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First Trust

Exchange-Traded Fund

Prospectus

FUND NAME	TICKER SYMBOL	EXCHANGE
First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF	EDOW	NYSE Arca
First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF	FCTR	Cboe BZX

Each of the funds listed above (each a “Fund,” and collectively, the “Funds”) lists and principally trades its shares on NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) or Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. ("Cboe BZX") (each an “Exchange,” and collectively, the “Exchanges”). Market prices may differ to some degree from the net asset value of the shares. Unlike mutual funds, each Fund issues and redeems shares at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called "Creation Units."

Each Fund is a series of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund (the “Trust”) and an exchange-traded index fund organized as a separate series of a registered management investment company.

Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the shares are not redeemable securities of the Funds.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

NOT FDIC INSURED MAY LOSE VALUE NO BANK GUARANTEE

May 1, 2024

Table of Contents

Summary Information
First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF (EDOW)	3
First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF (FCTR)	10
Additional Information on the Funds' Investment Objectives and Strategies	18
Fund Investments	18
Risks of Investing in the Funds	19
Fund Organization	25
Management of the Funds	25
How to Buy and Sell Shares	26
Dividends, Distributions and Taxes	27
Federal Tax Matters	28
Distribution Plan	30
Net Asset Value	30
Fund Service Providers	31
Index Providers	32
Disclaimers	32
Premium/Discount Information	34
Financial Highlights	35
Other Information	37

Summary Information

First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF (EDOW)

Investment Objective

The First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an index called the Dow Jones Industrial Average® Equal Weight Index (the “Index”).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. Investors may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.

Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)

Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

None

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Management Fees	0.50%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.50%

Example

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.

1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$51	$160	$280	$628

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 16% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the securities that comprise the Index. The Fund, using an “indexing” investment approach, attempts to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The Index is developed, maintained and sponsored by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (the “Index Provider”). The Index Provider reserves the right to make exceptions when applying the methodology if the need arises. In addition, the Index Provider may revise Index policy covering rules for selecting companies, treatment of dividends, share counts or other matters.

The Index is the equal weight version of the Dow Jones Industrial AverageTM (the “DJIA”). The DJIA is composed of 30 securities issued by blue-chip U.S. companies covering all industries, with the exception of transportation and utilities (as of the date of this prospectus). According to the Index Provider, the DJIA is maintained by the Averages Committee, which is composed of three representatives of the S&P Dow Jones Indices and two representatives of The Wall Street Journal. Additions or deletions of components may be made to achieve better representation of the broad market and of American industry. According to

First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF (EDOW)

the Index Provider, inclusion in the DJIA is not governed by quantitative rules but rather is based on the following criteria: (i) the company is not in the utilities sector or in the transportation industry; (ii) the company has a premier reputation in its field; (iii) the company has a history of successful growth; (iv) there is wide interest in the company among individual and institutional investors; and (v) the company should be incorporated and headquartered in the U.S. In addition, a plurality of revenues should be derived from the U.S. Maintaining adequate sector representation within the index is also a consideration in the selection process for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Whenever one component is changed, the others are reviewed. For the sake of historical continuity, composition changes are rarely made. In the event that there is a change in the components of the DJIA, the component removed from the DJIA will simultaneously be removed from the Index, and the component that replaces the removed component will be added to the Index at the same weight as the component that was removed.

The Index is rebalanced quarterly and reconstituted as needed and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index’s quarterly rebalance schedule may cause the Fund to experience a higher rate of portfolio turnover. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. As of March 28, 2024, the Index was composed of 30 securities. The Fund’s investments will change as the Index changes and, as a result, the Fund may have significant investments in jurisdictions or investment sectors that it may not have had as of March 28, 2024. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.

Principal Risks

You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s investment objective will be achieved. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.

AUTHORIZED PARTICIPANT CONCENTRATION RISK. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. A limited number of institutions act as authorized participants for the Fund. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders and no other authorized participant steps forward to create or redeem, the Fund’s shares may trade at a premium or discount (the difference between the market price of the Fund's shares and the Fund's net asset value) and possibly face delisting and the bid/ask spread (the difference between the price that someone is willing to pay for shares of the Fund at a specific point in time versus the price at which someone is willing to sell) on the Fund’s shares may widen.

CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS RISK. Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions. As a means to fight inflation, which remains at elevated levels, the Federal Reserve and certain foreign central banks have raised interest rates, and the Federal Reserve has begun the process to reverse previously implemented quantitative easing. U.S. regulators have proposed several changes to market and issuer regulations which would directly impact the Fund, and any regulatory changes could adversely impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment strategies or make certain investments. Recent and potential future bank failures could result in disruption to the broader banking industry or markets generally and reduce confidence in financial institutions and the economy as a whole, which may also heighten market volatility and reduce liquidity. The ongoing adversarial political climate in the United States, as well as political and diplomatic events both domestic and abroad, have and may continue to have an adverse impact the U.S. regulatory landscape, markets and investor behavior, which could have a negative impact on the Fund’s investments and operations. Other unexpected political, regulatory and diplomatic events within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy. For example, ongoing armed conflicts between Russia and Ukraine in Europe and among Israel, Hamas and other militant groups in the Middle East, have caused and could continue to cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in Russia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions resulting from those hostilities have and could continue to have a significant impact on certain Fund investments as well as Fund performance and liquidity. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as the financial markets generally, may be adversely impacted by trade disputes and other matters. For example, the United States has imposed trade barriers and restrictions on China. In addition, the Chinese government is engaged in a longstanding dispute with Taiwan, continually threatening an invasion. If the political climate between the United States and China does not improve or continues to deteriorate, if China were to attempt invading Taiwan, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets and individual securities may be adversely affected, and the value of the Fund’s assets may go down. The COVID-19 global pandemic, or any future public health crisis, and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While vaccines have been developed,

First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF (EDOW)

there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against emerging future variants of the disease. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. Advancements in technology may also adversely impact markets and the overall performance of the Fund. For instance, the economy may be significantly impacted by the advanced development and increased regulation of artificial intelligence. These events, and any other future events, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.

EQUITY SECURITIES RISK. The value of the Fund’s shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities in which it invests. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors’ perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting an issuer occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market.

INDEX CONCENTRATION RISK. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a single asset class or the securities of issuers within the same country, state, region, industry or sector, an adverse economic, business or political development may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more than if the Fund were more broadly diversified. A significant exposure makes the Fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the Fund to greater market risk than a fund that is more broadly diversified. There may be instances in which the Index, for a variety of reasons including changes in the prices of individual securities held by the Fund, has a larger exposure to a small number of stocks or a single stock relative to the rest of the stocks in the Index. Under such circumstances, the Fund will not deviate from the Index except in rare circumstances or in an immaterial way and therefore the Fund’s returns would be more greatly influenced by the returns of the stock(s) with the larger exposure.

INDEX OR MODEL CONSTITUENT RISK. The Fund may be a constituent of one or more indices or ETF models. As a result, the Fund may be included in one or more index-tracking exchange-traded funds or mutual funds. Being a component security of such a vehicle could greatly affect the trading activity involving the Fund’s shares, the size of the Fund and the market volatility of the Fund. Inclusion in an index could increase demand for the Fund and removal from an index could result in outsized selling activity in a relatively short period of time. As a result, the Fund’s net asset value could be negatively impacted and the Fund’s market price may be below the Fund’s net asset value during certain periods. In addition, index rebalances may potentially result in increased trading activity in the Fund's shares.

First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF (EDOW)

costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where the Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors. For example, during a period where the Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund tracking the Index would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions or issuer-specific events may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, exclude or substitute a security in the Index or undertake other measures which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.

MARKET MAKER RISK. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares due to a limited number of market markers. Decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. The Fund may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s net asset value and the price at which the Fund’s shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund’s shares. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a discount to net asset value and also in greater than normal intraday bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.

MARKET RISK. Market risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by real or perceived adverse economic, political, and regulatory factors or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of the Fund could decline in value or underperform other investments. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, market manipulation, government defaults, government shutdowns, regulatory actions, political changes, diplomatic developments, the imposition of sanctions and other similar measures, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, natural disasters, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of the Fund’s shares, the liquidity of an investment, and may result in increased market volatility. During any such events, the Fund’s shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value, the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen and the returns on investment may fluctuate.

NON-CORRELATION RISK. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. The Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and may incur costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s portfolio holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. In addition, the Fund’s portfolio holdings may not exactly replicate the securities included in the Index or the ratios between the securities included in the Index. Additionally, in order to comply with its investment strategies and policies, the Fund portfolio may deviate from the composition of the Index. Accordingly, the Fund's return may underperform the return of the Index.

OPERATIONAL RISK. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Fund's investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.

First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF (EDOW)

In the event that the Index is no longer calculated, the Index license is terminated or the identity or character of the Index is materially changed, the Fund will seek to engage a replacement index.

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER RISK. High portfolio turnover may result in the Fund paying higher levels of transaction costs and may generate greater tax liabilities for shareholders. Portfolio turnover risk may cause the Fund’s performance to be less than expected.

PREMIUM/DISCOUNT RISK. The market price of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the Fund’s net asset value as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on the Exchange. The Fund’s investment advisor cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their net asset value because the shares trade on the Exchange at market prices and not at net asset value. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related, but not identical, to the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. However, given that shares can only be purchased and redeemed in Creation Units, and only to and from broker-dealers and large institutional investors that have entered into participation agreements (unlike shares of closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their net asset value), the Fund’s investment advisor believes that large discounts or premiums to the net asset value of shares should not be sustained. During stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the market for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which could in turn lead to differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.

TRADING ISSUES RISK. Trading in Fund shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Fund shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange’s “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. The Fund may have difficulty maintaining its listing on the Exchange in the event the Fund’s assets are small, the Fund does not have enough shareholders, or if the Fund is unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders.

Annual Total Return

The bar chart and table below illustrate the annual calendar year returns of the Fund based on net asset value as well as the average annual Fund and Index returns. The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns based on net asset value compared to those of the Index and two broad-based market indices. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com.

First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF (EDOW)

First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31

During the periods shown in the chart above:

	Return	Period Ended
Best Quarter	16.62%	December 31, 2022
Worst Quarter	-22.01%	March 31, 2020

The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.

All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of any state or local tax. Returns after taxes on distributions reflect the taxed return on the payment of dividends and capital gains. Returns after taxes on distributions and sale of shares assume you sold your shares at period end, and, therefore, are also adjusted for any capital gains or losses incurred. Returns for the market indices do not include expenses, which are deducted from Fund returns, or taxes.

Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares in tax-deferred accounts such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or employee-sponsored retirement plans.

Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2023

	1 Year	5 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Return Before Taxes	15.74%	10.92%	10.07%	8/8/2017
Return After Taxes on Distributions	14.77%	10.04%	9.21%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	9.27%	8.23%	7.63%
Dow Jones Industrial Average® Equal Weight Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	16.37%	11.61%	10.72%
Dow Jones Industrial AverageTM (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	16.18%	12.47%	11.12%
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	26.29%	15.69%	12.78%

Management

Investment Advisor

First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)

First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF (EDOW)

Portfolio Managers

The Fund’s portfolio is managed by a team (the “Investment Committee”) consisting of:

•

Daniel J. Lindquist, Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director of First Trust

•

David G. McGarel, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of First Trust

•

Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Roger F. Testin, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Stan Ueland, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Chris A. Peterson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Erik Russo, Vice President of First Trust

The Investment Committee members are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each Investment Committee member has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2017, except for Erik Russo, who has served as a part of the portfolio management team since 2020.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

The Fund issues and redeems shares on a continuous basis, at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called “Creation Units.” Individual shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold on the secondary market through a broker-dealer. Since shares of the Fund trade on securities exchanges in the secondary market at their market price rather than their net asset value, the Fund’s shares may trade at a price greater than (premium) or less than (discount) the Fund’s net asset value. An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information, including the Fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, bid-ask spreads and the median bid-ask spread for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year,is available online at https://www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/etf/home.aspx.

Tax Information

The Fund’s distributions are taxable and will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains. Distributions on shares held in a tax-deferred account, while not immediately taxable, will be subject to tax when the shares are no longer held in a tax-deferred account.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, bank or other financial intermediary (collectively, “intermediaries”), First Trust and First Trust Portfolios L.P., the Fund’s distributor, may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

Summary Information

First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF (FCTR)

Investment Objective

The First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF (the “Fund”), seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an equity index called the Lunt Capital Large Cap Factor Rotation Index (the “Index”).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)

Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

None

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Management Fees	0.65%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.65%

Example

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.

1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$66	$208	$362	$811

Portfolio Turnover

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the securities that comprise the Index. The Fund, using an “indexing” investment approach, attempts to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The Index is owned and was developed by Lunt Capital Management, Inc. (the “Index Provider”) and is calculated and maintained by Nasdaq, Inc. Nasdaq, Inc. may, from time to time, exercise reasonable discretion as it deems appropriate in order to ensure Index integrity.

The Index is designed to track the performance of U.S. securities exhibiting desirable factor exposure. According to the Index Provider, the Index utilizes the Index Provider’s risk-adjusted relative strength methodology to allocate exposure to securities exhibiting either high or low levels of the characteristics associated with one of four primary investing factors: (i) momentum; (ii) value; (iii) quality; and (iv) volatility. Within the Index’s selection universe, each factor is represented by two sub-indices, each of which selects 50 stocks from the Nasdaq US 500 Large CapTM Index. One sub-index selects 50 stocks exhibiting the

First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF (FCTR)

highest levels of the factor and the other selects 50 stocks exhibiting the lowest levels of the factor. The factors are briefly defined, and their associated sub-indices are set forth below. The Index Provider’s risk-adjusted relative strength methodology is designed to identify the sub-indices with the greatest return potential with the least amount of risk and tactically allocate exposure to those sub-indices.

•

Momentum is the statistical measurement of the price performance of a security versus a market average, another security or a universe of securities. The sub-indices representing this factor are rebalanced semi-annually and evaluate the average of a security’s trailing 12-month, 9-month, 6-month, 3-month and 1-month returns.

○

Nasdaq Factor Family US MomentumTM Index: an index seeking to select a portfolio of securities exhibiting high momentum factor characteristics.

○

Nasdaq Factor Laggard US MomentumTM Index: an index seeking to select a portfolio of securities exhibiting low momentum factor characteristics.

•

Value is the statistical measurement of a security’s price relative to the fundamental value of that security. The sub-indices representing this factor are rebalanced semi-annually and select securities based on a value score that evaluates several factors, including a security’s book value to price ratio, sales enterprise value and earnings-to-price ratio.

○

Nasdaq Factor Family US ValueTM Index: an index seeking to select a portfolio of securities exhibiting high value factor characteristics.

○

Nasdaq Factor Laggard US ValueTM Index: an index seeking to select a portfolio of securities exhibiting low value factor characteristics.

•

Quality is the statistical measurement of the strength of a security’s fundamentals. The sub-indices representing this factor are rebalanced annually and evaluate several criteria, including, but not limited to, a security’s earnings-per-share, operating margin, sales growth and return on equity.

○

Nasdaq Factor Family US QualityTM Index: an index seeking to select a portfolio of securities exhibiting high quality factor characteristics.

○

Nasdaq Factor Laggard US QualityTM Index: an index seeking to select a portfolio of securities exhibiting low quality factor characteristics.

•

Volatility is the statistical measurement of the magnitude of a security’s price fluctuations over time. The sub-indices representing this factor are rebalanced semi-annually and evaluate a security’s realized volatility over trailing 12-month, 9-month, 6-month and 3-month and 1-month time periods.

○

Nasdaq Factor Family US Low VolatilityTM Index: an index seeking to select a portfolio of securities exhibiting low levels of volatility.

○

Nasdaq Factor Laggard US Low VolatilityTM Index: an index seeking to select a portfolio of securities exhibiting high levels of volatility.

According to the Index Provider, on the last trading day of each month, the Index applies the Index Provider’s risk-adjusted relative strength methodology to each pair of sub-indices and assigns each a “Risk-Adjusted Score.” The Risk-Adjusted Score is the return per unit of risk of the sub-index, measured as the standard deviation of returns over the course of the prior 12 months. From each pair of sub-indices, the Index selects the sub-index with the highest Risk-Adjusted Score for inclusion in the Index and invests in the securities comprising the four selected sub-indices. The aggregate weight assigned to each sub-index is dependent upon the Index’s holdings prior to the Index’s evaluation. If, upon the evaluation, the same four sub-indices are selected for inclusion in the Index, no changes of any kind are enacted. If, however, one or more sub-indices are to be replaced, the weight assigned to the sub-indices already included in the Index (if any) remains unchanged and the aggregate weight of the sub-indices that are removed is redistributed equally to the newly included sub-indices. Within each sub-index, the securities are weighted by factor score, with the highest scoring security receiving the highest weight.

The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted periodically and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index’s periodic rebalance and reconstitution schedule may cause the Fund to experience a higher rate of portfolio turnover. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. As of March 28, 2024, the Index was composed of 160 securities and the Fund had significant investments in information technology companies, although this may change from time to time. The Fund’s investments will change as the Index changes and, as a result, the Fund may have significant investments in jurisdictions or investment sectors that it may not have had as of March 28, 2024. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.

First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF (FCTR)

Principal Risks

First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF (FCTR)

management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third-party service providers.

INDEX PROVIDER RISK. There is no assurance that the Index Provider, or any agents that act on its behalf, will compile the Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. The Index Provider and its agents do not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the Index, and do not guarantee that the Index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. The Advisor’s mandate as described in this prospectus is to manage the Fund consistently with the Index provided by the Index Provider. The Advisor relies upon the Index provider and its agents to accurately compile, maintain, construct, reconstitute, rebalance, compose, calculate and disseminate the Index accurately. Therefore, losses or costs associated with any Index Provider or agent errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. To correct any such error, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out an unscheduled rebalance of the Index or other modification of Index constituents or weightings. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where the Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors. For example, during a period where the Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund tracking the Index would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions or issuer-specific events may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, exclude or substitute a security in the Index or undertake other measures which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected

First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF (FCTR)

under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES RISK. Information technology companies produce and provide hardware, software and information technology systems and services. These companies may be adversely affected by rapidly changing technologies, short product life cycles, fierce competition, aggressive pricing and reduced profit margins, the loss of patent, copyright and trademark protections, cyclical market patterns, evolving industry standards and frequent new product introductions. In addition, information technology companies are particularly vulnerable to federal, state and local government regulation, and competition and consolidation, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Information technology companies also heavily rely on intellectual property rights and may be adversely affected by the loss or impairment of those rights.

LOW VOLATILITY RISK. Although subject to the risks of common stocks, low volatility stocks are seen as having a lower risk profile than the overall markets. However, a portfolio comprised of low volatility stocks may not produce investment exposure that has lower variability to changes in such stocks’ price levels. Low volatility stocks are likely to underperform the broader market during periods of rapidly rising stock prices.

MOMENTUM INVESTING RISK. The Fund employs a “momentum” style of investing that emphasizes selecting stocks that have had higher recent price performance compared to other stocks. Momentum can change quickly and stocks that previously exhibited high momentum characteristics may not experience positive momentum or may experience more volatility than the market as a whole. In addition, there may be periods when the momentum style of investing is out of favor and the investment performance of the Fund may suffer.

First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF (FCTR)

its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Fund's investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.

PASSIVE INVESTMENT RISK. The Fund is not actively managed. The Fund invests in securities included in or representative of the Index regardless of investment merit. The Fund generally will not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. In the event that the Index is no longer calculated, the Index license is terminated or the identity or character of the Index is materially changed, the Fund will seek to engage a replacement index.

QUALITY STOCKS INVESTMENT RISK. A quality style of investing emphasizes companies with strong fundamentals. However, there is no guarantee that the Fund will correctly identify companies with strong fundamentals or that selected companies will maintain strong fundamentals. In addition, quality stocks are subject to the risk that the returns on quality securities are less than returns on other styles of investing or the overall stock market.

VALUE STOCKS INVESTMENT RISK. The intrinsic value of a stock with value characteristics may not be fully recognized by the market for a long time or a stock judged to be undervalued may actually be appropriately priced at a low level.

Annual Total Return

First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF (FCTR)

First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31

During the periods shown in the chart above:

	Return	Period Ended
Best Quarter	35.02%	June 30, 2020
Worst Quarter	-22.51%	March 31, 2020

The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.

Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2023

	1 Year	5 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Return Before Taxes	0.68%	10.49%	7.05%	7/25/2018
Return After Taxes on Distributions	0.24%	10.09%	6.63%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	0.39%	8.15%	5.35%
Lunt Capital Large Cap Factor Rotation Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	1.45%	11.34%	7.85%
Nasdaq US 500 Large CapTM Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	27.14%	15.74%	11.89%
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	26.29%	15.69%	11.89%

Management

Investment Advisor

First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)

First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF (FCTR)

Portfolio Managers

The Fund’s portfolio is managed by a team (the “Investment Committee”) consisting of:

•

Daniel J. Lindquist, Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director of First Trust

•

David G. McGarel, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of First Trust

•

Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Roger F. Testin, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Stan Ueland, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Chris A. Peterson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Erik Russo, Vice President of First Trust

The Investment Committee members are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each Investment Committee member has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2018, except for Erik Russo, who has served as a part of the portfolio management team since 2020.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Tax Information

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

Additional Information on the Funds' Investment Objectives and Strategies

Each Fund is a series of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund and is regulated as an “investment company” under the 1940 Act. Each Fund operates as an index fund and is not actively managed by First Trust. As such, each Fund’s investment objective is to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of its Index. In seeking to achieve this objective, each of First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF and First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the securities that comprise its Index. Lunt Capital Management, Inc. serves as the index provider for the index tracked by the First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF. S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC serves as the index provider for the index tracked by the First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF. Lunt Capital Management, Inc. and S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC may individually be referred to throughout this prospectus as an “Index Provider” and collectively as the “Index Providers.”

Each Fund will generally employ a full replication strategy, meaning that it will normally invest in all of the securities comprising its Index in proportion to their weightings in the Index. However, under various circumstances, full replication of the Index may not be possible or practicable. In those circumstances, a Fund may purchase a sample of securities in its Index. There may also be instances in which First Trust may choose to overweight certain securities in an Index, purchase securities not in an Index which First Trust believes are appropriate to substitute for certain securities in the Index, use futures or derivative instruments or utilize various combinations of the above techniques in seeking to track an Index. Each Fund may sell securities that are represented in its Index in anticipation of their removal from the Index or purchase securities not represented in the Index in anticipation of their addition to the Index.

Each Fund’s investment objective, 90% investment strategy and each of the policies described herein are non-fundamental policies that may be changed by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”) without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ prior written notice to shareholders. Certain fundamental policies of the Funds are set forth in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) under “Investment Objective and Policies.”

While it is not expected that the Funds will invest in the securities of other investment companies, any such investments would be subject to limitations imposed by the 1940 Act and the related rules and interpretations. Each Fund has adopted a policy that it will not invest in other investment companies in excess of 1940 Act limits in reliance on Sections 12(d)(1)(F) or 12(d)(1)(G) of the 1940 Act.

Dow Jones Industrial Average® Equal Weight Index

The Dow Jones Industrial Average® Equal Weight Index is an equal-dollar weighted index designed to be the equal-weight version of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and seeks to measure the performance of 30 U.S. blue-chip companies. The Index is evaluated as-needed and rebalanced quarterly in March, June, September and December.

Lunt Capital Large Cap Factor Rotation Index

The Lunt Capital Large Cap Factor Rotation Index is a modified equal-weighted index designed to track the performance of securities exhibiting desirable factor exposure. The Index seeks to select securities from eight single factor-oriented indexes based on the proprietary Lunt Capital Factor Allocation Methodology. The Index is evaluated and rebalanced monthly.

More information regarding each Index, including additional detail on the Index methodology, may be found on an Index Provider’s website. Neither the Fund, the Board, First Trust, or any of their affiliates, are responsible for the information set forth on an Index Provider’s website. Information from an Index Provider’s website and any other information not expressly included in this prospectus is not incorporated by reference in, and should not be considered part of, this prospectus.

Fund Investments

Principal Investments

Equity Securities

The Funds invest in common stocks. Common stock represents an equity ownership interest in issuers. Holders of common stock are entitled to the income and increase in the value of the assets and business of the issuers after all debt obligations and obligations to preferred stockholders are satisfied.

Non-Principal Investments

Real Estate Investment Trusts

The Funds may invest in real estate investment trusts ("REITs"). REITs are financial vehicles that pool investors’ capital to purchase or finance real estate. REITs are generally classified as equity REITs, mortgage REITs or a combination of equity and mortgage REITs. Equity REITs invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive income primarily from the collection of rents. Equity REITs can also realize capital gains by selling properties that have appreciated in value. Mortgage REITs invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgages and derive income from the collection of interest payments. REITs are not taxed on income distributed to shareholders provided they comply with the applicable tax requirements.

Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments

Normally, a Fund invests substantially all of its assets to meet its investment objective. Each Fund may invest the remainder of its assets in securities with maturities of less than one year or cash equivalents, or it may hold cash. The percentage of a Fund invested in such holdings varies and depends on several factors, including market conditions. For temporary defensive purposes and during periods of high cash inflows or outflows, a Fund may depart from its principal investment strategies and invest part or all of its assets in these securities, or it may hold cash. During such periods, a Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective. A Fund may adopt a defensive strategy when its portfolio managers believe securities in which the Fund normally invests have elevated risks due to political or economic factors and in other extraordinary circumstances. For more information on eligible short-term investments, see the SAI.

Illiquid Investments

A Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in investments and other instruments that are, at the time of investment, illiquid (determined using the Securities and Exchange Commission's standard applicable to investment companies, i.e., any investment that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment).

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

Each Fund’s portfolio holdings are available on the Funds' website at www.ftportfolios.com. A description of the policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of each Fund's portfolio securities is included in the Funds' SAI, which is also available on the Funds' website.

Risks of Investing in the Funds

Risk is inherent in all investing. Investing in a Fund involves risk, including the risk that you may lose all or part of your investment. There can be no assurance that a Fund will meet its stated objective. Before you invest, you should consider the following supplemental disclosure pertaining to the Principal Risks set forth above as well as additional Non-Principal Risks set forth below in this prospectus. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.

Principal Risks

AUTHORIZED PARTICIPANT CONCENTRATION RISK. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with a Fund. A limited number of institutions act as authorized participants for a Fund. Although participants are not obligated to make a market in a Fund’s shares or submit purchase and redemption orders for creation units. To the extent that these institutions exit the business, reduce their role or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders and no other authorized participant steps forward to create or redeem, a Fund’s shares may trade at a premium or discount to the Fund’s net asset value and possibly face delisting and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.

CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS RISK. Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of a Fund in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions.

Regulatory changes may also increase Fund operational costs, which could impact overall performance. Certain market factors may result in central banks changing their approach in the future. Recent and potential future bank failures could result in disruption to the broader banking industry or markets generally and reduce confidence in financial institutions and the economy as a whole, which may also heighten market volatility and reduce liquidity.

The ongoing adversarial political climate in the United States, as well as political and diplomatic events both domestic and abroad, such as presidential, congressional and gubernatorial elections in the U.S., global elections and governmental changes and the U.S. government’s failure to agree on a long-term budget and deficit reduction plan, have and may continue to have an adverse impact on the U.S. regulatory landscape, markets and investor behavior, which could have a negative impact on a Fund’s investments and operations. The potential result of a U.S. federal government shutdown may also significantly impact investor and consumer behavior, which may adversely impact the markets and global economy. Global and domestic authorities and regulators have previously responded to serious economic disruptions with ranging fiscal and monetary policy changes, including but not limited to, direct capital infusions into companies, new monetary programs and dramatically lower interest rates. Any change in these policies, or the ineffectiveness of these policies, could increase volatility in securities markets, which may adversely impact a Fund’s investments and performance. Any market disruptions could also delay a Fund from making sound investment decisions in a timely manner. If a Fund concentrates its investments in a region enduring geopolitical market disruption, it may face higher risk of loss, although the increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets can lead to events or conditions in one country, region or financial market adversely impacting a different country, region or financial market.

Other unexpected political, regulatory and diplomatic events within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy. For example, ongoing armed conflicts between Russia and Ukraine in Europe and among Israel, Hamas and other militant groups in the Middle East, have caused and could continue to cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in Russia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions resulting from those hostilities have and could continue to have a significant impact on certain Fund investments as well as Fund performance and liquidity. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as the financial markets generally, may be adversely impacted by trade disputes and other matters. For example, the United States has imposed trade barriers and restrictions on China. In addition, the Chinese government is engaged in a longstanding dispute with Taiwan, continually threatening an invasion. If the political climate between the United States and China does not improve or continues to deteriorate, if China were to attempt invading Taiwan, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets and individual securities may be adversely affected, and the value of a Fund’s assets may go down. The COVID-19 global pandemic, or any future public health crisis, and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against emerging future variants of the disease. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others.

Advancements in technology may also adversely impact markets and the overall performance of a Fund. For instance, the economy may be significantly impacted by the advanced development and increased regulation of artificial intelligence. As the use of technology grows, liquidity and market movements may be affected. As artificial intelligence is used more widely, the profitability and growth of Fund holdings may be impacted, which could significantly impact the overall performance of a Fund.

These events, and any other future events, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of a Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.

CYBER SECURITY RISK. The Funds are susceptible to operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause a Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause a Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. These risks typically are not covered by insurance. In general, cyber incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events. Cyber incidents include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to digital systems (e.g., through “hacking” or malicious software coding) for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting data or causing operational disruption. Cyber attacks may also be carried out in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized access, such as causing denial-of-service attacks on websites (i.e., efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users). Cyber security failures by or breaches of the systems of the Advisor, distributor and other service providers (including, but not limited to, sub-advisors, index providers, fund accountants, custodians, transfer agents and administrators), market makers, authorized participants or the

issuers of securities in which a Fund invests, have the ability to cause disruptions and impact business operations, potentially resulting in: financial losses; interference with a Fund’s ability to calculate its net asset value; disclosure of confidential trading information; impediments to trading; submission of erroneous trades or erroneous creation or redemption orders; the inability of a Fund or its service providers to transact business; violations of applicable privacy and other laws; regulatory fines penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs; or additional compliance costs. Substantial costs may be incurred by a Fund in order to resolve or prevent cyber incidents in the future. While the Funds have established business continuity plans in the event of, and risk management systems to prevent, such cyber attacks, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems, including the possibility that certain risks have not been identified and that prevention and remediation efforts will not be successful. Furthermore, the Funds cannot control the cyber security plans and systems put in place by service providers to the Funds, issuers in which the Funds invest, market makers or authorized participants. However, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, and the Funds and their shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result.

EQUITY SECURITIES RISK. The value of a Fund’s shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities in which it invests. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors' perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting the issuers occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market. Additionally, holders of an issuer's common stock may be subject to greater risks than holders of its preferred stock and debt securities because common stockholders' claims are subordinated to those of holders of preferred stocks and debt securities upon the bankruptcy of an issuer.

INDEX CONCENTRATION RISK. A Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. To the extent that a Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a single asset class or the securities of issuers within the same country, state, region, industry or sector, an adverse economic, business or political development may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more than if a Fund were more broadly diversified. A significant exposure makes a Fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject a Fund to greater market risk than a fund that is more broadly diversified. There may be instances in which the Index, for a variety of reasons including changes in the prices of individual securities held by a Fund, has a larger exposure to a small number of stocks or a single stock relative to the rest of the stocks in the Index. Under such circumstances, a Fund will not deviate from the Index except in rare circumstances or in an immaterial way and therefore the Fund’s returns would be more greatly influenced by the returns of the stock(s) with the larger exposure.

INDEX OR MODEL CONSTITUENT RISK. Each Fund may be a constituent of one or more indices or ETF models. As a result, a Fund may be included in one or more index-tracking ETFs or mutual funds. Being a component security of such a vehicle could greatly affect the trading activity involving a Fund’s shares, the size of the Fund and the market volatility of the Fund’s shares. Inclusion in an index could increase demand for a Fund and removal from an index could result in outsized selling activity in a relatively short period of time. As a result, a Fund’s net asset value could be negatively impacted and the Fund’s market price may be below the Fund’s net asset value during certain periods. In addition, index rebalances may potentially result in increased trading activity. To the extent buying or selling activity increases, a Fund can be exposed to increased brokerage costs and adverse tax consequences and the market price of the Fund can be negatively affected.

INDEX PROVIDER RISK. There is no assurance that the Index Provider, or any agents that act on its behalf, will compile an Index accurately, or that an Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. The Index Provider and its agents do not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in an Index, and do not guarantee that an Index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. The Advisor’s mandate as described in this prospectus is to manage each Fund consistently with the Index provided by the Index Provider. The Advisor relies upon the Index provider and its agents to accurately compile, maintain, construct, reconstitute, rebalance, compose, calculate and disseminate an Index accurately. Therefore, losses or costs associated with any Index Provider or agent errors generally will be borne by a Fund and its shareholders. To correct any such error, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out an unscheduled rebalance of an Index or other modification of Index constituents or weightings. When a Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by a Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose a Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile an Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where an Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors. For example, during a period

where an Index contains incorrect constituents, a Fund tracking the Index would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively impact a Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in an Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither a Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that an Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions or issuer-specific events may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, exclude or substitute a security from the Index or undertake other measures which could cause an Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of an Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to an Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES RISK. Certain Funds invest significantly in information technology companies. Information technology companies produce and provide hardware, software and information technology systems and services. Information technology companies are generally subject to the following risks: rapidly changing technologies and existing product obsolescence; short product life cycles; fierce competition; aggressive pricing and reduced profit margins; the loss of patent, copyright and trademark protections; cyclical market patterns; evolving industry standards; and frequent new product introductions and new market entrants. Information technology companies may be smaller and less experienced companies, with limited product lines, markets or financial resources and fewer experienced management or marketing personnel. Information technology company stocks, particularly those involved with the internet, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that are often unrelated to their operating performance. In addition, information technology companies are particularly vulnerable to federal, state and local government regulation, and competition and consolidation, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Information technology companies also face competition for services of qualified personnel and heavily rely on patents and intellectual property rights and the ability to enforce such rights to maintain a competitive advantage.

MARKET MAKER RISK. The Funds face numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares due to a limited number of market markers. Decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of a Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. A Fund may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between a Fund’s net asset value and the price at which the Fund’s shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund’s shares. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a discount to net asset value and also in greater than normal intraday bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.

MARKET RISK. Market risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of a Fund in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by real or perceived adverse economic, political, and regulatory factors or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of a Fund could decline in value or underperform other investments. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, market manipulation, government defaults, government shutdowns, regulatory actions, political changes, diplomatic developments, the imposition of sanctions and other similar measures, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, natural disasters, or other events could have a significant negative impact on a Fund and its investments. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of a Fund’s shares, the liquidity of an investment, and may result in increased market volatility. During any such events, a Fund’s shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value, the bid/ask spread on a Fund’s shares may widen and the returns on investment may fluctuate.

MOMENTUM INVESTING RISK. Certain Funds utilize a “momentum” style of investing that emphasizes selecting stocks that have had higher recent price performance compared to other stocks. Momentum can change quickly and stocks that previously exhibited high momentum characteristics may not experience positive momentum or may experience more volatility than

the market as a whole. In addition, there may be periods when the momentum style of investing is out of favor and the investment performance of a Fund may suffer.

NON-CORRELATION RISK. A Fund’s return may not match the return of its Index for a number of reasons. A Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to its Index and may incur costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s portfolio holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. In addition, a Fund’s portfolio holdings may not exactly replicate the securities included in its Index or the ratios between the securities included in the Index. Accordingly, a Fund's return may underperform the return of the Index.

OPERATIONAL RISK. Each Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of a Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. Each Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect each Fund's ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Funds and the Funds’ investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.

PASSIVE INVESTMENT RISK. The Funds are not actively managed. Each Fund invests in securities included in or representative of its Index regardless of investment merit. The Funds generally will not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. In the event that an Index is no longer calculated, the corresponding Index license is terminated or the identity or character of an Index is materially changed, the applicable Fund will seek to engage a replacement index.

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER RISK. Certain Funds have an investment strategy that may frequently involve buying and selling portfolio securities. High portfolio turnover may result in a Fund paying higher levels of transaction costs, including brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and other costs and may generate greater tax liabilities for shareholders. Portfolio turnover risk may cause a Fund’s performance to be less than expected.

PREMIUM/DISCOUNT RISK. The market price of a Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the Fund’s net asset value as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on the Exchange. First Trust cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their net asset value because the shares trade on the Exchange at market prices and not at net asset value. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related, but not identical, to the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of a Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. However, given that shares can only be purchased and redeemed in Creation Units, and only to and from broker-dealers and large institutional investors that have entered into participation agreements (unlike shares of closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their net asset value), First Trust believes that large discounts or premiums to the net asset value of shares should not be sustained absent disruptions to the creation and redemption mechanism, extreme market volatility or potential lack of authorized participants. During stressed market conditions, the market for a Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the market for a Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which could in turn lead to differences between the market price of a Fund’s shares and their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.

QUALITY STOCKS INVESTMENT RISK. Certain Funds may utilize a quality style of investing. A quality style of investing emphasizes companies with strong fundamentals. However, there is no guarantee that a Fund will correctly identify companies with strong fundamentals or that selected companies will maintain strong fundamentals. In addition, quality stocks are subject to the risk that the returns on quality securities are less than returns on other styles of investing or the overall stock market.

TRADING ISSUES RISK. Trading in Fund shares on an Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Fund shares on an Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to an Exchange’s “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of an Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of a Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. A Fund may have difficulty maintaining its listing on an Exchange in the event a Fund’s assets are small, the Fund does not have enough shareholders, or if the Fund is unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders.

VALUE STOCKS INVESTMENT RISK. Certain Funds utilize a value style of investing. A value style of investing focuses on undervalued companies with characteristics for improved valuations. Value stocks are subject to the risk that valuations never improve or that the returns on value stocks are less than returns on other styles of investing or the overall stock market. As a result, the value of a Fund’s investments will vary and at times may be lower or higher than that of other types of investments. Historically, value investments have performed best during periods of economic recovery. Therefore, the value investing style

may over time go in and out of favor and may trail the returns of other styles of investing. Value stocks also may decline in price, even though in theory they are already underpriced.

Non-Principal Risks

BORROWING AND LEVERAGE RISK. If a Fund borrows money, it must pay interest and other fees, which may reduce the Fund’s returns. Any such borrowings are intended to be temporary. However, under certain market conditions, including periods of decreased liquidity, such borrowings might be outstanding for longer periods of time. As prescribed by the 1940 Act, a Fund will be required to maintain specified asset coverage of at least 300% with respect to any bank borrowing immediately following such borrowing and at all times thereafter. A Fund may be required to dispose of assets on unfavorable terms if market fluctuations or other factors reduce the Fund’s asset coverage to less than the prescribed amount.

CASH TRANSACTIONS RISK. A Fund may, under certain circumstances, effect a portion of creations and redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind securities. As a result, an investment in such a Fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in an ETF that effects its creations and redemptions only in-kind. ETFs are able to make in-kind redemptions and avoid being taxed on gains on the distributed portfolio securities at the fund level. A Fund that effects redemptions for cash may be required to sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. Any recognized gain on these sales by a Fund will generally cause the Fund to recognize a gain it might not otherwise have recognized, or to recognize such gain sooner than would otherwise be required if it were to distribute portfolio securities only in-kind. The Funds intend to distribute these gains to shareholders to avoid being taxed on this gain at the fund level and otherwise comply with the special tax rules that apply to it. This strategy may cause shareholders to be subject to tax on gains they would not otherwise be subject to, or at an earlier date than if they had made an investment in a different ETF. Moreover, cash transactions may have to be carried out over several days if the securities market is relatively illiquid and may involve considerable brokerage fees and taxes. These brokerage fees and taxes, which will be higher than if a Fund sold and redeemed its shares in-kind, will be passed on to those purchasing and redeeming Creation Units in the form of creation and redemption transaction fees. In addition, these factors may result in wider spreads between the bid and the offered prices of a Fund’s shares than for ETFs that distribute portfolio securities in-kind.

FAILURE TO QUALIFY AS A REGULATED INVESTMENT COMPANY RISK. If, in any year, a Fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company under the applicable tax laws, that Fund would be taxed as an ordinary corporation. In such circumstances, the Fund's taxable income would be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed and a Fund could be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest and make substantial distributions before requalifying as a regulated investment company that is accorded special tax treatment. This would cause investors to incur higher tax liabilities than they otherwise would have incurred and would have a negative impact on Fund returns. If the Fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company, distributions to the Fund's shareholders generally would be eligible (i) for treatment as qualified dividend income in the case of individual shareholders and (ii) for the dividends received deduction in the case of corporate shareholders. See "Federal Tax Matters."

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RISK. Each Fund relies on a license and related sublicense that permits a Fund to use its Index and associated trade names, trademarks and service marks (the “Intellectual Property”) in connection with the Fund’s name and investment strategies. Such license and related sublicense may be terminated by the Index Provider, and, as a result, a Fund may lose its ability to use the Intellectual Property. There is also no guarantee that the Index Provider has all rights to license the Intellectual Property for use by a Fund. Accordingly, in the event the license is terminated or the Index Provider does not have rights to license the Intellectual Property, it may have a significant effect on the operation of a Fund.

ISSUER SPECIFIC CHANGES RISK. The value of an individual security or particular type of security can be more volatile than the market as a whole and can perform differently from the value of the market as a whole.

LEGISLATION/LITIGATION RISK. From time to time, various legislative initiatives are proposed in the United States and abroad, which may have a negative impact on certain companies in which a Fund invests. In addition, litigation regarding any of the issuers of the securities owned by a Fund, or industries represented by these issuers, may negatively impact the value of the securities. Such legislation or litigation may cause a Fund to lose value or may result in higher portfolio turnover if the Advisor determines to sell such a holding.

occurrences affecting companies in the real estate sector. Additionally, investing in REITs involves certain other risks related to their structure and focus, which include, but are not limited to, dependency upon management skills, limited diversification, the risks of locating and managing financing for projects, heavy cash flow dependency, possible default by borrowers, the costs and potential losses of self-liquidation of one or more holdings, the risk of a possible lack of mortgage funds and associated interest rate risks, overbuilding, property vacancies, increases in property taxes and operating expenses, changes in zoning laws, losses due to environmental damages, changes in neighborhood values and appeal to purchasers, the possibility of failing to maintain exemptions from registration under the 1940 Act, failure to satisfy the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for maintaining REIT status and, in many cases, relatively small market capitalization, which may result in less market liquidity and greater price volatility for a REIT’s shares. REITs are also subject to the risk that the real estate market may experience an economic downturn generally, which may have a material effect on the real estate in which the REITs invest and their underlying portfolio securities.

Fund Organization

Each Fund is a series of the Trust, an investment company registered under the 1940 Act. Each Fund is treated as a separate fund with its own investment objectives and policies. The Trust is organized as a Massachusetts business trust. The Board is responsible for the overall management and direction of the Trust. The Board elects the Trust’s officers and approves all significant agreements, including those with the Advisor, distributor, custodian and fund administrative and accounting agent.

Management of the Funds

First Trust Advisors L.P., 120 East Liberty Drive, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, is the investment advisor to the Funds. In this capacity, First Trust is responsible for the selection and ongoing monitoring of the securities in each Fund’s portfolio and certain other services necessary for the management of the portfolios.

First Trust is a limited partnership with one limited partner, Grace Partners of DuPage L.P., and one general partner, The Charger Corporation. Grace Partners of DuPage L.P. is a limited partnership with one general partner, The Charger Corporation, and a number of limited partners. The Charger Corporation is an Illinois corporation controlled by James A. Bowen, the Chief Executive Officer of First Trust. First Trust discharges its responsibilities subject to the policies of the Funds.

First Trust serves as advisor or sub-advisor for 11 mutual fund portfolios, 10 exchange-traded funds consisting of 244 series and 13 closed-end funds. It is also the portfolio supervisor of certain unit investment trusts sponsored by First Trust Portfolios L.P. (“FTP”), an affiliate of First Trust, 120 East Liberty Drive, Wheaton, Illinois 60187. FTP specializes in the underwriting, trading and distribution of unit investment trusts and other securities. FTP is the principal underwriter of the shares of each Fund.

There is no one individual primarily responsible for portfolio management decisions for the Funds. Investments are made under the direction of the Investment Committee. The Investment Committee consists of Daniel J. Lindquist, David G. McGarel, Jon C. Erickson, Roger F. Testin, Stan Ueland, Chris A. Peterson and Erik Russo.

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Mr. Lindquist is Chairman of the Investment Committee and presides over Investment Committee meetings. Mr. Lindquist is responsible for overseeing the implementation of each Fund’s investment strategy. Mr. Lindquist was a Senior Vice President of First Trust and FTP from September 2005 to July 2012 and is now a Managing Director of First Trust and FTP. Mr. Lindquist is a recipient of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

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Mr. McGarel is the Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and a Managing Director of First Trust and FTP. As First Trust’s Chief Investment Officer, Mr. McGarel consults with the other members of the Investment Committee on market conditions and First Trust’s general investment philosophy. Mr. McGarel was a Senior Vice President of First Trust and FTP from January 2004 to July 2012. Mr. McGarel is a recipient of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

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Mr. Erickson joined First Trust in 1994 and is a Senior Vice President of First Trust and FTP. As the head of First Trust’s Equity Research Group, Mr. Erickson is responsible for determining the securities to be purchased and sold by funds that do not utilize quantitative investment strategies. Mr. Erickson is a recipient of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

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Mr. Testin is a Senior Vice President of First Trust and FTP. Mr. Testin is the head of First Trust’s Portfolio Management Group. Mr. Testin has been a Senior Vice President of First Trust and FTP since November 2003. Mr. Testin is a recipient of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

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Mr. Ueland joined First Trust as a Vice President in August 2005 and has been a Senior Vice President of First Trust and FTP since September 2012. At First Trust, he plays an important role in executing the investment strategies of each portfolio of exchange-traded funds advised by First Trust.

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Mr. Peterson is a Senior Vice President and head of First Trust’s strategy research group. He joined First Trust in January of 2000. Mr. Peterson is responsible for developing and implementing quantitative equity investment strategies. Mr. Peterson received his B.S. in Finance from Bradley University in 1997 and his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 2005. He has over 26 years of financial services industry experience and is a recipient of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

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Mr. Russo is a Vice President of First Trust. He is responsible for implementing the investment strategies of each portfolio of exchange-traded funds advised by First Trust in his role as a Portfolio Manager. Mr. Russo joined First Trust in January of 2010.

For additional information concerning First Trust, including a description of the services provided to the Funds, see the Funds' SAI. Additional information about the compensation of Investment Committee members, other accounts managed by members of the Investment Committee and ownership by members of the Investment Committee of shares of the Funds is provided in the SAI.

Management Fee

Pursuant to investment management agreements (the "Unitary Fee Investment Management Agreements") between First Trust and the Trust, on behalf of First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF and First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF (the "Unitary Fee Funds"), First Trust manages each Unitary Fee Fund's assets. First Trust is paid an annual unitary management fee by each Unitary Fee Fund at the rate set forth below and is responsible for each Unitary Fee Fund’s expenses, including the cost of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other services, and licensing, but excluding fee payments under the Unitary Fee Investment Management Agreement, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), brokerage commissions and other expenses connected with the execution of portfolio transactions, distribution and service fees payable pursuant to a Rule 12b-1 plan, if any, and extraordinary expenses.

The table below sets forth the annual management fee that First Trust may receive from each Fund. The table also shows the amounts paid by each Fund to First Trust for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 as a percentage of average daily net assets.

Fund	Annual Management Fee (% of average daily net assets)	Management Fee Paid for the Year Ended 12/31/2023 (% of average daily net assets)
First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF	0.50%	0.50%
First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF	0.65%	0.65%

As approved by the Trust’s Board of Trustees, the management fee paid to First Trust will be reduced at certain levels of Fund net assets (“breakpoints”). See the Fund's Statement of Additional Information for more information on the breakpoints.

A discussion of the basis of the Board’s approval of the continuation of the Investment Management Agreement relating to the Funds is available in the Funds’ Semi- Annual Report to Shareholders for the fiscal period ended June 30, 2023.

How to Buy and Sell Shares

Most investors buy and sell shares of a Fund in secondary market transactions through brokers. Shares of each Fund are listed for trading on the secondary market on one or more national securities exchanges. Shares can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like other publicly traded shares. There is no minimum investment when buying shares on an Exchange. Although shares are generally purchased and sold in “round lots” of 100 shares, brokerage firms typically permit investors to purchase or sell shares in smaller “odd lots,” at no per-share price differential. When buying or selling shares through a broker, investors should expect to pay brokerage commissions, investors may receive less than the net asset value of the shares because shares are bought and sold at market prices rather than at net asset value, and investors may pay some or all of the bid-ask spread for each transaction (purchase or sale) of Fund shares. Share prices are reported in dollars and cents per share.

Under normal circumstances, a Fund will pay out redemption proceeds to a redeeming authorized participant within two days after the authorized participant’s redemption request is received, in accordance with the process set forth in a Fund’s SAI and

in the agreement between the authorized participant and the Fund’s distributor. However, each Fund reserves the right, including under stressed market conditions, to take up to seven days after the receipt of a redemption request to pay an authorized participant, all as permitted by the 1940 Act. If a Fund has foreign investments in a country where a local market holiday, or series of consecutive holidays, or the extended delivery cycles for transferring foreign investments to redeeming authorized participants prevents the Fund from delivering such foreign investments to an authorized participant in response to a redemption request, a Fund may take up to 15 days after the receipt of the redemption request to deliver such investments to the authorized participant.

For purposes of the 1940 Act, each Fund is treated as a registered investment company, and the acquisition of shares by other registered investment companies and companies relying on Sections 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act is subject to the restrictions of Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act and the related rules and interpretations.

Book Entry

Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no share certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding shares of a Fund and is recognized as the owner of all shares for all purposes.

Investors owning shares are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for all shares. Participants in DTC include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other institutions that directly or indirectly maintain a custodial relationship with DTC. As a beneficial owner of shares, you are not entitled to receive physical delivery of share certificates or to have shares registered in your name, and you are not considered a registered owner of shares. Therefore, to exercise any right as an owner of shares, you must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants. These procedures are the same as those that apply to any other stocks that you hold in book-entry or “street name” form.

Share Trading Prices

The trading price of shares of a Fund on the secondary market is based on market price and may differ from such Fund’s daily net asset value and can be affected by market forces of supply and demand, economic conditions and other factors.

Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of the Funds' Shares

The Funds impose no restrictions on the frequency of purchases and redemptions (“market timing”). In determining not to approve a written, established policy, the Board evaluated the risks of market timing activities by the Funds' shareholders. The Board considered that the Funds' shares can only be purchased and redeemed directly from the Funds in Creation Units by broker-dealers and large institutional investors that have entered into participation agreements (i.e., authorized participants (“APs”)) and that the vast majority of trading in the Funds' shares occurs on the secondary market. Because the secondary market trades do not involve the Funds directly, it is unlikely those trades would cause many of the harmful effects of market timing, including dilution, disruption of portfolio management, increases in the Funds' trading costs and the realization of capital gains. With respect to trades directly with the Funds, to the extent effected in-kind (i.e., for securities), those trades do not cause any of the harmful effects that may result from frequent cash trades. To the extent that a Fund may effect the purchase or redemption of Creation Units in exchange wholly or partially for cash, the Board noted that such trades could result in dilution to a Fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the Funds' ability to achieve their investment objective. However, the Board noted that direct trading by APs is critical to ensuring that the shares trade at or close to net asset value. In addition, the Funds impose fixed and variable transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the Funds in effecting trades. Finally, the Advisor monitors purchase and redemption orders from APs for patterns of abusive trading and the Funds reserve the right to not accept orders from APs that the Advisor has determined may be disruptive to the management of the Funds.

Dividends, Distributions and Taxes

Dividends from net investment income from the Funds, if any, are declared and paid quarterly by each Fund. Each Fund distributes its net realized capital gains, if any, to shareholders at least annually.

Distributions in cash may be reinvested automatically in additional whole shares only if the broker through whom you purchased shares makes such option available. Such shares will generally be reinvested by the broker based upon the market price of those shares and investors may be subject to customary brokerage commissions charged by the broker.

Federal Tax Matters

This section summarizes some of the main U.S. federal income tax consequences of owning shares of the Funds. This section is current as of the date of this prospectus. Tax laws and interpretations change frequently, and these summaries do not describe all of the tax consequences to all taxpayers. For example, these summaries generally do not describe your situation if you are a corporation, a non-U.S. person, a broker-dealer, or other investor with special circumstances. In addition, this section does not describe your state, local or non-U.S. tax consequences.

This federal income tax summary is based in part on the advice of counsel to the Funds. The Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") could disagree with any conclusions set forth in this section. The following disclosure may not be sufficient for you to use for the purpose of avoiding penalties under federal tax law.

As with any investment, you should seek advice based on your individual circumstances from your own tax advisor.

Fund Status

Each Fund intends to continue to qualify as a “regulated investment company” (a “RIC”) under the federal tax laws. If a Fund qualifies as a RIC and distributes its income as required by the tax law, the Fund generally will not pay federal income taxes.

Distributions

The Funds' distributions are generally taxable. After the end of each year, you will receive a tax statement that separates the distributions of a Fund into two categories: ordinary income distributions and capital gain dividends. Ordinary income distributions are generally taxed at your ordinary tax rate, however, as further discussed below, certain ordinary income distributions received from a Fund may be taxed at the capital gains tax rates. Generally, you will treat all capital gain dividends as long-term capital gains regardless of how long you have owned your shares.

To determine your actual tax liability for your capital gain dividends, you must calculate your total net capital gain or loss for the tax year after considering all of your other taxable transactions, as described below. In addition, the Funds may make distributions that represent a return of capital for tax purposes and thus will generally not be taxable to you; however, such distributions may reduce your tax basis in your shares, which could result in you having to pay higher taxes in the future when shares are sold or redeemed, even if you sell or redeem the shares at a loss from your original investment. A “return of capital” is a return, in whole or in part, of the funds that you previously invested in the Funds. A return of capital distribution should not be considered part of a Fund’s dividend yield or total return of an investment in Fund shares. The tax status of your distributions from a Fund is not affected by whether you reinvest your distributions in additional shares or receive them in cash. The tax laws may require you to treat distributions made to you in January as if you had received them on December 31 of the previous year.

Income from a Fund may also be subject to a 3.8% “Medicare tax.” This tax generally applies to your net investment income if your adjusted gross income exceeds certain threshold amounts, which are $250,000 in the case of married couples filing joint returns and $200,000 in the case of single individuals.

Capital Gains and Losses and Certain Ordinary Income Dividends

Net capital gain equals net long-term capital gain minus net short-term capital loss for the taxable year. Capital gain or loss is long-term if the holding period for the asset is more than one year and is short-term if the holding period for the asset is one year or less. You must exclude the date you purchase your shares to determine your holding period. However, if you receive a capital gain dividend from a Fund and sell your shares at a loss after holding them for six months or less, the loss will be recharacterized as long-term capital loss to the extent of any capital gain dividend received. The tax rates for capital gains realized from assets held for one year or less are generally the same as for ordinary income. The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, treats certain capital gains as ordinary income in special situations.

An election may be available to you to defer recognition of the gain attributable to a capital gain dividend if you make certain qualifying investments within a limited time. You should talk to your tax advisor about the availability of this deferral election and its requirements.

Ordinary income dividends received by an individual shareholder from regulated investment companies such as the Funds are generally taxed at the same rates that apply to net capital gain (as discussed above), provided certain holding period requirements are satisfied and provided the dividends are attributable to qualifying dividends received by the Funds themselves. Each Fund will provide notice to its shareholders of the amount of any distribution which may be taken into account as a dividend which is eligible for the capital gains tax rates.

Dividends Received Deduction

A corporation that owns shares generally will not be entitled to the dividends received deduction with respect to many dividends received from the Funds because the dividends received deduction is generally not available for distributions from RICs. However, certain ordinary income dividends on shares that are attributable to qualifying dividends received by the Funds from certain corporations may be reported by the Funds as being eligible for the dividends received deduction.

Sale of Shares

If you sell or redeem your shares, you will generally recognize a taxable gain or loss. To determine the amount of this gain or loss, you must subtract your tax basis in your shares from the amount you receive in the transaction. Your tax basis in your shares is generally equal to the cost of your shares, generally including brokerage fees, if any. In some cases, however, you may have to adjust your tax basis after you purchase your shares. An election may be available to you to defer recognition of capital gain if you make certain qualifying investments within a limited time. You should talk to your tax advisor about the availability of this deferral election and its requirements.

Taxes on Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units

If you exchange securities for Creation Units, you will generally recognize a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time and your aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and the cash component paid. If you exchange Creation Units for securities, you will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between your basis in the Creation Units and the aggregate market value of the securities received and the cash redemption amount. The IRS, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units or Creation Units for securities cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.

Treatment of Expenses

Expenses incurred and deducted by the Funds will generally not be treated as income taxable to you.

Non-U.S. Tax Credit

If a Fund invests in non-U.S. securities, the tax statement that you receive may include an item showing non-U.S. taxes a Fund paid to other countries. In this case, dividends taxed to you will include your share of the taxes such Fund paid to other countries. You may be able to deduct or receive a tax credit for your share of these taxes.

Non-U.S. Investors

If you are a non-U.S. investor (i.e., an investor other than a U.S. citizen or resident or a U.S. corporation, partnership, estate or trust), you should be aware that, generally, subject to applicable tax treaties, distributions from a Fund will be characterized as dividends for federal income tax purposes (other than dividends which a Fund properly reports as capital gain dividends) and will be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes, subject to certain exceptions described below. However, distributions received by a non-U.S. investor from a Fund that are properly reported by a Fund as capital gain dividends may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes, provided that a Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met. Distributions from a Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as an interest-related dividend attributable to certain interest income received by the Fund or as a short-term capital gain dividend attributable to certain net short-term capital gain income received by the Fund may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes when received by certain non-U.S. investors, provided that the Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met. For tax years after December 31, 2022, amounts paid to or recognized by a non-U.S. affiliate that are excluded from tax under the portfolio interest, capital gain dividends, short-term capital gains or tax-exempt interest dividend exceptions or applicable treaties, may be taken into consideration in determining whether a corporation is an “applicable corporation” subject to a 15% minimum tax on adjusted financial statement income.

are not resident in a jurisdiction that has entered into such an agreement with the U.S. Treasury and (ii) certain other non-U.S. entities that do not provide certain certifications and information about the entity’s U.S. owners. This withholding tax is also currently scheduled to apply to the gross proceeds from the disposition of securities that produce U.S. source interest or dividends. However, proposed regulations may eliminate the requirement to withhold on payments of gross proceeds from dispositions.

It is the responsibility of the entity through which you hold your shares to determine the applicable withholding.

Investments in Certain Non-U.S. Corporations

If a Fund holds an equity interest in any “passive foreign investment companies” (“PFICs”), which are generally certain non-U.S. corporations that receive at least 75% of their annual gross income from passive sources (such as interest, dividends, certain rents and royalties or capital gains) or that hold at least 50% of their assets in investments producing such passive income, a Fund could be subject to U.S. federal income tax and additional interest charges on gains and certain distributions with respect to those equity interests, even if all the income or gain is timely distributed to its shareholders. A Fund will not be able to pass through to its shareholders any credit or deduction for such taxes. A Fund may be able to make an election that could ameliorate these adverse tax consequences. In this case, a Fund would recognize as ordinary income any increase in the value of such PFIC shares, and as ordinary loss any decrease in such value to the extent it did not exceed prior increases included in income. Under this election, a Fund might be required to recognize in a year income in excess of its distributions from PFICs and its proceeds from dispositions of PFIC stock during that year, and such income would nevertheless be subject to the distribution requirement and would be taken into account for purposes of the 4% excise tax. Dividends paid by PFICs are not treated as qualified dividend income.

Distribution Plan

FTP serves as the distributor of Creation Units for the Funds on an agency basis. FTP does not maintain a secondary market in shares.

The Board has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. In accordance with the Rule 12b-1 plan, the Funds are authorized to pay an amount up to 0.25% of their average daily net assets each year to reimburse FTP for amounts expended to finance activities primarily intended to result in the sale of Creation Units or the provision of investor services. FTP may also use this amount to compensate securities dealers or other persons that are APs for providing distribution assistance, including broker-dealer and shareholder support and educational and promotional services.

The Funds do not currently pay 12b-1 fees, and pursuant to a contractual arrangement, the Funds will not pay 12b-1 fees any time before April 30, 2025. However, in the event 12b-1 fees are charged in the future, because these fees are paid out of the Funds' assets, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than certain other types of sales charges.

Net Asset Value

Each Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) is determined as of the close of regular trading (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time) on each day the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for trading. If the NYSE closes early on a valuation day, a Fund’s NAV will be determined as of that time. Each Fund’s NAV is calculated by dividing the value of the net assets of the Fund (i.e., the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by the total number of outstanding shares of the Fund, generally rounded to the nearest cent.

Section 2(a)(41) of the 1940 Act provides that when a market quotation is readily available for a fund’s portfolio investment, it must be valued at the market value. Rule 2a-5 under the 1940 Act (“Rule 2a-5”) defines a readily available market quotation as “a quoted price (unadjusted) in active markets for identical investments that the fund can access at the measurement date, provided that a quotation will not be readily available if it is not reliable.” If a market quotation is not “readily available,” then the portfolio investment must be fair valued as determined in good faith by a fund’s board of trustees.

Rule 2a-5 permits a fund’s board of trustees to designate the fund’s investment adviser as its “valuation designee” to perform fair value determinations, subject to certain conditions. Accordingly, the Funds’ Board has designated First Trust as its valuation designee (the “Valuation Designee”) pursuant to Rule 2a-5 and has directed the Valuation Designee to perform the functions required in Rule 2a-5(a) subject to the requirements of Rule 2a-5(b) on behalf of all portfolio investments of the Funds, subject to the Board’s oversight. First Trust has established a pricing committee (the “Pricing Committee”) to assist in the administration

of the duties of the Valuation Designee. The Valuation Designee has adopted valuation procedures for the First Trust Funds (the “Valuation Procedures”), a brief summary of which is set forth below.

The Pricing Committee has identified certain portfolio investments that are routinely categorized as having a readily available market quotation. The market value of an investment with a readily available market quotation is typically determined on the basis of official closing prices or last reported sale prices or equivalent price, although this can vary based on investment type and/or the availability of such prices.

The Pricing Committee has also identified certain portfolio investments that are routinely categorized as fair valued investments. In general, for such investments, the Funds’ accounting agent will obtain all pricing data for use in valuing such investments from a pricing service provider approved by the Pricing Committee (each, a “Pricing Service Provider”), subject to the oversight of the Pricing Committee. Pricing Service Providers typically value non-exchange-traded instruments utilizing a range of market-based inputs and assumptions. For example, when available, Pricing Service Providers may utilize inputs such as benchmark yields, reported trades, broker-dealer quotes, spreads, and transactions for comparable instruments. In pricing certain instruments, a Pricing Service Provider may consider information about an instrument’s issuer or market activity. Pricing Service Provider valuations of non-exchange-traded instruments generally represent the service’s good faith opinion as to what the holder of an instrument would receive in an orderly transaction for an institutional round lot position under current market conditions. Certain exchange-traded options, such as FLEX Options, are typically valued using a model-based price provided by a Pricing Service Provider.

Portfolio investments trading on foreign exchanges or over-the-counter markets that close prior to the close of the NYSE may be fair valued using a systematic fair valuation model provided by a Pricing Service Provider. If these foreign securities meet certain criteria in relation to the valuation model, their valuation is systematically adjusted to reflect the impact of movement in the U.S. market after the close of certain foreign markets.

If no price is available from a Pricing Service Provider or if the Pricing Committee has reason to question the accuracy or the reliability of a price supplied for a portfolio investment or the use of amortized cost, the Pricing Committee will determine the fair value of such portfolio investment in a manner that it believes most appropriately reflects the fair value of the portfolio investment on the valuation date (a “Special Fair Value Pricing Situation”). In a Special Fair Value Pricing Situation, the Pricing Committee will determine a fair value price subject to the process outlined in the Valuation Procedures and based on a consideration of all available information to the Pricing Committee at the time of the determination.

Additionally, for foreign securities, if an extraordinary market event occurs between the time the last “current” market quotation is available for a security in a Fund’s portfolio and the time the Fund’s NAV is determined that calls into doubt whether that earlier market quotation represents fair value at the time the Fund’s NAV is determined, the Pricing Committee will determine the fair valuation as set forth in the Valuation Procedures.

Fair value represents a good faith approximation of the value of a portfolio investment and is the amount a Fund might reasonably expect to receive from the current sale of that investment in an arm’s-length transaction. Valuing a Fund’s investments using fair value pricing will result in prices that may differ from current market valuations, if any, and that may not be the prices at which those investments could have been sold during the period in which the particular fair values were used. While the Valuation Procedures and Valuation Designee’s processes are intended to result in a Fund’s NAV calculation that fairly reflects the values as of the time of pricing, the fair value determined for a portfolio instrument may be materially different from the value that could be realized upon the sale of that instrument.

Foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate of such currencies against the U.S. dollar as provided by a Pricing Service Provider. All assets denominated in foreign currencies will be converted into U.S. dollars at the exchange rates in effect at the time of valuation.

Fund Service Providers

The Bank of New York Mellon, 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286, acts as the administrator, accounting agent, custodian and transfer agent for the Funds. Chapman and Cutler LLP, 320 South Canal St., Chicago, Illinois 60606, serves as legal counsel to the Funds. First Trust serves as the fund reporting agent for the Funds.

Index Providers

The Indices are compiled by the Index Providers. The Index Providers are not affiliated with the Funds, FTP or First Trust. Each Fund is entitled to use the applicable Index pursuant to a sublicensing arrangement by and among the Fund, Index Provider and First Trust, which in turn has a licensing agreement with the Index Provider. With the exception of First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF, each Index Provider, or its agent, also serves as calculation agent for each Index (each, an “Index Calculation Agent”). Each Index Calculation Agent is responsible for the management of the day-to-day operations of the applicable Index, including calculating the value of such Index every 15 seconds, widely disseminating the Index values every 15 seconds and tracking corporate actions resulting in Index adjustments.

Disclaimers

First Trust does not guarantee the accuracy and/or the completeness of the Indices or any data included therein, and First Trust shall have no liability for any errors, omissions or interruptions therein. First Trust makes no warranty, express or implied, as to results to be obtained by the Funds, owners of the shares of the Funds or any other person or entity from the use of the Indices or any data included therein. First Trust makes no express or implied warranties, and expressly disclaims all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or use with respect to the Indices or any data included therein. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall First Trust have any liability for any special, punitive, direct, indirect or consequential damages (including lost profits) arising out of matters relating to the use of the Indices, even if notified of the possibility of such damages.

First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF

The Dow Jones Industrial Average® Equal Weight Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (“SPDJI”), and has been licensed for use by First Trust. S&P® is a registered trademark of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”); Dow Jones® and “Dow Jones Industrial Average® Equal Weight Index” are trademarks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”); and these trademarks have been licensed for use by SPDJI and sublicensed for certain purposes by First Trust. First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P, any of their respective affiliates (collectively, “S&P Dow Jones Indices”). S&P Dow Jones Indices makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Fund particularly or the ability of the Dow Jones Industrial Average® Equal Weight Index to track general market performance. S&P Dow Jones Indices’ only relationship to First Trust with respect to the Dow Jones Industrial Average® Equal Weight Index is the licensing of the Index and certain trademarks, service marks and/or trade names of S&P Dow Jones Indices or its licensors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average® Equal Weight Index is determined, composed and calculated by S&P Dow Jones Indices without regard to First Trust or the Fund. S&P Dow Jones Indices have no obligation to take the needs of First Trust or the owners of the Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Dow Jones Industrial Average® Equal Weight Index. S&P Dow Jones Indices is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the prices, and amount of the Fund or the timing of the issuance or sale of the Fund or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Fund is to be converted into cash, surrendered or redeemed, as the case may be. S&P Dow Jones Indices has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund. There is no assurance that investment products based on the Dow Jones Industrial Average® Equal Weight Index will accurately track index performance or provide positive investment returns. S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC is not an investment advisor. Inclusion of a security within an index is not a recommendation by S&P Dow Jones Indices to buy, sell, or hold such security, nor is it considered to be investment advice.

S&P DOW JONES INDICES DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ADEQUACY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE EQUAL WEIGHT INDEX OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO OR ANY COMMUNICATION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ORAL OR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION (INCLUDING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS) WITH RESPECT THERETO. S&P DOW JONES INDICES SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO ANY DAMAGES OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR DELAYS THEREIN. S&P DOW JONES INDICES MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE OR AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY FIRST TRUST, OWNERS OF THE FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE EQUAL WEIGHT INDEX OR WITH RESPECT TO ANY DATA RELATED THERETO. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT WHATSOEVER SHALL S&P DOW JONES INDICES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF PROFITS, TRADING LOSSES, LOST TIME OR GOODWILL, EVEN IF THEY HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. THERE ARE

NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN S&P DOW JONES INDICES AND FIRST TRUST, OTHER THAN THE LICENSORS OF S&P DOW JONES INDICES.

First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF

Lunt Capital Management, Inc. (“Lunt Capital”) is not affiliated with the Trust, Fund’s administrator, custodian, transfer agent or distributor. The Lunt Capital Large Cap Factor Rotation Index (the “Lunt Index”) is a product of Lunt Capital. First Trust (or, the “Licensee”) has entered into a license agreement with Lunt Capital pursuant to which the Licensee pays a fee to use the Lunt Index and the marketing names and licensed trademarks of Lunt Capital (the “Lunt Trademarks”). The Licensee is sub-licensing rights to the Lunt Index to the First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF Fund. The Lunt Index is compiled and calculated by Lunt Capital. Lunt Capital has no obligation to take the needs of the Licensee or the owners of the Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Lunt Index. Lunt Capital shall not be liable (whether in negligence or otherwise) to any person for any error in the Index and shall not be under any obligation to advise any person of any error therein. Neither the publication of the Lunt Index by Lunt Capital nor the granting of a license of rights relating to the Lunt Index or to the Lunt Trademarks for the utilization in connection with the Fund represents a recommendation by Lunt Capital for a capital investment or contains in any manner a warranty or opinion by Lunt Capital with respect to the attractiveness of an investment in the Fund. The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, or sold by Lunt Capital. Lunt Capital makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of trading in the Fund. Lunt Capital is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the Fund to be sold or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Fund is to be converted into cash. Lunt Capital has an obligation in connection with the administration and marketing of the Fund, but has no obligations or liabilities in connection with the trading of the Fund. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Lunt Capital may independently issue and/or sponsor financial products unrelated to the Fund currently being issued by the Licensee, but which may be similar to and competitive with the Fund. In addition, Lunt Capital may trade financial products which are linked to the performance of the Lunt Index. It is possible that this trading activity will affect the value of the Index and the Fund.

LUNT CAPITAL DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE LUNT INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN AND SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR INTERRUPTIONS THEREIN. LUNT CAPITAL MAKES NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY THE LICENSEES, OWNERS OF THE FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF LUNT THE INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. LUNT CAPITAL MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE LUNT INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL LUNT CAPITAL HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES, EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

The Lunt Index is the property of Lunt Capital Management, Inc., which has contracted with Nasdaq, Inc. to calculate and maintain the Index.

The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by the Nasdaq, Inc. Nasdaq, Inc. makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of trading in the Fund. Nasdaq, Inc.’s only relationship to First Trust is the licensing of certain trademarks and trade names of Nasdaq, Inc. and of the Lunt Index, which is determined, composed and calculated by Nasdaq, Inc., or its agent, without regard to First Trust or the Fund, Nasdaq, Inc. has no obligation to take the needs of First Trust or the owners of the Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Lunt Index. Nasdaq, Inc. is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the Fund to be listed or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Fund is to be converted into cash. Nasdaq, Inc. has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund.

NASDAQ, INC. DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE LUNT INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN AND NASDAQ, INC. SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR INTERRUPTIONS THEREIN. NASDAQ, INC. MAKES NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY FIRST TRUST, OWNERS OF THE FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE LUNT INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. NASDAQ, INC. MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE LUNT INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN, WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL NASDAQ, INC. HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING LOST

PROFITS), EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THERE ARE NO THIRD-PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN NASDAQ, INC. AND FIRST TRUST.

Premium/Discount Information

Information showing the number of days the market price of the Funds' shares was greater (at a premium) and less (at a discount) than the Funds' net asset value for the most recently completed year, and the most recently completed calendar quarters since that year (or life of a Fund, if shorter), is available at https://www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/etf/home.aspx.

Financial Highlights

The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand each Fund's financial performance for the periods shown. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share of each Fund. The total returns represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in a Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). The information for the periods indicated has been derived from financial statements audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, whose report, along with each Fund's financial statements, is included in each Fund's Annual Report to Shareholders dated December 31, 2023 and is incorporated by reference in each Fund's SAI, which is available upon request.

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund

Financial Highlights
For a share outstanding throughout each period

First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF (EDOW)

	Year Ended December 31,
	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019
Net asset value, beginning of period	$28.79	$31.75	$27.19	$26.11	$21.43
Income from investment operations:
Net investment income (loss)	0.63 (a)	0.55	0.48	0.50	0.47
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	3.85	(2.96 )	4.56	1.08	4.70
Total from investment operations	4.48	(2.41 )	5.04	1.58	5.17
Distributions paid to shareholders from:
Net investment income	(0.63 )	(0.55 )	(0.48 )	(0.50 )	(0.49 )
Net asset value, end of period	$32.64	$28.79	$31.75	$27.19	$26.11
Total Return (b)	15.74 %	(7.52 )%	18.63 %	6.41 %	24.27 %
Ratios/supplemental data:
Net assets, end of period (in 000’s)	$249,603	$158,274	$138,042	$71,994	$43,077
Ratios to average net assets:
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets	0.50 %	0.50 %	0.50 %	0.50 %	0.50 %
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets	2.10 %	1.95 %	1.70 %	2.11 %	1.99 %
Portfolio turnover rate (c)	16 %	17 %	14 %	31 %	13 %

(a)

Based on average shares outstanding.

(b)

Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption at net asset value on the last day of the period. The returns presented do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption or sale of Fund shares. Total return is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year.

(c)

Portfolio turnover is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year and does not include securities received or delivered from processing creations or redemptions and in-kind transactions.

Financial Highlights
For a share outstanding throughout each period

First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF (FCTR)

	Year Ended December 31,
	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019
Net asset value, beginning of period	$27.92	$35.55	$29.47	$22.80	$17.67
Income from investment operations:
Net investment income (loss)	0.26 (a)	0.38	0.17	0.12	0.23
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	(0.08 )(b)	(7.62 )	6.07	6.68	5.12
Total from investment operations	0.18	(7.24 )	6.24	6.80	5.35
Distributions paid to shareholders from:
Net investment income	(0.29 )	(0.39 )	(0.16 )	(0.13 )	(0.22 )
Net asset value, end of period	$27.81	$27.92	$35.55	$29.47	$22.80
Total Return(c)	0.68% % (b)	(20.37 )%	21.22 %	30.02 %	30.35 %
Ratios/supplemental data:
Net assets, end of period (in 000’s)	$83,420	$268,025	$663,005	$131,157	$62,696
Ratios to average net assets:
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets	0.65 %	0.65 %	0.65 %	0.65 %	0.65 %
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets	0.97 %	1.13 %	0.52 %	0.42 %	1.17 %
Portfolio turnover rate(d)	562 %	379 %	307 %	460 %	246 %

(a)

Based on average shares outstanding.

(b)

The Fund received a payment from the advisor in the amount of $25,082, which represents less than $0.01 per share. Since the advisor reimbursed the Fund, there was no effect on the Fund’s total return.

(c)

(d)

Other Information

Continuous Offering

Each Fund issues, on a continuous offering basis, its shares in one or more groups of a fixed number of Fund shares (each such group of such specified number of individual Fund shares, a “Creation Unit Aggregation”). The method by which Creation Unit Aggregations of Fund shares are created and traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Unit Aggregations of shares are issued and sold by a Fund on an ongoing basis, a “distribution,” as such term is used in the Securities Act, may occur at any point. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner which could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus delivery requirement and liability provisions of the Securities Act.

For example, a broker-dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory underwriter if it takes Creation Unit Aggregations after placing an order with FTP, breaks them down into constituent shares and sells such shares directly to customers, or if it chooses to couple the creation of a supply of new shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for shares. A determination of whether one is an underwriter for purposes of the Securities Act must take into account all the facts and circumstances pertaining to the activities of the broker-dealer or its client in the particular case, and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could lead to a characterization as an underwriter.

Broker-dealer firms should also note that dealers who are not “underwriters” but are effecting transactions in shares, whether or not participating in the distribution of shares, are generally required to deliver a prospectus. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act is not available in respect of such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. As a result, broker-dealer firms should note that dealers who are not underwriters but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted with ordinary secondary market transactions) and thus dealing with the shares that are part of an overallotment within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the Securities Act would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act. Firms that incur a prospectus delivery obligation with respect to shares are reminded that, under the Securities Act Rule 153, a prospectus delivery obligation under Section 5(b)(2) of the Securities Act owed to a broker-dealer in connection with a sale on the applicable Exchange is satisfied by the fact that the prospectus is available from the applicable Exchange upon request. The prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is available with respect to transactions on a national securities exchange, a trading facility or an alternative trading system.

FTP, or its affiliates, or a fund or unit investment trust for which FTP or an affiliate serves as sponsor or investment advisor, may purchase shares of a Fund through a broker-dealer or other investors, including in secondary market transactions, and because FTP or its affiliates may be deemed affiliates of such Fund, the shares are being registered to permit the resale of these shares from time to time after any such purchase. A Fund will not receive any of the proceeds from the resale of such shares.

[THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.]

First Trust

Exchange-Traded Fund

First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF
First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF

For More Information

For more detailed information on the Funds, several additional sources of information are available to you. The SAI, incorporated by reference into this prospectus, contains detailed information on the Funds' policies and operation. Additional information about the Funds' investments is available in the annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In the Funds’ annual reports, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly impacted the Funds' performance during the last fiscal year. The Funds’ most recent SAI, annual and semi-annual reports and certain other information are available free of charge by calling the Funds at (800) 621-1675, on the Funds' website at www.ftportfolios.com or through your financial advisor. Shareholders may call the toll-free number above with any inquiries.

You may obtain this and other information regarding the Funds, including the SAI and the Codes of Ethics adopted by First Trust, FTP and the Trust, directly from the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Information on the SEC’s website is free of charge. Visit the SEC’s online EDGAR database at www.sec.gov. You may also request information regarding the Funds by sending a request (along with a duplication fee) to the SEC by sending an electronic request to publicinfo@sec.gov.

First Trust Advisors L.P.
120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
(800) 621-1675

www.ftportfolios.com

SEC File #: 333-125751

811-21774

First Trust

Exchange-Traded Fund

Prospectus

FT Vest Gold Strategy Quarterly Buffer ETF

Ticker Symbol:	BGLD
Exchange:	Cboe BZX

FT Vest Gold Strategy Quarterly Buffer ETF (the “Fund”) lists and principally trades its shares on the Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. (“Cboe BZX” or the “Exchange”). Market prices may differ to some degree from the net asset value of the shares. Unlike mutual funds, the Fund issues and redeems shares at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called "Creation Units."

The Fund is a series of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund (the “Trust”) and an actively-managed exchange-traded fund organized as a separate series of a registered management investment company.

Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund.

The Fund is designed to participate in the positive price returns of the SPDR® Gold Trust (the “Underlying ETF”) up to a cap of 9.27% (before fees and expenses), while seeking to provide a buffer against losses between -5% and -15% (before fees and expenses) of the Underlying ETF (“Outcomes”) over the period from March 1, 2024 through May 31, 2024 (the “Target Outcome Period”). When the Fund's fees and expenses are taken into account, the cap is 9.04% and the buffer is between -5.23% and -15.23%. The cap and buffer will be further reduced by any brokerage commissions, trading fees, taxes and extraordinary expenses not included in the Fund's management fee. At the end of the Target Outcome Period, the Fund will reset for a new Target Outcome Period tied to the same Underlying ETF and buffer, but the cap may change based on market rates as of the start of the new Target Outcome Period. The Fund seeks to achieve specified Outcomes but there is no guarantee that the Outcomes for a Target Outcome Period will be achieved. You may lose some or all of your money by investing in the Fund. The Fund has characteristics unlike many other typical investment products and may not be suitable for all investors. It is important that investors understand the Fund’s investment strategy before making an investment in the Fund.

The Outcomes described in this prospectus are specifically designed to apply only if you hold shares on the first day of the Target Outcome Period and continue to hold them on the last day of the period. If you purchase shares after the Target Outcome Period starts or sell your shares before the Target Outcome Period ends, you may receive a very different return based on the Fund’s current value. An investor that holds Fund shares through multiple Target Outcome Periods may fail to experience gains comparable to those of the Underlying ETF over time because at the end of each Target Outcome Period, a new cap will be established based on the then current price of the Underlying ETF and any gains above the prior cap will be forfeit. Similarly, an investor that holds Fund shares through multiple Target Outcome Periods will be unable to recapture losses from prior Target Outcome Periods because at the end of each Target Outcome Period, a new buffer will be established based on the then current price of the Underlying ETF and any losses experienced below the prior buffer will be locked in. Moreover, the annual imposition of a new cap on future gains may make it difficult to recoup any losses from prior Target Outcome Periods such that, over multiple Target Outcome Periods, the Fund may have losses that exceed those of the Underlying ETF. Investors purchasing shares of the Fund after the Target Outcome Period begins can see their expected Outcome until the end of the period by visiting the Fund’s website, www.ftportfolios.com/retail/etf/EtfSummary.aspx?Ticker=BGLD.

May 1, 2024

NOT FDIC INSURED MAY LOSE VALUE NO BANK GUARANTEE

Table of Contents

Summary Information	3
Additional Information on the Fund's Investment Objective and Strategies	19
Fund Investments	19
Risks of Investing in the Fund	20
Fund Organization	28
Management of the Fund	28
How to Buy and Sell Shares	29
Dividends, Distributions and Taxes	30
Federal Tax Matters	31
Distribution Plan	34
Net Asset Value	35
Fund Service Providers	36
Disclaimers	36
Premium/Discount Information	36
Financial Highlights	37
Other Information	38

Summary Information

Investment Objective

The investment objective of the FT Vest Gold Strategy Quarterly Buffer ETF (the “Fund”) is to seek to provide investors with returns (before fees and expenses) that match the price return of the SPDR® Gold Trust (the "Underlying ETF"), up to a predetermined upside cap of 9.27% while providing a buffer (before fees and expenses) against Underlying ETF losses between -5% and -15% over the period from March 1, 2024 through May 31, 2024.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Management Fees	0.90%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.00%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses	0.01%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.91%

Example

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.

1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$93	$290	$504	$1,120

Portfolio Turnover

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest substantially all of its assets in U.S. Treasury securities, cash and cash equivalents, and in the shares of a wholly-owned subsidiary (the “Subsidiary”) that holds FLexible EXchange® Options (“FLEX Options”) that reference the price performance of the SPDR® Gold Trust (the “Underlying ETF"). FLEX Options are customized equity or index option contracts that trade on an exchange, but provide investors with the ability to customize key contract terms like exercise prices, styles and expiration dates. The Underlying ETF is an exchange-traded investment trust that holds physical gold bars. World Gold Trust Services, LLC (“WGTS”) serves as the Underlying ETF’s sponsor and HSBC plc serves as the Underlying ETF’s custodian. The Underlying ETF's custodian may utilize subcustodians that hold the Underlying ETF's gold on its behalf. The Underlying ETF is not expected to pay dividends. See “The Underlying ETF” for more information. The Fund’s investment sub-advisor is Vest Financial LLC ("Vest" or the "Sub-Advisor").

The Subsidiary is wholly-owned by the Fund and is organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands. All investments in FLEX Options on the Underlying ETF will be undertaken by the Subsidiary. The Fund does not invest directly in FLEX Options on the Underlying ETF. The Fund gains exposure to these investments exclusively by investing in the Subsidiary. The Subsidiary is advised by First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund’s investment advisor, and sub-advised by Vest, the Sub-Advisor. The Fund’s investment in the Subsidiary is intended to provide the Fund with exposure to gold, a commodity, within the limits of current federal income tax laws applicable to investment companies such as the Fund, which limit the ability of investment companies to invest directly in commodities. Although the Fund’s FLEX Options positions provide exposure to the Underlying ETF, and

not gold directly, the Underlying ETF is a grantor trust and its shareholders are treated, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as if they directly owned a pro rata share of the Underlying ETF’s assets. The Subsidiary has the same investment objective as the Fund, but unlike the Fund, it may invest without limitation in FLEX Options on the Underlying ETF. Except as otherwise noted, for purposes of this prospectus, references to the Fund’s investments include the Fund’s indirect investments through the Subsidiary. The Fund will invest up to approximately 25% of its total assets in the Subsidiary.

The Fund uses short-term U.S. Treasury securities, cash and cash equivalents, and, through the Subsidiary, FLEX Options to employ a “target outcome strategy.” Target outcome strategies seek to produce pre-determined investment outcomes based upon the performance of an underlying security or index. The pre-determined outcomes sought by the Fund, which include a buffer (before fees and expenses) against losses between -5% and -15% of the Underlying ETF and a cap of 9.27% (before fees and expenses), are based on the price performance of the Underlying ETF over an approximate three-month period (the “Target Outcome Period”). When the Fund's fees and expenses are taken into account, the cap is 9.04% and the buffer is between -5.23% and -15.23%. The cap and buffer will be further reduced by any brokerage commissions, trading fees, taxes and extraordinary expenses not included in the Fund's management fee. The target outcomes the Fund seeks for investors that hold Fund shares for an entire Target Outcome Period are as follows, though there can be no guarantee these results will be achieved:

•

If the Underlying ETF appreciates over the Target Outcome Period, the combination of the Fund’s U.S. Treasury securities, cash and cash equivalents, and the FLEX Options held by the Fund through the Subsidiary seeks to provide upside participation matching that of the Underlying ETF, up to a cap that is determined at the start of the Target Outcome Period. The cap for the current Target Outcome Period is 9.27%, prior to taking into account the Fund’s fees and expenses.

•

If the Underlying ETF decreases over the Target Outcome Period by up to 5% or less, the combination of the Fund’s U.S. Treasury securities, cash and cash equivalents and the FLEX Options held by the Fund through the Subsidiary provides a payoff at expiration that is intended to match that of the Underlying ETF up to -5% over the Target Outcome Period before fees and expenses (i.e., the Fund's shareholders will bear all Underlying ETF losses between 0% and -5% on a one-to-one basis, meaning if the Underlying ETF loses 5%, the Fund loses 5%).

•

If the Underlying ETF decreases over the Target Outcome Period by more than 5% but less than or equal to 15%, the combination of the Fund’s U.S. Treasury securities, cash and cash equivalents, and the FLEX Options held by the Fund through the Subsidiary provides a payoff at expiration that is intended to protect investors from Underlying ETF losses between -5% and-15% over the Target Outcome Period before fees and expenses (i.e., if the Underlying ETF loses 15%, the Fund loses 5%).

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If the Underlying ETF decreases in price by more than 15% over the Target Outcome Period, the combination of the Fund’s U.S. Treasury securities, cash and cash equivalents, and the FLEX Options held by the Fund through the Subsidiary provide a payoff at expiration that is 10% less than the percentage loss on the Underlying ETF with a maximum loss of approximately 90% over the Target Outcome Period before fees and expenses. An investor that purchases shares at a price below the lower range of the buffer has the potential to lose their entire investment and may not experience any benefit from the buffer.

See the bar chart and line graph set forth in the section entitled "Buffer and Cap" for more information.

The current Target Outcome Period will begin on March 1, 2024 and end on May 31, 2024. Subsequent Target Outcome Periods will begin on the day the prior Target Outcome Period ends and will end on the approximate three-month anniversary of that new Target Outcome Period. On the first day of each new Target Outcome Period, the Fund resets by investing in a new set of FLEX Options that are designed to provide a new cap for the new Target Outcome Period. This means that the cap will change for each Target Outcome Period based upon prevailing market conditions at the beginning of each Target Outcome Period. The cap and buffer, and the Fund’s value relative to each, should be considered before investing in the Fund. The Fund will be perpetually offered and not terminate after the current or any subsequent Target Outcome Period. Approximately one week prior to the end of the current Target Outcome Period, the Fund’s website will be updated to alert existing shareholders that the Target Outcome Period is approaching its conclusion and will disclose the anticipated cap range for the next Target Outcome Period. See “Subsequent Target Outcome Periods” for more information.

An investor that purchases Fund shares other than on the first day of a Target Outcome Period and/or sells Fund shares prior to the end of a Target Outcome Period may experience results that are very different from the target outcomes sought by the Fund for that Target Outcome Period. While the cap and buffer provide the intended outcomes only for investors that hold their shares throughout the complete term of the Target Outcome Period, an investor can expect their shares to generally move in the same direction as the Underlying ETF during the Target Outcome Period. However, during

the Target Outcome Period, an investor’s shares may not experience price movement to the same extent as the price movement of the Underlying ETF. During the Target Outcome Period, there may be periods of significant disparity between the Fund’s Net Asset Value ("NAV") and the Underlying ETF’s price performance. As the Underlying ETF’s price and the Fund’s NAV change over the Target Outcome Period, an investor acquiring Fund shares after the start of the Target Outcome Period will likely have a different return potential than an investor who purchased Fund shares at the start of the Target Outcome Period. This is because while the cap and buffer for the Target Outcome Period are fixed levels that are calculated in relation to the Underlying ETF price and the Fund's NAV at the start of a Target Outcome Period and that remain constant throughout the Target Outcome Period, an investor purchasing Fund shares at market value during the Target Outcome Period likely purchased Fund shares at a price that is different from the Fund’s NAV at the start of the Target Outcome Period (i.e., the NAV that the cap and buffer reference). For example, if an investor purchases Fund shares during a Target Outcome Period at a time when the Fund has decreased in value by at least 5% from the value of the Fund on the first day of the Target Outcome Period, that investor’s buffer will essentially be decreased by the amount of the decrease in the Underlying ETF’s value exceeding 5%. Conversely, if an investor purchases Fund shares during a Target Outcome Period at a time when the Fund has increased in value from the value of the Fund on the first day of the Target Outcome Period, that investor’s cap will essentially be decreased by the amount of the increase in the Underlying ETF’s value. See “Buffer and Cap” below for additional information. To achieve the target outcomes sought by the Fund for a Target Outcome Period, an investor must hold Fund shares for that entire Target Outcome Period. An investor that holds Fund shares through multiple Target Outcome Periods may fail to experience gains comparable to those of the Underlying ETF over time because at the end of each Target Outcome Period, a new cap will be established based on the then current price of the Underlying ETF and any gains above the prior cap will be forfeit. Similarly, an investor that holds Fund shares through multiple Target Outcome Periods will be unable to recapture losses from prior Target Outcome Periods because at the end of each Target Outcome Period, a new buffer will be established based on the then current price of the Underlying ETF and any losses experienced below the prior buffer will be locked in. Moreover, the annual imposition of a new cap on future gains may make it difficult to recoup any losses from prior Target Outcome Periods such that, over multiple Target Outcome Periods, the Fund may have losses that exceed those of the Underlying ETF.

Buffer and Cap

The Fund seeks to provide a buffer of Underlying ETF losses of between -5% and -15% at the end of each Target Outcome Period. The buffer designation identifies the Fund’s objective to provide a buffer of 10% against Underlying ETF losses between -5% and -15%. The Fund will bear the first 5% of losses, and after the Underlying ETF has decreased in price by more than 15%, the Fund will experience subsequent losses on a one-to-one basis (i.e., if the Underlying ETF loses 20%, the Fund loses 10%). The buffer is before taking into account the Fund’s fees and expenses charged to shareholders. When the Fund's fees and expenses are taken into account, the buffer is between -5.23% and -15.23%. The buffer will be further reduced by any brokerage commissions, trading fees, taxes and extraordinary expenses not included in the Fund's management fee. The Fund does not seek to provide a buffer on losses between -5% and -15% of the Underlying ETF at any time other than the end of the Target Outcome Period.

If an investor purchases Fund shares during a Target Outcome Period at a time when the Fund has decreased in value by 15% or more from the value of the Fund on the first day of the Target Outcome Period (the “Initial Fund Value”), that investor’s buffer will essentially be zero (meaning the investor can lose its entire investment). If an investor purchases Fund shares at a time when the Fund has decreased in value by more than 5% but less than 15% from the Initial Fund Value, that investor’s buffer will be reduced by the difference between -5% and the NAV of the Fund on the date the investor purchases the shares. However, that investor’s potential gain will be larger than the Fund’s cap for the Target Outcome Period because the investor may experience the full gain if the Fund recovers the value it has lost from the first day of the Target Outcome Period through the date the investor purchased its Fund shares plus any additional gains between the Initial Fund Value and the cap. The cap and buffer relative to the Initial Fund Value, however, will not change over the Target Outcome Period.

Conversely, if an investor purchases Fund shares during a Target Outcome Period at a time when the Fund has increased in value from its Initial Fund Value for a Target Outcome Period, then a shareholder will experience losses prior to gaining the protection offered by the buffer (because the Fund must first decrease in value to 5% less than its Initial Fund Value for the Target Outcome Period before subsequent losses will be protected by the buffer). While the Fund seeks to limit losses to 90% for shareholders who hold Fund shares for an entire Target Outcome Period, there is no guarantee it will successfully do so. Depending on the Fund's NAV at the time of purchase, a shareholder that purchases Fund shares after the first day of a Target Outcome Period may lose their entire investment if the Fund has decreased in value below the buffer.

An investment in the Fund is only appropriate for shareholders willing to bear those losses. Despite the intended buffer, a shareholder could lose their entire investment.

The returns of the Fund are subject to a cap of 9.27% (before fees and expenses) and 9.04% (after fees and expenses, excluding brokerage commissions, trading fees, taxes and extraordinary expenses not included in the Fund’s management fee) for the Target Outcome Period. Unlike other investment products, the potential returns an investor can receive from the Fund are subject to a pre-determined upside return cap that represents the maximum percentage return an investor can achieve from an investment in the Fund for an entire Target Outcome Period before fees and expenses. In the event the Underlying ETF experiences gains over a Target Outcome Period, the Fund seeks to provide investment returns (before fees and expenses) that match the percentage increase of the Underlying ETF, but any percentage gains over amount of the cap will not be experienced by the Fund. This means that if the Underlying ETF experiences gains for a Target Outcome Period in excess of the cap for that Target Outcome Period, the Fund will not benefit from those excess gains. Therefore, regardless of the performance of the Underlying ETF, the cap is the maximum return an investor can achieve from an investment in the Fund for that Target Outcome Period.

The cap is set on the first day of each Target Outcome Period. The cap is provided prior to taking into account annual Fund management fees of 0.90% of the Fund's daily net assets, brokerage commissions, trading fees, taxes and any extraordinary expenses incurred by the Fund. Such extraordinary expenses (incurred outside of the ordinary operation of the Fund) may include, for example, unexpected litigation, regulatory or tax expenses. The cap for the Target Outcome Period is 9.27% (before fees and expenses) and 9.04% (after fees and expenses, excluding brokerage commissions, trading fees, taxes and extraordinary expenses not included in the Fund’s management fee). The cap could be lower if the Fund incurs extraordinary expenses or other costs and expenses that are not borne by the Advisor under its unitary management fee. The defined cap applicable to a Target Outcome Period will vary based on prevailing market conditions at the time, including then-current interest rate levels, Underlying ETF volatility, and the relationship of puts and calls on the underlying FLEX Options.

The cap, and the Fund’s value relative to it on any given day, should be considered before investing in the Fund. If an investor purchases Fund shares during a Target Outcome Period, and the Fund has already increased in value above its Initial Fund Value for that Target Outcome Period to a level near to the cap, an investor purchasing Fund shares will have limited to no gain potential for the remainder of the Target Outcome Period (because the investor’s potential gain will be limited to the difference between the Fund’s NAV on the date the investor purchased the Fund shares and the cap). However, the investor will remain vulnerable to significant downside risk because the investor will bear the losses between the price at which they purchased Fund shares and 5% below the Initial Fund Value for the Target Outcome Period before subsequent losses will be protected by the buffer. If an investor buys Fund shares when the price exceeds the cap, an investor will not experience any gain regardless of the performance of the Underlying ETF.

The following bar chart and line graph illustrate the hypothetical returns that the combination of the U.S. Treasury securities, cash and cash equivalents, and FLEX Options seek to provide with respect to the price performance of the Underlying ETF in certain illustrative scenarios over the course of the Target Outcome Period. The caps in the bar chart and line graph below are for illustration only and the actual caps may be different. The bar chart and line graph do not take into account payment by the Fund of fees and expenses. There is no guarantee that the Fund will be successful in providing these investment outcomes for any Target Outcome Period.

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The graph above represents the Fund’s hypothetical intended return profile based upon the performance of the Underlying ETF.

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The caps in the graphs above are for illustration only and the actual caps may be different.

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In the graph above, the dotted line represents the Underlying ETF’s performance, and the blue and orange lines represent the return profile gross of fees and expenses sought by the Fund in relation to the Underlying ETF’s indicated performance.

Investors purchasing shares of the Fund during a Target Outcome Period will experience different results. The Fund’s website, www.ftportfolios.com/retail/etf/EtfSummary.aspx?Ticker=BGLD, provides information relating to the possible outcomes for an investor of an investment in the Fund on a daily basis, if purchased on that date and held through the end of the Target Outcome Period, including the Fund’s value relative to the cap and buffer. Before purchasing Fund shares, an investor should visit the Fund's website to review this information and understand the possible outcomes of an investment in Fund shares on a particular day and held through the end of the Target Outcome Period.

The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). The Fund may not invest 25% or more of the value of its total assets in securities of issuers in any one industry or group of industries except to the extent that the Underlying ETF invests more than 25% of its assets in an industry or group of industries. This restriction does not apply to obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies.

General Information on the FLEX Options

For each Target Outcome Period, the Fund will invest in both purchased and written put and call FLEX Options that reference the Underlying ETF. Because the value of the Fund is based on FLEX Options that reference the Underlying ETF and not the Underlying ETF directly, variations in the value of the FLEX Options impact the correlation between the Fund’s NAV and the price of the Underlying ETF. FLEX Options are customizable exchange-traded option contracts guaranteed for settlement by the Options Clearing Corporation (“OCC”). The OCC guarantees performance by each of the counterparties to the FLEX Options, becoming the “buyer for every seller and the seller for every buyer,” protecting clearing members and options traders from counterparty risk. The OCC may make adjustments to FLEX Options for certain significant events, as more fully described in the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information. Although guaranteed for settlement by the OCC, FLEX Options are still subject to counterparty risk with the OCC and subject to the risk that the OCC may fail to perform the settlement of the FLEX Options due to bankruptcy or other adverse reasons.

The FLEX Options that the Fund will hold through the Subsidiary that reference the Underlying ETF will give the Fund the right or the obligation to either receive or deliver shares of the Underlying ETF, or the right or the obligation to either receive or deliver a cash payment on the option expiration date based upon the difference between the Underlying ETF’s value and a strike price, depending on whether the option is a put or call option and whether the Fund purchases or sells the option. The FLEX Options held by the Fund are European style options, which are exercisable at the strike price only on the FLEX Option expiration date.

The Fund, through the Subsidiary, will generally, under normal conditions, hold three kinds of FLEX Options for each Target Outcome Period. The Fund, through the Subsidiary, will purchase a call option (giving the Fund the right to receive shares of the Underlying ETF or a cash payment), while simultaneously selling (i.e., writing) a call option (giving the Fund the obligation to deliver shares of the Underlying ETF or a cash payment) and a put option (giving the Fund the right to deliver shares of the Underlying ETF or a cash payment). The Fund intends to structure the FLEX Options so that any amount owed by the Fund on the written FLEX Options will be covered by payouts at expiration from the purchased FLEX Options and the U.S. Treasury securities and cash and cash equivalents. As a result, the FLEX Options will be fully covered and no additional collateral will be necessary during the life of the Fund. The Fund receives premiums in exchange for the written FLEX Options and pays premiums in exchange for the purchased FLEX Options. The OCC and securities exchanges on which the FLEX Options are listed do not charge ongoing fees to writers or purchasers of the FLEX Options during their life for continuing to hold the option contracts, but may charge transaction fees. Each of the FLEX Options purchased and sold throughout the Target Outcome Period will have the same terms, such as strike price and expiration date, as the FLEX Options purchased and sold on the first day of the Target Outcome Period.

On the FLEX Option’s expiration date, the Fund, through the Subsidiary, intends to sell the FLEX Options prior to their expiration or cash-settle the Flex Options and use the resulting proceeds to purchase new FLEX Options for the next Target Outcome Period.

The Underlying ETF

The Underlying ETF is an exchange-traded investment trust that holds physical gold bars. World Gold Trust Services, LLC (“WGTS”) serves as the Underlying ETF’s sponsor and HSBC Bank plc serves as the Underlying ETF’s custodian. The Underlying ETF's custodian may utilize subcustodians that hold the Underlying ETF's gold on its behalf. The Underlying ETF is not expected to pay dividends. You can find the Underlying ETF’s prospectus and other information about the ETF, including the most recent reports to shareholders, online at spdrgoldshares.com.

The summary information below regarding the Underlying ETF comes from its filings with the SEC. You are urged to refer to the SEC filings made by the Underlying ETF and to other publicly available information (e.g., the ETF’s annual reports) to obtain an understanding of the ETF’s business and financial prospects.

The following description of the Underlying ETF’s principal investment strategies was taken directly from the Underlying ETF’s prospectus, dated October 4, 2022 (“GLD” refers to the Underlying ETF; other defined terms have been modified).

The investment objective of GLD is for its shares to reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion, less GLD’s expenses. WGTS believes that, for many investors, GLD's shares represent a cost-effective investment in gold. GLD’s shares represent units of fractional undivided beneficial interest in and ownership of GLD and trade under the ticker symbol “GLD” on the NYSE Arca.

GLD is treated as a “grantor trust” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, GLD itself is not subject to U.S. federal income tax. Instead, GLD’s income and expenses “flow through” to the shareholders, and the Trustee will report the GLD’s income, gains, losses and deductions to the Internal Revenue Service on that basis.

At August 31, 2022 the amount of gold owned by GLD and held by GLD's custodian in its vault was 31,582,529 ounces, 100% of which is allocated gold in the form of London Good Delivery gold bars with a market value of $53,698,529,317 based on the London Bullion Market Association Gold Price PM on August 31, 2022 (cost— $50,824,771,861).

An allocated account is an account with a bullion dealer, which may also be a bank, to which individually identified gold bars owned by the account holder are credited. The gold bars in an allocated gold account are specific to that account and are identified by a list which shows, for each gold bar, the refiner, assay or fineness, serial number and gross and fine weight. All of the GLD’s gold is fully allocated at the end of each business day. GLD’s custodian provides the trustee with regular reports detailing the gold transfers in and out of GLD’s allocated account at the custodian and identifying the gold bars held in GLD’s allocated account at the custodian. Gold held in GLD’s allocated account is the property of GLD and is not traded, leased or loaned under any circumstances.

Subsequent Target Outcome Periods

The Fund will alert existing shareholders to the new cap at the beginning of each new Target Outcome Period in the following manner:

1. Approximately one week prior to the end of the current Target Outcome Period, the Fund will make a sticker filing that will alert existing shareholders that the Target Outcome Period is approaching its conclusion and disclose the anticipated cap range for the next Target Outcome Period. This filing will be mailed to existing shareholders.

2. Following the close of business on the last day of the Target Outcome Period, the Fund will make a sticker filing that discloses the Fund’s cap for the next Target Outcome Period. This filing will be mailed to existing shareholders.

3. On the first day of the new Target Outcome Period, the Fund will file a full prospectus that incorporates the sticker filing from the previous evening which replaces the caps/dates associated with the previous Target Outcome Period with the caps/dates associated with the new Target Outcome Period. Correspondingly, the Fund will file a revised summary prospectus that reflects such changes.

The information referenced above will also be available on the Fund's website at www.ftportfolios.com/retail/etf/EtfSummary.aspx?Ticker=BGLD.

Principal Risks

The risks of the Fund will result from both the Fund’s direct investments and its indirect investments made through the Subsidiary. Accordingly, the risks that result from the Subsidiary’s activities will be described herein as the Fund’s risks.

under no obligation to make a market in the Fund’s shares. Additionally, only a limited number of institutions act as authorized participants for the Fund and only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund and are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. Decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers or any issues disrupting the authorized participants’ ability to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s net asset value and the price at which the Fund’s shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund’s shares. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a premium or discount to net asset value and also in greater than normal intraday bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.

BUFFERED LOSS RISK. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will be successful in its strategy to buffer against Underlying ETF losses if the Underlying ETF decreases over the Target Outcome Period by -5% to -15%. A shareholder may lose their entire investment. The Fund’s strategy seeks to deliver returns that match the price return of the Underlying ETF (up to the cap), while limiting downside losses, if shares are bought on the first day of the Target Outcome Period and held until the end of the Target Outcome Period. In the event an investor purchases shares after the first day of the Target Outcome Period or sells shares prior to the end of the Target Outcome Period, the buffer that the Fund seeks to provide may not be available. If an investor purchases Fund shares during a Target Outcome Period at a time when the Fund has decreased in value by 15% or more from the value of the Fund on the first day of the Target Outcome Period (the “Initial Fund Value”), that investor’s buffer will essentially be zero (meaning the investor can lose its entire investment). If an investor purchases Fund shares at a time when the Fund has decreased in value by more than 5% but less than 15% from the Initial Fund Value, that investor’s buffer will be reduced by the difference between -5% and the NAV of the Fund on the date the investor purchases the shares. An investor that holds Fund shares through multiple Target Outcome Periods will be unable to recapture losses from prior Target Outcome Periods because at the end of each Target Outcome Period, a new buffer will be established based on the then current price of the Underlying ETF and any losses experienced below the prior buffer will be locked in. Moreover, the annual imposition of a new cap on future gains may make it difficult to recoup any losses from prior Target Outcome Periods such that, over multiple Target Outcome Periods, the Fund may have losses that exceed those of the Underlying ETF.

CAP CHANGE RISK. A new cap is established at the beginning of each Target Outcome Period and is dependent on prevailing market conditions. As a result, the cap may rise or fall from one Target Outcome Period to the next and is unlikely to remain the same for consecutive Target Outcome Periods.

CAPPED UPSIDE RISK. The Fund’s strategy seeks to provide returns (before fees and expenses) that match those of the Underlying ETF for Fund shares purchased on the first day of a Target Outcome Period and held for the entire Target Outcome Period, subject to a pre-determined upside cap. If an investor does not hold its Fund shares for an entire Target Outcome Period, the returns realized by that investor likely will not match those that the Fund seeks to achieve. If the Underlying ETF experiences gains during a Target Outcome Period, the Fund will not participate in those gains beyond the cap. In the event an investor purchases Fund shares after the first day of a Target Outcome Period and the Fund has risen in value to a level near to the cap, there may be little or no ability for that investor to experience an investment gain on their Fund shares (because the investor’s potential gain will be limited to the difference between the Fund’s NAV on the date the investor purchased the Fund shares and the cap), however, the investor will remain vulnerable to downside risks. If an investor buys Fund shares when the price exceeds the cap, an investor will not experience any gain regardless of the performance of the Underlying ETF. An investor that holds Fund shares through multiple Target Outcome Periods may fail to experience gains comparable to those of the Underlying ETF over time because at the end of each Target Outcome Period, a new cap will be established based on the then current price of the Underlying ETF and any gains above the prior cap will be forfeit.

several days if the securities market is relatively illiquid and may involve considerable brokerage fees and taxes. These brokerage fees and taxes, which will be higher than if the Fund sold and redeemed its shares entirely in-kind, will be passed on to those purchasing and redeeming Creation Units in the form of creation and redemption transaction fees. In addition, these factors may result in wider spreads between the bid and the offered prices of the Fund’s shares than for ETFs that distribute portfolio securities in-kind. The Fund’s use of cash for creations and redemptions could also result in dilution to the Fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective.

COMMODITIES RISK. Commodity prices can have significant volatility, and exposure to commodities can cause the value of the Fund’s shares to decline or fluctuate in a rapid and unpredictable manner. The values of physical commodities may be affected by changes in overall market movements, real or perceived inflationary trends, commodity index volatility, changes in interest rates or currency exchange rates, population growth and changing demographics, international economic, political and regulatory developments, and factors affecting a particular region, industry or commodity, such as drought, floods, or other weather conditions, livestock disease, changes in storage costs, trade embargoes, competition from substitute products, transportation bottlenecks or shortages, fluctuations in supply and demand, and tariffs. The commodity markets are subject to temporary distortions or other disruptions due to, among other factors, lack of liquidity, the participation of speculators, and government regulation and other actions.

COUNTERPARTY RISK. Fund transactions involving a counterparty are subject to the risk that the counterparty will not fulfill its obligation to the Fund. Counterparty risk may arise because of the counterparty’s financial condition (i.e., financial difficulties, bankruptcy, or insolvency), market activities and developments, or other reasons, whether foreseen or not. A counterparty’s inability to fulfill its obligation may result in significant financial loss to the Fund. The Fund may be unable to recover its investment from the counterparty or may obtain a limited recovery, and/or recovery may be delayed. The OCC acts as guarantor and central counterparty with respect to the FLEX Options. As a result, the ability of the Fund to meet its objective depends on the OCC being able to meet its obligations. In the unlikely event that the OCC becomes insolvent or is otherwise unable to meet its settlement obligations, the Fund could suffer significant losses.

economy may be significantly impacted by the advanced development and increased regulation of artificial intelligence. These events, and any other future events, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.

DEBT SECURITIES RISK. Investments in debt securities subject the holder to the credit risk of the issuer. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer or other obligor of a security will not be able or willing to make payments of interest and principal when due. Generally, the value of debt securities will change inversely with changes in interest rates. To the extent that interest rates rise, certain underlying obligations may be paid off substantially slower than originally anticipated and the value of those securities may fall sharply. During periods of falling interest rates, the income received by the Fund may decline. If the principal on a debt security is prepaid before expected, the prepayments of principal may have to be reinvested in obligations paying interest at lower rates. Debt securities generally do not trade on a securities exchange making them generally less liquid and more difficult to value than common stock.

DERIVATIVES RISK. The use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. These risks include: (i) the risk that the counterparty to a derivative transaction may not fulfill its contractual obligations; (ii) risk of mispricing or improper valuation; and (iii) the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset. Derivative prices are highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially during a short period of time. Such prices are influenced by numerous factors that affect the markets, including, but not limited to: changing supply and demand relationships; government programs and policies; national and international political and economic events, changes in interest rates, inflation and deflation and changes in supply and demand relationships. Trading derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities. Derivative contracts ordinarily have leverage inherent in their terms. The low margin deposits normally required in trading derivatives, including futures contracts, permit a high degree of leverage. Accordingly, a relatively small price movement may result in an immediate and substantial loss. The use of leverage may also cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so. The use of leveraged derivatives can magnify potential for gain or loss and, therefore, amplify the effects of market volatility on share price.

FLEX OPTIONS RISK. Trading FLEX Options involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities. The Fund may experience substantial downside from specific FLEX Option positions and certain FLEX Option positions may expire worthless. The FLEX Options are listed on an exchange; however, no one can guarantee that a liquid secondary trading market will exist for the FLEX Options. In the event that trading in the FLEX Options is limited or absent, the value of the Fund's FLEX Options may decrease. In a less liquid market for the FLEX Options, liquidating the FLEX Options may require the payment of a premium (for written FLEX Options) or acceptance of a discounted price (for purchased FLEX Options) and may take longer to complete. A less liquid trading market may adversely impact the value of the FLEX Options and Fund shares and result in the Fund being unable to achieve its investment objective. Less liquidity in the trading of the Fund’s FLEX Options could have an impact on the prices paid or received by the Fund for the FLEX Options in connection with creations and redemptions of the Fund’s shares. Depending on the nature of this impact to pricing, the Fund may be forced to pay more for redemptions (or receive less for creations) than the price at which it currently values the FLEX Options. Such overpayment or under collection may impact the value of the Fund and whether the Fund can satisfy its investment objective. Additionally, in a less liquid market for the FLEX Options, the liquidation of a large number of options may more significantly impact the price. A less liquid trading market may adversely impact the value of the FLEX Options and the value of your investment. The trading in FLEX Options may be less deep and liquid than the market for certain other exchange-traded options, non-customized options or other securities.

FLEX OPTIONS VALUATION RISK. The FLEX Options held by the Fund will be exercisable at the strike price only on their expiration date. Prior to the expiration date, the value of the FLEX Options will be determined based upon market quotations or using other recognized pricing methods. The FLEX Options are also subject to correlation risk, meaning the value of the FLEX Options does not increase or decrease at the same rate as the Underlying ETF (although they generally move in the same direction) or its underlying securities. The value of the FLEX Options prior to the expiration date may vary because of factors other than the value of the Underlying ETF, such as interest rate changes, changing supply and demand, decreased liquidity of the FLEX Options, a change in the actual and perceived volatility of the stock market and the Underlying ETF and the remaining time to expiration. FLEX Option prices may also be highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially during a short period of time. During periods of reduced market liquidity or in the absence of readily available market quotations for the holdings of the Fund, the ability of the Fund to value the FLEX Options becomes more difficult and the judgment of the Fund's investment adviser (employing the fair value procedures approved by the Board of Trustees of the Trust) may play a greater role in the valuation of the Fund's holdings due to reduced availability of reliable objective pricing data. Consequently, while such determinations may be made in good faith, it may nevertheless be more difficult for the Fund to accurately assign a daily value. Under those circumstances, the value of the FLEX Options will require more reliance on the investment adviser’s judgment than that required for securities for which there is an active trading market. This creates a risk of mispricing or improper valuation of the FLEX Options which could impact the value paid for shares of the Fund.

INCOME RISK. The Fund’s income may decline when interest rates fall or if there are defaults in its portfolio. This decline can occur because the Fund may subsequently invest in lower-yielding securities as debt securities in its portfolio mature, are near maturity or are called, or the Fund otherwise needs to purchase additional debt securities.

INTEREST RATE RISK. Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of the debt securities in the Fund’s portfolio will decline because of rising market interest rates. Interest rate risk is generally lower for shorter term debt securities and higher for longer-term debt securities. The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates than would normally be the case during periods of low interest rates. Duration is a reasonably accurate measure of a debt security’s price sensitivity to changes in interest rates and a common measure of interest rate risk. Duration measures a debt security’s expected life on a present value basis, taking into account the debt security’s yield, interest payments and final maturity. In general, duration represents the expected percentage change in the value of a security for an immediate 1% change in interest rates. For example, the price of a debt security with a three-year duration would be expected to drop by approximately 3% in response to a 1% increase in interest rates. Therefore, prices of debt securities with shorter durations tend to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than debt securities with longer durations. Higher sensitivity to interest rates is generally correlated with higher levels of volatility and, therefore, greater risk. As the value of a debt security changes over time, so will its duration.

MANAGEMENT RISK. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the Fund’s investment portfolio, the portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses, including through the use of technology, automated processes, algorithms, or other management systems, that may not operate as intended or produce the desired result. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective.

may result in increased market volatility. During any such events, the Fund’s shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value, the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen and the returns on investment may fluctuate.

NON-DIVERSIFICATION RISK. The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act. As a result, the Fund is only limited as to the percentage of its assets which may be invested in the securities of any one issuer by the diversification requirements imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The Fund may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers. As a result, the Fund may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence affecting one or more of these issuers, experience increased volatility and be highly invested in certain issuers.

SIGNIFICANT EXPOSURE RISK. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a single asset class or industry or sector, an adverse economic, business or political development may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more than if the Fund were more broadly diversified. A significant exposure makes the Fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the Fund to greater market risk than a fund that is more broadly diversified.

SUBSIDIARY INVESTMENT RISK. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Fund and the Subsidiary are organized, respectively, could result in the inability of the Fund to operate as intended and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders. The Subsidiary is not registered under the 1940 Act and is not subject to all the investor protections of the 1940 Act. Thus, the Fund, as an investor in the Subsidiary, will not have all the protections offered to investors in registered investment companies.

TARGET OUTCOME PERIOD RISK. The Fund’s investment strategy is designed to deliver returns that match the Underlying ETF if Fund shares are bought on the day on which the Fund enters into the FLEX Options (i.e., the first day of a Target Outcome Period) and held until those FLEX Options expire at the end of the Target Outcome Period subject to the cap. In the event an investor purchases Fund shares after the first day of a Target Outcome Period or sells shares prior to the expiration of the Target Outcome Period, the value of that investor’s investment in Fund shares may not be buffered against a decline in the value of the Underlying ETF and may not participate in a gain in the value of the Underlying ETF up to the cap for the investor’s investment period.

in stocks or securities. Although the Regulations do not require distributions from the Subsidiary, the Fund intends to cause the Subsidiary to make distributions that would allow the Fund to make timely distributions to its shareholders. The Fund generally will be required to include in its own taxable income the income of the Subsidiary for a tax year, regardless of whether the Fund receives a distribution of the Subsidiary’s income in that tax year, and this income would nevertheless be subject to the distribution requirement for qualification as a regulated investment company and would be taken into account for purposes of the 4% excise tax. The Fund intends to treat any income it may derive from FLEX Options on the Underlying ETF received by the Subsidiary as “qualifying income” for the rules applicable to RICs. Treasury Regulations provide that income from a corporation similar to the Subsidiary is qualifying income, if (i) the income is distributed to the Fund in the same year the Fund is required to recognize the income or (ii) the income is related to the Fund’s business of investing in stocks or securities. The Fund intends to cause the Subsidiary to make distributions that would allow the Fund to meet the first requirement. The Fund generally will be required to recognize the income of the Subsidiary, regardless of whether the Fund receives a distribution of the Subsidiary’s income, and this income would be subject to the distribution requirement for qualification as a RIC and would be taken into account for purposes of the 4% excise tax.

If the Fund did not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions were not available, the Fund’s taxable income would be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. In such event, in order to re-qualify for taxation as a RIC, the Fund might be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest and make certain distributions. This would cause investors to incur higher tax liabilities than they otherwise would have incurred and would have a negative impact on Fund returns. In such event, the Fund’s Board of Trustees may determine to reorganize or close the Fund or materially change the Fund’s investment objective and strategies. In the event that the Fund fails to qualify as a RIC, the Fund will promptly notify shareholders of the implications of that failure.

UNDERLYING ETF CONCENTRATION RISK. An Underlying ETF may be susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to adverse events that affect the Underlying ETF's investments more than the market as a whole, to the extent that the Underlying ETF's investments are concentrated in the securities and/or other assets of a particular issuer or issuers, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector, market segment or asset class.

UNDERLYING ETF GOLD RISK. The Fund will have exposure to gold through its investments (through the Subsidiary) in FLEX Options on the Underlying ETF, which invests substantially all of its assets in physical gold bullion. The price of gold bullion can be significantly affected by international monetary and political developments such as currency devaluation or revaluation, central bank movements, economic and social conditions within a country, transactional or trade imbalances, or trade or currency restrictions between countries. Physical gold bullion has sales commission, storage, insurance and auditing expenses. Investments in gold generally may be speculative and subject to greater price volatility than investments in other types of assets. The price of metals, such as gold, is related to, among other things, worldwide metal prices and extraction and production costs. Worldwide metal prices may fluctuate substantially over short periods of time, and as a result, the Fund’s share price may be more volatile than other types of investments. There is a risk that some or all of the Underlying ETF’s gold bars held by its custodian or any subcustodian could be lost, damaged or stolen. Access to the Underlying ETF’s gold bars could also be restricted by natural events (such as an earthquake) or human actions (such as a terrorist attack). Any of these events may adversely affect the operations of the Underlying ETF and, consequently, an investment based on the value of the Underlying ETF’s shares. Additionally, the Underlying ETF does not insure its gold and a loss may be suffered with respect to the Underlying ETF’s gold which is not covered by insurance and for which no party is liable for damages.

UNDERLYING ETF RISK. The Subsidiary invests in FLEX Options that reference an ETF, which subjects the Subsidiary to certain of the risks of owning shares of an ETF as well as the types of instruments in which the Underlying ETF invests. The value of an ETF will fluctuate over time based on fluctuations in the values of the securities held by the ETF, which may be affected by changes in general economic conditions, expectations for future growth and profits, interest rates and the supply and demand for those securities. In addition, ETFs are subject to the absence of an active market risk, premium/discount risk, tracking error risk and trading issues risk. Brokerage, tax and other expenses may negatively impact the performance of the Underlying ETF and, in turn, the value of the Fund’s shares. Certain options on an ETF may not qualify as "Section 1256

contracts" under Section 1256 of the Code, and disposition of such options will likely result in short-term or long-term capital gains or losses depending on the holding period.

U.S. GOVERNMENT SECURITIES RISK. U.S. government securities are subject to interest rate risk but generally do not involve the credit risks associated with investments in other types of debt securities. As a result, the yields available from U.S. government securities are generally lower than the yields available from other debt securities. U.S. government securities are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and the payment of principal when held to maturity.

The Fund has characteristics unlike many other traditional investment products and may not be suitable for all investors.

You should only consider this investment if:	You should not consider this investment if:
•you fully understand the risks inherent in an investment in the Fund;	•you do not fully understand the risks inherent in an investment in the Fund;
•you desire to invest in a product with a return that depends upon the performance of the Underlying ETF over the Target Outcome Period;	•you do not desire to invest in a product with a return that depends upon the performance of the Underlying ETF over the Target Outcome Period;
•you are willing to hold shares for the duration of the Target Outcome Period in order to achieve the outcomes that the Fund seeks to provide;	•you are unwilling to hold shares for the duration of the Target Outcome Period in order to achieve the outcomes that the Fund seeks to provide;
•you fully understand that investments made when the Fund is at or near to the cap may have limited to no upside;	•you do not fully understand that investments made when the Fund is at or near to the cap may have limited to no upside;
•you are willing to forgo any gains in excess of the cap;	•you are unwilling to forgo any gains in excess of the cap;
•you are not seeking an investment that provides dividends to shareholders;	•you are seeking an investment that provides dividends to shareholders;
•you fully understand that investments made after the Target Outcome Period has begun may not fully benefit from the buffer;	•you do not fully understand that investments made after the Target Outcome Period has begun may not fully benefit from the buffer;
•you are willing to accept the risk of losing your entire investment; and	•you are unwilling to accept the risk of losing your entire investment; and
•you have visited the Fund’s website and understand the investment outcomes available to you based upon the time of your purchase.	•you have not visited the Fund’s website and do not understand the investment outcomes available to you based upon the timing of your purchase.

Annual Total Return

The bar chart and table below illustrate the annual calendar year returns of the Fund based on net asset value as well as the average annual Fund returns. The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns based on net asset value compared to those of a broad-based market index and a gold price benchmark. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com.

FT Vest Gold Strategy Quarterly Buffer ETF
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31

During the periods shown in the chart above:

	Return	Period Ended
Best Quarter	10.04%	December 31, 2023
Worst Quarter	-5.94%	September 30, 2022

The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.

Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2023

	1 Year	Since Inception	Inception Date
Return Before Taxes	13.15%	1.53%	1/20/2021
Return After Taxes on Distributions	8.69%	0.10%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	7.74%	0.56%
LBMA Gold Price (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	14.59%	3.91%
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	26.29%	9.25%

Management

Investment Advisor

First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)

Investment Sub-Advisor

Vest Financial LLC (“Vest” or the “Sub-Advisor”)

Portfolio Managers

The following persons serve as the portfolio managers of the Fund:

•

Karan Sood, Managing Director of Vest

•

Howard Rubin, Managing Director of Vest

The portfolio managers are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each portfolio manager has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2021.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Tax Information

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

Additional Information on the Fund's Investment Objective and Strategies

The Fund is a series of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund and is regulated as an “investment company” under the 1940 Act. The Fund is actively managed and does not seek to track the performance of an index. The Fund’s investment objective to seek to provide investors with returns (before fees and expenses) that match the price return of the SPDR® Gold Trust (the "Underlying ETF"), up to a predetermined upside cap of 9.27% while providing a buffer (before fees and expenses) against Underlying ETF losses between -5% and -15% over the period from March 1, 2024 through May 31, 2024 is non-fundamental and may be changed by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”) without shareholder approval. Unless an investment policy is identified as being fundamental, all investment policies included in this prospectus and the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) are non-fundamental and may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval. If there is a material change to the Fund's principal investment strategies, you should consider whether the Fund remains an appropriate investment for you. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.

The Fund may not invest 25% or more of the value of its total assets in securities of issuers in any one industry or group of industries except to the extent that the Underlying ETF invests more than 25% of its assets in an industry or group of industries. This restriction does not apply to obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies.

While it is not expected that the Fund will invest in the securities of other investment companies, any such investments would be subject to limitations imposed by the 1940 Act and the related rules and interpretations. The Fund has adopted a policy that it will not invest in other investment companies in excess of 1940 Act limits in reliance on Sections 12(d)(l)(F) or 12(d)(l)(G) of the 1940 Act.

Fund Investments

Principal Investments

FLEX Options

FLEX Options are customized equity or index option contracts that trade on an exchange, but provide investors with the ability to customize key contract terms like exercise prices, styles and expiration dates. FLEX Options are guaranteed for settlement by the OCC.

The Fund, through the Subsidiary, will purchase and sell call and put FLEX Options based on the performance of the Underlying ETF. The FLEX Options that the Fund will hold through the Subsidiary that reference the Underlying ETF will give the Fund the right or the obligation to either receive or deliver shares of the Underlying ETF, or the right or the obligation to either receive or deliver a cash payment on the option expiration date based upon the difference between the Underlying ETF’s value and a strike price, depending on whether the option is a put or call option and whether the Fund purchases or sells the option. The FLEX Options held by the Fund are European style options, which are exercisable at the strike price only on the FLEX Option expiration date.

To the extent the Fund enters into derivatives transactions, it will do so pursuant to Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act. Rule 18f-4 requires the Fund to implement certain policies and procedures designed to manage its derivatives risks, dependent upon the Fund’s level of exposure to derivative instruments.

U.S. Government Securities

The Fund will generally invest in short-term U.S. government securities, including those that may be structured as zero coupon securities. U.S. government securities include U.S. Treasury obligations and securities issued or guaranteed by various agencies of the U.S. government, or by various instrumentalities that have been established or sponsored by the U.S. government. U.S. Treasury obligations are backed by the “full faith and credit” of the U.S. government. Securities issued or guaranteed by federal agencies and U.S. government sponsored instrumentalities may or may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.

Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments

strategies and invest all of its assets in these securities, or it may hold cash. During such periods, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective. The Fund may adopt a temporary defensive strategy when the portfolio managers believe securities in which the Fund normally invests have elevated risks due to political or economic factors and in other extraordinary circumstances. For more information on eligible short-term investments, see the SAI.

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

The Fund’s portfolio holdings are available on the Fund's website at www.ftportfolios.com. A description of the policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund's portfolio securities is included in the Fund's SAI, which is also available on the Fund's website.

Risks of Investing in the Fund

Risk is inherent in all investing. Investing in the Fund involves risk, including the risk that you may lose all or part of your investment. There can be no assurance that the Fund will meet its stated objective. Before you invest, you should consider the following disclosure pertaining to the Principal Risks set forth above as well as additional Non-Principal Risks set forth below in this prospectus. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.

Principal Risks

ABSENCE OF AN ACTIVE MARKET RISK. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares due to a limited number of market makers or authorized participants. The Fund may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of shares and market makers are under no obligation to make a market in the Fund’s shares. Additionally, only a limited number of institutions act as authorized participants for the Fund and only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund and are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. Decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers or any issues disrupting the authorized participants’ ability to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s net asset value and the price at which the Fund’s shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund’s shares. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a premium or discount to net asset value and also in greater than normal intraday bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.

CAPPED UPSIDE RISK. The Fund’s strategy seeks to provide returns (before fees and expenses) that match those of the Underlying ETF for Fund shares purchased on the first day of a Target Outcome Period and held for the entire Target Outcome Period, subject to a pre-determined upside cap. If an investor does not hold its Fund shares for an entire Target Outcome Period, the returns realized by that investor likely will not match those the Fund seeks to achieve. If the Underlying ETF experiences gains during a Target Outcome Period, the Fund will not participate in those gains beyond the cap. A new cap is established at the beginning of each Target Outcome Period and is dependent on prevailing market conditions. The cap may rise or fall from one Target Outcome Period to the next. In the event an investor purchases Fund shares after the first day of a Target Outcome Period and the Fund has risen in value to a level near to the cap, there may be little or no ability for that investor to experience an investment gain on their Fund shares (because the investor’s potential gain will be limited to the difference between the Fund’s NAV on the date the investor purchased the Fund shares and the cap), however, the investor will remain vulnerable to downside risks. As a result of the Fund's fees and expenses and because the Fund's returns are subject to a cap, the return of the Fund could represent a return that is worse than the performance of the Underlying ETF. If an investor buys Fund shares when the price exceeds the cap, an investor will not experience any gain regardless of the performance of the Underlying ETF. An investor that holds Fund shares through multiple Target Outcome Periods may fail to experience gains comparable to those of the Underlying ETF over time because at the end of each Target Outcome Period, a new cap will be established based on the then current price of the Underlying ETF and any gains above the prior cap will be forfeit.

CASH TRANSACTIONS RISK. The Fund will effect some or all of its creations and redemptions for cash rather than in-kind. As a result, an investment in the Fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in an ETF that effects its creations and redemptions only in-kind. ETFs are able to make in-kind redemptions and avoid being taxed on gains on the distributed portfolio securities at the fund level. A Fund that effects redemptions for cash may be required to sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. Any recognized gain on these sales by the Fund will generally cause the Fund to recognize a gain it might not otherwise have recognized, or to recognize such gain sooner than would otherwise be required if it were to distribute portfolio securities only in-kind. The Fund intends to distribute these gains to shareholders to avoid being taxed on this gain at the fund level and otherwise comply with the special tax rules that apply to it. This strategy may cause shareholders to be subject to tax on gains they would not otherwise be subject to, or at an earlier date than if they had made an investment in a different ETF. Moreover, cash transactions may have to be carried out over several days if the securities market is relatively illiquid and may involve considerable brokerage fees and taxes. These brokerage fees and taxes, which will be higher than if the Fund sold and redeemed its shares entirely in-kind, will be passed on to those purchasing and redeeming Creation Units in the form of creation and redemption transaction fees. In addition, these factors may result in wider spreads between the bid and the offered prices of the Fund’s shares than for ETFs that distribute portfolio securities in-kind. The Fund’s use of cash for creations and redemptions could also result in dilution to the Fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective.

COUNTERPARTY RISK. If the Fund enters into an investment or transaction that depends on the performance of another party, the Fund becomes subject to the credit risk of that counterparty. The Fund's ability to profit from these types of investments and transactions depends on the willingness and ability of the Fund’s counterparty to perform its obligations. If a counterparty fails to meet its contractual obligations, the Fund may be unable to terminate or realize any gain on the investment or transaction, resulting in a loss to the Fund. The Fund may experience significant delays in obtaining any recovery in an insolvency, bankruptcy, or other reorganization proceeding involving a counterparty (including recovery of any collateral posted by it) and may obtain only a limited recovery or may obtain no recovery in such circumstances. If the Fund holds collateral posted by its counterparty, it may be delayed or prevented from realizing on the collateral in the event of a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding relating to the counterparty. Under applicable law or contractual provisions, including if the Fund enters into an investment or transaction with a financial institution and such financial institution (or an affiliate of the financial institution) experiences financial difficulties, then the Fund may in certain situations be prevented or delayed from exercising its rights to terminate the investment or transaction, or to realize on any collateral and may result in the suspension of payment and delivery obligations of the parties under such investment or transactions or in another institution being substituted for

that financial institution without the consent of the Fund. Further, the Fund may be subject to “bail-in” risk under applicable law whereby, if required by the financial institution's authority, the financial institution's liabilities could be written down, eliminated or converted into equity or an alternative instrument of ownership. A bail-in of a financial institution may result in a reduction in value of some or all of securities and, if the Fund holds such securities or has entered into a transaction with such a financial security when a bail-in occurs, the Fund may also be similarly impacted.

Transactions in FLEX Options are required to be centrally cleared. In a transaction involving FLEX Options, the Fund's counterparty is the OCC, rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of the OCC and only members (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the OCC, the Fund will hold its FLEX Options through accounts at clearing members. Although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the OCC, there is a risk that a clearing member may default. The OCC collects margin, maintains a clearing fund specifically to mitigate a clearing member default and segregates all customer accounts from a clearing member’s proprietary accounts, which further acts to protect a clearing member’s customers from the default of the clearing member. However, there is still a risk that the assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of a clearing member’s default. If the Fund's clearing member defaults, the OCC may transfer customer accounts to another clearing member. The OCC may also close out positions and convert deposits of the defaulting clearing member to cash. As a result of this process, the Fund would be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds segregated on behalf of the clearing member’s customers for the relevant account class. Therefore, the Fund could experience significant loss in the event of a clearing member’s default. Additionally, the OCC may be unable to perform its obligations under the FLEX Options contracts due to unexpected events, which could negatively impact the value of the Fund.

CREDIT RISK. An issuer or other obligated party of a debt security may be unable or unwilling to make dividend, interest and/or principal payments when due. In addition, the value of a debt security may decline because of concerns about the issuer’s ability or unwillingness to make such payments. Debt securities are subject to varying degrees of credit risk which are often reflected in credit ratings. The credit rating of a debt security may be lowered if the issuer or other obligated party suffers adverse changes to its financial condition. These adverse changes may lead to greater volatility in the price of the debt security and affect the security’s liquidity. High yield and comparable unrated debt securities, while generally offering higher yields than investment grade debt with similar maturities, involve greater risks, including the possibility of dividend or interest deferral, default or bankruptcy, and are regarded as predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay dividends or interest and repay principal. To the extent that a Fund holds debt securities that are secured or guaranteed by financial institutions, changes in credit quality of such financial institutions could cause values of the debt security to deviate.

CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS RISK. Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions.

As a means to fight inflation, which remains at elevated levels, the Federal Reserve and certain foreign central banks have raised interest rates, and the Federal Reserve has begun the process to reverse previously implemented quantitative easing. U.S. regulators have proposed several changes to market and issuer regulations which would directly impact the Fund. While it is hard to predict whether any of these regulations will be adopted, due to the current scope of proposed regulations, any regulatory changes could adversely impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment strategies or make certain investments. Regulatory changes may also increase Fund operational costs, which could impact overall performance. Certain market factors may result in central banks changing their approach in the future. Recent and potential future bank failures could result in disruption to the broader banking industry or markets generally and reduce confidence in financial institutions and the economy as a whole, which may also heighten market volatility and reduce liquidity.

The ongoing adversarial political climate in the United States, as well as political and diplomatic events both domestic and abroad, such as presidential, congressional and gubernatorial elections in the U.S., global elections and governmental changes and the U.S. government’s failure to agree on a long-term budget and deficit reduction plan, have and may continue to have an adverse impact on the U.S. regulatory landscape, markets and investor behavior, which could have a negative impact on the Fund’s investments and operations. The potential result of a U.S. federal government shutdown may also significantly impact investor and consumer behavior, which may adversely impact the markets and global economy. Global and domestic authorities and regulators have previously responded to serious economic disruptions with ranging fiscal and monetary policy changes, including but not limited to, direct capital infusions into companies, new monetary programs and dramatically lower interest rates. Any change in these policies, or the ineffectiveness of these policies, could increase volatility in securities markets, which may adversely impact the Fund’s investments and performance. Any market disruptions could also delay the Fund from making sound investment decisions in a timely manner. If the Fund concentrates its investments in a region enduring geopolitical market disruption, it may face higher risk of loss, although the increasing interconnectivity between global economies and

financial markets can lead to events or conditions in one country, region or financial market adversely impacting a different country, region or financial market.

Other unexpected political, regulatory and diplomatic events within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy. For example, ongoing armed conflicts between Russia and Ukraine in Europe and among Israel, Hamas and other militant groups in the Middle East, have caused and could continue to cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in Russia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions resulting from those hostilities have and could continue to have a significant impact on certain Fund investments as well as Fund performance and liquidity. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as the financial markets generally, may be adversely impacted by trade disputes and other matters. For example, the United States has imposed trade barriers and restrictions on China. In addition, the Chinese government is engaged in a longstanding dispute with Taiwan, continually threatening an invasion. If the political climate between the United States and China does not improve or continues to deteriorate, if China were to attempt invading Taiwan, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets and individual securities may be adversely affected, and the value of the Fund’s assets may go down. The COVID-19 global pandemic, or any future public health crisis, and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against emerging future variants of the disease. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others.

Advancements in technology may also adversely impact markets and the overall performance of the Fund. For instance, the economy may be significantly impacted by the advanced development and increased regulation of artificial intelligence. As the use of technology grows, liquidity and market movements may be affected. As artificial intelligence is used more widely, the profitability and growth of Fund holdings may be impacted, which could significantly impact the overall performance of the Fund.

These events, and any other future events, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.

CYBER SECURITY RISK. The Fund is susceptible to operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. These risks typically are not covered by insurance. In general, cyber incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events. Cyber incidents include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to digital systems (e.g., through “hacking” or malicious software coding) for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting data or causing operational disruption. Cyber attacks may also be carried out in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized access, such as causing denial-of-service attacks on websites (i.e., efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users). Cyber security failures by or breaches of the systems of the Advisor, distributor and other service providers (including, but not limited to, sub-advisors, index providers, fund accountants, custodians, transfer agents and administrators), market makers, authorized participants or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, have the ability to cause disruptions and impact business operations, potentially resulting in: financial losses; interference with the Fund’s ability to calculate its net asset value; disclosure of confidential trading information; impediments to trading; submission of erroneous trades or erroneous creation or redemption orders; the inability of the Fund or its service providers to transact business; violations of applicable privacy and other laws; regulatory fines penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs; or additional compliance costs. Substantial costs may be incurred by the Fund in order to resolve or prevent cyber incidents in the future. While the Fund has established business continuity plans in the event of, and risk management systems to prevent, such cyber attacks, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems, including the possibility that certain risks have not been identified and that prevention and remediation efforts will not be successful. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control the cyber security plans and systems put in place by service providers to the Fund, issuers in which the Fund invests, market makers or authorized participants. However, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, and the Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result.

securities may fall sharply. During periods of falling interest rates, the income received by the Fund may decline. If the principal on a debt security is prepaid before expected, the prepayments of principal may have to be reinvested in obligations paying interest at lower rates. Debt securities generally do not trade on a centralized securities exchange making them generally less liquid and more difficult to value than common stock. The values of debt securities may also increase or decrease as a result of market fluctuations, actual or perceived inability or unwillingness of issuers, guarantors or liquidity providers to make scheduled principal or interest payments or illiquidity in debt securities markets generally.

the Fund otherwise needs to purchase additional debt securities. In addition, the Fund’s income could decline when the Fund experiences defaults on the debt securities it holds.

INDEX OR MODEL CONSTITUENT RISK. The Fund may be a constituent of one or more indices or ETF models. As a result, the Fund may be included in one or more index-tracking ETFs or mutual funds. Being a component security of such a vehicle could greatly affect the trading activity involving the Fund's shares, the size of the Fund and the market volatility of the Fund’s shares. Inclusion in an index could increase demand for the Fund and removal from an index could result in outsized selling activity in a relatively short period of time. As a result, the Fund’s net asset value could be negatively impacted and the Fund’s market price may be below the Fund’s net asset value during certain periods. In addition, index rebalances may potentially result in increased trading activity. To the extent buying or selling activity increases, the Fund can be exposed to increased brokerage costs and adverse tax consequences and the market price of the Fund can be negatively affected.

INFLATION RISK. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions may decline.This risk is more prevalent with respect to debt securities held by the Fund. Inflation creates uncertainty over the future real value (after inflation) of an investment. Inflation rates may change frequently and drastically as a result of various factors, including unexpected shifts in the domestic or global economy, and the Fund’s investments may not keep pace with inflation, which may result in losses to Fund investors.

INTEREST RATE RISK. The value of debt securities held by the Fund will fluctuate in value with changes in interest rates. In general, debt securities will increase in value when interest rates fall and decrease in value when interest rates rise. The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates than would normally be the case during periods of low interest rates. Interest rate risk is generally lower for shorter term investments and higher for longer term investments. Duration is a common measure of interest rate risk. Duration measures a debt security’s expected life on a present value basis, taking into account the debt security’s yield, interest payments and final maturity. Duration is a reasonably accurate measure of a debt security’s price sensitivity to changes in interest rates. The longer the duration of a debt security, the greater the debt security’s price sensitivity is to changes in interest rates. Rising interest rates also may lengthen the duration of debt securities with call features, since exercise of the call becomes less likely as interest rates rise, which in turn will make the securities more sensitive to changes in interest rates and result in even steeper price declines in the event of further interest rate increases. An increase in interest rates could also cause principal payments on a debt security to be repaid at a slower rate than expected. This risk is particularly prevalent for a callable debt security where an increase in interest rates could cause the issuer of that security to not redeem the security as anticipated on the call date, effectively lengthening the security’s expected maturity, in turn making that security more vulnerable to interest rate risk and reducing its market value. When interest rates fall, the Fund may be required to reinvest the proceeds from the sale, redemption or early prepayment of a debt security at a lower interest rate.

NON-DIVERSIFICATION RISK. The Fund is operated in a non-diversified manner. As a “non-diversified” fund, the Fund may hold a smaller number of portfolio securities than many other funds and may be more sensitive to any single economic, business, political or regulatory occurrence than a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests in a relatively small number of issuers due to the high percentage of the Fund’s assets invested in that security, a decline in the market value of a particular security

held by the Fund may affect its value more than if it invested in a larger number of issuers. The value of the Fund’s shares may be more volatile than the values of shares of more diversified funds.

OPERATIONAL RISK. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Fund’s investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.

PREMIUM/DISCOUNT RISK. The market price of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the Fund’s net asset value as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on the Exchange. First Trust cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their net asset value because the shares trade on the Exchange at market prices and not at net asset value. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related, but not identical, to the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. However, given that shares can only be purchased and redeemed in Creation Units, and only to and from broker-dealers and large institutional investors that have entered into participation agreements (unlike shares of closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their net asset value), First Trust believes that large discounts or premiums to the net asset value of shares should not be sustained absent disruptions to the creation and redemption mechanism, extreme market volatility or potential lack of authorized participants. During stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the market for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which could in turn lead to differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.

SIGNIFICANT EXPOSURE RISK. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a single asset class or industry or sector, an adverse economic, business or political development that affected a particular asset class, region or industry may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more than if the Fund were more broadly diversified. A significant exposure makes the Fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the Fund to greater volatility and market risk than a fund that is more broadly diversified.

SUBSIDIARY INVESTMENT RISK. The Subsidiary is not registered under the 1940 Act and is not subject to all of the investor protections of the 1940 Act. Thus, the Fund, as an investor in the Subsidiary, will not have all of the protections offered to investors in registered investment companies. In addition, changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Fund and the Subsidiary is organized, respectively, could result in the inability of the Fund and/or the Subsidiary to operate as intended and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders.

UNDERLYING ETF RISK. The Subsidiary invests in FLEX Options that reference an ETF, which subjects the Subsidiary to certain of the risks of owning shares of an ETF as well as the types of instruments in which the Underlying ETF invests. The value of an ETF will fluctuate over time based on fluctuations in the values of the securities held by the ETF, which may be affected by changes in general economic conditions, expectations for future growth and profits, interest rates and the supply and demand for those securities. In addition, ETFs are subject to the absence of an active market risk, premium/discount risk, tracking error risk and trading issues risk. Certain options on an ETF may not qualify as "Section 1256 contracts" under Section 1256 of the Code, and disposition of such options will likely result in short-term or long-term capital gains or losses depending on the holding period.

U.S. GOVERNMENT SECURITIES RISK. The Fund may invest in U.S. government securities. U.S. government securities are subject to interest rate risk but generally do not involve the credit risks associated with investments in other types of debt securities. As a result, the yields available from U.S. government securities are generally lower than the yields available from other debt securities. U.S. government securities are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and the payment of principal when held to maturity.

Non-Principal Risks

BORROWING AND LEVERAGE RISK. If the Fund borrows money, it must pay interest and other fees, which may reduce the Fund’s returns. Any such borrowings are intended to be temporary. However, under certain market conditions, including periods of decreased liquidity, such borrowings might be outstanding for longer periods of time. As prescribed by the 1940 Act, the Fund will be required to maintain specified asset coverage of at least 300% with respect to any bank borrowing immediately following such borrowing and at all times thereafter. The Fund may be required to dispose of assets on unfavorable terms if market fluctuations or other factors reduce the Fund’s asset coverage to less than the prescribed amount.

DEPENDENCE ON KEY PERSONNEL RISK. The Sub-Advisor is dependent upon the experience and expertise of the Fund's portfolio managers in providing advisory services with respect to the Fund's investments. If the Sub-Advisor were to lose the services of any of these portfolio managers, its ability to service the Fund could be adversely affected. There can be no assurance that a suitable replacement could be found for any of the portfolio managers in the event of their death, resignation, retirement or inability to act on behalf of the Sub-Advisor.

FAILURE TO QUALIFY AS A REGULATED INVESTMENT COMPANY RISK. If, in any year, the Fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company under the applicable tax laws, the Fund would be taxed as an ordinary corporation. In such circumstances, the Fund's taxable income would be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed and the Fund could be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest and make substantial distributions before requalifying as a regulated investment company that is accorded special tax treatment. This would cause investors to incur higher tax liabilities than they otherwise would have incurred and would have a negative impact on Fund returns. If the Fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company, distributions to the Fund's shareholders generally would be eligible (i) for treatment as qualified dividend income in the case of individual shareholders and (ii) for the dividends received deduction in the case of corporate shareholders. See "Federal Tax Matters."

Fund Organization

The Fund is a series of the Trust, an investment company registered under the 1940 Act. The Fund is treated as a separate fund with its own investment objectives and policies. The Trust is organized as a Massachusetts business trust. The Board is responsible for the overall management and direction of the Trust. The Board elects the Trust’s officers and approves all significant agreements, including those with the Advisor, Sub-Advisor, distributor, custodian and fund administrative and accounting agent.

Management of the Fund

First Trust Advisors L.P., 120 East Liberty Drive, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, is the investment advisor to the Fund. In this capacity, First Trust is responsible for overseeing the Sub-Advisor in the selection and ongoing monitoring of the securities in the Fund's portfolio and certain other services necessary for the management of the portfolio.

The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and First Trust have retained Vest Financial LLC ("Vest" or the "Sub-Advisor") to serve as investment sub-advisor pursuant to a sub-advisory agreement (the "Sub-Advisory Agreement"). In this capacity, Vest is responsible for the selection and ongoing monitoring of the securities in the Fund’s investment portfolio. Vest, with principal offices at 8350 Broad St., Suite 240, McLean, Virginia 22102, was founded in 2012, and is a Delaware LLC. Vest had approximately $24.4 billion under management or committed to management as of February 29, 2024.

The Sub-Advisor is a subsidiary of Vest Group, Inc. (“VG”). First Trust Capital Partners, LLC (“FTCP”), an affiliate of First Trust, is the largest single holder of voting shares in VG.

Karan Sood and Howard Rubin are the Fund’s portfolio managers and are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s investment portfolio.

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clients. Mr. Sood received a master’s degree in Decision Sciences & Operations Research from London School of Economics & Political Science. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

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Mr. Rubin has over 25 years of experience as a Portfolio Manager. Mr. Rubin joined Vest in 2017. Prior to joining Vest, Mr. Rubin served as Director of Portfolio Management at ProShare Advisors LLC from December 2007 to September 2013. Mr. Rubin also served as Senior Portfolio Manager of ProFund Advisors LLC since November 2004 and Portfolio Manager of ProFund Advisors LLC from April 2000 through November 2004. Mr. Rubin holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. Mr. Rubin received a master’s degree in Finance from George Washington University. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Wharton School of Finance, University of Pennsylvania.

For additional information concerning First Trust and the Sub-Advisor, including a description of the services provided to the Fund, see the Fund’s SAI. Additional information about the portfolio managers’ compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and ownership by the portfolio managers of shares of the Fund is provided in the SAI.

Management of the Subsidiary

The Subsidiary is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fund. The Subsidiary is organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands and overseen by its own board of directors. The Fund is the sole shareholder of the Subsidiary, and it is currently expected that shares of the Subsidiary will not be sold or offered to other investors. The Fund and the Subsidiary in the aggregate are managed to comply with the compliance policies and procedures of the Fund. As a result, in managing the Fund’s and the Subsidiary’s portfolios, First Trust will comply with the investment policies and restrictions that apply to the management of the Fund and the Subsidiary (on a consolidated basis), and, in particular, to the requirements relating to leverage, liquidity, brokerage, capital structure and the timing and method of the valuation of the Fund’s and the Subsidiary’s portfolio investments. The Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer oversees implementation of the Subsidiary’s policies and procedures and makes periodic reports to the Trust’s Board of Trustees regarding the Subsidiary’s compliance with its policies and procedures. First Trust serves as the investment advisor of the Subsidiary and Vest serves as investment sub-advisor to the Subsidiary. The investment advisor (First Trust) and investment sub-advisor (Vest) to the Subsidiary comply with provisions of the 1940 Act relating to investment advisory contracts. The Subsidiary does not pay either the Advisor or Sub-Advisor a management fee for investment management services. While the Subsidiary has also entered into separate contracts for the provision of custody, transfer agency and audit services, the Advisor will pay for these expenses.

Management Fee

Pursuant to an investment management agreement between First Trust and the Trust, on behalf of the Fund (the "Investment Management Agreement"), First Trust oversees the Sub-Advisor’s management of the Fund’s assets and pays the Sub-Advisor for its services as Sub-Advisor. First Trust is paid an annual unitary management fee by the Fund equal to 0.90% of the Fund's average daily net assets and is responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including the cost of transfer agency, sub-advisory, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other services, but excluding fee payments under the Investment Management Agreement, interest, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses connected with the execution of portfolio transactions, distribution and service fees payable pursuant to a 12b-1 plan, if any, and extraordinary expenses.

A discussion regarding the Board’s approval of the continuation of the Investment Management Agreement and Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement is available in the Fund’s Semi-Annual Report to Shareholders for the fiscal period ended June 30, 2023.

How to Buy and Sell Shares

Most investors buy and sell shares of the Fund in secondary market transactions through brokers. Shares of the Fund are listed for trading on the secondary market on one or more national securities exchanges. Shares can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like other publicly traded shares. There is no minimum investment when buying shares on the Exchange. Although shares are generally purchased and sold in “round lots” of 100 shares, brokerage firms typically permit investors to purchase or sell shares in smaller “odd lots,” at no per-share price differential. When buying or selling shares through a broker, investors should expect to pay brokerage commissions, investors may receive less than the net asset value of the shares because

shares are bought and sold at market prices rather than at net asset value, and investors may pay some or all of the bid-ask spread for each transaction (purchase or sale) of Fund shares. Share prices are reported in dollars and cents per share.

Under normal circumstances, the Fund will pay out redemption proceeds to a redeeming authorized participant within two days after the authorized participant’s redemption request is received, in accordance with the process set forth in the Fund’s SAI and in the agreement between the authorized participant and the Fund’s distributor. However, the Fund reserves the right, including under stressed market conditions, to take up to seven days after the receipt of a redemption request to pay an authorized participant, all as permitted by the 1940 Act. If the Fund has foreign investments in a country where a local market holiday, or series of consecutive holidays, or the extended delivery cycles for transferring foreign investments to redeeming authorized participants prevents the Fund from delivering such foreign investments to an authorized participant in response to a redemption request, the Fund may take up to 15 days after the receipt of the redemption request to deliver such investments to the authorized participant.

For purposes of the 1940 Act, the Fund is treated as a registered investment company, and the acquisition of shares by other registered investment companies and companies relying on Sections 3(c)(1) and 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act is subject to the restrictions of Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act and the related rules and interpretations.

Book Entry

Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no share certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding shares of the Fund and is recognized as the owner of all shares for all purposes.

Share Trading Prices

The trading price of shares of the Fund on the secondary market is based on market price and may differ from the Fund’s daily net asset value and can be affected by market forces of supply and demand, economic conditions and other factors.

Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of the Fund's Shares

The Fund imposes no restrictions on the frequency of purchases and redemptions (“market timing”). In determining not to approve a written, established policy, the Board evaluated the risks of market timing activities by the Fund's shareholders. The Board considered that the Fund's shares can only be purchased and redeemed directly from the Fund in Creation Units by broker-dealers and large institutional investors that have entered into participation agreements (i.e., authorized participants (“APs”)) and that the vast majority of trading in the Fund's shares occurs on the secondary market. Because the secondary market trades do not involve the Fund directly, it is unlikely those trades would cause many of the harmful effects of market timing, including dilution, disruption of portfolio management, increases in the Fund's trading costs and the realization of capital gains. With respect to trades directly with the Fund, to the extent effected in-kind (i.e., for securities), those trades do not cause any of the harmful effects that may result from frequent cash trades. To the extent that the Fund may effect the purchase or redemption of Creation Units in exchange wholly or partially for cash, the Board noted that such trades could result in dilution to the Fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the Fund's ability to achieve its investment objective. However, the Board noted that direct trading by APs is critical to ensuring that the shares trade at or close to net asset value. In addition, the Fund imposes fixed and variable transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the Fund in effecting trades. Finally, the Advisor monitors purchase and redemption orders from APs for patterns of abusive trading and the Fund reserves the right to not accept orders from APs that the Advisor has determined may be disruptive to the management of the Fund.

Dividends, Distributions and Taxes

Dividends from net investment income of the Fund, if any, are declared and paid annually by the Fund. The Fund distributes its net realized capital gains, if any, to shareholders at least annually.

Federal Tax Matters

This section summarizes some of the main U.S. federal income tax consequences of owning shares of the Fund. This section is current as of the date of this prospectus. Tax laws and interpretations change frequently, and these summaries do not describe all of the tax consequences to all taxpayers. For example, these summaries generally do not describe your situation if you are a corporation, a non-U.S. person, a broker-dealer, or other investor with special circumstances. In addition, this section does not describe your state, local or non-U.S. tax consequences.

This federal income tax summary is based in part on the advice of counsel to the Fund. The Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") could disagree with any conclusions set forth in this section. The following disclosure may not be sufficient for you to use for the purpose of avoiding penalties under federal tax law.

As with any investment, you should seek advice based on your individual circumstances from your own tax advisor.

Fund Status

The Fund intends to continue to qualify as a “regulated investment company” (a “RIC”) under the federal tax laws. If the Fund qualifies as a RIC and distributes its income as required by the tax law, the Fund generally will not pay federal income taxes. Although the Subsidiary’s options positions provide exposure to the Underlying ETF, and not gold directly, the Underlying ETF is a grantor trust and its shareholders are treated, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as if they directly owned a pro rata share of the Underlying ETF’s assets.

For federal income tax purposes, you are treated as the owner of Fund shares and not of the assets held by the Fund. Taxability issues are taken into account at the Fund level. Your federal income tax treatment of income from the Fund is based on the distributions paid by the Fund.

Subject to certain reasonable cause and de minimis exceptions, to qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment generally accorded to RICs, the Fund must, among other things, (i) derive in each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies or other income derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies, or net income derived from interests in certain publicly traded partnerships; (ii) diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of the taxable year, (a) at least 50% of the market value of the Fund’s assets is represented by cash and cash items (including receivables),U.S. government securities, the securities of other RICs and other securities, with such other securities of any one issuer generally limited for the purposes of this calculation to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets and not greater than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (b) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets is invested in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or the securities of other RICs) of any one issuer, or two or more issuers which the Fund controls which are engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more of certain publicly traded partnerships; and (iii) distribute at least 90% of its investment company taxable income(which includes, among other items, dividends, interest and net short-term capital gains in excess of long-term capital losses) and at least 90% of its net tax-exempt interest income each taxable year. There are certain exceptions for failure to qualify if the failure is for reasonable cause or is de minimis, and certain corrective action is taken and certain tax payments are made by the Fund.

Income from commodities is generally not qualifying income for RICs. The Fund intends to treat any income it may derive from FLEX Options on the Underlying ETF received by the Subsidiary as “qualifying income” under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, applicable to RICs. The Internal Revenue Service had issued numerous PLRs provided to third parties not associated with the Fund or its affiliates (which only those parties may rely on as precedent) concluding that similar arrangements resulted in qualifying income. Many of such PLRs have now been revoked by the Internal Revenue Service. In March of 2019, the Internal Revenue Service published Regulations that concluded that income from a corporation similar to the Subsidiary would be qualifying income, if the income is related to the Fund’s business of investing in stocks or securities. Although the Regulations do not require distributions from the Subsidiary, the Fund intends to cause the Subsidiary to make distributions that would allow the Fund to make timely distributions to its shareholders. The Fund generally will be required to include in its own taxable income the income of the Subsidiary for a tax year, regardless of whether the Fund receives

a distribution of the Subsidiary’s income in that tax year, and this income would nevertheless be subject to the distribution requirement for qualification as a regulated investment company and would be taken into account for purposes of the 4% excise tax.

The Fund has undertaken to not hold more than 25% of its assets in the Subsidiary at the end of any quarter. If the Fund fails to limit itself to the 25% ceiling and fails to correct the issue within 30 days after the end of the quarter, the Fund may fail the RIC diversification tests described above.

Subject to certain reasonable cause and de minimis exceptions, if the Fund fails to qualify as a RIC or fails to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement in any taxable year, the Fund will be taxed as an ordinary corporation on its taxable income (even if such income were distributed to its shareholders) and all distributions out of earnings and profits will be taxed to you as dividend income, which, in general and subject to limitations under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, under current law will constitute qualified dividend income in the case of individual shareholders and would be eligible for the corporate dividends received deduction. In such event, in order to re-qualify for taxation as a RIC, the Fund might be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest and make certain distributions. This would cause investors to incur higher tax liabilities than they otherwise would have incurred and would have a negative impact on Fund returns. In such event, the Fund’s Board of Trustees may determine to reorganize or close the Fund or materially change the Fund’s investment objective and strategies.

Distributions

To determine your actual tax liability for your capital gain dividends, you must calculate your total net capital gain or loss for the tax year after considering all of your other taxable transactions, as described below. In addition, the Fund may make distributions that represent a return of capital for tax purposes and thus will generally not be taxable to you; however, such distributions may reduce your tax basis in your shares, which could result in you having to pay higher taxes in the future when shares are sold, even if you sell the shares at a loss from your original investment. A “return of capital” is a return, in whole or in part, of the funds that you previously invested in the Fund. A return of capital distribution should not be considered part of a Fund’s dividend yield or total return of an investment in Fund shares. The tax status of your distributions from the Fund is not affected by whether you reinvest your distributions in additional shares or receive them in cash. The tax laws may require you to treat distributions made to you in January as if you had received them on December 31 of the previous year.

Income from the Fund may also be subject to a 3.8% “Medicare tax.” This tax generally applies to your net investment income if your adjusted gross income exceeds certain threshold amounts, which are $250,000 in the case of married couples filing joint returns and $200,000 in the case of single individuals.

Dividends Received Deduction

Capital Gains and Losses

If you are an individual, the maximum marginal stated federal tax rate for net capital gains is generally 20% (15% or 0% for taxpayers with taxable incomes below certain thresholds). Capital gains may also be subject to the Medicare tax described above. Generally, the maximum capital gains rate for individuals for an investment in gold is 28%. However, income from the Subsidiary may be subject to tax at higher ordinary income rates when distributed to investors.

Net capital gain equals net long-term capital gain minus net short-term capital loss for the taxable year. Capital gain or loss is long-term if the holding period for the asset is more than one year and is short-term if the holding period for the asset is one year or less. You must exclude the date you purchase your shares to determine your holding period. However, if you receive a capital gain dividend from the Fund and sell your share at a loss after holding it for six months or less, the loss will be recharacterized as long-term capital loss to the extent of the capital gain dividend received. The tax rates for capital gains realized from assets held for one year or less are generally the same as for ordinary income. The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, treats certain capital gains as ordinary income in special situations.

Sale of Shares

Taxes on Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units

If you exchange securities for Creation Units, you will generally recognize a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time and your aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and the cash component paid. See the SAI for more information. If you exchange Creation Units for securities, you will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between your basis in the Creation Units and the aggregate market value of the securities received and the cash redemption amount. The IRS, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units or Creation Units for securities cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.

Treatment of Fund Expenses

Expenses incurred and deducted by the Fund will generally not be treated as income taxable to you.

Treatment of the FLEX Options

The Subsidiary’s investments in offsetting positions with respect to the Underlying ETF may be “straddles” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The straddle rules may affect the character of gains (or losses) realized by the Subsidiary, and losses realized by the Subsidiary on positions that are part of a straddle may be deferred under the straddle rules, rather than being taken into account in calculating taxable income for the taxable year in which the losses are realized. In addition, certain carrying charges (including interest expense) associated with positions in a straddle may be required to be capitalized rather than deducted currently. Certain elections that the Subsidiary may make with respect to its straddle positions may also affect the amount, character and timing of the recognition of gains or losses from the affected positions.

The tax consequences of straddle transactions to the Subsidiary are not entirely clear in all situations under currently available authority. The straddle rules may increase the amount of short-term capital gain realized by the Fund, which is taxed as ordinary income when distributed to U.S. shareholders in a non-liquidating distribution. Because application of the straddle rules may affect the character of gains or losses, defer losses and/or accelerate the recognition of gains or losses from the affected straddle positions, the amount which must be distributed to U.S. shareholders as ordinary income may be increased or decreased substantially as compared to a fund that did not engage in such transactions.

The FLEX Options included in the Subsidiary's portfolio are exchange-traded options. Under Section 1256 of the Code, certain types of exchange-traded options are treated as if they were sold (i.e., "marked to market") at the end of each year. If all of the options held by the Subsidiary are 1256 contracts, the options will not be subject to the straddle rules.

Non-U.S. Investors

If you are a non-U.S. investor (i.e., an investor other than a U.S. citizen or resident or a U.S. corporation, partnership, estate or trust), you should be aware that, generally, subject to applicable tax treaties, distributions from the Fund will be characterized as dividends for federal income tax purposes (other than dividends which the Fund properly reports as capital gain dividends) and will be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes, subject to certain exceptions described below. However, distributions received by a non-U.S. investor from the Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes, provided that the Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met. Distributions from the Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as an interest-related dividend attributable to certain interest income received by the Fund or as a short-term capital gain dividend attributable to certain net short-term capital gain income received by the Fund may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes when received by certain non-U.S. investors, provided that the Fund makes certain elections

and certain other conditions are met. For tax years after December 31, 2022, amounts paid to or recognized by a non-U.S. affiliate that are excluded from tax under the portfolio interest, capital gain dividends, short-term capital gains or tax-exempt interest dividend exceptions or applicable treaties, may be taken into consideration in determining whether a corporation is an “applicable corporation” subject to a 15% minimum tax on adjusted financial statement income.

Distributions may be subject to a U.S. withholding tax of 30% in the case of distributions to (i) certain non-U.S. financial institutions that have not entered into an agreement with the U.S. Treasury to collect and disclose certain information and are not resident in a jurisdiction that has entered into such an agreement with the U.S. Treasury and (ii) certain other non-U.S. entities that do not provide certain certifications and information about the entity’s U.S. owners. This withholding tax is also currently scheduled to apply to the gross proceeds from the disposition of securities that produce U.S. source interest or dividends. However, proposed regulations may eliminate the requirement to withhold on payments of gross proceeds from dispositions.

Investments in the Subsidiary

One of the requirements for qualification as a RIC is that the Fund must derive at least 90% of its gross income for each taxable year from “qualifying income.” Qualifying income includes dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies or other income derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies.

The Fund intends to treat any income it may derive from FLEX Options on the Underlying ETF received by the Subsidiary as “qualifying income” under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, applicable to RICs. The Internal Revenue Service had issued numerous PLRs provided to third parties not associated with the Fund or its affiliates (which only those parties may rely on as precedent) concluding that similar arrangements resulted in qualifying income. Many of such PLRs have now been revoked by the Internal Revenue Service. In March of 2019, the Internal Revenue Service published Regulations that concluded that income from a corporation similar to the Subsidiary would be qualifying income, if the income is related to the Fund’s business of investing in stocks or securities. Although the Regulations do not require distributions from the Subsidiary, the Fund intends to cause the Subsidiary to make distributions that would allow the Fund to make timely distributions to its shareholders.

The Subsidiary intends to conduct its affairs in a manner such that it will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax. It will, however, be considered a controlled foreign corporation, and the Fund will be required to include as income annually amounts earned by the Subsidiary during that year, whether or not distributed by the Subsidiary. Furthermore, the Fund will be subject to the RIC qualification distribution requirements with respect to the Subsidiary’s income, whether or not the Subsidiary makes a distribution to the Fund during the taxable year and thus the Fund may not have sufficient cash on hand to make such distribution.

Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Fund and the Subsidiary is organized, respectively, could result in the inability of the Fund and/or the Subsidiary to operate as described in this prospectus and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders. For example, Cayman Islands law does not currently impose any income, corporate or capital gains tax, estate duty, inheritance tax, gift tax or withholding tax on the Subsidiary. If Cayman Islands law changes such that the Subsidiary must pay Cayman Islands governmental authority taxes, the Fund’s shareholders would likely suffer decreased investment returns. There remains a risk that the tax treatment of swap agreements and other derivative instruments, such as commodity-linked notes, swap agreements, commodity options, futures and options on futures, may be affected by future regulatory or legislative changes that could affect the character, timing and/or amount of the Fund’s taxable income or gains and distributions.

Distribution Plan

FTP serves as the distributor of Creation Units for the Fund on an agency basis. FTP does not maintain a secondary market in shares.

The Board has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. In accordance with the Rule 12b-1 plan, the Fund is authorized to pay an amount up to 0.25% of its average daily net assets each year to reimburse FTP for amounts expended to finance activities primarily intended to result in the sale of Creation Units or the provision of investor services. FTP may also use this amount to compensate securities dealers or other persons that are APs for providing distribution assistance, including broker-dealer and shareholder support and educational and promotional services.

The Fund does not currently pay 12b-1 fees, and pursuant to a contractual arrangement, the Fund will not pay 12b-1 fees any time before April 30, 2025. However, in the event 12b-1 fees are charged in the future, because these fees are paid out of the Fund's assets, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than certain other types of sales charges.

Net Asset Value

The Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) is determined as of the close of regular trading (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time) on each day the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for trading. If the NYSE closes early on a valuation day, the Fund’s NAV will be determined as of that time. The Fund’s NAV is calculated by dividing the value of the net assets of the Fund (i.e., the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by the total number of outstanding shares of the Fund, generally rounded to the nearest cent.

Rule 2a-5 permits a fund’s board of trustees to designate the fund’s investment adviser as its “valuation designee” to perform fair value determinations, subject to certain conditions. Accordingly, the Fund’s Board has designated First Trust as its valuation designee (the “Valuation Designee”) pursuant to Rule 2a-5 and has directed the Valuation Designee to perform the functions required in Rule 2a-5(a) subject to the requirements of Rule 2a-5(b) on behalf of all portfolio investments of the Fund, subject to the Board’s oversight. First Trust has established a pricing committee (the “Pricing Committee”) to assist in the administration of the duties of the Valuation Designee. The Valuation Designee has adopted valuation procedures for the First Trust Funds (the “Valuation Procedures”), a brief summary of which is set forth below.

The Pricing Committee has also identified certain portfolio investments that are routinely categorized as fair valued investments. In general, for such investments, the Fund’s accounting agent will obtain all pricing data for use in valuing such investments from a pricing service provider approved by the Pricing Committee (each, a “Pricing Service Provider”), subject to the oversight of the Pricing Committee. Pricing Service Providers typically value non-exchange-traded instruments utilizing a range of market-based inputs and assumptions. For example, when available, Pricing Service Providers may utilize inputs such as benchmark yields, reported trades, broker-dealer quotes, spreads, and transactions for comparable instruments. In pricing certain instruments, a Pricing Service Provider may consider information about an instrument’s issuer or market activity. Pricing Service Provider valuations of non-exchange-traded instruments generally represent the service’s good faith opinion as to what the holder of an instrument would receive in an orderly transaction for an institutional round lot position under current market conditions. Certain exchange-traded options, such as FLEX Options, are typically valued using a model-based price provided by a Pricing Service Provider.

investment on the valuation date (a “Special Fair Value Pricing Situation”). In a Special Fair Value Pricing Situation, the Pricing Committee will determine a fair value price subject to the process outlined in the Valuation Procedures and based on a consideration of all available information to the Pricing Committee at the time of the determination.

Additionally, for foreign securities, if an extraordinary market event occurs between the time the last “current” market quotation is available for a security in the Fund’s portfolio and the time the Fund’s NAV is determined that calls into doubt whether that earlier market quotation represents fair value at the time the Fund’s NAV is determined, the Pricing Committee will determine the fair valuation as set forth in the Valuation Procedures.

Fair value represents a good faith approximation of the value of a portfolio investment and is the amount the Fund might reasonably expect to receive from the current sale of that investment in an arm’s-length transaction. Valuing the Fund’s investments using fair value pricing will result in prices that may differ from current market valuations, if any, and that may not be the prices at which those investments could have been sold during the period in which the particular fair values were used. While the Valuation Procedures and Valuation Designee’s processes are intended to result in the Fund’s NAV calculation that fairly reflects the values as of the time of pricing, the fair value determined for a portfolio instrument may be materially different from the value that could be realized upon the sale of that instrument.

Fund Service Providers

The Bank of New York Mellon, 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York, 10286, acts as the administrator, custodian and fund accounting and transfer agent for the Fund. Chapman and Cutler LLP, 320 South Canal St., Chicago, Illinois 60606, serves as legal counsel to the Fund.

Disclaimers

The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDR® Gold Trust and WGTS, or their affiliates. SPDR® Gold Trust and WGTS, or their affiliates have not passed on the legality or suitability of, or the accuracy or adequacy of, descriptions and disclosures relating to the Fund or the FLEX Options. SPDR® Gold Trust and WGTS, or their affiliates make no representations or warranties, express or implied, regarding the advisability of investing in the Fund or the FLEX Options or results to be obtained by the Fund or the FLEX Options, shareholders or any other person or entity from use of the Underlying ETF. SPDR® Gold Trust and WGTS, or their affiliates have no liability in connection with the management, administration, marketing or trading of the Fund or the FLEX Options.

Premium/Discount Information

Information showing the number of days the market price of the Fund's shares was greater (at a premium) and less (at a discount) than the Fund's net asset value for the most recently completed year, and the most recently completed calendar quarters since that year (or life of the Fund, if shorter), is available at https://www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/etf/home.aspx.

Financial Highlights

The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the Fund's financial performance for the periods shown. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share of the Fund. The total returns represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). The information for the periods indicated has been derived from financial statements audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, whose report, along with the Fund's financial statements, is included in the Fund's Annual Report to Shareholders dated December 31, 2023 and is incorporated by reference in the Fund's SAI, which is available upon request.

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund

Financial Highlights
For a share outstanding throughout each period

FT Vest Gold Strategy Quarterly Buffer ETF (BGLD)

	Year Ended December 31,		Period Ended December 31,
	2023	2022	2021(a)
Net asset value, beginning of period	$18.40	$18.93	$19.99
Income from investment operations:
Net investment income (loss)	0.74 (b)	0.08	(0.08 )
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	1.64	(0.54 )	(0.98 )
Total from investment operations	2.38	(0.46 )	(1.06 )
Distributions paid to shareholders from:
Net investment income	(1.67 )	(0.05 )	—
Return of Capital	(0.30 )	(0.02 )	—
Total distributions	(1.97 )	(0.07 )	—
Net asset value, end of period	$18.81	$18.40	$18.93
Total Return (c)	13.15 %	(2.41 )%	(5.30 )%
Ratios/supplemental data:
Net assets, end of period (in 000’s)	$29,156	$12,879	$17,980
Ratios to average net assets:
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets	0.90 %	0.90 %	0.90 %(d)
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets	3.82 %	0.37 %	(0.87 )%(d)
Portfolio turnover rate (e)	0 %	0 %	0 %

(a)

Inception date is January 20, 2021, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established.

(b)

Based on average shares outstanding.

(c)

(d)

Annualized.

(e)

Other Information

Continuous Offering

The Fund issues, on a continuous offering basis, its shares in one or more groups of a fixed number of Fund shares (each such group of such specified number of individual Fund shares, a “Creation Unit Aggregation”). The method by which Creation Unit Aggregations of Fund shares are created and traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Unit Aggregations of shares are issued and sold by the Fund on an ongoing basis, a “distribution,” as such term is used in the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), may occur at any point. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner which could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus delivery requirement and liability provisions of the Securities Act.

Broker-dealer firms should also note that dealers who are not “underwriters” but are effecting transactions in shares, whether or not participating in the distribution of shares, are generally required to deliver a prospectus. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act is not available in respect of such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. As a result, broker-dealer firms should note that dealers who are not underwriters but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted with ordinary secondary market transactions) and thus dealing with the shares that are part of an overallotment within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the Securities Act would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act. Firms that incur a prospectus delivery obligation with respect to shares are reminded that, under the Securities Act Rule 153, a prospectus delivery obligation under Section 5(b)(2) of the Securities Act owed to a broker-dealer in connection with a sale on the Exchange is satisfied by the fact that the prospectus is available from the Exchange upon request. The prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is available with respect to transactions on a national securities exchange, a trading facility or an alternative trading system.

FTP, or its affiliates, or a fund or unit investment trust for which FTP or an affiliate serves as sponsor or investment advisor, may purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other investors, including in secondary market transactions, and because FTP or its affiliates may be deemed affiliates of the Fund, the shares are being registered to permit the resale of these shares from time to time after any such purchase. The Fund will not receive any of the proceeds from the resale of such shares.

[THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.]

First Trust

Exchange-Traded Fund

FT Vest Gold Strategy Quarterly Buffer ETF

For More Information

For more detailed information on the Fund, several additional sources of information are available to you. The SAI, incorporated by reference into this prospectus, contains detailed information on the Fund's policies and operation. Additional information about the Fund's investments is available in the annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In the Fund's annual report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly impacted the Fund's performance during the last fiscal year. The Fund's most recent SAI, annual and semi-annual reports and certain other information are available free of charge by calling the Fund at (800) 621-1675, on the Fund's website at www.ftportfolios.com or through your financial advisor. Shareholders may call the toll-free number above with any inquiries.

You may obtain this and other information regarding the Fund, including the SAI and the Codes of Ethics adopted by First Trust, FTP and the Trust, directly from the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Information on the SEC’s website is free of charge. Visit the SEC’s online EDGAR database at www.sec.gov. You may also request information regarding the Fund by sending a request (along with a duplication fee) to the SEC by sending an electronic request to publicinfo@sec.gov.

First Trust Advisors L.P.
120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
(800) 621-1675

www.ftportfolios.com

SEC File #: 333-125751

811-21774

First Trust

Exchange-Traded Fund

Prospectus

FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF®

Ticker Symbol:	IGLD
Exchange:	Cboe BZX

FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (the “Fund”) lists and principally trades its shares on the Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. (“Cboe BZX” or the “Exchange”). Market prices may differ to some degree from the net asset value of the shares. Unlike mutual funds, the Fund issues and redeems shares at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called "Creation Units."

The Fund is a series of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund (the “Trust”) and an actively-managed exchange-traded fund organized as a separate series of a registered management investment company.

Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund.

May 1, 2024

NOT FDIC INSURED MAY LOSE VALUE NO BANK GUARANTEE

Table of Contents

Summary Information	3
Additional Information on the Fund's Investment Objective and Strategies	14
Fund Investments	14
Risks of Investing in the Fund	15
Fund Organization	23
Management of the Fund	23
How to Buy and Sell Shares	25
Dividends, Distributions and Taxes	26
Federal Tax Matters	26
Distribution Plan	30
Net Asset Value	30
Fund Service Providers	31
Disclaimers	32
Premium/Discount Information	32
Financial Highlights	33
Other Information	34

Summary Information

Investment Objective

The FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® seeks to deliver participation in the price returns of the SPDR Gold Trust (the “Underlying ETF”) while providing a consistent level of income.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Management Fees	0.85%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.85%

Example

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.

1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$66	$208	$362	$811

Portfolio Turnover

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund seeks to deliver participation in the price returns of the SPDR Gold Trust (the “Underlying ETF”) while providing a consistent level of income through a portfolio substantially composed of short-term U.S. Treasury securities, cash and cash equivalents, and in the shares of a wholly-owned subsidiary (the “Subsidiary”) that holds FLexible Exchange Options (“FLEX Options”) that reference the price performance of the Underlying ETF. The Fund’s investment sub-advisor is Vest Financial LLC (“Vest” or the “Sub-Advisor”). As discussed in greater detail below, the Fund will not fully participate in gains experienced by the Underlying ETF. Additional information regarding the Underlying ETF is set forth below.

In seeking to achieve its objective, the Fund, through the Subsidiary, will generally purchase or sell FLEX Options. FLEX Options are customized equity or index option contracts that trade on an exchange but provide investors with the ability to customize key contract terms like exercise prices, styles and expiration dates. In general, an option gives the purchaser of the option the right to purchase (for a call option) or sell (for a put option) the underlying asset (or deliver cash equal to the value of an underlying asset) at a specified price (the “strike price”). The Fund will gain exposure to increases in value experienced by the Underlying ETF through the purchase of call options. As a buyer of these options, the Fund pays a premium to the seller of the options. The Fund will gain exposure to decreases in value experienced by the Underlying ETF through the sale of put options. As the seller of these options, the Fund receives a premium from the buyer of the options. Each of these FLEX Options is expected to have a term of approximately one year. In combination, the purchased call and sold put options generally provide exposure to price returns of the Underlying ETF both on the upside and downside.

Target Income ETF is a registered trademark of Vest Financial.

Additionally, as a means to generate income, the Fund will employ a “partial covered call strategy” that seeks to sell call options having a strike price roughly equal to the value of the Underlying ETF at the inception of the Fund or each subsequent roll of the strategy (such options are said to be “at-the-money”) on only a portion of the notional value of the call options purchased by the Fund. This strategy effectively converts a portion of the upside price return growth of the Underlying ETF into current income. By doing so, the Fund is giving up full participation potential in Underlying ETF gains in exchange for call option premiums. To execute this strategy, the Fund will sell call options with an expiration date less than or equal to approximately one month in the future (the “Target Income Period”). The amount of call options sold by the Fund is based on a calculation designed to result in the Fund generating income over the Target Income Period on the average assets of the Fund from premiums from writing call options that is approximately 3.85% higher annually than the annual yield from one-month U.S. Treasury securities, before Fund fees and expenses.

The Fund’s sale of call options to generate the desired level of income affects the degree to which the Fund will participate in increases in value experienced by the Underlying ETF over the Target Income period. The more call options the Fund needs to sell in order to generate the desired level of income, the less the Fund will participate in Underlying ETF gains. This means that if the Underlying ETF experiences an increase in value, the Fund will likely not experience that increase to the same extent, and may significantly underperform the Underlying ETF over the Target Income Period. The degree of participation in Underlying ETF gains will depend on prevailing market conditions, especially market volatility, at the time the Fund enters into the call options. The Fund’s rate of participation in Underlying ETF gains is approximately the ratio of the notional value of the Fund’s purchased call options to the notional value of the Fund’s sold call options. For instance, if the notional value of the Fund’s purchased call options is approximately 75% greater than the notional value of the Fund’s sold call options, the Fund would be expected to participate in approximately 75% of the price return gains experienced by the Underlying ETF over the Target Income Period, in addition to providing the consistent level of income. In that same example, for every 10% increase in the value of the Underlying ETF, the Fund would experience an approximately 7.5% increase in value (before Fund fees and expenses). In general, the Fund expects to participate in between 50% and 100% of Underlying ETF gains (before fees and expenses), although such participation is subject to market conditions and may be below those levels.

The sale of call options to generate income will not have the same impact on any decreases experienced by the Underlying ETF over the Target Income Period. The Fund expects to fully participate in all Underlying ETF losses (e.g. if the Underlying ETF decreases in value by 5%, the Fund should be expected to decrease in value by approximately 5%, before Fund fees and expenses).

General Information on the FLEX Options

FLEX Options are customizable exchange-traded option contracts guaranteed for settlement by the Options Clearing Corporation (“OCC”). The OCC guarantees performance by each of the counterparties to the FLEX Options, becoming the “buyer for every seller and the seller for every buyer,” protecting clearing members and options traders from counterparty risk.

The FLEX Options that the Fund will hold through the Subsidiary that reference the Underlying ETF will give the Fund the right to receive or deliver shares of the Underlying ETF or cash-settle the FLEX Options on the option expiration date at a strike price, depending on whether the option is a put or call option and whether the Fund purchases or sells the option. The FLEX Options held by the Fund are European style options, which are exercisable at the strike price only on the FLEX Option expiration date.

The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).

The Underlying ETF

The Underlying ETF is an exchange-traded investment trust that holds physical gold bars. World Gold Trust Services, LLC serves as the Underlying ETF’s sponsor and HSBC Bank plc serves as the Underlying ETF’s custodian. The Underlying ETF's custodian may utilize subcustodians that hold the Underlying ETF's gold on its behalf. The Underlying ETF is not expected to pay dividends. You can find the Underlying ETF’s prospectus and other information about the ETF, including the most recent reports to shareholders, online at spdrgoldshares.com.

Principal Risks

CALL OPTIONS RISK. The use of call options involves risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions and depends on the ability of the Fund's portfolio managers to forecast market movements correctly. As the seller (writer) of a call option, the Fund will tend to lose money if the value of the reference index or security rises above the strike price. As the purchaser of a call option, the Fund will generally only exercise the option if the value of the reference index or security rises above the strike price. If the value of the reference index or security does not rise above the level of the strike price, the option is likely to expire worthless. When writing a call option, the Fund will have no control over the exercise of the option by the option holder and the American style options sold by the Fund may be exercised at any time before the option expiration date. A number of factors may influence the option holder’s decision to exercise the option, including the value of the underlying security or index, price volatility, currency exchange rates, dividend yield and interest rates. To the extent that these factors increase the value of the call option, the option holder is more likely to exercise the option, which

may negatively affect the Fund. The effective use of options also depends on the Fund's ability to terminate option positions at times deemed desirable to do so. There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to effect closing transactions at any particular time or at an acceptable price. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in values of options and their reference index or security and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options. Options may also involve the use of leverage, which could result in greater price volatility than other markets.

COVERED CALL STRATEGY RISK. The writer of a covered call option forgoes any profit from increases in the market value of the underlying security covering the call option above the sum of the premium and the strike price of the call but retains the risk of loss if the underlying security declines in value. The premiums received from the options may not be sufficient to offset any losses sustained on the underlying stocks over time. In addition, the Fund’s ability to sell the securities underlying the options will be limited while the options are in effect unless the Fund cancels out the option positions through the purchase of offsetting identical options prior to the expiration of the written options. The Fund will have no control over the exercise of the option by the option holder and may lose the benefit from any capital appreciation on the underlying security. A number of factors may influence the option holder’s decision to exercise the option, including the value of the underlying security, price volatility, dividend yield and interest rates. To the extent that these factors increase the value of the call option, the option holder is more likely to exercise the option, which may negatively affect the Fund.

continue to have a significant impact on certain Fund investments as well as Fund performance and liquidity. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as the financial markets generally, may be adversely impacted by trade disputes and other matters. For example, the United States has imposed trade barriers and restrictions on China. In addition, the Chinese government is engaged in a longstanding dispute with Taiwan, continually threatening an invasion. If the political climate between the United States and China does not improve or continues to deteriorate, if China were to attempt invading Taiwan, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets and individual securities may be adversely affected, and the value of the Fund’s assets may go down. The COVID-19 global pandemic, or any future public health crisis, and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against emerging future variants of the disease. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. Advancements in technology may also adversely impact markets and the overall performance of the Fund. For instance, the economy may be significantly impacted by the advanced development and increased regulation of artificial intelligence. These events, and any other future events, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.

capital. Distributions in excess of the Fund's minimum distribution requirements, but not in excess of the Fund's earnings and profits, will be taxable to Fund shareholders and will not constitute nontaxable returns of capital. A return of capital distribution generally will not be taxable but will reduce the shareholder's cost basis and will result in a higher capital gain or lower capital loss when those Fund shares on which the distribution was received are sold. Once a Fund shareholder's cost basis is reduced to zero, further distributions will be treated as capital gain, if the Fund shareholder holds shares of the Fund as capital assets. Additionally, any capital returned through distributions will be distributed after payment of Fund fees and expenses. Because the Fund's distributions may consist of return of capital, the Fund may not be an appropriate investment for investors who do not want their principal investment in the Fund to decrease over time or who do not wish to receive return of capital in a given period. In the event that a shareholder purchases shares of the Fund shortly before a distribution by the Fund, the entire distribution may be taxable to the shareholder even though a portion of the distribution effectively represents a return of the purchase price.

LEVERAGE RISK. Certain ETPs in which the Fund may invest utilize leverage. Leverage may result in losses that exceed the amount originally invested and may accelerate the rates of losses. Leverage tends to magnify, sometimes significantly, the effect of any increase or decrease in an underlying ETP’s exposure to an asset or class of assets and may cause the value of the underlying fund’s shares to be volatile and sensitive to market swings.

LIQUIDITY RISK. The Fund may hold certain investments that may be subject to restrictions on resale, trade over-the-counter or in limited volume, or lack an active trading market. Accordingly, the Fund may not be able to sell or close out of such investments at favorable times or prices (or at all), or at the prices approximating those at which the Fund currently values them. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments and may be subject to wide fluctuations in market value.

more than if the Fund were more broadly diversified. A significant exposure makes the Fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the Fund to greater market risk than a fund that is more broadly diversified.

TAX RISK. The Fund intends to treat any income it may derive from FLEX Options on the Underlying ETF received by the Subsidiary as “qualifying income” under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, applicable to “regulated investment companies” (“RICs”). The Internal Revenue Service had issued numerous private letter rulings (“PLRs”) provided to third parties not associated with the Fund or its affiliates (which only those parties may rely on as precedent) concluding that similar arrangements resulted in qualifying income. Many of such PLRs have now been revoked by the Internal Revenue Service. In March of 2019, the Internal Revenue Service published Regulations that concluded that income from a corporation similar to the Subsidiary would be qualifying income, if the income is related to the Fund’s business of investing in stocks or securities. Although the Regulations do not require distributions from the Subsidiary, the Fund intends to cause the Subsidiary to make distributions that would allow the Fund to make timely distributions to its shareholders. The Fund generally will be required to include in its own taxable income the income of the Subsidiary for a tax year, regardless of whether the Fund receives a distribution of the Subsidiary’s income in that tax year, and this income would nevertheless be subject to the distribution requirement for qualification as a regulated investment company and would be taken into account for purposes of the 4% excise tax. The Fund intends to treat any income it may derive from FLEX Options on the Underlying ETF received by the Subsidiary as “qualifying income” for the rules applicable to RICs. Treasury Regulations provide that income from a corporation similar to the Subsidiary is qualifying income, if (i) the income is distributed to the Fund in the same year the Fund is required to recognize the income or (ii) the income is related to the Fund’s business of investing in stocks or securities. The Fund intends to cause the Subsidiary to make distributions that would allow the Fund to meet the first requirement. The Fund generally will be required to recognize the income of the Subsidiary, regardless of whether the Fund receives a distribution of the Subsidiary’s income, and this income would be subject to the distribution requirement for qualification as a RIC and would be taken into account for purposes of the 4% excise tax.

UNDERLYING ETF CONCENTRATION RISK. The Underlying ETF may be susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to adverse events that affect the Underlying ETF's investments more than the market as a whole, to the extent that the Underlying ETF's investments are concentrated in the securities and/or other assets of a particular issuer or issuers, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector, market segment or asset class.

may be more volatile than other types of investments. There is a risk that some or all of the Underlying ETF’s gold bars held by its custodian or any subcustodian could be lost, damaged or stolen. Access to the Underlying ETF’s gold bars could also be restricted by natural events (such as an earthquake) or human actions (such as a terrorist attack). Any of these events may adversely affect the operations of the Underlying ETF and, consequently, an investment based on the value of the Underlying ETF’s shares. Additionally, the Underlying ETF does not insure its gold and a loss may be suffered with respect to the Underlying ETF’s gold which is not covered by insurance and for which no party is liable for damages.

VALUATION RISK. The Fund may hold securities or other assets that may be valued on the basis of factors other than market quotations. This may occur because the asset or security does not trade on a centralized exchange, or in times of market turmoil or reduced liquidity. There are multiple methods that can be used to value a portfolio holding when market quotations are not readily available. The value established for any portfolio holding at a point in time might differ from what would be produced using a different methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations. Portfolio holdings that are valued using techniques other than market quotations, including “fair valued” assets or securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their valuations from one day to the next than if market quotations were used. In addition, there is no assurance that the Fund could sell or close out a portfolio position for the value established for it at any time, and it is possible that the Fund would incur a loss because a portfolio position is sold or closed out at a discount to the valuation established by the Fund at that time. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.

Annual Total Return

FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF®
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31

During the periods shown in the chart above:

	Return	Period Ended
Best Quarter	8.75%	December 31, 2023
Worst Quarter	-6.84%	September 30, 2022

The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.

Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2023

	1 Year	Since Inception	Inception Date
Return Before Taxes	10.95%	3.66%	3/2/2021
Return After Taxes on Distributions	7.43%	1.51%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	6.38%	1.86%
LBMA Gold Price (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	14.59%	6.83%
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	26.29%	9.38%

Management

Investment Advisor

First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)

Investment Sub-Advisor

Vest Financial LLC (“Vest” or the “Sub-Advisor”)

Portfolio Managers

The following persons serve as the portfolio managers of the Fund:

•

Karan Sood, Managing Director of Vest

•

Howard Rubin, Managing Director of Vest

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Tax Information

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

Additional Information on the Fund's Investment Objective and Strategies

The Fund is a series of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund and is regulated as an “investment company” under the 1940 Act. The Fund is actively managed and does not seek to track the performance of an index. The Fund’s investment objective is non-fundamental and may be changed by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”) without shareholder approval. Unless an investment policy is identified as being fundamental, all investment policies included in this prospectus and the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) are non-fundamental and may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval. If there is a material change to the Fund's principal investment strategies, you should consider whether the Fund remains an appropriate investment for you. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.

Fund Investments

Principal Investments

FLEX Options

The Fund, through the Subsidiary, will purchase and sell call and put FLEX Options based on the performance of the Underlying ETF. The FLEX Options that the Fund will hold through the Subsidiary that reference the Underlying ETF will give the Fund the right to receive or deliver shares of the Underlying ETF or cash-settle the FLEX Options on the option expiration date at a strike price, depending on whether the option is a put or call option and whether the Fund purchases or sells the option. The FLEX Options held by the Fund are European style options, which are exercisable at the strike price only on the FLEX Option expiration date.

U.S. Government Securities

Illiquid Investments

The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in securities and other instruments that are, at the time of investment, illiquid (determined using the Securities and Exchange Commission's standard applicable to investment companies, i.e., any investment that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment). For this purpose, illiquid investments may include, but are not limited to, certain restricted securities (securities the disposition of which is restricted under the federal securities laws), certain securities that may only be sold pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act and certain repurchase agreements, among others.

Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments

The Fund may invest in securities with maturities of less than one year or cash equivalents, or may hold cash. The percentage of the Fund invested in such holdings varies and depends on several factors, including market conditions. For temporary defensive purposes and during periods of high cash inflows or outflows, the Fund may depart from its principal investment strategies and invest all of its assets in these securities, or it may hold cash. During such periods, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective. The Fund may adopt a temporary defensive strategy when the portfolio managers believe securities in which the Fund normally invests have elevated risks due to political or economic factors and in other extraordinary circumstances. For more information on eligible short-term investments, see the SAI.

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

Risks of Investing in the Fund

Principal Risks

CALL OPTIONS RISK. The writer (seller) of a call option forgoes any profit from increases in the market value of the underlying security or index referenced by the call option above the sum of the premium and the strike price of the call but retains the risk of loss if the underlying security or index declines in value. When writing a call option, the Fund will have no control over the exercise of the option by the option holder and may lose the benefit from any capital appreciation on the underlying security or index. A number of factors may influence the option holder’s decision to exercise the option, including the value of the underlying security or index, price volatility, dividend yield and interest rates. To the extent that these factors increase the value of the call option, the option holder is more likely to exercise the option, which may negatively affect the Fund.

When the Fund distributes the premium received from the sale of a call option, the distribution may reduce a shareholder's tax basis in his or her shares of the Fund, causing a greater gain on a subsequent sale of such shares. However, if the sold call option is later exercised, the premium received by the Fund will be recognized as income for tax purposes. In such cases, if the premium has already been distributed to shareholders, the Fund may be required to sell other assets in order to fund the distribution.

redemptions only in-kind. ETFs are able to make in-kind redemptions and avoid being taxed on gains on the distributed portfolio securities at the fund level. A fund that effects redemptions for cash may be required to sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. Any recognized gain on these sales by the Fund will generally cause the Fund to recognize a gain it might not otherwise have recognized, or to recognize such gain sooner than would otherwise be required if it were to distribute portfolio securities only in-kind. The Fund intends to distribute these gains to shareholders to avoid being taxed on this gain at the fund level and otherwise comply with the special tax rules that apply to it. This strategy may cause shareholders to be subject to tax on gains they would not otherwise be subject to, or at an earlier date than if they had made an investment in a different ETF. Moreover, cash transactions may have to be carried out over several days if the securities market is relatively illiquid and may involve considerable brokerage fees and taxes. These brokerage fees and taxes, which will be higher than if the Fund sold and redeemed its shares entirely in-kind, will be passed on to those purchasing and redeeming Creation Units in the form of creation and redemption transaction fees. In addition, these factors may result in wider spreads between the bid and the offered prices of the Fund’s shares than for ETFs that distribute portfolio securities in-kind. The Fund’s use of cash for creations and redemptions could also result in dilution to the Fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective.

Transactions in FLEX Options are required to be centrally cleared. In a transaction involving FLEX Options, the Underlying ETFs' counterparty is the OCC, rather than a bank or broker. Since the Underlying ETFs are not members of the OCC and only members (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the OCC, the Underlying ETFs will hold their FLEX Options through accounts at clearing members. Although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the OCC, there is a risk that a clearing member may default. The OCC collects margin, maintains a clearing fund specifically to mitigate a clearing member default and segregates all customer accounts from a clearing member’s proprietary accounts, which further acts to protect a clearing member’s customers from the default of the clearing member. However, there is still a risk that the assets of the Underlying ETFs might not be fully protected in the event of a clearing member’s default. If the Underlying ETFs' clearing member defaults, the OCC may transfer customer accounts to another clearing member. The OCC may also close out positions and convert deposits of the defaulting clearing member to cash. As a result of this process, the Underlying ETFs would be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds segregated on behalf of the clearing member’s customers for the relevant account class. Therefore, the Underlying ETFs and, in turn, the Fund, could experience significant

loss in the event of a clearing member’s default. Additionally, the OCC may be unable to perform its obligations under the FLEX Options contracts due to unexpected events, which could negatively impact the value of the Underlying ETFs.

COVERED CALL STRATEGY RISK. The writer of a covered call option forgoes any profit from increases in the market value of the underlying security covering the call option above the sum of the premium and the strike price of the call but retains the risk of loss if the underlying security declines in value. The premiums received from the options may not be sufficient to offset any losses sustained on the underlying stocks over time. In addition, the Fund’s ability to sell the securities underlying the options will be limited while the options are in effect unless the Fund cancels out the option positions through the purchase of offsetting identical options prior to the expiration of the written options. the Fund will have no control over the exercise of the option by the option holder and may lose the benefit from any capital appreciation on the underlying security. A number of factors may influence the option holder’s decision to exercise the option, including the value of the underlying security, price volatility, dividend yield and interest rates. To the extent that these factors increase the value of the call option, the option holder is more likely to exercise the option, which may negatively affect the Fund.

CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS RISK. Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions.

The ongoing adversarial political climate in the United States, as well as political and diplomatic events both domestic and abroad, such as presidential, congressional and gubernatorial elections in the U.S., global elections and governmental changes and the U.S. government’s failure to agree on a long-term budget and deficit reduction plan, have and may continue to have an adverse impact on the U.S. regulatory landscape, markets and investor behavior, which could have a negative impact on the Fund’s investments and operations. The potential result of a U.S. federal government shutdown may also significantly impact investor and consumer behavior, which may adversely impact the markets and global economy. Global and domestic authorities and regulators have previously responded to serious economic disruptions with ranging fiscal and monetary policy changes, including but not limited to, direct capital infusions into companies, new monetary programs and dramatically lower interest rates. Any change in these policies, or the ineffectiveness of these policies, could increase volatility in securities markets, which may adversely impact the Fund’s investments and performance. Any market disruptions could also delay the Fund from making sound investment decisions in a timely manner. If the Fund concentrates its investments in a region enduring geopolitical market disruption, it may face higher risk of loss, although the increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets can lead to events or conditions in one country, region or financial market adversely impacting a different country, region or financial market.

Other unexpected political, regulatory and diplomatic events within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy. For example, ongoing armed conflicts between Russia and Ukraine in Europe and among Israel, Hamas and other militant groups in the Middle East, have caused and could continue to cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in Russia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions resulting from those hostilities have and could continue to have a significant impact on certain Fund investments as well as Fund performance and liquidity. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as the financial markets generally, may be adversely impacted by trade disputes and other matters. For example, the United States has imposed trade barriers and restrictions on China. In addition, the Chinese government is engaged in a longstanding dispute with Taiwan, continually threatening an invasion. If the political climate between the United States and China does not improve or continues to deteriorate, if China were to attempt invading Taiwan, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets and individual securities may be adversely affected, and the value of the Fund’s assets may go down. The COVID-19 global pandemic, or any future public health crisis, and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that

vaccines will be effective against emerging future variants of the disease. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others.

These events, and any other future events, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.

DEBT SECURITIES RISK. Investments in debt securities subject the holder to the credit risk of the issuer. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer or other obligor of a security will not be able or willing to make payments of interest and principal when due. Generally, the value of debt securities will change inversely with changes in interest rates. To the extent that interest rates rise, certain underlying obligations may be paid off substantially slower than originally anticipated and the value of those securities may fall sharply. During periods of falling interest rates, the income received by the Fund may decline. If the principal on a debt security is prepaid before expected, the prepayments of principal may have to be reinvested in obligations paying interest at lower rates. Debt securities generally do not trade on a centralized securities exchange making them generally less liquid and more difficult to value than common stock. The values of debt securities may also increase or decrease as a result of market fluctuations, actual or perceived inability or unwillingness of issuers, guarantors or liquidity providers to make scheduled principal or interest payments or illiquidity in debt securities markets generally.

Accordingly, a relatively small price movement may result in an immediate and substantial loss. The use of leverage may also cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so. The use of leveraged derivatives can magnify potential for gain or loss and, therefore, amplify the effects of market volatility on share price.

DISTRIBUTION TAX RISK. The Fund currently expects to make distributions on a regular basis. While the Fund will normally pay its income as distributions, the Fund's distributions may exceed the Fund's income and gains for the Fund's taxable year. The Fund may be required to reduce its distributions if it has insufficient income. Additionally, there may be times the Fund needs to sell securities when it would not otherwise do so and could cause the distributions from that sale to constitute return of capital. Distributions in excess of the Fund's current and accumulated earnings and profits will be treated as a return of capital. Distributions in excess of the Fund's minimum distribution requirements, but not in excess of the Fund's earnings and profits, will be taxable to Fund shareholders and will not constitute nontaxable returns of capital. A return of capital distribution generally will not be taxable but will reduce the shareholder's cost basis and will result in a higher capital gain or lower capital loss when those Fund shares on which the distribution was received are sold. Once a Fund shareholder's cost basis is reduced to zero, further distributions will be treated as capital gain, if the Fund shareholder holds shares of the Fund as capital assets. Additionally, any capital returned through distributions will be distributed after payment of Fund fees and expenses. Because the Fund's distributions may consist of return of capital, the Fund may not be an appropriate investment for investors who do not want their principal investment in the Fund to decrease over time or who do not wish to receive return of capital in a given period. In the event that a shareholder purchases shares of the Fund shortly before a distribution by the Fund, the entire distribution may be taxable to the shareholder even though a portion of the distribution effectively represents a return of the purchase price.

The Fund’s investment strategy may limit its ability to distribute dividends eligible for treatment as qualified dividend income, which for non-corporate shareholders are subject to federal income tax at rates of up to 20%. The Fund’s investment strategy may also limit its ability to distribute dividends eligible for the dividends-received deduction for corporate shareholders. For these reasons, a significant portion of distributions received by Fund shareholders may be subject to tax at effective tax rates that are higher than the rates that would apply if the Fund were to engage in a different investment strategy.

INCOME RISK. The Fund’s income may decline when interest rates fall. This decline can occur because the Fund may subsequently invest in lower-yielding securities as debt securities in its portfolio mature, are near maturity or are called, or the Fund otherwise needs to purchase additional debt securities. In addition, the Fund’s income could decline when the Fund experiences defaults on the debt securities it holds. The Fund's strategy may not provide the level of income sought by the Fund.

result in increased trading activity. To the extent buying or selling activity increases, the Fund can be exposed to increased brokerage costs and adverse tax consequences and the market price of the Fund can be negatively affected.

LEVERAGE RISK. Certain ETPs in which the Fund may invest utilize leverage. Leverage may result in losses that exceed the amount originally invested and may accelerate the rates of losses. Leverage tends to magnify, sometimes significantly, the effect of any increase or decrease in an underlying ETP’s exposure to an asset or class of assets and may cause the value of an underlying ETP’s portfolio and an underlying ETP’s shares to be volatile and sensitive to market swings. Certain instruments have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the initial investment.

LIQUIDITY RISK. The Fund may invest in ETPs with investments that it may not be able to dispose of or close out readily at a favorable time or price (or at all), or at a price approximating the underlying ETP’s valuation of the investment. For example, certain investments may be subject to restrictions on resale, may trade over-the-counter or in limited volume, or may not have an active trading market. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments and may be subject to wide fluctuations in market value. It may be difficult for the underlying ETP to value illiquid securities accurately. The market for certain investments may become illiquid under adverse market or economic conditions independent of any specific adverse changes in the conditions of a particular issuer. If the underlying ETP needed to sell a large block of illiquid securities to meet shareholder redemption request or to raise cash, these sales could further reduce the securities’ prices and adversely affect performance of the Fund. Disposal of illiquid securities may entail registration expenses and other transaction costs that are higher than those for liquid securities.

OPERATIONAL RISK. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Fund’s investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.

PREMIUM/DISCOUNT RISK. The market price of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the Fund’s net asset value as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on the Exchange. First Trust cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their net asset value because the shares trade on the Exchange at market prices and not at net asset value. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related, but not identical, to the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. However, given that shares can only be purchased and redeemed in Creation Units, and only to and from broker-dealers and large institutional investors that have entered into participation agreements (unlike shares of closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their net asset value), First Trust believes that large discounts or premiums to the net asset value of shares should not be sustained absent disruptions to the creation and redemption mechanism, extreme market volatility or potential lack of authorized participants. During stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the market for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which could in turn lead to differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.

SIGNIFICANT EXPOSURE RISK. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a single asset class or industry or sector, an adverse economic, business or political development that affected a particular asset class, region or industry may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more than if the Fund were more broadly diversified. A significant exposure makes the Fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the Fund to greater volatility and market risk than a fund that is more broadly diversified.

UNDERLYING ETF RISK. The Subsidiary invests in FLEX Options that reference an ETF, which subjects the Subsidiary to certain of the risks of owning shares of an ETF as well as the types of instruments in which the Underlying ETF invests. The value of an ETF will fluctuate over time based on fluctuations in the values of the securities held by the ETF, which may be affected by changes in general economic conditions, expectations for future growth and profits, interest rates and the supply and demand for those securities. In addition, ETFs are subject to the absence of an active market risk, premium/discount risk, tracking error risk and trading issues risk. Certain options on an ETF may not qualify as "Section 1256 contracts" under Section 1256 of the Code, and disposition of such options will likely result in short-term or long-term capital gains or losses depending on the holding period.

that time. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.

Non-Principal Risks

Fund Organization

Management of the Fund

The Sub-Advisor is a subsidiary of Vest Group, Inc. (“VG”). First Trust Capital Partners, LLC (“FTCP”), an affiliate of First Trust, is the largest single holder of voting shares in VG.

Karan Sood and Howard Rubin are the Fund’s portfolio managers and are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s investment portfolio.

•

Mr. Sood has over 10 years of experience in derivative based investment strategy design and trading. Mr. Sood joined Vest in 2012. Prior to joining Vest, Mr. Sood worked at ProShare Advisors LLC. Prior to ProShare, Mr. Sood worked as a Vice President at Barclays Capital. Last based in New York, he was responsible for using derivatives to design structured investment strategies and solutions for the firm’s institutional clients in the Americas. Prior to his role in New York, Mr. Sood worked in similar capacity in London with Barclays Capital’s European clients. Mr. Sood received a master’s degree in Decision Sciences & Operations Research from London School of Economics & Political Science. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

•

Management of the Subsidiary

Management Fee

Pursuant to an investment management agreement between First Trust and the Trust, on behalf of the Fund (the "Investment Management Agreement"), First Trust oversees the Sub-Advisor’s management of the Fund’s assets and pays the Sub-Advisor for its services as Sub-Advisor. First Trust is paid an annual unitary management fee by the Fund equal to 0.85% of the Fund's average daily net assets and is responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including the cost of transfer agency, sub-advisory, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other services, but excluding fee payments under the Investment Management Agreement, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions and other expenses connected with the execution of portfolio transactions, distribution and service fees payable pursuant to a 12b-1 plan, if any, and extraordinary expenses.

How to Buy and Sell Shares

Book Entry

Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no share certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding shares of the Fund and is recognized as the owner of all shares for all purposes.

Share Trading Prices

Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of the Fund's Shares

Creation Units to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the Fund in effecting trades. Finally, the Advisor monitors purchase and redemption orders from APs for patterns of abusive trading and the Fund reserves the right to not accept orders from APs that the Advisor has determined may be disruptive to the management of the Fund.

Dividends, Distributions and Taxes

The Fund has implemented a distribution policy pursuant to which the Fund intends to declare and pay monthly dividends to shareholders that are consistent with the premiums received from covered calls written pursuant the Fund’s investment strategy. The Board may amend this distribution policy at any time, or the Fund may cease distributions entirely, at any time.

Under the distribution policy, to the extent that sufficient investment income is not available on a monthly basis, some or all of the Fund’s distributions could consist primarily or entirely of return of capital in order to maintain the distribution rate. The amount treated as a return of capital will reduce a shareholder’s adjusted basis in the shareholder’s shares, thereby increasing the potential gain or reducing the potential loss on the sale of shares. Investors should not make any conclusions about the Fund’s investment performance from the amount of the Fund’s distributions or from the terms of the Fund’s distribution policy.

The Fund may at times, in its discretion, pay out less than the entire amount of net investment income earned in any particular period and may at times pay out such accumulated undistributed income in addition to net investment income earned in other periods in order to permit the Fund to maintain a more stable level of distributions. As a result, the dividend paid by the Fund to shareholders for any particular period may be more or less than the amount of net investment income earned by the Fund during such period.

Dividends from net investment income of the Fund, if any, are declared and paid monthly by the Fund. The Fund distributes its net realized capital gains, if any, to shareholders at least annually.

Federal Tax Matters

As with any investment, you should seek advice based on your individual circumstances from your own tax advisor.

Fund Status

Although the Subsidiary’s options positions provide exposure to the Underlying ETF, and not gold directly, the Underlying ETF is a grantor trust and its shareholders are treated, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as if they directly owned a pro rata share of the Underlying ETF’s assets.

currencies, or net income derived from interests in certain publicly traded partnerships; (ii) diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of the taxable year, (a) at least 50% of the market value of the Fund’s assets is represented by cash and cash items (including receivables),U.S. government securities, the securities of other RICs and other securities, with such other securities of any one issuer generally limited for the purposes of this calculation to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets and not greater than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (b) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets is invested in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or the securities of other RICs) of any one issuer, or two or more issuers which the Fund controls which are engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more of certain publicly traded partnerships; and (iii) distribute at least 90% of its investment company taxable income(which includes, among other items, dividends, interest and net short-term capital gains in excess of long-term capital losses) and at least 90% of its net tax-exempt interest income each taxable year. There are certain exceptions for failure to qualify if the failure is for reasonable cause or is de minimis, and certain corrective action is taken and certain tax payments are made by the Fund.

Distributions

The Fund's distributions are generally taxable. After the end of each year, you will receive a tax statement that separates the distributions of the Fund into two categories: ordinary income distributions and capital gain dividends. The presence of call options in the portfolio may reduce the amount of dividends that would otherwise be treated as capital gain dividends. Ordinary income distributions are generally taxed at your ordinary tax rate, however, as further discussed below certain ordinary income distributions received from the Fund may be taxed at the capital gains tax rates. Generally, you will treat all capital gain dividends as long-term capital gains regardless of how long you have owned your shares.

To determine your actual tax liability for your capital gain dividends, you must calculate your total net capital gain or loss for the tax year after considering all of your other taxable transactions, as described below. In addition, the Fund may make distributions that represent a return of capital for tax purposes and thus will generally not be taxable to you; however, such distributions may reduce your tax basis in your shares, which could result in you having to pay higher taxes in the future when shares are sold, even if you sell the shares at a loss from your original investment. A “return of capital” is a return, in whole or in part, of the funds that you previously invested in the Fund. A return of capital distribution should not be considered part of the Fund’s dividend yield or total return of an investment in Fund shares. The tax status of your distributions from the Fund

is not affected by whether you reinvest your distributions in additional shares or receive them in cash. The tax laws may require you to treat distributions made to you in January as if you had received them on December 31 of the previous year.

Dividends Received Deduction

A corporation that owns shares generally will not be entitled to the dividends received deduction with respect to many dividends received from the Fund because the dividends received deduction is generally not available for distributions from RICs. The presence of call options in the portfolio may reduce the amount of dividends that are treated as qualifying dividends.

Capital Gains and Losses

Net capital gain equals net long-term capital gain minus net short-term capital loss for the taxable year. Capital gain or loss is long-term if the holding period for the asset is more than one year and is short-term if the holding period for the asset is one year or less. You must exclude the date you purchase your shares to determine your holding period. However, if you receive a capital gain dividend from the Fund and sell your share at a loss after holding it for six months or less, the loss will be recharacterized as long-term capital loss to the extent of the capital gain dividend received. The tax rates for capital gains realized from assets held for one year or less are generally the same as for ordinary income. The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, treats certain capital gains as ordinary income in special situations.

Sale of Shares

Taxes on Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units

If you exchange securities for Creation Units, you will generally recognize a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time and your aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and the cash component paid. See the SAI for more information. If you exchange Creation Units for securities, you will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between your basis in the Creation Units and the aggregate market value of the securities received and the cash redemption amount. The IRS, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units or Creation Units for securities cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.

Treatment of Fund Expenses

Expenses incurred and deducted by the Fund will generally not be treated as income taxable to you.

Treatment of the FLEX Options

taken into account in calculating taxable income for the taxable year in which the losses are realized. In addition, certain carrying charges (including interest expense) associated with positions in a straddle may be required to be capitalized rather than deducted currently. Certain elections that the Subsidiary may make with respect to its straddle positions may also affect the amount, character and timing of the recognition of gains or losses from the affected positions.

Non-U.S. Investors

If you are a non-U.S. investor (i.e., an investor other than a U.S. citizen or resident or a U.S. corporation, partnership, estate or trust), you should be aware that, generally, subject to applicable tax treaties, distributions from the Fund will be characterized as dividends for federal income tax purposes (other than dividends which the Fund properly reports as capital gain dividends) and will be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes, subject to certain exceptions described below. However, distributions received by a non-U.S. investor from the Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes, provided that the Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met. Distributions from the Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as an interest-related dividend attributable to certain interest income received by the Fund or as a short-term capital gain dividend attributable to certain net short-term capital gain income received by the Fund may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes when received by certain non-U.S. investors, provided that the Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met. For tax years after December 31, 2022, amounts paid to or recognized by a non-U.S. affiliate that are excluded from tax under the portfolio interest, capital gain dividends, short-term capital gains or tax-exempt interest dividend exceptions or applicable treaties, may be taken into consideration in determining whether a corporation is an “applicable corporation” subject to a 15% minimum tax on adjusted financial statement income.

Investments in the Subsidiary

Distribution Plan

FTP serves as the distributor of Creation Units for the Fund on an agency basis. FTP does not maintain a secondary market in shares.

Net Asset Value

to the Board’s oversight. First Trust has established a pricing committee (the “Pricing Committee”) to assist in the administration of the duties of the Valuation Designee. The Valuation Designee has adopted valuation procedures for the First Trust Funds (the “Valuation Procedures”), a brief summary of which is set forth below.

The Pricing Committee has also identified certain portfolio investments that are routinely categorized as fair valued investments. In general, for such investments, the Fund’s accounting agent will obtain all pricing data for use in valuing such investments from a pricing service provider approved by the Pricing Committee (each, a “Pricing Service Provider”), subject to the oversight of the Pricing Committee. Pricing Service Providers typically value non-exchange-traded instruments utilizing a range of market-based inputs and assumptions. For example, when available, Pricing Service Providers may utilize inputs such as benchmark yields, reported trades, broker-dealer quotes, spreads, and transactions for comparable instruments. In pricing certain instruments, a Pricing Service Provider may consider information about an instrument’s issuer or market activity. Pricing Service Provider valuations of non-exchange-traded instruments generally represent the service’s good faith opinion as to what the holder of an instrument would receive in an orderly transaction for an institutional round lot position under current market conditions. Certain exchange-traded options, such as FLEX Options, are typically valued using a model-based price provided by a Pricing Service Provider.

Fund Service Providers

Disclaimers

Premium/Discount Information

Financial Highlights

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund

Financial Highlights
For a share outstanding throughout each period

FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (IGLD)

	Year Ended December 31,		Period Ended December 31,
	2023	2022	2021(a)
Net asset value, beginning of period	$18.81	$20.31	$20.14
Income from investment operations:
Net investment income (loss)	1.04 (b)	0.14	(0.08 )
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	0.94	(0.79 )	0.71
Total from investment operations	1.98	(0.65 )	0.63
Distributions paid to shareholders from:
Net investment income	(1.17 )	—	—
Return of capital	(0.34 )	(0.85 )	(0.46 )
Total distributions	(1.51 )	(0.85 )	(0.46 )
Net asset value, end of period	$19.28	$18.81	$20.31
Total Return (c)	10.95 %	(3.26 )%	3.14 %
Ratios/supplemental data:
Net assets, end of period (in 000’s)	$84,823	$38,570	$31,476
Ratios to average net assets:
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets	0.85 %	0.85 %	0.85 %(d)
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets	5.47 %	0.69 %	(0.76 )%(d)
Portfolio turnover rate (e)	0 %	0 %	0 %

(a)

Inception date is March 2, 2021, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established.

(b)

Based on average shares outstanding.

(c)

(d)

Annualized.

(e)

Other Information

Continuous Offering

Broker-dealer firms should also note that dealers who are not “underwriters” but are effecting transactions in shares, whether or not participating in the distribution of shares, are generally required to deliver a prospectus. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act is not available in respect of such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. As a result, broker-dealer firms should note that dealers who are not underwriters but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted with ordinary secondary market transactions) and thus dealing with the shares that are part of an overallotment within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the Securities Act would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act. Firms that incur a prospectus delivery obligation with respect to shares are reminded that, under the Securities Act Rule 153, a prospectus delivery obligation under Section 5(b)(2) of the Securities Act owed to a broker-dealer in connection with a sale on the Exchange is satisfied by the fact that the prospectus is available from the Exchange upon request. The prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is available with respect to transactions on a national securities exchange, a trading facility or an alternative trading system.

[THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.]

First Trust

Exchange-Traded Fund

FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF®

For More Information

First Trust Advisors L.P.
120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
(800) 621-1675

www.ftportfolios.com

SEC File #: 333-125751

811-21774

First Trust

Exchange-Traded Fund

Prospectus

First Trust Dividend Strength ETF

Ticker Symbol:	FTDS
Exchange:	Nasdaq

First Trust Dividend Strength ETF (the “Fund”) lists and principally trades its shares on Nasdaq, Inc. ("Nasdaq" or the "Exchange"). Market prices may differ to some degree from the net asset value of the shares. Unlike mutual funds, the Fund issues and redeems shares at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called "Creation Units."

The Fund is a series of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund (the “Trust”) and an exchange-traded index fund organized as a separate series of a registered management investment company.

Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund.

May 1, 2024

NOT FDIC INSURED MAY LOSE VALUE NO BANK GUARANTEE

Table of Contents

Summary Information	3
Additional Information on the Fund's Investment Objective and Strategies	12
Fund Investments	13
Risks of Investing in the Fund	13
Fund Organization	19
Management of the Fund	19
How to Buy and Sell Shares	21
Dividends, Distributions and Taxes	22
Federal Tax Matters	22
Distribution Plan	24
Net Asset Value	25
Fund Service Providers	26
Index Provider	26
Disclaimers	26
Premium/Discount Information	27
Financial Highlights	28
Other Information	29

Summary Information

Investment Objective

The First Trust Dividend Strength ETF (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an index called The Dividend StrengthTM Index (the “Index”).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)

Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

None

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Management Fees	0.50%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.49%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.99%
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement(1)	0.29%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement	0.70%

(1)

First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund’s investment advisor, has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse Fund expenses to the extent that the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses) exceed 0.70% of its average daily net assets (the “Expense Cap”) at least through April 30, 2025. The agreement may be terminated by the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, at any time and by the Fund’s investment advisor only after April 30, 2025 upon 60 days’ written notice.

Example

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain at current levels. The example assumes that the Fund’s investment advisor’s agreement to waive fees and/or pay the Fund’s expenses to the extent necessary to prevent the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, and extraordinary expenses) from exceeding 0.70% of average daily net assets will be terminated following April 30, 2025. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$72	$287	$519	$1,187

Portfolio Turnover

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in the securities that comprise the Index. The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The Index is owned, developed, maintained and sponsored by Nasdaq, Inc. (the “Index Provider”).

The Index Provider may, from time to time, exercise reasonable discretion as it deems appropriate in order to maintain Index integrity. Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any investment borrowings) in dividend-paying securities. The Index may be composed of, but not limited to, common stocks, real estate investment trusts ("REITs") and small, mid and large cap companies.

The Index is designed to track the performance of companies with strong market positions and high dividend yields. The Index screens companies for strong balance sheets, a high degree of liquidity and a record of high dividend yields. A company is generally considered to have a strong balance sheet by exhibiting low long-term debt to market cap ratios, positive shareholder equity and attractive return on equity relative to their peers. The Index’s initial selection universe is composed of all the securities comprising the Nasdaq US BenchmarkTM Index. The Nasdaq US BenchmarkTM Index is a float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index designed to track the performance of securities assigned to the U.S. by Nasdaq. According to the Index Provider, to be eligible for inclusion in the Index, a security must meet the size and liquidity standards of the Index. The Index then screens duplicate (multiple share classes) stocks and all remaining eligible securities based on their financial strength by evaluating long-term debt to market cap ratios and return on equity, in addition to dividend characteristics, including a company’s compounded dividend growth rate and dividend payout ratio. To be included in the Index, a security’s issuer must have: (i) a long-term debt to market cap ratio of less than 40%; (ii) positive shareholder equity; (iii) a return on equity of greater than 10%; (iv) a 5-year compounded dividend growth rate greater than 5%; and (v) a dividend payout ratio of less than 50%.

According to the Index Provider, the final step in selecting the Index’s components is a ranking of each eligible security based upon dividend yield. Securities within each of the 11 industries used by the Industry Classification Benchmark are ranked by dividend yield relative to their industry peers, with the highest dividend yielding security receiving a rank of 1. The top 15 securities per industry are selected and combined for the final evaluation universe. For the final selection, each remaining security from the combined evaluation universe is reranked based on dividend yield with a rank of 1 representing the highest indicated dividend yield. The top 50 securities are selected for inclusion in the final portfolio and are then equally-weighted.

The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted quarterly based on the Index's rules-based methodology, and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. As of March 28, 2024, the Index was composed of 50 securities and the Fund had significant investments in financial companies, although this may change from time to time. The Fund’s investments will change as the Index changes and, as a result, the Fund may have significant investments in jurisdictions or investment sectors that it may not have had as of March 28, 2024. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.

Principal Risks

in the United States, as well as political and diplomatic events both domestic and abroad, have and may continue to have an adverse impact the U.S. regulatory landscape, markets and investor behavior, which could have a negative impact on the Fund’s investments and operations. Other unexpected political, regulatory and diplomatic events within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy. For example, ongoing armed conflicts between Russia and Ukraine in Europe and among Israel, Hamas and other militant groups in the Middle East, have caused and could continue to cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in Russia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions resulting from those hostilities have and could continue to have a significant impact on certain Fund investments as well as Fund performance and liquidity. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as the financial markets generally, may be adversely impacted by trade disputes and other matters. For example, the United States has imposed trade barriers and restrictions on China. In addition, the Chinese government is engaged in a longstanding dispute with Taiwan, continually threatening an invasion. If the political climate between the United States and China does not improve or continues to deteriorate, if China were to attempt invading Taiwan, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets and individual securities may be adversely affected, and the value of the Fund’s assets may go down. The COVID-19 global pandemic, or any future public health crisis, and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against emerging future variants of the disease. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. Advancements in technology may also adversely impact markets and the overall performance of the Fund. For instance, the economy may be significantly impacted by the advanced development and increased regulation of artificial intelligence. These events, and any other future events, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.

DIVIDENDS RISK. The Fund’s investment in dividend-paying securities could cause the Fund to underperform similar funds that invest without consideration of an issuer’s track record of paying dividends. Companies that issue dividend-paying securities are not required to continue to pay dividends on such securities. Therefore, there is the possibility that such companies could reduce or eliminate the payment of dividends in the future, which could negatively affect the Fund’s performance.

FINANCIAL COMPANIES RISK. Financial companies, such as retail and commercial banks, insurance companies and financial services companies, are especially subject to the adverse effects of economic recession, currency exchange rates, extensive government regulation, decreases in the availability of capital, volatile interest rates, portfolio concentrations in geographic markets, industries or products (such as commercial and residential real estate loans), competition from new entrants and blurred distinctions in their fields of business.

the securities of issuers within the same country, state, region, industry or sector, an adverse economic, business or political development may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more than if the Fund were more broadly diversified. A significant exposure makes the Fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the Fund to greater market risk than a fund that is more broadly diversified. There may be instances in which the Index, due to changes in the prices of individual securities held by the Fund, has a larger exposure to a small number of stocks or a single stock relative to the rest of the stocks in the Index. Under such circumstances, the Fund will not deviate from the Index except in rare circumstances or in an immaterial way and therefore the Fund’s returns would be more greatly influenced by the returns of the stock(s) with the larger exposure.

INDEX PROVIDER RISK. There is no assurance that the Index Provider, or any agents that act on its behalf, will compile the Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. The Index Provider and its agents do not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the Index, and do not guarantee that the Index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. The Advisor’s mandate as described in this prospectus is to manage the Fund consistently with the Index provided by the Index Provider. The Advisor relies upon the Index provider and its agents to accurately compile, maintain, construct, reconstitute, rebalance, compose, calculate and disseminate the Index accurately. Therefore, losses or costs associated with any Index Provider or agent errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. To correct any such error, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out an unscheduled rebalance of the Index or other modification of Index constituents or weightings. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where the Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors. For example, during a period where the Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund tracking the Index would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions or issuer-specific events may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, exclude or substitute a security in the Index or undertake other measures which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, dividend rates, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.

LARGE CAPITALIZATION COMPANIES RISK. Large capitalization companies may grow at a slower rate and be less able to adapt to changing market conditions than smaller capitalization companies. Thus, the return on investment in securities of large capitalization companies may be less than the return on investment in securities of small and/or mid capitalization companies. The performance of large capitalization companies also tends to trail the overall market during different market cycles.

could result in a decrease in value of the Fund’s shares. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a discount to net asset value and also in greater than normal intraday bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.

MID CAPITALIZATION COMPANIES RISK. Mid capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic developments and thus may experience greater price volatility than more established large capitalization companies. Securities of mid capitalization companies may also be less liquid than securities of large capitalization companies and may have more limited trading volumes. Accordingly, such companies are generally subject to greater market risk than larger, more established companies.

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER RISK. The Fund has an investment strategy that may frequently involve buying and selling portfolio securities. High portfolio turnover may result in the Fund paying higher levels of transaction costs, including brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and other costs and may generate greater tax liabilities for shareholders. Portfolio turnover risk may cause the Fund’s performance to be less than expected.

REIT RISK. REITs typically own and operate income-producing real estate, such as residential or commercial buildings, or real-estate related assets, including mortgages. As a result, investments in REITs are subject to the risks associated with investing in real estate, which may include, but are not limited to: fluctuations in the value of underlying properties; defaults by borrowers or tenants; market saturation; changes in general and local operating expenses; and other economic, political or regulatory occurrences affecting companies in the real estate sector. REITs are also subject to the risk that the real estate market may experience an economic downturn generally, which may have a material effect on the real estate in which the REITs invest and their underlying portfolio securities. REITs may have also a relatively small market capitalization which may result in their shares experiencing less market liquidity and greater price volatility than larger companies. Increases in interest rates typically lower the present value of a REIT's future earnings stream, and may make financing property purchases and improvements more costly. Because the market price of REIT stocks may change based upon investors' collective perceptions of future earnings, the value of the Fund will generally decline when investors anticipate or experience rising interest rates.

SMALL CAPITALIZATION COMPANIES RISK. Small capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic developments, and their securities may be less liquid and may experience greater price volatility than large and mid capitalization companies as a result of several factors, including limited trading volumes, fewer products or financial resources, management inexperience and less publicly available information. Accordingly, such companies are generally subject to greater market risk than large and mid capitalization companies.

Annual Total Return

The bar chart and table below illustrate the annual calendar year returns of the Fund based on net asset value as well as the average annual Fund and Index returns. The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns based on net asset value compared to those of the Index, two market indices and one broad-based market index. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com.

On April 29, 2022, the Fund's underlying index changed from the Nasdaq AlphaDEX® Total US MarketTM Index to The Dividend StrengthTM Index. Therefore, the Fund’s performance and historical returns shown below are not necessarily indicative of the performance that the Fund, based on its current Index, would have generated. Because the Fund’s underlying Index has an inception date of March 7, 2022, performance data for the Index is not available for the period shown in the bar chart and table.

First Trust Dividend Strength ETF
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31

During the periods shown in the chart above:

	Return	Period Ended
Best Quarter	27.56%	June 30, 2020
Worst Quarter	-31.57%	March 31, 2020

The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.

Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2023

	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Return Before Taxes	11.84%	11.45%	7.45%	6.47%	12/5/2006
Return After Taxes on Distributions	10.76%	10.74%	6.87%	5.92%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	6.94%	8.77%	5.72%	5.06%
The Dividend StrengthTM Index(1),(2) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	12.63%	N/A	N/A	N/A
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	26.29%	15.69%	12.03%	9.54%
Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	1.53%	10.05%	9.26%	7.41%
Russell 1000® Value Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	11.46%	10.91%	8.40%	6.84%

(1)

(2)

Because the Fund’s underlying Index has an inception date of March 7, 2022, performance data for the Index is not available for the periods shown in the table.

Management

Investment Advisor

First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)

Portfolio Managers

The Fund’s portfolio is managed by a team (the “Investment Committee”) consisting of:

•

Daniel J. Lindquist, Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director of First Trust

•

David G. McGarel, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of First Trust

•

Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Roger F. Testin, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Stan Ueland, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Chris A. Peterson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Erik Russo, Vice President of First Trust

The Investment Committee members are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each Investment Committee member has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2006, except for Chris A. Peterson, who has served as a part of the portfolio management team since 2016, and Erik Russo, who has served as a part of the portfolio management team since 2020.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Tax Information

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

Additional Information on the Fund's Investment Objective and Strategies

The Fund is a series of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund and is regulated as an “investment company” under the 1940 Act. The Fund operates as an index fund and is not actively managed by First Trust. As such, the Fund’s investment objective is to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of the Index. In seeking to achieve this objective, the Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in the securities that comprise the Index. The Fund will generally employ a full replication strategy, meaning that it will normally invest in all of the securities comprising the Index in proportion to their weightings in the Index.

The Fund has adopted a non-fundamental investment policy pursuant to Rule 35d-1 under the 1940 Act (a “Name Policy”) whereby the Fund, under normal market conditions, will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in dividend-paying securities. The Fund’s investment objective, its 90% investment strategy, the Name Policy and each of the policies described herein are non-fundamental policies that may be changed by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”) without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ prior written notice to shareholders. Certain fundamental policies of the Fund are set forth in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) under “Investment Objective and Policies.” The Index Provider is not affiliated with the Fund, First Trust or FTP.

The Index is designed to track the performance of companies with strong market positions and high dividend yields. The Index screens companies for strong balance sheets, a high degree of liquidity and a record of high dividend yields. A company is generally considered to have a strong balance sheet by exhibiting low long-term debt to market cap ratios, positive shareholder equity and attractive return on equity relative to their peers. The Index’s initial selection universe is composed of all the securities comprising the Nasdaq US BenchmarkTM Index. The Nasdaq US BenchmarkTM Index is a float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index designed to track the performance of securities assigned to the U.S. by Nasdaq. To be eligible for inclusion in the Index, a security must meet the size and liquidity standards of the Index. The Index then screens duplicate (multiple share classes) stocks and all remaining eligible securities based on their financial strength by evaluating long-term debt to market cap ratios and return on equity, in addition to dividend characteristics, including a company’s compounded dividend growth rate and dividend payout ratio. To be included in the Index, a security’s issuer must have: (i) a long-term debt to market cap ratio of less than 40%; (ii) positive shareholder equity; (iii) a return on equity of greater than 10%; (iv) a 5-year compounded dividend growth rate greater than 5%; and (v) a dividend payout ratio of less than 50%.

The final step in selecting the Index’s components is a ranking of each eligible security based upon dividend yield. Securities within each of the 11 industries used by the Industry Classification Benchmark are ranked by dividend yield relative to their industry peers, with the highest dividend yielding security receiving a rank of 1. The top 15 securities per industry are selected and combined for the final evaluation universe. For the final selection, each remaining security from the combined evaluation universe is reranked based on dividend yield with a rank of 1 representing the highest dividend yield. The top 50 securities are selected for inclusion in the final portfolio and are then equally-weighted.

The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted quarterly based on the Index's rules based methodology, and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.

Fund Investments

Principal Investments

Equity Securities

Real Estate Investment Trusts

REITs are financial vehicles that pool investors’ capital to purchase or finance real estate. REITs are generally classified as equity REITs, mortgage REITs or a combination of equity and mortgage REITs. Equity REITs invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive income primarily from the collection of rents. Equity REITs can also realize capital gains by selling properties that have appreciated in value. Mortgage REITs invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgages and derive income from the collection of interest payments. REITs are not taxed on income distributed to shareholders provided they comply with the applicable tax requirements.

Non-Principal Investments

Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments

Normally, the Fund invests substantially all of its assets to meet its investment objective. The Fund may invest the remainder of its assets in securities with maturities of less than one year or cash equivalents, or it may hold cash. The percentage of the Fund invested in such holdings varies and depends on several factors, including market conditions. For temporary defensive purposes and during periods of high cash inflows or outflows, the Fund may depart from its principal investment strategies and invest part or all of its assets in these securities, or it may hold cash. During such periods, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective. The Fund may adopt a defensive strategy when its portfolio managers believe securities in which the Fund normally invests have elevated risks due to political or economic factors and in other extraordinary circumstances. For more information on eligible short-term investments, see the SAI.

Illiquid Investments

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

Risks of Investing in the Fund

Risk is inherent in all investing. Investing in the Fund involves risk, including the risk that you may lose all or part of your investment. There can be no assurance that the Fund will meet its stated objective. Before you invest, you should consider the following supplemental disclosure pertaining to the Principal Risks set forth above as well as additional Non-Principal Risks set forth below in this prospectus. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.

Principal Risks

redemption orders and no other authorized participant steps forward to create or redeem, the Fund’s shares may trade at a premium or discount to the Fund’s net asset value and possibly face delisting and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.

CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS RISK. Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions.

The ongoing adversarial political climate in the United States, as well as political and diplomatic events both domestic and abroad, such as presidential, congressional and gubernatorial elections in the U.S., global elections and governmental changes and the U.S. government’s failure to agree on a long-term budget and deficit reduction plan, have and may continue to have an adverse impact on the U.S. regulatory landscape, markets and investor behavior, which could have a negative impact on the Fund’s investments and operations. The potential result of a U.S. federal government shutdown may also significantly impact investor and consumer behavior, which may adversely impact the markets and global economy. Global and domestic authorities and regulators have previously responded to serious economic disruptions with ranging fiscal and monetary policy changes, including but not limited to, direct capital infusions into companies, new monetary programs and dramatically lower interest rates. Any change in these policies, or the ineffectiveness of these policies, could increase volatility in securities markets, which may adversely impact the Fund’s investments and performance. Any market disruptions could also delay the Fund from making sound investment decisions in a timely manner. If the Fund concentrates its investments in a region enduring geopolitical market disruption, it may face higher risk of loss, although the increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets can lead to events or conditions in one country, region or financial market adversely impacting a different country, region or financial market.

Other unexpected political, regulatory and diplomatic events within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy. For example, ongoing armed conflicts between Russia and Ukraine in Europe and among Israel, Hamas and other militant groups in the Middle East, have caused and could continue to cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in Russia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions resulting from those hostilities have and could continue to have a significant impact on certain Fund investments as well as Fund performance and liquidity. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as the financial markets generally, may be adversely impacted by trade disputes and other matters. For example, the United States has imposed trade barriers and restrictions on China. In addition, the Chinese government is engaged in a longstanding dispute with Taiwan, continually threatening an invasion. If the political climate between the United States and China does not improve or continues to deteriorate, if China were to attempt invading Taiwan, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets and individual securities may be adversely affected, and the value of the Fund’s assets may go down. The COVID-19 global pandemic, or any future public health crisis, and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against emerging future variants of the disease. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others.

These events, and any other future events, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.

CYBER SECURITY RISK. The Fund is susceptible to operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. These risks typically are not covered by insurance. In general, cyber incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events. Cyber incidents include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to digital systems (e.g., through “hacking” or malicious software coding) for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting data or causing operational disruption. Cyber attacks may also be carried out in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized access, such as causing denial-of-service attacks on websites (i.e., efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users). Cyber security failures by or breaches of the systems of the Advisor, distributor and other service providers (including, but not limited to, sub-advisors, index providers, if any, fund accountants, custodians, transfer agents and administrators), market makers, authorized participants or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, have the ability to cause disruptions and impact business operations, potentially resulting in: financial losses; interference with the Fund’s ability to calculate its net asset value; disclosure of confidential trading information; impediments to trading; submission of erroneous trades or erroneous creation or redemption orders; the inability of the Fund or its service providers to transact business; violations of applicable privacy and other laws; regulatory fines penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs; or additional compliance costs. Substantial costs may be incurred by the Fund in order to resolve or prevent cyber incidents in the future. While the Fund has established business continuity plans in the event of, and risk management systems to prevent, such cyber attacks, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems, including the possibility that certain risks have not been identified and that prevention and remediation efforts will not be successful. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control the cyber security plans and systems put in place by service providers to the Fund, issuers in which the Fund invests, market makers or authorized participants. However, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, and the Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result.

DIVIDENDS RISK. The Fund invests in dividend-paying securities. The Fund's’s investment in dividend-paying securities could cause the Fund to underperform similar funds that invest without consideration of an issuer’s track record of paying dividends. Companies that issue dividend-yielding securities are not required to continue to pay dividends on such securities. Therefore, there is the possibility that such companies could reduce or eliminate the payment of dividends in the future especially if the companies are facing an economic downturn, which could negatively affect the Fund’s performance.

EQUITY SECURITIES RISK. The value of the Fund’s shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities in which it invests. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors' perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting the issuers occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market. Additionally, holders of an issuer's common stock may be subject to greater risks than holders of its preferred stock and debt securities because common stockholders' claims are subordinated to those of holders of preferred stocks and debt securities upon the bankruptcy of an issuer.

FINANCIAL COMPANIES RISK. The Fund invests significantly in financial companies. Financial companies are subject to extensive governmental regulation and intervention, which may adversely affect the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge, the amount and types of capital they must maintain and, potentially, their size. Governmental regulation may change frequently and may have significant adverse consequences for financial companies, including effects not intended by such regulation. The impact of more stringent capital requirements, or recent or future regulation in various countries, on any individual financial company or on financial companies as a whole cannot be predicted. Certain risks may impact the value of investments in financial companies more severely than those of investments in other issuers, including the risks associated with companies that operate with substantial financial leverage. Financial companies may also be adversely affected by volatility in interest rates, loan losses and other customer defaults, decreases in the availability of money or asset valuations, credit rating downgrades and adverse conditions in other related markets. Insurance companies in particular may be subject to severe price competition and/or rate regulation, which may have an adverse impact on their profitability. Financial companies are also a target for cyber attacks and may experience technology malfunctions and disruptions as a result.

be instances in which the Index, due to changes in the price of individual securities held by the Fund, has a larger exposure to a small number of stocks or a single stock relative to the rest of the stocks in the Index. Under such circumstances, the Fund will not deviate from the Index except in rare circumstances or in an immaterial way and therefore the Fund’s returns would be more greatly influenced by the returns of the stock(s) with the larger exposure.

INDEX OR MODEL CONSTITUENT RISK. The Fund may be a constituent of one or more indices or ETF models. As a result, the Fund may be included in one or more index-tracking ETFs or mutual funds. Being a component security of such a vehicle could greatly affect the trading activity involving the Fund's shares, the size of the Fund and the market volatility of the Fund’s shares. Inclusion in an index could increase demand for the Fund and removal from an index could result in outsized selling activity in a relatively short period of time. As a result, the Fund’s net asset value could be negatively impacted and the Fund’s market price may be below the Fund’s net asset value during certain periods. To the extent buying or selling activity increases, the Fund can be exposed to increased brokerage costs and adverse tax consequences and the market price of the Fund can be negatively affected.

INDEX PROVIDER RISK. There is no assurance that the Index Provider, or any agents that act on its behalf, will compile the Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. The Index Provider and its agents do not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the Index, and do not guarantee that the Index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. The Advisor’s mandate as described in this prospectus is to manage the Fund consistently with the Index provided by the Index Provider. The Advisor relies upon the Index provider and its agents to accurately compile, maintain, construct, reconstitute, rebalance, compose, calculate and disseminate the Index accurately. Therefore, losses or costs associated with any Index Provider or agent errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. To correct any such error, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out an unscheduled rebalance of the Index or other modification of Index constituents or weightings. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where the Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors. For example, during a period where the Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund tracking the Index would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions or issuer-specific events may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, exclude or substitute a security from the Index or undertake other measures which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, dividend rates, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.

NON-CORRELATION RISK. The Fund’s return may not match the return of its Index for a number of reasons. The Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to its Index and may incur costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s portfolio holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. In addition, the Fund’s portfolio holdings may not exactly replicate the securities included in its Index or the ratios between the securities included in the Index. Accordingly, the Fund's return may underperform the return of the Index.

OPERATIONAL RISK. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Fund’s investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.

PASSIVE INVESTMENT RISK. The Fund is not actively managed. The Fund invests in securities included in or representative of its Index regardless of investment merit. The Fund generally will not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. In the event that the Index is no longer calculated, the Index license is terminated or the identity or character of the Index is materially changed, the Fund will seek to engage a replacement index.

PREMIUM/DISCOUNT RISK. The market price of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the Fund’s net asset value as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on the Exchange. First Trust cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their net asset value because the shares trade on the Exchange at market prices and not at net asset value. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related, but not identical, to the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. However, given that shares can only be purchased and redeemed in Creation Units, and only to and from broker-dealers and large institutional investors that have entered into participation agreements (unlike shares of closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their net asset value), First Trust believes that large discounts or premiums to the net asset value of shares should not be sustained absent disruptions to the creation and redemption mechanism, extreme market volatility or potential lack of authorized participants. During stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the market for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which could in turn lead to differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.

in real estate, which may include, but are not limited to: fluctuations in the value of underlying properties; defaults by borrowers or tenants; market saturation; changes in general and local operating expenses; and other economic, political or regulatory occurrences affecting companies in the real estate sector. Additionally, investing in REITs involves certain other risks related to their structure and focus, which include, but are not limited to, dependency upon management skills, limited diversification, the risks of locating and managing financing for projects, heavy cash flow dependency, possible default by borrowers, the costs and potential losses of self-liquidation of one or more holdings, the risk of a possible lack of mortgage funds and associated interest rate risks, overbuilding, property vacancies, increases in property taxes and operating expenses, changes in zoning laws, losses due to environmental damages, changes in neighborhood values and appeal to purchasers, the possibility of failing to maintain exemptions from registration under the 1940 Act, failure to satisfy the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for maintaining REIT status and, in many cases, relatively small market capitalization, which may result in less market liquidity and greater price volatility for a REIT’s shares. REITs are also subject to the risk that the real estate market may experience an economic downturn generally, which may have a material effect on the real estate in which the REITs invest and their underlying portfolio securities.

Non-Principal Risks

CASH TRANSACTIONS RISK. The Fund may, under certain circumstances, effect a portion of creations and redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind securities. As a result, an investment in the Fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in an ETF that effects its creations and redemptions only in-kind. ETFs are able to make in-kind redemptions and avoid being taxed on gains on the distributed portfolio securities at the fund level. The Fund that effects redemptions for cash may be required to sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. Any recognized gain on these sales by the Fund will generally cause the Fund to recognize a gain it might not otherwise have recognized, or to recognize such gain sooner than would otherwise be required if it were to distribute portfolio securities only in-kind. The Fund intends to distribute these gains to shareholders to avoid being taxed on this gain at the fund level and otherwise comply with the special tax rules that apply to it. This strategy may cause shareholders to be subject to tax on gains they would not otherwise be subject to, or at an earlier date than if they had made an investment in a different ETF. Moreover, cash transactions may have to be carried out over several days if the securities market is relatively illiquid and may involve considerable brokerage fees and taxes. These brokerage fees and taxes, which will be higher than if the Fund sold and redeemed its shares entirely in-kind, will be passed on to those purchasing and redeeming Creation Units in the form of creation and redemption transaction fees. In addition, these factors may result in wider spreads between the bid and the offered prices of the Fund’s shares than for ETFs that distribute portfolio securities in-kind.

EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT AND RECOUPMENT RISK. The Fund and the Advisor have entered into an agreement with the Trust in which the Advisor has agreed to waive certain fees and/or reimburse the Fund for expenses exceeding an agreed upon amount. This agreement may be terminated by the Trust on behalf of the Fund at any time and by the Advisor only after April 30, 2025 upon 60 days’ written notice. The Advisor is also entitled to recoup from the Fund any waived fees or reimbursed amounts pursuant to the agreement for a period of up to three years from the date of waiver or reimbursement. Any such recoupment or modification or termination of the agreement could negatively affect the Fund’s returns.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RISK. The Fund relies on a license and related sublicense that permits the Fund to use its Index and associated trade names, trademarks and service marks (the “Intellectual Property”) in connection with the Fund’s name and investment strategies. Such license and related sublicense may be terminated by the Index Provider, and, as a result, the Fund may lose its ability to use the Intellectual Property. There is also no guarantee that the Index Provider has all rights to license the Intellectual Property for use by the Fund. Accordingly, in the event the license is terminated or the Index Provider does not have rights to license the Intellectual Property, it may have a significant effect on the operation of the Fund.

LEGISLATION/LITIGATION RISK. From time to time, various legislative initiatives are proposed in the United States and abroad, which may have a negative impact on certain companies in which the Fund invests. In addition, litigation regarding any of the issuers of the securities owned by the Fund, or industries represented by these issuers, may negatively impact the value of the securities. Such legislation or litigation may cause the Fund to lose value or may result in higher portfolio turnover if the Advisor determines to sell such a holding.

Fund Organization

The Fund is a series of the Trust, an investment company registered under the 1940 Act. The Fund is treated as a separate fund with its own investment objective and policies. The Trust is organized as a Massachusetts business trust. The Board is responsible for the overall management and direction of the Trust. The Board elects the Trust’s officers and approves all significant agreements, including those with the Advisor, distributor, custodian and fund administrative and accounting agent.

Management of the Fund

First Trust Advisors L.P., 120 East Liberty Drive, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, is the investment advisor to the Fund. In this capacity, First Trust is responsible for the selection and ongoing monitoring of the securities in the Fund’s portfolio and certain other services necessary for the management of the Fund.

There is no one individual primarily responsible for portfolio management decisions for the Fund. Investments are made under the direction of the Investment Committee. The Investment Committee consists of Daniel J. Lindquist, David G. McGarel, Jon C. Erickson, Roger F. Testin, Stan Ueland, Chris A. Peterson and Erik Russo.

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Mr. Lindquist is Chairman of the Investment Committee and presides over Investment Committee meetings. Mr. Lindquist is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Fund’s investment strategy. Mr. Lindquist was a Senior Vice President of First Trust and FTP from September 2005 to July 2012 and is now a Managing Director of First Trust and FTP. Mr. Lindquist is a recipient of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

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For additional information concerning First Trust, including a description of the services provided to the Fund, see the Fund's SAI. Additional information about the compensation of Investment Committee members, other accounts managed by members of the Investment Committee and ownership by members of the Investment Committee of shares of the Fund is provided in the SAI.

Management Fee

Pursuant to an investment management agreement between First Trust and the Trust, on behalf of the Fund (the “Investment Management Agreement”), First Trust manages the Fund’s assets and is paid an annual management fee equal to 0.50% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. The Fund is responsible for all of its expenses, including management fees, costs of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other services, interest, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses related to the execution of portfolio transactions, paying for its sublicensing fees related to the Index, any distribution fees or expenses, and extraordinary expenses. Pursuant to a contractual agreement between the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and First Trust, First Trust has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse Fund expenses to the extent that the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, if any, taxes and extraordinary expenses) exceed 0.70% of the Fund’s average daily net assets (the “Expense Cap”) at least through April 30, 2025 (the "Expense Cap Termination Date").

The table below sets forth the annual management fee that First Trust may receive from the Fund. In addition, the table sets forth the Expense Cap and Expense Cap Termination Date. The table also shows the amounts paid by the Fund to First Trust for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 (net of fees waived and expense reimbursements) as a percentage of average daily net assets.

Fund	Annual Management Fee (% of average daily net assets)	Annual Expense Cap (% of average daily net assets)	Expense Cap Termination Date	Management Fee Paid for the Year Ended 12/31/2023 (% of average daily net assets)
First Trust Dividend Strength ETF	0.50%	0.70%	April 30, 2025	0.21%

A discussion regarding the Board’s approval of the continuation of the Investment Management Agreement is available in the Fund’s Semi-Annual Report to Shareholders for the fiscal period ended June 30, 2023.

How to Buy and Sell Shares

For purposes of the 1940 Act, the Fund is treated as a registered investment company, and the acquisition of shares by other registered investment companies and companies relying on Sections 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act is subject to the restrictions of Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act and the related rules and interpretations.

Book Entry

Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no share certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding shares of the Fund and is recognized as the owner of all shares for all purposes.

Share Trading Prices

Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of the Fund's Shares

result in dilution to the Fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the Fund's ability to achieve its investment objective. However, the Board noted that direct trading by APs is critical to ensuring that the shares trade at or close to net asset value. In addition, the Fund imposes fixed and variable transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the Fund in effecting trades. Finally, the Advisor monitors purchase and redemption orders from APs for patterns of abusive trading and the Fund reserves the right to not accept orders from APs that the Advisor has determined may be disruptive to the management of the Fund.

Dividends, Distributions and Taxes

Dividends from net investment income from the Fund, if any, are declared and paid quarterly by the Fund. The Fund distributes its net realized capital gains, if any, to shareholders at least annually.

Federal Tax Matters

As with any investment, you should seek advice based on your individual circumstances from your own tax advisor.

Fund Status

Distributions

The Fund's distributions are generally taxable. After the end of each year, you will receive a tax statement that separates the distributions of the Fund into two categories: ordinary income distributions and capital gain dividends. Ordinary income distributions are generally taxed at your ordinary tax rate, however, as further discussed below certain ordinary income distributions received from the Fund may be taxed at the capital gains tax rates. Some portion of the ordinary income distributions that are attributable to dividends received by the Fund from shares in certain real estate investment trusts may be designated by the Fund as eligible for a deduction for qualified business income, provided certain holding period requirements are satisfied. Generally, you will treat all capital gain dividends as long-term capital gains regardless of how long you have owned your shares.

To determine your actual tax liability for your capital gain dividends, you must calculate your total net capital gain or loss for the tax year after considering all of your other taxable transactions, as described below. In addition, the Fund may make distributions that represent a return of capital for tax purposes and thus will generally not be taxable to you; however, such distributions may reduce your tax basis in your shares, which could result in you having to pay higher taxes in the future when shares are sold or redeemed, even if you sell or redeem the shares at a loss from your original investment. A “return of capital” is a return, in whole or in part, of the funds that you previously invested in the Fund. A return of capital distribution should not be considered part of the Fund’s dividend yield or total return of an investment in Fund shares. The tax status of your distributions from the Fund is not affected by whether you reinvest your distributions in additional shares or receive them in cash. The tax laws may require you to treat distributions made to you in January as if you had received them on December 31 of the previous year.

Capital Gains and Losses and Certain Ordinary Income Dividends

If you are an individual, the maximum marginal stated federal tax rate for net capital gain is generally 20% (15% or 0% for taxpayers with taxable incomes below certain thresholds). Some capital gains, including some portion of your capital gain dividends, may be taxed at a higher maximum stated federal tax rate. Capital gain received from assets held for more than one year that is considered “unrecaptured section 1250 gain” (which may be the case, for example, with some capital gains attributable to equity interests in real estate investment trusts that constitute interests in entities treated as real estate investment trusts for federal income tax purposes) is taxed at a maximum marginal stated federal tax rate of 25%. In the case of capital gain dividends, the determination of which portion of the capital gain dividend, if any, is subject to the 25% tax rate, will be made based on rules prescribed by the United States Treasury. Capital gains may also be subject to the Medicare tax described above.

Net capital gain equals net long-term capital gain minus net short-term capital loss for the taxable year. Capital gain or loss is long-term if the holding period for the asset is more than one year and is short-term if the holding period for the asset is one year or less. You must exclude the date you purchase your shares to determine your holding period. However, if you receive a capital gain dividend from the Fund and sell your share at a loss after holding it for six months or less, the loss will be recharacterized as long-term capital loss to the extent of the capital gain dividend received. The tax rates for capital gains realized from assets held for one year or less are generally the same as for ordinary income. The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, treats certain capital gains as ordinary income in special situations.

Ordinary income dividends received by an individual shareholder from a RIC such as the Fund are generally taxed at the same rates that apply to net capital gain (as discussed above), provided certain holding period requirements are satisfied and provided the dividends are attributable to qualifying dividends received by the Fund itself. Distributions with respect to shares in real estate investment trusts and foreign corporations are qualifying dividends only in limited circumstances. The Fund will provide notice to its shareholders of the amount of any distribution which may be taken into account as a dividend which is eligible for the capital gains tax rates.

Dividends Received Deduction

A corporation that owns shares generally will not be entitled to the dividends received deduction with respect to many dividends received from the Fund because the dividends received deduction is generally not available for distributions from RICs. However, certain ordinary income dividends on shares that are attributable to qualifying dividends received by the Fund from certain corporations may be reported by the Fund as being eligible for the dividends received deduction.

Sale of Shares

Taxes on Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units

Treatment of Fund Expenses

Expenses incurred and deducted by the Fund will generally not be treated as income taxable to you.

Non-U.S. Tax Credit

If the Fund invests in non-U.S. securities, the tax statement that you receive may include an item showing non-U.S. taxes the Fund paid to other countries. In this case, dividends taxed to you will include your share of the taxes the Fund paid to other countries. You may be able to deduct or receive a tax credit for your share of these taxes.

Non-U.S. Investors

If you are a non-U.S. investor (i.e., an investor other than a U.S. citizen or resident or a U.S. corporation, partnership, estate or trust), you should be aware that, generally, subject to applicable tax treaties, distributions from the Fund will be characterized as dividends for federal income tax purposes (other than dividends which the Fund properly reports as capital gain dividends) and will be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes, subject to certain exceptions described below. However, distributions received by a non-U.S. investor from the Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes, provided that the Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met. Distributions from the Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as an interest-related dividend attributable to certain interest income received by the Fund or as a short-term capital gain dividend attributable to certain net short-term capital gain income received by the Fund may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes when received by certain non-U.S. investors, provided that the Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met. For tax years after December 31, 2022, amounts paid to or recognized by a non-U.S. affiliate that are excluded from tax under the portfolio interest, capital gain dividends, short-term capital gains or tax-exempt interest dividend exceptions or applicable treaties, may be taken into consideration in determining whether a corporation is an “applicable corporation” subject to a 15% minimum tax on adjusted financial statement income.

Investments in Certain Non-U.S. Corporations

If the Fund holds an equity interest in any “passive foreign investment companies” (“PFICs”), which are generally certain non-U.S. corporations that receive at least 75% of their annual gross income from passive sources (such as interest, dividends, certain rents and royalties or capital gains) or that hold at least 50% of their assets in investments producing such passive income, the Fund could be subject to U.S. federal income tax and additional interest charges on gains and certain distributions with respect to those equity interests, even if all the income or gain is timely distributed to its shareholders. The Fund will not be able to pass through to its shareholders any credit or deduction for such taxes. The Fund may be able to make an election that could ameliorate these adverse tax consequences. In this case, the Fund would recognize as ordinary income any increase in the value of such PFIC shares, and as ordinary loss any decrease in such value to the extent it did not exceed prior increases included in income. Under this election, the Fund might be required to recognize in a year income in excess of its distributions from PFICs and its proceeds from dispositions of PFIC stock during that year, and such income would nevertheless be subject to the distribution requirement and would be taken into account for purposes of the 4% excise tax. Dividends paid by PFICs are not treated as qualified dividend income.

Distribution Plan

FTP serves as the distributor of Creation Units for the Fund on an agency basis. FTP does not maintain a secondary market in shares.

Net Asset Value

Rule 2a-5 permits a fund’s board of trustees to designate the fund’s investment adviser as its “valuation designee” to perform fair value determinations, subject to certain conditions. Accordingly, the Fund’s Board has designated First Trust as its valuation designee (the “Valuation Designee”) pursuant to Rule 2a-5 and has directed the Valuation Designee to perform the functions required in Rule 2a-5(a) subject to the requirements of Rule 2a-5(b) on behalf of all portfolio investments of the Fund, subject to the Board’s oversight. First Trust has established a pricing committee (the “Pricing Committee”) to assist in the administration of the duties of the Valuation Designee. The Valuation Designee has adopted valuation procedures for the First Trust Funds (the “Valuation Procedures”), a brief summary of which is set forth below.

The Pricing Committee has also identified certain portfolio investments that are routinely categorized as fair valued investments. In general, for such investments, the Fund’s accounting agent will obtain all pricing data for use in valuing such investments from a pricing service provider approved by the Pricing Committee (each, a “Pricing Service Provider”), subject to the oversight of the Pricing Committee. Pricing Service Providers typically value non-exchange-traded instruments utilizing a range of market-based inputs and assumptions. For example, when available, Pricing Service Providers may utilize inputs such as benchmark yields, reported trades, broker-dealer quotes, spreads, and transactions for comparable instruments. In pricing certain instruments, a Pricing Service Provider may consider information about an instrument’s issuer or market activity. Pricing Service Provider valuations of non-exchange-traded instruments generally represent the service’s good faith opinion as to what the holder of an instrument would receive in an orderly transaction for an institutional round lot position under current market conditions. Certain exchange-traded options, such as FLEX Options, are typically valued using a model-based price provided by a Pricing Service Provider.

earlier market quotation represents fair value at the time the Fund’s NAV is determined, the Pricing Committee will determine the fair valuation as set forth in the Valuation Procedures.

Fund Service Providers

The Bank of New York Mellon, 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286, acts as the administrator, custodian and fund accounting and transfer agent for the Fund. Chapman and Cutler LLP, 320 South Canal St., Chicago, Illinois 60606, serves as legal counsel to the Fund. First Trust serves as the fund reporting agent for the Fund.

Index Provider

The Index that the Fund seeks to track is compiled by the Index Provider. The Index Provider is not affiliated with the Fund, First Trust or FTP. The Fund is entitled to use the Index pursuant to a sublicensing arrangement with First Trust, which in turn has a licensing agreement with the Index Provider. The Index Provider or its agent also serves as calculation agent for the Index (the “Index Calculation Agent”). The Index Calculation Agent is responsible for the management of the day-to-day operations of the Index, including calculating the value of the Index every 15 seconds, widely disseminating the Index values every 15 seconds and tracking corporate actions, some of which result in Index adjustments.

Disclaimers

First Trust does not guarantee the accuracy and/or the completeness of the Index or any data included therein, and First Trust shall have no liability for any errors, omissions or interruptions therein. First Trust makes no warranty, express or implied, as to results to be obtained by the Fund, owners of the shares of the Fund or any other person or entity from the use of the Index or any data included therein. First Trust makes no express or implied warranties, and expressly disclaims all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or use with respect to the Index or any data included therein. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall First Trust have any liability for any special, punitive, direct, indirect or consequential damages (including lost profits) arising out of matters relating to the use of the Index, even if notified of the possibility of such damages.

The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Nasdaq, Inc., or its affiliates (Nasdaq, with its affiliates, are referred to as the “Corporations”). The Corporations have not passed on the legality or suitability of, or the accuracy or adequacy of descriptions and disclosures relating to, the Fund. The Corporations make no representation or warranty, express or implied to the owners of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Fund particularly, or the ability of the Index to track general stock market performance. The Corporations' only relationship to First Trust (“Licensee”) is in the licensing of Nasdaq, Inc. and certain trade names of the Corporations and the use of the Index which is determined, composed and calculated by Nasdaq, Inc. without regard to Licensee or the Fund. Nasdaq, Inc. has no obligation to take the needs of the Licensee or the owners of the Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Index. The Corporations are not responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the Fund to be issued or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Fund is to be converted into cash. The Corporations have no liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund.

THE CORPORATIONS DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR UNINTERRUPTED CALCULATION OF THE INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY FIRST TRUST, OWNERS OF THE FUND OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY

DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE CORPORATIONS HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Premium/Discount Information

Financial Highlights

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund

Financial Highlights
For a share outstanding throughout each period

First Trust Dividend Strength ETF (FTDS)

	Year Ended December 31,
	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019
Net asset value, beginning of period	$42.50	$50.45	$40.62	$36.20	$29.22
Income from investment operations:
Net investment income (loss)	0.95 (a)	0.90	0.39	0.35	0.40
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	4.01	(7.87 )	9.80	4.47	6.99
Total from investment operations	4.96	(6.97 )	10.19	4.82	7.39
Distributions paid to shareholders from:
Net investment income	(1.00 )	(0.98 )	(0.36 )	(0.40 )	(0.41 )
Net asset value, end of period	$46.46	$42.50	$50.45	$40.62	$36.20
Total Return (b)	11.84 %	(13.75 )%	25.12 %	13.65 %	25.36 %
Ratios/supplemental data:
Net assets, end of period (in 000’s)	$20,908	$19,127	$25,223	$16,249	$18,100
Ratios to average net assets:
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets	0.99 %	1.04 %	1.08 %	1.16 %	1.02 %
Ratio of net expenses to average net assets	0.70 %	0.70 %	0.70 %	0.70 %	0.70 %
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets	2.22 %	2.00 %	0.84 %	1.04 %	1.20 %
Portfolio turnover rate (c)	104 %	225% % (d)	98 %	125 %	119 %

(a)

Based on average shares outstanding

(b)

(c)

(d)

The variation in the portfolio turnover rate is due to the change in the Fund’s underlying index effective April 29, 2022, which resulted in a complete rebalance of the Fund’s portfolio.

Other Information

Continuous Offering

The Fund issues, on a continuous offering basis, its shares in one or more groups of a fixed number of Fund shares (each such group of such specified number of individual Fund shares, a “Creation Unit Aggregation”). The method by which Creation Unit Aggregations of Fund shares are created and traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Unit Aggregations of shares are issued and sold by the Fund on an ongoing basis, a “distribution,” as such term is used in the Securities Act, may occur at any point. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner which could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus delivery requirement and liability provisions of the Securities Act.

[THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.]

First Trust

Exchange-Traded Fund

First Trust Dividend Strength ETF

For More Information

First Trust Advisors L.P.
120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
(800) 621-1675

www.ftportfolios.com

SEC File #: 333-125751

811-21774

First Trust

Exchange-Traded Fund

Prospectus

First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF

Ticker Symbol:	MISL
Exchange:	NYSE Arca

The First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF (the “Fund”) lists and principally trades its shares on NYSE Arca, Inc. ("NYSE Arca" or the “Exchange”). Market prices may differ to some degree from the net asset value of the shares. Unlike mutual funds, the Fund issues and redeems shares at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called "Creation Units."

The Fund is a series of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund (the “Trust”) and an exchange-traded index fund organized as a separate series of a registered management investment company.

Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund.

NOT FDIC INSURED MAY LOSE VALUE NO BANK GUARANTEE

May 1, 2024

Table of Contents

Summary Information	3
Additional Information on the Fund's Investment Objective and Strategies	11
Fund Investments	12
Risks of Investing in the Fund	13
Fund Organization	19
Management of the Fund	19
How to Buy and Sell Shares	20
Dividends, Distributions and Taxes	21
Federal Tax Matters	21
Distribution Plan	23
Net Asset Value	24
Fund Service Providers	25
Index Provider	25
Disclaimers	25
Premium/Discount Information	26
Financial Highlights	27
Other Information	28

Summary Information

Investment Objective

The First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF (the "Fund") seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund's fees and expenses) of an equity index called the Indxx US Aerospace & Defense Index (the “Index”).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)

Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

None

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Management Fees	0.60%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.60%

Example

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.

1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$61	$192	$335	$750

Portfolio Turnover

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in the securities that comprise the Index. The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The Fund will generally employ a full replication strategy, meaning that it will normally invest in all of the securities comprising the Index in proportion to their weightings in the Index. The Index is developed, maintained and sponsored by Indxx, Inc. (the “Index Provider”). The Index Provider is not affiliated with the Fund, the Fund’s investment advisor or the Fund’s distributor. The Index is a rules-based index, however, the Index Provider reserves the right to use qualitative judgment to include, exclude, adjust, or postpone the inclusion of a stock in the Index which is the ordinary course discretion that the Index Provider has to modify which securities qualify for inclusion in the Index in accordance with the rules of its selection methodology.

According to the Index Provider, the Index’s starting universe consists of U.S. companies engaged in business activities associated with the following aerospace and defense sub-themes, as identified by the Index Provider:

Advanced Aerospace and Defense

Hypersonic: Companies involved in developing hypersonic warfare weapons technology for defense related applications.

Directed Energy: Companies involved in developing weapons like high power microwaves, laser technology products and electromagnetic weapons for defense related applications.

Space Technologies: Companies involved in developing rockets, satellites and launch vehicles.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle/Advance Air Mobility: Companies that develop military aircraft that are guided by remote control or programmed autonomously and companies involved in developing an air transportation system that moves cargo and people for defense related applications.

Autonomous, Cybersecurity and C5ISR Systems: Companies involved in providing autonomous, cybersecurity, and C5ISR solutions for improving national security, enhancing public safety and designing better combat results.

Traditional Aerospace and Defense

Includes companies that manufacture construction material, electronics, and telecommunications equipment used in the manufacture of aircraft for both defense and commercial aviation.

These sub-themes also include the commercial (non-government/defense) applications of such activities.

From the starting universe, only companies that derive at least 50% of revenues from aerospace and defense activities in one or more of the sub-themes identified above will be eligible for inclusion in the Index, according to the Index Provider. These companies have their principal business strategies and/or growth prospects inextricably linked to aerospace and defense.

According to the Index Provider, from the list of eligible companies, a total of 50 companies ranked from highest to lowest market capitalization will be selected. In the event there are less than 50 companies that meet the 50% revenue test, all eligible companies will be selected (i.e., there may be fewer than 50 companies in the Index). The selected securities are assigned weights based on their market capitalization. A single security cap of 8% is applied to securities and the extra weight is redistributed amongst the uncapped securities. The aggregate weight of securities with weights greater than or equal to 5% must not exceed 45%. In case the aggregate weight of such securities exceeds 45%, a secondary cap of 4% is applied to all remaining securities. Each company must also meet the size, float and liquidity requirements of the Index.

The Index is rebalanced quarterly and reconstituted semi-annually, and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. As of March 28, 2024, the Index was composed of 33 securities and the Fund had significant investments in industrials companies, although this may change from time to time. The Fund’s investments will change as the Index changes and, as a result, the Fund may have significant investments in jurisdictions or investment sectors that it may not have had as of March 28, 2024. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.

The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).

Principal Risks

AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE COMPANIES RISK. Aerospace and defense companies are subject to numerous risks, including fierce competition, consolidation, adverse political, economic and governmental developments, substantial research and development costs, cuts in government funding, product and technology obsolescence, limited numbers of potential customers and decreased demand for new equipment. In addition, companies involved in the commercial aerospace industry are also subject to aircraft order cancellations, changes in aircraft-leasing contracts, excess capacity, cutbacks in profitable business travel, fuel price hikes, labor union settlements, adverse changes in international politics and relations, intense global competition, government regulation and cyclical market patterns. Aerospace and defense companies rely heavily on U.S. Government and other government demand for their products and services. As a result, these companies could be adversely impacted by future reductions or changes in government spending. Such government spending on aerospace and defense is

not generally correlated with economic cycles, but rather with general political support for this type of spending. There is no assurance that future levels of spending on aerospace and defense will increase or that such spending will not decrease in the future. Competition, labor relations and the price of fuel can impact aerospace and defense companies. In addition, deregulation of airlines has substantially decreased the U.S. Government’s role in the air transport industry while promoting competition. However, the profitability of individual carriers as well as the entire industry could be impacted by the regulations and policies of various domestic and foreign governments.

INDUSTRIALS COMPANIES RISK. Industrials companies convert unfinished goods into finished durables used to manufacture other goods or provide services. Examples of industrials companies include companies involved in the production of electrical equipment and components, industrial products, manufactured housing and telecommunications equipment, as well as defense and aerospace companies. General risks of industrials companies include the general state of the economy, exchange rates, commodity prices, intense competition, consolidation, domestic and international politics, government regulation, import controls, excess capacity, consumer demand and spending trends. In addition, industrials companies may also be significantly affected by overall capital spending levels, economic cycles, rapid technological changes, delays in modernization, labor relations, environmental liabilities, governmental and product liability and e-commerce initiatives.

custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Fund's investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.

SMALLER COMPANIES RISK. Small and/or mid capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic developments, and their securities may be less liquid and may experience greater price volatility than larger, more established companies as a result of several factors, including limited trading volumes, fewer products or financial resources, management inexperience and less publicly available information. Accordingly, such companies are generally subject to greater market risk than larger, more established companies.

Annual Total Return

The bar chart and table below illustrate the annual calendar year returns of the Fund based on net asset value as well as the average annual Fund and Index returns. The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns based on net asset value compared to those of the Index, a market index and a broad-based market index. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com.

First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31

During the period shown in the chart above:

	Return	Period Ended
Best Quarter	17.30%	December 31, 2023
Worst Quarter	-6.27%	September 30, 2023

The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.

Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2023

	1 Year	Since Inception	Inception Date
Return Before Taxes	14.88%	19.38%	10/25/2022
Return After Taxes on Distributions	14.57%	19.07%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	8.80%	14.68%
Indxx US Aerospace & Defense Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	15.57%	20.03%
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	26.29%	21.65%
S&P Composite 1500® Aerospace & Defense Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	8.69%	15.60%

Management

Investment Advisor

First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)

Portfolio Managers

The Fund’s portfolio is managed by a team (the “Investment Committee”) consisting of:

•

Daniel J. Lindquist, Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director of First Trust

•

David G. McGarel, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of First Trust

•

Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Roger F. Testin, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Stan Ueland, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Chris A. Peterson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Erik Russo, Vice President of First Trust

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Tax Information

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

Additional Information on the Fund's Investment Objective and Strategies

The Fund is a series of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund and is regulated as an “investment company” under the 1940 Act. The Fund operates as an index fund and is not actively managed by First Trust. As such, the Fund’s investment objective is to seek investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of the Index. In seeking to achieve this objective, the Fund will invest, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in the common stocks that comprise the Index. Indxx, Inc. serves as the index provider for the index tracked by the Fund and may be referred to throughout this prospectus as the “Index Provider.” The Index Provider is not affiliated with the Fund, the Fund’s investment advisor or the Fund’s distributor.

The Fund will generally employ a full replication strategy, meaning that it will normally invest in all of the securities comprising the Index in proportion to their weightings in the Index. However, under various circumstances, full replication of the Index may not be possible or practicable. In those circumstances, the Fund may purchase a sample of securities in the Index. The Fund may utilize sampling when there are practical difficulties or substantial costs involved in replicating the Index, including to address tax and regulatory issues and respond to trading halts and other issues related to the liquidity of Index constituents. There may also be instances in which First Trust may choose to overweight certain securities in the Index, purchase securities not in the Index which First Trust believes are appropriate to substitute for certain securities in the Index, use futures or derivative instruments or utilize various combinations of the above techniques in seeking to track the Index. The Fund may sell securities that are represented in the Index in anticipation of their removal from the Index or purchase securities not represented in the Index in anticipation of their addition to the Index.

The Fund’s investment objective, its 80% investment strategy and each of the policies described herein are non-fundamental policies that may be changed by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”) without shareholder approval upon 60-days' prior notice to shareholders. The fundamental policies of the Fund are set forth in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) under “Investment Objective and Policies.”

The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.

The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).

Indxx US Aerospace and Defense Index

According to the Index Provider, the Index's starting universe consists of U.S. companies engaged in business activities associated with the following aerospace and defense sub-themes, as identified by the Index Provider:

Advanced Aerospace and Defense

Hypersonic: Companies involved in developing hypersonic warfare weapons technology for defense related applications.

Directed Energy: Companies involved in developing weapons like high power microwaves, laser technology products and electromagnetic weapons for defense related applications.

Space Technologies: Companies involved in developing rockets, satellites and launch vehicles.

Traditional Aerospace and Defense

Includes companies that manufacture construction material, electronics, and telecommunications equipment used in the manufacture of aircraft for both defense and commercial aviation.

These sub-themes also include the commercial (non-government/defense) applications of such activities.

More information regarding the Index, including additional detail on the Index methodology, may be found on the Index Provider’s website. Neither the Fund, the Board, First Trust, or any of their affiliates, are responsible for the information set forth on the Index Provider’s website. Information from the Index Provider’s website and any other information not expressly included in this prospectus is not incorporated by reference in, and should not be considered part of, this prospectus.

Fund Investments

Principal Investments

Equity Securities

The Fund invests in common stocks. Common stock represents an equity ownership interest in issuers. Holders of common stock are entitled to the income and increase in the value of the assets and business of the issuers after all debt obligations and obligations to preferred stockholders are satisfied. Depositary receipts are certificates typically issued by a bank or trust company that represent ownership interests in securities of non-U.S. companies. Depositary receipts may or may not be jointly sponsored by the underlying issuer.

Non-Principal Investments

Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments

Normally, the Fund invests substantially all of its assets to meet its investment objective. The Fund may invest the remainder of its assets in securities with maturities of less than one year or in cash equivalents, or it may hold cash. The percentage of the Fund invested in such holdings varies and depends on several factors, including market conditions. For temporary defensive purposes and during periods of high cash inflows or outflows, the Fund may depart from its principal investment strategies and invest part or all of its assets in these securities, or it may hold cash. During such periods, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective. The Fund may adopt a temporary defensive strategy when the portfolio managers believe securities in which the Fund normally invests have elevated risks due to political or economic factors and in other extraordinary circumstances. For more information on eligible short-term investments, see the SAI.

Illiquid Investments

The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in investments and other instruments that are, at the time of investment, illiquid (determined using the Securities and Exchange Commission's standard applicable to investment companies, i.e., any investment that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment). For this purpose, illiquid investments may include, but are not limited to, restricted securities (securities the disposition of which is restricted under the federal securities laws), securities that may only be resold pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), that are deemed to be illiquid, and certain repurchase agreements.

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

Risks of Investing in the Fund

Risk is inherent in all investing. Investing in the Fund involves risk, including the risk that you may lose all or part of your investment. There can be no assurance that the Fund will meet its stated objective. Before you invest, you should consider the following supplemental disclosure pertaining to the Principal Risks set forth above as well as additional Non-Principal Risks set forth below in this prospectus. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.

Principal Risks

AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE COMPANIES RISK. Aerospace and defense companies can be significantly affected by government defense and aerospace regulation and spending policies because companies involved in the defense and aerospace industry rely to a large extent on U.S. (and other) government demand for their products and services. These companies may include, for example, companies that provide the following products or services: air transport; defense electronics; aircraft or spacecraft production; missile design; data processing or computer-related services; communications systems; research; development and manufacture of military weapons and transportation; general aviation equipment, missiles, space launch vehicles, and spacecraft; units for guidance, propulsion, and control of flight vehicles; and equipment components and airborne and ground-based equipment essential to the testing, operation, and maintenance of flight vehicles. Aerospace and defense companies are subject to numerous risks, including fierce competition, consolidation, adverse political, economic and governmental developments, substantial research and development costs, cuts in government funding, product and technology obsolescence, limited numbers of potential customers and decreased demand for new equipment. In addition, companies involved in the commercial aerospace industry are also subject to aircraft order cancellations, changes in aircraft-leasing contracts, excess capacity, cutbacks in profitable business travel, fuel price hikes, labor union settlements, adverse changes in international politics and relations, intense global competition, government regulation and cyclical market patterns.

Aerospace and defense companies rely heavily on U.S. Government and other government demand for their products and services. As a result, these companies could be adversely impacted by future reductions or changes in government spending. Such government spending on aerospace and defense is not generally correlated with economic cycles, but rather with general political support for this type of spending. There is no assurance that future levels of spending on aerospace and defense will increase or that such spending will not decrease in the future. Competition, labor relations and the price of fuel can impact aerospace and defense companies. In addition, deregulation of airlines has substantially decreased the U.S. Government’s role in the air transport industry while promoting competition. However, the profitability of individual carriers as well as the entire industry could be impacted by the regulations and policies of various domestic and foreign governments.

AUTHORIZED PARTICIPANT CONCENTRATION RISK. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. A limited number of institutions act as authorized participants for the Fund. However, participants are not obligated to make a market in the Fund’s shares or submit purchase and redemption orders for creation units. To the extent that these institutions exit the business, reduce their role or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders and no other authorized participant steps forward to create or redeem, the Fund’s shares may trade at a premium or discount to the Fund’s net asset value and possibly face delisting and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.

CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS RISK. Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions.

an adverse impact on the U.S. regulatory landscape, markets and investor behavior, which could have a negative impact on the Fund’s investments and operations. The potential result of a U.S. federal government shutdown may also significantly impact investor and consumer behavior, which may adversely impact the markets and global economy. Global and domestic authorities and regulators have previously responded to serious economic disruptions with ranging fiscal and monetary policy changes, including but not limited to, direct capital infusions into companies, new monetary programs and dramatically lower interest rates. Any change in these policies, or the ineffectiveness of these policies, could increase volatility in securities markets, which may adversely impact the Fund’s investments and performance. Any market disruptions could also delay the Fund from making sound investment decisions in a timely manner. If the Fund concentrates its investments in a region enduring geopolitical market disruption, it may face higher risk of loss, although the increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets can lead to events or conditions in one country, region or financial market adversely impacting a different country, region or financial market.

Other unexpected political, regulatory and diplomatic events within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy. For example, ongoing armed conflicts between Russia and Ukraine in Europe and among Israel, Hamas and other militant groups in the Middle East, have caused and could continue to cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in Russia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions resulting from those hostilities have and could continue to have a significant impact on certain Fund investments as well as Fund performance and liquidity. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as the financial markets generally, may be adversely impacted by trade disputes and other matters. For example, the United States has imposed trade barriers and restrictions on China. In addition, the Chinese government is engaged in a longstanding dispute with Taiwan, continually threatening an invasion. If the political climate between the United States and China does not improve or continues to deteriorate, if China were to attempt invading Taiwan, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets and individual securities may be adversely affected, and the value of the Fund’s assets may go down. The COVID-19 global pandemic, or any future public health crisis, and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against emerging future variants of the disease. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others.

These events, and any other future events, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.

identified and that prevention and remediation efforts will not be successful. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control the cyber security plans and systems put in place by service providers to the Fund, issuers in which the Fund invests, market makers or authorized participants. However, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, and the Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result.

EQUITY SECURITIES RISK. The value of the Fund’s shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities in which it invests. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors' perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting the issuers occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market. Additionally, holders of an issuer's common stock may be subject to greater risks than holders of its preferred stock and debt securities because common stockholders' claims are subordinated to those of holders of preferred stocks and debt securities upon the bankruptcy of an issuer.

INDEX PROVIDER RISK. There is no assurance that the Index Provider, or any agents that act on its behalf, will compile the Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. The Index Provider and its agents do not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the Index, and do not guarantee that the Index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. The Advisor’s mandate as described in this prospectus is to manage the Fund consistently with the Index provided by the Index Provider. The Advisor relies upon the Index provider and its agents to accurately compile, maintain, construct, reconstitute, rebalance, compose, calculate and disseminate the Index accurately. Therefore, losses or costs associated with any Index Provider or agent errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. To correct any such error, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out an unscheduled rebalance of the Index or other modification of Index constituents or weightings. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where the Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors. For example, during a period where the Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund tracking the Index would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions or issuer-specific events may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, exclude or substitute a security from the Index or undertake other measures which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility

could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.

INDUSTRIALS COMPANIES RISK. The Fund invests significantly in industrials companies. The value of securities issued by industrials companies may be adversely affected by supply and demand related to their specific products or services and industrials sector products in general. The products of manufacturing companies may face obsolescence due to rapid technological developments and frequent new product introduction. World events and changes in government regulations, import controls, economic conditions and exchange rates may adversely affect the performance of companies in the industrials sector. Industrials companies may be adversely affected by liability for environmental damage and product liability claims. Industrials companies may also be adversely affected by changes or trends in commodity prices, which may be influenced by unpredictable factors. Industrials companies, particularly aerospace and defense companies, may also be adversely affected by government spending policies because companies in this sector tend to rely to a significant extent on government demand for their products and services.

NON-DIVERSIFICATION RISK. As a “non-diversified” fund, the Fund may hold a smaller number of portfolio securities than many other funds and may be more sensitive to any single economic, business, political or regulatory occurrence than a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests in a relatively small number of issuers due to the high percentage of the Fund’s assets invested in that security, a decline in the market value of a particular security held by the Fund may affect its value more than if it invested in a larger number of issuers. The value of the Fund’s shares may be more volatile than the values of shares of more diversified funds.

OPERATIONAL RISK. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Fund’s investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.

PREMIUM/DISCOUNT RISK. The market price of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the Fund’s net asset value as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on the Exchange. First Trust cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their net asset value because the shares trade on the Exchange at market prices and not at net asset value. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related, but not identical, to the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. However, given that shares can only be purchased and redeemed in Creation Units, and only to and from broker-dealers and large institutional investors that have entered into participation agreements (unlike shares of closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their net asset value), First Trust believes that large discounts or premiums to the net asset value of shares should not be sustained absent disruptions to the creation and redemption mechanism, extreme market volatility or potential lack of authorized participants. During stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the market for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which could in turn lead to differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.

SMALLER COMPANIES RISK. The stock price of small and/or mid capitalization companies may be more volatile than those of larger companies and therefore the Fund’s share price may be more volatile than those of funds that invest a larger percentage of their assets in stocks issued by large capitalization companies. Stock prices of small and/or mid capitalization companies are also generally more vulnerable than those of large capitalization companies to adverse business and economic developments. Securities of small and/or mid capitalization companies may be thinly traded, making it difficult for the Fund to buy and sell them. In addition, small and/or mid capitalization companies are typically less financially stable than larger, more established companies and may reinvest a high proportion of their earnings in their business and may not pay dividends. Small and/or mid capitalization companies may also depend on a small number of essential personnel who may also be less experienced than the management of larger companies, making these companies more vulnerable to experiencing adverse effects due to the loss or inexperience of personnel. Small and/or mid capitalization companies also normally have less diverse product lines than those of large capitalization companies and are more susceptible to adverse developments concerning their products.

Non-Principal Risks

following such borrowing and at all times thereafter. The Fund may be required to dispose of assets on unfavorable terms if market fluctuations or other factors reduce the Fund’s asset coverage to less than the prescribed amount.

CASH TRANSACTIONS RISK. The Fund may, under certain circumstances, effect a portion of creations and redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind securities. As a result, an investment in the Fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in an ETF that effects its creations and redemptions only in-kind. ETFs are able to make in-kind redemptions and avoid being taxed on gains on the distributed portfolio securities at the fund level. A Fund that effects redemptions for cash may be required to sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. Any recognized gain on these sales by the Fund will generally cause the Fund to recognize a gain it might not otherwise have recognized, or to recognize such gain sooner than would otherwise be required if it were to distribute portfolio securities only in-kind. The Fund intends to distribute these gains to shareholders to avoid being taxed on this gain at the fund level and otherwise comply with the special tax rules that apply to it. This strategy may cause shareholders to be subject to tax on gains they would not otherwise be subject to, or at an earlier date than if they had made an investment in a different ETF. Moreover, cash transactions may have to be carried out over several days if the securities market is relatively illiquid and may involve considerable brokerage fees and taxes. These brokerage fees and taxes, which will be higher than if the Fund sold and redeemed its shares entirely in-kind, will be passed on to those purchasing and redeeming Creation Units in the form of creation and redemption transaction fees. In addition, these factors may result in wider spreads between the bid and the offered prices of the Fund’s shares than for ETFs that distribute portfolio securities in-kind.

LEGISLATION/LITIGATION RISK. From time to time, various legislative initiatives are proposed in the United States and abroad, which may have a negative impact on certain companies in which the Fund invests. In addition, litigation regarding any of the issuers of the securities owned by the Fund, or industries represented by these issuers, may negatively impact the value of the securities. Such legislation or litigation may cause the Fund to lose value or may result in higher portfolio turnover if the Advisor determines to sell such a holding.

SECURITIES LENDING RISK. The Fund may engage in securities lending. Securities lending involves exposure to certain risks, including counterparty risk, collateral risk and operational risk. Counterparty risk is the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, to the extent the Fund engages in securities lending, in such transactions it may suffer a loss and experience delays in recovering the lent securities. Any delay in the return of securities on loan may restrict the ability of the Fund to meet delivery or payment obligations. Collateral risk is the risk that the collateral received may be realized at a value lower than the value of the securities lent, whether due to inaccurate pricing of the collateral, adverse market movements in the value of the collateral, intra-day increases in the value of the securities lent, a deterioration in the credit rating of the collateral issuer, or the illiquidity of the market in which the collateral is traded. Securities lending also entails operational risks, such as settlement failures or delays in the settlement of instructions. Such failures or delays may restrict the ability of the Fund to meet delivery or payment obligations. Lastly, securities lending activities may result in adverse tax consequences for the Fund and its shareholders. For instance, substitute payments for dividends received by the Fund for securities loaned out by the Fund will not be considered qualified dividend income. The Fund could lose money if its short-term investment of the collateral declines in value over the period of the loan.

Fund Organization

Management of the Fund

First Trust Advisors L.P., 120 East Liberty Drive, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, is the investment advisor to the Fund. In this capacity, First Trust is responsible for the selection and ongoing monitoring of the securities in the Fund's portfolio and certain other services necessary for the management of the Fund.

The members of the Investment Committee are jointly and primarily responsible for the management of the Fund. Investments are made under the direction of the Investment Committee. The Investment Committee consists of Daniel J. Lindquist, David G. McGarel, Jon C. Erickson, Roger F. Testin, Stan Ueland, Chris A. Peterson and Erik Russo.

•

Management Fee

Pursuant to an investment management agreement between First Trust and the Trust, on behalf of the Fund (the “Investment Management Agreement”), First Trust manages the investment of the Fund's assets. First Trust is paid an annual unitary management fee by the Fund equal to 0.60% of the Fund's average daily net assets and is responsible for the Fund's expenses, including the cost of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other services, but excluding fee payments under the Investment Management Agreement, interest, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses connected with the execution of portfolio transactions, distribution and service fees payable pursuant to a Rule 12b-1 plan, if any, and extraordinary expenses.

A discussion regarding the Board’s approval of the Investment Management Agreement is available in the Fund’s Annual Report to Shareholders for the fiscal period ended December 31, 2022.

How to Buy and Sell Shares

Book Entry

Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no share certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding shares of the Fund and is recognized as the owner of all shares for all purposes.

Share Trading Prices

Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of the Fund's Shares

Dividends, Distributions and Taxes

Dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid quarterly by the Fund. The Fund distributes its net realized capital gains, if any, to shareholders at least annually.

Federal Tax Matters

This federal income tax summary is based in part on the advice of counsel to the Fund. The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) could disagree with any conclusions set forth in this section. The following disclosure may not be sufficient for you to use for the purpose of avoiding penalties under federal tax law.

As with any investment, you should seek advice based on your individual circumstances from your own tax advisor.

Fund Status

Distributions

To determine your actual tax liability for your capital gain dividends, you must calculate your total net capital gain or loss for the tax year after considering all of your other taxable transactions, as described below. In addition, the Fund may make distributions that represent a return of capital for tax purposes and thus will generally not be taxable to you; however, such distributions may reduce your tax basis in your shares, which could result in you having to pay higher taxes in the future when shares are sold, even if you sell the shares at a loss from your original investment. A “return of capital” is a return, in whole or in part, of the funds that you previously invested in the Fund. A return of capital distribution should not be considered part of a Fund’s dividend yield or total return of an investment in Fund shares. The tax status of your distributions from the Fund is not affected by whether you reinvest your distributions in additional shares or receive them in cash. The tax laws may require you to treat distributions made to you in January as if you had received them on December 31 of the previous year.

Dividends Received Deduction

A corporation that owns shares generally will not be entitled to the dividends received deduction with respect to many dividends received from the Fund because the dividends received deduction is generally not available for distributions from RICs. However, certain ordinary income dividends on shares that are attributable to qualifying dividends received by the Fund from certain corporations may be reported by the Fund as being eligible for the dividends received deduction.

Capital Gains and Losses and Certain Ordinary Income Dividends

Net capital gain equals net long-term capital gain minus net short-term capital loss for the taxable year. Capital gain or loss is long-term if the holding period for the asset is more than one year and is short-term if the holding period for the asset is one year or less. You must exclude the date you purchase your shares to determine your holding period. However, if you receive a capital gain dividend from the Fund and sell your share at a loss after holding it for six months or less, the loss will be recharacterized as long-term capital loss to the extent of the capital gain dividend received. The tax rates for capital gains realized from assets held for one year or less are generally the same as for ordinary income. The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, treats certain capital gains as ordinary income in special situations.

Ordinary income dividends received by an individual shareholder from a RIC such as the Fund are generally taxed at the same rates that apply to net capital gain (as discussed above), provided certain holding period requirements are satisfied and provided the dividends are attributable to qualifying dividends received by the Fund itself. The Fund will provide notice to its shareholders of the amount of any distribution which may be taken into account as a dividend which is eligible for the capital gains tax rates.

Sale of Shares

Taxes on Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units

cash redemption amount. The IRS, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units or Creation Units for securities cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.

Treatment of Fund Expenses

Expenses incurred and deducted by the Fund will generally not be treated as income taxable to you.

Non-U.S. Tax Credit

Because the Fund may invest in non-U.S. securities, the tax statement that you receive may include an item showing non-U.S. taxes the Fund paid to other countries. In this case, dividends taxed to you will include your share of the taxes the Fund paid to other countries. You may be able to deduct or receive a tax credit for your share of these taxes.

Non-U.S. Investors

If you are a non-U.S. investor (i.e., an investor other than a U.S. citizen or resident or a U.S. corporation, partnership, estate or trust), you should be aware that, generally, subject to applicable tax treaties, distributions from the Fund will be characterized as dividends for federal income tax purposes (other than dividends which the Fund properly reports as capital gain dividends) and will be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes, subject to certain exceptions described below. However, distributions received by a non-U.S. investor from the Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes, provided that the Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met. Distributions from the Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as an interest-related dividend attributable to certain interest income received by the Fund or as a short-term capital gain dividend attributable to certain net short-term capital gain income received by the Fund may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes when received by certain non-U.S. investors, provided that the Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met. For tax years after December 31, 2022, amounts paid to or recognized by a non-U.S. affiliate that are excluded from tax under the portfolio interest, capital gain dividends, short-term capital gains or tax-exempt interest dividend exceptions or applicable treaties, may be taken into consideration in determining whether a corporation is an “applicable corporation” subject to a 15% minimum tax on adjusted financial statement income.

Investments in Certain Non-U.S. Corporations

Distribution Plan

FTP serves as the distributor of Creation Units for the Fund on an agency basis. FTP does not maintain a secondary market in shares.

The Board has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. In accordance with the Rule 12b-1 plan, the Fund is authorized to pay an amount up to 0.25% of their average daily net assets each year to reimburse FTP for amounts expended to finance activities primarily intended to result in the sale of Creation Units or the provision of investor services. FTP may also use this amount to compensate securities dealers or other persons that are APs for providing distribution assistance, including broker-dealer and shareholder support and educational and promotional services.

Net Asset Value

Rule 2a-5 permits a fund’s board of trustees to designate the fund’s investment adviser as its “valuation designee” to perform fair value determinations, subject to certain conditions. Accordingly, the Fund’s Board has designated First Trust as its valuation designee (the “Valuation Designee”) pursuant to Rule 2a-5 and has directed the Valuation Designee to perform the functions required in Rule 2a-5(a) subject to the requirements of Rule 2a-5(b) on behalf of all portfolio investments of the Fund, subject to the Board’s oversight. First Trust has established a pricing committee (the “Pricing Committee”) to assist in the administration of the duties of the Valuation Designee. The Valuation Designee has adopted valuation procedures for the First Trust Funds (the “Valuation Procedures”), a brief summary of which is set forth below.

The Pricing Committee has also identified certain portfolio investments that are routinely categorized as fair valued investments. In general, for such investments, the Fund’s accounting agent will obtain all pricing data for use in valuing such investments from a pricing service provider approved by the Pricing Committee (each, a “Pricing Service Provider”), subject to the oversight of the Pricing Committee. Pricing Service Providers typically value non-exchange-traded instruments utilizing a range of market-based inputs and assumptions. For example, when available, Pricing Service Providers may utilize inputs such as benchmark yields, reported trades, broker-dealer quotes, spreads, and transactions for comparable instruments. In pricing certain instruments, a Pricing Service Provider may consider information about an instrument’s issuer or market activity. Pricing Service Provider valuations of non-exchange-traded instruments generally represent the service’s good faith opinion as to what the holder of an instrument would receive in an orderly transaction for an institutional round lot position under current market conditions. Certain exchange-traded options, such as FLEX Options, are typically valued using a model-based price provided by a Pricing Service Provider.

Fund Service Providers

Index Provider

The Index is compiled by the Index Provider. The Index Provider is not affiliated with the Fund, First Trust or FTP. The Fund is entitled to use the Index pursuant to a sublicensing arrangement with First Trust, which in turn has a licensing agreement with the Index Provider. The Index Provider or its agent also serves as calculation agent for the Index (the “Index Calculation Agent”). The Index Calculation Agent is responsible for the management of the day-to-day operations of the Index, including calculating the value of the Index every 15 seconds, widely disseminating the Index values every second and tracking corporate actions, some of which result in Index adjustments.

Disclaimers

The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Indxx, Inc. Indxx, Inc. makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of trading in the Fund. Indxx, Inc.’s only relationship to First Trust is the licensing of certain trademarks and trade names of Indxx, Inc. and of the Indxx US Aerospace & Defense Index, which is determined, composed and calculated by Indxx, Inc. without regard to First Trust or the Fund. Indxx, Inc. has no obligation to take the needs of First Trust or the owners of the Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Indxx US Aerospace & Defense Index. Indxx, Inc. is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the Fund to be listed or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Fund is to be converted into cash. Indxx, Inc. has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund.

INDXX, INC. DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE INDXX US AEROSPACE & DEFENSE INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN AND INDXX, INC. SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR INTERRUPTIONS THEREIN. INDXX, INC. MAKES NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY FIRST TRUST, OWNERS OF THE FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE INDXX US AEROSPACE & DEFENSE INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. INDXX, INC. MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE INDXX US AEROSPACE & DEFENSE INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL INDXX, INC. HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING LOST PROFITS), EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THERE ARE NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN INDXX, INC. AND FIRST TRUST.

Premium/Discount Information

Financial Highlights

The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the Fund's financial performance for the periods shown. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share of the Fund. The total returns represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). The information for the periods indicated has been derived from financial statements audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, whose report, along with the Fund's financial statements, is included in the Annual Report to Shareholders dated December 31, 2023 and is incorporated by reference in the Fund's SAI, which is available upon request.

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund

Financial Highlights
For a share outstanding throughout each period

First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF (MISL)

	Year Ended December 31,	Period Ended December 31,
	2023	2022(a)
Net asset value, beginning of period	$22.30	$20.79
Income from investment operations:
Net investment income (loss)	0.20 (b)	0.02
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	3.11	1.51
Total from investment operations	3.31	1.53
Distributions paid to shareholders from:
Net investment income	(0.14 )	(0.02 )
Net realized gain	(0.02 )	—
Total distributions	(0.16 )	(0.02 )
Net asset value, end of period	$25.45	$22.30
Total Return(c)	14.88 %	7.34 %
Ratios/supplemental data:
Net assets, end of period (in 000’s)	$41,989	$2,230
Ratios to average net assets:
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets	0.60 %	0.60 %(d)
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets	0.86 %	0.53 %(d)
Portfolio turnover rate(e)	12 %	2 %

(a)

Inception date is October 25, 2022, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established.

(b)

Based on average shares outstanding.

(c)

(d)

Annualized.

(e)

Other Information

Continuous Offering

The Fund issues, on a continuous offering basis, its shares in one or more groups of a fixed number of Fund shares (each such group of such specified number of individual Fund shares, a “Creation Unit Aggregation”). The method by which Creation Unit Aggregations of Fund shares are created and traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Unit Aggregations of shares are issued and sold by the Fund on an ongoing basis, a “distribution,” as such term is used in the Securities Act, may occur at any point. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner which could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus delivery requirement and liability provisions of the Securities Act.

Broker-dealer firms should also note that dealers who are not “underwriters” but are effecting transactions in shares, whether or not participating in the distribution of shares, are generally required to deliver a prospectus. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act is not available in respect of such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. As a result, broker-dealer firms should note that dealers who are not underwriters but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted with ordinary secondary market transactions) and thus dealing with the shares that are part of an overallotment within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the Securities Act would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act. Firms that incur a prospectus delivery obligation with respect to shares are reminded that, under the Securities Act Rule 153, a prospectus delivery obligation under Section 5(b)(2) of the Securities Act owed to a broker-dealer in connection with a sale on the Exchange is satisfied by the fact that the prospectus is available from the Exchange upon request. The prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is available with respect to transactions on a national securities exchange, a trading facility or an alternative trading system.

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First Trust

Exchange-Traded Fund

First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF

For More Information

First Trust Advisors L.P.
120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
(800) 621-1675

www.ftportfolios.com

SEC File #: 333-125751

811-21774

First Trust

Exchange-Traded Fund

Prospectus

First Trust Growth Strength ETF

Ticker Symbol:	FTGS
Exchange:	Nasdaq

First Trust Growth Strength ETF (the “Fund”) lists and principally trades its shares on Nasdaq, Inc. ("Nasdaq" or the "Exchange"). Market prices may differ to some degree from the net asset value of the shares. Unlike mutual funds, the Fund issues and redeems shares at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called "Creation Units."

The Fund is a series of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund (the “Trust”) and an exchange-traded index fund organized as a separate series of a registered management investment company.

Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund.

NOT FDIC INSURED MAY LOSE VALUE NO BANK GUARANTEE

May 1, 2024

Table of Contents

Summary Information	3
Additional Information on the Fund's Investment Objective and Strategies	10
Fund Investments	10
Risks of Investing in the Fund	11
Fund Organization	17
Management of the Fund	17
How to Buy and Sell Shares	18
Dividends, Distributions and Taxes	19
Federal Tax Matters	19
Distribution Plan	22
Net Asset Value	22
Fund Service Providers	23
Index Provider	23
Disclaimers	24
Premium/Discount Information	24
Financial Highlights	25
Other Information	26

Summary Information

Investment Objective

The First Trust Growth Strength ETF (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an equity index called The Growth StrengthTM Index (the “Index”).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)

Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

None

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Management Fees	0.60%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.60%

Example

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.

1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$61	$192	$335	$750

Portfolio Turnover

Principal Investment Strategies

According to the Index Provider, the Index seeks to provide exposure to well-capitalized companies with strong market positions. The companies are screened for strong balance sheets, a high degree of liquidity, the ability to generate earnings and cash flow growth and a record of financial strength and profit growth. The Index’s initial selection universe is composed of all the securities comprising the Nasdaq US BenchmarkTM Index. The Index then excludes all securities that do not meet the size, float and liquidity requirements of the Index. The universe is further narrowed by excluding those securities issued by companies with less than or equal to $1 billion in cash or short-term equivalents, a long-term debt to market capitalization ratio greater than or equal to 30%, a negative shareholder equity and companies with a return on equity that is less than or equal to 15%. The remaining securities are then ranked by their three-year revenue percentage growth and three-year cash

flow percentage growth. Those rankings are then combined equally and the top 50 securities are chosen for inclusion in the Index. The Index may be composed of, but not limited to, common stocks and real estate investment trusts ("REITs").

According to the Index Provider, if there are more than fifteen securities from any one industry, as determined by the Industry Classification Benchmark (“ICB”) classification system, the security with the lowest ranking will be removed and replaced with the next eligible security (e.g., the 51st ranked by growth) from a different industry. This process is repeated until no industry has more than fifteen securities. Once finalized, each security is equally-weighted.

The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted quarterly and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index’s quarterly rebalance and reconstitution schedule may cause the Fund to experience a higher rate of portfolio turnover. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. As of March 28, 2024, the Index was composed of 50 securities and the Fund had significant investments in information technology companies, although this may change from time to time. The Fund’s investments will change as the Index changes and, as a result, the Fund may have significant investments in jurisdictions or investment sectors that it may not have had as of March 28, 2024. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.

The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).

Principal Risks

and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against emerging future variants of the disease. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. Advancements in technology may also adversely impact markets and the overall performance of the Fund. For instance, the economy may be significantly impacted by the advanced development and increased regulation of artificial intelligence. These events, and any other future events, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.

GROWTH STOCKS INVESTMENT RISK. Stocks exhibiting growth characteristics tend to be more volatile than certain other types of stocks and their prices usually fluctuate more dramatically than the overall stock market. A stock with growth characteristics can have sharp price declines due to decreases in current or expected earnings and may lack dividend payments that can help cushion its share price during declining markets.

consistently with the Index provided by the Index Provider. The Advisor relies upon the Index provider and its agents to accurately compile, maintain, construct, reconstitute, rebalance, compose, calculate and disseminate the Index accurately. Therefore, losses or costs associated with any Index Provider or agent errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. To correct any such error, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out an unscheduled rebalance of the Index or other modification of Index constituents or weightings. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where the Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors. For example, during a period where the Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund tracking the Index would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions or issuer-specific events may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, exclude or substitute a security in the Index or undertake other measures which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.

not exactly replicate the securities included in the Index or the ratios between the securities included in the Index. Additionally, in order to comply with its investment strategies and policies, the Fund portfolio may deviate from the composition of the Index. Accordingly, the Fund's return may underperform the return of the Index.

remain unchanged. The Fund may have difficulty maintaining its listing on the Exchange in the event the Fund’s assets are small, the Fund does not have enough shareholders, or if the Fund is unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders.

Annual Total Return

The bar chart and table below illustrate the annual calendar year returns of the Fund based on net asset value as well as the average annual Fund and Index returns. The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns based on net asset value compared to those of the Index and a broad-based market index. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com.

First Trust Growth Strength ETF
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31

During the period shown in the chart above:

	Return	Period Ended
Best Quarter	14.61%	December 31, 2023
Worst Quarter	1.42%	September 30, 2023

The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.

All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of any state or local tax. Returns after taxes on distributions reflect the taxed return on the payment of dividends and capital gains. Returns after taxes on distributions and sale of shares assume you sold your shares at period end, and, therefore, are also adjusted for any capital gains or losses incurred. Returns for the market do not include expenses, which are deducted from Fund returns, or taxes.

Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2023

	1 Year	Since Inception	Inception Date
Return Before Taxes	33.54%	28.97%	10/25/2022
Return After Taxes on Distributions	33.16%	28.57%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	19.83%	21.99%
The Growth StrengthTM Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	34.47%	29.66%
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	26.29%	21.65%

Management

Investment Advisor

First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)

Portfolio Managers

The Fund’s portfolio is managed by a team (the “Investment Committee”) consisting of:

•

Daniel J. Lindquist, Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director of First Trust

•

David G. McGarel, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of First Trust

•

Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Roger F. Testin, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Stan Ueland, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Chris A. Peterson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Erik Russo, Vice President of First Trust

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Tax Information

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

Additional Information on the Fund's Investment Objective and Strategies

The Fund is a series of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund and is regulated as an “investment company” under the 1940 Act. The Fund operates as an index fund and is not actively managed by First Trust. As such, the Fund’s investment objective is to seek investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of the Index. In seeking to achieve this objective, the Fund will invest, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in the securities that comprise the Index. The Fund will generally employ a full replication strategy, meaning that it will normally invest in all of the securities comprising the Index in proportion to their weightings in the Index.

The Fund’s investment objective, its 80% investment strategy and each of the policies described herein are non-fundamental policies that may be changed by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”) without shareholder approval upon 60-days’ prior notice to shareholders. The fundamental policies of the Fund are set forth in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) under “Investment Objective and Policies.” The Index Provider is not affiliated with the Fund, First Trust or FTP.

The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.

The Growth StrengthTM Index

The Growth StrengthTM Index seeks to provide exposure to well-capitalized companies with strong market positions. The companies are screened for strong balance sheets, a high degree of liquidity, the ability to generate earnings and cash flow growth and a record of financial strength and profit growth. From the starting universe, the Index ranks each company by its revenue growth and cash flow growth. The top 50 securities are chosen for inclusion in the Index, subject to a maximum of fifteen securities from any one industry. The selected companies are equally-weighted. The Index is reconstituted and rebalanced quarterly. The Index’s quarterly rebalance and reconstitution schedule may cause the Fund to experience a higher rate of portfolio turnover.

Nasdaq and The Growth StrengthTM Index are trademarks (the “Marks”) of Nasdaq, Inc. (collectively with its affiliates “Nasdaq”). The Marks are licensed for use with the Fund by the Fund’s investment advisor. The Fund has not been passed on by Nasdaq as to its legality or suitability. The Fund is not issued, endorsed, sold, or promoted by Nasdaq. The Fund should not be construed in anyway as investment advice by Nasdaq. Nasdaq makes no warranties and bears no liability with respect to the Fund.

Fund Investments

Principal Investments

Equity Securities

Real Estate Investment Trusts

Non-Principal Investments

Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments

Normally, the Fund invests substantially all of its assets to meet its investment objective. The Fund may invest the remainder of its assets in securities with maturities of less than one year or in cash equivalents, or it may hold cash. The percentage of the Fund invested in such holdings varies and depends on several factors, including market conditions. For temporary defensive purposes and during periods of high cash inflows or outflows, the Fund may depart from its principal investment strategies and invest part or all of its assets in these securities, or it may hold cash. During such periods, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective. The Fund may adopt a temporary defensive strategy when the portfolio managers believe securities in which the Fund normally invests have elevated risks due to political or economic factors and in other extraordinary circumstances. For more information on eligible short-term investments, see the SAI.

Illiquid Investments

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

Risks of Investing in the Fund

Risk is inherent in all investing. Investing in the Fund involves risk, including the risk that you may lose all or part of your investment. There can be no assurance that the Fund will meet its stated objective. Before you invest, you should consider the following supplemental disclosure pertaining to the Principal Risks set forth above as well as additional Non-Principal Risks set forth below in this prospectus. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.

Principal Risks

AUTHORIZED PARTICIPANT CONCENTRATION RISK. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. A limited number of institutions act as authorized participants for the Fund. However, participants are not obligated to make a market in the Fund’s shares or submit purchase and redemption orders for creation units. To the extent that these institutions exit the business, reduce their role or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders and no other authorized participant steps forward to create or redeem, the Fund’s shares may trade at a premium or discount to the Fund’s net asset value and possibly face delisting and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.

CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS RISK. Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions.

The ongoing adversarial political climate in the United States, as well as political and diplomatic events both domestic and abroad, such as presidential, congressional and gubernatorial elections in the U.S., global elections and governmental changes and the U.S. government’s failure to agree on a long-term budget and deficit reduction plan, have and may continue to have an adverse impact on the U.S. regulatory landscape, markets and investor behavior, which could have a negative impact on the Fund’s investments and operations. The potential result of a U.S. federal government shutdown may also significantly impact investor and consumer behavior, which may adversely impact the markets and global economy. Global and domestic authorities and regulators have previously responded to serious economic disruptions with ranging fiscal and monetary policy changes, including but not limited to, direct capital infusions into companies, new monetary programs and dramatically lower interest rates. Any change in these policies, or the ineffectiveness of these policies, could increase volatility in securities markets, which may adversely impact the Fund’s investments and performance. Any market disruptions could also delay the Fund from making sound investment decisions in a timely manner. If the Fund concentrates its investments in a region enduring geopolitical market disruption, it may face higher risk of loss, although the increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets can lead to events or conditions in one country, region or financial market adversely impacting a different country, region or financial market.

Other unexpected political, regulatory and diplomatic events within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy. For example, ongoing armed conflicts between Russia and Ukraine in Europe and among Israel, Hamas and other militant groups in the Middle East, have caused and could continue to cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in Russia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions resulting from those hostilities have and could continue to have a significant impact on certain Fund investments as well as Fund performance and liquidity. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as the financial markets generally, may be adversely impacted by trade disputes and other matters. For example, the United States has imposed trade barriers and restrictions on China. In addition, the Chinese government is engaged in a longstanding dispute with Taiwan, continually threatening an invasion. If the political climate between the United States and China does not improve or continues to deteriorate, if China were to attempt invading Taiwan, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets and individual securities may be adversely affected, and the value of the Fund’s assets may go down. The COVID-19 global pandemic, or any future public health crisis, and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against emerging future variants of the disease. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others.

These events, and any other future events, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.

compliance costs. Substantial costs may be incurred by the Fund in order to resolve or prevent cyber incidents in the future. While the Fund has established business continuity plans in the event of, and risk management systems to prevent, such cyber attacks, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems, including the possibility that certain risks have not been identified and that prevention and remediation efforts will not be successful. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control the cyber security plans and systems put in place by service providers to the Fund, issuers in which the Fund invests, market makers or authorized participants. However, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, and the Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result.

EQUITY SECURITIES RISK. The value of the Fund’s shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities in which it invests. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors' perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting the issuers occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market. Additionally, holders of an issuer's common stock may be subject to greater risks than holders of its preferred stock and debt securities because common stockholders' claims are subordinated to those of holders of preferred stocks and debt securities upon the bankruptcy of an issuer.

GROWTH STOCKS INVESTMENT RISK. The Fund utilizes a growth style of investing. Growth stocks generally are priced higher than non-growth stocks in relation to an issuer’s earnings and other measures because investors believe they have greater growth potential. However, there is no guarantee that such an issuer will realize that growth potential. In addition, the market values of growth stocks may be more volatile than other types of investments, and therefore more susceptible to rapid price swings, especially during periods of economic uncertainty or in response to adverse news about the condition of the issuer, such as earnings disappointments. The returns on growth stocks may or may not move in tandem with the returns on other styles of investing or the overall stock market. Growth stocks may fall out of favor and trail the returns of funds employing other styles of investing. Growth stocks may also be more adversely affected in a down market, as growth stocks typically have little or no dividend income to absorb the effect of adverse market conditions.

or other modification of Index constituents or weightings. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where the Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors. For example, during a period where the Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund tracking the Index would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions or issuer-specific events may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, exclude or substitute a security from the Index or undertake other measures which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES RISK. Information technology companies produce and provide hardware, software and information technology systems and services. Information technology companies are generally subject to the following risks: rapidly changing technologies and existing product obsolescence; short product life cycles; fierce competition; aggressive pricing and reduced profit margins; the loss of patent, copyright and trademark protections; cyclical market patterns; evolving industry standards; and frequent new product introductions and new market entrants. Information technology companies may be smaller and less experienced companies, with limited product lines, markets or financial resources and fewer experienced management or marketing personnel. Information technology company stocks, particularly those involved with the internet, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that are often unrelated to their operating performance. In addition, information technology companies are particularly vulnerable to federal, state and local government regulation, and competition and consolidation, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Information technology companies also face competition for services of qualified personnel and heavily rely on patents and intellectual property rights and the ability to enforce such rights to maintain a competitive advantage.

the Fund’s portfolio holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. In addition, the Fund’s portfolio holdings may not exactly replicate the securities included in its Index or the ratios between the securities included in the Index. Accordingly, the Fund's return may underperform the return of the Index.

OPERATIONAL RISK. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Fund’s investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.

PREMIUM/DISCOUNT RISK. The market price of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the Fund’s net asset value as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on the Exchange. First Trust cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their net asset value because the shares trade on the Exchange at market prices and not at net asset value. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related, but not identical, to the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. However, given that shares can only be purchased and redeemed in Creation Units, and only to and from broker-dealers and large institutional investors that have entered into participation agreements (unlike shares of closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their net asset value), First Trust believes that large discounts or premiums to the net asset value of shares should not be sustained absent disruptions to the creation and redemption mechanism, extreme market volatility or potential lack of authorized participants. During stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the market for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which could in turn lead to differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.

REIT RISK. REITs typically own and operate income-producing real estate, such as residential or commercial buildings, or real-estate related assets, including mortgages. As a result, investments in REITs are subject to the risks associated with investing in real estate, which may include, but are not limited to: fluctuations in the value of underlying properties; defaults by borrowers or tenants; market saturation; changes in general and local operating expenses; and other economic, political or regulatory occurrences affecting companies in the real estate sector. Additionally, investing in REITs involves certain other risks related to their structure and focus, which include, but are not limited to, dependency upon management skills, limited diversification, the risks of locating and managing financing for projects, heavy cash flow dependency, possible default by borrowers, the costs and potential losses of self-liquidation of one or more holdings, the risk of a possible lack of mortgage funds and associated interest rate risks, overbuilding, property vacancies, increases in property taxes and operating expenses, changes in zoning laws, losses due to environmental damages, changes in neighborhood values and appeal to purchasers, the possibility of failing to maintain exemptions from registration under the 1940 Act, failure to satisfy the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for maintaining REIT status and, in many cases, relatively small market capitalization, which may result in less market liquidity and greater price volatility for a REIT’s shares. REITs are also subject to the risk that the real estate market may experience an economic downturn generally, which may have a material effect on the real estate in which the REITs invest and their underlying portfolio securities.

Non-Principal Risks

CASH TRANSACTIONS RISK. The Fund may, under certain circumstances, effect a portion of creations and redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind securities. As a result, an investment in the Fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in an ETF that effects its creations and redemptions only in-kind. ETFs are able to make in-kind redemptions and avoid being taxed on gains on the distributed portfolio securities at the fund level. A Fund that effects redemptions for cash may be required to sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. Any recognized gain on these sales by the Fund will generally cause the Fund to recognize a gain it might not otherwise have recognized, or to recognize such gain sooner than would otherwise be required if it were to distribute portfolio securities only in-kind. The Fund intends to distribute these gains to shareholders to avoid being taxed on this gain at the fund level and otherwise comply with the special tax rules that apply to it. This strategy may cause shareholders to be subject to tax on gains they would not otherwise be subject to, or at an earlier date than if they had made an investment in a different ETF. Moreover, cash transactions may have to be carried out over several days if the securities market is relatively illiquid and may involve considerable brokerage fees and taxes. These brokerage fees and taxes, which will be higher than if the Fund sold and redeemed its shares entirely in-kind, will be passed on to those purchasing and redeeming Creation Units in the form of creation and redemption transaction fees. In addition, these factors may result in wider spreads between the bid and the offered prices of the Fund’s shares than for ETFs that distribute portfolio securities in-kind. The Fund’s use of cash for creations and redemptions could also result in dilution to the Fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective.

the securities. Such legislation or litigation may cause the Fund to lose value or may result in higher portfolio turnover if the Advisor determines to sell such a holding.

Fund Organization

Management of the Fund

•

Management Fee

A discussion regarding the Board’s approval of the Investment Management Agreement is available in the Fund's Annual Report to Shareholders for the period ended December 31, 2022.

How to Buy and Sell Shares

For purposes of the 1940 Act, the Fund is treated as a registered investment company, and the acquisition of shares by other registered investment companies and companies relying on Sections 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act is subject to the restrictions of Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act and the related rules and interpretations.

Book Entry

Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no share certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding shares of the Fund and is recognized as the owner of all shares for all purposes.

of shares, you are not entitled to receive physical delivery of share certificates or to have shares registered in your name, and you are not considered a registered owner of shares. Therefore, to exercise any right as an owner of shares, you must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants. These procedures are the same as those that apply to any other stocks that you hold in book-entry or “street name” form.

Share Trading Prices

Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of the Fund's Shares

Dividends, Distributions and Taxes

Federal Tax Matters

As with any investment, you should seek advice based on your individual circumstances from your own tax advisor.

Fund Status

Distributions

The Fund's distributions are generally taxable. After the end of each year, you will receive a tax statement that separates the distributions of the Fund into two categories: ordinary income distributions and capital gain dividends. Ordinary income distributions are generally taxed at your ordinary tax rate, however, as further discussed below certain ordinary income distributions received from the Fund may be taxed at the capital gains tax rates. Some portion of the ordinary income distributions that are attributable to dividends received by the Fund from shares in certain real estate investment trusts may be designated by the Fund as eligible for a deduction for qualified business income, provided certain holding period requirements are satisfied. Generally, you will treat all capital gain dividends as long-term capital gains regardless of how long you have owned your shares.

To determine your actual tax liability for your capital gain dividends, you must calculate your total net capital gain or loss for the tax year after considering all of your other taxable transactions, as described below. In addition, the Fund may make distributions that represent a return of capital for tax purposes and thus will generally not be taxable to you; however, such distributions may reduce your tax basis in your shares, which could result in you having to pay higher taxes in the future when shares are sold or redeemed, even if you sell or redeem the shares at a loss from your original investment. A “return of capital” is a return, in whole or in part, of the funds that you previously invested in the Fund. A return of capital distribution should not be considered part of the Fund’s dividend yield or total return of an investment in Fund shares. The tax status of your distributions from the Fund is not affected by whether you reinvest your distributions in additional shares or receive them in cash. The tax laws may require you to treat distributions made to you in January as if you had received them on December 31 of the previous year.

Capital Gains and Losses and Certain Ordinary Income Dividends

Net capital gain equals net long-term capital gain minus net short-term capital loss for the taxable year. Capital gain or loss is long-term if the holding period for the asset is more than one year and is short-term if the holding period for the asset is one year or less. You must exclude the date you purchase your shares to determine your holding period. However, if you receive a capital gain dividend from the Fund and sell your share at a loss after holding it for six months or less, the loss will be recharacterized as long-term capital loss to the extent of the capital gain dividend received. The tax rates for capital gains realized from assets held for one year or less are generally the same as for ordinary income. The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, treats certain capital gains as ordinary income in special situations.

Dividends Received Deduction

A corporation that owns shares generally will not be entitled to the dividends received deduction with respect to many dividends received from the Fund because the dividends received deduction is generally not available for distributions from RICs. However, certain ordinary income dividends on shares that are attributable to qualifying dividends received by the Fund from certain corporations may be reported by the Fund as being eligible for the dividends received deduction.

Sale of Shares

Taxes on Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units

Treatment of Fund Expenses

Expenses incurred and deducted by the Fund will generally not be treated as income taxable to you.

Non-U.S. Tax Credit

Non-U.S. Investors

If you are a non-U.S. investor (i.e., an investor other than a U.S. citizen or resident or a U.S. corporation, partnership, estate or trust), you should be aware that, generally, subject to applicable tax treaties, distributions from the Fund will be characterized as dividends for federal income tax purposes (other than dividends which the Fund properly reports as capital gain dividends) and will be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes, subject to certain exceptions described below. However, distributions received by a non-U.S. investor from the Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes, provided that the Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met. Distributions from the Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as an interest-related dividend attributable to certain interest income received by the Fund or as a short-term capital gain dividend attributable to certain net short-term capital gain income received by the Fund may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes when received by certain non-U.S. investors, provided that the Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met. For tax years after December 31, 2022, amounts paid to or recognized by a non-U.S. affiliate that are excluded from tax under the portfolio interest, capital gain dividends, short-term capital gains or tax-exempt interest dividend exceptions or applicable treaties, may be taken into consideration in determining whether a corporation is an “applicable corporation” subject to a 15% minimum tax on adjusted financial statement income.

Investments in Certain Non-U.S. Corporations

Distribution Plan

FTP serves as the distributor of Creation Units for the Fund on an agency basis. FTP does not maintain a secondary market in shares.

Net Asset Value

Rule 2a-5 permits a fund’s board of trustees to designate the fund’s investment adviser as its “valuation designee” to perform fair value determinations, subject to certain conditions. Accordingly, the Fund’s Board has designated First Trust as its valuation designee (the “Valuation Designee”) pursuant to Rule 2a-5 and has directed the Valuation Designee to perform the functions required in Rule 2a-5(a) subject to the requirements of Rule 2a-5(b) on behalf of all portfolio investments of the Fund, subject to the Board’s oversight. First Trust has established a pricing committee (the “Pricing Committee”) to assist in the administration of the duties of the Valuation Designee. The Valuation Designee has adopted valuation procedures for the First Trust Funds (the “Valuation Procedures”), a brief summary of which is set forth below.

The Pricing Committee has also identified certain portfolio investments that are routinely categorized as fair valued investments. In general, for such investments, the Fund’s accounting agent will obtain all pricing data for use in valuing such investments from a pricing service provider approved by the Pricing Committee (each, a “Pricing Service Provider”), subject to the oversight of the Pricing Committee. Pricing Service Providers typically value non-exchange-traded instruments utilizing a range of market-based inputs and assumptions. For example, when available, Pricing Service Providers may utilize inputs such as benchmark yields, reported trades, broker-dealer quotes, spreads, and transactions for comparable instruments. In pricing certain instruments, a Pricing Service Provider may consider information about an instrument’s issuer or market activity. Pricing Service Provider valuations of non-exchange-traded instruments generally represent the service’s good faith opinion as to what the holder of an instrument would receive in an orderly transaction for an institutional round lot position under current market conditions. Certain exchange-traded options, such as FLEX Options, are typically valued using a model-based price provided by a Pricing Service Provider.

Fund Service Providers

Index Provider

The Index is compiled by the Index Provider. The Index Provider is not affiliated with the Fund, First Trust or FTP. The Fund is entitled to use the Index pursuant to a sublicensing arrangement with First Trust, which in turn has a licensing agreement with the Index Provider. The Index Provider or its agent also serves as calculation agent for the Index (the “Index Calculation Agent”). The Index Calculation Agent is responsible for the management of the day-to-day operations of the Index, including calculating the value of the Index every 15 seconds, widely disseminating the Index values every 15 seconds and tracking corporate actions, some of which result in Index adjustments.

Disclaimers

The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Nasdaq, Inc. (“Nasdaq”) or its affiliates (Nasdaq with its affiliates are referred to as the “Corporations”). The Corporations have not passed on the legality or suitability of, or the accuracy or adequacy of descriptions and disclosures relating to, the Fund. The Corporations make no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Fund particularly, or the ability of The Growth StrengthTM Index to track general stock market performance. The Corporations’ only relationship to First Trust with respect to the Fund is in the licensing of The Growth StrengthTM Index, and certain trade names of the Corporations and the use of The Growth StrengthTM Index, which are determined, composed and calculated by Nasdaq without regard to First Trust or the Fund. Nasdaq has no obligation to take the needs of First Trust or the owners of the Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating The Growth StrengthTM Index. The Corporations are not responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of Fund Shares to be issued or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which Fund Shares are to be converted into cash. The Corporations have no liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund.

THE CORPORATIONS DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR UNINTERRUPTED CALCULATION OF THE GROWTH STRENGTHTM INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY LICENSEE, OWNERS OF THE PRODUCT(S) OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE GROWTH STRENGTHTM INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE GROWTH STRENGTHTM INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE CORPORATIONS HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Premium/Discount Information

Financial Highlights

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund

Financial Highlights
For a share outstanding throughout each period

First Trust Growth Strength ETF (FTGS)

	Year Ended December 31,	Period Ended December 31,
	2023	2022(a)
Net asset value, beginning of period	$20.49	$20.29
Income from investment operations:
Net investment income (loss)	0.22 (b)	0.04
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	6.63	0.20
Total from investment operations	6.85	0.24
Distributions paid to shareholders from:
Net investment income	(0.17 )	(0.04 )
Net realized gain	(0.00 )(c)	—
Total distributions	(0.17 )	(0.04 )
Net asset value, end of period	$27.17	$20.49
Total Return(d)	33.54 %	1.20 %
Ratios to average net assets/supplemental data:
Net assets, end of period (in 000’s)	$65,207	$1,024
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets	0.60 %	0.60 %(e)
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets	0.89 %	1.11 %(e)
Portfolio turnover rate(f)	66 %	25 %

(a)

Inception date is October 25, 2022, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established.

(b)

Based on average shares outstanding.

(c)

Amount represents less than $0.01.

(d)

(e)

Annualized.

(f)

Other Information

Continuous Offering

The Fund issues, on a continuous offering basis, its shares in one or more groups of a fixed number of Fund shares (each such group of such specified number of individual Fund shares, a “Creation Unit Aggregation”). The method by which Creation Unit Aggregations of Fund shares are created and traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Unit Aggregations of shares are issued and sold by the Fund on an ongoing basis, a “distribution,” as such term is used in the Securities Act, may occur at any point. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner which could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus delivery requirement and liability provisions of the Securities Act.

Broker-dealer firms should also note that dealers who are not “underwriters” but are effecting transactions in shares, whether or not participating in the distribution of shares, are generally required to deliver a prospectus. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act is not available in respect of such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. As a result, broker-dealer firms should note that dealers who are not underwriters but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted with ordinary secondary market transactions) and thus dealing with the shares that are part of an overallotment within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the Securities Act would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act. Firms that incur a prospectus delivery obligation with respect to shares are reminded that, under the Securities Act Rule 153, a prospectus delivery obligation under Section 5(b)(2) of the Securities Act owed to a broker-dealer in connection with a sale on the Exchange is satisfied by the fact that the prospectus is available from the Exchange upon request. The prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is available with respect to transactions on a national securities exchange, a trading facility or an alternative trading system.

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First Trust

Exchange-Traded Fund

First Trust Growth Strength ETF

For More Information

First Trust Advisors L.P.
120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
(800) 621-1675

www.ftportfolios.com

SEC File #: 333-125751

811-21774

First Trust

Exchange-Traded Fund

Prospectus

First Trust Bloomberg Inflation Sensitive Equity ETF

Ticker Symbol:	FTIF
Exchange:	NYSE Arca

The First Trust Bloomberg Inflation Sensitive Equity ETF (the “Fund”) lists and principally trades its shares on NYSE Arca, Inc. ("NYSE Arca" or the “Exchange”). Market prices may differ to some degree from the net asset value of the shares. Unlike mutual funds, the Fund issues and redeems shares at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called "Creation Units."

The Fund is a series of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund (the “Trust”) and an exchange-traded index fund organized as a separate series of a registered management investment company.

Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund.

NOT FDIC INSURED MAY LOSE VALUE NO BANK GUARANTEE

May 1, 2024

Table of Contents

Summary Information	3
Additional Information on the Fund's Investment Objective and Strategies	10
Fund Investments	11
Risks of Investing in the Fund	11
Fund Organization	17
Management of the Fund	17
How to Buy and Sell Shares	18
Dividends, Distributions and Taxes	20
Federal Tax Matters	20
Distribution Plan	22
Net Asset Value	23
Fund Service Providers	24
Index Provider	24
Disclaimers	24
Premium/Discount Information	25
Financial Highlights	26
Other Information	27

Summary Information

Investment Objective

The First Trust Bloomberg Inflation Sensitive Equity ETF (the "Fund") seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield, before fees and expenses, of an equity index called the Bloomberg Inflation Sensitive Equity Index (the “Index”).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)

Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

None

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Management Fees	0.60%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.60%

Example

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.

1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$61	$192	$335	$750

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the fiscal period March 13, 2023 (inception) through December 31, 2023, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 44% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in the securities that comprise the Index. The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to replicate, before fees and expenses, the total return performance of the Index, which includes dividends paid by the common stocks in the Index. The Fund will generally employ a full replication strategy, meaning that it will normally invest in all of the securities comprising the Index in proportion to their weightings in the Index. The Index is developed, maintained and sponsored by Bloomberg Index Services Limited (the “Index Provider”). The Index Provider is not affiliated with the Fund, the Fund’s investment advisor or the Fund’s distributor. The Index is a rules-based index; however, the Index Provider reserves the right to use expert judgment or discretion with regards to Index restatements, extraordinary circumstances during a market emergency, data interruptions, issues and closures and significant acquisitions involving a non-Index company.

then removes any stocks which do not trade on an eligible exchange, duplicate (multiple share classes) stocks and stocks which do not meet the Index Provider’s liquidity, size and geographic requirements.

From the starting universe, the Index ranks each company by market capitalization within each sector. The 50 largest companies by “free float” market capitalizations, relative to each of the four sectors, are eligible for inclusion. The term “free float” is used to capture the portion of an issuer’s outstanding securities that can be publicly traded, and thus excludes locked-in securities held by an issuer's affiliates, officers or promoters or securities subject to some other restrictive arrangement that prevents them from being freely traded. Next, the Index calculates the debt-to-market capitalization ratio for each company and removes the lowest 10% of companies within each sector. The Index then calculates and ranks companies based on two inflation metrics: (1) high beta to 2-year inflation breakeven and (2) high beta to Bloomberg Commodities Index. "Beta" is a measure of a stock's volatility in relation to the overall market. For the high beta to 2-year inflation breakeven metric, the Index computes a beta calculation against the US Breakeven 2 Year Inflation Index, which is calculated by subtracting the real yield of the inflation linked maturity curve from the yield of the closest nominal Treasury maturity. For the high beta to Bloomberg Commodities Index metric, the Index computes a beta calculation against the Bloomberg Commodity Total Return Index, which is composed of futures contracts and reflects the returns on a fully collateralized investment, which are the returns of the index and returns on cash collateral invested in 13-week (3-month) U.S. Treasury bills. From there, the Index combines the betas from the two inflation metrics. Within each sector, the top 22 of remaining companies by their combined inflation metric score remain eligible for selection.

According to the Index Provider, from the remaining eligible companies, the top 50 companies with the highest free-cash-flow yield based on a trailing 12-month period will be selected, subject to a maximum of 20 stocks from a single sector. "Free-cash-flow yield" compares the free cash flow per share a company is expected to earn against its market value per share. The selected companies will be equally weighted.

The Index is reconstituted and rebalanced semi-annually, and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Fund will be concentrated (i.e., invest more than 25% of Fund assets) in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. As of March 28, 2024, the Fund had significant investments in energy companies and industrials companies, although this may change from time to time. The Fund’s investments will change as the Index changes and, as a result, the Fund may have significant investments in jurisdictions or investment sectors that it may not have had as of March 28, 2024. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.

The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).

Principal Risks

ENERGY COMPANIES RISK. The success of energy companies may be cyclical and highly dependent on energy prices. The market value of securities issued by energy companies may decline for many reasons, including, among other things, changes in the levels and volatility of global energy prices, energy supply and demand, capital expenditures on exploration and production of energy sources, exchange rates, interest rates, economic conditions, tax treatment, energy conservation efforts, increased competition and technological advances. Energy companies may be subject to substantial government regulation and contractual fixed pricing, which may increase the cost of doing business and limit the earnings of these companies. A significant portion of the revenues of energy companies may depend on a relatively small number of customers, including governmental entities and utilities. As a result, governmental budget constraints may have a material adverse effect on the stock prices of energy companies. Energy companies may also operate in, or engage in transactions involving, countries with less developed regulatory regimes or a history of expropriation, nationalization or other adverse policies. Energy companies also face a significant risk of liability from accidents resulting in injury or loss of life or property, pollution or other environmental problems, equipment malfunctions or mishandling of materials and a risk of loss from terrorism, political strife or natural disasters.

INDEX CONCENTRATION RISK. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in the securities of issuers within the same country, state, region, industry or sector, an adverse economic, business or political development may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more than if the Fund were more broadly diversified. A significant exposure makes the Fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the Fund to greater market risk than a fund that is more broadly diversified. There may be instances in which the Index, for a variety of reasons including changes in the prices of individual securities held by the Fund, has a larger exposure to a small number of stocks or a single stock relative to the rest of the stocks in the Index. Under such circumstances, the Fund will not deviate from the Index except in rare circumstances or in an immaterial way and therefore the Fund’s returns would be more greatly influenced by the returns of the stock(s) with the larger exposure.

forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related, but not identical, to the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. However, given that shares can only be purchased and redeemed in Creation Units, and only to and from broker-dealers and large institutional investors that have entered into participation agreements (unlike shares of closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their net asset value), the Fund’s investment advisor believes that large discounts or premiums to the net asset value of shares should not be sustained. During stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the market for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which could in turn lead to differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.

Performance

The Fund has not yet operated for a full calendar year and, therefore, performance information is not included in this section of the prospectus.

Management

Investment Advisor

First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)

Portfolio Managers

The Fund’s portfolio is managed by a team (the “Investment Committee”) consisting of:

•

Daniel J. Lindquist, Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director of First Trust

•

David G. McGarel, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of First Trust

•

Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Roger F. Testin, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Stan Ueland, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Chris A. Peterson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Erik Russo, Vice President of First Trust

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Tax Information

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

Additional Information on the Fund's Investment Objective and Strategies

The Fund is a series of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund and is regulated as an “investment company” under the 1940 Act. The Fund operates as an index fund and is not actively managed by First Trust. As such, the Fund’s investment objective is to seek investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of the Index. In seeking to achieve this objective, the Fund will invest, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in the securities that comprise the Index. Bloomberg Index Services Limited serves as the index provider for the index tracked by the Fund and may be referred to throughout this prospectus as the “Index Provider.” The Index Provider is not affiliated with the Fund, the Fund’s investment advisor or the Fund’s distributor.

The Fund will generally employ a full replication strategy, meaning that it will normally invest in all of the securities comprising the Index in proportion to their weightings in the Index. However, under various circumstances, full replication of the Index may not be possible or practicable. In those circumstances, the Fund may purchase a sample of securities in the Index. The Fund may utilize sampling when there are practical difficulties or substantial costs involved in replicating the Index, including to address tax and regulatory issues and respond to trading halts and other issues related to the liquidity of Index constituents. Though it does not intend to, there may also be instances in which First Trust may choose to overweight certain securities in the Index, purchase securities not in the Index which First Trust believes are appropriate to substitute for certain securities in the Index, use futures or derivative instruments or utilize various combinations of the above techniques in seeking to track the Index. The Fund may sell securities that are represented in the Index in anticipation of their removal from the Index or purchase securities not represented in the Index in anticipation of their addition to the Index.

The Fund’s investment objective, its 80% investment strategy and each of the policies described herein are non-fundamental policies that may be changed by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”) without shareholder approval. Shareholders will be provided with at least 60 days’ prior written notice of any change to the Fund's 80% investment policy. The fundamental policies of the Fund are set forth in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) under “Investment Objective and Policies.”

The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated.

Bloomberg Inflation Sensitive Equity Index

According to the Index Provider, the Index seeks investments that demonstrate a strong positive correlation with inflation. The Index’s starting universe consists of companies from the Bloomberg US 3000 Index as of the Index selection date. Only companies classified in the energy, industrials, materials and real estate sectors are eligible for consideration. The Index Provider then removes any stocks which do not trade on an eligible exchange, duplicate (multiple share classes) stocks and stocks which do not meet the Index Provider’s liquidity, size and geographic requirements.

According to the Index Provider, from the list of eligible companies, the top 50 companies with the highest free-cash-flow yield based on a trailing 12-month period will be selected, subject to a maximum of 20 stocks from a single sector.

"Free-cash-flow yield" compares the free cash flow per share a company is expected to earn against its market value per share. The selected companies will be equally weighted.

Fund Investments

Principal Investments

Equity Securities

Non-Principal Investments

Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments

Normally, the Fund invests substantially all of its assets to meet its investment objective. The Fund may invest the remainder of its assets in securities with maturities of less than one year or in cash equivalents, or it may hold cash. The percentage of the Fund invested in such holdings varies and depends on several factors, including market conditions. For temporary defensive purposes and during periods of high cash inflows or outflows, the Fund may depart from its principal investment strategies and invest part or all of its assets in these securities, or it may hold cash. During such periods, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective. The Fund may adopt a temporary defensive strategy when the portfolio managers believe securities in which the Fund normally invests have elevated risks due to political or economic factors and in other extraordinary circumstances. For more information on eligible short-term investments, see the SAI.

Illiquid Investments

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

Risks of Investing in the Fund

Risk is inherent in all investing. Investing in the Fund involves risk, including the risk that you may lose all or part of your investment. There can be no assurance that the Fund will meet its stated objective. Before you invest, you should consider the following supplemental disclosure pertaining to the Principal Risks set forth above as well as additional Non-Principal Risks set forth below in this prospectus. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.

Principal Risks

AUTHORIZED PARTICIPANT CONCENTRATION RISK. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. A limited number of institutions act as authorized participants for the Fund. However, participants are not obligated to make a market in the Fund’s shares or submit purchase and redemption orders for creation units. To the extent that these institutions exit the business, reduce their role or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders and no other authorized participant steps forward to create or redeem, the Fund’s shares may trade at a premium or discount to the Fund’s net asset value and possibly face delisting and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.

CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS RISK. Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions.

The ongoing adversarial political climate in the United States, as well as political and diplomatic events both domestic and abroad, such as presidential, congressional and gubernatorial elections in the U.S., global elections and governmental changes and the U.S. government’s failure to agree on a long-term budget and deficit reduction plan, have and may continue to have an adverse impact on the U.S. regulatory landscape, markets and investor behavior, which could have a negative impact on the Fund’s investments and operations. The potential result of a U.S. federal government shutdown may also significantly impact investor and consumer behavior, which may adversely impact the markets and global economy. Global and domestic authorities and regulators have previously responded to serious economic disruptions with ranging fiscal and monetary policy changes, including but not limited to, direct capital infusions into companies, new monetary programs and dramatically lower interest rates. Any change in these policies, or the ineffectiveness of these policies, could increase volatility in securities markets, which may adversely impact the Fund’s investments and performance. Any market disruptions could also delay the Fund from making sound investment decisions in a timely manner. If the Fund concentrates its investments in a region enduring geopolitical market disruption, it may face higher risk of loss, although the increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets can lead to events or conditions in one country, region or financial market adversely impacting a different country, region or financial market.

Other unexpected political, regulatory and diplomatic events within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy. For example, ongoing armed conflicts between Russia and Ukraine in Europe and among Israel, Hamas and other militant groups in the Middle East, have caused and could continue to cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in Russia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions resulting from those hostilities have and could continue to have a significant impact on certain Fund investments as well as Fund performance and liquidity. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as the financial markets generally, may be adversely impacted by trade disputes and other matters. For example, the United States has imposed trade barriers and restrictions on China. In addition, the Chinese government is engaged in a longstanding dispute with Taiwan, continually threatening an invasion. If the political climate between the United States and China does not improve or continues to deteriorate, if China were to attempt invading Taiwan, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets and individual securities may be adversely affected, and the value of the Fund’s assets may go down. The COVID-19 global pandemic, or any future public health crisis, and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against emerging future variants of the disease. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others.

These events, and any other future events, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.

covered by insurance. In general, cyber incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events. Cyber incidents include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to digital systems (e.g., through “hacking” or malicious software coding) for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting data or causing operational disruption. Cyber attacks may also be carried out in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized access, such as causing denial-of-service attacks on websites (i.e., efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users). Cyber security failures by or breaches of the systems of the Advisor, distributor and other service providers (including, but not limited to, sub-advisors, index providers, fund accountants, custodians, transfer agents and administrators), market makers, authorized participants or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, have the ability to cause disruptions and impact business operations, potentially resulting in: financial losses; interference with the Fund’s ability to calculate its net asset value; disclosure of confidential trading information; impediments to trading; submission of erroneous trades or erroneous creation or redemption orders; the inability of the Fund or its service providers to transact business; violations of applicable privacy and other laws; regulatory fines penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs; or additional compliance costs. Substantial costs may be incurred by the Fund in order to resolve or prevent cyber incidents in the future. While the Fund has established business continuity plans in the event of, and risk management systems to prevent, such cyber attacks, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems, including the possibility that certain risks have not been identified and that prevention and remediation efforts will not be successful. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control the cyber security plans and systems put in place by service providers to the Fund, issuers in which the Fund invests, market makers or authorized participants. However, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, and the Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result.

ENERGY COMPANIES RISK. The Fund invests significantly in energy companies. The success of energy companies may be cyclical and highly dependent on energy prices. The market value of securities issued by energy companies may decline for many reasons, including, among other things, changes in the levels and volatility of global energy prices, energy supply and demand, capital expenditures on exploration and production of energy sources, exchange rates, interest rates, economic conditions, tax treatment, energy conservation efforts, increased competition and technological advances. Energy companies may be subject to substantial government regulation and contractual fixed pricing, which may increase the cost of doing business and limit the earnings of these companies. A significant portion of the revenues of these companies may depend on a relatively small number of customers, including governmental entities and utilities. As a result, governmental budget constraints may have a material adverse effect on the stock prices of energy companies. Energy companies may also operate in, or engage in transactions involving, countries with less developed regulatory regimes or a history of expropriation, nationalization or other adverse policies. Energy companies also face a significant risk of liability from accidents resulting in injury or loss of life or property, pollution or other environmental problems, equipment malfunctions or mishandling of materials and a risk of loss from terrorism, political strife or natural disasters. Energy companies can be significantly affected by the supply of, and demand for, specific products (e.g., oil and natural gas) and services, exploration and production spending, government subsidization, world events and general economic conditions. Energy companies may have relatively high levels of debt and may be more likely than other companies to restructure their businesses if there are downturns in energy markets or in the global economy.

EQUITY SECURITIES RISK. The value of the Fund’s shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities in which it invests. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors' perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting the issuers occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market. Additionally, holders of an issuer's common stock may be subject to greater risks than holders of its preferred stock and debt securities because common stockholders' claims are subordinated to those of holders of preferred stocks and debt securities upon the bankruptcy of an issuer.

INDEX CONCENTRATION RISK. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in the securities of issuers within the same country, state, region, industry or sector, an adverse economic, business or political development may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more than if the Fund were more broadly diversified. A significant exposure makes the Fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the Fund to greater market risk than a fund that is more broadly diversified. There may be instances in which the Index, for a variety of reasons including changes in the prices of individual securities held by the Fund, has a larger exposure to a small number of stocks or a single stock relative to the rest of the stocks in the Index. Under such circumstances, the Fund will not deviate from the Index except in rare circumstances

or in an immaterial way and therefore the Fund’s returns would be more greatly influenced by the returns of the stock(s) with the larger exposure.

INDEX PROVIDER RISK. There is no assurance that the Index Provider, or any agents that act on its behalf, will compile the Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. The Index Provider and its agents do not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the Index, and do not guarantee that the Index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. The Advisor’s mandate as described in this prospectus is to manage the Fund consistently with the Index provided by the Index Provider. The Advisor relies upon the Index provider and its agents to accurately compile, maintain, construct, reconstitute, rebalance, compose, calculate and disseminate the Index accurately. Therefore, losses or costs associated with any Index Provider or agent errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. To correct any such error, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out an unscheduled rebalance of the Index or other modification of Index constituents or weightings. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where the Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors. For example, during a period where the Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund tracking the Index would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions or issuer-specific events may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, exclude or substitute a security from the Index or undertake other measures which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.

INDUSTRIALS COMPANIES RISK. The Fund invest significantly in industrials companies. The value of securities issued by industrials companies may be adversely affected by supply and demand related to their specific products or services and industrials sector products in general. The products of manufacturing companies may face obsolescence due to rapid technological developments and frequent new product introduction. World events and changes in government regulations, import controls, economic conditions and exchange rates may adversely affect the performance of companies in the industrials sector. Industrials companies may be adversely affected by liability for environmental damage and product liability claims. Industrials companies may also be adversely affected by changes or trends in commodity prices, which may be influenced by unpredictable factors. Industrials companies, particularly aerospace and defense companies, may also be adversely affected by government spending policies because companies in this sector tend to rely to a significant extent on government demand for their products and services.

NON-CORRELATION RISK. The Fund’s return may not match the return of its Index for a number of reasons. The Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to its Index and may incur costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s portfolio holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. In addition, the Fund’s portfolio holdings may not exactly replicate the securities included in its Index or the ratios between the securities included in the Index. Additionally, in order to comply with its investment strategies and policies, the Fund portfolio may deviate from the composition of the Index. Accordingly, the Fund's return may underperform the return of the Index.

OPERATIONAL RISK. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Fund’s investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.

PREMIUM/DISCOUNT RISK. The market price of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the Fund’s net asset value as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on the Exchange. First Trust cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their net asset value because the shares trade on the Exchange at market prices and not at net asset value. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related, but not identical, to the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. However, given that shares can only be purchased and redeemed in Creation Units, and only to and from broker-dealers and large institutional investors that have entered into participation agreements (unlike shares of closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their net asset value), First Trust believes that large discounts or premiums to the net asset value of shares should not be sustained absent disruptions to the creation and redemption mechanism, extreme market

volatility or potential lack of authorized participants. During stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the market for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which could in turn lead to differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.

Non-Principal Risks

CASH TRANSACTIONS RISK. The Fund may, under certain circumstances, effect a portion of creations and redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind securities. As a result, an investment in the Fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in an ETF that effects its creations and redemptions only in-kind. ETFs are able to make in-kind redemptions and avoid being taxed on gains on the distributed portfolio securities at the fund level. A Fund that effects redemptions for cash may be required to sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. Any recognized gain on these sales by the Fund will generally cause the Fund to recognize a gain it might not otherwise have recognized, or to recognize such gain sooner than would otherwise be required if it were to distribute portfolio securities only in-kind. The Fund intends to distribute these gains to shareholders to avoid being taxed on this gain at the fund level and otherwise comply with the special tax rules that apply to it. This strategy may cause shareholders to be subject to tax on gains they would not otherwise be subject to, or at an earlier date than if they had made an investment in a different ETF. Moreover, cash transactions may have to be carried out over several days if the securities market is relatively illiquid and may involve considerable brokerage fees and taxes. These brokerage fees and taxes, which will be higher than if the Fund sold and redeemed its shares entirely in-kind, will be passed on to those purchasing and redeeming Creation Units in the form of creation and redemption transaction fees. In addition, these factors may result in wider spreads between the bid and the offered prices of the Fund’s shares than for ETFs that distribute portfolio securities in-kind.

generally would be eligible (i) for treatment as qualified dividend income in the case of individual shareholders and (ii) for the dividends received deduction in the case of corporate shareholders. See "Federal Tax Matters."

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RISK. The Fund relies on a license between First Trust and the Index Provider that permits the Fund to use its Index and associated trade names, trademarks and service marks (the “Intellectual Property”) in connection with the Fund’s name and investment strategies. Such license may be terminated by the Index Provider, and, as a result, the Fund may lose its ability to use the Intellectual Property. There is also no guarantee that the Index Provider has all rights to license the Intellectual Property for use by the Fund. Accordingly, in the event the license is terminated or the Index Provider does not have rights to license the Intellectual Property, it may have a significant effect on the operation of the Fund.

LEGISLATION/LITIGATION RISK. From time to time, various legislative initiatives are proposed in the United States and abroad, which may have a negative impact on certain companies in which the Fund invests. In addition, litigation regarding any of the issuers of the securities owned by the Fund, or industries represented by these issuers, may negatively impact the value of the securities. Such legislation or litigation may cause the Fund to lose value or may result in higher portfolio turnover if the Advisor determines to sell such a holding.

Fund Organization

Management of the Fund

First Trust Advisors L.P., 120 East Liberty Drive, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, is the investment advisor to the Fund. In this capacity, First Trust is responsible for the selection and ongoing monitoring of the securities in the Fund's portfolio and certain other services necessary for the management of the Fund.

•

Management Fee

Pursuant to an investment management agreement between First Trust and the Trust, on behalf of the Fund (the “Investment Management Agreement”), First Trust manages the investment of the Fund's assets. First Trust is paid an annual unitary management fee by the Fund equal to 0.60% of the Fund's average daily net assets and is responsible for the Fund's expenses, including the cost of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other services, but excluding fee payments under the Investment Management Agreement, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, if any, brokerage commissions and other expenses connected with the execution of portfolio transactions, expenses associated with short sales transactions, distribution and service fees payable pursuant to a Rule 12b-1 plan, if any, and extraordinary expenses.

A discussion regarding the Board’s approval of the Investment Management Agreement is available in the Fund’s Semi-Annual Report to Shareholders for the fiscal period ended June 30, 2023.

How to Buy and Sell Shares

the trading day like other publicly traded shares. There is no minimum investment when buying shares on the Exchange. Although shares are generally purchased and sold in “round lots” of 100 shares, brokerage firms typically permit investors to purchase or sell shares in smaller “odd lots,” at no per-share price differential. When buying or selling shares through a broker, investors should expect to pay brokerage commissions, investors may receive less than the net asset value of the shares because shares are bought and sold at market prices rather than at net asset value, and investors may pay some or all of the bid-ask spread for each transaction (purchase or sale) of Fund shares. Share prices are reported in dollars and cents per share.

Book Entry

Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no share certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding shares of the Fund and is recognized as the owner of all shares for all purposes.

Share Trading Prices

Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of the Fund's Shares

Dividends, Distributions and Taxes

Dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid quarterly by the Fund. The Fund distributes its net realized capital gains, if any, to shareholders at least annually.

Federal Tax Matters

As with any investment, you should seek advice based on your individual circumstances from your own tax advisor.

Fund Status

Distributions

The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable. After the end of each year, you will receive a tax statement that separates the distributions of the Fund into two categories, ordinary income distributions and capital gain dividends. Ordinary income distributions are generally taxed at your ordinary tax rate, however, as further discussed below certain ordinary income distributions received from the Fund may be taxed at the capital gains tax rates. Some portion of the ordinary income distributions that are attributable to dividends received by the Fund from shares in certain real estate investment trusts may be designated by the Fund as eligible for a deduction for qualified business income, provided certain holding period requirements are satisfied. Generally, you will treat all capital gain dividends as long-term capital gains regardless of how long you have owned your shares.

To determine your actual tax liability for your capital gain dividends, you must calculate your total net capital gain or loss for the tax year after considering all of your other taxable transactions, as described below. In addition, the Fund may make distributions that represent a return of capital for tax purposes and thus will generally not be taxable to you; however, such distributions may reduce your tax basis in your shares, which could result in you having to pay higher taxes in the future when shares are sold, even if you sell the shares at a loss from your original investment. A “return of capital” is a return, in whole or in part, of the funds that you previously invested in the Fund. A return of capital distribution should not be considered part of a Fund’s dividend yield or total return of an investment in Fund shares. The tax status of your distributions from the Fund is not affected by whether you reinvest your distributions in additional shares or receive them in cash. The tax laws may require you to treat distributions made to you in January as if you had received them on December 31 of the previous year.

Dividends Received Deduction

A corporation that owns shares generally will not be entitled to the dividends received deduction with respect to many dividends received from the Fund because the dividends received deduction is generally not available for distributions from RICs. However, certain ordinary income dividends on shares that are attributable to qualifying dividends received by the Fund from certain corporations may be reported by the Fund as being eligible for the dividends received deduction.

Capital Gains and Losses and Certain Ordinary Income Dividends

If you are an individual, the maximum marginal stated federal tax rate for net capital gain is generally 20% (15% or 0% for taxpayers with taxable incomes below certain thresholds). Some capital gains, including some portion of your capital gain dividends may be taxed at a higher maximum stated tax rate. Capital gain received from assets held for more than one year that is considered “unrecaptured section 1250 gain” (which may be the case, for example, with some capital gains attributable to equity interests in real estate investment trusts that constitute interests in entities treated as real estate investment trusts for federal income tax purposes) is taxed at a maximum marginal stated federal tax rate of 25%. In the case of capital gain dividends, the determination of which portion of the capital gain dividend, if any, is subject to the 25% tax rate, will be made based on rules prescribed by the United States Treasury. Capital gains may also be subject to the Medicare tax described above.

Net capital gain equals net long-term capital gain minus net short-term capital loss for the taxable year. Capital gain or loss is long-term if the holding period for the asset is more than one year and is short-term if the holding period for the asset is one year or less. You must exclude the date you purchase your shares to determine your holding period. However, if you receive a capital gain dividend from the Fund and sell your share at a loss after holding it for six months or less, the loss will be recharacterized as long-term capital loss to the extent of the capital gain dividend received. The tax rates for capital gains realized from assets held for one year or less are generally the same as for ordinary income. The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, treats certain capital gains as ordinary income in special situations.

Sale of Shares

Taxes on Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units

Treatment of Fund Expenses

Expenses incurred and deducted by the Fund will generally not be treated as income taxable to you.

Non-U.S. Tax Credit

Non-U.S. Investors

If you are a non-U.S. investor (i.e., an investor other than a U.S. citizen or resident or a U.S. corporation, partnership, estate or trust), you should be aware that, generally, subject to applicable tax treaties, distributions from the Fund will be characterized as dividends for federal income tax purposes (other than dividends which the Fund properly reports as capital gain dividends) and will be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes, subject to certain exceptions described below. However, distributions received by a non-U.S. investor from the Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes, provided that the Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met. Distributions from the Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as an interest-related dividend attributable to certain interest income received by the Fund or as a short-term capital gain dividend attributable to certain net short-term capital gain income received by the Fund may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes when received by certain non-U.S. investors, provided that the Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met. For tax years after December 31, 2022, amounts paid to or recognized by a non-U.S. affiliate that are excluded from tax under the portfolio interest, capital gain dividends, short-term capital gains or tax-exempt interest dividend exceptions or applicable treaties, may be taken into consideration in determining whether a corporation is an “applicable corporation” subject to a 15% minimum tax on adjusted financial statement income.

Investments in Certain Non-U.S. Corporations

Distribution Plan

FTP serves as the distributor of Creation Units for the Fund on an agency basis. FTP does not maintain a secondary market in shares.

Net Asset Value

Rule 2a-5 permits a fund’s board of trustees to designate the fund’s investment adviser as its “valuation designee” to perform fair value determinations, subject to certain conditions. Accordingly, the Fund’s Board has designated First Trust as its valuation designee (the “Valuation Designee”) pursuant to Rule 2a-5 and has directed the Valuation Designee to perform the functions required in Rule 2a-5(a) subject to the requirements of Rule 2a-5(b) on behalf of all portfolio investments of the Fund, subject to the Board’s oversight. First Trust has established a pricing committee (the “Pricing Committee”) to assist in the administration of the duties of the Valuation Designee. The Valuation Designee has adopted valuation procedures for the First Trust Funds (the “Valuation Procedures”), a brief summary of which is set forth below.

The Pricing Committee has also identified certain portfolio investments that are routinely categorized as fair valued investments. In general, for such investments, the Fund’s accounting agent will obtain all pricing data for use in valuing such investments from a pricing service provider approved by the Pricing Committee (each, a “Pricing Service Provider”), subject to the oversight of the Pricing Committee. Pricing Service Providers typically value non-exchange-traded instruments utilizing a range of market-based inputs and assumptions. For example, when available, Pricing Service Providers may utilize inputs such as benchmark yields, reported trades, broker-dealer quotes, spreads, and transactions for comparable instruments. In pricing certain instruments, a Pricing Service Provider may consider information about an instrument’s issuer or market activity. Pricing Service Provider valuations of non-exchange-traded instruments generally represent the service’s good faith opinion as to what the holder of an instrument would receive in an orderly transaction for an institutional round lot position under current market conditions. Certain exchange-traded options, such as FLEX Options, are typically valued using a model-based price provided by a Pricing Service Provider.

not be the prices at which those investments could have been sold during the period in which the particular fair values were used. While the Valuation Procedures and Valuation Designee’s processes are intended to result in the Fund’s NAV calculation that fairly reflects the values as of the time of pricing, the fair value determined for a portfolio instrument may be materially different from the value that could be realized upon the sale of that instrument.

Fund Service Providers

Index Provider

The Index is compiled by the Index Provider. The Index Provider is not affiliated with the Fund, FTP or First Trust. The Fund is entitled to use the Index pursuant to a licensing agreement between First Trust and the Index Provider. The Index Provider or its agent also serves as calculation agent for the Index (the “Index Calculation Agent”). The Index Calculation Agent is responsible for the management of the day-to-day operations of the Index, including calculating the value of the Index every 15 seconds, widely disseminating the Index values every 15 seconds and tracking corporate actions, some of which result in Index adjustments.

Disclaimers

“Bloomberg®” and the indices licensed herein (the “Indices”) are service marks of Bloomberg Finance L.P. and its affiliates, including Bloomberg Index Services Limited (“BISL”), the administrator of the Indices (collectively, “Bloomberg”), and have been licensed for use for certain purposes by First Trust Advisors L.P. (the “Licensee”).

The financial products referenced herein (the “Financial Products”) are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Bloomberg. Bloomberg does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of or counterparties to the Financial Products or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Financial Products particularly. The only relationship of Bloomberg to the Licensee is the licensing of certain trademarks, trade names and service marks and of the Indices, which are determined, composed and calculated by BISL without regard to the Licensee or the Financial Products. Bloomberg has no obligation to take the needs of the Licensee or the owners of the Financial Products into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Indices. Bloomberg is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the Financial Products to be issued. Bloomberg shall not have any obligation or liability, including, without limitation, to the customers of the Financial Products, or in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Financial Products.

AND VENDORS SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY WHATSOEVER FOR ANY INJURY OR DAMAGES—WHETHER DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, CAUSED BY NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE—ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH THE FINANCIAL PRODUCTS OR INDICES OR ANY DATA OR VALUES RELATING THERETO—WHETHER ARISING FROM THEIR NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY THEREOF.

Premium/Discount Information

Financial Highlights

The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the Fund's financial performance for the period shown. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share of the Fund. The total return represents the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). The information for the period indicated has been derived from financial statements audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, whose report, along with the Fund's financial statements, is included in the Annual Report to Shareholders dated December 31, 2023 and is incorporated by reference in the Fund's SAI, which is available upon request.

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund

Financial Highlights
For a share outstanding throughout the period

First Trust Bloomberg Inflation Sensitive Equity ETF (FTIF)

		Period Ended December 31,
		2023(a)
Net asset value, beginning of period		$19.69
Income from investment operations:
Net investment income (loss) (b)		0.33
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)		2.23
Total from investment operations		2.56
Distributions paid to shareholders from:
Net investment income		(0.34 )
Net asset value, end of period		$21.91
Total Return (c)		13.06 %
Ratios/supplemental data:
Net assets, end of period (in 000’s)		$1,095
Ratios to average net assets:
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets		0.60 %(d)
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets		1.98 %(d)
Portfolio turnover rate(e)		44 %

(a)

Inception date is March 13, 2023, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established.

(b)

Based on average shares outstanding.

(c)

Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption at net asset value on the last day of the period. The return presented does not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption or sale of Fund shares. Total return is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year.

(d)

Annualized.

(e)

Other Information

Continuous Offering

The Fund issues, on a continuous offering basis, its shares in one or more groups of a fixed number of Fund shares (each such group of such specified number of individual Fund shares, a “Creation Unit Aggregation”). The method by which Creation Unit Aggregations of Fund shares are created and traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Unit Aggregations of shares are issued and sold by the Fund on an ongoing basis, a “distribution,” as such term is used in the Securities Act, may occur at any point. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner which could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus delivery requirement and liability provisions of the Securities Act.

Broker-dealer firms should also note that dealers who are not “underwriters” but are effecting transactions in shares, whether or not participating in the distribution of shares, are generally required to deliver a prospectus. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act is not available in respect of such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. As a result, broker-dealer firms should note that dealers who are not underwriters but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted with ordinary secondary market transactions) and thus dealing with the shares that are part of an overallotment within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the Securities Act would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act. Firms that incur a prospectus delivery obligation with respect to shares are reminded that, under the Securities Act Rule 153, a prospectus delivery obligation under Section 5(b)(2) of the Securities Act owed to a broker-dealer in connection with a sale on the Exchange is satisfied by the fact that the prospectus is available from the Exchange upon request. The prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is available with respect to transactions on a national securities exchange, a trading facility or an alternative trading system.

First Trust

Exchange-Traded Fund

First Trust Bloomberg Inflation Sensitive Equity ETF

For More Information

First Trust Advisors L.P.
120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
(800) 621-1675

www.ftportfolios.com

SEC File #: 333-125751

811-21774

First Trust

Exchange-Traded Fund

Prospectus

First Trust S&P 500 Diversified Free Cash Flow ETF

Ticker Symbol:	FCFY
Exchange:	NYSE Arca

The First Trust S&P 500 Diversified Free Cash Flow ETF (the “Fund”) lists and principally trades its shares on NYSE Arca, Inc. ("NYSE Arca" or the “Exchange”). Market prices may differ to some degree from the net asset value of the shares. Unlike mutual funds, the Fund issues and redeems shares at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called "Creation Units."

The Fund is a series of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund (the “Trust”) and an exchange-traded index fund organized as a separate series of a registered management investment company.

Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund.

NOT FDIC INSURED MAY LOSE VALUE NO BANK GUARANTEE

May 1, 2024

Table of Contents

Summary Information	3
Additional Information on the Fund's Investment Objective and Strategies	9
Fund Investments	10
Risks of Investing in the Fund	11
Fund Organization	17
Management of the Fund	17
How to Buy and Sell Shares	18
Dividends, Distributions and Taxes	19
Federal Tax Matters	19
Distribution Plan	21
Net Asset Value	22
Fund Service Providers	23
Index Provider	23
Disclaimers	23
Premium/Discount Information	24
Financial Highlights	25
Other Information	26

Summary Information

Investment Objective

The First Trust S&P 500 Diversified Free Cash Flow ETF (the "Fund") seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield, before fees and expenses, of an equity index called the S&P 500® Sector-Neutral FCF Index (the “Index”).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)

Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

None

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Management Fees	0.60%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses(1)	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.60%

(1)

“Other Expenses” is an estimate based on the expenses the Fund expects to incur for the current fiscal year.

Example

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.

1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$61	$192	$335	$750

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the fiscal period August 23, 2023 (inception) through December 31, 2023, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 37% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in the securities that comprise the Index. The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to replicate, before fees and expenses, the total return performance of the Index, which includes dividends paid by the common stocks in the Index. The Fund will generally employ a full replication strategy, meaning that it will normally invest in all of the securities comprising the Index in proportion to their weightings in the Index. The Index is owned and was developed by S&P Dow Jones Indices, LLC a division of S&P Global (“SPDJI” or the “Index Provider”). The Index Provider reserves the right to make exceptions when applying the methodology if the need arises to ensure that the Index continues to achieve its objective. In addition, the Index Provider may revise Index policy covering rules for selecting companies, treatment of dividends, share counts or other matters.

According to the Index Provider, the Index measures the performance of companies within the S&P 500® Index that have the highest relative free cash flow yield ("FCF Yield") within each Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®) sector represented in the S&P 500® Index and seeks to mirror the sector weighting represented in the S&P 500® Index at the time of reconstitution. Free cash flow ("FCF") is the cash remaining after a company has paid day-to-day operating expenses, including interest and

taxes, as well as capital expenditures. See the section entitled “Free Cash Flow Yield Calculations” for a description of the FCF and FCF Yield calculations. The S&P 500® Index is a large capitalization U.S. index composed of 500 issuers with securities that trade on U.S. stock exchanges.

The Index’s starting universe consists of all the securities comprising the S&P 500® Index. According to the Index Provider, all companies in the S&P 500® Index are then ranked based on their FCF Yield within their respective GICS® sectors. Next, the Index Provider selects from each GICS® sector those companies ranking within the top 20% (rounding up the count) of FCF Yield. Next, the Index Provider excludes companies with the lowest non-positive FCF Yield until such exclusion would result in the final count of companies in a given sector to be less than 10% of the count of companies within such sector in the S&P 500® Index.

At each reconstitution, the Index sector weights mirror the sector weights of the S&P 500® Index, and the constituents are weighted by their FCF Yield within each sector. If companies with a non-positive FCF Yield are selected, then the remaining weight within the GICS® sector is equally distributed among the non-positive FCF Yield companies. In addition, each Index constituent will be limited to a minimum weight of 0.25% and a maximum weight of 5.00%.

The Index is reconstituted and rebalanced semi-annually, effective after the close of business on the third Friday of April and October, and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. As of March 28, 2024, the Index consisted of 100 securities and the Fund had significant investments in information technology companies, although this may change from time to time. The Fund’s investments will change as the Index changes and, as a result, the Fund may have significant investments in a given jurisdiction, investment sector or industry that it may not have had as of March 28, 2024. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction, investment sector or industry, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction, investment sector or industry.

The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).

Principal Risks

of the United States and its trading partners, as well as the financial markets generally, may be adversely impacted by trade disputes and other matters. For example, the United States has imposed trade barriers and restrictions on China. In addition, the Chinese government is engaged in a longstanding dispute with Taiwan, continually threatening an invasion. If the political climate between the United States and China does not improve or continues to deteriorate, if China were to attempt invading Taiwan, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets and individual securities may be adversely affected, and the value of the Fund’s assets may go down. The COVID-19 global pandemic, or any future public health crisis, and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against emerging future variants of the disease. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. Advancements in technology may also adversely impact markets and the overall performance of the Fund. For instance, the economy may be significantly impacted by the advanced development and increased regulation of artificial intelligence. These events, and any other future events, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.

INDEX CONCENTRATION RISK. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in the securities of issuers within the same country, region, industry or sector, an adverse economic, business or political development may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more than if the Fund were more broadly diversified. A significant exposure makes the Fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the Fund to greater market risk than a fund that is more broadly diversified. There may be instances in which the Index, for a variety of reasons including changes in the prices of individual securities held by it, has a larger exposure to a small number of stocks or a single stock relative to the rest of the stocks in the Index. Under such circumstances, the Fund will not deviate from the Index except in rare circumstances or in an immaterial way and therefore the Fund’s returns would be more greatly influenced by the returns of the stock(s) with the larger exposure.

relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the Index, and do not guarantee that the Index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. The Advisor’s mandate as described in this prospectus is to manage the Fund consistently with the Index provided by the Index Provider. The Advisor relies upon the Index provider and its agents to accurately compile, maintain, construct, reconstitute, rebalance, compose, calculate and disseminate the Index accurately. Therefore, losses or costs associated with any Index Provider or agent errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. To correct any such error, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out an unscheduled rebalance of the Index or other modification of Index constituents or weightings. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where the Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors. For example, during a period where the Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund tracking the Index would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions or issuer-specific events may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, exclude or substitute a security in the Index or undertake other measures which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.

circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of the Fund’s shares, the liquidity of an investment, and may result in increased market volatility. During any such events, the Fund’s shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value, the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen and the returns on investment may fluctuate.

Performance

The Fund has not yet operated for a full calendar year and, therefore, performance information is not included in this section of the prospectus.

Management

Investment Advisor

First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)

Portfolio Managers

The Fund’s portfolio is managed by a team (the “Investment Committee”) consisting of:

•

Daniel J. Lindquist, Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director of First Trust

•

David G. McGarel, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of First Trust

•

Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Roger F. Testin, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Stan Ueland, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Chris A. Peterson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Erik Russo, Vice President of First Trust

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Tax Information

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

Additional Information on the Fund's Investment Objective and Strategies

The Fund is a series of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund and is regulated as an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). The Fund operates as an index fund and is not actively managed by First Trust. As such, the Fund’s investment objective is to seek investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of the Index. In seeking to achieve this objective, the Fund will invest, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in the securities that comprise the Index. The Fund intends to invest substantially all of its net assets in the investments that comprise the Index. S&P Dow Jones Indices, LLC serves as the index provider for the Index tracked by the Fund. S&P Dow Jones Indices, LLC may be referred to throughout this prospectus as the “Index Provider.” The Index Provider is not affiliated with the Fund, the Fund’s investment advisor or the Fund’s distributor.

The Fund will generally employ a full replication strategy, meaning that it will normally invest in all of the securities comprising the Index in proportion to their weightings in the Index. However, under various circumstances, full replication of the Index may not be possible or practicable. In those circumstances, the Fund may purchase a sample of securities in the Index. The Fund may utilize sampling when there are practical difficulties or substantial costs involved in replicating the Index, including to address tax and regulatory issues and respond to trading halts and other issues related to the liquidity of Index constituents. Though it does not intend to, there may also be instances in which First Trust may choose to overweight certain securities in the Index, purchase securities not in the Index which First Trust believes are appropriate to substitute for certain securities in the Index, use futures or derivative instruments or utilize various combinations of the above techniques in seeking to track the Index. The Fund may sell securities that are represented in the Index in anticipation of their removal from the Index or purchase securities not represented in the Index in anticipation of their addition to the Index.

The Fund’s investment objective, its 80% investment policy and each of the policies described herein are non-fundamental policies that may be changed by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”) without shareholder approval. Shareholders will be provided with at least 60 days’ prior written notice of any change to the Fund's 80% investment policy. The fundamental policies of the Fund are set forth in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) under “Investment Objective and Policies.”

The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. As of March 28, 2024, the Fund had significant investments in information technology companies, although this may change from time to time. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction, investment sector or industry, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.

The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act.

S&P 500® Sector-Neutral FCF Index

The Index measures the performance of companies within the S&P 500® Index that have the highest relative free cash flow yield ("FCF Yield") within each GICS® sector represented in the S&P 500® Index and seeks to mirror the sector weighting represented in the S&P 500® Index at the time of reconstitution. Free cash flow ("FCF") is the cash remaining after a company has paid day-to-day operating expenses, including interest and taxes, as well as capital expenditures. See the section entitled “Free Cash Flow Yield Calculations” for a description of the FCF and FCF Yield calculations. The S&P 500® Index is a large capitalization U.S. index composed of 500 issuers with securities that trade on U.S. stock exchanges.

result in the final count of companies in a given sector to be less than 10% of the count of companies within such sector in the S&P 500® Index.

Free Cash Flow Yield Calculations

The FCF Yield is calculated differently for companies in the financial sector, the real estate sector, and the rest of the GICS® sectors in the S&P 500® Index. Historically, FCF strategies have minimized exposure to or excluded companies from the financial sector and real estate sector because the operations of companies in such sectors introduce excessive volatility when using the traditional FCF calculation. For example, banks in the financial sector generally have large balance sheets, which creates large year-over-year fluctuations to changes in net working capital. To stabilize the FCF calculation, net working capital is excluded from the FCF calculation for companies in the financial sector. In the real estate sector, periodic one-time gains and losses from selling investment properties is included in net income, thereby distorting FCF over any given year. To reduce large fluctuations in net income, AFFO (as defined below) is used as FCF for companies in the real estate sector since it adds back losses and subtracts gains on property sales.

Financial Sector

The FCF Yield for a company in the financial sector is calculated as follows:

•

FCF Yield = FCF / Market Capitalization

○

FCF = Net Cash Flow from Operating Activities – Changes in Net Working Capital – Capital Expenditures

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Market Capitalization = the total value of all of the company’s stock

Real Estate Sector

The FCF Yield for a company in the real estate sector is calculated as follows:

•

FCF Yield = FCF / Market Capitalization

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FCF = Adjusted Funds From Operations (“AFFO”)

–

AFFO = Funds From Operations (“FFO”) – Capital Expenditures

○

Market Capitalization = the total value of all of a company’s stock

All Sectors (excluding Financial and Real Estate Sectors)

The FCF Yield for a company in any GICS® sector, excluding any company in the financial sector and real estate sector, is calculated as follows:

•

FCF Yield = FCF / Enterprise Value

○

FCF = Net Cash Flow From Operating Activities – Capital Expenditures

○

Enterprise Value = (the value of a company's common stock, preferred stock, total debt, and minority interest) - cash

Fund Investments

Principal Investments

Equity Securities

Non-Principal Investments

Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments

Normally, the Fund invests substantially all of its assets to meet its investment objective. The Fund may invest the remainder of its assets in securities with maturities of less than one year or in cash equivalents, or it may hold cash. The percentage of the Fund invested in such holdings varies and depends on several factors, including market conditions. For temporary defensive purposes and during periods of high cash inflows or outflows, the Fund may depart from its principal investment strategies and invest part or all of its assets in these securities, or it may hold cash. During such periods, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective. The Fund may adopt a temporary defensive strategy when the portfolio managers believe securities in which the Fund normally invests have elevated risks due to political or economic factors and in other extraordinary circumstances. For more information on eligible short-term investments, see the SAI.

Illiquid Investments

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

Risks of Investing in the Fund

Risk is inherent in all investing. Investing in the Fund involves risk, including the risk that you may lose all or part of your investment. There can be no assurance that the Fund will meet its stated objective. Before you invest, you should consider the following supplemental disclosure pertaining to the Principal Risks set forth above as well as additional Non-Principal Risks set forth below in this prospectus. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.

Principal Risks

AUTHORIZED PARTICIPANT CONCENTRATION RISK. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. A limited number of institutions act as authorized participants for the Fund. However, participants are not obligated to make a market in the Fund’s shares or submit purchase and redemption orders for creation units. To the extent that these institutions exit the business, reduce their role or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders and no other authorized participant steps forward to create or redeem, the Fund’s shares may trade at a premium or discount to the Fund’s net asset value and possibly face delisting and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.

CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS RISK. Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions.

The ongoing adversarial political climate in the United States, as well as political and diplomatic events both domestic and abroad, such as presidential, congressional and gubernatorial elections in the U.S., global elections and governmental changes and the U.S. government’s failure to agree on a long-term budget and deficit reduction plan, have and may continue to have an adverse impact on the U.S. regulatory landscape, markets and investor behavior, which could have a negative impact on the Fund’s investments and operations. The potential result of a U.S. federal government shutdown may also significantly impact investor and consumer behavior, which may adversely impact the markets and global economy. Global and domestic authorities and regulators have previously responded to serious economic disruptions with ranging fiscal and monetary policy changes, including but not limited to, direct capital infusions into companies, new monetary programs and dramatically lower interest rates. Any change in these policies, or the ineffectiveness of these policies, could increase volatility in securities markets, which may adversely impact the Fund’s investments and performance. Any market disruptions could also delay the Fund from making sound investment decisions in a timely manner. If the Fund concentrates its investments in a region enduring geopolitical market disruption, it may face higher risk of loss, although the increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets can lead to events or conditions in one country, region or financial market adversely impacting a different country, region or financial market.

Other unexpected political, regulatory and diplomatic events within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy. For example, ongoing armed conflicts between Russia and Ukraine in Europe and among Israel, Hamas and other militant groups in the Middle East, have caused and could continue to cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in Russia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions resulting from those hostilities have and could continue to have a significant impact on certain Fund investments as well as Fund performance and liquidity. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as the financial markets generally, may be adversely impacted by trade disputes and other matters. For example, the United States has imposed trade barriers and restrictions on China. In addition, the Chinese government is engaged in a longstanding dispute with Taiwan, continually threatening an invasion. If the political climate between the United States and China does not improve or continues to deteriorate, if China were to attempt invading Taiwan, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets and individual securities may be adversely affected, and the value of the Fund’s assets may go down. The COVID-19 global pandemic, or any future public health crisis, and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against emerging future variants of the disease. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others.

These events, and any other future events, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.

EQUITY SECURITIES RISK. The value of the Fund’s shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities in which it invests. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors' perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting the issuers occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market. Additionally, holders of an issuer's common stock may be subject to greater risks than holders of its preferred stock and debt securities because common stockholders' claims are subordinated to those of holders of preferred stocks and debt securities upon the bankruptcy of an issuer.

INDEX CONCENTRATION RISK. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in the securities of issuers within the same country, region, industry or sector, an adverse economic, business or political development may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more than if the Fund were more broadly diversified. A significant exposure makes the Fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the Fund to greater market risk than a fund that is more broadly diversified. There may be instances in which the Index, for a variety of reasons including changes in the prices of individual securities held by it, has a larger exposure to a small number of stocks or a single stock relative to the rest of the stocks in the Index. Under such circumstances, the Fund will not deviate from the Index except in rare circumstances or in an immaterial way and therefore the Fund’s returns would be more greatly influenced by the returns of the stock(s) with the larger exposure.

a scheduled rebalance, exclude or substitute a security from the Index or undertake other measures which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES RISK. The Fund invests significantly in information technology companies. Information technology companies produce and provide hardware, software and information technology systems and services. Information technology companies are generally subject to the following risks: rapidly changing technologies and existing product obsolescence; short product life cycles; fierce competition; aggressive pricing and reduced profit margins; the loss of patent, copyright and trademark protections; cyclical market patterns; evolving industry standards; and frequent new product introductions and new market entrants. Information technology companies may be smaller and less experienced companies, with limited product lines, markets or financial resources and fewer experienced management or marketing personnel. Information technology company stocks, particularly those involved with the internet, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that are often unrelated to their operating performance. In addition, information technology companies are particularly vulnerable to federal, state and local government regulation, and competition and consolidation, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Information technology companies also face competition for services of qualified personnel and heavily rely on patents and intellectual property rights and the ability to enforce such rights to maintain a competitive advantage.

NON-CORRELATION RISK. The Fund’s return may not match the return of its Index for a number of reasons. The Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to its Index and may incur costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s portfolio holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. In addition, the Fund’s portfolio holdings may not exactly replicate the securities included in its Index or the ratios between the securities included in the Index. Additionally, in order to comply with its investment strategies and policies, the Fund portfolio may deviate from the composition of the Index. Accordingly, the Fund's return may underperform the return of the Index.

OPERATIONAL RISK. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Fund’s investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.

PREMIUM/DISCOUNT RISK. The market price of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the Fund’s net asset value as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on the Exchange. First Trust cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their net asset value because the shares trade on the Exchange at market prices and not at net asset value. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related, but not identical, to the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. However, given that shares can only be purchased and redeemed in Creation Units, and only to and from broker-dealers and large institutional investors that have entered into participation agreements (unlike shares of closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their net asset value), First Trust believes that large discounts or premiums to the net asset value of shares should not be sustained absent disruptions to the creation and redemption mechanism, extreme market volatility or potential lack of authorized participants. During stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the market for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which could in turn lead to differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.

Non-Principal Risks

CASH TRANSACTIONS RISK. The Fund may, under certain circumstances, effect a portion of its creations and redemptions for cash rather than in-kind. As a result, an investment in the Fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in an ETF that effects its creations and redemptions only in-kind. ETFs are able to make in-kind redemptions and avoid being taxed on gains on the distributed portfolio securities at the fund level. A Fund that effects redemptions for cash may be required to sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. Any recognized gain on these sales by the Fund will generally cause the Fund to recognize a gain it might not otherwise have recognized, or to recognize such gain sooner than would otherwise be required if it were to distribute portfolio securities only in-kind. The Fund intends to distribute these gains to shareholders to avoid being taxed on this gain at the fund level and otherwise comply with the special tax rules that

apply to it. This strategy may cause shareholders to be subject to tax on gains they would not otherwise be subject to, or at an earlier date than if they had made an investment in a different ETF. Moreover, cash transactions may have to be carried out over several days if the securities market is relatively illiquid and may involve considerable brokerage fees and taxes. These brokerage fees and taxes, which will be higher than if the Fund sold and redeemed its shares entirely in-kind, will be passed on to those purchasing and redeeming Creation Units in the form of creation and redemption transaction fees. In addition, these factors may result in wider spreads between the bid and the offered prices of the Fund’s shares than for ETFs that distribute portfolio securities in-kind. The Fund’s use of cash for creations and redemptions could also result in dilution to the Fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective.

LEGISLATION/LITIGATION RISK. From time to time, various legislative initiatives are proposed in the United States and abroad, which may have a negative impact on certain companies in which the Fund invests. In addition, litigation regarding any of the issuers of the securities owned by the Fund, or industries represented by these issuers, may negatively impact the value of the securities. Such legislation or litigation may cause the Fund to lose value or may result in higher portfolio turnover if the Advisor determines to sell such a holding.

Fund Organization

Management of the Fund

First Trust Advisors L.P., 120 East Liberty Drive, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, is the investment advisor to the Fund. In this capacity, First Trust is responsible for the selection and ongoing monitoring of the securities in the Fund's portfolio and certain other services necessary for the management of the Fund.

•

Management Fee

Pursuant to an investment management agreement between First Trust and the Trust, on behalf of the Fund (the “Investment Management Agreement”), First Trust manages the investment of the Fund's assets. First Trust is paid an annual unitary management fee by the Fund equal to 0.60% of the Fund's average daily net assets and is responsible for the Fund's expenses, including the cost of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other services, but excluding fee payments under the Investment Management Agreement, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, if any, brokerage commissions and other expenses connected with the execution of portfolio transactions, expenses associated with short sales transactions, distribution and service fees payable pursuant to a Rule 12b-1 plan, if any, and extraordinary expenses.

A discussion regarding the Board’s approval of the Investment Management Agreement is available in the Fund’s Annual Report to Shareholders for the period ended December 31, 2023.

How to Buy and Sell Shares

Book Entry

Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no share certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding shares of the Fund and is recognized as the owner of all shares for all purposes.

Share Trading Prices

Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of the Fund's Shares

Dividends, Distributions and Taxes

Dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid quarterly by the Fund. The Fund distributes its net realized capital gains, if any, to shareholders at least annually.

Federal Tax Matters

As with any investment, you should seek advice based on your individual circumstances from your own tax advisor.

Fund Status

Distributions

To determine your actual tax liability for your capital gain dividends, you must calculate your total net capital gain or loss for the tax year after considering all of your other taxable transactions, as described below. In addition, the Fund may make distributions that represent a return of capital for tax purposes and thus will generally not be taxable to you; however, such distributions may reduce your tax basis in your shares, which could result in you having to pay higher taxes in the future when shares are sold, even if you sell the shares at a loss from your original investment. A “return of capital” is a return, in whole or in part, of the funds that you previously invested in the Fund. A return of capital distribution should not be considered part of a Fund’s dividend yield or total return of an investment in Fund shares. The tax status of your distributions from the Fund is not affected by whether you reinvest your distributions in additional shares or receive them in cash. The tax laws may require you to treat distributions made to you in January as if you had received them on December 31 of the previous year.

Dividends Received Deduction

A corporation that owns shares generally will not be entitled to the dividends received deduction with respect to many dividends received from the Fund because the dividends received deduction is generally not available for distributions from RICs. However, certain ordinary income dividends on shares that are attributable to qualifying dividends received by the Fund from certain corporations may be reported by the Fund as being eligible for the dividends received deduction.

Capital Gains and Losses and Certain Ordinary Income Dividends

Net capital gain equals net long-term capital gain minus net short-term capital loss for the taxable year. Capital gain or loss is long-term if the holding period for the asset is more than one year and is short-term if the holding period for the asset is one year or less. You must exclude the date you purchase your shares to determine your holding period. However, if you receive a capital gain dividend from the Fund and sell your share at a loss after holding it for six months or less, the loss will be recharacterized as long-term capital loss to the extent of the capital gain dividend received. The tax rates for capital gains realized from assets held for one year or less are generally the same as for ordinary income. The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, treats certain capital gains as ordinary income in special situations.

Ordinary income dividends received by an individual shareholder from a RIC such as the Fund are generally taxed at the same rates that apply to net capital gain (as discussed above), provided certain holding period requirements are satisfied and provided the dividends are attributable to qualifying dividends received by the Fund itself. The Fund will provide notice to its shareholders of the amount of any distribution which may be taken into account as a dividend which is eligible for the capital gains tax rates.

Sale of Shares

Taxes on Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units

Treatment of Fund Expenses

Expenses incurred and deducted by the Fund will generally not be treated as income taxable to you.

Non-U.S. Tax Credit

Non-U.S. Investors

If you are a non-U.S. investor (i.e., an investor other than a U.S. citizen or resident or a U.S. corporation, partnership, estate or trust), you should be aware that, generally, subject to applicable tax treaties, distributions from the Fund will be characterized as dividends for federal income tax purposes (other than dividends which the Fund properly reports as capital gain dividends) and will be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes, subject to certain exceptions described below. However, distributions received by a non-U.S. investor from the Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes, provided that the Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met. Distributions from the Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as an interest-related dividend attributable to certain interest income received by the Fund or as a short-term capital gain dividend attributable to certain net short-term capital gain income received by the Fund may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes when received by certain non-U.S. investors, provided that the Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met. For tax years after December 31, 2022, amounts paid to or recognized by a non-U.S. affiliate that are excluded from tax under the portfolio interest, capital gain dividends, short-term capital gains or tax-exempt interest dividend exceptions or applicable treaties, may be taken into consideration in determining whether a corporation is an “applicable corporation” subject to a 15% minimum tax on adjusted financial statement income.

Investments in Certain Non-U.S. Corporations

Distribution Plan

FTP serves as the distributor of Creation Units for the Fund on an agency basis. FTP does not maintain a secondary market in shares.

The Fund does not currently pay 12b-1 fees, and pursuant to a contractual arrangement, the Fund will not pay 12b-1 fees any time before August 22, 2025. However, in the event 12b-1 fees are charged in the future, because these fees are paid out of the Fund's assets, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than certain other types of sales charges.

Net Asset Value

Rule 2a-5 permits a fund’s board of trustees to designate the fund’s investment adviser as its “valuation designee” to perform fair value determinations, subject to certain conditions. Accordingly, the Fund’s Board has designated First Trust as its valuation designee (the “Valuation Designee”) pursuant to Rule 2a-5 and has directed the Valuation Designee to perform the functions required in Rule 2a-5(a) subject to the requirements of Rule 2a-5(b) on behalf of all portfolio investments of the Fund, subject to the Board’s oversight. First Trust has established a pricing committee (the “Pricing Committee”) to assist in the administration of the duties of the Valuation Designee. The Valuation Designee has adopted valuation procedures for the First Trust Funds (the “Valuation Procedures”), a brief summary of which is set forth below.

The Pricing Committee has also identified certain portfolio investments that are routinely categorized as fair valued investments. In general, for such investments, the Fund’s accounting agent will obtain all pricing data for use in valuing such investments from a pricing service provider approved by the Pricing Committee (each, a “Pricing Service Provider”), subject to the oversight of the Pricing Committee. Pricing Service Providers typically value non-exchange-traded instruments utilizing a range of market-based inputs and assumptions. For example, when available, Pricing Service Providers may utilize inputs such as benchmark yields, reported trades, broker-dealer quotes, spreads, and transactions for comparable instruments. In pricing certain instruments, a Pricing Service Provider may consider information about an instrument’s issuer or market activity. Pricing Service Provider valuations of non-exchange-traded instruments generally represent the service’s good faith opinion as to what the holder of an instrument would receive in an orderly transaction for an institutional round lot position under current market conditions. Certain exchange-traded options, such as FLEX Options, are typically valued using a model-based price provided by a Pricing Service Provider.

Fund Service Providers

Index Provider

The Index is compiled by the Index Provider. The Index Provider is not affiliated with the Fund, First Trust or FTP. The Fund is entitled to use the Index pursuant to a sublicensing arrangement with First Trust, which in turn has a licensing agreement with the Index Provider. The Index Provider or its agent also serves as calculation agent for the Index (the “Index Calculation Agent”). The Index Calculation Agent is responsible for the management of the day-to-day operations of the Index, including calculating the value of the Index every second, widely disseminating the Index values every second and tracking corporate actions, some of which result in Index adjustments.

Disclaimers

is not responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the prices, and amount of shares of the Fund or the timing of the issuance or sale of such shares or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which shares of the Fund are to be converted into cash, surrendered or redeemed, as the case may be. S&P Dow Jones Indices has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of shares of the Fund. There is no assurance that investment products based on the Index will accurately track the Index’s performance or provide positive investment returns. SPDJI is not an investment adviser. Inclusion of a security within an index is not a recommendation by S&P Dow Jones Indices to buy, sell, or hold such security, nor is it considered to be investment advice.

S&P DOW JONES INDICES DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ADEQUACY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE INDEX OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO OR ANY COMMUNICATION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ORAL OR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION (INCLUDING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS) WITH RESPECT THERETO. S&P DOW JONES INDICES SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO ANY DAMAGES OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR DELAYS THEREIN. S&P DOW JONES INDICES MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE OR AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY FIRST TRUST OR ITS AFFILIATES, OWNERS OF SHARES OF THE FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE INDEX OR WITH RESPECT TO ANY DATA RELATED THERETO. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT WHATSOEVER SHALL S&P DOW JONES INDICES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF PROFITS, TRADING LOSSES, LOST TIME OR GOODWILL, EVEN IF THEY HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. THERE ARE NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN S&P DOW JONES INDICES AND FIRST TRUST OR ITS AFFILIATES, OTHER THAN THE LICENSORS OF S&P DOW JONES INDICES.

Premium/Discount Information

Financial Highlights

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund

Financial Highlights
For a share outstanding throughout the period

First Trust S&P 500 Diversified Free Cash Flow ETF (FCFY)

		Period Ended December 31,
		2023(a)
Net asset value, beginning of period		$20.13
Income from investment operations:
Net investment income (loss) (b)		0.14
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)		1.92
Total from investment operations		2.06
Distributions paid to shareholders from:
Net investment income		(0.16 )
Net asset value, end of period		$22.03
Total Return (c)		10.23 %
Ratios to average net assets/supplemental data:
Net assets, end of period (in 000’s)		$1,102
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets		0.60% % (d)
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets		1.91% % (d)
Portfolio turnover rate (e)		37 %

(a)

Inception date is August 23, 2023, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established.

(b)

Based on average shares outstanding.

(c)

Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption at net asset value on the last day of the period. The return presented does not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption or sale of Fund shares. Total return is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year.

(d)

Annualized.

(e)

Other Information

Continuous Offering

The Fund issues, on a continuous offering basis, its shares in one or more groups of a fixed number of Fund shares (each such group of such specified number of individual Fund shares, a “Creation Unit Aggregation”). The method by which Creation Unit Aggregations of Fund shares are created and traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Unit Aggregations of shares are issued and sold by the Fund on an ongoing basis, a “distribution,” as such term is used in the Securities Act, may occur at any point. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner which could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus delivery requirement and liability provisions of the Securities Act.

Broker-dealer firms should also note that dealers who are not “underwriters” but are effecting transactions in shares, whether or not participating in the distribution of shares, are generally required to deliver a prospectus. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act is not available in respect of such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. As a result, broker-dealer firms should note that dealers who are not underwriters but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted with ordinary secondary market transactions) and thus dealing with the shares that are part of an overallotment within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the Securities Act would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act. Firms that incur a prospectus delivery obligation with respect to shares are reminded that, under the Securities Act Rule 153, a prospectus delivery obligation under Section 5(b)(2) of the Securities Act owed to a broker-dealer in connection with a sale on the Exchange is satisfied by the fact that the prospectus is available from the Exchange upon request. The prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is available with respect to transactions on a national securities exchange, a trading facility or an alternative trading system.

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First Trust

Exchange-Traded Fund

First Trust S&P 500 Diversified Free Cash Flow ETF

For More Information

First Trust Advisors L.P.
120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
(800) 621-1675

www.ftportfolios.com

SEC File #: 333-125751

811-21774

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Investment Company Act File No. 811-21774

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund

FUND NAME	TICKER SYMBOL	EXCHANGE
First Trust Capital Strength ETF	FTCS	Nasdaq
First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund	FDN	NYSE Arca
First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund	FDM	NYSE Arca
First Trust Natural Gas ETF	FCG	NYSE Arca
First Trust Water ETF	FIW	NYSE Arca
First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund	FDL	NYSE Arca
First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund	QQEW	Nasdaq
First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund	QQXT	Nasdaq
First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund	QTEC	Nasdaq
First Trust NASDAQ® ABA Community Bank Index Fund	QABA	Nasdaq
First Trust NASDAQ® Clean Edge® Green Energy Index Fund	QCLN	Nasdaq
First Trust NYSE® Arca® Biotechnology Index Fund	FBT	NYSE Arca
First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund	FRI	NYSE Arca
First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF	FPX	NYSE Arca
First Trust Value Line® Dividend Index Fund	FVD	NYSE Arca

DATED MAY 1, 2024

This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus. It should be read in conjunction with the prospectus dated May 1, 2024, as it may be revised from time to time (the “Prospectus”), for each of the First Trust Capital Strength ETF, First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund, First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund, First Trust Natural Gas ETF, First Trust Water ETF, First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund, First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund, First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund, First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund, First Trust NASDAQ® ABA Community Bank Index Fund, First Trust NASDAQ® Clean Edge® Green Energy Index Fund, First Trust NYSE® Arca® Biotechnology Index Fund, First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund, First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF and First Trust Value Line® Dividend Index Fund (each, a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”), each a series of the First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund (the “Trust”). Capitalized terms used herein that are not defined have the same meaning as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise noted. A copy of the Prospectus may be obtained without charge by writing to the Trust’s distributor, First Trust Portfolios L.P., 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, or by calling toll free at (800) 621-1675.

The audited financial statements for the Funds' most recent fiscal year appear in the Funds' Annual Reports to Shareholders dated December 31, 2023, which were filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 11, 2024. The financial statements from the Annual Reports are incorporated herein by reference. The Annual Reports are available without charge by calling (800) 621-1675 or by visiting the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Table of Contents

General Description of the Trust and the Funds	1
Exchange Listing and Trading	3
Investment Objective and Policies	4
Investment Strategies	5
Sublicense Agreements	13
Investment Risks	14
Management of the Funds	18
Brokerage Allocations	31
Administrator, Fund Accounting Agent, Custodian, Transfer Agent, Distributor, Index Providers and Exchanges	33
Additional Payments to Financial Intermediaries	41
Additional Information	43
Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures	49
Creation and Redemption of Creation Units	50
Federal Tax Matters	53
Determination of Net Asset Value	58
Dividends and Distributions	58
Miscellaneous Information	58
Financial Statements	59
Exhibit A—Principal Holders Table	A-1
Exhibit B—Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures	B-1

General Description of the Trust and the Funds

The Trust was organized as a Massachusetts business trust on August 8, 2003 and is authorized to issue an unlimited number of shares in one or more series. The Trust is an open-end management investment company, registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). The Trust currently offers shares in 24 series. Each of the Funds to which this SAI relates and its status as a diversified or non-diversified series is listed below.

Fund Name	Classification
First Trust Capital Strength ETF	Diversified
First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund	Non-Diversified
First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund	Diversified
First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund	Non-Diversified
First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund	Diversified
First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund	Diversified
First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund	Diversified
First Trust NASDAQ® ABA Community Bank Index Fund	Diversified
First Trust NASDAQ® Clean Edge® Green Energy Index Fund	Non-Diversified
First Trust Natural Gas ETF	Diversified
First Trust NYSE® Arca® Biotechnology Index Fund	Diversified
First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund	Diversified
First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF	Non-Diversified
First Trust Value Line® Dividend Index Fund	Diversified
First Trust Water Index ETF	Diversified

Each Fund, as a series of the Trust, represents a beneficial interest in a separate portfolio of securities and other assets, with its own objective and policies. On June 4, 2013, First Trust Strategic Value Index Fund changed its name to First Trust Capital Strength ETF pursuant to the approval of the Board of Trustees of the Trust. Prior to June 18, 2010, First Trust Strategic Value Index Fund was named First Trust DB Strategic Value Index Fund. Prior to December 13, 2016, First Trust Natural Gas ETF, First Trust Water ETF and First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF were named First Trust ISE Revere Natural Gas Index Fund, First Trust ISE Water Index Fund and First Trust US IPO Index Fund, respectively.

The Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board,” “Board of Trustees” or “Trustees”) has the right to establish additional series in the future, to determine the preferences, voting powers, rights and privileges thereof and to modify such preferences, voting powers, rights and privileges without shareholder approval. Shares of any series may also be divided into one or more classes at the discretion of the Trustees.

The Trust or any series or class thereof may be terminated at any time by the Board of Trustees upon written notice to the shareholders.

Each share has one vote with respect to matters upon which a shareholder vote is required consistent with the requirements of the 1940 Act and the rules promulgated thereunder. Shares of all series of the Trust vote together as a single class except as otherwise required by the 1940 Act or if the matter being voted on affects only a particular series, and, if a matter affects a particular series differently from other series, the shares of that series will vote separately on such matter. The Trust’s Declaration of Trust (the “Declaration”) requires a shareholder vote on certain matters including those matters where the 1940 Act requires a vote of shareholders, in connection with certain amendments to the Declaration and with respect to the merger or reorganization of the Trust or a series, except that the Trustees may, without shareholder approval, authorize the merger, consolidation, reorganization or sale of a fund’s assets if the acquiring fund is not an operating entity. Otherwise, the Declaration generally permits the Trustees to take actions without seeking the consent of shareholders.

The Declaration provides that by becoming a shareholder of a Fund, each shareholder shall be expressly held to have agreed to be bound by the provisions of the Declaration and to any By-laws adopted by the Trust. The Declaration provides that, except as set forth therein and authorized by the Trustees, shareholders have no rights, privileges, claims or remedies under any contract or agreement entered into by the Trust or a Fund with any service provider or other agent to or contractor with the Trust or a Fund including, without limitation, any third party beneficiary rights.

Any amendment to the Declaration affecting a shareholder’s right to vote as provided in the Declaration, affecting provisions relating to the term and election of Trustees, or affecting the termination provisions requires a shareholder vote. The Trustees may otherwise generally amend the Declaration without a shareholder vote. The Declaration provides that the Trustees may establish the number of Trustees and that vacancies on the Board of Trustees may be filled by the remaining Trustees, except when election of Trustees by the shareholders is required under the 1940 Act. Trustees are then elected by a plurality of votes cast by shareholders at a meeting at which a quorum is present. The Declaration also provides that Trustees may be removed, with or without cause, by a vote of shareholders holding at least two-thirds of the voting power of the Trust, or by a vote of three-quarters of the remaining Trustees.

The holders of Fund shares are required to disclose information on direct or indirect ownership of Fund shares as may be required to comply with various laws applicable to the Funds or as the Trustees may determine, and ownership of Fund shares may be disclosed by the Funds if so required by law or regulation. In addition, pursuant to the Declaration, the Trustees may, in their discretion, require the Trust to redeem shares held by any shareholder for any reason under terms set by the Trustees.

The Declaration provides a detailed process for the bringing of derivative actions by shareholders in order to permit legitimate inquiries and claims while avoiding the time, expense, distraction and other harm that can be caused to the Funds or its shareholders as a result of spurious shareholder demands and derivative actions. In addition, the Declaration provides that actions that are derivative in nature may not be brought directly. Prior to bringing a derivative action, a demand must first be made on the Trustees. The Declaration details various information, certifications, undertakings and acknowledgements that must be included in the demand. Following receipt of the demand, the Trustees have a period of 90 days, which may be extended by an additional 60 days, to consider the demand. If a majority of the Trustees who are considered independent for the purposes of considering the demand determine that maintaining the suit would not be in the best interests of the Funds, the Trustees are required to reject the demand and the complaining shareholder may not proceed with the derivative action unless the shareholder is able to sustain the burden of proof to a court that the decision of the Trustees not to pursue the requested action was not a good faith exercise of their business judgment on behalf of the Funds. In making such a determination, a Trustee is not considered to have a personal financial interest by virtue of being compensated for his or her services as a Trustee. If a demand is rejected, the complaining shareholder will be responsible for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by the Funds in connection with the consideration of the demand under a number of circumstances. In addition, if a court determines that a derivative action was made without reasonable cause or for an improper purpose, or if a derivative or direct action is dismissed on the basis of a failure to comply with the procedural provisions relating to shareholder actions as set forth in the Declaration, or if a direct action is dismissed by a court for failure to state a claim, the shareholder bringing the action may be responsible for a Fund's costs, including attorneys’ fees. Shareholders also have the right to vote, to the same extent as the stockholders of a Massachusetts business corporation as to whether or not a court action, proceeding, or claim should or should not be brought or maintained derivatively or as a class action on behalf of the Trust or the Shareholders.

The provisions of the Declaration provide that any direct or derivative action commenced by a shareholder must be brought only in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts (Boston Division) or if any such action may not be brought in that court, then in the Business Litigation Session of Suffolk Superior Court in Massachusetts (the “Chosen Courts”). Except as prohibited by applicable law, if a shareholder commences an applicable action in a court other than a Chosen Court without the consent of the Fund, then such shareholder may be obligated to reimburse the Funds and any applicable Trustee or officer of the Funds made party to such proceeding for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred in connection with any successful motion to dismiss, stay or transfer of the action. The Declaration also provides that any shareholder bringing an action against the Funds waives the right to trial by jury to the fullest extent permitted by law.

The Trust is not required to and does not intend to hold annual meetings of shareholders.

Under Massachusetts law applicable to Massachusetts business trusts, shareholders of such a trust may, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable as partners for its obligations. However, the Declaration contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for acts or obligations of the Trust and requires that notice of this disclaimer be given in each agreement, obligation or instrument entered into or executed by the Trust or the Trustees. The Declaration further provides for indemnification out of the assets and property of the Trust for all losses and expenses of any shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the Trust. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which both inadequate insurance existed and the Trust or a Fund itself was unable to meet its obligations.

The Declaration provides that a Trustee acting in his or her capacity as Trustee is liable to the Trust for his or her own bad faith, willful misfeasance, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of his or her duties involved in the conduct of the individual’s office, and for nothing else and shall not be liable for errors of judgment or mistakes of fact or law. The Declaration also provides that the Trustees of the Trust will be subject to the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts relating to Massachusetts business trusts, but not to the laws of Massachusetts relating to the trustees of common law trusts, such as donative or probate type trusts. The Declaration further provides that a Trustee acting in his or her capacity as Trustee is not personally liable to any person other than the Trust, for any act, omission, or obligation of the Trust. The Declaration requires the Trust to indemnify any persons who are or who have been Trustees, officers or employees of the Trust for any liability for actions or failure to act except to the extent prohibited by applicable federal law. In making any determination as to whether any person is entitled to the advancement of expenses in connection with a claim for which indemnification is sought, such person is entitled to a rebuttable presumption that he or she did not engage in conduct for which indemnification is not available. The Declaration provides that any Trustee who serves as chair of the Board of Trustees or of a committee of the Board of Trustees, as lead independent Trustee or as audit committee financial expert, or in any other similar capacity will not be subject to any greater standard of care or liability because of such position.

These provisions are not intended to restrict any shareholder rights under the federal securities laws and the Declaration specifically provides that no provision of the Declaration shall be effective to require a waiver of compliance with any provision of, or restrict any shareholder rights expressly granted by, the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act"), the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "1934 Act"), or the 1940 Act, or of any valid rule, regulation, or order of the Commission thereunder.

The Funds are advised by First Trust Advisors L.P. (the “Advisor” or “First Trust”).

The shares of each Fund are principally listed and traded on NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) or Nasdaq, Inc. (“Nasdaq”) (each an "Exchange"), as shown on the cover of this SAI. ETFs, such as the Funds, do not sell or redeem individual shares of a Fund. Instead, financial entities known as “Authorized Participants” (which are discussed in greater detail below) have contractual arrangements with each Fund or the Distributor to purchase and redeem Fund shares directly with a Fund in large blocks of shares known as “Creation Units.” An Authorized Participant that purchases a Creation Unit of Fund shares deposits with a Fund a “basket” of securities, cash and/or other assets identified by the Fund that day, and then receives the Creation Unit of Fund shares in return for those assets. The redemption process is the reverse of the purchase process: the Authorized Participant redeems a Creation Unit of Fund shares for a basket of securities, cash and/or other assets. The basket is generally representative of a Fund’s portfolio, and together with a cash balancing amount, it is equal to the NAV of the Fund shares comprising the Creation Unit. Pursuant to Rule 6c-11 of the 1940 Act, the Funds may utilize baskets that are not representative of each Fund’s portfolio. Such “custom baskets” are discussed in the section entitled “Creation and Redemption of Creation Units.”

Fund shares may be issued in advance of receipt of deposit securities subject to various conditions including a requirement to maintain on deposit with the applicable Fund cash at least equal to 115% of the market value of the missing deposit securities. See the section entitled “Creation and Redemption of Creation Units.” In each instance of such cash creations or redemptions, transaction fees may be imposed that will be higher than the transaction fees associated with in-kind creations or redemptions. In all cases, such fees will be limited in accordance with the requirements of the SEC applicable to management investment companies offering redeemable securities.

Exchange Listing and Trading

There can be no assurance that the requirements of the applicable Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of shares of a Fund will continue to be met. The Exchanges may, but are not required to, remove the shares of a Fund from listing if (i) following the initial 12-month period beginning at the commencement of trading of a Fund, there are fewer than 50 beneficial owners of the shares of such Fund for 30 or more consecutive trading days; (ii) the value of such Fund’s Index (as defined below) is no longer calculated or available; or (iii) such other event shall occur or condition exist that, in the opinion of the applicable Exchange, makes further dealings on the applicable Exchange inadvisable. Please note that NYSE Arca may have a conflict of interest with respect to the First Trust NYSE® Arca® Biotechnology Index Fund and the First Trust Value Line® Dividend Index Fund because shares of such Fund are listed on NYSE Arca, and ICE Data Indices, LLC, an affiliate of NYSE Arca, is the Index Provider of such Fund. Additionally, Nasdaq may have a conflict of interest with respect to the First Trust Capital Strength ETF, First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund, First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund, First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund, First Trust NASDAQ® ABA Community Bank Index Fund and the First Trust NASDAQ® Clean Edge® Green Energy Index Fund because shares of such Funds are listed on

Nasdaq and Nasdaq, Inc. is also each such Fund’s Index Provider. The Exchanges will remove the shares of a Fund from listing and trading upon termination of such Fund.

As in the case of other stocks traded on the Exchanges, brokers’ commissions on transactions will be based on negotiated commission rates at customary levels.

The Funds reserve the right to adjust the price levels of shares in the future to help maintain convenient trading ranges for investors. Any adjustments would be accomplished through stock splits or reverse stock splits, which would have no effect on the net assets of each Fund.

Investment Objective and Policies

The Prospectus describes the investment objective and certain policies of the Funds. The following supplements the information contained in the Prospectus concerning the investment objective and policies of the Funds.

Each Fund is subject to the following fundamental policies, which may not be changed without approval of the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as such term is defined in the 1940 Act) of a Fund:

(1)

A Fund may not issue senior securities, except as permitted under the 1940 Act.

(2)

A Fund may not borrow money, except that a Fund may (i) borrow money from banks for temporary or emergency purposes (but not for leverage or the purchase of investments) and (ii) engage in other transactions permissible under the 1940 Act that may involve a borrowing (such as obtaining short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions, engaging in delayed-delivery transactions, or purchasing certain futures, forward contracts and options), provided that the combination of (i) and (ii) shall not exceed 33⅓% of the value of a Fund's total assets (including the amount borrowed), less a Fund's liabilities (other than borrowings).

(3)

A Fund will not underwrite the securities of other issuers except to the extent a Fund may be considered an underwriter under the 1933 Act, in connection with the purchase and sale of portfolio securities.

(4)

A Fund will not purchase or sell real estate or interests therein, unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prohibit a Fund from purchasing or selling securities or other instruments backed by real estate or of issuers engaged in real estate activities).

(5)

A Fund may not make loans to other persons, except through (i) the purchase of debt securities permissible under a Fund’s investment policies, (ii) repurchase agreements, or (iii) the lending of portfolio securities, provided that no such loan of portfolio securities may be made by a Fund if, as a result, the aggregate of such loans would exceed 33⅓% of the value of a Fund’s total assets.

(6)

A Fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent a Fund from purchasing or selling options, futures contracts, forward contracts or other derivative instruments, or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).

(7)

A Fund may not invest 25% or more of the value of its total assets in securities of issuers in any one industry or group of industries, except to the extent that the Fund’s Index is based on concentrations in an industry or a group of industries. This restriction does not apply to obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities.

(8)

The First Trust Capital Strength ETF, First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund, First Trust Natural Gas ETF, First Trust Water ETF, First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund, First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund, First Trust NASDAQ-100 Technology Sector Index Fund, First Trust NASDAQ® ABA Community Bank Index Fund, First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund and First Trust Value Line® Dividend Index Fund are subject to the following fundamental policy: each such Fund, may not, as to 75% of its total assets, purchase the securities of any issuer (except securities of other investment companies or securities issued or guaranteed by the United States government or any agency or instrumentality thereof) if, as a result, (i) more than 5% of the Fund's total assets would be invested in securities of that issuer; or (ii) the Fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.

For purposes of applying restriction (1) above, under the 1940 Act as currently in effect, the Funds are not permitted to issue senior securities, except that a Fund may borrow from any bank if, immediately after such borrowing and at all times thereafter, the value of such Fund’s total assets is at least 300% of the principal amount of all of a Fund’s borrowings (i.e., the principal amount of the borrowings may not exceed 33⅓% of a Fund's total assets). In the event that such asset coverage shall at any time fall below 300% the applicable Fund shall, within three days thereafter (not including Sundays and holidays), reduce the amount of its borrowings to an extent that the asset coverage of such borrowings shall be at least 300%.

Except for restriction (2) above, if a percentage restriction is adhered to at the time of investment, a later increase in percentage resulting from a change in market value of the investment or the total assets will not constitute a violation of that restriction. With respect to restriction (2), if the limitations are exceeded as a result of a change in market value then the Fund will reduce the amount of borrowings within three days thereafter to the extent necessary to comply with the limitations (not including Sundays and holidays).

The fundamental investment limitations set forth above limit the Funds' ability to engage in certain investment practices and purchase securities or other instruments to the extent permitted by, or consistent with, applicable law. As such, these limitations will change as the statute, rules, regulations or orders (or, if applicable, interpretations) change, and no shareholder vote will be required or sought.

The foregoing fundamental policies of each Fund may not be changed without the affirmative vote of the majority of the outstanding voting securities of the respective Fund. The 1940 Act defines a majority vote as the vote of the lesser of (i) 67% or more of the voting securities represented at a meeting at which more than 50% of the outstanding securities are represented; or (ii) more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities. With respect to the submission of a change in an investment policy to the holders of outstanding voting securities of a Fund, such matter shall be deemed to have been effectively acted upon with respect to a Fund if a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund vote for the approval of such matter, notwithstanding that such matter has not been approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of any other series of the Trust affected by such matter.

In addition to the foregoing fundamental policies, the Funds are also subject to strategies and policies discussed herein which, unless otherwise noted, are non-fundamental restrictions and policies and may be changed by the Board of Trustees.

Investment Strategies

The following information supplements the discussion of the Funds' investment objectives, policies and strategies that appear in the Prospectus.

Under normal circumstances, each Fund will invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the securities that comprise the index it seeks to track (each, an "Index" and collectively, the "Indices"). Each Fund’s investment objective (with the exception of the First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund, First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund, First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund, First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund, First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF and First Trust Value Line® Dividend Index Fund) may be changed by the Board of Trustees without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ prior written notice to shareholders. With respect to each of the First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund, First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund, First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund, First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund, First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF and First Trust Value Line® Dividend Index Fund, the investment objective is a fundamental policy that may be changed only with shareholder approval.

The table below sets forth each Fund's Index. ICE Data Indices, LLC serves as the index provider for the index tracked by the First Trust NYSE® Arca® Biotechnology Index Fund. Nasdaq, Inc. serves as the index provider for the index tracked by the First Trust Natural Gas ETF and First Trust Water ETF. IPOX Schuster LLC serves as the index provider for the index tracked by the First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF. Morningstar, Inc. serves as the index provider for the index tracked by the First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund. Nasdaq, Inc. serves as the index provider for the index tracked by the First Trust Capital Strength ETF, First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund, First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund and First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund. Nasdaq, Inc. and American Bankers Association serve as the index providers for the index tracked by the First Trust NASDAQ® ABA Community Bank Index Fund. Nasdaq, Inc. and Clean Edge, Inc. serve as the index providers for the index tracked by the First Trust NASDAQ® Clean Edge® Green Energy Index Fund. S&P Dow Jones Indices, LLC serves as the index provider for the index tracked by the

First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund, First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund and First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund. Value Line Publishing, LLC serves as the index provider for the index tracked by the First Trust Value Line® Dividend Index Fund. ICE Data Indices, LLC, Nasdaq, Inc., IPOX Schuster LLC, Morningstar, Inc., Nasdaq, Inc., American Bankers Association, Clean Edge, Inc., S&P Dow Jones Indices, LLC and Value Line Publishing, LLC may individually be referred to throughout this prospectus as an "Index Provider" and collectively as the "Index Providers."

Fund	Index
First Trust Capital Strength ETF	The Capital StrengthTM Index (1)
First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund	Dow Jones Internet Composite IndexSM
First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund	Dow Jones Select MicroCap IndexSM
First Trust Natural Gas ETF	ISE-Revere Natural GasTM Index
First Trust Water ETF	ISE Clean Edge WaterTM Index (2)
First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund	Morningstar® Dividend Leaders IndexSM
First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund	Nasdaq-100 Equal WeightedTM Index
First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund	Nasdaq-100 Ex-Tech SectorTM Index
First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund	Nasdaq-100 Technology SectorTM Index
First Trust NASDAQ® ABA Community Bank Index Fund	Nasdaq OMX® ABA Community BankTM Index
First Trust NASDAQ® Clean Edge® Green Energy Index Fund	Nasdaq® Clean Edge® Green EnergyTM Index
First Trust NYSE® Arca® Biotechnology Index Fund	NYSE® Arca® Biotechnology Index
First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund	S&P United States REIT Index
First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF	IPOX®-100 U.S. Index
First Trust Value Line® Dividend Index Fund	Value Line® Dividend Index

(1)

On June 4, 2013, the Fund’s Index changed from the Credit Suisse U.S. Value Index, Powered by HOLTTM to The Capital StrengthTM Index.

(2)

Prior to June 19, 2017, the First Trust Water ETF’s Index was the ISE WaterTM Index.

Types of Investments

Depositary Receipts. A Fund’s investments may include securities of foreign issuers in the form of sponsored or unsponsored American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”), Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”) and European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”) (collectively “Depositary Receipts”). ADRs and ADSs are Depositary Receipts normally issued by a U.S. bank or trust company that evidence ownership of underlying securities issued by a foreign corporation. GDRs and EDRs are typically issued by foreign banks or trust companies, although they also may be issued by U.S. banks or trust companies, and evidence ownership of underlying securities issued by either a foreign or a U.S. corporation. Generally, Depositary Receipts in registered form are designed for use in the U.S. securities market. Depositary Receipts in bearer form are designed for use in securities markets outside the United States. Depositary Receipts may not necessarily be denominated in the same currency as the underlying securities into which they may be converted. Ownership of unsponsored Depositary Receipts may not entitle the Fund to financial or other reports from the issuer of the underlying security, to which it would be entitled as the owner of sponsored Depositary Receipts.

Equities. Equity securities represent an ownership position in a company. The prices of equity securities fluctuate based on, among other things, events specific to their issuers and market, economic, and other conditions. Equity securities may include common and preferred stocks. Common stocks include the common stock of any class or series of a domestic or foreign corporation or any similar equity interest, such as a trust or partnership interest. These investments may or may not pay dividends and may or may not carry voting rights. Common stock occupies the most junior position in a company’s capital structure.

Fixed Income Investments and Cash Equivalents. Normally, the Funds invest substantially all of their assets to meet their investment objectives; however, for temporary or defensive purposes, the Funds may invest in high quality money market instruments, fixed income instruments and cash equivalents on an ongoing basis in order to provide income, liquidity and preserve capital.

Fixed income investments and cash equivalents held by each Fund may include, without limitation, the types of investments set forth below.

(1)

A Fund may invest in U.S. government securities, including bills, notes and bonds differing as to maturity and rates of interest, which are either issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury or by U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. government securities include securities that are issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury, by various agencies of the U.S. government, or by various instrumentalities that have been established or sponsored by the U.S. government. U.S. Treasury securities are backed by the “full faith and credit” of the United States. Securities issued or guaranteed by federal agencies and U.S. government-sponsored instrumentalities may or may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Some of the U.S. government agencies that issue or guarantee securities include the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Farmers Home Administration, the Federal Housing Administration, the Maritime Administration, the Small Business Administration and The Tennessee Valley Authority. An instrumentality of the U.S. government is a government agency organized under federal charter with government supervision. Instrumentalities issuing or guaranteeing securities include, among others, the Federal Home Loan Banks, the Federal Land Banks, the Central Bank for Cooperatives, Federal Intermediate Credit Banks and the FNMA. In the case of those U.S. government securities not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the security for ultimate repayment and may not be able to assert a claim against the United States itself in the event that the agency or instrumentality does not meet its commitment. The U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities do not guarantee the market value of their securities; consequently, the value of such securities may fluctuate.

(2)

A Fund may invest in certificates of deposit issued against funds deposited in a bank or savings and loan association. Such certificates are for a definite period of time, earn a specified rate of return and are normally negotiable. If such certificates of deposit are non-negotiable, they will be considered illiquid investments and be subject to a Fund's 15% restriction on investments in illiquid investments. Pursuant to the certificate of deposit, the issuer agrees to pay the amount deposited plus interest to the bearer of the certificate on the date specified thereon. Under current FDIC regulations, the maximum insurance payable as to any one certificate of deposit is $250,000; therefore, certificates of deposit purchased by a Fund may not be fully insured. A Fund may only invest in certificates of deposit issued by U.S. banks with at least $1 billion in assets.

(3)

A Fund may invest in bankers’ acceptances, which are short-term credit instruments used to finance commercial transactions. Generally, an acceptance is a time draft drawn on a bank by an exporter or an importer to obtain a stated amount of funds to pay for specific merchandise. The draft is then “accepted” by a bank that, in effect, unconditionally guarantees to pay the face value of the instrument on its maturity date. The acceptance may then be held by the accepting bank as an asset or it may be sold in the secondary market at the going rate of interest for a specific maturity.

(4)

A Fund may invest in repurchase agreements, which involve purchases of debt securities with counterparties that are deemed by the Advisor to present acceptable credit risks. In such an action, at the time a Fund purchases the security, it simultaneously agrees to resell and redeliver the security to the seller, who also simultaneously agrees to buy back the security at a fixed price and time. This assures a predetermined yield for a Fund during its holding period since the resale price is always greater than the purchase price and reflects an agreed-upon market rate. Such actions afford an opportunity for a Fund to invest temporarily available cash. A Fund may enter into repurchase agreements only with respect to obligations of the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, certificates of deposit or bankers’ acceptances in which a Fund may invest. Repurchase agreements may be considered loans to the seller, collateralized by the underlying securities. The risk to a Fund is limited to the ability of the seller to pay the agreed-upon sum on the repurchase date; in the event of default, the repurchase agreement provides that the affected Fund is entitled to sell the underlying collateral. If the value of the collateral declines after the agreement is entered into, however, and if the seller defaults under a repurchase agreement when the value of the underlying collateral is less than the repurchase price, a Fund could incur a loss of both principal and interest. The portfolio managers monitor the value of the collateral at the time the action is entered into and at all times during the term of the repurchase agreement. The portfolio managers do so in an effort to determine that the value of the collateral always equals or exceeds the agreed-upon repurchase price to be paid to a Fund. If the seller were to be subject to a federal bankruptcy proceeding, the ability of a Fund to liquidate the collateral could be delayed or impaired because of certain provisions of the bankruptcy laws.

(5)

A Fund may invest in bank time deposits, which are monies kept on deposit with banks or savings and loan associations for a stated period of time at a fixed rate of interest. There may be penalties for the early withdrawal of such time deposits, in which case the yields of these investments will be reduced.

(6)

A Fund may invest in commercial paper, which are short-term unsecured promissory notes, including variable rate master demand notes issued by corporations to finance their current operations. Master demand notes are direct lending arrangements between the Fund and a corporation. There is no secondary market for the notes. However, they are redeemable by a Fund at any time. A Fund's portfolio managers will consider the financial condition of the corporation (e.g., earning power, cash flow and other liquidity ratios) and will regularly monitor the corporation’s ability to meet all of its financial obligations, because a Fund's liquidity might be impaired if the corporation were unable to pay principal and interest on demand. A Fund may invest in commercial paper rated at the day of purchase “Prime-1” by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. or “A-1+” or “A-1” by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group, Inc., or, if unrated, of comparable quality as determined by First Trust.

(7)

A Fund may invest in shares of money market funds, as consistent with its investment objectives and policies. Shares of money market funds are subject to management fees and other expenses of those funds. Therefore, investments in money market funds will cause the Fund to bear proportionately the costs incurred by the money market funds’ operations. At the same time, a Fund will continue to pay its own management fees and expenses with respect to all of its assets, including any portion invested in the shares of other investment companies. It is possible for the Fund to lose money by investing in money market funds.

Illiquid Investments. The Funds may invest in illiquid investments (i.e., any investment that a Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment). For purposes of this restriction, illiquid investments may include, but are not limited to, certain restricted securities (securities the disposition of which is restricted under the federal securities laws), securities that may only be resold pursuant to Rule 144A under the 1933 Act, and repurchase agreements with maturities in excess of seven days, among others. However, a Fund will not acquire illiquid investments if, as a result, such investments would comprise more than 15% of the value of a Fund’s net assets. The Advisor, subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, has the ultimate authority to determine, to the extent permissible under the federal securities laws, which investments are liquid or illiquid for purposes of this 15% limitation under a Fund’s liquidity risk management program, adopted pursuant to Rule 22e-4 under the 1940 Act.

Restricted securities may be sold only in privately negotiated transactions or in a public offering with respect to which a registration statement is in effect under the 1933 Act. Where registration is required, a Fund may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expenses and a considerable period may elapse between the time of the decision to sell and the time a Fund may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, a Fund might obtain a less favorable price than that which prevailed when it decided to sell. Illiquid investments will be priced at fair value as determined in good faith under procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. If, through the appreciation of illiquid investments or the depreciation of liquid investments, a Fund should be in a position where more than 15% of the value of its net assets are invested in illiquid investments, including restricted securities which are not readily marketable, the Advisor will report such occurrence to the Board of Trustees and take such steps as are deemed advisable to protect liquidity in accordance with a Fund’s liquidity risk management program.

Real Estate Investment Trusts. The Funds may invest in shares of beneficial interest of real estate investment trusts ("REITs"). REITs are typically publicly traded corporations or trusts that invest in residential or commercial real estate. REITs generally can be divided into the following three types: (i) equity REITs which invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive their income primarily from rents and capital gains or real estate appreciation; (ii) mortgage REITs which invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgage loans and derive their income primarily from interest payments; and (iii) hybrid REITs which combine the characteristics of equity REITs and mortgage REITs.

Portfolio Turnover

The Funds buy and sell portfolio securities in the normal course of their investment activities. The proportion of a Fund's investment portfolio that is bought and sold during a year is known as a Fund's portfolio turnover rate. A portfolio turnover rate of 100% would occur, for example, if all of the portfolio securities (other than short-term securities) were replaced once during the fiscal year. A high portfolio turnover rate could result in the payment by a Fund of increased brokerage costs, expenses and taxes. The portfolio turnover rates for the specified periods are set forth in the table below. Significant variations in portfolio turnover from year-to-year are generally the result of fluctuations in the size of a Fund or changes to a Fund's portfolio holdings.

Portfolio Turnover Rate
Fund	Fiscal Year Ended December 31,
Fund	2023	2022
First Trust Capital Strength ETF	104%	135%
First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund	24%	24%
First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund	72%	84%
First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund	46%	60%
First Trust NASDAQ® ABA Community Bank Index Fund	24%	18%
First Trust NASDAQ® Clean Edge® Green Energy Index Fund	17%	36%
First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund	34%	33%
First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund	32%	35%
First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund	36%	28%
First Trust Natural Gas ETF	27%	39%
First Trust NYSE® Arca® Biotechnology Index Fund	30%	39%
First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund	6%	8%
First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF	123%	115%
First Trust Value Line® Dividend Index Fund	57%	53%
First Trust Water ETF	17%	13%

Lending of Portfolio Securities

In order to generate additional income, as a non-principal investment strategy, First Trust is authorized to select certain First Trust Funds, including the Funds, with notice to the Board of Trustees, to lend portfolio securities representing up to 33⅓% of the value of their total assets to broker-dealers, banks or other institutional borrowers of securities. As with other extensions of credit, there may be risks of delay in recovery of the securities or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially. However, such First Trust Funds will only enter into loan arrangements with broker-dealers, banks or other institutions which First Trust has determined are creditworthy under guidelines approved by the Board of Trustees. The First Trust Funds will pay a portion of the income earned on the lending transaction to the placing broker and may pay administrative and custodial fees in connection with these loans. First Trust may select any First Trust Fund to participate in the securities lending program, at its discretion with notice to the Board of Trustees.

In these loan arrangements, the First Trust Funds will receive collateral in the form of cash, U.S. government securities or other high-grade debt obligations in an amount at least equal to the value of the borrowed securities, marked to market daily. This collateral must be valued daily by First Trust or the applicable First Trust Fund’s lending agent and, if the market value of the loaned securities increases, the borrower must furnish additional collateral to the lending First Trust Fund. During the time portfolio securities are on loan, the borrower pays the lending First Trust Fund any dividends or interest paid on the securities. Loans are subject to termination at any time by the lending First Trust Fund or the borrower. While a First Trust Fund does not have the right to vote securities on loan, it would terminate the loan and regain the right to vote if that were considered important with respect to the investment. When a First Trust Fund lends portfolio securities to a borrower, payments in lieu of dividends made by the borrower to the First Trust Fund will not constitute “qualified dividends” taxable at the same rate as long-term capital gains, even if the actual dividends would have constituted qualified dividends had the First Trust Fund held the securities. Please see "Securities Lending Risk" below for a description of the risks associated with securities lending activities.

The following tables describe the securities lending activities of each Fund that engaged in securities lending activities during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023:

FIRST TRUST DOW JONES INTERNET INDEX FUND
Gross income from securities lending activities	$89,714
Fees and/or compensation for securities lending activities and related services
Fees paid to securities lending agent from a revenue split	787
Fees paid for any cash collateral management service (including fees deducted from a pooled cash collateral reinvestment vehicle) that are not included in the revenue split	1,653
Administrative fees not included in revenue split	0
Indemnification fee not included in revenue split	0
Rebate (paid to borrower)	80,084
Other fees not included in revenue split (specify)	0
Aggregate fees/compensation for securities lending activities	82,524
Net income from securities lending activities	$7,190
FIRST TRUST DOW JONES SELECT MICROCAP INDEX FUND
Gross income from securities lending activities	$449,058
Fees and/or compensation for securities lending activities and related services
Fees paid to securities lending agent from a revenue split	17,659
Fees paid for any cash collateral management service (including fees deducted from a pooled cash collateral reinvestment vehicle) that are not included in the revenue split	7,541
Administrative fees not included in revenue split	0
Indemnification fee not included in revenue split	0
Rebate (paid to borrower)	264,690
Other fees not included in revenue split (specify)	0
Aggregate fees/compensation for securities lending activities	289,890
Net income from securities lending activities	$159,168
FIRST TRUST NATURAL GAS ETF
Gross income from securities lending activities	$619,094
Fees and/or compensation for securities lending activities and related services
Fees paid to securities lending agent from a revenue split	14,536
Fees paid for any cash collateral management service (including fees deducted from a pooled cash collateral reinvestment vehicle) that are not included in the revenue split	11,510
Administrative fees not included in revenue split	0
Indemnification fee not included in revenue split	0
Rebate (paid to borrower)	454,801
Other fees not included in revenue split (specify)	0
Aggregate fees/compensation for securities lending activities	480,847
Net income from securities lending activities	$138,247

FIRST TRUST WATER ETF
Gross income from securities lending activities	$436,643
Fees and/or compensation for securities lending activities and related services
Fees paid to securities lending agent from a revenue split	19,860
Fees paid for any cash collateral management service (including fees deducted from a pooled cash collateral reinvestment vehicle) that are not included in the revenue split	6,239
Administrative fees not included in revenue split	0
Indemnification fee not included in revenue split	0
Rebate (paid to borrower)	243,576
Other fees not included in revenue split (specify)	0
Aggregate fees/compensation for securities lending activities	269,675
Net income from securities lending activities	$166,968
FIRST TRUST NASDAQ-100 EQUAL WEIGHTED INDEX FUND
Gross income from securities lending activities	$5,814,346
Fees and/or compensation for securities lending activities and related services
Fees paid to securities lending agent from a revenue split	512,959
Fees paid for any cash collateral management service (including fees deducted from a pooled cash collateral reinvestment vehicle) that are not included in the revenue split	41,808
Administrative fees not included in revenue split	0
Indemnification fee not included in revenue split	0
Rebate (paid to borrower)	706,206
Other fees not included in revenue split (specify)	0
Aggregate fees/compensation for securities lending activities	1,260,973
Net income from securities lending activities	$4,553,373
FIRST TRUST NASDAQ-100 EX-TECHNOLOGY SECTOR INDEX FUND
Gross income from securities lending activities	$772,786
Fees and/or compensation for securities lending activities and related services
Fees paid to securities lending agent from a revenue split	74,678
Fees paid for any cash collateral management service (including fees deducted from a pooled cash collateral reinvestment vehicle) that are not included in the revenue split	4,378
Administrative fees not included in revenue split	0
Indemnification fee not included in revenue split	0
Rebate (paid to borrower)	29,965
Other fees not included in revenue split (specify)	0
Aggregate fees/compensation for securities lending activities	109,021
Net income from securities lending activities	$663,765

FIRST TRUST NASDAQ-100-TECHNOLOGY SECTOR INDEX FUND
Gross income from securities lending activities	$2,560,450
Fees and/or compensation for securities lending activities and related services
Fees paid to securities lending agent from a revenue split	89,036
Fees paid for any cash collateral management service (including fees deducted from a pooled cash collateral reinvestment vehicle) that are not included in the revenue split	44,510
Administrative fees not included in revenue split	0
Indemnification fee not included in revenue split	0
Rebate (paid to borrower)	1,622,408
Other fees not included in revenue split (specify)	0
Aggregate fees/compensation for securities lending activities	1,755,954
Net income from securities lending activities	$804,496
FIRST TRUST NASDAQ® ABA COMMUNITY BANK INDEX FUND
Gross income from securities lending activities	$42,419
Fees and/or compensation for securities lending activities and related services
Fees paid to securities lending agent from a revenue split	2,125
Fees paid for any cash collateral management service (including fees deducted from a pooled cash collateral reinvestment vehicle) that are not included in the revenue split	664
Administrative fees not included in revenue split	0
Indemnification fee not included in revenue split	0
Rebate (paid to borrower)	20,612
Other fees not included in revenue split (specify)	0
Aggregate fees/compensation for securities lending activities	23,401
Net income from securities lending activities	$19,018
FIRST TRUST NASDAQ® CLEAN EDGE® GREEN ENERGY INDEX FUND
Gross income from securities lending activities	$12,345,993
Fees and/or compensation for securities lending activities and related services
Fees paid to securities lending agent from a revenue split	909,476
Fees paid for any cash collateral management service (including fees deducted from a pooled cash collateral reinvestment vehicle) that are not included in the revenue split	129,536
Administrative fees not included in revenue split	0
Indemnification fee not included in revenue split	0
Rebate (paid to borrower)	3,103,672
Other fees not included in revenue split (specify)	0
Aggregate fees/compensation for securities lending activities	4,142,684
Net income from securities lending activities	$8,203,309

FIRST TRUST NYSE® ARCA® BIOTECHNOLOGY INDEX FUND
Gross income from securities lending activities	$282,867
Fees and/or compensation for securities lending activities and related services
Fees paid to securities lending agent from a revenue split	2,316
Fees paid for any cash collateral management service (including fees deducted from a pooled cash collateral reinvestment vehicle) that are not included in the revenue split	4,800
Administrative fees not included in revenue split	0
Indemnification fee not included in revenue split	0
Rebate (paid to borrower)	254,935
Other fees not included in revenue split (specify)	0
Aggregate fees/compensation for securities lending activities	262,051
Net income from securities lending activities	$20,816
FIRST TRUST US EQUITY OPPORTUNITIES ETF
Gross income from securities lending activities	$1,152,343
Fees and/or compensation for securities lending activities and related services
Fees paid to securities lending agent from a revenue split	164,722
Fees paid for any cash collateral management service (including fees deducted from a pooled cash collateral reinvestment vehicle) that are not included in the revenue split	0
Administrative fees not included in revenue split	0
Indemnification fee not included in revenue split	0
Rebate (paid to borrower)	(491,052)
Other fees not included in revenue split (specify)	0
Aggregate fees/compensation for securities lending activities	(326,330)
Net income from securities lending activities	$1,478,673

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. and The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (together, the “Securities Lending Agents”) serve as securities lending agents for the First Trust Fund Complex (as defined in this SAI). The services provided by the Securities Lending Agents include: the coordination and selection of securities to be loaned to approved borrowers; negotiating the terms of the loan; monitoring the value of securities loaned and corresponding collateral, marking to market daily; coordinating the investment of cash collateral in the Funds’ approved cash collateral reinvestment vehicle; monitoring dividends relating to loaned securities; and transferring, recalling and arranging the return of loaned securities to the Funds upon termination of the loan.

Sublicense Agreements

The Trust, on behalf of each Fund, relies on a product license agreement (each, a “Product License Agreement”) by and between each Index Provider and First Trust and a related sublicense agreement (the “Sublicense Agreement”) with First Trust that grants the Trust, on behalf of each Fund, a non-exclusive and non-transferable sublicense to use certain intellectual property of such Index Provider in connection with the issuance, distribution, marketing and/or promotion of each Fund. Pursuant to each Sublicense Agreement, each Fund has agreed to be bound by certain provisions of each Product License Agreement. Pursuant to each Product License Agreement, First Trust will pay each Index Provider an annual license fee. Under the Sublicense Agreements, each Fund will reimburse First Trust for its costs associated with the Product License Agreement. The First Trust Capital Strength ETF will not be obligated to reimburse First Trust in an annual amount of more than 0.10% of the assets of the Fund.

Investment Risks

The following risk disclosure supplements the discussion of the Funds' investment risks that appears in the Prospectus.

Overview

An investment in a Fund should be made with an understanding of the risks that an investment in a Fund's shares entails, including the risk that the financial condition of the issuers of the securities held by a Fund or the general condition of the securities market may worsen and the value of the securities and therefore the value of a Fund may decline. A Fund may not be an appropriate investment for those who are unable or unwilling to assume the risks involved generally with such an investment. The past market and earnings performance of any of the securities included in a Fund is not predictive of their future performance.

Additional Market Disruption Risk

In February 2022, Russia commenced a military attack on Ukraine. In response, various countries, including the United States, issued broad-ranging sanctions on Russia and certain Russian companies and individuals. The hostilities between the two countries may escalate and any existing or future sanctions could have a severe adverse effect on Russia’s economy, currency, companies and region as well as negatively impact other regional and global economic markets of the world (including Europe and the United States), companies in such countries and various sectors, industries and markets for securities and commodities globally, such as oil and natural gas. Accordingly, the hostilities and sanctions may have a negative effect on a Fund's investments and performance beyond any direct exposure to Russian issuers or those of adjoining geographic regions. Russia may also take retaliatory actions or countermeasures, such as cyberattacks and espionage, which may negatively impact the countries and companies in which a Fund may invest. The extent and duration of the military action or future escalation of such hostilities; the extent and impact of existing and any future sanctions, market disruptions and volatility; and the result of any diplomatic negotiations cannot be predicted. These and any related events could have a significant negative impact on certain of a Fund’s investments as well as a Fund’s performance, and the value or liquidity of certain securities held by a Fund may decline significantly.

Common Stock Risk

Common stocks are especially susceptible to general market movements and to volatile increases and decreases of value as market confidence in and perceptions of the issuers change. These perceptions are based on unpredictable factors including expectations regarding government, economic, monetary and fiscal policies, inflation and interest rates, economic expansion or contraction, and global or regional political, economic or banking crises. First Trust cannot predict the direction or scope of any of these factors. Shareholders of common stocks have rights to receive payments from the issuers of those common stocks that are generally subordinate to those of creditors of, or holders of debt obligations or preferred stocks of, such issuers.

Shareholders of common stocks of the type held by the Funds have a right to receive dividends only when and if, and in the amounts, declared by the issuer’s board of directors and have a right to participate in amounts available for distribution by the issuer only after all other claims on the issuer have been paid or otherwise been settled. Common stocks do not represent an obligation of the issuer and, therefore, do not offer any assurance of income or provide the same degree of protection of capital as do debt securities. The issuance of additional debt securities or preferred stock will create prior claims for payment of principal, interest and dividends which could adversely affect the ability and inclination of the issuer to declare or pay dividends on its common stock or the rights of holders of common stock with respect to assets of the issuer upon liquidation or bankruptcy. The value of common stocks is subject to market fluctuations for as long as the common stocks remain outstanding, and thus the value of the equity securities in the Funds will fluctuate over the life of the Funds and may be more or less than the price at which they were purchased by the Funds. The equity securities held in the Funds may appreciate or depreciate in value (or pay dividends) depending on the full range of economic and market influences affecting these securities, including the impact of a Fund’s purchase and sale of the equity securities and other factors.

Holders of common stocks incur more risk than holders of preferred stocks and debt obligations because common stockholders, as owners of the entity, have generally inferior rights to receive payments from the issuer in comparison with the rights of creditors of, or holders of debt obligations or preferred stocks issued by, the issuer. Cumulative preferred stock dividends must be paid before common stock dividends and any cumulative preferred stock dividend omitted is added to future dividends payable to the holders of cumulative preferred stock. Preferred stockholders are also generally entitled to rights on liquidation which are senior to those of common stockholders.

Depositary Receipts Risk

A Fund may hold securities of certain non-U.S. companies in the form of Depositary Receipts. Depositary Receipts may not necessarily be denominated in the same currency as the underlying securities into which they may be converted. ADRs are receipts typically issued by a U.S. bank or trust company that evidence ownership of underlying securities issued by a foreign corporation. EDRs are receipts issued by a European bank or trust company evidencing ownership of securities issued by a foreign corporation. New York shares are typically issued by a company incorporated in the Netherlands and represent a direct interest in the company. Unlike traditional depositary receipts, New York share programs do not involve custody of the Dutch shares of the company. GDRs are receipts issued throughout the world that evidence a similar arrangement. ADRs, EDRs and GDRs may trade in foreign currencies that differ from the currency the underlying security for each ADR, EDR or GDR principally trades in. Global shares are the actual (ordinary) shares of a non-U.S. company which trade both in the home market and the United States. Generally, ADRs and New York shares, in registered form, are designed for use in the U.S. securities markets. EDRs, in registered form, are used to access European markets. GDRs, in registered form, are tradable both in the United States and in Europe and are designed for use throughout the world. Global shares are represented by the same share certificate in the United States and the home market, and separate registrars in the United States and the home country are maintained. In most cases, purchases occurring on a U.S. exchange would be reflected on the U.S. registrar. Global shares may also be eligible to list on exchanges in addition to the United States and the home country. The Funds may hold unsponsored Depositary Receipts. The issuers of unsponsored Depositary Receipts are not obligated to disclose material information in the United States; therefore, there may be less information available regarding such issuers and there may not be a correlation between such information and the market value of the Depositary Receipts.

Dividends Risk

Shareholders of common stocks have rights to receive payments from the issuers of those common stocks that are generally subordinate to those of creditors of, or holders of debt obligations or preferred stocks of, such issuers. Shareholders of common stocks of the type held by the Funds have a right to receive dividends only when and if, and in the amounts, declared by the issuer’s board of directors and have a right to participate in amounts available for distribution by the issuer only after all other claims on the issuer have been paid or have otherwise been settled. Common stocks do not represent an obligation of the issuer and, therefore, do not offer any assurance of income or provide the same degree of protection of capital as do debt securities. The issuance of additional debt securities or preferred stock will create prior claims for payment of principal, interest and dividends which could adversely affect the ability and inclination of the issuer to declare or pay dividends on its common stock or the rights of holders of common stock with respect to assets of the issuer upon liquidation or bankruptcy. Cumulative preferred stock dividends must be paid before common stock dividends, and any cumulative preferred stock dividend omitted is added to future dividends payable to the holders of cumulative preferred stock. Preferred stockholders are also generally entitled to rights on liquidation that are senior to those of common stockholders.

Liquidity Risk

Whether or not the equity securities held by the Funds are listed on a securities exchange, the principal trading market for certain of the equity securities in the Funds may be in the over-the-counter (“OTC”) market. As a result, the existence of a liquid trading market for such equity securities may depend on whether dealers will make a market in the equity securities. Certain regions, countries or asset types may also suffer periods of relative illiquidity. There can be no assurance that a market will be made for any of the equity securities, that any market for such equity securities will be maintained or that there will be sufficient liquidity of such equity securities in any markets made. The price at which the equity securities are held by the Funds will be adversely affected if trading markets for such equity securities are limited or absent.

Listing Standards Risk

Each Fund is required to comply with listing requirements adopted by the Exchange. Non-compliance with such requirements may result in a Fund's shares being delisted by the Exchange. Any resulting liquidation of a Fund could cause a Fund to incur elevated transaction costs and could result in negative tax consequences for its shareholders.

Market Risk

regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, natural disasters or other events could have a significant negative impact on a Fund and its investments. Such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. Such events could adversely affect the prices and liquidity of a Fund’s portfolio securities or other instruments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of a Fund’s shares and result in increased market volatility. During any such events, a Fund’s shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on a Fund’s shares may widen.

Health crises caused by the outbreak of infectious diseases or other public health issues, may exacerbate other pre-existing political, social, economic, market and financial risks. The impact of any such events, could negatively affect the global economy, as well as the economies of individual countries or regions, the financial performance of individual companies, sectors and industries, and the markets in general in significant and unforeseen ways. Any such impact could adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the securities and other instruments in which a Fund invests and negatively impact a Fund’s investment return. For example, an outbreak of a respiratory disease designated as COVID-19 was first detected in China in December 2019 and subsequently spread internationally. The ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against future variants of the disease. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may be short term or may last for an extended period of time, and in either case could result in a substantial economic downturn or recession.

In addition, the operations of a Fund, the Advisor and a Fund’s other service providers may be significantly impacted, or even temporarily or permanently halted, as a result of government quarantine measures, voluntary and precautionary restrictions on travel or meetings and other factors related to a public health emergency, including its potential adverse impact on the health of any such entity’s personnel.

Non-U.S. Securities Risk

An investment in non-U.S. securities involves risks in addition to the usual risks inherent in domestic investments, including currency risk. The value of a non-U.S. security in U.S. dollars tends to decrease when the value of the U.S. dollar rises against the non-U.S. currency in which the security is denominated and tends to increase when the value of the U.S. dollar falls against such currency. Non-U.S. securities are affected by the fact that in many countries there is less publicly available information about issuers than is available in the reports and ratings published about companies in the United States and companies may not be subject to uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards. Other risks inherent in non-U.S. investments may include expropriation; confiscatory taxation; withholding taxes on dividends and interest; less extensive regulation of non-U.S. brokers, securities markets and issuers; diplomatic developments; and political or social instability. Non-U.S. economies may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in various respects, and many non-U.S. securities are less liquid and their prices tend to be more volatile than comparable U.S. securities. From time to time, non-U.S. securities may be difficult to liquidate rapidly without adverse price effects.

Passive Foreign Investment Companies Risk

A Fund may invest in companies that are considered to be “passive foreign investment companies” (“PFICs”), which are generally certain non-U.S. corporations that receive at least 75% of their annual gross income from passive sources (such as interest, dividends, certain rents and royalties or capital gains) or that hold at least 50% of their assets in investments producing such passive income. Therefore, the Funds could be subject to U.S. federal income tax and additional interest charges on gains and certain distributions with respect to those equity interests, even if all the income or gain is distributed to its shareholders in a timely manner. A Fund will not be able to pass through to its shareholders any credit or deduction for such taxes.

Real Estate Investment Trust Risk

REITs are financial vehicles that pool investors’ capital to purchase or finance real estate. REITs may concentrate their investments in specific geographic areas or in specific property types, e.g., hotels, shopping malls, residential complexes and office buildings. The market value of REIT shares and the ability of the REITs to distribute income may be adversely affected by several factors, including rising interest rates; changes in the national, state and local economic climate and real estate conditions; perceptions of prospective tenants of the safety, convenience and attractiveness of the properties; the ability of the owners to provide adequate management, maintenance and insurance; the cost of complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act; increased competition from new properties; the impact of present or future environmental legislation and compliance with environmental laws; changes in real estate taxes and other operating

expenses; adverse changes in governmental rules and fiscal policies; adverse changes in zoning laws; and other factors beyond the control of the issuers of the REITs. In addition, distributions received by a Fund from REITs may consist of dividends, capital gains and/or return of capital. Many of these distributions however will not generally qualify for favorable treatment as qualified dividend income.

Securities Lending Risk

Securities lending involves exposure to certain risks, including counterparty risk, collateral risk and operational risk. Counterparty risk is the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, a First Trust Fund engaged in securities lending transactions may suffer a loss and there may be a delay in recovering the lent securities. Any delay in the return of securities on loan may restrict the ability of a Fund to meet delivery or payment obligations. Collateral risk is the risk that the collateral received may be realized at a value lower than the value of the securities lent, whether due to inaccurate pricing of the collateral, adverse market movements in the value of the collateral, intra-day increases in the value of the securities lent, a deterioration in the credit rating of the collateral issuer, or the illiquidity of the market in which the collateral is traded. Securities lending also entails operational risks, such as settlement failures or delays in the settlement of instructions. Such failures or delays may restrict the ability of a Fund to meet delivery or payment obligations. Lastly, securities lending activities may result in adverse tax consequences for a Fund and its shareholders. For instance, substitute payments for dividends received by a Fund for securities loaned out by the Fund will not be considered qualified dividend income. A Fund could lose money if its short-term investment of the collateral declines in value over the period of the loan.

Small and Mid Capitalization Companies Risk

Certain of the equity securities in certain Funds may be small and/or mid capitalization company stocks. While historically such company stocks have outperformed the stocks of large companies, the former have customarily involved more investment risk as well. Small and mid capitalization companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources; may lack management depth or experience; and may be more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic developments than large companies. Some of these companies may distribute, sell or produce products which have recently been brought to market and may be dependent on key personnel.

The prices of small and mid capitalization company securities are often more volatile than prices associated with large company issues, and can display abrupt or erratic movements at times, due to limited trading volumes and less publicly available information. Also, because small and mid capitalization companies normally have fewer shares outstanding and these shares trade less frequently than large companies, it may be more difficult for a Fund which contains these equity securities to buy and sell significant amounts of such shares without an unfavorable impact on prevailing market prices. The securities of small and mid capitalization companies are often traded OTC and may not be traded in the volumes typical of a national securities exchange.

Variable Interest Entities Risk

In order to gain exposure to certain Chinese companies that are included in a Fund’s Index but are unavailable to direct investment by foreign investors, certain Funds invest significantly in non-Chinese shell companies that have created structures known as variable interest entities (“VIEs”) in order to gain exposure to such Chinese companies. In China, direct ownership of companies in certain sectors by foreign individuals and entities is prohibited. In order to allow for foreign investment in these businesses, many Chinese companies have created VIE structures to enable indirect foreign ownership. In such an arrangement, a Chinese operating company typically establishes an offshore shell company in another jurisdiction, such as the Cayman Islands. That shell company enters into service and other contracts with the Chinese issuer or operating company to obtain economic exposure to the Chinese company, then issues shares on an exchange outside of mainland China, and U.S. investors hold stock in the non-Chinese shell company rather than directly in the Chinese issuer or operating company. This arrangement allows U.S. investors, such as the Fund, to obtain economic exposure to the Chinese issuer or operating company through contractual means rather than through formal equity ownership. Because neither the shell company nor the Fund owns actual equity interests in the Chinese operating company, they do not have the voting rights or other types of control that an equity holder would expect to benefit from. Although VIEs are a longstanding industry practice and well known to officials and regulators in China, VIEs are not formally recognized under Chinese law. Intervention by the Chinese government with respect to VIEs could significantly affect the Chinese company’s performance and the enforceability of the VIE’s contractual arrangements that establish the links between the Chinese company and the shell company in which the Fund invests. This could considerably impact the financial condition of the shell company in which the Fund invests by limiting its ability to consolidate the financial results of the Chinese operating company into its own financial statements, as well as make the value of the shares held by the Fund effectively worthless. Further, if Chinese officials

prohibit the existence of VIEs, the market value of the Fund’s associated holdings would likely suffer significant, and possibly permanent effects, which could negatively impact the Fund’s net asset value and could result in substantial losses. Further, it is uncertain whether any new laws, rules or regulations relating to VIE structures will be adopted or, if adopted, what impact they would have on the value of the Fund’s shares.

VIEs are also subject to the investment risks associated with the underlying Chinese issuer or operating company. Chinese companies are not subject to the same degree of regulatory requirements or accounting standards and oversight as companies in more developed countries. As a result, information about the Chinese securities and VIEs in which the Fund invests may be less reliable and incomplete. There also may be significant obstacles to obtaining information necessary for investigations into or litigation against Chinese companies and VIEs, and shareholders may have limited legal remedies, which could negatively impact the Fund. Additionally, U.S.-listed VIEs may be delisted if they do not meet U.S. accounting standards and auditor oversight requirements. Delisting would significantly decrease the liquidity and value of the securities, decrease the ability of the Fund to invest in such securities and may increase the cost of the Fund if required to seek alternative markets in which to invest in such securities.

Management of the Funds

Trustees and Officers

The general supervision of the duties performed for the Funds under the investment management agreement is the responsibility of the Board of Trustees. There are six Trustees of the Trust, one of whom is an “interested person” (as the term is defined in the 1940 Act) and five of whom are Trustees who are not officers or employees of First Trust or any of its affiliates (“Independent Trustees”). The Trustees set broad policies for the Funds, choose the Trust’s officers and hire the Trust’s investment advisor. The officers of the Trust manage its day-to-day operations and are responsible to the Board of Trustees. The following is a list of the Trustees and executive officers of the Trust and a statement of their present positions and principal occupations during the past five years, the number of portfolios each Trustee oversees and the other directorships they have held during the past five years, if applicable. Each Trustee has been elected for an indefinite term. The officers of the Trust serve indefinite terms. Each Trustee, except for James A. Bowen, is an Independent Trustee. Mr. Bowen is deemed an “interested person” (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) (“Interested Trustee”) of the Trust due to his position as Chief Executive Officer of First Trust, investment advisor to the Funds. The following table identifies the Trustees and Officers of the Trust. Unless otherwise indicated, the address of all persons below is c/o First Trust Advisors L.P., 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400, Wheaton, IL 60187.

Name and Year of Birth	Position and Offices with Trust	Term of Office and Year First Elected or Appointed	Principal Occupations During Past 5 Years	Number of Portfolios in the First Trust Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee	Other Trusteeships or Directorships Held by Trustee During the Past 5 Years
TRUSTEE WHO IS AN INTERESTED PERSON OF THE TRUST
James A. Bowen (1) 1955	Chairman of the Board and Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Chief Executive Officer, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.; Chairman of the Board of Directors, BondWave LLC (Software Development Company) and Stonebridge Advisors LLC (Investment Advisor)	268 Portfolios	None
INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES
Richard E. Erickson 1951	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Retired; Physician, Edward-Elmhurst Medical Group (2021 to September 2023); Physician and Officer, Wheaton Orthopedics (1990 to 2021)	268 Portfolios	None

Name and Year of Birth	Position and Offices with Trust	Term of Office and Year First Elected or Appointed	Principal Occupations During Past 5 Years	Number of Portfolios in the First Trust Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee	Other Trusteeships or Directorships Held by Trustee During the Past 5 Years
INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES
Thomas R. Kadlec 1957	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Retired; President, ADM Investor Services, Inc. (Futures Commission Merchant) (2010 to July 2022)	268 Portfolios	Director, National Futures Association; formerly, Director of ADM Investor Services, Inc., ADM Investor Services International, ADMIS Hong Kong Ltd., ADMIS Singapore Ltd. and Futures Industry Association
Denise M. Keefe 1964	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since 2021	Executive Vice President, Advocate Aurora Health and President, Advocate Aurora Continuing Health Division (Integrated Healthcare System)	268 Portfolios	Director and Board Chair of Advocate Home Health Services, Advocate Home Care Products and Advocate Hospice; Director and Board Chair of Aurora At Home (since 2018); Director of Advocate Physician Partners Accountable Care Organization; Director of RML Long Term Acute Care Hospitals; Director of Senior Helpers (since 2021); and Director of MobileHelp (since 2022)
Robert F. Keith 1956	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	President, Hibs Enterprises (Financial and Management Consulting)	268 Portfolios	Formerly, Director of Trust Company of Illinois
Niel B. Nielson 1954	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Senior Advisor (2018 to present), Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer (2015 to 2018), Pelita Harapan Educational Foundation (Educational Products and Services)	268 Portfolios	None

Name and Year of Birth	Position and Offices with Trust	Term of Office and Length of Service	Principal Occupations During Past 5 Years
ADVISORY BOARD
Bronwyn Wright (2) 1971	Advisory Board Member	•Indefinite term •Since 2023	Independent Director to a number of Irish collective investment funds (2009 to present); Various roles at international affiliates of Citibank (1994 to 2009), including Managing Director, Citibank Europe plc and Head of Securities and Fund Services, Citi Ireland (2007 to 2009)
OFFICERS OF THE TRUST
James M. Dykas 1966	President and Chief Executive Officer	•Indefinite term •Since 2016	Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.; Chief Financial Officer, BondWave LLC (Software Development Company) and Stonebridge Advisors LLC (Investment Advisor)

Name and Year of Birth	Position and Offices with Trust	Term of Office and Length of Service	Principal Occupations During Past 5 Years
W. Scott Jardine 1960	Secretary and Chief Legal Officer	•Indefinite term •Since inception	General Counsel, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.; Secretary and General Counsel, BondWave LLC; and Secretary, Stonebridge Advisors LLC
Daniel J. Lindquist 1970	Vice President	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Managing Director, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Kristi A. Maher 1966	Chief Compliance Officer and Assistant Secretary	•Indefinite term •Chief Compliance Officer since January 2011 •Assistant Secretary since inception	Deputy General Counsel, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Derek D. Maltbie 1972	Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer	•Indefinite term •Since 2023	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P., July 2021 – present. Previously, Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P., 2014 –2021.
Roger F. Testin 1966	Vice President	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Stan Ueland 1970	Vice President	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.

(1)

Mr. Bowen is deemed an “interested person” of the Trust due to his position as Chief Executive Officer of First Trust, investment advisor of the Funds.

(2)

Ms. Wright serves as an Independent Trustee of various other funds in the First Trust Fund Complex (representing 244 portfolios), and as a director of First Trust Global Funds, a public limited company established in Ireland and an open-end umbrella fund representing 29 exchange-traded funds advised by First Trust, investment advisor of the Fund.

Unitary Board Leadership Structure

Each Trustee serves as a trustee of all open-end and closed-end funds in the First Trust Fund Complex (as defined below), which is known as a “unitary” board leadership structure. Each Trustee currently serves as a trustee of First Trust Series Fund and First Trust Variable Insurance Trust, open-end funds with 11 portfolios advised by First Trust; First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II, Macquarie/First Trust Global Infrastructure/Utilities Dividend & Income Fund, First Trust Energy Income and Growth Fund, First Trust Enhanced Equity Income Fund, First Trust/abrdn Global Opportunity Income Fund, First Trust Mortgage Income Fund, First Trust Specialty Finance and Financial Opportunities Fund, First Trust High Income Long/Short Fund, First Trust Energy Infrastructure Fund, First Trust MLP and Energy Income Fund, First Trust Intermediate Duration Preferred & Income Fund, First Trust New Opportunities MLP & Energy Fund and First Trust High Yield Opportunities 2027 Term Fund, closed-end funds advised by First Trust; and First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund, First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II, First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund III, First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund IV, First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund V, First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI, First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VII, First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII, First Trust Exchange-Traded AlphaDEX® Fund and First Trust Exchange-Traded AlphaDEX® Fund II, exchange-traded funds with 244 portfolios advised by First Trust (each a “First Trust Fund” and collectively, the “First Trust Fund Complex”). None of the Independent Trustees, nor any of their immediate family members, has ever been a director, officer or employee of, or consultant to, First Trust, First Trust Portfolios L.P. or their affiliates.

The management of the Funds, including general supervision of the duties performed for the Funds under the investment management agreement between the Trust, on behalf of the Funds, and the Advisor, is the responsibility of the Board of Trustees. The Trustees set broad policies for the Funds, choose the Trust’s officers and hire the Funds' investment advisor and other service providers. The officers of the Trust manage the day-to-day operations and are responsible to the Board. The Board is composed of five Independent Trustees and one Interested Trustee. The Interested Trustee, James A. Bowen, serves as the Chairman of the Board for each fund in the First Trust Fund Complex.

The unitary board structure was adopted for the First Trust Funds because of the efficiencies it achieves with respect to the governance and oversight of the First Trust Funds. Each First Trust Fund is subject to the rules and regulations of the 1940 Act (and other applicable securities laws), which means that many of the First Trust Funds face similar issues with respect to certain of their fundamental activities, including risk management, portfolio liquidity, portfolio valuation and financial reporting. Because of the similar and often overlapping issues facing the First Trust Funds, including among the First Trust exchange-traded funds, the Board of the First Trust Funds believes that maintaining a unitary board structure promotes efficiency and consistency in the governance and oversight of all First Trust Funds and reduces the costs, administrative burdens and possible conflicts that may result from having multiple boards. In adopting a unitary board

structure, the Trustees seek to provide effective governance through establishing a board the overall composition of which will, as a body, possess the appropriate skills, diversity, independence and experience to oversee the Funds' business.

Annually, the Board reviews its governance structure and the committee structures, their performance and functions, and it reviews any processes that would enhance Board governance over the Funds' business. The Board has determined that its leadership structure, including the unitary board and committee structure, is appropriate based on the characteristics of the funds it serves and the characteristics of the First Trust Fund Complex as a whole.

In order to streamline communication between the Advisor and the Independent Trustees and create certain efficiencies, the Board has a Lead Independent Trustee who is responsible for: (i) chairing all meetings of the Independent Trustees; (ii) working with the Advisor, Fund counsel and the independent legal counsel to the Independent Trustees to determine the agenda for Board meetings; (iii) serving as the principal contact for and facilitating communication between the Independent Trustees and the Funds' service providers, particularly the Advisor; and (iv) any other duties that the Independent Trustees may delegate to the Lead Independent Trustee. The Lead Independent Trustee is selected by the Independent Trustees and serves for such term as approved by the Independent Trustees or until his or her successor is selected. Robert F. Keith currently serves as the Lead Independent Trustee.

Effective March 12, 2024, the Independent Trustees may select one Independent Trustee to serve as a Vice Lead Independent Trustee for such term as approved by the Independent Trustees or until his or her successor is selected. The Vice Lead Independent Trustee assists the Lead Independent Trustee in the performance of his or her responsibilities and, in the absence of the Lead Independent Trustee, may act in the place of the Lead Independent Trustee. The Vice Lead Independent Trustee is also responsible for any other duties that the Independent Trustees may delegate to him or her. Thomas R. Kadlec was appointed to serve as the Vice Lead Independent Trustee, effective March 12, 2024.

The Board has established five standing committees (as described below) and has delegated certain of its responsibilities to those committees. The Board and its committees meet frequently throughout the year to oversee the Funds' activities, review contractual arrangements with and performance of service providers, oversee compliance with regulatory requirements and review Fund performance. The Independent Trustees are represented by independent legal counsel at all Board and committee meetings (other than meetings of the Dividend Committee). Generally, the Board acts by majority vote of all the Trustees, including a majority vote of the Independent Trustees if required by applicable law.

The five standing committees of the Board are: the Executive Committee, the Dividend Committee, the Nominating and Governance Committee, the Valuation Committee and the Audit Committee. The Dividend Committee, the Nominating and Governance Committee, the Valuation Committee and the Audit Committee each have a Chair and, since March 12, 2024, the Audit Committee has had a Vice Chair. The Committee Chairs, the Audit Committee Vice Chair, the Lead Independent Trustee and the Vice Lead Independent Trustee rotate periodically in serving in such capacities. The next rotation is currently scheduled to be effective January 1, 2026. In addition, the Lead Independent Trustee and the Vice Lead Independent Trustee currently serve on the Executive Committee with the Interested Trustee.

The Nominating and Governance Committee is responsible for appointing and nominating non-interested persons to the Board of Trustees. Messrs. Erickson, Kadlec, Keith, Nielson and Ms. Keefe are members of the Nominating and Governance Committee. If there is no vacancy on the Board of Trustees, the Board will not actively seek recommendations from other parties, including shareholders. The Board of Trustees has adopted a mandatory retirement age of 75 for Independent Trustees, beyond which age Independent Trustees are ineligible to serve. The Committee will not consider new trustee candidates who are 72 years of age or older or will turn 72 years old during the initial term. When a vacancy on the Board of Trustees occurs or is anticipated to occur and nominations are sought to fill such vacancy, the Nominating and Governance Committee may seek nominations from those sources it deems appropriate in its discretion, including shareholders of the applicable Funds. To submit a recommendation for nomination as a candidate for a position on the Board of Trustees, shareholders of the applicable Funds should mail such recommendation to W. Scott Jardine, Secretary, at the Trust’s address, 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400, Wheaton, Illinois 60187. Such recommendation shall include the following information: (i) evidence of Fund ownership of the person or entity recommending the candidate (if a Fund shareholder); (ii) a full description of the proposed candidate’s background, including education, experience, current employment and date of birth; (iii) names and addresses of at least three professional references for the candidate; (iv) information as to whether the candidate is an “interested person” in relation to the Funds, as such term is defined in the 1940 Act, and such other information that may be considered to impair the candidate’s independence; and (v) any other information that may be helpful to the Committee in evaluating the candidate. If a recommendation is received with satisfactorily completed information regarding a candidate during a time when a vacancy exists on the Board or during such other time as the Nominating and Governance Committee is accepting recommendations, the recommendation will be

forwarded to the Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee and to counsel to the Independent Trustees. During the last fiscal year, the Nominating and Governance Committee held four meetings.

The Valuation Committee is responsible for the oversight of the Advisor as the "Valuation Designee" under Rule 2a-5 of the 1940 Act and its implementation of the valuation of the securities held in the Funds' portfolios. Messrs. Erickson, Kadlec, Keith, Nielson and Ms. Keefe are members of the Valuation Committee. During the last fiscal year, the Valuation Committee held four meetings.

The Audit Committee is responsible for overseeing each Fund’s accounting and financial reporting process, the system of internal controls and audit process and for evaluating and appointing independent auditors (subject also to Board approval). Messrs. Erickson, Kadlec, Keith, Nielson and Ms. Keefe serve on the Audit Committee. During the last fiscal year, the Audit Committee held eight meetings.

The Executive Committee, which meets between Board meetings, is authorized to exercise all powers of and to act in the place of the Board to the extent permitted by each Fund’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws. Mr. Bowen, Mr. Keith and Mr. Kadlec are members of the Executive Committee. During the last fiscal year, the Executive Committee did not hold any meetings.

The Dividend Committee is responsible for assisting the Board in, or assuming the authority and power of the Board with respect to, the declaration and setting of each Fund's dividends. Messrs. Keith and Kadlec serve on the Dividend Committee. During the last fiscal year, the Dividend Committee did not hold any meetings.

Advisory Board

Ms. Bronwyn Wright will serve as an independent advisory board member to the Trust. In this capacity, Ms. Wright will confer with and provide non-binding advice to the Board, as requested, regarding the oversight of the affairs of the Fund, but will not vote or otherwise have decision-making authority on matters affecting the Fund.

Executive Officers

The executive officers of the Trust hold the same positions with each fund in the First Trust Fund Complex (representing 268 portfolios) as they hold with the Trust, except Mr. Ueland who is an executive officer of only the ETFs advised by First Trust and Mr. Testin who is an executive officer of only the ETFs and open-end funds advised by First Trust.

Risk Oversight

As part of the general oversight of the Funds, the Board is involved in the risk oversight of the Funds. The Board has adopted and periodically reviews policies and procedures designed to address each Fund’s risks. Oversight of investment and compliance risk is performed primarily at the Board level in conjunction with the Advisor’s investment oversight group and the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”). Oversight of other risks also occurs at the committee level. The Advisor’s investment oversight group reports to the Board at quarterly meetings regarding, among other things, Fund performance and the various drivers of such performance. The Board reviews reports on the Funds' and the service providers’ compliance policies and procedures at each quarterly Board meeting and receives an annual report from the CCO regarding the operations of the Funds' and the service providers’ compliance programs. In addition, the Independent Trustees meet privately each quarter with the CCO. The Audit Committee reviews, with the Advisor and the Funds' independent auditors, each Fund’s major financial risk exposures and the steps the Advisor has taken to monitor and control these exposures, including each Fund’s risk assessment and risk management policies and guidelines. The Audit Committee also, as appropriate, reviews in a general manner the processes other Board committees have in place with respect to risk assessment and risk management. The Nominating and Governance Committee monitors all matters related to the corporate governance of the Trust. The Valuation Committee monitors valuation risk and oversees the Advisor's performance as Valuation Designee.

provider to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity). There can be no guarantee that any risk management systems established by the Funds, its service providers, or issuers of the securities in which the Funds invests to reduce cyber security risks will succeed, and the Funds cannot control such systems put in place by service providers, issuers or other third parties whose operations may affect the Funds and/or its shareholders. Moreover, it is necessary to bear certain risks (such as investment-related risks) to achieve a Fund's goals. As a result of the foregoing and other factors, a Fund's ability to manage risk is subject to substantial limitations.

Board Diversification and Trustee Qualifications

As described above, the Nominating and Governance Committee of the Board oversees matters related to the selection and nomination of Trustees. The Nominating and Governance Committee seeks to establish an effective Board with an appropriate range of skills and diversity, including, as appropriate, differences in background, professional experience, education, vocation, and other individual characteristics and traits in the aggregate. Each Trustee must meet certain basic requirements, including relevant skills and experience, time availability and, if qualifying as an Independent Trustee, independence from the Advisor, underwriters or other service providers, including any affiliates of these entities.

Listed below for each current Trustee are the experiences, qualifications and attributes that led to the conclusion, as of the date of this SAI, that each current Trustee should serve as a Trustee in light of the Trust’s business and structure.

Richard E. Erickson, M.D., was previously an orthopedic surgeon with Edward-Elmhurst Medical Group from 2021 to September 2023. Prior thereto, he was President of Wheaton Orthopedics (from 1990 to 2021), a co-owner and director of a fitness center and a limited partner of two real estate companies. Dr. Erickson has served as a Trustee of each First Trust Fund since its inception and of the First Trust Funds since 1999. Dr. Erickson has also served as the Lead Independent Trustee (2008–2009 and 2017–2019) and on the Executive Committee (2008–2009 and 2017–2022), Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee (2003–2007 and 2014–2016), Chairman of the Audit Committee (2012–2013) and Chairman of the Valuation Committee (June 2006–2007; 2010–2011 and 2020–2022) of the First Trust Funds. He currently serves as Chairman of the Audit Committee (since January 1, 2023) of the First Trust Funds.

Thomas R. Kadlec was previously President of ADM Investor Services Inc. (“ADMIS”), a futures commission merchant and wholly-owned subsidiary of the Archer Daniels Midland Company (“ADM”) from 2010 to July 2022. Mr. Kadlec was employed by ADMIS and its affiliates since 1990 in various accounting, financial, operations and risk management capacities. Mr. Kadlec served on the boards of several international affiliates of ADMIS until July 2022 and served as a member of ADM’s Integrated Risk Committee from 2008–2018, which was tasked with the duty of implementing and communicating enterprise-wide risk management. From 2014 to 2022, Mr. Kadlec was on the board of the Futures Industry Association. In 2017, Mr. Kadlec was elected to the board of the National Futures Association. Mr. Kadlec has served as a Trustee of each First Trust Fund since its inception. Mr. Kadlec also served on the Executive Committee from the organization of the first First Trust closed-end fund in 2003 through 2005 (and 2014–2019) until he was elected as the first Lead Independent Trustee in December 2005, serving as such through 2007 (and 2014–2016). He also served as Chairman of the Valuation Committee (2008–2009 and 2017–2019), Chairman of the Audit Committee (2010–2011 and 2020–2022) and Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee (2012–2013). He currently serves as Vice Lead Independent Trustee (since March 12, 2024), on the Executive Committee (since March 12, 2024), on the Dividend Committee (since March 12, 2024) and as Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee (since January 1, 2023) of the First Trust Funds.

Denise M. Keefe is Executive Vice President of Advocate Aurora Health and President of Advocate Aurora Continuing Health Division (together, “Advocate”), one of the largest integrated healthcare systems in the U.S. serving Illinois and Wisconsin. Ms. Keefe has been employed by Advocate since 1993 and is responsible for the Continuing Health Division’s strategic direction, fiscal management, business development, revenue enhancement, operational efficiencies, and human resource management of 4,000 employees. Ms. Keefe also currently serves on the boards of several organizations within the Advocate Aurora Continuing Health Division and other health care organizations, including RML Long Term Acute Care Hospitals (since 2014) and Senior Helpers (since 2021). Prior thereto, Ms. Keefe was Corporate Vice President, Marketing and Business Development for the Visiting Nurse Association of Chicago (1989–1992) and a former Board Member of Sherman West Court Skilled Nursing Facility. Ms. Keefe has served as a Trustee of the First Trust Funds and on the Audit Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee and Valuation Committee of the First Trust Funds since November 1, 2021. In addition, she currently serves as Audit Committee Vice Chair (since March 12, 2024) of the First Trust Funds.

Robert F. Keith is President of Hibs Enterprises, a financial and management consulting firm. Mr. Keith has been with Hibs Enterprises since 2003. Prior thereto, Mr. Keith spent 18 years with ServiceMaster and Aramark, including three years as President and COO of ServiceMaster Consumer Services, where he led the initial expansion of certain products overseas; five years as President and COO of ServiceMaster Management Services; and two years as President of Aramark ServiceMaster Management Services. Mr. Keith is a certified public accountant and also has held the positions of Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of ServiceMaster, at which time he oversaw the financial aspects of ServiceMaster’s expansion of its Management Services division into Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Mr. Keith has served as a Trustee of the First Trust Funds since 2006. Mr. Keith has also served as the Chairman of the Audit Committee (2008–2009 and 2017–2019), Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee (2010–2011 and 2020–2022) and Chairman of the Valuation Committee (2014–2016) of the First Trust Funds. He served as Lead Independent Trustee and on the Executive Committee (2012–2016). He currently serves as Lead Independent Trustee and on the Executive Committee (since January 1, 2023) and as Chairman of the Dividend Committee (since January 1, 2023) of the First Trust Funds.

Niel B. Nielson, Ph.D., has been the Senior Advisor of Pelita Harapan Educational Foundation, a global provider of educational products and services since 2018. Prior thereto, Mr. Nielson served as the Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Pelita Harapan Educational Foundation for three years. Mr. Nielson formerly served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Dew Learning LLC from 2012 through 2014. Mr. Nielson formerly served as President of Covenant College (2002–2012), and as a partner and trader (of options and futures contracts for hedging options) for Ritchie Capital Markets Group (1996–1997), where he held an administrative management position at this proprietary derivatives trading company. He also held prior positions in new business development for ServiceMaster Management Services Company and in personnel and human resources for NationsBank of North Carolina, N.A. and Chicago Research and Trading Group, Ltd. (“CRT”). His international experience includes serving as a director of CRT Europe, Inc. for two years, directing out of London all aspects of business conducted by the U.K. and European subsidiary of CRT. Prior to that, Mr. Nielson was a trader and manager at CRT in Chicago. Mr. Nielson has served as a Trustee of each First Trust Fund since its inception and of the First Trust Funds since 1999. Mr. Nielson has also served as Chairman of the Audit Committee (2003–2007 and 2014–2016), Chairman of the Valuation Committee (2012–2013), Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee (2008–2009 and 2017–2019), Chairman of the Dividend Committee (2020–2022), and Lead Independent Trustee (2010–2011 and 2020–2022) of the First Trust Funds. Further, he has served as a member of the Executive Committee (2010–2011 and January 1, 2020 – March 12, 2024) and the Dividend Committee (October 19, 2020 – March 12, 2024) of the First Trust Funds. He currently serves as Chairman of the Valuation Committee (since January 1, 2023) of the First Trust Funds.

James A. Bowen is Chief Executive Officer of First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P. Mr. Bowen is involved in the day-to-day management of the First Trust Funds and serves on the Executive Committee. He has over 35 years of experience in the investment company business in sales, sales management and executive management. Mr. Bowen has served as a Trustee of each First Trust Fund since its inception and of the First Trust Funds since 1999.

Effective January 1, 2024, the fixed annual retainer paid to the Independent Trustees is $285,000 per year and an annual per fund fee of $7,500 for each closed-end fund, $2,000 for each actively managed fund, $750 for each target outcome fund and $500 for each index fund. The fixed annual retainer is allocated equally among each fund in the First Trust Fund Complex rather than being allocated pro rata based on each fund’s net assets. Additionally, the Lead Independent Trustee is paid $30,000 annually, the Vice Lead Independent Trustee is paid up to $25,000 annually (effective March 12, 2024), the Chairman of the Audit Committee is paid $25,000 annually, the Chairman of the Valuation Committee is paid $20,000 annually, the Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee is paid $20,000 annually and the Vice Chair of the Audit Committee is paid $15,000 annually (effective March 12, 2024) to serve in such capacities with compensation allocated pro rata among each fund in the First Trust Fund Complex based on its net assets. Trustees are also reimbursed by the funds in the First Trust Fund Complex for travel and out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with all meetings. Each Committee Chair, the Audit Committee Vice Chair, the Lead Independent Trustee and the Vice Lead Independent Trustee rotate in accordance with the rotation periods established by the Board.

The following table sets forth the total compensation (including reimbursement for travel and out-of-pocket expenses) paid by the Funds and the First Trust Fund Complex to each of the Independent Trustees for the fiscal year and the calendar year ended December 31, 2023, respectively. The Trust has no retirement or pension plans. The officers and Trustee who are “interested persons” as designated above serve without any compensation from the Trust. The Trust has no employees. Its officers are compensated by First Trust.

Name of Trustee	Total Compensation from the Funds (1)	Total Compensation from the First Trust Fund Complex (2)
Richard E. Erickson	$27,899	$572,000
Thomas R. Kadlec	$26,553	$567,000
Denise M. Keefe	$21,207	$547,000
Robert F. Keith	$29,226	$577,000
Niel B. Nielson	$26,553	$567,000

(1)

The compensation paid by the Funds to the Independent Trustees for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 for services to the Funds.

(2)

The total compensation paid to the Independent Trustees for the calendar year ended December 31, 2023 for services to the 262 portfolios existing in 2023, which consisted of 11 open-end mutual funds, 14 closed-end funds and 237 exchange-traded funds.

The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by the Trustees in the Funds as of December 31, 2023:

Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Funds

	Interested Trustee	Independent Trustees
Fund	James A. Bowen	Richard E. Erickson	Thomas R. Kadlec	Denise M. Keefe	Robert F. Keith	Niel B. Nielson
First Trust Capital Strength ETF	N/A	$50,001- $100,000	N/A	N/A	N/A	$10,001- $50,000
First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund	Over $100,000	N/A	N/A	N/A	$10,001- $50,000	N/A
First Trust Water ETF	Over $100,000	N/A	$10,001- $50,00	N/A	N/A	N/A
First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund	N/A	$10,001- $50,000	N/A	N/A	$50,001- $100,000	$10,001- $50,000
First Trust NASDAQ® ABA Community Bank Index Fund	Over $100,000	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
First Trust NYSE® Arca® Biotechnology Index Fund	N/A	N/A	$10,001- $50,000	N/A	N/A	N/A
First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	$50,001- $100,000	$10,001- $50,000
First Trust Value Line® Dividend Index Fund	Over $100,000	Over $100,000	Over $100,000	N/A	N/A	$10,001- $50,000
First Trust NASDAQ-100- Technology Sector Index Fund	N/A	N/A	N/A	$50,001- $100,000	N/A	N/A

	Interested Trustee	Independent Trustees
Fund	James A. Bowen	Richard E. Erickson	Thomas R. Kadlec	Denise M. Keefe	Robert F. Keith	Niel B. Nielson
Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities in All Registered Investment Companies Overseen by Trustee in the First Trust Fund Complex	Over $100,000	Over $100,000	Over $100,000	Over $100,000	Over $100,000	Over $100,000

As of March 31, 2024, the Independent Trustees of the Trust and their immediate family members did not own beneficially or of record any class of securities of an investment advisor or principal underwriter of the Funds or any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with an investment advisor or principal underwriter of the Funds.

As of March 31, 2024, the officers and Trustees, in the aggregate, owned less than 1% of the shares of each Fund.

The table set forth in Exhibit A shows the percentage ownership of each shareholder or “group” (as that term is used in Section 13(d) of the 1934 Act) who, based on the securities position listing reports as of March 31, 2024, owned of record, or is known by the Trust to have owned of record or beneficially, 5% or more of the shares of a Fund (the “Principal Holders”). A control person is one who owns, either directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the voting securities of a Fund or acknowledges the existence of control. A party that controls a Fund may be able to significantly influence the outcome of any item presented to shareholders for approval. The Funds do not have any knowledge of who the ultimate beneficiaries are of the shares.

Investment Advisor. First Trust, 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, is the investment advisor to the Funds. First Trust is a limited partnership with one limited partner, Grace Partners of DuPage L.P., and one general partner, The Charger Corporation. Grace Partners of DuPage L.P. is a limited partnership with one general partner, The Charger Corporation, and a number of limited partners. The Charger Corporation is an Illinois corporation controlled by James A. Bowen, the Chief Executive Officer of First Trust. First Trust discharges its responsibilities to the Funds subject to the policies of the Funds.

First Trust provides investment tools and portfolios for advisors and investors. First Trust is committed to theoretically sound portfolio construction and empirically verifiable investment management approaches. Its asset management philosophy and investment discipline are deeply rooted in the application of intuitive factor analysis and model implementation to enhance investment decisions.

First Trust acts as investment advisor for the Funds and manages the investment and reinvestment of the assets of the Funds. First Trust also administers the Trust’s business affairs, provides office facilities and equipment and certain clerical, bookkeeping and administrative services, and permits any of its officers or employees to serve without compensation as Trustees or officers of the Trust if elected to such positions.

Pursuant to an investment management agreement between First Trust and the Trust, on behalf of the Funds (the "Investment Management Agreement"), First Trust manages each Fund’s assets. First Trust is paid an annual management fee based upon each Fund’s average daily net assets at the rate set forth in the table below. Additionally, First Trust and the Trust, on behalf of the Funds, have entered into an Expense Reimbursement and Fee Waiver Agreement (“Agreement”) pursuant to which First Trust has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse Fund expenses to the extent that the operating expenses of each such Fund (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses) exceed the amounts set forth in the table below as a percentage of such Fund’s average daily net assets per year (the “Expense Caps”) at least through April 30, 2025 (the "Expense Cap Termination Date"). Each Fund is responsible for all of its expenses, including management fees, costs of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other services, interest, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses related to the execution of portfolio transactions, paying for its sublicensing fees related to the Fund’s Index, any distribution fees or expenses, and extraordinary expenses.

Fund	Annual Management Fee	Annual Expense Cap
First Trust Capital Strength ETF	0.50% of average daily net assets	0.65% of average daily net assets
First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund	0.40% of average daily net assets	0.60% of average daily net assets
First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund	0.50% of average daily net assets	0.60% of average daily net assets
First Trust Natural Gas ETF	0.40% of average daily net assets	0.60% of average daily net assets
First Trust Water ETF	0.40% of average daily net assets	0.60% of average daily net assets
First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund	0.30% of average daily net assets	0.45% of average daily net assets
First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund	0.40% of average daily net assets	0.60% of average daily net assets
First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund	0.40% of average daily net assets	0.60% of average daily net assets
First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund	0.40% of average daily net assets	0.60% of average daily net assets
First Trust NASDAQ® ABA Community Bank Index Fund	0.40% of average daily net assets	0.60% of average daily net assets
First Trust NASDAQ® Clean Edge® Green Energy Index Fund	0.40% of average daily net assets	0.60% of average daily net assets
First Trust NYSE® Arca® Biotechnology Index Fund	0.40% of average daily net assets	0.60% of average daily net assets
First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund	0.30% of average daily net assets	0.50% of average daily net assets
First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF	0.40% of average daily net assets	0.60% of average daily net assets
First Trust Value Line® Dividend Index Fund	0.50% of average daily net assets	0.70% of average daily net assets

As approved by the Trust’s Board of Trustees, the management fee paid to the Advisor for First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund, First Trust Natural Gas ETF, First Trust Water ETF, First Trust Nasdaq-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund, First Trust Nasdaq-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund, First Trust Nasdaq-100-Technology Sector Index Fund, First Trust NASDAQ® ABA Community Bank Index Fund, First Trust NASDAQ® Clean Edge® Green Energy Index Fund, First Trust NYSE® Arca® Biotechnology Index Fund and First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF will be reduced at certain levels of Fund net assets (“breakpoints”) and calculated pursuant to the schedule below:

Management Fee	Breakpoints
0.40000%	Fund net assets up to and including $2.5 billion
0.39000%	Fund net assets greater than $2.5 billion up to and including $5 billion
0.38000%	Fund net assets greater than $5 billion up to and including $7.5 billion
0.37000%	Fund net assets greater than $7.5 billion up to and including $10 billion
0.36000%	Fund net assets greater than $10 billion up to and including $15 billion
0.34000%	Fund net assets greater than $15 billion

As approved by the Trust’s Board of Trustees, the management fee paid to the Advisor for First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund and First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund will be reduced at certain levels of Fund net assets (“breakpoints”) and calculated pursuant to the schedule below:

Management Fee	Breakpoints
0.30000%	Fund net assets up to and including $2.5 billion
0.29250%	Fund net assets greater than $2.5 billion up to and including $5 billion
0.28500%	Fund net assets greater than $5 billion up to and including $7.5 billion
0.27750%	Fund net assets greater than $7.5 billion up to and including $10 billion
0.27000%	Fund net assets greater than $10 billion up to and including $15 billion
0.25500%	Fund net assets greater than $15 billion

As approved by the Trust’s Board of Trustees, the management fee paid to the Advisor for First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund, First Trust Capital Strength ETF and First Trust Value Line® Dividend Index Fund will be reduced at certain levels of Fund net assets (“breakpoints”) and calculated pursuant to the schedule below:

Management Fee	Breakpoints
0.50000%	Fund net assets up to and including $2.5 billion
0.48750%	Fund net assets greater than $2.5 billion up to and including $5 billion
0.47500%	Fund net assets greater than $5 billion up to and including $7.5 billion
0.46250%	Fund net assets greater than $7.5 billion up to and including $10 billion
0.45000%	Fund net assets greater than $10 billion up to and including $15 billion
0.42500%	Fund net assets greater than $15 billion

The Advisor and the Trust, on behalf of the Funds, had previously entered into an Expense Reimbursement, Fee Waiver and Recovery Agreement (the “Agreement”) pursuant to which the Advisor has agreed to waive a portion of its management fees and/or reimburse Fund expenses to the extent that the operating expenses of a Fund exceed a certain level as described in the Fund’s prospectus. In connection with the introduction of the breakpoints discussed above, by amendment of the Agreement, the Advisor has agreed to remove its ability to recover previous expenses borne and fees waived under the Agreement.

The following table sets forth the management fees (net of fee waivers and expense reimbursements, where applicable) paid by each Fund to First Trust and the fees waived and expenses reimbursed, by First Trust for the specified periods.

	Amount of Management Fees (Net of Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursements by First Trust)			Amount of Fees Waived and Expenses Reimbursed By First Trust
Fund	Fiscal Year Ended December 31,			Fiscal Year Ended December 31,
Fund	2023	2022	2021	2023	2022	2021
First Trust Capital Strength ETF	$41,764,570	$41,668,743	$40,507,949	$0	$0	$0
First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund	$19,150,285	$20,800,689	$42,311,230	$0	$0	$0
First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund	$632,460	$644,466	$669,416	$129,295	$136,019	$139,062
First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund	$13,534,809	$8,748,870	$4,744,231	$0	$75,072	$131,819
First Trust NASDAQ® ABA Community Bank Index Fund	$296,790	$446,602	$464,270	$67,713	$27,964	$32,356
First Trust NASDAQ® Clean Edge® Green Energy Index Fund	$5,733,465	$8,486,416	$11,048,556	$0	$0	$0
First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund	$6,859,886	$4,515,121	$5,172,645	$0	$0	$0
First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund	$648,126	$460,348	$561,060	$28,119	$36,314	$23,534
First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund	$8,414,655	$8,348,846	$14,476,626	$0	$0	$0
First Trust Natural Gas ETF	$2,280,761	$3,123,097	$1,099,102	$11,004	$0	$9,649
First Trust NYSE® Arca® Biotechnology Index Fund	$5,533,029	$5,601,871	$7,639,573	$0	$0	$0

	Amount of Management Fees (Net of Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursements by First Trust)			Amount of Fees Waived and Expenses Reimbursed By First Trust
Fund	Fiscal Year Ended December 31,			Fiscal Year Ended December 31,
Fund	2023	2022	2021	2023	2022	2021
First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund	$332,667	$582,982	$414,431	$33,968	$9,263	$14,335
First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF	$3,058,739	$4,647,348	$8,100,111	$0	$0	$0
First Trust Value Line® Dividend Index Fund	$55,735,407	$61,052,150	$58,233,975	$0	$0	$0
First Trust Water ETF	$5,403,393	$5,087,181	$4,392,266	$0	$0	$0

Under the Investment Management Agreement, First Trust shall not be liable for any loss sustained by reason of the purchase, sale or retention of any security, whether or not such purchase, sale or retention shall have been based upon the investigation and research made by any other individual, firm or corporation, if such recommendation shall have been selected with due care and in good faith, except loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence on the part of First Trust in the performance of its obligations and duties, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties. The Investment Management Agreement terminates automatically upon assignment and is terminable at any time without penalty as to a Fund by the Board of Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, or by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities on 60 days’ written notice to First Trust, or by First Trust on 60 days’ written notice to the Fund.

Investment Committee. The Investment Committee of First Trust (the “Investment Committee”) is jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds. There are currently seven members of the Investment Committee, as follows:

Name	Position with First Trust	Length of Service with First Trust	Principal Occupation During Past Five Years
Daniel J. Lindquist	Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director	Since 2004	Managing Director, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
David G. McGarel	Chief Operating Officer, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director	Since 1997	Chief Operating Officer (2016 to present), Chief Investment Officer, Managing Director, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Jon C. Erickson	Senior Vice President	Since 1994	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Roger F. Testin	Senior Vice President	Since 2001	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Stan Ueland	Senior Vice President	Since 2005	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Chris A. Peterson	Senior Vice President	Since 2000	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Erik Russo	Vice President	Since 2010	Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.

Daniel J. Lindquist, CFA: Mr. Lindquist is Chairman of the Investment Committee and presides over Investment Committee meetings. Mr. Lindquist is also responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Funds' investment strategies.

David G. McGarel, CFA: As First Trust's Chief Investment Officer, Mr. McGarel consults with the Investment Committee on market conditions and First Trust's general investment philosophy. As Chief Operating Officer, Mr. McGarel is responsible for First Trust and FTP operations, including information systems, trust administration and First Trust administration.

Jon C. Erickson, CFA: As the head of First Trust’s Equity Research Group, Mr. Erickson is responsible for determining the securities to be purchased and sold by funds that do not utilize quantitative investment strategies.

Roger F. Testin, CFA: As head of First Trust’s Portfolio Management Group, Mr. Testin is responsible for executing the instructions of the Strategy Research Group and Equity Research Group.

Stan Ueland: Mr. Ueland is a Senior Vice President and is responsible for executing the investment strategies of the Funds.

Chris A. Peterson, CFA: Mr. Peterson is a Senior Vice President and head of the strategy research group at First Trust. Mr. Peterson is responsible for developing and implementing quantitative equity investment strategies.

Erik Russo: Mr. Russo is a Vice President of First Trust. He is responsible for implementing the investment strategies of each portfolio of exchange-traded funds advised by First Trust in his role as a portfolio manager.

The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities of the Funds beneficially owned by the members of the Investment Committee as of December 31, 2023:

Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Funds

	Investment Committee
Fund	Dan Lindquist	David G. McGarel	Jon C. Erickson	Roger F. Testin	Stan Ueland	Chris A. Peterson	Erik D. Russo
First Trust Capital Strength ETF	$10,001- $50,000	$1- $10,000	N/A	$10,001- $50,000	$10,001- $50,000	N/A	N/A
First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund	N/A	$50,001- $100,000	N/A	$10,001- $50,000	$50,001- $100,000	N/A	N/A
First Trust Natural Gas ETF	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	$1- 10,000
First Trust Water ETF	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	$10,001- $50,000	N/A	N/A
First Trust NASDAQ-100- Technology Sector Index Fund	N/A	$50,001- $100,000	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
First Trust NASDAQ® ABA Community Bank Index Fund	$10,001- $50,000	$10,001- $50,000	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
First Trust NASDAQ® Clean Edge® Green Energy Index Fund	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	$10,001- $50,000	N/A	N/A
First Trust NYSE® Arca® Biotechnology Index Fund	$10,001- $50,000	$10,001- $50,000	N/A	N/A	$10,001- $50,000	N/A	$10,001- $50,000
First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund	$1- 10,000	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF	$10,001- $50,000	Over $100,000	N/A	$10,001- $50,000	$1- 10,000	N/A	N/A
First Trust Value Line® Dividend Index Fund	$10,001- $50,000	Over $100,000	N/A	$10,001- $50,000	$10,001- $50,000	N/A	N/A

management and are based upon an individual’s position and overall value to the firm. Bonuses are also determined by management and are based upon an individual’s overall contribution to the success of the firm and the profitability of the firm. Salaries and bonuses for members of the Investment Committee are not based upon criteria such as performance of the Funds or the value of assets included in the Funds’ portfolios. In addition, Mr. Lindquist, Mr. McGarel, Mr. Erickson, Mr. Ueland and Mr. Peterson also have an indirect ownership stake in the firm and will therefore receive their allocable share of ownership-related distributions.

Accounts Managed by Investment Committee

The Investment Committee manages the investment vehicles (other than the Funds) with the number of accounts and assets, as of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, set forth in the table below:

Investment Committee Member	Registered Investment Companies Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Other Pooled Investment Vehicles Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Other Accounts Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Registered Investment Companies With Performance Fees Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Other Pooled Investment Vehicles With Performance Fees Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Other Accounts With Performance Fees Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)
Daniel J. Lindquist	106 ($47,797,106)	44 ($2,082,628)	1,098 ($415,831)	N/A	N/A	N/A
David G. McGarel	107 ($47,816,786)	44 ($2,082,628)	1,098 ($415,831)	N/A	N/A	N/A
Jon C. Erickson	103 ($47,782,667)	44 ($2,082,628)	1,098 ($415,831)	N/A	N/A	N/A
Roger F. Testin	103 ($47,782,667)	44 ($2,082,628)	1,098 ($415,831)	N/A	N/A	N/A
Stan Ueland	97 ($46,699,334)	37 ($1,947,979)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Chris A. Peterson	107 ($47,816,786)	44 ($2,082,628)	1,098 ($415,831)	N/A	N/A	N/A
Erik Russo	97 ($46,699,334)	37 ($1,947,979)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Conflicts. None of the accounts managed by the Investment Committee pay an advisory fee that is based upon the performance of the account. In addition, First Trust believes that there are no material conflicts of interest that may arise in connection with the Investment Committee's management of the Funds' investments and the investments of the other accounts managed by the Investment Committee. However, because the investment strategy of the Funds and the investment strategies of many of the other accounts managed by the Investment Committee are based on fairly mechanical investment processes, the Investment Committee may recommend that certain clients sell and other clients buy a given security at the same time. In addition, because the investment strategies of the Funds and other accounts managed by the Investment Committee generally result in the clients investing in readily available securities, First Trust believes that there should not be material conflicts in the allocation of investment opportunities between the Funds and other accounts managed by the Investment Committee.

Brokerage Allocations

First Trust is responsible for decisions to buy and sell securities for the Funds and for the placement of the Funds' securities business, the negotiation of the commissions to be paid on brokered transactions, the prices for principal trades in securities, and the allocation of portfolio brokerage and principal business. It is the policy of First Trust to seek the best execution at the best security price available with respect to each transaction, and with respect to brokered transactions in light of the overall quality of brokerage and research services provided to First Trust and its clients. The best price to a Fund means the best net price without regard to the mix between purchase or sale price and commission, if any. Purchases may be made from underwriters, dealers and, on occasion, the issuers. Commissions will be paid on a Fund's futures and options transactions, if any. The purchase price of portfolio securities purchased from an underwriter or dealer may include underwriting commissions and dealer spreads. The Funds may pay markups on principal transactions. In selecting broker-dealers and in negotiating commissions, First Trust considers, among other things, the firm’s reliability, the quality of its execution services on a continuing basis and its financial condition. Fund portfolio transactions may be effected with broker-dealers who have assisted investors in the purchase of shares.

amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting the transaction. Brokerage and research services include (a) furnishing advice as to the value of securities, the advisability of investing, purchasing or selling securities, and the availability of securities or purchasers or sellers of securities; (b) furnishing analyses and reports concerning issuers, industries, securities, economic factors and trends, portfolio strategy and the performance of accounts; and (c) effecting securities transactions and performing functions incidental thereto (such as clearance, settlement and custody). Such brokerage and research services are often referred to as “soft dollars.” First Trust has advised the Board of Trustees that it does not currently intend to use soft dollars.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, in selecting brokers, First Trust may in the future consider investment and market information and other research, such as economic, securities and performance measurement research, provided by such brokers, and the quality and reliability of brokerage services, including execution capability, performance and financial responsibility. Accordingly, the commissions charged by any such broker may be greater than the amount another firm might charge if First Trust determines in good faith that the amount of such commissions is reasonable in relation to the value of the research information and brokerage services provided by such broker to First Trust or the Trust. In addition, First Trust must determine that the research information received in this manner provides the Funds with benefits by supplementing the research otherwise available to the Funds. The Investment Management Agreement provides that such higher commissions will not be paid by the Funds unless First Trust determines in good faith that the amount is reasonable in relation to the services provided. The investment advisory fees paid by the Funds to First Trust under the Investment Management Agreement would not be reduced as a result of receipt by First Trust of research services.

First Trust places portfolio transactions for other advisory accounts advised by it, and research services furnished by firms through which the Funds effect their securities transactions may be used by First Trust in servicing all of its accounts; not all of such services may be used by First Trust in connection with the Funds. First Trust believes it is not possible to measure separately the benefits from research services to each of the accounts (including the Funds) advised by it. Because the volume and nature of the trading activities of the accounts are not uniform, the amount of commissions in excess of those charged by another broker paid by each account for brokerage and research services will vary. However, First Trust believes such costs to the Funds will not be disproportionate to the benefits received by the Funds on a continuing basis. First Trust seeks to allocate portfolio transactions equitably whenever concurrent decisions are made to purchase or sell securities by the Funds and another advisory account. In some cases, this procedure could have an adverse effect on the price or the amount of securities available to the Funds. In making such allocations between the Funds and other advisory accounts, the main factors considered by First Trust are the respective investment objectives, the relative size of portfolio holding of the same or comparable securities, the availability of cash for investment and the size of investment commitments generally held.

Brokerage Commissions

The following table sets forth the aggregate amount of brokerage commissions paid by each Fund for the specified periods. Significant variations in the amount a Fund paid in brokerage commissions from year-to-year are generally the result of fluctuations in the size of a Fund or changes to a Fund's portfolio holdings.

Aggregate Amount of Brokerage Commissions
Fund	Fiscal Year Ended December 31,
Fund	2023	2022	2021
First Trust Capital Strength ETF	$1,589,406	$1,899,719	$1,439,888
First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund	$645,182	$590,010	$432,141
First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund	$172,583	$178,882	$201,826
First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund	$893,893	$686,668	$348,243
First Trust NASDAQ® ABA Community Bank Index Fund	$16,134	$17,115	$19,183
First Trust NASDAQ® Clean Edge® Green Energy Index Fund	$285,262	$696,408	$414,031
First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund	$207,588	$111,176	$59,768
First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund	$25,248	$15,389	$8,754
First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund	$107,604	$121,427	$101,253
First Trust Natural Gas ETF	$202,799	$357,281	$171,223

Aggregate Amount of Brokerage Commissions
Fund	Fiscal Year Ended December 31,
Fund	2023	2022	2021
First Trust NYSE® Arca® Biotechnology Index Fund	$179,327	$403,282	$316,895
First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund	$3,473	$8,298	$4,134
First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF	$442,145	$574,186	$616,525
First Trust Value Line® Dividend Index Fund	$1,755,094	$1,758,161	$1,329,614
First Trust Water ETF	$107,029	$86,100	$64,036

During the last fiscal year, First Trust Value Line® Dividend Index Fund held securities of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and RBC Capital Markets, LLC, each a regular broker or dealer of the Fund as defined in Rule 10b-1 under the 1940 Act. As of December 31, 2023, the Fund’s investment in Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and RBC Capital Markets, LLC was 0.62%, 0.62% and 0.61%, respectively, of the Fund's net assets.

Administrator, Fund Accounting Agent, Custodian, Transfer Agent, Distributor,
Index Providers and Exchanges

Administrator and Fund Accounting Agent. The Funds have appointed The Bank of New York Mellon ("BNYM"), located at 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286, to serve as the Funds' administrator and provide the Funds with accounting services pursuant to a fund administration and accounting agreement (the “Administration and Accounting Agreement”). Under the Administration and Accounting Agreement, BNYM is obligated, on a continuous basis, to provide such administrative services as the Board reasonably deems necessary for the proper administration of the Trust and the Funds. BNYM generally will assist in many aspects of the Trust’s and the Funds' operations, including accounting, bookkeeping and record keeping services (including, without limitation, the maintenance of such books and records as are required under the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder, except as maintained by other service providers), assist in preparing reports to shareholders or investors, prepare and file tax returns, supply financial information and supporting data for reports to and filings with the SEC and various state Blue Sky authorities and supply supporting documentation for meetings of the Board.

The following table sets forth the amounts paid by each Fund to BNYM under the Fund Administration and Accounting Agreement.

Fund Administration and Accounting
Fund	Fiscal Year Ended December 31,
Fund	2023	2022	2021
First Trust Capital Strength ETF	$2,669,205	$2,611,800	$2,554,281
First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund	$1,785,358	$1,855,276	$3,106,270
First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund	$82,273	$82,336	$84,543
First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund	$1,718,967	$1,219,066	$751,568
First Trust NASDAQ® ABA Community Bank Index Fund	$50,695	$62,480	$65,203
First Trust NASDAQ® Clean Edge® Green Energy Index Fund	$677,227	$949,454	$1,177,971
First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund	$789,752	$552,715	$618,680
First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund	$88,207	$63,380	$74,383
First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund	$930,637	$916,609	$1,436,995
First Trust Natural Gas ETF	$290,348	$391,403	$140,077

Fund Administration and Accounting
Fund	Fiscal Year Ended December 31,
Fund	2023	2022	2021
First Trust NYSE® Arca® Biotechnology Index Fund	$656,945	$661,525	$865,320
First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund	$66,113	$100,832	$73,632
First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF	$386,519	$563,749	$911,747
First Trust Value Line® Dividend Index Fund	$3,359,895	$3,497,946	$3,347,640
First Trust Water ETF	$644,099	$610,076	$533,616

Custodian. The Trust has appointed BNYM to serve as the Funds' custodian pursuant to a custody agreement (the “Custody Agreement”). Pursuant to the terms of the Custody Agreement, BNYM is generally responsible for the safekeeping of the Funds' assets and performing various other administrative duties set forth in the agreement.

Transfer Agent. The Trust has appointed BNYM to serve as the Funds' transfer agent and dividend disbursing agent pursuant to a transfer agency and service agreement (the “Transfer Agency Agreement”). Pursuant to the terms of the Transfer Agency Agreement, BNYM is responsible for performing and facilitating the purchases and redemptions of Creation Unit Aggregations, as well as performing other customary services of a transfer agent and dividend disbursing agent.

As set forth in the Administration and Accounting Agreement, Custody Agreement and Transfer Agency Agreement, the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has agreed to indemnify and hold harmless BNYM from certain costs, expenses, damages, liabilities or claims which are sustained or incurred or which may be asserted against BNYM, provided that such costs, expenses, damages, liabilities and claims did not result from BNYM’s own negligence or willful misconduct.

As compensation for the services provided by BNYM under the Administration and Accounting Agreement, Custody Agreement and Transfer Agency Agreement, the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has agreed to pay to BNYM such compensation as may be specifically agreed upon from time to time and reimburse BNYM for out-of-pocket expenses which are a normal incident of the services provided under the agreements. Pursuant to the terms of the Investment Management Agreement, the Fund does not directly pay BNYM for these services, as First Trust has assumed responsibility for the payment of these expenses out of the unitary management fee it receives from the Funds.

Distributor. First Trust Portfolios L.P., an affiliate of First Trust, is the distributor (“FTP” or the “Distributor”) and principal underwriter of the shares of the Funds. Its principal address is 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400, Wheaton, Illinois 60187. The Distributor has entered into a Distribution Agreement with the Trust pursuant to which it distributes Fund shares. Shares are continuously offered for sale by the Funds through the Distributor only in Creation Unit Aggregations, as described in the Prospectus under the heading "Other Information - Continuous Offering."

For the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021, December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2023, there were no underwriting commissions with respect to the sale of Fund shares and FTP did not receive compensation on redemptions for the Funds for those periods.

12b-1 Plan. The Trust has adopted a Plan of Distribution pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the “Plan”) pursuant to which the Funds may reimburse the Distributor up to a maximum annual rate of 0.25% of their average daily net assets.

Under the Plan and as required by Rule 12b-1, the Trustees will receive and review after the end of each calendar quarter a written report provided by the Distributor of the amounts expended under the Plan and the purpose for which such expenditures were made. With the exception of the Distributor and its affiliates, no “interested person” of the Trust (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) and no Trustee of the Trust has a direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Plan or any related agreement.

No fee is currently paid by a Fund under the Plan and, pursuant to a contractual agreement, the Funds will not pay 12b-1 fees any time before April 30, 2025.

Aggregations. Fund shares in less than Creation Unit Aggregations are not distributed by the Distributor. The Distributor will deliver the Prospectus and, upon request, this SAI to persons purchasing Creation Unit Aggregations and will maintain records of both orders placed with it and confirmations of acceptance furnished by it. The Distributor is a broker-dealer registered under the 1934 Act and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”).

The Distribution Agreement provides that it may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, on at least 60 days’ written notice by the Trust to the Distributor (i) by vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees or (ii) by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Funds. The Distribution Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act).

The Distributor has entered into agreements with securities dealers ("Soliciting Dealers") who will solicit purchases of Creation Unit Aggregations of Fund shares. Such Soliciting Dealers may also be Participating Parties (as defined in "Procedures for Creation of Creation Unit Aggregations" below) and DTC Participants (as defined in "DTC Acts as Securities Depository for Fund Shares" below.)

Index Providers. The Indices are compiled by the Index Providers. First Trust does not guarantee the accuracy and/or the completeness of the Indices or any data included therein, and First Trust shall have no liability for any errors, omissions or interruptions therein. First Trust makes no warranty, express or implied, as to results to be obtained by the Funds, owners of the shares of the Funds or any other person or entity from the use of the Indices or any data included therein. First Trust makes no express or implied warranties, and expressly disclaims all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or use with respect to the Indices or any data included therein. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall First Trust have any liability for any special, punitive, direct, indirect or consequential damages (including lost profits) arising out of matters relating to the use of the Indices, even if notified of the possibility of such damages.

First Trust Capital Strength ETF

The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Nasdaq, Inc. or its affiliates (Nasdaq, Inc. with its affiliates are referred to as the “Corporations”). The Corporations have not passed on the legality or suitability of, or the accuracy or adequacy of descriptions and disclosures relating to, the Fund. The Corporations make no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Fund particularly, or the ability of The Capital StrengthTM Index to track general stock market performance. The Corporations’ only relationship to First Trust with respect to the Fund is in the licensing of The Capital StrengthTM Index, and certain trade names of the Corporations and the use of The Capital StrengthTM Index, which is determined, composed and calculated by Nasdaq, Inc. without regard to First Trust or the Fund. Nasdaq, Inc. has no obligation to take the needs of First Trust or the owners of the Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating The Capital StrengthTM Index. The Corporations are not responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of Fund Shares to be issued or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which Fund Shares are to be converted into cash. The Corporations have no liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund.

THE CORPORATIONS DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR UNINTERRUPTED CALCULATION OF THE CAPITAL STRENGTHTM INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY LICENSEE, OWNERS OF THE PRODUCT(S) OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE CAPITAL STRENGTHTM INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE CAPITAL STRENGTHTM INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE CORPORATIONS HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund
First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund

The “Dow Jones Internet Composite IndexSM” and “Dow Jones Select MicroCap IndexSM” are products of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (“SPDJI”), and have been licensed for use by First Trust. Dow Jones®, Dow Jones Internet Composite IndexSM and Dow Jones Select MicroCap IndexSM are trademarks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”). The foregoing marks have been licensed to SPDJI and have been sublicensed for use for certain purposes by First Trust on behalf of the Funds. The First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund and First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones or their respective affiliates. SPDJI, Dow Jones and their respective affiliates make no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund and First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund or any member of the public regarding the

advisability of investing in securities generally or in the First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund and First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund particularly. The only relationship of SPDJI, Dow Jones or any of their respective affiliates to the Licensee with respect to the Indexes is the licensing of certain trademarks, trade names and service marks and of the Dow Jones Internet Composite IndexSM and Dow Jones Select MicroCap IndexSM which are determined, composed and calculated by SPDJI without regard to First Trust, First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund or First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund. SPDJI and Dow Jones have no obligation to take the needs of First Trust or the owners of the First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund or First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Dow Jones Internet Composite IndexSM and Dow Jones Select MicroCap IndexSM. SPDJI, Dow Jones and their respective affiliates are not responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund or First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund to be issued or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund or First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund are to be converted into cash. SPDJI, Dow Jones and their respective affiliates have no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund or First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund. There is no assurance that investment products based on the Dow Jones Internet Composite IndexSM and the Dow Jones Select MicroCap IndexSM will accurately track index performance or provide positive investment returns. SPDJI is not an investment advisor. Inclusion of a security within an index is not a recommendation by SPDJI to buy, sell or hold such security, nor is it considered to be investment advice.

SPDJI, DOW JONES AND THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE DOW JONES INTERNET COMPOSITE INDEXSM AND DOW JONES SELECT MICROCAP INDEXSM OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN AND SPDJI, DOW JONES AND THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR INTERRUPTIONS THEREIN. SPDJI, DOW JONES AND THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES MAKE NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY FIRST TRUST, OWNERS OF THE FIRST TRUST DOW JONES INTERNET INDEX FUND OR FIRST TRUST DOW JONES SELECT MICROCAP INDEX FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE DOW JONES INTERNET COMPOSITE INDEXSM AND DOW JONES SELECT MICROCAP INDEXSM OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. SPDJI, DOW JONES AND THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES MAKE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE DOW JONES INTERNET COMPOSITE INDEXSM AND DOW JONES SELECT MICROCAP INDEXSM OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL SPDJI, DOW JONES OR THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES, EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE. THERE ARE NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN SPDJI AND FIRST TRUST, OTHER THAN THE LICENSORS OF SPDJI.

First Trust Natural Gas ETF
First Trust Water ETF

The Funds are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by the Index Provider. The Index Provider makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Funds or any member of the public regarding the advisability of trading in the Funds. The Index Provider’s only relationship to First Trust is the licensing of certain trademarks and trade names of the Index Provider and of the Indexes which are determined, composed and calculated by the Index Provider without regard to First Trust or the Funds. The Index Provider has no obligation to take the needs of First Trust or the owners of the Funds into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Indexes. The Index Provider is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the Funds to be listed or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Funds are to be converted into cash. The Index Provider has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Funds.

THE INDEX PROVIDER DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE INDEXES OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN AND THE INDEX PROVIDER SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR INTERRUPTIONS THEREIN. THE INDEX PROVIDER MAKES NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY FIRST TRUST, OWNERS OF THE FUNDS, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE INDEXES OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. THE INDEX PROVIDER MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO INDEXES OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE INDEX PROVIDER HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL OR

CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING LOST PROFITS), EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THERE ARE NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES, OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN THE INDEX PROVIDER AND FIRST TRUST.

First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund

MORNINGSTAR, INC. (“MORNINGSTAR”), DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE MORNINGSTAR® DIVIDEND LEADERS INDEXSM OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN AND MORNINGSTAR SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS OR INTERRUPTIONS THEREIN. MORNINGSTAR MAKES NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY FIRST TRUST, OWNERS OR USERS OF THE FIRST TRUST MORNINGSTAR DIVIDEND LEADERS INDEX FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE MORNINGSTAR® DIVIDEND LEADERS INDEXSM OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. MORNINGSTAR MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE MORNINGSTAR® DIVIDEND LEADERS INDEXSM OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL MORNINGSTAR HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING LOST PROFITS), EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Morningstar Inc. Morningstar makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund in particular or the ability of the Morningstar® Dividend Leaders IndexSM to track general stock market performance. Morningstar’s only relationship to First Trust is the licensing of: (i) certain service marks and service names of Morningstar; and (ii) the Morningstar® Dividend Leaders IndexSM which is determined, composed and calculated by Morningstar without regard to First Trust or the First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund. Morningstar has no obligation to take the needs of First Trust or the owners of First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Morningstar® Dividend Leaders IndexSM. Morningstar is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the prices and amount of the First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund or the timing of the issuance or sale of the First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund is converted into cash. Morningstar has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund.

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund
First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund
First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund

The Funds are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Nasdaq, Inc. or its affiliates (Nasdaq, Inc. with its affiliates are referred to as the “Corporations”). The Corporations have not passed on the legality or suitability of, or the accuracy or adequacy of descriptions and disclosures relating to, the Funds. The Corporations make no representation or warranty, express or implied to the owners of the Funds or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Fund particularly, or the ability of the Nasdaq-100 Equal WeightedTM Index, Nasdaq-100 Technology SectorTM Index or Nasdaq-100 Ex-Tech SectorTM Index to track general stock market performance. The Corporations’ only relationship to First Trust with respect to the Fund is in the licensing of the Nasdaq®, Nasdaq-100®, Nasdaq-100 Index®, Nasdaq-100 Equal WeightedTM Index, Nasdaq-100 Technology SectorTM Index or Nasdaq-100 Ex-Tech SectorTM Index trademarks, and certain trade names of the Corporations and the use of the Nasdaq-100 Equal WeightedTM Index, Nasdaq-100 Technology SectorTM Index or Nasdaq-100 Ex-Tech SectorTM Index which is determined, composed and calculated by Nasdaq, Inc. without regard to First Trust or the Funds. Nasdaq, Inc. has no obligation to take the needs of First Trust or the owners of the Funds into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Nasdaq-100 Equal WeightedTM Index, Nasdaq-100 Technology SectorTM Index or Nasdaq-100 Ex-Tech SectorTM Index. The Corporations are not responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of Fund shares to be issued or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which Fund shares are to be converted into cash. The Corporations have no liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Funds.

THE CORPORATIONS DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR UNINTERRUPTED CALCULATION OF THE NASDAQ-100 EQUAL WEIGHTEDTM INDEX, THE NASDAQ-100 EX-TECH SECTORTM INDEX AND THE NASDAQ 100 TECHNOLOGY SECTORTM INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS

OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY LICENSEE, OWNERS OF THE PRODUCT(S) OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE NASDAQ-100 EQUAL WEIGHTEDTM INDEX, THE NASDAQ-100 EX-TECH SECTORTM INDEX AND THE NASDAQ-100 TECHNOLOGY SECTORTM INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE NASDAQ-100 EQUAL WEIGHTEDTM INDEX, THE NASDAQ-100 EX-TECH SECTORTM INDEX AND THE NASDAQ-100 TECHNOLOGY SECTORTM INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE CORPORATIONS HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

First Trust NASDAQ® ABA Community Bank Index Fund

The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Nasdaq, Inc., American Bankers Association (“ABA”) or their affiliates (Nasdaq, Inc. and ABA, collectively with their affiliates, are referred to as the “Corporations”). The Corporations have not passed on the legality or suitability of, or the accuracy or adequacy of descriptions and disclosures relating to, the Fund. The Corporations make no representation or warranty, express or implied to the owners of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Fund particularly, or the ability of the Nasdaq OMX® ABA Community BankTM Index to track general stock market performance. The Corporations’ only relationship to First Trust Advisors L.P. (“Licensee”) is in the licensing of the Nasdaq, Inc., American Bankers Association, ABA, and Nasdaq OMX® ABA Community BankTM Index trademarks, and certain trade names and service marks of the Corporations and the use of the Nasdaq OMX® ABA Community BankTM Index which is determined and composed by the Corporations without regard to Licensee or the Fund. The Corporations have no obligation to take the needs of the Licensee or the owners of the Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Nasdaq OMX® ABA Community BankTM Index. The Corporations are not responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the Fund to be issued or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Fund is to be converted into cash. The Corporations have no liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund.

THE CORPORATIONS DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR UNINTERRUPTED CALCULATION OF THE NASDAQ OMX® ABA COMMUNITY BANKTM INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY FIRST TRUST OR THE FUND, OWNERS OF THE FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE NASDAQ OMX® ABA COMMUNITY BANKTM INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE NASDAQ OMX® ABA COMMUNITY BANKTM INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE CORPORATIONS HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

All price history data for the Nasdaq OMX® ABA Community BankTM Index prior to its dissemination date, June 8, 2009, is indicative and Nasdaq, Inc. makes no guarantee of the accuracy of back-tested data.

First Trust NASDAQ® Clean Edge® Green Energy Index Fund

The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Nasdaq, Inc., Clean Edge® or their affiliates (Nasdaq, Inc. and Clean Edge®, collectively with their affiliates, are referred to herein as the “Corporations”). The Corporations have not passed on the legality or suitability of, or the accuracy or adequacy of descriptions and disclosures relating to, the Fund. The Corporations make no representation or warranty, express or implied to the owners of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Fund particularly, or the ability of the Nasdaq® Clean Edge® Green EnergyTM Index to track general stock market or sector performance. The Corporations’ relationship to First Trust, with respect to the Fund, consists of: (i) the licensing of certain indexes, trade names, trademarks, and service marks and other proprietary data; (ii) the listing and trading of certain exchange-traded funds; and (iii) the calculating of intra-day portfolio values for the Fund's shares. The Corporations neither recommend nor endorse any investment in the Index or the Fund based thereon. The Corporations are not responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the Fund to be issued or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Fund is to be converted into cash. The Corporations have no liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund. Neither the Index nor the Fund should be construed as investment advice by the Corporations.

THE CORPORATIONS DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR UNINTERRUPTED CALCULATION OF THE NASDAQ® CLEAN EDGE® GREEN ENERGYTM INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY LICENSEE, OWNERS OF THE FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE NASDAQ® CLEAN EDGE® GREEN ENERGYTM INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE NASDAQ® CLEAN EDGE® GREEN ENERGYTM INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE CORPORATIONS HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Nasdaq, Inc. and Clean Edge® are not affiliates, but jointly own the Index and have cross-licensed to one another the rights in their respective marks in connection with the Index.

First Trust NYSE® Arca® Biotechnology Index Fund

Source ICE Data Indices, LLC (“ICE Data”) is used with permission. “NYSE®” and “NYSE® Arca®” are service/trade marks of ICE Data or its affiliates and have been licensed, along with the NYSE® Arca® Biotechnology Index (“ICE Data Index”), for use by First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust”) in connection with the First Trust NYSE® Arca® Biotechnology Index Fund (the “Product”). Neither First Trust, First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund (the “Trust”) nor the Product, as applicable, is sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by ICE Data, its affiliates or its Third Party Suppliers (“ICE Data and its Suppliers”). ICE Data and its Suppliers make no representations or warranties regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally, in the Product particularly, the Trust or the ability of the Index to track general stock market performance. ICE Data’s only relationship to First Trust is the licensing of certain trademarks and trade names and the Index or components thereof. The Index is determined, composed and calculated by ICE Data without regard to First Trust or the Product or its holders. ICE Data has no obligation to take the needs of First Trust or the holders of the Product into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the ICE Data Index. ICE Data is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices of, or quantities of the Product to be issued or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Product is to be priced, sold, purchased, or redeemed. Except for certain custom index calculation services, all information provided by ICE Data is general in nature and not tailored to the needs of First Trust or any other person, entity or group of persons. ICE Data has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing, or trading of the Product. ICE Data is not an investment advisor. Inclusion of a security within an index is not a recommendation by ICE Data to buy, sell, or hold such security, nor is it considered to be investment advice.

ICE DATA AND ITS SUPPLIERS DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES AND REPRESENTATIONS, EXPRESS AND/OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE, INCLUDING THE INDICES, THE INDEX DATA AND ANY INFORMATION INCLUDED IN, RELATED TO, OR DERIVED THEREFROM (“INDEX DATA”). ICE DATA AND ITS SUPPLIERS SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO ANY DAMAGES OR LIABILITY WITH RESPECT TO THE ADEQUACY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS OR COMPLETENESS OF THE INDICES AND THE INDEX DATA, WHICH ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS AND YOUR USE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK.

First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund

The S&P United States REIT Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (“SPDJI”). Standard & Poor’s® and S&P® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“SPFS”). The foregoing marks have been licensed for use by SPDJI and sublicensed by First Trust Advisors L.P. The First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI or its affiliates, and SPDJI and its affiliates make no representation, warranty or condition regarding the advisability of buying, selling or holding shares of the Fund.

THE FUND IS NOT SPONSORED, ENDORSED, SOLD OR PROMOTED BY SPDJI, SPFS AND/OR ITS AFFILIATES (COLLECTIVELY, “SPDJI”). SPDJI DOES NOT MAKE ANY REPRESENTATION, CONDITION OR WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, TO THE OWNERS OF THE FUND OR ANY MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC REGARDING THE ADVISABILITY OF INVESTING IN SECURITIES GENERALLY OR IN THE FUND PARTICULARLY OR THE ABILITY OF THE S&P UNITED STATES REIT INDEX TO TRACK GENERAL STOCK MARKET PERFORMANCE. SPDJI’S ONLY RELATIONSHIP TO FIRST TRUST ADVISORS L.P. (“FTA”) IS THE LICENSING OF CERTAIN TRADEMARKS AND TRADE NAMES AND OF THE S&P UNITED STATES REIT INDEX WHICH IS DETERMINED, COMPOSED AND CALCULATED BY SPDJI WITHOUT REGARD TO FTA OR THE FUND. SPDJI HAS NO OBLIGATION TO TAKE THE NEEDS OF FTA OR THE OWNERS OF THE FUND INTO CONSIDERATION IN DETERMINING, COMPOSING OR CALCULATING THE S&P UNITED STATES REIT INDEX. SPDJI IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR AND HAS NOT

PARTICIPATED IN THE DETERMINATION OF THE PRICES AND AMOUNT OF THE FUND OR THE TIMING OF THE ISSUANCE OR SALE OF THE FUND OR IN THE DETERMINATION OR CALCULATION OF THE EQUATION BY WHICH THE FUND SHARES ARE TO BE CONVERTED INTO CASH. SPDJI HAS NO OBLIGATION OR LIABILITY IN CONNECTION WITH THE ADMINISTRATION, MARKETING, OR TRADING OF THE FUND. THERE IS NO ASSURANCE THAT INVESTMENT PRODUCTS BASED ON THE S&P UNITED STATES REIT INDEX WILL ACCURATELY TRACK INDEX PERFORMANCE OR PROVIDE POSITIVE INVESTMENT RETURNS. S&P DOW JONES INDICES LLC IS NOT AN INVESTMENT ADVISOR. INCLUSION OF A SECURITY WITHIN AN INDEX IS NOT A RECOMMENDATION BY SPDJI TO BUY, SELL, OR HOLD SUCH SECURITY, NOR IS IT CONSIDERED TO BE INVESTMENT ADVICE.

SPDJI DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE S&P UNITED STATES REIT INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN AND SPDJI SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR INTERRUPTIONS THEREIN. SPDJI MAKES NO WARRANTY, CONDITION OR REPRESENTATION, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY FTA, OWNERS OF THE FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF S&P UNITED STATES REIT INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. SPDJI MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, REPRESENTATIONS OR CONDITIONS, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE AND ANY OTHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY OR CONDITION WITH RESPECT TO THE S&P UNITED STATES REIT INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL SPDJI HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING LOST PROFITS) RESULTING FROM THE USE OF THE S&P UNITED STATES REIT INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN, EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE. THERE ARE NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN SPDJI AND FIRST TRUST, OTHER THAN THE LICENSORS OF SPDJI.

First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF

The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by IPOX®. IPOX® makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of trading in the Fund. IPOX®’s only relationship to First Trust is the licensing of certain trademarks and trade names of IPOX® and of the U.S. IPOX®100 Index, which is determined, composed and calculated by IPOX® without regard to First Trust or the Fund.

IPOX® IS A REGISTERED INTERNATIONAL TRADEMARK OF IPOX®SCHUSTER LLC AND IPOX®SCHUSTER, IPOX® 100 AND IPOX® 30 ARE TRADEMARKS OF IPOX® SCHUSTER LLC (www.ipox.com) AND HAVE BEEN LICENSED FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES FROM IPOX® SCHUSTER LLC TO FIRST TRUST PURSUANT TO THE PRODUCT LICENSE AGREEMENT.

A patent with respect to the IPOX® index methodology has been issued (U.S. Pat. No. 7,698,197). IPOX® is a registered international trademark of IPOX® Schuster LLC (www.ipox.com).

First Trust Value Line® Dividend Index Fund

VALUE LINE PUBLISHING LLC’S (“VLP”) ONLY RELATIONSHIP TO FIRST TRUST IS VLP’S LICENSING TO FIRST TRUST OF CERTAIN VLP TRADEMARKS AND TRADE NAMES AND THE VALUE LINE® EQUITY ALLOCATION INDEX, THE VALUE LINE® DIVIDEND INDEX AND VALUE LINE® 100 INDEX (THE “INDEXES”), WHICH ARE COMPOSED BY VLP WITHOUT REGARD TO FIRST TRUST, THE FIRST TRUST VALUE LINE® DIVIDEND INDEX FUND (THE “PRODUCT”) OR ANY INVESTOR. VLP HAS NO OBLIGATION TO TAKE THE NEEDS OF FIRST TRUST OR ANY INVESTOR IN THE PRODUCTS INTO CONSIDERATION IN COMPOSING THE INDEXES. THE PRODUCTS RESULTS MAY DIFFER FROM THE HYPOTHETICAL OR PUBLISHED RESULTS OF THE INDEXES. VLP IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR HOW FIRST TRUST MAKES USE OF INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY VLP. VLP IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR AND HAS NOT PARTICIPATED IN THE DETERMINATION OF THE PRICES AND COMPOSITION OF THE PRODUCTS OR THE TIMING OF THE ISSUANCE FOR SALE OF THE PRODUCT OR IN THE CALCULATION OF THE EQUATIONS BY WHICH THE PRODUCT IS TO BE CONVERTED INTO CASH. VLP MAKES NO WARRANTY CONCERNING THE INDEXES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR ANY PERSON’S INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO, OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES ARISING FROM USAGE OF TRADE, COURSE OF DEALING OR COURSE OF PERFORMANCE, AND VLP MAKES NO WARRANTY AS TO THE POTENTIAL PROFITS OR ANY OTHER BENEFITS THAT MAY BE ACHIEVED BY USING THE INDEX OR ANY INFORMATION OR MATERIALS GENERATED THEREFROM. VLP DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE INDEX WILL MEET ANY REQUIREMENTS OR BE ACCURATE OR ERROR-FREE. VLP ALSO DOES NOT GUARANTEE ANY USES, INFORMATION, DATA OR OTHER RESULTS GENERATED FROM THE INDEX OR PRODUCT. VLP HAS NO OBLIGATION OR LIABILITY (I) IN CONNECTION WITH THE ADMINISTRATION, MARKETING OR TRADING OF THE

PRODUCT; OR (II) FOR ANY LOSS, DAMAGE, COST OR EXPENSE SUFFERED OR INCURRED BY ANY INVESTOR OR OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY IN CONNECTION WITH THIS PRODUCT, AND IN NO EVENT SHALL VLP BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR OTHER CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES IN CONNECTION WITH THE INDEXES OR THE PRODUCT.

VALUE LINE IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF VALUE LINE, INC. THAT IS LICENSED TO FIRST TRUST. THE PRODUCT IS NOT SPONSORED, RECOMMENDED, SOLD OR PROMOTED BY VALUE LINE PUBLISHING LLC, VALUE LINE, INC., OR ANY OF THEIR AFFILIATES. FIRST TRUST IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY VALUE LINE COMPANY.

VALUE LINE HAS NOT PASSED ON THE LEGALITY OR SUITABILITY OF, OR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF DESCRIPTIONS AND DISCLOSURES RELATING TO THE PRODUCT.

The Index Providers are not affiliated with the Funds or First Trust. Each Fund is entitled to use the applicable Index pursuant to a sublicensing arrangement with First Trust, which in turn has a Product License Agreement with each Index Provider.

With respect to the First Trust Value Line® Dividend Index Fund, ICE Data Indices, LLC, an affiliate of NYSE Arca, serves as the calculation agent for this Fund. As the calculation agent, ICE Data Indices, LLC will be responsible for the management of the day-to-day operations of the Index, including calculating the value of the Index every 15 seconds, widely disseminating each such Index value every 15 seconds through ICE Data Indices, LLC’s data publication network and tracking corporate actions resulting in adjustments to the Index.

For the First Trust Capital Strength ETF, First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund, First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund, First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund and the First Trust NASDAQ® Clean Edge® Green Energy Index Fund, First Trust has entered into an agreement with Nasdaq, Inc. pursuant to which Nasdaq, Inc. or its designee will serve as the calculation agent for the applicable Indices. As the calculation agent, Nasdaq, Inc. or its designee will be responsible for calculating and disseminating the intra-day portfolio values for such Funds’ shares.

Exchanges. Besides serving as the index calculation agent for certain of the Funds as described above, another relationship that NYSE Arca has with First Trust or the Distributor in connection with the First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund, First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund, First Trust Natural Gas ETF, First Trust Water ETF, First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund, First Trust NYSE® Arca® Biotechnology Index Fund, First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund, First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF and the First Trust Value Line® Dividend Index Fund (collectively, the “NYSE Arca Listed Funds”) is that NYSE Arca lists the shares of the NYSE Arca Listed Funds pursuant to its Listing Agreement with the Trust. NYSE Arca is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of pricing or the timing of the issuance or sale of the shares of the NYSE Arca Listed Funds or in the determination or calculation of the net asset value of such Funds. NYSE Arca has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the NYSE Arca Listed Funds. In addition, ICE Data Indices, LLC, is the Index Provider for the First Trust NYSE® Arca® Biotechnology Index Fund.

Nasdaq, Inc. serves as the Index Provider and the index calculation agent for the Indices related to the First Trust Capital Strength ETF, First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund, First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund, First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund, First Trust NASDAQ® ABA Community Bank Index Fund and the First Trust NASDAQ® Clean Edge® Green Energy Index Fund (together, the “Nasdaq Listed Funds”). The only other relationship that Nasdaq, Inc. has with First Trust or the Distributor in connection with the Nasdaq Listed Funds is that Nasdaq, Inc. lists the shares of the Nasdaq Listed Funds pursuant to its Listing Agreement with the Trust. Nasdaq, Inc. is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of pricing or the timing of the issuance or sale of the shares of the Nasdaq Listed Funds or in the determination or calculation of the net asset value of such Funds. Nasdaq, Inc. has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Nasdaq Listed Funds.

Additional Payments to Financial Intermediaries

in and recent net investments into First Trust Funds, (ii) the value of the assets invested in the First Trust Funds by the intermediary’s customers, (iii) redemption rates, (iv) its ability to attract and retain assets, (v) the intermediary’s reputation in the industry, (vi) the level and/or type of marketing assistance and educational activities provided by the intermediary, (vii) the firm’s level of participation in First Trust Funds’ sales and marketing programs, (viii) the firm’s compensation program for its registered representatives who sell Fund shares and provide services to Fund shareholders, and (ix) the asset class of the First Trust Funds for which these payments are provided. Such payments are generally asset-based but also may include the payment of a lump sum.

First Trust may also make payments to certain intermediaries for certain administrative services and shareholder processing services, including record keeping and sub-accounting of shareholder accounts pursuant to a sub-transfer agency, omnibus account service or sub-accounting agreement. All fees payable by First Trust under this category of services may be charged back to a Fund, subject to approval by the Board.

First Trust and/or its affiliates may make payments, out of its own assets, to those firms as compensation and/or reimbursement for marketing support and/or program servicing to selected intermediaries that are registered as holders or dealers of record for accounts invested in one or more of the First Trust Funds or that make First Trust Fund shares available through certain selected Fund no-transaction fee institutional platforms and fee-based wrap programs at certain financial intermediaries. Program servicing payments typically apply to employee benefit plans, such as retirement plans, or fee-based advisory programs but may apply to retail sales and assets in certain situations. The payments are based on such factors as the type and nature of services or support furnished by the intermediary and are generally asset-based. Services for which an intermediary receives marketing support payments may include, but are not limited to, business planning assistance, advertising, educating the intermediary’s personnel about First Trust Funds in connection with shareholder financial planning needs, placement on the intermediary’s preferred or recommended fund list, and access to sales meetings, sales representatives and management representatives of the intermediary. In addition, intermediaries may be compensated for enabling representatives of First Trust and/or its affiliates to participate in and/or present at conferences or seminars, sales or training programs for invited registered representatives and other employees, client and investor events and other events sponsored by the intermediary. Services for which an intermediary receives program servicing payments typically include, but are not limited to, record keeping, reporting or transaction processing and shareholder communications and other account administration services, but may also include services rendered in connection with Fund/investment selection and monitoring, employee enrollment and education, plan balance rollover or separation, or other similar services. An intermediary may perform program services itself or may arrange with a third party to perform program services. These payments, if any, are in addition to the service fee and any applicable omnibus sub-accounting fees paid to these firms with respect to these services by the First Trust Funds out of Fund assets.

From time to time, First Trust and/or its affiliates, at its expense, may provide other compensation to intermediaries that sell or arrange for the sale of shares of the First Trust Funds, which may be in addition to marketing support and program servicing payments described above. For example, First Trust and/or its affiliates may: (i) compensate intermediaries for National Securities Clearing Corporation networking system services (e.g., shareholder communication, account statements, trade confirmations and tax reporting) on an asset-based or per-account basis; (ii) compensate intermediaries for providing Fund shareholder trading information; (iii) make one-time or periodic payments to reimburse selected intermediaries for items such as ticket charges (i.e., fees that an intermediary charges its representatives for effecting transactions in Fund shares) or exchange order, operational charges (e.g., fees that an intermediary charges for establishing a Fund on its trading system), and literature printing and/or distribution costs; (iv) at the direction of a retirement plan’s sponsor, reimburse or pay direct expenses of an employee benefit plan that would otherwise be payable by the plan; (v) provide payments to broker-dealers to help defray their technology or infrastructure costs; and (vi) make payments for expenses associated with intermediaries’ use of First Trust Funds including, but not limited to, the use of First Trust Funds in model portfolios.

When not provided for in a marketing support or program servicing agreement, First Trust and/ or its affiliates may also pay intermediaries for enabling First Trust and/or its affiliates to participate in and/or present at conferences or seminars, sales or training programs for invited registered representatives and other intermediary employees, client and investor events and other intermediary-sponsored events, and for travel expenses, including lodging incurred by registered representatives and other employees in connection with prospecting, asset retention and due diligence trips. These payments may vary depending upon the nature of the event. First Trust and/or its affiliates make payments for such events as it deems appropriate, subject to its internal guidelines and applicable law.

First Trust and/or its affiliates occasionally sponsor due diligence meetings for registered representatives during which they receive updates on various First Trust Funds and are afforded the opportunity to speak with portfolio managers. Although invitations to these meetings are not conditioned on selling a specific number of shares, those who have shown an interest in First Trust Funds are more likely to be considered. To the extent permitted by their firm’s policies and procedures, all or a portion of registered representatives’ expenses in attending these meetings may be covered by First Trust and/or its affiliates.

The amounts of payments referenced above made by First Trust and/or its affiliates could be significant and may create an incentive for an intermediary or its representatives to recommend or offer shares of the First Trust Funds to its customers. The intermediary may elevate the prominence or profile of the First Trust Funds within the intermediary’s organization by, for example, placing the First Trust Funds on a list of preferred or recommended funds and/or granting First Trust and/or its affiliates preferential or enhanced opportunities to promote the First Trust Funds in various ways within the intermediary’s organization. These payments are made pursuant to negotiated agreements with intermediaries. The payments do not change the price paid by investors for the purchase of a share or the amount a Fund will receive as proceeds from such sales. Furthermore, many of these payments are not reflected in the fees and expenses listed in the fee table section of a Fund's Prospectus because they are not paid by a Fund. The types of payments described herein are not mutually exclusive, and a single intermediary may receive some or all types of payments as described.

Other compensation may be offered to the extent not prohibited by state laws or any self-regulatory agency, such as FINRA. Investors can ask their intermediaries for information about any payments they receive from First Trust and/or its affiliates and the services it provides for those payments. Investors may wish to take intermediary payment arrangements into account when considering and evaluating any recommendations relating to Fund shares.

Payments to intermediaries, in certain circumstances, may also be made in connection with the distribution of model portfolios developed by First Trust, such as the inclusion of such model portfolios on an intermediary’s platform, as well as in connection with the marketing and sale of, and/or product training regarding such model portfolios, or servicing of accounts tracking such model portfolios. Such payments may be variable or fixed fee payments for platform support, or other payments in the form of a variable or fixed fee or a per position fee, or may relate to the amount of assets an intermediary’s clients have invested in the First Trust Funds in such models developed by First Trust, the management fee, the total expense ratio, or sales of the First Trust Funds in such models developed by First Trust. Some intermediaries also provide related data regarding transactions in specific model portfolios, First Trust Funds and investment strategies to First Trust in exchange for a fee.

First Trust and/or its affiliates may enter into arrangements with third parties, such as a software provider, whereby First Trust may license certain technology or other services from such entity in exchange for licensing or other fees which may be, in whole or in part, dependent on the value of First Trust mutual funds or ETFs held through such software or other service. Such third party may also offer price concessions to broker dealers, investment advisers or other financial intermediaries that license technology or other services that may be dependent, in whole or in part, on the value of First Trust mutual funds or ETFs held through such software or other service.

Additional Information

Book Entry Only System. The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus.

DTC Acts as Securities Depository for Fund Shares. Shares of the Funds are represented by securities registered in the name of The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee, Cede & Co., and deposited with, or on behalf of, DTC.

DTC, a limited-purpose trust company, was created to hold securities of its participants (the “DTC Participants”) and to facilitate the clearance and settlement of securities transactions among the DTC Participants in such securities through electronic book-entry changes in accounts of the DTC Participants, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of securities certificates. DTC Participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and certain other organizations, some of whom (and/or their representatives) own DTC. More specifically, DTC is owned by a number of its DTC Participants and by the NYSE and FINRA. Access to the DTC system is also available to others such as banks, brokers, dealers and trust companies that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a DTC Participant, either directly or indirectly (the “Indirect Participants”).

Beneficial ownership of shares is limited to DTC Participants, Indirect Participants and persons holding interests through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants. Ownership of beneficial interests in shares (owners of such beneficial interests are referred to herein as “Beneficial Owners”) is shown on, and the transfer of ownership is effected only through, records maintained by DTC (with respect to DTC Participants) and on the records of DTC Participants (with respect to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners that are not DTC Participants). Beneficial Owners will receive from or through the DTC Participant a written confirmation relating to their purchase and sale of shares.

Conveyance of all notices, statements and other communications to Beneficial Owners is effected as follows. Pursuant to a letter agreement between DTC and the Trust, DTC is required to make available to the Trust upon request and for a fee to be charged to the Trust a listing of the shares of the Funds held by each DTC Participant. The Trust shall inquire of each such DTC Participant as to the number of Beneficial Owners holding shares, directly or indirectly, through such DTC Participant. The Trust shall provide each such DTC Participant with copies of such notice, statement or other communication, in such form, number and at such place as such DTC Participant may reasonably request, in order that such notice, statement or communication may be transmitted by such DTC Participant, directly or indirectly, to such Beneficial Owners. In addition, the Trust shall pay to each such DTC Participants a fair and reasonable amount as reimbursement for the expenses attendant to such transmittal, all subject to applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

Fund distributions shall be made to DTC or its nominee, as the registered holder of all Fund shares. DTC or its nominee, upon receipt of any such distributions, shall immediately credit DTC Participants’ accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in shares of the Funds as shown on the records of DTC or its nominee. Payments by DTC Participants to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners of shares held through such DTC Participants will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is now the case with securities held for the accounts of customers in bearer form or registered in a “street name,” and will be the responsibility of such DTC Participants.

The Trust has no responsibility or liability for any aspect of the records relating to or notices to Beneficial Owners, or payments made on account of beneficial ownership interests in such shares, or for maintaining, supervising or reviewing any records relating to such beneficial ownership interests, or for any other aspect of the relationship between DTC and the DTC Participants or the relationship between such DTC Participants and the Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners owning through such DTC Participants.

DTC may decide to discontinue providing its service with respect to shares at any time by giving reasonable notice to the Trust and discharging its responsibilities with respect thereto under applicable law. Under such circumstances, the Trust shall take action to find a replacement for DTC to perform its functions at a comparable cost.

Policy Regarding Investment in Other Investment Companies. The Funds will not rely on Sections 12(d)(1)(F) or 12(d)(1)(G) of the 1940 Act to invest in other investment companies.

INFORMATION FOR INVESTORS IN THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA (“EEA”) ONLY

The following disclosures are included in this SAI solely for the purposes of compliance with the applicable EEA law and regulation resulting from, of and as a consequence of, the Funds’ registration or notification under the EU Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers (Directive (2011/61/EU)) (the “AIFM Directive”) national private placement regimes in certain European Union (“EU”) and EEA jurisdictions. The following disclosures are not intended for, and should not be relied on by, any investor other than an investor in the relevant EU and/or EEA jurisdictions because the rules, regulations and requirements applicable to the Funds in those jurisdictions as a result of their registration or notification differ from the rules, regulations and requirements applicable to the Funds under the Investment Company Act.

European Union’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation

First Trust Water ETF, First Trust Natural Gas ETF and First Trust NASDAQ® Clean Edge® Green Energy Index Fund

While First Trust Advisors L.P. (the “Advisor”) is not itself generally subject to Regulation 2019/2088 of the European Parliament and of the Council on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial sector (“SFDR”), by virtue of the Funds’ registration or notification under the AIFM Directive national private placement regimes in certain EU and EEA jurisdictions, some limited disclosures under the SFDR must be made in respect of the Funds and the following section is intended to satisfy certain of such requirements. The SFDR requires the Advisor to determine, on a product-by-product basis, whether “sustainability risks” are relevant to the Advisor’s in-scope financial products, including the Funds.

For the purposes of SFDR, “sustainability risk” means an environmental, social or governance (“ESG”) event or condition that, if it occurs, could cause an actual or a potential material negative impact on the value of an investment.

Solely for the purposes of SFDR, the Advisor has determined that sustainability risks are not relevant to the Fund(s) on the basis that the Fund invests principally in investments or asset classes which, in the opinion of the Advisor, are not ordinarily subject to sustainability risk as a material negative impact on the value of those investments, as such terms are interpreted and applied under SFDR.

Consequently, the Advisor does not integrate sustainability risks into its investment decision making for the Funds and the Advisor has not assessed the likely impacts of sustainability risks on the returns of the Funds, as such terms are interpreted and applied under SFDR.

The Advisor will keep its assessment that sustainability risks are not relevant to the Funds under regular review.

SFDR requires the Advisor to disclose whether, and if so how, it considers the principal adverse impacts (“PAIs”) of its investment decisions on sustainability factors, in accordance with a specific regime outlined in SFDR, in relation to the Funds. The Advisor does not consider the principal adverse impacts of its investment decisions on sustainability factors (either generally or in relation to the Funds).

The Advisor firmly believes that its primary duty is to aid its clients in achieving their investment objectives and protecting their economic interests. To that end, it is the policy of the Advisor to make investment decisions based on a variety of factors and risk assessments. In its discretion as an investment advisor, the Advisor will determine whether ESG factors are appropriate considerations for a particular investment strategy. ESG factors will not be determinative, nor will the Advisor exclude securities based on ESG considerations alone, unless a strategy specifically states otherwise. Like other risks, ESG issues and sustainability risk could impact the long-term value of an investment. These factors may be part of the overall set of considerations that are necessary to act with diligence in making informed investment decisions. The Advisor will therefore, where appropriate, consider the impact of ESG factors and data along with other issuer, industry, and market factors as part of its investment process, always with a view to its duty to its clients.

In addition, the Advisor considers that its primary investment strategies and client relationships do not support adoption of the PAI regime within SFDR.

For passively managed index replicating investment funds, changes to the investment portfolios are driven by changes to the relevant index in accordance with its published methodology rather than by an active selection of stocks by the Advisor. Accordingly, the Advisor does not exercise discretion to actively select or deselect investments in these circumstances. There will be integration of ESG factors into the Advisor’s investment process for passively managed funds only in circumstances where the fund replicates an index that takes ESG characteristics into account. In those circumstances, the evaluation of an index’s methodology will take place during the product development process and any subsequent changes in methodology will be considered by the Advisor’s investment committee. During the product development process, the Advisor may take into account the rewards of, benefits of, and potential investor demand for tracking an index that promotes ESG characteristics.

All other Funds

The Advisor will keep its assessment that sustainability risks are not relevant to the Funds under regular review.

In addition, the Advisor considers that its primary investment strategies and client relationships do not support adoption of the PAI regime within SFDR.

Information for Investors in the EEA Regarding Offering of the Funds

In relation to each Member State of the EEA which has implemented the AIFM Directive, the Prospectus, and any summary Prospectus or SAI relating to the Funds, may only be distributed and shares may only be offered or placed in a Member State to the extent that: (1) the Funds are permitted to be marketed to professional investors in the relevant Member State in accordance with the AIFM Directive (as implemented into the local law/regulations of the relevant Member State); or otherwise (2) the Prospectus and SAI may be lawfully distributed and the shares may lawfully be offered or placed in that Member State (including at the initiative of the investor).

In relation to each Member State of the EEA which, at the date of this SAI, has not implemented the AIFM Directive, the Prospectus and this SAI may only be distributed and shares may only be offered or placed to the extent that the Prospectus and this SAI may be lawfully distributed and the shares may lawfully be offered or placed in that Member State (including at the initiative of the investor).

In addition, the following restrictions apply to the distribution of the Prospectus and SAI in the following Member States:

Information for Investors in the United Kingdom

Subject always to the foregoing notice in respect of the EEA, this SAI is being issued in the United Kingdom by First Trust Global Portfolios Limited (which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”)) only to and/or is directed only at persons who are professional clients or eligible counterparties for the purposes of the FCA’s Conduct of Business Sourcebook. The opportunity to invest in the Funds is only available to such persons in the United Kingdom, and the Prospectus and SAI must not be relied on or acted upon by any other persons in the United Kingdom.

Information for Investors in Ireland

The distribution of this Prospectus and SAI in Ireland and the offering or purchase of shares is restricted to the individual to whom it is addressed. Accordingly, it may not be reproduced in whole or in part, nor may its contents be distributed in writing or orally to any third party and it may be read solely by the person to whom it is addressed and his/her professional advisers. Shares in the Funds will not be offered or sold by any person:

(a)

otherwise than in conformity with the provisions of the European Communities (Markets in Financial Instruments) Regulations 2007 and the European Union (Alternative Investment Fund Managers) Regulations 2013, each as amended; or

(b)

in any way which would require the publication of a prospectus under the Companies Act 2014 or any regulations made thereunder; or

(c)

in Ireland except in all circumstances that will result in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations in Ireland.

AIFM Directive Disclosures

disclosure, transparency and reporting obligations are imposed on non-EU fund managers wishing to market funds to investors in the EEA. There are additional requirements imposed on EU fund managers, which do not currently apply to First Trust.

To the extent not already disclosed to you prior to your investment in the Funds, the purpose of this section of this SAI is to satisfy the disclosures which are required to be provided to you under the AIFM Directive.

Overview of the Funds and the Service Providers. The Funds are non-EU AIFs (“AIF” means an alternative investment fund for the purposes of the AIFM Directive).

First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust”) is the AIFM of the Funds (“AIFM” means an alternative investment fund manager for the purposes of the AIFM Directive). First Trust is a non-EU AIFM.

The Trust has entered into agreements with various service providers including First Trust (as the Investment Advisor), the Custodian, Distributor, Transfer Agent, Administrator, index providers and the exchange where each Fund is listed in respect of the Funds. Further details regarding the duties and roles of such service providers can be found in the Prospectus and this SAI for the Funds.

In addition to the parties listed above, the Trust has appointed (i) Chapman and Cutler LLP as its legal counsel which advises it on US legal matters; (ii) Deloitte & Touche LLP as the Funds’ auditors who undertake to audit the Funds’ financial statements in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) (United States); and (iii) CT Corporation System as the Funds’ registered agent.

First Trust is not required to ensure that the Funds appoint, and the Funds have not appointed, a depositary for purposes of the AIFM Directive. (A depositary in the context of the AIFM Directive, has a specific role and function. The appointment of such depositary is not required for non-EU AIFs with non-EU AIFMs.) As such, investors in the Funds have no rights as against any person in respect of the duties or liabilities of a depositary under the AIFM Directive.

Investors’ Contractual Rights. In respect of each of the service providers to the Funds, investors who purchase shares in the Funds in the secondary market have no direct rights of action against the service providers, as a matter of contract law or under the establishment documents of the Trust. The proper plaintiff in an action in respect of which a wrongdoing is alleged to have been committed against the Funds or the Trust by a service provider is, prima facie, the Trust itself. An investor may bring a derivative or similar action or proceeding (“Derivative Action”) against the Trust or a Fund to recover a judgment in its favor in accordance with the provisions of the Declaration. Accordingly, investors would have no direct contractual right against the relevant service provider for breach of the agreement governing its appointment by the Trust. The foregoing disclosure is without prejudice to such other rights of action (for example, under the securities laws, tort law or in respect of breach of fiduciary duty) which might in certain situations be separately available to investors.

Investment in the Funds. Investors will buy shares in the Funds in secondary market transactions through brokers and will not subscribe for shares from the Trust directly. As such, there is no direct contractual relationship between the Funds and the investor in connection with the purchase or sale of shares. While the Funds are established under Massachusetts law and Massachusetts law does facilitate the enforcement of judgments obtained in foreign jurisdictions, investors who buy shares on the secondary market will have no direct contractual right of action against the Funds. Investors should refer to “How to Buy and Sell Shares” in the main body of the Prospectus for more detail. The foregoing disclosure is without prejudice to such other rights of action (for example, under the securities laws, tort law or in respect of breach of fiduciary duty) which might in certain situations be separately available to investors.

Redemption from the Funds. Non-US investors will sell shares in secondary market transactions through brokers and will not redeem shares from the Funds directly. Shares can be sold throughout the trading day like other publicly traded shares. Investors should refer to “How to Buy and Sell Shares” in the main body of the Prospectus for more detail.

Liquidity Risk Management. Investors should note that while First Trust is not required to implement liquidity management arrangements in accordance with the AIFM Directive in respect of the Funds, the Funds are subject to the liquidity limitations established by the SEC. The Trustees have delegated to First Trust the day-to-day determination of illiquidity of equity and fixed income securities as described under “Illiquid Investments” in this SAI.

the 1940 Act the Trustees are required to monitor how a Fund operates and oversee matters where the interests of the Fund and its shareholders may differ from those of its investment adviser.

First Trust is registered as an investment adviser with the SEC, and is subject to regulation and oversight designed to protect shareholders. Under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, First Trust is a fiduciary to its clients, including the Funds, and is therefore required to act in the best interests of clients and to place the interests of clients before its own.

Information Regarding the Use of Leverage and Collateral. The AIFM Directive requires disclosure of certain information relating to leverage, collateral and asset re-use arrangements. The Funds may obtain leverage through the use of derivatives and other non-fully funded investments such as reverse repurchase agreements, firm commitment agreements and standby commitment agreements if, and to the extent that, such transactions are (i) disclosed in the Funds’ Prospectus and SAI and (ii) deemed appropriate investments by First Trust. These leveraged trading practices generally have not been prohibited by the SEC, though the SEC has published guidance on the manner in which the Funds may cover their leveraged trading practices to limit leverage and avoid the need to address the leverage concerns in Section 18 of the 1940 Act, which severely restricts how the Funds may use leverage. All arrangements entered into by First Trust on behalf of the Funds which result in leverage follow the parameter of the guidance published by the SEC.

As a non-EU AIFM, First Trust is not obliged to set a maximum permitted level of leverage which it may employ in its management of the Funds. The total amount of leverage employed by the Funds is provided at www.ftglobalportfolios.com.

Investors should refer to the “Investment Objectives and Policies” and “Investment Strategies” section of this SAI for more details on the use and risk of leverage by the Funds.

Shareholder Voting Rights. The Declaration requires a shareholder vote only on those matters where the 1940 Act requires a vote of shareholders and otherwise permits the Trustees to take actions without seeking the consent of shareholders. The Funds’ fundamental policies, as described in the “Investment Objectives and Policies” section of this SAI, may not be changed without approval of the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as such term is defined in the 1940 Act) of a Fund. The 1940 Act defines a majority vote as the vote of the lesser of (i) 67% or more of the voting securities represented at a meeting at which more than 50% of the outstanding securities are represented; or (ii) more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities.

Net Asset Value. The latest NAV of the Funds, and the latest NAV per share of each class of share of the Funds, is available online at: www.ftglobalportfolios.com and online stock quote services. Generally investors will buy and sell shares of the Funds in secondary market transactions through brokers. Shares of the Funds will therefore be available at the relevant market price rather than NAV.

The historical performance of the Funds since inception is available online at: www.ftglobalportfolios.com.

Accounts. Under the AIFM Directive, First Trust is required to make available the annual report of the Funds that it markets in the EEA. This must be prepared by no later than 6 months following the end of the financial year and contain certain specific content requirements set out in the AIFM Directive. Once the annual report has been produced, it will be made available to investors in the manner as set out in the Prospectus.

Professional Liability Requirements/Delegation by the AIFM/Valuation. As a non-EU AIFM, First Trust is not subject to certain EU requirements relating to (i) the cover of professional liability risk by holding either additional of its own funds or appropriate professional liability insurance; (ii) permitted delegation and the management and disclosure of conflicts of interest relating to any such delegation; and (iii) valuation as set out in Article 19 of the AIFM Directive. As such, no disclosures for the purposes of the AIFM Directive have been made. Notwithstanding this, First Trust and the Funds continue to comply with their requirements under US law.

Periodic Disclosure Obligations. The following information will be disclosed to Fund shareholders on a periodic basis by way of a posting being made on www.ftglobalportfolios.com:

•

the percentage of the Funds’ assets, if any, that are subject to special arrangements arising from their illiquid nature (including, but not limited to, deferrals of redemptions and suspensions);

•

the current risk profile of each Fund and the risk management systems employed by the AIFM to manage those risks; and

•

the total amount of leverage employed by each Fund, if any.

Whenever any new arrangements for managing the liquidity of the Funds are introduced including, but not limited to, any material changes to the liquidity management systems and procedures employed by First Trust, a disclosure to this effect will be uploaded on the Funds’ website. The Funds will ensure that a notice is uploaded on an expedited basis whenever deferrals or other similar special arrangements are activated or where redemptions of shares are suspended.

A notice will be posted without undue delay whenever there is a change to a maximum level of leverage which may be employed on behalf of a Fund; and any changes are made to the right of re-use of collateral or any changes to any guarantee granted under any leveraging arrangement.

INFORMATION FOR INVESTORS IN HONG KONG ONLY

The Fund is a collective investment scheme but is not authorized under Section 104 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance of Hong Kong by the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong. Accordingly, the distribution of the Prospectus, and the placement of Fund shares in Hong Kong, is restricted. The Prospectus may only be distributed, circulated or issued to persons who are professional investors under the Securities and Futures Ordinance and any rules made under that Ordinance or as otherwise permitted by the Securities and Futures Ordinance.

INFORMATION FOR INVESTORS IN SINGAPORE ONLY

The Prospectus has not been registered as a Prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, the Prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of Fund shares may not be circulated or distributed, nor may Fund shares be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor pursuant to Section 304 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “SFA”)) or (ii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.

INFORMATION FOR INVESTORS IN TAIWAN ONLY

Fund shares are being made available in the Republic of China (“R.O.C.”) on a private placement basis only to banks, bills houses, trust enterprises, financial holding companies and other qualified entities or institutions (collectively, “Qualified Institutions”) and other entities and individuals meeting specific criteria (“Other Qualified Investors”) pursuant to the private placement provisions of the R.O.C. Rules Governing Offshore Funds. No other offer or sale of the shares of the Fund in the R.O.C. is permitted. R.O.C. purchasers of Fund shares may not sell or otherwise dispose of their holdings except by redemption, transfer to a Qualified Institution or Other Qualified Investor, transfer by operation of law or other means approved by the R.O.C. Financial Supervisory Commission.

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

The Trust has adopted a proxy voting policy that seeks to ensure that proxies for securities held by the Funds are voted consistently with the best interests of the Funds.

The Board has delegated to First Trust the proxy voting responsibilities for the Funds and has directed First Trust to vote proxies consistent with the Funds' best interests. The First Trust Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures are attached hereto as Exhibit B. First Trust has engaged the services of Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”) to make recommendations to First Trust on the voting of proxies relating to securities held by the Funds. If First Trust manages the assets of a company or its pension plan and any of First Trust’s clients hold any securities of that company, First Trust will generally vote proxies relating to such company’s securities in accordance with the ISS recommendations to avoid any conflict of interest.

First Trust has adopted the ISS Proxy Voting Guidelines. While these guidelines are not intended to be all-inclusive, they do provide guidance on First Trust’s general voting policies. First Trust’s use of the ISS Proxy Voting Guidelines is not intended to constrain First Trust’s consideration of any proxy proposal, and there are times when First Trust deviates from the ISS Proxy Voting Guidelines. This includes when required by Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act or when agreed to by the Fund and certain acquired funds as permitted under Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act, if applicable. Generally, First Trust will not rely on ISS Proxy Voting Guidelines to withhold votes or vote against directors solely based on quota criteria or the exclusion of certain climate-related disclosures, which may or may not relate to the company’s core business or may not

materially impact shareholder value. First Trust will consider such proxy voting decisions in light of merit-based considerations which it believes may impact shareholder value. First Trust retains final authority and fiduciary responsibility for proxy voting.

Information regarding how the Funds voted proxies (if any) relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available upon request and without charge on the Funds' website at www.ftportfolios.com, by calling (800) 621-1675 or by accessing the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Portfolio Schedule. Each Fund files portfolio holdings information for each month in a fiscal quarter within 60 days after the end of the relevant fiscal quarter on Form N-PORT. Portfolio holdings information for the third month of each fiscal quarter will be publicly available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Each Fund’s complete schedule of portfolio holdings for the second and fourth quarters of each fiscal year is included in the semi-annual and annual reports to shareholders, respectively, and is filed with the SEC on Form N-CSR. A semi-annual or annual report for each Fund will become available to investors within 60 days after the period to which it relates. Each Fund’s Forms N-PORT and Forms N-CSR are available on the SEC’s website listed above.

Policy Regarding Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings. The Trust has adopted a policy regarding the disclosure of information about each Fund’s portfolio holdings. The Board of Trustees must approve all material amendments to this policy. Each Fund’s portfolio holdings are publicly disseminated each day the Fund is open for business through financial reporting and news services, including publicly accessible Internet websites. In addition, a basket composition file, which includes the security names and share quantities to deliver in exchange for Fund shares, together with estimates and actual cash components, is publicly disseminated each day the NYSE is open for trading via the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”). Pursuant to Rule 6c-11 under the 1940 Act, information regarding each Fund’s current portfolio holdings will be available on a daily basis at https://www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/etf/home.aspx. The Trust, First Trust, FTP and BNYM will not disseminate non-public information concerning the Trust.

Codes of Ethics. In order to mitigate the possibility that the Funds will be adversely affected by personal trading, the Trust, First Trust and the Distributor have adopted Codes of Ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act. These Codes of Ethics contain policies restricting securities trading in personal accounts of the officers, Trustees and others who normally come into possession of information on portfolio transactions. Personnel subject to the Codes of Ethics may invest in securities that may be purchased or held by the Funds; however, the Codes of Ethics require that each transaction in such securities be reviewed by the CCO or his or her designee. These Codes of Ethics are on public file with, and are available from, the SEC.

Creation and Redemption of Creation Units

General. ETFs, such as the Fund, generally issue and redeem their shares in primary market transactions through a creation and redemption mechanism and do not sell or redeem individual shares. Instead, financial entities known as “Authorized Participants” have contractual arrangements with an ETF or one of the ETF’s service providers to purchase and redeem ETF shares directly with the ETF in large blocks of shares known as “Creation Units.” Prior to the start of trading on every business day, an ETF publishes through the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”) the “basket” of securities, cash or other assets that it will accept in exchange for a Creation Unit of the ETF’s shares. An Authorized Participant that wishes to effectuate a creation of an ETF’s shares deposits with the ETF the “basket” of securities, cash or other assets identified by the ETF that day, and then receives the Creation Unit of the ETF’s shares in return for those assets. After purchasing a Creation Unit, the Authorized Participant may continue to hold the ETF’s shares or sell them in the secondary market. The redemption process is the reverse of the purchase process: the authorized participant redeems a Creation Unit of ETF shares for a basket of securities, cash or other assets. The combination of the creation and redemption process with secondary market trading in ETF shares and underlying securities provides arbitrage opportunities that are designed to help keep the market price of ETF shares at or close to the NAV per share of the ETF.

Authorized Participants. An “Authorized Participant” is a member or participant of a clearing agency registered with the SEC that has a written agreement with the Fund or one of its service providers that allows the Authorized Participant to place orders for the purchase or redemption of Creation Units (a “Participant Agreement”). Orders to purchase Creation Units must be delivered through an Authorized Participant that has executed a Participant Agreement and must comply with the applicable provisions of such Participant Agreement. Investors wishing to purchase or sell shares generally do so on an exchange. Institutional investors other than Authorized Participants are responsible for making arrangements for a redemption request to be made through an Authorized Participant.

Business Day. A “Business Day” is generally any day on which the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”), the Exchange and the Trust are open for business. As of the date of this SAI, the NYSE observes the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. The Business Day on which an order to purchase or redeem Creation Units is received in proper form is referred to as the “Transmittal Date.”

Basket Composition. Rule 6c-11(c)(3) under of the 1940 Act requires an ETF relying on the exemptions offered by Rule 6c-11 to adopt and implement written policies and procedures governing the construction of baskets and the process that the ETF will use for the acceptance of baskets. In general, in connection with the construction and acceptance of baskets, the Advisor may consider various factors, including, but not limited to: (1) whether the securities, assets and other positions comprising a basket are consistent with the ETF’s investment objective(s), policies and disclosure; (2) whether the securities, assets and other positions can legally and readily be acquired, transferred and held by the ETF and/or Authorized Participant(s), as applicable; (3) whether to utilize cash, either in lieu of securities or other instruments or as a cash balancing amount; and (4) in the case of an ETF that tracks an index, whether the securities, assets and other positions aid index tracking.

The Fund may utilize a pro rata basket or a custom basket in reliance on Rule 6c-11. A “pro rata basket” is a basket that is a pro rata representation of the ETF’s portfolio holdings, except for minor deviations when it is not operationally feasible to include a particular instrument within the basket, except to the extent that the Fund utilized different baskets in transactions on the same Business Day.

Rule 6c-11 defines “custom baskets” to include two categories of baskets. First, a basket containing a non-representative selection of the ETF’s portfolio holdings would constitute a custom basket. These types of custom baskets include, but are not limited to, baskets that do not reflect: (i) a pro rata representation of the Fund’s portfolio holdings; (ii) a representative sampling of an ETF’s portfolio holdings; or (iii) changes due to a rebalancing or reconstitution of an ETF’s securities market index, if applicable. Second, if different baskets are used in transactions on the same Business Day, each basket after the initial basket would constitute a custom basket. For example, if an ETF exchanges a basket with either the same or another Authorized Participant that reflects a representative sampling that differs from the initial basket, that basket (and any such subsequent baskets) would be a custom basket. Similarly, if an ETF substitutes cash in lieu of a portion of basket assets for a single Authorized Participant, that basket would be a custom basket. The Advisor’s Rule 6c-11 Committee defines any deviation from a pro rata basket to be a “custom basket.” Rebalancing and reconstitution baskets do not constitute custom baskets. All cash baskets that are the initial basket on a Business Day also do not constitute custom baskets.

Under a variety of circumstances, an ETF and its shareholders may benefit from the flexibility afforded by custom baskets. In general terms, the use of custom baskets may reduce costs, increase efficiency and improve trading. Because utilizing custom baskets provides a way for an ETF to add, remove and re-weight portfolio securities without transacting in the market, it may help the ETF to avoid transaction costs and adverse tax consequences. Rule 6c-11 provides an ETF with flexibility to use “custom baskets” if the ETF has adopted written policies and procedures that: (1) set forth detailed parameters for the construction and acceptance of custom baskets that are in the best interests of the ETF and its shareholders, including the process for any revisions to, or deviations from, those parameters; and (2) specify the titles or roles of employees of the ETF’s investment advisor who are required to review each custom basket for compliance with those parameters.

The use of baskets that do not correspond pro rata to an ETF’s portfolio holdings has historically created concern that an Authorized Participant could take advantage of its relationship with an ETF and pressure the ETF to construct a basket that favors an Authorized Participant to the detriment of the ETF’s shareholders. For example, because ETFs rely on Authorized Participants to maintain the secondary market by promoting an effective arbitrage mechanism, an Authorized Participant holding less liquid or less desirable securities potentially could pressure an ETF into accepting those securities in its basket in exchange for liquid ETF shares (i.e., dumping). An Authorized Participant also could pressure the ETF into including in its basket certain desirable securities in exchange for ETF shares tendered for redemption (i.e., cherry-picking). In either case, the ETF’s other investors would be disadvantaged and would be left holding shares of an ETF with a less liquid or less desirable portfolio of securities. The Advisor has adopted policies and procedures designed to mitigate these concerns but there is ultimately no guarantee that such policies and procedures will be effective.

non-pro rata, custom and forward-looking pro rata baskets are calculated by the Fund’s investment advisor and disseminated by the ETF’s custodial bank through the NSCC process.

Placement of Creation or Redemption Orders. All orders to purchase or redeem Creation Units are to be governed according to the applicable Participant Agreement that each Authorized Participant has executed. In general, all orders to purchase or redeem Creation Units must be received by the transfer agent in the proper form required by the Participant Agreement no later than the closing time of the regular trading session of the NYSE (ordinarily 4:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time) on each day the NYSE is open for business (the “Closing Time”) in order for the purchase or redemption of Creation Units to be effected based on the NAV of shares of the Fund as next determined on such date after receipt of the order in proper form. However, at its discretion, the Fund may require an Authorized Participant to submit orders to purchase or redeem Creation Units be placed earlier in the day (such as instances where an applicable market for a security comprising a creation or redemption basket closes earlier than usual).

Delivery of Redemption Proceeds. Deliveries of securities to Authorized Participants in connection with redemption orders are generally expected to be made within two Business Days. Due to the schedule of holidays in certain countries, however, the delivery of in-kind redemption proceeds for the Fund may take longer than two Business Days after the day on which the redemption request is received in proper form. Section 22(e) of the 1940 Act generally prohibits a registered open-end management investment company from postponing the date of satisfaction of redemption requests for more than seven days after the tender of a security for redemption. This prohibition can cause operational difficulties for ETFs that hold foreign investments and exchange in-kind baskets for Creation Units. For example, local market delivery cycles for transferring foreign investments to redeeming investors, together with local market holiday schedules, can sometimes require a delivery process in excess of seven days. However, Rule 6c-11 grants relief from Section 22(e) to permit an ETF to delay satisfaction of a redemption request for more than seven days if a local market holiday, or series of consecutive holidays, or the extended delivery cycles for transferring foreign investments to redeeming Authorized Participants, or the combination thereof prevents timely delivery of the foreign investment included in the ETF’s basket. Under this exemption, an ETF must deliver foreign investments as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 days after the tender to the ETF. The exemption therefore will permit a delay only to the extent that additional time for settlement is actually required, when a local market holiday, or series of consecutive holidays, or the extended delivery cycles for transferring foreign investments to redeeming authorized participants prevents timely delivery of the foreign investment included in the ETF’s basket. If a foreign investment settles in less than 15 days, Rule 6c-11 requires an ETF to deliver it pursuant to the standard settlement time of the local market where the investment trades. Rule 6c-11 defines “foreign investment” as any security, asset or other position of the ETF issued by a foreign issuer (as defined by Rule 3b-4 under the 1934 Act), and that is traded on a trading market outside of the United States. This definition is not limited to “foreign securities,” but also includes other investments that may not be considered securities. Although these other investments may not be securities, they may present the same challenges for timely settlement as foreign securities if they are transferred in kind.

Creation Transaction Fees. The Fund imposes fees in connection with the purchase of Creation Units. These fees may vary based upon various facts-based circumstances, including, but not limited to, the composition of the securities included in the Creation Unit or the countries in which the transactions are settled. The price for each Creation Unit will equal the daily NAV per share of the Fund times the number of shares in a Creation Unit, plus the fees described above and, if applicable, any operational processing and brokerage costs, transfer fees, stamp taxes and part or all of the spread between the expected bid and offer side of the market related to the securities comprising the creation basket.

Redemption Transaction Fees. The Fund also imposes fees in connection with the redemption of Creation Units. These fees may vary based upon various facts-based circumstances, including, but not limited to, the composition of the securities included in the Creation Unit or the countries in which the transactions are settled. The price received for each Creation Unit will equal the daily NAV per share of the Fund times the number of shares in a Creation Unit, minus the fees described above and, if applicable, any operational processing and brokerage costs, transfer fees, stamp taxes and part or all of the spread between the expected bid and offer side of the market related to the securities comprising the redemption basket. Investors who use the services of a broker or other such intermediary in addition to an Authorized Participant to effect a redemption of a Creation Unit may also be assessed an amount to cover the cost of such services. The redemption fee charged by the Fund will comply with Rule 22c-2 of the 1940 Act which limits redemption fees to no more than 2% of the value of the shares redeemed.

ETF’s portfolio holdings are traded are closed for a limited period of time. The SEC has also stated that an ETF could not set transaction fees so high as to effectively suspend the issuance of Creation Units. Circumstances in which the Fund may suspend or reject creations include, but are not limited to: (i) the order is not in proper form; (ii) the purchaser or group of related purchasers, upon obtaining the Creation Units of Fund shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding shares of the Fund; (iii) the required consideration is not delivered; (iv) the acceptance of the basket would, in the opinion of the Fund, be unlawful; or (v) there exist circumstances outside the control of the Fund that make it impossible to process purchases of Creation Units for all practical purposes. Examples of such circumstances include: acts of God or public service or utility problems such as fires, floods, extreme weather conditions and power outages resulting in telephone, telecopy and computer failures; market conditions or activities causing trading halts; systems failures involving computer or other information systems affecting the Fund, First Trust, the Distributor, DTC, NSCC, the transfer agent, the custodian, any sub-custodian or any other participant in the purchase process; and similar extraordinary events. The Fund reserves the right to reject a creation order transmitted to it provided that such action does not result in a suspension of sales of creation units in contravention of 6c-11 and the SEC’s positions thereunder. The Transfer Agent shall notify a prospective creator of a Creation Unit and/or the Authorized Participant acting on behalf of such prospective creator of the rejection of the order of such person. The Trust, the Fund, the Transfer Agent, the custodian, any sub-custodian and the Distributor are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of baskets, nor shall any of them incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification.

Suspension of Redemptions. An ETF may suspend the redemption of Creation Units only in accordance with Section 22(e) of the 1940 Act. Section 22(e) stipulates that no registered investment company shall suspend the right of redemption, or postpone the date of payment or satisfaction upon redemption of any redeemable security in accordance with its terms for more than seven days after the tender of such security to the company or its agent designated for that purpose for redemption, except (1) for any period (A) during which the NYSE is closed other than customary week-end and holiday closings or (B) during which trading on the NYSE is restricted; (2) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which (A) disposal by the investment company of securities owned by it is not reasonably practicable or (B) it is not reasonably practicable for such company fairly to determine the value of its net assets; or (3) for such other periods as the SEC may by order permit for the protection of security holders of the investment company.

Exceptions to Use of Creation Units. Under Rule 6c-11 of the 1940 Act, ETFs are permitted to sell or redeem individual shares on the day of consummation of a reorganization, merger, conversion, or liquidation. In these limited circumstances, an ETF may need to issue or redeem individual shares and may need to transact without utilizing Authorized Participants.

Federal Tax Matters

This section summarizes some of the main U.S. federal income tax consequences of owning shares of a Fund. This section is current as of the date of the SAI. Tax laws and interpretations change frequently, and these summaries do not describe all of the tax consequences to all taxpayers. For example, these summaries generally do not describe your situation if you are a corporation, a non-U.S. person, a broker-dealer or other investor with special circumstances. In addition, this section does not describe your state, local or foreign tax consequences.

This federal income tax summary is based in part on the advice of counsel to the Funds. The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) could disagree with any conclusions set forth in this section. The following disclosure may not be sufficient for prospective investors to use for the purpose of avoiding penalties under federal tax law.

As with any investment, prospective investors should seek advice based on their individual circumstances from their own tax advisor.

Each Fund intends to qualify annually and to elect to be treated as a regulated investment company (a “RIC”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).

the purposes of this calculation to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of a Fund's total assets and not greater than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (b) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets is invested in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or the securities of other RICs) of any one issuer, or two or more issuers which a Fund controls which are engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more of certain publicly traded partnerships; and (iii) distribute at least 90% of its investment company taxable income (which includes, among other items, dividends, interest and net short-term capital gains in excess of net long-term capital losses) and at least 90% of its net tax-exempt interest income each taxable year. There are certain exceptions for failure to qualify if the failure is for reasonable cause or is de minimis, and certain corrective action is taken and certain tax payments are made by the Fund.

As a RIC, a Fund generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on its investment company taxable income (as that term is defined in the Code, but without regard to the deduction for dividends paid) and net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss), if any, that it distributes to shareholders. Each Fund intends to distribute to its shareholders, at least annually, substantially all of its investment company taxable income and net capital gain. If a Fund retains any net capital gain or investment company taxable income, it will generally be subject to federal income tax at regular corporate rates on the amount retained. In addition, amounts not distributed on a timely basis in accordance with a calendar year distribution requirement are subject to a nondeductible 4% excise tax unless, generally, the Fund distributes during each calendar year an amount equal to the sum of (1) at least 98% of its ordinary income (not taking into account any capital gains or losses) for the calendar year, (2) at least 98.2% of its capital gains in excess of its capital losses (adjusted for certain ordinary losses) for the one-year period ending October 31 of the calendar year, and (3) any ordinary income and capital gains for previous years that were not distributed during those years. In order to prevent application of the excise tax, each Fund intends to make its distributions in accordance with the calendar year distribution requirement. A distribution will be treated as paid on December 31 of the current calendar year if it is declared by a Fund in October, November or December with a record date in such a month and paid by the Fund during January of the following calendar year. Such distributions will be taxable to shareholders in the calendar year in which the distributions are declared, rather than the calendar year in which the distributions are received.

Subject to certain reasonable cause and de minimis exceptions, if a Fund fails to qualify as a RIC or fails to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement in any taxable year, the Fund would be taxed as an ordinary corporation on its taxable income (even if such income were distributed to its shareholders) and all distributions out of earnings and profits would be taxed to shareholders as ordinary income.

Distributions

Dividends paid out of each Fund's investment company taxable income are generally taxable to a shareholder as ordinary income to the extent of the Fund’s earnings and profits, whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares. However, certain ordinary income distributions received from a Fund may be taxed at capital gains tax rates. In particular, ordinary income dividends received by an individual shareholder from RICs such as each of the Funds are generally taxed at the same rates that apply to net capital gain, provided that certain holding period requirements are satisfied and provided the dividends are attributable to qualifying dividends received by a Fund itself. Dividends received by the Funds from REITs and foreign corporations are qualifying dividends eligible for this lower tax rate only in certain circumstances. A Fund will provide notice to its shareholders of the amount of any distributions that may be taken into account as a dividend which is eligible for the capital gains tax rates. A Fund cannot make any guarantees as to the amount of any distribution which will be regarded as a qualifying dividend. Some portion of the ordinary income distributions that are attributable to dividends received by a Fund from shares in certain real estate investment trusts may be designated by the Fund as eligible for a deduction for qualified business income, provided certain holding period requirements are satisfied.

Income from a Fund may also be subject to a 3.8% “Medicare tax.” This tax generally applies to net investment income if the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income exceeds certain threshold amounts, which are $250,000 in the case of married couples filing joint returns and $200,000 in the case of single individuals.

A corporation that owns shares generally will not be entitled to the dividends received deduction with respect to many dividends received from a Fund because the dividends received deduction is generally not available for distributions from RICs. However, certain ordinary income dividends on shares that are attributable to qualifying dividends received by the Funds from certain domestic corporations may be reported by the Funds as being eligible for the dividends received deduction.

Distributions of net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss), if any, properly reported as capital gain dividends are taxable to a shareholder as long-term capital gains, regardless of how long the shareholder has held Fund shares. An election may be available to you to defer recognition of the gain attributable to a capital gain dividend if you make certain qualifying investments within a limited time. You should talk to your tax advisor about the availability of this deferral election and its requirements. Shareholders receiving distributions in the form of additional shares, rather than cash, generally will have a tax basis in each such share equal to the value of a share of a Fund on the reinvestment date. A distribution of an amount in excess of a Fund's current and accumulated earnings and profits will be treated by a shareholder as a return of capital which is applied against and reduces the shareholder’s basis in his or her shares. To the extent that the amount of any such distribution exceeds the shareholder’s basis in his or her shares, the excess will be treated by the shareholder as gain from a sale or exchange of the shares.

Shareholders will be notified annually as to the U.S. federal income tax status of distributions and shareholders receiving distributions in the form of additional shares will receive a report as to the value of those shares.

Sale or Exchange of Fund Shares

Upon the sale or other disposition of shares of a Fund, which a shareholder holds as a capital asset, such a shareholder may realize a capital gain or loss which will be long-term or short-term, depending upon the shareholder’s holding period for the shares. Generally, a shareholder’s gain or loss will be a long-term gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than one year. An election may be available to you to defer recognition of capital gain if you make certain qualifying investments within a limited time. You should talk to your tax advisor about the availability of this deferral election and its requirements.

Any loss realized on a sale or exchange will be disallowed to the extent that shares disposed of are replaced (including through reinvestment of dividends) within a period of 61 days beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after disposition of shares or to the extent that the shareholder, during such period, acquires or enters into an option or contract to acquire substantially identical stock or securities. In such a case, the basis of the shares acquired will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss. Any loss realized by a shareholder on a disposition of Fund shares held by the shareholder for six months or less will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any distributions of long-term capital gain received by the shareholder with respect to such shares.

Taxes on Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units

If a shareholder exchanges securities for Creation Units, the shareholder will generally recognize a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time and the shareholder’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and the Cash Component paid. If a shareholder exchanges Creation Units for securities, then the shareholder will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the shareholder’s basis in the Creation Units and the aggregate market value of the securities received and the Cash Redemption Amount. The IRS, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units or Creation Units for securities cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.

Nature of Fund Investments

Certain of the Funds' investment practices are subject to special and complex federal income tax provisions that may, among other things, (i) disallow, suspend or otherwise limit the allowance of certain losses or deductions; (ii) convert lower taxed long-term capital gain into higher taxed short-term capital gain or ordinary income; (iii) convert an ordinary loss or a deduction into a capital loss (the deductibility of which is more limited); (iv) cause a Fund to recognize income or gain without a corresponding receipt of cash; (v) adversely affect the time as to when a purchase or sale of stock or securities is deemed to occur; and (vi) adversely alter the characterization of certain complex financial transactions.

Futures Contracts and Options

were closed out); and (ii) may cause a Fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement for qualifying to be taxed as a RIC and the distribution requirements for avoiding excise taxes.

Investments in Certain Foreign Corporations

If a Fund holds an equity interest in any “passive foreign investment companies” (“PFICs”), which are generally certain foreign corporations that receive at least 75% of their annual gross income from passive sources (such as interest, dividends, certain rents and royalties or capital gains) or that hold at least 50% of their assets in investments producing such passive income, the Fund could be subject to U.S. federal income tax and additional interest charges on gains and certain distributions with respect to those equity interests, even if all the income or gain is timely distributed to its shareholders. A Fund will not be able to pass through to its shareholders any credit or deduction for such taxes. A Fund may be able to make an election that could ameliorate these adverse tax consequences. In this case, a Fund would recognize as ordinary income any increase in the value of such PFIC shares, and as ordinary loss any decrease in such value to the extent it did not exceed prior increases included in income. Under this election, a Fund might be required to recognize in a year income in excess of its distributions from PFICs and its proceeds from dispositions of PFIC stock during that year, and such income would nevertheless be subject to the distribution requirement and would be taken into account for purposes of the 4% excise tax (described above). Dividends paid by PFICs are not treated as qualified dividend income.

Backup Withholding

A Fund may be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax from all taxable distributions and sale proceeds payable to shareholders who fail to provide the Fund with their correct taxpayer identification number or fail to make required certifications, or who have been notified by the IRS that they are subject to backup withholding. Corporate shareholders and certain other shareholders specified in the Code generally are exempt from such backup withholding. This withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld may be credited against the shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability.

Non-U.S. Shareholders

U.S. taxation of a shareholder who, as to the United States, is a nonresident alien individual, a foreign trust or estate, a foreign corporation or foreign partnership (“non-U.S. shareholder”) depends on whether the income of a Fund is “effectively connected” with a U.S. trade or business carried on by the shareholder.

In addition to the rules described in this section concerning the potential imposition of withholding on distributions to non-U.S. persons, distributions to non-U.S. persons that are “financial institutions” may be subject to a withholding tax of 30% unless an agreement is in place between the financial institution and the U.S. Treasury to collect and disclose information about accounts, equity investments or debt interests in the financial institution held by one or more U.S. persons or the institution is resident in a jurisdiction that has entered into such an agreement with the U.S. Treasury. For these purposes, a “financial institution” means any entity that (i) accepts deposits in the ordinary course of a banking or similar business; (ii) holds financial assets for the account of others as a substantial portion of its business; or (iii) is engaged (or holds itself out as being engaged) primarily in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities, partnership interests, commodities or any interest (including a futures contract or option) in such securities, partnership interests or commodities. This withholding tax is also currently scheduled to apply to the gross proceeds from the disposition of securities that produce U.S. source interest ordividends. However, proposed regulations may eliminate the requirement to withhold on payments of gross proceeds from dispositions.

Distributions to non-financial non-U.S. entities (other than publicly traded foreign entities, entities owned by residents of U.S. possessions, foreign governments, international organizations or foreign central banks) will also be subject to a withholding tax of 30% if the entity does not certify that the entity does not have any substantial U.S. owners or provide the name, address and TIN of each substantial U.S. owner. This withholding tax is also currently scheduled to apply to the gross proceeds from the disposition of securities that produce U.S. source interest or dividends. However, proposed regulations may eliminate the requirement to withhold on payments of gross proceeds from dispositions.

Income Not Effectively Connected. If the income from a Fund is not “effectively connected” with a U.S. trade or business carried on by the non-U.S. shareholder, distributions of investment company taxable income will generally be subject to a U.S. tax of 30% (or lower treaty rate), which tax is generally withheld from such distributions.

Distributions of capital gain dividends and any amounts retained by a Fund which are properly reported by the Fund as undistributed capital gains will not be subject to U.S. tax at the rate of 30% (or lower treaty rate) unless the non-U.S. shareholder is a nonresident alien individual and is physically present in the United States for more than 182 days during the taxable year and meets certain other requirements. However, this 30% tax on capital gains of nonresident alien individuals who are physically present in the United States for more than the 182 day period only applies in exceptional cases because any individual present in the United States for more than 182 days during the taxable year is generally treated as a resident for U.S. income tax purposes; in that case, he or she would be subject to U.S. income tax on his or her worldwide income at the graduated rates applicable to U.S. citizens, rather than the 30% U.S. tax. In the case of a non-U.S. shareholder who is a nonresident alien individual, a Fund may be required to withhold U.S. income tax from distributions of net capital gain unless the non-U.S. shareholder certifies his or her non-U.S. status under penalties of perjury or otherwise establishes an exemption. If a non-U.S. shareholder is a nonresident alien individual, any gain such shareholder realizes upon the sale or exchange of such shareholder’s shares of a Fund in the United States will ordinarily be exempt from U.S. tax unless the gain is U.S. source income and such shareholder is physically present in the United States for more than 182 days during the taxable year and meets certain other requirements.

Distributions from a Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as an interest-related dividend attributable to certain interest income received by the Fund or as a short-term capital gain dividend attributable to certain net short-term capital gain income received by a Fund may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes when received by certain non-U.S. shareholders, provided that each Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met. For tax years after December 31, 2022, amounts paid to or recognized by a non-U.S. affiliate that are excluded from tax under the portfolio interest, capital gain dividends, short-term capital gains or tax-exempt interest dividend exceptions or applicable treaties, may be taken into consideration in determining whether a corporation is an “applicable corporation” subject to a 15% minimum tax on adjusted financial statement income.

In addition, capital gain distributions attributable to gains from U.S. real property interests (including certain U.S. real property holding corporations) will generally be subject to United States withholding tax and will give rise to an obligation on the part of the non-U.S. shareholder to file a United States tax return.

Income Effectively Connected. If the income from a Fund is “effectively connected” with a U.S. trade or business carried on by a non-U.S. shareholder, then distributions of investment company taxable income and capital gain dividends, any amounts retained by the Fund which are properly reported by the Fund as undistributed capital gains and any gains realized upon the sale or exchange of shares of the Fund will be subject to U.S. income tax at the graduated rates applicable to U.S. citizens, residents and domestic corporations. Non-U.S. corporate shareholders may also be subject to the branch profits tax imposed by the Code. The tax consequences to a non-U.S. shareholder entitled to claim the benefits of an applicable tax treaty may differ from those described herein. Non-U.S. shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisors with respect to the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in a Fund.

Capital Loss Carry-forward

Under the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010, net capital losses of a Fund incurred in taxable years beginning after December 22, 2010 may be carried forward indefinitely, and their character is retained as short-term and/or long-term losses. To the extent that these loss carry-forwards are used to offset future capital gains, it is probable that the capital gains so offset will not be distributed to Fund shareholders. The Funds intend to utilize provisions of the federal income tax laws, which allow the Funds to carry a realized capital loss forward indefinitely following the year of the loss and offset such loss against any future realized capital gains. As of December 31, 2023, the Funds had non-expiring capital loss carryforwards for federal income tax purposes as shown in the table below. The Funds are subject to certain limitations, under U.S. tax rules, on the use of capital loss carry-forwards and net unrealized built-in losses. These limitations generally apply when there has been a 50% change in ownership.

Fund	Total Non-Expiring Capital Loss Available
First Trust Capital Strength ETF	$874,114,791
First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund	891,208,115
First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund	60,407,373

Fund	Total Non-Expiring Capital Loss Available
First Trust Natural Gas ETF	530,260,707
First Trust Water ETF	54,205,045
First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund	443,919,569
First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund	163,540,102
First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund	21,074,113
First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund	453,846,896
First Trust NASDAQ® ABA Community Bank Index Fund	20,605,691
First Trust NASDAQ® Clean Edge® Green Energy Index Fund	425,003,827
First Trust NYSE® Arca® Biotechnology Index Fund	647,288,577
First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund	691,561
First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF	670,354,553
First Trust Value Line® Dividend Index Fund*	541,442,011

$11,007,161 of First Trust Value Line® Dividend Index Fund's non-expiring net capital losses is subject to loss limitation resulting from reorganization activity. This limitation generally reduces the utilization of these losses to a maximum of $364,518 per year.

Other Taxation

Fund shareholders may be subject to state, local and foreign taxes on their Fund distributions. Shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisors with respect to the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in the Funds.

Determination of Net Asset Value

Each Fund’s net asset value is determined as set forth in the Prospectus in the section entitled “Net Asset Value.”

Dividends and Distributions

The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Dividends, Distributions and Taxes.”

General Policies. Dividends from net investment income of the Funds, if any, are declared and paid quarterly. Distributions of net realized securities gains, if any, generally are declared and paid once a year, but the Trust may make distributions on a more frequent basis. The Trust reserves the right to declare special distributions if, in its reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve the status of each Fund as a RIC or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income.

Dividends and other distributions of Fund shares are distributed, as described below, on a pro rata basis to Beneficial Owners of such shares. Dividend payments are made through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants to Beneficial Owners then of record with proceeds received from the Funds.

Dividend Reinvestment Service. No reinvestment service is provided by the Trust. Broker-dealers may make available the DTC book-entry Dividend Reinvestment Service for use by Beneficial Owners of the Funds for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. Beneficial Owners should contact their brokers in order to determine the availability and costs of the service and the details of participation therein. Brokers may require Beneficial Owners to adhere to specific procedures and timetables. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole shares of each Fund purchased in the secondary market.

Miscellaneous Information

Counsel. Chapman and Cutler LLP, 320 South Canal St., Chicago, Illinois 60606, is counsel to the Trust.

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. Deloitte & Touche LLP, 111 South Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606, serves as the Funds' independent registered public accounting firm. The firm audits each Fund's financial statements and performs other related audit services.

Financial Statements

The audited financial statements and notes thereto for the Funds, contained in the Annual Reports to Shareholders dated December 31, 2023, are incorporated by reference into this Statement of Additional Information and have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report also appears in the Annual Reports and is also incorporated by reference herein. No other parts of the Annual Reports are incorporated by reference herein. The Annual Reports are available without charge by calling (800) 621-1675 or by visiting the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

Exhibit A—Principal Holders Table

NAME OF BENEFICIAL OWNER	% OF OUTSTANDING SHARES OWNED
FIRST TRUST CAPITAL STRENGTH ETF
LPL Financial LLC	13.69%
National Financial Services LLC	12.54%
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.	10.54%
Raymond James & Associates, Inc.	10.29%
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC	8.49%
Edward Jones	7.58%
Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC	7.39%
Pershing LLC	6.95%
FIRST TRUST DOW JONES INTERNET INDEX FUND
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.	14.26%
BNYMellon/Re ETF - UIT DTC/NSCC 0963	12.13%
National Financial Services LLC	10.93%
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC	8.59%
Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC	6.56%
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated/8862 MLPF&S TS SUB	5.69%
LPL Financial LLC	5.48%
FIRST TRUST DOW JONES SELECT MICROCAP INDEX FUND
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.	41.57%
National Financial Services LLC	11.84%
Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated	6.62%
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC	6.30%
LPL Financial LLC	5.83%
FIRST TRUST NATURAL GAS ETF
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.	14.53%
National Financial Services LLC	12.50%
UBS Financial Services Inc.	6.96%
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC	6.84%
Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC	6.62%
Citibank, N.A.	6.42%
Raymond James & Associates, Inc.	6.34%
LPL Financial LLC	5.54%
Pershing LLC	5.21%
FIRST TRUST WATER ETF
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.	16.26%
National Financial Services LLC	13.88%
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC	12.19%
LPL Financial LLC	6.90%
Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC	6.04%
Pershing LLC	5.87%
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated/8862 MLPF&S TS SUB	5.22%

A-1

NAME OF BENEFICIAL OWNER	% OF OUTSTANDING SHARES OWNED
FIRST TRUST MORNINGSTAR DIVIDEND LEADERS INDEX FUND
National Financial Services LLC	12.46%
LPL Financial LLC	12.21%
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC	10.37%
Pershing LLC	10.27%
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.	10.06%
Raymond James & Associates, Inc.	7.10%
Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC	6.55%
American Enterprise Investment Services Inc.	5.75%
Edward Jones	5.25%
FIRST TRUST NASDAQ-100 EQUAL WEIGHTED INDEX FUND
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.	16.04%
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC	14.32%
National Financial Services LLC	12.95%
LPL Financial LLC	12.46%
Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC	10.48%
Raymond James & Associates, Inc.	8.00%
Pershing LLC	5.72%
FIRST TRUST NASDAQ-100 EX-TECHNOLOGY SECTOR INDEX FUND
National Financial Services LLC	16.46%
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC	16.05%
Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC	15.32%
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.	9.71%
LPL Financial LLC	9.28%
Raymond James & Associates, Inc.	5.24%
FIRST TRUST NASDAQ-100-TECHNOLOGY SECTOR INDEX FUND
BNYMellon/Re ETF - UIT DTC/NSCC 0963	20.08%
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.	14.97%
National Financial Services LLC	10.94%
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC	6.75%
Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC	6.31%
LPL Financial LLC	5.91%
Pershing LLC	5.06%
FIRST TRUST NASDAQ® ABA COMMUNITY BANK INDEX FUND
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.	19.87%
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC	10.73%
Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC	8.96%
National Financial Services LLC	8.90%
LPL Financial LLC	8.67%
BOFA Securities, Inc.	7.20%
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated/8862 MLPF&S TS SUB	6.20%
Raymond James & Associates, Inc.	5.05%

A-2

NAME OF BENEFICIAL OWNER	% OF OUTSTANDING SHARES OWNED
FIRST TRUST NASDAQ® CLEAN EDGE® GREEN ENERGY INDEX FUND
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.	15.93%
National Financial Services LLC	14.75%
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC	7.98%
Edward Jones	5.74%
FIRST TRUST NYSE® ARCA® BIOTECHNOLOGY INDEX FUND
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.	14.93%
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC	11.36%
National Financial Services LLC	10.08%
Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC	9.94%
Raymond James & Associates, Inc.	6.53%
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated/8862 MLPF&S TS SUB	5.66%
LPL Financial LLC	5.22%
Pershing LLC	5.09%
UBS Financial Services Inc.	5.00%
FIRST TRUST S&P REIT INDEX FUND
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC	20.71%
LPL Financial LLC	19.61%
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.	16.59%
UBS Financial Services Inc.	7.85%
National Financial Services LLC	7.16%
Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC	5.60%
FIRST TRUST US EQUITY OPPORTUNITIES ETF
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.	18.19%
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC	15.41%
National Financial Services LLC	11.32%
LPL Financial LLC	9.96%
Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC	7.45%
Pershing LLC	6.79%
American Enterprise Investment Services Inc.	5.45%
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated/8862 MLPF&S TS SUB	5.12%

A-3

NAME OF BENEFICIAL OWNER	% OF OUTSTANDING SHARES OWNED
FIRST TRUST VALUE LINE® DIVIDEND INDEX FUND
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC	14.03%
LPL Financial LLC	13.28%
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.	10.61%
National Financial Services LLC	10.59%
Raymond James & Associates, Inc.	8.15%
American Enterprise Investment Services Inc.	6.28%
Pershing LLC	6.25%
Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC	6.10%
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated/8862 MLPF&S TS SUB	5.31%

American Enterprise Investment Services Inc.: 901 3RD Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55474

BOFA Securities, Inc.: 4804 Deer Lake Dr E, Jacksonville, Florida 32246

BNYMellon/Re ETF - UIT DTC/NSCC 0963: 525 William Penn Place, Suite 153-0400, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15259

Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.: 2423 E Lincoln Drive, Phoenix, Arizona 85016

Citibank, N.A.: 3801 Citibank Center, B/3Rd Floor/Zone 12, Tampa, Florida 33610

Edward Jones: 201 Progress Parkway, Maryland Heights, Missouri 63043-3042

LPL Financial LLC: 1055 LPL Way, Fort Mill, South Carolina 29715

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated/8862 MLPF&S TS SUB: 4804 Deer Lake Dr E, Jacksonville, Florida 32246

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC: 1300 Thames St, 6th Floor, Baltimore, Maryland 21231

National Financial Services LLC: 499 Washington Boulevard, Jersey City, New Jersey 07310

Pershing LLC: One Pershing Plaza, Jersey City, New Jersey 07399

Raymond James & Associates, Inc.: 880 Carillon Parkway, St. Petersburg, Florida 33716

Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated: 777 E. Wisconsin Avenue, 19th Floor, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202

UBS Financial Services Inc.: 1000 Harbor Blvd, Weehawken, New Jersey 07086

Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC: 2801 Market Street, H0006-09B, St. Louis, Missouri 63103

A-4

Exhibit B—Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

FIRST TRUST ADVISORS L.P.
PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

First Trust Advisors L.P. (“FTA” or the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to open- and closed-end investment companies, and other collective investments (“Funds”), as well as separately managed accounts (collectively, “Clients”). As part of these services, the Adviser has, in most cases, agreed to or been delegated proxy voting responsibility on such Clients’ behalf (“Proxy Clients”). FTA is required to adopt and implement policies and procedures reasonably designed to ensure proxy voting on behalf of Proxy Clients is conducted in a manner that is in their best interests and addresses how conflicts of interest between FTA’s interests and Proxy Clients’ interests are managed. FTA has adopted the following policies and procedures to comply with this requirement (the “Policy”).

(1)

It is the Adviser’s policy to seek and to ensure that proxies are voted consistently and in the best economic interests of the Proxy Client. The FTA Investment Committee is responsible for the implementation of the Policy.

(2)

The Adviser engaged Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”) to provide proxy research, recommendations, and voting services. ISS provides a password protected website which is accessible to authorized FTA personnel to download upcoming proxy meeting data, including research reports of companies held in Proxy Client portfolios. The website can be used to view proposed proxy votes and to enter votes for upcoming meetings for Proxy Client portfolio securities.

(3)

FTA will generally follow the ISS Proxy Voting Guidelines (the “Guidelines”) to vote proxies for Proxy Clients’ accounts, so long as such Guidelines are considered to be in the best interests of the Proxy Client, and there are no noted or perceived conflicts of interest. FTA’s use of the Guidelines is not intended to constrain FTA’s consideration of any proxy proposal, and there are times when FTA deviates from the Guidelines, including but not limited to: (i) when required by Rule 12d1-4 agreements between Fund Proxy Clients and certain acquired funds, if applicable and (ii) not withhold votes or not vote against directors solely based on quota criteria. When FTA deviates from the Guidelines, FTA will consider such proxy voting decisions in light of merit-based considerations which it believes may impact shareholder value. The Guidelines are posted on the “News and Literature” page on the website (ftportfolios.com) for each Fund for which FTA votes proxies.

(4)

FTA will also vote against shareholder proposals that are not related to a company’s core business and/or do not appear to be an appropriate use of a company’s resources to maximize shareholder value.

(5)

FTA may vote against the Guidelines in other circumstances as it has final authority and fiduciary responsibility for proxy voting.

(6)

In certain circumstances, where FTA has determined that it is consistent with Proxy Clients’ best interests, FTA will not vote a proxy on behalf of one or more Proxy Clients. Such circumstances include:

(a)

Limited Value. Proxies will not be required to be voted on securities in a Proxy Client’s account if the value of the Proxy Client’s economic interest in the securities is indeterminable or insignificant (less than $1,000). Proxies will also not be required to be voted for any securities that are no longer held in Proxy Client’s account(s).

(b)

Securities Lending Program. When Fund portfolio securities are out on loan, they are transferred into the borrower’s name and are voted by the borrower, in its discretion. In most cases, FTA will not recall securities on loan in order to vote a proxy. However, where FTA determines that a proxy vote, or other shareholder action, is materially important to the Fund Proxy Client’s account, FTA will make a good faith effort to recall the security for purposes of voting, understanding that in certain cases, the attempt to recall the security may not be effective in time to meet voting deadlines. In certain instances, in FTA’s discretion, disclosure regarding FTA’s process for determining whether or not to recall Fund portfolio securities on loan for proxy voting purposes may be provided as part of the Funds’ annual Form N-PX filing.

(c)

Unjustifiable Costs. In certain circumstances, based on cost-benefit analysis, FTA may choose not to

B-1

vote when the cost of voting on behalf of a Proxy Client would exceed any anticipated benefits of the proxy proposal to such Proxy Client (e.g. foreign securities).

(d)

International Markets Share Blocking. Share blocking is the “freezing” of shares for trading purposes at the custodian/sub-custodian bank level in order to vote proxies. While shares are frozen, they may not be traded. Therefore, the potential exists for a pending trade to fail if trade settlement falls on a date during the blocking period. In international markets where share blocking applies, FTA typically will not, but reserves the right to, vote proxies due to the liquidity constraints associated with share blocking.

(7)

On a regular basis, FTA Research reviews ISS recommendations on matters determined to have a potential impact of shareholder value to decide whether to vote as the Guidelines recommend and advises the FTA Investment Committee of its determination.

(8)

FTA may determine voting in accordance with the Guidelines is not in the best interests of a Proxy Client. If there is a decision to vote against the Guidelines, the FTA Investment Committee will document the reason and instruct ISS to change the vote to reflect this decision.

(9)

Whenever a conflict of interest arises between ISS and a target company subject to a proxy vote, the Adviser will consider the recommendation of the company and what the Adviser believes to be in the best interests of the Proxy Client and will vote the proxy without using the Guidelines. If FTA has knowledge of a material conflict of interest between itself and a Proxy Client, the Adviser shall vote the applicable proxy in accordance with the Guidelines to avoid such conflict of interest. If there is a conflict of interest between a Fund Proxy Client and FTA or other Fund service providers, FTA will vote the proxy based on the Guidelines to avoid such conflict of interest.

(10)

If a Proxy Client requests the Adviser to follow specific voting guidelines or additional guidelines, the Adviser shall review the request and follow such guidelines, unless the Adviser determines that it is unable to do so. In such case, the Adviser shall inform the Proxy Client that it is not able to honor the Proxy Client’s request.

(11)

FTA periodically reviews proxy votes to ensure compliance with this Policy.

(12)

This Policy, the Guidelines and votes cast for Proxy Clients are available upon request and such Proxy Client requests must be forwarded to FTA Compliance for review and response. This Policy is also provided with each advisory contract and described and provided with the Form ADV, Part 2A.

Shareholders of Fund Proxy Clients can review the Policy and a Fund’s voted proxies (if any) during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 on the First Trust website at www.ftportfolios.com or by accessing EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.

(13)

FTA provides reasonable ongoing oversight of ISS. FTA, or ISS on behalf of FTA, maintains the following records relating to proxy voting:

(a)

a copy of this Policy;

(b)

a copy of each proxy form for which it is responsible to vote;

(c)

a copy of each proxy solicitation, including proxy statements and related materials with regard to each proxy issue it votes;

(d)

documents relating to the identification and resolution of conflicts of interest, if any;

(e)

any documents created by FTA or ISS that were material to a proxy voting decision or that memorialized the basis for that decision; and

(f)

a copy of each written request from any Proxy Client for information on how FTA voted proxies on the Proxy Client’s behalf, and a copy of any written response by FTA to any written or oral request for information by a Proxy Client on how FTA voted proxies for that Proxy Client’s account.

These records are either maintained at FTA’s office or are electronically available to FTA through access to the ISS Proxy Exchange portal.

B-2

Adopted: September 15, 2003
Amended: December 10, 2007
Amended: September 21, 2009
Amended: September 12, 2016
Amended: March 9, 2020
Amended: June 7, 2021
Amended: January 19, 2022
Amended: May 13, 2022
Amended: September 22, 2022
Amended: July 3, 2023
Amended: January 10, 2024

B-3

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Investment Company Act File No. 811-21774

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund

FUND NAME	TICKER SYMBOL	EXCHANGE
First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF	EDOW	NYSE Arca
First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF	FCTR	Cboe BZX

DATED MAY 1, 2024

This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus. It should be read in conjunction with the prospectus dated May 1, 2024, as it may be revised from time to time (the “Prospectus”), for each of the First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF and First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF (each, a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”), each a series of the First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund (the “Trust”). Capitalized terms used herein that are not defined have the same meaning as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise noted. A copy of the Prospectus may be obtained without charge by writing to the Trust’s distributor, First Trust Portfolios L.P., 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, or by calling toll free at (800) 621-1675.

The audited financial statements for the Funds' most recent fiscal year appear in the Funds' Annual Report to Shareholders dated December 31, 2023, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 11, 2024. The financial statements from the Annual Report are incorporated herein by reference. The audited financial statements for the most recent fiscal year for First Trust Enhanced Short Maturity ETF ("FTSM"), contained in FTSM’s most recent Annual Report to Shareholders, are also incorporated herein by reference. The Annual Reports are available without charge by calling (800) 621-1675 or by visiting the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Table of Contents

General Description of the Trust and the Funds	1
Exchange Listing and Trading	3
Investment Objectives and Policies	3
Investment Strategies	4
Sublicense Agreements	8
Investment Risks	8
Management of the Funds	11
Brokerage Allocations	22
Administrator, Fund Accounting Agent, Custodian, Transfer Agent, Distributor, Index Providers and Exchanges	23
Additional Payments to Financial Intermediaries	27
Additional Information	29
Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures	29
Creation and Redemption of Creation Units	30
Federal Tax Matters	33
Determination of Net Asset Value	38
Dividends and Distributions	38
Miscellaneous Information	38
Financial Statements	38
Exhibit A—Principal Holders Table	A-1
Exhibit B—Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures	B-1

General Description of the Trust and the Funds

The Trust was organized as a Massachusetts business trust on August 8, 2003 and is authorized to issue an unlimited number of shares in one or more series. The Trust is an open-end management investment company, registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). The Trust currently offers shares in 24 series. This SAI relates to the Funds, which are diversified series.

Each Fund, as a series of the Trust, represents a beneficial interest in a separate portfolio of securities and other assets, with its own objectives and policies.

The Trust or any series or class thereof may be terminated at any time by the Board of Trustees upon written notice to the shareholders.

proceed with the derivative action unless the shareholder is able to sustain the burden of proof to a court that the decision of the Trustees not to pursue the requested action was not a good faith exercise of their business judgment on behalf of the Funds. In making such a determination, a Trustee is not considered to have a personal financial interest by virtue of being compensated for his or her services as a Trustee. If a demand is rejected, the complaining shareholder will be responsible for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by the Funds in connection with the consideration of the demand under a number of circumstances. In addition, if a court determines that a derivative action was made without reasonable cause or for an improper purpose, or if a derivative or direct action is dismissed on the basis of a failure to comply with the procedural provisions relating to shareholder actions as set forth in the Declaration, or if a direct action is dismissed by a court for failure to state a claim, the shareholder bringing the action may be responsible for a Fund's costs, including attorneys’ fees. Shareholders also have the right to vote, to the same extent as the stockholders of a Massachusetts business corporation as to whether or not a court action, proceeding, or claim should or should not be brought or maintained derivatively or as a class action on behalf of the Trust or the Shareholders.

The Trust is not required to and does not intend to hold annual meetings of shareholders.

The Funds are advised by First Trust Advisors L.P. (the “Advisor” or “First Trust”).

The shares of each Fund are principally listed and traded on NYSE Arca, Inc., (“NYSE Arca”) or Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. ("Cboe BZX") (each an "Exchange"), as shown on the cover of this SAI. ETFs, such as the Funds, do not sell or redeem individual shares of a Fund. Instead, financial entities known as “Authorized Participants” (which are discussed in greater detail below) have contractual arrangements with each Fund or the Distributor to purchase and redeem Fund shares directly with a Fund in large blocks of shares known as “Creation Units.” An Authorized Participant that purchases a Creation Unit of Fund shares deposits with a Fund a “basket” of securities, cash and/or other assets identified by the Fund that day, and then receives the Creation Unit of Fund shares in return for those assets. The redemption process is the reverse of the purchase process: the Authorized Participant redeems a Creation Unit of Fund shares for a basket of securities, cash and/or other assets. The basket is generally representative of a Fund’s portfolio, and together with a cash balancing amount, it is equal to the NAV of the Fund shares comprising the Creation Unit. Pursuant to Rule 6c-11 of the 1940 Act, the Funds may utilize baskets that are not representative of each Fund’s portfolio. Such “custom baskets” are discussed in the section entitled “Creation and Redemption of Creation Units.”

Fund shares may be issued in advance of receipt of deposit securities subject to various conditions including a requirement to maintain on deposit with the Fund cash at least equal to 115% of the market value of the missing deposit securities. See the section entitled “Creation and Redemption of Creation Units.” In each instance of such cash creations or redemptions, transaction fees may be imposed that will be higher than the transaction fees associated with in-kind creations or redemptions. In all cases, such fees will be limited in accordance with the requirements of the SEC applicable to management investment companies offering redeemable securities.

Exchange Listing and Trading

As in the case of other stocks traded on the Exchanges, brokers’ commissions on transactions will be based on negotiated commission rates at customary levels.

Investment Objectives and Policies

The Prospectus describes the investment objectives and certain policies of the Funds. The following supplements the information contained in the Prospectus concerning the investment objectives and policies of the Funds.

(1)

A Fund may not issue senior securities, except as permitted under the 1940 Act.

(2)

A Fund may not borrow money, except as permitted under the 1940 Act.

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF has adopted a non-fundamental investment policy pursuant to Rule 35d-1 under the 1940 Act (a “Name Policy”) whereby the Fund, under normal market conditions, will invest at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities issued by companies domiciled or operating in the United States. As a result, the Fund must provide shareholders with a notice meeting the requirements of Rule 35d-1(c) at least 60 days prior to any change of the Fund’s Name Policy.

Investment Strategies

The following information supplements the discussion of the Funds' investment objectives, policies and strategies that appear in the Prospectus.

Under normal circumstances, First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF and First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF will invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the securities that comprise the index it seeks to track (each, an "Index" and collectively, the "Indices"). Fund shareholders are entitled to 60 days’ notice prior to any change in this non-fundamental investment policy.

The table below sets forth each Fund's Index. S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC serves as the index provider for the index tracked by First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF and Lunt Capital Management, Inc. serves as the index provider for the index tracked by First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF. S&P Dow Jones Indices and LLC Lunt Capital Management, Inc. may individually be referred to throughout this statement of additional information as an "Index Provider" and collectively as the "Index Providers."

Fund	Index
First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF	Dow Jones Industrial Average® Equal Weight Index
First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF	Lunt Capital Large Cap Factor Rotation Index

Types of Investments

Fixed income investments and cash equivalents held by each Fund may include, without limitation, the types of investments set forth below.

(1)

credit of the United States, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the security for ultimate repayment and may not be able to assert a claim against the United States itself in the event that the agency or instrumentality does not meet its commitment. The U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities do not guarantee the market value of their securities; consequently, the value of such securities may fluctuate.

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”). REITs are typically publicly traded corporations or trusts that invest in residential or commercial real estate. REITs generally can be divided into the following three types: (i) equity REITs which invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive their income primarily from rents and capital gains or real estate appreciation; (ii) mortgage REITs which invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgage loans and derive their income primarily from interest payments; and (iii) hybrid REITs which combine the characteristics of equity REITs and mortgage REITs.

Portfolio Turnover

The Funds buy and sell portfolio securities in the normal course of their investment activities. The proportion of a Fund's investment portfolio that is bought and sold during a year is known as a Fund's portfolio turnover rate. A portfolio turnover rate of 100% would occur, for example, if all of the portfolio securities (other than short-term securities) were replaced once during the fiscal year. A high portfolio turnover rate could result in the payment by a Fund of increased brokerage costs, expenses and taxes.Significant variations in portfolio turnover from year to year are generally the result of fluctuations in the size of a Fund or changes to a Fund's portfolio holdings. The portfolio turnover rates for the specified periods are set forth in the table below.

Portfolio Turnover Rate
Fund	Fiscal Year Ended December 31,
Fund	2023	2022
First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF	16%	17%
First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF	562%	379%

Lending of Portfolio Securities

up to 33⅓% of the value of their total assets to broker-dealers, banks or other institutional borrowers of securities. As with other extensions of credit, there may be risks of delay in recovery of the securities or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially. However, such First Trust Funds will only enter into loan arrangements with broker-dealers, banks or other institutions which First Trust has determined are creditworthy under guidelines approved by the Board of Trustees. The First Trust Funds will pay a portion of the income earned on the lending transaction to the placing broker and may pay administrative and custodial fees in connection with these loans. First Trust may select any First Trust Fund to participate in the securities lending program, at its discretion with notice to the Board of Trustees.

In these loan arrangements, the First Trust Funds will receive collateral in the form of cash, U.S. government securities or other high-grade debt obligations in an amount at least equal to the value of the borrowed securities, marked to market daily. This collateral must be valued daily by First Trust or the First Trust Fund’s lending agent and, if the market value of the loaned securities increases, the borrower must furnish additional collateral to the lending First Trust Fund. During the time portfolio securities are on loan, the borrower pays the lending First Trust Fund any dividends or interest paid on the securities. Loans are subject to termination at any time by the lending First Trust Fund or the borrower. While a First Trust Fund does not have the right to vote securities on loan, it would terminate the loan and regain the right to vote if that were considered important with respect to the investment. When a First Trust Fund lends portfolio securities to a borrower, payments in lieu of dividends made by the borrower to the First Trust Fund will not constitute “qualified dividends” taxable at the same rate as long-term capital gains, even if the actual dividends would have constituted qualified dividends had the First Trust Fund held the securities. Please see "Securities Lending Risk" below for a description of the risks associated with securities lending activities.

Sublicense Agreements

The Trust, on behalf of each Fund, relies on a product license agreement (each, a “Product License Agreement”) by and between each Index Provider and First Trust, and a related sublicense agreement (the “Sublicense Agreement”) with First Trust that grants the Trust, on behalf of each Fund, a non-exclusive and non-transferable sublicense to use certain intellectual property of such Index Provider in connection with the issuance, distribution, marketing and/or promotion of each Fund. Pursuant to each Sublicense Agreement, each Fund has agreed to be bound by certain provisions of each Product License Agreement. Pursuant to each Product License Agreement, First Trust will pay each Index Provider an annual license fee.

Investment Risks

The following risk disclosure supplements the discussion of the Funds' investment risks that appears in the Prospectus.

Overview

Additional Market Disruption Risk

events could have a significant negative impact on certain of a Fund’s investments as well as a Fund’s performance, and the value or liquidity of certain securities held by a Fund may decline significantly.

Common Stock Risk

Depositary Receipts Risk

Dividends Risk

amounts, declared by the issuer’s board of directors and have a right to participate in amounts available for distribution by the issuer only after all other claims on the issuer have been paid or have otherwise been settled. Common stocks do not represent an obligation of the issuer and, therefore, do not offer any assurance of income or provide the same degree of protection of capital as do debt securities. The issuance of additional debt securities or preferred stock will create prior claims for payment of principal, interest and dividends which could adversely affect the ability and inclination of the issuer to declare or pay dividends on its common stock or the rights of holders of common stock with respect to assets of the issuer upon liquidation or bankruptcy. Cumulative preferred stock dividends must be paid before common stock dividends, and any cumulative preferred stock dividend omitted is added to future dividends payable to the holders of cumulative preferred stock. Preferred stockholders are also generally entitled to rights on liquidation that are senior to those of common stockholders.

Liquidity Risk

Listing Standards Risk

Each Fund is required to comply with listing requirements adopted by the Exchange. Non-compliance with such requirements may result in the Funds' shares being delisted by the Exchange. Any resulting liquidation of a Fund could cause the Fund to incur elevated transaction costs and could result in negative tax consequences for its shareholders.

Market Risk

Market risk is the risk that a particular security, or shares of a Fund in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic, political, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of a Fund could decline in value or underperform other investments due to short-term market movements or any longer periods during more prolonged market downturns. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, natural disasters or other events could have a significant negative impact on a Fund and its investments. Such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. Such events could adversely affect the prices and liquidity of a Fund’s portfolio securities or other instruments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of a Fund’s shares and result in increased market volatility. During any such events, a Fund’s shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on a Fund’s shares may widen.

Real Estate Investment Trust Risk

Securities Lending Risk

Small and Mid Capitalization Companies Risk

Management of the Funds

Trustees and Officers

and principal occupations during the past five years, the number of portfolios each Trustee oversees and the other directorships they have held during the past five years, if applicable. Each Trustee has been elected for an indefinite term. The officers of the Trust serve indefinite terms. Each Trustee, except for James A. Bowen, is an Independent Trustee. Mr. Bowen is deemed an “interested person” (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) (“Interested Trustee”) of the Trust due to his position as Chief Executive Officer of First Trust, investment advisor to the Funds. The following table identifies the Trustees and Officers of the Trust. Unless otherwise indicated, the address of all persons below is c/o First Trust Advisors L.P., 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400, Wheaton, IL 60187.

Name and Year of Birth	Position and Offices with Trust	Term of Office and Year First Elected or Appointed	Principal Occupations During Past 5 Years	Number of Portfolios in the First Trust Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee	Other Trusteeships or Directorships Held by Trustee During the Past 5 Years
TRUSTEE WHO IS AN INTERESTED PERSON OF THE TRUST
James A. Bowen (1) 1955	Chairman of the Board and Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Chief Executive Officer, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.; Chairman of the Board of Directors, BondWave LLC (Software Development Company) and Stonebridge Advisors LLC (Investment Advisor)	268 Portfolios	None
INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES
Richard E. Erickson 1951	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Retired; Physician, Edward-Elmhurst Medical Group (2021 to September 2023); Physician and Officer, Wheaton Orthopedics (1990 to 2021)	268 Portfolios	None
Thomas R. Kadlec 1957	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Retired; President, ADM Investor Services, Inc. (Futures Commission Merchant) (2010 to July 2022)	268 Portfolios	Director, National Futures Association; formerly, Director of ADM Investor Services, Inc., ADM Investor Services International, ADMIS Hong Kong Ltd., ADMIS Singapore Ltd. and Futures Industry Association
Denise M. Keefe 1964	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since 2021	Executive Vice President, Advocate Aurora Health and President, Advocate Aurora Continuing Health Division (Integrated Healthcare System)	268 Portfolios	Director and Board Chair of Advocate Home Health Services, Advocate Home Care Products and Advocate Hospice; Director and Board Chair of Aurora At Home (since 2018); Director of Advocate Physician Partners Accountable Care Organization; Director of RML Long Term Acute Care Hospitals; Director of Senior Helpers (since 2021); and Director of MobileHelp (since 2022)
Robert F. Keith 1956	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	President, Hibs Enterprises (Financial and Management Consulting)	268 Portfolios	Formerly, Director of Trust Company of Illinois

Name and Year of Birth	Position and Offices with Trust	Term of Office and Year First Elected or Appointed	Principal Occupations During Past 5 Years	Number of Portfolios in the First Trust Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee	Other Trusteeships or Directorships Held by Trustee During the Past 5 Years
INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES
Niel B. Nielson 1954	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Senior Advisor (2018 to present), Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer (2015 to 2018), Pelita Harapan Educational Foundation (Educational Products and Services)	268 Portfolios	None

Name and Year of Birth	Position and Offices with Trust	Term of Office and Length of Service	Principal Occupations During Past 5 Years
ADVISORY BOARD
Bronwyn Wright (2) 1971	Advisory Board Member	•Indefinite term •Since 2023	Independent Director to a number of Irish collective investment funds (2009 to present); Various roles at international affiliates of Citibank (1994 to 2009), including Managing Director, Citibank Europe plc and Head of Securities and Fund Services, Citi Ireland (2007 to 2009)
OFFICERS OF THE TRUST
James M. Dykas 1966	President and Chief Executive Officer	•Indefinite term •Since 2016	Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.; Chief Financial Officer, BondWave LLC (Software Development Company) and Stonebridge Advisors LLC (Investment Advisor)
W. Scott Jardine 1960	Secretary and Chief Legal Officer	•Indefinite term •Since inception	General Counsel, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.; Secretary and General Counsel, BondWave LLC; and Secretary, Stonebridge Advisors LLC
Daniel J. Lindquist 1970	Vice President	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Managing Director, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Kristi A. Maher 1966	Chief Compliance Officer and Assistant Secretary	•Indefinite term •Chief Compliance Officer since January 2011 •Assistant Secretary since inception	Deputy General Counsel, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Derek D. Maltbie 1972	Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer	•Indefinite term •Since 2023	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P., July 2021 – present. Previously, Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P., 2014 –2021.
Roger F. Testin 1966	Vice President	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Stan Ueland 1970	Vice President	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.

(1)

Mr. Bowen is deemed an “interested person” of the Trust due to his position as Chief Executive Officer of First Trust, investment advisor of the Funds.

(2)

Unitary Board Leadership Structure

Opportunities 2027 Term Fund, closed-end funds advised by First Trust; and First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund, First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II, First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund III, First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund IV, First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund V, First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI, First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VII, First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII, First Trust Exchange-Traded AlphaDEX® Fund and First Trust Exchange-Traded AlphaDEX® Fund II, exchange-traded funds with 244 portfolios advised by First Trust (each a “First Trust Fund” and collectively, the “First Trust Fund Complex”). None of the Independent Trustees, nor any of their immediate family members, has ever been a director, officer or employee of, or consultant to, First Trust, First Trust Portfolios L.P. or their affiliates.

Independent Trustee and the Vice Lead Independent Trustee rotate periodically in serving in such capacities. The next rotation is currently scheduled to be effective January 1, 2026. In addition, the Lead Independent Trustee and the Vice Lead Independent Trustee currently serve on the Executive Committee with the Interested Trustee.

The Nominating and Governance Committee is responsible for appointing and nominating non-interested persons to the Board of Trustees. Messrs. Erickson, Kadlec, Keith, Nielson and Ms. Keefe are members of the Nominating and Governance Committee. If there is no vacancy on the Board of Trustees, the Board will not actively seek recommendations from other parties, including shareholders. The Board of Trustees has adopted a mandatory retirement age of 75 for Independent Trustees, beyond which age Independent Trustees are ineligible to serve. The Committee will not consider new trustee candidates who are 72 years of age or older or will turn 72 years old during the initial term. When a vacancy on the Board of Trustees occurs or is anticipated to occur and nominations are sought to fill such vacancy, the Nominating and Governance Committee may seek nominations from those sources it deems appropriate in its discretion, including shareholders of the Funds. To submit a recommendation for nomination as a candidate for a position on the Board of Trustees, shareholders of the Funds should mail such recommendation to W. Scott Jardine, Secretary, at the Trust’s address, 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400, Wheaton, Illinois 60187. Such recommendation shall include the following information: (i) evidence of Fund ownership of the person or entity recommending the candidate (if a Fund shareholder); (ii) a full description of the proposed candidate’s background, including education, experience, current employment and date of birth; (iii) names and addresses of at least three professional references for the candidate; (iv) information as to whether the candidate is an “interested person” in relation to the Funds, as such term is defined in the 1940 Act, and such other information that may be considered to impair the candidate’s independence; and (v) any other information that may be helpful to the Committee in evaluating the candidate. If a recommendation is received with satisfactorily completed information regarding a candidate during a time when a vacancy exists on the Board or during such other time as the Nominating and Governance Committee is accepting recommendations, the recommendation will be forwarded to the Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee and to counsel to the Independent Trustees. During the last fiscal year, the Nominating and Governance Committee held four meetings.

Advisory Board

Executive Officers

Risk Oversight

As part of the general oversight of the Funds, the Board is involved in the risk oversight of the Funds. The Board has adopted and periodically reviews policies and procedures designed to address each Fund’s risks. Oversight of investment and compliance risk is performed primarily at the Board level in conjunction with the Advisor’s investment oversight group and the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”). Oversight of other risks also occurs at the committee level. The Advisor’s investment oversight group reports to the Board at quarterly meetings regarding, among other things, Fund performance and the various drivers of such performance. The Board reviews reports on the Funds' and the service providers’ compliance policies and procedures at each quarterly Board meeting and receives an annual report from the CCO regarding the operations of the Funds' and the service providers’ compliance programs. In addition, the Independent Trustees meet privately each quarter with the CCO. The Audit Committee reviews, with the Advisor and the Funds' independent auditors, each Fund’s major financial risk exposures and the steps the Advisor has taken to monitor and control these exposures, including each Fund’s risk assessment and risk management policies and guidelines. The Audit Committee also, as appropriate, reviews in a general manner the processes other Board committees have in place with respect to risk assessment and risk management. The Nominating and Governance Committee monitors all matters related to the corporate governance of the Funds. The Valuation Committee monitors valuation risk and oversees the Advisor's performance as Valuation Designee.

Not all risks that may affect the Funds can be identified nor can controls be developed to eliminate or mitigate their occurrence or effects. It may not be practical or cost effective to eliminate or mitigate certain risks, the processes and controls employed to address certain risks may be limited in their effectiveness, and some risks are simply beyond the reasonable control of the Funds or the Advisor or other service providers. For instance, as the use of Internet technology has become more prevalent, the Funds and their service providers have become more susceptible to potential operational risks through breaches in cyber security (generally, intentional and unintentional events that may cause a Fund or a service provider to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity). There can be no guarantee that any risk management systems established by the Funds, their service providers, or issuers of the securities in which the Funds invest to reduce cyber security risks will succeed, and the Funds cannot control such systems put in place by service providers, issuers or other third parties whose operations may affect the Funds and/or their shareholders. Moreover, it is necessary to bear certain risks (such as investment-related risks) to achieve a Fund's goals. As a result of the foregoing and other factors, a Fund's ability to manage risk is subject to substantial limitations.

Board Diversification and Trustee Qualifications

Association. In 2017, Mr. Kadlec was elected to the board of the National Futures Association. Mr. Kadlec has served as a Trustee of each First Trust Fund since its inception. Mr. Kadlec also served on the Executive Committee from the organization of the first First Trust closed-end fund in 2003 through 2005 (and 2014–2019) until he was elected as the first Lead Independent Trustee in December 2005, serving as such through 2007 (and 2014–2016). He also served as Chairman of the Valuation Committee (2008–2009 and 2017–2019), Chairman of the Audit Committee (2010–2011 and 2020–2022) and Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee (2012–2013). He currently serves as Vice Lead Independent Trustee (since March 12, 2024), on the Executive Committee (since March 12, 2024), on the Dividend Committee (since March 12, 2024) and as Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee (since January 1, 2023) of the First Trust Funds.

years of experience in the investment company business in sales, sales management and executive management. Mr. Bowen has served as a Trustee of each First Trust Fund since its inception and of the First Trust Funds since 1999.

Name of Trustee	Total Compensation from the Funds (1)	Total Compensation from the First Trust Fund Complex (2)
Richard E. Erickson	$2,889	$572,000
Thomas R. Kadlec	$2,877	$567,000
Denise M. Keefe	$2,828	$547,000
Robert F. Keith	$2,902	$577,000
Niel B. Nielson	$2,877	$567,000

(1)

The compensation paid by the Funds to the Independent Trustees for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 for services to the Funds.

(2)

The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by the Trustees in the Funds as of December 31, 2023:

Trustee	Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Funds (Number of Shares Held)	Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities in All Registered Investment Companies Overseen by Trustee in the First Trust Fund Complex
Interested Trustee
James A. Bowen	None	Over $100,000
Independent Trustees
Richard E. Erickson	None	Over $100,000
Thomas R. Kadlec	None	Over $100,000
Denise M. Keefe	None	Over $100,000
Robert F. Keith	None	Over $100,000
Niel B. Nielson	None	Over $100,000

As of March 31, 2024, the officers and Trustees, in the aggregate, owned less than 1% of the shares of each Fund.

Pursuant to investment management agreements (the "Unitary Fee Investment Management Agreements") between First Trust and the Trust, on behalf of First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF and First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF (the "Unitary Fee Funds"), First Trust manages each Fund's assets and is responsible for paying all expenses of the Funds, excluding fee payments under the Investment Management Agreement, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), brokerage commissions and other expenses connected with the execution of portfolio transactions, distribution and service fees payable pursuant to a Rule 12b-1 plan, if any, and extraordinary expenses. Each Unitary Fee Fund has agreed to pay First Trust an annual unitary management fee based on its average daily net assets in the amount set forth in the table below.

Fund	Annual Management Fee
First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF	0.50% of average daily net assets
First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF	0.65% of average daily net assets

Under the Investment Management Agreements, First Trust shall not be liable for any loss sustained by reason of the purchase, sale or retention of any security, whether or not such purchase, sale or retention shall have been based upon the investigation and research made by any other individual, firm or corporation, if such recommendation shall have been selected with due care and in good faith, except loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence on the part of First Trust in the performance of its obligations and duties, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties. The Investment Management Agreements terminate automatically upon assignment and is terminable at any time without penalty as to a Fund by the Board of Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, or by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities on 60 days’ written notice to First Trust, or by First Trust on 60 days’ written notice to the Fund.

As approved by the Trust’s Board of Trustees, the management fee paid to the Advisor for First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF will be reduced at certain levels of Fund net assets (“breakpoints”) and calculated pursuant to the schedule below:

Management Fee	Breakpoints
0.50000%	Fund net assets up to and including $2.5 billion
0.48750%	Fund net assets greater than $2.5 billion up to and including $5 billion
0.47500%	Fund net assets greater than $5 billion up to and including $7.5 billion
0.46250%	Fund net assets greater than $7.5 billion up to and including $10 billion
0.45000%	Fund net assets greater than $10 billion up to and including $15 billion
0.42500%	Fund net assets greater than $15 billion

As approved by the Trust’s Board of Trustees, the management fee paid to the Advisor for First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF will be reduced at certain levels of Fund net assets (“breakpoints”) and calculated pursuant to the schedule below:

Management Fee	Breakpoints
0.65000%	Fund net assets up to and including $2.5 billion
0.63375%	Fund net assets greater than $2.5 billion up to and including $5 billion
0.61750%	Fund net assets greater than $5 billion up to and including $7.5 billion
0.60125%	Fund net assets greater than $7.5 billion up to and including $10 billion
0.58500%	Fund net assets greater than $10 billion up to and including $15 billion
0.55250%	Fund net assets greater than $15 billion

The following table sets forth the unitary management fees paid by the Unitary Fee Funds to First Trust for the specified periods.

Amount of Unitary Fees
Fund	Fiscal Year Ended December 31,
Fund	2023	2022	2021
First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF	$1,023,020	$671,705	$505,747
First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF	$1,074,561	$2,667,939	$2,306,828

Name	Position with First Trust	Length of Service with First Trust	Principal Occupation During Past Five Years
Daniel J. Lindquist	Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director	Since 2004	Managing Director, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
David G. McGarel	Chief Operating Officer, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director	Since 1997	Chief Operating Officer (2016 to present), Chief Investment Officer, Managing Director, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Jon C. Erickson	Senior Vice President	Since 1994	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Roger F. Testin	Senior Vice President	Since 2001	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Stan Ueland	Senior Vice President	Since 2005	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Chris A. Peterson	Senior Vice President	Since 2000	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.

Name	Position with First Trust	Length of Service with First Trust	Principal Occupation During Past Five Years
Erik Russo	Vice President	Since 2010	Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.

Roger F. Testin, CFA: As head of First Trust’s Portfolio Management Group, Mr. Testin is responsible for executing the instructions of the Strategy Research Group and Equity Research Group.

Stan Ueland: Mr. Ueland is a Senior Vice President and is responsible for executing the investment strategies of the Funds.

As of December 31, 2023, Mr. McGarel owned shares of First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF in the amount of $50,001-$100,000. Mr. Ueland owned shares of First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF in the amount of $1-$10,000. No other member of the Investment Committee beneficially owned shares of a Fund.

Compensation. The compensation structure for each member of the Investment Committee is based upon a fixed salary as well as a discretionary bonus determined by the management of First Trust. Salaries are determined by management and are based upon an individual’s position and overall value to the firm. Bonuses are also determined by management and are based upon an individual’s overall contribution to the success of the firm and the profitability of the firm. Salaries and bonuses for members of the Investment Committee are not based upon criteria such as performance of the Funds or the value of assets included in the Funds’ portfolios. In addition, Mr. Erickson, Mr. Lindquist, Mr. McGarel, Mr. Peterson and Mr. Ueland also have an indirect ownership stake in the firm and will therefore receive their allocable share of ownership-related distributions.

Accounts Managed by Investment Committee

The Investment Committee manages the investment vehicles (other than the Funds) with the number of accounts and assets, as of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, set forth in the table below:

Investment Committee Member	Registered Investment Companies Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Other Pooled Investment Vehicles Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Other Accounts Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Registered Investment Companies With Performance Fees Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Other Pooled Investment Vehicles With Performance Fees Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Other Accounts With Performance Fees Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)
Daniel J. Lindquist	119 ($88,418,147)	44 ($2,082,628)	1,098 ($415,831)	N/A	N/A	N/A
David G. McGarel	120 ($88,437,826)	44 ($2,082,628)	1,098 ($415,831)	N/A	N/A	N/A
Jon C. Erickson	116 ($88,403,708)	44 ($2,082,628)	1,098 ($415,831)	N/A	N/A	N/A
Roger F. Testin	116 ($88,403,708)	44 ($2,082,628)	1,098 ($415,831)	N/A	N/A	N/A
Stan Ueland	110 ($87,320,375)	37 ($1,947,979)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Chris A. Peterson	120 ($88,437,826)	44 ($2,082,628)	1,098 ($415,831)	N/A	N/A	N/A
Erik Russo	110 ($87,320,375)	37 ($1,947,979)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Brokerage Allocations

Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act permits an investment advisor, under certain circumstances, to cause an account to pay a broker or dealer who supplies brokerage and research services a commission for effecting a transaction in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting the transaction. Brokerage and research services include (a) furnishing advice as to the value of securities, the advisability of investing, purchasing or selling securities, and the availability of securities or purchasers or sellers of securities; (b) furnishing analyses and reports concerning issuers, industries, securities, economic factors and trends, portfolio strategy and the performance of accounts; and (c) effecting securities transactions and performing functions incidental thereto (such as clearance, settlement and custody). Such brokerage and research services are often referred to as “soft dollars.” First Trust has advised the Board of Trustees that it does not currently intend to use soft dollars.

price or the amount of securities available to the Funds. In making such allocations between the Funds and other advisory accounts, the main factors considered by First Trust are the respective investment objectives, the relative size of portfolio holding of the same or comparable securities, the availability of cash for investment and the size of investment commitments generally held.

Brokerage Commissions

The following tables set forth the aggregate amount of brokerage commissions paid by each Fund for the specified periods. Significant variations in the amount a Fund paid in brokerage commissions from year-to-year are generally the result of fluctuations in the size of a Fund or changes to a Fund's portfolio holdings.

Aggregate Amount of Brokerage Commissions
Fund	Fiscal Year Ended December 31,
Fund	2023	2022	2021
First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF	$7,161	$4,708	$2,415
First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF	$327,475	$404,125	$243,387

During the last fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF held securities of J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, a regular broker or dealer of the Fund as defined in Rule 10b-1 under the 1940 Act. As of December 31, 2023, the Fund's investment in J.P. Morgan Securities LLC was 3.42% of the Fund's net assets.

During the last fiscal year, the First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF held securities of BOFA Securities, Inc., a regular broker or dealer of the Fund as defined in Rule 10b-1 under the 1940 Act. As of December 31, 2023, the Fund's investment in BOFA Securities, Inc. was 0.00% of the Fund's net assets.

Administrator, Fund Accounting Agent, Custodian, Transfer Agent, Distributor, Index Providers and Exchanges

The Trust, on behalf of the Funds, has agreed to indemnify BNYM for certain liabilities, including certain liabilities arising under the federal securities laws, unless such loss or liability results from negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties. As compensation for these services, BNYM is paid a fee based on each Fund’s total average daily net assets. BNYM also is entitled to certain out-of-pocket expenses for the services described above. This fee is subject to reduction for assets over $1 billion. First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF and First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF have not paid any fees to BNYM under the Fund Administration and Accounting Agreement as the Advisor has assumed responsibility for payment of these fees as part of the unitary management fee.

As set forth in the Administration and Accounting Agreement, Custody Agreement and Transfer Agency Agreement, the Trust, on behalf of each Fund, has agreed to indemnify and hold harmless BNYM from certain costs, expenses, damages, liabilities or claims which are sustained or incurred or which may be asserted against BNYM, provided that such costs, expenses, damages, liabilities and claims did not result from BNYM’s own negligence or willful misconduct.

As compensation for the services provided by BNYM under the Administration and Accounting Agreement, Custody Agreement and Transfer Agency Agreement, the Trust, on behalf of each Fund, has agreed to pay to BNYM such compensation as may be specifically agreed upon from time to time and reimburse BNYM for out-of-pocket expenses which are a normal incident of the services provided under the agreements. Pursuant to the terms of the Unitary Fee Investment Management Agreement, the Funds do not directly pay BNYM for these services, as First Trust has assumed responsibility for the payment of these expenses out of the unitary management fee it receives from the Funds.

No fees are currently paid by a Fund under the Plan and pursuant to a contractual agreement, the Funds will not pay 12b-1 fees any time before April 30, 2025.

First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF

The “Dow Jones Industrial Average® Equal Weight Index” is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (“SPDJI”), and has been licensed for use by First Trust. S&P® is a registered trademark of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”); Dow Jones® and “Dow Jones Industrial Average® Equal Weight” are trademarks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”); and these trademarks have been licensed for use by SPDJI and sublicensed for certain purposes by First Trust. The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P, any of their respective affiliates (collectively, “S&P Dow Jones Indices”). S&P Dow Jones Indices makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Fund particularly or the ability of the Dow Jones Industrial Average® Equal Weight to track general market performance. S&P Dow Jones Indices’ only relationship to First Trust with respect to the Dow Jones Industrial Average® Equal Weight is the licensing of the Index and certain trademarks, service marks and/or trade names of S&P Dow Jones Indices or its licensors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average® Equal Weight is determined, composed and calculated by S&P Dow Jones Indices without regard to First Trust or the Fund. S&P Dow Jones Indices have no obligation to take the needs of First Trust or the owners of the Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Dow Jones Industrial Average® Equal Weight. S&P Dow Jones Indices is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the prices, and amount of the Fund or the timing of the issuance or sale of the Fund or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Fund is to be converted into cash, surrendered or redeemed, as the case may be. S&P Dow Jones Indices has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund. There is no assurance that investment products based on the Dow Jones Industrial Average® Equal Weight will accurately track index performance or provide positive investment returns. S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC is not an investment advisor. Inclusion of a security within an index is not a recommendation by S&P Dow Jones Indices to buy, sell, or hold such security, nor is it considered to be investment advice.

S&P DOW JONES INDICES DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ADEQUACY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE EQUAL WEIGHT OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO OR ANY COMMUNICATION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ORAL OR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION (INCLUDING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS) WITH RESPECT THERETO. S&P DOW JONES INDICES SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO ANY DAMAGES OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR DELAYS THEREIN. S&P DOW JONES INDICES MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE OR AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY FIRST TRUST, OWNERS OF THE FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE EQUAL WEIGHT OR WITH RESPECT TO ANY DATA RELATED THERETO. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT WHATSOEVER SHALL S&P DOW JONES INDICES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF PROFITS, TRADING LOSSES, LOST TIME OR GOODWILL, EVEN IF THEY HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. THERE ARE NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN S&P DOW JONES INDICES AND FIRST TRUST, OTHER THAN THE LICENSORS OF S&P DOW JONES INDICES.

First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF

Lunt Capital Management, Inc. (“Lunt Capital” or the “Index Provider”) is not affiliated with the Trust, Fund’s administrator, custodian, transfer agent or distributor. The Lunt Capital Large Cap Factor Rotation Index (the “Index”) is a product of Lunt Capital. The Advisor (or, the “Licensee”) has entered into a license agreement with Lunt Capital pursuant to which the Licensee pays a fee to use the Index and the marketing names and licensed trademarks of Lunt Capital (the “Trademarks”). The Licensee is sub-licensing rights to the Index to the Fund. The Index is compiled and calculated by Lunt Capital. Lunt Capital has no obligation to take the needs of the Licensee or the owners of the Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Index. Lunt Capital shall not be liable (whether in negligence or otherwise) to any person for any error in the Index and shall not be under any obligation to advise any person of any error therein. Neither the

publication of the Index by Lunt Capital nor the granting of a license of rights relating to the Index or to the Trademarks for the utilization in connection with the Fund represents a recommendation by Lunt Capital for a capital investment or contains in any manner a warranty or opinion by Lunt Capital with respect to the attractiveness of an investment in the Fund. The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, or sold by Lunt Capital. Lunt Capital makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of trading in the Fund. Lunt Capital is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the Fund to be sold or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Fund is to be converted into cash. Lunt Capital has an obligation in connection with the administration and marketing of the Fund, but has no obligations or liabilities in connection with the trading of the Fund. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Lunt Capital may independently issue and/or sponsor financial products unrelated to the Fund currently being issued by the Licensee, but which may be similar to and competitive with the Fund. In addition, Lunt Capital may trade financial products which are linked to the performance of the Index. It is possible that this trading activity will affect the value of the Index and the Fund.

LUNT CAPITAL DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN AND SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR INTERRUPTIONS THEREIN. LUNT CAPITAL MAKES NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY THE LICENSEES, OWNERS OF THE FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. LUNT CAPITAL MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL LUNT CAPITAL HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES, EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

The Index is the property of Lunt Capital Management, Inc., which has contracted with Nasdaq, Inc. to calculate and maintain the Index.

The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by the Nasdaq, Inc. Nasdaq, Inc. makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of trading in the Fund. Nasdaq, Inc.’s only relationship to First Trust is the licensing of certain trademarks and trade names of Nasdaq, Inc. and of the Index, which is determined, composed and calculated by Nasdaq, Inc., or its agent, without regard to First Trust or the Fund, Nasdaq, Inc. has no obligation to take the needs of First Trust or the owners of the Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Index. Nasdaq, Inc. is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the Fund to be listed or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Fund is to be converted into cash. Nasdaq, Inc. has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund.

NASDAQ, INC. DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN AND NASDAQ, INC. SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR INTERRUPTIONS THEREIN. NASDAQ, INC. MAKES NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY FIRST TRUST, OWNERS OF THE FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. NASDAQ, INC. MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN, WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL NASDAQ, INC. HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING LOST PROFITS), EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THERE ARE NO THIRD-PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN NASDAQ, INC. AND FIRST TRUST.

Exchanges. Besides serving as the index calculation agent for certain of the Funds as described above, the only other relationship that NYSE Arca has with First Trust or the Distributor in connection with the Funds is that NYSE Arca lists the shares of the First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF pursuant to its Listing Agreement with the Trust. NYSE Arca is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of pricing or the timing of the issuance or sale of the shares of the Fund or in the determination or calculation of the net asset value of the Fund. NYSE Arca has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund.

Nasdaq, Inc. serves as the Index Provider and the index calculation agent for the Nasdaq Indices. The only other relationship that Nasdaq, Inc. has with First Trust or the Distributor in connection with the Nasdaq Funds is that Nasdaq, Inc. lists the shares of the Nasdaq Funds pursuant to its Listing Agreement with the Trust. Nasdaq, Inc. is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of pricing or the timing of the issuance or sale of the shares of the Nasdaq Funds or

in the determination or calculation of the net asset value of such Funds. Nasdaq, Inc. has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Nasdaq Funds.

The only relationship that Cboe BZX has with First Trust or the Distributor of the First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF in connection with the Fund is that Cboe BZX lists the shares of the Fund and disseminates the intra-day portfolio values pursuant to its listing agreement with the Trust. Cboe BZX is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of pricing or the timing of the issuance or sale of the shares of the Fund or in the determination or calculation of the net asset value of the Fund. Cboe BZX has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund.

Additional Payments to Financial Intermediaries

First Trust or its affiliates may from time to time make payments, out of their own resources, to certain broker-dealers, registered investment advisers, banks or other intermediaries (collectively, “intermediaries”) that sell shares of First Trust mutual funds and ETFs (“First Trust Funds”) to promote the sales and retention of Fund shares by those firms and their customers. The amounts of these payments vary by intermediary. The level of payments that First Trust is willing to provide to a particular intermediary may be affected by, among other factors, (i) the firm’s total assets or Fund shares held in and recent net investments into First Trust Funds, (ii) the value of the assets invested in the First Trust Funds by the intermediary’s customers, (iii) redemption rates, (iv) its ability to attract and retain assets, (v) the intermediary’s reputation in the industry, (vi) the level and/or type of marketing assistance and educational activities provided by the intermediary, (vii) the firm’s level of participation in First Trust Funds’ sales and marketing programs, (viii) the firm’s compensation program for its registered representatives who sell Fund shares and provide services to Fund shareholders, and (ix) the asset class of the First Trust Funds for which these payments are provided. Such payments are generally asset-based but also may include the payment of a lump sum.

intermediaries for items such as ticket charges (i.e., fees that an intermediary charges its representatives for effecting transactions in Fund shares) or exchange order, operational charges (e.g., fees that an intermediary charges for establishing a Fund on its trading system), and literature printing and/or distribution costs; (iv) at the direction of a retirement plan’s sponsor, reimburse or pay direct expenses of an employee benefit plan that would otherwise be payable by the plan; (v) provide payments to broker-dealers to help defray their technology or infrastructure costs; and (vi) make payments for expenses associated with intermediaries’ use of First Trust Funds including, but not limited to, the use of First Trust Funds in model portfolios.

Additional Information

Book Entry Only System. The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus.

Policy Regarding Investment in Other Investment Companies. The Funds will not rely on Sections 12(d)(1)(F) or 12(d)(1)(G) of the 1940 Act to invest in other investment companies.

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

The Trust has adopted a proxy voting policy that seeks to ensure that proxies for securities held by the Funds are voted consistently with the best interests of the Funds.

Creation and Redemption of Creation Units

General. ETFs, such as the Funds, generally issue and redeem their shares in primary market transactions through a creation and redemption mechanism and do not sell or redeem individual shares. Instead, financial entities known as “Authorized Participants” have contractual arrangements with an ETF or one of the ETF’s service providers to purchase and redeem ETF shares directly with the ETF in large blocks of shares known as “Creation Units.” Prior to the start of trading on every business day, an ETF publishes through the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”) the “basket” of securities, cash or other assets that it will accept in exchange for a Creation Unit of the ETF’s shares. An Authorized Participant that wishes to effectuate a creation of an ETF’s shares deposits with the ETF the “basket” of securities, cash or

other assets identified by the ETF that day, and then receives the Creation Unit of the ETF’s shares in return for those assets. After purchasing a Creation Unit, the Authorized Participant may continue to hold the ETF’s shares or sell them in the secondary market. The redemption process is the reverse of the purchase process: the authorized participant redeems a Creation Unit of ETF shares for a basket of securities, cash or other assets. The combination of the creation and redemption process with secondary market trading in ETF shares and underlying securities provides arbitrage opportunities that are designed to help keep the market price of ETF shares at or close to the NAV per share of the ETF.

Authorized Participants. An “Authorized Participant” is a member or participant of a clearing agency registered with the SEC that has a written agreement with a Fund or one of its service providers that allows the Authorized Participant to place orders for the purchase or redemption of Creation Units (a “Participant Agreement”). Orders to purchase Creation Units must be delivered through an Authorized Participant that has executed a Participant Agreement and must comply with the applicable provisions of such Participant Agreement. Investors wishing to purchase or sell shares generally do so on an exchange. Institutional investors other than Authorized Participants are responsible for making arrangements for a redemption request to be made through an Authorized Participant.

Each Fund may utilize a pro rata basket or a custom basket in reliance on Rule 6c-11. A “pro rata basket” is a basket that is a pro rata representation of the ETF’s portfolio holdings, except for minor deviations when it is not operationally feasible to include a particular instrument within the basket, except to the extent that the Fund utilized different baskets in transactions on the same Business Day.

Basket Dissemination. Basket files are published for consumption through the NSCC, a subsidiary of Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, and can be utilized for pricing, creations, redemptions, rebalancing and custom scenarios. In most instances, pro rata baskets are calculated and supplied by the ETF’s custodial bank based on ETF holdings, whereas non-pro rata, custom and forward-looking pro rata baskets are calculated by the Fund’s investment advisor and disseminated by the ETF’s custodial bank through the NSCC process.

Placement of Creation or Redemption Orders. All orders to purchase or redeem Creation Units are to be governed according to the applicable Participant Agreement that each Authorized Participant has executed. In general, all orders to purchase or redeem Creation Units must be received by the transfer agent in the proper form required by the Participant Agreement no later than the closing time of the regular trading session of the NYSE (ordinarily 4:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time) on each day the NYSE is open for business (the “Closing Time”) in order for the purchase or redemption of Creation Units to be effected based on the NAV of shares of a Fund as next determined on such date after receipt of the order in proper form. However, at its discretion, the Fund may require an Authorized Participant to submit orders to purchase or redeem Creation Units be placed earlier in the day (such as instances where an applicable market for a security comprising a creation or redemption basket closes earlier than usual).

Delivery of Redemption Proceeds. Deliveries of securities to Authorized Participants in connection with redemption orders are generally expected to be made within two Business Days. Due to the schedule of holidays in certain countries, however, the delivery of in-kind redemption proceeds for a Fund may take longer than two Business Days after the day on which the redemption request is received in proper form. Section 22(e) of the 1940 Act generally prohibits a registered open-end management investment company from postponing the date of satisfaction of redemption requests for more than seven days after the tender of a security for redemption. This prohibition can cause operational difficulties for ETFs that hold foreign investments and exchange in-kind baskets for Creation Units. For example, local market delivery cycles for transferring foreign investments to redeeming investors, together with local market holiday schedules, can sometimes require a delivery process in excess of seven days. However, Rule 6c-11 grants relief from Section 22(e) to permit an ETF to delay satisfaction of a redemption request for more than seven days if a local market holiday, or series of consecutive holidays, or the extended delivery cycles for transferring foreign investments to redeeming Authorized Participants, or the combination thereof prevents timely delivery of the foreign investment included in the ETF’s basket. Under this exemption, an ETF must deliver foreign investments as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 days after the tender to the ETF. The exemption therefore will permit a delay only to the extent that additional time for settlement is actually required, when a local market holiday, or series of consecutive holidays, or the extended delivery cycles for transferring foreign investments to redeeming authorized participants prevents timely delivery of the foreign investment included in the ETF’s basket. If a foreign investment settles in less than 15 days, Rule 6c-11 requires an ETF to deliver it pursuant to the standard settlement time of the local market where the investment trades. Rule 6c-11 defines “foreign investment” as any security, asset or other position of the ETF issued by a foreign issuer (as defined by Rule 3b-4 under the 1934 Act), and that is traded on a trading market outside of the United States. This definition is not limited to “foreign securities,” but also includes other investments that may not be considered securities. Although these other investments may not be securities, they may present the same challenges for timely settlement as foreign securities if they are transferred in kind.

Creation Transaction Fees. Each Fund imposes fees in connection with the purchase of Creation Units. These fees may vary based upon various facts-based circumstances, including, but not limited to, the composition of the securities included in the Creation Unit or the countries in which the transactions are settled. The price for each Creation Unit will equal the daily NAV per share of a Fund times the number of shares in a Creation Unit, plus the fees described above and, if applicable, any operational processing and brokerage costs, transfer fees, stamp taxes and part or all of the spread between the expected bid and offer side of the market related to the securities comprising the creation basket.

Redemption Transaction Fees. Each Fund also imposes fees in connection with the redemption of Creation Units. These fees may vary based upon various facts-based circumstances, including, but not limited to, the composition of the securities included in the Creation Unit or the countries in which the transactions are settled. The price received for each Creation Unit will equal the daily NAV per share of a Fund times the number of shares in a Creation Unit, minus the fees described above and, if applicable, any operational processing and brokerage costs, transfer fees, stamp taxes and part or all of the spread between the expected bid and offer side of the market related to the securities comprising the redemption basket. Investors who use the services of a broker or other such intermediary in addition to an Authorized Participant to effect a redemption of a Creation Unit may also be assessed an amount to cover the cost of such services. The redemption fee charged by a Fund will comply with Rule 22c-2 of the 1940 Act which limits redemption fees to no more than 2% of the value of the shares redeemed.

Suspension of Creations. The SEC has stated its position that an ETF generally may reject or suspend the issuance of Creation Units only for a limited time and only due to extraordinary circumstances, such as when the markets on which the ETF’s portfolio holdings are traded are closed for a limited period of time. The SEC has also stated that an ETF could not set transaction fees so high as to effectively suspend the issuance of Creation Units. Circumstances in which a Fund may suspend or reject creations include, but are not limited to: (i) the order is not in proper form; (ii) the purchaser or group of related purchasers, upon obtaining the Creation Units of Fund shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding shares of a Fund; (iii) the required consideration is not delivered; (iv) the acceptance of the basket would, in the opinion of a Fund, be unlawful; or (v) there exist circumstances outside the control of a Fund that make it impossible to process purchases of Creation Units for all practical purposes. Examples of such circumstances include: acts of God or public service or utility problems such as fires, floods, extreme weather conditions and power outages resulting in telephone, telecopy and computer failures; market conditions or activities causing trading halts; systems failures involving computer or other information systems affecting a Fund, First Trust, the Distributor, DTC, NSCC, the transfer agent, the custodian, any sub-custodian or any other participant in the purchase process; and similar extraordinary events. Each Fund reserves the right to reject a creation order transmitted to it provided that such action does not result in a suspension of sales of creation units in contravention of 6c-11 and the SEC’s positions thereunder. The Transfer Agent shall notify a prospective creator of a Creation Unit and/or the Authorized Participant acting on behalf of such prospective creator of the rejection of the order of such person. The Trust, a Fund, the Transfer Agent, the custodian, any sub-custodian and the Distributor are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of baskets, nor shall any of them incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification.

Federal Tax Matters

As with any investment, prospective investors should seek advice based on their individual circumstances from their own tax advisor.

Each Fund intends to qualify annually and to elect to be treated as a regulated investment company (a “RIC”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).

To qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment generally accorded to RICs, a Fund must, among other things, (i) derive in each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies or other income derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies, or net income derived from interests in certain publicly traded partnerships; (ii) diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of the taxable year, (a) at least 50% of the market value of a Fund's assets is represented by cash and cash items (including receivables), U.S. government securities, the securities of other RICs and other securities, with such other securities of any one issuer generally limited for the purposes of this calculation to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of a Fund's total assets and not greater than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (b) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets is invested in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or the securities of other RICs) of any one issuer, or two or more issuers which a Fund controls which are engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more of certain publicly traded partnerships; and (iii) distribute at least 90% of its investment company taxable income (which includes, among other items, dividends,taxable interest and net short-term capital gains in excess of net long-term capital losses) and at least 90% of its net tax-exempt interest income each taxable year. There are certain exceptions for failure to qualify if the failure is for reasonable cause or is de minimis, and certain corrective action is taken and certain tax payments are made by the Fund.

Distributions

Dividends paid out of a Fund's investment company taxable income are generally taxable to a shareholder as ordinary income to the extent of the Fund’s earnings and profits, whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares. However, certain ordinary income distributions received from a Fund may be taxed at capital gains tax rates. In particular, ordinary income dividends received by an individual shareholder from RICs such as each of the Funds are generally taxed at the same rates that apply to net capital gain, provided that certain holding period requirements are satisfied and provided the dividends are attributable to qualifying dividends received by a Fund itself. A Fund will provide notice to its shareholders of the amount of any distributions that may be taken into account as a dividend which is eligible for the capital gains tax rates. A Fund cannot make any guarantees as to the amount of any distribution which will be regarded as a qualifying dividend.

Sale or Exchange of Fund Shares

Any loss realized on a sale or exchange will be disallowed to the extent that shares disposed of are replaced (including through reinvestment of dividends) within a period of 61 days beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after disposition of shares or to the extent that the shareholder, during such period, acquires or enters into an option or contract to acquire substantially identical stock or securities. In such a case, the basis of the shares acquired will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss. Any loss realized by a shareholder on a disposition of Fund shares held by the shareholder for six months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of any distributions of long-term capital gain received by the shareholder with respect to such shares.

Taxes on Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units

Nature of Fund Investments

without a corresponding receipt of cash; (v) adversely affect the time as to when a purchase or sale of stock or securities is deemed to occur; and (vi) adversely alter the characterization of certain complex financial transactions.

Futures Contracts and Options

The Funds' transactions in futures contracts and options will be subject to special provisions of the Code that, among other things, may affect the character of gains and losses realized by a Fund (i.e., may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital, or short-term or long-term), may accelerate recognition of income to a Fund and may defer Fund losses. These rules could, therefore, affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to shareholders. These provisions also (i) will require a Fund to mark-to-market certain types of the positions in its portfolio (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out); and (ii) may cause a Fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement for qualifying to be taxed as a RIC and the distribution requirements for avoiding excise taxes.

Investments in Certain Foreign Corporations

Backup Withholding

Non-U.S. Shareholders

to a withholding tax of 30% if the entity does not certify that the entity does not have any substantial U.S. owners or provide the name, address and TIN of each substantial U.S. owner. This withholding tax is also currently scheduled to apply to the gross proceeds from the disposition of securities that produce U.S. source interest or dividends. However, proposed regulations may eliminate the requirement to withhold on payments of gross proceeds from dispositions.

Distributions from a Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as an interest-related dividend attributable to certain interest income received by the Funds or as a short-term capital gain dividend attributable to certain net short-term capital gain income received by a Fund may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes when received by certain non-U.S. shareholders, provided that each Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met. For tax years after December 31, 2022, amounts paid to or recognized by a non-U.S. affiliate that are excluded from tax under the portfolio interest, capital gain dividends, short-term capital gains or tax-exempt interest dividend exceptions or applicable treaties, may be taken into consideration in determining whether a corporation is an “applicable corporation” subject to a 15% minimum tax on adjusted financial statement income.

Capital Loss Carry-forward

Under the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010, net capital losses of a Fund incurred in taxable years beginning after December 22, 2010 may be carried forward indefinitely, and their character is retained as short-term and/or long-term losses. To the extent that these loss carry-forwards are used to offset future capital gains, it is probable that the capital gains so offset will not be distributed to Fund shareholders. The Funds intend to utilize provisions of the federal income tax laws, which allow the Funds to carry a realized capital loss forward indefinitely following the year of the loss and offset such loss against any future realized capital gains. As of December 31, 2023, the Funds had non-expiring capital loss carry-forwards for federal income tax purposes as shown in the table below. The Funds are subject to certain limitations, under U.S. tax rules, on the use of capital loss carry-forwards and net unrealized built-in losses. These limitations generally apply when there has been a 50% change in ownership.

Fund	Total Non-Expiring Capital Loss Available
First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF	$7,178,441
First Trust Lunt U.S. Factor Rotation ETF	171,622,503

Other Taxation

Determination of Net Asset Value

Each Fund’s net asset value is determined as set forth in the Prospectus in the section entitled “Net Asset Value.”

Dividends and Distributions

The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Dividends, Distributions and Taxes.”

Miscellaneous Information

Counsel. Chapman and Cutler LLP, 320 South Canal St., Chicago, Illinois 60606, is counsel to the Trust.

Financial Statements

The audited financial statements and notes thereto for the Funds, contained in the Annual Report to Shareholders dated December 31, 2023, are incorporated by reference into this Statement of Additional Information and have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report also appears in the Annual Report and is also incorporated by reference herein. No other parts of the Annual Report are incorporated by reference herein. The Annual Report is available without charge by calling (800) 621-1675 or by visiting the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

Exhibit A—Principal Holders Table

NAME OF BENEFICIAL OWNER	% OF OUTSTANDING SHARES OWNED
FIRST TRUST DOW 30 EQUAL WEIGHT ETF
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.	20.23%
LPL Financial LLC	19.20%
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC	16.14%
National Financial Services LLC	13.08%
Pershing LLC	11.91%
FIRST TRUST LUNT U.S. FACTOR ROTATION ETF
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.	26.55%
Pershing LLC	20.80%
National Financial Services LLC	16.87%
LPL Financial LLC	9.20%

Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.: 2423 E Lincoln Drive, Phoenix, Arizona 85016

LPL Financial LLC: 1055 LPL Way, Fort Mill, South Carolina 29715

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC: 1300 Thames St, 6th Floor, Baltimore, Maryland 21231

National Financial Services LLC: 499 Washington Boulevard, Jersey City, New Jersey 07310

Pershing LLC: One Pershing Plaza, Jersey City, New Jersey 07399

A-1

Exhibit B—Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

FIRST TRUST ADVISORS L.P.
PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

FTA may vote against the Guidelines in other circumstances as it has final authority and fiduciary responsibility for proxy voting.

(6)

(a)

(b)

(c)

Unjustifiable Costs. In certain circumstances, based on cost-benefit analysis, FTA may choose not to

B-1

vote when the cost of voting on behalf of a Proxy Client would exceed any anticipated benefits of the proxy proposal to such Proxy Client (e.g. foreign securities).

(d)

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

(11)

FTA periodically reviews proxy votes to ensure compliance with this Policy.

(12)

(13)

FTA provides reasonable ongoing oversight of ISS. FTA, or ISS on behalf of FTA, maintains the following records relating to proxy voting:

(a)

a copy of this Policy;

(b)

a copy of each proxy form for which it is responsible to vote;

(c)

a copy of each proxy solicitation, including proxy statements and related materials with regard to each proxy issue it votes;

(d)

documents relating to the identification and resolution of conflicts of interest, if any;

(e)

any documents created by FTA or ISS that were material to a proxy voting decision or that memorialized the basis for that decision; and

(f)

These records are either maintained at FTA’s office or are electronically available to FTA through access to the ISS Proxy Exchange portal.

B-2

B-3

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Investment Company Act File No. 811-21774

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund

FUND NAME	TICKER SYMBOL	EXCHANGE
FT Vest Gold Strategy Quarterly Buffer ETF	BGLD	Cboe BZX

DATED MAY 1, 2024

This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus. It should be read in conjunction with the prospectus dated May 1, 2024, as it may be revised from time to time (the “Prospectus”), for FT Vest Gold Strategy Quarterly Buffer ETF (the “Fund” ), a series of the First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund (the “Trust”). Capitalized terms used herein that are not defined have the same meaning as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise noted. A copy of the Prospectus may be obtained without charge by writing to the Trust’s distributor, First Trust Portfolios L.P., 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, or by calling toll free at (800) 621-1675.

The audited financial statements for the Fund's most recent fiscal year appear in the Fund's Annual Report to Shareholders dated December 31, 2023, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 11, 2024. The financial statements from the Annual Report are incorporated herein by reference. The Annual Report is available without charge by calling (800) 621-1675 or by visiting the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Table of Contents

General Description of the Trust and the Fund	1
Exchange Listing and Trading	3
Investment Objective and Policies	3
Investment Strategies	4
Investment Risks	9
Management of the Fund	12
Sub-Advisor	20
Brokerage Allocations	22
Disclaimers	23
Administrator, Custodian, Transfer Agent, Fund Accountant, Distributor, Additional Service Provider and Exchange	23
Additional Payments to Financial Intermediaries	25
Additional Information	26
Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures	31
Creation and Redemption of Creation Units	32
Federal Tax Matters	35
Determination of Net Asset Value	39
Dividends and Distributions	39
Miscellaneous Information	40
Financial Statements	40
Exhibit A—Principal Holders Table	A-1
Exhibit B—Proxy Voting Guidelines	B-1

General Description of the Trust and the Fund

The Trust was organized as a Massachusetts business trust on August 8, 2003 and is authorized to issue an unlimited number of shares in one or more series. The Trust is an open-end management investment company, registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). The Trust currently offers shares in 24 series. This SAI relates to the Fund, which is a non-diversified series.

The Fund, as a series of the Trust, represents a beneficial interest in a separate portfolio of securities and other assets, with its own objective and policies.

The Trust or any series or class thereof may be terminated at any time by the Board of Trustees upon written notice to the shareholders.

The Declaration provides that by becoming a shareholder of the Fund, each shareholder shall be expressly held to have agreed to be bound by the provisions of the Declaration and to any By-laws adopted by the Trust. The Declaration provides that, except as set forth therein and authorized by the Trustees, shareholders have no rights, privileges, claims or remedies under any contract or agreement entered into by the Trust or the Fund with any service provider or other agent to or contractor with the Trust or the Fund including, without limitation, any third party beneficiary rights.

The holders of Fund shares are required to disclose information on direct or indirect ownership of Fund shares as may be required to comply with various laws applicable to the Fund or as the Trustees may determine, and ownership of Fund shares may be disclosed by the Fund if so required by law or regulation. In addition, pursuant to the Declaration, the Trustees may, in their discretion, require the Trust to redeem shares held by any shareholder for any reason under terms set by the Trustees.

with the derivative action unless the shareholder is able to sustain the burden of proof to a court that the decision of the Trustees not to pursue the requested action was not a good faith exercise of their business judgment on behalf of the Fund. In making such a determination, a Trustee is not considered to have a personal financial interest by virtue of being compensated for his or her services as a Trustee. If a demand is rejected, the complaining shareholder will be responsible for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by the Fund in connection with the consideration of the demand under a number of circumstances. In addition, if a court determines that a derivative action was made without reasonable cause or for an improper purpose, or if a derivative or direct action is dismissed on the basis of a failure to comply with the procedural provisions relating to shareholder actions as set forth in the Declaration, or if a direct action is dismissed by a court for failure to state a claim, the shareholder bringing the action may be responsible for the Fund's costs, including attorneys’ fees. Shareholders also have the right to vote, to the same extent as the stockholders of a Massachusetts business corporation as to whether or not a court action, proceeding, or claim should or should not be brought or maintained derivatively or as a class action on behalf of the Trust or the Shareholders.

The provisions of the Declaration provide that any direct or derivative action commenced by a shareholder must be brought only in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts (Boston Division) or if any such action may not be brought in that court, then in the Business Litigation Session of Suffolk Superior Court in Massachusetts (the “Chosen Courts”). Except as prohibited by applicable law, if a shareholder commences an applicable action in a court other than a Chosen Court without the consent of the Fund, then such shareholder may be obligated to reimburse the Fund and any applicable Trustee or officer of the Fund made party to such proceeding for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred in connection with any successful motion to dismiss, stay or transfer of the action. The Declaration also provides that any shareholder bringing an action against the Fund waives the right to trial by jury to the fullest extent permitted by law.

The Trust is not required to and does not intend to hold annual meetings of shareholders.

The Fund is advised by First Trust Advisors L.P. (the “Advisor” or “First Trust”) and is sub-advised by Vest Financial LLC ("Vest" or the "Sub-Advisor").

The shares of the Fund are principally listed and traded on the Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. ("Cboe BZX" or the "Exchange"), as shown on the cover of this SAI. ETFs, such as the Fund, do not sell or redeem individual shares of the Fund. Instead, financial entities known as “Authorized Participants” (which are discussed in greater detail below) have contractual arrangements with the Fund or the Distributor to purchase and redeem Fund shares directly with the Fund in large blocks of shares known as “Creation Units.” An Authorized Participant that purchases a Creation Unit of Fund shares deposits with the Fund a “basket” of securities, cash and/or other assets identified by the Fund that day, and then receives the Creation Unit of Fund shares in return for those assets. The redemption process is the reverse of the purchase process: the Authorized Participant redeems a Creation Unit of Fund shares for a basket of securities, cash and/or other assets. The basket is generally representative of the Fund’s portfolio, and together with a cash balancing amount, it is equal to the NAV of the Fund shares comprising the Creation Unit. Pursuant to Rule 6c-11 of the 1940 Act, the Fund may utilize baskets that are not representative of the Fund’s portfolio. Such “custom baskets” are discussed in the section entitled “Creation and Redemption of Creation Units.”

Exchange Listing and Trading

There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of shares of the Fund will continue to be met. The Exchange may, but is not required to, remove the shares of the Fund from listing if (i) following the initial 12-month period beginning at the commencement of trading of the Fund, there are fewer than 50 beneficial owners of the shares of the Fund for 30 or more consecutive trading days; or (ii) such other event shall occur or condition exist that, in the opinion of the Exchange, makes further dealings on the Exchange inadvisable. The Exchange will remove the shares of the Fund from listing and trading upon termination of the Fund.

As in the case of other stocks traded on the Exchange, brokers’ commissions on transactions will be based on negotiated commission rates at customary levels.

The Fund reserves the right to adjust the price levels of shares in the future to help maintain convenient trading ranges for investors. Any adjustments would be accomplished through stock splits or reverse stock splits, which would have no effect on the net assets of the Fund.

Investment Objective and Policies

The Prospectus describes the investment objective and certain policies of the Fund. The following supplements the information contained in the Prospectus concerning the investment objective and policies of the Fund.

The Fund is subject to the following fundamental policies, which may not be changed without approval of the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as such term is defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund:

(1)

The Fund may not issue senior securities, except as permitted under the 1940 Act.

(2)

The Fund may not borrow money, except as permitted under the 1940 Act.

(3)

The Fund will not underwrite the securities of other issuers except to the extent the Fund may be considered an underwriter under the 1933 Act, in connection with the purchase and sale of portfolio securities.

(4)

The Fund will not purchase or sell real estate or interests therein, unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prohibit the Fund from purchasing or selling securities or other instruments backed by real estate or of issuers engaged in real estate activities).

(5)

The Fund may not make loans to other persons, except through (i) the purchase of debt securities permissible under the Fund’s investment policies, (ii) repurchase agreements, or (iii) the lending of portfolio securities, provided that no such loan of portfolio securities may be made by the Fund if, as a result, the aggregate of such loans would exceed 33⅓% of the value of the Fund’s total assets.

(6)

The Fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the Fund from purchasing or selling options, futures contracts, forward contracts or other derivative instruments, or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).

(7)

The Fund may not invest 25% or more of the value of its total assets in securities of issuers in any one industry or group of industries. This restriction does not apply to obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies.

(8)

The Fund may only purchase or sell physical commodities through its wholly-owned subsidiary, FT Cayman Subsidiary IV (the “Subsidiary”).

For purposes of applying restriction (1) above, under the 1940 Act as currently in effect, the Fund is not permitted to issue senior securities, except that the Fund may borrow from any bank if immediately after such borrowing the value of the Fund’s total assets is at least 300% of the principal amount of all of the Fund’s borrowings (i.e., the principal amount of the borrowings may not exceed 33⅓% of the Fund’s total assets). In the event that such asset coverage shall at any time fall below 300%, the Fund shall, within three days thereafter (not including Sundays and holidays), reduce the amount of its borrowings to an extent that the asset coverage of such borrowing shall be at least 300%. The fundamental investment limitations set forth above limit the Fund’s ability to engage in certain investment practices and purchase securities or other instruments to the extent permitted by, or consistent with, applicable law. As such, these limitations will change as the statute, rules, regulations or orders (or, if applicable, interpretations) change, and no shareholder vote will be required or sought.

Notwithstanding restriction (7) above, to the extent the Fund invests in other investment companies, it will consider, to the extent practicable, the industry concentration of the underlying investment companies when determining compliance with the limitations set forth in restriction (7) above.

The foregoing fundamental policies of the Fund may not be changed without the affirmative vote of the majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. The 1940 Act defines a majority vote as the vote of the lesser of (i) 67% or more of the voting securities represented at a meeting at which more than 50% of the outstanding securities are represented; or (ii) more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities. With respect to the submission of a change in an investment policy to the holders of outstanding voting securities of the Fund, such matter shall be deemed to have been effectively acted upon with respect to the Fund if a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund vote for the approval of such matter, notwithstanding that such matter has not been approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of any other series of the Trust affected by such matter.

In addition to the foregoing fundamental policies, the Fund is also subject to strategies and policies discussed herein which, unless otherwise noted, are non-fundamental policies and may be changed by the Board of Trustees.

Investment Strategies

The Fund will alert existing shareholders to the new cap at the beginning of each new Target Outcome Period in the following manner:

Approximately one week prior to the end of the current Target Outcome Period, the Fund will update its website and make a sticker filing that will alert existing shareholders that the Target Outcome Period is approaching its conclusion and disclose the anticipated cap range for the next Target Outcome Period. This filing will be mailed to existing shareholders.

Following the close of business on the last day of the Target Outcome Period, the Fund will make a sticker filing that discloses the Fund’s cap for the next Target Outcome Period. This filing will be mailed to existing shareholders.

On the first day of the new Target Outcome Period, the Fund will file a full prospectus that incorporates the sticker filing from the previous evening which replaces the caps/dates associated with the previous Target Outcome Period with the caps/dates associated with the new Target Outcome Period. Correspondingly, the Fund will file a revised summary prospectus that reflects such changes.

The information referenced above will also be available on the Fund's website at www.ftportfolios.com/retail/etf/EtfSummary.aspx?Ticker=BGLD.

Types of Investments

Cayman Subsidiary. The Fund may invest up to 25% of its total assets in the Subsidiary. The Subsidiary may invest in exchange-traded options on the Underlying ETF. Because the Fund may invest a substantial portion of its assets in the Subsidiary, which may hold certain of the investments described in the Prospectus and this SAI, the Fund may be considered to be investing indirectly in those investments through the Subsidiary. Therefore, except as otherwise noted, for purposes of this disclosure, references to the Fund’s investments may also be deemed to include the Fund’s indirect investments through the Subsidiary.

The Subsidiary is not registered under the 1940 Act and is not directly subject to its investor protections, except as noted in the Prospectus or this SAI. However, the Subsidiary is wholly-owned and controlled by the Fund and is advised by First Trust. The Trust’s Board of Trustees has oversight responsibility for the investment activities of the Fund, including its investment in the Subsidiary, and the Fund’s role as the sole shareholder of the Subsidiary. First Trust receives no additional compensation for managing the assets of the Subsidiary. The Subsidiary will also enter into separate contracts for the provision of custody, transfer agency, and accounting agent services with the same service providers or with affiliates of the same service providers that provide those services to the Fund.

Changes in the laws of the United States (where the Fund is organized) and/or the Cayman Islands (where the Subsidiary is incorporated) could prevent the Fund and/or the Subsidiary from operating as described in the Prospectus and this SAI and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders. For example, the Cayman Islands currently does not impose certain taxes on the Subsidiary, including income and capital gains tax, among others. If Cayman Islands laws were changed to require the Subsidiary to pay Cayman Islands taxes, the investment returns of the Fund would likely decrease.

The financial statements of the Subsidiary will be consolidated with the Fund’s financial statements in the Fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports.

FLexible EXchange® Options. The Fund’s portfolio includes several types of FLEX Options, including both purchased and written put and call options (as further described below). The FLEX Options are all European style options, which means that they are exercisable at the strike price only on the FLEX Option expiration date. FLEX Options are customized option contracts available through national securities exchanges that are guaranteed for settlement by the Options Clearing Corporation (“OCC”), a market clearinghouse. FLEX Options provide investors with the ability to customize terms of an option, including exercise prices, exercise styles (European style versus American style options which are exercisable any time prior to the expiration date) and expiration dates, while achieving price discovery in competitive, transparent auctions markets and avoiding the counterparty exposure of the over-the-counter option positions.

Each FLEX Option contract entitles the holder thereof (i.e. the purchaser of the FLEX Option) the option to purchase (for the call options) or sell (for the put options) the cash value of the reference asset as of the close of the market on the FLEX Option expiration date at the strike price. The Fund intends to be structured so that any amount owed by the Fund on the written FLEX Options will be covered by payouts at expiration from the purchased FLEX Options. As a result, the FLEX Options will be fully covered and no additional collateral will be necessary during the life of the Fund. The Fund receives premiums in exchange for the written FLEX Options and pays premiums in exchange for the purchased FLEX Options. The OCC and securities exchange that the FLEX Options are listed on do not charge ongoing fees to writers or purchasers of the FLEX Options during their life for continuing to hold the option contracts.

(collectively, “Corporate Actions”) specified in the OCC’s by-laws and rules: certain stock dividends or distributions, stock splits, reverse stock splits, rights offerings, distributions, reorganizations, recapitalizations, or reclassifications with respect to an underlying security, or a merger, consolidation, dissolution or liquidation of the issuer of the underlying security. According to the OCC’s by-laws, the nature and extent of any such adjustment is to be determined by the OCC’s Securities Committee, in light of the circumstances known to it at the time such determination is made, based on its judgment as to what is appropriate for the protection of investors and the public interest, taking into account such factors as fairness to holders and writers (or purchasers and sellers) of the affected options, the maintenance of a fair and orderly market in the affected options, consistency of interpretation and practice, efficiency of exercise settlement procedures, and the coordination with other clearing agencies of the clearance and settlement of transactions in the underlying interest.

Certain Considerations Regarding Options. There is no assurance that a liquid secondary market on an options exchange will exist for any particular option, or at any particular time, and for some options no secondary market on an exchange or elsewhere may exist. If the Fund is unable to close out a call option on securities that it has written before the option is exercised, the Fund may be required to purchase the optioned securities in order to satisfy its obligation under the option to deliver such securities. If the Fund is unable to effect a closing sale transaction with respect to options on securities that it has purchased, it would have to exercise the option in order to realize any profit and would incur transaction costs upon the purchase and sale of the underlying securities.

The writing and purchasing of options is a highly specialized activity which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. Imperfect correlation between the options and securities markets may detract from the effectiveness of attempted hedging. Options transactions may result in significantly higher transaction costs and portfolio turnover for the Fund.

Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments. The Fund may invest in securities with maturities of less than one year or cash equivalents, or may hold cash. The percentage of the Fund invested in such holdings varies and depends on several factors, including market conditions. For temporary defensive purposes and during periods of high cash inflows or outflows, the Fund may depart from its principal investment strategies and invest all of its assets in these securities, or it may hold cash. During such periods, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective. The Fund may adopt a temporary defensive strategy when the portfolio managers believe securities in which the Fund normally invests have elevated risks due to political or economic factors and in other extraordinary circumstances.

(1)

The Fund may invest in U.S. government securities, including bills, notes and bonds differing as to maturity and rates of interest, which are either issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury or by U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. government securities include securities that are issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury, by various agencies of the U.S. government, or by various instrumentalities that have been established or sponsored by the U.S. government. U.S. Treasury securities are backed by the “full faith and credit” of the United States. Securities issued or guaranteed by federal agencies and U.S. government-sponsored instrumentalities may or may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Some of the U.S. government agencies that issue or guarantee securities include the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Farmers Home Administration, the Federal Housing Administration, the Maritime Administration, the Small Business Administration and The Tennessee Valley Authority. An instrumentality of the U.S. government is a government agency organized under federal charter with government supervision. Instrumentalities issuing or guaranteeing securities include, among others, the Federal Home Loan Banks, the Federal Land Banks, the Central Bank for Cooperatives, Federal Intermediate Credit Banks and the FNMA. In the case of those U.S. government securities not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the security for ultimate repayment and may not be able to assert a claim against the United States itself in the event that the agency or instrumentality does not meet its commitment. The U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities do not guarantee the market value of their securities; consequently, the value of such securities may fluctuate.

(2)

date specified thereon. Under current FDIC regulations, the maximum insurance payable as to any one certificate of deposit is $250,000; therefore, certificates of deposit purchased by the Fund may not be fully insured. The Fund may only invest in certificates of deposit issued by U.S. banks with at least $1 billion in assets.

(3)

The Fund may invest in bankers’ acceptances, which are short-term credit instruments used to finance commercial transactions. Generally, an acceptance is a time draft drawn on a bank by an exporter or an importer to obtain a stated amount of funds to pay for specific merchandise. The draft is then “accepted” by a bank that, in effect, unconditionally guarantees to pay the face value of the instrument on its maturity date. The acceptance may then be held by the accepting bank as an asset or it may be sold in the secondary market at the going rate of interest for a specific maturity.

(4)

The Fund may invest in repurchase agreements, which involve purchases of debt securities with counterparties that are deemed by the Sub-Advisor to present acceptable credit risks. In such an action, at the time the Fund purchases the security, it simultaneously agrees to resell and redeliver the security to the seller, who also simultaneously agrees to buy back the security at a fixed price and time. This assures a predetermined yield for the Fund during its holding period since the resale price is always greater than the purchase price and reflects an agreed-upon market rate. Such actions afford an opportunity for the Fund to invest temporarily available cash. The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements only with respect to obligations of the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, certificates of deposit or bankers’ acceptances in which the Fund may invest. Repurchase agreements may be considered loans to the seller, collateralized by the underlying securities. The risk to the Fund is limited to the ability of the seller to pay the agreed-upon sum on the repurchase date; in the event of default, the repurchase agreement provides that the affected Fund is entitled to sell the underlying collateral. If the value of the collateral declines after the agreement is entered into, however, and if the seller defaults under a repurchase agreement when the value of the underlying collateral is less than the repurchase price, the Fund could incur a loss of both principal and interest. The portfolio managers monitor the value of the collateral at the time the action is entered into and at all times during the term of the repurchase agreement. The portfolio managers do so in an effort to determine that the value of the collateral always equals or exceeds the agreed-upon repurchase price to be paid to the Fund. If the seller were to be subject to a federal bankruptcy proceeding, the ability of the Fund to liquidate the collateral could be delayed or impaired because of certain provisions of the bankruptcy laws.

(5)

The Fund may invest in bank time deposits, which are monies kept on deposit with banks or savings and loan associations for a stated period of time at a fixed rate of interest. There may be penalties for the early withdrawal of such time deposits, in which case the yields of these investments will be reduced.

(6)

The Fund may invest in commercial paper, which are short-term unsecured promissory notes, including variable rate master demand notes issued by corporations to finance their current operations. Master demand notes are direct lending arrangements between the Fund and a corporation. There is no secondary market for the notes. However, they are redeemable by the Fund at any time. The Fund's portfolio managers will consider the financial condition of the corporation (e.g., earning power, cash flow and other liquidity ratios) and will regularly monitor the corporation’s ability to meet all of its financial obligations, because the Fund's liquidity might be impaired if the corporation were unable to pay principal and interest on demand. The Fund may invest in commercial paper only if it has received the highest rating from at least one nationally recognized statistical rating organization or, if unrated, judged by the Sub-Advisor to be of comparable quality.

(7)

The Fund may invest in shares of money market funds, as consistent with its investment objective and policies. Shares of money market funds are subject to management fees and other expenses of those funds. Therefore, investments in money market funds will cause the Fund to bear proportionately the costs incurred by the money market funds’ operations. At the same time, the Fund will continue to pay its own management fees and expenses with respect to all of its assets, including any portion invested in the shares of other investment companies. It is possible for the Fund to lose money by investing in money market funds.

federal securities laws), securities that may only be resold pursuant to Rule 144A under the 1933 Act, and repurchase agreements with maturities in excess of seven days, among others. However, the Fund will not acquire illiquid investments if, as a result, such investments would comprise more than 15% of the value of the Fund’s net assets. The Advisor, subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, has the ultimate authority to determine, to the extent permissible under the federal securities laws, which investments are liquid or illiquid for purposes of this 15% limitation under the Fund’s liquidity risk management program, adopted pursuant to Rule 22e-4 under the 1940 Act.

Restricted securities may be sold only in privately negotiated transactions or in a public offering with respect to which a registration statement is in effect under the 1933 Act. Where registration is required, the Fund may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expenses and a considerable period may elapse between the time of the decision to sell and the time the Fund may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the Fund might obtain a less favorable price than that which prevailed when it decided to sell. Illiquid investments will be priced at fair value as determined in good faith under procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. If, through the appreciation of illiquid investments or the depreciation of liquid investments, the Fund should be in a position where more than 15% of the value of its net assets are invested in illiquid investments, including restricted securities which are not readily marketable, the Advisor will report such occurrence to the Board of Trustees and take such steps as are deemed advisable to protect liquidity in accordance with the Fund’s liquidity risk management program.

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund buys and sells portfolio securities in the normal course of its investment activities. The proportion of the Fund's investment portfolio that is bought and sold during a year is known as the Fund's portfolio turnover rate. A portfolio turnover rate of 100% would occur, for example, if all of the portfolio securities (other than short-term securities) were replaced once during the fiscal year. A high portfolio turnover rate could result in the payment by the Fund of increased brokerage costs, expenses and taxes. The portfolio turnover rate for the specified periods are set forth in the table below.

Portfolio Turnover Rate
Fiscal Year Ended December 31,
2023	2022
0%	0%

Lending of Portfolio Securities

In order to generate additional income, as a non-principal investment strategy, First Trust is authorized to select certain First Trust Funds, including the Fund, with notice to the Board of Trustees, to lend portfolio securities representing up to 33⅓% of the value of its total assets to broker-dealers, banks or other institutional borrowers of securities. As with other extensions of credit, there may be risks of delay in recovery of the securities or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially. However, such First Trust Funds will only enter into loan arrangements with broker-dealers, banks or other institutions which First Trust has determined are creditworthy under guidelines approved by the Board of Trustees. The First Trust Funds will pay a portion of the income earned on the lending transaction to the placing broker and may pay administrative and custodial fees in connection with these loans. First Trust may select the First Trust Fund to participate in the securities lending program, at its discretion with notice to the Board of Trustees.

In these loan arrangements, the First Trust Funds will receive collateral in the form of cash, U.S. government securities or other high-grade debt obligations in an amount at least equal to the value of the borrowed securities, marked to market daily. This collateral must be valued daily by First Trust or the First Trust Fund’s lending agent and, if the market value of the loaned securities increases, the borrower must furnish additional collateral to the lending First Trust Fund. During the time portfolio securities are on loan, the borrower pays the lending First Trust Fund any dividends or interest paid on the securities. Loans are subject to termination at any time by the lending First Trust Fund or the borrower. While a First Trust Fund does not have the right to vote securities on loan, it would terminate the loan and regain the right to vote if that were considered important with respect to the investment. When a First Trust Fund lends portfolio securities to a borrower, payments in lieu of dividends made by the borrower to the First Trust Fund will not constitute “qualified dividends” taxable at the same rate as long-term capital gains, even if the actual dividends would have constituted qualified dividends had the First Trust Fund held the securities. Please see "Securities Lending Risk" below for a description of the risks associated with securities lending activities.

Investment Risks

The following risk disclosure supplements the discussion of the Fund's investment risks that appears in the Prospectus.

Overview

An investment in the Fund should be made with an understanding of the risks that an investment in the Fund's shares entails, including the risk that the general condition of the securities market may worsen and the value of the equity securities and therefore the value of the Fund may decline. The Fund may not be an appropriate investment for those who are unable or unwilling to assume the risks involved generally with such an investment.

Additional Market Disruption Risk

FLEX Options Risk

The Fund holds purchased and written FLEX Options. The FLEX Options are European style options, which are exercisable at the strike price only on the FLEX Option expiration date. The FLEX Options held by the Fund give the option holder the right to buy the cash value of the reference asset on the FLEX Option expiration date at the strike price. The value of the FLEX Options prior to their expiration on the FLEX Option expiration date may vary because of factors other than fluctuations in value of the reference asset. The value of FLEX Options will be affected by changes in the value of the reference asset and its underlying securities, an increase in interest rates, a change in the actual and perceived volatility of the stock market and the reference asset and the remaining time to expiration. Additionally, the value of the FLEX Options does not increase or decrease at the same rate as the underlying asset or its underlying securities (although they generally move in the same direction).

Derivatives Risk

The use of derivatives presents risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in traditional securities. The use of derivatives can lead to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the underlying asset, index or rate, which may be magnified by certain features of the derivatives. In addition, when the Fund invests in certain derivative securities, including, but not limited to, when-issued securities, forward commitments, futures contracts and interest rate swaps, the Fund is effectively leveraging its investments, which could result in exaggerated changes in the net asset value of the Fund's shares and can result in losses that exceed the amount originally invested. The success of Sub-Advisor’s derivatives strategies will depend on its ability to assess and predict the impact of market or economic developments on the underlying asset, index or rate and the derivative itself, without the benefit of observing the performance of the derivative under all possible market conditions. Liquidity risk exists when a security cannot be purchased or sold at the time desired, or cannot be purchased or sold without adversely affecting the price. Certain specific risks associated with an investment in derivatives may include: market risk, credit risk, correlation risk, liquidity risk, legal risk and systemic or “interconnection” risk, as specified below.

(1)

currencies and commodities markets, which may require different skills than predicting changes in the prices of individual securities. There can be no assurance that any particular strategy adopted will succeed. A decision to engage in a derivative transaction will reflect the portfolio managers’ judgment that the derivative transaction will provide value to the Fund and its shareholders and is consistent with the Fund's objective, investment limitations and operating policies. In making such a judgment, the portfolio managers will analyze the benefits and risks of the derivative transactions and weigh them in the context of the Fund's overall investments and investment objective.

(2)

Credit Risk/Counterparty Risk. Credit risk is the risk that a loss may be sustained as a result of the failure of a counterparty to comply with the terms of a derivative instrument. The counterparty risk for exchange-traded derivatives is generally less than for privately negotiated or over-the-counter (“OTC”) derivatives, since generally a clearing agency, which is the issuer or counterparty to each exchange-traded instrument, provides a guarantee of performance. For privately negotiated instruments, there is no similar clearing agency guarantee. In all transactions, the Fund will bear the risk that the counterparty will default, and this could result in a loss of the expected benefit of the derivative transactions and possibly other losses to the Fund. The Fund will enter into transactions in derivative instruments only with counterparties that First Trust reasonably believes are capable of performing under the contract.

(3)

Correlation Risk. Correlation risk is the risk that there might be an imperfect correlation, or even no correlation, between price movements of a derivative instrument and price movements of investments being hedged. When a derivative transaction is used to completely hedge another position, changes in the market value of the combined position (the derivative instrument plus the position being hedged) result from an imperfect correlation between the price movements of the two instruments. With a perfect hedge, the value of the combined position remains unchanged with any change in the price of the underlying asset. With an imperfect hedge, the value of the derivative instrument and its hedge are not perfectly correlated. For example, if the value of a derivative instrument used in a short hedge (such as writing a call option, buying a put option or selling a futures contract) increased by less than the decline in value of the hedged investments, the hedge would not be perfectly correlated. This might occur due to factors unrelated to the value of the investments being hedged, such as speculative or other pressures on the markets in which these instruments are traded. The effectiveness of hedges using instruments on indices will depend, in part, on the degree of correlation between price movements in the index and the price movements in the investments being hedged.

(4)

Liquidity Risk. Liquidity risk is the risk that a derivative instrument cannot be sold, closed out or replaced quickly at or very close to its fundamental value. Generally, exchange contracts are very liquid because the exchange clearinghouse is the counterparty of every contract. OTC transactions are less liquid than exchange-traded derivatives since they often can only be closed out with the other party to the transaction. The Fund might be required to maintain segregated accounts and/or make margin payments when taking positions in derivative instruments involving obligations to third parties (i.e., instruments other than purchase options). If the Fund is unable to close out its positions in such instruments, it might be required to continue to maintain such assets or accounts or make such payments until the position expires, matures or is closed out. These requirements might impair the Fund's ability to sell a security or make an investment at a time when it would otherwise be favorable to do so, or require that the Fund sell a portfolio security at a disadvantageous time. The Fund's ability to sell or close out a position in an instrument prior to expiration or maturity depends upon the existence of a liquid secondary market or, in the absence of such a market, the ability and willingness of the counterparty to enter into a transaction closing out the position. Due to liquidity risk, there is no assurance that any derivatives position can be sold or closed out at a time and price that is favorable to the Fund.

(5)

Legal Risk. Legal risk is the risk of loss caused by the unenforceability of a party’s obligations under the derivative. While a party seeking price certainty agrees to surrender the potential upside in exchange for downside protection, the party taking the risk is looking for a positive payoff. Despite this voluntary assumption of risk, a counterparty that has lost money in a derivative transaction may try to avoid payment by exploiting various legal uncertainties about certain derivative products.

(6)

will spill over into other markets, perhaps creating a chain reaction. Much of the OTC derivatives market takes place among the OTC dealers themselves, thus creating a large interconnected web of financial obligations. This interconnectedness raises the possibility that a default by one large dealer could create losses for other dealers and destabilize the entire market for OTC derivative instruments.

Leverage Risk

Leverage risk is the risk that the Fund may be more volatile than if it had not been leveraged due to leverage’s tendency to exaggerate the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of the Fund’s portfolio. The use of leverage may also cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet segregation requirements.

Liquidity Risk

Whether or not the securities held by the Fund are listed on a securities exchange, the principal trading market for certain of the securities may be in the OTC market. As a result, the existence of a liquid trading market for the securities may depend on whether dealers will make a market in the securities. Certain regions, countries or asset types may also suffer periods of relative illiquidity. There can be no assurance that a market will be made for any of the securities, that any market for the securities will be maintained or that there will be sufficient liquidity of the securities in any markets made. The price at which the securities are held by the Fund will be adversely affected if trading markets for the securities are limited or absent.

Market Risk

Market risk is the risk that a particular security, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic, political, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of the Fund could decline in value or underperform other investments due to short-term market movements or any longer periods during more prolonged market downturns. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, natural disasters or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. Such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. Such events could adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio securities or other instruments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of a Fund’s shares and result in increased market volatility. During any such events, the Fund’s shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.

Health crises caused by the outbreak of infectious diseases or other public health issues, may exacerbate other pre-existing political, social, economic, market and financial risks. The impact of any such events, could negatively affect the global economy, as well as the economies of individual countries or regions, the financial performance of individual companies, sectors and industries, and the markets in general in significant and unforeseen ways. Any such impact could adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the securities and other instruments in which the Fund invests and negatively impact the Fund’s investment return. For example, an outbreak of a respiratory disease designated as COVID-19 was first detected in China in December 2019 and subsequently spread internationally. The ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against future variants of the disease. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may be short term or may last for an extended period of time, and in either case could result in a substantial economic downturn or recession.

In addition, the operations of the Fund, the Advisor and the Fund’s other service providers may be significantly impacted, or even temporarily or permanently halted, as a result of government quarantine measures, voluntary and precautionary restrictions on travel or meetings and other factors related to a public health emergency, including its potential adverse impact on the health of any such entity’s personnel.

Securities Lending Risk

securities lent, whether due to inaccurate pricing of the collateral, adverse market movements in the value of the collateral, intra-day increases in the value of the securities lent, a deterioration in the credit rating of the collateral issuer, or the illiquidity of the market in which the collateral is traded. Securities lending also entails operational risks, such as settlement failures or delays in the settlement of instructions. Such failures or delays may restrict the ability of the Fund to meet delivery or payment obligations. Lastly, securities lending activities may result in adverse tax consequences for the Fund and its shareholders. For instance, substitute payments for dividends received by the Fund for securities loaned out by the Fund will not be considered qualified dividend income. The Fund could lose money if its short-term investment of the collateral declines in value over the period of the loan.

Management of the Fund

Trustees and Officers

The general supervision of the duties performed for the Fund under the investment management agreement is the responsibility of the Board of Trustees. There are six Trustees of the Trust, one of whom is an “interested person” (as the term is defined in the 1940 Act) and five of whom are Trustees who are not officers or employees of First Trust or any of its affiliates (“Independent Trustees”). The Trustees set broad policies for the Fund, choose the Trust’s officers and hire the Trust’s investment advisor. The officers of the Trust manage its day-to-day operations and are responsible to the Board of Trustees. The following is a list of the Trustees and executive officers of the Trust and a statement of their present positions and principal occupations during the past five years, the number of portfolios each Trustee oversees and the other directorships they have held during the past five years, if applicable. Each Trustee has been elected for an indefinite term. The officers of the Trust serve indefinite terms. Each Trustee, except for James A. Bowen, is an Independent Trustee. Mr. Bowen is deemed an “interested person” (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) (“Interested Trustee”) of the Trust due to his position as Chief Executive Officer of First Trust, investment advisor to the Fund. The following table identifies the Trustees and Officers of the Trust. Unless otherwise indicated, the address of all persons below is c/o First Trust Advisors L.P., 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400, Wheaton, IL 60187.

Name and Year of Birth	Position and Offices with Trust	Term of Office and Year First Elected or Appointed	Principal Occupations During Past 5 Years	Number of Portfolios in the First Trust Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee	Other Trusteeships or Directorships Held by Trustee During the Past 5 Years
TRUSTEE WHO IS AN INTERESTED PERSON OF THE TRUST
James A. Bowen (1) 1955	Chairman of the Board and Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Chief Executive Officer, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.; Chairman of the Board of Directors, BondWave LLC (Software Development Company) and Stonebridge Advisors LLC (Investment Advisor)	268 Portfolios	None
INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES
Richard E. Erickson 1951	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Retired; Physician, Edward-Elmhurst Medical Group (2021 to September 2023); Physician and Officer, Wheaton Orthopedics (1990 to 2021)	268 Portfolios	None
Thomas R. Kadlec 1957	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Retired; President, ADM Investor Services, Inc. (Futures Commission Merchant) (2010 to July 2022)	268 Portfolios	Director, National Futures Association; formerly, Director of ADM Investor Services, Inc., ADM Investor Services International, ADMIS Hong Kong Ltd., ADMIS Singapore Ltd. and Futures Industry Association

Name and Year of Birth	Position and Offices with Trust	Term of Office and Year First Elected or Appointed	Principal Occupations During Past 5 Years	Number of Portfolios in the First Trust Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee	Other Trusteeships or Directorships Held by Trustee During the Past 5 Years
INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES
Denise M. Keefe 1964	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since 2021	Executive Vice President, Advocate Aurora Health and President, Advocate Aurora Continuing Health Division (Integrated Healthcare System)	268 Portfolios	Director and Board Chair of Advocate Home Health Services, Advocate Home Care Products and Advocate Hospice; Director and Board Chair of Aurora At Home (since 2018); Director of Advocate Physician Partners Accountable Care Organization; Director of RML Long Term Acute Care Hospitals; Director of Senior Helpers (since 2021); and Director of MobileHelp (since 2022)
Robert F. Keith 1956	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	President, Hibs Enterprises (Financial and Management Consulting)	268 Portfolios	Formerly, Director of Trust Company of Illinois
Niel B. Nielson 1954	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Senior Advisor (2018 to present), Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer (2015 to 2018), Pelita Harapan Educational Foundation (Educational Products and Services)	268 Portfolios	None

Name and Year of Birth	Position and Offices with Trust	Term of Office and Length of Service	Principal Occupations During Past 5 Years
ADVISORY BOARD
Bronwyn Wright (2) 1971	Advisory Board Member	•Indefinite term •Since 2023	Independent Director to a number of Irish collective investment funds (2009 to present); Various roles at international affiliates of Citibank (1994 to 2009), including Managing Director, Citibank Europe plc and Head of Securities and Fund Services, Citi Ireland (2007 to 2009)
OFFICERS OF THE TRUST
James M. Dykas 1966	President and Chief Executive Officer	•Indefinite term •Since 2016	Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.; Chief Financial Officer, BondWave LLC (Software Development Company) and Stonebridge Advisors LLC (Investment Advisor)
W. Scott Jardine 1960	Secretary and Chief Legal Officer	•Indefinite term •Since inception	General Counsel, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.; Secretary and General Counsel, BondWave LLC; and Secretary, Stonebridge Advisors LLC
Daniel J. Lindquist 1970	Vice President	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Managing Director, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Kristi A. Maher 1966	Chief Compliance Officer and Assistant Secretary	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Deputy General Counsel, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Derek D. Maltbie 1972	Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer	•Indefinite term •Since 2023	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P., July 2021 – present. Previously, Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P., 2014 –2021.

Name and Year of Birth	Position and Offices with Trust	Term of Office and Length of Service	Principal Occupations During Past 5 Years
Roger F. Testin 1966	Vice President	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Stan Ueland 1970	Vice President	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.

(1)

Mr. Bowen is deemed an “interested person” of the Trust due to his position as Chief Executive Officer of First Trust, investment advisor of the Fund.

(2)

Unitary Board Leadership Structure

The management of the Fund, including general supervision of the duties performed for the Fund under the investment management agreement between the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Advisor, is the responsibility of the Board of Trustees. The Trustees set broad policies for the Fund, choose the Trust’s officers and hire the Fund's investment advisor, sub-advisors and other service providers. The officers of the Trust manage the day-to-day operations and are responsible to the Board. The Board is composed of five Independent Trustees and one Interested Trustee. The Interested Trustee, James A. Bowen, serves as the Chairman of the Board for each fund in the First Trust Fund Complex.

Annually, the Board reviews its governance structure and the committee structures, their performance and functions, and it reviews any processes that would enhance Board governance over the Fund's business. The Board has determined that its leadership structure, including the unitary board and committee structure, is appropriate based on the characteristics of the funds it serves and the characteristics of the First Trust Fund Complex as a whole.

Independent Trustees may delegate to the Lead Independent Trustee. The Lead Independent Trustee is selected by the Independent Trustees and serves for such term as approved by the Independent Trustees or until his or her successor is selected. Robert F. Keith currently serves as the Lead Independent Trustee.

The Board has established five standing committees (as described below) and has delegated certain of its responsibilities to those committees. The Board and its committees meet frequently throughout the year to oversee the Fund's activities, review contractual arrangements with and performance of service providers, oversee compliance with regulatory requirements and review Fund performance. The Independent Trustees are represented by independent legal counsel at all Board and committee meetings (other than meetings of the Dividend Committee). Generally, the Board acts by majority vote of all the Trustees, including a majority vote of the Independent Trustees if required by applicable law.

The Nominating and Governance Committee is responsible for appointing and nominating non-interested persons to the Board of Trustees. Messrs. Erickson, Kadlec, Keith, Nielson and Ms. Keefe are members of the Nominating and Governance Committee. If there is no vacancy on the Board of Trustees, the Board will not actively seek recommendations from other parties, including shareholders. The Board of Trustees has adopted a mandatory retirement age of 75 for Independent Trustees, beyond which age Independent Trustees are ineligible to serve. The Committee will not consider new trustee candidates who are 72 years of age or older or will turn 72 years old during the initial term. When a vacancy on the Board of Trustees occurs or is anticipated to occur and nominations are sought to fill such vacancy, the Nominating and Governance Committee may seek nominations from those sources it deems appropriate in its discretion, including shareholders of the Fund. To submit a recommendation for nomination as a candidate for a position on the Board of Trustees, shareholders of the Fund should mail such recommendation to W. Scott Jardine, Secretary, at the Trust’s address, 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400, Wheaton, Illinois 60187. Such recommendation shall include the following information: (i) evidence of Fund ownership of the person or entity recommending the candidate (if a Fund shareholder); (ii) a full description of the proposed candidate’s background, including education, experience, current employment and date of birth; (iii) names and addresses of at least three professional references for the candidate; (iv) information as to whether the candidate is an “interested person” in relation to the Fund, as such term is defined in the 1940 Act, and such other information that may be considered to impair the candidate’s independence; and (v) any other information that may be helpful to the Committee in evaluating the candidate. If a recommendation is received with satisfactorily completed information regarding a candidate during a time when a vacancy exists on the Board or during such other time as the Nominating and Governance Committee is accepting recommendations, the recommendation will be forwarded to the Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee and to counsel to the Independent Trustees. During the last fiscal year, the Nominating and Governance Committee held four meetings.

The Valuation Committee is responsible for the oversight of the Advisor as the "Valuation Designee" under Rule 2a-5 of the 1940 Act and its implementation of the valuation of the securities held in the Fund's portfolio. Messrs. Erickson, Kadlec, Keith, Nielson and Ms. Keefe are members of the Valuation Committee. During the last fiscal year, the Valuation Committee held four meetings.

The Audit Committee is responsible for overseeing the Fund’s accounting and financial reporting process, the system of internal controls and audit process and for evaluating and appointing independent auditors (subject also to Board approval). Messrs. Erickson, Kadlec, Keith, Nielson and Ms. Keefe serve on the Audit Committee. During the last fiscal year, the Audit Committee held eight meetings.

The Dividend Committee is responsible for assisting the Board in, or assuming the authority and power of the Board with respect to, the declaration and setting of the Fund's dividends. Messrs. Keith and Kadlec serve on the Dividend Committee. During the last fiscal year, the Dividend Committee did not hold any meetings.

Advisory Board

Executive Officers

Risk Oversight

As part of the general oversight of the Fund, the Board is involved in the risk oversight of the Fund. The Board has adopted and periodically reviews policies and procedures designed to address the Fund’s risks. Oversight of investment and compliance risk is performed primarily at the Board level in conjunction with the Advisor’s investment oversight group and the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”). Oversight of other risks also occurs at the committee level. The Advisor’s investment oversight group reports to the Board at quarterly meetings regarding, among other things, Fund performance and the various drivers of such performance. The Board reviews reports on the Fund's and the service providers’ compliance policies and procedures at each quarterly Board meeting and receives an annual report from the CCO regarding the operations of the Fund's and the service providers’ compliance programs. In addition, the Independent Trustees meet privately each quarter with the CCO. The Audit Committee reviews, with the Advisor and the Fund's independent auditors, the Fund’s major financial risk exposures and the steps the Advisor has taken to monitor and control these exposures, including the Fund’s risk assessment and risk management policies and guidelines. The Audit Committee also, as appropriate, reviews in a general manner the processes other Board committees have in place with respect to risk assessment and risk management. The Nominating and Governance Committee monitors all matters related to the corporate governance of the Trust. The Valuation Committee monitors valuation risk and oversees the Advisor's performance as Valuation Designee.

Not all risks that may affect the Fund can be identified nor can controls be developed to eliminate or mitigate their occurrence or effects. It may not be practical or cost effective to eliminate or mitigate certain risks, the processes and controls employed to address certain risks may be limited in their effectiveness, and some risks are simply beyond the reasonable control of the Fund or the Advisor or other service providers. For instance, as the use of Internet technology has become more prevalent, the Fund and its service providers have become more susceptible to potential operational risks through breaches in cyber security (generally, intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund or a service provider to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity). There can be no guarantee that any risk management systems established by the Fund, its service providers, or issuers of the securities in which the Fund invests to reduce cyber security risks will succeed, and the Fund cannot control such systems put in place by service providers, issuers or other third parties whose operations may affect the Fund and/or its shareholders. Moreover, it is necessary to bear certain risks (such as investment-related risks) to achieve the Fund's goals. As a result of the foregoing and other factors, the Fund's ability to manage risk is subject to substantial limitations.

Board Diversification and Trustee Qualifications

certain basic requirements, including relevant skills and experience, time availability and, if qualifying as an Independent Trustee, independence from the Advisor, underwriters or other service providers, including any affiliates of these entities.

The following table sets forth the total compensation (including reimbursement for travel and out-of-pocket expenses) paid by the Fund and the First Trust Fund Complex to each of the Independent Trustees for the fiscal year and the calendar year ended December 31, 2023, respectively. The Trust has no retirement or pension plans. The officers and Trustee who are “interested persons” as designated above serve without any compensation from the Trust. The Trust has no employees. Its officers are compensated by First Trust.

Name of Trustee	Total Compensation from the Fund (1)	Total Compensation from the First Trust Fund Complex (2)
Richard E. Erickson	$1,917	$572,000
Thomas R. Kadlec	$1,916	$567,000
Denise M. Keefe	$1,914	$547,000
Robert F. Keith	$1,917	$577,000
Niel B. Nielson	$1,916	$567,000

(1)

The compensation paid by the Fund to the Independent Trustees for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 for services to the Fund.

(2)

The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by the Trustees in the Fund and in other funds overseen by the Trustees in the First Trust Fund Complex as of December 31, 2023:

Trustee	Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Fund (Number of Shares Held)	Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities in All Registered Investment Companies Overseen by Trustee in the First Trust Fund Complex
Interested Trustee
James A. Bowen	None	Over $100,000
Independent Trustees
Richard E. Erickson	None	Over $100,000
Thomas R. Kadlec	None	Over $100,000
Denise M. Keefe	None	Over $100,000
Robert F. Keith	None	Over $100,000
Niel B. Nielson	None	Over $100,000

As of March 31, 2024, the Independent Trustees of the Trust and their immediate family members did not own beneficially or of record any class of securities of an investment advisor or principal underwriter of the Fund or any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with an investment advisor or principal underwriter of the Fund.

As of March 31, 2024, the officers and Trustees, in the aggregate, owned less than 1% of the shares of the Fund.

The table set forth in Exhibit A shows the percentage ownership of each shareholder or “group” (as that term is used in Section 13(d) of the 1934 Act, who, based on the securities position listing reports as of March 31, 2024, owned of record, or is known by the Trust to have owned of record or beneficially, 5% or more of the shares of the Fund (the “Principal Holders”). A control person is one who owns, either directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the voting securities of the Fund or acknowledges the existence of control. A party that controls the Fund may be able to significantly influence the outcome of any item presented to shareholders for approval. The Fund does not have any knowledge of who the ultimate beneficiaries are of the shares.

Investment Advisor. First Trust, 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, is the investment advisor to the Fund. First Trust is a limited partnership with one limited partner, Grace Partners of DuPage L.P., and one general partner, The Charger Corporation. Grace Partners of DuPage L.P. is a limited partnership with one general partner, The Charger Corporation, and a number of limited partners. The Charger Corporation is an Illinois corporation controlled by James A. Bowen, the Chief Executive Officer of First Trust. First Trust discharges its responsibilities to the Fund subject to the policies of the Fund.

First Trust acts as investment advisor for the Fund and manages the investment and reinvestment of the assets of the Fund. First Trust also administers the Trust’s business affairs, provides office facilities and equipment and certain clerical, bookkeeping and administrative services, and permits any of its officers or employees to serve without compensation as Trustees or officers of the Trust if elected to such positions.

Pursuant to an investment agreement between First Trust and the Trust, on behalf of the Fund (the “Investment Management Agreement”), First Trust oversees the Sub-Advisor's investment of the Fund's assets and is responsible for paying all expenses of the Fund, excluding the fee payments under the Investment Management Agreement, interest, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses connected with the execution of portfolio transactions, distribution and service fees payable pursuant to a Rule 12b-1 plan, if any, and extraordinary expenses.

The Fund has agreed to pay First Trust an annual unitary management fee equal to 0.90% of its average daily net assets.

Under the Investment Management Agreement, First Trust shall not be liable for any loss sustained by reason of the purchase, sale or retention of any security, whether or not such purchase, sale or retention shall have been based upon the investigation and research made by any other individual, firm or corporation, if such recommendation shall have been selected with due care and in good faith, except loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of First Trust in the performance of its obligations and duties, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties. The Investment Management Agreement terminates automatically upon assignment and is terminable at any time without penalty as to the Fund by the Board of Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, or by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities on 60 days’ written notice to First Trust, or by First Trust on 60 days’ written notice to the Fund.

As approved by the Trust’s Board of Trustees, the management fee paid to the Advisor will be reduced at certain levels of Fund net assets (“breakpoints”) and calculated pursuant to the schedule below:

Management Fee	Breakpoints
0.90000%	Fund net assets up to and including $2.5 billion
0.87750%	Fund net assets greater than $2.5 billion up to and including $5 billion
0.85500%	Fund net assets greater than $5 billion up to and including $7.5 billion
0.83250%	Fund net assets greater than $7.5 billion up to and including $10 billion
0.81000%	Fund net assets greater than $10 billion

During any period in which the Advisor’s management fee is reduced in accordance with the breakpoints described above, the investment sub-advisory fee (which is based on the Advisor’s management fee) paid to Vest Financial LLC, the Fund’s investment sub-advisor, will be reduced to reflect the reduction in the Advisor’s management fee.

The following table sets forth the unitary management fee paid by the Fund to First Trust for the specified periods.

Amount of Unitary Fees
Inception Date	Fiscal Year Ended December 31,		Fiscal Period Ended December 31, 2021
	2023	2022
1/20/2021	$159,791	$132,159	$74,712

Sub-Advisor

The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and First Trust have retained Vest Financial LLC ("Vest" or the "Sub-Advisor"), to serve as investment sub-advisor to the Fund pursuant to a sub-advisory agreement (the "Sub-Advisory Agreement"). In this capacity, Vest is responsible for the selection and ongoing monitoring of the securities in the Fund’s investment portfolios. Vest, with principal offices at 8350 Broad Street, Suite 240, McLean, VA 22102, was founded in 2012, and is a Delaware LLC. Vest had approximately $24.4 billion under management or committed to management as of December 31, 2023.

The Sub-Advisor is a subsidiary of Vest Group, Inc. (“VG”). First Trust Capital Partners, LLC (“FTCP”), an affiliate of First Trust, is the largest single holder of voting shares in VG.

Karan Sood and Howard Rubin are the Fund’s portfolio managers and are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s investment portfolio.

•

Mr. Rubin, CFA, has over 25 years of experience as a Portfolio Manager. Mr. Rubin joined Vest in 2017. Prior to joining Vest, Mr. Rubin served as Director of Portfolio Management at ProShare Advisors LLC from December 2007 to September 2013. Mr. Rubin also served as Senior Portfolio Manager of ProFund Advisors LLC since November 2004 and Portfolio Manager of ProFund Advisors LLC from April 2000 through November 2004. Mr. Rubin holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. Mr. Rubin received a master’s degree in Finance from George Washington University. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Wharton School of Finance, University of Pennsylvania.

As of December 31, 2023, Mr. Sood and Mr. Rubin each beneficially owned shares of the Fund in the $1-$10,000 range.

Compensation. The Portfolio Managers do not receive compensation that is based upon the Fund, any separate account strategy, partnership or any other commingled account’s, or any private account’s pre- or after-tax performance, or the value of the assets held by such entities. The Portfolio Managers do not receive any special or additional compensation from the Sub-Advisor for their service as Portfolio Managers. The Portfolio Managers receive a salary from the Sub-Advisor. In addition to base salary, the Portfolio Managers may receive additional bonus compensation which is tied to the overall financial operating results of the Sub-Advisor's parent company, VG.

Conflicts of Interest. Each Portfolio Manager’s management of “other accounts” may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in connection with his management of the Fund's investments, on the one hand, and the investments of the other accounts, on the other. The other accounts may have the same investment objective as the Fund. Therefore, a potential conflict of interest may arise as a result of the identical investment objectives, whereby a Portfolio Manager could favor one account over another. Another potential conflict could include the Portfolio Manager’s knowledge about the size, timing and possible market impact of Fund trades, whereby a Portfolio Manager could use this information to the advantage of other accounts and to the disadvantage of the Fund. However, the Sub-Advisor has established policies and procedures to ensure that the purchase and sale of securities among all accounts it manages are fairly and equitably allocated.

The Sub-Advisory Agreement. The Sub-Advisor, subject to the Board of Trustees’ and Advisor’s supervision, provides the Fund with discretionary investment services. Specifically, the Sub-Advisor is responsible for managing the investments of the Fund in accordance with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions as provided in the Prospectus and this SAI, as may be subsequently changed by the Board of Trustees and communicated to the Sub-Advisor in writing. The Sub-Advisor further agrees to conform to all applicable laws and regulations of the SEC in all material respects and to conduct its activities under the Sub-Advisory Agreement in all material respects in accordance with applicable regulations of any governmental authority pertaining to its investment advisory services. In the performance of its duties, the Sub-Advisor will in all material respects satisfy any applicable fiduciary duties it may have to the Fund, will monitor the Fund’s investments and will comply with the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws, as amended from time to time, and the stated investment objective, policies and restrictions of the Fund. The Sub-Advisor is responsible for effecting all security transactions for the Fund’s assets. The Sub-Advisory Agreement provides that the Sub-Advisor shall generally not be liable for any loss suffered by the Fund or the Advisor (including, without limitation, by reason of the purchase, sale or retention of any security) in connection with the performance of the Sub-Advisor’s duties under the Sub-Advisory Agreement, except for a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of the Sub-Advisor in performance of its duties under the Sub-Advisory Agreement, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under the Sub-Advisory Agreement.

Pursuant to the Sub-Advisory Agreement, the Advisor has agreed to pay for the services and facilities provided by the Sub-Advisor through sub-advisory fees. The Sub-Advisor’s fees are paid by the Advisor out of the Advisor’s management fee. For the Fund, the Sub-Advisor receives a sub-advisory fee equal to 50% of any remaining monthly unitary management fee paid to the Advisor after the average Fund’s expenses accrued during the most recent twelve months are subtracted from the unitary management fee for that month. The following table sets forth the sub-advisory fees paid to the Sub-Advisor by the Advisor for the specified periods.

Amount of Sub-Advisory Fees
Inception Date	Fiscal Year Ended December 31,		Fiscal Period Ended December 31, 2021
	2023	2022
1/20/2021	$20,815	$14,781	$2,802

The Sub-Advisory Agreement may be terminated without the payment of any penalty by First Trust, the Board of Trustees, or a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund (as defined in the 1940 Act), upon 60 days’ written notice to the Sub-Advisor.

All fees and expenses are accrued daily and deducted before payment of dividends to investors. The Sub-Advisory Agreement has been approved by the Board of Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Trustees of the Fund, and the common shareholders of the Fund.

Accounts Managed by Portfolio Managers

The portfolio managers manage the investment vehicles (other than the Fund) with the number of accounts and assets, as of December 31, 2023, as set forth in the table below:

Portfolio Managers	Registered Investment Companies Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Other Pooled Investment Vehicles Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Other Accounts Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Registered Investment Companies With Performance Fees Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Other Pooled Investment Vehicles With Performance Fees Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Other Accounts With Performance Fees Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)
Karan Sood	78 ($21,515,982)	9 ($167,826)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Howard Rubin	78 ($21,515,982)	9 ($167,826)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Brokerage Allocations

The Sub-Advisor is responsible for decisions to buy and sell securities for the Fund and for the placement of the Fund's securities business, the negotiation of the commissions to be paid on brokered transactions, the prices for principal trades in securities, and the allocation of portfolio brokerage and principal business. It is the policy of the Sub-Advisor to seek the best execution at the best security price available with respect to each transaction, and with respect to brokered transactions in light of the overall quality of brokerage and research services provided to the Sub-Advisor and its clients. The best price to the Fund means the best net price without regard to the mix between purchase or sale price and commission, if any. Purchases may be made from underwriters, dealers and, on occasion, the issuers. Commissions will be paid on the Fund's futures and options transactions, if any. The purchase price of portfolio securities purchased from an underwriter or dealer may include underwriting commissions and dealer spreads. The Fund may pay markups on principal transactions. In selecting broker-dealers and in negotiating commissions, the Sub-Advisor considers, among other things, the firm’s reliability, the quality of its execution services on a continuing basis and its financial condition. Fund portfolio transactions may be effected with broker-dealers who have assisted investors in the purchase of shares.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, in selecting brokers, the Sub-Advisor may in the future consider investment and market information and other research, such as economic, securities and performance measurement research, provided by such brokers, and the quality and reliability of brokerage services, including execution capability, performance and financial responsibility. Accordingly, the commissions charged by any such broker may be greater than the amount another firm might charge if the Sub-Advisor determines in good faith that the amount of such commissions is reasonable in relation to the value of the research information and brokerage services provided by such broker to the Sub-Advisor or the Trust. In addition, the Sub-Advisor must determine that the research information received in this manner provides the Fund with benefits by supplementing the research otherwise available to the Fund. The Investment Management Agreement provides that such

higher commissions will not be paid by the Fund unless First Trust determines in good faith that the amount is reasonable in relation to the services provided. The investment advisory fees paid by the Fund to First Trust under the Investment Management Agreement would not be reduced as a result of receipt by the Sub-Advisor of research services.

The Sub-Advisor places portfolio transactions for other advisory accounts advised by it, and research services furnished by firms through which the Fund effects its securities transactions may be used by the Sub-Advisor in servicing all of its accounts; not all of such services may be used by the Sub-Advisor in connection with the Fund. The Sub-Advisor believes it is not possible to measure separately the benefits from research services to each of the accounts (including the Fund) advised by it. Because the volume and nature of the trading activities of the accounts are not uniform, the amount of commissions in excess of those charged by another broker paid by each account for brokerage and research services will vary. However, the Sub-Advisor believes such costs to the Fund will not be disproportionate to the benefits received by the Fund on a continuing basis. The Sub-Advisor seeks to allocate portfolio transactions equitably whenever concurrent decisions are made to purchase or sell securities by the Fund and another advisory account. In some cases, this procedure could have an adverse effect on the price or the amount of securities available to the Fund. In making such allocations between the Fund and other advisory accounts, the main factors considered by the Sub-Advisor are the respective investment objective, the relative size of portfolio holding of the same or comparable securities, the availability of cash for investment and the size of investment commitments generally held.

Brokerage Commissions

The following table sets forth the aggregate amount of brokerage commissions paid by the Fund for the specified periods.

Aggregate Amount of Brokerage Commissions
Inception Date	Fiscal Year Ended December 31,		Fiscal Period Ended December 31, 2021
	2023	2022
1/20/2021	$29,278	$24,106	$0

During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the Fund did not acquire shares of a regular broker or dealer of the Fund as defined in Rule 10b-1 under the 1940 Act.

Disclaimers

The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDR® Gold Trust and WGTS, or their affiliates. SPDR® Gold Trust and WGTS, or their affiliates have not passed on the legality or suitability of, or the accuracy or adequacy of, descriptions and disclosures relating to the Fund or the FLEX Options. SPDR® Gold Trust and WGTS, or their affiliates make no representations or warranties, express or implied, regarding the advisability of investing in the Fund or the FLEX Options or results to be obtained by the Fund or the FLEX Options, Unit holders or any other person or entity from use of the Underlying ETF. SPDR® Gold Trust and WGTS, or their affiliates have no liability in connection with the management, administration, marketing or trading of the Fund or the FLEX Options.

Administrator, Custodian, Transfer Agent, Fund Accountant, Distributor, Additional Service Provider and Exchange

Administrator. The Fund has appointed Bank of New York Mellon Corporation ("BNYM"), located at 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286, to serve as the Fund's administrator and provide the Fund with accounting services pursuant to a fund administration and accounting agreement (the “Administration and Accounting Agreement”). Under the Administration and Accounting Agreement, BNYM is obligated, on a continuous basis, to provide such administrative services as the Board reasonably deems necessary for the proper administration of the Trust and the Fund. BNYM generally will assist in many aspects of the Trust’s and the Fund's operations, including accounting, bookkeeping and record keeping services (including, without limitation, the maintenance of such books and records as are required under the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder, except as maintained by other service providers), assist in preparing reports to shareholders or investors, prepare and file tax returns, supply financial information and supporting data for reports to and filings with the SEC and various state Blue Sky authorities and supply supporting documentation for meetings of the Board.

Custodian. Pursuant to a custody agreement, BNYM serves as the custodian of the Fund’s and the Subsidiary's assets. The custodian holds and administers the assets in the Fund’s portfolio.

Transfer Agent. Pursuant to a transfer agency and service agreement, BNYM provides the Trust with transfer agency services, which includes Creation Unit Aggregation order processing.

The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has agreed to indemnify BNYM for certain liabilities, including certain liabilities arising under the federal securities laws, unless such loss or liability results from negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties. As compensation for these services, BNYM is paid a fee based on the Fund’s total average daily net assets. BNYM also is entitled to certain out-of-pocket expenses for the services described above. This fee is subject to reduction for assets over $1 billion. The Fund has not paid any fees to BNYM for the services provided as the Advisor has assumed responsibility for payment of these fees as part of the unitary management fee.

Distributor. First Trust Portfolios L.P., an affiliate of First Trust, is the distributor (“FTP” or the “Distributor”) and principal underwriter of the shares of the Fund. Its principal address is 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400, Wheaton, Illinois 60187. The Distributor has entered into a Distribution Agreement with the Trust pursuant to which it distributes Fund shares. Shares are continuously offered for sale by the Fund through the Distributor only in Creation Unit Aggregations, as described in the Prospectus and below under the heading “Creation and Redemption of Creation Unit Aggregations.”

For the fiscal period ended December 31, 2021, and the fiscal years ended December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2023, there were no underwriting commissions with respect to the sale of Fund shares, and FTP did not receive compensation on redemptions for the Fund for that period.

12b-1 Plan. The Trust has adopted a Plan of Distribution pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the “Plan”) pursuant to which the Fund may reimburse the Distributor up to a maximum annual rate of 0.25% of its average daily net assets.

No fee is currently paid by the Fund under the Plan and, pursuant to a contractual agreement, the Fund will not pay 12b-1 fees any time before April 30, 2025.

The Distribution Agreement provides that it may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, on at least 60 days’ written notice by the Trust to the Distributor (i) by vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees or (ii) by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund. The Distribution Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act).

The Distributor has entered into agreements with participants that utilize the facilities of the Depository Trust Company (the "DTC Participants"), which have international, operational, capabilities and place orders for Creation Unit Aggregations of Fund shares. Participating Parties (which are participants in the Continuous Net Settlement System of the National Securities Clearing Corporation) shall be DTC Participants.

Exchange. The only relationship that the Exchange has with First Trust or the Distributor of the Fund in connection with the Fund is that the Exchange lists the shares of the Fund and disseminates the intra-day portfolio values of the Fund pursuant to its listing agreement with the Trust. The Exchange is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of pricing or the timing of the issuance or sale of the shares of the Fund or in the determination or calculation of the net asset value of the Fund. The Exchange has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund.

Additional Payments to Financial Intermediaries

From time to time, First Trust and/or its affiliates, at its expense, may provide other compensation to intermediaries that sell or arrange for the sale of shares of the First Trust Funds, which may be in addition to marketing support and program servicing payments described above. For example, First Trust and/or its affiliates may: (i) compensate intermediaries for National Securities Clearing Corporation networking system services (e.g., shareholder communication, account statements, trade confirmations and tax reporting) on an asset-based or per-account basis; (ii) compensate intermediaries for providing Fund shareholder trading information; (iii) make one-time or periodic payments to reimburse selected intermediaries for items such as ticket charges (i.e., fees that an intermediary charges its representatives for effecting transactions in Fund shares) or exchange order, operational charges (e.g., fees that an intermediary charges for establishing the Fund on its trading system), and literature printing and/or distribution costs; (iv) at the direction of a retirement plan’s sponsor, reimburse or pay direct expenses of an employee benefit plan that would otherwise be payable by the plan; (v) provide payments to broker-dealers to help defray their technology or infrastructure costs; and (vi) make payments for expenses associated with intermediaries’ use of First Trust Funds including, but not limited to, the use of First Trust Funds in model portfolios.

seminars, sales or training programs for invited registered representatives and other intermediary employees, client and investor events and other intermediary-sponsored events, and for travel expenses, including lodging incurred by registered representatives and other employees in connection with prospecting, asset retention and due diligence trips. These payments may vary depending upon the nature of the event. First Trust and/or its affiliates make payments for such events as it deems appropriate, subject to its internal guidelines and applicable law.

The amounts of payments referenced above made by First Trust and/or its affiliates could be significant and may create an incentive for an intermediary or its representatives to recommend or offer shares of the First Trust Funds to its customers. The intermediary may elevate the prominence or profile of the First Trust Funds within the intermediary’s organization by, for example, placing the First Trust Funds on a list of preferred or recommended funds and/or granting First Trust and/or its affiliates preferential or enhanced opportunities to promote the First Trust Funds in various ways within the intermediary’s organization. These payments are made pursuant to negotiated agreements with intermediaries. The payments do not change the price paid by investors for the purchase of a share or the amount the Fund will receive as proceeds from such sales. Furthermore, many of these payments are not reflected in the fees and expenses listed in the fee table section of the Fund's Prospectus because they are not paid by the Fund. The types of payments described herein are not mutually exclusive, and a single intermediary may receive some or all types of payments as described.

Additional Information

Book Entry Only System. The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus.

DTC Acts as Securities Depository for Fund Shares. Shares of the Fund are represented by securities registered in the name of The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee, Cede & Co., and deposited with, or on behalf of, DTC.

and certain other organizations, some of whom (and/or their representatives) own DTC. More specifically, DTC is owned by a number of its DTC Participants and by the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") and FINRA. Access to the DTC system is also available to others such as banks, brokers, dealers and trust companies that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a DTC Participant, either directly or indirectly (the “Indirect Participants”).

Conveyance of all notices, statements and other communications to Beneficial Owners is effected as follows. Pursuant to a letter agreement between DTC and the Trust, DTC is required to make available to the Trust upon request and for a fee to be charged to the Trust a listing of the shares of the Fund held by each DTC Participant. The Trust shall inquire of each such DTC Participant as to the number of Beneficial Owners holding shares, directly or indirectly, through such DTC Participant. The Trust shall provide each such DTC Participant with copies of such notice, statement or other communication, in such form, number and at such place as such DTC Participant may reasonably request, in order that such notice, statement or communication may be transmitted by such DTC Participant, directly or indirectly, to such Beneficial Owners. In addition, the Trust shall pay to each such DTC Participants a fair and reasonable amount as reimbursement for the expenses attendant to such transmittal, all subject to applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

Fund distributions shall be made to DTC or its nominee, as the registered holder of all Fund shares. DTC or its nominee, upon receipt of any such distributions, shall immediately credit DTC Participants’ accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in shares of the Fund as shown on the records of DTC or its nominee. Payments by DTC Participants to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners of shares held through such DTC Participants will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is now the case with securities held for the accounts of customers in bearer form or registered in a “street name,” and will be the responsibility of such DTC Participants.

Policy Regarding Investment in Other Investment Companies. The Fund will not rely on Sections 12(d)(1)(F) or 12(d)(1)(G) of the 1940 Act to invest in other investment companies.

INFORMATION FOR INVESTORS IN THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA (“EEA”) ONLY

The following disclosures are included in this SAI solely for the purposes of compliance with the applicable EEA law and regulation resulting from, of and as a consequence of, the Fund’s registration or notification under the EU Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers (Directive (2011/61/EU)) (the “AIFM Directive”) national private placement regimes in certain European Union (“EU”) and EEA jurisdictions. The following disclosures are not intended for, and should not be relied on by, any investor other than an investor in the relevant EU and/or EEA jurisdictions because the rules, regulations and requirements applicable to the Fund in those jurisdictions as a result of their registration or notification differ from the rules, regulations and requirements applicable to the Fund under the Investment Company Act.

European Union’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation

intended to satisfy certain of such requirements. The SFDR requires the Advisor to determine, on a product-by-product basis, whether “sustainability risks” are relevant to the Advisor’s in-scope financial products, including the Fund.

Solely for the purposes of SFDR, the Advisor has determined that sustainability risks are not relevant to the Fund on the basis that the Fund invests principally in investments or asset classes which, in the opinion of the Advisor, are not ordinarily subject to sustainability risk as a material negative impact on the value of those investments, as such terms are interpreted and applied under SFDR.

Consequently, the Advisor does not integrate sustainability risks into its investment decision making for the Fund and the Advisor has not assessed the likely impacts of sustainability risks on the returns of the Fund, as such terms are interpreted and applied under SFDR.

The Advisor will keep its assessment that sustainability risks are not relevant to the Fund under regular review.

SFDR requires the Advisor to disclose whether, and if so how, it considers the principal adverse impacts (“PAIs”) of its investment decisions on sustainability factors, in accordance with a specific regime outlined in SFDR, in relation to the Fund. The Advisor does not consider the principal adverse impacts of its investment decisions on sustainability factors (either generally or in relation to the Fund).

In addition, the Advisor considers that its primary investment strategies and client relationships do not support adoption of the PAI regime within SFDR.

Information for Investors in the EEA Regarding Offering of the Fund

In relation to each Member State of the EEA which has implemented the AIFM Directive, the Prospectus, and any summary Prospectus or SAI relating to the Fund, may only be distributed and shares may only be offered or placed in a Member State to the extent that: (1) the Fund is permitted to be marketed to professional investors in the relevant Member State in accordance with the AIFM Directive (as implemented into the local law/regulations of the relevant Member State); or otherwise (2) the Prospectus and SAI may be lawfully distributed and the shares may lawfully be offered or placed in that Member State (including at the initiative of the investor).

In addition, the following restrictions apply to the distribution of the Prospectus and SAI in the following Member States:

Information for Investors in the United Kingdom

Subject always to the foregoing notice in respect of the EEA, this SAI is being issued in the United Kingdom by First Trust Global Portfolios Limited (which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”)) only to and/or is directed only at persons who are professional clients or eligible counterparties for the purposes of the FCA’s Conduct of Business Sourcebook. The opportunity to invest in the Fund is only available to such persons in the United Kingdom, and the Prospectus and SAI must not be relied on or acted upon by any other persons in the United Kingdom.

Information for Investors in Ireland

(a)

(b)

in any way which would require the publication of a prospectus under the Companies Act 2014 or any regulations made thereunder; or

(c)

in Ireland except in all circumstances that will result in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations in Ireland.

AIFM Directive Disclosures

Background. The AIFM Directive is an EU directive which regulates the management and marketing of funds within the EEA. The AIFM Directive distinguishes between EU and non-EU funds and EU and non-EU fund managers and different obligations apply under the AIFM Directive depending on where the fund is based and where the manager is based. Certain disclosure, transparency and reporting obligations are imposed on non-EU fund managers wishing to market funds to investors in the EEA. There are additional requirements imposed on EU fund managers, which do not currently apply to First Trust.

To the extent not already disclosed to you prior to your investment in the Fund, the purpose of this section of this SAI is to satisfy the disclosures which are required to be provided to you under the AIFM Directive.

Overview of the Fund and the Service Providers. The Fund is a non-EU AIFs (“AIF” means an alternative investment fund for the purposes of the AIFM Directive).

First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust”) is the AIFM of the Fund (“AIFM” means an alternative investment fund manager for the purposes of the AIFM Directive). First Trust is a non-EU AIFM.

The Trust has entered into agreements with various service providers including First Trust (as the Investment Advisor), the Custodian, Distributor, Transfer Agent, Administrator, index providers and the exchange where the Fund is listed in respect of the Fund. Further details regarding the duties and roles of such service providers can be found in the Prospectus and this SAI for the Fund.

In addition to the parties listed above, the Trust has appointed (i) Chapman and Cutler LLP as its legal counsel which advises it on US legal matters; (ii) Deloitte & Touche LLP as the Fund’s auditors who undertake to audit the Fund’s financial statements in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) (United States); and (iii) CT Corporation System as the Fund’s registered agent.

First Trust is not required to ensure that the Fund appoints, and the Fund has not appointed, a depositary for purposes of the AIFM Directive. (A depositary in the context of the AIFM Directive, has a specific role and function. The appointment of such depositary is not required for non-EU AIFs with non-EU AIFMs). As such, investors in the Fund have no rights as against any person in respect of the duties or liabilities of a depositary under the AIFM Directive.

Investors’ Contractual Rights. In respect of each of the service providers to the Fund, investors who purchase shares in the Fund in the secondary market have no direct rights of action against the service providers, as a matter of contract law or under the establishment documents of the Trust. The proper plaintiff in an action in respect of which a wrongdoing is alleged to have been committed against the Fund or the Trust by a service provider is, prima facie, the Trust itself. An investor may bring a derivative or similar action or proceeding (“Derivative Action”) against the Trust or the Fund to recover a judgment in its favor in accordance with the provisions of the Declaration. Accordingly, investors would have no direct contractual right against the relevant service provider for breach of the agreement governing its appointment by the Trust. The foregoing disclosure is without prejudice to such other rights of action (for example, under the securities laws, tort law or in respect of breach of fiduciary duty) which might in certain situations be separately available to investors.

Investment in the Fund. Investors will buy shares in the Fund in secondary market transactions through brokers and will not subscribe for shares from the Trust directly. As such, there is no direct contractual relationship between the Fund and the investor in connection with the purchase or sale of shares. While the Fund is established under Massachusetts law and Massachusetts law does facilitate the enforcement of judgments obtained in foreign jurisdictions, investors who buy shares on the secondary market will have no direct contractual right of action against the Fund. Investors should refer to “How to Buy and Sell Shares” in the main body of the Prospectus for more detail. The foregoing disclosure is without prejudice to such other rights of action (for example, under the securities laws, tort law or in respect of breach of fiduciary duty) which might in certain situations be separately available to investors.

Redemption from the Fund. Non-US investors will sell shares in secondary market transactions through brokers and will not redeem shares from the Fund directly. Shares can be sold throughout the trading day like other publicly traded shares. Investors should refer to “How to Buy and Sell Shares” in the main body of the Prospectus for more detail.

Liquidity Risk Management. Investors should note that while First Trust is not required to implement liquidity management arrangements in accordance with the AIFM Directive in respect of the Fund, the Fund is subject to the liquidity limitations established by the SEC. The Trustees have delegated to First Trust the day-to-day determination of illiquidity of equity and fixed income securities as described under “Illiquid Investments” in this SAI.

Treatment of Investors. The Trust and the AIFM do not offer any investors preferential treatment or the right to obtain preferential treatment. Whilst the Trust does not take specific steps to ensure the fair treatment of investors, under the 1940 Act the Trustees are required to monitor how the Fund operates and oversee matters where the interests of the Fund and its shareholders may differ from those of its investment adviser.

First Trust is registered as an investment adviser with the SEC, and is subject to regulation and oversight designed to protect shareholders. Under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, First Trust is a fiduciary to its clients, including the Fund, and is therefore required to act in the best interests of clients and to place the interests of clients before its own.

Information Regarding the Use of Leverage and Collateral. The AIFM Directive requires disclosure of certain information relating to leverage, collateral and asset re-use arrangements. The Fund may obtain leverage through the use of derivatives and other non-fully funded investments such as reverse repurchase agreements, firm commitment agreements and standby commitment agreements if, and to the extent that, such transactions are (i) disclosed in the Fund’s Prospectus and SAI and (ii) deemed appropriate investments by First Trust. These leveraged trading practices generally have not been prohibited by the SEC, though the SEC has published guidance on the manner in which the Fund may cover its leveraged trading practices to limit leverage and avoid the need to address the leverage concerns in Section 18 of the 1940 Act, which severely restricts how the Fund may use leverage. All arrangements entered into by First Trust on behalf of the Fund which result in leverage follow the parameter of the guidance published by the SEC.

As a non-EU AIFM, First Trust is not obliged to set a maximum permitted level of leverage which it may employ in its management of the Fund. The total amount of leverage employed by the Fund is provided at www.ftglobalportfolios.com.

Investors should refer to the “Investment Objectives and Policies” and “Investment Strategies” section of this SAI for more details on the use and risk of leverage by the Fund.

Shareholder Voting Rights. The Declaration requires a shareholder vote only on those matters where the 1940 Act requires a vote of shareholders and otherwise permits the Trustees to take actions without seeking the consent of shareholders. The Fund’s fundamental policies, as described in the “Investment Objectives and Policies” section of this SAI, may not be changed without approval of the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as such term is defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund. The 1940 Act defines a majority vote as the vote of the lesser of (i) 67% or more of the voting securities represented at a meeting at which more than 50% of the outstanding securities are represented; or (ii) more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities.

Net Asset Value. The latest NAV of the Fund, and the latest NAV per share of each class of share of the Fund, is available online at: www.ftglobalportfolios.com and online stock quote services. Generally investors will buy and sell shares of the Fund in secondary market transactions through brokers. Shares of the Fund will therefore be available at the relevant market price rather than NAV.

The historical performance of the Fund since inception is available online at: www.ftglobalportfolios.com.

disclosures for the purposes of the AIFM Directive have been made. Notwithstanding this, First Trust and the Fund continue to comply with their requirements under US law.

Periodic Disclosure Obligations. The following information will be disclosed to Fund shareholders on a periodic basis by way of a posting being made on www.ftglobalportfolios.com:

•

the percentage of the Fund’s assets, if any, that are subject to special arrangements arising from their illiquid nature (including, but not limited to, deferrals of redemptions and suspensions);

•

the current risk profile of the Fund and the risk management systems employed by the AIFM to manage those risks; and

•

the total amount of leverage employed by the Fund, if any.

Whenever any new arrangements for managing the liquidity of the Fund are introduced including, but not limited to, any material changes to the liquidity management systems and procedures employed by First Trust, a disclosure to this effect will be uploaded on the Fund’s website. The Fund will ensure that a notice is uploaded on an expedited basis whenever deferrals or other similar special arrangements are activated or where redemptions of shares are suspended.

A notice will be posted without undue delay whenever there is a change to a maximum level of leverage which may be employed on behalf of the Fund; and any changes are made to the right of re-use of collateral or any changes to any guarantee granted under any leveraging arrangement.

INFORMATION FOR INVESTORS IN HONG KONG ONLY

INFORMATION FOR INVESTORS IN SINGAPORE ONLY

INFORMATION FOR INVESTORS IN TAIWAN ONLY

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

The Trust has adopted a proxy voting policy that seeks to ensure that proxies for securities held by the Fund are voted consistently with the best interests of the Fund.

The Board has delegated to Vest the day-to-day proxy voting responsibilities for the Fund and has directed Vest to vote proxies consistent with the Fund's best interests. Vest’s Proxy Voting Guidelines are set forth in Exhibit B.

Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies (if any) relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available upon request and without charge on the Fund's website at www.ftportfolios.com, by calling (800) 621-1675 or by accessing the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Portfolio Schedule. The Fund files portfolio holdings information for each month in a fiscal quarter within 60 days after the end of the relevant fiscal quarter on Form N-PORT. Portfolio holdings information for the third month of each fiscal quarter will be publicly available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. The Fund’s complete schedule of portfolio holdings for the second and fourth quarters of each fiscal year is included in the semi-annual and annual reports to shareholders, respectively, and is filed with the SEC on Form N-CSR. A semi-annual or annual report for the Fund will become available to investors within 60 days after the period to which it relates. The Fund’s Forms N-PORT and Forms N-CSR are available on the SEC’s website listed above.

Policy Regarding Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings. The Trust has adopted a policy regarding the disclosure of information about the Fund’s portfolio holdings. The Board of Trustees must approve all material amendments to this policy. The Fund’s portfolio holdings are publicly disseminated each day the Fund is open for business through financial reporting and news services, including publicly accessible Internet websites. In addition, a basket composition file, which includes the security names and share quantities to deliver in exchange for Fund shares, together with estimates and actual cash components, is publicly disseminated each day the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") is open for trading via the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”). Pursuant to Rule 6c-11 under the 1940 Act, information regarding the Fund’s current portfolio holdings will be available on a daily basis at https://www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/etf/home.aspx. The Trust, First Trust, FTP and BNYM will not disseminate non-public information concerning the Trust.

Codes of Ethics. In order to mitigate the possibility that the Fund will be adversely affected by personal trading, the Trust, First Trust and the Distributor have adopted Codes of Ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act. These Codes of Ethics contain policies restricting securities trading in personal accounts of the officers, Trustees and others who normally come into possession of information on portfolio transactions. Personnel subject to the Codes of Ethics may invest in securities that may be purchased or held by the Fund; however, the Codes of Ethics require that each transaction in such securities be reviewed by the CCO or his or her designee. These Codes of Ethics are on public file with, and are available from, the SEC.

Creation and Redemption of Creation Units

Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. The Business Day on which an order to purchase or redeem Creation Units is received in proper form is referred to as the “Transmittal Date.”

related purchasers, upon obtaining the Creation Units of Fund shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding shares of the Fund; (iii) the required consideration is not delivered; (iv) the acceptance of the basket would, in the opinion of the Fund, be unlawful; or (v) there exist circumstances outside the control of the Fund that make it impossible to process purchases of Creation Units for all practical purposes. Examples of such circumstances include: acts of God or public service or utility problems such as fires, floods, extreme weather conditions and power outages resulting in telephone, telecopy and computer failures; market conditions or activities causing trading halts; systems failures involving computer or other information systems affecting the Fund, First Trust, the Distributor, DTC, NSCC, the transfer agent, the custodian, any sub-custodian or any other participant in the purchase process; and similar extraordinary events. The Fund reserves the right to reject a creation order transmitted to it provided that such action does not result in a suspension of sales of creation units in contravention of 6c-11 and the SEC’s positions thereunder. The Transfer Agent shall notify a prospective creator of a Creation Unit and/or the Authorized Participant acting on behalf of such prospective creator of the rejection of the order of such person. The Trust, the Fund, the Transfer Agent, the custodian, any sub-custodian and the Distributor are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of baskets, nor shall any of them incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification.

Federal Tax Matters

This section summarizes some of the main U.S. federal income tax consequences of owning shares of the Fund. This section is current as of the date of the SAI. Tax laws and interpretations change frequently, and these summaries do not describe all of the tax consequences to all taxpayers. For example, these summaries generally do not describe your situation if you are a corporation, a non-U.S. person, a broker-dealer or other investor with special circumstances. In addition, this section does not describe your state, local or foreign tax consequences.

This federal income tax summary is based in part on the advice of counsel to the Fund. The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) could disagree with any conclusions set forth in this section. The following disclosure may not be sufficient for prospective investors to use for the purpose of avoiding penalties under federal tax law.

As with any investment, prospective investors should seek advice based on their individual circumstances from their own tax advisor.

The Fund intends to qualify annually and to elect to be treated as a regulated investment company (a “RIC”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).

or two or more issuers which the Fund controls which are engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more of certain publicly traded partnerships; and (iii) distribute at least 90% of its investment company taxable income (which includes, among other items, dividends, interest and net short-term capital gains in excess of net long-term capital losses) and at least 90% of its net tax-exempt interest income each taxable year. There are certain exceptions for failure to qualify if the failure is for reasonable cause or is de minimis, and certain corrective action is taken and certain tax payments are made by the Fund.

As a RIC, the Fund generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on its investment company taxable income (as that term is defined in the Code, but without regard to the deduction for dividends paid) and net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss), if any, that it distributes to shareholders. The Fund intends to distribute to its shareholders, at least annually, substantially all of its investment company taxable income and net capital gain. If the Fund retains any net capital gain or investment company taxable income, it will generally be subject to federal income tax at regular corporate rates on the amount retained. In addition, amounts not distributed on a timely basis in accordance with a calendar year distribution requirement are subject to a nondeductible 4% excise tax unless, generally, the Fund distributes during each calendar year an amount equal to the sum of (1) at least 98% of its ordinary income (not taking into account any capital gains or losses) for the calendar year, (2) at least 98.2% of its capital gains in excess of its capital losses (adjusted for certain ordinary losses) for the one-year period ending October 31 of the calendar year, and (3) any ordinary income and capital gains for previous years that were not distributed during those years. In order to prevent application of the excise tax, the Fund intends to make its distributions in accordance with the calendar year distribution requirement. A distribution will be treated as paid on December 31 of the current calendar year if it is declared by the Fund in October, November or December with a record date in such a month and paid by the Fund during January of the following calendar year. Such distributions will be taxable to shareholders in the calendar year in which the distributions are declared, rather than the calendar year in which the distributions are received.

Distributions

Income from the Fund may also be subject to a 3.8% “Medicare tax.” This tax generally applies to net investment income if the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income exceeds certain threshold amounts, which are $250,000 in the case of married couples filing joint returns and $200,000 in the case of single individuals.

Distributions of net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss), if any, properly reported as capital gain dividends are taxable to a shareholder as long-term capital gains, regardless of how long the shareholder has held Fund shares. An election may be available to you to defer recognition of the gain attributable to a capital gain dividend if you make certain qualifying investments within a limited time. You should talk to your tax advisor about the availability of this deferral election and its requirements. Shareholders receiving distributions in the form of additional shares, rather than cash, generally will have a tax basis in each such share equal to the value of a share of the Fund on the reinvestment date. A distribution of an amount in excess of the Fund's current and accumulated earnings and profits will be treated by a shareholder as a return of capital which is applied against and reduces the shareholder’s basis in his or her shares. To the extent that the amount of any such distribution exceeds the shareholder’s basis in his or her shares, the excess will be treated by the shareholder as gain from a sale or exchange of the shares.

Sale or Exchange of Fund Shares

Upon the sale or other disposition of shares of the Fund, which a shareholder holds as a capital asset, such a shareholder may realize a capital gain or loss which will be long-term or short-term, depending upon the shareholder’s holding period for the shares. Generally, a shareholder’s gain or loss will be a long-term gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than one year. An election may be available to you to defer recognition of capital gain if you make certain qualifying investments within a limited time. You should talk to your tax advisor about the availability of this deferral election and its requirements.

Taxes on Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units

Treatment of the FLEX Options

The Subsidiary's investments in offsetting positions with respect to the Underlying ETF may be "straddles" for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The straddle rules may affect the character of gains (or losses) realized by the Subsidiary, and losses realized by the Subsidiary on positions that are part of a straddle may be deferred under the straddle rules, rather than being taken into account in calculating taxable income for the taxable year in which the losses are realized. In addition, certain carrying charges (including interest expense) associated with positions in a straddle may be required to be capitalized rather than deducted currently. Certain elections that the Subsidiary may make with respect to its straddle positions may also affect the amount, character and timing of the recognition of gains or losses from the affected positions.

Nature of Fund Investments

Certain of the Fund's investment practices are subject to special and complex federal income tax provisions that may, among other things, (i) disallow, suspend or otherwise limit the allowance of certain losses or deductions; (ii) convert lower taxed long-term capital gain into higher taxed short-term capital gain or ordinary income; (iii) convert an ordinary loss or a deduction into a capital loss (the deductibility of which is more limited); (iv) cause the Fund to recognize income or gain without a corresponding receipt of cash; (v) adversely affect the time as to when a purchase or sale of stock or securities is deemed to occur; and (vi) adversely alter the characterization of certain complex financial transactions.

Futures Contracts and Options

The Subsidiary's transactions in futures contracts and options will be subject to special provisions of the Code that, among other things, may affect the character of gains and losses realized by the Subsidiary (i.e., may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital, or short-term or long-term), may accelerate recognition of income to the Subsidiary and may defer Subsidiary losses. Because the Subsidiary is a controlled foreign corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, this treatment of the Subsidiary’s income will affect the income the Fund must recognize. These rules could, therefore, affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to shareholders. These provisions also (i) will require the Subsidiary to mark-to-market certain types of the positions in its portfolio (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out); and (ii) may cause the Subsidiary and the Fund to recognize income without the Fund receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement for qualifying to be taxed as a regulated investment company and the distribution requirements for avoiding excise taxes.

Backup Withholding

The Fund may be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax from all taxable distributions and sale proceeds payable to shareholders who fail to provide the Fund with their correct taxpayer identification number or fail to make required certifications, or who have been notified by the IRS that they are subject to backup withholding. Corporate shareholders and certain other shareholders specified in the Code generally are exempt from such backup withholding. This withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld may be credited against the shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability.

Non-U.S. Shareholders

U.S. taxation of a shareholder who, as to the United States, is a nonresident alien individual, a foreign trust or estate, a foreign corporation or foreign partnership (“non-U.S. shareholder”) depends on whether the income of the Fund is “effectively connected” with a U.S. trade or business carried on by the shareholder.

In addition to the rules described in this section concerning the potential imposition of withholding on distributions to non-U.S. persons, distributions to non-U.S. persons that are “financial institutions” may be subject to a withholding tax of 30% unless an agreement is in place between the financial institution and the U.S. Treasury to collect and disclose information about accounts, equity investments or debt interests in the financial institution held by one or more U.S. persons or the institution is resident in a jurisdiction that has entered into such an agreement with the U.S. Treasury. For these purposes, a “financial institution” means any entity that (i) accepts deposits in the ordinary course of a banking or similar business; (ii) holds financial assets for the account of others as a substantial portion of its business; or (iii) is engaged (or holds itself out as being engaged) primarily in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities, partnership interests, commodities or any interest (including a futures contract or option) in such securities, partnership interests or commodities. This withholding tax is also currently scheduled to apply to the gross proceeds from the disposition of securities that produce U.S. source interest or dividends. However, proposed regulations may eliminate the requirement to withhold on payments of gross proceeds from dispositions.

Income Not Effectively Connected. If the income from the Fund is not “effectively connected” with a U.S. trade or business carried on by the non-U.S. shareholder, distributions of investment company taxable income will generally be subject to a U.S. tax of 30% (or lower treaty rate), which tax is generally withheld from such distributions.

for U.S. income tax purposes; in that case, he or she would be subject to U.S. income tax on his or her worldwide income at the graduated rates applicable to U.S. citizens, rather than the 30% U.S. tax. In the case of a non-U.S. shareholder who is a nonresident alien individual, the Fund may be required to withhold U.S. income tax from distributions of net capital gain unless the non-U.S. shareholder certifies his or her non-U.S. status under penalties of perjury or otherwise establishes an exemption. If a non-U.S. shareholder is a nonresident alien individual, any gain such shareholder realizes upon the sale or exchange of such shareholder’s shares of the Fund in the United States will ordinarily be exempt from U.S. tax unless the gain is U.S. source income and such shareholder is physically present in the United States for more than 182 days during the taxable year and meets certain other requirements.

Distributions from the Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as an interest-related dividend attributable to certain interest income received by the Fund or as a short-term capital gain dividend attributable to certain net short-term capital gain income received by the Fund may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes when received by certain non-U.S. shareholders, provided that the Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met. For tax years after December 31, 2022, amounts paid to or recognized by a non-U.S. affiliate that are excluded from tax under the portfolio interest, capital gain dividends, short-term capital gains or tax-exempt interest dividend exceptions or applicable treaties, may be taken into consideration in determining whether a corporation is an “applicable corporation” subject to a 15% minimum tax on adjusted financial statement income.

Income Effectively Connected. If the income from the Fund is “effectively connected” with a U.S. trade or business carried on by a non-U.S. shareholder, then distributions of investment company taxable income and capital gain dividends, any amounts retained by the Fund which are properly reported by the Fund as undistributed capital gains and any gains realized upon the sale or exchange of shares of the Fund will be subject to U.S. income tax at the graduated rates applicable to U.S. citizens, residents and domestic corporations. Non-U.S. corporate shareholders may also be subject to the branch profits tax imposed by the Code. The tax consequences to a non-U.S. shareholder entitled to claim the benefits of an applicable tax treaty may differ from those described herein. Non-U.S. shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisors with respect to the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in the Fund.

Capital Loss Carry-forward

Under the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010, net capital losses of the Fund incurred in taxable years beginning after December 22, 2010 may be carried forward indefinitely, and their character is retained as short-term and/or long-term losses. To the extent that these loss carry-forwards are used to offset future capital gains, it is probable that the capital gains so offset will not be distributed to Fund shareholders.The Fund intends to utilize provisions of the federal income tax laws, which allow the Fund to carry a realized capital loss forward indefinitely following the year of the loss and offset such loss against any future realized capital gains. As of December 31, 2023, the Fund had no non-expiring capital loss carry-forwards for federal income tax purposes. The Fund is subject to certain limitations, under U.S. tax rules, on the use of capital loss carry-forwards and net unrealized built-in losses. These limitations generally apply when there has been a 50% change in ownership.

Other Taxation

Determination of Net Asset Value

The Fund’s net asset value is determined as set forth in the Prospectus in the section entitled “Net Asset Value.”

Dividends and Distributions

The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Dividends, Distributions and Taxes.”

General Policies. Dividends from net investment income of the Fund, if any, are declared and paid annually. Distributions of net realized securities gains, if any, generally are declared and paid once a year, but the Trust may make distributions on a more frequent basis. The Trust reserves the right to declare special distributions if, in its reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve the status of the Fund as a RIC or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income.

Dividend Reinvestment Service. No reinvestment service is provided by the Trust. Broker-dealers may make available the DTC book-entry Dividend Reinvestment Service for use by Beneficial Owners of the Fund for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. Beneficial Owners should contact their brokers in order to determine the availability and costs of the service and the details of participation therein. Brokers may require Beneficial Owners to adhere to specific procedures and timetables. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole shares of the Fund purchased in the secondary market.

Miscellaneous Information

Counsel. Chapman and Cutler LLP, 320 South Canal St., Chicago, Illinois 60606, is counsel to the Trust.

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. Deloitte & Touche LLP, 111 South Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606, serves as the Fund's independent registered public accounting firm. The firm audits the Fund's financial statements and performs other related audit services.

Financial Statements

The audited financial statements and notes thereto for the Fund, contained in the Annual Report to Shareholders dated December 31, 2023, are incorporated by reference into this Statement of Additional Information and have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report also appears in the Annual Report and is also incorporated by reference herein. No other parts of the Annual Report are incorporated by reference herein. The Annual Report is available without charge by calling (800) 621-1675 or by visiting the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

Exhibit A—Principal Holders Table

NAME OF BENEFICIAL OWNER	% OF OUTSTANDING SHARES OWNED
FT VEST GOLD STRATEGY QUARTERLY BUFFER ETF
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.	47.27%
Pershing LLC	29.36%
National Financial Services LLC	13.42%

Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.: 2423 E Lincoln Drive, Phoenix, Arizona 85016

National Financial Services LLC: 499 Washington Boulevard, Jersey City, New Jersey 07310

Pershing LLC: One Pershing Plaza, Jersey City, New Jersey 07399

A-1

Exhibit B—Proxy Voting Guidelines

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures of Vest Financial, LLC, the (“Firm”)

Last Amended: October 7, 2022 (firm name updated January 2, 2024)

Background

Vest Financial, LLC (the “Firm” or the “Adviser”) has a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of its clients and must not place its own interests ahead of its clients. The Firm serves as the investment adviser or sub-adviser to open- end mutual funds, Exchange Traded Funds (“ETFs”), Collective Investment Trusts (“CITs”), and acts as a portfolio consultant and may provide sub-supervisory services for Unit Investment Trusts (“UITs”) (collectively “Clients”).

Investment advisers registered with the SEC, and which exercise voting authority with respect to client securities, are required by Rule 206(4)-6 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 the (“Advisers Act”), as amended, to (a) adopt and implement written policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to ensure that client securities are voted in the best interests of clients, which must include how an adviser addresses material conflicts that may arise between an adviser’s interests and those of its clients; (b) to disclose to clients how they may obtain information from the adviser with respect to the voting of proxies for their securities; (c) to describe to clients a summary of its proxy voting policies and procedures and, upon request, furnish a copy to its clients; and (d) maintain certain records relating to the adviser’s proxy voting activities when the adviser does have proxy voting authority.

Each Client’s agreement with the Firm describes the Firm’s proxy voting responsibilities with respect to that Client, under which the Firm generally will be granted authority to vote proxies related to the investment portfolio securities in a Client’s account unless a Client has expressly reserved the authority to vote such proxies.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, most of the strategies managed for Clients involves the trading of options, and therefore, do not hold portfolio securities for which any matters relating to such portfolio securities were considered at a shareholder meeting. Where a Client’s portfolio holds securities that would be entitled to vote, the objective of the Client’s strategy is generally to track an index. In these instances, purchase and sale decisions of portfolio securities are based on changes to the underlying index and are not usually based on the Adviser’s positive or negative outlook of the issuer.

Voting Policy

To assist the Firm in carrying out its responsibilities with respect to proxy voting, the Firm has engaged on outside firm, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”), who provides proxy research, advisory, voting, recordkeeping and vote-reporting service. Pursuant to a proxy voting agency service agreement, ISS is responsible for, among other things: obtaining proxies based on companies owned in Client accounts; providing proxy materials, research and analysis; maintaining a proxy voting system that adequately tracks and records votes; and providing proxy voting records required to file Form N-PX on behalf of Clients that are registered investment companies. The Firm also utilizes ISS’s proprietary service, Proxy Exchange, which provides voting services including voting recommendations.

The Firm has adopted ISS’s Proxy Voting Guidelines Benchmark Policy Recommendations (the “ISS Guidelines”) to determine how each issue on proxy ballots is to be voted. The Firm has reviewed the ISS Guidelines and believes it to be the most consistent and compatible with strategies managed by the Firm and to maximize shareholder value. The ISS Guidelines are incorporated hereto by reference, and a copy of the ISS Guidelines, as may be revised from time to time, is maintained with the Firm’s Proxy Voting Policy.

Proxy statements will be voted in accordance with this template unless: (i) the Firm determines that it has a conflict of interest; or (ii) the Firm’s portfolio managers (“Portfolio Managers”) determine that there are other reasons not to follow the ISS Guidelines; or (iii) No input is provided by the ISS Guidelines, in which case the Adviser will independently determine how a particular issue should be voted and such determination will be documented by the Portfolio Manager.

It will generally be the responsibility of the Firm to vote all proxies, where authorized. It is contemplated that the Firm will be active in all proxy voting issues, however, there may be occasions when a vote is missed by Firm personnel. In the event a vote is missed by Firm personnel, for any reason, that vote will be automatically cast in accordance with the ISS Guidelines. Any decisions regarding proxy voting where the Firm determines not to follow the ISS Guidelines shall be determined by the Portfolio Managers. The Firm’s Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) must be notified of the decision and a memo regarding the reason for not following the ISS Guidelines must be maintained in the proxy voting file. Additionally, the Firm may determine not to vote a particular proxy if the costs and burdens exceed the benefits of voting (e.g., casting a vote on a foreign security that could involve additional costs or when securities are subject to loan or to share blocking restrictions).

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The Firm’s Portfolio Managers and CCO will review, at least annually, the ISS Guidelines for continued relevancy and make a determination that relying on the ISS Guidelines for proxy voting continue to be in the best interest of the Firm’s Clients.

Voting Procedures

Once a Client account is established, the Firm will arrange for the Client’s custodian, as necessary, to forward proxy materials to ISS. The Firm will also confirm that the Client’s custodian provides ISS with a list of Client holdings on a regular basis to enable ISS to track meeting dates and notify the Firm of upcoming meetings.

The voting recommendations are provided by Proxy Exchange for each meeting. Internally, the Firm provides oversight of the proxy voting process. The Firm through a Portfolio Manager or other designated person will review the proxy vote statements and recommendations. In the event a vote is inadvertently missed, the ballot will be cast automatically in accordance with our proxy voting guidelines. A record will be made and maintained of all votes.

The Firm may abstain from voting a proxy if it concludes that the effect on the client’s or shareholder’s economic interests or the value of the portfolio holding is indeterminable or insignificant. The Firm may also abstain from voting if it concludes the cost of voting is disproportionate to the economic impact the vote would have on the portfolio holdings.

The Firm’s CCO or the CCO’s designee will monitor the proxy voting process to ensure that all votes are cast, the proper number of shares are recorded and that the proxy proposals are voted in accordance with the ISS Guidelines or, if there is a vote cast that deviates from such policies, that a rationale is documented.

Conflicts of Interest

The Firm will use commercially reasonable efforts to determine whether a potential conflict may exist, and a potential conflict shall be deemed to exist only if the Portfolio Manager actually knows or should have known of the conflict. The Firm is sensitive to conflicts of interest that may arise in the proxy decision-making process and has identified the following potential conflicts of interest:

•

A principal of the Firm or any person involved in the proxy decision-making process currently serves on the Board of the portfolio company.

•

An immediate family member of a principal of the Firm or any person involved in the proxy decision-making process currently serves as a director or executive officer of the portfolio company.

•

The Firm, or any Client account managed by the Firm any or any affiliate, holds a significant ownership interest in the portfolio company.

Any conflict of interest will be resolved in the best interests of Client’s and fund shareholders. In the event a material conflict of interest is identified or believed to exist, the employee will advise the CCO and the Portfolio Managers will decide whether the Firm should either (1) disclose the conflict to the Client to enable the Client to evaluate the Firm’s proxy voting advice in light of the conflict or (2) disclose to the Client the conflict, with no voting recommendation, and vote in accordance with the Client’s instructions.

The Firm shall also maintain records of any conflicts of interest that were identified with any specific vote, and if so, what action was taken to resolve the conflict with respect to each vote cast.

Due Diligence

The CCO performs the following oversight and assurance functions, among others, over the Firm’s proxy voting: (1) periodically samples proxy votes to ensure that they were cast in compliance with this Proxy Voting Policy; (2) review, no less frequently than annually, the adequacy of this Proxy Voting Policy to make sure that it has been implemented effectively, including whether it continues to be reasonably designed to ensure that proxies are voted in the best interests of the Firm’s clients; (3) at least annually perform due diligence on whether a retained proxy advisory firm has the capacity and competency to adequately analyze proxy issues, including the adequacy and quality of the proxy advisory firm’s staffing and personnel and its policies; and (4) oversee any retained proxy advisory firms and their procedures regarding their capabilities to (i) produce proxy research that is based on current and accurate information (ii) identify and address any conflicts of interest and any other considerations that we believe would be appropriate in considering the nature and quality of the services provided by the proxy advisory firm and (iii) ensure adherence to contractual terms.

Reporting

Upon a client’s written request, the Firm provides information on how portfolio company shares held in the Client’s account were voted. The Firm also furnishes to clients a description of its proxy voting policies and procedures and, upon request, furnish a copy of these policies and procedures to the requesting client. The Firm will also provide required

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disclosures in response to Item 17 of Form ADV Part 2A summarizing these Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures, including a statement that clients may request information regarding how the Firm voted client’s proxies.

Proxy Vote Record Retention

The Firm, in conjunction with ISS, will compile and maintain for five (5) years the proxy voting records required by Rule 204-2(c)(2) under the Advisers Act, which include (1) copies of these Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures, (2) a copy of each proxy statement received for Client securities (this requirement may be satisfied by a third party who has agreed in writing to do so or by obtaining a copy of the proxy statement from the EDGAR database),(3) a record of each vote cast on behalf of a client (this requirement may be satisfied by a third party who has agreed in writing to do so), (4) a copy of any document created by the Firm that was material to making the voting decision or that memorializes the basis for the decision, and (5) a copy of each written Client request for information on how the Firm voted proxies on the client’s behalf, as well as a copy of any written response to a written or oral client request for such information. All proxy voting records are to be retained for five years, with the first two years in the offices of the Firm. All records may be maintained electronically.

Form N-PX Filing Logistics

The Firm is responsible for ensuring that the third-party proxy vote service maintains the complete proxy log and confirms the timely voting of proxies. The proxy vote log will be maintained in such a manner that the following information is contained within the log in accordance with the requirements of submitting Form N-PX for proxies voted on behalf of the Firm’s Fund:

•

the name of the issuer;

•

the exchange ticker symbol, if available;

•

the CUSIP number, if available;

•

the shareholder meeting date;

•

a brief identification of the matter voted on;

•

whether the matter was proposed by the issuer or a security holder;

•

whether the Firm cast its vote on the matter;

•

how the Firm cast its vote on the matter (for, against, abstain, or withhold regarding the election of directors); and

•

whether the Firm cast its vote for or against management.

The Firm shall provide the information necessary to complete the Form N-PX to the appropriate fund service provider who will submit the filings in a timely manner.

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STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Investment Company Act File No. 811-21774

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund

FUND NAME	TICKER SYMBOL	EXCHANGE
FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF®	IGLD	Cboe BZX

DATED MAY 1, 2024

This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus. It should be read in conjunction with the prospectus dated May 1, 2024, as it may be revised from time to time (the “Prospectus”), for FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (the "Fund" ), a series of the First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund (the "Trust"). Capitalized terms used herein that are not defined have the same meaning as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise noted. A copy of the Prospectus may be obtained without charge by writing to the Trust’s distributor, First Trust Portfolios L.P., 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, or by calling toll free at (800) 621-1675.

Table of Contents

General Description of the Trust and the Fund	1
Exchange Listing and Trading	3
Investment Objective and Policies	3
Investment Strategies	4
Investment Risks	8
Management of the Fund	11
Sub-Advisor	20
Brokerage Allocations	22
Disclaimers	23
Administrator, Custodian, Transfer Agent, Fund Accountant, Distributor, Additional Service Provider and Exchange	23
Additional Payments to Financial Intermediaries	24
Additional Information	26
Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures	31
Creation and Redemption of Creation Units	32
Federal Tax Matters	35
Determination of Net Asset Value	39
Dividends and Distributions	39
Miscellaneous Information	40
Financial Statements	40
Exhibit A—Principal Holders Table	A-1
Exhibit B—Proxy Voting Guidelines	B-1

General Description of the Trust and the Fund

The Trust was organized as a Massachusetts business trust on August 8, 2003 and is authorized to issue an unlimited number of shares in one or more series. The Trust is an open-end management investment company, registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). The Trust currently offers shares in 24 series. This SAI relates to the Fund, which is a non-diversified series.

The Fund, as a series of the Trust, represents a beneficial interest in a separate portfolio of securities and other assets, with its own objective and policies.

The Trust or any series or class thereof may be terminated at any time by the Board of Trustees upon written notice to the shareholders.

The holders of Fund shares are required to disclose information on direct or indirect ownership of Fund shares as may be required to comply with various laws applicable to the Fund or as the Trustees may determine, and ownership of Fund shares may be disclosed by the Fund if so required by law or regulation. In addition, pursuant to the Declaration, the Trustees may, in their discretion, require the Trust to redeem shares held by any shareholder for any reason under terms set by the Trustees.

The provisions of the Declaration provide that any direct or derivative action commenced by a shareholder must be brought only in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts (Boston Division) or if any such action may not be brought in that court, then in the Business Litigation Session of Suffolk Superior Court in Massachusetts (the “Chosen Courts”). Except as prohibited by applicable law, if a shareholder commences an applicable action in a court other than a Chosen Court without the consent of the Fund, then such shareholder may be obligated to reimburse the Fund and any applicable Trustee or officer of the Fund made party to such proceeding for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred in connection with any successful motion to dismiss, stay or transfer of the action. The Declaration also provides that any shareholder bringing an action against the Fund waives the right to trial by jury to the fullest extent permitted by law.

The Trust is not required to and does not intend to hold annual meetings of shareholders.

The Fund is advised by First Trust Advisors L.P. (the “Advisor” or “First Trust”) and is sub-advised by Vest Financial LLC ("Vest" or the "Sub-Advisor").

The shares of the Fund are principally listed and traded on the Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. ("Cboe BZX" or the "Exchange"), as shown on the cover of this SAI . ETFs, such as the Fund, do not sell or redeem individual shares of the Fund. Instead, financial entities known as “Authorized Participants” (which are discussed in greater detail below) have contractual arrangements with the Fund or the Distributor to purchase and redeem Fund shares directly with the Fund in large blocks of shares known as “Creation Units.” An Authorized Participant that purchases a Creation Unit of Fund shares deposits with the Fund a “basket” of securities, cash and/or other assets identified by the Fund that day, and then receives the Creation Unit of Fund shares in return for those assets. The redemption process is the reverse of the purchase process: the Authorized Participant redeems a Creation Unit of Fund shares for a basket of securities, cash and/or other assets. The basket is generally representative of the Fund’s portfolio, and together with a cash balancing amount, it is equal to the NAV of the Fund shares comprising the Creation Unit. Pursuant to Rule 6c-11 of the 1940 Act, the Fund may utilize baskets that are not representative of the Fund’s portfolio. Such “custom baskets” are discussed in the section entitled “Creation and Redemption of Creation Units.”

Exchange Listing and Trading

As in the case of other stocks traded on the Exchange, brokers’ commissions on transactions will be based on negotiated commission rates at customary levels.

Investment Objective and Policies

(1)

The Fund may not issue senior securities, except as permitted under the 1940 Act.

(2)

The Fund may not borrow money, except as permitted under the 1940 Act.

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

The Fund may only purchase or sell physical commodities through its wholly-owned subsidiary, FT Cayman Subsidiary V (the “Subsidiary”).

Investment Strategies

Types of Investments

of this disclosure, references to the Fund’s investments may also be deemed to include the Fund’s indirect investments through the Subsidiary.

The financial statements of the Subsidiary will be consolidated with the Fund’s financial statements in the Fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports.

The OCC guarantees performance by each of the counterparties to FLEX Options, becoming the “buyer for every seller and the seller for every buyer,” protecting clearing members and options traders from counterparty risk. Subject to determination by the Securities Committee of the OCC, adjustments may be made to the FLEX Options for certain events (collectively, “Corporate Actions”) specified in the OCC’s by-laws and rules: certain stock dividends or distributions, stock splits, reverse stock splits, rights offerings, distributions, reorganizations, recapitalizations, or reclassifications with respect to an underlying security, or a merger, consolidation, dissolution or liquidation of the issuer of the underlying security. According to the OCC’s by-laws, the nature and extent of any such adjustment is to be determined by the OCC’s Securities Committee, in light of the circumstances known to it at the time such determination is made, based on its judgment as to what is appropriate for the protection of investors and the public interest, taking into account such factors as fairness to holders and writers (or purchasers and sellers) of the affected options, the maintenance of a fair and orderly market in the affected options, consistency of interpretation and practice, efficiency of exercise settlement procedures, and the coordination with other clearing agencies of the clearance and settlement of transactions in the underlying interest.

(1)

(2)

The Fund may invest in certificates of deposit issued against funds deposited in a bank or savings and loan association. Such certificates are for a definite period of time, earn a specified rate of return and are normally negotiable. If such certificates of deposit are non-negotiable, they will be considered illiquid investments and be subject to the Fund's 15% restriction on investments in illiquid investments. Pursuant to the certificate of deposit, the issuer agrees to pay the amount deposited plus interest to the bearer of the certificate on the date specified thereon. Under current FDIC regulations, the maximum insurance payable as to any one certificate of deposit is $250,000; therefore, certificates of deposit purchased by the Fund may not be fully insured. The Fund may only invest in certificates of deposit issued by U.S. banks with at least $1 billion in assets.

(3)

(4)

obligations of the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, certificates of deposit or bankers’ acceptances in which the Fund may invest. Repurchase agreements may be considered loans to the seller, collateralized by the underlying securities. The risk to the Fund is limited to the ability of the seller to pay the agreed-upon sum on the repurchase date; in the event of default, the repurchase agreement provides that the affected Fund is entitled to sell the underlying collateral. If the value of the collateral declines after the agreement is entered into, however, and if the seller defaults under a repurchase agreement when the value of the underlying collateral is less than the repurchase price, the Fund could incur a loss of both principal and interest. The portfolio managers monitor the value of the collateral at the time the action is entered into and at all times during the term of the repurchase agreement. The portfolio managers do so in an effort to determine that the value of the collateral always equals or exceeds the agreed-upon repurchase price to be paid to the Fund. If the seller were to be subject to a federal bankruptcy proceeding, the ability of the Fund to liquidate the collateral could be delayed or impaired because of certain provisions of the bankruptcy laws.

(5)

(6)

(7)

Illiquid Investments. The Fund may invest in illiquid investments (i.e., any investment that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment). For purposes of this restriction, illiquid investments may include, but are not limited to, certain restricted securities (securities the disposition of which is restricted under the federal securities laws), securities that may only be resold pursuant to Rule 144A under the 1933 Act, and repurchase agreements with maturities in excess of seven days, among others. However, the Fund will not acquire illiquid investments if, as a result, such investments would comprise more than 15% of the value of the Fund’s net assets. The Advisor, subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, has the ultimate authority to determine, to the extent permissible under the federal securities laws, which investments are liquid or illiquid for purposes of this 15% limitation under the Fund’s liquidity risk management program, adopted pursuant to Rule 22e-4 under the 1940 Act.

Restricted securities may be sold only in privately negotiated transactions or in a public offering with respect to which a registration statement is in effect under the 1933 Act. Where registration is required, the Fund may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expenses and a considerable period may elapse between the time of the decision to sell and the time the Fund may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the Fund might obtain a less favorable price than that which prevailed when it decided to sell. Illiquid investments will be priced at fair value as determined in good faith under procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. If, through the appreciation of illiquid investments or the depreciation of liquid investments, the Fund should be in a position where more than 15% of the value of its net assets are invested in illiquid investments, including restricted securities which are not readily marketable, the Advisor will report such occurrence to the Board of Trustees and take such steps as are deemed advisable to protect liquidity in accordance with the Fund’s liquidity risk management program.

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover Rate
Fiscal Year Ended December 31,
2023	2022
0%	0%

Lending of Portfolio Securities

In these loan arrangements, the First Trust Funds will receive collateral in the form of cash, U.S. government securities or other high-grade debt obligations in an amount at least equal to the value of the borrowed securities, marked to market daily. This collateral must be valued daily by First Trust or the First Trust Fund’s lending agent and, if the market value of the loaned securities increases, the borrower must furnish additional collateral to the lending First Trust Fund. During the time portfolio securities are on loan, the borrower pays the lending First Trust Fund any dividends or interest paid on the securities. Loans are subject to termination at any time by the lending First Trust Fund or the borrower. While a First Trust Fund does not have the right to vote securities on loan, it would terminate the loan and regain the right to vote if that were considered important with respect to the investment. When a First Trust Fund lends portfolio securities to a borrower, payments in lieu of dividends made by the borrower to the First Trust Fund will not constitute “qualified dividends” taxable at the same rate as long-term capital gains, even if the actual dividends would have constituted qualified dividends had the First Trust Fund held the securities. Please see "Securities Lending Risk" below for a description of the risks associated with securities lending activities.

Investment Risks

The following risk disclosure supplements the discussion of the Fund's investment risks that appears in the Prospectus.

Overview

Additional Market Disruption Risk

securities and commodities globally, such as oil and natural gas. Accordingly, the hostilities and sanctions may have a negative effect on a Fund's investments and performance beyond any direct exposure to Russian issuers or those of adjoining geographic regions. Russia may also take retaliatory actions or countermeasures, such as cyberattacks and espionage, which may negatively impact the countries and companies in which a Fund may invest. The extent and duration of the military action or future escalation of such hostilities; the extent and impact of existing and any future sanctions, market disruptions and volatility; and the result of any diplomatic negotiations cannot be predicted. These and any related events could have a significant negative impact on certain of a Fund’s investments as well as a Fund’s performance, and the value or liquidity of certain securities held by a Fund may decline significantly.

FLEX Options Risk

Derivatives Risk

(1)

Market Risk. Market risk is the risk that the value of the underlying assets may go up or down. Adverse movements in the value of an underlying asset can expose the Fund to losses. Derivative instruments may include elements of leverage and, accordingly, fluctuations in the value of the derivative instrument in relation to the underlying asset may be magnified. The successful use of derivative instruments depends upon a variety of factors, particularly the portfolio managers’ ability to predict movements of the securities, currencies and commodities markets, which may require different skills than predicting changes in the prices of individual securities. There can be no assurance that any particular strategy adopted will succeed. A decision to engage in a derivative transaction will reflect the portfolio managers’ judgment that the derivative transaction will provide value to the Fund and its shareholders and is consistent with the Fund's objective, investment limitations and operating policies. In making such a judgment, the portfolio managers will analyze the benefits and risks of the derivative transactions and weigh them in the context of the Fund's overall investments and investment objective.

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

Systemic or “Interconnection” Risk. Systemic or “interconnection” risk is the risk that a disruption in the financial markets will cause difficulties for all market participants. In other words, a disruption in one market will spill over into other markets, perhaps creating a chain reaction. Much of the OTC derivatives market takes place among the OTC dealers themselves, thus creating a large interconnected web of financial obligations. This interconnectedness raises the possibility that a default by one large dealer could create losses for other dealers and destabilize the entire market for OTC derivative instruments.

Leverage Risk

Liquidity Risk

for the securities will be maintained or that there will be sufficient liquidity of the securities in any markets made. The price at which the securities are held by the Fund will be adversely affected if trading markets for the securities are limited or absent.

Market Risk

Health crises caused by the outbreak of infectious diseases or other public health issues, may exacerbate other pre-existing political, social, economic, market and financial risks. The impact of any such events, could negatively affect the global economy, as well as the economies of individual countries or regions, the financial performance of individual companies, sectors and industries, and the markets in general in significant and unforeseen ways. Any such impact could adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the securities and other instruments in which the Fund invests and negatively impact the Fund’s investment return. For example, an outbreak of a respiratory disease designated as COVID-19 was first detected in China in December 2019 and subsequently spread internationally. The ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against future variants of the disease. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may be short term or may last for an extended period of time, and in either case could result in a substantial economic downturn or recession.

Securities Lending Risk

Securities lending involves exposure to certain risks, including counterparty risk, collateral risk and operational risk. Counterparty risk is the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, a First Trust Fund engaged in securities lending transactions may suffer a loss and there may be a delay in recovering the lent securities. Any delay in the return of securities on loan may restrict the ability of the Fund to meet delivery or payment obligations. Collateral risk is the risk that the collateral received may be realized at a value lower than the value of the securities lent, whether due to inaccurate pricing of the collateral, adverse market movements in the value of the collateral, intra-day increases in the value of the securities lent, a deterioration in the credit rating of the collateral issuer, or the illiquidity of the market in which the collateral is traded. Securities lending also entails operational risks, such as settlement failures or delays in the settlement of instructions. Such failures or delays may restrict the ability of the Fund to meet delivery or payment obligations. Lastly, securities lending activities may result in adverse tax consequences for the Fund and its shareholders. For instance, substitute payments for dividends received by the Fund for securities loaned out by the Fund will not be considered qualified dividend income. The Fund could lose money if its short-term investment of the collateral declines in value over the period of the loan.

Management of the Fund

Trustees and Officers

affiliates (“Independent Trustees”). The Trustees set broad policies for the Fund, choose the Trust’s officers and hire the Trust’s investment advisor. The officers of the Trust manage its day-to-day operations and are responsible to the Board of Trustees. The following is a list of the Trustees and executive officers of the Trust and a statement of their present positions and principal occupations during the past five years, the number of portfolios each Trustee oversees and the other directorships they have held during the past five years, if applicable. Each Trustee has been elected for an indefinite term. The officers of the Trust serve indefinite terms. Each Trustee, except for James A. Bowen, is an Independent Trustee. Mr. Bowen is deemed an “interested person” (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) (“Interested Trustee”) of the Trust due to his position as Chief Executive Officer of First Trust, investment advisor to the Fund. The following table identifies the Trustees and Officers of the Trust. Unless otherwise indicated, the address of all persons below is c/o First Trust Advisors L.P., 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400, Wheaton, IL 60187.

Name and Year of Birth	Position and Offices with Trust	Term of Office and Year First Elected or Appointed	Principal Occupations During Past 5 Years	Number of Portfolios in the First Trust Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee	Other Trusteeships or Directorships Held by Trustee During the Past 5 Years
TRUSTEE WHO IS AN INTERESTED PERSON OF THE TRUST
James A. Bowen (1) 1955	Chairman of the Board and Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Chief Executive Officer, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.; Chairman of the Board of Directors, BondWave LLC (Software Development Company) and Stonebridge Advisors LLC (Investment Advisor)	268 Portfolios	None
INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES
Richard E. Erickson 1951	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Retired; Physician, Edward-Elmhurst Medical Group (2021 to September 2023); Physician and Officer, Wheaton Orthopedics (1990 to 2021)	268 Portfolios	None
Thomas R. Kadlec 1957	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Retired; President, ADM Investor Services, Inc. (Futures Commission Merchant) (2010 to July 2022)	268 Portfolios	Director, National Futures Association; formerly, Director of ADM Investor Services, Inc., ADM Investor Services International, ADMIS Hong Kong Ltd., ADMIS Singapore Ltd. and Futures Industry Association
Denise M. Keefe 1964	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since 2021	Executive Vice President, Advocate Aurora Health and President, Advocate Aurora Continuing Health Division (Integrated Healthcare System)	268 Portfolios	Director and Board Chair of Advocate Home Health Services, Advocate Home Care Products and Advocate Hospice; Director and Board Chair of Aurora At Home (since 2018); Director of Advocate Physician Partners Accountable Care Organization; Director of RML Long Term Acute Care Hospitals; Director of Senior Helpers (since 2021); and Director of MobileHelp (since 2022)

Name and Year of Birth	Position and Offices with Trust	Term of Office and Year First Elected or Appointed	Principal Occupations During Past 5 Years	Number of Portfolios in the First Trust Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee	Other Trusteeships or Directorships Held by Trustee During the Past 5 Years
INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES
Robert F. Keith 1956	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	President, Hibs Enterprises (Financial and Management Consulting)	268 Portfolios	Formerly, Director of Trust Company of Illinois
Niel B. Nielson 1954	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Senior Advisor (2018 to present), Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer (2015 to 2018), Pelita Harapan Educational Foundation (Educational Products and Services)	268 Portfolios	None

Name and Year of Birth	Position and Offices with Trust	Term of Office and Length of Service	Principal Occupations During Past 5 Years
ADVISORY BOARD
Bronwyn Wright (2) 1971	Advisory Board Member	•Indefinite term •Since 2023	Independent Director to a number of Irish collective investment funds (2009 to present); Various roles at international affiliates of Citibank (1994 to 2009), including Managing Director, Citibank Europe plc and Head of Securities and Fund Services, Citi Ireland (2007 to 2009)
OFFICERS OF THE TRUST
James M. Dykas 1966	President and Chief Executive Officer	•Indefinite term •Since 2016	Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.; Chief Financial Officer, BondWave LLC (Software Development Company) and Stonebridge Advisors LLC (Investment Advisor)
W. Scott Jardine 1960	Secretary and Chief Legal Officer	•Indefinite term •Since inception	General Counsel, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.; Secretary and General Counsel, BondWave LLC; and Secretary, Stonebridge Advisors LLC
Daniel J. Lindquist 1970	Vice President	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Managing Director, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Kristi A. Maher 1966	Chief Compliance Officer and Assistant Secretary	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Deputy General Counsel, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Derek D. Maltbie 1972	Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer	•Indefinite term •Since 2023	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P., July 2021 – present. Previously, Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P., 2014 –2021.
Roger F. Testin 1966	Vice President	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Stan Ueland 1970	Vice President	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.

(1)

Mr. Bowen is deemed an “interested person” of the Trust due to his position as Chief Executive Officer of First Trust, investment advisor of the Fund.

(2)

Unitary Board Leadership Structure

Exchange-Traded Fund II, First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund III, First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund IV, First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund V, First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI, First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VII, First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII, First Trust Exchange-Traded AlphaDEX® Fund and First Trust Exchange-Traded AlphaDEX® Fund II, exchange-traded funds with 244 portfolios advised by First Trust (each a “First Trust Fund” and collectively, the “First Trust Fund Complex”). None of the Independent Trustees, nor any of their immediate family members, has ever been a director, officer or employee of, or consultant to, First Trust, First Trust Portfolios L.P. or their affiliates.

Annually, the Board reviews its governance structure and the committee structures, their performance and functions, and it reviews any processes that would enhance Board governance over the Fund's business. The Board has determined that its leadership structure, including the unitary board and committee structure, is appropriate based on the characteristics of the funds it serves and the characteristics of the First Trust Fund Complex as a whole.

In order to streamline communication between the Advisor and the Independent Trustees and create certain efficiencies, the Board has a Lead Independent Trustee who is responsible for: (i) chairing all meetings of the Independent Trustees; (ii) working with the Advisor, Fund counsel and the independent legal counsel to the Independent Trustees to determine the agenda for Board meetings; (iii) serving as the principal contact for and facilitating communication between the Independent Trustees and the Fund's service providers, particularly the Advisor; and (iv) any other duties that the Independent Trustees may delegate to the Lead Independent Trustee. The Lead Independent Trustee is selected by the Independent Trustees and serves for such term as approved by the Independent Trustees or until his or her successor is selected. Robert F. Keith currently serves as the Lead Independent Trustee.

The Board has established five standing committees (as described below) and has delegated certain of its responsibilities to those committees. The Board and its committees meet frequently throughout the year to oversee the Fund's activities, review contractual arrangements with and performance of service providers, oversee compliance with regulatory requirements and review Fund performance. The Independent Trustees are represented by independent legal counsel at all Board and committee meetings (other than meetings of the Dividend Committee). Generally, the Board acts by majority vote of all the Trustees, including a majority vote of the Independent Trustees if required by applicable law.

rotation is currently scheduled to be effective January 1, 2026. In addition, the Lead Independent Trustee and the Vice Lead Independent Trustee currently serve on the Executive Committee with the Interested Trustee.

The Nominating and Governance Committee is responsible for appointing and nominating non-interested persons to the Board of Trustees. Messrs. Erickson, Kadlec, Keith, Nielson and Ms. Keefe are members of the Nominating and Governance Committee. If there is no vacancy on the Board of Trustees, the Board will not actively seek recommendations from other parties, including shareholders. The Board of Trustees has adopted a mandatory retirement age of 75 for Independent Trustees, beyond which age Independent Trustees are ineligible to serve. The Committee will not consider new trustee candidates who are 72 years of age or older or will turn 72 years old during the initial term. When a vacancy on the Board of Trustees occurs or is anticipated to occur and nominations are sought to fill such vacancy, the Nominating and Governance Committee may seek nominations from those sources it deems appropriate in its discretion, including shareholders of the Fund. To submit a recommendation for nomination as a candidate for a position on the Board of Trustees, shareholders of the Fund should mail such recommendation to W. Scott Jardine, Secretary, at the Trust’s address, 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400, Wheaton, Illinois 60187. Such recommendation shall include the following information: (i) evidence of Fund ownership of the person or entity recommending the candidate (if a Fund shareholder); (ii) a full description of the proposed candidate’s background, including education, experience, current employment and date of birth; (iii) names and addresses of at least three professional references for the candidate; (iv) information as to whether the candidate is an “interested person” in relation to the Fund, as such term is defined in the 1940 Act, and such other information that may be considered to impair the candidate’s independence; and (v) any other information that may be helpful to the Committee in evaluating the candidate. If a recommendation is received with satisfactorily completed information regarding a candidate during a time when a vacancy exists on the Board or during such other time as the Nominating and Governance Committee is accepting recommendations, the recommendation will be forwarded to the Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee and to counsel to the Independent Trustees. During the last fiscal year, the Nominating and Governance Committee held four meetings.

The Valuation Committee is responsible for the oversight of the Advisor as the "Valuation Designee" under Rule 2a-5 of the 1940 Act and its implementation of the valuation of the securities held in the Fund's portfolio. Messrs. Erickson, Kadlec, Keith, Nielson and Ms. Keefe are members of the Valuation Committee. During the last fiscal year, the Valuation Committee held four meetings.

Advisory Board

Executive Officers

Risk Oversight

Board Diversification and Trustee Qualifications

Name of Trustee	Total Compensation from the Fund (1)	Total Compensation from the First Trust Fund Complex (2)
Richard E. Erickson	$3,675	$572,000
Thomas R. Kadlec	$3,673	$567,000
Denise M. Keefe	$3,664	$547,000
Robert F. Keith	$3,677	$577,000
Niel B. Nielson	$3,673	$567,000

(1)

The compensation paid by the Fund to the Independent Trustees for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 for services to the Fund.

(2)

Trustee	Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Fund (Number of Shares Held)	Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities in All Registered Investment Companies Overseen by Trustee in the First Trust Fund Complex
Interested Trustee
James A. Bowen	None	Over $100,000
Independent Trustees
Richard E. Erickson	None	Over $100,000
Thomas R. Kadlec	None	Over $100,000
Denise M. Keefe	None	Over $100,000
Robert F. Keith	None	Over $100,000
Niel B. Nielson	None	Over $100,000

As of March 31, 2024, the Independent Trustees of the Trust and their immediate family members did not own beneficially or of record any class of securities of an investment advisor or principal underwriter of the Fund or any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with an investment advisor or principal underwriter of the Fund.

As of March 31, 2024, the officers and Trustees, in the aggregate, owned less than 1% of the shares of the Fund.

The table set forth in Exhibit A shows the percentage ownership of each shareholder or “group” (as that term is used in Section 13(d) of the 1934 Act who, based on the securities position listing reports as of March 31, 2024, owned of record, or is known by the Trust to have owned of record or beneficially, 5% or more of the shares of the Fund (the “Principal Holders”). A control person is one who owns, either directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the voting securities of the Fund or acknowledges the existence of control. A party that controls the Fund may be able to significantly influence the outcome of any item presented to shareholders for approval. The Fund does not have any knowledge of who the ultimate beneficiaries are of the shares.

The Fund has agreed to pay First Trust an annual unitary management fee equal to 0.85% of its average daily net assets.

Under the Investment Management Agreement, First Trust shall not be liable for any loss sustained by reason of the purchase, sale or retention of any security, whether or not such purchase, sale or retention shall have been based upon the investigation and research made by any other individual, firm or corporation, if such recommendation shall have been selected with due care and in good faith, except loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of First Trust in the performance of its obligations and duties, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties. The Investment Management Agreement terminates automatically upon assignment and is terminable at any time without penalty as to the Fund by the Board of Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, or by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities on 60 days’ written notice to First Trust, or by First Trust on 60 days’ written notice to the Fund.

Management Fee	Breakpoints
0.85000%	Fund net assets up to and including $2.5 billion
0.82875%	Fund net assets greater than $2.5 billion up to and including $5 billion
0.80750%	Fund net assets greater than $5 billion up to and including $7.5 billion
0.78625%	Fund net assets greater than $7.5 billion up to and including $10 billion
0.76500%	Fund net assets greater than $10 billion

The following table sets forth the unitary management fee paid by the Fund to First Trust for the specified periods.

Amount of Unitary Fees
Inception Date	Fiscal Year Ended December 31,		Fiscal Period Ended December 31, 2021
	2023	2022
3/2/2021	$553,229	$335,205	$143,854

Sub-Advisor

The Sub-Advisor is a subsidiary of Vest Group, Inc. (“VG”). First Trust Capital Partners, LLC (“FTCP”), an affiliate of First Trust, is the largest single holder of voting shares in VG.

Karan Sood and Howard Rubin are the Fund’s portfolio managers and are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s investment portfolio.

•

As of December 31, 2023, Mr. Sood and Mr. Rubin each beneficially owned shares of the Fund in the $1-$10,000 range.

account over another. Another potential conflict could include the Portfolio Manager’s knowledge about the size, timing and possible market impact of Fund trades, whereby a Portfolio Manager could use this information to the advantage of other accounts and to the disadvantage of the Fund. However, the Sub-Advisor has established policies and procedures to ensure that the purchase and sale of securities among all accounts it manages are fairly and equitably allocated.

Amount of Sub-Advisory Fees
Inception Date	Fiscal Year Ended December 31,		Fiscal Period Ended December 31, 2021
	2023	2022
3/2/2021	$204,517	$103,853	$27,302

Accounts Managed by Portfolio Managers

The portfolio managers manage the investment vehicles (other than the Fund) with the number of accounts and assets, as of December 31, 2023, as set forth in the table below:

Portfolio Managers	Registered Investment Companies Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Other Pooled Investment Vehicles Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Other Accounts Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Registered Investment Companies With Performance Fees Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Other Pooled Investment Vehicles With Performance Fees Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Other Accounts With Performance Fees Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)
Karan Sood	78 ($21,515,982)	9 ($167,826)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Howard Rubin	78 ($21,515,982)	9 ($167,826)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Brokerage Allocations

Fund) advised by it. Because the volume and nature of the trading activities of the accounts are not uniform, the amount of commissions in excess of those charged by another broker paid by each account for brokerage and research services will vary. However, the Sub-Advisor believes such costs to the Fund will not be disproportionate to the benefits received by the Fund on a continuing basis. The Sub-Advisor seeks to allocate portfolio transactions equitably whenever concurrent decisions are made to purchase or sell securities by the Fund and another advisory account. In some cases, this procedure could have an adverse effect on the price or the amount of securities available to the Fund. In making such allocations between the Fund and other advisory accounts, the main factors considered by the Sub-Advisor are the respective investment objective, the relative size of portfolio holding of the same or comparable securities, the availability of cash for investment and the size of investment commitments generally held.

Brokerage Commissions

The following table sets forth the aggregate amount of brokerage commissions paid by the Fund for the specified periods.

Aggregate Amount of Brokerage Commissions
Inception Date	Fiscal Year Ended December 31,		Fiscal Period Ended December 31, 2021
	2023	2022
3/2/2021	$0	$0	$0

During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the Fund did not acquire shares of a regular broker or dealer of the Fund as defined in Rule 10b-1 under the 1940 Act.

Disclaimers

The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDR® Gold Trust and WGTS, or their affiliates. SPDR® Gold Trust and WGTS, or their affiliates have not passed on the legality or suitability of, or the accuracy or adequacy of, descriptions and disclosures relating to the Fund or the FLEX Options. SPDR® Gold Trust and WGTS, or their affiliates make no representations or warranties, express or implied, regarding the advisability of investing in the Fund or the FLEX Options or results to be obtained by the Fund or the FLEX Options, Unit holders or any other person or entity from use of the Underlying ETF. SPDR® Gold Trust and WGTS, or their affiliates have no liability in connection with the management, administration, marketing or trading of the Fund or the FLEX Options.

Administrator, Custodian, Transfer Agent, Fund Accountant, Distributor, Additional Service Provider and Exchange

Custodian. Pursuant to a custody agreement, BNYM serves as the custodian of the Fund’s and the Subsidiary's assets. The custodian holds and administers the assets in the Fund’s portfolio.

Transfer Agent. Pursuant to a transfer agency and service agreement, BNYM provides the Trust with transfer agency services, which includes Creation Unit Aggregation order processing.

performance of its duties. As compensation for these services, BNYM is paid a fee based on the Fund’s total average daily net assets. BNYM also is entitled to certain out-of-pocket expenses for the services described above. This fee is subject to reduction for assets over $1 billion. The Fund has not paid any fees to BNYM for the services provided as the Advisor has assumed responsibility for payment of these fees as part of the unitary management fee.

No fee is currently paid by the Fund under the Plan and, pursuant to a contractual agreement, the Fund will not pay 12b-1 fees any time before April 30, 2025.

The Distribution Agreement provides that it may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, on at least 60 days’ written notice by the Trust to the Distributor (i) by vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees or (ii) by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund. The Distribution Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act).

Additional Payments to Financial Intermediaries

in the industry, (vi) the level and/or type of marketing assistance and educational activities provided by the intermediary, (vii) the firm’s level of participation in First Trust Funds’ sales and marketing programs, (viii) the firm’s compensation program for its registered representatives who sell Fund shares and provide services to Fund shareholders, and (ix) the asset class of the First Trust Funds for which these payments are provided. Such payments are generally asset-based but also may include the payment of a lump sum.

From time to time, First Trust and/or its affiliates, at its expense, may provide other compensation to intermediaries that sell or arrange for the sale of shares of the First Trust Funds, which may be in addition to marketing support and program servicing payments described above. For example, First Trust and/or its affiliates may: (i) compensate intermediaries for National Securities Clearing Corporation networking system services (e.g., shareholder communication, account statements, trade confirmations and tax reporting) on an asset-based or per-account basis; (ii) compensate intermediaries for providing Fund shareholder trading information; (iii) make one-time or periodic payments to reimburse selected intermediaries for items such as ticket charges (i.e., fees that an intermediary charges its representatives for effecting transactions in Fund shares) or exchange order, operational charges (e.g., fees that an intermediary charges for establishing the Fund on its trading system), and literature printing and/or distribution costs; (iv) at the direction of a retirement plan’s sponsor, reimburse or pay direct expenses of an employee benefit plan that would otherwise be payable by the plan; (v) provide payments to broker-dealers to help defray their technology or infrastructure costs; and (vi) make payments for expenses associated with intermediaries’ use of First Trust Funds including, but not limited to, the use of First Trust Funds in model portfolios.

interest in First Trust Funds are more likely to be considered. To the extent permitted by their firm’s policies and procedures, all or a portion of registered representatives’ expenses in attending these meetings may be covered by First Trust and/or its affiliates.

The amounts of payments referenced above made by First Trust and/or its affiliates could be significant and may create an incentive for an intermediary or its representatives to recommend or offer shares of the First Trust Funds to its customers. The intermediary may elevate the prominence or profile of the First Trust Funds within the intermediary’s organization by, for example, placing the First Trust Funds on a list of preferred or recommended funds and/or granting First Trust and/or its affiliates preferential or enhanced opportunities to promote the First Trust Funds in various ways within the intermediary’s organization. These payments are made pursuant to negotiated agreements with intermediaries. The payments do not change the price paid by investors for the purchase of a share or the amount the Fund will receive as proceeds from such sales. Furthermore, many of these payments are not reflected in the fees and expenses listed in the fee table section of the Fund's Prospectus because they are not paid by the Fund. The types of payments described herein are not mutually exclusive, and a single intermediary may receive some or all types of payments as described.

Additional Information

Book Entry Only System. The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus.

DTC, a limited-purpose trust company, was created to hold securities of its participants (the “DTC Participants”) and to facilitate the clearance and settlement of securities transactions among the DTC Participants in such securities through electronic book-entry changes in accounts of the DTC Participants, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of securities certificates. DTC Participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and certain other organizations, some of whom (and/or their representatives) own DTC. More specifically, DTC is owned by a number of its DTC Participants and by the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") and FINRA. Access to the DTC system is also available to others such as banks, brokers, dealers and trust companies that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a DTC Participant, either directly or indirectly (the “Indirect Participants”).

Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners that are not DTC Participants). Beneficial Owners will receive from or through the DTC Participant a written confirmation relating to their purchase and sale of shares.

Conveyance of all notices, statements and other communications to Beneficial Owners is effected as follows. Pursuant to a letter agreement between DTC and the Trust, DTC is required to make available to the Trust upon request and for a fee to be charged to the Trust a listing of the shares of the Fund held by each DTC Participant. The Trust shall inquire of each such DTC Participant as to the number of Beneficial Owners holding shares, directly or indirectly, through such DTC Participant. The Trust shall provide each such DTC Participant with copies of such notice, statement or other communication, in such form, number and at such place as such DTC Participant may reasonably request, in order that such notice, statement or communication may be transmitted by such DTC Participant, directly or indirectly, to such Beneficial Owners. In addition, the Trust shall pay to each such DTC Participants a fair and reasonable amount as reimbursement for the expenses attendant to such transmittal, all subject to applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

Fund distributions shall be made to DTC or its nominee, as the registered holder of all Fund shares. DTC or its nominee, upon receipt of any such distributions, shall immediately credit DTC Participants’ accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in shares of the Fund as shown on the records of DTC or its nominee. Payments by DTC Participants to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners of shares held through such DTC Participants will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is now the case with securities held for the accounts of customers in bearer form or registered in a “street name,” and will be the responsibility of such DTC Participants.

Policy Regarding Investment in Other Investment Companies. The Fund will not rely on Sections 12(d)(1)(F) or 12(d)(1)(G) of the 1940 Act to invest in other investment companies.

INFORMATION FOR INVESTORS IN THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA (“EEA”) ONLY

The following disclosures are included in this SAI solely for the purposes of compliance with the applicable EEA law and regulation resulting from, of and as a consequence of, the Fund’s registration or notification under the EU Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers (Directive (2011/61/EU)) (the “AIFM Directive”) national private placement regimes in certain European Union (“EU”) and EEA jurisdictions. The following disclosures are not intended for, and should not be relied on by, any investor other than an investor in the relevant EU and/or EEA jurisdictions because the rules, regulations and requirements applicable to the Fund in those jurisdictions as a result of their registration or notification differ from the rules, regulations and requirements applicable to the Fund under the Investment Company Act.

European Union’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation

While First Trust Advisors L.P. (the “Advisor”) is not itself generally subject to Regulation 2019/2088 of the European Parliament and of the Council on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial sector (“SFDR”), by virtue of the Fund’s registration or notification under the AIFM Directive national private placement regimes in certain EU and EEA jurisdictions, some limited disclosures under the SFDR must be made in respect of the Fund and the following section is intended to satisfy certain of such requirements. The SFDR requires the Advisor to determine, on a product-by-product basis, whether “sustainability risks” are relevant to the Advisor’s in-scope financial products, including the Fund.

The Advisor will keep its assessment that sustainability risks are not relevant to the Fund under regular review.

SFDR requires the Advisor to disclose whether, and if so how, it considers the principal adverse impacts (“PAIs”) of its investment decisions on sustainability factors, in accordance with a specific regime outlined in SFDR, in relation to the Fund. The Advisor does not consider the principal adverse impacts of its investment decisions on sustainability factors (either generally or in relation to the Fund).

In addition, the Advisor considers that its primary investment strategies and client relationships do not support adoption of the PAI regime within SFDR.

Information for Investors in the EEA Regarding Offering of the Fund

In addition, the following restrictions apply to the distribution of the Prospectus and SAI in the following Member States:

Information for Investors in the United Kingdom

Subject always to the foregoing notice in respect of the EEA, this SAI is being issued in the United Kingdom by First Trust Global Portfolios Limited (which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”)) only to and/or is directed only at persons who are professional clients or eligible counterparties for the purposes of the FCA’s Conduct of Business Sourcebook. The opportunity to invest in the Fund is only available to such persons in the United Kingdom, and the Prospectus and SAI must not be relied on or acted upon by any other persons in the United Kingdom.

Information for Investors in Ireland

(a)

(b)

in any way which would require the publication of a prospectus under the Companies Act 2014 or any regulations made thereunder; or

(c)

in Ireland except in all circumstances that will result in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations in Ireland.

AIFM Directive Disclosures

Overview of the Fund and the Service Providers. The Fund is a non-EU AIFs (“AIF” means an alternative investment fund for the purposes of the AIFM Directive).

First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust”) is the AIFM of the Fund (“AIFM” means an alternative investment fund manager for the purposes of the AIFM Directive). First Trust is a non-EU AIFM.

The Trust has entered into agreements with various service providers including First Trust (as the Investment Advisor), the Custodian, Distributor, Transfer Agent, Administrator, index providers and the exchange where the Fund is listed in respect of the Fund. Further details regarding the duties and roles of such service providers can be found in the Prospectus and this SAI for the Fund.

In addition to the parties listed above, the Trust has appointed (i) Chapman and Cutler LLP as its legal counsel which advises it on US legal matters; (ii) Deloitte & Touche LLP as the Fund’s auditors who undertake to audit the Fund’s financial statements in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) (United States); and (iii) CT Corporation System as the Fund’s registered agent.

Liquidity Risk Management. Investors should note that while First Trust is not required to implement liquidity management arrangements in accordance with the AIFM Directive in respect of the Fund, the Fund is subject to the liquidity limitations established by the SEC. The Trustees have delegated to First Trust the day-to-day determination of illiquidity of equity and fixed income securities as described under “Illiquid Investments” in this SAI.

the 1940 Act the Trustees are required to monitor how the Fund operates and oversee matters where the interests of the Fund and its shareholders may differ from those of its investment adviser.

First Trust is registered as an investment adviser with the SEC, and is subject to regulation and oversight designed to protect shareholders. Under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, First Trust is a fiduciary to its clients, including the Fund, and is therefore required to act in the best interests of clients and to place the interests of clients before its own.

Information Regarding the Use of Leverage and Collateral. The AIFM Directive requires disclosure of certain information relating to leverage, collateral and asset re-use arrangements. The Fund may obtain leverage through the use of derivatives and other non-fully funded investments such as reverse repurchase agreements, firm commitment agreements and standby commitment agreements if, and to the extent that, such transactions are (i) disclosed in the Fund’s Prospectus and SAI and (ii) deemed appropriate investments by First Trust. These leveraged trading practices generally have not been prohibited by the SEC, though the SEC has published guidance on the manner in which the Fund may cover its leveraged trading practices to limit leverage and avoid the need to address the leverage concerns in Section 18 of the 1940 Act, which severely restricts how the Fund may use leverage. All arrangements entered into by First Trust on behalf of the Fund which result in leverage follow the parameter of the guidance published by the SEC.

Investors should refer to the “Investment Objectives and Policies” and “Investment Strategies” section of this SAI for more details on the use and risk of leverage by the Fund.

Shareholder Voting Rights. The Declaration requires a shareholder vote only on those matters where the 1940 Act requires a vote of shareholders and otherwise permits the Trustees to take actions without seeking the consent of shareholders. The Fund’s fundamental policies, as described in the “Investment Objectives and Policies” section of this SAI, may not be changed without approval of the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as such term is defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund. The 1940 Act defines a majority vote as the vote of the lesser of (i) 67% or more of the voting securities represented at a meeting at which more than 50% of the outstanding securities are represented; or (ii) more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities.

The historical performance of the Fund since inception is available online at: www.ftglobalportfolios.com.

Professional Liability Requirements/Delegation by the AIFM/Valuation. As a non-EU AIFM, First Trust is not subject to certain EU requirements relating to (i) the cover of professional liability risk by holding either additional of its own funds or appropriate professional liability insurance; (ii) permitted delegation and the management and disclosure of conflicts of interest relating to any such delegation; and (iii) valuation as set out in Article 19 of the AIFM Directive. As such, no disclosures for the purposes of the AIFM Directive have been made. Notwithstanding this, First Trust and the Fund continue to comply with their requirements under US law.

Periodic Disclosure Obligations. The following information will be disclosed to Fund shareholders on a periodic basis by way of a posting being made on www.ftglobalportfolios.com:

•

the percentage of the Fund’s assets, if any, that are subject to special arrangements arising from their illiquid nature (including, but not limited to, deferrals of redemptions and suspensions);

•

the current risk profile of the Fund and the risk management systems employed by the AIFM to manage those risks; and

•

the total amount of leverage employed by the Fund, if any.

INFORMATION FOR INVESTORS IN HONG KONG ONLY

INFORMATION FOR INVESTORS IN SINGAPORE ONLY

INFORMATION FOR INVESTORS IN TAIWAN ONLY

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

The Trust has adopted a proxy voting policy that seeks to ensure that proxies for securities held by the Fund are voted consistently with the best interests of the Fund.

The Fund’s portfolio holdings are publicly disseminated each day the Fund is open for business through financial reporting and news services, including publicly accessible Internet websites. In addition, a basket composition file, which includes the security names and share quantities to deliver in exchange for Fund shares, together with estimates and actual cash components, is publicly disseminated each day the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") is open for trading via the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”). Pursuant to Rule 6c-11 under the 1940 Act, information regarding the Fund’s current portfolio holdings will be available on a daily basis at https://www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/etf/home.aspx. The Trust, First Trust, FTP and BNYM will not disseminate non-public information concerning the Trust.

Creation and Redemption of Creation Units

the day on which the redemption request is received in proper form. Section 22(e) of the 1940 Act generally prohibits a registered open-end management investment company from postponing the date of satisfaction of redemption requests for more than seven days after the tender of a security for redemption. This prohibition can cause operational difficulties for ETFs that hold foreign investments and exchange in-kind baskets for Creation Units. For example, local market delivery cycles for transferring foreign investments to redeeming investors, together with local market holiday schedules, can sometimes require a delivery process in excess of seven days. However, Rule 6c-11 grants relief from Section 22(e) to permit an ETF to delay satisfaction of a redemption request for more than seven days if a local market holiday, or series of consecutive holidays, or the extended delivery cycles for transferring foreign investments to redeeming Authorized Participants, or the combination thereof prevents timely delivery of the foreign investment included in the ETF’s basket. Under this exemption, an ETF must deliver foreign investments as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 days after the tender to the ETF. The exemption therefore will permit a delay only to the extent that additional time for settlement is actually required, when a local market holiday, or series of consecutive holidays, or the extended delivery cycles for transferring foreign investments to redeeming authorized participants prevents timely delivery of the foreign investment included in the ETF’s basket. If a foreign investment settles in less than 15 days, Rule 6c-11 requires an ETF to deliver it pursuant to the standard settlement time of the local market where the investment trades. Rule 6c-11 defines “foreign investment” as any security, asset or other position of the ETF issued by a foreign issuer (as defined by Rule 3b-4 under the 1934 Act), and that is traded on a trading market outside of the United States. This definition is not limited to “foreign securities,” but also includes other investments that may not be considered securities. Although these other investments may not be securities, they may present the same challenges for timely settlement as foreign securities if they are transferred in kind.

Suspension of Creations. The SEC has stated its position that an ETF generally may reject or suspend the issuance of Creation Units only for a limited time and only due to extraordinary circumstances, such as when the markets on which the ETF’s portfolio holdings are traded are closed for a limited period of time. The SEC has also stated that an ETF could not set transaction fees so high as to effectively suspend the issuance of Creation Units. Circumstances in which the Fund may suspend or reject creations include, but are not limited to: (i) the order is not in proper form; (ii) the purchaser or group of related purchasers, upon obtaining the Creation Units of Fund shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding shares of the Fund; (iii) the required consideration is not delivered; (iv) the acceptance of the basket would, in the opinion of the Fund, be unlawful; or (v) there exist circumstances outside the control of the Fund that make it impossible to process purchases of Creation Units for all practical purposes. Examples of such circumstances include: acts of God or public service or utility problems such as fires, floods, extreme weather conditions and power outages resulting in telephone, telecopy and computer failures; market conditions or activities causing trading halts; systems failures involving computer or other information systems affecting the Fund, First Trust, the Distributor, DTC, NSCC, the transfer agent, the custodian, any sub-custodian or any other participant in the purchase process; and similar extraordinary events. The Fund reserves the right to reject a creation order transmitted to it provided that such action does not result in a suspension of sales of creation units in contravention of 6c-11 and the SEC’s positions thereunder. The Transfer Agent shall notify a prospective creator of a Creation Unit and/or the Authorized Participant acting on behalf of such prospective creator of the rejection of the order of such person. The Trust, the Fund, the Transfer Agent, the custodian, any sub-custodian and the Distributor are

under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of baskets, nor shall any of them incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification.

Federal Tax Matters

This federal income tax summary is based in part on the advice of counsel to the Fund. The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) could disagree with any conclusions set forth in this section. The following disclosure may not be sufficient for prospective investors to use for the purpose of avoiding penalties under federal tax law.

As with any investment, prospective investors should seek advice based on their individual circumstances from their own tax advisor.

The Fund intends to qualify annually and to elect to be treated as a regulated investment company (a “RIC”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).

To qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment generally accorded to RICs, the Fund must, among other things, (i) derive in each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies or other income derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies, or net income derived from interests in certain publicly traded partnerships; (ii) diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of the taxable year, (a) at least 50% of the market value of the Fund's assets is represented by cash and cash items (including receivables), U.S. government securities, the securities of other RICs and other securities, with such other securities of any one issuer generally limited for the purposes of this calculation to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the Fund's total assets and not greater than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (b) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets is invested in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or the securities of other RICs) of any one issuer, or two or more issuers which the Fund controls which are engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more of certain publicly traded partnerships; and (iii) distribute at least 90% of its investment company taxable income (which includes, among other items, dividends, interest and net short-term capital gains in excess of net long-term capital losses) and at least 90% of its net tax-exempt interest income each taxable year. There are certain exceptions for failure to qualify if the failure is for reasonable cause or is de minimis, and certain corrective action is taken and certain tax payments are made by the Fund.

income tax at regular corporate rates on the amount retained. In addition, amounts not distributed on a timely basis in accordance with a calendar year distribution requirement are subject to a nondeductible 4% excise tax unless, generally, the Fund distributes during each calendar year an amount equal to the sum of (1) at least 98% of its ordinary income (not taking into account any capital gains or losses) for the calendar year, (2) at least 98.2% of its capital gains in excess of its capital losses (adjusted for certain ordinary losses) for the one-year period ending October 31 of the calendar year, and (3) any ordinary income and capital gains for previous years that were not distributed during those years. In order to prevent application of the excise tax, the Fund intends to make its distributions in accordance with the calendar year distribution requirement. A distribution will be treated as paid on December 31 of the current calendar year if it is declared by the Fund in October, November or December with a record date in such a month and paid by the Fund during January of the following calendar year. Such distributions will be taxable to shareholders in the calendar year in which the distributions are declared, rather than the calendar year in which the distributions are received.

Distributions

Dividends paid out of the Fund's investment company taxable income are generally taxable to a shareholder as ordinary income to the extent of the Fund’s earnings and profits, whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares. The presence of call options in the portfolio may reduce the amount of dividends that are eligible for capital gains rates.

Distributions of net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss), if any, properly reported as capital gain dividends are taxable to a shareholder as long-term capital gains, regardless of how long the shareholder has held Fund shares. An election may be available to you to defer recognition of the gain attributable to a capital gain dividend if you make certain qualifying investments within a limited time. You should talk to your tax advisor about the availability of this deferral election and its requirements. Shareholders receiving distributions in the form of additional shares, rather than cash, generally will have a tax basis in each such share equal to the value of a share of the Fund on the reinvestment date. A distribution of an amount in excess of the Fund's current and accumulated earnings and profits will be treated by a shareholder as a return of capital which is applied against and reduces the shareholder’s basis in his or her shares. To the extent that the amount of any such distribution exceeds the shareholder’s basis in his or her shares, the excess will be treated by the shareholder as gain from a sale or exchange of the shares. The presence of call options in the portfolio may reduce the amount of dividends that would otherwise be treated as capital gain dividends.

Sale or Exchange of Fund Shares

disposition of shares or to the extent that the shareholder, during such period, acquires or enters into an option or contract to acquire substantially identical stock or securities. In such a case, the basis of the shares acquired will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss. Any loss realized by a shareholder on a disposition of Fund shares held by the shareholder for six months or less will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any distributions of long-term capital gain received by the shareholder with respect to such shares.

Taxes on Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units

Treatment of the FLEX Options

Nature of Fund Investments

Futures Contracts and Options

amounts necessary to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement for qualifying to be taxed as a regulated investment company and the distribution requirements for avoiding excise taxes.

Backup Withholding

Non-U.S. Shareholders

U.S. taxation of a shareholder who, as to the United States, is a nonresident alien individual, a foreign trust or estate, a foreign corporation or foreign partnership (“non-U.S. shareholder”) depends on whether the income of the Fund is “effectively connected” with a U.S. trade or business carried on by the shareholder.

In addition to the rules described in this section concerning the potential imposition of withholding on distributions to non-U.S. persons, distributions to non-U.S. persons that are “financial institutions” may be subject to a withholding tax of 30% unless an agreement is in place between the financial institution and the U.S. Treasury to collect and disclose information about accounts, equity investments or debt interests in the financial institution held by one or more U.S. persons or the institution is resident in a jurisdiction that has entered into such an agreement with the U.S. Treasury. For these purposes, a “financial institution” means any entity that (i) accepts deposits in the ordinary course of a banking or similar business; (ii) holds financial assets for the account of others as a substantial portion of its business; or (iii) is engaged (or holds itself out as being engaged) primarily in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities, partnership interests, commodities or any interest (including a futures contract or option) in such securities, partnership interests or commodities. This withholding tax is also currently scheduled to apply to the gross proceeds from the disposition of securities that produce U.S. source interest or dividends. However, proposed regulations may eliminate the requirement to withhold on payments of gross proceeds from dispositions.

Distributions of capital gain dividends and any amounts retained by the Fund which are properly reported by the Fund as undistributed capital gains will not be subject to U.S. tax at the rate of 30% (or lower treaty rate) unless the non-U.S. shareholder is a nonresident alien individual and is physically present in the United States for more than 182 days during the taxable year and meets certain other requirements. However, this 30% tax on capital gains of nonresident alien individuals who are physically present in the United States for more than the 182 day period only applies in exceptional cases because any individual present in the United States for more than 182 days during the taxable year is generally treated as a resident for U.S. income tax purposes; in that case, he or she would be subject to U.S. income tax on his or her worldwide income at the graduated rates applicable to U.S. citizens, rather than the 30% U.S. tax. In the case of a non-U.S. shareholder who is a nonresident alien individual, the Fund may be required to withhold U.S. income tax from distributions of net capital gain unless the non-U.S. shareholder certifies his or her non-U.S. status under penalties of perjury or otherwise establishes an exemption. If a non-U.S. shareholder is a nonresident alien individual, any gain such shareholder realizes upon the sale or exchange of such shareholder’s shares of the Fund in the United States will ordinarily be exempt from U.S. tax unless the gain is U.S. source income and such shareholder is physically present in the United States for more than 182 days during the taxable year and meets certain other requirements.

Capital Loss Carry-forward

Under the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010, net capital losses of the Fund incurred in taxable years beginning after December 22, 2010 may be carried forward indefinitely, and their character is retained as short-term and/or long-term losses. To the extent that these loss carry-forwards are used to offset future capital gains, it is probable that the capital gains so offset will not be distributed to Fund shareholders.The Fund intends to utilize provisions of the federal income tax laws, which allow the Fund to carry a realized capital loss forward indefinitely following the year of the loss and offset such loss against any future realized capital gains. As of December 31, 2023, the Fund had net capital losses for federal income tax purposes as shown in the table below. The Fund is subject to certain limitations, under U.S. tax rules, on the use of capital loss carry-forwards and net unrealized built-in losses. These limitations generally apply when there has been a 50% change in ownership.

Total

Non-Expiring

Capital Loss

Available

$31,595

Other Taxation

Determination of Net Asset Value

The Fund’s net asset value is determined as set forth in the Prospectus in the section entitled “Net Asset Value.”

Dividends and Distributions

The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Dividends, Distributions and Taxes.”

General Policies. Dividends from net investment income of the Fund, if any, are declared and paid monthly. Distributions of net realized securities gains, if any, generally are declared and paid once a year, but the Trust may make distributions on a more frequent basis. The Trust reserves the right to declare special distributions if, in its reasonable

discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve the status of the Fund as a RIC or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income.

Dividend Reinvestment Service. No reinvestment service is provided by the Trust. Broker-dealers may make available the DTC book-entry Dividend Reinvestment Service for use by Beneficial Owners of the Fund for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. Beneficial Owners should contact their brokers in order to determine the availability and costs of the service and the details of participation therein. Brokers may require Beneficial Owners to adhere to specific procedures and timetables. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole shares of the Fund purchased in the secondary market.

Miscellaneous Information

Counsel. Chapman and Cutler LLP, 320 South Canal St., Chicago, Illinois 60606, is counsel to the Trust.

Financial Statements

Exhibit A—Principal Holders Table

NAME OF BENEFICIAL OWNER	% OF OUTSTANDING SHARES OWNED
FT VEST GOLD STRATEGY TARGET INCOME ETF
National Financial Services LLC	43.71%
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.	36.86%
Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC	7.41%
Pershing LLC	5.54%

Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.: 2423 E Lincoln Drive, Phoenix, Arizona 85016

National Financial Services LLC: 499 Washington Boulevard, Jersey City, New Jersey 07310

Pershing LLC: One Pershing Plaza, Jersey City, New Jersey 07399

Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC: 2801 Market Street, H0006-09B, St. Louis, Missouri 63103

A-1

Exhibit B—Proxy Voting Guidelines

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures of Vest Financial, LLC, the (“Firm”)

Last Amended: October 7, 2022 (firm name updated January 2, 2024)

Background

Voting Policy

B-1

Voting Procedures

Conflicts of Interest

•

A principal of the Firm or any person involved in the proxy decision-making process currently serves on the Board of the portfolio company.

•

An immediate family member of a principal of the Firm or any person involved in the proxy decision-making process currently serves as a director or executive officer of the portfolio company.

•

The Firm, or any Client account managed by the Firm any or any affiliate, holds a significant ownership interest in the portfolio company.

The Firm shall also maintain records of any conflicts of interest that were identified with any specific vote, and if so, what action was taken to resolve the conflict with respect to each vote cast.

Due Diligence

Reporting

B-2

Proxy Vote Record Retention

Form N-PX Filing Logistics

•

the name of the issuer;

•

the exchange ticker symbol, if available;

•

the CUSIP number, if available;

•

the shareholder meeting date;

•

a brief identification of the matter voted on;

•

whether the matter was proposed by the issuer or a security holder;

•

whether the Firm cast its vote on the matter;

•

how the Firm cast its vote on the matter (for, against, abstain, or withhold regarding the election of directors); and

•

whether the Firm cast its vote for or against management.

The Firm shall provide the information necessary to complete the Form N-PX to the appropriate fund service provider who will submit the filings in a timely manner.

B-3

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Investment Company Act File No. 811-21774

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund

FUND NAME	TICKER SYMBOL	EXCHANGE
First Trust Dividend Strength ETF	FTDS	Nasdaq

DATED MAY 1, 2024

This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus. It should be read in conjunction with the prospectus dated May 1, 2024, as it may be revised from time to time (the “Prospectus”), for the First Trust Dividend Strength ETF (the “Fund”), a series of the First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund (the “Trust”). Capitalized terms used herein that are not defined have the same meaning as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise noted. A copy of the Prospectus may be obtained without charge by writing to the Trust’s distributor, First Trust Portfolios L.P., 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, or by calling toll free at (800) 621-1675.

Table of Contents

General Description of the Trust and the Fund	1
Exchange Listing and Trading	3
Investment Objective and Policies	3
Investment Strategies	5
Sublicense Agreements	8
Investment Risks	8
Management of the Fund	11
Brokerage Allocations	21
Administrator, Fund Accounting Agent, Custodian, Transfer Agent, Distributor, Index Providers and Exchange	22
Additional Payments to Financial Intermediaries	24
Additional Information	26
Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures	27
Creation and Redemption of Creation Units	28
Federal Tax Matters	31
Determination of Net Asset Value	36
Dividends and Distributions	36
Miscellaneous Information	36
Financial Statements	36
Exhibit A—Principal Holders Table	A-1
Exhibit B—Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures	B-1

General Description of the Trust and the Fund

The Trust was organized as a Massachusetts business trust on August 8, 2003 and is authorized to issue an unlimited number of shares in one or more series. The Trust is an open-end management investment company, registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). The Trust currently offers shares in 24 series. This SAI relates to the Fund, which is a diversified series.

The Fund, as a series of the Trust, represents a beneficial interest in a separate portfolio of securities and other assets, with its own objective and policies. On January 9, 2015, First Trust ValueLine Equity Allocation Index Fund changed its name to First Trust Total US Market AlphaDEX® ETF. On April 29, 2022, First Trust Total US Market AlphaDEX® ETF changed its name to First Trust Dividend Strength ETF. Each name change was made pursuant to the approval of the Board of Trustees of the Trust.

The Trust or any series or class thereof may be terminated at any time by the Board of Trustees upon written notice to the shareholders.

The holders of Fund shares are required to disclose information on direct or indirect ownership of Fund shares as may be required to comply with various laws applicable to the Fund or as the Trustees may determine, and ownership of Fund shares may be disclosed by the Fund if so required by law or regulation. In addition, pursuant to the Declaration, the Trustees may, in their discretion, require the Trust to redeem shares held by any shareholder for any reason under terms set by the Trustees.

90 days, which may be extended by an additional 60 days, to consider the demand. If a majority of the Trustees who are considered independent for the purposes of considering the demand determine that maintaining the suit would not be in the best interests of the Fund, the Trustees are required to reject the demand and the complaining shareholder may not proceed with the derivative action unless the shareholder is able to sustain the burden of proof to a court that the decision of the Trustees not to pursue the requested action was not a good faith exercise of their business judgment on behalf of the Fund. In making such a determination, a Trustee is not considered to have a personal financial interest by virtue of being compensated for his or her services as a Trustee. If a demand is rejected, the complaining shareholder will be responsible for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by the Fund in connection with the consideration of the demand under a number of circumstances. In addition, if a court determines that a derivative action was made without reasonable cause or for an improper purpose, or if a derivative or direct action is dismissed on the basis of a failure to comply with the procedural provisions relating to shareholder actions as set forth in the Declaration, or if a direct action is dismissed by a court for failure to state a claim, the shareholder bringing the action may be responsible for the Fund's costs, including attorneys’ fees. Shareholders also have the right to vote, to the same extent as the stockholders of a Massachusetts business corporation as to whether or not a court action, proceeding, or claim should or should not be brought or maintained derivatively or as a class action on behalf of the Trust or the Shareholders.

The provisions of the Declaration provide that any direct or derivative action commenced by a shareholder must be brought only in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts (Boston Division) or if any such action may not be brought in that court, then in the Business Litigation Session of Suffolk Superior Court in Massachusetts (the “Chosen Courts”). Except as prohibited by applicable law, if a shareholder commences an applicable action in a court other than a Chosen Court without the consent of the Fund, then such shareholder may be obligated to reimburse the Fund and any applicable Trustee or officer of the Fund made party to such proceeding for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred in connection with any successful motion to dismiss, stay or transfer of the action. The Declaration also provides that any shareholder bringing an action against the Fund waives the right to trial by jury to the fullest extent permitted by law.

The Trust is not required to and does not intend to hold annual meetings of shareholders.

The Fund is advised by First Trust Advisors L.P. (the “Advisor” or “First Trust”).

The shares of the Fund are principally listed and traded on Nasdaq, Inc. ("Nasdaq" or the "Exchange"), as shown on the cover of this SAI. ETFs, such as the Fund, do not sell or redeem individual shares of the Fund. Instead, financial entities known as “Authorized Participants” (which are discussed in greater detail below) have contractual arrangements with the Fund or the Distributor to purchase and redeem Fund shares directly with the Fund in large blocks of shares known as “Creation Units.” An Authorized Participant that purchases a Creation Unit of Fund shares deposits with the Fund a “basket” of securities, cash and/or other assets identified by the Fund that day, and then receives the Creation Unit of Fund shares in return for those assets. The redemption process is the reverse of the purchase process: the Authorized Participant redeems a Creation Unit of Fund shares for a basket of securities, cash and/or other assets. The basket is generally representative of the Fund’s portfolio, and together with a cash balancing amount, it is equal to the NAV of the Fund shares comprising the Creation Unit. Pursuant to Rule 6c-11 of the 1940 Act, the Fund may utilize baskets that are not representative of the Fund’s portfolio. Such “custom baskets” are discussed in the section entitled “Creation and Redemption of Creation Units.”

Exchange Listing and Trading

There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of shares of the Fund will continue to be met. The Exchange may, but is not required to, remove the shares of the Fund from listing if (i) following the initial 12-month period beginning at the commencement of trading of the Fund, there are fewer than 50 beneficial owners of the shares of the Fund for 30 or more consecutive trading days; (ii) the value of the Fund’s Index (as defined below) is no longer calculated or available; or (iii) such other event shall occur or condition exist that, in the opinion of the Exchange, makes further dealings on the Exchange inadvisable. Please note that Nasdaq may have a conflict of interest with respect to the Fund because shares of the Fund are listed on Nasdaq and Nasdaq is also the Fund’s Index Provider. The Exchange will remove the shares of the Fund from listing and trading upon termination of the Fund.

As in the case of other stocks traded on the Exchange, brokers’ commissions on transactions will be based on negotiated commission rates at customary levels.

Investment Objective and Policies

(1)

The Fund may not issue senior securities, except as permitted under the 1940 Act.

(2)

The Fund may not borrow money, except that the Fund may (i) borrow money from banks for temporary or emergency purposes (but not for leverage or the purchase of investments) and (ii) engage in other transactions permissible under the 1940 Act that may involve a borrowing (such as obtaining short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions, engaging in delayed-delivery transactions, or purchasing certain futures, forward contracts and options), provided that the combination of (i) and (ii) shall not exceed 33⅓% of the value of the Fund's total assets (including the amount borrowed), less the Fund's liabilities (other than borrowings).

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

The Fund may not invest 25% or more of the value of its total assets in securities of issuers in any one industry or group of industries, except to the extent that the Fund’s Index is based on concentrations in an industry or a group of industries. This restriction does not apply to obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities.

(8)

The Fund, may not, as to 75% of its total assets, purchase the securities of any issuer (except securities of other investment companies or securities issued or guaranteed by the United States government or any agency or instrumentality thereof) if, as a result, (i) more than 5% of the Fund's total assets would be invested in securities of that issuer; or (ii) the Fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.

The fundamental investment limitations set forth above limit the Fund's ability to engage in certain investment practices and purchase securities or other instruments to the extent permitted by, or consistent with, applicable law. As such, these limitations will change as the statute, rules, regulations or orders (or, if applicable, interpretations) change, and no shareholder vote will be required or sought.

In addition to the foregoing fundamental policies, the Fund is also subject to strategies and policies discussed herein which, unless otherwise noted, are non-fundamental restrictions and policies and may be changed by the Board of Trustees.

Investment Strategies

The following information supplements the discussion of the Fund's investment objective, policies and strategies that appear in the Prospectus.

Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 90% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in common stocks and real estate investment trusts ("REITs") that comprise The Dividend StrengthTM Index (the “Index”). The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. Fund shareholders are entitled to 60 days’ notice prior to any change in this non-fundamental investment policy. The Index is owned and is developed, maintained and sponsored by Nasdaq, Inc. (the “Index Provider”). The Index Provider may, from time to time, exercise reasonable discretion as it deems appropriate in order to ensure Index integrity.

Under various circumstances, full replication of the Index may not be possible or practicable. In those circumstances, the Fund may purchase a sample of securities in the Index. There may also be instances in which First Trust may choose to overweight certain securities in the Index, purchase securities not in the Index which First Trust believes are appropriate to substitute for certain securities in the Index, use futures or derivative instruments or utilize various combinations of the above techniques in seeking to track the Index. The Fund may sell securities that are represented in the Index in anticipation of their removal from the Index or purchase securities not represented in the Index in anticipation of their addition to the Index.

Types of Investments

Fixed Income Investments and Cash Equivalents. Normally, the Fund invests substantially all of its assets to meet its investment objective; however, for temporary or defensive purposes, the Fund may invest in high quality money market instruments, fixed income instruments and cash equivalents on an ongoing basis in order to provide income, liquidity and preserve capital.

Fixed income investments and cash equivalents held by the Fund may include, without limitation, the types of investments set forth below.

(1)

guaranteeing the security for ultimate repayment and may not be able to assert a claim against the United States itself in the event that the agency or instrumentality does not meet its commitment. The U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities do not guarantee the market value of their securities; consequently, the value of such securities may fluctuate.

(2)

(3)

(4)

The Fund may invest in repurchase agreements, which involve purchases of debt securities with counterparties that are deemed by First Trust Advisors L.P. (the "Advisor") to present acceptable credit risks. In such an action, at the time the Fund purchases the security, it simultaneously agrees to resell and redeliver the security to the seller, who also simultaneously agrees to buy back the security at a fixed price and time. This assures a predetermined yield for the Fund during its holding period since the resale price is always greater than the purchase price and reflects an agreed-upon market rate. Such actions afford an opportunity for the Fund to invest temporarily available cash. The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements only with respect to obligations of the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, certificates of deposit or bankers’ acceptances in which the Fund may invest. Repurchase agreements may be considered loans to the seller, collateralized by the underlying securities. The risk to the Fund is limited to the ability of the seller to pay the agreed-upon sum on the repurchase date; in the event of default, the repurchase agreement provides that the affected Fund is entitled to sell the underlying collateral. If the value of the collateral declines after the agreement is entered into, however, and if the seller defaults under a repurchase agreement when the value of the underlying collateral is less than the repurchase price, the Fund could incur a loss of both principal and interest. The portfolio managers monitor the value of the collateral at the time the action is entered into and at all times during the term of the repurchase agreement. The portfolio managers do so in an effort to determine that the value of the collateral always equals or exceeds the agreed-upon repurchase price to be paid to the Fund. If the seller were to be subject to a federal bankruptcy proceeding, the ability of the Fund to liquidate the collateral could be delayed or impaired because of certain provisions of the bankruptcy laws.

(5)

(6)

The Fund may invest in commercial paper, which are short-term unsecured promissory notes, including variable rate master demand notes issued by corporations to finance their current operations. Master demand notes are direct lending arrangements between the Fund and a corporation. There is no secondary market for the notes. However, they are redeemable by the Fund at any time. The Fund's portfolio managers will consider the financial condition of the corporation (e.g., earning power, cash flow and other liquidity ratios) and will regularly monitor the corporation’s ability to meet all of its financial obligations, because the Fund's liquidity might be impaired if the corporation were unable to pay principal and interest on demand. The Fund may invest in commercial paper rated at the day of purchase “Prime-1” by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. or “A-1+” or “A-1” by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group, Inc., or, if unrated, of comparable quality as determined by First Trust.

(7)

Restricted securities may be sold only in privately negotiated transactions or in a public offering with respect to which a registration statement is in effect under the 1933 Act. Where registration is required, the Fund may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expenses and a considerable period may elapse between the time of the decision to sell and the time the Fund may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the Fund might obtain a less favorable price than that which prevailed when it decided to sell. Illiquid investments will be priced at fair value as determined in good faith under procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. If, through the appreciation of illiquid investments or the depreciation of liquid investments, the Fund should be in a position where more than 15% of the value of its net assets are invested in illiquid investments, including restricted securities which are not readily marketable, the Advisor will report such occurrence to the Board of Trustees and take such steps as are deemed advisable to protect liquidity in accordance with the Fund’s liquidity risk management program.

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund buys and sells portfolio securities in the normal course of its investment activities. The proportion of the Fund's investment portfolio that is bought and sold during a year is known as the Fund's portfolio turnover rate. A portfolio turnover rate of 100% would occur, for example, if all of the portfolio securities (other than short-term securities) were replaced once during the fiscal year. A high portfolio turnover rate could result in the payment by the Fund of increased brokerage costs, expenses and taxes. Significant variations in portfolio turnover from year to year are generally the result of fluctuations in the size of the Fund or changes to the Fund's portfolio holdings. The portfolio turnover rate for the specified periods are set forth in the table below.

Portfolio Turnover Rate
Fiscal Year Ended December 31,
2023	2022
104%	225%

Lending of Portfolio Securities

up to 33⅓% of the value of its total assets to broker-dealers, banks or other institutional borrowers of securities. As with other extensions of credit, there may be risks of delay in recovery of the securities or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially. However, such First Trust Funds will only enter into loan arrangements with broker-dealers, banks or other institutions which First Trust has determined are creditworthy under guidelines approved by the Board of Trustees. The First Trust Funds will pay a portion of the income earned on the lending transaction to the placing broker and may pay administrative and custodial fees in connection with these loans. First Trust may select any First Trust Fund to participate in the securities lending program, at its discretion with notice to the Board of Trustees.

In these loan arrangements, the First Trust Funds will receive collateral in the form of cash, U.S. government securities or other high-grade debt obligations in an amount at least equal to the value of the borrowed securities, marked to market daily. This collateral must be valued daily by First Trust or the First Trust Fund’s lending agent and, if the market value of the loaned securities increases, the borrower must furnish additional collateral to the lending First Trust Fund. During the time portfolio securities are on loan, the borrower pays the lending First Trust Fund any dividends or interest paid on the securities. Loans are subject to termination at any time by the lending First Trust Fund or the borrower. While a First Trust Fund does not have the right to vote securities on loan, it would terminate the loan and regain the right to vote if that were considered important with respect to the investment. When a First Trust Fund lends portfolio securities to a borrower, payments in lieu of dividends made by the borrower to the First Trust Fund will not constitute “qualified dividends” taxable at the same rate as long-term capital gains, even if the actual dividends would have constituted qualified dividends had the First Trust Fund held the securities. Please see "Securities Lending Risk" below for a description of the risks associated with securities lending activities.

Sublicense Agreements

The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, relies on a product license agreement (the “Product License Agreement”) by and between the Index Provider and First Trust and a related sublicense agreement (the “Sublicense Agreement”) with First Trust that grants the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, a non-exclusive and non-transferable sublicense to use certain intellectual property of the Index Provider in connection with the issuance, distribution, marketing and/or promotion of the Fund. Pursuant to the Sublicense Agreement, the Fund has agreed to be bound by certain provisions of the Product License Agreement. Pursuant to the Product License Agreement, First Trust will pay the Index Provider an annual license fee. Under the Sublicense Agreement, the Fund bears the costs associated with the Product License Agreement.

Investment Risks

The following risk disclosure supplements the discussion of the Fund's investment risks that appears in the Prospectus.

Overview

An investment in the Fund should be made with an understanding of the risks that an investment in the Fund's shares entails, including the risk that the financial condition of the issuers of the securities held by the Fund or the general condition of the securities market may worsen and the value of the securities and therefore the value of the Fund may decline. The Fund may not be an appropriate investment for those who are unable or unwilling to assume the risks involved generally with such an investment. The past market and earnings performance of any of the securities included in the Fund is not predictive of their future performance.

Additional Market Disruption Risk

In February 2022, Russia commenced a military attack on Ukraine. In response, various countries, including the United States, issued broad-ranging sanctions on Russia and certain Russian companies and individuals. The hostilities between the two countries may escalate and any existing or future sanctions could have a severe adverse effect on Russia’s economy, currency, companies and region as well as negatively impact other regional and global economic markets of the world (including Europe and the United States), companies in such countries and various sectors, industries and markets for securities and commodities globally, such as oil and natural gas. Accordingly, the hostilities and sanctions may have a negative effect on the Fund’s investments and performance beyond any direct exposure to Russian issuers or those of adjoining geographic regions. Russia may also take retaliatory actions or countermeasures, such as cyberattacks and espionage, which may negatively impact the countries and companies in which the Fund may invest. The extent and duration of the military action or future escalation of such hostilities; the extent and impact of existing and any future sanctions, market disruptions and volatility; and the result of any diplomatic negotiations cannot be predicted. These and any related

events could have a significant negative impact on certain of the Fund’s investments as well as the Fund’s performance, and the value or liquidity of certain securities held by the Fund may decline significantly.

Common Stock Risk

Shareholders of common stocks of the type held by the Fund have a right to receive dividends only when and if, and in the amounts, declared by the issuer’s board of directors and have a right to participate in amounts available for distribution by the issuer only after all other claims on the issuer have been paid or otherwise been settled. Common stocks do not represent an obligation of the issuer and, therefore, do not offer any assurance of income or provide the same degree of protection of capital as do debt securities. The issuance of additional debt securities or preferred stock will create prior claims for payment of principal, interest and dividends which could adversely affect the ability and inclination of the issuer to declare or pay dividends on its common stock or the rights of holders of common stock with respect to assets of the issuer upon liquidation or bankruptcy. The value of common stocks is subject to market fluctuations for as long as the common stocks remain outstanding, and thus the value of the equity securities in the Fund will fluctuate over the life of the Fund and may be more or less than the price at which they were purchased by the Fund. The equity securities held in the Fund may appreciate or depreciate in value (or pay dividends) depending on the full range of economic and market influences affecting these securities, including the impact of the Fund ’s purchase and sale of the equity securities and other factors.

Dividends Risk

Shareholders of common stocks have rights to receive payments from the issuers of those common stocks that are generally subordinate to those of creditors of, or holders of debt obligations or preferred stocks of, such issuers. Shareholders of common stocks of the type held by the Fund have a right to receive dividends only when and if, and in the amounts, declared by the issuer’s board of directors and have a right to participate in amounts available for distribution by the issuer only after all other claims on the issuer have been paid or have otherwise been settled. Common stocks do not represent an obligation of the issuer and, therefore, do not offer any assurance of income or provide the same degree of protection of capital as do debt securities. The issuance of additional debt securities or preferred stock will create prior claims for payment of principal, interest and dividends which could adversely affect the ability and inclination of the issuer to declare or pay dividends on its common stock or the rights of holders of common stock with respect to assets of the issuer upon liquidation or bankruptcy. Cumulative preferred stock dividends must be paid before common stock dividends, and any cumulative preferred stock dividend omitted is added to future dividends payable to the holders of cumulative preferred stock. Preferred stockholders are also generally entitled to rights on liquidation that are senior to those of common stockholders.

Large Capitalization Companies Risk

Large capitalization companies may grow at a slower rate and be less able to adapt to changing market conditions than smaller capitalization companies. Thus, the return on investment in securities of large capitalization companies may be less than the return on investment in securities of small and/or mid capitalization companies. The performance of large capitalization companies also tends to trail the overall market during different market cycles.

Liquidity Risk

existence of a liquid trading market for such equity securities may depend on whether dealers will make a market in the equity securities. There can be no assurance that a market will be made for any of the equity securities, that any market for such equity securities will be maintained or that there will be sufficient liquidity of such equity securities in any markets made. The price at which the equity securities are held by the Fund will be adversely affected if trading markets for such equity securities are limited or absent.

Listing Standards Risk

The Fund is required to comply with listing requirements adopted by the Exchange. Non-compliance with such requirements may result in the Fund's shares being delisted by the Exchange. Any resulting liquidation of the Fund could cause the Fund to incur elevated transaction costs and could result in negative tax consequences for its shareholders.

Market Risk

Market risk is the risk that a particular security, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic, political, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of the Fund could decline in value or underperform other investments due to short-term market movements or any longer periods during more prolonged market downturns. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, natural disasters or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. Such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. Such events could adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio securities or other instruments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of the Fund’s shares and result in increased market volatility. During any such events, the Fund’s shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value.

Health crises caused by the outbreak of infectious diseases or other public health issues, may exacerbate other pre-existing political, social, economic, market and financial risks. The impact of any such events, could negatively affect the global economy, as well as the economies of individual countries or regions, the financial performance of individual companies, sectors and industries, and the markets in general in significant and unforeseen ways. Any such impact could adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the securities and other instruments in which the Fund invests and negatively impact the Fund’s investment return. For example, an outbreak of a respiratory disease designated as COVID-19 was first detected in China in December 2019 and subsequently spread internationally. The transmission of COVID-19 and efforts to contain its spread resulted in international, national and local border closings and other significant travel restrictions and disruptions, significant disruptions to business operations, supply chains and customer activity, event cancellations and restrictions, service cancellations, reductions and other changes, significant challenges in healthcare service preparation and delivery, and quarantines, as well as general concern and uncertainty that negatively affected the economic environment. While vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against future variants of the disease. The impact of this COVID-19 pandemic may be short term or may last for an extended period of time, and in either case could result in a substantial economic downturn or recession.

Portfolio Turnover Risk

The Fund has an investment strategy that may frequently involve buying and selling portfolio securities. High portfolio turnover may result in the Fund paying higher levels of transaction costs, including brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and other costs and may generate greater tax liabilities for shareholders. Portfolio turnover risk may cause the Fund’s performance to be less than expected.

Real Estate Investment Trust Risk

properties; the ability of the owners to provide adequate management, maintenance and insurance; the cost of complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act; increased competition from new properties; the impact of present or future environmental legislation and compliance with environmental laws; changes in real estate taxes and other operating expenses; adverse changes in governmental rules and fiscal policies; adverse changes in zoning laws; and other factors beyond the control of the issuers of the REITs. In addition, distributions received by the Fund from REITs may consist of dividends, capital gains and/or return of capital. Many of these distributions however will not generally qualify for favorable treatment as qualified dividend income.

Securities Lending Risk

Securities lending involves exposure to certain risks, including counterparty risk, collateral risk and operational risk. Counterparty risk is the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, a First Trust Fund engaged in securities lending transactions may suffer a loss and there may be a delay in recovering the lent securities. Any delay in the return of securities on loan may restrict the ability of the Fund to meet delivery or payment obligations. Collateral risk is the risk that the collateral received may be realized at a value lower than the value of the securities lent, whether due to inaccurate pricing of the collateral, adverse market movements in the value of the collateral, intra-day increases in the value of the securities lent, a deterioration in the credit rating of the collateral issuer, or the illiquidity of the market in which the collateral is traded. Securities lending also entails operational risks, such as settlement failures or delays in the settlement of instructions. Such failures or delays may restrict the ability of the Fund to meet delivery or payment obligations. Lastly, securities lending activities may result in adverse tax consequences for the Fund and its shareholders. For instance, substitute payments for dividends received by the Fund for securities loaned out by the Fund will not be considered qualified dividend income. The Fund could lose money if its short-term investment of the collateral declines in value over the period of the loan.

Small and Mid Capitalization Companies Risk

Certain of the equity securities in the Fund may be small and/or mid capitalization company stocks. While historically such company stocks have outperformed the stocks of large companies, the former have customarily involved more investment risk as well. Small and mid capitalization companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources; may lack management depth or experience; and may be more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic developments than large companies. Some of these companies may distribute, sell or produce products which have recently been brought to market and may be dependent on key personnel.

The prices of small and mid capitalization company securities are often more volatile than prices associated with large company issues, and can display abrupt or erratic movements at times, due to limited trading volumes and less publicly available information. Also, because small and mid capitalization companies normally have fewer shares outstanding and these shares trade less frequently than large companies, it may be more difficult for the Fund which contains these equity securities to buy and sell significant amounts of such shares without an unfavorable impact on prevailing market prices. The securities of small and mid capitalization companies are often traded OTC and may not be traded in the volumes typical of a national securities exchange.

Management of the Fund

Trustees and Officers

Trustees and Officers of the Trust. Unless otherwise indicated, the address of all persons below is c/o First Trust Advisors L.P., 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400, Wheaton, IL 60187.

Name and Year of Birth	Position and Offices with Trust	Term of Office and Year First Elected or Appointed	Principal Occupations During Past 5 Years	Number of Portfolios in the First Trust Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee	Other Trusteeships or Directorships Held by Trustee During the Past 5 Years
TRUSTEE WHO IS AN INTERESTED PERSON OF THE TRUST
James A. Bowen (1) 1955	Chairman of the Board and Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Chief Executive Officer, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.; Chairman of the Board of Directors, BondWave LLC (Software Development Company) and Stonebridge Advisors LLC (Investment Advisor)	268 Portfolios	None
INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES
Richard E. Erickson 1951	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Retired; Physician, Edward-Elmhurst Medical Group (2021 to September 2023); Physician and Officer, Wheaton Orthopedics (1990 to 2021)	268 Portfolios	None
Thomas R. Kadlec 1957	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Retired; President, ADM Investor Services, Inc. (Futures Commission Merchant) (2010 to July 2022)	268 Portfolios	Director, National Futures Association; formerly, Director of ADM Investor Services, Inc., ADM Investor Services International, ADMIS Hong Kong Ltd., ADMIS Singapore Ltd. and Futures Industry Association
Denise M. Keefe 1964	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since 2021	Executive Vice President, Advocate Aurora Health and President, Advocate Aurora Continuing Health Division (Integrated Healthcare System)	268 Portfolios	Director and Board Chair of Advocate Home Health Services, Advocate Home Care Products and Advocate Hospice; Director and Board Chair of Aurora At Home (since 2018); Director of Advocate Physician Partners Accountable Care Organization; Director of RML Long Term Acute Care Hospitals; Director of Senior Helpers (since 2021); and Director of MobileHelp (since 2022)
Robert F. Keith 1956	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	President, Hibs Enterprises (Financial and Management Consulting)	268 Portfolios	Formerly, Director of Trust Company of Illinois
Niel B. Nielson 1954	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Senior Advisor (2018 to present), Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer (2015 to 2018), Pelita Harapan Educational Foundation (Educational Products and Services)	268 Portfolios	None

Name and Year of Birth	Position and Offices with Trust	Term of Office and Length of Service	Principal Occupations During Past 5 Years
ADVISORY BOARD
Bronwyn Wright (2) 1971	Advisory Board Member	•Indefinite term •Since 2023	Independent Director to a number of Irish collective investment funds (2009 to present); Various roles at international affiliates of Citibank (1994 to 2009), including Managing Director, Citibank Europe plc and Head of Securities and Fund Services, Citi Ireland (2007 to 2009)
OFFICERS OF THE TRUST
James M. Dykas 1966	President and Chief Executive Officer	•Indefinite term •Since 2016	Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.; Chief Financial Officer, BondWave LLC (Software Development Company) and Stonebridge Advisors LLC (Investment Advisor)
W. Scott Jardine 1960	Secretary and Chief Legal Officer	•Indefinite term •Since inception	General Counsel, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.; Secretary and General Counsel, BondWave LLC; and Secretary, Stonebridge Advisors LLC
Daniel J. Lindquist 1970	Vice President	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Managing Director, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Kristi A. Maher 1966	Chief Compliance Officer and Assistant Secretary	•Indefinite term •Chief Compliance Officer since January 2011 •Assistant Secretary since inception	Deputy General Counsel, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Derek D. Maltbie 1972	Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer	•Indefinite term •Since 2023	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P., July 2021 – present. Previously, Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P., 2014 –2021.
Roger F. Testin 1966	Vice President	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Stan Ueland 1970	Vice President	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.

(1)

Mr. Bowen is deemed an “interested person” of the Trust due to his position as Chief Executive Officer of First Trust, investment advisor of the Fund.

(2)

Unitary Board Leadership Structure

Board. The Board is composed of five Independent Trustees and one Interested Trustee. The Interested Trustee, James A. Bowen, serves as the Chairman of the Board for each fund in the First Trust Fund Complex.

Annually, the Board reviews its governance structure and the committee structures, their performance and functions, and it reviews any processes that would enhance Board governance over the Fund's business. The Board has determined that its leadership structure, including the unitary board and committee structure, is appropriate based on the characteristics of the funds it serves and the characteristics of the First Trust Fund Complex as a whole.

In order to streamline communication between the Advisor and the Independent Trustees and create certain efficiencies, the Board has a Lead Independent Trustee who is responsible for: (i) chairing all meetings of the Independent Trustees; (ii) working with the Advisor, Fund counsel and the independent legal counsel to the Independent Trustees to determine the agenda for Board meetings; (iii) serving as the principal contact for and facilitating communication between the Independent Trustees and the Fund's service providers, particularly the Advisor; and (iv) any other duties that the Independent Trustees may delegate to the Lead Independent Trustee. The Lead Independent Trustee is selected by the Independent Trustees and serves for such term as approved by the Independent Trustees or until his or her successor is selected. Robert F. Keith currently serves as the Lead Independent Trustee.

The Board has established five standing committees (as described below) and has delegated certain of its responsibilities to those committees. The Board and its committees meet frequently throughout the year to oversee the Fund's activities, review contractual arrangements with and performance of service providers, oversee compliance with regulatory requirements and review Fund performance. The Independent Trustees are represented by independent legal counsel at all Board and committee meetings (other than meetings of the Dividend Committee). Generally, the Board acts by majority vote of all the Trustees, including a majority vote of the Independent Trustees if required by applicable law.

shareholders of the Fund. To submit a recommendation for nomination as a candidate for a position on the Board of Trustees, shareholders of the Fund should mail such recommendation to W. Scott Jardine, Secretary, at the Trust’s address, 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400, Wheaton, Illinois 60187. Such recommendation shall include the following information: (i) evidence of Fund ownership of the person or entity recommending the candidate (if a Fund shareholder); (ii) a full description of the proposed candidate’s background, including education, experience, current employment and date of birth; (iii) names and addresses of at least three professional references for the candidate; (iv) information as to whether the candidate is an “interested person” in relation to the Fund, as such term is defined in the 1940 Act, and such other information that may be considered to impair the candidate’s independence; and (v) any other information that may be helpful to the Committee in evaluating the candidate. If a recommendation is received with satisfactorily completed information regarding a candidate during a time when a vacancy exists on the Board or during such other time as the Nominating and Governance Committee is accepting recommendations, the recommendation will be forwarded to the Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee and to counsel to the Independent Trustees. During the last fiscal year, the Nominating and Governance Committee held four meetings.

The Valuation Committee is responsible for the oversight of the Advisor as the "Valuation Designee" under Rule 2a-5 of the 1940 Act and its implementation of the valuation of the securities held in the Fund's portfolio. Messrs. Erickson, Kadlec, Keith, Nielson and Ms. Keefe are members of the Valuation Committee. During the last fiscal year, the Valuation Committee held four meetings.

Advisory Board

Executive Officers

Risk Oversight

appropriate, reviews in a general manner the processes other Board committees have in place with respect to risk assessment and risk management. The Nominating and Governance Committee monitors all matters related to the corporate governance of the Trust. The Valuation Committee monitors valuation risk and oversees the Advisor's performance as Valuation Designee.

Not all risks that may affect the Fund can be identified nor can controls be developed to eliminate or mitigate their occurrence or effects. It may not be practical or cost effective to eliminate or mitigate certain risks, the processes and controls employed to address certain risks may be limited in their effectiveness, and some risks are simply beyond the reasonable control of the Fund or the Advisor or other service providers. For instance, as the use of Internet technology has become more prevalent, the Fund and its service providers have become more susceptible to potential operational risks through breaches in cyber security (generally, intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund or a service provider to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity). There can be no guarantee that any risk management systems established by the Fund, its service providers, or issuers of the securities in which the Fund invests to reduce cyber security risks will succeed, and the Fund cannot control such systems put in place by service providers, issuers or other third parties whose operations may affect the Fund and/or its shareholders. Moreover, it is necessary to bear certain risks (such as investment related risks) to achieve the Fund's goals. As a result of the foregoing and other factors, the Fund's ability to manage risk is subject to substantial limitations.

Board Diversification and Trustee Qualifications

strategic direction, fiscal management, business development, revenue enhancement, operational efficiencies, and human resource management of 4,000 employees. Ms. Keefe also currently serves on the boards of several organizations within the Advocate Aurora Continuing Health Division and other health care organizations, including RML Long Term Acute Care Hospitals (since 2014) and Senior Helpers (since 2021). Prior thereto, Ms. Keefe was Corporate Vice President, Marketing and Business Development for the Visiting Nurse Association of Chicago (1989–1992) and a former Board Member of Sherman West Court Skilled Nursing Facility. Ms. Keefe has served as a Trustee of the First Trust Funds and on the Audit Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee and Valuation Committee of the First Trust Funds since November 1, 2021. In addition, she currently serves as Audit Committee Vice Chair (since March 12, 2024) of the First Trust Funds.

Each Committee Chair, the Audit Committee Vice Chair, the Lead Independent Trustee and the Vice Lead Independent Trustee rotate in accordance with the rotation periods established by the Board.

Name of Trustee	Total Compensation from the Fund (1)	Total Compensation from the First Trust Fund Complex (2)
Richard E. Erickson	$1,417	$572,000
Thomas R. Kadlec	$1,417	$567,000
Denise M. Keefe	$1,414	$547,000
Robert F. Keith	$1,418	$577,000
Niel B. Nielson	$1,417	$567,000

(1)

The compensation paid by the Fund to the Independent Trustees for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 for services to the Fund.

(2)

Trustee	Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Fund (Number of Shares Held)	Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities in All Registered Investment Companies Overseen by Trustee in the First Trust Fund Complex
Interested Trustee
James A. Bowen	None	Over $100,000
Independent Trustees
Richard E. Erickson	None	Over $100,000
Thomas R. Kadlec	None	Over $100,000
Denise M. Keefe	None	Over $100,000
Robert F. Keith	None	Over $100,000
Niel B. Nielson	$1-$10,000	Over $100,000

As of March 31, 2024, the Independent Trustees of the Trust and their immediate family members did not own beneficially or of record any class of securities of an investment advisor or principal underwriter of the Fund or any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with an investment advisor or principal underwriter of the Fund.

As of March 31, 2024, the officers and Trustees, in the aggregate, owned less than 1% of the shares of the Fund.

The table set forth in Exhibit A shows the percentage ownership of each shareholder or “group” (as that term is used in Section 13(d) of the 1934 Act) who, based on the securities position listing reports as of March 31, 2024, owned of record, or is known by the Trust to have owned of record or beneficially, 5% or more of the shares of the Fund (the “Principal Holders”). A control person is one who owns, either directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the voting securities of the Fund or acknowledges the existence of control. A party that controls the Fund may be able to significantly influence the outcome of any item presented to shareholders for approval. The Fund does not have any knowledge of who the ultimate beneficiaries are of the shares.

The Charger Corporation, and a number of limited partners. The Charger Corporation is an Illinois corporation controlled by James A. Bowen, the Chief Executive Officer of First Trust. First Trust discharges its responsibilities to the Fund subject to the policies of the Fund.

Pursuant to an investment management agreement between First Trust and the Trust, on behalf of the Fund (the "Investment Management Agreement"), First Trust manages the Fund's assets and is paid an annual management fee equal to 0.50% of the Fund's average daily net assets. The Fund is responsible for all of its expenses, including management fees, costs of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other services, interest, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses related to the execution of portfolio transactions, paying for its sublicensing fees related to the Fund’s Index, any distribution fees or expenses, and extraordinary expenses. Additionally, First Trust and the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, have also entered into an Expense Reimbursement, Fee Waiver and Recovery Agreement (“Recovery Agreement”) in which First Trust has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse Fund expenses to the extent that the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, if any, taxes and extraordinary expenses) exceed 0.70% of the Fund's average daily net assets per year (the “Expense Cap”) at least through April 30, 2025 (the "Expense Cap Termination Date"). The Recovery Agreement may be terminated by the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, at any time and by First Trust only after April 30, 2025 upon 60 days’ written notice. Expenses borne and fees waived by First Trust are subject to recovery by First Trust up to three years from the date the fee or expense was incurred by the Fund, but no recovery payment will be made by the Fund at any time if it would result in the Fund’s expenses exceeding (i) the Expense Cap in place for the most recent fiscal year for which the Expense Cap was in place, (ii) the Expense Cap in place at the time the fees were waived or expenses were reimbursed, or (iii) the current expense limitation.

Under the Investment Management Agreement, First Trust shall not be liable for any loss sustained by reason of the purchase, sale or retention of any security, whether or not such purchase, sale or retention shall have been based upon the investigation and research made by any other individual, firm or corporation, if such recommendation shall have been selected with due care and in good faith, except loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence on the part of First Trust in the performance of its obligations and duties, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties. The Investment Management Agreement terminates automatically upon assignment and is terminable at any time without penalty as to the Fund by the Board of Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, or by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities on 60 days’ written notice to First Trust, or by First Trust on 60 days’ written notice to the Fund.

Management Fee	Breakpoints
0.50000%	Fund net assets up to and including $2.5 billion
0.48750%	Fund net assets greater than $2.5 billion up to and including $5 billion
0.47500%	Fund net assets greater than $5 billion up to and including $7.5 billion
0.46250%	Fund net assets greater than $7.5 billion up to and including $10 billion
0.45000%	Fund net assets greater than $10 billion up to and including $15 billion
0.42500%	Fund net assets greater than $15 billion

The Advisor and the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, had previously entered into an Expense Reimbursement, Fee Waiver and Recovery Agreement (the “Agreement”) pursuant to which the Advisor has agreed to waive a portion of its management fees and/or reimburse Fund expenses to the extent that the operating expenses of the Fund exceed a certain level as described in the Fund’s prospectus. In connection with the introduction of the breakpoints discussed above, by

amendment of the Agreement, the Advisor has agreed to remove its ability to recover previous expenses borne and fees waived under the Agreement.

The following table sets forth the management fees (net of fees waived and expenses reimbursed) paid by the Fund to First Trust, and the fees waived and expenses reimbursed by First Trust for the specified periods.

Amount of Management Fees (Net of Fees Waived and Expenses Reimbursed by First Trust)			Amount of Fees Waived and Expenses Reimbursed By First Trust
Fiscal Year Ended December 31,			Fiscal Year Ended December 31,
2023	2022	2021	2023	2022	2021
$42,365	$30,132	$25,739	$59,035	$65,440	$78,956

Investment Committee. The Investment Committee of First Trust (the "Investment Committee") is jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. There are currently seven members of the Investment Committee, as follows:

Name	Position with First Trust	Length of Service with First Trust	Principal Occupation During Past Five Years
Daniel J. Lindquist	Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director	Since 2004	Managing Director, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
David G. McGarel	Chief Operating Officer, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director	Since 1997	Chief Operating Officer (2016 to present), Chief Investment Officer, Managing Director, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Jon C. Erickson	Senior Vice President	Since 1994	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Roger F. Testin	Senior Vice President	Since 2001	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Stan Ueland	Senior Vice President	Since 2005	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Chris A. Peterson	Senior Vice President	Since 2000	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Erik Russo	Vice President	Since 2010	Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.

Roger F. Testin, CFA: As head of First Trust’s Portfolio Management Group, Mr. Testin is responsible for executing the instructions of the Strategy Research Group and Equity Research Group.

Stan Ueland: Mr. Ueland is a Senior Vice President and is responsible for executing the investment strategies of the Fund.

As of December 31, 2023, none of the portfolio managers beneficially owned any shares of the Fund.

management and are based upon an individual’s position and overall value to the firm. Bonuses are also determined by management and are based upon an individual’s overall contribution to the success of the firm and the profitability of the firm. Salaries and bonuses for members of the Investment Committee are not based upon criteria such as performance of the Fund or the value of assets included in the Fund's portfolio. In addition, Mr. Erickson, Mr. Lindquist, Mr. McGarel, Mr. Peterson and Mr. Ueland also have an indirect ownership stake in the firm and will therefore receive their allocable share of ownership-related distributions.

Accounts Managed by Investment Committee

The Investment Committee manages the investment vehicles (other than the Fund) with the number of accounts and assets, as of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, set forth in the table below:

Investment Committee Member	Registered Investment Companies Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Other Pooled Investment Vehicles Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Other Accounts Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Registered Investment Companies With Performance Fees Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Other Pooled Investment Vehicles With Performance Fees Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Other Accounts With Performance Fees Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)
Daniel J. Lindquist	120 ($88,730,256)	44 ($2,082,628)	1,098 ($415,831)	N/A	N/A	N/A
David G. McGarel	121 ($88,749,936)	44 ($2,082,628)	1,098 ($415,831)	N/A	N/A	N/A
Jon C. Erickson	117 ($88,715,817)	44 ($2,082,628)	1,098 ($415,831)	N/A	N/A	N/A
Roger F. Testin	117 ($88,715,817)	44 ($2,082,628)	1,098 ($415,831)	N/A	N/A	N/A
Stan Ueland	111 ($87,632,484)	37 ($1,947,979)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Chris A. Peterson	121 ($88,749,936)	44 ($2,082,628)	1,098 ($415,831)	N/A	N/A	N/A
Erik Russo	111 ($87,632,484)	37 ($1,947,979)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Conflicts. None of the accounts managed by the Investment Committee pay an advisory fee that is based upon the performance of the account. In addition, First Trust believes that there are no material conflicts of interest that may arise in connection with the Investment Committee's management of the Fund's investments and the investments of the other accounts managed by the Investment Committee. However, because the investment strategy of the Fund and the investment strategies of many of the other accounts managed by the Investment Committee are based on fairly mechanical investment processes, the Investment Committee may recommend that certain clients sell and other clients buy a given security at the same time. In addition, because the investment strategies of the Fund and other accounts managed by the Investment Committee generally result in the clients investing in readily available securities, First Trust believes that there should not be material conflicts in the allocation of investment opportunities between the Fund and other accounts managed by the Investment Committee.

Brokerage Allocations

First Trust is responsible for decisions to buy and sell securities for the Fund and for the placement of the Fund's securities business, the negotiation of the commissions to be paid on brokered transactions, the prices for principal trades in securities, and the allocation of portfolio brokerage and principal business. It is the policy of First Trust to seek the best execution at the best security price available with respect to each transaction, and with respect to brokered transactions in light of the overall quality of brokerage and research services provided to First Trust and its clients. The best price to the Fund means the best net price without regard to the mix between purchase or sale price and commission, if any. Purchases may be made from underwriters, dealers and, on occasion, the issuers. Commissions will be paid on the Fund's futures and options transactions, if any. The purchase price of portfolio securities purchased from an underwriter or dealer may include underwriting commissions and dealer spreads. The Fund may pay markups on principal transactions. In selecting broker-dealers and in negotiating commissions, First Trust considers, among other things, the firm’s reliability, the quality of its execution services on a continuing basis and its financial condition. Fund portfolio transactions may be effected with broker-dealers who have assisted investors in the purchase of shares.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, in selecting brokers, First Trust may in the future consider investment and market information and other research, such as economic, securities and performance measurement research, provided by such brokers, and the quality and reliability of brokerage services, including execution capability, performance and financial responsibility. Accordingly, the commissions charged by any such broker may be greater than the amount another firm might charge if First Trust determines in good faith that the amount of such commissions is reasonable in relation to the value of the research information and brokerage services provided by such broker to First Trust or the Trust. In addition, First Trust must determine that the research information received in this manner provides the Fund with benefits by supplementing the research otherwise available to the Fund. The Investment Management Agreement provides that such higher commissions will not be paid by the Fund unless First Trust determines in good faith that the amount is reasonable in relation to the services provided. The investment advisory fees paid by the Fund to First Trust under the Investment Management Agreement would not be reduced as a result of receipt by First Trust of research services.

First Trust places portfolio transactions for other advisory accounts advised by it, and research services furnished by firms through which the Fund effects its securities transactions may be used by First Trust in servicing all of its accounts; not all of such services may be used by First Trust in connection with the Fund. First Trust believes it is not possible to measure separately the benefits from research services to each of the accounts (including the Fund) advised by it. Because the volume and nature of the trading activities of the accounts are not uniform, the amount of commissions in excess of those charged by another broker paid by each account for brokerage and research services will vary. However, First Trust believes such costs to the Fund will not be disproportionate to the benefits received by the Fund on a continuing basis. First Trust seeks to allocate portfolio transactions equitably whenever concurrent decisions are made to purchase or sell securities by the Fund and another advisory account. In some cases, this procedure could have an adverse effect on the price or the amount of securities available to the Fund. In making such allocations between the Fund and other advisory accounts, the main factors considered by First Trust are the respective investment objective, the relative size of portfolio holding of the same or comparable securities, the availability of cash for investment and the size of investment commitments generally held.

Brokerage Commissions

The following table sets forth the aggregate amount of brokerage commissions paid by the Fund for the specified periods. Significant variations in the amount the Fund paid in brokerage commissions from year-to-year are generally the result of fluctuations in the size of the Fund or changes to the Fund's portfolio holdings.

Aggregate Amount of Brokerage Commissions
Fiscal Year Ended December 31,
2023	2022	2021
$5,575	$14,113	$7,876

During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the Fund did not acquire shares of a regular broker or dealer of the Fund as defined in Rule 10b-1 under the 1940 Act.

Administrator, Fund Accounting Agent, Custodian, Transfer Agent, Distributor, Index Providers and Exchange

Administrator and Fund Accounting Agent. The Fund has appointed The Bank of New York Mellon ("BNYM"), located at 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286, to serve as the Fund's administrator and provide the Fund with accounting services pursuant to a fund administration and accounting agreement (the “Administration and Accounting Agreement”). Under the Administration and Accounting Agreement, BNYM is obligated, on a continuous basis, to provide such administrative services as the Board reasonably deems necessary for the proper administration of the Trust and the

Fund. BNYM generally will assist in many aspects of the Trust’s and the Fund's operations, including accounting, bookkeeping and record keeping services (including, without limitation, the maintenance of such books and records as are required under the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder, except as maintained by other service providers), assist in preparing reports to shareholders or investors, prepare and file tax returns, supply financial information and supporting data for reports to and filings with the SEC and various state Blue Sky authorities and supply supporting documentation for meetings of the Board.

The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has agreed to indemnify BNYM for certain liabilities, including certain liabilities arising under the federal securities laws, unless such loss or liability results from negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties. As compensation for these services, BNYM is paid a fee based on the Fund’s total average daily net assets. BNYM also is entitled to certain out-of-pocket expenses for the services described above. This fee is subject to reduction for assets over $1 billion. The following table sets forth the amounts paid to BNYM by the Fund pursuant to services rendered under the Administration and Accounting Agreement.

Fund Administration and Accounting
Fiscal Year Ended December 31,
2023	2022	2021
$13,537	$13,145	$17,191

Custodian. The Trust has appointed BNYM to serve as the Fund's custodian pursuant to a custody agreement (the “Custody Agreement”). Pursuant to the terms of the Custody Agreement, BNYM is generally responsible for the safekeeping of the Fund's assets and performing various other administrative duties set forth in the agreement.

Transfer Agent. The Trust has appointed BNYM to serve as the Fund's transfer agent and dividend disbursing agent pursuant to a transfer agency and service agreement (the “Transfer Agency Agreement”). Pursuant to the terms of the Transfer Agency Agreement, BNYM is responsible for performing and facilitating the purchases and redemptions of Creation Unit Aggregations, as well as performing other customary services of a transfer agent and dividend disbursing agent.

Distributor. First Trust Portfolios L.P., an affiliate of First Trust, is the distributor (“FTP” or the “Distributor”) and principal underwriter of the shares of the Fund. Its principal address is 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400, Wheaton, Illinois 60187. The Distributor has entered into a Distribution Agreement with the Trust pursuant to which it distributes Fund shares. Shares are continuously offered for sale by the Fund through the Distributor only in Creation Unit Aggregations, as described in the Prospectus under the heading "Other Information - Continuous Offering."

No fees are currently paid by the Fund under the Plan and pursuant to a contractual agreement, the Fund will not pay 12b-1 fees any time before April 30, 2025.

The Distribution Agreement provides that it may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, on at least 60 days’ written notice by the Trust to the Distributor (i) by vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees or (ii) by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund. The Distribution Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act).

Index Provider. The Index is compiled by the Index Providers. First Trust does not guarantee the accuracy and/or the completeness of the Index or any data included therein, and First Trust shall have no liability for any errors, omissions or interruptions therein. First Trust makes no warranty, express or implied, as to results to be obtained by the Fund, owners of the shares of the Fund or any other person or entity from the use of the Index or any data included therein. First Trust makes no express or implied warranties, and expressly disclaims all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or use with respect to the Index or any data included therein. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall First Trust have any liability for any special, punitive, direct, indirect or consequential damages (including lost profits) arising out of matters relating to the use of the Index, even if notified of the possibility of such damages.

The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Nasdaq, Inc. Nasdaq, Inc. makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Fund particularly, or the ability of the Index to track general stock market performance or a segment of the same. Nasdaq, Inc.’s only relationship to First Trust is in the licensing of certain trademarks and trade names of Nasdaq, Inc. and of the Index, which is determined, composed and calculated by Nasdaq, Inc. without regard to First Trust or the Fund. Nasdaq, Inc. is not responsible for and has not reviewed the Fund nor any associated literature or publications and makes no representation or warranty express or implied as to their accuracy or completeness, or otherwise. Nasdaq, Inc. reserves the right, at any time and without notice, to alter, amend, terminate or in any way change the Index. Nasdaq, Inc. has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund.

THE CORPORATIONS DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN AND NASDAQ SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR INTERRUPTIONS THEREIN. THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY FIRST TRUST, INVESTORS, OWNERS OF THE FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE CORPORATIONS HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING LOST PROFITS), EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Exchange. Nasdaq, Inc. serves as the Index Provider and the index calculation agent for the Index. The only other relationship that Nasdaq, Inc. has with First Trust or the Distributor in connection with the Fund is that Nasdaq, Inc. lists the shares of the Fund pursuant to its Listing Agreement with the Trust. Nasdaq, Inc. is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of pricing or the timing of the issuance or sale of the shares of the Fund or in the determination or calculation of the net asset value of the Fund. Nasdaq, Inc. has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund.

Additional Payments to Financial Intermediaries

of First Trust mutual funds and ETFs (“First Trust Funds”) to promote the sales and retention of Fund shares by those firms and their customers. The amounts of these payments vary by intermediary. The level of payments that First Trust is willing to provide to a particular intermediary may be affected by, among other factors, (i) the firm’s total assets or Fund shares held in and recent net investments into First Trust Funds, (ii) the value of the assets invested in the First Trust Funds by the intermediary’s customers, (iii) redemption rates, (iv) its ability to attract and retain assets, (v) the intermediary’s reputation in the industry, (vi) the level and/or type of marketing assistance and educational activities provided by the intermediary, (vii) the firm’s level of participation in First Trust Funds’ sales and marketing programs, (viii) the firm’s compensation program for its registered representatives who sell Fund shares and provide services to Fund shareholders, and (ix) the asset class of the First Trust Funds for which these payments are provided. Such payments are generally asset-based but also may include the payment of a lump sum.

From time to time, First Trust and/or its affiliates, at its expense, may provide other compensation to intermediaries that sell or arrange for the sale of shares of the First Trust Funds, which may be in addition to marketing support and program servicing payments described above. For example, First Trust and/or its affiliates may: (i) compensate intermediaries for National Securities Clearing Corporation networking system services (e.g., shareholder communication, account statements, trade confirmations and tax reporting) on an asset-based or per-account basis; (ii) compensate intermediaries for providing Fund shareholder trading information; (iii) make one-time or periodic payments to reimburse selected intermediaries for items such as ticket charges (i.e., fees that an intermediary charges its representatives for effecting transactions in Fund shares) or exchange order, operational charges (e.g., fees that an intermediary charges for establishing the Fund on its trading system), and literature printing and/or distribution costs; (iv) at the direction of a retirement plan’s sponsor, reimburse or pay direct expenses of an employee benefit plan that would otherwise be payable by the plan; (v) provide payments to broker-dealers to help defray their technology or infrastructure costs; and (vi) make payments for expenses associated with intermediaries’ use of First Trust Funds including, but not limited to, the use of First Trust Funds in model portfolios.

payments may vary depending upon the nature of the event. First Trust and/or its affiliates make payments for such events as it deems appropriate, subject to its internal guidelines and applicable law.

The amounts of payments referenced above made by First Trust and/or its affiliates could be significant and may create an incentive for an intermediary or its representatives to recommend or offer shares of the First Trust Funds to its customers. The intermediary may elevate the prominence or profile of the First Trust Funds within the intermediary’s organization by, for example, placing the First Trust Funds on a list of preferred or recommended funds and/or granting First Trust and/or its affiliates preferential or enhanced opportunities to promote the First Trust Funds in various ways within the intermediary’s organization. These payments are made pursuant to negotiated agreements with intermediaries. The payments do not change the price paid by investors for the purchase of a share or the amount the Fund will receive as proceeds from such sales. Furthermore, many of these payments are not reflected in the fees and expenses listed in the fee table section of the Fund's Prospectus because they are not paid by the Fund. The types of payments described herein are not mutually exclusive, and a single intermediary may receive some or all types of payments as described.

Additional Information

Book Entry Only System. The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus.

banks, brokers, dealers and trust companies that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a DTC Participant, either directly or indirectly (the “Indirect Participants”).

Conveyance of all notices, statements and other communications to Beneficial Owners is effected as follows. Pursuant to a letter agreement between DTC and the Trust, DTC is required to make available to the Trust upon request and for a fee to be charged to the Trust a listing of the shares of the Fund held by each DTC Participant. The Trust shall inquire of each such DTC Participant as to the number of Beneficial Owners holding shares, directly or indirectly, through such DTC Participant. The Trust shall provide each such DTC Participant with copies of such notice, statement or other communication, in such form, number and at such place as such DTC Participant may reasonably request, in order that such notice, statement or communication may be transmitted by such DTC Participant, directly or indirectly, to such Beneficial Owners. In addition, the Trust shall pay to each such DTC Participants a fair and reasonable amount as reimbursement for the expenses attendant to such transmittal, all subject to applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

Fund distributions shall be made to DTC or its nominee, as the registered holder of all Fund shares. DTC or its nominee, upon receipt of any such distributions, shall immediately credit DTC Participants’ accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in shares of the Fund as shown on the records of DTC or its nominee. Payments by DTC Participants to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners of shares held through such DTC Participants will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is now the case with securities held for the accounts of customers in bearer form or registered in a “street name,” and will be the responsibility of such DTC Participants.

Policy Regarding Investment in Other Investment Companies. The Fund will not rely on Sections 12(d)(1)(F) or 12(d)(1)(G) of the 1940 Act to invest in other investment companies.

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

The Trust has adopted a proxy voting policy that seeks to ensure that proxies for securities held by the Fund are voted consistently with the best interests of the Fund.

The Board has delegated to First Trust the proxy voting responsibilities for the Fund and has directed First Trust to vote proxies consistent with the Fund's best interests. The First Trust Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures are attached hereto as Exhibit B. First Trust has engaged the services of Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”) to make recommendations to First Trust on the voting of proxies relating to securities held by the Fund. If First Trust manages the assets of a company or its pension plan and any of First Trust’s clients hold any securities of that company, First Trust will generally vote proxies relating to such company’s securities in accordance with the ISS recommendations to avoid any conflict of interest.

not rely on ISS Proxy Voting Guidelines to withhold votes or vote against directors solely based on quota criteria or the exclusion of certain climate-related disclosures, which may or may not relate to the company’s core business or may not materially impact shareholder value. First Trust will consider such proxy voting decisions in light of merit-based considerations which it believes may impact shareholder value. First Trust retains final authority and fiduciary responsibility for proxy voting.

Policy Regarding Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings. The Trust has adopted a policy regarding the disclosure of information about the Fund’s portfolio holdings. The Board of Trustees must approve all material amendments to this policy. The Fund’s portfolio holdings are publicly disseminated each day the Fund is open for business through financial reporting and news services, including publicly accessible Internet websites. In addition, a basket composition file, which includes the security names and share quantities to deliver in exchange for Fund shares, together with estimates and actual cash components, is publicly disseminated each day the NYSE is open for trading via the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”). Pursuant to Rule 6c-11 under the 1940 Act, information regarding the Fund’s current portfolio holdings will be available on a daily basis at https://www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/etf/home.aspx.

Creation and Redemption of Creation Units

exchange. Institutional investors other than Authorized Participants are responsible for making arrangements for a redemption request to be made through an Authorized Participant.

Suspension of Creations. The SEC has stated its position that an ETF generally may reject or suspend the issuance of Creation Units only for a limited time and only due to extraordinary circumstances, such as when the markets on which the ETF’s portfolio holdings are traded are closed for a limited period of time. The SEC has also stated that an ETF could not set transaction fees so high as to effectively suspend the issuance of Creation Units. Circumstances in which the Fund may suspend or reject creations include, but are not limited to: (i) the order is not in proper form; (ii) the purchaser or group of related purchasers, upon obtaining the Creation Units of Fund shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding shares of the Fund; (iii) the required consideration is not delivered; (iv) the acceptance of the basket would, in the opinion of the Fund, be unlawful; or (v) there exist circumstances outside the control of the Fund that make it impossible to process purchases of Creation Units for all practical purposes. Examples of such circumstances include: acts of God or public service or utility problems such as fires, floods, extreme weather conditions and power outages resulting in telephone, telecopy and computer failures; market conditions or activities causing trading halts; systems failures involving computer or other information systems affecting the Fund, First Trust, the Distributor, DTC, NSCC, the transfer agent, the custodian, any sub-custodian or any other participant in the purchase process; and similar extraordinary events. The Fund reserves the right to reject a creation order transmitted to it provided that such action does not result in a suspension of sales of creation units in contravention of 6c-11 and the SEC’s positions thereunder. The Transfer Agent shall notify a prospective creator of a Creation Unit and/or the Authorized Participant acting on behalf of such prospective creator of the rejection of the order of such person. The Trust, the Fund, the Transfer Agent, the custodian, any sub-custodian and the Distributor are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of baskets, nor shall any of them incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification.

Federal Tax Matters

This federal income tax summary is based in part on the advice of counsel to the Fund. The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) could disagree with any conclusions set forth in this section. The following disclosure may not be sufficient for prospective investors to use for the purpose of avoiding penalties under federal tax law.

As with any investment, prospective investors should seek advice based on their individual circumstances from their own tax advisor.

The Fund intends to qualify annually and to elect to be treated as a regulated investment company (a “RIC”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).

least 50% of the market value of the Fund's assets is represented by cash and cash items (including receivables), U.S. government securities, the securities of other RICs and other securities, with such other securities of any one issuer generally limited for the purposes of this calculation to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the Fund's total assets and not greater than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (b) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets is invested in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or the securities of other RICs) of any one issuer, or two or more issuers which the Fund controls which are engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more of certain publicly traded partnerships; and (iii) distribute at least 90% of its investment company taxable income (which includes, among other items, dividends, interest and net short-term capital gains in excess of net long-term capital losses) and at least 90% of its net tax-exempt interest income each taxable year. There are certain exceptions for failure to qualify if the failure is for reasonable cause or is de minimis, and certain corrective action is taken and certain tax payments are made by the Fund.

Distributions

Dividends paid out of the Fund's investment company taxable income are generally taxable to a shareholder as ordinary income to the extent of the Fund’s earnings and profits, whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares. However, certain ordinary income distributions received from the Fund may be taxed at capital gains tax rates. In particular, ordinary income dividends received by an individual shareholder from a RIC such as the Fund are generally taxed at the same rates that apply to net capital gain, provided that certain holding period requirements are satisfied and provided the dividends are attributable to qualifying dividends received by the Fund itself. Dividends received by the Fund from REITs and foreign corporations are qualifying dividends eligible for this lower tax rate only in certain circumstances. The Fund will provide notice to its shareholders of the amount of any distributions that may be taken into account as a dividend which is eligible for the capital gains tax rates. The Fund cannot make any guarantees as to the amount of any distribution which will be regarded as a qualifying dividend. Some portion of the ordinary income distributions that are attributable to dividends received by the Fund from shares in certain real estate investment trusts may be designated by the Fund as eligible for a deduction for qualified business income, provided certain holding period requirements are satisfied.

from RICs. However, certain ordinary income dividends on shares that are attributable to qualifying dividends received by the Fund from certain domestic corporations may be reported by the Fund as being eligible for the dividends received deduction.

Distributions of net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss), if any, properly reported as capital gain dividends are taxable to a shareholder as long-term capital gains, regardless of how long the shareholder has held Fund shares. An election may be available to you to defer recognition of the gain attributable to a capital gain dividend if you make certain qualifying investments within a limited time. You should talk to your tax advisor about the availability of this deferral election and its requirements. Shareholders receiving distributions in the form of additional shares, rather than cash, generally will have a tax basis in each such share equal to the value of a share of the Fund on the reinvestment date. A distribution of an amount in excess of the Fund's current and accumulated earnings and profits will be treated by a shareholder as a return of capital which is applied against and reduces the shareholder’s basis in his or her shares. To the extent that the amount of any such distribution exceeds the shareholder’s basis in his or her shares, the excess will be treated by the shareholder as gain from a sale or exchange of the shares.

Sale or Exchange of Fund Shares

Taxes on Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units

Nature of Fund Investments

Futures Contracts and Options

The Fund's transactions in futures contracts and options will be subject to special provisions of the Code that, among other things, may affect the character of gains and losses realized by the Fund (i.e., may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital, or short-term or long-term), may accelerate recognition of income to the Fund and may defer Fund losses. These rules could, therefore, affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to shareholders. These provisions also (i) will require the Fund to mark-to-market certain types of the positions in its portfolio (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out); and (ii) may cause the Fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement for qualifying to be taxed as a RIC and the distribution requirements for avoiding excise taxes.

Investments in Certain Foreign Corporations

If the Fund holds an equity interest in any “passive foreign investment companies” (“PFICs”), which are generally certain foreign corporations that receive at least 75% of their annual gross income from passive sources (such as interest, dividends, certain rents and royalties or capital gains) or that hold at least 50% of their assets in investments producing such passive income, the Fund could be subject to U.S. federal income tax and additional interest charges on gains and certain distributions with respect to those equity interests, even if all the income or gain is timely distributed to its shareholders. The Fund will not be able to pass through to its shareholders any credit or deduction for such taxes. The Fund may be able to make an election that could ameliorate these adverse tax consequences. In this case, the Fund would recognize as ordinary income any increase in the value of such PFIC shares, and as ordinary loss any decrease in such value to the extent it did not exceed prior increases included in income. Under this election, the Fund might be required to recognize in a year income in excess of its distributions from PFICs and its proceeds from dispositions of PFIC stock during that year, and such income would nevertheless be subject to the distribution requirement and would be taken into account for purposes of the 4% excise tax (described above). Dividends paid by PFICs are not treated as qualified dividend income.

Backup Withholding

Non-U.S. Shareholders

U.S. taxation of a shareholder who, as to the United States, is a nonresident alien individual, a foreign trust or estate, a foreign corporation or foreign partnership (“non-U.S. shareholder”) depends on whether the income of the Fund is “effectively connected” with a U.S. trade or business carried on by the shareholder.

gross proceeds from the disposition of securities that produce U.S. source interest or dividends. However, proposed regulations may eliminate the requirement to withhold on payments of gross proceeds from dispositions.

Capital Loss Carry-forward

Under the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010, net capital losses of the Fund incurred in taxable years beginning after December 22, 2010 may be carried forward indefinitely, and their character is retained as short-term and/or long-term losses. To the extent that these loss carry-forwards are used to offset future capital gains, it is probable that the capital gains so offset will not be distributed to Fund shareholders. The Fund intends to utilize provisions of the federal income tax laws, which allow the Fund to carry a realized capital loss forward indefinitely following the year of the loss and offset such loss against any future realized capital gains. As of December 31, 2023, the Fund had non-expiring capital loss carry-forwards for federal income tax purposes as shown in the table below. The Fund is subject to certain limitations, under U.S. tax rules, on the use of capital loss carry-forwards and net unrealized built-in losses. These limitations generally apply when there has been a 50% change in ownership.

Total

Non-Expiring

Capital Loss

Available

$4,005,838

Other Taxation

Determination of Net Asset Value

The Fund’s net asset value is determined as set forth in the Prospectus in the section entitled “Net Asset Value.”

Dividends and Distributions

The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Dividends, Distributions and Taxes.”

General Policies. Dividends from net investment income of the Fund, if any, are declared and paid quarterly. Distributions of net realized securities gains, if any, generally are declared and paid once a year, but the Trust may make distributions on a more frequent basis. The Trust reserves the right to declare special distributions if, in its reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve the status of the Fund as a RIC or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income.

Dividend Reinvestment Service. No reinvestment service is provided by the Trust. Broker-dealers may make available the DTC book-entry Dividend Reinvestment Service for use by Beneficial Owners of the Fund for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. Beneficial Owners should contact their brokers in order to determine the availability and costs of the service and the details of participation therein. Brokers may require Beneficial Owners to adhere to specific procedures and timetables. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole shares of the Fund purchased in the secondary market.

Miscellaneous Information

Counsel. Chapman and Cutler LLP, 320 South Canal St., Chicago, Illinois 60606, is counsel to the Trust.

Financial Statements

Exhibit A—Principal Holders Table

NAME OF BENEFICIAL OWNER	% OF OUTSTANDING SHARES OWNED
FIRST TRUST DIVIDEND STRENGTH ETF
LPL Financial LLC	36.58%
Pershing LLC	14.83%
BOFA Securities, Inc	9.43%
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.	8.08%
National Financial Services LLC	7.43%
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC	6.51%

BOFA Securities, Inc.: 4804 Deer Lake Drive East, Jacksonville, Florida 32246

Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.: 2423 East Lincoln Drive, Phoenix, Arizona 85016

LPL Financial LLC: 1055 LPL Way, Fort Mill, South Carolina 29715

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC: 1300 Thames St, 6th Floor, Baltimore, Maryland 21231

National Financial Services LLC: 499 Washington Boulevard, Jersey City, New Jersey 07310

Pershing LLC: One Pershing Plaza, Jersey City, New Jersey 07399

A-1

Exhibit B—Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

FIRST TRUST ADVISORS L.P.
PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

FTA may vote against the Guidelines in other circumstances as it has final authority and fiduciary responsibility for proxy voting.

(6)

(a)

(b)

(c)

Unjustifiable Costs. In certain circumstances, based on cost-benefit analysis, FTA may choose not to

B-1

vote when the cost of voting on behalf of a Proxy Client would exceed any anticipated benefits of the proxy proposal to such Proxy Client (e.g. foreign securities).

(d)

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

(11)

FTA periodically reviews proxy votes to ensure compliance with this Policy.

(12)

(13)

FTA provides reasonable ongoing oversight of ISS. FTA, or ISS on behalf of FTA, maintains the following records relating to proxy voting:

(a)

a copy of this Policy;

(b)

a copy of each proxy form for which it is responsible to vote;

(c)

a copy of each proxy solicitation, including proxy statements and related materials with regard to each proxy issue it votes;

(d)

documents relating to the identification and resolution of conflicts of interest, if any;

(e)

any documents created by FTA or ISS that were material to a proxy voting decision or that memorialized the basis for that decision; and

(f)

These records are either maintained at FTA’s office or are electronically available to FTA through access to the ISS Proxy Exchange portal.

B-2

B-3

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Investment Company Act File No. 811-21774

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund

FUND NAME	TICKER SYMBOL	EXCHANGE
First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF	MISL	NYSE Arca

DATED MAY 1, 2024

This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus. It should be read in conjunction with the prospectus dated May 1, 2024, as it may be revised from time to time (the “Prospectus”), for First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF (the “Fund”), a series of the First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund (the “Trust”). Capitalized terms used herein that are not defined have the same meaning as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise noted. A copy of the Prospectus may be obtained without charge by writing to the Trust’s distributor, First Trust Portfolios L.P., 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, or by calling toll free at (800) 621-1675.

Table of Contents

General Description of the Trust and the Fund	1
Exchange Listing and Trading	3
Investment Objective and Policies	3
Investment Strategies	4
Sublicense Agreement	7
Investment Risks	8
Management of the Fund	10
Accounts Managed by Investment Committee	20
Brokerage Allocations	20
Administrator, Fund Accounting Agent, Custodian, Transfer Agent, Distributor, Index Provider and Exchange	21
Additional Payments to Financial Intermediaries	23
Additional Information	25
Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures	30
Creation and Redemption of Creation Units	31
Federal Tax Matters	34
Determination of Net Asset Value	38
Dividends and Distributions	38
Miscellaneous Information	39
Financial Statements	39
Exhibit A—Principal Holders Table	A-1
Exhibit B—Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures	B-1

General Description of the Trust and the Fund

The Trust was organized as a Massachusetts business trust on August 8, 2003 and is authorized to issue an unlimited number of shares in one or more series. The Trust is an open-end management investment company, registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). The Trust currently offers shares in 24 series. This SAI relates to the Fund, which is a non-diversified series.

The Fund, as a series of the Trust, represents a beneficial interest in a separate portfolio of securities and other assets, with its own objective and policies.

The Trust or any series or class thereof may be terminated at any time by the Board of Trustees upon written notice to the shareholders.

The holders of Fund shares are required to disclose information on direct or indirect ownership of Fund shares as may be required to comply with various laws applicable to the Fund or as the Trustees may determine, and ownership of Fund shares may be disclosed by the Fund if so required by law or regulation. In addition, pursuant to the Declaration, the Trustees may, in their discretion, require the Trust to redeem shares held by any shareholder for any reason under terms set by the Trustees.

The provisions of the Declaration provide that any direct or derivative action commenced by a shareholder must be brought only in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts (Boston Division) or if any such action may not be brought in that court, then in the Business Litigation Session of Suffolk Superior Court in Massachusetts (the “Chosen Courts”). Except as prohibited by applicable law, if a shareholder commences an applicable action in a court other than a Chosen Court without the consent of the Fund, then such shareholder may be obligated to reimburse the Fund and any applicable Trustee or officer of the Fund made party to such proceeding for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred in connection with any successful motion to dismiss, stay or transfer of the action. The Declaration also provides that any shareholder bringing an action against the Fund waives the right to trial by jury to the fullest extent permitted by law.

The Trust is not required to and does not intend to hold annual meetings of shareholders.

The Fund is advised by First Trust Advisors L.P. (the “Advisor” or “First Trust”).

The shares of the Fund are principally listed and traded on NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca" or the “Exchange”), as shown on the cover of this SAI. ETFs, such as the Fund, do not sell or redeem individual shares of the Fund. Instead, financial entities known as “Authorized Participants” (which are discussed in greater detail below) have contractual arrangements with the Fund or the Distributor to purchase and redeem Fund shares directly with the Fund in large blocks of shares known as “Creation Units.” An Authorized Participant that purchases a Creation Unit of Fund shares deposits with the Fund a “basket” of securities, cash and/or other assets identified by the Fund that day, and then receives the Creation Unit of Fund shares in return for those assets. The redemption process is the reverse of the purchase process: the Authorized Participant redeems a Creation Unit of Fund shares for a basket of securities, cash and/or other assets. The basket is generally representative of the Fund’s portfolio, and together with a cash balancing amount, it is equal to the NAV of the Fund shares comprising the Creation Unit. Pursuant to Rule 6c-11 of the 1940 Act, the Fund may utilize baskets that are not representative of the Fund’s portfolio. Such “custom baskets” are discussed in the section entitled “Creation and Redemption of Creation Units.”

Exchange Listing and Trading

There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of shares of the Fund will continue to be met. The Exchange may, but is not required to, remove the shares of the Fund from listing if (i) following the initial 12-month period beginning at the commencement of trading of the Fund, there are fewer than 50 beneficial owners of the shares of the Fund for 30 or more consecutive trading days; (ii) the value of the Fund's Index (as defined below) is no longer calculated or available; or (iii) such other event shall occur or condition exist that, in the opinion of the Exchange, makes further dealings on the Exchange inadvisable. The Exchange will remove the shares of the Fund from listing and trading upon termination of the Fund.

As in the case of other stocks traded on the Exchange, brokers’ commissions on transactions will be based on negotiated commission rates at customary levels.

Investment Objective and Policies

(1)

The Fund may not issue senior securities, except as permitted under the 1940 Act.

(2)

The Fund may not borrow money, except as permitted under the 1940 Act.

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

The Fund may not invest 25% or more of the value of its total assets in securities of issuers in any one industry or group of industries, except to the extent that the Fund’s Index is concentrated in an industry or a group of industries. This restriction does not apply to obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies.

For purposes of applying restriction (7) above, to the extent the Fund invests in other investment companies, it will consider the investments of the underlying investment companies when determining compliance with the limitation set forth in restriction (7) above, to the extent the Fund has sufficient information about such investments.

The fundamental investment limitations set forth above limit the Fund’s ability to engage in certain investment practices and purchase securities or other instruments to the extent permitted by, or consistent with, applicable law. As such, these limitations will change as the statute, rules, regulations or orders (or, if applicable, interpretations) change, and no shareholder vote will be required or sought.

Investment Strategies

The following information supplements the discussion of the Fund's investment objective, policies and strategies that appear in the Prospectus.

Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in the common stocks that comprise the Indxx US Aerospace & Defense Index (the "Index"). The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The Index is developed, maintained and sponsored by Indxx, Inc. (the “Index Provider”).

combinations of the above techniques in seeking to track the Index. The Fund may sell securities that are represented in the Index in anticipation of their removal from the Index or purchase securities not represented in the Index in anticipation of their addition to the Index.

Types of Investments

Fixed Income Investments and Cash Equivalents. Normally, the Fund invests substantially all of its assets to meet its investment objective. However, for temporary or defensive purposes, the Fund may invest in fixed income investments and cash equivalents in order to provide income, liquidity and preserve capital.

Fixed income investments and cash equivalents held by the Fund may include, without limitation, the types of investments set forth below.

(1)

The Fund may invest in U.S. government securities, including bills, notes and bonds differing as to maturity and rates of interest, which are either issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury or by U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. government securities include securities that are issued or guaranteed by the United States Treasury, by various agencies of the U.S. government, or by various instrumentalities that have been established or sponsored by the U.S. government. U.S. Treasury securities are backed by the “full faith and credit” of the United States. Securities issued or guaranteed by federal agencies and U.S. government-sponsored instrumentalities may or may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Some of the U.S. government agencies that issue or guarantee securities include the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Farmers Home Administration, the Federal Housing Administration, the Maritime Administration, the Small Business Administration and The Tennessee Valley Authority. An instrumentality of the U.S. government is a government agency organized under federal charter with government supervision. Instrumentalities issuing or guaranteeing securities include, among others, Federal Home Loan Banks, the Federal Land Banks, the Central Bank for Cooperatives, Federal Intermediate Credit Banks and FNMA. In the case of those U.S. government securities not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the security for ultimate repayment, and may not be able to assert a claim against the United States itself in the event that the agency or instrumentality does not meet its commitment. The U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities do not guarantee the market value of their securities, and consequently, the value of such securities may fluctuate. In addition, the Fund may invest in sovereign debt obligations of non-U.S. countries. A sovereign debtor’s willingness or ability to repay principal and interest in a timely manner may be affected by a number of factors, including its cash flow situation, the extent of its non-U.S. reserves, the availability of sufficient non-U.S. exchange on the date a payment is due, the relative size of the debt service burden to the economy as a whole, the sovereign debtor’s policy toward principal international lenders and the political constraints to which it may be subject.

(2)

The Fund may invest in certificates of deposit issued against funds deposited in a bank or savings and loan association. Such certificates are for a definite period of time, earn a specified rate of return, and are normally negotiable. If such certificates of deposit are non-negotiable, they will be considered illiquid securities and be subject to the Fund’s 15% restriction on investments in illiquid securities. Pursuant to the certificate of deposit, the issuer agrees to pay the amount deposited plus interest to the bearer of the certificate on the date specified thereon. Under current FDIC regulations, the maximum insurance payable as to any one certificate of deposit is $250,000; therefore, certificates of deposit purchased by the Fund may not be fully insured. The Fund may only invest in certificates of deposit issued by U.S. banks with at least $1 billion in assets.

(3)

a bank that, in effect, unconditionally guarantees to pay the face value of the instrument on its maturity date. The acceptance may then be held by the accepting bank as an asset or it may be sold in the secondary market at the going rate of interest for a specific maturity.

(4)

The Fund may invest in repurchase agreements, which involve purchases of debt securities with counterparties that are deemed by First Trust to present acceptable credit risks. In such an action, at the time the Fund purchases the security, it simultaneously agrees to resell and redeliver the security to the seller, who also simultaneously agrees to buy back the security at a fixed price and time. This assures a predetermined yield for the Fund during its holding period since the resale price is always greater than the purchase price and reflects an agreed upon market rate. Such actions afford an opportunity for the Fund to invest temporarily available cash. The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements only with respect to obligations of the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities; certificates of deposit; or bankers’ acceptances in which the Fund may invest. Repurchase agreements may be considered loans to the seller, collateralized by the underlying securities. The risk to the Fund is limited to the ability of the seller to pay the agreed-upon sum on the repurchase date; in the event of default, the repurchase agreement provides that the affected Fund is entitled to sell the underlying collateral. If the value of the collateral declines after the agreement is entered into, however, and if the seller defaults under a repurchase agreement when the value of the underlying collateral is less than the repurchase price, the Fund could incur a loss of both principal and interest. The Investment Committee monitors the value of the collateral at the time the action is entered into and at all times during the term of the repurchase agreement. The Investment Committee does so in an effort to determine that the value of the collateral always equals or exceeds the agreed-upon repurchase price to be paid to the Fund. If the seller were to be subject to a federal bankruptcy proceeding, the ability of the Fund to liquidate the collateral could be delayed or impaired because of certain provisions of the bankruptcy laws.

(5)

(6)

The Fund may invest in commercial paper, which are short-term unsecured promissory notes, including variable rate master demand notes issued by corporations to finance their current operations. Master demand notes are direct lending arrangements between the Fund and a corporation. There is no secondary market for the notes. However, they are redeemable by the Fund at any time. The Investment Committee will consider the financial condition of the corporation (e.g., earning power, cash flow and other liquidity ratios) and will continuously monitor the corporation’s ability to meet all of its financial obligations, because the Fund’s liquidity might be impaired if the corporation were unable to pay principal and interest on demand. The Fund may invest in commercial paper only if it has received the highest rating from at least one nationally recognized statistical rating organization or, if unrated, judged by First Trust to be of comparable quality.

(7)

Illiquid Investments. The Fund may invest in illiquid investments (i.e., any investment that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment). For purposes of this restriction, illiquid investments may include, but are not limited to, certain restricted securities (securities the disposition of which is restricted under the federal securities laws), securities that may only be resold pursuant to Rule 144A under the 1933 Act, and repurchase agreements with maturities in excess of seven days, among others. However, the Fund will not acquire illiquid investments if, as a result, such securities would comprise more than 15% of the value of the Fund’s net assets. The Advisor, subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, has the ultimate authority to determine, to the extent permissible under the federal securities laws, which investments are liquid or illiquid for purposes of this 15% limitation under the Fund’s liquidity risk management program, adopted pursuant to Rule 22e-4 under the 1940 Act.

pay all or part of the registration expenses and a considerable period may elapse between the time of the decision to sell and the time the Fund may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the Fund might obtain a less favorable price than that which prevailed when it decided to sell. Illiquid investments will be priced at fair value as determined in good faith under procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. If, through the appreciation of illiquid investments or the depreciation of liquid securities, the Fund should be in a position where more than 15% of the value of its net assets are invested in illiquid investments, including restricted securities which are not readily marketable, the Advisor will report such occurrence to the Board of Trustees and take such steps as are deemed advisable to protect liquidity in accordance with the Fund’s liquidity risk management program.

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund buys and sells portfolio securities in the normal course of its investment activities. The proportion of the Fund's investment portfolio that is bought and sold during a year is known as the Fund's portfolio turnover rate. A portfolio turnover rate of 100% would occur, for example, if all of the portfolio securities (other than short-term securities) were replaced once during the fiscal year. A high portfolio turnover rate could result in the payment by the Fund of increased brokerage costs, expenses and taxes. The portfolio turnover rates for the specified periods are set forth in the table below. Significant variations in portfolio turnover from year-to-year are generally the result of fluctuations in the size of the Fund or changes to the Fund’s portfolio holdings.

Portfolio Turnover Rate
Inception Date	Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023	Fiscal Period Ended December 31, 2022
10/25/2022	12%	2%

Lending of Portfolio Securities

In order to generate additional income, as a non-principal investment strategy, First Trust is authorized to select certain First Trust Funds, including the Fund, with notice to the Board of Trustees, to lend portfolio securities representing up to 33⅓% of the value of its total assets to broker-dealers, banks or other institutional borrowers of securities. As with other extensions of credit, there may be risks of delay in recovery of the securities or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially. However, such First Trust Funds will only enter into loan arrangements with broker-dealers, banks or other institutions which First Trust has determined are creditworthy under guidelines approved by the Board of Trustees. The First Trust Funds will pay a portion of the income earned on the lending transaction to the placing broker and may pay administrative and custodial fees in connection with these loans. First Trust may select any First Trust Fund to participate in the securities lending program, at its discretion with notice to the Board of Trustees.

In these loan arrangements, the First Trust Funds will receive collateral in the form of cash, U.S. government securities or other high-grade debt obligations in an amount at least equal to the value of the borrowed securities, marked to market daily. This collateral must be valued daily by First Trust or the First Trust Fund’s lending agent and, if the market value of the loaned securities increases, the borrower must furnish additional collateral to the lending First Trust Fund. During the time portfolio securities are on loan, the borrower pays the lending First Trust Fund any dividends or interest paid on the securities. Loans are subject to termination at any time by the lending First Trust Fund or the borrower. While a First Trust Fund does not have the right to vote securities on loan, it would terminate the loan and regain the right to vote if that were considered important with respect to the investment. When a First Trust Fund lends portfolio securities to a borrower, payments in lieu of dividends made by the borrower to the First Trust Fund will not constitute “qualified dividends” taxable at the same rate as long-term capital gains, even if the actual dividends would have constituted qualified dividends had the First Trust Fund held the securities. Please see "Securities Lending Risk" below for a description of the risks associated with securities lending activities.

Sublicense Agreement

The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, relies on a product license agreement (a “Product License Agreement”) by and between Indxx, Inc. and First Trust, and a related sublicense agreement (the “Sublicense Agreement”) with First Trust that grants the Fund a non-exclusive and non-transferable sublicense to use certain intellectual property of the Index Provider as set forth below in the section entitled “Administrator, Fund Accounting Agent, Custodian, Transfer Agent, Distributor, Index

Provider and Exchange,” in connection with the issuance, distribution, marketing and/or promotion of the Fund. Pursuant to the Sublicense Agreement, the Fund has agreed to be bound by certain provisions of the Product License Agreement. Pursuant to the Product License Agreement, First Trust will pay the Index Provider an annual license fee.

Investment Risks

The following risk disclosure supplements the discussion of the Fund's investment risks that appears in the Prospectus.

Overview

An investment in the Fund should be made with an understanding of the risks that an investment in the Fund’s shares entails, including the risk that the financial condition of the issuers of the securities held by the Fund or the general condition of the securities market may worsen and the value of the securities and therefore the value of the Fund may decline. The Fund may not be an appropriate investment for those who are unable or unwilling to assume the risks involved generally with such an investment. The past market earnings performance of any of the securities included in the Fund is not predictive of their future performance.

Additional Market Disruption Risk

In February 2022, Russia commenced a military attack on Ukraine. In response, various countries, including the United States, issued broad-ranging sanctions on Russia and certain Russian companies and individuals. The hostilities between the two countries may escalate and any existing or future sanctions could have a severe adverse effect on Russia’s economy, currency, companies and region as well as negatively impact other regional and global economic markets of the world (including Europe and the United States), companies in such countries and various sectors, industries and markets for securities and commodities globally, such as oil and natural gas. Accordingly, the hostilities and sanctions may have a negative effect on the Fund’s investments and performance beyond any direct exposure to Russian issuers or those of adjoining geographic regions. Russia may also take retaliatory actions or countermeasures, such as cyberattacks and espionage, which may negatively impact the countries and companies in which the Fund may invest. The extent and duration of the military action or future escalation of such hostilities; the extent and impact of existing and any future sanctions, market disruptions and volatility; and the result of any diplomatic negotiations cannot be predicted. These and any related events could have a significant negative impact on certain of the Fund’s investments as well as the Fund’s performance, and the value or liquidity of certain securities held by the Fund may decline significantly.

Common Stock Risk

Equity securities are especially susceptible to general market movements and to volatile increases and decreases of value as market confidence in and perceptions of the issuers change. These perceptions are based on unpredictable factors including expectations regarding government, economic, monetary and fiscal policies, inflation and interest rates, economic expansion or contraction, and global or regional political, economic or banking crises. First Trust cannot predict the direction or scope of any of these factors. Shareholders of common stocks have rights to receive payments from the issuers of those common stocks that are generally subordinate to those of creditors of, or holders of debt obligations or preferred stocks of, such issuers.

Shareholders of common stocks of the type held by the Fund have a right to receive dividends only when and if, and in the amounts, declared by the issuer’s board of directors and have a right to participate in amounts available for distribution by the issuer only after all other claims on the issuer have been paid or otherwise been settled. Common stocks do not represent an obligation of the issuer and, therefore, do not offer any assurance of income or provide the same degree of protection of capital as do debt securities. The issuance of additional debt securities or preferred stock will create prior claims for payment of principal, interest and dividends which could adversely affect the ability and inclination of the issuer to declare or pay dividends on its common stock or the rights of holders of common stock with respect to assets of the issuer upon liquidation or bankruptcy. The value of common stocks is subject to market fluctuations for as long as the common stocks remain outstanding, and thus the value of the equity securities in the Fund will fluctuate over the life of the Fund and may be more or less than the price at which they were purchased by the Fund. The equity securities held in the Fund may appreciate or depreciate in value (or pay dividends) depending on the full range of economic and market influences affecting these securities, including the impact of the Fund’s purchase and sale of the equity securities and other factors.

Dividends Risk

Shareholders of common stocks have rights to receive payments from the issuers of those common stocks that are generally subordinate to those of creditors of, or holders of debt obligations or preferred stocks of, such issuers. Shareholders of common stocks of the type held by the Fund have a right to receive dividends only when and if, and in the amounts, declared by the issuer’s board of directors and have a right to participate in amounts available for distribution by the issuer only after all other claims on the issuer have been paid or have otherwise been settled. Common stocks do not represent an obligation of the issuer and, therefore, do not offer any assurance of income or provide the same degree of protection of capital as do debt securities. The issuance of additional debt securities or preferred stock will create prior claims for payment of principal, interest and dividends which could adversely affect the ability and inclination of the issuer to declare or pay dividends on its common stock or the rights of holders of common stock with respect to assets of the issuer upon liquidation or bankruptcy. Cumulative preferred stock dividends must be paid before common stock dividends, and any cumulative preferred stock dividend omitted is added to future dividends payable to the holders of cumulative preferred stock. Preferred stockholders are also generally entitled to rights on liquidation that are senior to those of common stockholders.

Listing Standards Risk

Litigation Risk

At any time litigation may be instituted on a variety of grounds with respect to the common stocks held by the Fund. The Fund is unable to predict whether litigation that has been or will be instituted might have a material adverse effect on the Fund.

Market Risk

be effective against future variants of the disease. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may be short term or may last for an extended period of time, and in either case could result in a substantial economic downturn or recession.

Small and Mid Capitalization Companies Risk

The Fund may invest in small and/or mid capitalization company stocks. While historically such company stocks have outperformed the stocks of large companies, the former have customarily involved more investment risk as well. Small and mid capitalization companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources; may lack management depth or experience; and may be more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic developments than large companies. Some of these companies may distribute, sell or produce products which have recently been brought to market and may be dependent on key personnel.

The prices of small and mid capitalization company securities are often more volatile than prices associated with large company issues, and can display abrupt or erratic movements at times, due to limited trading volumes and less publicly available information. Also, because small and mid capitalization companies normally have fewer shares outstanding and these shares trade less frequently than large companies, it may be more difficult for the Fund which contains these equity securities to buy and sell significant amounts of such shares without an unfavorable impact on prevailing market prices. The securities of small and mid capitalization companies are often traded OTC and may not be traded in the volumes typical of a national securities exchange.

Securities Lending Risk

Securities lending involves exposure to certain risks, including counterparty risk, collateral risk and operational risk. Counterparty risk is the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, a First Trust Fund engaged in securities lending transactions may suffer a loss and there may be a delay in recovering the lent securities. Any delay in the return of securities on loan may restrict the ability of the Fund to meet delivery or payment obligations. Collateral risk is the risk that the collateral received may be realized at a value lower than the value of the securities lent, whether due to inaccurate pricing of the collateral, adverse market movements in the value of the collateral, intra-day increases in the value of the securities lent, a deterioration in the credit rating of the collateral issuer, or the illiquidity of the market in which the collateral is traded. Securities lending also entails operational risks, such as settlement failures or delays in the settlement of instructions. Such failures or delays may restrict the ability of the Fund to meet delivery or payment obligations. Lastly, securities lending activities may result in adverse tax consequences for the Fund and its shareholders. For instance, substitute payments for dividends received by the Fund for securities loaned out by the Fund will not be considered qualified dividend income. The Fund could lose money if its short-term investment of the collateral declines in value over the period of the loan.

Management of the Fund

Trustees and Officers

Name and Year of Birth	Position and Offices with Trust	Term of Office and Year First Elected or Appointed	Principal Occupations During Past 5 Years	Number of Portfolios in the First Trust Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee	Other Trusteeships or Directorships Held by Trustee During the Past 5 Years
TRUSTEE WHO IS AN INTERESTED PERSON OF THE TRUST
James A. Bowen (1) 1955	Chairman of the Board and Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Chief Executive Officer, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.; Chairman of the Board of Directors, BondWave LLC (Software Development Company) and Stonebridge Advisors LLC (Investment Advisor)	268 Portfolios	None
INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES
Richard E. Erickson 1951	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Retired; Physician, Edward-Elmhurst Medical Group (2021 to September 2023); Physician and Officer, Wheaton Orthopedics (1990 to 2021)	268 Portfolios	None
Thomas R. Kadlec 1957	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Retired; President, ADM Investor Services, Inc. (Futures Commission Merchant) (2010 to July 2022)	268 Portfolios	Director, National Futures Association; formerly, Director of ADM Investor Services, Inc., ADM Investor Services International, ADMIS Hong Kong Ltd., ADMIS Singapore Ltd. and Futures Industry Association
Denise M. Keefe 1964	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since 2021	Executive Vice President, Advocate Aurora Health and President, Advocate Aurora Continuing Health Division (Integrated Healthcare System)	268 Portfolios	Director and Board Chair of Advocate Home Health Services, Advocate Home Care Products and Advocate Hospice; Director and Board Chair of Aurora At Home (since 2018); Director of Advocate Physician Partners Accountable Care Organization; Director of RML Long Term Acute Care Hospitals; Director of Senior Helpers (since 2021); and Director of MobileHelp (since 2022)
Robert F. Keith 1956	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	President, Hibs Enterprises (Financial and Management Consulting)	268 Portfolios	Formerly, Director of Trust Company of Illinois
Niel B. Nielson 1954	Trustee	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Senior Advisor (2018 to present), Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer (2015 to 2018), Pelita Harapan Educational Foundation (Educational Products and Services)	268 Portfolios	None

Name and Year of Birth	Position and Offices with Trust	Term of Office and Length of Service	Principal Occupations During Past 5 Years
ADVISORY BOARD
Bronwyn Wright (2) 1971	Advisory Board Member	•Indefinite term •Since 2023	Independent Director to a number of Irish collective investment funds (2009 to present); Various roles at international affiliates of Citibank (1994 to 2009), including Managing Director, Citibank Europe plc and Head of Securities and Fund Services, Citi Ireland (2007 to 2009)
OFFICERS OF THE TRUST
James M. Dykas 1966	President and Chief Executive Officer	•Indefinite term •Since 2016	Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.; Chief Financial Officer, BondWave LLC (Software Development Company) and Stonebridge Advisors LLC (Investment Advisor)
W. Scott Jardine 1960	Secretary and Chief Legal Officer	•Indefinite term •Since inception	General Counsel, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.; Secretary and General Counsel, BondWave LLC; and Secretary, Stonebridge Advisors LLC
Daniel J. Lindquist 1970	Vice President	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Managing Director, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Kristi A. Maher 1966	Chief Compliance Officer and Assistant Secretary	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Deputy General Counsel, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Derek D. Maltbie 1972	Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer	•Indefinite term •Since 2023	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P., July 2021 – present. Previously, Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P., 2014 –2021.
Roger F. Testin 1966	Vice President	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Stan Ueland 1970	Vice President	•Indefinite term •Since inception	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.

(1)

Mr. Bowen is deemed an “interested person” of the Trust due to his position as Chief Executive Officer of First Trust, investment advisor of the Fund.

(2)

Unitary Board Leadership Structure

The management of the Fund, including general supervision of the duties performed for the Fund under the investment management agreement between the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Advisor, is the responsibility of the Board of Trustees. The Trustees set broad policies for the Fund, choose the Trust’s officers and hire the Fund's investment advisor and other service providers. The officers of the Trust manage the day-to-day operations and are responsible to the Board. The Board is composed of five Independent Trustees and one Interested Trustee. The Interested Trustee, James A. Bowen, serves as the Chairman of the Board for each fund in the First Trust Fund Complex.

Annually, the Board reviews its governance structure and the committee structures, their performance and functions, and it reviews any processes that would enhance Board governance over the Fund's business. The Board has determined that its leadership structure, including the unitary board and committee structure, is appropriate based on the characteristics of the funds it serves and the characteristics of the First Trust Fund Complex as a whole.

In order to streamline communication between the Advisor and the Independent Trustees and create certain efficiencies, the Board has a Lead Independent Trustee who is responsible for: (i) chairing all meetings of the Independent Trustees; (ii) working with the Advisor, Fund counsel and the independent legal counsel to the Independent Trustees to determine the agenda for Board meetings; (iii) serving as the principal contact for and facilitating communication between the Independent Trustees and the Fund's service providers, particularly the Advisor; and (iv) any other duties that the Independent Trustees may delegate to the Lead Independent Trustee. The Lead Independent Trustee is selected by the Independent Trustees and serves for such term as approved by the Independent Trustees or until his or her successor is selected. Robert F. Keith currently serves as the Lead Independent Trustee.

The Board has established five standing committees (as described below) and has delegated certain of its responsibilities to those committees. The Board and its committees meet frequently throughout the year to oversee the Fund's activities, review contractual arrangements with and performance of service providers, oversee compliance with regulatory requirements and review Fund performance. The Independent Trustees are represented by independent legal counsel at all Board and committee meetings (other than meetings of the Dividend Committee). Generally, the Board acts by majority vote of all the Trustees, including a majority vote of the Independent Trustees if required by applicable law.

(i) evidence of Fund ownership of the person or entity recommending the candidate (if a Fund shareholder); (ii) a full description of the proposed candidate’s background, including education, experience, current employment and date of birth; (iii) names and addresses of at least three professional references for the candidate; (iv) information as to whether the candidate is an “interested person” in relation to the Fund, as such term is defined in the 1940 Act, and such other information that may be considered to impair the candidate’s independence; and (v) any other information that may be helpful to the Committee in evaluating the candidate. If a recommendation is received with satisfactorily completed information regarding a candidate during a time when a vacancy exists on the Board or during such other time as the Nominating and Governance Committee is accepting recommendations, the recommendation will be forwarded to the Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee and to counsel to the Independent Trustees. During the last fiscal period, the Nominating and Governance Committee held four meetings.

The Valuation Committee is responsible for the oversight of the Advisor as the "Valuation Designee" under Rule 2a-5 of the 1940 Act and its implementation of the valuation of the securities held in the Fund's portfolio. Messrs. Erickson, Kadlec, Keith, Nielson and Ms. Keefe are members of the Valuation Committee. During the last fiscal period, the Valuation Committee held four meetings.

The Executive Committee, which meets between Board meetings, is authorized to exercise all powers of and to act in the place of the Board to the extent permitted by each Fund’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws. Mr. Bowen, Mr. Keith and Mr. Kadlec are members of the Executive Committee. During the last fiscal period, the Executive Committee did not hold any meetings.

The Dividend Committee is responsible for assisting the Board in, or assuming the authority and power of the Board with respect to, the declaration and setting of the Fund's dividends. Messrs. Keith and Kadlec serve on the Dividend Committee. During the last fiscal period, the Dividend Committee did not hold any meetings.

Advisory Board

Executive Officers

Risk Oversight

corporate governance of the Trust. The Valuation Committee monitors valuation risk and oversees the Advisor's performance as Valuation Designee.

Not all risks that may affect the Fund can be identified nor can controls be developed to eliminate or mitigate their occurrence or effects. It may not be practical or cost effective to eliminate or mitigate certain risks, the processes and controls employed to address certain risks may be limited in their effectiveness, and some risks are simply beyond the reasonable control of the Fund or the Advisor or other service providers. For instance, as the use of Internet technology has become more prevalent, the Fund and its service providers have become more susceptible to potential operational risks through breaches in cyber security (generally, intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund or a service provider to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity). There can be no guarantee that any risk management systems established by the Fund, its service providers, or issuers of the securities in which the Fund invests to reduce cyber security risks will succeed, and the Fund cannot control such systems put in place by service providers, issuers or other third parties whose operations may affect the Fund and/or its shareholders. Moreover, it is necessary to bear certain risks (such as investment related risks) to achieve the Fund's goals. As a result of the foregoing and other factors, the Fund’s ability to manage risk is subject to substantial limitations.

Board Diversification and Trustee Qualifications

Advocate Aurora Continuing Health Division and other health care organizations, including RML Long Term Acute Care Hospitals (since 2014) and Senior Helpers (since 2021). Prior thereto, Ms. Keefe was Corporate Vice President, Marketing and Business Development for the Visiting Nurse Association of Chicago (1989–1992) and a former Board Member of Sherman West Court Skilled Nursing Facility. Ms. Keefe has served as a Trustee of the First Trust Funds and on the Audit Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee and Valuation Committee of the First Trust Funds since November 1, 2021. In addition, she currently serves as Audit Committee Vice Chair (since March 12, 2024) of the First Trust Funds.

The following table sets forth the total compensation (including reimbursement for travel and out-of-pocket expenses) paid by the Fund and the First Trust Fund Complex to each of the Independent Trustees for the fiscal period and the calendar year ended December 31, 2023, respectively. The Trust has no retirement or pension plans. The officers and Trustee who are “interested persons” as designated above serve without any compensation from the Trust. The Trust has no employees. Its officers are compensated by First Trust.

Name of Trustee	Total Compensation from the Fund (1)	Total Compensation from the First Trust Fund Complex (2)
Richard E. Erickson	$1,419	$572,000
Thomas R. Kadlec	$1,418	$567,000
Denise M. Keefe	$1,414	$547,000
Robert F. Keith	$1,420	$577,000
Niel B. Nielson	$1,418	$567,000

(1)

The compensation paid by the Fund to the Independent Trustees for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 for services to the Fund.

(2)

Trustee	Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Fund (Number of Shares Held)	Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities in All Registered Investment Companies Overseen by Trustee in the First Trust Fund Complex
Interested Trustee
James A. Bowen	None	Over $100,000
Independent Trustees
Richard E. Erickson	None	Over $100,000
Thomas R. Kadlec	None	Over $100,000
Denise M. Keefe	None	Over $100,000
Robert F. Keith	None	Over $100,000
Niel B. Nielson	None	Over $100,000

As of March 31, 2024, the Independent Trustees of the Trust and their immediate family members did not own beneficially or of record any class of securities of an investment advisor or principal underwriter of the Fund or any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with an investment advisor or principal underwriter of the Fund.

As of March 31, 2024, the officers and Trustees, in the aggregate, owned less than 1% of the shares of the Fund.

The table set forth in Exhibit A shows the percentage ownership of each shareholder or "group" (as that term is used in Section 13(d) of the 1934 Act) who, based on the securities position listing reports as of March 31, 2024, owned of record, or is known by the Trust to have owned of record or beneficially, 5% or more of the shares of the Fund (the "Principal Holders"). A control person is one who owns, either directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the voting securities of the Fund or acknowledges the existence of control. A party that controls the Fund may be able to significantly influence the outcome of any item presented to shareholders for approval. The Fund does not have any knowledge of who the ultimate beneficiaries are of the shares.

Pursuant to an investment management agreement between First Trust and the Trust, on behalf of the Fund (the “Investment Management Agreement”), First Trust manages the investment of the Fund’s assets and is responsible for paying all expenses of the Fund, excluding the fee payments under the Investment Management Agreement, interest, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses connected with the execution of portfolio transactions, distribution and service fees payable pursuant to a Rule 12b-1 plan, if any, and extraordinary expenses. The Fund has agreed to pay First Trust an annual management fee equal to 0.60% of its average daily net assets.

Under the Investment Management Agreement, First Trust shall not be liable for any loss sustained by reason of the purchase, sale or retention of any security, whether or not such purchase, sale or retention shall have been based upon the investigation and research made by any other individual, firm or corporation, if such recommendation shall have been selected with due care and in good faith, except loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of First Trust in the performance of its obligations and duties, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties. The Investment Management Agreement terminates automatically upon assignment and is terminable at any time without penalty as to the Fund by the Board of Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, or by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities on 60 days’ written notice to First Trust, or by First Trust on 60 days’ written notice to the Fund.

Management Fee	Breakpoints
0.60000%	Fund net assets up to and including $2.5 billion
0.58500%	Fund net assets greater than $2.5 billion up to and including $5 billion
0.57000%	Fund net assets greater than $5 billion up to and including $7.5 billion
0.55500%	Fund net assets greater than $7.5 billion up to and including $10 billion
0.54000%	Fund net assets greater than $10 billion up to and including $15 billion
0.51000%	Fund net assets greater than $15 billion

The following table sets forth the unitary management fees paid by the Fund to First Trust for the specified periods.

Amount of Unitary Fees
Inception Date	Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023	Fiscal Period Ended December 31, 2022
10/25/2022	$162,286	$1,908

Investment Committee. The Investment Committee of First Trust (the “Investment Committee”) is jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. There are currently seven members of the Investment Committee, as follows:

Name	Position with First Trust	Length of Service with First Trust	Principal Occupation During Past Five Years
Daniel J. Lindquist	Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director	Since 2004	Managing Director, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.

Name	Position with First Trust	Length of Service with First Trust	Principal Occupation During Past Five Years
David G. McGarel	Chief Operating Officer, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director	Since 1997	Chief Operating Officer (2016 to present), Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Jon C. Erickson	Senior Vice President	Since 1994	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Roger F. Testin	Senior Vice President	Since 2001	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Stan Ueland	Senior Vice President	Since 2005	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Chris A. Peterson	Senior Vice President	Since 2000	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Erik Russo	Vice President	Since 2010	Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.

Roger F. Testin, CFA: As head of First Trust’s Portfolio Management Group, Mr. Testin is responsible for executing the instructions of the Strategy Research Group and Equity Research Group.

Stan Ueland: Mr. Ueland is a Senior Vice President and is responsible for executing the investment strategies of the Fund.

As of December 31, 2023, none of the portfolio managers beneficially owned any shares of the Fund.

Compensation. The compensation structure for each member of the Investment Committee is based upon a fixed salary as well as a discretionary bonus determined by the management of First Trust. Salaries are determined by management and are based upon an individual’s position and overall value to the firm. Bonuses are also determined by management and are based upon an individual’s overall contribution to the success of the firm and the profitability of the firm. Salaries and bonuses for members of the Investment Committee are not based upon criteria such as performance of the Fund or the value of assets included in the Fund's portfolio. In addition, Mr. Lindquist, Mr. Erickson, Mr. McGarel and Mr. Peterson also have an indirect ownership stake in the firm and will therefore receive their allocable share of ownership-related distributions.

Accounts Managed by Investment Committee

The Investment Committee manages the investment vehicles (other than the Fund) with the number of accounts and assets, as of December 31, 2023, set forth in the table below:

Investment Committee Member	Registered Investment Companies Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Other Pooled Investment Vehicles Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Other Accounts Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Registered Investment Companies With Performance Fees Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Other Pooled Investment Vehicles With Performance Fees Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)	Other Accounts With Performance Fees Number of Accounts ($ Assets in Thousands)
Dan Lindquist	120 ($88,709,176)	44 ($2,082,628)	1,098 ($415,831)	N/A	N/A	N/A
David McGarel	121 ($88,728,855)	44 ($2,082,628)	1,098 ($415,831)	N/A	N/A	N/A
Jon Erickson	117 ($88,694,737)	44 ($2,082,628)	1,098 ($415,831)	N/A	N/A	N/A
Roger Testin	117 ($88,694,737)	44 ($2,082,628)	1,098 ($415,831)	N/A	N/A	N/A
Stan Ueland	111 ($87,611,404)	37 ($1,947,979)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Chris Peterson	121 ($88,728,855)	44 ($2,082,628)	1,098 ($415,831)	N/A	N/A	N/A
Erik Russo	111 ($87,611,404)	37 ($1,947,979)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Conflicts. None of the accounts managed by the Investment Committee pay an advisory fee that is based upon the performance of the account. In addition, First Trust believes that there are no material conflicts of interest that may arise in connection with the Investment Committee's management of the Fund's investments and the investments of the other accounts managed by the Investment Committee. However, because the investment strategy of the Fund and the investment strategies of many of the other accounts managed by the Investment Committee are based on fairly mechanical investment processes, the Investment Committee may recommend that certain clients sell and other clients buy a given security at the same time. In addition, because the investment strategies of the Fund and other accounts managed by the Investment Committee generally result in the clients investing in readily available securities, the Advisor believes that there should not be material conflicts in the allocation of investment opportunities between the Fund and other accounts managed by the Investment Committee.

Brokerage Allocations

Notwithstanding the foregoing, in selecting brokers, First Trust may in the future consider investment and market information and other research, such as economic, securities and performance measurement research, provided by such brokers, and the quality and reliability of brokerage services, including execution capability, performance and financial responsibility. Accordingly, the commissions charged by any such broker may be greater than the amount another firm might charge if First Trust determines in good faith that the amount of such commissions is reasonable in relation to the value of the research information and brokerage services provided by such broker to First Trust or the Trust. In addition, First Trust must determine that the research information received in this manner provides the Fund with benefits by supplementing the research otherwise available to the Fund. The Investment Management Agreement provides that such higher commissions will not be paid by the Fund unless First Trust determines in good faith that the amount is reasonable in relation to the services provided. The investment advisory fees paid by the Fund to First Trust under the Investment Management Agreement would not be reduced as a result of receipt by First Trust of research services.

Brokerage Commissions

Aggregate Amount of Brokerage Commissions
Inception Date	Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023	Fiscal Period Ended December 31, 2022
10/25/2022	$1,177	$12

During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the Fund did not acquire shares of a regular broker or dealer of the Fund as defined in Rule 10b-1 under the 1940 Act.

Administrator, Fund Accounting Agent, Custodian, Transfer Agent, Distributor, Index Provider and Exchange

Administrator and Fund Accounting Agent. The Fund has appointed the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (“BNYM”), located at 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286, to serve as the Fund's administrator and provide the Fund with accounting services pursuant to a fund administration and accounting agreement (the “Administration and Accounting Agreement”). Under the Administration and Accounting Agreement, BNYM is obligated, on a continuous basis, to provide such administrative services as the Board reasonably deems necessary for the proper administration of the Trust and the Fund. BNYM generally will assist in many aspects of the Trust’s and the Fund's operations, including accounting, bookkeeping and record keeping services (including, without limitation, the maintenance of such books and records as are required under the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder, except as maintained by other service providers), assist in preparing reports to shareholders or investors, prepare and file tax returns, supply financial information and supporting data for reports to and filings with the SEC and various state Blue Sky authorities and supply supporting documentation for meetings of the Board.

The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has agreed to indemnify BNYM for certain liabilities, including certain liabilities arising under the federal securities laws, unless such loss or liability results from negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties. As compensation for these services, BNYM is paid a fee based on the Fund’s total average daily net assets. BNYM also is entitled to certain out-of-pocket expenses for the services described above. This fee is subject to reduction for assets over $1 billion. The Fund has not paid any fees to BNYM under the Fund Administration and Accounting Agreement as the Advisor has assumed responsibility for payment of these fees as part of the unitary management fee.

For the fiscal period ended December 31, 2022 and the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, there were no underwriting commissions with respect to the sale of Fund shares, and FTP did not receive compensation on redemptions for the Fund for that period.

No fee is currently paid by the Fund under the Plan and, pursuant to a contractual agreement, the Fund will not pay 12b-1 fees any time before April 30, 2025.

vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund. The Distribution Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act).

The Distributor may also enter into agreements with participants that utilize the facilities of the Depository Trust Company (the "DTC Participants"), which have international operational capabilities and place orders for Creation Unit Aggregations of Fund shares. Participating Parties (which are participants in the Continuous Net Settlement System of the National Securities Clearing Corporation) shall be DTC Participants.

Index Provider. The Index is compiled by the Index Provider. First Trust does not guarantee the accuracy and/or the completeness of the Index or any data included therein, and First Trust shall have no liability for any errors, omissions or interruptions therein. First Trust makes no warranty, express or implied, as to results to be obtained by the Fund, owners of the shares of the Fund or any other person or entity from the use of the Index or any data included therein. First Trust makes no express or implied warranties, and expressly disclaims all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or use with respect to the Index or any data included therein. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall First Trust have any liability for any special, punitive, direct, indirect or consequential damages (including lost profits) arising out of matters relating to the use of the Index, even if notified of the possibility of such damages.

INDXX, INC. DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE INDXX US AEROSPACE & DEFENSE INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN AND INDXX, INC. SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR INTERRUPTIONS THEREIN. INDXX, INC. MAKES NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY FIRST TRUST, OWNERS OF THE FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE INDXX US AEROSPACE & DEFENSE INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. INDXX, INC. MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USEWITH RESPECT TO THE INDXX US AEROSPACE & DEFENSE INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN, WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL INDXX, INC. HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING LOST PROFITS), EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THERE ARE NO THIRD-PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN INDXX, INC. AND FIRST TRUST.

Additional Payments to Financial Intermediaries

program for its registered representatives who sell Fund shares and provide services to Fund shareholders, and (ix) the asset class of the First Trust Funds for which these payments are provided. Such payments are generally asset-based but also may include the payment of a lump sum.