Risks are inherent in all investing. Certain risks applicable to the Fund are identified below, which includes the risk that you could lose some or all of your investment in the Fund. The principal risks of investing in the Fund are spelled out in the Fund's annual shareholder reports. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor. The Fund also files reports, proxy statements and other information that is available for review.

Any shortcomings or inefficiencies in credit rating agencies' processes for determining credit ratings may adversely affect the credit ratings of securities held by the Fund.

Credit risk is the risk that an issuer of a security will be unable or unwilling to make dividend, interest and/or principal payments when due and that the value of a security may decline as a result. This risk may be heightened for senior loans because companies that issue loans tend to be highly leveraged and are more susceptible to the risks of interest deferral, default and/or bankruptcy.

The Fund will typically invest in senior loans rated below investment grade, commonly referred to as "junk" or "high yield" securities and are considered speculative because of the credit risk of their issuers, who are more likely than investment grade issuers to default on their payments of interest and principal owed to the Fund. Such defaults could reduce the Fund's NAV and income distributions. An economic downturn would generally lead to a higher non-payment rate, and a senior loan may lose significant market value before a default occurs. Any specific collateral used to secure a senior loan may decline in value or become illiquid, which would adversely affect the senior loan's value.

As the use of Internet technology has become more prevalent in the course of business, the Fund has become more susceptible to potential operational risks through breaches in cyber security.

The Fund may be significantly exposed to companies in the health care sector. These companies are subject to extensive competition, generic drug sales or the loss of patent protection, product liability litigation and increased government regulation.

The Fund invests a substantial portion of its assets in lower-quality debt issued by companies that are highly leveraged. Lower-quality debt tends to be less liquid than higher-quality debt.

Information technology companies are subject to certain risks, including rapidly changing technologies, short product life cycles, fierce competition, aggressive pricing and reduced profit margins, loss of patent, copyright and trademark protections, cyclical market patterns, evolving industry standards and frequent new product introductions. Certain technology companies may be smaller and less experienced companies, with limited product lines, markets or financial resources. The stocks of these companies, especially Internet related companies, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that are often unrelated to their operating performance.

Interest rate risk is the risk that if interest rates rise, the prices of the fixed-rate instruments held by the Fund may fall.

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

Use of leverage by the Fund can result in additional risk and cost and can magnify the effect of any losses. If the income and gains from the securities and investments purchased with leverage proceeds do not cover the cost of leverage, the return to the common shares will be less than if leverage had not been used. While the Fund is using leverage, the amount of the fees paid to First Trust for investment advisory and management services are higher than if the Fund did not use leverage because the fees paid are calculated based on managed assets. Therefore, First Trust has a financial incentive to leverage the Fund.

The implementation of the Fund's investment strategy depends upon the continued contributions of the portfolio management team and the loss or interruption of services of a key member of that team could have a negative impact on the Fund.

Shares of closed-end investment companies such as the Fund frequently trade at a discount from their net asset value. The Fund cannot predict whether its common shares will trade at, below or above net asset value.

The Fund is subject to market risk, which is the risk that a particular security owned by the Fund or shares of the Fund in general may fall in value. Ongoing armed conflicts between Russia and Ukraine in Europe and among Israel, 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 could have a significant impact on certain fund investments as well as fund performance. The COVID-19 global pandemic and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets. While vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against future variants of the disease. Recent and potential future bank failures could result in disruption to the broader banking industry or markets generally and reduce confidence in financial institutions and the economy as a whole, which may also heighten market volatility and reduce liquidity.

Securities of non-U.S. issuers are subject to additional risks, including currency fluctuations, political risks, withholding, lack of liquidity, lack of adequate financial information, and exchange control restrictions impacting non-U.S. issuers.

A fund and a fund's advisor may seek to reduce various operational risks through controls and procedures, but it is not possible to completely protect against such risks. The fund also relies on third parties for a range of services, including custody, and any delay or failure related to those services may affect the fund’s ability to meet its objective.

First Trust and the fund’s portfolio managers have interests that may conflict with the interests of the fund. First Trust manages and/or advises funds with similar investment objectives and strategies as the fund. In addition, the use of leverage increases the amount of management and advisory fees paid to First Trust and therefore, First Trust has a financial incentive to leverage the fund.

Loans are subject to pre-payment risk. The degree to which borrowers prepay loans may be affected by general business conditions, the financial condition of the borrower and competitive conditions among loan investors, among others. The Fund may not be able to reinvest the proceeds received on terms as favorable as the prepaid loan. The senior loan market has seen an increase in loans with weaker lender protections which may impact recovery values and/or trading levels in the future.

Reinvestment risk is the risk that income from the Fund’s portfolio will decline if the Fund invests the proceeds from matured, traded or called instruments at market interest rates that are below the fund’s portfolio’s current earnings rate. A decline in income could affect the common shares’ market price, level of distributions or the overall return of the fund.

The Fund may invest in securities that may be in default or distressed. Distressed securities present a substantial risk of future default which may cause the Fund to incur losses, including additional expenses, to the extent it is required to seek recovery upon a default in the payment of principal or interest on those securities.

A second lien loan may have a claim on the same collateral pool as the first lien or be secured by a separate set of assets. These loans are subject to the risk that borrower cash flow and property securing the loan may be insufficient to meet scheduled payments after paying off loans with a higher priority. These loans also have greater price volatility than higher priority loans and may be less liquid.

Portfolio holdings that are valued using techniques other than market quotations may be subject to greater fluctuation in their valuations from one day to the next than if market quotations were used.

The risks of investing in the Fund are spelled out in the prospectus, shareholder report and other regulatory filings.