|
|
AXS Knowledge Leaders ETF (Ticker: KNO) |
|
Summary Prospectus |
July 31, 2025 |
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 Statutory Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and other information about the Fund online at http://www.axsinvestments.com/resources/. You may also obtain this information by calling collect at 1-833-AXS-ALTS (1-833-297-2587) or by sending an e-mail request to info@axsinvestments.com. The Fund’s Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, both dated July 31, 2025, as each may be amended or supplemented, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.
Investment Objective
The investment objective of the AXS Knowledge Leaders ETF (the “Fund”) is to provide long-term capital appreciation.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. Investors may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example set forth below.
|
Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
|||
|
Management fee |
0.75% |
||
|
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees |
None |
||
|
Other expenses |
0.09% |
||
|
Interest expenses |
0.09% |
||
|
Total annual fund operating expenses |
0.84% |
Example
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. This 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 at current levels.
Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, your costs, based on these assumptions, would be:
|
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
|
$86 |
$268 |
$466 |
$1,037 |
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 may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund 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. During the most recent fiscal year, the portfolio turnover rate was 159% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund invests primarily in equities the Advisor considers to be highly innovative companies or “knowledge leaders.” The portfolio will include a diversified mix of mid- and large-cap companies from the developed world including North America, Europe and Asia.
1
The Advisor considers knowledge leaders to be companies that have demonstrated histories of successfully employing their research and development and have built competitive advantages using their own firm-specific resources such as proprietary knowledge, intellectual property or a unique distribution mechanism. Based on academic research, the Advisor believes the market is generally inefficient at valuing such high growth companies because traditional financial data overlooks hidden value in such companies’ assets.
Using a proprietary methodology based on academic research, the Advisor evaluates all of the equity securities in an investment universe comprised of companies in the top 85% of the market capitalization of the 22 traditional developed countries (excluding Hong Kong) with a stock price greater than $1, eliminating those companies with the lowest 10% trading liquidity (shares traded multiplied by share price). The Advisor’s methodology is applied to create an intangible-adjusted financial history for each remaining company. The methodology does this by making adjustments to each company’s reported financial data since 1980 (or since the company’s inception, if later) that cause intangible investments to be treated as identical to tangible investments. For this purpose, intangible assets include research and development, advertising, brand development, and employee training expenses. The methodology then applies the Advisor’s “knowledge leaders” screen, a proprietary, quantitative process used to measure a company’s intangible-adjusted financial history for knowledge and innovation intensity, financial strength, and profitability, based on certain criteria, including among others, a company’s investment in research and development, overall balance sheet quality, consistent earnings growth, and operating cash flows. Companies are graded on a “pass/fail” basis and those companies that pass each level of the screen are identified as knowledge leaders. The Advisor then constructs an equity portfolio from the group of knowledge leader stocks that in the Advisor’s opinion has the greatest liquidity characteristics. The Fund will not hold the entire group of knowledge leader securities.
Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s assets will be invested in securities the Advisor identifies as knowledge leaders at the time of investment, with not more than 25% in any one industry. Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 40% of its net assets in securities of companies located outside the United States. A company will be considered to be located outside the United States if it is domiciled in and tied economically to one or more non-U.S. countries and may include stocks of companies that trade in the form of depositary receipts. From time to time, the Fund may have a significant portion of its assets invested in a specific sector or geographical areas, including Japan, Europe and the U.S.
The Fund will invest primarily in securities issued by companies with market capitalizations over $500 million and may also invest in exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), cash, cash equivalents and money market instruments.
When the Advisor believes that current market, economic, political or other conditions are unsuitable and would impair the pursuit of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund may invest some or all of its assets in cash or cash equivalents. When the Fund takes a temporary defensive position, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective.
The Fund may sell a position for various reasons, including: 1) the company ceases to meet the minimum criteria to be included in the group of knowledge leaders, 2) tax loss harvesting, or 3) the Advisor identifies an investment with superior liquidity characteristics.
Principal Risks of Investing
You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s investment objective will be achieved. The order of the risk factors set forth below does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.
Market Risk. The market price of a security or instrument may decline, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic, political, or geopolitical conditions throughout the world, changes in the general outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates, or adverse investor sentiment generally. The market value of a security or instrument also may decline because of factors that affect a particular industry or industries, such as tariffs, labor shortages or increased production costs and competitive conditions within an industry. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, international conflicts, trade disputes, supply chain disruptions, cybersecurity events, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, natural disasters or climate events, or other events
2
could have a significant impact on a security or instrument. The increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market.
ETF Structure Risks. The Fund is an ETF, and, as a result of an ETF’s structure, it is exposed to the following risks:
• Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as authorized participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other authorized participant is able to step forward to process creation or redemption orders, shares may trade at a discount to the Fund’s net asset value and possibly face delisting.
• Market Maker Risk. If the Fund has lower average daily trading volumes, it may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of Fund shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”) and the price at which the Fund shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund shares. In addition, decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the Fund’s NAV and the Fund’s market price. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a discount to NAV and also in greater than normal intra-day bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.
• Fluctuation of Net Asset Value Risk. As with all ETFs, shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market prices of shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market prices of shares are more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount). Differences in market price and NAV may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related to, but not identical to, the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. These differences can be especially pronounced during times of market volatility or stress. During these periods, the demand for Fund shares may decrease considerably and cause the market price of Fund shares to deviate significantly from the Fund’s NAV.
• Trading Issues Risk. Although the Fund shares are listed for trading on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such Fund shares will develop or be maintained. Trading in Fund shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Fund shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Fund shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. Market makers are under no obligation to make a market in the Fund shares, and authorized participants are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. Initially, due to the small asset size of the Fund, it may have difficulty maintaining its listings on the Exchange.
• Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Investors buying or selling shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers, as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of shares. In addition, secondary market investors will also incur the cost of the difference between the price at which an investor is willing to buy Shares (the “bid” price) and the price at which an investor is willing to sell Shares (the “ask” price). This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “spread” or “bid-ask spread.” The bid-ask spread varies over time for shares based on trading volume and market liquidity, and the spread is generally lower if shares have more trading volume and market liquidity and higher if shares have little trading volume and market liquidity. Further, a relatively small investor base in the Fund, asset swings in the Fund, and/or increased market volatility may cause increased bid-ask spreads. Due to the
3
costs of buying or selling shares, including bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
ETF Risk. Investing in an ETF will provide the Fund with exposure to the securities comprising the index on which the ETF is based and will expose the Fund to risks similar to those of investing directly in those securities. Shares of ETFs typically trade on securities exchanges and may at times trade at a premium or discount to their net asset values. In addition, an ETF may not replicate exactly the performance of the benchmark index it seeks to track for a number of reasons, including transaction costs incurred by the ETF, the temporary unavailability of certain index securities in the secondary market or discrepancies between the ETF and the index with respect to the weighting of securities or the number of securities held. Investing in ETFs, which are investment companies, involves duplication of advisory fees and certain other expenses. The Fund will pay brokerage commissions in connection with the purchase and sale of shares of ETFs.
Common Stock Risk. Common stock holds the lowest priority in the capital structure of a company, and therefore takes the largest share of the company’s risk and its accompanying volatility. The value of the common stock held by the Fund may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the issuers of securities held by the Fund participate, or facts relating to specific companies in which the Fund invests.
Foreign Investment Risk. The prices of foreign securities may be more volatile than the prices of securities of U.S. issuers because of economic and social conditions abroad, political developments, and changes in the regulatory environments of foreign countries. Changes in exchange rates and interest rates, and the imposition of sanctions, confiscations, trade restrictions (including tariffs) and other government restrictions by the United States and/or other governments may adversely affect the values of the Fund’s foreign investments. Foreign companies are generally subject to different legal and accounting standards than U.S. companies, and foreign financial intermediaries may be subject to less supervision and regulation than U.S. financial firms. In addition, since the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States on January 20, 2025, the Trump administration has pursued an aggressive foreign policy agenda, including the imposition of tariffs, which may have unforeseen consequences on the United States’ relations with foreign countries, the economy, and markets generally. Foreign securities include American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”). Unsponsored ADRs and GDRs are organized independently and without the cooperation of the foreign issuer of the underlying securities, and involve additional risks because U.S. reporting requirements do not apply. In addition, the issuing bank may deduct shareholder distribution, custody, foreign currency exchange, and other fees from the payment of dividends.
Geographic Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in the securities of companies of a single country or region, it is more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country or region. As of March 31, 2025, a significant portion of the Fund’s assets was invested in securities of U.S., European and Japanese issuers.
• Investing in the United States Risk. Certain changes in the U.S. economy, such as when the U.S. economy weakens or when its financial markets decline, may have an adverse effect on the securities to which the Fund has exposure.
• Investing in Europe Risk. Most developed countries in Western Europe are members of the European Union (“EU”), and many are also members of the European Monetary Union (“EMU”), which requires compliance with restrictions on inflation rates, deficits and debt levels. Changes in regulations on trade, decreasing imports or exports, changes in the exchange rate of the euro, recessions among European countries and acts of war in the region may have a significant adverse effect on the economies of other European countries. In particular, the extent and duration of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24, 2022, the resulting sanctions on Russia, and the subsequent impact on global markets and trade remain unknown but could have a significant adverse impact on the European economy as well as the price and availability of certain commodities, including oil and natural gas. The European financial markets have recently experienced volatility and adverse trends due to concerns about rising government debt levels of certain European countries,
4
each of which may require external assistance to meet its obligations and run the risk of default on its debt, possible bail-out by the rest of the EU or debt restructuring. Assistance given to an EU member state may be dependent on a country’s implementation of reforms in order to curb the risk of default on its debt, and a failure to implement these reforms or increase revenues could result in a deep economic downturn. These events have adversely affected the exchange rate of the euro and therefore may adversely affect the Fund and its investments.
• Investing in Japan Risk. The growth of Japan’s economy has historically lagged that of its Asian neighbors and other major developed economies. The Japanese economy is heavily dependent on international trade and has been adversely affected by trade tariffs, other protectionist measures, competition from emerging economies and the economic conditions of its trading partners.
Geopolitical Risk. Some countries and regions in which the Fund invests have experienced security concerns, war or threats of war and aggression, terrorism, economic uncertainty, natural and environmental disasters and/or systemic market dislocations that have led, and in the future may lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and markets generally, each of which may negatively impact the Fund’s investments.
Currency Exchange Rate Risk. The Fund may invest a relatively large percentage of its assets in securities denominated in non-U.S. currencies. Changes in currency exchange rates and the relative value of non-U.S. currencies will affect the value of the Fund’s investment and the value of your shares. Because the Fund’s net asset value is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund’s net asset value could decline if the currency of the non-U.S. market in which the Fund invests depreciates against the U.S. dollar, even if the value of the Fund’s holdings, measured in the foreign currency, increases. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money.
Market Capitalization Risk. Larger, more established companies may be unable to attain the high growth rates of successful, smaller companies during periods of economic expansion. The securities of small-capitalization or mid-capitalization companies may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements and may have lower trading volumes or more erratic trading than securities of larger, more established companies or market averages in general. In addition, such companies typically are more likely to be adversely affected than large capitalization companies by changes in earning results, business prospects, investor expectations or poor economic or market conditions.
Portfolio Turnover Risk. Active and frequent trading of the Fund’s portfolio securities may lead to higher transaction costs and may result in a greater number of taxable transactions than would otherwise be the case, which could negatively affect the Fund’s performance. A high rate of portfolio turnover is 100% or more.
Issuer-Specific Risk. Fund performance depends on the performance of individual securities to which the Fund has exposure. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.
Illiquid Investments Risk. This risk exists when particular Fund investments are difficult to purchase or sell, which can reduce the Fund’s returns because the Fund may be unable to transact at advantageous times or prices.
Recent Market Events. Periods of market volatility may occur in response to market events, public health emergencies, natural disasters and other economic, political, and global macro factors. For example, in recent years the large expansion of government deficits and debt as a result of government actions to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and inflation have resulted in extreme volatility in the global economy and in global financial markets. In addition, wars or threats of war and aggression, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the conflicts among nations and militant groups in the Middle East, have led, and in the future may lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and markets generally, each of which may negatively impact the Fund’s investments. Additionally, since the change in the U.S. presidential administration in 2025, the administration has pursued an aggressive foreign policy agenda, including actual or potential imposition
5
of tariffs, which may have consequences on the United States’ relations with foreign countries, the economy, and markets generally. These and other similar events could be prolonged and could adversely affect the value and liquidity of the Fund’s investments, impair the Fund’s ability to satisfy redemption requests, and negatively impact the Fund’s performance.
Operational Risk. The Fund is exposed to operational risks 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. The Fund and the Advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.
Management and Strategy Risk. The value of your investment depends on the judgment of the Advisor about the quality, relative yield, value or market trends affecting a particular security, industry, sector or region, which may prove to be incorrect.
Early Close/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.
Cybersecurity Risk. Cybersecurity incidents may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, or cause the Fund, the Advisor, and/or other service providers (including custodians, sub-custodians, transfer agents and financial intermediaries) to suffer data breaches, data corruption or loss of operational functionality. In an extreme case, a shareholder’s ability to exchange or redeem Fund shares may be affected. Issuers of securities in which the Fund invests are also subject to cybersecurity risks, and the value of those securities could decline if the issuers experience cybersecurity incidents.
The Shares will change in value, and you could lose money by investing in the Fund. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective.
Performance
The Fund acquired the assets and liabilities of the Knowledge Leaders Developed World ETF, a series of the Investment Managers Series Trust (the “Predecessor Fund”), on July 19, 2024. As a result of the acquisition, the Fund is the accounting successor of the Predecessor Fund. Performance results shown in the bar chart and the performance table below reflect the performance of the Predecessor Fund.
The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Predecessor Fund by showing changes in the Predecessor Fund’s performance from year to year and by showing how the Predecessor Fund’s average annual total returns for the one-year, five-year, and since inception periods ended December 31, 2024, compare with those of the MSCI World Equal Weighted Net Total Return Index (the “MSCI World Equal Weighted NR Index”), a broad-based securities market index,. The Predecessor Fund also compares its performance with the returns of the MSCI World ex USA Weighted Net Total Return Index (the “MSCI World ex USA Equal Weighted NR Index”) and MSCI ACWI (Net) Index. The Predecessor Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.
6
The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.axsinvestments.com.
Calendar-Year Total Return (before taxes)* for Predecessor Fund
The year-to-date total return for the Predecessor Fund as of June 30, 2025, was 12.83%.
|
Highest Calendar Quarter Return at NAV |
19.50% |
Quarter Ended 06/30/2020 |
|
Lowest Calendar Quarter Return at NAV |
(15.88)% |
Quarter Ended 06/30/2022 |
|
Average Annual Total Returns |
One Year |
Five Years |
Since |
|
Return Before Taxes |
5.11% |
4.76% |
7.05% |
|
Return After Taxes on Distributions* |
4.73% |
4.47% |
6.80% |
|
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares* |
3.30% |
3.68% |
5.66% |
|
MSCI World Equal Weighted NR Index |
7.68% |
5.65% |
6.60% |
|
MSCI World Ex USA Equal Weighted NR Index |
2.78% |
2.89% |
4.53% |
|
MSCI ACWI (Net) Index |
17.49% |
10.06% |
9.57% |
* After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual 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 tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases, the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of shares of the Fund at the end of the measurement period.
The Predecessor Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Returns before taxes do not reflect the effects of any income or capital gains taxes. All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income taxes and do not reflect the impact of any state or local tax. Returns after taxes on distributions reflect the taxed return on the payment of dividends and capital gains.
Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Shares in tax-deferred accounts such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or employee-sponsored retirement plans.
7
Investment Advisor
AXS Investments LLC (the “Advisor”) is the Fund’s investment advisor.
Portfolio Managers
Steven Vannelli, Portfolio Manager of the Advisor and Portfolio Manager of the Predecessor Fund, and Travis Trampe, Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio following the reorganization of the Predecessor Fund on July 19, 2024.
Purchase and Sale of Shares
The Fund issues and redeems Shares on a continuous basis, at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called “Creation Units.” Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the Shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund.
Individual Shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold on the secondary market through a broker-dealer. Since Shares of the Fund trade on securities exchanges in the secondary market at their market price rather than their net asset value, the Fund’s Shares may trade at a price greater than (premium) or less than (discount) the Fund’s net asset value. 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”). Recent information, including the Fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads, is available online at www.axsinvestments.com.
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions will generally be taxable as ordinary income, returns of capital or capital gains. A sale of Shares may result in capital gain or loss.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Advisor and ALPS Distributors, Inc., the Fund’s distributor, may pay the intermediary for the sale of Shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
8