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) is a Thematic ETF issued by First Trust with $551 million in assets under management. It holds an ETFValuer grade of F, ranking 14th out of 17 peers in its category and 442nd of 458 tracked ETFs overall. The fund charges an expense ratio of 0.59%, which is lower than the category median of 0.69%. Its dividend yield stands at 0.23%, trailing the category median of 0.53%. The top ten holdings comprise 58.7% of assets, with Bloom Energy Corp representing the largest single position at 9.2%.

QCLN was downgraded from a D to an F rating on 2026-10-15, reflecting its current standing. The fund has only 3.0 years of price history available for analysis. Short-term performance shows declines of 1.71% over one day and 2.09% over one week. Over the past year, the return of -3.41% matched the category median exactly. In contrast, the three-year return of +30.02% indicates a divergent long-term trend compared to recent losses. The current price of $42.58 sits at 9.4% of its 52-week range.

The fund exhibits a beta of 2.10, indicating it moves more than twice as much as the market. Annualized volatility is recorded at 40.96%, which is labeled as Very High. A Sharpe ratio of -0.21 suggests poor risk-adjusted returns relative to the risk taken. The maximum drawdown reached -42.93%, highlighting significant historical downside risk. Liquidity is moderate, with an average daily volume of 148,321 shares.

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

QCLN Top Holdings

Holdings as of 2026-06-30 per the fund's most recent SEC N-PORT-P filing. Top 10 holdings make up 58.7% 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 2 of the same companies as QCLN's top 10 (15.9% 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: 4.96% (as of 2026-10-22) — 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): 19.03 (as of 2026-10-22) — 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: 3.75% (as of 2026-09-01) — The Federal Reserve’s target policy rate, which anchors short-term borrowing costs across the economy.

QCLN Liquidity, Domicile & Tax Treatment

Liquidity: Average daily volume is 148K/day. Higher volume and a larger fund generally mean lower round-trip trading costs. AUM of $551M 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