diff --git a/tools/perf/builtin-ftrace.c b/tools/perf/builtin-ftrace.c
index 73d51ce84c3a..810e3376c7d6 100644
--- a/tools/perf/builtin-ftrace.c
+++ b/tools/perf/builtin-ftrace.c
@@ -1228,10 +1228,12 @@ int cmd_ftrace(int argc, const char **argv)
 		goto out_delete_filters;
 	}
 
+	/* Make system wide (-a) the default target. */
+	if (!argc && target__none(&ftrace.target))
+		ftrace.target.system_wide = true;
+
 	switch (subcmd) {
 	case PERF_FTRACE_TRACE:
-		if (!argc && target__none(&ftrace.target))
-			ftrace.target.system_wide = true;
 		cmd_func = __cmd_ftrace;
 		break;
 	case PERF_FTRACE_LATENCY: