First Trust Water ETF

FIW

Market cap $1.95B

FIW is comprised of 36 companies operating in the potable and wastewater industry. Its expense ratio is 0.51%, and the ETF has $1.92B in assets under management. FIW has outperformed the S&P 500 Index over the last decade, but it's struggled recently. My last analysis in November urged caution based on high valuation and weak earnings momentum. This article provides an update to those fundamentals and highlights how FIW's valuation has improved. With growth rates staying stable, FIW's forward P/E dropped by 6%.

The First Trust Water ETF (FIW) was launched on May 8, 2007, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Industrials - Water segment of the equity market.

Designed to provide broad exposure to the Industrials - Water segment of the equity market, the First Trust Water ETF (FIW) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 05/08/2007.

FIW is the top-performing water-themed ETF over the past decade, even rivaling the S&P 500 from the perspective of long-term returns. While water as an ETF theme is imperfect, FIW offers the purest economic exposure to the water sector available to investors. I rate FIW a hold, due to intrinsic challenges in capturing true water exposure, some poorly calibrated holdings, and more attractive long-term opportunities in other market sectors.

If you're interested in broad exposure to the Industrials - Water segment of the equity market, look no further than the First Trust Water ETF (FIW), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 05/08/2007.

Looking for broad exposure to the Industrials - Water segment of the equity market? You should consider the First Trust Water ETF (FIW), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 05/08/2007.

Launched on 05/08/2007, the First Trust Water ETF (FIW) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Industrials - Water segment of the equity market.

Looking for broad exposure to the Industrials - Water segment of the equity market? You should consider the First Trust Water ETF (FIW), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 05/08/2007.

FIW holds 36 companies involved in the potable and wastewater industry. It's well established with $1.84 billion in AUM, but its 0.53% expense ratio is on the high end. Valuation is also concerning. FIW trades at 24.28 forward earnings and only offers 10.01% estimated earnings growth, both of which are worse than XLI, the broad-based Industrials sector ETF. I also found FIW's earnings momentum underwhelming. On average, its components delivered only a 3.47% earnings surprise last quarter.

My investment strategy focuses on generating income from dividends and distributions, supplemented by writing covered calls and cash-secured puts. More broadly, I hold a mix of high-yield and dividend-growth investments, with the approach of both receiving high cash flow and seeing it grow over time as well. With my ETF approach, there are funds that fit both of these categories, some really "boring" names and then those that get more interesting in the "reaching-for-yield" category.