QCLN — First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund

QCLN Price Performance — Growth of $10,000

Value of a $10,000 investment in QCLN over time, compared with SPY. Both lines are rebased to $10,000 on the first shared date. Based on total returns — prices are adjusted for dividends and splits, so this assumes distributions were reinvested. Hover or tap the chart for exact values.

QCLN Drawdown

The "underwater" chart: QCLN's decline from its highest prior value at each point in time. It shows how deep past losses ran and how long the fund took to recover to break-even.

Overview

The First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund (QCLN) operates within the Thematic category, where ETFValuer tracks a total of 17 funds. Issued by First Trust, this fund manages $837 million in assets and trades at a price of $48.12. It holds an overall rank of #402 out of 458 tracked ETFs across all categories, receiving an ETFValuer grade of D with a score of 44.3 out of 100. The fund charges an expense ratio of 0.59% and offers a dividend yield of 0.14%. The combination of a mid-tier asset size and a lower overall ranking suggests a specific level of investor adoption relative to the broader market. These metrics collectively define the fund's current standing and cost structure for potential investors.

Recent price action shows a sharp decline over the last month, with the fund falling 20.83% over the past 30 days and dropping 6.11% in the last week. The one-day return of -3.20% indicates continued short-term volatility, while the three-month return of -15.53% reflects a sustained period of losses. Despite these recent declines, the fund has posted a year-to-date gain of +3.54% and a one-year return of +31.68%. However, the three-year return stands at -8.87%, highlighting a divergence between recent short-term weakness and longer-term negative performance. The six-month return of -4.74% sits between the immediate monthly drop and the annual gain, illustrating a fluctuating trend pattern across different time horizons.

QCLN carries a volatility label of Very High, which aligns with its beta of 2.11, indicating that the fund's price movements are more than twice as sensitive to market changes than the broader benchmark. This high sensitivity is further evidenced by a maximum drawdown of -54.65%, representing the largest peak-to-trough decline recorded for the fund. The Sharpe ratio of 0.67 suggests that the risk-adjusted returns have been moderate relative to the significant volatility experienced. Together, these figures imply that the fund exhibits aggressive behavior in up markets but suffers substantial losses during downturns. Investors should expect significant price swings given the combination of high beta and extreme drawdown history.

AI-generated summary based on the data on this page.

QCLN Top Holdings

Holdings as of 2026-03-31 per the fund's most recent SEC N-PORT-P filing. Top 10 holdings make up 58.6% of net assets — a rough gauge of concentration risk (the higher this figure, the more the fund's return depends on a handful of names). To see how QCLN's holdings overlap with other ETFs you own or are considering, check the Stock Overlap tool.

Which Funds Overlap With QCLN

Holding two funds that own the same companies adds cost and complexity without adding much diversification. These tracked ETFs share the most names with QCLN's top 10 — ICLN overlaps most, holding 3 of the same companies as QCLN's top 10 (19.1% of QCLN's assets).

Compares the top 10 reported holdings of each fund, so it's a floor on true overlap — two S&P 500 trackers overlap ~100% even when only 10 names are listed. Use the Stock Overlap tool to search by individual company.

Market Backdrop

10-Year Treasury Yield: 4.65% (as of 2026-07-27) — The yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds — the standard "risk-free rate" benchmark used to contextualize this fund’s Sharpe ratio and returns.

CBOE Volatility Index (VIX): 18.67 (as of 2026-07-27) — A real-time gauge of expected S&P 500 volatility over the next 30 days — useful context for this fund’s own volatility label.

Federal Funds Rate: 3.63% (as of 2026-06-01) — The Federal Reserve’s target policy rate, which anchors short-term borrowing costs across the economy.

QCLN Liquidity, Domicile & Tax Treatment

Liquidity: Quoted bid/ask spread is 1.33% and average daily volume is 247K/day. Tighter spreads and higher volume mean lower round-trip trading costs; this is a live-market snapshot and can widen during volatile sessions. AUM of $837M provides ample scale, supporting tight spreads and issuer commitment to keep the fund open.

Domicile & tax treatment: QCLN is a US-domiciled, SEC-registered ('40 Act) exchange-traded fund. Dividends and capital gains distributions are reported to US investors on Form 1099-DIV, and the fund is not subject to the PFIC reporting or UCITS-specific rules that apply to Irish- or Luxembourg-domiciled funds. Non-US investors should note that US-domiciled ETFs are generally subject to 30% US withholding tax on dividends (unless reduced by treaty) and to US estate tax exposure on the position — Irish-domiciled UCITS ETFs tracking the same index often avoid both, which is why non-US residents frequently prefer the UCITS equivalent where one exists. This is general information, not tax advice — consult a tax professional for your situation.

QCLN Performance History

How QCLN Compares to Other Thematic ETFs