# First Trust/Confluence Small Cap Value Fund (FOVAX): Mutual Fund Facts & Distributions > Markdown mirror of https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/fovax for AI agents. Same live data as the HTML page, regenerated on the same refresh cycle. Not investment advice. - Issuer: First Trust · Asset class: Equity - Strategy: Actively Managed · Inception: 2011-03-01 The fund strives to meet its investment goals by allocating at least 80% of its total assets, including any borrowed capital, to the equity securities of U.S.-based companies. These are specifically firms with small market capitalizations, termed "Small-Cap Companies," at the point of investment. In typical market conditions, a company is considered a Small-Cap Company if its market value, when acquired, falls within the size spectrum of companies included in either the Russell 2000 Index or the S&P SmallCap 600 Index, based on month-end data from the most recent 12-month period. ## Key Facts | Metric | Value | |---|---| | Price | $23.09 | | Expense Ratio | 1.60% | | Assets Under Management | $10.8M | | NAV | $23.09 | | Holdings Count | — | | Distribution Yield (TTM) | 17.07% | | Annual Distribution (TTM) | $3.94 /share | | Distribution Frequency | Annual | | 52-Week Range | $22.17 – $27.57 | | Beta | 1.03 | ## Latest Distribution - Amount: $3.9421 /share - Ex-date: 2025-12-23 - Pay date: 2025-12-23 ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What does FOVAX invest in? The fund strives to meet its investment goals by allocating at least 80% of its total assets, including any borrowed capital, to the equity securities of U.S.-based companies. These are specifically firms with small market capitalizations, termed "Small-Cap Companies," at the point of investment. In typical market conditions, a company is considered a Small-Cap Company if its market value, when acquired, falls within the size spectrum of companies included in either the Russell 2000 Index or the S&P SmallCap 600 Index, based on month-end data from the most recent 12-month period. ### What is the expense ratio of FOVAX? First Trust/Confluence Small Cap Value Fund (FOVAX) charges an expense ratio of 1.60%. This is the annual fee deducted from fund assets to cover management and operations. ### How big is FOVAX? First Trust/Confluence Small Cap Value Fund (FOVAX) manages $10.8M 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 FOVAX actively managed or an index fund? FOVAX is actively managed: the manager selects holdings rather than tracking an index. Active funds typically charge higher expense ratios than index funds (FOVAX's is 1.60%) in exchange for the discretion to over- or under-weight positions. ### When was FOVAX launched? First Trust/Confluence Small Cap Value Fund (FOVAX) launched in March 2011 and is managed by First Trust. ### How has FOVAX performed? FOVAX's total return (price change plus reinvested distributions) is charted at the top of this page. Switch the price chart to Total Return and pick a 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, or 10-year window to read the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over each horizon. ### Does FOVAX pay a dividend? First Trust/Confluence Small Cap Value Fund (FOVAX) currently distributes little or no income. Trailing-twelve-month yield is 17.07%. Investors looking for income should consider income-focused alternatives. See the Peers tab. ### How often does FOVAX pay dividends? First Trust/Confluence Small Cap Value Fund pays dividends Annual. Each ex-dividend date, record date, and payment date is listed in the dividend history table on this page. ### What is FOVAX's dividend yield? FOVAX's trailing-twelve-month yield is 17.07%, calculated from the sum of dividends over the past year divided by the current price. ### When is FOVAX's next ex-dividend date? The most recently announced ex-dividend date for FOVAX was 2025-12-23. The next ex-date typically follows Annual; once announced it appears at the top of the dividend history table on this page. ### How much will FOVAX's expense ratio cost me over 30 years? On a $10,000 investment compounding at 7% gross return, a 1.60% 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 FOVAX charge its expense ratio? The expense ratio is deducted in tiny daily slices from FOVAX'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 FOVAX cost more than a fund like VOO? FOVAX is actively managed (current expense ratio 1.60%). Active funds charge more than passive index trackers in exchange for the manager's discretion to over- or under-weight positions. The Cost Verdict card above tells you whether FOVAX's fee is competitive for the active-management cohort. ### Are there cheaper alternatives to FOVAX? The Lower-Fee Alternatives card above lists mutual funds following the same investment strategy as FOVAX (1.60%) 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/fovax - Distribution history: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/fovax/dividend - Holdings & diversification: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/fovax/diversification - Fees & cheaper alternatives: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/fovax/expenses - Peer comparison: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/fovax/peers Data sourced from primary filings and market data providers; see https://www.dividenddata.com/methodology.