First Trust Mortgage Income Fund Decreases its Monthly Common Share Distribution to $0.075 Per Share for March

First Trust Mortgage Income Fund (the “Fund”) (NYSE: FMY) has decreased its regularly scheduled monthly common share distribution to $0.075 per share from $0.085 per share. The distribution is payable on March 15, 2016, to shareholders of record as of March 3, 2016. The ex-dividend date is expected to be March 1, 2016. The monthly distribution information for the Fund appears below.

The majority, and possibly all, of this distribution will be paid out of net investment income earned by the Fund. A portion of this distribution may come from net short-term realized capital gains or return of capital. The final determination of the source and tax status of all distributions paid in 2016 will be made after the end of 2016.

As a result of the continued low interest rate environment and the Fund holding a majority of its assets in higher credit quality investment grade securities, a reduction in the Fund’s monthly distribution is necessary. The Fund is positioned for low sensitivity to interest rates, which contributes to lower income in the short term but should support the net asset value in a higher interest rate environment.

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

First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund’s investment advisor, along with its affiliate, First Trust Portfolios L.P., are privately-held companies which provide a variety of investment services, including asset management and financial advisory services, with collective assets under management or supervision of approximately $93 billion as of January 31, 2016 through unit investment trusts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, mutual funds and separate managed accounts.

Brookfield Investment Management Inc. (“Brookfield”) serves as the Fund’s investment sub-advisor. Brookfield is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management, a global alternative asset manager with approximately $225 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2015. Brookfield Asset Management has over a 100-year history of owning and operating assets with a focus on property, renewable power, infrastructure and private equity. Brookfield Asset Management’s public market activities are conducted by Brookfield, a registered investment advisor, with nearly $17 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2015.

Past performance is no assurance of future results. Investment return and market value of an investment in the Fund will fluctuate. Shares, when sold, may be worth more or less than their original cost.

Principal Risk Factors: Investment in this Fund involves investment and market risk, management risk, credit risk, prepayment risk, reinvestment risk, interest rate risk, floating rate CMOs and inverse floating rate CMOs risk, bond market risk, economic sector risk, inflation risk, U.S. government securities risk, government agency risk, asset-backed securities risk, market discount risk, leverage risk, interest rate transactions risk, derivatives risk, market disruption risk, portfolio turnover risk, tax risk relating to investments in certain REMICs, and illiquid/restricted securities risk. The risks of investing in the Fund are spelled out in the shareholder reports and other regulatory filings.

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

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