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First Trust

Exchange-Traded AlphaDEX® Fund II

Prospectus

FUND NAME	TICKER SYMBOL	EXCHANGE
First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX® Fund	FPA	Nasdaq
First Trust Brazil AlphaDEX® Fund	FBZ	Nasdaq
First Trust China AlphaDEX® Fund	FCA	Nasdaq
First Trust Developed Markets ex-US AlphaDEX® Fund	FDT	Nasdaq
First Trust Developed Markets ex-US Small Cap AlphaDEX® Fund	FDTS	Nasdaq
First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX® Fund	FEM	Nasdaq
First Trust Emerging Markets Small Cap AlphaDEX® Fund	FEMS	Nasdaq
First Trust Europe AlphaDEX® Fund	FEP	Nasdaq
First Trust Eurozone AlphaDEX® ETF	FEUZ	Nasdaq
First Trust Germany AlphaDEX® Fund	FGM	Nasdaq
First Trust India NIFTY 50 Equal Weight ETF	NFTY	Nasdaq
First Trust Japan AlphaDEX® Fund	FJP	Nasdaq
First Trust Latin America AlphaDEX® Fund	FLN	Nasdaq
First Trust Switzerland AlphaDEX® Fund	FSZ	Nasdaq
First Trust United Kingdom AlphaDEX® Fund	FKU	Nasdaq

Each of the funds listed above (each a “Fund,” and collectively, the “Funds”) lists and principally trades its shares on either The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq" or the “Exchange”). 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 AlphaDEX® Fund II (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 2, 2022

Summary Information

First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX® Fund (FPA)

Investment Objective

The First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX® Fund (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 Nasdaq AlphaDEX® Asia Pacific Ex-Japan 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	0.80%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.80%

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. 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
$82	$255	$444	$990

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 102% 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 common stocks, depositary receipts, real estate investment trusts ("REITs") and preferred shares 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 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.

The Index is composed of securities issued by small, mid and large cap companies operating in the Asia Pacific region excluding Japan, as classified by the Index Provider. Companies are classified as operating in a country primarily by their country of incorporation, domicile and primary exchange listing. The Index may be composed of securities denominated in non-U.S. currencies. The Index is designed to select stocks from the Nasdaq Asia Pacific Ex-Japan Index (the “Base Index”) that may generate positive alpha, or risk-adjusted returns, relative to traditional indices through the use of the AlphaDEX® selection

First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX® Fund (FPA)

methodology. Alpha is an indication of how much an investment outperforms or underperforms on a risk-adjusted basis relative to its benchmark. The Base Index is a comprehensive, rules-based index designed to measure stock market performance of companies in the Asia Pacific region excluding Japan, as determined by the Index Provider.

Security selection for the Index will be conducted in the following manner:

The selection universe for the Index begins with all stocks in the Base Index.

The Index Provider then removes any stocks which do not trade on an eligible exchange; duplicate (multiple share classes) stocks; stocks which do not meet the Index Provider’s liquidity screens; stocks of companies in emerging markets and stocks with a market capitalization less than the mid cap breakpoint (50th percentile) as calculated by Nasdaq. As of March 31, 2022, the mid cap breakpoint was $3.998 billion. The Index Provider may include stocks below the mid cap breakpoint in order to reach a predetermined minimum number of eligible stocks.

For South Korean stocks currently at their foreign ownership limit, the direct listed security is replaced in the universe with its depositary receipt if available (subject to above liquidity requirements). If none is available, the stock is excluded.

The remaining stocks in the universe are then ranked on both growth and value factors. Each stock receives the best style rank from this step as its selection score.

The top 100 stocks based on the selection score determined in step 4 comprise the “selected stocks.” The selected stocks are then split into quintiles based on their selection score, with higher scoring quintiles receiving a greater weight in the Index.

The Index is subject to sector/country weighting constraints which are set at 15% above the sector/country percentages of the Base Index. A stock will be moved to a lower-weighted quintile when its weight, added to the weight assigned to all higher ranking stocks in its sector/country, is greater than the sector/country weighting constraint. Stocks that fail the sector/country weighting constraints at the lowest quintile will be removed from the Index.

The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted semi-annually and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index’s semi-annual 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 31, 2022, the Index was composed of 99 securities and the Fund had significant investments in materials companies, Australian issuers, South Korean issuers and Asian issuers, although this may change from time to time. In order to gain exposure to certain Chinese companies that are included in the Index but are unavailable to direct investment by foreign investors, the Fund invests 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. 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.

ASIA RISK. The Fund is subject to certain risks specifically associated with investments in the securities of Asian issuers. Many Asian economies have experienced rapid growth and industrialization, and there is no assurance that this growth rate will be maintained. Some Asian economies are highly dependent on trade, and economic conditions in other countries within and outside Asia can impact these economies. Certain of these economies may be adversely affected by trade or policy disputes with its major trade partners. There is also a high concentration of market capitalization and trading volume in a small number of issuers representing a limited number of industries, as well as a high concentration of investors and financial intermediaries. Certain Asian countries have experienced and may in the future experience expropriation and nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, currency manipulation, political instability, armed conflict and social instability as a result of religious, ethnic, socio-economic and/or political unrest. In particular, escalated tensions involving North Korea and any outbreak of hostilities involving North Korea could have a severe adverse effect on Asian economies. Governments of certain Asian countries have exercised, and continue to exercise, substantial influence over many aspects of the private sector. In certain cases, the government owns or controls many companies, including the largest in the country. Accordingly, government actions could

First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX® Fund (FPA)

have a significant effect on the issuers of the Fund’s securities or on economic conditions generally. Recent developments in relations between the U.S. and China have heightened concerns of increased tariffs and restrictions on trade between the two countries. An increase in tariffs or trade restrictions, or even the threat of such developments, could lead to a significant reduction in international trade, which could have a negative impact on the economy of Asian countries and a commensurately negative impact on the Fund.

ASIA-PACIFIC RISK. The Fund is subject to certain risks specifically associated with investments in the securities of Asian-Pacific issuers. This includes risks associated with the economic, market, regulatory, political, natural disasters and local risks of the Asia-Pacific region, which are heightened as compared to a fund with a more geographically diversified portfolio. The region has historically been highly dependent on global trade with nations taking strong roles in both the importing and exporting of goods. The respective stock markets in the region tend to have a larger prevalence of smaller companies that are inherently more volatile and less liquid than larger companies. Varying levels of accounting and disclosure standards, restrictions on foreign ownership, minority ownership rights and corporate governance standards are also common for the region.

AUSTRALIA RISK. Investing in securities of Australian companies may involve additional risks. The Australian economy is heavily dependent on the Asian, European and U.S. markets. Reduced spending by any of these economies on Australian products may adversely affect the Australian market. Additionally, Australia is located in a geographic region that has historically been prone to natural disasters. The occurrence of a natural disaster in the region could negatively impact the Australian economy and affect the value of the securities held by the Fund.

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 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.

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 all of its creations and redemptions in-kind. Because the Fund may effect redemptions for cash, it may be required to sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. A sale of portfolio securities may result in capital gains or losses and may also result in higher brokerage costs.

CURRENCY RISK. Changes in currency exchange rates affect the value of investments denominated in a foreign currency, and therefore the value of such investments in the Fund’s portfolio. The Fund’s net asset value could decline if a currency to which the Fund has exposure depreciates against the U.S. dollar or if there are delays or limits on repatriation of such currency. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning.

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. Cyber security breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks through efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cyber security breaches of the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests or the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. Although the Fund has established risk 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.

DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS RISK. Depositary receipts represent equity interests in a foreign company that trade on a local stock exchange. Depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. Any distributions paid to the holders of depositary receipts are usually subject to a fee charged by the depositary. Holders of depositary receipts may have limited voting rights, and investment restrictions in certain countries may adversely impact the value of depositary receipts because such restrictions may limit the ability to convert the equity shares into depositary receipts and vice versa.

First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX® Fund (FPA)

Such restrictions may cause the equity shares of the underlying issuer to trade at a discount or premium to the market price of the depositary receipts.

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.

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.

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.

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 may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, 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

First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX® Fund (FPA)

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.

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.

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 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. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. For example, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic and the aggressive responses taken by many governments, including closing borders, restricting international and domestic travel, and the imposition of prolonged quarantines or similar restrictions, had negative impacts, and in many cases severe impacts, on markets worldwide. While the development of vaccines has slowed the spread of the virus and allowed for the resumption of reasonably normal business activity in the United States, many countries continue to impose lockdown measures in an attempt to slow the spread. Additionally, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against emerging 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 also 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 and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.

MATERIALS COMPANIES RISK. Materials and processing companies are involved in the extraction or processing of raw materials such as metals, ore and forestry products. These companies are sensitive to changes in the business cycle and fluctuations in the supply and demand for raw materials. Further, certain materials and processing companies can be affected by shifts in the housing market, as many produced raw materials are components of construction projects. Rising wage costs can also impact companies that rely on skilled labor. In addition, materials and processing companies may be significantly affected by volatility of commodity prices, import controls, worldwide competition, liability for environmental damage, depletion of resources and mandated expenditures for safety and pollution control devices.

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.

NON-U.S. SECURITIES RISK. Non-U.S. securities are subject to higher volatility than securities of domestic issuers due to possible adverse political, social or economic developments, restrictions on foreign investment or exchange of securities, capital controls, lack of liquidity, currency exchange rates, excessive taxation, government seizure of assets, the imposition of sanctions by foreign governments, different legal or accounting standards, and less government supervision and regulation of securities exchanges in foreign countries.

First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX® Fund (FPA)

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 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.

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.

PREFERRED SECURITIES RISK. Preferred securities combine some of the characteristics of both common stocks and bonds. Preferred securities are typically subordinated to bonds and other debt securities in a company’s capital structure in terms of priority to corporate income, subjecting them to greater credit risk than those debt securities. Generally, holders of preferred securities have no voting rights with respect to the issuing company unless preferred dividends have been in arrears for a specified number of periods, at which time the preferred security holders may obtain limited rights. In certain circumstances, an issuer of preferred securities may defer payment on the securities and, in some cases, redeem the securities prior to a specified date. Preferred securities may also be substantially less liquid than other securities, including common stock.

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.

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.

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.

SOUTH KOREA RISK. The Fund is subject to certain risks specifically associated with investments in the securities of South Korean issuers. Substantial political tensions exist between North Korea and South Korea. Escalated tensions involving the two nations and the outbreak of hostilities between the two nations, or even the threat of an outbreak of hostilities, could have a severe adverse effect on the South Korean economy. In addition, South Korea’s economic growth potential has recently been on a decline because of a rapidly aging population and structural problems, among other factors. The South Korean

First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX® Fund (FPA)

economy is heavily reliant on trading exports, especially to other Asian countries and the U.S., and disruptions or decreases in trade activity could lead to further declines. The South Korean economy’s dependence on the economies of Asia and the U.S. means that a reduction in spending by these economies on South Korean products and services or negative changes in any of these economies may cause an adverse impact on the South Korean economy and therefore, on the Fund’s investments. In addition, South Korea is located in a part of the world that has historically been prone to natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes or tsunamis, and is economically sensitive to environmental events. Any such event may adversely impact South Korea’s economy or business operations of companies in South Korea.

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.

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.

VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES RISK. 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.

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 market indices. See “Total Return Information” for additional performance information regarding the Fund. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com.

First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX® Fund (FPA)

On October 13, 2015 the Fund’s underlying index changed from the Defined Asia Pacific Ex-Japan Index to the Nasdaq AlphaDEX® Asia Pacific Ex-Japan Index. Therefore, the Fund’s performance and historical returns shown below are not necessarily indicative of the performance that the Fund, based on the Index, would have generated. Returns for an underlying index are only disclosed for those periods in which the index was in existence for the whole period. Because the Fund’s new underlying index had an inception date of December 15, 2014, it was not in existence for all of the periods disclosed. The new index is substantially similar to the Defined Asia Pacific Ex-Japan Index.

First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX® Fund
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31

During the periods shown in the chart above:

Best Quarter		Worst Quarter
24.28%	June 30, 2020	-30.45%	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, 2021

	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Return Before Taxes	2.75%	6.43%	6.25%	3.43%	4/18/2011
Return After Taxes on Distributions	0.75%	5.03%	5.01%	2.23%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	1.65%	4.38%	4.38%	2.10%
Nasdaq AlphaDEX® Asia Pacific Ex-Japan Index(1) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	3.68%	7.39%	N/A	N/A
Nasdaq DM Asia Pacific Ex-Japan Index(1) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	1.91%	9.56%	N/A	N/A
MSCI Pacific ex-Japan Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	4.68%	8.31%	6.77%	4.49%

First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX® Fund (FPA)

(1)

Performance data is not available for all the periods shown in the table for the index because performance data does not exist for some of the entire periods.

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

•

Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

David G. McGarel, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director 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 2011, except for Chris A. Peterson and Erik Russo who have served as part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2016 and 2020, respectively.

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 or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), 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 Brazil AlphaDEX® Fund (FBZ)

Investment Objective

The First Trust Brazil AlphaDEX® Fund (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 Nasdaq AlphaDEX® Brazil 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	0.80%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.80%

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
$82	$255	$444	$990

Portfolio Turnover

Principal Investment Strategies

The Index is composed of securities issued by small, mid and large cap companies operating in Brazil, as classified by the Index Provider. Companies are classified as operating in a country primarily by their country of incorporation, domicile and primary exchange listing. Brazil is an emerging market country, as classified by the Index Provider, based on factors such as national income per capita, national market capitalization and national trading volume. The Index may be composed of securities denominated in non-U.S. currencies. The Index is designed to select stocks from the Nasdaq Brazil Index (the “Base Index”) that may generate positive alpha, or risk-adjusted returns, relative to traditional indices through the use of the AlphaDEX®

First Trust Brazil AlphaDEX® Fund (FBZ)

selection methodology. Alpha is an indication of how much an investment outperforms or underperforms on a risk-adjusted basis relative to its benchmark. The Base Index is a comprehensive, rules-based index designed to measure stock market performance of companies in Brazil, as determined by the Index Provider.

Security selection for the Index will be conducted in the following manner:

The selection universe for the Index begins with all stocks in the Base Index.

The Index Provider then removes any stocks which do not trade on an eligible exchange; duplicate (multiple share classes) stocks; stocks which do not meet the Index Provider’s liquidity screens; and stocks with a market capitalization less than the mid cap breakpoint (50th percentile) as calculated by Nasdaq. As of March 31, 2022, the mid cap breakpoint was $3.998 billion. The Index Provider may include stocks below the mid cap breakpoint in order to reach a predetermined minimum number of eligible stocks.

The remaining stocks in the universe are then ranked on both growth and value factors. Each stock receives the best style rank from this step as its selection score.

The top 50 stocks based on the selection score determined in step 3 comprise the “selected stocks.” The selected stocks are then split into quintiles based on their selection score, with higher scoring quintiles receiving a greater weight in the Index.

The Index is subject to sector weighting constraints which are set at 15% above the sector percentages of the Base Index. For example, if financial companies comprise 15% of the Base Index, the Index will be comprised of no more than 30% financials. Stocks will fail the sector constraint if the weight assigned to the stock, when added to the weight assigned to all higher ranking stocks in its sector, is greater than the sector weighting constraint.

Principal Risks

BRAZIL RISK. The Fund is subject to certain risks specifically associated with investments in the securities of Brazilian issuers. Brazil is an emerging market and demonstrates significantly higher volatility from time to time in comparison to developed markets. Shareholder claims that are available in the U.S., as well as regulatory oversight and authority that is common in the U.S., including for claims based on fraud, may be difficult or impossible for shareholders of securities in Brazil or for U.S. authorities to pursue. Investing in Brazil may involve a higher degree of risk and special considerations not typically associated with investing in more established economies or securities markets. Investment exposure to Brazil may subject the Fund, to a greater extent than if investments were made in developed countries, to the risks of adverse securities markets, exchange rates and social, political, regulatory, economic, or environmental events and natural disasters which may occur in Brazil. The economy, industries, and securities and currency markets of Brazil may be adversely affected by protectionist trade policies, slow economic activity worldwide, political and social instability and regional and global conflicts. Brazil has experienced security concerns, such as terrorism and strained international relations. Incidents involving the country’s or region’s security may cause uncertainty in Brazilian markets and may adversely affect its economy and the Fund’s investments.

First Trust Brazil AlphaDEX® Fund (FBZ)

EMERGING MARKETS RISK. Investments in securities issued by governments and companies operating in emerging market countries involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions not associated with investments in securities and instruments issued by U.S. companies or by companies operating in other developed market countries. Investments in emerging markets securities are generally considered speculative in nature and are subject to the following heightened risks: smaller market capitalization of securities markets which may suffer periods of relative illiquidity; significant price volatility; restrictions on foreign investment; possible repatriation of investment income and capital; rapid inflation; and currency convertibility issues. Emerging market countries also often have less uniformity in accounting, auditing and reporting requirements, unsettled securities laws, unreliable securities valuation and greater risk associated with custody of securities. Financial and other reporting by companies and government entities also may be less reliable in emerging market countries. Shareholder claims that are available in the U.S., as well as regulatory oversight and authority that is common in the U.S., including for claims based on fraud, may be difficult or impossible for shareholders of securities in emerging market countries or for U.S. authorities to pursue. For funds that track an index or are managed based upon a benchmark, the index may not weight the securities in emerging market countries on the basis of investor protection limitations, financial reporting quality or available oversight mechanisms. Furthermore, investors may be required to register the proceeds of sales and future economic or political crises could lead to price controls, forced mergers, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, seizure, nationalization or creation of government monopolies.

First Trust Brazil AlphaDEX® Fund (FBZ)

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.

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 Brazil AlphaDEX® Fund (FBZ)

UTILITY COMPANIES RISK. Utility companies include companies producing or providing gas, electricity or water. These companies are subject to the risk of the imposition of rate caps, increased competition due to deregulation, the difficulty in obtaining an adequate return on invested capital or in financing large construction projects counterparty risk, the limitations on operations and increased costs and delays attributable to environmental considerations and the capital market’s ability to absorb utility debt. In addition, taxes, government regulation, domestic and international politics, price and supply fluctuations, volatile interest rates and energy conservation may negatively affect utility companies.

First Trust Brazil AlphaDEX® Fund (FBZ)

Annual Total Return

On July 14, 2015 the Fund’s underlying index changed from the Defined Brazil Index to the Nasdaq AlphaDEX® Brazil Index. Therefore, the Fund’s performance and historical returns shown below are not necessarily indicative of the performance that the Fund, based on the Index, would have generated. Returns for an underlying index are only disclosed for those periods in which the index was in existence for the whole period. Because the Fund’s new underlying index had an inception date of May 18, 2015, it was not in existence for all of the periods disclosed. The new index is substantially similar to the Defined Brazil Index.

First Trust Brazil AlphaDEX® Fund
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31

During the periods shown in the chart above:

Best Quarter		Worst Quarter
28.34%	June 30, 2020	-49.90%	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.

First Trust Brazil AlphaDEX® Fund (FBZ)

Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2021

	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Return Before Taxes	-9.00%	5.16%	-1.02%	-3.16%	4/18/2011
Return After Taxes on Distributions	-11.21%	1.69%	-3.26%	-5.25%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	-5.22%	2.70%	-1.58%	-3.02%
Nasdaq AlphaDEX® Brazil Index(1) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	-7.86%	7.43%	N/A	N/A
Nasdaq Brazil Index(1) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	-21.39%	0.70%	N/A	N/A
MSCI Brazil Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	-17.40%	0.85%	-3.04%	-4.98%

(1)

Performance data is not available for all the periods shown in the table for the index because performance data does not exist for some of the entire periods.

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

•

Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

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

Summary Information

First Trust China AlphaDEX® Fund (FCA)

Investment Objective

The First Trust China AlphaDEX® Fund (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 Nasdaq AlphaDEX® China 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	0.80%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.80%

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
$82	$255	$444	$990

Portfolio Turnover

Principal Investment Strategies

The Index is composed of B Shares, depositary receipts and U.S.-listed common stock issued by small, mid and large cap companies operating in China, as classified by the Index Provider. B Shares are shares of Chinese companies traded on either the Shanghai exchange in U.S. dollars or on the Shenzhen stock exchange in Hong Kong dollars. Companies are classified as operating in a country primarily by their country of incorporation, domicile and primary exchange listing. China is an emerging market country, as classified by the Index Provider, based on factors such as national income per capita, national market capitalization and national trading volume. The Index may be composed of securities denominated in non-U.S. currencies.

First Trust China AlphaDEX® Fund (FCA)

The Index is designed to select stocks from the Nasdaq China Index (the “Base Index”) that may generate positive alpha, or risk-adjusted returns, relative to traditional indices through the use of the AlphaDEX® selection methodology. Alpha is an indication of how much an investment outperforms or underperforms on a risk-adjusted basis relative to its benchmark. The Base Index is a comprehensive, rules-based index designed to measure stock market performance of companies in China, as determined by the Index Provider.

Security selection for the Index will be conducted in the following manner:

The selection universe for the Index begins with all stocks in the Base Index.

The Index Provider then removes any stocks which do not trade on an eligible exchange; duplicate (multiple share classes) stocks; stocks which do not meet the Index Provider’s liquidity screens; and stocks with a market capitalization less than the mid cap breakpoint (50th percentile) as calculated by Nasdaq. As of March 31, 2022, the mid cap breakpoint was $3.998 billion. The Index Provider may include stocks below the mid cap breakpoint in order to reach a predetermined minimum number of eligible stocks.

The remaining stocks in the universe are then ranked on both growth and value factors. Each stock receives the best style rank from this step as its selection score.

The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted semi-annually and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index’s semi-annual 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 31, 2022, the Index was composed of 51 securities and the Fund had significant investments in Chinese issuers, Hong Kong issuers and Asian issuers, although this may change from time to time. In order to gain exposure to certain Chinese companies that are included in the Index but are unavailable to direct investment by foreign investors, the Fund invests 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. 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

First Trust China AlphaDEX® Fund (FCA)

two countries. An increase in tariffs or trade restrictions, or even the threat of such developments, could lead to a significant reduction in international trade, which could have a negative impact on the economy of Asian countries and a commensurately negative impact on the Fund.

CHINA RISK. The Fund is subject to certain risks specifically associated with investments in the securities of Chinese issuers, including those issuers with securities listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. China is an emerging market and demonstrates significantly higher volatility from time to time in comparison to developed markets. Shareholder claims that are available in the U.S., as well as regulatory oversight and authority that is common in the U.S., including for claims based on fraud, may be difficult or impossible for shareholders of securities in China or for U.S. authorities to pursue. The central government has historically exercised substantial control over virtually every sector of the Chinese economy through administrative regulation and/or state ownership and actions of the Chinese central and local government authorities continue to have a substantial effect on economic conditions in China. Export growth continues to be a major driver of China’s rapid economic growth. Reduction in spending on Chinese products and services, institution of tariffs or other trade barriers, or a downturn in any of the economies of China’s key trading partners may have an adverse impact on the Chinese economy. Recent developments in relations between the U.S. and China have heightened concerns of increased tariffs and restrictions on trade between the two countries. An increase in tariffs or trade restrictions, or even the threat of such developments, could lead to a significant reduction in international trade, which could have a negative impact on China’s export industry and a commensurately negative impact on a Fund.

First Trust China AlphaDEX® Fund (FCA)

heightened risks: smaller market capitalization of securities markets which may suffer periods of relative illiquidity; significant price volatility; restrictions on foreign investment; possible repatriation of investment income and capital; rapid inflation; and currency convertibility issues. Emerging market countries also often have less uniformity in accounting, auditing and reporting requirements, unsettled securities laws, unreliable securities valuation and greater risk associated with custody of securities. Financial and other reporting by companies and government entities also may be less reliable in emerging market countries. Shareholder claims that are available in the U.S., as well as regulatory oversight and authority that is common in the U.S., including for claims based on fraud, may be difficult or impossible for shareholders of securities in emerging market countries or for U.S. authorities to pursue. For funds that track an index or are managed based upon a benchmark, the index may not weight the securities in emerging market countries on the basis of investor protection limitations, financial reporting quality or available oversight mechanisms. Furthermore, investors may be required to register the proceeds of sales and future economic or political crises could lead to price controls, forced mergers, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, seizure, nationalization or creation of government monopolies.

HONG KONG RISK. The Fund is subject to certain risks specifically associated with investments in the securities of Hong Kong issuers. China is Hong Kong’s largest trading partner, both in terms of exports and imports, making Hong Kong’s economy closely tied to the Chinese economy. Any changes in the Chinese economy, trade regulations or currency exchange rates, or a tightening of China’s control over Hong Kong, may have an adverse impact on Hong Kong’s economy. Additionally, Hong Kong is a small island state with few raw material resources and limited land area and is reliant on imports for its commodity needs. Any fluctuations or shortages in the commodity markets could have a negative impact on the Hong Kong economy. Since 1997, there have been tensions between the Chinese government and many people in Hong Kong who perceive China as tightening its control over Hong Kong’s semi-autonomous liberal political, economic, legal, and social framework. Recent protests and unrest have increased tensions even further. Due to the interconnected nature of the Hong Kong and Chinese economies, this instability in Hong Kong may cause uncertainty in the Hong Kong and Chinese markets.

First Trust China AlphaDEX® Fund (FCA)

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 may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, 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.

First Trust China AlphaDEX® Fund (FCA)

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.

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 securities market indices. See “Total Return Information” for additional performance information regarding the Fund. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com.

First Trust China AlphaDEX® Fund (FCA)

On July 14, 2015 the Fund’s underlying index changed from the Defined China Index to the Nasdaq AlphaDEX® China Index. Therefore, the Fund’s performance and historical returns shown below are not necessarily indicative of the performance that the Fund, based on the Index, would have generated. Returns for an underlying index are only disclosed for those periods in which the index was in existence for the whole period. Because the Fund’s new underlying index had an inception date of May 18, 2015, it was not in existence for all of the periods disclosed. The new index is substantially similar to the Defined China Index.

First Trust China AlphaDEX® Fund
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31

During the periods shown in the chart above:

Best Quarter		Worst Quarter
21.60%	September 30, 2017	-22.64%	September 30, 2015

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, 2021

	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Return Before Taxes	-1.18%	11.36%	6.78%	2.41%	4/18/2011
Return After Taxes on Distributions	-2.93%	9.73%	5.38%	1.10%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	-0.62%	8.27%	4.72%	1.21%
Nasdaq AlphaDEX® China Index(1) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	-2.00%	12.38%	N/A	N/A
Nasdaq China Index(1) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	-21.14%	6.37%	N/A	N/A
MSCI China Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	-21.72%	9.36%	7.17%	4.17%

First Trust China AlphaDEX® Fund (FCA)

(1)

Performance data is not available for all the periods shown in the table for the index because performance data does not exist for some of the entire periods.

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

•

Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

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

Summary Information

First Trust Developed Markets ex-US AlphaDEX® Fund (FDT)

Investment Objective

The First Trust Developed Markets ex-US AlphaDEX® Fund (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 Nasdaq AlphaDEX® Developed Markets Ex-US 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	0.80%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.80%

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
$82	$255	$444	$990

Portfolio Turnover

Principal Investment Strategies

The Index is composed of securities issued by small, mid and large cap companies operating in developed markets excluding the United States, as classified by the Index Provider. The Index Provider classifies a country as “developed” based on a number of criteria, including national income per capita, national market capitalization and national trading volume. Companies are classified as operating in a country primarily by their country of incorporation, domicile and primary exchange listing. The Index may be composed of securities denominated in non-U.S. currencies. The Index is designed to select stocks from the

First Trust Developed Markets ex-US AlphaDEX® Fund (FDT)

Nasdaq Developed Markets Ex-US Index (the “Base Index”) that may generate positive alpha, or risk-adjusted returns, relative to traditional indices through the use of the AlphaDEX® selection methodology. Alpha is an indication of how much an investment outperforms or underperforms on a risk-adjusted basis relative to its benchmark. The Base Index is a comprehensive, rules-based index designed to measure stock market performance of companies in developed markets excluding the United States, as determined by the Index Provider.

Security selection for the Index will be conducted in the following manner:

The selection universe for the Index begins with all stocks in the Base Index.

The Index Provider then removes any stocks which do not trade on an eligible exchange; duplicate (multiple share classes) stocks; stocks which do not meet the Index Provider’s liquidity screens; and stocks with a market capitalization less than the mid cap breakpoint (50th percentile) as calculated by Nasdaq. As of March 31, 2022, the mid cap breakpoint was $3.998 billion. The Index Provider may include stocks below the mid cap breakpoint in order to reach a predetermined minimum number of eligible stocks.

The remaining stocks in the universe are then ranked on both growth and value factors. Each stock receives the best style rank from this step as its selection score.

The top 300 stocks based on the selection score determined in step 4 comprise the “selected stocks.” The selected stocks are then split into quintiles based on their selection score, with higher scoring quintiles receiving a greater weight in the Index.

The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted semi-annually and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index’s semi-annual 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 31, 2022, the Index was composed of 298 securities and the Fund had significant investments in materials companies, Japanese issuers, Asian issuers and European issuers, although this may change from time to time. 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

First Trust Developed Markets ex-US AlphaDEX® Fund (FDT)

EUROPE RISK. The Fund is subject to certain risks specifically associated with investments in the securities of European issuers. Political or economic disruptions in European countries, even in countries in which the Fund is not invested, may adversely affect security values and thus the Fund’s holdings. A significant number of countries in Europe are member states in the European Union (the “EU”), and the member states no longer control their own monetary policies by directing independent interest rates for their currencies. In these member states, the authority to direct monetary policies, including money supply

First Trust Developed Markets ex-US AlphaDEX® Fund (FDT)

and official interest rates for the Euro, is exercised by the European Central Bank. In a 2016 referendum, the United Kingdom elected to withdraw from the EU (“Brexit”). After years of negotiations between the United Kingdom and the EU, a withdrawal agreement was reached whereby the United Kingdom formally left the EU. As the second largest economy among EU members, the implications of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal are difficult to gauge and cannot be fully known. Its departure may negatively impact the EU and Europe as a whole by causing volatility within the EU, triggering prolonged economic downturns in certain European countries or sparking additional member states to contemplate departing the EU (thereby perpetuating political instability in the region).

First Trust Developed Markets ex-US AlphaDEX® Fund (FDT)

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.

JAPAN RISK. The Fund is subject to certain risks specifically associated with investments in the securities of Japanese issuers. The Japanese economy may be subject to considerable degrees of economic, political and social instability, which could have a negative impact on Japanese securities. Japan’s economy is characterized by government intervention and protectionism, reliance on oil imports, an unstable financial services sector and relatively high unemployment. Since 2000, Japan has experienced relatively low economic growth, and it may remain low in the future. Its economy is heavily dependent on international trade and has been adversely affected by trade tariffs and competition from emerging economies. As such, economic growth is heavily dependent on continued growth in international trade, relatively low commodities prices, government support of the financial services sector and other government policies. Any changes or trends in these economic factors could have a significant impact on Japanese markets overall and may negatively affect the Fund’s investments. Japan’s economy and equity market also share a strong correlation with U.S. markets and the Japanese economy may be affected by economic problems in the U.S. Despite a strengthening in the economic relationship between Japan and China, the countries’ political relationship has at times been strained. Should political tension increase, it could adversely affect the economy and destabilize the region as a whole. Additionally, escalated tensions involving North Korea and any outbreak of hostilities involving North Korea could have a severe adverse effect on Japan’s economy. Japan’s geography also subjects it to an increased risk of natural disasters, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons and tsunamis, all of which could negatively impact the Fund’s investments.

First Trust Developed Markets ex-US AlphaDEX® Fund (FDT)

affected by volatility of commodity prices, import controls, worldwide competition, liability for environmental damage, depletion of resources and mandated expenditures for safety and pollution control devices.

First Trust Developed Markets ex-US AlphaDEX® Fund (FDT)

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.

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 securities market indices. See “Total Return Information” for additional performance information regarding the Fund. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com.

On October 13, 2015 the Fund’s underlying index changed from the Defined Developed Markets Ex-US Index to the Nasdaq AlphaDEX® Developed Markets Ex-US Index. Therefore, the Fund’s performance and historical returns shown below are not necessarily indicative of the performance that the Fund, based on the Index, would have generated. Returns for an underlying index are only disclosed for those periods in which the index was in existence for the whole period. Because the Fund’s new underlying index had an inception date of February 11, 2015, it was not in existence for all of the periods disclosed. The new index is substantially similar to the Defined Developed Markets Ex-US Index.

First Trust Developed Markets ex-US AlphaDEX® Fund
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31

First Trust Developed Markets ex-US AlphaDEX® Fund (FDT)

During the periods shown in the chart above:

Best Quarter		Worst Quarter
18.75%	June 30, 2020	-28.32%	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, 2021

	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Return Before Taxes	10.70%	7.73%	7.01%	4.23%	4/18/2011
Return After Taxes on Distributions	9.03%	6.62%	6.05%	3.31%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	6.33%	5.55%	5.16%	2.88%
Nasdaq AlphaDEX® Developed Markets Ex-US Index(1) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	11.52%	8.58%	N/A	N/A
Nasdaq Developed Markets Ex-US Index(1) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	11.05%	9.54%	N/A	N/A
MSCI World ex USA Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	12.62%	9.63%	7.84%	5.74%

(1)

Performance data is not available for all the periods shown in the table for the index because performance data does not exist for some of the entire periods.

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

•

Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

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

First Trust Developed Markets ex-US AlphaDEX® Fund (FDT)

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Tax Information

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

Summary Information

First Trust Developed Markets ex-US Small Cap AlphaDEX® Fund (FDTS)

Investment Objective

The First Trust Developed Markets ex-US Small Cap AlphaDEX® Fund (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 Nasdaq AlphaDEX® Developed Markets Ex-US Small Cap 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	0.80%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.80%

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
$82	$255	$444	$990

Portfolio Turnover

Principal Investment Strategies

The Index is composed of securities issued by small cap companies operating in developed market countries excluding the United States, as classified by the Index Provider. The Index Provider classifies a country as “developed” based on a number of criteria, including national income per capita, national market capitalization and national trading volume. Companies are classified as operating in a country primarily by their country of incorporation, domicile and primary exchange listing. The Index may be composed of securities denominated in non-U.S. currencies. The Index is designed to select stocks from the

First Trust Developed Markets ex-US Small Cap AlphaDEX® Fund (FDTS)

Nasdaq Developed Markets ex-US Index (the “Base Index”) that may generate positive alpha, or risk-adjusted returns, relative to traditional indices through the use of the AlphaDEX® selection methodology. Alpha is an indication of how much an investment outperforms or underperforms on a risk-adjusted basis relative to its benchmark. The Base Index is a comprehensive, rules-based index designed to measure stock market performance of companies in developed market countries excluding the United States, as determined by the Index Provider.

Security selection for the Index will be conducted in the following manner:

The selection universe for the Index begins with all stocks in the Base Index.

The Index Provider then removes any stocks which do not trade on an eligible exchange; duplicate (multiple share classes) stocks; stocks which do not meet the Index Provider’s liquidity screens; and stocks with a market capitalization greater than the mid cap breakpoint (50th percentile) and less than the small cap breakpoint (90th percentile) as calculated by Nasdaq. As of March 31, 2022, the mid cap breakpoint was $3.998 billion and the small cap breakpoint was $531 million. The Index Provider may include stocks above the mid cap breakpoint in order to reach a predetermined minimum number of eligible stocks.

The remaining stocks in the universe are then ranked on both growth and value factors. Each stock receives the best style rank from this step as its selection score.

The top 400 stocks based on the selection score determined in step 4 comprise the “selected stocks.” The selected stocks are then split into quintiles based on their selection score, with higher scoring quintiles receiving a greater weight in the Index.

Principal Risks

First Trust Developed Markets ex-US Small Cap AlphaDEX® Fund (FDTS)

relations between the U.S. and China have heightened concerns of increased tariffs and restrictions on trade between the two countries. An increase in tariffs or trade restrictions, or even the threat of such developments, could lead to a significant reduction in international trade, which could have a negative impact on the economy of Asian countries and a commensurately negative impact on the Fund.

First Trust Developed Markets ex-US Small Cap AlphaDEX® Fund (FDTS)

government support of the financial services sector and other government policies. Any changes or trends in these economic factors could have a significant impact on Japanese markets overall and may negatively affect the Fund’s investments. Japan’s economy and equity market also share a strong correlation with U.S. markets and the Japanese economy may be affected by economic problems in the U.S. Despite a strengthening in the economic relationship between Japan and China, the countries’ political relationship has at times been strained. Should political tension increase, it could adversely affect the economy and destabilize the region as a whole. Additionally, escalated tensions involving North Korea and any outbreak of hostilities involving North Korea could have a severe adverse effect on Japan’s economy. Japan’s geography also subjects it to an increased risk of natural disasters, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons and tsunamis, all of which could negatively impact the Fund’s investments.

MARKET CAPITALIZATION DEVIATION RISK. There can be no assurance that the securities held by the Fund will stay within the Fund’s intended market capitalization range. As a result, the Fund may be exposed to additional risk or investors may not be given the opportunity to invest fully in a certain market capitalization range.

First Trust Developed Markets ex-US Small Cap AlphaDEX® Fund (FDTS)

SMALLER 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 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.

First Trust Developed Markets ex-US Small Cap AlphaDEX® Fund (FDTS)

Annual Total Return

On October 13, 2015 the Fund’s underlying index changed from the Defined Developed Markets ex-US Small Cap Index to the Nasdaq AlphaDEX® Developed Markets Ex-US Small Cap Index. Therefore, the Fund’s performance and historical returns shown below are not necessarily indicative of the performance that the Fund, based on the Index, would have generated. Returns for an underlying index are only disclosed for those periods in which the index was in existence for the whole period. Because the Fund’s new underlying index had an inception date of September 8, 2014, it was not in existence for all of the periods disclosed. The new index is substantially similar to the Defined Developed Markets Ex-US Small Cap Index.

First Trust Developed Markets ex-US Small Cap AlphaDEX® Fund
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31

During the periods shown in the chart above:

Best Quarter		Worst Quarter
25.82%	June 30, 2020	-32.51%	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.

First Trust Developed Markets ex-US Small Cap AlphaDEX® Fund (FDTS)

Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2021

	1 Year	5 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Return Before Taxes	11.09%	8.97%	6.72%	2/15/2012
Return After Taxes on Distributions	9.75%	7.92%	5.71%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	6.56%	6.56%	4.86%
Nasdaq AlphaDEX® Developed Markets Ex-US Small Cap Index(1) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	12.24%	9.88%	N/A
Nasdaq Developed Markets Ex-US Small Cap Index(1) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	8.32%	8.63%	N/A
MSCI World ex-USA Small Cap Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	11.14%	11.03%	8.92%

(1)

Performance data is not available for all the periods shown in the table for the index because performance data does not exist for some of the entire periods.

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

•

Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

David G. McGarel, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director 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 2012, except for Chris A. Peterson and Erik Russo who have served as part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2016 and 2020, respectively.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Tax Information

Summary Information

First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX® Fund (FEM)

Investment Objective

The First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX® Fund (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 Nasdaq AlphaDEX® Emerging Markets 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	0.80%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.80%

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
$82	$255	$444	$990

Portfolio Turnover

Principal Investment Strategies

The Index is composed of securities issued by small, mid and large cap companies operating in emerging market countries, as classified by the Index Provider. The Index Provider classifies a country as "emerging" based on a number of criteria including national income per capita, national market capitalization and national trading volume. Companies are classified as operating in a country primarily by their country of incorporation, domicile and primary exchange listing. The Index may be composed of securities denominated in non-U.S. currencies. The Index is designed to select stocks from the Nasdaq Emerging Markets

First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX® Fund (FEM)

Index (the “Base Index”) that may generate positive alpha, or risk-adjusted returns, relative to traditional indices through the use of the AlphaDEX® selection methodology. Alpha is an indication of how much an investment outperforms or underperforms on a risk-adjusted basis relative to its benchmark. The Base Index is a comprehensive, rules-based index designed to measure stock market performance of companies in emerging market countries, as determined by the Index Provider.

Security selection for the Index will be conducted in the following manner:

The selection universe for the Index begins with all stocks in the Base Index.

The Index Provider then removes any stocks which do not trade on an eligible exchange; duplicate (multiple share classes) stocks; stocks which do not meet the Index Provider’s liquidity screens; and stocks with a market capitalization less than the mid cap breakpoint (50th percentile) as calculated by Nasdaq. As of March 31, 2022, the mid cap breakpoint was $3.998 billion. The Index Provider may include stocks below the mid cap breakpoint in order to reach a predetermined minimum number of eligible stocks.

The remaining stocks in the universe are then ranked on both growth and value factors. Each stock receives the best style rank from this step as its selection score.

The top 150 stocks based on the selection score determined in step 3 comprise the “selected stocks.” The selected stocks are then split into quintiles based on their selection score, with higher scoring quintiles receiving a greater weight in the Index.

The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted semi-annually and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index’s semi-annual 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 31, 2022, the Index was composed of 145 securities and the Fund had significant investments in materials companies, Chinese issuers and Asian issuers, although this may change from time to time. In order to gain exposure to certain Chinese companies that are included in the Index but are unavailable to direct investment by foreign investors, the Fund invests 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. 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

First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX® Fund (FEM)

reduction in international trade, which could have a negative impact on the economy of Asian countries and a commensurately negative impact on the Fund.

First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX® Fund (FEM)

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 may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, 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.

First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX® Fund (FEM)

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 securities market indices. See “Total Return Information” for additional performance information regarding the Fund. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com.

First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX® Fund (FEM)

On October 13, 2015 the Fund’s underlying index changed from the Defined Emerging Markets Index to the Nasdaq AlphaDEX® Emerging Markets Index. Therefore, the Fund’s performance and historical returns shown below are not necessarily indicative of the performance that the Fund, based on the Index, would have generated. Returns for an underlying index are only disclosed for those periods in which the index was in existence for the whole period. Because the Fund’s new underlying index had an inception date of February 11, 2015, it was not in existence for all of the periods disclosed. The new index is substantially similar to the Defined Emerging Markets Index.

First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX® Fund
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31

During the periods shown in the chart above:

Best Quarter		Worst Quarter
21.43%	June 30, 2020	-32.89%	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.

First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX® Fund (FEM)

Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2021

	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Return Before Taxes	7.90%	8.58%	4.81%	1.93%	4/18/2011
Return After Taxes on Distributions	6.18%	7.13%	3.52%	0.74%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	4.70%	6.07%	3.15%	0.90%
Nasdaq AlphaDEX® Emerging Markets Index(1) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	8.99%	9.94%	N/A	N/A
Nasdaq Emerging Markets Index(1) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	0.22%	9.22%	N/A	N/A
MSCI Emerging Markets Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	-2.54%	9.87%	5.49%	3.00%

(1)

Performance data is not available for all the periods shown in the table for the index because performance data does not exist for some of the entire periods.

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

•

Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

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

Summary Information

First Trust Emerging Markets Small Cap AlphaDEX® Fund (FEMS)

Investment Objective

The First Trust Emerging Markets Small Cap AlphaDEX® Fund (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 Nasdaq AlphaDEX® Emerging Markets Small Cap 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	0.80%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.80%

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
$82	$255	$444	$990

Portfolio Turnover

Principal Investment Strategies

The Index is composed of securities issued by small cap companies operating in emerging market countries, as classified by the Index Provider. The Index Provider classifies a country as "emerging" based on a number of criteria, including national income per capita, national market capitalization and national trading volume. Companies are classified as operating in a country primarily by their country of incorporation, domicile and primary exchange listing. The Index may be composed of securities denominated in non-U.S. currencies. The Index is designed to select stocks from the Nasdaq Emerging Markets Index (the

First Trust Emerging Markets Small Cap AlphaDEX® Fund (FEMS)

“Base Index”) that may generate positive alpha, or risk-adjusted returns, relative to traditional indices through the use of the AlphaDEX® selection methodology. Alpha is an indication of how much an investment outperforms or underperforms on a risk-adjusted basis relative to its benchmark. The Base Index is a comprehensive, rules-based index designed to measure stock market performance of companies in emerging market countries, as determined by the Index Provider.

Security selection for the Index will be conducted in the following manner:

The selection universe for the Index begins with all stocks in the Base Index.

The Index Provider then removes any stocks which do not trade on an eligible exchange; duplicate (multiple share classes) stocks; stocks which do not meet the Index Provider’s liquidity screens; and stocks with a market capitalization greater than the mid cap breakpoint (50th percentile) and less than the small cap breakpoint (90th percentile) as calculated by Nasdaq. As of March 31, 2022, the mid cap breakpoint was $3.998 billion and the small cap breakpoint was $531 million. The Index Provider may include stocks above the mid cap breakpoint in order to reach a predetermined minimum number of eligible stocks.

The remaining stocks in the universe are then ranked on both growth and value factors. Each stock receives the best style rank from this step as its selection score.

The top 200 stocks based on the selection score determined in step 3 comprise the “selected stocks.” The selected stocks are then split into quintiles based on their selection score, with higher scoring quintiles receiving a greater weight in the Index.

The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted semi-annually and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index’s semi-annual 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 31, 2022, the Index was composed of 197 securities and the Fund had significant investments in materials companies and Asian issuers, although this may change from time to time. In order to gain exposure to certain Chinese companies that are included in the Index but are unavailable to direct investment by foreign investors, the Fund invests 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. 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

First Trust Emerging Markets Small Cap AlphaDEX® Fund (FEMS)

or available oversight mechanisms. Furthermore, investors may be required to register the proceeds of sales and future economic or political crises could lead to price controls, forced mergers, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, seizure, nationalization or creation of government monopolies.

First Trust Emerging Markets Small Cap AlphaDEX® Fund (FEMS)

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.

First Trust Emerging Markets Small Cap AlphaDEX® Fund (FEMS)

by foreign governments, different legal or accounting standards, and less government supervision and regulation of securities exchanges in foreign countries.

First Trust Emerging Markets Small Cap AlphaDEX® Fund (FEMS)

Annual Total Return

On October 13, 2015 the Fund’s underlying index changed from the Defined Emerging Markets Small Cap Index to the Nasdaq AlphaDEX® Emerging Markets Small Cap Index. Therefore, the Fund’s performance and historical returns shown below are not necessarily indicative of the performance that the Fund, based on the Index, would have generated. Returns for an underlying index are only disclosed for those periods in which the index was in existence for the whole period. Because the Fund’s new underlying index had an inception date of September 8, 2014, it was not in existence for all of the periods disclosed. The new index is substantially similar to the Defined Emerging Markets Small Cap Index.

First Trust Emerging Markets Small Cap AlphaDEX® Fund (FEMS)

First Trust Emerging Markets Small Cap AlphaDEX® Fund
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31

During the periods shown in the chart above:

Best Quarter		Worst Quarter
32.17%	June 30, 2020	-35.53%	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, 2021

	1 Year	5 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Return Before Taxes	3.68%	10.50%	6.61%	2/15/2012
Return After Taxes on Distributions	1.25%	8.55%	5.08%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	2.23%	7.38%	4.51%
Nasdaq AlphaDEX® Emerging Markets Small Cap Index(1) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	4.87%	12.22%	N/A
Nasdaq Emerging Markets Small Cap Index(1) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	14.91%	10.75%	N/A
MSCI Emerging Markets Small Cap Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	18.75%	11.47%	5.67%

(1)

Performance data is not available for all the periods shown in the table for the index because performance data does not exist for some of the entire periods.

Management

Investment Advisor

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

First Trust Emerging Markets Small Cap AlphaDEX® Fund (FEMS)

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

•

Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

David G. McGarel, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director 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 2012, except for Chris A. Peterson and Erik Russo who have served as part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2016 and 2020, respectively.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Tax Information

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

Summary Information

First Trust Europe AlphaDEX® Fund (FEP)

Investment Objective

The First Trust Europe AlphaDEX® Fund (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 Nasdaq AlphaDEX® Europe 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	0.80%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.80%

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
$82	$255	$444	$990

Portfolio Turnover

Principal Investment Strategies

The Index is composed of securities issued by small, mid and large cap companies operating in Europe, as classified by the Index Provider. Companies are classified as operating in a country primarily by their country of incorporation, domicile and primary exchange listing. As of March 31, 2021, the Index Provider’s list of European countries included Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom. The Index may be composed of securities denominated in non-U.S. currencies. The Index is designed to select stocks from the Nasdaq Europe Index (the “Base Index”) that may generate positive alpha, or risk-adjusted returns,

First Trust Europe AlphaDEX® Fund (FEP)

relative to traditional indices through the use of the AlphaDEX® selection methodology. Alpha is an indication of how much an investment outperforms or underperforms on a risk-adjusted basis relative to its benchmark. The Base Index is a comprehensive, rules-based index designed to measure stock market performance of companies in Europe, as determined by the Index Provider.

Security selection for the Index will be conducted in the following manner:

The selection universe for the Index begins with all stocks in the Base Index.

The remaining stocks in the universe are then ranked on both growth and value factors. Each stock receives the best style rank from this step as its selection score.

The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted semi-annually and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index’s semi-annual 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 31, 2022, the Index was composed of 197 securities and the Fund had significant investments in financial companies, issuers in the United Kingdom and European issuers, although this may change from time to time. 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

Summary Information
First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX ® Fund (FPA)	3
First Trust Brazil AlphaDEX ® Fund (FBZ)	12
First Trust China AlphaDEX ® Fund (FCA)	21
First Trust Developed Markets ex-US AlphaDEX ® Fund (FDT)	30
First Trust Developed Markets ex-US Small Cap AlphaDEX ® Fund (FDTS)	39
First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX ® Fund (FEM)	48
First Trust Emerging Markets Small Cap AlphaDEX ® Fund (FEMS)	58
First Trust Europe AlphaDEX ® Fund (FEP)	67
First Trust Eurozone AlphaDEX ® ETF (FEUZ)	75
First Trust Germany AlphaDEX ® Fund (FGM)	83
First Trust India NIFTY 50 Equal Weight ETF (NFTY)	91
First Trust Japan AlphaDEX ® Fund (FJP)	99
First Trust Latin America AlphaDEX ® Fund (FLN)	108
First Trust Switzerland AlphaDEX ® Fund (FSZ)	117
First Trust United Kingdom AlphaDEX ® Fund (FKU)	126
Additional Information on the Funds' Investment Objectives and Strategies	134
Fund Investments	136
Risks of Investing in the Funds	137
Fund Organization	150
Management of the Funds	151
How to Buy and Sell Shares	152
Dividends, Distributions and Taxes	153
Federal Tax Matters	153
Distribution Plan	156
Net Asset Value	157
Fund Service Providers	157
Index Providers	157
Disclaimers	158
Premium/Discount Information	159
Total Return Information	159
Financial Highlights	165
Other Information	180