Table of Contents

FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (IGLD)
Annual Report
December 31, 2023

Shareholder Letter	1
Fund Performance Overview	2
Portfolio Commentary	4
Understanding Your Fund Expenses	6
Consolidated Portfolio of Investments	7
Consolidated Statement of Assets and Liabilities	9
Consolidated Statement of Operations	10
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Net Assets	11
Consolidated Financial Highlights	12
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements	13
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm	20
Additional Information	21
Board of Trustees and Officers	26
Privacy Policy	28

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

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

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

Performance and Risk Disclosure

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

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

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

How to Read This Report

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

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

It is important to keep in mind that the opinions expressed by personnel of the Advisor and/or Sub-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

FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (IGLD)
Annual Letter from the Chairman and CEO
December 31, 2023

Dear Shareholders:

First Trust is pleased to provide you with the annual report for the FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (the “Fund”), which contains detailed information about the Fund for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023.

As 2023 comes to a close, it strikes me that many of the critical themes investors have been navigating over the past year remain unresolved. High inflation, the direction of central bank policy, and the risk of an economic recession in the U.S. are just a few examples, but another is war. The war between Russia and Ukraine rages on and will enter its third full year in just a few short months. In addition, geopolitical tensions across the Middle East are rising. Israel is at war with Hamas, and the Houthi rebels have been attacking global shipping lanes in the Red Sea, threatening the global supply chain, and prompting a military response from the U.S. and Britain.

Despite these headwinds, the broader U.S. equity and fixed income markets surged during the year. In the U.S., the S&P 500® Index rose by 26.29% on a total return basis between December 31, 2022, and December 31, 2023, according to data from Bloomberg. The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index also enjoyed a positive total return, rising by 5.53% over the same period. These returns can be explained, in part, by expectations that the Federal Reserve (the “Fed”) could cut interest rates in 2024. In its December 2023 statement, the Fed indicated that it expects to reduce the Federal Funds target rate by as much as 75 basis points (“bps”) over three cuts throughout 2024. It appears investors expect even steeper cuts than the Fed announced. As of December 31, 2023, the Fed Funds Futures market was pricing in nearly six rate cuts totaling more than 150 bps by the end of 2024.

In some regards, the past year serves as a stark warning against taking an overly myopic view when it comes to investing. Data from the Investment Company Institute revealed that total net assets in money market accounts stood at a record $5.9 trillion on December 6, 2023, up from $4.8 trillion at the start of the year. While the figure may be sizable, it is not surprising, in my view, especially considering the impediments to growth mentioned above. While money market assets likely earned higher interest payments than they would have before the Fed began interest rate hikes, they certainly underperformed the S&P 500® Index’s staggering total return for the year.

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

Sincerely,

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

Page 1

Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited)

FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (IGLD)

The FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (the “Fund”) seeks to deliver participation in the price returns of the SPDR® Gold Trust (the “Underlying ETF”) while providing a consistent level of income. The Fund’s investments principally include
short-term U.S. Treasury securities, cash and cash equivalents, and in the shares of a wholly-owned subsidiary (“Subsidiary”) that holds FLexible EXchange® Options (“FLEX Options”) that reference the price performance of the Underlying ETF. In seeking to achieve its objective, the Fund, through the Subsidiary, will generally purchase or sell FLEX Options. FLEX Options are customized equity or index option contracts that trade on an exchange but provide investors with the ability to customize key contract terms like exercise prices, styles and expiration dates. In combination, the purchased call and sold put options generally provide exposure to price returns of the Underlying ETF both on the upside and downside. The Fund’s investment sub-advisor is Vest Financial LLC. Additionally, as a means to generate income, the Fund will employ a “partial covered call strategy” that seeks to sell call options having a strike price roughly equal to the value of the Underlying ETF at the inception of the Fund or each subsequent roll of the strategy (such options are said to be “at-the-money”) on only a portion of the notional value of the call options purchased by the Fund. To execute this strategy, the Fund will sell call options with an expiration date less than or equal to approximately one month in the future (the “Target Income Period”). The amount of call options sold by the Fund is based on a calculation designed to result in the Fund generating income over the Target Income Period on the average assets of the Fund from premiums from writing call options that is approximately 3.85% higher annually than the annual yield from one-month U.S. Treasury securities, before Fund fees and expenses. The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. Shares of the Fund are listed on the Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. under the ticker symbol “IGLD.”

Performance
		Average Annual Total Returns	Cumulative Total Returns
	1 Year Ended 12/31/23	Inception (3/2/21) to 12/31/23	Inception (3/2/21) to 12/31/23
Fund Performance
NAV	10.95%	3.66%	10.72%
Market Price	9.13%	3.48%	10.18%
Index Performance
LBMA Gold Price	14.59%	6.83%	20.57%
S&P 500® Index - Price Return	24.23%	7.66%	23.24%

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

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

An index is a statistical composite that tracks a specified financial market or sector. Unlike the Fund, the indices do not actually hold a portfolio of securities and therefore do not incur the expenses incurred by the Fund. These expenses negatively impact the performance of the Fund. Also, market returns do not include brokerage commissions that may be payable on secondary market transactions. If brokerage commissions were included, market returns would be lower. The total returns presented reflect the reinvestment of dividends on securities in the indices. The returns presented do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption or sale of Fund shares. The investment return and principal value of shares of 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)

FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (IGLD) (Continued)

Fund Allocation	% of Net Assets
U.S. Treasury Bills	139.0%
Money Market Funds	2.5
Purchased Options	0.8
Written Options	(42.3)
Net Other Assets and Liabilities	(0.0)*
Total	100.0%

*	Amount is less than 0.1%.

Performance figures assume reinvestment of

all distributions and do not reflect the

deduction of taxes that a shareholder would

pay on Fund distributions or the redemption

or sale of Fund shares. An index is a statistical

composite that tracks a specified financial

market or sector. Unlike the Fund, the indices

do not actually hold a portfolio of securities

and therefore do not incur the expenses

incurred by the Fund. These expenses

negatively impact the performance of the

Fund. The Fund’s past performance does not

predict future performance.

Frequency Distribution of Discounts and Premiums

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

Page 3

Portfolio Commentary

FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (IGLD)

Annual Report

December 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

Advisor

First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”) is the investment advisor to FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (“IGLD” or the “Fund”). First Trust is responsible for the ongoing monitoring of the Fund’s investment portfolio, managing the Fund’s business affairs and providing certain administrative services necessary for the management of the Fund.

Sub-Advisor

Vest Financial LLC (“Vest” or the “Sub-Advisor”) serves as the investment sub-advisor to the Fund. In this capacity, Vest is responsible for the selection and ongoing monitoring of the securities in the Fund’s investment portfolio. Vest, with principal offices at 8350 Broad Street, Suite 240, McLean, Virginia 22102, was founded in 2012. Vest had approximately $21.7 billion under management or committed to management as of December 31, 2023.

Portfolio Management Team

The following persons serve as the portfolio managers of the Fund:

Karan Sood, Managing Director of Vest
Howard Rubin, Managing Director of Vest

The portfolio managers are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each portfolio manager has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2021.

Market Recap

For the Fund’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 (the “Period”), U.S. stock markets rose sharply as inflation cooled and the U.S. Federal Reserve (the “Fed”) signaled softer policy toward interest rates going forward.

The S&P 500® Index, the well-known measure of U.S. large-cap stocks, ended the Period up 26.3%. Mid- and small-capitalization stocks, as measured by the S&P MidCap 400® Index and the Russell 2000® Index, rose 16.4% and 16.9%, respectively, over the Period. The Nasdaq 100-Index®, a tech-heavy market measure, rose 55.1% over the Period. Non-U.S. stock markets had generally positive returns as well; the MSCI EAFE Index (a broad measure of stocks in developed markets, excluding the U.S.) rose by 18.2%, while the MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 9.8% over the Period.

During the Period, gold, as measured by the price return of SPDR® Gold Shares ETF (“GLD,” the “Underlying ETF”), increased by 12.7%.

U.S. economic data suggested a resilient economy. U.S. gross domestic product (“GDP”) growth in the three most recent quarterly reports (first quarter 2023 through third quarter 2023) came in at seasonally adjusted annualized rates of 2.2%, 2.1%, and 4.9%, sequentially. A current Bloomberg survey of economists shows a consensus projection of 1.3% GDP growth in 2024 (versus 2023).

Unemployment in the U.S. remains near 50-year record lows and has been below 4% since January of 2022. Throughout the Period, the unemployment rate trended marginally higher. The rate was 3.5% in December 2022 and increased to 3.7% by December 2023.

In an effort to reduce higher-than-target inflation rates, the Fed increased the Federal Funds target rate in 2023, increasing the target range by 1.0% (from a range of 4.25%-4.50% to a range of 5.25%-5.50%.) These rate hikes were much milder than the aggressive hiking in 2022, and the 1.0% rise in rates during 2023 came via a series of four quarter-point hikes.

U.S. inflation levels, which had accelerated dramatically in 2022, reversed course and fell in 2023. As the year began, inflation (as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI - Year over Year)) was running at 6.5%. Inflation steadily declined, falling to 5.0% at the end of the first quarter of 2023 and 3.0% at the end of the second quarter of 2023, before ending the year at 3.1%. The U.S. housing market has been resilient in the face of the Fed’s interest rate hikes with the nine most recent monthly price reports (February through October 2023) each showing increasing home prices (as measured by the S&P Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index).

Performance Analysis

Generally, the Fund holds securities with the economic equivalent to a long position in GLD. In addition, the Fund generally sells (writes) a certain amount of one-month at-the-money covered call options on GLD each month.

The size of the covered call position may be expressed as a percentage of the long GLD position. This percentage is referred to as the IGLD Overwrite Percentage. At each month-end this percentage is determined such that the targeted amount of premium collected from writing the options is approximately 3.85% over the 1-month treasury yield, divided by twelve. Thus, each month’s IGLD Overwrite Percentage is impacted by the market price of the options at the time the options are sold. The higher the price of the

Page 4

Portfolio Commentary (Continued)

FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (IGLD)

Annual Report

December 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

options, the fewer options that are needed to be sold to raise the targeted premium amount. Should the short calls end the month in-the-money, the Fund will be negatively impacted by the amount the calls are in-the-money.

The net effect of the long GLD position and the partial overwrite of options allows the Fund to participate in GLD rallies at a rate of 100% less the IGLD Overwrite Percentage. For example, if the IGLD Overwrite Percentage is 20%, the Fund generally participates in 80% of the GLD rally for the Period. The following table provides information pertaining to the Fund’s covered call overwrite percentage and performance for each of the monthly reset periods during the Period. The Fund’s overwrite percentage is reset at the end of each month. The table shows the overwrite percentages that went into effect on each of the monthly start dates.

For each monthly reset period the Fund’s performance is generally impacted by a number of factors. These factors include GLD performance, implied volatility of GLD, the overwrite percentage, and expenses.

Monthly Periods		Expenses	GLD (Market) Performance	IGLD (NAV) Performance	IGLD Overwrite Percentage
Start	End	Expenses	GLD (Market) Performance	IGLD (NAV) Performance	IGLD Overwrite Percentage
12/30/2022	1/31/2023	0.07%	5.76%	6.16%	32.56%
1/31/2023	2/28/2023	0.07%	-5.37%	-4.30%	38.80%
2/28/2023	3/31/2023	0.07%	7.92%	4.78%	41.37%
3/31/2023	4/28/2023	0.07%	0.86%	1.46%	34.70%
4/28/2023	5/31/2023	0.07%	-1.34%	-1.18%	36.49%
5/31/2023	6/30/2023	0.07%	-2.22%	-1.46%	41.25%
6/30/2023	7/31/2023	0.07%	2.29%	1.73%	53.24%
7/31/2023	8/31/2023	0.07%	-1.28%	-0.59%	52.03%
8/31/2023	9/29/2023	0.07%	-4.76%	-4.11%	54.66%
9/29/2023	10/31/2023	0.07%	7.37%	4.11%	54.47%
10/31/2023	11/30/2023	0.07%	2.53%	2.11%	41.69%
11/30/2023	12/29/2023	0.07%	1.28%	2.30%	46.44%

Market and Fund Outlook

During 2023, implied volatilities in U.S. equity markets averaged about 22.6% according to the Cboe S&P 500 1-Year Volatility Index. This index is derived from option prices and estimates the market’s expectation of the volatility of the S&P 500® Index for the next twelve months. As of the end of 2023, the Cboe S&P 500 1-Year Volatility Index stood at 20.1%. For comparison purposes, the historical volatility of the S&P 500® Index since its inception in 1927 has been about 18.7%.

Some investors are concerned that U.S. inflation has not been fully brought under control and may spike upward again. Should this happen, it will likely negatively impact most bonds. Because of this, many investors may look to reallocate away from fixed income investments. Additionally, investors may be concerned that the U.S. government is now faced with paying higher interest rates to borrow on its burgeoning national debt, and that this combination may be a risk to the general economy and could lead to a recession and lower stock prices.

The Fund is an alternative that investors should consider, in our opinion. The Fund seeks to deliver participation in the price returns of the SPDR® Gold Trust while providing a consistent level of income. The Fund has implemented a distribution policy pursuant to which the Fund intends to declare and pay monthly dividends to shareholders that are consistent with the premiums received from covered calls written pursuant to the Fund’s investment strategy. The policy has no impact on the Fund’s investment strategy and may reduce the Fund’s net asset value. The policy may be amended at any time, or the Fund may cease distributions entirely, at any time. Under the distribution policy, to the extent that sufficient investment income is not available on a monthly basis, the Fund’s distributions could consist of return of capital in order to maintain the distribution rate. For the Period ended December 31, 2023, 77% of the Fund’s distributions were characterized as ordinary income and 23% were characterized as a return of capital. The final determination of the source and tax status of all 2023 distributions will be made after the end of 2023 and will be provided on Form 1099-DIV. The foregoing is not to be construed as tax advice. Please consult your tax advisor for further information regarding tax matters.

In the current market environment, which includes uncertainty around future inflation rates and the risk of a recession, the Fund, in appropriate allocations, could be a suitable alternative to either equity and/or fixed income investments.

Page 5

FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (IGLD)

Understanding Your Fund Expenses

December 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

As a shareholder of FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income 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 December 31, 2023.

Actual Expenses

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

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

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

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

	Beginning Account Value July 1, 2023	Ending Account Value December 31, 2023	Annualized Expense Ratio Based on the Six-Month Period	Expenses Paid During the Six-Month Period (a)
FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (IGLD)
Actual	$1,000.00	$1,054.60	0.85%	$4.40
Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)	$1,000.00	$1,020.92	0.85%	$4.33

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

Page 6

FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (IGLD)

Consolidated Portfolio of Investments

December 31, 2023

Principal Value	Description	Stated Coupon	Stated Maturity	Value
U.S. TREASURY BILLS — 139.0%
$123,076,800	U.S. Treasury Bill (a)	(b)	11/29/24	$117,912,739
	(Cost $117,530,841)

Shares	Description	Value
MONEY MARKET FUNDS — 2.5%
2,115,640	Dreyfus Government Cash Management Fund, Institutional Shares - 5.25% (c)	2,115,640
	(Cost $2,115,640)
	Total Investments — 141.5%	120,028,379
	(Cost $119,646,481)

Number of Contracts	Description	Notional Amount	Exercise Price	Expiration Date	Value
PURCHASED OPTIONS — 0.8%
	Call Options Purchased — 0.8%
4,382	SPDR® Gold Shares	$83,770,694	$283.50	11/29/24	652,918
	(Cost $475,129)
WRITTEN OPTIONS — (42.3)%
	Call Options Written — (0.7)%
(1,722 )	SPDR® Gold Shares	(32,919,474 )	191.17	01/31/24	(600,978 )
	(Premiums received $598,753)
	Put Options Written — (41.6)%
(4,382 )	SPDR® Gold Shares	(83,770,694 )	283.50	11/29/24	(35,244,426 )
	(Premiums received $35,988,208)
	Total Written Options				(35,845,404 )
	(Premiums received $36,586,961)
	Net Other Assets and Liabilities — (0.0)%				(12,973 )
	Net Assets — 100.0%				$84,822,920

(a)	All or a portion of this security is segregated as collateral for the options written. At December 31, 2023, the segregated value of this security amounts to $54,952,329.
(b)	Zero coupon security.
(c)	Rate shown reflects yield as of December 31, 2023.

See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

Page 7

FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (IGLD)

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Net Assets

	Year Ended 12/31/2023	Year Ended 12/31/2022
OPERATIONS:
Net investment income (loss)	$3,561,142	$270,325
Net realized gain (loss)	781,197	(1,431,362 )
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)	1,202,792	(720,292 )
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations	5,545,131	(1,881,239 )

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS FROM:
Investment operations	(3,928,684 )	—
Return of capital	(1,160,039 )	(1,725,727 )
Total distributions to shareholders	(5,088,723 )	(1,725,727 )

SHAREHOLDER TRANSACTIONS:
Proceeds from shares sold	50,580,985	21,210,170
Cost of shares redeemed	(4,784,237 )	(10,509,533 )
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from shareholder transactions	45,796,748	10,700,637
Total increase (decrease) in net assets	46,253,156	7,093,581

NET ASSETS:
Beginning of period	38,569,764	31,476,183
End of period	$84,822,920	$38,569,764

CHANGES IN SHARES OUTSTANDING:
Shares outstanding, beginning of period	2,050,002	1,550,002
Shares sold	2,600,000	1,050,000
Shares redeemed	(250,000 )	(550,000 )
Shares outstanding, end of period	4,400,002	2,050,002

See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

Page 11

FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (IGLD)

Consolidated Financial Highlights

For a share outstanding throughout each period

	Year Ended December 31,		Period Ended 12/31/2021 (a)
	2023	2022	Period Ended 12/31/2021 (a)
Net asset value, beginning of period	$18.81	$20.31	$20.14
Income from investment operations:
Net investment income (loss)	1.04 (b)	0.14	(0.08 )
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	0.94	(0.79 )	0.71
Total from investment operations	1.98	(0.65 )	0.63
Distributions paid to shareholders from:
Net investment income	(1.17 )	—	—
Return of capital	(0.34 )	(0.85 )	(0.46 )
Total distributions	(1.51 )	(0.85 )	(0.46 )
Net asset value, end of period	$19.28	$18.81	$20.31
Total return (c)	10.95 %	(3.26 )%	3.14 %

Ratios to average net assets/supplemental data:
Net assets, end of period (in 000’s)	$84,823	$38,570	$31,476
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets	0.85 %	0.85 %	0.85 % (d)
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets	5.47 %	0.69 %	(0.76 )% (d)
Portfolio turnover rate (e)	0 %	0 %	0 %

(a)	Inception date is March 2, 2021, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established.
(b)	Based on average shares outstanding.
(c)	Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption at net asset value on the last day of the period. The returns presented do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption or sale of Fund shares. Total return is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year.
(d)	Annualized.
(e)	Portfolio turnover is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year and does not include securities received or delivered from processing creations or redemptions, derivatives and in-kind transactions.

See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

Page 12

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (IGLD)

December 31, 2023

1. Organization

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund (the “Trust”) is an open-end management investment company organized as a Massachusetts business trust on August 8, 2003, 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 twenty-four exchange-traded funds. This report covers the FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (the “Fund”), which trades under the ticker “IGLD” on Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. The Fund represents a separate series of shares of beneficial interest in the Trust. Unlike conventional mutual funds, the Fund issues and redeems shares on a continuous basis, at net asset value (“NAV”), only in large blocks of shares known as “Creation Units.”

The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund. The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to deliver participation in the price returns of the SPDR® Gold Trust (the “Underlying ETF”) while providing a consistent level of income. The Fund’s investments principally include short-term U.S. Treasury securities, cash and cash equivalents, and in the shares of a wholly-owned subsidiary (the “Subsidiary”) that holds FLexible EXchange® Options (“FLEX Options”) that reference the price performance of the Underlying ETF. In seeking to achieve its objective, the Fund, through the Subsidiary, will generally purchase or sell FLEX Options. In combination, the purchased call and sold put options generally provide exposure to price returns of the Underlying ETF both on the upside and downside. The Subsidiary is wholly-owned by the Fund and is organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands. The Fund may invest up to 25% of its total assets in the Subsidiary. As of December 31, 2023, the Fund invested 22.85% of the Fund’s total assets in the Subsidiary. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The Fund may not be appropriate for all investors.

2. Significant Accounting Policies

The Fund is considered an investment company and follows accounting and reporting guidance under Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification Topic 946, “Financial Services-Investment Companies.” The consolidated financial statements include the accounts on a consolidated basis of the Subsidiary. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies consistently followed by the Fund in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements. The preparation of the consolidated 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 consolidated financial statements. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

A. Portfolio Valuation

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

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

Exchange-traded options contracts (other than FLEX Option 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 ask price, if both are available. Over-the-counter options contracts are valued as follows, depending on the market in which the instrument trades: (1) the mean of their most recent bid and ask price, if available; or (2) a price based on the equivalent exchange-traded option. FLEX Option contracts are normally valued using a model-based price provided by a third-party pricing vendor. On days when a trade in a FLEX Option contract occurs, the trade price will be used to value such FLEX Option contracts in lieu of the model price.

Page 13

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (IGLD)

December 31, 2023

U.S. Treasuries are valued on the basis of valuations provided by a third-party pricing service approved by the Trust’s Board of Trustees.

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

If the Fund’s investments are not able to be priced by pre-established pricing methods, such investments may be valued by the Trust’s Board of Trustees or its delegate, the Advisor’s Pricing Committee, at fair value. A variety of factors may be considered in determining the fair value of such investments.

Valuing the Fund’s holdings using fair value pricing will result in using prices for those holdings that may differ from current market valuations. The Subsidiary’s holdings will be valued in the same manner as the Fund’s holdings.

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

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

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

o Quoted prices for similar investments in active markets.

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

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

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

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

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

B. Investment Transactions and Investment Income

Investment transactions are recorded as of the trade date. Realized gains and losses from investment transactions are recorded on the identified cost basis. Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date. Interest income, if any, is recorded daily on the accrual basis. Amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts are recorded using the effective interest method.

C. FLEX Options

FLEX Options are customized equity or index option contracts that trade on an exchange, but provide investors with the ability to customize key contract terms like exercise prices, styles and expiration dates. FLEX Options are guaranteed for settlement by the Options Clearing Corporation.

The Fund, through the Subsidiary, purchases and sells call and put FLEX Options based on the performance of the Underlying ETF. The FLEX Options that the Subsidiary holds that reference the Underlying ETF will give the Subsidiary the right to receive or deliver shares of the Underlying ETF on the option expiration date at a strike price, depending on whether the option is a put or call option and whether the Subsidiary purchases or sells the option. The FLEX Options held by the Subsidiary are European style options, which are exercisable at the strike price only on the FLEX Option expiration date.

When the Subsidiary writes (sells) an option, an amount equal to the premium received by the Subsidiary is included in “Options contracts written, at value” on the Consolidated Statement of Assets and Liabilities. Gain or loss on written options is presented separately as “Net realized gain (loss) on written options contracts” on the Consolidated Statement of Operations. When the Subsidiary purchases a call or put option, the premium paid represents the cost of the call or put option, which is included in “Options

Page 14

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (IGLD)

December 31, 2023

contracts purchased, at value” on the Consolidated Statement of Assets and Liabilities. Gain or loss on purchased options is included in “Net realized gain (loss) on purchased options contracts” on the Consolidated Statement of Operations.

D. Dividends and Distributions to Shareholders

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

Distributions from net investment income and realized capital gains are determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations, which may differ from U.S. GAAP. Certain capital accounts in the consolidated 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 consolidated financial statement and tax purposes, will reverse at some time in the future.

The tax character of distributions paid during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 was as follows:

Distributions paid from:	2023	2022
Ordinary income	$3,928,684	$—
Capital gains	—	—
Return of capital	1,160,039	1,725,727

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

Undistributed ordinary income	$—
Accumulated capital and other gain (loss)	(55,617 )
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation)	1,325,266

E. 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 (the “Code”), which includes distributing substantially all of its net investment income and net realized gains to shareholders. Accordingly, no provision has been made for federal and state income taxes. However, due to the timing and amount of distributions, the Fund may be subject to an excise tax of 4% of the amount by which approximately 98% of the Fund’s taxable income exceeds the distributions from such taxable income for the calendar year.

The Subsidiary is classified as a controlled foreign corporation under Subchapter N of the Code. Therefore, the Fund is required to increase its taxable income by its share of the Subsidiary’s income, whether or not such earnings are distributed by the Subsidiary to the Fund. Net investment losses of the Subsidiary cannot be deducted by the Fund in the current period nor carried forward to offset taxable income in future periods.

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 2021, 2022, and 2023 remain open to federal and state audit. As of December 31, 2023, management has evaluated the application of these standards to the Fund and has determined that no provision for income tax is required in the Fund’s consolidated 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 December 31, 2023, for federal income tax purposes, the Fund had $31,595 of non-expiring capital loss carryforwards available, to the extent provided by regulations, to offset future capital gains. To the extent that these loss carryforwards are used to offset future capital gains, it is probable that the capital gains so offset will not be distributed to the Fund’s shareholders.

Certain losses realized during the current fiscal year may be deferred and treated as occurring on the first day of the following fiscal year for federal income tax purposes. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the Fund had no net late year ordinary or capital losses.

Page 15

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (IGLD)

December 31, 2023

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

Accumulated Net Investment Income (Loss)	Accumulated Net Realized Gain (Loss) on Investments	Paid-In Capital
$786,391	$(786,391 )	$—

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

Tax Cost	Gross Unrealized Appreciation	Gross Unrealized (Depreciation)	Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)
$83,510,627	$1,325,266	$—	$1,325,266

F. Expenses

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

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

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

First Trust is responsible for the expenses of the Fund and the Subsidiary including the cost of transfer agency, sub-advisory, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other services, but excluding fee payments under the Investment Management Agreement, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, if any, brokerage commissions and other expenses connected with the execution of portfolio transactions, distribution and service fees payable pursuant to a Rule 12b-1 plan, if any, and extraordinary expenses. The annual unitary management fee payable by the Fund to First Trust for these services will be reduced at certain levels of the Fund’s net assets (“breakpoints”) and calculated pursuant to the following schedule:

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

The Subsidiary does not pay First Trust a separate management fee.

Vest Financial LLC (“Vest”), an affiliate of First Trust, serves as the Fund’s sub-advisor and manages the Fund’s portfolio subject to First Trust’s supervision. Pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement, between the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Advisor, and the Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement among the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, the Advisor and Vest, First Trust will supervise Vest and its management of the investment of the Fund’s assets and will pay Vest for its services as the Fund’s sub-advisor a sub-advisory fee equal to 50% of any remaining monthly unitary management fee paid to the Advisor after the average Fund’s expenses accrued during the most recent twelve months are subtracted from the unitary management fee for that month.

Page 16

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (IGLD)

December 31, 2023

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 rotate every three years. The officers and “Interested” Trustee receive no compensation from the Trust for acting in such capacities.

4. Purchases and Sales of Securities

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the cost of purchases and proceeds from sales of investments, excluding short-term investments, derivatives, and in-kind transactions, were $0 and $0, respectively.

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the Fund had no in-kind transactions.

5. Derivative Transactions

The following table presents the types of derivatives held by the Subsidiary at December 31, 2023, the primary underlying risk exposure and the location of these instruments as presented on the Consolidated Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

		Asset Derivatives		Liability Derivatives
Derivative Instrument	Risk Exposure	Consolidated Statement of Assets and Liabilities Location	Value	Consolidated Statement of Assets and Liabilities Location	Value
Options contracts	Commodity Risk	Options contracts purchased, at value	$652,918	Options contracts written, at value	$35,845,404

The following table presents the amount of net realized gain (loss) and change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) recognized for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, on derivative instruments, as well as the primary underlying risk exposure associated with the instruments.


Consolidated Statement of Operations Location
Commodity Risk Exposure
Net realized gain (loss) on:
Purchased options contracts	$(621,692 )
Written options contracts	1,406,850
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on:
Purchased options contracts	176,038
Written options contracts	658,457

During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the premiums for purchased options contracts opened were $739,643 and the premiums for purchased options contracts closed, exercised and expired were $653,763.

During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the premiums for written options contracts opened were $57,155,166 and the premiums for written options contracts closed, exercised and expired were $36,852,667.

Page 17

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (IGLD)

December 31, 2023

The Fund does not have the right to offset financial assets and financial liabilities related to options contracts on the Consolidated 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 Creation Units. Prior to the start of trading on every business day, the Fund publishes through the National Securities Clearing Corporation the “basket” of securities, cash or other assets that it will accept in exchange for a Creation Unit of the Fund’s shares. An Authorized Participant that wishes to effectuate a creation of the Fund’s shares deposits with the Fund the “basket” of securities, cash or other assets identified by the Fund that day, and then receives the Creation Unit of the Fund’s shares in return for those assets. After purchasing a Creation Unit, the Authorized Participant may continue to hold the Fund’s shares or sell them in the secondary market. The redemption process is the reverse of the purchase process: the Authorized Participant redeems a Creation Unit of the Fund’s shares for a basket of securities, cash or other assets. The combination of the creation and redemption process with secondary market trading in the Fund’s shares and underlying securities provides arbitrage opportunities that are designed to help keep the market price of the Fund’s shares at or close to the NAV per share of the Fund.

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

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

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 April 30, 2025.

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 consolidated financial statements were issued and has determined that there was the following subsequent event:

Page 18

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

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

Opinion on the Financial Statements and Financial Highlights

We have audited the accompanying consolidated statement of assets and liabilities, including the consolidated portfolio of investments, of FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (the “Fund”), one of the funds constituting the First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund, as of December 31, 2023, the related consolidated statement of operations for the year then ended, the consolidated statements of changes in net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and the consolidated financial highlights for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the period from March 2, 2021 (commencement of investment operations) through December 31, 2021, and the related notes. In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Fund as of December 31, 2023, and the results of its operations for the year then ended, and the changes in its net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and the financial highlights for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the period from March 2, 2021 (commencement of investment operations) through December 31, 2021 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Basis for Opinion

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

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

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

/s/ Deloitte & Touche, LLP

Chicago, Illinois
February 23, 2024

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

Page 20

Additional Information

FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (IGLD)

December 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

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

Portfolio Holdings

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

Federal Tax Information

For the taxable year ended December 31, 2023, the following percentages of income dividends paid by the Fund qualify for the dividends received deduction available to corporations and are hereby designated as qualified dividend income:

Dividend Received Deduction	Qualified Dividend Income
0.00 %	0.00 %

Distributions paid to foreign shareholders during the Fund’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 that were properly designated by the Fund as “interest-related dividends” or “short-term capital gain dividends,” may not be subject to federal income tax provided that the income was earned directly by such foreign shareholders.

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

Page 21

Additional Information (Continued)

FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (IGLD)

December 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

entire target outcome period. In the event an investor purchases shares after the first day of the target outcome period or sells shares prior to the end of the target outcome period, the buffer that the fund seeks to provide against a decline in the value of the underlying ETF may not be available, the enhanced returns that the fund seeks to provide (if any) may not be available and the investor may not participate in a gain in the value of the underlying ETF up to the cap for the investor’s investment period. Additionally, the fund will not participate in gains of the underlying ETF above the cap and a shareholder may lose their entire investment. If the fund seeks enhanced returns, there are certain time periods when the value of the fund may fall faster than the value of the underlying ETF, and it is very unlikely that, on any given day during which the underlying ETF share price increases in value, the fund’s share price will increase at the same rate as the enhanced returns sought by the fund, which is designed for an entire target outcome period. Trading flexible exchange options involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities, such as less liquidity and correlation and valuation risks. A fund may experience substantial downside from specific flexible exchange option positions and certain positions may expire worthless.

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

Equity Securities Risk. To the extent a fund invests in equity securities, the value of the fund’s shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors’ perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant stock market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting the issuers occur. In addition, common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market.

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

Fixed Income Securities Risk. To the extent a fund invests in fixed income securities, the fund will be subject to credit risk, income risk, interest rate risk, liquidity risk and prepayment risk. Income risk is the risk that income from a fund’s fixed income investments could decline during periods of falling interest rates. Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of a fund’s fixed income securities will decline because of rising interest rates. Liquidity risk is the risk that a security cannot be purchased or sold at the time desired, or cannot be purchased or sold without adversely affecting the price. Prepayment risk is the risk that the securities will be redeemed or 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

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unscheduled rebalance or other modification of the Index constituents or weightings, which may increase the fund’s costs. The Index Provider does not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the Index, and it does not guarantee that the Index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. Losses or costs associated with any Index Provider errors generally will be borne by the fund and its shareholders.

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

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

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

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

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Additional Information (Continued)

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Although the funds and the funds’ investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.

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

Preferred Securities Risk. Preferred securities combine some of the characteristics of both common stocks and bonds. Preferred securities are typically subordinated to bonds and other debt securities in a company’s capital structure in terms of priority to corporate income, subjecting them to greater credit risk than those debt securities. Generally, holders of preferred securities have no voting rights with respect to the issuing company unless preferred dividends have been in arrears for a specified number of periods, at which time the preferred security holders may obtain limited rights. In certain circumstances, an issuer of preferred securities may defer payment on the securities and, in some cases, redeem the securities prior to a specified date. Preferred securities may also be substantially less liquid than other securities, including common stock.

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

Disclaimer

The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDR® Gold Shares, SPDR, or Standard & Poor’s® (together with their affiliates hereinafter referred to as the “Corporations”). The Corporations have not passed on the legality or suitability of, or the accuracy or adequacy of, descriptions and disclosures relating to the Fund or the FLEX Options. The Corporations make no representations or warranties, express or implied, regarding the advisability of investing in the Fund or the FLEX Options or results to be obtained by the Fund or the FLEX Options, shareholders or any other person or entity from use of the SPDR® Gold Shares. The Corporations have no liability in connection with the management, administration, marketing or trading of the Fund or the FLEX Options.

NOT FDIC INSURED NOT BANK GUARANTEED MAY LOSE VALUE

Remuneration

First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust”) is authorised and regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and is entitled to market shares of certain funds it manages, including FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (the “Fund”), in certain member states in the European Economic Area in accordance with the cooperation arrangements in Article 42 of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (the “Directive”). First Trust is required under the Directive to make disclosures in respect of remuneration. The following disclosures are made in line with First Trust’s interpretation of currently available regulatory guidance on remuneration disclosures.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, the amount of remuneration paid (or to be paid) by First Trust Advisors L.P. in respect of the Funds is $30,869. This figure is comprised of $1,358 paid (or to be paid) in fixed compensation and $29,511 paid (or to be paid) in variable compensation. There were a total of 26 beneficiaries of the remuneration described above. Those amounts include $15,420 paid (or to be paid) to senior management of First Trust Advisors L.P. and $15,449 paid (or to be paid) to other employees whose professional activities have a material impact on the risk profiles of First Trust Advisors L.P. or the Funds (collectively, “Code Staff”).

Code Staff included in the aggregated figures disclosed above are rewarded in line with First Trust’s remuneration policy (the “Remuneration Policy”) which is determined and implemented by First Trust’s senior management. The Remuneration Policy reflects First Trust’s ethos of good governance and encapsulates the following principal objectives:

to provide a clear link between remuneration and performance of First Trust and to avoid rewarding for failure;

ii.

to promote sound and effective risk management consistent with the risk profiles of the funds managed by First Trust; and

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Additional Information (Continued)

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December 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

iii.

to remunerate staff in line with the business strategy, objectives, values and interests of First Trust and the funds managed by First Trust in a manner that avoids conflicts of interest.

First Trust assesses various risk factors which it is exposed to when considering and implementing remuneration for Code Staff and considers whether any potential award to such person(s) would give rise to a conflict of interest. First Trust does not reward failure, or consider the taking of risk or failure to take risk in its remuneration of Code Staff.

First Trust assesses performance for the purposes of determining payments in respect of performance-related remuneration of Code Staff by reference to a broad range of measures including (i) individual performance (using financial and non-financial criteria), and (ii) the overall performance of First Trust. Remuneration is not based upon the performance of the Fund.

The elements of remuneration are balanced between fixed and variable and the senior management sets fixed salaries at a level sufficient to ensure that variable remuneration incentivises and rewards strong individual performance but does not encourage excessive risk taking.

No individual is involved in setting his or her own remuneration.

Page 25

Board of Trustees and Officers

FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (IGLD)

December 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

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

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

Name, Year of Birth and Position with the Trust	Term of Office and Year First Elected or Appointed	Principal Occupations During Past 5 Years	Number of Portfolios in the First Trust Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee	Other Trusteeships or Directorships Held by Trustee During Past 5 Years
INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES
Richard E. Erickson, Trustee (1951)	• Indefinite Term • Since Inception	Retired; Physician, Edward-Elmhurst Medical Group (2021 to September 2023); Physician and Officer, Wheaton Orthopedics (1990 to 2021)	257	None
Thomas R. Kadlec, Trustee (1957)	• Indefinite Term • Since Inception	Retired; President, ADM Investors Services, Inc. (Futures Commission Merchant) (2010 to July 2022)	257	Director, National Futures Association and ADMIS Singapore Ltd.; Formerly, Director of ADM Investor Services, Inc., ADM Investor Services International, ADMIS Hong Kong Ltd., and Futures Industry Association
Denise M. Keefe, Trustee (1964)	• Indefinite Term • Since 2021	Executive Vice President, Advocate Aurora Health and President, Advocate Aurora Continuing Health Division (Integrated Healthcare System)	257	Director and Board Chair of Advocate Home Health Services, Advocate Home Care Products and Advocate Hospice; Director and Board Chair of Aurora At Home (since 2018); Director of Advocate Physician Partners Accountable Care Organization; Director of RML Long Term Acute Care Hospitals; Director of Senior Helpers (since 2021); and Director of MobileHelp (since 2022)
Robert F. Keith, Trustee (1956)	• Indefinite Term • Since Inception	President, Hibs Enterprises (Financial and Management Consulting)	257	Formerly, Director of Trust Company of Illinois
Niel B. Nielson, Trustee (1954)	• Indefinite Term • Since Inception	Senior Advisor (2018 to Present), Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer (2015 to 2018), Pelita Harapan Educational Foundation (Educational Products and Services)	257	None

INTERESTED TRUSTEE
James A. Bowen(1), Trustee, Chairman of the Board (1955)	• Indefinite Term • Since Inception	Chief Executive Officer, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P., Chairman of the Board of Directors, BondWave LLC (Software Development Company) and Stonebridge Advisors LLC (Investment Advisor)	257	None

(1)

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

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December 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

Name and Year of Birth	Position and Offices with Trust	Term of Year First Elected or Appointed	Principal Occupations During Past 5 Years
ADVISORY BOARD OF THE TRUST
Bronwyn Wright (1971)	Advisory Board Member	• Indefinite term • Since 2023	Independent Director to a number of Irish collective investment funds (2009 to Present); Various roles at international affiliates of Citibank (1994 to 2009), including Managing Director, Citibank Europe plc and Head of Securities and Fund Services, Citi Ireland (2007 to 2009)

Name and Year of Birth	Position and Offices with Trust	Term of Office and Length of Service	Principal Occupations During Past 5 Years
OFFICERS(2)
James M. Dykas (1966)	President and Chief Executive Officer	• Indefinite Term • Since 2016	Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.; Chief Financial Officer, BondWave LLC (Software Development Company) and Stonebridge Advisors LLC (Investment Advisor)
Derek D. Maltbie (1972)	Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer	• Indefinite Term • Since 2023	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P., July 2021 to Present. Previously, Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P., 2014 - 2021.
W. Scott Jardine (1960)	Secretary and Chief Legal Officer	• Indefinite Term • Since Inception	General Counsel, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.; Secretary and General Counsel, BondWave LLC; Secretary, Stonebridge Advisors LLC
Daniel J. Lindquist (1970)	Vice President	• Indefinite Term • Since Inception	Managing Director, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Kristi A. Maher (1966)	Chief Compliance Officer and Assistant Secretary	• Indefinite Term • Chief Compliance Officer Since January 2011 • Assistant Secretary Since Inception	Deputy General Counsel, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Roger F. Testin (1966)	Vice President	• Indefinite Term • Since Inception	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.
Stan Ueland (1970)	Vice President	• Indefinite Term • Since Inception	Senior Vice President, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P.

(2)

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

Page 27

FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF® (IGLD)

December 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

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

Sources of Information

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

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

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

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

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

Information Collected

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

Disclosure of Information

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

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

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

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

Use of Website Analytics

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

Confidentiality and Security

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

Policy Updates and Inquiries

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

March 2023

Page 28

LIABILITIES TABLE
	Total Value at 12/31/2023	Level 1 Quoted Prices	Level 2 Significant Observable Inputs	Level 3 Significant Unobservable Inputs
Written Options	$(35,845,404 )	$—	$(35,845,404 )	$—

ASSETS:
Investments, at value	$120,028,379
Options contracts purchased, at value	652,918
Cash	37
Due from broker	1,878
Receivables:
Capital shares sold	964,103
Investment securities sold	904,335
Dividends	9,685
Total Assets	122,561,335

LIABILITIES:
Options contracts written, at value	35,845,404
Payables:
Investment securities purchased	1,833,867
Investment advisory fees	59,144
Total Liabilities	37,738,415
NET ASSETS	$84,822,920

NET ASSETS consist of:
Paid-in capital	$83,159,566
Par value	44,000
Accumulated distributable earnings (loss)	1,619,354
NET ASSETS	$84,822,920
NET ASSET VALUE, per share	$19.28
Number of shares outstanding (unlimited number of shares authorized, par value $0.01 per share)	4,400,002
Investments, at cost	$119,646,481
Premiums paid on options contracts purchased	$475,129
Premiums received on options contracts written	$36,586,961

ASSETS TABLE
	Total Value at 12/31/2023	Level 1 Quoted Prices	Level 2 Significant Observable Inputs	Level 3 Significant Unobservable Inputs
U.S. Treasury Bills	$117,912,739	$—	$117,912,739	$—
Money Market Funds	2,115,640	2,115,640	—	—
Total Investments	120,028,379	2,115,640	117,912,739	—
Purchased Options	652,918	—	652,918	—
Total	$120,681,297	$2,115,640	$118,565,657	$—

INVESTMENT INCOME:
Interest	$4,046,789
Dividends	67,582
Total investment income	4,114,371

EXPENSES:
Investment advisory fees	553,229
Total expenses	553,229
NET INVESTMENT INCOME (LOSS)	3,561,142

NET REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS):
Net realized gain (loss) on:
Investments	(3,961 )
Purchased options contracts	(621,692 )
Written options contracts	1,406,850
Net realized gain (loss)	781,197
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on:
Investments	368,297
Purchased options contracts	176,038
Written options contracts	658,457
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)	1,202,792
NET REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS)	1,983,989
NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS	$5,545,131