FT Portfolios Canada Co. announces proposal to convert First Trust Canadian Capital Strength Portfolio into an ETF

TORONTO, Aug. 17, 2016 /CNW/ - FT Portfolios Canada Co. (the "Manager"), the manager of First Trust Canadian Capital Strength Portfolio (the "Fund") is pleased to announce that the board of directors of the Manager has approved a proposal to convert the Fund from a mutual fund into an exchange-traded fund or "ETF" (the "Conversion").

The Conversion should provide holders of units in the Fund with several benefits, including the following:

• Lower Management Fees – the Manager will charge a lower management fee on the units of the Fund, as a result of efficiencies of the ETF fund structure and accordingly, the Fund's overall management expense ratio is expected to decline;
• Market Liquidity – the units of the Fund are expected to trade on a stock exchange and therefore the units of the Fund will have secondary market liquidity for its units through a stock exchange listing; and
• Increase of Asset Base – the Manager expects to be able to increase the asset base of the Fund as a result of the increased marketability and the trading liquidity of the Fund as an ETF.

The Fund has called and will hold a special meeting of its unitholders on September 20, 2016 to consider and vote upon the proposal. A management information circular (the "Circular") is being prepared and will be mailed to the unitholders of the Fund.  The Circular will also be available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and posted on the Manager's website at www.firsttrust.ca once it has been mailed to unitholders.  Implementation of the Conversion is subject to all required regulatory approvals. If approved, the Conversion is expected to be implemented in early November.

About First Trust

The First Trust companies are a well-respected global enterprise with a history in the U.S. market since 1991 and in Canada since 1996. As of July 31, 2016, First Trust Advisors L.P., the portfolio advisor for the First Trust AlphaDEX™ ETFs, had approximately US$35.2 billion in ETF assets under management and more than US$99.1 billion total assets under supervision or management. First Trust is the enterprise name used for the various businesses conducted in Europe, Mexico, Canada and the U.S.

Further information about FT Portfolios Canada's ETFs can be found at www.firsttrust.ca.

SOURCE FT Portfolios Canada Co.

Media Contact: Fraser Howell, President, FT Portfolios Canada Co., 40 King Street West, Suite 3001, Scotia Plaza, Box 312, Toronto, ON M5H 3Y2, Email: [email protected], 1-877-622-5552.