EDGAR HTML
 
First Trust
Exchange-Traded Fund VI
 
Prospectus 
FUND NAME
TICKER SYMBOL
EXCHANGE
First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF
LEGR
Nasdaq
First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF
ROBT
Nasdaq
 
Each of the funds listed above (each a “Fund,” and collectively, the “Funds”) lists and principally trades its shares on Nasdaq, Inc. (“Nasdaq” or the “Exchange”). 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 VI (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.
February 2, 2026
NOT FDIC INSURED MAY LOSE VALUE NO BANK GUARANTEE
Summary Information
First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF (LEGR)
Investment Objective
The First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an index called the Indxx Blockchain 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
0.65%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees
0.00%
Other Expenses
0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses(1)
0.65%
(1)
Expenses have been restated to reflect the current fiscal year.
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. 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
$66
$208
$362
$810
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 15% of the average value of its portfolio.
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 owned, developed, maintained and sponsored by Indxx, Inc. (the “Index Provider”). The Index Provider reserves the right to use qualitative judgment to include, exclude, adjust, or postpone the inclusion of a stock in the Index. Continued Index membership of a constituent is not necessarily subject to the guidelines provided in the Index methodology. A stock may be considered for exclusion by the Index Provider on the basis of corporate governance, accounting policies, lack of transparency and lack of representation, despite meeting all the criteria provided in the Index methodology.
According to the Index Provider, the Index is designed to track the performance of companies that are either actively using, investing in, developing, or have products that are poised to benefit from blockchain technology. The Index seeks to include only companies that have devoted material resources or made material commitments to the use of blockchain technologies.
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Blockchain is a type of distributed ledger, or decentralized database that keeps continuously updated digital records of who owns a particular asset (e.g., cryptocurrency, contracts, information, etc.). It is kept and validated simultaneously by a network of computers, similar to a shared spreadsheet that no one person can change without the agreement of the others. A blockchain is comprised of unchangeable, digitally recorded data in packages called “blocks.” These digitally recorded blocks of data are stored in a linear “chain.” Each block in the chain contains data (e.g., a transaction), that is cryptographically connected to the previous-block in the chain, ensuring all data in the overall “blockchain” has not been tampered with and remains unchanged. Blockchain networks can be private with restricted membership similar to an intranet, or public like the Internet, accessible to any person in the world. The entire chain is continually updated so that every ledger in the network is the same, giving each member the ability to prove who owns what at any given time. Blockchain technology has the potential to increase efficiency for various business processes, including recordkeeping, payment processing and inventory management, among others. See “Additional Information on the Fund’s Investment Objective and Strategies” for an additional discussion of blockchain technology.
According to the Index Provider, the securities included in the Index are selected in the following manner:
1.
companies must have either their primary listing or their incorporation in developed or emerging markets as defined by the Index Provider;
2.
securities must be a common stock, depositary receipt or real estate investment trust;
3.
securities from the same issuer will be subject to conditions controlled by the Index Provider to determine Index eligibility;
4.
companies that don't meet the minimum size, liquidity, seasoning and float requirements are removed;
5.
companies trading at a price of $10,000 or above per share are removed unless they are a current constituent in the Index;
6.
from the eligible universe, each company is assigned to a tier based on how they are to benefit from blockchain technology;
i.
Tier 1 – Active Enablers – companies that are actively developing blockchain technology products or systems for their own use internally, but also for sale and support to other companies; companies that are direct service providers for blockchain technology; or, companies that have business models that rely on delivering products or services that utilize blockchain technology;
ii.
Tier 2 – Active Users – companies that are using blockchain technology which is generally supported by an Active Enabler; or, companies that have at least one use or test case implementing blockchain technology;
iii.
Tier 3 – Active Explorers – companies that have publicly disclosed that they are active in exploring the incorporation of blockchain technology into their business; or, companies that have a press release on their website or a news article stating that they have started working on the blockchain technology space;
7.
companies assigned to Tiers 1 and 2 are eligible for inclusion in the Index;
8.
the top 100 companies by market capitalization are included in the Index (if fewer than 100 companies qualify for inclusion in the Index, then all the constituents will be included in the Index);
9.
companies from Tier 1 and Tier 2 will each make up 50% of the Index, with companies equally-weighted within each tier.
According to the Index Provider, only Tiers 1 and 2 are eligible for inclusion in the Index because the Index Provider believes they are actively investing resources into products or services that utilize blockchain technology. The Index Provider may adjust the rebalance/reconstitution schedule in the future to accommodate the evolution of the target universe. The Fund may also invest in U.S. dollar denominated and non-U.S. dollar denominated 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 December 31, 2025, the Index was composed of 101 securities with market capitalizations ranging from $7.71 billion to $4.53 trillion. As of December 31, 2025, the Fund had significant investments in financial companies, information technology companies, Asian issuers and European issuers, 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 December 31, 2025. 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.
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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.
ASIA RISK. The Fund is subject to certain risks specifically associated with investments in the securities of Asian issuers. Many Asian economies have experienced rapid growth and industrialization, and there is no assurance that this growth rate will be maintained. Some Asian economies are highly dependent on trade, and economic conditions in other countries within and outside Asia can impact these economies. Certain of these economies may be adversely affected by trade or policy disputes with its major trade partners. There is also a high concentration of market capitalization and trading volume in a small number of issuers representing a limited number of industries, as well as a high concentration of investors and financial intermediaries. Certain Asian countries have experienced and may in the future experience expropriation and nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, currency manipulation, political instability, armed conflict and social instability as a result of religious, ethnic, socio-economic and/or political unrest. In particular, escalated tensions involving North Korea and any outbreak of hostilities involving North Korea could have a severe adverse effect on Asian economies. Governments of certain Asian countries have exercised, and continue to exercise, substantial influence over many aspects of the private sector. In certain cases, the government owns or controls many companies, including the largest in the country. Accordingly, government actions could have a significant effect on the issuers of the Fund’s securities or on economic conditions generally. Recent developments in relations between the U.S. and China have heightened concerns of increased tariffs and restrictions on trade between the two countries. An increase in tariffs or trade restrictions, or even the threat of such developments, could lead to a significant reduction in international trade, which could have a negative impact on the economy of Asian countries and a commensurately negative impact on the Fund.
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.
BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY RISK. Blockchain technology is an entirely new and relatively untested technology which operates as a distributed ledger. The risks associated with blockchain technology may not emerge until the technology is widely used. Blockchain systems could be vulnerable to fraud, particularly if a significant minority of participants colluded to defraud the rest. Access to a given blockchain requires an individualized key, which, if compromised, could result in loss due to theft, destruction or inaccessibility. There is little regulation of blockchain technology other than the intrinsic public nature of the blockchain system. Any future regulatory developments could affect the viability and expansion of the use of blockchain technology. Because blockchain technology systems may operate across many national boundaries and regulatory jurisdictions, it is possible that blockchain technology may be subject to widespread and inconsistent regulation. Blockchain technology is not a product or service that provides identifiable revenue for companies that implement, or otherwise use it. Therefore, the values of the companies included in an Index may not be a reflection of their connection to blockchain technology, but may be based on other business operations. Currently, blockchain technology is primarily used for the recording of transactions in digital currency, which are extremely speculative, unregulated and volatile. Problems in digital currency markets could have a wider effect on companies associated with blockchain technology. Blockchain technology also may never be implemented to a scale that provides identifiable economic benefit to the companies included in an Index. There are currently a number of competing blockchain platforms with competing intellectual property claims. The uncertainty inherent in these competing technologies could cause companies to use alternatives to blockchain. Finally, because digital assets registered in a blockchain do not have a standardized exchange, like a stock market, there is less liquidity for such assets and greater possibility of fraud or manipulation.
CURRENCY RISK. Changes in currency exchange rates affect the value of investments denominated in a foreign currency, and therefore the value of such investments in the Fund’s portfolio. The Fund’s net asset value could decline if a currency to which the Fund has exposure depreciates against the U.S. dollar or if there are delays or limits on repatriation of such currency. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning.
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CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS RISK. Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions. As a means to fight inflation, the Federal Reserve and certain foreign central banks have raised interest rates; however, the Federal Reserve has begun to lower interest rates and may continue to do so. U.S. regulators have proposed several changes to market and issuer regulations which would directly impact the Fund, and any regulatory changes could adversely impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment strategies or make certain investments. 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. Additionally, challenges in commercial real estate markets, including high interest rates, declining valuations and elevated vacancies, could have a broader impact on financial markets. The ongoing adversarial political climate in the United States, as well as political and diplomatic events both domestic and abroad, have and may continue to have an adverse impact the U.S. regulatory landscape, markets and investor behavior, which could have a negative impact on the Fund’s investments and operations. The change in administration resulting from the 2024 United States national elections could result in significant impacts to international trade relations, tax and immigration policies, and other aspects of the national and international political and financial landscape, which could affect, among other things, inflation and the securities markets generally. Other unexpected political, regulatory and diplomatic events within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy. For example, ongoing armed conflicts between Russia and Ukraine in Europe and among Israel, Iran, Hamas and other militant groups in the Middle East, have caused and could continue to cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in Russia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions resulting from those hostilities have and could continue to have a significant impact on certain Fund investments as well as Fund performance and liquidity. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as the financial markets generally, may be adversely impacted by trade disputes, including the imposition of tariffs, and other matters. For example, the United States has imposed trade barriers and restrictions on China. In addition, the Chinese government is engaged in a longstanding dispute with Taiwan, continually threatening an invasion. If the political climate between the United States and China does not improve or continues to deteriorate, if China were to attempt invading Taiwan, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets and individual securities may be adversely affected, and the value of the Fund’s assets may go down. A public health crisis and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks may cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. As the COVID-19 global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. Advancements in technology may also adversely impact markets and the overall performance of the Fund. For instance, the economy may be significantly impacted by the advanced development and increased regulation of artificial intelligence. Additionally, cyber security breaches of both government and non-government entities could have negative impacts on infrastructure and the ability of such entities, including the Fund, to operate properly. These events, and any other future events, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.
CYBER SECURITY RISK. The Fund is susceptible to operational, information security and related 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, any of which could result in a material adverse effect on the Fund or its shareholders. 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. Emerging threats like ransomware or zero-day exploits could also cause disruptions to Fund operations. 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, among many other third-party service providers, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. Further, errors, misconduct, or compromise of accounts of employees of the Fund or its third-party service providers can also create material cybersecurity risks. 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. Cyber security incidents may also trigger Fund obligations under data privacy laws, potentially increasing notification and compliance burdens. Cyber security incidents affecting issuers in whose securities the Fund invests may also have a negative impact on the value of the securities of such issuers, and in turn, the value of the Fund.
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
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First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF (LEGR)
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.
EMERGING MARKETS RISK. Investments in securities issued by governments and companies operating in emerging market countries involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions not associated with investments in securities and instruments issued by U.S. companies or by companies operating in other developed market countries. Investments in emerging markets securities are generally considered speculative in nature and are subject to the following heightened risks: smaller market capitalization of securities markets which may suffer periods of relative illiquidity; significant price volatility; restrictions on foreign investment; possible repatriation of investment income and capital; rapid inflation; and currency convertibility issues. Emerging market countries also often have less uniformity in accounting, auditing and reporting requirements, unsettled securities laws, unreliable securities valuation and greater risk associated with custody of securities. Financial and other reporting by companies and government entities also may be less reliable in emerging market countries. Shareholder claims that are available in the U.S., as well as regulatory oversight and authority that is common in the U.S., including for claims based on fraud, may be difficult or impossible for shareholders of securities in emerging market countries or for U.S. authorities to pursue. The Index the Fund seeks to track may not weight the securities in emerging market countries on the basis of investor protection limitations, financial reporting quality or available oversight mechanisms. Furthermore, investors may be required to register the proceeds of sales and future economic or political crises could lead to price controls, forced mergers, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, seizure, nationalization or creation of government monopolies.
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.
EUROPE RISK. The Fund is subject to certain risks specifically associated with investments in the securities of European issuers. Political or economic disruptions in European countries, even in countries in which the Fund is not invested, may adversely affect security values and thus the Fund’s holdings. A significant number of countries in Europe are member states in the European Union (the “EU”), and the member states no longer control their own monetary policies by directing independent interest rates for their currencies. In these member states, the authority to direct monetary policies, including money supply and official interest rates for the Euro, is exercised by the European Central Bank. In a 2016 referendum, the United Kingdom elected to withdraw from the EU (“Brexit”). After years of negotiations between the United Kingdom and the EU, a withdrawal agreement was reached whereby the United Kingdom formally left the EU. As the second largest economy among EU members, the implications of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal are difficult to gauge and cannot be fully known. Its departure may negatively impact the EU and Europe as a whole by causing volatility within the EU, triggering prolonged economic downturns in certain European countries or sparking additional member states to contemplate departing the EU (thereby perpetuating political instability in the region).
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.
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
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First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF (LEGR)
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.
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 or issuer-specific events may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, exclude or substitute a security in the Index or undertake other measures 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.
INTERNATIONAL CLOSED MARKET TRADING RISK. Because securities held by the Fund trade on non-U.S. exchanges that are closed when the Fund’s primary listing exchange is open, there are likely to be deviations between the current price of an underlying security and the last quoted price for the underlying security (i.e., the Fund’s quote from the closed foreign market) used for purposes of calculating the Fund's net asset value, resulting in premiums or discounts to the Fund’s net asset value that may be greater than those experienced by other exchange-traded funds. In addition, shareholders may not be able to purchase and sell shares of the Fund on the listing exchange for the Fund, on days when the net asset value of the Fund could be significantly affected by events in the relevant foreign markets.
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First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF (LEGR)
LIQUIDITY RISK. The Fund may hold certain investments that may be subject to restrictions on resale, trade over-the-counter or in limited volume, or lack an active trading market. Certain investments held by the Fund that trade on non-U.S. exchanges may be further subject to liquidity risk due to foreign market closures or unexpected impediments to trading on local markets. Accordingly, the Fund may not be able to sell or close out of such investments at favorable times or prices (or at all), or at the prices approximating those at which the Fund currently values them. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments and may be subject to wide fluctuations in market valueand the bid/ask spread on the Fund's shares may widen.
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 makers. 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.
MARKET RISK. Market risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by real or perceived adverse economic, political, and regulatory factors 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, market manipulation, government defaults, government shutdowns, regulatory actions, political changes, diplomatic developments, the imposition of sanctions and other similar measures, 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. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of the Fund’s shares, the liquidity of an investment, and may 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, the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen and the returns on investment may fluctuate.
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.
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.
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. These errors or failures may adversely affect the Fund’s operations, including its ability to execute its investment process, calculate or disseminate its NAV or intraday indicative optimized portfolio value in a timely manner, and process creations or redemptions. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody, valuation, administration, transfer services, securities lending and accounting, among many others. 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.
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First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF (LEGR)
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 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 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.
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.
VALUATION RISK. The Fund may hold securities or other assets that may be valued on the basis of factors other than market quotations. This may occurbecause the asset or security does not trade on a centralized exchange, or in times of market turmoil or reduced liquidity. There are multiple methods that can be used to value a portfolio holding when market quotations are not readily available. Fund investments that trade on non-U.S. exchanges that close prior to the close of the Nasdaq may be fair valued using a systematic fair valuation model. If these foreign investments meet certain criteria in relation to the valuation model, their valuation is systematically adjusted to reflect the impact of movement in the U.S. market after the close of certain foreign markets. The value established for any portfolio holding at a point in time might differ from what would be produced using a different methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations. Portfolio holdings that are valued using techniques other than market quotations, including “fair valued” assets or securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their valuations from one day to the next than if market quotations were used. In addition, there is no assurance that the Fund could sell or close out a portfolio position for the value established for it at any time, and it is possible that the Fund would incur a loss because a portfolio position is sold or closed out at a discount to the valuation established by the Fund at that time. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.
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
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First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF (LEGR)
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 securities market index. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at http://www.ftportfolios.com.
First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31
 
During the periods shown in the chart above: 
 
Return
Period Ended
Best Quarter
20.07%
December 31, 2020
Worst Quarter
-21.83%
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.
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 an index 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, 2025 
 
1 Year
5 Years
Since
Inception
Inception
Date
Return Before Taxes
30.87%
12.25%
11.26%
1/24/2018
Return After Taxes on Distributions
29.81%
11.19%
10.34%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares
18.22%
9.18%
8.65%
Indxx Blockchain Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses
or taxes)
32.14%
13.31%
12.30%
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or
taxes)
17.88%
14.42%
13.59%
Management
Investment Advisor
First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)
11
First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF (LEGR)
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, Senior 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 2018, except Erik Russo, who has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2020.
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  http://www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/etf/home.aspx.
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.
12
Summary Information
First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF (ROBT)
Investment Objective
The First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an index called the Nasdaq CTA Artificial Intelligence and RoboticsTM 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
0.65%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees
0.00%
Other Expenses
0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses(1)
0.65%
(1)
Expenses have been restated to reflect the current fiscal year.
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. 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
$66
$208
$362
$810
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 52% of the average value of its portfolio.
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 owned, calculated and maintained by Nasdaq, Inc. (the “Index Provider”). Nasdaq, Inc. and the Consumer Technology Association (“CTA”) have jointly developed the eligibility and selection criteria and rules for the Index. The Index Provider may, from time to time, exercise reasonable discretion as it deems appropriate in order to ensure Index integrity.
According to the Index Provider, the Index is designed to measure the performance of companies engaged in the artificial intelligence (“AI”) and robotics segment of the technology, industrial, medical and other economic sectors. The Fund may invest in depositary receipts, U.S. dollar denominated and non-U.S. dollar denominated securities and securities issued by
13
First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF (ROBT)
companies operating in emerging markets. The Index Provider classifies a country as “emerging” based on a number of criteria including, but not limited to, gross national income per capita, national market capitalization and national trading volume. Emerging market countries are generally characterized by lower market efficiency and less strict standards in accounting and securities regulation than developed markets. The Index Provider classifies companies as operating in a country primarily by their country of incorporation, domicile and primary exchange listing. According to the Index Provider, the Index includes companies in AI or robotics that are classified as one of the following three groups:
●
Engagers: companies that design, create, integrate, or deliver robotics and/or AI in the form of products, software, or systems;
●
Enablers: companies that develop the building block components for robotics or AI, such as advanced machinery, autonomous systems/self-driving vehicles, semiconductors and databases used for machine learning; and
●
Enhancers: companies that provide their own value-added services within the AI and robotics ecosystem, but which are not core to their product or service offering.
According to the Index Provider, securities are selected for inclusion in the Index in the following manner:
1.
the starting universe consists of companies listed on an Index-eligible global stock exchange (a global exchange will be deemed ineligible if securities cannot be readily obtained either due to foreign investment restrictions or otherwise) classified by CTA as an AI or robotics company;
2.
companies that do not meet minimum size, float and liquidity requirements are excluded;
3.
securities from the same issuer will be subject to conditions controlled by the Index Provider to determine Index eligibility;
4.
each remaining company is ranked by its CTA AI Intensity Ratings, which capture the perceived degree of a company’s AI sector involvement within one of the three categories: Enabler, Engager and Enhancer;
5.
the Index then selects the top 30 companies within each category, including ties, based on their CTA AI Intensity Ratings;
6.
the index divides the overall portfolio weight between the three categories as follows:
i.
Engagers: 60%;
ii.
Enablers: 25%;
iii.
Enhancers: 15%;
7.
companies are equally weighted within their respective categories.
The Index is rebalanced quarterly 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. The Index’s quarterly rebalance schedule may cause the Fund to experience a higher rate of portfolio turnover. As of December 31, 2025, the Index was composed of 110 securities with market capitalizations ranging from $772.62 million to $4.53 trillion. As of December 31, 2025, the Fund had significant investments in 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 December 31, 2025. 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
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.
14
First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF (ROBT)
CURRENCY RISK. Changes in currency exchange rates affect the value of investments denominated in a foreign currency, and therefore the value of such investments in the Fund’s portfolio. The Fund’s net asset value could decline if a currency to which the Fund has exposure depreciates against the U.S. dollar or if there are delays or limits on repatriation of such currency. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning.
CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS RISK. Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions. As a means to fight inflation, the Federal Reserve and certain foreign central banks have raised interest rates; however, the Federal Reserve has begun to lower interest rates and may continue to do so. U.S. regulators have proposed several changes to market and issuer regulations which would directly impact the Fund, and any regulatory changes could adversely impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment strategies or make certain investments. 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. Additionally, challenges in commercial real estate markets, including high interest rates, declining valuations and elevated vacancies, could have a broader impact on financial markets. The ongoing adversarial political climate in the United States, as well as political and diplomatic events both domestic and abroad, have and may continue to have an adverse impact the U.S. regulatory landscape, markets and investor behavior, which could have a negative impact on the Fund’s investments and operations. The change in administration resulting from the 2024 United States national elections could result in significant impacts to international trade relations, tax and immigration policies, and other aspects of the national and international political and financial landscape, which could affect, among other things, inflation and the securities markets generally. Other unexpected political, regulatory and diplomatic events within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy. For example, ongoing armed conflicts between Russia and Ukraine in Europe and among Israel, Iran, Hamas and other militant groups in the Middle East, have caused and could continue to cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in Russia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions resulting from those hostilities have and could continue to have a significant impact on certain Fund investments as well as Fund performance and liquidity. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as the financial markets generally, may be adversely impacted by trade disputes, including the imposition of tariffs, and other matters. For example, the United States has imposed trade barriers and restrictions on China. In addition, the Chinese government is engaged in a longstanding dispute with Taiwan, continually threatening an invasion. If the political climate between the United States and China does not improve or continues to deteriorate, if China were to attempt invading Taiwan, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets and individual securities may be adversely affected, and the value of the Fund’s assets may go down. A public health crisis and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks may cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. As the COVID-19 global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. Advancements in technology may also adversely impact markets and the overall performance of the Fund. For instance, the economy may be significantly impacted by the advanced development and increased regulation of artificial intelligence. Additionally, cyber security breaches of both government and non-government entities could have negative impacts on infrastructure and the ability of such entities, including the Fund, to operate properly. These events, and any other future events, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.
CYBER SECURITY RISK. The Fund is susceptible to operational, information security and related 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, any of which could result in a material adverse effect on the Fund or its shareholders. 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. Emerging threats like ransomware or zero-day exploits could also cause disruptions to Fund operations. 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, among many other third-party service providers, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. Further, errors, misconduct, or compromise of accounts of employees of the Fund or its third-party service providers can also create material cybersecurity risks. 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. Cyber security incidents may also trigger Fund obligations under data privacy
15
First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF (ROBT)
laws, potentially increasing notification and compliance burdens. Cyber security incidents affecting issuers in whose securities the Fund invests may also have a negative impact on the value of the securities of such issuers, and in turn, the value of the Fund.
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.
EMERGING MARKETS RISK. Investments in securities issued by governments and companies operating in emerging market countries involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions not associated with investments in securities and instruments issued by U.S. companies or by companies operating in other developed market countries. Investments in emerging markets securities are generally considered speculative in nature and are subject to the following heightened risks: smaller market capitalization of securities markets which may suffer periods of relative illiquidity; significant price volatility; restrictions on foreign investment; possible repatriation of investment income and capital; rapid inflation; and currency convertibility issues. Emerging market countries also often have less uniformity in accounting, auditing and reporting requirements, unsettled securities laws, unreliable securities valuation and greater risk associated with custody of securities. Financial and other reporting by companies and government entities also may be less reliable in emerging market countries. Shareholder claims that are available in the U.S., as well as regulatory oversight and authority that is common in the U.S., including for claims based on fraud, may be difficult or impossible for shareholders of securities in emerging market countries or for U.S. authorities to pursue. The Index the Fund seeks to track may not weight the securities in emerging market countries on the basis of investor protection limitations, financial reporting quality or available oversight mechanisms. Furthermore, investors may be required to register the proceeds of sales and future economic or political crises could lead to price controls, forced mergers, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, seizure, nationalization or creation of government monopolies.
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.
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.
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
16
First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF (ROBT)
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 or issuer-specific events may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, exclude or substitute a security in the Index or undertake other measures 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.
INTERNATIONAL CLOSED MARKET TRADING RISK. Because securities held by the Fund trade on non-U.S. exchanges that are closed when the Fund’s primary listing exchange is open, there are likely to be deviations between the current price of an underlying security and the last quoted price for the underlying security (i.e., the Fund’s quote from the closed foreign market) used for purposes of calculating the Fund's net asset value, resulting in premiums or discounts to the Fund’s net asset value that may be greater than those experienced by other exchange-traded funds. In addition, shareholders may not be able to purchase and sell shares of the Fund on the listing exchange for the Fund, on days when the net asset value of the Fund could be significantly affected by events in the relevant foreign markets.
LIQUIDITY RISK. The Fund may hold certain investments that may be subject to restrictions on resale, trade over-the-counter or in limited volume, or lack an active trading market. Certain investments held by the Fund that trade on non-U.S. exchanges may be further subject to liquidity risk due to foreign market closures or unexpected impediments to trading on local markets. Accordingly, the Fund may not be able to sell or close out of such investments at favorable times or prices (or at all), or at the prices approximating those at which the Fund currently values them. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments and may be subject to wide fluctuations in market valueand the bid/ask spread on the Fund's shares may widen.
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 makers. 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
17
First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF (ROBT)
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.
MARKET RISK. Market risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by real or perceived adverse economic, political, and regulatory factors 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, market manipulation, government defaults, government shutdowns, regulatory actions, political changes, diplomatic developments, the imposition of sanctions and other similar measures, 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. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of the Fund’s shares, the liquidity of an investment, and may 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, the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen and the returns on investment may fluctuate.
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.
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.
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. These errors or failures may adversely affect the Fund’s operations, including its ability to execute its investment process, calculate or disseminate its NAV or intraday indicative optimized portfolio value in a timely manner, and process creations or redemptions. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody, valuation, administration, transfer services, securities lending and accounting, among many others. 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
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First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF (ROBT)
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.
ROBOTICS AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE COMPANIES RISK. The Fund invests in robotics and artificial intelligence companies, which may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel and are subject to the risks of changes in business cycles, world economic growth, technological progress, and government regulation. These companies are also heavily dependent on intellectual property rights, and challenges to or misappropriation of such rights could have a material adverse effect on such companies. Securities of robotics and artificial intelligence companies tend to be more volatile than securities of companies that rely less heavily on technology. Robotics and artificial intelligence companies typically engage in significant amounts of spending on research and development, and rapid changes to the field could have a material adverse effect on a company’s operating results.
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.
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.
VALUATION RISK. The Fund may hold securities or other assets that may be valued on the basis of factors other than market quotations. This may occurbecause the asset or security does not trade on a centralized exchange, or in times of market turmoil or reduced liquidity. There are multiple methods that can be used to value a portfolio holding when market quotations are not readily available. Fund investments that trade on non-U.S. exchanges that close prior to the close of the Nasdaq may be fair valued using a systematic fair valuation model. If these foreign investments meet certain criteria in relation to the valuation model, their valuation is systematically adjusted to reflect the impact of movement in the U.S. market after the close of certain foreign markets. The value established for any portfolio holding at a point in time might differ from what would be produced using a different methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations. Portfolio holdings that are valued using techniques other than market quotations, including “fair valued” assets or securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their valuations from one day to the next than if market quotations were used. In addition, there is no assurance that the Fund could sell or close out a portfolio position for the value established for it at any time, and it is possible that the Fund would incur a loss because a portfolio position is sold or closed out at a discount to the valuation established by the Fund at that time. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.
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 securities market index. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at http://www.ftportfolios.com.
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First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF (ROBT)
First Trust Robotics Artificial Intelligence ETF
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31
 
During the periods shown in the chart above: 
 
Return
Period Ended
Best Quarter
32.44%
June 30, 2020
Worst Quarter
-21.34%
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 an index 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, 2025 
 
1 Year
5 Years
Since
Inception
Inception
Date
Return Before Taxes
15.16%
0.95%
7.57%
2/21/2018
Return After Taxes on Distributions
15.16%
0.84%
7.43%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares
8.97%
0.68%
6.00%
Nasdaq CTA Artificial Intelligence and RoboticsTM Index (reflects
no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
15.90%
1.48%
8.20%
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or
taxes)
17.88%
14.42%
14.42%
Management
Investment Advisor
First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)
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First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF (ROBT)
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, Senior 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 2018, except Erik Russo, who has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2020.
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  http://www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/etf/home.aspx.
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.
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Additional Information on the Funds' Investment Objectives and Strategies
Each Fund is a series of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI and is regulated as an “investment company” under the 1940 Act. Each Fund operates as an index fund and is not actively managed by First Trust. As such, each Fund’s investment objective is to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of its Index. In seeking to achieve this objective, each Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the securities that comprise its Index. Indxx, Inc. serves as the index provider for the index tracked by the First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF. Nasdaq, Inc. serves as the index provider for the index tracked by the First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF. Indxx, Inc. and Nasdaq, Inc. may individually be referred to throughout this prospectus as an “Index Provider” and collectively as the “Index Providers.”
Each Fund will generally employ a full replication strategy, meaning that it will normally invest in all of the securities comprising its Index in proportion to their weightings in the Index. However, under various circumstances, full replication of the Index may not be possible or practicable. In those circumstances, a Fund may purchase a sample of securities in its Index. There may also be instances in which First Trust may choose to overweight certain securities in an Index, purchase securities not in an Index which First Trust believes are appropriate to substitute for certain securities in the Index, use futures or derivative instruments or utilize various combinations of the above techniques in seeking to track an Index. Each Fund may sell securities that are represented in its Index in anticipation of their removal from the Index or purchase securities not represented in the Index in anticipation of their addition to the Index. During a Fund’s initial invest-up period and during periods of high in-flows and out-flows, a Fund may not be fully invested pursuant to its principal investment strategy.
Each Fund’s investment objective, its 90% investment strategy and each of the policies described herein are non-fundamental policies that may be changed by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”) without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ prior written notice to shareholders. Certain fundamental policies of the Funds are set forth in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) under “Investment Objective and Policies.”
While it is not expected that the Funds will invest in the securities of other investment companies, any such investments would be subject to limitations imposed by the 1940 Act and the related rules and interpretations. Each Fund has adopted a policy that it will not invest in other investment companies in excess of 1940 Act limits in reliance on Sections 12(d)(1)(F) or 12(d)(1)(G) of the 1940 Act.
Indxx Blockchain Index
According to the Index Provider, the Indxx Blockchain Index is designed to track the performance of companies that are either actively using, investing in, developing, or have products that are poised to benefit from blockchain technology. The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted semi-annually in March and September.
Discussion of Blockchain Technology
Blockchain is a digital, decentralized ledger that keeps a record of all transactions that occur on a peer-to-peer network. The blockchain enables visibility of all activities and reveals where an asset is and who owns it at any point in time. Transactions are not anonymous, but they are pseudonymous in that a transaction record is created, but identifying information is encrypted, and no personal information is shared.
For a transaction to be completed, it must go through the following process. First, a participant in the blockchain requests a transaction of goods or information. Before it can be accepted, it must first be verified by a group of miners. The mining network is made up of a large group of people who compete to solve a prescribed and complicated mathematical calculation using computers dedicated to the task. The first miner to find the solution to the mathematical calculation is the miner who has the privilege of announcing the next transaction, or block, to be added to the blockchain. Miners are incentivized to do this by receiving either cryptocurrency or another form of relevant payment. Once this verification takes place, the transaction can be accepted by the receiving party, and becomes permanently stored as a new block on the blockchain.
At a high level, blockchain allows a buyer and seller to interact directly, without the need for a trusted third-party intermediary to transfer the goods or information. The safety of this process can be compared to the transfer of information on a shared online document, where many people can see the document at the same time. If someone manipulates the document from its original form, it would be evident to all users since everyone has the same copy of the document. The idea of an open ledger can also be compared to a sporting event, where each spectator knows what the score is at any one time and no one would be able to change the score without convincing everyone present that there’s a very good reason for doing so. A shared
22
online document, a sporting event and blockchain all achieve a situation where there are multiple participants who have an agreed upon a historical record of events which cannot be tampered with.
The blockchain technology was initially constructed to support the trading of cryptocurrency, but is increasingly being used to support any transaction of goods or information that has required a centralized third party in the past. This can range from money or cryptocurrency to health records and supply chain records.
In a private or permissioned blockchain, participants must be invited or receive permission to participate and have visibility of all activities on that particular blockchain network. With permissioned blockchains, this may or may not involve the mining process described above, but instead can be verified simply by fact that others are witnessing the transfer of information. An example of this would be a network where the information is much more sensitive such as individual health records where only hospitals have access to the blockchain network as opposed to the general public.
Nasdaq CTA Artificial Intelligence and RoboticsTM Index
According to the Index Provider, the Nasdaq CTA Artificial Intelligence and RoboticsTM Index is designed to measure the performance of companies engaged in the artificial intelligence and robotics segment of the technology, industrial, medical and other economic sectors. The Index includes companies in artificial intelligence or robotics that are classified as either enablers, engagers or enhancers. The Index is rebalanced quarterly in March, June, September and December and reconstituted semi-annually in March and September.
More information regarding each Index, including additional detail on the Index methodology, may be found on an Index Provider’s website. Neither the Fund, the Board, First Trust, or any of their affiliates, are responsible for the information set forth on an Index Provider’s website. Information from an Index Provider’s website and any other information not expressly included in this prospectus is not incorporated by reference in, and should not be considered part of, this prospectus.
Fund Investments
Principal Investments
Equity Securities
The Funds invest in equity securities, including common stocks and depositary receipts. Common stock represents an equity ownership interest in issuers. Holders of common stock are entitled to the income and increase in the value of the assets and business of the issuers after all debt obligations and obligations to preferred stockholders are satisfied. Depositary receipts are certificates typically issued by a bank or trust company that represent ownership interests in securities of non-U.S. companies. Depositary receipts may or may not be jointly sponsored by the underlying issuer.
Real Estate Investment Trusts
The Fund may invest in REITs are financial vehicles that pool investors’ capital to purchase or finance real estate. REITs are generally classified as equity REITs, mortgage REITs or a combination of equity and mortgage REITs. Equity REITs invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive income primarily from the collection of rents. Equity REITs can also realize capital gains by selling properties that have appreciated in value. Mortgage REITs invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgages and derive income from the collection of interest payments. REITs are not taxed on income distributed to shareholders provided they comply with the applicable tax requirements.
Non-Principal Investments
Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments/Temporary Defensive Positions
Normally, a Fund invests substantially all of its assets to meet its investment objective. A Fund may invest the remainder of its assets in securities with maturities of less than one year or cash equivalents, or it may hold cash. The percentage of a Fund invested in such holdings varies and depends on several factors, including market conditions. For temporary defensive purposes, a Fund may depart from its principal investment strategies and invest part or all of its assets in these securities, or it may hold cash. During such periods, a Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective. A Fund may adopt a temporary defensive strategy when the Advisor believes securities in which the Fund normally invests have elevated risks due to political or economic factors and in other extraordinary circumstances. For more information on eligible short-term investments, see the SAI.
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Illiquid Investments
The Funds may invest up to 15% of their net assets in securities and other instruments that are, at the time of investment, illiquid (determined using the Securities and Exchange Commission's standard applicable to investment companies, i.e., any investment that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment). For this purpose, illiquid investments may include, but are not limited to, certain restricted securities (securities the disposition of which is restricted under the federal securities laws), certain securities that may only be resold pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act, and certain repurchase agreements, among others.
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings
Each Fund’s portfolio holdings are available on the Funds' website at  http://www.ftportfolios.com.  A description of the policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of each Fund's portfolio securities is included in the Funds' SAI, which is also available on the Funds' website.
Risks of Investing in the Funds
Principal Risks
Risk is inherent in all investing. Investing in a Fund involves risk, including the risk that you may lose all or part of your investment. There can be no assurance that a Fund will meet its stated objective. Before you invest, you should consider the following disclosure pertaining to the Principal Risks set forth above as well as additional Non-Principal Risks set forth below in this prospectus. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.
ASIA RISK. Certain Funds invest significantly in the securities of Asian issuers. Such investments subject a Fund to certain risks associated specifically with investments in securities of Asian issuers, including distinct legal, regulatory, political and economic risks. Many Asian economies have experienced rapid growth and industrialization, and there is no assurance that this growth rate will be maintained. Some Asian economies are highly dependent on trade, and economic conditions in other countries within and outside Asia can impact these economies. Certain of these economies may be adversely affected by trade or policy disputes with its major trade partners. There is also a high concentration of market capitalization and trading volume in a small number of issuers representing a limited number of industries, as well as a high concentration of investors and financial intermediaries. Certain Asian countries have experienced and may in the future experience expropriation and nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, currency manipulation, political instability, armed conflict and social instability as a result of religious, ethnic, socio-economic and/or political unrest. In particular, escalated tensions involving North Korea and any outbreak of hostilities involving North Korea could have a severe adverse effect on Asian economies. Governments of certain Asian countries have exercised, and continue to exercise, substantial influence over many aspects of the private sector. In certain cases, the government owns or controls many companies, including the largest in the country. Accordingly, government actions could have a significant effect on the issuers of a Fund’s securities or on economic conditions generally. Issuers in Asia may not be subject to the same accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards as U.S. companies and if their securities are not listed on a U.S. exchange, they may not be subject to the same corporate governance standards as U.S. issuers. In addition, satisfactory custodial services for investment securities may not be available in some Asia countries, which may result in a Fund incurring additional costs and delays in providing transportation and custody services for such securities outside such countries. Recent developments in relations between the U.S. and China have heightened concerns of increased tariffs and restrictions on trade between the two countries. An increase in tariffs or trade restrictions, or even the threat of such developments, could lead to a significant reduction in international trade, which could have a negative impact on the economy of Asian countries and a commensurately negative impact on the Fund.
AUTHORIZED PARTICIPANT CONCENTRATION RISK. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with a Fund. A limited number of institutions act as authorized participants for a Fund. Although participants are not obligated to make a market in a Fund’s shares or submit purchase and redemption orders for creation units. To the extent that these institutions exit the business, reduce their role or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders and no other authorized participant steps forward to create or redeem, a Fund’s shares may trade at a premium or discount to the Fund’s net asset value and possibly face delisting and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.
BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY RISK. Certain Funds invest in companies utilizing blockchain technology. Blockchain technology is an entirely new and relatively untested technology which operates as a distributed ledger. The risks associated with blockchain
24
technology may not emerge until the technology is widely used. Blockchain systems could be vulnerable to fraud, particularly if a significant minority of participants colluded to defraud the rest. Access to a given blockchain requires an individualized key, which, if compromised, could result in loss due to theft, destruction or inaccessibility. There is little regulation of blockchain technology other than the intrinsic public nature of the blockchain system. Any future regulatory developments could affect the viability and expansion of the use of blockchain technology. Because blockchain technology systems may operate across many national boundaries and regulatory jurisdictions, it is possible that blockchain technology may be subject to widespread and inconsistent regulation. Blockchain technology is not a product or service that provides identifiable revenue for companies that implement, or otherwise use it. Therefore, the values of the companies included in an Index may not be a reflection of their connection to blockchain technology, but may be based on other business operations. Currently, blockchain technology is primarily used for the recording of transactions in digital currency, which are extremely speculative, unregulated and volatile. Problems in digital currency markets could have a wider effect on companies associated with blockchain technology. Blockchain technology also may never be implemented to a scale that provides identifiable economic benefit to the companies included in an Index. There are currently a number of competing blockchain platforms with competing intellectual property claims. The uncertainty inherent in these competing technologies could cause companies to use alternatives to blockchain. Finally, because digital assets registered in a blockchain do not have a standardized exchange, like a stock market, there is less liquidity for such assets and greater possibility of fraud or manipulation.
CURRENCY RISK. Certain Funds invest in securities denominated in a non-U.S. currency. Changes in currency exchange rates affect the value of investments denominated in a foreign currency, the value of dividends and interest earned from such securities and gains and losses realized on the sale of such securities. A Fund’s net asset value could decline if a currency to which the Fund has exposure depreciates against the U.S. dollar or if there are delays or limits on repatriation of such currency. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. Changes in currency exchange rates may affect a Fund's net asset value, the value of dividends and interest earned, and gains and losses realized on the sale of securities. An increase in the strength of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies may cause the value of a Fund to decline. Certain non-U.S. currencies may be particularly volatile, and non-U.S. governments may intervene in the currency markets, causing a decline in value or liquidity in a Fund's non-U.S. holdings whose value is tied to the affected non-U.S. currency. Additionally, the prices of non-U.S. securities that are traded in U.S. dollars are often indirectly influenced by currency fluctuations.
CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS RISK. Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of a Fund in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions.
As a means to fight inflation, the Federal Reserve and certain foreign central banks have raised interest rates; however, the Federal Reserve has begun to lower interest rates and may continue to do so. U.S. regulators have proposed several changes to market and issuer regulations which would directly impact the Funds. While it is hard to predict whether any of these regulations will be adopted, due to the current scope of proposed regulations, any regulatory changes could adversely impact a Fund’s ability to achieve its investment strategies or make certain investments. Regulatory changes may also increase Fund operational costs, which could impact overall performance. Certain market factors may result in central banks changing their approach in the future. 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. Additionally, challenges in commercial real estate markets, including high interest rates, declining valuations and elevated vacancies, could have a broader impact on financial markets.
The ongoing adversarial political climate in the United States, as well as political and diplomatic events both domestic and abroad, such as presidential, congressional and gubernatorial elections in the U.S., global elections and governmental changes and the U.S. government’s failure to agree on a long-term budget and deficit reduction plan, have and may continue to have an adverse impact on the U.S. regulatory landscape, markets and investor behavior, which could have a negative impact on a Fund’s investments and operations. The potential result of a U.S. federal government shutdown may also significantly impact investor and consumer behavior, which may adversely impact the markets and global economy. The change in administration resulting from the 2024 United States national elections could result in significant impacts to international trade relations, tax and immigration policies, and other aspects of the national and international political and financial landscape, which could affect, among other things, inflation and the securities markets generally. Global and domestic authorities and regulators have previously responded to serious economic disruptions with ranging fiscal and monetary policy changes, including but not limited to, direct capital infusions into companies, new monetary programs and dramatically lower interest rates. Any change in these policies, or the ineffectiveness of these policies, could increase volatility in securities markets, which may adversely impact a Fund’s investments and performance. Any market disruptions could also delay a Fund from making sound investment decisions in a timely manner. If a Fund concentrates its investments in a region enduring geopolitical market disruption, it
25
may face higher risk of loss, although the increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets can lead to events or conditions in one country, region or financial market adversely impacting a different country, region or financial market.
Other unexpected political, regulatory and diplomatic events within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy. For example, ongoing armed conflicts between Russia and Ukraine in Europe and among Israel, Iran, Hamas and other militant groups in the Middle East, have caused and could continue to cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in Russia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions resulting from those hostilities have and could continue to have a significant impact on certain Fund investments as well as Fund performance and liquidity. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as the financial markets generally, may be adversely impacted by trade disputes, including the imposition of tariffs, and other matters. For example, the United States has imposed trade barriers and restrictions on China. In addition, the Chinese government is engaged in a longstanding dispute with Taiwan, continually threatening an invasion. If the political climate between the United States and China does not improve or continues to deteriorate, if China were to attempt invading Taiwan, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets and individual securities may be adversely affected, and the value of a Fund’s assets may go down. A public health crisis and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks may cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. As the COVID-19 global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others.
Advancements in technology may also adversely impact markets and the overall performance of a Fund. For instance, the economy may be significantly impacted by the advanced development and increased regulation of artificial intelligence. As the use of technology grows, liquidity and market movements may be affected. As artificial intelligence is used more widely, the profitability and growth of Fund holdings may be impacted, which could significantly impact the overall performance of a Fund. Additionally, cyber security breaches of both government and non-government entities could have negative impacts on infrastructure and the ability of such entities, including a Fund, to operate properly.
These events, and any other future events, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of a Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.
CYBER SECURITY RISK. The Funds are susceptible to operational, information security and related risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause a Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause a Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. These risks may not be fully covered by insurance. In general, cyber incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events. Cyber incidents include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to digital systems (e.g., through “hacking” or malicious software coding) for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting or destroying data, or causing operational disruption (e.g., through denial-of-service attacks to make network services unavailable to intended users). Cyber attacks may also be carried out in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized access, such as causing denial-of-service attacks on websites (i.e., efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users). Emerging threats like ransomware or zero-day exploits could also cause disruptions to Fund operations. The use of cloud-based software or data storage by a Fund, the Advisor, or any of the Fund’s service providers may exacerbate these risks. Additionally, geopolitical tension may increase the scale and sophistication of deliberate attacks, particularly those from nation states or from entities with nation state backing. Unintentional events, such as power outages, natural disasters, equipment malfunctions, processing errors or market events that occur at a pace that overloads the information and technology systems relied upon by a Fund or its service providers, may also disrupt the Fund’s business operations or impact critical data. Cyber security incidents may also trigger Fund obligations under data privacy laws, potentially increasing notification and compliance burdens.
Cyber security failures by or breaches of the systems of the Advisor, distributor and other service providers (including, but not limited to, sub-advisors, index providers, fund accountants, custodians, transfer agents and administrators), market makers, authorized participants or the issuers of securities in which a Fund invests, governmental and other regulatory authorities, exchanges and other financial market operators, banks, brokers, dealers, insurance companies, other financial institutions or other parties, have the ability to cause disruptions and impact business operations, potentially resulting in: financial losses; interference with a Fund’s ability to calculate its net asset value; disclosure of confidential trading information; impediments to trading; submission of erroneous trades or erroneous creation or redemption orders; the inability of a Fund or its service providers to transact business; violations of applicable privacy and other laws; regulatory fines penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs; or additional compliance costs. Further, errors, misconduct, or compromise of
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accounts of employees of the Fund or its third-party service providers can also create material cybersecurity risks. Cyber incidents may render records of a Fund, including records relating to its assets and transactions, shareholder ownership of Fund shares, and other data integral to the Fund’s functioning, inaccessible, inaccurate or incomplete. Artificial intelligence (“AI”) and machine learning technologies used by a Fund, the Advisor or third-party service providers may allow the unintended introduction of vulnerabilities into infrastructures and applications, which could exacerbate these risks or result in cyber incidents that implicate personal data. A Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result of these cyber risks associated with AI technologies. Substantial costs may be incurred by a Fund in order to resolve or prevent cyber incidents in the future.
The regulatory climate governing cyber security and data protection is developing quickly and may vary considerably across jurisdictions. Regulators continue to develop new rules and standards related to cyber security and data protection. Compliance with evolving regulations can be demanding and costly, requiring substantial resources to monitor and implement required changes.
While the Funds have established business continuity plans in the event of, and risk management systems to prevent, such cyber incidents, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems, including the possibility that certain risks have not been identified, that such plans and systems may not completely eliminate the occurrence or mitigate the effects of cyber incidents, and that prevention and remediation efforts will not be successful. Furthermore, the Funds cannot control the cyber security plans and systems put in place by service providers to each Fund, issuers in which each Fund invests, market makers or authorized participants. However, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, and each Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result.
DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS RISK. Certain Funds invest in depositary receipts. Depositary receipts are securities issued by a bank or trust company reflecting ownership of underlying securities issued by a foreign company. An investment in depositary receipts involves further risks due to certain unique features. 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 pursuant to a deposit agreement between the underlying issuer and the depositary. In certain cases, the depositary will vote the shares deposited with it as directed by the underlying issuer’s board of directors. Furthermore, investment restrictions in certain countries may adversely impact the value of depositary receipts because such restrictions may limit the ability to convert shares into depositary receipts and vice versa. Such restrictions may cause shares of the underlying issuer to trade at a discount or premium to the market price of the depositary receipt. Moreover, if depositary receipts are converted into shares, the laws in certain countries may limit the ability of a non-resident to trade the shares and to reconvert the shares to depositary receipts. Depositary receipts may be “sponsored” or “unsponsored.” Sponsored depositary receipts are established jointly by a depositary and the underlying issuer, whereas unsponsored depositary receipts may be established by a depositary without participation by the underlying issuer. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all the costs associated with establishing the unsponsored depositary receipts. In addition, the issuers of the securities underlying unsponsored depositary receipts are not obligated to disclose material information in the U.S. and, therefore, there may be less information available regarding such issuers and there may not be a correlation between such information and the market value of the depositary receipts.
EMERGING MARKETS RISK. Certain Funds may invest in securities issued by governments and companies incorporated in emerging market countries. Investments in securities issued by companies operating in emerging market countries involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions not associated with investments in securities and instruments issued by U.S. companies or by companies operating in other developed market countries. This is due to, among other things, the potential for greater market volatility, lower trading volume, a lack of liquidity, potential for market manipulation, higher levels of inflation, political and economic instability, greater risk of a market shutdown and more governmental limitations on foreign investments in emerging market countries than are typically found in more developed market countries. Also, certain regions, countries or asset types may suffer periods of relative illiquidity. Moreover, emerging market countries often have less uniformity in accounting and reporting requirements, unsettled securities laws, less reliable securities valuations and greater risks associated with custody of securities than developed markets. In addition, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which regulates auditors of U.S. public companies, may be unable to inspect audit work papers in certain emerging market countries. Emerging market countries often have greater risk of capital controls through such measures as taxes or interest rate control than developed markets. Certain emerging market countries may also lack the infrastructure necessary to attract large amounts of foreign trade and investment. Local securities markets in emerging market countries may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible. Settlement procedures in emerging market countries are frequently less developed and reliable than those in the U.S. and other developed market countries. In addition, significant delays may occur in registering the transfer of securities. Settlement or registration problems may make it more difficult for
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the Fund to value its portfolio securities and could cause the Fund to miss attractive investment opportunities. Investing in emerging market countries involves a higher risk of expropriation, nationalization, confiscation of assets and property or the imposition of restrictions on foreign investments and on repatriation of capital invested by certain emerging market countries. Enforcing legal rights may be made difficult, costly and slow in emerging markets as there may be additional problems enforcing claims against non-U.S. governments. As such, the rights and remedies associated with emerging market investment securities may be different than those available for investments in more developed markets. For example, it may be more difficult for shareholders to bring derivative litigation or for U.S. regulators to bring enforcement actions against issuers in emerging markets.
In addition, due to the differences in regulatory, accounting, audit and financial recordkeeping standards, including financial disclosures, less information about emerging market companies is publicly available and information that is available may be unreliable or outdated. This may affect an Index Provider’s ability to compute and construct an Index and may further impede the Advisor’s ability to accurately evaluate the index data provided. This potential for error in index construction and index data could affect the overall performance of a Fund.
EQUITY SECURITIES RISK. The value of a 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 the issuers 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. Additionally, holders of an issuer's common stock may be subject to greater risks than holders of its preferred stock and debt securities because common stockholders' claims are subordinated to those of holders of preferred stocks and debt securities upon the bankruptcy of an issuer.
EUROPE RISK. Certain Funds invest significantly in the securities of European issuers. Therefore, in addition to the risks associated with investments in non-U.S. securities generally, such Funds are subject to certain risks associated specifically with investments in securities of European issuers. Political or economic disruptions in European countries, even in countries in which a Fund is not invested, may adversely affect security values and thus the Fund’s holdings. A significant number of countries in Europe are member states in the EU, and the member states no longer control their own monetary policies by directing independent interest rates for their currencies. In these member states, the authority to direct monetary policies, including money supply and official interest rates for the Euro, is exercised by the European Central Bank. In a 2016 referendum, the United Kingdom elected to withdraw from the EU. After years of negotiations between the United Kingdom and the EU, a withdrawal agreement was reached whereby the United Kingdom formally left the EU. After years of negotiations between the United Kingdom and the EU, a withdrawal agreement was reached whereby the United Kingdom formally left the EU. As the second largest economy among EU members, the implications of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal are difficult to gauge and cannot be fully known. Trade between the United Kingdom and the EU is highly integrated through supply chains and trade in services, as well as through multinational companies. The United Kingdom’s departure may negatively impact the EU and Europe as a whole by causing volatility within the EU, triggering prolonged economic downturns in certain European countries or sparking additional member states to contemplate departing the EU (thereby perpetuating political instability in the region).
FINANCIAL COMPANIES RISK. Certain Funds invest significantly in financial companies. Financial companies are subject to extensive governmental regulation and intervention, which may adversely affect the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge, the amount and types of capital they must maintain and, potentially, their size. Governmental regulation may change frequently and may have significant adverse consequences for financial companies, including effects not intended by such regulation. The impact of more stringent capital requirements, or recent or future regulation in various countries, on any individual financial company or on financial companies as a whole cannot be predicted. Certain risks may impact the value of investments in financial companies more severely than those of investments in other issuers, including the risks associated with companies that operate with substantial financial leverage. Financial companies may also be adversely affected by volatility in interest rates, loan losses and other customer defaults, decreases in the availability of money or asset valuations, credit rating downgrades and adverse conditions in other related markets. Insurance companies in particular may be subject to severe price competition and/or rate regulation, which may have an adverse impact on their profitability. Financial companies are also a target for cyber attacks and may experience technology malfunctions and disruptions as a result.
INDEX CONCENTRATION RISK. A 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 a 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
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development may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more than if a Fund were more broadly diversified. A significant exposure makes a Fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject a 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 a 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, a 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. Each Fund may be a constituent of one or more indices or ETF models. As a result, a Fund may be included in one or more index-tracking ETFs or mutual funds. Being a component security of such a vehicle could greatly affect the trading activity involving a Fund’s shares, the size of the Fund and the market volatility of the Fund’s shares. Inclusion in an index could increase demand for a Fund and removal from an index could result in outsized selling activity in a relatively short period of time. As a result, a Fund’s net asset value could be negatively impacted and the Fund’s market price may be below the Fund’s net asset value during certain periods. In addition, index rebalances may potentially result in increased trading activity. To the extent buying or selling activity increases, a Fund can be exposed to increased brokerage costs and adverse tax consequences and the market price of the Fund can be negatively affected.
INDEX PROVIDER RISK. There is no assurance that the Index Provider, or any agents that act on its behalf, will compile an Index accurately, or that an 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 an Index, and do not guarantee that an Index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. The Advisor’s mandate as described in this prospectus is to manage each 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 an Index accurately. Therefore, losses or costs associated with any Index Provider or agent errors generally will be borne by a Fund and its shareholders. To correct any such error, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out an unscheduled rebalance of an Index or other modification of Index constituents or weightings. When a Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by a Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose a Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile an 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 an Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors. For example, during a period where an Index contains incorrect constituents, a 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 a Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in an Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither a Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that an Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions or issuer-specific events may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, exclude a security from the Index or undertake other measures which could cause an 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 an 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 an 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. Certain Funds invest significantly in information technology companies. Information technology companies produce and provide hardware, software and information technology systems and services. Information technology companies are generally subject to the following risks: rapidly changing technologies and existing product obsolescence; 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 and new market entrants. Information technology companies may be smaller and less experienced companies, with limited product lines, markets or financial resources and fewer experienced management or marketing personnel. Information technology company stocks, particularly those involved with the internet, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that are often unrelated to their operating performance. 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 face competition for services of qualified personnel and heavily rely on patents and intellectual property rights and the ability to enforce such rights to maintain a competitive advantage.
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INTERNATIONAL CLOSED MARKET TRADING RISK. Because securities held by a Fundmay trade on non-U.S. exchanges that are closed when the Fund’s primary listing exchange is open, there are likely to be deviations between the current price of an underlying security and the last quoted price for the underlying security (i.e., the Fund’s quote from the closed foreign market) used for purposes of calculating a Fund's net asset value, resulting in premiums or discounts to the Fund’s net asset value that may be greater than those experienced by other exchange-traded funds. In addition, shareholders may not be able to purchase and sell shares of a Fund on the listing exchange for the Fund on days when the net asset value of the Fund could be significantly affected by events in the relevant foreign markets.
LIQUIDITY RISK. The Fund may have investments that it may not be able to dispose of or close out readily at a favorable time or price (or at all), or at a price approximating the Fund’s valuation of the investment. For example, certain investments maybe subject to restrictions on resale, may trade over-the-counter or in limited volume, or may not have an active trading market. Certain investments held by the Fund that trade on non-U.S. exchanges may be further subject to liquidity risk due to foreign market closures or unexpected impediments to trading in local markets. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments and may be subject to wide fluctuations in market valueand the bid/ask spread on the Fund's shares may widen. It may be difficult for the Fund to value illiquid securities accurately. The market for certain investments may become illiquid under adverse market or economic conditions independent of any specific adverse changes in the conditions of a particular issuer. If the Fund needed to sell a large block of illiquid securities to meet shareholder redemption request or to raise cash, these sales could further reduce the securities’ prices and adversely affect performance of the Fund. Disposal of illiquid securities may entail registration expenses and other transaction costs that are higher than those for liquid securities.
MARKET MAKER RISK. The Funds face 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 a Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. A 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 a 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.
MARKET RISK. Market risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of a Fund in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by real or perceived adverse economic, political, and regulatory factors or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of a Fund could decline in value or underperform other investments. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, market manipulation, government defaults, government shutdowns, regulatory actions, political changes, diplomatic developments, the imposition of sanctions and other similar measures, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, natural disasters, or other events could have a significant negative impact on a Fund and its investments. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of a Fund’s shares, the liquidity of an investment, and may result in increased market volatility. During any such events, a Fund’s shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value, the bid/ask spread on a Fund’s shares may widen and the returns on investment may fluctuate.
NON-CORRELATION RISK. A Fund’s return may not match the return of its Index for a number of reasons. A Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to its 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, a Fund’s portfolio holdings may not exactly replicate the securities included in its Index or the ratios between the securities included in the Index. Accordingly, a Fund's return may underperform the return of the Index.
NON-U.S. SECURITIES RISK. Certain Funds invest in non-U.S. securities. An investment in securities of non-U.S. companies involves risks not associated with domestic issuers. Investment in non-U.S. securities may involve higher costs than investment in U.S. securities, including higher transaction and custody costs as well as the imposition of additional taxes by non-U.S. governments. Non-U.S. investments may also involve risks associated with the level of currency exchange rates, less complete financial information about the issuers, less market liquidity, more market volatility and political instability. Future political and economic developments, the possible imposition of withholding taxes on dividend income, the possible seizure or nationalization of non-U.S. holdings, the imposition of sanctions by foreign governments, the possible establishment of capital controls, exchange controls or freezes on the convertibility of currency or the adoption of other governmental restrictions might adversely affect an investment in non-U.S. securities. Additionally, non-U.S. issuers may be subject to less stringent
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regulation, and to different accounting, auditing and recordkeeping requirements. The U.S. and non-U.S. markets often rise and fall at different times or by different amounts due to economic or other regional developments particular to a given country or region.
OPERATIONAL RISK. Each Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. These errors or failures may adversely affect a Fund’s operations, including its ability to execute its investment process, calculate or disseminate its NAV or intraday indicative optimized portfolio value in a timely manner, and process creations or redemptions. The Funds rely on third-parties for a range of services, including custody, valuation, administration, transfer services, securities lending and accounting, among many others. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect a Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although each Fund and each Fund’s investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
The Funds, the Advisor and each Fund’s service providers may utilize AI technologies, including machine learning models and generative AI, to improve operational efficiency and in connection with research, among other purposes. The Funds and the Advisor have little control over the use of AI in third-party products or services. The use of AI introduces numerous potential challenges and the use of AI can lead to reputational damage, legal liabilities, and competitive disadvantages, as well as negatively impact business operations, which may occur with or without mismanagement in the use of the AI. AI requires the collection and processing of substantial amounts of data, which poses risks of data inaccuracies, incompleteness, and inherent biases, and which can degrade the technology’s effectiveness and reliability. Such data can include proprietary information, the use of which by AI may be unauthorized and subject to potential liability. AI also presents the risk of “misalignment.” This is the scenario where AI’s behavior becomes purposefully adversarial to the goals of the user.
PASSIVE INVESTMENT RISK. The Funds are not actively managed. Each Fund invests in securities included in or representative of its Index regardless of investment merit. The Funds generally will not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. In the event that an Index is no longer calculated, the corresponding Index license is terminated or the identity or character of an Index is materially changed, the applicable Fund will seek to engage a replacement index.
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER RISK. Certain Funds have an investment strategy that may frequently involve buying and selling portfolio securities. High portfolio turnover may result in a Fund paying higher levels of transaction costs, including brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and other costs and may generate greater tax liabilities for shareholders. Portfolio turnover risk may cause a Fund’s performance to be less than expected.
PREMIUM/DISCOUNT RISK. The market price of a 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. First Trust 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 a 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), First Trust believes that large discounts or premiums to the net asset value of shares should not be sustained absent disruptions to the creation and redemption mechanism, extreme market volatility or potential lack of authorized participants. During stressed market conditions, the market for a Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the market for a Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which could in turn lead to differences between the market price of a Fund’s shares and their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.
REIT RISK. Certain Funds invest in REITs. 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. Additionally, investing in REITs involves certain other risks related to their structure and focus, which include, but are not limited to, dependency upon management skills, limited diversification, the risks of locating and managing financing for projects, heavy cash flow dependency, possible default by borrowers, the costs and potential losses of self-liquidation of one or more holdings, the risk of a possible lack of mortgage funds and associated interest rate risks, overbuilding, property vacancies, increases in property
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taxes and operating expenses, changes in zoning laws, losses due to environmental damages, changes in neighborhood values and appeal to purchasers, the possibility of failing to maintain exemptions from registration under the 1940 Act, failure to satisfy the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for maintaining REIT status and, in many cases, relatively small market capitalization, which may result in less market liquidity and greater price volatility for a REIT’s shares. 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.
ROBOTICS AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE COMPANIES RISK. Certain Funds invest significantly in robotics and artificial intelligence companies. Robotics and artificial intelligence companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel and are subject to the risks of changes in business cycles, world economic growth, technological progress, and government regulation. These companies are also heavily dependent on intellectual property rights, and challenges to or misappropriation of such rights could have a material adverse effect on such companies. Securities of robotics and artificial intelligence companies tend to be more volatile than securities of companies that rely less heavily on technology. Robotics and artificial intelligence companies typically engage in significant amounts of spending on research and development, and rapid changes to the field could have a material adverse effect on a company’s operating results.
SMALLER COMPANIES RISK. Certain Funds invest in the securities of small and/or mid capitalization companies. The stock price of small and/or mid capitalization companies may be more volatile than those of larger companies and therefore a Fund’s share price may be more volatile than those of funds that invest a larger percentage of their assets in stocks issued by large capitalization companies. Stock prices of small and/or mid capitalization companies are also generally more vulnerable than those of large capitalization companies to adverse business and economic developments. Securities of small and/or mid capitalization companies may be thinly traded, making it difficult for a Fund to buy and sell them. In addition, small and/or mid capitalization companies are typically less financially stable than larger, more established companies and may reinvest a high proportion of their earnings in their business and may not pay dividends. Small and/or mid capitalization companies may also depend on a small number of essential personnel who may also be less experienced than the management of larger companies, making these companies more vulnerable to experiencing adverse effects due to the loss or inexperience of personnel. Small and/or mid capitalization companies also normally have less diverse product lines than those of large capitalization companies and are more susceptible to adverse developments concerning their products.
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 a Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. A Fund may have difficulty maintaining its listing on the Exchange in the event a 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.
VALUATION RISK. The Fund may hold securities or other assets that may be valued on the basis of factors other than market quotations. This may occur because the asset or security does not trade on a centralized exchange, or in times of market turmoil or reduced liquidity. There are multiple methods that can be used to value a portfolio holding when market quotations are not readily available. Fund investments that trade on non-U.S. exchanges that close prior to the close of the Nasdaq may be fair valued using a systematic fair valuation model. If these foreign investments meet certain criteria in relation to the valuation model, their valuation is systematically adjusted to reflect the impact of movement in the U.S. market after the close of certain foreign markets. The value established for any portfolio holding at a point in time might differ from what would be produced using a different methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations. In addition, there is no assurance that the Fund could sell or close out a portfolio position for the value established for it at any time, and it is possible that the Fund would incur a loss because a portfolio position is sold or closed out at a discount to the valuation established by the Fund at that time. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.
Non-Principal Risks
BORROWING AND LEVERAGE RISK. If a Fund borrows money, it must pay interest and other fees, which may reduce the Fund’s returns. Any such borrowings are intended to be temporary. However, under certain market conditions, including periods of decreased liquidity, such borrowings might be outstanding for longer periods of time. As prescribed by the 1940 Act, a Fund will be required to maintain specified asset coverage of at least 300% with respect to any bank borrowing immediately following such borrowing and at all times thereafter. A Fund may be required to dispose of assets on unfavorable terms if market fluctuations or other factors reduce the Fund’s asset coverage to less than the prescribed amount.
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CASH TRANSACTIONS RISK. The Funds may, under certain circumstances, effect a portion of their creations and redemptions for cash rather than in-kind. As a result, an investment in such a Fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in an ETF that effects its creations and redemptions only in-kind. ETFs are able to make in-kind redemptions and avoid being taxed on gains on the distributed portfolio securities at the fund level. A Fund that effects redemptions for cash may be required to sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. Any recognized gain on these sales by a Fund will generally cause the Fund to recognize a gain it might not otherwise have recognized, or to recognize such gain sooner than would otherwise be required if it were to distribute portfolio securities only in-kind. The Funds intend to distribute these gains to shareholders to avoid being taxed on this gain at the fund level and otherwise comply with the special tax rules that apply to it. This strategy may cause shareholders to be subject to tax on gains they would not otherwise be subject to, or at an earlier date than if they had made an investment in a different ETF. Moreover, cash transactions may have to be carried out over several days if the securities market is relatively illiquid and may involve considerable brokerage fees and taxes. These brokerage fees and taxes, which will be higher than if a Fund sold and redeemed its shares in-kind, will be passed on to those purchasing and redeeming Creation Units in the form of creation and redemption transaction fees. In addition, these factors may result in wider spreads between the bid and the offered prices of a Fund’s shares than for ETFs that distribute portfolio securities in-kind.
FAILURE TO QUALIFY AS A REGULATED INVESTMENT COMPANY RISK. If, in any year, a Fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company under the applicable tax laws, that Fund would be taxed as an ordinary corporation. In such circumstances, the Fund's taxable income would be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed and a Fund could be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest and make substantial distributions before requalifying as a regulated investment company that is accorded special tax treatment. This would cause investors to incur higher tax liabilities than they otherwise would have incurred and would have a negative impact on Fund returns. If the Fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company, distributions to the Fund's shareholders generally would be eligible (i) for treatment as qualified dividend income in the case of individual shareholders and (ii) for the dividends received deduction in the case of corporate shareholders. See "Federal Tax Matters."
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RISK. Each Fund relies on a license and related sublicense that permits a Fund to use its Index and associated trade names, trademarks and service marks (the “Intellectual Property”) in connection with the Fund’s name and investment strategies. Such license and related sublicense may be terminated by the Index Provider, and, as a result, a Fund may lose its ability to use the Intellectual Property. There is also no guarantee that the Index Provider has all rights to license the Intellectual Property for use by a Fund. Accordingly, in the event the license is terminated or the Index Provider does not have rights to license the Intellectual Property, it may have a significant effect on the operation of a Fund.
ISSUER SPECIFIC CHANGES RISK. Changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular type of security or issuer, and changes in general economic or political conditions can affect a security’s or instrument’s value. The value of securities of smaller, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers. Issuer specific events can have a negative impact on the value of a Fund.
LEGISLATION/LITIGATION RISK. From time to time, various legislative initiatives are proposed and/or enacted in the United States and abroad, which may have a negative impact on certain companies in which a Fund invests. In addition, litigation regarding any of the issuers of the securities owned by a Fund, or industries represented by these issuers, may negatively impact the value of the securities. Such legislation or litigation may cause a Fund to lose value or may result in higher portfolio turnover if the Advisor determines to sell such a holding.
REPURCHASE AGREEMENT RISK. If a Fund engages in securities lending, it may enter into repurchase agreements in connection with the lent securities. A repurchase agreement is an agreement to purchase a security from a party at one price and a simultaneous agreement to sell it back to the original party at an agreed-upon price, typically representing the purchase price plus interest. Repurchase agreements may be viewed as loans made by a Fund which are collateralized by the securities subject to repurchase. A Fund's investment return on such transactions will depend on the counterparty's willingness and ability to perform its obligations under a repurchase agreement. If a Fund's counterparty should default on its obligations and a Fund is delayed or prevented from recovering the collateral, or if the value of the collateral is insufficient, a Fund may have to borrow cash, subject to certain legal limits, or realize a loss.
RESTRICTED SECURITIES RISK. The Funds may invest in restricted securities. Restricted securities are securities that cannot be offered for public resale unless registered under the applicable securities laws or that have a contractual restriction that prohibits or limits their resale. Restricted securities include private placement securities that have not been registered under the applicable securities laws, such as Rule 144A securities, and securities of U.S. and non-U.S. issuers that are issued pursuant to Regulation S. Private placements are generally subject to strict restrictions on resale. Restricted securities may be illiquid
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as they generally are not listed on an exchange and may have no active trading market. A Fund may be unable to sell a restricted security on short notice or may be able to sell them only at a price below current value. It may be more difficult to determine a market value for a restricted security. Also, a Fund may get limited information about the issuer of a restricted security, so it may be less able to predict a loss. In addition, if Fund management receives material non-public information about the issuer, a Fund may as a result be unable to sell the securities. Certain restricted securities may involve a high degree of business and financial risk and may result in substantial losses.
SECURITIES LENDING RISK. The Funds may engage in securities lending. Securities lending involves exposure to certain risks, including counterparty risk, collateral risk and operational risk. Counterparty risk is the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, to the extent a Fund engages in securities lending, in such transactions it may suffer a loss and experience delays in recovering the lent securities. Any delay in the return of securities on loan may restrict the ability of a Fund to meet delivery or payment obligations. Collateral risk is the risk that the collateral received may be realized at a value lower than the value of the securities lent, whether due to inaccurate pricing of the collateral, adverse market movements in the value of the collateral, intra-day increases in the value of the securities lent, a deterioration in the credit rating of the collateral issuer, or the illiquidity of the market in which the collateral is traded. Securities lending also entails operational risks, such as settlement failures or delays in the settlement of instructions. Such failures or delays may restrict the ability of a Fund to meet delivery or payment obligations. Lastly, securities lending activities may result in adverse tax consequences for a Fund and its shareholders. For instance, substitute payments for dividends received by a Fund for securities loaned out by the Fund will not be considered qualified dividend income. A Fund could lose money if its short-term investment of the collateral declines in value over the period of the loan.
Fund Organization
Each Fund is a series of the Trust, an investment company registered under the 1940 Act. Each Fund is treated as a separate fund with its own investment objective and policies. The Trust is organized as a Massachusetts business trust. The Board is responsible for the overall management and direction of the Trust. The Board elects the Trust’s officers and approves all significant agreements, including those with the Advisor, distributor, custodian and fund administrative and accounting agent.
Management of the Funds
First Trust Advisors L.P., 120 East Liberty Drive, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, is the investment advisor to the Funds. In this capacity, First Trust is responsible for the selection and ongoing monitoring of the securities in each Fund’s portfolio and certain other services necessary for the management of the portfolios.
First Trust is a limited partnership with one limited partner, Grace Partners of DuPage L.P., and one general partner, The Charger Corporation. Grace Partners of DuPage L.P. is a limited partnership with one general partner, The Charger Corporation, and a number of limited partners. The Charger Corporation is an Illinois corporation controlled by James A. Bowen, the Chief Executive Officer of First Trust. First Trust discharges its responsibilities subject to the policies of the Funds.
First Trust serves as advisor or sub-advisor for 12 mutual fund portfolios, 10 exchange-traded funds consisting of 307 series and 5 closed-end funds. It is also the portfolio supervisor of certain unit investment trusts sponsored by First Trust Portfolios L.P. (“FTP”), an affiliate of First Trust, 120 East Liberty Drive, Wheaton, Illinois 60187. FTP specializes in the underwriting, trading and distribution of unit investment trusts and other securities. FTP is the principal underwriter of the shares of each Fund.
There is no one individual primarily responsible for portfolio management decisions for the Funds. Investments are made under the direction of the Investment Committee. The Investment Committee consists of Daniel J. Lindquist, David G. McGarel, Jon C. Erickson, Roger F. Testin, Stan Ueland, Chris A. Peterson and Erik Russo.
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Mr. Lindquist is Chairman of the Investment Committee and presides over Investment Committee meetings. Mr. Lindquist is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Fund’s investment strategy. Mr. Lindquist was a Senior Vice President of First Trust and FTP from September 2005 to July 2012 and is now a Managing Director of First Trust and FTP. Mr. Lindquist is a recipient of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
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Mr. McGarel is the Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and a Managing Director of First Trust and FTP. As First Trust’s Chief Investment Officer, Mr. McGarel consults with the other members of the Investment Committee on market conditions and First Trust’s general investment philosophy. Mr. McGarel was a Senior Vice President of First Trust and FTP from January 2004 to July 2012. Mr. McGarel is a recipient of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
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Mr. Erickson joined First Trust in 1994 and is a Senior Vice President of First Trust and FTP. As the head of First Trust’s Equity Research Group, Mr. Erickson is responsible for determining the securities to be purchased and sold by funds that do not utilize quantitative investment strategies. Mr. Erickson is a recipient of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
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Mr. Testin is a Senior Vice President of First Trust and FTP. Mr. Testin is the head of First Trust’s Portfolio Management Group. Mr. Testin has been a Senior Vice President of First Trust and FTP since November 2003. Mr. Testin is a recipient of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
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Mr. Ueland joined First Trust as a Vice President in August 2005 and has been a Senior Vice President of First Trust and FTP since September 2012. At First Trust, he plays an important role in executing the investment strategies of each portfolio of exchange-traded funds advised by First Trust.
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Mr. Peterson is a Senior Vice President and head of First Trust’s strategy research group. He joined First Trust in January of 2000. Mr. Peterson is responsible for developing and implementing quantitative equity investment strategies. Mr. Peterson received his B.S. in Finance from Bradley University in 1997 and his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 2005. He has over 26 years of financial services industry experience and is a recipient of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
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Mr. Russo is a Senior Vice President of First Trust. He is responsible for implementing the investment strategies of each portfolio of exchange-traded funds advised by First Trust in his role as a Portfolio Manager. Mr. Russo joined First Trust in January of 2010.
For additional information concerning First Trust, including a description of the services provided to the Funds, see the Funds' SAI. Additional information about the compensation of Investment Committee members, other accounts managed by members of the Investment Committee and ownership by members of the Investment Committee of shares of the Funds is provided in the SAI.
Management Fee
Pursuant to investment management agreements between First Trust and the Trust, on behalf of the Funds (the “Investment Management Agreements”), First Trust manages the investment of each Fund’s assets. First Trust is paid an annual unitary management fee of each Fund’s average daily net assets at the rate set forth in the table below and is responsible for such Fund's expenses, including the cost of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other services and license fees, but excluding fee payments under the Investment Management Agreements, interest, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses connected with the execution of portfolio transactions, distribution and service fees payable pursuant to a Rule 12b-1 plan, if any, and extraordinary expenses. 
Fund
Unitary Management Fee
First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF
0.65%
First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF
0.65%
As approved by the Trust’s Board of Trustees, the management fee paid to First Trust will be reduced at certain levels of Fund net assets (“breakpoints”). See the Funds' Statement of Additional Information for more information on the breakpoints.
A discussion regarding the Board’s approval of the continuation of the Investment Management Agreements is available in the Funds' Form N-CSR for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025.
How to Buy and Sell Shares
Most investors buy and sell shares of a Fund in secondary market transactions through brokers. Shares of each Fund are listed for trading on the secondary market on one or more national securities exchanges. Shares can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like other publicly traded shares. There is no minimum investment when buying shares on an Exchange. Although shares are generally purchased and sold in “round lots” of 100 shares, brokerage firms typically permit investors to purchase or sell shares in smaller “odd lots,” at no per-share price differential. When buying or selling shares through a broker, investors should expect to pay brokerage commissions, investors may receive less than the net asset value of the shares because shares are bought and sold at market prices rather than at net asset value, and investors may pay some or all of the bid-ask spread for each transaction (purchase or sale) of Fund shares. Share prices are reported in dollars and cents per share.
Under normal circumstances, a Fund will pay out redemption proceeds to a redeeming authorized participant within one day after the authorized participant’s redemption request is received, in accordance with the process set forth in a Fund’s SAI and
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in the agreement between the authorized participant and the Fund’s distributor. However, each Fund reserves the right, including under stressed market conditions, to take up to seven days after the receipt of a redemption request to pay an authorized participant, all as permitted by the 1940 Act. If a Fund has foreign investments in a country where a local market holiday, or series of consecutive holidays, or the extended delivery cycles for transferring foreign investments to redeeming authorized participants prevents the Fund from delivering such foreign investments to an authorized participant in response to a redemption request, a Fund may take up to 15 days after the receipt of the redemption request to deliver such investments to the authorized participant.
For purposes of the 1940 Act, each Fund is treated as a registered investment company and the acquisition of shares by other registered investment companies and companies relying on Section 3(c)(1) and 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act is subject to the restrictions of Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act and the related rules and interpretations.
Book Entry
Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no share certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding shares of a Fund and is recognized as the owner of all shares for all purposes.
Investors owning shares are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for all shares. Participants in DTC include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other institutions that directly or indirectly maintain a custodial relationship with DTC. As a beneficial owner of shares, you are not entitled to receive physical delivery of share certificates or to have shares registered in your name, and you are not considered a registered owner of shares. Therefore, to exercise any right as an owner of shares, you must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants. These procedures are the same as those that apply to any other stocks that you hold in book-entry or “street name” form.
Share Trading Prices
The trading price of shares of a Fund on the secondary market is based on market price and may differ from such Fund’s daily net asset value and can be affected by market forces of supply and demand, economic conditions and other factors.
Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of the Funds' Shares
The Funds impose no restrictions on the frequency of purchases and redemptions (“market timing”). In determining not to approve a written, established policy, the Board evaluated the risks of market timing activities by the Funds' shareholders. The Board considered that the Funds' shares can only be purchased and redeemed directly from the Funds in Creation Units by broker-dealers and large institutional investors that have entered into participation agreements (i.e., authorized participants (“APs”)) and that the vast majority of trading in the Funds' shares occurs on the secondary market. Because the secondary market trades do not involve the Funds directly, it is unlikely those trades would cause many of the harmful effects of market timing, including dilution, disruption of portfolio management, increases in the Funds' trading costs and the realization of capital gains. With respect to trades directly with the Fund, to the extent effected in-kind (i.e., for securities), those trades do not cause any of the harmful effects that may result from frequent cash trades. To the extent that a Fund may effect the purchase or redemption of Creation Units in exchange wholly or partially for cash, the Board noted that such trades could result in dilution to a Fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact a Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. However, the Board noted that direct trading by APs is critical to ensuring that the shares trade at or close to net asset value. In addition, the Funds impose fixed and variable transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the Funds in effecting trades. Finally, the Advisor monitors purchase and redemption orders from APs for patterns of abusive trading and the Funds reserve the right to not accept orders from APs that the Advisor has determined may be disruptive to the management of the Funds.
Dividends, Distributions and Taxes
Dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid quarterly by the Funds. Each Fund distributes its net realized capital gains, if any, to shareholders at least annually.
Distributions in cash may be reinvested automatically in additional whole shares only if the broker through whom you purchased shares makes such option available. Such shares will generally be reinvested by the broker based upon the market price of those shares and investors may be subject to customary brokerage commissions charged by the broker.
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Federal Tax Matters
This section summarizes some of the main U.S. federal income tax consequences of owning shares of the Funds. This section is current as of the date of this prospectus. Tax laws and interpretations change frequently, and these summaries do not describe all of the tax consequences to all taxpayers. For example, these summaries generally do not describe your situation if you are a corporation, a non-U.S. person, a broker-dealer, or other investor with special circumstances. In addition, this section does not describe your state, local or non-U.S. tax consequences.
This federal income tax summary is based in part on the advice of counsel to the Funds. The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) could disagree with any conclusions set forth in this section. The following disclosure may not be sufficient for you to use for the purpose of avoiding penalties under federal tax law.
As with any investment, you should seek advice based on your individual circumstances from your own tax advisor.
Fund Status
Each Fund intends to continue to qualify as a “regulated investment company” (a “RIC”) under the federal tax laws. If a Fund qualifies as a RIC and distributes its income as required by the tax law, the Fund generally will not pay federal income taxes.
Distributions
The Funds’ distributions are generally taxable. After the end of each year, you will receive a tax statement that separates the distributions of a Fund into two categories: ordinary income distributions and capital gain dividends. Ordinary income distributions are generally taxed at your ordinary tax rate, however, as further discussed below, certain ordinary income distributions received from a Fund may be taxed at the capital gains tax rates.Some portion of the ordinary income distributions that are attributable to dividends received by a Fund from shares in certain real estate investment trusts may be designated by the Fund as eligible for a deduction for qualified business income, provided certain holding period requirements are satisfied. Generally, you will treat all capital gain dividends as long-term capital gains regardless of how long you have owned your shares.
To determine your actual tax liability for your capital gain dividends, you must calculate your total net capital gain or loss for the tax year after considering all of your other taxable transactions, as described below. In addition, the Funds may make distributions that represent a return of capital for tax purposes and thus will generally not be taxable to you; however, such distributions may reduce your tax basis in your shares, which could result in you having to pay higher taxes in the future when shares are sold, even if you sell the shares at a loss from your original investment. A "return of capital" is a return, in whole or in part, of the funds that you previously invested in the Fund. A return of capital distribution should not be considered part of a Fund’s dividend yield or total return of an investment in Fund shares. The tax status of your distributions from a Fund is not affected by whether you reinvest your distributions in additional shares or receive them in cash. The tax laws may require you to treat distributions made to you in January as if you had received them on December 31 of the previous year.
Income from a Fund may also be subject to a 3.8% “Medicare tax.” This tax generally applies to your net investment income if your adjusted gross income exceeds certain threshold amounts, which are $250,000 in the case of married couples filing joint returns and $200,000 in the case of single individuals.
Dividends Received Deduction
A corporation that owns shares generally will not be entitled to the dividends received deduction with respect to many dividends received from a Fund because the dividends received deduction is generally not available for distributions from RICs. However, certain ordinary income dividends on shares that are attributable to qualifying dividends received by the Funds from certain corporations may be reported by the Funds as being eligible for the dividends received deduction.
Capital Gains and Losses and Certain Ordinary Income Dividends
If you are an individual, the maximum marginal stated federal tax rate for net capital gain is generally 20% (15% or 0% for taxpayers with taxable incomes below certain thresholds). Some capital gains, including some portion of your capital gain dividends, may be taxed at a higher maximum stated federal tax rate. Capital gain received from assets held for more than one year that is considered “unrecaptured section 1250 gain” (which may be the case, for example, with some capital gains attributable to equity interests in real estate investment trusts that constitute interests in entities treated as real estate investment trusts for federal income tax purposes) is taxed at a maximum marginal stated federal tax rate of 25%. In the case of capital gain dividends, the determination of which portion of the capital gain dividend, if any, is subject to the 25% tax rate, will be made based on rules prescribed by the United States Treasury. Capital gains may also be subject to the Medicare tax described above.
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Net capital gain equals net long-term capital gain minus net short-term capital loss for the taxable year. Capital gain or loss is long-term if the holding period for the asset is more than one year and is short-term if the holding period for the asset is one year or less. You must exclude the date you purchase your shares to determine your holding period. However, if you receive a capital gain dividend from a Fund and sell your shares at a loss after holding them for six months or less, the loss will be recharacterized as long-term capital loss to the extent of the capital gain dividend received. The tax rates for capital gains realized from assets held for one year or less are generally the same as for ordinary income. The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, treats certain capital gains as ordinary income in special situations.
An election may be available to you to defer recognition of the gain attributable to a capital gain dividend if you make certain qualifying investments within a limited time. You should talk to your tax advisor about the availability of this deferral election and its requirements.
Ordinary income dividends received by an individual shareholder from RICs such as the Funds are generally taxed at the same rates that apply to net capital gain (as discussed above), provided certain holding period requirements are satisfied and provided the dividends are attributable to qualifying dividends received by the Funds themselves. Distributions with respect to shares in real estate investment trusts and foreign corporations are qualifying dividends only in limited circumstances. Each Fund will provide notice to its shareholders of the amount of any distribution which may be taken into account as a dividend which is eligible for the capital gains tax rates.
Sale of Shares
If you sell or redeem your shares, you will generally recognize a taxable gain or loss. To determine the amount of this gain or loss, you must subtract your tax basis in your shares from the amount you receive in the transaction. Your tax basis in your shares is generally equal to the cost of your shares, generally including brokerage fees, if any. In some cases, however, you may have to adjust your tax basis after you purchase your shares. An election may be available to you to defer recognition of capital gain if you make certain qualifying investments within a limited time. You should talk to your tax advisor about the availability of this deferral election and its requirements.
Taxes on Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units
If you exchange securities for Creation Units, you will generally recognize a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time and your aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and the cash component paid. If you exchange Creation Units for securities, you will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between your basis in the Creation Units and the aggregate market value of the securities received and the cash redemption amount. The IRS, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units or Creation Units for securities cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.
Treatment of Fund Expenses
Expenses incurred and deducted by the Funds will generally not be treated as income taxable to you.
Non-U.S. Tax Credit
If a Fund invests in non-U.S. securities, the tax statement that you receive may include an item showing non-U.S. taxes the Fund paid to other countries. In this case, dividends taxed to you will include your share of the taxes the Fund paid to other countries. You may be able to deduct or receive a tax credit for your share of these taxes.
Non-U.S. Investors
If you are a non-U.S. investor (i.e., an investor other than a U.S. citizen or resident or a U.S. corporation, partnership, estate or trust), you should be aware that, generally, subject to applicable tax treaties, distributions from a Fund will be characterized as dividends for federal income tax purposes (other than dividends which a Fund properly reports as capital gain dividends) and will be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes, subject to certain exceptions described below. However, distributions received by a non-U.S. investor from a Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes, provided that the Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met. Distributions from a Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as an interest-related dividend attributable to certain interest income received by the Fund or as a short-term capital gain dividend attributable to certain net short-term capital gain income received by the Fund may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes when received by certain non-U.S. investors, provided that the Fund makes certain elections
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and certain other conditions are met. For tax years after December 31, 2022, amounts paid to or recognized by a non-U.S. affiliate that are excluded from tax under the portfolio interest, capital gain dividends, short-term capital gains or tax-exempt interest dividend exceptions or applicable treaties, may be taken into consideration in determining whether a corporation is an “applicable corporation” subject to a 15% minimum tax on adjusted financial statement income.
Distributions may be subject to a U.S. withholding tax of 30% in the case of distributions to (i) certain non-U.S. financial institutions that have not entered into an agreement with the U.S. Treasury to collect and disclose certain information and are not resident in a jurisdiction that has entered into such an agreement with the U.S. Treasury and (ii) certain other non-U.S. entities that do not provide certain certifications and information about the entity’s U.S. owners. This withholding tax is also currently scheduled to apply to the gross proceeds from the disposition of securities that produce U.S. source interest or dividends. However, proposed regulations may eliminate the requirement to withhold on payments of gross proceeds from dispositions.
It is the responsibility of the entity through which you hold your shares to determine the applicable withholding.
Investments in Certain Non-U.S. Corporations
If a Fund holds an equity interest in any “passive foreign investment companies” (“PFICs”), which are generally certain non-U.S. corporations that receive at least 75% of their annual gross income from passive sources (such as interest, dividends, certain rents and royalties or capital gains) or that hold at least 50% of their assets in investments producing such passive income, a Fund could be subject to U.S. federal income tax and additional interest charges on gains and certain distributions with respect to those equity interests, even if all the income or gain is timely distributed to its shareholders. A Fund will not be able to pass through to its shareholders any credit or deduction for such taxes. A Fund may be able to make an election that could ameliorate these adverse tax consequences. In this case, a Fund would recognize as ordinary income any increase in the value of such PFIC shares, and as ordinary loss any decrease in such value to the extent it did not exceed prior increases included in income. Under this election, a Fund might be required to recognize in a year income in excess of its distributions from PFICs and its proceeds from dispositions of PFIC stock during that year, and such income would nevertheless be subject to the distribution requirement and would be taken into account for purposes of the 4% excise tax. Dividends paid by PFICs are not treated as qualified dividend income.
Distribution Plan
FTP serves as the distributor of Creation Units for the Funds on an agency basis. FTP does not maintain a secondary market in shares.
The Board has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. In accordance with the Rule 12b-1 plan, the Funds are authorized to pay an amount up to 0.25% of their average daily net assets each year to reimburse FTP for amounts expended to finance activities primarily intended to result in the sale of Creation Units or the provision of investor services. FTP may also use this amount to compensate securities dealers or other persons that are APs for providing distribution assistance, including broker-dealer and shareholder support and educational and promotional services.
The Funds do not currently pay 12b-1 fees, and pursuant to a contractual arrangement, the Funds will not pay 12b-1 fees any time before January 31, 2027. However, in the event 12b-1 fees are charged in the future, because these fees are paid out of the Funds' assets, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than certain other types of sales charges.
Net Asset Value
Each Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) is determined as of the close of regular trading (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time) on each day the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for trading. If the NYSE closes early on a valuation day, a Fund’s NAV will be determined as of that time. Each Fund’s NAV is calculated by dividing the value of the net assets of the Fund (i.e., the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by the total number of outstanding shares of the Fund, generally rounded to the nearest cent.
Section 2(a)(41) of the 1940 Act provides that when a market quotation is readily available for a fund’s portfolio investment, it must be valued at the market value. Rule 2a-5 under the 1940 Act (“Rule 2a-5”) defines a readily available market quotation as “a quoted price (unadjusted) in active markets for identical investments that the fund can access at the measurement date,
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provided that a quotation will not be readily available if it is not reliable.” If a market quotation is not “readily available,” then the portfolio investment must be fair valued as determined in good faith by a fund’s board of trustees.
Rule 2a-5 permits a fund’s board of trustees to designate the fund’s investment adviser as its “valuation designee” to perform fair value determinations, subject to certain conditions. Accordingly, the Funds’ Board has designated First Trust as its valuation designee (the “Valuation Designee”) pursuant to Rule 2a-5 and has directed the Valuation Designee to perform the functions required in Rule 2a-5(a) subject to the requirements of Rule 2a-5(b) on behalf of all portfolio investments of the Funds, subject to the Board’s oversight. First Trust has established a pricing committee (the “Pricing Committee”) to assist in the administration of the duties of the Valuation Designee. The Valuation Designee has adopted valuation procedures for the First Trust Funds (the “Valuation Procedures”), a brief summary of which is set forth below.
The Pricing Committee has identified certain portfolio investments that are routinely categorized as having a readily available market quotation. The market value of an investment with a readily available market quotation is typically determined on the basis of official closing prices or last reported sale prices or equivalent price, although this can vary based on investment type and/or the availability of such prices.
The Pricing Committee has also identified certain portfolio investments that are routinely categorized as fair valued investments. In general, for such investments, the Funds’ accounting agent will obtain all pricing data for use in valuing such investments from a pricing service provider approved by the Pricing Committee (each, a “Pricing Service Provider”), subject to the oversight of the Pricing Committee. Pricing Service Providers typically value non-exchange-traded instruments utilizing a range of market-based inputs and assumptions. For example, when available, Pricing Service Providers may utilize inputs such as benchmark yields, reported trades, broker-dealer quotes, spreads, and transactions for comparable instruments. In pricing certain instruments, a Pricing Service Provider may consider information about an instrument’s issuer or market activity. Pricing Service Provider valuations of non-exchange-traded instruments generally represent the service’s good faith opinion as to what the holder of an instrument would receive in an orderly transaction for an institutional round lot position under current market conditions. Certain exchange-traded options, such as FLEX Options, are typically valued using a model-based price provided by a Pricing Service Provider.
Portfolio investments trading on foreign exchanges or over-the-counter markets that close prior to the close of the NYSE may be fair valued using a systematic fair valuation model provided by a Pricing Service Provider. If these foreign securities meet certain criteria in relation to the valuation model, their valuation is systematically adjusted to reflect the impact of movement in the U.S. market after the close of certain foreign markets.
If no price is available from a Pricing Service Provider or if the Pricing Committee has reason to question the accuracy or the reliability of a price supplied for a portfolio investment or the use of amortized cost, the Pricing Committee will determine the fair value of such portfolio investment in a manner that it believes most appropriately reflects the fair value of the portfolio investment on the valuation date (a “Special Fair Value Pricing Situation”). In a Special Fair Value Pricing Situation, the Pricing Committee will determine a fair value price subject to the process outlined in the Valuation Procedures and based on a consideration of all available information to the Pricing Committee at the time of the determination.
Additionally, for foreign securities, if an extraordinary market event occurs between the time the last “current” market quotation is available for a security in a Fund’s portfolio and the time the Fund’s NAV is determined that calls into doubt whether that earlier market quotation represents fair value at the time the Fund’s NAV is determined, the Pricing Committee will determine the fair valuation as set forth in the Valuation Procedures.
Fair value represents a good faith approximation of the value of a portfolio investment and is the amount a Fund might reasonably expect to receive from the current sale of that investment in an arm’s-length transaction. Valuing a Fund’s investments using fair value pricing will result in prices that may differ from current market valuations, if any, and that may not be the prices at which those investments could have been sold during the period in which the particular fair values were used. While the Valuation Procedures and Valuation Designee’s processes are intended to result in a Fund’s NAV calculation that fairly reflects the values as of the time of pricing, the fair value determined for a portfolio instrument may be materially different from the value that could be realized upon the sale of that instrument.
Foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate of such currencies against the U.S. dollar as provided by a Pricing Service Provider. All assets denominated in foreign currencies will be converted into U.S. dollars at the exchange rates in effect at the time of valuation.
40
Fund Service Providers
The Bank of New York Mellon, 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286, acts as the administrator, accounting agent, custodian and transfer agent for the Funds. Chapman and Cutler LLP, 320 South Canal Street, Chicago, Illinois 60606, serves as legal counsel to the Funds. First Trust serves as the fund reporting agent for the Funds.
Index Provider
The Indices are compiled by the Index Providers. The Index Providers are not affiliated with the Funds, FTP or First Trust. Each Fund is entitled to use the applicable Index pursuant to a sublicensing arrangement by and among the Fund, Index Provider, First Trust and FTP, which in turn has a license agreement with the Index Provider. For First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF, Indxx serves as the index calculation agent for that Fund's Index. For First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF, the Index Provider, or its agent, serves as the index calculation agent for that Fund's Index. The index calculation agent intends to calculate and disseminate the values of the Indices at least once every 15 seconds.
Disclaimers
First Trust does not guarantee the accuracy and/or the completeness of the Indices or any data included therein, and First Trust shall have no liability for any errors, omissions or interruptions therein. First Trust makes no warranty, express or implied, as to results to be obtained by the Funds, owners of the shares of the Funds or any other person or entity from the use of the Indices or any data included therein. First Trust makes no express or implied warranties, and expressly disclaims all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or use with respect to the Indices or any data included therein. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall First Trust have any liability for any special, punitive, direct, indirect or consequential damages (including lost profits) arising out of matters relating to the use of the Indices, even if notified of the possibility of such damages.
First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF
First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Indxx, Inc. Indxx, Inc. makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF or any member of the public regarding the advisability of trading in the First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF. Indxx, Inc.’s only relationship to First Trust is the licensing of certain trademarks and trade names of Indxx, Inc. and of the Indxx Blockchain Index, which is determined, composed and calculated by Indxx, Inc. without regard to First Trust or the First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF. Indxx, Inc. has no obligation to take the needs of First Trust or the owners of the First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Indxx Blockchain Index. Indxx, Inc. is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF to be listed or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF is to be converted into cash. Indxx, Inc. has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF.
INDXX, INC. DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE INDXX BLOCKCHAIN INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN AND INDXX, INC. SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR INTERRUPTIONS THEREIN. INDXX, INC. MAKES NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY FIRST TRUST, OWNERS OF THE FIRST TRUST INDXX INNOVATIVE TRANSACTION & PROCESS ETF, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE INXX BLOCKCHAIN INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. INDXX, INC. MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE INDXX BLOCKCHAIN INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN, WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL INDXX, INC. HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING LOST PROFITS), EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THERE ARE NO THIRD-PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN INDXX, INC. AND FIRST TRUST.
First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF
The Nasdaq CTA Artificial Intelligence and RoboticsTM Index is determined, composed and calculated by Nasdaq, Inc. The First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Nasdaq, Inc., or its affiliates (Nasdaq, with its affiliates, are referred to as the “Corporations”). The Corporations have not passed on the legality
41
or suitability of, or the accuracy or adequacy of descriptions and disclosures relating to, the First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF. The Corporations make no representation or warranty, express or implied to the owners of the First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF particularly, or the ability of the Nasdaq CTA Artificial Intelligence and RoboticsTM Index to track general stock market performance. The Corporations' only relationship to First Trust is in the licensing of Nasdaq, Inc. and certain trade names of the Corporations and the use of the Nasdaq CTA Artificial Intelligence and RoboticsTM Index which is determined, composed and calculated by Nasdaq, Inc. without regard to First Trust or the First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF. Nasdaq, Inc. has no obligation to take the needs of First Trust or the owners of the First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Nasdaq Indices. The Corporations are not responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF to be issued or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF are to be converted into cash. The Corporations have no liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF.
THE CORPORATIONS DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR UNINTERRUPTED CALCULATION OF THE NASDAQ CTA ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ROBOTICSTM INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY FIRST TRUST, OWNERS OF THE FIRST TRUST NASDAQ ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ROBOTICS ETF, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE NASDAQ CTA ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ROBOTICSTM INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE NASDAQ CTA ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ROBOTICSTM INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE CORPORATIONS HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
Premium/Discount Information
Information showing the number of days the market price of each Fund's shares was greater (at a premium) and less (at a discount) than each Fund's net asset value for the most recently completed year, and the most recently completed calendar quarters since that year (or life of  a Fund, if shorter), is available at http://www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/etf/home.aspx.
42
Financial Highlights
The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand each Fund's financial performance for the periods shown. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share of each Fund. The total returns represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in a Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). The information for the periods indicated has been derived from financial statements audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, whose report, along with each Fund's financial statements, is included in the Funds' Form N-CSR dated September 30, 2025 and is incorporated by reference in each Fund's SAI, which is available upon request.
First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI
Financial Highlights
For a share outstanding throughout each period
First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF (LEGR) 
 
Year Ended September 30,
 
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
Net asset value, beginning of period
$47.34
$37.00
$30.34
$42.07
$31.32
Income from investment operations:
Net investment income (loss)
1.04
(a)
1.03
(a)
0.93
(a)
1.15
0.61
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)
8.86
10.37
6.70
(11.75
)
10.70
Total from investment operations
9.90
11.40
7.63
(10.60
)
11.31
Distributions paid to shareholders from:
Net investment income
(1.05
)
(1.06
)
(0.97
)
(1.13
)
(0.56
)
Net asset value, end of period
$56.19
$47.34
$37.00
$30.34
$42.07
Total Return(b)
21.13
%
31.08
%
25.13
%
(25.55
)%
36.13
%
Ratios to average net assets/supplemental data:
Net assets, end of period (in 000’s)
$115,197
$106,520
$94,343
$100,130
$132,512
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets
0.66
%(c)
0.65
%
0.65
%
0.65
%
0.65
%
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets
2.07
%
2.47
%
2.55
%
2.94
%
1.84
%
Portfolio turnover rate(d)
15
%
17
%
17
%
23
%
46
%
(a)
Based on average shares outstanding.
(b)
Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption at net asset value on the last day of the period. The returns presented do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption or sale of Fund shares. Total return is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year.
(c)
Includes extraordinary expenses. If these extraordinary expenses were not included, the expense ratio would have been 0.65%.
(d)
Portfolio turnover is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year and does not include securities received or delivered from processing creations or redemptions and in-kind transactions.
43
First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VI
Financial Highlights
For a share outstanding throughout each period
First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF (ROBT) 
 
Year Ended September 30,
 
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
Net asset value, beginning of period
$43.83
$40.42
$33.64
$53.30
$38.89
Income from investment operations:
Net investment income (loss)
0.15
(a)
0.12
(a)
0.13
(a)
0.08
0.05
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)
9.04
3.40
6.78
(19.67
)(b)
14.44
Total from investment operations
9.19
3.52
6.91
(19.59
)
14.49
Distributions paid to shareholders from:
Net investment income
(0.22
)
(0.11
)
(0.13
)
(0.07
)
(0.08
)
Net asset value, end of period
$52.80
$43.83
$40.42
$33.64
$53.30
Total Return(c)
21.06
%
8.75
%
20.51
%
(36.76
)%(b)
37.27
%
Ratios to average net assets/supplemental data:
Net assets, end of period (in 000’s)
$609,895
$453,667
$416,276
$173,248
$266,492
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets
0.66
%(d)
0.65
%
0.65
%
0.65
%
0.65
%
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets
0.33
%
0.28
%
0.33
%
0.17
%
0.10
%
Portfolio turnover rate(e)
52
%
43
%
46
%
36
%
31
%
(a)
Based on average shares outstanding.
(b)
The Fund received a reimbursement from the advisor in the amount of $1,987 in connection with a trade error, which represents less than $0.01 per share. Since the advisor reimbursed the Fund, there was no effect on the Fund’s total return.
(c)
Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption at net asset value on the last day of the period. The returns presented do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption or sale of Fund shares. Total return is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year.
(d)
Includes extraordinary expenses. If these extraordinary expenses were not included, the expense ratio would have been 0.65%.
(e)
Portfolio turnover is calculated for the time period presented and is not annualized for periods of less than a year and does not include securities received or delivered from processing creations or redemptions and in-kind transactions.
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Other Information
Continuous Offering
Each Fund issues, on a continuous offering basis, its shares in one or more groups of a fixed number of Fund shares (each such group of such specified number of individual Fund shares, a “Creation Unit Aggregation”). The method by which Creation Unit Aggregations of Fund shares are created and traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Unit Aggregations of shares are issued and sold by a Fund on an ongoing basis, a “distribution,” as such term is used in the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), may occur at any point. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner which could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus delivery requirement and liability provisions of the Securities Act.
For example, a broker-dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory underwriter if it takes Creation Unit Aggregations after placing an order with FTP, breaks them down into constituent shares and sells such shares directly to customers, or if it chooses to couple the creation of a supply of new shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for shares. A determination of whether one is an underwriter for purposes of the Securities Act must take into account all the facts and circumstances pertaining to the activities of the broker-dealer or its client in the particular case, and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could lead to a characterization as an underwriter.
Broker-dealer firms should also note that dealers who are not “underwriters” but are effecting transactions in shares, whether or not participating in the distribution of shares, are generally required to deliver a prospectus. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act is not available in respect of such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. As a result, broker-dealer firms should note that dealers who are not underwriters but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted with ordinary secondary market transactions) and thus dealing with the shares that are part of an overallotment within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the Securities Act would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act. Firms that incur a prospectus delivery obligation with respect to shares are reminded that, under the Securities Act Rule 153, a prospectus delivery obligation under Section 5(b)(2) of the Securities Act owed to a broker-dealer in connection with a sale on the Exchange is satisfied by the fact that the prospectus is available from the Exchange upon request. The prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is available with respect to transactions on a national securities exchange, a trading facility or an alternative trading system.
FTP, or its affiliates, or a fund or unit investment trust for which FTP or an affiliate serves as sponsor or investment advisor, may purchase shares of a Fund through a broker-dealer or other investors, including in secondary market transactions, and because FTP or its affiliates may be deemed affiliates of such Fund, the shares are being registered to permit the resale of these shares from time to time after any such purchase. A Fund will not receive any of the proceeds from the resale of such shares.
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First Trust
Exchange-Traded Fund VI
 
 
 
First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF
First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF
For More Information
For more detailed information on the Funds, several additional sources of information are available to you. The SAI, incorporated by reference into this prospectus, contains detailed information on the Funds' policies and operation. Additional information about the Funds' investments is available in the annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders and in Form N-CSR. In the Fund's annual report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly impacted the Funds' performance during the last fiscal year. In Form N-CSR, you will find the Fund’s annual and semi-annual financial statements. A Fund's most recent SAI, annual and semi-annual reports and certain other information such as Fund financial statements are available free of charge by calling the Funds at (800) 621-1675, on the Funds' website at  http://www.ftportfolios.com  or through your financial advisor. Shareholders may call the toll-free number above with any inquiries.
You may obtain this and other information regarding the Funds, including the SAI and the Codes of Ethics adopted by First Trust, FTP and the Trust, directly from the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Information on the SEC’s website is free of charge. Visit the SEC’s online EDGAR database at  http://www.sec.gov.  You may also request information regarding the Funds by sending a request (along with a duplication fee) to the SEC by sending an electronic request to [email protected].
First Trust Advisors L.P.
120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
(800) 621-1675
http://www.ftportfolios.com
SEC File #: 333-182308
811-22717