# First Trust Income Opportunities ETF (FCEF): ETF Facts & Distributions > Markdown mirror of https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/fcef for AI agents. Same live data as the HTML page, regenerated on the same refresh cycle. Not investment advice. - Issuer: First Trust · Asset class: Multi-Asset - Strategy: Passive Index · Inception: 2016-09-27 First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII - First Trust Income Opportunities ETF is an exchange traded fund launched and managed by First Trust Advisors LP. It invests in public equity markets of the United States. The fund invests through other funds in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. It invests in growth and value stocks of companies across diversified market capitalization. The fund seeks to benchmark the performance of its portfolio against the Russell 3000 Index and a Blended Benchmark comprising of 60% of the First Trust Equity Closed-End Fund Total Return Index... ## Key Facts | Metric | Value | |---|---| | Price | $22.60 | | Expense Ratio | 0.85% | | Assets Under Management | $79.2M | | NAV | $22.60 | | Holdings Count | 59 | | Distribution Yield (TTM) | 7.26% | | Annual Distribution (TTM) | $1.64 /share | | Distribution Frequency | Monthly | | 52-Week Range | $21.95 – $24.35 | | Beta | 0.97 | ## Latest Distribution - Amount: $0.1375 /share - Ex-date: 2026-10-14 - Pay date: 2026-10-30 ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What does FCEF invest in? First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII - First Trust Income Opportunities ETF is an exchange traded fund launched and managed by First Trust Advisors LP. It invests in public equity markets of the United States. The fund invests through other funds in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. It invests in growth and value stocks of companies across diversified market capitalization. The fund seeks to benchmark the performance of its portfolio against the Russell 3000 Index and a Blended Benchmark comprising of 60% of the First Trust Equity Closed-End Fund Total Return Index and 40% of the First Trust Taxable Fixed Income Closed-End Fund Total Return Index. It employs proprietary research to create its portfolio. First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII - First Trust Income Opportunities ETF was formed on September 27, 2016 and is domiciled in the United States. ### What is the expense ratio of FCEF? First Trust Income Opportunities ETF (FCEF) charges an expense ratio of 0.85%. This is the annual fee deducted from fund assets to cover management and operations. ### What is FCEF's dividend yield? FCEF's trailing-twelve-month yield is 7.26%, calculated from the sum of dividends over the past year divided by the current price. ### How big is FCEF? First Trust Income Opportunities ETF (FCEF) manages $79.2M in total assets. AUM determines bid-ask liquidity and the fund's vulnerability to closure. Funds below ~$50M are at higher risk of liquidation. ### Is FCEF actively managed or an index fund? FCEF is a passive index fund. It tracks a published benchmark by holding the constituents in their published weights. Index funds typically charge low expense ratios (FCEF's is 0.85%) because there's no security selection cost. ### When was FCEF launched? First Trust Income Opportunities ETF (FCEF) launched in September 2016 and is managed by First Trust. ### Does FCEF pay a dividend? Yes, First Trust Income Opportunities ETF (FCEF) distributes dividends to shareholders. The trailing-twelve-month yield is 7.26%. Full dividend history is on this page. ### How often does FCEF pay dividends? First Trust Income Opportunities 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 FCEF's next ex-dividend date? The most recently announced ex-dividend date for FCEF was 2026-10-14. 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 FCEF's expense ratio cost me over 30 years? On a $10,000 investment compounding at 7% gross return, a 0.85% 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 FCEF charge its expense ratio? The expense ratio is deducted in tiny daily slices from FCEF'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 FCEF cost more than a fund like VOO? FCEF is a passive index fund (current expense ratio 0.85%). Differences from broad-market ETFs like VOO usually come from index licensing fees, asset class (bond funds typically run cheaper than equity), or fund scale (smaller funds spread fixed operating costs across less AUM). ### Are there cheaper alternatives to FCEF? The Lower-Fee Alternatives card above lists ETFs following the same investment strategy as FCEF (0.85%) 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/fcef - Distribution history: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/fcef/dividend - Holdings & diversification: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/fcef/diversification - Fees & cheaper alternatives: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/fcef/expenses - Peer comparison: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/fcef/peers Data sourced from primary filings and market data providers; see https://www.dividenddata.com/methodology.