Target date funds, also called lifecycle funds, are designed to offer a convenient investment for a person expecting to retire around a specific date. A target date fund pursues a long-term investment strategy by investing in a mix of asset classes (or asset allocation) according to an investment model that becomes more conservative over time. Research shows that asset allocation has been one of the most important factors in long-term portfolio performance.

Share Classes

Three share classes of the First Trust Target Date Fund are currently offered. For more information, click on the desired share class below.

R1		R2		R3
2010 Fund 2020 Fund 2030 Fund 2040 Fund		2010 Fund 2020 Fund 2030 Fund 2040 Fund		2010 Fund 2020 Fund 2030 Fund 2040 Fund

Target date funds are designed to help investors avoid some of the most common investment mistakes.Their features include:

• Diversification across asset classes
• Avoidance of extreme asset allocations
• Automatic rebalancing
• Automatic adjustment for changing risk profile

Who should use these funds?
Investors who would like to hold a mix of asset classes and who would like their portfolios to be adjusted to become more conservative over time may prefer investing in a target date fund over managing their own portfolio of funds.The target date fund provider will rebalance and adjust the fund to offset market fluctuations and an investor's evolving risk profile. To achieve the same benefits with a self-managed portfolio, an investor would have to monitor the individual funds in his or her portfolio and regularly transfer money between them. Sponsors of defined contribution plans may choose to include target date funds in their plans as an option for participant-directed investment or as a qualified default investment alternative, or "QDIA."

Our Glide Path

The glide path is the asset allocation model that a target date fund follows to become more conservative over time. Since discussions of asset allocation usually focus on the percentage of the portfolio invested in equities, the glide path reflects the declining percentage of equities in the portfolio as it approaches and passes the target date.While glide paths differ based on the assumptions and calculations providers use in designing their funds, all target date fund glide paths provide for more exposure to equities for younger investors and more exposure to fixed-income and cash for investors near retirement.Many target date funds' glide paths continue to adjust the funds' equity exposure after the target date is reached. Some target date funds also actively manage asset allocations along the glide path within preset limits to respond to prevailing market conditions. The First Trust Target Date funds move along the glide path with adjustments being made annually.

The Target Date Fund Glide Path Anchor Points

Since transparency is a hallmark of First Trust investments, this Glide Path Anchor Point Table illustrates the required allocation for the current year for each Target Date Fund. Each fund is quarterly rebalanced to these percentages.

What are the Risks of Investing in the Fund?:

The Funds are not mutual funds and their units are not deposits of the Trust or the Advisor, and are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other agency. The units are securities which have not been registered under the 1933 Act and the Fund is exempted from investment company registration under the 1940 Act. Therefore, participating plans and their participants will not be entitled to the protections under these Acts. As defined in the Declaration of Trust establishing the Funds, the Funds are available for investment by eligible qualified retirement plans only. Management of the Trust, however, is generally subject to the fiduciary duty and prohibited transaction rules under ERISA.

As with any investment, you can lose money by investing in a Fund. The mix of assets in a Fund is intended to diminish the risk of loss, but sometimes stocks, bonds, and other assets in a Fund's portfolio may lose value simultaneously. While the Funds are managed to reduce equity market exposure and, therefore, equity market risk over time, investment in a Fund is exposed to market risk and other certain risks.

Market Risk. Market risk is the risk that a particular stock owned by a Fund, units of a Fund or stocks in general may fall in value. Shares are subject to market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic, political, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in stock prices. Overall stock values could decline generally or could underperform other investments. In 2008 and early 2009, securities markets were significantly negatively affected by the financial crisis that initially resulted from the downturn in the subprime mortgage market in the United States. The impact of the financial crisis on securities markets has proven to be significant and may be long-lasting and may have a substantial impact on the value of a Fund.

Smaller Company Risk. The Funds invest in small and/or mid capitalization companies. Such companies may be more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic developments, and their securities may be less liquid and may experience greater price volatility than larger, more established companies as a result of several factors, including limited trading volumes, products or financial resources, management inexperience and less publicly available information. Accordingly, such companies are generally subject to greater market risk than larger, more established companies. Non-U.S. Securities Risk. The Funds invest in securities of non-U.S. issuers. Investing in securities of non-U.S. issuers, which are generally denominated in non-U.S. currencies, may involve certain risks not typically associated with investing in securities of U.S. issuers. Some of these risks may include, but are not limited to, the following: (i) there may be less publicly available information about non-U.S. issuers or markets due to less rigorous disclosure or accounting standards or regulatory practices; (ii) non-U.S. markets may be smaller, less liquid and more volatile than the U.S. market; (iii) potential adverse effects of fluctuations in currency exchange rates or controls on the value of a Fund's investments; (iv) the economies of non-U.S. countries may grow at slower rates than expected or may experience a downturn or recession; (v) the impact of economic, political, social or diplomatic events; (vi) certain non-U.S. countries may impose restrictions on the ability of non-U.S. issuers to make distribution payments to investors located in the United States due to blockage of non-U.S. currency exchanges or otherwise; and (vii) withholding and other non-U.S. taxes may decrease a Fund's return. These risks may be more pronounced to the extent that a Fund invests a significant amount of its assets in companies located in one country.

Real Estate Investment Risk. The Funds invest in REITs, or investment products that include REITs, and therefore are subject to the risks associated with investing in real estate, which may include, but are not limited to, fluctuations in the value of underlying properties; defaults by borrowers or tenants; market saturation; changes in general and local economic conditions; decreases in market rates for rents; increases in competition, property taxes, capital expenditures or operating expenses; and other economic, political or regulatory occurrences affecting companies in the real estate industry. The Funds invest in real estate companies that may be adversely impacted by the downturn in the subprime mortgage lending market in the United States. Subprime loans have higher defaults and losses than prime loans. Subprime loans also have higher serious delinquency rates than prime loans. The downturn in the subprime mortgage lending market may have far-reaching consequences into many aspects and geographic regions of the real estate business, and consequently, the value of a Fund may decline in response to such developments. Interest Rate Risk. The Funds are subject to interest rate risk. Increases in interest rates typically lower the present value of a REIT's future earnings stream, and may make financing property purchases and improvements more costly. Because the market price of REIT stocks may change based upon investors' collective perceptions of future earnings, the value of a Fund will generally decline when investors anticipate or experience rising interest rates. In addition, a Fund's investment in fixed-income securities subjects it to interest rate risk as the value of fixed income securities generally declines as interest rates rise.

Credit Risk. Credit risk is the risk of nonpayment of scheduled interest and/or principal payments. Credit risk also is the risk that one or more investments in a Fund's portfolio will decline in price, or fail to pay interest or principal when due, because the issuer of the underlying security experiences a decline in its financial status. The value of fixed income securities is affected by the creditworthiness of the issuers and by general economic and specific industry conditions. Income Risk. Income a Fund receives based on interest it earns from its investments can vary widely over the short and long-term. If prevailing market interest rates drop, distribution rates of a Fund's portfolio holdings in debt securities may decline which then may adversely affect the Fund's overall value. A Fund's income also would likely be adversely affected when prevailing short-term interest rates increase.

Commodity Risk. The Funds invest in commodity trusts and therefore are subject to risk of commodity price fluctuations. Commodity prices generally fluctuate in relation to, among other things, the cost of producing commodities, changes in consumer demand for commodities, hedging and trading strategies of commodity market participants, disruptions in commodity supply, weather, as well as political and other global events that could adversely affect the value of a Fund. ETF and PIV Risk. The Funds invest in ETFs and PIVs and therefore are subject to unique risks. Like stocks or bonds, ETFs and PIVs carry market risk and could decline in value because of current events, supply and demand and other conditions that may affect the sector or group of industries the ETF and PIVs represents. Trading prices of ETFs and PIVs may not reflect the actual net asset value of the underlying securities.