FAAR — First Trust Alternative Absolute Return Strategy ETF
Data updated: 2026-08-21
FAAR — First Trust Alternative Absolute Return Strategy ETF. Hedge-Fund Replication · $178.24M AUM. Holdings, fees, performance and SEC filings.
FAAR Fund Overview
FAAR — First Trust Alternative Absolute Return Strategy ETF is a US ETF managed by First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VII, categorised as Hedge-Fund Replication. ABC INVEST provides holdings, performance, costs, cashflows, risk data, prospectus documents and SEC filings, sourced from SEC filings.
- Type: US ETF
- Manager: First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VII
- Category: Hedge-Fund Replication
- Assets under management: $178.24M
- 1-year return: 26.7%
- Ticker: FAAR
- SEC CIK: 0001561785
- SEC series ID: S000053488
- Share class ID: C000168150
FAAR Holdings
Top 10 holdings of First Trust Alternative Absolute Return Strategy ETF by percentage of net assets, from the fund's latest SEC N-PORT filing.
| Holding | % of net assets |
|---|---|
| Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds | 28.79% |
| Dreyfus Government Cash Management Funds | 28.79% |
| United States Of America - Bureau Of The Public Debt | 11.19% |
| United States Of America - Bureau Of The Public Debt | 8.40% |
| United States Of America - Bureau Of The Public Debt | 8.37% |
| United States Of America - Bureau Of The Public Debt | 8.36% |
| Ice Futures U.s. | 0.40% |
| Board Of Trade Of The City Of Chicago, Inc. | 0.30% |
| The London Metal Exchange | 0.15% |
| Ice Futures U.s. | 0.10% |
FAAR Portfolio Allocation
Asset-class allocation of First Trust Alternative Absolute Return Strategy ETF by percentage of net assets, from the latest SEC N-PORT filing.
| Asset class | Allocation |
|---|---|
| Cash & Equivalents | 57.6% |
| Fixed Income | 36.3% |
FAAR Performance
Total returns for FAAR (as of 2026-09-01), from SEC filings.
| Period | Total return |
|---|---|
| YTD | 17.4% |
| 1 year | 26.7% |
| 3 years (annualised) | 9.9% |
| 5 years (annualised) | 7.1% |
FAAR Risk Information
Risk metrics for FAAR, derived from monthly returns in SEC filings.
- 1-year volatility (annualised): 16.7%
FAAR Costs and Fees
FAAR costs about $98 per $10,000 invested per year in fund expenses.
- Net expense ratio: 0.98%
- Gross expense ratio: 0.98%
- Portfolio turnover: 0%
- Brokerage commissions: 0.00 bps of average net assets (SEC N-CEN)
FAAR Cashflows
Over the 12 months to 2026-06, First Trust Alternative Absolute Return Strategy ETF had net inflows of $64.20M, from monthly SEC N-PORT filings.
| Month | Net flow |
|---|---|
| 2026-06 | $14.89M |
| 2026-05 | $10.17M |
| 2026-04 | −$8.39M |
| 2026-03 | $4.86M |
| 2026-02 | $4.47M |
| 2026-01 | $9.82M |
FAAR Debt Constituents
Largest debt holdings of First Trust Alternative Absolute Return Strategy ETF by percentage of net assets, from the latest SEC N-PORT filing.
| Debt holding | % of net assets |
|---|---|
| United States Of America - Bureau Of The Public Debt | 11.19% |
| United States Of America - Bureau Of The Public Debt | 8.40% |
| United States Of America - Bureau Of The Public Debt | 8.37% |
| United States Of America - Bureau Of The Public Debt | 8.36% |
FAAR Prospectus and SEC Filings
Official First Trust Alternative Absolute Return Strategy ETF filings on SEC EDGAR — prospectus, portfolio holdings and annual reports.
- Prospectus (485BPOS) — filed 2026-04-30
- Prospectus (485BPOS) — filed 2025-04-30
- Prospectus (485BPOS) — filed 2024-04-29
- Portfolio holdings (N-PORT) — filed 2026-08-21
- Portfolio holdings (N-PORT) — filed 2026-05-28
- Portfolio holdings (N-PORT) — filed 2026-02-23
- Annual census (N-CEN) — filed 2026-03-12
- Annual census (N-CEN) — filed 2025-03-11
Related Funds
Other Hedge-Fund Replication funds tracked on ABC INVEST:
Data Sources
ABC INVEST compiles this page from public filings made to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) through EDGAR: portfolio holdings and monthly cashflows from Form N-PORT, expenses and returns from fund prospectuses (Form 485BPOS) and the SEC DERA Risk/Return Summary data sets, annual data from Form N-CEN, and shareholder reports from Form N-CSR.