Emerging Markets Strength Portfolio, Series 56

What are Emerging Markets?

Emerging markets are countries that are attempting to change and improve their current economies. Size itself is not a factor for determining an emerging market, as evidenced by China. The objective of an emerging market is to raise economic performance and, as a result, become a more advanced nation. Collectively, developing economies are anticipated to grow faster than the economies of countries which are already developed.

By investing a portion of your portfolio outside the U.S., you may significantly expand your investment choices and participate in the long-term growth potential of foreign companies. To predict which countries will emerge and reward those for taking on the risk to invest in them is a difficult task. Through our selection process we seek to find the emerging markets stocks that we believe have the best prospects for above-average capital appreciation.

Portfolio Objective

This unit investment trust seeks above-average capital appreciation; however, there is no assurance the objective will be met.

Portfolio Selection Process

Identify the Universe | We begin by selecting stocks that are based in an emerging market or have significant business operations in emerging markets, trade on a U.S. stock exchange either directly or through an American Depositary Receipt, and have adequate liquidity for investment.

Screen for Financial Strength | We then evaluate companies based on multiple factors. These factors are designed to identify those stocks which exhibit strong fundamental characteristics and to eliminate those that do not meet our investment criteria.

Examine Historical Financial Results | The next step in our process is to look for those companies that have earned a net cash flow return on investment that is above the average of their peers. Historically, companies that have increased their cash flows at a higher rate have rewarded shareholders with superior total returns.

Select Companies with Attractive Valuations | The final step in our process is to select companies based on the fundamental analysis of our team of research analysts. The stocks selected for the portfolio are those that meet our investment objectives, trade at attractive valuations and, in our opinion, are likely to exceed market expectations of future cash flows.

You should consider the portfolio's investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses carefully before investing. Contact your financial professional or call First Trust Portfolios, L.P. at 1.800.621.1675 to request a prospectus, which contains this and other information about the portfolio. Read it carefully before you invest.

Risk Considerations
An investment in this unmanaged unit investment trust should be made with an understanding of the risks involved with owning common stocks, such as an economic recession and the possible deterioration of either the financial condition of the issuers of the equity securities or the general condition of the stock market.

You should be aware that the portfolio is concentrated in stocks in the information technology sector which involves additional risks, including limited diversification. The companies engaged in the information technology sector are subject to fierce competition, high research and development costs, and their products and services may be subject to rapid obsolescence. Technology company stocks, especially those which are Internet-related, may experience extreme price and volume fluctuations that are often unrelated to their operating performance.

A significant percentage of securities held by the portfolio are issued by companies in the Asia Pacific region, making the portfolio more susceptible to the economic, market, regulatory, political, natural disasters and local risks of the Asia Pacific region. The region has historically been highly dependent on global trade which creates a risk with this dependency on global growth. The stock markets tend to have a larger prevalence of smaller companies that are inherently more volatile and less liquid than larger companies.

A significant percentage of the securities held by the trust are issued by companies headquartered or incorporated in Latin America. These securities may be subject to currency risks, such as restrictions on the flow of money in and out of a country, extreme volatility relative to the U.S. dollar, and devaluation, all of which could decrease the value of investments in Latin American companies.

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.

Certain of the securities held by the trust are non-Chinese shell companies structured as variable interest entities (VIEs), which provide economic exposure to Chinese companies but do not represent a direct investment in the Chinese company. VIEs are not formally recognized under Chinese law and intervention by the Chinese government into the legality of the VIE structure could negatively impact such securities.

An investment in a portfolio containing small-cap and mid-cap companies is subject to additional risks, as the share prices of small-cap companies and certain mid-cap companies are often more volatile than those of larger companies due to several factors, including limited trading volumes, products, financial resources, management inexperience and less publicly available information.

Large capitalization companies may grow at a slower rate than the overall market.

As the use of Internet technology has become more prevalent in the course of business, the trust has become more susceptible to potential operational risks through breaches in cybersecurity.

In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine which has caused and could continue to cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in Russia, Europe, and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions resulting from those hostilities could have a significant impact on certain investments as well as performance.

The COVID-19 global pandemic has caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and declines in global financial markets. 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.

The value of the securities held by the trust may be subject to steep declines or increased volatility due to changes in performance or perception of the issuers.

This UIT is a buy and hold strategy and investors should consider their ability to hold the trust until maturity. There may be tax consequences unless units are purchased in an IRA or other qualified plan.