Board of Trustees of First Trust/Aberdeen Emerging Opportunity Fund Approves Managed Distribution Policy
The Board of Trustees of First Trust/Aberdeen Emerging Opportunity Fund (the "Fund") (NYSE:FEO) has approved a managed distribution policy for the Fund (the "Plan") in reliance on exemptive relief received from the Securities and Exchange Commission which permits the Fund to make periodic distributions of long-term capital gains more frequently than otherwise permitted with respect to its common shares subject to certain conditions. Under the Plan, the Fund currently intends to pay a quarterly distribution in the amount of $0.25 per share, which represents the current earnings forecast of the Fund. However, the distribution amount per share could increase or decrease in the future as a result of a change in actual or forecasted earnings. A portion of this quarterly distribution may include realized capital gains or return of capital. This may result in a reduction of the long-term capital gain distribution necessary at year end by distributing realized capital gains throughout the year. The annual distribution rate is independent of the Fund's performance during any particular period but is expected to correlate with the Fund's performance over time. Accordingly, you should not draw any conclusions about the Fund's investment performance from the amount of any distribution or from the terms of the Plan. The Fund anticipates declaring its first regularly scheduled quarterly distribution pursuant to the Plan during the first quarter of 2022.
The Fund is a diversified, closed-end management investment company. The Fund's investment objective is to provide a high level of total return. The Fund pursues its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its Managed Assets in a diversified portfolio of equity and fixed-income securities of issuers in emerging market countries. An "emerging market" country is any country determined to have an emerging market economy, considering factors such as whether the country has a low-to-middle-income economy according to the World Bank or its related organizations, the country's credit rating, its political and economic stability, and the development of its financial and capital markets. "Managed Assets" means the total asset value of the Fund minus the sum of the Fund's liabilities other than the principal amount of borrowings, if any. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The Fund may not be appropriate for all investors.
First Trust Advisors L.P. ("FTA") is a federally registered investment advisor and serves as the Fund's investment advisor. FTA and its affiliate First Trust Portfolios L.P. ("FTP"), 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 $212 billion as of January 31, 2022 through unit investment trusts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, mutual funds and separate managed accounts. FTA is the supervisor of the First Trust unit investment trusts, while FTP is the sponsor. FTP is also a distributor of mutual fund shares and exchange-traded fund creation units. FTA and FTP are based in Wheaton, Illinois.
abrdn Inc. (formerly Aberdeen Standard Investments Inc.) ("abrdn") serves as the Fund's investment sub-advisor. abrdn is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of abrdn plc. abrdn is the brand name for the asset management group of abrdn plc, managing approximately $627.89 billion in assets as of December 31, 2021 for a range of pension funds, financial institutions, investment trusts, unit trusts, offshore funds, charities and private clients.
Past performance is no assurance of future results. Investment return and market value of an investment in the Fund will fluctuate. Shares, when sold, may be worth more or less than their original cost. There can be no assurance that the Fund's investment objectives will be achieved. The Fund may not be appropriate for all investors.
Principal Risk Factors: Securities held by a fund, as well as shares of a fund itself, are subject to market fluctuations caused by factors such as general economic conditions, political events, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of a fund could decline in value or underperform other investments as a result of the risk of loss associated with these market fluctuations. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant negative impact on a fund and its investments. Such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. The outbreak of the respiratory disease designated as COVID-19 in December 2019 has caused significant volatility and declines in global financial markets, which have caused losses for investors. While the development of vaccines has slowed the spread of the virus and allowed for the resumption of "reasonably" normal business activity in the United States, many countries continue to impose lockdown measures in an attempt to slow the spread. Additionally, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against emerging variants of the disease.
Shares of closed-end investment companies such as the Fund frequently trade at a discount from their net asset value. The Fund cannot predict whether its common shares will trade at, below or above net asset value.
The debt securities in which the Fund invests are subject to certain risks, including issuer risk, reinvestment risk, prepayment risk, credit risk, and interest rate risk. Issuer risk is the risk that the value of fixed-income securities may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer. Reinvestment risk is the risk that income from the Fund's portfolio will decline if the Fund invests the proceeds from matured, traded or called bonds at market interest rates that are below the Fund portfolio's current earnings rate. Prepayment risk is the risk that, upon a prepayment, the actual outstanding debt on which the Fund derives interest income will be reduced. 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 fixed-income securities will decline in value because of changes in market interest rates.
Asset-backed securities are subject to credit risk, extension risk, interest rate risk, liquidity risk, prepayment risk and valuation risk, as well as risk of default on the underlying assets.
The value of the Fund's shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities in which the Fund invests. Prices of equity securities fluctuate for several reasons.
The Fund invests in non-investment grade debt instruments, commonly referred to as "high-yield securities". High yield securities are subject to greater market fluctuations and risk of loss than securities with higher ratings. Lower-quality debt tends to be less liquid than higher-quality debt.
Credit ratings are determined by credit rating agencies and are only the opinions of such entities. Ratings assigned by a rating agency are not absolute standards of credit quality and do not evaluate market risk or the liquidity of securities.
Credit default swap transactions involve greater risks than if the Fund had invested in the reference obligation directly.
Credit linked notes are securities that are collateralized by one or more credit default swaps on designated debt securities that are referred to as "reference securities." The market for credit linked notes may suddenly become illiquid. Changes in liquidity may result in significant, rapid and unpredictable changes in the prices for credit linked notes. In certain cases, a market price for a credit linked note may not be available.
The Fund invests in equity and debt securities of non-U.S. issuers which are subject to higher volatility than securities of U.S. issuers. Risks may be heightened for securities of companies located in, or with significant operations in, emerging market countries. Financial and other reporting by companies and government entities also may be less reliable in emerging market countries. Shareholder claims that are available in the U.S., as well as regulatory oversight and authority that is common in the U.S., including for claims based on fraud, may be difficult or impossible for shareholders of securities in emerging market countries or for U.S. authorities to pursue. Because the Fund invests in non-U.S. securities, you may lose money if the local currency of a non-U.S. market depreciates against the U.S. dollar. In addition to the risks associated with investments in non-U.S. securities generally, the Fund is subject to certain risks associated specifically with investments in securities of Chinese issuers.
Forward foreign currency exchange contracts involve certain risks, including the risk of failure of the counterparty to perform its obligations under the contract and the risk that the use of forward contracts may not serve as a complete hedge because of an imperfect correlation between movements in the prices of the contracts and the prices of the currencies hedged.
The Fund may invest from time to time a substantial amount of its assets in issuers located in a single country or region. Because the Fund may concentrate its investments in this manner, it assumes the risk that economic, political and social conditions in that country or region will have a significant impact on its investment performance, which may result in greater losses and volatility than if it had diversified its investments across a greater number of countries and regions.
To the extent a fund invests in floating or variable rate obligations that use the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") as a reference interest rate, it is subject to LIBOR Risk. The United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates LIBOR, will cease making LIBOR available as a reference rate over a phase-out period that began December 31, 2021. The unavailability or replacement of LIBOR may affect the value, liquidity or return on certain fund investments and may result in costs incurred in connection with closing out positions and entering into new trades. Any potential effects of the transition away from LIBOR on the fund or on certain instruments in which the fund invests can be difficult to ascertain, and they may vary depending on a variety of factors, and they could result in losses to the fund.
Use of leverage can result in additional risk and cost, and can magnify the effect of any losses.
The risks of investing in the Fund are spelled out in the shareholder report and other regulatory filings.
The information presented is not intended to constitute an investment recommendation for, or advice to, any specific person. By providing this information, First Trust is not undertaking to give advice in any fiduciary capacity within the meaning of ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code or any other regulatory framework. Financial professionals are responsible for evaluating investment risks independently and for exercising independent judgment in determining whether investments are appropriate for their clients.
The Fund's daily closing New York Stock Exchange price and net asset value per share as well as other information can be found at https://www.ftportfolios.com or by calling 1-800-988-5891.
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