{"success":true,"data":{"pressRelease":{"id":"4948","rtpr_id":"nBw692QTla","ticker":"WCMG","exchange":"NYSE Arca","all_tickers":["WCMG"],"title":"First Trust Expands Its Global Product Suite with Launch of WCMG","author":"Business Wire","published_at":"2026-04-22T13:25:00.075Z","article_body":"First Trust Expands Its Global Product Suite with Launch of WCMG\n\nWCMG seeks attractively valued companies with strong competitive advantages\nacross global markets.\n\nFirst Trust Advisors L.P.\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ftportfolios.com&esheet=54520311&newsitemid=20260422703091&lan=en-US&anchor=First+Trust+Advisors+L.P.&index=1&md5=13a7e555b3da1f0a0278be9c51517d9c)\n(\"First Trust\"), a leading exchange-traded fund (\"ETF\") provider ranked #1\nBest Fund Family in the World Equity category by Barron's for 2025,(1) with\nmore than $236 billion in ETF assets under management as of February 27, 2026,\nannounced today that it has launched a new actively managed ETF, the First\nTrust WCM Global Equity ETF (NYSE Arca: WCMG\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ftportfolios.com%2FRetail%2FEtf%2FEtfSummary.aspx%3FTicker%3DWCMG&esheet=54520311&newsitemid=20260422703091&lan=en-US&anchor=WCMG&index=2&md5=d5cc8a0884a234f8abd665eccac49c9b)\n) (the \"fund\"). WCMG seeks to provide investors with long-term capital\nappreciation by investing in equity securities of companies located in the\nUnited States, other developed market countries, and emerging and frontier\nmarket countries. The fund is sub-advised by WCM Investment Management, LLC\n(\"WCM\") and represents the latest addition to First Trust's\nglobal/international product suite.\n\n“We are thrilled to expand the First Trust WCM product suite with the launch\nof WCMG,\" said Ryan Issakainen, CFA, Senior Vice President, ETF Strategist at\nFirst Trust. \"We believe WCM is a world class active manager, and as global\nallocations come into focus, we believe this fund may be an effective tool for\ninvestors seeking diversification across U.S., developed and emerging market\nequities.”\n\nWCM's investment process incorporates a bottom-up fundamental research\napproach to identify companies that are industry leaders with expanding\ncompetitive advantages, strong balance sheets and attractive valuations. They\nbelieve that investment in a company with relatively low valuations may afford\ncapital protection from permanent loss and may result in substantial\nappreciation if the market recognizes the company’s intrinsic value.\n\n“The launch of the First Trust WCM Global Equity ETF represents the natural\nnext step in our relationship with First Trust and our commitment to bringing\nour award-winning global equity strategies to market in an actively managed\nETF structure. Building on our international and emerging market actively\nmanaged ETFs, WCMG gives investors a single vehicle to access WCM’s\nquality-growth philosophy across the full global opportunity set,” said\nAndrew Buchanan, Managing Director, WCM. WCMG expands First Trust's\nrelationship with WCM, whose investment strategies have earned industry\nrecognition including a LSEG Lipper Fund Award in 2025 and 2026 for the First\nTrust WCM Focused Global Growth Fund, Institutional Class Shares (WCMGX).(2)\n\nAndrew Wiechert, Drew French, and Rob Quirk of WCM, serve as portfolio\nmanagers for the fund. The portfolio managers are primarily and jointly\nresponsible for the day-to-day management of the fund.\n\nFor more information about First Trust, please contact Ryan Issakainen at\n(630) 765-8689 or RIssakainen@FTAdvisors.com\n(mailto:RIssakainen@FTAdvisors.com) .\n\nAbout First Trust\n\nFirst Trust is a federally registered investment advisor and serves as the\nfund’s investment advisor. First Trust and its affiliate First Trust\nPortfolios L.P. (“FTP”), a FINRA registered broker-dealer, are privately\nheld companies that provide a variety of investment services. First Trust has\ncollective assets under management or supervision of approximately $329\nbillion as of February 27, 2026, through unit investment trusts,\nexchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, mutual funds and separate managed\naccounts. First Trust is the supervisor of the First Trust unit investment\ntrusts, while FTP is the sponsor. FTP is also a distributor of mutual fund\nshares and exchange-traded fund creation units. First Trust and FTP are based\nin Wheaton, Illinois. For more information, visit https://www.ftportfolios.com\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ftportfolios.com&esheet=54520311&newsitemid=20260422703091&lan=en-US&anchor=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ftportfolios.com&index=3&md5=f1f8d345eddf5d75aa987d7cffa42dae)\n.\n\nAbout WCM\n\nFounded in 1976, WCM is an independent equity investment management firm which\nis majority owned by employees and manages approximately $115 billion on\nbehalf of institutions and individuals around the world as of 3/31/2026. Their\nobjective is to seek to deliver strong returns and consistent downside\nprotection for their clients. They aim to achieve this goal by exploiting the\nweaknesses of conventional investment wisdom by pushing the boundaries of\ncreativity in the investing world and cultivating a company culture that\nsupports and nurtures the people who make that possible.\n\nYou should consider a fund’s investment objectives, risks, and charges and\nexpenses carefully before investing. Contact First Trust Portfolios L.P. at\n1-800-621-1675 or visit www.ftportfolios.com\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ftportfolios.com&esheet=54520311&newsitemid=20260422703091&lan=en-US&anchor=www.ftportfolios.com&index=4&md5=a6301e7f84e9a7c89c01d6b53b816069)\nto obtain a prospectus or summary prospectus which contains this and other\ninformation about a fund. The prospectus or summary prospectus should be read\ncarefully before investing.\n\nRisk Considerations\n\nYou could lose money by investing in a fund. An investment in a fund is not a\ndeposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed. There can be no assurance\nthat a fund's objective(s) will be achieved. Investors buying or selling\nshares on the secondary market may incur customary brokerage commissions.\nPlease refer to each fund's prospectus and Statement of Additional Information\nfor additional details on a fund's risks. The order of the below risk factors\ndoes not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.\n\nUnlike mutual funds, shares of the fund may only be redeemed directly from a\nfund by authorized participants in very large creation/redemption units. If a\nfund's authorized participants are unable to proceed with creation/redemption\norders and no other authorized participant is able to step forward to create\nor redeem, fund shares may trade at a premium or discount to a fund's net\nasset value and possibly face delisting and the bid/ask spread may widen.\n\nChanges in currency exchange rates and the relative value of non-US currencies\nmay affect the value of a fund's investments and the value of a fund's shares.\n\nCurrent market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or\nshares of the fund in general, may fall in value due to current market\nconditions. For example, changes in governmental fiscal and regulatory\npolicies, disruptions to banking and real estate markets, actual and\nthreatened international armed conflicts and hostilities, and public health\ncrises, among other significant events, could have a material impact on the\nvalue of the fund's investments.\n\nA fund is susceptible to operational risks through breaches in cyber security.\nSuch events could cause a fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational\ndamage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or\nfinancial loss.\n\nDepositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their\nprimary trading market and distributions may be subject to a fee. Holders may\nhave limited voting rights, and investment restrictions in certain countries\nmay adversely impact their value.\n\nInvestments in emerging market securities are generally considered speculative\nand involve additional risks relating to political, economic and regulatory\nconditions.\n\nEquity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended\nperiods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole,\nor they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of\nthe market.\n\nPolitical or economic disruptions in European countries, even in countries in\nwhich a fund is not invested, may adversely affect security values and thus\nthe fund's holdings. A significant number of countries in Europe are member\nstates in the European Union, and the member states no longer control their\nown monetary policies. In these member states, the authority to direct\nmonetary policies, including money supply and official interest rates for the\nEuro, is exercised by the European Central Bank. The implications of the\nUnited Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union are difficult to gauge and\ncannot yet be fully known.\n\nThe risks of investing in emerging market countries are magnified when\ninvesting in frontier market countries due to the potential for extreme price\nvolatility and illiquidity; government ownership or control of parts of\nprivate sector and of certain companies as well as the relatively new and\nunsettled securities laws in many frontier market countries.\n\nA fund may be a constituent of one or more indices or models which could\ngreatly affect a fund's trading activity, size and volatility.\n\nSince securities that trade on non-U.S. exchanges are closed when a fund's\nprimary listing is open, there are likely to be deviations between the current\nprice of an underlying security and the last quoted price from the closed\nforeign market, resulting in premiums or discounts to a fund's NAV.\n\nLarge capitalization companies may grow at a slower rate than the overall\nmarket.\n\nCertain fund investments may be subject to restrictions on resale, trade\nover-the-counter or in limited volume, or lack an active trading market.\nIlliquid securities may trade at a discount and may be subject to wide\nfluctuations in market value.\n\nThe portfolio managers of an actively managed portfolio will apply investment\ntechniques and risk analyses that may not have the desired result.\n\nMarket risk is the risk that a particular security, or shares of a fund in\ngeneral may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations\ncaused by such factors as general economic conditions, political events,\nregulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived\ntrends in securities prices. Shares of a fund could decline in value or\nunderperform other investments as a result. In addition, local, regional or\nglobal events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious disease or\nother public health issues, recessions, natural disasters or other events\ncould have significant negative impact on a fund.\n\nA fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an\nactive market for fund shares due to a limited number of market makers.\nDecisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or\nstep away in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the\narbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying\nvalues of a fund's portfolio securities and a fund's market price.\n\nLarge inflows and outflows may impact a new fund's market exposure for limited\nperiods of time.\n\nA fund classified as \"non-diversified\" may invest a relatively high percentage\nof its assets in a limited number of issuers. As a result, a fund may be more\nsusceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence affecting\none or more of these issuers, experience increased volatility and be highly\nconcentrated in certain issuers.\n\nSecurities of non-U.S. issuers are subject to additional risks, including\ncurrency fluctuations, political risks, withholding, lack of liquidity, lack\nof adequate financial information, and exchange control restrictions impacting\nnon-U.S. issuers.\n\nA fund and a fund's advisor may seek to reduce various operational risks\nthrough controls and procedures, but it is not possible to completely protect\nagainst such risks. The fund also relies on third parties for a range of\nservices, including custody, and any delay or failure related to those\nservices may affect the fund's ability to meet its objective.\n\nThe market price of a fund's shares will generally fluctuate in accordance\nwith changes in the fund's net asset value (\"NAV\") as well as the relative\nsupply of and demand for shares on the exchange, and a fund's investment\nadvisor cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their NAV.\n\nA fund with significant exposure to a single asset class, country, region,\nindustry, or sector may be more affected by an adverse economic or political\ndevelopment than a broadly diversified fund.\n\nSecurities of small- and mid-capitalization companies may experience greater\nprice volatility and be less liquid than larger, more established companies.\n\nTrading on an exchange may be halted due to market conditions or other\nreasons. There can be no assurance that a fund's requirements to maintain the\nexchange listing will continue to be met or be unchanged.\n\nA fund may hold securities or other assets that may be valued on the basis of\nfactors other than market quotations. This may occur because the asset or\nsecurity does not trade on a centralized exchange, or in times of market\nturmoil or reduced liquidity. Portfolio holdings that are valued using\ntechniques other than market quotations, including \"fair valued\" assets or\nsecurities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their valuations from one\nday to the next than if market quotations were used. There is no assurance\nthat a fund could sell or close out a portfolio position for the value\nestablished for it at any time.\n\nValue characteristics of a stock may not be fully recognized for a long time\nor a stock judged to be undervalued may actually be appropriately priced at a\nlow level.\n\nFirst Trust Advisors L.P. (FTA) is the adviser to the First Trust fund(s). FTA\nis an affiliate of First Trust Portfolios L.P., the distributor of the\nfund(s).\n\nThe information presented is not intended to constitute an investment\nrecommendation for, or advice to, any specific person. By providing this\ninformation, First Trust is not undertaking to give advice in any fiduciary\ncapacity within the meaning of ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code or any other\nregulatory framework. Financial professionals are responsible for evaluating\ninvestment risks independently and for exercising independent judgment in\ndetermining whether investments are appropriate for their clients.\n\n(1)First Trust Advisors was ranked #1 Best Fund Family in the world equity\ncategory by Barron's for 2025. Barron’s 2025 survey ranks the performance of\nfund families’ actively managed funds. To qualify for Barron’s fund-family\nranking, firms must offer a wide range of funds with a minimum track record of\none year. For the 2025 ranking, a total of 46 fund families met the criteria,\nwith 42 fund families qualifying for the five-year and 10-year rankings. The\nworld equity category included 46 fund families. To be eligible, firms must\noffer at least three mutual funds or ETFs in Lipper’s general U.S. equity\ncategory, one in world equity, and one in a mixed equity such as a balanced or\ntarget-date fund, as well as two taxable bond funds and one tax-exempt bond\nfund. Index funds are excluded, but include actively managed ETFs and\nso-called smart-beta ETFs, which are passively managed but created from active\nstrategies Rankings are based on a firm’s funds within those respective\ncategories. Each fund’s performance is measured against all of the other\nfunds in its Lipper category, with a percentile ranking of 100 being the\nhighest and one the lowest. This result is then weighted by asset size,\nrelative to the fund family’s other assets in its general classification.\nThe category weightings for the one-year results for 2025 were general equity,\n38.2%; mixed asset, 21.5%; world equity, 16.5%; taxable bond, 20%; and\ntax-exempt bond, 3.8%. The category weightings for the five-year results for\n2025 were general equity, 37.7%; mixed asset, 21.8%; world equity, 16.7%;\ntaxable bond, 20%; and tax-exempt bond, 3.8%. The category weightings for the\nten-year results in 2025 were general equity, 38.1%; mixed asset, 23%; world\nequity, 15.9%; taxable bond, 19.2%; and tax-exempt bond, 3.7%. The totals may\nnot add up to 100% because of rounding.\n\n(2)The First Trust WCM Focused Global Growth Fund, Institutional Class Shares\n(WCMGX) was the winner of the 2025 and 2026 LSEG Lipper Fund Award for Best\nGlobal Large-Cap Growth Fund, United States over 10 years. The awards are for\nthe time periods stated and not indicative of any other time period. The LSEG\nLipper Fund Awards, granted annually, highlight funds and fund companies that\nhave excelled in delivering consistently strong risk-adjusted performance\nrelative to their peers. The LSEG Lipper Fund Awards are based on the Lipper\nLeader for Consistent Return rating, which is a risk-adjusted performance\nmeasure calculated over 36, 60 and 120 months. The fund with the highest\nLipper Leader for Consistent Return (Effective Return) value in each eligible\nclassification wins the LSEG Lipper Fund Award. For the U.S. fund awards, only\nthe share class with the best Lipper Leader score is used for each portfolio\nin determining asset class and overall awards. The calculation periods are\nthrough the end of November of the respective evaluation year. For the 2025\nand 2026 awards, the U.S. Global Large-Cap Growth category consisted of 31\nfunds.\n\n\n\nView source version on businesswire.com:\nhttps://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260422703091/en/\n(https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260422703091/en/)\n\nRyan Issakainen\n\nFirst Trust\n\n(630) 765-8689\n\nRIssakainen@FTAdvisors.com (mailto:RIssakainen@FTAdvisors.com)\n\n\nCopyright Business Wire 2026","article_body_html":"","raw_payload":{"data":{"id":"nBw692QTla","title":"First Trust Expands Its Global Product Suite with Launch of WCMG","author":"Business Wire","ticker":"WCMG","created":"2026-04-22T13:25:00.075Z","tickers":["WCMG"],"exchange":"NYSE Arca","article_body":"First Trust Expands Its Global Product Suite with Launch of WCMG\n\nWCMG seeks attractively valued companies with strong competitive advantages\nacross global markets.\n\nFirst Trust Advisors L.P.\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ftportfolios.com&esheet=54520311&newsitemid=20260422703091&lan=en-US&anchor=First+Trust+Advisors+L.P.&index=1&md5=13a7e555b3da1f0a0278be9c51517d9c)\n(\"First Trust\"), a leading exchange-traded fund (\"ETF\") provider ranked #1\nBest Fund Family in the World Equity category by Barron's for 2025,(1) with\nmore than $236 billion in ETF assets under management as of February 27, 2026,\nannounced today that it has launched a new actively managed ETF, the First\nTrust WCM Global Equity ETF (NYSE Arca: WCMG\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ftportfolios.com%2FRetail%2FEtf%2FEtfSummary.aspx%3FTicker%3DWCMG&esheet=54520311&newsitemid=20260422703091&lan=en-US&anchor=WCMG&index=2&md5=d5cc8a0884a234f8abd665eccac49c9b)\n) (the \"fund\"). WCMG seeks to provide investors with long-term capital\nappreciation by investing in equity securities of companies located in the\nUnited States, other developed market countries, and emerging and frontier\nmarket countries. The fund is sub-advised by WCM Investment Management, LLC\n(\"WCM\") and represents the latest addition to First Trust's\nglobal/international product suite.\n\n“We are thrilled to expand the First Trust WCM product suite with the launch\nof WCMG,\" said Ryan Issakainen, CFA, Senior Vice President, ETF Strategist at\nFirst Trust. \"We believe WCM is a world class active manager, and as global\nallocations come into focus, we believe this fund may be an effective tool for\ninvestors seeking diversification across U.S., developed and emerging market\nequities.”\n\nWCM's investment process incorporates a bottom-up fundamental research\napproach to identify companies that are industry leaders with expanding\ncompetitive advantages, strong balance sheets and attractive valuations. They\nbelieve that investment in a company with relatively low valuations may afford\ncapital protection from permanent loss and may result in substantial\nappreciation if the market recognizes the company’s intrinsic value.\n\n“The launch of the First Trust WCM Global Equity ETF represents the natural\nnext step in our relationship with First Trust and our commitment to bringing\nour award-winning global equity strategies to market in an actively managed\nETF structure. Building on our international and emerging market actively\nmanaged ETFs, WCMG gives investors a single vehicle to access WCM’s\nquality-growth philosophy across the full global opportunity set,” said\nAndrew Buchanan, Managing Director, WCM. WCMG expands First Trust's\nrelationship with WCM, whose investment strategies have earned industry\nrecognition including a LSEG Lipper Fund Award in 2025 and 2026 for the First\nTrust WCM Focused Global Growth Fund, Institutional Class Shares (WCMGX).(2)\n\nAndrew Wiechert, Drew French, and Rob Quirk of WCM, serve as portfolio\nmanagers for the fund. The portfolio managers are primarily and jointly\nresponsible for the day-to-day management of the fund.\n\nFor more information about First Trust, please contact Ryan Issakainen at\n(630) 765-8689 or RIssakainen@FTAdvisors.com\n(mailto:RIssakainen@FTAdvisors.com) .\n\nAbout First Trust\n\nFirst Trust is a federally registered investment advisor and serves as the\nfund’s investment advisor. First Trust and its affiliate First Trust\nPortfolios L.P. (“FTP”), a FINRA registered broker-dealer, are privately\nheld companies that provide a variety of investment services. First Trust has\ncollective assets under management or supervision of approximately $329\nbillion as of February 27, 2026, through unit investment trusts,\nexchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, mutual funds and separate managed\naccounts. First Trust is the supervisor of the First Trust unit investment\ntrusts, while FTP is the sponsor. FTP is also a distributor of mutual fund\nshares and exchange-traded fund creation units. First Trust and FTP are based\nin Wheaton, Illinois. For more information, visit https://www.ftportfolios.com\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ftportfolios.com&esheet=54520311&newsitemid=20260422703091&lan=en-US&anchor=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ftportfolios.com&index=3&md5=f1f8d345eddf5d75aa987d7cffa42dae)\n.\n\nAbout WCM\n\nFounded in 1976, WCM is an independent equity investment management firm which\nis majority owned by employees and manages approximately $115 billion on\nbehalf of institutions and individuals around the world as of 3/31/2026. Their\nobjective is to seek to deliver strong returns and consistent downside\nprotection for their clients. They aim to achieve this goal by exploiting the\nweaknesses of conventional investment wisdom by pushing the boundaries of\ncreativity in the investing world and cultivating a company culture that\nsupports and nurtures the people who make that possible.\n\nYou should consider a fund’s investment objectives, risks, and charges and\nexpenses carefully before investing. Contact First Trust Portfolios L.P. at\n1-800-621-1675 or visit www.ftportfolios.com\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ftportfolios.com&esheet=54520311&newsitemid=20260422703091&lan=en-US&anchor=www.ftportfolios.com&index=4&md5=a6301e7f84e9a7c89c01d6b53b816069)\nto obtain a prospectus or summary prospectus which contains this and other\ninformation about a fund. The prospectus or summary prospectus should be read\ncarefully before investing.\n\nRisk Considerations\n\nYou could lose money by investing in a fund. An investment in a fund is not a\ndeposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed. There can be no assurance\nthat a fund's objective(s) will be achieved. Investors buying or selling\nshares on the secondary market may incur customary brokerage commissions.\nPlease refer to each fund's prospectus and Statement of Additional Information\nfor additional details on a fund's risks. The order of the below risk factors\ndoes not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.\n\nUnlike mutual funds, shares of the fund may only be redeemed directly from a\nfund by authorized participants in very large creation/redemption units. If a\nfund's authorized participants are unable to proceed with creation/redemption\norders and no other authorized participant is able to step forward to create\nor redeem, fund shares may trade at a premium or discount to a fund's net\nasset value and possibly face delisting and the bid/ask spread may widen.\n\nChanges in currency exchange rates and the relative value of non-US currencies\nmay affect the value of a fund's investments and the value of a fund's shares.\n\nCurrent market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or\nshares of the fund in general, may fall in value due to current market\nconditions. For example, changes in governmental fiscal and regulatory\npolicies, disruptions to banking and real estate markets, actual and\nthreatened international armed conflicts and hostilities, and public health\ncrises, among other significant events, could have a material impact on the\nvalue of the fund's investments.\n\nA fund is susceptible to operational risks through breaches in cyber security.\nSuch events could cause a fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational\ndamage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or\nfinancial loss.\n\nDepositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their\nprimary trading market and distributions may be subject to a fee. Holders may\nhave limited voting rights, and investment restrictions in certain countries\nmay adversely impact their value.\n\nInvestments in emerging market securities are generally considered speculative\nand involve additional risks relating to political, economic and regulatory\nconditions.\n\nEquity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended\nperiods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole,\nor they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of\nthe market.\n\nPolitical or economic disruptions in European countries, even in countries in\nwhich a fund is not invested, may adversely affect security values and thus\nthe fund's holdings. A significant number of countries in Europe are member\nstates in the European Union, and the member states no longer control their\nown monetary policies. In these member states, the authority to direct\nmonetary policies, including money supply and official interest rates for the\nEuro, is exercised by the European Central Bank. The implications of the\nUnited Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union are difficult to gauge and\ncannot yet be fully known.\n\nThe risks of investing in emerging market countries are magnified when\ninvesting in frontier market countries due to the potential for extreme price\nvolatility and illiquidity; government ownership or control of parts of\nprivate sector and of certain companies as well as the relatively new and\nunsettled securities laws in many frontier market countries.\n\nA fund may be a constituent of one or more indices or models which could\ngreatly affect a fund's trading activity, size and volatility.\n\nSince securities that trade on non-U.S. exchanges are closed when a fund's\nprimary listing is open, there are likely to be deviations between the current\nprice of an underlying security and the last quoted price from the closed\nforeign market, resulting in premiums or discounts to a fund's NAV.\n\nLarge capitalization companies may grow at a slower rate than the overall\nmarket.\n\nCertain fund investments may be subject to restrictions on resale, trade\nover-the-counter or in limited volume, or lack an active trading market.\nIlliquid securities may trade at a discount and may be subject to wide\nfluctuations in market value.\n\nThe portfolio managers of an actively managed portfolio will apply investment\ntechniques and risk analyses that may not have the desired result.\n\nMarket risk is the risk that a particular security, or shares of a fund in\ngeneral may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations\ncaused by such factors as general economic conditions, political events,\nregulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived\ntrends in securities prices. Shares of a fund could decline in value or\nunderperform other investments as a result. In addition, local, regional or\nglobal events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious disease or\nother public health issues, recessions, natural disasters or other events\ncould have significant negative impact on a fund.\n\nA fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an\nactive market for fund shares due to a limited number of market makers.\nDecisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or\nstep away in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the\narbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying\nvalues of a fund's portfolio securities and a fund's market price.\n\nLarge inflows and outflows may impact a new fund's market exposure for limited\nperiods of time.\n\nA fund classified as \"non-diversified\" may invest a relatively high percentage\nof its assets in a limited number of issuers. As a result, a fund may be more\nsusceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence affecting\none or more of these issuers, experience increased volatility and be highly\nconcentrated in certain issuers.\n\nSecurities of non-U.S. issuers are subject to additional risks, including\ncurrency fluctuations, political risks, withholding, lack of liquidity, lack\nof adequate financial information, and exchange control restrictions impacting\nnon-U.S. issuers.\n\nA fund and a fund's advisor may seek to reduce various operational risks\nthrough controls and procedures, but it is not possible to completely protect\nagainst such risks. The fund also relies on third parties for a range of\nservices, including custody, and any delay or failure related to those\nservices may affect the fund's ability to meet its objective.\n\nThe market price of a fund's shares will generally fluctuate in accordance\nwith changes in the fund's net asset value (\"NAV\") as well as the relative\nsupply of and demand for shares on the exchange, and a fund's investment\nadvisor cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their NAV.\n\nA fund with significant exposure to a single asset class, country, region,\nindustry, or sector may be more affected by an adverse economic or political\ndevelopment than a broadly diversified fund.\n\nSecurities of small- and mid-capitalization companies may experience greater\nprice volatility and be less liquid than larger, more established companies.\n\nTrading on an exchange may be halted due to market conditions or other\nreasons. There can be no assurance that a fund's requirements to maintain the\nexchange listing will continue to be met or be unchanged.\n\nA fund may hold securities or other assets that may be valued on the basis of\nfactors other than market quotations. This may occur because the asset or\nsecurity does not trade on a centralized exchange, or in times of market\nturmoil or reduced liquidity. Portfolio holdings that are valued using\ntechniques other than market quotations, including \"fair valued\" assets or\nsecurities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their valuations from one\nday to the next than if market quotations were used. There is no assurance\nthat a fund could sell or close out a portfolio position for the value\nestablished for it at any time.\n\nValue characteristics of a stock may not be fully recognized for a long time\nor a stock judged to be undervalued may actually be appropriately priced at a\nlow level.\n\nFirst Trust Advisors L.P. (FTA) is the adviser to the First Trust fund(s). FTA\nis an affiliate of First Trust Portfolios L.P., the distributor of the\nfund(s).\n\nThe information presented is not intended to constitute an investment\nrecommendation for, or advice to, any specific person. By providing this\ninformation, First Trust is not undertaking to give advice in any fiduciary\ncapacity within the meaning of ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code or any other\nregulatory framework. Financial professionals are responsible for evaluating\ninvestment risks independently and for exercising independent judgment in\ndetermining whether investments are appropriate for their clients.\n\n(1)First Trust Advisors was ranked #1 Best Fund Family in the world equity\ncategory by Barron's for 2025. Barron’s 2025 survey ranks the performance of\nfund families’ actively managed funds. To qualify for Barron’s fund-family\nranking, firms must offer a wide range of funds with a minimum track record of\none year. For the 2025 ranking, a total of 46 fund families met the criteria,\nwith 42 fund families qualifying for the five-year and 10-year rankings. The\nworld equity category included 46 fund families. To be eligible, firms must\noffer at least three mutual funds or ETFs in Lipper’s general U.S. equity\ncategory, one in world equity, and one in a mixed equity such as a balanced or\ntarget-date fund, as well as two taxable bond funds and one tax-exempt bond\nfund. Index funds are excluded, but include actively managed ETFs and\nso-called smart-beta ETFs, which are passively managed but created from active\nstrategies Rankings are based on a firm’s funds within those respective\ncategories. Each fund’s performance is measured against all of the other\nfunds in its Lipper category, with a percentile ranking of 100 being the\nhighest and one the lowest. This result is then weighted by asset size,\nrelative to the fund family’s other assets in its general classification.\nThe category weightings for the one-year results for 2025 were general equity,\n38.2%; mixed asset, 21.5%; world equity, 16.5%; taxable bond, 20%; and\ntax-exempt bond, 3.8%. The category weightings for the five-year results for\n2025 were general equity, 37.7%; mixed asset, 21.8%; world equity, 16.7%;\ntaxable bond, 20%; and tax-exempt bond, 3.8%. The category weightings for the\nten-year results in 2025 were general equity, 38.1%; mixed asset, 23%; world\nequity, 15.9%; taxable bond, 19.2%; and tax-exempt bond, 3.7%. The totals may\nnot add up to 100% because of rounding.\n\n(2)The First Trust WCM Focused Global Growth Fund, Institutional Class Shares\n(WCMGX) was the winner of the 2025 and 2026 LSEG Lipper Fund Award for Best\nGlobal Large-Cap Growth Fund, United States over 10 years. The awards are for\nthe time periods stated and not indicative of any other time period. The LSEG\nLipper Fund Awards, granted annually, highlight funds and fund companies that\nhave excelled in delivering consistently strong risk-adjusted performance\nrelative to their peers. The LSEG Lipper Fund Awards are based on the Lipper\nLeader for Consistent Return rating, which is a risk-adjusted performance\nmeasure calculated over 36, 60 and 120 months. The fund with the highest\nLipper Leader for Consistent Return (Effective Return) value in each eligible\nclassification wins the LSEG Lipper Fund Award. For the U.S. fund awards, only\nthe share class with the best Lipper Leader score is used for each portfolio\nin determining asset class and overall awards. The calculation periods are\nthrough the end of November of the respective evaluation year. For the 2025\nand 2026 awards, the U.S. Global Large-Cap Growth category consisted of 31\nfunds.\n\n\n\nView source version on businesswire.com:\nhttps://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260422703091/en/\n(https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260422703091/en/)\n\nRyan Issakainen\n\nFirst Trust\n\n(630) 765-8689\n\nRIssakainen@FTAdvisors.com (mailto:RIssakainen@FTAdvisors.com)\n\n\nCopyright Business Wire 2026"},"type":"article","timestamp":"2026-04-22T13:25:00.140960265Z","server_sent_at_ms":1776864300140},"received_at":"2026-04-22T13:25:00.293Z","source_url":"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260422703091/en/"},"analysis":{"id":"3543","press_release_id":"4948","analysis_json":{"industry":{"label":"Financial Services","sector":"Financials"},"redFlags":[],"eventType":"product_launch","narrative":"First Trust launched the First Trust WCM Global Equity ETF (WCMG), an actively managed fund seeking long-term capital appreciation by investing in global equity securities.\n\nThe fund is sub-advised by WCM Investment Management, employing a bottom-up fundamental research approach targeting companies with competitive advantages and attractive valuations.\n\nThis launch expands the strategic partnership between First Trust and WCM, building on their existing collaboration with the WCMGX fund.","sentiment":"neutral","agentHooks":{"shouldPost":false,"suggestedAngle":"First Trust expands global product suite with actively managed WCMG ETF."},"keyFigures":{},"quotedText":"We are thrilled to expand the First Trust WCM product suite with the launch of WCMG","namedEntities":{"people":[{"name":"Ryan Issakainen","role":"Senior Vice President, ETF Strategist at First Trust"},{"name":"Andrew Buchanan","role":"Managing Director, WCM"},{"name":"Andrew Wiechert","role":"Portfolio Manager"},{"name":"Drew French","role":"Portfolio Manager"},{"name":"Rob Quirk","role":"Portfolio Manager"}],"products":["First Trust WCM Global Equity ETF","First Trust WCM Focused Global Growth Fund"],"companies":[{"name":"First Trust Advisors L.P.","relationship":"investment advisor"},{"name":"First Trust Portfolios L.P.","relationship":"distributor"},{"name":"WCM Investment Management, LLC","relationship":"sub-advisor"}],"dollarAmounts":[{"amount":"$236 billion","context":"First Trust ETF assets under management as of February 27, 2026"},{"amount":"$329 billion","context":"First Trust collective assets under management or supervision as of February 27, 2026"},{"amount":"$115 billion","context":"WCM assets under management as of 3/31/2026"}]},"materialImpact":{"score":1,"reasoning":"This is a routine announcement of a new ETF launch by an asset manager. While it expands the firm's product suite, it is a standard business activity with negligible immediate impact on the filer's stock or the broader market."},"tickerRelevance":{"others":[],"primary":"WCMG"},"eventTypeSecondary":["partnership"]},"event_type":"product_launch","event_type_secondary":["partnership"],"sentiment":"neutral","material_impact_score":1,"narrative":"First Trust launched the First Trust WCM Global Equity ETF (WCMG), an actively managed fund seeking long-term capital appreciation by investing in global equity securities.\n\nThe fund is sub-advised by WCM Investment Management, employing a bottom-up fundamental research approach targeting companies with competitive advantages and attractive valuations.\n\nThis launch expands the strategic partnership between First Trust and WCM, building on their existing collaboration with the WCMGX fund.","key_figures":{},"named_entities":{"people":[{"name":"Ryan Issakainen","role":"Senior Vice President, ETF Strategist at First Trust"},{"name":"Andrew Buchanan","role":"Managing Director, WCM"},{"name":"Andrew Wiechert","role":"Portfolio Manager"},{"name":"Drew French","role":"Portfolio Manager"},{"name":"Rob Quirk","role":"Portfolio Manager"}],"products":["First Trust WCM Global Equity ETF","First Trust WCM Focused Global Growth Fund"],"companies":[{"name":"First Trust Advisors L.P.","relationship":"investment advisor"},{"name":"First Trust Portfolios L.P.","relationship":"distributor"},{"name":"WCM Investment Management, LLC","relationship":"sub-advisor"}],"dollarAmounts":[{"amount":"$236 billion","context":"First Trust ETF assets under management as of February 27, 2026"},{"amount":"$329 billion","context":"First Trust collective assets under management or supervision as of February 27, 2026"},{"amount":"$115 billion","context":"WCM assets under management as of 3/31/2026"}]},"model_name":"glm-4.7","prompt_hash":"sha256:2f2748f0fcc8c4f2","schema_hash":"sha256:ad96b863d7123008","created_at":"2026-04-22T18:05:34.234Z","global_importance":3,"audience_relevance":3,"importance_components":{"method":"backfill-heuristic","signals":{"bodyLong":false,"headlineTier1":false,"tickerCovered":false,"hadSignificance":false},"version":1,"computedAt":"2026-04-27T11:52:54.244Z"}},"durationMs":31752,"modelName":"glm-4.7"}}