WHEATON, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust”) expects to launch a new exchange-traded fund (“ETF”), the First Trust SSI Strategic Convertible Securities ETF (NASDAQ: FCVT), on November 4, 2015. The fund seeks to deliver total return by investing in a diversified portfolio of U.S. and non-U.S. convertible securities.
As the Federal Reserve recently has intimated, incremental rate hikes may soon be weighing upon U.S. investors. Against this backdrop, First Trust believes convertible securities represent a compelling investment opportunity. “We view convertible securities as a specialty asset class for which active management can add significant value. We believe this ETF provides another useful tool for income-seeking total return investors concerned with the prospect of a rising interest rate environment,” said Ryan Issakainen, CFA, Senior Vice President, Exchange-Traded Fund Strategist at First Trust.
During a shift in the economic climate, convertible securities may offer investors an attractive total return investment option with potentially meaningful participation in equity returns, current income, and a degree of principal protection. “During times of market uncertainty, investors may turn to convertible securities for a compelling investment opportunity. Convertible securities, as an asset class, have historically captured a high portion of equity returns with substantial truncation on the downside, providing a compelling investment over time,” said George M. Douglas, CFA, Chief Investment Officer at SSI Investment Management Inc., sub-advisor to the fund.
For more information about First Trust, please contact Ryan Issakainen of First Trust at (630) 765-8689 or RIssakainen@FTAdvisors.com.
About First Trust
First Trust Advisors L.P., along with its affiliate First Trust Portfolios L.P., are privately-held companies which provide a variety of investment services, including asset management and financial advisory services, with collective assets under management or supervision of approximately $107 billion as of September 30, 2015 through unit investment trusts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, mutual funds and separate managed accounts. First Trust is based in Wheaton, Illinois. For more information, visit http://www.ftportfolios.com.
You should consider the fund’s investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses carefully before investing. Contact First Trust Portfolios L.P. at 1-800-621-1675 or visit www.ftportfolios.com to obtain a prospectus or summary prospectus which contains this and other information about the fund. The prospectus or summary prospectus should be read carefully before investing.
ETF Characteristics
The fund will list and principally trade its shares on The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC.
Investors buying or selling fund shares on the secondary market may incur customary brokerage commissions. Market prices may differ to some degree from the net asset value of the shares. Investors who sell fund shares may receive less than the share’s net asset value. Shares may be sold throughout the day on the exchange through any brokerage account. However, unlike mutual funds, shares may only be redeemed directly from the fund by authorized participants, in very large creation/redemption units.
Risks
The fund’s shares will change in value and you could lose money by investing in the fund. The fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the fund’s investment portfolio, the advisor will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not have the desired result. There can be no assurance that the fund’s investment objective will be achieved.
The fund is subject to market risk. Market risk is the risk that a particular security owned by the fund or shares of the fund in general may fall in value. Some of the securities held by the fund may be restricted or illiquid.
Certain of the fixed-income securities in the fund may not have the benefit of covenants which could reduce the ability of the issuer to meet its payment obligations and might result in increased credit risk.
An investment in a fund containing securities of non-U.S. issuers is subject to additional risks, including currency fluctuations, political risks, withholding, the lack of adequate financial information, and exchange control restrictions impacting non-U.S. issuers. The fund may invest in depositary receipts which may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market.
The fund invests in equity securities and the value of the shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of these equity securities. 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 stock market.
Convertible securities have characteristics of both equity and debt securities and, as a result, are exposed to certain additional risks. Mandatory convertible securities are a subset of convertible securities, the conversion of which into common stock is not optional, and the conversion price at maturity is based solely upon the market price of the underlying common stock, which may be significantly less than par or the price paid. Mandatory convertible securities generally are subject to a greater risk of loss of value than securities convertible at the option of the holder. Contingent convertible securities, under certain circumstances, may also provide for mandatory conversion. In addition, various contingent convertible securities may contain features that limit an investor’s ability to convert the security unless certain conditions are met. The values of certain synthetic convertible securities will respond differently to market fluctuations than a traditional convertible security because such synthetic convertibles are composed of two or more separate securities or instruments, each with its own market value. In addition, if the value of the underlying common stock or the level of the index involved in the convertible component falls below the exercise price of the warrant or option, the warrant or option may lose all value. The issuer of the synthetic convertible security assumes the credit risk associated with the investment, rather than the issuer of the underlying equity security into which the instrument is convertible. Therefore, the fund is subject to the credit risk associated with the counterparty creating the synthetic convertible instrument. Synthetic convertible securities may also be subject to the risks associated with derivatives.
Preferred securities combine some of the characteristics of both common stocks and bonds. Preferred securities are typically subordinated to bonds and other debt instruments in a company's capital structure, in terms of priority to corporate income, and therefore will be subject to greater credit risk than those debt instruments.
High yield securities, or "junk" bonds, are subject to greater market fluctuations and risk of loss than securities with higher ratings, and therefore, may be highly speculative. The market for high yield securities is smaller and less liquid than that for investment grade securities.
Exchange-traded notes (ETNs) are senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt securities whose returns are linked to the performance of a particular market benchmark or strategy minus applicable fees. The value of an ETN may be influenced by time to maturity, level of supply and demand for the ETN, volatility and lack of liquidity in underlying assets, changes in the applicable interest rates, changes in the issuer’s credit rating and economic, legal, political or geographic events that affect the referenced underlying asset.
The fund may be subject to credit risk, interest rate risk, and income risk. Credit risk is the risk that an issuer of a security will be unable or unwilling to make dividend, interest and/or principal payments when due and that the value of a security may decline as a result. Interest rate risk is the risk that if interest rates rise, the prices of the fixed-rate instruments held by the fund may fall. Income risk is the risk that if interest rates fall, the income from the fund's portfolio will decline as the fund intends to hold floating-rate debt that will adjust lower with falling interest rates.
The use of options and other derivatives can lead to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the underlying asset, index or rate, which may be magnified by certain features of the derivatives. These risks are heightened when the fund's portfolio managers use derivatives to enhance the fund's returns or as a substitute for a position or security, rather than solely to hedge (or offset) the risk of a position or security held by the fund.
The fund may invest in the shares of other investment companies, and therefore, the fund's investment performance and risks may be related to the investment performance and risks of the underlying funds. In general, as a shareholder in other investment companies, the fund bears its ratable share of the underlying fund's expenses, and would be subject to duplicative expenses to the extent the fund invests in other investment companies.
The fund may invest in Business Development Companies (BDCs) which may carry risks similar to those of a private equity or venture capital fund. BDCs are not redeemable at the option of the shareholder and they may trade in the market at a discount to their net asset value. The BDCs held by the fund may employ the use of leverage through borrowings or the issuance of preferred stock. While leverage often serves to increase the yield of a BDC, this leverage also subjects a BDC to increased risks, including the likelihood of increased volatility and the possibility that a BDC’s common share income will fall if the dividend rate of the preferred shares or the interest rate on any borrowings rises.
The fund currently intends to effect a portion of creations and redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind securities. As a result, the fund may be less tax-efficient.
The fund currently has fewer assets than larger funds, and like other relatively new funds, large inflows and outflows may impact the fund's market exposure for limited periods of time.
The fund is classified as "non-diversified" and may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers. As a result, the fund may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence affecting one or more of these issuers, experience increased volatility and be highly concentrated in certain issuers.
First Trust Advisors L.P. is the adviser to the fund. First Trust Advisors L.P. is an affiliate of First Trust Portfolios L.P., the fund's distributor.
