Teucrium XXRP 497C
Teucrium 2x Long Daily XRP ETF (XXRP)
A series of Listed Funds Trust
Listed on NYSE Arca, Inc.
PROSPECTUS
April 6, 2025
These securities have not been approved or disapproved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), nor has the SEC passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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TEUCRIUM 2x LONG DAILY XRP ETF - SUMMARY | |
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| ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND | |
| PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS INFORMATION | |
| MANAGEMENT | |
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| Management of the Subsidiary | |
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| Other Service Providers | |
| HOW TO BUY AND SELL SHARES | |
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| DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS, AND TAXES | |
| Dividends and Distributions | |
| Taxes | |
| Taxes on Distributions | |
| Taxes When Shares Are Sold on the Exchange | |
| Taxes on Purchases and Redemptions of Creation Units | |
| Net Investment Income Tax | |
| Foreign Investments by the Fund | |
| DISTRIBUTION PLAN | |
| PREMIUM/DISCOUNT INFORMATION | |
| ADDITIONAL NOTICES | |
| FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS | |
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| TEUCRIUM 2X LONG DAILY XRP ETF - FUND SUMMARY |
Important Information About the Fund
The Teucrium 2x Long Daily XRP ETF (the “Fund”) seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to two times (2x) the daily price performance of XRP for a single day, not for any other period. A “single day” is measured from the time the Fund calculates its net asset value (“NAV”) to the time of the Fund’s next NAV calculation. The return of the Fund for periods longer than a single day will be the result of its return for each day compounded over the period. The Fund’s returns for periods longer than a single day will very likely differ in amount, and possibly even direction, from the Fund’s stated multiple (2x) times the return of daily changes in the price of XRP for the same period. For periods longer than a single day, the Fund will lose money if XRP’s performance is flat, and it is possible that the Fund will lose money even if the price of XRP increases. Longer holding periods, higher volatility in the price of XRP, and greater leveraged exposure each exacerbate the impact of compounding on an investor’s returns. During periods of higher XRP volatility, the volatility of XRP may affect the Fund’s return as much as or more than the return of the price of XRP.
The Fund presents different risks than other types of funds. The Fund uses leverage and is riskier than similarly benchmarked funds that do not use leverage. The Fund may not be suitable for all investors and should be used only by knowledgeable investors who understand the consequences of seeking daily leveraged (2x) investment results, including the impact of compounding on Fund performance. The Fund is intended to be used as a short-term trading vehicle. Investors in the Fund should actively manage and monitor their investments, as frequently as daily. The Fund is not intended to be used by, and is not appropriate for, investors who do not actively monitor and manage their portfolio. An investor in the Fund could potentially lose the full principal value of their investment within a single day.
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to two times (2x) the daily price performance of XRP. The Fund does not seek to achieve its stated investment objective over a period of time greater than a single day.
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 (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
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Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) | None |
Annual Fund Operating Expenses1 (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
| Management Fee | 1.89% |
| Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees | 0.00% |
Other Expenses1,2 | 0.00% |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | 1.89% |
1 Estimated for the current fiscal year. “Other Expenses” does not include fees paid to the Fund’s swap contract counterparties, or the management fees, performance fees, and expenses of the reference assets or trading vehicles underlying such swap contracts. These fees and expenses, which are not reflected in this Annual Fund Operating Expenses table, are embedded in the returns of the swap contracts (i.e., the fees and expenses reduce the investment returns of the swap contracts) and represent an indirect cost of investing in the Fund.
2 Teucrium Investment Advisors, LLC (the “Adviser”), the Fund’s investment adviser, also serves as the investment adviser to the Subsidiary (defined below) and provides the Subsidiary with the same type of management, under essentially the same terms, as it provides the Fund. The Adviser has agreed to waive the management fee of 1.89% to be paid by the Subsidiary. This waiver will continue in effect for so long as the Fund invests in the Subsidiary, and at least through April 6, 2026. This waiver may be terminated only with the approval of the Subsidiary’s Board of Directors.
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem 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. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
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 the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund invests in financial instruments that the Adviser believes in combination should produce daily returns (before fees and expenses) that correspond to two times (2x) the daily price performance of XRP. However, there can be no guarantee that such a strategy will produce the desired results or that any XRP-related investment will provide returns that closely correlate to those produced by XRP. Generally, XRP-related investments are subject to certain implementation costs and expenses not applicable to direct investments in XRP that will cause the returns of XRP-related investments to differ from those of direct investments in XRP. Additionally, the ability to trade XRP 24 hours a day may give rise to differences in returns of XRP-related investments that trade during standard market hours.
The Fund will invest principally in the financial instruments listed below:
•Swap Agreements. Initially, the Fund expects to achieve its exposure to XRP primarily through its investment in one or more swap agreements. As more XRP-related investments become available for investment, the Adviser will invest in those XRP-related investments that it believes will most effectively enable the Fund to achieve its investment objective. Swap agreements are derivative contracts entered into primarily with major global financial institutions for a specified period. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange or “swap” payments based on the change in value of a reference asset or benchmark, such as an index, or in the case of the Fund, the return earned on an investment in XRP that is equal, on a daily basis, to 200% of the value of the Fund’s net assets (each, an “XRP Swap”). As of the date of this Prospectus, it is expected that the Fund (and certain of its investments) will reference one or more of the following benchmarks for purposes of determining the price of XRP: (i) the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate (the “XRP Reference Rate”); (ii) CME CF XRP-Dollar Real Time Index (the “XRP Index”); (iii) exchange-traded products (“ETPs”) that hold XRP directly (a “Spot XRP ETP”), or (iv) other benchmarks that the Adviser believes produce daily returns consistent with those of XRP (collectively with the XRP Reference Rate, the XRP Index, and any Spot XRP ETP, the “Reference Assets”). The XRP Reference Rate is a benchmark index price for XRP that reflects aggregated trade data from multiple U.S. dollar-denominated XRP markets operated by major cryptocurrency exchanges that conform to CF Benchmarks’ robust eligibility criteria and is calculated daily. The XRP Index is a benchmark index price for XRP that reflects aggregated order data from U.S. dollar-denominated XRP markets operated by major cryptocurrency exchanges that conform to CF Benchmarks’ robust eligibility criteria and is calculated every second. The XRP Swaps may reference Spot XRP ETPs listed on a U.S. or European exchange. The Fund may also invest directly in shares of Spot XRP ETPs. Such Spot XRP ETPs are not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) and, therefore, do not provide investors with the investor protections of the 1940 Act. As of the date of this Prospectus, there were no U.S. Spot XRP ETPs available for the Fund to invest in or use as a reference asset. Thus, initially, the Fund expects to invest in one or more XRP Swaps the reference asset for which will be one or more of the following Spot XRP ETPs, each of which is listed on a European exchange as of the date of this Prospectus: 21Shares XRP ETP, Bitwise Physical XRP ETP, Virtune XRP ETP, WisdomTree Physical XRP ETP and CoinShares Physical XRP ETP. Generally, any such XRP Swap will provide the Fund with a return earned by the Spot XRP ETP that is equal, on a daily basis, to 200% of the value of the Fund’s net assets, be fully funded with all collateral maintained by a third party pursuant to a triparty arrangement, and be subject to daily collateral adjustments to align the value of collateral with the value of the reference asset. The Fund also may invest directly in one or more of the afore-mentioned Spot XRP ETPs.
•XRP Futures Contracts. To obtain 2x daily exposure to XRP, the Fund may enter into, as the “buyer,” XRP futures contracts that trade on an exchange registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) (“XRP Futures Contracts”). In order to maintain its 2x daily exposure to XRP, the Fund intends to exit its futures contracts as they near expiration and replace them with new futures contracts with a later expiration date. This process is referred to as “rolling.” The Fund may invest in XRP Futures Contracts of any expiration date traded on any CFTC-regulated commodity futures exchange, also known as a “designated contract market” (“DCM”).
•XRP Options. The Fund also may invest in exchange-traded options contracts that reference XRP, XRP Futures Contracts, or Spot XRP ETPs (“XRP Options” and, collectively with XRP Swaps and XRP Futures Contracts, “XRP-related investments”). As of the date of this Prospectus, there were no XRP Options available for investment by the Fund. However, it is expected that XRP Options will be available in the near future. To the extent available, the Fund may invest in options traded on an exchange registered with the CFTC, or on foreign exchanges. In general, an option is a contract that gives the purchaser (holder) of the option, in return for a premium, the right to buy from (call) or sell to (put) the seller (writer) of the option the security or currency underlying the option at a specified exercise price. Traditional exchange-traded options
contracts have standardized terms, such as the type (call or put), the reference asset, the strike price and expiration date. In the U.S., exchange-traded options contracts are guaranteed for settlement by the Options Clearing Corporation (“OCC”).
The Fund may also invest in equity securities of “XRP-related companies.” For these purposes, XRP-related companies are companies, including Spot XRP ETPs that the Adviser believes provide returns that generally correspond, or are closely related, to the performance of XRP. Similar to other types of XRP-related investments, there can be no assurance that the returns of XRP-related companies will correspond, or be closely-related, to the performance of XRP.
The mix of financial instruments to achieve the desired exposure to XRP is at the sole discretion of the Adviser. The Adviser may consider the following factors, among others, when determining the Fund’s investments in XRP Swaps, XRP Futures Contracts, XRP Options, other financial instruments, and XRP-related companies: liquidity, regulatory requirements, risk mitigation measures, the Fund’s FCMs (as defined below), the financial condition of counterparties and market conditions.
The Fund also expects to engage in reverse repurchase agreements, a form of borrowing, and to use the proceeds for investment purposes.
Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of the Fund’s assets in, or provide exposure equal to, financial instruments that the Adviser believes, in combination, should produce daily returns consistent with the Fund’s investment objective of seeking daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to two times (2x) the daily price performance of XRP. The Fund does not invest directly in XRP.
The Fund expects to invest in XRP-related investments primarily indirectly through a wholly-owned subsidiary organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the “Subsidiary”). The Fund’s investment in the Subsidiary is intended to provide the Fund with exposure to XRP-related investments within the limits of current federal income tax laws applicable to investment companies such as the Fund, which limit the ability of investment companies to invest directly in certain investments that do not generate qualifying income for tax purposes. The Subsidiary, which is also managed by the Adviser, has the same investment objective as the Fund, but it may invest in certain investments, such as XRP-related investments, to a greater extent than the Fund. Except as otherwise noted, for purposes of this Prospectus, references to the Fund’s investments include the Fund’s indirect investments through the Subsidiary. Because the Fund intends to elect to be treated as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), the size of the Fund’s investment in the Subsidiary generally will be limited to 25% of the Fund’s total assets, tested at the end of each fiscal quarter (the “Asset Diversification Test”).
The Adviser attempts to consistently apply leverage to obtain Reference Asset exposure for the Fund equal to 200% of the value of its net assets and expects to adjust its exposure to the Reference Assets daily to maintain such exposure. A “single day,” “day,” or “trading day” is measured from the time the Fund calculates its net asset value (“NAV”) to the time of the Fund’s next NAV calculation.
The Fund will attempt to achieve its investment objective without regard to the overall market movement or the increase or decrease of the price of XRP. At the close of the markets on each trading day, the Adviser determines the type, quantity, and mix of investment positions, so that its exposure to the price of XRP is consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. The impact of movements in the price of XRP during the day will generally require the Fund to adjust its exposure to the Reference Assets on a daily basis. For example, if the price of XRP has risen on a given day, net assets of the Fund should rise, meaning the Fund’s exposure will need to be increased. Conversely, if the price of XRP has fallen on a given day, net assets of the Fund should fall, meaning the Fund’s exposure will need to be reduced. These adjustments typically result in high portfolio turnover.
The Fund also expects to invest in cash, cash equivalents, or high-quality securities, such as (i) U.S. Government securities, including bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury; (ii) money market funds; and/or (iii) corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper and other short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses that are rated investment grade or determined by the Adviser to be of comparable quality. Such investments are designed to provide liquidity or collateralize the Fund’s investments in financial instruments, such as certain of the XRP-related investments.
The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the 1940 Act and, therefore, may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a particular issuer than a diversified fund.
Daily rebalancing and the compounding of each day’s return over time means that the return of the Fund for a period longer than a single day will be the result of each day’s returns compounded over the period, which will likely differ in amount, and possibly even direction, from two times (2x) the price performance of XRP for the same period. The Fund will lose money if the price performance of XRP is flat over time, and the Fund can lose money regardless of the performance of the price of XRP because of daily rebalancing, the volatility of the price of XRP, compounding of each day’s return, and other factors. See “Principal Investment Risks” below.
XRP Futures Contracts
Futures contracts are agreements between two parties that are executed on a DCM, i.e., a commodity futures exchange, and that are cleared and margined through a derivatives clearing organization (“DCO”), i.e., a clearing house. One party agrees to buy a commodity from the other party at a later date at a price and quantity agreed upon when the contract is made. Such contracts may also
be referred to as “non-spot” futures contracts to differentiate from spot contracts, in which the purchase of the commodity occurs immediately. In market terminology, a party who purchases a futures contract is long in the market and a party who sells a futures contract is short in the market. The contractual obligations of a buyer or seller may generally be satisfied by taking or making physical delivery of the underlying commodity or by making an offsetting sale or purchase of an identical futures contract on the same or linked exchange before the designated date of delivery. The difference between the price at which the futures contract is purchased or sold and the price paid for the offsetting sale or purchase, after allowance for brokerage commissions, constitutes the profit or loss to the trader.
Futures contracts with a longer term to expiration may be priced higher than futures contracts with a shorter term to expiration, a relationship called “contango”. When rolling futures contracts that are in contango the Fund will close its long position by selling the shorter term contract at a relatively lower price and buying a longer-dated contract at a relatively higher price. The presence of contango will adversely affect the performance of the Fund, and could result in a negative yield for the Fund. Conversely, futures contracts with a longer term to expiration may be priced lower than futures contracts with a shorter term to expiration, a relationship called “backwardation”. When rolling long futures contracts that are in backwardation, the Fund will close its long position by selling the shorter term contract at a relatively higher price and buying a longer-dated contract at a relatively lower price. The presence of backwardation may positively affect the performance of the Fund.
XRP Options
An option is a contract that gives the purchaser of the option, in return for the premium paid, the right to buy an underlying reference instrument, such as a specified security, currency, index, or other instrument, from the writer of the option (in the case of a call option), or to sell a specified reference instrument to the writer of the option (in the case of a put option) at a designated price during the term of the option. The premium paid by the buyer of an option will reflect, among other things, the relationship of the exercise price to the market price and the volatility of the underlying reference instrument, the remaining term of the option, supply, demand, interest rates and/or currency exchange rates. An American style put or call option may be exercised at any time during the option period while a European style put or call option may be exercised only upon expiration or during a fixed period prior thereto.
Additional Information about the Spot XRP ETPs
It is currently expected that the Fund will initially derive a significant amount of its exposure to the price performance of XRP from its direct investment in one or more Spot XRP ETPs and swap agreements or options that reference a Spot XRP ETP. The Spot XRP ETPs in which the Fund may invest (or which may be used as a reference asset) are exchange-traded products that are designed to provide exposure to the performance of XRP and are fully secured by holdings of XRP. Each non-U.S. Spot XRP ETPs issues bonds that are collateralized by the respective amount of units of XRP. the Issuer shall at any given time procure in relation to issued bonds that it holds such amount of the underlying XRP equal to or exceeding the aggregate claims of the bondholders, expressed as a number of units of XRP. The value and performance of the Bonds materially depends on the value and performance of issuer’s holdings of XRP. Based on the non-U.S. Spot XRP ETPs’ payment and delivery obligations to bondholders, the bonds are expected (subject to the deduction of any fees and costs) to track the performance of XRP nearly 1:1.
An investor cannot purchase the bonds issued by non-U.S. Spot XRP ETPs directly from the issuer in the primary market. Initially, in the primary market, the bonds may only be subscribed for or purchased by authorized participants. Once the bonds issued by non-U.S. Spot XRP ETPs have been subscribed for or purchased in the primary market, investors may purchase the bonds in the secondary market from any person on an anonymous basis (i) via the relevant stock exchange (in case of bonds admitted to trading on a stock exchange) or (ii) over the counter.
As of the date of this Prospectus, there are no U.S. Spot XRP ETPs available for the Fund to invest in or use as a reference asset. Additional information about each of the Spot XRP ETPs in which the Fund may invest (or use as a reference asset) is detailed below:
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| Name and Ticker | Domicile | Listing Exchange(s) | XRP Holdings
(as of March 14, 2025) |
| 21Shares XRP ETP (AXRP) | Switzerland | SIX Swiss Exchange
Boerse Duesseldorf
Boerse Stuttgart
BX Swiss
Deutsche Boerse Xetra
Euronext Amsterdam
Euronext Paris
Gettex | $234,102,030.50 |
| Bitwise Physical XRP ETP (GXRP) | Germany | Deutsche Boerse Xetra | 109,393,488.35 |
| Virtune XRP ETP (VIRXRP) | Sweden | Nasdaq Stockholm
Nasdaq Helsinki | 50,146,061.28 |
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| WisdomTree Physical XRP ETP (XRPW) | Jersey | SIX Swiss Exchange
Euronext Paris
Euronext Amsterdam
Deutsche Boerse Xetra | 107,303,793.70 |
| CoinShares Physical XRP ETP (XRPL) | Jersey | Deutsche Boerse Xetra
| 89,954,671.40 |
The value of shares of a Spot XRP ETP may not directly correspond to the price of XRP, and is highly volatile. The price of a Spot XRP ETP may go down even if the price of the underlying asset, XRP, remains unchanged. Additionally, shares that trade at a premium mean that an investor who purchases $1 of a portfolio will actually own less than $1 in assets.
Each Spot XRP ETP is a passive investment vehicle that does not seek to generate returns beyond tracking the price of XRP. This means the sponsor does not speculatively sell XRP at times when its price is high or speculatively acquire XRP at low prices in the expectation of future price increases. The Spot XRP ETPs will not utilize hedging, leverage, derivatives or any similar arrangements in seeking to meet its investment objective. Each Spot XRP ETP’s custodian will keep custody of the Spot XRP ETP’s XRP, and will keep all of the private keys associated with such Spot XRP ETP’s XRP held by the custodian in “cold storage.” “Cold storage” is a safeguarding method by which the private keys corresponding to the particular Spot XRP ETP’s XRP are generated and stored in an offline manner using computers or devices that are not connected to the internet, which is intended to make them more resistant to hacking.
XRP
XRP is a digital asset that is created and transmitted through the operations of the XRP Ledger, a distributed ledger upon which XRP transactions are processed and settled. XRP can be used to pay for goods and services or it can be converted to fiat currencies, such as the U.S. dollar. The XRP Ledger is based on a shared public ledger similar to the Bitcoin network. However, the XRP Ledger differentiates itself from other digital asset networks in that its stated primary function is transactional utility, not store of value. The XRP Ledger is designed to be a global real-time payment and settlement system. XRP and the XRP Ledger aim to improve the speed at which parties on the network may transfer value while also reducing the fees and delays associated with the traditional methods of interbank payments.
No single entity controls the XRP Ledger. Instead, a network of independent nodes validates transactions pursuant to a consensus-based algorithm (the “Ripple Protocol Consensus Algorithm”). It is this mechanism, as opposed to the proof-of-work mechanism utilized by the Bitcoin blockchain, that allows the XRP Ledger to be fast, energy-efficient and scalable, and therefore suitable for its most prominent use, the facilitation of cross-border financial transactions.
These independent nodes do not mine new blocks but participate in a consensus process to ensure that transactions are valid and correctly ordered on the ledger. Any node can be a validator, but for practical purposes, the XRP Ledger depends on a list of trusted validators known as the Unique Node List or “UNL.” Validators are entities (such as individuals, institutions, or other organizations) that run nodes to participate in the consensus process. These validators ensure the integrity and accuracy of the ledger. Each node in the network maintains a Unique Node List — a list of other validators that the node trusts to reliably validate transactions; however, there needs to be some overlap in the UNLs for consensus to work effectively.
Principal Investment Risks
XRP and XRP-related investments are relatively new investments. They are subject to unique and substantial risks and historically have been subject to significant price volatility. The value of an investment in the Fund could decline significantly and without warning, including to $0. You should be prepared for the possibility of losing your entire investment. The performance of XRP-related investments, and therefore the performance of the Fund, may differ significantly from the performance of XRP.
The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s NAV, trading price, yield, total return, and/or ability to meet its investment objective.
As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your money invested in the Fund. The Fund may not achieve its leveraged investment objective. The Fund presents risks not traditionally associated with other mutual funds and ETFs. For example, due to the Fund’s daily leveraged investment objective, a small adverse move in XRP price will result in larger and potentially substantial declines in the Fund. The following risks could affect the value of your investment in the Fund:
•XRP Risk. Crypto assets, such as XRP, operate without central authority or banks and are not backed by any government. Crypto assets are often referred to as a “virtual asset” or “digital asset,” and operate as a decentralized, peer-to-peer financial trading platform and value storage that is used like money. A crypto asset is also not a legal tender. Investments linked to XRP can be highly volatile compared to investments in traditional securities and the Fund may experience sudden and large losses. The markets for XRP and XRP-related investments may become illiquid. These markets may fluctuate widely based on a variety of
factors including changes in overall market movements, political and economic events, wars, acts of terrorism, natural disasters (including disease, epidemics and pandemics) and changes in interest rates or inflation rates. An investor should be prepared to lose the full principal value of their investment suddenly and without warning. A number of factors affect the price and market for XRP:
◦New Technology. XRP is a relatively new technological innovation with a limited operating history. XRP has a relatively limited history of existence and operations. There is a limited established performance record for the price of XRP and, in turn, a limited basis for evaluating an investment in XRP.
◦Supply and Demand of XRP. Unlike other digital assets such as bitcoin or ether, XRP is not and was not mined gradually over time. Instead, all 100 billion XRP tokens were created at the time of the XRP Ledger’s launch in 2012. This means that every XRP token that exists today, or will ever exist, was generated from the outset of the XRP Ledger. As a result, there is no ability for the supply of XRP to be adjusted in response to economic conditions. For instance, there is no ability for the supply of XRP to be increased to meet rising demand, which could lead to price volatility. In addition, unlike blockchains that utilize “proof-of-work” or “proof-of-stake” where miners or stakers are rewarded with newly minted coins or tokens, XRP validators are not incentivized by block rewards since there is no new issuance of XRP.
Additionally, the fixed supply of XRP, combined with the burning of XRP (permanently destroyed) as transaction fees, could create deflationary pressure over time. A small amount of XRP is burned with every transaction to prevent spam on the network. While the amount of XRP burned per transaction is minuscule, over time, the total supply of XRP will slowly decrease. This could lead to a deflationary environment where the decreasing supply drives up the price of XRP, making it less practical as a medium of exchange. Additionally, as the total supply of XRP slowly shrinks due to burning, liquidity could become an issue in the distant future, potentially making it harder for businesses and users to access sufficient XRP for their transactions.
The fixed supply of XRP could also contribute to price volatility, especially if demand fluctuates significantly. Since the supply of XRP is fixed, any significant surge in demand can result in large price spikes. For example, during periods of high market activity or speculation, the price of XRP could rapidly increase due to the inability to expand supply to match demand. This volatility could make XRP less predictable for businesses that rely on it for payments. Digital assets with a flexible supply, such as stablecoins, can adjust to maintain a stable value. XRP, however, could experience price swings that make it less attractive for everyday transactions or long-term financial planning.
The fixed supply of XRP may also not scale well with rapidly expanding use cases. To the extent more businesses, financial institutions, and payment providers adopt XRP for cross-border transactions and other use cases, there is a risk that the fixed supply may not meet such growing demand, leading to supply shortages and further price volatility. In the case of massive adoption, the scarcity of XRP could raise its value too much, making it less appealing for day-to-day transactions or use as a liquidity bridge in cross-border payments, as businesses might prefer a more stable and widely available currency.
Ripple Labs holds a large portion of the XRP supply, which has led to concerns about centralization. Despite escrow mechanisms that gradually release XRP into the market, Ripple Labs still retains control over a significant portion of XRP, which can impact market dynamics if large amounts are sold. The concentration of XRP in the hands of Ripple Labs and early stakeholders could affect the market’s confidence in XRP as a decentralized asset.
◦Adoption and Use of XRP. The continued adoption of XRP will require growth in its usage as a means of exchange and payment. Even if growth in XRP adoption continues in the near or medium-term, there is no assurance that XRP usage will continue to grow over the long-term. A contraction in the use of XRP may result in a lack of liquidity, increased volatility in and a reduction to the price of XRP.
◦The Regulatory Environment Relating to XRP. The regulation of cryptocurrencies, digital assets and related investments in the U.S. is in its nascent stages and the nature and extent of the regulatory framework to be implemented is not yet clear. Federal and state, as well as foreign governments may restrict the use and exchange of a crypto asset, such as XRP. Depending on its characteristics, a digital asset, including XRP, may be considered a “security” under U.S. federal and/or state securities laws. The test for determining whether a particular digital asset is a “security” is complex and difficult to apply, and the outcome is difficult to predict. Any enforcement action by the SEC or a state securities regulator asserting that XRP is a security, or a court decision to that effect, would be expected to have an immediate material adverse impact on the trading price of XRP, as well as the Shares. This is because the business models behind most digital assets are incompatible with regulations applying to transactions in securities. If a digital asset is determined to be a security, it is likely to become difficult or impossible for the digital asset to be traded, cleared or custodied in the United States through the same channels used by non-security digital assets, which in addition to materially and adversely affecting the trading value of the digital asset is likely to significantly impact its liquidity and market participants’ ability to convert the digital asset into U.S. dollars. Any assertion that a digital asset is a security by the SEC or another regulatory authority may have similar effects.
◦Largely Unregulated Marketplace. Digital asset markets, including spot markets for XRP, are growing rapidly. The spot markets through which XRP and other digital assets trade are new and, in some cases, may be subject to but not comply with
their relevant jurisdiction’s regulations. These markets are local, national and international and include a broadening range of digital assets and participants. Significant trading may occur on systems and platforms with minimum predictability. Spot markets may impose daily, weekly, monthly or customer-specific transaction or withdrawal limits or suspend withdrawals entirely, rendering the exchange of XRP for fiat currency difficult or impossible. Participation in spot markets requires users to take on credit risk by transferring XRP from a personal account to a third party’s account.
Digital asset exchanges do not appear to be subject to, or may not comply with, regulation in a similar manner as other regulated trading platforms, such as national securities exchanges or designated contract markets. Many digital asset exchanges are unlicensed, unregulated, operate without extensive supervision by governmental authorities, and do not provide the public with significant information regarding their ownership structure, management team, corporate practices, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance. In particular, those located outside the United States may be subject to significantly less stringent regulatory and compliance requirements in their local jurisdictions.
As a result, trading activity on or reported by these digital asset exchanges is generally significantly less regulated than trading in regulated U.S. securities and commodities markets, and may reflect behavior that would be prohibited in regulated U.S. trading venues. Furthermore, many spot markets lack certain safeguards put in place by more traditional exchanges to enhance the stability of trading on the exchange and prevent flash crashes, such as limit-down circuit breakers. As a result, the prices of digital assets such as XRP on digital asset exchanges may be subject to larger and/or more frequent sudden declines than assets traded on more traditional exchanges. Tools to detect and deter fraudulent or manipulative trading activities (such as market manipulation, front-running of trades, and wash-trading) may not be available to or employed by digital asset exchanges or may not exist at all. As a result, the marketplace may lose confidence in, or may experience problems relating to, these venues.
No XRP exchange is immune from these risks. While the Fund does not buy or sell XRP on XRP spot markets, the closure or temporary shutdown of XRP exchanges due to fraud, business failure, hackers or malware, or government-mandated regulation may reduce confidence in the XRP network and can slow down the mass adoption of XRP. Further, spot market failures or that of any other major component of the overall XRP ecosystem can have an adverse effect on XRP markets and the price of XRP and could therefore have a negative impact on the performance of the Fund. Furthermore, the closure or temporary shutdown of an XRP spot market may impact the Fund’s ability to determine the value of its XRP holdings or for the Fund’s Authorized Participants to effectively arbitrage the Shares.
◦Cybersecurity. As a digital asset, XRP is subject to the risk that malicious actors will exploit flaws in its code or structure that will allow them to, among other things, steal XRP held by others, control the blockchain, or steal personally identifying information. The occurrence of any of these events is likely to have a significant adverse impact on the price and liquidity of XRP and any XRP-related investments and therefore the value of an investment in the Fund. Additionally, the XRP Ledger’s functionality relies on the Internet. A significant disruption of Internet connectivity affecting large numbers of users or geographic areas could impede the functionality of the XRP Ledger. Any technical disruptions or regulatory limitations that affect Internet access may have an adverse effect on the XRP Ledger, the price of XRP and the value of an investment in the Fund. Finally, crypto asset platforms may stop operating or permanently shut down due to fraud, technical glitches, hackers or malware.
◦Forks. XRP, along with many other digital assets, are open source projects. The infrastructure and ecosystem that powers the XRP network are developed by different parties, including affiliated and non-affiliated engineers, developers, validators, platform developers, evangelists, marketers, exchange operators and other companies based around a service regarding XRP, each of whom may have different motivations, drivers, philosophies and incentives.
As a result, any individual can propose refinements or improvements to the XRP network’s source code through one or more software upgrades that could alter the protocols governing the XRP network and the properties of XRP. When a modification is proposed and a substantial majority of users and validators consent to the modification, the change is implemented and the XRP network remains uninterrupted. However, a “hard fork” occurs if less than a substantial majority of users and validators consent to the proposed modification, and the modification is not compatible with the software prior to its modification. In other words, two incompatible networks would then exist: (1) one network running the pre-modified software and (2) another network running the modified software. The effect of such a fork would be the existence of two versions of XRP running in parallel, and the creation of a new digital asset which lacks interchangeability with its predecessor. This is in contrast to a “soft fork,” or a proposed modification to the software governing the network that results in a post-update network that is compatible with the network as it existed prior to the update, because it restricts the network operations that can be performed after the update.
Forks may have a detrimental effect on the value of XRP. Forks can also introduce new security risks.
•XRP Exposure Risk. The Fund seeks to have significant exposure to XRP. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be disproportionately and significantly impacted by performance of XRP or events materially affecting the XRP ecosystem. The Fund’s exposure to XRP makes it more susceptible to any single occurrence affecting XRP or XRP-related investments, and may subject the Fund to greater market risk than more diversified funds.
The remaining principal risks are presented in alphabetical order to facilitate finding particular risks and comparing them with those of other funds.
•Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed and may not meet its investment objective based on the Adviser’s success or failure to implement strategies for the Fund. The Fund invests in complex instruments (each described below), including swap agreements and futures contracts. Such instruments may create enhanced risks for the Fund and the Adviser’s ability to control the Fund’s level of risk will depend on the Adviser’s skill in managing such instruments. In addition, the Adviser’s evaluations and assumptions regarding investments, interest rates, inflation, and other factors may not successfully achieve the Fund’s investment objective given actual market conditions.
•Cash Transaction Risk. The Fund expects to effect all of its creations and redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind securities. The Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. The use of cash creations and redemptions may also cause the Fund’s shares to trade in the market at wider bid-ask spreads or greater premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV. Further, effecting purchases and redemptions primarily in cash may cause the Fund to incur certain costs, such as portfolio transaction costs. These costs can decrease the Fund’s NAV if not offset by an authorized participant transaction fee.
•Clearing Broker Risk. The failure or bankruptcy of the Fund’s and the Subsidiary’s clearing broker could result in a substantial loss of Fund assets. Under current CFTC regulations, a clearing broker maintains customers’ assets in a bulk segregated account. If a clearing broker fails to do so or is unable to satisfy a substantial deficit in a customer account, its other customers may be subject to risk of loss of their funds in the event of that clearing broker’s bankruptcy. In that event, the clearing broker’s customers, such as the Fund and the Subsidiary, are entitled to recover, even in respect of property specifically traceable to them, only a proportional share of all property available for distribution to all of that clearing broker’s customers.
•Collateral Securities Risk. Collateral may include obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities, including bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury, money market funds and corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper. Some securities issued or guaranteed by federal agencies and U.S. government-sponsored instrumentalities may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, in which case the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the security for ultimate repayment, and may not be able to assert a claim against the United States itself in the event that the agency or instrumentality does not meet its commitment. The U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities do not guarantee the market value of their securities, and consequently, the value of such securities may fluctuate. Although the Fund may hold securities that carry U.S. government guarantees, these guarantees do not extend to shares of the Fund. The Fund’s investments in U.S. government securities will change in value in response to interest rate changes and other factors, such as the perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness. Money market funds are subject to management fees and other expenses. Therefore, investments in money market funds will cause the Fund to bear indirectly a proportional share of the fees and costs of the money market funds in which it invests. At the same time, the Fund will continue to pay its own management fees and expenses with respect to all of its assets, including any portion invested in the shares of the money market fund. It is possible to lose money by investing in money market funds. Corporate debt securities such as commercial paper generally are short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses. Corporate debt may be rated investment-grade or below investment-grade and may carry variable or floating rates of interest. Corporate debt securities carry both credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk is the risk that the Fund could lose money if the issuer of a corporate debt security is unable to pay interest or repay principal when it is due. Interest rate risk is the risk that interest rates rise and fall over time. For example, the value of fixed-income securities generally decrease when interest rates rise, which may cause the Fund’s value to decrease. Also, investments in fixed-income securities with longer maturities fluctuate more in response to interest rate changes. Some corporate debt securities that are rated below investment-grade generally are considered speculative because they present a greater risk of loss, including default, than higher quality debt securities.
•Commodity Pool Regulatory Risk. The Fund’s investment exposure to commodity futures and swaps will cause it to be deemed to be a commodity pool, thereby subjecting the Fund to regulation under the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”) and CFTC rules. The Adviser is registered as a Commodity Trading Advisor (“CTA”) and a Commodity Pool Operator (“CPO”), and the Fund will be operated in accordance with applicable CFTC rules, as well as the regulatory scheme applicable to registered investment companies. Registration as a CPO imposes additional compliance obligations on the Adviser and the Fund related to additional laws, regulations, and enforcement policies, which could increase compliance costs and may affect the operations and financial performance of the Fund.
•Counterparty Risk. Counterparty risk is the risk that a counterparty to Fund transactions (e.g., swap transactions) will be unable or unwilling to perform its contractual obligation to the Fund. The Fund expects to use futures contracts and swap agreements to gain exposure to XRP without purchasing XRP directly in order to achieve its investment objective. Through these investments and related arrangements, the Fund is exposed to the risk that the counterparty may be unwilling or unable to make timely payments contemplated by such arrangements or otherwise to meet its contractual obligations (i.e., counterparty credit risk). If the counterparty becomes bankrupt or defaults on (or otherwise becomes unable or unwilling to perform) its payment or other
obligations to the Fund, the Fund may not receive the full amount it is entitled to receive or may experience delays in recovering the collateral or other assets held by, or on behalf of, the counterparty. If this occurs, the value of your Shares in the Fund will decrease.
In addition, the Fund may enter into swap agreements with a limited number of counterparties, which may increase the Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk. To the extent the Fund’s counterparties are concentrated in the financial services sector, the Fund bears the risk that those counterparties may be adversely affected by legislative or regulatory changes, adverse market conditions, increased competition, and/or wide scale credit losses resulting from financial difficulties or borrowers affecting that economic sector. Further, there is a risk that no suitable counterparties will be willing to enter into, or continue to enter into, transactions with the Fund and, as a result, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective.
•Cybersecurity Risk. Cybersecurity incidents may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets or proprietary information, or cause the Fund, the Adviser, and/or other service providers (including custodians and financial intermediaries) to suffer data breaches or data corruption. Additionally, cybersecurity failures or breaches of the electronic systems of the Fund, the Adviser, or the Fund’s other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants (“APs”), the Fund’s primary listing exchange, or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests have the ability to disrupt and negatively affect the Fund’s business operations, including the ability to purchase and sell Shares, potentially resulting in financial losses to the Fund and its shareholders.
•Daily Correlation/Tracking Risk. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation to the price performance of XRP and therefore achieve its daily leveraged investment objective. The Fund seeks to adjust its exposure to the Reference Assets daily to keep leverage consistent with its daily leveraged investment objective and to achieve a high degree of correlation with the price performance of XRP. In addition, the Fund’s exposure to the price of XRP is impacted by the movement of the price of XRP. Because of this, it is unlikely that the Fund will be perfectly exposed to the price performance of XRP at the end of each day. The possibility of the Fund being materially over- or under-exposed to the price performance of XRP increases on days when the price of XRP is volatile near the close of the trading day. Market disruptions, regulatory restrictions, and extreme volatility will also adversely affect the Fund’s ability to adjust exposure to the required levels.
The Fund may have difficulty achieving its daily leveraged investment objective for many reasons, including fees, expenses, transaction costs, financing costs related to the use of derivatives, accounting standards and their application to income items, disruptions, illiquidity or high volatility in the markets for the securities or financial instruments in which the Fund invests. The Fund may be subject to large movements of assets into and out of the Fund, potentially resulting in the Fund being over- or under-exposed to XRP. These factors could decrease the correlation between the performance of the Fund and XRP and may hinder the Fund’s ability to meet its daily leveraged investment objective on or around that day.
•Derivatives Risk. The Fund’s derivative investments have risks, including the imperfect correlation between the value of such instruments and the underlying assets or index; the loss of principal, including the potential loss of amounts greater than the initial amount invested in the derivative instrument; and illiquidity of the derivative investments. The derivatives used by the Fund may give rise to a form of leverage. Leverage magnifies the potential for gain and may result in greater losses, which in some cases may cause the Fund to liquidate other portfolio investments at inopportune times (e.g., at a loss to comply with limits on leverage imposed by the 1940 Act or when the Adviser otherwise would have preferred to hold the investment) or to meet redemption requests. Certain of the Fund’s transactions in derivatives could also affect the amount, timing, and character of distributions to shareholders, which may result in the Fund realizing more short-term capital gain and ordinary income subject to tax at ordinary income tax rates than it would if it did not engage in such transactions, which may adversely impact the Fund’s after-tax returns. To the extent the Fund invests in such derivative instruments, the value of the Fund’s portfolio is likely to experience greater volatility over short-term periods.
◦Futures Contracts Risk. The successful use of futures contracts draws upon the Adviser’s skill and experience with respect to such instruments and is subject to special risk considerations. The primary risks associated with the use of futures contracts, which may adversely affect the Fund’s NAV and total return, are (a) the imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the commodity future and the price of commodity; (b) possible lack of a liquid secondary market for a futures contract and the resulting inability to close a futures contract when desired; (c) losses caused by unanticipated market movements, which are potentially unlimited; (d) the Adviser’s inability to predict correctly the direction of securities prices, interest rates, currency exchange rates and other economic factors; (e) the possibility that the counterparty will default in the performance of its obligations; and (f) if the Fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell securities from its portfolio to meet daily variation margin requirements, and the Fund may have to sell securities at a time when it maybe disadvantageous to do so.
If the Fund’s ability to obtain exposure to commodities futures consistent with its investment objective is disrupted for any reason, including limited liquidity in the commodities futures market, a disruption to the commodities futures, or as a result of margin requirements or position limits imposed by the Fund’s FCMs, the DCM, or the CFTC on the Fund or the Adviser, the Fund would not be able to achieve its investment objective and may experience significant losses.
◦Cost of Futures Investment Risk. When a commodities futures contract is nearing expiration, the Fund will generally sell it and use the proceeds to buy a commodities futures contract with a later expiration date. This practice is commonly referred to as “rolling.” The costs associated with rolling commodities futures contract typically are substantially higher than the costs associated with other futures contracts and may have a significant adverse impact on the performance of the Fund. In addition, the presence of contango in certain futures contracts at the time of rolling would be expected to adversely affect the Fund. Similarly, the presence of backwardation in certain futures contracts at the time of rolling such contracts would be expected to positively affect the Fund. The futures contracts markets have experienced, and are likely to experience again in the future, extended periods in which contango or backwardation have affected various types of futures contracts. These extended periods have caused in the past, and may cause in the future, significant losses.
◦Swap Agreements Risk. Swap agreements are contracts among the Fund and a counterparty to exchange the return of the pre-determined underlying investment (such as the rate of return of the underlying commodity). Swap agreements may be negotiated bilaterally and traded over-the-counter (“OTC”) between two parties or, for certain standardized swaps, must be exchange-traded through a futures commission merchant (“FCM”) and/or cleared through a clearinghouse that serves as a central counterparty. Swap agreements may be subject to fees and expenses, and by investing in swaps indirectly through the Fund, a shareholder will bear the expenses of such derivatives in addition to expenses of the Fund. Risks associated with the use of swap agreements are different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions, due in part to the fact they could be considered illiquid and many swaps trade on the OTC market. Swaps are particularly subject to counterparty credit, correlation, valuation, liquidity and leveraging risks. While exchange trading and central clearing are intended to reduce counterparty credit risk and increase liquidity, they do not make swap transactions risk-free. Additionally, applicable regulators have adopted rules imposing certain margin requirements, including minimums, on OTC swaps, which may result in the Fund and its counterparties posting higher margin amounts for OTC swaps, which could increase the cost of swap transactions to the Fund and impose added operational complexity.
◦Swaps Capacity Risk. If the Fund’s or the Subsidiary’s ability to obtain exposure to swaps consistent with its investment objective is disrupted for any reason including, for example, limited liquidity in the XRP market, a disruption to the XRP market, or as a result of margin requirements or other limitations imposed by the Fund’s swaps dealers or the CFTC or other regulators, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective and may experience significant losses.
In such circumstances, the Adviser intends to take such action as it believes appropriate and in the best interest of the Fund. Any disruption in the Fund’s or the Subsidiary’s ability to obtain exposure to swaps will cause the Fund’s performance to deviate from the performance of XRP. Additionally, the ability of the Fund or the Subsidiary to obtain exposure to swaps is limited by certain tax rules that limit the amount the Fund can invest in the Subsidiary as of the end of each tax quarter. Exceeding this amount may have tax consequences, see “Tax Risk” for more information.
Margin levels for swap contracts based on XRP may be substantially higher than margin requirements for more established swaps and futures contracts. Additionally, margin requirements are subject to change, and may be raised in the future by swaps dealers or regulators. High margin requirements could prevent the Fund, or the Subsidiary, from obtaining sufficient exposure to XRP-based swaps and may adversely affect its ability to achieve its investment objective. Further, swaps counterparties utilized by the Fund or Subsidiary may impose limits on the amount of exposure to swaps contracts the Fund or Subsidiary can obtain through such counterparty. If the Fund or Subsidiary cannot obtain sufficient exposure to XRP-based swaps, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective.
◦Options Risk. The buyer of an option acquires the right, but not the obligation, to buy (a call option) or sell (a put option) a certain quantity of a security (the underlying security) or instrument, including a futures contract or swap, at a certain price up to a specified point in time. The seller or writer of an option is obligated to sell (a call option) or buy (a put option) the underlying instrument. When the Fund sells an option, it gains the amount of the premium it receives, but also incurs a liability representing the value of the option it has sold until the option is either exercised and finishes “in the money,” meaning it has value and can be sold, or the option expires worthless, or the expiration of the option is “rolled,” or extended forward. The value of the options in which the Fund invests is based partly on the volatility used by market participants to price such options (i.e., implied volatility). Accordingly, increases in the implied volatility of such options will cause the value of such options to increase (even if the prices of the options’ underlying assets do not change), which will result in a corresponding increase in the liabilities of the Fund under such options and thus decrease the Fund’s NAV.
Options are often used to manage or hedge risk because they enable an investor to buy or sell an asset in the future at an agreed-upon price. Options used by the Fund to reduce volatility may not perform as intended and may not fully protect the Fund against declines in the value of its portfolio investments. Options also are used for other reasons, such as to manage exposure to changes in interest rates and bond prices; as an efficient means of adjusting overall exposure to certain markets; in an effort to enhance income; to protect the value of portfolio securities or other instruments; and to adjust portfolio duration.
Options are subject to correlation risk. The writing and purchasing of options are highly specialized activities as the successful use of options depends on the Adviser’s ability to predict correctly future price fluctuations and the degree of
correlation between the markets for options and the underlying instruments. Exchanges can limit the number of positions that can be held or controlled by the Fund or its Adviser, thus limiting the ability to implement the Fund’s strategies. Options also are particularly subject to leverage risk and can be subject to liquidity risk. Because option premiums paid or received by the Fund are small in relation to the market value of the investments underlying the options, the Fund is exposed to the risk that buying and selling put and call options can be more speculative than investing directly in securities.
Purchasing put options may result in the Fund’s loss of premiums paid in the event that the put options expire unexercised. To the extent that the Fund reduces its put option holdings relative to the number of call options sold by the Fund, the Fund’s ability to mitigate losses in the event of a market decline will be reduced.
◦Foreign Exchange-Traded Options and Futures. Participation in foreign futures and foreign options transactions involves the execution and clearing of trades on, or subject to the rules of, a foreign board of trade. Neither the National Futures Association nor any domestic exchange regulates activities of any foreign boards of trade, including the execution, delivery, and clearing of transactions, or has the power to compel enforcement of the rules of a foreign board of trade or any applicable foreign law. This is true even if the exchange is formally linked to a domestic market so that a position taken on the market may be liquidated by a transaction on another market. Moreover, such laws or regulations will vary depending on the foreign country in which the foreign futures or foreign options transaction occurs. For these reasons, when the Fund trades foreign futures or foreign options contracts, it may not be afforded certain of the protective measures provided by the Commodity Exchange Act, the CFTC’s regulations, and the rules of the National Futures Association and any domestic exchange, including the right to use reparations proceedings before the CFTC and arbitration proceedings provided by the National Futures Association or any domestic futures exchange. In particular, proceeds derived from foreign futures or foreign options transactions may not be provided the same protections as proceeds derived from transactions on U.S. futures exchanges. In addition, the price of any foreign futures or foreign options contract and, therefore, the potential profit and loss thereon, may be affected by any variance in the foreign exchange rate between the time the Fund’s orders are placed and the time they are liquidated, offset, or exercised.
•Early Close/Trading Halt Risk. An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific investments, 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.
•Effects of Compounding and Market Volatility Risk. The Fund has a daily leveraged investment objective and the Fund’s performance for periods greater than a trading day will be the result of each day’s returns compounded over the period, which is very likely to differ from two times (2x) the price performance of XRP, before fees and expenses. Compounding affects all investments, but has a more significant impact on funds that are leveraged and that rebalance daily. For a leveraged fund, if adverse daily performance of the price of XRP reduces the amount of a shareholder’s investment, any further adverse daily performance will lead to a smaller dollar loss because the shareholder’s investment had already been reduced by the prior adverse performance. Equally, however, if favorable daily performance of the price of XRP increases the amount of a shareholder’s investment, the dollar amount lost due to future adverse performance will increase because the shareholder’s investment has increased.
The effect of compounding becomes more pronounced as volatility of the price of XRP and the holding period increase. The impact of compounding will impact each shareholder differently depending on the period of time an investment in the Fund is held and the volatility of the price of XRP during the shareholder’s holding period of an investment in the Fund.
The table below provides examples of how reference price volatility could affect the Fund’s performance. The table illustrates the impact of two factors that affect the Fund’s performance: XRP price volatility and the price performance of XRP. The price performance of XRP shows the percentage change in the price of XRP over the specified time period, while XRP price volatility is a statistical measure of the magnitude of fluctuations in the price performance during that time period. As illustrated below, even if the price change over two equal time periods is identical, different price volatility (i.e., fluctuations in the rates of return) during the two time periods could result in drastically different Fund performance for the two time periods due to the effects of compounding daily returns during the time periods.
Fund performance for periods greater than one single day can be estimated given any set of assumptions for the following factors: a) price volatility; b) price performance; c) period of time; d) financing rates associated with leveraged exposure; and e) other Fund expenses. The table below illustrates the impact of two principal factors – price volatility and price performance – on Fund performance. The table shows estimated Fund returns for a number of combinations of price volatility and price performance over a one-year period. Performance shown in the chart assumes that: (i) no dividends were paid with respect to the reference asset; (ii) there were no Fund expenses; and (iii) borrowing/lending rates (to obtain leveraged exposure) of 0%. If Fund expenses and/or actual borrowing/lending rates were reflected, the estimated returns would be different than those shown. Particularly during periods of higher price volatility, compounding will cause results for periods longer than a trading day to vary from two times (2x) the performance of the price of XRP.
As shown in the table below, the Fund would be expected to lose 6.1% if the price of XRP did not change over a one year period during which the price experienced annualized volatility of 25%. At higher ranges of volatility, there is a chance of a significant loss of value in the Fund, even if the price is flat. For instance, if the annualized volatility of the price of XRP is 100%, the Fund would be expected to lose 63.2% of its value, even if the cumulative change in the price of XRP for the year was 0%. Areas shaded red (or dark gray) represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return less than two times (2x) the change in the price of XRP and those shaded green (or light gray) represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return more than two times (2x) the change in the price of XRP. The Fund’s actual returns may be significantly better or worse than the returns shown below as a result of any of the factors discussed above or in “Daily Correlation/Tracking Risk” above.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| One Year Price Performance | Two Times (2x)
One Year Price Performance | Volatility Rate |
| Return | Return | 10% | 25% | 50% | 75% | 100% |
| -60% | -120% | -84.2% | -85.0% | -87.5% | -90.9% | -94.1% |
| -50% | -100% | -75.2% | -76.5% | -80.5% | -85.8% | -90.8% |
| -40% | -80% | -64.4% | -66.2% | -72.0% | -79.5% | -86.8% |
| -30% | -60% | -51.5% | -54.0% | -61.8% | -72.1% | -82.0% |
| -20% | -40% | -36.6% | -39.9% | -50.2% | -63.5% | -76.5% |
| -10% | -20% | -19.8% | -23.9% | -36.9% | -53.8% | -70.2% |
| 0% | 0% | -1.0% | -6.1% | -22.1% | -43.0% | -63.2% |
| 10% | 20% | 19.8% | 13.7% | -5.8% | -31.1% | -55.5% |
| 20% | 40% | 42.6% | 35.3% | 12.1% | -18.0% | -47.0% |
| 30% | 60% | 67.3% | 58.8% | 31.6% | -3.7% | -37.8% |
| 40% | 80% | 94.0% | 84.1% | 52.6% | 11.7% | -27.9% |
| 50% | 100% | 122.8% | 111.4% | 75.2% | 28.2% | -17.2% |
| 60% | 120% | 153.5% | 140.5% | 99.4% | 45.9% | -5.8% |
•ETF Risks. The Fund is an ETF and, as a result of its structure, it is exposed to the following risks:
◦Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as APs. In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting if either: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services, or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
◦Costs of Buying or Selling Shares Risk. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and 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.
◦Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV 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 price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant.
◦Trading Risk. Although Shares are listed for trading on the NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”) and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than the Shares.
•High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may frequently buy and sell investments. Higher portfolio turnover may result in the Fund paying higher levels of transaction costs and generating greater tax liabilities for shareholders. Portfolio turnover risk may cause the Fund’s performance to be less than you expect.
•Intra-Day Investment Risk. The Fund seeks leveraged investment results from the close of the market on a given trading day until the close of the market on the subsequent trading day. The exact exposure of an investment in the Fund intraday in the secondary market is a function of the difference between the price of XRP at the market close on the first trading day and the price of XRP at the time of purchase. If the price of XRP increases, the Fund’s net assets will rise by the same amount as the Fund’s exposure. Conversely, if the price of XRP declines, the Fund’s net assets will decline by the same amount as the Fund’s
exposure. Thus, an investor that purchases shares intra-day may experience performance that is greater than, or less than, the Fund’s stated multiple of the price performance of XRP.
If there is a significant intra-day market event and/or the price of XRP experiences a significant decrease, the Fund may not meet its investment objective or rebalance its portfolio appropriately. Additionally, the Fund may close to purchases and sales of Shares prior to the close of regular trading on the Exchange and incur significant losses.
•Leverage Risk. The Fund seeks to achieve and maintain the exposure to the price of XRP by using leverage. Therefore, the Fund is subject to leverage risk. When the Fund purchases or sells an instrument or enters into a transaction without investing an amount equal to the full economic exposure of the instrument or transaction, it creates leverage, which can result in the Fund losing more than it originally invested. As a result, these investments may magnify losses to the Fund, and even a small market movement may result in significant losses to the Fund. Leverage may also cause the Fund to be more volatile because it may exaggerate the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities. Swaps and futures trading involves a degree of leverage and as a result, a relatively small price movement in the reference asset may result in immediate and substantial losses to the Fund.
•Liquidity Risk. Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. This can reduce the Fund's returns because the Fund may be unable to transact at advantageous times or prices.
•Market Risk. The trading prices of securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors. These factors include events impacting the entire market or specific market segments, such as political, market and economic developments, as well as events that impact specific issuers. The Fund’s NAV and market price, like security and commodity prices generally, may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time. U.S. and international markets have experienced significant periods of volatility in recent years due to a number of these factors, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health issues, growth concerns in the U.S. and overseas, uncertainties regarding interest rates, and trade tensions. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, acts of terrorism, recessions, rising inflation, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. These developments as well as other events could result in further market volatility and negatively affect financial asset prices, the liquidity of certain securities and the normal operations of securities exchanges and other markets.
•New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors have no track record or history on which to base their investment decision.
•Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a lesser number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, the Fund may be more exposed to the risks associated with and developments affecting an individual issuer or a lesser number of issuers than a fund that invests more widely. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively small number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
•Reverse Repurchase Agreements Risk. A reverse repurchase agreement is the sale by the Fund of a debt obligation to a party for a specified price, with the simultaneous agreement by the Fund to repurchase that debt obligation from that party on a future date at an agreed upon price. Similar to borrowing, reverse repurchase agreements provide the Fund with cash for investment purposes, which creates leverage and subjects the Fund to the risks of leverage. Reverse repurchase agreements also involve the risk that the other party may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. The Fund could lose money if it is unable to recover the securities and the value of collateral held by the Fund, including the value of the investments made with cash collateral, is less than the value of securities.
•Spot XRP ETP Risks. In addition to the risks associated with XRP noted above, Spot XRP ETPs are subject to additional risks:
•ETP Risk. The Fund may invest in Spot XRP ETPs or use them as reference assets for XRP-related investments. ETP shares trade like exchange-traded funds on a securities exchange. The price of a Spot XRP ETP is derived from and based upon the value of spot XRP and cash held by the Spot XRP ETP. However, shares of Spot XRP ETPs are not traded at net asset value, but may trade at prices above or below the value of their underlying portfolios. The level of risk involved in the purchase or sale of a Spot XRP ETP is similar to the risk involved in the purchase or sale of an exchange-traded fund, except that the pricing mechanism for a Spot XRP ETP is based on a basket of XRP and cash. Thus, the risks of owning a Spot XRP ETP generally reflects the risks of owning the underlying XRP and cash that the Spot XRP ETP holds. Certain Spot XRP ETPs, such as the Bitwise Physical XRP ETP, Virtune XRP ETP, and WisdomTree Physical XRP ETP, have a limited history of operations. Because certain Spot XRP ETPs are relatively new products, their shares may have a lack of liquidity, which could result in the market price of the Spot XRP ETP shares being more volatile than the underlying portfolio of XRP and cash. Disruptions in the markets for XRP could result in losses on investment in Spot XRP ETPs. In addition, an actual trading market may not develop for Spot XRP ETP shares and the listing exchange may halt trading of a Spot XRP ETP’s shares. Spot XRP ETPs are subject to management fees and other fees that may increase their costs versus the costs of owning XRP directly. The Fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of management fees and other expenses that are
charged by the Spot XRP ETP in addition to the management fees and other expenses paid by the Fund. The Fund will pay brokerage commissions in connection with the purchase and sale of shares of Spot XRP ETPs.
If the process of creation and redemption of baskets for the Spot XRP ETPs encounters any unanticipated difficulties, the possibility for arbitrage transactions by authorized participants intended to keep the price of the shares closely linked to the price of XRP may not exist and, as a result, the price of the shares may fall or otherwise diverge from net asset value. The liquidity of the shares may also be affected by the withdrawal from participation of authorized participants. Security threats to the Spot XRP ETP account at the custodian could result in the halting of the Spot XRP ETP’s operations and a loss of the Spot XRP ETP’s assets or damage to the reputation of the Spot XRP ETP, each of which could result in a reduction in the value of the Fund’s Shares. The price used to calculate the value of the Spot XRP ETP’s XRP may be volatile, adversely affecting the value of the Shares. If the Spot XRP ETP’s custodian agreement is terminated or its custodian fails to provide services as required, the Spot XRP ETP may need to find and appoint a replacement custodian, which could pose a challenge to the safekeeping of the Spot XRP ETP’s XRP, and the Spot XRP ETP’s ability to continue to operate may be adversely affected. Loss of a critical banking relationship for, or the failure of a bank used by, the Spot XRP ETP’s prime execution agent could adversely impact the Spot XRP ETP’s ability to create or redeem baskets, or could cause losses to the Spot XRP ETPs. A Spot XRP ETP may suspend the issuance of shares at any time which will impact the price of shares of a Spot XRP ETP, resulting in significant difference (premium/discount) between the Spot XRP ETP’s market price and its net asset value. Additionally, the Fund may be unable to transact in the shares of the Spot XRP ETP at an acceptable price and therefore the Fund may be unable to achieve its investment objective.
•Exposure Concentration Risk. It is currently expected that the Fund will derive a significant amount of its exposure to the price performance of XRP as a result of investing directly in Spot XRP ETPs or swap agreements or options that reference Spot XRP ETPs. As a result, the Fund’s performance will be highly dependent on the performance of the Spot XRP ETPs. If shares of the Spot XRP ETPs were to be delisted or lose their entire value, Fund Shares would also be expected to suffer a loss of value. The Fund’s strategy makes the Fund extremely susceptible to issuer-specific events relating to the Spot XRP ETPs that may not necessarily affect the XRP market more broadly. This inherently makes an investment in the Fund riskier than an investment in a fund that provides more diversified exposure. Neither the Fund nor the Adviser have conducted due diligence upon the Spot XRP ETPs and make no representations or warranties whatsoever regarding the Spot XRP ETPs’ ability to acquire, dispose of or maintain proper custody of XRP. In the event that there is an issue regarding the Spot XRP ETPs’ ability to acquire, dispose of or maintain proper custody of XRP, the Fund’s returns will be negatively impacted.
•Foreign Securities Risk. The Spot XRP ETPs that are used as reference assets for the Fund’s XRP-related investments, or in which the Fund may invest directly, may be domiciled in foreign countries and listed on foreign exchanges. ETPs domiciled in Europe may be less liquid than U.S. ETPs and their trading activity may be fractured as a result of listing on multiple exchanges. A European ETP may also trade in multiple currencies. Changes in currency exchange rates affect the value of investments denominated in a foreign currency, and therefore the value of such investments in the Fund’s portfolio. The Fund’s net asset value could decline if a currency to which the Fund has exposure depreciates against the U.S. dollar or if there are delays or limits on repatriation of such currency. 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.
Investments in non-U.S. securities involve certain risks that may not be present with investments in U.S. securities. These include risks of adverse changes in foreign economic, political, regulatory and other conditions, or changes in currency exchange rates or exchange control regulations (including limitations on currency movements and exchanges). The securities of some foreign companies may be less liquid and, at times, more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. companies. There may be less information publicly available about a non-U.S. issuer than a U.S. issuer. Non-U.S. issuers may be subject to different accounting, auditing, financial reporting and investor protection standards than U.S. issuers. Investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to withholding or other taxes and may be subject to additional trading, settlement, custodial, and operational risks. With respect to certain countries, there is the possibility of government intervention and expropriation or nationalization of assets. Because legal systems differ, there also is the possibility that it will be difficult to obtain or enforce legal judgments in certain countries. Since foreign exchanges may be open on days when the Fund does not price its shares, 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. Conversely, Shares may trade on days when foreign exchanges are closed. Each of these factors can make investments in the Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments.
•Subsidiary Investment Risk. By investing in the Subsidiary, the Fund is indirectly exposed to the risks associated with the Subsidiary’s investments. The derivatives and other investments held by the Subsidiary are generally similar to those that are permitted to be held by the Fund and are subject to the same risks that apply to similar investments if held directly by the Fund. The Subsidiary is not registered under the 1940 Act, and, unless otherwise noted in this Prospectus, is not subject to all the investor protections of the 1940 Act. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands could result in the inability of the Fund and/or the Subsidiary to continue to operate as it does currently and could adversely affect the Fund. For example, the Cayman Islands does not currently impose any income, corporate or capital gains tax or withholding tax on the
Subsidiary. If Cayman Islands law changes such that the Subsidiary must pay Cayman Islands taxes, Fund shareholders would likely suffer decreased investment returns.
•Tax Risk. The Fund may gain most of its exposure to XRP through its investment in the Subsidiary, which may invest directly in XRP-related investments, including swaps, futures contracts and reverse repurchase agreements. In order for the Fund to qualify as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code, the Fund must, among other requirements, derive at least 90% of its gross income for each taxable year from sources generating “qualifying income” for purposes of the “qualifying income test,” which is described in more detail in the section titled “Federal Income Taxes” in the SAI. The Fund’s investment in the Subsidiary is expected to provide the Fund with exposure to XRP-related investments within the limitations of the federal tax requirements of Subchapter M of the Code for qualification as a RIC. The “Subpart F” income (defined in Section 951 of the Code to include passive income) of the Fund attributable to its investment in the Subsidiary is “qualifying income” to the Fund to the extent that such income is derived with respect to the Fund’s business of investing in stock, securities or currencies. The Fund expects its “Subpart F” income attributable to its investment in the Subsidiary to be derived with respect to the Fund’s business of investing in stock, securities or currencies and accordingly expects its “Subpart F” income attributable to its investment in the Subsidiary to be treated as “qualifying income.” The Fund generally will be required to include in its own taxable income the “Subpart F” income of the Subsidiary for a tax year, regardless of whether the Fund receives a distribution of the Subsidiary’s income in that tax year, and this income would nevertheless be subject to the distribution requirement for qualification as a RIC and would be taken into account for purposes of the 4% excise tax. The Adviser will carefully monitor the Fund’s investments in the Subsidiary to ensure that no more than 25% of the Fund’s assets are invested in the Subsidiary to comply with the Asset Diversification Test as described in more detail in the SAI.
If the Fund did not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions were not available, the Fund’s taxable income would be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. In such event, in order to re-qualify for taxation as a RIC, the Fund might be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest and make certain distributions. This would cause investors to incur higher tax liabilities than they otherwise would have incurred and would have a negative impact on Fund returns. In such event, the Fund’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) may determine to reorganize or close the Fund or materially change the Fund’s investment objective and strategies. In the event that the Fund fails to qualify as a RIC, the Fund will promptly notify shareholders of the implications of that failure.
•Valuation Risk. The Fund or the Subsidiary may hold securities or other assets that may be valued on the basis of factors other than market quotations. This may occur because the asset or security does not trade on a centralized exchange, or in times of market turmoil or reduced liquidity. There are multiple methods that can be used to value a portfolio holding when market quotations are not readily available. The value established for any portfolio holding at a point in time might differ from what would be produced using a different methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations. Portfolio holdings that are valued using techniques other than market quotations, including “fair valued” assets or securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their valuations from one day to the next than if market quotations were used. In addition, there is no assurance that the Fund could sell or close out a portfolio position for the value established for it at any time, and it is possible that the Fund or the Subsidiary would incur a loss because a portfolio position is sold or closed out at a discount to the valuation established by the Fund or the Subsidiary at that time. The ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.
•Volatility Risk. The value of certain of the Fund’s investments, including swaps and futures, is subject to market risk. Market risk is the risk that the value of the investments to which the Fund is exposed will fall, which could occur due to general market or economic conditions or other factors.
•Whipsaw Markets Risk. The Fund may be subject to the forces of “whipsaw” markets (as opposed to choppy or stable markets), in which significant price movements develop but then repeatedly reverse. “Whipsaw” describes a situation where a security’s price is moving in one direction but then quickly pivots to move in the opposite direction. Such market conditions could cause substantial losses to the Fund.
•XRP-Related Company Risk. If the Fund is unable to obtain its desired exposure to XRP Swaps, the Fund may obtain exposure by investing in securities of “XRP-related companies.” There can be no assurance that the returns of XRP-related companies will correspond, or be closely-related, to the performance of XRP. XRP-related companies face rapid changes in technology, intense competition including the development and acceptance of competing platforms or technologies, loss or impairment of intellectual property rights, cyclical economic patterns, shifting consumer preferences, evolving industry standards, adverse effects of changes to a network’s or software’s protocols, a rapidly changing regulatory environment, and dependency on certain key personnel (including highly skilled financial services professionals and software engineers). XRP-related companies may be susceptible to operational and information security risks including those associated with hardware or software failures, interruptions, or delays in service by third party vendors, and security breaches. Certain XRP-related companies, such as Spot XRP ETPs may be subject to the risks associated with investing directly in XRP.
•XRP-Related Investments Tax Risk. As a RIC, the Fund must derive at least 90% of its gross income each taxable year from certain qualifying sources of income under the Code. The income of the Fund from certain XRP-related investments may be
treated as non-qualifying income for purposes of the Fund’s qualification as a RIC, in which case, the Fund might fail to qualify as a RIC and be subject to federal income tax at the Fund level. To the extent the Fund invests directly in XRP-related investments, the Fund will seek to restrict its income from such instruments that do not generate qualifying income to a maximum of 10% of its gross income (when combined with its other investments that produce non-qualifying income) to comply with the qualifying income test necessary for the Fund to qualify as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. However, the Fund may generate more non-qualifying income than anticipated, may not be able to generate qualifying income in a particular taxable year at levels sufficient to meet the qualifying income test, or may not be able to accurately predict the non-qualifying income from these investments.
The extent to which the Fund invests in XRP-related investments may be limited by the qualifying income test and the Asset Diversification Test, which the Fund must continue to satisfy to maintain its status as a RIC. If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions are not available, the Fund’s taxable income would be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. Failure to comply with the requirements for qualification as a RIC could have significant negative tax consequences to Fund shareholders. Under certain circumstances, the Fund may be able to cure a failure to meet the qualifying income requirement, but in order to do so the Fund may incur significant Fund-level taxes, which would effectively reduce (and could eliminate) the Fund’s returns. The tax treatment of certain XRP-related investments may be affected by future regulatory or legislative changes that could affect the character, timing and/or amount of the Fund’s taxable income or gains and distributions.
Performance
The Fund is new and therefore does not have a performance history for a full calendar year. In the future, performance information for the Fund will be presented in this section. Updated performance information is available on the Fund’s website at www.teucrium.com.
Management
| | | | | |
| Investment Adviser: | Teucrium Investment Advisors, LLC |
Portfolio Managers: | Springer Harris, a Portfolio Manager of the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in April 2025. Spencer Kristiansen and Joran Haugens, each Portfolio Managers of the Adviser, have been portfolio managers of the Fund since its inception in April 2025. |
Purchase and Sale of SharesThe Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only APs (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.
Shares are listed on the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a broker or dealer at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (the “bid” price) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (the “ask” price) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market. The difference in the bid and ask prices is referred to as the “bid-ask spread.”
Recent information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a premium or discount, and bid-ask spreads can be found on the Fund’s website at www.teucrium.com.
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless your investment is held in an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.
Financial Intermediary Compensation
If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other activities, such as marketing, educational training or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s website for more information.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND
Investment Objective
The Fund’s investment objective may be changed by the Board of Trustees of Listed Funds Trust (the “Trust”) without shareholder approval upon written notice to shareholders.
The Fund is designed to seek daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to two times (2x) the daily total return of XRP. If, on a given day, XRP gains 1%, the Fund is designed to gain approximately 2% (which is equal to two times 1%). Conversely, if XRP loses 1% on a given day, the Fund is designed to lose approximately 2%. The Fund seeks leveraged investment results on a daily basis – from the close of regular trading on one trading day to the close on the next trading day – which should not be equated with seeking a leveraged investment objective for any other period. The Fund is designed as a short-term trading vehicle. The Fund is intended to be used by investors who intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Adviser uses a number of investment techniques in an effort to achieve the stated investment objective for the Fund. The Fund seeks two times (2x) the daily price performance of XRP on a given day. To do this, the Adviser creates net “long” positions for the Fund. The Adviser may create short positions in the Fund even though the net exposure in the Fund will be long. Long positions move in the same direction as XRP, advancing when XRP advances and declining when XRP declines.
In seeking to achieve the Fund’s investment objective, the Adviser uses statistical and quantitative analysis to determine the investments the Fund makes and the techniques it employs. The Adviser determines the type, quantity, and mix of investment positions that it believes in combination should produce daily returns consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. In general, if the Fund is performing as designed, the return of XRP will dictate the return for the Fund. The Adviser does not invest the assets of the Fund in securities, derivatives, or other investments based on the Adviser’s view of the investment merit of a particular security, instrument, or company, nor does it conduct conventional investment research or analysis or forecast market movements or trends. The Fund generally pursues its investment objective regardless of the market conditions and does not take defensive positions.
The Fund has a clearly articulated daily leveraged investment objective which requires the Fund to seek economic exposure in excess of its net assets (i.e., economic leverage). The Fund invests in some combination of financial instruments so that it generates economic exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective.
The Fund will invest significantly in swap agreements, options and futures contracts to obtain economic “leverage.” Leveraging allows the Adviser to generate a greater positive or negative return for the Fund than what would be generated on the invested capital without leverage, thus changing small market movements into larger changes in the value of the investments of the Fund.
At the close of the markets on each trading day, the Fund will position its portfolio to ensure that the Fund’s exposure to XRP is consistent with the Fund’s stated investment objective. The impact of market movements during the day will generally require the Fund to adjust its exposure to the Reference Assets on a daily basis. If XRP has risen on a given day, the Fund’s net assets should rise, meaning its exposure will typically need to be increased. Conversely, if XRP has fallen on a given day, the Fund’s net assets should fall, meaning its exposure will typically need to be reduced.
The Fund may have difficulty in achieving its daily leveraged investment objective due to fees, expenses, transaction costs, income items, accounting standards, significant purchase and redemption activity by Fund shareholders, and/or disruptions or a temporary lack of liquidity in the markets for the investments held by the Fund.
An XRP-related exchange or market may close or issue trading halts, or the ability to buy or sell certain XRP-related investments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain 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.
The Fund may also invest in equity securities of “XRP-related companies.” For these purposes, XRP-related companies are companies, including Spot XRP ETPs, that the Adviser believes provide returns that generally correspond, or are closely related, to the performance of XRP.
If the Fund is unable to obtain sufficient leveraged exposure to XRP due to the limited availability of necessary investments or financial instruments, the Fund could, among other things, limit or suspend creation units until the Adviser determines that the requisite exposure to XRP is obtainable. During the period that creation units are suspended, the Fund could trade at a significant premium or discount to its NAV and could experience substantial redemptions.
Swap Agreements
Most swaps entered into by the Fund provide for the calculation and settlement of the obligations of the parties to the agreement on a “net basis” with a single payment. Consequently, the Fund’s current obligations (or rights) under a swap will generally be equal only to the net amount to be paid or received under the agreement based on the relative values of the positions held by each party to the agreement (the “net amount”). Other swaps may require initial premium (discount) payments as well as periodic payments (receipts) related to the interest leg of the swap or to the return on the reference entity. The Fund’s current obligations under the types of swaps
that the Fund expects to enter into (e.g., total return swaps) will be accrued daily (offset against any amounts owed to the Fund by the counterparty to the swap) and any accrued but unpaid net amounts owed to a swap counterparty will be collateralized by the Fund posting collateral to a tri-party account between the Fund’s custodian, the Fund, and the counterparty. However, typically no payments will be made until the settlement date.
Swap agreements do not involve the delivery of securities or other underlying assets. Accordingly, if a swap is entered into on a net basis and if the counterparty to a swap agreement defaults, the Fund’s risk of loss consists of the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually entitled to receive, if any.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements
The Fund may invest in reverse repurchase agreements, which are a form of borrowing in which the Fund sells portfolio securities to financial institutions and agrees to repurchase them at a mutually agreed-upon date and price that is higher than the original sale price, and uses the proceeds for investment purchases.
When the Fund seeks to reduce its total assets exposure to the Reference Assets held by its Subsidiary, it may use short-term Treasury bills it owns (or purchase additional Treasury bills as needed) to transact in reverse repurchase agreement transactions, which are ostensibly loans to the Fund. Those loans will increase the gross assets of the Fund, which the Adviser expects will allow the Fund to meet the Asset Diversification Test. When the Fund enters into a reverse repurchase agreement, it will either (i) be consistent with Section 18 of the 1940 Act and maintain asset coverage of at least 300% of the value of the reverse repurchase agreement; or (ii) treat the reverse repurchase agreement transactions as derivative transactions for purposes of Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act (“Rule 18f-4”), including as applicable, the value-at-risk based limit on leverage risk.
A Cautionary Note to Investors Regarding Dramatic XRP Movements
The Fund seeks daily exposure to XRP equal to 200% of its net assets. As a consequence, the Fund could lose an amount greater than its net assets in the event of a decline in the value of XRP in excess of 50% of the value of XRP. The risk of total loss exists. If the price of XRP has a dramatic adverse movement that causes a material decline in the Fund’s net assets, the terms of the Fund’s swap agreements may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the swap transaction. In that event, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swap agreement or invest in other derivatives to achieve exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This may prevent the Fund from achieving its leveraged investment objective, even if the price of XRP later reverses completely or partially.
Understanding the Risks and Long-Term Performance of Daily Objective Funds – the Impact of Compounding
The Fund is designed to provide leveraged (2x) results on a daily basis. The Fund, however, is unlikely to provide a simple multiple (i.e., 2x) of the price performance of XRP over periods longer than a single day.
•Why? The hypothetical example below illustrates how daily leveraged fund returns can behave for periods longer than a single day.
Take a hypothetical fund XYZ that seeks to achieve twice the daily price performance of XYZ digital asset (“XYZ DA”). On each day, fund XYZ performs in line with its objective (2x the daily price performance of XYZ DA before fees and expenses). Notice that over the entire five-day period, the fund’s total return is considerably less than two times that of the period performance of the price of XYZ DA. For the five-day period, the price of XYZ DA gained 5.1% while fund XYZ gained 9.9% (versus 2 x 5.1% or 10.2%). In other scenarios, the return of a daily rebalanced fund could be greater than three times the return of the asset.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Price of XYZ DA | Fund XYZ |
| Level | Daily Performance | Daily Performance | Net Asset Value |
| Start | 100.0 | | | $100.00 |
| Day 1 | 103.0 | 3.0% | 6.0% | $106.00 |
| Day 2 | 99.9 | -3.0% | -6.0% | $99.62 |
| Day 3 | 103.9 | 4.0% | 8.0% | $107.60 |
| Day 4 | 101.3 | -2.5% | -5.0% | $102.21 |
| Day 5 | 105.1 | 3.8% | 7.5% | $109.88 |
| Total Return | | 5.1% | 9.9% | |
•Why does this happen? This effect is caused by compounding, which exists in all investments, but has a more significant impact on a daily leveraged fund. The return of a daily leveraged fund for a period longer than a single day is the result of its return for each day compounded over the period and usually will differ in amount, and possibly even direction, from the daily leveraged fund’s stated multiple times the change in the price of the daily leveraged fund’s respective underlying asset for the same period. In general, during periods of higher volatility in the asset’s price, compounding will cause longer term results to be less than the multiple of the change in the asset’s price. This effect becomes more pronounced as volatility increases.
Conversely, in periods of lower volatility in the asset’s price, fund returns over longer periods can be higher than the multiple of the change in the asset’s price. Actual results for a particular period, before fees and expenses, are also dependent on the following factors: a) the volatility of the asset’s price; b) the change in the asset’s price; c) period of time; d) financing rates associated with derivatives; and e) other fund expenses. The examples herein illustrate the impact of two principal factors —price volatility and price change — on fund performance.
•What it means to you. Daily leveraged funds, if used properly and in conjunction with the investor’s view on the future direction and volatility of the markets, can be useful tools for knowledgeable investors who want to manage their exposure to various markets and market segments. Investors should understand the consequences of seeking daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to the performance of a daily benchmark such as the multiple (i.e., 2x) of the daily performance of a reference price for a single day, not for any other period, including the impact of compounding on fund performance. Investors should monitor and/or periodically rebalance their portfolios (which will possibly trigger transaction costs and tax consequences), as frequently as daily. Investors considering the Fund should understand that it is designed to provide a positive multiple of a price change for a single day, not for any other period.
Additionally, investors should recognize that the degree of volatility of XRP’s price can have a dramatic effect on the Fund’s longer-term performance. The more volatile XRP’s price is, the more the Fund’s longer-term performance will negatively deviate from a simple multiple (i.e., 2x) of XRP’s longer-term performance. The return of the Fund for a period longer than a single day is the result of its return for each day compounded over the period and usually will differ in amount, and possibly even direction, from the Fund’s stated multiple times the price change of XRP for the same period. For periods longer than a single day, the Fund will lose money if XRP’s price performance is flat over time, and it is possible that the Fund will lose money over time regardless of the price change of XRP, as a result of daily rebalancing, XRP price’s volatility, compounding, and other factors. An investor in the Fund could potentially lose the full principal value of his/her investment within a single day.
Additional Information about XRP
XRP and XRP Ledger
XRP is a digital asset that is created and transmitted through the operations of the XRP Ledger, a distributed ledger upon which XRP transactions are processed and settled. XRP can be used to pay for goods and services or it can be converted to fiat currencies, such as the U.S. dollar. The XRP Ledger is based on a shared public ledger, the XRP Ledger, similar to the Bitcoin network. However, the XRP Ledger differentiates itself from other digital asset networks in that its stated primary function is transactional utility, not store of value. The XRP Ledger is designed to be a global real-time payment and settlement system. As a result, the XRP Ledger and XRP aim to improve the speed at which parties on the network may transfer value while also reducing the fees and delays associated with the traditional methods of interbank payments.
No single entity controls the XRP Ledger. Instead, a network of independent nodes validates transactions pursuant to the Ripple Protocol Consensus Algorithm. It is this mechanism, as opposed to the proof-of-work mechanism utilized by the Bitcoin blockchain, that allows the XRP Ledger to be fast, energy-efficient and scalable, and therefore suitable for its most prominent use case, the facilitation of cross-border financial transactions. Unlike proof-of-work systems, which require massive computational power to secure the network, the Ripple Protocol Consensus Algorithm utilized by the XRP Ledger is extremely lightweight in terms of energy usage, as it relies on trusted validators rather than mining. The XRP Ledger can handle up to 1,500 transactions per second, far more than the Bitcoin or Ethereum blockchain. This makes the XRP Ledger suitable for high-volume use cases, such as cross-border payments. Lastly, because validators do not need to spend resources on mining, transaction fees are extremely low (typically a fraction of a cent per transaction).
Transactions are validated on the XRP Ledger by a network of independent validator nodes. These nodes do not mine new blocks but participate in a consensus process to ensure that transactions are valid and correctly ordered on the XRP Ledger. Any node can be a validator, but for practical purposes, the XRP Ledger depends on a list of trusted validators known as the Unique Node List or “UNL.” Validators are entities (which can be individuals, institutions, or other organizations) that run nodes to participate in the consensus process. These validators ensure the integrity and accuracy of the ledger. Each node in the network maintains a Unique Node List — a list of other validators that the node trusts to reliably validate transactions. The XRP Ledger’s architecture means that different nodes may maintain different UNLs, but there needs to be some overlap in the UNLs for the consensus mechanism to work effectively. Similar to the Bitcoin network, anyone can join and start using the XRP Ledger; however, unlike the Bitcoin network, which operates on a fully permissionless blockchain, the XRP Ledger is maintained by a network of trusted nodes that accept or reject transactions on the XRP Ledger.
Each XRP Ledger address, or wallet, is associated with a unique “public key” and “private key” pair. To receive XRP, the XRP recipient must provide its public key to the party initiating the transfer. This activity is analogous to a recipient for a transaction in U.S. dollars providing a routing address in wire instructions to the payor so that cash may be wired to the recipient’s account. The payor approves the transfer to the address provided by the recipient by “signing” a transaction that consists of the recipient’s public key with the private key of the address from where the payor is transferring the XRP. The recipient, however, does not make public or provide to the sender its related private key.
The XRP Ledger (XRLP) has historically maintained high availability but has experienced a few notable disruptions. On February 4, 2025, the XRPL experienced an unexpected halt in block production for approximately 64 minutes, during which no new ledgers were validated, temporarily pausing all transactions. The root cause remains under investigation, but preliminary analysis suggests a validation issue that prevented consensus from being reached. On November 25, 2024, the XRPL faced a 10-minute disruption when several nodes crashed and restarted simultaneously, briefly halting transaction processing. The issue was traced to a caching-layer bug introduced in a prior software update, which was later addressed by the RippleX team through a recommended upgrade to the latest Rippled version. Despite these incidents, the XRPL has generally been reliable, with no asset losses occurring, and built-in safety protocols ensured eventual network recovery.
XRP Markets and Exchanges
XRP can be transferred in direct peer-to-peer transactions through the direct sending of XRP over the XRP Ledger from one XRP address to another. While XRP was originally intended to be used primarily as a means to conduct cross-border payments, XRP can also be used to pay other users of the XRP Ledger for goods and services under what resembles a barter system. Consumers can also pay merchants and other commercial businesses for goods or services through direct peer-to-peer transactions on the XRP Ledger or through third-party service providers.
In addition to using XRP to engage in cross-border transactions or payment for goods and services, investors may purchase and sell XRP to speculate as to the price of XRP in the XRP market, or as a long-term investment to diversify their portfolio. The price of XRP within the market is determined, in part, by the supply of and demand for XRP in the global XRP market, market expectations for the adoption of XRP as a store of value or as a viable cross-border payments facilitator, the number of merchants that accept XRP as a form of payment, the regulatory challenges faced by Ripple Labs and XRP, and the volume of peer-to-peer transactions, among other factors.
Limits on XRP Supply
Unlike other digital assets such as bitcoin or ether, XRP is not mined gradually over time. Instead, all 100 billion XRP tokens were created at the time of the XRP Ledger’s launch in 2012. This means that every XRP token that exists today was generated from the outset, without the need for a mining process. Of the 100 billion XRP generated by the XRP Ledger’s code, the founders of Ripple Labs retained 20 billion XRP and the rest, nearly 80 billion XRP, was provided to Ripple Labs.
In 2017, to address concerns about the large portion of XRP held by Ripple Labs, the company introduced an escrow mechanism to lock up a significant portion of its XRP holdings. Under this mechanism, Ripple Labs placed 55 billion XRP (55% of the total supply) into a series of time-locked escrow accounts. The escrow releases 1 billion XRP per month over 55 months. This process adds a level of predictability and transparency about how much XRP can enter the market each month. If Ripple Labs does not use all of the 1 billion XRP released in a given month, the remaining amount is placed back into escrow for future release. The purpose of this escrow system is to reassure the market that Ripple Labs will not release too much XRP at once, which could potentially disrupt XRP’s price or market dynamics.
Additional Information about the Spot XRP ETPs
It is currently expected that the Fund will initially derive a significant amount of its exposure to the price performance of XRP from its direct investment in one or more Spot XRP ETPs and swap agreements or options that reference a Spot XRP ETP. The Spot XRP ETPs in which the Fund may invest (or which may be used as a reference asset) are exchange-traded products that are designed to provide exposure to the performance of XRP and are fully secured by holdings of XRP. The Spot XRP ETPs in which the Fund may invest include ETPs listed on a European exchange, or U.S. ETPs, which are exchange-traded funds registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and listed on a U.S. national securities exchange, but not registered under the 1940 Act. Each non-U.S. Spot XRP ETPs issues bonds that are collateralized by the respective amount of units of XRP. the Issuer shall at any given time procure in relation to issued bonds that it holds such amount of the underlying XRP equal to or exceeding the aggregate claims of the bondholders, expressed as a number of units of XRP. The value and performance of the Bonds materially depends on the value and performance of issuer’s holdings of XRP. Based on the non-U.S. Spot XRP ETPs’ payment and delivery obligations to bondholders, the bonds are expected (subject to the deduction of any fees and costs) to track the performance of XRP nearly 1:1.
An investor cannot purchase the bonds issued by non-U.S. Spot XRP ETPs directly from the issuer in the primary market. Initially, in the primary market, the bonds may only be subscribed for or purchased by authorized participants. Once the bonds issued by non-U.S. Spot XRP ETPs have been subscribed for or purchased in the primary market, investors may purchase the bonds in the secondary market from any person on an anonymous basis (i) via the relevant stock exchange (in case of bonds admitted to trading on a stock exchange) or (ii) over the counter.
As of the date of this Prospectus, there are no U.S. Spot XRP ETPs available for the Fund to invest in or use as a reference asset. Additional information about each of the Spot XRP ETPs in which the Fund may invest (or use as a reference asset) is detailed below:
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Name and Ticker | Domicile | Listing Exchange(s) | XRP Holdings
(as of March 14, 2025) |
| 21Shares XRP ETP (AXRP) | Switzerland | SIX Swiss Exchange
Boerse Duesseldorf
Boerse Stuttgart
BX Swiss
Deutsche Boerse Xetra
Euronext Amsterdam
Euronext Paris
Gettex | $234,102,030.50 |
| Bitwise Physical XRP ETP (GXRP) | Germany | Deutsche Boerse Xetra | 109,393,488.35 |
| Virtune XRP ETP (VIRXRP) | Sweden | Nasdaq Stockholm
Nasdaq Helsinki | 50,146,061.28 |
| WisdomTree Physical XRP ETP (XRPW) | Jersey | SIX Swiss Exchange
Euronext Paris
Euronext Amsterdam
Deutsche Boerse Xetra | 107,303,793.70 |
| CoinShares Physical XRP ETP (XRPL) | Jersey | Deutsche Boerse Xetra
| 89,954,671.40 |
The value of shares of a Spot XRP ETP may not directly correspond to the price of XRP, and is highly volatile. The price of a Spot XRP ETP may go down even if the price of the underlying asset, XRP, remains unchanged. Additionally, shares that trade at a premium mean that an investor who purchases $1 of a portfolio will actually own less than $1 in assets.
Each Spot XRP ETP is a passive investment vehicle that does not seek to generate returns beyond tracking the price of XRP. This means the sponsor does not speculatively sell XRP at times when its price is high or speculatively acquire XRP at low prices in the expectation of future price increases. The Spot XRP ETPs will not utilize hedging, leverage, derivatives or any similar arrangements in seeking to meet its investment objective. Each Spot XRP ETP’s custodian will keep custody of the Spot XRP ETP’s XRP, and will keep all of the private keys associated with such Spot XRP ETP’s XRP held by the custodian in “cold storage.” “Cold storage” is a safeguarding method by which the private keys corresponding to the particular Spot XRP ETP’s XRP are generated and stored in an offline manner using computers or devices that are not connected to the internet, which is intended to make them more resistant to hacking.
Principal Investment Risks
XRP and XRP-related investments are relatively new investments. They are subject to unique and substantial risks and historically have been subject to significant price volatility. The value of an investment in the Fund could decline significantly and without warning, including to $0. You should be prepared for the possibility of losing your entire investment. You may lose the entire principal amount of your investment in a single day. The performance of XRP-related investments, and therefore the performance of the Fund, may differ significantly from the performance of XRP.
An investment in the Fund entails risks. The Fund could lose money, or its performance could trail that of other investment alternatives. The following provides additional information about the Fund’s principal risks. It is important that investors closely review and understand these risks before making an investment in the Fund. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.
•XRP Risk. Crypto assets, such as XRP, operate without central authority or banks and are not backed by any government. Crypto assets are often referred to as a “virtual asset” or “digital asset,” and operate as a decentralized, peer-to-peer financial trading platform and value storage that is used like money. A crypto asset is also not a legal tender. Investments linked to XRP can be highly volatile compared to investments in traditional securities and the Fund may experience sudden and large losses. The markets for XRP and XRP-related investments may become illiquid. These markets may fluctuate widely based on a variety of factors including changes in overall market movements, political and economic events, wars, acts of terrorism, natural disasters (including disease, epidemics and pandemics) and changes in interest rates or inflation rates. An investor should be prepared to lose the full principal value of their investment suddenly and without warning. A number of factors affect the price and market for XRP:
◦New Technology. XRP is a relatively new technological innovation with a limited operating history. XRP has a relatively limited history of existence and operations. There is a limited established performance record for the price of XRP and, in turn, a limited basis for evaluating an investment in XRP.
◦Supply and Demand of XRP. Unlike other digital assets such as bitcoin or ether, XRP is not and was not mined gradually over time. Instead, all 100 billion XRP tokens were created at the time of the XRP Ledger’s launch in 2012. This means
that every XRP token that exists today, or will ever exist, was generated from the outset of the XRP Ledger. As a result, there is no ability for the supply of XRP to be adjusted in response to economic conditions. For instance, there is no ability for the supply of XRP to be increased to meet rising demand, which could lead to price volatility. In addition, unlike blockchains that utilize “proof-of-work” or “proof-of-stake” where miners or stakers are rewarded with newly minted coins or tokens, XRP validators are not incentivized by block rewards since there is no new issuance of XRP.
Additionally, the fixed supply of XRP, combined with the burning of XRP (permanently destroyed) as transaction fees, could create deflationary pressure over time. A small amount of XRP is burned with every transaction to prevent spam on the network. While the amount of XRP burned per transaction is minuscule, over time, the total supply of XRP will slowly decrease. This could lead to a deflationary environment where the decreasing supply drives up the price of XRP, making it less practical as a medium of exchange. Additionally, as the total supply of XRP slowly shrinks due to burning, liquidity could become an issue in the distant future, potentially making it harder for businesses and users to access sufficient XRP for their transactions.
The fixed supply of XRP could also contribute to price volatility, especially if demand fluctuates significantly. Since the supply of XRP is fixed, any significant surge in demand can result in large price spikes. For example, during periods of high market activity or speculation, the price of XRP could rapidly increase due to the inability to expand supply to match demand. This volatility could make XRP less predictable for businesses that rely on it for payments. Digital assets with a flexible supply, such as stablecoins, can adjust to maintain a stable value. XRP, however, could experience price swings that make it less attractive for everyday transactions or long-term financial planning.
The fixed supply of XRP may also not scale well with rapidly expanding use cases. To the extent more businesses, financial institutions, and payment providers adopt XRP for cross-border transactions and other use cases, there is a risk that the fixed supply may not meet such growing demand, leading to supply shortages and further price volatility. In the case of massive adoption, the scarcity of XRP could raise its value too much, making it less appealing for day-to-day transactions or use as a liquidity bridge in cross-border payments, as businesses might prefer a more stable and widely available currency.
Ripple Labs holds a large portion of the XRP supply, which has led to concerns about centralization. Despite escrow mechanisms that gradually release XRP into the market, Ripple Labs still retains control over a significant portion of XRP, which can impact market dynamics if large amounts are sold. The concentration of XRP in the hands of Ripple Labs and early stakeholders could affect the market’s confidence in XRP as a decentralized asset.
◦Adoption and Use of XRP. The continued adoption of XRP will require growth in its usage as a means of exchange and payment. Even if growth in XRP adoption continues in the near or medium-term, there is no assurance that XRP usage will continue to grow over the long-term. A contraction in the use of XRP may result in a lack of liquidity, increased volatility in and a reduction to the price of XRP.
◦The Regulatory Environment Relating to XRP. Federal, state or foreign governments may restrict the use and exchange of a crypto asset, such as XRP, and regulation in the U.S. is still developing. Depending on its characteristics, a digital asset, including XRP, may be considered a “security” under U.S. federal and/or state securities laws. The test for determining whether a particular digital asset is a “security” is complex and difficult to apply, and the outcome is difficult to predict. Any enforcement action by the SEC or a state securities regulator asserting that XRP is a security, or a court decision to that effect, would be expected to have an immediate material adverse impact on the trading price of XRP, as well as the Shares. This is because the business models behind most digital assets are incompatible with regulations applying to transactions in securities. If a digital asset is determined to be a security, it is likely to become difficult or impossible for the digital asset to be traded, cleared or custodied in the United States through the same channels used by non-security digital assets, which in addition to materially and adversely affecting the trading value of the digital asset is likely to significantly impact its liquidity and market participants’ ability to convert the digital asset into U.S. dollars. Any assertion that a digital asset is a security by the SEC or another regulatory authority may have similar effects.
In December 2020, the SEC filed a complaint against Ripple Labs (the “Ripple Complaint”) and two of its executives (the “Ripple Defendants”), in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (the “S.D.N.Y.”) alleging that the Ripple Defendants had conducted unregistered securities offerings by selling XRP in contravention of Section 5 of the Securities Act. Under Section 5 of the Securities Act, it is unlawful for any person, directly or indirectly to offer to sell, offer to buy or purchase or sell a “security” unless a registration statement is in effect or has been filed with the SEC as to the offer and sale of such security to the public. The Ripple Defendants did not dispute that they had offered to sell and sold XRP through interstate commerce and that they had not filed a registration statement with the SEC for any offer or sale of XRP. Accordingly, the question before the S.D.N.Y. was whether the Ripple Defendants offered to sell or sold XRP as a security.
In the years prior to the filing of the Ripple Complaint, XRP’s market capitalization at times reached over $140 billion. However, in the weeks following the Ripple Complaint, XRP’s market capitalization fell to less than $10 billion, which was less than half of its market capitalization in the days prior to the complaint.
On July 13, 2023, the S.D.N.Y. issued several key rulings in the case. Most notably, the court did not find that XRP was inherently a security. The court distinguished between the XRP token itself and the manner in which it was sold. This finding was contrary to the SEC’s argument, which was that XRP, by its nature, was a security under the definition provided by the Securities Act, notwithstanding the manner in which it was sold. The court found that the direct sale of XRP by the Ripple Defendants to certain sophisticated individuals and entities pursuant to written contracts did constitute the unregistered offer and sale of securities in violation of Section 5 of the Securities Act. However, the court also found that the programmatic sale of XRP by the Ripple Defendants over digital asset trading platforms in the secondary market did not constitute an unregistered sale of securities. Similarly, the court found that the XRP that Ripple Defendants granted to Ripple Labs employees as compensation or to third-party companies to incentivize the development of new applications for XRP and the XRP Ledger also did not constitute an unregistered sale of securities.
The S.D.N.Y. entered a final judgment in the case on August 7, 2024. On October 2, 2024, the SEC filed an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and on October 10, 2024, Ripple filed a cross-appeal. Any further SEC or state enforcement action asserting that XRP is a security, or a court ruling to that effect, would likely have an immediate and severe negative impact on XRP’s trading price and the value of the Fund’s shares.
◦Largely Unregulated Marketplace. Digital asset markets, including spot markets for XRP, are growing rapidly. The spot markets through which XRP and other digital assets trade are new and, in some cases, may be subject to but not comply with their relevant jurisdiction’s regulations. These markets are local, national and international and include a broadening range of digital assets and participants. Significant trading may occur on systems and platforms with minimum predictability. Spot markets may impose daily, weekly, monthly or customer-specific transaction or withdrawal limits or suspend withdrawals entirely, rendering the exchange of XRP for fiat currency difficult or impossible. Participation in spot markets requires users to take on credit risk by transferring XRP from a personal account to a third party’s account.
Digital asset exchanges do not appear to be subject to, or may not comply with, regulation in a similar manner as other regulated trading platforms, such as national securities exchanges or designated contract markets. Many digital asset exchanges are unlicensed, unregulated, operate without extensive supervision by governmental authorities, and do not provide the public with significant information regarding their ownership structure, management team, corporate practices, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance. In particular, those located outside the United States may be subject to significantly less stringent regulatory and compliance requirements in their local jurisdictions.
As a result, trading activity on or reported by these digital asset exchanges is generally significantly less regulated than trading in regulated U.S. securities and commodities markets, and may reflect behavior that would be prohibited in regulated U.S. trading venues. Furthermore, many spot markets lack certain safeguards put in place by more traditional exchanges to enhance the stability of trading on the exchange and prevent flash crashes, such as limit-down circuit breakers. As a result, the prices of digital assets such as XRP on digital asset exchanges may be subject to larger and/or more frequent sudden declines than assets traded on more traditional exchanges. Tools to detect and deter fraudulent or manipulative trading activities (such as market manipulation, front-running of trades, and wash-trading) may not be available to or employed by digital asset exchanges or may not exist at all. As a result, the marketplace may lose confidence in, or may experience problems relating to, these venues.
No XRP exchange is immune from these risks. While the Fund does not buy or sell XRP on XRP spot markets, the closure or temporary shutdown of XRP exchanges due to fraud, business failure, hackers or malware, or government-mandated regulation may reduce confidence in the XRP network and can slow down the mass adoption of XRP. Further, spot market failures or that of any other major component of the overall XRP ecosystem can have an adverse effect on XRP markets and the price of XRP and could therefore have a negative impact on the performance of the Fund. Furthermore, the closure or temporary shutdown of an XRP spot market may impact the Fund’s ability to determine the value of its XRP holdings or for the Fund’s Authorized Participants to effectively arbitrage the Shares.
◦Cybersecurity. As a digital asset, XRP is subject to the risk that malicious actors will exploit flaws in its code or structure that will allow them to, among other things, steal XRP held by others, control the blockchain, or steal personally identifying information. The occurrence of any of these events is likely to have a significant adverse impact on the price and liquidity of XRP and any XRP-related investments and therefore the value of an investment in the Fund. Additionally, the XRP Ledger’s functionality relies on the Internet. A significant disruption of Internet connectivity affecting large numbers of users or geographic areas could impede the functionality of the XRP Ledger. Any technical disruptions or regulatory limitations that affect Internet access may have an adverse effect on the XRP Ledger, the price of XRP and the value of an investment in the Fund. Finally, crypto asset platforms may stop operating or permanently shut down due to fraud, technical glitches, hackers or malware.
◦Forks. XRP, along with many other digital assets, are open source projects. The infrastructure and ecosystem that powers the XRP network are developed by different parties, including affiliated and non-affiliated engineers, developers, validators, platform developers, evangelists, marketers, exchange operators and other companies based around a service regarding XRP, each of whom may have different motivations, drivers, philosophies and incentives.
As a result, any individual can propose refinements or improvements to the XRP network’s source code through one or more software upgrades that could alter the protocols governing the XRP network and the properties of XRP. When a modification is proposed and a substantial majority of users and validators consent to the modification, the change is implemented and the XRP network remains uninterrupted. However, a “hard fork” occurs if less than a substantial majority of users and validators consent to the proposed modification, and the modification is not compatible with the software prior to its modification. In other words, two incompatible networks would then exist: (1) one network running the pre-modified software and (2) another network running the modified software. The effect of such a fork would be the existence of two versions of XRP running in parallel, and the creation of a new digital asset which lacks interchangeability with its predecessor. This is in contrast to a “soft fork,” or a proposed modification to the software governing the network that results in a post-update network that is compatible with the network as it existed prior to the update, because it restricts the network operations that can be performed after the update.
Forks may have a detrimental effect on the value of XRP. Forks can also introduce new security risks.
•XRP Exposure Risk. The Fund seeks to have significant exposure to XRP. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be disproportionately and significantly impacted by performance of XRP or events materially affecting the XRP ecosystem. The Fund’s exposure to XRP makes it more susceptible to any single occurrence affecting XRP or XRP-related investments, and may subject the Fund to greater market risk than more diversified funds.
The remaining principal risks below are presented in alphabetical order to facilitate finding particular risks and comparing them with those of other funds.
•Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed and may not meet its investment objective based on the Adviser’s success or failure to implement strategies for the Fund. The Fund invests in complex instruments (each described below), including swap agreements and futures contracts. Such instruments may create enhanced risks for the Fund and the Adviser’s ability to control the Fund’s level of risk will depend on the Adviser’s skill in managing such instruments. In addition, the Adviser’s evaluations and assumptions regarding investments, interest rates, inflation, and other factors may not successfully achieve the Fund’s investment objective given actual market conditions.
•Cash Transaction Risk. The Fund expects to effect all of its creations and redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind securities. The Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. The use of cash creations and redemptions may also cause the Fund’s shares to trade in the market at wider bid-ask spreads or greater premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV. As a practical matter, only institutions and large investors, such as market makers or other large broker dealers, create or redeem shares directly through the Fund. Most investors will buy and sell shares of the Fund on an exchange through a broker-dealer. Furthermore, the Fund may not be able to execute cash transactions for creation and redemption purposes at the same price used to determine the Fund’s NAV. To the extent that the maximum additional charge for creation or redemption transactions is insufficient to cover the execution shortfall, the Fund’s performance could be negatively impacted.
•Clearing Broker Risk. The failure or bankruptcy of the Fund’s and its Subsidiary’s clearing broker could result in a substantial loss of Fund assets. Under current CFTC regulations, a clearing broker maintains customers’ assets in a bulk segregated account. If a clearing broker fails to do so, or is unable to satisfy a substantial deficit in a customer account, its other customers may be subject to risk of loss of their funds in the event of that clearing broker’s bankruptcy. In that event, the clearing broker’s customers, such as the Fund and its Subsidiary, are entitled to recover, even in respect of property specifically traceable to them, only a proportional share of all property available for distribution to all of that clearing broker’s customers.
•Collateral Securities Risk. Collateral may include obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities, including bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury, as well as money market funds and corporate debt securities. U.S. government securities include securities that are issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury, by various agencies of the U.S. government, or by various instrumentalities which have been established or sponsored by the U.S. government. U.S. Treasury securities are backed by the “full faith and credit” of the United States. Securities issued or guaranteed by federal agencies and U.S. government-sponsored instrumentalities may or may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. In the case of those U.S. government securities not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the security for ultimate repayment, and may not be able to assert a claim against the United States itself in the event that the agency or instrumentality does not meet its commitment. The U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities do not guarantee the market value of their securities, and consequently,
the value of such securities may fluctuate. The Fund’s investments in U.S. government securities will change in value in response to interest rate changes and other factors, such as the perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness.
Money market funds are subject to management fees and other expenses, and the Fund’s investments in money market funds will cause it to bear proportionately the costs incurred by the money market funds’ operations while simultaneously paying its own management fees and expenses. An investment in a money market fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Money market funds may not have the value of their investments remain at $1.00 per share; it is possible to lose money by investing in a money market fund.
Corporate debt securities such as commercial paper generally are short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses. Corporate debt securities carry both credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a corporate debt security is unable to pay interest or repay principal when it is due and the holder of the corporate debt security could lose money. Interest rate risk is the risk that interest rates rise and fall over time. For example, the value of fixed-income securities generally decrease when interest rates rise, which may cause the Fund’s value to decrease. Also, investments in fixed-income securities with longer maturities fluctuate more in response to interest rate changes. Some corporate debt securities that are rated below investment-grade generally are considered speculative because they present a greater risk of loss, including default, than higher quality debt securities.
•Commodity Pool Regulatory Risk. The Fund’s investment exposure to commodities futures will cause it to be deemed to be a commodity pool, thereby subjecting the Fund to regulation under the CEA and CFTC rules. The Adviser is registered as a CPO, and the Fund will be operated in accordance with applicable CFTC rules, as well as the regulatory scheme applicable to registered investment companies. Registration as a CPO imposes additional compliance obligations on the Adviser and the Fund related to additional laws, regulations, and enforcement policies, which could increase compliance costs and may affect the operations and financial performance of the Fund. However, the Fund’s status as a commodity pool and the Adviser’s registration as a CPO are not expected to materially adversely affect the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. The CFTC has not passed on the adequacy of this Prospectus.
•Counterparty Risk. Counterparty risk is the risk that a counterparty to Fund transactions (e.g., swap transactions) will be unable or unwilling to perform its contractual obligation to the Fund. The Fund generally enters into derivatives transactions, such as futures contracts and swap agreements, with counterparties such that either party can terminate the contract without penalty prior to the termination date. The Fund may be negatively impacted if a counterparty becomes bankrupt or otherwise fails to perform its obligations under such a contract, if any collateral posted by the counterparty for the benefit of the Fund is insufficient, or if there are delays in the Fund’s ability to access such collateral. If the counterparty becomes bankrupt or defaults on its payment obligations to the Fund, the Fund may experience significant delays in obtaining any recovery, may obtain only a limited recovery, or may obtain no recovery, and the value of an investment held by the Fund may decline. The Fund also may not be able to exercise remedies, such as the termination of transactions, netting of obligations, and realization on collateral, if such remedies are stayed or eliminated under special resolutions adopted in the United States, the European Union, and various other jurisdictions. European Union rules and regulations intervene when a financial institution is experiencing financial difficulties and could reduce, eliminate, or convert a counterparty’s obligations to the Fund to equity (sometimes referred to as a “bail-in”).
The Fund typically enters into transactions with counterparties that present minimal risks based on the Adviser’s assessment of the counterparty’s creditworthiness, or its capacity to meet its financial obligations during the term of the derivative agreement or contract. The Adviser considers factors such as counterparty credit rating among other factors when determining whether a counterparty is creditworthy. The Adviser regularly monitors the creditworthiness of each counterparty with which the Fund transacts. The Fund generally enters into swap agreements or other financial instruments with major financial intermediaries and seeks to mitigate risks by generally requiring that the counterparties for the Fund post collateral, marked to market daily, in an amount approximately equal to what the counterparty owes the Fund, subject to certain minimum thresholds. To the extent any such collateral is insufficient or there are delays in accessing the collateral, the Fund will be exposed to the risks described above. If a counterparty’s credit rating declines, the Fund may be subject to a bail-in, as described above.
In addition, the Fund may enter into swap agreements with a limited number of counterparties, which may increase the Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk. To the extent the Fund’s counterparties are concentrated in the financial services sector, the Fund bears the risk that those counterparties may be adversely affected by legislative or regulatory changes, adverse market conditions, increased competition, and/or wide scale credit losses resulting from financial difficulties or borrowers affecting the sector. There is a risk that no suitable counterparties are willing to enter into, or continue to enter into, transactions with the Fund and, as a result, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective. Additionally, although a counterparty to a centrally cleared swap agreement is often backed by a FCM or a clearing organization that is further backed by a group of financial institutions, there may be instances in which a FCM or a clearing organization would fail to perform its obligations, causing significant losses to the Fund. The markets for certain derivatives, including those located in certain foreign countries, are relatively new and still developing, which may expose the Fund to increased counterparty credit and liquidity risks.
•Cybersecurity Risk. With the increased use of technologies such as the Internet and the dependence on computer systems to perform business and operational functions, funds (such as the Fund) and their service providers may be prone to operational and
information security risks resulting from cyber-attacks and/or technological malfunctions. In general, cyber-attacks are deliberate, but unintentional events may have similar effects. Cyber-attacks include, among others, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, preventing legitimate users from accessing information or services on a website, releasing confidential information without authorization, and causing operational disruption. Cybersecurity incidents may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets or proprietary information, or cause the Fund, the Adviser, and/or other service providers (including custodians and financial intermediaries) to suffer data breaches or data corruption. Additionally, cybersecurity failures or breaches of the electronic systems of the Fund, the Adviser, or the Fund’s other service providers, market makers, APs, the Fund’s primary listing exchange, or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests have the ability to disrupt and negatively affect the Fund’s business operations, including the ability to purchase and sell Shares, potentially resulting in financial losses to the Fund and its shareholders. For instance, cyber-attacks or technical malfunctions may interfere with the processing of shareholder or other transactions, affect the Fund’s ability to calculate its NAV, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential Fund information, impede trading, cause reputational damage, and subject the Fund to regulatory fines, penalties or financial losses, reimbursement or other compensation costs, and additional compliance costs. Cyber-attacks or technical malfunctions may render records of Fund assets and transactions, shareholder ownership of Shares, and other data integral to the functioning of the Fund inaccessible or inaccurate or incomplete. The Fund also may incur substantial costs for cybersecurity risk management to prevent cyber incidents in the future. The Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result.
•Daily Correlation/Tracking Risk. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation to XRP’s price and therefore achieve its daily leveraged investment objective. The Fund seeks to adjust its exposure to the Reference Assets daily to keep leverage consistent with its daily leveraged investment objective and to achieve a high degree of correlation with XRP price’s performance. In addition, the Fund’s exposure to XRP price is impacted by XRP price’s movement. Because of this, it is unlikely that the Fund will be perfectly exposed to XRP price at the end of each day. The possibility of the Fund being materially over- or under-exposed to XRP price increases on days when XRP price is volatile near the close of the trading day. Market disruptions, regulatory restrictions and extreme volatility will also adversely affect the Fund’s ability to adjust exposure to the required levels.
The Fund may have difficulty achieving its daily leveraged investment objective for many reasons, including fees, expenses, transaction costs, financing costs related to the use of derivatives, accounting standards and their application to income items, disruptions, illiquidity or high volatility in the markets for the securities or financial instruments in which the Fund invests, early and unanticipated closings of the markets on which the holdings of the Fund trade resulting in the inability of the Fund to execute intended portfolio transactions, and regulatory and tax considerations, which may cause the Fund to hold (or not to hold) certain instruments. The Fund may take or refrain from taking positions in order to improve tax efficiency, comply with regulatory restrictions, or for other reasons, each of which may negatively affect the Fund’s desired correlation with XRP. The Fund may be subject to large movements of assets into and out the Fund, potentially resulting in the Fund being over- or under-exposed to XRP. These factors could decrease the correlation between the performance of the Fund and XRP and may hinder the Fund’s ability to meet its daily leveraged investment objective on or around that day.
•Derivatives Risk. The Fund’s derivative investments have risks, including the imperfect correlation between the value of such instruments and the underlying assets; the loss of principal, including the potential loss of amounts greater than the initial amount invested in the derivative instrument; and illiquidity of the derivative investments. The derivatives used by the Fund may give rise to a form of leverage. Leverage magnifies the potential for gain and may result in greater losses, which in some cases may cause the Fund to liquidate other portfolio investments at inopportune times (e.g., at a loss to comply with limits on leverage and asset segregation requirements imposed by the 1940 Act or when the Adviser otherwise would have preferred to hold the investment) or to meet redemption requests. Certain of the Fund’s transactions in derivatives could also affect the amount, timing, and character of distributions to shareholders, which may result in the Fund realizing more short-term capital gain and ordinary income subject to tax at ordinary income tax rates than it would if it did not engage in such transactions, which may adversely impact the Fund’s after-tax returns. To the extent the Fund invests in such derivative instruments, the value of the Fund’s portfolio is likely to experience greater volatility over short-term periods.
◦Futures Contracts Risk. The successful use of futures contracts draws upon the Adviser’s skill and experience with respect to such instruments and is subject to special risk considerations. The primary risks associated with the use of futures contracts, which may adversely affect the Fund’s NAV and total return, are: (a) the imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the futures contract and the price of underlying asset; (b) possible lack of a liquid market for a futures contract and the resulting inability to close a forward or futures contract when desired; (c) losses caused by unanticipated market movements, which are potentially unlimited; (d) the Adviser’s inability to predict correctly the direction of securities prices, interest rates, currency exchange rates and other economic factors; (e) the possibility that the counterparty will default in the performance of its obligations; and (f) if the Fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell securities from its portfolio to meet daily variation margin requirements, and the Fund may have to sell securities at a time when it maybe disadvantageous to do so. If the Fund’s ability to obtain exposure to commodities futures consistent with its investment objective is disrupted for any reason, including limited liquidity in the commodities futures market, a disruption to the commodities futures, or as a result of margin requirements or position limits imposed by the Fund’s FCMs, the DCM, or the CFTC on the Fund or the Adviser, the Fund would not be able to achieve its investment objective and may experience significant losses.
Investment in exchange-traded futures contracts may expose the Fund to the risks of a clearing broker (or a FCM). Under current regulations, a clearing broker or FCM maintains customers’ assets in a bulk segregated account. There is a risk that Fund assets deposited with the clearing broker to serve as margin may be used to satisfy the broker’s own obligations or the losses of the broker’s other clients. In the event of default, the Fund could experience lengthy delays in recovering some or all of its assets and may not see any recovery at all. Because futures contracts project price levels in the future, market circumstances may cause a discrepancy between the price of a futures contract and the movement in the underlying asset. In the event of adverse price movements, the Fund may be required to post additional “variation margin” to satisfy the necessary collateral requirements of the FCM. The Subsidiary intends to invest in futures contracts, which requires that the Subsidiary and/or its parent Fund maintain liquid assets sufficient to satisfy any margin or similar trading account maintenance requirements.
◦Cost of Futures Investment Risk. When a commodities futures contract is nearing expiration, the Fund will generally sell it and use the proceeds to buy a commodities futures contract with a later expiration date. This is commonly referred to as “rolling.” The price of commodities futures contracts further from expiration may be higher (a condition known as “contango”) or lower (a condition known as “backwardation”), which can affect the Fund’s performance. The futures contracts markets have experienced, and are likely to experience again in the future, extended periods in which contango or backwardation have affected various types of futures contracts. These extended periods have caused in the past, and may cause in the future, significant losses. In addition, the costs associated with rolling commodities futures contracts typically are substantially higher than the costs associated with other futures contracts and may have a significant adverse impact on the performance of the Fund. Because of the frequency with which the Fund expects to roll commodities futures contracts, the effects of such contango or backwardation may be greater than would be the case if the Fund experienced lower portfolio turnover.
◦Swap Agreements Risk. Swap agreements are contracts for periods ranging from one day to more than one year and may be negotiated bilaterally and traded OTC between two parties or, for certain standardized swaps, must be exchange-traded through a FCM or swap execution facility and/or cleared through a clearinghouse that serves as a central counterparty. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments. The Fund may enter into swap agreements, including, but not limited to total return swaps, index swaps, interest rate swaps, municipal market data rate locks, and credit default swaps. The Fund may utilize swap agreements in an attempt to gain exposure to certain securities without purchasing those securities to speculate on the movement of such securities or to hedge a position. Swap agreements may be subject to fees and expenses, and by investing in swaps indirectly through the Fund, a shareholder will bear the expenses of such derivatives in addition to expenses of the Fund. Risks associated with the use of swap agreements are different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions, largely due to the fact they could be considered illiquid and many swaps currently trade on the OTC market. Swaps are particularly subject to counterparty credit, correlation, valuation, liquidity and leveraging risks and could result in substantial losses to the Fund.
As noted above, certain standardized swaps are subject to mandatory exchange trading and central clearing. While exchange trading and central clearing are intended to reduce counterparty credit risk and increase liquidity, they do not make swap transactions risk-free. Additionally, the CFTC and other applicable regulators have adopted rules imposing certain margin requirements, including minimums, on OTC swaps, which may result in the Fund and its counterparties posting higher margin amounts for OTC swaps, which could increase the cost of swap transactions to the Fund and impose added operational complexity. The Dodd-Frank Act and related regulatory developments require the clearing and exchange-trading of many OTC derivative instruments that the CFTC and the SEC have defined as “swaps.” Mandatory exchange-trading and clearing are occurring on a phased-in basis based on the type of market participant and CFTC approval of contracts for central clearing. The Adviser will continue to monitor developments in this area, particularly to the extent regulatory changes affect the Fund’s ability to enter into swap agreements.
◦Swaps Capacity Risk. If the Fund’s or its Subsidiary’s ability to obtain exposure to swaps consistent with its investment objective is disrupted for any reason including, for example, limited liquidity in the XRP market, a disruption to the XRP market, or as a result of margin requirements or other limitations imposed by the Fund’s swaps dealers or the CFTC or other regulators, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective and may experience significant losses.
In such circumstances, the Adviser intends to take such action as it believes appropriate and in the best interest of the Fund. Any disruption in the Fund’s or its Subsidiary’s ability to obtain exposure to swaps will cause the Fund’s performance to deviate from the performance of XRP. Additionally, the ability of the Fund or its Subsidiary to obtain exposure to swaps is limited by certain tax rules that limit the amount the Fund can invest in the Subsidiary as of the end of each tax quarter. Exceeding this amount may have tax consequences, see “Tax Risk” for more information.
Margin levels for swap contracts based on XRP may be substantially higher than margin requirements for more established swaps and futures contracts. Additionally, margin requirements are subject to change, and may be raised in the future by swaps dealers or regulators. High margin requirements could prevent the Fund, or its Subsidiary, from obtaining sufficient exposure to XRP-based swaps and may adversely affect its ability to achieve its investment objective. Further, swaps
counterparties utilized by the Fund or its Subsidiary may impose limits on the amount of exposure to swaps contracts the Fund or its Subsidiary can obtain through such counterparty. If the Fund or its Subsidiary cannot obtain sufficient exposure to XRP-based swaps, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective.
◦Options Risk. The buyer of an option acquires the right, but not the obligation, to buy (a call option) or sell (a put option) a certain quantity of a security (the underlying security) or instrument, including a futures contract or swap, at a certain price up to a specified point in time. The seller or writer of an option is obligated to sell (a call option) or buy (a put option) the underlying instrument. When the Fund sells an option, it gains the amount of the premium it receives, but also incurs a liability representing the value of the option it has sold until the option is either exercised and finishes “in the money,” meaning it has value and can be sold, or the option expires worthless, or the expiration of the option is “rolled,” or extended forward. The value of the options in which the Fund invests is based partly on the volatility used by market participants to price such options (i.e., implied volatility). Accordingly, increases in the implied volatility of such options will cause the value of such options to increase (even if the prices of the options’ underlying assets do not change), which will result in a corresponding increase in the liabilities of the Fund under such options and thus decrease the Fund’s NAV.
Options are often used to manage or hedge risk because they enable an investor to buy or sell an asset in the future at an agreed-upon price. Options used by the Fund to reduce volatility may not perform as intended and may not fully protect the Fund against declines in the value of its portfolio investments. Options also are used for other reasons, such as to manage exposure to changes in interest rates and bond prices; as an efficient means of adjusting overall exposure to certain markets; in an effort to enhance income; to protect the value of portfolio securities or other instruments; and to adjust portfolio duration.
Options are subject to correlation risk. The writing and purchasing of options are highly specialized activities as the successful use of options depends on the Adviser’s ability to predict correctly future price fluctuations and the degree of correlation between the markets for options and the underlying instruments. Exchanges can limit the number of positions that can be held or controlled by the Fund or its Adviser, thus limiting the ability to implement the Fund’s strategies. Options also are particularly subject to leverage risk and can be subject to liquidity risk. Because option premiums paid or received by the Fund are small in relation to the market value of the investments underlying the options, the Fund is exposed to the risk that buying and selling put and call options can be more speculative than investing directly in securities.
Purchasing put options may result in the Fund’s loss of premiums paid in the event that the put options expire unexercised. To the extent that the Fund reduces its put option holdings relative to the number of call options sold by the Fund, the Fund’s ability to mitigate losses in the event of a market decline will be reduced.
◦Foreign Exchange-Traded Options and Futures. Participation in foreign futures and foreign options transactions involves the execution and clearing of trades on, or subject to the rules of, a foreign board of trade. Neither the National Futures Association nor any domestic exchange regulates activities of any foreign boards of trade, including the execution, delivery, and clearing of transactions, or has the power to compel enforcement of the rules of a foreign board of trade or any applicable foreign law. This is true even if the exchange is formally linked to a domestic market so that a position taken on the market may be liquidated by a transaction on another market. Moreover, such laws or regulations will vary depending on the foreign country in which the foreign futures or foreign options transaction occurs. For these reasons, when the funds trade foreign futures or foreign options contracts, they may not be afforded certain of the protective measures provided by the Commodity Exchange Act, the CFTC’s regulations, and the rules of the National Futures Association and any domestic exchange, including the right to use reparations proceedings before the CFTC and arbitration proceedings provided by the National Futures Association or any domestic futures exchange. In particular, proceeds derived from foreign futures or foreign options transactions may not be provided the same protections as proceeds derived from transactions on U.S. futures exchanges. In addition, the price of any foreign futures or foreign options contract and, therefore, the potential profit and loss thereon, may be affected by any variance in the foreign exchange rate between the time the funds’ orders are placed and the time they are liquidated, offset, or exercised.
•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.
•Effects of Compounding and Market Volatility Risk. The Fund has daily leveraged investment objectives, and the Fund’s performance for periods greater than a trading day will be the result of each day’s returns compounded over the period, which is very likely to differ from XRP’s performance times the stated multiple in the Fund’s investment objective, before fees and expenses. Compounding affects all investments, but has a more significant impact on leveraged funds and funds that rebalance daily.
Over time, the cumulative percentage increase or decrease in the value of the Fund’s portfolio may diverge significantly from the cumulative percentage increase or decrease in 200% of the return of XRP due to the compounding effect of losses and gains on
the returns of the Fund. It also is expected that the Fund’s use of leverage will cause the Fund to underperform the return of 200% of XRP in a trendless or flat market.
The table below provides examples of how XRP volatility could affect the Fund’s performance. The table illustrates the impact of two factors that affect the Fund’s performance: XRP volatility and XRP return. XRP returns show the percentage change in the value of XRP over the specified time period, while XRP volatility is a statistical measure of the magnitude of fluctuations in the returns during that time period. As illustrated below, even if XRP return over two equal time periods is identical, different XRP volatility (i.e., fluctuations in the rates of return) during the two time periods could result in drastically different Fund performance for the two time periods due to the effects of compounding daily returns during the time periods.
Fund performance for periods greater than one single day can be estimated given any set of assumptions for the following factors: a) price volatility; b) price performance; c) period of time; d) financing rates associated with leveraged exposure; and e) other Fund expenses. The tables below illustrate the impact of two principal factors – price volatility and price performance – on Fund performance. The tables show estimated Fund returns for a number of combinations of price volatility and price performance over a one-year period.
Performance shown in the table assumes that: (i) no dividends were paid with respect to XRP; (ii) there were no Fund expenses; and (iii) borrowing/lending rates (to obtain leveraged exposure for the Fund) of 0%. If Fund expenses and/or actual borrowing/lending rates were reflected, the estimated returns would be worse than those shown.
As shown below, the Fund would be expected to lose 6.1% if XRP provided no return over a one year period during which XRP experienced annualized volatility of 25%. If XRP’s annualized volatility were to rise to 75%, the hypothetical loss for a one year period widens to approximately 43% for the Fund. At higher ranges of volatility, there is a chance of a significant loss of value even if the price of XRP is flat. For instance, if XRP price’s annualized volatility is 100%, it is likely that the Fund would lose 63.2% of its value, even if XRP price’s cumulative return for the year was only 0%. The volatility of instruments that reflect the value of XRP, such as swaps, may differ from the volatility of XRP.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| One Year Price Performance | Two Times (2x)
One Year Price Performance | Volatility Rate |
| Return | Return | 10% | 25% | 50% | 75% | 100% |
| -60% | -120% | -84.2% | -85.0% | -87.5% | -90.9% | -94.1% |
| -50% | -100% | -75.2% | -76.5% | -80.5% | -85.8% | -90.8% |
| -40% | -80% | -64.4% | -66.2% | -72.0% | -79.5% | -86.8% |
| -30% | -60% | -51.5% | -54.0% | -61.8% | -72.1% | -82.0% |
| -20% | -40% | -36.6% | -39.9% | -50.2% | -63.5% | -76.5% |
| -10% | -20% | -19.8% | -23.9% | -36.9% | -53.8% | -70.2% |
| 0% | 0% | -1.0% | -6.1% | -22.1% | -43.0% | -63.2% |
| 10% | 20% | 19.8% | 13.7% | -5.8% | -31.1% | -55.5% |
| 20% | 40% | 42.6% | 35.3% | 12.1% | -18.0% | -47.0% |
| 30% | 60% | 67.3% | 58.8% | 31.6% | -3.7% | -37.8% |
| 40% | 80% | 94.0% | 84.1% | 52.6% | 11.7% | -27.9% |
| 50% | 100% | 122.8% | 111.4% | 75.2% | 28.2% | -17.2% |
| 60% | 120% | 153.5% | 140.5% | 99.4% | 45.9% | -5.8% |
Holding an unmanaged position opens the investor to the risk of market volatility adversely affecting the performance of the investment. The Fund is not appropriate for investors who do not intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios. The table is intended to underscore the fact that the Fund is designed as a short-term trading vehicle for investors who intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios.
•ETF Risks. The Fund is an ETF and, as a result of its structure, is exposed to the following risks:
◦Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as APs. In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting if either: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services, or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
◦Costs of Buying or Selling Shares Risk. 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 also will 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 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 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.
◦Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV 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 price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant. The market price of Shares during the trading day, like the price of any exchange-traded security, includes a “bid/ask” spread charged by the exchange specialist, market makers or other participants that trade Shares. In times of severe market disruption, the bid/ask spread can increase significantly. At those times, Shares are most likely to be traded at a discount to NAV, and the discount is likely to be greatest when the price of Shares is falling fastest, which may be the time that you most want to sell your Shares. The Adviser believes that, under normal market conditions, large market price discounts or premiums to NAV will not be sustained because of arbitrage opportunities. Because securities held by the Fund may trade on foreign exchanges that are closed when the Fund’s primary listing exchange is open, the Fund is likely to experience premiums or discounts greater than those of ETFs that invest in and hold only securities and other investments that are listed and trade in the U.S.
◦Trading Risk. Although Shares are listed for trading on the Exchange and may be listed or traded on U.S. and non-U.S. stock exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such Shares will develop or be maintained. Trading in Shares may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to Exchange “circuit breaker” rules, which temporarily halt trading on the Exchange when a decline in the S&P 500® Index during a single day reaches certain thresholds (e.g., 7%, 13%, and 20%). Additional rules applicable to the Exchange may halt trading in Shares when extraordinary volatility causes sudden, significant swings in the market price of Shares. There can be no assurance that Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares.
•High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund, through its Subsidiary, may frequently buy and sell investments. Higher portfolio turnover may result in the Fund paying higher levels of transaction costs and generating greater tax liabilities for shareholders. Portfolio turnover risk may cause the Fund’s performance to be less than you expect.
•Intra-Day Investment Risk. The Fund seeks daily leveraged investment results, which should not be equated with seeking an investment objective for shorter than a day. Thus, an investor who purchases Fund shares after close of the markets on one trading day and before the close of the markets on the next trading day will likely have more, or less, than two times (2x) the leveraged investment exposure to XRP, depending upon the movement of XRP from the end of one trading day until the time of purchase. If XRP moves in a direction favorable to the Fund, the investor will receive less than two times (2x) the exposure to XRP. Conversely, if XRP moves in a direction adverse to the Fund, the investor will receive exposure to XRP greater than two times (2x). Thus, an investor that purchases shares intra-day may experience performance that is greater than, or less than, the Fund’s stated multiple of XRP.
If there is a significant intra-day market event and/or the price of XRP experiences a significant change that is adverse to the Fund, the Fund may not meet its investment objective or rebalance its portfolio appropriately. Additionally, the Fund may close to purchases and sales of Shares prior to the close of regular trading on the Exchange and incur significant losses.
•Leverage Risk. The Fund seeks to achieve and maintain the exposure to the price of XRP by using leverage. Therefore, the Fund is subject to leverage risk. When the Fund purchases or sells an instrument or enters into a transaction without investing an amount equal to the full economic exposure of the instrument or transaction, it creates leverage, which can result in the Fund losing more than it originally invested. As a result, these investments may magnify losses to the Fund, and even a small market movement may result in significant losses to the Fund. Leverage may also cause the Fund to be more volatile because it may exaggerate the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities. Swaps and futures trading involves a degree of leverage and as a result, a relatively small price movement in the reference asset may result in immediate and substantial losses to the Fund.
•Liquidity Risk. Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. To the extent the Fund invests in illiquid investments or investments that become less liquid, such investments may have a negative effect on the returns of the Fund because the Fund may be unable to sell the illiquid investments at an advantageous time or price. To the extent that the Fund’s principal investment strategies involve investing in securities with substantial market and/or credit risk, the Fund will tend to have the greatest exposure to liquidity risk. Liquid investments may become illiquid after purchase by the Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Illiquid investments may be harder to value, especially in changing markets, and if the Fund is forced to sell these investments to meet redemption requests or for other cash needs, the Fund may suffer a loss. There can be no assurance that an investment that is deemed to be liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid for as long as it is held by the Fund.
•Market Risk. Market risks, including political, regulatory, market, and economic or other developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, can affect the value of the Fund’s Shares. The Fund is subject to the risk that the prices of, and the income generated by, securities held by the Fund may decline significantly and/or rapidly in response to adverse conditions or other developments, such as interest rate fluctuations, and events directly involving specific issuers that may cause broad changes in market value, public perceptions concerning these developments, and adverse investor sentiment. Such events may cause the value of securities owned by the Fund to go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. There also is a risk that policy and legislative changes by the U.S. Government and/or Federal Reserve, or certain foreign governments and central banks, could cause increased volatility in financial markets and higher levels of Fund redemptions, which could have a negative impact on the Fund. These events may lead to periods of volatility and increased redemptions, which could cause the Fund to experience a loss when selling securities to meet redemption requests by shareholders. The risk of loss increases if the redemption requests are unusually large or frequent. Markets also tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising and falling prices. If there is a general decline in the securities and other markets, your investment in the Fund may lose value, regardless of the individual results of the securities and other instruments in which the Fund invests.
Local, regional, or global events, such as war, acts of terrorism, natural disasters, public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the market generally and on specific securities. The COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas conflict, and higher inflation have resulted in extreme volatility in the financial markets, economic downturns around the world, and severe losses, particularly to some sectors of the economy and individual issuers, and reduced liquidity of certain instruments. These events have caused significant disruptions to business operations, strained healthcare systems, disruptions to supply chains, large expansion of government deficits and debt as a result of government actions to mitigate the effects of such events, and widespread uncertainty regarding the long-term effects of such events. These or 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. Furthermore, economies and financial markets throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected. As a result, whether or not the Fund invests in securities of issuers located in or with significant exposure to countries experiencing economic and financial difficulties, the value and liquidity of the Fund’s investments may be negatively affected.
•New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors have no track record or history on which to base their investment decision. Moreover, investors will not be able to evaluate the Fund against one or more comparable funds on the basis of relative performance until the Fund has established a track record.
•Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a lesser number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, the Fund may be more exposed to the risks associated with and developments affecting an individual issuer or a lesser number of issuers than a fund that invests more widely. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively small number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
•Reverse Repurchase Agreement Risk. A reverse repurchase agreement is the sale by the Fund of a debt obligation to a party for a specified price, with the simultaneous agreement by the Fund to repurchase that debt obligation from that party on a future date at an agreed upon price. Similar to borrowing, reverse repurchase agreements provide the Fund with cash for investment purposes, which creates leverage and subjects the Fund to the risks of leverage. Reverse repurchase agreements also involve the risk that the other party may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. The Fund could lose money if it is unable to recover the securities and the value of collateral held by the Fund, including the value of the investments made with cash collateral, is less than the value of securities. Reverse repurchase agreements also create Fund expenses and require that the Fund have sufficient cash available to purchase the debt obligations when required. Reverse repurchase agreements also involve the risk that the market value of the debt obligation that is the subject of the reverse repurchase agreement could decline significantly below the price at which the Fund is obligated to repurchase the security.
•Spot XRP ETP Risks. In addition to the risks associated with XRP noted above, Spot XRP ETPs are subject to additional risks:
◦ETP Risk. The Fund may invest in Spot XRP ETPs or use them as reference assets for XRP-related investments. ETP shares trade like ETFs on a securities exchange. The price of a Spot XRP ETP is derived from and based upon the value of spot
XRP and cash held by the Spot XRP ETP. However, shares of Spot XRP ETPs are not traded at net asset value, but may trade at prices above or below the value of their underlying portfolios. The level of risk involved in the purchase or sale of a Spot XRP ETP is similar to the risk involved in the purchase or sale of an exchange-traded fund, except that the pricing mechanism for a Spot XRP ETP is based on a basket of XRP and cash. Thus, the risks of owning a Spot XRP ETP generally reflects the risks of owning the underlying XRP and cash that the Spot XRP ETP holds. Certain Spot XRP ETPs, such as the Bitwise Physical XRP ETP, Virtune XRP ETP, and WisdomTree Physical XRP ETP, have a limited history of operations. Because certain Spot XRP ETPs are relatively new products, their shares may have a lack of liquidity, which could result in the market price of the Spot XRP ETP shares being more volatile than the underlying portfolio of XRP and cash. Disruptions in the markets for XRP could result in losses on investment in Spot XRP ETPs. In addition, an actual trading market may not develop for Spot XRP ETP shares and the listing exchange may halt trading of a Spot XRP ETP’s shares. Spot XRP ETPs are subject to management fees and other fees that may increase their costs versus the costs of owning XRP directly. The Fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of management fees and other expenses that are charged by the Spot XRP ETP in addition to the management fees and other expenses paid by the Fund. The Fund will pay brokerage commissions in connection with the purchase and sale of shares of Spot XRP ETPs.
If the process of creation and redemption of baskets for the Spot XRP ETPs encounters any unanticipated difficulties, the possibility for arbitrage transactions by authorized participants intended to keep the price of the shares closely linked to the price of XRP may not exist and, as a result, the price of the shares may fall or otherwise diverge from net asset value. The liquidity of the shares may also be affected by the withdrawal from participation of authorized participants. Security threats to the Spot XRP ETP account at the custodian could result in the halting of the Spot XRP ETP’s operations and a loss of the Spot XRP ETP’s assets or damage to the reputation of the Spot XRP ETP, each of which could result in a reduction in the value of the Fund’s Shares. The price used to calculate the value of the Spot XRP ETP’s XRP may be volatile, adversely affecting the value of the Shares. If the Spot XRP ETP’s custodian agreement is terminated or its custodian fails to provide services as required, the Spot XRP ETP may need to find and appoint a replacement custodian, which could pose a challenge to the safekeeping of the Spot XRP ETP’s XRP, and the Spot XRP ETP’s ability to continue to operate may be adversely affected. Loss of a critical banking relationship for, or the failure of a bank used by, the Spot XRP ETP’s prime execution agent could adversely impact the Spot XRP ETP’s ability to create or redeem baskets, or could cause losses to the Spot XRP ETPs. A Spot XRP ETP may suspend the issuance of shares at any time which will impact the price of shares of a Spot XRP ETP, resulting in significant difference (premium/discount) between the Spot XRP ETP’s market price and its net asset value. Additionally, the Fund may be unable to transact in the shares of the Spot XRP ETP at an acceptable price and therefore the Fund may be unable to achieve its investment objective.
◦Exposure Concentration Risk. It is currently expected that the Fund will derive a significant amount of its exposure to the price performance of XRP as a result of investing directly in Spot XRP ETPs or swap agreements or options that reference Spot XRP ETPs. As a result, the Fund’s performance will be highly dependent on the performance of the Spot XRP ETPs. If shares of the Spot XRP ETPs were to be delisted or lose their entire value, Fund Shares would also be expected to suffer a loss of value. The Fund’s strategy makes the Fund extremely susceptible to issuer-specific events relating to the Spot XRP ETPs that may not necessarily affect the XRP market more broadly. This inherently makes an investment in the Fund riskier than an investment in a fund that provides more diversified exposure. Neither the Fund nor the Adviser have conducted due diligence upon the Spot XRP ETPs and make no representations or warranties whatsoever regarding the Spot XRP ETPs’ ability to acquire, dispose of or maintain proper custody of XRP. In the event that there is an issue regarding the Spot XRP ETPs’ ability to acquire, dispose of or maintain proper custody of XRP, the Fund’s returns will be negatively impacted.
◦Foreign Securities Risk. The Spot XRP ETPs that are used as reference assets for the Fund’s XRP-related investments, or in which the Fund may invest directly, may be domiciled in foreign countries and listed on foreign exchanges. ETPs domiciled in Europe may be less liquid than U.S. ETPs and their trading activity may be fractured as a result of listing on multiple exchanges. A European ETP may also trade in multiple currencies. Changes in currency exchange rates affect the value of investments denominated in a foreign currency, and therefore the value of such investments in the Fund’s portfolio. The Fund’s net asset value could decline if a currency to which the Fund has exposure depreciates against the U.S. dollar or if there are delays or limits on repatriation of such currency. 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.
Investments in non-U.S. securities involve certain risks that may not be present with investments in U.S. securities. These include risks of adverse changes in foreign economic, political, regulatory and other conditions, or changes in currency exchange rates or exchange control regulations (including limitations on currency movements and exchanges). The securities of some foreign companies may be less liquid and, at times, more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. companies. There may be less information publicly available about a non-U.S. issuer than a U.S. issuer. Non-U.S. issuers may be subject to different accounting, auditing, financial reporting and investor protection standards than U.S. issuers. Investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to withholding or other taxes and may be subject to additional trading, settlement, custodial, and operational risks. With respect to certain countries, there is the possibility of government intervention and expropriation or nationalization of assets. Because legal systems differ, there also is the possibility that it will be difficult to obtain or enforce legal judgments in certain countries. Since foreign exchanges may be open on days when the Fund does not price its
shares, 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. Conversely, Shares may trade on days when foreign exchanges are closed. Each of these factors can make investments in the Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments.
•Subsidiary Investment Risk. By investing in the Subsidiary, the Fund is indirectly exposed to the risks associated with the Subsidiary’s investments. The derivatives and other investments held by the Subsidiary are generally similar to those that are permitted to be held by the Fund and are subject to the same risks that apply to similar investments if held directly by the Fund. The Subsidiary is not registered under the 1940 Act, and, unless otherwise noted in this Prospectus, is not subject to all the investor protections of the 1940 Act. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands could result in the inability of the Fund and/or the Subsidiary to continue to operate as it does currently and could adversely affect the Fund. For example, the Cayman Islands does not currently impose any income, corporate or capital gains tax or withholding tax on the Subsidiary. If Cayman Islands law changes such that the Subsidiary must pay Cayman Islands taxes, the Fund shareholders would likely suffer decreased investment returns.
•Tax Risk. The Fund may gain most of its exposure to XRP through its investment in its Subsidiary, which invests directly in XRP-related investments, including swaps, futures contracts and reverse repurchase agreements. In order for the Fund to qualify as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code, the Fund must, among other requirements, derive at least 90% of its gross income for each taxable year from sources generating “qualifying income” for purposes of the “qualifying income test,” which is described in more detail in the section titled “Federal Income Taxes” in the SAI. The Fund’s investment in its Subsidiary is expected to provide the Fund with exposure to XRP-related investments within the limitations of the federal tax requirements of Subchapter M of the Code for qualification as a RIC. The “Subpart F” income (defined in Section 951 of the Code to include passive income) of the Fund attributable to its investment in its Subsidiary is “qualifying income” to the Fund to the extent that such income is derived with respect to the Fund’s business of investing in stock, securities or currencies. The Fund expects its “Subpart F” income attributable to its investment in its Subsidiary to be derived with respect to the Fund’s business of investing in stock, securities or currencies and accordingly expects its “Subpart F” income attributable to its investment in its Subsidiary to be treated as “qualifying income.” The Fund generally will be required to include in its own taxable income and the “Subpart F” income of its Subsidiary for a tax year, regardless of whether the Fund receives a distribution of its Subsidiary’s income in that tax year, and this income would nevertheless be subject to the distribution requirement for qualification as a regulated investment company and would be taken into account for purposes of the 4% excise tax. The Adviser will carefully monitor the Fund’s investments in its Subsidiary to ensure that no more than 25% of the Fund’s assets are invested in its Subsidiary to comply with the Asset Diversification Test as described in more detail in the SAI.
To the extent the Fund invests in XRP-related investments directly the Fund will seek to restrict its income from such instruments that do not generate qualifying income to a maximum of 10% of its gross income (when combined with its other investments that produce non-qualifying income) to comply with the qualifying income test necessary for the Fund to qualify as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. However, the Fund may generate more non-qualifying income than anticipated, may not be able to generate qualifying income in a particular taxable year at levels sufficient to meet the qualifying income test, or may not be able to accurately predict the non-qualifying income from these investments.
The extent to which the Fund directly or indirectly invests in XRP-related investments may be limited by the qualifying income and Asset Diversification Tests, which the Fund must continue to satisfy to maintain its status as a RIC.
If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions are not available, the Fund’s taxable income would be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. In such event, in order to re-qualify for taxation as a RIC, the Fund might be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest and make certain distributions. This would cause investors to incur higher tax liabilities than they otherwise would have incurred and would have a negative impact on Fund returns. In such event, the Board may determine to reorganize or close the Fund or materially change the Fund’s investment objective and strategies. In the event that the Fund fails to qualify as a RIC, the Fund will promptly notify shareholders of the implications of that failure.
•Valuation Risk. The Fund or its Subsidiary may hold securities or other assets that may be valued on the basis of factors other than market quotations. This may occur because the asset or security does not trade on a centralized exchange, or in times of market turmoil or reduced liquidity. There are multiple methods that can be used to value a portfolio holding when market quotations are not readily available. The value established for any portfolio holding at a point in time might differ from what would be produced using a different methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations. Portfolio holdings that are valued using techniques other than market quotations, including “fair valued” assets or securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their valuations from one day to the next than if market quotations were used.
In addition, there is no assurance that the Fund or its Subsidiary could sell or close out a portfolio position for the value established for it at any time, and it is possible that the Fund or its Subsidiary would incur a loss because a portfolio position is sold or closed out at a discount to the valuation established by the Fund or Subsidiary at that time. The Adviser’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.
•Volatility Risk. The value of certain of the Fund’s investments, including XRP-related investments, is subject to market risk. Market risk is the risk that the value of the investments to which the Fund is exposed will fall, which could occur due to general market or economic conditions or other factors.
•Whipsaw Markets Risk. The Fund may be subject to the forces of “whipsaw” markets (as opposed to choppy or stable markets), in which significant price movements develop but then repeatedly reverse. “Whipsaw” describes a situation where a security’s price is moving in one direction but then quickly pivots to move in the opposite direction. There are two types of whipsaw patterns. The first involves an upward movement in a price, which is then followed by a drastic downward move causing the price to fall relative to its original position. The second type occurs when a share price drops in value for a short time and then suddenly surges upward to a positive gain relative to the original position. Such market conditions could cause substantial losses to the Fund.
•XRP-Related Company Risk. If the Fund is unable to obtain its desired exposure to XRP Swaps, the Fund may obtain exposure by investing in or shorting securities of “XRP-related companies.” There can be no assurance that the returns of XRP-related companies will correspond, or be closely-related, to the performance of XRP. XRP-related companies face rapid changes in technology, intense competition including the development and acceptance of competing platforms or technologies, loss or impairment of intellectual property rights, cyclical economic patterns, shifting consumer preferences, evolving industry standards, adverse effects of changes to a network’s or software’s protocols, a rapidly changing regulatory environment, and dependency on certain key personnel (including highly skilled financial services professionals and software engineers). XRP-related companies may be susceptible to operational and information security risks including those associated with hardware or software failures, interruptions, or delays in service by third party vendors, and security breaches. Certain XRP-related companies may be subject to the risks associated with investing directly in XRP.
•XRP-Related Investments Tax Risk. As a RIC, the Fund must derive at least 90% of its gross income for each taxable year from sources treated as qualifying income under the Code. The income of the Fund from certain XRP-related investments may be treated as non-qualifying income for purposes of the Fund’s qualification as a RIC, in which case the Fund might fail to qualify as a RIC and be subject to federal income tax at the Fund level. To the extent the Fund invests directly in XRP-related investments, the Fund will seek to restrict its income from such instruments that do not generate qualifying income to a maximum of 10% of its gross income (when combined with its other investments that produce non-qualifying income) to comply with the qualifying income test necessary for the Fund to qualify as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. However, the Fund may generate more non-qualifying income than anticipated, may not be able to generate qualifying income in a particular taxable year at levels sufficient to meet the qualifying income test, or may not be able to accurately predict the non-qualifying income from these investments.
The extent to which the Fund invests in XRP-related investments may be limited by the qualifying income test and the Asset Diversification Test, which the Fund must continue to satisfy to maintain its status as a RIC. If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions are not available, the Fund’s taxable income would be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. Failure to comply with the requirements for qualification as a RIC could have significant negative tax consequences to the Fund’s shareholders. Under certain circumstances, the Fund may be able to cure a failure to meet the qualifying income requirement, but in order to do so the Fund may incur significant Fund-level taxes, which would effectively reduce (and could eliminate) the Fund’s returns. The tax treatment of certain XRP-related investments may be affected by future regulatory or legislative changes that could affect the character, timing and/or amount of the Fund’s taxable income or gains and distributions.
PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS INFORMATION
Information about the Fund’s daily portfolio holdings is available at www.teucrium.com. A complete description of the Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio holdings is available in the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”).
MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser
Teucrium Investment Advisors, LLC, located at Three Main Street, Suite 215, Burlington, Vermont 05401, serves as the investment adviser for the Fund. The Adviser, subject to the general supervision and oversight of the Board, provides an investment management program for the Fund and manages the day-to-day investment of the Fund’s assets. The Adviser also arranges for transfer agency, custody, fund administration, distribution and all other services necessary for the Fund to operate. The Adviser is an SEC-registered investment adviser wholly owned by Teucrium Trading, LLC.
The Adviser continuously reviews, supervises, and administers the Fund’s investment program. The Board supervises the Adviser and establishes policies that the Adviser must follow in its day-to-day management activities. For the services it provides to the Fund, the Adviser is entitled to a unified management fee, which is calculated daily and paid monthly, at an annual rate of 1.89% based on the Fund’s average daily net assets.
Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement between the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Adviser (the “Advisory Agreement”), the Adviser has agreed to pay all expenses of the Fund except the fee payable to the Adviser under the Advisory Agreement, interest charges on any borrowings, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, extraordinary expenses, and distribution fees and expenses paid by the Trust under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (collectively, “Excluded Expenses”).
A discussion of the basis for the Board’s approval of the Fund’s Investment Advisory Agreement will be available in the Fund’s first Form N-CSR filing with the SEC.
Management of the Subsidiary
The Adviser also serves as the investment adviser and has overall responsibility for the general management and administration of the Subsidiary, pursuant to an investment advisory agreement between the Adviser and the Subsidiary. Under the agreement, the Adviser provides the Subsidiary with the same type of management, under essentially the same terms, as it provides the Fund, including that the Adviser has agreed to pay all expenses of the Subsidiary except for the management fee paid to the Adviser pursuant to its investment management agreement with the Subsidiary, interest charges on any borrowings, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, and extraordinary expenses. The Adviser, however, has agreed to waive the management fee of 1.89% to be paid by the Subsidiary. This waiver will continue in effect for so long as the Fund invests in the Subsidiary, and at least through April 6, 2026. The waiver may be terminated by the Adviser at the conclusion of any one-year term or by the Subsidiary’s Board of Directors at any time, or when the Adviser ceases to serve as such. The Subsidiary has also entered into separate contracts for the provision of custody, transfer agency, and accounting services with the same service providers that provide those services to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers
The individuals identified below are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio.
Springer Harris joined Teucrium Trading, LLC, the parent company of the Adviser, in April 2011. He has primary responsibilities for the Trade Operations for the Teucrium Funds. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Harris was an Account Executive with Emergent Social Media Team at Weber Shandwick, a global public relations firm. He graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Business Management.
Spencer Kristiansen joined Teucrium Trading, LLC in July of 2022. He has responsibilities for Trade Operations and analysis for the Teucrium Funds. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Kristiansen was an Investment Counselor for Fisher Investments from December 2021 until July 2022 and a Portfolio Advisor for Bank of America Merrill Lynch from January 2019 until September 2021. He graduated summa cum laude from Champlain College with a B.S. in Finance in 2018.
Joran Haugens joined Teucrium Trading, LLC in December of 2022. He has responsibilities for trade operations and execution for the Teucrium Funds. Prior to joining the firm, he worked as an account executive at ED&F Man Capital with a focus on agricultural commodities providing support, information, research, account management and execution for a wide range of customers. Mr. Haugens has more than 20 years of experience in execution and is Series 3 certified.
The SAI provides additional information about the Portfolio Managers’ compensation structure, other accounts managed by the Portfolio Managers and the Portfolio Managers’ ownership of Shares.
Other Service Providers
PINE Distributors LLC, (the “Distributor”), located at 501 South Cherry Street, Suite 610, Denver, Colorado 80246, serves as distributor and principal underwriter to the Fund. The Distributor will not distribute Shares in less than whole Creation Units, and it does not maintain a secondary market in the Shares. The Distributor is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”). The Distributor has no role in determining the policies of the Fund or the securities that are purchased or sold by the Fund and is not affiliated with the Adviser or any of its affiliates.
U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, doing business as U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, located at 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202, serves as the administrator, transfer agent and index receipt agent (as applicable) for the Fund.
U.S. Bank National Association, located at 1555 North Rivercenter Drive, Suite 302, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212, serves as the custodian for the Fund.
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, located at 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004, serves as legal counsel to the Trust.
Cohen & Company, Ltd., located at 1835 Market Street, Suite 310, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, serves as the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm. The independent registered public accounting firm is responsible for auditing the annual financial statements of the Fund.
HOW TO BUY AND SELL SHARES
The Fund issues and redeems Shares only in Creation Units at the NAV per share next determined after receipt of an order from an AP. Only APs may acquire Shares directly from the Fund, and only APs may tender their Shares for redemption directly to the Fund, at NAV. APs must be a member or participant of a clearing agency registered with the SEC and must execute a Participant Agreement that has been agreed to by the Distributor, and that has been accepted by the Fund’s transfer agent, with respect to purchases and redemptions of Creation Units. Once created, Shares trade in the secondary market in quantities less than a Creation Unit.
Most investors buy and sell Shares in secondary market transactions through brokers. Individual Shares are listed for trading on the secondary market on the Exchange and can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like other publicly traded securities.
When buying or selling Shares through a broker, you will incur customary brokerage commissions and charges, and you may pay some or all of the spread between the bid and the offer price in the secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction. In addition, because secondary market transactions occur at market prices, you may pay more than NAV when you buy Shares and receive less than NAV when you sell those Shares.
Book Entry
Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company (the “DTC”) or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding Shares.
Investors owning Shares are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for all Shares. DTC’s participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other institutions that directly or indirectly maintain a custodial relationship with DTC. As a beneficial owner of Shares, you are not entitled to receive physical delivery of stock certificates or to have Shares registered in your name, and you are not considered a registered owner of Shares. Therefore, to exercise any right as an owner of Shares, you must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants. These procedures are the same as those that apply to any other securities that you hold in book entry or “street name” through your brokerage account.
Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Shares
The Fund imposes no restrictions on the frequency of purchases and redemptions of Shares. In determining not to approve a written, established policy, the Board evaluated the risks of market timing activities by Fund shareholders. Purchases and redemptions by APs, who are the only parties that may purchase or redeem Shares directly from the Fund, are an essential part of the ETF process and help keep Share trading prices in line with NAV. As such, the Fund accommodates frequent purchases and redemptions by APs. However, frequent purchases and redemptions for cash may increase tracking error and portfolio transaction costs and lead to the realization of capital gains. The Fund’s fair valuation of their holdings consistent with the 1940 Act and Rule 2a-5 thereunder and their ability to impose transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the Fund in effecting trades help to minimize the potential adverse consequences of frequent purchases and redemptions.
Determination of Net Asset Value
The Fund’s NAV is calculated as of the scheduled close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”), generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, each day the NYSE is open for business. The NAV for the Fund is calculated by dividing the Fund’s net assets by its Shares outstanding.
In calculating its NAV, the Fund generally values its assets on the basis of market quotations, last sale prices, or estimates of value furnished by a pricing service or brokers who make markets in such instruments. In particular, the Fund generally values equity securities traded on any recognized U.S. or non-U.S. exchange at the last sale price or official closing price on the exchange or system on which they are principally traded. Similarly, the Fund generally values its swap agreement investments based on the reference assets’ (e.g., a Spot XRP ETP) closing price on its primary listing exchange. If such information is not available for an investment held by the Fund or is determined to be unreliable, the investment will be valued by the Adviser at fair value pursuant to procedures established by the Adviser and approved by the Board (as described below).
Fair Value Pricing
The Adviser has been designated by the Board as the valuation designee for the Fund pursuant to Rule 2a-5 under the 1940 Act. In its capacity as valuation designee, the Adviser has adopted procedures and methodologies to fair value Fund investments whose market prices are not “readily available” or are deemed to be unreliable. For example, such circumstances may arise when: (i) an investment has been de-listed or has had its trading halted or suspended; (ii) an investment’s primary pricing source is unable or unwilling to provide a price; (iii) an investment’s primary trading market is closed during regular market hours; or (iv) an investment’s value is materially affected by events occurring after the close of the investment’s primary trading market. Generally, when fair valuing an investment held by the Fund, the Adviser will take into account all reasonably available information that may be relevant to a particular valuation including, but not limited to, fundamental analytical data regarding the issuer, information relating to the issuer’s business, recent trades or offers of the investment, general and/or specific market conditions and the specific facts giving rise to the need to fair value the investment. Fair value determinations are made in good faith and in accordance with the fair value methodologies established by the Adviser. Due to the subjective and variable nature of determining the fair value of a security or other
investment, there can be no assurance that the Adviser’s determined fair value will match or closely correlate to any market quotation that subsequently becomes available or the price quoted or published by other sources. In addition, the Fund may not be able to obtain the fair value assigned to an investment if the Fund were to sell such investment at or near the time its fair value is determined.
Investments by Registered Investment Companies
Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder limit investments by registered investment companies in the securities of other investment companies. Registered investment companies are permitted to invest in the Fund beyond the limits set forth in section 12(d)(1), subject to certain terms and conditions, including that such investment companies enter into an agreement with the Fund.
Delivery of Shareholder Documents – Householding
Householding is an option available to certain investors of the Fund. Householding is a method of delivery, based on the preference of the individual investor, in which a single copy of certain shareholder documents can be delivered to investors who share the same address, even if their accounts are registered under different names. Householding for the Fund is available through certain broker-dealers. If you are interested in enrolling in householding and receiving a single copy of prospectuses and other shareholder documents, please contact your broker-dealer. If you are currently enrolled in householding and wish to change your householding status, please contact your broker-dealer.
DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS, AND TAXES
Dividends and Distributions
The Fund expects to pay out dividends in cash, if any, and distribute any net realized capital gains to its shareholders at least annually. The Fund will declare and pay capital gain distributions in cash, if any. Distributions in cash may be reinvested automatically in additional whole Shares only if the broker through whom you purchased Shares makes such option available. Your broker is responsible for distributing the income and capital gain distributions to you.
Taxes
The following discussion is a summary of certain important U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to investments in the Fund. Your investment in the Fund may have other tax implications. Please consult your tax advisor about the tax consequences of an investment in Shares, including the possible application of foreign, state, and local tax laws. This summary does not apply to Shares held in an IRA or other tax-qualified plans, which are generally not subject to current tax. Transactions relating to Shares held in such accounts may, however, be taxable at some time in the future. This summary is based on current tax laws, which may change.
The Fund intends to qualify each year for treatment as a RIC. If it meets certain minimum distribution requirements, a RIC is not subject to tax at the fund level on income and gains from investments that are timely distributed to shareholders. However, the Fund’s failure to qualify as a RIC or to meet minimum distribution requirements would result (if certain relief provisions were not available) in fund-level taxation and, consequently, a reduction in income available for distribution to shareholders.
Unless your investment in Shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-advantaged account, such as an IRA, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when the Fund makes distributions, when you sell your Shares listed on the Exchange, and when you purchase or redeem Creation Units (APs only).
Taxes on Distributions
The Fund intends to distribute, at least annually, substantially all of its net investment income and net capital gains. For federal income tax purposes, distributions of investment income are generally taxable as ordinary income or qualified dividend income. Taxes on distributions of capital gains (if any) are determined by how long the Fund owned the investments that generated them, rather than how long a shareholder has owned his or her Shares. Sales of assets held by the Fund for more than one year generally result in long-term capital gains and losses, and sales of assets held by the Fund for one year or less generally result in short-term capital gains and losses. Distributions of the Fund’s net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses) that are reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends (“Capital Gain Dividends”) will be taxable as long-term capital gains, which for non-corporate shareholders are subject to tax at reduced rates of up to 20% (lower rates apply to individuals in lower tax brackets). Distributions of short-term capital gain will generally be taxable as ordinary income. Dividends and distributions are generally taxable to you whether you receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional Shares.
Distributions reported by the Fund as “qualified dividend income” are generally taxed to non-corporate shareholders at rates applicable to long-term capital gains, provided holding period and other requirements are met. “Qualified dividend income” generally is income derived from dividends paid by U.S. corporations or certain foreign corporations that are either incorporated in a U.S. possession or eligible for tax benefits under certain U.S. income tax treaties. In addition, dividends that the Fund receives in respect of stock of certain foreign corporations may be qualified dividend income if that stock is readily tradable on an established U.S. securities market. Corporate shareholders may be entitled to a dividends received deduction for the portion of dividends they receive from the Fund that are attributable to dividends received by the Fund from U.S. corporations, subject to certain limitations. For such dividends to be taxed as qualified dividend income to a non-corporate shareholder, the Fund must satisfy certain holding period requirements with respect to the underlying stock and the non-corporate shareholder must satisfy holding period requirements with respect to his or
her ownership of the Fund’s Shares. Holding periods may be suspended for these purposes for stock that is hedged. The Fund’s investment strategy will significantly limit its ability to distribute dividends eligible to be treated as qualified dividend income.
In the case of corporate shareholders, Fund distributions (other than Capital Gain Dividends) generally qualify for the dividends received deduction to the extent such distributions are so reported and do not exceed the gross amount of qualifying dividends received by the Fund for the year. Generally, and subject to certain limitations (including certain holding period limitations), a dividend will be treated as a qualifying dividend if it has been received from a domestic corporation. Certain of the Fund’s investment strategies will significantly limit their ability to make distributions eligible for the dividends received deduction.
A RIC that receives business interest income may pass through its net business interest income for purposes of the tax rules applicable to the interest expense limitations under Section 163(j) of the Code. A RIC’s total “Section 163(j) Interest Dividend” for a tax year is limited to the excess of the RIC’s business interest income over the sum of its business interest expense and its other deductions properly allocable to its business interest income. A RIC may, in its discretion, designate all or a portion of ordinary dividends as Section 163(j) Interest Dividends, which would allow the recipient shareholder to treat the designated portion of such dividends as interest income for purposes of determining such shareholder’s interest expense deduction limitation under Section 163(j) of the Code. This can potentially increase the amount of a shareholder’s interest expense deductible under Section 163(j) of the Code. In general, to be eligible to treat a Section 163(j) Interest Dividend as interest income, you must have held your shares in the Fund for more than 180 days during the 361-day period beginning on the date that is 180 days before the date on which the share becomes ex-dividend with respect to such dividend. Section 163(j) Interest Dividends, if so designated by the Fund, will be reported to your financial intermediary or otherwise in accordance with the requirements specified by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”).
Shortly after the close of each calendar year, you will be informed of the amount and character of any distributions received from the Fund.
In general, your distributions are subject to federal income tax for the year in which they are paid. Certain distributions paid in January, however, may be treated as paid on December 31 of the prior year. Distributions are generally taxable even if they are paid from income or gains earned by the Fund before your investment (and thus were included in the Shares’ NAV when you purchased your Shares).
You may wish to avoid investing in the Fund shortly before a dividend or other distribution, because such a distribution will generally be taxable even though it may economically represent a return of a portion of your investment.
If you are neither a resident nor a citizen of the United States or if you are a foreign entity, distributions (other than Capital Gain Dividends) paid to you by the Fund will generally be subject to a U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30%, unless a lower treaty rate applies. Gains from the sale or other disposition of your Shares from non-U.S. shareholders generally are not subject to U.S. taxation, unless you are a nonresident alien individual who is physically present in the U.S. for 183 days or more per year. The Fund may, under certain circumstances, report all or a portion of a dividend as an “interest-related dividend” or a “short-term capital gain dividend,” which would generally be exempt from this 30% U.S. withholding tax, provided certain other requirements are met. Different tax consequences may result if you are a foreign shareholder engaged in a trade or business within the United States or if a tax treaty applies.
Under legislation generally known as “FATCA” (the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act), the Fund is required to withhold 30% of certain ordinary dividends it pays to shareholders that are foreign entities and that fail to meet prescribed information reporting or certification requirements.
The Fund (or a financial intermediary, such as a broker, through which a shareholder owns Shares) generally is required to withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury a percentage (currently 24%) of the taxable distributions and sale proceeds paid to any shareholder who fails to properly furnish a correct taxpayer identification number, who has underreported dividend or interest income, or who fails to certify that the shareholder is not subject to such withholding. Backup withholding is not an additional tax and any amounts withheld may be credited against the shareholder’s ultimate U.S. tax liability.
Taxes When Shares are Sold on the Exchange
Provided that a shareholder holds Shares as capital assets, any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale or exchange of Shares generally is treated as a long-term capital gain or loss if Shares have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if Shares have been held for one year or less. However, any capital loss on a sale of Shares held for six months or less is treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of Capital Gain Dividends paid with respect to such Shares. Any loss realized on a sale will be disallowed to the extent Shares are acquired, including through reinvestment of dividends, within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the disposition of Shares. The ability to deduct capital losses may be limited.
The cost basis of Shares acquired by purchase will generally be based on the amount paid for the Shares and then may be subsequently adjusted for other applicable transactions as required by the Code. The difference between the selling price and the cost basis of Shares generally determines the amount of the capital gain or loss realized on the sale or exchange of Shares. Contact the broker through whom you purchased your Shares to obtain information with respect to the available cost basis reporting methods and elections for your account.
Taxes on Purchases and Redemptions of Creation Units
An AP having the U.S. dollar as its functional currency for U.S. federal income tax purposes who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally recognizes a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and the exchanging AP’s aggregate basis in the securities delivered plus the amount of any cash paid for the Creation Units. An AP who exchanges Creation Units for securities will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanging AP’s basis in the Creation Units and the aggregate U.S. dollar market value of the securities received, plus any cash received for such Creation Units. The IRS may assert, however, that a loss that is realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units may not be currently deducted under the rules governing “wash sales” (for an AP who does not mark-to-market their holdings) or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. APs exchanging securities should consult their own tax advisor with respect to whether wash sale rules apply and when a loss might be deductible.
The Fund may include a payment of cash in addition to, or in place of, the delivery of a basket of securities upon the redemption of Creation Units. The Fund may sell portfolio securities to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize investment income and/or capital gains or losses that it might not have recognized if it had completely satisfied the redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may be less tax efficient if it includes such a cash payment in the proceeds paid upon the redemption of Creation Units.
Net Investment Income Tax
U.S. individuals with income exceeding specified thresholds are subject to a 3.8% tax on all or a portion of their “net investment income,” which includes interest, dividends, and certain capital gains (generally including capital gains distributions and capital gains realized on the sale of Shares). This 3.8% tax also applies to all or a portion of the undistributed net investment income of certain shareholders that are estates and trusts.
Foreign Investments by the Fund
The Fund invests in foreign securities. Interest and other income received by the Fund with respect to foreign securities may give rise to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes. If as of the close of a taxable year more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s assets consists of certain foreign stock or securities, each the Fund will be eligible to elect to “pass through” to investors the amount of foreign income and similar taxes (including withholding taxes) paid by the Fund during that taxable year. This means that investors would be considered to have received as additional income their respective shares of such foreign taxes but may be entitled to either a corresponding tax deduction in calculating taxable income, or, subject to certain limitations, a credit in calculating federal income tax. If the Fund does not so elect, each the Fund will be entitled to claim a deduction for certain foreign taxes incurred by the Fund. The Fund (or a financial intermediary, such as a broker, through which a shareholder owns Shares) will notify you if it makes such an election and provide you with the information necessary to reflect foreign taxes paid on your income tax return.
The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the possible consequences under current federal tax law of an investment in the Fund. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. You also may be subject to state and local tax on Fund distributions and sales of Shares. Consult your personal tax advisor about the potential tax consequences of an investment in Shares under all applicable tax laws. For more information, please see the section entitled “Federal Income Taxes” in the SAI.
DISTRIBUTION PLAN
The Board has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan (the “Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. In accordance with the Plan, the Fund is authorized to pay an amount up to 0.25% of its average daily net assets each year for certain distribution-related activities and shareholder services.
No Rule 12b-1 fees are currently paid by the Fund, and there are no plans to impose these fees. However, in the event Rule 12b-1 fees are charged in the future, because the fees are paid out of Fund assets, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than certain other types of sales charges.
PREMIUM/DISCOUNT INFORMATION
Information regarding how often the Fund’s Shares traded on the Exchange at a price above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount) its NAV is available on the Fund’s website at www.teucrium.com.
ADDITIONAL NOTICES
The Shares are not sponsored, endorsed, or promoted by the Exchange. The Exchange is not responsible for, nor has it participated in the determination of the timing, prices, or quantities of Shares to be issued, nor in the determination or calculation of the equation by which Shares are redeemable. The Exchange has no obligation or liability to owners of Shares in connection with the administration, marketing, or trading of Shares.
Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall the Exchange have any liability for any lost profits or indirect, punitive, special, or consequential damages even if notified of the possibility thereof.
The Adviser and the Fund make no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of Shares or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Fund particularly.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Financial information is not available because the Fund had not commenced operations prior to the date of this Prospectus.
Teucrium 2x Long Daily XRP ETF
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Adviser | Teucrium Investment Advisors, LLC Three Main Street, Suite 215 Burlington, Vermont 05401 | Distributor | PINE Distributors LLC 501 South Cherry Street, Suite 610 Denver, Colorado 80246 |
| Transfer Agent, Index Receipt Agent, and Administrator | U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC d/b/a U.S. Bank Global Fund Services 615 East Michigan Street Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202 | Custodian | U.S. Bank, N.A. 1555 North Rivercenter Drive, Suite 302 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212 |
| Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm | Cohen & Company, Ltd. 1835 Market Street, Suite 310 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 | Legal Counsel | Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20004-2541 |
Investors may find more information about the Fund in the following documents:
Statement of Additional Information: The Fund’s SAI provides additional details about the investments of the Fund and certain other additional information. The SAI is on file with the SEC and is incorporated herein by reference into this Prospectus. It is legally considered a part of this Prospectus.
Annual/Semi-Annual Reports and Form N-CSR: Additional information about the Fund’s investments will be available in the Fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to shareholders and in Form N-CSR. In the Annual Report, when available, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund’s performance during its last fiscal year. In Form N-CSR, you will find the Fund’s annual and semi-annual financial statements.
You can obtain free copies of these documents, request other information or make general inquiries about the Fund by contacting the Fund by calling 1-800-617-0004.
Shareholder reports and other information about the Fund also are available:
•Free of charge from the SEC’s EDGAR database on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov;
•Free of charge from the Fund’s Internet web site at www.teucrium.com; or
•For a fee, by e-mail request to publicinfo@sec.gov.
(SEC Investment Company Act File No. 811-23226)
Teucrium 2x Long Daily XRP ETF (XXRP)
A series of Listed Funds Trust
Listed on NYSE Arca, Inc.
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
April 6, 2025
This Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”) is not a prospectus and should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus for the Teucrium 2x Long Daily XRP ETF (the “Fund”), a series of Listed Funds Trust (the “Trust”), dated April 6, 2025, as may be supplemented from time to time (the “Prospectus”). Capitalized terms used in this SAI that are not defined have the same meaning as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise noted. A copy of the Prospectus may be obtained without charge, by calling the Fund at 1-800-617-0004 or by visiting www.teucrium.com.
The Fund’s audited financial statements for the most recent fiscal year (when available) will be incorporated into this SAI by reference to the Fund’s most recent Form N-CSR filing (File No. 811-23226). When available, you may obtain a copy of the Fund’s Annual Report and Form N-CSR at no charge by contacting the Fund at the address or phone number noted above.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE TRUST
The Trust is an open-end management investment company consisting of multiple investment series. This SAI relates only to the Fund. The Trust was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on August 26, 2016. The Trust is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (together with the rules and regulations adopted thereunder, the “1940 Act”), as an open-end management investment company, and the offering of the Fund’s shares (the “Shares”) is registered under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”). The Trust is governed by its Board of Trustees (the “Board”).
Teucrium Investment Advisors, LLC (the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Fund.
The Fund offers and issues Shares at their net asset value (“NAV”) only in aggregations of a specified number of Shares (each, a “Creation Unit”). The Fund generally offers and issues Shares in exchange for the deposit of cash totaling the NAV of the Creation Units. Shares are listed on the NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”) and trade on the Exchange at market prices that may differ from the Shares’ NAV. Shares are also redeemable only in Creation Unit aggregations, primarily in exchange for a specified cash payment. A Creation Unit of the Fund generally consists of 10,000 Shares, though this may change from time to time. As a practical matter, only institutions or large investors purchase or redeem Creation Units. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, Shares are not redeemable securities.
The Trust may impose a transaction fee for each creation or redemption. In all cases, such fees will be limited in accordance with the requirements of the SEC applicable to management investment companies offering redeemable securities. As in the case of other publicly traded securities, brokers’ commissions on transactions in the secondary market will be based on negotiated commission rates at customary levels.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, POLICIES, AND RELATED RISKS
The Fund’s investment objective and principal investment strategies are described in the Prospectus. The following information supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, the Prospectus. For a description of certain permitted investments, see “Description of Permitted Investments” in this SAI.
With respect to the Fund’s investments, unless otherwise noted, if a percentage limitation on investment is adhered to at the time of investment or contract, a subsequent increase or decrease as a result of market movement or redemption will not result in a violation of such investment limitation.
NON-DIVERSIFICATION
The Fund is classified as a non-diversified investment company under the 1940 Act. A “non-diversified” classification means that the Fund is not limited by the 1940 Act with regard to the percentage of its total assets that may be invested in the securities of a single issuer. This means that the Fund may invest a greater portion of its total assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund.
Although the Fund is non-diversified for purposes of the 1940 Act, the Fund intends to maintain the required level of diversification and otherwise conduct its operations so as to qualify as a “regulated investment company” (“RIC”) within the meaning of Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). Compliance with the diversification requirements of the Code may limit the investment flexibility of the Fund and may make it less likely that the Fund will meet its investment objectives. To qualify as a RIC under the Code, the Fund must meet the Diversification Requirement described in the section titled “Federal Income Taxes” in this SAI.
GENERAL RISKS
The value of the Fund’s portfolio investments may fluctuate with changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular investment or issuer and changes in general economic or political conditions. An investor in the Fund could lose money over short or long periods of time.
There can be no guarantee that a liquid market for the investments held by the Fund will be maintained. The existence of a liquid trading market for certain investments may depend on whether dealers will make a market in such investments. There can be no assurance that a market will be made or maintained or that any such market will be or remain liquid. The price at which investments may be sold and the value of Shares will be adversely affected if trading markets for the Fund’s portfolio investments are limited or absent, or if bid/ask spreads are wide.
Cybersecurity Risk. Investment companies, such as the Fund, and their service providers may be subject to operational and information security risks resulting from cyber-attacks. Cyber-attacks include, among other behaviors, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, denial of service attacks on websites, the unauthorized release of confidential information or various other forms of cybersecurity breaches. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund or the Adviser, custodian, transfer agent, intermediaries and other third-party service providers may adversely impact the Fund. For instance, cyber-attacks may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact the Fund’s ability to calculate its NAV, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential company information, impede trading, subject the Fund to regulatory fines or financial losses, and cause reputational damage. The Fund also may incur additional costs for cybersecurity risk management purposes. Similar types of cybersecurity risks
also are present for issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Fund’s investments in such portfolio companies to lose value.
Recent Events. Beginning in the first quarter of 2020, financial markets in the United States and around the world experienced extreme and, in many cases, unprecedented volatility and severe losses due to the global pandemic caused by COVID-19, a novel coronavirus. The pandemic resulted in a wide range of social and economic disruptions, including closed borders, voluntary or compelled quarantines of large populations, stressed healthcare systems, reduced or prohibited domestic or international travel, and supply chain disruptions affecting the United States and many other countries. Some sectors of the economy and individual issuers experienced particularly large losses as a result of these disruptions. Although the immediate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have dissipated, global markets and economies continue to contend with the ongoing and long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant market volatility and economic disruptions. It is unknown how long events related to the pandemic will persist, whether they will reoccur in the future, whether efforts to support the economy and financial markets will be successful, and what additional implications may follow from the pandemic. The impact of these events and other epidemics or pandemics in the future could adversely affect Fund performance.
Geopolitical tensions introduce uncertainty into global markets. Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the resulting responses by the United States and other countries, and the potential for wider conflict could increase volatility and uncertainty in the financial markets and adversely affect regional and global economies. The United States and other countries have imposed broad-ranging economic sanctions on Russia, certain Russian individuals, banking entities and corporations, and Belarus as a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and may impose sanctions on other countries that provide military or economic support to Russia. The extent and duration of Russia’s military actions and the repercussions of such actions (including any retaliatory actions or countermeasures that may be taken by those subject to sanctions, including cyber-attacks) are impossible to predict, but could result in significant market disruptions, including in certain industries or sectors, such as the oil and natural gas markets, and may negatively affect global supply chains, inflation and global growth.
Similarly, escalations beginning in October 2023 of the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict present a potential risk for wider conflict that could negatively affect financial markets due to a myriad of interconnected factors. This conflict could disrupt regional trade and supply chains, potentially affecting U.S. businesses with exposure to the region. For example, the Red Sea crisis has led to disruption of international maritime trade and the global supply chain, which has had a direct impact on countries and regions that rely on such routes for the supply of energy and/or food and companies that typically ship goods or receive components by way of the Red Sea. Additionally, the Middle East plays a pivotal role in the global energy sector, and prolonged instability could impact oil prices, leading to increased costs for businesses and consumers. Furthermore, the U.S.’s diplomatic ties and commitments in the region mean that it might become more directly involved, either diplomatically or militarily, diverting attention and resources. These and any related events could significantly impact the Fund’s performance and the value of an investment in the Fund, even if the Fund does not have direct exposure.
Correlation Risk. Several factors may affect the Fund’s ability to obtain its daily leveraged investment objective. Among these factors are: (1) Fund expenses, including brokerage expenses and commissions and financing costs related to derivatives (which may be increased by high portfolio turnover); (2) an imperfect correlation between the performance of instruments held by the Fund, such as swaps and futures, and the performance of XRP; (3) bid-ask spreads; (4) the Fund holding instruments that are illiquid or the market for which becomes disrupted; (5) the need to conform the Fund’s portfolio holdings to comply with the Fund’s investment restrictions or policies, or regulatory or tax law requirements; (6) market movements that run counter to the Fund’s investments (which will cause divergence between the Fund and the price of XRP over time due to the mathematical effects of leveraging); and (7) disruptions and illiquidity in the markets for securities or derivatives held by the Fund.
Furthermore, the Fund has an investment objective to seek daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to the performance of two times (2x) the daily price performance of XRP for a single day, not for any other period. A “single day” is measured from the time the Fund calculates its NAV to the time of the Fund’s next NAV calculation. While a close correlation of the Fund to XRP may be achieved on any single day, the Fund’s performance for any other period is the result of its return for each day compounded over the period. This usually will differ in amount and possibly even direction from two times (2x) the daily return for the Fund of XRP for the same period, before accounting for fees and expenses, as further described in the Prospectus and below.
Special Note Regarding the Correlation Risks of the Fund. As discussed in the Prospectus, the Fund is “leveraged” in the sense that it has an investment objective to match 200% of the price performance of XRP on a given day. The Fund is subject to all of the correlation risks described in the Prospectus. In addition, there is a special form of correlation risk that derives from the Fund’s use of leverage, which is that for periods greater than one day, the use of leverage tends to cause the performance of the Fund to be either greater than, or less than, 200% of the price performance of XRP.
The Fund’s return for periods longer than one day is primarily a function of the following:
a.Price performance of XRP;
b.Volatility of the price of XRP;
c.Financing rates associated with leverage;
d.Other fund expenses; and
e.Period of time.
The performance for the Fund can be estimated given any set of assumptions for the factors described above. Illustrated below is the impact of two factors, volatility of the price of XRP and price performance of XRP, on the Fund. Volatility of XRP is a statistical measure of the magnitude of fluctuations in the price performance of XRP. The illustration estimates the Fund’s returns for a number of combinations of volatility of the price of XRP and price performance of XRP over a one year period and assumes: a) no dividends paid by any fund holding; b) no fund expenses; and c) borrowing/lending rates (to obtain leverage) of zero percent. If fund expenses were included, the Fund’s performance would be lower than shown.
As shown below, the Fund would be expected to lose 6.1% if the price of XRP provided no return over a one year period during which XRP experienced annualized volatility of 25%. If XRP’s annualized volatility were to rise to 75%, the hypothetical loss for a one year period widens to approximately 43%. At higher ranges of volatility, there is a chance of a near complete loss of value even if XRP price performance is flat. For instance, if XRP’s annualized volatility is 100%, it is likely that the Fund would lose 63.2% of its value, even if the stock price’s cumulative change for the year was only 0%. If the XRP’s annualized volatility were to rise to 75%, the hypothetical loss for a one year period widens to approximately 81.5%. At higher ranges of volatility, there is a chance of a near complete loss of value even if XRP’s price performance is flat. For instance, if XRP’s annualized volatility is 100%, it is likely that the Fund would lose 95% of its value, even if XRP’s cumulative change for the year was only 0%.
In the table below, areas shaded green represent those scenarios where the Fund will outperform (i.e., return more than) two times the XRP’s performance; conversely areas shaded red represent those scenarios where the Fund will underperform (i.e., return less than) two times XRP’s performance.
The table below is intended to underscore the fact that the Fund is designed as short-term trading vehicles for investors who intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios. It is not intended to be used by, and is not appropriate for, investors who do not intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios. For additional information regarding correlation and volatility risk for the Fund, see “Effects of Compounding and Market Volatility Risk” in the Prospectus.
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One Year Price Performance | Two Times (2x) One Year Price Performance | Volatility Rate |
Return | Return | 10% | 25% | 50% | 75% | 100% |
-60% | -120% | -84.2% | -85.0% | -87.5% | -90.9% | -94.1% |
-50% | -100% | -75.2% | -76.5% | -80.5% | -85.8% | -90.8% |
-40% | -80% | -64.4% | -66.2% | -72.0% | -79.5% | -86.8% |
-30% | -60% | -51.5% | -54.0% | -61.8% | -72.1% | -82.0% |
-20% | -40% | -36.6% | -39.9% | -50.2% | -63.5% | -76.5% |
-10% | -20% | -19.8% | -23.9% | -36.9% | -53.8% | -70.2% |
0% | 0% | -1.0% | -6.1% | -22.1% | -43.0% | -63.2% |
10% | 20% | 19.8% | 13.7% | -5.8% | -31.1% | -55.5% |
20% | 40% | 42.6% | 35.3% | 12.1% | -18.0% | -47.0% |
30% | 60% | 67.3% | 58.8% | 31.6% | -3.7% | -37.8% |
40% | 80% | 94.0% | 84.1% | 52.6% | 11.7% | -27.9% |
50% | 100% | 122.8% | 111.4% | 75.2% | 28.2% | -17.2% |
60% | 120% | 153.5% | 140.5% | 99.4% | 45.9% | -5.8% |
The foregoing table is intended to isolate the effect of the volatility of the price of XRP and price performance of XRP on the return of the Fund that seeks performance equal to two times (2x) the price performance of XRP. The Fund’s actual returns may be significantly greater or less than the returns shown above as a result of any of factors discussed above or under “Effects of Compounding and Market Volatility Risk” in the Prospectus.
DESCRIPTION OF PERMITTED INVESTMENTS
The following are descriptions of the Fund’s permitted investments and investment practices and the associated risk factors. The Fund will only invest in any of the following instruments or engage in any of the following investment practices if such investment or activity is consistent with the Fund’s investment objective and permitted by the Fund’s stated investment policies.
XRP-Related Investments
Swap Agreements
The Fund intends to enter into one or more swap agreements with major global financial institutions whereby the Fund and the global financial institution will agree to exchange the return earned on an investment by the Fund in XRP (each an “XRP Swap”) that is equal, on a daily basis, to 200% of the value of the Fund’s net assets. It is expected that the Fund (and certain of its investments) will reference one or more of the following benchmarks for purposes of determining the price of XRP: (i) the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate (the “XRP Reference Rate”); (ii) CME CF XRP-Dollar Real Time Index (the “XRP Index”); (iii) exchange-traded products (“ETPs”) that hold XRP directly (a “Spot XRP ETP”), or (iv) other benchmarks that the Adviser believes produce daily returns consistent with those of XRP (collectively with the XRP Reference Rate, the XRP Index, and any Spot XRP ETP, the “Reference Assets”).
•Swap Agreements Risk. Swap agreements are contracts for periods ranging from one day to more than one year and may be negotiated bilaterally and traded OTC between two parties or, for certain standardized swaps, must be exchange-traded through a futures commission merchant or swap execution facility and/or cleared through a clearinghouse that serves as a central counterparty. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments. The Fund may enter into swap agreements, including, but not limited to total return swaps, index swaps, interest rate swaps, municipal market data rate locks, and credit default swaps. The Fund may utilize swap agreements in an attempt to gain exposure to certain securities without purchasing those securities to speculate on the movement of such securities or to hedge a position. Risks associated with the use of swap agreements are different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions, largely due to the fact they could be considered illiquid and many swaps currently trade on the OTC market. Swaps are particularly subject to counterparty credit, correlation, valuation, liquidity and leveraging risks and could result in substantial losses to the Fund.
As noted above, certain standardized swaps are subject to mandatory exchange trading and central clearing. While exchange trading and central clearing are intended to reduce counterparty credit risk and increase liquidity, they do not make swap transactions risk-free. Additionally, the CFTC and other applicable regulators have adopted rules imposing certain margin requirements, including minimums, on OTC swaps, which may result in the Fund and its counterparties posting higher margin amounts for OTC swaps, which could increase the cost of swap transactions to the Fund and impose added operational complexity. The Dodd-Frank Act and related regulatory developments require the clearing and exchange-trading of many OTC derivative instruments that the CFTC and the SEC have defined as “swaps.” Mandatory exchange-trading and clearing are occurring on a phased-in basis based on the type of market participant and CFTC approval of contracts for central clearing. The Adviser will continue to monitor developments in this area, particularly to the extent regulatory changes affect the Fund’s ability to enter into swap agreements.
•Swaps Capacity Risk. If the Fund’s or the Subsidiary’s (as defined below) ability to obtain exposure to swaps consistent with its investment objective is disrupted for any reason including, for example, limited liquidity in the XRP market, a disruption to the XRP market, or as a result of margin requirements or other limitations imposed by the Fund’s swaps dealers or the CFTC or other regulators, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective and may experience significant losses.
In such circumstances, the Adviser intends to take such action as it believes appropriate and in the best interest of the Fund. Any disruption in the Fund’s or the Subsidiary’s ability to obtain exposure to swaps will cause the Fund’s performance to deviate from the performance of XRP. Additionally, the ability of the Fund or the Subsidiary to obtain exposure to swaps is limited by certain tax rules that limit the amount the Fund can invest in the Subsidiary as of the end of each tax quarter. Exceeding this amount may have tax consequences, see “Tax Risk” for more information.
Margin levels for swap contracts based on XRP may be substantially higher than margin requirements for more established swaps and futures contracts. Additionally, margin requirements are subject to change, and may be raised in the future by swaps dealers or regulators. High margin requirements could prevent the Fund or the Subsidiary from obtaining sufficient exposure to XRP-based swaps and may adversely affect its ability to achieve its investment objective. Further, swaps counterparties utilized by the Fund or the Subsidiary may impose limits on the amount of exposure to swaps contracts the Fund can obtain through such counterparty. If the Fund or Subsidiary cannot obtain sufficient exposure to XRP-based swaps, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective.
•XRP Swaps Risk. If the Fund’s or the Subsidiary’s ability to obtain exposure to XRP swaps consistent with its investment objective is disrupted for any reason including, for example, limited liquidity in the XRP derivatives markets, a disruption to the XRP derivatives markets, or as a result of margin requirements or other limitations imposed by the, counterparties or the CFTC or other regulators, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective and may experience significant losses.
In such circumstances, the Adviser intends to take such action as it believes appropriate and in the best interest of the Fund. Any disruption in the Fund’s or Subsidiary’s ability to obtain exposure to XRP derivatives will cause the Fund’s performance to deviate from its intended investment objective.
XRP Futures Contracts
In order to obtain leveraged (2x) exposure to the return of XRP, the Fund intends to enter into futures contracts based on XRP (“XRP Futures Contracts” and, collectively with XRP Swaps, “XRP-related investments”) as the “buyer” or “seller,” respectively. In simplest terms, in a futures market the counterparty pays the buyer if the price of a futures contract goes up and receives cash from the counterparty if the price of the futures contract goes down. In order to maintain leveraged (2x) exposure to the return of XRP, as applicable, the Fund intends to exit its futures contracts as they near expiration and replace them with new futures contracts with a later expiration date. Futures contracts with a longer term to expiration may be priced lower than futures contracts with a shorter term to expiration, a relationship called “backwardation.” Conversely, futures contracts with a longer term to expiration may be priced higher than futures contracts with a shorter term to expiration, a relationship called “contango.”
When rolling futures contracts that are in backwardation, the Fund will close its long position by buying the expiring contract at a relatively lower price and selling a longer-dated contract at a relatively higher price. The presence of backwardation will positively affect the performance of the Fund. When rolling long futures contracts that are in contango, the Fund will close its long position by buying the expiring contract at a relatively higher price and selling a longer-dated contract at a relatively lower price. The presence of contango will negatively affect the performance of the Fund.
•Futures Contracts Risk. The successful use of futures contracts draws upon the Adviser’s skill and experience with respect to such instruments and is subject to special risk considerations. The primary risks associated with the use of futures contracts, which may adversely affect the Fund’s NAV and total return, are: (a) the imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the futures contract and the price of underlying asset; (b) possible lack of a liquid market for a futures contract and the resulting inability to close a forward or futures contract when desired; (c) losses caused by unanticipated market movements, which are potentially unlimited; (d) the Adviser’s inability to predict correctly the direction of securities prices, interest rates, currency exchange rates and other economic factors; (e) the possibility that the counterparty will default in the performance of its obligations; and (f) if the Fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell securities from its portfolio to meet daily variation margin requirements, and the Fund may have to sell securities at a time when it maybe disadvantageous to do so. If the Fund’s ability to obtain exposure to commodities futures consistent with its investment objective is disrupted for any reason, including limited liquidity in the commodities futures market, a disruption to the commodities futures, or as a result of margin requirements or position limits imposed by the Fund’s FCMs, the DCM, or the CFTC on the Fund or the Adviser, the Fund would not be able to achieve its investment objective and may experience significant losses.
Investment in exchange-traded futures contracts may expose the Fund to the risks of a clearing broker (or a FCM). Under current regulations, a clearing broker or FCM maintains customers’ assets in a bulk segregated account. There is a risk that Fund assets deposited with the clearing broker to serve as margin may be used to satisfy the broker’s own obligations or the losses of the broker’s other clients. In the event of default, the Fund could experience lengthy delays in recovering some or all of its assets and may not see any recovery at all. Because futures contracts project price levels in the future, market circumstances may cause a discrepancy between the price of a futures contract and the movement in the underlying asset. In the event of adverse price movements, the Fund may be required to post additional “variation margin” to satisfy the necessary collateral requirements of the FCM. The Subsidiary intends to invest in futures contracts, which requires that the Subsidiary and/or its parent Fund maintain liquid assets sufficient to satisfy any margin or similar trading account maintenance requirements.
•Cost of Futures Investment Risk. When a commodities futures contract is nearing expiration, the Fund will generally sell it and use the proceeds to buy a commodities futures contract with a later expiration date. This is commonly referred to as “rolling.” The price of commodities futures contracts further from expiration may be higher (a condition known as “contango”) or lower (a condition known as “backwardation”), which can affect the Fund’s performance. The futures contracts markets have experienced, and are likely to experience again in the future, extended periods in which contango or backwardation have affected various types of futures contracts. These extended periods have caused in the past, and may cause in the future, significant losses. In addition, the costs associated with rolling commodities futures contracts typically are substantially higher than the costs associated with other futures contracts and may have a significant adverse impact on the performance of the Fund. Because of the frequency with which the Fund expects to roll commodities futures contracts, the effects of such contango or backwardation may be greater than would be the case if the Fund experienced lower portfolio turnover.
XRP and XRP Ledger. XRP is a digital asset that is created and transmitted through the operations of the XRP Ledger, a distributed ledger upon which XRP transactions are processed and settled. XRP can be used to pay for goods and services or it can be converted to fiat currencies, such as the U.S. dollar. The XRP Ledger is based on a shared public ledger, the XRP Ledger, similar to the Bitcoin network. However, the XRP Ledger differentiates itself from other digital asset networks in that its stated primary function is transactional utility, not store of value. The XRP Ledger is designed to be a global real-time payment and settlement system. As a
result, the XRP Ledger and XRP aim to improve the speed at which parties on the network may transfer value while also reducing the fees and delays associated with the traditional methods of interbank payments.
No single entity controls the XRP Ledger. Instead, a network of independent nodes validates transactions pursuant to the Ripple Protocol Consensus Algorithm. It is this mechanism, as opposed to the proof-of-work mechanism utilized by the Bitcoin blockchain, that allows the XRP Ledger to be fast, energy-efficient and scalable, and therefore suitable for its most prominent use case, the facilitation of cross-border financial transactions. Unlike proof-of-work systems, which require massive computational power to secure the network, the Ripple Protocol Consensus Algorithm utilized by the XRP Ledger is extremely lightweight in terms of energy usage, as it relies on trusted validators rather than mining. The XRP Ledger can handle up to 1,500 transactions per second, far more than the Bitcoin or Ethereum blockchain. This makes the XRP Ledger suitable for high-volume use cases, such as cross-border payments. Lastly, because validators do not need to spend resources on mining, transaction fees are extremely low (typically a fraction of a cent per transaction).
Transactions are validated on the XRP Ledger by a network of independent validator nodes. These nodes do not mine new blocks but participate in a consensus process to ensure that transactions are valid and correctly ordered on the XRP Ledger. Any node can be a validator, but for practical purposes, the XRP Ledger depends on a list of trusted validators known as the Unique Node List or “UNL.” Validators are entities (which can be individuals, institutions, or other organizations) that run nodes to participate in the consensus process. These validators ensure the integrity and accuracy of the ledger. Each node in the network maintains a Unique Node List — a list of other validators that the node trusts to reliably validate transactions. The XRP Ledger’s architecture means that different nodes may maintain different UNLs, but there needs to be some overlap in the UNLs for the consensus mechanism to work effectively. Similar to the Bitcoin network, anyone can join and start using the XRP Ledger; however, unlike the Bitcoin network, which operates on a fully permissionless blockchain, the XRP Ledger is maintained by a network of trusted nodes that accept or reject transactions on the XRP Ledger.
Each XRP Ledger address, or wallet, is associated with a unique “public key” and “private key” pair. To receive XRP, the XRP recipient must provide its public key to the party initiating the transfer. This activity is analogous to a recipient for a transaction in U.S. dollars providing a routing address in wire instructions to the payor so that cash may be wired to the recipient’s account. The payor approves the transfer to the address provided by the recipient by “signing” a transaction that consists of the recipient’s public key with the private key of the address from where the payor is transferring the XRP. The recipient, however, does not make public or provide to the sender its related private key.
XRP Markets and Exchanges. XRP can be transferred in direct peer-to-peer transactions through the direct sending of XRP over the XRP Ledger from one XRP address to another. While XRP was originally intended to be used primarily as a means to conduct cross-border payments, XRP can also be used to pay other users of the XRP Ledger for goods and services under what resembles a barter system. Consumers can also pay merchants and other commercial businesses for goods or services through direct peer-to-peer transactions on the XRP Ledger or through third-party service providers.
In addition to using XRP to engage in cross-border transactions or payment for goods and services, investors may purchase and sell XRP to speculate as to the price of XRP in the XRP market, or as a long-term investment to diversify their portfolio. The price of XRP within the market is determined, in part, by the supply of and demand for XRP in the global XRP market, market expectations for the adoption of XRP as a store of value or as a viable cross-border payments facilitator, the number of merchants that accept XRP as a form of payment, the regulatory challenges faced by Ripple Labs and XRP, and the volume of peer-to-peer transactions, among other factors.
Limits on XRP Supply. Unlike other digital assets such as bitcoin or ether, XRP was not mined gradually over time. Instead, all 100 billion XRP tokens were created at the time of the XRP Ledger’s launch in 2012. This means that every XRP token that exists today was generated from the outset, without the need for a mining process. Of the 100 billion XRP generated by the XRP Ledger’s code, the founders of Ripple Labs retained 20 billion XRP and the rest, nearly 80 billion XRP, was provided to Ripple Labs.
In 2017, to address concerns about the large portion of XRP held by Ripple Labs, the company introduced an escrow mechanism to lock up a significant portion of its XRP holdings. Under this mechanism, Ripple Labs placed 55 billion XRP (55% of the total supply) into a series of time-locked escrow accounts. The escrow releases 1 billion XRP per month over 55 months. This process adds a level of predictability and transparency about how much XRP can enter the market each month. If Ripple Labs does not use all of the 1 billion XRP released in a given month, the remaining amount is placed back into escrow for future release. The purpose of this escrow system is to reassure the market that Ripple Labs will not release too much XRP at once, which could potentially disrupt XRP’s price or market dynamics.
XRP Risk. Investments linked to XRP can be highly volatile compared to investments in traditional securities and the Fund may experience sudden and large losses. The markets for XRP and XRP-related investments may become illiquid. These markets may fluctuate widely based on a variety of factors including changes in overall market movements, political and economic events, wars, acts of terrorism, natural disasters (including disease, epidemics and pandemics) and changes in interest rates or inflation rates. An investor should be prepared to lose the full principal value of their investment suddenly and without warning. A number of factors affect the price and market for XRP:
•New Technology: XRP is a relatively new technological innovation with a limited operating history. XRP has a relatively limited history of existence and operations. There is a limited established performance record for the price of XRP and, in turn, a limited basis for evaluating an investment in XRP.
•Supply and demand of XRP: Unlike other digital assets such as bitcoin or ether, XRP is not and was not mined gradually over time. Instead, all 100 billion XRP tokens were created at the time of the XRP Ledger’s launch in 2012. This means that every XRP token that exists today, or will ever exist, was generated from the outset of the XRP Ledger. As a result, there is no ability for the supply of XRP to be adjusted in response to economic conditions. For instance, there is no ability for the supply of XRP to be increased to meet rising demand, which could lead to price volatility. In addition, unlike blockchains that utilize “proof-of-work” or “proof-of-stake” where miners or stakers are rewarded with newly minted coins or tokens, XRP validators are not incentivized by block rewards since there is no new issuance of XRP.
Additionally, the fixed supply of XRP, combined with the burning of XRP (permanently destroyed) as transaction fees, could create deflationary pressure over time. A small amount of XRP is burned with every transaction to prevent spam on the network. While the amount of XRP burned per transaction is minuscule, over time, the total supply of XRP will slowly decrease. This could lead to a deflationary environment where the decreasing supply drives up the price of XRP, making it less practical as a medium of exchange. Additionally, as the total supply of XRP slowly shrinks due to burning, liquidity could become an issue in the distant future, potentially making it harder for businesses and users to access sufficient XRP for their transactions.
The fixed supply of XRP could also contribute to price volatility, especially if demand fluctuates significantly. Since the supply of XRP is fixed, any significant surge in demand can result in large price spikes. For example, during periods of high market activity or speculation, the price of XRP could rapidly increase due to the inability to expand supply to match demand. This volatility could make XRP less predictable for businesses that rely on it for payments. Digital assets with a flexible supply, such as stablecoins, can adjust to maintain a stable value. XRP, however, could experience price swings that make it less attractive for everyday transactions or long-term financial planning.
The fixed supply of XRP may also not scale well with rapidly expanding use cases. As more businesses, financial institutions, and payment providers adopt XRP for cross-border transactions and other use cases, there is a risk that the fixed supply may not meet the growing demand, leading to supply shortages and further price volatility. In the case of massive adoption, the scarcity of XRP could raise its value too much, making it less appealing for day-to-day transactions or use as a liquidity bridge in cross-border payments, as businesses might prefer a more stable and widely available currency.
Ripple Labs holds a large portion of the XRP supply, which has led to concerns about centralization. Despite escrow mechanisms that gradually release XRP into the market, Ripple Labs still retains control over a significant portion of XRP, which can impact market dynamics if large amounts are sold. The concentration of XRP in the hands of Ripple Labs and early stakeholders could affect the market’s confidence in XRP as a decentralized asset.
•Adoption and use of XRP: The continued adoption of XRP will require growth in its usage as a means of exchange and payment. Even if growth in XRP adoption continues in the near or medium-term, there is no assurance that XRP usage will continue to grow over the long-term. A contraction in the use of XRP may result in a lack of liquidity, increased volatility in and a reduction to the price of XRP.
•The regulatory environment relating to XRP: Depending on its characteristics, a digital asset, including XRP, may be considered a “security” under U.S. federal securities laws. The test for determining whether a particular digital asset is a “security” is complex and difficult to apply, and the outcome is difficult to predict. Any enforcement action by the SEC or a state securities regulator asserting that XRP is a security, or a court decision to that effect, would be expected to have an immediate material adverse impact on the trading price of XRP, as well as the Shares. This is because the business models behind most digital assets are incompatible with regulations applying to transactions in securities. If a digital asset is determined to be a security, it is likely to become difficult or impossible for the digital asset to be traded, cleared or custodied in the United States through the same channels used by non-security digital assets, which in addition to materially and adversely affecting the trading value of the digital asset is likely to significantly impact its liquidity and market participants’ ability to convert the digital asset into U.S. dollars. Any assertion that a digital asset is a security by the SEC or another regulatory authority may have similar effects.
In December 2020, the SEC filed a complaint against Ripple Labs (the “Ripple Complaint”) and two of its executives (the “Ripple Defendants”), in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (the “S.D.N.Y.”) alleging that the Ripple Defendants had conducted unregistered securities offerings by selling XRP in contravention of Section 5 of the Securities Act. Under Section 5 of the Securities Act, it is unlawful for any person, directly or indirectly to offer to sell, offer to buy or purchase or sell a “security” unless a registration statement is in effect or has been filed with the SEC as to the offer and sale of such security to the public. The Ripple Defendants did not dispute that they had offered to sell and sold XRP through interstate commerce and that they had not filed a registration statement with the SEC for any offer or sale of XRP. Accordingly, the question before the S.D.N.Y. was whether the Ripple Defendants offered to sell or sold XRP as a security.
In the years prior to the filing of the Ripple Complaint, XRP’s market capitalization at times reached over $140 billion. However, in the weeks following the Ripple Complaint, XRP’s market capitalization fell to less than $10 billion, which was less than half of its market capitalization in the days prior to the complaint.
On July 13, 2023, the S.D.N.Y. issued several key rulings in the case. Most notably, the court did not find that XRP was inherently a security. The court distinguished between the XRP token itself and the manner in which it was sold. This finding was contrary to the SEC’s argument, which was that XRP, by its nature, was a security under the definition provided by the Securities Act, notwithstanding the manner in which it was sold. The court found that the direct sale of XRP by the Ripple Defendants to certain sophisticated individuals and entities pursuant to written contracts did constitute the unregistered offer and sale of securities in violation of Section 5 of the Securities Act. However, the court also found that the programmatic sale of XRP by the Ripple Defendants over digital asset trading platforms in the secondary market did not constitute an unregistered sale of securities. Similarly, the court found that the XRP that Ripple Defendants granted to Ripple Labs employees as compensation or to third-party companies to incentivize the development of new applications for XRP and the XRP Ledger also did not constitute an unregistered sale of securities.
The S.D.N.Y. entered a final judgment in the case on August 7, 2024. On October 2, 2024, the SEC filed an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and on October 10, 2024, Ripple filed a cross-appeal. Any further SEC or state enforcement action asserting that XRP is a security, or a court ruling to that effect, would likely have an immediate and severe negative impact on XRP’s trading price and the value of the Fund’s shares.
•Largely unregulated marketplace: Digital asset markets, including spot markets for XRP, are growing rapidly. The spot markets through which XRP and other digital assets trade are new and, in some cases, may be subject to but not comply with their relevant jurisdiction’s regulations. These markets are local, national and international and include a broadening range of digital assets and participants. Significant trading may occur on systems and platforms with minimum predictability. Spot markets may impose daily, weekly, monthly or customer-specific transaction or withdrawal limits or suspend withdrawals entirely, rendering the exchange of XRP for fiat currency difficult or impossible. Participation in spot markets requires users to take on credit risk by transferring XRP from a personal account to a third party’s account.
Digital asset exchanges do not appear to be subject to, or may not comply with, regulation in a similar manner as other regulated trading platforms, such as national securities exchanges or designated contract markets. Many digital asset exchanges are unlicensed, unregulated, operate without extensive supervision by governmental authorities, and do not provide the public with significant information regarding their ownership structure, management team, corporate practices, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance. In particular, those located outside the United States may be subject to significantly less stringent regulatory and compliance requirements in their local jurisdictions.
As a result, trading activity on or reported by these digital asset exchanges is generally significantly less regulated than trading in regulated U.S. securities and commodities markets, and may reflect behavior that would be prohibited in regulated U.S. trading venues. Furthermore, many spot markets lack certain safeguards put in place by more traditional exchanges to enhance the stability of trading on the exchange and prevent flash crashes, such as limit-down circuit breakers. As a result, the prices of digital assets such as XRP on digital asset exchanges may be subject to larger and/or more frequent sudden declines than assets traded on more traditional exchanges. Tools to detect and deter fraudulent or manipulative trading activities (such as market manipulation, front-running of trades, and wash-trading) may not be available to or employed by digital asset exchanges or may not exist at all. As a result, the marketplace may lose confidence in, or may experience problems relating to, these venues.
No XRP exchange is immune from these risks. While the Fund does not buy or sell XRP on XRP spot markets, the closure or temporary shutdown of XRP exchanges due to fraud, business failure, hackers or malware, or government-mandated regulation may reduce confidence in the XRP network and can slow down the mass adoption of XRP. Further, spot market failures or that of any other major component of the overall XRP ecosystem can have an adverse effect on XRP markets and the price of XRP and could therefore have a negative impact on the performance of the Fund.
•Cybersecurity: As a digital asset, XRP is subject to the risk that malicious actors will exploit flaws in its code or structure that will allow them to, among other things, steal XRP held by others, control the blockchain, or steal personally identifying information. The occurrence of any of these events is likely to have a significant adverse impact on the price and liquidity of XRP and any XRP-related investments and therefore the value of an investment in the Fund. Additionally, the XRP Ledger’s functionality relies on the Internet. A significant disruption of Internet connectivity affecting large numbers of users or geographic areas could impede the functionality of the XRP Ledger. Any technical disruptions or regulatory limitations that affect Internet access may have an adverse effect on the XRP Ledger, the price of XRP and the value of an investment in the Fund.
•Forks. XRP, along with many other digital assets, are open source projects. The infrastructure and ecosystem that powers the XRP network are developed by different parties, including affiliated and non-affiliated engineers, developers, validators, platform developers, evangelists, marketers, exchange operators and other companies based around a service regarding XRP, each of whom may have different motivations, drivers, philosophies and incentives.
As a result, any individual can propose refinements or improvements to the XRP network’s source code through one or more software upgrades that could alter the protocols governing the XRP network and the properties of XRP. When a modification is proposed and a substantial majority of users and validators consent to the modification, the change is implemented and the XRP network remains uninterrupted. However, a “hard fork” occurs if less than a substantial majority of users and validators consent to the proposed modification, and the modification is not compatible with the software prior to its modification. In other words, two incompatible networks would then exist: (1) one network running the pre-modified software and (2) another network running the modified software. The effect of such a fork would be the existence of two versions of XRP running in parallel, and the creation of a new digital asset which lacks interchangeability with its predecessor. This is in contrast to a “soft fork,” or a proposed modification to the software governing the network that results in a post-update network that is compatible with the network as it existed prior to the update, because it restricts the network operations that can be performed after the update.
Forks may have a detrimental effect on the value of XRP. Forks can also introduce new security risks.
Borrowing
The Fund may borrow money to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act, as such may be interpreted or modified by regulatory authorities having jurisdiction, from time to time. Borrowing for investment purposes is one form of leverage. Leveraging investments, by purchasing securities with borrowed money, is a speculative technique that increases investment risk, but also increases investment opportunity. Because substantially all of the Fund’s assets will fluctuate in value, whereas the interest obligations on borrowings may be fixed, the NAV per share of the Fund will increase more when the Fund’s portfolio assets increase in value and decrease more when the Fund’s portfolio assets decrease in value than would otherwise be the case. Moreover, interest costs on borrowings may fluctuate with changing market rates of interest and may partially offset or exceed the returns on the borrowed funds. Under adverse conditions, the Fund might have to sell portfolio securities to meet interest or principal payments at a time when investment considerations would not favor such sales.
The Fund also may borrow money to facilitate management of the Fund’s portfolio by enabling the Fund to meet redemption requests when the liquidation of portfolio instruments would be inconvenient or disadvantageous. Such borrowing is not for investment purposes and will be repaid by the Fund promptly. As required by the 1940 Act, the Fund must maintain continuous asset coverage (total assets, including assets acquired with borrowed funds, less liabilities exclusive of borrowings) of 300% of all amounts borrowed. If, at any time, the value of the Fund’s assets should fail to meet this 300% coverage test, the Fund, within three days (not including Sundays and holidays), will reduce the amount of the Fund’s borrowings to the extent necessary to meet this 300% coverage requirement. Maintenance of this percentage limitation may result in the sale of portfolio securities at a time when investment considerations otherwise indicate that it would be disadvantageous to do so.
Borrowing will tend to exaggerate the effect on NAV of any increase or decrease in the market value of the borrowing Fund’s portfolio. Money borrowed will be subject to interest costs that may or may not be recovered by earnings on the securities purchased. The Fund also may be required to maintain minimum average balances in connection with a borrowing or to pay a commitment or other fee to maintain a line of credit; either of these requirements would increase the cost of borrowing over the stated interest rate. In addition to the foregoing, the Fund is authorized to borrow money as a temporary measure for extraordinary or emergency purposes in amounts not in excess of 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets. Borrowings for extraordinary or emergency purposes are not subject to the foregoing 300% asset coverage requirement.
Debt Securities
In general, a debt security represents a loan of money to the issuer by the purchaser of the security. A debt security typically has a fixed payment schedule that obligates the issuer to pay interest to the lender and to return the lender’s money over a certain time period. A company typically meets its payment obligations associated with its outstanding debt securities before it declares and pays any dividend to holders of its equity securities. Bonds, notes and commercial paper are examples of debt securities and differ in the length of the issuer’s principal repayment schedule, with bonds carrying the longest repayment schedule and commercial paper the shortest.
Debt securities are all generally subject to interest rate, credit, income and prepayment risks and, like all investments, are subject to liquidity and market risks to varying degrees depending upon the specific terms and type of security. The Adviser attempts to reduce credit and market risk through diversification of the Fund’s portfolio and ongoing credit analysis of each issuer, as well as by monitoring economic developments, but there can be no assurance that it will be successful at doing so.
The Fund’s investments in debt securities may subject the Fund to the following risks:
Credit Risk. Debt securities are subject to the risk of an issuer’s (or other party’s) failure or inability to meet its obligations under the security. Multiple parties may have obligations under a debt security. An issuer or borrower may fail to pay principal and interest when due. A guarantor, insurer or credit support provider may fail to provide the agreed upon protection. A counterparty to a transaction may fail to perform its side of the bargain. An intermediary or agent interposed between the investor and other parties may fail to perform the terms of its service. Also, performance under a debt security may be linked to the obligations of other persons who may fail to meet their obligations. The credit risk associated with a debt security could increase to the extent that the Fund’s ability to
benefit fully from its investment in the security depends on the performance by multiple parties of their respective contractual or other obligations. The market value of a debt security is also affected by the market’s perception of the creditworthiness of the issuer.
The Fund may incur substantial losses on debt securities that are inaccurately perceived to present a different amount of credit risk than they actually do by the market, the Adviser or the rating agencies. Credit risk is generally greater where less information is publicly available, where fewer covenants safeguard the investors’ interests, where collateral may be impaired or inadequate, where little legal redress or regulatory protection is available, or where a party’s ability to meet obligations is speculative. Additionally, any inaccuracy in the information used by the Fund to evaluate credit risk may affect the value of securities held by the Fund.
Obligations under debt securities held by the Fund may never be satisfied or, if satisfied, only satisfied in part.
Some securities are subject to risks as a result of a credit downgrade or default by a government, or its agencies or, instrumentalities. Credit risk is a greater concern for high-yield debt securities and debt securities of issuers whose ability to pay interest and principal may be considered speculative. Debt securities are typically classified as investment grade-quality (medium to highest credit quality) or below investment grade-quality (commonly referred to as high-yield or junk bonds). Many individual debt securities are rated by a third-party source, such as Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”) or Standard & Poor’s Financial Services (“S&P®”), to help describe the creditworthiness of the issuer.
Credit Ratings Risk. The Adviser performs its own independent investment analysis of securities being considered for the Fund’s portfolio, which includes consideration of, among other things, the issuer’s financial resources, its sensitivity to economic conditions and trends, its operating history, the quality of the issuer’s management and regulatory matters. The Adviser also considers the ratings assigned by various investment services and independent rating agencies, such as Moody’s and S&P, that publish ratings based upon their assessment of the relative creditworthiness of the rated debt securities. Generally, a lower rating indicates higher credit risk. Higher yields are ordinarily available from debt securities in the lower rating categories. These ratings are described at the end of this SAI under “Description of Ratings.”
Using credit ratings to evaluate debt securities can involve certain risks. For example, ratings assigned by the rating agencies are based upon an analysis completed at the time of the rating of the obligor’s ability to pay interest and repay principal. Rating agencies typically rely to a large extent on historical data which may not accurately represent present or future circumstances. Ratings do not purport to reflect the risk of fluctuations in market value of the debt security and are not absolute standards of quality and only express the rating agency’s current opinion of an obligor’s overall financial capacity to pay its financial obligations. A credit rating is not a statement of fact or a recommendation to purchase, sell or hold a debt obligation. Also, credit quality can change suddenly and unexpectedly, and credit ratings may not reflect the issuer’s current financial condition or events since the security was last rated. Rating agencies may have a financial interest in generating business, including from the arranger or issuer of the security that normally pays for that rating, and providing a low rating might affect the rating agency’s prospects for future business. While rating agencies have policies and procedures to address this potential conflict of interest, there is a risk that these policies will fail to prevent a conflict of interest from impacting the rating.
Extension Risk. The Fund is subject to extension risk, which is the risk that the market value of some debt securities, particularly mortgage securities and certain asset-backed securities, may be adversely affected when bond calls or prepayments on underlying mortgages or other assets are less or slower than anticipated. Extension risk may result from, for example, rising interest rates or unexpected developments in the markets for the underlying assets or mortgages. As a consequence, the security’s effective maturity will be extended, resulting in an increase in interest rate sensitivity to that of a longer-term instrument. Extension risk generally increases as interest rates rise. This is because, in a rising interest rate environment, the rate of prepayment and exercise of call or buy-back rights generally falls, and the rate of default and delayed payment generally rises. When the maturity of an investment is extended in a rising interest rate environment, a below-market interest rate is usually locked-in, and the value of the security reduced. This risk is greater for fixed-rate than variable-rate debt securities.
Income Risk. The Fund is subject to income risk, which is the risk that the Fund’s income will decline during periods of falling interest rates or when the Fund experiences defaults on debt securities it holds. The Fund’s income declines when interest rates fall because, as the Fund’s higher-yielding debt securities mature or are prepaid, the Fund must re-invest the proceeds in debt securities that have lower, prevailing interest rates. The amount and rate of distributions that the Fund’s shareholders receive are affected by the income that the Fund receives from its portfolio holdings. If the income is reduced, distributions by the Fund to shareholders may be less.
Fluctuations in income paid to the Fund are generally greater for variable rate debt securities. The Fund will be deemed to receive taxable income on certain securities which pay no cash payments until maturity, such as zero-coupon securities. The Fund may be required to sell portfolio securities that it would otherwise continue to hold in order to obtain sufficient cash to make the distribution to shareholders required for U.S. tax purposes.
Inflation Risk. The market price of debt securities generally falls as inflation increases because the purchasing power of the future income and repaid principal is expected to be worth less when received by the Fund. Debt securities that pay a fixed rather than variable interest rate are especially vulnerable to inflation risk because variable-rate debt securities may be able to participate, over the long term, in rising interest rates which have historically corresponded with long-term inflationary trends.
Interest Rate Risk. The market value of debt securities generally varies in response to changes in prevailing interest rates. Interest rate changes can be sudden and unpredictable. In addition, short-term and long-term rates are not necessarily correlated to each other as short-term rates tend to be influenced by government monetary policy while long-term rates are market driven and may be influenced by macroeconomic events (such as economic expansion or contraction), inflation expectations, as well as supply and demand. During periods of declining interest rates, the market value of debt securities generally increases. Conversely, during periods of rising interest rates, the market value of debt securities generally declines. This occurs because new debt securities are likely to be issued with higher interest rates as interest rates increase, making the old or outstanding debt securities less attractive. In general, the market prices of long-term debt securities or securities that make little (or no) interest payments are more sensitive to interest rate fluctuations than shorter-term debt securities. The longer the Fund’s average weighted portfolio duration, the greater the potential impact a change in interest rates will have on its share price. Also, certain segments of the fixed income markets, such as high quality bonds, tend to be more sensitive to interest rate changes than other segments, such as lower-quality bonds.
Prepayment Risk. Debt securities, especially bonds that are subject to “calls,” such as asset-backed or mortgage-backed securities, are subject to prepayment risk if their terms allow the payment of principal and other amounts due before their stated maturity. Amounts invested in a debt security that has been “called” or “prepaid” will be returned to an investor holding that security before expected by the investor. In such circumstances, the investor, such as a fund, may be required to re-invest the proceeds it receives from the called or prepaid security in a new security which, in periods of declining interest rates, will typically have a lower interest rate. Prepayment risk is especially prevalent in periods of declining interest rates and will result for other reasons, including unexpected developments in the markets for the underlying assets or mortgages. For example, a decline in mortgage interest rates typically initiates a period of mortgage refinancings. When homeowners refinance their mortgages, the investor in the underlying pool of mortgage-backed securities (such as the fund) receives its principal back sooner than expected, and must reinvest at lower, prevailing rates.
Securities subject to prepayment risk are often called during a declining interest rate environment and generally offer less potential for gains and greater price volatility than other income-bearing securities of comparable maturity.
Call risk is similar to prepayment risk and results from the ability of an issuer to call, or prepay, a debt security early. If interest rates decline enough, the debt security’s issuer can save money by repaying its callable debt securities and issuing new debt securities at lower interest rates.
Derivative Instruments
Certain derivative instruments used by the Fund may oblige the Fund to make payments or incur additional obligations in the future. Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act (“Rule 18f-4”) imposes limits on the amount of leverage risk to which a fund may be exposed through the use of such derivatives and requires the adoption of certain derivatives risk management measures. Under Rule 18f-4, a fund’s investment in such derivatives is limited through value-at-risk (“VaR”) testing. Specifically, the VaR of the fund’s portfolio may not exceed 200% of the VaR of a specific unleveraged designated reference portfolio using relative VaR testing (or 20% of the value of the fund’s net assets using absolute VaR testing). Generally, a fund whose derivatives exposure, including exposure obtained through the Fund’s Subsidiary (see “Subsidiary Risks” below), exceeds 10% of its net assets is required to establish and maintain a comprehensive derivatives risk management program, subject to oversight by a fund’s board of trustees, and appoint a derivatives risk manager. Funds whose derivatives exposure does not exceed 10% of their net assets may be considered limited derivatives users and are not required to comply with all of the conditions of Rule 18f-4, including the adoption of a derivatives risk management program and appointment of a derivatives risk manager, though they are required to adopt policies and procedures designed to manage derivatives risk.
Generally, derivatives are financial contracts whose value depends upon, or is derived from, the value of an underlying asset, reference rate, or index, and may relate to bonds, interest rates, currencies, commodities, and related indexes. Examples of derivative instruments include futures contracts and options on futures contracts.
The Fund will use futures contracts in connection with the implementation of its investment strategies and in compliance with Rule 18f-4. The futures contracts in which the Fund expects to invest are considered commodity interests and will be held primarily in the Fund’s Subsidiary.
Swap Agreements. The Fund may utilize swap agreements in an attempt to gain exposure to the investments or commodities in a market without actually purchasing those investments or commodities, or to hedge a position. Swap agreements are two-party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors for periods ranging from a day to more than one-year. In a standard “swap” transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments. The gross returns to be exchanged or “swapped” between the parties are calculated with respect to a “notional amount,” (i.e., the return on or increase in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a basket of securities representing a particular index). Total return swaps are swap agreements in which one party makes payments based on a set rate, either fixed or variable, while the other party makes payments based on the return of an underlying asset, to seek exposure to certain investments or commodities.
Forms of swap agreements include interest rate caps, under which, in return for a premium, one party agrees to make payments to the other to the extent that interest rates exceed a specified rate, or “cap” interest rate floors, under which, in return for a premium, one
party agrees to make payments to the other to the extent that interest rates fall below a specified level, or “floor;” and interest rate collars, under which a party sells a cap and purchases a floor or vice versa in an attempt to protect itself against interest rate movements exceeding given minimum or maximum levels.
The Fund’s obligations under a swap agreement will be accrued daily (offset against any amounts owing to the Fund) and any accrued but unpaid net amounts owed to a swap counterparty will be covered by segregating assets determined to be liquid. Obligations under swap agreements so covered will not be construed to be “senior securities” for purposes of the Fund’s investment restriction concerning senior securities. Because they are two-party contracts which may have terms of greater than seven days, swap agreements may be considered to be illiquid for purposes of the Fund’s illiquid investment limitations. The Fund will not enter into any swap agreement unless the Adviser believes that the other party to the transaction is creditworthy. The Fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty.
The Fund may enter into swap agreements to invest in a market without owning or taking physical custody of the underlying investments or commodities in circumstances in which direct investment is restricted for legal reasons or is otherwise impracticable. The counterparty to any swap agreement will typically be a bank, investment banking firm or broker-dealer. The counterparty will generally agree to pay the Fund the amount, if any, by which the notional amount of the swap agreement would have increased in value had it been invested in the particular stocks, plus the dividends that would have been received on those stocks. The Fund will agree to pay to the counterparty a floating rate of interest on the notional amount of the swap agreement plus the amount, if any, by which the notional amount would have decreased in value had it been invested in such stocks. Therefore, the return to the Fund on any swap agreement should be the gain or loss on the notional amount plus dividends on the stocks less the interest paid by the Fund on the notional amount.
Swap agreements typically are settled on a net basis, which means that the two payment streams are netted out, with the Fund receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments. Payments may be made at the conclusion of a swap agreement or periodically during its term. Other swap agreements, may require initial premium (discount) payments as well as periodic payments (receipts) related to the interest leg of the swap or to the default of a reference obligation. The Fund will earmark and reserve assets necessary to meet any accrued payment obligations when it is the buyer of a credit default swap.
If a swap counterparty defaults, the Fund’s risk of loss consists of the net amount of payments the Fund is contractually entitled to receive, if any, or the failure of the counterparty to deliver the underlying investments or commodities, depending on the nature of the swap. The net amount of the excess, if any, of the Fund’s obligations over its entitlements with respect to each equity swap will be accrued on a daily basis and an amount of cash or liquid assets, having an aggregate NAV at least equal to such accrued excess will be maintained in a segregated account by the Fund’s custodian.
The swap market has grown substantially in recent years with a large number of banks and investment banking firms acting both as principals and as agents utilizing standardized swap documentation. As a result, the swap market has become relatively liquid in comparison with the markets for other similar instruments, which are traded in the OTC market. The Adviser, under the supervision of the Board, is responsible for determining and monitoring the liquidity of Fund transactions in swap agreements.
The use of swap agreements is a highly specialized activity which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. If a counterparty’s creditworthiness declines, the value of the swap would likely decline. Moreover, there is no guarantee that the Fund could eliminate its exposure under an outstanding swap agreement by entering into an offsetting swap agreement with the same or another party.
Swaptions. A swaption is an over-the-counter (“OTC”) option that gives the purchaser of the option the right, but not the obligation, in return for payment of a premium to the seller, to enter into a previously negotiated swap, or to extend, terminate or otherwise modify the terms of an existing swap. The writer (seller) of a swaption receives premium payments from the purchaser and, in exchange, becomes obligated to enter into or modify an underlying swap upon the exercise of the option by the purchaser. When the Fund purchases a swaption, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised, plus any related transaction costs.
There can be no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist for any particular swaption, or at any particular time, and the Fund may have difficulty affecting closing transactions in particular swaptions. Therefore, the Fund may have to exercise the options that it purchases in order to realize any profit and take delivery of the underlying swap. The Fund could then incur transaction costs upon the sale or closing out of the underlying swap. In the event that the swaption is exercised, the counterparty for such swaption would be the same counterparty with whom the Fund entered into the underlying swap.
However, if the Fund writes (sells) a swaption, the Fund is bound by the terms of the underlying swap upon exercise of the option by the buyer, which may result in losses to the Fund in excess of the premium it received. Swaptions involve the risks associated with derivative instruments generally, as described above, as well as the additional risks associated with both options and swaps generally.
Options. An option is a contract that gives the purchaser of the option, in return for the premium paid, the right to buy an underlying reference instrument, such as a specified security, currency, index, or other instrument, from the writer of the option (in the case of a call option), or to sell a specified reference instrument to the writer of the option (in the case of a put option) at a designated price during the term of the option. The premium paid by the buyer of an option will reflect, among other things, the relationship of the
exercise price to the market price and the volatility of the underlying reference instrument, the remaining term of the option, supply, demand, interest rates and/or currency exchange rates. An American style put or call option may be exercised at any time during the option period while a European style put or call option may be exercised only upon expiration or during a fixed period prior thereto. Put and call options are traded on national securities exchanges and in the OTC market.
Options traded on national securities exchanges are within the jurisdiction of the SEC or other appropriate national securities regulator, as are securities traded on such exchanges. As a result, many of the protections provided to traders on organized exchanges will be available with respect to such transactions. In particular, all option positions entered into on a national securities exchange in the United States are cleared and guaranteed by the Options Clearing Corporation, thereby reducing the risk of counterparty default. Furthermore, a liquid secondary market in options traded on a national securities exchange may be more readily available than in the OTC market, potentially permitting the Fund to liquidate open positions at a profit prior to exercise or expiration, or to limit losses in the event of adverse market movements. There is no assurance, however, that higher than anticipated trading activity or other unforeseen events might not temporarily render the capabilities of the Options Clearing Corporation inadequate, and thereby result in the exchange instituting special procedures which may interfere with the timely execution of the Fund’s orders to close out open options positions.
Purchasing Call and Put Options. As the buyer of a call option, the Fund has a right to buy the underlying reference instrument (e.g., a currency or security) at the exercise price at any time during the option period (for American style options). The Fund may enter into closing sale transactions with respect to call options, exercise them, or permit them to expire. For example, the Fund may buy call options on underlying reference instruments that it intends to buy with the goal of limiting the risk of a substantial increase in their market price before the purchase is effected. Unless the price of the underlying reference instrument changes sufficiently, a call option purchased by the Fund may expire without any value to the Fund, in which case the Fund would experience a loss to the extent of the premium paid for the option plus related transaction costs.
As the buyer of a put option, the Fund has the right to sell the underlying reference instrument at the exercise price at any time during the option period (for American style options). Like a call option, the Fund may enter into closing sale transactions with respect to put options, exercise them or permit them to expire. The Fund may buy a put option on an underlying reference instrument owned by the Fund (a protective put) as a hedging technique in an attempt to protect against an anticipated decline in the market value of the underlying reference instrument. Such hedge protection is provided only during the life of the put option when the Fund, as the buyer of the put option, is able to sell the underlying reference instrument at the put exercise price, regardless of any decline in the underlying instrument’s market price. The Fund also may seek to offset a decline in the value of the underlying reference instrument through appreciation in the value of the put option. A put option also may be purchased with the intent of protecting unrealized appreciation of an instrument when the Adviser deems it desirable to continue to hold the instrument because of tax or other considerations. The premium paid for the put option and any transaction costs would reduce any short-term capital gain that may be available for distribution when the instrument is eventually sold. Buying put options at a time when the buyer does not own the underlying reference instrument allows the buyer to benefit from a decline in the market price of the underlying reference instrument, which generally increases the value of the put option.
If a put option was not terminated in a closing sale transaction when it has remaining value, and if the market price of the underlying reference instrument remains equal to or greater than the exercise price during the life of the put option, the buyer would not make any gain upon exercise of the option and would experience a loss to the extent of the premium paid for the option plus related transaction costs. In order for the purchase of a put option to be profitable, the market price of the underlying reference instrument must decline sufficiently below the exercise price to cover the premium and transaction costs.
Writing Call and Put Options. Writing options may permit the writer to generate additional income in the form of the premium received for writing the option. The writer of an option may have no control over when the underlying reference instruments must be sold (in the case of a call option) or purchased (in the case of a put option) because the writer may be notified of exercise at any time prior to the expiration of the option (for American style options). In general, though, options are infrequently exercised prior to expiration. Whether or not an option expires unexercised, the writer retains the amount of the premium. Writing “covered” call options means that the writer owns the underlying reference instrument that is subject to the call option. Call options also may be written on reference instruments that the writer does not own.
If the Fund writes a covered call option, any underlying reference instruments that are held by the Fund and are subject to the call option will be earmarked on the books of the Fund to satisfy its obligations under the option. The Fund will be unable to sell the underlying reference instruments that are subject to the written call option until it either effects a closing transaction with respect to the written call, or otherwise satisfies the conditions for release of the underlying reference instruments. As the writer of a covered call option, the Fund gives up the potential for capital appreciation above the exercise price of the option should the underlying reference instrument rise in value. If the value of the underlying reference instrument rises above the exercise price of the call option, the reference instrument will likely be “called away,” requiring the Fund to sell the underlying instrument at the exercise price. In that case, the Fund will sell the underlying reference instrument to the option buyer for less than its market value, and the Fund will experience a loss (which will be offset by the premium received by the Fund as the writer of such option). If a call option expires unexercised, the Fund will realize a gain in the amount of the premium received. If the market price of the underlying reference instrument decreases, the call option will not be exercised and the Fund will be able to use the amount of the premium received to
hedge against the loss in value of the underlying reference instrument. The exercise price of a call option will be chosen based upon the expected price movement of the underlying reference instrument. The exercise price of a call option may be below, equal to (at-the-money), or above the current value of the underlying reference instrument at the time the option is written.
As the writer of a put option, the Fund has a risk of loss should the underlying reference instrument decline in value. If the value of the underlying reference instrument declines below the exercise price of the put option and the put option is exercised, the Fund, as the writer of the put option, will be required to buy the instrument at the exercise price, which will exceed the market value of the underlying reference instrument at that time. The Fund will incur a loss to the extent that the current market value of the underlying reference instrument is less than the exercise price of the put option. However, the loss will be offset in part by the premium received from the buyer of the put. If a put option written by the Fund expires unexercised, the Fund will realize a gain in the amount of the premium received.
Closing Out Options (Exchange-Traded Options). If the writer of an option wants to terminate its obligation, the writer may effect a “closing purchase transaction” by buying an option of the same series as the option previously written. The effect of the purchase is that the clearing corporation will cancel the option writer’s position. However, a writer may not effect a closing purchase transaction after being notified of the exercise of an option. Likewise, the buyer of an option may recover all or a portion of the premium that it paid by effecting a “closing sale transaction” by selling an option of the same series as the option previously purchased and receiving a premium on the sale. There is no guarantee that either a closing purchase or a closing sale transaction may be made at a time desired by the Fund. Closing transactions allow the Fund to terminate its positions in written and purchased options. The Fund will realize a profit from a closing transaction if the price of the transaction is less than the premium received from writing the original option (in the case of written options) or is more than the premium paid by the Fund to buy the option (in the case of purchased options). For example, increases in the market price of a call option sold by the Fund will generally reflect increases in the market price of the underlying reference instrument. As a result, any loss resulting from a closing transaction on a written call option is likely to be offset in whole or in part by appreciation of the underlying instrument owned by the Fund.
The Fund’s options investments involve certain risks, including general risks related to derivative instruments. There can be no assurance that a liquid secondary market on an exchange will exist for any particular option, or at any particular time, and the Fund may have difficulty effecting closing transactions in particular options. Therefore, the Fund would have to exercise the options it purchased in order to realize any profit, thus taking or making delivery of the underlying reference instrument when not desired. The Fund could then incur transaction costs upon the sale of the underlying reference instruments. Similarly, when the Fund cannot effect a closing transaction with respect to a put option it wrote, and the buyer exercises, the Fund would be required to take delivery and would incur transaction costs upon the sale of the underlying reference instruments purchased. If the Fund, as a covered call option writer, is unable to effect a closing purchase transaction in a secondary market, it will not be able to sell the underlying reference instrument until the option expires, the Fund delivers the underlying instrument upon exercise, or the Fund holds enough liquid assets to purchase the underlying reference instrument at the marked-to-market price during the term of the option. When trading options on non-U.S. exchanges or in the OTC market, many of the protections afforded to exchange participants will not be available. For example, there may be no daily price fluctuation limits, and adverse market movements could therefore continue to an unlimited extent over an indefinite period of time.
Futures and Options on Futures Contracts. The Fund may enter into options on futures contracts. When the Fund purchases a futures contract, it agrees to purchase a specified underlying instrument at a specified future date. When the Fund sells a futures contract, it agrees to sell the underlying instrument at a specified future date. The price at which the purchase and sale will take place is fixed when the Fund enters into the contract. Futures can be held until their delivery dates, or can be closed out before then if a liquid secondary market is available.
The risk of loss in trading futures contracts or uncovered call options in some strategies (e.g., selling uncovered stock index futures contracts) is potentially unlimited. No Fund plans to use futures and options contracts in this way. The risk of a futures position may still be large as traditionally measured due to the low margin deposits required. In many cases, a relatively small price movement in a futures contract may result in immediate and substantial loss or gain to the investor relative to the size of a required margin deposit. The Fund, however, may utilize futures and options contracts in a manner designed to limit their risk exposure to levels comparable to direct investment in stocks.
There also is the risk of loss by the Fund of margin deposits in the event of bankruptcy of a broker with whom the Fund has an open position in the futures contract or option. The purchase of put or call options will be based upon predictions by the Fund as to anticipated trends, which predictions could prove to be incorrect.
The potential for loss related to the purchase of an option on a futures contract is limited to the premium paid for the option plus transaction costs. Because the value of the option is fixed at the point of sale, there are no daily cash payments by the purchaser to reflect changes in the value of the underlying contract; however, the value of the option changes daily and that change would be reflected in the NAV of the Fund. The potential for loss related to writing options may be unlimited.
Although the Fund intends to enter into futures contracts only if there is an active market for such contracts, there is no assurance that an active market will exist for the contracts at any particular time.
Developing Government Regulation of Derivatives. The regulation of certain derivatives is a rapidly changing area of law and is subject to modification by government and judicial action. In addition, the SEC, the CFTC, and the exchanges are authorized to take extraordinary actions in the event of a market emergency, including, for example, the implementation or reduction of speculative position limits, the implementation of higher margin requirements, the establishment of daily price limits and the suspension of trading.
It is not possible to predict fully the effects of current or future regulation. However, it is possible that developments in government regulation of various types of derivative instruments, such as speculative position limits on certain types of derivatives, or limits or restrictions on the counterparties with which the Fund engages in derivative transactions, may limit or prevent the Fund from using or limit the Fund’s use of these instruments effectively as a part of its investment strategy, and could adversely affect the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment goal(s). The Adviser will continue to monitor developments in the area, particularly to the extent regulatory changes affect the Fund’s ability to enter into desired swaps or futures. New requirements, even if not directly applicable to the Fund, may increase the cost of the Fund’s investments and cost of doing business.
Counterparty Credit Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty credit risk with respect to its use of derivative transactions. If a counterparty to a derivatives contract becomes bankrupt or otherwise fails to perform its obligations due to financial difficulties, the Fund may experience significant delays in obtaining any recovery in a bankruptcy or other reorganization proceeding. The Fund may obtain only a limited recovery or may obtain no recovery in such circumstances. To partially mitigate this risk, the Adviser will seek to effect derivative transactions only with counterparties that it believes are creditworthy. However, there is no assurance that a counterparty will remain creditworthy or solvent.
Equity Securities
Equity securities, such as the common stock of an issuer, are subject to stock market fluctuations and therefore may experience volatile changes in value as market conditions, consumer sentiment or the financial condition of the issuers change. A decrease in value of the equity securities in the Fund’s portfolio may also cause the value of the Fund’s Shares to decline. An investment in the Fund should be made with an understanding of the risks inherent in an investment in equity securities, including the risk that the financial condition of issuers may become impaired or that the general condition of the stock market may deteriorate (either of which may cause a decrease in the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities and therefore a decrease in the value of Shares). Common stocks are susceptible to general stock market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence and perceptions change. These investor perceptions are based on various and unpredictable factors, including expectations regarding government, economic, monetary and fiscal policies; inflation and interest rates; economic expansion or contraction; and global or regional political, economic or banking crises.
Holders of common stocks incur more risk than holders of preferred stocks and debt obligations because common stockholders, as owners of the issuer, generally have inferior rights to receive payments from the issuer in comparison with the rights of creditors or holders of debt obligations or preferred stocks. Further, unlike debt securities, which typically have a stated principal amount payable at maturity (whose value, however, is subject to market fluctuations prior thereto), or preferred stocks, which typically have a liquidation preference, and which may have stated optional or mandatory redemption provisions, common stocks have neither a fixed principal amount nor a maturity. Common stock values are subject to market fluctuations as long as the common stock remains outstanding.
Types of Equity Securities:
Common Stocks — Common stocks represent units of ownership in a company. Common stocks usually carry voting rights and earn dividends. Unlike preferred stocks, which are described below, dividends on common stocks are not fixed but are declared at the discretion of the company’s board of directors.
Preferred Stocks — Preferred stocks also are units of ownership in a company. Preferred stocks normally have preference over common stock in the payment of dividends and the liquidation of the company. However, in all other respects, preferred stocks are subordinated to the liabilities of the issuer. Unlike common stocks, preferred stocks are generally not entitled to vote on corporate matters. Types of preferred stocks include adjustable-rate preferred stock, fixed dividend preferred stock, perpetual preferred stock, and sinking fund preferred stock.
Generally, the market values of preferred stock with a fixed dividend rate and no conversion element vary inversely with interest rates and perceived credit risk.
Rights and Warrants — A right is a privilege granted to existing shareholders of a corporation to subscribe to shares of a new issue of common stock before it is issued. Rights normally have a short life of usually two to four weeks, are freely transferable and entitle the holder to buy the new common stock at a lower price than the public offering price. Warrants are securities that are usually issued together with a debt security or preferred stock and that give the holder the right to buy proportionate amount of common stock at a specified price. Warrants are freely transferable and are traded on major exchanges. Unlike rights, warrants normally have a life that is measured in years and entitles the holder to buy common stock of a company at a price that is usually higher than the market price at the time the warrant is issued. Corporations often issue warrants to make the accompanying debt security more attractive.
An investment in warrants and rights may entail greater risks than certain other types of investments. Generally, rights and warrants do not carry the right to receive dividends or exercise voting rights with respect to the underlying securities, and they do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuer. In addition, their value does not necessarily change with the value of the underlying securities, and they cease to have value if they are not exercised on or before their expiration date. Investing in rights and warrants increases the potential profit or loss to be realized from the investment as compared with investing the same amount in the underlying securities.
Large-Capitalization Companies — Investments in large-capitalization companies may go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions and may underperform other market segments. Some large-capitalization companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology and consumer tastes, and may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. As such, returns on investments in stocks of large-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in stocks of small- and mid-capitalization companies.
Small- and Mid-Capitalization Companies — The securities of small- and mid-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse issuer, market, political, or economic developments than securities of larger-capitalization companies. The securities of small- and mid-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole. Some small- or mid-capitalization companies have limited product lines, markets, and financial and managerial resources and tend to concentrate on fewer geographical markets relative to larger capitalization companies. There is typically less publicly available information concerning small- and mid-capitalization companies than for larger, more established companies. Small- and mid-capitalization companies also may be particularly sensitive to changes in interest rates, government regulation, borrowing costs, and earnings.
Tracking Stocks — A tracking stock is a separate class of common stock whose value is linked to a specific business unit or operating division within a larger company and which is designed to “track” the performance of such business unit or division. The tracking stock may pay dividends to shareholders independent of the parent company. The parent company, rather than the business unit or division, generally is the issuer of tracking stock. However, holders of the tracking stock may not have the same rights as holders of the company’s common stock.
Illiquid Investments
The Fund may not acquire any illiquid investment if, immediately after the acquisition, the Fund would have invested more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments. An illiquid investment means any investment that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment. If illiquid investments exceed 15% of the Fund’s net assets, certain remedial actions will be taken as required by Rule 22e-4 under the 1940 Act and the Fund’s policies and procedures.
The Fund may not be able to sell illiquid securities when the Adviser considers it desirable to do so or may have to sell such securities at a price that is lower than the price that could be obtained if the securities were more liquid. In addition, the sale of illiquid securities also may require more time and may result in higher dealer discounts and other selling expenses than does the sale of securities that are not illiquid. Illiquid securities also may be more difficult to value due to the unavailability of reliable market quotations for such securities, and investment in illiquid securities may have an adverse impact on NAV.
Investment Company Securities
The Fund may invest in the securities of other investment companies, including ETFs and money market funds, subject to applicable limitations under Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder. Pursuant to Section 12(d)(1), the Fund may invest in the securities of another investment company (the “acquired company”) provided that the Fund, immediately after such purchase or acquisition, does not own in the aggregate: (i) more than 3% of the total outstanding voting stock of the acquired company; (ii) securities issued by the acquired company having an aggregate value in excess of 5% of the value of the total assets of the Fund; or (iii) securities issued by the acquired company and all other investment companies (other than treasury stock of the Fund) having an aggregate value in excess of 10% of the value of the total assets of the Fund. Under certain circumstances, including in compliance with Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act, the Fund may invest its assets in securities of investment companies, including money market funds, in excess of the limits discussed above.
Investing in another pooled vehicle exposes the Fund to all the risks of that pooled vehicle. In addition, if the Fund invests in and, thus, is a shareholder of, another investment company, the Fund’s shareholders will indirectly bear the Fund’s proportionate share of the fees and expenses paid by such other investment company, including advisory fees, in addition to both the management fees payable directly by the Fund to the Fund’s own investment adviser and the other expenses that the Fund bears directly in connection with the Fund’s own operations.
Other Short-Term Instruments
The Fund may invest in short-term instruments, including money market instruments, on an ongoing basis to provide liquidity or for other reasons. Money market instruments are generally short-term investments that may include but are not limited to: (i) shares of money market funds; (ii) obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities (including
government-sponsored enterprises); (iii) negotiable certificates of deposit (“CDs”), bankers’ acceptances, fixed time deposits and other obligations of U.S. and foreign banks (including foreign branches) and similar institutions; (iv) commercial paper rated at the date of purchase “Prime-1” by Moody’s or “A‑1” by S&P or, if unrated, of comparable quality as determined by the Adviser; (v) non-convertible corporate debt securities (e.g., bonds and debentures) with remaining maturities at the date of purchase of not more than 397 days and that satisfy the rating requirements set forth in Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act; and (vi) short-term U.S. dollar-denominated obligations of foreign banks (including U.S. branches) that, in the opinion of the Adviser, are of comparable quality to obligations of U.S. banks which may be purchased by the Fund. Any of these instruments may be purchased on a current or a forward-settled basis. Money market instruments also include shares of money market funds. Time deposits are non-negotiable deposits maintained in banking institutions for specified periods of time at stated interest rates. Bankers’ acceptances are time drafts drawn on commercial banks by borrowers, usually in connection with international transactions.
Repurchase Agreements
The Fund may invest in repurchase agreements with commercial banks, brokers, or dealers to generate income from its excess cash balances and to invest in securities lending cash collateral. A repurchase agreement is an agreement under which the Fund acquires a financial instrument (e.g., a security issued by the U.S. government or an agency thereof, a banker’s acceptance or a certificate of deposit) from a seller, subject to resale to the seller at an agreed upon price and date (normally, the next Business Day). A repurchase agreement may be considered a loan collateralized by securities. The resale price reflects an agreed upon interest rate effective for the period the instrument is held by the Fund and is unrelated to the interest rate on the underlying instrument.
In these repurchase agreement transactions, the securities acquired by the Fund (including accrued interest earned thereon) must have a total value in excess of the value of the repurchase agreement and are held by the Custodian until repurchased. No more than an aggregate of 15% of the Fund’s net assets will be invested in illiquid investments, including repurchase agreements having maturities longer than seven days and securities subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale, or for which there are no readily available market quotations.
The use of repurchase agreements involves certain risks. For example, if the other party to the agreement defaults on its obligation to repurchase the underlying security at a time when the value of the security has declined, the Fund may incur a loss upon disposition of the security. If the other party to the agreement becomes insolvent and subject to liquidation or reorganization under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code or other laws, a court may determine that the underlying security is collateral for a loan by the Fund not within the control of the Fund and, therefore, the Fund may not be able to substantiate its interest in the underlying security and may be deemed an unsecured creditor of the other party to the agreement.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements
The Fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements, which involve the sale of securities held by the Fund subject to its agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon date or upon demand and at a price reflecting a market rate of interest. Reverse repurchase agreements may be entered into only with banks or securities dealers or their affiliates. While a reverse repurchase agreement is outstanding, the Fund will, for all of its reverse repurchase agreements, either (i) consistent with Section 18 of the 1940 Act, maintain asset coverage of at least 300% of the value of the repurchase agreement or (ii) treat the reverse repurchase agreement as a derivatives transaction for purposes of Rule 18f-4, including, as applicable, the VaR-based limit on leverage risk.
Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the buyer of the securities sold by the Fund might be unable to deliver them when the Fund seeks to repurchase. If the buyer of securities under a reverse repurchase agreement files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent, the buyer or trustee or receiver may receive an extension of time to determine whether to enforce the Fund’s obligation to repurchase the securities, and the Fund’s use of the proceeds of the reverse repurchase agreement may effectively be restricted pending such decision.
Securities Lending
The Fund may lend portfolio securities in an amount up to one-third of its total assets to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions. In a portfolio securities lending transaction, the Fund receives from the borrower an amount equal to the interest paid or the dividends declared on the loaned securities during the term of the loan as well as the interest on the collateral securities, less any fees (such as finders or administrative fees) the Fund pays in arranging the loan. The Fund may share the interest it receives on the collateral securities with the borrower. The terms of the Fund’s loans permit it to reacquire loaned securities on five business days’ notice or in time to vote on any important matter. Loans are subject to termination at the option of the Fund or borrower at any time, and the borrowed securities must be returned when the loan is terminated. The Fund may pay fees to arrange for securities loans.
The SEC currently requires that the following conditions must be met whenever the Fund’s portfolio securities are loaned: (1) the Fund must receive at least 100% cash collateral from the borrower; (2) the borrower must increase such collateral whenever the market value of the securities rises above the level of such collateral; (3) the Fund must be able to terminate the loan at any time; (4) the Fund must receive reasonable interest on the loan, as well as any dividends, interest or other distributions on the loaned securities, and any increase in market value; (5) the Fund may pay only reasonable custodian fees approved by the Board in connection with the loan; (6) while voting rights on the loaned securities may pass to the borrower, the Board must terminate the loan and regain the right to vote the securities if a material event adversely affecting the investment occurs, and (7) the Fund may not loan its portfolio
securities so that the value of the loaned securities is more than one-third of its total asset value, including collateral received from such loans. These conditions may be subject to future modification. Such loans will be terminable at any time upon specified notice. The Fund might experience the risk of loss if the institution with which it has engaged in a portfolio loan transaction breaches its agreement with the Fund. In addition, the Fund will not enter into any portfolio security lending arrangement having a duration of longer than one year. The principal risk of portfolio lending is potential default or insolvency of the borrower. In either of these cases, the Fund could experience delays in recovering securities or collateral or could lose all or part of the value of the loaned securities. As part of participating in a lending program, the Fund may be required to invest in collateralized debt or other securities that bear the risk of loss of principal. In addition, all investments made with the collateral received are subject to the risks associated with such investments. If such investments lose value, the Fund will have to cover the loss when repaying the collateral.
Any loans of portfolio securities are fully collateralized based on values that are marked-to-market daily. Any securities that the Fund may receive as collateral will not become part of the Fund’s investment portfolio at the time of the loan and, in the event of a default by the borrower, the Fund will, if permitted by law, dispose of such collateral except for such part thereof that is a security in which the Fund is permitted to invest. During the time securities are on loan, the borrower will pay the Fund any accrued income on those securities, and the Fund may invest the cash collateral and earn income or receive an agreed-upon fee from a borrower that has delivered cash-equivalent collateral.
Subsidiary Risks
The Fund may invest up to 25% of its assets in a subsidiary that is wholly-owned by the Fund and organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the “Subsidiary”). The Fund is the sole shareholder of the Subsidiary and does not expect shares of the Subsidiary to be offered or sold to other investors.
The Fund will invest in the Subsidiary in order to gain exposure to the investment returns within the limitations of the federal tax law requirements applicable to RICs. The Subsidiary may invest, to a greater extent than its Fund, in derivative instruments, including futures contracts, swap agreements, structured notes, as well as other instruments intended to serve as margin or collateral for these derivative instruments. The Subsidiary may invest in any type of investment in which the Fund is permitted to invest, as described in the Prospectus and this SAI. The Fund’s investment in the Subsidiary will not exceed 25% of the value of the Fund’s total assets (notwithstanding any subsequent market appreciation in the Subsidiary’s value). Asset limitations are imposed by the Code and are measured at each taxable year and quarter end. The Adviser also serves as the investment adviser to the Subsidiary.
The Subsidiary is not registered under the 1940 Act but will be subject to certain protections of the 1940 Act with respect to the Fund, as described in this SAI. All of the Fund’s investments in the Subsidiary will be subject to the investment policies and restrictions of the Fund, including those related to leverage, collateral requirements, and liquidity. In addition, the valuation and brokerage policies of the Fund will be applied to the Subsidiary. The Fund’s investments in the Subsidiary are not subject to all investor protection provisions of the 1940 Act. To the extent applicable, the Subsidiary otherwise is subject to the same fundamental investment restrictions as the Fund and, in particular, to the same requirements relating to portfolio leverage, liquidity, and the timing and method of valuation of portfolio investments and Fund shares. Accordingly, references in this SAI to the Fund may also include the Subsidiary. By investing in the Subsidiary, the Fund may be considered to be investing indirectly in the same investments as the Subsidiary and is indirectly exposed to the risk associated with those investments. Because the Fund is the sole investor in the Subsidiary, it is not likely that the Subsidiary will take any action that is contrary to the interests of the Fund and its shareholders.
The Subsidiary has a board of directors that oversees its activities. The Subsidiary has entered into a separate investment advisory agreement with the Adviser. The Subsidiary also has entered into agreements with the Fund’s service providers for the provision of administrative, accounting, transfer agency, and custody services.
The Subsidiary is subject to regulation as a commodity pool under the CEA and the CFTC rules and regulations. The Adviser serves as the CPO of the Subsidiary. The Adviser is currently registered as a CPO with the CFTC and is a member of the National Futures Association (“NFA”). There is no assurance that the Adviser will remain a registered CPO with respect to the Subsidiary, or that the Subsidiary will remain a commodity pool to the extent that one or more exclusions or exemptions are available under applicable CFTC regulations. The Adviser currently does not rely on an exclusion from the definition of CPO in CFTC Rule 4.5 with respect to the Fund. The Adviser is subject to dual regulation by the CFTC and the SEC. The CFTC adopted regulations that seek to “harmonize” CFTC regulations with overlapping SEC rules and regulations. The Adviser has availed itself of the CFTC’s substituted compliance option under the harmonization regulations pursuant to CFTC Regulation 4.12(c) with respect to the Fund by filing a notice with the National Futures Association. The Adviser will remain subject to certain CFTC-mandated disclosure, reporting and recordkeeping regulations.
The financial information of the Subsidiary will be consolidated into the Fund’s financial statements, as contained within the Fund’s Form N-CSR Filing.
Regulatory changes, including changes in the laws of the U.S. or the Cayman Islands, could result in the inability of the Fund and/or the Subsidiary to operate as described in the Fund’s Prospectus and this SAI. Such changes could potentially impact the Fund’s ability to implement its investment strategy and could result in decreased investment returns. In addition, in the event changes to the laws of
the Cayman Islands require the Subsidiary to pay taxes to a governmental authority, the Fund would be likely to suffer decreased returns.
A U.S. person, including the Fund, who owns (directly or indirectly) 10% or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of 10% or more of the total value of shares of all classes of stock of a foreign corporation is a “U.S. Shareholder” for purposes of the controlled foreign corporation (“CFC”) provisions of the Code. A CFC is a foreign corporation that, on any day of its taxable year, is owned (directly, indirectly, or constructively) more than 50% (measured by voting power or value) by U.S. Shareholders. Because of its investment in the Subsidiary, the Fund is a U.S. Shareholder in a CFC. As a U.S. Shareholder, the Fund is required to include in gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes for each taxable year of the Fund its pro rata share of its CFC’s “Subpart F” income (discussed further below) and any “global intangible low-taxed income” or (“GILTI”) for the CFC’s taxable year ending within the Fund’s taxable year whether or not such income is actually distributed by the CFC. GILTI generally includes the active operating profits of the CFC, reduced by a deemed return on the tax basis of the CFC’s depreciable tangible assets.
In order to qualify as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code and be eligible to receive “pass-through” tax treatment, the Fund must, among other things, meet certain requirements regarding the source of its income, the diversification of its assets and the distribution of its income. Under the source of income test, at least 90% of a RIC’s gross income each year must be “qualifying income,” which generally consists of dividends, interest, gains on investment assets and certain other categories of investment income. Qualifying income generally does not include income derived directly from certain investments, which may include XRP-related investments. The Fund’s investment in the Subsidiary is intended to provide the Fund with exposure to XRP-related investments within the limitations of the Code such that the Fund continues to qualify as a RIC. The “Subpart F” income (defined in Section 951 of the Code to include passive income) of the Fund attributable to its investment in the Subsidiary is “qualifying income” to the Fund to the extent that such income is derived with respect to the Fund’s business of investing in stock, securities or currencies. The Fund expects its “Subpart F” income attributable to its investment in the Subsidiary to be derived with respect to the Fund’s business of investing in stock, securities or currencies and to be treated as “qualifying income.” The Adviser will carefully monitor the Fund’s investments in the Subsidiary to ensure that no more than 25% of the Fund’s assets are invested in the Subsidiary.
Subpart F income and GILTI are treated as ordinary income, regardless of the character of the CFC’s underlying income. Net losses incurred by a CFC during a tax year do not flow through to the Fund and thus will not be available to offset income or capital gain generated from the Fund’s other investments. In addition, net losses incurred by a CFC during a tax year generally cannot be carried forward by the CFC to offset gains realized by it in subsequent taxable years. To the extent the Fund invests in the Subsidiary and recognizes “Subpart F” income or GILTI in excess of actual cash distributions from such Subsidiary, if any, the Fund may be required to sell assets (including when it is not advantageous to do so) to generate the cash necessary to distribute as dividends to its shareholders all of its income and gains and therefore to eliminate any tax liability at the Fund level. “Subpart F” income also includes the excess of gains over losses from transactions (including futures, forward and other similar transactions) in commodities.
The Fund’s recognition of any “Subpart F” income or GILTI from an investment in the Subsidiary will increase the Fund’s tax basis in the Subsidiary. Distributions by the Subsidiary to the Fund, including in redemption of the Subsidiary’s shares, will be tax free, to the extent of the Subsidiary’s previously undistributed “Subpart F” income or GILTI, and will correspondingly reduce the Fund’s tax basis in the Subsidiary, and any distributions in excess of the Fund’s tax basis in the Subsidiary will be treated as realized gain. Any losses with respect to the Fund’s shares of the Subsidiary will not be currently recognized. The Fund’s investment in the Subsidiary will potentially have the effect of accelerating the Fund’s recognition of income and causing its income to be treated as ordinary income, regardless of the character of the Subsidiary’s income. If a net loss is realized by the Subsidiary, such loss is generally not available to offset the income earned by the Fund. In addition, the net losses incurred during a taxable year by the Subsidiary cannot be carried forward by the Subsidiary to offset gains realized by it in subsequent taxable years. The Fund will not receive any credit in respect of any non-U.S. tax borne by the Subsidiary.
The federal income tax treatment of the Fund’s income from the Subsidiary also may be negatively affected by future legislation, Treasury Regulations (proposed or final), and/or other IRS guidance or authorities that could affect the character, timing of recognition, and/or amount of the Fund’s investment company taxable income and/or net capital gains and, therefore, the distributions it makes. If the Fund failed the source of income test for any taxable year but was eligible to and did cure the failure, it could incur potentially significant additional federal income tax expenses. If, on the other hand, the Fund failed to qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and was ineligible to or otherwise did not cure the failure, it would be subject to federal income tax at the fund level on its taxable income at the regular corporate tax rate (without reduction for distributions to shareholders), with the consequence that its income available for distribution to shareholders would be reduced and distributions from its current or accumulated earnings and profits would generally be taxable to its shareholders as dividend income.
Tax Risks
As with any investment, you should consider how your investment in Shares will be taxed. The tax information in the Prospectus and this SAI is provided as general information. You should consult your own tax professional about the tax consequences of an investment in Shares.
The Fund intends to qualify annually to be treated as a RIC under the Code. To qualify as a RIC under the Code, the Fund must invest in assets which produce the types of income specified in the Code and the Treasury regulations (“Qualifying Income”). Whether the
income from certain XRP-related investments, derivatives, swaps, commodity-linked derivatives and other commodity/natural resource-related securities, including income from the Fund’s investment in the Subsidiary, is Qualifying Income is not entirely clear. The Fund’s investment in the Subsidiary is expected to provide the Fund with exposure to XRP-related investments within the limitations of the Code for qualification as a RIC, but there is a risk that the IRS could assert that the income derived from the Fund’s investment in the Subsidiary and certain XRP-related investments will not be considered Qualifying Income. For more information on the tax risks related to the Subsidiary, see the section “Subsidiary Risks,” above.
An investment in the Subsidiary generally may not exceed 25% of the value of the Fund’s total assets at the end of each quarter of the Fund’s taxable year. If the Subsidiary does exceed 25% of the value of the Fund’s total assets, in any quarter, the Fund may fail to qualify as a RIC under the Code. See “Federal Income Taxes” below for additional information related to these restrictions.
In addition, the Fund’s transactions in financial instruments, including, but not limited to, options, futures contracts, and hedging transactions, will be subject to special tax rules (which may include mark to market, constructive sale, wash sale, and short sale rules), the effect of which may be to accelerate income to the Fund, defer losses to the Fund, cause adjustments in the holding periods of the Fund’s securities, convert long-term capital gains into short-term capital gains or convert short-term capital losses into long-term capital losses. These rules could, therefore, affect the amount, timing and character of distributions to the Fund’s shareholders. The Fund’s use of such transactions may result in it realizing more short-term capital gains and ordinary income, in each case subject to U.S. federal income tax at higher ordinary income tax rates, than it would if it did not engage in such transactions.
As with any investment, you should consider how your investment in Shares will be taxed. The tax information in the Prospectus and this SAI is provided as general information. You should consult your own tax professional about the tax consequences of an investment in Shares.
U.S. Government Securities
The Fund may invest in U.S. government securities. Securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, or its agencies or instrumentalities include U.S. Treasury securities, which are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury, and which differ only in their interest rates, maturities, and times of issuance. U.S. Treasury bills have initial maturities of one-year or less; U.S. Treasury notes have initial maturities of one to ten years; and U.S. Treasury bonds generally have initial maturities of greater than ten years. Certain U.S. government securities are issued or guaranteed by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government including, but not limited to, obligations of U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”), the Government National Mortgage Association (“Ginnie Mae”), the Small Business Administration, the Federal Farm Credit Administration, the Federal Home Loan Banks, Banks for Cooperatives (including the Central Bank for Cooperatives), the Federal Land Banks, the Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Federal Financing Bank, the Student Loan Marketing Association, the National Credit Union Administration and the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (“Farmer Mac”).
Some obligations issued or guaranteed by U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities, including, for example, Ginnie Mae pass- through certificates, are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury. Other obligations issued by or guaranteed by federal agencies, such as those securities issued by Fannie Mae, are supported by the discretionary authority of the U.S. government to purchase certain obligations of the federal agency, while other obligations issued by or guaranteed by federal agencies, such as those of the Federal Home Loan Banks, are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury, while the U.S. government provides financial support to such U.S. government-sponsored federal agencies, no assurance can be given that the U.S. government will always do so, since the U.S. government is not so obligated by law. U.S. Treasury notes and bonds typically pay coupon interest semi- annually and repay the principal at maturity.
On September 7, 2008, the U.S. Treasury announced a federal takeover of Fannie Mae and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”), placing the two federal instrumentalities in conservatorship. Under the takeover, the U.S. Treasury agreed to acquire $1 billion of senior preferred stock of each instrumentality and obtained warrants for the purchase of common stock of each instrumentality (the “Senior Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement” or “Agreement”). Under the Agreement, the U.S. Treasury pledged to provide up to $200 billion per instrumentality as needed, including the contribution of cash capital to the instrumentalities in the event their liabilities exceed their assets. This was intended to ensure that the instrumentalities maintain a positive net worth and meet their financial obligations, preventing mandatory triggering of receivership. On December 24, 2009, the U.S. Treasury announced that it was amending the Agreement to allow the $200 billion cap on the U.S. Treasury’s funding commitment to increase as necessary to accommodate any cumulative reduction in net worth over the next three years. As a result of this Agreement, the investments of holders, including the Fund, of mortgage-backed securities and other obligations issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are protected.
The total public debt of the United States as a percentage of gross domestic product has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 2008-2009 financial downturn. Although high debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, they may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented. A high national debt can raise concerns that the U.S. government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due. In August 2011, S&P lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the U.S. In explaining the downgrade at that time, S&P cited, among other reasons, controversy over raising the statutory debt limit and growth in public spending. In August 2023, Fitch Ratings also downgraded its U.S. debt rating from AAA
to AA+, citing expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years and repeated down-to-the-wire debt ceiling negotiations. While Moody’s sovereign credit rating for the U.S. remains AAA, the agency changed the outlook from stable to negative in November 2023, signaling an increased risk of the potential for a downgrade.
An increase in national debt levels also may necessitate the need for the U.S. Congress to negotiate adjustments to the statutory debt ceiling to increase the cap on the amount the U.S. government is permitted to borrow to meet its existing obligations and finance current budget deficits. Future downgrades could increase volatility in domestic and foreign financial markets, result in higher interest rates, lower prices of U.S. Treasury securities and increase the costs of different kinds of debt. Any controversy or ongoing uncertainty regarding the statutory debt ceiling negotiations may impact the U.S. long-term sovereign credit rating and may cause market uncertainty. As a result, market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government may be adversely affected.
When-Issued Securities
A when-issued security is one whose terms are available and for which a market exists, but which has not been issued. When the Fund engages in when-issued transactions, it relies on the other party to consummate the sale. If the other party fails to complete the sale, the Fund may miss the opportunity to obtain the security at a favorable price or yield.
When purchasing a security on a when-issued basis, the Fund assumes the rights and risks of ownership of the security, including the risk of price and yield changes. At the time of settlement, the value of the security may be more or less than the purchase price. The yield available in the market when the delivery takes place also may be higher than those obtained in the transaction itself. Because the Fund does not pay for the security until the delivery date, these risks are in addition to the risks associated with its other investments.
Decisions to enter into “when-issued” transactions will be considered on a case-by-case basis when necessary to maintain continuity in a company’s index membership.
INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS
The Trust has adopted the following investment restrictions as fundamental policies with respect to the Fund. These restrictions cannot be changed with respect to the Fund without the approval of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities. For the purposes of the 1940 Act, a “majority of outstanding shares” means the vote of the lesser of: (1) 67% or more of the voting securities of the Fund present at the meeting if the holders of more than 50% of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities are present or represented by proxy; or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund.
Except with the approval of a majority of the outstanding voting securities, the Fund may not:
1.Borrow money or issue senior securities (as defined under the 1940 Act), except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act.
2.Make loans, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act.
3.Purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act. This shall not prevent the Fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate, real estate investment trusts (“REITs”), or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business.
4.Purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act. This shall not prevent the Fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities.
5.Underwrite securities issued by other persons, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act.
6.Concentrate its investments (i.e., hold more than 25% of its total assets) in any industry or group of industries, except that the Fund may invest more than 25% of its total assets in investments that provide exposure to the price performance of XRP. For purposes of this limitation, securities of the U.S. government (including its agencies and instrumentalities), repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. government securities, registered investment companies, and tax-exempt securities of state or municipal governments and their political subdivisions are not considered to be issued by members of any industry.
In addition to the investment restrictions adopted as fundamental policies as set forth above, the Fund has adopted the following non-fundamental restriction, which may be changed without a shareholder vote.
1.Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of the Fund’s assets in, or provide exposure equal to, financial instruments that the Adviser believes, in combination, should produce daily returns consistent with the Fund’s investment objective of seeking daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to two times (2x) the daily price performance of XRP.. Prior to any change in this 80% investment policy, the Fund will provide shareholders with 60 days’ written notice.
* For purposes of this policy, the issuer of the underlying security will be deemed to be the issuer of any respective depositary receipt.
The following descriptions of certain provisions of the 1940 Act may assist investors in understanding the above policies and restrictions:
Borrowing. The 1940 Act presently allows a fund to borrow from any bank (including pledging, mortgaging, or hypothecating assets) in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets (not including temporary borrowings not in excess of 5% of its total assets).
Senior Securities. For purposes of fundamental policy no. 2 above, senior securities may include any obligation or instrument constituting a security issued by the Fund and evidencing indebtedness or a future payment obligation. The 1940 Act generally prohibits funds from issuing senior securities other than borrowing from a bank subject to specific asset coverage requirements. The 1940 Act prohibitions and restrictions on the issuance of senior securities are designed to protect shareholders from the potentially adverse effects of a fund’s issuance of senior securities, including, in particular, the risks associated with excessive leverage of a fund’s assets. Certain types of derivatives give rise to future payment obligations and therefore also may be considered to be senior securities. Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act permits funds that comply with the conditions therein to enter into certain types of derivatives transactions notwithstanding the prohibitions and restrictions on the issuance of senior securities under the 1940 Act. To the extent consistent with its investment strategies, the Fund may invest in derivatives in compliance with the conditions set forth in Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act.
Lending. Under the 1940 Act, a fund may only make loans if expressly permitted by its investment policies.
Real Estate and Commodities. The 1940 Act does not directly restrict an investment company’s ability to invest in real estate or commodities but does require that every investment company have a fundamental investment policy governing such investments.
Underwriting. Under the 1940 Act, underwriting securities involves a fund purchasing securities directly from an issuer for the purpose of selling (distributing) them or participating in any such activity either directly or indirectly.
If a percentage limitation is adhered to at the time of investment or contract, a later increase or decrease in percentage resulting from any change in value or total or net assets will not result in a violation of such restriction, except that the percentage limitation with respect to the borrowing of money will be observed continuously.
EXCHANGE LISTING AND TRADING
Shares are listed for trading and trade throughout the day on the Exchange.
There can be no assurance that the Fund will continue to meet the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of Shares. The Exchange will consider the suspension of trading in, and will initiate delisting proceedings of, the Shares under any of the following circumstances: (i) if any of the requirements set forth in the Exchange rules are not continuously maintained, including compliance with Rule 6c-11(c) under the 1940 Act; (ii) if, following the initial 12-month period beginning at the commencement of trading of the Fund, there are fewer than 50 beneficial owners of the Shares of the Fund; or (iii) if such other event shall occur or condition shall exist that, in the opinion of the Exchange, makes further dealings on the Exchange inadvisable. The Exchange will remove the Shares of the Fund from listing and trading upon termination of the Fund.
The Trust reserves the right to adjust the price levels of Shares in the future to help maintain convenient trading ranges for investors. Any adjustments would be accomplished through stock splits or reverse stock splits, which would have no effect on the net assets of the Fund.
MANAGEMENT OF THE TRUST
Board Responsibilities. The management and affairs of the Trust and its series are overseen by the Board, which elects the officers of the Trust who are responsible for administering the day-to-day operations of the Trust and the Fund. The Board has approved contracts, as described below, under which certain companies provide essential services to the Trust.
The day-to-day business of the Trust, including the management of risk, is performed by third-party service providers, such as the Adviser, the Distributor, or the Administrator. The Board is responsible for overseeing the Trust’s service providers and, thus, has oversight responsibility with respect to risk management performed by those service providers. Risk management seeks to identify and address risks, i.e., events or circumstances that could have material adverse effects on the business, operations, shareholder services, investment performance or reputation of the Fund. The Fund and its service providers employ a variety of processes, procedures and controls to identify various of those possible events or circumstances, to lessen the probability of their occurrence and/or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur. Each service provider is responsible for one or more discrete aspects of the Trust’s business (e.g., the Adviser is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio investments) and, consequently, for managing the risks associated with that business. The Board has emphasized to the Fund’s service providers the importance of maintaining vigorous risk management.
The Board’s role in risk oversight begins before the inception of the Fund, at which time certain of the Fund’s service providers present the Board with information concerning the investment objective, strategies and risks of the Fund as well as proposed investment limitations for the Fund. Additionally, the Adviser provides the Board with an overview of, among other things, its investment philosophy, brokerage practices and compliance infrastructure. Thereafter, the Board continues its oversight function of various personnel, including the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer, as well as personnel of the Adviser, and other service providers such as the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, make periodic reports to the Audit Committee or to the Board with respect to various aspects of risk management. The Board and the Audit Committee oversee efforts by management and service providers to manage risks to which the Fund may be exposed.
The Board is responsible for overseeing the nature, extent, and quality of the services provided to the Fund by the Adviser and receives information about those services at its regular meetings. In addition, on an annual basis (following the initial two-year period), in connection with its consideration of whether to renew the Advisory Agreement (defined below) with the Adviser, the Board or its designee may meet with the Adviser to review such services. Among other things, the Board regularly considers the Adviser’s adherence to the Fund’s investment restrictions and compliance with various Fund policies and procedures and with applicable securities regulations. The Board also reviews information about the Fund’s performance and investments, including, for example, portfolio holdings schedules.
The Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer reports regularly to the Board to review and discuss compliance issues and Fund and Adviser risk assessments. At least annually, the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer provides the Board with a report reviewing the adequacy and effectiveness of the Trust’s policies and procedures and those of its service providers, including the Adviser. The report addresses the operation of the policies and procedures of the Trust and each service provider since the date of the last report; any material changes to the policies and procedures since the date of the last report; any recommendations for material changes to the policies and procedures; and any material compliance matters since the date of the last report.
The Board receives reports from the Fund’s service providers regarding operational risks and risks related to the valuation and liquidity of portfolio securities. Annually, the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm reviews with the Audit Committee its audit of the Fund’s financial statements, focusing on major areas of risk encountered by the Fund and noting any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the Fund’s internal controls. Additionally, in connection with its oversight function, the Board oversees Fund management’s implementation of disclosure controls and procedures, which are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Trust in its periodic reports with the SEC are recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the required time periods. The Board also oversees the Trust’s internal controls over financial reporting, which comprise policies and procedures designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of the Trust’s financial reporting and the preparation of the Trust’s financial statements.
From their review of these reports and discussions with the Adviser, the Chief Compliance Officer, the independent registered public accounting firm and other service providers, the Board and the Audit Committee learn in detail about the material risks of the Fund, thereby facilitating a dialogue about how management and service providers identify and mitigate those risks.
The Board recognizes that not all risks that may affect the Fund can be identified and/or quantified, that it may not be practical or cost-effective to eliminate or mitigate certain risks, that it may be necessary to bear certain risks (such as investment-related risks) to achieve the Fund’s goals, and that the processes, procedures and controls employed to address certain risks may be limited in their effectiveness. Moreover, reports received by the Board as to risk management matters are typically summaries of the relevant information. Most of the Fund’s investment management and business affairs are carried out by or through the Adviser, and other service providers, each of which has an independent interest in risk management but whose policies and the methods by which one or more risk management functions are carried out may differ from the Trust’s and each other’s in the setting of priorities, the resources available or the effectiveness of relevant controls. As a result of the foregoing and other factors, the Board’s ability to monitor and manage risk, as a practical matter, is subject to limitations.
Members of the Board. There are four members of the Board, three of whom are not interested persons of the Trust, as that term is defined in the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”). The Chairman of the Board, Paul R. Fearday, is an interested person of the Trust as that term is defined in the 1940 Act.
The Board is comprised of a super-majority (75 percent) of Independent Trustees. There is an Audit Committee of the Board that is chaired by an Independent Trustee and comprised solely of Independent Trustees. The Audit Committee chair presides at the Audit Committee meetings, participates in formulating agendas for Audit Committee meetings, and coordinates with management to serve as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and management on matters within the scope of responsibilities of the Audit Committee as set forth in its Board-approved charter. The Trust has not designated a lead Independent Trustee but has determined its leadership structure is appropriate given the specific characteristics and circumstances of the Trust. The Trust made this determination in consideration of, among other things, the fact that the Independent Trustees of the Trust constitute a super-majority of the Board, the number of Independent Trustees that constitute the Board, the amount of assets under management in the Trust, and the number of funds overseen by the Board. The Board also believes that its leadership structure facilitates the orderly and efficient flow of information to the Independent Trustees from Fund management.
Additional information about each Trustee of the Trust is set forth below. The address of each Trustee of the Trust is c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Name and Year of Birth | Position Held with the Trust | Term of Office and Length of Time Served | Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years | Number of Portfolios in Fund Complex* Overseen by Trustee | Other Directorships Held by Trustee During Past 5 Years |
Independent Trustees |
John L. Jacobs Year of birth: 1959 | Trustee and Audit Committee Chair | Indefinite term; since 2017** | Founder and CEO of Q3 Advisors, LLC (financial consulting firm) (since 2015); Chairman of VettaFi, LLC (2018-2024); Executive Director of Center for Financial Markets and Policy (2016–2022); Distinguished Policy Fellow and Executive Director, Center for Financial Markets and Policy, Georgetown University (2015–2022) | 51 | Independent Trustee, TEMA ETF Trust (since 2023) (1 portfolio); NEOS ETF Trust (since 2021) (3 portfolios); Director, tZERO Group, Inc. (since 2020); Independent Trustee, Procure ETF Trust II (since 2018) (2 portfolios) |
Koji Felton Year of birth: 1961 | Trustee | Indefinite term; since 2019 | Retired; formerly Counsel, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. (investment firm) (2013–2015) | 51 | Independent Trustee, Series Portfolios Trust (since 2015) (19 portfolios) |
Pamela H. Conroy Year of birth: 1961 | Trustee and Nominating and Governance Committee Chair | Indefinite term; since 2019 | Retired; formerly Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer & Chief Compliance Officer, Institutional Capital Corporation (investment firm) (1994–2008) | 51 | Independent Trustee, Frontier Funds, Inc. (since 2020) (4 portfolios) |
| Interested Trustee*** |
Paul R. Fearday, CPA Year of birth: 1979 | Trustee and Chairman | Indefinite term; since 2019 | Senior Vice President, U.S. Bank, N.A. (since 2022); Senior Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2008–2022) | 51 | None |
* The Trust is the only registered investment company in the Fund Complex.
** Mr. Jacobs began serving as a Trustee when the Trust was known by its former name, Active Weighting Funds ETF Trust.
*** Mr. Fearday is deemed to be an “interested person” of the Trust under the 1940 Act by reason of his position with the parent company of the Trust’s administrator, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, which also provides other third-party services to the Trust.
Individual Trustee Qualifications. The Trust has concluded that each of the Trustees should serve on the Board because of their ability to review and understand information about the Fund provided to them by management, to identify and request other information they may deem relevant to the performance of their duties, to question management and other service providers regarding material factors bearing on the management and administration of the Fund, and to exercise their business judgment in a manner that serves the best interests of the Fund’s shareholders. The Trust has concluded that each of the Trustees should serve as a Trustee based on his or her own experience, qualifications, attributes and skills as described below.
The Trust has concluded that Mr. Jacobs should serve as a Trustee because of his substantial industry experience. He most recently served as the CEO of Q3 Advisors, LLC and as the Distinguished Policy Fellow and Executive Director of the Center for Financial Markets and Policy, and as Adjunct Professor of Finance at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. He also served as Senior Advisor and principal consultant to Nasdaq’s CEO and President. Mr. Jacobs has been determined to qualify as an Audit Committee Financial Expert for the Trust.
The Trust has concluded that Mr. Felton should serve as a Trustee because of his substantial industry experience, including over two decades working in the asset management industry providing legal, regulatory compliance, governance and risk management advice to registered investment companies, their advisers and boards. Prior to that, he gained experience and perspective as a regulator while serving as an enforcement attorney and branch chief for the SEC. He also represented public companies and their boards of directors in securities class actions, derivative litigation and SEC investigations as a litigation associate at a national law firm. Mr. Felton currently serves as an independent trustee and chair of the nominating and governance committee of a mutual fund complex.
The Trust has concluded that Ms. Conroy should serve as a Trustee because of her substantial industry experience, including over 25 years of achievements at both a large, multi-location financial institution as well as a small, entrepreneurial firm. She has expertise in all facets of portfolio accounting, securities processing, trading operations, marketing, as well as legal and compliance.
The Trust has concluded that Mr. Fearday should serve as Trustee because of the experience he gained as a senior officer of U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, doing business as U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, since 2008, and in his past role with a national audit firm.
In its periodic assessment of the effectiveness of the Board, the Board considers the complementary individual skills and experience of the individual Trustees primarily in the broader context of the Board’s overall composition so that the Board, as a body, possesses the appropriate (and appropriately diverse) skills and experience to oversee the business of the series of the Trust.
Board Committees. The Board has established the following standing committees of the Board:
Audit Committee. The Board has a standing Audit Committee that is composed of each of the Independent Trustees of the Trust. The Audit Committee operates under a written charter approved by the Board. The principal responsibilities of the Audit Committee include: recommending which firm to engage as the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm and when and whether to terminate this relationship, as necessary; reviewing the independent registered public accounting firm’s compensation, the proposed scope and terms of its engagement, and the firm’s independence; pre-approving audit and non-audit services provided by the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm to the Trust and certain other affiliated entities; serving as a channel of communication between the independent registered public accounting firm and the Trustees; reviewing the results of each external audit, including any qualifications in the independent registered public accounting firm’s opinion, any related management letter, management’s responses to recommendations made by the independent registered public accounting firm in connection with the audit, reports submitted to the Audit Committee by the internal auditing department of the Trust’s Administrator that are material to the Trust as a whole, if any, and management’s responses to any such reports; reviewing the Fund’s audited financial statements and considering any significant disputes between the Trust’s management and the independent registered public accounting firm that arose in connection with the preparation of those financial statements; considering, in consultation with the independent registered public accounting firm and the Trust’s senior internal accounting executive, if any, the independent registered public accounting firms’ report on the adequacy of the Trust’s internal financial controls; reviewing, in consultation with the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, major changes regarding auditing and accounting principles and practices to be followed when preparing the Fund’s financial statements; and other audit related matters. As of the date of this SAI, the Audit Committee has not met with respect to the Fund.
The Audit Committee also serves as the Qualified Legal Compliance Committee (“QLCC”) for the Trust for the purpose of compliance with Rules 205.2(k) and 205.3(c) of the Code of Federal Regulations, regarding alternative reporting procedures for attorneys retained or employed by an issuer who appear and practice before the SEC on behalf of the issuer (the “issuer attorneys”). An issuer attorney who becomes aware of evidence of a material violation by the Trust, or by any officer, director, employee, or agent of the Trust, may report evidence of such material violation to the QLCC as an alternative to the reporting requirements of Rule 205.3(b) (which requires reporting to the chief legal officer and potentially “up the ladder” to other entities).
Nominating and Governance Committee. The Board has a standing Nominating and Governance Committee that is composed of each of the Independent Trustees of the Trust. The Nominating and Governance Committee operates under a written charter approved by the Board. The principal responsibility of the Nominating and Governance Committee is to consider, recommend and nominate candidates to fill vacancies on the Board, if any. The Nominating and Governance Committee generally will not consider nominees recommended by shareholders. The Nominating and Governance Committee meets periodically, as necessary. As of the date of this SAI, the Nominating and Governance Committee has not met with respect to the Fund.
Principal Officers of the Trust. The officers of the Trust conduct and supervise the Trust’s and the Fund’s daily business. The address of each officer of the Trust is c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202. Additional information about each officer of the Trust is as follows:
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Name and Year of Birth | Position(s) Held with the Trust | Term of Office and Length of Time Served | Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years |
Kacie G. Briody
Year of birth: 1992 | President and Principal Executive Officer
| Indefinite term,
March 2025 | Assistant Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2021); Officer, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2014 to 2021) |
Travis G. Babich
Year of birth: 1980 | Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer
| Indefinite term,
September 2019 | Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2005) |
David J. Rantisi
Year of birth: 1992 | Assistant Treasurer | Indefinite term,
March 2025 | Assistant Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2014)
|
Chad E. Fickett
Year of birth: 1973 | Secretary | Indefinite term,
June 2024 | Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2024); Assistant General Counsel, The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (2007 to 2024)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Name and Year of Birth | Position(s) Held with the Trust | Term of Office and Length of Time Served | Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years |
Christi C. Powitzky
Year of birth: 1974 | Chief Compliance Officer and Anti-Money Laundering Officer | Indefinite term,
July 2022 | Senior Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2022); Principal Consultant, ACA Group (2021 to 2022); Lead Manager, Communications Compliance, T. Rowe Price Investment Services, Inc. (2018 to 2021)
|
Jay S. Fitton
Year of birth: 1970 | Assistant Secretary | Indefinite term,
May 2023 | Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2022); Assistant Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2019 to 2022) |
Trustee Ownership of Shares. The Fund is required to show the dollar amount ranges of each Trustee’s “beneficial ownership” of Shares and each other series of the Trust as of the end of the most recently completed calendar year. Dollar amount ranges disclosed are established by the SEC. “Beneficial ownership” is determined in accordance with Rule 16a-1(a)(2) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”). As of the date of this SAI, no Trustee or officer of the Trust owned Shares of the Fund or any other fund within the Trust’s Fund Complex.
Board Compensation. Each Independent Trustee receives an annual stipend of $125,000 (prior to January 1, 2025, the annual stipend was $110,000) and reimbursement for all reasonable travel expenses relating to their attendance at Board Meetings. The chair of the Audit Committee receives an annual stipend of $5,000 and the chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee receives an annual stipend of $2,500. The Interested Trustee is not compensated for his service as a Trustee. Pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser has agreed to pay all expenses of the Fund, except those specified in the Fund’s Prospectus. As a result, the Adviser is responsible for compensating the Independent Trustees. Trustee compensation disclosed in the table does not include reimbursed reasonable travel expenses relating to their attendance at Board Meetings. The following table shows the compensation expected to be earned by each Trustee during the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025:
| | | | | | | | |
Name | Aggregate Compensation
from the Fund | Total Compensation from Fund Complex* Paid to Trustees |
Interested Trustee |
Paul R. Fearday | $0 | $0 |
Independent Trustees |
John. L. Jacobs | $0 | $130,000 |
Koji Felton | $0 | $125,000 |
Pamela H. Conroy | $0 | $127,500 |
* The Trust is the only registered investment company in the Fund Complex.
PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS, CONTROL PERSONS, AND MANAGEMENT OWNERSHIP
A principal shareholder is any person who owns of record or beneficially 5% or more of the outstanding Shares. A control person is a shareholder that owns beneficially or through controlled companies more than 25% of the voting securities of a company or acknowledges the existence of control. Shareholders owning voting securities in excess of 25% may determine the outcome of any matter affecting and voted on by shareholders of the Fund. As of the date of this SAI, there were no outstanding Shares.
CODES OF ETHICS
The Trust and the Adviser have each adopted codes of ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act. These codes of ethics are designed to prevent affiliated persons of the Trust and the Adviser from engaging in deceptive, manipulative or fraudulent activities in connection with securities held or to be acquired by the Fund (which also may be held by persons subject to the codes of ethics). Each code of ethics permits personnel subject to that code of ethics to invest in securities for their personal investment accounts, subject to certain limitations, including limitations related to securities that may be purchased or held by the Fund. The Distributor (as defined below) relies on the principal underwriters exception under Rule 17j-1(c)(3), specifically where the Distributor is not affiliated with the Trust or the Adviser, and no officer, director, or general partner of the Distributor serves as an officer, director, or general partner of the Trust or the Adviser.
There can be no assurance that the codes of ethics will be effective in preventing such activities. Each code of ethics may be examined at the office of the SEC in Washington, D.C. or on the Internet at the SEC’s website at https://www.sec.gov.
PROXY VOTING POLICIES
The Fund has delegated proxy voting responsibilities to the Adviser, subject to the Board’s oversight. In delegating proxy responsibilities, the Board has directed that proxies be voted consistent with the Fund’s and its shareholders’ best interests and in compliance with all applicable proxy voting rules and regulations. The Adviser has adopted voting guidelines as part of its proxy voting policies (the “Proxy Voting Policies”) for such purpose. When the Proxy Voting Policies do not cover a specific proxy issue, the Adviser will use its best judgment in voting such proxies on behalf of the Fund.
A copy of the Adviser’s Proxy Voting Policies is set forth in Appendix A to this SAI. The Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer is responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of the Proxy Voting Policies. The Proxy Voting Policies have been adopted by the Trust as the policies and procedures that the Adviser will use when voting proxies on behalf of the Fund.
When available, information on how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 will be available (1) without charge, upon request, by calling 1-800-617-0004, and (2) on the SEC’s website at https://www.sec.gov.
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser
Teucrium Investment Advisors, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company located at Three Main Street, Suite 215, Burlington, Vermont 05401, serves as the investment adviser to the Fund. The Adviser is wholly-owned by Teucrium Trading, LLC. Teucrium Trading, LLC developed and offers a product suite of 1940 Act and Securities Act registered ETFs focused on U.S. agricultural commodities. In addition, the Adviser provides investment advisory and sub-advisory services to U.S. ETFs.
The Adviser arranges for transfer agency, custody, fund administration, and all other non-distribution related services necessary for the Fund to operate. The Adviser is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Fund, subject to the general supervision and oversight of the Board of the Trust. The Adviser is responsible for the management the Fund in accordance with its investment objective, policies, and limitations. For the services it provides to the Fund, the Adviser is entitled to a unified management fee, which is calculated daily and paid monthly, at an annual rate of 1.89% based on the Fund’s average daily net assets. The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive the management fee it receives from the Fund in an amount equal to the management fee paid to the Adviser by the Subsidiary until at least April 6, 2026. The agreement may be terminated by the Adviser at the conclusion of any one-year term or by the Board at any time, and when the Adviser ceases to serve as such.
Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement between the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Adviser (the “Advisory Agreement”), the Adviser has agreed to pay all expenses of the Fund except the fee payable to the Adviser under the Advisory Agreement, interest charges on any borrowings made for investment purposes, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, distribution fees and expenses paid by the Trust under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, and litigation expenses, and other non-routine or extraordinary expenses. The Adviser will not collect management fees for managing Fund assets invested in affiliated ETFs.
The Advisory Agreement with respect to the Fund will continue in force for an initial period of two years. Thereafter, the Advisory Agreement will be renewable from year to year with respect to the Fund, so long as its continuance is approved at least annually (1) by the vote, cast in person at a meeting called for that purpose, of a majority of those Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Adviser or the Trust; and (2) by the majority vote of either the full Board or the vote of a majority of the outstanding Shares. The Advisory Agreement automatically terminates on assignment and is terminable by a vote of the Board of the Trust or a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, or upon a 120-days’ written notice by the Adviser.
The Adviser shall not be liable to the Trust or any shareholder for anything done or omitted by it, except acts or omissions involving willful misfeasance, bad faith, negligence or reckless disregard of the duties imposed upon it by its agreement with the Trust or for any losses that may be sustained in the purchase, holding or sale of any security.
The Fund is new and, therefore, have not paid any management fees to the Adviser as of the date of this SAI.
Management of the Subsidiary
The Adviser also serves as the investment adviser to the Subsidiary, which is a wholly-owned and controlled subsidiary of the Fund organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands as an exempted company, pursuant to an investment advisory agreement with the Subsidiary. The Adviser has agreed to waive the management fee of 1.89% to be paid by the Subsidiary. This waiver will continue in effect for so long as the Fund invests in the Subsidiary, and at least through April 6, 2026. This waiver may be terminated only with the approval of the Subsidiary’s Board of Directors.
Because the Subsidiary is not registered under the 1940 Act, it is not subject to the regulatory protections of the 1940 Act and the Fund, as an investor in the Subsidiary, will not have all of the protections offered to investors in registered investment companies. Because the Fund wholly owns and controls the Subsidiary, and the Adviser is subject to the oversight of the Board, it is unlikely that the Subsidiary will take action contrary to the interests of the Fund or its shareholders.
Portfolio Managers
Springer Harris, Spencer Kristiansen and Joran Haugens serve as the Fund’s portfolio managers (the “Portfolio Managers”). This section includes information about the Portfolio Managers, including information about compensation, other accounts managed, and the dollar range of Shares owned.
Share Ownership
The Fund is required to show the dollar ranges of a Portfolio Manager’s “beneficial ownership” of Shares as of the end of the most recently completed fiscal year or a more recent date for a new portfolio manager. Dollar amount ranges disclosed are established by the SEC. “Beneficial ownership” is determined in accordance with Rule 16a-1(a)(2) under the 1934 Act. As of the date of this SAI, the Portfolio Managers did not beneficially own Shares.
Other Accounts
In addition to the Fund, the Portfolio Managers managed the following other accounts for the Adviser as of March 31, 2025, none of which were subject to a performance-based fee:
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Registered Investment Companies | Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
Other Accounts |
| Number of Accounts | Total Assets in the Accounts | Number of Accounts | Total Assets in the Accounts | Number of Accounts | Total Assets in the Accounts |
| 6 | $106,973,623 | 5 | $229,663,000 | 0 | $0 |
Compensation
The compensation package for portfolio managers consists of a fixed base salary, an annual discretionary bonus opportunity and a competitive benefits package. A portfolio manager’s salary compensation is designed to be competitive with the marketplace and reflect a portfolio manager’s relative experience and contribution to the firm. Fixed base salary compensation is reviewed and adjusted annually to reflect increases in the cost of living and market rates. The discretionary bonus opportunity provides cash bonuses based upon the overall firm’s performance and individual contributions. Principal consideration for each portfolio manager is given to appropriate risk management, teamwork and investment support activities in determining the bonus amount. Portfolio managers are eligible to participate in the firm’s standard employee benefits programs, which include a competitive 401(k) retirement savings program with employer match, and healthcare.
Conflicts of Interest
A Portfolio Manager’s management of “other accounts” may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in connection with his management of the Fund’s investments, on the one hand, and the investments of the other accounts, on the other. The other accounts may have similar investment objectives or strategies as the Fund. A potential conflict of interest may arise as a result, whereby a Portfolio Manager could favor one account over another. Another potential conflict could include a Portfolio Manager’s knowledge about the size, timing, and possible market impact of Fund trades, whereby the Portfolio Manager could use this information to the advantage of other accounts and to the disadvantage of the Fund. However, the Adviser has established policies and procedures to ensure that the purchase and sale of securities among all accounts the Adviser manages are fairly and equitably allocated.
DISTRIBUTOR
The Trust and PINE Distributors LLC, (the “Distributor”), are parties to a distribution agreement (the “Distribution Agreement”), whereby the Distributor acts as principal underwriter for the Trust and distributes Shares of the Fund. Shares are continuously offered for sale by the Distributor only in Creation Units. The Distributor will not distribute Shares in amounts less than a Creation Unit and does not maintain a secondary market in Shares. The principal business address of the Distributor is 501 South Cherry Street, Suite 610, Denver, Colorado 80246.
Under the Distribution Agreement, the Distributor, as agent for the Trust, will receive orders for the purchase and redemption of Creation Units, provided that any subscriptions and orders will not be binding on the Trust until accepted by the Trust. The Distributor is a broker-dealer registered under the Exchange Act and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”).
The Distributor also may enter into agreements with securities dealers (“Soliciting Dealers”) who will solicit purchases of Creation Units of Shares. Such Soliciting Dealers also may be Authorized Participants (as discussed in “Procedures for Purchase of Creation Units” below) or DTC participants (as defined below).
The Distribution Agreement will continue for two years from its effective date and is renewable annually thereafter. The continuance of the Distribution Agreement must be specifically approved at least annually (i) by the vote of the Trustees or by a vote of the shareholders of the Fund and (ii) by the vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operations of the Distribution Agreement or any related agreement, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. The Distribution Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Trust on 60 days’ written notice when authorized either by majority vote of its outstanding voting Shares or by a vote of a majority of the Board (including a majority of the Independent Trustees), or by the Distributor on 60 days’ written notice, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment. The Distribution Agreement provides that in the absence of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of the Distributor, or reckless disregard by it of its obligations thereunder, the Distributor shall not be liable for any action or failure to act in accordance with its duties thereunder.
Intermediary Compensation. The Adviser, or its affiliates, out of their own resources and not out of Fund assets (i.e., without additional cost to the Fund or its shareholders), may pay certain broker dealers, banks and other financial intermediaries (“Intermediaries”) for certain activities related to the Fund, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other activities, such as marketing and educational training or support. These arrangements are not financed by the Fund and, thus, do not result in increased Fund expenses. They are not reflected in the fees and expenses listed in the fees and expenses sections of the Fund’s Prospectus and they do not change the price paid by investors for the purchase of Shares or the amount received by a shareholder as proceeds from the redemption of Shares.
Such compensation may be paid to Intermediaries that provide services to the Fund, including marketing and education support (such as through conferences, webinars and printed communications). The Adviser will periodically assess the advisability of continuing to make these payments. Payments to an Intermediary may be significant to the Intermediary, and amounts that Intermediaries pay to your adviser, broker or other investment professional, if any, also may be significant to such adviser, broker or investment professional. Because an Intermediary may make decisions about what investment options it will make available or recommend, and what services to provide in connection with various products, based on payments it receives or is eligible to receive, such payments create conflicts of interest between the Intermediary and its clients. For example, these financial incentives may cause the Intermediary to recommend the Fund rather than other investments. The same conflict of interest exists with respect to your financial adviser, broker or investment professional if he or she receives similar payments from his or her Intermediary firm.
Intermediary information is current only as of the date of this SAI. Please contact your adviser, broker, or other investment professional for more information regarding any payments his or her Intermediary firm may receive. Any payments made by the Adviser or its affiliates to an Intermediary may create the incentive for an Intermediary to encourage customers to buy Shares.
If you have any additional questions, please call 1-800-617-0004.
Distribution and Service Plan. The Board has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan (the “Plan”) in accordance with the provisions of Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, which regulates circumstances under which an investment company may directly or indirectly bear expenses relating to the distribution of its shares. No payments pursuant to the Plan are expected to be made during the twelve (12) month period from the date of this SAI. Rule 12b-1 fees to be paid by the Fund under the Plan may only be imposed after approval by the Board.
Continuance of the Plan must be approved annually by a majority of the Trustees of the Trust and by a majority of the Trustees who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the Plan or in any agreements related to the Plan (“Qualified Trustees”). The Plan requires that quarterly written reports of amounts spent under the Plan and the purposes of such expenditures be furnished to and reviewed by the Trustees. The Plan may not be amended to increase materially the amount that may be spent thereunder without approval by a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund. All material amendments of the Plan will require approval by a majority of the Trustees of the Trust and of the Qualified Trustees.
The Plan provides that the Fund pays the Distributor an annual fee of up to a maximum of 0.25% of the average daily net assets of its Shares. Under the Plan, the Distributor may make payments pursuant to written agreements to financial institutions and intermediaries such as banks, savings and loan associations and insurance companies including, without limit, investment counselors, broker-dealers and the Distributor’s affiliates and subsidiaries (collectively, “Agents”) as compensation for services and reimbursement of expenses incurred in connection with distribution assistance. The Plan is characterized as a compensation plan since the distribution fee will be paid to the Distributor without regard to the distribution expenses incurred by the Distributor or the amount of payments made to other financial institutions and intermediaries. The Trust intends to operate the Plan in accordance with its terms and with FINRA’s rules concerning sales charges.
Under the Plan, subject to the limitations of applicable law and regulations, the Fund is authorized to compensate the Distributor up to the maximum amount to finance any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Creation Units of the Fund or for providing or arranging for others to provide shareholder services and for the maintenance of shareholder accounts. Such activities may include, but are not limited to: (i) delivering copies of the Fund’s then current reports, prospectuses, notices, and similar materials, to prospective purchasers of Creation Units; (ii) marketing and promotional services, including advertising; (iii) paying the costs of and compensating others, including Authorized Participants with whom the Distributor has entered into written Authorized Participant Agreements, for performing shareholder servicing on behalf of the Fund; (iv) compensating certain Authorized Participants for providing assistance in distributing the Creation Units of the Fund, including the travel and communication expenses and salaries and/or commissions of sales personnel in connection with the distribution of the Creation Units of the Fund; (v) payments to financial institutions and intermediaries such as banks, savings and loan associations, insurance companies and investment counselors, broker-dealers, mutual fund supermarkets and the affiliates and subsidiaries of the Trust’s service providers as compensation for services or reimbursement of expenses incurred in connection with distribution assistance; (vi) facilitating communications with beneficial owners of Shares, including the cost of providing (or paying others to provide) services to beneficial owners of Shares, including, but not limited to, assistance in answering inquiries related to Shareholder accounts; and (vii) such other services and obligations as are set forth in the Distribution Agreement.
ADMINISTRATOR, INDEX RECEIPT AGENT, AND TRANSFER AGENT
U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, doing business as U.S. Bank Global Fund Services (“Fund Services” or the “Transfer Agent”), located at 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202, serves as the Fund’s transfer agent, index receipt agent (as applicable), and administrator.
Pursuant to a Fund Servicing Agreement between the Trust and Fund Services, Fund Services provides the Trust with administrative and management services (other than investment advisory services) and accounting services, including portfolio accounting services, tax accounting services, and furnishing financial reports. In this capacity, Fund Services does not have any responsibility or authority for the management of the Fund, the determination of investment policy, or for any matter pertaining to the distribution of Shares. As compensation for the administration, accounting and management services, the Adviser pays Fund Services a fee based on the Fund’s average daily net assets, subject to a minimum annual fee. Fund Services also is entitled to certain out-of-pocket expenses for the services mentioned above, including pricing expenses.
The Fund is new and the Adviser has not paid Fund Services any fees for administrative services to the Fund as of the date of this SAI.
CUSTODIAN
Pursuant to a custody agreement between the Trust and U.S. Bank National Association (“U.S. Bank” or the “Custodian”) (the “Custody Agreement”), U.S. Bank, located at 1555 North Rivercenter Drive, Suite 302, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212, serves as the custodian of the Fund’s assets. The Custodian holds and administers the assets in the Fund’s portfolio. Pursuant to the Custody Agreement, U.S. Bank receives an annual fee from the Adviser based on the Trust’s total average daily net assets, subject to a minimum annual fee, and certain settlement charges. The Custodian is also entitled to certain out-of-pocket expenses.
LEGAL COUNSEL
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, located at 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004-2541, serves as legal counsel for the Trust.
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
Cohen & Company, Ltd., located at 1835 Market Street, Suite 310, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, serves as the independent registered public accounting firm for the Fund.
PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS DISCLOSURE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
The Board has adopted a policy regarding the disclosure of information about the Fund’s security holdings. The Fund’s entire portfolio holdings are publicly disseminated each day the Fund is open for business and may be available through financial reporting and news services, including publicly available internet web sites. In addition, the composition of the Deposit Securities is publicly disseminated daily prior to the opening of the Exchange via the facilities of the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”).
DESCRIPTION OF SHARES
The Declaration of Trust authorizes the issuance of an unlimited number of funds and shares. Each share represents an equal proportionate interest in the Fund with each other share. Shares are entitled upon liquidation to a pro rata share in the net assets of the Fund. Shareholders have no preemptive rights. The Declaration of Trust provides that the Trustees may create additional series or classes of shares. All consideration received by the Trust for shares of any additional funds and all assets in which such consideration is invested would belong to that fund and would be subject to the liabilities related thereto. Share certificates representing Shares will not be issued. Shares, when issued, are fully paid and non-assessable.
Each Share has one vote with respect to matters upon which a shareholder vote is required, consistent with the requirements of the 1940 Act and the rules promulgated thereunder. Shares of all funds in the Trust vote together as a single class, except that if the matter being voted on affects only a particular fund it will be voted on only by that fund and if a matter affects a particular fund differently from other funds, that fund will vote separately on such matter. As a Delaware statutory trust, the Trust is not required, and does not intend, to hold annual meetings of shareholders. Approval of shareholders will be sought, however, for certain changes in the operation of the Trust and for the election of Trustees under certain circumstances. Upon the written request of shareholders owning at least 10% of the Trust’s shares, the Trust will call for a meeting of shareholders to consider the removal of one or more Trustees and other certain matters. In the event that such a meeting is requested, the Trust will provide appropriate assistance and information to the shareholders requesting the meeting.
Under the Declaration of Trust, the Trustees have the power to liquidate the Fund without shareholder approval. While the Trustees have no present intention of exercising this power, they may do so if the Fund fails to reach a viable size within a reasonable amount of time or for such other reasons as may be determined by the Board.
LIMITATION OF TRUSTEES’ LIABILITY
The Declaration of Trust provides that a Trustee shall be liable only for his or her own willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of the office of Trustee and shall not be liable for errors of judgment or
mistakes of fact or law. The Trustees shall not be responsible or liable in any event for any neglect or wrongdoing of any officer, agent, employee, adviser or principal underwriter of the Trust, nor shall any Trustee be responsible for the act or omission of any other Trustee. The Declaration of Trust also provides that the Trust shall indemnify each person who is, or has been, a Trustee, officer, employee or agent of the Trust, any person who is serving or has served at the Trust’s request as a Trustee, officer, trustee, employee or agent of another organization in which the Trust has any interest as a shareholder, creditor or otherwise to the extent and in the manner provided in the Amended and Restated By-laws. However, nothing in the Declaration of Trust shall protect or indemnify a Trustee against any liability for his or her willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of the office of Trustee. Nothing contained in this section attempts to disclaim a Trustee’s individual liability in any manner inconsistent with the federal securities laws.
BROKERAGE TRANSACTIONS
The policy of the Trust regarding purchases and sales of securities for the Fund is that primary consideration will be given to obtaining the most favorable prices and efficient executions of transactions. Consistent with this policy, when securities transactions are effected on a stock exchange, the Trust’s policy is to pay commissions which are considered fair and reasonable without necessarily determining that the lowest possible commissions are paid in all circumstances. The Trust believes that a requirement always to seek the lowest possible commission cost could impede effective portfolio management and preclude the Fund from obtaining a high quality of brokerage and research services. In seeking to determine the reasonableness of brokerage commissions paid in any transaction, the Adviser will rely on its experience and knowledge regarding commissions generally charged by various brokers and on its judgment in evaluating the brokerage services received from the broker effecting the transaction. Such determinations are necessarily subjective and imprecise, as in most cases, an exact dollar value for those services is not ascertainable. The Trust has adopted policies and procedures that prohibit the consideration of sales of Shares as a factor in the selection of a broker or dealer to execute its portfolio transactions.
The Adviser owes a fiduciary duty to its clients to seek to provide best execution on trades effected. In selecting a broker/dealer for each specific transaction, the Adviser chooses the broker/dealer deemed most capable of providing the services necessary to obtain the most favorable execution. “Best execution” is generally understood to mean the most favorable cost or net proceeds reasonably obtainable under the circumstances. The full range of brokerage services applicable to a particular transaction may be considered when making this judgment, which may include, but is not limited to: liquidity, price, commission, timing, aggregated trades, capable floor brokers or traders, competent block trading coverage, ability to position, capital strength and stability, reliable and accurate communications and settlement processing, use of automation, knowledge of other buyers or sellers, arbitrage skills, administrative ability, underwriting and provision of information on a particular security or market in which the transaction is to occur. The specific criteria will vary depending upon the nature of the transaction, the market in which it is executed, and the extent to which it is possible to select from among multiple broker/dealers. The Adviser also will use electronic crossing networks (“ECNs”) when appropriate.
Subject to the foregoing policies, brokers or dealers selected to execute the Fund’s portfolio transactions may include the Fund’s Authorized Participants (as discussed in “Procedures for Purchase of Creation Units” below) or their affiliates. An Authorized Participant or its affiliates may be selected to execute the Fund’s portfolio transactions in conjunction with an all-cash creation unit order or an order including “cash-in-lieu” (as described below under “Purchase and Redemption of Shares in Creation Units”), so long as such selection is in keeping with the foregoing policies. As described below under “Purchase and Redemption of Shares in Creation Units — Creation Transaction Fee” and “— Redemption Transaction Fee”, the Fund may determine to not charge a variable fee on certain orders when the Adviser has determined that doing so is in the best interests of Fund shareholders, e.g., for creation orders that facilitate the rebalance of the Fund’s portfolio in a more tax efficient manner than could be achieved without such order, even if the decision to not charge a variable fee could be viewed as benefiting the Authorized Participant or its affiliate selected to execute the Fund’s portfolio transactions in connection with such orders.
The Adviser may use the Fund’s assets for, or participate in, third-party soft dollar arrangements, in addition to receiving proprietary research from various full-service brokers, the cost of which is bundled with the cost of the broker’s execution services. The Adviser does not “pay up” for the value of any such proprietary research. Section 28(e) of the Exchange Act permits the Adviser, under certain circumstances, to cause the Fund to pay a broker or dealer a commission for effecting a transaction in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting the transaction in recognition of the value of brokerage and research services provided by the broker or dealer. The Adviser may receive a variety of research services and information on many topics, which it can use in connection with its management responsibilities with respect to the various accounts over which it exercises investment discretion or otherwise provides investment advice. The research services may include qualifying order management systems, portfolio attribution and monitoring services and computer software and access charges which are directly related to investment research. Accordingly, the Fund may pay a broker commission higher than the lowest available in recognition of the broker’s provision of such services to the Adviser, but only if the Adviser determines the total commission (including the soft dollar benefit) is comparable to the best commission rate that could be expected to be received from other brokers. The amount of soft dollar benefits received depends on the amount of brokerage transactions effected with the brokers. A conflict of interest exists because there is an incentive to: 1) cause clients to pay a higher commission than the firm might otherwise be able to negotiate; 2) cause clients to engage in more securities transactions than would otherwise be optimal; and 3) only recommend brokers that provide soft dollar benefits.
The Adviser faces a potential conflict of interest when it uses client trades to obtain brokerage or research services. This conflict exists because the Adviser can use the brokerage or research services to manage client accounts without paying cash for such services, which reduces the Adviser’s expenses to the extent that the Adviser would have purchased such products had they not been provided by brokers. Section 28(e) permits the Adviser to use brokerage or research services for the benefit of any account it manages. Certain accounts managed by the Adviser may generate soft dollars used to purchase brokerage or research services that ultimately benefit other accounts managed by the Adviser, effectively cross subsidizing the other accounts managed by the Adviser that benefit directly from the product. The Adviser may not necessarily use all of the brokerage or research services in connection with managing the Fund whose trades generated the soft dollars used to purchase such products.
The Adviser is responsible, subject to oversight by the Board, for placing orders on behalf of the Fund for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities. If purchases or sales of portfolio securities of the Fund and one or more other investment companies or clients supervised by the Adviser are considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities are allocated among the several investment companies and clients in a manner deemed equitable and consistent with its fiduciary obligations to all by the Adviser. In some cases, this procedure could have a detrimental effect on the price or volume of the security so far as the Fund is concerned. However, in other cases, it is possible that the ability to participate in volume transactions and to negotiate lower brokerage commissions will be beneficial to the Fund. The primary consideration is prompt execution of orders at the most favorable net price.
The Fund may deal with affiliates in principal transactions to the extent permitted by exemptive order or applicable rule or regulation.
The Fund is new and has not paid any brokerage commissions as of the date of this SAI.
Directed Brokerage. The Fund is new, and as of the date of this SAI, the Fund did not pay any commissions on brokerage transactions directed to brokers pursuant to an agreement or understanding whereby the broker provides research or other brokerage services to the Adviser.
Brokerage with Fund Affiliates. The Fund may execute brokerage or other agency transactions through registered broker-dealer affiliates of the Fund, the Adviser, or the Distributor for a commission in conformity with the 1940 Act, the Exchange Act and rules promulgated by the SEC. These rules require that commissions paid to the affiliate by the Fund for exchange transactions not exceed “usual and customary” brokerage commissions. The rules define “usual and customary” commissions to include amounts which are “reasonable and fair compared to the commission, fee or other remuneration received or to be received by other brokers in connection with comparable transactions involving similar securities being purchased or sold on a securities exchange during a comparable period of time.” The Trustees, including those who are not “interested persons” of the Fund, have adopted procedures for evaluating the reasonableness of commissions paid to affiliates and review these procedures periodically. The Fund is new and have not paid any brokerage commissions to any registered broker-dealer affiliates of the Fund, the Adviser, or the Distributor as of the date of this SAI.
Securities of “Regular Broker-Dealers.” The Fund is required to identify any securities of its “regular brokers or dealers” (as such term is defined in the 1940 Act) that it may hold at the close of its most recent fiscal year. “Regular brokers or dealers” of the Fund are the ten brokers or dealers that, during the most recent fiscal year: (i) received the greatest dollar amounts of brokerage commissions from the Fund’s portfolio transactions; (ii) engaged as principal in the largest dollar amounts of portfolio transactions of the Fund; or (iii) sold the largest dollar amounts of Shares. The Fund is new and, therefore, did not hold any securities of its “regular broker dealers” as of the date of this SAI.
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER RATE
Portfolio turnover may vary from year to year, as well as within a year. High turnover rates are likely to result in comparatively greater brokerage expenses. The overall reasonableness of brokerage commissions is evaluated by the Adviser based upon its knowledge of available information as to the general level of commissions paid by other institutional investors for comparable services.
BOOK ENTRY ONLY SYSTEM
The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) acts as securities depositary for Shares. Shares are represented by securities registered in the name of DTC or its nominee, Cede & Co., and deposited with, or on behalf of, DTC. Except in limited circumstances set forth below, certificates will not be issued for Shares.
DTC is a limited-purpose trust company that was created to hold securities of its participants (the “DTC Participants”) and to facilitate the clearance and settlement of securities transactions among the DTC Participants in such securities through electronic book-entry changes in accounts of the DTC Participants, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of securities certificates. DTC Participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and certain other organizations, some of whom (and/or their representatives) own DTC. More specifically, DTC is owned by a number of its DTC Participants and by the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) and FINRA. Access to the DTC system also is available to others such as banks, brokers, dealers, and trust companies that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a DTC Participant, either directly or indirectly (the “Indirect Participants”).
Beneficial ownership of Shares is limited to DTC Participants, Indirect Participants, and persons holding interests through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants. Ownership of beneficial interests in Shares (owners of such beneficial interests are referred to in this SAI as “Beneficial Owners”) is shown on, and the transfer of ownership is effected only through, records maintained by DTC
(with respect to DTC Participants) and on the records of DTC Participants (with respect to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners that are not DTC Participants). Beneficial Owners will receive from or through the DTC Participant a written confirmation relating to their purchase of Shares. The Trust recognizes DTC or its nominee as the record owner of all Shares for all purposes. Beneficial Owners of Shares are not entitled to have Shares registered in their names and will not receive or be entitled to physical delivery of Share certificates. Each Beneficial Owner must rely on the procedures of DTC and any DTC Participant and/or Indirect Participant through which such Beneficial Owner holds its interests, to exercise any rights of the holder of Shares.
Conveyance of all notices, statements, and other communications to Beneficial Owners is effected as described in the ensuing paragraphs. DTC will make available to the Trust upon request and for a fee a listing of Shares held by each DTC Participant. The Trust shall obtain from each such DTC Participant the number of Beneficial Owners holding Shares, directly or indirectly, through such DTC Participant. The Trust shall provide each such DTC Participant with copies of such notice, statement, or other communication, in such form, number and at such place as such DTC Participant may reasonably request, in order that such notice, statement or communication may be transmitted by such DTC Participant, directly or indirectly, to such Beneficial Owners. In addition, the Trust shall pay to each such DTC Participant a fair and reasonable amount as reimbursement for the expenses attendant to such transmittal, all subject to applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
Share distributions shall be made to DTC or its nominee, Cede & Co., as the registered holder of all Shares. DTC or its nominee, upon receipt of any such distributions, shall credit immediately DTC Participants’ accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in the Fund as shown on the records of DTC or its nominee. Payments by DTC Participants to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners of Shares held through such DTC Participants will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is now the case with securities held for the accounts of customers in bearer form or registered in a “street name,” and will be the responsibility of such DTC Participants.
The Trust has no responsibility or liability for any aspect of the records relating to or notices to Beneficial Owners, or payments made on account of beneficial ownership interests in Shares, or for maintaining, supervising, or reviewing any records relating to such beneficial ownership interests, or for any other aspect of the relationship between DTC and the DTC Participants or the relationship between such DTC Participants and the Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners owning through such DTC Participants.
DTC may determine to discontinue providing its service with respect to the Fund at any time by giving reasonable notice to the Fund and discharging its responsibilities with respect thereto under applicable law. Under such circumstances, the Fund shall take action either to find a replacement for DTC to perform its functions at a comparable cost or, if such replacement is unavailable, to issue and deliver printed certificates representing ownership of Shares, unless the Trust makes other arrangements with respect thereto satisfactory to the Exchange.
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION OF CREATION UNITS
The Fund issues and redeems its shares on a continuous basis, at NAV, only in a large, specified number of shares called a “Creation Unit,” either principally in-kind for securities or in cash for the value of such securities. The NAV of the Shares is determined once each Business Day, as described below under “Determination of Net Asset Value.” The Creation Unit size may change. Authorized Participants will be notified of such change.
Purchase (Creation). The Trust issues and sells Shares only in Creation Units on a continuous basis through the Distributor, without a sales load (but subject to transaction fees, if applicable), at the NAV per share next determined after receipt, on any Business Day, of an order in proper form. The NAV of Shares is calculated each Business Day as of the scheduled close of regular trading on the NYSE, generally 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time. The Fund will not issue fractional Creation Units. A “Business Day” is any day on which the NYSE is open for business. As of the date of this SAI, the NYSE observes the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, President’s Day (Washington’s Birthday), Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
Fund Deposit. The Fund has adopted policies and procedures governing the process of constructing baskets of Deposit Securities (defined below), Fund Securities (defined below) and/or cash, and acceptance of the same (the “Basket Procedures”). The consideration for purchase of a Creation Unit of the Fund generally consists of either: (i) the in-kind deposit of a designated portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) per each Creation Unit, constituting a substantial replication, or a portfolio sampling representation, of the securities included in the Fund’s portfolio and the Cash Component (defined below), computed as described below, or (ii) the cash value of the Deposit Securities (“Deposit Cash”) and the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security. When accepting purchases of Creation Units for cash, the Fund may incur additional costs associated with the acquisition of Deposit Securities that would otherwise be provided by an in-kind purchaser. These additional costs may be recoverable from the purchaser of Creation Units.
Together, the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, and the Cash Component constitute the “Fund Deposit,” which represents the minimum initial and subsequent investment amount for a Creation Unit of the Fund. The “Cash Component” is an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of Shares (per Creation Unit) and the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable. If the Cash Component is a positive number (i.e., the NAV per Creation Unit exceeds the value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable), the Cash Component shall be such positive amount. If the Cash Component is a
negative number (i.e., the NAV per Creation Unit is less than the value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable), the Cash Component shall be such negative amount and the creator will be entitled to receive cash in an amount equal to the Cash Component. The Cash Component serves the function of compensating for any differences between the NAV per Creation Unit and the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable. Computation of the Cash Component excludes any stamp duty or other similar fees and expenses payable upon transfer of beneficial ownership of the Deposit Securities, if applicable, which shall be the sole responsibility of the Authorized Participant (as defined below).
The Fund, through NSCC, makes available on each Business Day, prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently, 9:30 a.m., Eastern Time), the list of the names and the required number of Shares of each Deposit Security or the required amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, to be included in the current Fund Deposit (based on information at the end of the previous Business Day) for the Fund. Such Fund Deposit is subject to any applicable adjustments as described below, to effect purchases of Creation Units of the Fund until such time as the next-announced composition of the Deposit Securities or the required amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, is made available.
The identity and number of Shares of the Deposit Securities or the amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, required for a Fund Deposit for the Fund may be changed from time to time by the Adviser, in accordance with the Basket Procedures, with a view to the investment objective of the Fund. Information regarding the Fund Deposit necessary for the purchase of a Creation Unit is made available to Authorized Participants and other market participants seeking to transact in Creation Unit aggregations. The composition of the Deposit Securities also may change in response to portfolio adjustments, interest payments and corporate action events.
The Trust reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of Deposit Cash to replace any Deposit Security, which shall be added to the Cash Component, including, without limitation, in situations where the Deposit Security: (i) may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery; (ii) may not be eligible for transfer through the systems of DTC for corporate securities and municipal securities; (iii) may not be eligible for trading by an Authorized Participant or the investor for which it is acting; (iv) would be restricted under the securities laws or where the delivery of the Deposit Security to the Authorized Participant would result in the disposition of the Deposit Security by the Authorized Participant becoming restricted under the securities laws; or (v) in certain other situations (collectively, “custom orders”). The Trust also reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of Deposit Securities in lieu of Deposit Cash.
Cash Purchase. The Trust may at its discretion permit full or partial cash purchases of Creation Units of the Fund. When full or partial cash purchases of Creation Units are available or specified for the Fund, they will be effected in essentially the same manner as in-kind purchases thereof. In the case of a full or partial cash purchase, the Authorized Participant must pay the cash equivalent of the Deposit Securities it would otherwise be required to provide through an in-kind purchase, plus the same Cash Component required to be paid by an in-kind purchaser together with a creation transaction fee and non-standard charges, as may be applicable.
Procedures for Purchase of Creation Units. To be eligible to place orders with the Distributor to purchase a Creation Unit of the Fund, an entity must be (i) a “Participating Party” (i.e., a broker-dealer or other participant in the clearing process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC (the “Clearing Process”)), a clearing agency that is registered with the SEC; or (ii) a DTC Participant (see “Book Entry Only System”). In addition, each Participating Party or DTC Participant (each, an “Authorized Participant”) must execute a Participant Agreement that has been agreed to by the Distributor, and that has been accepted by the Transfer Agent, with respect to purchases and redemptions of Creation Units. Each Authorized Participant will agree, pursuant to the terms of a Participant Agreement, on behalf of itself or any investor on whose behalf it will act, to certain conditions, including that it will pay to the Trust, an amount of cash sufficient to pay the Cash Component together with the creation transaction fee (described below), if applicable, and any other applicable fees and taxes.
All orders to purchase Shares directly from the Fund, including custom orders, must be placed for one or more Creation Units and in the manner and by the time set forth in the Participant Agreement and/or applicable order form. With respect to the Fund, the order cut-off time for orders to purchase Creation Units is 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Such time may be modified by the Fund from time-to-time by amendment to the Participant Agreement and/or applicable order form. The date on which an order to purchase Creation Units (or an order to redeem Creation Units, as set forth below) is received and accepted is referred to as the “Order Placement Date.”
An Authorized Participant may require an investor to make certain representations or enter into agreements with respect to the order (e.g., to provide for payments of cash, when required). Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not have executed a Participant Agreement and that, therefore, orders to purchase Shares directly from the Fund in Creation Units have to be placed by the investor’s broker through an Authorized Participant that has executed a Participant Agreement. In such cases there may be additional charges to such investor. At any given time, there may be only a limited number of broker-dealers that have executed a Participant Agreement and only a small number of such Authorized Participants may have international capabilities.
On days when the Exchange closes earlier than normal, the Fund may require orders to create Creation Units to be placed earlier in the day. In addition, if a market or markets on which the Fund’s investments are primarily traded is closed, the Fund also will generally not accept orders on such day(s). Orders must be transmitted by an Authorized Participant by telephone or other transmission method acceptable to the Transfer Agent pursuant to procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement and in accordance with the applicable order form. On behalf of the Fund, the Transfer Agent will notify the Custodian of such order. The Custodian will then provide such information to the appropriate local sub-custodian(s). Those placing orders through an Authorized Participant should allow sufficient
time to permit proper submission of the purchase order to the Transfer Agent by the cut-off time on such Business Day. Economic or market disruptions or changes, or telephone or other communication failure may impede the ability to reach the Transfer Agent or an Authorized Participant.
Fund Deposits must be delivered by an Authorized Participant through the Federal Reserve System (for cash) or through DTC (for corporate securities), through a subcustody agent (for foreign securities) and/or through such other arrangements allowed by the Trust or its agents. With respect to foreign Deposit Securities, the Custodian shall cause the subcustodian of the Fund to maintain an account into which the Authorized Participant shall deliver, on behalf of itself or the party on whose behalf it is acting, such Deposit Securities (or Deposit Cash for all or a part of such securities, as permitted or required), with any appropriate adjustments as advised by the Trust. Foreign Deposit Securities must be delivered to an account maintained at the applicable local subcustodian. A Fund Deposit transfer must be ordered by the Authorized Participant in a timely fashion to ensure the delivery of the requisite number of Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, to the account of the Fund or its agents by no later than 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (or such other time as specified by the Trust) on the Settlement Date. If the Fund or its agents do not receive all of the Deposit Securities, or the required Deposit Cash in lieu thereof, by such time, then the order may be deemed rejected and the Authorized Participant shall be liable to the Fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. The “Settlement Date” for the Fund is generally the next Business Day after the Order Placement Date. All questions as to the number of Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash to be delivered, as applicable, and the validity, form and eligibility (including time of receipt) for the deposit of any tendered securities or cash, as applicable, will be determined by the Trust, whose determination shall be final and binding. The amount of cash represented by the Cash Component must be transferred directly to the Custodian through the Federal Reserve Bank wire transfer system in a timely manner to be received by the Custodian no later than the Settlement Date. If the Cash Component and the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, are not received by the Custodian in a timely manner by the Settlement Date, the creation order may be cancelled. Upon written notice to the Transfer Agent, such canceled order may be resubmitted the following Business Day using a Fund Deposit as newly constituted to reflect the then current NAV of the Fund.
The order shall be deemed to be received on the Business Day on which the order is placed provided that the order is placed in proper form prior to the applicable cut-off time and the federal funds in the appropriate amount are deposited with the Custodian on the Settlement Date. If the order is not placed in proper form as required, or federal funds in the appropriate amount are not received on the Settlement Date, then the order may be deemed to be rejected and the Authorized Participant shall be liable to the Fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. A creation request is in “proper form” if all procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement, order form and this SAI are properly followed.
Issuance of a Creation Unit. Except as provided in this SAI, Creation Units will not be issued until the transfer of good title to the Trust of the Deposit Securities or payment of Deposit Cash, as applicable, and the payment of the Cash Component have been completed. When the subcustodian has confirmed to the Custodian that the required Deposit Securities (or the cash value thereof) have been delivered to the account of the relevant subcustodian or subcustodians, the Distributor and the Adviser shall be notified of such delivery, and the Trust will issue and cause the delivery of the Creation Units. The delivery of Creation Units so created generally will occur no later than the first Business Day following the day on which the purchase order is deemed received by the Transfer Agent. The Authorized Participant shall be liable to the Fund for losses, if any, resulting from unsettled orders.
In instances where the Trust accepts Deposit Securities for the purchase of a Creation Unit, the Creation Units may be purchased in advance of receipt by the Trust of all or a portion of the applicable Deposit Securities as described below. In these circumstances, the initial deposit will have a value greater than the NAV of Shares on the date the order is placed in proper form since, in addition to available Deposit Securities, cash must be deposited in an amount equal to the sum of (i) the Cash Component, plus (ii) an additional amount of cash equal to a percentage of the value as set forth in the Participant Agreement, of the undelivered Deposit Securities (the “Additional Cash Deposit”), which shall be maintained in a separate non-interest bearing collateral account. The Authorized Participant must deposit with the Custodian the Additional Cash Deposit, as applicable, by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (or such other time as specified by the Trust) on the Settlement Date. If the Fund or its agents do not receive the Additional Cash Deposit in the appropriate amount, by such time, then the order may be deemed rejected and the Authorized Participant shall be liable to the Fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. An additional amount of cash shall be required to be deposited with the Trust, pending delivery of the missing Deposit Securities to the extent necessary to maintain the Additional Cash Deposit with the Trust in an amount at least equal to the applicable percentage, as set forth in the Participant Agreement, of the daily market value of the missing Deposit Securities. The Participant Agreement will permit the Trust to buy the missing Deposit Securities at any time. Authorized Participants will be liable to the Trust for the costs incurred by the Trust in connection with any such purchases. These costs will be deemed to include the amount by which the actual purchase price of the Deposit Securities exceeds the value of such Deposit Securities on the day the purchase order was deemed received by the Transfer Agent plus the brokerage and related transaction costs associated with such purchases. The Trust will return any unused portion of the Additional Cash Deposit once all of the missing Deposit Securities have been properly received by the Custodian or purchased by the Trust and deposited into the Trust. In addition, a transaction fee, as described below under “Creation Transaction Fee,” may be charged and an additional variable charge also may be applied, as described below. The delivery of Creation Units so created generally will occur no later than the Settlement Date.
Acceptance of Orders of Creation Units. Provided that such action does not result in a suspension of sales of Creation Units in contravention of Rule 6c-11 under the 1940 Act and the SEC’s positions thereunder, the Trust reserves the right to reject an order for
Creation Units transmitted in respect of the Fund at its discretion, including, without limitation, if (a) the order is not in proper form or the Fund Deposit delivered does not consist of the securities the Custodian specified; (b) the investor(s), upon obtaining the Shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding Shares of the Fund; (c) the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, delivered by the Authorized Participant are not as disseminated through the facilities of the NSCC for that date by the Custodian; (d) the acceptance of the Fund Deposit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; (e) the acceptance or receipt of the order for a Creation Unit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; or (f) in the event that circumstances outside the control of the Trust, the Custodian, the Transfer Agent, the Distributor and/or the Adviser make it for all practical purposes not feasible to process orders for Creation Units. Examples of such circumstances include acts of God or public service or utility problems such as fires, floods, extreme weather conditions and power outages resulting in telephone, telecopy and computer failures; market conditions or activities causing trading halts; systems failures involving computer or other information systems affecting the Trust, the Distributor, the Custodian, the Transfer Agent, DTC, NSCC, Federal Reserve System, or any other participant in the creation process, and other extraordinary events. The Trust or its agents shall communicate to the Authorized Participant its rejection of an order. The Trust, the Transfer Agent, the Custodian and the Distributor are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of Fund Deposits nor shall either of them incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification. The Trust, the Transfer Agent, the Custodian and the Distributor shall not be liable for the rejection of any purchase order for Creation Units. Given the importance of the ongoing issuance of Creation Units to maintaining a market price that is at or close to the underlying NAV of the Fund, the Trust does not intend to suspend the acceptance of orders for Creation Units, unless it believes doing so would be in the best interests of the Fund.
All questions as to the number of shares of each security in the Deposit Securities and the validity form, eligibility and acceptance for deposit of any securities to be delivered shall be determined by the Trust, and the Trust’s determination shall be final and binding.
Creation Unit Transaction Fee. A fixed purchase (i.e., creation) transaction fee, payable to the Fund’s custodian, may be imposed for the transfer and other transaction costs associated with the purchase of Creation Units (“Creation Order Costs”). The standard fixed creation unit transaction fee for the Fund, regardless of the number of Creation Units created in the transaction, is $300. The Fund may adjust the standard fixed creation unit transaction fee from time to time. The fixed creation unit transaction fee may be waived on certain orders if the Fund’s custodian has determined to waive some or all of the Creation Order Costs associated with the order or another party, such as the Adviser, has agreed to pay such fee.
In addition, a variable fee, payable to the Fund, of up to a maximum of 2% of the value of the Creation Units subject to the transaction may be imposed for cash purchases, non-standard orders, or partial cash purchases of Creation Units. The variable charge is primarily designed to cover additional costs (e.g., brokerage, taxes) involved with buying the securities with cash. The Fund may determine to not charge a variable fee on certain orders when the Adviser has determined that doing so is in the best interests of Fund shareholders, e.g., for creation orders that facilitate the rebalance of the Fund’s portfolio in a more tax efficient manner than could be achieved without such order. Currently there is no variable fee charged by the Fund.
Investors who use the services of a broker or other such intermediary may be charged a fee for such services. Investors are responsible for the fixed costs of transferring the Fund Securities from the Trust to their account or on their order.
Risks of Purchasing Creation Units. There are certain legal risks unique to investors purchasing Creation Units directly from the Fund. Because Shares may be issued on an ongoing basis, a “distribution” of Shares could be occurring at any time. Certain activities that a shareholder performs as a dealer could, depending on the circumstances, result in the shareholder being deemed a participant in the distribution in a manner that could render the shareholder a statutory underwriter and subject to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the Securities Act. For example, a shareholder could be deemed a statutory underwriter if it purchases Creation Units from the Fund, breaks them down into the constituent Shares, and sells those Shares directly to customers, or if a shareholder chooses to couple the creation of a supply of new Shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary-market demand for Shares. Whether a person is an underwriter depends upon all of the facts and circumstances pertaining to that person’s activities, and the examples mentioned here should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could cause you to be deemed an underwriter.
Dealers who are not “underwriters” but are participating in a distribution (as opposed to engaging in ordinary secondary-market transactions), and thus dealing with Shares as part of an “unsold allotment” within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the Securities Act, will be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act.
Redemption. Shares may be redeemed only in Creation Units at their NAV next determined after receipt of a redemption request in proper form by the Fund through the Transfer Agent and only on a Business Day. EXCEPT UPON LIQUIDATION OF THE FUND, THE TRUST WILL NOT REDEEM SHARES IN AMOUNTS LESS THAN CREATION UNITS. Investors must accumulate enough Shares in the secondary market to constitute a Creation Unit in order to have such Shares redeemed by the Trust. There can be no assurance, however, that there will be sufficient liquidity in the public trading market at any time to permit assembly of a Creation Unit. Investors should expect to incur brokerage and other costs in connection with assembling a sufficient number of Shares to constitute a redeemable Creation Unit.
With respect to the Fund, the Custodian, through the NSCC, makes available prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently, 9:30 a.m., Eastern Time) on each Business Day, the list of the names and Share quantities of the Fund’s portfolio securities
that will be applicable (subject to possible amendment or correction) to redemption requests received in proper form (as defined below) on that day (“Fund Securities”). Fund Securities received on redemption may not be identical to Deposit Securities.
Redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit are paid either in-kind or in cash, or a combination thereof, as determined by the Trust in accordance with the Basket Procedures. With respect to in-kind redemptions of the Fund, redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit will consist of Fund Securities—as announced by the Custodian on the Business Day of the request for redemption received in proper form plus cash in an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of Shares being redeemed, as next determined after a receipt of a request in proper form, and the value of the Fund Securities (the “Cash Redemption Amount”), less a fixed redemption transaction fee, as applicable, and additional variable charge as set forth below. In the event that the Fund Securities have a value greater than the NAV of Shares, a compensating cash payment equal to the differential is required to be made by or through an Authorized Participant by the redeeming shareholder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, at the Trust’s discretion, an Authorized Participant may receive the corresponding cash value of the securities in lieu of the in-kind securities value representing one or more Fund Securities.
Cash Redemption. Full or partial cash redemptions of Creation Units will be effected in essentially the same manner as in-kind redemptions thereof. In the case of full or partial cash redemptions, the Authorized Participant receives the cash equivalent of the Fund Securities it would otherwise receive through an in-kind redemption, plus the same Cash Redemption Amount to be paid to an in-kind redeemer.
Redemption Transaction Fee. A fixed redemption transaction fee, payable to the Fund’s custodian, may be imposed for the transfer and other transaction costs associated with the redemption of Creation Units (“Redemption Order Costs”). The standard fixed redemption transaction fee for the Fund, regardless of the number of Creation Units redeemed in the transaction, is $300. The Fund may adjust the redemption transaction fee from time to time. The fixed redemption fee may be waived on certain orders if the Fund’s custodian has determined to waive some or all of the Redemption Order Costs associated with the order or another party, such as the Adviser, has agreed to pay such fee.
In addition, a variable fee, payable to the Fund, of up to a maximum of 2% of the value of the Creation Units subject to the transaction may be imposed for cash redemptions, non-standard orders, or partial cash redemptions (when cash redemptions are available) of Creation Units. The variable charge is primarily designed to cover additional costs (e.g., brokerage, taxes) involved with selling portfolio securities to satisfy a cash redemption. The Fund may determine to not charge a variable fee on certain orders when the Adviser has determined that doing so is in the best interests of Fund shareholders, e.g., for redemption orders that facilitate changes to the Fund’s portfolio in a more tax efficient manner than could be achieved without such order. Currently there is no variable fee charged by the Fund.
Investors who use the services of a broker or other such intermediary may be charged a fee for such services. Investors are responsible for the fixed costs of transferring the Fund Securities from the Trust to their account or on their order.
PROCEDURES FOR REDEMPTION OF CREATION UNITS
Procedures for Redemption of Creation Units. Orders to redeem Creation Units of the Fund must be submitted in proper form to the Transfer Agent prior to 10:30 a.m. Eastern time. A redemption request is considered to be in “proper form” if (i) an Authorized Participant has transferred or caused to be transferred to the Trust’s Transfer Agent the Creation Unit(s) being redeemed through the book-entry system of DTC so as to be effective by the time as set forth in the Participant Agreement and (ii) a request in form satisfactory to the Trust is received by the Transfer Agent from the Authorized Participant on behalf of itself or another redeeming investor within the time periods specified in the Participant Agreement. If the Transfer Agent does not receive the investor’s Shares through DTC’s facilities by the times and pursuant to the other terms and conditions set forth in the Participant Agreement, the redemption request shall be rejected.
The Authorized Participant must transmit the request for redemption, in the form required by the Trust, to the Transfer Agent in accordance with procedures set forth in the Authorized Participant Agreement. Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not have executed an Authorized Participant Agreement, and that, therefore, requests to redeem Creation Units may have to be placed by the investor’s broker through an Authorized Participant who has executed an Authorized Participant Agreement. Investors making a redemption request should be aware that such request must be in the form specified by such Authorized Participant. Investors making a request to redeem Creation Units should allow sufficient time to permit proper submission of the request by an Authorized Participant and transfer of the Shares to the Transfer Agent; such investors should allow for the additional time that may be required to effect redemptions through their banks, brokers or other financial intermediaries if such intermediaries are not Authorized Participants.
Additional Redemption Procedures. In connection with taking delivery of Shares of Fund Securities upon redemption of Creation Units, a redeeming shareholder or Authorized Participant acting on behalf of such shareholder must maintain appropriate custody arrangements with a qualified broker-dealer, bank, or other custody providers in each jurisdiction in which any of the Fund Securities are customarily traded, to which account the Fund Securities will be delivered. Deliveries of redemption proceeds generally will be made within one business day of the trade date.
The Trust may, in its discretion and in accordance with the Basket Procedures, exercise its option to redeem such Shares in cash, and the redeeming investor will be required to receive its redemption proceeds in cash. In addition, an investor may request a redemption
in cash that the Fund may, in its sole discretion, permit. In either case, the investor will receive a cash payment equal to the NAV of its Shares based on the NAV of Shares of the Fund next determined after the redemption request is received in proper form (minus a redemption transaction fee, if applicable, and additional charge for requested cash redemptions specified above, to offset the Trust’s brokerage and other transaction costs associated with the disposition of Fund Securities). The Fund also may, in its sole discretion, and in accordance with the Basket Procedures, upon request of a shareholder, provide such redeemer a portfolio of securities that differs from the exact composition of the Fund Securities but does not differ in NAV.
Redemptions of Shares for Fund Securities will be subject to compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws and the Fund (whether or not it otherwise permits cash redemptions) reserves the right to redeem Creation Units for cash to the extent that the Trust could not lawfully deliver specific Fund Securities upon redemptions or could not do so without first registering the Fund Securities under such laws. An Authorized Participant or an investor for which it is acting subject to a legal restriction with respect to a particular security included in the Fund Securities applicable to the redemption of Creation Units may be paid an equivalent amount of cash. The Authorized Participant may request the redeeming investor of the Shares to complete an order form or to enter into agreements with respect to such matters as compensating cash payment. Further, an Authorized Participant that is not a “qualified institutional buyer,” (“QIB”) as such term is defined under Rule 144A of the Securities Act, will not be able to receive Fund Securities that are restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A. An Authorized Participant may be required by the Trust to provide a written confirmation with respect to QIB status to receive Fund Securities.
Because the portfolio securities of the Fund may trade on other exchanges on days that the Exchange is closed or are otherwise not Business Days for the Fund, shareholders may not be able to redeem their Shares, or to purchase or sell Shares on the Exchange, on days when the NAV of the Fund could be significantly affecting by events in the relevant foreign markets.
The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed with respect to the Fund (1) for any period during which the Exchange is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings); (2) for any period during which trading on the Exchange is suspended or restricted; (3) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which disposal of the Shares of the Fund or determination of the NAV of the Shares is not reasonably practicable; or (4) in such other circumstance as is permitted by the SEC.
DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE
NAV per Share for the Fund is computed by dividing the value of the net assets of the Fund (i.e., the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by the total number of Shares outstanding, rounded to the nearest cent. Expenses and fees, including the management fees, are accrued daily and taken into account for purposes of determining NAV. The NAV of the Fund is calculated by Fund Services and determined at the scheduled close of the regular trading session on the NYSE (ordinarily 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time) on each day that the NYSE is open, provided that fixed-income assets may be valued as of the announced closing time for trading in fixed-income instruments on any day that the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (“SIFMA”) announces an early closing time.
In calculating the Fund’s NAV per Share, the Fund’s investments are generally valued using market quotations to the extent such market quotations are readily available. If market quotations are not readily available or, are deemed to be unreliable by the Adviser, the Fund will value such investments at fair value, as determined by the Adviser, for purposes of calculating the Fund’s NAV. Pursuant to Rule 2a-5 under the 1940 Act, the Board has designated the Adviser to perform the fair value determinations for the Fund’s portfolio holdings subject to the Board’s oversight. The Adviser has established procedures for its fair valuation of the Fund’s portfolio investments. These procedures address, among other things, determining when market quotations are not readily available or reliable and the methodologies to be used for determining the fair value of investments, as well as the use and oversight of third-party pricing services for fair valuation. The Adviser’s fair value determinations will be carried out in compliance with Rule 2a-5 and based on fair value methodologies established and applied by the Adviser and periodically tested to ensure such methodologies are appropriate and accurate with respect to the Fund’s portfolio investments. The Adviser’s fair value methodologies may involve obtaining inputs and prices from third-party pricing services.
When fair value pricing is employed, the prices of securities used by the Fund to calculate its NAV may differ from quoted or published prices for the same securities. Due to the subjective and variable nature of fair value pricing, it is possible that the fair value determined for a particular security may be materially different (higher or lower) from the price of the security quoted or published by others, or the value when trading resumes or is realized upon its sale. There may be multiple methods that can be used to value a portfolio investment when market quotations are not readily available. The value established for any portfolio investment at a point in time might differ from what would be produced using a different methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations.
DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS
The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Dividends, Distributions and Taxes.”
General Policies. Dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid at least annually by the Fund. Distributions of net realized securities gains, if any, generally are declared and paid once a year, but the Fund may make distributions on a more frequent basis to comply with the distribution requirements of the Code, in all events in a manner consistent with the provisions of the 1940 Act.
Dividends and other distributions on Shares are distributed, as described below, on a pro rata basis to Beneficial Owners of such Shares. Dividend payments are made through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants to Beneficial Owners then of record with proceeds received from the Trust.
The Fund makes additional distributions to the extent necessary (i) to distribute the entire annual taxable income of the Fund, plus any net capital gains and (ii) to avoid imposition of the excise tax imposed by Section 4982 of the Code. Management of the Trust reserves the right to declare special dividends if, in its reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve the Fund’s eligibility for treatment as a RIC or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income.
Dividend Reinvestment Service. The Trust will not make the DTC book-entry dividend reinvestment service available for use by Beneficial Owners for reinvestment of their cash proceeds, but certain individual broker-dealers may make available the DTC book-entry Dividend Reinvestment Service for use by Beneficial Owners of the Fund through DTC Participants for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. Investors should contact their brokers to ascertain the availability and description of these services. Beneficial Owners should be aware that each broker may require investors to adhere to specific procedures and timetables to participate in the dividend reinvestment service and investors should ascertain from their brokers such necessary details. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole Shares issued by the Trust of the Fund at NAV per Share. Distributions reinvested in additional Shares will nevertheless be taxable to Beneficial Owners acquiring such additional Shares to the same extent as if such distributions had been received in cash.
FEDERAL INCOME TAXES
The following is only a summary of certain important U.S. federal income tax considerations generally affecting the Fund and its shareholders that supplements the discussion in the Prospectus. No attempt is made to present a comprehensive explanation of the federal, state, local or foreign tax treatment of the Fund or its shareholders, and the discussion here and in the Prospectus is not intended to be a substitute for careful tax planning. In particular, it does not address tax consequences to investors subject to special rules, such as investors who hold Shares through individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”), 401(k)s, or other tax-advantaged accounts.
The following general discussion of certain U.S. federal income tax consequences is based on provisions of the Code and the regulations issued thereunder as in effect on the date of this SAI. New legislation, as well as administrative changes or court decisions, may significantly change the conclusions expressed herein, and may have a retroactive effect with respect to the transactions contemplated herein.
Unless your investment in Shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-deferred retirement account, such as an IRA, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when the Fund makes distributions or you sell Shares.
Shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the application of the provisions of tax law described in this SAI in light of the particular tax situations of the shareholders and regarding specific questions as to federal, state, foreign or local taxes.
Taxation of the Fund. The Fund intends to qualify each year to be treated as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under Subchapter M of the Code. As such, the Fund should not be subject to federal income taxes on its net investment income and capital gains, if any, to the extent that it timely distributes such income and capital gains to its shareholders. To qualify for treatment as a RIC, the Fund must distribute annually to its shareholders at least the sum of 90% of its net investment income (generally including dividends, taxable interest, and the excess of net short-term capital gains over net long-term capital losses, less operating expenses) and at least 90% of its net tax-exempt interest income, if any (the “Distribution Requirement”) and must meet several additional requirements. Among these requirements are the following: (i) at least the sum of 90% of the Fund’s gross income each taxable year must be derived from dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or foreign currencies and net income derived from interests in qualified publicly traded partnerships (the “Qualifying Income Requirement”); and (ii) at the end of each quarter of the Fund’s taxable year, the Fund’s assets must be diversified so that (a) at least 50% of the value of the Fund’s total assets is represented by cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs, and other securities, with such other securities limited, in respect to any one issuer, to an amount not greater in value than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets and to not more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, including the equity securities of a qualified publicly traded partnership, and (b) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets is invested, including through corporations in which the Fund owns a 20% or more voting stock interest, in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or securities of other RICs) of any one issuer, the securities (other than securities of other RICs) of two or more issuers which the Fund controls and which are engaged in the same, similar, or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships (the “Diversification Requirement”).
To the extent the Fund makes investments that may generate income that is not qualifying income, including certain derivatives, the Fund will seek to restrict the resulting income from such investments so that the Fund’s non-qualifying income does not exceed 10% of its gross income.
Although the Fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and may distribute its capital gains for any taxable year, the Fund will be subject to federal income taxation to the extent any such income or gains are not distributed. The Fund is treated as a separate corporation for federal income tax purposes. The Fund therefore is considered a separate entity in determining
its treatment under the rules for RICs described herein. The requirements (other than certain organizational requirements) for qualifying RIC status are determined at the Fund level rather than at the Trust level.
If the Fund fails to satisfy the Qualifying Income Requirement or the Diversification Requirement in any taxable year, the Fund may be eligible for relief provisions if the failures are due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect and if a penalty tax is paid with respect to each failure to satisfy the applicable requirements. Additionally, relief is provided for certain de minimis failures of the Diversification Requirement where the Fund corrects the failure within a specified period of time. To be eligible for the relief provisions with respect to a failure to meet the Diversification Requirement, the Fund may be required to dispose of certain assets. If these relief provisions were not available to the Fund and it were to fail to qualify for treatment as a RIC for a taxable year, all of its taxable income would be subject to federal income tax at the regular 21% corporate rate without any deduction for distributions to shareholders, and its distributions (including capital gains distributions) generally would be taxable to the shareholders of the Fund as ordinary income dividends to the extent of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits, subject to the dividends received deduction for corporate shareholders and the lower tax rates on qualified dividend income received by non-corporate shareholders, subject to certain limitations. To requalify for treatment as a RIC in a subsequent taxable year, the Fund would be required to satisfy the RIC qualification requirements for that year and to distribute any earnings and profits from any year in which the Fund failed to qualify for tax treatment as a RIC. If the Fund failed to qualify as a RIC for a period greater than two taxable years, it would generally be required to pay a Fund-level tax on certain net built in gains recognized with respect to certain of its assets upon disposition of such assets within five years of qualifying as a RIC in a subsequent year. The Board reserves the right not to maintain the qualification of the Fund for treatment as a RIC if it determines such course of action to be beneficial to shareholders. If the Fund determines that it will not qualify as a RIC, the Fund will establish procedures to reflect the anticipated tax liability in the Fund’s NAV.
The Fund may elect to treat part or all of any “qualified late year loss” as if it had been incurred in the succeeding taxable year in determining the Fund’s taxable income, net capital gain, net short-term capital gain, and earnings and profits. The effect of this election is to treat any such “qualified late year loss” as if it had been incurred in the succeeding taxable year in characterizing Fund distributions for any calendar year. A “qualified late year loss” generally includes net capital loss, net long-term capital loss, or net short-term capital loss incurred after October 31 of the current taxable year (commonly referred to as “post-October losses”) and certain other late-year losses.
Capital losses in excess of capital gains (“net capital losses”) are not permitted to be deducted against a RIC’s net investment income. Instead, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, potentially subject to certain limitations, the Fund may carry a net capital loss from any taxable year forward indefinitely to offset its capital gains, if any, in years following the year of the loss. To the extent subsequent capital gains are offset by such losses, they will not result in U.S. federal income tax liability to the Fund and may not be distributed as capital gains to its shareholders. Generally, the Fund may not carry forward any losses other than net capital losses. The carryover of capital losses may be limited under the general loss limitation rules if the Fund experiences an ownership change as defined in the Code.
The Fund will be subject to a nondeductible 4% federal excise tax on certain undistributed income if it does not distribute to its shareholders in each calendar year an amount at least equal to 98% of its ordinary income for the calendar year plus 98.2% of its capital gain net income for the one-year period ending on October 31 of that year, subject to an increase for any shortfall in the prior year’s distribution. For this purpose, any ordinary income or capital gain net income retained by the Fund and subject to corporate income tax will be considered to have been distributed. The Fund intends to declare and distribute dividends and distributions in the amounts and at the times necessary to avoid the application of the excise tax but can make no assurances that all such tax liability will be eliminated. For example, the Fund may receive delayed or corrected tax reporting statements from its investments that cause the Fund to accrue additional income and gains after the Fund has already made its excise tax distributions for the year. In such a situation, the Fund may incur an excise tax liability resulting from such delayed receipt of such tax information statements. In addition, the Fund may in certain circumstances be required to liquidate Fund investments to make sufficient distributions to avoid federal excise tax liability at a time when the investment adviser might not otherwise have chosen to do so, and liquidation of investments in such circumstances may affect the ability of the Fund to satisfy the requirement for qualification as a RIC.
If the Fund meets the Distribution Requirement but retains some or all of its income or gains, it will be subject to federal income tax to the extent that any such income or gains are not distributed. The Fund may designate certain amounts retained as undistributed net capital gain in a notice to its shareholders, who (i) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gain, their proportionate shares of the undistributed amount so designated, (ii) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the income tax paid by the Fund on that undistributed amount against their federal income tax liabilities and to claim refunds to the extent such credits exceed their tax liabilities, and (iii) will be entitled to increase their tax basis, for federal income tax purposes, in their Shares by an amount equal to the excess of the amount of undistributed net capital gain included in their respective income over their respective income tax credits.
Taxation of Shareholders – Distributions. The Fund intends to distribute annually to its shareholders substantially all of its investment company taxable income (computed without regard to the deduction for dividends paid), its net tax-exempt income, if any, and any net capital gain (net recognized long-term capital gains in excess of net recognized short-term capital losses, taking into account any capital loss carryforwards). The distribution of investment company taxable income (as so computed) and net realized capital gain will be taxable to Fund shareholders regardless of whether the shareholder receives these distributions in cash or reinvests them in
additional Shares. Distributions from the Fund’s net capital gain will be taxable to shareholders at long-term capital gains rates, regardless of how long shareholders have held their Shares.
The Fund (or your broker) will report to shareholders annually the amounts of dividends paid from ordinary income, the amount of distributions of net capital gain, the portion of dividends which may qualify for the dividends received deduction for corporations, and the portion of dividends which may qualify for treatment as qualified dividend income, which, subject to certain limitations and requirements, is taxable to non-corporate shareholders at rates of up to 20%. Distributions from the Fund’s net capital gain will be taxable to shareholders at long-term capital gains rates, regardless of how long shareholders have held their Shares.
Qualified dividend income includes, in general, subject to certain holding period and other requirements, dividend income from taxable domestic corporations and certain foreign corporations. Subject to certain limitations, eligible foreign corporations include those incorporated in possessions of the United States, those incorporated in certain countries with comprehensive tax treaties with the United States, and other foreign corporations if the stock with respect to which the dividends are paid is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States. Dividends received by the Fund from an underlying fund taxable as a RIC or from a REIT may be treated as qualified dividend income generally only to the extent so reported by such underlying fund or REIT. If 95% or more of the Fund’s gross income (calculated without taking into account net capital gain derived from sales or other dispositions of stock or securities) consists of qualified dividend income, the Fund may report all distributions of such income as qualified dividend income. The Fund’s investment strategy will significantly limit the amount of dividends eligible to be reported as qualified dividend income.
Fund dividends will not be treated as qualified dividend income if the Fund does not meet holding period and other requirements with respect to dividend paying stocks in its portfolio, and the shareholder does not meet holding period and other requirements with respect to the Shares on which the dividends were paid. Distributions by the Fund of its net short-term capital gains will be taxable as ordinary income. Distributions from the Fund’s net capital gain will be taxable to shareholders at long-term capital gains rates, regardless of how long shareholders have held their Shares. Distributions may be subject to state and local taxes.
In the case of corporate shareholders, certain dividends received by the Fund from U.S. corporations (generally, dividends received by the Fund in respect of any share of stock (1) with a tax holding period of at least 46 days during the 91-day period beginning on the date that is 45 days before the date on which the stock becomes ex-dividend as to that dividend and (2) that is held in an unleveraged position) and distributed and appropriately so reported by the Fund may be eligible for the 50% dividends received deduction. Certain preferred stock must have a holding period of at least 91 days during the 181-day period beginning on the date that is 90 days before the date on which the stock becomes ex-dividend as to that dividend to be eligible. Capital gain dividends distributed to the Fund from other RICs, and dividends distributed to the Fund from REITs are generally not eligible for the dividends received deduction. To qualify for the deduction, corporate shareholders must meet the minimum holding period requirement stated above with respect to their Shares, taking into account any holding period reductions from certain hedging or other transactions or positions that diminish their risk of loss with respect to their Shares, and, if they borrow to acquire or otherwise incur debt attributable to Shares, they may be denied a portion of the dividends received deduction with respect to those Shares. The Fund’s investment strategy will significantly limit its ability to distribute dividends eligible for the dividends received deduction for corporate shareholders.
A RIC that receives business interest income may pass through its net business interest income for purposes of the tax rules applicable to the interest expense limitations under Section 163(j) of the Code. A RIC’s total “Section 163(j) Interest Dividend” for a tax year is limited to the excess of the RIC’s business interest income over the sum of its business interest expense and its other deductions properly allocable to its business interest income. A RIC may, in its discretion, designate all or a portion of ordinary dividends as Section 163(j) Interest Dividends, which would allow the recipient shareholder to treat the designated portion of such dividends as interest income for purposes of determining such shareholder’s interest expense deduction limitation under Section 163(j) of the Code. This can potentially increase the amount of a shareholder’s interest expense deductible under Section 163(j) of the Code. In general, to be eligible to treat a Section 163(j) Interest Dividend as interest income, you must have held your shares in the Fund for more than 180 days during the 361-day period beginning on the date that is 180 days before the date on which the share becomes ex-dividend with respect to such dividend. Section 163(j) Interest Dividends, if so designated by the Fund, will be reported to your financial intermediary or otherwise in accordance with the requirements specified by the IRS.
Although dividends generally will be treated as distributed when paid, any dividend declared by the Fund in October, November or December and payable to shareholders of record in such a month that is paid during the following January will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as received by shareholders on December 31 of the calendar year in which it was declared.
Shareholders who have not held Shares for a full year should be aware that the Fund may report and distribute, as ordinary dividends or capital gain dividends, a percentage of income that is not equal to the percentage of the Fund’s ordinary income or net capital gain, respectively, actually earned during the applicable shareholder’s period of investment in the Fund. A shareholder may wish to avoid investing in the Fund shortly before a dividend or other distribution, because the distribution will generally be taxable even though it may economically represent a return of a portion of the shareholder’s investment.
To the extent that the Fund makes a distribution of income received by the Fund in lieu of dividends (a “substitute payment”) with respect to securities on loan pursuant to a securities lending transaction, such income will not constitute qualified dividend income to individual shareholders and will not be eligible for the dividends received deduction for corporate shareholders.
If the Fund’s distributions exceed its current and accumulated earnings and profits for the taxable year (as calculated for federal income tax purposes), all or a portion of the distributions made for the taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable but will reduce each shareholder’s cost basis in the Fund and result in a higher capital gain or lower capital loss when the Shares on which the distribution was received are sold. After a shareholder’s basis in the Shares has been reduced to zero, distributions in excess of earnings and profits will be treated as gain from the sale of the shareholder’s Shares.
Taxation of Shareholders – Sale or Exchange of Shares. A sale or exchange of Shares may give rise to a gain or loss for federal and state income tax purposes. Assuming a shareholder holds Shares as a capital asset, any gain or loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Shares will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if Shares have been held for more than 12 months. Otherwise, the gain or loss on the taxable disposition of Shares will generally be treated as short-term capital gain or loss. Any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss, rather than short-term capital loss, to the extent of any amounts treated as distributions to the shareholder of long-term capital gain (including any amounts credited to the shareholder as undistributed capital gains). All or a portion of any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Shares may be disallowed if substantially identical Shares of the Fund are acquired (through the reinvestment of dividends or otherwise) within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the disposition. In such a case, the basis of the newly acquired Shares will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss.
The cost basis of Shares acquired by purchase will generally be based on the amount paid for Shares and then may be subsequently adjusted for other applicable transactions as required by the Code. The difference between the selling price and the cost basis of Shares generally determines the amount of the capital gain or loss realized on the sale or exchange of Shares. Contact the broker through whom you purchased your Shares to obtain information with respect to the available cost basis reporting methods and elections for your account.
An Authorized Participant who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time and the sum of the exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered plus the amount of cash paid for such Creation Units. The ability of Authorized Participants to receive a full or partial cash redemption of Creation Units of the Fund may limit the tax efficiency of the Fund. An Authorized Participant who redeems Creation Units will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanger’s basis in the Creation Units and the sum of the aggregate market value of any securities received plus the amount of any cash received for such Creation Units. The IRS, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units cannot currently be deducted under the rules governing “wash sales” (for a person who does not mark-to-market its portfolio) or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.
Any gain or loss realized upon a creation or redemption of Creation Units will be treated as capital or ordinary gain or loss, depending on the holder’s circumstances.
The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has the right to reject an order for Creation Units if the purchaser (or a group of purchasers) would, upon obtaining the Creation Units so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding Shares and if, pursuant to Section 351 of the Code, the Fund would have a basis in the deposit securities different from the market value of such securities on the date of deposit. The Trust also has the right to require the provision of information necessary to determine beneficial Share ownership for purposes of the 80% determination. If the Fund does issue Creation Units to a purchaser (or a group of purchasers) that would, upon obtaining the Creation Units so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding Shares, the purchaser (or a group of purchasers) will not recognize gain or loss upon the exchange of securities for Creation Units.
Authorized Participants purchasing or redeeming Creation Units should consult their own tax advisors with respect to the tax treatment of any creation or redemption transaction and whether the wash sales rule applies and when a loss may be deductible.
Taxation of Shareholders – Net Investment Income Tax. U.S. individuals with adjusted gross income (subject to certain adjustments) exceeding certain threshold amounts ($250,000 if married filing jointly or if considered a “surviving spouse” for federal income tax purposes, $125,000 if married filing separately, and $200,000 in other cases) are subject to a 3.8% tax on all or a portion of their “net investment income,” which includes taxable interest, dividends, and certain capital gains (generally including capital gain distributions and capital gains realized on the sale of Shares). This 3.8% tax also applies to all or a portion of the undistributed net investment income of certain shareholders that are estates and trusts.
Foreign Investments. Dividends and interest received by the Fund from sources within foreign countries may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by such countries. Tax treaties between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes. The Fund does not expect to satisfy the requirements for passing through to its shareholders any share of foreign taxes paid by the Fund, with the result that shareholders will not include such taxes in their gross incomes and will not be entitled to a tax deduction or credit for such taxes on their own tax returns.
If more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s assets at the close of any taxable year consists of stock or securities of foreign corporations, which for this purpose may include obligations of foreign governmental issuers, the Fund may elect, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, to treat any foreign income or withholding taxes paid by the Fund as paid by its shareholders. For any year that
the Fund is eligible for and makes such an election, each shareholder of the Fund will be required to include in income an amount equal to his or her allocable share of qualified foreign income taxes paid by the Fund, and shareholders will be entitled, subject to certain holding period requirements and other limitations, to credit their portions of these amounts against their U.S. federal income tax due, if any, or to deduct their portions from their U.S. taxable income, if any. No deductions for foreign taxes paid by the Fund may be claimed, however, by non-corporate shareholders who do not itemize deductions. No deduction for such taxes will be permitted to individuals in computing their alternative minimum tax liability. Shareholders that are not subject to U.S. federal income tax, and those who invest in the Fund through tax-advantaged accounts (including those who invest through IRAs or other tax-advantaged retirement plans), generally will receive no benefit from any tax credit or deduction passed through by the Fund. Foreign taxes paid by the Fund will reduce the return from the Fund’s investments. If the Fund makes the election, the Fund’s shareholders will be notified annually by the Fund (or their broker) of the respective amounts per share of the Fund’s income from sources within, and taxes paid to, foreign countries and U.S. possessions. If the Fund does not hold sufficient foreign securities to meet the above threshold, then shareholders will not be entitled to claim a credit or further deduction with respect to foreign taxes paid by the Fund.
Foreign tax credits, if any, received by the Fund as a result of an investment in another RIC (including an underlying fund which is taxable as a RIC) will not be passed through to you unless the Fund qualifies as a “qualified fund of funds” under the Code. If the Fund is a “qualified fund of funds” it will be eligible to file an election with the IRS that will enable the Fund to pass along these foreign tax credits to its shareholders. The Fund will be treated as a “qualified fund of funds” under the Code if at least 50% of the value of the Fund’s total assets (at the close of each quarter of the Fund’s taxable year) is represented by interests in other RICs.
To the extent the Fund invests in an underlying fund (including an ETF) that indicates that such underlying fund intends to satisfy the tax requirements to be treated as a RIC under the Code, the Fund may be able to receive the benefits of a “qualified fund of funds” as described above. If, however, an underlying fund loses its status as a RIC under the Code, the Fund would no longer be permitted to count its investment in such underlying fund for purposes of satisfying the requirements to be a “qualified fund of funds.” In addition, an underlying fund that loses its status as a RIC would be treated as a regular corporation subject to entity level taxation prior to making any distributions to the Fund which would affect the amount, timing and character of such income distributed by an underlying fund to the Fund.
If the Fund holds shares in a “passive foreign investment company” (“PFIC”), it may be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a portion of any “excess distribution” or gain from the disposition of such shares even if such income is distributed as a taxable dividend by the Fund to its shareholders. Additional charges in the nature of interest may be imposed on the Fund in respect of deferred taxes arising from such distributions or gains.
The Fund may be eligible to treat a PFIC as a “qualified electing fund” (“QEF”) under the Code in which case, in lieu of the foregoing requirements, the Fund will be required to include in income each year a portion of the ordinary earnings and net capital gains of the QEF, even if not distributed to the Fund, and such amounts will be subject to the 90% and excise tax distribution requirements described above. In order to make this election, the Fund would be required to obtain certain annual information from the PFICs in which it invests, which may be difficult or impossible to obtain. Alternatively, the Fund may make a mark-to-market election that will result in the Fund being treated as if it had sold and repurchased its PFIC stock at the end of each year. In such case, the Fund would report any gains resulting from such deemed sales as ordinary income and would deduct any losses resulting from such deemed sales as ordinary losses to the extent of previously recognized gains. The election must be made separately for each PFIC owned by the Fund and, once made, is effective for all subsequent taxable years, unless revoked with the consent of the IRS. By making the election, the Fund could potentially ameliorate the adverse tax consequences with respect to its ownership of shares in a PFIC, but in any particular year may be required to recognize income in excess of the distributions it receives from PFICs and its proceeds from dispositions of PFIC stock. The Fund may have to distribute this excess income to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement and to avoid imposition of the 4% excise tax. In order to distribute this income and avoid a tax at the fund level, the Fund might be required to liquidate portfolio securities that it might otherwise have continued to hold, potentially resulting in additional taxable gain or loss. The Fund intends to make the appropriate tax elections, if possible, and take any additional steps that are necessary to mitigate the effect of these rules. Amounts included in income each year by the Fund arising from a QEF election will be “qualifying income” under the Qualifying Income Requirement (as described above) even if not distributed to the Fund, if the Fund derives such income from its business of investing in stock, securities or currencies.
Under Section 988 of the Code, gains or losses attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates which occur between the time the Fund accrues income or other receivables or accrues expenses or other liabilities denominated in a foreign currency and the time the Fund actually collects such income or receivables or pays such expenses or liabilities generally are treated as ordinary income or loss. Similarly, on disposition of debt securities denominated in a foreign currency and on disposition of certain other financial instruments (such as forward currency contracts and currency swaps), gains or losses attributable to fluctuations in the value of the foreign currency between the date of acquisition of the security or contract and the date of settlement or disposition also are treated as ordinary gain or loss. The gains and losses may increase or decrease the amount of the Fund’s income to be distributed to its shareholders as ordinary income. The Fund may elect out of the application of Section 988 of the Code with respect to the tax treatment of each of its foreign currency forward contracts to the extent that (i) such contract is a capital asset in the hands of the Fund and is not part of a straddle transaction and (ii) the Fund makes an election by the close of the day the contract is entered into to treat the gain or loss attributable to such contract as capital gain or loss.
The U.S. Treasury Department has authority to issue regulations that would exclude foreign currency gains from the Qualifying Income Requirement described above if such gains are not directly related to the Fund’s business of investing in stock or securities (or options and futures with respect to stock or securities). Accordingly, regulations may be issued in the future that could treat some or all of the Fund’s non-U.S. currency gains as non-qualifying income, thereby potentially jeopardizing the Fund’s status as a RIC for all years to which the regulations are applicable.
Taxation of the Subsidiary. There is, at present, no direct taxation in the Cayman Islands and interest, dividends and gains payable to the Subsidiary will be received free of all Cayman Islands taxes. The Subsidiary is registered as an “exempted company” pursuant to the Companies Law (as amended). The Subsidiary expects to obtain an undertaking from the Governor in Cabinet of the Cayman Islands to the effect that, for a period of twenty years from the date of the undertaking, no law that thereafter is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax or duty to be levied on profits, income or on gains or appreciation, or any tax in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax, will apply to any property comprised in or any income arising under the Subsidiary, or to the shareholders thereof, in respect of any such property or income.
Tax Treatment of Complex Securities. Certain of the Fund’s investments may be subject to complex provisions of the Code (including provisions relating to hedging transactions, straddles, integrated transactions, foreign currency contracts, forward foreign currency contracts, and notional principal contracts) that, among other things, may affect the Fund’s ability to qualify as a RIC, may affect the character of gains and losses realized by the Fund (e.g., may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital), accelerate recognition of income to the Fund and defer losses. These rules could therefore affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to shareholders. These provisions also may require the Fund to mark-to-market certain types of positions in its portfolio (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out) which may cause the Fund to recognize income without the Fund receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts sufficient to enable the Fund to satisfy the RIC distribution requirements for avoiding income and excise taxes. The Fund intends to monitor its transactions, intends to make appropriate tax elections, and intends to make appropriate entries in its books and records to mitigate the effect of these rules and preserve the Fund’s qualification for treatment as a RIC.
Certain of the Fund’s investments may not produce qualifying income to the Fund. To the extent the Fund invests in such investments, the Fund will seek to restrict its income from such instruments that do not generate qualifying income to a maximum of 10% of its gross income (when combined with its other investments that produce non-qualifying income).
The Fund is required for federal income tax purposes to mark-to-market and recognize as income for each taxable year its net unrealized gains and losses on certain futures and options contracts subject to section 1256 of the Code (“Section 1256 Contracts”) as of the end of the year as well as those actually realized during the year. Gain or loss from Section 1256 Contracts on broad-based indexes required to be marked to market will be 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gain or loss. Application of this rule may alter the timing and character of distributions to shareholders. The Fund may be required to defer the recognition of losses on Section 1256 Contracts to the extent of any unrecognized gains on offsetting positions held by the Fund. These provisions also may require the Fund to mark-to-market certain types of positions in its portfolio (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out), which may cause the Fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the Distribution Requirement and for avoiding the excise tax discussed above. Accordingly, to avoid certain income and excise taxes, the Fund may be required to liquidate its investments at a time when the investment adviser might not otherwise have chosen to do so.
Certain derivative investments by the Fund, such as XRP-related investments, exchange-traded products, and over-the-counter derivatives, may not produce qualifying income for purposes of the Qualifying Income Requirement described above, which must be met in order for the Fund to maintain its status as a RIC under the Code. In addition, the determination of the value and the identity of the issuer of such derivative investments are often unclear for purposes of the Diversification Requirement described above. The Fund intends to carefully monitor such investments to ensure that any non-qualifying income does not exceed permissible limits and to ensure that it is adequately diversified under the Diversification Requirement. The Fund, however, may not be able to accurately predict the non-qualifying income from these investments and there are no assurances that the IRS will agree with the Fund’s determination of the Diversification Requirement with respect to such derivatives. Failure to satisfy the Diversification Requirement might also result from a determination by the IRS that financial instruments in which the Fund invests are not securities.
The Fund may gain most of its exposure to XRP-related investments through its investment in the Subsidiary, which may invest directly in XRP-related investments. The Fund’s investment in the Subsidiary is expected to provide the Fund with exposure to XRP-related investments within the limitations of the federal tax requirements of Subchapter M of the Code for qualification as a RIC. The “Subpart F” income (defined in Section 951 of the Code to include passive income) of the Fund attributable to its investment in the Subsidiary is “qualifying income” to the Fund to the extent that such income is derived with respect to the Fund’s business of investing in stock, securities or currencies. GILTI generally includes the active operating profits of the CFC, reduced by a deemed return on the tax basis of the CFC’s depreciable tangible assets. The Fund expects its “Subpart F” income and GILTI attributable to its investments in the Subsidiary to be derived with respect to the Fund’s business of investing in stock, securities or currencies and accordingly expects its “Subpart F” income and GILTI attributable to its investment in the Subsidiary to be treated as “qualifying income.” The Adviser intends to carefully monitor the Fund’s investments in the Subsidiary to ensure that no more than 25% of the Fund’s assets are invested in the Subsidiary.
A U.S. person that owns (directly, indirectly or constructively) 10% or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock or 10% or more of the total value of shares of all classes of stock of a foreign corporation is a “U.S. Shareholder” for purposes of Subpart F of the Code. A foreign corporation is a “controlled foreign corporation” within the meaning of Section 957 of the Code (a “CFC”) if, on any day of its taxable year, more than 50% of the voting power or value of its stock is owned (directly, indirectly or constructively) by “U.S. Shareholders.” If the Fund is a “U.S. Shareholder” of a CFC, the Fund will be required to include in its gross income for United States federal income tax purposes the CFCs “subpart F income” (described below), whether or not such income is distributed by the CFC. “Subpart F income” generally includes interest, original issue discount, dividends, net gains from the disposition of stocks or securities, receipts with respect to securities loans and net payments received with respect to equity swaps and similar derivatives. “Subpart F income” also includes the excess of gains over losses from transactions (including futures, forward and similar transactions) in any commodities. The Fund’s recognition of “subpart F income” and GILTI will increase the Fund’s tax basis in the CFC. Distributions by a CFC to the Fund will be tax-free, to the extent of its previously undistributed “subpart F income” and GILTI and will correspondingly reduce the Fund’s tax basis in the CFC. “Subpart F income” and GILTI is generally treated as ordinary income, regardless of the character of the CFC’s underlying income. It is expected that the Subsidiary will be treated as a CFC, and that the Fund will be treated as a “U.S. Shareholder” in the Subsidiary.
With respect to investments in STRIPS and other zero-coupon securities which are sold at original issue discount (“OID”) and thus do not make periodic cash interest payments, the Fund will be required to include as part of its current income the imputed interest on such obligations even though the Fund has not received any interest payments on such obligations during that period. Because the Fund intends to distribute all of its net investment income to its shareholders, the Fund may have to sell Fund securities to distribute such imputed income which may occur at a time when the Adviser would not have chosen to sell such securities and which may result in taxable gain or loss.
Any market discount recognized on a bond is taxable as ordinary income. A market discount bond is a bond acquired in the secondary market at a price below redemption value or adjusted issue price if issued with OID. Absent an election by the Fund to include the market discount in income as it accrues, gain on the Fund’s disposition of such an obligation will be treated as ordinary income rather than capital gain to the extent of the accrued market discount.
Investments in debt obligations that are at risk of or in default present special tax issues for the Fund. Tax rules are not entirely clear about issues such as when the Fund may cease to accrue interest, OID or market discount, whether or to what extent the Fund should recognize market discount on a debt obligation, when and to what extent the Fund may take deductions for bad debts or worthless securities and how the Fund should allocate payments received on obligations in default between principal and income. These and other related issues will be addressed by the Fund when, as, and if it invests in such securities, in order to seek to ensure that it distributes sufficient income to preserve its status as a RIC and does not become subject to U.S. federal income or excise tax.
The Fund may invest in inflation-linked debt securities. Any increase in the principal amount of an inflation-linked debt security will be original interest discount, which is taxable as ordinary income and is required to be distributed, even though the Fund will not receive the principal, including any increase thereto, until maturity. As noted above, if the Fund invests in such securities, it may be required to liquidate other investments, including at times when it is not advantageous to do so, in order to satisfy its distribution requirements and to eliminate any possible taxation at the Fund level.
Backup Withholding. The Fund will be required in certain cases to withhold (as “backup withholding”) on amounts payable to any shareholder who (1) fails to provide a correct taxpayer identification number certified under penalty of perjury; (2) is subject to backup withholding by the IRS for failure to properly report all payments of interest or dividends; (3) fails to provide a certified statement that he or she is not subject to “backup withholding”; or (4) fails to provide a certified statement that he or she is a U.S. person (including a U.S. resident alien). The backup withholding rate is currently 24%. Backup withholding is not an additional tax and any amounts withheld may be credited against the shareholder’s ultimate U.S. tax liability. Backup withholding will not be applied to payments that have been subject to the 30% withholding tax on shareholders who are neither citizens nor permanent residents of the U.S.
Non-U.S. Shareholders. Any non-U.S. investors in the Fund may be subject to U.S. withholding and estate tax and are encouraged to consult their tax advisors prior to investing in the Fund. Foreign shareholders (i.e., nonresident alien individuals and foreign corporations, partnerships, trusts and estates) are generally subject to U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30% (or a lower tax treaty rate) on distributions derived from taxable ordinary income. The Fund may, under certain circumstances, report all or a portion of a dividend as an “interest-related dividend” or a “short-term capital gain dividend,” which would generally be exempt from this 30% U.S. withholding tax, provided certain other requirements are met. Short-term capital gain dividends received by a nonresident alien individual who is present in the U.S. for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the taxable year are not exempt from this 30% withholding tax. Gains realized by foreign shareholders from the sale or other disposition of Shares of the Fund generally are not subject to U.S. taxation, unless the recipient is an individual who is physically present in the U.S. for 183 days or more per year. Foreign shareholders who fail to provide an applicable IRS form may be subject to backup withholding on certain payments from the Fund. Backup withholding will not be applied to payments that are subject to the 30% (or lower applicable treaty rate) withholding tax described in this paragraph. Different tax consequences may result if the foreign shareholder is engaged in a trade or business within the United States. In addition, the tax consequences to a foreign shareholder entitled to claim the benefits of a tax treaty may be different than those described above.
Under legislation generally known as “FATCA” (the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act), the Fund is required to withhold 30% of certain ordinary dividends it pays to shareholders that fail to meet prescribed information reporting or certification requirements. In general, no such withholding will be required with respect to a U.S. person or non-U.S. person that timely provides the certifications required by the Fund or its agent on a valid IRS Form W-9 or applicable series of IRS Form W-8, respectively. Shareholders potentially subject to withholding include foreign financial institutions (“FFIs”), such as non-U.S. investment funds, and non-financial foreign entities (“NFFEs”). To avoid withholding under FATCA, an FFI generally must enter into an information sharing agreement with the IRS in which it agrees to report certain identifying information (including name, address, and taxpayer identification number) with respect to its U.S. account holders (which, in the case of an entity shareholder, may include its direct and indirect U.S. owners), and an NFFE generally must identify and provide other required information to the Fund or other withholding agent regarding its U.S. owners, if any. Such non-U.S. shareholders also may fall into certain exempt, excepted or deemed compliant categories as established by regulations and other guidance. A non-U.S. shareholder resident or doing business in a country that has entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the United States to implement FATCA will be exempt from FATCA withholding provided that the shareholder and the applicable foreign government comply with the terms of the agreement. A non-U.S. entity that invests in the Fund will need to provide the fund with documentation properly certifying the entity’s status under FATCA in order to avoid FATCA withholding. Non-U.S. investors in the Fund should consult their tax advisors in this regard.
Tax-Exempt Shareholders. Certain tax-exempt shareholders, including qualified pension plans, IRAs, salary deferral arrangements, 401(k) plans, and other tax-exempt entities, generally are exempt from federal income taxation except with respect to their unrelated business taxable income (“UBTI”). Tax-exempt entities are not permitted to offset losses from one unrelated trade or business against the income or gain of another unrelated trade or business. Certain net losses incurred prior to January 1, 2018 are permitted to offset gain and income created by an unrelated trade or business, if otherwise available. Under current law, the Fund generally serves to block UBTI from being realized by its tax-exempt shareholders with respect to their shares of Fund income. However, notwithstanding the foregoing, tax-exempt shareholders could realize UBTI by virtue of their investment in the Fund if, for example, (i) the Fund invests in residual interests of Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduits (“REMICs”), (ii) the Fund invests in a REIT that is a taxable mortgage pool (“TMP”) or that has a subsidiary that is a TMP or that invests in the residual interest of a REMIC, or (iii) Shares constitute debt-financed property in the hands of the tax-exempt shareholders within the meaning of section 514(b) of the Code. Charitable remainder trusts are subject to special rules and should consult their tax advisors. The IRS has issued guidance with respect to these issues and prospective shareholders, especially charitable remainder trusts, are strongly encouraged to consult with their tax advisors regarding these issues.
The Fund’s shares held in a tax-qualified retirement account will generally not be subject to federal taxation on income and capital gains distributions from the Fund until a shareholder begins receiving payments from their retirement account.
Certain Potential Tax Reporting Requirements. Under U.S. Treasury regulations, if a shareholder recognizes a loss on disposition of Shares of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder (or certain greater amounts over a combination of years), the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on IRS Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a RIC are not excepted. Significant penalties may be imposed for the failure to comply with the reporting requirements. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.
Other Issues. In those states which have income tax laws, the tax treatment of the Fund and of Fund shareholders with respect to distributions by the Fund may differ from federal tax treatment.
The foregoing discussion is based on U.S. federal tax laws and regulations which are in effect on the date of this SAI. Such laws and regulations may be changed by legislative or administrative action. Shareholders are advised to consult their tax advisors concerning their specific situations and the application of foreign, federal, state, or local taxes.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Financial statements included in Form N-CSR will be available after the Fund has completed a fiscal year of operations. When available, you may request a copy of the Fund’s Form N-CSR or Annual Report at no charge by calling 800-617-0004, or through the Fund’s website at www.teucrium.com.
APPENDIX A
Proxy Voting/Class Action Litigation
Background
An investment adviser owes a duty of care and loyalty to its clients with respect to monitoring corporate events and exercising proxy authority in the best interests of such clients. The Company will adhere to Rule 206(4)-6 of the Advisers Act and applicable laws and regulations in regard to the voting of proxies. As a result, investment advisers must conduct a reasonable review into matters on which the adviser votes and to vote in the best interest of the client. The Company does not typically manage securities and other instruments that involve proxy statement and obligations. The following policies and procedures are included only in circumstances where the Company may have such obligations.
Policies and Procedures
The Company has the authority to vote proxies with respect of securities in client accounts (“Client Securities”) over which the Company has voting discretion. In such cases, the Company will cast proxy votes in a manner that is consistent with the best interests of the Company’s clients. Where the Company undertakes proxy voting responsibilities on behalf of multiple clients, it shall consider whether it should have different voting policies for some or all of these different clients, depending on the investment strategy and objectives of each client. These proxy voting policies and procedures are designed to deal with the complexities which may arise in cases where the Company’s interests conflict or appear to conflict with the interests of its clients and to provide a copy of proxy voting and these procedures upon client request. The Company will also make available the record of the Company’s votes promptly upon request.
Unless contractually obligated to vote in a certain manner, the Company will reach its voting decisions independently, after appropriate investigation. It does not generally intend to delegate its decision-making or to rely on the recommendations of any third party, although it may take such recommendations into consideration. Where the Company deviates from the guidelines listed below or depends upon a third party to make the decision, the reasons shall be documented. The Company may consult with such other experts, such as CPA’s, investment bankers, attorneys, etc., as it deems necessary to help reach informed decisions.
The CCO is responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of this policy.
The Company generally will monitor proposed corporate actions and proxy issues regarding client securities and may take any of the following actions based on the best interests of its clients: (i) determine how to vote the proxies; (ii) abstain; or (iii) follow the recommendations of an independent proxy voting service in voting the proxies.
In general, the Company will determine how to vote proxies based on reasonable judgment of the vote most likely to produce favorable financial results for its clients. Proxy votes generally will be cast in favor of proposals that maintain or strengthen the shared interests of shareholders. Proxy votes generally will be cast against proposals having the opposite effect. The Company will always consider each side of each proxy issue.
Non-Voting of Proxies
The Company will generally not vote proxies in the following situations:
•Where the Company and client have agreed in advance to limit the conditions under which the Company would exercise voting authority;
•Proxies are received for equity securities where, at the time of receipt, the Company’s position, across all clients that it advises, is less than, or equal to, 1% of the total outstanding voting equity (an “immaterial position”); or
•Where the Company has determined that refraining is in the best interest of the client, such as when the cost to the client of voting the proxy is greater than the expected benefit of voting (e.g., voting a foreign security that is required to be made in person).
•Proxies are received for equity securities where, at the time of receipt, the Company’s clients no longer hold that position.
Management Proposals
Absent good reason to the contrary, the Company will generally give substantial weight to management recommendations regarding voting. This is based on the view that management is usually in the best position to know which corporate actions are in the best interests of common shareholders as a whole.
The Company will generally vote for routine matters proposed by issuer management, such as setting a time or place for an annual meeting, changing the name or fiscal year of the company, or voting for directors in favor of the management proposed slate. Other routine matters in which the Company will generally vote along with company management include: appointment of auditors; fees
paid to board members; and change in the board structure. The Company will generally vote along with management as long as the proposal does not: i) measurably change the structure, management, control or operations of the company; ii) measurably change the terms of, or fees or expenses associated with, an investment in the company; and (iii) the proposal is consistent with customary industry standards and practices, as well as the laws of the state of incorporation applicable to the company. Routine matters may not necessitate the same level of analysis than non-routine matters.
Non-Routine Matters
Non-routine matters include such things as:
•Amendments to management incentive plans;
•The authorization of additional common or preferred stock;
•Initiation or termination of barriers to takeover or acquisition;
•Mergers or acquisitions;
•Changes in the state of incorporation;
•Corporate reorganizations;
•Term limits for board members; and
•“Contested” director slates.
In non-routine matters, the Company will attempt to be generally familiar with the questions at issue. Non-routine matters will be voted on a case-by-case basis given the complexity of many of these issues. When determining how to vote non-routine matters the Company shall conduct an issue-specific analysis, giving consideration to the potential effect on the value of a client’s investments, documentation of the analysis shall be maintained in the Company’s proxy voting files.
Processing Proxy Votes
The CCO will be responsible for determining whether each proxy is for a “routine” matter, as described above, and whether the policy and procedures set forth herein actually address the specific issue. For proxies that are not clearly “routine,” the Company, in conjunction with the CCO, will determine how to vote each such proxy by applying these policies and procedures. Upon making a decision, the proxy will be executed and returned for submission to the issuer. The Company’s proxy voting record will be updated at the time the proxy is submitted.
An independent proxy voting advisory and research firm may be appointed as a “Proxy Service” for voting the Company’s proxies after approval by the CCO.
Periodic Testing
The Company shall evaluate compliance by periodically sampling the proxy votes it casts on behalf of its clients by sampling proxy votes that relate to proposals that are non-routine matters and require more issue-specific analysis (e.g., mergers and acquisition transactions, dissolutions, conversions, or consolidations).
Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of interest between the Company or a principal of the Company and the Company’s clients with respect to a proxy issue conceivably may arise, for example, from personal or professional relationships with an issuer or with the directors, candidates for director, or senior executives of an issuer.
Potential conflicts of interest between the Company and its clients may arise when the Company’s relationships with an issuer or with a related third party actually conflict, or appear to conflict, with the best interests of the Company’s clients.
If the issue is specifically addressed in these policies and procedures, the Company will vote in accordance with these policies. In a situation where the issue is not specifically addressed in these policies and procedures and an apparent or actual conflict exists, the Company shall either: i) delegate the voting decision to an independent third party; ii) inform clients of the conflict of interest and obtain advance consent of a majority of such clients for a particular voting decision; or iii) obtain approval of a voting decision from the Company’s CCO, who will be responsible for documenting the rationale for the decision made and voted.
In all such cases, the Company will make disclosures to clients of all material conflicts and will keep documentation supporting its voting decisions.
If the CCO determines that a material conflict of interest exists, the following procedures shall be followed:
1.The Company may disclose the existence and nature of the conflict to the client(s) owning the securities, and seek directions on how to vote the proxies;
2.The Company may abstain from voting, particularly if there are conflicting client interests (for example, where client accounts hold different client securities in a competitive merger situation); or
3.The Company may follow the recommendations of an independent proxy voting service in voting the proxies.
Disclosure to Clients
A summary of the Company’s proxy voting policy will be included in the Company’s Disclosure Brochure. The full text of the Company’s proxy voting policy will be provided to clients upon request.
Proxy Advisory Firm
When the Company retains a proxy advisory firm to provide research, voting recommendations or voting execution services, the Company shall conduct reasonable oversight to ensure the proxy advisor’s recommendations are consistent with the Company’s proxy voting policies and in the best interest of the Company’s clients and investors. The level of oversight may vary depending on (1) the scope of the investment adviser’s voting authority, and (2) the type of functions and services that the investment adviser has retained the proxy advisory firm to perform.
Periodic Advisory Firm Testing
The Company shall periodically evaluate the proxy services provided by third party providers which should consider the services, recommendations made by the provider and how the provider voted, as applicable, and consider the steps enumerated below.
When conducting oversight of a proxy advisory firm, the Company should consider taking the following steps:
•whether the proxy advisory firm has the capacity and competency to adequately analyze the matters for which the investment adviser is responsible for voting including the adequacy and quality of the proxy advisory firm’s staffing, personnel, and/or technology;
•the adequacy of disclosures the proxy advisory firm has provided regarding its methodologies in formulating voting recommendations, such that the Company can understand the factors underlying the proxy advisory firm’s voting recommendations
•the effectiveness of the proxy advisory firm’s policies and procedures for obtaining current and accurate information relevant to matters included in its research and on which it makes voting recommendations;
•the Company’s access to the proxy advisory firm’s sources of information and methodologies used in formulating voting recommendations or executing voting instructions;
•the nature of any third-party information sources that the proxy advisory firm uses as a basis for its voting recommendations;
•whether the proxy advisory firm has adequate policies and procedures to identify, disclose, and address actual and potential conflicts of interest.
Form N-PX - RIC Clients
For RIC clients, in conjunction with the preparation and filing of Form N-PX each year, the Company will review the Form for accuracy.
Class Action Lawsuits
From time to time, securities held in the accounts of clients will be the subject of class action lawsuits. The Company has no obligation to determine if securities held by the client are subject to a pending or resolved class action lawsuit. It also has no duty to evaluate a client’s eligibility or to submit a claim to participate in the proceeds of a securities class action settlement or verdict. Furthermore, the Company has no obligation or responsibility to initiate litigation to recover damages on behalf of clients who may have been injured because of actions, misconduct, or negligence by corporate management of issuers whose securities are held by clients.
Where the Company receives written or electronic notice of a class action lawsuit, settlement, or verdict directly relating to a client account, it will forward all notices, proof of claim forms, and other materials, to the client. Electronic mail is acceptable where appropriate if the client has authorized contact in this manner.