Summary Prospectus by Investment Company - Form 497K

 

 

November 5, 2024

Investment Objective

The First Trust SkyBridge Crypto Industry and Digital Economy ETF's (the "Fund") investment objective is to provide investors with capital appreciation.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. Investors may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.

Shareholder Fees
(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) 

Management Fees	0.85%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.85%

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.

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 operating expenses remain at current levels. 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
$87	$271	$471	$1,049

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 most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 197% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any investment borrowings) in the common stocks and American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs") of Crypto Industry Companies and Digital Economy Companies. Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 50% of its net assets (plus any investment borrowings) in Crypto Industry Companies. The remainder of the Fund's net assets used to satisfy the 80% test set forth above will be invested in Digital Economy Companies.

Exchange-Traded Products," which are those products identified by SkyBridge that are listed on a regulated U.S. exchange and invest directly in bitcoin or indirectly in bitcoin through the use of derivatives. Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products include: (i) exchange-traded pooled investment vehicles that invest directly in bitcoin (which are not registered as investment companies under the 1940 Act and thus do not provide the protection of that Act); and (ii) exchange-traded pooled investment vehicles that only invest indirectly in bitcoin and seek to track the price movement of bitcoin or a bitcoin index which may be registered as investment companies under the 1940 Act. These products are long-only and passively managed with a mandate to track the price movement of bitcoin or a bitcoin index.

The Fund generally intends to invest up to 25% of its net assets in Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products; however, at certain times, the Fund may invest more than 25% of its net assets in Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products. The Fund will purchase and sell Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products based a variety of considerations, including overall portfolio diversification and the perceived relative value of Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products versus other Crypto Industry Companies. For tax purposes, certain Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products will be held indirectly via a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fund organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the "Subsidiary"). The Subsidiary and the Fund will have the same investment advisor, investment sub-advisor and investment objective. The Subsidiary will also follow the same investment policies and restrictions as the Fund as applicable. Except as noted herein, for purposes of this Prospectus, references to the Fund's investment strategies and risks include those of the Subsidiary. Because the Fund intends to qualify for treatment as a regulated investment company ("RIC") under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, the size of the Fund's investment in the Subsidiary will not exceed 25% of the Fund's total assets at each quarter end of the Fund's fiscal year. In order to meet such 25% limit, the Fund may have to reduce its investment in the Subsidiary to 25% of the Fund's total assets at any given fiscal year quarter end.

The Fund will not directly invest in digital assets (including bitcoin, and other crypto assets) and will not directly participate in initial coin offerings.

The Fund's selection universe includes common stock and ADRs listed on global securities exchanges, including securities of Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products, and U.S. dollar denominated and non-U.S. dollar denominated securities issued by U.S. and non-U.S. companies, including companies operating in emerging market countries. A significant portion of the Fund's investments may be in issuers with small market capitalizations. The Sub-Advisor evaluates all companies comprising the selection universe and identifies all eligible Crypto Industry Companies and Digital Economy Companies. From these companies, the Sub-Advisor will invest in those Crypto Industry Companies and Digital Economy Companies that it believes are well positioned to succeed in their respective industries and provide the best opportunity for capital appreciation. The section entitled "Additional Information Regarding the Fund's Investment Objective and Strategies" provides additional information on the Fund's intended investments.

The Fund's investments are concentrated (i.e., 25% or more of the Fund's total assets) in the industries constituting the information technology sector and the financial sector.

The Fund is classified as "non-diversified" under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act").

Additional Information on Bitcoin

Bitcoin is a digital asset that is created and transmitted through the operations of the online, peer-to-peer bitcoin network, a decentralized network of computers that operates on cryptographic protocols. The ownership of bitcoin is determined by participants in the bitcoin network. The bitcoin network connects computers that run publicly accessible, or "open source," software that follows the rules and procedures governing the bitcoin network. This is commonly referred to as the "bitcoin protocol." Bitcoin, the asset,

plays a key role in the operation of the bitcoin network, as the computers (or "miners") that process transactions on the network and maintain the network's security are compensated through the issuance of new bitcoin and through transaction fees paid by users in bitcoin.

No single entity owns or operates the bitcoin network. Bitcoin is not issued by any government, by banks or similar organizations. The infrastructure of the bitcoin network is collectively maintained by a decentralized user base. The bitcoin network is accessed through software, and software governs the creation, movement, and ownership of "bitcoin," the unit of account on the bitcoin network ledger. The value of bitcoin is determined, in part, by the supply of, and demand for, bitcoin in the global markets for trading bitcoin, market expectations for the adoption of bitcoin as a decentralized store of value, the number of merchants and/or institutions that accept bitcoin as a form of payment and the volume of private end-user-to-end-user transactions.

Bitcoin transaction and ownership records are reflected on the "Bitcoin Blockchain," which is a digital public record or ledger. Copies of this ledger are stored in a decentralized manner on the computers of each bitcoin network node (a node is any user who maintains on their computer a full copy of all the bitcoin transaction records, the blockchain, as well as related software). Transaction data is permanently recorded in files called "blocks," which reflect transactions that have been recorded and authenticated by bitcoin network participants. The bitcoin network software source code includes protocols that govern the creation of new bitcoin and the cryptographic system that secures and verifies bitcoin transactions.

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 order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor. 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 may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. A limited number of institutions act as authorized participants for the Fund. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders and no other authorized participant steps forward to create or redeem, the Fund's shares may trade at a premium or discount (the difference between the market price of the Fund's shares and the Fund's net asset value) and possibly face delisting and the bid/ask spread (the difference between the price that someone is willing to pay for shares of the Fund at a specific point in time versus the price at which someone is willing to sell) on the Fund's shares may widen.

BITCOIN RISK.

Volatility Risk. Bitcoin is a relatively new innovation and the market for bitcoin is subject to rapid price swings, changes and uncertainty. The further development of the bitcoin network and the acceptance and use of bitcoin are subject to a variety of factors that are difficult to evaluate. The slowing, stopping or reversing of the development of the bitcoin network or the acceptance of bitcoin may adversely affect the price of bitcoin.

Risk of Loss. Bitcoin is subject to the risk of fraud, theft, manipulation or security failures, operational or other problems that impact the digital asset trading venues on which bitcoin trades. The Bitcoin Blockchain may contain flaws that can be exploited by hackers.

Whale Risk. A significant portion of bitcoin is held by a small number of holders sometimes referred to as "whales." Transactions of these holders may influence and have the ability to manipulate the price of bitcoin.

Unregulated Market Risk. Unlike the exchanges for more traditional assets, such as equity securities and futures contracts, bitcoin and the digital asset trading venues on which it trades are largely unregulated, could be determined to be operating out of compliance with regulation and highly fragmented. As a result of the lack of regulation, individuals or groups may engage in fraud or market manipulation (including using social media to promote bitcoin in a way that artificially increases the price of bitcoin). Investors may be more exposed to the risk of theft, fraud and market manipulation than when investing in more traditional asset classes. Over the past several years, a number of digital asset trading venues have been closed due to fraud, failure or security breaches. Investors in bitcoin may have little or no recourse should such theft, fraud or manipulation occur and could suffer significant losses. Legal or regulatory changes may negatively impact the operation of the bitcoin network or restrict the use of bitcoin. The Fund may also be negatively impacted by regulatory enforcement actions against the digital asset trading venues upon which bitcoin trades. Such actions could significantly reduce the number of venues upon which bitcoin trades and could negatively impact the Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products held by the Fund that invest directly or indirectly in bitcoin and the Crypto Industry Companies that invest in bitcoin or other digital assets. In addition, digital asset trading venues, bitcoin miners, and other participants may have significant exposure to other digital assets. Instability in the price, availability or legal or regulatory status of those instruments may adversely impact the operation of the digital asset trading venues and the bitcoin network. The realization of any of these risks could result in a decline in the acceptance of bitcoin and consequently a reduction in the value of bitcoin,

Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products, holdings by the Crypto Industry Companies and shares of the Fund. Such occurrences could also impair the Fund's ability to meet its investment objective pursuant to its investment strategy.

51% Attack Risk. The bitcoin network is maintained and secured by a group of validators who "mine" bitcoin, which involves contributing computer power to the network to validate transactions, maintain security and finalize settlement. The Bitcoin Blockchain relies on a consensus mechanism whereby miners agree on the accurate state of the database. If a malicious actor (or group of actors) were to gain control of more than 50% the mining (or "hash") power in the network (a "51% Attack"), even temporarily, they would have the ability to block new transactions from being confirmed and could, over time, reverse or reorder prior transactions. Although it may be challenging for a malicious actor (or group of actors) to gain control of 50% of the mining (or "hash") power in the Bitcoin Blockchain, a 51% Attack would significantly impact the value of bitcoin, and thereby the value of the Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products holdings by the Crypto Industry Companies held by the Fund.

Fork Risk. A blockchain is a base that is updated, shared and maintained across many computers in a network. The software that powers a blockchain is known as its protocol. Like all software, these protocols may update or change from time-to-time. In the case of the bitcoin protocol, updates are made based on proposals submitted by developers, but only if a majority of the users and miners adopt the new proposals and update their individual copies of the protocol. Certain upgrade proposals to a blockchain may not be accepted by all the participants in an ecosystem. If one significant group adopts a proposed upgrade and another does not - or if groups adopt different upgrades - this can result in a "fork" of the blockchain, wherein two distinct sets of users and validators or users and miners run two different versions of a protocol. If the versions are sufficiently different such that the two versions of the protocol cannot simultaneously maintain and update a shared record of the blockchain database, it is called a "hard fork." A hard fork can result in the creation of two competing blockchains, each with its own native crypto assets. For instance, on August 1, 2017, two factions in the bitcoin community could not agree on whether or not to adopt an upgrade to the bitcoin protocol related to how to scale throughput on the blockchain. The disagreement created a fork, with the smaller group taking the name "Bitcoin Cash" and running its own blockchain and related native crypto asset. The larger group retained the name bitcoin for its blockchain and held bitcoin as the native crypto asset. Additional forks of the Bitcoin Blockchain are possible. A large-scale fork could introduce risk, uncertainty, or confusion into the Bitcoin Blockchain, or could fraction the value of the main blockchain and its native crypto asset, which could significantly impact the value of bitcoin, and thereby the value of the Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products held by the Fund. Additionally, a hack of the Bitcoin Blockchain or one or more projects that interact with or that are built on top of the Bitcoin Blockchain could negatively impact the price of bitcoin, whether it leads to another hard fork or not, and thereby the value of the Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products held by the Fund.

Adoption Risk. The Bitcoin Blockchain and its native crypto asset, bitcoin, face numerous challenges to gaining widespread adoption as an alternative payments system, including the slowness of transaction processing and finality, variability in transaction fees and volatility in bitcoin's price, which has been and may continue to be substantially dependent on speculation. It is not clear that the Bitcoin Blockchain or bitcoin can overcome these and other impediments, which could harm the long-term adoption of the Bitcoin Blockchain and bitcoin as an alternative payment system, and thereby negatively impact the price of bitcoin. In addition, alternative public blockchains have been developed and may in the future develop that compete with the Bitcoin Blockchain and may have significant advantages as alternative payment systems, including higher throughput, lower fees, faster settlement and finalization, and the ability to facilitate untraceable and/or privacy-shielded transactions through the use of zero-knowledge cryptography or other means. It is possible that these alternative public blockchains and their native crypto assets may be more successful than the Bitcoin Blockchain and bitcoin in gaining adoption as an alternative payments system, which could limit the long-term adoption of the Bitcoin Blockchain and bitcoin, thereby negatively impact the price of bitcoin. Furthermore, traditional payment systems may improve their own technical capabilities and offer faster settlement times, faster finalization and lower fees. This could make it more difficult for the Bitcoin Blockchain and bitcoin to gain traction as an alternative payments system, which could limit the long-term adoption of the Bitcoin Blockchain and bitcoin, and thereby negatively impact the price of bitcoin. Finally, one means by which the ecosystem surrounding the Bitcoin Blockchain has attempted to mitigate concerns about the slowness of transaction processing and finality and the variability of transaction fees has been through the development of so-called Layer 2 networks, including the "Lightning Network." Layer 2 networks are separate blockchains built on top of "Layer 1" blockchains like the Bitcoin Blockchain for the purpose of augmenting the throughput of the Layer 1 blockchain, and often, providing lower fees for transaction processing and faster settlement. Layer 2 blockchains introduce certain risks into the bitcoin ecosystem that should be considered. For instance, Layer 2 blockchains are a relatively new and still developing technology. Technological issues - including hacks, bugs, or failures - could introduce risk or harm confidence in the bitcoin ecosystem, which could negatively impact the price of bitcoin. In addition, users may choose to settle an increasing share of transactions on Layer 2 blockchains or adopt other blockchains that support more advanced applications and use cases than the Bitcoin Blockchain, such as those specifically designed to support the development, deployment and operation of smart contracts (e.g., the Ethereum blockchain), which could negatively impact the transaction activity on, and the amount of fee revenue generated by, the Bitcoin Blockchain itself, which could negatively impact the price of bitcoin. If these or other developments negatively impact the price of bitcoin, this would negatively impact the value of the Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products held by the Fund.

BITCOIN EXCHANGE-TRADED PRODUCT RISK. The Fund's investment in shares of Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products subjects it to the risks of owning the investments underlying the Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Product, as well as the same structural risks faced by an investor purchasing shares of the Fund, including authorized participant concentration risk, market maker risk, premium/discount risk

and trading issues risk. Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products have a short trading history and may be subject to volatility risk, as well as the risks discussed in Bitcoin Risk set forth above. As a shareholder in a Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Product, the Fund bears its proportionate share of the Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Product expenses, subjecting Fund shareholders to duplicative expenses.

CONCENTRATION RISK. The Fund is concentrated in information technology companies and financial companies. To the extent that the Fund invests a large 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 concentration makes the Fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the Fund to greater market risk than a fund that is not so concentrated.

CRYPTO INDUSTRY COMPANIES RISK. The technology relating to the crypto industry ecosystem is new and developing and the risks associated with crypto assets may not fully emerge until the technology is widely used. Technologies utilizing cryptography are used by companies to optimize their business practices, whether by using the technology within their business or operating business lines involved in the operation of the technology. Cryptography refers to a set of techniques designed to allow for secure communication in the presence of adversarial behavior. Blockchain is a well-known example of a technology that relies on cryptography. A blockchain is comprised of unchangeable, digitally recorded data in packages called "blocks." These digitally recorded blocks of data are stored in a linear "chain." Each block in the chain contains data (e.g., a transaction), that is cryptographically connected to the previous-block in the chain, ensuring all data in the overall "blockchain" has not been tampered with and remains unchanged. The cryptographic keys necessary to transact a crypto asset may be subject to theft, loss, or destruction, which could adversely affect a company's business or operations if it were dependent on such an asset. Competing platforms and technologies may be developed such that consumers or investors use an alternative to crypto assets. There may be risks posed by the lack of regulation for crypto assets and any future regulatory developments could affect the viability and expansion of the use of crypto technologies. Recently, U.S. securities regulators have brought actions against companies operating in the crypto industry ecosystem for violations of U.S. securities laws. For example, the Securities and Exchange Commission has recently brought an enforcement action alleging that Coinbase Global Inc. is, among other things, a trading platform that operates as an unregistered broker, an unregistered exchange and unregistered clearing agency, a prime brokerage service that operates as an unregistered broker and a crypto asset staking program that constitutes an unregistered offer and sale of an investment contract and, thus, a security. To the extent such an action is brought against a company held by the Fund, the value of such a holding could decrease significantly. Because companies operating in the crypto industry ecosystem may operate across many national boundaries and regulatory jurisdictions, it is possible that such companies may be subject to widespread and inconsistent regulation. Crypto Industry Companies that rely on third party products may be subject to technical defects or vulnerabilities beyond a company's control. Because crypto assets do not have a standardized exchange, like a stock market, there is less liquidity for such assets and greater possibility of volatility, fraud or manipulation. The values of certain companies included in the Fund's portfolio may not entirely be a reflection of their connection to the crypto industry ecosystem, but may be based on other business operations. In addition, these companies may engage in other lines of business unrelated to the crypto industry ecosystem and these lines of business could adversely affect their operating results. Such companies may be engaged in activities traditionally comprising the information technology sector and financial sectors. The risks inherent in such activities are set forth in "Financial Companies Risk" and "Information Technology Companies Risk" herein. These companies also may not be able to develop crypto technology applications or may not be able to capitalize on those applications. Technologies also may never be fully implemented, which could adversely affect an investment in such companies. Companies that use crypto technologies may be subject to cybersecurity risk. In addition, certain features of crypto industry technologies, such as decentralization, open source protocol, and reliance on peer-to-peer connectivity, may increase the risk of fraud or cyber-attack by potentially reducing the likelihood of a coordinated response. A significant disruption of Internet connectivity affecting large numbers of users or geographic areas could impede the functionality of crypto technologies and adversely affect companies included in the Fund's portfolio. Crypto Industry Companies may be subject to the risks posed by conflicting intellectual property claims, which may reduce confidence in the viability of a crypto asset.

Certain of the Fund's investments, including investments in companies with direct holdings of crypto assets may be subject to the risks associated with investing in such assets. Such companies may be subject to the risk that: the technology that facilitates the transfer of the crypto asset could fail; the decentralized, open source protocol of the blockchain network utilized by a company held by the Fund could be affected by Internet connectivity disruptions, fraud, consensus failures or cybersecurity attacks; such network may not be adequately maintained by its participants; because crypto assets are a new technological innovation with a limited history, they are highly speculative assets and may experience extreme price volatility; future regulatory actions or policies may limit the ability to sell, exchange or use a crypto asset; the price of a crypto asset may be impacted by the transactions of a small number of holders of such asset; and that a crypto asset will decline in popularity, acceptance or use, thereby impairing its price.

CURRENCY RISK. Changes in currency exchange rates affect the value of investments denominated in a foreign currency, and therefore the value of such investments in the Fund's portfolio. The Fund's net asset value could decline if a currency to which the Fund has exposure depreciates against the U.S. dollar or if there are delays or limits on repatriation of such currency. 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.

CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS RISK. Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions. As a means to fight inflation, which remains at elevated levels, the Federal Reserve and certain foreign central banks have raised interest rates; however, the Federal Reserve has recently lowered interest rates

and may continue to do so. U.S. regulators have proposed several changes to market and issuer regulations which would directly impact the Fund, and any regulatory changes could adversely impact the Fund's ability to achieve its investment strategies or make certain investments. 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 ongoing adversarial political climate in the United States, as well as political and diplomatic events both domestic and abroad, have and may continue to have an adverse impact the U.S. regulatory landscape, markets and investor behavior, which could have a negative impact on the Fund's investments and operations. Other unexpected political, regulatory and diplomatic events within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy. For example, 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 have and could continue to have a significant impact on certain Fund investments as well as Fund performance and liquidity. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as the financial markets generally, may be adversely impacted by trade disputes and other matters. For example, the United States has imposed trade barriers and restrictions on China. In addition, the Chinese government is engaged in a longstanding dispute with Taiwan, continually threatening an invasion. If the political climate between the United States and China does not improve or continues to deteriorate, if China were to attempt invading Taiwan, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets and individual securities may be adversely affected, and the value of the Fund's assets may go down. The COVID-19 global pandemic, or any future public health crisis, 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 vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against emerging future variants of the disease. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. Advancements in technology may also adversely impact markets and the overall performance of the Fund. For instance, the economy may be significantly impacted by the advanced development and increased regulation of artificial intelligence. These events, and any other future events, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund's portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.

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.

DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS RISK. Depositary receipts represent equity interests in a foreign company that trade on a local stock exchange. Depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. Any distributions paid to the holders of depositary receipts are usually subject to a fee charged by the depositary. Holders of depositary receipts may have limited voting rights, and investment restrictions in certain countries may adversely impact the value of depositary receipts because such restrictions may limit the ability to convert the equity shares into depositary receipts and vice versa. Such restrictions may cause the equity shares of the underlying issuer to trade at a discount or premium to the market price of the depositary receipts.

DERIVATIVES RISK. Certain Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products in which the Fund may invest utilize derivatives. 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 Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Product to liquidate portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so. The use of leveraged derivatives can magnify potential for gain or loss and, therefore, amplify the effects of market volatility on share price.

DIGITAL ASSET INDUSTRY RISK. The digital asset industry is a new, speculative, and still-developing industry that faces many risks. In this emerging environment, events that are not directly related to the security or utility of the Bitcoin Blockchain can nonetheless

precipitate a significant decline in the price of bitcoin. For instance, in May 2022, the collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD and its paired crypto asset LUNA destroyed an estimated $60 billion in value in the crypto ecosystem. Although TerraUSD and LUNA operated on their own blockchain (the "Terra" blockchain), the events nonetheless contributed to a sharp decline in the price of bitcoin, which fell 16% from May 1, 2022 to May 31, 2022. As another example, in November 2022, FTX Trading Ltd. - an offshore digital asset trading venue specializing in crypto derivatives - collapsed and filed for bankruptcy. While a small fraction of total global trading volume in bitcoin and related derivatives took place on FTX-related venues, the company's collapse nonetheless contributed to a significant decline in the price of bitcoin, which fell 16%, in November 2022. Additional instability, failures, bankruptcies or other negative events in the digital asset industry, including events that are not necessarily related to the security or utility of the Bitcoin Blockchain, could similarly negatively impact the price of bitcoin, and thereby the Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products held by the Fund.

DIGITAL ASSET REGULATORY RISK. Digital asset markets in the U.S. exist in a state of regulatory uncertainty, and adverse legislative or regulatory developments could significantly harm the value of the Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products or the Fund's Shares, such as by banning, restricting or imposing onerous conditions or prohibitions on the use of bitcoin, validating or mining activity, digital wallets, the provision of services related to trading and custodying digital assets, the operation of the bitcoin network or the digital asset markets generally. It is also possible that some of the digital assets through which the Fund may have significant exposure may be determined to be a security or offered or sold as a security under federal and state laws. Such occurrences could also impair the Fund's ability to meet its investment objective pursuant to its investment strategy.

DIGITAL ECONOMY COMPANIES RISK. The Fund invests significantly in Digital Economy Companies. Such companies may be adversely impacted by government regulations, economic conditions and deterioration in credit markets. Digital Economy Companies typically face intense competition and could be negatively affected by new entrants into the market, especially those located in markets with lower production costs. Competitors in the digital payments space include financial institutions and well-established payment processing companies. Digital Economy Companies involved in the manufacturing of semiconductors face concerns of rapid product obsolescence. Similarly, digital payments companies may be highly dependent on their ability to enter into agreements with merchants and other third parties to utilize a particular payment method, system, software or service, and such agreements may be subject to increased regulatory scrutiny. In addition, many Digital Economy Companies store sensitive consumer information and could be the target of cybersecurity attacks and other types of theft, which could have a negative impact on these companies. Digital Economy Companies currently operate under less regulatory scrutiny than traditional financial services companies and banks, but there is significant risk that regulatory oversight could increase in the future. Higher levels of regulation could increase costs and adversely impact the current business models of some Digital Economy Companies and could severely impact the viability of these companies. These companies could be negatively impacted by disruptions in service caused by hardware or software failure, or by interruptions or delays in service by third-party data center hosting facilities and maintenance providers. Digital Economy Companies, especially smaller companies, tend to be more volatile than companies that do not rely heavily on technology.

EMERGING MARKETS RISK. Investments in securities issued by governments and companies operating in emerging market countries involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions not associated with investments in securities and instruments issued by U.S. companies or by companies operating in other developed market countries. Investments in emerging markets securities are generally considered speculative in nature and are subject to the following heightened risks: smaller market capitalization of securities markets which may suffer periods of relative illiquidity; significant price volatility; restrictions on foreign investment; possible repatriation of investment income and capital; rapid inflation; and currency convertibility issues. Emerging market countries also often have less uniformity in accounting, auditing and reporting requirements, unsettled securities laws, unreliable securities valuation and greater risk associated with custody of securities. Financial and other reporting by companies and government entities also may be less reliable in emerging market countries. Shareholder claims that are available in the U.S., as well as regulatory oversight and authority that is common in the U.S., including for claims based on fraud, may be difficult or impossible for shareholders of securities in emerging market countries or for U.S. authorities to pursue. For funds that track an index or are managed based upon a benchmark, the index may not weight the securities in emerging market countries on the basis of investor protection limitations, financial reporting quality or available oversight mechanisms. Furthermore, investors may be required to register the proceeds of sales and future economic or political crises could lead to price controls, forced mergers, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, seizure, nationalization or creation of government monopolies.

EQUITY SECURITIES RISK. The value of the Fund's shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities in which it invests. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors' perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting an issuer occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market.

FINANCIAL COMPANIES RISK. The Fund is concentrated in financial companies. Financial companies, such as retail and commercial banks, insurance companies and financial services companies, are especially subject to the adverse effects of economic recession, currency exchange rates, extensive government regulation, decreases in the availability of capital, volatile interest rates, portfolio concentrations in geographic markets, industries or products (such as commercial and residential real estate loans), competition from new entrants and blurred distinctions in their fields of business.

INDEX OR MODEL CONSTITUENT RISK. The Fund may be a constituent of one or more indices or ETF models. As a result, the Fund may be included in one or more index-tracking exchange-traded funds or mutual funds. Being a component security of such a vehicle could greatly affect the trading activity involving the Fund's shares, the size of the Fund and the market volatility of the Fund. Inclusion in an index could increase demand for the Fund and removal from an index could result in outsized selling activity in a relatively short period of time. As a result, the Fund's net asset value could be negatively impacted and the Fund's market price may be below the Fund's net asset value during certain periods. In addition, index rebalances may potentially result in increased trading activity in the Fund's shares.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES RISK. The Fund is concentrated in information technology companies. Information technology companies produce and provide hardware, software and information technology systems and services. These companies may be adversely affected by rapidly changing technologies, short product life cycles, fierce competition, aggressive pricing and reduced profit margins, the loss of patent, copyright and trademark protections, cyclical market patterns, evolving industry standards and frequent new product introductions. In addition, information technology companies are particularly vulnerable to federal, state and local government regulation, and competition and consolidation, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Information technology companies also heavily rely on intellectual property rights and may be adversely affected by the loss or impairment of those rights.

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 MAKER RISK. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares due to a limited number of market markers. 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. The Fund 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 the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund's shares. 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 investment, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by real or perceived adverse economic, political, and regulatory factors 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, market manipulation, government defaults, government shutdowns, regulatory actions, political changes, diplomatic developments, the imposition of sanctions and other similar measures, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, natural disasters, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of the Fund's shares, the liquidity of an investment, and may 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, the bid/ask spread on the Fund's shares may widen and the returns on investment may fluctuate.

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. 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. Non-U.S. securities are subject to higher volatility than securities of domestic issuers due to possible adverse political, social or economic developments, restrictions on foreign investment or exchange of securities, capital controls, lack of liquidity, currency exchange rates, excessive taxation, government seizure of assets, the imposition of sanctions by foreign governments, different legal or accounting standards, and less government supervision and regulation of securities exchanges in foreign countries.

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.

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER RISK. High portfolio turnover may result in the Fund paying higher levels of transaction costs and may generate greater tax liabilities for shareholders. Portfolio turnover risk may cause the Fund's performance to be less than expected.

PREMIUM/DISCOUNT RISK. The market price of the Fund's shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the Fund's net asset value as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on the Exchange. The Fund's investment advisor cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their net asset value because the shares trade on the Exchange 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, 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 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. During stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund's shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the market for the Fund's underlying portfolio holdings, which could in turn lead to differences between the market price of the Fund's shares and their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund's shares may widen.

SMALLER COMPANIES RISK. Small and/or mid capitalization 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, fewer 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.

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 elect and to qualify each year to be treated as a regulated investment company ("RIC") under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"). The federal income tax treatment of the securities in which the Fund may invest, including the Fund's investment in Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products, may not be clear or may be subject to recharacterization by the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS"). It could be more difficult to comply with the tax requirements applicable to RICs if the tax characterization of investments or the tax treatment of the income from such investments were successfully challenged by the IRS. Any such failure to comply with the rules applicable to RICs could cause the Fund to fail to qualify as such. To qualify and maintain its status as a RIC, the Fund must meet certain income, diversification and distributions tests. For purposes in the RIC income tests, the IRS has informally taken the position that some of the Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products into which the Fund may invest would produce non-qualifying income. This may result in the Fund taking non-economic actions to avoid disqualification. For purposes of the diversification test, some of the Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products may not qualify as securities. This may require the Fund to balance its assets to meet the RIC tests in ways that it would not do if the RIC tests did not apply. If the income is not qualifying income or the diversification test is not met, the Fund may not qualify, or may be disqualified, as a RIC. If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions are not available, the Fund's taxable income will be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed.

TRADING ISSUES RISK. Trading in Fund shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Fund shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange's "circuit breaker" rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange 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 the Exchange in the event the Fund's assets are small, the Fund does not have enough shareholders, or if the Fund is unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders.

VOLATILITY RISK. Volatility is the characteristic of a security, an index or a market to fluctuate significantly in price within a short time period. Crypto assets are highly volatile and securities issued by Crypto Industry Companies and digital assets have historically exhibited 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.

Annual Total Return

The bar chart and table below illustrate the annual calendar year returns of the Fund based on net asset value as well as the average annual Fund returns. The Fund's returns represent the Fund's returns before it changed its strategy and the types of securities in which it might invest. The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund's performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Fund's average annual total returns based on net asset value compared to those of a broad-based market index. The Fund's performance information is accessible on the Fund's website at www.ftportfolios.com.

First Trust SkyBridge Crypto Industry and Digital Economy ETF
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31 (1)

 

During the period shown in the chart above: 

	Return	Period Ended
Best Quarter	19.82%	September 30, 2022
Worst Quarter	-68.23%	June 30, 2022
Year-to-Date	36.67%	June 30, 2024

The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.

All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of any state or local tax. Returns after taxes on distributions reflect the taxed return on the payment of dividends and capital gains. Returns after taxes on distributions and sale of shares assume you sold your shares at period end, and, therefore, are also adjusted for any capital gains or losses incurred. Returns for the market index do not include expenses, which are deducted from Fund returns, or taxes.

Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares in tax-deferred accounts such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or employee-sponsored retirement plans.

Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2023 

	1 Year	Since Inception	Inception Date
Return Before Taxes	193.33%	-25.06%	9/20/2021
Return After Taxes On Distributions	193.33%	-25.22%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	114.45%	-18.21%
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	26.29%	5.73%

Management

Investment Advisor

First Trust Advisors L.P. ("First Trust" or the "Advisor")

Investment Sub-Advisor

SkyBridge Capital II, LLC ("SkyBridge" or the "Sub-Advisor")

Portfolio Managers

The following persons serve as portfolio managers of the Fund:

The portfolio managers are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each portfolio manager has served as part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since September 2021.

CRPTSP110524