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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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220308006119/en/
Don Swade (630) 765-8661
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