First Trust is taking steps to launch two actively managed international ETFs, joining the parade of companies looking to enter the ETF market.

According to a new prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the new funds will be:

• First Trust Developed International Markets AlphaDEX Fund
• First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund

The naming convention may confuse investors familiar with First Trust's broader ETF portfolio.  The company offers a series of ETFs under the "AlphaDEX" banner that track quantitatively driven indexes. These new funds, however, will not hew to any particular index, but rather follow an active strategy driven "primarily" by a quantitative process.

The developed markets fund will invest in the U.S., Japan, Hong Kong, Western Europe, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, among other countries. Some 300 securities will comprise the portfolio, which will be rebalanced quarterly.

For the emerging markets basket, 150 names will be picked, and First Trust will determine what countries warrant representation in the portfolio based on growth and value factors, as well as liquidity.

First Trust Advisors will be the adviser for the funds.

You can read the prospectus here.