FIRST TRUST First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund IV -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- First Trust Long Duration Opportunities ETF (LGOV) ---------------------------- Semi-Annual Report For the Six Months Ended April 30, 2023 ---------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT APRIL 30, 2023 Shareholder Letter........................................................... 1 Fund Performance Overview.................................................... 2 Portfolio Management......................................................... 5 Understanding Your Fund Expenses............................................. 6 Portfolio of Investments..................................................... 7 Statement of Assets and Liabilities.......................................... 11 Statement of Operations...................................................... 12 Statements of Changes in Net Assets.......................................... 13 Financial Highlights......................................................... 14 Notes to Financial Statements................................................ 15 Additional Information....................................................... 25 CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This report contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the goals, beliefs, plans or current expectations of First Trust Advisors L.P. ("First Trust" or the "Advisor") and its representatives, taking into account the information currently available to them. Forward-looking statements include all statements that do not relate solely to current or historical fact. For example, forward-looking statements include the use of words such as "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "expect," "believe," "plan," "may," "should," "would" or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the series of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund IV (the "Trust") described in this report (First Trust Long Duration Opportunities ETF; hereinafter referred to as the "Fund") to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. When evaluating the information included in this report, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect the judgment of the Advisor and its representatives only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to publicly revise or update these forward-looking statements to reflect events and circumstances that arise after the date hereof. PERFORMANCE AND RISK DISCLOSURE There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The Fund is subject to market risk, which is the possibility that the market values of securities owned by the Fund will decline and that the value of the Fund's shares may therefore be less than what you paid for them. Accordingly, you can lose money investing in the Fund. See "Risk Considerations" in the Additional Information section of this report for a discussion of certain other risks of investing in the Fund. Performance data quoted represents past performance, which is no guarantee of future results, and current performance may be lower or higher than the figures shown. For the most recent month-end performance figures, please visit www.ftportfolios.com or speak with your financial advisor. Investment returns, net asset value and share price will fluctuate and Fund shares, when sold, may be worth more or less than their original cost. The Advisor may also periodically provide additional information on Fund performance on the Fund's webpage at www.ftportfolios.com. HOW TO READ THIS REPORT This report contains information that may help you evaluate your investment in the Fund. It includes details about the Fund and presents data and analysis that provide insight into the Fund's performance and investment approach. The statistical information that follows may help you understand the Fund's performance compared to that of a relevant market benchmark. It is important to keep in mind that the opinions expressed by personnel of the Advisor are just that: informed opinions. They should not be considered to be promises or advice. The opinions, like the statistics, cover the period through the date on the cover of this report. The material risks of investing in the Fund are spelled out in the prospectus, the statement of additional information, and other Fund regulatory filings. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SHAREHOLDER LETTER -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) SEMI-ANNUAL LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN AND CEO APRIL 30, 2023 Dear Shareholders: First Trust is pleased to provide you with the semi-annual report for the First Trust Long Duration Opportunities ETF (the "Fund"), which contains detailed information about the Fund for the six months ended April 30, 2023. It pleases me to write that on May 5, 2023, the World Health Organization officially declared that the coronavirus ("COVID-19") pandemic no longer qualified as a global health emergency. While the virus officially no longer poses an immediate threat, its full impact on the world economy remains to be seen, in my opinion. Recall, if you will, those early days of the pandemic; companies sent workers home, consumers were afraid or unwilling to leave their homes, supply chains dried up, and grocery shelves were left bare. Hoping to provide relief to their constituents and to bolster economic activity, governments across the globe funneled trillions of dollars in stimulus directly into the hands of their citizens. Unfortunately, economist Milton Friedman's age-old economic adage "there's no such thing as a free lunch" still holds. As a result of the U.S. government stimulus, gross domestic product rebounded quickly, but so did inflation. As many investors are aware, the Federal Reserve (the "Fed") has been locked in a battle with stubbornly high inflation for several years now. Inflation, as measured by the trailing 12-month rate of change in the Consumer Price Index ("CPI"), surged from 1.4% on December 31, 2020, to 9.1% as of June 30, 2022. Since then, the trailing rate on the CPI has come down, but remains elevated. On April 30, 2023, the CPI stood at 4.9%, well above the Fed's goal of 2.0%. Surging prices have not been restricted to the U.S. Headline inflation rates in each of the countries that make up the so-called Group of Ten (G-10) stand above the targets set by their central banks, according to data from Bloomberg. From the Fed's perspective, monetary policy is the most efficient means to combat rising prices. From December 31, 2020 through May 3, 2023, the Fed increased the Federal Funds target rate (upper bound) a total of ten times, raising the rate from 0.25% to 5.25%. As mentioned, tighter monetary policy resulted in a decrease in the CPI, but there have been casualties in the Fed's battle with rising prices. The most recent banking turmoil is one example. Another is the spike in mortgage rates. According to Bankrate, the national average for a 30-year mortgage stood at just 2.87% on December 31, 2020. As of May 1, 2023, the average 30-year mortgage rate had surged to 6.88%. Not all the news is negative, however. Driven by a strong U.S. labor market, consumer spending remained robust in April 2023. Notably, American corporations added 253,000 jobs during the month, and the unemployment rate stood at a 53-year low. Bob Carey, Chief Market Strategist at First Trust, recently summed up the current situation, noting that "we're not out of the woods yet." That said, even the most difficult situations don't last forever. In my opinion, like the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, and the tighter monetary policy it ushered in, will pass with time. Thank you for giving First Trust the opportunity to play a role in your financial future. We value our relationship with you and will report on the Fund again in six months. Sincerely, /s/ James A. Bowen James A. Bowen Chairman of the Board of Trustees Chief Executive Officer of First Trust Advisors L.P. Page 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FUND PERFORMANCE OVERVIEW (UNAUDITED) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) The First Trust Long Duration Opportunities ETF's (the "Fund") primary investment objective is to generate current income with a focus on preservation of capital. Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in a portfolio of investment-grade debt securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or government-sponsored entities, including publicly-issued U.S. Treasury securities and mortgage-related securities. The Fund may also invest in exchange-traded funds ("ETFs") that principally invest in such securities. The Fund may purchase mortgage-related securities in "to-be-announced" transactions ("TBA Transactions"), including mortgage dollar rolls. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PERFORMANCE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ AVERAGE ANNUAL CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURNS TOTAL RETURNS 6 Months Ended 1 Year Ended Inception (1/22/19) Inception (1/22/19) 4/30/23 4/30/23 to 4/30/23 to 4/30/23 FUND PERFORMANCE NAV 8.20% -4.39% 0.75% 3.22% Market Price 8.06% -4.24% 0.72% 3.09% INDEX PERFORMANCE ICE BofA 5+ Year US Treasury Index 9.06% -3.50% 0.19% 0.82% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total returns for the periods since inception are calculated from the inception date of the Fund. "Average Annual Total Returns" represent the average annual change in value of an investment over the period indicated. "Cumulative Total Returns" represent the total change in value of an investment over the periods indicated. The Fund's per share net asset value ("NAV") is the value of one share of the Fund and is computed by dividing the value of all assets of the Fund (including accrued interest and dividends), less all liabilities (including accrued expenses and dividends declared but unpaid), by the total number of outstanding shares. The price used to calculate market return ("Market Price") is determined by using the midpoint of the national best bid and offer price ("NBBO") as of the time that the Fund's NAV is calculated. Under SEC rules, the NBBO consists of the highest displayed buy and lowest sell prices among the various exchanges trading the Fund at the time the Fund's NAV is calculated. Since shares of the Fund did not trade in the secondary market until after its inception, for the period from inception to the first day of secondary market trading in shares of the Fund, the NAV of the Fund is used as a proxy for the secondary market trading price to calculate market returns. NAV and market returns assume that all distributions have been reinvested in the Fund at NAV and Market Price, respectively. An index is a statistical composite that tracks a specified financial market or sector. Unlike the Fund, the index does not actually hold a portfolio of securities and therefore does not incur the expenses incurred by the Fund. These expenses negatively impact the performance of the Fund. Also, market returns do not include brokerage commissions that may be payable on secondary market transactions. If brokerage commissions were included, market returns would be lower. The total returns presented reflect the reinvestment of dividends on securities in the index. The returns presented do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption or sale of Fund shares. The investment return and principal value of shares of the Fund will vary with changes in market conditions. Shares of the Fund may be worth more or less than their original cost when they are redeemed or sold in the market. The Fund's past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Page 2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FUND PERFORMANCE OVERVIEW (UNAUDITED) (CONTINUED) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) --------------------------------------------------------------- % OF NET FUND ALLOCATION ASSETS --------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Government Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities 53.9% U.S. Government Bonds and Notes 13.5 U.S. Government Agency Securities 5.3 U.S. Treasury Bills 34.8 Money Market Funds 2.5 Call Options Purchased 0.1 Put Options Purchased 0.0* Call Options Written (0.0)* Put Options Written (0.0)* Net Other Assets and Liabilities(1) (10.1) ------- Total 100.0% ======= * Amount is less than 0.1%. --------------------------------------------------------------- % OF TOTAL LONG FIXED-INCOME INVESTMENTS, CASH CREDIT QUALITY(2) & CASH EQUIVALENTS --------------------------------------------------------------- Government and Agency 97.7% Cash & Cash Equivalents 2.3 ------- Total 100.0% ======= --------------------------------------------------------------- % OF LONG-TERM TOP TEN HOLDINGS INVESTMENTS(3) --------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Treasury Bond, 3.88%, 02/15/43 5.9% Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Multifamily Structured Pass Through Certificates, Series 2018-K155, Class A3, 3.75%, 04/25/33 5.2 Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Multifamily Structured Pass Through Certificates, Series 2019-K1511, Class A3, 3.54%, 03/25/34 4.5 Government National Mortgage Association, Series 2022-30, Class AL, 3.00%, 02/20/52 4.0 Tennessee Valley Authority, 5.25%, 09/15/39 3.2 Federal National Mortgage Association, Series 2018-84, Class ZM, 4.00%, 11/25/48 3.0 U.S. Treasury Bond, 4.00%, 11/15/42 3.0 Federal National Mortgage Association, Pool TBA, 4.50%, 06/15/53 2.9 Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Multifamily Structured Pass Through Certificates, Series 2020-K1515, Class A2, 1.94%, 02/25/35 2.9 Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Multifamily Structured Pass Through Certificates, Series 2019-K1510, Class A3, 3.79%, 01/25/34 2.8 ------- Total 37.4% ======= --------------------------------------------------------------- WEIGHTED AVERAGE EFFECTIVE NET DURATION --------------------------------------------------------------- April 30, 2023 10.75 Years High - February 28, 2023 10.76 Years Low - January 31, 2023 10.36 Years ----------------------------- (1) Includes variation margin on futures. (2) The ratings are by S&P Global Ratings. A credit rating is an assessment provided by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO), of the creditworthiness of an issuer with respect to debt obligations. Ratings are measured highest to lowest on a scale that generally ranges from AAA to D for long-term ratings and A-1+ to C for short-term ratings. Investment grade is defined as those issuers that have a long-term credit rating of BBB- or higher or a short-term credit rating of A-3 or higher. The credit ratings shown relate to the credit worthiness of the issuers of the underlying securities in the Fund, and not to the Fund or its shares. U.S. Treasury and U.S. Agency mortgage-backed securities appear under "Government and Agency." Credit ratings are subject to change. (3) Percentages are based on the long positions only. Money market funds are excluded. Page 3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FUND PERFORMANCE OVERVIEW (UNAUDITED) (CONTINUED) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) PERFORMANCE OF A $10,000 INITIAL INVESTMENT JANUARY 22, 2019 - APRIL 30, 2023 First Trust Long Duration ICE BofA 5+ Year Opportunities ETF US Treasury Index 1/22/19 $10,000 $10,000 4/30/19 10,425 10,273 10/31/19 11,408 11,321 4/30/20 12,436 12,839 10/31/20 12,259 12,536 4/30/21 11,760 11,593 10/31/21 12,133 11,951 4/30/22 10,797 10,448 10/31/22 9,540 9,245 4/30/23 10,322 10,082 Performance figures assume reinvestment of all distributions and do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption or sale of Fund shares. An index is a statistical composite that tracks a specified financial market or sector. Unlike the Fund, the index does not actually hold a portfolio of securities and therefore does not incur the expenses incurred by the Fund. These expenses negatively impact the performance of the Fund. The Fund's past performance does not predict future performance. Performance in securitized product investment strategies can be impacted from the benefits of purchasing odd lot positions. The impact of these investments can be particularly meaningful when funds have limited assets under management and may not be a sustainable source of performance as a fund grows in size. FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF DISCOUNTS AND PREMIUMS Information showing the number of days the market price of the Fund's shares was greater (at a premium) and less (at a discount) than the Fund's net asset value for the most recently completed year, and the most recently completed calendar quarters since that year (or life of the Fund, if shorter) is available at https://www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/etf/home.aspx. Page 4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT APRIL 30, 2023 (UNAUDITED) ADVISOR First Trust Advisors L.P. ("First Trust" or the "Advisor") is the investment advisor to First Trust Long Duration Opportunities ETF (the "Fund" or "LGOV"). First Trust is responsible for the selection and ongoing monitoring of the securities in the Fund's portfolio and certain other services necessary for the management of the portfolio. PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT TEAM JAMES SNYDER - SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND SENIOR PORTFOLIO MANAGER, FIRST TRUST GOVERNMENT & SECURITIZED PRODUCTS GROUP JEREMIAH CHARLES - SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND SENIOR PORTFOLIO MANAGER, FIRST TRUST GOVERNMENT & SECURITIZED PRODUCTS GROUP The portfolio managers are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each portfolio manager has served as part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2019. Page 5 FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) UNDERSTANDING YOUR FUND EXPENSES APRIL 30, 2023 (UNAUDITED) As a shareholder of First Trust Long Duration Opportunities ETF (the "Fund"), you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs; and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees, distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees, if any, and other Fund expenses. This Example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other funds. The Example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held through the six-month period ended April 30, 2023. ACTUAL EXPENSES The first line in the following table provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled "Expenses Paid During the Six-Month Period" to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this six-month period. HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLE FOR COMPARISON PURPOSES The second line in the following table provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund's actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the Fund's actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds. Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs such as brokerage commissions. Therefore, the second line in the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ANNUALIZED EXPENSE RATIO EXPENSES PAID BEGINNING ENDING BASED ON THE DURING THE ACCOUNT VALUE ACCOUNT VALUE SIX-MONTH SIX-MONTH NOVEMBER 1, 2022 APRIL 30, 2023 PERIOD (a) PERIOD (a) (b) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) Actual $1,000.00 $1,082.00 0.66% $3.41 Hypothetical (5% return before expenses) $1,000.00 $1,021.52 0.66% $3.31 (a) Annualized expense ratio and expenses paid during the six-month period do not include fees and expenses of the underlying funds in which the Fund invests. (b) Expenses are equal to the annualized expense ratio as indicated in the table multiplied by the average account value over the period (November 1, 2022 through April 30, 2023), multiplied by 181/365 (to reflect the six-month period). Page 6 FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS APRIL 30, 2023 (UNAUDITED) PRINCIPAL STATED STATED VALUE DESCRIPTION COUPON MATURITY VALUE ---------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- ------------ ------------ ---------------- U.S. GOVERNMENT AGENCY MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES -- 53.9% COLLATERALIZED MORTGAGE OBLIGATIONS -- 11.4% Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation $ 1,920,627 Series 2021-5179, Class GZ................................... 2.00% 01/25/52 $ 1,130,216 Federal National Mortgage Association 971,624 Series 2005-74, Class NZ..................................... 6.00% 09/25/35 1,094,142 1,426,631 Series 2013-19, Class ZD..................................... 3.50% 03/25/43 1,285,409 2,124,425 Series 2018-84, Class ZM..................................... 4.00% 11/25/48 2,067,037 Government National Mortgage Association 1,292,000 Series 2010-61, Class KE..................................... 5.00% 05/16/40 1,340,798 1,248,849 Series 2015-164, Class MZ.................................... 3.00% 09/20/45 1,017,254 374,800 Series 2015-168, Class GI, IO................................ 5.50% 02/16/33 16,729 3,510,000 Series 2022-30, Class AL..................................... 3.00% 02/20/52 2,699,262 ---------------- 10,650,847 ---------------- COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES -- 31.8% Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Multifamily Structured Pass Through Certificates 6,950,317 Series 2014-K036, Class X1, IO (a)........................... 0.82% 10/25/23 13,169 1,620,000 Series 2018-K154, Class A3................................... 3.46% 11/25/32 1,525,988 650,000 Series 2018-K155, Class A2................................... 3.75% 11/25/32 633,052 3,687,000 Series 2018-K155, Class A3................................... 3.75% 04/25/33 3,556,168 1,000,000 Series 2018-K156, Class A3................................... 3.70% 06/25/33 960,248 570,000 Series 2018-K157, Class A3................................... 3.99% 08/25/33 557,284 298,000 Series 2018-K159, Class A2................................... 3.95% 11/25/30 293,036 1,500,000 Series 2018-K159, Class A3................................... 3.95% 11/25/33 1,461,425 1,936,000 Series 2019-K095, Class XAM, IO (a).......................... 1.37% 06/25/29 126,138 2,000,000 Series 2019-K1510, Class A3.................................. 3.79% 01/25/34 1,928,967 3,245,000 Series 2019-K1511, Class A3.................................. 3.54% 03/25/34 3,036,534 17,391,681 Series 2019-K1511, Class X1, IO (a).......................... 0.93% 03/25/34 984,807 485,000 Series 2019-K1512, Class A3.................................. 3.06% 04/25/34 431,616 1,800,000 Series 2019-K1514, Class A2.................................. 2.86% 10/25/34 1,569,354 9,960,382 Series 2020-K111, Class XAM, IO (a).......................... 1.91% 05/25/30 1,045,540 7,550,000 Series 2020-K120, Class XAM, IO (a).......................... 1.31% 10/25/30 559,056 2,500,000 Series 2020-K1515, Class A2.................................. 1.94% 02/25/35 1,946,765 1,988,936 Series 2020-K1515, Class X1, IO (a).......................... 1.64% 02/25/35 235,542 2,142,000 Series 2020-K1517, Class A2.................................. 1.72% 07/25/35 1,630,936 1,700,000 Series 2020-K1518, Class A2.................................. 1.86% 10/25/35 1,301,555 2,000,000 Series 2021-K1519, Class A2.................................. 2.01% 12/25/35 1,553,139 700,000 Series 2021-K1520, Class A2.................................. 2.44% 02/25/36 567,270 1,650,000 Series 2021-K1521, Class A2.................................. 2.18% 08/25/36 1,287,046 2,000,000 Series 2021-K1522, Class A2.................................. 2.36% 10/25/36 1,595,172 Government National Mortgage Association 883,907 Series 2020-159, Class Z (b)................................. 2.50% 10/16/62 412,565 488,314 Series 2020-197, Class Z (a)................................. 2.25% 10/16/62 200,985 211,536 Series 2021-4, Class Z (a)................................... 2.00% 09/16/62 75,731 909,970 Series 2021-28, Class Z (a).................................. 2.00% 10/16/62 356,206 ---------------- 29,845,294 ---------------- PASS-THROUGH SECURITIES -- 10.7% Federal National Mortgage Association 1,000,000 Pool TBA..................................................... 2.50% 05/15/53 865,957 2,000,000 Pool TBA..................................................... 3.00% 05/15/53 1,792,806 2,000,000 Pool TBA..................................................... 2.50% 06/15/53 1,734,414 2,000,000 Pool TBA..................................................... 3.00% 06/15/53 1,798,750 See Notes to Financial Statements Page 7 FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED) APRIL 30, 2023 (UNAUDITED) PRINCIPAL STATED STATED VALUE DESCRIPTION COUPON MATURITY VALUE ---------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- ------------ ------------ ---------------- U.S. GOVERNMENT AGENCY MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES (CONTINUED) PASS-THROUGH SECURITIES (CONTINUED) Federal National Mortgage Association (Continued) $ 2,000,000 Pool TBA..................................................... 3.50% 06/15/53 $ 1,860,312 2,000,000 Pool TBA..................................................... 4.50% 06/15/53 1,956,172 ---------------- 10,008,411 ---------------- TOTAL U.S. GOVERNMENT AGENCY MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES..................................... 50,504,552 (Cost $52,183,713) ---------------- U.S. GOVERNMENT BONDS AND NOTES -- 13.5% 2,000,000 U.S. Treasury Bond.............................................. 3.25% 05/15/42 1,852,578 2,000,000 U.S. Treasury Bond.............................................. 3.38% 08/15/42 1,884,063 2,000,000 U.S. Treasury Bond.............................................. 4.00% 11/15/42 2,060,625 4,000,000 U.S. Treasury Bond.............................................. 3.88% 02/15/43 4,043,438 2,000,000 U.S. Treasury Bond.............................................. 3.00% 02/15/48 1,746,875 1,000,000 U.S. Treasury Bond.............................................. 4.00% 11/15/52 1,062,030 ---------------- TOTAL U.S. GOVERNMENT BONDS AND NOTES....................................................... 12,649,609 (Cost $12,463,436) ---------------- U.S. GOVERNMENT AGENCY SECURITIES -- 5.3% 1,000,000 Tennessee Valley Authority...................................... 5.50% 06/15/38 1,099,173 2,000,000 Tennessee Valley Authority...................................... 5.25% 09/15/39 2,157,688 2,000,000 Tennessee Valley Authority...................................... 3.50% 12/15/42 1,710,410 ---------------- TOTAL U.S. GOVERNMENT AGENCY SECURITIES..................................................... 4,967,271 (Cost $4,935,041) ---------------- U.S. TREASURY BILLS -- 34.8% 5,000,000 U.S. Treasury Bill.............................................. (c) 06/13/23 4,970,885 6,000,000 U.S. Treasury Bill (d).......................................... (c) 06/20/23 5,959,875 2,000,000 U.S. Treasury Bill.............................................. (c) 07/13/23 1,980,001 6,000,000 U.S. Treasury Bill.............................................. (c) 07/20/23 5,934,733 5,000,000 U.S. Treasury Bill.............................................. (c) 07/27/23 4,940,308 2,000,000 U.S. Treasury Bill.............................................. (c) 08/15/23 1,970,821 7,000,000 U.S. Treasury Bill.............................................. (c) 08/22/23 6,890,771 ---------------- TOTAL U.S. TREASURY BILLS................................................................... 32,647,394 (Cost $32,643,797) ---------------- SHARES DESCRIPTION VALUE ---------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------- MONEY MARKET FUNDS -- 2.5% 2,336,611 Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds - Treasury Portfolio - Institutional Class - 4.71% (e).......................................................... 2,336,611 (Cost $2,336,611) ---------------- TOTAL INVESTMENTS -- 110.0%................................................................. 103,105,437 (Cost $104,562,598) ---------------- NUMBER OF NOTIONAL EXERCISE EXPIRATION CONTRACTS DESCRIPTION AMOUNT PRICE DATE VALUE ---------------- -------------------------------------------------- ------------ ------------ ------------ ---------------- PURCHASED OPTIONS -- 0.1% CALL OPTIONS PURCHASED -- 0.1% 5 U.S. Treasury Long Bond Futures Call.............. $ 659,531 $ 133.00 08/25/23 15,547 10 CME 3-Month SOFR Futures Call..................... 2,378,875 94.50 09/15/23 17,875 10 CME 3-Month SOFR Futures Call..................... 2,378,875 95.50 09/15/23 6,562 ---------------- TOTAL CALL OPTIONS PURCHASED................................................................ 39,984 (Cost $41,269) ---------------- Page 8 See Notes to Financial Statements FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED) APRIL 30, 2023 (UNAUDITED) NUMBER OF NOTIONAL EXERCISE EXPIRATION CONTRACTS DESCRIPTION AMOUNT PRICE DATE VALUE ---------------- -------------------------------------------------- ------------ ------------ ------------ ---------------- PURCHASED OPTIONS (CONTINUED) PUT OPTIONS PURCHASED -- 0.0% 15 U.S. 5-Year Treasury Futures Put.................. $ 1,646,133 $ 108.75 05/26/23 $ 4,687 15 U.S. 5-Year Treasury Futures Put.................. 1,655,039 110.00 08/25/23 19,688 20 CME 3-Month SOFR Futures Put...................... 4,777,500 93.94 12/15/23 2,500 20 CME 3-Month SOFR Futures Put...................... 4,777,500 94.94 12/15/23 10,750 ---------------- TOTAL PUT OPTIONS PURCHASED................................................................. 37,625 (Cost $49,810) ---------------- TOTAL PURCHASED OPTIONS..................................................................... 77,609 (Cost $91,079) ---------------- WRITTEN OPTIONS -- (0.0)% CALL OPTIONS WRITTEN -- (0.0)% (20) CME 3-Month SOFR Futures Call..................... (4,757,750) 95.00 09/15/23 (19,750) (Premiums received $21,697) ---------------- PUT OPTIONS WRITTEN -- (0.0)% (40) CME 3-Month SOFR Futures Put...................... (9,555,000) 94.44 12/15/23 (10,000) (Premiums received $16,393) ---------------- TOTAL WRITTEN OPTIONS....................................................................... (29,750) (Premiums received $38,090) ---------------- NET OTHER ASSETS AND LIABILITIES -- (10.1)%................................................. (9,407,169) ---------------- NET ASSETS -- 100.0%........................................................................ $ 93,746,127 ================ FUTURES CONTRACTS AT APRIL 30, 2023 (See Note 2D - Futures Contracts in the Notes to Financial Statements): UNREALIZED APPRECIATION NUMBER OF EXPIRATION NOTIONAL (DEPRECIATION)/ FUTURES CONTRACTS POSITION CONTRACTS DATE VALUE VALUE ------------------------------------------------------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -------------- ---------------- U.S. 2-Year Treasury Notes Long 5 Jun-2023 $ 1,030,820 $ (520) U.S. Treasury Long Bond Futures Long 72 Jun-2023 9,479,250 36,216 Ultra U.S. Treasury Bond Futures Long 78 Jun-2023 11,029,688 13,849 -------------- ---------------- $ 21,539,758 $ 49,545 ============== ================ (a) Collateral Strip Rate security. Coupon is based on the weighted net interest rate of the investment's underlying collateral. The interest rate resets periodically. (b) Weighted Average Coupon security. Coupon is based on the blended interest rate of the underlying holdings, which may have different coupons. The coupon may change in any period. (c) Zero coupon security. (d) All or a portion of this security is segregated as collateral for open futures and options contracts. (e) Rate shown reflects yield as of April 30, 2023. IO - Interest-Only Security - Principal amount shown represents par value on which interest payments are based. SOFR - Secured Overnight Financing Rate TBA - To-Be-Announced Security See Notes to Financial Statements Page 9 FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED) APRIL 30, 2023 (UNAUDITED) ----------------------------- VALUATION INPUTS A summary of the inputs used to value the Fund's investments as of April 30, 2023 is as follows (see Note 2A - Portfolio Valuation in the Notes to Financial Statements): ASSETS TABLE LEVEL 2 LEVEL 3 TOTAL LEVEL 1 SIGNIFICANT SIGNIFICANT VALUE AT QUOTED OBSERVABLE UNOBSERVABLE 4/30/2023 PRICES INPUTS INPUTS --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- U.S. Government Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities..... $ 50,504,552 $ -- $ 50,504,552 $ -- U.S. Government Bonds and Notes....................... 12,649,609 -- 12,649,609 -- U.S. Government Agency Securities..................... 4,967,271 -- 4,967,271 -- U.S. Treasury Bills................................... 32,647,394 -- 32,647,394 -- Money Market Funds.................................... 2,336,611 2,336,611 -- -- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- Total Investments..................................... 103,105,437 2,336,611 100,768,826 -- Call Options Purchased................................ 39,984 39,984 -- -- Put Options Purchased................................. 37,625 37,625 -- -- Futures Contracts*.................................... 50,065 50,065 -- -- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- Total................................................. $ 103,233,111 $ 2,464,285 $ 100,768,826 $ -- =============== =============== =============== =============== LIABILITIES TABLE LEVEL 2 LEVEL 3 TOTAL LEVEL 1 SIGNIFICANT SIGNIFICANT VALUE AT QUOTED OBSERVABLE UNOBSERVABLE 4/30/2023 PRICES INPUTS INPUTS --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- Call Options Written.................................. $ (19,750) $ (19,750) $ -- $ -- Put Options Written................................... (10,000) (10,000) -- -- Futures Contracts*.................................... (520) (520) -- -- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- Total................................................. $ (30,270) $ (30,270) $ -- $ -- =============== =============== =============== =============== * Includes cumulative appreciation/depreciation on futures contracts as reported in the Futures Contracts table. Only the current day's variation margin is presented on the Statements of Assets and Liabilities. Page 10 See Notes to Financial Statements FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES APRIL 30, 2023 (UNAUDITED) ASSETS: Investments, at value.................................................. $ 103,105,437 Options contracts purchased, at value ................................. 77,609 Cash segregated as collateral for open futures and written options contracts........................................................... 54,728 Receivables: Investment securities sold.......................................... 4,437,231 Interest............................................................ 377,636 Variation margin.................................................... 232,123 Dividends........................................................... 19,162 -------------- Total Assets........................................................ 108,303,926 -------------- LIABILITIES: Options contracts written, at value.................................... 29,750 Payables: Investment securities purchased..................................... 14,488,826 Investment advisory fees............................................ 39,223 -------------- Total Liabilities................................................... 14,557,799 -------------- NET ASSETS............................................................. $ 93,746,127 ============== NET ASSETS CONSIST OF: Paid-in capital........................................................ $ 98,654,676 Par value.............................................................. 41,000 Accumulated distributable earnings (loss).............................. (4,949,549) -------------- NET ASSETS............................................................. $ 93,746,127 ============== NET ASSET VALUE, per share............................................. $ 22.86 ============== Number of shares outstanding (unlimited number of shares authorized, par value $0.01 per share).......................................... 4,100,002 ============== Investments, at cost................................................... $ 104,562,598 ============== Premiums paid on options contracts purchased........................... $ 91,079 ============== Premiums received on options contracts written......................... $ 38,090 ============== See Notes to Financial Statements Page 11 FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED APRIL 30, 2023 (UNAUDITED) INVESTMENT INCOME: Interest............................................................... $ 641,511 Dividends.............................................................. 169,140 -------------- Total investment income............................................. 810,651 -------------- EXPENSES: Investment advisory fees............................................... 124,970 Excise tax............................................................. 2,000 -------------- Total expenses...................................................... 126,970 -------------- NET INVESTMENT INCOME (LOSS)........................................... 683,681 -------------- REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS): Net realized gain (loss) on: Investments......................................................... (308,190) Futures contracts................................................... 847,306 Purchased options contracts......................................... 323,452 Written options contracts........................................... (137,361) -------------- Net realized gain (loss)............................................... 725,207 -------------- Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on: Investments......................................................... 1,280,442 Futures contracts................................................... 60,464 Purchased options contracts......................................... (19,057) Written options contracts........................................... 3,197 -------------- Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)................... 1,325,046 -------------- NET REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS)................................ 2,050,253 -------------- NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS..................................................... $ 2,733,934 ============== Page 12 See Notes to Financial Statements FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS SIX MONTHS ENDED YEAR 4/30/2023 ENDED (UNAUDITED) 10/31/2022 ------------------ ------------------ OPERATIONS: Net investment income (loss)........................................... $ 683,681 $ 543,470 Net realized gain (loss)............................................... 725,207 (4,082,029) Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)................... 1,325,046 (2,904,001) -------------- -------------- Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations........ 2,733,934 (6,442,560) -------------- -------------- DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS FROM: Investment operations.................................................. (634,750) (459,443) Return of capital...................................................... -- (36,043) -------------- -------------- Total distributions to shareholders.................................... (634,750) (495,486) -------------- -------------- SHAREHOLDER TRANSACTIONS: Proceeds from shares sold.............................................. 73,433,319 7,339,085 Cost of shares redeemed................................................ -- (15,438,060) -------------- -------------- Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from shareholder transactions............................................ 73,433,319 (8,098,975) -------------- -------------- Total increase (decrease) in net assets................................ 75,532,503 (15,037,021) NET ASSETS: Beginning of period.................................................... 18,213,624 33,250,645 -------------- -------------- End of period.......................................................... $ 93,746,127 $ 18,213,624 ============== ============== CHANGES IN SHARES OUTSTANDING: Shares outstanding, beginning of period................................ 850,002 1,200,002 Shares sold............................................................ 3,250,000 300,000 Shares redeemed........................................................ -- (650,000) -------------- -------------- Shares outstanding, end of period...................................... 4,100,002 850,002 ============== ============== See Notes to Financial Statements Page 13 FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS FOR A SHARE OUTSTANDING THROUGHOUT EACH PERIOD SIX MONTHS ENDED YEAR ENDED OCTOBER 31, PERIOD 4/30/2023 ------------------------------------------ ENDED (UNAUDITED) 2022 2021 2020 10/31/2019 (a) -------------- ------------ ------------ ------------ -------------- Net asset value, beginning of period $ 21.43 $ 27.71 $ 28.97 $ 28.04 $ 25.00 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- INCOME FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS: Net investment income (loss) 0.37 0.49 0.47 0.82 0.55 Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) 1.38 (6.36) (0.77) 1.24 2.95 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total from investment operations 1.75 (5.87) (0.30) 2.06 3.50 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- DISTRIBUTIONS PAID TO SHAREHOLDERS FROM: Net investment income (0.32) (0.38) (0.47) (1.13) (0.46) Net realized gains -- -- (0.45) -- -- Return of capital -- (0.03) (0.04) -- -- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total distributions (0.32) (0.41) (0.96) (1.13) (0.46) ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Net asset value, end of period $ 22.86 $ 21.43 $ 27.71 $ 28.97 $ 28.04 ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== TOTAL RETURN (b) 8.20% (21.37)% (1.02)% 7.46% 14.08% RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA: Net assets, end of period (in 000's) $ 93,746 $ 18,214 $ 35,251 $ 21,725 $ 11,215 RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS: Ratio of total expenses to average net assets (c) 0.66% (d) (e) 0.65% 0.69% (e) 0.69% (e) 0.65% (d) Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets 3.56% (d) 1.79% 1.61% 1.89% 2.64% (d) Portfolio turnover rate (f) 88% 98% (g) 142% (g) 174% (g) 152% (g) (a) Inception date is January 22, 2019, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established. (b) Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption at net asset value on the last day of the period. The returns presented do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption or sale of Fund shares. Total return is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year. (c) The Fund indirectly bears its proportionate share of fees and expenses incurred by the underlying funds in which the Fund invests. The ratio does not include these indirect fees and expenses. (d) Annualized. (e) Includes excise tax. If this excise tax expense was not included, the expense ratio would have been 0.65%. (f) Portfolio turnover is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year and does not include securities received or delivered from processing creations or redemptions and in-kind transactions. (g) The portfolio turnover rate not including mortgage dollar rolls was 69%, 69%, 118% and 104% for the periods ended October 31, 2022, October 31, 2021, October 31, 2020 and October 31, 2019, respectively. Page 14 See Notes to Financial Statements -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) APRIL 30, 2023 (UNAUDITED) 1. ORGANIZATION First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund IV (the "Trust") is an open-end management investment company organized as a Massachusetts business trust on September 15, 2010, and is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"). The Trust currently consists of fourteen funds that are offering shares. This report covers the First Trust Long Duration Opportunities ETF (the "Fund"), which trades under the ticker "LGOV" on the NYSE Arca, Inc. ("NYSE Arca"). The Fund represents a separate series of shares of beneficial interest in the Trust. Unlike conventional mutual funds, the Fund issues and redeems shares on a continuous basis, at net asset value ("NAV"), only in large blocks of shares known as "Creation Units." The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund ("ETF"). The Fund's primary investment objective is to generate current income with a focus on preservation of capital. The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in a portfolio of investment-grade debt securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or government-sponsored entities, including publicly-issued U.S. Treasury securities and mortgage-related securities. The Fund may also invest in ETFs that principally invest in such securities. The Fund's investments in mortgage-related securities may include investments in fixed or adjustable-rate securities structured as "pass-through" securities and collateralized mortgage obligations, including residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, stripped mortgage-backed securities and real estate mortgage investment conduits. The Fund will invest in mortgage-related securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies (such as Ginnie Mae), and U.S. government-sponsored entities (such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac). The Fund may purchase government-sponsored mortgage-related securities in "to-be-announced" transactions ("TBA Transactions"), including mortgage dollar rolls. The Fund intends to enter into mortgage dollar rolls only with high quality securities dealers and banks, as determined by the Fund's portfolio managers. In addition to its investment in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies and government-sponsored entities, the Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in other types of debt securities, including privately-issued, non-agency sponsored asset-backed and mortgage-related securities, futures contracts, options, swap agreements, cash and cash equivalents, and ETFs that invest principally in fixed income securities. Further, the Fund may enter into short sales as part of its overall portfolio management strategy, or to offset a potential decline in the value of a security; however, the Fund does not expect, under normal market conditions, to engage in short sales with respect to more than 30% of the value of its net assets. Although the Fund intends to invest primarily in investment grade securities, the Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in securities of any credit quality, including securities that are below investment grade, which are also known as high yield securities, or commonly referred to as "junk" bonds, or unrated securities that have not been judged by the portfolio managers to be of comparable quality to rated investment grade securities. In the case of a split rating between one or more of the nationally recognized statistical rating organizations, the Fund will consider the highest rating. Under normal market conditions, the portfolio managers will manage the Fund's portfolio to have a weighted average effective duration of eight or more years. 2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES The Fund is considered an investment company and follows accounting and reporting guidance under Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification Topic 946, "Financial Services-Investment Companies." The following is a summary of significant accounting policies consistently followed by the Fund in the preparation of the financial statements. The preparation of the financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP") requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Actual results could differ from those estimates. A. PORTFOLIO VALUATION The Fund's NAV is determined daily as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE"), normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, on each day the NYSE is open for trading. If the NYSE closes early on a valuation day, the NAV is determined as of that time. Domestic debt securities and foreign securities are priced using data reflecting the earlier closing of the principal markets for those securities. The Fund's NAV is calculated by dividing the value of all assets of the Fund (including accrued interest and dividends), less all liabilities (including accrued expenses and dividends declared but unpaid), by the total number of shares outstanding. The Fund's investments are valued daily at market value or, in the absence of market value with respect to any portfolio securities, at fair value. Market value prices represent readily available market quotations such as last sale or official closing prices from a national or foreign exchange (i.e., a regulated market) and are primarily obtained from third-party pricing services. Fair value prices represent any prices not considered market value prices and are either obtained from a third-party pricing service or are determined by the Pricing Committee of the Fund's investment advisor, First Trust Advisors L.P. ("First Trust" or the "Advisor"), in accordance with valuation procedures approved by Page 15 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) APRIL 30, 2023 (UNAUDITED) the Trust's Board of Trustees, and in accordance with provisions of the 1940 Act and rules thereunder. Investments valued by the Advisor's Pricing Committee, if any, are footnoted as such in the footnotes to the Portfolio of Investments. The Fund's investments are valued as follows: U.S. government securities, mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities and other debt securities are fair valued on the basis of valuations provided by a third-party pricing service approved by the Advisor's Pricing Committee, which may use the following valuation inputs when available: 1) benchmark yields; 2) reported trades; 3) broker/dealer quotes; 4) issuer spreads; 5) benchmark securities; 6) bids and offers; and 7) reference data including market research publications. Pricing services generally value fixed-income securities assuming orderly transactions of an institutional round lot size, but a Fund may hold or transact in such securities in smaller, odd lot sizes. Odd lots may trade at lower prices than institutional round lots. Securities traded in an over-the-counter market are valued at the mean of their most recent bid and asked price, if available, and otherwise at their last trade price. Shares of open-end funds are valued based on NAV per share. Exchange-traded futures contracts are valued at the closing price in the market where such contracts are principally traded. If no closing price is available, exchange-traded futures contracts are valued at the mean of their most recent bid and asked price, if available, and otherwise at their closing bid price. Exchange-traded options contracts are valued at the closing price in the market where such contracts are principally traded. If no closing price is available, exchange-traded options contracts are valued at the mean of their most recent bid and asked price, if available, and otherwise at their closing bid price. Fixed income and other debt securities having a remaining maturity of sixty days or less when purchased are fair valued at cost adjusted for amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts (amortized cost), provided the Advisor's Pricing Committee has determined that the use of amortized cost is an appropriate reflection of fair value given market and issuer-specific conditions existing at the time of the determination. Factors that may be considered in determining the appropriateness of the use of amortized cost include, but are not limited to, the following: 1) the credit conditions in the relevant market and changes thereto; 2) the liquidity conditions in the relevant market and changes thereto; 3) the interest rate conditions in the relevant market and changes thereto (such as significant changes in interest rates); 4) issuer-specific conditions (such as significant credit deterioration); and 5) any other market-based data the Advisor's Pricing Committee considers relevant. In this regard, the Advisor's Pricing Committee may use last-obtained market-based data to assist it when valuing portfolio securities using amortized cost. Certain securities may not be able to be priced by pre-established pricing methods. Such securities may be valued by the Advisor's Pricing Committee at fair value. These securities generally include, but are not limited to, restricted securities (securities which may not be publicly sold without registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended) for which a third-party pricing service is unable to provide a market price; securities whose trading has been formally suspended; a security whose market or fair value price is not available from a pre-established pricing source; a security with respect to which an event has occurred that is likely to materially affect the value of the security after the market has closed but before the calculation of the Fund's NAV or make it difficult or impossible to obtain a reliable market quotation; and a security whose price, as provided by the third-party pricing service, does not reflect the security's fair value. As a general principle, the current fair value of a security would appear to be the amount which the owner Page 16 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) APRIL 30, 2023 (UNAUDITED) might reasonably expect to receive for the security upon its current sale. When fair value prices are used, generally they will differ from market quotations or official closing prices on the applicable exchanges. A variety of factors may be considered in determining the fair value of such securities, including, but not limited to, the following: 1) the most recent price provided by a pricing service; 2) the fundamental business data relating to the issuer; 3) an evaluation of the forces which influence the market in which these securities are purchased and sold; 4) the type, size and cost of a security; 5) the financial statements of the issuer, or the financial condition of the country of issue; 6) the credit quality and cash flow of the issuer, or country of issue, based on the Pricing Committee's, sub-adviser's or portfolio manager's analysis, as applicable, or external analysis; 7) the information as to any transactions in or offers for the security; 8) the price and extent of public trading in similar securities of the issuer/borrower, or comparable companies; 9) the coupon payments; 10) the quality, value and salability of collateral, if any, securing the security; 11) the business prospects of the issuer, including any ability to obtain money or resources from a parent or affiliate and an assessment of the issuer's management (for corporate debt only); 12) the prospects for the issuer's industry, and multiples (of earnings and/or cash flows) being paid for similar businesses in that industry (for corporate debt only); and 13) other relevant factors. The Fund is subject to fair value accounting standards that define fair value, establish the framework for measuring fair value and provide a three-level hierarchy for fair valuation based upon the inputs to the valuation as of the measurement date. The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are as follows: o Level 1 - Level 1 inputs are quoted prices in active markets for identical investments. An active market is a market in which transactions for the investment occur with sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis. o Level 2 - Level 2 inputs are observable inputs, either directly or indirectly, and include the following: o Quoted prices for similar investments in active markets. o Quoted prices for identical or similar investments in markets that are non-active. A non-active market is a market where there are few transactions for the investment, the prices are not current, or price quotations vary substantially either over time or among market makers, or in which little information is released publicly. o Inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the investment (for example, interest rates and yield curves observable at commonly quoted intervals, volatilities, prepayment speeds, loss severities, credit risks, and default rates). o Inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means. o Level 3 - Level 3 inputs are unobservable inputs. Unobservable inputs may reflect the reporting entity's own assumptions about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the investment. The inputs or methodologies used for valuing investments are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those investments. A summary of the inputs used to value the Fund's investments as of April 30, 2023, is included with the Fund's Portfolio of Investments. B. SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS AND INVESTMENT INCOME Securities transactions are recorded as of the trade date. Realized gains and losses from securities transactions are recorded on the identified cost basis. Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date. Interest income is recorded daily on the accrual basis. Amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts are recorded using the effective interest method. The United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority (the "FCA"), which regulates the London Interbank Offered Rates ("LIBOR") announced on March 5, 2021 that it intended to phase-out all LIBOR reference rates, beginning December 31, 2021. Since that announcement, the FCA has ceased publication of all non-USD LIBOR reference rates and the 1-week and 2-month USD LIBOR reference rates as of December 31, 2021. The remaining USD LIBOR settings will cease to be published or no longer be representative immediately after June 30, 2023. The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. ("ISDA") confirmed that the FCA's March 5, 2021 announcement of its intention to cease providing LIBOR reference rates, constituted an index cessation event under the Interbank Offered Rates ("IBOR") Fallbacks Supplement and the ISDA 2020 IBOR Fallbacks Protocol for all 35 LIBOR settings and confirmed that the spread adjustment to be used in ISDA fallbacks was fixed as of the date of the announcement. In the United States, the Alternative Reference Rates Committee (the "ARRC"), a group of market participants convened by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in cooperation with other federal and state government agencies, has since 2014 undertaken efforts to identify U.S. dollar reference interest rates as alternatives to LIBOR and to Page 17 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) APRIL 30, 2023 (UNAUDITED) facilitate the mitigation of LIBOR-related risks. In June 2017, the ARRC identified the Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR"), a broad measure of the cost of cash overnight borrowing collateralized by U.S. Treasury securities, as the preferred alternative for U.S. dollar LIBOR. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York began daily publishing of SOFR in April 2018. There is no assurance that any alternative reference rate, including SOFR, will be similar to or produce the same value or economic equivalence as LIBOR or that instruments using an alternative rate will have the same volume or liquidity. At this time, it is not possible to predict the full impact of the elimination of LIBOR and the establishment of an alternative reference rate on the Fund or its investments. The Fund invests in interest-only securities. For these securities, if there is a change in the estimated cash flows, based on an evaluation of current information, then the estimated yield is adjusted. Additionally, if the evaluation of current information indicates a permanent impairment of the security, the cost basis of the security is written down and a loss is recognized. Debt obligations may be placed on non-accrual status and the related interest income may be reduced by ceasing current accruals and writing off interest receivables when the collection of all or a portion of interest has become doubtful based on consistently applied procedures. A debt obligation is removed from non-accrual status when the issuer resumes interest payments or when collectability of interest is reasonably assured. Securities purchased or sold on a when-issued, delayed-delivery or forward purchase commitment basis may have extended settlement periods. The value of the security so purchased is subject to market fluctuations during this period. The Fund maintains liquid assets with a current value at least equal to the amount of its when-issued, delayed-delivery or forward purchase commitments until payment is made. At April 30, 2023, the Fund had no when-issued, delayed-delivery securities, or forward purchase commitments. C. SHORT SALES Short sales are utilized to manage interest rate and spread risk, and are transactions in which securities or other instruments (such as options, forwards, futures or other derivative contracts) are sold that are not currently owned in the Fund's portfolio. When the Fund engages in a short sale, the Fund must borrow the security sold short and deliver the security to the counterparty. Short selling allows the Fund to profit from a decline in a market price to the extent such decline exceeds the transaction costs and the costs of borrowing the securities. The Fund is charged a fee or premium to borrow the securities sold short and is obligated to repay the lenders of the securities. Any dividends or interest that accrues on the securities during the period of the loan are due to the lenders. A gain, limited to the price at which the security was sold short, or a loss, unlimited in size, will be recognized upon the termination of the short sale; which is effected by the Fund purchasing the security sold short and delivering the security to the lender. Any such gain or loss may be offset, completely or in part, by the change in the value of the long portion of the Fund's portfolio. The Fund is subject to the risk it may be unable to reacquire a security to terminate a short position except at a price substantially in excess of the last quoted price. Also, there is the risk that the counterparty to a short sale may fail to honor its contractual terms, causing a loss to the Fund. D. FUTURES CONTRACTS The Fund may purchase or sell (i.e., is long or short) exchange-listed futures contracts to hedge against changes in interest rates (interest rate risk). Futures contracts are agreements between the Fund and a counterparty to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying instrument at a specified price and at a specified date. Depending on the terms of the contract, futures contracts are settled either through physical delivery of the underlying instrument on the settlement date or by payment of a cash settlement amount on the settlement date. Open futures contracts can also be closed out prior to settlement by entering into an offsetting transaction in a matching futures contract. If the Fund is not able to enter into an offsetting transaction, the Fund will continue to be required to maintain margin deposits on the futures contract. When the contract is closed or expires, the Fund records a realized gain or loss equal to the difference between the value of the contract at the time it was opened and the value at the time it was closed or expired. This gain or loss is included in "Net realized gain (loss) on futures contracts" on the Statement of Operations. Upon entering into a futures contract, the Fund must deposit funds, called margin, with its custodian in the name of the clearing broker equal to a specified percentage of the current value of the contract. Open futures contracts are marked-to-market daily with the change in value recognized as a component of "Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on futures contracts" on the Statement of Operations. Pursuant to the contract, the Fund agrees to receive from or pay to the broker an amount of cash equal to the daily fluctuation in value of the contract. Such receipts or payments are known as variation margin and are included in "Variation margin" receivable or payable on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. If market conditions change unexpectedly, the Fund may not achieve the anticipated benefits of the futures contract and may realize a loss. The use of futures contracts involves the risk of imperfect correlation in movements in the price of the futures contracts, interest rates and the underlying instruments. Page 18 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) APRIL 30, 2023 (UNAUDITED) E. OPTIONS CONTRACTS In the normal course of pursuing its investment objective, the Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in derivative instruments in connection with hedging strategies. The Fund may invest in exchange-listed options on U.S. Treasury securities, exchange-listed options on U.S. Treasury futures contracts, exchange-listed U.S. Treasury futures contracts and exchange-listed options on secured overnight financing rate futures contracts. The Fund uses derivative instruments primarily to hedge interest rate risk and actively manage interest rate exposure. The primary risk exposure is interest rate risk. The Fund may purchase (buy) or write (sell) put and call options on futures contracts and enter into closing transactions with respect to such options to terminate an existing position. A futures option gives the holder the right, in return for the premium paid, to assume a long position (call) or short position (put) in a futures contract at a specified exercise price prior to the expiration of the option. Upon exercise of a call option, the holder acquires a long position in the futures contract and the writer is assigned the opposite short position. In the case of a put option, the opposite is true. Prior to exercise or expiration, a futures option contract may be closed out by an offsetting purchase or sale of a futures option of the same series. When the Fund writes (sells) an option, an amount equal to the premium received by the Fund is included in "Options contracts written, at value" on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. When the Fund purchases (buys) an option, the premium paid represents the cost of the option, which is included in "Premiums paid on options contracts purchased" on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. Options are marked-to-market daily and their value is affected by changes in the value of the underlying security, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the securities markets and the underlying securities, and the remaining time to the option's expiration. The value of options may also be adversely affected if the market for the options becomes less liquid or the trading volume diminishes. The Fund uses options on futures contracts in connection with hedging strategies. Generally, these strategies are applied under the same market and market sector conditions in which the Fund uses put and call options on securities. The purchase of put options on futures contracts is analogous to the purchase of puts on securities so as to hedge the Fund's securities holdings against the risk of declining market prices. The writing of a call option or the purchasing of a put option on a futures contract constitutes a partial hedge against declining prices of securities which are deliverable upon exercise of the futures contract. If the price at expiration of a written call option is below the exercise price, the Fund will retain the full amount of the option premium which provides a partial hedge against any decline that may have occurred in the Fund's holdings of securities. If the price when the option is exercised is above the exercise price, however, the Fund will incur a loss, which may be offset, in whole or in part, by the increase in the value of the securities held by the Fund that were being hedged. Writing a put option or purchasing a call option on a futures contract serves as a partial hedge against an increase in the value of the securities the Fund intends to acquire. Realized gains and losses on written options are included in "Net realized gain (loss) on written options contracts" on the Statement of Operations. Realized gains and losses on purchased options are included in "Net realized gain (loss) on purchased options contracts" on the Statement of Operations. The Fund is required to deposit and maintain margin with respect to put and call options on futures contracts written by it. Such margin deposits will vary depending on the nature of the underlying futures contract (and the related initial margin requirements), the current market value of the option and other futures positions held by the Fund. The Fund will pledge in a segregated account at the Fund's custodian, liquid assets, such as cash, U.S. government securities or other high-grade liquid debt obligations equal in value to the amount due on the underlying obligation. Such segregated assets will be marked-to-market daily, and additional assets will be pledged in the segregated account whenever the total value of the pledged assets falls below the amount due on the underlying obligation. The risks associated with the use of options on future contracts include the risk that the Fund may close out its position as a writer of an option only if a liquid secondary market exists for such options, which cannot be assured. The Fund's successful use of options on futures contracts depends on the Advisor's ability to correctly predict the movement in prices on futures contracts and the underlying instruments, which may prove to be incorrect. In addition, there may be imperfect correlation between the instruments being hedged and the futures contract subject to option. F. INTEREST-ONLY SECURITIES An interest-only security ("IO Security") is the interest-only portion of a mortgage-backed security that receives some or all of the interest portion of the underlying mortgage-backed security and little or no principal. A reference principal value called a notional value is used to calculate the amount of interest due to the IO Security. IO Securities are sold at a deep discount to their notional principal amount. Generally speaking, when interest rates are falling and prepayment rates are increasing, the value of an IO Security will fall. Conversely, when interest rates are rising and prepayment rates are decreasing, generally the value of an IO Security will rise. These securities, if any, are identified on the Portfolio of Investments. Page 19 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) APRIL 30, 2023 (UNAUDITED) G. PRINCIPAL-ONLY SECURITIES A principal-only security ("PO Security") is the principal-only portion of a mortgage-backed security that does not receive any interest, is priced at a deep discount to its redemption value and ultimately receives the redemption value. Generally speaking, when interest rates are falling and prepayment rates are increasing, the value of a PO Security will rise. Conversely, when interest rates are rising and prepayment rates are decreasing, generally the value of a PO Security will fall. These securities, if any, are identified on the Portfolio of Investments. H. STRIPPED MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES Stripped mortgage-backed securities are created by segregating the cash flows from underlying mortgage loans or mortgage securities to create two or more new securities, each with a specified percentage of the underlying security's principal or interest payments. Mortgage-backed securities may be partially stripped so that each investor class receives some interest and some principal. When securities are completely stripped, however, all of the interest is distributed to holders of one type of security known as an IO Security and all of the principal is distributed to holders of another type of security known as a PO Security. These securities, if any, are identified on the Portfolio of Investments. I. MORTGAGE DOLLAR ROLLS AND TBA TRANSACTIONS The Fund may invest, without limitation, in mortgage dollar rolls. The Fund intends to enter into mortgage dollar rolls only with high quality securities dealers and banks, as determined by the Fund's investment advisor. In a mortgage dollar roll, the Fund will sell (or buy) mortgage-backed securities for delivery on a specified date and simultaneously contract to repurchase (or sell) substantially similar (same type, coupon and maturity) securities on a future date. Mortgage dollar rolls are recorded as separate purchases and sales in the Fund. The Fund may also invest in TBA Transactions. A TBA Transaction is a method of trading mortgage-backed securities. TBA Transactions generally are conducted in accordance with widely-accepted guidelines which establish commonly observed terms and conditions for execution, settlement and delivery. In a TBA Transaction, the buyer and the seller agree on general trade parameters such as agency, settlement date, par amount and price. J. DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTION TO SHAREHOLDERS Dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid monthly by the Fund, or as the Board of Trustees may determine from time to time. Distributions of net realized gains earned by the Fund, if any, are distributed at least annually. The Fund may also designate a portion of the amount paid to redeeming shareholders as a distribution for tax purposes. Distributions in cash may be reinvested automatically in additional whole shares only if the broker through whom the shares were purchased makes such option available. Such shares will generally be reinvested by the broker based upon the market price of those shares and investors may be subject to customary brokerage commissions charged by the broker. Distributions from net investment income and realized capital gains are determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations, which may differ from U.S. GAAP. Certain capital accounts in the financial statements are periodically adjusted for permanent differences in order to reflect their tax character. These permanent differences are primarily due to the varying treatment of income and gain/loss on portfolio securities held by the Fund and have no impact on net assets or NAV per share. Temporary differences, which arise from recognizing certain items of income, expense and gain/loss in different periods for financial statement and tax purposes, will reverse at some time in the future. The tax character of distributions paid during the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022 was as follows: Distributions paid from: Ordinary income................................. $ 459,443 Capital gains................................... -- Return of capital............................... 36,043 As of October 31, 2022, the components of distributable earnings on a tax basis for the Fund were as follows: Undistributed ordinary income................... $ -- Accumulated capital and other gain (loss)....... (4,265,975) Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation)...... (2,782,758) K. INCOME TAXES The Fund intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company by complying with the requirements under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, which includes distributing substantially all of its net investment income and net realized gains to shareholders. Accordingly, no provision has been made for federal and state income taxes. However, due to the Page 20 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) APRIL 30, 2023 (UNAUDITED) timing and amount of distributions, the Fund may be subject to an excise tax of 4% of the amount by which approximately 98% of the Fund's taxable income exceeds the distributions from such taxable income for the calendar year. The Fund is subject to accounting standards that establish a minimum threshold for recognizing, and a system for measuring, the benefits of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. The taxable years ended 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 remain open to federal and state audit. As of April 30, 2023, management has evaluated the application of these standards to the Fund and has determined that no provision for income tax is required in the Fund's financial statements for uncertain tax positions. The Fund intends to utilize provisions of the federal income tax laws, which allow it to carry a realized capital loss forward indefinitely following the year of the loss and offset such loss against any future realized capital gains. The Fund is subject to certain limitations under U.S. tax rules on the use of capital loss carryforwards and net unrealized built-in losses. These limitations apply when there has been a 50% change in ownership. At October 31, 2022, the Fund had non-expiring capital loss carryforwards available for federal income tax purposes of $4,265,975. Certain losses realized during the current fiscal year may be deferred and treated as occurring on the first day of the following fiscal year for federal income tax purposes. For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, the Fund had no net late year ordinary or capital losses. As of April 30, 2023, the aggregate cost, gross unrealized appreciation, gross unrealized depreciation, and net unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) on investments (including short positions and derivatives, if any) for federal income tax purposes were as follows: Gross Gross Net Unrealized Unrealized Unrealized Appreciation Tax Cost Appreciation (Depreciation) (Depreciation) ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- $ 104,615,587 $ 679,093 $ (2,091,839) $ (1,412,746) L. EXPENSES Expenses, other than the investment advisory fee and other excluded expenses, are paid by the Advisor (see Note 3). 3. INVESTMENT ADVISORY FEE, AFFILIATED TRANSACTIONS AND OTHER FEE ARRANGEMENTS First Trust, the investment advisor to the Fund, is a limited partnership with one limited partner, Grace Partners of DuPage L.P., and one general partner, The Charger Corporation. The Charger Corporation is an Illinois corporation controlled by James A. Bowen, Chief Executive Officer of First Trust. First Trust is responsible for the selection and ongoing monitoring of the securities in the Fund's portfolio, managing the Fund's business affairs and providing certain administrative services necessary for the management of the Fund. Pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement between the Trust and the Advisor, First Trust manages the investment of the Fund's assets and is responsible for the Fund's expenses, including the cost of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other services, but excluding fee payments under the Investment Management Agreement, interest, taxes, pro rata share of fees and expenses attributable to investments in other investment companies ("acquired fund fees and expenses"), brokerage commissions and other expenses connected with the execution of portfolio transactions, distribution and service fees payable pursuant to a Rule 12b-1 plan, if any, and extraordinary expenses. Effective November 1, 2022, the annual unitary management fee payable by the Fund to First Trust for these services will be reduced at certain levels of the Fund's net assets ("breakpoints") and calculated pursuant to the schedule below: Breakpoints ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fund net assets up to and including $2.5 billion 0.65000% Fund net assets greater than $2.5 billion up to and including $5 billion 0.63375% Fund net assets greater than $5 billion up to and including $7.5 billion 0.61750% Fund net assets greater than $7.5 billion up to and including $10 billion 0.60125% Fund net assets greater than $10 billion 0.58500% Prior to November 1, 2022, the Fund paid First Trust an annual unitary management fee equal to 0.65% of its average daily net assets. Page 21 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) APRIL 30, 2023 (UNAUDITED) The Trust has multiple service agreements with The Bank of New York Mellon ("BNYM"). Under the service agreements, BNYM performs custodial, fund accounting, certain administrative services, and transfer agency services for the Fund. As custodian, BNYM is responsible for custody of the Fund's assets. As fund accountant and administrator, BNYM is responsible for maintaining the books and records of the Fund's securities and cash. As transfer agent, BNYM is responsible for maintaining shareholder records for the Fund. BNYM is a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, a financial holding company. Each Trustee who is not an officer or employee of First Trust, any sub-advisor or any of their affiliates ("Independent Trustees") is paid a fixed annual retainer that is allocated equally among each fund in the First Trust Fund Complex. Each Independent Trustee is also paid an annual per fund fee that varies based on whether the fund is a closed-end or other actively managed fund, a target outcome fund or an index fund. Additionally, the Lead Independent Trustee and the Chairs of the Audit Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee and Valuation Committee are paid annual fees to serve in such capacities, with such compensation allocated pro rata among each fund in the First Trust Fund Complex based on net assets. Independent Trustees are reimbursed for travel and out-of-pocket expenses in connection with all meetings. The Lead Independent Trustee and Committee Chairs will rotate every three years. The officers and "Interested" Trustee receive no compensation from the Trust for acting in such capacities. 4. PURCHASES AND SALES OF SECURITIES The cost of purchases of U.S. Government securities and non-U.S. Government securities, excluding short-term investments, for the six months ended April 30, 2023, were $79,973,283 and $0, respectively. The proceeds from sales and paydowns of U.S. Government securities and non-U.S. Government securities, excluding short-term investments, for the six months ended April 30, 2023, were $23,160,992 and $0, respectively. The cost of purchases to cover investments sold short and the proceeds of investments sold short were $2,699,141 and $2,699,141, respectively. For the six months ended April 30, 2023, the Fund had no in-kind transactions. 5. DERIVATIVE TRANSACTIONS The following table presents the types of derivatives held by the Fund at April 30, 2023, the primary underlying risk exposure and the location of these instruments as presented on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. ASSET DERIVATIVES LIABILITY DERIVATIVES ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- DERIVATIVE RISK STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND INSTRUMENTS EXPOSURE LIABILITIES LOCATION VALUE LIABILITIES LOCATION VALUE ----------- --------- ---------------------------- ---------- -------------------------- ---------- Futures Interest Unrealized appreciation on Unrealized depreciation on rate risk futures contracts* $ 50,065 futures contracts* $ 520 Options Interest Options contracts purchased, Options contracts written, rate risk at value 77,609 at value 29,750 * Includes cumulative appreciation/depreciation on futures contracts as reported in the Portfolio of Investments. Only the current day's variation margin is presented on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. The following table presents the amount of net realized gain (loss) and change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) recognized for the six months ended April 30, 2023, on derivative instruments, as well as the primary underlying risk exposure associated with the instruments. STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS LOCATION INTEREST RATE RISK ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net realized gain (loss) on: Futures contracts $ 847,306 Purchased options contracts 323,452 Written options contracts (137,361) Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on: Futures contracts 60,464 Purchased options contracts (19,057) Written options contracts 3,197 Page 22 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) APRIL 30, 2023 (UNAUDITED) For the six months ended April 30, 2023, the notional value of futures contracts opened and closed were $198,249,113 and $181,050,616, respectively. During the six months ended April 30, 2023, the premiums for purchased options contracts opened were $2,014,527 and the premiums for purchased options contracts closed, exercised and expired were $2,103,408. During the six months ended April 30, 2023, the premiums for written options contracts opened were $377,220 and the premiums for written options contracts closed, exercised and expired were $354,742. The Fund does not have the right to offset financial assets and financial liabilities related to futures and options contracts on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. 6. CREATIONS, REDEMPTIONS AND TRANSACTION FEES The Fund generally issues and redeems its shares in primary market transactions through a creation and redemption mechanism and does not sell or redeem individual shares. Instead, financial entities known as "Authorized Participants" have contractual arrangements with the Fund or one of the Fund's service providers to purchase and redeem Fund shares directly with the Fund in large blocks of shares known as "Creation Units." Prior to the start of trading on every business day, the Fund publishes through the National Securities Clearing Corporation ("NSCC") the "basket" of securities, cash or other assets that it will accept in exchange for a Creation Unit of the Fund's shares. An Authorized Participant that wishes to effectuate a creation of the Fund's shares deposits with the Fund the "basket" of securities, cash or other assets identified by the Fund that day, and then receives the Creation Unit of the Fund's shares in return for those assets. After purchasing a Creation Unit, the Authorized Participant may continue to hold the Fund's shares or sell them in the secondary market. The redemption process is the reverse of the purchase process: the Authorized Participant redeems a Creation Unit of the Fund's shares for a basket of securities, cash or other assets. The combination of the creation and redemption process with secondary market trading in the Fund's shares and underlying securities provides arbitrage opportunities that are designed to help keep the market price of the Fund's shares at or close to the NAV per share of the Fund. The Fund imposes fees in connection with the purchase of Creation Units. These fees may vary based upon various fact-based circumstances, including, but not limited to, the composition of the securities included in the Creation Unit or the countries in which the transactions are settled. The price for each Creation Unit will equal the daily NAV per share of the Fund times the number of shares in a Creation Unit, plus the fees described above and, if applicable, any operational processing and brokerage costs, transfer fees, stamp taxes and part or all of the spread between the expected bid and offer side of the market related to the securities comprising the creation basket. The Fund also imposes fees in connection with the redemption of Creation Units. These fees may vary based upon various fact-based circumstances, including, but not limited to, the composition of the securities included in the Creation Unit or the countries in which the transactions are settled. The price received for each Creation Unit will equal the daily NAV per share of the Fund times the number of shares in a Creation Unit, minus the fees described above and, if applicable, any operational processing and brokerage costs, transfer fees, stamp taxes and part or all of the spread between the expected bid and offer side of the market related to the securities comprising the redemption basket. Investors who use the services of a broker or other such intermediary in addition to an Authorized Participant to effect a redemption of a Creation Unit may also be assessed an amount to cover the cost of such services. The redemption fee charged by the Fund will comply with Rule 22c-2 of the 1940 Act which limits redemption fees to no more than 2% of the value of the shares redeemed. 7. DISTRIBUTION PLAN The Board of Trustees adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. In accordance with the Rule 12b-1 plan, the Fund is authorized to pay an amount up to 0.25% of its average daily net assets each year to reimburse First Trust Portfolios L.P. ("FTP"), the distributor of the Fund, for amounts expended to finance activities primarily intended to result in the sale of Creation Units or the provision of investor services. FTP may also use this amount to compensate securities dealers or other persons that are Authorized Participants for providing distribution assistance, including broker-dealer and shareholder support and educational and promotional services. No 12b-1 fees are currently paid by the Fund, and pursuant to a contractual arrangement, no 12b-1 fees will be paid any time before March 31, 2024. Page 23 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) APRIL 30, 2023 (UNAUDITED) 8. INDEMNIFICATION The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has a variety of indemnification obligations under contracts with its service providers. The Trust's maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown. However, the Trust has not had prior claims or losses pursuant to these contracts and expects the risk of loss to be remote. 9. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS Management has evaluated the impact of all subsequent events on the Fund through the date the financial statements were issued, and has determined that there was the following subsequent event: On May 23, 2023, the Advisor's Pricing Committee approved changes to the Advisor's Valuation Procedures for the First Trust Funds, including clarifications to certain pricing methodologies. These changes will be reflected in future reports' Notes to Financial Statements. Page 24 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) APRIL 30, 2023 (UNAUDITED) PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES A description of the policies and procedures that the Trust uses to determine how to vote proxies and information on how the Fund voted proxies relating to its portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available (1) without charge, upon request, by calling (800) 988-5891; (2) on the Fund's website at www.ftportfolios.com; and (3) on the Securities and Exchange Commission's ("SEC") website at www.sec.gov. PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS The Fund files portfolio holdings information for each month in a fiscal quarter within 60 days after the end of the relevant fiscal quarter on Form N-PORT. Portfolio holdings information for the third month of each fiscal quarter will be publicly available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. The Fund's complete schedule of portfolio holdings for the second and fourth quarters of each fiscal year is included in the semi-annual and annual reports to shareholders, respectively, and is filed with the SEC on Form N-CSR. The semi-annual and annual report for the Fund is available to investors within 60 days after the period to which it relates. The Fund's Forms N-PORT and Forms N-CSR are available on the SEC's website listed above. RISK CONSIDERATIONS RISKS ARE INHERENT IN ALL INVESTING. CERTAIN GENERAL RISKS THAT MAY BE APPLICABLE TO A FUND ARE IDENTIFIED BELOW, BUT NOT ALL OF THE MATERIAL RISKS RELEVANT TO EACH FUND ARE INCLUDED IN THIS REPORT AND NOT ALL OF THE RISKS BELOW APPLY TO EACH FUND. THE MATERIAL RISKS OF INVESTING IN EACH FUND ARE SPELLED OUT IN ITS PROSPECTUS, STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND OTHER REGULATORY FILINGS. BEFORE INVESTING, YOU SHOULD CONSIDER EACH FUND'S INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE, RISKS, CHARGES AND EXPENSES, AND READ EACH FUND'S PROSPECTUS AND STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CAREFULLY. YOU CAN DOWNLOAD EACH FUND'S PROSPECTUS AT WWW.FTPORTFOLIOS.COM OR CONTACT FIRST TRUST PORTFOLIOS L.P. AT (800) 621-1675 TO REQUEST A PROSPECTUS, WHICH CONTAINS THIS AND OTHER INFORMATION ABOUT EACH FUND. CONCENTRATION RISK. To the extent that a fund is able to invest a significant percentage of its assets in a single asset class or the securities of issuers within the same country, state, region, industry or sector, an adverse economic, business or political development may affect the value of the fund's investments more than if the fund were more broadly diversified. A fund that tracks an index will be concentrated to the extent the fund's corresponding index is concentrated. A concentration makes a fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the fund to greater market risk than a fund that is more broadly diversified. CREDIT RISK. Credit risk is the risk that an issuer of a security will be unable or unwilling to make dividend, interest and/or principal payments when due and the related risk that the value of a security may decline because of concerns about the issuer's ability to make such payments. CYBER SECURITY RISK. The funds are susceptible to potential operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause a fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause a fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. In addition, cyber security breaches of a fund's third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, or issuers in which the fund invests, can also subject a fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. DEFINED OUTCOME FUNDS RISK. To the extent a fund's investment strategy is designed to deliver returns tied to the price performance of an underlying ETF, an investor may not realize the returns the fund seeks to achieve if that investor does not hold shares for the entire target outcome period. In the event an investor purchases shares after the first day of the target outcome period or sells shares prior to the end of the target outcome period, the buffer that the fund seeks to provide against a decline in the value of the underlying ETF may not be available, the enhanced returns that the fund seeks to provide (if any) may not be available and the investor may not participate in a gain in the value of the underlying ETF up to the cap for the investor's investment period. Additionally, the fund will not participate in gains of the underlying ETF above the cap and a shareholder may lose their entire investment. If the fund seeks enhanced returns, there are certain time periods when the value of the fund may fall faster than the value of the underlying ETF, and it is very unlikely that, on any given day during which the underlying ETF share price increases in value, the fund's share price will increase at the same rate as the enhanced returns sought by the fund, which is designed for an entire target outcome period. Trading flexible exchange options involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities, such as less liquidity and correlation and valuation risks. A fund may experience substantial downside from specific flexible exchange option positions and certain positions may expire worthless. Page 25 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (CONTINUED) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) APRIL 30, 2023 (UNAUDITED) DERIVATIVES RISK. To the extent a fund uses derivative instruments such as futures contracts, options contracts and swaps, the fund may experience losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the underlying asset, index or rate, which may be magnified by certain features of the derivative. These risks are heightened when a fund's portfolio managers use derivatives to enhance the fund's return or as a substitute for a position or security, rather than solely to hedge (or offset) the risk of a position or security held by the fund. EQUITY SECURITIES RISK. To the extent a fund invests in equity securities, the value of the fund's shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors' perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant stock market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting the issuers occur. In addition, common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market. ETF RISK. The shares of an ETF trade like common stock and represent an interest in a portfolio of securities. The risks of owning an ETF generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying securities, although lack of liquidity in an ETF could result in it being more volatile and ETFs have management fees that increase their costs. Shares of an ETF trade on an exchange at market prices rather than net asset value, which may cause the shares to trade at a price greater than net asset value (premium) or less than net asset value (discount). In times of market stress, decisions by market makers to reduce or step away from their role of providing a market for an ETF's shares, or decisions by an ETF's authorized participants that they are unable or unwilling to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders of an ETF's shares, could result in shares of the ETF trading at a discount to net asset value and in greater than normal intraday bid-ask spreads. FIXED INCOME SECURITIES RISK. To the extent a fund invests in fixed income securities, the fund will be subject to credit risk, income risk, interest rate risk, liquidity risk and prepayment risk. Income risk is the risk that income from a fund's fixed income investments could decline during periods of falling interest rates. Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of a fund's fixed income securities will decline because of rising interest rates. Liquidity risk is the risk that a security cannot be purchased or sold at the time desired, or cannot be purchased or sold without adversely affecting the price. Prepayment risk is the risk that the securities will be redeemed or prepaid by the issuer, resulting in lower interest payments received by the fund. In addition to these risks, high yield securities, or "junk" bonds, are subject to greater market fluctuations and risk of loss than securities with higher ratings, and the market for high yield securities is generally smaller and less liquid than that for investment grade securities. INDEX OR MODEL CONSTITUENT RISK. Certain funds may be a constituent of one or more indices or ETF models. As a result, such a fund may be included in one or more index-tracking exchange-traded funds or mutual funds. Being a component security of such a vehicle could greatly affect the trading activity involving a fund, the size of the fund and the market volatility of the fund. Inclusion in an index could increase demand for the fund and removal from an index could result in outsized selling activity in a relatively short period of time. As a result, a fund's net asset value could be negatively impacted and the fund's market price may be significantly below its net asset value during certain periods. In addition, index rebalances may potentially result in increased trading activity in a fund's shares. INDEX PROVIDER RISK. To the extent a fund seeks to track an index, it is subject to Index Provider Risk. There is no assurance that the Index Provider will compile the Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. To correct any such error, the Index Provider may carry out an unscheduled rebalance or other modification of the Index constituents or weightings, which may increase the fund's costs. The Index Provider does not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the Index, and it does not guarantee that the Index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. Losses or costs associated with any Index Provider errors generally will be borne by the fund and its shareholders. INVESTMENT COMPANIES RISK. To the extent a fund invests in the securities of other investment vehicles, the fund will incur additional fees and expenses that would not be present in a direct investment in those investment vehicles. Furthermore, the fund's investment performance and risks are directly related to the investment performance and risks of the investment vehicles in which the fund invests. LIBOR RISK. To the extent a fund invests in floating or variable rate obligations that use the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") as a reference interest rate, it is subject to LIBOR Risk. The United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates LIBOR has ceased making LIBOR available as a reference rate over a phase-out period that began December 31, 2021. There is no assurance that any alternative reference rate, including the Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR") will be similar to or produce the same value or economic equivalence as LIBOR or that instruments using an alternative rate will have the same volume or liquidity. The unavailability or replacement of LIBOR may affect the value, liquidity or return on certain fund investments and may result in Page 26 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (CONTINUED) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) APRIL 30, 2023 (UNAUDITED) costs incurred in connection with closing out positions and entering into new trades. Any potential effects of the transition away from LIBOR on the fund or on certain instruments in which the fund invests can be difficult to ascertain, and they may vary depending on a variety of factors, and they could result in losses to the fund. MANAGEMENT RISK. To the extent that a fund is actively managed, it is subject to management risk. In managing an actively-managed fund's investment portfolio, the fund's portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not have the desired result. There can be no guarantee that a fund will meet its investment objective. MARKET RISK. Market risk is the risk that a particular security, or shares of a fund in general, may fall in value. Securities held by a fund, as well as shares of a fund itself, are subject to market fluctuations caused by factors such as general economic conditions, political events, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of a fund could decline in value or underperform other investments as a result of the risk of loss associated with these market fluctuations. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant negative impact on a fund and its investments. Such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine which has caused and could continue to cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in Russia, Europe, and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions resulting from those hostilities could have a significant impact on certain fund investments as well as fund performance. The COVID-19 global pandemic and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets. While the U.S. has resumed "reasonably" normal business activity, many countries continue to impose lockdown measures. Additionally, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against emerging variants of the disease. These events also adversely affect the prices and liquidity of a fund's portfolio securities or other instruments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of a fund's shares and result in increased market volatility. During any such events, a fund's shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on a fund's shares may widen. NON-U.S. SECURITIES RISK. To the extent a fund invests in non-U.S. securities, it is subject to additional risks not associated with securities of domestic issuers. Non-U.S. securities are subject to higher volatility than securities of domestic issuers due to: possible adverse political, social or economic developments; restrictions on foreign investment or exchange of securities; capital controls; lack of liquidity; currency exchange rates; excessive taxation; government seizure of assets; the imposition of sanctions by foreign governments; different legal or accounting standards; and less government supervision and regulation of exchanges in foreign countries. Investments in non-U.S. securities may involve higher costs than investments in U.S. securities, including higher transaction and custody costs, as well as additional taxes imposed by non-U.S. governments. These risks may be heightened for securities of companies located, or with significant operations, in emerging market countries. OPERATIONAL RISK. Each fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of a fund's service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. Each fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect a fund's ability to meet its investment objective. Although the funds and the funds' investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks. PASSIVE INVESTMENT RISK. To the extent a fund seeks to track an index, the fund will invest in the securities included in, or representative of, the index regardless of their investment merit. A fund generally will not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. PREFERRED SECURITIES RISK. Preferred securities combine some of the characteristics of both common stocks and bonds. Preferred securities are typically subordinated to bonds and other debt securities in a company's capital structure in terms of priority to corporate income, subjecting them to greater credit risk than those debt securities. Generally, holders of preferred securities have no voting rights with respect to the issuing company unless preferred dividends have been in arrears for a specified number of periods, at which time the preferred security holders may obtain limited rights. In certain circumstances, an issuer of preferred securities may defer payment on the securities and, in some cases, redeem the securities prior to a specified date. Preferred securities may also be substantially less liquid than other securities, including common stock. VALUATION RISK. The valuation of certain securities may carry more risk than that of common stock. Uncertainties in the conditions of the financial markets, unreliable reference data, lack of transparency and inconsistency of valuation models and processes may lead to inaccurate asset pricing. A fund may hold investments in sizes smaller than institutionally sized round lot positions Page 27 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (CONTINUED) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST TRUST LONG DURATION OPPORTUNITIES ETF (LGOV) APRIL 30, 2023 (UNAUDITED) (sometimes referred to as odd lots). However, third-party pricing services generally provide evaluations on the basis of institutionally-sized round lots. If a fund sells certain of its investments in an odd lot transaction, the sale price may be less than the value at which such securities have been held by the fund. Odd lots often trade at lower prices than institutional round lots. There is no assurance that the fund will be able to sell a portfolio security at the price established by the pricing service, which could result in a loss to the fund. NOT FDIC INSURED NOT BANK GUARANTEED MAY LOSE VALUE LIQUIDITY RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAM In accordance with Rule 22e-4 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"), the Fund and each other fund in the First Trust Fund Complex, other than the closed-end funds, have adopted and implemented a liquidity risk management program (the "Program") reasonably designed to assess and manage the funds' liquidity risk, i.e., the risk that a fund could not meet requests to redeem shares issued by the fund without significant dilution of remaining investors' interests in the fund. The Board of Trustees of the First Trust Funds has appointed First Trust Advisors L.P. (the "Advisor") as the person designated to administer the Program, and in this capacity the Advisor performs its duties primarily through the activities and efforts of the First Trust Liquidity Committee (the "Liquidity Committee"). Pursuant to the Program, the Liquidity Committee classifies the liquidity of each fund's portfolio investments into one of the four liquidity categories specified by Rule 22e-4: highly liquid investments, moderately liquid investments, less liquid investments and illiquid investments. The Liquidity Committee determines certain of the inputs for this classification process, including reasonably anticipated trade sizes and significant investor dilution thresholds. The Liquidity Committee also determines and periodically reviews a highly liquid investment minimum for certain funds, monitors the funds' holdings of assets classified as illiquid investments to seek to ensure they do not exceed 15% of a fund's net assets and establishes policies and procedures regarding redemptions in kind. At the April 17, 2023 meeting of the Board of Trustees, as required by Rule 22e-4 and the Program, the Advisor provided the Board with a written report prepared by the Advisor that addressed the operation of the Program during the period from March 17, 2022 through the Liquidity Committee's annual meeting held on March 23, 2023 and assessed the Program's adequacy and effectiveness of implementation during this period, including the operation of the highly liquid investment minimum for each fund that is required under the Program to have one, and any material changes to the Program. Note that because the Fund primarily holds assets that are highly liquid investments, the Fund has not adopted any highly liquid investment minimum. As stated in the written report, during the review period, two funds breached the 15% limitation on illiquid investments for one day each, as a result of an unscheduled week-long closure of the stock exchange in Istanbul following devastating earthquakes in February, causing all Turkish equities to be re-classified as "illiquid" for one day. Each fund filed a Form N-RN on the day after the breach occurred, and one day later after the breach was cured. No fund with a highly liquid investment minimum breached that minimum during the reporting period. The Advisor concluded that each fund's investment strategy is appropriate for an open-end fund; that the Program operated effectively in all material respects during the review period; and that the Program is reasonably designed to assess and manage the liquidity risk of each fund and to maintain compliance with Rule 22e-4. Page 28 FIRST TRUST First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund IV INVESTMENT ADVISOR First Trust Advisors L.P. 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400 Wheaton, IL 60187 ADMINISTRATOR, CUSTODIAN, FUND ACCOUNTANT & TRANSFER AGENT The Bank of New York Mellon 240 Greenwich Street New York, NY 10286 INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM Deloitte & Touche LLP 111 South Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 LEGAL COUNSEL Chapman and Cutler LLP 320 South Canal Street Chicago, IL 60606 [BLANK BACK COVER]