First Trust Merger Arbitrage Fund A (VARAX)
10.63
+0.01
(+0.09%)
USD |
Oct 05 2026
Returns Chart
Key Stats
| Net Expense Ratio | Total Assets Under Management | Weighted Average Dividend Yield | Turnover Ratio (Generic) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.07% | 1.662B | -- | 293.0% |
| 1 Year Fund Level Flows | 1 Year Total Returns (Daily) | Annualized Total Returns Since Inception (Daily) | Max Drawdown (Since Inception) |
| 49.47M | 4.21% |
Basic Info
| Investment Strategy | |
| The Fund seeks returns that are largely uncorrelated with the returns of the general stock market, and capital appreciation. The Fund primarily invests in equity securities (publicly-traded common stock and preferred stock) of companies that are involved in a significant corporate event, such as a merger or acquisition. |
| General | |
| Security Type | Mutual Fund |
| Equity Style | -- |
| Broad Asset Class | Alternative |
| Broad Category | Alternative Strategies |
| Global Peer Group | Alternative Event Driven |
| Peer Group | Alternative Event Driven Funds |
| Global Macro | Alternative Equity |
| US Macro | Alternative Equity Funds |
| YCharts Categorization | -- |
| YCharts Benchmark | -- |
| Prospectus Objective | Alternative Event Driven Funds |
| Fund Owner Firm Name | First Trust |
| Broad Asset Class Benchmark Index | |
| ^MSACWINTR | 100.0% |
Net Fund Flows Versus Peer Group
1 Month
% Rank:
23
-41.23M
Peer Group Low
24.93M
Peer Group High
1 Year
% Rank:
23
49.47M
-331.98M
Peer Group Low
477.29M
Peer Group High
3 Months
% Rank:
60
-188.66M
Peer Group Low
75.55M
Peer Group High
3 Years
% Rank:
87
-2.014B
Peer Group Low
567.52M
Peer Group High
6 Months
% Rank:
28
-204.33M
Peer Group Low
159.77M
Peer Group High
5 Years
% Rank:
13
-4.701B
Peer Group Low
1.060B
Peer Group High
YTD
% Rank:
29
-115.52M
Peer Group Low
367.25M
Peer Group High
10 Years
% Rank:
24
-2.067B
Peer Group Low
3.037B
Peer Group High
Date Unavailable
Risk
Performance Versus Peer Group
Annual Total Returns Versus Peers
As of October 07, 2026.
Asset Allocation
As of March 31, 2026.
| Type | % Net |
|---|---|
| Cash | 0.65% |
| Stock | 92.67% |
| Bond | 0.00% |
| Convertible | 0.00% |
| Preferred | 0.00% |
| Other | 6.68% |
Top 10 Holdings
| Name | % Weight | Price | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Other Assets less Liabilities
|
11.47% | -- | -- |
|
Taylor Morrison Home Corp ORD
|
11.29% | -- | -- |
|
Chart Industries Inc ORD
|
9.47% | -- | -- |
|
ARC Resources Ltd ORD
|
5.83% | -- | -- |
|
Nuvalent, Inc ORD
|
5.42% | -- | -- |
|
National Storage Affiliates Trust ORD
|
4.82% | -- | -- |
| Morgan Stanley Inst Liq Govt Port Institutional | 4.46% | 1.00 | 0.00% |
|
Apogee Therapeutics Inc ORD
|
4.35% | -- | -- |
|
Sila Realty Trust Inc ORD
|
3.91% | -- | -- |
|
Webster Financial Corp ORD
|
3.40% | -- | -- |
Fees & Availability
| Fees | |
| Actual 12B-1 Fee | 0.25% |
| Actual Management Fee | 1.25% |
| Administration Fee | 59322.00 None |
| Maximum Front Load | 4.50% |
| Maximum Deferred Load | -- |
| Maximum Redemption Fee | 1.00% |
| General Availability | |
| Available for Insurance Product | -- |
| Available for RRSP | -- |
| Purchase Details | |
| Open to New Investors |
|
| Minimum Initial Investment | 1000.00 None |
| Minimum Subsequent Investment | 50.00 None |
TTM Distributions
| Type | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Qualified Income
|
-- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
|
Normal
|
-- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
|
Qualified
|
-- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
|
LT Cap Gains
|
-- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
|
Ordinary Income
|
-- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
|
Non-Qual
|
-- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
|
ST Cap Gains
|
-- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
|
Interest
|
-- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
|
Tax-Exempt
|
-- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
|
ROC
|
-- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
|
Other
|
-- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
|
Total
|
-- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
As of September 30, 2026.
Basic Info
| Investment Strategy | |
| The Fund seeks returns that are largely uncorrelated with the returns of the general stock market, and capital appreciation. The Fund primarily invests in equity securities (publicly-traded common stock and preferred stock) of companies that are involved in a significant corporate event, such as a merger or acquisition. |
| General | |
| Security Type | Mutual Fund |
| Equity Style | -- |
| Broad Asset Class | Alternative |
| Broad Category | Alternative Strategies |
| Global Peer Group | Alternative Event Driven |
| Peer Group | Alternative Event Driven Funds |
| Global Macro | Alternative Equity |
| US Macro | Alternative Equity Funds |
| YCharts Categorization | -- |
| YCharts Benchmark | -- |
| Prospectus Objective | Alternative Event Driven Funds |
| Fund Owner Firm Name | First Trust |
| Broad Asset Class Benchmark Index | |
| ^MSACWINTR | 100.0% |
Fundamentals
| General | |
| Distribution Yield | -- |
| Dividend Yield TTM (10-5-26) | 3.24% |
| 30-Day SEC Yield | -- |
| 7-Day SEC Yield | -- |
| Number of Holdings | 206 |
| Stock | |
| Weighted Average PE Ratio | 36.16 |
| Weighted Average Price to Sales Ratio | 5.569 |
| Weighted Average Price to Book Ratio | 4.295 |
| Weighted Median ROE | 6.15% |
| Weighted Median ROA | 1.23% |
| Return on Investment (TTM) | 2.47% |
| Earning Yield | 0.0409 |
| LT Debt / Shareholders Equity | 1.073 |
| Number of Equity Holdings | 168 |
As of March 31, 2026
Growth Metrics
| EPS Growth (1Y) | 19.77% |
| EPS Growth (3Y) | -10.42% |
| EPS Growth (5Y) | 1.69% |
| Sales Growth (1Y) | 4.81% |
| Sales Growth (3Y) | 9.00% |
| Sales Growth (5Y) | 10.96% |
| Sales per Share Growth (1Y) | 3.73% |
| Sales per Share Growth (3Y) | 9.08% |
| Operating Cash Flow - Growth Rate (3Y) | 15.56% |
As of March 31, 2026
Fund Details
Top Portfolio Holders
| Name | % Weight |
|---|---|
| Portfolio A | 5.00% |
| Portfolio B | 3.50% |
| Portfolio C | 2.25% |
Excel Add-In Codes
| Name: =YCI("M:VARAX", "name") |
| Broad Asset Class: =YCI("M:VARAX", "broad_asset_class") |
| Broad Category: =YCI("M:VARAX", "broad_category_group") |
| Prospectus Objective: =YCI("M:VARAX", "prospectus_objective") |
| To find the codes for any of our securities and financial metrics, see our Complete Excel Reference. |