VARCX — First Trust Merger Arbitrage Fund
Data updated: 2026-05-22
VARCX — First Trust Merger Arbitrage Fund data: holdings, portfolio allocation, expenses, performance, cashflows, risk and SEC filings. United States Large Cap Blend / Core Equity · $1.58B AUM · 2.80% expense ratio · 4.4% 1-yr return. From SEC regulatory filings.
VARCX Fund Overview
VARCX — First Trust Merger Arbitrage Fund is a US mutual fund managed by Investment Managers Series Trust II, categorised as United States Large Cap Blend / Core Equity. ABC INVEST provides holdings, performance, costs, cashflows, risk data, prospectus documents and SEC filings, sourced from SEC filings.
- Type: US mutual fund
- Manager: Investment Managers Series Trust II
- Category: United States Large Cap Blend / Core Equity
- Assets under management: $1.58B
- 1-year return: 4.4%
- Ticker: VARCX
- SEC CIK: 0001587982
- SEC series ID: S000048195
- Share class ID: C000248222
VARCX Holdings
Top 10 holdings of First Trust Merger Arbitrage Fund by percentage of net assets, from the fund's latest SEC N-PORT filing.
| Holding | % of net assets |
|---|---|
| Chart Industries Inc | 7.06% |
| Hologic Inc | 5.35% |
| Sealed Air Corp | 5.32% |
| Masimo Corp | 4.53% |
| Electronic Arts Inc | 4.39% |
| Tri Pointe Homes Inc | 3.98% |
| National Storage Affiliates Tr | 3.70% |
| Air Lease Corp | 3.36% |
| Clearwater Analytics Holdings | 2.69% |
| Terns Pharmaceuticals Inc | 2.58% |
VARCX Portfolio Allocation
Asset-class allocation of First Trust Merger Arbitrage Fund by percentage of net assets, from the latest SEC N-PORT filing.
| Asset class | Allocation |
|---|---|
| Equity | 92.4% |
| Other | 8.6% |
| Cash & Equivalents | 0.6% |
| Derivatives | 0.1% |
VARCX Performance
Total returns for VARCX (as of 2026-08-01), from SEC filings.
| Period | Total return |
|---|---|
| YTD | 0.6% |
| 1 year | 4.4% |
| 3 years (annualised) | 4.4% |
VARCX Risk Information
Risk metrics for VARCX, derived from monthly returns in SEC filings.
- 1-year volatility (annualised): 1.1%
VARCX Costs and Fees
VARCX costs about $280 per $10,000 invested per year in fund expenses.
- Net expense ratio: 2.80%
- Gross expense ratio: 2.80%
- Portfolio turnover: 293%
- Brokerage commissions: 13.02 bps of average net assets (SEC N-CEN)
VARCX Cashflows
Over the 12 months to 2026-03, First Trust Merger Arbitrage Fund had net inflows of $85.41M, from monthly SEC N-PORT filings.
| Month | Net flow |
|---|---|
| 2026-03 | $10.31M |
| 2026-02 | −$4.51M |
| 2026-01 | −$438.35K |
| 2025-12 | $65.40M |
| 2025-11 | $16.42M |
| 2025-10 | $16.91M |
VARCX Debt Constituents
No individual debt constituents are reported in First Trust Merger Arbitrage Fund's latest SEC N-PORT filing.
VARCX Prospectus and SEC Filings
Official First Trust Merger Arbitrage Fund filings on SEC EDGAR — prospectus, portfolio holdings and annual reports.
Related Funds
Other United States Large Cap Blend / Core Equity 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.