First Trust begun trading a new Institutional Pref Securities ETF, the First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF (NYSEArca: FPEI) on Wednesday, August 23, 2017.

FUND INFORMATION:

FUND OBJECTIVE:
The First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF is an actively managed ETF which seeks total return and to provide current income.
Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in institutional preferred securities and income-producing debt securities (Income Securities). Preferred securities are a type of equity security that have preference over common stock in the payment of distributions and the liquidation of a company’s assets, but are generally junior to all forms of the company’s debt, including both senior and subordinated debt. The Fund’s investments in preferred securities will primarily be in institutional preferred securities. Institutional preferred securities are targeted to institutional, rather than retail, investors, are generally traded over-the-counter and may also be known as “$1,000 par preferred securities.” They are typically issued in large, institutional lot sizes by U.S. and non-U.S. financial services companies and other companies. While all income-producing debt securities will be categorized as “Income Securities” for purposes of the 80% test above, the Income Securities in which the Fund intends to invest as part of its principal investment strategy include hybrid capital securities, contingent capital securities, U.S. and non-U.S. corporate bonds and convertible securities.

In selecting securities for the Fund, the investment strategy of the Fund’s sub-advisor is driven by comprehensive analysis of institutional preferred securities and Income Securities with a goal of investing in securities representing the best relative value in the market. The style of active management by the Fund’s sub-advisor combines a bottom-up and top-down approach to security selection that encompasses three significant areas of analysis: credit fundamentals; relative value; and technical aspects of the securities, which may include, but are not limited to, interest rate sensitivity, call features,maturities, trading volumes, liquidity and pricing inefficiencies.
The bottom-up analysis focuses on individual security analysis, idiosyncratic risks, credit fundamentals and opportunistic trading. The top-down analysis focuses on sector and industry analysis, duration and interest rate analysis, capital structure positioning and systemic risks.
In general, the preferred securities held by the Fund are expected tobe issued by companies in the financial, communications, consumer, government, utilities, energy, materials, industrial and technology sectors. However, because the issuers of institutional preferred securities are often financial companies, the Fund will concentrate its investments by investing at least 25% of its total assets in the group of industries that comprise the financial sector, which includes banks, thrifts, brokerage firms, broker-dealers, investment banks, finance companies and companies involved in the insurance industry. Although the Fund may invest in individual issues of institutional preferred securities with market capitalizations as low as $50 million, the Fund generally will not invest in individual issues of institutional preferred securities if the issuer has a total market capitalization of less than $500 million. The Fund may also invest in preferred securities issued by real estate investment trusts (REITs).
Along with its investments in institutional preferred securities, the Fund may also invest in retail preferred securities. While institutional preferred securities are generally targeted to institutional investors and trade over-the-counter, retail preferred securities are targeted to retail investors and are exchange-traded at single-share prices of $25, $50 or $100. Both the institutional and retail preferred securities held by the Fund will generally pay fixed or adjustable-rate distributions to the Fund. Certain preferred securities may be issued by trusts or other special purpose entities created by companies specifically for the purpose of issuing such securities.

Additionally, the Fund may invest in Income Securities that have certain characteristics similar to preferred securities. These securities include hybrid capital securities, contingent capital securities and other types of securities that resemble preferred securities but that do not have the traditional features described above. Hybrid capital securities possess varying combinations of features of both debt and traditional preferred securities and as such they may constitute senior debt, junior debt or preferred shares in an issuer’s capital structure. Contingent convertible securities (CoCos) are issued primarily by non-U.S. financial institutions that have loss absorption mechanisms benefitting the issuer built into their terms. These loss absorption mechanisms may include automatic conversion into the issuer’s common stock or an automatic write down of the security’s principal amount upon the occurrence of specific triggers.
Certain CoCos may be considered to be high-yield securities (junk bonds) and, to the extent a CoCo held by the Fund undergoes a write down, the Fund may lose some or all of its original investment in the CoCo. The Fund may also invest in floating-rate and fixed-to-floating rate securities as well. Floating-rate and fixed-to-floating rate securities may be traditional preferred or hybrid capital securities. Floating-rate securities pay a rate of income that resets periodically based on short and/or longer-term interest rate benchmarks. If the associated interest rate benchmark rises, the coupon offered by the floating-rate security may rise as well, making such securities less sensitive to rising interest rates (or yields). Similarly, a fixed-to-floating rate security may be less price-sensitive to rising interest rates (or yields), because it has a rate of payment that is fixed for a certain period (typically five, ten or thirty years when first issued), after which period a floating-rate of payment applies.
Additional Income Securities held by the Fund may include corporate bonds and convertible securities. The broad category of corporate debt securities includes debt issued by U.S. and non-U.S. companies of all kinds, including those with small-, mid-and large-capitalizations. Corporate debt may carry fixed or floating rates of interest. The Fund may investwithout limitation in, preferred securities, hybrid capital securities and Income Securities rated below investment grade (BB+/Ba1 or lower) at the time of purchase, which are commonly referred to as high yield securities or “junk bonds.” The Fund may invest in Income Securities of any duration and will not target an overall duration for its portfolio of Income Securities.
The Fund may invest in U.S. and non-U.S. debt and equity securities that are traded over-the-counter or are listed on an exchange. The Fund may have exposure to certain emerging markets through its investments in non-U.S. securities. The Fund may also hold investments that are denominated in non-U.S. currencies, or in securities that provide exposure to such currencies, currency exchange rates or interest rates denominated in such currencies. The Fund may also invest U.S. dollar-denominated depositary receipts and U.S. dollar-denominated foreign securities.

Top Holdings (08/22/2017):

Useful Links:
FPEI Home Page