This week saw a change to the First Trust International Model. Sell FKU and buy FPA.

This week saw a change to the First Trust International Model, marking the first trade to the model in 2026. The portfolio sold the First Trust United Kingdom Alphadex Fund (FKU) as it fell sufficiently out of favor against the other members of the inventory. In its place, the model purchased the First Trust Asia Pacific Ex-Japan AlphaDEX Fund (FPA), as it was the next highest ranked fund that was not already held in the portfolio. FPA joining the portfolio helps diversify the holdings, now leaving it at a target of 40% Asia through FPA and China (FCA). The remaining 60% focuses on European equities through Europe (FEP), Eurozone (FEUZ), and Germany (FGM).

FPA enters the portfolio after already posting a year-to-date gain of 16.33%, far outpacing the broad international benchmark ACWX and the First Trust International Model, which have returned 2% and 1.8%, respectively. However, FPA saw some sharp pullbacks from overbought territory in recent weeks, moving from north of 150% overbought in late February to its current position below the middle of its trading band. This offers new positions a better entry point into a name with strong momentum.

This weekly overview is designed to be used as a "radar" screen to bring your attention to potentially important technical changes that may require your attention and potential action. When evaluating the Fund Score, the strongest issues have scores of 4 or higher while those ETFs with scores below a 3 are no longer considered solid citizens.

The ETFs with the most relative strength buy signals (suggesting outperformance) versus the others in the group are listed at the top. These ETFs should be overweighted in the portfolio. Those ETFs with the least amount of relative strength buy signals versus the others in the group are listed at the bottom. These ETFs should be underweighted in the portfolio.

The First Trust ETF Portfolios are designed to identify major sector themes in the market place through the use of the Point & Figure relative strength tools. For more information on the portfolio construction and back testing, see the model info file on the models page.  To enter a portfolio amount and see shares to be purchased as well as modify the portfolio to your specifications, click here. (Note: The First Trust ETF Portfolios will be updated Wednesday mornings by 9:30 am EST) 

Weekly Changes: 

* - Dates prior to 1/9/2008, which is when the First Trust Sector ETF Model Portfolio became available in the First Trust Weekly ETF Report, are representative of when the position was added to the backtested model.

* - The next evaluation date for the Focus Five Model is Wednesday         .Dates prior to 10/20/2009, which is when the First Trust Focus Five ETF Model Portfolio became available in the First Trust Weekly ETF Report, are representative of when the position was added to the backtested model.

* - The next evaluation date for the Thematic Focus Five Model is Wednesday         .Dates prior to 9/13/2023, which is when the First Trust Thematic Focus Five ETF Model Portfolio became available in the First Trust Weekly ETF Report, are representative of when the position was added to the backtested model.

* - The next evaluation date for the International Focus Five Model is Wednesday         .Dates prior to 2/22/2012, which is when the First Trust International Focus Five ETF Model Portfolio became available in the First Trust Weekly ETF Report, are representative of when the position was added to the backtested model.

Am I better off owning the managed mutual fund or the unmanaged ETF? The table below will help you answer that question. For each of the nine major asset classes and sectors, see the Top 20 mutual funds in NAV compared to the First Trust Universe of ETFs. The results are ordered by Fund Score, from highest to lowest. The Fund Score is a snapshot of the overall health of the fund based upon relative strength versus the broad market, relative strength versus its peers, and other trend measures. Those ETFs and Funds with a score above 3 are considered solid citizens with those having scores of 4 and above ideal candidates for purchase. Those ETFs and Funds with a score below 3 should be examined closer from a technical basis as they are not holding their ground versus the market and their peer group.
 

(Click any link above to see the Fund Score of the First Trust ETFs and the funds with the largest Net Assets in that category)