First Trust Mortgage Income Fund Declares Its Monthly Common Share Distribution of $0.06 Per Share for March

First Trust Mortgage Income Fund (the "Fund") (NYSE: FMY) has declared the Fund’s regularly scheduled monthly common share distribution in the amount of $0.06 per share payable on March 15, 2021, to shareholders of record as of March 2, 2021. The ex-dividend date is expected to be March 1, 2021. The monthly distribution information for the Fund appears below.

First Trust Mortgage Income Fund (FMY):
Distribution per share:		$0.06
Distribution Rate based on the February 19, 2021 NAV of $14.39:		5.00%
Distribution Rate based on the February 19, 2021 closing market price of $13.65:		5.27%

A portion of this distribution may come from net investment income, net short-term realized capital gains or return of capital. The final determination of the source and tax status of all distributions paid in 2021 will be made after the end of 2021 and will be provided on Form 1099-DIV.

The Fund is a diversified, closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide a high level of current income. As a secondary objective, the Fund seeks to preserve capital. The Fund pursues these investment objectives by investing primarily in mortgage-backed securities representing part ownership in a pool of either residential or commercial mortgage loans that, in the opinion of the Fund's portfolio managers, offer an attractive combination of credit quality, yield and maturity.

First Trust Advisors L.P. ("FTA") is a federally registered investment advisor and serves as the Fund's investment advisor. FTA and its affiliate First Trust Portfolios L.P. ("FTP"), a FINRA registered broker-dealer, are privately-held companies that provide a variety of investment services. FTA has collective assets under management or supervision of approximately $174 billion as of January 31, 2021 through unit investment trusts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, mutual funds and separate managed accounts. FTA is the supervisor of the First Trust unit investment trusts, while FTP is the sponsor. FTP is also a distributor of mutual fund shares and exchange-traded fund creation units. FTA and FTP are based in Wheaton, Illinois.

Past performance is no assurance of future results. Investment return and market value of an investment in the Fund will fluctuate. Shares, when sold, may be worth more or less than their original cost. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s investment objectives will be achieved. The Fund may not be appropriate for all investors.

Principal Risk Factors: Securities held by a fund, as well as shares of a fund itself, are subject to market fluctuations caused by factors such as general economic conditions, political events, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of a fund could decline in value or underperform other investments as a result of the risk of loss associated with these market fluctuations. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant negative impact on a fund and its investments. Such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. The outbreak of the respiratory disease designated as COVID-19 in December 2019 has caused significant volatility and declines in global financial markets, which have caused losses for investors. The COVID-19 pandemic may last for an extended period of time and will continue to impact the economy for the foreseeable future.

The debt securities in which the Fund invests are subject to certain risks, including issuer risk, reinvestment risk, prepayment risk, credit risk, interest rate risk, extension risk and liquidity risk. Issuer risk is the risk that the value of fixed-income securities may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer. Reinvestment risk is the risk that income from the Fund's portfolio will decline if the Fund invests the proceeds from matured, traded or called bonds at market interest rates that are below the Fund portfolio's current earnings rate. Prepayment risk is the risk that, upon a prepayment, the actual outstanding debt on which the Fund derives interest income will be reduced. Credit risk is the risk that an issuer of a security will be unable or unwilling to make dividend, interest and/or principal payments when due and that the value of a security may decline as a result. Interest rate risk is the risk that fixed-income securities will decline in value because of changes in market interest rates. Extension risk is the risk that, when interest rates rise, certain obligations will be paid off by the issuer (or other obligated party) more slowly than anticipated, causing the value of these debt securities to fall. Liquidity risk is the risk that illiquid and restricted securities may be difficult to value and to dispose of at a fair price at the times when the Fund believes it is desirable to do so.

A mortgage-backed security may be negatively affected by the quality of the mortgages underlying such security and the structure of its issuer. For example, if a mortgage underlying a particular mortgage-backed security defaults, the value of that security may decrease. Moreover, a downturn in the markets for residential or commercial real estate or a general economic downturn could negatively affect both the price and liquidity of privately issued mortgage-backed securities. A portion of the Fund's managed assets may be invested in subordinated classes of mortgage-backed securities. Such subordinated classes are subject to a greater degree of non-payment risk than are senior classes of the same issuer or agency.

The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates LIBOR, intends to cease making LIBOR available for use as a reference rate over a phase-out period that is currently expected to begin after the end of 2021, although the specific timing of the phase out of LIBOR continues to be discussed and negotiated across the industry and in various jurisdictions. The unavailability or replacement of LIBOR may affect the value, liquidity or return on certain Fund investments and may result in costs incurred in connection with closing out positions and entering into new trades. Any potential effects of the transition away from LIBOR on the fund or on certain instruments in which the fund invests can be difficult to ascertain, and they may vary depending on a variety of factors. Any such effects of the transition away from LIBOR, as well as other unforeseen effects, could result in losses to the fund. Manipulation of the LIBOR rate-setting process would raise the risk of adverse impacts to a fund if a fund received a payment based upon LIBOR and such manipulation of LIBOR resulted in lower resets than would have occurred had there been no manipulation.

Investments in asset-backed or mortgage-backed securities offered by non-governmental issuers, such as commercial banks, savings and loans, private mortgage insurance companies, mortgage bankers and other secondary market issuers are subject to additional risks.

The primary risks associated with the use of futures contracts are (a) the imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the instruments or indices underlying the futures contracts and the price of the futures contracts; (b) possible lack of a liquid secondary market for a futures contract and the resulting inability to close a futures contract when desired; (c) losses caused by unanticipated market movements, which are potentially unlimited; (d) the investment adviser’s inability to predict correctly the direction of securities prices, interest rates, currency exchange rates and other economic factors; and (e) the possibility that the counterparty will default in the performance of its obligations.

If a security sold short increases in price, the Fund may have to cover its short position at a higher price than the short sale price, resulting in a loss.

Repurchase agreements are subject to the risk of failure. If the Fund’s counterparty defaults on its obligations and the Fund is delayed or prevented from recovering the collateral, or if the value of the collateral is insufficient, the Fund may realize a loss.

Use of leverage can result in additional risk and cost, and can magnify the effect of any losses.

The risks of investing in the Fund are spelled out in the shareholder reports and other regulatory filings.

The information presented is not intended to constitute an investment recommendation for, or advice to, any specific person. By providing this information, First Trust is not undertaking to give advice in any fiduciary capacity within the meaning of ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code or any other regulatory framework. Financial professionals are responsible for evaluating investment risks independently and for exercising independent judgment in determining whether investments are appropriate for their clients.

The Fund's daily closing New York Stock Exchange price and net asset value per share as well as other information can be found at www.ftportfolios.com or by calling 1-800-988-5891.

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