Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

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

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of any series of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI (the “Trust”) described in this report (each such series is referred to as a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”) to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. When evaluating the information included in this report, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect the judgment of the Advisor and its representatives only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to publicly revise or update these forward-looking statements to reflect events and circumstances that arise after the date hereof.

Performance and Risk Disclosure

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

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

The Advisor may also periodically provide additional information on Fund performance on each Fund’s web page at www.ftportfolios.com.

How to Read This Report

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

By reading the market overview by Robert F. Carey, Chief Market Strategist of the Advisor, you may obtain an understanding of how the market environment affected the performance of each Fund. The statistical information that follows may help you understand each Fund’s performance compared to that of relevant market benchmarks.

It is important to keep in mind that the opinions expressed by personnel of the Advisor are just that: informed opinions. They should not be considered to be promises or advice. The opinions, like the statistics, cover the period through the date on the cover of this report. The material risks of investing in each Fund are spelled out in the prospectus, the statement of additional information, and other Fund regulatory filings.

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Shareholder Letter

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI

Semi-Annual Letter from the Chairman and CEO

September 30, 2021

Dear Shareholders,

First Trust is pleased to provide you with the semi-annual report for certain series of the First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI (the “Funds”), which contains detailed information about the Funds for the six months ended September 30, 2021. Please note that the First Trust Indxx Medical Devices ETF was incepted on June 22, 2021, and so the information in this letter and the semi-annual report prior to that date will not apply to this Fund.

A great deal has changed over the past 18 months. Suffice it to say that the dominant story in 2020 was the onset of the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic. It is still a huge story 20 months later, mostly due to the arrival of the Delta variant in the U.S. and the subsequent surge in cases around mid-2021. The Delta variant is twice as contagious as the previous variants, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”). Fortunately, we have come to learn that the existing vaccines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have been effective in providing protection against the Delta variant, particularly with respect to keeping the people already vaccinated out of the intensive care unit. As I’m sure you are aware, a significant percentage of the U.S. population has chosen not to be vaccinated. These individuals have proven to be much more vulnerable to the virus and account for the lion’s share of hospitalizations, according to the CDC. While it is these individuals right to choose, unless mandated by a private company or government agency, the universe of people that have not gotten vaccinated is large enough that it has likely delayed the full economic recovery, at least on the margin, in our opinion. In the U.S., the path chosen by the federal government to help mitigate the economic fallout from the pandemic has been to inject trillions of dollars of liquidity (stimulus) into the financial system. To date, it appears to have been effective, however, it has contributed to a new and potentially ominous headwind for the economy: inflation.

The Consumer Price Index came in at 5.4% year-over-year in September 2021, the largest increase since 2008, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (“BLS”). The BLS also reported that the Producer Price Index was up 8.6% compared to a year ago, its highest level since 1981. These two barometers of inflation are clearly elevated. Why is rising inflation worth noting? It tends to reduce the purchasing power of the currency one uses over time. In the case of the U.S., it reduces how much consumers can buy with their dollars. A modest amount of inflation can be a sign that the economy is healthy. Too much inflation can derail an economy. While we are not even close to that point yet, investors should monitor the direction of inflation moving forward because the U.S. economy has yet to fully reopen from the COVID-19 pandemic and millions of workers remain on the sideline. Earlier this year, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell proclaimed that the spike in inflation in the U.S. would be relatively short-lived, or “transitory.” He cited the pandemic-related bottlenecks in the global supply chain for creating shortages in such critical industries as semiconductors as being largely responsible for the sharp rise in prices. With prices rising nearly across the board, his take on inflation is losing credibility with each passing month, in my opinion. If inflation continues to run hotter-than-expected, we believe that the Federal Reserve will likely have to alter its easy monetary policy in favor of one that boosts interest rates and bond yields.

The markets have performed quite well over the past 18 months. I believe that the combination of the federal government’s efforts in fast-tracking the vaccines, its decisiveness in injecting trillions of dollars of capital into the financial system to help backstop it, and the ability of millions of workers to adapt to working efficiently from home helped boost the confidence levels of investors throughout. Having said that, I still feel we need to fully reopen the U.S. economy, put the millions of people out of work back to work and remedy the global supply chain bottlenecks. While investors should be prepared for the possibility of some additional volatility moving forward, due to inflationary pressures, the potential for higher interest rates and bond yields, and next year’s mid-term election season, we encourage them to stay the course.

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

Sincerely,

James A. Bowen

Chairman of the Board of Trustees

Chief Executive Officer of First Trust Advisors L.P.

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Market Overview

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI

Semi-Annual Report

September 30, 2021

Robert F. Carey, CFA

Senior Vice President and Chief Market Strategist

First Trust Advisors L.P.

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

State of the Global Economy

The International Monetary Fund (“IMF”) reported in its latest release that global gross domestic product (“GDP”) growth is expected to come in at 5.9% in 2021 and 4.9% in 2022, up from -3.1% in 2020. Keep in mind that the onset of the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic in the U.S. and most global regions occurred in the first quarter of 2020. The IMF sees the U.S. economy growing at 6.0% in 2021 and 5.2% in 2022, up from -3.4% in 2020. With respect to all Advanced Economies, the IMF is projecting GDP growth of 5.2% in 2021 and 4.5% in 2022, up from -4.5% in 2020. Lastly, the IMF projects Emerging Market and Developing Economies to grow at a rate of 6.4% in 2021 and 5.1% in 2022, up from -2.1% in 2020. Looking ahead to 2022, the outlook for growth is encouraging, but down a bit from the strong pandemic-induced recovery in 2021. The IMF is concerned that inflationary pressures stemming from the global supply chain bottlenecks could push prices higher if the problems persist. That scenario could, in turn, cause central banks to raise rates quickly to try and prevent inflation from overheating.

One of the better barometers for judging the overall business climate is mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”) activity, in our opinion. M&A deals totaled $4.3 trillion over the first nine months of 2021, the most ever recorded for that period, according to data from Refinitiv. The $1.52 trillion in deal value registered in the third quarter of 2021 was the highest ever for a calendar quarter. Executives are expanding their businesses aggressively in the current climate.

Performance of Global Stocks and Bonds

With respect to U.S. equities, the S&P 500^®, S&P MidCap 400^®, and S&P SmallCap 600^® Indices posted total returns of 9.18%, 1.81% and 1.54%, respectively, for the six-month period ended September 30, 2021. Large-capitalization (“cap”) stocks significantly outperformed their mid- and small-cap counterparts in the period. Investors may have favored well-capitalized companies in the period due to the surge in the volume of Delta variant cases of COVID-19, in our opinion. All 11 sectors that comprise the S&P 500^® Index were up on a total return basis. The top performer was the Real Estate sector, up 14.08%, while the worst result came from the Industrials sector, up 0.06%.

A Bloomberg survey of 21 equity strategists found that their average 2021 year-end price target for the S&P 500^® Index was 4,466 as of September 21, 2021, up from 4,335 on August 20, 2021, according to its own release. The highest and lowest estimates were 4,825 (up from 4,700) and 3,800 (unchanged), respectively. On September 30, 2021, the S&P 500^® Index closed at 4,307.54, which was 5.06% below its all-time closing high of 4,536.95 on September 2, 2021. As of October 1, 2021, Bloomberg’s 2021, 2022 and 2023 consensus earnings growth rate estimates for the S&P 500^® Index stood at 44.90%, 8.95% and 9.80%, respectively.

Over the past six months, the MSCI World ex USA and MSCI Emerging Markets Indices posted total returns of 4.95% (USD) and -3.45% (USD), respectively, according to Bloomberg. The Bloomberg Global Aggregate Index of higher quality debt posted a total return of 0.42% (USD), while the Bloomberg EM Hard Currency Aggregate Index of emerging markets debt rose by 1.99% (USD), according Bloomberg. Over that same period, the U.S. dollar rose by 1.07% against a basket of major currencies, as measured by the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY). The modest increase in the dollar had little impact on the performance of these foreign indices, in our opinion.

In the U.S. bond market, the top-performing major debt group we track was high yield corporate bonds. The Bloomberg U.S. Corporate High Yield Index posted a total return of 3.65% for the six-month period ended September 30, 2021. The worst-performing U.S. debt group that we track was long maturity Government National Mortgage Association (“GNMAs”). The Bloomberg GNMA 30-Year Index posted a total return of -0.02%. The yield on the benchmark 10-Year Treasury Note (“T-Note”) increased by 25 points in the period to close at 1.49% on September 30, 2021, according to Bloomberg. For comparative purposes, the average yield on the 10-Year T-Note was 2.04% for the 10-year period ended September 30, 2021.

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Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited)

First Trust Nasdaq Bank ETF (FTXO)

The First Trust Nasdaq Bank ETF (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an equity index called the Nasdaq US Smart Banks Index^TM (the “Index”). The shares of the Fund are listed and trade on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC under the ticker symbol “FTXO.” The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the common stocks and depositary receipts that comprise the Index. The Index is owned and is developed, maintained and sponsored by Nasdaq, Inc. (the “Index Provider”).

The Index is designed to provide exposure to U.S. companies comprising the banking sector that have been selected based upon their liquidity and weighted based upon their cumulative score on three investing factors: volatility, value and growth. The Index’s initial selection universe consists of the component securities of the NASDAQ US Benchmark Index that have been classified as comprising the banking sector according to the Industry Classification Benchmark. The NASDAQ US Benchmark Index is an index seeking to track the performance of small, mid and large capitalization U.S. companies. This classification includes companies providing a broad range of financial services, including retail banking, loans and money transmissions.

Performance
			Average Annual Total Returns		Cumulative Total Returns
	6 Months Ended 9/30/21	1 Year Ended 9/30/21	5 Years Ended 9/30/21	Inception (9/20/16) to 9/30/21	5 Years Ended 9/30/21	Inception (9/20/16) to 9/30/21
Fund Performance
NAV	5.63%	96.57%	12.76%	12.82%	82.32%	83.41%
Market Price	5.73%	96.80%	12.69%	12.84%	81.71%	83.52%
Index Performance
Nasdaq US Smart Banks Index^TM	6.01%	98.23%	13.54%	13.60%	88.68%	89.85%
NASDAQ US Benchmark Banks Index	8.51%	85.58%	15.95%	15.78%	109.55%	108.93%
NASDAQ US Benchmark Index	8.40%	32.02%	17.03%	17.27%	119.50%	122.74%

(See Notes to Fund Performance Overview on page 20.)

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

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Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited) (Continued)

First Trust Nasdaq Bank ETF (FTXO) (Continued)

Sector Allocation	% of Total Investments
Financials	100.0%
Total	100.0%

Top Ten Holdings	% of Total Investments
New York Community Bancorp, Inc.	8.0%
PNC Financial Services Group (The), Inc.	8.0
JPMorgan Chase & Co.	8.0
Popular, Inc.	8.0
Citigroup, Inc.	7.6
Fifth Third Bancorp	4.3
Citizens Financial Group, Inc.	4.2
Zions Bancorp N.A.	4.2
Wells Fargo & Co.	4.0
First Horizon Corp.	3.9
Total	60.2%

Performance figures assume reinvestment of all distributions and do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption or sale of Fund shares. An index is a statistical composite that tracks a specified financial market or sector. Unlike the Fund, the indices do not actually hold a portfolio of securities and therefore do not incur the expenses incurred by the Fund. These expenses negatively impact the performance of the Fund. The Fund’s past performance does not predict future performance.

Frequency Distribution of Discounts and Premiums

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.

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Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited) (Continued)

First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF (FTXG)

The First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an equity index called the Nasdaq US Smart Food & Beverage Index^TM (the “Index”). The shares of the Fund are listed and trade on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC under the ticker symbol “FTXG.” The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the common stocks and depositary receipts that comprise the Index. The Index is owned and is developed, maintained and sponsored by Nasdaq, Inc. (the “Index Provider”).

The Index is designed to provide exposure to U.S. companies comprising the food and beverage sector that have been selected based upon their liquidity and weighted based upon their cumulative score on three investing factors: volatility, value and growth. The Index’s initial selection universe consists of the component securities of the NASDAQ US Benchmark Index that have been classified as comprising either the beverages sector or food producers sector according to the Industry Classification Benchmark (“ICB”). The NASDAQ US Benchmark Index is an index seeking to track the performance of small, mid and large capitalization U.S. companies. These classifications include: (i) manufacturers and shippers of cider or malt products; (ii) producers, distillers, vintners, blenders and shippers of wine and spirits; (iii) manufacturers, bottlers and distributors of non-alcoholic beverages; (iv) companies that grow crops or raise livestock, operate fisheries or own non-tobacco plantations; (v) food producers, including meatpacking, snacks, fruits, vegetables, dairy products and frozen seafood; (vi) producers of pet food; and (vii) manufacturers of dietary supplements, vitamins and related items.

Performance
			Average Annual Total Returns		Cumulative Total Returns
	6 Months Ended 9/30/21	1 Year Ended 9/30/21	5 Years Ended 9/30/21	Inception (9/20/16) to 9/30/21	5 Years Ended 9/30/21	Inception (9/20/16) to 9/30/21
Fund Performance
NAV	-5.23%	16.50%	5.10%	5.30%	28.22%	29.64%
Market Price	-6.62%	16.05%	5.08%	5.30%	28.09%	29.63%
Index Performance
Nasdaq US Smart Food & Beverage Index^TM	-4.97%	17.28%	5.77%	5.98%	32.38%	33.88%
NASDAQ US Benchmark Food, Beverage and Tobacco Index	0.03%	14.16%	7.33%	7.62%	42.45%	44.69%
NASDAQ US Benchmark Index	8.40%	32.02%	17.03%	17.27%	119.50%	122.74%

(See Notes to Fund Performance Overview on page 20.)

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

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Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited) (Continued)

First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF (FTXG) (Continued)

Sector Allocation	% of Total Investments
Consumer Staples	95.1%
Materials	3.9
Consumer Discretionary	1.0
Total	100.0%

Top Ten Holdings	% of Total Investments
Bunge Ltd.	8.8%
Tyson Foods, Inc., Class A	8.2
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co.	8.1
Darling Ingredients, Inc.	7.9
Hershey (The) Co.	7.8
General Mills, Inc.	4.2
Conagra Brands, Inc.	4.2
Kellogg Co.	4.1
B&G Foods, Inc.	4.0
JM Smucker (The) Co.	4.0
Total	61.3%

Frequency Distribution of Discounts and Premiums

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Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited) (Continued)

First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF (FTXN)

The First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an equity index called the Nasdaq US Smart Oil & Gas Index^TM (the “Index”). The shares of the Fund are listed and trade on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC under the ticker symbol “FTXN.” The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the common stocks and depositary receipts that comprise the Index. The Index is owned and is developed, maintained and sponsored by Nasdaq, Inc. (the “Index Provider”).

The Index is designed to provide exposure to U.S. companies comprising the oil and gas sector that have been selected based upon their liquidity and weighted based upon their cumulative score on three investing factors: volatility, value and growth. The Index’s initial selection universe consists of the component securities of the NASDAQ US Benchmark Index that have been classified as comprising either the oil & gas producers sector or the oil equipment, services & distribution sector according to the Industry Classification Benchmark (“ICB”). The NASDAQ US Benchmark Index is an index seeking to track the performance of small, mid and large capitalization U.S. companies. These classifications include: (i) companies engaged in the exploration for and drilling, production, refining and supply of oil and gas products; (ii) integrated oil and gas companies engaged in the exploration for, and drilling, production, refining, distribution and retail sales of, oil and gas products; (iii) suppliers of equipment and services to oil fields and offshore platforms, such as drilling, exploration, seismic-information services and platform construction; and (iv) operators of pipelines carrying oil, gas or other forms of fuel.

Performance
			Average Annual Total Returns		Cumulative Total Returns
	6 Months Ended 9/30/21	1 Year Ended 9/30/21	5 Years Ended 9/30/21	Inception (9/20/16) to 9/30/21	5 Years Ended 9/30/21	Inception (9/20/16) to 9/30/21
Fund Performance
NAV	23.47%	106.17%	-0.06%	1.02%	-0.31%	5.22%
Market Price	23.46%	106.50%	-0.06%	1.03%	-0.30%	5.28%
Index Performance
Nasdaq US Smart Oil & Gas Index^TM	24.05%	108.32%	0.60%	1.68%	3.01%	8.75%
NASDAQ US Benchmark Energy Index	9.48%	86.93%	-1.21%	-0.07%	-5.91%	-0.36%
NASDAQ US Benchmark Index	8.40%	32.02%	17.03%	17.27%	119.50%	122.74%

(See Notes to Fund Performance Overview on page 20.)

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

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Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited) (Continued)

First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF (FTXN) (Continued)

Sector Allocation	% of Total Investments
Energy	100.0%
Total	100.0%

Top Ten Holdings	% of Total Investments
SM Energy Co.	9.5%
Centennial Resource Development, Inc./DE, Class A	9.0
Cheniere Energy, Inc.	7.7
Williams (The) Cos., Inc.	7.2
Kinder Morgan, Inc.	7.1
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp.	4.7
Targa Resources Corp.	3.8
ONEOK, Inc.	3.8
Equitrans Midstream Corp.	3.7
ConocoPhillips	3.7
Total	60.2%

Frequency Distribution of Discounts and Premiums

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Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited) (Continued)

First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF (FTXH)

The First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an equity index called the Nasdaq US Smart Pharmaceuticals Index^TM (the “Index”). The shares of the Fund are listed and trade on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC under the ticker symbol “FTXH.” The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the common stocks and depositary receipts that comprise the Index. The Index is owned and is developed, maintained and sponsored by Nasdaq, Inc. (the “Index Provider”).

The Index is designed to provide exposure to U.S. companies comprising the pharmaceutical sector that have been selected based upon their liquidity and weighted based upon their cumulative score on three investing factors: volatility, value and growth. The Index’s initial selection universe consists of the component securities of the NASDAQ US Benchmark Index that have been classified as comprising the pharmaceuticals sub-sector according to the Industry Classification Benchmark. The NASDAQ US Benchmark Index is an index seeking to track the performance of small, mid and large capitalization U.S. companies. This classification includes vaccine producers and manufacturers of prescription or over-the-counter drugs.

Performance
			Average Annual Total Returns		Cumulative Total Returns
	6 Months Ended 9/30/21	1 Year Ended 9/30/21	5 Years Ended 9/30/21	Inception (9/20/16) to 9/30/21	5 Years Ended 9/30/21	Inception (9/20/16) to 9/30/21
Fund Performance
NAV	0.28%	7.58%	6.32%	6.00%	35.88%	34.05%
Market Price	0.32%	7.62%	6.32%	6.02%	35.84%	34.16%
Index Performance
Nasdaq US Smart Pharmaceuticals Index^TM	0.63%	8.07%	7.01%	6.69%	40.31%	38.49%
NASDAQ US Benchmark Pharmaceuticals Index	6.09%	15.98%	11.54%	11.38%	72.63%	71.92%
NASDAQ US Benchmark Index	8.40%	32.02%	17.03%	17.27%	119.50%	122.74%

(See Notes to Fund Performance Overview on page 20.)

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

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Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited) (Continued)

First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF (FTXH) (Continued)

Sector Allocation	% of Total Investments
Health Care	100.0%
Total	100.0%

Top Ten Holdings	% of Total Investments
Prestige Consumer Healthcare, Inc.	8.2%
Merck & Co., Inc.	8.1
Pfizer, Inc.	7.8
Johnson & Johnson	7.8
AbbVie, Inc.	7.2
Catalent, Inc.	4.3
Horizon Therapeutics PLC	4.2
Alkermes PLC	4.1
Gilead Sciences, Inc.	4.0
Zoetis, Inc.	4.0
Total	59.7%

Frequency Distribution of Discounts and Premiums

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Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited) (Continued)

First Trust Nasdaq Retail ETF (FTXD)

The First Trust Nasdaq Retail ETF (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an equity index called the Nasdaq US Smart Retail Index^TM (the “Index”). The shares of the Fund are listed and trade on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC under the ticker symbol “FTXD.” The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the common stocks and depositary receipts that comprise the Index. The Index is owned and is developed, maintained and sponsored by Nasdaq, Inc. (the “Index Provider”).

The Index is designed to provide exposure to U.S. companies comprising the retail sector that have been selected based upon their liquidity and weighted based upon their cumulative score on three investing factors: volatility, value and growth. The Index’s initial selection universe consists of the component securities of the NASDAQ US Benchmark Index that have been classified as comprising either the food & drug retailers sector or the general retailers sector according to the Industry Classification Benchmark. The NASDAQ US Benchmark Index is an index seeking to track the performance of small, mid and large capitalization U.S. companies. This classification includes: (i) operators of pharmacies, including wholesalers and distributors catering to these businesses; (ii) supermarkets, food-oriented convenience stores and other food retailers and distributors; (iii) retailers and wholesalers specializing mainly in clothing, shoes, jewelry, sunglasses and other accessories; (iv) retail outlets and wholesalers; (v) retailers and wholesalers concentrating on the sale of home improvement products; (vi) providers of consumer services such as online marketplaces, auction houses, day-care centers, dry cleaners, schools, consumer rental companies, veterinary clinics, hair salons and providers of funerals, lawn maintenance, consumer storage, heating and cooling installation and plumbing services; and (vii) retailers and wholesalers concentrating on a single class of goods, such as electronics, books, automotive parts or closeouts.

Performance
			Average Annual Total Returns		Cumulative Total Returns
	6 Months Ended 9/30/21	1 Year Ended 9/30/21	5 Years Ended 9/30/21	Inception (9/20/16) to 9/30/21	5 Years Ended 9/30/21	Inception (9/20/16) to 9/30/21
Fund Performance
NAV	8.63%	28.99%	12.58%	12.50%	80.81%	80.81%
Market Price	8.59%	28.98%	12.57%	12.51%	80.77%	80.87%
Index Performance
Nasdaq US Smart Retail Index^TM	9.03%	29.88%	13.32%	13.23%	86.83%	86.80%
NASDAQ US Benchmark Retail Index	7.08%	14.94%	20.76%	21.09%	156.80%	161.73%
NASDAQ US Benchmark Index	8.40%	32.02%	17.03%	17.27%	119.50%	122.74%

(See Notes to Fund Performance Overview on page 20.)

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

Page 12

Table of Contents

Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited) (Continued)

First Trust Nasdaq Retail ETF (FTXD) (Continued)

Sector Allocation	% of Total Investments
Consumer Discretionary	72.6%
Consumer Staples	15.7
Health Care	7.6
Industrials	3.2
Energy	0.9
Total	100.0%

Top Ten Holdings	% of Total Investments
GameStop Corp., Class A	6.7%
CVS Health Corp.	5.8
AutoZone, Inc.	5.3
Walmart, Inc.	5.0
Kroger (The) Co.	4.7
O’Reilly Automotive, Inc.	4.4
Costco Wholesale Corp.	4.2
Target Corp.	3.9
Dollar General Corp.	3.9
Home Depot (The), Inc.	3.7
Total	47.6%

Frequency Distribution of Discounts and Premiums

Page 13

Table of Contents

Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited) (Continued)

First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF (FTXL)

The First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an equity index called the Nasdaq US Smart Semiconductor Index^TM (the “Index”). The shares of the Fund are listed and trade on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC under the ticker symbol “FTXL.” The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the common stocks and depositary receipts that comprise the Index. The Index is owned and is developed, maintained and sponsored by Nasdaq, Inc. (the “Index Provider”).

The Index is designed to provide exposure to U.S. companies comprising the semiconductor sector that have been selected based upon their liquidity and weighted based upon their cumulative score on three investing factors: volatility, value and growth. The Index’s initial selection universe consists of the component securities of the NASDAQ US Benchmark Index that have been classified as comprising the semiconductors sub-sector according to the Industry Classification Benchmark. The NASDAQ US Benchmark Index is an index seeking to track the performance of small, mid and large capitalization U.S. companies. This classification includes producers and distributors of semiconductors and other integrated chips, including other products related to the semiconductor industry, such as semiconductor capital equipment and motherboards.

Performance
			Average Annual Total Returns		Cumulative Total Returns
	6 Months Ended 9/30/21	1 Year Ended 9/30/21	5 Years Ended 9/30/21	Inception (9/20/16) to 9/30/21	5 Years Ended 9/30/21	Inception (9/20/16) to 9/30/21
Fund Performance
NAV	4.12%	41.10%	27.46%	28.19%	236.36%	248.51%
Market Price	4.23%	41.37%	27.33%	28.23%	234.75%	249.03%
Index Performance
Nasdaq US Smart Semiconductor Index^TM	4.45%	42.03%	28.28%	29.03%	247.35%	260.10%
NASDAQ US Benchmark Semiconductors Index	11.26%	36.10%	27.73%	28.49%	240.02%	252.71%
NASDAQ US Benchmark Index	8.40%	32.02%	17.03%	17.27%	119.50%	122.74%

(See Notes to Fund Performance Overview on page 20.)

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

Page 14

Table of Contents

Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited) (Continued)

First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF (FTXL) (Continued)

Sector Allocation	% of Total Investments
Information Technology	100.0%
Total	100.0%

Top Ten Holdings	% of Total Investments
Texas Instruments, Inc.	8.3%
Intel Corp.	8.1
Broadcom, Inc.	8.0
Synaptics, Inc.	7.8
Amkor Technology, Inc.	7.5
ON Semiconductor Corp.	4.3
Analog Devices, Inc.	4.2
Cirrus Logic, Inc.	4.1
KLA Corp.	4.1
Micron Technology, Inc.	4.0
Total	60.4%

Frequency Distribution of Discounts and Premiums

Page 15

Table of Contents

Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited) (Continued)

First Trust Nasdaq Transportation ETF (FTXR)

The First Trust Nasdaq Transportation ETF (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an equity index called the Nasdaq US Smart Transportation Index^TM (the “Index”). The shares of the Fund are listed and trade on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC under the ticker symbol “FTXR.” The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the common stocks and depositary receipts that comprise the Index. The Index is owned and is developed, maintained and sponsored by Nasdaq, Inc. (the “Index Provider”).

The Index is designed to provide exposure to U.S. companies comprising the transportation sector that have been selected based upon their liquidity and weighted based upon their cumulative score on three investing factors: volatility, value and growth. The Index’s initial selection universe consists of the component securities of the NASDAQ US Benchmark Index that have been classified as comprising the industrial transportation sector, the automobiles & parts sector or the airlines sub-sector according to the Industry Classification Benchmark. The NASDAQ US Benchmark Index is an index seeking to track the performance of small, mid and large capitalization U.S. companies. These classifications include: (i) operators of mail and package delivery services; (ii) providers of on-water transportation for commercial markets; (iii) providers of industrial railway transportation and railway lines; (iv) companies that manage airports, train depots, roads, bridges, tunnels, ports, and providers of logistic services to shippers of goods; (v) companies that provide commercial trucking services; (vi) makers of motorcycles and passenger vehicles; (vii) manufacturers and distributors of new and replacement parts for motorcycles and automobiles; (viii) manufacturers, distributors and retreaders of automobile, truck and motorcycle tires; and (ix) companies providing primarily passenger air transport.

Performance
			Average Annual Total Returns		Cumulative Total Returns
	6 Months Ended 9/30/21	1 Year Ended 9/30/21	5 Years Ended 9/30/21	Inception (9/20/16) to 9/30/21	5 Years Ended 9/30/21	Inception (9/20/16) to 9/30/21
Fund Performance
NAV	-5.80%	32.62%	9.64%	10.23%	58.40%	63.17%
Market Price	-5.89%	32.52%	9.61%	10.22%	58.19%	63.11%
Index Performance
Nasdaq US Smart Transportation Index^TM	-5.89%	32.90%	10.21%	10.80%	62.56%	67.49%
NASDAQ US Benchmark Industrial Transportation Index	-3.59%	15.39%	17.05%	17.83%	119.73%	128.16%
NASDAQ US Benchmark Index	8.40%	32.02%	17.03%	17.27%	119.50%	122.74%

(See Notes to Fund Performance Overview on page 20.)

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

Page 16

Table of Contents

Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited) (Continued)

First Trust Nasdaq Transportation ETF (FTXR) (Continued)

Sector Allocation	% of Total Long-Term Investments
Industrials	80.1%
Consumer Discretionary	19.9
Total	100.0%

Top Ten Holdings	% of Total Long-Term Investments
Expeditors International of Washington, Inc.	7.9%
United Rentals, Inc.	7.1
Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc.	6.9
Ford Motor Co.	6.6
CSX Corp.	5.6
General Motors Co.	4.3
Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp.	4.0
PACCAR, Inc.	3.9
Norfolk Southern Corp.	3.9
JB Hunt Transport Services, Inc.	3.9
Total	54.1%

Frequency Distribution of Discounts and Premiums

Page 17

Table of Contents

Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited) (Continued)

First Trust Indxx Medical Devices ETF (MDEV)

The First Trust Indxx Medical Devices ETF (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an index called the Indxx Global Medical Equipment Index (the “Index”). The shares of the Fund are listed and traded on Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. under the ticker symbol “MDEV.”

Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in the common stocks and depositary receipts that comprise the Index. The Index is developed, maintained and sponsored by Indxx, LLC (the “Index Provider”). The Index is composed of common stock and depositary receipts issued by U.S. and non-U.S. companies that comprise the medical devices industry, as determined by the Index Provider. Companies comprising the medical devices industry are those companies that focus on developing equipment, instruments, and machines to diagnose, monitor, and treat diseases.

Performance
		Cumulative Total Returns
		Inception (6/22/21) to 9/30/21
Fund Performance
NAV		2.70%
Market Value		2.94%
Index Performance
Indxx Global Medical Equipment Index		3.09%
MSCI World Health Care Index		1.52%

(See Notes to Fund Performance Overview on page 20.)

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

Page 18

Table of Contents

Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited) (Continued)

First Trust Indxx Medical Devices ETF (MDEV) (Continued)

Sector Allocation	% of Total Investments
Health Care	100.0%
Total	100.0%

Top Ten Holdings	% of Total Investments
WuXi AppTec Co., Ltd., Class H	2.6%
DexCom, Inc.	2.6
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.	2.6
Straumann Holding AG	2.5
Sonova Holding AG	2.5
PerkinElmer, Inc.	2.5
Edwards Lifesciences Corp.	2.4
ResMed, Inc.	2.4
Terumo Corp.	2.4
Danaher Corp.	2.4
Total	24.9%

Frequency Distribution of Discounts and Premiums

Page 19

Table of Contents

Notes to Fund Performance Overview (Unaudited)

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

Each Fund’s per share net asset value (“NAV”) is the value of one share of the Fund and is computed by dividing the value of all assets of the Fund (including accrued interest and dividends), less all liabilities (including accrued expenses and dividends declared but unpaid), by the total number of outstanding shares. The price used to calculate market return (“Market Price”) is determined by using the midpoint of the national best bid and offer price (“NBBO”) as of the time that the Fund’s NAV is calculated. Under SEC rules, the NBBO consists of the highest displayed buy and lowest sell prices among the various exchanges trading the Fund at the time the Fund’s NAV is calculated. Prior to January 1, 2019, the price used was the midpoint between the highest bid and the lowest offer on the stock exchange on which shares of the Fund were listed for trading as of the time that the Fund’s NAV was calculated. Since shares of each Fund did not trade in the secondary market until after the Fund’s inception, for the period from inception to the first day of secondary market trading in shares of the Fund, the NAV of each Fund is used as a proxy for the secondary market trading price to calculate market returns. NAV and market returns assume that all distributions have been reinvested in each Fund at NAV and Market Price, respectively.

An index is a statistical composite that tracks a specified financial market or sector. Unlike each Fund, the indices do not actually hold a portfolio of securities and therefore do not incur the expenses incurred by each Fund. These expenses negatively impact the performance of each Fund. Also, market returns do not include brokerage commissions that may be payable on secondary market transactions. If brokerage commissions were included, market returns would be lower. The total returns presented reflect the reinvestment of dividends on securities in the indices. The returns presented do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption or sale of Fund shares. The investment return and principal value of shares of each Fund will vary with changes in market conditions. Shares of each Fund may be worth more or less than their original cost when they are redeemed or sold in the market. Each Fund’s past performance is no guarantee of future performance.

Page 20

Table of Contents

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI

Understanding Your Fund Expenses

September 30, 2021 (Unaudited)

As a shareholder of First Trust Nasdaq Bank ETF, First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF, First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF, First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF, First Trust Nasdaq Retail ETF, First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF, First Trust Nasdaq Transportation ETF or First Trust Indxx Medical Devices ETF (each a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”), you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs; and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees, distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees, if any, and other Fund expenses. This Example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs of investing in the Funds and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other funds.

The Example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period (or since inception) and held through the six-month (or shorter) period ended September 30, 2021.

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 Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this six-month (or shorter) period.

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

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

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

	Beginning Account Value April 1, 2021	Ending Account Value September 30, 2021	Annualized Expense Ratio Based on the Six-Month Period	Expenses Paid During the Six-Month Period (a)
First Trust Nasdaq Bank ETF (FTXO)
Actual	$1,000.00	$1,056.30	0.60%	$3.09
Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)	$1,000.00	$1,022.06	0.60%	$3.04
First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF (FTXG)
Actual	$1,000.00	$947.70	0.60%	$2.93
Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)	$1,000.00	$1,022.06	0.60%	$3.04
First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF (FTXN)
Actual	$1,000.00	$1,234.70	0.60%	$3.36
Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)	$1,000.00	$1,022.06	0.60%	$3.04
First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF (FTXH)
Actual	$1,000.00	$1,002.80	0.60%	$3.01
Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)	$1,000.00	$1,022.06	0.60%	$3.04
First Trust Nasdaq Retail ETF (FTXD)
Actual	$1,000.00	$1,086.30	0.60%	$3.14
Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)	$1,000.00	$1,022.06	0.60%	$3.04
First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF (FTXL)
Actual	$1,000.00	$1,041.20	0.60%	$3.07
Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)	$1,000.00	$1,022.06	0.60%	$3.04

Page 21

Table of Contents

First Trust Nasdaq Bank ETF (FTXO)

Portfolio of Investments

September 30, 2021 (Unaudited)

Shares	Description	Value
COMMON STOCKS – 99.9%
	Banks – 88.2%
101,371	Bank of America Corp.	$4,303,199
250,130	Citigroup, Inc.	17,554,123
205,376	Citizens Financial Group, Inc.	9,648,564
57,261	Comerica, Inc.	4,609,510
37,053	Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc.	4,395,227
57,706	East West Bancorp, Inc.	4,474,523
231,433	Fifth Third Bancorp	9,822,017
4,714	First Citizens BancShares, Inc., Class A	3,974,703
548,716	First Horizon Corp.	8,938,584
45,206	First Republic Bank	8,719,333
272,519	Huntington Bancshares, Inc.	4,213,144
295,753	Investors Bancorp, Inc.	4,468,828
112,454	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	18,407,595
208,279	KeyCorp	4,502,992
30,228	M&T Bank Corp.	4,514,250
94,124	PNC Financial Services Group (The), Inc.	18,414,419
236,857	Popular, Inc.	18,396,683
207,158	Regions Financial Corp.	4,414,537
16,320	Signature Bank	4,443,610
37,460	Silvergate Capital Corp., Class A (a)	4,326,630
7,563	SVB Financial Group (a)	4,892,353
98,197	Synovus Financial Corp.	4,309,866
74,170	Truist Financial Corp.	4,350,071
73,744	US Bancorp	4,383,343
196,794	Wells Fargo & Co.	9,133,210
43,379	Western Alliance Bancorp	4,720,503
155,328	Zions Bancorp N.A.	9,613,250
		203,945,067
	Consumer Finance – 3.7%
70,141	Discover Financial Services	8,616,822
	Thrifts & Mortgage Finance – 8.0%
1,436,655	New York Community Bancorp, Inc.	18,489,750
	Total Investments – 99.9%	231,051,639
	(Cost $214,026,045) (b)
	Net Other Assets and Liabilities – 0.1%	333,997
	Net Assets – 100.0%	$231,385,636


(a)	Non-income producing security.

(b)

Aggregate cost for financial reporting purposes approximates the aggregate cost for federal income tax purposes. As of September 30, 2021, the aggregate gross unrealized appreciation for all investments in which there was an excess of value over tax cost was $19,022,491 and the aggregate gross unrealized depreciation for all investments in which there was an excess of tax cost over value was $1,996,897. The net unrealized appreciation was $17,025,594.

Valuation Inputs

A summary of the inputs used to value the Fund’s investments as of September 30, 2021 is as follows (see Note 2A - Portfolio Valuation in the Notes to Financial Statements):

	Total Value at 9/30/2021	Level 1 Quoted Prices	Level 2 Significant Observable Inputs	Level 3 Significant Unobservable Inputs
Common Stocks*	$ 231,051,639	$ 231,051,639	$ —	$ —

*	See Portfolio of Investments for industry breakout.

See Notes to Financial Statements

Page 23

Table of Contents

First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF (FTXG)

Portfolio of Investments

September 30, 2021 (Unaudited)

Shares	Description	Value
COMMON STOCKS – 99.9%
	Beverages – 19.5%
143	Boston Beer (The) Co., Inc., Class A (a)	$72,894
1,165	Brown-Forman Corp., Class B	78,067
4,359	Coca-Cola (The) Co.	228,717
387	Constellation Brands, Inc., Class A	81,537
6,881	Keurig Dr. Pepper, Inc.	235,055
1,721	Molson Coors Beverage Co., Class B	79,820
839	Monster Beverage Corp. (a)	74,528
1,758	National Beverage Corp.	92,278
1,569	PepsiCo, Inc.	235,993
		1,178,889
	Chemicals – 3.9%
5,582	Corteva, Inc.	234,890
	Food & Staples Retailing – 1.4%
2,406	US Foods Holding Corp. (a)	83,392
	Food Products – 74.0%
8,182	Archer-Daniels-Midland Co.	491,002
8,085	B&G Foods, Inc.	241,661
684	Beyond Meat, Inc. (a)	71,998
6,484	Bunge Ltd.	527,279
1,961	Campbell Soup Co.	81,989
7,411	Conagra Brands, Inc.	251,011
6,589	Darling Ingredients, Inc. (a)	473,749
4,246	General Mills, Inc.	253,996
2,762	Hershey (The) Co.	467,468
1,797	Hormel Foods Corp.	73,677
931	Ingredion, Inc.	82,868
1,985	JM Smucker (The) Co.	238,259
3,887	Kellogg Co.	248,457
2,273	Kraft Heinz (The) Co.	83,692
1,256	Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc.	77,081
948	McCormick & Co., Inc.	76,816
3,954	Mondelez International, Inc., Class A	230,044
6,252	Tyson Foods, Inc., Class A	493,533
		4,464,580
	Specialty Retail – 1.1%
2,558	GrowGeneration Corp. (a)	63,106
	Total Investments – 99.9%	6,024,857
	(Cost $6,316,421) (b)
	Net Other Assets and Liabilities – 0.1%	7,779
	Net Assets – 100.0%	$6,032,636


(a)	Non-income producing security.

(b)

Aggregate cost for financial reporting purposes approximates the aggregate cost for federal income tax purposes. As of September 30, 2021, the aggregate gross unrealized appreciation for all investments in which there was an excess of value over tax cost was $18,174 and the aggregate gross unrealized depreciation for all investments in which there was an excess of tax cost over value was $309,738. The net unrealized depreciation was $291,564.

Valuation Inputs

A summary of the inputs used to value the Fund’s investments as of September 30, 2021 is as follows (see Note 2A - Portfolio Valuation in the Notes to Financial Statements):

	Total Value at 9/30/2021	Level 1 Quoted Prices	Level 2 Significant Observable Inputs	Level 3 Significant Unobservable Inputs
Common Stocks*	$ 6,024,857	$ 6,024,857	$ —	$ —

*	See Portfolio of Investments for industry breakout.

Page 24

See Notes to Financial Statements

Table of Contents

First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF (FTXN)

Portfolio of Investments

September 30, 2021 (Unaudited)

Shares	Description	Value
COMMON STOCKS – 100.0%
	Energy Equipment & Services – 4.4%
33,260	Baker Hughes Co.	$822,520
5,846	ChampionX Corp. (a)	130,717
6,828	Halliburton Co.	147,621
5,066	Helmerich & Payne, Inc.	138,859
1,617	Nabors Industries Ltd. (a)	156,008
10,354	NOV, Inc. (a)	135,741
4,863	Schlumberger N.V.	144,139
123,803	Transocean Ltd. (a)	469,214
		2,144,819
	Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels – 95.6%
170,247	Antero Midstream Corp.	1,773,974
68,575	Antero Resources Corp. (a)	1,289,896
17,186	APA Corp.	368,296
106,512	Cabot Oil & Gas Corp.	2,317,701
3,989	Callon Petroleum Co. (a)	195,780
663,724	Centennial Resource Development, Inc./DE, Class A (a)	4,446,951
38,705	Cheniere Energy, Inc.	3,780,317
17,489	Chevron Corp.	1,774,259
69,490	CNX Resources Corp. (a)	876,964
100,486	Comstock Resources, Inc. (a)	1,040,030
26,911	ConocoPhillips	1,823,758
7,973	Delek US Holdings, Inc. (a)	143,275
23,005	Devon Energy Corp.	816,908
1,769	Diamondback Energy, Inc.	167,471
4,223	EOG Resources, Inc.	338,980
9,544	EQT Corp. (a)	195,270
179,884	Equitrans Midstream Corp.	1,824,024
17,198	Exxon Mobil Corp.	1,011,586
3,298	Hess Corp.	257,607
4,220	HollyFrontier Corp.	139,809
208,050	Kinder Morgan, Inc.	3,480,676
57,799	Kosmos Energy Ltd. (a)	171,085
94,599	Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp., Class A	1,682,916
67,975	Marathon Oil Corp.	929,218
23,047	Marathon Petroleum Corp.	1,424,535
4,745	Matador Resources, Co.	180,500
6,416	Murphy Oil Corp.	160,207
5,311	Occidental Petroleum Corp.	157,099
32,228	ONEOK, Inc.	1,868,902
5,004	Ovintiv, Inc.	164,531
13,113	PBF Energy, Inc., Class A (a)	170,076
23,233	PDC Energy, Inc.	1,101,012
1,920	Phillips 66	134,458
909	Pioneer Natural Resources Co.	151,358
9,331	Range Resources Corp. (a)	211,161
177,222	SM Energy Co.	4,675,116
29,981	Southwestern Energy Co. (a)	166,095
38,539	Targa Resources Corp.	1,896,504
42,756	Tellurian, Inc. (a)	167,176

Shares	Description	Value

	Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels (Continued)
2,054	Valero Energy Corp.	$144,951
137,097	Williams (The) Cos., Inc.	3,556,296
		47,176,728
	Total Investments – 100.0%	49,321,547
	(Cost $44,887,545) (b)
	Net Other Assets and Liabilities – 0.0%	13,357
	Net Assets – 100.0%	$49,334,904


(a)	Non-income producing security.
(b)	Aggregate cost for financial reporting purposes approximates the aggregate cost for federal income tax purposes. As of September 30, 2021, the aggregate gross unrealized appreciation for all investments in which there was an excess of value over tax cost was $4,911,498 and the aggregate gross unrealized depreciation for all investments in which there was an excess of tax cost over value was $477,496. The net unrealized appreciation was $4,434,002.

Valuation Inputs

A summary of the inputs used to value the Fund’s investments as of September 30, 2021 is as follows (see Note 2A - Portfolio Valuation in the Notes to Financial Statements):

	Total Value at 9/30/2021	Level 1 Quoted Prices	Level 2 Significant Observable Inputs	Level 3 Significant Unobservable Inputs
Common Stocks*	$ 49,321,547	$ 49,321,547	$ —	$ —

*	See Portfolio of Investments for industry breakout.

See Notes to Financial Statements

Page 25

Table of Contents

First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF (FTXH)

Portfolio of Investments

September 30, 2021 (Unaudited)

Shares	Description	Value
COMMON STOCKS – 99.9%
	Biotechnology – 31.7%
11,917	AbbVie, Inc.	$1,285,487
23,846	Alkermes PLC (a)	735,411
8,852	BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Inc. (a)	684,171
3,130	Blueprint Medicines Corp. (a)	321,795
10,242	Gilead Sciences, Inc.	715,404
6,896	Horizon Therapeutics PLC (a)	755,388
7,343	Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (a)	246,284
3,469	United Therapeutics Corp. (a)	640,308
1,458	Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (a)	264,466
		5,648,714
	Health Care Providers & Services – 3.9%
14,201	Cardinal Health, Inc.	702,382
	Pharmaceuticals – 64.3%
11,149	Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.	659,686
5,715	Catalent, Inc. (a)	760,495
13,720	Corcept Therapeutics, Inc. (a)	270,010
8,747	Elanco Animal Health, Inc. (a)	278,942
2,886	Eli Lilly & Co.	666,810
127,498	Endo International PLC (a)	413,093
22,425	Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (a)	270,221
2,217	Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC (a)	288,676
8,611	Johnson & Johnson	1,390,676
19,320	Merck & Co., Inc.	1,451,125
27,649	Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (a)	276,490
4,924	Pacira BioSciences, Inc. (a)	275,744
7,130	Perrigo Co. PLC	337,463
32,361	Pfizer, Inc.	1,391,847
25,978	Prestige Consumer Healthcare, Inc. (a)	1,457,626
367,257	TherapeuticsMD, Inc. (a)	272,284
3,644	Zoetis, Inc.	707,446
19,714	Zogenix, Inc. (a)	299,456
		11,468,090
	Total Investments – 99.9%	17,819,186
	(Cost $17,131,742) (b)
	Net Other Assets and Liabilities – 0.1%	24,378
	Net Assets – 100.0%	$17,843,564


(a)	Non-income producing security.
(b)	Aggregate cost for financial reporting purposes approximates the aggregate cost for federal income tax purposes. As of September 30, 2021, the aggregate gross unrealized appreciation for all investments in which there was an excess of value over tax cost was $1,848,370 and the aggregate gross unrealized depreciation for all investments in which there was an excess of tax cost over value was $1,160,926. The net unrealized appreciation was $687,444.

Valuation Inputs

A summary of the inputs used to value the Fund’s investments as of September 30, 2021 is as follows (see Note 2A - Portfolio Valuation in the Notes to Financial Statements):

	Total Value at 9/30/2021	Level 1 Quoted Prices	Level 2 Significant Observable Inputs	Level 3 Significant Unobservable Inputs
Common Stocks*	$ 17,819,186	$ 17,819,186	$ —	$ —

*	See Portfolio of Investments for industry breakout.

Page 26

See Notes to Financial Statements

Table of Contents

First Trust Nasdaq Retail ETF (FTXD)

Portfolio of Investments

September 30, 2021 (Unaudited)

Shares	Description	Value
COMMON STOCKS – 100.0%
	Commercial Services & Supplies – 1.1%
1,767	Copart, Inc. (a)	$245,118
	Diversified Consumer Services – 0.8%
2,465	Chegg, Inc. (a)	167,669
	Food & Staples Retailing – 15.6%
2,060	Costco Wholesale Corp.	925,661
25,511	Kroger (The) Co.	1,031,410
2,574	Sysco Corp.	202,059
4,039	Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.	190,035
8,001	Walmart, Inc.	1,115,179
		3,464,344
	Health Care Providers & Services – 7.6%
1,678	AmerisourceBergen Corp.	200,437
15,077	CVS Health Corp.	1,279,434
1,005	McKesson Corp.	200,377
		1,680,248
	Internet & Direct Marketing Retail – 6.7%
58	Amazon.com, Inc. (a)	190,532
2,327	Chewy, Inc., Class A (a)	158,492
4,806	eBay, Inc.	334,834
948	Etsy, Inc. (a)	197,146
2,840	Overstock.com, Inc. (a)	221,293
4,892	Stitch Fix, Inc., Class A (a)	195,436
730	Wayfair, Inc., Class A (a)	186,522
		1,484,255
	Multiline Retail – 17.0%
4,016	Dollar General Corp.	851,954
7,994	Dollar Tree, Inc. (a)	765,186
8,666	Kohl’s Corp.	408,082
22,812	Macy’s, Inc.	515,551
7,166	Nordstrom, Inc. (a)	189,541
2,832	Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. (a)	170,713
3,804	Target Corp.	870,241
		3,771,268
	Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels – 1.0%
25,853	Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (a)	210,702
	Road & Rail – 2.1%
4,306	Lyft, Inc., Class A (a)	230,759
5,238	Uber Technologies, Inc. (a)	234,662
		465,421
	Specialty Retail – 48.1%
3,362	Advance Auto Parts, Inc.	702,288

Shares	Description	Value

	Specialty Retail (Continued)
6,717	American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.	$173,299
695	AutoZone, Inc. (a)	1,180,103
3,038	Bath & Body Works, Inc.	191,485
7,444	Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. (a)	128,595
7,334	Best Buy Co., Inc.	775,277
684	Burlington Stores, Inc. (a)	193,962
1,637	CarMax, Inc. (a)	209,470
625	Carvana Co. (a)	188,462
6,669	Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc.	798,746
963	Five Below, Inc. (a)	170,268
8,511	GameStop Corp., Class A (a)	1,493,425
7,670	Gap (The), Inc.	174,109
2,470	Home Depot (The), Inc.	810,802
617	Lithia Motors, Inc.	195,614
2,215	Lowe’s Cos., Inc.	449,335
1,579	O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (a)	964,864
294	RH (a)	196,072
1,732	Ross Stores, Inc.	188,528
2,819	TJX (The) Cos., Inc.	185,998
1,306	Tractor Supply Co.	264,609
529	Ulta Beauty, Inc. (a)	190,927
3,092	Victoria’s Secret & Co. (a)	170,864
3,604	Williams-Sonoma, Inc.	639,097
		10,636,199
	Total Investments – 100.0%	22,125,224
	(Cost $22,268,199) (b)
	Net Other Assets and Liabilities – 0.0%	9,884
	Net Assets – 100.0%	$22,135,108


(a)	Non-income producing security.
(b)	Aggregate cost for financial reporting purposes approximates the aggregate cost for federal income tax purposes. As of September 30, 2021, the aggregate gross unrealized appreciation for all investments in which there was an excess of value over tax cost was $776,769 and the aggregate gross unrealized depreciation for all investments in which there was an excess of tax cost over value was $919,744. The net unrealized depreciation was $142,975.

Valuation Inputs

A summary of the inputs used to value the Fund’s investments as of September 30, 2021 is as follows (see Note 2A - Portfolio Valuation in the Notes to Financial Statements):

	Total Value at 9/30/2021	Level 1 Quoted Prices	Level 2 Significant Observable Inputs	Level 3 Significant Unobservable Inputs
Common Stocks*	$ 22,125,224	$ 22,125,224	$ —	$ —

*	See Portfolio of Investments for industry breakout.

See Notes to Financial Statements

Page 27

Table of Contents

First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF (FTXL)

Portfolio of Investments

September 30, 2021 (Unaudited)

Shares	Description	Value
COMMON STOCKS – 99.8%
	Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components – 2.6%
17,621	II-VI, Inc. (a)	$1,045,983
6,503	IPG Photonics Corp. (a)	1,030,075
		2,076,058
	Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment – 97.2%
10,024	Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (a)	1,031,470
10,715	Ambarella, Inc. (a)	1,668,754
242,174	Amkor Technology, Inc.	6,042,241
20,414	Analog Devices, Inc.	3,418,937
24,616	Applied Materials, Inc.	3,168,818
13,379	Broadcom, Inc.	6,487,878
13,062	Brooks Automation, Inc.	1,336,896
39,753	Cirrus Logic, Inc. (a)	3,273,660
13,060	Cree, Inc. (a)	1,054,334
9,238	Entegris, Inc.	1,163,064
123,057	Intel Corp.	6,556,477
9,785	KLA Corp.	3,273,180
5,473	Lam Research Corp.	3,114,958
17,865	Lattice Semiconductor Corp. (a)	1,154,972
18,138	Marvell Technology, Inc.	1,093,903
7,053	Microchip Technology, Inc.	1,082,565
45,131	Micron Technology, Inc.	3,203,398
2,242	Monolithic Power Systems, Inc.	1,086,653
4,959	NVIDIA Corp.	1,027,306
15,461	NXP Semiconductors N.V.	3,028,346
74,982	ON Semiconductor Corp. (a)	3,431,926
17,690	Qorvo, Inc. (a)	2,957,591
22,676	QUALCOMM, Inc.	2,924,750
7,040	Silicon Laboratories, Inc. (a)	986,726
6,049	Skyworks Solutions, Inc.	996,754
35,055	Synaptics, Inc. (a)	6,300,435
9,139	Teradyne, Inc.	997,705
34,846	Texas Instruments, Inc.	6,697,750
		78,561,447
	Total Investments – 99.8%	80,637,505
	(Cost $76,729,370) (b)
	Net Other Assets and Liabilities – 0.2%	145,561
	Net Assets – 100.0%	$80,783,066


(a)	Non-income producing security.

(b)

Aggregate cost for financial reporting purposes approximates the aggregate cost for federal income tax purposes. As of September 30, 2021, the aggregate gross unrealized appreciation for all investments in which there was an excess of value over tax cost was $5,414,098 and the aggregate gross unrealized depreciation for all investments in which there was an excess of tax cost over value was $1,505,963. The net unrealized appreciation was $3,908,135.

Valuation Inputs

A summary of the inputs used to value the Fund’s investments as of September 30, 2021 is as follows (see Note 2A - Portfolio Valuation in the Notes to Financial Statements):

	Total Value at 9/30/2021	Level 1 Quoted Prices	Level 2 Significant Observable Inputs	Level 3 Significant Unobservable Inputs
Common Stocks*	$ 80,637,505	$ 80,637,505	$ —	$ —

*	See Portfolio of Investments for industry breakout.

Page 28

See Notes to Financial Statements

Table of Contents

First Trust Nasdaq Transportation ETF (FTXR)

Portfolio of Investments

September 30, 2021 (Unaudited)

Shares	Description	Value
COMMON STOCKS – 99.9%
	Air Freight & Logistics – 20.3%
416,097	CH Robinson Worldwide, Inc.	$36,200,439
714,149	Expeditors International of Washington, Inc.	85,076,570
167,510	FedEx Corp.	36,733,268
247,426	GXO Logistics, Inc. (a)	19,408,095
227,499	United Parcel Service, Inc., Class B	41,427,568
		218,845,940
	Airlines – 13.5%
352,929	Alaska Air Group, Inc. (a)	20,681,639
1,014,891	American Airlines Group, Inc. (a)	20,825,563
500,419	Delta Air Lines, Inc. (a)	21,322,853
1,337,537	JetBlue Airways Corp. (a)	20,450,941
406,527	Southwest Airlines Co. (a)	20,907,684
824,987	Spirit Airlines, Inc. (a)	21,400,163
435,109	United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (a)	20,698,135
		146,286,978
	Auto Components – 5.5%
264,330	Aptiv PLC (a)	39,377,240
474,155	BorgWarner, Inc.	20,488,238
		59,865,478
	Automobiles – 14.4%
5,036,702	Ford Motor Co. (a)	71,319,700
887,165	General Motors Co. (a)	46,762,467
27,507	Tesla, Inc. (a)	21,331,129
2,062,888	Workhorse Group, Inc. (a) (b)	15,781,093
		155,194,389
	Electrical Equipment – 3.6%
1,372,365	Blink Charging Co. (a) (b)	39,263,363
	Machinery – 9.8%
1,940,262	Nikola Corp. (a) (b)	20,702,595
537,248	PACCAR, Inc.	42,399,612
495,665	Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp.	42,731,280
		105,833,487
	Road & Rail – 25.7%
2,024,334	CSX Corp.	60,203,693
250,878	JB Hunt Transport Services, Inc.	41,951,819
175,538	Norfolk Southern Corp.	41,997,467
261,000	Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc.	74,640,780
205,247	Union Pacific Corp.	40,230,465
232,849	XPO Logistics, Inc. (a)	18,530,123
		277,554,347

Shares	Description	Value

	Trading Companies & Distributors – 7.1%
218,376	United Rentals, Inc. (a)	$76,634,690
	Total Common Stocks	1,079,478,672
	(Cost $1,064,428,940)
MONEY MARKET FUNDS – 3.0%
32,929,024	Goldman Sachs Financial Square Treasury Obligations Fund - Institutional Class - 0.01% (c) (d)	32,929,024
	(Cost $32,929,024)
Principal Value	Description	Value
REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS – 3.2%
$34,165,951	BNP Paribas S.A., 0.03% (c), dated 9/30/21, due 10/1/21, with a maturity value of $34,165,980. Collateralized by U.S. Treasury Notes, interest rates of 0.375% to 0.750%, due 4/15/24 to 1/31/28. The value of the collateral including accrued interest is $35,033,807. (d)	34,165,951
	(Cost $34,165,951)
	Total Investments – 106.1%	1,146,573,647
	(Cost $1,131,523,915) (e)
	Net Other Assets and Liabilities – (6.1)%	(66,381,084)
	Net Assets – 100.0%	$1,080,192,563


(a)	Non-income producing security.
(b)	All or a portion of this security is on loan (See Note 2D - Securities Lending in the Notes to Financial Statements). The remaining contractual maturity of all of the securities lending transactions is overnight and continuous. The aggregate value of such securities is $66,196,692 and the total value of the collateral held by the Fund is $67,094,975.
(c)	Rate shown reflects yield as of September 30, 2021.
(d)	This security serves as collateral for securities on loan.
(e)	Aggregate cost for financial reporting purposes approximates the aggregate cost for federal income tax purposes. As of September 30, 2021, the aggregate gross unrealized appreciation for all investments in which there was an excess of value over tax cost was $76,535,312 and the aggregate gross unrealized depreciation for all investments in which there was an excess of tax cost over value was $61,485,580. The net unrealized appreciation was $15,049,732.

See Notes to Financial Statements

Page 29

Table of Contents

First Trust Nasdaq Transportation ETF (FTXR)

Portfolio of Investments (Continued)

September 30, 2021 (Unaudited)

Valuation Inputs

A summary of the inputs used to value the Fund’s investments as of September 30, 2021 is as follows (see Note 2A - Portfolio Valuation in the Notes to Financial Statements):

	Total Value at 9/30/2021	Level 1 Quoted Prices	Level 2 Significant Observable Inputs	Level 3 Significant Unobservable Inputs
Common Stocks*	$ 1,079,478,672	$ 1,079,478,672	$ —	$ —
Money Market Funds	32,929,024	32,929,024	—	—
Repurchase Agreements	34,165,951	—	34,165,951	—
Total Investments	$ 1,146,573,647	$ 1,112,407,696	$ 34,165,951	$—

*	See Portfolio of Investments for industry breakout.

Offsetting Assets and Liabilities

Offsetting assets and liabilities requires entities to disclose both gross and net information about instruments and transactions eligible for offset, and to disclose instruments and transactions subject to master netting or similar agreements (see Note 2C – Offsetting on the Statements of Assets and Liabilities in the Notes to Financial Statements).

The Fund’s loaned securities were all subject to an enforceable Securities Lending Agency Agreement. Securities lent in accordance with the Securities Lending Agency Agreement on a gross basis were as follows:

Security Lending Agency Agreement
Total gross amount presented on the Statements of Assets and Liabilities ⁽¹⁾	$66,196,692
Non-cash Collateral ⁽²⁾	(66,196,692)
Net Amount	$—

⁽¹⁾	The amount presented on the Statements of Assets and Liabilities, which is included in “Investments, at value,” is not offset and is shown on a gross basis.
⁽²⁾	At September 30, 2021, the value of the collateral received from each borrower exceeded the value of the related securities loaned. This amount is disclosed on the Portfolio of Investments.

The Fund’s investments in repurchase agreements were all subject to an enforceable Master Repurchase Agreement. Repurchase Agreements on a gross basis were as follows:

Repurchase Agreements
Total gross amount presented on the Statements of Assets and Liabilities ⁽³⁾	$34,165,951
Non-cash Collateral ⁽⁴⁾	(34,165,951)
Net Amount	$—

⁽³⁾	The amount is included in “Investments, at value” on the Statements of Assets and Liabilities.
⁽⁴⁾	At September 30, 2021, the value of the collateral received from each seller exceeded the value of the repurchase agreements.

Page 30

See Notes to Financial Statements

Table of Contents

First Trust Indxx Medical Devices ETF (MDEV)

Portfolio of Investments

September 30, 2021 (Unaudited)

Shares	Description	Value
COMMON STOCKS – 100.0%
	Biotechnology – 1.4%
4,161	Exact Sciences Corp. (a)	$397,167
	Health Care Equipment & Supplies – 77.2%
4,352	Abbott Laboratories	514,102
1,628	ABIOMED, Inc. (a)	529,947
7,315	Alcon, Inc. (b)	592,301
892	Align Technology, Inc. (a)	593,564
9,906	Ambu A.S., Class B (b)	293,437
6,252	Baxter International, Inc.	502,848
2,068	Becton Dickinson and Co.	508,356
4,073	BioMerieux (b)	463,454
13,228	Boston Scientific Corp. (a)	573,963
3,083	Carl Zeiss Meditec AG (b)	590,555
3,379	Coloplast A.S., Class B (b)	528,349
1,354	Cooper (The) Cos., Inc.	559,622
2,222	Danaher Corp.	676,466
11,024	Demant A.S. (a) (b)	555,512
8,272	DENTSPLY SIRONA, Inc.	480,190
1,353	DexCom, Inc. (a)	739,902
6,079	Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (a)	688,204
22,629	Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp., Ltd. (b)	497,740
7,059	Hologic, Inc. (a)	521,025
4,294	Hoya Corp. (b)	669,945
1,822	Insulet Corp. (a)	517,867
666	Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (a)	662,104
8,938	Koninklijke Philips N.V. (b)	397,088
2,200	Masimo Corp. (a)	595,562
4,298	Medtronic PLC	538,754
2,811	Novocure Ltd. (a)	326,554
25,440	Olympus Corp. (b)	556,830
2,608	ResMed, Inc.	687,338
9,658	Siemens Healthineers AG (b) (c) (d)	626,374
27,098	Smith & Nephew PLC (b)	466,840
1,870	Sonova Holding AG (b)	706,688
2,596	STERIS PLC	530,311
398	Straumann Holding AG (b)	713,798
2,105	Stryker Corp.	555,131
5,178	Sysmex Corp. (b)	643,152
1,251	Teleflex, Inc.	471,064
14,530	Terumo Corp. (b)	686,083
1,724	West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.	731,907
3,148	Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.	460,741
		21,953,668
	Health Care Providers & Services – 1.5%
3,414	Guardant Health, Inc. (a)	426,784
	Life Sciences Tools & Services – 19.9%
2,788	10X Genomics, Inc., Class A (a)	405,877
4,021	Agilent Technologies, Inc.	633,428

Shares	Description	Value

	Life Sciences Tools & Services (Continued)
864	Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Class A (a)	$644,501
422	Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. (a)	581,246
4,064	PerkinElmer, Inc.	704,251
1,177	Sartorius Stedim Biotech (b)	657,713
1,098	Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.	627,320
1,804	Waters Corp. (a)	644,569
32,075	WuXi AppTec Co., Ltd., Class H (b) (c) (d)	746,701
		5,645,606
	Total Investments – 100.0%	28,423,225
	(Cost $27,880,166) (e)
	Net Other Assets and Liabilities – 0.0%	10,057
	Net Assets – 100.0%	$28,433,282


(a)	Non-income producing security.
(b)	This security is fair valued by the Advisor’s Pricing Committee in accordance with procedures adopted by the Trust’s Board of Trustees and in accordance with provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. At September 30, 2021, securities noted as such are valued at $10,392,560 or 36.6% of net assets. Certain of these securities are fair valued using a factor provided by a third-party pricing service due to the change in value between the foreign markets’ close and the New York Stock Exchange close exceeding a certain threshold. On days when this threshold is not exceeded, these securities are typically valued at the last sale price on the exchange on which they are principally traded.
(c)	This security may be resold to qualified foreign investors and foreign institutional buyers under Regulation S of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”).
(d)	This security is exempt from registration upon resale under Rule 144A of the 1933 Act and may be resold in transactions exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers. This security is not restricted on the foreign exchange where it trades freely without any additional registration. As such, it does not require the additional disclosure required of restricted securities.
(e)	Aggregate cost for financial reporting purposes approximates the aggregate cost for federal income tax purposes. As of September 30, 2021, the aggregate gross unrealized appreciation for all investments in which there was an excess of value over tax cost was $1,593,419 and the aggregate gross unrealized depreciation for all investments in which there was an excess of tax cost over value was $1,050,360. The net unrealized appreciation was $543,059.

See Notes to Financial Statements

Page 31

Table of Contents

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI

Statements of Assets and Liabilities

September 30, 2021 (Unaudited)

	First Trust Nasdaq Bank ETF (FTXO)	First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF (FTXG)	First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF (FTXN)
ASSETS:
Investments, at value	$ 231,051,639	$ 6,024,857	$ 49,321,547
Cash	27,277	3,313	13,222
Receivables:
Dividends	412,012	7,500	887
Fund shares sold	3,311,116	—	5,735,952
Dividend reclaims	—	—	—
Securities lending income	—	—	—
Investment securities sold	—	—	168,460
Total Assets	234,802,044	6,035,670	55,240,068
LIABILITIES:
Payables:
Collateral for securities on loan	—	—	—
Investment advisory fees	110,914	3,034	19,883
Investment securities purchased	3,305,494	—	5,885,281
Fund shares redeemed	—	—	—
Total Liabilities	3,416,408	3,034	5,905,164
NET ASSETS	$231,385,636	$6,032,636	$49,334,904
NET ASSETS consist of:
Paid-in capital	$ 288,038,418	$ 6,970,339	$ 47,085,228
Par value	71,000	2,500	26,000
Accumulated distributable earnings (loss)	(56,723,782)	(940,203)	2,223,676
NET ASSETS	$231,385,636	$6,032,636	$49,334,904
NET ASSET VALUE, per share	$32.59	$24.13	$18.97
Number of shares outstanding (unlimited number of shares authorized, par value $0.01 per share)	7,100,002	250,002	2,600,002
Investments, at cost	$214,026,045	$6,316,421	$44,887,545
Securities on loan, at value	$—	$—	$—

Page 34

See Notes to Financial Statements

Table of Contents

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI

Statements of Operations

For the Period Ended September 30, 2021 (Unaudited)

	First Trust Nasdaq Bank ETF (FTXO)	First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF (FTXG)	First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF (FTXN)
INVESTMENT INCOME:
Dividends	$ 2,857,926	$ 69,653	$ 792,382
Interest	9	—	3
Securities lending income (net of fees)	—	—	147
Foreign withholding tax	(23,471)	—	—
Other	—	—	—
Total investment income	2,834,464	69,653	792,532
EXPENSES:
Investment advisory fees	708,747	19,008	155,346
Total expenses	708,747	19,008	155,346
NET INVESTMENT INCOME (LOSS)	2,125,717	50,645	637,186
NET REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS):
Net realized gain (loss) on:
Investments	(9,590,678)	(339,905)	(1,614,088)
In-kind redemptions	7,247,620	287,212	6,006,596
Foreign currency transactions	—	—	—
Net realized gain (loss)	(2,343,058)	(52,693)	4,392,508
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on:
Investments	10,750,672	(393,273)	1,082,563
Foreign currency translation	—	—	—
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)	10,750,672	(393,273)	1,082,563
NET REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS)	8,407,614	(445,966)	5,475,071
NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS	$ 10,533,331	$(395,321)	$ 6,112,257

(a)	Inception date is June 22, 2021, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established.

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First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI

Statements of Changes in Net Assets

	First Trust Nasdaq Bank ETF (FTXO)		First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF (FTXG)
	Six Months Ended 9/30/2021 (Unaudited)	Year Ended 3/31/2021	Six Months Ended 9/30/2021 (Unaudited)	Year Ended 3/31/2021
OPERATIONS:
Net investment income (loss)	$ 2,125,717	$ 2,496,898	$ 50,645	$ 37,996
Net realized gain (loss)	(2,343,058)	18,011,029	(52,693)	219,178
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)	10,750,672	49,898,872	(393,273)	819,716
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations	10,533,331	70,406,799	(395,321)	1,076,890
DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS FROM:
Investment operations	(2,202,691)	(2,495,731)	(48,050)	(37,626)
SHAREHOLDER TRANSACTIONS:
Proceeds from shares sold	52,677,837	240,319,581	5,227,127	4,989,914
Cost of shares redeemed	(56,916,331)	(139,595,309)	(3,884,145)	(3,488,460)
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from shareholder transactions	(4,238,494)	100,724,272	1,342,982	1,501,454
Total increase (decrease) in net assets	4,092,146	168,635,340	899,611	2,540,718
NET ASSETS:
Beginning of period	227,293,490	58,658,150	5,133,025	2,592,307
End of period	$231,385,636	$227,293,490	$6,032,636	$5,133,025
CHANGES IN SHARES OUTSTANDING:
Shares outstanding, beginning of period	7,300,002	3,750,002	200,002	150,002
Shares sold	1,650,000	8,200,000	200,000	200,000
Shares redeemed	(1,850,000)	(4,650,000)	(150,000)	(150,000)
Shares outstanding, end of period	7,100,002	7,300,002	250,002	200,002

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Table of Contents

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI

Statements of Changes in Net Assets (Continued)

	First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF (FTXL)		First Trust Nasdaq Transportation ETF (FTXR)
	Six Months Ended 9/30/2021 (Unaudited)	Year Ended 3/31/2021	Six Months Ended 9/30/2021 (Unaudited)	Year Ended 3/31/2021
OPERATIONS:
Net investment income (loss)	$ 121,893	$ 248,285	$ 5,624,031	$ 451,189
Net realized gain (loss)	10,929,457	15,506,395	5,575,812	166,462,888
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)	(8,926,609)	17,121,367	(81,898,218)	97,342,785
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations	2,124,741	32,876,047	(70,698,375)	264,256,862
DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS FROM:
Investment operations	(102,590)	(248,060)	(5,585,730)	(1,221,540)
SHAREHOLDER TRANSACTIONS:
Proceeds from shares sold	40,727,060	82,131,018	277,888,192	1,605,131,373
Cost of shares redeemed	(46,122,297)	(61,955,704)	(193,265,838)	(797,823,739)
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from shareholder transactions	(5,395,237)	20,175,314	84,622,354	807,307,634
Total increase (decrease) in net assets	(3,373,086)	52,803,301	8,338,249	1,070,342,956
NET ASSETS:
Beginning of period	84,156,152	31,352,851	1,071,854,314	1,511,358
End of period	$80,783,066	$84,156,152	$1,080,192,563	$1,071,854,314
CHANGES IN SHARES OUTSTANDING:
Shares outstanding, beginning of period	1,300,002	950,002	32,600,002	100,002
Shares sold	600,000	1,500,000	8,350,000	58,950,000
Shares redeemed	(700,000)	(1,150,000)	(5,900,000)	(26,450,000)
Shares outstanding, end of period	1,200,002	1,300,002	35,050,002	32,600,002

(a)	Inception date is June 22, 2021, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established.

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Table of Contents

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI

Financial Highlights

For a share outstanding throughout each period

First Trust Nasdaq Bank ETF (FTXO)

	Six Months Ended 9/30/2021 (Unaudited)	Year Ended March 31,				Period Ended 3/31/2017 (a)
	Six Months Ended 9/30/2021 (Unaudited)	2021	2020	2019	2018	Period Ended 3/31/2017 (a)
Net asset value, beginning of period	$ 31.14	$ 15.64	$ 24.41	$ 29.50	$ 25.94	$ 20.01
Income from investment operations:
Net investment income (loss)	0.28	0.59 (b)	0.73	0.84	0.40	0.07
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	1.46	15.50	(8.77)	(5.14)	3.56	5.91
Total from investment operations	1.74	16.09	(8.04)	(4.30)	3.96	5.98
Distributions paid to shareholders from:
Net investment income	(0.29)	(0.59)	(0.73)	(0.79)	(0.40)	(0.05)
Net asset value, end of period	$32.59	$31.14	$15.64	$24.41	$29.50	$25.94
Total return (c)	5.63%	105.13%	(33.93)%	(14.49)%	15.35%	29.89%
Ratios to average net assets/supplemental data:
Net assets, end of period (in 000’s)	$ 231,386	$ 227,293	$ 58,658	$ 168,447	$ 1,314,444	$ 1,027,400
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets	0.60% (d)	0.60%	0.60%	0.60%	0.60%	0.60% (d)
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets	1.80% (d)	2.65%	2.69%	1.83%	1.47%	4.05% (d)
Portfolio turnover rate (e)	29%	176%	59%	87%	39%	7%

(a)	Inception date is September 20, 2016, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established.
(b)	Based on average shares outstanding.
(c)	Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption at net asset value on the last day of the period. The returns presented do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption or sale of Fund shares. Total return is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year.
(d)	Annualized.
(e)	Portfolio turnover is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year and does not include securities received or delivered from processing creations or redemptions and in-kind transactions.

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Table of Contents

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI

Financial Highlights (Continued)

For a share outstanding throughout each period

First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF (FTXG)

	Six Months Ended 9/30/2021 (Unaudited)	Year Ended March 31,				Period Ended 3/31/2017 (a)
	Six Months Ended 9/30/2021 (Unaudited)	2021	2020	2019	2018	Period Ended 3/31/2017 (a)
Net asset value, beginning of period	$ 25.66	$ 17.28	$ 20.06	$ 19.71	$ 20.63	$ 19.96
Income from investment operations:
Net investment income (loss)	0.20	0.32	0.27	0.27	0.35	0.14
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	(1.54)	8.38	(2.77)	0.33	(0.95)	0.64
Total from investment operations	(1.34)	8.70	(2.50)	0.60	(0.60)	0.78
Distributions paid to shareholders from:
Net investment income	(0.19)	(0.32)	(0.28)	(0.25)	(0.32)	(0.11)
Net asset value, end of period	$24.13	$25.66	$17.28	$20.06	$19.71	$20.63
Total return (b)	(5.23)%	50.65%	(12.69)%	3.13%	(2.96)%	3.91%
Ratios to average net assets/supplemental data:
Net assets, end of period (in 000’s)	$ 6,033	$ 5,133	$ 2,592	$ 2,006	$ 985	$ 5,158
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets	0.60% (c)	0.60%	0.60%	0.60%	0.60%	0.60% (c)
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets	1.60% (c)	1.44%	1.58%	1.55%	1.53%	1.58% (c)
Portfolio turnover rate (d)	40%	131%	59%	108%	76%	54%

(a)	Inception date is September 20, 2016, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established.
(b)	Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption at net asset value on the last day of the period. The returns presented do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption or sale of Fund shares. Total return is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year.
(c)	Annualized.
(d)	Portfolio turnover is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year and does not include securities received or delivered from processing creations or redemptions and in-kind transactions.

See Notes to Financial Statements

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Table of Contents

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI

Financial Highlights (Continued)

For a share outstanding throughout each period

First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF (FTXN)

	Six Months Ended 9/30/2021 (Unaudited)	Year Ended March 31,				Period Ended 3/31/2017 (a)
	Six Months Ended 9/30/2021 (Unaudited)	2021	2020	2019	2018	Period Ended 3/31/2017 (a)
Net asset value, beginning of period	$ 15.51	$ 8.10	$ 18.91	$ 19.95	$ 20.63	$ 19.84
Income from investment operations:
Net investment income (loss)	0.24	0.22	0.31	0.41	0.36	0.14
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	3.40	7.39	(10.79)	(1.06)	(0.67)	0.80
Total from investment operations	3.64	7.61	(10.48)	(0.65)	(0.31)	0.94
Distributions paid to shareholders from:
Net investment income	(0.18)	(0.20)	(0.32)	(0.39)	(0.33)	(0.15)
Return of capital	—	—	(0.01)	—	(0.04)	—
Total distributions	(0.18)	(0.20)	(0.33)	(0.39)	(0.37)	(0.15)
Net asset value, end of period	$18.97	$15.51	$8.10	$18.91	$19.95	$20.63
Total return (b)	23.47%	95.16%	(56.26)%	(3.27)%	(1.47)%	4.75%
Ratios to average net assets/supplemental data:
Net assets, end of period (in 000’s)	$ 49,335	$ 36,448	$ 6,885	$ 12,294	$ 3,991	$ 2,063
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets	0.60% (c)	0.60%	0.60%	0.60%	0.60%	0.61% (c) (d)
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets	2.46% (c)	2.01%	2.14%	1.69%	1.96%	1.30% (c)
Portfolio turnover rate (e)	44%	136%	76%	126%	92%	58%

(a)	Inception date is September 20, 2016, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established.
(b)	Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption at net asset value on the last day of the period. The returns presented do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption or sale of Fund shares. Total return is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year.
(c)	Annualized.
(d)	Includes excise tax. If this excise tax was not included, the expense ratio would have been 0.60%.
(e)	Portfolio turnover is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year and does not include securities received or delivered from processing creations or redemptions and in-kind transactions.

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Table of Contents

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI

Financial Highlights (Continued)

For a share outstanding throughout each period

First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF (FTXH)

	Six Months Ended 9/30/2021 (Unaudited)	Year Ended March 31,				Period Ended 3/31/2017 (a)
	Six Months Ended 9/30/2021 (Unaudited)	2021	2020	2019	2018	Period Ended 3/31/2017 (a)
Net asset value, beginning of period	$ 25.51	$ 19.36	$ 21.50	$ 21.14	$ 19.83	$ 20.12
Income from investment operations:
Net investment income (loss)	0.11	0.24	0.18	0.13	0.17	0.06
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	(0.04) (b)	6.14	(2.13)	0.35	1.65	(0.28)
Total from investment operations	0.07	6.38	(1.95)	0.48	1.82	(0.22)
Distributions paid to shareholders from:
Net investment income	(0.09)	(0.23)	(0.19)	(0.12)	(0.17)	(0.06)
Net realized gain	—	—	—	—	(0.34)	(0.01)
Total distributions	(0.09)	(0.23)	(0.19)	(0.12)	(0.51)	(0.07)
Net asset value, end of period	$25.49	$25.51	$19.36	$21.50	$21.14	$19.83
Total return (c)	0.28%	33.00%	(9.13)%	2.30%	9.32%	(1.10)%
Ratios to average net assets/supplemental data:
Net assets, end of period (in 000’s)	$ 17,844	$ 19,133	$ 5,810	$ 5,376	$ 2,114	$ 1,983
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets	0.60% (d)	0.60%	0.60%	0.60%	0.60%	0.60% (d)
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets	0.83% (d)	1.07%	0.85%	0.69%	0.80%	0.64% (d)
Portfolio turnover rate (e)	34%	83%	42%	107%	70%	48%

(a)	Inception date is September 20, 2016, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established.
(b)	The per share amount does not correlate with the aggregate realized and unrealized gain (loss) due to the timing of the Fund share sales and repurchases in relation to market value fluctuation of the underlying investments.
(c)	Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption at net asset value on the last day of the period. The returns presented do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption or sale of Fund shares. Total return is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year.
(d)	Annualized.
(e)	Portfolio turnover is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year and does not include securities received or delivered from processing creations or redemptions and in-kind transactions.

See Notes to Financial Statements

Page 45

Table of Contents

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI

Financial Highlights (Continued)

For a share outstanding throughout each period

First Trust Nasdaq Retail ETF (FTXD)

	Six Months Ended 9/30/2021 (Unaudited)	Year Ended March 31,				Period Ended 3/31/2017 (a)
	Six Months Ended 9/30/2021 (Unaudited)	2021	2020	2019	2018	Period Ended 3/31/2017 (a)
Net asset value, beginning of period	$ 31.48	$ 18.10	$ 22.34	$ 20.86	$ 19.68	$ 19.90
Income from investment operations:
Net investment income (loss)	0.14	0.19	0.27	0.21	0.31	0.15
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	2.58	13.39	(4.22)	1.45	1.18	(0.24)
Total from investment operations	2.72	13.58	(3.95)	1.66	1.49	(0.09)
Distributions paid to shareholders from:
Net investment income	(0.15)	(0.20)	(0.29)	(0.18)	(0.31)	(0.13)
Net asset value, end of period	$34.05	$31.48	$18.10	$22.34	$20.86	$19.68
Total return (b)	8.63%	75.23%	(17.90)%	7.98%	7.63%	(0.45)%
Ratios to average net assets/supplemental data:
Net assets, end of period (in 000’s)	$ 22,135	$ 9,444	$ 3,619	$ 8,934	$ 1,043	$ 1,968
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets	0.60% (c)	0.60%	0.60%	0.60%	0.60%	0.61% (c) (d)
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets	1.23% (c)	0.70%	1.11%	1.41%	1.54%	1.44% (c)
Portfolio turnover rate (e)	52%	114%	65%	127%	126%	65%

(a)	Inception date is September 20, 2016, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established.
(b)	Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption at net asset value on the last day of the period. The returns presented do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption or sale of Fund shares. Total return is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year.
(c)	Annualized.
(d)	Includes excise tax. If this excise tax was not included, the expense ratio would have been 0.60%.
(e)	Portfolio turnover is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year and does not include securities received or delivered from processing creations or redemptions and in-kind transactions.

Page 46

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Table of Contents

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI

Financial Highlights (Continued)

For a share outstanding throughout each period

First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF (FTXL)

	Six Months Ended 9/30/2021 (Unaudited)	Year Ended March 31,				Period Ended 3/31/2017 (a)
	Six Months Ended 9/30/2021 (Unaudited)	2021	2020	2019	2018	Period Ended 3/31/2017 (a)
Net asset value, beginning of period	$ 64.74	$ 33.00	$ 31.83	$ 32.58	$ 25.04	$ 19.93
Income from investment operations:
Net investment income (loss)	0.11	0.23	0.38	0.25	0.14	0.05
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	2.56	31.75	1.18	(0.79)	7.54	5.11
Total from investment operations	2.67	31.98	1.56	(0.54)	7.68	5.16
Distributions paid to shareholders from:
Net investment income	(0.09)	(0.24)	(0.39)	(0.21)	(0.14)	(0.05)
Net realized gain	—	—	—	—	—	(0.00) (b)
Total distributions	(0.09)	(0.24)	(0.39)	(0.21)	(0.14)	(0.05)
Net asset value, end of period	$67.32	$64.74	$33.00	$31.83	$32.58	$25.04
Total return (c)	4.12%	97.11%	4.82%	(1.62)%	30.77%	25.92%
Ratios to average net assets/supplemental data:
Net assets, end of period (in 000’s)	$ 80,783	$ 84,156	$ 31,353	$ 30,242	$ 47,247	$ 15,024
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets	0.60% (d)	0.60%	0.60%	0.60%	0.60%	0.60% (d)
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets	0.31% (d)	0.45%	1.00%	0.78%	0.55%	0.66% (d)
Portfolio turnover rate (e)	27%	113%	64%	94%	59%	58%

(a)	Inception date is September 20, 2016, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established.
(b)	Amount is less than $0.01.
(c)	Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption at net asset value on the last day of the period. The returns presented do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption or sale of Fund shares. Total return is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year.
(d)	Annualized.
(e)	Portfolio turnover is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year and does not include securities received or delivered from processing creations or redemptions and in-kind transactions.

See Notes to Financial Statements

Page 47

Table of Contents

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI

Financial Highlights (Continued)

For a share outstanding throughout each period

First Trust Nasdaq Transportation ETF (FTXR)

	Six Months Ended 9/30/2021 (Unaudited)	Year Ended March 31,				Period Ended 3/31/2017 (a)
	Six Months Ended 9/30/2021 (Unaudited)	2021	2020	2019	2018	Period Ended 3/31/2017 (a)
Net asset value, beginning of period	$ 32.88	$ 15.11	$ 23.33	$ 24.93	$ 22.78	$ 19.94
Income from investment operations:
Net investment income (loss)	0.16	0.04	0.30	0.35	0.32	0.14
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	(2.06)	17.79	(8.22)	(1.62)	2.16	2.84
Total from investment operations	(1.90)	17.83	(7.92)	(1.27)	2.48	2.98
Distributions paid to shareholders from:
Net investment income	(0.16)	(0.06)	(0.30)	(0.33)	(0.33)	(0.14)
Net realized gain	—	—	—	—	—	(0.00) (b)
Total distributions	(0.16)	(0.06)	(0.30)	(0.33)	(0.33)	(0.14)
Net asset value, end of period	$30.82	$32.88	$15.11	$23.33	$24.93	$22.78
Total return (c)	(5.80)%	118.10%	(34.35)%	(5.11)%	10.89%	14.97%
Ratios to average net assets/supplemental data:
Net assets, end of period (in 000’s)	$ 1,080,193	$ 1,071,854	$ 1,511	$ 2,333	$ 3,740	$ 2,278
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets	0.60% (d)	0.60%	0.60%	0.60%	0.60%	0.61% (d) (e)
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets	0.99% (d)	0.10%	1.04%	1.38%	1.27%	1.22% (d)
Portfolio turnover rate (f)	26%	129%	89%	108%	78%	28%

(a)	Inception date is September 20, 2016, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established.
(b)	Amount is less than $0.01.
(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)	Includes excise tax. If this excise tax was not included, the expense ratio would have been 0.60%.
(f)	Portfolio turnover is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year and does not include securities received or delivered from processing creations or redemptions and in-kind transactions.

Page 48

See Notes to Financial Statements

Table of Contents

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI

Financial Highlights (Continued)

For a share outstanding throughout the period

First Trust Indxx Medical Devices ETF (MDEV)

	Period Ended 9/30/2021 (a) (Unaudited)
Net asset value, beginning of period	$ 25.17
Income from investment operations:
Net investment income (loss)	(0.02)
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)	0.70
Total from investment operations	0.68
Net asset value, end of period	$25.85
Total return (b)	2.70%
Ratios to average net assets/supplemental data:
Net assets, end of period (in 000’s)	$ 28,433
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets	0.70% (c)
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets	(0.34)% (c)
Portfolio turnover rate (d)	1%

(a)	Inception date is June 22, 2021, which is consistent with the commencement of investment operations and is the date the initial creation units were established.
(b)	Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption at net asset value on the last day of the period. The return presented does not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption or sale of Fund shares. Total return is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year.
(c)	Annualized.
(d)	Portfolio turnover is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year and does not include securities received or delivered from processing creations or redemptions and in-kind transactions.

See Notes to Financial Statements

Page 49

Table of Contents

Notes to Financial Statements

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI

September 30, 2021 (Unaudited)

1. Organization

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI (the “Trust”) is an open-end management investment company organized as a Massachusetts business trust on June 4, 2012, 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 thirty-two exchange-traded funds that are offering shares. This report covers the eight funds (each a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”) listed below, each a non-diversified series of the Trust and listed and traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”), except the First Trust Indxx Medical Devices ETF, which is listed and traded on the Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.

First Trust Nasdaq Bank ETF - (ticker “FTXO”)

First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF - (ticker “FTXG”)

First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF - (ticker “FTXN”)

First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF - (ticker “FTXH”)

First Trust Nasdaq Retail ETF - (ticker “FTXD”)

First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF - (ticker “FTXL”)

First Trust Nasdaq Transportation ETF - (ticker “FTXR”)

First Trust Indxx Medical Devices ETF - (ticker “MDEV”)⁽¹⁾

⁽¹⁾ Commenced investment operations on June 22, 2021.

Each Fund represents a separate series of shares of beneficial interest in the Trust. Unlike conventional mutual funds, each Fund issues and redeems shares on a continuous basis, at net asset value (“NAV”), only in large blocks of shares known as “Creation Units.” The investment objective of each Fund is to seek investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of the following indices:

Fund	Index
First Trust Nasdaq Bank ETF	Nasdaq US Smart Banks Index^TM
First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF	Nasdaq US Smart Food & Beverage Index^TM
First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF	Nasdaq US Smart Oil & Gas Index^TM
First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF	Nasdaq US Smart Pharmaceuticals Index^TM
First Trust Nasdaq Retail ETF	Nasdaq US Smart Retail Index^TM
First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF	Nasdaq US Smart Semiconductor Index^TM
First Trust Nasdaq Transportation ETF	Nasdaq US Smart Transportation Index^TM
First Trust Indxx Medical Devices ETF	Indxx Global Medical Equipment Index

2. Significant Accounting Policies

The Funds are each considered an investment company and follow accounting and reporting guidance under Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification Topic 946, “Financial Services-Investment Companies.” The following is a summary of significant accounting policies consistently followed by the Funds in the preparation of the financial statements. The preparation of the financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

A. Portfolio Valuation

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

Each Fund’s investments are valued daily at market value or, in the absence of market value with respect to any portfolio securities, at fair value. Market value prices represent last sale or official closing prices from a national or foreign exchange (i.e., a regulated market) and are primarily obtained from third-party pricing services. Fair value prices represent any prices not considered market value prices and are either obtained from a third-party pricing service or are determined by the Pricing Committee of the Funds’ investment advisor, First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”), in accordance with valuation procedures adopted by the

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Trust’s Board of Trustees, and in accordance with provisions of the 1940 Act. Investments valued by the Advisor’s Pricing Committee, if any, are footnoted as such in the footnotes to the Portfolio of Investments. Each Fund’s investments are valued as follows:

Common stocks and other equity securities listed on any national or foreign exchange (excluding Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market (“AIM”)) are valued at the last sale price on the exchange on which they are principally traded or, for Nasdaq and AIM securities, the official closing price. Securities traded on more than one securities exchange are valued at the last sale price or official closing price, as applicable, at the close of the securities exchange representing the principal market for such securities.

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

Shares of open-end funds are valued at fair value which is based on NAV per share.

Securities traded in an over-the-counter market are fair valued at the mean of their most recent bid and asked price, if available, and otherwise at their closing bid price.

Overnight repurchase agreements are valued at amortized cost when it represents the best estimate of fair value.

Certain securities may not be able to be priced by pre-established pricing methods. Such securities may be valued by the Trust’s Board of Trustees or its delegate, the Advisor’s Pricing Committee, at fair value. These securities generally include, but are not limited to, restricted securities (securities which may not be publicly sold without registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended) for which a third-party pricing service is unable to provide a market price; securities whose trading has been formally suspended; a security whose market or fair value price is not available from a pre-established pricing source; a security with respect to which an event has occurred that is likely to materially affect the value of the security after the market has closed but before the calculation of a Fund’s NAV or make it difficult or impossible to obtain a reliable market quotation; and a security whose price, as provided by the third-party pricing service, does not reflect the security’s fair value. As a general principle, the current fair value of a security would appear to be the amount which the owner might reasonably expect to receive for the security upon its current sale. When fair value prices are used, generally they will differ from market quotations or official closing prices on the applicable exchanges. A variety of factors may be considered in determining the fair value of such securities, including, but not limited to, the following:

1)	the type of security;
2)	the size of the holding;
3)	the initial cost of the security;
4)	transactions in comparable securities;
5)	price quotes from dealers and/or third-party pricing services;
6)	relationships among various securities;
7)	information obtained by contacting the issuer, analysts, or the appropriate stock exchange;
8)	an analysis of the issuer’s financial statements; and
9)	the existence of merger proposals or tender offers that might affect the value of the security.

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

1)	the value of similar foreign securities traded on other foreign markets;
2)	ADR trading of similar securities;
3)	closed-end fund or exchange-traded fund trading of similar securities;
4)	foreign currency exchange activity;
5)	the trading prices of financial products that are tied to baskets of foreign securities;
6)	factors relating to the event that precipitated the pricing problem;
7)	whether the event is likely to recur; and
8)	whether the effects of the event are isolated or whether they affect entire markets, countries or regions.

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

Because foreign markets may be open on different days than the days during which investors may transact in the shares of a Fund, the value of the Fund’s securities may change on the days when investors are not able to transact in the shares of the Fund. The value of

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securities denominated in foreign currencies is converted into U.S. dollars using exchange rates determined daily as of the close of regular trading on the NYSE. Any use of a different rate from the rates used by a relevant index may adversely affect the Fund’s ability to track the index.

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

•	Level 1 – Level 1 inputs are quoted prices in active markets for identical investments. An active market is a market in which transactions for the investment occur with sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis.
•	Level 2 – Level 2 inputs are observable inputs, either directly or indirectly, and include the following:

o	Quoted prices for similar investments in active markets.
o	Quoted prices for identical or similar investments in markets that are non-active. A non-active market is a market where there are few transactions for the investment, the prices are not current, or price quotations vary substantially either over time or among market makers, or in which little information is released publicly.
o	Inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the investment (for example, interest rates and yield curves observable at commonly quoted intervals, volatilities, prepayment speeds, loss severities, credit risks, and default rates).
o	Inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means.

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

The inputs or methodologies used for valuing investments are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those investments. A summary of the inputs used to value each Fund’s investments as of September 30, 2021, is included with each Fund’s Portfolio of Investments.

B. Securities Transactions and Investment Income

Securities transactions are recorded as of the trade date. Realized gains and losses from securities transactions are recorded on the identified cost basis. Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date except that certain dividends from foreign securities are recorded as soon as the information becomes available after the ex-dividend date. Interest income, if any, is recorded on the accrual basis.

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

C. Offsetting on the Statements of Assets and Liabilities

Offsetting assets and liabilities requires entities to disclose both gross and net information about instruments and transactions eligible for offset on the Statements of Assets and Liabilities, and disclose instruments and transactions subject to master netting or similar agreements. These disclosure requirements are intended to help investors and other financial statement users better assess the effect or potential effect of offsetting arrangements on a Fund’s financial position. The transactions subject to offsetting disclosures are derivative instruments, repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements, and securities borrowing and securities lending transactions.

This disclosure, if applicable, is included within each Fund’s Portfolio of Investments under the heading “Offsetting Assets and Liabilities.” For financial reporting purposes, the Funds do not offset financial assets and financial liabilities that are subject to master netting arrangements (“MNAs”) or similar agreements on the Statements of Assets and Liabilities. MNAs provide the right, in the event of default (including bankruptcy and insolvency), for the non-defaulting counterparty to liquidate the collateral and calculate the net exposure to the defaulting party or request additional collateral.

D. Securities Lending

The Funds may lend securities representing up to 33 1/3% of the value of their total assets to broker-dealers, banks and other institutions to generate additional income. When a Fund loans its portfolio securities, it will receive, at the inception of each loan, collateral equal to at least 102% (for domestic securities) or 105% (for international securities) of the market value of the loaned securities. The collateral amount is valued at the beginning of each business day and is compared to the market value of the loaned securities from the prior business day to determine if additional collateral is required. If additional collateral is required, a request is

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sent to the borrower. Securities lending involves the risk that the Fund may lose money because the borrower of the Fund’s loaned securities fails to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. The Fund could also lose money in the event of (i) a decline in the value of the collateral provided for the loaned securities, (ii) a decline in the value of any investments made with cash collateral or (iii) an increase in the value of the loaned securities if the borrower does not increase the collateral accordingly and the borrower fails to return the securities. These events could also trigger adverse tax consequences for the Funds.

Under the Funds’ Securities Lending Agency Agreement, the securities lending agent will generally bear the risk that a borrower may default on its obligation to return loaned securities. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (“BBH”) acts as the Funds’ securities lending agent and is responsible for executing the lending of the portfolio securities to creditworthy borrowers. The Funds, however, will be responsible for the risks associated with the investment of cash collateral. A Fund may lose money on its investment of cash collateral, which may affect its ability to repay the collateral to the borrower without the use of other Fund assets. Each Fund that engages in securities lending receives compensation (net of any rebate and securities lending agent fees) for lending its securities. Compensation can be in the form of fees received from the securities lending agent or dividends or interest earned from the investment of cash collateral. The fees received from the securities lending agent are accrued daily. The dividend and interest earned on the securities loaned is accounted for in the same manner as other dividend and interest income. At September 30, 2021, only FTXR had securities in the securities lending program. During the six months ended September 30, 2021, FTXN and FTXR participated in the securities lending program.

In the event of a default by a borrower with respect to any loan, BBH will exercise any and all remedies provided under the applicable borrower agreement to make the Funds whole. These remedies include purchasing replacement securities by applying the collateral held from the defaulting broker against the purchase cost of the replacement securities. If, despite such efforts by BBH to exercise these remedies, a Fund sustains losses as a result of a borrower’s default, BBH will indemnify the Fund by purchasing replacement securities at its own expense, or paying the Funds an amount equal to the market value of the replacement securities, subject to certain limitations which are set forth in detail in the Securities Lending Agency Agreement between the Trust on behalf of the Funds and BBH.

E. Repurchase Agreements

Repurchase agreements involve the purchase of securities subject to the seller’s agreement to repurchase the securities at a mutually agreed upon date and price, under the terms of a Master Repurchase Agreement (“MRA”). During the term of a repurchase agreement, the value of the underlying securities held as collateral on behalf of a Fund, including accrued interest, is required to exceed the value of the repurchase agreement, including accrued interest. The underlying securities for all repurchase agreements are held at the Funds’ custodian or designated sub-custodians under tri-party repurchase agreements.

MRAs govern transactions between a Fund and select counterparties. The MRAs maintain provisions for, among other things, initiation, income payments, events of default, and maintenance of collateral for repurchase agreements.

Repurchase agreements received for lending securities are collateralized by U.S. Treasury securities. The U.S. Treasury securities are held in a joint custody account at BBH on behalf of the Funds participating in the securities lending program. In the event the counterparty defaults on the repurchase agreement, the U.S. Treasury securities can either be maintained as part of a Fund’s portfolio or sold for cash. A Fund could suffer a loss to the extent that the proceeds from the sale of the underlying collateral held by the Fund are less than the repurchase price and the Fund’s costs associated with the delay and enforcement of the MRA.

While the Funds may invest in repurchase agreements, any repurchase agreements held by the Funds during the six months ended September 30, 2021, were received as collateral for lending securities.

F. Dividends and Distributions to Shareholders

Dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid quarterly by each Fund, or as the Board of Trustees may determine from time to time. Distributions of net realized capital gains earned by each Fund, if any, are distributed at least annually.

Distributions from net investment income and realized capital gains are determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations, which may differ from U.S. GAAP. Certain capital accounts in the financial statements are periodically adjusted for permanent differences in order to reflect their tax character. These permanent differences are primarily due to the varying treatment of income and gain/loss on portfolio securities held by the Funds and have no impact on net assets or NAV per share. Temporary differences, which arise from recognizing certain items of income, expense and gain/loss in different periods for financial statement and tax purposes, will reverse at some time in the future.

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The tax character of distributions paid by each Fund during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, was as follows:

	Distributions paid from Ordinary Income	Distributions paid from Capital Gains	Distributions paid from Return of Capital
First Trust Nasdaq Bank ETF	$ 2,495,731	$ —	$ —
First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF	37,626	—	—
First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF	342,435	—	—
First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF	161,361	—	—
First Trust Nasdaq Retail ETF	41,275	—	—
First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF	248,060	—	—
First Trust Nasdaq Transportation ETF	1,221,540	—	—

As of March 31, 2021, the components of distributable earnings on a tax basis for each Fund were as follows:

	Undistributed Ordinary Income	Accumulated Capital and Other Gain (Loss)	Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)
First Trust Nasdaq Bank ETF	$ 222,145	$ (70,379,091)	$ 5,102,524
First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF	2,967	(599,398)	99,599
First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF	42,797	(6,238,725)	2,789,833
First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF	11,510	(1,566,745)	844,889
First Trust Nasdaq Retail ETF	4,375	(1,559,624)	673,462
First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF	22,586	(4,005,170)	12,290,664
First Trust Nasdaq Transportation ETF	—	(3,185,118)	92,970,544

G. Income Taxes

Each Fund intends to qualify or continue to qualify as a regulated investment company by complying with the requirements under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, which includes distributing substantially all of its net investment income and net realized gains to shareholders. Accordingly, no provision has been made for federal and state income taxes. However, due to the timing and amount of distributions, each Fund may be subject to an excise tax of 4% of the amount by which approximately 98% of each Fund’s taxable income exceeds the distributions from such taxable income for the calendar year.

The Funds are subject to accounting standards that establish a minimum threshold for recognizing, and a system for measuring, the benefits of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. Taxable years ended 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 remain open to federal and state audit. As of September 30, 2021, management has evaluated the application of these standards to the Funds and has determined that no provision for income tax is required in the Funds’ financial statements for uncertain tax positions.

The Funds intend to utilize provisions of the federal income tax laws, which allow them 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 Funds are 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 March 31, 2021, for federal income tax purposes, the Funds had a capital loss carryforward available that is shown in the table below, to the extent provided by regulations, to offset future capital gains.

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	Non-Expiring Capital Loss Carryforward
First Trust Nasdaq Bank ETF	$ 70,379,091
First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF	599,398
First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF	6,238,725
First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF	1,566,745
First Trust Nasdaq Retail ETF	1,559,624
First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF	4,005,170
First Trust Nasdaq Transportation ETF	3,185,118

H. Expenses

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

First Trust has entered into licensing agreements with Nasdaq, Inc. or Indxx, LLC (each, a “Licensor”), as applicable, for the Funds. The respective license agreement allows for the use by First Trust of each Fund’s respective index and of certain trademarks and trade names of the Licensor. The Funds are sub-licensees to the applicable license agreements.

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

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

First Trust is paid an annual unitary management fee of 0.60% of each Fund’s average daily net assets, except for MDEV. MDEV has agreed to pay First Trust an annual unitary management fee equal to 0.70% of its average daily net assets. First Trust is responsible for the expenses of each Fund including the cost of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, licensing fees, legal, audit, and other services, but excluding fee payments under the Investment Management Agreement, interest, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses associated with the execution of portfolio transactions, distribution and service fees pursuant to a Rule 12b-1 plan, if any, acquired fund fees and expenses, and extraordinary expenses, which are paid by each respective Fund. First Trust also provides fund reporting services to the Funds for a flat annual fee in the amount of $9,250 per Fund, which is covered under the annual unitary management fee.

The Trust has multiple service agreements with Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (“BBH”). Under the service agreements, BBH performs custodial, fund accounting, certain administrative services, and transfer agency services for the Funds. As custodian, BBH is responsible for custody of each Fund’s assets. As fund accountant and administrator, BBH is responsible for maintaining the books and records of each Fund’s securities and cash. As transfer agent, BBH is responsible for maintaining shareholder records for each Fund.

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 defined-outcome fund or an index fund.

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

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4. Purchases and Sales of Securities

For the six months ended September 30, 2021, the cost of purchases and proceeds from sales of investment securities for each Fund, excluding short-term investments and in-kind transactions, were as follows:

	Purchases	Sales
First Trust Nasdaq Bank ETF	$ 67,954,508	$ 67,515,947
First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF	2,463,879	2,461,760
First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF	22,273,479	22,029,214
First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF	7,151,775	7,138,041
First Trust Nasdaq Retail ETF	7,148,548	6,972,908
First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF	21,073,820	21,050,745
First Trust Nasdaq Transportation ETF	291,142,577	290,392,691
First Trust Indxx Medical Devices ETF	755,697	161,063

For the six months ended September 30, 2021, the cost of in-kind purchases and proceeds from in-kind sales for each Fund were as follows:

	Purchases	Sales
First Trust Nasdaq Bank ETF	$ 52,464,871	$ 56,790,091
First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF	5,212,517	3,873,418
First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF	48,099,855	40,948,962
First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF	2,578,347	3,947,418
First Trust Nasdaq Retail ETF	23,577,097	11,355,010
First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF	40,680,195	46,170,752
First Trust Nasdaq Transportation ETF	276,806,626	193,241,982
First Trust Indxx Medical Devices ETF	27,287,119	—

5. Creations, Redemptions and Transaction Fees

Each Fund generally issues and redeems its shares in primary market transactions through a creation and redemption mechanism and does not sell or redeem individual shares. Instead, financial entities known as “Authorized Participants” have contractual arrangements with a Fund or one of the Fund’s service providers to purchase and redeem Fund shares directly with the Fund in large blocks of shares known as “Creation Units.” Prior to the start of trading on every business day, a Fund publishes through the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”) the “basket” of securities, cash or other assets that it will accept in exchange for a Creation Unit of the Fund’s shares. An Authorized Participant that wishes to effectuate a creation of a Fund’s shares deposits with the Fund the “basket” of securities, cash or other assets identified by the Fund that day, and then receives the Creation Unit of the Fund’s shares in return for those assets. After purchasing a Creation Unit, the Authorized Participant may continue to hold the Fund’s shares or sell them in the secondary market. The redemption process is the reverse of the purchase process: the Authorized Participant redeems a Creation Unit of a Fund’s shares for a basket of securities, cash or other assets. The combination of the creation and redemption process with secondary market trading in a Fund’s shares and underlying securities provides arbitrage opportunities that are designed to help keep the market price of a Fund’s shares at or close to the NAV per share of the Fund.

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

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

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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 a Fund will comply with Rule 22c-2 of the 1940 Act which limits redemption fees to no more than 2% of the value of the shares redeemed.

6. Distribution Plan

The Board of Trustees adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. In accordance with the Rule 12b-1 plan, each 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 Funds, for amounts expended to finance activities primarily intended to result in the sale of Creation Units or to provide investor services. FTP may also use this amount to compensate securities dealers or other persons that are Authorized Participants for providing distribution assistance, including broker-dealer and shareholder support and educational and promotional services.

No 12b-1 fees are currently paid by the Funds, and pursuant to a contractual arrangement, no 12b-1 fees will be paid any time before July 31, 2022 for FTXO, FTXG, FTXN, FTXH, FTXD, FTXL, and FTXR and June 21, 2023 for MDEV.

7. Indemnification

The Trust, on behalf of the Funds, has a variety of indemnification obligations under contracts with its service providers. The Trust’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown. However, the Trust has not had prior claims or losses pursuant to these contracts and expects the risk of loss to be remote.

8. Subsequent Events

Management has evaluated the impact of all subsequent events to the Funds through the date the financial statements were issued, and has determined that there was the following subsequent event:

First Trust Nasdaq Retail ETF will seek investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an index called the S-Network Global E-Commerce Index (the “New Index”). The Fund expects to begin tracking the New Index prior to the end of January 2022. Currently, the Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an equity index called the Nasdaq US Smart Retail Index^TM. The New Index will be composed of approximately 60 securities issued by companies that are materially engaged in the global e-commerce industry, including the online retail, online marketplace, content navigation, and e-commerce infrastructure business segments. Additionally, at the time of the Fund’s change to the New Index, the Fund’s name is expected to change to First Trust S-Network Global E-Commerce ETF and its new ticker symbol is expected to be ISHP. The Fund’s shares will continue to be listed for trading on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC and S-Network Global Indexes, Inc. will serve as the Fund’s index provider.

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Additional Information

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September 30, 2021 (Unaudited)

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

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

Portfolio Holdings

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

Risk Considerations

Risks are inherent in all investing. Certain general risks that may be applicable to a Fund are identified below, but not all of the material risks relevant to each Fund are included in this report and not all of the risks below apply to each Fund. The material risks of investing in each Fund are spelled out in its prospectus, statement of additional information and other regulatory filings. Before investing, you should consider each Fund’s investment objective, risks, charges and expenses, and read each Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information carefully. You can download each Fund’s prospectus at www.ftportfolios.com or contact First Trust Portfolios L.P. at (800) 621-1675 to request a prospectus, which contains this and other information about each Fund.

Concentration Risk. To the extent that a fund is able to invest a significant percentage of its assets in a single asset class or the securities of issuers within the same country, state, region, industry or sector, an adverse economic, business or political development may affect the value of the fund’s investments more than if the fund were more broadly diversified. A fund that tracks an index will be concentrated to the extent the fund’s corresponding index is concentrated. A concentration makes a fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the fund to greater market risk than a fund that is more broadly diversified.

Credit Risk. Credit risk is the risk that an issuer of a security will be unable or unwilling to make dividend, interest and/or principal payments when due and the related risk that the value of a security may decline because of concerns about the issuer’s ability to make such payments.

Cyber Security Risk. The funds are susceptible to potential operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause a fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause a fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. In addition, cyber security breaches of a fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, or issuers in which the fund invests, can also subject a fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches.

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

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

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by certain features of the derivative. These risks are heightened when a fund’s portfolio managers use derivatives to enhance the fund’s return or as a substitute for a position or security, rather than solely to hedge (or offset) the risk of a position or security held by the fund.

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

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

Fixed Income Securities Risk. To the extent a fund invests in fixed income securities, the fund will be subject to credit risk, income risk, interest rate risk, liquidity risk and prepayment risk. Income risk is the risk that income from a fund’s fixed income investments could decline during periods of falling interest rates. Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of a fund’s fixed income securities will decline because of rising interest rates. Liquidity risk is the risk that a security cannot be purchased or sold at the time desired, or cannot be purchased or sold without adversely affecting the price. Prepayment risk is the risk that the securities will be redeemed or prepaid by the issuer, resulting in lower interest payments received by the fund. In addition to these risks, high yield securities, or “junk” bonds, are subject to greater market fluctuations and risk of loss than securities with higher ratings, and the market for high yield securities is generally smaller and less liquid than that for investment grade securities.

Index or Model Constituent Risk. Certain funds may be a constituent of one or more indices or ETF models. As a result, such a fund may be included in one or more index-tracking exchange-traded funds or mutual funds. Being a component security of such a vehicle could greatly affect the trading activity involving a fund, the size of the fund and the market volatility of the fund. Inclusion in an index could increase demand for the fund and removal from an index could result in outsized selling activity in a relatively short period of time. As a result, a fund’s net asset value could be negatively impacted and the fund’s market price may be significantly below its net asset value during certain periods. In addition, index rebalances may potentially result in increased trading activity in a fund’s shares.

Index Provider Risk. To the extent a fund seeks to track an index, it is subject to Index Provider Risk. There is no assurance that the Index Provider will compile the Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. To correct any such error, the Index Provider may carry out an unscheduled rebalance or other modification of the Index constituents or weightings, which may increase the fund’s costs. The Index Provider does not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the Index, and it does not guarantee that the Index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. Losses or costs associated with any Index Provider errors generally will be borne by the fund and its shareholders.

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

LIBOR Risk. To the extent a fund invests in floating or variable rate obligations that use the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) as a reference interest rate, it is subject to LIBOR Risk. The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates LIBOR, will cease making LIBOR available as a reference rate over a phase-out period that will begin immediately after December 31, 2021. 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.

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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. 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. The outbreak of the respiratory disease designated as COVID-19 in December 2019 has caused significant volatility and declines in global financial markets, which have caused losses for investors. While the development of vaccines has slowed the spread of the virus and allowed for the resumption of “reasonably” normal business activity in the United States, many countries continue to impose lockdown measures in an attempt to slow the spread. Additionally, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against emerging variants of the disease.

Non-U.S. Securities Risk. To the extent a fund invests in non-U.S. securities, it is subject to additional risks not associated with securities of domestic issuers. Non-U.S. securities are subject to higher volatility than securities of domestic issuers due to: possible adverse political, social or economic developments; restrictions on foreign investment or exchange of securities; capital controls; lack of liquidity; currency exchange rates; excessive taxation; government seizure of assets; the imposition of sanctions by foreign governments; different legal or accounting standards; and less government supervision and regulation of exchanges in foreign countries. Investments in non-U.S. securities may involve higher costs than investments in U.S. securities, including higher transaction and custody costs, as well as additional taxes imposed by non-U.S. governments. These risks may be heightened for securities of companies located, or with significant operations, in emerging market countries.

Operational Risk. Each fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of a fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. Each fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect a fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the funds and the funds’ investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.

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

NOT FDIC INSURED

NOT BANK GUARANTEED

MAY LOSE VALUE

Advisory Agreements

Board Considerations Regarding Approval of Continuation of Investment Management Agreement

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

First Trust Nasdaq Bank ETF (FTXO)

First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF (FTXG)

First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF (FTXN)

First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF (FTXH)

First Trust Nasdaq Retail ETF (FTXD)

First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF (FTXL)

First Trust Nasdaq Transportation ETF (FTXR)

The Board approved the continuation of the Agreement for each Fund for a one-year period ending June 30, 2022 at a meeting held on June 6–7, 2021. The Board determined for each Fund that the continuation of the Agreement is in the best interests of the Fund in light of the nature, extent and quality of the services provided and such other matters as the Board considered to be relevant in the exercise of its business judgment.

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To reach this determination for each Fund, the Board considered its duties under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as well as under the general principles of state law, in reviewing and approving advisory contracts; the requirements of the 1940 Act in such matters; the fiduciary duty of investment advisors with respect to advisory agreements and compensation; the standards used by courts in determining whether investment company boards have fulfilled their duties; and the factors to be considered by the Board in voting on such agreements. At meetings held on April 26, 2021 and June 6–7, 2021, the Board, including the Independent Trustees, reviewed materials provided by the Advisor responding to requests for information from counsel to the Independent Trustees, submitted on behalf of the Independent Trustees, that, among other things, outlined: the services provided by the Advisor to each Fund (including the relevant personnel responsible for these services and their experience); the unitary fee rate payable by each Fund as compared to fees charged to a peer group of funds (the “Expense Group”) and a broad peer universe of funds (the “Expense Universe”), each assembled by Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (“Broadridge”), an independent source, and as compared to fees charged to other clients of the Advisor, including other exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) managed by the Advisor; the expense ratio of each Fund as compared to expense ratios of the funds in the Fund’s Expense Group and Expense Universe; performance information for each Fund, including comparisons of each Fund’s performance to that of one or more relevant benchmark indexes and to that of a performance group of funds and a broad performance universe of funds (the “Performance Universe”), each assembled by Broadridge; the nature of expenses incurred in providing services to each Fund and the potential for the Advisor to realize economies of scale, if any; profitability and other financial data for the Advisor; any fall-out benefits to the Advisor and its affiliate, First Trust Portfolios L.P. (“FTP”); and information on the Advisor’s compliance program. The Board reviewed initial materials with the Advisor at the meeting held on April 26, 2021, prior to which the Independent Trustees and their counsel met separately to discuss the information provided by the Advisor. Following the April meeting, counsel to the Independent Trustees, on behalf of the Independent Trustees, requested certain clarifications and supplements to the materials provided, and the information provided in response to those requests was considered at an executive session of the Independent Trustees and their counsel held prior to the June 6–7, 2021 meeting, as well as at the June meeting. The Board applied its business judgment to determine whether the arrangement between the Trust and the Advisor continues to be a reasonable business arrangement from each Fund’s perspective. The Board determined that, given the totality of the information provided with respect to the Agreement, the Board had received sufficient information to renew the Agreement. The Board considered that shareholders chose to invest or remain invested in a Fund knowing that the Advisor manages the Fund and knowing the Fund’s unitary fee.

In reviewing the Agreement for each Fund, the Board considered the nature, extent and quality of the services provided by the Advisor under the Agreement. The Board considered that the Advisor is responsible for the overall management and administration of the Trust and each Fund and reviewed all of the services provided by the Advisor to the Funds, as well as the background and experience of the persons responsible for such services. In reviewing the services provided, the Board noted the compliance program that had been developed by the Advisor and considered that it includes a robust program for monitoring the Advisor’s and each Fund’s compliance with the 1940 Act, as well as each Fund’s compliance with its investment objective, policies and restrictions. The Board also considered a report from the Advisor with respect to its risk management functions related to the operation of the Funds. Finally, as part of the Board’s consideration of the Advisor’s services, the Advisor, in its written materials and at the April 26, 2021 meeting, described to the Board the scope of its ongoing investment in additional personnel and infrastructure to maintain and improve the quality of services provided to the Funds and the other funds in the First Trust Fund Complex. In light of the information presented and the considerations made, the Board concluded that the nature, extent and quality of the services provided to the Trust and each Fund by the Advisor under the Agreement have been and are expected to remain satisfactory and that the Advisor has managed each Fund consistent with its investment objective, policies and restrictions.

The Board considered the unitary fee rate payable by each Fund under the Agreement for the services provided. The Board considered that as part of the unitary fee the Advisor is responsible for each Fund’s expenses, including the cost of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other services and license fees, if any, but excluding the fee payment under the Agreement and interest, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses connected with the execution of portfolio transactions, distribution and service fees pursuant to a Rule 12b-1 plan, if any, and extraordinary expenses, if any. The Board received and reviewed information showing the advisory or unitary fee rates and expense ratios of the peer funds in the Expense Groups, as well as advisory and unitary fee rates charged by the Advisor to other fund (including ETFs) and non-fund clients, as applicable. Because each Fund pays a unitary fee, the Board determined that expense ratios were the most relevant comparative data point. Based on the information provided, the Board noted that the unitary fee rate for each Fund was above the median total (net) expense ratio of the peer funds in its respective Expense Group. With respect to the Expense Groups, the Board, at the April 26, 2021 meeting, discussed with the Advisor limitations in creating peer groups for index ETFs, including differences in underlying indexes and index-tracking methodologies that can result in greater management complexities across seemingly comparable ETFs and different business models that may affect the pricing of services among ETF sponsors. The Board took these limitations and differences into account in considering the peer data. With respect to fees charged to other non-ETF clients, the Board considered differences between the Funds and other non-ETF clients that limited their comparability. In considering the unitary fee rates overall, the Board also considered the Advisor’s statement that it seeks to meet

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investor needs through innovative and value-added investment solutions and the Advisor’s demonstrated long-term commitment to each Fund and the other funds in the First Trust Fund Complex.

The Board considered performance information for each Fund. The Board noted the process it has established for monitoring each Fund’s performance and portfolio risk on an ongoing basis, which includes quarterly performance reporting from the Advisor for the Funds. The Board determined that this process continues to be effective for reviewing each Fund’s performance. The Board received and reviewed information for periods ended December 31, 2020 regarding the performance of each Fund’s underlying index, the correlation between each Fund’s performance and that of its underlying index, each Fund’s tracking difference and each Fund’s excess return as compared to its benchmark index. With respect to FTXD, the Board noted that at the April 26, 2021 meeting, the Advisor recommended and the Board approved changes to the Fund’s investment objective and name, and that those changes were expected to take effect in July 2021. Based on the information provided and its ongoing review of performance, the Board concluded that each Fund was correlated to its underlying index and that the tracking difference for each Fund was within a reasonable range. In addition, the Board reviewed data prepared by Broadridge comparing each Fund’s performance to that of its respective Performance Universe and to that of a broad-based benchmark index, but given each Fund’s objective of seeking investment results that correspond generally to the performance of its underlying index, the Board placed more emphasis on its review of correlation and tracking difference.

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

The Board considered information and discussed with the Advisor whether there were any economies of scale in connection with providing advisory services to the Funds and noted the Advisor’s statement that it believes its expenses will likely increase during the next twelve months as the Advisor continues to hire personnel and build infrastructure, including technology, to improve the services to the Funds. The Board noted that any reduction in fixed costs associated with the management of the Funds would benefit the Advisor, but that the unitary fee structure provides a level of certainty in expenses for the Funds. The Board considered the revenues and allocated costs (including the allocation methodology) of the Advisor in serving as investment advisor to each Fund for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and the estimated profitability level for each Fund calculated by the Advisor based on such data, as well as complex-wide and product-line profitability data, for the same period. The Board noted the inherent limitations in the profitability analysis and concluded that, based on the information provided, the Advisor’s profitability level for each Fund was not unreasonable. In addition, the Board considered fall-out benefits described by the Advisor that may be realized from its relationship with the Funds. The Board considered that the Advisor had identified as a fall-out benefit to the Advisor and FTP their exposure to investors and brokers who, absent their exposure to the Funds, may have had no dealings with the Advisor or FTP, and noted that the Advisor does not utilize soft dollars in connection with the Funds. The Board also considered the Advisor’s compensation for fund reporting services provided to each Fund pursuant to a separate Fund Reporting Services Agreement, which is paid from the unitary fee. The Board concluded that the character and amount of potential fall-out benefits to the Advisor were not unreasonable.

Based on all of the information considered and the conclusions reached, the Board, including the Independent Trustees, unanimously determined that the terms of the Agreement continue to be fair and reasonable and that the continuation of the Agreement is in the best interests of each Fund. No single factor was determinative in the Board’s analysis.

Board Considerations Regarding Approval of Investment Management Agreement

First Trust Indxx Global Medical Devices ETF

The Board of Trustees of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI (the “Trust”), including the Independent Trustees, approved the Investment Management Agreement (the “Agreement”) with First Trust Advisors L.P. (the “Advisor”), on behalf of First Trust Indxx Global Medical Devices ETF (the “Fund”), for an initial two-year term at a meeting held on June 7, 2021. The Board determined that the Agreement is in the best interests of the Fund in light of the nature, extent and quality of the services expected to be provided and such other matters as the Board considered to be relevant in the exercise of its business judgment.

To reach this determination, the Board considered its duties under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as well as under the general principles of state law, in reviewing and approving advisory contracts; the requirements of the 1940 Act in such matters; the fiduciary duty of investment advisors with respect to advisory agreements and compensation; the standards used by courts in determining whether investment company boards have fulfilled their duties; and the factors to be considered by the Board in voting on such agreements. To assist the Board in its evaluation of the Agreement for the Fund, the Independent Trustees received a report from the Advisor in advance of the Board meeting responding to a request for information from counsel to the Independent Trustees, submitted on behalf of the Independent Trustees, that, among other things, outlined: the services to be provided by the Advisor to the Fund (including the relevant personnel responsible for these services and their experience); the proposed unitary fee rate payable by the Fund as compared to fees charged to a peer group of funds (the “Expense Group”) and a broad peer universe of

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funds (the “Expense Universe”), each assembled by Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (“Broadridge”), an independent source, and as compared to fees charged to other exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) managed by the Advisor; the estimated expense ratio of the Fund as compared to expense ratios of the funds in the Fund’s Expense Group and Expense Universe; the nature of expenses to be incurred in providing services to the Fund and the potential for the Advisor to realize economies of scale, if any; profitability and other financial data for the Advisor; any fall-out benefits to the Advisor and its affiliate, First Trust Portfolios L.P. (“FTP”); and information on the Advisor’s compliance program. The Independent Trustees and their counsel also met separately to discuss the information provided by the Advisor. The Board applied its business judgment to determine whether the arrangement between the Trust and the Advisor is a reasonable business arrangement from the Fund’s perspective.

In evaluating whether to approve the Agreement for the Fund, the Board considered the nature, extent and quality of the services to be provided by the Advisor under the Agreement and considered that employees of the Advisor provide management services to other ETFs and to other funds in the First Trust Fund Complex with diligence and care. The Board considered that the Advisor will be responsible for the overall management and administration of the Fund and reviewed all of the services to be provided by the Advisor to the Fund. The Board also considered the background and experience of the persons who will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s investments. In reviewing the services to be provided, the Board noted the compliance program that had been developed by the Advisor and considered that it includes a robust program for monitoring the Advisor’s and the Fund’s compliance with the 1940 Act, as well as the Fund’s compliance with its investment objective, policies and restrictions. Because the Fund had yet to commence investment operations, the Board could not consider the historical investment performance of the Fund. Because the Fund is an index ETF that is designed to track the performance of an underlying index, the Board considered reports it receives on a quarterly basis showing the correlation and tracking error between other ETFs for which the Advisor serves as investment advisor and their applicable underlying indexes. In light of the information presented and the considerations made, the Board concluded that the nature, extent and quality of the services to be provided to the Fund by the Advisor under the Agreement are expected to be satisfactory.

The Board considered the proposed unitary fee rate payable by the Fund under the Agreement for the services to be provided. The Board noted that, under the unitary fee arrangement, the Fund would pay the Advisor a unitary fee equal to an annual rate of 0.70% of its average daily net assets. The Board noted that the Advisor would be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including the cost of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other services and license fees, if any, but excluding the fee payment under the Agreement and interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, if any, brokerage commissions and other expenses connected with the execution of portfolio transactions, distribution and service fees pursuant to a Rule 12b-1 plan, if any, and extraordinary expenses, if any. The Board received and reviewed information showing the unitary fee rates and expense ratios of the peer funds in the Expense Group, as well as advisory and unitary fee rates charged by the Advisor to other ETFs. Because the Fund will pay a unitary fee, the Board determined that expense ratios were the most relevant comparative data point. Based on the information provided, the Board noted that the unitary fee rate for the Fund was above the median total (net) expense ratio of the peer funds in the Expense Group. With respect to the Expense Group, the Board discussed with representatives of the Advisor how the Expense Group was assembled and how the Fund compared and differed from the peer funds. The Board took this information into account in considering the peer data. With respect to fees charged to other ETFs managed by the Advisor, the Board considered the Advisor’s statement that the Fund will be most comparable to two other index ETFs managed by the Advisor that pay unitary fees equal to annual rates of 0.65% or 0.70% of their respective average daily net assets and another index ETF managed by the Advisor that pays an advisory fee equal to 0.40% of its average daily net assets and is subject to a 0.70% expense cap, in each case due to their shared focus on targeted global exposures with robust selection methodologies and objectives to track a given market segment. In light of the information considered and the nature, extent and quality of the services expected to be provided to the Fund under the Agreement, the Board determined that the proposed unitary fee was fair and reasonable.

The Board noted that the proposed unitary fee for the Fund was not structured to pass on to shareholders the benefits of any economies of scale as the Fund’s assets grow. The Board noted that any reduction in fixed costs associated with the management of the Fund would benefit the Advisor, but that the unitary fee structure provides a level of certainty in expenses for the Fund. The Board noted that the Advisor has continued to hire personnel and build infrastructure, including technology, to improve the services to the funds in the First Trust Fund Complex. The Board took into consideration the types of costs to be borne by the Advisor in connection with its services to be performed for the Fund under the Agreement. The Board considered the Advisor’s estimate of the asset level for the Fund at which the Advisor expects the Agreement to be profitable to the Advisor and the Advisor’s estimate of the profitability of the Agreement if the Fund’s assets reach $100 million. The Board noted the inherent limitations in the profitability analysis and concluded that, based on the information provided, the Advisor’s estimated profitability level for the Fund was not unreasonable. The Board considered fall-out benefits described by the Advisor that may be realized from its relationship with the Fund. The Board considered that the Advisor had identified as a fall-out benefit to the Advisor and FTP their exposure to investors and brokers who, absent their exposure to the Fund, may have had no dealings with the Advisor or FTP. The Board also considered the Advisor’s compensation for fund reporting services to be provided to the Fund pursuant to a separate Fund Reporting Services Agreement,

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which would be paid from the unitary fee. The Board also noted that the Advisor will not utilize soft dollars in connection with the Fund. The Board concluded that the character and amount of potential fall-out benefits to the Advisor were not unreasonable.

Based on all of the information considered and the conclusions reached, the Board, including the Independent Trustees, determined that the terms of the Agreement are fair and reasonable and that the approval of the Agreement is in the best interests of the Fund. No single factor was determinative in the Board’s analysis.

Liquidity Risk Management Program

In accordance with Rule 22e-4 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), the Funds and each other fund in the First Trust Fund Complex, other than the closed-end funds, have adopted and implemented a liquidity risk management program (the “Program”) reasonably designed to assess and manage the funds’ liquidity risk, i.e., the risk that a fund could not meet requests to redeem shares issued by the fund without significant dilution of remaining investors’ interests in the fund. The Board of Trustees of the First Trust Funds has appointed First Trust Advisors, L.P. (the “Advisor”) as the person designated to administer the Program, and in this capacity the Advisor performs its duties primarily through the activities and efforts of the First Trust Liquidity Committee (the “Liquidity Committee”).

Pursuant to the Program, the Liquidity Committee classifies the liquidity of each fund’s portfolio investments into one of the four liquidity categories specified by Rule 22e-4: highly liquid investments, moderately liquid investments, less liquid investments and illiquid investments. The Liquidity Committee determines certain of the inputs for this classification process, including reasonably anticipated trade sizes and significant investor dilution thresholds. The Liquidity Committee also determines and periodically reviews a highly liquid investment minimum for certain funds, monitors the funds’ holdings of assets classified as illiquid investments to seek to ensure they do not exceed 15% of a fund’s net assets and establishes policies and procedures regarding redemptions in kind.

At the April 26, 2021 meeting of the Board of Trustees, as required by Rule 22e-4 and the Program, the Advisor provided the Board with a written report prepared by the Advisor that addressed the operation of the Program during the period from March 20, 2020 through the Liquidity Committee’s annual meeting held on March 16, 2021 and assessed the Program’s adequacy and effectiveness of implementation during this period, including the operation of the highly liquid investment minimum for each fund that is required under the Program to have one, and any material changes to the Program. Note that because the Funds primarily hold assets that are highly liquid investments, the Funds have not adopted any highly liquid investment minimums.

As stated in the written report, during the review period, no fund breached the 15% limitation on illiquid investments, no fund with a highly liquid investment minimum breached that minimum and no fund filed a Form N-LIQUID. The Advisor concluded that each fund’s investment strategy is appropriate for an open-end fund; that the Program operated effectively in all material respects during the review period; and that the Program is reasonably designed to assess and manage the liquidity risk of each fund and to maintain compliance with Rule 22e-4.

Board of Trustees

Effective November 1, 2021, Denise M. Keefe was appointed as a Trustee of the Trust. Ms. Keefe is Executive Vice President of Advocate Aurora Health and President of Advocate Aurora Continuing Health Division (together, “Advocate”), one of the largest integrated healthcare systems in the U.S. serving Illinois and Wisconsin. Ms. Keefe has been employed by Advocate since 1993 and is responsible for the Continuing Health Division’s strategic direction, fiscal management, business development, revenue enhancement, operational efficiencies, and human resource management of 4,000 employees. Ms. Keefe also currently serves on the boards of several organizations within the Advocate Aurora Continuing Health Division and other health care organizations, including RML Long Term Acute Care Hospitals (since 2014) and Senior Helpers (since 2021). Prior thereto, Ms. Keefe was Corporate Vice President, Marketing and Business Development for the Visiting Nurse Association of Chicago (1989 – 1992) and a former Board Member of Sherman West Court Skilled Nursing Facility.

Page 64

Shareholder Letter	2
Market Overview	3
Fund Performance Overview
First Trust Nasdaq Bank ETF (FTXO)	4
First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF (FTXG)	6
First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF (FTXN)	8
First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF (FTXH)	10
First Trust Nasdaq Retail ETF (FTXD)	12
First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF (FTXL)	14
First Trust Nasdaq Transportation ETF (FTXR)	16
First Trust Indxx Medical Devices ETF (MDEV)	18
Notes to Fund Performance Overview	20
Understanding Your Fund Expenses	21
Portfolio of Investments
First Trust Nasdaq Bank ETF (FTXO)	23
First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF (FTXG)	24
First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF (FTXN)	25
First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF (FTXH)	26
First Trust Nasdaq Retail ETF (FTXD)	27
First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF (FTXL)	28
First Trust Nasdaq Transportation ETF (FTXR)	29
First Trust Indxx Medical Devices ETF (MDEV)	31
Statements of Assets and Liabilities	34
Statements of Operations	36
Statements of Changes in Net Assets	38
Financial Highlights	42
Notes to Financial Statements	50
Additional Information	58

(a)	Expenses are equal to the annualized expense ratios as indicated in the table multiplied by the average account value over the period (April 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021), multiplied by 183/365 (to reflect the six-month period).
(b)	Inception date.
(c)	Actual expenses are equal to the annualized expense ratio as indicated in the table multiplied by the average account value over the period (June 22, 2021 through September 30, 2021), multiplied by 101/365. Hypothetical expenses are assumed for the most recent six-month period.

First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF (FTXH)	First Trust Nasdaq Retail ETF (FTXD)	First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF (FTXL)	First Trust Nasdaq Transportation ETF (FTXR)	First Trust Indxx Medical Devices ETF (MDEV)

$ 17,819,186	$ 22,125,224	$ 80,637,505	$ 1,146,573,647	$ 28,423,225
8,934	6,036	157,684	325,315	10,458

24,737	12,068	19,662	372,501	16,313
—	1,702,696	3,365,955	—	—
286	—	—	80	677
—	—	—	563,898	—
—	—	—	1,565,808	—
17,853,143	23,846,024	84,180,806	1,149,401,249	28,450,673


—	—	—	67,094,975	—
9,579	11,526	38,131	546,858	17,391
—	1,699,390	3,359,609	—	—
—	—	—	1,566,853	—
9,579	1,710,916	3,397,740	69,208,686	17,391
$ 17,843,564	$ 22,135,108	$ 80,783,066	$ 1,080,192,563	$ 28,433,282

$ 18,465,202	$ 22,600,467	$ 70,440,835	$ 1,066,340,742	$ 27,905,772
7,000	6,500	12,000	350,500	11,000
(628,638)	(471,859)	10,330,231	13,501,321	516,510
$ 17,843,564	$ 22,135,108	$ 80,783,066	$ 1,080,192,563	$ 28,433,282
$25.49	$34.05	$67.32	$30.82	$25.85
700,002	650,002	1,200,002	35,050,002	1,100,002
$17,131,742	$22,268,199	$76,729,370	$1,131,523,915	$27,880,166
$—	$—	$—	$66,196,692	$—

First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF (FTXN)		First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF (FTXH)		First Trust Nasdaq Retail ETF (FTXD)
Six Months Ended 9/30/2021 (Unaudited)	Year Ended 3/31/2021	Six Months Ended 9/30/2021 (Unaudited)	Year Ended 3/31/2021	Six Months Ended 9/30/2021 (Unaudited)	Year Ended 3/31/2021

$ 637,186	$ 385,232	$ 88,716	$ 172,248	$ 83,543	$ 40,918
4,392,508	4,201,224	518,154	1,413,284	1,333,752	765,555
1,082,563	5,482,034	(452,347)	2,106,357	(919,587)	1,880,553
6,112,257	10,068,490	154,523	3,691,889	497,708	2,687,026

(482,486)	(342,435)	(72,815)	(161,361)	(87,780)	(41,275)

48,291,433	37,358,049	2,582,284	20,157,542	23,644,511	8,716,861
(41,034,062)	(17,521,673)	(3,953,355)	(10,364,671)	(11,363,446)	(5,537,780)
7,257,371	19,836,376	(1,371,071)	9,792,871	12,281,065	3,179,081
12,887,142	29,562,431	(1,289,363)	13,323,399	12,690,993	5,824,832

36,447,762	6,885,331	19,132,927	5,809,528	9,444,115	3,619,283
$49,334,904	$36,447,762	$17,843,564	$19,132,927	$22,135,108	$9,444,115

2,350,002	850,002	750,002	300,002	300,002	200,002
2,750,000	2,750,000	100,000	850,000	700,000	300,000
(2,500,000)	(1,250,000)	(150,000)	(400,000)	(350,000)	(200,000)
2,600,002	2,350,002	700,002	750,002	650,002	300,002