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 its 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 any series of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II (the “Trust”) described in this report (each such series is referred to as a “Fund” and collectively, as the “Funds”) 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 its 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 any Fund described in this report will achieve its investment objective. Each 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 by investing in a Fund. See “Risk Considerations” in the Additional Information section of this report for a discussion of certain other risks of investing in the Funds.

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 each Fund’s webpage at www.ftportfolios.com.

How to Read This Report

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

By reading the market overview by Robert F. Carey, Chief Market Strategist of the Advisor, you may obtain an understanding of how the market environment affected the performance of each Fund. The statistical information that follows may help you understand each 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 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 each Fund are spelled out in its prospectus, statement of additional information, and other Fund regulatory filings.

Page 1

Shareholder Letter

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II
Annual Letter from the Chairman and CEO
September 30, 2023

Dear Shareholders,

First Trust is pleased to provide you with the annual report for certain series of the First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II (the “Funds”), which contains detailed information about the Funds for the twelve months ended September 30, 2023. Please note that the First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF (EMDM) was incepted on March 2, 2023, so information in this letter and the report prior to that date will not apply to that Fund.

A famous financial industry quote came to mind as I was sizing up the current business climate:“Wall Street has a few prudent principles; the trouble is that they are always forgotten when they are most needed.” The past year has been a time when those who stuck with their principles were rewarded, in my opinion. The financial markets continue to battle a myriad of headwinds, from geopolitical uncertainty resulting from war (Israel and Hamas and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine), to slowing global economic growth and inflation. Inflation, for one, has remained persistently high. A common measure of inflation is the 12-month rate of change in the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”). The CPI stood at 3.7% on September 30, 2023, significantly lower than its most recent high of 9.1% set on June 30, 2022, but up from its most recent low of 3.0% on June 30, 2023. Considering this, as well as other better-than-expected economic data, the Federal Reserve recently noted that the Federal Funds target rate will need to remain elevated for a longer period than previously expected.

As many investors are likely aware, a higher Federal Funds target rate has deep implications for consumers. Perhaps the most obvious area impacted by higher rates is housing. The national average for a 30-year mortgage stood at 7.99% as of October 18, 2023, up from 3.22% on October 20, 2021. Higher mortgage rates, coupled with high home prices, are stretching U.S. home affordability. The monthly payment on a median-priced home ($407,100 in August 2023) with a 20% down payment, and a mortgage rate of 7.99%, comes in at $2,387. It is not just mortgage rates that are pressuring the budgets of U.S. households. Debt payments on car loans and credit cards are showing signs of weakness as well. 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 (most recent data), surpassing pre-pandemic levels.

While headwinds to the global economy exist, not all the news is bad. Driven by technological developments in artificial intelligence, the U.S. equity markets have had a phenomenal year. Year-to-date through September 30, 2023, the S&P 500® Index has enjoyed a total return of 13.07%. Additionally, the U.S. exported a record 20.4 billion cubic feet per day (“Bcf/d”) of natural gas and 11.6 Bcf/d of liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) over the first six months of the year, making the U.S. the world’s largest exporter of LNG during this period. It can be tempting to deviate from fundamentals when times get tough, but we continue to encourage investors to hold fast to their principles; they will serve you for years to come.

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 Funds again in six months.

Sincerely,

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

Page 2

Market Overview

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II
Annual Report
September 30, 2023

Robert F. Carey, CFA
Senior Vice President and Chief Market Strategist
First Trust Advisors L.P.

Mr. Carey is responsible for the overall management of research and analysis of the First Trust product line. Mr. Carey has more than 30 years of experience as an Equity and Fixed-Income Analyst and is a recipient of the Chartered Financial Analyst (“CFA”) designation. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana with a B.S. in Physics. He is also a member of the Investment Analysts Society of Chicago and the CFA Institute. Mr. Carey has appeared as a guest on such programs as Bloomberg TV, CNBC, and WBBM Radio, and has been quoted by several publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The Wall Street Reporter, Bloomberg News Service and Registered Rep.

State of the Global Economy

The latest global growth forecast from the International Monetary Fund (“IMF”) released in October 2023 sees real gross domestic product growth rising by 3.0% worldwide in 2023, up from its 2.9% projection in January 2023. The IMF is currently forecasting a 2.1% growth rate for the U.S., up from its January 2023 estimate of 1.4%. Emerging Market and Developing Economies are expected to grow by 4.0% this year, unchanged from the IMF’s 4.0% estimate in January 2023. The IMF notes that risks to their global outlook remain tilted to the downside, citing the real estate crisis in China, the potential for increased volatility among commodity prices, and uncomfortably high inflation, among other reasons, for their outlook.

In the U.S., inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”), stood at 3.7% on a trailing 12-month basis at the end of September 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. While this is significantly lower than the most recent high of 9.1% in June 2022, the September 2023 CPI reading reflects a re-acceleration in the metric when compared to its most recent low of 3.0% set on June 30, 2023.

Performance of Global Stocks and Bonds

The major U.S. stock indices delivered positive results over the past 12 months. The S&P 500® (the “Index”), S&P MidCap 400® and S&P SmallCap 600® Indices posted total returns of 21.62%, 15.51% and 10.08%, respectively, for the 12-month period ended September 30, 2023. Nine of the 11 major sectors that comprise the Index were positive on a total return basis. The top performer was the Information Technology sector, up 41.10%, while the worst showing came from the Utilities sector, down 7.02%.

A Bloomberg survey of twenty-two equity strategists found that their average 2023 year-end price target for the Index was 4,370 as of October 18, 2023, according to its own release. The highest and lowest estimates were 4,900 and 3,700, respectively. The Index closed trading on September 29, 2023, at 4,288.05. Bloomberg’s consensus year-over-year earnings growth rate estimates for the Index for the 2023 and 2024 calendar years stood at -2.83% and 11.89%, respectively, as of October 13, 2023.

The broader foreign stock indices experienced positive total returns over the past year. For the 12-month period ended September 30, 2023, the MSCI World ex USA and MSCI Emerging Markets equity indices posted total returns of 24.00% (USD) and 11.70% (USD), respectively, according to Bloomberg. The major foreign bond indices were also up over the same period. The Bloomberg Global Aggregate Index of higher quality debt posted a total return of 2.24% (USD), while the Bloomberg EM Hard Currency Aggregate Index of emerging markets debt rose by 8.57% (USD), according to Bloomberg. The U.S. dollar fell 5.30% over the past 12 months against a basket of major currencies, as measured by the U.S. Dollar Index. The decrease in the dollar provided a boost to the performance of both foreign stock and bond indices, in our opinion.

Results were also positive in the U.S. bond market over the period. The top performing major debt group we track was intermediate U.S. high yield bonds. The Bloomberg Intermediate U.S. High Yield Index posted a total return of 10.34% for the 12-month period ended September 30, 2023. The worst performing U.S. debt group that we track was the Ginnie Mae 30-Year Bond. The Bloomberg Ginnie Mae 30-Year Index posted a total return of 0.29%. The yield on the benchmark 10-Year Treasury Note (“T-Note”) rose by 74 basis points in the period to close at 4.57% on September 29, 2023, according to Bloomberg. For comparative purposes, the average yield on the 10-Year T-Note was 2.27% for the 10-year period ended September 30, 2023.

Page 3

Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited)

First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF (EKG)

The First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an equity index called the Nasdaq Lux Health TechTM Index (the “Index”). The shares of the Fund are listed and trade on Nasdaq, Inc. under the ticker symbol “EKG.” The Fund will normally invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in the common stocks and depositary receipts that comprise the Index. The Index is developed, maintained and sponsored by Nasdaq, Inc. (the “Index Provider”). According to the Index Provider, the Index is designed to measure the performance of a selection of companies that are primarily engaged in and involved at the intersection of healthcare and technology, as classified by Lux Capital based on analysis of the products and services offered by those companies.

Performance
		Average Annual Total Returns	Cumulative Total Returns
	1 Year Ended 9/30/23	Inception (3/22/22) to 9/30/23	Inception (3/22/22) to 9/30/23
Fund Performance
NAV	-0.56%	-21.63%	-31.07%
Market Price	-0.78%	-21.67%	-31.12%
Index Performance
Nasdaq Lux Health TechTM Index	0.12%	-21.14%	-30.40%
S&P Composite 1500® Health Care Index	7.38%	-2.93%	-4.44%

(See Notes to Fund Performance Overview on page 10.)

Performance Review

The Fund generated a net asset value (“NAV”) return of -0.56% during the 12-month period covered by this report. During the same period, the S&P Composite 1500® Health Care Index (the “Benchmark”) generated a return of 7.38%. The Health Care Equipment & Supplies industry received the greatest allocation in the Fund during the period covered by this report, with an average weight of 54.5%, and also had a contribution of 2.9% to the Fund’s return, the greatest of any industry. The Life Sciences Tools & Services industry, with an average weight of 23.4%, received the second greatest allocation within the Fund and was the most negatively contributing industry in the Fund with a contribution to return of -1.9%.

Nasdaq® and Nasdaq Lux Health TechTM Index are registered trademarks and service marks of Nasdaq, Inc. (together with its affiliates hereinafter referred to as the “Corporations”) and are licensed for use by First Trust. The Fund has not been passed on by the Corporations as to its legality or suitability. The Fund is not issued, endorsed, sold or promoted by the Corporations. THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO WARRANTIES AND BEAR NO LIABILITY WITH RESPECT TO THE FUND.

Page 4

Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited) (Continued)

First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF (EKG) (Continued)

Sector Allocation	% of Total Long-Term Investments
Health Care	100.0%
Total	100.0%

Top Ten Holdings	% of Total Long-Term Investments
Veeva Systems, Inc., Class A	8.9%
Intuitive Surgical, Inc.	8.5
Dexcom, Inc.	8.5
IQVIA Holdings, Inc.	8.1
Align Technology, Inc.	7.5
Hologic, Inc.	4.2
ResMed, Inc.	4.2
QIAGEN N.V.	4.1
Insulet Corp.	3.8
Illumina, Inc.	3.8
Total	61.6%

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 5

Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited) (Continued)

First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF (ARVR)

The First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an equity index called the Indxx Metaverse Index (the “Index”). The shares of the Fund are listed and trade on Nasdaq, Inc. under the ticker symbol “ARVR.” Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in the common stocks and depositary receipts that comprise the Index. The Index is developed, maintained and sponsored by Indxx, Inc. (the “Index Provider”). The Index Provider is not affiliated with the Fund, the Fund’s investment advisor or the Fund’s distributor. According to the Index Provider, the Index is a rules-based index, however, the Index Provider reserves the right to use qualitative judgment to include, exclude, adjust, or postpone the inclusion of a stock in the Index. “Metaverse” is a term used to describe the next generation of the Internet, which has the potential to allow creators to build the next chapter of human interaction through immersive experiences in three-dimensional virtual spaces. The Index is comprised of companies that provide services and products that support the infrastructure and applications of the Metaverse.

Performance
		Average Annual Total Returns	Cumulative Total Returns
	1 Year Ended 9/30/23	Inception (4/19/22) to 9/30/23	Inception (4/19/22) to 9/30/23
Fund Performance
NAV	30.66%	-2.34%	-3.37%
Market Price	30.48%	-2.23%	-3.21%
Index Performance
Indxx Metaverse Index	31.64%	-1.49%	-2.16%
MSCI ACWI Index	20.80%	-1.93%	-2.78%

(See Notes to Fund Performance Overview on page 10.)

Performance Review

The Fund generated a NAV return of 30.66% during the 12-month period covered by this report. During the same period, the MSCI ACWI Index (the “Benchmark”) generated a return of 20.80%. Two sectors carried most of the weight in the Fund during the period. The Information Technology sector received an allocation of 55.8% and contributed 20.2% to the Fund’s return and the Communication Services sector received an allocation of 38.7% and contributed 8.9% to the Fund’s return. The only negatively contributing sector was the Health Care sector, in which the Fund held only one security. Teladoc Health, Inc. received a 1.2% allocation and created a -0.4% contribution to the Fund’s overall return. The Fund’s currency exposure had a 0.4% impact on performance during the period covered by this report.

Indxx and Indxx Metaverse Index (“Index”) are trademarks of Indxx, Inc. (“Indxx”) and have been licensed for use for certain purposes by First Trust. The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Indxx and Indxx makes no representation regarding the advisability of trading in such product. The Index is determined, composed and calculated by Indxx without regard to First Trust or the Fund.

Page 6

Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited) (Continued)

First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF (ARVR) (Continued)

Sector Allocation	% of Total Long-Term Investments
Information Technology	55.5%
Communication Services	40.7
Consumer Discretionary	2.8
Health Care	1.0
Total	100.0%

Top Ten Holdings	% of Total Long-Term Investments
Xiaomi Corp., Class B	3.5%
Micron Technology, Inc.	3.4
Intel Corp.	3.4
Activision Blizzard, Inc.	3.4
Synopsys, Inc.	3.3
Adobe, Inc.	3.2
Zoom Video Communications, Inc., Class A	3.2
Amphenol Corp., Class A	3.2
NetEase, Inc.	3.1
Meta Platforms, Inc., Class A	3.1
Total	32.8%

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

Page 7

Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited) (Continued)

First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF (EMDM)

The First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an equity index called the Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies Index (the “Index”). The shares of the Fund are listed and trade on the NYSE Arca, Inc. under the ticker symbol “EMDM.” The Fund will normally invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in the common stocks, depositary receipts, preferred shares, real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) and other securities that comprise the Index. The Index is owned and was developed and sponsored by Bloomberg Index Services Limited (the “Index Provider”). The Index Provider is not affiliated with the Fund, the Fund’s investment advisor or the Fund’s distributor. According to the Index Provider, the Index is constructed to track the performance of companies within emerging market countries, as determined by the Index Provider, that meet minimum political rights and civil liberties standards to qualify as Electoral Democracies according to Freedom House, a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington D.C. that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. According to the Index Provider, to be eligible for inclusion in the Index, a security must be a constituent of the Bloomberg Emerging Markets Large & Mid Cap universe, meet the market capitalization and liquidity standards of the Index and belong to a country that is classified as an Electoral Democracy according to data from Freedom House.

Performance
	Cumulative Total Returns
	Inception (3/2/23) to 9/30/23
Fund Performance
NAV	0.83%
Market Price	1.18%
Index Performance
Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies Index	2.11%
MSCI Emerging Markets Index	-0.75%

(See Notes to Fund Performance Overview on page 10.)

Performance Review

The Fund generated a NAV return of 0.83% from the Fund’s inception on March 2, 2023 through September 30, 2023. During the same period, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (the “Benchmark”) generated a return of -0.75%. During the same period, the Fund gave a nearly equal allocation to investments in six countries:South Korea, 15.5%; Mexico, 15.5%; Brazil, 15.3%; India, 14.9%; Taiwan, 14.6%; and South Africa, 13.1%. The greatest contributor to the Fund’s return were investments in Brazil, which contributed 2.5% to the Fund’s overall return. The greatest drag on the Fund’s performance came from investments in Chile. The Fund invested in only two Chilean securities, but their combined contribution to the Fund’s return was -1.4%. The Fund’s currency exposure had a -1.4% impact on performance during the period covered by this report.

“Bloomberg®” and Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies Index licensed herein (the “Indices”) are service marks of Bloomberg Finance L.P. and its affiliates, including Bloomberg Index Services Limited (“BISL”), the administrator of the Indices (collectively, “Bloomberg”) and have been licensed for use for certain purposes by First Trust Advisors L.P. (the “Licensee”). Bloomberg is not affiliated with the Licensee, and Bloomberg does not approve, endorse, review, or recommend the financial products referenced herein (the “Financial Products”). Bloomberg does not guarantee the timeliness, accurateness, or completeness of any data or information relating to the Indices or the Financial Products.

Page 8

Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited) (Continued)

First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF (EMDM) (Continued)

Sector Allocation	% of Total Long-Term Investments
Financials	25.0%
Information Technology	22.8
Materials	13.8
Energy	8.6
Consumer Staples	7.8
Consumer Discretionary	6.7
Industrials	6.5
Communication Services	5.7
Utilities	2.3
Health Care	0.8
Total	100.0%

Top Ten Holdings	% of Total Long-Term Investments
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.	8.1%
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.	7.9
Naspers Ltd., Class N	4.1
Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.	3.8
Grupo Mexico S.A.B. de C.V.	3.6
Vale S.A.	3.2
ORLEN S.A.	3.1
Grupo Financiero Banorte S.A.B. de C.V., Class O	2.9
Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V.	2.9
HDFC Bank Ltd.	2.6
Total	42.2%

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

Page 9

Notes to Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited)

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

Each 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 the Securities and Exchange Commission’s 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 each Fund did not trade in the secondary market until after the Fund’s inception, for the period from inception to the first day of secondary market trading in shares of the Fund, the NAV of each 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 each Fund at NAV and Market Price, respectively.

An index is a statistical composite that tracks a specified financial market or sector. Unlike each Fund, the indices do not actually hold a portfolio of securities and therefore do not incur the expenses incurred by each Fund. These expenses negatively impact the performance of each 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 indices. 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 each Fund will vary with changes in market conditions. Shares of each Fund may be worth more or less than their original cost when they are redeemed or sold in the market. Each Fund’s past performance is no guarantee of future performance.

Page 10

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II
Understanding Your Fund Expenses
September 30, 2023 (Unaudited)

As a shareholder of First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF, First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF, or First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF (each a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”), 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 (in U.S. dollars) of investing in the Funds 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 September 30, 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 each Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not each 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 Funds 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 April 1, 2023	Ending Account Value September 30, 2023	Annualized Expense Ratio Based on the Six-Month Period	Expenses Paid During the Six-Month Period (a)
First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF (EKG)
Actual	$1,000.00	$819.20	0.65%	$2.96
Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)	$1,000.00	$1,021.81	0.65%	$3.29
First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF (ARVR)
Actual	$1,000.00	$990.60	0.70%	$3.49
Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)	$1,000.00	$1,021.56	0.70%	$3.55
First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF (EMDM)
Actual	$1,000.00	$994.20	0.75%	$3.75
Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)	$1,000.00	$1,021.31	0.75%	$3.80

(a)	Expenses are equal to the annualized expense ratio as indicated in the table multiplied by the average account value over the period (April 1, 2023 through September 30, 2023), multiplied by 183/365 (to reflect the six-month period).

Page 11

First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF (EKG)
Portfolio of Investments
September 30, 2023

Shares	Description	Value
COMMON STOCKS — 100.0%
	Biotechnology — 8.7%
385	Exact Sciences Corp. (a)	$26,265
283	Myriad Genetics, Inc. (a)	4,539
472	Natera, Inc. (a)	20,886
187	Twist Bioscience Corp. (a)	3,788
245	Veracyte, Inc. (a)	5,471
		60,949
	Health Care Equipment & Supplies — 52.2%
174	Align Technology, Inc. (a)	53,126
356	Alphatec Holdings, Inc. (a)	4,617
195	Axonics, Inc. (a)	10,943
639	Dexcom, Inc. (a)	59,619
95	Establishment Labs Holdings, Inc. (a)	4,662
444	Globus Medical, Inc., Class A (a)	22,045
431	Hologic, Inc. (a)	29,911
121	Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. (a)	24,011
168	Insulet Corp. (a)	26,794
206	Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (a)	60,212
92	iRhythm Technologies, Inc. (a)	8,672
139	Masimo Corp. (a)	12,188
162	QuidelOrtho Corp. (a)	11,832
202	ResMed, Inc.	29,870
193	Tandem Diabetes Care, Inc. (a)	4,009
99	TransMedics Group, Inc. (a)	5,420
		367,931
	Health Care Providers & Services — 6.5%
227	Accolade, Inc. (a)	2,402
76	Fulgent Genetics, Inc. (a)	2,032
416	Guardant Health, Inc. (a)	12,330
675	Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (a)	4,246
446	NeoGenomics, Inc. (a)	5,486
377	Privia Health Group, Inc. (a)	8,671
310	Progyny, Inc. (a)	10,546
		45,713
	Health Care Technology — 12.9%
449	Doximity, Inc., Class A (a)	9,528
218	Health Catalyst, Inc. (a)	2,206
183	Schrodinger, Inc. (a)	5,174
597	Teladoc Health, Inc. (a)	11,098
309	Veeva Systems, Inc., Class A (a)	62,866
		90,872
	Life Sciences Tools & Services — 19.7%
362	10X Genomics, Inc., Class A (a)	14,933
512	Adaptive Biotechnologies Corp. (a)	2,790

Shares	Description	Value

	Life Sciences Tools & Services (Continued)
393	Cytek Biosciences, Inc. (a)	$2,169
195	Illumina, Inc. (a)	26,770
290	IQVIA Holdings, Inc. (a)	57,057
784	Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (a)	6,546
709	QIAGEN N.V. (a)	28,715
		138,980
	Total Common Stocks	704,445
	(Cost $937,261)
MONEY MARKET FUNDS — 0.1%
724	Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds - Treasury Portfolio - Institutional Class - 5.20% (b)	724
	(Cost $724)


	Total Investments — 100.1%	705,169
	(Cost $937,985)
	Net Other Assets and Liabilities — (0.1)%	(401 )
	Net Assets — 100.0%	$704,768

(a)	Non-income producing security.
(b)	Rate shown reflects yield as of September 30, 2023.

Valuation Inputs

A summary of the inputs used to value the Fund’s investments as of September 30, 2023 is as follows (see Note 2A - Portfolio Valuation in the Notes to Financial Statements):

	Total Value at 9/30/2023	Level 1 Quoted Prices	Level 2 Significant Observable Inputs	Level 3 Significant Unobservable Inputs
Common Stocks*	$ 704,445	$ 704,445	$ —	$ —
Money Market Funds	724	724	—	—
Total Investments	$705,169	$705,169	$—	$—

*	See Portfolio of Investments for industry breakout.

See Notes to Financial Statements

Page 12

First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF (ARVR)
Portfolio of Investments
September 30, 2023

Shares	Description	Value
COMMON STOCKS (a) — 99.8%
	Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components — 6.5%
550	Amphenol Corp., Class A	$46,194
32,501	AUO Corp. (TWD)	16,512
4,602	Sunny Optical Technology Group Co., Ltd. (HKD)	32,142
		94,848
	Entertainment — 32.4%
526	Activision Blizzard, Inc.	49,249
516	Capcom Co., Ltd. (JPY)	18,621
1,530	DeNA Co., Ltd. (JPY)	15,405
345	Electronic Arts, Inc.	41,538
982	GungHo Online Entertainment, Inc. (JPY)	15,534
1,136	Koei Tecmo Holdings Co., Ltd. (JPY)	16,181
1,062	Mixi, Inc. (JPY)	16,874
2,242	NetEase, Inc. (HKD)	45,660
105	Netflix, Inc. (b)	39,648
530	Netmarble Corp. (KRW) (b) (c) (d)	16,535
2,312	Nexon Co., Ltd. (JPY)	41,422
1,040	Nintendo Co., Ltd. (JPY)	43,419
1,064	ROBLOX Corp., Class A (b)	30,813
410	Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd. (JPY)	14,081
316	Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (b)	44,363
682	Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. (EUR) (b)	22,211
		471,554
	Health Care Technology — 1.0%
780	Teladoc Health, Inc. (b)	14,500
	Household Durables — 2.8%
494	Sony Group Corp. (JPY)	40,520
	Interactive Media & Services — 8.2%
150	Meta Platforms, Inc., Class A (b)	45,032
3,488	Snap, Inc., Class A (b)	31,078
1,100	Tencent Holdings Ltd. (HKD)	43,006
		119,116
	IT Services — 1.2%
899	Keywords Studios PLC (GBP)	16,975
	Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment — 26.5%
407	Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (b)	41,848
1,391	Intel Corp.	49,450

Shares	Description	Value

	Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment (Continued)
510	Microchip Technology, Inc.	$39,805
730	Micron Technology, Inc.	49,662
102	NVIDIA Corp.	44,369
383	QUALCOMM, Inc.	42,536
893	STMicroelectronics N.V. (EUR)	38,750
446	Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., ADR	38,757
257	Texas Instruments, Inc.	40,866
		386,043
	Software — 14.8%
91	Adobe, Inc. (b)	46,401
138	Microsoft Corp.	43,574
105	Synopsys, Inc. (b)	48,192
1,006	Unity Software, Inc. (b)	31,578
661	Zoom Video Communications, Inc., Class A (b)	46,230
		215,975
	Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals — 6.4%
247	Apple, Inc.	42,289
32,024	Xiaomi Corp., Class B (HKD) (b) (c) (d)	50,457
		92,746


	Total Investments — 99.8%	1,452,277
	(Cost $1,522,276)
	Net Other Assets and Liabilities — 0.2%	2,619
	Net Assets — 100.0%	$1,454,896

(a)	Securities are issued in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated in the security description.
(b)	Non-income producing security.
(c)	This security is exempt from registration upon resale under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”) and may be resold in transactions exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers. This security is not restricted on the foreign exchange where it trades freely without any additional registration. As such, it does not require the additional disclosure required of restricted securities.
(d)	This security may be resold to qualified foreign investors and foreign institutional buyers under Regulation S of the 1933 Act.

See Notes to Financial Statements

Page 13

First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF (ARVR)
Portfolio of Investments (Continued)
September 30, 2023

Abbreviations throughout the Portfolio of Investments:
ADR	– American Depositary Receipt
EUR	– Euro
GBP	– British Pound Sterling
HKD	– Hong Kong Dollar
JPY	– Japanese Yen
KRW	– South Korean Won
TWD	– New Taiwan Dollar

Currency Exposure Diversification	% of Total Investments
United States Dollar	65.3%
Japanese Yen	15.3
Hong Kong Dollar	11.8
Euro	4.2
British Pound Sterling	1.2
South Korean Won	1.1
New Taiwan Dollar	1.1
Total	100.0%

Country Allocation†	% of Net Assets
United States	62.5%
Japan	15.2
Cayman Islands	11.8
Taiwan	3.8
Netherlands	2.7
France	1.5
United Kingdom	1.2
South Korea	1.1
Total Investments	99.8
Net Other Assets and Liabilities	0.2
Total	100.0%

†	Portfolio securities are categorized based upon their country of incorporation, which can be different from the country categorization of the Fund’s underlying index.

Valuation Inputs

A summary of the inputs used to value the Fund’s investments as of September 30, 2023 is as follows (see Note 2A - Portfolio Valuation in the Notes to Financial Statements):

	Total Value at 9/30/2023	Level 1 Quoted Prices	Level 2 Significant Observable Inputs	Level 3 Significant Unobservable Inputs
Common Stocks*	$ 1,452,277	$ 1,452,277	$ —	$ —

*	See Portfolio of Investments for industry breakout.

See Notes to Financial Statements

Page 14

First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF (EMDM)
Portfolio of Investments
September 30, 2023

Shares	Description	Value
COMMON STOCKS (a) — 99.8%
	Brazil — 16.8%
8,196	Ambev S.A.	$21,376
10,999	B3 S.A. - Brasil Bolsa Balcao	26,893
12,194	Banco Bradesco S.A. (Preference Shares)	34,691
5,176	Banco BTG Pactual S.A.	31,994
2,643	Banco do Brasil S.A.	24,808
7,361	Banco Santander Brasil S.A.	38,148
9,684	Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (Preference Shares)	52,422
11,212	Itausa S.A. (Preference Shares)	20,186
1,535	Localiza Rent a Car S.A.	17,883
16,240	Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Preference Shares)	111,916
7,040	Vale S.A.	94,650
2,804	WEG S.A.	20,233
		495,200
	Cayman Islands — 0.2%
918	Chailease Holding Co., Ltd.	5,147
	Chile — 2.4%
1,185	Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A., Class B (Preference Shares)	70,477
	Czech Republic — 1.9%
1,299	CEZ AS	55,174
	India — 16.5%
400	Asian Paints Ltd.	15,226
141	Avenue Supermarts Ltd. (b) (c) (d)	6,241
1,606	Axis Bank Ltd.	20,050
150	Bajaj Finance Ltd.	14,109
323	Bajaj Finserv Ltd.	5,991
1,269	Bharti Airtel Ltd.	14,157
580	HCL Technologies Ltd.	8,625
4,238	HDFC Bank Ltd.	77,895
469	Hindustan Unilever Ltd.	13,925
3,856	ICICI Bank Ltd.	44,201
417	IndusInd Bank Ltd.	7,175
1,940	Infosys Ltd.	33,535
4,261	ITC Ltd.	22,803
760	Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.	15,885
593	Larsen & Toubro Ltd.	21,591
522	Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.	9,770
74	Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.	9,455
20	Nestle India Ltd.	5,421
2,491	NTPC Ltd.	7,366
2,410	Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd.	5,797
1,775	Reliance Industries Ltd.	50,124
16	Shree Cement Ltd.	4,907
1,875	State Bank of India	13,515

Shares	Description	Value

	India (Continued)
583	Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.	$8,134
520	Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.	22,096
1,063	Tata Motors Ltd.	8,067
4,311	Tata Steel Ltd.	6,692
219	Titan Co., Ltd.	8,304
65	UltraTech Cement Ltd.	6,461
		487,518
	Mexico — 15.1%
75,984	America Movil S.A.B. de C.V., Series B	65,792
53,813	Cemex S.A.B. de C.V., Series CPO (c)	35,109
7,683	Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V., Series UBD	83,908
10,251	Grupo Financiero Banorte S.A.B. de C.V., Class O	85,943
22,370	Grupo Mexico S.A.B. de C.V., Series B	105,884
18,306	Wal-Mart de Mexico S.A.B. de C.V.	68,907
		445,543
	Philippines — 1.5%
2,979	SM Investments Corp.	44,414
	Poland — 3.0%
6,702	ORLEN S.A.	90,052
	South Africa — 12.0%
21,965	FirstRand Ltd.	74,084
4,553	Gold Fields Ltd.	49,371
8,105	MTN Group Ltd.	48,308
761	Naspers Ltd., Class N	121,605
6,210	Standard Bank Group Ltd.	60,258
		353,626
	South Korea — 15.1%
82	Celltrion, Inc.	8,459
41	Ecopro BM Co., Ltd.	7,687
223	Hana Financial Group, Inc.	7,015
46	Hyundai Mobis Co., Ltd.	8,199
100	Hyundai Motor Co.	14,162
235	Kakao Corp.	7,654
269	KB Financial Group, Inc.	11,024
190	Kia Corp.	11,461
36	LG Chem Ltd.	13,246
83	LG Electronics, Inc.	6,206
20	LG Energy Solution Ltd. (c)	7,063
111	NAVER Corp.	16,575
51	POSCO Holdings, Inc.	20,220
15	Samsung Biologics Co., Ltd. (b) (c) (d)	7,570
4,699	Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.	238,189
40	Samsung SDI Co., Ltd.	15,177

See Notes to Financial Statements

Page 15

First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF (EMDM)
Portfolio of Investments (Continued)
September 30, 2023

Shares	Description	Value
COMMON STOCKS (a) (Continued)
	South Korea (Continued)
380	Shinhan Financial Group Co., Ltd.	$10,025
415	SK Hynix, Inc.	35,275
		445,207
	Taiwan — 14.1%
2,204	ASE Technology Holding Co., Ltd.	7,476
5,534	Cathay Financial Holding Co., Ltd.	7,637
6,962	China Steel Corp.	5,446
3,108	Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd.	11,169
11,143	CTBC Financial Holding Co., Ltd.	8,457
1,141	Delta Electronics, Inc.	11,470
8,406	E.Sun Financial Holding Co., Ltd.	6,315
987	Evergreen Marine Corp. Taiwan Ltd.	3,547
6,573	First Financial Holding Co., Ltd.	5,406
2,880	Formosa Plastics Corp.	7,120
4,504	Fubon Financial Holding Co., Ltd.	8,469
7,041	Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.	22,684
846	MediaTek, Inc.	19,263
6,402	Mega Financial Holding Co., Ltd.	7,477
2,916	Nan Ya Plastics Corp.	6,016
329	Novatek Microelectronics Corp.	4,311
1,606	Quanta Computer, Inc.	11,916
6,022	Taiwan Cooperative Financial Holding Co., Ltd.	4,776
1,437	Taiwan Mobile Co., Ltd.	4,211
14,338	Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.	232,300
2,898	Uni-President Enterprises Corp.	6,293
6,334	United Microelectronics Corp.	8,869
7,304	Yuanta Financial Holding Co., Ltd.	5,668
		416,296
	United Kingdom — 1.2%
2,157	Anglogold Ashanti PLC	34,715
	Total Common Stocks	2,943,369
	(Cost $3,153,024)

Shares	Description	Value
RIGHTS — 0.0%
	Brazil — 0.0%
11	Localiza Rent a Car S.A., expiring 11/21/23 (c) (e)	$35
	(Cost $0)


	Total Investments — 99.8%	2,943,404
	(Cost $3,153,024)
	Net Other Assets and Liabilities — 0.2%	5,654
	Net Assets — 100.0%	$2,949,058

(a)	Portfolio securities are categorized based upon their country of incorporation, which can be different from the country categorization of the Fund’s underlying index. For a breakdown of the portfolio securities by sector, please see the Fund Performance Overview.
(b)	This security is exempt from registration upon resale under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”) and may be resold in transactions exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers. This security is not restricted on the foreign exchange where it trades freely without any additional registration. As such, it does not require the additional disclosure required of restricted securities.
(c)	Non-income producing security.
(d)	This security may be resold to qualified foreign investors and foreign institutional buyers under Regulation S of the 1933 Act.
(e)	Pursuant to procedures adopted by the Trust’s Board of Trustees, this security has been determined to be illiquid by First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund’s advisor.

Currency Exposure Diversification	% of Total Investments
Brazilian Real	16.8%
Indian Rupee	16.6
Mexican Peso	15.1
South Korean Won	15.1
New Taiwan Dollar	14.3
South African Rand	13.2
Polish Zloty	3.1
Chilean Peso	2.4
Czech Republic Koruna	1.9
Philippines Peso	1.5
Total	100.0%

See Notes to Financial Statements

Page 16

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II
Statements of Operations
For the Period Ended September 30, 2023

	First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF (EKG)	First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF (ARVR)	First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF (EMDM) (a)
INVESTMENT INCOME:
Dividends	$552	$15,418	$55,799
Foreign withholding tax	—	(799 )	(6,230 )
Total investment income	552	14,619	49,569

EXPENSES:
Investment advisory fees	5,411	9,725	7,643
Total expenses	5,411	9,725	7,643
NET INVESTMENT INCOME (LOSS)	(4,859 )	4,894	41,926

NET REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS):
Net realized gain (loss) on:
Investments	(81,418 )	(45,507 )	(4,053 )
In-kind redemptions	34,583	—	—
Foreign currency transactions	—	(415 )	(7,689 )
Foreign capital gains tax	—	—	(214 )
Net realized gain (loss)	(46,835 )	(45,922 )	(11,956 )
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on:
Investments	60,999	382,641	(209,620 )
Foreign currency translation	—	2	(145 )
Deferred foreign capital gains tax	—	—	(2,126 )
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)	60,999	382,643	(211,891 )
NET REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS)	14,164	336,721	(223,847 )
NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS	$9,305	$341,615	$(181,921 )

(a)	Inception date is March 2, 2023, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established.

See Notes to Financial Statements

Page 19

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II
Statements of Changes in Net Assets

	First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF (EKG)
	Year Ended 9/30/2023	Period Ended 9/30/2022 (a)
OPERATIONS:
Net investment income (loss)	$(4,859 )	$(4,916 )
Net realized gain (loss)	(46,835 )	(254,104 )
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)	60,999	(293,815 )
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations	9,305	(552,835 )

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS FROM:
Investment operations	—	—

SHAREHOLDER TRANSACTIONS:
Proceeds from shares sold	824,516	2,043,810
Cost of shares redeemed	(837,447 )	(782,581 )
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from shareholder transactions	(12,931 )	1,261,229
Total increase (decrease) in net assets	(3,626 )	708,394

NET ASSETS:
Beginning of period	708,394	—
End of period	$704,768	$708,394

CHANGES IN SHARES OUTSTANDING:
Shares outstanding, beginning of period	50,002	—
Shares sold	50,000	100,002
Shares redeemed	(50,000 )	(50,000 )
Shares outstanding, end of period	50,002	50,002

(a)	Inception date is March 22, 2022, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established.
(b)	Inception date is April 19, 2022, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established.
(c)	Inception date is March 2, 2023, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established.

See Notes to Financial Statements

Page 20

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II
Financial Highlights
For a share outstanding throughout each period

First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF (EKG)

	Year Ended 9/30/2023	Period Ended 9/30/2022 (a)
	Year Ended 9/30/2023	Period Ended 9/30/2022 (a)
Net asset value, beginning of period	$14.17	$20.44
Income from investment operations:
Net investment income (loss)	(0.10 ) (b)	(0.10 )
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	0.02	(6.17 )
Total from investment operations	(0.08 )	(6.27 )
Net asset value, end of period	$14.09	$14.17
Total return (c)	(0.56 )%	(30.68 )%

Ratios to average net assets/supplemental data:
Net assets, end of period (in 000’s)	$705	$708
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets	0.65 %	0.65 % (d)
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets	(0.58 )%	(0.61 )% (d)
Portfolio turnover rate (e)	18 %	5 %

(a)	Inception date is March 22, 2022, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established.
(b)	Based on average shares outstanding.
(c)	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.
(d)	Annualized.
(e)	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 22

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II
Financial Highlights (Continued)
For a share outstanding throughout each period

First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF (ARVR)

	Year Ended 9/30/2023	Period Ended 9/30/2022 (a)
	Year Ended 9/30/2023	Period Ended 9/30/2022 (a)
Net asset value, beginning of period	$22.34	$30.21
Income from investment operations:
Net investment income (loss)	0.10 (b)	0.06
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	6.74	(7.93 )
Total from investment operations	6.84	(7.87 )
Distributions paid to shareholders from:
Net investment income	(0.08 )	—
Net asset value, end of period	$29.10	$22.34
Total return (c)	30.66 %	(26.05 )%

Ratios to average net assets/supplemental data:
Net assets, end of period (in 000’s)	$1,455	$1,117
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets	0.70 %	0.70 % (d)
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets	0.35 %	0.28 % (d)
Portfolio turnover rate (e)	31 %	11 %

(a)	Inception date is April 19, 2022, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established.
(b)	Based on average shares outstanding.
(c)	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.
(d)	Annualized.
(e)	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 23

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II
Financial Highlights (Continued)
For a share outstanding throughout the period

First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF (EMDM)

	Period Ended 9/30/2023 (a)
	Period Ended 9/30/2023 (a)
Net asset value, beginning of period	$19.81
Income from investment operations:
Net investment income (loss) (b)	0.49
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	(0.31 )
Total from investment operations	0.18
Distributions paid to shareholders from:
Net investment income	(0.33 )
Net asset value, end of period	$19.66
Total return (c)	0.83 %

Ratios to average net assets/supplemental data:
Net assets, end of period (in 000’s)	$2,949
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets	0.75 % (d)
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets	4.11 % (d)
Portfolio turnover rate (e)	12 %

(a)	Inception date is March 2, 2023, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established.
(b)	Based on average shares outstanding.
(c)	Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption at net asset value on the last day of the period. The return presented does not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption or sale of Fund shares. Total return is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year.
(d)	Annualized.
(e)	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 24

Notes to Financial Statements

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II
September 30, 2023

1. Organization

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II (the “Trust”) is an open-end management investment company organized as a Massachusetts business trust on July 6, 2006, 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 eighteen exchange-traded funds. This report covers the three funds (each a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”) listed below, each a non-diversified series of the Trust:

First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF – (Nasdaq, Inc. (“Nasdaq”) ticker “EKG”)

First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF – (Nasdaq ticker “ARVR”)

First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF – (NYSE Arca, Inc. ticker “EMDM”)(1)

(1)	Commenced investment operations on March 2, 2023.

Each Fund represents a separate series of shares of beneficial interest in the Trust. Unlike conventional mutual funds, each 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 investment objective of each Fund is to seek investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of the following indices:

Fund	Index
First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF	Nasdaq Lux Health TechTM Index
First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF	Indxx Metaverse Index
First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF	Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies Index

2. Significant Accounting Policies

The Funds are each considered an investment company and follow 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 Funds 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

Each 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. Foreign securities are priced using data reflecting the earlier closing of the principal markets for those securities. Each Fund’s NAV is calculated by dividing the value of all assets of each Fund (including accrued interest and dividends), less all liabilities (including accrued expenses and dividends declared but unpaid), by the total number of shares outstanding.

Each 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 Funds’ 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. Each Fund’s investments are valued as follows:

Common stocks and other equity securities listed on any national or foreign exchange (excluding 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.

Page 25

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II
September 30, 2023

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

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

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

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 a 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.

If the securities in question are foreign securities, the following additional information may be considered:

the value of similar foreign securities traded on other foreign markets;

ADR trading of similar securities;

closed-end fund or exchange-traded fund trading of similar securities;

foreign currency exchange activity;

the trading prices of financial products that are tied to baskets of foreign securities;

factors relating to the event that precipitated the pricing problem;

whether the event is likely to recur;

whether the effects of the event are isolated or whether they affect entire markets, countries or regions; and

other relevant factors.

In addition, differences between the prices used to calculate a Fund’s NAV and the prices used by such Fund’s corresponding index could result in a difference between a Fund’s performance and the performance of its underlying index.

Because foreign markets may be open on different days than the days during which investors may transact in the shares of a Fund, the value of the Fund’s securities may change on the days when investors are not able to transact in the shares of the Fund. The value of the securities denominated in foreign currencies is converted into U.S. dollars using exchange rates determined daily as of the close of regular trading on the NYSE.

Page 26

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II
September 30, 2023

The Funds are 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 each Fund’s investments as of September 30, 2023, is included with each 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 except that certain dividends from foreign securities are recorded as soon as the information becomes available after the ex-dividend date. Interest income, if any, is recorded on the accrual basis.

Withholding taxes and tax reclaims on foreign dividends have been provided for in accordance with each Fund’s understanding of the applicable country’s tax rules and rates.

C. Foreign Currency

The books and records of the Funds are maintained in U.S. dollars. Foreign currencies, investments and other assets and liabilities are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rates prevailing at the end of the period. Purchases and sales of investments and items of income and expense are translated on the respective dates of such transactions. Unrealized gains and losses on assets and liabilities, other than investments in securities, which result from changes in foreign currency exchange rates have been included in “Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on foreign currency translation” on the Statements of Operations. Unrealized gains and losses on investments in securities which result from changes in foreign exchange rates are included with fluctuations arising from changes in market price and are shown in “Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments” on the Statements of Operations. Net realized foreign currency gains and losses include the effect of changes in exchange rates between trade date and settlement date on investment security transactions, foreign currency transactions and interest and dividends received and are included in “Net realized gain (loss) on foreign currency transactions” on the Statements of Operations. The portion of foreign currency gains and losses related to fluctuations in exchange rates between the initial purchase settlement date and subsequent sale trade date is included in “Net realized gain (loss) on investments” on the Statements of Operations.

D. Dividends and Distributions to Shareholders

Dividends from net investment income of each 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 each Fund, if any, are distributed at least annually. A 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 Funds and have no impact on net assets or NAV per share. Temporary differences,

Page 27

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II
September 30, 2023

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 tax character of distributions paid by each Fund during the fiscal period ended September 30, 2023 was as follows:

	Distributions paid from Ordinary Income	Distributions paid from Capital Gains	Distributions paid from Return of Capital
First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF	$—	$—	$—
First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF	3,940	—	—
First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF	26,281	—	—

There were no distributions paid during the fiscal period ended September 30, 2022.

As of September 30, 2023, the components of distributable earnings on a tax basis for each Fund were as follows:

	Undistributed Ordinary Income	Accumulated Capital and Other Gain (Loss)	Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)
First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF	$(3,681 )	$(98,200 )	$(233,050 )
First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF	1,180	(65,665 )	(70,679 )
First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF	9,327	(2,486 )	(215,043 )

E. Income and Other Taxes

Each Fund intends to qualify or 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, each Fund may be subject to an excise tax of 4% of the amount by which approximately 98% of each Fund’s taxable income exceeds the distributions from such taxable income for the calendar year.

Certain countries assess a capital gains tax on securities sold in their local markets. This tax is accrued as the securities in these foreign markets appreciate in value and is paid at the time of sale to the extent a capital gain is realized. Taxes accrued on securities in an unrealized appreciation position are included in “Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on deferred foreign capital gains tax” on the Statements of Operations. The capital gains tax paid on securities sold, if any, is included in “Net realized gain (loss) on foreign capital gains tax” on the Statements of Operations.

India’s Finance Bill, 2018 (“Finance Bill, 2018”) was enacted into law on March 29, 2018 and amongst other provisions, it introduced a long-term capital gains tax beginning April 1, 2018. Long-term capital gains on the sale of listed shares in excess of INR 0.1 million are taxed at the rate of 10% (plus applicable surcharge and cess (which is a type of tax)) subject to satisfaction of certain conditions. Long-term capital gains accruing as of January 31, 2018 are considered exempt due to a grandfather clause in the provision. The aforesaid exemption from long-term capital gains tax is available with respect to shares acquired between October 1, 2004 and March 31, 2018 only if on such acquisitions Securities Transaction Tax (“STT”) was chargeable. Certain exceptions in this regard, such as acquisition of shares in a public offer, bonus, rights issued, etc. for which the condition of chargeability of STT on acquisition is not applicable, have been notified.

In the case of the sale of listed shares held by a Fund for one year or less, the income is classified as short-term capital gains and is taxable at 15% (plus applicable surcharge and cess) provided the shares are sold on the stock exchange and subjected to STT. For above purposes, the applicable rate of surcharge is 2% or 5% (depending on the level of income of the Fund). The Finance Bill, 2018 increases the cess imposed on the sum of tax and surcharge from 3% to 4%. The cess 4% rate is applied to the capital gains tax, resulting in a higher effective rate of capital gains tax.

Where the sale of shares is outside the stock exchange and not subject to STT, the long-term capital gains are taxed at 10% (plus applicable surcharge and cess) and short-term capital gains are taxed at 30% (plus applicable surcharge and cess). The Finance Bill,

Page 28

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II
September 30, 2023

2018, approves the carry forward of long-term capital losses to be offset against long-term capital gains. Short-term losses can be netted against both short-term gains and long-term gains.

Until March 31, 2020, dividends received by a Fund from Indian companies were exempt from tax in India because Indian companies were required to pay dividend distribution tax. The Indian Finance Act, 2020 has amended the dividend taxation framework effective April 1, 2020 and accordingly dividends would now be taxable in the hands of the shareholders at 20%, plus applicable surcharge and cess. Subsequent to the Indian Finance Act, 2020, “The Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Bill, 2020” (the “Bill”) was enacted into law and is effective retroactively to April 1, 2020. The Bill caps the maximum surcharge at 15% of the tax on dividend income earned by the Fund. The highest effective tax rate proposed for non-corporate entities on dividends will be 23.92%. Note the Fund will not obtain relief under the US-India tax treaty as the treaty rate of 25% is higher than the domestic rate. Any excess taxes withheld can be offset against capital gains tax liability during the year or claimed as a refund in the annual tax return.

Please note that the above description is based on current provisions of Indian law, and any change or modification made by subsequent legislation, regulation, or administrative or judicial decision could increase the Indian tax liability of a Fund and thus reduce the return to a Fund’s shareholders. There can be no assurance that the Indian tax authorities and/or regulators will not take a position contrary to the views expressed herein. If the Indian tax authorities and/or regulators take a position contrary to the views expressed herein, adverse unpredictable consequences may follow.

The Funds are 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. For EKG and ARVR, the taxable years ended 2022 and 2023 remain open to federal and state audit. For EMDM, the taxable period ended 2023 remains open to federal and state audit. As of September 30, 2023, management has evaluated the application of these standards to the Funds and has determined that no provision for income tax is required in the Funds’ financial statements for uncertain tax positions.

Each 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. Each 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 September 30, 2023, for federal income tax purposes, each applicable Fund had a capital loss carryforward available that is shown in the following table, 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 each applicable Fund’s shareholders.

	Non-Expiring Capital Loss Carryforwards
First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF	$98,200
First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF	65,665
First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF	2,486

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 period ended September 30, 2023, the following Funds incurred and elected to defer net late year ordinary or capital losses as follows:

	Qualified Late Year Losses
	Ordinary Losses	Capital Losses
First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF	$3,681	$—
First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF	—	—
First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF	—	—

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 Statements 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

Page 29

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II
September 30, 2023

Funds and in-kind transactions. The results of operations and net assets were not affected by these adjustments. For the fiscal period ended September 30, 2023, the adjustments for each Fund were as follows:

	Accumulated Net Investment Income (Loss)	Accumulated Net Realized Gain (Loss) on Investments	Paid-In Capital
First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF	$1,178	$(34,562 )	$33,384
First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF	(415 )	415	—
First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF	(7,773 )	7,773	—

As of September 30, 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)
First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF	$938,219	$8,581	$(241,631 )	$(233,050 )
First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF	1,522,957	140,862	(211,542 )	(70,680 )
First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF	3,156,176	80,135	(292,907 )	(212,772 )

F. 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 Funds, 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 selection and ongoing monitoring of the securities in each Fund’s portfolio, managing the Funds’ business affairs and providing certain administrative services necessary for the management of the Funds.

Pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement between the Trust and the Advisor, First Trust manages the investment of each Fund’s assets and is responsible for the expenses of each Fund including the cost of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit, license fees and other services, but excluding fee payments under the Investment Management Agreement, interest, taxes, 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, acquired fund fees and expenses, and extraordinary expenses, which are paid by each respective Fund. Effective November 1, 2022, the annual unitary management fee payable by each Fund to First Trust for these services will be reduced at certain levels of each Fund’s net assets (“breakpoints”) and calculated pursuant to the following schedule:

Breakpoints	EKG	ARVR	EMDM
Fund net assets up to and including $2.5 billion	0.65000 %	0.7000 %	0.75000 %
Fund net assets greater than $2.5 billion up to and including $5 billion	0.63375 %	0.6825 %	0.73125 %
Fund net assets greater than $5 billion up to and including $7.5 billion	0.61750 %	0.6650 %	0.71250 %
Fund net assets greater than $7.5 billion up to and including $10 billion	0.60125 %	0.6475 %	0.69375 %
Fund net assets greater than $10 billion	0.58500 %	0.6300 %	0.67500 %

Prior to November 1, 2022, EKG and ARVR each paid First Trust an annual unitary management fee equal to 0.65% and 0.70%, respectively, of its average daily net assets.

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 each Fund. As custodian, BNYM is responsible for custody of each Fund’s assets. As fund accountant and administrator, BNYM is responsible for maintaining the books and records of each Fund’s securities and cash. As transfer agent, BNYM is responsible for maintaining shareholder records for each Fund. BNYM is a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, a financial holding company.

Page 30

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II
September 30, 2023

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 period ended September 30, 2023, the cost of purchases and proceeds from sales of investments for each Fund, excluding short-term investments and in-kind transactions, were as follows:

	Purchases	Sales
First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF	$150,855	$155,968
First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF	436,439	433,097
First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF	2,249,261	206,770

For the fiscal period ended September 30, 2023, the cost of in-kind purchases and proceeds from in-kind sales for each Fund were as follows:

	Purchases	Sales
First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF	$824,356	$836,972
First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF	—	—
First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF	1,114,680	—

5. Creations, Redemptions and Transaction Fees

Each 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 a 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, a 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 a 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 a 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 a Fund’s shares and underlying securities provides arbitrage opportunities that are designed to help keep the market price of a Fund’s shares at or close to the NAV per share of the Fund.

Each 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 a Fund times the number of shares in a Creation Unit, plus the fees described above and, if applicable, any operational processing and brokerage costs, transfer fees, stamp taxes and part or all of the spread between the expected bid and offer side of the market related to the securities comprising the creation basket.

Each 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 a Fund times the number of shares in a Creation Unit, minus the fees described above and, if applicable, any operational processing and brokerage costs, transfer fees, stamp taxes and part or all of the spread between the expected bid and offer side of the market related to the securities comprising the redemption basket. Investors who use the services of a broker or other such intermediary in addition to an Authorized

Page 31

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II
September 30, 2023

Participant to effect a redemption of a Creation Unit may also be assessed an amount to cover the cost of such services. The redemption fee charged by a Fund will comply with Rule 22c-2 of the 1940 Act which limits redemption fees to no more than 2% of the value of the shares redeemed.

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 Funds are authorized to pay an amount up to 0.25% of their average daily net assets each year to reimburse First Trust Portfolios L.P. (“FTP”), the distributor of the Funds, 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 Funds, and pursuant to a contractual arrangement, no 12b-1 fees will be paid any time before January 31, 2025 for EKG and ARVR and February 28, 2025 for EMDM.

7. Indemnification

The Trust, on behalf of the Funds, 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 Funds 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 32

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

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

Opinion on the Financial Statements and Financial Highlights

We have audited the accompanying statements of assets and liabilities of First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF, First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF, and First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF (the “Funds”), each a series of the First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II, including the portfolios of investments, as of September 30, 2023, and the related statements of operations, the statement of changes in net assets, and the financial highlights for the periods listed in the table below; and the related notes. In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Funds as of September 30, 2023, and the results of their operations, the changes in their net assets, and the financial highlights for the periods listed in the table below, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Individual Funds Included in the Trust	Statements of Operations	Statements of Changes in Net Assets	Financial Highlights
First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF	For the year ended September 30, 2023	For the year ended September 30, 2023, and for the period from March 22, 2022 (commencement of investment operations) through September 30, 2022
First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF	For the year ended September 30, 2023	For the year ended September 30, 2023, and for the period from April 19, 2022 (commencement of investment operations) through September 30, 2022
First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF	For the period from March 2, 2023 (commencement of investment operations) through September 30, 2023

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Funds’ management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Funds’ 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 Funds 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 Funds are not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of their 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 Funds’ 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 September 30, 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.

/s/ Deloitte & Touche, LLP

Chicago, Illinois
November 21, 2023

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

Page 33

Additional Information

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II
September 30, 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 each 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 each Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com; and (3) on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) website at www.sec.gov.

Portfolio Holdings

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

Federal Tax Information

For the taxable period ended September 30, 2023, the following percentages of income dividend paid by the Funds qualify for the dividends received deduction available to corporations:

	Dividends Received Deduction
First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF	0.00 %
First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF	87.77 %
First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF	0.00 %

For the taxable period ended September 30, 2023, the following percentages of income dividend paid by the Funds are hereby designated as qualified dividend income:

	Qualified Dividend Income
First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF	0.00 %
First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF	87.77 %
First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF	72.72 %

The following Fund meets the requirements of Section 853 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended and elects to pass through to its shareholders credit for foreign taxes paid. For the taxable year ended September 30, 2023, the total amounts of income received by the Fund from sources within foreign countries and possessions of the United States and of taxes paid to such countries are as follows:

	Gross Foreign Income		Foreign Taxes Paid
	Amount	Per Share	Amount	Per Share
First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF	$55,799	$0.37	$6,444	$0.04

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

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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 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

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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.

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

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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.

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 Agreement

Board Considerations Regarding Approval of the Continuation of the Investment Management Agreement
First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF
First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF

The Board of Trustees of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II (the “Trust”), including the Independent Trustees, unanimously approved the continuation of the Investment Management Agreement (the “Agreement”) with First Trust Advisors L.P. (the “Advisor”) on behalf of the following series of the Trust (each a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”):

First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF (EKG)

First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF (ARVR)

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The Board approved the continuation of the Agreement for each Fund for a one-year period ending June 30, 2024 at a meeting held on June 4–5, 2023. The Board determined for each Fund that the continuation of the Agreement 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 for each Fund, 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 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 to each Fund (including the relevant personnel responsible for these services and their experience); the unitary fee rate schedule payable by each 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 expense ratio of each Fund as compared to expense ratios of the funds in the Fund’s Expense Group and Expense Universe; performance information for each Fund; the nature of expenses incurred in providing services to each Fund and the potential for the Advisor to realize economies of scale, if any; profitability and other financial data for the Advisor; any indirect benefits to the Advisor and its affiliate, First Trust Portfolios L.P. (“FTP”); and information on the Advisor’s compliance program. 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. 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 arrangement between the Trust and the Advisor continues to be a reasonable business arrangement from each Fund’s perspective. The Board determined that, given the totality of the information provided with respect to the Agreement, the Board had received sufficient information to renew the Agreement. The Board considered that shareholders chose to invest or remain invested in a Fund knowing that the Advisor manages the Fund and knowing the Fund’s unitary fee.

In reviewing the Agreement for each Fund, the Board considered the nature, extent and quality of the services provided by the Advisor under the Agreement. The Board considered that the Advisor is responsible for the overall management and administration of the Trust and each Fund and reviewed all of the services provided by the Advisor to the Funds, as well as the background and experience of the persons responsible for such services. 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 and each Fund’s compliance with the 1940 Act, as well as each 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 Funds. 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 Funds and the other funds in the First Trust Fund Complex. 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 each Fund by the Advisor under the Agreement have been and are expected to remain satisfactory and that the Advisor has managed each Fund consistent with its investment objective, policies and restrictions.

The Board considered the unitary fee rate schedule payable by each Fund under the Agreement for the services provided. The Board considered that as part of the unitary fee the Advisor is responsible for each Fund’s expenses, including the cost of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other services and license fees, if any, but excluding the fee payment under the Agreement and interest, taxes, 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 Groups, as well as advisory and unitary fee rates charged by the Advisor to other fund (including ETFs) and non-fund clients, as applicable. Because each 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 each Fund was above the median total (net) expense ratio of the peer funds in its respective Expense Group. With respect to the Expense Groups, 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 index

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ETFs, including differences in underlying indexes and index-tracking methodologies that can result in greater management complexities across seemingly comparable ETFs, and different business models that may affect the pricing of services among ETF sponsors. The Board 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 Funds and other non-ETF clients that limited their comparability. In considering the unitary fee rate schedules 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 each Fund and the other funds in the First Trust Fund Complex.

The Board considered performance information for each Fund. The Board noted the process it has established for monitoring each Fund’s performance and portfolio risk on an ongoing basis, which includes quarterly performance reporting from the Advisor for the Funds. The Board determined that this process continues to be effective for reviewing each Fund’s performance. Because ARVR and EKG commenced operations on April 19, 2022 and March 22, 2022, respectively, and therefore each Fund has a limited performance history, comparative performance information for the Funds was not reviewed.

On the basis of all the information provided on the unitary fee for each Fund and the ongoing oversight by the Board, the Board concluded that the unitary fee for each Fund continues to be reasonable and appropriate in light of the nature, extent and quality of the services provided by the Advisor to each Fund under the Agreement.

The Board considered information and discussed with the Advisor whether there were any economies of scale in connection with providing advisory services to the Funds at current asset levels and whether the Funds may benefit from any economies of scale. The Board noted that the unitary fee rate schedule for each 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 Funds 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 Funds would benefit the Advisor, but that the unitary fee structure provides a level of certainty in expenses for shareholders of the Funds. The Board concluded that the unitary fee rate schedule for each 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 each Fund for the period from the Fund’s inception through December 31, 2022 and the estimated profitability level for each Fund calculated by the Advisor based on such data, as well as complex-wide and product-line profitability data, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2022. The Board noted the inherent limitations in the profitability analysis and concluded that, based on the information provided, the Advisor’s profitability level for each Fund was not unreasonable. In addition, the Board considered indirect benefits described by the Advisor that may be realized from its relationship with the Funds. 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 Funds, may have had no dealings with the Advisor or FTP, and noted that the Advisor does not utilize soft dollars in connection with the Funds. The Board concluded that the character and amount of potential indirect benefits to the Advisor 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 Agreement continue to be fair and reasonable and that the continuation of the Agreement is in the best interests of each 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 Funds 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

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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 Funds primarily hold assets that are highly liquid investments, the Funds have not adopted any highly liquid investment minimums.

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.

Page 40

Board of Trustees and Officers

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II
September 30, 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	Retired; Physician, Edward-Elmhurst Medical Group (2021 to September 2023); Physician and Officer, Wheaton Orthopedics (1990 to 2021)	246	None
Thomas R. Kadlec, Trustee (1957)	• Indefinite Term • Since Inception	Retired; President, ADM Investors Services, Inc. (Futures Commission Merchant) (2010 to July 2022)	246	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)	246	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)	246	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)	246	None
Bronwyn Wright, Trustee (1971)	• Indefinite Term • Since 2023	Independent Director to a number of Irish collective investment funds (2009 to present); Various roles at international affiliates of Citibank (1994 to 2009), including Managing Director, Citibank Europe plc and Head of Securities and Fund Services, Citi Ireland (2007 to 2009)	221	None

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Board of Trustees and Officers (Continued)

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II
September 30, 2023 (Unaudited)

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
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)	246	None

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 • Chief Compliance Officer Since January 2011 • Assistant Secretary 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.

(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.

(2)

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

Page 42

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II
September 30, 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 43

	First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF (EKG)	First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF (ARVR)	First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF (EMDM)
ASSETS:
Investments, at value	$705,169	$1,452,277	$2,943,404
Cash	—	2,116	945
Foreign currency, at value	—	—	298
Receivables:
Dividends	1	1,358	7,938
Reclaims	—	3	470
Total Assets	705,170	1,455,754	2,953,055

LIABILITIES:
Payables:
Investment advisory fees	402	858	1,871
Deferred foreign capital gains tax	—	—	2,126
Total Liabilities	402	858	3,997
NET ASSETS	$704,768	$1,454,896	$2,949,058

NET ASSETS consist of:
Paid-in capital	$1,039,199	$1,589,560	$3,155,760
Par value	500	500	1,500
Accumulated distributable earnings (loss)	(334,931 )	(135,164 )	(208,202 )
NET ASSETS	$704,768	$1,454,896	$2,949,058
NET ASSET VALUE, per share	$14.09	$29.10	$19.66
Number of shares outstanding (unlimited number of shares authorized, par value $0.01 per share)	50,002	50,002	150,002
Investments, at cost	$937,985	$1,522,276	$3,153,024
Foreign currency, at cost (proceeds)	$—	$—	$298

Shareholder Letter	2
Market Overview	3
Fund Performance Overview
First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF (EKG)	4
First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF (ARVR)	6
First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF (EMDM)	8
Notes to Fund Performance Overview	10
Understanding Your Fund Expenses	11
Portfolio of Investments
First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF (EKG)	12
First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF (ARVR)	13
First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF (EMDM)	15
Statements of Assets and Liabilities	18
Statements of Operations	19
Statements of Changes in Net Assets	20
Financial Highlights	22
Notes to Financial Statements	25
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm	33
Additional Information	34
Board of Trustees and Officers	41
Privacy Policy	43

First Trust Indxx Metaverse ETF (ARVR)		First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF (EMDM)
Year Ended 9/30/2023	Period Ended 9/30/2022 (b)	Period Ended 9/30/2023 (c)

$4,894	$3,121	$41,926
(45,922 )	(190,428 )	(11,956 )
382,643	(452,641 )	(211,891 )
341,615	(639,948 )	(181,921 )


(3,940 )	—	(26,281 )


—	3,024,808	3,157,260
—	(1,267,639 )	—
—	1,757,169	3,157,260
337,675	1,117,221	2,949,058


1,117,221	—	—
$1,454,896	$1,117,221	$2,949,058


50,002	—	—
—	100,002	150,002
—	(50,000 )	—
50,002	50,002	150,002