CUSTODIAN AGREEMENT

THIS AGREEMENT, dated as of September 3, 2013, between First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VII, a business trust organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Company Act of 1940 as amended ("the 1940 ACT") (the TRUST), and BROWN BROTHERS HARRIMAN & CO., a limited partnership formed under the laws of the State of New York (BBH&CO. or the CUSTODIAN).

W I T N E S S E T H:

WHEREAS, the Trust is authorized to issue shares in separate series, with each such series representing interests in a separate portfolio of securities and other assets; and

WHEREAS, the Trust, so authorized, intends that this Agreement be applicable to each of its series as set forth on Schedule A (each such series together with all other series subsequently established by the Trust and made subject to this Agreement by amendment hereof, being referred to as a "Fund" and collectively as the "Funds"); and

WHEREAS, the Trust desires to retain the Custodian to provide for the Funds the services described herein, and the Custodian is willing to provide such services, all as more fully set forth below;

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants and agreements herein contained, the Fund and BBH&Co. hereby agree, as follows:

1. APPOINTMENT OF CUSTODIAN. The Trust hereby appoints BBH&Co. as the Trust's Custodian, and BBH&Co. hereby accepts such appointment and agrees to establish and maintain one or more accounts for each Fund in which Custodian will hold Investments as provided herein. Custodian shall maintain books and records, segregating the assets of each Fund from the assets of any other Fund. All Investments of the Fund delivered to the Custodian or its agents or Subcustodians shall be dealt with as provided in this Agreement. The duties of the Custodian with respect to the Fund's Investments shall be only as set forth expressly in this Agreement which duties are generally comprised of safekeeping and various administrative duties that will be performed in accordance with Instructions and as reasonably required to effect Instructions.

2. REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES AND COVENANTS OF THE FUND. The Trust hereby represents, warrants and covenants each of the following:

2.1. This Agreement has been, and at the time of delivery of each Instruction such Instruction will have been, duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Trust. Neither this Agreement nor any Instruction issued thereunder violates any Applicable Law or conflicts with or constitutes a default under a Fund's prospectus, articles of organization or other constitutive document or any agreement, judgment, order or decree to which a Fund is a party or by which it or its Investments is bound.

2.2. By providing an Instruction with respect to the first acquisition of an Investment in a jurisdiction other than the United States of America, a Fund shall be deemed to have confirmed to the Custodian that a Fund has (a) assessed and accepted all material Country or Sovereign Risks and accepted responsibility for their occurrence,
(b) made all determinations required to be made by a Fund under the 1940 Act, and (iii) appropriately and adequately disclosed to its shareholders, other investors and all persons who have rights in or to such Investments, all material investment risks, including those relating to the custody and settlement infrastructure or the servicing of securities in such jurisdiction.

2.3. The Trust shall safeguard and shall solely be responsible for the safekeeping of any testkeys, identification codes, passwords, other security devices or statements of account with which the Custodian provides it. If the Fund uses any on-line or similar communications service made available by the Custodian, the Trust shall be solely responsible for ensuring the security of its access to the service and for the use of the service, and shall only attempt to access the service and the Custodian's computer systems as directed by the Custodian. If the Custodian provides any computer software to the Trust relating to the services described in this Agreement, the Trust will only use the software for the purposes for which the

Custodian provided the software to the Trust, and will abide by the license agreement accompanying the software and any other security policies which the Custodian provides to the Trust.

2.4. By providing an Instruction in respect of an Investment (which Instruction may relate to among other things, the execution and/or settlement of trades), the Trust hereby (i) authorizes BBH&Co. to complete such documentation as may be required or appropriate for the execution of the Instruction, and agrees to be contractually bound to the terms of such documentation "as is" without recourse against BBH&Co.; (ii) represents, warrants and covenants that it has accepted and agreed to comply with all Applicable Law, terms and conditions to which it and/or its Investment may be bound, including without limitation, requirements imposed by the Investment prospectus or offering circular, subscription agreement, any application or other documentation relating to an Investment (e.g., compliance with suitability requirements and eligibility restrictions); (iii) acknowledges and agrees that BBH&Co. will not be responsible for the accuracy of any information provided to it by or on behalf of a Fund, or for any underlying commitment or obligation inherent to an Investment; (iv) except as otherwise provided for in Section 2.4.1, represents, warrants and covenants that it will not effect any sale, transfer or disposition of Investment(s) held in BBH&Co.'s name by any means other than the issuance of an Instruction by a Fund to BBH&Co.; (v) acknowledges that collective investment schemes (and/or their agent(s)) in which a Fund invests may pay to BBH&Co. certain fees (including without limitation, shareholder servicing and/or trailer fees) in respect of a Fund's investments in such schemes; (vi) agrees that BBH&Co. shall have no obligation or responsibility whatsoever to respond to, or provide capital in connection with any capital calls, letters of intent of other requirements as set out in the prospectus or offering circular of an Investment; (vii) represents, warrants and covenants that it will provide BBH&Co. with such information as is necessary or appropriate to enable BBH&Co.'s performance pursuant to an Instruction or under this Agreement; (viii) represents that it is not a "Plan" (which term includes (1) employee benefit plans that are subject to the United States ("US") Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended ("ERISA"), or plans, individual retirement accounts and other arrangements that are subject to
Section 4975 of the US Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), (2) plans, individual retirement accounts and other arrangements that are subject to the prohibited transaction provisions of Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, and
(3) entities the underlying assets of which are considered to include "plan assets" of such plans, accounts and arrangements), or an entity purchasing shares on behalf of, or with the "plan assets" of, a Plan; (ix) undertakes to inform BBH&Co. and to keep the same updated as to the status under ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, each as amended, of the beneficial investor to the Investment, and as to any tax withholding or benefit to which an Investment may be subject; (x) acknowledges that BBH&Co. shall have no obligation to fund any order placed by the Fund for which the Fund does not have sufficient cash on deposit with BBH&Co.; and (xi) agrees that BBH&Co. shall be held harmless for the acts, omissions or any unlawful activity of any agent of the Fund, or any transfer agent or other agent of an Investment in which the Fund may invest.

2.4.1 To the extent that a Fund holds Investments in an account opened in the name of BBH&Co. as custodian for and at the direction of a Fund, and a Fund requests that BBH&Co. provide a Fund with the capability to place orders and execute trades in fund shares directly with such fund companies and/or their transfer agents which shall be settled in an account established with each such fund company or its transfer agent, the Fund hereby acknowledges that BBH&Co. is under no obligation to agree to such arrangement but if BBH&Co. so agrees, the Fund (i) acknowledges that all relevant terms under Section 2.4 above apply thereto, (ii) authorizes BBH&Co. as custodian, to grant a limited power of attorney to the Fund or its designated agent to enable the Fund to so execute,
(iii) agrees to ensure that any instructions issued by the Fund or its designated agent shall also be concurrently submitted to BBH&Co., and (iv) shall adhere to any BBH&Co. procedures established with each such fund or its transfer agent with respect thereto including, but not limited to, the terms of the limited power of attorney. The Fund also acknowledges and agrees that (1) BBH&Co. is acting solely in its capacity as custodian and is not acting as a broker or introducing broker on behalf of the Fund, (2) BBH&Co. is not

receiving compensation in connection with the Fund's execution hereunder of trades with each such fund other than its usual and customary custody fees and transaction charges, (3) it will provide such account opening information to each such fund and/or transfer agent as and when requested by such fund and/or transfer agent, and (4) BBH&Co. is not responsible for
(a) providing information published by the relevant distributor of each such fund including, but not limited to, the prospectus for each such Investment in a fund or for resolving execution queries or complaints relative to any such Investment, and (b) assessing the suitability of any such Investment executed directed by the Fund.

3. REPRESENTATION AND WARRANTY OF BBH&CO. BBH&Co. hereby represents and warrants that this Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by BBH&Co. and does not and will not violate any Applicable Law or conflict with or constitute a default under BBH&Co.'s limited partnership agreement or any agreement, instrument, judgment, order or decree to which BBH&Co. is a party or by which it is bound.

4. INSTRUCTIONS. Unless otherwise explicitly indicated herein, the Custodian shall perform its duties pursuant to Instructions. As used herein, the term INSTRUCTION shall mean a directive initiated by the Fund, acting through its board of directors or trustees or other Authorized Person, which directive shall conform to the requirements of this Section 4.

4.1. AUTHORIZED PERSONS. For purposes hereof, an AUTHORIZED PERSON shall be a person or entity authorized to give Instructions to the Custodian by written notices or otherwise for or on behalf of the Fund in accordance with procedures delivered to and acknowledged by the Custodian. The Custodian may treat any Authorized Person as having the full authority of the Fund to issue Instructions hereunder unless the notice of authorization contains explicit limitations as to said authority. The Custodian shall be entitled to rely upon the authority of Authorized Persons until it receives appropriate written notice from the Fund to the contrary.

4.2. FORM OF INSTRUCTION. Each Instruction shall be transmitted by such secured or authenticated electro-mechanical means as the Custodian shall make available to the Fund from time to time unless the Fund shall elect to transmit such Instruction in accordance with Subsections 4.2.1 through 4.2.3 of this Section.

4.2.1 FUND DESIGNATED SECURED-TRANSMISSION METHOD. Instructions may be transmitted through a secured or tested electro-mechanical means identified by the Fund or by an Authorized Person entitled to give Instruction and acknowledged and accepted by the Custodian, it being understood that such acknowledgment shall authorize the Custodian to accept such means of delivery but shall not represent a judgment by the Custodian as to the reasonableness or security of the means utilized by the Authorized Person.

4.2.2 WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS. Instructions may be transmitted in a writing that bears the manual signature of Authorized Persons.

4.2.3 OTHER FORMS OF INSTRUCTION. Instructions may also be transmitted by another means determined by the Fund or Authorized Persons and acknowledged and accepted by the Custodian (subject to the same limits as to acknowledgements as are contained in Subsection 4.2.1, above) including Instructions given orally or by SWIFT or telefax (whether tested or untested).

When an Instruction is given by means established under Subsections 4.2.1 through 4.2.3, it shall be the responsibility of the Custodian to use reasonable care to adhere to any security or other procedures established in writing between the Custodian and the Authorized Person with respect to such means of Instruction, but the Authorized Person shall be solely responsible for determining that the particular means chosen is reasonable under the circumstances. Oral Instructions shall be binding upon the Custodian only if and when the Custodian takes action with respect thereto. With respect to

telefax instructions, the parties agree and acknowledge that receipt of legible instructions cannot be assured, that the Custodian cannot verify that authorized signatures on telefax instructions are original or properly affixed, and that the Custodian shall not be liable for losses or expenses incurred through actions taken in reasonable reliance on inaccurately stated, illegible or unauthorized telefax instructions. The provisions of Section 4A of the Uniform Commercial Code shall apply to Funds Transfers performed in accordance with Instructions. The Funds Transfer Services Schedule and the Electronic and Online Services Schedule to this Agreement shall each comprise a designation of a means of delivering Instructions for purposes of this Section 4.2.

4.3. COMPLETENESS AND CONTENTS OF INSTRUCTIONS. The Authorized Person shall be responsible for assuring the adequacy and accuracy of Instructions. Particularly, upon any acquisition or disposition or other dealing in the Fund's Investments and upon any delivery and transfer of any Investment or moneys, the person initiating the Instruction shall give the Custodian an Instruction with appropriate detail, including, without limitation:

4.3.1 The transaction date and the date and location of settlement;

4.3.2 The specification of the type of transaction;

4.3.3 A description of the Investments or moneys in question, including, as appropriate, quantity, price per unit, amount of money to be received or delivered and currency information. Where an Instruction is communicated by electronic means, or otherwise where an Instruction contains an identifying number such as a CUSIP, SEDOL or ISIN number, the Custodian shall be entitled to rely on such number as controlling notwithstanding any inconsistency contained in the Instruction, particularly with respect to Investment description; and

4.3.4 The name of the broker or similar entity concerned with execution of the transaction.

If the Custodian determines that an Instruction is either unclear or incomplete, the Custodian may give prompt notice of such determination to the Fund, and the Fund shall thereupon amend or otherwise reform the Instruction. In such event, the Custodian shall have no obligation to take any action in response to the Instruction initially delivered until the redelivery of an amended or reformed Instruction.

4.4. TIMELINESS OF INSTRUCTIONS. In giving an Instruction, the Fund shall take into consideration delays which may occur due to the involvement of a Subcustodian or agent, differences in time zones, and other factors particular to a given market, exchange or issuer. When the Custodian has established specific timing requirements or deadlines with respect to particular classes of Instruction, or when an Instruction is received by the Custodian at such a time that it could not reasonably be expected to have acted on such instruction due to time zone differences or other factors beyond its reasonable control, the execution of any Instruction received by the Custodian after such deadline or at such time (including any modification or revocation of a previous Instruction) shall be at the risk of the Fund.

5. SAFEKEEPING OF FUND ASSETS. The Custodian shall hold Investments delivered to it or Subcustodians for the Fund in accordance with the provisions of this Section. The Custodian shall not be responsible for (a) the safekeeping of Investments not delivered or that are not caused to be issued to it or its Subcustodians; or, (b) pre-existing faults or defects in Investments that are delivered to the Custodian or its Subcustodians. The Custodian is hereby authorized to hold with itself or a Subcustodian, and to record in one or more accounts, all Investments delivered to and accepted by the Custodian, any Subcustodian or their respective agents pursuant to an Instruction or in consequence of any corporate action or income event. The Custodian shall hold Investments for the account of the Fund and shall segregate Investments from assets belonging to the Custodian and shall cause its Subcustodians to segregate Investments from assets belonging to the Subcustodian in an account held for the Fund or in an account maintained by the Subcustodian generally for non-proprietary assets of the Custodian.

5.1. USE OF SECURITIES DEPOSITORIES. The Custodian may deposit and maintain Investments in any Securities Depository, either directly or through one or more Subcustodians appointed by the Custodian. Investments held in a Securities Depository shall be held (a) subject to the agreement, rules, statement of terms and conditions or other document or conditions effective between the Securities Depository and the Custodian or the Subcustodian, as the case may be, and (b) in an account for the Fund or in bulk segregation in an account maintained for the non-proprietary assets of the entity holding such Investments in the Depository. If market practice or the rules and regulations of the Securities Depository prevent the Custodian, the Subcustodian or (any agent of either) from holding its client assets in such a separate account, the Custodian, the Subcustodian or other agent shall as appropriate segregate such Investments for benefit of the Fund or for benefit of clients of the Custodian generally on its own books.

5.2. CERTIFICATED ASSETS. Investments which are certificated may be held in registered or bearer form: (a) in the Custodian's vault; (b) in the vault of a Subcustodian or agent of the Custodian or a Subcustodian; or (c) in an account maintained by the Custodian, Subcustodian or agent at a Securities Depository; all in accordance with customary market practice in the jurisdiction in which any Investments are held.

5.3. REGISTERED ASSETS. Investments which are registered may be registered in the name of the Custodian, a Subcustodian, or in the name of the Fund or a nominee for any of the foregoing, and may be held in any manner set forth in Section 5.2 above with or without any identification of fiduciary capacity in such registration.

5.4. BOOK ENTRY ASSETS. Investments which are represented by book-entry may be so held in an account maintained by the Book-entry Agent on behalf of the Custodian, a Subcustodian or another Agent of the Custodian, or a Securities Depository.

5.5. REPLACEMENT OF LOST INVESTMENTS. In the event of a loss of Investments for which loss the Custodian is responsible under the terms of this Agreement, the Custodian shall replace such Investment, or in the event that such replacement cannot be effected, the Custodian shall pay to the Fund the fair market value of such Investment based on the last available price as of the close of business in the relevant market on the date that a claim was first made to the Custodian with respect to such loss, or such other lesser amount as shall be agreed by the parties.

6. ADMINISTRATIVE DUTIES OF THE CUSTODIAN. The Custodian shall perform the following administrative duties with respect to Investments of the Fund.

6.1. PURCHASE OF INVESTMENTS. Pursuant to Instruction, Investments purchased for the account of the Fund shall be paid for (a) against delivery thereof to the Custodian or a Subcustodian, as the case may be, either directly or through a Clearing Corporation or a Securities Depository (in accordance with the rules of such Securities Depository or such Clearing Corporation), or (b) otherwise in accordance with an Instruction, Applicable Law, generally accepted trade practices, or the terms of the instrument representing such Investment.

6.2. SALE OF INVESTMENTS. Pursuant to Instruction, Investments sold for the account of the Fund shall be delivered (a) against payment therefor in cash, by check or by bank wire transfer, (b) by credit to the account of the Custodian or the applicable Subcustodian, as the case may be, with a Clearing Corporation or a Securities Depository (in accordance with the rules of such Securities Depository or such Clearing Corporation), or (c) otherwise in accordance with an Instruction, Applicable Law, generally accepted trade practices, or the terms of the instrument representing such Investment.

6.3. DELIVERY AND RECEIPT IN CONNECTION WITH BORROWINGS OF THE FUND OR OTHER COLLATERAL AND MARGIN REQUIREMENTS. Pursuant to Instruction, the Custodian may deliver or receive Investments or cash of the Fund in connection with borrowings or loans by the Fund and other collateral and margin requirements.

6.4. FUTURES AND OPTIONS. If, pursuant to an Instruction, the Custodian

shall become a party to an agreement with the Fund and a futures commission merchant regarding margin (Tri-Party Agreement), the Custodian shall (a) receive and retain, to the extent the same are provided to the Custodian, confirmations or other documents evidencing the purchase or sale by the Fund of exchange-traded futures contracts and commodity options, (b) when required by such Tri-Party Agreement, deposit and maintain in an account opened pursuant to such Agreement (Margin Account), segregated either physically or by book-entry in a Securities Depository for the benefit of any futures commission merchant, such Investments as the Fund shall have designated as initial, maintenance or variation "margin" deposits or other collateral intended to secure the Fund's performance of its obligations under the terms of any exchange-traded futures contracts and commodity options; and (c) thereafter pay, release or transfer Investments into or out of the margin account in accordance with the provisions of such Agreement. Alternatively, the Custodian may deliver Investments, in accordance with an Instruction, to a futures commission merchant for purposes of margin requirements in accordance with Rule 17f-6 under the 1940 Act. The Custodian shall in no event be responsible for the acts and omissions of any futures commission merchant to whom Investments are delivered pursuant to this Section; for the sufficiency of Investments held in any Margin Account; or, for the performance of any terms of any exchange-traded futures contracts and commodity options.

6.5. CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS AND SIMILAR INVESTMENTS. From time to time, the Fund's Investments may include Investments that are not ownership interests as may be represented by certificate (whether registered or bearer), by entry in a Securities Depository or by Book-Entry Agent, registrar or similar agent for recording ownership interests in the relevant Investment. If the Fund shall at any time acquire such Investments, including without limitation deposit obligations, loan participations, repurchase agreements and derivative arrangements, the Custodian shall (a) receive and retain, to the extent the same are provided to the Custodian, confirmations or other documents evidencing the arrangement; and (b) perform on the Fund's account in accordance with the terms of the applicable arrangement, but only to the extent directed to do so by Instruction. The Custodian shall have no responsibility for agreements running to the Fund as to which it is not a party other than to retain, to the extent the same are provided to the Custodian, documents or copies of documents evidencing the arrangement and, in accordance with Instruction, to include such arrangements in reports made to the Fund.

6.6. EXCHANGE OF SECURITIES. Unless otherwise directed by Instruction, the Custodian shall: (a) exchange securities held for the account of the Fund for other securities in connection with any reorganization, recapitalization, conversion, stock split, change of par value of shares or similar event, and (b) deposit any such securities in accordance with the terms of any reorganization or protective plan.

6.7. SURRENDER OF SECURITIES. Unless otherwise directed by Instruction, the Custodian may surrender securities: (a) in temporary form for definitive securities; (b) for transfer into the name of an entity allowable under Section 5.3; and (c) for a different number of certificates or instruments representing the same number of shares or the same principal amount of indebtedness.

6.8. RIGHTS, WARRANTS, ETC. Pursuant to Instruction, the Custodian shall
(a) deliver warrants, puts, calls, rights or similar securities to the issuer or trustee thereof, or to any agent of the issuer or trustee, for purposes of exercising such rights or selling such securities, and (b) deliver securities in response to any tender offer.

6.9. MANDATORY CORPORATE ACTIONS. Unless otherwise directed by Instruction, the Custodian shall: (a) comply with the terms of all mandatory or compulsory exchanges, calls, tenders, redemptions or similar rights of securities ownership affecting securities held on the Fund's account and promptly notify the Fund of such action; and
(b) collect all stock dividends, rights and other items of like nature with respect to such securities.

6.10. INCOME COLLECTION. Unless otherwise directed by Instruction, the Custodian shall collect any amount due and payable to the Fund with respect to Investments and promptly credit the amount collected to a Principal or Agency Account; provided, however, that the Custodian shall not be responsible for: (a) the collection of amounts due and payable with respect to Investments that are in default or (b) the

collection of cash or share entitlements with respect to Investments that are not registered in the name of the Custodian or its Subcustodians. The Custodian is hereby authorized to endorse and deliver any instrument required to be so endorsed and delivered to effect collection of any amount due and payable to the Fund with respect to Investments.

6.11. CORPORATE ACTION INFORMATION. In fulfilling the duties set forth in Sections 6.6 through 6.10 above, the Custodian shall provide to the Fund such material information pertaining to a corporate action which the Custodian actually receives; provided that the Custodian shall not be responsible for the completeness or accuracy of such information. Information relative to any pending corporate action made available to the Fund via any of the services described in the Electronic and Online Services Schedule shall constitute the delivery of such information by the Custodian. Any advance credit of cash or shares expected to be received as a result of any corporate action shall be subject to actual collection and may be reversed by the Custodian.

6.12. PROXY MATERIALS. The Custodian shall deliver, or cause to be delivered, to the Fund proxy forms, notices of meeting, and any other notices or announcements materially affecting or relating to Investments received by the Custodian. Information relative to any pending corporate action made available to the Fund via any of the services described in the Electronic and Online Services Schedule shall constitute the delivery of such information by the Custodian.

6.13. OWNERSHIP CERTIFICATES AND DISCLOSURE OF THE FUND'S INTEREST. The Custodian is hereby authorized to execute on behalf of the Fund ownership certificates, affidavits or other disclosure required under Applicable Law or established market practice in connection with the receipt of income, capital gains or other payments by the Fund with respect to Investments, or in connection with the sale, purchase or ownership of Investments.

With respect to securities issued in the United States of America, the Custodian [XX] may [ ] may not release the identity of the Fund to an issuer which requests such information pursuant to the Shareholder Communications Act of 1985 for the specific purpose of direct communications between such issuer and the Fund. IF NO BOX IS CHECKED, THE CUSTODIAN SHALL RELEASE SUCH INFORMATION UNTIL IT RECEIVES CONTRARY INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE FUND. With respect to securities issued outside of the United States of America, information shall be released in accordance with law or custom of the particular country in which such security is located.

6.14. TAXES. The Custodian shall, where applicable, assist the Fund in the reclamation of taxes withheld on dividends and interest payments received by the Fund. In the performance of its duties with respect to tax withholding and reclamation, the Custodian shall be entitled to rely on the advice of counsel and upon information and advice regarding the Fund's tax status that is received from or on behalf of the Fund without duty of separate inquiry.

6.15. OTHER DEALINGS. The Custodian shall otherwise act as directed by Instruction, including without limitation effecting the free payments of moneys or the free delivery of securities, provided that such Instruction shall indicate the purpose of such payment or delivery and that the Custodian shall record the party to whom the payment or delivery is made.

6.16. NONDISCRETIONARY DETAILS AND MINOR EXPENSES. The Custodian shall attend to all nondiscretionary details in connection with the sale or purchase or other administration of Investments, except as otherwise directed by Instruction, and may make payments to itself or others for minor expenses of administering Investments under this Agreement, provided that the Fund shall have the right to request an accounting with respect to such expenses.

6.17. USE OF AGENTS. The Custodian may at any time in its discretion appoint (and may at any time remove) agents (other than Subcustodians) to carry out some or all of the administrative provisions of this Agreement (AGENTS), provided, however, that the appointment of an Agent shall not relieve the Custodian of its administrative obligations under this Agreement.

7. CASH ACCOUNTS, DEPOSITS AND MONEY MOVEMENTS. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Section 7, the Fund hereby authorizes the Custodian to open and maintain, with itself or with Subcustodians, cash accounts in United States Dollars, in such other currencies as are the currencies of the countries in which the Fund maintains Investments or in such other currencies as the Fund shall from time to time request by Instruction. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, the Fund shall be liable as principal for any overdrafts occurring in any cash accounts.

7.1. TYPES OF CASH ACCOUNTS. Cash accounts opened on the books of the Custodian (PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTS) shall be opened in the name of the Fund. Such accounts collectively shall be a deposit obligation of the Custodian and shall be subject to the terms of this Section 7 and the general liability provisions contained in Section 9. Cash accounts opened on the books of a Subcustodian may be opened in the name of the Fund or the Custodian or in the name of the Custodian for its customers generally (AGENCY ACCOUNTS). Such deposits shall be obligations of the Subcustodian and shall be treated as an Investment of the Fund. Accordingly, the Custodian shall be responsible for exercising reasonable care in the administration of such accounts, but shall not be liable for their repayment in the event the Subcustodian, by reason of its bankruptcy, insolvency or otherwise, fails to make repayment. In connection with the services provided hereunder, the Custodian is hereby directed to open cash accounts on its books and records from time to time for the purposes of receiving subscriptions and/or processing redemptions on behalf of the Fund, and/or for the purposes of aggregating, netting and/or clearing transactions (including, without limitation foreign exchange, repurchase agreements, capital stock activity, expense payment) or other administrative purposes on behalf of the Fund or the Fund and affiliated funds (each an "Account"). Each such Account shall be subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement (including, without limitation Section 7.6) and the Fund shall be liable for the satisfaction of its own obligations in connection with each Account; provided however, the Fund shall not be liable for the obligations of any other affiliated fund thereunder.

7.1.1 ADMINISTRATIVE ACCOUNTS. In connection with the services provided hereunder, the Custodian is hereby directed to open cash accounts on its books and records from time to time for the purposes of receiving subscriptions and/or processing redemptions on behalf of the Fund and/or for the purposes of aggregating, netting and/or clearing transactions (including, without limitation foreign exchange, repurchase agreements, capital stock activity, expense payment) or other administrative purposes, each on behalf of the Fund (each an "Account"). Each such Account shall be subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the Fund shall be liable for the satisfaction of its obligations in connection with each Account.

7.2. PAYMENTS AND CREDITS WITH RESPECT TO THE CASH ACCOUNTS. The Custodian shall make payments from or deposits to any of the cash accounts in the course of carrying out its administrative duties, including but not limited to income collection with respect to the Fund's Investments, and otherwise in accordance with Instructions. The Custodian and its Subcustodians shall be required to credit amounts to the cash accounts only when moneys are actually received in cleared funds in accordance with banking practice in the country and currency of deposit. Any credit made to any Principal or Agency Account before actual receipt of cleared funds shall be provisional and may be reversed by the Custodian in the event such payment is not actually collected. Unless otherwise specifically agreed in writing by the Custodian or any Subcustodian, all deposits shall be payable only at the branch of the Custodian or Subcustodian where the deposit is made or carried.

7.3. CURRENCY AND RELATED RISKS. The Fund bears the risks of holding or transacting in any currency, including any mark to market exposure associated with a foreign exchange transaction undertaken with the Custodian. The Custodian shall not be liable for any loss or damage arising from the applicability of any law or regulation now or hereafter in effect, or from the occurrence of any event, which may delay or affect the transferability, convertibility or availability of any currency in the country (a) in which such Principal or Agency Accounts are maintained or (b) in which such currency is issued, and in no event shall the Custodian be obligated to make payment of a deposit denominated in a currency during the period during which its transferability, convertibility or availability has been affected by

any such law, regulation or event. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, neither the Custodian nor any Subcustodian shall be required to repay any deposit made at a foreign branch of either the Custodian or Subcustodian if such branch cannot repay the deposit due to a cause for which the Custodian would not be responsible in accordance with the terms of Section 9 of this Agreement unless the Custodian or such Subcustodian expressly agrees in writing to repay the deposit under such circumstances. All currency transactions in any account opened pursuant to this Agreement are subject to exchange control regulations of the United States and of the country where such currency is the lawful currency or where the account is maintained. Any taxes, costs, charges or fees imposed on the convertibility of a currency held by the Fund shall be for the account of the Fund.

7.4. FOREIGN EXCHANGE TRANSACTIONS. The Custodian shall, subject to the terms of this Section, settle foreign exchange transactions (including contracts, futures, options and options on futures) on behalf and for the account of the Fund with such currency brokers or banking institutions, including Subcustodians, as the Fund may direct pursuant to Instructions. The Custodian may act as principal in any foreign exchange transaction with the Fund in accordance with
Section 7.4.2 of this Agreement. The obligations of the Custodian in respect of all foreign exchange transactions (whether or not the Custodian shall act as principal in such transaction) shall be contingent on the free, unencumbered transferability of the currency transacted on the actual settlement date of the transaction.

7.4.1 THIRD PARTY FOREIGN EXCHANGE TRANSACTIONS. The Custodian shall process foreign exchange transactions (including without limitation contracts, futures, options, and options on futures), where any third party acts as principal counterparty to the Fund on the same basis it performs duties as agent for the Fund with respect to any other of the Fund's Investments. Accordingly the Custodian shall only be responsible for delivering or receiving currency on behalf of the Fund in respect of such contracts pursuant to Instructions. The Custodian shall not be responsible for the failure of any counterparty (including any Subcustodian) in such agency transaction to perform its obligations thereunder. The Custodian (a) shall transmit cash and Instructions to and from the currency broker or banking institution with which the Fund has executed a foreign exchange contract or option, (b) may make free outgoing payments of cash in the form of Dollars or foreign currency without receiving confirmation of a foreign exchange contract or option or confirmation that the countervalue currency completing the foreign exchange contract has been delivered or received or that the option has been delivered or received, (c) may, in connection with cash payments made to third party currency brokers/dealers for settlement of the Fund's foreign exchange spot or forward transactions, foreign currency swap transactions and similar foreign exchange transactions, process settlements using the facilities of the CLS Bank according to CLS Bank's standard terms and conditions, and (d) shall hold in safekeeping all confirmations, certificates and other documents and agreements received by the Custodian and evidencing or relating to such foreign exchange transactions. The Fund accepts full responsibility for its use of third-party foreign exchange dealers and for execution of the foreign exchange contracts and options and understands that the Fund shall be responsible for any and all costs and interest charges which may be incurred by the Fund or the Custodian as a result of the failure or delay of third parties to deliver foreign exchange.

7.4.2 FOREIGN EXCHANGE WITH THE CUSTODIAN AS PRINCIPAL. The Custodian, as principal, may enter into foreign exchange transactions with the Fund as the Custodian and the Fund may agree from time to time. In this event, the foreign exchange transaction will be performed in accordance with the particular agreement of the parties, or in the event a principal foreign exchange transaction is initiated by Instruction in the absence of a specific agreement, in accordance with the usual commercial terms of the Custodian and the Online Terms and Conditions described in Section 12.13 of this Agreement. .

7.5. DELAYS. If no event of Force Majeure shall have occurred and be continuing and in the event that a delay shall have been caused by the negligence or willful misconduct of the Custodian in carrying

out an Instruction to credit or transfer cash, the Custodian shall be liable to the Fund: (a) with respect to Principal Accounts, for interest to be calculated at the rate customarily paid on such deposit and currency by the Custodian on overnight deposits at the time the delay occurs for the period from the day when the transfer should have been effected until the day it is in fact effected; and,
(b) with respect to Agency Accounts, for interest to be calculated at the rate customarily paid on such deposit and currency by the Subcustodian on overnight deposits at the time the delay occurs for the period from the day when the transfer should have been effected until the day it is in fact effected. The Custodian shall not be liable for delays in carrying out Instructions to transfer cash which are not due to the Custodian's own negligence or willful misconduct.

7.6. ADVANCES. If, for any reason in connection with this Agreement the Custodian or any Subcustodian makes an Advance to facilitate settlement or otherwise for the benefit of the Fund (whether or not any Principal or Agency Account shall be overdrawn either during, or at the end of, any Business Day), the Fund hereby does:

7.6.1 acknowledge that the Fund shall have no right, title or interest in or to any Investments purchased with such Advance or proceeds of such Investments, and that any credit to an account of Fund shall be provisional, until: (a) the debit of the Principal or Agency Account by Custodian for an amount equal to Advance Costs; and/or (b) if such debit produces an overdraft in such account, reimbursement to the Custodian or Subcustodian for the amount of such overdraft;

7.6.2 acknowledge that the Custodian has an automatically perfected statutory security interest in Investments purchased with any such Advance pursuant to Section 9-206 of the Uniform Commercial Code as in effect in the State of New York from time to time;

7.6.3 in addition, in order to secure the obligations of the Fund to pay or perform any and all obligations of the Fund pursuant to this Agreement, including without limitation to repay any Advance made pursuant to this Agreement, grant to the Custodian a security interest in all Investments and proceeds thereof (as defined in the Uniform Commercial Code as currently in effect in the State of New York); and agree to take, and agree that the Custodian may take, in respect of the security interest referenced above, any further actions that the Custodian may reasonably require.

7.7. CUSTODIAN'S RIGHTS Neither the Custodian nor any Subcustodian shall be obligated to make any Advance or to allow an Advance to occur to the Fund, and in the event that the Custodian or any Subcustodian does make or allow an Advance, any such Advance and any transaction giving rise to such Advance shall be for the account and risk of the Fund and shall not be deemed to be a transaction undertaken by the Custodian for its own account and risk. If such Advance shall have been made or allowed by a Subcustodian or any other person, the Custodian may assign all or part of its security interest referenced above and any other rights granted to the Custodian hereunder to such Subcustodian or other person. If the Fund shall fail to repay the Advance Costs when due, the Custodian or its assignee, as the case may be, shall be entitled to a portion of the available cash balance in any Agency or Principal Account equal to such Advance Costs, and the Fund authorizes the Custodian, on behalf of the Fund, to pay an amount equal to such Advance Costs irrevocably to such Subcustodian or other person, and to dispose of any property in such Account to the extent necessary to make such payment. Any Investments credited to accounts subject to this Agreement created pursuant hereto shall be treated as financial assets credited to securities accounts under Articles 8 and 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code as in effect in the State of New York from time to time. Accordingly, the Custodian and any Subcustodian shall have the rights and benefits of a secured creditor that is a securities intermediary under such Articles 8 and 9.

7.8. INTEGRATED ACCOUNT. For purposes hereof, deposits maintained in all Principal Accounts (whether or not denominated in Dollars) shall collectively constitute a single and indivisible current account with respect to the Fund's obligations to the Custodian or its assignee, and balances in the Principal Accounts shall be available for satisfaction of the Fund's obligations under this Section 7. The

Custodian shall further have a right of offset against the balances in any Agency Account maintained hereunder to the extent that the aggregate of all Principal Accounts is overdrawn.

8. Subcustodians and Securities Depositories. Subject to the provisions hereinafter set forth in this Section 8, the Fund hereby authorizes the Custodian to utilize Securities Depositories to act on behalf of the Fund and to appoint from time to time and to utilize Subcustodians. With respect to securities and funds held by a Subcustodian, either directly or indirectly (including by a Securities Depository or Clearing Corporation), notwithstanding any provisions of this Agreement to the contrary, payment for securities purchased and delivery of securities sold may be made prior to receipt of securities or payment, respectively, and securities or payment may be received in a form in accordance with (a) governmental regulations, (b) rules of Securities Depositories and Clearing Agencies,
(c) generally accepted trade practice in the applicable local market, (d) the terms and characteristics of the particular Investment, or (e) the terms of Instructions.

8.1. DOMESTIC SUBCUSTODIANS AND SECURITIES DEPOSITORIES. The Custodian may deposit and/or maintain, either directly or through one or more Agents appointed by the Custodian, Investments of the Fund in any Securities Depository in the United States, including The Depository Trust Company, provided such Depository meets applicable requirements of the Federal Reserve Bank or of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Custodian may, from time to time, appoint any bank as defined in Section 2(a)(5) of the 1940 Act meeting the requirements of a custodian under Section 17(f) of the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder to act on behalf of the Fund as a Subcustodian for purposes of holding Investments of the Fund in the United States.

8.2. FOREIGN SUBCUSTODIANS AND SECURITIES DEPOSITORIES. Unless instructed otherwise by the Fund, the Custodian may deposit and/or maintain non-U.S. Investments of the Fund in any non-U.S. Securities Depository provided such Securities Depository meets the requirements of an "eligible securities depository" under Rule 17f-7 promulgated under the 1940 Act, or any successor rule or regulation ("Rule 17f-7") or which by order of the Securities and Exchange Commission is exempted therefrom. Prior to the time that securities are placed with such depository, but subject to the provisions of
Section 8.2.4 below, the Custodian shall have prepared an assessment of the custody risks associated with maintaining assets with the Securities Depository and shall have established a system to monitor such risks on a continuing basis in accordance with subsection 8.2.3 of this Section. Additionally, the Custodian may, from time to time, appoint (a) any bank, trust company or other entity meeting the requirements of an "eligible foreign custodian" under Rule 17f-5 or which by order of the Securities and Exchange Commission is exempted therefrom, or (b) any bank as defined in Section 2(a)(5) of the 1940 Act meeting the requirements of a custodian under Section 17(f) of the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder, to act on behalf of the Fund as a Subcustodian for purposes of holding Investments of the Fund outside the United States.

8.3. DELEGATION OF BOARD REVIEW OF SUBCUSTODIANS. From time to time, the Custodian may agree to perform certain reviews of Subcustodians and of Subcustodian Contracts as the delegate of the Fund's Board. In such event, the Custodian's duties and obligations with respect to this delegated review will be performed in accordance with the terms of the attached 17f-5 Delegation Schedule to this Agreement.

8.4. BOARD APPROVAL OF FOREIGN SUBCUSTODIANS. Unless and except to the extent that the Board has delegated to the Custodian and the Custodian has accepted delegation of review of certain matters concerning the appointment of Subcustodians pursuant to Subsection 8.3, the Custodian shall, prior to the appointment of any Subcustodian for purposes of holding Investments of the Fund outside the United States, obtain written confirmation of the approval of the Board of Trustees or Directors of the Fund with respect to (a) the identity of a Subcustodian, and (b) the Subcustodian agreement which shall govern such appointment, such approval to be signed by an Authorized Person. An Instruction to open an account in a given country shall comprise authorization of the Custodian to hold assets in such country in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. The Custodian shall not be required to make independent inquiry as to the authorization of the Fund to invest in such country.

8.5. MONITORING AND RISK ASSESSMENT OF SECURITIES DEPOSITORIES. Prior to the placement of any assets of the Fund with a non-U.S. Securities

Depository, the Custodian: (a) shall provide to the Fund or its authorized representative an assessment of the custody risks associated with maintaining assets within such Securities Depository; and (b) shall have established a system to monitor the custody risks associated with maintaining assets with such Securities Depository on a continuing basis and to promptly notify the Fund or its Investment Adviser of any material changes in such risk. In performing its duties under this subsection, the Custodian shall use reasonable care and may rely on such reasonable sources of information as may be available including but not limited to: (i) published ratings; (ii) information supplied by a Subcustodian that is a participant in such Securities Depository; (iii) industry surveys or publications; (iv) information supplied by the depository itself, by its auditors (internal or external) or by the relevant Foreign Financial Regulatory Authority. It is acknowledged that information procured through some or all of these sources may not be independently verifiable by the Custodian and that direct access to Securities Depositories is limited under most circumstances. Accordingly, the Custodian shall not be responsible for errors or omissions in its duties hereunder provided that it has performed its monitoring and assessment duties with reasonable care. The risk assessment shall be provided to the Fund or its Investment Advisor by such means as the Custodian shall reasonably establish. Advices of material change in such assessment may be provided by the Custodian in the manner established as customary between the Fund and the Custodian for transmission of material market information.

8.6. RESPONSIBILITY FOR SUBCUSTODIANS. Except as provided in the last sentence of this Section 8.6, the Custodian shall be liable to the Fund for any loss or damage to the Fund caused by or resulting from the acts or omissions of any Subcustodian to the extent that such acts or omissions would be deemed to be negligence, gross negligence or willful misconduct in accordance with the terms of the relevant subcustodian agreement under the laws, circumstances and practices prevailing in the place where the act or omission occurred. With respect to any losses incurred by the Trust or any Fund as a result of the acts or any failures to act by any Subcustodian, Custodian shall take appropriate action to recover any losses from such Subcustodian. The liability of the Custodian in respect of the countries and Subcustodians designated by the Custodian, from time to time on the Global Custody Network Listing shall be subject to the additional condition that the Custodian actually recovers such loss or damage from the Subcustodian.

8.7. NEW COUNTRIES. The Fund shall be responsible for informing the Custodian sufficiently in advance of a proposed investment which is to be held in a country in which no Subcustodian is authorized to act in order that the Custodian shall, if it deems appropriate to do so, have sufficient time to establish a subcustodial arrangement in accordance herewith. In the event, the Custodian is unable to establish such arrangements prior to the time the investment is to be acquired, the Custodian is authorized to designate at its discretion a local safekeeping agent, and the use of the local safekeeping agent shall be at the sole risk of the Fund, and accordingly the Custodian shall be responsible to the Fund for the actions of such agent if and only to the extent the Custodian shall have recovered from such agent for any damages caused the Fund by such agent.

9. RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CUSTODIAN. In performing its duties and obligations hereunder, the Custodian shall use reasonable care under the facts and circumstances prevailing in the market where performance is effected. Subject to the specific provisions of this Section, the Custodian shall be liable for any direct damage incurred by the Fund in consequence of the Custodian's negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct. In no event shall the Custodian be liable hereunder for any special, indirect, punitive or consequential damages arising out of, pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement even if the Custodian has been advised of the possibility of such damages. It is agreed that the Custodian shall have no duty to assess the risks inherent in the Fund's Investments or to provide investment advice with respect to such Investments and that the Fund as principal shall bear any risks attendant to particular Investments such as failure of counterparty or issuer.

9.1. LIMITATIONS OF PERFORMANCE. The Custodian shall not be responsible under this Agreement for any failure to perform its duties, and shall not be liable hereunder for any loss or damage in association with such failure to perform for or in consequence of the following causes:

9.1.1 FORCE MAJEURE. Force Majeure shall mean any circumstance or event which is beyond the reasonable control of the Custodian, a Subcustodian or any agent of the Custodian or a Subcustodian and which adversely affects the performance by the Custodian of its obligations hereunder, by the Subcustodian of its obligations under its Subcustody Agreement or by any other Agent of the Custodian or the Subcustodian, including any event caused by, arising out of or involving (a) an act of God, (b) accident, fire, water or wind damage or explosion,
(c) any computer, system or other equipment failure or malfunction caused by any computer virus or the malfunction or failure of any communications medium, (d) any interruption of the power supply or other utility service, (e) any strike or other work stoppage, whether partial or total, (f) any delay or disruption resulting from or reflecting the occurrence of any Country or Sovereign Risk, (g) any disruption of, or suspension of trading in, the securities, commodities or foreign exchange markets, whether or not resulting from or reflecting the occurrence of any Country or Sovereign Risk,
(h) any encumbrance on the transferability of a currency or a currency position on the actual settlement date of a foreign exchange transaction, whether or not resulting from or reflecting the occurrence of any Country or Sovereign Risk, or
(i) any other cause similarly beyond the reasonable control of the Custodian.

9.1.2 COUNTRY RISK. Country Risk shall mean, with respect to the acquisition, ownership, settlement or custody of Investments in a jurisdiction, all risks relating to, or arising in consequence of, systemic and markets factors affecting the acquisition, payment for or ownership of Investments including
(a) the prevalence of crime and corruption, (b) the inaccuracy or unreliability of business and financial information, (c) the instability or volatility of banking and financial systems, or the absence or inadequacy of an infrastructure to support such systems, (d) custody and settlement infrastructure of the market in which such Investments are transacted and held, (e) the acts, omissions and operation of any Securities Depository, (f) the risk of the bankruptcy or insolvency of banking agents, counterparties to cash and securities transactions, registrars or transfer agents, and
(g) the existence of market conditions which prevent the orderly execution or settlement of transactions or which affect the value of assets.

9.1.3 SOVEREIGN RISK. Sovereign Risk shall mean, in respect of any jurisdiction, including the United States of America, where Investments are acquired or held hereunder or under a Subcustody Agreement, (a) any act of war, terrorism, riot, insurrection or civil commotion, (b) the imposition of any investment, repatriation or exchange control restrictions by any Governmental Authority, (c) the confiscation, expropriation or nationalization of any Investments by any Governmental Authority, whether de facto or de jure, (d) any devaluation or revaluation of the currency, (e) the imposition of taxes, levies or other charges affecting Investments, (f) any change in the Applicable Law, or (g) any other economic or political risk incurred or experienced.

9.2. LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY. The Custodian shall not be liable for any loss, claim, damage or other liability arising from the following causes:

9.2.1 FAILURE OF THIRD PARTIES. The failure of any third party including: (a) any issuer of Investments or Book-Entry Agent or other agent of an issuer; (b) any counterparty with respect to any Investment, including any issuer of exchange-traded or other futures, option, derivative or commodities contract; (c) failure of an Investment Advisor, foreign custody manager or other agent of the Fund; or (d) failure of other third parties similarly beyond the control or choice of the Custodian.

9.2.2 INFORMATION SOURCES. The Custodian may rely upon information received from issuers of Investments or agents of such issuers, information received from Subcustodians and from other commercially reasonable sources such as commercial data bases and the like, but shall not be responsible for specific inaccuracies in such information, provided that the Custodian has relied upon such information in good faith, or for the

failure of any commercially reasonable information provider.

9.2.3 RELIANCE ON INSTRUCTION. Action by the Custodian or the Subcustodian in accordance with an Instruction, even when such action conflicts with, or is contrary to any provision of, the Fund's declaration of trust, certificate of incorporation or by-laws or other constitutive document, Applicable Law, or actions by the trustees, directors or shareholders of the Fund.

9.2.4 RESTRICTED SECURITIES. The limitations inherent in the rights, transferability or similar investment characteristics of a given Investment of the Fund.

10. INDEMNIFICATION. The Trust on behalf of the applicable Fund agrees to indemnify Custodian and hold Custodian harmless from and against any and all losses sustained or incurred by or asserted against Custodian by reason of or as a result of any action or inaction, or arising out of Custodian's performance hereunder, including reasonable fees and expenses of counsel incurred by Custodian in a successful defense of claims by the Trust on behalf of the applicable Fund; provided, however, that the Trust on behalf of the applicable Fund shall not indemnify Custodian for those losses arising out of Custodian's own negligence or willful misconduct. This indemnity shall be a continuing obligation of the Trust on behalf of the applicable Fund, its successors and assigns, notwithstanding the termination of this Agreement.

11. REPORTS AND RECORDS. The Custodian shall:

11.1. create and maintain records relating to the performance of its obligations under this Agreement;

11.2. make available to the Fund, its auditors, agents and employees, upon reasonable request and during normal business hours of the Custodian, all records maintained by the Custodian pursuant to
Section 11.1 above, subject, however, to all reasonable security requirements of the Custodian then applicable to the records of its custody customers generally; and

11.3. make available to the Fund all Electronic Reports; it being understood that the Custodian shall not be liable hereunder for the inaccuracy or incompleteness thereof or for errors in any information included therein.

11.4. The Fund shall examine all records, however produced or transmitted, promptly upon receipt and notify the Custodian promptly of any discrepancy or error. Unless the Fund delivers written notice of any such discrepancy or error within a reasonable time after its receipt of the records, the records shall be deemed to be true and accurate.

11.5. The Fund acknowledges that the Custodian obtains information on the value of assets from outside sources which may be utilized in certain reports made available to the Fund. The Custodian deems such sources to be reliable but the Fund acknowledges and agrees that the Custodian does not verify such information nor make any representations or warrantees as to its accuracy or completeness and accordingly shall be without liability in selecting and using such sources and furnishing such information.

12. MISCELLANEOUS.

12.1. POWERS OF ATTORNEY, ETC. The Fund will promptly execute and deliver, upon request, such proxies, powers of attorney or other instruments as may be necessary or desirable for the Custodian to provide, or to cause any Subcustodian to provide, custody services.

12.2. ENTIRE AGREEMENT; AMENDMENT. This Agreement constitutes the entire understanding and agreement of the parties hereto and supersedes any other oral or written agreements heretofore in effect between the Fund and the Custodian with respect to the subject matter hereof. No provision of this Agreement may be amended or terminated except by a statement in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the amendment or termination is sought, provided, however, that

an Instruction shall, whether or not such Instruction shall constitute a waiver, amendment or modification for purposes hereof, be deemed to have been accepted by the Custodian when it commences actions pursuant thereto or in accordance therewith. In the event of a conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of a service level agreement or other operating agreement in place between the parties from time to time, the terms of this Agreement shall control.

12.3. BINDING EFFECT; ASSIGNMENT. This Agreement shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of the Custodian/Administrator and the Fund and their successors and assignees, provided that the Fund may not assign this Agreement without the prior written consent of the Custodian. Each party agrees that only the parties to this Agreement and/or their successors in interest shall have a right to enforce the terms of this Agreement. Accordingly, no client of the Fund or other third party shall have any rights under this Agreement and such rights are explicitly disclaimed by the parties.

12.4. GOVERNING LAW, JURISDICTION AND VENUE. THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, WITHOUT GIVING EFFECT TO THE CONFLICTS OF LAW PRINCIPLES OF SUCH STATE. THE PARTIES HERETO IRREVOCABLY CONSENT TO THE EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF THE COURTS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK AND THE FEDERAL COURTS LOCATED IN NEW YORK CITY. THE FUND IRREVOCABLY WAIVES ANY OBJECTION IT MAY NOW OR HEREAFTER HAVE TO THE LAYING OF VENUE OF ANY ACTION OR PROCEEDING IN ANY OF THE AFORESAID COURTS AND ANY CLAIM THAT ANY SUCH ACTION OR PROCEEDING HAS BEEN BROUGHT IN AN INCONVENIENT FORUM. FURTHERMORE, EACH PARTY HERETO HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES ANY RIGHT THAT IT MAY HAVE TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY ACTION, PROCEEDING OR COUNTERCLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY.

12.5. NOTICES. Notices and other writings contemplated by this Agreement, other than Instructions, shall be delivered (a) by hand, (b) by first class registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, (c) by a nationally recognized overnight courier, or (d) by facsimile transmission, provided that any notice or other writing sent by facsimile transmission shall also be mailed, postage prepaid, to the party to whom such notice is addressed. All such notices shall be addressed, as follows:

If to the Fund:          c/o First Trust Advisors L.P.
                         120 E. Liberty Dr., Suite 400
                         Wheaton, IL 60187
                         Attn: General Counsel
                         Telephone: (630) 765-8798
                         Facsimile: (630) 517-7437
                         Email: sjardine@ftportfolios.com

If to the Custodian:     Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
                         40 Water Street
                         Boston, Massachusetts 02109
                         Telephone: (617) 772-1818
                         Facsimile: (617) 772-2263
                         Attn: Head of Investor Services

or such other address as the Fund or the Custodian may have designated in writing to the other. Notices given by the Custodian pursuant to Section 12.13 may also be given by electronic mail to the email address of any Authorized Person. The Fund agrees that such notices given by electronic mail shall be conclusively presumed to have been delivered and received by the Fund as of the date such electronic mail was sent by the Custodian, as recorded by the Custodian's systems.

12.6. HEADINGS. Paragraph headings included herein are for convenience of

reference only and shall not modify, define, expand or limit any of the terms or provisions hereof.

12.7. SEVERABILITY. In the event any provision of this Agreement is determined to be void or unenforceable, such determination shall not affect the remainder of this Agreement, which shall continue to be in force.

12.8. COUNTERPARTS. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original. This Agreement shall become effective when one or more counterparts have been signed and delivered by the Fund and the Custodian. A photocopy or telefax of the Agreement shall be acceptable evidence of the existence of the Agreement and the Custodian shall be protected in relying on the photocopy or telefax until the Custodian has received the original of the Agreement.

12.9. CONFIDENTIALITY. The parties hereto agree that each shall treat confidentially the terms and conditions of this Agreement and all information provided by each party to the other regarding its business and operations. All confidential information provided by a party hereto shall be used by any other party hereto solely for the purpose of rendering or obtaining services pursuant to this Agreement and, except as may be required in carrying out this Agreement, shall not be disclosed to any third party without the prior consent of such providing party. The foregoing shall not be applicable to any information that is publicly available when provided or thereafter becomes publicly available other than through a breach of this Agreement, or that is required to be disclosed by or to any bank examiner of the Custodian or any Subcustodian, any Regulatory Authority, any auditor of the parties hereto, or by judicial or administrative process or otherwise by Applicable Law.

12.10. TAPE-RECORDING. The Fund on behalf of itself and its Customers authorizes the Custodian to tape record any and all telephonic or other oral instructions given to the Custodian by or on behalf of the Fund, including from any Authorized Person. This authorization will remain in effect until and unless revoked by the Fund in writing. The Fund further agrees to solicit valid written or other consent from any of its employees with respect to telephone communications to the extent such consent is required by applicable law.

12.11. COUNSEL/CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT. In fulfilling its duties hereunder, the Custodian shall be entitled to receive and act upon the advice of (i) counsel and/or a certified public accountant regularly retained by the Custodian in respect of such matters, (ii) counsel and/or a certified public accountant for the Fund or (iii) such counsel or certified public accountant as the Fund and the Custodian may agree upon, with respect to all matters, and the Custodian shall be without liability for any action reasonably taken or omitted pursuant to such advice.

12.12. CONFLICT. Nothing contained in this Agreement shall prevent the Custodian and its associates from (i) dealing as a principal or an intermediary in the sale, purchase or loan of the Fund's Investments to, or from the Custodian or its associates; (ii) acting as a custodian, a subcustodian, a trustee, an agent, securities dealer, an investment manager or in any other capacity for any other client whose interests may be adverse to the interest of the Fund; or (iii) buying, holding, lending, and dealing in any way in any assets for the benefit of its own account, or for the account of any other client whose interests may be adverse to the Fund notwithstanding that the same or similar assets may be held or dealt in by, or for the account of the Fund by the Custodian. The Fund hereby voluntarily consents to, and waives any potential conflict of interest between the Custodian and/or its associates and the Fund, and agrees that:

(a) the Custodian's and/or its associates' engagement in any such transaction shall not disqualify the Custodian from continuing to perform as the custodian of the Fund under this Agreement;

(b) the Custodian and/or its associates shall not be under any duty to disclose any information in connection with any such transaction to the Fund;

(c) the Custodian and/or its associates shall not be liable to account to the Fund for any profits or benefits made or derived by or in connection with any such transaction; and

12.13. Online TERMS AND CONDITIONS. Foreign exchange services provided

under or otherwise referenced in this Agreement will be performed and subject to the terms and conditions posted on the Custodian's website at
http://www.bbh.com/fx/termsandconditions/StandardTerms.pdf (the "FX Online Terms and Conditions"), which terms are available in hardcopy upon request, and which terms may be updated from time to time. The Custodian shall provide notice of any change to the FX Online Terms and Conditions to the Fund at least ten business days prior to their taking effect, unless the Custodian determines that the circumstances require that a shorter period apply. Foreign exchange transactions that occur or are placed on or after the effective date of such changes, as stated in the applicable notice, shall be governed by the modified FX Online Terms and Conditions.

12.14. (a) It is expressly acknowledged and agreed that the obligations of the Trust (and Funds thereof) hereunder shall not be binding upon any of the shareholders, Trustees, officers, employees or agents of the Trust (and Funds thereof), personally, but shall bind only the trust property of the Trust and the applicable Fund as provided in the Trust's Declaration of Trust. The execution and delivery of this Agreement have been authorized by the Trustees of the Trust and signed by an officer of the Trust, acting as such, and neither such authorization by such Trustees nor such execution and delivery by such officer shall be deemed to have been made by any of them individually or to impose any liability on any of them personally, but shall bind only the trust property of the Trust and the applicable Fund as provided in the Trust's Declaration of Trust.

(b) This Agreement is an agreement entered into between the Custodian and the Trust with respect to each Fund. With respect to any obligation of the Trust on behalf of any Fund arising out of this Agreement, the Custodian shall look for payment of such obligation solely to the assets for the Fund to which such obligation relates with the same effect as if the Custodian had separately contracted with the Trust by separate written instrument with respect to each Fund.

(c) As used herein, the "applicable Fund" shall be each Fund in respect of which any amount due the Custodian arises, and if any amount due the Custodian arises in respect of more than one Fund, the same shall be allocated by the Custodian among such Funds in accordance with Section 12.14(b). Any amounts due the Custodian which may not be allocated in accordance with the preceding sentence shall constitute General Liabilities as defined in the Trust's Declaration of Trust and allocated by the Trust and paid in accordance with the provisions thereof.

13. DEFINITIONS. The following defined terms will have the respective meanings set forth below.

13.1. ADVANCE(S) shall mean any extension of credit by or through the Custodian or by or through any Subcustodian and shall include, without limitation, amounts due to the Custodian as the principal counterparty to any foreign exchange transaction with the Fund as described in Section 7.4.2 hereof, or paid to third parties for account of the Fund or in discharge of any expense, tax or other item payable by the Fund.

13.2. ADVANCE COSTs shall mean any Advance, interest on the Advance and any related expenses, including without limitation any mark to market loss of the Custodian or Subcustodian on any Investment to which Section 7.6.1 applies.

13.3. AGENCY ACCOUNT(S) shall mean any deposit account opened on the books of a Subcustodian or other banking institution in accordance with
Section 7.1 hereof.

13.4. AGENT(S) shall have the meaning set forth in the last sentence of
Section 6 hereof.

13.5. APPLICABLE LAW shall mean with respect to each jurisdiction, all (a) laws, statutes, treaties, regulations, guidelines (or their equivalents); (b) orders, interpretations, licenses and permits; and
(c) judgments, decrees, injunctions, writs, orders and similar actions by a court of competent jurisdiction; compliance with which is required or customarily observed in such jurisdiction.

13.6. AUTHORIZED PERSON(S) shall mean any person or entity authorized to give Instructions on behalf of the Fund in accordance with Section 4.1 hereof.

13.7. BOOK-ENTRY AGENT(S) shall mean an entity acting as agent for the issuer of Investments for purposes of recording ownership or similar entitlement to Investments, including without limitation a transfer agent or registrar.

13.8. CLEARING CORPORATION shall mean any entity or system established for purposes of providing securities settlement and movement and associated functions for a given market(s).

13.9. DELEGATION SCHEDULE shall mean any separate schedule entered into between the Custodian and the Fund or its authorized representative with respect to certain matters concerning the appointment and administration of Subcustodians delegated to the Custodian pursuant to Rule 17f-5 under the 1940 Act.

13.10. ELECTRONIC AND ONLINE SERVICES SCHEDULE shall mean any separate agreement entered into between the Custodian and the Fund or its authorized representative with respect to certain matters concerning certain electronic and online services as described therein and as may be made available from time to time by the Custodian to the Fund.

13.11. ELECTRONIC REPORTS shall mean any reports prepared by the Custodian and remitted to the Fund or its authorized representative via the internet or electronic mail.

13.12. FOREIGN CUSTODY MANAGER shall mean the Fund's foreign custody manager appointed pursuant to Rule 17f-5 of the 1940 Act.

13.13. FOREIGN FINANCIAL REGULATORY AUTHORITY shall have the meaning given by Section 2(a)(50) of the 1940 Act.

13.14. FUNDS TRANSFER SERVICES SCHEDULE shall mean any separate schedule entered into between the Custodian and the Fund or its authorized representative with respect to certain matters concerning the processing of payment orders from Principal Accounts of the Fund.

13.15. GLOBAL CUSTODY NETWORK LISTING shall mean the Countries and Subcustodians approved for Investments in non-U.S. Markets.

13.16. INSTRUCTION(S) shall have the meaning assigned in Section 4 hereof.

13.17. INVESTMENT ADVISOR shall mean any person or entity who is an Authorized Person to give Instructions with respect to the investment and reinvestment of the Fund's Investments.

13.18. INVESTMENT(S) shall mean any investment asset of the Fund, including without limitation securities, bonds, notes, and debentures as well as receivables, derivatives, contractual rights or entitlements and other intangible assets, but shall not include any Principal Account.

13.19. MARGIN ACCOUNT shall have the meaning set forth in Section 6.4 hereof.

13.20. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNT(S) shall mean deposit accounts of the Fund carried on the books of BBH&Co. as principal in accordance with
Section 7 hereof.

13.21. SAFEKEEPING ACCOUNT shall mean an account established on the books of the Custodian or any Subcustodian for purposes of segregating the interests of the Fund (or clients of the Custodian or Subcustodian) from the assets of the Custodian or any Subcustodian.

13.22. SECURITIES DEPOSITORY shall mean a central or book entry system or agency established under Applicable Law for purposes of recording the ownership and/or entitlement to investment securities for a given market that, if a foreign Securities Depository, meets the definitional requirements of Rule 17f-7 under the 1940 Act.

13.23. SUBCUSTODIAN(S) shall mean each foreign bank appointed by the Custodian pursuant to Section 8 hereof, but shall not include Securities Depositories.

13.24. TRI-PARTY AGREEMENT shall have the meaning set forth in Section 6.4 hereof.

13.25. 1940 ACT shall mean the Investment Company Act of 1940.

14. COMPENSATION. The Fund agrees to pay to the Custodian (a) a fee in an amount set forth in the fee letter between the Fund and the Custodian in effect on the date hereof or as amended from time to time, and (b) all out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the Custodian, including the fees and expenses of all Subcustodians and other amounts paid by the Custodian to a third party for account or benefit of the Fund, and payable from time to time. Amounts payable by the Fund under and pursuant to this Section 14 shall be payable by wire transfer to the Custodian at BBH&Co. in New York, New York.

15. TERMINATION. This Agreement may be terminated by either party in accordance with the provisions of this Section. The provisions of this Agreement and any other rights or obligations incurred or accrued by any party hereto prior to termination of this Agreement shall survive any termination of this Agreement.

15.1. TERM, NOTICE AND EFFECT. This Agreement shall have an initial term of one (1) years from the date hereof. Thereafter, this Agreement shall automatically renew for successive one (1) year periods unless either party terminates this Agreement by written notice effective no sooner than seventy-five (75) days following the date that notice to such effect shall be delivered to the other party at its address set forth in Section 12.5 hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, either party may terminate this Agreement at any time
(a) for cause, which is a material breach of the Agreement not cured within 60 days, in which case termination shall be effective upon written receipt of notice by the non-terminating party, or (b) upon thirty (30) days written notice to the other party in the event that either party is adjudged bankrupt or insolvent, or there shall be commenced against such party a case under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, or other similar law now or hereafter in effect.

15.2. NOTICE AND SUCCESSION. In the event a termination notice is given by a party hereto, all reasonable costs and expenses associated with any required systems, facilities, procedures, personnel, and other resourced modifications as well as the movement of records and materials and the conversion thereof shall be paid by the Fund for which Services shall cease to be performed hereunder. Furthermore, to the extent that it appears impracticable given the circumstances to effect an orderly delivery of the necessary and appropriate records of BBH to a successor within the time specified in the notice of termination as aforesaid, BBH and the Fund agree that this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect for such reasonable period as may be required to complete necessary arrangements with a successor.

15.3. SUCCESSOR CUSTODIAN. In the event of the appointment of a successor custodian, it is agreed that the Investments of the Fund held by the Custodian or any Subcustodian shall be delivered to the successor custodian in accordance with reasonable Instructions. The Custodian agrees to cooperate with the Fund in the execution of documents and performance of other actions necessary or desirable in order to facilitate the succession of the new custodian. If no successor custodian shall be appointed, the Custodian shall in like manner transfer the Fund's Investments in accordance with Instructions.

15.4. DELAYED SUCCESSION. If no Instruction has been given as of the effective date of termination, Custodian may at any time on or after such termination date and upon ten (10) consecutive calendar days written notice to the Fund either (a) deliver the Investments of the Fund held hereunder to the Fund at the address designated for receipt of notices hereunder; or (b) deliver any investments held hereunder to a bank or trust company having a capitalization of $2,000,000 USD equivalent and operating under the Applicable Law of the jurisdiction where such Investments are located, such delivery to be at the risk of the Fund. In the event that Investments or moneys of the Fund remain in the custody of the Custodian or its Subcustodians after the date of termination owing to the failure of the Fund to issue Instructions with respect to their disposition or owing to the fact that such disposition could not be accomplished in accordance with such Instructions despite diligent efforts of the

Custodian, the Custodian shall be entitled to compensation for its services with respect to such Investments and moneys during such period as the Custodian or its Subcustodians retain possession of such items and the provisions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect until disposition in accordance with this Section is accomplished.

16. COMPLIANCE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES. To assist the Fund in complying with Rule 38a-1 of the 1940 Act, BBH&Co. represents that it has adopted written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent violation of the federal securities laws in fulfilling its obligations under the Agreement and that it has in place a compliance program to monitor its compliance with those policies and procedures. BBH&Co will upon request provide the Fund with information about our compliance program as mutually agreed.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the parties hereto has caused this Agreement to be duly executed as of the date first above written.

The undersigned acknowledges that (I/we) have received a copy of this document.

BROWN BROTHERS HARRIMAN & CO.            First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VII


By: /s/ Shawn McNinch                    By: /s/ Mark R. Bradley
    -------------------------                -------------------------
Name:  Shawn McNinch                     Name:   Mark R. Bradley
Title: Senior Vice President             Title:  President and CEO
Date: 9/03/2013                          Date: 9/03/2013

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. ("BBH&Co.") is a limited partnership organized under the laws of the United States of America ("US") and is subject to the US Treasury Regulations set forth under 31 CFR 500, et seq. BBH&Co. may not establish any relationship with any Prohibited Person or Entity as such term is defined under the regulations. No customer of BBH&Co. may be owned or controlled by an entity or person: (i) that is listed in the Annex to, or is otherwise subject to the provisions of Executive Order 13224, issued on September 24, 2001
("EO13224")
www.treasury.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/programs/terror/terror.pdf; (ii) whose name appears on the United States Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") most current list of "Specifically Designated National and Blocked Persons" (which list may be published from time to time in various mediums including, but not limited to, the OFAC website; (iii) who commits, threatens to commit or supports "terrorism", as such term is defined in EO13224; or (iv) who is otherwise affiliated with any entity or person listed above (any and all parties or persons described in clauses (i) through (iv) above are herein referred to as a "Prohibited Person").

SCHEDULE A

1. First Trust Global Tactical Commodity Strategy Fund

FUNDS TRANSFER SERVICES SCHEDULE
("FTSS")

In accordance with Section 4.2 of the Custodian Agreement, the Fund acknowledges the following terms and conditions in respect of all funds transfers affected by the Custodian. References to UCC 4A shall mean Article 4A of the Uniform Commercial Code as currently in effect in the State of New York. Terms not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings accorded to them in the Custodian Agreement.

1. Transmission of Payment Orders. Each FT Instruction shall be transmitted by such secured or authenticated means and subject to such security procedures as the Custodian shall make available to the Fund from time to time (such transmission method and security procedures, a CUSTODIAN DESIGNATED SECURITY PROCEDURE), unless the Fund shall elect to transmit such FT Instruction in accordance with a Fund Designated Security Procedure (as defined in Section 4 below). The Fund acknowledges and agrees that the Custodian will use the security procedures referenced in Sections 3 and 4 below solely to authenticate a FT Instruction, as set forth herein, and not to detect any errors or omissions therein.

2. Custodian Designated Security Procedure. The Custodian will make the following Custodian Designated Security Procedures available to the Fund for use in communicating FT Instructions to the Custodian:

o BBH Worldview(R) Payment Products. The Custodian offers to the Fund use of its BBH Worldview Payment Products ("BBH Worldview"), which are Custodian proprietary on-line payment order authorization facilities with built-in authentication procedures. The Custodian and the Fund shall each be responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of passwords or other codes used by them in connection with BBH Worldview. The Custodian will act on FT Instructions received through BBH Worldview without duty of further confirmation unless the Fund notifies the Custodian that its password is not secure. The Fund agrees that access to, and use of, BBH Worldview shall be governed by an Electronic and On-line Services Schedule, which the Fund will execute prior to access to BBH Worldview.

o SWIFT Transmission. The Custodian and the Fund shall comply with SWIFT's authentication procedures. The Custodian will act on FT Instructions received via SWIFT provided the instruction is authenticated by the SWIFT system.

o Written Instructions. Instructions may be transmitted in an original writing that bears the manual signature of an Authorized Person(s).

3. Fund Designated Security Procedure. FT Instructions may be transmitted through such other means, and subject to such additional security procedures, as may be elected by the Fund (or by an Authorized Person entitled to give Instructions) and acknowledged and accepted by the Custodian (the transmission methods and security procedures referenced below, as may be supplemented by such additional security procedures, each a FUND DESIGNATED SECURITY PROCEDURE); it being understood that the Custodian's acknowledgment shall authorize it to accept such means of delivery but shall not represent a judgment by the Custodian as to the reasonableness or security of the means utilized by the Fund.

o Computer Transmission. The Custodian is able to accept transmissions sent from the Fund's computer facilities to the Custodian's computer facilities. If the Fund determines to use its proprietary transmission or other electronic transmission method, it must provide Custodian sufficient notice and information to allow testing or other confirmation that FT Instructions received via the Fund Designated Security Procedure can be processed in good time and order. The Custodian may require the Fund to execute additional documentation prior to the use of such transmission method.

o Facsimile Transmission.

A FT Instruction transmitted to the Custodian by facsimile transmission must be transmitted by the Fund to a telephone number specified from time to time by the Custodian for such purposes. The Custodian will then follow one of the procedures below:

1. If the facsimile requests a non-repetitive order, the Custodian will call the Fund and request to speak to a person authorized to validate orders on behalf of the Fund, and confirm the authorization and details of the payment order (a CALLBACK);

2. If the facsimile FT Instruction pertains to a repetitive payment order (see Section 7 below), the Custodian may (at its sole discretion) perform a Callback. The Fund acknowledges that prior to its issuance of any repetitive payment order, it must (a) request that the appropriate repetitive payment order process be approved and set up at the Custodian, and (b) complete such documentation as may be required by the Custodian, including a PPO (as defined in
Section 7).

The Custodian shall rely on the purported identity of the originator but due to the lack of reliability of a facsimile signature, it will not perform signature verification on facsimiles.

o Telephonic. The Fund may call a telephonic payment order into the Custodian at the telephone number designated from time-to-time by the Custodian for that purpose. The caller shall identify herself/himself as an Authorized Person. The Custodian shall obtain the FT Instruction details from the caller. The Custodian shall then follow one of the procedures below:

i. If the telephonic FT Instruction pertains to a non-repetitive payment order, the Custodian will perform a Callback; or

ii. If the telephonic FT Instruction pertains to a repetitive payment order (see Section 7 below), the Custodian may (at its sole discretion) perform a Callback. The Fund acknowledges that prior to its issuance of any repetitive payment order, it must (a) request that the appropriate repetitive payment order process be approved and set up at the Custodian, and (b) complete such documentation as may be required by the Custodian, including a PPO.

In electing to transmit a FT Instruction via a Fund Designated Security Procedure, the Fund (i) agrees to be bound by the transaction(s) or payment order(s) specified on said FT Instruction, whether or not authorized, and accepted by the Custodian in compliance with such Fund Designated Security Procedure, and (ii) accepts the risk associated with such Fund Designated Security Procedure and confirms it is commercially reasonable for the transmission and authentication of the FT Instruction.

The parties agree that the Fund's transmission of a FT Instruction by means of any of the above Fund Designated Security Procedures and the Custodian's acceptance and execution of such FT Instruction shall constitute a FT Instruction sent via a Fund Designated Security Procedure and governed by the terms of this FTSA.

4. Rejection of Payment Orders; Rescission of Designated Security Procedure. The Custodian shall give the Fund timely notice of the Custodian's rejection of a FT Instruction. Such notice may be given in writing, via a Custodian Designated Security Procedure or any Fund Designated Security Procedure used by the Fund, or orally by telephone, each of which is hereby deemed commercially reasonable. In the event the Custodian fails to execute a properly executable FT Instruction and fails to give the Fund notice of the Custodian's non-execution, the Custodian shall be liable only for the Fund's actual damages and only to the extent that such damages are recoverable under UCC 4A. The Custodian, after providing prior written notice, may decide to no longer accept a particular Fund or Custodian Designated Security Procedure, or to do so only on revised terms, in the event that it determines that such agreed or established method of transmission represents a security risk or is attendant to any general change in the Custodian's policy regarding FT Instructions. Notwithstanding anything in this FTSA and the Agreement to the contrary, the Custodian shall in no event be liable for any consequential, indirect, special or punitive damages under this FTSA, whether or not such damages relate to services covered by UCC 4A, even if the Custodian was advised of the possibility of such damages.

5. Cancellation of Payment Orders. The Fund may cancel a FT Instruction but the Custodian shall have no liability for the Custodian's failure to act on a cancellation FT Instruction unless the Custodian has received such cancellation FT Instruction at a time and in a manner affording the Custodian reasonable

opportunity to act prior to the Custodian's execution of the original FT Instruction. Any cancellation FT Instruction shall be sent and confirmed by such means as is set forth in Section 3 or 4 above.

6. Preauthorized Repetitive Payment Orders. The Fund may establish with the Custodian a process to preauthorize certain repetitive payments or transfers. The Fund will execute all documentation required by the Custodian, including a separate Preauthorized Repetitive Payment Order (PPO) form. The PPO shall be delivered to the Custodian in writing or by another Custodian Designated Security Procedure or Fund Designated Security Procedure, and will become effective after the Custodian shall have had a reasonable opportunity to act thereon (or if later, two (2) banking days after receipt by the Custodian). The PPO may take the form of either:

(i) A standing instruction in which the Fund provides in the PPO all required information for a FT Instruction (except for the transfer date and amount) on a "standing instructions" basis. The Fund may from time-to-time instruct the Custodian to make a payment under the PPO, in writing or another Custodian Designated Security Procedure or Fund Designated Security Procedure, which instruction shall reference the repetitive line number (a number assigned to it by the Custodian after execution of the PPO), details of the payment, the transfer date and the amount of the transfer; or

(ii) A recurring instruction in which the Fund supplies all required information for a FT Instruction with an instruction to process such payments with a specific frequency.

7. Responsibility for the Detection of Errors in Payment Orders; Liability of the Parties. The purpose of any Fund Designated Security Procedure or Custodian Designated Security Procedure is to confirm the authenticity of any FT Instruction and is not designed to detect errors or omissions in such FT Instructions. Therefore, the Custodian is not responsible for detecting any Fund error or omission contained in any FT Instruction received by the Custodian. In the event that the FT Instruction either (i) identifies the beneficiary by both a name and an identifying or Fund account number and the name and number identify different persons or entities, or (ii) identifies any Fund by both a name and an identifying number and the number identifies a person or entity different from the Fund identified by name, execution of the relevant payment order, payment to the beneficiary, cancellation of the payment order or actions taken by the Custodian or any Fund in respect of such payment order may be made solely on the basis of the number.

The Custodian shall not be liable for interest on the amount of any FT Instruction that was not authorized or was erroneously executed unless the Fund so notifies the Custodian within thirty (30) days following the Fund's receipt of notice that such FT Instruction was processed. Any compensation payable in the form of interest shall be payable in accordance with UCC 4A. If a FT Instruction in the name of the Fund and accepted by the Custodian was not authorized by the Fund, the liability of the parties will be governed by the applicable provisions of UCC 4A.

ELECTRONIC AND ON-LINE SERVICES SCHEDULE

This Electronic and On-Line Services Schedule (this SCHEDULE) to a Custodian Agreement dated as of September 3, 2013 (as amended from time to time hereafter, the AGREEMENT) by and between Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (WE, US OUR) and First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VII (YOU, YOUR), provides general provisions governing your use of and access to the Services (as hereinafter defined) provided to you by us via the Internet (at www.bbhco.com or such other URL as we may instruct you to use to access our products) and via a direct dial-up connection between your computer and our computers, as of September 3, 2013 (the EFFECTIVE DATE). Use of the Services constitutes acceptance of the terms and conditions of this Schedule, any Appendices hereto, the Terms and Conditions posted on our web site, and any terms and conditions specifically governing a particular Service or our other products, which may be set forth in the Agreement or in a separate related agreement (collectively, the RELATED AGREEMENTS).

1. GENERAL TERMS. You will be granted access to our suite of online products, which may include, but shall not be limited to the following services via the Internet or dial-up connection (each separate service is a SERVICE; collectively referred to as the SERVICES):

1.1. BBH WorldView(R), a system for effectuating securities and fund trade instruction and execution, processing and handling instructions, and for the input and retrieval of other information;

1.2. F/X WorldView, a system for executing foreign exchange trades;

1.3. Fund WorldView, a system for receiving fund and prospectus information;

1.4. BBHCOnnect, a system for placing securities trade instructions and following the status and detail of trades;

1.5. ActionViewSM, a system for receiving certain corporate action information; and, 1.6. Such other services as we shall from time to time offer.

2. SECURITY / PASSWORDS.
2.1. A digital certificate and/or an encryption key may be required to access certain Services. You may apply for a digital certificate and/or an encryption key by following the procedures set forth at http://www.bb. You also will need an identification code (ID) and password(s) (PASSWORD) to access the Services.

2.2. You agree to safeguard your digital certificate and/or encryption key, ID, and Password and not to give or make available, intentionally or otherwise, your digital certificate, ID, and/or Password to any unauthorized person. You must immediately notify us in writing if you believe that your digital certificate and/or encryption key, Password, or ID has been compromised or if you suspect unauthorized access to your account by means of the Services or otherwise, or when a person to whom a digital certificate and/or an encryption key, Password, or ID has been assigned leaves or is no longer permitted to access the Services.

2.3. We will not be responsible for any breach of security, or for any unauthorized trading or theft by any third party, caused by your failure (be it intentional, unintentional, or negligent) to maintain the confidentiality of your ID and/or Password and/or the security of your digital certificate and/or encryption key.

3. INSTRUCTIONS.
3.1. Proper instructions under this Schedule shall be provided as designated in the Related Agreements (INSTRUCTIONS).

3.2. The following additional provisions apply to Instructions provided via the Services:

a. Instructions sent by electronic mail will not be accepted or acted upon.

b. You authorize us to act upon Instructions received through the Services utilizing your digcertificate, ID, and/or Password as though they were duly authorized written instructions, without any duty of verification or inquiry on our part, and agree to hold us harmless for any losses you experience as a result.

c. From time to time, the temporary unavailability of third party telecommunications or computer systems required by the Services may result in a delay in processing Instructions. In such an event, we shall not be liable to you or any third party for any liabilities, losses, claims, costs, damages, penalties, fines, obligations, or expenses of any kind (including without limitation, reasonable attorneys',

accountants', consultants', or experts' fees and disbursements) that you experience due to such a delay.

4. ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS. We may make periodic statements, disclosures, notices, and other documents available to you electronically, and, subject to any delivery and receipt verification procedures required by law, you agree to receive such documents electronically and to check the statements for accuracy. If you believe any such statement contains incorrect information, you must follow the procedures set forth in the Related Agreement(s).

5. MALICIOUS CODE. You understand and agree that you will be responsible for the introduction (by you, your employees, agents, or representatives) into the Services, whether intentional or unintentional, of (i) any virus or other code, program, or sub-program that damages or interferes with the operation of the computer system containing the code, program or sub-program, or halts, disables, or interferes with the operation of the Services themselves; or
(ii) any device, method, or token whose knowing or intended purpose is to permit any person to circumvent the normal security of the Services or the system containing the software code for the Services (MALICIOUS CODE). You agree to take all necessary actions and precautions to prevent the introduction and proliferation of any Malicious Code into those systems that interact with the Services.

6. INDEMNIFICATION. For avoidance of doubt, you hereby agree that the provisions in the Related Agreement(s) related to your indemnification of us and any limitations on our liability and responsibilities to you shall be applicable to this Agreement, and are hereby expressly incorporated herein. You agree that the Services are comprised of telecommunications and computer systems, and that it is possible that Instructions, information, transactions, or account reports might be added to, changed, or omitted by electronic or programming malfunction, unauthorized access, or other failure of the systems which comprise the Services, despite the security features that have been designed into the Services. You agree that we will not be liable for any action taken or not taken in complying with the terms of this Schedule, except for our willful misconduct or gross negligence. The provisions of this paragraph shall survive the termination of this Schedule and the Related Agreements.

7. PAYMENT. You may be charged for services hereunder as set forth in a fee schedule from time to time agreed by us.

8. TERM/TERMINATION.

8.1. This Schedule is effective as of the date you sign it or first use the Services, whichever is first, and continues in effect until such time as either you or we terminate the Schedule in accordance with this Section 8 and/or until your off-line use of the Services is terminated.

8.2. We may terminate your access to the Services at any time, for any reason, with five (5) business days prior notice; provided that we may terminate your access to the Services with no prior notice (i) if your account with us is closed, (ii) if you fail to comply with any of the terms of this Agreement, (iii) if we believe that your continued access to the Services poses a security risk, or (iv) if we believe that you are violating or have violated applicable laws, and we will not be liable for any loss you may experience as a result of such termination. You may terminate your access to the Services at any time by giving us ten (10) business days notice. Upon termination, we will cancel all your Passwords and IDs and any in-process or pending Instructions will be carried out or cancelled, at our sole discretion.

9. MISCELLANEOUS.

9.1. NOTICES. All notices, requests, and demands (other than routine operational communications, such as Instructions) shall be in such form and effect as provided in the Related Agreement(s).

9.2. INCONSISTENT PROVISIONS. Each Service may be governed by separate terms and conditions in addition to this Schedule and the Related Agreement(s). Except where specifically provided to the contrary in this Schedule, in the event that such separate terms and conditions conflict with this Schedule and the Related Agreement(s), the provisions of this Schedule shall prevail to the extent this Schedule applies to the transaction in question.

9.3. BINDING EFFECT; ASSIGNMENT; SEVERABILITY. This Schedule shall be binding on you, your employees, officers and agents. We may assign or delegate our rights and duties under this Schedule at any time

without notice to you. Your rights under this Schedule may not be assigned without our prior written consent. In the event that any provision of this Schedule conflicts with the law under which this Schedule is to be construed or if any such provision is held invalid or unenforceable by a court with jurisdiction over you and us, such provision shall be deemed to be restated to effectuate as nearly as possible the purposes of the Schedule in accordance with applicable law. The remaining provisions of this Schedule and the application of the challenged provision to persons or circumstances other than those as to which it is invalid or unenforceable shall not be affected thereby, and each such provision shall be valid and enforceable to the full extent permitted by law.

9.4. CHOICE OF LAW; JURY TRIAL. This Schedule shall be governed by and construed, and the legal relations between the parties shall be determined, in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to the principles of conflicts of laws. Each party agrees to waive its right to trial by jury in any action or proceeding based upon or related to this Agreement. The parties agree that all actions and proceedings based upon or relating to this Schedule shall be litigated exclusively in the federal and state courts located within New York City, New York.

The undersigned acknowledges that (I/we) have received a copy of this document.

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VII ("YOU")

By: /s/ Mark R. Bradley
   --------------------------
Name:  Mark R. Bradley
Title: President and CEO
Date: 9/03/2013

17F-5 DELEGATION SCHEDULE

By its execution of this Delegation Schedule dated as of September 3, 2013, between First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VII, a Massachusetts business trust registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the COMMISSION) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 ACT), acting through its Board of Directors/Trustees or its duly appointed representative (the "Trust" on behalf of each series listed on Appendix A hereto each a "FUND" and collectively, the "FUNDS"), hereby appoints BROWN BROTHERS HARRIMAN & CO., a New York limited partnership with an office in Boston, Massachusetts (the DELEGATE) as its delegate to perform certain functions with respect to the custody of each Fund's Assets outside the United States.

1. Maintenance of Fund's Assets Abroad. The Trust, acting through its Board or its duly authorized representative, hereby instructs the Delegate pursuant to the terms of the Custodian Agreement dated as of the date hereof executed by and between the Trust and the Delegate (the CUSTODIAN AGREEMENT) to place and maintain each Fund's Assets in countries outside the United States in accordance with Instructions received from the Fund's Investment Advisor. Such instruction shall constitute an Instruction under the terms of the Custodian Agreement. The Trust acknowledges that (a) the Delegate shall perform services hereunder only with respect to the countries where it accepts delegation as Foreign Custody Manager as indicated on the Delegate's Global Custody Network Listing; (b) depending on conditions in the particular country, advance notice may be required before the Delegate shall be able to perform its duties hereunder in or with respect to such country (such advance notice to be reasonable in light of the specific facts and circumstances attendant to performance of duties in such country); and (c) nothing in this Delegation Schedule shall require the Delegate to provide delegated or custodial services in any country, and there may from time to time be countries as to which the Delegate determines it will not provide delegation services.

2. Delegation. Pursuant to the provisions of Rule 17f-5 under the 1940 Act as amended, the Board hereby delegates to the Delegate, and the Delegate hereby accepts such delegation and agrees to perform only those duties set forth in this Delegation Schedule concerning the safekeeping of each Fund's Assets in each of the countries as to which it acts as the Board's delegate. The Delegate is hereby authorized to take such actions on behalf of or in the name of each Fund as are reasonably required to discharge its duties under this Delegation Schedule, including, without limitation, to cause each Fund's Assets to be placed with a particular Eligible Foreign Custodian in accordance herewith. The Trust confirms to the Delegate that the Trust or its Investment Adviser has considered the Sovereign Risk and prevailing Country Risk as part of its continuing investment decision process, including such factors as may be reasonably related to the systemic risk of maintaining each Fund's Assets in a particular country, including, but not limited to, financial infrastructure, prevailing custody and settlement systems and practices (including the use of any Securities Depository in the context of information provided by the Custodian in the performance of its duties as required under Rule 17f-7 and the terms of the Custodian Agreement governing such duties), and the laws relating to the safekeeping and recovery of the Fund's Assets held in custody pursuant to the terms of the Custodian Agreement.

3. Selection of Eligible Foreign Custodian and Contract Administration. The Delegate shall perform the following duties with respect to the selection of Eligible Foreign Custodians and administration of certain contracts governing each Fund's foreign custodial arrangements:

(a) Selection of Eligible Foreign Custodian. The Delegate shall place and maintain each Fund's Assets with an Eligible Foreign Custodian, provided that the Delegate shall have determined that the Fund's Assets will be subject to reasonable care based on the standards applicable to custodians in the relevant market after considering factors relevant to the safekeeping of such assets including without limitation:

(i) The Eligible Foreign Custodian's practices, procedures, and internal controls, including, but not limited to, the physical protections available for certificated securities (if applicable), the controls and procedures for dealing with any Securities Depository, the method of keeping custodial records, and the security and data protection practices;

(ii) Whether the Eligible Foreign Custodian has the requisite financial strength to provide reasonable care for the Fund's Assets;

(iii) The Eligible Foreign Custodian's general reputation and standing; and

(iv) Whether the Fund will have jurisdiction over and be able to enforce judgments against the Eligible Foreign Custodian, such as by virtue of the existence of any offices of such Eligible Foreign Custodian in the United States or such Eligible

Foreign Custodian's appointment of an agent for service of process in the United States or consent to jurisdiction in the United States.

The Delegate shall be required to make the foregoing determination to the best of its knowledge and belief based only on information reasonably available to it.

(b) Contract Administration. The Delegate shall cause that the foreign custody arrangements with an Eligible Foreign Custodian shall be governed by a written contract that the Delegate has determined will provide reasonable care for Fund assets based on the standards applicable to custodians in the relevant market. Each such contract shall, except as set forth in the last paragraph of this subsection (b), include provisions that provide:

(i) For indemnification or insurance arrangements (or any combination of the foregoing) such that the Fund will be adequately protected against the risk of loss of assets held in accordance with such contract;

(ii) That the Fund's Assets will not be subject to any right, charge, security interest, lien or claim of any kind in favor of the Eligible Foreign Custodian or its creditors except a claim of payment for their safe custody or administration or, in the case of cash deposits, liens or rights in favor of creditors of such Custodian arising under bankruptcy, insolvency or similar laws;

(iii) That beneficial ownership of the Fund's Assets will be freely transferable without the payment of money or value other than for safe custody or administration;

(iv) That adequate records will be maintained identifying the Fund's Assets as belonging to the Fund or as being held by a third party for the benefit of the Fund;

(v) That the Fund's independent public accountants will be given access to those records described in (iv) above or confirmation of the contents of such records; and

(vi) That the Delegate will receive sufficient and timely periodic reports with respect to the safekeeping of the Fund's Assets, including, but not limited to, notification of any transfer to or from the Fund's account or a third party account containing the Fund's Assets.

Such contract may contain, in lieu of any or all of the provisions specified in this Section 3(b), such other provisions that the Delegate determines will provide, in their entirety, the same or a greater level of care and protection for the Fund's Assets as the specified provisions, in their entirety.

(c) Limitation to Delegated Selection. Notwithstanding anything in this Delegation Schedule to the contrary, the duties under this Section 3 shall apply only to Eligible Foreign Custodians selected by the Delegate and shall not apply to Securities Depositories or to any Eligible Foreign Custodian that the Delegate is directed to use pursuant to Section 7 of this Delegation Schedule.

4. Monitoring. The Delegate shall establish a system to monitor at reasonable intervals (but at least annually) the appropriateness of maintaining the Fund's Assets with each Eligible Foreign Custodian that has been selected by the Delegate pursuant to Section 3 of this Delegation Schedule. The Delegate shall monitor the continuing appropriateness of placement of the Fund's Assets in accordance with the criteria established under Section 3(a) of this Delegation Schedule. The Delegate shall monitor the continuing appropriateness of the contract governing the Fund's arrangements in accordance with the criteria established under Section 3(b) of this Delegation Schedule.

5. Reporting. At least annually and more frequently as mutually agreed between the parties, the Delegate shall provide to the Board written reports specifying placement of the Fund's Assets with each Eligible Foreign Custodian selected by the Delegate pursuant to Section 3 of this Delegation Schedule and shall promptly report on any material changes to such foreign custody arrangements. Delegate will prepare such a report with respect to any Eligible Foreign Custodian that the Delegate has been instructed to use pursuant to Section 7 of this Delegation Schedule only to the extent specifically agreed with respect to the particular situation.

6. Withdrawal of Fund's Assets. If the Delegate determines that an arrangement with a specific Eligible Foreign Custodian selected by the Delegate under
Section 3 of this Delegation Schedule no longer meets the requirements of said Section, Delegate shall withdraw the Fund's Assets from the non-complying

arrangement as soon as reasonably practicable; provided, however, that if in the reasonable judgment of the Delegate, such withdrawal would require liquidation of any of the Fund's Assets or would materially impair the liquidity, value or other investment characteristics of the Fund's Assets, it shall be the duty of the Delegate to provide information regarding the particular circumstances and to act only in accordance with Instructions of the Fund or its Investment Advisor with respect to such liquidation or other withdrawal.

7. Direction as to Eligible Foreign Custodian. Notwithstanding this Delegation Schedule, the Fund, acting through its Board, its Investment Advisor or its other Authorized Representative, may direct the Delegate to place and maintain the Fund's Assets with a particular Eligible Foreign Custodian, including without limitation with respect to investment in countries as to which the Custodian will not provide delegation services. In such event, the Delegate shall be entitled to rely on any such instruction as an Instruction under the terms of the Custodian Agreement and shall have no duties under this Delegation Schedule with respect to such arrangement save those that it may undertake specifically in writing with respect to each particular instance.

8. Standard of Care. In carrying out its duties under this Delegation Schedule, the Delegate agrees to exercise reasonable care, prudence and diligence such as a person having responsibility for safekeeping the Fund's Assets would exercise.

9. Representations. The Delegate hereby represents and warrants that it is a U.S. Bank and that this Delegation Schedule has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Delegate and is a legal, valid and binding agreement of the Delegate.

The Fund hereby represents and warrants that its Board of Directors has determined that it is reasonable to rely on the Delegate to perform the delegated responsibilities provided for herein and that this Delegation Schedule has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Fund and is a legal, valid and binding agreement of the Fund.

10. Effectiveness; termination. This Delegation Schedule shall be effective as of the date on which this Delegation Schedule shall have been accepted by the Delegate, as indicated by the date set forth below the Delegate's signature. This Delegation Schedule may be terminated at any time, without penalty, by written notice from the terminating party to the non-terminating party. Such termination shall be effective on the 30th calendar day following the date on which the non-terminating party shall receive the foregoing notice. The foregoing to the contrary notwithstanding, this Delegation Schedule shall be deemed to have been terminated concurrently with the termination of the Custodian Agreement.

11. Notices. Notices and other communications under this Delegation Schedule are to be made in accordance with the arrangements designated for such purpose under the Custodian Agreement unless otherwise indicated in a writing referencing this Delegation Schedule and executed by both parties.

12. Definitions. Capitalized terms not otherwise defined in this Delegation Schedule have the following meanings:

a. Country Risk - shall have the meaning set forth in Section 9.1.2 of the Custodian Agreement.

b. Eligible Foreign Custodian - shall have the meaning set forth in Rule 17f-5(a)(1) of the 1940 Act and shall also include a U.S. Bank.

c. Fund's Assets - shall mean any of the Fund's investments (including foreign currencies) for which the primary market is outside the United States, and such cash and cash equivalents as are reasonably necessary to effect the Fund's transactions in such investments.

d. Instructions - shall have the meaning set forth in the Custodian Agreement.

e. Securities Depository - shall have the meaning set forth in Rule 17f-7 of the 1940 Act.

f. Sovereign Risk - shall have the meaning set forth in Section 9.1.3 of the Custodian Agreement.

g. U.S. Bank - shall mean a bank which qualifies to serve as a custodian of assets of investment companies under Section 17(f) of the 1940 Act.

13. Governing Law and Jurisdiction. This Delegation Schedule shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York. The parties hereby submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal courts sitting in the State of New York or the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or of the state courts of either such State or such Commonwealth.

14. Fees. Delegate shall perform its functions under this Delegation Schedule for the compensation determined under the Custodian Agreement.

15. Integration. This Delegation Schedule sets forth all of the Delegate's duties with respect to the selection and monitoring of Eligible Foreign Custodians, the administration of contracts with Eligible Foreign Custodians, the withdrawal of assets from Eligible Foreign Custodians and the issuance of reports in connection with such duties. The terms of the Custodian Agreement shall apply generally as to matters not expressly covered in this Delegation Schedule, including dealings with the Eligible Foreign Custodians in the course of discharge of the Delegate's obligations under the Custodian Agreement.

16.

(a). It is expressly acknowledged and agreed that the obligations of the Trust (and Funds thereof) hereunder shall not be binding upon any of the shareholders, Trustees, officers, employees or agents of the Trust (and Funds thereof), personally, but shall bind only the trust property of the Trust and the applicable Fund as provided in the Trust's Declaration of Trust. The execution and delivery of this Agreement have been authorized by the Trustees of the Trust and signed by an officer of the Trust, acting as such, and neither such authorization by such Trustees nor such execution and delivery by such officer shall be deemed to have been made by any of them individually or to impose any liability on any of them personally, but shall bind only the trust property of the Trust and the applicable Fund as provided in the Trust's Declaration of Trust.

(b) This Agreement is an agreement entered into between the Delegate and the Trust with respect to each Fund. With respect to any obligation of the Trust on behalf of any Fund arising out of this Agreement, the Delegate shall look for payment of such obligation solely to the assets for the Fund to which such obligation relates with the same effect as if the Delegate had separately contracted with the Trust by separate written instrument with respect to each Fund.

(c) As used herein, the "applicable Fund" shall be each Fund in respect of which any amount due the Delegate arises, and if any amount due the Delegate arises in respect of more than one Fund, the same shall be allocated by the Delegate among such Funds in accordance with Section 16(b). Any amounts due the Delegate which may not be allocated in accordance with the preceding sentence shall constitute General Liabilities as defined in the Trust's Declaration of Trust and allocated by the Trust and paid in accordance with the provisions thereof.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the parties hereto has caused this Agreement to be duly executed as of the date first above written.

The undersigned acknowledges that (I/we) have received a copy of this document.

BROWN BROTHERS HARRIMAN & CO.             First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VII



By: /s/ Shawn McNinch                    By: /s/ Mark R. Bradley
    -------------------------                -------------------------
Name:  Shawn McNinch                     Name:   Mark R. Bradley
Title: Senior Vice President             Title:  President and CEO

SCHEDULE A
TO
THE CUSTODIAN AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
FIRST TRUST EXCHANGE-TRADED FUND VII
and
BROWN BROTHERS HARRIMAN & CO.
Dated as of September 3, 2013

The following is a list of Funds/Portfolios for which the Custodian shall serve under a Custodian Agreement dated as of September 3, 2013:

First Trust Global Tactical Commodity Strategy Fund

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the parties hereto has caused this to be executed in its name and on behalf of each such Fund/Portfolio.

First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VII

By: /s/ Mark R. Bradley
    ---------------------------
Name:  Mark R. Bradley
Title: President and CEO

ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY AGREEMENT

THIS AGREEMENT is made as of September 3, 2013 by and between BROWN BROTHERS HARRIMAN & CO., a limited partnership organized under the laws of the State of New York (the "ADMINISTRATOR"), and First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VII, a Massachusetts business trust (the "FUND" on behalf of each series listed on Appendix A to this Agreement each a "PORTFOLIO" and collectively, the "PORTFOLIOS") and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Company Act of 1940 ("the 1940 ACT").

WITNESSETH:

WHEREAS, the Fund is registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission as a management investment company under the 1940 Act; and

WHEREAS, the Fund desires to retain the Administrator to render certain services to the Fund and each Portfolio, and the Administrator is willing to render such services.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and mutual covenants herein contained, the parties hereto agree as follows:

1. APPOINTMENT OF ADMINISTRATOR. The Fund hereby employs and appoints the Administrator to act as its administrative agent on the terms set forth in this Agreement, and the Administrator accepts such appointment.

2. DELIVERY OF DOCUMENTS. The Fund will on a continuing basis provide the Administrator with:

2.1 properly certified or authenticated copies of resolutions of the Fund's Board of Trustees authorizing the appointment of the Administrator as administrative agent of the Fund and approving this Agreement;

2.2 a copy of the Fund's most recent registration statement;

2.3 copies of all agreements between the Fund and its service providers, including without limitation, advisory, distribution and administration agreements and distribution and/or shareholder servicing plans;

2.4 a copy of the Fund's valuation procedures;

2.5 a copy of the Fund's Declaration of Trust and By-laws;

2.6 any other documents or resolutions (including but not limited to directions or resolutions of the Fund's Board of Trustees) which relate to or affect the Administrator's performance of its duties hereunder or which the Administrator may at any time reasonably request; and

2.7 copies of any and all amendments or supplements to the foregoing.

3. DUTIES AS ADMINISTRATOR. Subject to the supervision and direction of the Fund's Board of Trustees, the Administrator will perform the administrative services described in Appendix B hereto. Additional services may be provided by the Administrator upon the request of the Fund as mutually agreed from time to time. In performing its duties and obligations hereunder, the Administrator will act in accordance with the Fund's instructions as defined in Section 5 ("Instructions"). It is agreed and understood that the Administrator shall not be responsible for the Fund's compliance with any applicable documents, laws or regulations, or for losses, costs or expenses arising out of the Fund's failure to comply with said documents, laws or regulations or the Fund's failure or inability to correct any non-compliance therewith. The Administrator shall in no event be required to take any action, which is in contravention of any applicable law, rule or regulation or any order or judgment of any court of competent jurisdiction.

3.1 RECORDS. The Administrator will maintain and retain such records as required by the 1940 Act and other applicable federal securities laws and created pursuant to the performance of the Administrator's obligations under this Agreement. The Administrator will maintain such other records as requested by the Fund and received by the Administrator. The Administrator shall not be responsible for the accuracy and completeness of any records not created by the Administrator. The Administrator acknowledges that the records maintained and preserved by the Administrator pursuant to this Agreement are the property of the Fund and will be, at the Fund's expense, surrendered promptly upon reasonable request. In performing its obligations under this Section, the Administrator may utilize micrographic and electronic storage media as well as independent third party storage facilities.

4. DUTIES OF THE FUND. The Fund shall notify the Administrator promptly of any matter affecting the performance by the Administrator of its services under this Agreement and where the Administrator is providing fund accounting services pursuant to this Agreement shall promptly notify the Administrator as to the accrual of liabilities of the Fund, liabilities of the Fund not appearing on the books of account kept by the Administrator as to the existence, status and proper treatment of reserves, if any, authorized by the Fund. Where the Administrator is providing portfolio compliance monitoring services pursuant to this Agreement, the Fund agrees to notify the Administrator in the event the Fund or any officer, employee or agent of the Fund detects a possible non-compliance of the Fund with its investment restrictions, policies and limitations. The Fund agrees to provide such information to the Administrator as may be requested under the banking and securities laws of the United States or other jurisdictions relating to "Know Your Customer" and money laundering prevention rules and regulations (collectively, the "KYC Requirements"). For

purposes of this subsection, and in connection with all applicable KYC Requirements, the Fund and each Portfolio is the "client" or "customer" of the Administrator. The Fund further represents that it will perform all obligations required under applicable KYC Requirements with respect to its "customers" (as defined in the KYC Requirements) and that, because these customers do not constitute "customers" or "clients" of the Administrator under such applicable rules and regulations, the Administrator is under no such similar obligations.

5. INSTRUCTIONS.

5.1 The Administrator shall not be liable for, and shall be indemnified by the Fund in accordance with the provisions of Section 10 of this Agreement against any and all losses, costs, damages or expenses arising from or as a result of, any action taken or omitted in reasonable reliance upon Instructions or upon any other written notice, request, direction, instruction, certificate or other instrument believed by it to be genuine and signed or authorized by the proper party or parties. A list of persons so authorized by the Fund ("Authorized Persons") is attached hereto as Appendix C and upon which the Administrator may rely until its receipt of notification to the contrary by the Fund.

5.2 Instructions shall include a written request, direction, instruction or certification signed or initialed on behalf of the Fund by one or more persons as the Board of Trustees of the Fund shall have from time to time authorized in writing. Those persons authorized to give Instructions may be identified by the Board of Trustees by name, title or position and will include at least one officer empowered by the Board to name other individuals who are authorized to give Instructions on behalf of the Fund.

5.3 Telephonic or other oral instructions or instructions given by telefax transmission may be given by any one of the above persons and will also be considered Instructions if the Administrator reasonably believes them to have been given by a person authorized to give such Instructions with respect to the transaction involved.

5.4 With respect to telefax transmissions, the Fund hereby acknowledges that (i) receipt of legible instructions cannot be assured, (ii) the Administrator cannot verify that authorized signatures on telefax instructions are original, and (iii) the Administrator shall not be responsible for losses or expenses incurred through actions taken in reasonable reliance on such telefax instructions. The Fund agrees that such telefax instructions shall be conclusive evidence of the Fund's Instruction to the Administrator to act or to omit to act.

5.5 Instructions given orally will not be confirmed in writing and the lack of such confirmation shall in no way affect any action taken by the Administrator in reliance upon such oral Instructions. The Fund authorizes the Administrator to tape record any and all telephonic or other oral Instructions given to the Administrator by or on behalf of the Fund

(including any of its officers, directors, trustees, employees or agents or any investment manager or adviser or person or entity with similar responsibilities which is authorized to give Instructions on behalf of the Fund to the Administrator.)

6. EXPENSES AND COMPENSATION. For the services to be rendered and the facilities to be furnished by the Administrator as provided for in this Agreement, the Fund shall pay the Administrator for its services rendered pursuant to this Agreement a fee based on such fee schedule as may from time to time be agreed upon in writing by the Fund and the Administrator. Additional services performed by the Administrator as requested by the Fund shall be subject to additional fees as mutually agreed from time to time. In addition to such fee, the Administrator shall bill the Fund separately for any out-of-pocket disbursements of the Administrator based on an out-of-pocket schedule as may from time to time be agreed upon in writing by the Fund and the Administrator. The foregoing fees and disbursements shall be billed to the Fund by the Administrator and shall be paid promptly by wire transfer or other appropriate means to the Administrator.

7. STANDARD OF CARE. The Administrator shall be held to the exercise of reasonable care and diligence in carrying out the provisions of this Agreement, provided that the Administrator shall not thereby be required to take any action which is in contravention of any applicable law, rule or regulation or any order or judgment of any court of competent jurisdiction.

8. GENERAL LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY. The Administrator shall incur no liability with respect to any telecommunications, equipment or power failures, or any failures to perform or delays in performance by postal or courier services or third-party information providers (including without limitation those listed on Appendix D).

8.1 The Administrator shall also incur no liability under this Agreement if the Administrator or any agent or entity utilized by the Administrator shall be prevented, forbidden or delayed from performing, or omits to perform, any act or thing which this Agreement provides shall be performed or omitted to be performed, by reason of causes or events beyond its control, including but not limited to:

8.1.1 any Sovereign Event. A "Sovereign Event" shall mean any nationalization; expropriation; devaluation; revaluation; confiscation; seizure; cancellation; destruction; strike; act of war, terrorism, insurrection or revolution; or any other act or event beyond the Administrator's reasonable control;

8.1.2 any provision of any present or future law, regulation or order of the United States or any state thereof, or of any foreign country or political subdivision thereof, or of any securities depository or clearing agency; and

8.1.3 any provision of any order or judgment of any court of competent jurisdiction.

8.2 The Administrator shall not be held accountable or liable for any losses, damages or expenses the Fund or any shareholder or former shareholder of the Fund or any other person may suffer or incur arising from acts, omissions, errors or delays of the Administrator in the performance of its obligations and duties as provided in
Section 3 hereof, including without limitation any error of judgment or mistake of law, except a damage, loss or expense resulting from the Administrator's willful malfeasance, bad faith or negligence in the performance of such Administrator's obligations and duties.

8.3 The Administrator shall not be liable for any damages arising out of any misstatement or omission in the Fund's registration statement, prospectus, shareholder report, offering document or other information filed or made public by the Fund or First Trust Portfolios, L.P. (the "Distributor").

8.4 In no event and under no circumstances shall either party be held liable to the other party for consequential or indirect damages, loss of profits, damage to reputation or business or any other special or punitive damages arising under or by reason of any provision of this Agreement or for any act or omissions hereunder, even if the party has been advised of the possibility of such damages or losses.

9. SPECIFIC LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY. In addition to, and without limiting the application of the general limitations on liability contained in Section 8, above, the following specific limitations on the Administrator's liability shall apply to the particular administrative services set forth on Appendix B hereto.

9.1 PORTFOLIO COMPLIANCE MONITORING. The compliance monitoring of the investments of the Fund and/or each Portfolio with respect to investment restrictions and policies is subject to parameters that may vary over time and which may be beyond the control or knowledge of the Administrator. Consequently, the results of the monitoring as notified by the Administrator to the Fund are to be considered merely as an indication of possible non-compliance with the investment restrictions and policies of the Fund and/or Portfolio rather than an affirmative statement as to non-compliance with the investment restrictions and policies. Moreover, the Administrator may not detect a breach and consequently might not notify the Fund thereof if information or data in its possession is inaccurate, incomplete or ambiguous. The Board of Trustees of the Fund shall remain fully responsible for ensuring compliance of the investments of the Fund and each Portfolio with its investment restrictions and policies and the services provided by the Administrator in monitoring investment restrictions and policies shall not be deemed to be a delegation of the Board's responsibility to the Administrator. In addition, the Fund agrees that the Administrator

shall not be liable for the accuracy, completeness or use of any information or data that CRD (as defined in Appendix B hereof) or any other compliance system used by the Administrator generates in connection with such administrative compliance monitoring on any given date so long as not a result of Administrator's willful malfeasance, bad faith or negligence.

9.2 LIABILITY FOR FUND ACCOUNTING SERVICES. Without limiting the provisions in Section 8 hereof, the Administrator's liability for acts, omissions, errors or delays relating to its fund accounting obligations and duties shall be limited to the amount of any expenses associated with a required recalculation of net asset value per share ("NAV") or any direct damages suffered by shareholders in connection with such recalculation. The Administrator's liability or accountability for such acts, omissions, errors or delays shall be further subject to clauses 9.2.1 through 9.2.4 below.

9.2.1. The parties hereto acknowledge that the Administrator's causing an error or delay in the determination of NAV may, but does not in and of itself, constitute negligence or reckless or willful misconduct. The parties further acknowledge that in accordance with industry practice, the Administrator shall be liable and the recalculation of NAV shall be performed only with regard to errors in the calculation of the NAV that are greater than or equal to $.01 per share of a Fund. If a recalculation of NAV occurs, the Fund agrees to reprocess shareholder transactions or take such other action(s) so as to eliminate or minimize to the extent possible the liability of the Administrator.

9.2.2. In no event shall the Administrator be liable or responsible to the Fund, any present or former shareholder of the Fund, or any other person for any error or delay that continued or was undetected after the date of an audit performed by the certified public accountants employed by the Fund if, in the exercise of reasonable care in accordance with generally accepted accounting standards, such accountants should have become aware of such error or delay in the course of performing such audit.

9.2.3 The Administrator shall not be held accountable or liable to the Fund, any shareholder or former shareholder thereof or any other person for any delays or losses, damages or expenses any of them may suffer or incur resulting from (i) the Administrator's usage of a third party service provider for the purpose of storing records delivered to the Administrator by the Fund and which the Administrator did not create in the performance of its obligations hereunder; (ii) the Administrator's failure to receive timely and suitable notification concerning quotations or corporate actions relating to or affecting portfolio securities of the Fund; or
(iii) any errors in the computation of NAV based upon or arising out of quotations or information as to corporate actions if received by the Administrator either (a) from a source which the Administrator was authorized to rely upon

(including, but not limited to, the fair value pricing procedures of any investment manager of adviser of the Fund and those sources listed on Appendix D), (b) from a source which in the Administrator's reasonable judgment was as reliable a source for such quotations or information as such authorized sources, or (c) relevant information known to the Fund or its service provider which would impact the calculation of NAV but which is not communicated by the Fund or its service providers to the Administrator. To the extent that Fund assets are not in the custody of the Administrator, the Administrator may conclusively rely on any reporting in connection with such assets provided to the Administrator by a third party on behalf of the Fund.

9.2.4. In the event of any error or delay in the determination of such NAV for which the Administrator may be liable, the Fund and the Administrator will consult and make good faith efforts to reach agreement on what actions should be taken in order to mitigate any loss suffered by the Fund or its present or former shareholders, in order that the Administrator's exposure to liability shall be reduced to the extent possible after taking into account all relevant factors and alternatives consistent with the Fund's Pricing Error Correction Guidelines. It is understood that in attempting to reach agreement on the actions to be taken or the amount of the loss which should appropriately be borne by the Administrator, the Fund and the Administrator will consider such relevant factors as the amount of the loss involved, the Fund's desire to avoid loss of shareholder good will, the fact that other persons or entities could have been reasonably expected to have detected the error sooner than the time it was actually discovered, the appropriateness of limiting or eliminating the benefit which shareholders or former shareholders might have obtained by reason of the error, and the possibility that other parties providing services to the Fund might be induced to absorb a portion of the loss incurred.

9.3 LIABILITY FOR ETF TRANSFER AGENCY AND RELATED SERVICES. Without limiting the provisions in Section 8 hereof, the Administrator shall have no liability for any damages arising out of (i) the failure of any Authorized Participant to perform its obligations under a Participant Agreement ("Participant Agreement" defined for this purpose as any Participant Agreement between the Distributor and an Authorized Participant acknowledged by the Administrator); (ii) activities or statements of sales or wholesaler personnel who are employed by the Distributor or its affiliates; (iii) the failure of any Authorized Participant to deposit with the Fund's Custodian sufficient collateral, or to provide additional collateral upon request by the Administrator, in connection with the monitoring services provided for herein on Appendix B; or (b) any errors in the

computation of collateral requirements based upon or arising out of quotations or information received by the Administrator from a source which the Administrator was authorized to rely upon (including, but not limited to, those sources listed on Appendix D); or (iv) any losses, damages, tax consequences or expenses the Fund, Portfolio, or any shareholder or former shareholder of the Fund (or any Portfolio) or any other person may suffer or incur arising from acts, omissions, errors or delays of the Administrator in the performance of processing purchases or redemptions of the Fund's Cayman Subsidiary pursuant to any Instruction issued pursuant to paragraph 5 of this Agreement by an Authorized Person as described in Appendix B to this Agreement or as such Instruction may be modified in the future.

10. INDEMNIFICATION. The Fund hereby agrees to indemnify the Administrator against and hold it harmless from any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses (including reasonable counsel fees and expenses) resulting from any act, omission, error or delay or any third party claim, demand, action or suit, in connection with or arising out of performance of the Administrator's obligations and duties under this Agreement, not resulting from the willful malfeasance, bad faith or negligence of the Administrator in the performance of such obligations and duties. The provisions of this Section 10 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

11. RELIANCE BY THE ADMINISTRATOR ON OPINIONS OF COUNSEL AND OPINIONS OF CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS.

The Administrator may consult with its counsel or the Fund's counsel in any case where so doing appears to the Administrator to be necessary or desirable. The Administrator shall not be considered to have engaged in any misconduct or to have acted negligently and shall be without liability in acting upon the advice of its counsel or of the Fund's counsel.

The Administrator may consult with a certified public accountant or the Fund's Treasurer in any case where so doing appears to the Administrator to be necessary or desirable. The Administrator shall not be considered to have engaged in any misconduct or to have acted negligently and shall be without liability in acting upon the advice of such certified public accountant or of the Fund's Treasurer.

12. TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT. This Agreement may be terminated by either party in accordance with the provisions of this Section.

12.1 This Agreement shall have an initial term of one (1) year from the date hereof. Thereafter, this Agreement shall automatically renew for successive one (1) year periods unless either party terminates this Agreement by written notice effective no sooner than seventy-five (75) days following the date that notice to such effect shall be delivered to the other party at its address set forth

herein. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, either party may terminate this Agreement at any time (a) for cause, which is a material breach of the Agreement not cured within sixty (60) days, in which case termination shall be effective upon written receipt of notice by the non-terminating party, or upon thirty (30) days written notice to the other party in the event that the either party is adjudged bankrupt or insolvent, or there shall be commenced against such party a case under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, or other similar law now or hereafter in effect. In the event a termination notice is given by a party hereto, all expenses associated with the movement of records and materials and the conversion thereof shall be paid by the Fund for which services shall cease to be performed hereunder. The Administrator shall be responsible for completing all actions in progress when such termination notice is given unless otherwise agreed.

12.2. Upon termination of the Agreement in accordance with this Section 12, the Fund may request the Administrator to promptly deliver to the Fund or to any designated third party all records created and maintained by the Administrator pursuant to Section 3.1 of this Agreement, as well as any Fund records maintained but not created by the Administrator. If such request is provided in writing by the Fund to the Administrator within seventy-five (75) days of the date of termination of the Agreement, the Administrator shall provide to the Fund a certification that all records created by the Administrator pursuant to its obligations under Section 3.1 of this Agreement are accurate and complete. After seventy-five (75) days of the date of termination of this Agreement, no such certification will be provided to the Fund by the Administrator and the Administrator is under no further obligation to ensure that records created by the Administrator pursuant to Section 3.1 of this Agreement are maintained in a form that is accurate or complete.

13. CONFIDENTIALITY. The parties hereto agree that each shall treat confidentially the terms and conditions of this Agreement and all information provided by each party to the other regarding its business and operations. All confidential information provided by a party hereto shall be used by any other party hereto solely for the purpose of rendering or obtaining services pursuant to this Agreement and, except as may be required in carrying out this Agreement, shall not be disclosed to any third party without the prior consent of such providing party. The foregoing shall not be applicable to any information that is publicly available when provided or thereafter becomes publicly available other than through a breach of this Agreement, or that is required to be disclosed by or to any Regulatory Authority, any auditor of the parties hereto, or by judicial or administrative process or otherwise by Applicable Law.

Each of the parties agrees that: (i) "confidential information" will include any and all information within the term "Nonpublic Personal Information" as defined in section 509(4) of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 ("GLB"), Rule 3 of SEC Regulation S-P and under the regulations, interpretations, rulings and

other issuances of other applicable federal agencies (collectively, "GLB Regulations"); (ii) for client-shareholders who are residents of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "confidential information" will include any and all information within the term "Personal Information" as defined in section 17.02 of the Standards for the Protection of Personal Information of the Residents of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ("Mass. Data Privacy Law"); (iii) the receipt, disclosure, use, sharing and dissemination of confidential information will be consistent with the provisions and requirements of GLB, the GLB Regulations and, if applicable, the Mass. Data Privacy Law; (iv) the parties will: (A) protect the security, confidentiality, and integrity of the confidential information subject to GLB, the GLB Regulations, and, if applicable, the Mass. Data Privacy Law and (B) implement appropriate measures designed to meet the objectives of GLB, GLB Regulations and the Mass. Data Privacy Law.

14. TAPE-RECORDING. The Fund authorizes the Administrator to tape record any and all telephonic or other oral instructions given to the Administrator by or on behalf of the Fund, including from any Authorized Person. This authorization will remain in effect until and unless revoked by the Fund in writing. The Fund further agrees to solicit valid written or other consent from any of its employees with respect to telephone communications to the extent such consent is required by applicable law.

15. ENTIRE AGREEMENT; AMENDMENT. This Agreement constitutes the entire understanding and agreement of the parties hereto and supersedes any other oral or written agreements heretofore in effect between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof. No provision of this Agreement may be amended or terminated except by a statement in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the amendment or termination is sought.

16. SEVERABILITY. In the event any provision of this Agreement is determined to be void or unenforceable, such determination shall not affect the remainder of this Agreement, which shall continue to be in force.

17. HEADINGS. The section headings in this Agreement are for the convenience of reference only and shall not modify, define, expand or limit any of the terms or provisions thereof.

18. GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed according to the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts without giving effect to conflicts of laws principles and each of the parties hereto irrevocably consents to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the City of Boston and the federal courts located in the City of Boston. The fund irrevocably waives any objection it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any action or proceeding in any of the aforesaid courts and any claim that any such action or proceeding has been brought in an inconvenient forum. Furthermore, each party hereto irrevocably waives any right that it may

have to trial by jury in any action, proceeding or counterclaim arising out of or related to this Agreement or the services contemplated hereby.

19. NOTICES. Notices and other writings delivered or mailed postage prepaid to the Fund addressed to the Fund at 120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400, Wheaton 60187, Attention: General Counsel or to such other address as the Fund may have designated to the Administrator in writing, or to the Administrator at 40 Water Street, Boston, MA 02109, Attention: Manager, Fund Administration Department, or to such other address as the Administrator may have designated to the Fund in writing, shall be deemed to have been properly delivered or given hereunder to the respective addressee.

20. BINDING EFFECT; ASSIGNMENT. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the Fund and the Administrator and their respective successors and assigns, provided that no party hereto may assign this Agreement or any of its rights or obligations hereunder without the written consent of the other party. Each party agrees that only the parties to this Agreement and/or their successors in interest shall have a right to enforce the terms of this Agreement. Accordingly, no client of the Fund or other third party shall have any rights under this Agreement and such rights are explicitly disclaimed by the parties.

21. COUNTERPARTS. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts each of which shall be deemed to be an original. This Agreement shall become effective when one or more counterparts have been signed and delivered by each of the parties. A photocopy or telefax of the Agreement shall be acceptable evidence of the existence of the Agreement and the Administrator shall be protected in relying on the photocopy or telefax until the Administrator has received the original of the Agreement.

22. EXCLUSIVITY. The services furnished by the Administrator hereunder are not to be deemed exclusive, and the Administrator shall be free to furnish similar services to others.

23. AUTHORIZATION. The Fund hereby represents and warrants that the Fund's Board of Trustees has authorized the execution and delivery of this Agreement and that an authorized officer of the Fund has signed this Agreement, Appendices A, B, C, and D and the fee schedule hereto.

24. (a) It is expressly acknowledged and agreed that the obligations of the Fund (and Portfolios thereof) hereunder shall not be binding upon any of the shareholders, Trustees, officers, employees or agents of the Fund (and Portfolios thereof), personally, but shall bind only the trust property of the Fund and the applicable Portfolios as provided in the Fund's Declaration of Trust. The execution and delivery of this Agreement have been authorized by the Trustees of the Fund and signed by an officer of the Fund, acting as such, and neither such authorization by such Trustees nor such execution and delivery by such officer shall be deemed to have been made by any of them individually or to impose any liability on any of them personally, but shall bind only the trust

property of the Fund and applicable Portfolio as provided in the Fund's Declaration of Trust.

(b) This Agreement is an agreement entered into between the Administrator and the Fund with respect to each Portfolio. With respect to any obligation of the Fund on behalf of any Portfolio arising out of this Agreement, the Administrator shall look for payment of such obligation solely to the assets for the Portfolio to which such obligation relates with the same effect as if the Administrator had separately contracted with the Fund by separate written instrument with respect to each Portfolio.

(c) As used herein, the "applicable Portfolio" shall be each Portfolio in respect of which any amount due the Administrator arises, and if any amount due the Administrator arises in respect of more than one Portfolio, the same shall be allocated by the Administrator among such Portfolios in accordance with
Section 24(b). Any amounts due the Administrator which may not be allocated in accordance with the preceding sentence shall constitute General Liabilities as defined in the Fund's Declaration of Trust and allocated by the Fund and paid in accordance with the provisions thereof.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be duly executed and delivered by their duly authorized officers as of the date first written above. The undersigned acknowledges that (I/we) have received a copy of this document .

BROWN BROTHERS HARRIMAN & CO.

By: /s/ Shawn McNinch
    -------------------------
Name:  Shawn McNinch
Title: Senior Vice President
Date: 9/03/2013

FIRST TRUST EXCHANGE-TRADED FUND VII

By: /s/ Mark R. Bradley
    --------------------------
Name:  Mark R. Bradley
Title: President and CEO
Date: 9/03/2013

APPENDIX A
TO
THE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
FIRST TRUST EXCHANGE-TRADED FUND VII
and
BROWN BROTHERS HARRIMAN & CO.
Dated as of September 3, 2013

The following is a list of Funds/Portfolios for which the Administrator shall serve under a Administrative Agency Agreement dated as of September 3, 2013:

First Trust Global Tactical Commodity Strategy Fund

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the parties hereto has caused this to be executed in its name and on behalf of each such Fund.

FIRST TRUST EXCHANGE-TRADED FUND VII

By: /s/ Mark R. Bradley
    ---------------------------
Name:  Mark R. Bradley
Title: President and CEO

APPENDIX B

ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY AGREEMENT

Services

FUND ACCOUNTING SERVICES
The Administrator will provide the following fund accounting services to each Portfolio each day that such Portfolio and the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is open (each a "Business Day"): transaction processing and review, custodial reconciliation, securities pricing and investment accounting.

Transaction Processing and Review. The Administrator shall input and reconcile each Portfolio's investment activity including with respect to:

o Investment taxlots

o Income

o Dividends

o Principal paydowns

o Capital activity

o Expense accruals

o Cash activity

o Corporate Reorganizations

Custodial Reconciliation. The Administrator shall reconcile the following positions of each Portfolio against the records of the Custodian:

o Securities holdings

o Cash including cash transfers, fees assessed and other investment related cash transactions

o Trade settlements

Securities Pricing. The Administrator shall update each security position of each Portfolio as to the following:

o Market prices obtained from approved sources including those listed on Appendix D or Fair Valuations

obtained from an Authorized Person of the Fund

o Mark to market of non-base receivables/payables utilizing approved foreign exchange quotations as quoted in Appendix D

o Mark to market of non-base currency positions utilizing the approved sources quoted in Appendix D or Fair Valuations obtained from an Authorized Person of the Fund

Investment Accounting. The Administrator shall provide the following investment accounting services to each Portfolio:

o Amortization/accretion at the individual tax lot level

o General ledger entries

o Book value calculations

o Trade Date + 1 accounting

o Calculation of Net Asset Value Per Share ("NAV") as of the close of business of the NYSE

PORTFOLIO COMPLIANCE MONITORING SERVICES
The Administrator shall perform the following compliance monitoring services with respect to the investments of each Portfolio on each Business Day unless otherwise specified ("Portfolio Compliance Monitoring Services"):

o Trade date plus one monitoring of each Portfolio's investments with respect to the investment restrictions, policies and limitations as described in the current prospectus and statement of additional information, which shall be provided to the Administrator by the Fund, and agreed to by the Administrator and Fund

o Monitoring of policies, restrictions and limitations with respect to certain derivative investments is performed monthly (or as requested)

o Trade date plus one monitoring of each Portfolio's investments with respect to the 1940 Act requirements and rules thereunder (including Rule 2a-7 if applicable) and applicable Internal Revenue Code rules and regulations as described in Exhibit A attached hereto

o Rule 17g-1 monitoring shall be performed monthly as requested o Qualifying income monitoring with respect to Subchapter M compliance shall be performed monthly

o Trade date plus one monitoring of other portfolio investment restrictions, policies and limitations at such times as may be agreed in writing by the Fund and Administrator

o The Administrator shall notify the Fund's Chief Compliance Officer ("CCO") or such other Authorized Person as may be agreed to by the Fund in the event and at such times as the Administrator detects possible non-compliance with a Portfolio's investment restrictions, policies and limitations ("Daily Exception Reporting")

o Provide the Fund's CCO or such other Authorized Person as may be agreed to by the Fund a monthly report summarizing the results of the Portfolio Compliance Monitoring Services ("Monthly Summary Reporting")

o Provide the Fund's Board of Trustees/Directors a quarterly report summarizing the results of the Portfolio Compliance Monitoring Services ("Quarterly Board Summary Reporting")

o Assist the Fund in producing quarterly brokerage-related reports for the Fund's Board of Trustees as requested by the Fund and agreed to by the Administrator

o The Administrator shall perform the following additional compliance monitoring services with respect to each Portfolio one each Business Day:

o Provide the Fund's CCO or such other Authorized Person as may be agreed to by the Fund a daily portfolio compliance summary report
("Daily Summary Reporting")

TAX SUPPORT SERVICES
The Administrator shall provide the following tax support services to the Fund:

o Prepare fiscal year-end and excise tax distribution calculations;

o Prepare monthly, quarterly and annual income distributions as described in each Fund's or Portfolio's prospectus

o Provide any tax analysis of portfolio transactions

o Prepare annual capital gain distribution(s) including spillback amounts as required

o Prepare tax-related ROCSOP entries for fund accounting purposes

o Review required tax disclosures (such as tax cost, long-term capital gain, tax-exempt designation, foreign tax credits, dividend-received deductions, and qualified dividend income pass throughs) in the Fund's financial statements

o Prepare and file federal, state and local (if any) income tax returns, including tax return extension requests, for signature by the Fund and/or its auditor

o Prepare shareholder year-end tax information

o Calculate the amounts and characterizations of distributions declared during the calendar year for Form 1099/DIV reporting

o Provide analysis and necessary adjustments based on passive foreign investment companies ("PFICs") that have been identified by the Fund and communicated to the Administrator

o Consult with the Fund's Authorized Persons on their management and/or investment strategy regarding straddles identified by the Fund and communicated to the Administrator and provide necessary adjustments

DESCRIPTION OF ADDITIONAL TAX SUPPORT SERVICES

o Prepare and maintain tax accruals and necessary adjustments for convertible preferred stock investments

o Prepare available tax equalization schedules

o Prepare monthly Qualified Investment Income

o Prepare interim estimates of taxable income and capital gains

o Consult with the Fund's Authorized Persons on various tax issues as requested and with the Fund's independent public accountant when appropriate

PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT SERVICES The Administrator shall provide the following services related to calculating and reporting Fund performance:

o Calculate time weighted total returns for each Portfolio (by class, if applicable) and report such returns to the Fund on a monthly basis, and SEC after-tax returns on an annual basis

o If applicable, calculate 30-day SEC yields and report such returns to the Fund on a monthly basis

o Provide and review each Portfolio's performance information disclosed in its financial statements, prospectus and statement of additional information

o On a monthly basis, reconcile total return calculations to those reported by major database companies

o At the Fund's request, report portfolio holdings to identified database companies

ETF TRANSFER AGENCY AND RELATED SERVICES

The Administrator shall perform the following ETF Transfer Agency and Related services and such other obligations as are set forth in any Participant Agreement:

I. Creation and Redemption of Creation Units.

It is agreed and understood that the Administrator on the Fund's behalf, shall process the issuance and redemption of Creation Units of the Fund in blocks of Shares as established in the Prospectus for the Fund ("Creation Units") to and from such persons as are identified and approved by the Distributor as Authorized Participants and who have entered into a Participant Agreement.

A. Accept from Authorized Participants creation and redemption orders for communication to the appropriate parties, approval (as may be agreed with the Distributor) and processing.

B. Pursuant to creation and redemption orders that the Administrator as transfer agent shall receive from Authorized Participants (and which shall be confirmed by the Distributor, as required) and pursuant to the

procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement, the Administrator shall communicate such orders to the Trust or Fund as appropriate.

B. Pursuant to such creation orders that the Administrator as the Index Receipt Agent shall receive (and which shall be confirmed by the Distributor) and pursuant to the procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement, the Administrator shall transfer appropriate trade instructions to the Fund's custodian, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. ("Custodian") and pursuant to such orders register the appropriate number of book entry only Creation Units in the name of The Depository Trust Company ("DTC") or its nominee as a shareholder (each a "Authorized Participant") of the Fund and deliver the Creation Units of the Fund to the appropriate Authorized Participant.

C. Pursuant to such redemption orders that Index Receipt Agent shall receive from the Authorized Participant and pursuant to the procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement, the Administrator shall transfer appropriate trade instructions to the Custodian and, pursuant to such orders, redeem the appropriate number of Creation Units that are delivered to the designated DTC Participant Account of the Custodian for redemption and debit such Creation Units from the account of the Authorized Participant on the register of the Fund.

D. On behalf of the Fund, the Administrator shall issue Creation Units for settlement with purchasers through DTC as the purchaser is authorized to receive. Beneficial ownership of ETF Shares shall be shown on the records of DTC and DTC Participants and not on any records maintained by the Administrator. In issuing Creation Units through DTC to an Authorized Participant, the Administrator shall be entitled to rely upon the latest Instructions that are received from the Distributor by the Administrator as Index Receipt Agent concerning the issuance and delivery of such Creation Units for settlement.

E. The Administrator shall not issue on behalf of the Fund any Creation Units where it has received an Instruction from the Fund or the Distributor or written notification from any federal or state authority that the sale of the ETF Shares has been suspended or discontinued, and the Administrator shall be entitled to rely upon such Instructions or written notification.

F. Upon the issuance of Creation Units as provided herein, the Administrator shall not be responsible for the payment of any original issue or other taxes, if any, required to be paid by the Fund or the Distributor in connection with such issuance.

G. The Administrator will act only upon Instruction from the Fund and/or the Distributor in addressing any failure in the delivery of cash, securities and/or shares in connection with the creation and redemption of Creation Units. The Administrator shall ]not be required to advance, expend or risk its own funds or otherwise incur or become exposed to financial liability in the performance of its duties hereunder.

II. Recordkeeping.

A. The Administrator shall record the creation and redemption of Creation Units and maintain, pursuant to Rule 17Ad-14(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, a record of the total number of Creation Units that are authorized, issued and outstanding based upon data provided to the Administrator by the Fund or the Distributor. The Administrator shall also provide the Fund on a regular basis with the total number of Creation Units authorized, issued and outstanding; provided however that the Administrator shall not be responsible for monitoring the issuance of such Creation Units or compliance with any laws relating to the validity of the issuance or the legality of the sale of such Creation Units or shares.

III. Services Related to the Monitoring of Cash Collateral.

(a) Monitor the collateralization levels as set forth in Participant Agreements in connection with cash collateral posted by Authorized Participants in connection with Creation Unit activity.

(b) Mark to market daily the value of such cash collateral using a pricing source set forth on Appendix D.

(c) Monitor collateral levels daily and communicate calls for additional collateral to the Authorized Participants as necessary based upon daily collateral requirement calculations using ratios set forth in Participant Agreements.

IV. Services Related to Processing Purchases and Redemptions of the Fund's Wholly-Owned Cayman Subsidiary

The Authorized Persons are duly authorized to instruct the Administrator in respect of the First Trust Global Tactical Commodity Strategy Fund and as such, hereby authorize and instruct the Administrator to process purchases and redemptions of the FT Cayman Subsidiary II on behalf of the First Trust Global Tactical Commodity Strategy Fund according to the following Standing Instructions:

creation Units for Shares of the First Trust Global Tactical Commodity Strategy Fund shall be denominated in US$.

Shares of FT Cayman Subsidiary II shall be purchased or sold by the First Trust Global Tactical Commodity Strategy Fund in US$. The Investing Fund (as set forth in the table below) shall be the First Trust Global Tactical Commodity Strategy Fund. Upon a creation or redemption order of the Fund, the Fund shall purchase or sell shares of the FT Cayman Subsidiary II as follows:

--------------------- --------------------------- ---------------------- ---------------------------------------------
   Investing Fund      Transaction in Investing         Subsidiary           Action Required by the Administrator
                                 Fund
--------------------- --------------------------- ---------------------- ---------------------------------------------
First Trust           Create                      FT Cayman              Purchase 20% of the US$ amount (2727):
Global Tactical                                   Subsidiary             [ETF NAV  * ETF Shares] into FT
Commodity                                         II (****)              Cayman Subsidiary II (2728)
Strategy Fund         --------------------------- ---------------------- ---------------------------------------------
(****)                Redeem                      FT Cayman              Sell 20% of the US$ amount (2728):
                                                  Subsidiary II          [ETF NAV * ETF Shares] into
                                                  (****)                 Investing Fund (2727)
--------------------- --------------------------- ---------------------- ---------------------------------------------

The Trust further represents and warrants: (i) to the Administrator that the purchase and redemption transactions contemplated herein are only intended to facilitate the mechanical processing of Instructions of the Fund and the FT Cayman Subsidiary II, and do not constitute an investment management technique or instrument for purposes of the investment objectives of the Fund; and (ii) to the Administrator that all necessary approvals and disclosures have been obtained or made (as the case may be) in relation to the processing of such transactions. The foregoing representations and warranties shall be deemed repeated with each transaction instructed and executed pursuant to the terms of this Instruction. This Instruction shall be deemed an Instruction as defined in this Agreement and shall constitute a standing Instruction until:

1) terminated by the Authorized Persons in writing and acknowledged by the Administrator,

2) amended In writing as may be agreed to from time to time by both Parties to this Agreement; or

3) a one-time Instruction to the contrary is provided by an Authorized Person in writing and acknowledged by the Administrator.

BROWN BROTHERS HARRIMAN & CO.

By: /s/ F. Meade Reynolds
    -------------------------
Name:  F. Meade Reynolds
Title: Managing Director
Date:

FIRST TRUST EXCHANGE-TRADED FUND VII

By: /s/ Mark R. Bradley
    -----------------------------
Name:  Mark R. Bradley
Title: President and CEO
Date:

APPENDIX C

ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY AGREEMENT

List of Authorized Persons

Mark Bradley

Scott Jardine

James Dykas

Kristi Maher

Erin Klassman

Daniel Lindquist

Coleen Lynch

Katherine Urevig

Donald Swade

John Gambla

Rob Guttschow

Lance Hinkle

Tim Henry

Erik Russo

FIRST TRUST EXCHANGE-TRADED FUND VII

By: /s/ Mark R. Bradley
    ----------------------------
Name:  Mark R. Bradley
Title: President and CEO
Date:

APPENDIX D TO
ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY AGREEMENT

AUTHORISED SOURCES

The Investment Manager and Fund hereby acknowledge that the Administrator is authorized to use the following authorized sources and their successors and assigns for financial reporting, compliance monitoring, performance measurement, pricing (including corporate actions, dividends and rights offering), and foreign exchange quotations, to assist it in fulfilling its obligations under the aforementioned Agreement.

BLOOMBERG
RUSSELL/MELLON
FUND MANAGERS / CLIENT DIRECTED
INTERACTIVE DATA CORPORATION
REPUTABLE BROKERS
THOMSON REUTERS
SUBCUSTODIAN BANKS
SIX TELEKURS
REPUTABLE FINANCIAL PUBLICATIONS
STOCK EXCHANGES
STAT PRO
MORGAN STANLEY CAPITAL INTERNATIONAL
WALL STREET OFFICE
PRICING DIRECT
MARKIT
SUPER DERIVATIVES
S&P
DOW JONES
JP MORGAN
SQX (SECURITIES QUOTE EXCHANGE)
BARCLAYS
FITCH SOLUTIONS
MOODYS
FORD EQUITY RESEARCH
FTSE GROUP
INVESTMENT TECHNOLOGY GROUP (ITG)
WM COMPANY
WOLTERS KLUWER FINANCIAL SERVICES
DEPOSITORIES (DTC, EUROCLEAR, ETC)
CLEARING BANKS (JP MORGAN CHASE, BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON, ETC)

FIRST TRUST EXCHANGE-TRADED FUND VII

By: /s/ Mark R. Bradley
    -------------------------------
Name:  Mark R. Bradley
Title: President and CEO

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Post-Effective Amendment No. 2 to Registration Statement No. 333-184918 on Form N-1A of our report dated February 26, 2014, relating to the financial statements and financial highlights of First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VII, comprised of First Trust Global Tactical Commodity Strategy Fund, appearing in the Annual Report on Form N-CSR for First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VII as of and for the period ended December 31, 2013, and to the references to us under the headings "Financial Highlights" in the Prospectus and "Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm" and "Financial Statements" in the Statement of Additional Information, which are part of such Registration Statement.

/s/ DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP


Chicago, Illinois
April 30, 2014

I. STATEMENT OF GENERAL PRINCIPLES

This Code of Ethics is being adopted by First Trust Advisors L.P. ("FTA") and First Trust Portfolios L.P. ("FTP" and, together with FTA, the "Companies"), The FT Series (formerly known as The First Trust Special Situations Trust), The First Trust Combined Series, The First Trust of Insured Municipal Bonds, The First Trust GNMA, and The First Trust of Insured Municipal Bonds - Multi-State in recognition of the fact that (i) FTA owes a fiduciary duty of loyalty at all times to Clients, including investment companies for which FTA provides investment advisory services, to act in the best interests of Clients and always place the Clients' interest first and foremost and (ii) FTP owes a duty at all times to place the interests of Clients first including investment companies for which FTP acts as sponsor or distributor and the Unit holders or shareholders thereof. In recognition of such duties it is each Company's policy that the personal securities transactions and other activities of each Company's personnel be conducted consistent with this Code of Ethics and in such a manner as to avoid any actual or potential conflict of interest or any abuse of an individual's position of trust and responsibility that could occur through such activities including, taking an investment opportunity from the Client for an employee's own portfolio, insider trading or front-running Clients or investment company securities trades. It is also each Company's policy that such Company personnel should not take inappropriate advantage of their position with respect to Clients and that such personnel should avoid any situation that might compromise, or call into question, their exercise of fully independent judgment in the interest of Clients. This Code of Ethics does not attempt to identify all possible conflicts of interest, and literal compliance with each of its specific provisions will not shield Supervised Persons from liability for personal trading or other conduct that violates a fiduciary duty to advisory clients.

II. DEFINITIONS

For Purposes of this Code of Ethics:

A. "Access Person" shall mean, with respect to FTP, any partner, officer, or employee of FTP who in the ordinary course of business makes, participates in or obtains information regarding the purchase or sale of securities for a Client's portfolio or whose functions or duties as part of the ordinary course of business relate to the making of any recommendation regarding the purchase or sale of securities for a Client and, with respect to FTA, any officer, employee or partner of FTA and any Supervised Person who (1) has access to nonpublic information regarding any Clients' purchase or sale of securities, or nonpublic information regarding the portfolio holdings of any Reportable Fund; or (2) is involved in making securities recommendations to Clients, or who has access to such recommendations that are nonpublic; or (3) in connection with his or her regular functions or duties makes, participates in, or obtains information regarding, the purchase or sale of securities by a Client or whose functions relate to the making of any such recommendations with respect to such purchase or sales. An Access Person includes, but is not limited to, all personnel in

each Company's Research, New Products, Equity Trading, Unit Investment Trust Trading, Portfolio and Product Management, Institutional Separate Accounts, Evaluations, Marketing, Trust Administration, Accounting, Fund Accounting, Tax, Compliance, Legal, Corporate Publishing, Economic and Market Analysis, Information Systems and Investment Advisory Departments and any and all supervisors thereof.

B. "Client" shall mean (i) with respect to FTA, any client of FTA, including separate managed accounts and any Reportable Fund, and (ii) with respect to FTP, any open-end management investment company for which FTP acts as distributor and any Trust for which FTP acts as sponsor or principal underwriter.

C. "Company" shall mean First Trust Advisors L.P. or First Trust Portfolios L.P., as applicable.

D. "ETFs" shall mean exchange-traded funds, including both exchange-traded funds that are open-end investment companies or unit investment trusts.

E. "Investment Person" shall mean any Access Person of a Company who in connection with his or her regular functions or duties makes, participates in or executes decisions regarding the purchase or sale of securities for a Client's portfolio and includes, but is not limited to, all personnel in a Company's Research, New Products, Equity Trading, UIT Trading, Institutional Trading, Portfolio and Product Management, Trust Administration, Evaluations, Capital Markets, Advisor Direct, Leveraged Finance, Rotational Training and Investment Advisory Departments and any and all supervisors thereof. Each person designated as an Investment Person is therefore also designated as an Access Person for purposes of this Code of Ethics.

F. "Reportable Fund" shall have the same meaning as it does in Rule 204A-1 and generally means (1) any fund for which FTA serves as an investment adviser (including sub-adviser), including closed-end funds and open-end funds, (2) any fund whose investment adviser or principal underwriter controls FTA, is controlled by FTA, or is under common control with FTA, or (3) any Trust.

G. "Shareholder" shall mean the holder of any share of any management investment company for which FTP acts as distributor or principal underwriter or for which FTA acts as investment adviser.

H. "Supervised Person" shall include any of a Company's officers, partners, employees or any other person who is subject to the supervision and control of the Company, as well as any other person designated by such Company's Chief Compliance Officer. All Access Persons and Investment Persons are also considered Supervised Persons. "Supervised Person Level 1" shall include any Supervised Person in the Cashiering, Event Planning, Fulfillment or Human Resources Departments and any and all supervisors thereof. "Supervised Person Level 2" shall include any Supervised Person in the Wholesaling or Client Services Departments, as well as Key Accounts, FTP ETFs, 401(K) Sales, IS-Sales, Sales Operations, Separate Accounts, Structured Products and any and all supervisors thereof.

I. "Trust" shall mean any unit investment trust sponsored by FTP.

J. "Unit holder" shall mean the holder of any unit of any Trust.

III. STANDARDS OF BUSINESS CONDUCT

Each Company and all of its Supervised Persons shall at all times comply and adhere to the following standards of business conduct which reflect such Company's and all Supervised Persons' obligations:

A. Federal Securities Laws. Each Company and all Supervised Persons must at all times comply with applicable federal securities laws, including the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, Title V of the Gramm-Leach Bliley Act, any rules adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission under any of these statutes, the Bank Secrecy Act as it applies to funds and investment advisers, and any applicable rules adopted thereunder by the Commission or the Department of the Treasury. In connection with this standard of business conduct, Supervised Persons shall not, in connection with the purchase or sale, directly or indirectly, of a security held or to be acquired by a Client:

a. Defraud such Client in any manner;

b. Mislead such Client, including by making any untrue statement of a material fact or making a statement that omits material facts;

c. Engage in any act, practice or course of conduct which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon such Client;

d. Engage in any manipulative practice with respect to such Client;or

e. Engage in any manipulative practice with respect to securities, including price manipulation.

B. Conflicts of Interest. As a fiduciary, FTA has an affirmative duty of care, loyalty and honesty and good faith to act in the best interests of Clients. Supervised Persons can fulfill this duty by trying to avoid conflicts of interest and by fully disclosing all material facts with respect to any conflicts that may arise. Specific types of undisclosed conflicts of interest that are prohibited include:

a. Conflicts among different Client accounts or favoring one account over another; and

b. Competition with trading in Client accounts.

C. Insider Trading. In accordance with each Company's Insider Trading Policy, all Supervised Persons are prohibited from trading, either for their own accounts or on behalf of others, while in possession of material, non-public

information as well as communicating material non-public information to others. Refer to Section 11 of FTA's Compliance Manual and Part III of FTP's Compliance Manual.

D. Personal Securities Transactions. All Supervised Persons shall comply with the policies and procedures included in this Code of Ethics with respect to personal securities transactions.

IV. PROHIBITED PRACTICES

In furtherance of the policies set forth in Section I above, the following practices shall be prohibited:

A. No Supervised Person shall purchase any security during the initial public offering of such security.

B. No Supervised Person shall purchase any security in a private placement transaction unless the purchase has been approved IN WRITING AND IN ADVANCE by the Compliance Department. In considering whether to approve any such transaction, the Compliance Department shall take into account, among other factors, whether the investment opportunity should be reserved for Clients, including any Unit holders, Shareholders, Reportable Funds or proposed Trusts and whether the opportunity is being offered to an individual by virtue of his or her position. Any Supervised Person who has been authorized to acquire securities in a private placement shall disclose that investment to the Compliance Department before he or she takes part in a subsequent consideration of any Client's investment in that issuer, and the decision to include securities of such issuer in a Client shall be subject to independent review by the Compliance Department of the Companies. The Compliance Department shall maintain a written record of any approvals granted hereunder including the reasons supporting such approvals.

C. No Access Person shall purchase or sell any security prior to the initial public offering period of a Trust which it is proposed may contain that security in its portfolio. No Access Person shall purchase or sell any security on the same day that security is bought or sold on behalf of a Client. With respect only to non-discretionary services provided by FTA to an investment adviser or program sponsor, no Access Person shall purchase or sell any security on (i) the day of the initial delivery by FTA of a model portfolio investment recommendation to an investment adviser or program sponsor or (ii) any day changes are made with respect to a model portfolio investment recommendation (i.e., recommendation to buy a security for the model or sell a security from the model).

No Investment Person shall purchase or sell a security within seven days before or after that security is bought or sold on behalf of a Client. With respect only to non-discretionary services provided by FTA to an investment adviser or program sponsor, no Investment Person shall purchase or sell a security within seven days before or after (i) the day of the initial delivery by FTA of a model portfolio investment recommendation to an investment adviser or program sponsor or (ii) the day changes are made with respect to a model

portfolio investment recommendation (i.e., recommendation to buy a security for the model or sell a security from the model). Any profits realized on transactions prohibited by this Section shall be disgorged.

D. No Investment Person shall profit from the purchase and sale, or sale and purchase, of the same (or equivalent) securities within 30 calendar days. Any profits realized on transactions prohibited by this Section shall be disgorged.

E. No Investment Person shall serve on the Board of Directors of a publicly traded company absent prior authorization of the Compliance Department upon a determination that board service would be consistent with the interests of Clients (including investors with respect to investment companies) and the establishment of appropriate "information barrier" procedures by the Compliance Department.

F. Any provision of this Code of Ethics prohibiting any transaction by a Supervised Person, Access Person or Investment Person shall prohibit any transaction in which such person has, obtains or disposes of any beneficial ownership interest.

G. Except with respect to private placement transactions set forth in
Section IV.B. above, no Supervised Person shall purchase or sell any security of an issuer with a market capitalization of less than $2 billion unless the security is a Reportable Fund or an ETF. Any profits realized on transactions prohibited by this Section shall be disgorged.

V. COMPLIANCE PROCEDURES AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

In order to effectuate and monitor the foregoing policies and prohibitions, all Supervised Persons shall be required to comply with the following procedures and requirements:

A. The securities trading personnel of the Companies shall provide the Compliance Department with (i) a daily summary of all executed orders entered by, on behalf of, or with respect to Clients and FTP's unit investment trust accumulation account or accounts and (ii) a daily summary of all model portfolio investment recommendations (including changes to any such portfolio investment recommendations) provided to investment advisers or program sponsors.

B. Each Supervised Person shall direct any brokers, dealers or banks at which he or she maintains securities accounts to provide on a timely basis (within 30 days of each month end or calendar quarter, as applicable) duplicate copies of confirmations of all personal securities transactions and periodic statements for all securities accounts to the Compliance Department. The Compliance Department shall date-stamp all duplicate copies of personal securities transactions and account statements upon receipt.

C. Upon commencement of employment with a Company, each Supervised Person shall disclose all personal securities holdings to the Compliance Department within 10 days after such person becomes a Supervised Person by submitting the form attached to this Code of Ethics as Exhibit A, and the information provided must be current as of a date no more than 45 days prior to the date such person becomes a Supervised Person.

D. Each Supervised Person shall disclose all personal securities holdings to the Compliance Department within 30 days of the end of each calendar year by submitting the form attached to this Code of Ethics as Exhibit A, and the information provided must be current as of a date no more than 45 days prior to the date of the report.

E. Any provision of this Code of Ethics requiring a Supervised Person to report securities transactions or securities positions to a Company shall require the reporting of any transaction or position in which such person has, acquires or disposes of any beneficial ownership interest.

F. The Chief Compliance Officer or his or her designee shall review all reports submitted by Supervised Persons to ensure that all reporting requirements are complied with.

VI. PRE-CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS

A. Subject to Section VIII.C. below, a Supervised Person may not purchase or sell, directly or indirectly, any security in which the Supervised Person has (or after such transaction would have) any beneficial ownership interest unless the Supervised Person obtains prior approval for the transaction from the Compliance Department. PRE-CLEARANCE REQUESTS MUST BE MADE ON THE DATE OF THE CONTEMPLATED TRANSACTION, THROUGH THE USE OF THE PRE-TRADE AUTHORIZATION FUNCTION CONTAINED WITHIN A COMPANY'S AUTOMATED PRE-CLEARANCE SYSTEM. Pre-clearance requests will be reviewed to determine whether the proposed transaction complies with this Code of Ethics, whether the security is restricted for Company employees and whether the proposed transaction raises any potential conflicts of interest or other issues. The Compliance Department will communicate to the requesting Supervised Person its approval or denial of the proposed transaction via the automated pre-clearance system application or via e-mail. ANY APPROVAL WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT ONLY UNTIL THE END OF THE TRADING DAY ON WHICH THE APPROVAL WAS GRANTED. SUPERVISED PERSONS MUST WAIT FOR APPROVAL BEFORE PLACING THE ORDER WITH THEIR BROKER.

B. The Compliance Department will maintain an electronic log of all pre-clearance requests and will record the approval or denial of each request contained in the log.

VII. APPROVED BROKER LIST

A. With respect to all personal securities transactions, each Supervised Person shall maintain an account only with a broker, dealer or bank that is on the Companies' approved broker list attached as Exhibit C hereto (the "Approved Broker List"). The Approved Broker List shall be maintained by the Compliance Department and may be amended at any time at the discretion of the Chief Compliance Officer.

VIII. EXEMPTIONS

ANY PERSON IDENTIFIED AS A "SUPERVISED PERSON LEVEL 1" IS EXEMPT FROM THE MARKET CAPITALIZATION AND BLACKOUT RESTRICTIONS CONTAINED IN THIS CODE.

A. The following shall be exempted from the Prohibited Practices of
Section IV.C., IV.D. and IV.G. and the Compliance Procedures and Reporting Requirements set forth in Section V; provided, however, that transactions included in Section VIII.A.5 must be included in the initial and annual holdings reports submitted pursuant to Section V.C. and V.D; and provided further that the names of any and all brokers, dealers or banks with which a Supervised Person maintains accounts in which ANY SECURITIES ARE HELD for the Supervised Person's direct or indirect benefit must be disclosed in the initial and annual holdings reports submitted pursuant to Section V.C. and V.D.:

1. Direct obligations of the Government of the United States.

2. Bankers' acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, commercial paper and high quality short-term debt instruments, including repurchase agreements.

3. Shares issued by money market funds.

4. Shares issued by open-end investment companies other than Reportable Funds and ETFs.

5. Transactions effected pursuant to an automatic investment plan, including dividend reinvestment plans.

B. The following shall be exempted from the Prohibited Practices of
Section IV.C., IV.D. and IV.G., BUT NOT FROM THE COMPLIANCE PROCEDURES AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS SET FORTH IN SECTION V ABOVE:

1. The purchase or sale of shares of issuers whose shares are traded on a national or foreign securities exchange and which have a market capitalization of at least $2 billion at the time of the transaction.

2. With respect to the purchase or sale of shares of issuers who have a market capitalization of less than $2 billion, the purchase or sale of shares in a single round-lot transaction of 100 shares, or odd-lot transactions of less than 100 shares, when the aggregate number of shares of such securities purchased or sold on a given day does not exceed 100 shares.

3. Purchases or sales of a security on behalf of a Supervised Person within a discretionary account when ALL investment decisions are made by a person or entity who is UNRELATED to the Supervised Person and such discretionary account has been APPROVED IN ADVANCE by the Companies' Compliance Department. A copy of the executed investment management agreement must also be provided to the Companies' Compliance Department. If such discretionary account is not approved by the Companies' Compliance Department the Supervised Person is prohibited from maintaining the discretionary account regardless of whether the Supervised Person is seeking exemption from the Prohibited Practices of Section IV.C. and IV.D.

4. Purchases or sales of shares of ETFs.

5. Unit investment trusts.

C. The following shall be exempted from the Pre-Clearance Requirements of
Section VI:

1. Direct obligations of the Government of the United States.

2. Bankers' acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, commercial paper and high quality short-term debt instruments, including repurchase agreements.

3. Shares issued by money market funds.

4. Shares issued by open-end investment companies other than Reportable Funds and ETFs.

5. Unit investment trusts.

6. Transactions effected pursuant to an automatic investment plan, including dividend reinvestment plans.

7. Purchases or sales of a security on behalf of a Supervised Person within a discretionary account when ALL investment decisions are made by a person or entity who is UNRELATED to the Supervised Person and such discretionary account has been approved in advance by the Companies' Compliance Department. A copy of the executed investment management agreement must also be provided to the Companies' Compliance Department. If such discretionary account is not approved by the Companies' Compliance Department the Supervised Person is prohibited from maintaining the discretionary account regardless of whether the Supervised Person is seeking exemption from the Pre-Clearance Requirements of Section VI.

D. The following accounts shall be exempted from the Approved Broker List Requirements of Section VII:

1. Discretionary accounts where ALL investment decisions are made by a person or entity who is UNRELATED to the Supervised Person and such discretionary account has been approved in advance by the Companies' Compliance Department. A copy of the executed investment management agreement must also be provided to the Companies' Compliance Department. If such discretionary account is not approved by the Companies' Compliance Department the Supervised Person is prohibited from maintaining the discretionary account.

2. Brokerage accounts where the only securities contained in such account are (i) direct obligations of the Government of the United States,
(ii) bankers' acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, commercial paper

and high quality short-term debt instruments, including repurchase agreements, (iii) shares issued by money market funds, and/or (iv) shares issued by open-end investment companies but not Reportable Funds and ETFs.

3. Brokerage accounts required by law or company policy to be maintained at a broker, dealer or bank not contained on the Approved Broker List; provided, however, all discretionary accounts must comply with the provisions contained in Section VIII.D.1.

IX. REPORTING OF VIOLATIONS AND ANNUAL CERTIFICATION

A. All Supervised Persons must report any violations of this Code of Ethics promptly to the Chief Compliance Officer.

B. Each Company shall provide each Supervised Person with a copy of this Code of Ethics and any amendments and require each Supervised Person to provide the Company with a written acknowledgement of their receipt of the Code of Ethics and any amendment.

C. Within 30 days following the end of each calendar year, each Supervised Person shall certify to each Company that he or she has received, read and understands this Code of Ethics and any amendments thereto and recognizes that he or she is subject to it and that he or she has complied with the requirements of this Code of Ethics by submitting the form attached hereto as Exhibit B.

X. SANCTIONS

Upon discovery of a violation of this Code of Ethics, including either violations of the enumerated provisions, the general principles or the standards of business conduct described herein, the Company may impose such sanctions as it deems appropriate, including, inter alia, a fine, letter of censure, suspension or termination of the employment of the violator. In addition, any profits realized on transactions prohibited by this Code of Ethics shall be disgorged.

Amended as of July 1, 2013.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF RECEIPT

I, __________________________________________, hereby acknowledge that I have received, read and understand the Code of Ethics of First Trust Advisors L.P. and First Trust Portfolios L.P. dated as of July 1, 2013.

                                                                        Market
Issuer   Ticker/CUSIP  Type of Security  # of Shares/Principal Amount    Value
------   ------------  ----------------  ----------------------------  ---------

OR

[_] I hereby certify that as of __________________, I had a beneficial ownership interest in no securities other than those set forth on the attached brokerage account statements.

OR

[_] I hereby certify that as of __________________, I had a beneficial interest in no securities.

As of ___________________, I maintained accounts where securities are held for my direct or indirect benefit at the following brokers, dealers or banks:

I hereby authorize FIRST TRUST ADVISORS L.P. and FIRST TRUST PORTFOLIOS L.P. to disclose personal and/or account information to third parties in connection with any monitoring requirements pursuant to Rule 17j-1 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, Rule 206(4)-7 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, NASD Rule 3050, NYSE Rule 407 and/or the FIRST TRUST ADVISORS L.P. and FIRST TRUST PORTFOLIOS L.P. Code of Ethics.

EXHIBIT B

FIRST TRUST ADVISORS L.P.
FIRST TRUST PORTFOLIOS L.P.
SUPERVISED PERSON
CODE OF ETHICS CERTIFICATION

I, ___________________________, hereby certify that I have received, read, and understand the FIRST TRUST ADVISORS L.P. AND FIRST TRUST PORTFOLIOS L.P. Code of Ethics dated July 1, 2013. I recognize that I am subject to this Code of Ethics. Furthermore, I certify that (i) I have complied during the preceding year with the provisions of the Code of Ethics in effect during such time period, (ii) I have disclosed or reported all personal securities transactions required to be disclosed or reported pursuant to the requirements of the Code of Ethics in effect during such time period, (iii) I will comply with the provisions of the Code of Ethics dated July 1, 2013, as may be amended from time to time, during the next twelve months and (iv) I will disclose or report all personal securities transactions required to be disclosed or reported pursuant to the requirements of the Code of Ethics dated July 1, 2013, as may be amended from time to time, during the next twelve months. Additionally, I hereby authorize FIRST TRUST ADVISORS L.P. and FIRST TRUST PORTFOLIOS L.P. to disclose personal and/or account information to third parties in connection with any monitoring requirements pursuant to Rule 17j-1 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, Rule 206(4)-7 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, NASD Rule 3050,
NYSE Rule 407 and/or the FIRST TRUST ADVISORS L.P. and FIRST TRUST PORTFOLIOS
L.P. Code of Ethics.

EXHIBIT C

FIRST TRUST ADVISORS L.P.
FIRST TRUST PORTFOLIOS L.P.
APPROVED BROKER LIST

TO BE MAINTAINED BY THE COMPLIANCE DEPARTMENT

FIRST TRUST FUNDS

CODE OF ETHICS

I. STATEMENT OF GENERAL PRINCIPLES

This Code of Ethics is being adopted by the funds advised by First Trust Advisors L.P. ("FTA") from time to time (each a "Fund" and collectively, the "Funds"), in recognition of the fact that each Fund owes a duty at all times to place the interests of its Investors first. In recognition of such duty it is the Funds' policy that the personal securities transactions and other activities of Fund personnel be conducted consistent with this Code of Ethics and in such a manner as to avoid any actual or potential conflicts of interest or any abuse of an individual's position of trust and responsibility that could occur through such activities as "insider trading" or "frontrunning" investment company securities trades. It is also the Funds' policy that Fund personnel should not take inappropriate advantage of their position with respect to a Fund and that such personnel should avoid any situation that might compromise, or call into question, their exercise of fully independent judgment in the interest of Investors in the Funds.

II. DEFINITIONS

For purposes of this Code of Ethics:

A. "Investor" shall mean any investor in a Fund.

B. "Access Person" shall mean (i) any trustee, officer or employee of the Fund who, in connection with his or her regular functions or duties, makes, participates in, or obtains information regarding, the purchase or sale of securities for a Fund's portfolio or whose functions relate to the making of any recommendations with respect to such purchases or sales and (ii) any officer of FTA who (a) has access to nonpublic information regarding the purchase or sale of securities for a Fund's portfolio, or nonpublic information regarding the portfolio holdings of a Fund; or (b) is involved in making securities recommendations to a Fund, or who has access to such recommendations that are nonpublic; or (c) in connection with his or her regular functions or duties, makes, participates in, or obtains information regarding, the purchase or sale of securities for a Fund's portfolio or whose functions relate to the making of any such recommendations with respect to such purchases or sales.

C. "Investment Person" shall mean any officer or employee of any Fund who in connection with his or her regular functions or duties makes, participates in or executes decisions regarding the purchase or sale of securities for a Fund's portfolio. Each person designated as an Investment Person is therefore also designated as an Access Person for purposes of this Code of Ethics.

III. PROHIBITED PRACTICES

In furtherance of the policies set forth in Section I above, the following practices shall be prohibited:

A. No Access Person shall purchase any security during the initial public offering of such security.

B. No Access Person shall purchase any security in a private placement transaction unless the purchase has been approved IN WRITING AND IN ADVANCE by the Compliance Coordinator. In considering whether to approve any such transaction, the Compliance Coordinator shall take into account, among other factors, whether the investment opportunity should be reserved for a Fund and its Investors and whether the opportunity is being offered to an individual by virtue of his or her position. Any Access Person who has been authorized to acquire securities in a private placement shall disclose that investment to the Compliance Coordinator before he or she takes part in a subsequent consideration of a Fund's investment in that issuer, and the decision to include securities of such issuer in a Fund shall be subject to independent review by the Compliance Coordinator to a Fund. The Compliance Coordinator shall maintain a written record of any approvals granted under Section III A and B hereof.

C. No Access Person shall purchase or sell any security on the same day that security is bought or sold by a Fund.

D. No Investment Person shall purchase or sell a security within seven days before or after that security is bought or sold by a Fund if such Investments Person knows or should know that such security is being bought or sold by such Fund.

E. No Investment Person shall profit from the purchase and sale, or sale and purchase, of the same (or equivalent) securities within 30 calendar days. Any profits realized on transactions prohibited by this
Section shall be disgorged.

F. No Investment Person shall serve on the Board of Directors of a publicly traded company absent prior authorization of the Compliance Coordinator upon a determination that board service would be consistent with the interests of a Fund and its Investors and the establishment of appropriate "Chinese wall" procedures by the Compliance Coordinator.

G. Any provision of this Code of Ethics prohibiting any transaction by an Access Person or Investment Person shall prohibit any transaction in which such person has, obtains or disposes of any beneficial ownership interest.

H. No Access Person or Investment Person who has had two violations of this Code of Ethics during the prior 12 month period shall purchase or sell any security unless such purchase or sale has been approved in advance by the Compliance Coordinator.

I. Except with respect to private placement transactions set forth in Section III.B. above, no Access Person or Investment Person shall purchase or sell any security of an issuer with a market capitalization of less than $2 billion unless the security is a Fund as defined in Section I. above or a unit investment trust sponsored by First Trust Portfolios L.P.

IV. COMPLIANCE PROCEDURES AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

In order to effectuate and monitor the foregoing policies and prohibitions, all Access Persons and Investment Persons shall be required to comply with the following procedures:

A. The securities trading personnel of the Funds shall provide the Compliance Coordinator with a daily summary of all executed orders entered by, on behalf of, or with respect to the Funds.

B. Each Access Person shall direct any brokers, dealers or banks at which he or she maintains securities accounts to provide on a timely basis
(within 30 days of each month end or calendar quarter, as applicable)
duplicate copies of confirmations of all personal securities transactions and periodic statements for all securities accounts to the Compliance Coordinator. The Compliance Coordinator shall date stamp all duplicate copies of personal securities transactions and account statements upon receipt.

C. Upon commencement of employment with a Fund or upon becoming an officer of a Fund, each Access Person shall disclose all personal securities holdings to the Compliance Coordinator both within 10 days after such person becomes an Access Person by and within 30 days of the end of each calendar year by submitting the form attached to this Code of Ethics as Exhibit A, and the information provided must be current as of a date no more than 45 days prior to the date such person becomes an Access Person.

D. Within 30 days following the end of each calendar year, each Access Person shall certify to the Funds that he or she has received, read and understands this Code of Ethics and any amendments thereto and recognizes that he or she is subject to it and that he or she has complied with the requirements of this Code of Ethics by submitting the form attached hereto as Exhibit B.

E. Any provision of this Code of Ethics requiring an Access Person or Investment Person to report securities transactions or securities positions to the Funds shall require the reporting of any transaction or position, in which such person has, acquires or disposes of any beneficial ownership interest.

F. The requirements of Section IV.B through IV.E shall be deemed to be complied with by any Access Person or Investment Person who complies with substantially similar requirements contained in the FTA and First Trust Portfolios L.P. Code of Ethics.

G. The requirements of Section III.A., Section III.B., Section
III.C., Section III.G., Section III.H., Section III.I. and Sections IV.B. through IV.E. shall not apply to any of the Independent Trustees of the Funds; provided, however, that if the Independent Trustee knew or, in the ordinary course of fulfilling his or her official duties as an Independent Trustee, should have known that during the 15-day period immediately before or after the Independent Trustee's transaction in a security, a Fund purchased or sold the security, or a Fund or its investment adviser considered purchasing or selling the security, the Independent Trustee shall submit a quarterly transaction report in accordance with Rule 17j-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended in the form of Exhibit D.

V. PRE-CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS

A. An Access Person may not purchase or sell, directly or indirectly, any security in which the Access Person has (or after such transaction would have) any beneficial ownership interest unless the Access Person obtains prior approval for the transaction from the Compliance Coordinator. Pre-clearance requests must be made on the date of the contemplated transaction, through the use of the pre-trade authorization function contained within FTA's automated pre-clearance system. Pre-clearance requests will be reviewed to determine whether the proposed transaction complies with this Code of Ethics, whether the security is restricted for employees and whether the proposed transaction raises any potential conflicts of interest or other issues. The Compliance Coordinator will communicate to the requesting Access Person its approval or denial of the proposed transaction via the automated pre-clearance system application or via e-mail. Any approval will remain in effect only until the end of the trading day on which the approval was granted. Access Persons must wait for approval before placing the order with their broker.

B. The Compliance Coordinator will maintain an electronic log of all pre-clearance requests and will record the approval or denial of each request contained in the log.

C. The requirements of Section V.A. shall be deemed to be complied with by any Access Person who complies with substantially similar requirements contained in the FTA and First Trust Portfolios L.P. Code of Ethics.

D. The requirements of Section V. shall not apply to any of the Independent Trustees of the Funds.

VI. APPROVED BROKER LIST

A. With respect to all personal securities transactions, each Access Person shall maintain an account only with a broker, dealer or bank that is on the Funds' approved broker list attached as Exhibit C hereto (the "Approved Broker List"). The Approved Broker List shall be maintained by the Compliance Coordinator and may be amended at any time at the discretion of the Compliance Coordinator.

B. The requirements of Section VI.A. shall be deemed to be complied with by any Access Person who complies with substantially similar requirements contained in the FTA and First Trust Portfolios L.P. Code of Ethics.

C. The requirements of Section VI. shall not apply to any of the Independent Trustees of the Funds.

VII. EXEMPTIONS

1. The following shall be exempted from the Prohibited Practices of
Section III.C., III.D. and III.H. and the Compliance Procedures and Reporting Requirements set forth in Section IV; provided, however, that transactions included in Section VII.A.5 must be included in the initial and annual holdings reports submitted pursuant to Section IV.C.; and provided further that the names of any and all brokers, dealers or banks with which an Access Person maintains accounts in which ANY SECURITIES ARE HELD for the Access Person's direct or indirect benefit must be disclosed in the initial and annual holdings reports submitted pursuant to Section IV.C.:

A. Direct obligations of the Government of the United States.

B. Bankers' acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, commercial paper and high quality short-term debt instruments, including repurchase agreements.

C. Shares issued by money market funds.

D. Shares issued by open-end investment companies other than the Funds and exchange-traded funds ("ETFs").

E. Transactions effected pursuant to an automatic investment plan, including dividend reinvestment plans.

2. The following shall be exempted from the Prohibited Practices of
Section III.C., III.D. and III.H., BUT NOT FROM THE COMPLIANCE PROCEDURES AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS SET FORTH IN SECTION IV. ABOVE:

A. The purchase or sale of shares of issuers whose shares are traded on a national or foreign securities exchange and which have a market capitalization of at least $2 billion at the time of the transaction.

B. With respect to the purchase or sale of shares of issuers who have a market capitalization of less than $2 billion, the purchase or sale of shares in a single round-lot transaction of 100 shares, or odd-lot transactions of less than 100 shares, when the aggregate number of shares of such securities purchased or sold on a given day does not exceed 100 shares.

C. Purchases or sales of a security on behalf of an Investment Person or an Access Person within a discretionary account when ALL investment decisions are made by a person or entity who is UNRELATED to

the Investment Person or Access Person and such discretionary account has been approved in advance by the Funds' Compliance Coordinator. A copy of the executed investment management agreement must also be provided to the Funds' Compliance Coordinator. If such discretionary account is not approved by the Funds' Compliance Coordinator the Investment Person or Access Person, as the case may be, is prohibited from maintaining the discretionary account regardless of whether the Investment Person or Access Person is seeking exemption from the Prohibited Practices of
Section III.C. and III.D.

D. Purchases or sales of shares of ETFs.

E. Unit investment trusts.

F. Sales of shares of distressed issuers (i.e., imminent bankruptcy) whose shares are traded on a national or foreign securities exchange and which had a market capitalization of at least $2 billion at the time of the acquisition so long as such transaction is approved in advance by the Compliance Coordinator. Such approval may be withheld at the discretion of the Compliance Coordinator.

3. The following shall be exempted from the Pre-Clearance Requirements of
Section V.:

A. Direct obligations of the Government of the United States.

B. Bankers' acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, commercial paper and high quality short-term debt instruments, including repurchase agreements.

C. Shares issued by money market funds.

D. Shares issued by open-end investment companies other than the Funds and ETFs.

E. Unit investment trusts.

F. Transactions effected pursuant to an automatic investment plan, including dividend reinvestment plans.

G. Purchases or sales of a security on behalf of an Investment Person or an Access Person within a discretionary account when ALL investment decisions are made by a person or entity who is UNRELATED to the Investment Person or Access Person and such discretionary account has been approved in advance by the Funds' Compliance Coordinator. A copy of the executed investment management agreement must also be provided to the Funds' Compliance Coordinator. If such discretionary account is not approved by the Funds' Compliance Coordinator the Investment Person or Access Person, as the case may be, is prohibited from maintaining the discretionary account regardless of whether the Investment Person or Access Person is seeking exemption from the Prohibited Practices of
Section V.

4. The following shall be exempted from the Approved Broker List Requirements of Section VI.:

A. Discretionary accounts where ALL investment decisions are made by a person or entity who is UNRELATED to the Investment Person or Access Person and such discretionary account has been approved in advance by the Funds' Compliance Coordinator. A copy of the executed investment management agreement must also be provided to the Funds' Compliance Coordinator. If such discretionary account is not approved by the Funds' Compliance Coordinator the Investment Person or Access Person, as the case may be, is prohibited from maintaining the discretionary account.

B. Brokerage accounts where the only securities contained in such account are (i) direct obligations of the Government of the United States,
(ii) bankers' acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, commercial paper and high quality short-term debt instruments, including repurchase agreements, (iii) shares issued by money market funds, and/or (iv) shares issued by open-end investment companies but not the Funds and ETFs.

C. Brokerage accounts required by law or company policy to be maintained at a broker, dealer or bank not contained on the Approved Broker List; provided, however, all discretionary accounts must comply with the provisions contained in Section VII.D.1.

VI. SANCTIONS

Upon discovery of a violation of this Code of Ethics, including either violations of the enumerated provisions or the general principles provided, the Funds may impose such sanctions as deemed appropriate, including, inter alia, a fine, letter of censure or suspension or termination of the employment of the violator. In addition, any profits realized on transactions prohibited by this Code of Ethics shall be disgorged.

Amended: June 13, 2005
Amended: December 31, 2008
Amended: March 22, 2010
Amended: September 16, 2013
Amended: October 30, 2013

EXHIBIT A

CODE OF ETHICS
ACCESS/INVESTMENT PERSON
SECURITIES HOLDINGS REPORT

Name of Access/Investment Person: ______________________________________________

Date: _______________

[_] I hereby certify that as of _______________, I had a beneficial ownership interest in no securities other than those set forth below.

ISSUER # OF SHARES/PRINCIPAL AMOUNT MARKET VALUE

OR

[_] I hereby certify that as of _______________, I had a beneficial ownership interest in no securities other than those set forth on the attached brokerage account statements.

OR

[_] I hereby certify that as of _______________, I had a beneficial interest in no securities.

As of ______________, I maintained accounts where securities are held for my direct or indirect benefit at the following brokers, dealers or banks:

EXHIBIT B

ACCESS/INVESTMENT PERSON
CODE OF ETHICS CERTIFICATION

I, ____________________, hereby certify that I have received, read, and understand the Code of Ethics for the Funds dated October 30, 2013. I recognized that I am subject to this Code of Ethics. Furthermore, I certify that (i) I have complied during the preceding year with the provisions of the Code of Ethics in effect during such time period, (ii) I have disclosed or reported all personal securities transactions required to be disclosed or reported pursuant to the requirements of the Code of Ethics in effect during such time period, (iii) I will comply with the provisions of the Code of Ethics dated October 30, 2013, as may be amended from time to time, during the next twelve months and (iv) I will disclose or report all personal securities transactions required to be disclosed or reported pursuant to the requirements of the Code of Ethics dated October 30, 2013, as may be amended from time to time, during the next twelve months.

Date: _______________

EXHIBIT C

APPROVED BROKER LIST

TO BE MAINTAINED BY THE COMPLIANCE COORDINATOR

EXHIBIT D

QUARTERLY TRANSACTION REPORT

Name: __________________________________________________________________________

Date: _______________

[_] I hereby certify that during the calendar quarter ended _________________, I had a beneficial ownership interest in the following securities transactions:

TYPE OF TYPE OF # OF SHARES/
TRANSACTION SECURITY ISSUER PRINCIPAL AMOUNT $ AMOUNT

OR

[_] I hereby certify that during the calendar quarter ended _________________, I had a beneficial ownership interest in no securities transactions other than those set forth on the attached brokerage account confirmations.

OR

[_] I hereby certify that during the calendar quarter ended _________________, I had a beneficial ownership interest in no securities transactions.