First Trust Files Four New 'Niche' ETFs

First Trust’s eclectic line-up of exchange-traded funds can be hit-or-miss, but the four new funds filed with the SEC last week include a couple of possible winners.

First Trust laid out plans to launch the following funds:

First Trust ISE-Revere Natural Gas Index Fund (FCG): This ETF track the recently launched ISE-Revere Natural Gas Index, an equal-weighted bogie consisting of 30 companies that derive a significant portion of their revenue from natural gas. The index is quantitatively screened to select companies with good value characteristics and the potential to outperform the market.

See IndexUniverse.com’s initial coverage of the underlying index here.

It’s worth noting that Barclays Global Investors has filed for an ETF tied to the price of natural gas futures, creating a potential arbitrage play between equity- and futures-based exposure.

First Trust ISE Water Index Fund (FIW): This fund will track the ISE Water Index, a cap-weighted index of (currently) the 36 largest companies that derive the bulk of their revenue from the potable water and wastewater indexes.

First Trust Chindia Index Fund (FCI): Introducing a new word to the investing lexicon, the “Chindia” fund tracks the performance of 40 Chinese and Indian companies with American Depository Receipts trading on U.S. exchanges. While the ADR exposure may not be ideal, the fund will no doubt appeal to individual investors hot to access these hot markets. There’s no word yet on the balance of China vs. India weighting.

All funds will list on the American Stock Exchange. Expense ratios have not been disclosed.

The prospectus for these three funds is available here.

Finally, hopping a bit late on on the real estate bandwagon, First Trust has also filed for a new ETF tied to the S&P REIT Index. The First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund (FSR) will track an index that includes virtually all U.S.-listed REITs.

One group sure to be worried about this filing is Wells Asset Management, which runs a fund tied to the same index. First Trust hasn’t disclosed its expense ratio yet, but I’m guessing it will be more than a smidge lower than the Wells S&P REIT Fund (WSPBX), which charges 1.74 percent and an incredible 5 percent load for its advisor-recommended shares, and 74 basis points for its I-class shares.

The prospectus for the REIT fund is available here.