First Trust Structured Credit Income Opportunities ETF (SCIO)
  • 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 Structured Credit Income Opportunities ETF (the "Fund") seeks to maximize long-term income. Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in structured credit investments.
There can be no assurance that the Fund's investment objectives will be achieved.
Fund Overview
TickerSCIO
Fund TypeMortgage-Backed Securities
Investment AdvisorFirst Trust Advisors L.P.
Investor Servicing AgentBank of New York Mellon Corp
CUSIP33738D770
ISINUS33738D7701
Intraday NAVSCIOIV
Fiscal Year-End07/31
ExchangeNYSE Arca
Inception2/27/2024
Inception Price$20.00
Inception NAV$20.00
Total Expense Ratio*0.95%
* As of 2/28/2024
Current Fund Data (as of 11/22/2024)
Closing NAV1$20.34
Closing Market Price2$20.26
Bid/Ask Midpoint$20.26
Bid/Ask Discount0.39%
30-Day Median Bid/Ask Spread (as of 11/21/2024)30.30%
Total Net Assets$15,252,925
Outstanding Shares750,002
Daily Volume1
Average 30-Day Daily Volume263
Closing Market Price 52-Week High/Low$20.67 / $20.00
Closing NAV 52-Week High/Low$20.76 / $20.00
Number of Holdings (excluding cash)53
Top Holdings (as of 11/21/2024)*
Holding Percent
Barclays Commercial Mortgage Securities LLC Series 2018-TALL, Class A, Variable rate, due 03/15/2037 3.73%
Farmer Mac Agricultural Real Estate Trust Series 2024-1, Class B, Variable rate, due 10/01/2053 3.48%
BX Trust Series 2019-IMC, Class F, Variable rate, due 04/15/2034 3.21%
Cross Mortgage Trust Series 2024-H2, Class B1B, Variable rate, due 04/25/2069 3.01%
LHOME Mortgage Trust Series 2024-RTL2, Class A2, Variable rate, due 03/25/2029 2.97%
Pagaya AI Debt Selection Trust Serues 2024-3, Class D, 9%, due 10/15/2031 2.97%
Barclays Commercial Mortgage Securities LLC Series 2024-5C25, Class XA, Variable rate, due 03/15/2057 2.91%
BENCHMARK Mortgage Trust Series 2024-V6, Class XA, Variable rate, due 10/15/2028 2.88%
Morgan Stanley Capital I Trust Series 2019-L2, Class XA, Variable rate, due 03/15/2052 2.70%
BX Trust Series 2021-ARIA, Class E, Variable rate, due 10/15/2036 2.46%

* Excluding cash.  Holdings are subject to change.

Distribution Information
Dividend per Share Amt (as of 11/23/2024)4$0.1375
30-Day SEC Yield (as of 10/31/2024)56.22%
Distribution Rate (as of 10/31/2024)68.10%
Fund Characteristics (as of 10/31/2024)
Weighted Average Effective Duration (Long Positions)73.57 Years
Weighted Average Effective Duration (Short Positions)7-0.60 Years
Weighted Average Effective Net Duration72.97 Years
Weighted Average Yield-to-Worst87.19%
Fund Composition (as of 10/31/2024)
Percent
Non-Agency CMBS 43.45%
Non-Agency RMBS 35.37%
ABS 14.17%
Agency CMBS 3.13%
TBAs - Long 1.98%
Agency CMOs 1.86%
Cash & Cash Equivalents 0.04%
Derivatives Usage (as of 10/31/2024)
Bond Futures - Net34.24%
Options on Bond Futures - Net0.00%
Options on Interest Rate Futures - Net0.00%
TBAs - Short0.00%
Credit Quality (as of 10/31/2024)
Credit Quality Percent
Cash & Cash Equivalents 0.04%
Agency 6.97%
AAA 22.98%
AA- 6.39%
A 0.32%
A- 4.11%
BBB+ 5.42%
BBB- 13.85%
BB+ 2.73%
BB 5.18%
BB- 9.72%
B+ 1.67%
B 1.67%
B- 3.77%
NR 15.18%
The ratings are by one or more nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs), including S&P Global Ratings, Moody's Investors Service, Inc., Fitch Ratings, DBRS, Inc., Kroll Bond Rating Agency, Inc. 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 highest rating is used. A credit rating is an assessment provided by a NRSRO, of the creditworthiness of an issuer with respect to debt obligations. Ratings are measured on a scale that generally ranges from AAA (highest) to D (lowest). Investment grade is defined as those issuers that have a long-term credit rating of BBB- or higher. "NR" indicates no rating. 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. Agency and U.S. Agency mortgage-backed securities appear under "Agency". Credit ratings are subject to change.
Bid/Ask Premium/Discount (as of 11/22/2024)
  2023 Q1 2024 Q2 2024 Q3 2024
Days Traded at Premium --- 21 51 0
Days Traded at Discount --- 1 12 64
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) 1.59% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 5.71%
After Tax Held 0.86% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 4.12%
After Tax Sold 0.94% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 3.37%
Market Price 1.65% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 5.26%
Index Performance **
Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index 0.25% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 4.03%
ICE BofA US ABS & CMBS Index 1.17% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 4.67%
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) 3.48% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 6.40%
After Tax Held 2.80% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 5.08%
After Tax Sold 2.06% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 3.77%
Market Price 3.50% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 6.04%
Index Performance **
Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index 5.20% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 6.67%
ICE BofA US ABS & CMBS Index 3.40% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 5.47%

*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.

Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index - The Index covers the investment-grade, U.S. dollar-denominated, fixed-rate taxable bond market, including Treasuries, government-related and corporate securities, MBS, ABS, and CMBS.

ICE BofA US ABS & CMBS Index - The Index tracks the performance of US dollar denominated investment grade fixed and floating rate asset backed securities and fixed rate commercial mortgage backed securities publicly issued in the US domestic market.

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 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.
7 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.
8 YTW is the measure of the lowest possible yield that can be received on a fixed income security with an early retirement provision without the issuer defaulting. The calculation does not include the effect of fund fees and expenses.
9 Inception Date is 2/27/2024

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.

Asset-backed securities are a type of debt security and are generally not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and are subject to the risk of default on the underlying asset or loan, particularly during periods of economic downturn.

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.

Collateralized loan obligations ("CLOs") carry additional risks, including the possibility that distributions from collateral securities will not be adequate to make interest or other payments, the quality of the collateral may decline in value or default, the possibility that the investments in CLOs are subordinate to other classes or tranches, and the complex structure of the security may not be fully understood at the time of investment and may produce disputes with the issuer or unexpected investment results.

An investment in CMBX involves greater risks than if a fund had invested in commercial mortgage-backed securities directly. These risks include general market, liquidity, interest rate, counterparty, credit and leverage risks.

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.

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.

Floating rate securities are structured so that the security's coupon rate fluctuates based upon the level of a reference rate. As a result, the coupon on floating rate securities will generally decline in a falling interest rate environment, causing a fund to experience a reduction in the income it receives from the security. A floating rate security's coupon rate resets periodically according to the terms of the security. Consequently, in a rising interest rate environment, floating rate securities with coupon rates that reset infrequently may lag behind the changes in market 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.

The yield on an interest-only security is extremely sensitive to the rate of principal payments on the underlying mortgage assets and a rapid payment rate may have an adverse effect on a fund's yield to maturity from these securities. Conversely, principal-only securities tend to decline in value if prepayments are slower than anticipated.

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.

If a fund invests in securities of another investment company, a fund may bear its ratable share of that investment company's expenses as well as a fund's advisory and administrative fees, which may result in duplicative expenses. A fund may also incur brokerage costs if purchasing or selling shares of exchange-traded investment companies.

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.

Mortgage-related securities are more susceptible to adverse economic, political or regulatory events that affect the value of real estate.

Large inflows and outflows may impact a new fund's market exposure for limited periods of time.

There are no government or agency guarantees of payments in securities offered by non- government issuers, therefore they are subject to the credit risk of the issuer. Non-agency securities often trade "over-the-counter" and there may be a limited market for them making them difficult to value.

A fund classified as "non-diversified" may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers. As a result, a fund may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence affecting one or more of these issuers, experience increased volatility and be highly concentrated in certain 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.

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.

Short selling creates special risks which could result in increased gains or losses and volatility of returns. Because losses on short sales arise from increases in the value of the security sold short, such losses are theoretically unlimited.

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.

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.

Securities issued or guaranteed by federal agencies and U.S. government sponsored instrumentalities may or may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.

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.

A fund may invest in securities that exhibit more volatility than the market as a whole.

The purchase of securities on a when-issued, TBA ("to be announced"), delayed delivery or forward commitment basis may give rise to investment leverage and increase a fund's volatility and exposure to default.

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