Summary prospectus
Macquarie Tax-Free USA Short Term ETF
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NYSE Arca ticker symbol |
Macquarie Tax-Free USA Short Term ETF |
STAX |
November 21, 2023
Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s statutory prospectus (and any supplements thereto), which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s statutory prospectus and other information about the Fund, including its statement of additional information and most recent reports to shareholders, online at etf.macquarie.com. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 877-693-3546. The Fund’s statutory prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated November 21, 2023 (and any supplements thereto), are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus.
Summary prospectus
Macquarie Tax-Free USA Short Term ETF
What is the Fund’s investment objective?
Macquarie Tax-Free USA Short Term ETF seeks to provide a high level of current interest income that is exempt from federal income tax, and attempts to preserve capital by investing in short term municipal obligations.
What are the Fund’s fees and expenses?
The following table describes the fees and expenses that you will incur if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may also incur other fees, such as usual and customary brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and the Example below.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management fees
|
0.29% | ||
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees
|
None | ||
Other expenses1
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None | ||
Total annual Fund operating expenses
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0.29% |
1 |
Other expenses are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. |
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 sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
$30 |
$93 |
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 Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. As of the date of this Prospectus, the Fund has not yet commenced operations and portfolio turnover data therefore is not available.
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What are the Fund’s principal investment strategies?
Under normal circumstances, Macquarie Tax-Free USA Short Term ETF will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in securities the income from which is exempt from federal income tax, including the federal alternative minimum tax. This is a fundamental investment policy that may not be changed without prior shareholder approval.
The Fund will invest primarily in municipal debt obligations that are issued by state and local governments to raise funds for various public purposes such as hospitals, schools, and general capital expenses. The Fund will invest its assets in securities with short durations until maturity and will typically have a dollar-weighted average effective maturity of between 1 and 5 years. Duration measures a bond’s sensitivity to interest rates by indicating the approximate change in a bond or bond fund’s price given a 1% change in interest rates. Bonds and other fixed income securities with longer maturities or duration generally are more sensitive to interest rate change. For example, if the Fund holds a portfolio of securities with an effective duration of five years and interest rates rise 1%, the principal value of such securities could be expected to decrease by approximately 5%. Delaware Management Company, the Fund’s investment adviser (Manager) will adjust the average maturity of the bonds in the Fund’s portfolio to attempt to provide a high level of tax-exempt income consistent with preservation of capital.
The Manager analyzes economic and market conditions, seeking to identify the securities or market sectors that it thinks are the best investments for the Fund. The following is a general description of the investment strategies used to manage the Fund and a list of securities in which the Fund may invest.
The Fund will generally invest in debt obligations issued by state and local governments and their political subdivisions, agencies, authorities, and instrumentalities that are exempt from federal income tax. The Fund may also invest in debt obligations issued by or for the District of Columbia, and the political subdivisions, agencies, authorities, and instrumentalities or territories and possessions (such as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands) of the United States that are exempt from federal income tax. The types of municipal debt obligations in which the Fund may invest include, but are not limited to, advance refunded bonds, revenue bonds, general obligation bonds, insured municipal bonds, private activity bonds, municipal leases, and certificates of participation.
The Fund will generally invest in securities for income rather than seeking capital appreciation through active trading. However, the Manager may sell securities for a variety of reasons such as: to reinvest the proceeds in higher yielding securities; to eliminate investments not consistent with the preservation of capital; to honor redemption requests; or to address a weakening credit situation. As a result, the Fund may realize capital gains that could be taxable to shareholders or they may realize losses.
During the security selection process, the Manager will assess each security based on certain sustainability factors and for the potential for such factors to have a positive impact on the local community where the municipal debt obligations are issued. A score is determined based on
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Summary prospectus
Macquarie Tax-Free USA Short Term ETF
environmental, social and governance factors. Environmental factors include, but are not limited to, compliance with environmental regulations, flood and earthquake risk, pollution and climate impact. A security’s social factors include, but are not limited to, demographics, labor management, community relations and affordability. Governance factors include, but are not limited to, management oversight, transparency, and disclosure practices. The Manager relies on its internal credit team of analysts that assign internal ratings and ESG scores to all potential investments. The Manager will assign a sustainability score of 3 to securities with neutral sustainability related characteristics, a score of 1 or 2 to securities with positive sustainability characteristics, and a score of 4 or 5 with negative sustainability characteristics. A security with a score of 4 or 5 is automatically disqualified from inclusion in the Fund’s portfolio. The Manager will seek to sell a security held by the Fund if the security’s sustainability score drops below 3 and, in the Manager’s view, the change in score is not temporary. The Fund may invest in securities with a sustainability score of 3 if, in the Manager’s view, such security meets the Fund’s investment objective.
The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in high yield municipal securities (junk bonds), which are rated less than BBB- by S&P or comparably rated by other Nationally Recognized Statistical Ratings Organizations or if unrated, determined to be of comparable quality by the Manager. The Fund’s income level will vary depending on current interest rates and the specific securities in the portfolio. The Fund may invest to a greater extent in certain types of bonds or in a certain segment of the municipal bond market when the supply of bonds in other sectors does not suit its investment needs.
The Fund’s investment objective is nonfundamental. This means that the Fund’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) may change the objective without obtaining shareholder approval. If the objective were changed, the Fund would notify shareholders at least 60 days before the change became effective.
What are the principal risks of investing in the Fund?
Investing in any exchange-traded fund involves the risk that you may lose part or all of the money you invest. Over time, the value of your investment in the Fund will increase and decrease according to changes in the value of the securities in the Fund’s portfolio. An investment in the Fund may not be appropriate for all investors. Unlike many ETFs, the Fund is actively managed and does not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index. The Fund’s principal risks include:
Market risk — The risk that all or a majority of the securities in a certain market - such as the stock or bond market - will decline in value because of factors such as adverse political or economic conditions, future expectations, investor confidence, or heavy institutional selling.
Sustainability risk — Investing with a focus on companies that exhibit a commitment to sustainable practices may result in the Fund investing in certain types of companies, industries or sectors that the market may not favor. The securities of such companies may underperform the stock market as a whole and the criteria used to select companies for investment may result in the Fund investing in securities that underperform securities of companies that do not exhibit such a commitment to sustainability.
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Interest rate risk — The risk that the prices of bonds and other fixed income securities will increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Interest rate changes are influenced by a number of factors, such as government policy, monetary policy, inflation expectations, and the supply and demand of bonds. Bonds and other fixed income securities with longer maturities or duration generally are more sensitive to interest rate changes. A fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates when interest rates are low or inflation rates are high or rising.
High yield (junk bond) risk — The risk that high yield securities, commonly known as “junk bonds,” are subject to reduced creditworthiness of issuers, increased risk of default, and a more limited and less liquid secondary market. High yield securities may also be subject to greater price volatility and risk of loss of income and principal than are higher-rated securities. High yield bonds are sometimes issued by municipalities that have less financial strength and therefore have less ability to make projected debt payments on the bonds.
Credit risk — The risk that an issuer of a debt security, including a governmental issuer or an entity that insures a bond, may be unable to make interest payments and/or repay principal in a timely manner.
Call risk — The risk that a bond issuer will prepay the bond during periods of low interest rates, forcing a fund to reinvest that money at interest rates that might be lower than rates on the called bond.
Liquidity risk — The possibility that investments cannot be readily sold within seven calendar days at approximately the price at which a fund has valued them.
Alternative minimum tax risk — If a fund invests in bonds whose income is subject to the alternative minimum tax, that portion of the fund’s distributions would be taxable for shareholders who are subject to this tax.
Government and regulatory risk — The risk that governments or regulatory authorities may take actions that could adversely affect various sectors of the securities markets and affect fund performance. For example, a tax-exempt security may be reclassified by the Internal Revenue Service or a state tax authority as taxable, and/or future legislative, administrative, or court actions could cause interest from a tax-exempt security to become taxable, possibly retroactively.
Geographic concentration risk — The risk that heightened sensitivity to regional, state, US territories or possessions (such as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, or the US Virgin Islands), and local political and economic conditions could adversely affect the holdings in and performance of a fund. There is also the risk that there could be an inadequate supply of municipal bonds in a particular state or US territory or possession.
Industry and sector risk — The risk that the value of securities in a particular industry or sector will decline because of changing expectations for the performance of that industry or sector.
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Summary prospectus
Macquarie Tax-Free USA Short Term ETF
ETF risk — The Fund is an ETF, and, as a result of an ETF’s structure, it is exposed to the following risks: “Authorized participants, market makers and liquidity providers concentration risk,” “Secondary Market Trading Risk” and “Shares may trade at prices other than NAV risk.”
Active management and selection risk — The risk that the securities selected by a fund’s management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices, or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. The securities and sectors selected may vary from the securities and sectors included in the relevant index.
None of the entities noted in this document is an authorized deposit-taking institution for the purposes of the Banking Act 1959 (Commonwealth of Australia) and the obligations of these entities do not
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represent deposits or other liabilities of Macquarie Bank Limited ABN 46 008 583 542 (Macquarie Bank). Macquarie Bank does not guarantee or otherwise provide assurance in respect of the obligations of these entities. In addition, if this document relates to an investment (a) each investor is subject to investment risk including possible delays in repayment and loss of income and principal invested and (b) none of Macquarie Bank or any other Macquarie Group company guarantees any particular rate of return on or the performance of the investment, nor do they guarantee repayment of capital in respect of the investment.
New fund risk — The Fund is a newly organized, diversified management investment company with no operating history. In addition, there can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to, or maintain, an economically viable size, in which case the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board) may determine to liquidate the Fund.
How has Macquarie Tax-Free USA Short Term ETF performed?
Because the Fund is new, it has no performance history. Once the Fund has commenced operations,
you can obtain updated performance information at etf.macquarie.com or by calling 877-693-3546. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
Who manages the Fund?
Investment manager
Delaware Management Company, a series of Macquarie Investment Management Business Trust (a Delaware statutory trust)
Portfolio managers |
Title with Delaware Management Company |
Start date on the Fund |
Gregory A. Gizzi |
Managing Director, Head of US Fixed Income and Head of Municipal Bonds, Senior Portfolio Manager |
Since inception |
Stephen J. Czepiel |
Managing Director, Head of Municipal Bonds Portfolio Management, Senior Portfolio Manager |
Since inception |
William Roach, CFA,CMT |
Vice President, Senior Municipal Trader, Portfolio Manager |
Since inception |
Purchase and redemption of Fund shares
The Fund is an ETF. As an ETF, only APs may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund issues or redeems shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 50,000 shares or multiples thereof (Creation Units) to APs who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s
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Summary prospectus
Macquarie Tax-Free USA Short Term ETF
distributor, Foreside Financial Services, LLC. The Fund will generally issue or redeem Creation Units in exchange for a basket of securities (and/or an amount of cash) that the Fund specifies each day. Individual shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold on a national securities exchange through a broker-dealer. The price of Fund shares is based on market price, and because ETF shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount).
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information, including information on the Fund’s NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available on the Fund’s website at etf.macquarie.com.
Tax information
The Fund’s distributions generally are taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case your distributions may be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn from the tax-advantaged account.
Payments to broker/dealers and other financial intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker/dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for certain Fund-related activities, including those that are designed to make the intermediary more knowledgeable about exchange traded products, such as the Fund, as well as for marketing, education or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
SMPR-STAX