that
a suitable replacement could be found for any of the portfolio managers in the
event of their death, resignation, retirement or inability to act
on behalf of the Sub-Advisor.
FAILURE
TO QUALIFY AS A REGULATED INVESTMENT COMPANY RISK. If, in any year, the
Fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company under the applicable tax
laws, the Fund would be taxed as an ordinary corporation. In such circumstances,
the Fund could be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes
and interest and make substantial distributions before requalifying as a
regulated investment company that is accorded special tax
treatment.
Fund
Organization
The
Fund is a series of the Trust, an investment company registered under the 1940
Act. The Fund is treated as a separate fund with its own
investment objectives and policies. The Trust is organized as a Massachusetts
business trust. The Board is responsible for the overall management and
direction of the Trust. The Board elects the Trust’s officers and approves all
significant agreements, including those with the Advisor, Sub-Advisor,
distributor, custodian and fund administrative and accounting
agent.
Management
of the Fund
First
Trust Advisors L.P., 120 East Liberty Drive, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, is the
investment advisor to the Fund. In this capacity, First Trust is
responsible for overseeing the Sub-Advisor in the selection and ongoing
monitoring of the securities in the Fund's portfolio and certain other services
necessary for the management of the portfolio.
First
Trust is a limited partnership with one limited partner, Grace Partners of
DuPage L.P., and one general partner, The Charger Corporation. Grace
Partners of DuPage L.P. is a limited partnership with one general partner, The
Charger Corporation, and a number of limited partners. The Charger Corporation
is an Illinois corporation controlled by James A. Bowen, the Chief Executive
Officer of First Trust. First Trust discharges its responsibilities subject to
the policies of the Fund.
First
Trust serves as advisor or sub-advisor for 9 mutual fund portfolios, 10
exchange-traded funds consisting of 197 series and 15
closed-end funds. It is also the portfolio supervisor of certain unit investment
trusts sponsored by First Trust Portfolios L.P. (“FTP”), an affiliate of
First Trust, 120 East Liberty Drive, Wheaton, Illinois 60187. FTP specializes in
the underwriting, trading and distribution of unit investment trusts and other
securities. FTP is the principal underwriter of the shares of the
Fund.
The
Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and First Trust have retained Cboe
VestSM Financial LLC
("Cboe
Vest" or
the "Sub-Advisor") to serve as
investment sub-advisor pursuant to a sub-advisory agreement (the "Sub-Advisory
Agreement"). In this capacity,
Cboe Vest is responsible for the selection and ongoing monitoring of the
securities in the Fund’s investment portfolio. Cboe Vest, with principal offices
at 1765 Greensboro Station Pl, 9th Floor, McLean, Virginia 22102, was founded in
2012, and is a Delaware LLC. Cboe Vest had approximately $7.541 billion under
management or committed to management as of May 31, 2022.
The
Sub-Advisor is a subsidiary of Cboe Vest Group, Inc. ("Cboe
VG”).
First Trust Capital Partners, LLC ("FTCP”), an affiliate of
First Trust, is the largest single holder of voting shares in Cboe VG. The
remaining voting shares of Cboe VG are owned by Cboe Vest, LLC, a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Cboe Global Markets, Inc., and certain individuals who operate
Cboe VG and the Sub-Advisor. Cboe VG was organized in 2012. Cboe® is a registered
trademark of Cboe Global Markets, Inc. VestSM is a service mark of
Cboe VG.
Karan
Sood and Howard Rubin are the Fund’s portfolio managers and are jointly and
primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the
Fund’s investment portfolios.
•
Mr. Sood has over 10
years of experience in derivative based investment strategy design and trading.
Mr. Sood joined Cboe Vest in 2012. Prior to joining Cboe Vest Mr. Sood worked at
ProShare Advisors LLC. Prior to ProShare, Mr. Sood worked as a Vice President at
Barclays Capital. Last based in New York, he was responsible for using
derivatives to design structured investment strategies and solutions for the
firm’s institutional clients in the Americas. Prior to his role in New York, Mr.
Sood worked in similar capacity in London with Barclays Capital’s European
clients. Mr. Sood received a master’s degree in Decision Sciences &
Operations Research from London School of Economics & Political Science. He
also holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the Indian Institute of
Technology, Delhi.
•
Mr. Rubin has over 25
years of experience as a Portfolio Manager. Mr. Rubin joined Cboe Vest in 2017.
Prior to joining Cboe Vest, Mr. Rubin served as Director of Portfolio Management
at ProShare Advisors LLC from