First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund

04/04/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/04/2025 04:01

Summary Prospectus by Investment Company (Form 497K)

Rule 497(k)
File No. 333-125751

First Trust
Exchange-Traded Fund
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS
FT Vest Bitcoin Strategy Floor15 ETF - April
Ticker Symbol:
BFAP
Exchange:
NYSE Arca, Inc.
Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund's prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund's statutory prospectus and other information about the Fund, including the statement of additional information and most recent reports to shareholders, online at http://www.ftportfolios.com/retail/ETF/ETFfundnews.aspx?Ticker=BFAP.   You can also get this information at no cost by calling (800) 621-1675 or by sending an e-mail request to info@ftportfolios.com.   The Fund's  prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated  April 4, 2025, are all incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.
April 4, 2025
The Fund is designed to participate in the positive price returns (before fees and expenses) of a reference instrument, which seeks to reflect generally (before fees and expenses) the performance of the price of bitcoin (the "Bitcoin Reference Instrument") up to a cap of 34.51% (before fees and expenses) while seeking to provide a maximum loss of 15% (before fees and expenses) of Bitcoin Reference Instrument losses (i.e., the "floor") over the period from April 4, 2025 through March 31, 2026 (the "Target Outcome Period"). The Bitcoin Reference Instrument for the current Target Outcome Period is the Cboe Bitcoin U.S. ETF Index. However, the Bitcoin Reference Instrument utilized by the Fund may change from one Target Outcome Period to the next. In future Target Outcome Periods, the Fund may utilize the following as the Bitcoin Reference Instrument: an exchange-traded grantor trust that holds bitcoin (a "Bitcoin ETP") or indexes seeking to track the performance of a basket of Bitcoin ETPs ("Bitcoin ETP Indexes"). The Fund does not invest directly in bitcoin. When the Fund's fees and expenses are taken into account, the cap is 33.61% and the floor is 15.89%. The cap will be further reduced and the maximum loss incurred by the floor will be further extended by any brokerage commissions, trading fees, taxes and extraordinary expenses not included in the Fund's management fee. At the end of the Target Outcome Period, the Fund will reset for a new Target Outcome Period tied to the floor, but the cap and Bitcoin Reference Instrument may change based on market rates or conditions as of the start of the new Target Outcome Period. The Fund seeks to achieve specified outcomes but there is no guarantee that the outcomes for a Target Outcome Period will be achieved. You may lose some or all of your money by investing in the Fund. The Fund has characteristics unlike many other typical investment products and may not be suitable for all investors. It is important that investors understand the Fund's investment strategy before making an investment in the Fund.
The outcomes described in this prospectus are specifically designed to apply only if you hold shares on the first day of the Target Outcome Period and continue to hold them on the last day of the period. If you purchase shares after the Target Outcome Period starts or sell your shares before the Target Outcome Period ends, you may receive a very different return based on the Fund's current value. The Fund's website, http://www.ftportfolios.com/retail/etf/EtfSummary.aspx?Ticker=BFAP, provides information relating to the possible outcomes for an investor of an investment in the Fund on a daily basis, if purchased on that date and held through the end of the Target Outcome Period, including the Fund's value relative to the cap and floor.
An investor that holds Fund shares through multiple Target Outcome Periods may fail to experience gains comparable to those of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument over time because at the end of each Target Outcome Period, a new cap will be established based on the then current price of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument and any gains above the prior cap will be forfeit. Similarly, an investor that holds Fund shares through multiple Target Outcome Periods will be unable to recapture losses from prior Target Outcome Periods because at the end of each Target Outcome Period, a new floor will be established based on the then current price of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument and any losses experienced before the prior floor will be locked in. Moreover, the annual imposition of a new cap on future gains may make it difficult to recoup any losses from prior Target Outcome Periods such that, over multiple Target Outcome Periods, the Fund may have losses that exceed those of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument.
Investment Objective
The investment objective of the FT Vest Bitcoin Strategy Floor15 ETF - April (the "Fund") is to seek to provide investors with returns (before fees and expenses) that match the price return of a reference asset which seeks to reflect generally (before fees and expenses) the performance of the price of bitcoin (the "Bitcoin Reference Instrument"), up to a predetermined upside cap of 34.51% (before fees and expenses) while providing a maximum loss of 15% (before fees and expenses) of Bitcoin Reference Instrument losses, over the period from April 4, 2025 through March 31, 2026.
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. 
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) 
Management Fees
0.90%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees
0.00%
Other Expenses(1)
0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
0.90%
(1)
"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.
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
$92
$287
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. The Fund has no operational history and therefore no historical turnover rate.
Principal Investment Strategies
Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in investments that are needed to provide exposure to bitcoin and to provide the Fund's "floor" as described herein. For purposes of compliance with this investment policy, derivative contracts will be valued at their notional value. The Fund's investment sub-advisor is Vest Financial LLC ("Vest" or the "Sub-Advisor").
In seeking to achieve its objective, the Fund will invest in option contracts, which include FLexible EXchange® Options ("FLEX Options"), standardized listed options and/or over-the-counter options (collectively, "Options") that each utilize the Bitcoin Reference Instrument as the reference asset and short-term U.S. Treasury securities, cash and cash equivalents (including "box spreads"). The Bitcoin Reference Instrument for the current Target Outcome Period is the Cboe Bitcoin U.S. ETF Index. However, the Bitcoin Reference Instrument utilized by the Fund may change from one Target Outcome Period to the next. In future Target Outcome Periods, the Fund may utilize the following as the Bitcoin Reference Instrument: an exchange-traded grantor trust that holds bitcoin (a "Bitcoin ETP") or indexes seeking to track the performance of a basket of Bitcoin ETPs ("Bitcoin ETP Indexes"). The Fund does not invest directly in bitcoin. Prior to the beginning of a new Target Outcome Period, the Fund will provide notice to shareholders identifying the Bitcoin Reference Instrument for the upcoming Target Outcome Period. For additional information on the Bitcoin Reference Instrument for the current Target Outcome Period, please see below.
The Fund uses short-term U.S. Treasury securities, cash and cash equivalents, and Options on the Bitcoin Reference Instrument to employ a "target outcome strategy." Target outcome strategies seek to produce pre-determined investment outcomes based upon the performance of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument. The pre-determined outcomes sought by the Fund, which include a maximum loss of 15% (before fees and expenses) of Bitcoin Reference Instrument losses (i.e., the "floor") and a cap of 34.51% (before fees and expenses), are based on the price performance of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument over an approximate one-year period (the "Target Outcome Period"). When the Fund's fees and expenses are taken into account, the cap is 33.61% and the floor is 15.89%. The cap
will be further reduced and the maximum loss incurred by the floor will be further extended by any brokerage commissions, trading fees, taxes and extraordinary expenses not included in the Fund's management fee. The target outcomes the Fund seeks for investors that hold Fund shares for an entire Target Outcome Period are as follows, though there can be no guarantee these results will be achieved:
If the Bitcoin Reference Instrument appreciates over the Target Outcome Period, the combination of the U.S. Treasury securities, cash and cash equivalents and the Options held by the Fund seeks to provide upside participation matching the performance of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument, up to a cap that is determined at the start of the Target Outcome Period. The cap for the current Target Outcome Period is 34.51%, prior to taking into account the Fund's fees and expenses. To the extent the Bitcoin Reference Instrument appreciates over the Target Outcome Period in excess of the cap over that period, the Fund will not benefit from the excess gains experienced by the Bitcoin Reference Instrument.
If the Bitcoin Reference Instrument decreases over the Target Outcome Period by up to 15% or less, the combination of the U.S. Treasury securities, cash and cash equivalents and the Options held by the Fund seeks to provide a payoff at expiration that is intended to match that of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument up to a maximum loss of 15% (before fees and expenses) over the Target Outcome Period (i.e., the Fund's shareholders will bear all Bitcoin Reference Instrument losses up to 15% on a one-to-one basis, meaning if the Bitcoin Reference Instrument loses 10%, the Fund loses 10%).
If the Bitcoin Reference Instrument decreases over the Target Outcome Period by more than 15%, the combination of the U.S. Treasury securities, cash and cash equivalents, and the Options held by the Fund seeks to provide a payoff at expiration that is intended to protect investors from Bitcoin Reference Instrument losses greater than 15% (before fees and expenses) over the Target Outcome Period (i.e., if the Bitcoin Reference Instrument loses 20%, the Fund loses 15%).
See the bar chart and line graph set forth in the section entitled "Floor and Cap" for more information.
The current Target Outcome Period will begin on April 4, 2025 and end on March 31, 2026. Subsequent Target Outcome Periods will begin on the day the prior Target Outcome Period ends and will end on the approximate one-year anniversary of that new Target Outcome Period. On the first day of each new Target Outcome Period, the Fund resets by investing in a new set of Options that are designed to provide a new cap for the new Target Outcome Period. This means that the cap will change for each Target Outcome Period based upon prevailing market conditions at the beginning of each Target Outcome Period. The floor will remain approximately the same for each Target Outcome Period. The cap and floor, and the Fund's value relative to each, should be considered before investing in the Fund. The Fund will be perpetually offered and not terminate after the current or any subsequent Target Outcome Period. Approximately one week prior to the end of the current Target Outcome Period, the Fund's website will be updated to alert existing shareholders that the Target Outcome Period is approaching its conclusion and will disclose the anticipated cap range and Bitcoin Reference Instrument for the next Target Outcome Period. There is no guarantee that the final cap set for a Target Outcome Period will be within the anticipated cap range. See "Subsequent Target Outcome Periods" for more information.
An investor that purchases Fund shares other than on the first day of a Target Outcome Period and/or sells Fund shares prior to the end of a Target Outcome Period may experience results that are very different from the target outcomes sought by the Fund for that Target Outcome Period. While the cap and floor are designed to provide the intended outcomes only for investors that hold their shares throughout the complete term of the Target Outcome Period, an investor can expect their shares to generally move in the same direction as the Bitcoin Reference Instrument during the Target Outcome Period. However, during the Target Outcome Period, an investor's shares may not experience price movement to the same extent as the price movement of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument. During the Target Outcome Period, there may be periods of significant disparity between the Fund's net asset value ("NAV") and the Bitcoin Reference Instrument's price performance. As the Bitcoin Reference Instrument's price and the Fund's NAV change over the Target Outcome Period, an investor acquiring Fund shares after the start of the Target Outcome Period will likely have a different return potential than an investor who purchased Fund shares at the start of the Target Outcome Period. This is because while the cap and floor for the Target Outcome Period are approximately fixed levels that are calculated in relation to the Bitcoin Reference Instrument price and the Fund's NAV at the start of a Target Outcome Period and remain constant throughout the Target Outcome Period, an investor purchasing Fund shares at market value during the Target Outcome Period likely purchased Fund shares at a price that is different from the Fund's NAV at the start of the Target Outcome Period (i.e., the NAV that the cap and floor reference). If an investor purchases Fund shares during a Target Outcome Period at a time when the Fund has increased in value from the value of the Fund on the first day of the Target Outcome Period, that investor's cap will essentially be decreased by the amount of the increase in the Fund's value and that investor may experience losses that exceed 15% prior to gaining the protection offered by the floor. See "Floor and Cap" below for additional information. To achieve the target outcomes sought by the Fund for a Target Outcome Period, an investor must hold Fund shares for that entire Target Outcome Period. An investor that holds Fund shares through multiple Target Outcome Periods may fail to experience gains comparable to those of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument over time because at the end of each Target Outcome Period, a new cap will be established based on the then current price of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument and any gains above the prior cap will be forfeit. Similarly, an investor that holds Fund shares through multiple Target Outcome Periods will be unable to recapture losses from prior Target Outcome Periods because at the end of each Target Outcome Period, a new floor will be established based on the then current price of the BItcoin Reference Instrument and any losses experienced before the prior floor will be locked in. Moreover, the annual imposition of a new cap on future gains may make it difficult to recoup any losses from prior Target Outcome Periods such that, over multiple Target Outcome Periods, the Fund may have losses that exceed those of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument.
Floor and Cap
The Fund seeks to provide maximum losses of 15% (before fees and expenses) of Bitcoin Reference Instrument losses over each Target Outcome Period. The Fund will bear the first 15% of losses down to the floor, and after the Bitcoin Reference Instrument has decreased in price by more than 15%, the Fund is designed to prevent all subsequent losses beyond 15% (i.e., if the Bitcoin Reference Instrument loses 20%, the Fund loses 15%). The floor is before taking into account the Fund's fees and expenses charged to shareholders. When the Fund's fees and expenses are taken into account, the floor is 15.89%. The maximum loss incurred by the floor will be further extended by any brokerage commissions, trading fees, taxes and extraordinary expenses not included in the Fund's management fee. The Fund does not seek to provide a floor at any time other than the end of the Target Outcome Period.
If an investor purchases Fund shares during a Target Outcome Period at a time when the Fund has increased in value from the value of the Fund on the first day of the Target Outcome Period (the "Initial Fund Value"), that investor may experience losses that exceed 15% prior to gaining the protection offered by the floor. This is because the 15% floor the Fund seeks to provide is based upon the Initial Fund Value. Additionally, if an investor purchases Fund shares during a Target Outcome Period at a time when the Fund has increased in value from its Initial Fund Value for a Target Outcome Period, that investor's cap will essentially be decreased by the amount of the increase in the Fund's value from the Initial Fund Value. While the Fund seeks to limit losses to 15% for shareholders who hold Fund shares for an entire Target Outcome Period, there is no guarantee it will successfully do so. An investment in the Fund is only appropriate for shareholders willing to bear those losses. Despite the intended floor, a shareholder could lose their entire investment.
The returns of the Fund are subject to a cap of 34.51% (before fees and expenses) and 33.61% (after fees and expenses, excluding brokerage commissions, trading fees, taxes and extraordinary expenses not included in the Fund's management fee) for the Target Outcome Period. Unlike other investment products, the potential returns an investor can receive from the Fund are subject to a pre-determined upside return cap that represents the maximum percentage return an investor can achieve from an investment in the Fund for an entire Target Outcome Period (before fees and expenses). In the event the Bitcoin Reference Instrument experiences gains over a Target Outcome Period, the Fund seeks to provide investment returns (before fees and expenses) that match the percentage increase of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument, but any percentage gains over amount of the cap will not be experienced by the Fund. This means that if the Bitcoin Reference Instrument experiences gains for a Target Outcome Period in excess of the cap for that Target Outcome Period, the Fund will not benefit from those excess gains. Therefore, regardless of the performance of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument, the cap is the maximum return an investor can achieve from an investment in the Fund for that Target Outcome Period.
The cap is set on the first day of each Target Outcome Period. The cap is provided prior to taking into account annual Fund management fees of 0.90% of the Fund's daily net assets, brokerage commissions, trading fees, taxes and any extraordinary expenses incurred by the Fund. Such extraordinary expenses (incurred outside of the ordinary operation of the Fund) may include, for example, unexpected litigation, regulatory or tax expenses. The cap could be reduced and the maximum loss incurred by the floor could be further extended if the Fund incurs extraordinary expenses or other costs and expenses that are not borne by the Advisor under its unitary management fee. The defined cap applicable to a Target Outcome Period will vary based on prevailing market conditions at the time, including then-current interest rate levels, Bitcoin Reference Instrument volatility, and the relationship of puts and calls on the underlying Options.
The cap level and floor are a result of the design of the Fund's principal investment strategy. In order to provide exposure to the price returns of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument, the Fund purchases a series of Options and sells a series of Options on the first day of the Target Outcome Period. As the purchaser of Options, the Fund is obligated to pay a premium to the seller of those Options. The Fund receives a premium for the sale of Options. The portfolio managers will calculate the amount of premiums that the Fund will owe on the Options acquired and the amount of premiums the Fund will collect for the Options sold and will then go into the market and sell Options with terms that entitle the Fund to receive premiums such that the net amount of premiums paid or received per unit of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument, when combined with the U.S. Treasury securities, cash and cash equivalents is approximately equal to the price per unit of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument. The cap is the highest strike price of the sold Options.
The cap, and the Fund's value relative to it on any given day, should be considered before investing in the Fund. If an investor purchases Fund shares during a Target Outcome Period, and the Fund has already increased in value above its Initial Fund Value for that Target Outcome Period to a level near to the cap, an investor purchasing Fund shares will have limited to no gain potential for the remainder of the Target Outcome Period (because the investor's potential gain will be limited to the difference between the Fund's NAV on the date the investor purchased the Fund shares and the cap). However, the investor will remain vulnerable to significant downside risk because the investor will bear the losses between the price at which they purchased Fund shares and the Initial Fund Value for the Target Outcome Period and another 15% before subsequent losses will be protected by the floor. If an investor buys Fund shares when the price exceeds the cap, an investor will not experience any gain regardless of the performance of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument.
The following bar chart and line graph illustrate the hypothetical returns that the combination of the U.S. Treasury securities, cash and cash equivalents, and Options seek to provide with respect to the price performance of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument in certain illustrative scenarios over the course of the Target Outcome Period. The hypothetical cap level in the bar chart and line graph below is for illustration only and the actual cap may be different. The bar chart and line graph do not take into account payment by the Fund
of fees and expenses. The bar chart and line graph only provide an example of the Fund's desired outcomes for investors holding through the entire Target Outcome Period, and are not necessarily indicative of Fund performance. There is no guarantee that the Fund will be successful in providing these investment outcomes for any Target Outcome Period.
The graph above represents the Fund's hypothetical intended return profile based upon the performance of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument.
The hypothetical cap level in the graphs above is for illustration only and the actual cap may be different.
In the graph above, the dotted line represents the Bitcoin Reference Instrument's performance, and the blue and orange lines represent the return profile gross of fees and expenses sought by the Fund in relation to the Bitcoin Reference Instrument's indicated performance. The blue line positioned from -15% and rising above 0% represents the price return of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument and the orange line represents the 15% floor.
Investors purchasing shares of the Fund during a Target Outcome Period will experience different results. The Fund's website, http://www.ftportfolios.com/retail/etf/EtfSummary.aspx?Ticker=BFAP, provides information relating to the possible outcomes for an investor of an investment in the Fund on a daily basis, if purchased on that date and held through the end of the Target Outcome Period, including the Fund's value relative to the cap and floor. Before purchasing Fund shares, an investor should
visit the Fund's website to review this information and understand the possible outcomes of an investment in Fund shares on a particular day and held through the end of the Target Outcome Period.
The Fund is classified as "non-diversified" under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "1940 Act"). The Fund will not invest 25% or more of the value of its total assets in securities of issuers in any one industry or group of industries. This restriction does not apply to obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies. Nevertheless, the Fund may invest more than 25% of its total assets in investments that provide exposure to bitcoin.
General Information on Options
For each Target Outcome Period, the Fund may invest in both purchased and written put and call Options that reference the Bitcoin Reference Instrument. Because the value of the Fund is based on Options that reference the Bitcoin Reference Instrument and not the Bitcoin Reference Instrument directly, variations in the value of the Options impact the correlation between the Fund's NAV and the price of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument. The Options that the Fund will hold that reference the Bitcoin Reference Instrument will give the Fund the right or the obligation to either receive or deliver a cash payment on the Option expiration date based upon the difference between the Bitcoin Reference Instrument's value and a strike price, depending on whether the Option is a put or call Option and whether the Fund purchases or sells the Option. The Options held by the Fund are European style options, which are exercisable at the strike price only on the Option expiration date.
The Fund will generally, under normal conditions, hold multiple kinds of Options for each Target Outcome Period. The Fund may purchase call Options and put Options, while simultaneously selling (i.e., writing) call Options and put Options. The Fund intends to structure the Options so that any amount owed by the Fund on the written Options will be covered by payouts at expiration from the purchased Options and the U.S. Treasury securities and cash and cash equivalents. As a result, the Options will be fully covered and no additional collateral will be necessary during the life of the Fund. The Fund receives premiums in exchange for the written Options and pays premiums in exchange for the purchased Options. The Options Clearing Corporation ("OCC") and securities exchanges on which the listed Options and FLEX Options are listed do not charge ongoing fees to writers or purchasers of the listed options and FLEX Options during their life for continuing to hold the option contracts, but may charge transaction fees. Each of the Options purchased and sold throughout the Target Outcome Period will have the same terms, such as strike price and expiration date, as the Options purchased and sold on the first day of the Target Outcome Period, subject to the Fund's investment in Options on The Cboe Mini Bitcoin U.S. ETF Index, as described below.
FLEX Options are customized equity or index option contracts that trade on an exchange, but provide investors with the ability to customize key contract terms like exercise prices, styles and expiration dates. FLEX Options are guaranteed for settlement by the OCC, a market clearinghouse. The OCC guarantees performance by each of the counterparties to the FLEX Options, becoming the "buyer for every seller and the seller for every buyer," protecting clearing members and Options traders from counterparty risk. The OCC may make adjustments to FLEX Options for certain significant events, as more fully described in the section entitled "Fund Investments" below. Although guaranteed for settlement by the OCC, FLEX Options are still subject to counterparty risk with the OCC and subject to the risk that the OCC may fail to perform the settlement of the FLEX Options due to bankruptcy or other adverse reasons.
Traditional exchange-listed Options have standardized terms, such as the type, the reference asset, the strike price and expiration date. Exchange-listed Options are also guaranteed for settlement by the OCC. Over-the-counter Options are options that are exchanged between private parties in the over-the-counter market rather than on exchanges. Over-the-counter Options are not executed and settled through clearinghouses, which may expose the Fund to the risk that a counterparty may be unable or unwilling to perform according to a contract. Additionally, any deterioration in a counterparty's creditworthiness could adversely affect the option.
On the Option's expiration date, the Fund intends to sell the Options prior to their expiration or cash-settle the Options and use the resulting proceeds to purchase new Options for the next Target Outcome Period.
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 "Bitcoin network"). 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 Bitcoin network and maintain the Bitcoin 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.
The Bitcoin Reference Instrument
The Bitcoin ETP Indexes that the Fund may utilize as the Bitcoin Reference Instrument include: Cboe Bitcoin U.S. ETF Index and Cboe Mini Bitcoin U.S. ETF Index. The Bitcoin ETPs that the Fund may utilize as the Bitcoin Reference Instrument include: iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF, Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, Bitwise Bitcoin ETF and ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF.
For additional information on the Bitcoin Reference Instruments, please see the section entitled "Additional Information on the Fund's Investment Objective and Strategies."
The Bitcoin Reference Instrument for the current Target Outcome Period is the Cboe Bitcoin U.S. ETF Index. The Fund may also invest in Options based on the Cboe Mini Bitcoin U.S. ETF Index. The Cboe Mini Bitcoin U.S. ETF Index is based on 1/10th the value of the Cboe Bitcoin U.S. ETF Index.
To the extent the Bitcoin Reference Instrument is subject to the informational requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Bitcoin Reference Instrument must file reports and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding the Bitcoin Reference Instrument that files electronically with the SEC and state the address of that site  (http://www.sec.gov).
Subsequent Target Outcome Periods
The Fund will alert existing shareholders to the Bitcoin Reference Instrument and the new cap at the beginning of each new Target Outcome Period in the following manner:
1. Approximately one week prior to the end of the current Target Outcome Period, the Fund will make a sticker filing that will alert existing shareholders that the Target Outcome Period is approaching its conclusion and disclose the Bitcoin Reference Instrument and the anticipated cap range for the next Target Outcome Period. There is no guarantee that the final cap set for a Target Outcome Period will be within the anticipated cap range. This filing will be mailed to existing shareholders.
2. Following the close of business on the last day of the Target Outcome Period, the Fund will make a sticker filing that discloses the Bitcoin Reference Instrument and the Fund's cap for the next Target Outcome Period. This filing will be mailed to existing shareholders.
3. On the first day of the new Target Outcome Period, the Fund will file a full prospectus that incorporates the sticker filing from the previous evening which replaces the caps/dates associated with the previous Target Outcome Period with the caps/dates associated with the new Target Outcome Period and updates references to the Bitcoin Reference Instrument (if necessary). Correspondingly, the Fund will file a revised summary prospectus that reflects such changes.
The information referenced above will also be available on the Fund's website at http://www.ftportfolios.com/retail/etf/EtfSummary.aspx?Ticker=BFAP.
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.
ABSENCE OF AN ACTIVE MARKET 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 makers or authorized participants. The Fund may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of shares and market makers are under no obligation to make a market in the Fund's shares. Additionally, only a limited number of institutions act as authorized participants for the Fund and only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund and are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. 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. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers or any issues disrupting the authorized participants' ability to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders 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 premium or discount to net asset value and also in greater than normal intraday bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.
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 REFERENCE INSTRUMENT RISK. The Bitcoin Reference Instrument for the current Target Outcome Period is the Cboe Bitcoin U.S. ETF Index, an index composed of Bitcoin ETPs. Bitcoin ETPs are exchange-traded investment products that seek to match the daily changes in the price of bitcoin, before the payment of its fees and expenses, and trade intra-day on a national securities exchange. Bitcoin ETPs are not registered under the 1940 Act and therefore do not provide investors with the protections afforded by 1940 Act-registered products. Shares of Bitcoin ETPs are not traded at NAV, but may trade at prices above or below the value of their underlying portfolios. The level of risk involved in the purchase or sale of Options that reference Bitcoin ETPs is similar to the risk involved in the purchase or sale of an exchange-traded fund, and generally reflect the risks of owning the bitcoin held by the Bitcoin ETPs. Bitcoin ETPs generally determine the price of bitcoin by reference to a benchmark rate or index. Because the Fund may use Bitcoin ETPs to get its exposure to the price of bitcoin, the risk exists that the value of Bitcoin ETPs will deviate from the price of bitcoin. The Bitcoin ETPs have a short trading history and may be subject to volatility risk, as well as the risks discussed in "Bitcoin Risk" set forth below. Brokerage, tax and other expenses may negatively impact the performance of the Bitcoin ETPs and, in turn, the value of the Fund's shares. Additionally, the Fund is subject to additional risks associated with the calculation of a Bitcoin ETP Index. Specifically, there is no assurance that the index provider of the index will compile the index accurately, or that the index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. There is no guarantee that the index will operate in line with its methodology and the returns of the index may not accurately reflect the returns of bitcoin.
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 bitcoin exchange-traded products that invest directly or indirectly in bitcoin. 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 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 Bitcoin 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 Bitcoin 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 bitcoin exchange-traded products.
Fork Risk. A blockchain is a distributed ledger 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 bitcoin exchange-traded products. 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 bitcoin exchange-traded products.
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 bitcoin exchange-traded products.
BOX SPREAD RISK. A Box Spread is an offsetting set of options that have risk and return characteristics similar to cash equivalents. A Box Spread consists of a synthetic long position coupled with an offsetting synthetic short position through a combination of options contracts on a reference asset at the same expiration date. The synthetic long position consists of (i) buying a call option and (ii) selling a put option, each on the same reference asset and each with the same strike price and expiration date. The synthetic short position consists of (i) buying a put option and (ii) selling a call option, each on the same reference asset and each with the same expiration date as the synthetic long but with a different strike price from the synthetic long. The difference between the strike prices of the synthetic long and the synthetic short determines the expiration value (or value at maturity) of the Box Spread. An important feature of the Box Spread construction process is that it seeks to eliminate market risk tied to price movements associated with the underlying options' reference asset. Once the Box Spread is initiated, its return from the initiation date through expiration will not change due to price movements in the underlying options' reference assets. The Fund may purchase Box Spreads on various indices or securities based on risk and return considerations. If one or more of the individual option positions that comprise a Box Spread are modified or closed separately prior to the option contract's expiration, then the Box Spread may no longer effectively eliminate risk tied to underlying reference asset's price movement. Furthermore, the Box Spread's value is derived in the market and is in part based on the time until the options comprising the Box Spread expire and the prevailing market interest rates. The Fund's ability to utilize Box Spreads effectively is dependent on the availability and willingness of other market participants to sell Box Spreads to the Fund at competitive prices. If
the Box Spread does not work as intended, the Fund could have exposure to the underlying reference asset of the options comprising the Box Spread, which is expected to be the S&P 500 Index. In such a scenario, the Fund would be subject to the risks of equity securities markets. 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.
CALL OPTIONS RISK. The use of call options involves risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions and depends on the ability of the Fund's portfolio managers to forecast market movements correctly. As the seller (writer) of a call option, the Fund will tend to lose money if the value of the reference index or security rises above the strike price. As the purchaser of a call Option, the Fund will generally only exercise the Option if the value of the reference index or security rises above the strike price. If the value of the reference index or security does not rise above the level of the strike price, the Option is likely to expire worthless. When writing a call option, the Fund will have no control over the exercise of the option by the option holder. A number of factors may influence the option holder's decision to exercise the option, including the value of the underlying security or index, price volatility, currency exchange rates, dividend yield and interest rates. To the extent that these factors increase the value of the call option, the option holder is more likely to exercise the option, which may negatively affect the Fund. The effective use of options also depends on the Fund's ability to terminate option positions at times deemed desirable to do so. There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to effect closing transactions at any particular time or at an acceptable price. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in values of options and their reference index or security and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options. Options may also involve the use of leverage, which could result in greater price volatility than other markets.
CAP CHANGE RISK. A new cap is established at the beginning of each Target Outcome Period and is dependent on prevailing market conditions. As a result, the cap may rise or fall from one Target Outcome Period to the next and is unlikely to remain the same for consecutive Target Outcome Periods.
CAPPED UPSIDE RISK. The Fund's strategy seeks to provide returns (before fees and expenses) that match those of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument for Fund shares purchased on the first day of a Target Outcome Period and held for the entire Target Outcome Period, subject to a pre-determined upside cap. If an investor does not hold its Fund shares for an entire Target Outcome Period, the returns realized by that investor likely will not match those that the Fund seeks to achieve. If the Bitcoin Reference Instrument experiences gains during a Target Outcome Period, the Fund will not participate in those gains beyond the cap. In the event an investor purchases Fund shares after the first day of a Target Outcome Period and the Fund has risen in value to a level near to the cap, there may be little or no ability for that investor to experience an investment gain on their Fund shares (because the investor's potential gain will be limited to the difference between the Fund's NAV on the date the investor purchased the Fund shares and the cap), however, the investor will remain vulnerable to downside risks. If an investor buys Fund shares when the price exceeds the cap, an investor will not experience any gain regardless of the performance of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument. An investor that holds Fund shares through multiple Target Outcome Periods may fail to experience gains comparable to those of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument over time because at the end of each Target Outcome Period, a new cap will be established based on the then current price of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument and any gains above the prior cap will be forfeit. Moreover, the annual imposition of a new cap on future gains may make it difficult to recoup any losses from prior Target Outcome Periods such that, over multiple Target Outcome Periods, the Fund may have losses that exceed those of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument.
CASH TRANSACTIONS RISK. The Fund will effect some or all of its creations and redemptions for cash rather than in-kind. As a result, an investment in the Fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in an ETF that effects its creations and redemptions only in-kind. ETFs are able to make in-kind redemptions and avoid being taxed on gains on the distributed portfolio securities at the fund level. A Fund that effects redemptions for cash may be required to sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. Any recognized gain on these sales by the Fund will generally cause the Fund to recognize a gain it might not otherwise have recognized, or to recognize such gain sooner than would otherwise be required if it were to distribute portfolio securities only in-kind. The Fund intends to distribute these gains to shareholders to avoid being taxed on this gain at the fund level and otherwise comply with the special tax rules that apply to it. This strategy may cause shareholders to be subject to tax on gains they would not otherwise be subject to, or at an earlier date than if they had made an investment in a different ETF. Moreover, cash transactions may have to be carried out over several days if the securities market is relatively illiquid and may involve considerable brokerage fees and taxes. These brokerage fees and taxes, which will be higher than if the Fund sold and redeemed its shares entirely in-kind, will be passed on to those purchasing and redeeming Creation Units in the form of creation and redemption transaction fees. In addition, these factors may result in wider spreads between the bid and the offered prices of the Fund's shares than for ETFs that distribute portfolio securities in-kind. The Fund's use of cash for creations and redemptions could also result in dilution to the Fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the Fund's ability to achieve its investment objective.
COUNTERPARTY RISK. Fund transactions involving a counterparty are subject to the risk that the counterparty will not fulfill its obligation to the Fund. Counterparty risk may arise because of the counterparty's financial condition (i.e., financial difficulties, bankruptcy, or insolvency), market activities and developments, or other reasons, whether foreseen or not. A counterparty's inability to fulfill its obligation may result in significant financial loss to the Fund. The Fund may be unable to recover its investment from the counterparty or may obtain a limited recovery, and/or recovery may be delayed. The OCC acts as guarantor and central counterparty
with respect to the Options. As a result, the ability of the Fund to meet its objective depends on the OCC being able to meet its obligations. In the unlikely event that the OCC becomes insolvent or is otherwise unable to meet its settlement obligations, the Fund could suffer significant losses.
CREDIT RISK. An issuer or other obligated party of a debt security may be unable or unwilling to make dividend, interest and/or principal payments when due. In addition, the value of a debt security may decline because of concerns about the issuer's ability or unwillingness to make such payments.
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. Additionally, challenges in commercial real estate markets, including rising interest rates, declining valuations and increasing vacancies, could have a broader impact on financial markets. 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. The change in administration resulting from the 2024 United States national elections could result in significant impacts to international trade relations, tax and immigration policies, and other aspects of the national and international political and financial landscape, which could affect, among other things, inflation and the securities markets generally. 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, Iran, 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, including the imposition of tariffs, 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. A public health crisis and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks may cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. As the COVID-19 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. Additionally, cyber security breaches of both government and non-government entities could have negative impacts on infrastructure and the ability of such entities, including the Fund, to operate properly. 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.
DEBT SECURITIES RISK. Investments in debt securities subject the holder to the credit risk of the issuer. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer or other obligor of a security will not be able or willing to make payments of interest and principal when due. Generally, the value of debt securities will change inversely with changes in interest rates. To the extent that interest rates rise, certain underlying obligations may be paid off substantially slower than originally anticipated and the value of those securities may fall sharply. During periods of falling interest rates, the income received by the Fund may decline. If the principal on a debt security is prepaid before expected, the prepayments of principal may have to be reinvested in obligations paying interest at lower rates. Debt securities generally do not trade on a securities exchange making them generally less liquid and more difficult to value than common stock.
DERIVATIVES RISK. 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 or may include: (i) the risk that the value of the
underlying assets may go up or down; (ii) the risk that the counterparty to a derivative transaction may not fulfill its contractual obligations; (iii) the risk of mispricing or improper valuation of a derivative; (iv) the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset; (v) the risk that a derivative instrument cannot be sold, closed out or replaced quickly at or very close to its fundamental value; (vi) the risk of loss caused by the unenforceability of a party's obligations under the derivative; and (vii) the risk that a disruption in the financial markets will cause difficulties for all market participants. 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 the Fund 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 bitcoin exchange-traded products.
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 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 to 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.
FLEX OPTIONS RISK. Trading FLEX Options involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities. The Fund may experience substantial downside from specific FLEX Option positions and certain FLEX Option positions may expire worthless. The FLEX Options are listed on an exchange; however, no one can guarantee that a liquid secondary trading market will exist for the FLEX Options. In the event that trading in the FLEX Options is limited or absent, the value of the Fund's FLEX Options may decrease. In a less liquid market for the FLEX Options, liquidating the FLEX Options may require the payment of a premium (for written FLEX Options) or acceptance of a discounted price (for purchased FLEX Options) and may take longer to complete. A less liquid trading market may adversely impact the value of the FLEX Options and Fund shares and result in the Fund being unable to achieve its investment objective. Less liquidity in the trading of the Fund's FLEX Options could have an impact on the prices paid or received by the Fund for the FLEX Options in connection with creations and redemptions of the Fund's shares. Depending on the nature of this impact to pricing, the Fund may be forced to pay more for redemptions (or receive less for creations) than the price at which it currently values the FLEX Options. Such overpayment or under collection may impact the value of the Fund and whether the Fund can satisfy its investment objective. Additionally, in a less liquid market for the FLEX Options, the liquidation of a large number of options may more significantly impact the price. A less liquid trading market may adversely impact the value of the FLEX Options and the value of your investment. The trading in FLEX Options may be less deep and liquid than the market for certain other exchange-traded Options, non-customized Options or other securities.
FLOOR RISK. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will be successful in its strategy to provide a maximum loss of 15% of Bitcoin Reference Instrument losses if the Bitcoin Reference Instrument decreases over the Target Outcome Period by greater than 15%. A shareholder may lose their entire investment. The Fund's strategy seeks to deliver returns (before fees and expenses) that match the price return of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument (up to the cap), while preventing losses in excess of the floor, if shares are bought on the first day of the Target Outcome Period and held until the end of the Target Outcome Period. In the event an investor purchases shares after the first day of the Target Outcome Period or sells shares prior to the end of the Target Outcome Period, the floor that the Fund seeks to provide may not be available. If an investor purchases Fund shares during a Target Outcome Period at a time when the Fund has increased in value from the Initial Fund Value, that investor may experience losses that exceed 15% prior to gaining the protection offered by the floor.
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.
INFLATION RISK. Inflation risk 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. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund's assets and distributions may decline.
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. The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates than would normally be the case during periods of low interest rates. Duration is a reasonably accurate measure of a debt security's price sensitivity to changes in interest rates and a common measure of interest rate risk. Duration measures a debt security's expected life on a present value basis, taking into account the debt security's yield, interest payments and final maturity. In general, duration represents the expected percentage change in the value of a security for an immediate 1% change in interest rates. For example, the price of a debt security with a three-year duration would be expected to drop by approximately 3% in response to a 1% increase 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. Higher sensitivity to interest rates is generally correlated with higher levels of volatility and, therefore, greater risk. As the value of a debt security changes over time, so will its duration.
LEVERAGE RISK. Leverage may result in losses that exceed the amount originally invested and may accelerate the rates of losses. Leverage tends to magnify, sometimes significantly, the effect of any increase or decrease in the Fund's exposure to an asset or class of assets and may cause the value of the Fund's shares to be volatile and sensitive to market swings.
LIQUIDITY RISK. Certain Fund investments may trade in limited volume, or lack an active trading market. Accordingly, the Fund may not be able to sell or close out of such investments at favorable times or prices (or at all), or at the prices approximating those at which the Fund currently values them. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments and may be subject to wide fluctuations in market value.
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, including through the use of technology, automated processes, algorithms, or other management systems, that may not operate as intended or produce the desired result. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective.
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.
NEW FUND RISK. The Fund is new and has no performance historyor assets as of the date of this prospectus. The Fund expects to have fewer assets than larger funds. Like other new funds, large inflows and outflows may impact the Fund's market exposure, and in turn, the Fund's returns for limited periods of time.
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.
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.
OPTIONS RISK. The use of Options involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions and depends on the ability of the Fund's portfolio managers to forecast market movements correctly. The prices
of Options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, or in interest or currency exchange rates, including the anticipated volatility, which in turn are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political and economic events. The effective use of Options also depends on the Fund's ability to terminate option positions at times deemed desirable to do so. There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to effect closing transactions at any particular time or at an acceptable price. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in values of Options and their underlying securities and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain Options.
OPTIONS VALUATION RISK. The Options held by the Fund will be exercisable at the strike price only on their expiration date. Prior to the expiration date, the value of the Options will be determined based upon market quotations or using other recognized pricing methods. The Options are also subject to correlation risk, meaning the value of the Options does not increase or decrease at the same rate as the Bitcoin Reference Instrument (although they generally move in the same direction) or its underlying securities. The value of the Options prior to the expiration date may vary because of factors other than the value of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument, such as interest rate changes, changing supply and demand, decreased liquidity of the Options, a change in the actual and perceived volatility of the stock market and the Bitcoin Reference Instrument and the remaining time to expiration. Option prices may also be highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially during a short period of time. During periods of reduced market liquidity or in the absence of readily available market quotations for the holdings of the Fund, the ability of the Fund to value the Options becomes more difficult and the judgment of the Fund's investment adviser (employing the fair value procedures approved by the Board of Trustees of the Trust) may play a greater role in the valuation of the Fund's holdings due to reduced availability of reliable objective pricing data. Consequently, while such determinations may be made in good faith, it may nevertheless be more difficult for the Fund to accurately assign a daily value. Under those circumstances, the value of the Options will require more reliance on the investment adviser's judgment than that required for securities for which there is an active trading market. This creates a risk of mispricing or improper valuation of the Options which could impact the value paid for shares of the Fund.
OTC DERIVATIVES RISK. The Fund may utilize derivatives that are traded over-the-counter, or "OTC." In general, OTC derivatives are subject to the same risks as derivatives generally, as described throughout. However, because OTC derivatives do not trade on an exchange, the parties to an OTC derivative face heightened levels of counterparty risk, liquidity risk and valuation risk. To the extent that the Fund utilizes OTC derivatives, its counterparty risk will be higher if it only trades with a single or small number of counterparties. The secondary market for OTC derivatives may not be as deep as for other instruments and such instruments may experience periods of illiquidity. In addition, some OTC derivatives may be complex and difficult to value.
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.
PUT OPTIONS RISK. The use of put options involves risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions and depends on the ability of the Fund's portfolio managers to forecast market movements correctly. As the seller (writer) of a put option, the Fund will lose money if the value of the reference index or security falls below the strike price and the buyer exercises the option; however, such loss will be partially offset by any premium received from the sale of the option. When writing a put option, the Fund will have no control over the exercise of the option by the option holder. As the purchaser of a put option, the Fund will generally only exercise the option if the value of the reference index or security falls below the strike price. If the value of the reference index or security does not fall below the level of the strike price, the option is likely to expire worthless. A number of factors may influence the option holder's decision to exercise the option, including the value of the underlying security or index, price volatility, currency exchange rates, dividend yield and interest rates. To the extent that these factors increase the value of the put option, the option holder is more likely to exercise the option, which may negatively affect the Fund. The effective use of options also depends on the Fund's ability to terminate option positions at times deemed desirable to do so. There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to effect closing transactions at any particular time or at an acceptable price. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in values of options and their reference index or security and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options. Options may also involve the use of leverage, which could result in greater price volatility than other securities.
SIGNIFICANT EXPOSURE RISK. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a single asset class or 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 significant exposure makes the Fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the Fund to greater market risk than a fund that is more broadly diversified.
SPECIAL TAX RISK. The Fund intends to qualify as a "regulated Investment company" ("RIC"), however, the federal income tax treatment of certain aspects of the proposed operations of the Fund are not entirely clear. This includes the tax aspects of the Fund's Options strategy, the possible application of the "straddle" rules, and various loss limitation provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"). If, in any year, the Fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company under the applicable tax laws, the Fund would be taxed as an ordinary corporation.
The Fund's investments in offsetting positions with respect to the Bitcoin Reference Instrument may affect the character of gains or losses realized by the Fund under the Code's "straddle" rules and may increase the amount of short-term capital gain realized by the Fund. Certain options the Fund holds may not qualify as "Section 1256 contracts" under Section 1256 of the Code, and disposition of such options will likely result in short-term or long-term capital gains or losses depending on the holding period. In addition, based upon language in the legislative history, the Fund intends to treat the issuer of the Options as the issuer of the referenced asset or in the case of Options on an index, the issuers of the securities underlying the index, which, assuming the referenced asset qualifies as a RIC, would allow the Fund to qualify for special rules in the RIC diversification requirements. If the income is not qualifying income or the issuer of the Options is not appropriately the referenced asset or the issuers of the securities underlying the index, the Fund could lose its own status as a RIC. The Fund intends to treat the income it derives from gains on options referencing the Bitcoin ETPs and indexes of Bitcoin ETPs as "qualifying income" for purposes of the RIC qualification rules under Subchapter M of the Code. It has adopted this position in reliance on an opinion obtained from counsel that income from such investments should constitute "qualifying income," as the Bitcoin ETPs and indexes of Bitcoin ETPs referenced by the options constitute "securities" under Section 2(a)(36) of the 1940 Act. However, this opinion is not binding upon the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS"). If the IRS were to successfully assert that the Fund's income from such investments was not "qualifying income," the Fund may fail to qualify as a RIC under Subchapter M if over 10% of its gross income was derived from these investments. If the Fund failed to qualify as a RIC, it would be subject to federal and state income tax on all of its taxable income at regular corporate tax rates with no deduction for any distributions paid to shareholders, which would significantly adversely affect the returns to, and could cause substantial losses for, Fund shareholders.
To maintain its status as a RIC, the Fund must distribute 90% of its investment company taxable income annually. In addition, to avoid a non-deductible excise tax, the Fund must distribute 98% of its ordinary income and 98.2% of its capital gain net income. Separately, depending upon the circumstances, sales to fund redemptions could cause the Fund to recognize income that the Fund is required to distribute to maintain the Fund's RIC status and avoid the excise tax. Funding such distributions could require additional sales, which could require more distributions and affect the projected performance of the Fund. Alternatively, if the Fund only makes distributions to maintain its RIC status and becomes subject to the excise tax, that could also affect the projected performance of the Fund. In either case, the assets sold to fund redemptions, distributions or pay the excise tax will not be available to assist the Fund in meeting its target outcome.
In the event that a shareholder purchases shares of the Fund shortly before a distribution by the Fund, the entire distribution may be taxable to the shareholder even though a portion of the distribution effectively represents a return of the purchase price.
TARGET OUTCOME PERIOD RISK. The Fund's investment strategy is designed to deliver returns (before fees and expenses) that match the Bitcoin Reference Instrument if Fund shares are bought on the day on which the Fund enters into the Options (i.e., the first day of a Target Outcome Period) and held until those Options expire at the end of the Target Outcome Period subject to the cap. In the event an investor purchases Fund shares after the first day of a Target Outcome Period or sells shares prior to the expiration of the Target Outcome Period, the value of that investor's investment in Fund shares may not be partially protected against a decline in the value of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument and may not participate in a gain in the value of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument up to the cap for the investor's investment period.
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.
U.S. GOVERNMENT SECURITIES RISK. U.S. government securities are subject to interest rate risk but generally do not involve the credit risks associated with investments in other types of debt securities. As a result, the yields available from U.S. government securities are generally lower than the yields available from other debt securities. U.S. government securities are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and the payment of principal when held to maturity.
The Fund has characteristics unlike many other traditional investment products and may not be suitable for all investors. 
You should only consider this investment if:
You should not consider this investment if:
●you fully understand the risks inherent in an investment in the
Fund;
●you do not fully understand the risks inherent in an investment
in the Fund;
●you desire to invest in a product with a return that depends
upon the performance of the Bitcoin Reference Instrument
over the Target Outcome Period;
●you do not desire to invest in a product with a return that
depends upon the performance of the Bitcoin Reference
Instrument over the Target Outcome Period;
●you are willing to hold shares for the duration of the Target
Outcome Period in order to achieve the outcomes that the
Fund seeks to provide;
●you are unwilling to hold shares for the duration of the Target
Outcome Period in order to achieve the outcomes that the
Fund seeks to provide;
●you fully understand that investments made when the Fund is
at or near to the cap may have limited to no upside;
●you do not fully understand that investments made when the
Fund is at or near to the cap may have limited to no upside;
●you are willing to forgo any gains in excess of the cap;
●you are unwilling to forgo any gains in excess of the cap;
●you are not seeking an investment that provides dividends to
shareholders;
●you are seeking an investment that provides dividends to
shareholders;
●you fully understand that investments made after the Target
Outcome Period has begun may not fully benefit from the
floor;
●you do not fully understand that investments made after the
Target Outcome Period has begun may not fully benefit from
the floor;
●you are willing to accept the risk of losing your entire
investment; and
●you are unwilling to accept the risk of losing your entire
investment; and
●you have visited the Fund's website and understand the
investment outcomes available to you based upon the time of
your purchase.
●you have not visited the Fund's website and do not understand
the investment outcomes available to you based upon the
timing of your purchase.
Performance
The Fund does not have a performance history. Once available, the Fund's performance information, and information that gives some indication of the risks of an investment in the Fund by comparing the Fund's performance with a broad measure of market performance, will be available on the Fund's website at http://www.ftportfolios.com. The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
Management
Investment Advisor
First Trust Advisors L.P. ("First Trust" or the "Advisor")
Investment Sub-Advisor
Vest Financial LLC ("Vest" or the "Sub-Advisor")
Portfolio Managers
The following persons serve as the portfolio managers of the Fund:
Karan Sood, Managing Director of Vest
Trevor Lack, Managing Director of Vest
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 March 2025.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund issues and redeems shares on a continuous basis, at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called "Creation Units." Individual shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold on the secondary market through a broker-dealer. Since shares of the Fund trade on securities exchanges in the secondary market at their market price rather than their net asset value, the Fund's shares may trade at a price greater than (premium) or less than (discount) the Fund's net asset value. An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the "bid-ask spread"). Recent information, including the Fund's net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, bid-ask spreads and the median bid-ask spread for the Fund's most recent fiscal year, is available online at  http://www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/etf/home.aspx.
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, registered investment adviser, bank or other financial intermediary (collectively, "intermediaries"), 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.
You can find the Fund's statutory prospectus and other information about the Fund, including the statement of additional information and most recent reports to shareholders, online at http://www.ftportfolios.com/retail/ETF/ETFfundnews.aspx?Ticker=BFAP.
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