Document
April 1, 2025
Global X PropTech ETF
NASDAQ: PTEC
2025 Summary Prospectus
Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund's Prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund's Prospectus and other information about the Fund (including the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information and most recent reports to shareholders) online at http://www.globalxetfs.com/funds/ptec. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-888-493-8631 or by sending an e-mail request to info@globalxetfs.com or from your financial intermediary. The Fund’s Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, both dated April 1, 2025, as amended and supplemented from time to time, are incorporated by reference into (legally made a part of) this Summary Prospectus.
Global X PropTech ETF
Ticker: PTEC Exchange: NASDAQ
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
The Global X PropTech ETF ("Fund") seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Global X PropTech Index ("Underlying Index").
FEES AND EXPENSES
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares (“Shares”) of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment):
| | | | | |
Management Fees: | 0.50% |
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees: | None |
Other Expenses: | 0.00% |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses: | 0.50% |
Example: The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. This example does not take into account customary brokerage commissions that you pay when purchasing or selling Shares of the Fund in the secondary market. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
| | | | | | | | | | | |
One Year | Three Years | Five Years | Ten Years |
$51 | $160 | $280 | $628 |
Portfolio Turnover: The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund's performance. For the most recent fiscal period, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 12.55% of the average value of its portfolio.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investments purposes (if any), in the securities of the Global X PropTech Index (the "Underlying Index"), which may include common stocks, American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs") and Global Depositary Receipts ("GDRs") based on the securities in the Underlying Index. The Fund's 80% investment policy is non-fundamental and requires 60 days prior written notice to shareholders before it can be changed.
The Underlying Index is owned and was developed by Global X Management Company LLC (the “Index Provider”), an affiliate of the Fund and the Fund's investment adviser (the “Adviser”). The Underlying Index is administered and calculated by Mirae Asset Global Indices Pvt. Ltd. (the “Index Administrator”), an affiliate of the Index Provider. The Underlying Index is designed to provide exposure to property technology (“PropTech”) companies that are positioned to benefit from technology that optimizes the way people buy, sell, rent, design, construct, manage, and research/market residential and commercial properties. Specifically, the Underlying Index consists of securities issued by “PropTech Companies”, as determined by the Index Administrator. “PropTech Companies” are those companies that derive at least 50% of their revenues from one or more of the following business activities in aggregate, as determined by the Index Administrator:
•Property Management: Companies that provide software and/or information technology services to facilitate the management of commercial and residential real estate, including home automation, smart security systems, tenant management and energy management/monitoring. This also includes insurance and construction process management.
•Marketplace and Platforms: Companies that operate online marketplaces and platforms that facilitate the purchase, sale, rental, shared workspace, discovery and/or financing of real estate.
•Research and Analytics: Companies that utilize software, data, artificial intelligence, machine learning, spatial recognition and/or other information technology to provide real estate research and analytics. This includes companies that provide virtual and augmented reality solutions to the real estate sector.
In constructing the Underlying Index, the Index Administrator first identifies FactSet Industries related to PropTech. FactSet is a leading financial data provider that maintains a comprehensive structured taxonomy designed to offer precise classification of global companies and their individual business units. Companies within these FactSet Industries, as of the selection date, are further reviewed by the Index Administrator on the basis of revenue related to PropTech, as defined above.
To be a part of the eligible universe of the Underlying Index, certain minimum market capitalization and liquidity criteria, as defined by the Index Administrator, must be met. As of January 31, 2025, companies must have a minimum market capitalization of $200 million and a minimum average daily turnover for the last 6 months greater than or equal to $2 million in order to be eligible for inclusion in the Underlying Index. As of January 31, 2025, companies listed in the following countries were eligible for inclusion in the Underlying Index: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, South Africa, South Korea, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The Underlying Index is weighted according to a modified capitalization weighting methodology and is reconstituted and re-weighted semi-annually. Modified capitalization weighting seeks to weight constituents primarily based on free float market capitalization, but subject to caps on the weights of the individual securities. During each rebalance, the maximum weight of a company is capped at 8%. Generally speaking, modified capitalization weighting will limit the amount of concentration in the largest market capitalization companies. The Underlying Index may include large-, mid- or small-capitalization companies, and components primarily include information technology companies. As of January 31, 2025, the Underlying Index had 32 constituents. The Fund's investment objective and Underlying Index may be changed without shareholder approval.
The Underlying Index is created and sponsored by the Index Provider. Any determinations related to the constituents of the Underlying Index are made by the Index Administrator and are independent of the Fund's portfolio managers. The Index Administrator determines the composition and relative weightings of the securities in the Underlying Index and publishes information regarding the market value of the Underlying Index.
The Adviser uses a "passive" or indexing approach to try to achieve the Fund's investment objective. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not try to outperform the Underlying Index and does not seek temporary defensive positions when markets decline or appear overvalued.
The Fund generally will use a replication strategy. A replication strategy is an indexing strategy that involves investing in the securities of the Underlying Index in approximately the same proportions as in the Underlying Index. However, the Fund may utilize a representative sampling strategy with respect to the Underlying Index when a replication strategy might be detrimental or disadvantageous to shareholders, such as when there are practical difficulties or substantial costs involved in compiling a portfolio of equity securities to replicate the Underlying Index, in instances in which a security in the Underlying Index becomes temporarily illiquid, unavailable or less liquid, or as a result of legal restrictions or limitations (such as tax diversification requirements) that apply to the Fund but not the Underlying Index.
The Adviser expects that, over time, the correlation between the Fund's performance and that of the Underlying Index, before fees and expenses, will exceed 95%. A correlation percentage of 100% would indicate perfect correlation. If the Fund uses a replication strategy, it can be expected to have greater correlation to the Underlying Index than if it uses a representative sampling strategy.
The Fund concentrates its investments (i.e., holds 25% or more of its total assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that the Underlying Index is concentrated. As of January 31, 2025, the Underlying Index was concentrated in the real estate management and development and software industries and had significant exposure to the information technology and real
estate sectors. The Fund is classified as “non-diversified,” which means it may invest a larger percentage of its assets in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund.
SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL RISKS
As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund, and the Fund's performance could trail that of other investments. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and it is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency, the Adviser or any of its affiliates. The Fund is subject to the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value ("NAV"), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective, as well as other risks that are described in greater detail in the Additional Information About the Fund section of this Prospectus and in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").
Affiliated Index Provider Risk: The Adviser also serves as the Fund’s Index Provider, which may present the appearance of a conflict of interest. For example, a potential conflict could arise if the Adviser were to exercise undue influence with respect to regular and/or extraordinary updates to the methodology or composition of the Underlying Index, including in a manner that might improve the apparent performance of the Fund relative to the performance of the Underlying Index. Additionally, potential conflicts could arise to the extent that portfolio managers of the Adviser become aware of contemplated methodology changes or rebalance activity prior to disclosure to the public, which could facilitate “front running” on behalf of other funds managed by the Adviser with similar exposure. Although the Adviser has taken steps designed to ensure that these potential conflicts are mitigated (e.g., via the adoption of policies and procedures that are designed to minimize potential conflicts of interest and ensure independence with respect to the operation of the Underlying Index, as well as the implementation of informational barriers designed to minimize the potential for the misuse of information about the Underlying Index), there can be no assurance that such measures will be successful.
Asset Class Risk: Securities and other assets in the Underlying Index or otherwise held in the Fund's portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general securities markets, a particular securities market or other asset classes.
Depositary Receipts Risk: The Fund may invest in depositary receipts, such as ADRs and GDRs. Depositary receipts may be subject to certain of the risks associated with direct investments in the securities of foreign companies. For additional details on these risks, please see Foreign Securities Risk. Moreover, depositary receipts may not track the price of the underlying foreign securities on which they are based. A holder of depositary receipts may also be subject to fees and the credit risk of the financial institution acting as depositary.
Equity Securities Risk: Equity securities are subject to changes in value, and their values may be more volatile than other asset classes, as a result of such factors as a company’s business performance, investor perceptions, stock market trends and general economic conditions.
Associated Risks Related to Investing in PropTech Companies: PropTech companies are primarily exposed to the risks specific to the technology and real estate markets. PropTech companies may be significantly affected by changes in government spending or regulation, zoning laws, interest rates, taxation, and real estate market trends. PropTech companies typically engage in significant amounts of spending on research and development and could face intense competition and potentially rapid product obsolescence. They are also heavily dependent on intellectual property rights and may be adversely affected by loss or impairment of those rights. There can be no assurance these companies will be able to successfully protect their intellectual property to prevent the misappropriation of their technology, or that competitors will not develop technology that is substantially similar or superior to such companies’ technology. Similarly, the collection of data from consumers and other sources could face increased scrutiny as regulators consider how the data is collected, stored, safeguarded and used. PropTech companies may be concentrated in a particular country or region, and any adverse event affecting one of these countries or regions could have a negative impact on PropTech companies.
Capitalization Risk: Investing in issuers within the same market capitalization category carries the risk that the category may be out of favor due to current market conditions or investor sentiment.
Large-Capitalization Companies Risk: Large-capitalization companies may trail the returns of the overall stock market. Large-capitalization stocks tend to go through cycles of doing better - or worse - than the stock market in general. These periods have, in the past, lasted for as long as several years.
Mid-Capitalization Companies Risk: Mid-capitalization companies may have greater price volatility, lower trading volume and less liquidity than large-capitalization companies. In addition, mid-capitalization companies may have smaller revenues, narrower
product lines, less management depth and experience, smaller shares of their product or service markets, fewer financial resources and less competitive strength than large-capitalization companies.
Small-Capitalization Companies Risk: Compared to mid- and large-capitalization companies, small-capitalization companies may be less stable and more susceptible to adverse developments, and their securities may be more volatile and less liquid.
Currency Risk: The Fund may invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies. Because the Fund's NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund's NAV could decline if currencies of the underlying securities depreciate against the U.S. dollar or if there are delays or limits on repatriation of such currencies. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the Fund's NAV may change quickly and without warning, which could have a significant negative impact on the Fund. Additionally, the Chinese government heavily regulates the domestic exchange of foreign currencies and yuan exchange rates in China, which may adversely affect the operations and financial results of the Fund’s investments in China. Shares purchased through the Stock Connect Programs will be purchased using offshore yuan, the value of which may differ from and experience greater volatility than the value of onshore yuan. Offshore yuan cannot be freely remitted into or transferred out of China, and there is no assurance that there will always be sufficient amounts of offshore yuan available for the Fund to invest in all components of the Underlying Index.
Custody Risk: The Fund may hold foreign securities and cash with foreign banks, agents, and securities depositories appointed by the Fund's custodian. Investments in emerging markets may be subject to even greater custody risks than investments in more developed markets. Less developed markets are more likely to experience problems with the clearing and settling of trades and the holding of securities by local banks, agents and depositories.
Cybersecurity Risk: With the increased use of technologies such as the Internet to conduct business, the Fund, like all companies, may be susceptible to operational, information security and related risks. Cybersecurity incidents involving the Fund and its service providers (including, without limitation, the Adviser, fund accountant, custodian, transfer agent and financial intermediaries) have the ability to cause disruptions and impact business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses, impediments to trading, the inability of Fund shareholders to transact business, violations of applicable privacy and other laws, regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, and/or additional compliance costs. Similar adverse consequences could result from cybersecurity incidents affecting issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, counterparties with which the Fund engages, governmental and other regulatory authorities, exchanges and other financial market operators, banks, brokers, dealers, insurance companies, other financial institutions and other parties. The Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result.
Focus Risk: To the extent that the Underlying Index focuses in investments related to a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund will also focus its investments to approximately the same extent. Similarly, if the Underlying Index has significant exposure to one or more sectors, the Fund’s investments will likely have significant exposure to such sectors. In such event, the Fund’s performance will be particularly susceptible to adverse events impacting such industry or sector, which may include, but are not limited to, the following: general economic conditions or cyclical market patterns that could negatively affect supply and demand; competition for resources; adverse labor relations; political or world events; obsolescence of technologies; and increased competition or new product introductions that may affect the profitability or viability of companies in a particular industry or sector. As a result, the value of the Fund’s investments may rise and fall more than the value of shares of a fund that invests in securities of companies in a broader range of industries or sectors.
Risks Related to Investing in the Information Technology Sector: Companies in the information technology sector are subject to rapid changes in technology product cycles; rapid product obsolescence; government regulation; and increased competition, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology tend to be more volatile than the overall market and also are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights. In addition, information technology companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel.
Risks Related to Investing in the Real Estate Management and Development Industry: Companies in the real estate management and development industry are typically impacted by general global economic conditions, including include short-term and long-term interest rates, inflation, fluctuations in debt and equity capital markets, levels of unemployment, consumer confidence and the general condition of the U.S. and the global economy. Such companies may also often be concentrated in certain geographic markets, and any disruptions in those real estate markets could harm the company’s business.
Risks Related to Investing in the Real Estate Sector: The real estate sector includes real estate companies focused on commercial and residential real estate development, sales, operations, and services, as well as real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). Real estate is highly sensitive to general and local economic conditions and developments and characterized by intense
competition and periodic overbuilding. Many real estate companies utilize leverage (and some may be highly leveraged), which increases risk and could adversely affect a real estate company's operations and market value in periods of rising interest rates.
Risks Related to Investing in the Software Industry: The software industry can be significantly affected by intense competition, aggressive pricing, technological innovations, and product obsolescence. Companies in the application software industry, in particular, may also be negatively affected by the decline or fluctuation of subscription renewal rates for their products and services, which may have an adverse effect on profit margins. Companies in the systems software industry may be adversely affected by, among other things, actual or perceived security vulnerabilities in their products and services, which may result in individual or class action lawsuits, state or federal enforcement actions and other remediation costs.
Foreign Securities Risk: The Fund may invest, within U.S. regulations, in foreign securities. The Fund's investments in foreign securities can be riskier than U.S. securities investments. Investments in the securities of foreign issuers (including investments in American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”)) are subject to the risks associated with investing in those foreign markets, such as heightened risks of inflation or nationalization. The prices of foreign securities and the prices of U.S. securities have, at times, moved in opposite directions. In addition, securities of foreign issuers may lose value due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market. During periods of social, political or economic instability in a country or region, the value of a foreign security traded on U.S. exchanges could be affected by, among other factors, increasing price volatility, illiquidity, or the closure of the primary market on which the security (or the security underlying the ADR or GDR) is traded. The Fund may lose money due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market. Where all or a portion of the Fund's underlying securities trade in a market that is closed when the market in which the Fund's Shares are listed and trading is open, there may be differences between the last quote from the security’s closed foreign market and the value of the security during the Fund’s domestic trading day. This, in turn, could lead to differences between the market price of the Fund’s Shares and the underlying value of those shares.
Geographic Risk: A natural, biological or other disaster could occur in a geographic region in which the Fund invests, which could affect the economy or particular business operations of companies in the specific geographic region, causing an adverse impact on the Fund’s investments in the affected region or in a region economically tied to the affected region. The securities in which the Fund invests and, consequently, the Fund are also subject to specific risks as a result of their business operations, including, but not limited to:
Risk of Investing in China: Investment exposure to China subjects the Fund to risks specific to China.
Economic, Political and Social Risk
China may be subject to considerable degrees of economic, political and social instability. Concerns about the rising government and household debt levels could impact the stability of the Chinese economy. China is an emerging market and demonstrates significantly higher volatility from time to time in comparison to developed markets. Over the last few decades, the Chinese government has undertaken reform of economic and market practices, including recent reforms to liberalize its capital markets and expand the sphere for private ownership of property in China. However, Chinese markets generally continue to experience inefficiency, volatility and pricing anomalies resulting from governmental influence, a lack of publicly available information and/or political and social instability. Chinese companies are also subject to the risk that Chinese authorities can intervene in their operations and structure. Internal social unrest or confrontations with other neighboring countries, including military conflicts in response to such events, may also disrupt economic development in China and result in a greater risk of currency fluctuations, currency convertibility, interest rate fluctuations and higher rates of inflation.
China has experienced major health crises. These health crises include, but are not limited to, the rapid and pandemic spread of novel viruses commonly known as SARS, MERS, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), and avian flu. Such health crises could exacerbate political, social, and economic risks previously mentioned.
Export growth continues to be a major driver of China’s rapid economic growth. Elevated trade tensions between China and its trading partners, including the imposition of U.S. tariffs on certain Chinese goods and increased international pressure related to Chinese trade policy and forced technology transfers and intellectual property protections, may have a substantial impact on the Chinese economy. Reduction in spending on Chinese products and services, institution of additional tariffs or other trade barriers (including as a result of heightened trade tensions between China and the U.S. or in response to actual or alleged Chinese cyber activity), or a downturn in any of the economies of China’s key trading partners may have an adverse impact on the Chinese economy. The continuation or worsening of the current political climate between China and the U.S. could result in additional regulatory or legal actions, such as purchasing restrictions, blacklisting, sanctions, tariffs, forced divestment or spin-offs, or other trade or business restrictions or controls, being contemplated or imposed in the U.S. or in China that could negatively impact the performance of companies held by the Fund and/or impact the Fund’s ability to invest in certain companies.
Security Risk
China has experienced security concerns, such as terrorism and strained international relations. Additionally, China is alleged to have participated in state-sponsored cyberattacks against foreign companies and foreign governments. Actual and threatened responses to such activity, including purchasing restrictions, sanctions, tariffs or cyberattacks on the Chinese government or Chinese companies, may impact China’s economy and Chinese issuers of securities in which the Fund invests. Incidents involving China’s or the region’s security, including the contagion of infectious viruses or diseases, may cause uncertainty in Chinese markets and may adversely affect the Chinese economy and the Fund’s investments.
Heavy Government Control and Regulation
Chinese companies, including Chinese companies that are listed on U.S. exchanges, are not subject to the same degree of regulatory requirements, accounting standards or auditor oversight as companies in more developed countries, and as a result, information about the Chinese securities in which the Fund invests may be less reliable or complete. There may be significant obstacles to obtaining information necessary for investigations into or litigation against Chinese companies and shareholders may have limited legal remedies. Investments in China may be subject to loss due to expropriation or nationalization of assets and property or the imposition of restrictions on foreign investments and repatriation of capital. Furthermore, government actions against leaders or other key figures within companies, or speculation about such actions, may lead to sudden and unpredictable falls in the value of securities within the Fund.
Tax Risk
China has implemented a number of tax reforms in recent years and may amend or revise its existing tax laws and/or procedures in the future, possibly with retroactive effect. Changes in applicable Chinese tax law could reduce the after-tax profits of the Fund, directly or indirectly, including by reducing the after-tax profits of companies in China in which the Fund invests. Uncertainties in Chinese tax rules could result in unexpected tax liabilities for the Fund. Should legislation limit U.S. investors’ ability to invest in specific Chinese companies through A-shares or other share class listings that are part of the underlying holdings, these shares may be excluded from Fund holdings.
Special Risk Considerations of Investing in China – Variable Interest Entity Investments
For purposes of raising capital offshore on exchanges outside of China, including on U.S. exchanges, many Chinese-based operating companies are structured as Variable Interest Entities (“VIEs”). In this structure, the Chinese-based operating company is the VIE and establishes a shell company in a foreign jurisdiction, such as the Cayman Islands. The shell company lists on a foreign exchange and enters into contractual arrangements with the VIE. This structure allows Chinese companies in which the Chinese government restricts foreign ownership to raise capital from foreign investors. While the shell company has no equity ownership of the VIE, these contractual arrangements permit the shell company to consolidate the VIE’s financial statements with its own for accounting purposes and provide for economic exposure to the performance of the underlying Chinese operating company. Therefore, an investor in the listed shell company, such as the Fund, will have exposure to the Chinese-based operating company only through contractual arrangements and has no ownership in the Chinese-based operating company. Furthermore, because the shell company only has specific rights provided for in these service agreements with the VIE, its abilities to control the activities at the Chinese-based operating company are limited and the operating company may engage in activities that negatively impact investment value.
While the VIE structure has been widely adopted, it is not formally recognized under Chinese law and therefore there is a risk that the Chinese government could prohibit the existence of such structures or negatively impact the VIE’s contractual arrangements with the listed shell company by making them invalid. If these contracts were found to be unenforceable under Chinese law, investors in the listed shell company, such as the Fund, may suffer significant losses with little or no recourse available. If the Chinese government determines that the agreements establishing the VIE structures do not comply with Chinese law and regulations, including those related to restrictions on foreign ownership, it could subject a Chinese-based issuer to penalties, revocation of business and operating licenses, or forfeiture of ownership interest. In addition, the listed shell company’s control over a VIE may also be jeopardized if a natural person who holds the equity interest in the VIE breaches the terms of the agreement, is subject to legal proceedings or if any physical instruments for authenticating documentation, such as chops and seals, are used without the Chinese-based issuer’s authorization to enter into contractual arrangements in China. Chops and seals, which are carved stamps used to sign documents, represent a legally binding commitment by the company. Moreover, any future regulatory action may prohibit the ability of the shell company to receive the economic benefits of the Chinese-based operating company, which may cause the value of the Fund’s investment in the listed shell company to suffer a significant loss. For example, in 2021, the Chinese government prohibited use of the VIE structure for investment in after-school tutoring companies. There is no guarantee that the Chinese government will not place similar restrictions on other industries.
Chinese equities that utilize the VIE structure to list in the U.S. as ADRs face the risk of regulatory action from U.S. authorities, including the risk of delisting. This will depend in part on whether U.S. regulatory authorities are satisfied with their access to mainland China and Hong Kong for the purpose of conducting inspections on the quality of audits for these companies. Although the U.S. and China reached an agreement in September 2022 to grant the U.S. access for such inspections, there is no guarantee
that the agreement will be enforced or that U.S. regulatory authorities will continue to feel satisfied with their access. As of January 31, 2025, the Fund had significant exposure to VIEs, as defined above.
Risk of Investing in Developed Markets: The Fund’s investment in a developed country issuer may subject the Fund to regulatory, political, currency, security, economic and other risks associated with developed countries. Developed countries tend to represent a significant portion of the global economy and have generally experienced slower economic growth than some less developed countries. Certain developed countries have experienced security concerns, such as terrorism and strained international relations. Incidents involving a country’s or region’s security may cause uncertainty in its markets and may adversely affect its economy and the Fund’s investments. In addition, developed countries may be impacted by changes to the economic conditions of certain key trading partners, regulatory burdens, debt burdens and the price or availability of certain commodities.
Risk of Investing in Emerging Markets: As of the date of this Prospectus, China is an emerging market country. Investments in emerging markets may be subject to a greater risk of loss than investments in developed markets. Securities markets of emerging market countries are less liquid, subject to greater price volatility, have smaller market capitalizations, have less government regulation, and are not subject to as extensive and frequent accounting, financial, and other reporting requirements as the securities markets of more developed countries, and there may be greater risk associated with the custody of securities in emerging markets. It may be difficult or impossible for the Fund to pursue claims against an emerging market issuer in the courts of an emerging market country. There may be significant obstacles to obtaining information necessary for investigations into or litigation against emerging market companies and shareholders may have limited legal rights and remedies. Emerging markets may be more likely to experience inflation, political turmoil and rapid changes in economic conditions than more developed markets. Emerging markets may also face other significant internal or external risks, including the risk of war, terrorism, or other social or political conflicts. Emerging market economies’ exposure to specific industries, such as tourism, and lack of efficient or sufficient health care systems, could make these economies especially vulnerable to global crises. Certain emerging market countries may have privatized, or have begun the process of privatizing, certain entities and industries. Privatized entities may lose money or be re-nationalized.
Risk of Investing in Germany: The Fund’s investment in German issuers subjects the Fund to legal, regulatory, political, currency, security, and economic risks specific to Germany. Ongoing concerns in relation to the economic health of the European Union (the “EU”) continue to constrain the economic resilience of certain EU member states, including Germany. Germany has an industrial and export dependent economy and therefore relies heavily on trade with key trading partners, including the Netherlands, China, the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, Italy and other European countries. Germany is dependent on the economies of these other countries, and a decline in the price or demand for German exports may have an adverse impact on its economy.
Risk of Investing in the United States: A decrease in imports or exports, changes in trade regulations and/or an economic recession in the U.S. may have a material adverse effect on the U.S. economy.
International Closed Market Trading Risk: To the extent that the underlying investments held by the Fund trade on foreign exchanges that may be closed when the securities exchange on which the Fund’s Shares trade is open, there are likely to be deviations between the current price of such an underlying security and the last quoted price for the underlying security (i.e., the Fund’s quote from the closed foreign market). These deviations could result in premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV that may be greater than those experienced by other exchange-traded funds ("ETFs").
Investable Universe of Companies Risk: The investable universe of companies in which the Fund may invest may be limited. If a company no longer meets the Index Provider’s criteria for inclusion in the Underlying Index, the Fund may need to reduce or eliminate its holdings in that company. The reduction or elimination of the Fund’s holdings in the company may have an adverse impact on the liquidity of the Fund’s overall portfolio holdings and on Fund performance.
Issuer Risk: Fund performance depends on the performance of individual companies in which the Fund invests. Changes to the financial condition of any of those companies may cause the value of such company's securities to decline.
Market Risk: Turbulence in the financial markets and reduced liquidity may negatively affect issuers, which could have an adverse effect on the Fund. If the securities held by the Fund experience poor liquidity, the Fund may be unable to transact at advantageous times or prices, which may decrease the Fund’s returns. In addition, there is a risk that policy changes by central governments and governmental agencies, including the U.S. Federal Reserve or the European Central Bank, which could include increasing interest rates, could cause increased volatility in financial markets and lead to higher levels of Fund redemptions from Authorized Participants, which could have a negative impact on the Fund. Beginning in early 2025, the U.S. government’s threats to impose tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada has heightened
tension among trading partners. Further, in response to the U.S. government’s announcement of tariffs on goods from China, the Chinese government has countered with tariffs on U.S. goods, marking the beginning of a potential trade war between the countries. Tariffs on imported goods may increase the cost of certain products and household items, which may in turn dampen consumer spending and result in decreased confidence in the markets. The possibility of additional tariffs being imposed or the outbreak of a trade war may further adversely impact U.S. and international markets. Additionally, political uncertainty regarding U.S. policy, including the U.S. government’s approach to trade, may also impact the markets. Furthermore, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, recessions, raising of interest rates, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments and trading of its Shares. This increases the risk that monetary policy may provide less support should economic growth slow. Market risk factors may result in increased volatility and/or decreased liquidity in the securities markets. The Fund’s NAV could decline over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during market downturns.
Non-Diversification Risk: The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 ("1940 Act"). As a result, the Fund is subject to the risk that it may be more volatile than a diversified fund because the Fund may invest its assets in a smaller number of issuers or may invest a larger proportion of its assets in a single issuer. As a result, the gains and losses on a single investment may have a greater impact on the Fund’s NAV and may make the Fund more volatile than more diversified funds.
Operational Risk: The Fund is exposed to operational risk arising from a number of factors, including but not limited to human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund's service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. Additionally, cyber security failures or breaches of the electronic systems of the Fund, the Adviser, and the Fund's other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests have the ability to cause disruptions and negatively impact the Fund's business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses to the Fund and its shareholders. The Fund and the Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate for those risks that they are intended to address.
Passive Investment Risk: The Fund is not actively managed, and the Adviser does not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not seek to outperform its Underlying Index. Therefore, it would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the Underlying Index, even if that security generally is underperforming. Additionally, if a constituent of the Underlying Index were removed, even outside of a regular rebalance of the Underlying Index, the Adviser anticipates that the Fund would sell such security. Maintaining investments in securities regardless of market conditions or the performance of individual securities could cause the Fund’s return to be lower than if the Fund employed an active strategy.
Index-Related Risk: There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation to the Underlying Index and therefore achieve its investment objective. Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the Underlying Index. Errors in index data, index computations and/or the construction of the Underlying Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders.
Management Risk: The Fund may not fully replicate its Underlying Index and may hold securities not included in its Underlying Index. The Adviser’s investment strategy, the implementation of which is subject to a number of constraints, may cause the Fund to underperform the market or its relevant benchmark or adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.
Tracking Error Risk: Tracking error may occur because of differences between the instruments held in the Fund's portfolio and those included in the Underlying Index, pricing differences, transaction costs incurred by the Fund, the Fund's holding of uninvested cash, size of the Fund, differences in timing of the accrual of or the valuation of dividends or interest, tax gains or losses, changes to the Underlying Index or the costs to the Fund of complying with various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, while the Underlying Index does not. ETFs that track indices with significant weight in emerging markets issuers may experience higher tracking error than other ETFs that do not track such indices.
Risks Associated with Exchange-Traded Funds: As an ETF, the Fund is subject to the following risks:
Authorized Participants Concentration Risk: The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants and engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund, and none of those Authorized Participants is obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption transactions. To the extent that those Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to process creation and/or redemption orders, such as in times of market stress, Shares may be more likely to trade
at a premium or discount to NAV and/or at wider intraday bid-ask spreads, and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting from an exchange. Authorized Participants Concentration Risk may be heightened because the Fund invests in non-U.S. securities.
Large Shareholder Risk: Redemptions by large shareholders could have a significant negative impact on the Fund. If a large shareholder were to redeem all, or a large portion, of its Shares, there is no guarantee that the Fund will be able to maintain sufficient assets to continue operations in which case the Board of Trustees may determine to liquidate the Fund. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on a national securities exchange and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the Shares.
Listing Standards Risk: The Fund is required to comply with listing requirements adopted by the listing exchange. Non-compliance with such requirements may result in the Fund's shares being delisted by the listing exchange. Any resulting liquidation of the Fund could cause the Fund to incur elevated transaction costs and could result in negative tax consequences for its shareholders.
Market Trading Risks and Premium/Discount Risks: Shares of the Fund are publicly traded on a national securities exchange, which may subject shareholders to numerous market trading risks. In stressed market conditions, the market for the Shares may become less liquid in response to the deteriorating liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio. This adverse effect on the liquidity of the Shares, as well as disruptions to creations and redemptions, the existence of extreme market volatility or potential lack of assets in the Fund or an active trading market for Shares may result in Shares trading at a significant premium or discount to NAV. If a shareholder purchases Shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells Shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses. The NAV of the Fund is calculated at the end of each business day and fluctuates with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. The trading price of the Fund’s Shares fluctuates, in some cases materially, throughout trading hours in response to changes in the Fund’s NAV.
Trading Halt Risk: An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses.
Valuation Risk: The sales price the Fund could receive for a security may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security and may differ from the value used by the Underlying Index, particularly for securities that trade in low value or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology (such as during trading halts). The value of the securities in the Fund's portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund's Shares.
PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
The bar chart and table that follow show how the Fund performed on a calendar year basis and provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund's performance from year to year and by showing the Fund's average annual total returns for the indicated periods compared with the Fund's broad-based benchmark index, which reflects a broad measure of market performance, and the Underlying Index, which the Fund seeks to track. The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily indicative of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available online at www.globalxetfs.com.
Annual Total Returns (Years Ended December 31)
| | | | | | | | |
Best Quarter: | 9/30/2024 | 10.20% |
Worst Quarter: | 6/30/2024 | -4.05% |
Average Annual Total Returns (for the Periods Ended December 31, 2024)
| | | | | | | | |
| One Year Ended December 31, 2024 | Since Inception 04/11/2023 |
Global X PropTech ETF | | |
·Return before taxes | 10.34% | 19.05% |
·Return after taxes on distributions1 | 10.30% | 18.42% |
·Return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund Shares1 | 6.15% | 14.47% |
MSCI ACWI Index (Net) (USD) (Index returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses, or taxes) | 17.49% | 18.18% |
Global X PropTech Index (NR) (USD) (Index returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses, or taxes) | 10.92% | 19.60% |
1 After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual U.S. federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from those shown above. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Shares of the Fund through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts (IRAs).
FUND MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser: Global X Management Company LLC.
Portfolio Managers: The professionals primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund are Nam To, CFA; Wayne Xie; Vanessa Yang, CFA; and Sandy Lu, CFA (“Portfolio Managers”). Messrs. To, Xie and Lu and Ms. Yang have been Portfolio Managers of the Fund since 2023.
PURCHASE AND SALE OF FUND SHARES
Shares of the Fund are or will be listed and traded at market prices on a national securities exchange. Shares may only be purchased and sold on the exchange through a broker-dealer. The price of Shares is based on market price, and because ETF shares trade at market prices rather than at NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount). Only "Authorized Participants" (as defined in the SAI) who have entered into agreements with the Fund's distributor, SEI Investments Distribution Co. ("Distributor"), may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund will only issue or redeem Shares that have been aggregated into blocks called "Creation Units". The Fund will issue or redeem Creation Units in return for a basket of cash and/or securities that the Fund specifies any day that the national securities exchanges are open for business (“Business Day”). An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). To access information regarding the Fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads, please go to www.globalxetfs.com.
TAX INFORMATION
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account ("IRA"), in which case distributions from such tax-advantaged arrangement may be taxable to you.
PAYMENTS TO BROKER-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES
The Adviser and its related companies may pay broker-dealers or other financial intermediaries (such as a bank) for the sale of Fund Shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your broker-dealer, sales persons or other intermediary or its employees or associated persons to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your financial adviser or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.