First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF (AFSM)
  • 2024 Estimated Capital Gain Distributions
    Certain First Trust First Trust Exchange-Traded Funds are expected to pay a long-term capital gain distribution in December. For a list of exchange-traded funds expected to pay a long-term capital gain distribution, please click here. Also, certain First Trust Exchange-Traded Funds are expected to pay short-term capital gain distributions in December. For a list of exchange-traded funds expected to pay a short-term capital gain distribution, please click here. Final determination of the source and tax status of all distributions paid in the current year are to be made after year-end and could differ from the expectations noted above.
Investment Objective/Strategy - The First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF seeks to provide capital appreciation. Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in U.S.-listed equity securities issued by small capitalization companies. The Fund is actively managed primarily relying on a multi-factor quantitative methodology with active risk management to construct a portfolio of securities exhibiting exposures to one or more investing factors. The multi-factor quantitative methodology currently used by the Fund may take into account the following factors: (i) value; (ii) momentum; (iii) quality; and (iv) low volatility.
There can be no assurance that the Fund's investment objectives will be achieved.
Fund Overview
TickerAFSM
Fund TypeSmall Cap Equity
Investment AdvisorFirst Trust Advisors L.P.
Investor Servicing AgentBank of New York Mellon Corp
CUSIP33740F797
ISINUS33740F7978
Intraday NAVAFSMIV
Fiscal Year-End08/31
ExchangeNYSE Arca
Inception12/3/2019
Inception Price$19.95
Inception NAV$19.95
Total Expense Ratio*0.75%
* As of 1/2/2024
Current Fund Data (as of 11/22/2024)
Closing NAV1$32.69
Closing Market Price2$32.64
Bid/Ask Midpoint$32.67
Bid/Ask Discount0.06%
30-Day Median Bid/Ask Spread30.28%
Total Net Assets$34,320,674
Outstanding Shares1,050,002
Daily Volume5,121
Average 30-Day Daily Volume19,588
Closing Market Price 52-Week High/Low$33.25 / $24.44
Closing NAV 52-Week High/Low$33.26 / $24.46
Number of Holdings (excluding cash)307
Top Holdings (as of 11/22/2024)*
Holding Percent
Mueller Industries, Inc. 1.29%
SkyWest, Inc. 1.22%
InterDigital, Inc. 1.20%
National HealthCare Corporation 1.14%
Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. 1.02%
Carpenter Technology Corporation 0.95%
Alkermes Plc 0.91%
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (Class A) 0.90%
Preferred Bank 0.88%
Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 0.87%

* Excluding cash.  Holdings are subject to change.

NAV History (Since Inception)
Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Overall Morningstar RatingTM (as of 10/31/2024)4

Among 569 funds in the Small Blend category. This fund was rated 4 stars/569 funds (3 years) based on risk adjusted returns.
Distribution Information
Dividend per Share Amt (as of 11/23/2024)5$0.0165
30-Day SEC Yield (as of 10/31/2024)60.64%
12-Month Distribution Rate (as of 10/31/2024)70.83%
Fund Characteristics (as of 10/31/2024)8
Maximum Market Cap.$30,623
Median Market Cap.$2,337
Minimum Market Cap.$136
Price/Earnings13.70
Price/Book1.96
Price/Cash Flow9.86
Price/Sales1.09
Bid/Ask Premium/Discount (as of 11/22/2024)
  2023 Q1 2024 Q2 2024 Q3 2024
Days Traded at Premium 11 11 28 34
Days Traded at Discount 239 50 35 30
Top Sector Exposure (as of 11/22/2024)
Industrials 19.79%
Health Care 16.71%
Financials 16.16%
Information Technology 14.46%
Consumer Discretionary 11.77%
Consumer Staples 5.09%
Energy 4.85%
Materials 4.51%
Real Estate 4.24%
Communication Services 1.82%
Utilities 0.60%
Hypothetical Growth of $10,000 Since Inception (as of 11/20/2024) *


Month End Performance (as of 10/31/2024)
  3 Month YTD 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year 10 Year Since
Fund
Inception9
Fund Performance *
Net Asset Value (NAV) -2.95% 10.22% 33.60% 4.56% N/A N/A 9.57%
After Tax Held -2.97% 10.07% 33.11% 4.15% N/A N/A 9.22%
After Tax Sold -1.74% 6.05% 19.87% 3.31% N/A N/A 7.39%
Market Price -2.95% 10.29% 33.81% 4.62% N/A N/A 9.59%
Index Performance **
Russell 2000® Index -2.24% 9.56% 34.07% -0.05% N/A N/A 8.07%
Russell 3000® Index 3.52% 19.75% 37.86% 7.64% N/A N/A 14.37%
Quarter End Performance (as of 9/30/2024)
  3 Month YTD 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year 10 Year Since
Fund
Inception9
Fund Performance *
Net Asset Value (NAV) 8.96% 12.97% 29.03% 7.03% N/A N/A 10.31%
After Tax Held 8.94% 12.82% 28.56% 6.61% N/A N/A 9.95%
After Tax Sold 5.31% 7.67% 17.16% 5.23% N/A N/A 7.98%
Market Price 9.12% 12.97% 29.09% 7.06% N/A N/A 10.31%
Index Performance **
Russell 2000® Index 9.27% 11.17% 26.76% 1.84% N/A N/A 8.55%
Russell 3000® Index 6.23% 20.63% 35.19% 10.29% N/A N/A 14.82%
3-Year Statistics (as of 10/31/2024)
  Standard Deviation Alpha Beta Sharpe Ratio Correlation
AFSM 21.65% 4.29 0.95 0.15 0.98
Russell 2000® Index 22.41% --- 1.00 -0.05 1.00
Standard Deviation is a measure of price variability (risk). Alpha is an indication of how much an investment outperforms or underperforms on a risk-adjusted basis relative to its benchmark.Beta is a measure of price variability relative to the market. Sharpe Ratio is a measure of excess reward per unit of volatility. Correlation is a measure of the similarity of performance.

*Performance data quoted represents past performance. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results and current performance may be higher or lower than performance quoted. Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate and shares when sold or redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost.

After Tax Held returns represent return after taxes on distributions. Assumes shares have not been sold. After Tax Sold returns represent the return after taxes on distributions and the sale of fund shares. Returns do not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times. Market Price returns are determined by using the midpoint of the national best bid offer price ("NBBO") as of the time that the fund's NAV is calculated. Returns are average annualized total returns, except those for periods of less than one year, which are cumulative.

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

**Performance information for each listed index is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent actual fund performance. Indexes do not charge management fees or brokerage expenses, and no such fees or expenses were deducted from the performance shown. Indexes are unmanaged and an investor cannot invest directly in an index.

Russell 2000® Index - The Index is comprised of the smallest 2000 companies in the Russell 3000 Index.

Russell 3000® Index - The Index is comprised of the 3000 largest and most liquid stocks based and traded in the U.S.
Footnotes
1 The NAV represents the fund's net assets (assets less liabilities) divided by the fund's outstanding shares.
2 Fund shares are purchased and sold on an exchange at their market price rather than net asset value (NAV), which may cause the shares to trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
3 The median bid-ask spread is calculated by identifying the national best bid and national best offer ("NBBO") for the fund as of the end of each 10 second interval during each trading day of the last 30 calendar days and dividing the difference between each such bid and offer by the midpoint of the NBBO. The median of those values is identified and that value is expressed as a percentage rounded to the nearest hundredth.
4
The Morningstar RatingTM for funds, or "star rating", is calculated for managed products (including mutual funds, variable annuity and variable life subaccounts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and separate accounts) with at least a three-year history. Exchange-traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a managed product's monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The Morningstar Rating does not include any adjustment for sales loads. The top 10% of products in each product category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a managed product is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The weights are: 100% three-year rating for 36-59 months of total returns, 60% five-year rating/40% three-year rating for 60-119 months of total returns, and 50% 10-year rating/30% five-year rating/20% three-year rating for 120 or more months of total returns. While the 10-year overall star rating formula seems to give the most weight to the 10-year period, the most recent three-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods.
5 Most recent distribution paid or declared to today's date. Subject to change in the future. There is no guarantee that the fund will declare dividends.
6 The 30-day SEC yield is calculated by dividing the net investment income per share earned during the most recent 30-day period by the maximum offering price per share on the last day of the period and includes the effects of fee waivers and expense reimbursements, if applicable.
7 12-Month Distribution Rate is calculated by dividing the sum of the fund's trailing 12-month ordinary distributions paid or declared by the NAV price. Distribution rates may vary.
8 All market capitalization numbers are in USD$ Millions.
9 Inception Date is 12/3/2019

You should consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses carefully before investing. You can download a prospectus or summary prospectus, or contact First Trust Portfolios L.P. at 1-800-621-1675 to request a prospectus or summary prospectus which contains this and other information about the fund. The prospectus or summary prospectus should be read carefully before investing.

Risk Considerations

You could lose money by investing in a fund. An investment in a fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed. There can be no assurance that a fund's objective(s) will be achieved. Investors buying or selling shares on the secondary market may incur customary brokerage commissions. Please refer to each fund's prospectus and Statement of Additional Information for additional details on a fund's risks. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.

Unlike mutual funds, shares of the fund may only be redeemed directly from a fund by authorized participants in very large creation/redemption units. If a fund's authorized participants are unable to proceed with creation/redemption orders and no other authorized participant is able to step forward to create or redeem, fund shares may trade at a premium or discount to a fund's net asset value and possibly face delisting and the bid/ask spread may widen.

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 recently lowered interest rates and may continue to do so. 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. 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 have and could continue to have a significant impact on certain fund investments as well as fund performance and liquidity. The COVID-19 global pandemic, or any future public health crisis, and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects.

A fund is susceptible to operational risks through breaches in cyber security. Such events could cause a fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss.

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.

A fund may be a constituent of one or more indices or models which could greatly affect a fund's trading activity, size and volatility.

A portfolio comprised of low volatility stocks may not produce investment exposure that has lower variability to changes in such stocks' price levels. Low volatility stocks are likely to underperform the broader market during periods of rapidly rising stock prices.

The portfolio managers of an actively managed portfolio will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not have the desired result.

Market risk is the risk that a particular security, or shares of a fund in general may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by such factors as general economic conditions, political events, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of a fund could decline in value or underperform other investments as a result. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious disease or other public health issues, recessions, natural disasters or other events could have significant negative impact on a fund.

There can be no assurance that the securities held by a fund will stay within a fund's intended market capitalization range.

A 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 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 a fund's market price.

The utilization of quantitative models entails the risks that a model may be limited or incorrect, the data on which a model relies may be incorrect or incomplete and the portfolio managers may not be successful in selecting companies for investment or determining the weighting of particular stocks in a fund's portfolio. Any of these factors could cause a fund to underperform funds that do not rely on models.

A "momentum" style of investing emphasizes selecting stocks that have had higher recent price performance compared to other stocks. Momentum can turn quickly and cause significant variation from other types of investments.

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.

The market price of a fund's shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the fund's net asset value ("NAV") as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on the exchange, and a fund's investment advisor cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their NAV.

A quality stocks investment fund may not correctly identify companies with strong fundamentals and selected companies may not maintain strong fundamentals. In addition, returns on quality securities may be less than returns on other styles of investing or the overall stock market.

A fund with significant exposure to a single asset class, country, region, industry, or sector may be more affected by an adverse economic or political development than a broadly diversified fund.

Securities of small capitalization companies may experience greater price volatility and be less liquid than larger, more established companies.

Trading on an exchange may be halted due to market conditions or other reasons. There can be no assurance that a fund's requirements to maintain the exchange listing will continue to be met or be unchanged.

Value characteristics of a stock may not be fully recognized for a long time or a stock judged to be undervalued may actually be appropriately priced at a low level.

First Trust Advisors L.P. (FTA) is the adviser to the First Trust fund(s). FTA is an affiliate of First Trust Portfolios L.P., the distributor of the fund(s).

©2024 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Morningstar RatingTM information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar;(2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Not FDIC Insured • Not Bank Guaranteed • May Lose Value