Returns Chart

First Trust Merger Arbitrage Fund I (VARBX) Total Return
Created with Highcharts 11.1.0Oct '24Jan '25Apr '25Jul '250.00%5.92%

Key Stats

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Net Expense Ratio Total Assets Under Management Weighted Average Dividend Yield Turnover Ratio (Generic)
1.84% 1.478B -- 403.0%
1 Year Fund Level Flows 1 Year Total Returns (Daily) Annualized Total Returns Since Inception (Daily) Max Drawdown (Since Inception)
-174.93M 5.92% Upgrade Upgrade

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
Broad Asset Class Alternative
Broad Category Alternative
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%

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Net Fund Flows Versus Peer Group

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1M
3M
6M
YTD
1Y
3Y
5Y
10Y
 
80.00B
60.00B
40.00B
20.00B
0
-20.00B
1 Month
% Rank: 5
-38.87M Peer Group Low
14.62M Peer Group High
1 Year
% Rank: 76
-174.93M
-711.77M Peer Group Low
254.44M Peer Group High
3 Months
% Rank: 82
-172.68M Peer Group Low
46.87M Peer Group High
3 Years
% Rank: 80
-4.988B Peer Group Low
236.70M Peer Group High
6 Months
% Rank: 70
-370.02M Peer Group Low
241.95M Peer Group High
5 Years
% Rank: 17
-1.707B Peer Group Low
994.92M Peer Group High
YTD
% Rank: 70
-370.02M Peer Group Low
241.95M Peer Group High
10 Years
% Rank: 11
-3.839B Peer Group Low
3.229B Peer Group High
Date Unavailable

Performance Versus Peer Group

 
20%
15%
10%
5%
0
Name
1M
3M
YTD
1Y
3Y
5Y
10Y
15Y
Total Return (NAV)
12.00%
12.00%
12.00%
12.00%
12.00%
12.00%
12.00%
12.00%
Peer Group Rtn. (NAV)
12.00%
12.00%
12.00%
12.00%
12.00%
12.00%
12.00%
12.00%
% Rank in Peer Group (NAV)
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
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Annual Total Returns Versus Peers

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Name
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
YTD
4.11%
4.27%
4.00%
5.43%
2.50%
3.30%
5.51%
3.51%
-9.41%
26.60%
16.25%
18.54%
-18.36%
22.20%
17.49%
10.85%
6.48%
7.34%
8.74%
5.32%
2.70%
6.75%
6.06%
3.19%
7.98%
6.32%
5.15%
0.10%
1.01%
4.51%
3.54%
5.20%
5.48%
7.29%
6.30%
1.94%
0.01%
5.37%
2.19%
5.90%
12.64%
11.51%
22.17%
-17.31%
-5.49%
6.98%
7.22%
3.35%
As of July 10, 2025.

Fundamentals

General
Distribution Yield --
Dividend Yield TTM (7-8-25) 2.56%
30-Day SEC Yield --
7-Day SEC Yield --
Stock
Weighted Average PE Ratio 32.97
Weighted Average Price to Sales Ratio 4.161
Weighted Average Price to Book Ratio 3.654
Weighted Median ROE 5.37%
Weighted Median ROA 1.89%
ROI (TTM) 2.77%
Return on Investment (TTM) 2.77%
Earning Yield 0.0374
LT Debt / Shareholders Equity 0.6855
Bond
Yield to Maturity (12-31-24) --
Average Coupon --
Calculated Average Quality 0.00
Effective Maturity --
Nominal Maturity --
As of December 31, 2024

Growth Metrics

EPS Growth (1Y) 9.53%
EPS Growth (3Y) -5.80%
EPS Growth (5Y) -1.53%
Sales Growth (1Y) 6.02%
Sales Growth (3Y) 14.31%
Sales Growth (5Y) 14.70%
Sales per Share Growth (1Y) 5.53%
Sales per Share Growth (3Y) 11.63%
Operating Cash Flow - Growth Ratge (3Y) -0.54%
As of December 31, 2024

Fund Details

Key Dates
Inception Date 3/31/2000
Last Annual Report Date 9/30/2024
Last Prospectus Date 1/31/2025
Share Classes
VARAX A
VARCX C
Attributes
Index Fund --
Inverse Fund --
Leveraged Fund --
Fund of Funds No
Currency Hedged Fund --
Synthetic Replication Fund No

Asset Allocation

Created with Highcharts 11.1.0
As of December 31, 2024.
Type % Net
Cash 9.85%
Stock 76.27%
Bond 10.15%
Convertible 0.00%
Preferred 0.00%
Other 3.73%
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Top 10 Holdings

Created with Highcharts 11.1.0
Name % Weight Price % Change
Morgan Stanley Inst Liq Govt Port Institutional 19.78% 1.00 0.00%
Smartsheet Inc ORD
8.07% -- --
Other Assets
6.59% -- --
Retail Opportunity Investments Corp ORD
5.47% -- --
Kellanova Co 4.20% 79.22 -0.16%
Heartland Financial USA Inc ORD
4.18% -- --
Ares Acquisition Corp II 3.15% 11.32 0.00%
Barnes Group Inc ORD
2.81% -- --
HashiCorp Inc ORD
2.11% -- --
Agriculture & Natural Solutions Acquisition Corp 2.04% 10.84 -0.05%

Fees & Availability

Fees
Actual 12B-1 Fee --
Actual Management Fee 1.25%
Administration Fee 1.51M%
Maximum Front Load --
Maximum Deferred Load --
Maximum Redemption Fee 1.00%
General Availability
Available for Insurance Product --
Available for RRSP --
Purchase Details
Open to New Investors Yes
Minimum Initial Investment 500000.0 None
Minimum Subsequent Investment 0.00 None

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
Broad Asset Class Alternative
Broad Category Alternative
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%

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Fundamentals

General
Distribution Yield --
Dividend Yield TTM (7-8-25) 2.56%
30-Day SEC Yield --
7-Day SEC Yield --
Stock
Weighted Average PE Ratio 32.97
Weighted Average Price to Sales Ratio 4.161
Weighted Average Price to Book Ratio 3.654
Weighted Median ROE 5.37%
Weighted Median ROA 1.89%
ROI (TTM) 2.77%
Return on Investment (TTM) 2.77%
Earning Yield 0.0374
LT Debt / Shareholders Equity 0.6855
Bond
Yield to Maturity (12-31-24) --
Average Coupon --
Calculated Average Quality 0.00
Effective Maturity --
Nominal Maturity --
As of December 31, 2024

Growth Metrics

EPS Growth (1Y) 9.53%
EPS Growth (3Y) -5.80%
EPS Growth (5Y) -1.53%
Sales Growth (1Y) 6.02%
Sales Growth (3Y) 14.31%
Sales Growth (5Y) 14.70%
Sales per Share Growth (1Y) 5.53%
Sales per Share Growth (3Y) 11.63%
Operating Cash Flow - Growth Ratge (3Y) -0.54%
As of December 31, 2024

Fund Details

Key Dates
Inception Date 3/31/2000
Last Annual Report Date 9/30/2024
Last Prospectus Date 1/31/2025
Share Classes
VARAX A
VARCX C
Attributes
Index Fund --
Inverse Fund --
Leveraged Fund --
Fund of Funds No
Currency Hedged Fund --
Synthetic Replication Fund No

Top Portfolio Holders

Name % Weight
Portfolio A 5.00%
Portfolio B 3.50%
Portfolio C 2.25%
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Excel Add-In Codes

Name: =YCI("M:VARBX", "name")
Broad Asset Class: =YCI("M:VARBX", "broad_asset_class")
Broad Category: =YCI("M:VARBX", "broad_category_group")
Prospectus Objective: =YCI("M:VARBX", "prospectus_objective")
To find the codes for any of our securities and financial metrics, see our Complete Excel Reference.
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