First Trust Mortgage Income Fund Declares its Monthly Common Share Distribution of $0.06 Per Share for December

WHEATON, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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 December 15, 2020, to shareholders of record as of December 2, 2020. The ex-dividend date is expected to be December 1, 2020. 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 November 18, 2020 NAV of $14.37:	5.01%
Distribution Rate based on the November 18, 2020 closing market price of $13.64:	5.28%

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 2020 will be made after the end of 2020 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 $147 billion as of October 31, 2020 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 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. 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.

Many financial instruments use or may use a floating rate based upon the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), which is being phased out by the end of 2021. There remains some uncertainty regarding the future utilization of LIBOR and the nature of any replacement rate.

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.