TORONTO, Dec. 18, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FT Portfolios Canada Co. (the “Manager”), the manager of First Trust AlphaDEX™ U.S. Utilities Sector Index ETF, First Trust AlphaDEX™ U.S. Consumer Staples Sector Index ETF, First Trust AlphaDEX™ U.S. Consumer Discretionary Sector Index ETF, First Trust AlphaDEX™ U.S. Materials Sector Index ETF, First Trust AlphaDEX™ U.S. Energy Sector Index ETF, First Trust AlphaDEX™ U.S. Financial Sector Index ETF and First Trust Dorsey Wright U.S. Sector Rotation Index ETF (CAD-Hedged) (collectively, the “Funds”) is pleased to announce that the board of directors of the Manager has approved a proposal to change the investment objectives of each of the Funds as set out below (the “Proposals”). In addition, in connection with the change of the investment objectives, the Manager proposes to change the name of each of the Funds as follows:
| Current Fund Name and Sector Exposure | New Fund Name and Sector Exposure | Proposed Investment Objective |
| First Trust AlphaDEX™ U.S. Utilities Sector Index ETF Seeks to replicate the performance of the StrataQuant® Utilities Index | First Trust Cloud Computing ETF Cloud Computing Sector | The Fund will seek to replicate, to the extent possible, the performance of an index of U.S. companies involved in the cloud computing industry, initially the ISE CTA Cloud Computing™ Index. |
| First Trust AlphaDEX™ U.S. Consumer Staples Sector Index ETF Seeks to replicate the performance of the StrataQuant® Consumer Staples Index | First Trust Dow Jones Internet ETF Internet Sector | The Fund will seek to replicate, to the extent possible, the performance of an index of U.S. companies involved in the internet industry, initially the Dow Jones Internet Composite IndexSM. |
| First Trust AlphaDEX™ U.S. Consumer Discretionary Sector Index ETF Seeks to replicate the performance of StrataQuant® Consumer Discretionary Index | First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF Cybersecurity Sector | The Fund will seek to replicate, to the extent possible, the performance of an index of U.S. companies in the cybersecurity industry, initially the Nasdaq CTA Cybersecurity IndexSM. |
| First Trust AlphaDEX™ U.S. Materials Sector Index ETF Seeks to replicate the performance of StrataQuant® Materials Index | First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology ETF Biotechnology Sector | The Fund will seek to replicate, to the extent possible, the performance of U.S. companies in the biotechnology industry, initially the NYSE Arca Biotechnology IndexSM. |
| First Trust AlphaDEX™ U.S. Energy Sector Index ETF Seeks to replicate the performance of StrataQuant® Energy Index | First Trust Indxx NextG ETF Wireless Networking Sector | The Fund will seek to replicate, to the extent possible, the performance of U.S. companies that have devoted or have committed to devote, material resources to the research, development and application of fifth generation and next generation digital cellular technologies as they emerge, initially the Indxx 5G & NextG Thematic IndexSM. |
| First Trust AlphaDEX™ U.S. Financial Sector Index ETF Seeks to replicate the performance of StrataQuant® Financials Index | First Trust Nasdaq Clean Edge Green Energy ETF Clean Energy Sector | The Fund will seek to replicate, to the extent possible, the performance of an index of U.S. listed companies designed to track the performance of clean energy companies engaged in manufacturing, development, distribution and installation of emerging clean-energy technologies including, but not limited to, solar photovoltaics, biofuels and advanced batteries, initially the NASDAQ® Clean Edge® Green Energy IndexSM. |
| First Trust Dorsey Wright U.S. Sector Rotation Index ETF (CAD-Hedged) Seeks to replicate the performance of Dorsey Wright® U.S. Sector Focus Five Index | First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders ETF (CAD-Hedged) | The Fund will seek to replicate, to the extent possible, the performance of U.S. companies that have shown dividend consistency and dividend sustainability, initially the Morningstar® Dividend Leaders IndexSM. |
If approved, unitholders of the Funds will, following implementation of the Proposals, hold the following units of the renamed Funds:
| Current Fund Name | Current class of units held | Current Ticker Symbol | New Fund Name | New class of units held | New Ticker Symbol |
| First Trust AlphaDEX™ U.S. Utilities Sector Index ETF | Units | FHU | First Trust Cloud Computing ETF | Units | SKYY |
| First Trust AlphaDEX™ U.S. Consumer Staples Sector Index ETF | Units | FHC | First Trust Dow Jones Internet ETF | Units | FDN |
| Hedged Units | FHC.F | Hedged Units | FDN.F | ||
| First Trust AlphaDEX™ U.S. Consumer Discretionary Sector Index ETF | Units | FHD | First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF | Units | CIBR |
| First Trust AlphaDEX™ U.S. Materials Sector Index ETF | Units | FHM | First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology ETF | Units | FBT |
| First Trust AlphaDEX™ U.S. Energy Sector Index ETF | Units | FHE | First Trust Indxx NextG ETF | Units | NXTG |
| First Trust AlphaDEX™ U.S. Financial Sector Index ETF | Units | FHF | First Trust Nasdaq Clean Edge Green Energy ETF | Units | QCLN |
| First Trust Dorsey Wright U.S. Sector Rotation Index ETF (CAD-Hedged) | Units | FSR | First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders ETF (CAD-Hedged) | Units | FDL |
The changes to the investment objectives should modernize the sector exposures and investment portfolios of the Funds and produce a more attractive return profile for unitholders moving forward, while maintaining concentrated equity exposure through an exchange-traded fund structure.
If the Proposals are approved, the Funds will provide exposure to the performance of the following new indices by investing all or substantially all of the Fund’s assets in the underlying U.S. funds as set forth in the following table, which are also managed by the Fund’s current portfolio advisor:
| Fund | Index | Index Provider | Underlying Fund |
| First Trust Cloud Computing ETF (formerly, First Trust AlphaDEX™ U.S. Utilities Sector Index ETF) | ISE CTA Cloud Computing™ Index | Nasdaq, Inc. | First Trust Cloud Computing ETF |
| First Trust Dow Jones Internet ETF (formerly, First Trust AlphaDEX™ U.S. Consumer Staples Sector Index ETF) | Dow Jones Internet Composite IndexSM | S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC | First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund |
| First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF (formerly, First Trust AlphaDEX™ U.S. Consumer Discretionary Sector Index ETF) | Nasdaq CTA Cybersecurity IndexSM | Nasdaq, Inc. | First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF |
| First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology ETF (formerly, First Trust AlphaDEX™ U.S. Materials Sector Index ETF) | NYSE Arca Biotechnology IndexSM | ICE Data Indices, LLC | First Trust NYSE Arca Index Fund |
| First Trust Indxx NextG ETF (formerly, First Trust AlphaDEX™ U.S. Energy Sector Index ETF) | Indxx 5G & NextG Thematic IndexSM | Indxx, LLC | First Trust Indxx NextG ETF |
| First Trust Nasdaq Clean Edge Green Energy ETF (formerly, First Trust AlphaDEX™ U.S. Financial Sector Index ETF) | NASDAQ® Clean Edge® Green Energy IndexSM | Nasdaq, Inc. and Clean Edge, Inc. | First Trust NASDAQ® Clean Edge® Green Energy Index Fund |
| First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders ETF (CAD-Hedged) (formerly, First Trust Dorsey Wright U.S. Sector Rotation Index ETF (CAD-Hedged)) | Morningstar® Dividend Leaders IndexSM | Morningstar, Inc. | First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund |
As a result, the Funds’ management fees will change from 0.70% per annum of net asset value to 0.15% per annum of net asset value and going forward the Funds will also bear the management fee of the underlying funds which range from 0.30% to 0.70% per annum of net asset value.
The Manager has called and will hold special meetings of unitholders of the Funds on February 3, 2021 to consider and vote upon the Proposals. A management information circular (the “Circular”) describing the Proposals is being prepared and will be mailed to the unitholders of the Funds. The Circular will also be available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and posted on the Manager’s website at www.firsttrust.ca. Implementation of the Proposals is subject to all required regulatory approvals. If approved, the Proposals are expected to be implemented in February of 2021.
About First Trust
FT Portfolios Canada Co. (“FT Portfolios Canada”) is the trustee, manager and promoter of the Funds. FT Portfolios Canada and its affiliates First Trust Advisors L.P. (“FTA”), portfolio advisor to the Funds, an Ontario Securities Commission registered portfolio manager and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission registered investment advisor, and First Trust Portfolios L.P., a FINRA registered broker-dealer, are privately held companies that provide a variety of investment services. FTA has collective assets under management or supervision of approximately U.S. $164 billion as of November 30, 2020 through unit investment trusts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, mutual funds and separate managed accounts.
Further information about FT Portfolios Canada’s ETFs can be found at www.firsttrust.ca.
For further information: Media Contact: Karl Cheong, FT Portfolios Canada Co., 40 King Street West, Suite 5102, Email: karlcheong@firsttrust.ca, 1-877-622-5552.