What is FTLS’s bid-ask spread?

0.23% of the midpoint, the median over the 30 days to Oct 22, 2026, as its issuer states it. Half of it is about 9¢ a share at the Oct 22 close.

Does FTLS trade at a premium or discount to NAV?

It closed −0.17% from its NAV on Oct 22, 2026. On 95% of the 14 days to then it was within ±0.18%, and it closed more than 1% from NAV on 0 of them.

Who is the AP for FTLS?

FTLS’s latest Form N-CEN, for the period ending Oct 31, 2025, lists 23 authorized participants (APs), and 6 created or redeemed shares. The largest were Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (83.0%), Jane Street Capital, LLC (7.6%), Virtu Americas LLC (5.9%) of the dollars its APs created and redeemed.

Who is the LMM for FTLS?

FTLS’s lead market maker (LMM) on NYSE Arca is Jane Street Capital, LLC. Lead market maker per NYSE Arca, as of Oct 23, 2026.

What does it cost to trade $10,000 of FTLS?

About $12 one way, 0.12%: half its 30-day median spread. In and out costs twice that.

How do I place a limit order for FTLS?

Set the limit at the midpoint + 9¢ to buy, or the midpoint − 9¢ to sell, in your broker’s quote. At the Oct 22 close of $76.61, that’s $76.70 to buy and $76.52 to sell.
Sources and dates
SpreadFirst Trust (fund page), 30-day median · to Oct 22, 2026
Premium to NAVETFIQ, close against the issuer’s NAV · Oct 2, 2026 to Oct 22, 2026
DealersForm N-CEN · the year to Oct 31, 2025
Where to next
ETF trading costs and liquidity→Cost-to-trade checker→Why low volume does not mean illiquidguide →Limit orders vs market orders for ETFsguide →How the IQ Liquidity Score is builtmethod →FTLS fund page→
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, FTLS trading: cost, capacity, premium and dealers, data as of Oct 22, 2026. https://etfiq.com/funds/ftls/trading/

Open data →

The score measures trading conditions, not the fund. ETFIQ makes no recommendations.