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First Trust International Developed Capital Strength® Portfolio
Investment Objective/Strategy - The First Trust International Developed Capital Strength® Portfolio (the "Fund") seeks to provide capital appreciation.
There can be no assurance that the Fund's investment objectives will be achieved.
INVESTMENT PROCESS: The Index seeks to provide exposure to well-capitalized non-U.S companies in developed markets (as defined by the Index Provider)* with strong market positions that have the potential to provide their stockholders with a greater degree of stability and performance over time. The Fund may invest in securities of any market capitalization.

BEGIN WITH UNIVERSE: The Index's initial universe consists of the securities comprising the Nasdaq Developed Markets ex-US™ Index, an index seeking to track the performance of small-, mid- and large- capitalization international companies.

SELECT: The Index then excludes all securities with a three-month average daily trading volume of less than $5 million and multiple share classes of the same issuer.

SCREEN: The Index then ranks the remaining securities by float-adjusted market capitalization and excludes all securities not ranked in the top 500. The universe is further narrowed by excluding:
  • Securities issued by companies with less than $500 million in cash and short-term investments
  • Companies with a long-term debt to market capitalization ratio greater than 30%
  • Companies with a return on equity that is 15% or less.
RANK: The remaining securities are then given a volatility score based upon a combination of their short-term (3-month) and long-term (12-month) realized volatility. The 50 securities with the lowest volatility score are chosen for inclusion in the lndex.

FINAL SELECTION: A review is then enacted to determine if any industry (as determined by the lndustry Classification Benchmark ("ICB") has a cumulative weight greater than 30%.
  • If an industry has a weight greater than 30%, the worst-ranking security by volatility will be removed and replaced with the next eligible security (e.g., the 51st ranked by volatility) from a different industry/country
  • This process is repeated until no industry has a weight greater than 30%
  • Once finalized, each security is equal-dollar weighted.
SEMI-ANNUAL REBALANCE:The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted semi-annually and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the lndex changes are made public. The lndex's semi-annual rebalance and reconstitution schedule may cause the Fund to experience a higher rate of portfolio turnover. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the lndex is so concentrated. As of April 6, 2020, the lndex was composed of 50 securities and the Fund had significant investments in industrials, health care and European companies, although this may change from time to time. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.

*The Index Provider considers the following countries to be "developed markets": Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, United Kingdom, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Portugal, Sweden and Singapore.
Fund Overview
Fiscal Year-End12/31
Inception Date5/1/2020
Inception NAV$10.00
Gross Expense Ratio
(5/1/2023)
5.00%
Net Expense Ratio1.20%
Expenses are capped contractually at 1.20% per year, at least through May 01, 2024.
Current Fund Data (as of 3/15/2024)
Net Asset Value1$12.84
Dividend FrequencySemi-Annual
NAV 52-Week High/Low$13.00 / $10.72
Top Holdings (as of 2/29/2024)2
Percent
Schneider Electric SE 2.54%
Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. 2.47%
ABB Ltd 2.33%
Investor AB (Class B) 2.31%
Assa Abloy AB (Class B) 2.30%
Nintendo Co., Ltd. 2.29%
Safran S.A. 2.29%
The Sage Group Plc 2.28%
Constellation Software Inc. 2.25%
Sandvik AB 2.23%
NAV History (Since Inception)
Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Sector Breakdown (as of 2/29/2024)2
  Percent
Industrials 29.67%
Financials 16.66%
Consumer Discretionary 14.59%
Health Care 10.98%
Technology 10.18%
Consumer Staples 8.42%
Basic Materials 6.40%
Energy 3.10%
Month End Performance (as of 2/29/2024)
  3 Month YTD 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year 10 Year Since
Fund
Inception3
Fund Performance *
Fund Performance 8.26% 1.92% 15.49% 5.33% N/A N/A 12.28%
Index Performance **
MSCI World ex USA Index 7.73% 2.15% 14.01% 4.65% N/A N/A 12.04%
Quarter End Performance (as of 12/29/2023)
  3 Month YTD 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year 10 Year Since
Fund
Inception3
Fund Performance *
Fund Performance 11.83% 16.90% 16.90% 3.97% N/A N/A 12.27%
Index Performance **
MSCI World ex USA Index 10.51% 17.94% 17.94% 4.42% N/A N/A 11.96%

*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. Returns are average annualized total returns, except those for periods of less than one year, which are cumulative.

Fund expenses and return figures do not reflect the deduction of sales charges or other expenses associated with variable products. If such fees were included, expenses would be higher and the performance would be lower. The Fund's performance reflects fee waivers and expense reimbursements, absent which performance would have been lower.

**Indexes are unmanaged and an investor cannot invest directly in an index. Any Benchmarks or Indexes shown reflect no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes.

MSCI World ex USA Index - The Index includes developed markets and is designed to provide a broad measure of stock performance throughout the world, with the exception of U.S.-based companies.

Footnotes
1 The NAV represents the fund's net assets (assets less liabilities) divided by the fund's outstanding shares.
2 Market value information used in calculating the percentages is based upon trade date plus one recording of transactions, which can differ from regulatory financial reports (Forms N-CSR and N-PORT Part F) that are based on trade date recording of security transactions. Holdings are subject to change.
3 Inception Date is 5/1/2020

You should consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses carefully before investing. You can download a prospectus or contact First Trust Portfolios, L.P. at 1-800-621-1675 to request a prospectus, which contains this and other information about the fund. Read it carefully before you invest.

Risk Considerations

The Fund's shares will change in value and 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 Fund is subject to 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. 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 could have a significant impact on certain fund investments as well as fund performance. The 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. While vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against future variants of the disease. 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.

The Fund is a passive investment and not actively managed. The Fund invests in securities included in or representative of The International Developed Capital Strength™ Index ("Index") regardless of investment merit. The Fund generally will not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets.

Equity securities fluctuate for a variety of reasons including investors' perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant stock market.

Industrials companies are subject to risks including the general state of the economy, exchange rates, commodity prices, intense competition, consolidation, domestic and international politics, government regulation, import controls, excess capacity, consumer demand and spending trends.

Health care companies are subject to fierce competition, high research and development costs, governmental regulations and health care programs, loss of patent protection, and changing consumer spending trends.

Securities of non-U.S. issuers are subject to additional risks, including currency fluctuations, political risks, withholding, the lack of adequate financial information, and exchange control restrictions impacting non-U.S. issuers.

Political or economic disruptions in European countries may adversely affect the value of the Fund's holdings. A significant number of countries in Europe are member states in the European Union, and the member states no longer control their own monetary policies. In these member states, the authority to direct monetary policies, including money supply and official interest rates for the Euro, is exercised by the European Central Bank.

Changes in currency exchange rates and the relative value of non-US currencies will affect the value of the Fund's investments and the value of the Fund's shares.

The Fund is subject to inflation risk which 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.

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

A portfolio comprised of low volatility stocks may not produce investment exposure that has lower variability to changes in such stocks' price levels. Low volatility stocks are likely to underperform the broader market during periods of rapidly rising stock prices.

There is no assurance that the index provider, or any agents that act on its behalf, will compile the Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated, or disseminated accurately.

The Fund is subject to non-correlation risk because the Fund's return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. In addition, the Fund incurs certain expenses and costs not applicable to the Index and the Fund's portfolio holdings may not replicate the securities included in the Index. The Fund currently has fewer assets than larger, more established funds, and like other relatively new funds, large inflows and outflows may impact the Fund's market exposure for limited periods of time.

The Fund is classified as "non-diversified" and 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 concentrated in certain issuers.

To the extent that the Fund has significant exposure to a single asset class, 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.

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.

Nasdaq, Inc. and its affiliates (the "Corporations") only relationship to First Trust with respect to the Fund is in the licensing of The International Developed Capital Strength™ Index, and certain trade names of the Corporations and the use of The International Developed Capital Strength™ Index, which are determined, composed and calculated by Nasdaq without regard to First Trust or the Fund. The Fund has not been passed on by the Corporations as to its legality or suitability. The Fund is not issued, endorsed, sold, or promoted by the Corporations. THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO WARRANTIES AND BEAR NO LIABILITY WITH RESPECT TO THE FUND.

CUSIP identifiers have been provided by CUSIP Global Services, managed on behalf of the American Bankers Association by FactSet Research Systems Inc. and are not for use or dissemination in a manner that would serve as a substitute for any CUSIP service. The CUSIP Database, ©2024 CUSIP Global Services. "CUSIP" is a registered trademark of the American Bankers Association.

Not FDIC Insured • Not Bank Guaranteed • May Lose Value
 
The information presented is not intended to constitute an investment recommendation for, or advice to, any specific person. By providing this information, First Trust is not undertaking to give advice in any fiduciary capacity within the meaning of ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code or any other regulatory framework. Financial professionals are responsible for evaluating investment risks independently and for exercising independent judgment in determining whether investments are appropriate for their clients.
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