497K 1 cwaix_497k.htm SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

Rule 497(k)

File No. 333-168727

First Trust Series Fund
 
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS 
FIRST TRUST MANAGED MUNICIPAL FUND
TICKER SYMBOL
CLASS I
CWAIX
Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s statutory prospectus and other information about the Fund, including the statement of additional information and most recent reports to shareholders, online at www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/MF/MFFundNews.aspx?Ticker=CWAIX.  You can also get this information at no cost by calling (800) 621-1675 or by sending an e-mail request to info@ftportfolios.com. If you purchase shares through a financial intermediary (such as a broker/dealer or bank), you can obtain the Fund’s prospectus and other information from that financial intermediary. The Fund’s  prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated March 1, 2023,  are all incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.
March 1, 2023
Investment Objectives
The First Trust Managed Municipal Fund's (the "Fund") primary investment objective is to generate current income that is exempt from federal income taxes and its secondary objective is long term capital appreciation.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. Investors purchasing Class I shares as “clean shares” may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in the Fund or in other First Trust Advisors L.P. mutual funds. More information about these and other discounts, as well as eligibility requirements for each share class, is available from your financial advisor and in “Share Classes” on page 26 of this prospectus, “Investment in Fund Shares” on page 26 of this prospectus and “Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares” on page 31 of the Fund’s statement of additional information (“SAI”).
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment) 
 
Class I
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)
None
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of the lesser of purchase price or redemption proceeds)
None
 
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) 
 
Class I
Management Fees
0.50%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees
N/A
Other Expenses(1)
0.91%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
1.41%
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement(2)(3)
0.91%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursements
0.50%
(1)
"Other Expenses" are estimates based on the expenses the Fund expects to incur for the current fiscal year.
(2)
The Fund’s investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and reimburse expenses through June 14, 2024 so that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (excluding interest expenses, taxes, fees incurred in acquiring and disposing of portfolio securities, acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses) do not exceed 0.65% of the average daily net assets of Class I shares. Fees waived or expenses borne by the Fund’s investment advisor are subject to reimbursement by the Fund for up to three years from the date the fee was waived or expense was incurred, but no reimbursement payment will be made by the Fund at any time if it would result in the Fund’s expenses exceeding (i) the applicable expense limitation in place for the most recent fiscal year for which such expense limitation was in place, (ii) the applicable expense limitation in place at the time the fees were waived, or (iii) the current expense limitation. Expense limitations may be terminated or modified prior to their expiration only with the approval of the Board of Trustees of the First Trust Series Fund.
(3)
Pursuant to a contractual agreement, the Fund's investment advisor, has agreed to waive management fees of 0.15% of average daily net assets through June 14, 2024. The waiver agreement may be terminated by action of the Trust's Board of Trustees at any time upon 60 days' written notice by the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, or by the Fund's investment advisor only after June 14, 2024.
Example
The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual 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 annual operating expenses (excluding interest expense, taxes, fees incurred in acquiring and disposing of portfolio securities, acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses) remain at current levels through June 14, 2024, and then are estimated to be 1.41% after June 14, 2024. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Redemption 
Share Class
I
1 Year
$51
3 Years
356
5 Years
684
10 Years
1,612
No Redemption 
Share Class
I
1 Year
$51
3 Years
356
5 Years
684
10 Years
1,612
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 fiscal period June 15, 2022 (inception) through October 31, 2022, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 10% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
Under normal market conditions, the Fund seeks to achieve its investment objectives by investing at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in municipal debt securities that pay interest that is exempt from federal income taxes. Municipal securities are generally issued by or on behalf of states, territories or possessions of the United States and the District of Columbia and their political subdivisions, agencies, authorities and other instrumentalities. The types of municipal securities in which the Fund may invest include municipal lease obligations (and certificates of participation in such obligations), municipal general obligation bonds, municipal revenue bonds, municipal notes, municipal cash equivalents, private activity bonds (including without limitation industrial development bonds), zero coupon bonds and pre-refunded and escrowed-to-maturity bonds. In addition, municipal securities include securities issued by tender option bond (“TOB”) trusts and custodial receipt trusts. The Fund may also invest up to 20% of its net assets (measured by notional value) in derivative instruments, other than TOB and custodial receipts trusts, to obtain net long or short exposures to selected interest rates or to hedge risks, including interest rate risks and credit risks, associated with the Fund’s portfolio investments. The Fund may invest in municipal securities of any duration or maturity. The Fund may also invest in exchange-traded funds ("ETFs") that invest in the securities described above for purposes of satisfying the 80% investment test.
The Fund’s investment advisor selects the securities for the Fund by implementing an investment process that is comprised of the following components:
1.
Total return scenario analysis: Evaluate individual bonds and portfolios of securities that are exposed to interest rate, yield curve and credit spread movements or shifts.
2.
Sector analysis: Perform top-down review of core sectors based on bottom-up analysis of individual credits to determine the sectors in which the Fund will be overweight, neutral weight and underweight.
3.
New issue credit analysis: Evaluate new bond offerings to determine portfolio suitability based on fundamental credit research on each borrower and individual bond security features.
4.
Trading: Analyze how a bond might trade in the secondary market by reviewing total bond issuance size, underwriter willingness to make secondary markets and bond structural features, such as coupon, maturity, call dates and sinking fund payments.
5.
Surveillance: Analyze holdings on a systematic basis to monitor any changes in credit trend. The Fund’s advisor monitors the credit rating momentum of each bond.
6.
Performance attribution: Perform granular total return analysis by reviewing key portfolio attributes such as duration, credit rating, sector and state. The portfolio’s performance is also compared to various benchmarks.
The Fund invests at least 65% of its net assets in investment grade securities, which are securities that are rated at the time of investment in one of the four highest credit quality categories by at least one nationally recognized statistical rating organization rating that security or, if unrated, determined by the Fund’s investment advisor to be of comparable quality. The Fund considers pre-refunded or escrowed-to-maturity bonds, regardless of rating, to be investment grade securities. The Fund may invest up to 35% of its net assets
in securities that are, at the time of investment, rated below investment grade (or securities that are unrated and determined by the Fund’s investment advisor to be of comparable quality), commonly referred to as “high yield” or “junk” bonds. When determining whether a security is classified as below investment grade, the Fund's investment advisor will consider the highest rating available from a nationally recognized statistical rating organization. If, subsequent to purchase by the Fund, a security held by the Fund experiences a decline in credit quality and falls below investment grade, the Fund may continue to hold the security and it will not cause the Fund to violate the 35% investment limitation; however, the security will be taken into account for purposes of determining whether purchases of additional securities will cause the Fund to violate such limitation. Furthermore, the Fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets in taxable municipal securities. The Fund may invest in fixed and floating-rate securities.
Certain investors may be subject to federal alternative minimum tax on dividends attributable to Fund investments in private activity bonds. Additionally, the Fund may invest up to 100% of its net assets in municipal securities that pay interest that generates income subject to federal alternative minimum tax.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).
Principal Risks
You could lose money by investing in the Fund. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objectives. 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. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.
ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM TAX RISK. Although the interest received from municipal securities is generally exempt from federal income tax, the Fund may invest in municipal securities subject to the federal alternative minimum tax on individuals. For tax years beginning after December 31, 2022, interest on the bonds may affect the corporate alternative minimum tax for certain corporations. Therefore, all or a portion of the Fund’s otherwise exempt interest, may be taxable to shareholders subject to (or result in an increased liability under) the federal alternative minimum tax.
CALL RISK. Some debt securities may be redeemed, or “called,” at the option of the issuer before their stated maturity date. In general, an issuer will call its debt securities if they can be refinanced by issuing new debt securities which bear a lower interest rate. The Fund is subject to the possibility that during periods of falling interest rates an issuer will call its high yielding debt securities. The Fund would then be forced to invest the proceeds at lower interest rates, likely resulting in a decline in the Fund’s income.
COUNTERPARTY RISK. Fund transactions involving a counterparty are subject to the risk that the counterparty will not fulfill its obligation to the Fund. Counterparty risk may arise because of the counterparty’s financial condition (i.e., financial difficulties, bankruptcy, or insolvency), market activities and developments, or other reasons, whether foreseen or not. A counterparty’s inability to fulfill its obligation may result in significant financial loss to the Fund. The Fund may be unable to recover its investment from the counterparty or may obtain a limited recovery, and/or recovery may be delayed.
CREDIT RATING AGENCY RISK. Credit ratings are determined by credit rating agencies such as S&P Global Ratings, Moody’s Investors Services, Inc. and Fitch Inc., and are only the opinions of such entities. Ratings assigned by a rating agency are not absolute standards of credit quality and do not evaluate market risk or the liquidity of securities. 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 and, as a result, may adversely affect those securities’ perceived or actual credit risk.
CREDIT RISK. 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. In addition, the value of a debt security may decline because of concerns about the issuer’s ability or unwillingness to make such payments.
CREDIT SPREAD RISK. From time to time, spreads (i.e., the difference in yield between debt securities that have different credit qualities or other differences) may increase, which may reduce the market value of some of the Fund’s debt securities. While the Fund may employ strategies to mitigate credit spread risk, these strategies may not be successful.
CUSTODIAL RECEIPTS TRUST RISK. Custodial receipts are financial instruments sold through private placements that represent the right to receive future principal and interest payments on underlying municipal obligations. As such, a custodial receipt represents ownership of a security owned by a trust and not ownership of the security itself. Nonetheless, a custodial receipt is subject to the same risks as those applicable to the underlying security. The interest rate on custodial receipts is generally expected to be lower than the coupon rate on the underlying security and is generally set at a level comparable to municipal securities of similar quality having a maturity equal to the rate adjustment period rather than the maturity date of the underlying obligation. Custodial receipt trusts may also issue inverse floater securities. If the Fund was to hold inverse floaters issued by custodial receipt trusts, the Fund would be subject to the risks of inverse floaters described herein. In particular, because the instruments may be leveraged, their market values may be more volatile than other types of debt securities. Also, as custodial receipts are privately placed, they may be less liquid than securities trading on an exchange.
CYBER SECURITY RISK. The Fund is susceptible to operational 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. 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. 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, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. 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.
DEBT SECURITIES RISK. Investments in debt securities subject the holder to the credit risk of the issuer. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer or other obligor of a security will not be able or willing to make payments of interest and principal when due. Generally, the value of debt securities will change inversely with changes in interest rates. To the extent that interest rates rise, certain underlying obligations may be paid off substantially slower than originally anticipated and the value of those securities may fall sharply. During periods of falling interest rates, the income received by the Fund may decline. If the principal on a debt security is prepaid before expected, the prepayments of principal may have to be reinvested in obligations paying interest at lower rates. Debt securities generally do not trade on a securities exchange making them generally less liquid and more difficult to value than common stock.
DERIVATIVES RISK. The use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. These risks include: (i) the risk that the counterparty to a derivative transaction may not fulfill its contractual obligations; (ii) risk of mispricing or improper valuation; and (iii) the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset. Derivative prices are highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially during a short period of time. Such prices are influenced by numerous factors that affect the markets, including, but not limited to: changing supply and demand relationships; government programs and policies; national and international political and economic events, changes in interest rates, inflation and deflation and changes in supply and demand relationships. Trading derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities. Derivative contracts ordinarily have leverage inherent in their terms. The low margin deposits normally required in trading derivatives, including futures contracts, permit a high degree of leverage. Accordingly, a relatively small price movement may result in an immediate and substantial loss. The use of leverage may also cause an underlying fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so in order to satisfy its obligations or to meet collateral segregation requirements. The use of leveraged derivatives can magnify potential for gain or loss and, therefore, amplify the effects of market volatility on share price.
ETF RISK. The Fund’s investment in shares of ETFs subjects it to the risks of owning the securities underlying the ETF, as well as the same structural risksfaced by an investor purchasing shares of the Fund, including authorized participant concentration risk, market maker risk, premium/discount risk and trading issues risk. As a shareholder in another ETF, the Fund bears its proportionate share of the ETF’s expenses, subjecting Fund shareholders to duplicative expenses.
EXTENSION RISK. 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 value of longer-term debt securities generally changes more in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term debt securities. As a result, in a period of rising interest rates, securities may exhibit additional volatility and may lose value.
FLOATING RATE SECURITIES RISK. 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 an underlying 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. Floating rate securities may also contain terms that impose a maximum coupon rate the issuer will pay, regardless of the level of the reference rate which would decrease the value of the security.
HIGH YIELD SECURITIES RISK. High yield securities, or “junk” bonds, are subject to greater market fluctuations, are less liquid and provide a greater risk of loss than investment grade securities, and therefore, are considered to be highly speculative. In general, high yield securities may have a greater risk of default than other types of securities and could cause income and principal losses for the Fund.
INCOME RISK. The Fund’s income may decline when interest rates fall or if there are defaults in its portfolio. This decline can occur because the Fund may subsequently invest in lower-yielding securities as debt securities in its portfolio mature, are near maturity or are called, or the Fund otherwise needs to purchase additional debt securities.
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT BOND RISK. Industrial development bonds are revenue bonds issued by or on behalf of public authorities to obtain funds to finance various public and/or privately operated facilities, including those for business and manufacturing, housing, sports, pollution control, airport, mass transit, port and parking facilities. To the extent that investments in the industrial development sector represent a significant portion of the Fund’s portfolio, the Fund will be sensitive to changes in, and its performance may depend
to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the industrial development sector. These bonds are normally secured only by the revenues from the project and are not general obligations of the issuer or otherwise secured by state or local government tax receipts. Generally, the value and credit quality of these bonds are sensitive to the risks related to an economic slowdown.
INFLATION RISK. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions may decline.
INTEREST RATE RISK. Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of the debt securities in the Fund’s portfolio will decline because of rising market interest rates. Interest rate risk is generally lower for shorter term debt securities and higher for longer-term debt securities. The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates than would normally be the case due to the current period of historically low rates and the effect of potential government fiscal policy initiatives and resulting market reaction to those initiatives. Duration is a reasonably accurate measure of a debt security’s price sensitivity to changes in interest rates and a common measure of interest rate risk. Duration measures a debt security’s expected life on a present value basis, taking into account the debt security’s yield, interest payments and final maturity. In general, duration represents the expected percentage change in the value of a security for an immediate 1% change in interest rates. For example, the price of a debt security with a three-year duration would be expected to drop by approximately 3% in response to a 1% increase in interest rates. Therefore, prices of debt securities with shorter durations tend to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than debt securities with longer durations. As the value of a debt security changes over time, so will its duration.
LEVERAGE RISK. 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 the Fund’s exposure to an asset or class of assets and may cause the value of the Fund’s shares to be volatile and sensitive to market swings.
LIBOR TRANSITION RISK. The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), which regulates LIBOR, intends to cease making LIBOR available as a reference rate over a phase-out period that began on January 1, 2022. However, subsequent announcements by the FCA, the LIBOR administrators, and other regulators indicate that it is possible that the most widely used LIBOR rates may continue until mid-2023. 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 the Fund or on certain instruments in which the Fund invests can be difficult to ascertain, and they may vary depending on a variety of factors. In the United States, it is anticipated that in many instances the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) will replace LIBOR as the reference rate for many of the floating rate instruments held by the Fund. There is no assurance that the composition or characteristics of SOFR, or any alternative reference rate, 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. As a result, the transition process might lead to increased volatility and reduced liquidity in markets that currently rely on LIBOR to determine interest rates; a reduction in the value of some LIBOR-based investments; increased difficulty in borrowing or refinancing and diminished effectiveness of any applicable hedging strategies against instruments whose terms currently include LIBOR; and/or costs incurred in connection with temporary borrowings and closing out positions and entering into new agreements. Any such effects (as well as other unforeseen effects) of the transition away from LIBOR and the adoption of alternative reference rates could result in losses to the Fund.
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. 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 value.
MANAGEMENT RISK. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the Fund’s investment portfolio, the portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not produce the desired result. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective.
MARKET RISK. Market risk is the risk that a particular security, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic, political, regulatory 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, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. For example, the coronavirus disease 2019 (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, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While the U.S. has resumed “reasonably” normal business activity, many countries continue to impose lockdown measures. Additionally, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against emerging variants of the disease. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. These events also adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio securities or other instruments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of the Fund’s shares and 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 and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.
MUNICIPAL LEASE PARTICIPATIONS RISK. Participation interests in municipal leases pose special risks because many leases and contracts contain “non-appropriation” clauses that provide that the governmental issuer has no obligation to make future payments under the lease or contract unless money is appropriated for this purpose by the appropriate legislative body.
MUNICIPAL SECURITIES MARKET LIQUIDITY RISK. From time to time, inventories of municipal securities held by brokers and dealers may decrease, lessening their ability to make a market in these securities. Any reduction in market making capacity has the potential to decrease the Fund’s ability to buy or sell municipal securities, and increase price volatility and trading costs, particularly during periods of economic or market stress. As a result, the Fund may be forced to accept a lower price to sell a municipal security, to sell other securities to raise cash, or to give up an investment opportunity, any of which could have a negative effect on performance.
MUNICIPAL SECURITIES RISK. Issuers, including governmental issuers, may be unable to pay their obligations as they come due. The values of municipal securities that depend on a specific revenue source to fund their payment obligations may fluctuate as a result of actual or anticipated changes in the cash flows generated by the revenue source or changes in the priority of the municipal obligation to receive the cash flows generated by the revenue source. The values of municipal securities held by the Fund may be adversely affected by local political and economic conditions and developments. Adverse conditions in an industry significant to a local economy could have a correspondingly adverse effect on the financial condition of local issuers. In addition, income from municipal securities held by the Fund could be declared taxable because of, among other things, unfavorable changes in tax laws, adverse interpretations by the Internal Revenue Service or state tax authorities, or noncompliant conduct of an issuer or other obligated party. Loss of tax-exempt status may cause interest received and distributed to shareholders by the Fund to be taxable and may result in a significant decline in the values of such municipal securities. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the risks of the municipal securities market have been magnified. The costs associated with combating the pandemic and the negative impact on tax revenues has adversely affected the financial condition of many states and political subdivisions. These risks may also adversely affect several sectors of the municipal bond market, such as airports, toll roads, hospitals and colleges, among many others. The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on state and political subdivisions’ ability to make payments on debt obligations is impossible to predict, but could negatively impact the value of bonds, the ability of state and political subdivisions to make payments when due and the performance of the Fund.
MUNICIPAL SECURITIES VALUATION RISK. The municipal securities in which the Fund invests are typically valued by a pricing service utilizing a range of market-based inputs and assumptions, including readily available market quotations obtained from broker-dealers making markets in such securities, cash flows and transactions for comparable instruments. Pricing services generally price municipal securities assuming orderly transactions of an institutional “round lot” size, but some trades may occur in smaller, “odd lot” sizes, often at lower prices than institutional round lot trades. There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to sell a portfolio security at the price established by the pricing service, which could result in a loss to the Fund.
NON-DIVERSIFICATION RISK. The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act. As a result, the Fund is only limited as to the percentage of its assets which may be invested in the securities of any one issuer by the diversification requirements imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended ("Internal Revenue Code"). The Fund may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers. As a result, the 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 invested in certain issuers.
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. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. 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.
PREPAYMENT RISK. 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 the Fund may be required to reinvest the proceeds of any prepayment at lower interest rates. These factors may cause the value of an investment in the Fund to change.
PRE-REFUNDED BONDS RISK. Pre-refunded bonds are bonds that have been refunded to a call date prior to the final maturity of principal, or, in the case of pre-refunded bonds commonly referred to as “escrowed-to-maturity bonds,” to the final maturity of principal, and remain outstanding in the municipal market. The payment of principal and interest of the pre-refunded bonds held by the Fund is funded from securities held in a designated escrow account where such securities are obligations of and carry the full faith and credit of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The securities held in the escrow fund pledged to pay the principal and interest of the pre-refunded bond do not guarantee the price of the bond. Investment in pre-refunded municipal bonds held by the Fund may subject the Fund to interest rate risk, market risk and credit risk.
PRIVATE ACTIVITY BONDS RISK. Municipalities and other public authorities issue private activity bonds to finance development of industrial facilities for use by a private enterprise. The private enterprise is responsible for the payment of principal and interest on the bond and the issuer ordinarily does not pledge its full faith, credit and taxing power for repayment. The private enterprise can have a substantially different credit profile than the issuer. The private activity bonds in which the Fund may invest may be negatively impacted by conditions affecting either the general credit of the private enterprise or the project itself. The Fund’s private activity
bond holdings may also pay interest subject to the alternative minimum tax on individuals. For tax years beginning after December 31, 2022, interest on the bonds may affect the corporate alternative minimum tax for certain corporations.
SIGNIFICANT EXPOSURE RISK. 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.
TENDER OPTION BOND RISK. Tender option bond investments involve leverage and credit risk, and generally involve greater risk than investments in fixed rate municipal bonds, including the risk of loss of principal. Tender option bond investments may also subject the Fund to the risks of inverse floaters described herein. In particular, because the instruments may be leveraged, their market values may be more volatile than other types of debt securities.
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. 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.
VOLATILITY RISK. Volatility is the characteristic of a security, an index or a market to fluctuate significantly in price within a short time period. The Fund may invest in securities or financial instruments that exhibit more volatility than the market as a whole. Such exposures could cause the Fund’s net asset value to experience significant increases or declines in value over short periods of time.
ZERO COUPON BOND RISK. Zero coupon bonds do not pay interest on a current basis and may be highly volatile as interest rates rise or fall. Although zero coupon bonds generate income for accounting purposes, they do not produce cash flow, and thus the Fund could be forced to liquidate securities at an inopportune time in order to generate cash to distribute to shareholders as required by tax laws.
Performance
The Fund has not yet operated for a full calendar year and, therefore, performance information is not included in this section of the prospectus. See "Total Return Information" for performance information regarding the Fund.
Management
Investment Advisor
First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)
Portfolio Managers
•
Johnathan N. Wilhelm, Senior Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager of First Trust
•
Tom Byron, Senior Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager of First Trust
The portfolio managers are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each portfolio manager has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since June 14, 2022.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
You may purchase, redeem or exchange shares of the Fund only through a financial advisor on any day the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for business. Certain financial advisors may impose investment minimums on purchases or exchanges into the Fund. Class I shares are subject to higher minimums for certain investors. There are no minimums for purchases or exchanges into the Fund through employer-sponsored retirement plans.
Tax Information
The Fund intends to make interest income distributions that are exempt from federal income tax. All or a portion of these distributions, however, may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax on individuals and state and local taxes, and may have other tax consequences (e.g., they may affect the amount of your social security benefits that are taxed). For tax years beginning after December 31, 2022, exempt-interest dividends may affect the corporate alternative minimum tax for certain corporations. The Fund may make other distributions that are subject to federal income tax.
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.
You can find the Fund’s statutory prospectus and other information about the Fund, including the statement of additional information and most recent reports to shareholders, online at www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/MF/MFFundNews.aspx?Ticker=CWAIX.
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