# First Trust California Municipal High Income ETF (FCAL): ETF Facts & Distributions > Markdown mirror of https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/fcal for AI agents. Same live data as the HTML page, regenerated on the same refresh cycle. Not investment advice. - Issuer: First Trust · Asset class: Municipal Bond - Strategy: Thematic · Inception: 2017-06-20 The fund seeks to achieve its investment objectives by investing at least 80% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in municipal debt securities that pay interest that is exempt from regular federal income taxes and California income taxes. It will invest no more than 50% of its net assets in Municipal Securities that are, at the time of investment, not investment grade, commonly referred to as "high yield" or "junk" bonds. ## Key Facts | Metric | Value | |---|---| | Price | $47.35 | | Expense Ratio | 0.49% | | Assets Under Management | $210.7M | | NAV | $47.35 | | Holdings Count | 279 | | Distribution Yield (TTM) | 3.59% | | Annual Distribution (TTM) | $1.70 /share | | Distribution Frequency | Monthly | | 52-Week Range | $45.78 – $50.13 | | Beta | 0.85 | ## Latest Distribution - Amount: $0.1450 /share - Ex-date: 2026-10-21 - Pay date: 2026-10-30 ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What does FCAL invest in? The fund seeks to achieve its investment objectives by investing at least 80% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in municipal debt securities that pay interest that is exempt from regular federal income taxes and California income taxes. It will invest no more than 50% of its net assets in Municipal Securities that are, at the time of investment, not investment grade, commonly referred to as "high yield" or "junk" bonds. ### What is the expense ratio of FCAL? First Trust California Municipal High Income ETF (FCAL) charges an expense ratio of 0.49%. This is the annual fee deducted from fund assets to cover management and operations. ### What is FCAL's dividend yield? FCAL's trailing-twelve-month yield is 3.59%, calculated from the sum of dividends over the past year divided by the current price. ### What is the duration of FCAL? Effective duration measures FCAL's sensitivity to interest-rate changes: a duration of 6 means a 1% rate move shifts NAV by roughly 6% in the opposite direction. FCAL's current duration is published on the fund's factsheet on the issuer's website. ### What is the credit quality of FCAL? FCAL's credit quality breakdown (the share of holdings rated AAA through CCC and below) is published on the fund's factsheet. Higher-quality (investment-grade) funds yield less but carry less default risk than high-yield / junk bond funds. ### What is the yield to maturity of FCAL? Yield to maturity (YTM) is the total return you'd earn from FCAL if every bond in the portfolio is held to maturity at the current price. FCAL's YTM is published on the fund's factsheet on the issuer's website. It differs from the trailing-12-month yield because YTM reflects current bond prices rather than historical income paid. ### Does FCAL pay a dividend? Yes, First Trust California Municipal High Income ETF (FCAL) distributes dividends to shareholders. The trailing-twelve-month yield is 3.59%. Full dividend history is on this page. ### How often does FCAL pay dividends? First Trust California Municipal High Income ETF pays dividends Monthly. Each ex-dividend date, record date, and payment date is listed in the dividend history table on this page. ### When is FCAL's next ex-dividend date? The most recently announced ex-dividend date for FCAL was 2026-10-21. The next ex-date typically follows Monthly; once announced it appears at the top of the dividend history table on this page. ### How much will FCAL's expense ratio cost me over 30 years? On a $10,000 investment compounding at 7% gross return, a 0.49% expense ratio quietly compounds against your balance every year. The Fee Compounding Forecast card above projects the dollar drag for any holding period and assumption you pick. The typical result for a 1.0% expense ratio on a 30-year hold is roughly 25% of the final balance lost to fees. ### How does FCAL charge its expense ratio? The expense ratio is deducted in tiny daily slices from FCAL's net asset value (NAV). You never see a bill. The price quoted on every exchange is already net of fees. There's no "fee day" to avoid; the cost is continuous and built into the trading price. ### Why does FCAL cost more than a fund like VOO? FCAL's strategy (current expense ratio 0.49%) is different from a broad-market index tracker like VOO, so its fee belongs to a different cohort. The Cost Verdict card above shows you where FCAL sits within its own category, which is the comparison that actually matters. ### Are there cheaper alternatives to FCAL? The Lower-Fee Alternatives card above lists ETFs following the same investment strategy as FCAL (0.49%) but at a lower expense ratio. Each row shows the fee gap, the peer's AUM as a liquidity sanity-check, and a direct link to that fund's analysis page. Cheaper price doesn't automatically mean better. Verify the peer holds what you actually want. ## More on Dividend Data - Overview (HTML): https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/fcal - Distribution history: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/fcal/dividend - Holdings & diversification: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/fcal/diversification - Fees & cheaper alternatives: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/fcal/expenses - Peer comparison: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/fcal/peers Data sourced from primary filings and market data providers; see https://www.dividenddata.com/methodology.