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485BPOS

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First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II

Amendment Flag

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false

Document Effective Date

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Oct. 03, 2016

Risk/Return [Heading]

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Summary Information

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

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The First Trust ZyFin India Quality and Governance ETF (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of an equity index index called the ZyFin Quality and Governance Index (the “Index”).

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

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The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. Investors purchasing and selling shares may be subject to costs (including customary brokerage commissions) charged by their broker, which are not reflected in the table below.

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

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Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

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The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance

Expense Example, No Redemption Narrative [Text Block]

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The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. This example does not take into account customary brokerage commissions that you pay when purchasing or selling shares of the Fund in the secondary market.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain at current levels until October 3, 2018, and thereafter at 1.20% to represent the imposition of the 12b-1 fee of 0.25% per annum of the Fund’s average daily net assets. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

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The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in Indian rupee-denominated equity securities of Indian companies that comprise the Index. Indian companies are those companies whose securities are listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE Ltd.) or the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd., and either (i) have their principal place of business in India, or (ii) have at least 50% of their assets in, or derive at least 50% of their revenues or profits from, India. The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, will attempt to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The Fund’s investment advisor seeks a correlation of 0.95 or better (before fees and expenses) between the Fund’s performance and the performance of the Index; a figure of 1.00 would represent perfect correlation.

The Index is owned by ZyFin Research Private Limited (the “Index Provider”). The Index is designed to provide exposure to a basket of 40 Indian securities that exhibit quality and corporate governance standards through a rules-based, objective selection process. The Index takes into account restrictions on foreign ownership of Indian securities imposed by Indian regulators, and has thus been created not only for the use of Indian investors but also for funds managed on behalf of foreign investors (i.e. investors outside of India).

The process of determining which securities are eligible for the Index begins by ranking all investible Indian stocks on “quality” based on three factors: volatility of earnings, leverage and return on equity. Only the top 50 securities with the highest quality score are eligible for inclusion in the Index. The Index Provider then calculates the velocity for those remaining 50 securities by dividing each security’s ratio of total traded value by its free float market capitalization (the “velocity”). The term “free float” is used to capture the portion of an issuer’s outstanding securities that can be publicly traded, and as a result excludes locked-in securities held by an issuer’s affiliates, officers or promoters or securities subject to some other restrictive arrangement that prevents them from being freely traded. The five securities with the highest velocity are removed from consideration for inclusion in the Index. This is done in order to increase the investment capacity within the Index components. Companies with high liquidity and small market capitalization (i.e., high velocity) tend not to be able to facilitate investments of large sums of capital, which can constrain liquidity.

The remaining 45 securities are then assigned a governance score based on the following ten governance parameters, which are equally weighted: (1) whether 50% or more of a company’s directors are non-executive directors; (2) whether the chairman of a company’s board of directors is a non-executive director and at least one-third of the board is independent or whether the chairman of a company’s board of directors is an executive director and at least 50% of the board is comprised of independent directors; (3) whether a company’s board of directors is comprised of at least six members; (4) whether a company’s board of directors met at least four times in the previous fiscal year with two meetings not more than four months apart; (5) whether the company’s audit committee contains a minimum of three directors and whether two-thirds of those directors are independent directors; (6) whether a company’s audit committee met at least four times in the previous fiscal year with two meetings not more than four months apart; (7) whether details regarding a company’s compliance officer are available in its annual report; (8) whether details regarding a company’s three most recent annual general meetings are generally available; (9) whether a company’s annual report contains details regarding related party transactions for the previous fiscal year and (10) whether the company’s promoter has pledged less than 25% of its total holdings in the company to lenders as collateral for loans. The securities of the 40 companies with the highest score governance score on those parameters are selected for inclusion in the Index and are weighted based on an average of free float market capitalization and liquidity.

The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted annually with a selection date of September 30th of each calendar year (end of day). Changes to the Index will be announced in the first week of October and will be effective on the adjustment date (date identified by the Index Provider), which will be at least seven days after the adjustment date is publicly announced. In the event of corporate actions like delisting, suspension, demerger, FPI (as defined below) restrictions or major lawsuits becomes applicable on an index constituent, the constituent is excluded from the Index starting on a date determined by the Index provider. Such changes and the effective dates are publicly announced prior to the change. On the adjustment day, the weight of the excluded security will be re-distributed on a pro-rata basis amongst the remaining index constituents. The inception date of the Index was June 20, 2016. As of August 31, 2016, the Index had significant investments in technology and consumer staples, and the market capitalization range of securities in the Index as $1.25 billion to $70.79 billion.

The Fund intends to invest in each security in the Index. The Fund also intends to invest entirely in securities included in the Index. However, there may also be instances in which the Fund may be underweighted or overweighted in certain securities in the Index, not invested in certain securities included in the Index, may purchase securities not in the Index that are appropriate to substitute for certain securities in the Index or utilize various combinations of the above techniques in seeking to track the Index.

For more information regarding the Index, please refer to the “Index Information” section of the prospectus.

The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

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You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s investment objective will be achieved.

AUTHORIZED PARTICIPANT CONCENTRATION RISK. Only an authorized participant (as defined in the “Frequent Purchases and Redemptions” Section) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as authorized participants. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other authorized participant is able to step forward to create or redeem, in either of these cases, Fund shares may trade at a discount to the Fund’s net asset value and possibly face delisting.

CASH TRANSACTIONS RISK. The Fund will, under most circumstances, effect a significant portion of creations and redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind securities. As a result, an investment in the Fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in an exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that effects its creations and redemptions for in-kind securities. Because the Fund may effect a portion of redemptions for cash, it may be required to sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. A sale of shares may result in capital gains or losses and may also result in higher brokerage costs.

CONSUMER STAPLES COMPANIES RISK. The success of these companies is affected by a variety of factors, such as government regulations, which may affect the permissibility of using various food additives and the production methods of companies that manufacture food products.

CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATE RISK. Changes in currency exchange rates and the relative value of non-U.S. currencies will affect the value of the Fund’s investment and the value of Fund shares. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. Because the Fund’s NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund’s NAV could decline if the Indian rupee depreciates against the U.S. dollar, even if the value of the Fund’s holdings, measured in Indian rupees, increases. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money.

CYBER SECURITY RISK. As the use of Internet technology has become more prevalent in the course of business, the Fund has become more susceptible to potential operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cyber security breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding, but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks through efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cyber security breaches of the Fund’s third party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, or issuers in which the Fund invests, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. The Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security. However, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third party service providers.

EQUITY SECURITIES RISK. Because the Fund invests in equity securities, the value of the Fund’s shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of these equity securities. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors’ perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant stock market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting the issuers occur. In addition, common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase.

INDEX CONSTITUENT RISK. The Fund may be a constituent of one or more indices. As a result, the Fund may be included in one or more index-tracking ETFs or mutual funds. Being a component security of such a vehicle could greatly affect the trading activity involving the Fund, the size of the Fund and the market volatility of the Fund. Inclusion in an index could significantly increase demand for the Fund and removal from an index could result in outsized selling activity in a relatively short period of time. In addition, index rebalances may potentially result in increased trading activity. The Fund’s net asset value could be negatively impacted as a result of increased brokerage costs and adverse tax consequences associated with its own increased trading activity relating to increased buying and selling activity, and the Fund’s market price may be significantly below the Fund’s net asset value during periods of decreased demand for Fund shares, such as when the Fund is removed from an index.

INDIA RISK. In general, non-U.S. securities are subject to higher volatility than securities of U.S. issuers due to possible adverse political, social or economic developments; restrictions on foreign investment or exchange of securities; lack of liquidity; currency exchange rates; excessive taxation; government seizure of assets; different legal or accounting standards; and less government supervision and regulation of exchanges in foreign countries.

Investment in Indian securities involves risks in addition to those associated with investments in securities of issuers in more developed countries, which may adversely affect the value of the Fund’s assets. Such heightened risks include, among others, political and legal uncertainty, greater government control over the economy, currency fluctuations or blockage and the risk of nationalization or expropriation of assets. In addition, religious and border disputes persist in India. Moreover, India has experienced civil unrest and hostilities with neighboring countries, including Pakistan, and the Indian government has confronted separatist movements in several Indian states.

The securities market of India is considered an emerging market that is characterized by a small number of listed companies that have significantly smaller market capitalizations, greater price volatility, greater delays and possibility of disruptions in settlement transactions, greater political uncertainties and greater dependence on international trade or development assistance and substantially less liquidity than companies in more developed markets. In addition, emerging market countries may be subject to overburdened infrastructures and environmental problems. These factors, coupled with restrictions on foreign investment and other factors, limit the supply of securities available for investment by the Fund. This will affect the rate at which the Fund is able to invest in the securities of Indian companies, the purchase and sale prices for such securities, and the timing of purchases and sales. Certain restrictions on foreign investment may decrease the liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio, subject the Fund to higher transaction costs, or inhibit the Fund’s ability to track the Index. The Fund’s investments in securities of issuers located or operating in India, as well as its ability to track the Index, also may be limited or prevented, at times, due to the limits on foreign ownership imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”). In addition, a natural or other disaster could occur in India that could affect the Indian economy or operations of the Fund, causing an adverse impact on the Fund.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES RISK. Information technology companies are generally subject to the following risks: rapidly changing technologies; short product life cycles; fierce competition; aggressive pricing and reduced profit margins; the loss of patent, copyright and trademark protections; cyclical market patterns; evolving industry standards; and frequent new product introductions. Information technology companies may be smaller and less experienced companies, with limited product lines, markets or financial resources and fewer experienced management or marketing personnel. Information technology company stocks, particularly those involved with the Internet, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that are often unrelated to their operating performance.

MARKET MAKER RISK. If the Fund has lower average daily trading volumes, it may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s net asset value and the price at which the Fund’s shares are trading on NYSE Arca, which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund’s shares. In addition, decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a discount to net asset value and also in greater than normal intraday bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.

MARKET RISK. Market risk is the risk that a particular security owned by the Fund or shares of the Fund in general may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic, political, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Overall securities values could decline in value or underperform other investments.

NEW FUND RISK. The Fund currently has fewer assets than larger funds, and like other new funds, large inflows and outflows may impact the Fund’s market exposure for limited periods of time. This impact may be positive or negative, depending on the direction of market movement during the period affected. Also, during the initial invest-up period, the Fund may depart from its principal investment strategies and invest a larger amount or all of its assets in cash equivalents or it may hold cash.

NON-CORRELATION RISK. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and may incur costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s portfolio holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. In addition, the Fund’s portfolio holdings may not exactly replicate the securities included in the Index or the ratios between the securities included in the Index.

To the extent the Fund calculates its net asset value based on fair value prices and the value of its Index is based on securities closing prices on the applicable foreign exchange (i.e., the value of its Index is not based on fair value prices), the Fund’s ability to track its Index may be adversely affected.

NON-DIVERSIFICATION RISK. The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act. As a result, the Fund is only limited as to the percentage of its assets which may be invested in the securities of any one issuer by the diversification requirements imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The Fund may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers. As a result, the Fund may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence affecting one or more of these issuers, experience increased volatility and be highly invested in certain issuers.

REGULATORY RISK. The Fund has applied to register in India as a Foreign Portfolio Investor (“FPI”) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”). Only while maintaining FPI registration would the fund be able to buy, sell or deal in Indian securities. Investment by FPIs in Indian securities are subject to certain limits and restrictions under the applicable law, and the applications of such limits and restrictions could adversely impact the ability of the fund to make investments in India.

SMALLER COMPANIES RISK. Small and/or mid capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic developments, and their securities may be less liquid and may experience greater price volatility than larger, more established companies as a result of several factors, including limited trading volumes, products or financial resources, management inexperience and less publicly available information. Accordingly, such companies are generally subject to greater market risk than larger, more established companies.

TAX RISK. The Fund will be subject to tax in India on the purchase and sale of Indian securities held by the Fund, which will reduce the Fund’s returns.

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

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The Fund does not have a performance history. Once available, the Fund’s performance information, and information that gives some indication of the risks of an investment in the Fund by comparing the Fund’s performance with a broad measure of market performance, will be available on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.

Risk Return Abstract

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Management Fees

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0.95%

Other Expenses

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none

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Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year

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$ 97