EDGAR HTML

First Trust

Exchange-Traded Fund

Prospectus

FUND NAME	TICKER SYMBOL	EXCHANGE
First Trust Capital Strength ETF	FTCS	Nasdaq
First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund	FDN	NYSE Arca
First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund	FDM	NYSE Arca
First Trust Natural Gas ETF	FCG	NYSE Arca
First Trust Water ETF	FIW	NYSE Arca
First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund	FDL	NYSE Arca
First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund	QQEW	Nasdaq
First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund	QQXT	Nasdaq
First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund	QTEC	Nasdaq
First Trust NASDAQ® ABA Community Bank Index Fund	QABA	Nasdaq
First Trust NASDAQ® Clean Edge® Green Energy Index Fund	QCLN	Nasdaq
First Trust NYSE® Arca® Biotechnology Index Fund	FBT	NYSE Arca
First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund	FRI	NYSE Arca
First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF	FPX	NYSE Arca
First Trust Value Line® Dividend Index Fund	FVD	NYSE Arca

Each of the funds listed above (each a “Fund,” and collectively, the “Funds”) lists and principally trades its shares on either The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) or the NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) (each an “Exchange,” and collectively, the “Exchanges”). Market prices may differ to some degree from the net asset value of the shares. Unlike mutual funds, each Fund issues and redeems shares at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called "Creation Units."

Each Fund is a series of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund (the “Trust”) and an exchange-traded index fund organized as a separate series of a registered management investment company.

Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the shares are not redeemable securities of the Funds.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

NOT FDIC INSURED MAY LOSE VALUE NO BANK GUARANTEE

May 1, 2023

Summary Information

First Trust Capital Strength ETF (FTCS)

Investment Objective

The First Trust Capital Strength 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 Capital StrengthTM Index (the “Index”).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. Investors may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.

Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)

Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

None

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Management Fees(1)	0.50%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.05%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.55%
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement(2)	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement	0.55%

(1)

As of the date of the prospectus, as approved by the Trust’s Board of Trustees, the management fee paid to First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund's investment advisor, will be reduced to 0.4625% based on the current level of Fund net assets. The management fee could be further reduced, or increased up to the amount in the table above, based on changes in the level of Fund net assets (“breakpoints”). See the Fund's Statement of Additional Information for more information on the breakpoints.

(2)

First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund’s investment advisor, has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse Fund expenses to the extent that the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses) exceed 0.65% of its average daily net assets (the “Expense Cap”) at least through April 30, 2024. Expenses reimbursed and fees waived under such agreement are subject to recovery by the Fund’s investment advisor for up to three years from the date the fee was waived or expense was incurred, but no recovery payment will be made by the Fund if it results in the Fund exceeding (i) the applicable expense limitation in place for the most recent fiscal year for which such expense limitation was in place, (ii) the applicable expense limitation in place at the time the fees were waived or expenses were reimbursed, or (iii) the current expense limitation. The agreement may be terminated by the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, at any time and by the Fund’s investment advisor only after April 30, 2024 upon 60 days’ written notice.

Example

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain at current levels. The example assumes that the Fund’s investment advisor’s agreement to waive fees and/or pay the Fund’s expenses to the extent necessary to prevent the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, and extraordinary expenses) from exceeding 0.65% of average daily net assets will be terminated following April 30, 2024. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$56	$176	$307	$689

Portfolio Turnover

First Trust Capital Strength ETF (FTCS)

taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 135% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Index seeks to provide exposure to well-capitalized companies with strong market positions that have the potential to provide their stockholders with a greater degree of stability and performance over time. According to the Index Provider, the Index’s initial universe consists of the securities comprising the Nasdaq US BenchmarkTM Index, an index seeking to track the performance of small, mid and large capitalization U.S. companies. According to the Index Provider, the securities must first meet the liquidity standards of the Index. The Index then ranks the remaining securities by float-adjusted market capitalization and excludes all securities not ranked in the top 500. The universe is further narrowed by excluding those securities issued by companies with less than $1 billion in cash and short-term investments, companies with a long-term debt to market capitalization ratio greater than 30% and companies with a return on equity that is 15% or less. The remaining securities are then given a volatility score based upon a combination of their short-term (3 months) and long-term (12 months) realized volatility. The 50 securities with the lowest volatility score are chosen for inclusion in the Index. The Index may be composed of, but not limited to, common stocks and real estate investment trusts ("REITs").

A review is then enacted to determine if any industry, as determined by the Industry Classification Benchmark (“ICB”) classification system, has a cumulative weight of greater than 30%. If an industry has a weight greater than 30%, the highest-ranking security by volatility will be removed and replaced with the next eligible security (e.g., the 51st ranked by volatility) from a different industry. This process is repeated until no industry has a weight greater than 30%. Once finalized, each security is equal-dollar weighted.

The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted quarterly and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index’s quarterly rebalance and reconstitution schedule may cause the Fund to experience a higher rate of portfolio turnover. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. As of March 31, 2023, the Index was composed of 50 securities and the Fund had significant investments in health care companies and industrials companies, although this may change from time to time. The Fund’s investments will change as the Index changes and, as a result, the Fund may have significant investments in jurisdictions or investment sectors that it may not have had as of March 31, 2023. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.

Nasdaq® and The Capital StrengthTM Index are trademarks (the “Marks”) of Nasdaq, Inc. (collectively with its affiliates “Nasdaq”). The Marks are licensed for use with the Fund by the Fund’s investment advisor. The Fund has not been passed on by Nasdaq as to its legality or suitability. The Fund is not issued, endorsed, sold, or promoted by Nasdaq. The Fund should not be construed in any way as investment advice by Nasdaq. Nasdaq makes no warranties and bears no liability with respect to the Fund.

Principal Risks

You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s investment objective will be achieved. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.

AUTHORIZED PARTICIPANT CONCENTRATION RISK. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. A limited number of institutions act as authorized participants for the Fund. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders and no other authorized participant steps forward to create or redeem, the Fund’s shares may trade at a premium or discount (the difference between the market price of the Fund's shares and the Fund's net asset value) and possibly face delisting and the bid/ask spread (the difference between the price that someone is willing to pay for shares of the Fund at a specific point in time versus the price at which someone is willing to sell) on the Fund’s shares may widen.

First Trust Capital Strength ETF (FTCS)

CYBER SECURITY RISK. The Fund is susceptible to operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cyber security breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks through efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cyber security breaches of the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests or the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. Although the Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third-party service providers.

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

HEALTH CARE COMPANIES RISK. Health care companies, such as companies providing medical and healthcare goods and services, companies engaged in manufacturing medical equipment, supplies and pharmaceuticals, as well as operating health care facilities and the provision of managed health care, may be affected by government regulations and government health care programs, increases or decreases in the cost of medical products and services and product liability claims, among other factors. Many health care companies are heavily dependent on patent protection, and the expiration of a company’s patent may adversely affect that company’s profitability. Health care companies are also subject to competitive forces that may result in price discounting, may be thinly capitalized and susceptible to product obsolescence.

INDEX CONCENTRATION RISK. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a single asset class or the securities of issuers within the same country, state, region, industry or sector, an adverse economic, business or political development may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more than if the Fund were more broadly diversified. A significant exposure makes the Fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the Fund to greater market risk than a fund that is more broadly diversified. There may be instances in which the Index, for a variety of reasons including changes in the prices of individual securities held by the Fund, has a larger exposure to a small number of stocks or a single stock relative to the rest of the stocks in the Index. Under such circumstances, the Fund will not deviate from the Index except in rare circumstances or in an immaterial way and therefore the Fund’s returns would be more greatly influenced by the returns of the stock(s) with the larger exposure.

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

First Trust Capital Strength ETF (FTCS)

or other modification of Index constituents or weightings. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where the Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors. For example, during a period where the Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund tracking the Index would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.

INDUSTRIALS COMPANIES RISK. Industrials companies convert unfinished goods into finished durables used to manufacture other goods or provide services. Examples of industrials companies include companies involved in the production of electrical equipment and components, industrial products, manufactured housing and telecommunications equipment, as well as defense and aerospace companies. General risks of industrials companies include the general state of the economy, exchange rates, commodity prices, intense competition, consolidation, domestic and international politics, government regulation, import controls, excess capacity, consumer demand and spending trends. In addition, industrials companies may also be significantly affected by overall capital spending levels, economic cycles, rapid technological changes, delays in modernization, labor relations, environmental liabilities, governmental and product liability and e-commerce initiatives.

INFLATION RISK. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions may decline.

LARGE CAPITALIZATION COMPANIES RISK. Large capitalization companies may grow at a slower rate and be less able to adapt to changing market conditions than smaller capitalization companies. Thus, the return on investment in securities of large capitalization companies may be less than the return on investment in securities of small and/or mid capitalization companies. The performance of large capitalization companies also tends to trail the overall market during different market cycles.

LOW VOLATILITY RISK. Although subject to the risks of common stocks, low volatility stocks are seen as having a lower risk profile than the overall markets. However, a portfolio comprised of low volatility stocks may not produce investment exposure that has lower variability to changes in such stocks’ price levels. Low volatility stocks are likely to underperform the broader market during periods of rapidly rising stock prices.

MARKET MAKER RISK. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares due to a limited number of market markers. Decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. The Fund may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s net asset value and the price at which the Fund’s shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund’s shares. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a discount to net asset value and also in greater than normal intraday bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.

First Trust Capital Strength ETF (FTCS)

by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against future variants of the disease. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. Recent and potential future bank failures could result in disruption to the broader banking industry or markets generally and reduce confidence in financial institutions and the economy as a whole, which may also heighten market volatility and reduce liquidity. These events also adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio securities or other instruments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of the Fund’s shares and result in increased market volatility. During any such events, the Fund’s shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.

NON-CORRELATION RISK. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. The Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and may incur costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s portfolio holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. In addition, the Fund’s portfolio holdings may not exactly replicate the securities included in the Index or the ratios between the securities included in the Index. Additionally, in order to comply with its investment strategies and policies, the Fund portfolio may deviate from the composition of the Index. Accordingly, the Fund's return may underperform the return of the Index.

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

PASSIVE INVESTMENT RISK. The Fund is not actively managed. The Fund invests in securities included in or representative of the Index regardless of investment merit. The Fund generally will not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. In the event that the Index is no longer calculated, the Index license is terminated or the identity or character of the Index is materially changed, the Fund will seek to engage a replacement index.

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER RISK. High portfolio turnover may result in the Fund paying higher levels of transaction costs and may generate greater tax liabilities for shareholders. Portfolio turnover risk may cause the Fund’s performance to be less than expected.

PREMIUM/DISCOUNT RISK. The market price of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the Fund’s net asset value as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on the Exchange. The Fund’s investment advisor cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their net asset value because the shares trade on the Exchange at market prices and not at net asset value. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related, but not identical, to the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. However, given that shares can only be purchased and redeemed in Creation Units, and only to and from broker-dealers and large institutional investors that have entered into participation agreements (unlike shares of closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their net asset value), the Fund’s investment advisor believes that large discounts or premiums to the net asset value of shares should not be sustained. During stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the market for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which could in turn lead to differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.

REIT RISK. REITs typically own and operate income-producing real estate, such as residential or commercial buildings, or real-estate related assets, including mortgages. As a result, investments in REITs are subject to the risks associated with investing in real estate, which may include, but are not limited to: fluctuations in the value of underlying properties; defaults by borrowers or tenants; market saturation; changes in general and local operating expenses; and other economic, political or regulatory occurrences affecting companies in the real estate sector. REITs are also subject to the risk that the real estate market may experience an economic downturn generally, which may have a material effect on the real estate in which the REITs invest and their underlying portfolio securities. REITs may have also a relatively small market capitalization which may result in their shares experiencing less market liquidity and greater price volatility than larger companies. Increases in interest rates typically lower the present value of a REIT's future earnings stream, and may make financing property purchases and improvements

First Trust Capital Strength ETF (FTCS)

more costly. Because the market price of REIT stocks may change based upon investors' collective perceptions of future earnings, the value of the Fund will generally decline when investors anticipate or experience rising interest rates.

SMALLER COMPANIES RISK. Small capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic developments, and their securities may be less liquid and may experience greater price volatility than larger, more established companies as a result of several factors, including limited trading volumes, fewer products or financial resources, management inexperience and less publicly available information. Accordingly, such companies are generally subject to greater market risk than larger, more established companies.

TRADING ISSUES RISK. Trading in Fund shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Fund shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange’s “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. The Fund may have difficulty maintaining its listing on the Exchange in the event the Fund’s assets are small, the Fund does not have enough shareholders, or if the Fund is unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders.

Annual Total Return

The bar chart and table below illustrate the annual calendar year returns of the Fund based on net asset value as well as the average annual Fund and Index returns. The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns based on net asset value compared to those of the Index and a broad-based market index. See “Total Return Information” for additional performance information regarding the Fund. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com.

On June 4, 2013, the Fund’s underlying index changed from the Credit Suisse U.S. Value Index, Powered by HOLTTM to The Capital StrengthTM Index. Therefore, the Fund’s performance and total returns shown for the periods prior to June 4, 2013, are not necessarily indicative of the performance the Fund, based on its current index, would have generated. Returns for an underlying index are only disclosed for those periods in which the index was in existence for the whole period. Since the Fund's new underlying index had an inception date of March 20, 2013, it was not in existence for all of the periods disclosed.

First Trust Capital Strength ETF
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31

During the periods shown in the chart above:

Best Quarter		Worst Quarter
18.05%	June 30, 2020	-17.47%	March 31, 2020

The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.

First Trust Capital Strength ETF (FTCS)

therefore, are also adjusted for any capital gains or losses incurred. Returns for the market indices do not include expenses, which are deducted from Fund returns, or taxes.

Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares in tax-deferred accounts such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or employee-sponsored retirement plans.

Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2022

	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Return Before Taxes	-10.28%	9.31%	13.08%	9.91%	7/6/2006
Return After Taxes on Distributions	-10.74%	8.78%	12.42%	9.29%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	-6.10%	7.10%	10.58%	8.09%
The Capital StrengthTM Index(1) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	-9.77%	9.99%	N/A	N/A
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	-18.11%	9.42%	12.56%	9.10%

(1)

On June 4, 2013, the Fund’s underlying index changed from the Credit Suisse U.S. Value Index, Powered by HOLTTM to The Capital StrengthTM Index. Since the Fund’s new underlying index had an inception date of March 20, 2013, it was not in existence for some of the periods disclosed.

Management

Investment Advisor

First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)

Portfolio Managers

The Fund’s portfolio is managed by a team (the “Investment Committee”) consisting of:

•

Daniel J. Lindquist, Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director of First Trust

•

David G. McGarel, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of First Trust

•

Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Roger F. Testin, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Stan Ueland, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Chris A. Peterson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Erik Russo, Vice President of First Trust

The Investment Committee members are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each Investment Committee member has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2006, except for Chris A. Peterson and Erik Russo who have served as members of the portfolio management team since 2016 and 2020, respectively.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

The Fund issues and redeems shares on a continuous basis, at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called “Creation Units.” Individual shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold on the secondary market through a broker-dealer. Since shares of the Fund trade on securities exchanges in the secondary market at their market price rather than their net asset value, the Fund’s shares may trade at a price greater than (premium) or less than (discount) the Fund’s net asset value. An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information, including the Fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, bid-ask spreads and the median bid-ask spread for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year, is available online at https://www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/etf/home.aspx.

Summary Information

First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund (FDN)

Investment Objective

The First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an equity index called the Dow Jones Internet Composite IndexSM (the “Index”).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)

Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

None

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Management Fees(1)	0.40%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.12%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.52%
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement(2)	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement	0.52%

(1)

As of the date of the prospectus, as approved by the Trust’s Board of Trustees, the management fee paid to First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund's investment advisor, will be reduced to 0.39% based on the current level of Fund net assets. The management fee could be further reduced, or increased up to the amount in the table above, based on changes in the level of Fund net assets (“breakpoints”). See the Fund's Statement of Additional Information for more information on the breakpoints.

(2)

First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund’s investment advisor, has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse Fund expenses to the extent that the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses) exceed 0.60% of its average daily net assets (the “Expense Cap”) at least through April 30, 2024. Expenses reimbursed and fees waived under such agreement are subject to recovery by the Fund’s investment advisor for up to three years from the date the fee was waived or expense was incurred, but no recovery payment will be made by the Fund if it results in the Fund exceeding (i) the applicable expense limitation in place for the most recent fiscal year for which such expense limitation was in place, (ii) the applicable expense limitation in place at the time the fees were waived or expenses were reimbursed, or (iii) the current expense limitation. The agreement may be terminated by the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, at any time and by the Fund’s investment advisor only after April 30, 2024 upon 60 days’ written notice.

Example

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain at current levels. The example assumes that the Fund’s investment advisor’s agreement to waive fees and/or pay the Fund’s expenses to the extent necessary to prevent the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, and extraordinary expenses) from exceeding 0.60% of average daily net assets will be terminated following April 30, 2024. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$53	$167	$291	$653

First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund (FDN)

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 24% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Index is designed to measure the performance of the largest and most actively traded securities issued by U.S. companies in the Internet industry. The Index is a composite of its two sub-indices, the Dow Jones Internet Commerce Index and the Dow Jones Internet Services Index, and is composed of securities issued by Internet companies from the two sub-industries represented by these sub-indices: Internet Commerce and Internet Services. For each sub-industry, the sources from which the issuer derives the majority of its sales/revenues are as follows:

•

Internet Commerce. Online retail, search, financial services, investment products, social media, advertising, travel platforms and Internet radio.

•

Internet Services. Various services performed via the Internet, cloud computing, enterprise software, networking capabilities, website creation tools and digital marketing platforms.

According to the Index Provider, to be eligible for inclusion in the Index, a security must be listed on a qualifying U.S. securities exchange and be issued by a company domiciled in the United States that generates at least 50% of its sales/revenues from the Internet, have a minimum of three months’ trading history and have a three-month average float-adjusted market capitalization of at least $100 million. According to the Index Provider, eligible securities are ranked first by three-month average float-adjusted market capitalization and then by three-month average share volume. A final rank is then calculated based on an equally weighted average of the security’s market capitalization and volume rankings. Securities are then sorted in descending order by final rank within the Internet Commerce and Internet Services sub-industries, respectively. The 15 securities from the Internet Commerce sub-industry and 25 securities from the Internet Services sub-industry with the best rankings are selected for inclusion in the Index. Securities selected for inclusion in the Index are then weighted by float-adjusted market capitalization, subject to a single security weight cap of 10%. The aggregate weight of individual securities with weights of 4.5% or more is limited to 45% of the Index. Index composition changes during scheduled reconstitutions are subject to certain buffers designed to limit turnover. The Index may be composed of small, mid and large capitalization companies.

The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted quarterly and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index’s quarterly rebalance and reconstitution schedule may cause the Fund to experience a higher rate of portfolio turnover. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. As of March 31, 2023, the Index was composed of 42 securities and the Fund had significant investments in communication services companies, consumer discretionary companies and information technology companies, although this may change from time to time. The Fund’s investments will change as the Index changes and, as a result, the Fund may have significant investments in jurisdictions or investment sectors that it may not have had as of March 31, 2023. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.

Principal Risks

First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund (FDN)

authorized participant steps forward to create or redeem, the Fund’s shares may trade at a premium or discount (the difference between the market price of the Fund's shares and the Fund's net asset value) and possibly face delisting and the bid/ask spread (the difference between the price that someone is willing to pay for shares of the Fund at a specific point in time versus the price at which someone is willing to sell) on the Fund’s shares may widen.

CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY COMPANIES RISK. Consumer discretionary companies, such as retailers, media companies and consumer services companies, provide non-essential goods and services. These companies manufacture products and provide discretionary services directly to the consumer, and the success of these companies is tied closely to the performance of the overall domestic and international economy, interest rates, competition and consumer confidence. Success depends heavily on disposable household income and consumer spending. Changes in demographics and consumer tastes can also affect the demand for, and success of, consumer discretionary products in the marketplace.

COMMUNICATION SERVICES COMPANIES RISK. Communication services companies may be subject to specific risks associated with legislative or regulatory changes, adverse market conditions, intellectual property use and/or increased competition. Communication services companies are particularly vulnerable to rapid advancements in technology, the innovation of competitors, rapid product obsolescence and government regulation and competition, both domestically and internationally. Additionally, fluctuating domestic and international demand, shifting demographics and often unpredictable changes in consumer tastes can drastically affect a communication services company’s profitability. While all companies may be susceptible to network security breaches, certain communication services companies may be particular targets of hacking and potential theft of proprietary or consumer information or disruptions in service, which could have a material adverse effect on their businesses.

First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund (FDN)

selling activity in a relatively short period of time. As a result, the Fund’s net asset value could be negatively impacted and the Fund’s market price may be below the Fund’s net asset value during certain periods. In addition, index rebalances may potentially result in increased trading activity in the Fund's shares.

INDEX PROVIDER RISK. There is no assurance that the Index Provider, or any agents that act on its behalf, will compile the Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. The Index Provider and its agents do not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the Index, and do not guarantee that the Index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. The Advisor’s mandate as described in this prospectus is to manage the Fund consistently with the Index provided by the Index Provider. The Advisor relies upon the Index provider and its agents to accurately compile, maintain, construct, reconstitute, rebalance, compose, calculate and disseminate the Index accurately. Therefore, losses or costs associated with any Index Provider or agent errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. To correct any such error, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out an unscheduled rebalance of the Index or other modification of Index constituents or weightings. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where the Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors. For example, during a period where the Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund tracking the Index would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES RISK. Information technology companies produce and provide hardware, software and information technology systems and services. These companies may be adversely affected by rapidly changing technologies, short product life cycles, fierce competition, aggressive pricing and reduced profit margins, the loss of patent, copyright and trademark protections, cyclical market patterns, evolving industry standards and frequent new product introductions. In addition, information technology companies are particularly vulnerable to federal, state and local government regulation, and competition and consolidation, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Information technology companies also heavily rely on intellectual property rights and may be adversely affected by the loss or impairment of those rights.

INTERNET COMPANIES RISK. Internet companies are subject to rapid changes in technology, hacking or other cyber security events, worldwide competition, rapid obsolescence of products and services, loss of patent protections, cyclical market patterns, evolving industry standards, frequent new product introductions and the considerable risk of owning small capitalization companies that have recently begun operations. Many Internet companies have incurred large losses since their inception and may continue to incur large losses in the hope of capturing market share and generating future revenues. Accordingly, many such companies expect to incur significant operating losses for the foreseeable future, and may never be profitable. The markets in which many Internet companies compete face rapidly evolving industry standards, frequent new service and product announcements, introductions and enhancements and changing customer demands. The failure of an Internet company to adapt to such changes could have a material adverse effect on the company's business. In addition, the widespread adoption of new Internet, networking, telecommunications technologies, or other technological changes could require substantial expenditures by an Internet company to modify or adapt its services or infrastructure, which could have a material adverse effect on an Internet company's business.

First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund (FDN)

large capitalization companies may be less than the return on investment in securities of small and/or mid capitalization companies. The performance of large capitalization companies also tends to trail the overall market during different market cycles.

MARKET RISK. Market risk is the risk that a particular security, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic, political, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of the Fund could decline in value or underperform other investments. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, natural disasters, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. For example, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against future variants of the disease. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. Recent and potential future bank failures could result in disruption to the broader banking industry or markets generally and reduce confidence in financial institutions and the economy as a whole, which may also heighten market volatility and reduce liquidity. These events also adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio securities or other instruments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of the Fund’s shares and result in increased market volatility. During any such events, the Fund’s shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.

NON-DIVERSIFICATION RISK. The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"). As a result, the Fund is only limited as to the percentage of its assets which may be invested in the securities of any one issuer by the diversification requirements imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The Fund may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers. As a result, the Fund may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence affecting one or more of these issuers, experience increased volatility and be highly invested in certain issuers.

First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund (FDN)

SMALLER COMPANIES RISK. Small and/or mid capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic developments, and their securities may be less liquid and may experience greater price volatility than larger, more established companies as a result of several factors, including limited trading volumes, fewer products or financial resources, management inexperience and less publicly available information. Accordingly, such companies are generally subject to greater market risk than larger, more established companies.

Annual Total Return

The bar chart and table below illustrate the annual calendar year returns of the Fund based on net asset value as well as the average annual Fund and Index returns. The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns based on net asset value compared to those of the Index, a broad-based market index and a market index. See “Total Return Information” for additional performance information regarding the Fund. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com.

First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31

First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund (FDN)

During the periods shown in the chart above:

Best Quarter		Worst Quarter
37.88%	June 30, 2020	-32.28%	June 30, 2022

The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.

All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of any state or local tax. Returns after taxes on distributions reflect the taxed return on the payment of dividends and capital gains. Returns after taxes on distributions and sale of shares assume you sold your shares at period end, and, therefore, are also adjusted for any capital gains or losses incurred. Returns for the market indices do not include expenses, which are deducted from Fund returns, or taxes.

Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2022

	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Return Before Taxes	-45.51%	2.32%	12.18%	11.65%	6/19/2006
Return After Taxes on Distributions	-45.51%	2.32%	12.18%	11.64%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	-26.94%	1.79%	10.21%	10.15%
Dow Jones Internet Composite IndexSM (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	-45.24%	2.89%	12.78%	12.25%
S&P Composite 1500® Information Technology Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	-27.91%	15.47%	18.02%	13.72%
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	-18.11%	9.42%	12.56%	9.26%

Management

Investment Advisor

First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)

Portfolio Managers

The Fund’s portfolio is managed by a team (the “Investment Committee”) consisting of:

•

Daniel J. Lindquist, Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director of First Trust

•

David G. McGarel, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of First Trust

•

Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Roger F. Testin, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Stan Ueland, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Chris A. Peterson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Erik Russo, Vice President of First Trust

First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund (FDN)

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Tax Information

The Fund’s distributions are taxable and will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains. Distributions on shares held in a tax-deferred account, while not immediately taxable, will be subject to tax when the shares are no longer held in a tax-deferred account.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

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

Summary Information

First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund (FDM)

Investment Objective

The First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an equity index called the Dow Jones Select MicroCap IndexSM (the “Index”).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)

Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

None

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Management Fees	0.50%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.19%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.69%
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement(1)	0.09%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement	0.60%

(1)

First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund’s investment advisor, has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse Fund expenses to the extent that the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses) exceed 0.60% of its average daily net assets (the “Expense Cap”) at least through April 30, 2024. Expenses reimbursed and fees waived under such agreement are subject to recovery by the Fund’s investment advisor for up to three years from the date the fee was waived or expense was incurred, but no recovery payment will be made by the Fund if it results in the Fund exceeding (i) the applicable expense limitation in place for the most recent fiscal year for which such expense limitation was in place, (ii) the applicable expense limitation in place at the time the fees were waived or expenses were reimbursed, or (iii) the current expense limitation. The agreement may be terminated by the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, at any time and by the Fund’s investment advisor only after April 30, 2024 upon 60 days’ written notice.

Example

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain at current levels. The example assumes that the Fund’s investment advisor’s agreement to waive fees and/or pay the Fund’s expenses to the extent necessary to prevent the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, and extraordinary expenses) from exceeding 0.60% of average daily net assets will be terminated following April 30, 2024. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$61	$212	$375	$850

Portfolio Turnover

First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund (FDM)

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the securities that comprise the Index. The Index is composed entirely of micro-capitalization companies as defined by the Index Provider. The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The Index is developed, maintained and sponsored by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (the “Index Provider”). The Index Provider reserves the right to make exceptions when applying the methodology if the need arises. In addition, the Index Provider may revise Index policy covering rules for selecting companies, treatment of dividends, share counts or other matters.

The Index is designed to measure the performance of micro-cap stocks issued by U.S. companies that are comparatively liquid and have strong fundamentals relative to the micro-cap segment as a whole. According to the Index Provider, all stocks with a full market capitalization equal to or less than the micro-cap market capitalization threshold in the Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index comprise the Index’s initial universe. According to the Index Provider, the Index ranks each eligible security by full market capitalization, three-month dollar volume and one-month dollar volume and eliminates any securities that do not meet all three of the following criteria:

•

Within the top 1,000 securities by full market capitalization

•

Within the top 1,000 securities by three-month value traded

•

Within the top 1,500 securities by one-month value traded

The remaining eligible securities are ranked by each of the five ratios below. Securities that rank within the specified range on any one of the ratios are excluded. Securities with a negative or missing P/E ratio or negative operating profit margin are also excluded.

•

Trailing P/E ratio (highest 20% are excluded)

•

Trailing price/sales ratio (highest 20% are excluded)

•

Per-share profit change for the previous quarter (lowest 20% are excluded)

•

Operating profit margin (lowest 20% are excluded)

•

Six-month total return (lowest 20% are excluded)

Any remaining securities are selected for inclusion in the Index and are weighted based on float-adjusted market capitalization. Float-adjusted market capitalization reflects what the Index Provider believes to be the outstanding shares minus non-publicly held shares multiplied by the market price.

The Index is rebalanced quarterly and reconstituted annually and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index’s quarterly rebalance schedule may cause the Fund to experience a higher rate of portfolio turnover. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. As of March 31, 2023, the Index was composed of 157 securities and the Fund had significant investments in consumer discretionary companies and financial companies, although this may change from time to time. The Fund’s investments will change as the Index changes and, as a result, the Fund may have significant investments in jurisdictions or investment sectors that it may not have had as of March 31, 2023. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.

Principal Risks

First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund (FDM)

FINANCIAL COMPANIES RISK. Financial companies, such as retail and commercial banks, insurance companies and financial services companies, are especially subject to the adverse effects of economic recession, currency exchange rates, extensive government regulation, decreases in the availability of capital, volatile interest rates, portfolio concentrations in geographic markets, industries or products (such as commercial and residential real estate loans), competition from new entrants and blurred distinctions in their fields of business.

First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund (FDM)

consistently with the Index provided by the Index Provider. The Advisor relies upon the Index provider and its agents to accurately compile, maintain, construct, reconstitute, rebalance, compose, calculate and disseminate the Index accurately. Therefore, losses or costs associated with any Index Provider or agent errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. To correct any such error, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out an unscheduled rebalance of the Index or other modification of Index constituents or weightings. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where the Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors. For example, during a period where the Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund tracking the Index would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.

MARKET CAPITALIZATION DEVIATION RISK. There can be no assurance that the securities held by the Fund will stay within the Fund’s intended market capitalization range. As a result, the Fund may be exposed to additional risk or investors may not be given the opportunity to invest fully in a certain market capitalization range.

MICRO-CAP COMPANIES RISK. Micro-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic developments, may be less liquid, and may experience greater price volatility than larger, more established companies as a result of several factors, including limited trading volume, products or financial resources, management inexperience and

First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund (FDM)

less publicly available information. Accordingly, such companies are generally subject to greater market risk than larger, more established companies.

Annual Total Return

The bar chart and table below illustrate the annual calendar year returns of the Fund based on net asset value as well as the average annual Fund and Index returns. The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns based on net asset value compared to those of the Index and two broad-based market indices. See “Total Return Information” for additional performance information regarding the Fund. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com.

First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund (FDM)

First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31

During the periods shown in the chart above:

Best Quarter		Worst Quarter
28.82%	December 31, 2020	-38.22%	March 31, 2020

The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.

Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2022

	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Return Before Taxes	-11.56%	4.85%	10.71%	7.24%	9/27/2005
Return After Taxes on Distributions	-12.22%	4.21%	10.10%	6.78%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	-6.86%	3.46%	8.53%	5.82%
Dow Jones Select MicroCap IndexSM (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	-11.03%	5.65%	11.45%	7.98%
Russell 2000® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	-20.44%	4.13%	9.01%	7.29%
Russell 3000® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	-19.21%	8.79%	12.13%	8.92%

Management

Investment Advisor

First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)

First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund (FDM)

Portfolio Managers

The Fund’s portfolio is managed by a team (the “Investment Committee”) consisting of:

•

Daniel J. Lindquist, Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director of First Trust

•

David G. McGarel, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of First Trust

•

Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Roger F. Testin, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Stan Ueland, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Chris A. Peterson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Erik Russo, Vice President of First Trust

The Investment Committee members are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each Investment Committee member has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2005, with the exception of Stan Ueland, Chris A. Peterson and Erik Russo who have served as members of the portfolio management team since 2006, 2016 and 2020, respectively.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Tax Information

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

Summary Information

First Trust Natural Gas ETF (FCG)

Investment Objective

The First Trust Natural 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 ISE-Revere Natural GasTM Index (the “Index”).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)

Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

None

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Management Fees	0.40%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.20%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.60%
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement(1)	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement	0.60%

(1)

First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund’s investment advisor, has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse Fund expenses to the extent that the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses) exceed 0.60% of its average daily net assets (the “Expense Cap”) at least through April 30, 2024. Expenses reimbursed and fees waived under such agreement are subject to recovery by the Fund’s investment advisor for up to three years from the date the fee was waived or expense was incurred, but no recovery payment will be made by the Fund if it results in the Fund exceeding (i) the applicable expense limitation in place for the most recent fiscal year for which such expense limitation was in place, (ii) the applicable expense limitation in place at the time the fees were waived or expenses were reimbursed, or (iii) the current expense limitation. The agreement may be terminated by the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, at any time and by the Fund’s investment advisor only after April 30, 2024 upon 60 days’ written notice.

Example

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain at current levels. The example assumes that the Fund’s investment advisor’s agreement to waive fees and/or pay the Fund’s expenses to the extent necessary to prevent the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, and extraordinary expenses) from exceeding 0.60% of average daily net assets will be terminated following April 30, 2024. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$61	$192	$335	$750

Portfolio Turnover

First Trust Natural Gas ETF (FCG)

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the common stocks, depositary receipts, master limited partnership ("MLP") units and other securities that comprise the Index. The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The Index is developed and owned by Nasdaq, Inc. (the “Index Provider”), and is calculated and maintained by Nasdaq. The Index Provider may, from time to time, exercise reasonable discretion as it deems appropriate in order to ensure Index integrity.

The Index is designed to track the performance of mid and large capitalization companies that derive a substantial portion of their revenues from midstream activities and/or the exploration and production of natural gas. According to the Index Provider, to be eligible for inclusion in the Index, a security must be listed on a qualifying U.S. securities exchange and be issued by a company involved in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, according to FactSet Revere, where its natural gas proved reserves accounts for 30% or greater of its total proved reserves. Natural gas shall be converted to Barrels of Oil Equivalent (“BOE”) using the industry standard conversion of 1 BOE equals 6,000 cubic feet. In addition, according to the Index Provider, eligible securities must meet the size, float, and liquidity requirements of the Index. Securities meeting the eligibility criteria are then divided into two groups: securities issued by MLPs and securities issued by non-MLPs. Each group of securities is then ranked by market capitalization. All eligible non-MLP securities and the ten largest MLP securities are chosen for inclusion in the Index.

The Index uses a linear-based capitalization-weighted methodology for both groups of constituents that initially ranks the securities based on market capitalization and average daily trading volume, and then adjusts the combined rankings of each security by a factor relating to its market capitalization. The resulting linear weight distribution prevents a few large component stocks from dominating the Index while allowing smaller companies to adequately influence Index performance. The Index allocates 15% of its weight to securities issued by MLPs and 85% of its weight to securities issued by non-MLPs. The maximum weight of any security is 4.5%. Therefore, any security in excess of 4.5% is capped at 4.5% and the excess weight is redistributed proportionally across the remaining constituent securities.

The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted quarterly and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index’s quarterly rebalance and reconstitution schedule may cause the Fund to experience a higher rate of portfolio turnover. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. As of March 31, 2023, the Index was composed of 48 securities and the Fund had significant investments in energy companies, although this may change from time to time. The Fund’s investments will change as the Index changes and, as a result, the Fund may have significant investments in jurisdictions or investment sectors that it may not have had as of March 31, 2023. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.

Principal Risks

First Trust Natural Gas ETF (FCG)

the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. Although the Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third-party service providers.

DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS RISK. Depositary receipts represent equity interests in a foreign company that trade on a local stock exchange. Depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. Any distributions paid to the holders of depositary receipts are usually subject to a fee charged by the depositary. Holders of depositary receipts may have limited voting rights, and investment restrictions in certain countries may adversely impact the value of depositary receipts because such restrictions may limit the ability to convert the equity shares into depositary receipts and vice versa. Such restrictions may cause the equity shares of the underlying issuer to trade at a discount or premium to the market price of the depositary receipts.

ENERGY COMPANIES RISK. The success of energy companies may be cyclical and highly dependent on energy prices. The market value of securities issued by energy companies may decline for many reasons, including, among other things, changes in the levels and volatility of global energy prices, energy supply and demand, capital expenditures on exploration and production of energy sources, exchange rates, interest rates, economic conditions, tax treatment, energy conservation efforts, increased competition and technological advances. Energy companies may be subject to substantial government regulation and contractual fixed pricing, which may increase the cost of doing business and limit the earnings of these companies. A significant portion of the revenues of energy companies may depend on a relatively small number of customers, including governmental entities and utilities. As a result, governmental budget constraints may have a material adverse effect on the stock prices of energy companies. Energy companies may also operate in, or engage in transactions involving, countries with less developed regulatory regimes or a history of expropriation, nationalization or other adverse policies. Energy companies also face a significant risk of liability from accidents resulting in injury or loss of life or property, pollution or other environmental problems, equipment malfunctions or mishandling of materials and a risk of loss from terrorism, political strife or natural disasters.

First Trust Natural Gas ETF (FCG)

in accordance with its stated methodology. The Advisor’s mandate as described in this prospectus is to manage the Fund consistently with the Index provided by the Index Provider. The Advisor relies upon the Index provider and its agents to accurately compile, maintain, construct, reconstitute, rebalance, compose, calculate and disseminate the Index accurately. Therefore, losses or costs associated with any Index Provider or agent errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. To correct any such error, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out an unscheduled rebalance of the Index or other modification of Index constituents or weightings. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where the Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors. For example, during a period where the Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund tracking the Index would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.

First Trust Natural Gas ETF (FCG)

and result in increased market volatility. During any such events, the Fund’s shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.

MLP RISK. Investments in securities of MLPs involve certain risks different from or in addition to the risks of investing in common stocks. MLP common units can be affected by macro-economic factors and other factors unique to the partnership or company and the industry or industries in which the MLP operates. Certain MLP securities may trade in relatively low volumes due to their smaller capitalizations or other factors, which may cause them to have a high degree of price volatility and illiquidity. The structures of MLPs create certain risks, including, for example, risks related to the limited ability of investors to control an MLP and to vote on matters affecting the MLP, risks related to potential conflicts of interest between an MLP and the MLP's general partner, the risk that an MLP will generate insufficient cash flow to meet its current operating requirements, the risk that an MLP will issue additional securities or engage in other transactions that will have the effect of diluting the interests of existing investors, and risks related to the general partner's right to require unit-holders to sell their common units at an undesirable time or price.

MLP TAX RISK. The Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective relies in part upon the level of taxable income it receives from the MLPs in which it invests, a factor over which the Fund has no control. The benefit the Fund derives from its investment in MLPs is largely dependent on their being treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Partnerships do not pay U.S. federal income tax at the partnership level. Rather, each partner is allocated a share of the partnership’s income, gains, losses, deductions and expenses. A change in current tax law or a change in the underlying business mix of a given MLP could result in an MLP being treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, which would result in the MLP being required to pay U.S. federal income tax (as well as state and local income taxes) on its taxable income at the applicable corporate tax rate. This would have the effect of reducing the amount of cash available for distribution by an MLP and could result in a significant reduction in the value of the Fund’s investment. The classification of an MLP as a corporation for U. S. federal income tax purposes would have the effect of reducing the amount of cash available for distribution by the MLP and causing any such distributions received by the Fund to be taxed as dividend income to the extent of the MLP’s current or accumulated earnings and profits. To the extent a distribution received by the Fund from an MLP is treated as a return of capital, the Fund’s adjusted tax basis in the interests of the MLP may be reduced, which will result in an increase in the amount of income or gain (or decrease in the amount of loss) that will be recognized by the Fund for tax purposes upon the sale of any such interests or upon subsequent distributions in respect of such interests. Furthermore, any return of capital distribution received from an MLP may require the Fund to restate the character of its distributions and amend any shareholder tax reporting previously issued.
On March 15, 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") changed its long-standing tax allowance policy which no longer permits MLPs to include in their cost of service an income tax allowance. This has had a negative impact on the performance of some MLPs affected by this decision. This policy change and any similar policy changes in the future could adversely impact an MLP's business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows and ability to pay cash distributions or dividends.

NATURAL GAS COMPANIES RISK. One of natural gas companies’ primary risks is the competitive risk associated with the prices of alternative fuels, such as coal and oil. For example, major natural gas customers such as industrial users and electric power generators often have the ability to switch between the use of coal, oil or natural gas. During periods when competing fuels are less expensive, the revenues of gas utility companies may decline with a corresponding impact on earnings. After years of booming production, natural gas firms have recently begun scaling back after record low prices and huge surpluses. Weather is another risk that may affect natural gas companies. Mild weather contributes to a scaled back demand for natural gas and declining stock prices for natural gas companies. Additionally, natural gas companies are sensitive to increased interest rates because of the capital intensive nature of their business.

Furthermore, there are additional risks and hazards that are inherent to natural gas companies that may cause the price of natural gas to widely fluctuate. The exploration for, and production of, natural gas is an uncertain process with many risks. The cost of drilling, completing and operating wells for natural gas is often uncertain, and a number of factors can delay or prevent drilling operations or production, including:

•

unexpected drilling conditions;

•

pressure or irregularities in formations;

•

equipment failures or repairs;

•

fires or other accidents;

•

adverse weather conditions;

First Trust Natural Gas ETF (FCG)

•

pipeline ruptures or spills; and

•

shortages or delays in the availability of drilling rigs and the delivery of equipment.

NON-U.S. SECURITIES RISK. Non-U.S. securities are subject to higher volatility than securities of domestic issuers due to possible adverse political, social or economic developments, restrictions on foreign investment or exchange of securities, capital controls, lack of liquidity, currency exchange rates, excessive taxation, government seizure of assets, the imposition of sanctions by foreign governments, different legal or accounting standards, and less government supervision and regulation of securities exchanges in foreign countries.

First Trust Natural Gas ETF (FCG)

Annual Total Return

The bar chart and table below illustrate the annual calendar year returns of the Fund based on net asset value as well as the average annual Fund and Index returns. The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns based on net asset value compared to those of the Index, a broad-based market index and a market index. See “Total Return Information” for additional performance information regarding the Fund. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com.

First Trust Natural Gas ETF
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31

During the periods shown in the chart above:

Best Quarter		Worst Quarter
81.18%	June 30, 2020	-65.00%	March 31, 2020

The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.

First Trust Natural Gas ETF (FCG)

Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2022

	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Return Before Taxes	47.27%	4.28%	-9.06%	-7.18%	5/8/2007
Return After Taxes on Distributions	45.39%	3.14%	-9.86%	-7.76%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	27.93%	2.64%	-6.39%	-4.79%
ISE-Revere Natural GasTM Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	48.06%	3.87%	-9.24%	-7.07%
S&P Composite 1500® Energy Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	63.77%	8.35%	5.16%	4.46%
Russell 3000® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	-19.21%	8.79%	12.13%	8.15%

Management

Investment Advisor

First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)

Portfolio Managers

The Fund’s portfolio is managed by a team (the “Investment Committee”) consisting of:

•

Daniel J. Lindquist, Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director of First Trust

•

David G. McGarel, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of First Trust

•

Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Roger F. Testin, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Stan Ueland, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Chris A. Peterson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Erik Russo, Vice President of First Trust

The Investment Committee members are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each Investment Committee member has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2007, except for Chris A. Peterson and Erik Russo who have served as members of the portfolio management team since 2016 and 2020, respectively.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Tax Information

Summary Information

First Trust Water ETF (FIW)

Investment Objective

The First Trust Water 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 ISE Clean Edge WaterTM Index (the “Index”).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)

Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

None

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Management Fees	0.40%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.13%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.53%
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement(1)	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement	0.53%

(1)

First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund’s investment advisor, has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse Fund expenses to the extent that the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses) exceed 0.60% of its average daily net assets (the “Expense Cap”) at least through April 30, 2024. Expenses reimbursed and fees waived under such agreement are subject to recovery by the Fund’s investment advisor for up to three years from the date the fee was waived or expense was incurred, but no recovery payment will be made by the Fund if it results in the Fund exceeding (i) the applicable expense limitation in place for the most recent fiscal year for which such expense limitation was in place, (ii) the applicable expense limitation in place at the time the fees were waived or expenses were reimbursed, or (iii) the current expense limitation. The agreement may be terminated by the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, at any time and by the Fund’s investment advisor only after April 30, 2024 upon 60 days’ written notice.

Example

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain at current levels. The example assumes that the Fund’s investment advisor’s agreement to waive fees and/or pay the Fund’s expenses to the extent necessary to prevent the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, and extraordinary expenses) from exceeding 0.60% of average daily net assets will be terminated following April 30, 2024. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$54	$170	$296	$665

Portfolio Turnover

First Trust Water ETF (FIW)

Principal Investment Strategies

The Index is designed to track the performance of small, mid and large capitalization companies that derive a substantial portion of their revenues from the potable water and wastewater industry, according to Clean Edge. Such industry exposure includes water distribution, infrastructure (pumps, pipes, and valves), water solutions (purification and filtration), and ancillary services such as consulting, construction and metering. According to the Index Provider, to be eligible for inclusion in the Index, a security must be listed on a qualifying U.S. securities exchange and be issued by a company that derives a substantial portion of its revenue from the potable water and wastewater industry. In addition, eligible securities must meet the size, float and liquidity requirements of the Index. Qualifying securities are ranked by market capitalization and the top 36 securities are selected for inclusion in the Index. Such securities may include common stocks and depositary receipts.

According to the Index Provider, the Index uses a modified market capitalization-weighted methodology. Component securities are weighted according to their market capitalization as set forth below.

•

Securities ranked 1 through 10 by market capitalization are assigned a weight of 4%;

•

Securities ranked 11 through 15 by market capitalization are assigned a weight of 3.5%;

•

Securities ranked 16 through 20 by market capitalization are assigned a weight of 3.0%;

•

Securities ranked 21 through 30 by market capitalization are assigned a weight of 2.0%;

•

The remaining weight is equally allocated among the remaining securities.

The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted semi-annually and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. As of March 31, 2023, the Index was composed of 36 securities and the Fund had significant investments in industrials companies and utility companies, although this may change from time to time. The Fund’s investments will change as the Index changes and, as a result, the Fund may have significant investments in jurisdictions or investment sectors that it may not have had as of March 31, 2023. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.

Principal Risks

First Trust Water ETF (FIW)

management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third-party service providers.

First Trust Water ETF (FIW)

nor the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.

First Trust Water ETF (FIW)

UTILITY COMPANIES RISK. Utility companies include companies producing or providing gas, electricity or water. These companies are subject to the risk of the imposition of rate caps, increased competition due to deregulation, the difficulty in obtaining an adequate return on invested capital or in financing large construction projects counterparty risk, the limitations on operations and increased costs and delays attributable to environmental considerations and the capital market’s ability to absorb utility debt. In addition, taxes, government regulation, domestic and international politics, price and supply fluctuations, volatile interest rates and energy conservation may negatively affect utility companies.

WATER COMPANIES RISK. Water companies can be significantly affected by the availability of water, the level of rainfall and the occurrence of other climatic and environmental events, changes in water consumption and water conservation. Water companies may also be negatively affected by changes in governmental regulation and spending, technological advances and increases in inflation, interest rates or the cost of raw materials. Water companies may be subject to liability for environmental damage, depletion of resources, conflicts with local communities over water rights and mandated expenditures for safety and pollution control.

First Trust Water ETF (FIW)

Annual Total Return

First Trust Water ETF
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31

During the periods shown in the chart above:

Best Quarter		Worst Quarter
19.61%	December 31, 2020	-20.04%	March 31, 2020

The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.

Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2022

	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Return Before Taxes	-15.65%	10.99%	12.61%	10.03%	5/8/2007
Return After Taxes on Distributions	-15.89%	10.71%	12.27%	9.71%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	-9.27%	8.61%	10.36%	8.37%
ISE Clean Edge WaterTM Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	-15.17%	11.74%	13.32%	10.75%
Russell 3000® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	-19.21%	8.79%	12.13%	8.15%

First Trust Water ETF (FIW)

Management

Investment Advisor

First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)

Portfolio Managers

The Fund’s portfolio is managed by a team (the “Investment Committee”) consisting of:

•

Daniel J. Lindquist, Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director of First Trust

•

David G. McGarel, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of First Trust

•

Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Roger F. Testin, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Stan Ueland, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Chris A. Peterson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Erik Russo, Vice President of First Trust

The Investment Committee members are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each Investment Committee member has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2007, except for Chris A. Peterson and Erik Russo who have served as members of the portfolio management team since 2016 and 2020, respectively.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Tax Information

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

Summary Information

First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund (FDL)

Investment Objective

The First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an equity index called the Morningstar® Dividend Leaders IndexSM (the “Index”).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)

Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

None

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Management Fees	0.30%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.15%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.45%
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement(1)	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement	0.45%

(1)

First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund’s investment advisor, has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse Fund expenses to the extent that the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses) exceed 0.45% of its average daily net assets (the “Expense Cap”) at least through April 30, 2024. Expenses reimbursed and fees waived under such agreement are subject to recovery by the Fund’s investment advisor for up to three years from the date the fee was waived or expense was incurred, but no recovery payment will be made by the Fund if it results in the Fund exceeding (i) the applicable expense limitation in place for the most recent fiscal year for which such expense limitation was in place, (ii) the applicable expense limitation in place at the time the fees were waived or expenses were reimbursed, or (iii) the current expense limitation. The agreement may be terminated by the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, at any time and by the Fund’s investment advisor only after April 30, 2024 upon 60 days’ written notice.

Example

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain at current levels. The example assumes that the Fund’s investment advisor’s agreement to waive fees and/or pay the Fund’s expenses to the extent necessary to prevent the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, and extraordinary expenses) from exceeding 0.45% of average daily net assets will be terminated following April 30, 2024. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$46	$144	$252	$567

Portfolio Turnover

First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund (FDL)

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the securities that comprise the Index. The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The Index is developed, maintained and sponsored by Morningstar, Inc. (the “Index Provider”). S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC serves as the index calculation agent. The Index Provider continually reviews the Index methodology to account for factors such as evolving market trends, feedback received from market participants or as an endeavor to adopt evolving best practices in the industry. Such reviews may cause the Index Provider to change the Index construction or calculation methodology, as well as the Index's treatment of various corporate actions. Such changes can impact the Index’s selection universe, portfolio composition or the Index’s on-going maintenance.

The Index is designed to measure the performance of the 100 highest-yielding stocks that have a consistent record of dividend payment and have the ability to sustain their dividend payments. The securities comprising the Morningstar® US Market IndexSM (the “Base Index”) serve as the Fund’s selection universe. The Base Index is a broad market index representing 97% of U.S. equity market capitalization. According to the Index Provider, to be eligible for inclusion in the Base Index, a security must be listed on a qualifying U.S. securities exchange and be issued by a company incorporated in the United States or its territories and whose primary stock market activities are carried out in the United States. Securities issued by companies incorporated outside the United States and its territories may nonetheless be included in the Base Index if the company files a Form 10-K/10-Q or equivalents, and its primary business activities, as measured by the geographic distribution of revenue and assets, are conducted in the United States. The Base Index also excludes securities based on liquidity standards determined by the Index Provider.

From this universe, according to the Index Provider, the Index further excludes any securities issuing dividend payments that do not constitute qualifying income (i.e., real estate investment trusts). The Index also excludes securities issued by companies with a five-year indicated dividend per share growth of less than zero and a coverage ratio of one or less than one. A security’s coverage ratio equals its one-year forecast of earnings per share divided by its indicated dividend per share. All remaining securities are then ranked by indicated dividend yield and the top 100 securities are selected for inclusion in the Index. The Index weights the component securities based upon an indicated dividend dollar weighted methodology. Weights are adjusted so that no individual security has a weight of greater than 10% and securities with a weight of more than 5% do not collectively exceed 50% of the entire portfolio.

The Index is rebalanced quarterly and reconstituted annually and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index’s quarterly rebalance schedule may cause the Fund to experience a higher rate of portfolio turnover. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. As of March 31, 2023, the Index was composed of 97 securities and the Fund had significant investments in energy companies, although this may change from time to time. The Fund’s investments will change as the Index changes and, as a result, the Fund may have significant investments in jurisdictions or investment sectors that it may not have had as of March 31, 2023. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.

Principal Risks

First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund (FDL)

involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks through efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cyber security breaches of the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests or the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. Although the Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third-party service providers.

DIVIDENDS RISK. The Fund’s investment in dividend-paying securities could cause the Fund to underperform similar funds that invest without consideration of an issuer’s track record of paying dividends. Companies that issue dividend-paying securities are not required to continue to pay dividends on such securities. Therefore, there is the possibility that such companies could reduce or eliminate the payment of dividends in the future, which could negatively affect the Fund’s performance.

First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund (FDL)

relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the Index, and do not guarantee that the Index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. The Advisor’s mandate as described in this prospectus is to manage the Fund consistently with the Index provided by the Index Provider. The Advisor relies upon the Index provider and its agents to accurately compile, maintain, construct, reconstitute, rebalance, compose, calculate and disseminate the Index accurately. Therefore, losses or costs associated with any Index Provider or agent errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. To correct any such error, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out an unscheduled rebalance of the Index or other modification of Index constituents or weightings. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where the Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors. For example, during a period where the Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund tracking the Index would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.

First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund (FDL)

the Fund’s portfolio holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. In addition, the Fund’s portfolio holdings may not exactly replicate the securities included in the Index or the ratios between the securities included in the Index. Additionally, in order to comply with its investment strategies and policies, the Fund portfolio may deviate from the composition of the Index. Accordingly, the Fund's return may underperform the return of the Index.

Annual Total Return

The bar chart and table below illustrate the annual calendar year returns of the Fund based on net asset value as well as the average annual Fund and Index returns. The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns based on net asset value compared to those of the Index, a market index and a broad-based market index. See “Total Return Information” for additional performance information regarding the Fund. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com.

First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund (FDL)

First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31

During the periods shown in the chart above:

Best Quarter		Worst Quarter
26.37%	June 30, 2020	-30.57%	March 31, 2020

The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.

Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2022

	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Return Before Taxes	6.71%	8.30%	11.10%	7.73%	3/9/2006
Return After Taxes on Distributions	5.11%	6.52%	9.40%	6.13%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	3.92%	5.61%	8.18%	5.46%
Morningstar® Dividend Leaders IndexSM (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	7.08%	8.86%	11.67%	8.27%
Russell 1000® Value Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	-7.54%	6.67%	10.29%	7.21%
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	-18.11%	9.42%	12.56%	8.96%

Management

Investment Advisor

First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)

First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund (FDL)

Portfolio Managers

The Fund’s portfolio is managed by a team (the “Investment Committee”) consisting of:

•

Daniel J. Lindquist, Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director of First Trust

•

David G. McGarel, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of First Trust

•

Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Roger F. Testin, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Stan Ueland, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Chris A. Peterson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Erik Russo, Vice President of First Trust

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Tax Information

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

Summary Information

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (QQEW)

Investment Objective

The First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an equity index called the Nasdaq-100 Equal WeightedTM Index (the “Index”).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)

Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

None

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Management Fees	0.40%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.18%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.58%
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement(1)	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement	0.58%

(1)

First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund’s investment advisor, has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse Fund expenses to the extent that the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses) exceed 0.60% of its average daily net assets (the “Expense Cap”) at least through April 30, 2024. Expenses reimbursed and fees waived under such agreement are subject to recovery by the Fund’s investment advisor for up to three years from the date the fee was waived or expense was incurred, but no recovery payment will be made by the Fund if it results in the Fund exceeding (i) the applicable expense limitation in place for the most recent fiscal year for which such expense limitation was in place, (ii) the applicable expense limitation in place at the time the fees were waived or expenses were reimbursed, or (iii) the current expense limitation. The agreement may be terminated by the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, at any time and by the Fund’s investment advisor only after April 30, 2024 upon 60 days’ written notice.

Example

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain at current levels. The example assumes that the Fund’s investment advisor’s agreement to waive fees and/or pay the Fund’s expenses to the extent necessary to prevent the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, and extraordinary expenses) from exceeding 0.60% of average daily net assets will be terminated following April 30, 2024. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$59	$186	$324	$726

Portfolio Turnover

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (QQEW)

Principal Investment Strategies

The Index is the equal-weighted version of the Nasdaq-100 Index®. The Nasdaq-100 Index® includes 100 of the largest U.S. and international non-financial companies listed on Nasdaq based on market capitalization. According to the Index Provider, in order to be eligible for inclusion in the Index, a security must meet the following criteria: (i) the issuer of the security’s primary U.S. listing must be exclusively listed on Nasdaq (unless the security was dually listed on another U.S. market prior to January 1, 2004 and has continuously maintained such listing); (ii) the security must be issued by a non-financial company; (iii) the security must have an average daily trading volume of at least 200,000 shares over the previous three months; and (iv) if the issuer of the security is organized under the laws of a jurisdiction outside the United States, then such security must have listed options on a recognized options market in the United States or be eligible for listed-options trading on a recognized options market in the United States. According to the Index Provider, the 100 securities with the largest capitalizations meeting these criteria are included in the Index and are each assigned a weight of 1.00%. Once selected for inclusion in the Index, in addition to the criteria set forth above, the issuer of a security must meet the size requirements of the Index. Index composition changes during schedule reconstitutions are subject to certain buffers designed to limit turnover. The Index may contain securities, common stocks and depositary receipts issued by mid and large capitalization companies.

The Index is rebalanced quarterly and reconstituted annually and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index’s quarterly rebalance schedule may cause the Fund to experience a higher rate of portfolio turnover. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. As of March 31, 2023, the Index was composed of 101 securities and the Fund had significant investments in information technology companies, although this may change from time to time. In order to gain exposure to certain Chinese companies that are included in the Index but are unavailable to direct investment by foreign investors, the Fund invests significantly in non-Chinese shell companies that have created structures known as variable interest entities (“VIEs”) in order to gain exposure to such Chinese companies. The Fund’s investments will change as the Index changes and, as a result, the Fund may have significant investments in jurisdictions or investment sectors that it may not have had as of March 31, 2023. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.

Principal Risks

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (QQEW)

VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES RISK. In China, direct ownership of companies in certain sectors by foreign individuals and entities is prohibited. In order to allow for foreign investment in these businesses, many Chinese companies have created VIE structures to enable indirect foreign ownership. In such an arrangement, a Chinese operating company typically establishes an offshore shell company in another jurisdiction, such as the Cayman Islands. That shell company enters into service and other contracts with the Chinese issuer or operating company to obtain economic exposure to the Chinese company, then issues shares on an exchange outside of mainland China, and U.S. investors hold stock in the non-Chinese shell company rather than directly in the Chinese issuer or operating company. This arrangement allows U.S. investors, such as the Fund, to obtain economic exposure to the Chinese issuer or operating company through contractual means rather than through formal equity ownership. Because neither the shell company nor the Fund owns actual equity interests in the Chinese operating company,

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (QQEW)

they do not have the voting rights or other types of control that an equity holder would expect to benefit from. Although VIEs are a longstanding industry practice and well known to officials and regulators in China, VIEs are not formally recognized under Chinese law. Intervention by the Chinese government with respect to VIEs could significantly affect the Chinese company’s performance and the enforceability of the VIE’s contractual arrangements that establish the links between the Chinese company and the shell company in which the Fund invests. This could considerably impact the financial condition of the shell company in which the Fund invests by limiting its ability to consolidate the financial results of the Chinese operating company into its own financial statements, as well as make the value of the shares held by the Fund effectively worthless. Further, if Chinese officials prohibit the existence of VIEs, the market value of the Fund’s associated holdings would likely suffer significant, and possibly permanent effects, which could negatively impact the Fund’s net asset value and could result in substantial losses. Further, it is uncertain whether any new laws, rules or regulations relating to VIE structures will be adopted or, if adopted, what impact they would have on the value of the Fund’s shares.

VIEs are also subject to the investment risks associated with the underlying Chinese issuer or operating company. Chinese companies are not subject to the same degree of regulatory requirements or accounting standards and oversight as companies in more developed countries. As a result, information about the Chinese securities and VIEs in which the Fund invests may be less reliable and incomplete. There also may be significant obstacles to obtaining information necessary for investigations into or litigation against Chinese companies and VIEs, and shareholders may have limited legal remedies, which could negatively impact the Fund. Additionally, U.S.-listed VIEs may be delisted if they do not meet U.S. accounting standards and auditor oversight requirements. Delisting would significantly decrease the liquidity and value of the securities, decrease the ability of the Fund to invest in such securities and may increase the cost of the Fund if required to seek alternative markets in which to invest in such securities.

Annual Total Return

The bar chart and table below illustrate the annual calendar year returns of the Fund based on net asset value as well as the average annual Fund and Index returns. The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns based on net asset value compared to those of the Index, a broad-based market index and a market index. See “Total Return Information” for additional performance information regarding the Fund. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com.

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31

During the periods shown in the chart above:

Best Quarter		Worst Quarter
28.33%	June 30, 2020	-18.36%	June 30, 2022

The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (QQEW)

therefore, are also adjusted for any capital gains or losses incurred. Returns for the market indices do not include expenses, which are deducted from Fund returns, or taxes.

Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2022

	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Return Before Taxes	-24.62%	9.43%	13.68%	9.87%	4/19/2006
Return After Taxes on Distributions	-24.82%	9.22%	13.40%	9.65%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	-14.57%	7.37%	11.37%	8.35%
Nasdaq-100 Equal WeightedTM Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	-24.31%	10.06%	14.38%	10.54%
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	-18.11%	9.42%	12.56%	8.82%
Nasdaq-100 Index® (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	-32.38%	12.36%	16.45%	12.73%

Management

Investment Advisor

First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)

Portfolio Managers

The Fund’s portfolio is managed by a team (the “Investment Committee”) consisting of:

•

Daniel J. Lindquist, Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director of First Trust

•

David G. McGarel, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of First Trust

•

Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Roger F. Testin, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Stan Ueland, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Chris A. Peterson, Senior Vice President of First Trust

•

Erik Russo, Vice President of First Trust

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Summary Information

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund (QQXT)

Investment Objective

The First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an equity index called the Nasdaq-100 Ex-Tech SectorTM Index (the “Index”).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)

Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

None

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Management Fees	0.40%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.23%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.63%
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement(1)	0.03%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement	0.60%

(1)

First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund’s investment advisor, has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse Fund expenses to the extent that the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses) exceed 0.60% of its average daily net assets (the “Expense Cap”) at least through April 30, 2024. Expenses reimbursed and fees waived under such agreement are subject to recovery by the Fund’s investment advisor for up to three years from the date the fee was waived or expense was incurred, but no recovery payment will be made by the Fund if it results in the Fund exceeding (i) the applicable expense limitation in place for the most recent fiscal year for which such expense limitation was in place, (ii) the applicable expense limitation in place at the time the fees were waived or expenses were reimbursed, or (iii) the current expense limitation. The agreement may be terminated by the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, at any time and by the Fund’s investment advisor only after April 30, 2024 upon 60 days’ written notice.

Example

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain at current levels. The example assumes that the Fund’s investment advisor’s agreement to waive fees and/or pay the Fund’s expenses to the extent necessary to prevent the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, and extraordinary expenses) from exceeding 0.60% of average daily net assets will be terminated following April 30, 2024. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$61	$199	$348	$783

Portfolio Turnover

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund (QQXT)

Principal Investment Strategies

The Index is an equal-weighted index composed of the securities comprising the Nasdaq-100 Index® that are not classified as “technology” according to the Industry Classification Benchmark (“ICB”) classification system. The Nasdaq-100 Index® includes 100 of the largest U.S. and international non-financial companies listed on Nasdaq based on market capitalization. According to the Index Provider, in order to be eligible for inclusion in the Index, a security must meet the following criteria: (i) the issuer of the security’s primary U.S. listing must be exclusively listed on Nasdaq (unless the security was dually listed on another U.S. market prior to January 1, 2004 and has continuously maintained such listing); (ii) the security must be issued by a non-financial company; (iii) the security must have an average daily trading volume of at least 200,000 shares over the previous three months; and (iv) if the issuer of the security is organized under the laws of a jurisdiction outside the United States, then such security selected for inclusion in the Index must have listed options on a recognized options market in the United States or be eligible for listed-options trading on a recognized options market in the United States. According to the Index Provider, in addition to the criteria set forth above, the issuer of a security must meet the size requirements of the Index. Index composition changes during scheduled reconstitutions are subject to certain buffers designed to limit turnover. The Index may contain securities, common stocks and depositary receipts issued by mid and large capitalization companies.

The Index is rebalanced quarterly and reconstituted annually and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index’s quarterly rebalance schedule may cause the Fund to experience a higher rate of portfolio turnover. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. As of March 31, 2023, the Index was composed of 64 securities and the Fund had significant investments in consumer discretionary companies and health care companies, although this may change from time to time. In order to gain exposure to certain Chinese companies that are included in the Index but are unavailable to direct investment by foreign investors, the Fund invests significantly in non-Chinese shell companies that have created structures known as variable interest entities (“VIEs”) in order to gain exposure to such Chinese companies. The Fund’s investments will change as the Index changes and, as a result, the Fund may have significant investments in jurisdictions or investment sectors that it may not have had as of March 31, 2023. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.

Principal Risks

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund (QQXT)

accurately compile, maintain, construct, reconstitute, rebalance, compose, calculate and disseminate the Index accurately. Therefore, losses or costs associated with any Index Provider or agent errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. To correct any such error, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out an unscheduled rebalance of the Index or other modification of Index constituents or weightings. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where the Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors. For example, during a period where the Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund tracking the Index would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund (QQXT)

not exactly replicate the securities included in the Index or the ratios between the securities included in the Index. Additionally, in order to comply with its investment strategies and policies, the Fund portfolio may deviate from the composition of the Index. Accordingly, the Fund's return may underperform the return of the Index.

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund (QQXT)

issues shares on an exchange outside of mainland China, and U.S. investors hold stock in the non-Chinese shell company rather than directly in the Chinese issuer or operating company. This arrangement allows U.S. investors, such as the Fund, to obtain economic exposure to the Chinese issuer or operating company through contractual means rather than through formal equity ownership. Because neither the shell company nor the Fund owns actual equity interests in the Chinese operating company, they do not have the voting rights or other types of control that an equity holder would expect to benefit from. Although VIEs are a longstanding industry practice and well known to officials and regulators in China, VIEs are not formally recognized under Chinese law. Intervention by the Chinese government with respect to VIEs could significantly affect the Chinese company’s performance and the enforceability of the VIE’s contractual arrangements that establish the links between the Chinese company and the shell company in which the Fund invests. This could considerably impact the financial condition of the shell company in which the Fund invests by limiting its ability to consolidate the financial results of the Chinese operating company into its own financial statements, as well as make the value of the shares held by the Fund effectively worthless. Further, if Chinese officials prohibit the existence of VIEs, the market value of the Fund’s associated holdings would likely suffer significant, and possibly permanent effects, which could negatively impact the Fund’s net asset value and could result in substantial losses. Further, it is uncertain whether any new laws, rules or regulations relating to VIE structures will be adopted or, if adopted, what impact they would have on the value of the Fund’s shares.

Annual Total Return

The bar chart and table below illustrate the annual calendar year returns of the Fund based on net asset value as well as the average annual Fund and Index returns. The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns based on net asset value compared to those of the Index and two broad-based market indices. See “Total Return Information” for additional performance information regarding the Fund. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com.

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31

Summary Information
First Trust Capital Strength ETF (FTCS)	3
First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund (FDN)	11
First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund (FDM)	19
First Trust Natural Gas ETF (FCG)	26
First Trust Water ETF (FIW)	35
First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund (FDL)	42
First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (QQEW)	49
First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Technology Sector Index Fund (QQXT)	57
First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund (QTEC)	65
First Trust NASDAQ® ABA Community Bank Index Fund (QABA)	72
First Trust NASDAQ® Clean Edge® Green Energy Index Fund (QCLN)	79
First Trust NYSE® Arca® Biotechnology Index Fund (FBT)	87
First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund (FRI)	95
First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF (FPX)	102
First Trust Value Line® Dividend Index Fund (FVD)	110
Additional Information on the Funds' Investment Objectives and Strategies	118
Fund Investments	120
Risks of Investing in the Funds	121
Fund Organization	132
Management of the Funds	132
How to Buy and Sell Shares	134
Dividends, Distributions and Taxes	135
Federal Tax Matters	135
Distribution Plan	138
Net Asset Value	138
Fund Service Providers	139
Index Providers	139
Disclaimers	139
Premium/Discount Information	145
Total Return Information	145
Financial Highlights	151
Other Information	166

Best Quarter		Worst Quarter
27.43%	June 30, 2020	-15.39%	March 31, 2020