FFA First Trust Enhanced Equity Income Fund

 

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-CSR

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Investment Company Act file number 811-21586

First Trust Enhanced Equity Income Fund
(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400
Wheaton, IL 60187
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

 

W. Scott Jardine, Esq.
First Trust Portfolios L.P.

120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400
Wheaton, IL 60187
(Name and address of agent for service)

 

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (630) 765-8000

Date of fiscal year end: December 31

Date of reporting period: December 31, 2023

 

Form N-CSR is to be used by management investment companies to file reports with the Commission not later than 10 days after the transmission to stockholders of any report that is required to be transmitted to stockholders under Rule 30e-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR 270.30e-1). The Commission may use the information provided on Form N-CSR in its regulatory, disclosure review, inspection, and policymaking roles.

A registrant is required to disclose the information specified by Form N-CSR, and the Commission will make this information public. A registrant is not required to respond to the collection of information contained in Form N-CSR unless the Form displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget ("OMB") control number. Please direct comments concerning the accuracy of the information collection burden estimate and any suggestions for reducing the burden to Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. The OMB has reviewed this collection of information under the clearance requirements of 44 U.S.C. § 3507.

Item 1. Reports to Stockholders.

(a) The Report to Shareholders is attached herewith.

 

 

 

  Investment Objective, Policies and Risks (Continued)

First Trust Enhanced Equity Income Fund (FFA)

December 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

 o

A call option normally represents the right to purchase 100 shares of the underlying equity security.

 o

Conventional listed call options have expiration dates which generally can be up to nine months from the date the call options are first listed for trading.  Longer-term call options, such as LEAPS®, can have expiration dates up to three years from the date of listing. 

 o

The Fund primarily writes (sells) call options which are “out-of-the-money”, meaning options with a strike price above the current market price of the underlying equity security.  The Fund may write (sell) “in-the-money” (call options with a strike price below the current market price of the underlying equity security) and “at-the-money” (call options with a strike price equal to the current price of the underlying equity security).  In-the-money and at-the-money call options may be written (sold) as a defensive measure to protect against a possible decline in the underlying security.

In addition to the Fund’s use of covered call option writing (selling), the Fund may, but is not required to, use various hedging and strategic transactions to facilitate portfolio management and mitigate risks.  In utilizing these strategic transactions, the Fund may purchase and sell derivative instruments such as exchange-listed and over-the-counter put and call options on securities, equity, fixed income and interest rate indices, and other financial instruments, purchase and sell financial futures contracts and options thereon, and enter into various interest rate transactions such as swaps, caps, floors or collars or credit transactions.  The Fund may purchase derivative investments that combine features of these instruments. To the extent the Fund enters into derivatives transactions, it will do so pursuant to Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act. Rule 18f-4 requires the Fund to implement certain policies and procedures designed to manage its derivatives risks, dependent upon the Fund’s level of exposure to derivative instruments.

The Fund’s investment objective is considered fundamental and may not be changed without the approval of the holders of a majority of the outstanding Common Shares, as further detailed below.  The remainder of the Fund’s investment policies, unless otherwise stated, including its investment strategy, are considered non-fundamental and may be changed by the Board of Trustees of the Fund without approval of the holders of the Fund’s Common Shares.  The Fund will provide investors with at least 60 days prior notice of any change in the Fund’s investment strategy. 

Fundamental Investment Policies

Except as provided below, the Fund, as a fundamental policy, may not, without the approval of the holders of a majority of the outstanding Common Shares:

(1)

issue senior securities, as defined in the 1940 Act, other than the borrowings permitted by investment restriction (2) set forth below;

(2)

borrow money, except as permitted by the 1940 Act;

(3)

act as underwriter of another issuer’s securities, except to the extent that the Fund may be deemed to be an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 in connection with the purchase and sale of portfolio securities;

(4)

purchase or sell real estate, but this shall not prevent the Fund from investing in securities of companies that deal in real estate or are engaged in the real estate business, including real estate investment trusts, and securities secured by real estate or interests therein and the Fund may hold and sell real estate or mortgages on real estate acquired through default, liquidation, or other distributions of an interest in real estate as a result of the Fund’s ownership of such securities;

(5)

purchase or sell physical commodities (but this shall not prevent the Fund from purchasing or selling options, futures contracts, derivative instruments or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities;

(6)

make loans of funds or other assets, other than by entering into repurchase agreements, lending portfolio securities and through the purchase of debt securities in accordance with its investment objectives, policies and limitations;

(7)

with respect to 75% of its total assets, purchase any securities, if as a result more than 5% of the Fund’s total assets would then be invested in securities of any single issuer or if, as a result, the Fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any single issuer; provided, that Government securities (as defined in the 1940 Act), securities issued by other investment companies and cash items (including receivables) shall not be counted for purposes of this limitation; and

(8)

invest 25% or more of its total assets in securities of issuers in any single industry, provided there shall be no limitation on the purchase obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities.

For the purpose of applying the limitation set forth in subparagraph (7) above, an issuer shall be deemed the sole issuer of a security when its assets and revenues are separate from other governmental entities and its securities are backed only by its assets and revenues. Similarly, in the case of a non-governmental issuer, such as an industrial corporation or a privately owned or operated hospital, if the

Page 25

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  Investment Objective, Policies and Risks (Continued)

First Trust Enhanced Equity Income Fund (FFA)

December 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

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. Substantial costs may be incurred by the Fund in order to resolve or prevent cyber incidents in the future.

 

Depositary Receipts Risk. Depositary receipts represent equity interests in a foreign company that trade on a local stock exchange. Depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. Any distributions paid to the holders of depositary receipts are usually subject to a fee charged by the depositary. Holders of depositary receipts may have limited voting rights, and investment restrictions in certain countries may adversely impact the value of depositary receipts because such restrictions may limit the ability to convert the equity shares into depositary receipts and vice versa. Such restrictions may cause the equity shares of the underlying issuer to trade at a discount or premium to the market price of the depositary receipts.

 

Equity Securities Risk. The value of the Fund’s shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities in which the Fund invests.  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 or when political or economic events affecting the issuers or their industries occur.  An adverse event affecting an issuer, such as an unfavorable earnings report, may depress the value of a particular equity security held by the Fund. Also, the prices of equity securities are sensitive to general movements in the stock market and a drop in the stock market may depress the prices of equity securities to which the Fund has exposure.  Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market.

 

Europe Risk. The Fund is subject to certain risks associated specifically with investments in securities of European issuers, in addition to the risks associated with investments in non-U.S. securities generally. Political or economic disruptions in European countries, even in countries in which the Fund is not invested, may adversely affect security values and thus the Fund’s holdings. A significant number of countries in Europe are member states in the European Union (“EU”), and the member states no longer control their own monetary policies by directing independent interest rates for their currencies. In these member states, the authority to direct monetary policies, including money supply and official interest rates for the Euro, is exercised by the European Central Bank. In a 2016 referendum, the United Kingdom elected to withdraw from the EU (“Brexit”). After years of negotiations between the United Kingdom and the EU, a withdrawal agreement was reached whereby the United Kingdom formally left the EU. As the second largest economy among EU members, the implications of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal are difficult to gauge and cannot be fully known. Trade between the United Kingdom and the EU is highly integrated through supply chains and trade in services, as well as through multinational companies. The United Kingdom’s departure may negatively impact the EU and Europe as a whole by causing volatility within the EU, triggering prolonged economic downturns in certain European countries or sparking additional member states to contemplate departing the EU (thereby perpetuating political instability in the region).

 

Income Risk. Net investment income paid by the Fund to its common shareholders is derived from the premiums it receives from writing (selling) call options and from the dividends and interest it receives from the equity securities and other investments held in the Fund’s portfolio and short-term gains thereon.  Premiums from writing (selling) call options and dividends and interest payments made by the securities in the Fund’s portfolio can vary widely over time.  Dividends on equity securities are not fixed but are declared at the discretion of an issuer’s board of directors.  There is no guarantee that the issuers of the equity securities in which the Fund invests will declare dividends in the future or that if declared they will remain at current levels.  The Fund cannot assure as to what percentage of the distributions paid on the common shares, if any, will consist of qualified dividend income or long-term capital gains, both of which are taxed at lower rates for individuals than are ordinary income and short-term capital gains.

 

Industry and Sector Risk. The Fund may not invest 25% or more of its total assets in securities of issuers in any single industry.  If the Fund is focused in an industry, it may present more risks than if it were broadly diversified over numerous industries of the economy.  Individual industries may be subject to unique risks which may include, among others, governmental regulation, inflation, technological innovations that may render existing products and equipment obsolete, competition from new entrants, high research and development costs, and rising interest rates.

The Fund may invest 25% or more of its total assets in securities of issuers in a single sector. Currently, the Fund makes significant investments in equity securities of companies in the information technology sector. Information technology companies produce and provide hardware, software and information technology systems and services.  Information technology companies are generally subject to the following risks: rapidly changing technologies and existing product obsolescence; 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 and new market entrants.  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. In addition,

Page 27

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  Investment Objective, Policies and Risks (Continued)

First Trust Enhanced Equity Income Fund (FFA)

December 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

information technology companies are particularly vulnerable to federal, state and local government regulation, and competition and consolidation, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs.  Information technology companies also face competition for services of qualified personnel and heavily rely on patents and intellectual property rights and the ability to enforce such rights to maintain a competitive advantage.

 

Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be worth less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions may decline. Inflation rates may change frequently and drastically as a result of various factors, including unexpected shifts in the domestic or global economy, and the Fund’s investments may not keep pace with inflation, which may result in losses to Fund investors.

 

Investment Risk. An investment in the Fund’s Common Shares is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of the entire principal invested.  An investment in Common Shares represents an indirect investment in the securities owned by the Fund.  The value of these securities, like other market investments, may move up or down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably.  Common Shares at any point in time may be worth less than the original investment, even after taking into account the reinvestment of Fund dividends and distributions.  When the Advisor or Sub-Advisor determines that it is temporarily unable to follow the Fund’s investment strategy or that it is impractical to do so (such as when a market disruption event has occurred and trading in the securities is extremely limited or absent), the Fund may take temporary defensive positions.

 

Management Risk and Reliance on Key Personnel. In managing the Fund’s investment portfolio, the Fund’s portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not produce the desired result.  Additionally, the implementation of the Fund’s investment strategy depends upon the continued contributions of certain key employees of the Advisor and Sub-Advisor, some of whom have unique talents and experience and would be difficult to replace.  The loss or interruption of the services of a key member of the portfolio management team could have a negative impact on the Fund.

 

Market Discount from Net Asset Value. 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.

 

Market Risk. Investments held by the Fund, as well as shares of the Fund itself, are subject to market fluctuations caused by real or perceived adverse economic conditions, political events, regulatory factors or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of the 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, market manipulation, government defaults, government shutdowns, regulatory actions, political changes, diplomatic developments, the imposition of sanctions and other similar measures, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of the Fund’s shares, the liquidity of an investment, and may result in increased market volatility. During any such events, the Fund’s shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value, the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen and the returns on investment may fluctuate.

 

Non-U.S. Securities Risk. Investing in securities of non-U.S. issuers may involve certain risks not typically associated with investing in securities of U.S. issuers. These risks include: (i) there may be less publicly available information about non-U.S. issuers or markets due to less rigorous disclosure or accounting standards or regulatory practices; (ii) non-U.S. markets may be smaller, less liquid and more volatile than the U.S. market; (iii) the economies of non-U.S. countries may grow at slower rates than expected or may experience a downturn or recession; (iv) the impact of economic, political, social or diplomatic events as well as of foreign governmental laws or restrictions and differing legal standards; (v) certain non-U.S. countries may impose restrictions on the ability of non-U.S. issuers to make payments of principal and interest to investors located in the United States due to blockage of non-U.S. currency exchanges or otherwise; and (vi) withholding and other non-U.S. taxes may decrease the Fund’s return. Foreign companies are generally not subject to the same accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards as are U.S. companies. In addition, there may be difficulty in obtaining or enforcing a court judgment abroad, including in the event the issuer of a non-U.S. security defaults or enters bankruptcy, administration or other proceedings. These risks may be more pronounced to the extent that the Fund invests a significant amount of its assets in companies located in one region.

 

Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third parties for a range of services, including custody.  Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.

 

Page 28

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(b) Not applicable.

Item 2. Code of Ethics.

(a)

The registrant, as of the end of the period covered by this report, has adopted a code of ethics that applies to the registrant’s principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions, regardless of whether these individuals are employed by the registrant or a third party.

(c)

There have been no amendments, during the period covered by this report, to a provision of the code of ethics that applies to the registrant’s principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions, regardless of whether these individuals are employed by the registrant or a third party, and that relates to any element of the code of ethics description.

(d)

The registrant has not granted any waivers, including an implicit waiver, from a provision of the code of ethics that applies to the registrant’s principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions, regardless of whether these individuals are employed by the registrant or a third party, that relates to one or more of the items set forth in paragraph (b) of this item’s instructions.

(e)

Not applicable.

(f)

A copy of the code of ethics that applies to the registrant’s principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller is filed as an exhibit pursuant to Item 13(a)(1).

Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert.

As of the end of the period covered by the report, the registrant’s board of trustees has determined that Thomas R. Kadlec, Robert F. Keith and Bronwyn Wright are qualified to serve as audit committee financial experts serving on its audit committee and that each of them is “independent,” as defined by Item 3 of Form N-CSR.

Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.

(a) Audit Fees (Registrant) — The aggregate fees billed for each of the last two fiscal years for professional services rendered by the principal accountant for the audit of the registrant’s annual financial statements or services that are normally provided by the accountant in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements were $40,000 for 2022 and $40,000 for 2023.

(b) Audit-Related Fees (Registrant) — The aggregate fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years, for assurance and related services by the principal accountant that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit of the registrant’s financial statements and are not reported under paragraph (a) of this Item were $0 for 2022 and $0 for 2023.

Audit-Related Fees (Investment Advisor) — The aggregate fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years of the registrant for assurance and related services by the principal accountant that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit of the registrant’s financial statements and are not reported under paragraph (a) of this Item were $0 for 2022 and $0 for 2023.

(c) Tax Fees (Registrant) — The aggregate fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years for professional services rendered by the principal accountant for tax compliance, tax advice, and tax planning to the registrant were $16,250 for 2022 and $21,094 for 2023. These fees were for tax consultation and/or tax return preparation and professional services rendered for PFIC (Passive Foreign Investment Company) Identification Services.

Tax Fees (Investment Advisor) — The aggregate fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years of the registrant for professional services rendered by the principal accountant for tax compliance, tax advice, and tax planning to the registrant’s advisor were $0 for 2022 and $0 for 2023.

(d) All Other Fees (Registrant) — The aggregate fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years for products and services provided by the principal accountant to the registrant, other than the services reported in paragraphs (a) through (c) of this Item were $0 for 2022 and $0 for 2023.

All Other Fees (Investment Advisor) — The aggregate fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years for products and services provided by the principal accountant to the registrant’s investment advisor, other than services reported in paragraphs (a) through (c) of this Item were $0 for 2022 and $0 for 2023.

(e)(1)

Disclose the audit committee’s pre-approval policies and procedures described in paragraph (c)(7) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X.

Pursuant to its charter and its Audit and Non-Audit Services Pre-Approval Policy, the Audit Committee (the “Committee”) is responsible for the pre-approval of all audit services and permitted non-audit services (including the fees and terms thereof) to be performed for the registrant by its independent auditors. The Chairman of the Committee is authorized to give such pre-approvals on behalf of the Committee up to $25,000 and report any such pre-approval to the full Committee.

The Committee is also responsible for the pre-approval of the independent auditor’s engagements for non-audit services with the registrant’s advisor (not including a sub-advisor whose role is primarily portfolio management and is sub-contracted or overseen by another investment advisor) and any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the investment advisor that provides ongoing services to the registrant, if the engagement relates directly to the operations and financial reporting of the registrant, subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X. If the independent auditor has provided non-audit services to the registrant’s advisor (other than any sub-advisor whose role is primarily portfolio management and is sub-contracted with or overseen by another investment advisor) and any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the investment advisor that provides ongoing services to the registrant that were not pre-approved pursuant to its policies, the Committee will consider whether the provision of such non-audit services is compatible with the auditor’s independence.

(e)(2)

The percentage of services described in each of paragraphs (b) through (d) for the registrant and the registrant’s investment advisor of this Item that were approved by the audit committee pursuant to the pre-approval exceptions included in paragraph (c)(7)(i)(c) or paragraph (c)(7)(ii) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X are as follows:

(b) 0%

(c) 0%

(d) 0%

(f)

The percentage of hours expended on the principal accountant’s engagement to audit the registrant’s financial statements for the most recent fiscal year that were attributed to work performed by persons other than the principal accountant’s full-time, permanent employees was less than fifty percent.

(g)

The aggregate non-audit fees billed by the registrant’s accountant for services rendered to the registrant, and rendered to the registrant’s investment advisor (not including any sub-advisor whose role is primarily portfolio management and is subcontracted with or overseen by another investment advisor), and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the advisor that provides ongoing services to the registrant for 2022 were $16,250 and $0 for the Registrant and the registrant’s investment advisor, respectively, and for 2023 were $21,094 and $44,000, for the registrant and the registrant’s investment advisor, respectively.

(h)

The registrant’s audit committee of its Board of Trustees determined that the provision of non-audit services that were rendered to the registrant’s investment advisor (not including any sub-advisor whose role is primarily portfolio management and is subcontracted with or overseen by another investment advisor), and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment advisor that provides ongoing services to the registrant that were not pre-approved pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(ii) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X is compatible with maintaining the principal accountant’s independence.

(i)

Not applicable.

(j)

Not applicable.

Item 5. Audit Committee of Listed Registrants.

(a)

The registrant has a separately designated audit committee consisting of all the independent trustees of the registrant. The members of the audit committee are: Thomas R. Kadlec, Niel B. Nielson, Denise M. Keefe, Richard E. Erickson,Robert F. Keith and Bronwyn Wright.

Item 6. Investments.

(a)

Schedule of Investments in securities of unaffiliated issuers as of the close of the reporting period is included as part of the report to shareholders filed under Item 1 of this form.

(b)

Not applicable.

Item 7. Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies.

A description of the policies and procedures used to vote proxies on behalf of the Fund is attached as an exhibit.

Item 8. Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies.

(a)(1)

Identification of Portfolio Manager(s) or Management Team Members and Description of Role of Portfolio Manager(s) or Management Team Members

 

Information provided as of 12/31/2023

 

Chartwell Investment Partners, LLC (“Chartwell”), a wholly owned subsidiary of TriState Capital Holdings, Inc., is a research-based equity and fixed-income manager with a disciplined, team-oriented investment process. The Chartwell Portfolio Management Team consists of the following:

 

Douglas W. Kugler, CFA

Principal, Senior Portfolio Manager

Mr. Kugler is a Senior Portfolio Manager on Chartwell’s large-cap equity portfolio management team and has over 25 years of investment industry experience. His areas of focus include the Consumer Discretionary, Energy, Industrials, Materials and Technology sectors of the market. He has been a portfolio manager for the Fund since 2007. From 1993 to 2003, he held several positions at Morgan Stanley Investment Management (Miller Anderson & Sherrerd) the last of which was Senior Associate and Analyst for the Large Cap Value team. Mr. Kugler is a member of the CFA (Chartered Financial Analysts) Institute and the CFA Society of Philadelphia. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Mr. Kugler earned a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Delaware.

Jeffrey D. Bilsky,

Portfolio Manager

Jeffrey D. Bilsky, is a Portfolio Manager on Chartwell's equity investment team managing the Dividend Value Strategy and has over 17 years of investment industry experience. His areas of focus include the Energy, Utilities, Information Technology and Staples sectors of the market. He is also a member of the Brokerage Committee. Prior to joining Chartwell, Jeff was employed at Cruiser Capital, where he served as a Research Analyst. Previously, he was a Vice President in Institutional Sales and Trading at Hudson Securities. Earlier in his career, Mr. Bilskey worked at Bank of America as an Analyst in Institutional Sales and Trading.

The investment team for the First Trust Enhanced Equity Income Fund consists of two portfolio managers with an average of 29 years of investment experience. All team members (portfolio managers and analysts) conduct fundamental research and meet with company management. Purchase and sale decisions are discussed among the team members, however, final decision-making responsibility rests with Mr. Kugler. In addition, while each team member may be consulted on any options transactions involving the portfolio, Mr. Kugler has full responsibility for decisions involving the options program.

(a)(2)

Other Accounts Managed by Portfolio Manager(s) or Management Team Member and Potential Conflicts of Interest

Information provided as of December 31, 2023

Other Accounts Managed by Portfolio Manager(s) or Management Team Member

Name of Portfolio Manager or Team Member	Type of Accounts*	Total # of Accounts Managed	Total Assets	# of Accounts Managed for which Advisory Fee is Based on Performance	Total Assets for which Advisory Fee is Based on Performance
1.  Douglas W. Kugler	Registered Investment Companies:	0	$0	0	$0
	Other Pooled Investment Vehicles:	1	$1.6M	0	$0
	Other Accounts:	19	$505M	0	$0
2.  Jeffrey D. Bilsky	Registered Investment Companies:	1	$22.0M	0	$0
	Other Pooled Investment Vehicles:	1	$1.6	0	$0
	Other Accounts:	19	$505M	0	$0

 

Potential Conflicts of Interests

The portfolio managers manage other accounts for Chartwell including institutional portfolios of similar investment styles. None of these portfolio managers manage any hedge funds nor any accounts with performance-based fees. When registered funds and investment accounts are managed side-by-side, firm personnel must strictly follow the policies and procedures outlined in our Trade Allocation Policy to ensure that accounts are treated in a fair and equitable manner, and that no client or account is favored over another. When registered funds and investment accounts are trading under the same investment product, and thus trading the same securities, shares are allocated on a pro-rata basis based on market value, and all portfolios obtain the same average price.

On a monthly basis, a member of our Finance team, oversees the performance calculation process handled in Operations, and completes a spreadsheet of monthly portfolio returns by client. The Finance Officer provides this spreadsheet to the CEO, COO, CCO and various investment personnel for their review. Any performance dispersion noted by anyone on the distribution list is investigated whereby the Finance Officer reviews the underlying transactional detail, holdings & security weightings by portfolio. This monthly process ensures that all portfolios that are managed under the same investment product are treated fairly and traded in accordance with firm policy.

(a)(3) Compensation Structure of Portfolio Manager(s) or Management Team Members

Information provided as of December 31, 2023

 

The compensation paid to a Chartwell portfolio manager and analyst consists of base salary, annual bonus, ownership distribution, and an annual profit-sharing contribution to the firm’s retirement plan.

A portfolio manager’s and analyst’s base salary is determined by Chartwell’s Compensation Committee and is reviewed at least annually. A portfolio manager’s and analyst’s experience, historical performance, and role in firm or product team management are the primary considerations in determining the base salary. Industry benchmarking is utilized by the Compensation Committee on an annual basis.

Annual bonuses are determined by the Compensation Committee based on revenue sharing. Since strategy revenue is highly correlated with long-term performance, teams can earn a proportion of strategy revenue with the residual over salaries distributable as annual bonuses. Performance tests relative to the appropriate benchmark and peer group rankings can enhance this revenue share. Additional factors used to determine the annual bonus include the portfolio manager’s contribution as an analyst, product team management, and contribution to the strategic planning and development of the investment group as well as the firm.

Fund performance is compared to a combination of outperforming either the S&P 500 or BXM and the ranking of performance compared to the peer group as reported to the FFA board.

For employee retention purposes, part of the annual bonus for key employees is deferred for a period of 3 year.s

(a)(4) Disclosure of Securities Ownership

Information provided as of December 31, 2023:

Name of Portfolio Manager or Team Member		Dollar Range of Fund Shares Beneficially Owned
Douglas W. Kugler		$100,001-500,000
Jeffrey D. Bilsky		None

 

(b)

Not applicable.

Item 9. Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Company and Affiliated Purchasers.

Not applicable.

Item 10. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.

There have been no material changes to the procedures by which the shareholders may recommend nominees to the registrant’s board of directors, where those changes were implemented after the registrant last provided disclosure in response to the requirements of Item 407(c)(2)(iv) of Regulation S-K (17 CFR 229.407) (as required by Item 22(b)(15) of Schedule 14A (17 CFR 240.14a-101)), or this Item.

Item 11. Controls and Procedures.

(a)

The registrant’s principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, have concluded that the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) (17 CFR 270.30a-3(c))) are effective, as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of the report that includes the disclosure required by this paragraph, based on their evaluation of these controls and procedures required by Rule 30a-3(b) under the 1940 Act (17 CFR 270.30a-3(b)) and Rules 13a-15(b) or 15d-15(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (17 CFR 240.13a-15(b) or 240.15d-15(b)).

(b)

There were no changes in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the 1940 Act (17 CFR 270.30a-3(d)) that occurred during the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Item 12. Disclosure of Securities Lending Activities for Closed-end Management Investment Companies.

(a)

Not applicable.

(b)

Not applicable.

Item [18]. Recovery of Erroneously Awarded Compensation.

Not applicable. 

Item 14. Exhibits.

(a)(1)

Code of ethics, or any amendment thereto, that is the subject of disclosure required by Item 2 is attached hereto.

 

(a)(2)

Certifications pursuant to Rule 30a-2(a) under the 1940 Act and Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 are attached hereto.

 

(a)(3)

Not applicable.

 

(b)

Certifications pursuant to Rule 30a-2(b) under the 1940 Act and Section 906 of the Sarbanes- Oxley Act of 2002 are attached hereto.

 

(c)

to the registrant’s common shareholders in accordance with the order under Section 6(c) of the 1940 Act granting an exemption from Section 19(b) of the 1940 Act and Rule 19a-l under the 1940 Act, dated March 24, 2010.(1)

 

(1)

The Fund received exemptive relief from the Securities and Exchange Commission which permits the Fund to make periodic distributions of long-term capital gains as frequently as monthly each taxable year. The relief is conditioned, in part, on an undertaking by the Fund to make the disclosures to the holders of the Fund’s common shares, in addition to the information required by Section 19(a) of the 1940 Act and Rule 19a-1 thereunder. The Fund is likewise obligated to file with the SEC the information contained in any such notice to shareholders. In that regard, attached as an exhibit to this filing is a copy of such notice made during the period.

 

(d)

Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies required by Item 7 is attached hereto.

 

 

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

(registrant)

First Trust Enhanced Equity Income Fund

By (Signature and Title)*		/s/ James M. Dykas
		James M. Dykas, President and Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer)

Date:

March 11, 2024

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

By (Signature and Title)*		/s/ James M. Dykas
		James M. Dykas, President and Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer)

Date:

March 11, 2024

By (Signature and Title)*		/s/ Derek D. Maltbie
		Derek D. Maltbie, Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer (principal financial officer)

Date:

March 11, 2024

^* Print the name and title of each signing officer under his or her signature.

 

 

 

SENIOR FINANCIAL OFFICER
CODE OF CONDUCT

I. Introduction

This code of conduct is being adopted by the investment companies advised by First Trust Advisors L.P., from time to time, (the "FUNDS"). The reputation and integrity of the Funds are valuable assets that are vital to the Funds' success. Each officer of the Funds, and officers and employees of the investment adviser to the Funds who work on Fund matters, including each of the Funds' senior financial officers ("SFOS"), is responsible for conducting each Fund's business in a manner that demonstrates a commitment to the highest standards of integrity. SFOs include the Principal Executive Officer (who is the President), the Controller (who is the principal accounting officer), and the Treasurer (who is the principal financial officer), and any person who performs a similar function.

The Funds, First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios have adopted Codes of Ethics under Rule 17j-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "RULE 17J-1 CODE"). These Codes of Ethics are designed to prevent certain conflicts of interest that may arise when officers, employees, or directors of the Funds and the foregoing entities know about present or future Fund transactions and/or have the power to influence those transactions, and engage in transactions with respect to those same securities in their personal account(s) or otherwise take advantage of their position and knowledge with respect to those securities. In an effort to prevent these conflicts and in accordance with Rule 17j-1, the Funds adopted their Rule 17j-1 Code to prohibit transactions and conduct that create conflicts of interest, and to establish compliance procedures.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was designed to address corporate malfeasance and to help assure investors that the companies in which they invest are accurately and completely disclosing financial information. Under Section 406 of the Act, all public companies (including the Funds) must either have a code of ethics for their SFOs, or disclose why they do not. The Act was intended to prevent future situations (such as occurred in well-reported situations involving such companies as Enron and WorldCom) where a company creates an environment in which employees are afraid to express their opinions or to question unethical and potentially illegal business practices.

The Funds have chosen to adopt a senior financial officer Code of Conduct to encourage their SFOs, and other Fund officers and employees of First Trust Advisors or First Trust Portfolios to act ethically and to question potentially unethical or illegal practices, and to strive to ensure that the Funds' financial disclosures are complete, accurate, and understandable.

II. Purposes of This Code of Conduct

The purposes of this Code are:

A. To promote honest and ethical conduct, including the ethical handling of actual or apparent conflicts of interest between personal and professional relationships;

B. To promote full, fair, accurate, timely, and understandable disclosure in reports and documents that the Funds file with, or submits to, the SEC and in other public communications the Funds make;

C. To promote compliance with applicable governmental laws, rules and regulations;

D. To encourage the prompt internal reporting to an appropriate person of violations of the Code; and

E. To establish accountability for adherence to the Code.

III. Questions About This Code

The Funds' Boards of Trustees have designated W. Scott Jardine or other appropriate officer designated by the President of the respective Funds to be the Compliance Coordinator for the implementation and administration of the Code.

IV. Handling of Financial Information

The Funds have adopted guidelines under which its SFOs perform their duties. However, the Funds expect that all officers or employees of the adviser or distributor who participate in the preparation of any part of any Fund's financial statements follow these guidelines with respect to each Fund:

A. Act with honesty and integrity and avoid violations of this Code, including actual or apparent conflicts of interest with the Fund in personal and professional relationships.

B. Disclose to the Fund's Compliance Coordinator any material transaction or relationship that reasonably could be expected to give rise to any violations of the Code, including actual or apparent conflicts of interest with the Fund. You should disclose these transactions or relationships whether you are involved or have only observed the transaction or relationship. If it is not possible to disclose the matter to the Compliance Coordinator, it should be disclosed to the Fund's Principal Financial Officer or Principal Executive Officer.

C. Provide information to the Fund's other officers and appropriate employees of service providers (adviser, administrator, outside auditor, outside counsel, custodian, etc.) that is accurate, complete, objective, relevant, timely, and understandable.

D. Endeavor to ensure full, fair, timely, accurate, and understandable disclosure in the Fund's periodic reports.

E. Comply with the federal securities laws and other applicable laws and rules, such as the Internal Revenue Code.

F. Act in good faith, responsibly, and with due care, competence and diligence, without misrepresenting material facts or allowing your independent judgment to be subordinated.

G. Respect the confidentiality of information acquired in the course of your work except when you have Fund approval to disclose it or where disclosure is otherwise legally mandated. You may not use confidential information acquired in the course of your work for personal advantage.

H. Share and maintain skills important and relevant to the Fund's needs.

I. Proactively promote ethical behavior among peers in your work environment.

J. Responsibly use and control all assets and resources employed or entrusted to you.

K. Record or participate in the recording of entries in the Fund's books and records that are accurate to the best of your knowledge.

V. Waivers of This Code

SFOs and other parties subject to this Code may request a waiver of a provision of this Code (or certain provisions of the Fund's Rule 17j-1 Code) by submitting their request in writing to the Compliance Coordinator for appropriate review. An executive officer of the Fund or the Audit Committee will decide whether to grant a waiver. All waivers of this Code must be disclosed to the Fund's shareholders to the extent required by SEC rules. A good faith interpretation of the provisions of this Code, however, shall not constitute a waiver.

VI. Annual Certification

Each SFO will be asked to certify on an annual basis that he/she is in full compliance with the Code and any related policy statements.

VII. Reporting Suspected Violations

A. SFOs or other officers of the Funds or employees of the First Trust group who work on Fund matters who observe, learn of, or, in good faith, suspect a violation of the Code MUST immediately report the violation to the Compliance Coordinator, another member of the Funds' or First Trust's senior management, or to the Audit Committee of the Fund Board. An example of a possible Code violation is the preparation and filing of financial disclosure that omits material facts, or that is accurate but is written in a way that obscures its meaning.

B. Because service providers such as an administrator, outside accounting firm, and custodian provide much of the work relating to the Funds' financial statements, you should be alert for actions by service providers that may be illegal, or that could be viewed as dishonest or unethical conduct. You should report these actions to the Compliance Coordinator even if you know, or think, that the service provider has its own code of ethics for its SFOs or employees.

C. SFOs or other officers or employees who report violations or suspected violations in good faith will not be subject to retaliation of any kind. Reported violations will be investigated and addressed promptly and will be treated confidentially to the extent possible.

VIII. Violations of The Code

A. Dishonest, unethical or illegal conduct will constitute a violation of this Code, regardless of whether this Code specifically refers to that particular conduct. A violation of this Code may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. A variety of laws apply to the Funds and their operations, including the Securities Act of 1933, the Investment Company Act of 1940, state laws relating to duties owed by Fund directors and officers, and criminal laws. The federal securities laws generally prohibit the Funds from making material misstatements in its prospectus and other documents filed with the SEC, or from omitting to state a material fact. These material misstatements and omissions include financial statements that are misleading or omit materials facts.

B. Examples of criminal violations of the law include stealing, embezzling, misapplying corporate or bank funds, making a payment for an expressed purpose on a Fund's behalf to an individual who intends to use it for a different purpose; or making payments, whether corporate or personal, of cash or other items of value that are intended to influence the judgment or actions of political candidates, government officials or businesses in connection with any of the Funds' activities. The Funds must and will report all suspected criminal violations to the appropriate authorities for possible prosecution, and will investigate, address and report, as appropriate, non-criminal violations.

 

Amended: June 1, 2009

 

 

 

Certification Pursuant to Rule 30a-2(a) under the 1940 Act and Section 302
of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act

 

I, James M. Dykas, certify that:

1.

I have reviewed this report on Form N-CSR of First Trust Enhanced Equity Income Fund;

 

2.

Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

 

3.

Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations, changes in net assets, and cash flows (if the financial statements are required to include a statement of cash flows) of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

 

4.

The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) for the registrant and have:

 

(a)

Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

 

(b)

Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

 

(c)

Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of this report based on such evaluation; and

 

(d)

Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and

 

5.

The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

 

(a)

All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial information; and

 

(b)

Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

 

Date:		March 11, 2024		/s/ James M. Dykas
				James M. Dykas, President and Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer)

 

Certification Pursuant to Rule 30a-2(a) under the 1940 Act and Section 302
of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act

 

I, Derek D. Maltbie, certify that:

1.

I have reviewed this report on Form N-CSR of First Trust Enhanced Equity Income Fund;

 

2.

Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

 

3.

Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations, changes in net assets, and cash flows (if the financial statements are required to include a statement of cash flows) of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

 

4.

The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) for the registrant and have:

 

(a)

Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

 

(b)

Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

 

(c)

Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of this report based on such evaluation; and

 

(d)

Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and

 

5.

The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

 

(a)

All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial information; and

 

(b)

Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

 

Date:		March 11, 2024		/s/ Derek D. Maltbie
				Derek D. Maltbie, Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer (principal financial officer)

 

 

 

 

 

Certification Pursuant to Rule 30a-2(b) under the 1940 Act and Section 906
of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act

 

I, James M. Dykas, President and Chief Executive Officer of First Trust Enhanced Equity Income Fund (the “Registrant”), certify that:

 

1.

The Form N-CSR of the Registrant (the “Report”) fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and

 

2.

The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Registrant.

 

Date:		March 11, 2024		/s/ James M. Dykas
				James M. Dykas, President and Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer)

  

I, Derek D. Maltbie, Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer of First Trust Enhanced Equity Income Fund (the “Registrant”), certify that:

 

1.

The Form N-CSR of the Registrant (the “Report”) fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and

 

2.

The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Registrant.

 

Date:		March 11, 2024		/s/ Derek D. Maltbie
				Derek D. Maltbie, Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer (principal financial officer)

 

 

 

 

 

Notice Regarding Your Quarterly Distribution

First Trust Enhanced Equity Income Fund (FFA)

 

The closed-end fund listed above (the "Fund") has declared a distribution payable on September 29, 2023, to shareholders of record as of September 25, 2023, with an ex-dividend date of September 22, 2023. This Notice is meant to provide you information about the sources of your Fund's distributions. You should not draw any conclusions about the Fund's investment performance from the amount of its distribution or from the terms of its Managed Distribution Plan.

 

The following tables set forth the estimated amounts of the current distribution and the cumulative distributions paid this fiscal year to date for the Fund from the following sources: net investment income ("NII"); net realized short-term capital gains ("STCG"); net realized long-term capital gains ("LTCG"); and return of capital ("ROC"). These estimates are based upon information projected through September 30, 2023, are calculated based on a generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") basis and include the prior fiscal year-end undistributed net investment income. The amounts and sources of distributions are expressed per common share.

 

 

Annualized

5 Year Avg.

Total

Current Distribution ($)

Current Distribution (%)

Current Dist. Rate

Annual Total

Fund Ticker

Fund Cusip

Fiscal Year End

Current Distribution

NII

STCG

LTCG

ROC (2)

NII

STCG

LTCG

ROC (2)

as a % of NAV (3)

Return on NAV (4)

FFA

337318109

12/31/2023

$0.31500

$0.09359

—

—

$0.22141

29.71%

—

—

70.29%

6.85%

9.51%

Cumulative

Cumulative

Total Cumulative

Cumulative Distributions Fiscal YTD ($)

Cumulative Distributions Fiscal YTD (%)

Fiscal YTD Distributions

Fiscal YTD Total

Fund Ticker

Fund Cusip

Fiscal Year End

Fiscal YTD Distributions (1)

NII

STCG

LTCG

ROC (2)

NII

STCG

LTCG

ROC (2)

as a % of NAV (3)

Return on NAV (4)

FFA

337318109

12/31/2023

$0.94500

$0.28076

—

—

$0.66424

29.71%

—

—

70.29%

5.14%

14.32%

 

(1)

Includes the most recent quarterly distribution paid on September 29, 2023.

(2)

The Fund estimates that it has distributed more than its income and net realized capital gains; therefore, a portion of your distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur, for example, when some or all of the money that you invested in the Fund is paid back to you. A return of capital distribution does not necessarily reflect the Fund's investment performance and should not be confused with "yield" or "income."

(3)

Based on Net Asset Value ("NAV") as of August 31, 2023.

(4)

Total Returns are through August 31, 2023.

The amounts and sources of distributions reported in this Notice are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment experience during the remainder of its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. The Fund will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes. You should not use this Notice as a substitute for your Form 1099-DIV.

_____________________________________ 

First Trust Advisors L.P. Contact:

Derek Maltbie (630) 765-8499

 

 

                       

Notice Regarding Your Quarterly Distribution

First Trust Enhanced Equity Income Fund (FFA)

 

The closed-end fund listed above (the "Fund") has declared a distribution payable on December 29, 2023, to shareholders of record as of December 26, 2023, with an ex-dividend date of December 22, 2023. This Notice is meant to provide you information about the sources of your Fund's distributions. You should not draw any conclusions about the Fund's investment performance from the amount of its distribution or from the terms of its Managed Distribution Plan.

 

The following tables set forth the estimated amounts of the current distribution and the cumulative distributions paid this fiscal year to date for the Fund from the following sources: net investment income ("NII"); net realized short-term capital gains ("STCG"); net realized long-term capital gains ("LTCG"); and return of capital ("ROC"). These estimates are based upon information projected through December 31, 2023, are calculated based on a generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") basis and include the prior fiscal year-end undistributed net investment income. The amounts and sources of distributions are expressed per common share.

 

 

Annualized

5 Year Avg.

Total

Current Distribution ($)

Current Distribution (%)

Current Dist. Rate

Annual Total

Fund Ticker

Fund Cusip

Fiscal Year End

Current Distribution

NII

STCG

LTCG

ROC (2)

NII

STCG

LTCG

ROC (2)

as a % of NAV (3)

Return on NAV (4)

FFA

337318109

12/31/2023

$0.31500

$0.08370

—

$0.23130

—

26.57%

—

73.43%

—

6.83%

11.12%

Cumulative

Cumulative

Total Cumulative

Cumulative Distributions Fiscal YTD ($)

Cumulative Distributions Fiscal YTD (%)

Fiscal YTD Distributions

Fiscal YTD Total

Fund Ticker

Fund Cusip

Fiscal Year End

Fiscal YTD Distributions (1)

NII

STCG

LTCG

ROC (2)

NII

STCG

LTCG

ROC (2)

as a % of NAV (3)

Return on NAV (4)

FFA

337318109

12/31/2023

$1.26000

$0.33478

—

$0.92522

—

26.57%

—

73.43%

—

6.83%

16.73%

(1)

Includes the most recent quarterly distribution paid on December 29, 2023.

(2)

The Fund estimates that it has distributed more than its income and net realized capital gains; therefore, a portion of your distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur, for example, when some or all of the money that you invested in the Fund is paid back to you. A return of capital distribution does not necessarily reflect the Fund's investment performance and should not be confused with "yield" or "income."

(3)

Based on Net Asset Value ("NAV") as of November 30, 2023.

(4)

Total Returns are through November 30, 2023.

 

The amounts and sources of distributions reported in this Notice are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment experience during the remainder of its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. The Fund will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes. You should not use this Notice as a substitute for your Form 1099-DIV.

 

_____________________________________

First Trust Advisors L.P. Contact:

Derek Maltbie (630) 765-8499                        

 

 

 

 

 

MacKay Shields LLC

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures January 2023

1.

Introduction

MacKay Shields LLC (“MacKay Shields” or the “Firm”), has adopted these “Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures” (the “Policy”) to ensure the Firm’s compliance with Rule 206(4)- 6 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the “Advisers Act”) and other applicable fiduciary obligations. The Policy applies to proxies relating to securities held by clients of MacKay Shields who have delegated the responsibility of voting proxies to the Firm. The Policy is designed to assist Firm employees in meeting their specific responsibilities in this area and to reasonably ensure that proxies are voted in the best interests of the Firm’s clients.

2.

Statement of Policy

2.1         It is the policy of MacKay Shields that where the Firm has voting authority, all proxies are to be voted in the best interest of the client without regard to the interests of MacKay Shields or other related parties. Specifically, MacKay Shields shall not subordinate the interests of clients to unrelated objectives, including MacKay Shields’ interests. MacKay Shields shall act with the care, skill, prudence and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent person acting in a like capacity and familiar with such matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character and with like aims. For purposes of the Policy, the “best interests of clients” shall mean, unless otherwise specified by the client, the clients’ best economic interests over the long term as determined by MacKay Shields – that is, the common interest that all MacKay Shields clients share in seeing the value of a common investment increase over time. It is further the policy of the Firm that complete and accurate disclosure concerning its proxy voting policies and procedures and proxy voting records as required by the Advisers Act, be made available to its clients.

2.2        When proxies with respect to securities held by clients of MacKay Shields have not been received by MacKay Shields or its proxy voting service provider, MacKay Shields will make reasonable efforts to obtain missing proxies. MacKay Shields is not responsible for voting proxies it or its proxy voting service provider does not receive.

2.3    MacKay Shields may choose not to vote proxies when it believes that it is appropriate. This may occur, without limitation, under the following circumstances:

•

If the effect on the client’s economic interests or the value of the portfolio holding is indeterminable or insignificant;

•

If the cost of voting the proxy outweighs the possible benefit to the client; or

•

If a jurisdiction imposes share blocking restrictions which prevent the Firm from trading shares.

 

1

 

3.

Use of Third Party Proxy Voting Service Provider

To discharge its responsibility, MacKay Shields has examined third-party services that assist in the researching and voting of proxies and the development of voting guidelines. After such review, the Firm has selected Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc., (“ISS”), to research voting proposals, analyze the financial implications of voting proposals and vote proxies. MacKay Shields utilizes the research and analytical services, operational implementation, administration, record-keeping and reporting services provided by ISS.

4.

Proxy Voting Guidelines

4.1         To the extent that a client has authorized Mackay Shields to vote proxies on its behalf, and except as set forth Sections 6 & 7 of this Policy or at otherwise directed by a client in writing, MacKay has determined to adopt the following proxy voting guidelines:

4.1.a  Proxies for non-union clients will generally be voted in accordance with the voting recommendations contained in the applicable ISS non-union domestic or global proxy voting guidelines, as in effect from time to time (“Non-Union Guidelines”). Refer to Exhibit A for the current U.S. Summary Proxy Voting Guidelines.

4.1.b  Proxies for union or Taft-Hartley clients will generally be voted in accordance with the voting recommendations contained in the applicable ISS Taft- Hartley domestic or international proxy voting guidelines, as in effect from time to time (“Union Guidelines”). A summary of the current Taft-Hartley U.S. Voting Guidelines and Taft-Hartley International Voting Guidelines are attached as Exhibit B.

4.1.c  Notwithstanding Section 4.1.a of this Policy, proxies for non-union clients whose investment strategy directs MacKay Shields to invest primarily in assets that satisfy Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) criteria, as determined by MacKay Shields, in its discretion, will be voted in accordance with the voting recommendations contained in the applicable ISS Sustainability U.S. or International proxy voting guidelines, as in effect from time to time (“Sustainability Guidelines”). Refer to Exhibit C for the current U.S. and International Sustainability Proxy Voting Guidelines.

4.2       For purposes of the Policy, the Non-Union Guidelines, Union Guidelines, and Sustainability Guidelines are collectively referred to as the “Standard Guidelines.”

4.3     A client may choose to use proxy voting guidelines different from the Standard Guidelines (“Custom Guidelines”). Any Custom Guidelines must be furnished by the client to MacKay Shields in writing and MacKay Shields will general vote proxies for any such client in accordance with the applicable Custom Guidelines.

4.4      In the event the Standard Guidelines or any client’s Custom Guidelines do not address how a proxy should be voted or state that the vote is to be determined on a “case-by-case” basis, the proxy will be voted in accordance with ISS recommendations, subject to Section 6. In the event that ISS has not made a recommendation, MacKay Shields will follow the procedure set forth in Section 7.

2

4.5       For clients using the Standard Guidelines, the Firm will instruct ISS to cast votes in accordance with the Standard Guidelines. For clients using Custom Guidelines, the Firm will provide ISS with a copy of such Custom Guidelines and will instruct ISS to cast votes in accordance with such Custom Guidelines. ISS will cast votes in accordance with the Standard Guidelines or Custom Guidelines, as the case may be, unless instructed otherwise by MacKay Shields as set forth in Sections 6 and 7. Upon receipt of a specific request from a client pursuant to Section 4.6, the Firm will instruct ISS to cast such client’s proxy in accordance with such request.

4.6           Notwithstanding the foregoing, MacKay Shields will vote a proxy with respect to a particular security held by a client in accordance with such client’s specific request even if it is in a manner inconsistent with the Standard Guidelines or the client’s Custom Guidelines, as the case may be. Any such specific requests must be furnished to MacKay Shields by the client in writing and must be received by MacKay on a timely basis for instructing ISS how to cast the vote.

4.7           In an effort to avoid possible conflicts of interest, MacKay Shields has determined to generally vote proxies based on the Standard Guidelines or a client’s Custom Guidelines, as the case may be. For the avoidance of doubt, however, it is recognized that the Firm’s portfolio management teams have the ultimate responsibility determining how to vote proxies in the best interest of a client voting.

5.

Client Account Set-up and Review

5.1           Initially, MacKay Shields must verify whether the client has duly authorized MacKay Shields to vote proxies on its behalf, or if the client has retained the responsibility of voting proxies. The Marketing and Client Services departments, in conjunction with the Legal and/or Compliance Department, will have primary responsibility for making that determination. MacKay’s Compliance Department will be responsible for ensuring that a record of each client’s proxy voting status and, to the extent applicable, the type of proxy voting guidelines in maintained. In its sole discretion, the Firm may decline to accept authority to vote a client’s proxies. Any such refusal shall be in writing.

5.2           In most cases, the delegation of voting authority to MacKay Shields, and the Firm’s use of a third-party proxy voting service provider shall be memorialized in the client’s investment management agreement.

5.3         MacKay Shields shall notify ISS of new client accounts using such form as ISS shall specify from time to time. Designated personnel within the Firm will be responsible for ensuring that each new client’s account for which the Firm has proxy voting authority is established on the appropriate systems and that each such account is properly coded for voting under the appropriate Non-Union Guidelines, Union Guidelines or Custom Guidelines, as the case may be.

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6.

Overriding Guidelines

A portfolio manager may propose that a particular proxy vote be cast in a manner different from the Standard Guidelines or an ISS voting recommendation, or may propose an abstention from voting, if they believe that to do so, based on all facts and circumstances, is in the best interest of the Firm’s clients as a whole. Any portfolio manager who proposes to override the Standard Guidelines or an ISS voting recommendation on a particular vote or to abstain from voting must complete a Proxy Vote Override/Decision Form, which is set forth in Schedule D.

7.

Referral of Voting Decision by ISS to MacKay Shields

7.1           In the event that the Standard Guidelines or a client’s Custom Guidelines do not address how a proxy should be voted on a specific proposal for an issuer and ISS has not made a recommendation as to how such proxy should be voted, ISS will so advise MacKay Shields. In that event, the Legal and/or Compliance Departments will request that the appropriate portfolio manager makes a voting recommendation and complete a Proxy Vote Override/Decision Form.

7.2           In the event that the Standard Guidelines or a client’s Custom Guidelines require a “case-by-case” determination on a particular proxy vote and ISS has not made a recommendation as to how such proxy should be voted, ISS will so advise MacKay Shields. In that event, the Legal and/or Compliance Departments will request that the appropriate portfolio manager make a voting recommendation and complete a Proxy Vote Override/Decision Form.

7.3           In the event that ISS determines that a conflict of interest exists as a result of which ISS is precluded from making a recommendation as to how a proxy should be voted on a specific proposal for an issuer, ISS will so advise MacKay Shields. In that event, the Legal and/or Compliance Departments will request that the appropriate portfolio manager make a voting recommendation and complete a Proxy Vote Override/Decision Form.

8.

Conflicts of Interest

8.1         The Firm’s portfolio managers may make proxy voting decisions in connection with (i) overriding the Standard Guidelines or an ISS voting recommendation pursuant to Section 6, or (ii) deciding on a vote pursuant to Section 7. In such event, the portfolio managers have an affirmative duty to disclose to the Legal and/or Compliance Departments any potential conflict of interest known to them that exists between the Firm and the client on whose behalf the proxy is to be voted (“Conflict”).

8.2.      By way of example, Conflicts may exist in situations where the Firm is called to vote on a proxy involving an issuer or proponent of a proxy proposal regarding the issuer where MacKay Shields or an affiliated person of the Firm also:

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Manages the issuer’s or proponent’s pension plan;

•

Administers the issuer’s or proponent’s employee benefit plan;

 

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•

Provided brokerage, underwriting, insurance or banking services to the issuer or proponent; or

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Manages money for an employee group.

Additional Conflicts may exist, among others, if an executive of the Firm or its control affiliates is a close relative of, or has a personal or business relationship with:

•

An executive of the issuer or proponent;

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A director of the issuer or proponent;

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A person who is a candidate to be a director of the issuer;

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A participant in the proxy contest; or

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A proponent of a proxy proposal.

8.3           Whether a relationship creates a Conflict will depend on the facts and circumstances. Even if these parties do not attempt to influence the Firm with respect to voting, the value of the relationship to MacKay Shields or an affiliate can create a Conflict.

8.4           After a Proxy Vote Override/Decision Form is completed pursuant to Sections 6 or 7, such Form, which elicits information as to whether a potential Conflict exists, must be submitted to the Legal and/or Compliance Departments for review. If the Firm’s General Counsel (“GC”), Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) or their designee determines that there is no potential Conflict, the GC, CCO or their designee, may instruct ISS to vote the proxy issue as set forth in the completed Form.

8.5           If the GC, CCO or their designee determines that there exists or may exist a Conflict, he or she will refer the issue to the Compliance Committee for consideration by convening (in person or via telephone) an emergency meeting of the Compliance Committee. For purposes of this Policy, a majority vote of those members present shall resolve any Conflict. The Compliance Committee will consider the facts and circumstances of the pending proxy vote and the potential or actual Conflict and make a determination as to how to vote the proxy – i.e., whether to permit or deny the recommendation of the portfolio manager, or whether to take other action, such as delegating the proxy vote to an independent third party or obtaining voting instructions from clients.

8.6           In considering the proxy vote and potential Conflict, the Compliance Committee may review the following factors, including but not limited to:

•

The percentage of outstanding securities of the issuer held on behalf of clients by the Firm.

•

The nature of the relationship of the issuer or proponent with the Firm, its affiliates or its executive officers.

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Whether there has been any attempt to directly or indirectly influence the portfolio manager’s decision.

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Whether the direction (for or against) of the proposed vote would appear to benefit the Firm or a related party.

•

Whether an objective decision to vote in a certain way will still create a strong appearance of a Conflict.

 

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MacKay Shields may not abstain from voting any such proxy for the purpose of avoiding Conflict.

9.

Securities Lending

If MacKay Shields portfolio managers or their designees become aware of an upcoming shareholder meeting where there is an important vote to be taken, or become aware of a request for consent of security holders on a material matter affecting the investment, MacKay Shields will consider whether to request that clients call back securities loans, if applicable. In determining whether to request that clients call back securities loans, the relevant portfolio manager(s) shall consider whether the benefit to the client in voting the matter or giving or withholding consent outweighs the benefit to the client in keeping the security on loan. There may be instances when MacKay Shields may not be aware of the upcoming shareholder meeting or request for consent with sufficient time in advance to make such a request, or when MacKay Shields’ request that a client call back a securities loan in sufficient time to vote or give or withhold consent may not be successful.

10.

Reporting

Upon request, MacKay Shields shall report annually (or more frequently if specifically requested) to its clients on proxy votes cast on their behalf. MacKay Shields will provide any client who makes a written or verbal request with a copy of a report disclosing how MacKay Shields voted securities held in that client’s portfolio. The report will generally contain the following information:

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The name of the issuer of the security;

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The security’s exchange ticker symbol;

•

The security’s CUSIP number;

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The shareholder meeting date;

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A brief identification of the matter voted on;

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Whether the matter was proposed by the issuer or by a security holder;

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Whether MacKay Shields cast its vote on the matter on behalf of the client;

•

How MacKay Shields voted on behalf of the client; and

•

Whether MacKay Shields voted for or against management on behalf of the client.

11.

Record-Keeping

Either MacKay Shields or ISS as indicated below will maintain the following records:

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A copy of the Policy and MacKay’s Standard Guidelines and Custom Guidelines;

•

A copy of each proxy statement received by MacKay Shields or forwarded to ISS by the client’s custodian regarding client securities;

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A record of each vote cast by MacKay Shields on behalf of a client;

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A copy of all documents created by MacKay Shields that were material to making a decision on the proxy voting (or abstaining from voting) of client securities or that memorialize the basis for that decision including the resolution of any Conflict, a copy of all guideline override requests and all supporting documents; and

 

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•

A copy of each written request by a client for information on how MacKay Shields voted proxies on behalf of the client, as well as a copy of any written response by MacKay Shields to any request by a client for information on how MacKay Shields voted proxies on behalf of the client; records of oral requests for information or oral responses will not be kept.

Such records must be maintained for at least eight years, the first two years in an appropriate office of MacKay Shields.

12.

Review of Voting and Guidelines

As part of its periodic reviews, MacKay Shields’ Compliance Department will conduct an annual review of the prior year’s proxy voting as well as the guidelines established for proxy voting. Documentation shall be maintained of this review and a report setting forth the results of the review will be presented annually to the Compliance Committee. In addition, MacKay Shields’ Compliance Department maintains a list of non-voting accounts.

13.

How to Request Information On How the Firm Voted Proxies

Clients may, at anytime, request and receive information from MacKay Shields as to how the Firm voted proxies for securities held in their account. Any such proxy information request should be in writing to:

MacKay Shields LLC

1345 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10105

43rd Floor

Attention: Head of Client Services

 

Exhibits:

Exhibit A - 2023 U.S. Summary Proxy Voting Guidelines (Standard Guidelines for non-union clients). Effective for Meetings on or after February 1, 2023

Exhibit B (Part I and II) - 2023 U.S. Taft-Hartley Proxy Voting Guidelines and 2023 International Taft-Hartley Proxy Voting Guidelines (Standard Guidelines for union clients (Taft-Hartley) (US and International))

Exhibit C (Part I and II) - 2023 U.S. Sustainability Proxy Voting Guidelines and 2023 International Sustainability Proxy Voting Guidelines (Standard Guidelines for ESG investment objective mandates)

 

Schedule D- Proxy Vote Override/Decision Form

Access to the ISS Voting Guidelines mentioned above and other ISS Voting Guidelines are available at https://www.issgovernance.com/policy-gateway/voting-policies/

7 

v3.24.0.1

N-2	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2023 $ / shares shares
Cover [Abstract]
Entity Central Index Key	0001291334
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Inv Company Type	N-2
Document Type	N-CSR
Entity Registrant Name	First Trust Enhanced Equity Income Fund
General Description of Registrant [Abstract]
Investment Objectives and Practices [Text Block]	Investment Objective The Fund’s investment objective is to provide a high level of current income and gains and, to a lesser extent, capital appreciation. Principal Investment Policies Under normal market conditions, the Fund pursues an integrated investment strategy in which it invests substantially all of its Managed Assets (as defined below) in a diversified portfolio of common stock of U.S. corporations and U.S. dollar-denominated equity securities of foreign issuers, in each case that are traded on U.S. securities exchanges, and on an ongoing basis writes (sells) covered call options.  Common stocks are selected by the Sub-Advisor by utilizing a combination of its proprietary quantitative/qualitative selection criteria.  The covered call options written (sold) by the Fund are normally against the equity securities that are held in the Fund’s portfolio with strike prices and expiration dates that are collectively intended to provide risk/reward characteristics that are consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. “Managed Assets” means the average daily gross assets of the Fund minus the sum of the Fund’s accrued and unpaid dividends on any outstanding Common Shares and accrued liabilities (including the value of call options written (sold)).  Under normal market conditions the Fund seeks to produce a high level of current income and gains primarily from the premium income it receives from writing (selling) call options, from the dividends received on the equity securities held in the Fund’s portfolio, and to a lesser extent, from capital appreciation in the value of equity securities underlying such covered call options. • Common Stock/Equity Securities: The Sub-Advisor selects common stocks and equity securities by utilizing its proprietary quantitative/qualitative selection criteria, which focuses on sectors, industries and individual common stocks and equity securities that exhibit strong fundamental characteristics.  o The Fund invests substantially all, but in no event less than 90%, of its Managed Assets in common stocks and other equity securities such as Real Estate Investment Trusts, Master Limited Partnerships and Investment Companies (including exchange-traded funds and business development companies).  o The Fund may invest up to 20% of its Managed Assets in U.S. dollar-denominated equity securities of foreign issuers.  o The Fund may invest up to 10% of its Managed Assets in equity securities of other investment companies that invest primarily in securities of the type in which the Fund may invest directly.   o The Fund may invest up to 25% of its Managed Assets in the equity securities of issuers in a single industry or sector of the economy. • Covered Call Options: The Fund writes (sells) covered call options, which may include Long-Term Equity AnticiPation Securities (“LEAPS®”), held against the equity securities held in the Fund’s portfolio with strike prices (defined below) and expiration dates (defined below) that are collectively intended to provide risk/reward characteristics that are consistent with the Fund’s investment objective.  o The Fund’s Sub-Advisor writes (sells) call options as determined to be appropriate, consistent with the Fund’s investment objective.  o The Fund writes (sells) options that are considered “covered” because the Fund owns equity securities against which the options are written (sold).  The number of call options the Fund can write (sell) is limited by the number of equity securities the Fund holds in its portfolio.  o The Fund does not write (sell) “naked” options, i.e., options on more equity securities than are held in the Fund’s portfolio.   o When the Fund writes (sells) a call option, it sells to the buyer (the “option holder”) the right, but not the obligation, to purchase a particular asset (the underlying equity security) from the Fund at a fixed price (the “strike price”) on or before a specified date (the “expiration date”).  In exchange for the right to purchase the underlying equity security, the option holder pays a fee (a “premium”) to the Fund.  The Fund typically utilizes “American-style” options, which may be exercised at any time between the date of purchase and the expiration date.  The Fund may write (sell) “European-style” options, which may be exercised only during a specified period of time just prior to the expiration date.   o A call option normally represents the right to purchase 100 shares of the underlying equity security.  o Conventional listed call options have expiration dates which generally can be up to nine months from the date the call options are first listed for trading.  Longer-term call options, such as LEAPS®, can have expiration dates up to three years from the date of listing.   o The Fund primarily writes (sells) call options which are “out-of-the-money”, meaning options with a strike price above the current market price of the underlying equity security.  The Fund may write (sell) “in-the-money” (call options with a strike price below the current market price of the underlying equity security) and “at-the-money” (call options with a strike price equal to the current price of the underlying equity security).  In-the-money and at-the-money call options may be written (sold) as a defensive measure to protect against a possible decline in the underlying security. In addition to the Fund’s use of covered call option writing (selling), the Fund may, but is not required to, use various hedging and strategic transactions to facilitate portfolio management and mitigate risks.  In utilizing these strategic transactions, the Fund may purchase and sell derivative instruments such as exchange-listed and over-the-counter put and call options on securities, equity, fixed income and interest rate indices, and other financial instruments, purchase and sell financial futures contracts and options thereon, and enter into various interest rate transactions such as swaps, caps, floors or collars or credit transactions.  The Fund may purchase derivative investments that combine features of these instruments. To the extent the Fund enters into derivatives transactions, it will do so pursuant to Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act. Rule 18f-4 requires the Fund to implement certain policies and procedures designed to manage its derivatives risks, dependent upon the Fund’s level of exposure to derivative instruments. The Fund’s investment objective is considered fundamental and may not be changed without the approval of the holders of a majority of the outstanding Common Shares, as further detailed below.  The remainder of the Fund’s investment policies, unless otherwise stated, including its investment strategy, are considered non-fundamental and may be changed by the Board of Trustees of the Fund without approval of the holders of the Fund’s Common Shares.  The Fund will provide investors with at least 60 days prior notice of any change in the Fund’s investment strategy.  Fundamental Investment Policies Except as provided below, the Fund, as a fundamental policy, may not, without the approval of the holders of a majority of the outstanding Common Shares: (1) issue senior securities, as defined in the 1940 Act, other than the borrowings permitted by investment restriction (2) set forth below; (2) borrow money, except as permitted by the 1940 Act; (3) act as underwriter of another issuer’s securities, except to the extent that the Fund may be deemed to be an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 in connection with the purchase and sale of portfolio securities; (4) purchase or sell real estate, but this shall not prevent the Fund from investing in securities of companies that deal in real estate or are engaged in the real estate business, including real estate investment trusts, and securities secured by real estate or interests therein and the Fund may hold and sell real estate or mortgages on real estate acquired through default, liquidation, or other distributions of an interest in real estate as a result of the Fund’s ownership of such securities; (5) purchase or sell physical commodities (but this shall not prevent the Fund from purchasing or selling options, futures contracts, derivative instruments or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities; (6) make loans of funds or other assets, other than by entering into repurchase agreements, lending portfolio securities and through the purchase of debt securities in accordance with its investment objectives, policies and limitations; (7) with respect to 75% of its total assets, purchase any securities, if as a result more than 5% of the Fund’s total assets would then be invested in securities of any single issuer or if, as a result, the Fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any single issuer; provided, that Government securities (as defined in the 1940 Act), securities issued by other investment companies and cash items (including receivables) shall not be counted for purposes of this limitation; and (8) invest 25% or more of its total assets in securities of issuers in any single industry, provided there shall be no limitation on the purchase obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities. For the purpose of applying the limitation set forth in subparagraph (7) above, an issuer shall be deemed the sole issuer of a security when its assets and revenues are separate from other governmental entities and its securities are backed only by its assets and revenues. Similarly, in the case of a non-governmental issuer, such as an industrial corporation or a privately owned or operated hospital, if the security is backed only by the assets and revenues of the non-governmental issuer, then such non-governmental issuer would be deemed to be the sole issuer. Where a security is also backed by the enforceable obligation of a superior or unrelated governmental or other entity (other than a bond insurer), it shall also be included in the computation of securities owned that are issued by such governmental or other entity. Where a security is guaranteed by a governmental entity or some other facility, such as a bank guarantee or letter of credit, such a guarantee or letter of credit would be considered a separate security and would be treated as an issue of such government, other entity or bank. When a municipal bond is insured by bond insurance, it shall not be considered a security that is issued or guaranteed by the insurer; instead, the issuer of such municipal bond will be determined in accordance with the principles set forth above. Under the 1940 Act, when used with respect to particular shares of the Fund, a “majority of the outstanding” Common Shares means (i) 67% or more of the shares present at a meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the Fund’s outstanding voting shares are present or represented by proxy, or (ii) more than 50% of the Fund’s outstanding voting shares, whichever is less.
Risk Factors [Table Text Block]	Principal Risks The following discussion summarizes certain (but not all) of the principal risks associated with investing in the Fund.  The Fund is subject to the informational requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the 1940 Act and, in accordance therewith, files reports, proxy statements and other information that is available for review. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor. Current Market Conditions Risk. Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions. As a means to fight inflation, which remains at elevated levels, the Federal Reserve and certain foreign central banks have raised interest rates and expect to continue to do so, and the Federal Reserve has announced that it intends to reverse previously implemented quantitative easing. U.S. regulators have proposed several changes to market and issuer regulations which would directly impact the Fund, and any regulatory changes could adversely impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment strategies or make certain investments. Recent and potential future bank failures could result in disruption to the broader banking industry or markets generally and reduce confidence in financial institutions and the economy as a whole, which may also heighten market volatility and reduce liquidity. The ongoing adversarial political climate in the United States, as well as political and diplomatic events both domestic and abroad, have and may continue to have an adverse impact the U.S. regulatory landscape, markets and investor behavior, which could have a negative impact on the Fund’s investments and operations. Other unexpected political, regulatory and diplomatic events within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy. For example, in February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine which has caused and could continue to cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in Russia, Europe, and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions resulting from those hostilities have and could continue to have a significant impact on certain Fund investments as well as Fund performance and liquidity. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as the financial markets generally, may be adversely impacted by trade disputes and other matters. For example, the United States has imposed trade barriers and restrictions on China. In addition, the Chinese government is engaged in a longstanding dispute with Taiwan, continually threatening an invasion. If the political climate between the United States and China does not improve or continues to deteriorate, if China were to attempt invading Taiwan, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets and individual securities may be adversely affected, and the value of the Fund’s assets may go down. The COVID-19 global pandemic, or any future public health crisis, and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against emerging future variants of the disease. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. Advancements in technology may also adversely impact markets and the overall performance of the Fund. For instance, the economy may be significantly impacted by the advanced development and increased regulation of artificial intelligence. These events, and any other future events, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.   Cyber Security Risk. The Fund is 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. Substantial costs may be incurred by the Fund in order to resolve or prevent cyber incidents in the future.   Depositary Receipts Risk. Depositary receipts represent equity interests in a foreign company that trade on a local stock exchange. Depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. Any distributions paid to the holders of depositary receipts are usually subject to a fee charged by the depositary. Holders of depositary receipts may have limited voting rights, and investment restrictions in certain countries may adversely impact the value of depositary receipts because such restrictions may limit the ability to convert the equity shares into depositary receipts and vice versa. Such restrictions may cause the equity shares of the underlying issuer to trade at a discount or premium to the market price of the depositary receipts.   Equity Securities Risk. The value of the Fund’s shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities in which the Fund invests.  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 or when political or economic events affecting the issuers or their industries occur.  An adverse event affecting an issuer, such as an unfavorable earnings report, may depress the value of a particular equity security held by the Fund. Also, the prices of equity securities are sensitive to general movements in the stock market and a drop in the stock market may depress the prices of equity securities to which the Fund has exposure.  Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market.   Europe Risk. The Fund is subject to certain risks associated specifically with investments in securities of European issuers, in addition to the risks associated with investments in non-U.S. securities generally. Political or economic disruptions in European countries, even in countries in which the Fund is not invested, may adversely affect security values and thus the Fund’s holdings. A significant number of countries in Europe are member states in the European Union (“EU”), and the member states no longer control their own monetary policies by directing independent interest rates for their currencies. In these member states, the authority to direct monetary policies, including money supply and official interest rates for the Euro, is exercised by the European Central Bank. In a 2016 referendum, the United Kingdom elected to withdraw from the EU (“Brexit”). After years of negotiations between the United Kingdom and the EU, a withdrawal agreement was reached whereby the United Kingdom formally left the EU. As the second largest economy among EU members, the implications of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal are difficult to gauge and cannot be fully known. Trade between the United Kingdom and the EU is highly integrated through supply chains and trade in services, as well as through multinational companies. The United Kingdom’s departure may negatively impact the EU and Europe as a whole by causing volatility within the EU, triggering prolonged economic downturns in certain European countries or sparking additional member states to contemplate departing the EU (thereby perpetuating political instability in the region).   Income Risk. Net investment income paid by the Fund to its common shareholders is derived from the premiums it receives from writing (selling) call options and from the dividends and interest it receives from the equity securities and other investments held in the Fund’s portfolio and short-term gains thereon.  Premiums from writing (selling) call options and dividends and interest payments made by the securities in the Fund’s portfolio can vary widely over time.  Dividends on equity securities are not fixed but are declared at the discretion of an issuer’s board of directors.  There is no guarantee that the issuers of the equity securities in which the Fund invests will declare dividends in the future or that if declared they will remain at current levels.  The Fund cannot assure as to what percentage of the distributions paid on the common shares, if any, will consist of qualified dividend income or long-term capital gains, both of which are taxed at lower rates for individuals than are ordinary income and short-term capital gains.   Industry and Sector Risk. The Fund may not invest 25% or more of its total assets in securities of issuers in any single industry.  If the Fund is focused in an industry, it may present more risks than if it were broadly diversified over numerous industries of the economy.  Individual industries may be subject to unique risks which may include, among others, governmental regulation, inflation, technological innovations that may render existing products and equipment obsolete, competition from new entrants, high research and development costs, and rising interest rates. The Fund may invest 25% or more of its total assets in securities of issuers in a single sector. Currently, the Fund makes significant investments in equity securities of companies in the information technology sector. Information technology companies produce and provide hardware, software and information technology systems and services.  Information technology companies are generally subject to the following risks: rapidly changing technologies and existing product obsolescence; 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 and new market entrants.  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. In addition, information technology companies are particularly vulnerable to federal, state and local government regulation, and competition and consolidation, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs.  Information technology companies also face competition for services of qualified personnel and heavily rely on patents and intellectual property rights and the ability to enforce such rights to maintain a competitive advantage.   Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be worth less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions may decline. Inflation rates may change frequently and drastically as a result of various factors, including unexpected shifts in the domestic or global economy, and the Fund’s investments may not keep pace with inflation, which may result in losses to Fund investors.   Investment Risk. An investment in the Fund’s Common Shares is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of the entire principal invested.  An investment in Common Shares represents an indirect investment in the securities owned by the Fund.  The value of these securities, like other market investments, may move up or down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably.  Common Shares at any point in time may be worth less than the original investment, even after taking into account the reinvestment of Fund dividends and distributions.  When the Advisor or Sub-Advisor determines that it is temporarily unable to follow the Fund’s investment strategy or that it is impractical to do so (such as when a market disruption event has occurred and trading in the securities is extremely limited or absent), the Fund may take temporary defensive positions.   Management Risk and Reliance on Key Personnel. In managing the Fund’s investment portfolio, the Fund’s portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not produce the desired result.  Additionally, the implementation of the Fund’s investment strategy depends upon the continued contributions of certain key employees of the Advisor and Sub-Advisor, some of whom have unique talents and experience and would be difficult to replace.  The loss or interruption of the services of a key member of the portfolio management team could have a negative impact on the Fund.   Market Discount from Net Asset Value. 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.   Market Risk. Investments held by the Fund, as well as shares of the Fund itself, are subject to market fluctuations caused by real or perceived adverse economic conditions, political events, regulatory factors or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of the 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, market manipulation, government defaults, government shutdowns, regulatory actions, political changes, diplomatic developments, the imposition of sanctions and other similar measures, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of the Fund’s shares, the liquidity of an investment, and may result in increased market volatility. During any such events, the Fund’s shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value, the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen and the returns on investment may fluctuate.   Non-U.S. Securities Risk. Investing in securities of non-U.S. issuers may involve certain risks not typically associated with investing in securities of U.S. issuers. These risks include: (i) there may be less publicly available information about non-U.S. issuers or markets due to less rigorous disclosure or accounting standards or regulatory practices; (ii) non-U.S. markets may be smaller, less liquid and more volatile than the U.S. market; (iii) the economies of non-U.S. countries may grow at slower rates than expected or may experience a downturn or recession; (iv) the impact of economic, political, social or diplomatic events as well as of foreign governmental laws or restrictions and differing legal standards; (v) certain non-U.S. countries may impose restrictions on the ability of non-U.S. issuers to make payments of principal and interest to investors located in the United States due to blockage of non-U.S. currency exchanges or otherwise; and (vi) withholding and other non-U.S. taxes may decrease the Fund’s return. Foreign companies are generally not subject to the same accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards as are U.S. companies. In addition, there may be difficulty in obtaining or enforcing a court judgment abroad, including in the event the issuer of a non-U.S. security defaults or enters bankruptcy, administration or other proceedings. These risks may be more pronounced to the extent that the Fund invests a significant amount of its assets in companies located in one region.   Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third parties for a range of services, including custody.  Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.   Options Risk. The use of options involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions.  The Fund may write (sell) covered call options on all or a portion of the equity securities held in the Fund’s portfolio as determined to be appropriate by the Fund’s Sub-Advisor, consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, or in interest or currency exchange rates, including anticipated volatility, which in turn are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political and economic events.  In addition, there may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in values of options and their underlying securities and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options. The ability to successfully implement the Fund’s investment strategy depends on the Sub-Advisor’s ability to predict pertinent market movements, which cannot be assured. Thus, the use of options may require the Fund to sell portfolio securities at inopportune times or for prices other than current market values, may limit the amount of appreciation the Fund can realize on an investment, or may cause the Fund to hold an equity security that it might otherwise sell. There can be no assurance that a liquid market for the options will exist when the Fund seeks to close out an option position. Additionally, to the extent that the Fund purchases options pursuant to a hedging strategy, the Fund will be subject to additional risks.   Potential Conflicts of Interest Risk. First Trust, Chartwell and the portfolio managers have interests which may conflict with the interests of the Fund.  In particular, First Trust and Chartwell currently manage and may in the future manage and/or advise other investment funds or accounts with the same or substantially similar investment objectives and strategies as the Fund.    REIT Risk. Real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) typically own and operate income-producing real estate, such as residential or commercial buildings, or real-estate related assets, including mortgages. As a result, investments in REITs are subject to the risks associated with investing in real estate, which may include, but are not limited to: fluctuations in the value of underlying properties; defaults by borrowers or tenants; market saturation; changes in general and local operating expenses; and other economic, political or regulatory occurrences affecting companies in the real estate sector. Additionally, REITs may have limited diversification due to investment in a limited number of properties or a particular market segment and are subject to the risks associated with obtaining financing for real property. REITs are also subject to the risk that the real estate market may experience an economic downturn generally, which may have a material effect on the real estate in which the REITs invest and their underlying portfolio securities. REITs may also have a relatively small market capitalization which may result in their shares experiencing less market liquidity and greater price volatility than larger companies. Increases in interest rates typically lower the present value of a REIT’s future earnings stream, and may make financing property purchases and improvements more costly. Because the market price of REIT stocks may change based upon investors’ collective perceptions of future earnings, the value of the Fund will generally decline when investors anticipate or experience rising interest rates. Additionally, certain REITs charge management fees, which may result in layering of management fees paid by the Fund.   Small- and/or Mid-Capitalization 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, fewer 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.
Share Price	$ 18.27
NAV Per Share	$ 18.74
Latest Premium (Discount) to NAV [Percent]	(2.51%)
Capital Stock, Long-Term Debt, and Other Securities [Abstract]
Outstanding Security, Title [Text Block]	Common Shares outstanding (unlimited number of Common Shares has been authorized)
Outstanding Security, Held [Shares] | shares	19,988,085
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2023
Current Market Conditions Risk [Member]
General Description of Registrant [Abstract]
Risk [Text Block]	Current Market Conditions Risk. Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions. As a means to fight inflation, which remains at elevated levels, the Federal Reserve and certain foreign central banks have raised interest rates and expect to continue to do so, and the Federal Reserve has announced that it intends to reverse previously implemented quantitative easing. U.S. regulators have proposed several changes to market and issuer regulations which would directly impact the Fund, and any regulatory changes could adversely impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment strategies or make certain investments. Recent and potential future bank failures could result in disruption to the broader banking industry or markets generally and reduce confidence in financial institutions and the economy as a whole, which may also heighten market volatility and reduce liquidity. The ongoing adversarial political climate in the United States, as well as political and diplomatic events both domestic and abroad, have and may continue to have an adverse impact the U.S. regulatory landscape, markets and investor behavior, which could have a negative impact on the Fund’s investments and operations. Other unexpected political, regulatory and diplomatic events within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy. For example, in February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine which has caused and could continue to cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in Russia, Europe, and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions resulting from those hostilities have and could continue to have a significant impact on certain Fund investments as well as Fund performance and liquidity. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as the financial markets generally, may be adversely impacted by trade disputes and other matters. For example, the United States has imposed trade barriers and restrictions on China. In addition, the Chinese government is engaged in a longstanding dispute with Taiwan, continually threatening an invasion. If the political climate between the United States and China does not improve or continues to deteriorate, if China were to attempt invading Taiwan, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets and individual securities may be adversely affected, and the value of the Fund’s assets may go down. The COVID-19 global pandemic, or any future public health crisis, and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against emerging future variants of the disease. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. Advancements in technology may also adversely impact markets and the overall performance of the Fund. For instance, the economy may be significantly impacted by the advanced development and increased regulation of artificial intelligence. These events, and any other future events, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.
Cyber Security Risk [Member]
General Description of Registrant [Abstract]
Risk [Text Block]	Cyber Security Risk. The Fund is 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. Substantial costs may be incurred by the Fund in order to resolve or prevent cyber incidents in the future.
Depositary Receipts Risk [Member]
General Description of Registrant [Abstract]
Risk [Text Block]	Depositary Receipts Risk. Depositary receipts represent equity interests in a foreign company that trade on a local stock exchange. Depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. Any distributions paid to the holders of depositary receipts are usually subject to a fee charged by the depositary. Holders of depositary receipts may have limited voting rights, and investment restrictions in certain countries may adversely impact the value of depositary receipts because such restrictions may limit the ability to convert the equity shares into depositary receipts and vice versa. Such restrictions may cause the equity shares of the underlying issuer to trade at a discount or premium to the market price of the depositary receipts.
Equity Securities Risk [Member]
General Description of Registrant [Abstract]
Risk [Text Block]	Equity Securities Risk. The value of the Fund’s shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities in which the Fund invests.  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 or when political or economic events affecting the issuers or their industries occur.  An adverse event affecting an issuer, such as an unfavorable earnings report, may depress the value of a particular equity security held by the Fund. Also, the prices of equity securities are sensitive to general movements in the stock market and a drop in the stock market may depress the prices of equity securities to which the Fund has exposure.  Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market.
Europe Risk [Member]
General Description of Registrant [Abstract]
Risk [Text Block]	Europe Risk. The Fund is subject to certain risks associated specifically with investments in securities of European issuers, in addition to the risks associated with investments in non-U.S. securities generally. Political or economic disruptions in European countries, even in countries in which the Fund is not invested, may adversely affect security values and thus the Fund’s holdings. A significant number of countries in Europe are member states in the European Union (“EU”), and the member states no longer control their own monetary policies by directing independent interest rates for their currencies. In these member states, the authority to direct monetary policies, including money supply and official interest rates for the Euro, is exercised by the European Central Bank. In a 2016 referendum, the United Kingdom elected to withdraw from the EU (“Brexit”). After years of negotiations between the United Kingdom and the EU, a withdrawal agreement was reached whereby the United Kingdom formally left the EU. As the second largest economy among EU members, the implications of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal are difficult to gauge and cannot be fully known. Trade between the United Kingdom and the EU is highly integrated through supply chains and trade in services, as well as through multinational companies. The United Kingdom’s departure may negatively impact the EU and Europe as a whole by causing volatility within the EU, triggering prolonged economic downturns in certain European countries or sparking additional member states to contemplate departing the EU (thereby perpetuating political instability in the region).
Income Risk [Member]
General Description of Registrant [Abstract]
Risk [Text Block]	Income Risk. Net investment income paid by the Fund to its common shareholders is derived from the premiums it receives from writing (selling) call options and from the dividends and interest it receives from the equity securities and other investments held in the Fund’s portfolio and short-term gains thereon.  Premiums from writing (selling) call options and dividends and interest payments made by the securities in the Fund’s portfolio can vary widely over time.  Dividends on equity securities are not fixed but are declared at the discretion of an issuer’s board of directors.  There is no guarantee that the issuers of the equity securities in which the Fund invests will declare dividends in the future or that if declared they will remain at current levels.  The Fund cannot assure as to what percentage of the distributions paid on the common shares, if any, will consist of qualified dividend income or long-term capital gains, both of which are taxed at lower rates for individuals than are ordinary income and short-term capital gains.
Industry And Sector Risk [Member]
General Description of Registrant [Abstract]
Risk [Text Block]	Industry and Sector Risk. The Fund may not invest 25% or more of its total assets in securities of issuers in any single industry.  If the Fund is focused in an industry, it may present more risks than if it were broadly diversified over numerous industries of the economy.  Individual industries may be subject to unique risks which may include, among others, governmental regulation, inflation, technological innovations that may render existing products and equipment obsolete, competition from new entrants, high research and development costs, and rising interest rates. The Fund may invest 25% or more of its total assets in securities of issuers in a single sector. Currently, the Fund makes significant investments in equity securities of companies in the information technology sector. Information technology companies produce and provide hardware, software and information technology systems and services.  Information technology companies are generally subject to the following risks: rapidly changing technologies and existing product obsolescence; 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 and new market entrants.  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. In addition, information technology companies are particularly vulnerable to federal, state and local government regulation, and competition and consolidation, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs.  Information technology companies also face competition for services of qualified personnel and heavily rely on patents and intellectual property rights and the ability to enforce such rights to maintain a competitive advantage.
Inflation Risk [Member]
General Description of Registrant [Abstract]
Risk [Text Block]	Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be worth less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions may decline. Inflation rates may change frequently and drastically as a result of various factors, including unexpected shifts in the domestic or global economy, and the Fund’s investments may not keep pace with inflation, which may result in losses to Fund investors.
Investment Risk [Member]
General Description of Registrant [Abstract]
Risk [Text Block]	Investment Risk. An investment in the Fund’s Common Shares is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of the entire principal invested.  An investment in Common Shares represents an indirect investment in the securities owned by the Fund.  The value of these securities, like other market investments, may move up or down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably.  Common Shares at any point in time may be worth less than the original investment, even after taking into account the reinvestment of Fund dividends and distributions.  When the Advisor or Sub-Advisor determines that it is temporarily unable to follow the Fund’s investment strategy or that it is impractical to do so (such as when a market disruption event has occurred and trading in the securities is extremely limited or absent), the Fund may take temporary defensive positions.
Management Risk And Reliance On Key Personnel [Member]
General Description of Registrant [Abstract]
Risk [Text Block]	Management Risk and Reliance on Key Personnel. In managing the Fund’s investment portfolio, the Fund’s portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not produce the desired result.  Additionally, the implementation of the Fund’s investment strategy depends upon the continued contributions of certain key employees of the Advisor and Sub-Advisor, some of whom have unique talents and experience and would be difficult to replace.  The loss or interruption of the services of a key member of the portfolio management team could have a negative impact on the Fund.
Market Discount From Net Asset Value [Member]
General Description of Registrant [Abstract]
Risk [Text Block]	Market Discount from Net Asset Value. 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.
Market Risk [Member]
General Description of Registrant [Abstract]
Risk [Text Block]	Market Risk. Investments held by the Fund, as well as shares of the Fund itself, are subject to market fluctuations caused by real or perceived adverse economic conditions, political events, regulatory factors or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of the 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, market manipulation, government defaults, government shutdowns, regulatory actions, political changes, diplomatic developments, the imposition of sanctions and other similar measures, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of the Fund’s shares, the liquidity of an investment, and may result in increased market volatility. During any such events, the Fund’s shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value, the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen and the returns on investment may fluctuate.
Non U S Securities Risk [Member]
General Description of Registrant [Abstract]
Risk [Text Block]	Non-U.S. Securities Risk. Investing in securities of non-U.S. issuers may involve certain risks not typically associated with investing in securities of U.S. issuers. These risks include: (i) there may be less publicly available information about non-U.S. issuers or markets due to less rigorous disclosure or accounting standards or regulatory practices; (ii) non-U.S. markets may be smaller, less liquid and more volatile than the U.S. market; (iii) the economies of non-U.S. countries may grow at slower rates than expected or may experience a downturn or recession; (iv) the impact of economic, political, social or diplomatic events as well as of foreign governmental laws or restrictions and differing legal standards; (v) certain non-U.S. countries may impose restrictions on the ability of non-U.S. issuers to make payments of principal and interest to investors located in the United States due to blockage of non-U.S. currency exchanges or otherwise; and (vi) withholding and other non-U.S. taxes may decrease the Fund’s return. Foreign companies are generally not subject to the same accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards as are U.S. companies. In addition, there may be difficulty in obtaining or enforcing a court judgment abroad, including in the event the issuer of a non-U.S. security defaults or enters bankruptcy, administration or other proceedings. These risks may be more pronounced to the extent that the Fund invests a significant amount of its assets in companies located in one region.
Operational Risk [Member]
General Description of Registrant [Abstract]
Risk [Text Block]	Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third parties for a range of services, including custody.  Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
Options Risk [Member]
General Description of Registrant [Abstract]
Risk [Text Block]	Options Risk. The use of options involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions.  The Fund may write (sell) covered call options on all or a portion of the equity securities held in the Fund’s portfolio as determined to be appropriate by the Fund’s Sub-Advisor, consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, or in interest or currency exchange rates, including anticipated volatility, which in turn are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political and economic events.  In addition, there may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in values of options and their underlying securities and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options. The ability to successfully implement the Fund’s investment strategy depends on the Sub-Advisor’s ability to predict pertinent market movements, which cannot be assured. Thus, the use of options may require the Fund to sell portfolio securities at inopportune times or for prices other than current market values, may limit the amount of appreciation the Fund can realize on an investment, or may cause the Fund to hold an equity security that it might otherwise sell. There can be no assurance that a liquid market for the options will exist when the Fund seeks to close out an option position. Additionally, to the extent that the Fund purchases options pursuant to a hedging strategy, the Fund will be subject to additional risks.
Potential Conflicts Of Interest Risk [Member]
General Description of Registrant [Abstract]
Risk [Text Block]	Potential Conflicts of Interest Risk. First Trust, Chartwell and the portfolio managers have interests which may conflict with the interests of the Fund.  In particular, First Trust and Chartwell currently manage and may in the future manage and/or advise other investment funds or accounts with the same or substantially similar investment objectives and strategies as the Fund.
R E I T Risk [Member]
General Description of Registrant [Abstract]
Risk [Text Block]	REIT Risk. Real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) typically own and operate income-producing real estate, such as residential or commercial buildings, or real-estate related assets, including mortgages. As a result, investments in REITs are subject to the risks associated with investing in real estate, which may include, but are not limited to: fluctuations in the value of underlying properties; defaults by borrowers or tenants; market saturation; changes in general and local operating expenses; and other economic, political or regulatory occurrences affecting companies in the real estate sector. Additionally, REITs may have limited diversification due to investment in a limited number of properties or a particular market segment and are subject to the risks associated with obtaining financing for real property. REITs are also subject to the risk that the real estate market may experience an economic downturn generally, which may have a material effect on the real estate in which the REITs invest and their underlying portfolio securities. REITs may also have a relatively small market capitalization which may result in their shares experiencing less market liquidity and greater price volatility than larger companies. Increases in interest rates typically lower the present value of a REIT’s future earnings stream, and may make financing property purchases and improvements more costly. Because the market price of REIT stocks may change based upon investors’ collective perceptions of future earnings, the value of the Fund will generally decline when investors anticipate or experience rising interest rates. Additionally, certain REITs charge management fees, which may result in layering of management fees paid by the Fund.
Small And Or Mid Capitalization Companies Risk [Member]
General Description of Registrant [Abstract]
Risk [Text Block]	Small- and/or Mid-Capitalization 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, fewer 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.

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