Rule 497(k)
File No. 333-184918
May 1, 2017
Investment Objective
The First Trust Alternative
Absolute Return Strategy ETF (the "Fund") seeks to provide investors with long-term total return.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The following table describes
the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. Investors purchasing and selling shares may be subject to costs (including customary brokerage commissions) charged by their broker, which are
not reflected in the table below.
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
(fees paid directly from your investment)
| Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) | None |
Annual Fund Operating
Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
| Management Fees | 0.95% |
| Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees(1) | 0.00% |
| Other Expenses(2) | 0.00% |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | 0.95% |
| (1) | Although the Fund has adopted a 12b-1 plan that permits it to pay up to 0.25% per annum, it will not pay 12b-1 fees at any time before April 30, 2018. |
| (2) | "Other Expenses" is an estimate based on the expenses the Fund expects to incur for the current fiscal year. |
Example
The example below is intended to
help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. This example does not take into account customary brokerage commissions that you pay when purchasing or selling shares of
the Fund in the secondary market.
The example assumes that you
invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain at current levels until April 30,
2018, and thereafter at 1.20% to represent the imposition of the 12b-1 fee of 0.25% per annum of the Fund’s average daily net assets. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions
your costs would be:
| 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years |
| $97 | $356 | $636 | $1,432 |
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs,
such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities, or through the Subsidiary, as defined below, when it buys and sells Commodity Futures, as defined below (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 most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 0% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund is an actively managed
exchange-traded fund that seeks to achieve long-term total return through long and short investments in exchange-traded commodity futures contracts (“Commodity Futures”) through a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fund organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the “Subsidiary”). The Fund does not invest directly in Commodity Futures. The Fund gains exposure to these investments exclusively by investing in the Subsidiary. The
Subsidiary is advised by First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund’s investment advisor.
The Fund’s investment in
the Subsidiary is intended to provide the Fund with exposure to commodity markets within the limits of current federal income tax laws applicable to investment companies such as the Fund, which limit the ability of
investment companies to invest directly in Commodity Futures. The Subsidiary has the same investment objective as the Fund, but unlike the Fund, it may invest without limitation in Commodity Futures. Except as
otherwise noted, for purposes of this prospectus, references to the Fund’s investments include the Fund’s indirect investments through the Subsidiary. The Fund will invest up to 25% of its total assets in
the Subsidiary.
The Subsidiary’s holdings
will primarily consist of Commodity Futures, which are contractual agreements to buy or sell a particular commodity or financial instrument at a pre-determined price at a settlement date in the future. As the
settlement date for a futures contract approaches, the Fund, through the Subsidiary, intends to sell the expiring contract and replace it with a similar contract with
a more distant settlement date. This process is
known as “rolling” and may be done frequently by the Fund throughout the year so as to maintain a fully invested position. This frequent buying and selling of Commodity Futures, in addition to attempts by
the Fund to rebalance its exposure to various market sectors, may cause the Fund to experience higher levels of portfolio turnover.
The Fund, through the
Subsidiary, engages in trading on commodity markets both inside and outside of the United States on behalf of the Fund. The Fund, through the Subsidiary, may invest in a range of Commodity Futures and markets as
determined by the Fund’s investment advisor from time to time.
The remainder of the
Fund’s assets will primarily be invested in: (1) U.S. government and agency securities with maturities of five years or less; (2) short-term repurchase agreements; (3) money market instruments; and (4) cash. The
Fund uses such instruments as investments and to collateralize the Subsidiary’s Commodity Futures exposure on a day-to-day basis.
Principal Risks
You could lose money by
investing in the Fund. 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. There can be no assurance
that the Fund’s investment objective will be achieved.
The risks of the Fund will result
from both the Fund’s direct investments and its indirect investments made through the Subsidiary. Accordingly, the risks that result from the Subsidiary’s activities will be described herein as the
Fund’s risks.
AUTHORIZED PARTICIPANT
CONCENTRATION RISK. Only an authorized participant (as defined in the “Frequent Purchases and Redemptions” Section) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The
Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as authorized participants. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to a
Fund and no other authorized participant is able to step forward to create or redeem, in either of these cases, Fund shares may trade at a discount to the Fund’s net asset value and possibly face
delisting.
CASH TRANSACTIONS RISK. The Fund will, under most circumstances, effect a significant portion of creations and redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind securities. As a result, an investment in the Fund may be
less tax-efficient than an investment in an exchange-traded fund that effects its creations and redemptions for in-kind securities. Because the Fund may effect a portion of redemptions for cash, it may be required to
sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. A sale of shares may result in capital gains or losses and may also result in higher brokerage costs.
CLEARING BROKER RISK. The failure or bankruptcy of the Fund’s and the Subsidiary’s clearing broker could result in a substantial loss of Fund assets. Under current Commodity Futures Trading
Commission (“CFTC”) regulations, a clearing broker maintains customers’ assets in a bulk segregated account. If a clearing broker fails to do so, or is unable to satisfy a substantial deficit in a
customer account, its other customers may be subject to risk of loss of their funds in the event of that clearing broker’s bankruptcy. In that event, the clearing broker’s customers, such as the Fund and
the Subsidiary, are entitled to recover, even in respect of property specifically traceable to them, only a proportional share of all property available for distribution to all of that clearing broker’s
customers.
COMMODITY RISK. The value of Commodity Futures typically is based upon the price movements of a physical commodity or an economic variable linked to such price movements. The prices of Commodity Futures
may fluctuate quickly and dramatically and may not correlate to price movements in other asset classes. An active trading market may not exist for certain commodities. Each of these factors and events could have a
significant negative impact on the Fund.
COUNTERPARTY RISK. The Fund bears the risk that the counterparty to a commodity, derivative may default on its obligations or otherwise fail to honor its obligations. If a counterparty defaults on its
payment obligations, the Fund will lose money and the value of an investment in Fund shares may decrease. In addition, the Fund may engage in such investment transactions with a limited number of
counterparties.
CREDIT RISK. Credit risk is the risk that an issuer of a security will be unable or unwilling to make dividend, interest and/or principal payments when due and the related risk that the value of a
security may decline because of concerns about the issuer’s ability to make such payments.
CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATE RISK. The Fund may hold investments that are denominated in non-U.S. currencies, or in securities that provide exposure to such currencies, currency exchange rates or interest rates denominated
in such currencies. Changes in currency exchange rates and the relative value of non-U.S. currencies will affect the value of the Fund’s investment and the value of Fund shares. Currency exchange rates can be
very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money.
CYBER SECURITY RISK. As the use of Internet technology has become more prevalent in the course of business, the Fund has become more susceptible to potential operational risks through breaches in cyber
security. 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
Fund’s third party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, or issuers in which the Fund invests, can also subject the Fund to many of the same
risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. The Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security. However, 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.
FLUCTUATION OF NET ASSET VALUE
RISK. The net asset value of shares of the Fund will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. The market prices of shares will generally fluctuate in
accordance with changes in net asset value as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on Nasdaq. The Fund’s investment advisor cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their net
asset value because the shares trade on Nasdaq at market prices and not at net asset value. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading
market for shares will be closely related to, but not identical to, the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. However, given that
shares can only be purchased and redeemed either in-kind or for cash in Creation Units, and only to and from broker-dealers and large institutional investors that have entered into participation agreements (unlike
shares of closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their net asset value), the Fund’s investment advisor believes that large discounts or premiums to
the net asset value of shares should not be sustained.
FOREIGN COMMODITY MARKETS
RISK. Trading on commodity markets outside the United States is not regulated by any United States government agency and may involve certain risks not applicable to trading on United States
exchanges. The Fund may not have the same access to certain trades as do various other participants in foreign markets. Furthermore, as the Fund determines its net assets in United States dollars, with respect to
trading in foreign markets the Fund is subject to the risk of fluctuations in the exchange rate between the local currency and dollars as well as the possibility of exchange controls. Certain futures contracts traded
on foreign exchanges are treated differently for federal income tax purposes than are domestic contracts.
FREQUENT TRADING RISK. The frequent trading of futures contracts may increase the amount of commissions or mark-ups to broker-dealers that the Fund pays when it buys and sells contracts, which may detract from
the Fund’s performance.
FUTURES RISK. The Fund invests in futures through the Subsidiary. All futures and futures-related products are highly volatile. Price movements are influenced by, among other things, changing supply and
demand relationships; climate; government agricultural, trade, fiscal, monetary and exchange control programs and policies; national and international political and economic events; crop diseases; the purchasing and
marketing programs of different nations; and changes in interest rates. In addition, governments from time to time intervene, directly and by regulation, in certain markets, particularly those in currencies.
GAP RISK. The Fund is subject to the risk that a commodity price will change from one level to another with no trading in between. Usually such movements occur when there are adverse news
announcements, which can cause a commodity price to drop substantially from the previous day’s closing price.
INCOME RISK. Income from the Fund’s fixed income investments could decline during periods of falling interest rates.
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. Duration is a measure of the expected price volatility of a debt instrument as a result of changes in market rates of interest, based
on, among other factors, the weighted average timing of the instrument’s expected principal and interest payments. In general, duration represents the expected percentage change in the value of a security for an
immediate 1% change 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.
LIQUIDITY RISK. The Fund invests in Commodity Futures, which may be less liquid than other types of investments. The illiquidity of Commodity Futures could have a negative effect on the Fund’s
ability to achieve its investment objective and may result in losses to Fund shareholders.
MANAGEMENT RISK. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the Fund’s investment portfolio, the Fund’s Advisor will apply investment
techniques and risk analyses that may not have the desired result. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective.
MARKET MAKER RISK. If the Fund has lower average daily trading volumes, it may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of shares. Any trading halt or
other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s net asset value and the price at which the Fund’s shares are trading
on Nasdaq which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund’s shares. In addition, decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of
market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s
market price. This reduced effectiveness could
result in Fund shares trading at a discount to net asset value and also in greater than normal intraday bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.
MARKET RISK. Market risk is the risk that a particular security owned by the Fund 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. Overall securities values could decline generally or could underperform other
investments.
NON-DIVERSIFICATION RISK. The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act, as amended (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. 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.
NON-U.S. SECURITIES RISK. Transactions on non-U.S. exchanges present risks because they may not be subject to the same degree of regulation as their U.S. counterparts.
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER RISK. The Subsidiary’s higher portfolio turnover may result in the Fund paying higher levels of transaction costs and generating greater tax liabilities for shareholders. Portfolio
turnover risk may cause the Fund’s performance to be less than you expect.
REGULATORY RISK. The Fund’s investment decisions may need to be modified, and commodity contract positions held by the Fund may have to be liquidated at disadvantageous times or prices, to avoid
exceeding any applicable position limits established by the CFTC, potentially subjecting the Fund to substantial losses. The regulation of commodity transactions in the United States is a rapidly changing area of law
and is subject to ongoing modification by government, self-regulatory and judicial action. The effect of any future regulatory change with respect to any aspect of the Fund is impossible to predict, but could be
substantial and adverse to the Fund.
REPURCHASE AGREEMENT RISK. The Fund’s investment in repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk with respect to the collateral securing the repurchase agreements. Investments in repurchase
agreements also may be subject to the risk that the market value of the underlying obligations may decline prior to the expiration of the repurchase agreement term.
SHORT SALES RISK. The Fund may sell Commodity Futures short. A short futures position allows the seller to profit from a decline in the price of the underlying commodity to the extent such decline exceeds
the transaction costs of the short position. Conversely, if the price of the underlying futures contract rises because of an increase in the price of the underlying commodity, the Fund will realize a loss on the
transaction. The Fund bears the risk of unlimited loss on contracts it sells short, as the price at which the Fund would need to cover a short position could theoretically increase without limit.
SMALL FUND RISK. The Fund currently has fewer assets than larger funds, and like other relatively smaller funds, large inflows and outflows may impact the Fund’s market exposure for limited periods
of time. This impact may be positive or negative, depending on the direction of market movement during the period affected.
SUBSIDIARY INVESTMENT RISK. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Fund and the Subsidiary are organized, respectively, could result in the inability of the Fund to
operate as intended and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders. The Subsidiary is not registered under the 1940 Act and is not subject to all the investor protections of the 1940 Act. Thus, the Fund, as
an investor in the Subsidiary, will not have all the protections offered to investors in registered investment companies.
TAX RISK. The Fund intends to treat any income it may derive from Commodity Futures (other than derivatives described in Revenue Rulings 2006-1 and 2006-31) received by the Subsidiary as
“qualifying income” under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, applicable to “regulated investment companies” (“RICs”), based on a tax opinion received from special counsel which was based, in part, on numerous private letter rulings (“PLRs”) provided to third parties not associated with the Fund or its affiliates (which only those parties may rely on as precedent). Shareholders and potential investors should be aware,
however, that, in September 2016 the Internal Revenue Service released proposed Regulations that, if finalized in the form proposed, would limit the qualifying income from the Subsidiary to the income distributed in
the same year in which the income is required to be included in the income of the Fund under the controlled foreign corporation rules. The Fund intends to distribute the income in the same year as the income is
required to be included, but a failure to do so could cause the Fund to have non-qualifying income and potentially lose RIC status.
If the Fund did not qualify as a
RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions were not available, the Fund’s taxable income would be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is
distributed. In such event, in order to re-qualify for taxation as a RIC, the Fund might be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest and make certain distributions. This would cause
investors to incur higher tax liabilities than they otherwise would have incurred and would have a negative impact on Fund returns. In such event, the Fund’s Board of Trustees may determine to reorganize or
close the Fund or materially change the Fund’s investment objective and strategies. In the event that the Fund fails to qualify as a RIC, the Fund will promptly notify shareholders of the implications of that
failure.
The Fund may invest a portion of
its assets in equity repurchase agreements. Recent changes in the law have the potential of changing the character and source of such instruments potentially subjecting them to unexpected U.S. taxation. Depending upon
the terms of the contracts, the Fund may be required to indemnify the counterparty for such increased tax.
TRADING ISSUES RISK. Although the shares of the Fund are listed for trading on Nasdaq, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will develop or be maintained. Trading in shares
on Nasdaq may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of Nasdaq, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in shares on Nasdaq is subject to trading halts caused by
extraordinary market volatility pursuant to Nasdaq “circuit breaker” rules. Market makers are under no obligation to make a market in the Fund’s shares, and authorized participants are not obligated
to submit purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. There can be no assurance that the requirements of Nasdaq necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. The
Fund may have difficulty maintaining its listing on Nasdaq in the event the Fund’s assets are small or the Fund does not have enough shareholders.
U.S. GOVERNMENT AND AGENCY
SECURITIES RISK. The Fund may invest in U.S. government obligations. U.S. government obligations include U.S. Treasury obligations and securities issued or guaranteed by various agencies of the U.S.
government or by various instrumentalities, which have been established or sponsored by the U.S. government. U.S. Treasury obligations are backed by the “full faith and credit” of the U.S. government.
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.
VOLATILITY RISK. Frequent or significant short-term price movements could adversely impact the performance of the Fund. In addition, the net asset value of the Fund over short-term periods may be more
volatile than other investment options because of the Fund’s significant use of financial instruments that have a leveraging effect. For example, because of the low margin deposits required, futures trading
involves an extremely high degree of leverage and as a result, a relatively small price movement in Commodity Futures may result in immediate and substantial losses to the Fund.
WHIPSAW MARKETS RISK. The Fund may be subject to the forces of “whipsaw” markets (as opposed to choppy or stable markets), in which significant price movements develop but then repeatedly reverse.
Such market conditions could cause substantial losses to the Fund.
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
The following
persons will serve as the portfolio managers of the Fund:
| • | John Gambla, CFA, FRM, PRM, Senior Portfolio Manager, Alternatives Investment Team of First Trust |
| • | Rob A. Guttschow, CFA, Senior Portfolio Manager, Alternatives Investment Team 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 2016.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund issues and redeems
shares on a continuous basis, at net asset value, only in Creation Units consisting of 50,000 shares. The Fund’s Creation Units are generally issued and redeemed for cash and, in certain circumstances, in-kind
for securities in which the Fund invests, and only to and from broker-dealers and large institutional investors that have entered into participation agreements. Individual shares of the Fund may only be purchased and
sold on Nasdaq and other eligible securities exchanges through a broker-dealer. Shares of the Fund trade on Nasdaq at market prices rather than net asset value, which may cause the shares to trade at a price greater
than net asset value (premium) or less than net asset value (discount).
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions are
taxable and will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains. Distributions on shares held in a tax-deferred account, while not immediately taxable, will be subject to tax when the shares are no longer held
in a tax-deferred account.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other
Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the
Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), 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.
FAARSP050117