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First Trust
Exchange-Traded Fund VI
Prospectus
FUND NAME
TICKER SYMBOL
EXCHANGE
First Trust Dorsey Wright Dynamic Focus 5 ETF
FVC
Nasdaq
First Trust Dorsey Wright Focus 5 ETF
FV
Nasdaq
First Trust Dorsey Wright International Focus 5 ETF
IFV
Nasdaq
First Trust Dorsey Wright Momentum & Dividend ETF
DDIV
Nasdaq
First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund
TDIV
Nasdaq
First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance® ETF
AIRR
Nasdaq
First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF
RDVY
Nasdaq
First Trust S&P International Dividend Aristocrats ETF
FID
Nasdaq
Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund
MDIV
Nasdaq
Each of the funds listed above (each a “Fund, and collectively, the “Funds”) lists and principally trades its shares on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq” or the “Exchange”). Market prices may differ to some degree from the net asset value of the shares. Unlike mutual funds, each Fund issues and redeems shares at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called "Creation Units."
Each Fund is a series of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI (the “Trust”) and an exchange-traded index fund organized as a separate series of a registered management investment company.
Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the shares are not redeemable securities of the Funds.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
NOT FDIC INSUREDMAY LOSE VALUENO BANK GUARANTEE
February 1, 2023

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Summary Information

First Trust Dorsey Wright Dynamic Focus 5 ETF (FVC)
Investment Objective
The First Trust Dorsey Wright Dynamic Focus 5 ETF (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an index called the Dorsey Wright Dynamic Focus FiveTM Index (the “Index”).
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. Investors may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)
None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees(1)
0.30%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees
0.00%
Other Expenses
0.00%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses
0.58%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
0.88%
(1)
Effective November 1, 2022, as approved by the Trust’s Board of Trustees, the management fee paid to First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund's investment advisor, will be reduced at certain levels of Fund net assets (“breakpoints”). See the Fund's Statement of Additional Information for more information on the breakpoints.
Example
The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.
The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain at current levels. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
$90
$281
$488
$1,084
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 164% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund will normally invest at least 80% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) that comprise the Index. The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The ETFs comprising the Index selection universe are advised by First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund’s investment advisor (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”). The Index is owned and was developed by Dorsey Wright & Associates, LLC (the “Index Provider”). The Index Provider has retained Nasdaq, Inc. to calculate and maintain the Index. Nasdaq, Inc. may, from time to time, exercise reasonable discretion as it deems appropriate in order to ensure Index integrity.
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First Trust Dorsey Wright Dynamic Focus 5 ETF (FVC)
The Index is constructed pursuant to the Index Provider’s proprietary methodology, which takes into account the performance of each of the First Trust sector and industry-based ETFs relative to one another. The Index is designed to provide targeted exposure to the five First Trust sector and industry-based ETFs that the Index determines offer the greatest potential to outperform the other First Trust sector and industry-based ETFs and that satisfy certain trading volume and liquidity requirements. In addition to the First Trust sector and industry-based ETFs, the Index may select the First Trust Enhanced Short Maturity ETF (“FTSM”), an ultra-short duration ETF. FTSM is also evaluated and its inclusion and weight in the Index is adjusted based upon its rank relative to the selection universe of sector and industry-based ETFs chosen by the Index.
Relative strength measures the price performance of a security versus a market average, another security or universe of securities. A security’s relative strength can improve if it rises more than the market in an uptrend, or goes down less than the market in a downtrend. The Index uses relative strength to evaluate the momentum of each First Trust sector and industry-based ETF to determine the five ETFs that have the highest level of momentum, which the Index determines have the greatest probability of outperforming the other First Trust sector and industry-based ETFs and that satisfy certain trading volume and liquidity requirements. The Index uses the price data of the selected First Trust sector and industry-based ETFs to perform the relative strength analysis. When determining relative strength, the Index takes into account a variety of factors to track movements and trends of securities prices over various time periods. The Index Provider has constructed the Index to identify longer term trends though a series of observations, which are used to determine the inputs for the relative strength analysis. The Fund may invest in non-U.S. securities, including depositary receipts, companies with various market capitalizations and growth and value stocks. The Fund may also invest in ETFs which invest in asset-backed securities, floating-rate securities, mortgage-related securities, non-agency securities and U.S. government securities.
Security selection for the Index will be conducted in the following manner:
1.
The selection universe of the Index begins with all of the First Trust ETFs and the FTSM.
2.
The Index then identifies the First Trust ETFs that are designed to target a specific sector or industry group, or that have a significant overweight towards a particular sector or industry group. The selected ETFs must also satisfy certain trading volume and liquidity requirements.
3.
The sector and industry-based First Trust ETFs are then ranked using a relative strength methodology that is based upon each ETF’s market performance. Relative strength is a momentum technique that relies on unbiased, unemotional and objective data, rather than biased forecasting and subjective research. Relative strength is a way of recording historic performance patterns, and the Index uses relative strength signals as a trend indicator for current momentum trends of a security versus another security.
4.
The Index then selects the five top-ranking First Trust sector and industry-based ETFs according to the proprietary relative strength methodology for inclusion in the Index.
5.
The Index is evaluated on a bi-monthly basis (occurring in the second and fourth weeks of the month containing a Friday with the exception of the month of December wherein the Index holdings are evaluated once, in the second week of the month containing a Friday), and the five positions within the Index are held as long as those positions continue to suggest that they will outperform the majority of the inventory of other potential First Trust ETFs on a relative basis. An ETF included in the Index will only be removed if it falls to the bottom half of the universe of First Trust sector and industry-based ETFs according to the Index’s relative strength methodology. A new ETF is only added to the Index when a current member is removed. The Index will always be comprised of five First Trust sector and industry-based ETFs. The relative strength analysis is conducted on weeks containing the second and fourth Friday of the month with the exception of the week between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. When a sector or industry ETF addition or deletion is made, the portfolio is rebalanced so each position is equally weighted.
6.
In instances where the relative strength begins to diminish among more than one-third of the potential First Trust sector and industry-based ETFs relative to FTSM, the Index allocates to FTSM. The target allocation to FTSM is equal to the percentile rank of FTSM within the Index’s relative strength rankings. FTSM may constitute between 0% and 95% of the Index; however, the maximum level that FTSM can be increased or decreased during an evaluation week is limited to 33% per evaluation. Changes in FTSM’s allocation within the Index will not cause the five First Trust sector and industry-based ETFs in the Index to be rebalanced back to equally weighted.
The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted periodically and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index’s periodic rebalance and reconstitution schedule may cause the Fund to experience a higher rate of portfolio turnover. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction
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First Trust Dorsey Wright Dynamic Focus 5 ETF (FVC)
or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector. As of December 31, 2022, the Index was composed of the following First Trust ETFs:
First Trust Enhanced Short Maturity ETF
First Trust Energy AlphaDEX® Fund
First Trust Industrial/Producer Durables AlphaDEX® Fund
First Trust Materials AlphaDEX® Fund
First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF
First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF
FTSM
FTSM’s investment objective is to seek current income, consistent with preservation of capital and daily liquidity. Under normal market conditions, FTSM intends to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets in a portfolio of U.S. dollar-denominated fixed and variable rate debt securities, including securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies, instrumentalities or U.S. government-sponsored entities, residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, U.S. corporate bonds, fixed income securities issued by non-U.S. corporations and governments, municipal obligations, privately issued securities and other debt securities bearing fixed or floating interest rates. FTSM may also invest in money market securities. FTSM may invest up to 20% of its net assets in privately-issued, non-agency sponsored mortgage- and asset-backed securities and may invest up to 20% of its net assets in floating rate loans representing amounts borrowed by companies or other entities from banks and other lenders. Under normal market conditions, FTSM’s portfolio is expected to have an average duration of less than one year and an average maturity of less than three years. Additional information regarding FTSM, including its prospectus and most recent annual report, is available without charge by visiting www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/Etf/EtfFundNews.aspx?Ticker=FTSM.
Principal Risks
You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s investment objectives will be achieved. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.
ASSET-BACKED SECURITIES RISK. Under certain market conditions, the Fund may invest in an ETF that holds asset-backed securities. Asset-backed securities are debt securities typically created by buying and pooling loans or other receivables other than mortgage loans and creating securities backed by those similar type assets. As with other debt securities, asset-backed securities are subject to credit risk, extension risk, interest rate risk, liquidity risk and valuation risk. These securities are generally not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and are subject to the risk of default on the underlying asset or loan, particularly during periods of economic downturn. The impairment of the value of collateral or other assets underlying an asset-backed security, such as a result of non-payment of loans or non-performance of underlying assets, may result in a reduction in the value of such asset-backed securities and losses to the Fund.
AUTHORIZED PARTICIPANT CONCENTRATION RISK. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. A limited number of institutions act as authorized participants for the Fund. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders and no other authorized participant steps forward to create or redeem, the Fund’s shares may trade at a premium or discount (the difference between the market price of the Fund's shares and the Fund's net asset value) and possibly face delisting and the bid/ask spread (the difference between the price that someone is willing to pay for shares of the Fund at a specific point in time versus the price at which someone is willing to sell) on the Fund’s shares may widen.
CALL RISK. Under certain market conditions, the Fund may invest in an ETF that is subject to call risk. Some debt securities may be redeemed, or “called,” at the option of the issuer before their stated maturity date. In general, an issuer will call its debt securities if they can be refinanced by issuing new debt securities which bear a lower interest rate. The ETF is subject to the possibility that during periods of falling interest rates an issuer will call its high yielding debt securities. The ETF would then be forced to invest the proceeds at lower interest rates, likely resulting in a decline in the Fund’s income.
CREDIT RISK. Under certain market conditions, the Fund may invest in an ETF that is subject to credit risk. An issuer or other obligated party of a debt security held by an ETF may be unable or unwilling to make dividend, interest and/or principal payments
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First Trust Dorsey Wright Dynamic Focus 5 ETF (FVC)
when due. In addition, the value of a debt security may decline because of concerns about the issuer’s ability or unwillingness to make such payments.
CYBER SECURITY RISK. The Fund is susceptible to operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cyber security breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks through efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cyber security breaches of the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests or the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. Although the Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third-party service providers.
DEBT SECURITIES RISK. Under certain market conditions, the Fund may invest in an ETF that holds debt securities. Investments in debt securities subject the holder to the credit risk of the issuer. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer or other obligor of a security will not be able or willing to make payments of interest and principal when due. Generally, the value of debt securities will change inversely with changes in interest rates. To the extent that interest rates rise, certain underlying obligations may be paid off substantially slower than originally anticipated and the value of those securities may fall sharply. During periods of falling interest rates, the income received by the Fund may decline. If the principal on a debt security is prepaid before expected, the prepayments of principal may have to be reinvested in obligations paying interest at lower rates. Debt securities generally do not trade on a securities exchange making them generally less liquid and more difficult to value than common stock.
DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS RISK. The Fund may invest in ETFs that hold depositary receipts. Depositary receipts represent equity interests in a foreign company that trade on a local stock exchange. Depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. Any distributions paid to the holders of depositary receipts are usually subject to a fee charged by the depositary. Holders of depositary receipts may have limited voting rights, and investment restrictions in certain countries may adversely impact the value of depositary receipts because such restrictions may limit the ability to convert the equity shares into depositary receipts and vice versa. Such restrictions may cause the equity shares of the underlying issuer to trade at a discount or premium to the market price of the depositary receipts.
EQUITY SECURITIES RISK. The Fund invests in ETFs that hold equity securities. The value of an underlying fund’s shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities in which it invests. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors’ perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting an issuer occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market.
ETF RISK. The Fund’s investment in shares of ETFs subjects it to the risks of owning the securities underlying the ETF, as well as the same structural risks faced by an investor purchasing shares of the Fund, including authorized participant concentration risk, market maker risk, premium/discount risk and trading issues risk. As a shareholder in another ETF, the Fund bears its proportionate share of the ETF’s expenses, subjecting Fund shareholders to duplicative expenses.
EXTENSION RISK. Under certain market conditions, the Fund may invest in an ETF that is subject to extension risk. Extension risk is the risk that, when interest rates rise, certain obligations will be paid off by the issuer (or other obligated party) more slowly than anticipated, causing the value of these debt securities to fall. Rising interest rates tend to extend the duration of debt securities, making their market value more sensitive to changes in interest rates. The value of longer-term debt securities generally changes more in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term debt securities. As a result, in a period of rising interest rates, securities may exhibit additional volatility and may lose value.
FLOATING RATE SECURITIES RISK. Under certain market conditions, the Fund may invest in an ETF that holds floating rate securities. Floating rate securities are structured so that the security’s coupon rate fluctuates based upon the level of a reference rate. As a result, the coupon on floating rate securities will generally decline in a falling interest rate environment, causing the Fund to experience a reduction in the income it receives from the security. A floating rate security’s coupon rate resets
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First Trust Dorsey Wright Dynamic Focus 5 ETF (FVC)
periodically according to the terms of the security. Consequently, in a rising interest rate environment, floating rate securities with coupon rates that reset infrequently may lag behind the changes in market interest rates. Floating rate securities may also contain terms that impose a maximum coupon rate the issuer will pay, regardless of the level of the reference rate which would decrease the value of the security.
GROWTH STOCKS INVESTMENT RISK. The Fund invests in ETFs that utilize a growth style of investing. Stocks exhibiting growth characteristics tend to be more volatile than certain other types of stocks and their prices usually fluctuate more dramatically than the overall stock market. A stock with growth characteristics can have sharp price declines due to decreases in current or expected earnings and may lack dividend payments that can help cushion its share price during declining markets.
INCOME RISK. Under certain market conditions, the Fund may invest in an ETF that is subject to income risk. The Fund’s income may decline when interest rates fall or if there are defaults in its portfolio. This decline can occur because the Fund may subsequently invest in lower-yielding securities as debt securities in its portfolio mature, are near maturity or are called, or the Fund otherwise needs to purchase additional debt securities.
INDEX CONCENTRATION RISK. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a single asset class or the securities of issuers within the same country, state, region, industry or sector, an adverse economic, business or political development may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more than if the Fund were more broadly diversified. A significant exposure makes the Fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the Fund to greater market risk than a fund that is more broadly diversified. There may be instances in which the Index, for a variety of reasons including changes in the prices of individual securities held by the Fund, has a larger exposure to a small number of stocks or a single stock relative to the rest of the stocks in the Index. Under such circumstances, the Fund will not deviate from the Index except in rare circumstances or in an immaterial way and therefore the Fund’s returns would be more greatly influenced by the returns of the stock(s) with the larger exposure.
INDEX PROVIDER RISK. There is no assurance that the Index Provider, or any agents that act on its behalf, will compile the Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. The Index Provider and its agents do not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the Index, and do not guarantee that the Index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. The Advisor’s mandate as described in this prospectus is to manage the Fund consistently with the Index provided by the Index Provider. The Advisor relies upon the Index provider and its agents to accurately compile, maintain, construct, reconstitute, rebalance, compose, calculate and disseminate the Index accurately. Therefore, losses or costs associated with any Index Provider or agent errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. To correct any such error, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out an unscheduled rebalance of the Index or other modification of Index constituents or weightings. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where the Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors. For example, during a period where the Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund tracking the Index would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.
INDEX REBALANCE RISK. Pursuant to the methodology that the Index Provider uses to calculate and maintain the Index, the Fund may own a significant portion of the First Trust ETFs included in the Fund. Any such ETF may be removed from the Index in the event that it does not comply with the eligibility requirements of the Index. As a result, the Fund may be forced to sell shares of certain First Trust ETFs at inopportune times or for prices other than at current market values or may elect
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First Trust Dorsey Wright Dynamic Focus 5 ETF (FVC)
not to sell such shares on the day that they are removed from the Index, due to market conditions or otherwise. Due to these factors, the variation between the Fund’s annual return and the return of the Index may increase significantly. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index to, for example, correct an error in the selection of constituents. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances may also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Therefore, errors and additional ad hoc rebalances carried out by the Index Provider may increase the Fund’s costs and market exposure.
INFLATION RISK. Under certain market conditions, the Fund may invest in an ETF that is subject to inflation risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions may decline.
INTEREST RATE RISK. Under certain market conditions, the Fund may invest in an ETF that is subject to interest rate risk. The Fund is subject to interest rate risk because the value of the debt securities held by the ETFs in which the Fund invests will decline with rising market interest rates. Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of the debt securities in an underlying fund’s portfolio will decline because of rising market interest rates. Interest rate risk is generally lower for shorter term debt securities and higher for longer-term debt securities. The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates than would normally be the case due to the current period of historically low rates and the effect of potential government fiscal policy initiatives and resulting market reaction to those initiatives. Duration is a reasonably accurate measure of a debt security’s price sensitivity to changes in interest rates and a common measure of interest rate risk. Duration measures a debt security’s expected life on a present value basis, taking into account the debt security’s yield, interest payments and final maturity. In general, duration represents the expected percentage change in the value of a security for an immediate 1% change in interest rates. For example, the price of a debt security with a three-year duration would be expected to drop by approximately 3% in response to a 1% increase in interest rates. Therefore, prices of debt securities with shorter durations tend to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than debt securities with longer durations. As the value of a debt security changes over time, so will its duration.
LIBOR TRANSITION RISK. The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), which regulates LIBOR, intends to cease making LIBOR available as a reference rate over a phase-out period that began on January 1, 2022. However, subsequent announcements by the FCA, the LIBOR administrators, and other regulators indicate that it is possible that the most widely used LIBOR rates may continue until mid-2023. 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. In the United States, it is anticipated that in many instances the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) will replace LIBOR as the reference rate for many of the floating rate instruments held by the Fund. There is no assurance that the composition or characteristics of SOFR, or any alternative reference rate, 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. As a result, the transition process might lead to increased volatility and reduced liquidity in markets that currently rely on LIBOR to determine interest rates; a reduction in the value of some LIBOR-based investments; increased difficulty in borrowing or refinancing and diminished effectiveness of any applicable hedging strategies against instruments whose terms currently include LIBOR; and/or costs incurred in connection with temporary borrowings and closing out positions and entering into new agreements. Any such effects (as well as other unforeseen effects) of the transition away from LIBOR and the adoption of alternative reference rates could result in losses to the Fund.
LIQUIDITY RISK. Under certain market conditions, the Fund may invest in an ETF that is subject to liquidity risk. The ETF may hold certain investments that may be subject to restrictions on resale, trade over-the-counter or in limited volume, or lack an active trading market. Accordingly, the ETF may not be able to sell or close out of such investments at favorable times or prices (or at all), or at the prices approximating those at which the ETF currently values them. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments and may be subject to wide fluctuations in market value and the bid/ask spread on the ETF's shares may widen.
MARKET MAKER RISK. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares due to a limited number of market markers. Decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. The Fund may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of shares.
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First Trust Dorsey Wright Dynamic Focus 5 ETF (FVC)
Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s net asset value and the price at which the Fund’s shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund’s shares. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a discount to net asset value and also in greater than normal intraday bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.
MARKET RISK. Market risk is the risk that a particular security, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic, political, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of the Fund could decline in value or underperform other investments. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. For example, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While 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. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. These events also adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio securities or other instruments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of the Fund’s shares and result in increased market volatility. During any such events, the Fund’s shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.
MOMENTUM INVESTING RISK. The Fund employs a “momentum” style of investing that emphasizes selecting stocks that have had higher recent price performance compared to other stocks. Momentum can change quickly and stocks that previously exhibited high momentum characteristics may not experience positive momentum or may experience more volatility than the market as a whole. In addition, there may be periods when the momentum style of investing is out of favor and the investment performance of the Fund may suffer.
MORTGAGE-RELATED SECURITIES RISK. Under certain market conditions, the Fund may invest in an ETF that holds mortgage-related securities. Mortgage-related securities are subject to the same risks as investments in other types of debt securities, including credit risk, interest rate risk, liquidity risk and valuation risk. However, these investments make the Fund more susceptible to adverse economic, political or regulatory events that affect the value of real estate. Mortgage-related securities are also significantly affected by the rate of prepayments and modifications of the mortgage loans underlying those securities, as well as by other factors such as borrower defaults, delinquencies, realized or liquidation losses and other shortfalls. The incidence of borrower defaults or delinquencies may rise significantly during financial downturns and could adversely affect the value of mortgage-related securities held by the Fund. Events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, or other events that result in broad and simultaneous financial hardships for individuals and businesses could have a significant negative impact on the value of mortgage-related securities. Mortgage-related securities are particularly sensitive to prepayment risk and extension risk, given that mortgage loans generally allow borrowers to refinance. In periods of declining interest rates, borrowers may be more apt to prepay their mortgage sooner than expected. This can reduce the returns to the security holder as the amount of interest related to the price may be reduced while the proceeds may have to be reinvested at lower prevailing interest rates. This is prepayment risk. In periods of rising interest rates, borrowers may be less likely to refinance than expected thus extending the cash flows of the security such that there is increased downward price sensitivity to interest rate changes. This is extension risk. As the timing and amount of prepayments cannot be accurately predicted, the timing of changes in the rate of prepayments of the mortgage loans may significantly affect the Fund's actual yield to maturity on any mortgage-related securities. Along with prepayment risk, mortgage-related securities are significantly affected by interest rate risk.
NON-AGENCY SECURITIES RISK. Under certain market conditions, the Fund may invest in an ETF that holds non-agency securities. Investments in asset-backed or mortgage-backed securities offered by non-governmental issuers, such as commercial banks, savings and loans, private mortgage insurance companies, mortgage bankers and other secondary market issuers are subject to additional risks. There are no direct or indirect government or agency guarantees of payments in loan pools created by non-government issuers. Securities issued by private issuers are subject to the credit risks of the issuers. An unexpectedly high rate of defaults on the loan pool may adversely affect the value of a non-agency security and could result in losses to the Fund. The risk of such defaults is generally higher in the case of pools that include subprime loans. Non-agency securities are typically traded “over-the-counter” rather than on a securities exchange and there may be a limited market for the securities, especially when there is a perceived weakness in the mortgage and real estate market sectors. Without an active trading market,
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First Trust Dorsey Wright Dynamic Focus 5 ETF (FVC)
the non-agency mortgage-related securities held by the Fund may be particularly difficult to value because of the complexities involved in assessing the value of the underlying loans.
NON-CORRELATION RISK. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. The Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and may incur costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s portfolio holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. In addition, the Fund’s portfolio holdings may not exactly replicate the securities included in the Index or the ratios between the securities included in the Index. Additionally, in order to comply with its investment strategies and policies, the Fund portfolio may deviate from the composition of the Index.
NON-U.S. SECURITIES RISK. The Fund may invest in ETFs that hold non-U.S. securities. Non-U.S. securities are subject to higher volatility than securities of domestic issuers due to possible adverse political, social or economic developments, restrictions on foreign investment or exchange of securities, capital controls, lack of liquidity, currency exchange rates, excessive taxation, government seizure of assets, the imposition of sanctions by foreign governments, different legal or accounting standards, and less government supervision and regulation of securities exchanges in foreign countries.
OPERATIONAL RISK. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Fund's investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
PASSIVE INVESTMENT RISK. The Fund is not actively managed. The Fund invests in securities included in or representative of the Index regardless of investment merit. The Fund generally will not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. In the event that the Index is no longer calculated, the Index license is terminated or the identity or character of the Index is materially changed, the Fund will seek to engage a replacement index.
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER RISK. High portfolio turnover may result in the Fund paying higher levels of transaction costs and may generate greater tax liabilities for shareholders. Portfolio turnover risk may cause the Fund’s performance to be less than expected.
PREMIUM/DISCOUNT RISK. The market price of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the Fund’s net asset value as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on the Exchange. The Fund’s investment advisor cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their net asset value because the shares trade on the Exchange at market prices and not at net asset value. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related, but not identical, to the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. However, given that shares can only be purchased and redeemed in Creation Units, and only to and from broker-dealers and large institutional investors that have entered into participation agreements (unlike shares of closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their net asset value), the Fund’s investment advisor believes that large discounts or premiums to the net asset value of shares should not be sustained. During stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the market for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which could in turn lead to differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.
PREPAYMENT RISK. Under certain market conditions, the Fund may invest in an ETF that is subject to prepayment risk. Prepayment risk is the risk that the issuer of a debt security will repay principal prior to the scheduled maturity date. Debt securities allowing prepayment may offer less potential for gains during a period of declining interest rates, as the ETF may be required to reinvest the proceeds of any prepayment at lower interest rates. These factors may cause the value of an investment in the ETF to change.
SMALLER COMPANIES RISK. The Fund may invest in ETFs that hold the securities of small and/or mid capitalization companies. Small and/or mid capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic developments, and their securities may be less liquid and may experience greater price volatility than larger, more established companies as a result of several factors, including limited trading volumes, fewer products or financial resources, management inexperience and less publicly available information. Accordingly, such companies are generally subject to greater market risk than larger, more established companies.
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First Trust Dorsey Wright Dynamic Focus 5 ETF (FVC)
TRADING ISSUES RISK. Trading in Fund shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Fund shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange’s “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. The Fund may have difficulty maintaining its listing on the Exchange in the event the Fund’s assets are small, the Fund does not have enough shareholders, or if the Fund is unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders.
U.S. GOVERNMENT SECURITIES RISK. Under certain market conditions, the Fund may invest in an ETF that holds U.S. government securities. U.S. government securities are subject to interest rate risk but generally do not involve the credit risks associated with investments in other types of debt securities. As a result, the yields available from U.S. government securities are generally lower than the yields available from other debt securities. U.S. government securities are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and the payment of principal when held to maturity. While securities issued or guaranteed by U.S. federal government agencies (such as Ginnie Mae) are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, securities issued by government sponsored entities (such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) are solely the obligation of the issuer and generally do not carry any guarantee from the U.S. government.
VALUATION RISK. The Fund invests in an ETF that holds securities or other assets that may be valued on the basis of factors other than market quotations. This may occur because the asset or security does not trade on a centralized exchange, or in times of market turmoil or reduced liquidity. There are multiple methods that can be used to value a portfolio holding when market quotations are not readily available. The value established for any portfolio holding at a point in time might differ from what would be produced using a different methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations. Portfolio holdings that are valued using techniques other than market quotations, including “fair valued” assets or securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their valuations from one day to the next than if market quotations were used. In addition, there is no assurance that the Fund could sell or close out a portfolio position for the value established for it at any time, and it is possible that the Fund would incur a loss because a portfolio position is sold or closed out at a discount to the valuation established by the Fund at that time. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.
VALUE STOCKS INVESTMENT RISK. The Fund invests in ETFs that utilize a value style of investing. The intrinsic value of a stock with value characteristics may not be fully recognized by the market for a long time or a stock judged to be undervalued may actually be appropriately priced at a low level.
Annual Total Return
The bar chart and table below illustrate the annual calendar year returns of the Fund based on net asset value as well as the average annual Fund and Index returns. The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns based on net asset value compared to those of the Index and a broad-based market index. See “Total Return Information” for additional performance information regarding the Fund. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com.
First Trust Dorsey Wright Dynamic Focus 5 ETF
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31
11

First Trust Dorsey Wright Dynamic Focus 5 ETF (FVC)
During the periods shown in the chart above:
Best Quarter
 
Worst Quarter
 
18.69%
December 31, 2020
-18.53%
March 31, 2020
The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of any state or local tax. Returns after taxes on distributions reflect the taxed return on the payment of dividends and capital gains. Returns after taxes on distributions and sale of shares assume you sold your shares at period end, and, therefore, are also adjusted for any capital gains or losses incurred. Returns for the market indices do not include expenses, which are deducted from Fund returns, or taxes.
Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares in tax-deferred accounts such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or employee-sponsored retirement plans.
Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2022
 
1 Year
5 Years
Since
Inception
Inception
Date
Return Before Taxes
-5.84%
7.08%
9.30%
3/17/2016
Return After Taxes on Distributions
-6.42%
6.81%
9.00%
 
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares
-3.46%
5.43%
7.32%
 
Dorsey Wright Dynamic Focus FiveTM Index (reflects no
deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
-5.40%
7.43%
9.66%
 
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or
taxes)
-18.11%
9.42%
11.79%
 
Management
Investment Advisor
First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)
Portfolio Managers
The Fund’s portfolio is managed by a team (the “Investment Committee”) consisting of:
Daniel J. Lindquist, Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director of First Trust
Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust
David G. McGarel, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of First Trust
Roger F. Testin, Senior Vice President of First Trust
Stan Ueland, Senior Vice President of First Trust
Chris A. Peterson, Senior Vice President of First Trust
Erik Russo, Vice President of First Trust
The Investment Committee members are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each Investment Committee member has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2016, except Erik Russo, who has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2020.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund issues and redeems shares on a continuous basis, at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called “Creation Units.” Individual shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold on the secondary market through a broker-dealer. Since shares of the Fund trade on securities exchanges in the secondary market at their market price rather than their net asset value, the Fund’s shares may trade at a price greater than (premium) or less than (discount) the Fund’s net asset value. An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares
12

First Trust Dorsey Wright Dynamic Focus 5 ETF (FVC)
of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information, including the Fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, bid-ask spreads and the median bid-ask spread for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year, is available online at https://www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/etf/home.aspx.
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions are taxable and will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains. Distributions on shares held in a tax-deferred account, while not immediately taxable, will be subject to tax when the shares are no longer held in a tax-deferred account.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, bank or other financial intermediary (collectively, “intermediaries”), First Trust and First Trust Portfolios L.P., the Fund’s distributor, may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
13

Summary Information

First Trust Dorsey Wright Focus 5 ETF (FV)
Investment Objective
The First Trust Dorsey Wright Focus 5 ETF (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an index called the Dorsey Wright Focus FiveTM Index (the “Index”).
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. Investors may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)
None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees(1)
0.30%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees
0.00%
Other Expenses
0.00%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses
0.60%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
0.90%
(1)
Effective November 1, 2022, as approved by the Trust’s Board of Trustees, the management fee paid to First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund's investment advisor, will be reduced at certain levels of Fund net assets (“breakpoints”). See the Fund's Statement of Additional Information for more information on the breakpoints.
Example
The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.
The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain at current levels. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
$92
$287
$498
$1,108
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 81% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) that comprise the Index. The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The ETFs comprising the Index selection universe are advised by First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund’s investment advisor. The Index is owned and was developed by Dorsey Wright & Associates, LLC (the “Index Provider”). The Index Provider has retained Nasdaq, Inc. to calculate and maintain the Index. Nasdaq, Inc. may, from time to time, exercise reasonable discretion as it deems appropriate in order to ensure Index integrity.
The Index is constructed pursuant to the Index Provider’s proprietary methodology, which takes into account the performance of each of the First Trust sector-based ETFs relative to one another. The Index is designed to provide targeted exposure to
14

First Trust Dorsey Wright Focus 5 ETF (FV)
the five First Trust sector-based ETFs that the Index Provider believes offer the greatest potential to outperform the other ETFs in the selection universe and that satisfy certain trading volume and liquidity requirements. The Index Provider believes that the most adaptive tool to achieve the goal of discerning the strongest trends versus that of the weakest is relative strength. Relative strength measures the price performance of a security versus a market average, another security or a universe of securities. A security’s relative strength can improve if it rises more than the market in an uptrend, or goes down less than the market in a downtrend. With respect to the Index, the Index Provider uses relative strength to evaluate the momentum of each First Trust sector-based ETF to determine the five ETFs that have the highest level of momentum, which the Index Provider considers to have the greatest probability of outperforming the other First Trust sector-based ETFs. The Index Provider selects the Index’s potential inventory and uses the price data of the selected First Trust ETFs to perform relative strength analysis. When determining relative strength, the Index Provider does not perform the analysis within a finite time period, rather the Index Provider takes into account a variety of factors to track movements and trends of securities prices over various time periods. The Index Provider has constructed the Index to identify longer term trends though a series of observations, which are used to determine the inputs for the relative strength analysis. The Fund may invest in non-U.S. securities, including depositary receipts, companies with various market capitalizations and growth and value stocks.
Security selection for the Index will be conducted in the following manner:
1.
The selection universe of the Index begins with all of the First Trust ETFs.
2.
The Index Provider then identifies the First Trust ETFs that are designed to target a specific sector or industry group, or that have a significant overweight towards a particular sector or industry group.
3.
The components are then ranked using a relative strength methodology that is based upon each ETF’s market performance and characteristics that the Index Provider believes offer the greatest potential to outperform the other ETFs in the selection universe. Relative strength is a momentum technique that relies on unbiased, unemotional and objective data, rather than biased forecasting and subjective research. Relative strength is a way of recording historic performance patterns, and the Index Provider uses relative strength signals as a trend indicator for current momentum trends of a security versus another security.
4.
The Index Provider then uses its proprietary relative strength methodology to select the five top-ranking First Trust ETFs that satisfy trading volume and liquidity requirements for inclusion in the Index.
5.
The Index is evaluated on a bi-monthly basis (occurring in the second and fourth weeks of the month containing a Friday with the exception of the month of December wherein the Index holdings are evaluated once, in the second week of the month containing a Friday), and the five positions within the Index are held as long as those positions continue to suggest that they will outperform the majority of the inventory of other potential First Trust ETFs on a relative basis. An Index component will only be removed if it falls to the bottom half of the universe of First Trust ETFs according to the Index Provider’s proprietary relative strength methodology. An ETF is only added to the Index when a current member is removed. The Index will always be comprised of five First Trust ETFs. On the day that an addition or deletion is made to the Index, the Index is rebalanced so that the components are equally weighted.
The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted periodically and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index’s periodic rebalance and reconstitution schedule may cause the Fund to experience a higher rate of portfolio turnover. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector. As of December 31, 2022, the Index was composed of the following First Trust ETFs:
First Trust Energy AlphaDEX® Fund
First Trust Industrials/Producer Durables AlphaDEX® Fund
First Trust Materials AlphaDEX® Fund
First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage Fund
First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF
Principal Risks
You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s investment objectives will be achieved. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.
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First Trust Dorsey Wright Focus 5 ETF (FV)
AUTHORIZED PARTICIPANT CONCENTRATION RISK. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. A limited number of institutions act as authorized participants for the Fund. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders and no other authorized participant steps forward to create or redeem, the Fund’s shares may trade at a premium or discount (the difference between the market price of the Fund's shares and the Fund's net asset value) and possibly face delisting and the bid/ask spread (the difference between the price that someone is willing to pay for shares of the Fund at a specific point in time versus the price at which someone is willing to sell) on the Fund’s shares may widen.
CYBER SECURITY RISK. The Fund is susceptible to operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cyber security breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks through efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cyber security breaches of the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests or the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. Although the Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third-party service providers.
DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS RISK. The Fund may invest in ETFs that hold depositary receipts. Depositary receipts represent equity interests in a foreign company that trade on a local stock exchange. Depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. Any distributions paid to the holders of depositary receipts are usually subject to a fee charged by the depositary. Holders of depositary receipts may have limited voting rights, and investment restrictions in certain countries may adversely impact the value of depositary receipts because such restrictions may limit the ability to convert the equity shares into depositary receipts and vice versa. Such restrictions may cause the equity shares of the underlying issuer to trade at a discount or premium to the market price of the depositary receipts.
ENERGY COMPANIES RISK. The success of energy companies may be cyclical and highly dependent on energy prices. The market value of securities issued by energy companies may decline for many reasons, including, among other things, changes in the levels and volatility of global energy prices, energy supply and demand, capital expenditures on exploration and production of energy sources, exchange rates, interest rates, economic conditions, tax treatment, energy conservation efforts, increased competition and technological advances. Energy companies may be subject to substantial government regulation and contractual fixed pricing, which may increase the cost of doing business and limit the earnings of these companies. A significant portion of the revenues of energy companies may depend on a relatively small number of customers, including governmental entities and utilities. As a result, governmental budget constraints may have a material adverse effect on the stock prices of energy companies. Energy companies may also operate in, or engage in transactions involving, countries with less developed regulatory regimes or a history of expropriation, nationalization or other adverse policies. Energy companies also face a significant risk of liability from accidents resulting in injury or loss of life or property, pollution or other environmental problems, equipment malfunctions or mishandling of materials and a risk of loss from terrorism, political strife or natural disasters.
EQUITY SECURITIES RISK. The Fund invests in ETFs that hold equity securities. The value of the Fund’s shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities in which it invests. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors’ perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting an issuer occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market.
ETF RISK. The Fund’s investment in shares of ETFs subjects it to the risks of owning the securities underlying the ETF, as well as the same structural risks faced by an investor purchasing shares of the Fund, including authorized participant concentration risk, market maker risk, premium/discount risk and trading issues risk. As a shareholder in another ETF, the Fund bears its proportionate share of the ETF’s expenses, subjecting Fund shareholders to duplicative expenses.
FOOD AND BEVERAGE COMPANIES RISK. The food and beverage industry is very competitive and companies in the food and beverage industry are subject to a number of risks. Demographic and product trends, changing consumer preferences,
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First Trust Dorsey Wright Focus 5 ETF (FV)
nutritional and health-related concerns, competitive pricing, marketing campaigns, environmental factors, adverse changes in general economic conditions, government regulation, food inspection and processing control, consumer boycotts, risks of product tampering, product liability claims, and the availability and expense of liability insurance can affect the demand for, and success of, food and beverage products in the marketplace.
GROWTH STOCKS INVESTMENT RISK. The Fund invests in ETFs that utilize a growth style of investing. Stocks exhibiting growth characteristics tend to be more volatile than certain other types of stocks and their prices usually fluctuate more dramatically than the overall stock market. A stock with growth characteristics can have sharp price declines due to decreases in current or expected earnings and may lack dividend payments that can help cushion its share price during declining markets.
INDEX CONCENTRATION RISK. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a single asset class or the securities of issuers within the same country, state, region, industry or sector, an adverse economic, business or political development may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more than if the Fund were more broadly diversified. A significant exposure makes the Fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the Fund to greater market risk than a fund that is more broadly diversified. There may be instances in which the Index, for a variety of reasons including changes in the prices of individual securities held by the Fund, has a larger exposure to a small number of stocks or a single stock relative to the rest of the stocks in the Index. Under such circumstances, the Fund will not deviate from the Index except in rare circumstances or in an immaterial way and therefore the Fund’s returns would be more greatly influenced by the returns of the stock(s) with the larger exposure.
INDEX PROVIDER RISK. There is no assurance that the Index Provider, or any agents that act on its behalf, will compile the Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. The Index Provider and its agents do not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the Index, and do not guarantee that the Index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. The Advisor’s mandate as described in this prospectus is to manage the Fund consistently with the Index provided by the Index Provider. The Advisor relies upon the Index provider and its agents to accurately compile, maintain, construct, reconstitute, rebalance, compose, calculate and disseminate the Index accurately. Therefore, losses or costs associated with any Index Provider or agent errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. To correct any such error, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out an unscheduled rebalance of the Index or other modification of Index constituents or weightings. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where the Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors. For example, during a period where the Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund tracking the Index would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.
INDEX REBALANCE RISK. Pursuant to the methodology that the Index Provider uses to calculate and maintain the Index, the Fund may own a significant portion of the First Trust ETFs included in the Fund. Any such ETF may be removed from the Index in the event that it does not comply with the eligibility requirements of the Index. As a result, the Fund may be forced to sell shares of certain First Trust ETFs at inopportune times or for prices other than at current market values or may elect not to sell such shares on the day that they are removed from the Index, due to market conditions or otherwise. Due to these factors, the variation between the Fund’s annual return and the return of the Index may increase significantly. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index to, for example, correct an error in the selection of constituents. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances may also expose
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First Trust Dorsey Wright Focus 5 ETF (FV)
the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Therefore, errors and additional ad hoc rebalances carried out by the Index Provider may increase the Fund’s costs and market exposure.
INDUSTRIALS COMPANIES RISK. Industrials companies convert unfinished goods into finished durables used to manufacture other goods or provide services. Examples of industrials companies include companies involved in the production of electrical equipment and components, industrial products, manufactured housing and telecommunications equipment, as well as defense and aerospace companies. General risks of industrials companies include the general state of the economy, exchange rates, commodity prices, intense competition, consolidation, domestic and international politics, government regulation, import controls, excess capacity, consumer demand and spending trends. In addition, industrials companies may also be significantly affected by overall capital spending levels, economic cycles, rapid technological changes, delays in modernization, labor relations, environmental liabilities, governmental and product liability and e-commerce initiatives.
MARKET MAKER RISK. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares due to a limited number of market markers. Decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. The Fund may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s net asset value and the price at which the Fund’s shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund’s shares. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a discount to net asset value and also in greater than normal intraday bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.
MARKET RISK. Market risk is the risk that a particular security, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic, political, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of the Fund could decline in value or underperform other investments. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. For example, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While 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. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. These events also adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio securities or other instruments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of the Fund’s shares and result in increased market volatility. During any such events, the Fund’s shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.
MATERIALS COMPANIES RISK. Materials and processing companies are involved in the extraction or processing of raw materials such as metals, ore and forestry products. These companies are sensitive to changes in the business cycle and fluctuations in the supply and demand for raw materials. Further, certain materials and processing companies can be affected by shifts in the housing market, as many produced raw materials are components of construction projects. Rising wage costs can also impact companies that rely on skilled labor. In addition, materials and processing companies may be significantly affected by volatility of commodity prices, import controls, worldwide competition, liability for environmental damage, depletion of resources and mandated expenditures for safety and pollution control devices.
MOMENTUM INVESTING RISK. The Fund employs a “momentum” style of investing that emphasizes selecting stocks that have had higher recent price performance compared to other stocks. Momentum can change quickly and stocks that previously exhibited high momentum characteristics may not experience positive momentum or may experience more volatility than the market as a whole. In addition, there may be periods when the momentum style of investing is out of favor and the investment performance of the Fund may suffer.
NON-CORRELATION RISK. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. The Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and may incur costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s portfolio holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. In addition, the Fund’s portfolio holdings may not exactly replicate the securities included in the Index or the ratios between the securities included in the Index. Additionally, in order to comply with its investment strategies and policies, the Fund portfolio may deviate from the composition of the Index.
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First Trust Dorsey Wright Focus 5 ETF (FV)
NON-U.S. SECURITIES RISK. The Fund may invest in ETFs that hold non-U.S. securities. Non-U.S. securities are subject to higher volatility than securities of domestic issuers due to possible adverse political, social or economic developments, restrictions on foreign investment or exchange of securities, capital controls, lack of liquidity, currency exchange rates, excessive taxation, government seizure of assets, the imposition of sanctions by foreign governments, different legal or accounting standards, and less government supervision and regulation of securities exchanges in foreign countries.
OIL AND GAS COMPANIES RISK. General problems of the oil & gas products sector include volatile fluctuations in price and supply of energy fuels, international politics, terrorist attacks, reduced demand as a result of increases in energy efficiency and energy conservation, the success of exploration projects, clean-up and litigation costs relating to oil spills and environmental damage, and tax and other regulatory policies of various governments. Oil production and refining companies are subject to extensive federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations regarding air emissions and the disposal of hazardous materials. Friction with certain oil producing countries, and between the governments of the United States and other major exporters of oil to the United States, or policy shifts by governmental entities and intergovernmental entities such as OPEC, could put oil exports at risk. In addition, falling oil and gas prices may negatively impact the profitability and business prospects of certain energy companies. Further, global concerns of civil unrest in foreign countries may also affect the flow of oil from such countries.
OPERATIONAL RISK. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Fund's investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
PASSIVE INVESTMENT RISK. The Fund is not actively managed. The Fund invests in securities included in or representative of the Index regardless of investment merit. The Fund generally will not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. In the event that the Index is no longer calculated, the Index license is terminated or the identity or character of the Index is materially changed, the Fund will seek to engage a replacement index.
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER RISK. High portfolio turnover may result in the Fund paying higher levels of transaction costs and may generate greater tax liabilities for shareholders. Portfolio turnover risk may cause the Fund’s performance to be less than expected.
PREMIUM/DISCOUNT RISK. The market price of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the Fund’s net asset value as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on the Exchange. The Fund’s investment advisor cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their net asset value because the shares trade on the Exchange at market prices and not at net asset value. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related, but not identical, to the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. However, given that shares can only be purchased and redeemed in Creation Units, and only to and from broker-dealers and large institutional investors that have entered into participation agreements (unlike shares of closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their net asset value), the Fund’s investment advisor believes that large discounts or premiums to the net asset value of shares should not be sustained. During stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the market for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which could in turn lead to differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.
SMALLER COMPANIES RISK. The Fund may invest in ETFs that hold the securities of small and/or mid capitalization companies. Small and/or mid capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic developments, and their securities may be less liquid and may experience greater price volatility than larger, more established companies as a result of several factors, including limited trading volumes, fewer products or financial resources, management inexperience and less publicly available information. Accordingly, such companies are generally subject to greater market risk than larger, more established companies.
TRADING ISSUES RISK. Trading in Fund shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Fund shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange’s “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will
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First Trust Dorsey Wright Focus 5 ETF (FV)
remain unchanged. The Fund may have difficulty maintaining its listing on the Exchange in the event the Fund’s assets are small, the Fund does not have enough shareholders, or if the Fund is unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders.
VALUE STOCKS INVESTMENT RISK. The Fund invests in ETFs that utilize a value style of investing. The intrinsic value of a stock with value characteristics may not be fully recognized by the market for a long time or a stock judged to be undervalued may actually be appropriately priced at a low level.
Annual Total Return
The bar chart and table below illustrate the annual calendar year returns of the Fund based on net asset value as well as the average annual Fund and Index returns. The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns based on net asset value compared to those of the Index and a broad-based market index. See “Total Return Information” for additional performance information regarding the Fund. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com.
First Trust Dorsey Wright Focus 5 ETF
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31
During the periods shown in the chart above:
Best Quarter
 
Worst Quarter
 
24.00%
June 30, 2020
-18.19%
December 31, 2018
The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of any state or local tax. Returns after taxes on distributions reflect the taxed return on the payment of dividends and capital gains. Returns after taxes on distributions and sale of shares assume you sold your shares at period end, and, therefore, are also adjusted for any capital gains or losses incurred. Returns for the market indices do not include expenses, which are deducted from Fund returns, or taxes.
Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares in tax-deferred accounts such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or employee-sponsored retirement plans.
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First Trust Dorsey Wright Focus 5 ETF (FV)
Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2022
 
1 Year
5 Years
Since
Inception
Inception
Date
Return Before Taxes
-5.12%
11.31%
10.42%
3/5/2014
Return After Taxes on Distributions
-5.69%
11.09%
10.19%
 
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares
-3.05%
8.91%
8.43%
 
Dorsey Wright Focus FiveTM Index (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses or taxes)
-4.78%
11.64%
10.80%
 
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or
taxes)
-18.11%
9.42%
10.55%
 
Management
Investment Advisor
First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)
Portfolio Managers
The Fund’s portfolio is managed by a team (the “Investment Committee”) consisting of:
Daniel J. Lindquist, Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director of First Trust
Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust
David G. McGarel, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of First Trust
Roger F. Testin, Senior Vice President of First Trust
Stan Ueland, Senior Vice President of First Trust
Chris A. Peterson, Senior Vice President of First Trust
Erik Russo, Vice President of First Trust
The Investment Committee members are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each Investment Committee member has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2014, except for Chris A. Peterson, who has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2016 and Erik Russo, who has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2020.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund issues and redeems shares on a continuous basis, at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called “Creation Units.” Individual shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold on the secondary market through a broker-dealer. Since shares of the Fund trade on securities exchanges in the secondary market at their market price rather than their net asset value, the Fund’s shares may trade at a price greater than (premium) or less than (discount) the Fund’s net asset value. An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information, including the Fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, bid-ask spreads and the median bid-ask spread for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year, is available online at https://www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/etf/home.aspx.
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions are taxable and will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains. Distributions on shares held in a tax-deferred account, while not immediately taxable, will be subject to tax when the shares are no longer held in a tax-deferred account.
21

First Trust Dorsey Wright Focus 5 ETF (FV)
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, bank or other financial intermediary (collectively, “intermediaries”), First Trust and First Trust Portfolios L.P., the Fund’s distributor, may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
22

Summary Information

First Trust Dorsey Wright International Focus 5 ETF (IFV)
Investment Objective
The First Trust Dorsey Wright International Focus 5 ETF (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an index called the Dorsey Wright International Focus FiveTM Index (the “Index”).
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. Investors may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)
None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees(1)
0.30%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees
0.00%
Other Expenses
0.00%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses
0.76%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
1.06%
(1)
Effective November 1, 2022, as approved by the Trust’s Board of Trustees, the management fee paid to First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund's investment advisor, will be reduced at certain levels of Fund net assets (“breakpoints”). See the Fund's Statement of Additional Information for more information on the breakpoints.
Example
The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.
The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain at current levels. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
$108
$337
$585
$1,294
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 104% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund normally invests at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) that comprise the Index. The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The ETFs comprising the Index selection universe are advised by First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund’s investment advisor. The ETFs hold non-U.S. equity securities, including depositary receipts, of all market capitalization ranges. In general, “non-U.S.” shall mean securities issued or guaranteed by companies organized under the laws of countries other than the United States (including emerging markets). The Index is owned and was developed by Dorsey
23

First Trust Dorsey Wright International Focus 5 ETF (IFV)
Wright & Associates, LLC (the “Index Provider”). The Index Provider has retained Nasdaq, Inc. to calculate and maintain the Index. Nasdaq, Inc. may, from time to time, exercise reasonable discretion as it deems appropriate in order to ensure Index integrity.
The Index is constructed pursuant to the Index Provider’s proprietary methodology, which takes into account the performance of certain First Trust international ETFs relative to one another. The Index is designed to provide targeted exposure to the five First Trust country/region-based ETFs that the Index Provider believes offer the greatest potential to outperform the other ETFs in the selection universe. The Index Provider believes that the most adaptive tool to achieve the goal of discerning the strongest trends versus that of the weakest is relative strength. Relative strength measures the price performance of a security versus a market average, another security or universe of securities. A security’s relative strength can improve if it rises more than the market in an uptrend, or goes down less than the market in a downtrend. With respect to the Index, the Index Provider uses relative strength to evaluate the momentum of certain First Trust country/region-based ETFs to determine the five ETFs that have the highest level of momentum, which the Index Provider considers to have the greatest probability of outperforming the other First Trust country/region-based ETFs. The Index Provider selects the Index’s potential inventory and uses the price data of the selected First Trust ETFs to perform relative strength analysis. The Fund may invest in growth and value stocks and U.S. dollar denominated and non-U.S. dollar denominated securities.
Security selection for the Index will be conducted in the following manner:
1.
The selection universe of the Index begins with all of the First Trust ETFs.
2.
The Index Provider then identifies the First Trust ETFs that are designed to target a specific country or region, or that have a significant overweight towards a particular country or region.
3.
The components of the Index’s potential inventory are then ranked using a relative strength methodology that is based upon each ETF’s market performance and characteristics that the Index Provider believes offer the greatest potential to outperform the other ETFs in the selection universe. Relative strength is a momentum technique that relies on unbiased, unemotional and objective data, rather than biased forecasting and subjective research. Relative strength is a way of recording historic performance patterns, and the Index Provider uses relative strength signals as a trend indicator for current momentum trends of a security versus another security.
4.
The Index Provider then selects the five top-ranking First Trust ETFs according to the proprietary relative strength methodology for inclusion in the Index.
5.
The Index is evaluated on a bi-monthly basis, and the five positions within the Index are held as long as those positions continue to suggest that they will outperform the majority of the inventory of other potential First Trust ETFs on a relative basis. An Index component will only be removed if it falls to the bottom half of the universe of First Trust ETFs according to the Index Provider’s proprietary relative strength methodology. An ETF is only added to the Index when a current member is removed. The Index will always be comprised of five First Trust ETFs. When an addition or deletion is made to the Index, the Index is rebalanced so that each position is equally weighted.
The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted periodically and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index’s periodic rebalance and reconstitution schedule may cause the Fund to experience a higher rate of portfolio turnover. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector. As of December 31, 2022, the Index was composed of the following First Trust ETFs:
First Trust Dow Jones Global Select Dividend Index Fund
First Trust India NIFTY 50 Equal Weight ETF
First Trust Japan AlphaDEX® Fund
First Trust Latin America AlphaDEX® Fund
First Trust Switzerland AlphaDEX® Fund
Principal Risks
You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s investment objective will be achieved. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.
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First Trust Dorsey Wright International Focus 5 ETF (IFV)
AUTHORIZED PARTICIPANT CONCENTRATION RISK. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. A limited number of institutions act as authorized participants for the Fund. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders and no other authorized participant steps forward to create or redeem, the Fund’s shares may trade at a premium or discount (the difference between the market price of the Fund's shares and the Fund's net asset value) and possibly face delisting and the bid/ask spread (the difference between the price that someone is willing to pay for shares of the Fund at a specific point in time versus the price at which someone is willing to sell) on the Fund’s shares may widen.
CURRENCY RISK. Changes in currency exchange rates affect the value of investments denominated in a foreign currency, and therefore the value of such investments in the Fund’s portfolio. The Fund’s net asset value could decline if a currency to which the Fund has exposure depreciates against the U.S. dollar or if there are delays or limits on repatriation of such currency. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning.
CYBER SECURITY RISK. The Fund is susceptible to operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cyber security breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks through efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cyber security breaches of the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests or the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. Although the Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third-party service providers.
DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS RISK. The Fund invests in ETFs that hold depositary receipts. Depositary receipts represent equity interests in a foreign company that trade on a local stock exchange. Depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. Any distributions paid to the holders of depositary receipts are usually subject to a fee charged by the depositary. Holders of depositary receipts may have limited voting rights, and investment restrictions in certain countries may adversely impact the value of depositary receipts because such restrictions may limit the ability to convert the equity shares into depositary receipts and vice versa. Such restrictions may cause the equity shares of the underlying issuer to trade at a discount or premium to the market price of the depositary receipts.
DIVIDENDS RISK. The Fund’s investment in ETFs that invests in dividend-paying securities could cause the Fund to underperform similar funds that invest without consideration of an issuer’s track record of paying dividends. Companies that issue dividend-paying securities are not required to continue to pay dividends on such securities. Therefore, there is the possibility that such companies could reduce or eliminate the payment of dividends in the future, which could negatively affect the Fund’s performance.
EMERGING MARKETS RISK. The Fund invests in ETFs that hold securities of issuers located in emerging market countries. Investments in securities issued by governments and companies operating in emerging market countries involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions not associated with investments in securities and instruments issued by U.S. companies or by companies operating in other developed market countries. Investments in emerging markets securities are generally considered speculative in nature and are subject to the following heightened risks: smaller market capitalization of securities markets which may suffer periods of relative illiquidity; significant price volatility; restrictions on foreign investment; possible repatriation of investment income and capital; rapid inflation; and currency convertibility issues. Emerging market countries also often have less uniformity in accounting, auditing and reporting requirements, unsettled securities laws, unreliable securities valuation and greater risk associated with custody of securities. Financial and other reporting by companies and government entities also may be less reliable in emerging market countries. Shareholder claims that are available in the U.S., as well as regulatory oversight and authority that is common in the U.S., including for claims based on fraud, may be difficult or impossible for shareholders of securities in emerging market countries or for U.S. authorities to pursue. The index the Fund seeks to track may not weight the securities in emerging market countries on the basis of investor protection limitations, financial reporting quality or available oversight mechanisms. Furthermore, investors may be required to register the proceeds of sales and future economic or political crises could lead to price controls, forced mergers, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, seizure, nationalization or creation of government monopolies.
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First Trust Dorsey Wright International Focus 5 ETF (IFV)
EQUITY SECURITIES RISK. The Fund invests in ETFs that hold equity securities. The value of the Fund’s shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities in which it invests. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors’ perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting an issuer occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market.
ETF RISK. The Fund’s investment in shares of ETFs subjects it to the risks of owning the securities underlying the ETF, as well as the same structural risks faced by an investor purchasing shares of the Fund, including authorized participant concentration risk, market maker risk, premium/discount risk and trading issues risk. As a shareholder in another ETF, the Fund bears its proportionate share of the ETF’s expenses, subjecting Fund shareholders to duplicative expenses.
GROWTH STOCKS INVESTMENT RISK. The Fund invests in ETFs that utilize a growth style of investing. Stocks exhibiting growth characteristics tend to be more volatile than certain other types of stocks and their prices usually fluctuate more dramatically than the overall stock market. A stock with growth characteristics can have sharp price declines due to decreases in current or expected earnings and may lack dividend payments that can help cushion its share price during declining markets.
INDEX CONCENTRATION RISK. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a single asset class or the securities of issuers within the same country, state, region, industry or sector, an adverse economic, business or political development may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more than if the Fund were more broadly diversified. A significant exposure makes the Fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the Fund to greater market risk than a fund that is more broadly diversified. There may be instances in which the Index, for a variety of reasons including changes in the prices of individual securities held by the Fund, has a larger exposure to a small number of stocks or a single stock relative to the rest of the stocks in the Index. Under such circumstances, the Fund will not deviate from the Index except in rare circumstances or in an immaterial way and therefore the Fund’s returns would be more greatly influenced by the returns of the stock(s) with the larger exposure.
INDEX PROVIDER RISK. There is no assurance that the Index Provider, or any agents that act on its behalf, will compile the Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. The Index Provider and its agents do not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the Index, and do not guarantee that the Index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. The Advisor’s mandate as described in this prospectus is to manage the Fund consistently with the Index provided by the Index Provider. The Advisor relies upon the Index provider and its agents to accurately compile, maintain, construct, reconstitute, rebalance, compose, calculate and disseminate the Index accurately. Therefore, losses or costs associated with any Index Provider or agent errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. To correct any such error, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out an unscheduled rebalance of the Index or other modification of Index constituents or weightings. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where the Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors. For example, during a period where the Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund tracking the Index would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.
26

First Trust Dorsey Wright International Focus 5 ETF (IFV)
INDEX REBALANCE RISK. Pursuant to the methodology that the Index Provider uses to calculate and maintain the Index, the Fund may own a significant portion of the First Trust ETFs included in the Fund. Any such ETF may be removed from the Index in the event that it does not comply with the eligibility requirements of the Index. As a result, the Fund may be forced to sell shares of certain First Trust ETFs at inopportune times or for prices other than at current market values or may elect not to sell such shares on the day that they are removed from the Index, due to market conditions or otherwise. Due to these factors, the variation between the Fund’s annual return and the return of the Index may increase significantly. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index to, for example, correct an error in the selection of constituents. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances may also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Therefore, errors and additional ad hoc rebalances carried out by the Index Provider may increase the Fund’s costs and market exposure.
INDIA RISK. The Fund invests in ETFs that hold securities of Indian issuers. As such, an underlying ETF is subject to certain risks specifically associated with investments in the securities of Indian issuers. India is an emerging market and demonstrates significantly higher volatility from time to time in comparison to developed markets. Shareholder claims that are available in the U.S., as well as regulatory oversight and authority that is common in the U.S., including for claims based on fraud, may be difficult or impossible for shareholders of securities in India or for U.S. authorities to pursue. Investment in Indian securities involves risks in addition to those associated with investments in securities of issuers in more developed countries, which may adversely affect the value of an underlying fund’s assets. Such heightened risks include, among others, political and legal uncertainty, greater government control over the economy, currency fluctuations or blockage and the risk of nationalization or expropriation of assets. In addition, religious and border disputes persist in India. Moreover, India has experienced civil unrest and hostilities with neighboring countries, including Pakistan, and the Indian government has confronted separatist movements in several Indian states. The securities market of India is considered an emerging market that is characterized by a large number of listed companies that have significantly smaller market capitalizations, greater price volatility, greater delays and possibility of disruptions in settlement transactions, greater political uncertainties and greater dependence on international trade or development assistance and substantially less liquidity than companies in more developed markets. These factors, coupled with restrictions on foreign investment and other factors, limit the supply of securities available for investment by an underlying fund. This will affect the rate at which an underlying fund is able to invest in the securities of Indian companies, the purchase and sale prices for such securities and the timing of purchases and sales. Certain restrictions on foreign investments may decrease the liquidity of an underlying fund’s portfolio, subject an underlying fund to higher transaction costs, or inhibit the Fund’s ability to track the Index. Investments in Indian securities may also be limited or prevented, at times, due to the limits on foreign ownership imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”) or the Securities and Exchange Board of India ("SEBI"). In addition, a natural or other disaster could occur in India that could affect the Indian economy or operations of an underlying fund, causing an adverse impact on the Fund.
JAPAN RISK. The Fund is subject to certain risks specifically associated with investments in the securities of Japanese issuers. The Japanese economy may be subject to considerable degrees of economic, political and social instability, which could have a negative impact on Japanese securities. Japan’s economy is characterized by government intervention and protectionism, reliance on oil imports, an unstable financial services sector and relatively high unemployment. Since 2000, Japan has experienced relatively low economic growth, and it may remain low in the future. Its economy is heavily dependent on international trade and has been adversely affected by trade tariffs and competition from emerging economies. As such, economic growth is heavily dependent on continued growth in international trade, relatively low commodities prices, government support of the financial services sector and other government policies. Any changes or trends in these economic factors could have a significant impact on Japanese markets overall and may negatively affect the Fund’s investments. Japan’s economy and equity market also share a strong correlation with U.S. markets and the Japanese economy may be affected by economic problems in the U.S. Despite a strengthening in the economic relationship between Japan and China, the countries’ political relationship has at times been strained. Should political tension increase, it could adversely affect the economy and destabilize the region as a whole. Additionally, escalated tensions involving North Korea and any outbreak of hostilities involving North Korea could have a severe adverse effect on Japan’s economy. Japan’s geography also subjects it to an increased risk of natural disasters, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons and tsunamis, all of which could negatively impact the Fund’s investments.
LATIN AMERICA RISK. The Fund invests in ETFs that hold securities of Latin American issuers. As such, the Fund is subject to certain risks specifically associated with investments in the securities of Latin American issuers. The economies of Latin American countries have in the past experienced considerable difficulties, including high inflation rates, high interest rates, high unemployment, government overspending and political instability. International economic conditions, particularly those in the United States, Europe and Asia, as well as world prices for oil and other commodities may also influence the development
27

First Trust Dorsey Wright International Focus 5 ETF (IFV)
of Latin American economies. Many Latin American countries are highly reliant on the exportation of commodities and their economies may be significantly impacted by fluctuations in commodity prices and the global demand for certain commodities. Investments in Latin American countries may be subject to currency risks, such as restrictions on the flow of money in and out of a country, extreme volatility relative to the U.S. dollar, and devaluation, all of which could decrease the value of investments in Latin American companies. Other Latin American investment risks may include inadequate investor protection, less developed regulatory, accounting, auditing and financial standards, unfavorable changes in laws or regulations, natural disasters, corruption and military activity. The governments of many Latin American countries may also exercise substantial influence over many aspects of the private sector, and any such exercise could have a significant effect on companies in which the Fund invests. Securities of companies in Latin America may also be subject to significant price volatility.
MARKET MAKER RISK. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares due to a limited number of market markers. Decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. The Fund may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s net asset value and the price at which the Fund’s shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund’s shares. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a discount to net asset value and also in greater than normal intraday bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.
MARKET RISK. Market risk is the risk that a particular security, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic, political, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of the Fund could decline in value or underperform other investments. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. For example, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While 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. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. These events also adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio securities or other instruments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of the Fund’s shares and result in increased market volatility. During any such events, the Fund’s shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.
MOMENTUM INVESTING RISK. The Fund employs a “momentum” style of investing that emphasizes selecting stocks that have had higher recent price performance compared to other stocks. Momentum can change quickly and stocks that previously exhibited high momentum characteristics may not experience positive momentum or may experience more volatility than the market as a whole. In addition, there may be periods when the momentum style of investing is out of favor and the investment performance of the Fund may suffer.
NON-CORRELATION RISK. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. The Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and may incur costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s portfolio holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. In addition, the Fund’s portfolio holdings may not exactly replicate the securities included in the Index or the ratios between the securities included in the Index. Additionally, in order to comply with its investment strategies and policies, the Fund portfolio may deviate from the composition of the Index.
NON-U.S. SECURITIES RISK. The Fund may invest in ETFs that hold non-U.S. securities. Non-U.S. securities are subject to higher volatility than securities of domestic issuers due to possible adverse political, social or economic developments, restrictions on foreign investment or exchange of securities, capital controls, lack of liquidity, currency exchange rates, excessive taxation, government seizure of assets, the imposition of sanctions by foreign governments, different legal or accounting standards, and less government supervision and regulation of securities exchanges in foreign countries.
OPERATIONAL RISK. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including
28

First Trust Dorsey Wright International Focus 5 ETF (IFV)
custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Fund's investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
PASSIVE INVESTMENT RISK. The Fund is not actively managed. The Fund invests in securities included in or representative of the Index regardless of investment merit. The Fund generally will not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. In the event that the Index is no longer calculated, the Index license is terminated or the identity or character of the Index is materially changed, the Fund will seek to engage a replacement index.
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER RISK. High portfolio turnover may result in the Fund paying higher levels of transaction costs and may generate greater tax liabilities for shareholders. Portfolio turnover risk may cause the Fund’s performance to be less than expected.
PREMIUM/DISCOUNT RISK. The market price of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the Fund’s net asset value as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on the Exchange. The Fund’s investment advisor cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their net asset value because the shares trade on the Exchange at market prices and not at net asset value. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related, but not identical, to the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. However, given that shares can only be purchased and redeemed in Creation Units, and only to and from broker-dealers and large institutional investors that have entered into participation agreements (unlike shares of closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their net asset value), the Fund’s investment advisor believes that large discounts or premiums to the net asset value of shares should not be sustained. During stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the market for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which could in turn lead to differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.
SMALLER COMPANIES RISK. The Fund may invest in ETFs that hold the securities of small and/or mid capitalization companies. Small and/or mid capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic developments, and their securities may be less liquid and may experience greater price volatility than larger, more established companies as a result of several factors, including limited trading volumes, fewer products or financial resources, management inexperience and less publicly available information. Accordingly, such companies are generally subject to greater market risk than larger, more established companies.
SWITZERLAND RISK. The Fund invests in ETFs that hold securities of Swiss issuers. As such, an underlying fund is subject to certain risks specifically associated with investments in the securities of Swiss issuers. Switzerland’s economy is heavily dependent on trading relationships with certain key trading partners, including the United States, United Kingdom, China, France and Germany. Future changes in the price or the demand for Swiss products or services by the United States, United Kingdom, China, France and Germany or changes in these countries’ economies, trade regulations or currency exchange rates could adversely impact the Swiss economy and the issuers to which an underlying fund has exposure. Switzerland’s economy relies heavily on the banking sector, and in recent years, Switzerland has responded to increasing pressure from neighboring countries and trading partners to reform its banking secrecy laws. Recently, allegations have surfaced that certain Swiss banking institutions marketed and sold offshore tax evasion services to U.S. citizens. Future litigation or settlements arising from these accusations may have a negative impact on certain companies to which an underlying fund has exposure.
TRADING ISSUES RISK. Trading in Fund shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Fund shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange’s “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. The Fund may have difficulty maintaining its listing on the Exchange in the event the Fund’s assets are small, the Fund does not have enough shareholders, or if the Fund is unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders.
VALUE STOCKS INVESTMENT RISK. The Fund invests in ETFs that utilize a value style of investing. The intrinsic value of a stock with value characteristics may not be fully recognized by the market for a long time or a stock judged to be undervalued may actually be appropriately priced at a low level.
29

First Trust Dorsey Wright International Focus 5 ETF (IFV)
Annual Total Return
The bar chart and table below illustrate the annual calendar year returns of the Fund based on net asset value as well as the average annual Fund and Index returns. The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns based on net asset value compared to those of the Index and a broad-based market index. See “Total Return Information” for additional performance information regarding the Fund. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com.
First Trust Dorsey Wright International Focus 5 ETF
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31
During the periods shown in the chart above:
Best Quarter
 
Worst Quarter
 
23.49%
June 30, 2020
-34.77%
March 31, 2020
The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of any state or local tax. Returns after taxes on distributions reflect the taxed return on the payment of dividends and capital gains. Returns after taxes on distributions and sale of shares assume you sold your shares at period end, and, therefore, are also adjusted for any capital gains or losses incurred. Returns for the market indices do not include expenses, which are deducted from Fund returns, or taxes.
Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares in tax-deferred accounts such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or employee-sponsored retirement plans.
Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2022
 
1 Year
5 Years
Since
Inception
Inception
Date
Return Before Taxes
-25.25%
-3.41%
-0.34%
7/22/2014
Return After Taxes on Distributions
-26.31%
-4.28%
-1.09%
 
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares
-14.91%
-2.87%
-0.55%
 
Dorsey Wright International Focus FiveTM Index (reflects no
deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
-24.95%
-2.92%
0.08%
 
MSCI ACWI ex USA Index (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses or taxes)
-16.00%
0.88%
2.08%
 
30

First Trust Dorsey Wright International Focus 5 ETF (IFV)
Management
Investment Advisor
First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)
Portfolio Managers
The Fund’s portfolio is managed by a team (the “Investment Committee”) consisting of:
Daniel J. Lindquist, Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director of First Trust
Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust
David G. McGarel, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of First Trust
Roger F. Testin, Senior Vice President of First Trust
Stan Ueland, Senior Vice President of First Trust
Chris A. Peterson, Senior Vice President of First Trust
Erik Russo, Vice President of First Trust
The Investment Committee members are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each Investment Committee member has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2014, except for Chris A. Peterson, who has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2016 and Erik Russo, who has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2020.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund issues and redeems shares on a continuous basis, at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called “Creation Units.” Individual shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold on the secondary market through a broker-dealer. Since shares of the Fund trade on securities exchanges in the secondary market at their market price rather than their net asset value, the Fund’s shares may trade at a price greater than (premium) or less than (discount) the Fund’s net asset value. An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information, including the Fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, bid-ask spreads and the median bid-ask spread for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year, is available online at https://www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/etf/home.aspx.
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions are taxable and will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains. Distributions on shares held in a tax-deferred account, while not immediately taxable, will be subject to tax when the shares are no longer held in a tax-deferred account.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, bank or other financial intermediary (collectively, “intermediaries”), First Trust and First Trust Portfolios L.P., the Fund’s distributor, may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
31

Summary Information

First Trust Dorsey Wright Momentum & Dividend ETF (DDIV)
Investment Objective
The First Trust Dorsey Wright Momentum & Dividend ETF (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an index called the Dorsey Wright Momentum Plus Dividend YieldTM Index (the “Index”).
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. Investors may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)
None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees(1)
0.60%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees
0.00%
Other Expenses
0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
0.60%
(1)
Effective November 1, 2022, as approved by the Trust’s Board of Trustees, the management fee paid to First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund's investment advisor, will be reduced at certain levels of Fund net assets (“breakpoints”). See the Fund's Statement of Additional Information for more information on the breakpoints.
Example
The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.
The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain at current levels. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
$61
$192
$335
$750
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 172% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
Under normal conditions, the Fund will invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the equity securities that comprise the Index. The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The Index is owned and was developed by Nasdaq, Inc. (the “Index Provider”). The Index Provider may, from time to time, exercise reasonable discretion as it deems appropriate in order to ensure Index integrity including, but not limited to, quantitative inclusion criteria. The Index Provider may also, due to special circumstances, if deemed essential, apply discretionary adjustments to ensure and maintain the high quality of the Index construction and calculation.
32

First Trust Dorsey Wright Momentum & Dividend ETF (DDIV)
The Index is a rules-based equity index designed to track the overall performance of the 50 stocks with the highest dividend yield comprising the Nasdaq US Large Mid IndexTM that still maintain high levels of “relative strength.” A relative strength analysis is a momentum-based investment strategy that emphasizes a security’s forward price momentum in the security selection process. A security’s momentum is the rate at which its price is accelerating. Momentum investing strategies are based on the principle that securities that have recently risen or fallen in price will continue that trend and that, when evaluating two indices/securities, the index/security exhibiting the greater momentum will perform better. To make such a determination between two indices/securities, a relative strength calculation can be used.
A relative strength calculation is an objective method of comparing two investment options to determine which of the two is exhibiting greater forward price momentum. The Index utilizes a relative strength calculation to compare the forward price momentum of each of the securities comprising the Nasdaq US Large Mid IndexTM against the momentum of a broad market benchmark index. To make this determination, on a daily basis, the Index Provider computes a “relative strength score” for each security in the Nasdaq US Large Mid IndexTM by dividing the closing price of each security by the closing price of the benchmark index and then multiplying that number by 100. This number is then charted for each security. When the same calculation is run the next day, if this number increases, it is charted as an “X.” If it decreases, it is charted as an “O.” This is known as point and figure charting. The patterns formed by these “Xs” and “Os” can signal whether a security should be bought or sold. For instance, if a column of “Xs” exceeds a previous column of “Xs,” this is known as a “buy” signal. Only those securities presenting a “buy” signal and in a column of “Xs” are eligible for inclusion in the Index. These eligible securities are then ranked based upon their current dividend yield. The remaining top 50 eligible securities with the highest dividend yield are selected for inclusion in the Index. The Index then utilizes each security’s dividend yield to assign weights to each of the 50 securities. Similar to a market cap weighting methodology, securities with higher dividend yields are assigned correspondingly higher weights. The Fund may invest in REITs.
The Index is reconstituted and rebalanced quarterly and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index’s quarterly rebalance and reconstitution schedule may cause the Fund to experience a higher rate of portfolio turnover. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. As of December 31, 2022, the Fund had significant investments in energy companies, financial companies and real estate companies, although this may change from time to time. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.
Principal Risks
You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s investment objective will be achieved. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.
AUTHORIZED PARTICIPANT CONCENTRATION RISK. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. A limited number of institutions act as authorized participants for the Fund. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders and no other authorized participant steps forward to create or redeem, the Fund’s shares may trade at a premium or discount (the difference between the market price of the Fund's shares and the Fund's net asset value) and possibly face delisting and the bid/ask spread (the difference between the price that someone is willing to pay for shares of the Fund at a specific point in time versus the price at which someone is willing to sell) on the Fund’s shares may widen.
CYBER SECURITY RISK. The Fund is susceptible to operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cyber security breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks through efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cyber security breaches of the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests or the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. Although the Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third-party service providers.
33

First Trust Dorsey Wright Momentum & Dividend ETF (DDIV)
DIVIDENDS RISK. The Fund’s investment in dividend-paying securities could cause the Fund to underperform similar funds that invest without consideration of an issuer’s track record of paying dividends. Companies that issue dividend-paying securities are not required to continue to pay dividends on such securities. Therefore, there is the possibility that such companies could reduce or eliminate the payment of dividends in the future, which could negatively affect the Fund’s performance.
ENERGY COMPANIES RISK. The success of energy companies may be cyclical and highly dependent on energy prices. The market value of securities issued by energy companies may decline for many reasons, including, among other things, changes in the levels and volatility of global energy prices, energy supply and demand, capital expenditures on exploration and production of energy sources, exchange rates, interest rates, economic conditions, tax treatment, energy conservation efforts, increased competition and technological advances. Energy companies may be subject to substantial government regulation and contractual fixed pricing, which may increase the cost of doing business and limit the earnings of these companies. A significant portion of the revenues of energy companies may depend on a relatively small number of customers, including governmental entities and utilities. As a result, governmental budget constraints may have a material adverse effect on the stock prices of energy companies. Energy companies may also operate in, or engage in transactions involving, countries with less developed regulatory regimes or a history of expropriation, nationalization or other adverse policies. Energy companies also face a significant risk of liability from accidents resulting in injury or loss of life or property, pollution or other environmental problems, equipment malfunctions or mishandling of materials and a risk of loss from terrorism, political strife or natural disasters.
EQUITY SECURITIES RISK. The value of the Fund’s shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities in which it invests. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors’ perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting an issuer occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market.
FINANCIAL COMPANIES RISK. Financial companies, such as retail and commercial banks, insurance companies and financial services companies, are especially subject to the adverse effects of economic recession, currency exchange rates, extensive government regulation, decreases in the availability of capital, volatile interest rates, portfolio concentrations in geographic markets, industries or products (such as commercial and residential real estate loans), competition from new entrants and blurred distinctions in their fields of business.
INDEX CONCENTRATION RISK. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a single asset class or the securities of issuers within the same country, state, region, industry or sector, an adverse economic, business or political development may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more than if the Fund were more broadly diversified. A significant exposure makes the Fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the Fund to greater market risk than a fund that is more broadly diversified. There may be instances in which the Index, for a variety of reasons including changes in the prices of individual securities held by the Fund, has a larger exposure to a small number of stocks or a single stock relative to the rest of the stocks in the Index. Under such circumstances, the Fund will not deviate from the Index except in rare circumstances or in an immaterial way and therefore the Fund’s returns would be more greatly influenced by the returns of the stock(s) with the larger exposure.
INDEX OR MODEL CONSTITUENT RISK. The Fund may be a constituent of one or more indices or ETF models. As a result, the Fund may be included in one or more index-tracking exchange-traded funds or mutual funds. Being a component security of such a vehicle could greatly affect the trading activity involving the Fund’s shares, the size of the Fund and the market volatility of the Fund. Inclusion in an index could increase demand for the Fund and removal from an index could result in outsized selling activity in a relatively short period of time. As a result, the Fund’s net asset value could be negatively impacted and the Fund’s market price may be below the Fund’s net asset value during certain periods. In addition, index rebalances may potentially result in increased trading activity in the Fund's shares.
INDEX PROVIDER RISK. There is no assurance that the Index Provider, or any agents that act on its behalf, will compile the Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. The Index Provider and its agents do not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the Index, and do not guarantee that the Index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. The Advisor’s mandate as described in this prospectus is to manage the Fund consistently with the Index provided by the Index Provider. The Advisor relies upon the Index provider and its agents to
34

First Trust Dorsey Wright Momentum & Dividend ETF (DDIV)
accurately compile, maintain, construct, reconstitute, rebalance, compose, calculate and disseminate the Index accurately. Therefore, losses or costs associated with any Index Provider or agent errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. To correct any such error, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out an unscheduled rebalance of the Index or other modification of Index constituents or weightings. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where the Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors. For example, during a period where the Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund tracking the Index would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.
INFLATION RISK. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions may decline.
MARKET MAKER RISK. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares due to a limited number of market markers. Decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. The Fund may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s net asset value and the price at which the Fund’s shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund’s shares. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a discount to net asset value and also in greater than normal intraday bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.
MARKET RISK. Market risk is the risk that a particular security, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic, political, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of the Fund could decline in value or underperform other investments. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. For example, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While 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. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. These events also adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio securities or other instruments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of the Fund’s shares and result in increased market volatility. During any such events, the Fund’s shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.
MOMENTUM INVESTING RISK. The Fund employs a “momentum” style of investing that emphasizes selecting stocks that have had higher recent price performance compared to other stocks. Momentum can change quickly and stocks that previously exhibited high momentum characteristics may not experience positive momentum or may experience more volatility than the market as a whole. In addition, there may be periods when the momentum style of investing is out of favor and the investment performance of the Fund may suffer.
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First Trust Dorsey Wright Momentum & Dividend ETF (DDIV)
NON-CORRELATION RISK. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. The Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and may incur costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s portfolio holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. In addition, the Fund’s portfolio holdings may not exactly replicate the securities included in the Index or the ratios between the securities included in the Index. Additionally, in order to comply with its investment strategies and policies, the Fund portfolio may deviate from the composition of the Index.
OPERATIONAL RISK. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Fund's investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
PASSIVE INVESTMENT RISK. The Fund is not actively managed. The Fund invests in securities included in or representative of the Index regardless of investment merit. The Fund generally will not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. In the event that the Index is no longer calculated, the Index license is terminated or the identity or character of the Index is materially changed, the Fund will seek to engage a replacement index.
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER RISK. High portfolio turnover may result in the Fund paying higher levels of transaction costs and may generate greater tax liabilities for shareholders. Portfolio turnover risk may cause the Fund’s performance to be less than expected.
PREMIUM/DISCOUNT RISK. The market price of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the Fund’s net asset value as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on the Exchange. The Fund’s investment advisor cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their net asset value because the shares trade on the Exchange at market prices and not at net asset value. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related, but not identical, to the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. However, given that shares can only be purchased and redeemed in Creation Units, and only to and from broker-dealers and large institutional investors that have entered into participation agreements (unlike shares of closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their net asset value), the Fund’s investment advisor believes that large discounts or premiums to the net asset value of shares should not be sustained. During stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the market for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which could in turn lead to differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.
REAL ESTATE COMPANIES RISK. Real estate companies include REITs and other companies involved in the operation and development of commercial, residential and industrial real estate. An investment in a real estate company may be subject to risks similar to those associated with direct ownership of real estate, including the possibility of declines in the value of real estate, losses from casualty or condemnation, and changes in local and general economic conditions, supply and demand, interest rates, environmental liability, zoning laws, regulatory limitations on rents, property taxes, and operating expenses. Some real estate companies have limited diversification because they invest in a limited number of properties, a narrow geographic area, or a single type of property. The price of a real estate company’s securities may also drop because of dividend reductions, lowered credit ratings, poor management, or other factors that affect companies in general.
REIT RISK. REITs typically own and operate income-producing real estate, such as residential or commercial buildings, or real-estate related assets, including mortgages. As a result, investments in REITs are subject to the risks associated with investing in real estate, which may include, but are not limited to: fluctuations in the value of underlying properties; defaults by borrowers or tenants; market saturation; changes in general and local operating expenses; and other economic, political or regulatory occurrences affecting companies in the real estate sector. REITs are also subject to the risk that the real estate market may experience an economic downturn generally, which may have a material effect on the real estate in which the REITs invest and their underlying portfolio securities. REITs may have also a relatively small market capitalization which may result in their shares experiencing less market liquidity and greater price volatility than larger companies. Increases in interest rates typically lower the present value of a REIT's future earnings stream, and may make financing property purchases and improvements more costly. Because the market price of REIT stocks may change based upon investors' collective perceptions of future earnings, the value of the Fund will generally decline when investors anticipate or experience rising interest rates.
36

First Trust Dorsey Wright Momentum & Dividend ETF (DDIV)
SMALLER COMPANIES RISK. Small and/or mid capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic developments, and their securities may be less liquid and may experience greater price volatility than larger, more established companies as a result of several factors, including limited trading volumes, fewer products or financial resources, management inexperience and less publicly available information. Accordingly, such companies are generally subject to greater market risk than larger, more established companies.
TRADING ISSUES RISK. Trading in Fund shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Fund shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange’s “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. The Fund may have difficulty maintaining its listing on the Exchange in the event the Fund’s assets are small, the Fund does not have enough shareholders, or if the Fund is unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders.
Annual Total Return
The bar chart and table below illustrate the annual calendar year returns of the Fund based on net asset value as well as the average annual Fund and Index returns. The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns based on net asset value compared to those of the Index, a broad-based market index and a market index. See “Total Return Information” for additional performance information regarding the Fund. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com.
On September 6, 2018, the Fund’s underlying index changed from the Richard Bernstein Advisors Quality Income Index to the Dorsey Wright Momentum Plus Dividend YieldTM Index. Therefore, the Fund’s performance and historical returns shown below are not necessarily indicative of the performance that the Fund, based on the Index, would have generated. Returns for an underlying index are only disclosed for those periods in which the index was in existence for the whole period.
First Trust Dorsey Wright Momentum & Dividend ETF
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31
During the periods shown in the chart above:
Best Quarter
 
Worst Quarter
 
19.04%
December 31, 2020
-32.28%
March 31, 2020
The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of any state or local tax. Returns after taxes on distributions reflect the taxed return on the payment of dividends and capital gains. Returns after taxes on distributions and sale of shares assume you sold your shares at period end, and, therefore, are also adjusted for any capital gains or losses incurred. Returns for the market indices do not include expenses, which are deducted from Fund returns, or taxes.
37

First Trust Dorsey Wright Momentum & Dividend ETF (DDIV)
Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares in tax-deferred accounts such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or employee-sponsored retirement plans.
Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2022
 
1 Year
5 Years
Since
Inception
Inception
Date
Return Before Taxes
-12.43%
5.53%
7.12%
3/10/2014
Return After Taxes on Distributions
-13.69%
4.24%
5.86%
 
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares
-7.36%
3.69%
5.04%
 
Dorsey Wright Momentum Plus Dividend YieldTM Index(1)
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
-11.93%
N/A
N/A
 
Dow Jones U.S. Select DividendTM Index(2) (reflects no deduction
for fees, expenses or taxes)
2.31%
8.38%
10.25%
 
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or
taxes)
-18.11%
9.42%
10.54%
 
(1)
On September 6, 2018, the Fund's underlying index changed from the Richard Bernstein Advisors Quality Income Index to the Dorsey Wright Momentum Plus Dividend YieldTM Index (the "Index"). Therefore, the Fund's performance and historical returns shown for the periods prior to September 6, 2018, are not necessarily indicative of the performance that the Fund, based on its current index, would have generated. Since the Index had an inception date of July 2, 2018, it was not in existence for all of the periods disclosed.
(2)
The Dow Jones U.S. Select DividendTM Index represents 100 of the United States’ leading stocks by dividend yield.
Management
Investment Advisor
First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)
Portfolio Managers
The Fund’s portfolio is managed by a team (the “Investment Committee”) consisting of:
Daniel J. Lindquist, Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director of First Trust
Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust
David G. McGarel, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of First Trust
Roger F. Testin, Senior Vice President of First Trust
Stan Ueland, Senior Vice President of First Trust
Chris A. Peterson, Senior Vice President of First Trust
Erik Russo, Vice President of First Trust
The Investment Committee members are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each Investment Committee member has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2014, except for Chris A. Peterson, who has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2016 and Erik Russo, who has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2020.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund issues and redeems shares on a continuous basis, at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called “Creation Units.” Individual shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold on the secondary market through a broker-dealer. Since shares of the Fund trade on securities exchanges in the secondary market at their market price rather than their net asset value, the Fund’s shares may trade at a price greater than (premium) or less than (discount) the Fund’s net asset value. An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information, including the Fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, bid-ask spreads and the median bid-ask spread for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year, is available online at https://www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/etf/home.aspx.
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First Trust Dorsey Wright Momentum & Dividend ETF (DDIV)
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions are taxable and will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains. Distributions on shares held in a tax-deferred account, while not immediately taxable, will be subject to tax when the shares are no longer held in a tax-deferred account.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, bank or other financial intermediary (collectively, “intermediaries”), First Trust and First Trust Portfolios L.P., the Fund’s distributor, may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
39

Summary Information

First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund (TDIV)
Investment Objective
The First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an equity index called the Nasdaq Technology Dividend IndexTM (the “Index”).
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. Investors may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)
None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees(1)
0.50%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees
0.00%
Other Expenses
0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
0.50%
(1)
Effective November 1, 2022, as approved by the Trust’s Board of Trustees, the management fee paid to First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund's investment advisor, will be reduced at certain levels of Fund net assets (“breakpoints”). See the Fund's Statement of Additional Information for more information on the breakpoints.
Example
The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.
The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain at current levels. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
$51
$160
$280
$628
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 36% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the common stocks and depositary receipts that comprise the Index. The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The Index is owned and was developed by Nasdaq, Inc. (the “Index Provider”). The Index Provider may, from time to time, exercise reasonable discretion as it deems appropriate in order to ensure Index integrity.
The Index includes up to 100 technology and telecommunications companies that pay a regular or common dividend. To be selected for the Index, a company must be classified as a technology or telecommunications company under the Industry Classification Benchmark and have a minimum market capitalization of $500 million. The Index may include U.S.-listed securities
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First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund (TDIV)
of non-U.S. companies, including companies located in emerging market countries. Pursuant to the Index methodology, securities of companies classified as technology companies are given a collective weight of 80% and the securities of companies classified as telecommunications companies are given a collective weight of 20%.
The Index employs a modified market cap weighting methodology in which larger capitalization companies receive a larger Index weighting. The Index weighting methodology includes caps to prevent high concentrations among larger stocks. This methodology is applied to the dividend value of each Index security. The dividend value is calculated by multiplying dividends paid per share within the past 12 months by the current shares outstanding.
The Index is reconstituted semi-annually and rebalanced quarterly and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index’s quarterly rebalance schedule may cause the Fund to experience a higher rate of portfolio turnover. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. As of December 31, 2022, the Index was comprised of 92 securities. As of December 31, 2022, the Fund had significant investments in information technology companies, although this may change from time to time. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.
Principal Risks
You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s investment objectives will be achieved. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.
AUTHORIZED PARTICIPANT CONCENTRATION RISK. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. A limited number of institutions act as authorized participants for the Fund. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders and no other authorized participant steps forward to create or redeem, the Fund’s shares may trade at a premium or discount (the difference between the market price of the Fund's shares and the Fund's net asset value) and possibly face delisting and the bid/ask spread (the difference between the price that someone is willing to pay for shares of the Fund at a specific point in time versus the price at which someone is willing to sell) on the Fund’s shares may widen.
CYBER SECURITY RISK. The Fund is susceptible to operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cyber security breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks through efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cyber security breaches of the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests or the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. Although the Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third-party service providers.
DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS RISK. Depositary receipts represent equity interests in a foreign company that trade on a local stock exchange. Depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. Any distributions paid to the holders of depositary receipts are usually subject to a fee charged by the depositary. Holders of depositary receipts may have limited voting rights, and investment restrictions in certain countries may adversely impact the value of depositary receipts because such restrictions may limit the ability to convert the equity shares into depositary receipts and vice versa. Such restrictions may cause the equity shares of the underlying issuer to trade at a discount or premium to the market price of the depositary receipts.
DIVIDENDS RISK. The Fund’s investment in dividend-paying securities could cause the Fund to underperform similar funds that invest without consideration of an issuer’s track record of paying dividends. Companies that issue dividend-paying securities are not required to continue to pay dividends on such securities. Therefore, there is the possibility that such companies could reduce or eliminate the payment of dividends in the future, which could negatively affect the Fund’s performance.
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First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund (TDIV)
EMERGING MARKETS RISK. Investments in securities issued by governments and companies operating in emerging market countries involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions not associated with investments in securities and instruments issued by U.S. companies or by companies operating in other developed market countries. Investments in emerging markets securities are generally considered speculative in nature and are subject to the following heightened risks: smaller market capitalization of securities markets which may suffer periods of relative illiquidity; significant price volatility; restrictions on foreign investment; possible repatriation of investment income and capital; rapid inflation; and currency convertibility issues. Emerging market countries also often have less uniformity in accounting, auditing and reporting requirements, unsettled securities laws, unreliable securities valuation and greater risk associated with custody of securities. Financial and other reporting by companies and government entities also may be less reliable in emerging market countries. Shareholder claims that are available in the U.S., as well as regulatory oversight and authority that is common in the U.S., including for claims based on fraud, may be difficult or impossible for shareholders of securities in emerging market countries or for U.S. authorities to pursue. The index the Fund seeks to track may not weight the securities in emerging market countries on the basis of investor protection limitations, financial reporting quality or available oversight mechanisms. Furthermore, investors may be required to register the proceeds of sales and future economic or political crises could lead to price controls, forced mergers, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, seizure, nationalization or creation of government monopolies.
EQUITY SECURITIES RISK. The value of the Fund’s shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities in which it invests. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors’ perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting an issuer occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market.
INDEX CONCENTRATION RISK. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a single asset class or the securities of issuers within the same country, state, region, industry or sector, an adverse economic, business or political development may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more than if the Fund were more broadly diversified. A significant exposure makes the Fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the Fund to greater market risk than a fund that is more broadly diversified. There may be instances in which the Index, for a variety of reasons including changes in the prices of individual securities held by the Fund, has a larger exposure to a small number of stocks or a single stock relative to the rest of the stocks in the Index. Under such circumstances, the Fund will not deviate from the Index except in rare circumstances or in an immaterial way and therefore the Fund’s returns would be more greatly influenced by the returns of the stock(s) with the larger exposure.
INDEX OR MODEL CONSTITUENT RISK. The Fund may be a constituent of one or more indices or ETF models. As a result, the Fund may be included in one or more index-tracking exchange-traded funds or mutual funds. Being a component security of such a vehicle could greatly affect the trading activity involving the Fund’s shares, the size of the Fund and the market volatility of the Fund. Inclusion in an index could increase demand for the Fund and removal from an index could result in outsized selling activity in a relatively short period of time. As a result, the Fund’s net asset value could be negatively impacted and the Fund’s market price may be below the Fund’s net asset value during certain periods. In addition, index rebalances may potentially result in increased trading activity in the Fund's shares.
INDEX PROVIDER RISK. There is no assurance that the Index Provider, or any agents that act on its behalf, will compile the Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. The Index Provider and its agents do not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the Index, and do not guarantee that the Index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. The Advisor’s mandate as described in this prospectus is to manage the Fund consistently with the Index provided by the Index Provider. The Advisor relies upon the Index provider and its agents to accurately compile, maintain, construct, reconstitute, rebalance, compose, calculate and disseminate the Index accurately. Therefore, losses or costs associated with any Index Provider or agent errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. To correct any such error, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out an unscheduled rebalance of the Index or other modification of Index constituents or weightings. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where the Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors.
42

First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund (TDIV)
For example, during a period where the Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund tracking the Index would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.
INFLATION RISK. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions may decline.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES RISK. Information technology companies produce and provide hardware, software and information technology systems and services. These companies may be adversely affected by rapidly changing technologies, short product life cycles, fierce competition, aggressive pricing and reduced profit margins, the loss of patent, copyright and trademark protections, cyclical market patterns, evolving industry standards and frequent new product introductions. In addition, information technology companies are particularly vulnerable to federal, state and local government regulation, and competition and consolidation, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Information technology companies also heavily rely on intellectual property rights and may be adversely affected by the loss or impairment of those rights.
MARKET MAKER RISK. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares due to a limited number of market markers. Decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. The Fund may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s net asset value and the price at which the Fund’s shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund’s shares. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a discount to net asset value and also in greater than normal intraday bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.
MARKET RISK. Market risk is the risk that a particular security, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic, political, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of the Fund could decline in value or underperform other investments. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. For example, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While 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. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. These events also adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio securities or other instruments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of the Fund’s shares and result in increased market volatility. During any such events, the Fund’s shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.
NON-CORRELATION RISK. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. The Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and may incur costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s portfolio holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. In addition, the Fund’s portfolio holdings may
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First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund (TDIV)
not exactly replicate the securities included in the Index or the ratios between the securities included in the Index. Additionally, in order to comply with its investment strategies and policies, the Fund portfolio may deviate from the composition of the Index.
NON-DIVERSIFICATION RISK. The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act. As a result, the Fund is only limited as to the percentage of its assets which may be invested in the securities of any one issuer by the diversification requirements imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The Fund may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers. As a result, the Fund may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence affecting one or more of these issuers, experience increased volatility and be highly invested in certain issuers.
NON-U.S. SECURITIES RISK. Non-U.S. securities are subject to higher volatility than securities of domestic issuers due to possible adverse political, social or economic developments, restrictions on foreign investment or exchange of securities, capital controls, lack of liquidity, currency exchange rates, excessive taxation, government seizure of assets, the imposition of sanctions by foreign governments, different legal or accounting standards, and less government supervision and regulation of securities exchanges in foreign countries.
OPERATIONAL RISK. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Fund's investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
PASSIVE INVESTMENT RISK. The Fund is not actively managed. The Fund invests in securities included in or representative of the Index regardless of investment merit. The Fund generally will not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. In the event that the Index is no longer calculated, the Index license is terminated or the identity or character of the Index is materially changed, the Fund will seek to engage a replacement index.
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER RISK. High portfolio turnover may result in the Fund paying higher levels of transaction costs and may generate greater tax liabilities for shareholders. Portfolio turnover risk may cause the Fund’s performance to be less than expected.
PREMIUM/DISCOUNT RISK. The market price of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the Fund’s net asset value as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on the Exchange. The Fund’s investment advisor cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their net asset value because the shares trade on the Exchange at market prices and not at net asset value. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related, but not identical, to the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. However, given that shares can only be purchased and redeemed in Creation Units, and only to and from broker-dealers and large institutional investors that have entered into participation agreements (unlike shares of closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their net asset value), the Fund’s investment advisor believes that large discounts or premiums to the net asset value of shares should not be sustained. During stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the market for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which could in turn lead to differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.
SMALLER COMPANIES RISK. Small and/or mid capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic developments, and their securities may be less liquid and may experience greater price volatility than larger, more established companies as a result of several factors, including limited trading volumes, fewer products or financial resources, management inexperience and less publicly available information. Accordingly, such companies are generally subject to greater market risk than larger, more established companies.
TRADING ISSUES RISK. Trading in Fund shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Fund shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange’s “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will
44

First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund (TDIV)
remain unchanged. The Fund may have difficulty maintaining its listing on the Exchange in the event the Fund’s assets are small, the Fund does not have enough shareholders, or if the Fund is unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders.
Annual Total Return
The bar chart and table below illustrate the annual calendar year returns of the Fund based on net asset value as well as the average annual Fund and Index returns. The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns based on net asset value compared to those of the Index, a broad-based market index and a market index. See “Total Return Information” for additional performance information regarding the Fund. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com.
First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31
During the periods shown in the chart above:
Best Quarter
 
Worst Quarter
 
18.54%
June 30, 2020
-17.50%
March 31, 2020
The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of any state or local tax. Returns after taxes on distributions reflect the taxed return on the payment of dividends and capital gains. Returns after taxes on distributions and sale of shares assume you sold your shares at period end, and, therefore, are also adjusted for any capital gains or losses incurred. Returns for the market indices do not include expenses, which are deducted from Fund returns, or taxes.
Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares in tax-deferred accounts such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or employee-sponsored retirement plans.
45

First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund (TDIV)
Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2022
 
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
Since
Inception
Inception
Date
Return Before Taxes
-22.14%
8.87%
12.19%
11.53%
8/13/2012
Return After Taxes on Distributions
-22.91%
7.82%
11.02%
10.37%
 
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of
Fund Shares
-13.10%
6.51%
9.48%
8.93%
 
Nasdaq Technology Dividend IndexTM (reflects no
deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
-21.77%
9.55%
12.91%
12.24%
 
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses or taxes)
-18.11%
9.42%
12.56%
12.34%
 
S&P 500® Information Technology Index (reflects
no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
-28.19%
15.81%
18.33%
17.20%
 
Management
Investment Advisor
First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)
Portfolio Managers
The Fund’s portfolio is managed by a team (the “Investment Committee”) consisting of:
Daniel J. Lindquist, Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director of First Trust
Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust
David G. McGarel, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of First Trust
Roger F. Testin, Senior Vice President of First Trust
Stan Ueland, Senior Vice President of First Trust
Chris A. Peterson, Senior Vice President of First Trust
Erik Russo, Vice President of First Trust
The Investment Committee members are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each Investment Committee member has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2012, except for Chris A. Peterson, who has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2016 and Erik Russo, who has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2020.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund issues and redeems shares on a continuous basis, at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called “Creation Units.” Individual shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold on the secondary market through a broker-dealer. Since shares of the Fund trade on securities exchanges in the secondary market at their market price rather than their net asset value, the Fund’s shares may trade at a price greater than (premium) or less than (discount) the Fund’s net asset value. An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information, including the Fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, bid-ask spreads and the median bid-ask spread for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year, is available online at https://www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/etf/home.aspx.
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions are taxable and will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains. Distributions on shares held in a tax-deferred account, while not immediately taxable, will be subject to tax when the shares are no longer held in a tax-deferred account.
46

First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund (TDIV)
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, bank or other financial intermediary (collectively, “intermediaries”), First Trust and First Trust Portfolios L.P., the Fund’s distributor, may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
47

Summary Information

First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance® ETF (AIRR)
Investment Objective
The First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance® ETF (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an index called the Richard Bernstein Advisors American Industrial Renaissance® Index (the “Index”).
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. Investors may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)
None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees(1)
0.70%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees
0.00%
Other Expenses
0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
0.70%
(1)
Effective November 1, 2022, as approved by the Trust’s Board of Trustees, the management fee paid to First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund's investment advisor, will be reduced at certain levels of Fund net assets (“breakpoints”). See the Fund's Statement of Additional Information for more information on the breakpoints.
Example
The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.
The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain at current levels. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
$72
$224
$390
$871
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 37% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the equity securities that comprise the Index. The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The Index is owned and was developed by Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC (“RBA” or the “Index Provider”). The Index Provider has retained the ICE Data Indices, LLC to calculate and maintain the Index. The Index may be adjusted by the Index Provider for intra-rebalance corporate actions in order to maintain the continuity of the Index level and composition.
The Index is designed to measure the performance of small and mid cap U.S. companies in the industrial and community banking sectors. RBA believes there is increasing reason to expect that the United States may regain industrial market share, based
48

First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance® ETF (AIRR)
on a number of factors, including: access to competitively-priced energy sources; the relative stability of the U.S. market compared to many emerging markets; and availability of bank financing for manufacturers. The Index's initial universe consists of all U.S. exchange-traded equity securities, including depositary receipts, issued by companies classified according to the Global Industry Classification Standard as comprising the following industries: (a) Commercial Services & Supplies; (b) Construction & Engineering; (c) Electrical Equipment; (d) Machinery; and (e) Banks. The Index Provider then excludes all securities issued by companies classified as comprising the “Banks” industry that do not have a business focus on regional commercial lending; and are not domiciled in traditional mid-western manufacturing states, such as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Iowa. To ensure that the Index is composed of securities of companies that derive a majority of their revenues from the United States, all securities issued by companies with non-U.S. sales of greater than 25% are excluded from the Index. Lastly, to be eligible for inclusion in the Index, securities must be issued by companies that have a positive mean 12-months forward earnings consensus estimate.
The Index is reconstituted and rebalanced quarterly and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index’s quarterly rebalance schedule may cause the Fund to experience a higher rate of portfolio turnover. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. As of December 31, 2022, the Index was composed of 49 securities. As of December 31, 2022, the Fund had significant investments in industrials companies, although this may change from time to time. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.
Principal Risks
You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s investment objectives will be achieved. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.
AUTHORIZED PARTICIPANT CONCENTRATION RISK. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. A limited number of institutions act as authorized participants for the Fund. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders and no other authorized participant steps forward to create or redeem, the Fund’s shares may trade at a premium or discount (the difference between the market price of the Fund's shares and the Fund's net asset value) and possibly face delisting and the bid/ask spread (the difference between the price that someone is willing to pay for shares of the Fund at a specific point in time versus the price at which someone is willing to sell) on the Fund’s shares may widen.
COMMUNITY BANK RISK. Community banks were significantly impacted by the downturn in the United States and world economies that began with the decline in the subprime mortgage lending market in the United States. These conditions have brought about legislative and regulatory changes, changes in short-term and long-term interest rates, inflation and changes in government monetary and fiscal policies, all of which have had a significant impact on the banking business. Unlike larger national or other regional banks that are more geographically diversified, a community bank’s financial performance may be highly dependent upon the business environment in certain geographic regions of the United States and may be adversely impacted by any downturn or unfavorable economic or employment developments in its local market and the United States as a whole. In particular, this environment impacts the ability of borrowers to pay interest on and repay principal of outstanding loans and the value of collateral securing those loans. Also, the securities of community banks are often subject to low trading volume and low analyst coverage.
CYBER SECURITY RISK. The Fund is susceptible to operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cyber security breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks through efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cyber security breaches of the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests or the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. Although the Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third-party service providers.
49

First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance® ETF (AIRR)
EQUITY SECURITIES RISK. The value of the Fund’s shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities in which it invests. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors’ perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting an issuer occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market.
INDEX CONCENTRATION RISK. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a single asset class or the securities of issuers within the same country, state, region, industry or sector, an adverse economic, business or political development may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more than if the Fund were more broadly diversified. A significant exposure makes the Fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the Fund to greater market risk than a fund that is more broadly diversified. There may be instances in which the Index, for a variety of reasons including changes in the prices of individual securities held by the Fund, has a larger exposure to a small number of stocks or a single stock relative to the rest of the stocks in the Index. Under such circumstances, the Fund will not deviate from the Index except in rare circumstances or in an immaterial way and therefore the Fund’s returns would be more greatly influenced by the returns of the stock(s) with the larger exposure.
INDEX OR MODEL CONSTITUENT RISK. The Fund may be a constituent of one or more indices or ETF models. As a result, the Fund may be included in one or more index-tracking exchange-traded funds or mutual funds. Being a component security of such a vehicle could greatly affect the trading activity involving the Fund’s shares, the size of the Fund and the market volatility of the Fund. Inclusion in an index could increase demand for the Fund and removal from an index could result in outsized selling activity in a relatively short period of time. As a result, the Fund’s net asset value could be negatively impacted and the Fund’s market price may be below the Fund’s net asset value during certain periods. In addition, index rebalances may potentially result in increased trading activity in the Fund's shares.
INDEX PROVIDER RISK. There is no assurance that the Index Provider, or any agents that act on its behalf, will compile the Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. The Index Provider and its agents do not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the Index, and do not guarantee that the Index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. The Advisor’s mandate as described in this prospectus is to manage the Fund consistently with the Index provided by the Index Provider. The Advisor relies upon the Index provider and its agents to accurately compile, maintain, construct, reconstitute, rebalance, compose, calculate and disseminate the Index accurately. Therefore, losses or costs associated with any Index Provider or agent errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. To correct any such error, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out an unscheduled rebalance of the Index or other modification of Index constituents or weightings. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where the Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors. For example, during a period where the Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund tracking the Index would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.
INDUSTRIALS COMPANIES RISK. Industrials companies convert unfinished goods into finished durables used to manufacture other goods or provide services. Examples of industrials companies include companies involved in the production of electrical equipment and components, industrial products, manufactured housing and telecommunications equipment, as well as defense
50

First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance® ETF (AIRR)
and aerospace companies. General risks of industrials companies include the general state of the economy, exchange rates, commodity prices, intense competition, consolidation, domestic and international politics, government regulation, import controls, excess capacity, consumer demand and spending trends. In addition, industrials companies may also be significantly affected by overall capital spending levels, economic cycles, rapid technological changes, delays in modernization, labor relations, environmental liabilities, governmental and product liability and e-commerce initiatives.
MARKET MAKER RISK. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares due to a limited number of market markers. Decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. The Fund may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s net asset value and the price at which the Fund’s shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund’s shares. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a discount to net asset value and also in greater than normal intraday bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.
MARKET RISK. Market risk is the risk that a particular security, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic, political, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of the Fund could decline in value or underperform other investments. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. For example, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While 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. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. These events also adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio securities or other instruments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of the Fund’s shares and result in increased market volatility. During any such events, the Fund’s shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.
NON-CORRELATION RISK. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. The Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and may incur costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s portfolio holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. In addition, the Fund’s portfolio holdings may not exactly replicate the securities included in the Index or the ratios between the securities included in the Index. Additionally, in order to comply with its investment strategies and policies, the Fund portfolio may deviate from the composition of the Index.
OPERATIONAL RISK. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Fund's investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
PASSIVE INVESTMENT RISK. The Fund is not actively managed. The Fund invests in securities included in or representative of the Index regardless of investment merit. The Fund generally will not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. In the event that the Index is no longer calculated, the Index license is terminated or the identity or character of the Index is materially changed, the Fund will seek to engage a replacement index.
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER RISK. High portfolio turnover may result in the Fund paying higher levels of transaction costs and may generate greater tax liabilities for shareholders. Portfolio turnover risk may cause the Fund’s performance to be less than expected.
PREMIUM/DISCOUNT RISK. The market price of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the Fund’s net asset value as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on the Exchange. The Fund’s investment advisor cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their net asset value because the shares trade on the Exchange
51

First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance® ETF (AIRR)
at market prices and not at net asset value. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related, but not identical, to the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. However, given that shares can only be purchased and redeemed in Creation Units, and only to and from broker-dealers and large institutional investors that have entered into participation agreements (unlike shares of closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their net asset value), the Fund’s investment advisor believes that large discounts or premiums to the net asset value of shares should not be sustained. During stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the market for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which could in turn lead to differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.
SMALLER COMPANIES RISK. Small and/or mid capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic developments, and their securities may be less liquid and may experience greater price volatility than larger, more established companies as a result of several factors, including limited trading volumes, fewer products or financial resources, management inexperience and less publicly available information. Accordingly, such companies are generally subject to greater market risk than larger, more established companies.
TRADING ISSUES RISK. Trading in Fund shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Fund shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange’s “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. The Fund may have difficulty maintaining its listing on the Exchange in the event the Fund’s assets are small, the Fund does not have enough shareholders, or if the Fund is unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders.
Annual Total Return
The bar chart and table below illustrate the annual calendar year returns of the Fund based on net asset value as well as the average annual Fund and Index returns. The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns based on net asset value compared to those of the Index, two broad-based market indices and a market index. See “Total Return Information” for additional performance information regarding the Fund. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com.
First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance® ETF
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31
During the periods shown in the chart above:
Best Quarter
 
Worst Quarter
 
31.89%
December 31, 2020
-31.00%
March 31, 2020
The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
52

First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance® ETF (AIRR)
All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of any state or local tax. Returns after taxes on distributions reflect the taxed return on the payment of dividends and capital gains. Returns after taxes on distributions and sale of shares assume you sold your shares at period end, and, therefore, are also adjusted for any capital gains or losses incurred. Returns for the market indices do not include expenses, which are deducted from Fund returns, or taxes.
Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares in tax-deferred accounts such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or employee-sponsored retirement plans.
Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2022
 
1 Year
5 Years
Since
Inception
Inception
Date
Return Before Taxes
-2.16%
10.13%
9.65%
3/10/2014
Return After Taxes on Distributions
-2.21%
10.05%
9.54%
 
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares
-1.28%
8.00%
7.82%
 
Richard Bernstein Advisors American Industrial Renaissance®
Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
-1.43%
10.92%
10.48%
 
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or
taxes)
-18.11%
9.42%
10.54%
 
S&P 500® Industrials Index (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses or taxes)
-5.48%
7.36%
9.27%
 
Russell 2500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses
or taxes)
-18.37%
5.89%
7.14%
 
Management
Investment Advisor
First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)
Portfolio Managers
The Fund’s portfolio is managed by a team (the “Investment Committee”) consisting of:
Daniel J. Lindquist, Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director of First Trust
Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust
David G. McGarel, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of First Trust
Roger F. Testin, Senior Vice President of First Trust
Stan Ueland, Senior Vice President of First Trust
Chris A. Peterson, Senior Vice President of First Trust
Erik Russo, Vice President of First Trust
The Investment Committee members are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each Investment Committee member has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2014, except for Chris A. Peterson, who has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2016 and Erik Russo, who has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2020.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund issues and redeems shares on a continuous basis, at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called “Creation Units.” Individual shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold on the secondary market through a broker-dealer. Since shares of the Fund trade on securities exchanges in the secondary market at their market price rather than their net asset value, the Fund’s shares may trade at a price greater than (premium) or less than (discount) the Fund’s net asset value. An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in
53

First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance® ETF (AIRR)
the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information, including the Fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, bid-ask spreads and the median bid-ask spread for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year, is available online at https://www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/etf/home.aspx.
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions are taxable and will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains. Distributions on shares held in a tax-deferred account, while not immediately taxable, will be subject to tax when the shares are no longer held in a tax-deferred account.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, bank or other financial intermediary (collectively, “intermediaries”), First Trust and First Trust Portfolios L.P., the Fund’s distributor, may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
54

Summary Information

First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY)
Investment Objective
The First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an index called the Nasdaq US Rising Dividend AchieversTM Index (the “Index”).
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. Investors may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)
None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees(1)
0.50%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees
0.00%
Other Expenses
0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
0.50%
(1)
Effective November 1, 2022, as approved by the Trust’s Board of Trustees, the management fee paid to First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund's investment advisor, will be reduced at certain levels of Fund net assets (“breakpoints”). See the Fund's Statement of Additional Information for more information on the breakpoints.
Example
The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.
The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain at current levels. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
$51
$160
$280
$628
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 59% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the common stock and depositary receipts that comprise the Index. The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The Index is owned, developed, calculated and maintained by Nasdaq, Inc. (the “Index Provider”). The Index Provider may, from time to time, exercise reasonable discretion as it deems appropriate in order to ensure Index integrity.
The Index is designed to provide access to a diversified portfolio of small, mid and large capitalization companies with a history of raising their dividends while exhibiting the characteristics to continue to do so in the future by including companies with strong cash balances, low debt and increasing earnings. The Index includes 50 U.S. exchange-traded equity securities, including
55

First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY)
securities issued by non-U.S. companies that trade on U.S. securities exchanges in the form of depositary receipts. In order to be eligible for inclusion in the Index, a security must have paid a dividend in the trailing 12-month period greater than the dividend paid in the trailing 12-month period three and five years prior. A security must also be issued by companies that meet the following three balance sheet characteristics: (i) have earnings-per-share in the most recent fiscal year greater than earnings-per-share in the three prior fiscal years; (ii) have a cash-to-debt ratio greater than 50%; and (iii) have a trailing 12-month payout ratio less than or equal to 65%.
To be eligible for inclusion in the Index, a security must also meet the following criteria: (i) be a member of the Nasdaq US Benchmark Index; (ii) not be classified as a "Real Estate Investment Trust" by the Industry Classification Benchmark; (iii) rank in the top 1,000 of the Nasdaq US Benchmark Index by market capitalization; and (iv) have a minimum three-month average daily trading volume of $5 million. Securities that meet these eligibility thresholds are ranked in descending order by dollar dividend increase over the previous five year period and current dividend yield and ascending order by payout ratio. These ranks are aggregated into a single score with the 50 securities with the lowest aggregate rank selected for inclusion in the Index and are equally weighted. A review is then undertaken to determine if the Index has exposure to any Industry Classification Benchmark industry in excess of 30%. If the Index has exposure to an industry in excess of 30%, the lowest ranking component within that industry is removed and replaced with the next highest ranking eligible security from a different industry.
The Index is reconstituted annually and rebalanced quarterly and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index’s quarterly rebalance schedule may cause the Fund to experience a higher rate of portfolio turnover. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. As of December 31, 2022, the Fund had significant investments in financial companies and information technology companies, although this may change from time to time. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.
Principal Risks
You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s investment objective will be achieved. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.
AUTHORIZED PARTICIPANT CONCENTRATION RISK. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. A limited number of institutions act as authorized participants for the Fund. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders and no other authorized participant steps forward to create or redeem, the Fund’s shares may trade at a premium or discount (the difference between the market price of the Fund's shares and the Fund's net asset value) and possibly face delisting and the bid/ask spread (the difference between the price that someone is willing to pay for shares of the Fund at a specific point in time versus the price at which someone is willing to sell) on the Fund’s shares may widen.
CYBER SECURITY RISK. The Fund is susceptible to operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cyber security breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks through efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cyber security breaches of the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests or the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. Although the Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third-party service providers.
DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS RISK. Depositary receipts represent equity interests in a foreign company that trade on a local stock exchange. Depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. Any distributions paid to the holders of depositary receipts are usually subject to a fee charged by the depositary. Holders of depositary receipts may have limited voting rights, and investment restrictions in certain countries may adversely impact the value of depositary receipts because such restrictions may limit the ability to convert the equity shares into depositary receipts and vice versa.
56

First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY)
Such restrictions may cause the equity shares of the underlying issuer to trade at a discount or premium to the market price of the depositary receipts.
DIVIDENDS RISK. The Fund’s investment in dividend-paying securities could cause the Fund to underperform similar funds that invest without consideration of an issuer’s track record of paying dividends. Companies that issue dividend-paying securities are not required to continue to pay dividends on such securities. Therefore, there is the possibility that such companies could reduce or eliminate the payment of dividends in the future, which could negatively affect the Fund’s performance.
EQUITY SECURITIES RISK. The value of the Fund’s shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities in which it invests. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors’ perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting an issuer occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market.
FINANCIAL COMPANIES RISK. Financial companies, such as retail and commercial banks, insurance companies and financial services companies, are especially subject to the adverse effects of economic recession, currency exchange rates, extensive government regulation, decreases in the availability of capital, volatile interest rates, portfolio concentrations in geographic markets, industries or products (such as commercial and residential real estate loans), competition from new entrants and blurred distinctions in their fields of business.
INDEX CONCENTRATION RISK. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a single asset class or the securities of issuers within the same country, state, region, industry or sector, an adverse economic, business or political development may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more than if the Fund were more broadly diversified. A significant exposure makes the Fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the Fund to greater market risk than a fund that is more broadly diversified. There may be instances in which the Index, for a variety of reasons including changes in the prices of individual securities held by the Fund, has a larger exposure to a small number of stocks or a single stock relative to the rest of the stocks in the Index. Under such circumstances, the Fund will not deviate from the Index except in rare circumstances or in an immaterial way and therefore the Fund’s returns would be more greatly influenced by the returns of the stock(s) with the larger exposure.
INDEX OR MODEL CONSTITUENT RISK. The Fund may be a constituent of one or more indices or ETF models. As a result, the Fund may be included in one or more index-tracking exchange-traded funds or mutual funds. Being a component security of such a vehicle could greatly affect the trading activity involving the Fund’s shares, the size of the Fund and the market volatility of the Fund. Inclusion in an index could increase demand for the Fund and removal from an index could result in outsized selling activity in a relatively short period of time. As a result, the Fund’s net asset value could be negatively impacted and the Fund’s market price may be below the Fund’s net asset value during certain periods. In addition, index rebalances may potentially result in increased trading activity in the Fund's shares.
INDEX PROVIDER RISK. There is no assurance that the Index Provider, or any agents that act on its behalf, will compile the Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. The Index Provider and its agents do not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the Index, and do not guarantee that the Index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. The Advisor’s mandate as described in this prospectus is to manage the Fund consistently with the Index provided by the Index Provider. The Advisor relies upon the Index provider and its agents to accurately compile, maintain, construct, reconstitute, rebalance, compose, calculate and disseminate the Index accurately. Therefore, losses or costs associated with any Index Provider or agent errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. To correct any such error, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out an unscheduled rebalance of the Index or other modification of Index constituents or weightings. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where the Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors. For example, during a period where the Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund tracking the Index would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria
57

First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY)
of issuers included in the Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.
INFLATION RISK. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions may decline.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES RISK. Information technology companies produce and provide hardware, software and information technology systems and services. These companies may be adversely affected by rapidly changing technologies, short product life cycles, fierce competition, aggressive pricing and reduced profit margins, the loss of patent, copyright and trademark protections, cyclical market patterns, evolving industry standards and frequent new product introductions. In addition, information technology companies are particularly vulnerable to federal, state and local government regulation, and competition and consolidation, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Information technology companies also heavily rely on intellectual property rights and may be adversely affected by the loss or impairment of those rights.
MARKET MAKER RISK. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares due to a limited number of market markers. Decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. The Fund may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s net asset value and the price at which the Fund’s shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund’s shares. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a discount to net asset value and also in greater than normal intraday bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.
MARKET RISK. Market risk is the risk that a particular security, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic, political, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of the Fund could decline in value or underperform other investments. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. For example, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While 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. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. These events also adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio securities or other instruments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of the Fund’s shares and result in increased market volatility. During any such events, the Fund’s shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.
NON-CORRELATION RISK. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. The Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and may incur costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s portfolio holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. In addition, the Fund’s portfolio holdings may not exactly replicate the securities included in the Index or the ratios between the securities included in the Index. Additionally, in order to comply with its investment strategies and policies, the Fund portfolio may deviate from the composition of the Index.
NON-U.S. SECURITIES RISK. Non-U.S. securities are subject to higher volatility than securities of domestic issuers due to possible adverse political, social or economic developments, restrictions on foreign investment or exchange of securities, capital
58

First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY)
controls, lack of liquidity, currency exchange rates, excessive taxation, government seizure of assets, the imposition of sanctions by foreign governments, different legal or accounting standards, and less government supervision and regulation of securities exchanges in foreign countries.
OPERATIONAL RISK. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Fund's investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
PASSIVE INVESTMENT RISK. The Fund is not actively managed. The Fund invests in securities included in or representative of the Index regardless of investment merit. The Fund generally will not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. In the event that the Index is no longer calculated, the Index license is terminated or the identity or character of the Index is materially changed, the Fund will seek to engage a replacement index.
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER RISK. High portfolio turnover may result in the Fund paying higher levels of transaction costs and may generate greater tax liabilities for shareholders. Portfolio turnover risk may cause the Fund’s performance to be less than expected.
PREMIUM/DISCOUNT RISK. The market price of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the Fund’s net asset value as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on the Exchange. The Fund’s investment advisor cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their net asset value because the shares trade on the Exchange at market prices and not at net asset value. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related, but not identical, to the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. However, given that shares can only be purchased and redeemed in Creation Units, and only to and from broker-dealers and large institutional investors that have entered into participation agreements (unlike shares of closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their net asset value), the Fund’s investment advisor believes that large discounts or premiums to the net asset value of shares should not be sustained. During stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the market for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which could in turn lead to differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.
SMALLER COMPANIES RISK. Small and/or mid capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic developments, and their securities may be less liquid and may experience greater price volatility than larger, more established companies as a result of several factors, including limited trading volumes, fewer products or financial resources, management inexperience and less publicly available information. Accordingly, such companies are generally subject to greater market risk than larger, more established companies.
TRADING ISSUES RISK. Trading in Fund shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Fund shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange’s “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. The Fund may have difficulty maintaining its listing on the Exchange in the event the Fund’s assets are small, the Fund does not have enough shareholders, or if the Fund is unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders.
Annual Total Return
The bar chart and table below illustrate the annual calendar year returns of the Fund based on net asset value as well as the average annual Fund and Index returns. The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns based on net asset value compared to those of the Index and a market index. See “Total Return Information” for additional performance information regarding the Fund. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com.
59

First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY)
First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31
During the periods shown in the chart above:
Best Quarter
 
Worst Quarter
 
22.77%
December 31, 2020
-28.24%
March 31, 2020
The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of any state or local tax. Returns after taxes on distributions reflect the taxed return on the payment of dividends and capital gains. Returns after taxes on distributions and sale of shares assume you sold your shares at period end, and, therefore, are also adjusted for any capital gains or losses incurred. Returns for the market indices do not include expenses, which are deducted from Fund returns, or taxes.
Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares in tax-deferred accounts such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or employee-sponsored retirement plans.
Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2022
 
1 Year
5 Years
Since
Inception
Inception
Date
Return Before Taxes
-13.28%
9.87%
11.18%
1/6/2014
Return After Taxes on Distributions
-14.08%
9.11%
10.34%
 
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares
-7.88%
7.44%
8.71%
 
Nasdaq US Rising Dividend AchieversTM Index (reflects no
deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
-12.92%
10.44%
11.76%
 
Dow Jones U.S. Select DividendTM Index(1) (reflects no deduction
for fees, expenses or taxes)
2.31%
8.38%
10.38%
 
(1)
The Dow Jones U.S. Select DividendTM Index represents 100 of the United States’ leading stocks by dividend yield.
Management
Investment Advisor
First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)
60

First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY)
Portfolio Managers
The Fund’s portfolio is managed by a team (the “Investment Committee”) consisting of:
Daniel J. Lindquist, Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director of First Trust
Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust
David G. McGarel, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of First Trust
Roger F. Testin, Senior Vice President of First Trust
Stan Ueland, Senior Vice President of First Trust
Chris A. Peterson, Senior Vice President of First Trust
Erik Russo, Vice President of First Trust
The Investment Committee members are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each Investment Committee member has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2014, except for Chris A. Peterson, who has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2016 and Erik Russo, who has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2020.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund issues and redeems shares on a continuous basis, at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called “Creation Units.” Individual shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold on the secondary market through a broker-dealer. Since shares of the Fund trade on securities exchanges in the secondary market at their market price rather than their net asset value, the Fund’s shares may trade at a price greater than (premium) or less than (discount) the Fund’s net asset value. An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information, including the Fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, bid-ask spreads and the median bid-ask spread for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year, is available online at https://www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/etf/home.aspx.
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions are taxable and will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains. Distributions on shares held in a tax-deferred account, while not immediately taxable, will be subject to tax when the shares are no longer held in a tax-deferred account.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, bank or other financial intermediary (collectively, “intermediaries”), First Trust and First Trust Portfolios L.P., the Fund’s distributor, may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
61

Summary Information

First Trust S&P International Dividend Aristocrats ETF (FID)
Investment Objective
The First Trust S&P International Dividend Aristocrats ETF (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an index called the S&P International Dividend Aristocrats Index (the “Index”).
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. Investors may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)
None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees(1)
0.60%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees
0.00%
Other Expenses
0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
0.60%
(1)
Effective November 1, 2022, as approved by the Trust’s Board of Trustees, the management fee paid to First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund's investment advisor, will be reduced at certain levels of Fund net assets (“breakpoints”). See the Fund's Statement of Additional Information for more information on the breakpoints.
Example
The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.
The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain at current levels. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
$61
$192
$335
$750
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 47% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
Under normal conditions, the Fund will invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the equity securities that comprise the Index. The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The Index is owned and was developed by S&P Dow Jones Indices, LLC a division of S&P Global (“SPDJI” or the “Index Provider”). The Index Provider reserves the right to make exceptions when applying the methodology if the need arises. In addition, the Index Provider may revise Index policy covering rules for selecting companies, treatment of dividends, share counts or other matters.
The Index measures the performance of high dividend yielding companies that have followed a managed-dividends policy of increasing or maintaining dividends for at least ten consecutive years. The Index’s initial investible universe consists of all the
62

First Trust S&P International Dividend Aristocrats ETF (FID)
securities comprising the S&P Global Broad Market Index. The S&P Global Broad Market Index is an equity index measuring global stock market performance that includes securities issued by small, mid and large capitalization companies domiciled in both developed and emerging markets. This initial universe is subsequently narrowed by removing securities that do not meet the following eligibility requirements as of the last business day of December of each year (the “Annual Rebalance Reference Date”):
Market Capitalization. Securities must have a float-adjusted market capitalization of at least $1 billion.
Liquidity. Securities must have an average daily traded value of at least $5 million for the prior three months.
Dividend Growth. Securities must have increased dividends or maintained stable dividends every year for at least the prior ten consecutive years.
Payout Ratio. Securities must have a maximum 100% dividend payout ratio. The dividend payout ratio is the amount of dividend paid to stockholders relative to the amount of total net income of a company. It is calculated by dividing a security’s dividend-per-share amount by its earnings-per-share amount, using data from the prior twelve months.
Dividend Yield. Securities must have a maximum 10% indicated dividend yield. A security’s indicated dividend yield is calculated by multiplying the amount of its most recent dividend payment by the number of dividend payments per year, and then dividing that number by the company’s stock price.
The securities that meet these eligibility requirements are then ranked based upon their indicated dividend yield as of the Annual Rebalance Reference Date. The 100 securities with the highest indicated dividend yield are selected, with the number of securities from each country capped at 20. If the number of securities from a country reaches 20, the highest yielding securities from other countries are selected until the number of Index securities reaches 100. If the eligible highest yielding securities are overly concentrated (beyond 35 securities) in an individual Global Industry Classification Standard (“GICS®) sector, the next highest yielding securities from the sector with less than 35 securities are selected until the count reaches 100. If the number of eligible constituent securities is fewer than 100 at the time of the annual rebalancing, then the minimum float-adjusted market capitalization requirement is lowered from $1 billion to $500 million and the requirement that a constituent security have increased or maintained stable dividends every year for at least the prior ten consecutive years is reduced so that a security may be eligible if it has increased or maintained stable dividends every year for the prior seven consecutive years. From these 100 securities, all U.S. securities are removed from the universe. Based on the country caps on the number of securities (20), excluding U.S. securities, the portfolio will generally consist of 80-100 securities. The Index seeks to be composed of at least 80 constituent securities.
In order to achieve a relatively high dividend yield, the Index constituents are weighted by indicated annual dividend yield. At each rebalancing, the weight for each Index constituent is capped at 3%, and the weight of each country and GICS® sector is capped at 25%, respectively. The Fund may invest in U.S. dollar denominated and non-U.S. dollar denominated securities.
The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted annually and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. In addition, to the annual rebalancing and the monthly dividend review (the constituents are reviewed on a monthly basis for ongoing eligibility), the indices also undergo a secondary review for adherence to the constituent weighting criteria. Any changes due to the realignment of constituent weights with the weighting criteria or the removal of stocks no longer eligible for index inclusion become effective after the close of the last trading date of July. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. As of December 31, 2022, the Fund had significant investments in financial companies, utility companies, Canadian issuers, Asian issuers and European issuers, although this may change from time to time. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.
Principal Risks
You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s investment objective will be achieved. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.
ASIA RISK. The Fund is subject to certain risks specifically associated with investments in the securities of Asian issuers. Many Asian economies have experienced rapid growth and industrialization, and there is no assurance that this growth rate will be maintained. Some Asian economies are highly dependent on trade, and economic conditions in other countries within and outside Asia can impact these economies. Certain of these economies may be adversely affected by trade or policy disputes
63

First Trust S&P International Dividend Aristocrats ETF (FID)
with its major trade partners. There is also a high concentration of market capitalization and trading volume in a small number of issuers representing a limited number of industries, as well as a high concentration of investors and financial intermediaries. Certain Asian countries have experienced and may in the future experience expropriation and nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, currency manipulation, political instability, armed conflict and social instability as a result of religious, ethnic, socio-economic and/or political unrest. In particular, escalated tensions involving North Korea and any outbreak of hostilities involving North Korea could have a severe adverse effect on Asian economies. Governments of certain Asian countries have exercised, and continue to exercise, substantial influence over many aspects of the private sector. In certain cases, the government owns or controls many companies, including the largest in the country. Accordingly, government actions could have a significant effect on the issuers of the Fund’s securities or on economic conditions generally. Recent developments in relations between the U.S. and China have heightened concerns of increased tariffs and restrictions on trade between the two countries. An increase in tariffs or trade restrictions, or even the threat of such developments, could lead to a significant reduction in international trade, which could have a negative impact on the economy of Asian countries and a commensurately negative impact on the Fund.
AUTHORIZED PARTICIPANT CONCENTRATION RISK. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. A limited number of institutions act as authorized participants for the Fund. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders and no other authorized participant steps forward to create or redeem, the Fund’s shares may trade at a premium or discount (the difference between the market price of the Fund's shares and the Fund's net asset value) and possibly face delisting and the bid/ask spread (the difference between the price that someone is willing to pay for shares of the Fund at a specific point in time versus the price at which someone is willing to sell) on the Fund’s shares may widen.
CANADA RISK. The Fund invests in the securities of Canadian issuers. As such, the Fund is subject to certain risks specifically associated with investments in the securities of Canadian issuers. The Canadian economy is heavily dependent on the demand for natural resources and agricultural products. Canada is a major producer of commodities such as forest products, metals, agricultural products, and energy related products like oil, gas, and hydroelectricity. Accordingly, a change in the supply and demand of these resources, both domestically and internationally, can have a significant effect on Canadian market performance. Canada is a top producer of zinc and uranium and a global source of many other natural resources, such as gold, nickel, aluminum, and lead. Conditions that weaken demand for such products worldwide could have a negative impact on the Canadian economy as a whole. Changes to the U.S. economy may significantly affect the Canadian economy because the United States is Canada’s largest trading partner and foreign investor. These and other factors could have a negative impact on the Fund and its investments in Canada.
CURRENCY RISK. Changes in currency exchange rates affect the value of investments denominated in a foreign currency, and therefore the value of such investments in the Fund’s portfolio. The Fund’s net asset value could decline if a currency to which the Fund has exposure depreciates against the U.S. dollar or if there are delays or limits on repatriation of such currency. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning.
CYBER SECURITY RISK. The Fund is susceptible to operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cyber security breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks through efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cyber security breaches of the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests or the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. Although the Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third-party service providers.
DIVIDENDS RISK. The Fund’s investment in dividend-paying securities could cause the Fund to underperform similar funds that invest without consideration of an issuer’s track record of paying dividends. Companies that issue dividend-paying securities are not required to continue to pay dividends on such securities. Therefore, there is the possibility that such companies could reduce or eliminate the payment of dividends in the future, which could negatively affect the Fund’s performance.
64

First Trust S&P International Dividend Aristocrats ETF (FID)
EMERGING MARKETS RISK. Investments in securities issued by governments and companies operating in emerging market countries involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions not associated with investments in securities and instruments issued by U.S. companies or by companies operating in other developed market countries. Investments in emerging markets securities are generally considered speculative in nature and are subject to the following heightened risks: smaller market capitalization of securities markets which may suffer periods of relative illiquidity; significant price volatility; restrictions on foreign investment; possible repatriation of investment income and capital; rapid inflation; and currency convertibility issues. Emerging market countries also often have less uniformity in accounting, auditing and reporting requirements, unsettled securities laws, unreliable securities valuation and greater risk associated with custody of securities. Financial and other reporting by companies and government entities also may be less reliable in emerging market countries. Shareholder claims that are available in the U.S., as well as regulatory oversight and authority that is common in the U.S., including for claims based on fraud, may be difficult or impossible for shareholders of securities in emerging market countries or for U.S. authorities to pursue. The index the Fund seeks to track may not weight the securities in emerging market countries on the basis of investor protection limitations, financial reporting quality or available oversight mechanisms. Furthermore, investors may be required to register the proceeds of sales and future economic or political crises could lead to price controls, forced mergers, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, seizure, nationalization or creation of government monopolies.
EQUITY SECURITIES RISK. The value of the Fund’s shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities in which it invests. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors’ perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting an issuer occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market.
EUROPE RISK. The Fund is subject to certain risks specifically associated with investments in the securities of European issuers. Political or economic disruptions in European countries, even in countries in which the Fund is not invested, may adversely affect security values and thus the Fund’s holdings. A significant number of countries in Europe are member states in the European Union (the “EU”), and the member states no longer control their own monetary policies by directing independent interest rates for their currencies. In these member states, the authority to direct monetary policies, including money supply and official interest rates for the Euro, is exercised by the European Central Bank. In a 2016 referendum, the United Kingdom elected to withdraw from the EU (“Brexit”). After years of negotiations between the United Kingdom and the EU, a withdrawal agreement was reached whereby the United Kingdom formally left the EU. As the second largest economy among EU members, the implications of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal are difficult to gauge and cannot be fully known. Its departure may negatively impact the EU and Europe as a whole by causing volatility within the EU, triggering prolonged economic downturns in certain European countries or sparking additional member states to contemplate departing the EU (thereby perpetuating political instability in the region).
FINANCIAL COMPANIES RISK. Financial companies, such as retail and commercial banks, insurance companies and financial services companies, are especially subject to the adverse effects of economic recession, currency exchange rates, extensive government regulation, decreases in the availability of capital, volatile interest rates, portfolio concentrations in geographic markets, industries or products (such as commercial and residential real estate loans), competition from new entrants and blurred distinctions in their fields of business.
INDEX CONCENTRATION RISK. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a single asset class or the securities of issuers within the same country, state, region, industry or sector, an adverse economic, business or political development may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more than if the Fund were more broadly diversified. A significant exposure makes the Fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the Fund to greater market risk than a fund that is more broadly diversified. There may be instances in which the Index, for a variety of reasons including changes in the prices of individual securities held by the Fund, has a larger exposure to a small number of stocks or a single stock relative to the rest of the stocks in the Index. Under such circumstances, the Fund will not deviate from the Index except in rare circumstances or in an immaterial way and therefore the Fund’s returns would be more greatly influenced by the returns of the stock(s) with the larger exposure.
INDEX OR MODEL CONSTITUENT RISK. The Fund may be a constituent of one or more indices or ETF models. As a result, the Fund may be included in one or more index-tracking exchange-traded funds or mutual funds. Being a component security of such a vehicle could greatly affect the trading activity involving the Fund’s shares, the size of the Fund and the market volatility
65

First Trust S&P International Dividend Aristocrats ETF (FID)
of the Fund. Inclusion in an index could increase demand for the Fund and removal from an index could result in outsized selling activity in a relatively short period of time. As a result, the Fund’s net asset value could be negatively impacted and the Fund’s market price may be below the Fund’s net asset value during certain periods. In addition, index rebalances may potentially result in increased trading activity in the Fund's shares.
INDEX PROVIDER RISK. There is no assurance that the Index Provider, or any agents that act on its behalf, will compile the Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. The Index Provider and its agents do not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the Index, and do not guarantee that the Index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. The Advisor’s mandate as described in this prospectus is to manage the Fund consistently with the Index provided by the Index Provider. The Advisor relies upon the Index provider and its agents to accurately compile, maintain, construct, reconstitute, rebalance, compose, calculate and disseminate the Index accurately. Therefore, losses or costs associated with any Index Provider or agent errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. To correct any such error, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out an unscheduled rebalance of the Index or other modification of Index constituents or weightings. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where the Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors. For example, during a period where the Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund tracking the Index would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.
INFLATION RISK. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions may decline.
MARKET MAKER RISK. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares due to a limited number of market markers. Decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. The Fund may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s net asset value and the price at which the Fund’s shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund’s shares. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a discount to net asset value and also in greater than normal intraday bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.
MARKET RISK. Market risk is the risk that a particular security, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic, political, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of the Fund could decline in value or underperform other investments. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. For example, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While 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. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. These events also adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio
66

First Trust S&P International Dividend Aristocrats ETF (FID)
securities or other instruments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of the Fund’s shares and result in increased market volatility. During any such events, the Fund’s shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.
NON-CORRELATION RISK. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. The Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and may incur costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s portfolio holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. In addition, the Fund’s portfolio holdings may not exactly replicate the securities included in the Index or the ratios between the securities included in the Index. Additionally, in order to comply with its investment strategies and policies, the Fund portfolio may deviate from the composition of the Index.
NON-U.S. SECURITIES RISK. Non-U.S. securities are subject to higher volatility than securities of domestic issuers due to possible adverse political, social or economic developments, restrictions on foreign investment or exchange of securities, capital controls, lack of liquidity, currency exchange rates, excessive taxation, government seizure of assets, the imposition of sanctions by foreign governments, different legal or accounting standards, and less government supervision and regulation of securities exchanges in foreign countries.
OPERATIONAL RISK. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Fund's investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
PASSIVE INVESTMENT RISK. The Fund is not actively managed. The Fund invests in securities included in or representative of the Index regardless of investment merit. The Fund generally will not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. In the event that the Index is no longer calculated, the Index license is terminated or the identity or character of the Index is materially changed, the Fund will seek to engage a replacement index.
PREMIUM/DISCOUNT RISK. The market price of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the Fund’s net asset value as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on the Exchange. The Fund’s investment advisor cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their net asset value because the shares trade on the Exchange at market prices and not at net asset value. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related, but not identical, to the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. However, given that shares can only be purchased and redeemed in Creation Units, and only to and from broker-dealers and large institutional investors that have entered into participation agreements (unlike shares of closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their net asset value), the Fund’s investment advisor believes that large discounts or premiums to the net asset value of shares should not be sustained. During stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the market for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which could in turn lead to differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.
SMALLER COMPANIES RISK. Small and/or mid capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic developments, and their securities may be less liquid and may experience greater price volatility than larger, more established companies as a result of several factors, including limited trading volumes, fewer products or financial resources, management inexperience and less publicly available information. Accordingly, such companies are generally subject to greater market risk than larger, more established companies.
TRADING ISSUES RISK. Trading in Fund shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Fund shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange’s “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. The Fund may have difficulty maintaining its listing on the Exchange in the event the Fund’s assets are small, the Fund does not have enough shareholders, or if the Fund is unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders.
67

First Trust S&P International Dividend Aristocrats ETF (FID)
UTILITY COMPANIES RISK. Utility companies include companies producing or providing gas, electricity or water. These companies are subject to the risk of the imposition of rate caps, increased competition due to deregulation, the difficulty in obtaining an adequate return on invested capital or in financing large construction projects counterparty risk, the limitations on operations and increased costs and delays attributable to environmental considerations and the capital market’s ability to absorb utility debt. In addition, taxes, government regulation, domestic and international politics, price and supply fluctuations, volatile interest rates and energy conservation may negatively affect utility companies.
Annual Total Return
The bar chart and table below illustrate the annual calendar year returns of the Fund based on net asset value as well as the average annual Fund and Index returns. The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns based on net asset value compared to those of the Index and a broad-based market index and a market index. See “Total Return Information” for additional performance information regarding the Fund. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com.
On August 30, 2018, the Fund’s underlying index changed from the Nasdaq International Multi-Asset Diversified Income IndexSM to the S&P International Dividend Aristocrats Index. Therefore, the Fund’s performance and historical returns shown below are not necessarily indicative of the performance that the Fund, based on the Index, would have generated. Returns for an underlying index are only disclosed for those periods in which the index was in existence for the whole period.
First Trust S&P International Dividend Aristocrats ETF
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31
During the periods shown in the chart above:
Best Quarter
 
Worst Quarter
 
16.19%
December 31, 2020
-29.05%
March 31, 2020
The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of any state or local tax. Returns after taxes on distributions reflect the taxed return on the payment of dividends and capital gains. Returns after taxes on distributions and sale of shares assume you sold your shares at period end, and, therefore, are also adjusted for any capital gains or losses incurred. Returns for the market indices do not include expenses, which are deducted from Fund returns, or taxes.
Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares in tax-deferred accounts such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or employee-sponsored retirement plans.
68

First Trust S&P International Dividend Aristocrats ETF (FID)
Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2022
 
1 Year
5 Years
Since
Inception
Inception
Date
Return Before Taxes
-8.90%
0.36%
1.91%
8/22/2013
Return After Taxes on Distributions
-10.44%
-1.35%
-0.07%
 
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares
-5.29%
-0.45%
0.57%
 
S&P International Dividend Aristocrats Index(1) (reflects no