First Trust TCW Emerging Markets Debt ETF (EFIX)
  • 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 TCW Emerging Markets Debt ETF (the "Fund") seeks to provide high total return from current income and capital appreciation. Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in debt securities issued or guaranteed by companies, financial institutions and government entities located in emerging market countries. An "emerging market country" is a country that, at the time the Fund invests in the related security or instrument, is classified as an emerging or developing economy by any supranational organization such as the World Bank or the United Nations, or related entities, or is considered an emerging market country for purposes of constructing a major emerging market securities index. The Fund's investments include, but are not limited to, debt securities issued by sovereign entities, quasi-sovereign entities and corporations. "Quasi-Sovereign" refers to an entity that is either 100% owned by a sovereign entity or whose debt is 100% guaranteed by a sovereign entity. The Fund may invest up to 25% of its net assets in securities issued by non-Quasi-Sovereign corporations in emerging market countries. The Fund will invest at least 90% of its assets in dollar-denominated securities. The Fund may invest up to 10% of its assets in securities denominated in Eurodollars and/or Japanese yen.
There can be no assurance that the Fund's investment objectives will be achieved.
Fund Overview
TickerEFIX
Fund TypeEmerging Market Bonds
Investment AdvisorFirst Trust Advisors L.P.
Investor Servicing AgentBank of New York Mellon Corp
Portfolio Manager/Sub-AdvisorTCW Investment Management Company LLC
CUSIP33740U604
ISINUS33740U6047
Intraday NAVEFIXIV
Fiscal Year-End08/31
ExchangeNYSE Arca
Inception2/17/2021
Inception Price$20.00
Inception NAV$20.00
Total Expense Ratio*0.95%
* As of 1/2/2024
Current Fund Data (as of 11/20/2024)
Closing NAV1$16.35
Closing Market Price2$16.32
Bid/Ask Midpoint$16.32
Bid/Ask Discount0.18%
30-Day Median Bid/Ask Spread31.59%
Total Net Assets$39,235,197
Outstanding Shares2,400,002
Daily Volume1,090
Average 30-Day Daily Volume5,158
Closing Market Price 52-Week High/Low$16.75 / $15.32
Closing NAV 52-Week High/Low$16.74 / $15.14
Number of Holdings (excluding cash)182
Top Holdings (as of 11/20/2024)*
Holding Percent
UKRAINE GOVERNMENT Variable rate, due 05/31/2040 2.26%
SAUDI INTERNATIONAL BOND N/C, 5.75%, due 01/16/2054 1.74%
KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN N/C, 6.75%, due 09/20/2029 1.59%
OMAN GOV INTERNTL BOND N/C, 6.25%, due 01/25/2031 1.59%
REPUBLIC OF GABON 6.625%, due 02/06/2031 1.45%
ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT N/C, 7.30%, due 09/30/2033 1.34%
REPUBLIC OF SENEGAL 6.25%, due 05/23/2033 1.33%
SAUDI INTERNATIONAL BOND N/C, 5%, due 01/16/2034 1.31%
GREENSAIF PIPELINES BIDCO 6.129%, due 02/23/2038 1.28%
STATE OF ISRAEL N/C, 5.50%, due 03/12/2034 1.17%

* Excluding cash.  Holdings are subject to change.

Distribution Information
Dividend per Share Amt (as of 11/21/2024)4$0.0850
30-Day SEC Yield (as of 10/31/2024)56.27%
12-Month Distribution Rate (as of 10/31/2024)66.41%
Distribution Rate (as of 10/31/2024)76.25%
Fund Characteristics (as of 10/31/2024)
Weighted Average Effective Duration87.30 Years
Weighted Average Maturity12.06 Years
Weighted Average Price$92.18
Top Country Exposure (as of 10/31/2024)
Country Percent
Turkey 6.26%
Saudi Arabia 5.04%
Colombia 4.84%
Indonesia 4.51%
Brazil 4.43%
Mexico 4.41%
Egypt 3.97%
Chile 3.62%
United Arab Emirates 3.56%
Ukraine 3.35%
Fund Composition (as of 10/31/2024)
Percent
Sovereigns 69.57%
Corporates 21.51%
Quasi-Sovereigns 8.92%
Hedge 0.00%
Please note that percentage of 0.00 indicates an amount less than 0.01%.
Maturity Exposure (as of 10/31/2024)
Years Percent
Less than 1 Years 0.74%
1 -2 .99 Years 1.70%
3 - 4.99 Years 14.90%
5 - 6.99 Years 15.12%
7 - 9.99 Years 24.01%
10 - 19.99 Years 14.83%
Greater than 20 Years 28.70%
Credit Quality (as of 10/31/2024)
Credit Quality Percent
AA 2.10%
A 8.46%
BBB 21.81%
BB 30.32%
B 16.12%
CCC 16.96%
CC 2.16%
C 0.76%
D 1.18%
Unrated 0.13%
The credit quality and ratings information presented above reflect the ratings assigned by one or more nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs), including S&P Global Ratings, Moody's Investors Service, Inc., Fitch Ratings, or a comparably rated NRSRO. For situations in which a security is rated by more than one NRSRO and the ratings are not equivalent, the lowest rating is used. Sub-investment grade ratings are those rated BB+/Ba1 or lower. Investment grade ratings are those rated BBB-/Baa3 or higher. The credit ratings shown relate to the creditworthiness of the issuers of the underlying securities in the fund, and not to the fund or its shares. U.S. Treasury, U.S. Agency and U.S. Agency mortgage-backed securities appear under "Government/Agency". Credit ratings are subject to change.
Bid/Ask Premium/Discount (as of 11/20/2024)
  2023 Q1 2024 Q2 2024 Q3 2024
Days Traded at Premium 234 55 61 37
Days Traded at Discount 16 6 2 27
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) 2.70% 7.42% 19.61% 0.47% N/A N/A 0.03%
After Tax Held 2.02% 5.07% 16.48% -1.89% N/A N/A -2.19%
After Tax Sold 1.60% 4.34% 11.53% -0.70% N/A N/A -0.96%
Market Price 1.89% 6.34% 17.87% 0.38% N/A N/A -0.11%
Index Performance **
JP Morgan Emerging Market Bond Index Global Diversified 2.42% 6.78% 18.16% -0.99% N/A N/A -0.65%
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) 6.25% 9.22% 19.90% 0.92% N/A N/A 0.49%
After Tax Held 5.54% 7.05% 16.75% -1.43% N/A N/A -1.74%
After Tax Sold 3.69% 5.38% 11.64% -0.36% N/A N/A -0.62%
Market Price 5.96% 7.74% 17.98% 0.69% N/A N/A 0.25%
Index Performance **
JP Morgan Emerging Market Bond Index Global Diversified 6.15% 8.64% 18.60% -0.40% N/A N/A -0.19%
3-Year Statistics (as of 10/31/2024)
  Standard Deviation Alpha Beta Sharpe Ratio Correlation
EFIX 11.08% 1.42 0.99 -0.23 0.98
JP Morgan Emerging Market Bond Index Global Diversified 11.02% --- 1.00 -0.37 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.

JP Morgan Emerging Market Bond Index Global Diversified - The Index is a uniquely weighted USD-denominated emerging markets sovereign index.

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 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.
5 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.
6 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.
7 Distribution Rate is calculated by dividing the fund's most recent ordinary distribution paid or declared, on an annualized basis, by the NAV price. Distribution rates may vary.
8 A measure of a bond's sensitivity to interest rate changes that reflects the change in a bond's price given a change in yield. It accounts for the likelihood of changes in the timing of cash flows in response to interest rate movements.
9 Inception Date is 2/17/2021

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.

During periods of falling interest rates if an issuer calls higher-yielding debt instruments, a fund may be forced to invest the proceeds at lower interest rates, likely resulting in a decline in the fund's income.

A fund that effects all or a portion of its creations and redemptions for cash rather than in-kind may be less tax-efficient.

A fund may be subject to the risk that a counterparty will not fulfill its obligations which may result in significant financial loss to a fund.

An issuer or other obligated party of a debt security may be unable or unwilling to make dividend, interest and/or principal payments when due and the value of a security may decline as a result.

An investment in credit default swaps involves greater risks than if a fund had invested in the reference obligation directly. These risks include general market, liquidity, counterparty, credit and leverage risks.

Ratings assigned by a credit rating agency are opinions of such entities, not absolute standards of credit quality and they do not evaluate risks of securities. Any shortcomings or inefficiencies in the process of determining credit ratings may adversely affect the credit ratings of the securities held by a fund and their perceived or actual credit 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 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.

Investments in debt securities subject the holder to the credit risk of the issuer and the value of debt securities will generally change inversely with changes in interest rates. In addition, debt securities generally do not trade on a securities exchange making them less liquid and more difficult to value.

The use of derivatives instruments involves different and possibly greater risks than investing directly in securities including counterparty risk, valuation risk, volatility risk, and liquidity risk. Further, losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the underlying asset, index or rate may be magnified by certain features of the derivatives.

Distressed securities are speculative and often illiquid or trade in low volumes and thus may be more difficult to value and pose a substantial risk of default.

Investments in emerging market securities are generally considered speculative and involve additional risks relating to political, economic and regulatory conditions.

Extension risk is the risk that, when interest rates rise, certain obligations will be paid off by the issuer (or other obligated party) more slowly than anticipated, causing the value of these debt securities to fall. Rising interest rates tend to extend the duration of debt securities, making their market value more sensitive to changes in interest rates.

The market for forward contracts is substantially unregulated and can experience lengthy periods of illiquidity, unusually high trading volume and other negative impacts, such as political intervention. Forward contracts can increase a fund's risk exposure to underlying references and their attendant risks, such as credit risk, currency risk, market risk, and interest rate risk, while also exposing a fund to counterparty risk, liquidity risk and valuation risk, among others.

The risk of a position in a futures contract may be very large compared to the relatively low level of margin a fund is required to deposit and a relatively small price movement in a futures contract may result in immediate and substantial loss relative to the size of margin deposit.

High yield securities, or "junk" bonds, are less liquid and are subject to greater market fluctuations and risk of loss than securities with higher ratings, and therefore, are considered to be highly speculative.

A fund's income may decline when interest rates fall or if there are defaults in its portfolio.

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.

As inflation increases, the present value of a fund's assets and distributions may decline.

Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of the debt securities in a fund's portfolio will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk is generally lower for shorter term debt securities and higher for longer-term debt securities.

The economies of Latin American countries have in the past experienced considerable difficulties, including high inflation rates, high interest rates, high unemployment, government overspending and political instability. International economic conditions, particularly those in the United States, Europe and Asia, as well as world prices for oil and other commodities may also influence the development of Latin American economies. Many Latin American countries are highly reliant on the exportation of commodities and their economies may be significantly impacted by fluctuations in commodity prices and the global demand for certain commodities.

Leverage may result in losses that exceed the amount originally invested and may accelerate the rates of losses. Leverage tends to magnify, sometimes significantly, the effect of any increase or decrease in a fund's exposure to an asset or class of assets and may cause the value of a fund's shares to be volatile and sensitive to market swings.

Certain fund investments may be subject to restrictions on resale, trade over-the-counter or in limited volume, or lack an active trading market. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount and may be subject to wide fluctuations in market value.

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.

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 Middle East has experienced acts of terrorism and strained international relations due to territorial disputes, historical animosities, defense concerns and other security concerns. These situations may cause uncertainty in Middle Eastern markets and may adversely affect economies of the Middle East. The political and legal systems in certain Middle Eastern countries may have an adverse impact on a fund. Several economies in the Middle East are highly reliant on income from the sale or trade of commodities and their economies may be vulnerable to global changes in the market for commodities and foreign currency values. There may be 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.

A fund that holds cash or invests in money market or short-term securities may be less likely to achieve its investment objective and could lose money.

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.

The prices of options are volatile and the effective use of options depends on a fund's ability to terminate option positions at times deemed desirable to do so. There is no assurance that a fund will be able to effect closing transactions at any particular time or at an acceptable price.

Because OTC derivatives do not trade on an exchange, the parties to an OTC derivative face heightened levels of counterparty risk, liquidity risk and valuation risk.

High portfolio turnover may result in higher levels of transaction costs and may generate greater tax liabilities for shareholders.

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.

Prepayment risk is the risk that the issuer of a debt security will repay principal prior to the scheduled maturity date. Debt securities allowing prepayment may offer less potential for gains during a period of declining interest rates, as a fund may be required to reinvest the proceeds of any prepayment at lower interest rates.

A fund may be unable to sell a restricted security on short notice or only sell them at a price below current value.

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.

Investments in sovereign bonds involve special risks because the governmental authority that controls the repayment of the debt may be unwilling or unable to repay the principal and/or interest when due. In times of economic uncertainty, the prices of these securities may be more volatile than those of corporate debt or other government debt obligations.

Swap agreements may involve greater risks than direct investment in securities and could result in losses if the underlying reference or asset does not perform as anticipated. In addition, many swaps trade over-the-counter and may be considered illiquid.

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.

A 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. 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. There is no assurance that a fund could sell or close out a portfolio position for the value established for it at any time.

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).

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Not FDIC Insured • Not Bank Guaranteed • May Lose Value