Table of Contents

First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (MMLG)
Annual Report
August 31, 2023

Shareholder Letter	1
Fund Performance Overview	2
Portfolio Commentary	4
Understanding Your Fund Expenses	6
Portfolio of Investments	7
Statement of Assets and Liabilities	9
Statement of Operations	10
Statements of Changes in Net Assets	11
Financial Highlights	12
Notes to Financial Statements	13
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm	19
Additional Information	20
Board of Trustees and Officers	27
Privacy Policy	29

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This report contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the goals, beliefs, plans or current expectations of First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”) and/or Wellington Management Company LLP (“Wellington”) and/or Sands Capital Management, LLC (“Sands Capital”) (each, a “Sub-Advisor” and together, “Sub-Advisors”) and their respective representatives, taking into account the information currently available to them. Forward-looking statements include all statements that do not relate solely to current or historical fact. For example, forward-looking statements include the use of words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “expect,” “believe,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “would” or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the series of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII (the “Trust”) described in this report (First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF; hereinafter referred to as the “Fund”) to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. When evaluating the information included in this report, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect the judgment of the Advisor and/or Sub-Advisors and their respective representatives only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to publicly revise or update these forward-looking statements to reflect events and circumstances that arise after the date hereof.

Performance and Risk Disclosure

There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The Fund is subject to market risk, which is the possibility that the market values of securities owned by the Fund will decline and that the value of the Fund’s shares may therefore be less than what you paid for them. Accordingly, you can lose money investing in the Fund. See “Risk Considerations” in the Additional Information section of this report for a discussion of certain other risks of investing in the Fund.

Performance data quoted represents past performance, which is no guarantee of future results, and current performance may be lower or higher than the figures shown. For the most recent month-end performance figures, please visit www.ftportfolios.com or speak with your financial advisor. Investment returns, net asset value and share price will fluctuate and Fund shares, when sold, may be worth more or less than their original cost.

The Advisor may also periodically provide additional information on Fund performance on the Fund’s webpage at www.ftportfolios.com.

How to Read This Report

This report contains information that may help you evaluate your investment in the Fund. It includes details about the Fund and presents data and analysis that provide insight into the Fund’s performance and investment approach.

By reading the portfolio commentary from the portfolio management team of the Fund, you may obtain an understanding of how the market environment affected the Fund’s performance. The statistical information that follows may help you understand the Fund’s performance compared to that of relevant market benchmarks.

It is important to keep in mind that the opinions expressed by personnel of the Advisor and/or Sub-Advisors are just that:informed opinions. They should not be considered to be promises or advice. The opinions, like the statistics, cover the period through the date on the cover of this report. The material risks of investing in the Fund are spelled out in the prospectus, the statement of additional information, and other Fund regulatory filings.

Shareholder Letter

First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (MMLG)
Annual Letter from the Chairman and CEO
August 31, 2023

Dear Shareholders:

First Trust is pleased to provide you with the annual report for the First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (the “Fund”), which contains detailed information about the Fund for the twelve months ended August 31, 2023.

As many investors are aware, the Federal Reserve (the “Fed”) remains locked in a closely watched battle with stubbornly high inflation. At their most recent meeting (September 20, 2023), the Federal Open Market Committee voted to keep the Federal Funds target rate (upper bound) unchanged at 5.5%, marking the second pause in a series of eleven increases that started on March 16, 2022. To be sure, the Fed has made considerable progress in reducing rising prices but has yet to see inflation fall to its 2.0% goal. Inflation, as measured by the twelve month trailing change in the rate of the Consumer Price Index, stood at 3.7% on August 31, 2023, down from its most recent high of 9.1% set on June 30, 2022, but up from its most recent low of 3.0% set on June 30, 2023.

One impact of rising prices and higher interest rates is that Americans’ excess savings, defined as the difference between the savings rate during the COVID-19 pandemic recession and its pre-recession trend, appear to be nearly depleted. The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco estimates that by June 2023, U.S. households held less than $190 billion of the excess savings they accumulated after the onset of the pandemic recession. At the current pace, the bank estimates that these excess savings will be depleted sometime in the third quarter of 2023. For comparison, excess savings peaked at nearly $2.1 trillion in August 2021. In our view, these excess savings are one reason consumer spending has remained robust in the face of elevated prices. Once these savings are gone, we could see the consumer struggle to manage their debt burden, in our opinion. In a potential harbinger of things to come, delinquency rates have already begun to rise. Data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York revealed that the rate of new credit card and new auto loan delinquencies stood at 7.2% and 7.3%, respectively, in the second quarter of 2023, surpassing pre-pandemic levels.

Suffice it to say, the U.S. economy has remained resilient, registering positive changes to gross domestic product (“GDP”) in each of the past four quarters. Brian Wesbury, Chief Economist at First Trust, expects this growth to continue, estimating third quarter 2023 GDP could increase by as much as 4.0%. That said, Mr. Wesbury also notes that another quarter of economic growth does not mean that a recession is off the table. Several economic metrics continue to enjoy favorable comparisons to COVID-19-era lockdowns and recent governmental incentives, such as the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, could be providing a temporary boost to economic growth.

Thank you for giving First Trust the opportunity to play a role in your financial future. We value our relationship with you and will report on the Fund again in six months.

Sincerely,

James A. Bowen
Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Chief Executive Officer of First Trust Advisors L.P.

Page 1

Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited)

First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (MMLG)

The First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation. Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in equity securities issued by large capitalization companies. The Fund considers large capitalization companies to be those companies with market capitalizations within the market capitalization range of the companies comprising the Russell 1000® Growth Index (as of the index’s most recent reconstitution). The Fund’s portfolio is principally composed of common stocks issued by companies domiciled in the United States, common stocks issued by non-U.S. companies that are principally traded in the United States and American Depositary Receipts. The Fund utilizes a multi-manager approach to provide exposure to the large capitalization growth segment of the equity market through the blending of multiple portfolio management teams. The Fund lists and principally trades its shares on NYSE Arca, Inc. under the ticker symbol “MMLG.”

Performance
		Average Annual Total Returns	Cumulative Total Returns
	1 Year Ended 8/31/23	Inception (7/21/20) to 8/31/23	Inception (7/21/20) to 8/31/23
Fund Performance
NAV	19.90%	3.08%	9.90%
Market Price	19.86%	3.05%	9.80%
Index Performance
Russell 1000® Growth Index	21.94%	11.94%	42.05%
Russell 1000® Index	15.40%	12.25%	43.27%

Total returns for the period since inception are calculated from the inception date of the Fund. “Average Annual Total Returns” represent the average annual change in value of an investment over the period indicated. “Cumulative Total Returns” represent the total change in value of an investment over the period indicated.

The Fund’s per share net asset value (“NAV”) is the value of one share of the Fund and is computed by dividing the value of all assets of the Fund (including accrued interest and dividends), less all liabilities (including accrued expenses and dividends declared but unpaid), by the total number of outstanding shares. The price used to calculate market return (“Market Price”) is determined by using the midpoint of the national best bid and offer price (“NBBO”) as of the time that the Fund’s NAV is calculated. Under SEC rules, the NBBO consists of the highest displayed buy and lowest sell prices among the various exchanges trading the Fund at the time the Fund’s NAV is calculated. Since shares of the Fund did not trade in the secondary market until after its inception, for the period from inception to the first day of secondary market trading in shares of the Fund, the NAV of the Fund is used as a proxy for the secondary market trading price to calculate market returns. NAV and market returns assume that all distributions have been reinvested in the Fund at NAV and Market Price, respectively.

An index is a statistical composite that tracks a specified financial market or sector. Unlike the Fund, the indices do not actually hold a portfolio of securities and therefore do not incur the expenses incurred by the Fund. These expenses negatively impact the performance of the Fund. Also, market returns do not include brokerage commissions that may be payable on secondary market transactions. If brokerage commissions were included, market returns would be lower. The total returns presented reflect the reinvestment of dividends on securities in the index. The returns presented do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption or sale of Fund shares. The investment return and principal value of shares of the Fund will vary with changes in market conditions. Shares of the Fund may be worth more or less than their original cost when they are redeemed or sold in the market. The Fund’s past performance is no guarantee of future performance.

Page 2

Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited) (Continued)

First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (MMLG) (Continued)

Sector Allocation	% of Total Long-Term Investments
Information Technology	44.2%
Consumer Discretionary	15.0
Communication Services	11.7
Health Care	10.4
Financials	8.3
Industrials	5.1
Consumer Staples	2.3
Real Estate	2.0
Materials	0.6
Energy	0.4
Total	100.0%

Top Ten Holdings	% of Total Long-Term Investments
Microsoft Corp.	9.5%
Amazon.com, Inc.	7.3
NVIDIA Corp.	6.7
ServiceNow, Inc.	4.8
Apple, Inc.	4.6
Meta Platforms, Inc., Class A	4.1
Visa, Inc., Class A	3.2
Alphabet, Inc., Class A	2.9
Dexcom, Inc.	2.7
Uber Technologies, Inc.	2.2
Total	48.0%

Performance figures assume reinvestment of

all distributions and do not reflect the

deduction of taxes that a shareholder would

pay on Fund distributions or the redemption

or sale of Fund shares. An index is a statistical

composite that tracks a specified financial

market or sector. Unlike the Fund, the indices

do not actually hold a portfolio of securities

and therefore do not incur the expenses

incurred by the Fund. These expenses

negatively impact the performance of the

Fund. The Fund’s past performance does not

predict future performance.

Frequency Distribution of Discounts and Premiums

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

Page 3

Portfolio Commentary

First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (MMLG)
Annual Report
August 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

Advisor

First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”) is the investment advisor to the First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (“MMLG” or the “Fund”). The following serve as investment sub-advisors (each, a “Sub-Advisor”) to the Fund:Wellington Management Company LLP (“Wellington”) and Sands Capital Management, LLC (“Sands Capital”). First Trust is responsible for the ongoing monitoring of the Fund’s investment portfolio, selecting and overseeing the investment sub-advisors, managing the Fund’s business affairs and providing certain administrative services necessary for the management of the Fund.

Portfolio Management Team

The Advisor’s Investment Committee, which manages the Fund’s investments, consists of:
• Daniel J. Lindquist, 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, CFA, 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, while each of the Sub-Advisor portfolio managers provides non-discretionary investment advice to the Investment Committee. Each portfolio manager and member of the Advisor’s Investment Committee has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since inception, except for Erik Russo, who has served as part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since December 2020.

Sub-Advisor Portfolio Managers

Wellington
• Douglas W. McLane, CFA, Senior Managing Director, Partner and Equity Portfolio Manager

Sands Capital
• Frank M. Sands, CFA, Chief Investment Officer and Chief Executive Officer
• Wesley A. Johnston, CFA, Senior Portfolio Manager and Research Analyst
• Thomas H. Trentman, CFA, Senior Portfolio Manager and Research Analyst

Effective December 31, 2022, Michael A. Sramek retired from Sands Capital Management, LLC, and will no longer serve as a portfolio manager of the Fund.

Commentary

Market Recap

U.S. equities, as measured by the S&P 500® Index, posted positive results over the 12-month period ended August 31, 2023.

In September 2022, U.S. equities fell by the most since March 2020 amid recession fears, persistently high inflation, and uncertainty about corporate earnings. Stocks tumbled and Treasury bond yields rose to multi-year highs after a spike in core consumer prices indicated that inflation continued to mount across broader areas of the economy. In the fourth quarter of 2022, U.S. equities rallied following three straight quarterly declines. Greater optimism that the Federal Reserve (the “Fed”) would begin to scale back its aggressive pace of interest rate hikes, along with outsized short covering and hedging, helped to fuel a sharp rebound in stocks in October and November 2022 before risk sentiment waned in December amid recession fears, macroeconomic headwinds, and downside earnings risks in the coming quarters.

During the first quarter of 2023, U.S. equities surged higher. The sudden collapse of two U.S. regional banks in March 2023 prompted swift policy actions by federal regulators, which helped stabilize liquidity and stem the potential for broader contagion. The turmoil generated more uncertainty about the U.S. economic outlook, as investors grappled to assess the impact of tightening credit conditions and the path of interest rates and inflation. In the second quarter of 2023, U.S. equities advanced for the third straight quarter. This was largely driven by a potent rally in a narrow group of mega-cap technology companies that benefited from investor optimism about their earnings potential and growth prospects and exuberance surrounding generative artificial intelligence. Markedly stronger-than-

Page 4

Portfolio Commentary (Continued)

First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (MMLG)
Annual Report
August 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

forecast, first quarter 2023 corporate earnings and improving earnings prospects bolstered market sentiment. In August 2023, U.S. equities snapped a five-month stretch of gains as stocks were weighed down by rising government bond yields and bank credit-rating downgrades. An improved outlook for U.S. economic growth bolstered views that the Fed would keep interest rates higher for longer than previously expected.

Performance Analysis

For the 12-month period ended August 31, 2023, the Fund returned 19.90% on a net asset value basis and 19.86% based on market price. This is compared to the Russell 1000® Growth Index (“the Benchmark”) return of 21.94%. The Fund underperformed the Benchmark for the same period.

The underperformance for the period was driven by stock selection within the Communication Services sector where the Fund’s holdings meaningfully underperformed those in the Benchmark. An off-Benchmark holding in Sea Ltd., a personal computer and mobile digital content, e-commerce, and payment platforms company, was down 39.3% on growth concerns and after sales missed estimates. An overweight position in the Match Group, Inc. hurt as the stock was down 17.1%. Ill-timed exposure to Meta Platforms, Inc. resulted in marginally positive returns for the Fund while the stock was up 81.6% in the Benchmark. The Fund’s holdings in the Financials sector underperformed largely on the back of an overweight to Block, Inc., a financial services and digital payments company, which traded down on mixed results and was the target of a short seller’s report. Offsetting some of the underperformance was positioning in the Consumer Discretionary sector where the Fund avoided holding Lucid Group, Inc. which was down 64.3%.

Market and Fund Outlook

Both the U.S. economy and equity indices have proven resilient since the mid-March 2023 instability in financial markets. Equity markets have been driven in large part by strong year-to-date performance, concentrated within three sectors:Information Technology, Communication Services, and Consumer Discretionary. Further, within those respective groupings, it has been the “mega-caps” that have driven a disproportionate share of the outperformance. Optimism surrounding “Generative-AI” has reversed the weaker sentiment prevalent within Technology stocks in the latter half of 2022 when layoffs, fears of over-capacity, and slowing tech spending were the dominant narratives.

Key inflation measures like the Core Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index have shown continued improvement, yet they still remain well above the Fed’s 2.0% target rate. While the Fed paused in June 2023 for the first time since it began its
10-consecutive interest hikes dating back to spring 2022, it is likely that the current interest rate hike cycle has not yet come to an end, in our view. Further, it remains to be seen if the full impact of this tightening has yet to be fully felt across the U.S. economy, or if there are still remaining impacts yet to be incorporated into the second half of the year’s fundamentals from the cumulative efforts. Persistent strength in the U.S. job market continues to keep the Fed vigilant to lower forward inflationary expectations.

Consumer spending has been cooling this year as excess savings and higher interest rates make incremental spending more costly for households. In addition, the resumption of student debt payments in the fall of 2023 represents another incremental headwind to spending for a large cohort of consumers that have not serviced $1.7 trillion in student debt since March 2020.

Outside the U.S., geo-political instability remains above normal given the continuing European conflict and increasing friction between the U.S. and China over advanced technology. Weaker trends in key European economies and a more sluggish recovery in China also bear watching.

Page 5

First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (MMLG)
Understanding Your Fund Expenses
August 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

As a shareholder of First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (the “Fund”), you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs; and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees, distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees, if any, and other Fund expenses. This Example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other funds.

The Example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held through the six-month period ended August 31, 2023.

Actual Expenses

The first line in the following table provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During the Six-Month Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this six-month period.

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

The second line in the following table provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs such as brokerage commissions. Therefore, the second line in the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

	Beginning Account Value March 1, 2023	Ending Account Value August 31, 2023	Annualized Expense Ratio Based on the Six-Month Period	Expenses Paid During the Six-Month Period (a)
First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (MMLG)
Actual	$1,000.00	$1,205.00	0.85%	$4.72
Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)	$1,000.00	$1,020.92	0.85%	$4.33

(a)	Expenses are equal to the annualized expense ratio as indicated in the table multiplied by the average account value over the period (March 1, 2023 through August 31, 2023), multiplied by 184/365 (to reflect the six-month period).

Page 6

First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (MMLG)
Portfolio of Investments
August 31, 2023

Shares	Description	Value
COMMON STOCKS — 98.6%
	Aerospace & Defense — 0.5%
2,267	RTX Corp.	$195,053
	Automobiles — 0.8%
1,307	Tesla, Inc. (a)	337,311
	Beverages — 1.7%
2,802	Brown-Forman Corp., Class B	185,296
983	Constellation Brands, Inc., Class A	256,131
4,483	Monster Beverage Corp. (a)	257,369
		698,796
	Biotechnology — 0.4%
4,286	Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, Inc. (a)	157,682
	Broadline Retail — 7.3%
21,681	Amazon.com, Inc. (a)	2,992,195
	Building Products — 0.6%
1,614	Fortune Brands Innovations, Inc.	111,399
2,221	Johnson Controls International PLC	131,172
		242,571
	Chemicals — 0.7%
977	Sherwin-Williams (The) Co.	265,470
	Commercial Services & Supplies — 0.4%
1,209	Republic Services, Inc.	174,253
	Communications Equipment — 0.5%
740	Motorola Solutions, Inc.	209,842
	Construction & Engineering — 0.4%
3,628	WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. (a)	148,821
	Consumer Finance — 0.3%
844	American Express Co.	133,344
	Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components — 1.6%
2,730	Amphenol Corp., Class A	241,277
1,273	CDW Corp.	268,794
1,349	Jabil, Inc.	154,353
		664,424
	Entertainment — 2.6%
1,921	Netflix, Inc. (a)	833,099
6,687	Sea Ltd., ADR (a)	251,632
		1,084,731
	Financial Services — 6.9%
13,364	Block, Inc. (a)	770,435
745	FleetCor Technologies, Inc. (a)	202,439

Shares	Description	Value

	Financial Services (Continued)
1,469	Mastercard, Inc., Class A	$606,168
5,239	Visa, Inc., Class A	1,287,117
		2,866,159
	Ground Transportation — 2.2%
19,322	Uber Technologies, Inc. (a)	912,578
	Health Care Equipment & Supplies — 5.1%
1,389	Abbott Laboratories	142,928
1,064	Align Technology, Inc. (a)	393,829
11,081	Dexcom, Inc. (a)	1,118,959
3,575	Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (a)	273,380
2,336	Hologic, Inc. (a)	174,593
		2,103,689
	Health Care Providers & Services — 1.3%
1,084	UnitedHealth Group, Inc.	516,613
	Health Care Technology — 0.3%
606	Veeva Systems, Inc., Class A (a)	126,472
	Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure — 3.2%
3,652	Airbnb, Inc., Class A (a)	480,420
148	Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (a)	285,143
6,646	DoorDash, Inc., Class A (a)	559,128
		1,324,691
	Insurance — 0.9%
2,101	Arch Capital Group Ltd. (a)	161,483
1,089	Chubb Ltd.	218,747
		380,230
	Interactive Media & Services — 8.9%
8,614	Alphabet, Inc., Class A (a)	1,172,968
2,017	Alphabet, Inc., Class C (a)	277,035
9,191	Match Group, Inc. (a)	430,782
5,607	Meta Platforms, Inc., Class A (a)	1,659,055
6,974	ZoomInfo Technologies, Inc. (a)	125,672
		3,665,512
	IT Services — 4.3%
5,679	Cloudflare, Inc., Class A (a)	369,306
1,602	GoDaddy, Inc., Class A (a)	116,161
10,610	Shopify, Inc., Class A (a)	705,459
3,745	Snowflake, Inc., Class A (a)	587,403
		1,778,329
	Life Sciences Tools & Services — 1.7%
6,660	10X Genomics, Inc., Class A (a)	345,321
651	Danaher Corp.	172,515
358	Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.	199,442
		717,278

See Notes to Financial Statements

Page 7

First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (MMLG)
Portfolio of Investments (Continued)
August 31, 2023

Shares	Description	Value
COMMON STOCKS (Continued)
	Machinery — 0.7%
744	Deere & Co.	$305,739
	Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels — 0.5%
783	Pioneer Natural Resources Co.	186,299
	Personal Care Products — 0.5%
1,380	Estee Lauder (The) Cos., Inc., Class A	221,531
	Pharmaceuticals — 1.5%
1,099	Eli Lilly & Co.	609,066
	Professional Services — 0.2%
327	Paycom Software, Inc.	96,413
	Real Estate Management & Development — 1.9%
9,774	CoStar Group, Inc. (a)	801,370
	Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment — 12.7%
1,407	Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (a)	148,748
550	Broadcom, Inc.	507,589
5,745	Entegris, Inc.	581,796
460	KLA Corp.	230,860
1,162	Lam Research Corp.	816,189
5,549	NVIDIA Corp.	2,738,709
1,425	Texas Instruments, Inc.	239,486
		5,263,377
	Software — 20.0%
581	ANSYS, Inc. (a)	185,263
4,130	Atlassian Corp., Class A (a)	842,768
640	Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (a)	153,882
6,694	Datadog, Inc., Class A (a)	645,837
11,848	Microsoft Corp.	3,883,301
818	Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (a)	199,019
788	Salesforce, Inc. (a)	174,510
3,323	ServiceNow, Inc. (a)	1,956,682
846	Workday, Inc., Class A (a)	206,847
		8,248,109
	Specialty Retail — 2.3%
4,050	Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc., Class A (a)	403,785
223	O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (a)	209,553
3,810	TJX (The) Cos., Inc.	352,349
		965,687
	Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals — 4.5%
9,869	Apple, Inc.	1,854,089

Shares	Description	Value

	Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods — 1.2%
578	Lululemon Athletica, Inc. (a)	$220,368
2,745	NIKE, Inc., Class B	279,194
		499,562
	Total Common Stocks	40,747,286
	(Cost $46,152,223)
MONEY MARKET FUNDS — 1.4%
586,864	Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds - Treasury Portfolio - Institutional Class - 5.21% (b)	586,864
	(Cost $586,864)


	Total Investments — 100.0%	41,334,150
	(Cost $46,739,087)
	Net Other Assets and Liabilities — (0.0)%	(9,812 )
	Net Assets — 100.0%	$41,324,338

(a)	Non-income producing security.
(b)	Rate shown reflects yield as of August 31, 2023.

Abbreviations throughout the Portfolio of Investments:
ADR	– American Depositary Receipt

Valuation Inputs

A summary of the inputs used to value the Fund’s investments as of August 31, 2023 is as follows (see Note 2A - Portfolio Valuation in the Notes to Financial Statements):

	Total Value at 8/31/2023	Level 1 Quoted Prices	Level 2 Significant Observable Inputs	Level 3 Significant Unobservable Inputs
Common Stocks*	$40,747,286	$40,747,286	$—	$—
Money Market Funds	586,864	586,864	—	—
Total Investments	$41,334,150	$41,334,150	$—	$—

*	See Portfolio of Investments for industry breakout.

See Notes to Financial Statements

Page 8

First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (MMLG)
Financial Highlights
For a share outstanding throughout each period

	Year Ended August 31,			Period Ended 8/31/2020 (a)
	2023	2022	2021	Period Ended 8/31/2020 (a)
Net asset value, beginning of period	$18.14	$28.27	$21.86	$19.84
Income from investment operations:
Net investment income (loss)	(0.05 ) (b)	(0.18 )	0.01	(0.00 ) (c)
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	3.66	(9.95 )	6.46	2.02
Total from investment operations	3.61	(10.13 )	6.47	2.02
Distributions paid to shareholders from:
Net investment income	—	—	(0.04 )	—
Net realized gain	—	—	(0.02 )	—
Total distributions	—	—	(0.06 )	—
Net asset value, end of period	$21.75	$18.14	$28.27	$21.86
Total return (d)	19.90 %	(35.83 )%	29.65 %	10.18 %

Ratios to average net assets/supplemental data:
Net assets, end of period (in 000’s)	$41,324	$63,478	$171,005	$2,186
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets	0.85 %	0.85 %	0.85 %	0.85 % (e)
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets	(0.29 )%	(0.49 )%	(0.49 )%	(0.21 )% (e)
Portfolio turnover rate (f)	29 %	31 %	21 %	2 %

(a)	Inception date is July 21, 2020, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established.
(b)	Based on average shares outstanding.
(c)	Amount represents less than $0.01.
(d)	Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption at net asset value on the last day of the period. The returns presented do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption or sale of Fund shares. Total return is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year.
(e)	Annualized.
(f)	Portfolio turnover is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year and does not include securities received or delivered from processing creations or redemptions and in-kind transactions.

See Notes to Financial Statements

Page 12

Notes to Financial Statements

First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (MMLG)
August 31, 2023

1. Organization

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII (the “Trust”) is an open-end management investment company organized as a Massachusetts business trust on February 22, 2016, and is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).

The Trust currently consists of sixty-nine funds that are offering shares. This report covers the First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (the “Fund”), which trades under the ticker “MMLG” on the NYSE Arca, Inc. The Fund represents a separate series of shares of beneficial interest in the Trust. Unlike conventional mutual funds, the Fund issues and redeems shares on a continuous basis, at net asset value (“NAV”), only in large blocks of shares known as “Creation Units.”

The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation. Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in equity securities issued by large capitalization companies. The Fund considers large capitalization companies to be those companies with market capitalizations within the market capitalization range of the companies comprising the Russell 1000® Growth Index (as of the index’s most recent reconstitution). The Fund’s portfolio is principally composed of common stocks issued by companies domiciled in the United States, common stocks issued by non-U.S. companies that are principally traded in the United States and American Depositary Receipts. The Fund utilizes a multi-manager approach to provide exposure to the large capitalization growth segment of the equity market through the blending of multiple portfolio management teams. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The Fund may not be appropriate for all investors.

2. Significant Accounting Policies

The Fund is considered an investment company and follows accounting and reporting guidance under Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification Topic 946, “Financial Services-Investment Companies.” The following is a summary of significant accounting policies consistently followed by the Fund in the preparation of the financial statements. The preparation of the financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

A. Portfolio Valuation

The Fund’s NAV is determined daily as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”), normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, on each day the NYSE is open for trading. If the NYSE closes early on a valuation day, the NAV is determined as of that time. The Fund’s NAV is calculated by dividing the value of all assets of the Fund (including accrued interest and dividends), less all liabilities (including accrued expenses and dividends declared but unpaid), by the total number of shares outstanding.

The Fund’s investments are valued daily at market value or, in the absence of market value with respect to any portfolio securities, at fair value. Market value prices represent readily available market quotations such as last sale or official closing prices from a national or foreign exchange (i.e., a regulated market) and are primarily obtained from third-party pricing services. Fair value prices represent any prices not considered market value prices and are either obtained from a third-party pricing service or are determined by the Pricing Committee of the Fund’s investment advisor, First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”), in accordance with valuation procedures approved by the Trust’s Board of Trustees, and in accordance with provisions of the 1940 Act and rules thereunder. Investments valued by the Advisor’s Pricing Committee, if any, are footnoted as such in the footnotes to the Portfolio of Investments. The Fund’s investments are valued as follows:

Common stocks and other equity securities listed on any national or foreign exchange (excluding The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) and the London Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market (“AIM”)) are valued at the last sale price on the exchange on which they are principally traded or, for Nasdaq and AIM securities, the official closing price. Securities traded on more than one securities exchange are valued at the last sale price or official closing price, as applicable, at the close of the securities exchange representing the primary exchange for such securities.

Equity securities traded in an over-the-counter market are valued at the close price or the last trade price.

Shares of open-end funds are valued based on NAV per share.

Page 13

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (MMLG)
August 31, 2023

Certain securities may not be able to be priced by pre-established pricing methods. Such securities may be valued by the Advisor’s Pricing Committee at fair value. These securities generally include, but are not limited to, restricted securities (securities which may not be publicly sold without registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended) for which a third-party pricing service is unable to provide a market price; securities whose trading has been formally suspended; a security whose market or fair value price is not available from a pre-established pricing source; a security with respect to which an event has occurred that is likely to materially affect the value of the security after the market has closed but before the calculation of the Fund’s NAV or make it difficult or impossible to obtain a reliable market quotation; and a security whose price, as provided by the third-party pricing service, does not reflect the security’s fair value. As a general principle, the current fair value of a security would appear to be the amount which the owner might reasonably expect to receive for the security upon its current sale. When fair value prices are used, generally they will differ from market quotations or official closing prices on the applicable exchanges. A variety of factors may be considered in determining the fair value of such securities, including, but not limited to, the following:

the last sale price on the exchange on which they are principally traded or, for Nasdaq and AIM securities, the official closing price;

the type of security;

the size of the holding;

the initial cost of the security;

transactions in comparable securities;

price quotes from dealers and/or third-party pricing services;

relationships among various securities;

information obtained by contacting the issuer, analysts, or the appropriate stock exchange;

an analysis of the issuer’s financial statements;

10)

the existence of merger proposals or tender offers that might affect the value of the security; and

11)

other relevant factors.

The Fund is subject to fair value accounting standards that define fair value, establish the framework for measuring fair value and provide a three-level hierarchy for fair valuation based upon the inputs to the valuation as of the measurement date. The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are as follows:

• Level 1 – Level 1 inputs are quoted prices in active markets for identical investments. An active market is a market in which transactions for the investment occur with sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis.

• Level 2 – Level 2 inputs are observable inputs, either directly or indirectly, and include the following:

o Quoted prices for similar investments in active markets.

o Quoted prices for identical or similar investments in markets that are non-active. A non-active market is a market where there are few transactions for the investment, the prices are not current, or price quotations vary substantially either over time or among market makers, or in which little information is released publicly.

o Inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the investment (for example, interest rates and yield curves observable at commonly quoted intervals, volatilities, prepayment speeds, loss severities, credit risks, and default rates).

o Inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means.

• Level 3 – Level 3 inputs are unobservable inputs. Unobservable inputs may reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the investment.

The inputs or methodologies used for valuing investments are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those investments. A summary of the inputs used to value the Fund’s investments as of August 31, 2023, is included with the Fund’s Portfolio of Investments.

B. Securities Transactions and Investment Income

Securities transactions are recorded as of the trade date. Realized gains and losses from securities transactions are recorded on the identified cost basis. Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date. Interest income, if any, is recorded on the accrual basis.

Page 14

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (MMLG)
August 31, 2023

C. Dividends and Distributions to Shareholders

Dividends from net investment income of the Fund, if any, are declared and paid quarterly, or as the Board of Trustees may determine from time to time. Distributions of net realized gains earned by the Fund, if any, are distributed at least annually. The Fund may also designate a portion of the amount paid to redeeming shareholders as a distribution for tax purposes.

Distributions from net investment income and realized capital gains are determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations, which may differ from U.S. GAAP. Certain capital accounts in the financial statements are periodically adjusted for permanent differences in order to reflect their tax character. These permanent differences are primarily due to the varying treatment of income and gain/loss on portfolio securities held by the Fund and have no impact on net assets or NAV per share. Temporary differences, which arise from recognizing certain items of income, expense and gain/loss in different periods for financial statement and tax purposes, will reverse at some time in the future.

The Fund did not pay a distribution during its fiscal years ended August 31, 2023 and August 31, 2022.

As of August 31, 2023, the components of distributable earnings on a tax basis for the Fund were as follows:

Undistributed ordinary income	$(78,472 )
Accumulated capital and other gain (loss)	(15,819,658 )
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation)	(5,551,240 )

D. Income Taxes

The Fund intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company by complying with the requirements under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, which includes distributing substantially all of its net investment income and net realized gains to shareholders. Accordingly, no provision has been made for federal and state income taxes. However, due to the timing and amount of distributions, the Fund may be subject to an excise tax of 4% of the amount by which approximately 98% of the Fund’s taxable income exceeds the distributions from such taxable income for the calendar year.

The Fund is subject to accounting standards that establish a minimum threshold for recognizing, and a system for measuring, the benefits of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. The taxable years ended 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 remain open to federal and state audit. As of August 31, 2023, management has evaluated the application of these standards to the Fund and has determined that no provision for income tax is required in the Fund’s financial statements for uncertain tax positions.

The Fund intends to utilize provisions of the federal income tax laws, which allow it to carry a realized capital loss forward indefinitely following the year of the loss and offset such loss against any future realized capital gains. The Fund is subject to certain limitations under U.S. tax rules on the use of capital loss carryforwards and net unrealized built-in losses. These limitations apply when there has been a 50% change in ownership. At August 31, 2023, for federal income tax purposes, the Fund had $15,819,658 of capital loss carryforwards available, to the extent provided by regulations, to offset future capital gains. To the extent that these loss carryforwards are used to offset future capital gains, it is probable that the capital gains so offset will not be distributed to the Fund’s shareholders.

Certain losses realized during the current fiscal year may be deferred and treated as occurring on the first day of the following fiscal year for federal income tax purposes. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2023, the Fund incurred and elected to defer net late year ordinary or capital losses as follows:

Qualified Late Year Losses
Ordinary Losses	Capital Losses
$78,472	$—

In order to present paid-in capital and accumulated distributable earnings (loss) (which consists of accumulated net investment income (loss), accumulated net realized gain (loss) on investments and net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments) on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities that more closely represent their tax character, certain adjustments have been made to paid-in capital, accumulated net investment income (loss) and accumulated net realized gain (loss) on investments. These adjustments are primarily due to the difference between book and tax treatments of income and gains on various investment securities held by the Funds and in-kind transactions. The results of operations and net assets were not affected by these adjustments. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2023, the adjustments for the Fund were as follows:

Page 15

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (MMLG)
August 31, 2023

Accumulated Net Investment Income (Loss)	Accumulated Net Realized Gain (Loss) on Investments	Paid-In Capital
$301,338	$6,253,078	$(6,554,416 )

As of August 31, 2023, the aggregate cost, gross unrealized appreciation, gross unrealized depreciation, and net unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) on investments (including short positions and derivatives, if any) for federal income tax purposes were as follows:

Tax Cost	Gross Unrealized Appreciation	Gross Unrealized (Depreciation)	Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)
$46,885,390	$4,548,924	$(10,100,164 )	$(5,551,240 )

E. Expenses

Expenses, other than the investment advisory fee and other excluded expenses, are paid by the Advisor (see Note 3).

3. Investment Advisory Fee, Affiliated Transactions and Other Fee Arrangements

First Trust, the investment advisor to the Fund, is a limited partnership with one limited partner, Grace Partners of DuPage L.P., and one general partner, The Charger Corporation. The Charger Corporation is an Illinois corporation controlled by James A. Bowen, Chief Executive Officer of First Trust. First Trust is responsible for the ongoing monitoring of the securities in the Fund’s portfolio, managing the Fund’s business affairs and providing certain administrative services necessary for the management of the Fund.

Pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement between the Trust and the Advisor, First Trust manages the Fund’s portfolio based on recommendations provided by the Sub-Advisors (defined below) and is responsible for the expenses of the Fund including the cost of transfer agency, sub-advisory, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other services and license fees (if any), but excluding fee payments under the Investment Management Agreement, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, if any, brokerage commissions and other expenses connected with the execution of portfolio transactions, distribution and service fees payable pursuant to a Rule 12b-1 plan, if any, and extraordinary expenses, which are paid by the Fund. Effective November 1, 2022, the annual unitary management fee payable by the Fund to First Trust for these services will be reduced at certain levels of the Fund’s net assets (“breakpoints”) and calculated pursuant to the following schedule:

Breakpoints
Fund net assets up to and including $2.5 billion	0.85000 %
Fund net assets greater than $2.5 billion up to and including $5 billion	0.82875 %
Fund net assets greater than $5 billion up to and including $7.5 billion	0.80750 %
Fund net assets greater than $7.5 billion up to and including $10 billion	0.78625 %
Fund net assets greater than $10 billion up to and including $15 billion	0.76500 %
Fund net assets greater than $15 billion	0.72250 %

Prior to November 1, 2022, the Fund paid First Trust an annual management fee equal to 0.85% of its average daily net assets.

The Fund utilizes a multi-manager structure. The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and First Trust have retained Wellington Management Company LLP (“Wellington”) and Sands Capital Management, LLC (“Sands Capital”) (each, a “Sub-Advisor” and together, “Sub-Advisors”), to serve as non-discretionary investment sub-advisors to the Fund pursuant to sub-advisory agreements (the “Sub-Advisory Agreements”). In this capacity, Wellington and Sands Capital are each responsible for providing recommendations to First Trust regarding the selection and allocation of the securities in the portion of the Fund’s portfolio they have been allocated by First Trust. Pursuant to the Sub-Advisory Agreements, First Trust has agreed to pay for the services and facilities provided by the Sub-Advisors through sub-advisory fees equal in the aggregate to an annual rate of 0.30% of the average daily net assets of the Fund (i.e., for each sub-advisor, 0.30% of the average daily net assets of the portion of the Fund’s assets allocated to that sub-advisor). Each Sub-Advisor’s fees are paid by First Trust out of First Trust’s management fee.

The Trust has multiple service agreements with The Bank of New York Mellon (“BNYM”). Under the service agreements, BNYM performs custodial, fund accounting, certain administrative services, and transfer agency services for the Fund. As custodian, BNYM is responsible for custody of the Fund’s assets. As fund accountant and administrator, BNYM is responsible for maintaining the books

Page 16

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (MMLG)
August 31, 2023

and records of the Fund’s securities and cash. As transfer agent, BNYM is responsible for maintaining shareholder records for the Fund. BNYM is a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, a financial holding company.

Each Trustee who is not an officer or employee of First Trust, any sub-advisor or any of their affiliates (“Independent Trustees”) is paid a fixed annual retainer that is allocated equally among each fund in the First Trust Fund Complex. Each Independent Trustee is also paid an annual per fund fee that varies based on whether the fund is a closed-end or other actively managed fund, a target outcome fund or an index fund.

Additionally, the Lead Independent Trustee and the Chairs of the Audit Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee and Valuation Committee are paid annual fees to serve in such capacities, with such compensation allocated pro rata among each fund in the First Trust Fund Complex based on net assets. Independent Trustees are reimbursed for travel and out-of-pocket expenses in connection with all meetings. The Lead Independent Trustee and Committee Chairs rotate every three years. The officers and “Interested” Trustee receive no compensation from the Trust for acting in such capacities.

4. Purchases and Sales of Securities

For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2023, the cost of purchases and proceeds from sales of investments, excluding short-term investments and in-kind transactions, were $12,708,346 and $12,980,803, respectively.

For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2023, the cost of in-kind purchases and proceeds from in-kind sales were $0 and $27,217,784, respectively.

5. Creations, Redemptions and Transaction Fees

The Fund generally issues and redeems its shares in primary market transactions through a creation and redemption mechanism and does not sell or redeem individual shares. Instead, financial entities known as “Authorized Participants” have contractual arrangements with the Fund or one of the Fund’s service providers to purchase and redeem Fund shares directly with the Fund in large blocks of shares known as “Creation Units.” Prior to the start of trading on every business day, the Fund publishes through the National Securities Clearing Corporation the “basket” of securities, cash or other assets that it will accept in exchange for a Creation Unit of the Fund’s shares. An Authorized Participant that wishes to effectuate a creation of the Fund’s shares deposits with the Fund the “basket” of securities, cash or other assets identified by the Fund that day, and then receives the Creation Unit of the Fund’s shares in return for those assets. After purchasing a Creation Unit, the Authorized Participant may continue to hold the Fund’s shares or sell them in the secondary market. The redemption process is the reverse of the purchase process:the Authorized Participant redeems a Creation Unit of the Fund’s shares for a basket of securities, cash or other assets. The combination of the creation and redemption process with secondary market trading in the Fund’s shares and underlying securities provides arbitrage opportunities that are designed to help keep the market price of the Fund’s shares at or close to the NAV per share of the Fund.

The Fund imposes fees in connection with the purchase of Creation Units. These fees may vary based upon various fact-based circumstances, including, but not limited to, the composition of the securities included in the Creation Unit or the countries in which the transactions are settled. The price for each Creation Unit will equal the daily NAV per share of the Fund times the number of shares in a Creation Unit, plus the fees described above and, if applicable, any operational processing and brokerage costs, transfer fees, stamp taxes and part or all of the spread between the expected bid and offer side of the market related to the securities comprising the creation basket.

The Fund also imposes fees in connection with the redemption of Creation Units. These fees may vary based upon various fact-based circumstances, including, but not limited to, the composition of the securities included in the Creation Unit or the countries in which the transactions are settled. The price received for each Creation Unit will equal the daily NAV per share of the Fund times the number of shares in a Creation Unit, minus the fees described above and, if applicable, any operational processing and brokerage costs, transfer fees, stamp taxes and part or all of the spread between the expected bid and offer side of the market related to the securities comprising the redemption basket. Investors who use the services of a broker or other such intermediary in addition to an Authorized Participant to effect a redemption of a Creation Unit may also be assessed an amount to cover the cost of such services. The redemption fee charged by the Fund will comply with Rule 22c-2 of the 1940 Act which limits redemption fees to no more than 2% of the value of the shares redeemed.

Page 17

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (MMLG)
August 31, 2023

6. Distribution Plan

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

No 12b-1 fees are currently paid by the Fund, and pursuant to a contractual arrangement, no 12b-1 fees will be paid any time before December 31, 2024.

7. Indemnification

The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has a variety of indemnification obligations under contracts with its service providers. The Trust’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown. However, the Trust has not had prior claims or losses pursuant to these contracts and expects the risk of loss to be remote.

8. Subsequent Events

Management has evaluated the impact of all subsequent events on the Fund through the date the financial statements were issued and has determined that there were no subsequent events requiring recognition or disclosure in the financial statements that have not already been disclosed.

Page 18

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Shareholders and the Board of Trustees of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII:

Opinion on the Financial Statements and Financial Highlights

We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities, including the portfolio of investments, of First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (the “Fund”), one of the funds constituting the First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII, as of August 31, 2023, the related statement of operations for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, the financial highlights for the years ended August 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, and for the period from July 21, 2020 (commencement of investment operations) through August 31, 2020, and the related notes. In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Fund as of August 31, 2023, and the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and the financial highlights for the years ended August 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, and for the period from July 21, 2020 (commencement of investment operations) through August 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Fund’s financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Fund in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Fund is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Fund’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements and financial highlights, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements and financial highlights. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements and financial highlights. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of August 31, 2023, by correspondence with the custodian and brokers; when replies were not received from brokers, we performed other auditing procedures. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Chicago, Illinois
October 23, 2023

We have served as the auditor of one or more First Trust investment companies since 2001.

Page 19

Additional Information

First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (MMLG)
August 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

A description of the policies and procedures that the Trust uses to determine how to vote proxies and information on how the Fund voted proxies relating to its portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available (1) without charge, upon request, by calling (800) 988-5891; (2) on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com; and (3) on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) website at www.sec.gov.

Portfolio Holdings

The Fund files portfolio holdings information for each month in a fiscal quarter within 60 days after the end of the relevant fiscal quarter on Form N-PORT. Portfolio holdings information for the third month of each fiscal quarter will be publicly available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. The Fund’s complete schedule of portfolio holdings for the second and fourth quarters of each fiscal year is included in the semi-annual and annual reports to shareholders, respectively, and is filed with the SEC on Form N-CSR. The semi-annual and annual report for the Fund is available to investors within 60 days after the period to which it relates. The Fund’s Forms N-PORT and Forms N-CSR are available on the SEC’s website listed above.

Federal Tax Information

There were no distributions made by MMLG during the Fund’s fiscal year ended August 31, 2023; therefore, no analysis for the corporate dividends received deduction and qualified dividend income was completed.

Risk Considerations

Risks are inherent in all investing. Certain general risks that may be applicable to a Fund are identified below, but not all of the material risks relevant to each Fund are included in this report and not all of the risks below apply to each Fund. The material risks of investing in each Fund are spelled out in its prospectus, statement of additional information and other regulatory filings. Before investing, you should consider each Fund’s investment objective, risks, charges and expenses, and read each Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information carefully. You can download each Fund’s prospectus at www.ftportfolios.com or contact First Trust Portfolios L.P. at (800) 621-1675 to request a prospectus, which contains this and other information about each Fund.

Concentration Risk. To the extent that a fund is able to invest 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 fund that tracks an index will be concentrated to the extent the fund’s corresponding index is concentrated. A concentration makes a fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the fund to greater market risk than a fund that is more broadly diversified.

Credit Risk. Credit risk is the risk that an issuer of a security will be unable or unwilling to make dividend, interest and/or principal payments when due and the related risk that the value of a security may decline because of concerns about the issuer’s ability to make such payments.

Cyber Security Risk. The funds are susceptible to potential operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause a fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause a fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. In addition, cyber security breaches of a fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, or issuers in which the fund invests, can also subject a fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches.

Defined Outcome Funds Risk. To the extent a fund’s investment strategy is designed to deliver returns tied to the price performance of an underlying ETF, an investor may not realize the returns the fund seeks to achieve if that investor does not hold shares for the entire target outcome period. In the event an investor purchases shares after the first day of the target outcome period or sells shares prior to the end of the target outcome period, the buffer that the fund seeks to provide against a decline in the value of the underlying ETF may not be available, the enhanced returns that the fund seeks to provide (if any) may not be available and the investor may not participate in a gain in the value of the underlying ETF up to the cap for the investor’s investment period. Additionally, the fund will not participate in gains of the underlying ETF above the cap and a shareholder may lose their entire investment. If the fund seeks enhanced returns, there are certain time periods when the value of the fund may fall faster than the value of the underlying ETF, and it is very unlikely that, on any given day during which the underlying ETF share price increases in value, the fund’s share price will

Page 20

Additional Information (Continued)

First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (MMLG)
August 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

increase at the same rate as the enhanced returns sought by the fund, which is designed for an entire target outcome period. Trading flexible exchange options involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities, such as less liquidity and correlation and valuation risks. A fund may experience substantial downside from specific flexible exchange option positions and certain positions may expire worthless.

Derivatives Risk. To the extent a fund uses derivative instruments such as futures contracts, options contracts and swaps, the fund may experience losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the underlying asset, index or rate, which may be magnified by certain features of the derivative. These risks are heightened when a fund’s portfolio managers use derivatives to enhance the fund’s return or as a substitute for a position or security, rather than solely to hedge (or offset) the risk of a position or security held by the fund.

Equity Securities Risk. To the extent a fund invests in equity securities, the value of the fund’s shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities. 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 stock market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting the issuers occur. In addition, 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.

ETF Risk. The shares of an ETF trade like common stock and represent an interest in a portfolio of securities. The risks of owning an ETF generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying securities, although lack of liquidity in an ETF could result in it being more volatile and ETFs have management fees that increase their costs. Shares of an ETF trade on an exchange at market prices rather than net asset value, which may cause the shares to trade at a price greater than net asset value (premium) or less than net asset value (discount). In times of market stress, decisions by market makers to reduce or step away from their role of providing a market for an ETF’s shares, or decisions by an ETF’s authorized participants that they are unable or unwilling to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders of an ETF’s shares, could result in shares of the ETF trading at a discount to net asset value and in greater than normal intraday bid-ask spreads.

Fixed Income Securities Risk. To the extent a fund invests in fixed income securities, the fund will be subject to credit risk, income risk, interest rate risk, liquidity risk and prepayment risk. Income risk is the risk that income from a fund’s fixed income investments could decline during periods of falling interest rates. Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of a fund’s fixed income securities will decline because of rising interest rates. Liquidity risk is the risk that a security cannot be purchased or sold at the time desired, or cannot be purchased or sold without adversely affecting the price. Prepayment risk is the risk that the securities will be redeemed or prepaid by the issuer, resulting in lower interest payments received by the fund. In addition to these risks, high yield securities, or “junk” bonds, are subject to greater market fluctuations and risk of loss than securities with higher ratings, and the market for high yield securities is generally smaller and less liquid than that for investment grade securities.

Index or Model Constituent Risk. Certain funds may be a constituent of one or more indices or ETF models. As a result, such a 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 a fund, 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, a fund’s net asset value could be negatively impacted and the fund’s market price may be significantly below its net asset value during certain periods. In addition, index rebalances may potentially result in increased trading activity in a fund’s shares.

Index Provider Risk. To the extent a fund seeks to track an index, it is subject to Index Provider Risk. There is no assurance that the Index Provider will compile the Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. To correct any such error, the Index Provider may carry out an unscheduled rebalance or other modification of the Index constituents or weightings, which may increase the fund’s costs. The Index Provider does not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the Index, and it does not guarantee that the Index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. Losses or costs associated with any Index Provider errors generally will be borne by the fund and its shareholders.

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Investment Companies Risk. To the extent a fund invests in the securities of other investment vehicles, the fund will incur additional fees and expenses that would not be present in a direct investment in those investment vehicles. Furthermore, the fund’s investment performance and risks are directly related to the investment performance and risks of the investment vehicles in which the fund invests.

LIBOR Risk. To the extent a fund invests in floating or variable rate obligations that use the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) as a reference interest rate, it is subject to LIBOR Risk. The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates LIBOR, has ceased making LIBOR available as a reference rate over a phase-out period that began December 31, 2021. There is no assurance that any alternative reference rate, including the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) will be similar to or produce the same value or economic equivalence as LIBOR or that instruments using an alternative rate will have the same volume or liquidity. The unavailability or replacement of LIBOR may affect the value, liquidity or return on certain fund investments and may result in costs incurred in connection with closing out positions and entering into new trades. Any potential effects of the transition away from LIBOR on the fund or on certain instruments in which the fund invests can be difficult to ascertain, and they may vary depending on a variety of factors, and they could result in losses to the fund.

Management Risk. To the extent that a fund is actively managed, it is subject to management risk. In managing an actively-managed fund’s investment portfolio, the fund’s portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not have the desired result. There can be no guarantee that a fund will meet its investment objective.

Market Risk. Market risk is the risk that a particular security, or shares of a fund in general, may fall in value. Securities held by a fund, as well as shares of a fund itself, are subject to market fluctuations caused by factors such as general economic conditions, political events, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of a fund could decline in value or underperform other investments as a result of the risk of loss associated with these market fluctuations. 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 a fund and its investments. Such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine which has caused and could continue to cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in Russia, Europe, and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions resulting from those hostilities could have a significant impact on certain fund investments as well as fund performance. The COVID-19 global pandemic and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets. While the U.S. has resumed “reasonably” normal business activity, many countries continue to impose lockdown measures. Additionally, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against emerging variants of the disease. These events also adversely affect the prices and liquidity of a fund’s portfolio securities or other instruments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of a fund’s shares and result in increased market volatility. During any such events, a fund’s shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on a fund’s shares may widen.

Non-U.S. Securities Risk. To the extent a fund invests in non-U.S. securities, it is subject to additional risks not associated with securities of domestic issuers. 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 exchanges in foreign countries. Investments in non-U.S. securities may involve higher costs than investments in U.S. securities, including higher transaction and custody costs, as well as additional taxes imposed by non-U.S. governments. These risks may be heightened for securities of companies located, or with significant operations, in emerging market countries.

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

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Passive Investment Risk. To the extent a fund seeks to track an index, the fund will invest in the securities included in, or representative of, the index regardless of their investment merit. A fund generally will not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets.

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.

Valuation Risk. The valuation of certain securities may carry more risk than that of common stock. Uncertainties in the conditions of the financial markets, unreliable reference data, lack of transparency and inconsistency of valuation models and processes may lead to inaccurate asset pricing. A fund may hold investments in sizes smaller than institutionally sized round lot positions (sometimes referred to as odd lots). However, third-party pricing services generally provide evaluations on the basis of institutionally-sized round lots. If a fund sells certain of its investments in an odd lot transaction, the sale price may be less than the value at which such securities have been held by the fund. Odd lots often trade at lower prices than institutional round lots. There is no assurance that the fund will be able to sell a portfolio security at the price established by the pricing service, which could result in a loss to the fund.

NOT FDIC INSURED NOT BANK GUARANTEED MAY LOSE VALUE

Advisory and Sub-Advisory Agreements

Board Considerations Regarding Approval of the Continuation of the Investment Management and Sub-Advisory Agreements

The Board of Trustees of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII (the “Trust”), including the Independent Trustees, unanimously approved the continuation of the Investment Management Agreement (the “Advisory Agreement”) between the Trust, on behalf of First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (the “Fund”), and First Trust Advisors L.P. (the “Advisor”); the Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement (the “Sands Sub-Advisory Agreement”) among the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, the Advisor and Sands Capital Management, LLC (“Sands”); and the Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement (the “Wellington Sub-Advisory Agreement”) among the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, the Advisor and Wellington Management Company LLP (“Wellington”). The Sands Sub-Advisory Agreement and the Wellington Sub-Advisory Agreement are collectively referred to as the “Sub-Advisory Agreements.” Sands and Wellington are each referred to as a “Sub-Advisor” and collectively as the “Sub-Advisors.” The Sub-Advisory Agreements together with the Advisory Agreement are referred to as the “Agreements.” The Board approved the continuation of the Agreements for a one-year period ending June 30, 2024 at a meeting held on June 4–5, 2023. The Board determined that the continuation of the Agreements is in the best interests of the Fund in light of the nature, extent and quality of the services provided and such other matters as the Board considered to be relevant in the exercise of its business judgment.

To reach this determination, the Board considered its duties under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as well as under the general principles of state law, in reviewing and approving advisory contracts; the requirements of the 1940 Act in such matters; the fiduciary duty of investment advisors with respect to advisory agreements and compensation; the standards used by courts in determining whether investment company boards have fulfilled their duties; and the factors to be considered by the Board in voting on such agreements. At meetings held on April 17, 2023 and June 4–5, 2023, the Board, including the Independent Trustees, reviewed materials provided by the Advisor and each Sub-Advisor responding to requests for information from counsel to the Independent Trustees, submitted on behalf of the Independent Trustees, that, among other things, outlined:the services provided by the Advisor and each Sub-Advisor to the Fund (including the relevant personnel responsible for these services and their experience); the unitary fee rate schedule payable by the Fund as compared to fees charged to a peer group of funds (the “Expense Group”) and a broad peer universe of funds (the “Expense Universe”), each assembled by Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (“Broadridge”), an independent source, and as compared to fees charged to other clients of the Advisor, including other exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) managed by the Advisor; the sub-advisory fees as compared to fees charged to other clients of the Sub-Advisors; the expense ratio of the Fund as compared to expense ratios of the funds in the Fund’s Expense Group and Expense Universe; performance information for the Fund, including comparisons of the Fund’s performance to that of one or more relevant benchmark indexes and to that of a performance group of funds and a broad performance universe of funds (the “Performance Universe”), each assembled by Broadridge; the nature of expenses incurred in providing services to the Fund and the potential for the Advisor and each Sub-Advisor to realize economies of scale, if any; profitability and other financial data for the Advisor; financial

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data for each Sub-Advisor; any indirect benefits to the Advisor and its affiliate, First Trust Portfolios L.P. (“FTP”), and the Sub-Advisors; and information on the Advisor’s and each Sub-Advisor’s compliance programs. The Board reviewed initial materials with the Advisor at the meeting held on April 17, 2023, prior to which the Independent Trustees and their counsel met separately to discuss the information provided by the Advisor and the Sub-Advisors. Following the April meeting, counsel to the Independent Trustees, on behalf of the Independent Trustees, requested certain clarifications and supplements to the materials provided, and the information provided in response to those requests was considered at an executive session of the Independent Trustees and their counsel held prior to the June 4–5, 2023 meeting, as well as at the June meeting. The Board applied its business judgment to determine whether the arrangements between the Trust and the Advisor and among the Trust, the Advisor and each Sub-Advisor continue to be reasonable business arrangements from the Fund’s perspective. The Board determined that, given the totality of the information provided with respect to the Agreements, the Board had received sufficient information to renew the Agreements. The Board considered that shareholders chose to invest or remain invested in the Fund knowing that the Advisor and the Sub-Advisors manage the Fund and knowing the Fund’s unitary fee.

In reviewing the Agreements, the Board considered the nature, extent and quality of the services provided by the Advisor and the Sub-Advisors under the Agreements. The Board considered that the Fund is an actively-managed ETF and employs a multi-manager structure. With respect to the Advisory Agreement, the Board considered that the Advisor is responsible for the overall management and administration of the Trust and the Fund and reviewed all of the services provided by the Advisor to the Fund, including the oversight of the Sub-Advisors and the allocation of assets between the Sub-Advisors performed by members of the Advisor’s Investment Committee, as well as the background and experience of the persons responsible for such services. The Board considered that each Sub-Advisor acts as a non-discretionary manager providing model portfolio recommendations to the Advisor, and that the Advisor executes the Fund’s portfolio trades. The Board noted that the Advisor oversees the management of the Fund’s investments, including portfolio risk monitoring and performance review. In reviewing the services provided, the Board noted the compliance program that had been developed by the Advisor and considered that it includes a robust program for monitoring the Advisor’s, each Sub-Advisor’s and the Fund’s compliance with the 1940 Act, as well as the Fund’s compliance with its investment objective, policies and restrictions. The Board also considered a report from the Advisor with respect to its risk management functions related to the operation of the Fund. Finally, as part of the Board’s consideration of the Advisor’s services, the Advisor, in its written materials and at the April 17, 2023 meeting, described to the Board the scope of its ongoing investment in additional personnel and infrastructure to maintain and improve the quality of services provided to the Fund and the other funds in the First Trust Fund Complex. With respect to the Sub-Advisory Agreements, the Board noted that the Fund is an actively-managed ETF and the Sub-Advisors actively manage the Fund’s investments. The Board reviewed the materials provided by each Sub-Advisor and considered the services that each Sub-Advisor provides to the Fund, including each Sub-Advisor’s non-discretionary management of the portion of the Fund’s assets allocated to it. In considering Wellington’s services to the Fund, the Board noted the background and experience of Wellington’s portfolio management team, including the Board’s prior meetings with members of Wellington’s portfolio management team. In addition to the written materials provided by Sands, at the April 17, 2023 meeting, the Board also received a presentation from representatives of Sands, who discussed the services that Sands provides to the Fund. In considering Sands’ services to the Fund, the Board noted the background and experience of Sands’ portfolio management team. In light of the information presented and the considerations made, the Board concluded that the nature, extent and quality of the services provided to the Trust and the Fund by the Advisor and each Sub-Advisor under the Agreements have been and are expected to remain satisfactory and that the Advisor and the Sub-Advisors have managed the Fund consistent with its investment objective, policies and restrictions.

The Board considered the unitary fee rate schedule payable by the Fund under the Advisory Agreement for the services provided. The Board noted that the Advisor pays each Sub-Advisor a separate sub-advisory fee from the unitary fee. The Board considered that as part of the unitary fee the Advisor is responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including the cost of sub-advisory, transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other services and license fees, if any, but excluding the fee payment under the Advisory Agreement and interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions and other expenses connected with the execution of portfolio transactions, distribution and service fees pursuant to a Rule 12b-1 plan, if any, and extraordinary expenses, if any. The Board received and reviewed information showing the fee rates and expense ratios of the peer funds in the Expense Group, as well as advisory and unitary fee rates charged by the Advisor and the Sub-Advisors to other fund (including ETFs) and non-fund clients, as applicable. Because the Fund pays a unitary fee, the Board determined that expense ratios were the most relevant comparative data point. Based on the information provided, the Board noted that the total (net) expense ratio for the Fund was above the median total (net) expense ratio of the peer funds in the Expense Group. With respect to the Expense Group, the Board, at the April 17, 2023 meeting, discussed with Broadridge its methodology for assembling peer groups and discussed with the Advisor limitations in creating peer groups for actively-managed ETFs, and different business models that may affect the pricing of services among ETF sponsors. The Board also noted that not all peer funds employ an advisor/sub-advisor management structure. The Board

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August 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

took these limitations and differences into account in considering the peer data. With respect to fees charged to other non-ETF clients, the Board considered differences between the Fund and other non-ETF clients that limited their comparability. In considering the unitary fee rate schedule overall, the Board also considered the Advisor’s statement that it seeks to meet investor needs through innovative and value-added investment solutions and the Advisor’s demonstrated long-term commitment to the Fund and the other funds in the First Trust Fund Complex.

The Board considered performance information for the Fund. The Board noted the process it has established for monitoring the Fund’s performance and portfolio risk on an ongoing basis, which includes quarterly performance reporting from the Advisor and the Sub-Advisors for the Fund. The Board determined that this process continues to be effective for reviewing the Fund’s performance. The Board received and reviewed information comparing the Fund’s performance for the one-year period ended December 31, 2022 to the performance of the funds in the Performance Universe and to that of a benchmark index. Based on the information provided, the Board noted that the Fund underperformed the Performance Universe median and the benchmark index for the one-year period ended December 31, 2022. The Board noted Sands’ discussion of the performance of the Fund’s assets allocated to Sands at the April 17, 2023 meeting, noting that such allocation was a primary driver of the Fund’s underperformance over the period reviewed.

On the basis of all the information provided on the unitary fee and performance of the Fund and the ongoing oversight by the Board, the Board concluded that the unitary fee for the Fund (out of which the Sub-Advisors are compensated) continues to be reasonable and appropriate in light of the nature, extent and quality of the services provided by the Advisor and the Sub-Advisors to the Fund under the Agreements.

The Board considered information and discussed with the Advisor whether there were any economies of scale in connection with providing advisory services to the Fund at current asset levels and whether the Fund may benefit from any economies of scale. The Board noted that the unitary fee rate schedule for the Fund includes breakpoints pursuant to which the unitary fee rate will be reduced as assets of the Fund meet certain thresholds. The Board considered the Advisor’s statement that it believes that its expenses relating to providing advisory services to the Fund will increase during the next twelve months as the Advisor continues to build infrastructure and add new staff. The Board also noted that under the unitary fee structure, any reduction in expenses associated with the management and operations of the Fund would benefit the Advisor, but that the unitary fee structure provides a level of certainty in expenses for shareholders of the Fund. The Board concluded that the unitary fee rate schedule for the Fund reflects an appropriate level of sharing of any economies of scale that may be realized in the management of the Fund at current asset levels. The Board considered the revenues and allocated costs (including the allocation methodology) of the Advisor in serving as investment advisor to the Fund for the twelve months ended December 31, 2022 and the estimated profitability level for the Fund calculated by the Advisor based on such data, as well as complex-wide and product-line profitability data, for the same period. The Board noted the inherent limitations in the profitability analysis and concluded that, based on the information provided, the Advisor’s profitability level for the Fund was not unreasonable. In addition, the Board considered indirect benefits described by the Advisor that may be realized from its relationship with the Fund. The Board considered that the Advisor had identified as an indirect benefit to the Advisor and FTP their exposure to investors and brokers who, absent their exposure to the Fund, may have had no dealings with the Advisor or FTP, and noted that the Advisor does not utilize soft-dollars in connection with the Fund. The Board concluded that the character and amount of potential indirect benefits to the Advisor were not unreasonable.

With respect to the Sands Sub-Advisory Agreement, the Board considered Sands’ statements that it did not believe there are any specific economies of scale in connection with providing sub-advisory services to the Fund that will benefit the Fund’s shareholders and that Sands believes that the sub-advisory fee is appropriate given the services provided to the Fund. The Board noted that the Advisor pays Sands from the unitary fee and its understanding that the Fund’s sub-advisory fee was the product of an arm’s length negotiation. The Board did not review the profitability of Sands with respect to the Fund. The Board concluded that the profitability analysis for the Advisor was more relevant. The Board considered indirect benefits that may be realized by Sands from its relationship with the Fund, and noted Sands’ statement that there are no indirect benefits expected to be derived as part of its relationship with the Fund given that the Advisor is responsible for trade execution. The Board noted that Sands acts as a non-discretionary manager providing model portfolio recommendations to the Advisor and does not provide trade execution services to the Fund. The Board concluded that the character and amount of potential indirect benefits to Sands were not unreasonable.

With respect to the Wellington Sub-Advisory Agreement, the Board considered Wellington’s statement that it believes the sub-advisory fee reflects the economies of scale inherent in providing investment advice to funds similar in size to the Fund, and that Wellington believes the fee schedule is competitive given the nature and quality of service provided by Wellington. The Board noted that the Advisor pays Wellington from the unitary fee and its understanding that the Fund’s sub-advisory fee was the product of an arm’s length negotiation. The Board did not review the profitability of Wellington with respect to the Fund. The Board concluded

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that the profitability analysis for the Advisor was more relevant. The Board considered indirect benefits that may be realized by Wellington from its relationship with the Fund, and noted Wellington’s statements that it derives no ancillary economic benefits of the type that may accrue to an adviser that also provides distribution and other services, and that although not quantifiable Wellington recognizes the reputational benefit that accrues from its relationship with the Fund and the Advisor. The Board noted that Wellington acts as a non-discretionary manager providing model portfolio recommendations to the Advisor and does not provide trade execution services to the Fund. The Board concluded that the character and amount of potential indirect benefits to Wellington were not unreasonable.

Based on all of the information considered and the conclusions reached, the Board, including the Independent Trustees, unanimously determined that the terms of the Agreements continue to be fair and reasonable and that the continuation of the Agreements is in the best interests of the Fund. No single factor was determinative in the Board’s analysis.

Liquidity Risk Management Program

In accordance with Rule 22e-4 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), the Fund and each other fund in the First Trust Fund Complex, other than the closed-end funds, have adopted and implemented a liquidity risk management program (the “Program”) reasonably designed to assess and manage the funds’ liquidity risk, i.e., the risk that a fund could not meet requests to redeem shares issued by the fund without significant dilution of remaining investors’ interests in the fund. The Board of Trustees of the First Trust Funds has appointed First Trust Advisors, L.P. (the “Advisor”) as the person designated to administer the Program, and in this capacity the Advisor performs its duties primarily through the activities and efforts of the First Trust Liquidity Committee (the “Liquidity Committee”).

Pursuant to the Program, the Liquidity Committee classifies the liquidity of each fund’s portfolio investments into one of the four liquidity categories specified by Rule 22e-4: highly liquid investments, moderately liquid investments, less liquid investments and illiquid investments. The Liquidity Committee determines certain of the inputs for this classification process, including reasonably anticipated trade sizes and significant investor dilution thresholds. The Liquidity Committee also determines and periodically reviews a highly liquid investment minimum for certain funds, monitors the funds’ holdings of assets classified as illiquid investments to seek to ensure they do not exceed 15% of a fund’s net assets and establishes policies and procedures regarding redemptions in kind.

At the April 17, 2023 meeting of the Board of Trustees, as required by Rule 22e-4 and the Program, the Advisor provided the Board with a written report prepared by the Advisor that addressed the operation of the Program during the period from March 17, 2022 through the Liquidity Committee’s annual meeting held on March 23, 2023 and assessed the Program’s adequacy and effectiveness of implementation during this period, including the operation of the highly liquid investment minimum for each fund that is required under the Program to have one, and any material changes to the Program. Note that because the Fund primarily holds assets that are highly liquid investments, the Fund has not adopted any highly liquid investment minimum.

As stated in the written report, during the review period, two funds breached the 15% limitation on illiquid investments for one day each, as a result of an unscheduled week-long closure of the stock exchange in Istanbul following devastating earthquakes in February, causing all Turkish equities to be re-classified as “illiquid” for one day. Each fund filed a Form N-RN on the day after the breach occurred, and one day later after the breach was cured. No fund with a highly liquid investment minimum breached that minimum during the reporting period. The Advisor concluded that each fund’s investment strategy is appropriate for an open-end fund; that the Program operated effectively in all material respects during the review period; and that the Program is reasonably designed to assess and manage the liquidity risk of each fund and to maintain compliance with Rule 22e-4.

Board of Trustees

Effective September 10, 2023, the exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, mutual funds and variable insurance funds (collectively, the “Funds”) advised by First Trust Advisors L.P. (“FTA”) announced the appointment of Ms. Bronwyn Wright as a Trustee of all Funds except the exchange-traded funds included in the First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund and the First Trust Dynamic Europe Equity Income Fund, a closed-end fund. Ms. Wright has acted as an independent director to a number of Irish collective investment funds since 2009. Ms. Wright is a former Managing Director of Citibank Europe plc and Head of Securities and Fund Services for Citi Ireland. In these positions, she was responsible for the management and strategic direction of Citi Ireland’s securities and fund services business which included funds, custody, security finance/lending and global agency and trust. She also had responsibility for leading, managing and growing the Trustee, Custodian and Depositary business in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Jersey and Cayman.

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Board of Trustees and Officers

First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (MMLG)
August 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

The following tables identify the Trustees and Officers of the Trust. Unless otherwise indicated, the address of all persons is 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400, Wheaton, IL 60187.

The Trust’s statement of additional information includes additional information about the Trustees and is available, without charge, upon request, by calling (800) 988-5891.

Name, Year of Birth and Position with the Trust	Term of Office and Year First Elected or Appointed	Principal Occupations During Past 5 Years	Number of Portfolios in the First Trust Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee	Other Trusteeships or Directorships Held by Trustee During Past 5 Years
INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES
Richard E. Erickson, Trustee (1951)	• Indefinite Term • Since Inception	Physician, Edward-Elmhurst Medical Group; Physician and Officer, Wheaton Orthopedics (1990 to 2021)	241	None
Thomas R. Kadlec, Trustee (1957)	• Indefinite Term • Since Inception	Retired; President, ADM Investors Services, Inc. (Futures Commission Merchant) (2010 to July 2022)	241	Director, National Futures Association and ADMIS Singapore Ltd.; Formerly, Director of ADM Investor Services, Inc., ADM Investor Services International, ADMIS Hong Kong Ltd., and Futures Industry Association
Denise M. Keefe, Trustee (1964)	• Indefinite Term • Since 2021	Executive Vice President, Advocate Aurora Health and President, Advocate Aurora Continuing Health Division (Integrated Healthcare System)	241	Director and Board Chair of Advocate Home Health Services, Advocate Home Care Products and Advocate Hospice; Director and Board Chair of Aurora At Home (since 2018); Director of Advocate Physician Partners Accountable Care Organization; Director of RML Long Term Acute Care Hospitals; Director of Senior Helpers (since 2021); and Director of MobileHelp (since 2022)
Robert F. Keith, Trustee (1956)	• Indefinite Term • Since Inception	President, Hibs Enterprises (Financial and Management Consulting)	241	Formerly, Director of Trust Company of Illinois
Niel B. Nielson, Trustee (1954)	• Indefinite Term • Since Inception	Senior Advisor (2018 to Present), Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer (2015 to 2018), Pelita Harapan Educational Foundation (Educational Products and Services)	241	None
INTERESTED TRUSTEE
James A. Bowen(1), Trustee, Chairman of the Board (1955)	• Indefinite Term • Since Inception	Chief Executive Officer, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P., Chairman of the Board of Directors, BondWave LLC (Software Development Company) and Stonebridge Advisors LLC (Investment Advisor)	241	None

(1)

Mr. Bowen is deemed an “interested person” of the Trust due to his position as Chief Executive Officer of First Trust Advisors L.P., investment advisor of the Trust.

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Board of Trustees and Officers (Continued)

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August 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

Name and Year of Birth	Position and Offices with Trust	Term of Office and Length of Service	Principal Occupations During Past 5 Years
OFFICERS(2)
James M. Dykas (1966)	President and Chief Executive Officer	• Indefinite Term • Since Inception	Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.; Chief Financial Officer, BondWave LLC (Software Development Company) and Stonebridge Advisors LLC (Investment Advisor)
Derek D. Maltbie (1972)	Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer	• Indefinite Term • Since 2023	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P., July 2021 to Present. Previously, Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P., 2014 - 2021.
W. Scott Jardine (1960)	Secretary and Chief Legal Officer	• Indefinite Term • Since Inception	General Counsel, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.; Secretary and General Counsel, BondWave LLC; Secretary, Stonebridge Advisors LLC
Daniel J. Lindquist (1970)	Vice President	• Indefinite Term • Since Inception	Managing Director, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Kristi A. Maher (1966)	Chief Compliance Officer and Assistant Secretary	• Indefinite Term • Since Inception	Deputy General Counsel, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Roger F. Testin (1966)	Vice President	• Indefinite Term • Since Inception	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Stan Ueland (1970)	Vice President	• Indefinite Term • Since Inception	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.

(2)

The term “officer” means the president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, controller or any other officer who performs a policy making function.

Page 28

First Trust Multi-Manager Large Growth ETF (MMLG)
August 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

First Trust values our relationship with you and considers your privacy an important priority in maintaining that relationship. We are committed to protecting the security and confidentiality of your personal information.

Sources of Information

We collect nonpublic personal information about you from the following sources:

• Information we receive from you and your broker-dealer, investment professional or financial representative through interviews, applications, agreements or other forms;

• Information about your transactions with us, our affiliates or others;

• Information we receive from your inquiries by mail, e-mail or telephone; and

• Information we collect on our website through the use of “cookies.” For example, we may identify the pages on our website that your browser requests or visits.

Information Collected

The type of data we collect may include your name, address, social security number, age, financial status, assets, income, tax information, retirement and estate plan information, transaction history, account balance, payment history, investment objectives, marital status, family relationships and other personal information.

Disclosure of Information

We do not disclose any nonpublic personal information about our customers or former customers to anyone, except as permitted by law. In addition to using this information to verify your identity (as required under law), the permitted uses may also include the disclosure of such information to unaffiliated companies for the following reasons:

• In order to provide you with products and services and to effect transactions that you request or authorize, we may disclose your personal information as described above to unaffiliated financial service providers and other companies that perform administrative or other services on our behalf, such as transfer agents, custodians and trustees, or that assist us in the distribution of investor materials such as trustees, banks, financial representatives, proxy services, solicitors and printers.

• We may release information we have about you if you direct us to do so, if we are compelled by law to do so, or in other legally limited circumstances (for example to protect your account from fraud).

In addition, in order to alert you to our other financial products and services, we may share your personal information within First Trust.

Use of Website Analytics

We currently use third party analytics tools, Google Analytics and AddThis, to gather information for purposes of improving First Trust’s website and marketing our products and services to you. These tools employ cookies, which are small pieces of text stored in a file by your web browser and sent to websites that you visit, to collect information, track website usage and viewing trends such as the number of hits, pages visited, videos and PDFs viewed and the length of user sessions in order to evaluate website performance and enhance navigation of the website. We may also collect other anonymous information, which is generally limited to technical and web navigation information such as the IP address of your device, internet browser type and operating system for purposes of analyzing the data to make First Trust’s website better and more useful to our users. The information collected does not include any personal identifiable information such as your name, address, phone number or email address unless you provide that information through the website for us to contact you in order to answer your questions or respond to your requests. To find out how to opt-out of these services click on:Google Analytics and AddThis.

Confidentiality and Security

With regard to our internal security procedures, First Trust restricts access to your nonpublic personal information to those First Trust employees who need to know that information to provide products or services to you. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to protect your nonpublic personal information.

Policy Updates and Inquiries

As required by federal law, we will notify you of our privacy policy annually. We reserve the right to modify this policy at any time, however, if we do change it, we will tell you promptly. For questions about our policy, or for additional copies of this notice, please go to www.ftportfolios.com, or contact us at 1-800-621-1675 (First Trust Portfolios) or 1-800-222-6822 (First Trust Advisors).

March 2023

Page 29

ASSETS:
Investments, at value	$41,334,150
Dividends receivable	19,394
Total Assets	41,353,544

LIABILITIES:
Investment advisory fees payable	29,206
Total Liabilities	29,206
NET ASSETS	$41,324,338

NET ASSETS consist of:
Paid-in capital	$62,754,708
Par value	19,000
Accumulated distributable earnings (loss)	(21,449,370 )
NET ASSETS	$41,324,338
NET ASSET VALUE, per share	$21.75
Number of shares outstanding (unlimited number of shares authorized, par value $0.01 per share)	1,900,002
Investments, at cost	$46,739,087

INVESTMENT INCOME:
Dividends	$244,067
Total investment income	244,067

EXPENSES:
Investment advisory fees	372,131
Total expenses	372,131
NET INVESTMENT INCOME (LOSS)	(128,064 )

NET REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS):
Net realized gain (loss) on:
Investments	(8,780,052 )
In-kind redemptions	(5,439,946 )
Net realized gain (loss)	(14,219,998 )
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments	19,933,088
NET REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS)	5,713,090
NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS	$5,585,026

	Year Ended 8/31/2023	Year Ended 8/31/2022
OPERATIONS:
Net investment income (loss)	$(128,064 )	$(545,799 )
Net realized gain (loss)	(14,219,998 )	(7,350,581 )
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)	19,933,088	(40,729,422 )
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations	5,585,026	(48,625,802 )

SHAREHOLDER TRANSACTIONS:
Proceeds from shares sold	—	11,734,001
Cost of shares redeemed	(27,738,996 )	(70,634,728 )
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from shareholder transactions	(27,738,996 )	(58,900,727 )
Total increase (decrease) in net assets	(22,153,970 )	(107,526,529 )

NET ASSETS:
Beginning of period	63,478,308	171,004,837
End of period	$41,324,338	$63,478,308

CHANGES IN SHARES OUTSTANDING:
Shares outstanding, beginning of period	3,500,002	6,050,002
Shares sold	—	550,000
Shares redeemed	(1,600,000 )	(3,100,000 )
Shares outstanding, end of period	1,900,002	3,500,002