ETF Series Solutions

09/13/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/13/2024 14:51

Post Effective Amendment to Registration Statement by Investment Company Form 485APOS

AAM SLC ETF 485A

Filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on September 13, 2024
1933 Act Registration File No. 333-179562
1940 Act File No. 811-22668
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-1A
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 [X]
Pre-Effective Amendment No. [ ]
Post-Effective Amendment No. 974 [X]
and
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 [X]
Amendment No. 975 [X]

(Check appropriate box or boxes.)
ETF SERIES SOLUTIONS
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

(Registrant's Telephone Number, including Area Code): (414) 516-1645

Kristina R. Nelson, President
ETF Series Solutions
c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
615 East Michigan Street
Milwaukee, WI 53202
(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

Copy to:
Christopher D. Menconi
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004-2541

As soon as practical after the effective date of this Registration Statement
(Approximate Date of Proposed Public Offering)
It is proposed that this filing will become effective
[ ] immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)
[ ]
on pursuant to paragraph (b)
[ ] 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
[ ]
on pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
[X] 75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)
[ ]
on pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485.

If appropriate, check the following box

[ ] this post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment.


Subject to completion
Dated September 13, 2024

The information herein is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This Prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction in which the offer or sale is not permitted.

PROSPECTUS


AAM SLC Low Duration Income ETF ([ ])
Listed on [ ]
[ ], 2024














The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") has not approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.












TABLE OF CONTENTS
AAM SLC Low Duration Income ETF - Fund Summary
3
Investment Objective
3
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
3
Expense Example
3
Portfolio Turnover
3
Principal Investment Strategies
3
Principal Investment Risks
4
Performance
7
Portfolio Management
7
Purchase and Sale of Shares
7
Tax Information
7
Financial Intermediary Compensation
7
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND
9
Investment Objective
9
Temporary Defensive Positions
9
Principal Investment Risks
9
PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS INFORMATION
13
MANAGEMENT
13
Investment Adviser
13
Sub-Adviser
14
Manager of Managers Structure
14
Portfolio Managers
14
HOW TO BUY AND SELL SHARES
16
Book Entry
16
Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Shares
16
Determination of Net Asset Value
16
Fair Value Pricing
16
Delivery of Shareholder Documents - Householding
17
Investments by Registered Investment Companies
17
DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS, AND TAXES
17
Dividends and Distributions
17
Taxes
17
Taxes on Distributions
17
Taxes When Shares are Sold on the Exchange
18
Taxes on Purchases and Redemptions of Creation Units
19
DISTRIBUTION
19
PREMIUM/DISCOUNT INFORMATION
19
ADDITIONAL NOTICES
19
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
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AAM SLC Low Duration Income ETF - Fund Summary
Investment Objective
The AAM SLC Low Duration Income ETF (the "Fund") seeks to outperform the [ ] (the "Index") on a total return basis.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The following table describes the fees and expenses 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.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees [ ]%
Distribution and/or Service (Rule 12b-1) Fees None
Other Expenses1
[ ]%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses [ ]%
1 Estimated for the current fiscal year.
Expense 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 continue to hold or 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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year:
$[ ]
3 Years:
$[ ]
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund ("ETF") that seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in various U.S. dollar denominated fixed income instruments. The Fund defines fixed income instruments to include investment grade fixed income securities, high yield fixed income securities (also known as "junk bonds"), mortgage-backed securities (both commercial and agency), asset-backed securities, collateralized mortgage obligations ("CMOs"), collateralized loan obligations ("CLOs"), and any other debt or debt-related securities of any maturities (issued by the United States Government, agencies or instrumentalities or corporate entities).
Duration is a measure of the expected life of a fixed income instrument that is used to determine the sensitivity of a security's price to changes in interest rates. For example, if a fixed income security has a duration of five years, its price will rise approximately 5% if interest rates drop by 1%, and its price will fall approximately 5% if interest rate rise by 1%. Effective duration is a measure of the Fund's portfolio duration adjusted for the anticipated effect of interest rate changes on bond and mortgage pre-payment rates. SLC Management ("SLC or the "Sub-Adviser") anticipates that the Fund will be duration neutral against the Index, meaning that the Fund will have an effective duration within half a year of that of the Index. The effective duration of the Fund's portfolio may vary materially from its target, from time to time and under normal market conditions, and there is no assurance that the effective duration of the Fund's portfolio will not exceed (plus or minus) its target.
The Fund's portfolio is managed by SLC. SLC utilizes fundamental and technical research and analysis to identify a starting universe of issuers within the corporate, structured, and securitized credit markets. In general, SLC does not use interest rate anticipation and instead focuses on security-level inefficiencies. SLC seeks to identify fixed income instruments that are, in its judgment, mispriced. SLC monitors the relationships and correlations of various bonds and issuers and conducts review and analysis of the underlying fundamentals of each bond or issuer to attempt to identify if a particular fixed income instrument is either oversold or overbought. SLC also monitors the spread correlations among the various asset classes in which the Fund may invest to screen for sectors SLC believes are trading at a premium or discount and thus may be advantageous for the Fund's portfolio.
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The Fund invests primarily in investment grade debt securities but may invest in other classes of fixed income securities. Subject to the limitations set out herein, the Fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in any fixed income class, or in cash or cash equivalents, depending upon current fixed income market conditions, as well as other factors observed by SLC. Notwithstanding the above, the Fund may not invest more than 15% of its total assets, as determined at the time of purchase, in high yield fixed income securities (also known as "junk bonds") which are (a) rated below investment grade by all Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations ("NRSROs") which provide a rating for such security (i.e., if any NRSRO maintains an investment grade rating on such security, then the security will not be subject to the 15% limit on high yield fixed income securities), or (b) if such high yield securities are unrated, determined by the Sub-Adviser to be of comparable credit quality to similar high yield fixed income securities. The Fund's strategy may result in the active and frequent trading of the Fund's investments, which may result in significant portfolio turnover.
Principal Investment Risks
The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. The principal risks are presented in alphabetical order to facilitate finding particular risks and comparing them with other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a "principal risk" of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value per share ("NAV"), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its objectives. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the section in the Fund's Prospectus titled "Additional Information About the Fund."
•Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed and may not meet its investment objective based on the Sub-Adviser's success or failure to implement investment strategies for the Fund.
•Agency Debt Risk. The Fund may invest in unsecured bonds or debentures issued by U.S. government agencies, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Bonds or debentures issued by U.S. government agencies, government-sponsored entities, or government corporations, including, among others, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are generally backed only by the general creditworthiness and reputation of the U.S. government agency, government-sponsored entity, or government corporation issuing the bond or debenture and are not guaranteed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury ("U.S. Treasury") or backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. As a result, there is uncertainty as to the current status of many obligations of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other agencies that are placed under conservatorship of the federal government. Ginnie Mae securities are generally backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
•Cash and Cash Equivalents Risk. Holding cash or cash equivalents rather than securities or other instruments in which the Fund primarily invests, even strategically, may cause the Fund to risk losing opportunities to participate in market appreciation, and may cause the Fund to experience potentially lower returns than the Fund's benchmark or other funds that remain fully invested. In rising markets, holding cash or cash equivalents will negatively affect the Fund's performance relative to its benchmark.
•CLO Manager Risk.CLOs are managed by entities which are independent of the Adviser and Sub-Adviser. CLO managers are responsible for selecting, managing and replacing the underlying loans within a particular CLO. CLO managers may have limited operating histories and may be subject to conflicts of interests. Such conflicts may include managing the assets of other clients or other investment vehicles, or receiving fees that incentivize maximization of the yield, and therefore the risk, of a CLO. Personnel and resource constraints, regulatory issues or other developments may adversely impact the ability and/or performance of the CLO manager and therefore may adversely impact the performance of the CLO securities in which the Fund invests.
•CLO Risk. CLOs are securities backed by an underlying portfolio of loan obligations. CLOs issue classes or "tranches" that vary in risk and yield and may experience substantial losses due to actual defaults, decrease of market value due to collateral defaults and removal of subordinate tranches, market anticipation of defaults and investor aversion to CLO securities as a class. The risks of investing in CLOs depend largely on the tranche invested in and the type of the underlying loans in the tranche of the CLO in which the Fund invests.
◦Covenant Lite Loans Risk. CLOs may contain underlying loans that may be "covenant lite," meaning that they have few or no financial maintenance covenants that would require the borrower to meet or exceed certain financial requirements. The absence of such covenants may reduce the ability of the lender to monitor the borrower's financial performance and, if necessary, declare an event of default which would permit the lender to take action intended to mitigate losses from the borrower's default on the loan. Therefore, CLOs with holdings of covenant lite loans may have greater difficulty in seeking remedies or taking other actions to preserve the value of loans in situations where a borrower faces declining financial performance. This could result in losses to the CLO and therefore the Fund.
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•CMO Risk. CMOs are securities backed by an underlying portfolio of mortgages. CMOs are subject to credit risk because underlying loan borrowers may default. CMO default rates tend to be sensitive to overall economic conditions and to localized property vacancy rates and prices. Borrower default rates may be significantly higher than estimated. Certain individual securities may be more sensitive to default rates because payments may be subordinated to other securities of the same issuer. The Sub-Adviser's assessment, or a rating agency's assessment, of borrower credit quality, default rates and loss rates may prove to be overly optimistic. Additionally, CMOs are subject to prepayment risk because the underlying loans held by the issuers may be paid off prior to maturity at faster or lower rates than expected.
•ETF Risks.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. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants ("APs"). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (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.
◦Cash Redemption Risk. When the Fund's investment strategy requires it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds, it may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments in order 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 (i.e., distribute securities as payment of redemption proceeds). As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used.
◦Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. 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. 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.Although Shares are listed for trading on [insert name of exchange] (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. There can be no assurance that an active trading market for such Shares will develop or be maintained. 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, and this could lead to differences between the market price of the Shares and the underlying value of those Shares.
•Fixed Income Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in fixed income securities. Fixed income securities, such as bonds and certain asset-backed securities, involve certain risks, which include:
◦Call Risk. During periods of falling interest rates, an issuer of a callable bond held by the Fund may "call" or repay the security prior to its stated maturity, and the Fund may have to reinvest the proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income.
◦Credit Risk. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer of a security will not be able to make principal and interest payments when due. Changes in an issuer's credit rating or the market's perception of an issuer's creditworthiness may also affect the value of an investment in that issuer.
◦Duration Risk. Prices of fixed income securities with longer durations are more sensitive to interest rate changes than those with shorter durations.
◦Event Risk. Event risk is the risk that corporate issuers may undergo restructurings, such as mergers, leveraged buyouts, takeovers, or similar events financed by increased debt. As a result of the added debt, the credit quality and market value of a company's bonds and/or other debt securities may decline significantly.
◦Extension Risk. When interest rates rise, certain obligations will be paid off by the obligor more slowly than anticipated, causing the value of these securities to fall.
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◦Income Risk. The Fund's income may be adversely impacted if interest rates fall in a manner such that variable rate securities held directly or indirectly by the Fund make lower interest payments as a result of the decline in interest rates.
◦Interest Rate Risk. Generally, the value of fixed income securities will change inversely with changes in interest rates. As interest rates rise, the market value of fixed income securities tends to decrease. Conversely, as interest rates fall, the market value of fixed income securities tends to increase. This risk will be greater for long-term securities than for short-term securities. Changes in government intervention may have adverse effects on investments, volatility, and illiquidity in debt markets.
◦Liquidity Risk. Securities in which the Fund invests may have limited liquidity during times of adverse market conditions. Consequently, prices of securities may trade at wide bid-ask spreads at times in which the Fund seeks to sell certain assets. The Fund could potentially be unable to sell securities in a timely manner without substantially negatively impacting the price of such securities. As a result, the Fund's performance could be adversely impacted.
◦Maturity Risk. The value of fixed income investments is also dependent on their maturity. Generally, the longer the maturity of a fixed income security, the greater its sensitivity to changes in interest rates.
◦Prepayment Risk. When interest rates fall, certain obligations will be paid off by the obligor more quickly than originally anticipated, and the Fund may have to invest the proceeds in securities with lower yields.
◦Valuation Risk. Valuation risk refers to the potential for assets in which the Fund invests being valued in a manner that differs from what the Fund is able to realize upon a sale of such assets. During times of market uncertainty, the valuation of certain securities may become more difficult and, therefore, the risk that an asset's valuation will diverge from the price the Fund is ultimately able to realize upon the sale of such asset also increases.
◦Variable and Floating Rate Instrument Risk. Although floating or variable rate securities are generally less sensitive to interest rate risk than fixed rate securities, they are subject to credit, income, liquidity and default risk. The absence of an active market for these securities could make it difficult for the Fund to dispose of them if the issuer defaults.
•Government Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. There can be no guarantee that the United States will be able to meet its payment obligations with respect to such securities. Further, not all obligations issued by a U.S. government-related entity are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Additionally, market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government or other countries may decline or be negative for short or long periods of time.
•High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may frequently buy and sell portfolio securities and other assets to rebalance the Fund's exposure to specific securities. 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.
•High-Yield Securities Risk. High-yield securities (also known as "junk bonds") carry a greater degree of risk and are considered speculative by the major credit rating agencies. High-yield securities may be issued by companies that are restructuring, are smaller and less creditworthy, or are more highly indebted than other companies. This means that they may have more difficulty making scheduled payments of principal and interest. Changes in the value of high-yield securities are influenced more by changes in the financial and business position of the issuing company than by changes in interest rates when compared to investment grade securities. High-yield securities have greater volatility because there is less certainty that principal and interest payments will be made as scheduled. The Fund's investments in high-yield securities expose it to a substantial degree of credit risk. These investments are considered speculative under traditional investment standards. Prices of high-yield securities will rise and fall primarily in response to actual or perceived changes in the issuer's financial health, although changes in market interest rates also will affect prices. High-yield securities may experience reduced liquidity and sudden and substantial decreases in price.
•Market Risk.The trading prices of debt securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors. The Fund's NAV and market price 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.
•Mortgage- and Asset-Backed Securities Risk. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities are more sensitive to interest rate risk than other types of fixed income securities. Modest movements in interest rates (both increases and decreases) may quickly and significantly reduce the value of certain types of these securities. When interest rates fall, mortgage- and asset-backed securities may be subject to prepayment risk. If a borrower prepays some or the entire principal owed, the Fund may have to replace the security by investing the proceeds in a security with a lower yield. This could reduce the share price and income distributions of the Fund, which invests in mortgage- and asset-backed securities. When interest rates rise, certain types of mortgage- and asset-backed securities are subject to extension risk. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities can also be subject to the risk of default on
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the underlying residential or commercial mortgage(s) or other assets. Weakening real estate markets may cause default rates to rise, which would result in a decline in the value of mortgage-backed securities.
•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.
•Privately Issued Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in privately issued securities issued under Rule 144A or Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Sales of privately issued securities are subject to numerous restrictions including, but not limited to, that sales of privately issued securities may typically be made only to qualified institutional buyers, in privately negotiated transactions, to a limited number of purchasers, or in limited quantities after being held for a specific period of time. There may be limited numbers of available purchasers at times when the Fund wishes to sell privately issued securities, including during times of adverse market conditions. Privately issued securities may also trade at wider bid-ask spreads or be difficult to value. There can be no assurance that a privately issued security previously believed to be liquid at the time of purchase will continue to maintain a similar liquidity profile during the period in which it is held by the fund or at the time of sale. Therefore, the Fund is subject to the risk that it may be unable to dispose of such securities without adversely impacting the price received upon sale.
Performance
Performance information for the Fund is not included because the Fund had not yet commenced operations as of the date of this Prospectus. In the future, performance information for the Fund will be presented in this section. Updated performance information will be available on the Fund's website at https://www.aamlive.com/ETF.
Portfolio Management
Adviser
Advisors Asset Management, Inc. ("AAM" or the "Adviser")
Sub-Advisers
Sun Life Capital Management (U.S.) LLC, d/b/aSLC Management ("SLC" or the "Sub-Adviser")
Portfolio Managers
Richard Familetti, CFA, Chief Investment Officer, Portfolio Manager for SLC, Daniel J. Lucey Jr., CFA, Senior Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager for SLC, Michael Donelan, CFA, Senior Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager for SLC, Philip Mendonca, Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager for SLC, Matthew Salzillo, Managing Director, Portfolio Manager for SLC and Annette Serrao, CFA, Managing Director, Portfolio Manager for SLC, have been portfolio managers for the Fund since its inception in [ ] 2024.
Purchase and Sale of Shares
Shares are listed on the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through brokers 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).
The 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.
Investors may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (ask) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market (the "bid-ask spread"). Recent information about the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available on the Fund's website at https://www.aamlive.com/ETF.
Tax Information
Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless your investment is in an 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
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If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an "Intermediary"), the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or their 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.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND
Investment Objective
The Fund's investment objective has been adopted as a non-fundamental investment policy and may be changed without shareholder approval upon written notice to shareholders.
Temporary Defensive Positions
When the Sub-Adviser believes that current market, economic, political or other conditions are unsuitable and would impair the pursuit of the Fund's investment objectives, the Fund may invest some or all of its assets in cash or cash equivalents, including but not limited to obligations of the U.S. government, money market fund shares, commercial paper, certificates of deposit and/or bankers acceptances, as well as other interest bearing or discount obligations or debt instruments that carry an investment grade rating by a national rating agency. When the Fund takes a temporary defensive position, the Fund may not achieve its investment objectives.
Principal Investment Risks
This section provides additional information regarding the principal risks described in the Fund Summary. As in the Fund Summary, the principal risks below are presented in alphabetical order to facilitate finding particular risks and comparing them with other funds. Each risk described below is considered a "principal risk" of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. Each of the factors below could have a negative impact on the Fund's performance and trading prices.
•Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed and may not meet its investment objective based on the Sub-Adviser's success or failure to implement investment strategies for the Fund.
•Agency Debt Risk. The Fund may invest in unsecured bonds or debentures issued by U.S. government agencies. Bonds or debentures issued by U.S. government agencies, government-sponsored entities, or government corporations, including, among others, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are generally backed only by the general creditworthiness and reputation of the U.S. government agency, government-sponsored entity, or government corporation issuing the bond or debenture and are not guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury or backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Ginnie Mae securities are generally backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Some U.S. government agencies, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, purchase and guarantee residential mortgages and form MBS that they issue to the market. These agencies also hold their own MBS as well as those of other institutions with funding from the agency debentures they issue. The market for MBS has been adversely affected by the value of those MBS held and/or issued by these agencies. These securities are subject to more credit risk than U.S. government securities that are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. (e.g., U.S. Treasury bonds). If a U.S. government agency that is the issuer of securities in which the Fund invests is unable to meet its obligations or ceases to exist and no plan is made for repayment of securities, the performance of the Fund will be adversely impacted.
•Cash and Cash Equivalents Risk. Holding cash or cash equivalents rather than securities or other instruments in which the Fund primarily invests, even strategically, may cause the Fund to risk losing opportunities to participate in market appreciation, and may cause the Fund to experience potentially lower returns than the Fund's benchmark or other funds that remain fully invested. In rising markets, holding cash or cash equivalents will negatively affect the Fund's performance relative to its benchmark.
•CLO Manager Risk.CLOs are managed by entities which are independent of the Adviser and Sub-Adviser. CLO managers are responsible for selecting, managing and replacing the underlying loans within a particular CLO. CLO managers may have limited operating histories and may be subject to conflicts of interests. Such conflicts may include managing the assets of other clients or other investment vehicles, or receiving fees that incentivize maximization of the yield, and therefore the risk, of a CLO. Personnel and resource constraints, regulatory issues or other developments may adversely impact the ability and/or performance of the CLO manager and therefore may adversely impact the performance of the CLO securities in which the Fund invests.
•CLO Risk. CLOs are securities backed by an underlying portfolio of loan obligations. CLOs issue classes or "tranches" that vary in risk and yield and may experience substantial losses due to actual defaults, decrease of market value due to collateral defaults and removal of subordinate tranches, market anticipation of defaults and investor aversion to CLO securities as a class. The risks of investing in CLOs depend largely on the tranche invested in and the type of the underlying loans in the tranche of the CLO in which the Fund invests. The risks of investing in CLOs depend largely on the tranche held by the Fund and the types of underlying loans in such tranche of the CLO. The risks of CLOs will be greater if the Fund invests in CLOs that hold loans of uncreditworthy borrowers or if the Fund holds subordinate tranches of the CLO that absorb losses from the defaults before senior tranches. CLOs also carry risks including, but not limited to, interest rate risk and credit risk.
◦Covenant Lite Loans Risk. CLOs may contain underlying loans may be "covenant lite," meaning that they have few or no financial maintenance covenants that would require the borrower to meet or exceed certain financial requirements. The absence of such covenants may reduce the ability of the lender to monitor the borrower's financial performance and, if
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necessary, declare an event of default which would permit the lender to take action intended to mitigate losses from the borrower's default on the loan. Therefore, CLOs with holdings of covenant lite loans may have greater difficulty in seeking remedies or taking other actions to preserve the value of loans in situations where a borrower faces declining financial performance. This could result in losses to the CLO and therefore the Fund.
•CMO Risk. CMOs are securities backed by an underlying portfolio of mortgages. CMOs are subject to credit risk because underlying loan borrowers may default. CMO default rates tend to be sensitive to overall economic conditions and to localized property vacancy rates and prices. Borrower default rates may be significantly higher than estimated. Certain individual securities may be more sensitive to default rates because payments may be subordinated to other securities of the same issuer. The Sub-Adviser's assessment, or a rating agency's assessment, of borrower credit quality, default rates and loss rates may prove to be overly optimistic. Additionally, CMOs are subject to prepayment risk because the underlying loans held by the issuers may be paid off prior to maturity at faster or lower rates than expected. The value of these securities may go down as a result of changes in prepayment rates on the underlying mortgages or loans. During periods of declining interest rates, prepayment rates usually increases and the Fund may have to reinvest prepayment proceeds at a lower interest rate. CMOs may be less susceptible to this risk because payment priorities within the CMO may have the effect of a prepayment lock out period.
•ETF Risks.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. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants ("APs"). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (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.
◦Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund's investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. 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. In addition, cash redemptions may incur higher brokerage costs than in-kind redemptions, and these added costs may be borne by the Fund and negatively impact Fund performance.
◦Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Investors buying or selling Shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers, as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of Shares. In addition, secondary market investors will also incur the cost of the difference between the price at which an investor is willing to buy Shares (the "bid" price) and the price at which an investor is willing to sell Shares (the "ask" price). This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the "spread" or "bid-ask spread." The bid-ask spread varies over time for Shares based on trading volume and market liquidity, and the spread is generally lower if Shares have more trading volume and market liquidity and higher if Shares have little trading volume and market liquidity. Further, a relatively small investor base in the Fund, asset swings in the Fund, and/or increased market volatility may cause increased bid-ask spreads. Due to the 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. 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. The market price of Fund 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 the Fund shares. In times of severe market disruption, the bid-ask spread can increase significantly. At those times, Fund shares are most likely to be traded at a discount to NAV, and the discount is likely to be greatest when the price of Fund shares is falling fastest, which may be the time that you most want to sell your Fund 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.
◦Trading.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
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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, and this could lead to differences between the market price of the Shares and the underlying value of those Shares.
•Fixed Income Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in fixed income securities. Fixed income securities, such as bonds and certain asset-backed securities, involve certain risks, which include:
◦Call Risk. During periods of falling interest rates, an issuer of a callable bond held by the Fund may "call" or repay the security before its stated maturity, and the Fund may have to reinvest the proceeds in securities with lower yields, which would result in a decline in the Fund's income, or in securities with greater risks or with other less favorable features.
◦Credit Risk. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer of a security will not be able to make principal and interest payments when due. Changes in an issuer's credit rating or the market's perception of an issuer's creditworthiness may also affect the value of an investment in that issuer. The degree of credit risk depends on both the financial condition of the issuer and the terms of the obligation.
◦Duration Risk. Prices of fixed income securities with longer durations are more sensitive to interest rate changes than those with shorter durations.
◦Event Risk. Event risk is the risk that corporate issuers may undergo restructurings, such as mergers, leveraged buyouts, takeovers, or similar events financed by increased debt. As a result of the added debt, the credit quality and market value of a company's bonds and/or other debt securities may decline significantly.
◦Extension Risk. When interest rates rise, certain obligations will be paid off by the obligor more slowly than anticipated, causing the value of these securities to fall. Rising interest rates tend to extend the duration of securities, making them more sensitive to future changes in interest rates. The value of longer-term securities generally changes more in response to changes in interest rates than the value of shorter-term securities. As a result, in a period of rising interest rates, securities may exhibit additional volatility and may lose value.
◦Income Risk. The Fund's income may be adversely impacted if interest rates fall in a manner such that variable rate securities held directly or indirectly by the Fund make lower interest payments as a result of the decline in interest rates.
◦Interest Rate Risk. Generally, the value of fixed income securities will change inversely with changes in interest rates. As interest rates rise, the market value of fixed income securities tends to decrease. Conversely, as interest rates fall, the market value of fixed income securities tends to increase. This risk will be greater for long-term securities than for short-term securities. The Fund may take steps to attempt to reduce the exposure of its portfolio to interest rate changes; however, there can be no guarantee that the Fund will take such actions or that the Fund will be successful in reducing the impact of interest rate changes on the portfolio. In recent periods, governmental financial regulators, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, have taken steps to increase interest rates. Changes in government intervention may have adverse effects on investments, volatility, and illiquidity in debt markets.
◦Liquidity Risk. Securities in which the Fund invests may have limited liquidity during times of adverse market conditions. Consequently, prices of securities may trade at wide bid-ask spreads at times in which the Fund seeks to sell certain assets. The Fund could potentially be unable to sell securities in a timely manner without substantially negatively impacting the price of such securities. As a result, the Fund's performance could be adversely impacted.
◦Maturity Risk. The value of fixed income investments is also dependent on their maturity. Generally, the longer the maturity of a fixed income security, the greater its sensitivity to changes in interest rates.
◦Prepayment Risk. When interest rates fall, certain obligations will be paid off by the obligor more quickly than originally anticipated, and the Fund may have to invest the proceeds in securities with lower yields. In periods of falling interest rates, the rate of prepayments tends to increase (as does price fluctuation) as borrowers are motivated to pay off debt and refinance at new lower rates. During such periods, reinvestment of the prepayment proceeds by the management team will generally be at lower rates of return than the return on the assets that were prepaid. Prepayment reduces the yield to maturity and the average life of the security.
◦Valuation Risk. Valuation risk refers to the potential for assets in which the Fund invests being valued in a manner that differs from what the Fund is able to realize upon a sale of such assets. During times of market uncertainty, the valuation of certain
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securities may become more difficult and, therefore, the risk that an asset's valuation will diverge from the price the Fund is ultimately able to realize upon the sale of such asset also increases.
◦Variable and Floating Rate Instrument Risk. Floating or variable rate securities pay interest at rates that adjust in response to changes in a specified interest rate or reset at predetermined dates (such as the end of a calendar quarter). Securities with floating or variable interest rates are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than securities with fixed interest rates, but may decline in value if their interest rates do not rise as much, or as quickly, as comparable market interest rates. Conversely, floating or variable rate securities will not generally increase in value if interest rates decline. The impact of interest rate changes on floating or variable rate securities is typically mitigated by the periodic interest rate reset of the investments. Floating or variable rate securities can be rated below investment grade or unrated; therefore, the Fund relies heavily on the analytical ability of the Sub-Adviser. Floating or variable rate securities are often subject to restrictions on resale, which can result in reduced liquidity.
•Government Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. There can be no guarantee that the United States or another country will be able to meet its payment obligations with respect to such securities. Further, not all obligations issued by a U.S. government-related entity are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Additionally, market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government or other countries may decline or be negative for short or long periods of time.
•High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may frequently buy and sell portfolio securities and other assets to rebalance the Fund's exposure to specific securities. 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.
•High-Yield Securities Risk. Below investment grade instruments are commonly referred to as "junk" or high-yield instruments and are regarded as predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer's capacity to pay interest and repay principal. Lower grade instruments may be particularly susceptible to economic downturns. It is likely that a prolonged or deepening economic recession could adversely affect the ability of the issuers of such instruments to repay principal and pay interest thereon, increase the incidence of default for such instruments and severely disrupt the market value of such instruments.
Lower grade instruments, though higher yielding, are characterized by higher risk. They may be subject to certain risks with respect to the issuing entity and to greater market fluctuations than certain lower yielding, higher rated instruments. The retail secondary market for lower grade instruments may be less liquid than that for higher rated instruments. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may also decrease the value and liquidity of these high-yield securities. Adverse conditions could make it difficult at times for the Fund to sell certain instruments or could result in lower prices than those used in calculating the Fund's NAV. Because of the substantial risks associated with investments in lower grade instruments, investors could lose money on their investment in the Fund, both in the short-term and the long-term.
The Fund's investments in distressed and defaulted securities may be considered speculative and involve substantial risks in addition to the risks of investing in junk bonds. The Fund will generally not receive interest payments on the distressed securities and the principal may also be at risk. These securities may present a substantial risk of default or may be in default at the time of investment, requiring the Fund to incur additional costs.
•Market Risk.The trading prices of debt securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors. The Fund's NAV and market price 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.
•Mortgage- and Asset-Backed Securities Risk. Mortgage-backed securities (residential and commercial) and asset-backed securities represent interests in "pools" of mortgages or other assets, including consumer loans or receivables held in trust. Although asset-backed and commercial mortgage-backed securities ("CMBS") generally experience less prepayment risk than residential mortgage-backed securities ("RMBS"), each of RMBS, CMBS and asset-backed securities, like traditional fixed income securities, are subject to credit, interest rate, prepayment and extension risks. See "Fixed Income Securities Risk" above. Small movements in interest rates (both increases and decreases) may quickly and significantly reduce the value of certain mortgage-backed securities. The Fund's investments in asset-backed securities are subject to risks similar to those associated with mortgage-related securities, as well as additional risks associated with the nature of the assets and the servicing of those assets. These securities also are subject to the risk of default on the underlying mortgage or assets, particularly during periods of economic downturn. Certain CMBS are issued in several classes with different levels of yield and credit protection. The Fund's investments in CMBS with several classes may be in the lower classes that have greater risks than the higher classes, including greater interest rate, credit and prepayment risks. The mortgage market in the United States recently has experienced difficulties that may adversely affect the performance and market value of certain of a Fund's mortgage-related investments. Delinquencies
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and losses on mortgage loans (including subprime and second-lien mortgage loans) generally have increased recently and may continue to increase, and a decline in or flattening of real-estate values (as has recently been experienced and may continue to be experienced in many housing markets) may exacerbate such delinquencies and losses. Also, a number of mortgage loan originators have recently experienced serious financial difficulties or bankruptcy. Reduced investor demand for mortgage loans and mortgage-related securities and increased investor yield requirements have caused limited liquidity in the secondary market for mortgage-related securities, which can adversely affect the market value of mortgage-related securities. It is possible that such limited liquidity in such secondary markets could continue or worsen. Asset-backed securities entail certain risks not presented by mortgage-backed securities, including the risk that in certain states it may be difficult to perfect the liens securing the collateral backing certain asset-backed securities. In addition, certain asset-backed securities are based on loans that are unsecured, which means that there is no collateral to seize if the underlying borrower defaults. Certain mortgage-backed securities in which the Fund may invest may also provide a degree of investment leverage, which could cause the Fund to lose all or substantially all of its investment.
•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.
•Privately Issued Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in privately issued securities issued under Rule 144A or Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Sales of privately issued securities are subject to numerous restrictions including, but not limited to, that sales of privately issued securities may typically be made only to qualified institutional buyers, in privately negotiated transactions, to a limited number of purchasers, or in limited quantities after being held for a specific period of time. There may be limited numbers of available purchasers at times when the Fund wishes to sell privately issued securities, including during times of adverse market conditions. Privately issued securities may also trade at wider bid-ask spreads or be difficult to value. There can be no assurance that a privately issued security previously believed to be liquid at the time of purchase will continue to maintain a similar liquidity profile during the period in which it is held by the fund or at the time of sale. Therefore, the Fund is subject to the risk that it may be unable to dispose of such securities without adversely impacting the price received upon sale.
PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS INFORMATION
Information about the Fund's daily portfolio holdings is available at https://www.aamlive.com/ETF. 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 ("SAI").
MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser
Advisors Asset Management, Inc. serves as the investment adviser and has overall responsibility for the general management and administration of the Fund. AAM also arranges for sub-advisory, transfer agency, custody, fund administration, distribution and all other services necessary for the Fund to operate. AAM provides oversight of the Sub-Adviser, monitoring of the Sub-Adviser's buying and selling of securities for the Fund, and review of the Sub-Adviser's performance. For the services it provides to the Fund, the Fund pays AAM a unified management fee, which is calculated daily and paid monthly, at an annual rate of [ ]%, based on the Fund's average daily net assets.
Under the Investment Advisory Agreement (the "Advisory Agreement"), AAM has agreed to pay all expenses of the Fund, except for: the fee paid to AAM pursuant to 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 (12b-1) fees and expenses. AAM, in turn, compensates the Sub-Adviser from the management fee it receives.
AAM shall not be liable to the Trust or any shareholder for anything done or omitted by it, except acts or omissions arising out of the Adviser's willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties under the Advisory Agreement or its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under the Advisory Agreement or for any losses that may be sustained in the purchase, holding, or sale of any security.
AAM's headquarters is located at 18925 Base Camp Road, Suite 203, Monument, Colorado 80132. AAM is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AAM Holdings, Inc., which is majority-owned by Sun Life Financial, Inc. ("Sun Life Financial"), a financial services company listed on the NYSE., through its subsidiaries. AAM is a registered broker dealer, member FINRA and SIPC, and SEC registered investment adviser. AAM provides portfolio supervisory and evaluation services to AAM-sponsored unit investment trusts
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registered under the 1940 Act and provides investment advisory services to separately managed accounts, mutual funds, and ETFs, including the Fund.
The basis for the Board's approval of the Advisory Agreement will be available in the Fund's first [Annual or Semi-Annual Report] to Shareholders.
Sub-Adviser
The Adviser has retained Sun Life Capital Management (U.S.), LLC d/b/a SLC Management to serve as sub-adviser for the Fund. SLC is a registered investment adviser with its principal office located at 96 Worcester Street, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481. SLC was formed in 1991 and provides investment advisory services to other accounts including private funds, other registered investment companies, and the Fund. SLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sun Life Financial. AAM and SLC are affiliated entities due to their common ownership by Sun Life Financial Inc.. As of [ ], 2024, SLC had approximately $[ ] in assets under management.
SLC is responsible fir the day-to-day management of the Fund. The Sub-Adviser is also responsible for trading portfolio securities for the Fund, including selecting broker-dealers to execute purchase and sale transactions, subject to the supervision of the Adviser and the Board.
For its services, the Sub-Adviser is paid a fee by the Adviser, which fee is calculated daily and paid monthly, at an annual rate of the Fund's average daily net assets of [ ].
The basis for the Board's approval of the Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement will be available in the Fund's first [Annual or Semi-Annual] Report to Shareholders.
Manager of Managers Structure
The Fund and the Adviser have received an exemptive order from the SEC permitting the Adviser (subject to certain conditions and the Board's approval) to select or change sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval. The order also permits the Adviser to materially amend the terms of agreements with a sub-adviser (including an increase in the fee paid by the Adviser to the sub-adviser (and not paid by the Fund)) or to continue the employment of a sub-adviser after an event that would otherwise cause the automatic termination of services with Board approval, but without shareholder approval. Shareholders will be notified of any sub-adviser changes.
Portfolio Managers
The below individuals are the Fund's Portfolio Managers and are jointly and primarily responsible for day-to-day management of the Fund's portfolio.
Richard Familetti, CFA - Chief Investment Officer, U.S. Total Return Fixed Income. Mr. Familetti joined SLC Management in 2009 and has over 25 years of industry experience. Prior to this, he served as Ryan Labs Asset Management's President and CIO. In his current role, he leads SLC's U.S. Total Return Fixed Income team. Mr. Familetti and his team have extensive experience specializing in corporate credit and fixed income asset allocation. They cover all sectors of the fixed income markets employing a combination of fundamental and technical analysis.
Mr. Familetti's portfolio of work includes senior portfolio management positions at Halbis Capital Management, Calyon Bank, Credit Suisse Asset Management (the result of the sale of a small, successful partnership called Brundage, Story and Rose, Investment Management), and Lazard Freres Asset Management.
Mr. Familetti holds a B.A. from Hofstra University and an M.B.A. from Fordham University. He is a CFA charterholder.
Daniel J. Lucey Jr., CFA - Senior Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager. Mr. Lucey, Jr. joined SLC Management in 2009 and is a Senior Portfolio Manager focusing on structured product investments and mortgage credit strategies. Mr. Lucey, Jr. co-manages the short duration, core, and custom LDI portfolios as part of SLC's U.S. Total Return Fixed Income team. Mr. Lucey, Jr.'s responsibilities include performing credit research and valuation, and managing and trading the ABS, CMBS, and MBS sectors.
Prior to 2010, Mr. Lucey, Jr. served as an Institutional Portfolio Strategist for the team. In that role, he was responsible for LDI/Fixed Income research, strategy and communicating investment philosophy, capital market climate and underlying positions to institutional clients. He also assisted with asset/liability strategies and credit research. Mr. Lucey, Jr.'s prior experience includes actuarial analysis, pension fund asset and liability valuation, and pension industry research.
Before joining SLC Management, Mr. Lucey, Jr. was a Senior Research Analyst with Cerulli Associates, a strategy research and consulting firm specializing in the financial services industry. Past research and articles he's authored cover institutional asset allocation and asset/liability management, liability-driven investment strategies and the use of alternatives in pension funds. Mr. Lucey, Jr. was also an actuarial analyst at Fidelity Investments, performing defined benefit asset and liability valuation and consulting plan sponsors on asset/liability management.
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Mr. Lucey Jr. holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the College of the Holy Cross. He is a CFA charterholder and is a member of the New York CFA society.
Michael Donelan, CFA - Senior Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager. Mr. Donelan joined SLC Management in 2003 as Portfolio Manager and Director of Trading. His experience includes fundamental and technical research as well as trading a wide spectrum of fixed income securities.
Prior to joining, Mr. Donelan held positions as Principal Investment Officer for the New York State Insurance Fund, Director of Asset Management at Native Nations Asset Management, Senior Portfolio Manager with Butterfield Asset Management in Bermuda, Portfolio Manager and Trader at ABN- AMRO Bank, and trader at Brown Brothers Harriman.
Mr. Donelan holds M.B.A. from Fordham University a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Seton Hall University. He is a CFA charterholder and is a member of the New York CFA society.
Philip Mendonca - Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager. Mr. Mendonca joined SLC Management in March of 2003 and is responsible for the U.S. Total Return Fixed Income team's structured product investments and mortgage credit strategies. Mr. Mendonca also co-manages the real return, short duration, core, and custom LDI portfolios. Mr. Mendonca has successfully headed the portfolio management team's investments in levered and unlevered investments in Mortgage, Asset Backed and interest rate/inflation linked strategies. Mr. Mendonca directs the team's credit strategy as it is related to mortgages (residential and commercial) and a myriad of asset backed securities. This involves fundamental and technical analysis and is both top-down and bottom-up, requiring continuous monitoring of collateral performance and development of credit models.
Mr. Mendonca directed the firm's TALF investments and continues to guide the mortgage portfolio strategy and construction as it relates to changing custom client solutions. During his tenure, Mr. Mendonca developed several yield curve pricing tools and performance indices and was heavily involved in the development of custom client solutions in asset liability analysis, custom benchmarks creation and portfolio structuring.
Prior to 2004, Mr. Mendonca served as a Trader/Analyst, as well as a Quantitative Analyst for the team.
Mr. Mendonca was an active duty Marine for four years serving in posts throughout Asia, North Africa and the Middle East before joining SLC Management. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management Science and Operations Research from Pace University.
Matthew Salzillo - Managing Director, Portfolio Manager. Mr. Salzillo joined SLC Management in 2004 and is a Portfolio Manager focusing on Treasuries, Agencies and Credit sector. He trades across all sectors in short, intermediate, long, and very long maturities. Mr. Salzillo leads monitoring of the new issue market for the team. He is heavily involved in portfolio construction process for generic and custom benchmarks.
Prior to 2013, Mr. Salzillo was a Trader/Analyst on the U.S. Total Return Fixed Income team. His responsibilities included trading across asset classes in the fixed income markets, working within the portfolio management team to develop and implementing investment strategies, and monitoring portfolio and trade compliance. Mr. Salzillo focused on achieving best execution, while attempting to maximize risk adjusted returns through favorable execution and timing.
Mr. Salzillo earned his M.B.A. in Finance from Rutgers University and Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the Stillman School of Business at Seton Hall University.
Annette Serrao, CFA - Managing Director, Portfolio Manager. Ms. Serrao joined SLC Management in July 2010 and is a Portfolio Manager focusing on Long Credit and LDI strategies. She is primarily responsible for the portfolio construction process, credit analysis and trading within these strategies.
Prior to 2020, Ms. Serrao was a Credit Analyst supporting the portfolio management team. She also served as Portfolio Strategist, where her primary responsibilities included conducting asset liability analysis and providing asset portfolio details to clients and consultants.
Ms. Serrao previously served as an Associate for two years at Tata Consultancy Services, India, Banking, Financial Services and Insurance sector (BFSI), leading data warehousing projects related to credit cards, mortgages, personal loans and auto loans across different geographies. She also holds a Six Sigma (Green Belt) certification.
Ms. Serrao earned her M.B.A. in Finance from Pace University's Lubin School of Business and a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Engineering from Mumbai University, India. She is a CFA charterholder.
The Fund's SAI provides additional information about the Portfolio Managers' compensation structure, other accounts managed by the Portfolio Managers, and the Portfolio Managers' ownership of Shares.
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HOW TO BUY AND SELL SHARES
The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in Creation Units. 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 (defined below), 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. 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 bid-ask spread on your transactions. 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 ("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 with 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, the Board has also determined that frequent purchases and redemptions for cash may increase portfolio transaction costs and may lead to the realization of capital gains. To minimize these potential consequences of frequent purchases and redemptions, the Fund employs fair value pricing and may impose transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the Fund in effecting trades. In addition, the Fund and the Adviser reserve the right to reject any purchase order at any time.
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 ("NYSE"), generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, each day the NYSE is open for business. The NAV 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. If such information is not available for a security held by the Fund or is determined to be unreliable, the security 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 securities whose market prices are not "readily available" or are deemed to be unreliable. For example, such circumstances may arise when: (i) a security has been de-listed or has had its trading halted or suspended; (ii) a security's primary pricing source is unable or unwilling to provide a price; (iii) a security's primary trading market is closed during regular market hours; or (iv) a security's value is materially affected by events occurring after the close of the security's primary trading market. The Board has appointed the Adviser as the Fund's valuation designee to perform all fair valuations of the Fund's portfolio investments, subject to the Board's oversight. Accordingly, the Adviser has established procedures for its fair valuation of the Fund's portfolio investments. Generally, when fair valuing a security 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
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of the security, general and/or specific market conditions and the specific facts giving rise to the need to fair value the security. 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 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 the security upon the sale of such security.
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.
Investments by Registered Investment Companies
Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by registered investment companies in the securities of other investment companies, including Shares. 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 set forth in Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act, including that such investment companies enter into an agreement with the Fund.
DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS, AND TAXES
Dividends and Distributions
The Fund intends to pay out dividends, if any, monthly and distribute any net realized capital gains to its shareholders at least annually. The Fund will declare and pay capital gain distributions, if any, in cash. 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.
The Fund seeks to maintain relatively steady monthly distributions although the amount of income earned by the Fund varies from period-to-period. To achieve this, the Fund may distribute less than the full amount of income earned during a specific period to preserve income for distribution in future periods. Consequently, the amount of income distributed in any one period may be more or less than the actual amount of income earned in that period. A portion of the distributions made by the Fund may be treated as return of capital for tax purposes. Shareholders who receive a payment of a distribution consisting of a return of capital may be under the impression that they are receiving net profits when, in fact, they are not. Shareholders should not assume that the source of a distribution from the Fund is net profit.
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 elect and qualify each year for treatment as a regulated investment company ("RIC") under the Code. If the Fund 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
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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 received 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. The Fund's investment strategy may limit the amount of distributions eligible for treatment as qualified dividend income in the hands of non-corporate shareholders or eligible for the dividends received deduction for corporate shareholders.
Shortly after the close of each calendar year, you will be informed of the amount and character of any distributions received from the Fund.
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.
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 the Fund's distributions exceed its earnings and profits, all or a portion of the distributions made for a 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 Shares and result in a higher capital gain or lower capital loss when the Shares are sold. After a shareholder's basis in Shares has been reduced to zero, distributions in excess of earnings and profits in respect of those Shares will be treated as gain from the sale of the Shares.
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 Shares by 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.
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.
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 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 of the Fund 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 of the Fund 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
18











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 its 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 the wash sales rule applies 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.
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
The Distributor, Quasar Distributors, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Foreside Financial Group, LLC (d/b/a ACA Group), is a broker-dealer registered with the SEC. The Distributor distributes Creation Units for the Fund on an agency basis and does not maintain a secondary market in Shares. The Distributor has no role in determining the policies of the Fund or the securities that are purchased or sold by the Fund. The Distributor's principal address is Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101.
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 the Fund's 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 Shares traded on the Exchange at a price above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount) to the NAV of the Fund will be available on the Fund's website at https://www.aamlive.com/ETF.
ADDITIONAL NOTICES
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, the Sub-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.
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AAM SLC Low Duration Income ETF
Adviser
Advisors Asset Management, Inc.
18925 Base Camp Road, Suite 203
Monument, Colorado 80132
Administrator, Fund Accountant, and Transfer Agent
U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC
d/b/a U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
615 East Michigan Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
Sub-Adviser
Sun Life Capital Management (U.S.) LLC
d/b/a SLC Management
96 Worcester Street
Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts 02481

Distributor
Quasar Distributors, LLC
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101
Custodian
U.S. Bank National Association
1555 N. Rivercenter Drive
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212
Legal Counsel
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004-2541
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm [ ]
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. A current SAI dated [ ], 2024, is on file with the SEC and is herein incorporated by reference into this Prospectus. It is legally considered a part of this Prospectus.
Annual/Semi-Annual Reports: 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. 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 at c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, P.O. Box 701, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-0701 or by calling 1-800-617-0004.
Shareholder reports and other information about the Fund are also available:
•Free of charge from the SEC's EDGAR database on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov; or
•Free of charge from the Fund's Internet web site at https://www.aamlive.com/ETF; or
•For a fee, by e-mail request to [email protected].


(SEC Investment Company Act File No. 811-22668)
20

Subject to completion
Dated September 13, 2024

The information herein is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This Statement of Additional Information is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction in which the offer or sale is not permitted.

AAM SLC Low Duration Income ETF ([ ])
a series of ETF Series Solutions
Listed on [ ]
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
[ ], 2024

This Statement of Additional Information ("SAI") is not a prospectus and should be read in conjunction with the prospectus dated [ ], 2024, as may be supplemented from time to time (the "Prospectus"), of the AAM SLC Low Duration Income ETF (the "Fund"), a series of ETF Series Solutions (the "Trust"). 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, visiting https://www.aamlive.com/ETF, or writing to the Fund, c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, P.O. Box 701, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-0701.
The Fund's audited financial statements for the most recent fiscal year (when available) are incorporated into this SAI by reference to the Fund's most recent Annual Report to Shareholders (File No. 811-22668). When available, you may obtain a copy of the Fund's Annual Report at no charge by contacting the Fund at the address or phone number noted above.



















1

TABLE OF CONTENTS
General Information About the Trust
3
Additional Information About Investment Objectives, Policies, and Related Risks
3
Diversification
3
General Risks
3
Description of Permitted Investments
4
Investment Restrictions
13
Exchange Listing and Trading
14
Management of the Trust
15
Principal Shareholders, Control Persons, and Management Ownership
20
Codes of Ethics
20
Proxy Voting Policies
20
Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser
20
The Distributor
22
The Transfer Agent and Administrator
23
Custodian and Securities Lending Agent
23
Legal Counsel
24
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
24
Portfolio Holdings Disclosure Policies and Procedures
24
Description of Shares
24
Limitation of Trustees' Liability
24
Brokerage Transactions
24
Portfolio Turnover Rate
26
Book Entry Only System
26
Purchase and Redemption of Shares in Creation Units
27
Determination of Net Asset Value
31
Dividends and Distributions
32
Federal Income Taxes
32
Financial Statements
37
Appendix A
A-1
2

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE TRUST
The Trust is an open-end management investment company consisting of multiple investment series. This SAI relates to the Fund. The Trust was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on February 9, 2012. The Trust is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (together with the rules and regulations adopted thereunder, as amended, the "1940 Act"), as an open-end management investment company and the offering of the Fund's shares ("Shares") is registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). The Trust is governed by its Board of Trustees (the "Board").
Advisors Asset Management, Inc. ("AAM" or the "Adviser") serves as the Fund's investment adviser, and Sun Life Capital Management (U.S.), LLC d/b/a SLC Management ("SLC" or the "Sub-Adviser") serves as sub-adviser to the Fund. As described in the Prospectus, the investment objective of the Fund is to seek total return versus the Bloomberg 1-3 Year Government/Credit Index® while providing protection against interest rate risk.
The Fund offers and issues Shares at its 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 a basket of securities ("Deposit Securities") together with the deposit of a specified cash payment ("Cash Component"). The Trust reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of a "cash in lieu" amount ("Deposit Cash") to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security. Shares are listed on the [ ] (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 for a basket of Deposit Securities together with a Cash Component. A Creation Unit of the Fund generally consists of [ ] 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.
Shares may be issued in advance of receipt of Deposit Securities subject to various conditions, including a requirement to maintain on deposit with the Trust cash at least equal to a specified percentage of the value of the missing Deposit Securities, as set forth in the Participant Agreement (as defined below). 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.
DIVERSIFICATION
The Fund is "diversified" within the meaning of the 1940 Act. Under applicable federal laws, to qualify as a diversified fund, the Fund, with respect to 75% of its total assets, may not invest greater than 5% of its total assets in any one issuer and may not hold greater than 10% of the securities of one issuer, other than investments in cash and cash items (including receivables), U.S. government securities, and securities of other investment companies. The remaining 25% of the Fund's total assets do not need to be "diversified" and may be invested in securities of a single issuer, subject to other applicable laws. The diversification of the Fund's holdings is measured at the time the Fund purchases a security. However, if the Fund purchases a security and holds it for a period of time, the security may become a larger percentage of the Fund's total assets due to movements in the financial markets. If the market affects several securities held by the Fund, the Fund may have a greater percentage of its assets invested in securities of a single issuer or a small number of issuers. However, the Fund intends to satisfy the asset diversification requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company ("RIC") under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"). See "Federal Income Taxes" below for details.
GENERAL RISKS
The value of the Fund's portfolio securities may fluctuate with changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular security 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 securities held by the Fund will be maintained. The existence of a liquid trading market for certain securities may depend on whether dealers will make a market in such securities. 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 securities may be sold and the value of Shares will be adversely affected if trading markets for the Fund's portfolio securities are limited or absent, or if bid-ask spreads are wide.
3

Cyber Security 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 cyber security breaches. Cyber attacks affecting the Fund or the Adviser, Sub-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 may also incur additional costs for cyber security risk management purposes. Similar types of cyber security risks are also 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 begun to dissipate, 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 circumstances 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.
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 sanctions restrict companies from doing business with Russia and Russian companies, prohibit transactions with the Russian central bank and other key Russian financial institutions and entities, ban Russian airlines and ships from using many other countries' airspace and ports, respectively, and place a freeze on certain Russian assets. The sanctions also removed some Russian banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT), the electronic network that connects banks globally to facilitate cross-border payments. In addition, the United States and the United Kingdom have banned oil and other energy imports from Russia, and the European Union has banned most Russian crude oil imports and refined petroleum products, with limited exceptions. 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. 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 to Russian issuers or issuers in other countries affected by the invasion.
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.
Borrowing
Although the Fund does not intend to borrow money, the Fund may do so to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. Under the 1940 Act, the Fund may borrow up to one-third (1/3) of its total assets. The Fund will borrow money only for short-term or emergency purposes. Such borrowing is not for investment purposes and will be repaid by the Fund promptly. Borrowing will tend to exaggerate the effect on NAV of any increase or decrease in the market value of the 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.
Collateralized Debt Obligations
The Fund may invest directly in collateralized debt obligations ("CDOs"), which are a type of asset-backed security and include, among other things, collateralized bond obligations ("CBOs"), collateralized loan obligations ("CLOs"), and other similarly structured securities. A CBO is a trust which is backed by a diversified pool of high risk, below investment grade fixed income securities. A CLO is a trust typically collateralized by a pool of loans, which may include, among others, domestic and foreign senior secured loans,
4

senior unsecured loans and subordinate corporate loans, including loans that may be rated below investment grade or equivalent unrated loans.
The cash flows from the CDO trust are generally split into two or more portions, called tranches, varying in risk and yield. Senior tranches are paid from the cash flows from the underlying assets before the junior tranches and equity or "first loss" tranches. Losses are first borne by the equity tranches, next by the junior tranches, and finally by the senior tranches. Senior tranches pay the lowest interest rates but are generally safer investments than more junior tranches because, should there be any default, senior tranches are typically paid first. The most junior tranches, such as equity tranches, would attract the highest interest rates but suffer the highest risk should the holder of an underlying loan default. If some loans default and the cash collected by the CDO is insufficient to pay all of its investors, those in the lowest, most junior tranches suffer losses first. Since it is partially protected from defaults, a senior tranche from a CDO trust typically has higher ratings and lower yields than the underlying securities, and can be rated investment grade. Despite the protection from the equity tranche, more senior CDO tranches can experience substantial losses due to actual defaults, increased sensitivity to defaults due to collateral default and disappearance of protecting tranches, market anticipation of defaults and aversion to CDO securities as a class.
The risks of an investment in a CDO depend largely on the quality and type of the collateral and the tranche of the CDO in which a Portfolio invests. Normally, CBOs, CLOs, and other CDOs are privately offered and sold, and thus are not registered under the securities laws. As a result, investments in CDOs may be characterized as illiquid investments. In addition to the risks associated with debt instruments (e.g., interest rate risk and credit risk), CDOs carry additional risks including, but not limited to: (i) the possibility that distributions from collateral securities will not be adequate to make interest or other payments; (ii) the quality of the collateral may decline in value or default; (iii) the possibility that a CDO may be subordinate to other classes; and (iv) the complex structure of the security may not be fully understood at the time of investment and may produce disputes with the issuer or unexpected investment results.
CLOs. The Fund may invest directly or in underlying funds that invest in CLOs. A CLO is a financing company (generally called a Special Purpose Vehicle or "SPV"), created to reapportion the risk and return characteristics of a pool of assets. While the assets underlying CLOs are typically senior loans, the assets may also include (i) unsecured loans, (ii) other debt securities that are rated below investment grade, (iii) debt tranches of other CLOs and (iv) equity securities incidental to investments in senior loans. Lower debt tranches of CLOs typically experience a lower recovery and bear greater risk of loss or deferral or non-payment of interest than more senior debt tranches of the CLO. The underlying senior loans purchased by CLOs are generally performing at the time of purchase but may become non-performing, distressed or defaulted. The key feature of the CLO structure is the prioritization of the cash flows from a pool of debt securities among the several classes of the CLO. The SPV is a company founded solely for the purpose of securitizing payment claims arising out of this diversified asset pool. On this basis, marketable securities are issued by the SPV which, due to the diversification of the underlying risk, generally represent a lower level of risk than the original assets. The redemption of the securities issued by the SPV typically takes place at maturity out of the cash flow generated by the collected claims.
Holders of CLOs bear risks of the underlying investments, index or reference obligation and are subject to counterparty risk.
The Fund or an underlying fund may have the right to receive payments only from the CLOs, and generally does not have direct rights against the issuer or the entity that sold the assets to be securitized. While certain CLOs enable the investor to acquire interests in a pool of securities without the brokerage and other expenses associated with directly holding the same securities, investors in CLOs generally pay their share of the CLO's administrative and other expenses. Although it is difficult to predict whether the prices of indices and securities underlying a CLO will rise or fall, these prices (and, therefore, the prices of CLOs) will be influenced by the same types of political and economic events that affect issuers of securities and capital markets generally. If the issuer of a CLO uses shorter term financing to purchase longer term securities, the issuer may be forced to sell its securities at below market prices if it experiences difficulty in obtaining short-term financing, which may adversely affect the value of the CLO. Certain CLOs may be thinly traded or have a limited trading market. CLOs are typically privately offered and sold. As a result, investments in CLOs may be characterized as illiquid investments. In addition to the general risks associated with debt securities discussed herein, CLOs carry additional risks, including, but not limited to: (i) the possibility that distributions from collateral securities will not be adequate to make interest or other payments; (ii) the quality of the collateral may decline in value or default; (iii) the possibility that the investments in CLOs are subordinate to other classes or tranches thereof; and (iv) the complex structure of the security may not be fully understood at the time of investment and may produce disputes with the issuer or unexpected investment results.
Collateralized Mortgage Obligations
The Fund may invest in collateralized mortgage obligations ("CMOs"). A CMO is a hybrid between a mortgage-backed bond and a mortgage pass-through security. A CMO is a type of mortgage-backed security that creates separate classes with varying maturities and interest rates, called tranches. Similar to a bond, interest and prepaid principal is paid, in most cases, semiannually. CMOs may be collateralized by whole mortgage loans but are more typically collateralized by portfolios of mortgage pass-through securities guaranteed by the Government National Mortgage Association ("GNMA") and government-related organizations such as the Federal National Mortgage Association ("FNMA") and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("FHLMC"), and their income streams.
CMOs are structured into multiple classes, each bearing a different fixed or floating interest rate and stated maturity. Actual maturity and average life will depend upon the prepayment experience of the collateral. CMOs provide for a modified form of call protection
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through a de facto breakdown of the underlying pool of mortgages according to how quickly the loans are repaid. Monthly payment of principal received from the pool of underlying mortgages, including prepayments, is first returned to investors holding the shortest maturity class. Investors holding the longer maturity classes receive principal only after the first class has been retired. An investor is partially guarded against a sooner than desired return of principal because of the sequential payments.
In a typical CMO transaction, a corporation (issuer) issues multiple series (e.g., Series A, B, C and Z) of CMO bonds ("Bonds"). Proceeds of the Bond offering are used to purchase mortgages or mortgage pass-through certificates ("Collateral"). The Collateral is pledged to a third party trustee as security for the Bonds. Principal and interest payments from the Collateral are used to pay principal on the Bonds in the following order: Series A, B, C and Z. The Series A, B, and C Bonds all bear current interest. Interest on a Series Z Bond is accrued and added to principal and a like amount is paid as principal on the Series A, B, or C Bond currently being paid off. Only after the Series A, B, and C Bonds are paid in full does the Series Z Bond begin to receive payment. With some CMOs, the issuer serves as a conduit to allow loan originators (primarily builders or savings and loan associations) to borrow against their loan portfolios.
CMOs that are issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or by any of its agencies or instrumentalities will be considered U.S. government securities by the Fund, while other CMOs, even if collateralized by U.S. government securities, will have the same status as other privately issued securities for purposes of applying the Fund's diversification tests.
FHLMC CMOs are debt obligations of FHLMC issued in multiple classes having different maturity dates which are secured by the pledge of a pool of conventional mortgage loans purchased by FHLMC. Payments of principal and interest on the FHLMC CMOs are made semiannually. The amount of principal payable on each semiannual payment date is determined in accordance with FHLMC's mandatory sinking fund schedule, which, in turn, is equal to approximately 100% of FHA prepayment experience applied to the mortgage collateral pool. All sinking fund payments in the FHLMC CMOs are allocated to the retirement of the individual classes of bonds in the order of their stated maturities. Payment of principal on the mortgage loans in the collateral pool in excess of the amount of FHLMC's minimum sinking fund obligation for any payment date are paid to the holders of the FHLMC CMOs as additional sinking fund payments. Because of the "pass-through" nature of all principal payments received on the collateral pool in excess of FHLMC's minimum sinking fund requirement, the rate at which principal of the FHLMC CMOs is actually repaid is likely to be such that each class of bonds will be retired in advance of its scheduled maturity date. If collection of principal (including prepayments) on the mortgage loans during any semiannual payment period is not sufficient to meet FHLMC CMO's minimum sinking fund obligation on the next sinking fund payment date, FHLMC agrees to make up the deficiency from its general funds.
Classes of CMOs may also include interest only ("IOs") and principal only ("POs"). IOs and POs are stripped mortgage-backed securities representing interests in a pool of mortgages the cash flow from which has been separated into interest and principal components. IOs (interest only securities) receive the interest portion of the cash flow while POs (principal only securities) receive the principal portion. IOs and POs can be extremely volatile in response to changes in interest rates. As interest rates rise and fall, the value of IOs tends to move in the same direction as interest rates. POs perform best when prepayments on the underlying mortgages rise since this increases the rate at which the investment is returned and the yield to maturity on the PO. When payments on mortgages underlying a PO are slow, the life of the PO is lengthened and the yield to maturity is reduced.
CMOs are generally subject to the same risks as mortgage-backed securities. In addition, CMOs may be subject to credit risk because the issuer or credit enhancer has defaulted on its obligations and the Fund may not receive all or part of its principal. Obligations issued by U.S. government-related entities are guaranteed as to the payment of principal and interest, but are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. The performance of private label mortgage-backed securities, issued by private institutions, is based on the financial health of those institutions. Although GNMA guarantees timely payment of GNMA certificates even if homeowners delay or default, tracking the "pass-through" payments may, at times, be difficult.
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 Sub-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.
Corporate Debt Securities. Corporate debt securities are long- and short-term debt obligations issued by companies (such as publicly issued and privately placed bonds, notes and commercial paper). The Sub-Adviser considers corporate debt securities to be of investment grade quality if they are rated BBB or higher by Standard & Poor's ("S&P"), a division of the McGraw Hill Companies, or Baa or higher by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. ("Moody's"), or if unrated, determined by the Sub-Adviser to be of comparable quality. Investment grade debt securities generally have adequate to strong protection of principal and interest payments. In the lower
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end of this category, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity to pay interest and repay principal than in higher rated categories.
Inflation-Protected Debt Securities. The Fund may invest in inflation-protected debt securities or inflation-indexed bonds. Obligations of the U.S. Treasury, commonly known as TIPS (and comparable securities issued by governments of other countries), are inflation-protected obligations designed to provide inflation protection to investors. TIPS are income-generating instruments whose interest and principal payments are adjusted for inflation. The inflation adjustment is tied to the consumer price index ("CPI"), and TIPS' principal payments are adjusted according to changes in the CPI. As inflation rises, both the principal value and the interest payments increase, which can provide investors with a hedge against inflation, as it helps preserve the purchasing power of an investment. Because of this inflation adjustment feature, inflation-protected bonds typically have lower yields than conventional fixed-rate bonds.
Inflation-indexed securities issued by the U.S. Treasury have maturities of five, ten or thirty years, although it is possible that securities with other maturities will be issued in the future. The U.S. Treasury securities pay interest on a semi-annual basis, equal to a fixed percentage of the inflation-adjusted principal amount. For example, if the Fund purchased an inflation-indexed bond with a par value of $1,000 and a 3% real rate of return coupon (payable 1.5% semi-annually), and inflation over the first six months were 1%, the mid-year par value of the bond would be $1,010 and the first semi-annual interest payment would be $15.15 ($1,010 times 1.5%). If inflation during the second half of the year resulted in the whole years' inflation equaling 3%, the end-of-year par value of the bond would be $1,030 and the second semiannual interest payment would be $15.45 ($1,030 times 1.5%).
If the periodic adjustment rate measuring inflation falls, the principal value of inflation-indexed bonds will be adjusted downward, and consequently the interest payable on these securities (calculated with respect to a smaller principal amount) will be reduced. Repayment of the original bond principal upon maturity (as adjusted for inflation) is guaranteed in the case of U.S. Treasury inflation-indexed bonds, even during a period of deflation. However, the current market value of the bonds is not guaranteed, and will fluctuate. The Fund may also invest in other inflation related bonds which may or may not provide a similar guarantee. If a guarantee of principal is not provided, the adjusted principal value of the bond repaid at maturity may be less than the original principal.
The value of inflation-indexed bonds is expected to change in response to changes in real interest rates. Real interest rates in turn are tied to the relationship between nominal interest rates and the rate of inflation. Therefore, if inflation were to rise at a faster rate than nominal interest rates, real interest rates might decline, leading to an increase in value of inflation-indexed bonds. In contrast, if nominal interest rates increased at a faster rate than inflation, real interest rates might rise, leading to a decrease in value of inflation-indexed bonds.
While these securities are expected to be protected from long-term inflationary trends, short-term increases in inflation may lead to a decline in value. If interest rates rise due to reasons other than inflation (for example, due to changes in currency exchange rates), investors in these securities may not be protected to the extent that the increase is not reflected in the bond's inflation measure.
The periodic adjustment of U.S. inflation-indexed bonds is tied to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers ("CPI-U"), which is calculated monthly by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The CPI-U is a measurement of changes in the cost of living, made up of components such as housing, food, transportation and energy. Inflation-indexed bonds issued by a foreign government are generally adjusted to reflect a comparable inflation index, calculated by that government. There can be no assurance that the CPI-U or any foreign inflation index will accurately measure the real rate of inflation in the prices of goods and services. Moreover, there can be no assurance that the rate of inflation in a foreign country will be correlated to the rate of inflation in the United States.
Any increase in the principal amount of an inflation-indexed bond will be considered taxable ordinary income, even though investors do not receive their principal until maturity.
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 Sub-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.
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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 Sub-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 Sub-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.
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.
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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 a 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.
Exchange-Traded Funds ("ETFs")
The Fund may invest in shares of other investment companies (including ETFs). As the shareholder of another ETF, the Fund would bear, along with other shareholders, its pro rata portion of the other ETF's expenses, including advisory fees. Such expenses are in addition to the expenses the Fund pays in connection with its own operations. The Fund's investments in other ETFs may be limited by applicable law.
Disruptions in the markets for the securities underlying ETFs purchased or sold by the Fund could result in losses on investments in ETFs. ETFs also carry the risk that the price the Fund pays or receives may be higher or lower than the ETF's NAV. ETFs are also subject to certain additional risks, including the risks of illiquidity and of possible trading halts due to market conditions or other reasons, based on the policies of the relevant exchange. ETFs and other investment companies in which the Fund may invest may be leveraged, which would increase the volatility of the Fund's NAV.
High Yield and Unrated Securities
The Fund may invest in high yield securities and unrated securities of similar credit quality (commonly known as "junk bonds"). High yield securities generally pay higher yields (greater income) than investment in higher quality securities; however, high yield securities may be subject to greater levels of interest rate, credit and liquidity risk than funds that do not invest in such securities, and are considered predominantly speculative with respect to an issuer's continuing ability to make principal and interest payments. Successful investment in high yield securities and unrated securities of similar quality involves greater investment risk and is highly dependent on the applicable investment adviser's credit analysis. The value of these securities often fluctuates in response to company, political or economic developments and declines significantly over short periods of time or during periods of general economic difficulty. An economic downturn or period of rising interest rates could adversely affect the market for these securities and reduce the ability to sell these securities (liquidity risk). These securities can also be thinly traded or have restrictions on resale, making them difficult to sell at an acceptable price. Because objective pricing data may be less available, judgment may play a greater role in the valuation process. If the issuer of a security is in default with respect to interest or principal payments, the Fund may lose its entire investment.
Illiquid Investments
The Fund may invest up to an aggregate amount of 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments, as such term is defined by Rule 22e-4 under the 1940 Act. The Fund may not invest in illiquid investments if, as a result of such investment, more than 15% of the Fund's net assets would be invested in illiquid investments. Illiquid investments include securities subject to contractual or other restrictions on resale and other instruments that lack readily available markets. The inability of the Fund to dispose of illiquid investments readily or at a reasonable price could impair the Fund's ability to raise cash for redemptions or other purposes. The liquidity of securities purchased by the Fund that are eligible for resale pursuant to Rule 144A, except for certain 144A bonds, will be monitored by the Fund on an ongoing basis. In the event that more than 15% of its net assets are invested in illiquid investments, the Fund, in accordance with Rule 22e-4(b)(1)(iv), will report the occurrence to both the Board and the SEC and seek to reduce its holdings of illiquid investments within a reasonable period of time.
Investment Company Securities
The Fund may invest in the securities of other investment companies, including money market funds and ETFs, subject to applicable limitations under Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act and Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act. Investing in another pooled vehicle exposes the Fund to all the risks of that pooled vehicle. 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
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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. To the extent allowed by law or regulation, the Fund may invest its assets in securities of investment companies that are money market funds in excess of the limits discussed above.
The Fund may rely on Section 12(d)(1)(F) and Rule 12d1-3 under the 1940 Act, which provide an exemption from Section 12(d)(1) that allows the Fund to invest all of its assets in other registered funds, including ETFs, if, among other conditions: (a) the Fund, together with its affiliates, acquires no more than three percent of the outstanding voting stock of any acquired fund, and (b) the sales load charged on the Fund's Shares is no greater than the limits set forth in Rule 2341 of the Rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. ("FINRA"). In addition, the Fund may invest beyond the limits of Section 12(d)(1) subject to certain terms and conditions set forth in Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act, including that the Fund enters into an agreement with the acquired company.
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.
Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by registered investment companies ("Investing Funds") in the securities of other registered investment companies, including the Fund. The acquisition of Shares by Investing Funds is subject to the restrictions of Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act, except as may be permitted by exemptive rules under the 1940 Act such as Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act, subject to certain terms and conditions, including that the Investing Fund enter into an agreement with the Fund regarding the terms of the investment.
Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities. The Fund may invest in underlying funds that invest in mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities. Mortgage-backed securities are mortgage-related securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities, or issued by nongovernment entities. Mortgage-related securities represent ownership in pools of mortgage loans assembled for sale to investors by various government agencies such as the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) and government-related organizations such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), as well as by nongovernment issuers such as commercial banks, savings and loan institutions, mortgage bankers and private mortgage insurance companies. Although certain mortgage-related securities are guaranteed by a third party or otherwise similarly secured, the market value of the security, which may fluctuate, is not so secured. These securities differ from conventional bonds in that the principal is paid back to the investor as payments are made on the underlying mortgages in the pool. Accordingly, the investing fund receives monthly scheduled payments of principal and interest along with any unscheduled principal prepayments on the underlying mortgages. Because these scheduled and unscheduled principal payments must be reinvested at prevailing interest rates, mortgage-backed securities do not provide an effective means of locking in long-term interest rates for the investor.
In addition, there are a number of important differences among the agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. government that issue mortgage-related securities and among the securities they issue. Mortgage-related securities issued by GNMA include GNMA Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates (also known as Ginnie Maes) which are guaranteed as to the timely payment of principal and interest. That guarantee is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury. GNMA is a corporation wholly owned by the U.S. government within the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Mortgage-related securities issued by FNMA include FNMA Guaranteed Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates (also known as Fannie Maes) and are guaranteed as to payment of principal and interest by FNMA itself and backed by a line of credit with the U.S. Treasury. FNMA is a government-sponsored entity wholly owned by public stockholders. Mortgage-related securities issued by FHLMC include FHLMC Mortgage Participation Certificates (also known as Freddie Macs) guaranteed as to payment of principal and interest by FHLMC itself and backed by a line of credit with the U.S. Treasury. FHLMC is a government-sponsored entity wholly owned by public stockholders.
Asset-backed securities are structured like mortgage-backed securities, but instead of mortgage loans or interests in mortgage loans, the underlying assets may include such items as motor vehicle installment sales contracts or installment loan contracts, leases of various types of real and personal property, and receivables from credit card agreements and from sales of personal property. Regular payments received on asset-backed securities include both interest and principal. Asset-backed securities typically have no U.S. government backing. Additionally, the ability of an issuer of asset-backed securities to enforce its security interest in the underlying assets may be limited.
If the investing ETF purchases a mortgage-backed or other asset-backed security at a premium, the premium may be lost if there is a decline in the market value of the security whether resulting from changes in interest rates or prepayments in the underlying collateral. As with other interest-bearing securities, the prices of such securities are inversely affected by changes in interest rates. Although the value of a mortgage-backed or other asset-backed security may decline when interest rates rise, the converse is not necessarily true, since in periods of declining interest rates the mortgages and loans underlying the securities are prone to prepayment, thereby shortening the average life of the security and shortening the period of time over which income at the higher rate is received. When interest rates are rising, the rate of prepayment tends to decrease, thereby lengthening the period of time over which income at the lower rate is received. For these and other reasons, a mortgage-backed or other asset-backed security's average maturity may be shortened or lengthened as a result of interest rate fluctuations and, therefore, it is not possible to predict accurately the security's
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return. In addition, while the trading market for short-term mortgages and asset-backed securities is ordinarily quite liquid, in times of financial stress the trading market for these securities may become restricted.
Other Short-Term Instruments
In addition to repurchase agreements, 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 Sub-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 Sub-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 to generate income from its excess cash balances and to invest 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 the Fund 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.
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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.
Sub-Prime Mortgages. The Fund may invest in fixed income instruments that contain sub-prime mortgages. Sub-prime mortgages face the risk that the issuer of the security will default on interest or principal payments. The risk of non-payment is more pronounced in sub-prime mortgages than in highly ranked securities. Because there is increased risk of non-payment, the securities may be less liquid and subject to greater declines in value than highly rated instruments, especially in times of market stress.
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.
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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. This increase has also necessitated the need for the U.S. Congress to negotiate adjustments to the statutory debt limit 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. In August 2023, Fitch lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the U.S. In explaining the downgrade, Fitch cited, among other reasons, expected fiscal deterioration of the U.S. government and extended and contentious negotiations related to raising the government's debt ceiling. An increase in national debt levels may also 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.
Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities. The Fund may invest in inflation-protected public obligations, commonly known as "TIPS," of the U.S. Treasury, as well as TIPS of major governments and emerging market countries, excluding the United States. TIPS are a type of security issued by a government that is designed to provide inflation protection to investors. TIPS are income-generating instruments whose interest and principal payments are adjusted for inflation-a sustained increase in prices that erodes the purchasing power of money. The inflation adjustment, which is typically applied monthly to the principal of the bond, follows a designated inflation index, such as the Consumer Price Index. A fixed coupon rate is applied to the inflation-adjusted principal so that as inflation rises or falls, both the principal value and the interest payments will increase or decrease. This can provide investors with a hedge against inflation, as it helps preserve the purchasing power of an investment. Because of this inflation adjustment feature, inflation-protected bonds typically have lower yields than conventional fixed-rate bonds.
Variable and Floating Rate Securities
The Fund may invest in variable and floating rate securities. Debt securities that have variable or floating rates of interest may, under certain limited circumstances, have varying principal amounts. These securities pay interest at rates that are adjusted periodically according to a specified formula, usually with reference to one or more interest rate indices or market interest rates (the "underlying index"). The interest paid on these securities is a function primarily of the underlying index upon which the interest rate adjustments are based. These adjustments minimize changes in the market value of the obligation. Similar to fixed rate debt instruments, variable and floating rate instruments are subject to changes in value based on changes in market interest rates or changes in the issuer's creditworthiness. The rate of interest on securities may be tied to U.S. government securities or indices on those securities as well as any other rate of interest or index.
Variable and floating rate demand notes of corporations are redeemable upon a specified period of notice. These obligations include master demand notes that permit investment of fluctuating amounts at varying interest rates under direct arrangements with the issuer of the instrument. The issuer of these obligations often has the right, after a given period, to prepay the outstanding principal amount of the obligations upon a specified number of days' notice.
Certain securities may have an initial principal amount that varies over time based on an interest rate index, and, accordingly, the Fund might be entitled to less than the initial principal amount of the security upon the security's maturity. The Fund intends to purchase these securities only when the Sub-Adviser believes the interest income from the instrument justifies any principal risks associated with the instrument. The Sub-Adviser may attempt to limit any potential loss of principal by purchasing similar instruments that are intended to provide an offsetting increase in principal. There can be no assurance that the Sub-Adviser will be able to limit the effects of principal fluctuations and, accordingly, the Fund may incur losses on those securities even if held to maturity without issuer default.
There may not be an active secondary market for any particular floating or variable rate instruments, which could make it difficult for the Fund to dispose of the instrument during periods that the Fund is not entitled to exercise any demand rights they may have. The Fund could, for this or other reasons, suffer a loss with respect to those instruments. The Sub-Adviser monitors the liquidity of the Fund's investments in variable and floating rate instruments, but there can be no guarantee that an active secondary market will exist.
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.Concentrate its investments (i.e., hold more than 25% of its net assets) in a particular industry or group of industries. For purposes of this limitation, securities of the U.S. government (including its agencies and instrumentalities), repurchase agreements
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collateralized by U.S. government securities, and tax-exempt securities of state or municipal governments and their political subdivisions are not considered to be issued by members of any industry.
2.Borrow money or issue senior securities (as defined under the 1940 Act), except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations thereunder or any exemption therefrom, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended or interpreted from time to time.
3.Make loans, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations thereunder or any exemption therefrom, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended or interpreted from time to time.
4.Purchase or sell commodities or real estate, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations thereunder or any exemption therefrom, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended or interpreted from time to time.
5.Underwrite securities issued by other persons, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations thereunder or any exemption therefrom, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended or interpreted from time to time.
6.With respect to 75% of its total assets, purchase the securities of any one issuer if, immediately after and as a result of such purchase, (a) the value of the Fund's holdings in the securities of such issuer exceeds 5% of the value of the Fund's total assets, or (b) the Fund owns more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of the issuer (with the exception that this restriction does not apply to the Fund's investments in the securities of the U.S. government, or its agencies or instrumentalities, or other investment companies).
In determining its compliance with the fundamental investment restriction on concentration, the Fund will consider the investments of other investment companies in which the Fund invests to the extent it has sufficient information about such investment companies. With respect to the Fund's investments in affiliated investment companies, the Fund will consider its entire investment in any investment company with a policy to concentrate, or having otherwise disclosed that it is concentrated, in a particular industry or group of related industries as being invested in such industry or group of related industries.
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.
The following descriptions of certain provisions of the 1940 Act may assist investors in understanding the above policies and restrictions:

Concentration.The SEC has defined concentration as investing more than 25% of the Fund's net assets in an industry or group of industries, with certain exceptions.
Borrowing. The 1940 Act presently allows the Fund to borrow from a bank (including pledging, mortgaging or hypothecating assets) in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets (not including temporary borrowings up to 5% of its total assets).
Senior Securities. Senior securities may include any obligation or instrument issued by the Fund evidencing indebtedness. The 1940 Act generally prohibits a fund from issuing senior securities.An exemptive rule under the 1940 Act, however, permits a fund to enter into transactions that might otherwise be deemed to be senior securities, such as derivative transactions, reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions, and short sales, subject to certain conditions.
Lending. Under the 1940 Act, the Fund may only make loans if expressly permitted by its investment policies. The Fund's current investment policy on lending is that the Fund may not make loans if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, except that the Fund may: (i) purchase or hold debt instruments in accordance with its investment objective and policies; (ii) enter into repurchase agreements; and (iii) engage in securities lending as described in this SAI.
Real Estate and Commodities. The 1940 Act does not directly restrict the Fund's ability to invest in real estate or commodities, but the 1940 Act requires every investment company to have a fundamental investment policy governing such investments.
Underwriting. Under the 1940 Act, underwriting securities involves the Fund purchasing securities directly from an issuer for the purpose of selling (distributing) them or participating in any such activity either directly or indirectly.
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 if any of the requirements set forth in the Exchange rules, including compliance with Rule 6c-11(c) under the 1940 Act, are not continuously maintained or 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.
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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 Sub-Adviser, the Distributor, and 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 such 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 Sub-Adviser is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund's portfolio investments) and, consequently, for managing the risks associated with those aspects for which it is responsible. 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 objectives, strategies, and risks of the Fund as well as proposed investment limitations for the Fund. Additionally, the Adviser and Sub-Adviser provide the Board with an overview of, among other things, their investment philosophy, brokerage practices, and compliance infrastructure. Thereafter, the Board continues its oversight function as various personnel, including the Trust's Chief Compliance Officer, as well as personnel of the Sub-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 the Sub-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 Investment Advisory Agreement with the Adviser, and the Sub-Advisory Agreement with the Sub-Adviser, the Board or its designee may meet with the Adviser and/or the Sub-Adviser to review such services. Among other things, the Board regularly considers the Adviser's and the Sub-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 the Fund's 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, Adviser, or Sub-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 and the Sub-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 Sub-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
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information. Most of the Fund's investment management and business affairs are carried out by or through the Adviser, Sub-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 Fund'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"). Mr. Michael A. Castino serves as Chairman of the Board, and Mr. Leonard M. Rush serves as the Trust's Lead Independent Trustee. As Lead Independent Trustee, Mr. Rush acts as a spokesperson for the Independent Trustees in between meetings of the Board, serves as a liaison for the Independent Trustees with the Trust's service providers, officers, and legal counsel to discuss ideas informally, and participates in setting the agenda for meetings of the Board and separate meetings or executive sessions of the Independent Trustees.
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. There is a Nominating and Governance Committee of the Board that is chaired by an Independent Trustee and comprised solely of Independent Trustees. The Nominating and Governance Committee chair presides at the Nominating and Governance Committee meetings, participates in formulating agendas for Nominating and Governance 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 Nominating and Governance Committee as set forth in its Board-approved charter. The Trust 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 E. Michigan Street, Milwaukee, WI 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 TrusteeDuring Past 5 Years
Independent Trustees
Leonard M. Rush, CPA
Born: 1946
Lead Independent Trustee and Audit Committee Chairman
Indefinite term;
since 2012
Retired; formerly Chief Financial Officer, Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated (wealth management firm) (2000-2011).
56
Independent Trustee, Managed Portfolio Series (34 portfolios) (since 2011).
David A. Massart
Born: 1967
Trustee and Nominating and Governance Committee Chairman
Indefinite term; Trustee
since 2012;
Committee Chairman
since 2023
Partner and Managing Director, Beacon Pointe Advisors, LLC (since 2022); Co-Founder, President, and Chief Investment Strategist, Next Generation Wealth Management, Inc. (2005-2021). 56
Independent Trustee, Managed Portfolio Series (34 portfolios) (since 2011).
Janet D. Olsen
Born: 1956
Trustee
Indefinite term;
since 2018
Retired; formerly Managing Director and General Counsel, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership (investment adviser) (2000-2013); Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (2012-2013); Vice President and General Counsel, Artisan Funds, Inc. (investment company) (2001-2012). 56
Independent Trustee, PPM Funds (2 portfolios) (since 2017).
Interested Trustee
Michael A. Castino
Born: 1967
Trustee and Chairman
Indefinite term; Trustee
since 2014;
Chairman
since 2013
President, Sound Capital Solutions LLC (since 2023); Senior Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2013-2023); Managing Director of Index Services, Zacks Investment Management (2011-2013).
56 None.
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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. Rush should serve as a Trustee because of his substantial industry experience, including serving in several different senior executive roles at various global financial services firms, and the experience he has gained as serving as trustee of another investment company trust since 2011. He most recently served as Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated and several other affiliated entities and served as the Treasurer for Baird Funds. He also served as the Chief Financial Officer for Fidelity Investments' four broker-dealers and has substantial experience with mutual fund and investment advisory organizations and related businesses, including Vice President and Head of Compliance for Fidelity Investments, a Vice President at Credit Suisse First Boston, a Manager with Goldman Sachs, & Co. and a Senior Manager with Deloitte & Touche. Mr. Rush has been determined to qualify as an Audit Committee Financial Expert for the Trust.
The Trust has concluded that Mr. Massart should serve as a Trustee because of his substantial industry experience, including over two decades working with high net worth individuals, families, trusts, and retirement accounts to make strategic and tactical asset allocation decisions, evaluate and select investment managers, and manage complex client relationships, and the experience he has gained as serving as trustee of another investment company trust since 2011. He is currently a Partner and Managing Director at Beacon Pointe Advisors, LLC. Previously, he served as President and Chief Investment Strategist of an SEC-registered investment advisory firm he co-founded, as a Managing Director of Strong Private Client, and as a Manager of Wells Fargo Investments, LLC.
The Trust has concluded that Ms. Olsen should serve as a Trustee because of her substantial industry experience, including nearly 20 years as a practicing attorney representing primarily registered investment companies and investment advisers, over a decade serving as a senior executive of an investment management firm and a related public company, and the experience she has gained by serving as an executive officer of another investment company from 2001 to 2012. Ms. Olsen most recently served as Managing Director and General Counsel of Artisan Partners Limited Partnership, a registered investment adviser serving primarily investment companies and institutional investors, and several affiliated entities, including its general partner, Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE: APAM), and as an executive officer of Artisan Funds Inc.
The Trust has concluded that Mr. Castino should serve as Trustee because of the experience he gained as Chairman of the Trust since 2013, as a senior officer of U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, doing business as U.S. Bank Global Fund Services ("Fund Services" or the "Transfer Agent"), from 2012 to 2023, and in his past roles with investment management firms and indexing firms involved with ETFs, as well as his experience in and knowledge of the financial services industry. Mr. Castino currently serves as Managing Director, Investment Manager Solutions, of Sound Capital Solutions, LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser.
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 funds.
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 whether to terminate this relationship; 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 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. During the fiscal year ended [ ], the Audit Committee met [ ] times.
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").
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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 Trust's Board, if any. The Nominating and Governance Committee generally will not consider nominees recommended by shareholders. The Nominating and Governance Committee is also responsible for, among other things, reviewing and making recommendations regarding Independent Trustee compensation and the Trustees' annual "self-assessment." The Nominating and Governance Committee meets periodically, as necessary. During the fiscal year ended [ ], the Nominating Committee met [ ] time.
Principal Officers of the Trust
The officers of the Trust conduct and supervise its daily business. The address of each officer of the Trust is c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, 615 E. Michigan Street, Milwaukee, WI 53202. Additional information about the Trust's officers 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
Kristina R. Nelson
Born: 1982
President
Indefinite term;
since 2019
Senior Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2020); Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2014-2020).
Cynthia L. Andrae
Born: 1971
Chief Compliance Officer and Anti-Money Laundering Officer Indefinite term;
since 2022
(other roles since 2021)
Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2019); Deputy Chief Compliance Officer, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2021-2022); Compliance Officer, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2015-2019).
Kristen M. Weitzel
Born: 1977
Treasurer
Indefinite term;
since 2014
(other roles since 2013)
Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2015).
Joshua J. Hinderliter
Born: 1983
Vice President and Secretary
Indefinite term;
since 2023
Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2024); Assistant Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2022-2024); Managing Associate, Thompson Hine LLP (2016-2022).
Jessica L. Vorbeck
Born: 1984
Assistant Treasurer Indefinite term;
since 2020
Assistant Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2022); Officer, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2014-2017, 2018-2022).
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, as amended (the "1934 Act").
As of December 31, 2023, Mr. Rush owned, in the aggregate, between $1 and $10,000 of shares in other series of the Trust. No other Trustee owned Shares or shares of any other series of the Trust.
Board Compensation. The Trustees each receive an annual trustee fee of $212,800 for attendance at the four regularly scheduled quarterly meetings and one annual meeting, if necessary, and receive additional compensation for each additional meeting attended of $2,000, as well as reimbursement for travel and other out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with attendance at Board meetings. The Lead Independent Trustee receives an additional annual fee of $18,000. The Chairman of the Audit Committee receives an additional annual fee of $18,000. The Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee receives an additional annual fee of $8,000. The Trust has no pension or retirement plan.
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The following table shows the estimated compensation expected to be earned by each Trustee for the Fund's fiscal year ending [ ], 2024. Trustee fees are paid by the adviser to each series of the Trust and not by the Fund. Trustee compensation does not include reimbursed out-of-pocket expenses in connection with attendance at meetings.
Name
Aggregate Compensation
from the Fund
Total Compensation from Fund Complex
Paid to Trustees
Interested Trustee
Michael A. Castino*
$0 [ ]
Independent Trustees
Leonard M. Rush, CPA
$0
[ ]
David A. Massart
$0
[ ]
Janet D. Olsen
$0
[ ]
*Prior to his departure from U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC in May 2023, Michael Castino did not receive compensation from the Fund Complex.
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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, the Fund had not commenced operations, and consequently, there were no Shares outstanding.
CODES OF ETHICS
The Trust, the Adviser, and the Sub-Adviser have each adopted codes of ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act. These codes of ethics are designed to prevent affiliated persons of the Trust, the Adviser, and the Sub-Adviser from engaging in deceptive, manipulative or fraudulent activities in connection with securities held or to be acquired by the Fund (which may also 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, the Adviser, or the Sub-Adviser, and no officer, director, or general partner of the Distributor serves as an officer, director, or general partner of the Trust, the Adviser, or the Sub-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 http://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 engaged Glass, Lewis & Co. ("Glass Lewis") to make recommendations to the Adviser on the voting of proxies relating to securities held by the Fund and has adopted the Glass Lewis Guidelines as part of the Adviser's proxy voting policies (the "Proxy Voting Policies") for such purpose. A copy of the Glass Lewis Guidelines 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 Sub-Adviser will use when voting proxies on behalf of the Fund.
The Proxy Voting Policies address, among other things, material conflicts of interest that may arise between the interests of the Fund and the interests of the Adviser. The Proxy Voting Policies will ensure that all issues brought to shareholders are analyzed in light of the Adviser's fiduciary responsibilities.
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 www.sec.gov.
INVESTMENT ADVISER AND SUB-ADVISER
Investment Adviser
Advisors Asset Management, Inc., ("AAM") a Delaware corporation, serves as the investment adviser to the Fund. AAM is located at 18925 Base Camp Road, Suite 203, Monument, Colorado 80132. AAM is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AAM Holdings, Inc. AAM is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AAM Holdings, Inc., which is majority-owned by Sun Life Financial, Inc. ("Sun Life Financial"), through its subsidiaries. Sun Life Financial, Inc. is a publicly-traded company. In addition, Scott Colyer, the Adviser's Chief Executive Officer, and Lisa Colyer, are deemed control persons of the Adviser, each by virtue of their ownership of at least 25% of AAM Holdings, Inc., directly or through one or more trusts or other entities. AAM is a registered broker dealer, member FINRA and SIPC, and SEC registered investment adviser.
AAM has an overall responsibility for the general management and administration of the Fund. AAM arranges for sub-advisory, transfer agency, custody, fund administration, distribution, and all other services necessary for the Fund to operate. AAM also provides oversight of the Sub-Adviser, monitoring of the Sub-Adviser's buying and selling of securities for the Fund, and review of the Sub-Adviser's performance. For the services it provides to the Fund, the Fund pays AAM a unified management fee, which is calculated daily and paid monthly, at an annual rate of [ ]% based on the Fund's average daily net assets.
Under the Investment Advisory Agreement, AAM has agreed to pay all expenses of the Fund, except for: the fee paid to AAM pursuant to the Investment 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 (12b-1) fees and expenses.
AAM, in turn, compensates the Sub-Adviser from the management fee it receives from the Fund. AAM 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, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties imposed upon it by its agreement with the Trust.
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The Fund is new and has not paid management fees to the Adviser as of the date of this SAI.
Sub-Adviser
The Adviser has retained SLC Management, located at 96 Worcester Street, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481, to serve as sub-adviser for the Fund. SLC was formed in 1991 and provides investment advisory services to other accounts including private funds, other registered investment companies, and the Fund. SLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sun Life Financial. AAM and SLC are affiliated entities due to their common ownership by Sun Life Financial.
Pursuant to a Sub-Advisory Agreement between the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser (the "Sub-Advisory Agreement"), the Sub-Adviser is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. The Sub-Adviser is also responsible for trading portfolio securities on behalf of the Fund, including selecting broker-dealers to execute purchase and sale transactions as instructed by the Adviser, subject to the supervision of the Adviser and the Board. For its services, the Sub-Adviser is paid a fee by the Adviser, which fee is calculated daily and paid monthly, at an annual rate of the Fund's average daily net assets of [ ]%.
The Sub-Advisory Agreement was approved by the Trustees (including all the Independent Trustees) and the Adviser, as sole shareholder of the Fund, in compliance with the 1940 Act. The Sub-Advisory Agreement will continue in force for an initial period of up to two years. Thereafter, the Sub-Advisory Agreement is 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 Trust; and (2) by the majority vote of either the full Board or the vote of a majority of the outstanding Shares. The Sub-Advisory Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment, and is terminable at any time without penalty by the Board or, with respect to the Fund, by a majority of the outstanding Shares or by the Adviser on not less than 60 days' written notice to the Sub-Adviser, or by the Sub-Adviser on 90 days' written notice to the Adviser and the Trust. The Sub-Advisory Agreement provides that the Sub-Adviser shall not be protected against any liability to the Trust or its shareholders by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence on its part in the performance of its duties or from reckless disregard of its obligations or duties thereunder.
The Fund is new, and the Adviser has not paid sub-advisory fees to the Sub-Adviser in connection with the Fund as of the date of this SAI.
Portfolio Managers
The individuals that are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund's portfolio are: Richard Familetti, CFA, Chief Investment Officer, Portfolio Manager for SLC; Daniel J. Lucey Jr., CFA, Senior Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager for SLC; Michael Donelan, CFA, Senior Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager for SLC; Philip Mendonca, Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager for SLC; Matthew Salzillo, Managing Director, Portfolio Manager for SLC; and Annette Serrao, CFA, Managing Director, Portfolio Manager for SLC.
Share Ownership
The Fund is required to show the dollar ranges of the portfolio managers' "beneficial ownership" of Shares as of the end of the most recently completed fiscal year or a more recent date for a new fund. 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 as of [ ], 2024, none of which were subject to a performance fee:
Portfolio Manager
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
Richard Familitti
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Daniel J. Lucey Jr.
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Michael Donelan
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Philip Mendonca
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Matthew Salzillo
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Annette Serrao
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
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Compensation
The Fund's portfolio managers receive a base salary from the Sub-Adviser, a discretionary bonus, and contributions to a retirement plan. No payment or portfolio manager compensation formulas are tied to the Fund or its performance. The portfolio managers are not entitled to any deferred benefits.
Conflicts of Interest
Actual or apparent conflicts of interest may arise when a portfolio manager has day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to more than one fund or other account. Where conflicts of interest arise between the Fund and other accounts managed by the portfolio managers, the Sub-Adviser will proceed in a manner that ensures that the Fund will not be treated less favorably. There may be instances where similar portfolio transactions may be executed for the same security for numerous accounts managed by the portfolio managers. In such instances, securities will be allocated in accordance with the Sub-Adviser's trade allocation policy.
THE DISTRIBUTOR
The Trust andQuasar Distributors, LLC (the "Distributor"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Foreside Financial Group, LLC (d/b/a ACA Group), are parties to a distribution agreement (the "Distribution Agreement"), whereby the Distributor acts as principal underwriter for the Fund and distributes Shares. 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 Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101.
Under the Distribution Agreement, the Distributor, as agent for the Trust, will review 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 1934 Act and a member of FINRA.
The Distributor may also enter into agreements with securities dealers ("Soliciting Dealers") who will solicit purchases of Creation Units of Shares. Such Soliciting Dealers may also 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 its 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, the Sub-Adviser, or their 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 and Sub-Adviser 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, may also 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 over 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, Sub-Adviser or their 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.
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Distribution and Service Plan. The Trust 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. 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 the 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 the FINRA 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 (as discussed in "Procedures for Purchase of Creation Units" below) with whom the Distributor has entered into written Participant Agreements (as defined below), 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. The Distributor does not retain Fund monies for profit. Instead, it keeps them in retention for future distribution related expenses. The Adviser compensates the Distributor for certain distribution related services.
THE TRANSFER AGENT AND ADMINISTRATOR
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 Fund's transfer agent and administrator.
Pursuant to a Fund Administration Servicing Agreement and a Fund Accounting 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 AND SECURITIES LENDING AGENT
Pursuant to a Custody Agreement, U.S. Bank National Association (the "Custodian" or "U.S. Bank"), 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, the Custodian 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 also is entitled to certain out-of-pocket expenses.
The Fund may participate in securities lending arrangements whereby the Fund lends certain of its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers, and financial institutions (not with individuals) to receive additional income and increase the rate of return of its portfolio.
23

U.S. Bank serves as the Fund's securities lending agent and is responsible for (i) negotiating the fees (rebates) of securities loans within parameters approved by the Board; (ii) delivering loaned securities to the applicable borrower(s), a list of which has been approved by the Board; investing any cash collateral received for a securities loan in investments pre-approved by the Board; (iv) receiving the returned securities at the expiration of a loan's term; (v) daily monitoring of the value of the loaned securities and the collateral received; (vi) notifying borrowers to make additions to the collateral, when required; (vii) accounting and recordkeeping services as necessary for the operation of the securities lending program, and (viii) establishing and operating a system of controls and procedures to ensure compliance with its obligations under the Fund's securities lending program.
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
[ ], located at [ ], serves as the independent registered public accounting firm for the Fund.
PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS DISCLOSURE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
The Trust's 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 (as defined below) is publicly disseminated daily prior to the opening of the Exchange via 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 of 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 wrong-doing 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
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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 and the Sub-Adviser from obtaining a high quality of brokerage and research services. In seeking to determine the reasonableness of brokerage commissions paid in any transaction, the Sub-Adviser will rely upon 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 Sub-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 Sub-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 Sub-Adviser will also 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 Sub-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 Sub-Adviser does not "pay up" for the value of any such proprietary research. Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act permits the Sub-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 Sub-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 Sub-Adviser, but only if the Sub-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 Sub-Adviser faces a potential conflict of interest when it uses client trades to obtain brokerage or research services. This conflict exists because the Sub-Adviser is able to use the brokerage or research services to manage client accounts without paying cash for such services, which reduces the Sub-Adviser's expenses to the extent that the Sub-Adviser would have purchased such products had they not been provided by brokers. Section 28(e) permits the Sub-Adviser to use brokerage or research services for the benefit of any account it manages. Certain accounts managed by the Sub-Adviser may generate soft dollars used to purchase brokerage or research services that ultimately benefit other accounts managed by the Sub-Adviser, effectively cross subsidizing the other accounts managed by the Sub-Adviser that benefit directly from the product. The Sub-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.
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The Sub-Adviser is responsible, subject to oversight by the Adviser and 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 Sub-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 Sub-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 had 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 Sub-Adviser.
Brokerage with Fund Affiliates. The Fund may execute brokerage or other agency transactions through registered broker-dealer affiliates of the Fund, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or the Distributor for a commission in conformity with the 1940 Act, the 1934 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.
Securities of "Regular Broker-Dealers." The Fund is required to identify any securities of its "regular brokers and 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. Because the Fund is new, as of the date of this SAI, it did not hold any securities of "regular broker dealers."
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 Sub-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 is also 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 a holder of Shares.
Conveyance of all notices, statements, and other communications to Beneficial Owners is effected as follows. 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
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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 SHARES IN CREATION UNITS
The Trust issues and redeems Shares only in Creation Units on a continuous basis through the Transfer Agent, without a sales load (but subject to transaction fees, if applicable), at their NAV per share next determined after receipt of an order, on any Business Day, in proper form pursuant to the terms of the Authorized Participant Agreement ("Participant Agreement"). 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.
Fund Deposit. The consideration for purchase of a Creation Unit of the Fund generally consists of the in-kind deposit of a designated portfolio of securities (the "Deposit Securities") per each Creation Unit and the Cash Component (defined below), computed as described below. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Trust reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of a "cash in lieu" amount ("Deposit Cash") to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security. When accepting purchases of Creation Units for all or a portion of Deposit Cash, the Fund may incur additional costs associated with the acquisition of Deposit Securities that would otherwise be provided by an in-kind purchaser.
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 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 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 changes as rebalancing adjustments and corporate action events are reflected from time to time by the Adviser with a view to the investment objective of the Fund. The composition of the Deposit Securities may also change in response to adjustments to the weighting or composition of the component securities of the Fund's Index.
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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 (as defined below) 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 include or remove Deposit Securities from the basket in anticipation of Index rebalancing changes. The adjustments described above will reflect changes, known to the Adviser on the date of announcement to be in effect by the time of delivery of the Fund Deposit, in the composition of the subject Index being tracked by the Fund or resulting from certain corporate actions.
Procedures for Purchase of Creation Units. To be eligible to place orders with the Transfer Agent 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 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. The order cut-off time for the Fund for orders to purchase Creation Units is 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, which 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 will also 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. The Fund Deposit transfer must be ordered by the Authorized Participant in a timely fashion so as 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 12:00 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 first Business Day after the Order Placement Date. However, the Fund reserves the right to settle transactions on a basis other than the 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 so as 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
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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 considered to be 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 Transfer Agent 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. However, the Fund reserves the right to settle transactions on a basis other than the Business Day after 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.
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 12:00 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. The delivery of Creation Units so created generally will occur no later than the Settlement Date.
Acceptance of Orders of Creation Units. The Trust reserves the right to reject an order for Creation Units transmitted to it by the Transfer Agent with respect to the Fund including, without limitation, if (a) the order is not in proper form; (b) the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, delivered by the Participant are not as disseminated through the facilities of the NSCC for that date by the Custodian; (c) the investor(s), upon obtaining Shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding Shares; (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 to the Trust, be unlawful; or (f) in the event that circumstances outside the control of the Trust, the Custodian, the Transfer Agent 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, a sub-custodian, the Transfer Agent, DTC, NSCC, Federal Reserve System, or any other participant in the creation process, and other extraordinary events. The Transfer Agent shall notify a prospective creator of a Creation Unit and/or the Authorized Participant acting on behalf of the creator of a Creation Unit of its rejection of the order of such person. The Trust, the Transfer Agent, the Custodian, any sub-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.
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.
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Creation 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 transaction fee for the Fund is $[ ], regardless of the number of Creation Units created in the transaction. The Fund may adjust the standard fixed creation transaction fee from time to time. The fixed creation 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.
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 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 combination thereof, as determined by the Trust. 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, 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.
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 is $[ ], regardless of the number of Creation Units redeemed in the transaction. 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
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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 the rebalance of the Fund's portfolio in a more tax efficient manner than could be achieved without such order.
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. Orders to redeem Creation Units must be submitted in proper form to the Transfer Agent prior to 4:00 p.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 Participant Agreement. Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not have executed a 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 a 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 Shares to the Trust's 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 such Fund Securities will be delivered. Deliveries of redemption proceeds generally will be made within one Business Day of the trade date. However, the Fund reserves the right to settle transactions on a basis other than the Business Day after the trade date.
The Trust may in its discretion 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 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 may also, in its sole discretion, 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 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 affected 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 Shares or determination of the NAV of 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,
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are accrued daily and taken into account for purposes of determining NAV. The NAV 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.
Pursuant to Rule 2a-5 under the 1940 Act, the Board has appointed the Adviser as the Fund's valuation designee (the "Valuation Designee") to perform all fair valuations of the Fund's portfolio investments, subject to the Board's oversight. As the Valuation Designee, 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.
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 Adviser will fair value such investments and use the fair value to calculate the Fund's NAV. When fair value pricing is employed, the prices of securities used by the Adviser to calculate the Fund's 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 monthly 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 improve index tracking for the Fund or to comply with the distribution requirements of the Code to preserve the Fund's eligibility for treatment as a RIC, 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 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.
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.
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Shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisers 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, local or foreign taxes.
Taxation of the Fund. The Fund has elected and intends to continue to qualify each year to be treated as a RIC under 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 the excess of net short-term capital gains over net long-term capital losses) and 90% of its net tax-exempt interest income, if any (the "Distribution Requirement") and also must meet several additional requirements. Among these requirements are the following: (i) at least 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, 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 to be 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 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.
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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 the Fund can make no assurances that all such tax liability will be completely 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 excess 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 in order 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 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.
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 and, 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 may be treated as qualified dividend income generally only to the extent so reported by such underlying fund. 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.
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 are 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.
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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.
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.
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 taxable 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 earnings and profits, all or a portion of the distributions made for a 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 tax purposes, an exchange of your Fund Shares for shares of a different fund is the same as a sale. In general, provided that a shareholder holds Shares as capital assets, 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 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 Internal Revenue Service ("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 capital gain or loss realized upon the creation of Creation Units will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the securities exchanged for such Creation Units have been held for more than one year. Any capital gain or loss realized upon the redemption of Creation Units will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if Shares comprising the Creation Units have been held for more than one year. Otherwise, such capital gains or losses will generally be treated as short-term capital gains or losses. Any loss upon a redemption of Creation Units held for six months or less may be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of any amounts treated as distributions to the applicable Authorized Participant of long-term capital gain with respect to the Creation Units (including any amounts credited to the Authorized Participant as undistributed capital gains).
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,
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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 advisers 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 Fund Investments. 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. To the extent the Fund invests in an underlying fund that is taxable as a RIC, the rules applicable to the tax treatment of complex securities will also apply to the underlying funds that also invest in such complex securities and investments.
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 United States.
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 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.
Unless certain non-U.S. entities that hold Shares comply with IRS requirements that will generally require them to report information regarding U.S. persons investing in, or holding accounts with, such entities, a 30% withholding tax may apply to Fund distributions payable to such entities. A non-U.S. shareholder may be exempt from the withholding described in this paragraph under an applicable intergovernmental agreement between the U.S. and a foreign government, provided that the shareholder and the applicable foreign government comply with the terms of the agreement.
For foreign shareholders to qualify for an exemption from backup withholding, described above, the foreign shareholder must comply with special certification and filing requirements. Foreign shareholders 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
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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 advisers. 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 advisers regarding these issues.
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 advisers 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.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Financial Statements and Annual Reports will be available after the Fund has completed a fiscal year of operations. When available, you may request a copy of the Fund's Annual Report at no charge by calling 1-800-617-0004 or through the Fund's website at https://www.aamlive.com/ETF.
37

APPENDIX A
Glass Lewis Proxy Guidelines


PART C: OTHER INFORMATION
Item 28. Exhibits
(a)
(i)
(ii)
(b)
(c)
Not applicable.
(d)
(i)
(A)
(B)
Amended Schedule A to the Investment Advisory Agreement - to be filed by subsequent amendment.
(ii) (A)
(B)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement between the Trust, Advisors Asset Management, Inc., and SLC Management - to be filed by subsequent amendment.
(e)
(i)
(A)
(B)
[ ] Amendment to the Distribution Agreement with Quasar Distributors, LLC - to be filed by subsequent amendment.
(ii)
(f)
Not applicable.
(g)
(i)
(A)
(B)
Amended Exhibit [ ] to the Custody Agreement - to be filed by subsequent amendment.
(h)
(i)
(A)
(B)
Amended Exhibit [ ] to the Fund Administration Servicing Agreement - to be filed by subsequent amendment.
(ii)
(A)
(B)
Amended Exhibit [ ] to the Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement - to be filed by subsequent amendment.
(iii)
(A)
(C)
Amended Exhibit [ ] to the Transfer Agent Agreement - to be filed by subsequent amendment.
(iv)
(A)
(v)

(vi)
1

(i)
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
Opinion and Consent of Counsel ( ) - to be filed by subsequent amendment.
(j)
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm - to be filed by subsequent amendment.
(k)
Not applicable.
(l)
(i)
(ii)
(m)
(i)
(A)
(B)
Amended Schedule A to Rule 12b-1 Plan - to be filed by subsequent amendment.
(n)
Not applicable.
(o)
Reserved.
(p)
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
Code of Ethics for SLC Management - to be filed by subsequent amendment.
Item 29. Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with Registrant
No person is directly or indirectly controlled by or under common control with the Registrant.
Item 30. Indemnification
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, and, subject to the provisions of the By-Laws, the Trust out of its assets may indemnify and hold harmless each and every Trustee and officer of the Trust from and against any and all claims, demands, costs, losses, expenses, and damages whatsoever arising out of or related to such Trustee's or officer's performance of his or her duties as a Trustee or officer of the Trust; provided that nothing herein contained shall indemnify, hold harmless or protect any Trustee or officer from or against any liability to the Trust or any Shareholder to which he or she would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his or her office.
Every note, bond, contract, instrument, certificate or undertaking and every other act or thing whatsoever issued, executed or done by or on behalf of the Trust or the Trustees or any of them in connection with the Trust shall be conclusively deemed to have been issued, executed or done only in or with respect to their or his or her capacity as Trustees or Trustee, and such Trustees or Trustee shall not be personally liable thereon.
2

Insofar as indemnification for liability arising under the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act") may be permitted to Trustees, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such Trustee, officer, or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
Item 31. Business and Other Connections of Investment Adviser
This Item incorporated by reference each investment adviser's Uniform Application for Investment Adviser Registration ("Form ADV") on file with the SEC, as listed below. Each Form ADV may be obtained, free of charge, at the SEC's website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. Additional information as to any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature engaged in by each officer and director of the below-listed investment advisers is included in the Trust's Statement of Additional Information.
Investment Adviser SEC File No.
Advisors Asset Management, Inc. 801-62731
Vident Asset Management 801-114538
Brentview Investment Management, LLC 801-118493
Sawgrass Asset Management LLC 801-55243

Item 32(a). Principal Underwriter
Quasar Distributors, LLC (the "Distributor") serves as principal underwriter for the following investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended:
1.Advisor Managed Portfolios
2.Capital Advisors Growth Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
3.Chase Growth Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
4.Davidson Multi Cap Equity Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
5.Edgar Lomax Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
6.First Sentier American Listed Infrastructure Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
7.First Sentier Global Listed Infrastructure Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
8.Fort Pitt Capital Total Return Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
9.Huber Large Cap Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
10.Huber Mid Cap Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
11.Huber Select Large Cap Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
12.Huber Small Cap Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
13.Logan Capital Broad Innovative Growth ETF, Series of Advisors Series Trust
14.Medalist Partners MBS Total Return Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
15.Medalist Partners Short Duration Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
16.O'Shaughnessy Market Leaders Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
17.PIA BBB Bond Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
18.PIA High Yield (MACS) Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
19.PIA High Yield Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
20.PIA MBS Bond Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
21.PIA Short-Term Securities Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
22.Poplar Forest Cornerstone Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
23.Poplar Forest Partners Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
24.Pzena Emerging Markets Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
25.Pzena International Small Cap Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
26.Pzena International Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
27.Pzena Mid Cap Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
28.Pzena Small Cap Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
29.Reverb ETF, Series of Advisors Series Trust
30.Scharf Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
31.Scharf Global Opportunity Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
32.Scharf Multi-Asset Opportunity Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
33.Shenkman Capital Floating Rate High Income Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
34.Shenkman Capital Short Duration High Income Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust
3

35.VegTech Plant-based Innovation & Climate ETF, Series of Advisors Series Trust
36.The Aegis Funds
37.Allied Asset Advisors Funds
38.Angel Oak Funds Trust
39.Angel Oak Strategic Credit Fund
40.Brookfield Infrastructure Income Fund Inc.
41.Brookfield Investment Funds
42.Buffalo Funds
43.DoubleLine Funds Trust
44.EA Series Trust (f/k/a Alpha Architect ETF Trust)
45.Ecofin Tax-Advantaged Social Impact Fund, Inc.
46.AAM Bahl & Gaynor Small/Mid Cap Income Growth ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
47.AAM Low Duration Preferred and Income Securities ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
48.AAM S&P 500 Emerging Markets High Dividend Value ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
49.AAM S&P 500 High Dividend Value ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
50.AAM S&P Developed Markets High Dividend Value ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
51.AAM Transformers ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
52.AlphaMark Actively Managed Small Cap ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
53.Aptus Collared Income Opportunity ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
54.Aptus Defined Risk ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
55.Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
56.Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
57.Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
58.Bahl & Gaynor Income Growth ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
59.Blue Horizon BNE ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
60.BTD Capital Fund, Series of ETF Series Solutions
61.Carbon Strategy ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
62.ClearShares OCIO ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
63.ClearShares Piton Intermediate Fixed Income Fund, Series of ETF Series Solutions
64.ClearShares Ultra-Short Maturity ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
65.Distillate International Fundamental Stability & Value ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
66.Distillate Small/Mid Cash Flow ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
67.Distillate U.S. Fundamental Stability & Value ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
68.ETFB Green SRI REITs ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
69.Hoya Capital High Dividend Yield ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
70.Hoya Capital Housing ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
71.International Drawdown Managed Equity ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
72.LHA Market State Alpha Seeker ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
73.LHA Market State Tactical Beta ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
74.LHA Market State Tactical Q ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
75.LHA Risk-Managed Income ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
76.McElhenny Sheffield Managed Risk ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
77.Nationwide Nasdaq-100 Risk-Managed Income ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
78.NETLease Corporate Real Estate ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
79.Opus Small Cap Value ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
80.Range Cancer Therapeutics ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
81.Roundhill Acquirers Deep Value ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
82.The Acquirers Fund, Series of ETF Series Solutions
83.The Brinsmere Fund - Conservative ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
84.The Brinsmere Fund - Growth ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
85.U.S. Global GO GOLD and Precious Metal Miners ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
86.U.S. Global JETS ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
87.U.S. Global Sea to Sky Cargo ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
88.US Vegan Climate ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
89.Vest 10 Year Interest Rate Hedge ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
90.Vest 2 Year Interest Rate Hedge ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
91.First American Funds Trust
92.FundX Investment Trust
93.The Glenmede Fund, Inc.
94.The GoodHaven Funds Trust
95.Harding, Loevner Funds, Inc.
96.Hennessy Funds Trust
97.Horizon Funds
98.Hotchkis & Wiley Funds
4

99.Intrepid Capital Management Funds Trust
100.Jacob Funds Inc.
101.The Jensen Quality Growth Fund Inc.
102.Kirr, Marbach Partners Funds, Inc.
103.Leuthold Funds, Inc.
104.Core Alternative ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
105.Wahed Dow Jones Islamic World ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
106.Wahed FTSE USA Shariah ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
107.LKCM Funds
108.LoCorr Investment Trust
109.MainGate Trust
110.ATAC Rotation Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
111.Coho Relative Value Equity Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
112.Coho Relative Value ESG Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
113.Cove Street Capital Small Cap Value Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
114.Ecofin Global Renewables Infrastructure Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
115.Ecofin Global Water ESG Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
116.Jackson Square Large-Cap Growth Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
117.Jackson Square SMID-Cap Growth Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
118.Kensington Active Advantage Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
119.Kensington Defender Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
120.Kensington Dynamic Growth Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
121.Kensington Managed Income Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
122.LK Balanced Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
123.Muhlenkamp Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
124.Nuance Concentrated Value Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
125.Nuance Concentrated Value Long Short Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
126.Nuance Mid Cap Value Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
127.Olstein All Cap Value Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
128.Olstein Strategic Opportunities Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
129.Port Street Quality Growth Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
130.Principal Street High Income Municipal Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
131.Principal Street Short Term Municipal Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
132.Reinhart Genesis PMV Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
133.Reinhart International PMV Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
134.Reinhart Mid Cap PMV Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
135.Tortoise Energy Infrastructure and Income Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
136.Tortoise Energy Infrastructure Total Return Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
137.Tortoise North American Pipeline Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
138.Tremblant Global ETF, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
139.Greenspring Income Opportunities Fund, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios
140.Hood River International Opportunity Fund, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios
141.Hood River Small-Cap Growth Fund, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios
142.Mar Vista Strategic Growth Fund, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios
143.Vert Global Sustainable Real Estate ETF, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios
144.Mason Capital Fund Trust
145.Matrix Advisors Funds Trust
146.Matrix Advisors Value Fund, Inc.
147.Monetta Trust
148.Nicholas Equity Income Fund, Inc.
149.Nicholas Fund, Inc.
150.Nicholas II, Inc.
151.Nicholas Limited Edition, Inc.
152.Oaktree Diversified Income Fund Inc.
153.Permanent Portfolio Family of Funds
154.Perritt Funds, Inc.
155.Procure ETF Trust II
156.Professionally Managed Portfolios
157.Prospector Funds, Inc.
158.Provident Mutual Funds, Inc.
159.Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
160.Abbey Capital Multi-Asset Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
161.Adara Smaller Companies Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
162.Aquarius International Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
5

163.Boston Partners All Cap Value Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
164.Boston Partners Emerging Markets Dynamic Equity Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
165.Boston Partners Emerging Markets Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
166.Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
167.Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
168.Boston Partners Global Sustainability Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
169.Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
170.Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
171.Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
172.Campbell Systematic Macro Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
173.F/m 10-Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
174.F/m 2-Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
175.F/m 3-Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
176.F/m Opportunistic Income ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
177.Motley Fool 100 Index ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
178.Motley Fool Capital Efficiency 100 Index ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
179.Motley Fool Global Opportunities ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
180.Motley Fool Mid-Cap Growth ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
181.Motley Fool Next Index ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
182.Motley Fool Small-Cap Growth ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
183.Optima Strategic Credit Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
184.SGI Dynamic Tactical ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
185.SGI Enhanced Core ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
186.SGI Enhanced Global Income ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
187.SGI Global Equity Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
188.SGI Peak Growth Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
189.SGI Prudent Growth Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
190.SGI Small Cap Core Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
191.SGI U.S. Large Cap Core ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
192.SGI U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
193.SGI U.S. Small Cap Equity Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
194.US Treasury 10 Year Note ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
195.US Treasury 12 Month Bill ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
196.US Treasury 2 Year Note ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
197.US Treasury 20 Year Bond ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
198.US Treasury 3 Month Bill ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
199.US Treasury 3 Year Note ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
200.US Treasury 30 Year Bond ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
201.US Treasury 5 Year Note ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
202.US Treasury 6 Month Bill ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
203.US Treasury 7 Year Note ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
204.WPG Partners Select Hedged Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
205.WPG Partners Select Small Cap Value Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
206.WPG Partners Small Cap Value Diversified Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
207.The RBB Fund Trust
208.RBC Funds Trust
209.Series Portfolios Trust
210.Thompson IM Funds, Inc.
211.TrimTabs ETF Trust
212.Bright Rock Mid Cap Growth Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
213.Bright Rock Quality Large Cap Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
214.CrossingBridge Low Duration High Yield Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
215.CrossingBridge Responsible Credit Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
216.CrossingBridge Ultra-Short Duration Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
217.RiverPark Strategic Income Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
218.Dearborn Partners Rising Dividend Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
219.Jensen Global Quality Growth Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
220.Jensen Quality Value Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
221.Rockefeller Climate Solutions Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
222.Rockefeller US Small Cap Core Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
223.Terra Firma US Concentrated Realty Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
224.USQ Core Real Estate Fund
225.Wall Street EWM Funds Trust
226.Wisconsin Capital Funds, Inc.
6


Item 32(b). The following are the Officers and Manager of the Distributor, the Registrant's underwriter. The Distributor's main business address is Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101.

Name Address Position with Underwriter Position with Registrant
Teresa Cowan Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101 President/Manager None
Chris Lanza Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101 Vice President None
Kate Macchia
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101
Vice President
None
Susan L. LaFond
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101 Vice President/Chief Compliance Officer/Treasurer None
Kelly B. Whetstone Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101 Secretary None
Weston Sommers Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101
Financial and Operations Principal and Chief Financial Officer
None

Item 32(c). Not applicable

Item 33. Location of Accounts and Records
The books and records required to be maintained by Section 31(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 are maintained at the following locations:

Records Relating to: Are located at:
Registrant's Fund Administrator, Fund Accountant and Transfer Agent U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC
d/b/a U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
615 East Michigan Street, 3rd Floor
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
Registrant's Custodian U.S. Bank, National Association
1555 N. Rivercenter Drive, Suite 302
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212
Registrant's Principal Underwriters Quasar Distributors, LLC
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101
Registrant's Investment Adviser and Sub-Advisers
Advisors Asset Management, Inc.
18925 Base Camp Road, Suite 203
Monument, Colorado 80132
Vident Asset Management
1125 Sanctuary Parkway, Suite 515
Alpharetta, Georgia 30009
Brentview Investment Management LLC
1 Northfield Plaza, Suite 522
Northfield, Illinois 60093
Sawgrass Asset Management
5000 Sawgrass Village Circle, Suite 32
Ponte Vedra, Florida 32082
SLC Management
96 Worcester Street
Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481

Item 34. Management Services
Not applicable.

Item 35. Undertakings
Not applicable.
7

SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant has duly caused this Amendment to be signed below on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the Village of Oak Park, State of Illinois, on September 13, 2024.

ETF Series Solutions
/s/ Joshua J. Hinderliter
Joshua J. Hinderliter
Vice President and Secretary

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Amendment has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities indicated on September 13, 2024.
Signature Title
* David A. Massart Trustee
David A. Massart
* Janet D. Olsen Trustee
Janet D. Olsen
* Leonard M. Rush Trustee
Leonard M. Rush
* Michael A. Castino Trustee
Michael A. Castino
* Kristina R. Nelson President
Kristina R. Nelson
* Kristen M. Weitzel Treasurer
Kristen M. Weitzel


*By: /s/Joshua J. Hinderliter
Joshua J. Hinderliter, Attorney-in-Fact
pursuant to Powers of Attorney














8