UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM N-Q

             QUARTERLY SCHEDULE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS OF REGISTERED
                         MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY

                  Investment Company Act file number 811-22039
                                                    -----------

         First Trust Specialty Finance and Financial Opportunities Fund
        ----------------------------------------------------------------
               (Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)


                       120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400
                               Wheaton, IL 60187
        ----------------------------------------------------------------
              (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)


                             W. Scott Jardine, Esq.
                          First Trust Portfolios L.P.
                       120 East Liberty Drive, Suite 400
                               Wheaton, IL 60187
        ----------------------------------------------------------------
                    (Name and address of agent for service)


        Registrant's telephone number, including area code: 630-765-8000
                                                           --------------

                      Date of fiscal year end: November 30
                                              -------------

                  Date of reporting period: August 31, 2014
                                           -------------------

Form N-Q is to be used by management investment companies, other than small
business investment companies registered on Form N-5 (ss.ss. 239.24 and 274.5 of
this chapter), to file reports with the Commission, not later than 60 days after
the close of the first and third fiscal quarters, pursuant to rule 30b1-5 under
the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR 270.30b1-5). The Commission may use
the information provided on Form N-Q in its regulatory, disclosure review,
inspection, and policymaking roles.

A registrant is required to disclose the information specified by Form N-Q, and
the Commission will make this information public. A registrant is not required
to respond to the collection of information contained in Form N-Q unless the
Form displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget ("OMB") control
number. Please direct comments concerning the accuracy of the information
collection burden estimate and any suggestions for reducing the burden to the
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC
20549. The OMB has reviewed this collection of information under the clearance
requirements of 44 U.S.C. ss. 3507.



ITEM 1. SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS. The Schedule(s) of Investments is attached
herewith.



FIRST TRUST SPECIALTY FINANCE AND FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES FUND (FGB)
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS
AUGUST 31, 2014 (UNAUDITED)




     SHARES                                     DESCRIPTION                                    VALUE
---------------  --------------------------------------------------------------------     ----------------

COMMON STOCKS - BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COMPANIES - 100.6%

                                                                                    
                 CAPITAL MARKETS - 100.3%
        191,700  American Capital Ltd. (a)...........................................     $     2,969,433
         10,000  American Capital Senior Floating Ltd. ..............................             139,900
        420,408  Apollo Investment Corp. (b).........................................           3,686,978
        740,971  Ares Capital Corp. (b)..............................................          12,707,653
        224,420  BlackRock Kelso Capital Corp. (b)...................................           2,098,327
         46,088  CM Finance, Inc ....................................................             639,701
         67,000  Fifth Street Finance Corp. (b)......................................             658,610
         44,000  FS Investment Corp .................................................             462,000
        300,000  Gladstone Capital Corp. (b).........................................           2,907,000
        183,333  Gladstone Investment Corp. (b)......................................           1,407,997
        512,017  Golub Capital BDC, Inc. (b).........................................           9,057,581
          8,699  Harvest Capital Credit Corp. .......................................             121,264
        463,198  Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc. (b)........................           7,082,297
        215,523  Horizon Technology Finance Corp. (b)................................           3,060,427
        340,472  KCAP Financial, Inc. (b)............................................           2,812,299
         38,798  Main Street Capital Corp. (b).......................................           1,263,263
        267,286  MCG Capital Corp. (b)...............................................           1,058,453
        250,353  Medallion Financial Corp. (b).......................................           3,029,271
        545,561  Medley Capital Corp. (b)............................................           6,994,092
          5,000  Monroe Capital Corp. ...............................................              69,300
        200,496  MVC Capital, Inc. (b)...............................................           2,518,230
        473,664  New Mountain Finance Corp. (b)......................................           7,289,689
        300,000  NGP Capital Resources Co. (b).......................................           1,833,000
        142,084  OFS Capital Corp. (b)...............................................           1,818,675
        149,965  PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Ltd. (b)..........................           2,114,507
        657,112  PennantPark Investment Corp. (b)....................................           7,819,633
         14,936  Saratoga Investment Corp. ..........................................             241,067
        295,709  Solar Capital Ltd. (b)..............................................           5,914,180
         53,031  Solar Senior Capital Ltd. (b).......................................             843,193
        127,062  Stellus Capital Investment Corp. (b)................................           1,832,234
        407,728  TCP Capital Corp. (b)...............................................           7,188,245
        521,618  THL Credit, Inc. (b)................................................           7,427,840
        104,903  TICC Capital Corp. (b)..............................................           1,025,951
        176,601  Triangle Capital Corp. (b)..........................................           4,852,996
        178,752  TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. ...............................           2,774,231
                                                                                          ---------------
                                                                                              117,719,517
                                                                                          ---------------

                 DIVERSIFIED FINANCIAL SERVICES - 0.3%
         19,823  TPG Specialty Lending, Inc. ........................................             350,074
                                                                                          ---------------
                 TOTAL COMMON STOCKS - BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COMPANIES ...............         118,069,591
                 (Cost $114,712,233)                                                      ---------------

COMMON STOCKS - 16.7%

                 CAPITAL MARKETS - 3.9%
         73,767  Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (a).....................................           1,445,833
        122,000  Stonecastle Financial Corp. ........................................           3,086,600
                                                                                          ---------------
                                                                                                4,532,433
                                                                                          ---------------



             See Notes to Quarterly Portfolio of Investments              Page 1





FIRST TRUST SPECIALTY FINANCE AND FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES FUND (FGB)
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED)
AUGUST 31, 2014 (UNAUDITED)




 SHARES/UNITS                                   DESCRIPTION                                    VALUE
---------------  --------------------------------------------------------------------     ---------------
COMMON STOCKS (CONTINUED)

                                                                                    
                 REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS - 12.8%
        367,500  Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (b).................................     $     4,373,250
         20,000  Ares Commercial Real Estate Corp. ..................................             251,800
        696,880  CYS Investments, Inc. (b)...........................................           6,571,578
        194,282  Hatteras Financial Corp. (b)........................................           3,866,212
                                                                                          ---------------
                                                                                               15,062,840
                                                                                          ---------------
                 TOTAL COMMON STOCKS ................................................          19,595,273
                 (Cost $23,186,167)                                                       ---------------

MASTER LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS - 2.9%

                 DIVERSIFIED FINANCIAL SERVICES - 2.9%
        187,109  Compass Diversified Holdings (b)....................................           3,437,192
                                                                                          ---------------
                 TOTAL MASTER LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS ..................................           3,437,192
                 (Cost $564,284)                                                          ---------------

                 TOTAL INVESTMENTS - 120.2% .........................................         141,102,056
                 (Cost $138,462,684) (c)

                 OUTSTANDING LOAN - (21.3%) .........................................         (25,000,000)

                 NET OTHER ASSETS AND LIABILITIES - 1.1% ............................           1,336,073
                                                                                          ---------------
                 NET ASSETS - 100.0% ................................................     $   117,438,129
                                                                                          ===============



---------------------------------------
           (a)   Non-income producing security.

           (b)   All or a portion of this security serves as collateral on the
                 outstanding loan.

           (c)   Aggregate cost for financial reporting purposes, which
                 approximates the aggregate cost for federal income tax
                 purposes. As of August 31, 2014, the aggregate gross unrealized
                 appreciation for all securities in which there was an excess of
                 value over tax cost was $17,098,998 and the aggregate gross
                 unrealized depreciation for all securities in which there was
                 an excess of tax cost over value was $14,459,626.


Page 2          See Notes to Quarterly Portfolio of Investments





FIRST TRUST SPECIALTY FINANCE AND FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES FUND (FGB)
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED)
AUGUST 31,2014 (UNAUDITED)


---------------------------------------

VALUATION INPUTS

A summary of the inputs used to value the Fund's investments as of August 31,
2014 is as follows (see Note 2A - Portfolio Valuation in the Notes to Quarterly
Portfolio of Investments):



                                                                                      LEVEL 2          LEVEL 3
                                                        TOTAL        LEVEL 1        SIGNIFICANT      SIGNIFICANT
                                                      VALUE AT       QUOTED         OBSERVABLE       UNOBSERVABLE
INVESTMENTS                                           8/31/2014      PRICES           INPUTS            INPUTS
------------------------------------------------    -------------  -------------  ---------------  --------------
                                                                                       
Common Stocks - Business Development
  Companies*....................................  $  118,069,591   $ 118,069,591  $            --  $           --
Common Stocks*..................................      19,595,273      19,595,273               --              --
Master Limited Partnerships*....................       3,437,192       3,437,192               --              --
                                                  --------------   -------------  ---------------  --------------
Total Investments...............................  $  141,102,056   $ 141,102,056  $            --  $           --
                                                  ==============   =============  ===============  ==============



* See Portfolio of Investments for industry breakout.


All transfers in and out of the Levels during the period are assumed to be
transferred on the last day of the period at their current value. There were no
transfers between Levels at August 31, 2014.


           See Notes to Quarterly Portfolio of Investments                Page 3





NOTES TO QUARTERLY PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS

      FIRST TRUST SPECIALTY FINANCE AND FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES FUND (FGB)
                          AUGUST 31, 2014 (UNAUDITED)


First Trust Specialty Finance and Financial Opportunities Fund (the "Fund") is a
non-diversified, closed-end management investment company organized as a
Massachusetts business trust on March 20, 2007, and is registered with the
Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as
amended (the "1940 Act"). The Fund trades under the ticker symbol "FGB" on the
New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE").

A. PORTFOLIO VALUATION

The net asset value ("NAV") of the Common Shares of the Fund is determined daily
as of the close of regular trading on the NYSE, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time,
on each day the NYSE is open for trading. If the NYSE closes early on a
valuation day, the NAV is determined as of that time. Foreign securities are
priced using data reflecting the earlier closing of the principal markets for
those securities. The NAV per Common Share is calculated by dividing the value
of all assets of the Fund (including accrued interest and dividends), less all
liabilities (including accrued expenses, dividends declared but unpaid, and any
borrowings of the Fund) by the total number of Common Shares outstanding.

The Fund's investments are valued daily at market value or, in absence of market
value with respect to any portfolio securities, at fair value. Market value
prices represent last sale or official closing prices from a national or foreign
exchange (i.e. a regulated market) and are primarily obtained from third party
pricing services. Fair value prices represent any prices not considered market
value prices and are either obtained from a third party pricing service, or are
determined by First Trust Advisors L.P.'s (the "Advisor") Pricing Committee in
accordance with valuation procedures adopted by the Fund's Board of Trustees,
and in accordance with provisions of the 1940 Act. Investments valued by the
Advisor's Pricing Committee are footnoted as such in the footnotes to the
Portfolio of Investments. The Fund's investments are valued as follows:

      Common stocks, master limited partnerships and other equity securities
      listed on any national or foreign exchange (excluding The NASDAQ(R) Stock
      Market LLC ("NASDAQ") and the London Stock Exchange Alternative Investment
      Market ("AIM")) are valued at the last sale price on the exchange on which
      they are principally traded or, for NASDAQ and AIM securities, the
      official closing price. Securities traded on one or more than one
      securities exchange are valued at the last sale price or official closing
      price, as applicable, at the close of the securities exchange representing
      the principal market for such securities.

      Securities traded in an over-the-counter market are fair valued at the
      mean of their most recent bid and asked price, if available, and otherwise
      at their closing bid price.

      Short-term investments that mature in less than 60 days when purchased are
      fair valued at amortized cost.

Certain securities may not be able to be priced by pre-established pricing
methods. Such securities may be valued by the Fund's Board of Trustees or its
delegate at fair value. These securities generally include, but are not limited
to, restricted securities (securities which may not be publicly sold without
registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended) for which a pricing
service is unable to provide a market price; securities whose trading has been
formally suspended; a security whose market or fair value price is not available
from a pre-established pricing source; a security with respect to which an event
has occurred that is likely to materially affect the value of the security after
the market has closed but before the calculation of the Fund's NAV or make it
difficult or impossible to obtain a reliable market quotation; and a security
whose price, as provided by the pricing service, does not reflect the security's
"fair value." As a general principle, the current "fair value" of a security
would appear to be the amount which the owner might reasonably expect to receive
for the security upon its current sale. When fair value prices are used,
generally they will differ from market quotations or official closing prices on
the applicable exchanges. A variety of factors may be considered in determining
the fair value of such securities, including, but not limited to, the following:

           1)    the type of security;

           2)    the size of the holding;

           3)    the initial cost of the security;

           4)    transactions in comparable securities;

           5)    price quotes from dealers and/or pricing services;

           6)    relationships among various securities;

           7)    information obtained by contacting the issuer, analysts, or the
                 appropriate stock exchange;

           8)    an analysis of the issuer's financial statements; and

           9)    the existence of merger proposals or tender offers that might
                 affect the value of the security.

If the securities in question are foreign securities, the following additional
information may be considered:

           1)    the value of similar foreign securities traded on other foreign
                 markets;

           2)    ADR trading of similar securities;

           3)    closed-end fund trading of similar securities;

           4)    foreign currency exchange activity;

           5)    the trading prices of financial products that are tied to
                 baskets of foreign securities;


Page 4




NOTES TO QUARTERLY PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS - (CONTINUED)

      FIRST TRUST SPECIALTY FINANCE AND FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES FUND(FGB)
                         AUGUST 31, 2014 (UNAUDITED)


           6)    factors relating to the event that precipitated the pricing
                 problem;

           7)    whether the event is likely to recur; and

           8)    whether the effects of the event are isolated or whether they
                 affect entire markets, countries or regions.


The Fund is subject to fair value accounting standards that define fair value,
establish the framework for measuring fair value and provide a three-level
hierarchy for fair valuation based upon the inputs to the valuation as of the
measurement date. The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are as follows:

           o     Level 1 - Level 1 inputs are quoted prices in active markets
                 for identical investments. An active market is a market in
                 which transactions for the investment occur with sufficient
                 frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an
                 ongoing basis.

           o     Level 2 - Level 2 inputs are observable inputs, either directly
                 or indirectly, and include the following:

                  o     Quoted prices for similar investments in active markets.

                  o     Quoted prices for identical or similar investments in
                        markets that are non-active. A non-active market is a
                        market where there are few transactions for the
                        investment, the prices are not current, or price
                        quotations vary substantially either over time or among
                        market makers, or in which little information is
                        released publicly.

                  o     Inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for
                        the investment (for example, interest rates and yield
                        curves observable at commonly quoted intervals,
                        volatilities, prepayment speeds, loss severities, credit
                        risks, and default rates).

                  o     Inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated
                        by observable market data by correlation or other means.

           o     Level 3 - Level 3 inputs are unobservable inputs. Unobservable
                 inputs may reflect the reporting entity's own assumptions about
                 the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing
                 the investment.

The inputs or methodology used for valuing investments are not necessarily an
indication of the risk associated with investing in those investments. A summary
of the inputs used to value the Fund's investments as of August 31, 2014, is
included with the Fund's Portfolio of Investments.

B. SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS:

Securities transactions are recorded as of the trade date. Realized gains and
losses from securities transactions are recorded on the identified cost basis.


                                                                          Page 5






ITEM 2. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.

   (a) The registrant's principal executive and principal financial officers, or
       persons performing similar functions, have concluded that the
       registrant's disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule
       30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940
       Act") (17 CFR 270.30a-3(c))) are effective, as of a date within 90 days
       of the filing date of the report that includes the disclosure required by
       this paragraph, based on their evaluation of these controls and
       procedures required by Rule 30a-3(b) under the 1940 Act (17 CFR
       270.30a-3(b)) and Rules 13a-15(b) or 15d-15(b) under the Securities
       Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (17 CFR 240.13a-15(b) or 240.15d-15(b)).

   (b) There were no changes in the registrant's internal control over financial
       reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the 1940 Act (17 CFR
       270.30a-3(d)) that occurred during the registrant's last fiscal quarter
       that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially
       affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

ITEM 3. EXHIBITS.

Certifications pursuant to Rule 30a-2(a) under the 1940 Act and Section 302 of
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 are attached hereto.





                                   SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the
Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be
signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

(Registrant)  First Trust Specialty Finance and Financial Opportunities Fund
             ----------------------------------------------------------------

By (Signature and Title)*               /s/ Mark R. Bradley
                                        ----------------------------------------
                                        Mark R. Bradley
                                        President and Chief Executive Officer
                                        (principal executive officer)

Date: October 24, 2014
     ------------------------


Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the
Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the
following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the
dates indicated.

By (Signature and Title)*               /s/ Mark R. Bradley
                                        ----------------------------------------
                                        Mark R. Bradley
                                        President and Chief Executive Officer
                                        (principal executive officer)

Date: October 24, 2014
     ------------------------


By (Signature and Title)*               /s/ James M. Dykas
                                        ----------------------------------------
                                        James M. Dykas
                                        Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer and
                                        Chief Accounting Officer
                                        (principal financial officer)

Date: October 24, 2014
     ------------------------

*Print the name and title of each signing officer under his or her signature.