ck0001359057-20240827
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 27, 2024
Securities Act Registration No. 333-133691
Investment Company Act Registration No. 811-21897
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM N-1A
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REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
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[X]
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Pre-Effective Amendment No.
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[ ]
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Post-Effective Amendment No.
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158
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[X]
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and/or
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REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940
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[X]
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Amendment No.
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161
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[X]
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MANAGER DIRECTED PORTFOLIOS
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
615 East Michigan Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
(Registrant's Telephone Number, including Area Code) (201) 708-9796
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Scott M. Ostrowski, President
Manager Directed Portfolios
c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
777 East Wisconsin Avenue, 5th Floor
Milwaukee, WI 53202
(Name and Address of Agent for Service)
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Copies to:
Ellen Drought, Esq.
Godfrey & Kahn, S.C.
833 East Michigan Street, Suite 1800
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
(414) 273-3500
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It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box)
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[X]
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Immediately upon filing pursuant to Rule 485(b).
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[ ]
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on (date) pursuant to Rule 485(b).
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[ ]
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on (date) pursuant to Rule 485(a)(1).
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[ ]
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60 days after filing pursuant to Rule 485(a)(1).
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[ ]
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75 days after filing pursuant to Rule 485(a)(2).
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on (date) pursuant to Rule 485(a)(2).
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If appropriate, check the following box:
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[ ]
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This post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment.
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Explanatory Note: This Post-Effective Amendment No. 158 to the Registration Statement of Manager Directed Portfolios (the "Trust") is being filed for the purpose of responding to Staff comments regarding the registration of SanJac Alpha Low Duration ETF and the SanJac Alpha Core Plus Bond ETF as new series of the Trust, to make other non-material revisions as permitted by Rule 485(b), and to file exhibits to the Registration Statement.
PROSPECTUS
August 27, 2024
SanJac Alpha Low Duration ETF (SJLD)
SanJac Alpha Core Plus Bond ETF (SJCP)
Listed on Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
The Funds' website https://sanjacalpha.com is not currently operational.
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") has not approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this Prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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SUMMARY SECTION
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1
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SANJAC ALPHA LOW DURATION ETF
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1
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SANJAC ALPHA CORE PLUS BOND ETF
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7
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS
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14
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ADDITIONAL PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES, POLICIES AND RISKS
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14
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OTHER NON-PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND INVESTMENT RISKS
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22
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PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS INFORMATION
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22
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VOLUNTARY FEE WAIVERS AND/OR EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENTS
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22
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MANAGEMENT OF THE FUNDS
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22
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INVESTMENT ADVISER
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22
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PORTFOLIO MANAGERS OF THE FUNDS
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23
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HOW TO BUY AND SELL SHARES
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23
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BOOK ENTRY
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24
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FREQUENT PURCHASES AND REDEMPTIONS OF SHARES
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24
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DETERMINATION OF NAV
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24
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FAIR VALUE PRICING
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24
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INVESTMENTS BY REGISTERED INVESTMENT COMPANIES
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24
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DELIVERY OF SHAREHOLDER DOCUMENTS - HOUSEHOLDING
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25
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DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS, AND TAXES
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25
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DISTRIBUTION
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27
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PREMIUM/ DISCOUNT INFORMATION
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27
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ADDITIONAL NOTICES
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27
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FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
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28
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SUMMARY SECTION
SanJac Alpha Low Duration ETF
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
The SanJac Alpha Low Duration ETF (the "Fund") seeks current income consistent with preservation of capital and daily liquidity.
FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE FUND
The following table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund ("Shares"). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
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Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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Management Fees
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0.35%
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Distribution (12b-1) and/or Service Fees
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None
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Other Expenses1
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0.00%
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Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
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0.35%
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1Estimated for the current fiscal year.
EXAMPLE
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then 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:
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund ("ETF") that seeks to achieve its investment objective by principally investing in short-term, investment-grade debt instruments. The Fund seeks to typically maintain an average portfolio duration of two years or less. Duration is a measure used to determine the sensitivity of a security's price to changes in interest rates. Duration incorporates a security's yield, coupon, final maturity, call and put features, and prepayment exposure into one measure, with a higher duration indicating greater sensitivity to interest rates. For example, if a portfolio has a duration of two years, and interest rates increase (fall) by 1%, the portfolio would decline (increase) in value by approximately 2%.
In addition to seeking to manage duration, SanJac Alpha LP ("SanJac" or the "Adviser"), the Fund's investment adviser, considers the following factors when selecting investments and constructing the Fund's portfolio: credit quality, liquidity and interest rate sensitivity. The Adviser seeks to mitigate interest rate fluctuations and credit risk while optimizing liquidity for the Fund. In order the implement this strategy, the Fund focuses on (a) aggregate portfolio duration, with a targeted average portfolio duration of two years or less, and (b) U.S. government and investment-grade debt instruments.
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The Fund principally invests in investment-grade and U.S. government instruments to minimize credit risk, but may invest in non-investment grade securities, such as high yield or junk bonds, as part of its principal investment strategy. The Fund typically invests less than 5% of its investable assets in such non-investment grade securities, although the Fund may hold higher amounts of such securities from time to time. In addition, the Fund typically invests less than 5% of its investable assets in unrated securities. With respect to the Fund's investments in U.S. government-issued and investment grade debt, there are no targets or limits on the mix among such securities.
The Fund may invest in a variety of fixed income instruments with a fixed or floating (variable) interest rate. The Fund's investments may include investment-grade U.S. corporate and government debt obligations (including securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities). The Fund's investments may also include cash and cash equivalents, commercial paper, money market instruments and taxable or tax-exempt municipal securities.
The Fund may also invest in repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. government securities, including mortgage-backed securities.
"Investment-grade" debt securities are those rated "Baa3" or "BBB-" or better by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (Moody's) or S&P Global Ratings (S&P), each of which is a nationally recognized statistical ratings organization. The Fund may also invest in unrated securities, in which case the Adviser may internally assign ratings to certain of those securities, after assessing their credit quality.
The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund.
PRINCIPAL RISKS
Before investing in the Fund, you should carefully consider your own investment goals, the amount of time you are willing to leave your money invested, and the amount of risk you are willing to take. Remember, in addition to possibly not achieving your investment goals, you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund over long or even short periods of time. The principal risks of investing in the Fund are:
•Fixed Income Securities Risk. The value of investments in fixed income securities fluctuates with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities owned indirectly by the Fund. On the other hand, if rates fall, the value of the fixed income securities generally increases. The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates due to the current period of historically low rates and the effect of potential government fiscal policy initiatives and resulting market reaction to those initiatives. Below are several specific risks associated with investments in fixed income securities.
◦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 payments of interest and principal 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.
◦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 policy may have adverse effects on investments, volatility, and illiquidity in debt markets.
◦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.
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◦Prepayment Risk.When interest rates fall, certain obligations will be paid off by the obligor more quickly than originally anticipated and the proceeds may have to be invested in securities with lower yields.
◦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. Although floating or variable rate securities are generally less sensitive to interest rate risk than fixed rate securities, they are subject to credit, liquidity and default risk and may be subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale, which could impair their value.
•Government Obligations Risk. The Fund will principally 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.
•Mortgage- and Asset-Backed Securities Risk. The Fund will principally invest in U.S. government agency-backed mortgage- and asset-backed securities. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities are subject to interest rate risk. 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. 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 the underlying residential or commercial mortgage(s) or other assets.
•Municipal Securities Risk.Municipal securities can be significantly affected by political or economic changes, including changes made in the law after issuance of the securities, as well as uncertainties in the municipal market related to taxation, legislative changes or the rights of municipal security holders, including in connection with an issuer insolvency. Municipal securities backed by current or anticipated revenues from a specific project or specific assets can be negatively affected by the inability to collect revenues from the project or the assets.
•High-Yield Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in high-yield securities (also known as "junk bonds"), including unrated or lower-rated securities. Although high-yield securities generally pay higher rates of interest than investment grade bonds, high-yield securities are speculative, high risk investments that may cause income and principal losses for the Fund and, consequently, negatively affect the value of the Fund. 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. The Fund's exposure to high-yield securities may be subject to a substantial degree of credit risk.
•Repurchase Agreement Risk.Repurchase agreements may be construed to be collateralized loans by the Fund, and if so, the underlying securities relating to the repurchase agreement will only constitute collateral for the seller's obligation to pay the repurchase price. If the seller defaults on its obligation under the agreement, the Fund may suffer delays and incur costs or lose money in exercising its rights under the agreement. A seller failing to repurchase the security coupled with a decline in the market value of the security may result in the Fund losing money.
•Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. As a result, the Fund may be more exposed to the risks associated with and developments affecting an individual issuer or a smaller number of issuers than a fund that invests more widely. This may increase the Fund's volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund's performance. However, the Fund intends to satisfy the asset diversification requirements under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended ("Code") for qualification as a regulated investment company ("RIC").
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•Rating Agencies Risks. Ratings are not an absolute standard of quality. Ratings are general indicators that reflect only the view of the originating rating agencies from which an explanation of the significance of such ratings may be obtained. There is no assurance that a particular rating will continue for any given period of time or that any such rating will not be revised downward or withdrawn entirely. Such changes may negatively affect the liquidity or market price of the securities in which the Fund invests. The ratings of securitized assets may not adequately reflect the credit risk of those assets due to their structure.
•General Market Risk; Recent Market Events Risk.The market value of a security may move up or down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably. These fluctuations may cause a security to be worth less than the price originally paid for it, or less than it was worth at an earlier time. Market risk may affect a single issuer, industry, sector of the economy or the market as a whole. U.S. and international markets have experienced volatility in recent years due to a number of economic, political and global macro factors, including rising inflation, problems in the banking sector, wars between Russia and Ukraine and in the Middle East and the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. Uncertainties regarding interest rate levels, political events, conflicts in Europe and in the Middle East, trade tensions and the possibility of a national or global recession have also contributed to market volatility.
Global economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibility that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers in a different country or region. Continuing market volatility as a result of recent market conditions or other events may have adverse effects on the Fund's returns. The Adviser will monitor developments and seek to manage the Fund in a manner consistent with achieving the Fund's investment objective, but there can be no assurance that it will be successful in doing so.
•Management Risk.The Fund is actively managed and may not meet its investment objective based on the success or failure of the Adviser to implement investment strategies for the Fund.
•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. Additionally, the Adviser has not previously managed a registered fund, which may increase the risk of investing in the Fund.
•New Adviser Risk.The Adviser is a newly registered investment adviser and has not previously served as an adviser or sub-adviser to a registered investment company. As a result, there is no long-term track record against which an investor may judge the Adviser and it is possible the Adviser may not achieve the Fund's intended investment objective.
•Sector Risk.At times the Fund may increase the relative emphasis of its investments in a particular group of industries or sector. The prices of securities of issuers in a particular sector may be more susceptible to fluctuations due to changes in economic or business conditions, government regulations, availability of basic resources or supplies, or other events that affect that industry or sector more than securities of issuers in other industries and sectors. To the extent that the Fund increases the relative emphasis of its investments in a particular industry or sector, the value of Shares may fluctuate in response to events affecting that industry or sector.
•Valuation Risk. The prices provided by the Fund's pricing services or independent dealers or the fair value determinations made by the Adviser may be different from the prices used by other investment companies or from the prices at which debt obligations are actually boughtand sold. The prices of certain debt obligations provided by pricing services may be subject to frequent and significant change, and will vary depending on the information that is available.
•Cybersecurity Risk.With the increased use of technologies such as the Internet to conduct business, the Fund is susceptible to operational, information security, and related risks. Cyber incidents affecting the Fund or its service providers may cause disruptions and impact business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses, interference with the Fund's ability to calculate its net asset value ("NAV"), impediments to trading, the inability of shareholders to transact business, violations of applicable privacy and other laws, regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, or additional compliance costs.
•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 net 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
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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.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 Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (the "Exchange") and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund's underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares, and this could lead to differences between the market price of the Shares and the underlying value of those Shares.
•Operational Risk.Operational risks include human error, changes in personnel, system changes, faults in communication, and failures in systems, technology, or processes. Various operational events or circumstances are outside the Adviser's control, including instances at third parties. The Fund and the Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.
PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
The Fund is new and therefore does not have a performance history for a full calendar year. In the future, performance information for the Fund will be presented in this section. Updated performance information is also available on the Fund's website at https://sanjacalpha.com. The Fund's past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
INVESTMENT ADVISER
SanJac Alpha LP
PORTFOLIO MANAGERS
SanJac's portfolio managers are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Andrew Wells, the Adviser's Chief Investment Officer, is the lead portfolio manager and Andrey Vladyko, Portfolio Manager of the Adviser, is the co-portfolio manager of the Fund. Mr. Wells and Mr. Vladyko have each served as a portfolio manager of 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.
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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"). When available, information about the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads will be available on the Fund's website at https://sanjacalpha.com.
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 individual retirement account or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.
FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARY COMPENSATION
If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an "Intermediary"), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange traded products, including the Fund, or for other activities, such as marketing, educational training or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your financial advisor to recommend the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in increased Fund expenses. Ask your financial advisor or visit the Intermediary's website for more information.
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SanJac Alpha Core Plus Bond ETF
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
The SanJac Alpha Core Plus Bond ETF (the "Fund") seeks current income and total returns consistent with limited volatility and the preservation of capital.
FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE FUND
The following table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund ("Shares"). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
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Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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Management Fees
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0.65%
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Distribution (12b-1) and/or Service Fees
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None
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Other Expenses1
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0.00%
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Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
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0.65%
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1Estimated for the current fiscal year.
EXAMPLE
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then 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:
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund ("ETF") that seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in a portfolio of income-oriented instruments principally consisting of investment-grade U.S. corporate and government debt obligations (including securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities), mortgage-backed securities ("MBS"), mortgage real estate investment trusts ("mREITs"), and preferred stocks. The Fund may also invest in high-yield securities (also known as "junk bonds"), collateralized mortgage obligations ("CMOs"), and repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. government securities, including MBS. The Fund's investment decisions are driven by a combination of top-down and bottom-up approaches, taking into account factors such as interest rate outlook, credit quality assessments, yield curve positioning, liquidity, and market volatility. Portfolio adjustments are made based on the evaluation of these factors to optimize total returns while maintaining limited volatility and preserving capital.
Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its investable assets in bonds with varying maturities. For purposes of this policy, bonds include fixed income instruments issued by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities, as well as commercial paper, money market instruments, asset-backed securities, funding agreements (contracts issued by insurance contracts that guarantee a return of principal), variable rate demand notes, bills, notes, strips and other obligations issued by banks, corporations and other companies (including trust structures), obligations issued by non-U.S. banks, companies or non-U.S. governments, structured products such as collateralized loan obligations ("CLOs"), collateralized debt obligations ("CDOs") and CMOs, all styles of MBS, including whole loans and specified pools, and municipal bonds and notes. The term "investable assets" refers to the Fund's net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes. The Fund's investable assets will be less than its total assets to the extent that it has borrowed money for non-investment purposes, such as to meet anticipated redemptions.
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The Fund seeks to typically maintain an average portfolio duration of up to ten years. Duration is a measure used to determine the sensitivity of a security's price to changes in interest rates. Duration incorporates a security's yield, coupon, final maturity, call and put features, and prepayment exposure into one measure, with a higher duration indicating greater sensitivity to interest rates. For example, if a portfolio has a duration of two years, and interest rates increase (fall) by 1%, the portfolio would decline (increase) in value by approximately 2%.
With respect to the Fund's fixed income investments, the Fund invests primarily in "investment grade" debt securities. "Investment-grade" debt securities are those rated "Baa3" or "BBB-" or better by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (Moody's) or S&P Global Ratings (S&P), each of which is a nationally recognized statistical ratings organization. The Fund may also invest in unrated securities, in which case, SanJac Alpha LP ("SanJac" or the "Adviser"), the Fund's investment adviser, may internally assign ratings to certain of those securities, after assessing their credit quality.
The Fund may invest up to 40% of its investable assets in securities bearing credit risk other than that of the U.S. government and its agencies. The Fund typically invests less than 5% of its investable assets in non-investment grade securities, such as high yield or junk bonds, although the Fund may hold higher amounts of such securities from time to time. The Fund typically invests less than 5% of its investable assets in unrated securities.
For traditionally unrated securities, such as publicly traded preferred stocks and publicly traded mREITs, the Adviser will conduct an internal assessment of the underlying collateral or assets to ensure the composite ratings fall within the framework of the 40% portion that bears credit risk other than the U.S. Government and its agencies, or, if applicable, the 5% non-investment grade portion. That assessment will involve applying the rating provided by third parties to the underlying collateral held. If any portion of the underlying collateral is unrated, that portion only will be considered unrated.
The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund.
PRINCIPAL RISKS
Before investing in the Fund, you should carefully consider your own investment goals, the amount of time you are willing to leave your money invested, and the amount of risk you are willing to take. Remember, in addition to possibly not achieving your investment goals, you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund over long or even short periods of time. The principal risks of investing in the Fund are:
•Fixed Income Securities Risk. The value of investments in fixed income securities fluctuates with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities owned indirectly by the Fund. On the other hand, if rates fall, the value of the fixed income securities generally increases. The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates due to the current period of historically low rates and the effect of potential government fiscal policy initiatives and resulting market reaction to those initiatives. Below are several specific risks associated with investments in fixed income securities.
◦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 payments of interest and principal 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.
◦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
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securities than for short-term securities. Changes in government policy may have adverse effects on investments, volatility, and illiquidity in debt markets.
◦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 proceeds may have to be invested in securities with lower yields.
◦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. Although floating or variable rate securities are generally less sensitive to interest rate risk than fixed rate securities, they are subject to credit, liquidity and default risk and may be subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale, which could impair their value.
•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.
•Mortgage- and Asset-Backed Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in U.S. government agency-backed mortgage- and asset-backed securities. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities are subject to interest rate risk. 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. 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 the underlying residential or commercial mortgage(s) or other assets.
•Municipal Securities Risk.Municipal securities can be significantly affected by political or economic changes, including changes made in the law after issuance of the securities, as well as uncertainties in the municipal market related to taxation, legislative changes or the rights of municipal security holders, including in connection with an issuer insolvency. Municipal securities backed by current or anticipated revenues from a specific project or specific assets can be negatively affected by the inability to collect revenues from the project or the assets.
•Structured Products Risk.The Fund may invest in structured products, including CLOs, CDOs, CMOs, and other asset-backed securities and debt securitizations. Some structured products have credit ratings, but are typically issued in various classes with various priorities. Normally, structured products are privately offered and sold (that is, they are not registered under the securities laws), which means less information about the security may be available as compared to publicly offered securities and only certain institutions may buy and sell them. As a result, investments in structured products may be characterized by the Fund as illiquid securities. An active dealer market may exist for structured products that qualify for Rule 144A transactions, but there can be no assurance that such a market will exist or will be active enough for the Fund to sell such securities. In addition to the typical risks associated with fixed-income securities and asset-backed securities, 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 risk that the collateral may default, decline in value or quality or be downgraded by a rating agency; (iii) the Fund may invest in tranches of structured products that are subordinate to other tranches; (iv) the structure and complexity of the transaction and the legal documents could lead to disputes among investors regarding the characterization of proceeds; (v) risk of forced "fire sale" liquidation due to technical defaults such as coverage test failures; and (vi) the structured product's manager may perform poorly.
•Mortgage Servicing Rights Risk. Mortgage servicing rights represent the rights and obligations associated with servicing pools of residential mortgages. Such companies generally do not originate or directly service the residential loans, but rather carry out these activities through licensed sub-servicers who perform all the required servicing activities for the loans underlying the rights. Interests in mortgage servicing rights represent agreements to purchase all, or a component of, net servicing cash flows. Investors in mortgage servicing rights are exposed to prepayment risks and may be exposed to credit risk to the extent the mortgage servicing right is backed by non-agency MBS.
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•Repurchase Agreement Risk.Repurchase agreements may be construed to be collateralized loans by the Fund, and if so, the underlying securities relating to the repurchase agreement will only constitute collateral for the seller's obligation to pay the repurchase price. If the seller defaults on its obligation under the agreement, the Fund may suffer delays and incur costs or lose money in exercising its rights under the agreement. A seller failing to repurchase the security coupled with a decline in the market value of the security may result in the Fund losing money.
•High-Yield Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in high-yield securities (also known as "junk bonds"), including unrated or lower-rated securities. Although high-yield securities generally pay higher rates of interest than investment grade bonds, high-yield securities are speculative, high risk investments that may cause income and principal losses for the Fund and, consequently, negatively affect the value of the Fund. 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. The Fund's exposure to high-yield securities may be subject to a substantial degree of credit risk.
•mREIT Investment Risk.A mortgage REIT invests primarily in mortgages on real property, which may secure construction, development or long-term loans. During periods of declining interest rates, certain mortgage REITs may hold mortgages that the mortgagors elect to prepay, which prepayment may diminish the yield on securities issued by such mortgage REITs. In addition, mortgage REITs may be affected by the ability of borrowers to repay when due the debt extended by the REIT. Mortgage REITs are also subject to heavy cash flow dependency defaults by borrowers and self-liquidation. In addition, mortgage REITs could possibly fail to qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment generally available to REITs under the Code or fail to maintain their exemptions from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "1940 Act"). The above factors may also adversely affect a borrower's or a lessee's ability to meet its obligations to the REIT. In the event of default by a borrower or lessee, the REIT may experience delays in enforcing its rights as a mortgagee or lessor and may incur substantial costs associated with protecting its investments. Mortgage REITs may also include hybrid REITs, which invests in both real property and mortgages on real property.
•Preferred Securities Risk.Preferred securities may pay fixed or adjustable rates of return and are subject to many of the risks associated with debt securities (e.g., interest rate risk, call risk and extension risk). In addition, preferred securities are subject to issuer-specific and market risks applicable generally to equity securities. Because many preferred securities allow the issuer to convert their preferred security into common stock, preferred securities are often sensitive to declining common stock values. A company's preferred securities generally pay dividends only after the company makes required payments to holders of its bonds and other debt. For this reason, the value of preferred securities will usually react more strongly than bonds and other debt to actual or perceived changes in the company's financial condition or prospects. Preferred securities of smaller companies may be more vulnerable to adverse developments than preferred stock of larger companies.
•Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. As a result, the Fund may be more exposed to the risks associated with and developments affecting an individual issuer or a smaller number of issuers than a fund that invests more widely. This may increase the Fund's volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund's performance. However, the Fund intends to satisfy the asset diversification requirements under the Code for qualification as a RIC.
•Rating Agencies Risks. Ratings are not an absolute standard of quality. Ratings are general indicators that reflect only the view of the originating rating agencies from which an explanation of the significance of such ratings may be obtained. There is no assurance that a particular rating will continue for any given period of time or that any such rating will not be revised downward or withdrawn entirely. Such changes may negatively affect the liquidity or market price of the securities in which the Fund invests. The ratings of securitized assets may not adequately reflect the credit risk of those assets due to their structure.
•General Market Risk; Recent Market Events Risk.The market value of a security may move up or down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably. These fluctuations may cause a security to be worth less than the price originally paid for it, or less than it was worth at an earlier time. Market risk may affect a single issuer, industry, sector of the economy or the market as a whole. U.S. and international markets have experienced volatility in recent months and years due to a number of economic, political and global macro factors, including rising inflation,
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problems in the banking sector, wars between Russia and Ukraine and in the Middle East and the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. Uncertainties regarding interest rate levels, political events, conflicts in Europe and in the Middle East, trade tensions and the possibility of a national or global recession have also contributed to market volatility.
Global economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibility that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers in a different country or region. Continuing market volatility as a result of recent market conditions or other events may have adverse effects on the Fund's returns. The Adviser will monitor developments and seek to manage the Fund in a manner consistent with achieving the Fund's investment objective, but there can be no assurance that it will be successful in doing so.
•Management Risk.The Fund is actively managed and may not meet its investment objective based on the success or failure of the Adviser to implement investment strategies for the Fund.
•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. Additionally, the Adviser has not previously managed a registered fund, which may increase the risk of investing in the Fund.
•New Adviser Risk.The Adviser is a newly registered investment adviser and has not previously served as an adviser or sub-adviser to a registered investment company. As a result, there is no long-term track record against which an investor may judge the Adviser and it is possible the Adviser may not achieve the Fund's intended investment objective.
•Sector Risk.At times the Fund may increase the relative emphasis of its investments in a particular group of industries or sector. The prices of securities of issuers in a particular sector may be more susceptible to fluctuations due to changes in economic or business conditions, government regulations, availability of basic resources or supplies, or other events that affect that industry or sector more than securities of issuers in other industries and sectors. To the extent that the Fund increases the relative emphasis of its investments in a particular industry or sector, the value of Shares may fluctuate in response to events affecting that industry or sector.
•Valuation Risk. The prices provided by the Fund's pricing services or independent dealers or the fair value determinations made by the Adviser may be different from the prices used by other investment companies or from the prices at which debt obligations are actually boughtand sold. The prices of certain debt obligations provided by pricing services may be subject to frequent and significant change, and will vary depending on the information that is available.
•Cybersecurity Risk.With the increased use of technologies such as the Internet to conduct business, the Fund is susceptible to operational, information security, and related risks. Cyber incidents affecting the Fund or its service providers may cause disruptions and impact business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses, interference with the Fund's ability to calculate its net asset value ("NAV"), impediments to trading, the inability of shareholders to transact business, violations of applicable privacy and other laws, regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, or additional compliance costs.
•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.
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◦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 Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (the "Exchange") and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund's underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares, and this could lead to differences between the market price of the Shares and the underlying value of those Shares.
•Operational Risk.Operational risks include human error, changes in personnel, system changes, faults in communication, and failures in systems, technology, or processes. Various operational events or circumstances are outside the Adviser's control, including instances at third parties. The Fund and the Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.
PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
The Fund is new and therefore does not have a performance history for a full calendar year. In the future, performance information for the Fund will be presented in this section. Updated performance information is also available on the Fund's website at https://sanjacalpha.com. The Fund's past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
INVESTMENT ADVISER
SanJac Alpha LP
PORTFOLIO MANAGERS
SanJac's portfolio managers are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Andrew Wells, the Adviser's Chief Investment Officer, is the lead portfolio manager and Andrey Vladyko, Portfolio Manager of the Adviser, is the co-portfolio manager of the Fund. Mr. Wells and Mr. Vladyko have each served as a portfolio manager of 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"). When available, information about the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads will be available on the Fund's website at https://sanjacalpha.com.
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 individual retirement account or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.
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FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARY COMPENSATION
If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an "Intermediary"), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange traded products, including the Fund, or for other activities, such as marketing, educational training or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your financial advisor to recommend the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in increased Fund expenses. Ask your financial advisor or visit the Intermediary's website for more information.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS
ADDITIONAL PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES, POLICIES AND RISKS
Each Fund's investment objective may be changed without the approval of the Fund's shareholders upon Board approval and 60 days' prior written notice to shareholders.
The SanJac Alpha Core Plus Bond ETF will not make any change in its investment policy of investing at least 80% of its investable assets in bonds without providing shareholders with at least 60 days' prior written notice. The following is a list of certain principal risks that may apply to your investment in the Funds. Further information about investment risks is available in the Funds' SAI. Each risk applies to one or both Funds as indicated in the following table:
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SanJac Alpha Low Duration ETF
|
SanJac Alpha Core Plus Bond ETF
|
Fixed Income Securities Risk
|
X
|
X
|
Government Obligations Risk
|
X
|
X
|
Mortgage- and Asset-Backed Securities Risk
|
X
|
X
|
Structured Products Risk
|
X
|
Mortgage Servicing Rights Risk
|
X
|
Municipal Securities Risk
|
X
|
X
|
Repurchase Agreement Risk
|
X
|
X
|
High-Yield Securities Risk
|
X
|
X
|
mREIT Investment Risk
|
X
|
Preferred Securities Risk
|
X
|
Non-Diversification Risk
|
X
|
X
|
Rating Agencies Risks
|
X
|
X
|
General Market Risk; Recent Market Events Risk
|
X
|
X
|
Management Risk
|
X
|
X
|
New Fund Risk
|
X
|
X
|
New Adviser Risk
|
X
|
X
|
Sector Risk
|
X
|
X
|
Valuation Risk
|
X
|
X
|
Cybersecurity Risk
|
X
|
X
|
ETF Risks
|
X
|
X
|
Operational Risk
|
X
|
X
|
•Fixed Income Securities Risk. The value of investments in fixed income securities fluctuates with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities owned indirectly by a Fund. On the other hand, if rates fall, the value of the fixed income securities generally increases. Each Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates due to the current period of historically low rates and the effect of potential government fiscal policy initiatives and resulting market reaction to those initiatives. Below are several specific risks associated with investments in fixed income securities.
◦Call Risk. During periods of falling interest rates, an issuer of a callable bond held by a Fund may "call" or repay the security prior to its stated maturity, and a Fund may have to reinvest the proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in such 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 payments of interest and principal 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.
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◦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.
◦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 policy may have adverse effects on investments, volatility, and illiquidity in debt markets.
◦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 proceeds may have to be invested 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.
◦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. Although floating or variable rate securities are generally less sensitive to interest rate risk than fixed rate securities, they are subject to credit, liquidity and default risk and may be subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale, which could impair their value.
•Government Obligations Risk. Each Fund may invest in securities issued, sponsored or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities. However, no assurance can be given that the U.S. government will provide financial support to U.S. government-sponsored agencies or instrumentalities where it is not obligated to do so by law. For instance, securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association ("Ginnie Mae") are supported by the full faith and credit of the United States. Securities issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have historically been supported only by the discretionary authority of the U.S. government. While the U.S. government provides financial support to various U.S. government-sponsored agencies and instrumentalities, such as those listed above, no assurance can be given that it will always do so. In September 2008, at the direction of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed into conservatorship under the Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA"), an independent regulator, and they remain in such status as of the date of this Prospectus. The U.S. government also took steps to provide additional financial support to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
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 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. 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
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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..
•Mortgage- and Asset-Backed Securities Risk. Each Fund may invest directly or indirectly in mortgage-backed securities and asset-backed securities as part of its principal investment strategy. 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. A 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. A 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 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 a Fund may invest may also provide a degree of investment leverage, which could cause a Fund to lose all or substantially all of its investment.
◦Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk.A Fund may invest in RMBS. Holders of RMBS bear various risks, including credit, market, interest rate, structural, and legal risks. RMBS represent interests in pools of residential mortgage loans secured by one to four family residential mortgage loans. RMBS are particularly susceptible to prepayment risks, as they generally do not contain prepayment penalties and a reduction in interest rates will increase the prepayments on the RMBS.
The rate of defaults and losses on residential mortgage loans will be affected by a number of factors, including general economic conditions and those in the geographic area where the mortgaged property is located, the terms of the mortgage loan, the borrower's equity in the mortgaged property, and the financial circumstances of the borrower. Certain mortgage loans may be of sub-prime credit quality (i.e., do not meet the customary credit standards of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac). Delinquencies and liquidation proceedings are more likely with sub-prime mortgage loans than with mortgage loans that satisfy customary credit standards. If a portfolio of RMBS is backed by loans with disproportionately large aggregate principal amounts secured by properties in only a few states or regions in the United States, residential mortgage loans may be more susceptible to geographic risks relating to such areas. Violation of laws, public policies, and principles designed to protect consumers may limit the servicer's ability to collect all or part of the principal or interest on a residential mortgage loan, entitle the borrower to a refund of amounts previously paid by it, or subject the servicer to damages and administrative enforcement. Any such violation could also
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result in cash flow delays and losses on the related issue of RMBS. It is not expected that RMBS will be guaranteed or insured by any U.S. governmental agency or instrumentality or by any other person. Distributions on RMBS will depend solely upon the amount and timing of payments and other collections on the related underlying mortgage loans.
◦Non-Investment-Grade RMBS Risk. A Fund may invest in RMBS that are non-investment grade, which means that major rating agencies rate them below the top four investment-grade rating categories (i.e., "AAA" through "BBB"). Non-investment grade RMBS tend to be less liquid, may have a higher risk of default, and may be more difficult to value than investment grade bonds. Recessions or poor economic or pricing conditions in the markets associated with RMBS may cause defaults or losses on loans underlying such securities. Non-investment grade securities are considered speculative, and their capacity to pay principal and interest in accordance with the terms of their issue is not certain, which may impair a Fund's performance and reduce the return on its investments.
•Municipal Securities Risk.Municipal securities may be general obligation or revenue bonds and typically are issued to finance public projects, such as roads or public buildings, to pay general operating expenses or to refinance outstanding debt. Municipal securities may also be issued for private activities, such as housing, medical and educational facility construction or for privately owned industrial development and pollution control projects. General obligation bonds are backed by the full faith and credit and taxing authority of the issuer and may be repaid from any revenue source. Revenue bonds may be repaid only from the revenues of a specific facility or source. The Funds also may purchase municipal securities that represent lease obligations. These carry special risks because the issuer of the bonds may not be obligated to appropriate money annually to make payments under the lease. The yields on municipal bonds are dependent on a variety of factors, including prevailing interest rates and the condition of the general money market and the municipal bond market, the size of a particular offering, the maturity of the obligation and the rating of the issuer. The market value of municipal bonds will vary with changes in interest rate levels and as a result of changing evaluations of the ability of bond issuers to meet interest and principal payments.
Certain municipal securities may not be registered with the SEC or any state securities commission and will not be listed on any national securities exchange. The amount of public information available about the municipal securities to which a Fund may be economically exposed is generally less than that for corporate bonds and certain other securities, and the investment performance of a Fund's investments in municipal securities may therefore be dependent on the analytical abilities of the Adviser. The secondary market for municipal securities, particularly non-investment grade bonds, also tends to be less well-developed or liquid than many other securities markets, which may adversely affect a Fund's ability to sell such securities at attractive prices.
In addition, certain state and municipal governments that issue securities may be under significant economic and financial stress and may not be able to satisfy their obligations. The ability of municipal issuers to make timely payments of interest and principal may be diminished during general economic downturns and as governmental cost burdens are reallocated among Federal, state and local governments. The taxing power of any governmental entity may be limited by provisions of state constitutions or laws and an entity's credit generally will depend on many factors, including the entity's tax base, the extent to which the entity relies on Federal or state aid, and other factors which are beyond the entity's control.
In addition, issuers of municipal securities might seek protection under the bankruptcy laws. In the event of bankruptcy of such an issuer, holders of municipal bonds could experience delays in collecting principal and interest and such holders may not, in all circumstances, be able to collect all principal and interest to which they are entitled. To enforce its rights in the event of a default in the payment of interest or repayment of principal, or both, a Fund may take possession of and manage the assets securing the issuer's obligations on such securities, which may increase a Fund's operating expenses.
•Structured Products Risk.The SanJac Alpha Core Plus Bond ETF may invest in structured products, including CLOs, CDOs, CMOs, and other asset-backed securities and debt securitizations. Some structured products have credit ratings, but are typically issued in various classes with various priorities. Normally, structured products are privately offered and sold (that is, they are not registered under the securities laws), which means less information about the security may be available as compared to publicly offered securities and only certain institutions may buy and sell them. As a result, investments in structured products may be characterized by a Fund as illiquid securities. An active dealer market may exist for structured products that qualify for Rule 144A transactions, but there can be no assurance that such a market will exist or will be active enough for a Fund to sell such securities. In addition to the typical risks associated with fixed-income securities and asset-backed securities, CDOs carry additional risks including, but not limited to: (i) the possibility that distributions from collateral securities will not be adequate to
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make interest or other payments; (ii) the risk that the collateral may default, decline in value or quality or be downgraded by a rating agency; (iii) a Fund may invest in tranches of structured products that are subordinate to other tranches; (iv) the structure and complexity of the transaction and the legal documents could lead to disputes among investors regarding the characterization of proceeds; (v) risk of forced "fire sale" liquidation due to technical defaults such as coverage test failures; and (vi) the structured product's manager may perform poorly.
•Mortgage Servicing Rights Risk. Mortgage servicing rights represent the rights and obligations associated with servicing pools of residential mortgages. Such companies generally do not originate or directly service the residential loans, but rather carry out these activities through licensed sub-servicers who perform all the required servicing activities for the loans underlying the rights. Interests in mortgage servicing rights represent agreements to purchase all, or a component of, net servicing cash flows. Investors in mortgage servicing rights are exposed to prepayment risks and may be exposed to credit risk to the extent the mortgage servicing right is backed by non-agency MBS.
•Repurchase Agreement Risk.Repurchase agreements may be construed to be collateralized loans by a Fund, and if so, the underlying securities relating to the repurchase agreement will only constitute collateral for the seller's obligation to pay the repurchase price. If the seller defaults on its obligation under the agreement, a Fund may suffer delays and incur costs or lose money in exercising its rights under the agreement. A seller failing to repurchase the security coupled with a decline in the market value of the security may result in a Fund losing money. These losses could result from: (i) possible decline in the value of the underlying security while the Fund is seeking to enforce its rights under the repurchase agreement; (ii) possible reduced levels of income or lack of access to income during this period; and (iii) expenses of enforcing its rights.
•High-Yield Securities Risk. Unrated or lower-rated fixed income securities and other instruments, sometimes referred to as "high yield" or "junk" bonds, may include securities that have the lowest rating or are in default. Investing in lower-rated or unrated securities involves special risks in addition to the risks associated with investments in higher-rated fixed income securities, including a high degree of credit risk. Lower-rated or unrated securities may be regarded as predominately speculative with respect to the issuer's continuing ability to meet principal and interest payments. Analysis of the creditworthiness of issuers/issues of lower-rated or unrated securities may be more complex than for issuers/issues of higher quality debt securities. Lower-rated or unrated securities may be more susceptible to losses and real or perceived adverse economic and competitive industry conditions than higher-grade securities. Securities that are in the lowest rating category are considered to have extremely poor prospects of ever attaining any real investment standing, to have a current identifiable vulnerability to default, and to be unlikely to have the capacity to pay interest and repay principal. The secondary markets on which lower-rated or unrated securities are traded may be less liquid than the market for higher-grade securities. Less liquidity in the secondary trading markets could adversely affect and cause large fluctuations in the value of such investments. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may decrease the values and liquidity of lower-rated or unrated securities, especially in a thinly traded market. It is possible that a major economic recession could disrupt severely the market for such securities and may have an adverse impact on the value of such securities. In addition, it is possible that any such economic downturn could adversely affect the ability of the issuers of such securities to repay principal and pay interest thereon and increase the incidence of default of such securities. Furthermore, with respect to certain residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, it is difficult to obtain current reliable information regarding delinquency rates, prepayment rates, servicing records, as well as updated cash flows. The use of credit ratings as the sole method of evaluating lower-rated or unrated securities can involve certain risks. For example, credit ratings evaluate the safety of principal and interest payments, not the market value risk of lower-rated securities. In addition, credit rating agencies may fail to change credit ratings in a timely fashion to reflect events since the security was rated.
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•mREIT Investment Risk.A mortgage REIT invests primarily in mortgages on real property, which may secure construction, development or long-term loans. During periods of declining interest rates, certain mortgage REITs may hold mortgages that the mortgagors elect to prepay, which prepayment may diminish the yield on securities issued by such mortgage REITs. In addition, mortgage REITs may be affected by the ability of borrowers to repay when due the debt extended by the REIT. Mortgage REITs are also subject to heavy cash flow dependency defaults by borrowers and self-liquidation. In addition, mortgage REITs could possibly fail to qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment generally available to REITs under the Code or fail to maintain their exemptions from registration under the 1940 Act. The above factors may also adversely affect a borrower's or a lessee's ability to meet its obligations to the REIT. In the event of default by a borrower or lessee, the REIT may experience delays in enforcing its rights as a mortgagee or lessor and may incur substantial costs associated with protecting its investments. Mortgage REITs may also include hybrid REITs, which invests in both real property and mortgages on real property.
REITs could possibly fail to qualify for the beneficial tax treatment available to REITs under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), or to maintain their exemptions from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"). The Fund expects that dividends received from a REIT and distributed to Fund shareholders generally will be taxable to the shareholder as ordinary income. The above factors may also adversely affect a borrower's or a lessee's ability to meet its obligations to the REIT. In the event of a default by a borrower or lessee, the REIT may experience delays in enforcing its rights as a mortgagee or lessor and may incur substantial costs associated with protecting investments.
•Preferred Securities Risk. Preferred securities may pay fixed or adjustable rates of return and are subject to many of the risks associated with debt securities (e.g., interest rate risk, call risk and extension risk). In addition, preferred securities are subject to issuer-specific and market risks applicable generally to equity securities. Because many preferred securities allow the issuer to convert their preferred security into common stock, preferred securities are often sensitive to declining common stock values. A company's preferred securities generally pay dividends only after the company makes required payments to holders of its bonds and other debt. For this reason, the value of preferred securities will usually react more strongly than bonds and other debt to actual or perceived changes in the company's financial condition or prospects. Preferred securities of smaller companies may be more vulnerable to adverse developments than preferred stock of larger companies.
•Non-Diversification Risk. Each Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. As a result, each Fund may be more exposed to the risks associated with and developments affecting an individual issuer or a smaller number of issuers than a fund that invests more widely. This may increase a Fund's volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on a Fund's performance. However, each Fund intends to satisfy the asset diversification requirements under the Code for qualification as a RIC.
•Rating Agencies Risks. Ratings are not an absolute standard of quality. Ratings are general indicators that reflect only the view of the originating rating agencies from which an explanation of the significance of such ratings may be obtained. There is no assurance that a particular rating will continue for any given period of time or that any such rating will not be revised downward or withdrawn entirely. Such changes may negatively affect the liquidity or market price of the securities in which a Fund invests. The ratings of securitized assets may not adequately reflect the credit risk of those assets due to their structure.
•General Market Risk; Recent Market Events Risk.The market value of a security may move up or down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably. These fluctuations may cause a security to be worth less than the price originally paid for it, or less than it was worth at an earlier time. Market risk may affect a single issuer, industry, sector of the economy or the market as a whole. U.S. and international markets have experienced volatility in recent months and years due to a number of economic, political and global macro factors, including rising inflation, problems in the banking sector, wars between Russia and Ukraine and in the Middle East and the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. Uncertainties regarding interest rate levels, political events, conflicts in Europe and in the Middle East, trade tensions and the possibility of a national or global recession have also contributed to market volatility.
Global economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibility that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers in a different country or region. Continuing market volatility as a result of recent market conditions or other events may have adverse effects on the Fund's returns. The Adviser will monitor developments and seek to manage each Fund in a manner consistent with achieving that Fund's investment objective, but there can be no assurance that it will be successful in doing so.
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•Management Risk. EachFund is actively managed and may not meet its investment objective based on the success or failure of the Adviser to implement investment strategies for each Fund.The value of your investment in a Fund may vary with the effectiveness of the Adviser's research, analysis and asset allocation among portfolio securities. If the Adviser's investment strategies do not produce the expected results, your investment could be diminished or even lost.
•New Fund Risk.Each 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. Additionally, the Adviser has not previously managed a registered fund, which may increase the risk of investing in the Funds. There can be no assurance that a Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size, in which case the Board of Trustees may determine to liquidate the Fund. Liquidation of a Fund can be initiated without shareholder approval by the Board of Trustees if it determines that liquidation is in the best interest of shareholders. As a result, the timing of a Fund's liquidation may not be favorable.
•New Adviser Risk.The Adviser is a newly registered investment adviser and has not previously served as an adviser or sub-adviser to a registered investment company. As a result, there is no long-term track record against which an investor may judge the Adviser and it is possible the Adviser may not achieve the Funds' intended investment objectives.
•Sector Risk.At times a Fund may increase the relative emphasis of its investments in a particular group of industries or sector. The prices of securities of issuers in a particular sector may be more susceptible to fluctuations due to changes in economic or business conditions, government regulations, availability of basic resources or supplies, or other events that affect that industry or sector more than securities of issuers in other industries and sectors. To the extent that a Fund increases the relative emphasis of its investments in a particular industry or sector, the value of Shares may fluctuate in response to events affecting that industry or sector.
•Valuation Risk. The prices provided by a Fund's pricing services or independent dealers or the fair value determinations made by the Adviser may be different from the prices used by other investment companies or from the prices at which debt obligations are actually boughtand sold,particularly for securities that trade in thin or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology. The prices of certain debt obligations provided by pricing services may be subject to frequent and significant change, and will vary depending on the information that is available. Investors who purchase or redeem Fund shares on days when a Fund is holding fair-valued securities may receive fewer or more shares or lower or higher redemption proceeds than they would have received if the Fund had not fair-valued the security or had used a different valuation methodology.
•Cybersecurity Risk.With the increased use of technologies such as the Internet to conduct business, a Fund is susceptible to operational, information security, and related risks. In general, cyber incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events. Cyber attacks include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to digital systems (e.g., through "hacking" or malicious software coding) for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting data, or causing operational disruption. Cyber attacks may also be carried out in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized access, such as causing denial-of-service attacks on websites (i.e., efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users). Cyber incidents affecting a Fund or its service providers may cause disruptions and impact business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses, interference with a Fund's ability to calculate its NAV, impediments to trading, the inability of shareholders to transact business, violations of applicable privacy and other laws, regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, or additional compliance costs. Similar adverse consequences could result from cyber incidents affecting issuers of securities in which a Fund invests, counterparties with which a Fund engages in transactions, governmental and other regulatory authorities, exchange and other financial market operators, banks, brokers, dealers, insurance companies and other financial institutions (including financial intermediaries and service providers for shareholders) and other parties. In addition, substantial costs may be incurred in order to prevent any cyber incidents in the future. While the Funds' service providers have established business continuity plans in the event of, and risk management systems to prevent, such cyber incidents, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems including the possibility that certain risks have not been identified. Furthermore, a Fund cannot control the cyber security plans and systems put in place by its service providers or any other third parties whose operations may affect the Fund or its shareholders. As a result, such Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted.
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•ETF Risks. Each 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. Only APs may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with a Fund. Each Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as APs. In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. 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. Each Fund's investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. A Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause a Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, a 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 a 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 a 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 each 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 Shares during the trading day, like the price of any exchange-traded security, includes a "bid-ask" spread charged by the exchange specialist, market makers or other participants that trade Shares. In times of severe market disruption, the bid-ask spread can increase significantly. At those times, Shares are most likely to be traded at a discount to NAV, and the discount is likely to be greatest when the price of Shares is falling fastest, which may be the time that you most want to sell your Shares. The Adviser believes that, under normal market conditions, large market price discounts or premiums to NAV will not be sustained because of arbitrage opportunities.
◦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 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 a 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.
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•Operational Risk.Operational risks include human error, changes in personnel, system changes, faults in communication, and failures in systems, technology, or processes. Various operational events or circumstances are outside the Adviser's control, including instances at third parties. A Fund and the Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.
OTHER NON-PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND INVESTMENT RISKS
The Adviser undertakes a rigorous evaluation of securities before making an investment for the Funds, including running the securities through a pre-trade clearance system which tests the trade according to pre-set limits and restrictions, including but not limited to, liquidity, credit and duration impacts. The portfolio management team also analyzes market conditions and instrument-specific risks. Ongoing due diligence is maintained between the Adviser's trading, operations and compliance teams to monitor changes in interest rates, credit conditions and market dynamics, to ensure alignment with each Fund's investment objective.
Temporary Defensive Positions. Each Fund may, without limit, invest in commercial paper and other money market instruments rated in one of the two highest rating categories by an NRSRO, in response to adverse market conditions, as a temporary defensive position. The result of this action may be that a Fund will be unable to achieve its investment objective.
The Funds also may use other strategies and engage in other investment practices, which are more fully described below and in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").
To manage the Fund's duration, volatility related to movements in short-term interest rates and credit exposure, the SanJac Alpha Low Duration ETF may employ hedging strategies that utilize interest rate swaps, credit default swaps, interest rate futures, futures contracts on U.S. Treasury securities and options on U.S. Treasury futures.
To manage the Fund's duration, credit exposure, and changes in the mortgage market, the SanJac Alpha Core Plus Bond ETF may employ hedging strategies that utilize interest rate swaps, credit default swaps, mortgage options and swaps, options on U.S. Treasury futures, futures contracts on mortgage-backed securities, futures contracts on U.S. Treasury securities, foreign exchange forwards and options, interest rate derivatives (known as "caps" and "floors"), and collateralized debt obligations ("CDOs").
The success of a Fund's hedging strategy will be subject to SanJac's ability to correctly assess the degree of correlation between the performance of the instruments used in the hedging strategy and the performance of the investments in the Fund being hedged. It is not possible to hedge fully or perfectly against any risk, and hedging entails its own costs (such as trading commissions and fees).
Each Fund's derivatives and other similar instruments have risks, including the imperfect correlation between the value of such instruments and the underlying assets, rate or index; the loss of principal, including the potential loss of amounts greater than the initial amount invested in the derivative instrument; the possible default of the other party to the transaction; and illiquidity of the derivative investments.
PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS INFORMATION
Information about each Fund's daily portfolio holdings is available at https://sanjacalpha.com. A complete description of each Fund's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of each Fund's portfolio holdings is available in the Funds' Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").
VOLUNTARY FEE WAIVERS AND/OR EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENTS
Service providers to the Funds may, from time to time, voluntarily waive all or a portion of any fees to which they are entitled and/or reimburse certain expenses as they may determine from time to time. The Funds' service providers may discontinue or modify these voluntary actions at any time without notice. The Funds' performance will reflect the voluntary waiver of fees and/or the reimbursement of expenses, if any. Without these waivers and/or expense reimbursements, performance would be less favorable.
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUNDS
INVESTMENT ADVISER
SanJac Alpha LP ("SanJac" or the "Adviser") is a registered investment adviser located at 3033 W. Alabama, Houston, Texas 77098, and serves as the investment adviser to the Funds subject to the supervision of the Board of Manager Directed Portfolios (the "Trust"). The Adviser is responsible for overseeing and implementing each Fund's investment program and provides portfolio management, research and security selection for the Funds. SanJac was established in 2022 and offers investment advisory services to the Funds. As of the date of this Prospectus, the Adviser's only clients are the Funds.
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For the services it provides to the Funds, each Fund pays the Adviser a unified management fee, which is calculated daily and paid monthly, at an annual rate of 0.35% of the average daily net assets of the SanJac Alpha Low Duration ETF and 0.65% of the average daily net assets of the SanJac Alpha Core Plus Bond ETF.
Under the investment advisory agreement, the Adviser has agreed to pay all expenses of the Funds except for 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, shareholder service fees and expenses, distribution fees and expenses paid by the Funds under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, the unified management fee payable to the Adviser, and certain other excluded expenses.
A discussion regarding the basis for the Board's approval of the investment advisory agreement between the Adviser and the Trust, on behalf of the Funds, will be included in the Funds' first Form N-CSR filing.
PORTFOLIO MANAGERS OF THE FUNDS
SanJac's portfolio managers are responsible for the day-to-day management of each Fund's portfolio. Andrew Wells is the lead portfolio manager and Andrey Vladyko is the co-portfolio manager of each Fund. Mr. Wells and Mr. Vladyko jointly implement the investment strategies of the Funds. While decisions are generally made by consensus, as the lead portfolio manager, Mr. Wells exercises final discretion in the event of any conflict.
Andrew Wells
Mr. Wells has been the Chief Investment Officer of SanJac since 2023. From 2012 to 2022, Mr. Wells was the Chief Investment Officer of Saracen Capital LP, where he managed the firm's fixed income investment and trading activity. Mr. Wells was formerly the chief shareholder and president of World Capital Markets, Inc., an affiliate of World Equity Group, Inc. Mr. Wells formerly served as president of CapNet Securities Corporation from 2003-2008.
Mr. Wells has served on the boards of public and private companies throughout his career including positions as independent director and chairman of the audit committee. Mr. Wells holds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Sciences from Stephen F. Austin University.
Andrey Vladyko
Mr. Vladyko has been a Portfolio Manager of SanJac since 2024. From 2019-2022, Mr. Vladyko served as a Portfolio Strategist at Saracen Capital LP. He directed and supported all aspects of fixed income trading activity and portfolio risk management for the firm. From 2017-2019, Mr. Vladyko managed a family trust portfolio which included real estate holdings and investments in fixed income, MBS related portfolios and REITs. From 2008 to 2017, Mr. Vladyko served as Portfolio Manager at Providence Investment Management.
Originally from Belarus, Mr. Vladyko graduated with honors from the University of Rhode Island with a major in Finance.
The SAI provides additional information about the Portfolio Managers' compensation structure, other accounts managed by the Portfolio Managers, and the Portfolio Managers' ownership of Shares of each Fund.
HOW TO BUY AND SELL SHARES
Each Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in Creation Units. Only APs may acquire Shares directly from a Fund, and only APs may tender their Shares for redemption directly to a Fund, at NAV. APs must be (i) a broker-dealer or other participant in the clearing process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the National Securities Clearing Corporation ("NSCC"), a clearing agency that is registered with the SEC; or (ii) a Depository Trust Company ("DTC") participant (as discussed below). In addition, each AP 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. 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.
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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 Funds impose 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 a Fund, are an essential part of the ETF process and help keep Share trading prices in line with NAV. As such, the Funds accommodate frequent purchases and redemptions by APs. However, the Board has also determined that frequent purchases and redemptions for cash may increase tracking error and portfolio transaction costs and may lead to the realization of capital gains. To minimize these potential consequences of frequent purchases and redemptions, the Funds employ fair value pricing and may impose transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by a Fund in effecting trades. In addition, the Funds and the Adviser reserve the right to reject any purchase order at any time.
Determination of NAV
Each 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 for each Fund is calculated by dividing the Fund's net assets by its Shares outstanding.
In calculating its NAV, each 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. If such information is not available for a security held by a 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 Funds 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. Generally, when fair valuing a security held by the Funds, the Adviser will take into account all reasonably available information that may be relevant to a particular valuation including, but not limited to, fundamental analytical data regarding the issuer, information relating to the issuer's business, recent trades or offers of the 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 Funds may not be able to obtain the fair value assigned to the security upon the sale of such security.
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 a 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 a Fund.
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Delivery of Shareholder Documents - Householding
Householding is an option available to certain investors of the Funds. 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 Funds is available through certain broker-dealers. If you are interested in enrolling in householding and receiving a single copy of prospectuses and other shareholder documents, please contact your broker-dealer. If you are currently enrolled in householding and wish to change your householding status, please contact your broker-dealer.
DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS, AND TAXES
Dividends and Distributions
Each Fund intends to pay dividends and distribute any net realized capital gains to its shareholders at least annually. Distributions from a Fund's net investment income will typically be paid on a quarterly basis. The Funds will declare and pay capital gain distributions 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.
Taxes
The following discussion is a summary of some important U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to investments in the Funds. Your investment in a 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, potentially with retroactive effect, and could impact a Fund's investments or the tax consequences to you.
Each Fund has elected or intends to elect and intends to qualify each year for treatment as a RIC. If a 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, a 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 a 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
Each 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 a Fund owned the investments that generated them, rather than how long a shareholder has owned his or her Shares. Sales of assets held by a Fund for more than one year generally result in long-term capital gains and losses, and sales of assets held by a Fund for one year or less generally result in short-term capital gains and losses. Distributions of a Fund's net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses) that are reported by such 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 a 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 a 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. Dividends received by a Fund from an ETF or underlying fund taxable as a RIC may be treated as qualified dividend income generally only to the extent so reported by such ETF or underlying fund. Corporate shareholders may be entitled to a dividends received deduction for the portion of dividends they receive from a Fund that are attributable to dividends received by the Fund from U.S. corporations, subject to certain limitations. Certain of
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a Fund's investment strategies may limit its ability to make distributions eligible for the reduced rates applicable to qualified dividend income.
Shortly after the close of each calendar year, you will be informed of the amount and character of any distributions received from a Fund.
In addition to federal income tax, certain 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). The net investment income tax is imposed on the lesser of: (i) the taxpayer's investment income, net of deductions properly allocable to such income; or (ii) the amount by which the taxpayer's modified adjusted gross income exceeds certain thresholds ($250,000 for married individuals filing jointly, $200,000 for unmarried individuals and $125,000 for married individuals filing separately). 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 declared in October, November or December and paid in January of the following year, 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 a Fund before your investment (and thus were included in the Shares' NAV when you purchased your Shares).
You may wish to avoid investing in a 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 a 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 a 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. A 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.
Each 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. Under "wash sale" rules, any loss realized on a sale will be disallowed to the extent Shares of a 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 a 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 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
26
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 Internal Revenue Service 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.
A 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. Such Fund may sell portfolio securities to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause such 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, such Fund may be less tax efficient if it includes such a cash payment in the proceeds paid upon the redemption of Creation Units.
Taxation of REIT Investments
The SanJac Alpha Core Plus Bond ETF invests in REITs. "Qualified REIT dividends" (i.e., ordinary REIT dividends other than capital gain dividends and portions of REIT dividends designated as qualified dividend income eligible for capital gain tax rates) are eligible for a 20% deduction by non-corporate taxpayers. This deduction, if allowed in full, equates to a maximum effective tax rate of 29.6% (37% top rate applied to income after 20% deduction). Pursuant to proposed Treasury regulations on which a Fund may rely, distributions by a Fund to its shareholders that are attributable to qualified REIT dividends received by a Fund and which such Fund properly reports as "section 199A dividends," are treated as "qualified REIT dividends" in the hands of non-corporate shareholders. A section 199A dividend is treated as a qualified REIT dividend only if the shareholder receiving such dividend holds the dividend-paying RIC shares for at least 46 days of the 91-day period beginning 45 days before the shares become ex-dividend and is not under an obligation to make related payments with respect to a position in substantially similar or related property. Each Fund is permitted to report such part of its dividends as section 199A dividends as are eligible, but is not required to do so.
REITs in which a Fund invests often do not provide complete and final tax information to such Fund until after the time that such Fund issues a tax reporting statement. As a result, such Fund may at times find it necessary to reclassify the amount and character of its distributions to you after it issues your tax reporting statement. When such reclassification is necessary, such Fund (or a financial intermediary, such as a broker, through which a shareholder owns Shares) will send you a corrected, final Form 1099-DIV to reflect the reclassified information. If you receive a corrected Form 1099-DIV, use the information on this corrected form, and not the information on the previously issued tax reporting statement, in completing your tax returns.
The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the possible consequences under current federal tax law of an investment in each 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 Funds 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 Funds. The Distributor's principal address is Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101.
PREMIUM/DISCOUNT INFORMATION
When available, 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) the NAV per Share is available, free of charge, on the Funds' website at https://sanjacalpha.com.
ADDITIONAL NOTICES
Shares of the Trust are not sponsored, endorsed, or promoted by the Exchange. The Exchange makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the shares of the Funds. The Exchange is not responsible for, nor has it participated in, the determination of the timing of, prices of, or quantities of the shares of the Funds to be issued, or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the shares are redeemable.
The Exchange has no obligation or liability to owners of the shares of the Funds in connection with the administration, marketing, or trading of the shares of the Funds. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall the Exchange have
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any liability for any lost profits or indirect, punitive, special, or consequential damages even if notified of the possibility thereof.
The Adviser and the Funds make no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of shares of the Funds or any members of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Funds particularly.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Because the Funds have recently commenced operations, there are no financial highlights available at this time.
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SanJac Alpha Low Duration ETF
SanJac Alpha Core Plus Bond ETF
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Adviser
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SanJac Alpha LP
3033 W. Alabama Houston, Texas 77098
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Distributor
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Quasar Distributors, LLC
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101
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Transfer Agent, Fund Accountant and Fund Administrator
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U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC
d/b/a U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
615 East Michigan Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
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Custodian
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U.S. Bank, N.A.
1555 N. Rivercenter Drive
Suite 302
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212
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Legal Counsel
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Godfrey & Kahn, S.C.
833 East Michigan Street
Suite 1800
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
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Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
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Cohen & Company, Ltd.
1835 Market Street, Suite 310
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103
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You can find more information about the Funds in the following documents:
Statement of Additional Information
The SAI provides additional details about the investments and techniques of the Funds and certain other additional information. A current SAI is on file with the SEC and is incorporated into this Prospectus by reference. This means that the SAI is legally considered a part of this Prospectus even though it is not physically within this Prospectus.
Annual and Semi-Annual Reports
Additional information about the Funds' investments will be available in the Funds' annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders (when available) and in Form N-CSR. In the annual report you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Funds' performance during the Funds' prior fiscal year. In Form N-CSR, you will find the Funds' annual and semi-annual financial statements.
The Funds' shareholder reports will be made available on the website https://sanjacalpha.comand you will be notified and provided with a link each time a report is posted to the website. You may request to receive paper reports from the Funds or from your financial intermediary, free of charge, at any time. You may also request to receive documents through e-delivery.
You may obtain copies of these documents and request other information, such as the Funds' financial statements, without charge, upon request, or ask questions about the Funds by contacting:
SanJac Alpha Low Duration ETF or SanJac Alpha Core Plus Bond ETF
c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
P.O. Box 701
Milwaukee, WI 53201-0701
1-800-617-0004
The SAI, shareholder reports and other information about the Funds are also available:
•free of charge from the SEC's EDGAR database on the SEC's Internet website at http://www.sec.gov;
•free of charge from the Funds' Internet website at https://sanjacalpha.com; or
•for a fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: [email protected].
(The Trust's SEC Investment Company Act of 1940 file number is 811-21897)
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SanJac Alpha Low Duration ETF (SJLD)
SanJac Alpha Core Plus Bond ETF (SJCP)
Listed on Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
Manager Directed Portfolios
615 East Michigan Street, 3rd Floor
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
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STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
August 27, 2024
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This Statement of Additional Information ("SAI") provides general information about the SanJac Alpha Low Duration ETF and SanJac Alpha Core Plus Bond ETF (each, a "Fund" and, collectively, the "Funds"), each a series of Manager Directed Portfolios (the "Trust"). This SAI is not a prospectus and should be read in conjunction with the Funds' current prospectus dated August 27, 2024 (the "Prospectus"), as supplemented and amended from time to time. You may obtain a copy of the Prospectus and/or the annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders (when available), at no charge, by contacting the Funds at the address or toll-free telephone number below, or by visiting the Funds' website at https://sanjacalpha.com.
SanJac Alpha Low Duration ETF and SanJac Alpha Core Plus Bond ETF
c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
P.O. Box 701
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-0701
Telephone: 1-800-617-0004
The Funds' website https://sanjacalpha.com is not currently operational.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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GENERAL INFORMATION
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1
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INVESTMENT POLICIES, STRATEGIES AND ASSOCIATED RISKS
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1
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INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS
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19
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EXCHANGE LISTING AND TRADING
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20
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TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS
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20
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CODES OF ETHICS
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25
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PROXY VOTING
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25
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CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES
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26
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INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES
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26
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PORTFOLIO MANAGERS
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27
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THE DISTRIBUTOR
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27
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THE ADMINISTRATOR, CUSTODIAN, AND TRANSFER AGENT
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28
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PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS DISCLOSURE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
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29
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BROKERAGE ALLOCATION AND OTHER PRACTICES
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29
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PORTFOLIO TURNOVER RATE
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30
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BOOK ENTRY ONLY SYSTEM
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31
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PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION OF SHARE IN CREATION UNITS
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32
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DESCRIPTION OF SHARES, VOTING RIGHTS AND LIABILITIES
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38
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DETERMINATION OF NAV
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39
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DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS
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40
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FEDERAL INCOME TAXES
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40
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FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
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48
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GENERAL INFORMATION
Each Fund is an exchange-traded fund that is a separate series of the Trust. The Trust is an open-end management investment company consisting of multiple investment series. This SAI relates to the Funds. The Trust was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on April 4, 2006. 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 each 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"). The Declaration of Trust permits the Board to establish series of shares, each of which constitutes a series separate and distinct from the shares of the other series.
SanJac Alpha LP (the "Adviser") serves as the investment adviser to the Funds.
The Funds offer and issue Shares at their net asset value ("NAV") only in aggregations of a specified number of Shares (each, a "Creation Unit"). The Funds generally offer and issue 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 Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (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 each Fund generally consists of 10,000 Shares, though this may change from time to time. As a practical matter, only institutions or large investors purchase or redeem Creation Units. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, Shares are not redeemable securities.
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.
INVESTMENT POLICIES, STRATEGIES AND ASSOCIATED RISKS
The following information supplements the information concerning the Funds' investment objectives, policies and limitations found in the Prospectus.
Investment Objectives
SanJac Alpha Low Duration ETF
The Fund seeks current income consistent with preservation of capital and daily liquidity. The Fund's investment objective may be changed without the approval of the Fund's shareholders upon Board approval and 60 days' prior written notice to shareholders.
SanJac Alpha Core Plus Bond ETF
The Fund seeks current income and total returns consistent with limited volatility and the preservation of capital. The Fund's investment objective may be changed without the approval of the Fund's shareholders upon Board approval and 60 days' prior written notice to shareholders.
Non-Diversification Status.Each Fund is classified as a non-diversified investment company under the 1940 Act. A "non-diversified" classification means that a Fund is not limited by the 1940 Act with regard to the percentage of its total assets that may be invested in the securities of a single issuer. This means that a Fund may invest a greater portion of its total assets in the securities of a single issuer or a small number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. This may have an adverse effect on a Fund's performance or subject Shares to greater price volatility than more diversified investment companies. Moreover, in pursuing its objective, a Fund may hold the securities of a single issuer in an amount exceeding 10% of the value of the outstanding securities of the issuer, subject to restrictions imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code").
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Although each Fund is non-diversified for purposes of the 1940 Act, the Funds intend to maintain the required level of diversification and otherwise conduct its operations so as to qualify as a "regulated investment company" ("RIC") for purposes of the Code. Compliance with the diversification requirements of the Code may limit the investment flexibility of a Fund and may make it less likely that a Fund will meet its investment objectives. To qualify as a RIC under the Code, a Fund must meet the Diversification Requirement described in the section titled "Federal Income Taxes" in this SAI.
Market and Regulatory Risk; General Market Risks.U.S. and international markets have experienced significant volatility in recent months and years. Events in the financial markets and economy may cause volatility and uncertainty and affect performance. Such adverse effects on performance could include a decline in the value and liquidity of securities held by a Fund, unusually high and unanticipated levels of redemptions, an increase in portfolio turnover, a decrease in net asset value ("NAV"), and an increase in Fund expenses. It may also be unusually difficult to identify both investment risks and opportunities, in which case investment objectives may not be met. Market events may affect a single issuer, industry, sector, or the market as a whole. Traditionally liquid investments may experience periods of diminished liquidity. During a general downturn in the financial markets, multiple asset classes may decline in value and a Fund may lose value, regardless of the individual results of the securities and other instruments in which a Fund invests. It is impossible to predict whether or for how long such market events will continue, particularly if they are unprecedented, unforeseen or widespread events or conditions. Therefore, it is important to understand that the value of your investment may fall, sometimes sharply and for extended periods, and you could lose money.
Governmental and regulatory actions, including tax law changes, may also impair portfolio management and have unexpected or adverse consequences on particular markets, strategies, or investments. Policy and legislative changes in the U.S. and in other countries are affecting many aspects of financial regulation and may in some instances contribute to decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the financial markets. The impact of these changes on the markets, and the practical implications for market participants, may not be fully known for some time. In addition, economies and financial markets throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected. As a result, whether or not a Fund invests in securities of issuers located in or with significant exposure to countries experiencing economic and financial difficulties, the value and liquidity of a Fund's investments may be negatively affected.
Investment Strategies and Associated Risks
Money Market Funds.Each Fund may invest in the securities of money market funds, within the limits prescribed by the 1940 Act.
U.S. Government Obligations.Each Fund may invest in debt securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities. Although not all obligations of agencies and instrumentalities are direct obligations of the U.S. Treasury, the U.S. Government may provide support for payment of the interest and principal on these obligations directly or indirectly. This support can range from securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. (for example, securities of the Government National Mortgage Association or "Ginnie Mae" securities), to securities that are supported solely or primarily by the creditworthiness of the issuer, such as securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae"), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("Freddie Mac"), the Tennessee Valley Authority, Federal Farm Credit Banks and the Federal Home Loan Banks ("FHLBs"). In the case of obligations not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S., a Fund must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment and may not be able to assert a claim against the U.S. itself in the event the agency or instrumentality does not meet its commitments. Whether backed by full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury or not, U.S. Government obligations are not guaranteed against price movements due to fluctuating interest rates.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed into conservatorship by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), an independent regulator, in 2008, and FHFA succeeded to all of their rights, titles, powers, and privileges. At the time Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed in conservatorship, the U.S. Treasury established preferred stock purchase agreements pursuant to which the U.S. Treasury will contribute cash capital to maintain a positive net worth in each enterprise. These agreements were amended in December 2009 to permit the U.S. Treasury's funding commitment to increase as necessary to accommodate any cumulative reduction in net worth of the enterprises for a three-year period. FHFA has the right to transfer or sell any asset or liability of
2
Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac without any approval, assignment or consent, although FHFA has stated that it has no present intention to do so. In addition, holders of mortgage-backed securities issued by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac may not enforce certain rights related to such securities against FHFA, or the enforcement of such rights may be delayed, during the conservatorship. If the conservatorship is terminated, these obligations will no longer have the protection of the U.S. Treasury.
Commercial Paper.Each Fund may invest in commercial paper. Commercial paper consists of short-term (up to 270 days) unsecured promissory notes issued by corporations in order to finance their current operations. Each Fund may invest only in commercial paper rated A-1 or higher by Standard & Poor's Ratings Service ("S&P") or Moody's Investors Service, Inc. ("Moody's") or if not rated, determined by the investment adviser to be of comparable quality.
Bank Obligations.Each Fund may invest in U.S. dollar-denominated obligations of major banks, including certificates of deposit, time deposits, money market deposit accounts, and bankers' acceptances of major U.S. and foreign banks and their branches located outside of the U.S., of U.S. branches of foreign banks, of foreign branches of foreign banks, of U.S. agencies of foreign banks and of wholly-owned banking subsidiaries of such foreign banks located in the U.S. Obligations of foreign branches of U.S. banks and U.S. branches of wholly-owned subsidiaries of foreign banks may be general obligations of the parent bank, or the issuing branch or subsidiary, or both, or may be limited by the terms of a specific obligation or by government regulation. Because such obligations are issued by foreign entities, they are subject to the risks of foreign investing. A brief description of some typical types of bank obligations follows:
•Bankers' Acceptances. Bankers' acceptances are credit instruments evidencing the obligation of a bank to pay a draft that has been drawn on it by a customer. These instruments reflect the obligation of both the bank and the drawer to pay the face amount of the instrument upon maturity.
•Certificates of Deposit. Certificates of deposit are certificates evidencing the indebtedness of a commercial bank to repay funds deposited with it for a definite period of time (usually from 14 days to one year) at a stated or variable interest rate. Variable rate certificates of deposit provide that the interest rate will fluctuate on designated dates based on changes in a designated base rate (such as the composite rate for certificates of deposit established by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York).
•Time Deposits. Time deposits are bank deposits for fixed periods of time.
Convertible Securities.Convertible securities have characteristics similar to both fixed income and equity securities. Because of the conversion feature, the market value of convertible securities tends to move together with the market value of the underlying stock. As a result, a Fund's selection of convertible securities is based, to a great extent, on the potential for capital appreciation that may exist in the underlying stock. The value of convertible securities is also affected by prevailing interest rates, the credit quality of the issuers and any call provisions.
Each Fund may invest in convertible securities that are rated, at the time of purchase, in the three highest rating categories by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization ("NRSRO") such as Moody's or S&P, or if unrated, are determined by the investment adviser to be of comparable quality (see "Appendix A - Description of Ratings"). Ratings represent the rating agency's opinion regarding the quality of the security and are not a guarantee of quality. Should the rating of a security be downgraded subsequent to a Fund's purchase of the security, the investment adviser will determine whether it is in the best interest of such Fund to retain the security.
Debt Securities.Debt securities represent money borrowed that obligates the issuer (e.g., a corporation, municipality, government, government agency) to repay the borrowed amount at maturity (when the obligation is due and payable) and usually to pay the holder interest at specific times.
The value of debt securities may be affected significantly by changes in interest rates. Generally, when interest rates rise, a debt security's value declines and when interest rates decline, its market value rises. Generally, the longer a debt security's maturity, the greater the interest rate risk and the higher its yield. Conversely, the shorter a debt security's maturity, the lower the interest rate risk and the lower its yield. Individual debt securities may be subject to the credit risk of the issuer. The underlying issuer may experience unanticipated financial problems and may be unable to meet its payment obligations. Debt securities receiving a lower rating compared to higher rated debt securities, may have a weakened capacity to make principal and interest payments due to changes in economic
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conditions or other adverse circumstances. Ratings agencies such as Moody's, Fitch and S&P provide ratings on debt obligations based on their analyses of information they deem relevant. Ratings are essentially opinions or judgments of the credit quality of an issuer and may prove to be inaccurate.
Variable and Floating Rate Securities.The Funds may invest in variable and floating rate securities. Fixed income 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, a Fund might be entitled to less than the initial principal amount of the security upon the security's maturity. The Funds intend to purchase these securities only when the Adviser believes the interest income from the instrument justifies any principal risks associated with the instrument. The 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 Adviser will be able to limit the effects of principal fluctuations and, accordingly, a 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 a Fund to dispose of the instrument during periods that the Fund is not entitled to exercise any demand rights it may have. A Fund could, for this or other reasons, suffer a loss with respect to those instruments. The Adviser monitors the liquidity of the Funds' investments in variable and floating rate instruments, but there can be no guarantee that an active secondary market will exist.
Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities. The Funds may 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 non-government 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 Funds receive 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. The residential mortgage-backed securities (agency and non-agency) and commercial mortgage-backed securities in which a Fund invests, under normal circumstances, will not represent more than 25% of its respective total assets (measured at the time of purchase).
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
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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.
In September 2008, the Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA") placed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship. As the conservator, FHFA succeeded to all rights, titles, powers and privileges of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and of any stockholder, officer or director of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with respect to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the assets of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In connection with the conservatorship, the U.S. Treasury entered into a Senior Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement (SPA) with each of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pursuant to which the U.S. Treasury agreed to purchase up to 1,000,000 shares of senior preferred stock with an aggregate initial liquidation preference of $1 billion and obtained warrants and options to for the purchase of common stock of each of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Under the SPAs as currently amended, the U.S. Treasury has pledged to provide financial support to a government-sponsored enterprise ("GSE") in any quarter in which the GSE has a net worth deficit as defined in the respective SPA.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are continuing to operate as going concerns while in conservatorship and each remain liable for all of its obligations, including its guaranty obligations, associated with its mortgage-backed securities. The SPAs are intended to enhance each of Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's ability to meet its obligations. Under a letter agreement entered into in January 2021, the GSEs are permitted to retain earnings and raise private capital to enable them to meet the minimum capital requirements under the FHFA's Enterprise Regulatory Capital Framework. The letter agreement also permits the GSEs to develop a plan to exit conservatorship, but may not do so until all litigation involving the conservatorships is resolved and the GSEs have the minimum capital required by FHFA's rules. Should Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac be taken out of conservatorship, it is unclear whether the U.S. Treasury would continue to enforce its rights or perform its obligations under the SPAs. It is also unclear how the capital structure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be constructed post-conservatorship, and what effects, if any, the privatization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will have on their creditworthiness and guarantees of certain mortgage-backed securities. Accordingly, should the FHFA take Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac out of conservatorship, there could be an adverse impact on the value of their securities which could cause the Funds' investments to lose value.
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 Funds purchase 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 return. In addition, while the trading market for short-term mortgages and asset-
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backed securities is ordinarily quite liquid, in times of financial stress the trading market for these securities may become restricted.
Collateralized Mortgage Obligations ("CMOs").The Funds may invest in 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 GNMA, FHLMC, or FNMA, 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 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 Funds, 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 Funds' 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
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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 Funds 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.
Collateralized Debt Obligations ("CDOs").The Funds may invest in CDOs. A CDO is a security backed by a pool of bonds, loans and other debt obligations. CDOs are not limited to investing in one type of debt and accordingly, a CDO may own corporate bonds, commercial loans, asset-backed securities, residential mortgage-backed securities, commercial mortgage-backed securities, and emerging market debt. The CDO's securities are typically divided into several classes, or bond tranches, that have differing levels of investment grade or credit tolerances. Most CDO issues are structured in a way that enables the senior bond classes and mezzanine classes to receive investment-grade credit ratings. Credit risk is shifted to the most junior class of securities. If any defaults occur in the assets backing a CDO, the senior bond classes are first in line to receive principal and interest payments, followed by the mezzanine classes and finally by the lowest rated (or non-rated) class, which is known as the equity tranche. Similar in structure to a collateralized mortgage obligation (described above) CDOs are unique in that they represent different types of debt and credit risk.
Collateralized Loan Obligations ("CLOs").The Funds may invest in CLOs, which are debt instruments typically backed by a pool of loans. The risks of an investment in a CLO depend largely on the type of the collateral securities and the class of the CLO in which the Funds invest. Some CLOs have credit ratings, but are typically issued in various classes with various priorities. Normally, CLOs are privately offered and sold (that is, they are not registered under the securities laws) and may be characterized by the Funds as illiquid investments; however, an active dealer market may exist for CLOs that qualify for Rule 144A transactions. In addition to the normal interest rate, default and other risks of fixed income securities, CLOs carry additional risks, including the possibility that distributions from collateral securities will not be adequate to make interest or other payments, the quality of the collateral may decline in value or default, the Funds may invest in CLOs that are subordinate to other classes, values may be volatile, and disputes with the issuer may produce unexpected investment results.
Equity Securities. Equity securities, such as the common stocks of an issuer, are subject to stock market fluctuations and therefore may experience volatile changes in value as market conditions, consumer sentiment or the financial condition of the issuers change. A decrease in value of the equity securities in a Fund's portfolio may also cause the value of Shares to decline.
An investment in the Funds should be made with an understanding of the risks inherent in an investment in equity securities, including the risk that the financial condition of issuers may become impaired or that the general condition of the stock market may deteriorate (either of which may cause a decrease in the value of a Fund's portfolio securities and therefore a decrease in the value of Shares). Common stocks are susceptible to general stock market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence and perceptions change. These investor perceptions are based on various and unpredictable factors, including expectations regarding government, economic, monetary and fiscal policies; inflation and interest rates; economic expansion or contraction; and global or regional political, economic or banking crises.
Types of Equity Securities:
Common Stocks.Common stock represents a proportionate share of the ownership of a company and its value is based on the success of the company's business, any income paid to stockholders, the value of its assets, and general market conditions. In addition to the general risks set forth above, investments in common stocks are subject to the risk that in the event a company in which a Fund invests is liquidated, the holders of preferred stock and creditors of that company will be paid in full before any payments are made to a Fund as a holder of common stock. It is possible that all assets of that company will be exhausted before any payments are made to the Funds.
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Preferred Stocks. Preferred stocks are also units of ownership in a company. Preferred stocks normally have preference over common stock in the payment of dividends and the liquidation of the company. However, in all other respects, preferred stocks are subordinated to the liabilities of the issuer. Unlike common stocks, preferred stocks are generally not entitled to vote on corporate matters. Types of preferred stocks include adjustable-rate preferred stock, fixed dividend preferred stock, perpetual preferred stock, and sinking fund preferred stock.
Generally, the market values of preferred stock with a fixed dividend rate and no conversion element vary inversely with interest rates and perceived credit risk.
Holders of common stocks incur more risk than holders of preferred stocks and debt obligations because common stockholders, as owners of the issuer, generally have inferior rights to receive payments from the issuer in comparison with the rights of creditors or holders of debt obligations or preferred stocks. Further, unlike debt securities, which typically have a stated principal amount payable at maturity (whose value, however, is subject to market fluctuations prior thereto), or preferred stocks, which typically have a liquidation preference and which may have stated optional or mandatory redemption provisions, common stocks have neither a fixed principal amount nor a maturity. Common stock values are subject to market fluctuations as long as the common stock remains outstanding.
When-Issued Securities.A when-issued security is one whose terms are available and for which a market exists, but which has not been issued. When a Fund engages in when-issued transactions, it relies on the other party to consummate the sale. If the other party fails to complete the sale, a Fund may miss the opportunity to obtain the security at a favorable price or yield.
When purchasing a security on a when-issued basis, a Fund assumes the rights and risks of ownership of the security, including the risk of price and yield changes. At the time of settlement, the value of the security may be more or less than the purchase price. The yield available in the market when the delivery takes place also may be higher than those obtained in the transaction itself. Because a Fund does not pay for the security until the delivery date, these risks are in addition to the risks associated with its other investments.
Rights and Warrants.A right is a privilege granted to existing shareholders of a corporation to subscribe to shares of a new issue of common stock before it is issued. Rights normally have a short life of usually two to four weeks, are freely transferable and entitle the holder to buy the new common stock at a lower price than the public offering price. Warrants are securities that are usually issued together with a debt security or preferred stock and that give the holder the right to buy proportionate amount of common stock at a specified price. Warrants are freely transferable and are traded on major exchanges. Unlike rights, warrants normally have a life that is measured in years and entitles the holder to buy common stock of a company at a price that is usually higher than the market price at the time the warrant is issued. Corporations often issue warrants to make the accompanying debt security more attractive.
An investment in warrants and rights may entail greater risks than certain other types of investments. Generally, rights and warrants do not carry the right to receive dividends or exercise voting rights with respect to the underlying securities, and they do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuer. In addition, their value does not necessarily change with the value of the underlying securities, and they cease to have value if they are not exercised on or before their expiration date. Investing in rights and warrants increases the potential profit or loss to be realized from the investment as compared with investing the same amount in the underlying securities.
Small-Capitalization Companies.Small-capitalization companies may have narrower markets for their goods and/or services and may have more limited managerial and financial resources than larger, more established companies. Furthermore, such companies may have limited product lines, services, markets, or financial resources or may be dependent on a small management group. In addition, because these stocks may not be well-known to the investing public, do not have significant institutional ownership or are typically followed by fewer security analysts, there will normally be less publicly available information concerning these securities compared to what is available for the securities of larger companies. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, can decrease the value and liquidity of securities held by a Fund. As a result, small-capitalization company performance can be more volatile and they may face greater risk of business failure, which could increase the volatility of a Fund's portfolio.
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Derivative Instruments.The Funds may invest in derivative instruments as a non-principal investment strategy. To the extent each Fund engages in derivatives transactions, each Fund expects to qualify as a limited derivatives user under Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act, which requires each Fund to comply with a 10% notional exposure-based limit on derivatives transactions and to adopt written policies and procedures reasonably designed to manage each Fund's derivatives risks.The Funds' derivatives and other similar instruments (collectively referred to in this section as "derivatives" or "derivative investments") have risks, including the leverage, market, counterparty, liquidity, operational, and legal risks. They also involve the risk of imperfect correlation between the value of such instruments and the underlying assets of the applicable Fund, which creates the possibility that the loss on such instruments may be greater than the gain in the value of the underlying assets in the Fund's portfolio; the loss of principal; the possible default of the other party to the transaction; and illiquidity of the derivative investments. If a counterparty becomes bankrupt or otherwise fails to perform its obligations under a derivative contract due to financial difficulties, the applicable Fund may experience significant delays in obtaining any recovery under the derivative contract in a bankruptcy or other reorganization proceeding. Counterparty risk also includes the risks of having concentrated exposure to a counterparty. In addition, in the event of the insolvency of a counterparty to a derivative transaction, the derivative contract would typically be terminated at its fair market value. If a Fund is owed this fair market value in the termination of the derivative contract and its claim is unsecured, the Fund will be treated as a general creditor of such counterparty, and will not have any claim with respect to the underlying security. Using derivatives is also subject to operational and legal risks. Operational risk generally refers to risk related to potential operational issues, including documentation issues, settlement issues, systems failures, inadequate controls, and human error. Legal risk generally refers to insufficient documentation, insufficient capacity or authority of counterparty, or legality or enforceability of a contract.
The counterparty risk for cleared derivative transactions is generally lower than for uncleared over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives because generally a clearing organization becomes substituted for each counterparty to a cleared derivative contract and, in effect, guarantees the parties' performance under the contract as each party to a trade looks only to the clearing house for performance of financial obligations. However, there can be no assurance that the clearing house, or its members, will satisfy its obligations to the Funds.
Certain of the derivative investments in which the Funds may invest may, in certain circumstances, give rise to a form of financial leverage, which may magnify a Fund's gains or losses and the risk of owning such instruments. Like most other investments, derivatives are subject to the risk that the market value of the instrument will change in a way detrimental to a Fund's interest. The ability to successfully use derivative investments depends on the ability of the Adviser to predict pertinent market movements, which cannot be assured. In addition, amounts paid by the Funds as premiums and cash or other assets held in margin accounts with respect to the Funds' derivative investments would not be available to the Funds for other investment purposes, which may result in lost opportunities for gain.
The use of derivatives may also subject a Fund to liquidity risk which generally refers to risk involving the liquidity demands that derivatives can create to make payments of margin, collateral, or settlement payments to counterparties. Liquidity risk also refers to the risk that a Fund may be required to hold additional cash or sell other investments in order to obtain cash to close out derivatives or meet the liquidity demands noted above. A Fund may have to sell a security at a disadvantageous time or price to meet such obligations. OTC derivatives may be more difficult to purchase, sell or value than other investments. Although both OTC and exchange-traded derivatives markets may experience a lack of liquidity, OTC non-standardized derivative transactions are generally less liquid than exchange-traded instruments. The illiquidity of the derivatives markets may be due to various factors, including congestion, disorderly markets, limitations on deliverable supplies, the participation of speculators, government regulation and intervention, and technical and operational or system failures. In addition, the liquidity of a secondary market in an exchange-traded derivative contract may be adversely affected by "daily price fluctuation limits" established by the exchanges which limit the amount of fluctuation in an exchange-traded contract price during a single trading day. Once the daily limit has been reached in the contract, no trades may be entered into at a price beyond the limit, thus preventing the liquidation of open positions. Prices have in the past moved beyond the daily limit on a number of consecutive trading days. If it is not possible to close an open derivative position entered into by a Fund, the Fund would continue to be required to make cash payments of variation (or mark-to-market) margin in the event of adverse price movements. In such a situation, if the Fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell portfolio securities to meet variation margin requirements at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so. The absence of liquidity may also make it more difficult for a Fund to ascertain a market value for such instruments. The
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inability to close derivatives transactions positions also could have an adverse impact on a Fund's ability to effectively hedge its portfolio. OTC derivatives that are not cleared are also subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party to the contract will not fulfill its contractual obligation to complete the transaction with a Fund. If a counterparty were to default on its obligations, a Fund's contractual remedies against such counterparty may be subject to bankruptcy and insolvency laws, which could affect the Fund's rights as a creditor (e.g., the Fund may not receive the net amount of payments that it is contractually entitled to receive). In addition, the use of certain derivatives may cause the Funds to realize higher amounts of income or short-term capital gains (generally taxed at ordinary income tax rates).
The Adviser intends to operate each Fund in compliance with the requirements of Rule 4.5 under the Commodity Exchange Act ("CEA"). As a result, the Funds are not deemed to be "commodity pools" under the CEA and will be limited in their ability to use futures and options on futures or commodities or engage in swap transactions for other than bona fide hedging purposes. Provided the Funds operate within the limits of Rule 4.5 under the CEA, the Adviser will be excluded from the definition of a commodity pool operator ("CPO") and is thus not required to be registered as a CPO under the CEA. If a Fund was no longer able to claim the exclusion, each Fund and the Adviser, to the extent trading in commodity interests, would be subject to registration and regulation under the CEA. The Adviser, with respect to the Funds, has filed a notice of eligibility with the National Futures Association ("NFA") claiming an exclusion from the definition of a CPO pursuant to Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") Regulation 4.5, as promulgated under the CEA, as amended, with respect to the Funds' operations. If the Adviser or a Fund becomes subject to these requirements, as well as related NFA rules, the Funds may incur additional compliance and other expenses.
The derivatives markets have become subject to comprehensive statutes, regulations and margin requirements. In particular, in the United States the Dodd-Frank Act regulates the OTC derivatives market by, among other things, requiring many derivative transactions to be cleared and traded on an exchange, expanding entity registration requirements, imposing business conduct requirements on dealers and requiring banks to move some derivatives trading units to a non-guaranteed affiliate separate from the deposit-taking bank or divest them altogether. Rulemaking proposed or implemented under the Dodd-Frank Act could potentially limit or completely restrict the ability of the Funds to use these instruments as a part of their investment strategies, increase the costs of using these instruments or make them less effective. Limits or restrictions applicable to the counterparties with which the Funds engage in derivative transactions could also prevent the Funds from using these instruments or affect the pricing or other factors relating to these instruments, or may change availability of certain investments.
Regulation of the derivatives market presents additional risks to the Funds and may limit the ability of the Fund to use, and the availability or performance of such instruments. Pursuant to Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act, a fund's derivatives exposure is limited through a value-at-risk ("VaR") test and requires the adoption and implementation of a derivatives risk management program for certain derivatives users. However, subject to certain conditions, funds that do not invest heavily in derivatives may be deemed limited derivatives users (as defined in Rule 18f-4) and would not be subject to the full requirements of Rule 18f-4. Each Fund expects to limit its derivatives exposure to 10% of its net assets and qualify as a limited derivatives user for purposes of Rule 18f-4.
The Funds' investments in regulated derivatives instruments, such as swaps, futures and options, will be subject to maximum position limits established by the CFTC and U.S. and foreign futures exchanges. Under the exchange rules all accounts owned or managed by advisers, such as the Adviser, their principals and affiliates would be combined for position limit purposes. To comply with the position limits established by the CFTC and the relevant exchanges, the Adviser may in the future reduce the size of positions that would otherwise be taken for a Fund or not trade in certain markets on behalf of the Fund to avoid exceeding such limits. A violation of position limits by the Adviser could lead to regulatory action resulting in mandatory liquidation of certain positions held by the Adviser on behalf of the Funds. There can be no assurance that the Adviser will liquidate positions held on behalf of all the Adviser's accounts in a proportionate manner or at favorable prices, which may result in substantial losses to the Funds. Such policies could affect the nature and extent of derivatives use by the Funds.
Swaps.The Funds may invest in credit default swaps, total return swaps, interest rate swaps, equity swaps, currency swaps and other types of swaps. Such transactions are subject to market risk, liquidity risk, risk of default by the
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other party to the transaction, known as "counterparty risk," regulatory risk and risk of imperfect correlation between the value of such instruments and the underlying assets and may involve commissions or other costs.
A credit default swap agreement may reference one or more debt securities or obligations that are not currently held by the Funds. The Funds are permitted to enter into a credit default swap as either the protection buyer or seller in the discretion of the Adviser. When buying protection under a credit default swap, a Fund is generally obligated to pay the protection seller an upfront or periodic stream of payments over the term of the contract until a credit event occurs, such as a default of the reference obligation. If no credit event occurs, a Fund may recover nothing if the swap is held through the termination date. However, if a credit event does occur, a Fund may receive the full notional value of the swap in exchange for the face amount of the obligations underlying the swap, the value of which may have significantly decreased. When selling protection under a credit default swap, a Fund receives an upfront or periodic stream of payments over the term of the contract provided that a credit event does not occur. However, as the seller of protection, a Fund effectively adds leverage to its portfolio because it gains exposure to the notional amount of the swap. Entering into a credit default swap may subject a Fund to greater risk than if the Fund had invested in the reference obligation directly. In addition to general market risks, credit default swaps also involve illiquidity risk, counter-party risk (for OTC swaps) and credit risk.
Swap agreements are primarily entered into by institutional investors and the value of such agreements may be extremely volatile. Certain swap agreements are traded OTC between two parties, while other more standardized swaps must be transacted through a Futures Commission Merchant and centrally cleared and exchange-traded. While central clearing and exchange-trading are intended to reduce counterparty credit and liquidity risk, they do not make a swap transaction risk-free. The current regulatory environment regarding swap agreements is subject to change. The Adviser will continue to monitor these developments, particularly to the extent regulatory changes affect the Funds' ability to enter into swap agreements.
The swap market has matured in recent years with a large number of banks and investment banking firms acting both as principals and as agents utilizing standardized swap documentation. As a result, the swap market has become relatively liquid; however there is no guarantee that the swap market will continue to provide liquidity and may be subject to liquidity risk, which exists when a particular swap is difficult to purchase or sell. The absence of liquidity may also make it more difficult for a Fund to ascertain a market value for such instruments. The inability to close derivative positions also could have an adverse impact on a Fund's ability to effectively hedge its portfolio. If the Adviser is incorrect in its forecasts of market values, interest rates or currency exchange rates, the investment performance of the applicable Fund would be less favorable than it would have been if these investment techniques were not used. In a total return swap, a Fund pays the counterparty a floating short-term interest rate and receive in exchange the total return of underlying loans or debt securities. A Fund bears the risk of default on the underlying loans or debt securities, based on the notional amount of the swap and, therefore, incurs a form of leverage. A Fund would typically have to post collateral to cover this potential obligation.
Options and Futures Risk.The Funds may utilize options and futures contracts and so-called "synthetic" options or other derivatives written by broker-dealers or other permissible financial intermediaries. Options transactions may be effected on securities exchanges or in the OTC market. When options are purchased OTC, the applicable Fund's portfolio bears the risk that the counterparty that wrote the option will be unable or unwilling to perform its obligations under the option contract. Options may also be illiquid and, in such cases, a Fund may have difficulty closing out its position. OTC options also may include options on baskets of specific securities.
A Fund may purchase call and put options on specific securities in pursuing its investment objectives. A put option gives the purchaser of the option the right to sell, and obligates the writer to buy, the underlying security at a stated exercise price, typically at any time prior to the expiration of the option for American options or only at expiration for European options. A call option gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy, and obligates the writer to sell, the underlying security at a stated exercise price, typically at any time prior to the expiration of the option.
A Fund may close out a position when writing options by purchasing an option on the same underlying security with the same exercise price and expiration date as the option that it has previously written on the security. In such a case, the applicable Fund will realize a profit or loss if the amount paid to purchase an option is less or more than the amount received from the sale of the option.
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Engaging in transactions in futures contracts and options involves risk of loss to a Fund. No assurance can be given that a liquid market will exist for any particular futures contract or option at any particular time. Many futures exchanges and boards of trade limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in futures contract prices during a single trading day. Once the daily limit has been reached in a particular contract, no trades may be made that day at a price beyond that limit or trading may be suspended for specified periods during the trading day. Futures contract prices could move to the limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, preventing prompt liquidation of futures positions and potentially subjecting the applicable Fund to substantial losses.
A market could become unavailable if one or more exchanges were to stop trading options or it could become unavailable with respect to options on a particular underlying security if the exchanges stopped trading options on that security. In addition, a market could become temporarily unavailable if unusual events (e.g., volume exceeds clearing capability) were to interrupt normal exchange operations. If an options market were to become illiquid or otherwise unavailable, an option holder would be able to realize profits or limit losses only by exercising and an options seller or writer would remain obligated until it is assigned an exercise or until the option expires.
If trading is interrupted in an underlying security, the trading of options on that security is usually halted as well. Holders and writers of options will then be unable to close out their positions until options trading resumes, and they may be faced with considerable losses if the security reopens at a substantially different price. Even if options trading is halted, holders of options will generally be able to exercise them. However, if trading has also been halted in the underlying security, option holders face the risk of exercising options without knowing the security's current market value. If exercises do occur when trading of the underlying security is halted, the party required to deliver the underlying security may be unable to obtain it, which may necessitate a postponed settlement and/or the fixing of cash settlement prices.
Futures contracts provide for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specified amount of a specific instrument at a specified future time and at a specified price. An option on a futures contract gives the purchaser the right, in exchange for a premium, to assume a position in a futures contract at a specified exercise price during the term of the option. A Fund may use futures contracts and related options for: bona fide hedging; attempting to offset changes in the value of securities held or expected to be acquired or be disposed of; attempting to minimize fluctuations in foreign currencies; attempting to gain exposure to a particular market, index or instrument; or other risk management purposes.
An index futures contract is a bilateral agreement pursuant to which two parties agree to take or make delivery of an amount of cash equal to a specified dollar amount multiplied by the difference between the index value at the close of trading of the contract and the price at which the futures contract is originally struck. No physical delivery of the securities comprising the index is made; generally contracts are closed out prior to the expiration date of the contract.
The use of futures contracts and options is subject to applicable regulations of the SEC, the several exchanges upon which they are traded and the CFTC. In addition, a Fund's ability to use futures contracts and options will be limited by tax considerations. Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act governs the use of derivatives by registered investment companies. Rule 18f-4 imposes limits on the amount of derivatives a fund can enter into, eliminates the asset segregation and cover framework arising from prior SEC guidance for covering derivatives and certain financial instruments previously used by funds to comply with Section 18 of the 1940 Act and treats derivatives as senior securities. Under Rule 18f-4 a fund's derivatives exposure is limited through a value-at-risk test. Funds whose use of derivatives is more than a limited specified exposure amount are required to establish and maintain a comprehensive derivatives risk management program, subject to oversight by a fund's board of trustees, and appoint a derivatives risk manager for purposes of Rule 18f-4. Each Fund expects to qualify as a limited derivatives user under Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act.
There are significant risks associated with a Fund's use of futures contracts and related options, including the following: (1) the success of a hedging strategy may depend on the Adviser's ability to predict movements in the prices of individual securities, fluctuations in markets and movements in interest rates; (2) there may be an imperfect or no correlation between the changes in market value of the securities held by the Fund and the prices of futures and options on futures; (3) there may not be a liquid secondary market for a futures contract or option; (4) trading restrictions or limitations may be imposed by an exchange; and (5) government regulations may restrict trading in
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futures contracts and options on futures. In addition, some strategies reduce a Fund's exposure to price fluctuations, while others tend to increase its market exposure. Future contracts and options may not always be successful hedges and using them could lower the Fund's total return. The potential loss from the use of futures can exceed the Fund's initial investment in such contracts.
Forward Contracts.A forward contract is an obligation to purchase or sell a specific security, currency or other instrument for an agreed price at a future date that is individually negotiated and privately traded by traders and their customers. In contrast to contracts traded on an exchange (such as futures contracts), forward contracts are not guaranteed by any exchange or clearinghouse and are subject to the creditworthiness of the counterparty of the trade. Forward contracts are not always standardized and are frequently the subject of individual negotiation between the parties involved.
Because there is no clearinghouse system applicable to forward contracts, there is no direct means of offsetting a forward contract by purchase of an offsetting position on the same exchange. Absent contractual termination rights, the Fund may not be able to terminate a forward contract at a price and time that it desires. In such event, the Fund will remain subject to counterparty risk with respect to the forward contract, even if the Fund enters into an offsetting forward contract with the same, or a different, counterparty. If a counterparty defaults, the Fund may lose money on the transaction.
Depending on the asset underlying the forward contract, forward transactions can be influenced by, among other things, changing supply and demand relationships, government commercial and trade programs and policies, national and international political and economic events, weather and climate conditions, insects and plant disease, purchases and sales by foreign countries and changing interest rates.
Foreign Exchange Risk and Currency Transactions.The value of foreign assets as measured in U.S. dollars may be affected favorably or unfavorably by changes in foreign currency rates and exchange control regulations. Currency exchange rates can also be affected unpredictably by intervention by U.S. or foreign governments or central banks, or the failure to intervene, or by currency controls or political developments in the U.S. or abroad. Foreign currency exchange transactions may be conducted on a spot (i.e., cash) basis at the spot rate prevailing in the foreign currency exchange market or through entering into derivative currency transactions.
Forward foreign currency exchange contracts ("forward contracts") are individually negotiated and privately traded so they are dependent upon the creditworthiness of the counterparty. When the Adviser believes that the currency of a particular foreign country may suffer a substantial decline against the U.S. dollar, it may enter into a forward contract to sell, for a fixed amount of dollars, the amount of foreign currency approximating the value of some or all of the securities held that are denominated in such foreign currency. The precise matching of the forward contract amounts and the value of the securities involved will not generally be possible. In addition, it may not be possible to hedge against long-term currency changes. Cross-hedging may be used by using forward contracts in one currency (or basket of currencies) to hedge against fluctuations in the value of securities denominated in a different currency. Use of a different foreign currency magnifies exposure to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. Forward contracts may also be used to shift exposure to foreign currency exchange rate changes from one currency to another. Short-term hedging provides a means of fixing the dollar value of only a portion of portfolio assets.
Currency transactions are subject to the risk of a number of complex political and economic factors applicable to the countries issuing the underlying currencies. Furthermore, unlike trading in most other types of instruments, there is no systematic reporting of last sale information with respect to the foreign currencies underlying the derivative currency transactions. As a result, available information may not be complete. In an OTC trading environment, there are no daily price fluctuation limits. There may be no liquid secondary market to close out forward contracts entered into, until their exercise, expiration or maturity. There is also the risk of default by, or the bankruptcy of, the financial institution serving as a counterparty.
Hedging Strategies.The Funds may engage in certain hedging strategies that involve options, futures and forward contracts. The Funds may engage in transactions in futures contracts and related options only to the extent such transactions are consistent with the requirements of the Code for maintaining its qualifications as a regulated investment company for federal income tax purposes. Under rules adopted by the CFTC, the adviser of an investment company is subject to registration with the CFTC as a CPO under the Commodity Exchange Act if the investment company is unable to comply with certain trading and marketing limitations.
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With respect to investments in swap transactions, commodity futures, commodity options or certain other derivatives used for purposes other than bona fidehedging purposes, an investment company must meet one of the following tests under the amended regulations in order to claim an exemption from being considered a "commodity pool" or a CPO. First, the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish an investment company's positions in such investments may not exceed five percent (5%) of the liquidation value of the investment company's portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such investments). Alternatively, the aggregate net notional value of such instruments, determined at the time of the most recent position established, may not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the liquidation value of the investment company's portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions). In addition to meeting one of the foregoing trading limitations, the investment company may not market itself as a commodity pool or otherwise as a vehicle for trading in the commodity futures, commodity options or swaps and derivatives markets. In the event that an investment adviser was required to register as a CPO, the disclosure and operations of the fund would need to comply with all applicable CFTC regulations. Compliance with these additional registration and regulatory requirements would increase operational expenses. Other potentially adverse regulatory initiatives could also develop. If CPO registration is required, the adviser may avail itself of the CFTC's rules for CPOs which seek to harmonize CFTC reporting, disclosure and recordkeeping obligations with overlapping SEC regulations.
High Yield Securities.When investing in fixed income securities, the Funds may purchase securities regardless of their rating, including fixed income securities rated below investment grade. Securities rated below investment grade are often referred to as high yield securities or "junk bonds." Investments in securities rated below investment grade that are eligible for purchase by a Fund are described as "speculative" by Moody's, S&P and Fitch. Investments in lower rated corporate debt securities generally provide greater income and increased opportunity for capital appreciation than investments in higher quality securities, but they also typically entail greater price volatility and principal and income risk. These high yield securities are regarded as predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer's continuing ability to meet principal and interest payments. Analysis of the creditworthiness of issuers of debt securities that are high yield may be more complex than for issuers of higher quality debt securities.
High yield securities may be more susceptible to real or perceived adverse economic and competitive industry conditions than investment grade securities. The prices of high yield securities have been found to be more sensitive to adverse economic downturns or individual corporate developments. A projection of an economic downturn or of a period of rising interest rates, for example, could cause a decline in high yield security prices because the advent of a recession could lessen the ability of a highly leveraged company to make principal and interest payments on its debt securities. If an issuer of high yield securities defaults, in addition to risking payment of all or a portion of interest and principal, the Fund by investing in such securities may incur additional expenses to obtain recovery. In the case of high yield securities structured as zero-coupon or pay-in-kind securities, their market prices are affected to a greater extent by interest rate changes, and therefore tend to be more volatile than securities that pay interest periodically and in cash.
The secondary market on which high yield securities are traded may be less liquid than the market for higher grade securities. Less liquidity in the secondary trading market could adversely affect the price at which the Fund could sell a high yield security, and could adversely affect the daily net asset value ("NAV") of the shares. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may decrease the values and liquidity of high yield securities, especially in a thinly-traded market. When secondary markets for high yield securities are less liquid than the market for higher grade securities, it may be more difficult to value the securities because such valuation may require more research, and elements of judgment may play a greater role in the valuation because there is less reliable, objective data available.
The use of credit ratings to evaluate high yield securities can involve certain risks. For example, credit ratings evaluate the safety of principal and interest payments, not the market value risk of high yield securities. Also, credit rating agencies may fail to change credit ratings in a timely fashion to reflect events since the security was last rated. The Adviser does not rely solely on credit ratings when selecting securities for the Fund, and develops its own analysis of issuer credit quality. If a credit rating agency changes the rating of a portfolio security held by the Fund, the Fund may retain the security if the Adviser deems it in the best interest of shareholders.
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Illiquid Securities.Each Fund may not knowingly invest more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities. An illiquid security is a security which a Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the security. The Adviser makes the day-to-day determinations of liquidity pursuant to the Funds' liquidity risk management program, monitors the liquidity of securities held by the Funds and reports periodically on each Fund's liquidity to the Board. If the limitations on illiquid securities are exceeded, other than by a change in market values, the condition will be reported by the Adviser to the Board. Illiquid securities include securities issued by private companies and restricted securities (securities where the disposition of which is restricted under the federal securities laws). Rule 144A securities may be treated as liquid securities if they meet the criteria in the Funds' liquidity risk management program. External market conditions may impact the liquidity of portfolio securities and may cause a Fund to sell or divest certain illiquid securities in order to comply with its limitation on holding illiquid securities, which may result in realized losses to such Fund.
Restricted Securities. Restricted securities may be sold only in privately negotiated transactions or in a public offering with respect to which a registration statement is in effect under the Securities Act. Where registration is required, a Fund may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expenses and a considerable period may elapse between the time of the decision to sell a security and the time a Fund may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, a Fund might obtain a less favorable price than that which prevailed when it decided to sell. Restricted securities will be priced at fair value as determined in good faith by the Adviser as the Board's Valuation Designee (defined below). If, through the appreciation of restricted securities or the depreciation of unrestricted securities, a Fund should be in a position where more than 15% of the value of its net assets are invested in illiquid securities, including restricted securities which are not readily marketable, a Fund will take such steps as is deemed advisable, if any, to protect liquidity.
Investment Company Securities and Exchange-Traded Funds.Each Fund may invest in investment company securities, including money market funds and exchange-traded funds ("ETFs"), to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder. Generally, a Fund may not purchase shares of an investment company if (a) such a purchase would cause the Fund to own in the aggregate more than 3% of the total outstanding voting stock of the investment company, (b) such a purchase would cause the Fund to have more than 5% of its total assets invested in the investment company, or (c) more than 10% of the Fund's total assets would be invested in investment companies. As a shareholder in an investment company, the Fund would bear its pro rata portion of the investment company's expenses, including advisory fees, in addition to its own expenses. Although the 1940 Act restricts investments by registered investment companies in the securities of other investment companies, including ETFs, registered investment companies may be permitted to invest in certain investment companies beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1) pursuant to the "fund of funds" rules promulgated thereunder, including Rule 12d1-4. Rule 12d1-4 provides an exemption from Section 12(d)(1) that allows a registered investment company to invest all of its assets in other registered investment companies, including ETFs, if the registered investment company satisfies certain conditions specified in the rule, including, among other conditions, that the registered investment company and its advisory group will not control (individually or in the aggregate) an acquired fund (e.g., hold more than 25% of the outstanding voting securities of an acquired fund that is a registered open-end management investment company).
Municipal Securities.The Funds may invest in municipal securities, such as industrial development bonds that are backed only by the assets and revenues of the non-governmental user (such as hospitals and airports). Municipal securities are issued to obtain funds for a variety of public purposes, including general financing for state and local governments, or financing for specific projects or public facilities.
The two principal classifications of municipal securities are "general obligations" and "revenue obligations." General obligations are secured by the issuer's pledge of its full faith and credit for the payment of principal and interest, although the characteristics and enforcement of general obligations may vary according to the law applicable to the particular issuer. Revenue obligations, which include, but are not limited to, private activity bonds, resource recovery bonds, certificates of participation and certain municipal notes, are not backed by the credit and taxing authority of the issuer, and are payable solely from the revenues derived from a particular facility or class of facilities or, in some cases, from the proceeds of a special excise or other specific revenue source. Nevertheless, the
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obligations of the issuer of a revenue obligation may be backed by a letter of credit, guarantee or insurance. General obligations and revenue obligations may be issued in a variety of forms, including commercial paper, fixed, variable and floating rate securities, tender option bonds, auction rate bonds, zero coupon bonds, deferred interest bonds and capital appreciation bonds. Private activity bonds and industrial revenue bonds do not carry the pledge of the credit of the issuing municipality, but generally are guaranteed by the corporate entity on whose behalf they are issued.
Municipal leases are entered into by state and local governments and authorities to acquire equipment and facilities such as fire and sanitation vehicles, telecommunications equipment, and other assets. Municipal leases (which normally provide for title to the leased assets to pass eventually to the government issuer) have evolved as a means for governmental issuers to acquire property and equipment without meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements for the issuance of debt. The debt-issuance limitations of many state constitutions and statutes are deemed to be inapplicable because of the inclusion in many leases or contracts of "non-appropriation" clauses that provide that the governmental issuer has no obligation to make future payments under the lease or contract unless money is appropriated for such purpose by the appropriate legislative body on a yearly or periodic basis.
The marketability, valuation or liquidity of municipal securities may be negatively affected in the event that states, localities or their authorities default on their debt obligations or other market events arise, which in turn may negatively affect fund performance, sometimes substantially. A credit rating downgrade relating to, default by, or insolvency or bankruptcy of, one or several municipal issuers of a particular state, territory, commonwealth, or possession could affect the market value or marketability of any one or all such states, territories, commonwealths, or possessions.
The value of municipal securities may also be affected by uncertainties with respect to the rights of holders of municipal securities in the event of bankruptcy or the taxation of municipal securities as a result of legislation or litigation. The obligations of the issuer to pay the principal of and interest on municipal securities are subject to the provisions of bankruptcy, insolvency and other laws affecting the rights and remedies of creditors, such as the Federal Bankruptcy Code, and laws, if any, that may be enacted by Congress or state legislatures extending the time for payment of principal or interest or imposing other constraints upon the enforcement of such obligations. There is also the possibility that, as a result of litigation or other conditions, the power or ability of the issuer to pay when due principal of or interest on a municipal security may be materially affected.
Non-U.S. Securities.Each Fund may invest in the securities of non-U.S. issuers ("foreign securities") either directly by purchasing securities or indirectly by purchasing depositary receipts or depositary shares of foreign securities (see "Depositary Receipts" above). Foreign securities include equity securities issued by issuers that are primarily traded on a non-U.S. exchange, debt securities issued by issuers located outside the U.S., and securities issued in the form of depositary receipts. Direct investments in foreign securities may be made either on foreign securities exchanges or in the over-the-counter markets.
Risks of Investing in Foreign Securities. Investments in foreign securities involve certain inherent risks, including the following:
Political and Economic Factors.Individual foreign economies of certain countries may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency, diversification and balance of payments position. Governments in certain foreign countries also continue to participate to a significant degree, through ownership interest or regulation, in their respective economies. Action by these governments could include restrictions on foreign investment, nationalization, expropriation of goods or imposition of taxes, and could have a significant effect on market prices of securities and payment of interest. The economies of many foreign countries are heavily dependent upon international trade and are accordingly affected by the trade policies and economic conditions of their trading partners. Enactment by these trading partners of protectionist trade legislation could have a significant adverse effect upon the securities markets of such countries.
Currency Fluctuations.Each Fund may invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies. Accordingly, a change in the value of any such currency against the U.S. dollar will result in a corresponding change in the U.S. dollar value of a Fund's assets denominated in that currency. Such changes will also affect a Fund's income. The
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value of a Fund's assets may also be affected significantly by currency restrictions and exchange control regulations enacted from time to time.
Market Characteristics.Foreign securities in which a Fund invests may be purchased in over-the-counter markets or on exchanges located in the countries in which the principal offices of the issuers of the various securities are located, if that is the best available market. Foreign exchanges and markets may be more volatile than those in the U.S. While growing in volume, they usually have substantially less volume than U.S. markets, and a Fund's foreign securities may be less liquid and more volatile than U.S. securities. Moreover, settlement practices for transactions in foreign markets may differ from those in United States markets, and may include delays beyond periods customary in the U.S. Foreign security trading practices, including those involving securities settlement where Fund assets may be released prior to receipt of payment or securities may expose a Fund to increased risk in the event of a failed trade or the insolvency of a foreign broker-dealer.
Legal and Regulatory Matters. Certain foreign countries may have less supervision of securities markets, brokers and issuers of securities, and less financial information available from issuers, than is available in the U.S.
Taxes. The interest and dividends payable on certain of a Fund's foreign portfolio securities may be subject to foreign withholding taxes, thus reducing the net amount of income available for distribution to Fund shareholders. In some countries, a portion of these taxes is recoverable, the non-recoverable portion will reduce the return on a Fund's securities.
Costs. To the extent that a Fund invests in foreign securities, its expense ratio is likely to be higher than those of investment companies investing only in domestic securities, because the cost of maintaining the custody of foreign securities is higher.
Public Health Threats.Various countries throughout the world are vulnerable economically to the impact of a public health crisis, which could depress consumer demand, reduce economic output, and potentially lead to market closures, travel restrictions, and quarantines, all of which would negatively impact the country's economy and could affect the economies of its trading partners.
Emerging Markets. Some of the securities in which a Fund may invest may be located in developing or emerging markets and therefore entail additional risks, including less social, political and economic stability; smaller securities markets and lower trading volume, which may result in less liquidity and greater price volatility; national policies that may restrict a Fund's investment opportunities, including restrictions on investments in issuers or industries, or expropriation or confiscation of assets or property; and less developed legal structures governing private or foreign investment.
In considering whether to invest in the securities of a foreign company, the Adviser may consider such factors as the characteristics of the particular company, differences between economic trends and the performance of securities markets within the U.S. and those within other countries, and also factors relating to the general economic, governmental and social conditions of the country or countries where the company is located. The extent to which a Fund will be invested in foreign companies and countries and depositary receipts will fluctuate from time to time, depending on the Adviser's assessment of prevailing market, economic and other conditions.
Private Placements. Each Fund may invest in private placement securities, which are securities that are subject to restrictions on resale as a matter of contract or under federal securities laws. Private placements are often issued by privately held companies that are not subject to the reporting requirements of the SEC and are not required to maintain their accounting records in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Because there may be relatively few potential purchasers for such securities, a Fund could find it more difficult to sell such securities, especially under adverse market or economic conditions or in the event of adverse changes in the financial condition of the issuer. Investors in a private placement have less protection under the federal securities laws against improper practices than investors in publicly-traded securities.
Many private placement securities are issued by companies that are not required to file periodic financial reports, leading to challenges in evaluating the company's overall business prospects and determining how the investment is likely to perform over time. Due to the more limited financial information and lack of publicly available prices, it may be more difficult to determine the fair value of these securities for purposes of computing a Fund's NAV. Securities acquired in private placements generally are classified as illiquid. Disposing of securities acquired in
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private placements may involve time-consuming negotiations and legal expenses, and it may be difficult or impossible for a Fund to sell the security promptly at an acceptable price.
Mortgage Real Estate Investment Trusts ("mortgage REITs").The Funds may invest in mortgage REITs. Mortgage REITs invest primarily in mortgages and similar real estate interests and receive interest payments from the owners of the mortgaged properties and are paid interest by the owners of the financed properties. Mortgage REITs may include hybrid REITs, which invest both in real property and in mortgages.
A REIT generally is not taxed on income distributed to its shareholders if it complies with certain federal income tax requirements relating primarily to its organization, ownership, assets and income and, further, if it distributes at least 90 percent of its taxable income to shareholders each year.
A Fund's investments in mortgage REITs may be adversely affected by deteriorations in the creditworthiness of property owners and changes in interest rates. Mortgage REITs also are dependent upon specialized management skills, may not be diversified in their holdings and are subject to the risks of financing projects. REITs also may be subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers and self-liquidation. Under certain circumstances, a REIT may fail to qualify for pass-through tax treatment, which would subject the REIT to federal income taxes and adversely affect a Fund's return on its investment in the REIT. In general, qualified REIT dividends that an investor receives directly from a REIT are automatically eligible for the 20% qualified business income deduction. Under final Treasury Regulations, a dividend or part of a dividend paid by a RIC and reported as a "section 199A dividend" may be treated by the recipient as a qualified REIT dividend for purposes of the 20% qualified business income deduction, if certain holding period and other requirements have been satisfied by the recipient with respect to Fund shares.
Repurchase Agreements.Each Fund may invest in repurchase agreements. A repurchase agreement is a transaction in which a Fund purchases a security from a bank or recognized securities dealer and simultaneously commits to resell that security to a bank or dealer at an agreed upon date and price reflecting a market rate of interest, unrelated to the coupon rate or the maturity of the purchased security. While it is not possible to eliminate all risks from these transactions (particularly the possibility of a decline in the market value of the underlying securities, as well as delays and costs to a Fund if the other party to the repurchase agreement defaults), it is the policy of the Funds to limit repurchase transactions to primary dealers and banks whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the adviser. Repurchase agreements maturing in more than seven days are considered illiquid for purposes of the Funds' investment limitations.
Borrowing.The Funds may borrow money to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. Such borrowings may be on a secured or unsecured basis at fixed or variable rates of interest. The 1940 Act requires a Fund to maintain continuous asset coverage of not less than 300% with respect to all borrowings. This allows a Fund to borrow for such purposes an amount (when taken together with any borrowings for temporary or emergency purposes as described below) equal to as much as 50% of the value of its net assets (not including such borrowings). If such asset coverage should decline to less than 300% due to market fluctuations or other reasons, a Fund is required to reduce the Fund's debt and restore the 300% asset coverage within three business days, and may be required to dispose of some of its portfolio holdings, even though it may be disadvantageous from an investment standpoint to dispose of assets at that time.
The Funds may also be deemed to be borrowing when entering into certain financing transactions such as reverse repurchase agreements. This type of borrowing is generally referred to as economic leverage.
The use of borrowing by a Fund involves special risk considerations. Since substantially all of a Fund's assets fluctuate in value, whereas the interest obligation resulting from a borrowing will be fixed by the terms of the Fund's agreement with its lender, the asset value per share of the Fund will tend to increase more when its portfolio securities increase in value and decrease more when its portfolio securities decrease in value than would otherwise be the case if the Fund did not borrow funds. In addition, interest costs on borrowings may fluctuate with changing market rates of interest. Under adverse market conditions, a Fund might have to sell portfolio securities to meet interest or principal payments at a time when fundamental investment considerations would not favor such sales. The interest which a Fund must pay on borrowed money, together with any additional fees to maintain a line of credit or any minimum average balances required to be maintained, are additional costs to the Fund.
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Securities Lending.Each Fund may lend securities pursuant to agreements that require that the loans be continuously secured by collateral equal to 100% of the market value of the loaned securities. Such collateral consists of cash, securities of the U.S. Government or its agencies, or any combination of cash and such securities. Such loans will not be made if, as a result, the aggregate amount of all outstanding securities loans for a Fund exceeds one-third of the value of the Fund's total assets taken at fair market value. A Fund will earn interest on the investment of the cash collateral in U.S. Government securities, short-term money market instruments or another approved vehicle. However, a Fund will normally pay lending fees to such broker-dealers and related expenses from the interest earned on invested collateral. In addition, such Fund may pay fees to U.S. Bank, National Association, the Funds' securities lending agent, and such fees will be deducted from the Fund's securities lending revenues. There may be risks of delay in receiving additional collateral or risks of delay in recovery of the securities and even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially. However, loans are made only to borrowers deemed by the Adviser to be of good standing and when, in the judgment of the Adviser, the consideration that can be earned currently from such securities loans justifies the attendant risk. Either party, upon reasonable notice to the other party, may terminate any loan.
Temporary Defensive Position.Each Fund may, without limit, invest in commercial paper and other money market instruments rated in one of the two highest rating categories by an NRSRO, in response to adverse market conditions, as a temporary defensive position. The result of this action may be that a Fund will be unable to achieve its investment objective.
INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS
The Funds have adopted the investment limitations set forth below. Limitations which are designated as fundamental policies may not be changed without the affirmative vote of the lesser of (i) 67% or more of the shares of the Funds present at a shareholders' meeting if holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Funds are present in person or by proxy, or (ii) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Funds. Except with respect to the asset coverage requirement under Section 18(f)(1) of the 1940 Act with respect to borrowing, if any percentage restriction on investment or utilization of assets is adhered to at the time an investment is made, a later change in percentage resulting from a change in the market values of the Funds or their assets or redemptions of shares will not be considered a violation of the limitation. The asset coverage requirement under Section 18(f)(1) of the 1940 Act with respect to borrowings is an ongoing requirement.
As a matter of fundamental policy, each Fund will not:
1.invest 25% or more of the value of a Fund's net assets, calculated at the time of purchase and taken at market value, in securities of issuers in any one industry. This restriction does not apply to obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, or to securities issued by other investment companies. For purposes of this limitation states, municipalities and their political subdivisions are not considered to be part of any industry;
2.borrow money, except to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act;
3.make loans to other persons, except by: (1) purchasing debt securities in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations; (2) entering into repurchase agreements; or (3) engaging in securities loan transactions;
4.underwrite any issue of securities, except to the extent that a Fund may be considered to be acting as underwriter in connection with the disposition of any portfolio security;
5.purchase or sell real estate, provided that a Fund may invest in obligations secured by real estate or interests therein or obligations issued by companies that invest in real estate or interests therein, including real estate investment trusts;
6.purchase or sell physical commodities, provided that a Fund may invest in, purchase, sell or enter into financial options and futures, forward and spot currency contracts, swap transactions and other derivative financial instruments; or
7.issue senior securities, except to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act.
19
With respect to the restriction set forth in item (1) above, there is no limit on: (1) investments in U.S. government securities, in repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. government securities, or in tax-exempt securities issued by the states, territories, or possessions of the United States ("municipal securities"), excluding private activity municipal securities whose principal and interest payments are derived principally from the assets and revenues of a non-governmental entity; (2) investments in issuers domiciled in a single jurisdiction provided that each Fund does not invest greater than 25% of its net assets in a particular industry; or (3) certain asset-backed securities that are backed by a pool of loans issued to companies in a wide variety of industries unrelated to each other such that the economic characteristics of such a security are not predominantly related to a single industry to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. With regard to the statement that the restriction set forth in fundamental policy (1) above does not apply to securities issued by other investment companies, each Fund recognizes that the SEC staff has maintained that a fund should consider the underlying investments of investment companies in which the fund is invested when determining concentration of the fund. Each Fund will look through to the underlying holdings of investment companies in which each Fund is invested when determining the concentration of each Fund and its compliance with the restriction provided in item (1).
With respect to the restriction set forth in item (2) above, under current law as interpreted by the SEC and its staff, a Fund may borrow from: (a) a bank, provided that immediately after such borrowing there is an asset coverage of 300% for all borrowings of the Fund; or (b) a bank or other persons for temporary purposes only, provided that such temporary borrowings are in an amount not exceeding 5% of the Fund's total assets at the time when the borrowing is made. This limitation does not preclude each Fund from entering into reverse repurchase transactions, provided that each Fund, in accordance with Rule 18f-4, aggregates the amount of indebtedness associated with the reverse repurchase agreements or similar financing transactions with the aggregate amount of any other senior securities representing indebtedness when calculating each Fund's asset coverage ratio or treats all such transactions as derivatives transactions.
With respect to the restriction set forth in item (7), above, derivatives transactions, short sales and other obligations that create future payment obligations involve the issuance of "senior securities" for purposes of Section 18 of the 1940 Act. As stated above in the "Derivatives" sub-section, the Funds may engage in derivatives transactions in accordance with Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act. In addition, borrowings are considered senior securities under the 1940 Act, except the Funds may borrow from a bank in accordance with the asset coverage requirements of the 1940 Act.
EXCHANGE LISTING AND TRADING
Shares are listed for trading and trade throughout the day on the Exchange.
There can be no assurance that a 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 a Fund from listing and trading upon termination of such Fund.
The Trust reserves the right to adjust the price levels of Shares in the future to help maintain convenient trading ranges for investors. Any adjustments would be accomplished through stock splits or reverse stock splits, which would have no effect on the net assets of the applicable Fund.
TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS
The business and affairs of the Trust are managed under the oversight of the Board, subject to the laws of the State of Delaware and the Trust's Agreement and Declaration of Trust. The Board is currently comprised of four trustees who are not interested persons of the Trust within the meaning of the 1940 Act (the "Independent Trustees"). The Trustees are responsible for deciding matters of overall policy and overseeing the actions of the Trust's service providers. The officers of the Trust conduct and supervise the Trust's daily business operations. The mailing address of each Trustee and officer of the Trust is c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202.
20
|
Name and
Year of Birth
|
Position(s) Held with the Trust and Length of Time Served(1)
|
Principal Occupation(s) During the Past Five Years
|
Number of Portfolios in the Trust Overseen by Trustee(2)
|
Other Directorships Held by Trustee During the Past Five Years
|
INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES
|
Gaylord B. Lyman
(Born 1962)
|
Trustee and Audit Committee Chairman, since April 2015
|
Chief Investment Officer and Senior Portfolio Manager, Mill Street Financial, LLC, since April 2023; Senior Portfolio Manager, Affinity Investment Advisors, LLC, (2017 - 2023).
|
13
|
None
|
Scott Craven Jones
(Born 1962)
|
Trustee since July 2016 and Lead Independent Trustee since May 2017
|
Managing Director, Carne Global Financial Services (US) LLC (a provider of independent governance and distribution support for the asset management industry), since 2013; Managing Director, Park Agency, Inc., since 2020.
|
13
|
Trustee, Madison Funds, since 2019 (16 portfolios); Trustee, XAI Octagon Floating Rate & Alternative Income Term Trust, since 2017; Trustee, Madison Covered Call & Equity Strategy Fund, since 2021 (1 portfolio).
|
Lawrence T. Greenberg
(Born 1963)
|
Trustee since July 2016
|
Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, The Motley Fool Holdings, Inc., since 1996; Venture Partner and General Counsel, Motley Fool Ventures LP, since 2018; Adjunct Professor, Washington College of Law, American University, since 2006; General Counsel, Motley Fool Asset Management, LLC (2008 - 2018); Manager, Motley Fool Wealth Management, LLC (2013 - 2018).
|
13
|
None
|
James R. Schoenike
(Born 1959)
|
Trustee since July 2016
|
Retired. Distribution Consultant (2018 - 2021); President and CEO, Board of Managers, Quasar Distributors, LLC (2013 - 2018).
|
13
|
None
|
(1)Each Trustee serves an indefinite term; however, under the terms of the Board's retirement policy, a Trustee shall retire during the year in which a Trustee reaches the age of 75.
(2)The Trust is currently comprised of multiple active portfolios managed by unaffiliated investment advisers.
As of the date of this SAI, no Independent Trustee nor any of his immediate family members (i.e., spouse or dependent children) serves as an officer or director or is an employee of the Adviser or Distributor, or any of their respective affiliates, nor is such person an officer, director or employee of any company controlled by or under common control with such entities.
21
|
Name and
Year of Birth
|
Position(s) Held with the Trust and Length of Time Served (1)
|
Principal Occupation(s) During the Past Five Years
|
OFFICERS
|
Scott M. Ostrowski
(Born 1980)
|
President and Principal Executive Officer, since August 10, 2021
|
Senior Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, since 2006
|
Amber C. Kopp
(Born 1983)
|
Secretary, since September 15, 2023
|
Assistant Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, since 2023; Assistant General Counsel, Corebridge Financial Inc. (previously AIG), 2019-2020
|
Jill S. Silver
(Born 1976)
|
Chief Compliance Officer and Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer, since January 1, 2023
|
Senior Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, since December 2022; Compliance Director, Corebridge Financial Inc. (previously AIG), 2019-2022; Compliance Manager, Corebridge Financial Inc., 2018-2019
|
Ryan S. Frank
(Born 1985)
|
Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer, since August 17, 2022
|
Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, since 2008
|
Colton W. Scarmardo
(Born 1997)
|
Assistant Treasurer, since August 17, 2022
|
Fund Administrator, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, since 2019; Business Administration Student, 2015-2019
|
Ryan J. Pasowicz
(Born 1991)
|
Assistant Treasurer, since March 15, 2024; previously Assistant Treasurer from February 22, 2023 - October 17, 2023
|
Fund Administrator, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, since 2016
|
(1)Each officer is elected annually and serves until his or her successor has been duly elected and qualified.
Leadership Structure and Responsibilities of the Board and the Committee.The Board has selected Scott Craven Jones to serve as Lead Independent Trustee. The position of Chairman of the Board is vacant and, as Lead Independent Trustee, Mr. Jones acts as Chairman. Mr. Jones' duties include presiding at meetings of the Board and serving as Chairman during executive sessions of the Independent Trustees; interfacing with management to address significant issues that may arise between regularly scheduled Board and Committee meetings; acting as a liaison with the Trust's service providers, officers, legal counsel, and other Trustees between meetings; helping to set Board meeting agendas; and performing other functions as requested by the Board from time to time.
The Board meets as often as necessary to discharge its responsibilities. Currently, the Board conducts regular quarterly meetings and may hold special meetings as necessary to address specific issues that require attention prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting. The Board also relies on professionals, such as the Trust's independent registered public accounting firm and legal counsel, to assist the Trustees in performing their oversight responsibilities.
The Board has established one standing committee - the Audit Committee. The Board may establish other committees or nominate one or more Trustees to examine particular issues related to the Board's oversight responsibilities, from time to time. The Audit Committee meets regularly to perform its delegated oversight functions and reports its findings and recommendations to the Board. For more information on the Committee, see the section "Audit Committee," below.
The Board has determined that the Trust's leadership structure is appropriate because it allows the Board to effectively perform its oversight responsibilities.
Audit Committee.The Audit Committee is comprised of all of the Independent Trustees. Mr. Lyman serves as the chairman of the Committee. Pursuant to its charter, the Audit Committee has the responsibility, among others, to (1) select the Trust's independent auditors; (2) review and pre-approve the audit and non-audit services provided by the independent auditors; (3) review the scope of the audit and the results of the audit of the Funds' financial statements; and (4) review with such independent auditors the adequacy of the Trust's internal accounting and financial controls. Mr. Lyman and Mr. Jones serve as the Audit Committee's "audit committee financial experts." Because the Funds are new, the Audit Committee has not met with respect to the Funds as of the date of this SAI.
Trustee Experience, Qualifications, Attributes and/or Skills. The following is a brief discussion of the experience, qualifications, attributes and/or skills that led to the Board's conclusion that each individual identified
22
below is qualified to serve as a Trustee of the Trust. In determining that a particular Trustee was qualified to serve as a Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which was controlling. The Board believes that the Trustees' ability to review critically, evaluate, question and discuss information provided to them, to interact effectively with the advisers to the Trust, other service providers, counsel and independent auditors, and to exercise effective business judgment in the performance of their duties, support the conclusion that each Trustee is qualified to serve as a Trustee of the Trust. Many Trustee attributes involve intangible elements, such as intelligence, work ethic, the ability to work together, the ability to communicate effectively and the ability to exercise judgment, ask incisive questions, manage people and develop solutions to problems.
Mr. Schoenike has been a trustee of the Trust since July 2016 and serves on the Audit Committee. He was employed by various subsidiaries of U.S. Bancorp from 1990 to 2018 and has decades of experience in the securities industry. In 2000, Mr. Schoenike founded Quasar and established Quasar as a FINRA member broker-dealer dedicated to underwriting and distributing mutual funds, of which he served as President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Schoenike previously participated in the FINRA securities arbitration program as an industry arbitrator. Mr. Schoenike previously served as Chairman of the Board from July 2016 to December 2020.
Mr. Lyman has been a trustee of the Trust since April 2015, serves as Chairman of the Audit Committee and has been designated as an audit committee financial expert for the Trust. Mr. Lyman has 25 years of experience in the investment management industry. Since April 2023, Mr. Lyman serves as Chief Investment Officer and Senior Portfolio Manager of Mill Street Financial, LLC, part of the Ashton Thomas Private Wealth, LLC network, an investment adviser. Prior to joining Mill Street, Mr. Lyman served as Senior Portfolio Manager of Affinity Investment Advisors, LLC, an investment adviser, from 2017 to 2023; and from 2011 to 2016, he served as the Managing Director and portfolio manager of Kohala Capital Partners, an investment adviser. He also previously served as a vice president and portfolio manager of Becker Capital Management, Inc., an investment adviser. Mr. Lyman has an MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Mr. Jones has been a trustee of the Trust since July 2016, has served as Lead Independent Trustee since May 2017, serves on the Audit Committee, and has been designated as an audit committee financial expert for the Trust. He has over 25 years of experience in the asset management industry as an independent director, attorney and executive, holding various roles including Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer, with asset class experience ranging from municipal bonds to hedge funds. Mr. Jones currently is a trustee of two other registered investment companies and is a Managing Director of Carne Global Financial Services (US) LLC where his work includes director and risk oversight positions with investment advisers and serving as an independent director of private funds. Mr. Jones also currently serves as Managing Director of Park Agency Inc., a family office. Prior to that, he was an advisor to Wanzenburg Partners and served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer to Aurora Investment Management. He has a Juris Doctorate degree from Northwestern University School of Law and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Mr. Greenberg has been a trustee of the Trust since July 2016 and serves on the Audit Committee. Mr. Greenberg has over 25 years of experience in the securities industry. He has been Chief Legal Officer and Senior Vice President of The Motley Fool Holdings, Inc. since 1996. He also served as General Counsel to Motley Fool Asset Management, LLC from 2008 to 2018 and as Manager of Motley Fool Wealth Management, LLC from 2013 to 2018. He has been a Venture Partner of and General Counsel to Motley Fool Ventures LP since 2018. Mr. Greenberg is a Director of The Motley Fool Holdings, Inc.'s wholly-owned subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada. Mr. Greenberg also has directorship experience through his service on private company boards. He has a Master's degree and a Juris Doctorate degree from Stanford University.
Risk Oversight. The Board performs its risk oversight function for the Trust through a combination of (1) direct oversight by the Board as a whole and the Board committee, and (2) indirect oversight through the investment advisers and other service providers, Trust officers and the Trust's Chief Compliance Officer. The Trust is subject to a number of risks, including but not limited to investment risk, compliance risk, operational risk and reputational risk. Day-to-day risk management with respect to the series of the Trust, including the Funds, is the responsibility of the investment advisers or other service providers (depending on the nature of the risk) that carry out the Trust's investment management and business affairs. Each of the investment advisers and the other service providers have their own independent interest in risk management and their policies and methods of risk management will depend
23
on their functions and business models and may differ from the Trust's and each other's in the setting of priorities, the resources available or the effectiveness of relevant controls.
The Board provides risk oversight by receiving and reviewing, on a regular basis, reports from the investment advisers and other service providers, receiving and approving compliance policies and procedures, periodic meetings with the Funds' portfolio managers to review investment policies, strategies and risks, and meeting regularly with the Trust's Chief Compliance Officer to discuss compliance reports, findings and issues. The Board also relies on the investment advisers and other service providers, with respect to the day-to-day activities of the Trust, to create and maintain procedures and controls to minimize risk and the likelihood of adverse effects on the Trust's business and reputation.
Board oversight of risk management is also provided by the Board's Audit Committee. The Audit Committee meets with the Funds' independent registered public accounting firm to ensure that the Funds' audit scope includes risk-based considerations as to the Funds' financial position and operations.
The Board may, at any time and in its discretion, change the manner in which it conducts risk oversight. The Board's oversight role does not make the Board a guarantor of the Funds' investments or activities.
Security and Other Interests. As of December 31, 2023, no Trustees of the Trust beneficially owned shares of the Funds. As of December 31, 2023, neither the Independent Trustees nor members of their immediate family, owned securities beneficially or of record in the Adviser, the Distributor (as defined below), or an affiliate of the Adviser or Distributor. Accordingly, neither the Independent Trustees nor members of their immediate family, have direct or indirect interest, the value of which exceeds $120,000, in the Adviser, the Distributor or any of their affiliates. In addition, during the two most recently completed calendar years, neither the Independent Trustees nor members of their immediate families had a direct or indirect interest, the value of which exceeds $120,000 in (i) the Adviser, the Distributor or any of their affiliates; (ii) any transaction or relationship in which such entity, the Funds, the Trust, any officer of the Trust, the Adviser, the Distributor, or any of their affiliates was a party; or (iii) any other relationship related to payments for property or services to the Funds, the Trust, any officer of the Trust, the Adviser, the Distributor, or any of their affiliates.
Compensation.For their services as Independent Trustees, the Independent Trustees receive compensation from the Trust and reimbursement for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with attendance at Board or committee meetings. The Lead Independent Trustee and the Audit Committee Chair each receive additional compensation. The Trust has no pension or retirement plan. The Trustees' fees and expenses are allocated among the Funds and the other series comprising the Trust. The Funds' allocable portion of Independent Trustee fees are paid by the Adviser out of the unified management fee paid to the Adviser by the Funds, and Trustee compensation is not a direct expense of the Funds.
The following table shows the estimated compensation to be earned by each Trustee for the Funds' fiscal year ending May 31, 2025. With respect to the Funds, Independent Trustee fees are paid by the Adviser and not by the Funds. Trustee compensation does not include reimbursed out-of-pocket expenses in connection with attendance at meetings.
24
|
Independent Trustee
|
Estimated Aggregate Compensation from Each Fund
|
Pension or Retirement Benefits Accrued as Part of Trust Expenses
|
Estimated Annual Benefits Upon Retirement
|
Estimated Total Compensation from the Funds and the Trust(1)Paid to Trustees:
|
SanJac Alpha Low Duration ETF
|
Gaylord Lyman(2)
|
$4,327
|
$0
|
$0
|
$56,250
|
Lawrence Greenberg
|
$4,038
|
$0
|
$0
|
$52,500
|
Scott Craven Jones(3)
|
$4,471
|
$0
|
$0
|
$58,125
|
James R. Schoenike
|
$4,038
|
$0
|
$0
|
$52,500
|
SanJac Alpha Core Plus Bond ETF
|
Gaylord Lyman(2)
|
$4,327
|
$0
|
$0
|
$56,250
|
Lawrence Greenberg
|
$4,038
|
$0
|
$0
|
$52,500
|
Scott Craven Jones(3)
|
$4,471
|
$0
|
$0
|
$58,125
|
James R. Schoenike
|
$4,038
|
$0
|
$0
|
$52,500
|
(1) The Trust is currently comprised of multiple active portfolios managed by unaffiliated investment advisers.
(2) Audit Committee Chair
(3) Lead Independent Trustee
CODES OF ETHICS
The Trust and the Adviser have each adopted codes of ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act. These codes of ethics are designed to prevent affiliated persons of the Trust and the Adviser from engaging in deceptive, manipulative or fraudulent activities in connection with securities held or to be acquired by the Funds (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 Funds. The Distributor (as defined below) relies on the principal underwriter's exception under Rule 17j-1(c)(3) from the requirement to adopt a code of ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 because the Distributor is not affiliated with the Trust or the Adviser, and no officer, director, or general partner of the Distributor serves as an officer, director, or general partner of the Trust or the Adviser.
The Trust's and the Adviser's codes of ethics may be found on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov in the exhibits to the Funds' registration statement on Form N-1A.
PROXY VOTING
The Funds invest primarily in fixed income securities and do not expect to receive proxy solicitations or vote proxies for such securities. In the event that the Funds are solicited to vote a proxy, the Board has adopted proxy voting procedures, and thereunder delegated the responsibility for exercising the voting rights associated with the securities purchased and/or held by the Funds to the Adviser, subject to the Board's oversight in accordance with the Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures (the "Voting Policies") and Proxy Voting Guidelines ("Voting Guidelines") adopted by the Adviser. Pursuant to the Voting Polices and Voting Guidelines, the Adviser will vote all proxies as it judges in the best interests of each Fund and its shareholders. In general, the Adviser will determine how to vote proxies based on reasonable judgment of the vote most likely to produce favorable financial results for its clients. Proxy votes generally will be cast in favor of proposals that maintain or strengthen the shared interests of shareholders. Proxy votes generally will be cast against proposals having the opposite effect. Absent good reason to the contrary, the Adviser will generally give substantial weight to management recommendations regarding proxy voting.
The Adviser's Chief Compliance Officer will identify any conflicts that exist between the interests of the Adviser and the Funds and their shareholders. This examination will include a review of the relationship of the firm with the issuer of each security to determine if the issuer is a client of the Adviser or has some other relationship with the Adviser or one of its clients. When a conflict of interest is identified, if the issue is specifically addressed in the Voting Policies, the Adviser will vote in accordance with the Voting Policies. In a situation where the issue is not specifically addressed in the Voting Policies, the Adviser will either (i) delegate the voting decision to an independent third party; (ii) inform clients of the conflict of interest and obtain advance consent of a majority of
25
such clients for a particular voting decision; or (iii) obtain approval of a voting decision from the Adviser's Chief Compliance Officer, who will be responsible for documenting the rationale for the decision made and voted.
Each Fund's proxy voting record for the twelve-month period ended June 30 of each year, if applicable, will be available by August 31 of the same year (i) without charge, upon request, by calling (800) 497-2960 and (ii) on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES
A principal shareholder is any person who owns of record or beneficially 5% or more of the outstanding shares of the Funds. A control person is one who owns beneficially or through controlled companies more than 25% of the voting securities of the Funds or acknowledges the existence of control. A controlling person possesses the ability to control the outcome of matters submitted for shareholder vote by the Funds. As of the date of this SAI, there were no principal shareholders or control persons of the Funds. Further, as of the date this SAI, the Trustees and officers as a group owned beneficially (as the term is defined in Section 13(d) under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) less than 1% of the outstanding shares of the Funds.
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES
The Adviser, SanJac Alpha LP, located at 3033 W. Alabama, Houston, Texas 77098, serves as the investment adviser to the Funds pursuant to the advisory agreement between the Trust and the Adviser (the "Advisory Agreement"). The Adviser was established in 2022 as a Texas limited partnership and offers investment advisory services to the Funds.
The Adviser's general partner, SanJac Management LLC, manages the affairs of the Adviser and is a control person. Saracen Energy Advisors LP and Convexity Cubed, LLC are also control persons of the Adviser through their beneficial ownership of the Adviser. The control persons of those entities are Neil Kelley and Andrew Wells, respectively.
Pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser has agreed to pay all expenses of the Funds, except for: the fees paid to the Adviser pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement, interest charges on any borrowings, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, extraordinary expenses, shareholder service fees and expenses, distribution (12b-1) fees and expenses, if any, and certain other excluded expenses. Pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser is entitled to receive a unified management fee, which is calculated daily and paid monthly, at an annual rate of 0.35% of the average daily net assets of the SanJac Alpha Low Duration ETF and 0.65% of the average daily net assets of the SanJac Alpha Core Plus Bond ETF.
Under the terms of the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser, with respect to the Funds, agrees to: (a) direct the investments of the Funds, subject to and in accordance with the Funds' investment objective, policies and limitations set forth in the Prospectus and this SAI; (b) purchase and sell for the Funds securities and other investments consistent with the Funds' objective and policies; (c) supply office facilities, equipment and personnel necessary for servicing the investments of the Funds; (d) pay the salaries of all personnel of the Funds and the Adviser performing services relating to research, statistical and investment activities on behalf of the Funds; (e) make available and provide such information as the Funds and/or its administrator may reasonably request for use in the preparation of its registration statement, reports and other documents required by any applicable federal, foreign or state statutes or regulations; and (f) make its officers and employees available to the Board and officers of the Trust for consultation and discussion regarding the management of the Funds and their investment activities. Additionally, the Adviser agrees to create and maintain all necessary records in accordance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations pertaining to the various functions performed by it and not otherwise created and maintained by another party pursuant to a contract with the Funds.
The Advisory Agreement has an initial term of two years and continues in effect from year to year thereafter if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the Board, including a majority of the Independent Trustees or by a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Funds. The Advisory Agreement may be terminated by the Trust, by vote of the Board or shareholders of the Funds, or the Adviser on 60 days' written notice without penalty. The Advisory Agreement will also terminate automatically in the event of its assignment as defined in the
26
1940 Act. The Advisory Agreement provides that the Adviser shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Funds in connection with the matters to which the agreement relates, except to the extent of a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on its part in the performance of its obligations and duties under the Advisory Agreement.
The Funds are new and have not paid management fees to the Adviser as of the date of this SAI.
PORTFOLIO MANAGERS
As described in the Prospectus, the Funds' portfolio managers are Andrew Wells and Andrey Vladyko (the "Portfolio Managers").
Other Accounts Managed.The following table provides additional information about other accounts managed by the portfolio managers, who are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds as of April 30, 2024.
|
Portfolio Manager and Category of Account
|
Total Number
of Accounts Managed
|
Total Assets in Accounts Managed
(in millions)
|
Number of Accounts for which Advisory Fee is Based on Performance
|
Assets in Accounts for which Advisory Fee is Based on Performance
(in millions)
|
Andrew Wells
|
Registered Investment Companies
|
None
|
$0
|
None
|
$0
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles
|
None
|
$0
|
None
|
$0
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Other Accounts
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None
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$0
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None
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$0
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Andrey Vladyko
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Registered Investment Companies
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None
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$0
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None
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$0
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Other Pooled Investment Vehicles
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None
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$0
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None
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$0
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Other Accounts
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None
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$0
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None
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$0
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Material Conflicts of Interest.Neither Portfolio Manager, as of the date of this SAI, manages any other accounts. Subject to any restrictions under the Adviser's Code of Ethics, the Portfolio Managers may buy and sell securities for their own accounts, but may not buy securities from or sell securities to a Fund. Each Portfolio Manager may engage in other business ventures of any nature, and a Fund has no right to participate in or benefit from such other activities.
Compensation.As of the date of this SAI, the Portfolio Managers are compensated by the Adviser through a fixed salary and potential bonus compensation.
Ownership of securities.Because the Funds are new, the Portfolio Managers do not own any Shares of the Funds as of the date of this SAI.
THE DISTRIBUTOR
The Trust, the Adviser, and Quasar 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"), and distribution services agreement, whereby the Distributor acts as principal underwriter for the Funds 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.
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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 Funds 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.
THE ADMINISTRATOR, CUSTODIAN, AND TRANSFER AGENT
Fund Administrator, Transfer Agent, and Fund Accountant
Fund Services, located at 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202, acts as the Funds' administrator pursuant to an administration agreement between Fund Services and the Trust, on behalf of the Funds. Fund Services provides certain administrative services to the Funds, including, among other responsibilities, coordinating the negotiation of contracts and fees with, and the monitoring of performance and billing of, the Funds' independent contractors and agents; preparing for signature by an officer of the Trust all of the documents required to be filed for compliance by the Trust and the Funds with applicable laws and regulations excluding those of the securities laws of various states; arranging for the computation of performance data, including NAV and yield; responding to shareholder inquiries; and arranging for the maintenance of books and records of the Funds, and providing, at its own expense, office facilities, equipment and personnel necessary to carry out its duties. In this capacity, Fund Services does not have any responsibility or authority for the management of the Funds, the determination of investment policy, or for any matter pertaining to the distribution of shares. As compensation for its services, Fund Services receives from the Funds a combined fee for fund administration and fund accounting services based on each Fund's current average daily net assets. Fund Services is also entitled to be reimbursed for certain out-of-pocket expenses. Fund Services also acts as fund accountant ("Fund Accountant"), transfer agent ("Transfer Agent") and dividend disbursing agent under separate agreements with the Trust.
The Funds are new and the Adviser has not paid the Administrator any fees for administrative services to the Funds as of the date of this SAI.
Custodian
U.S. Bank National Association (the "Custodian"), located at 1555 North River Center Drive, Suite 302, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53212, an affiliate of Fund Services, serves as the custodian of the Funds' assets pursuant to a custody agreement between the Custodian and the Trust, on behalf of the Funds. The Custodian charges fees on a transactional basis plus out-of-pocket expenses. The Custodian maintains custody of securities and other assets of the Funds, delivers and receives payments for securities sold, receives and pays for securities purchased, collects income from investments and serves as the Fund's foreign custody manager. The Custodian does not participate in decisions relating to the purchase and sale of securities by the Funds. The Custodian and its affiliates may participate in revenue sharing arrangements with service providers of investment companies in which the Funds may invest.
Legal Counsel
Godfrey & Kahn, S.C., 833 East Michigan Street, Suite 1800, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202, serves as counsel to the Trust and the Independent Trustees.
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Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Cohen & Company, Ltd., located at 1835 Market Street, Suite 310, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, serves as the independent registered public accounting firm to the Funds providing services which include: (1) auditing the annual financial statements for the Funds; and (2) the review of the annual federal income tax returns filed on behalf of the Funds.
Compliance Services
Fund Services provides compliance services to the Funds pursuant to a service agreement between Fund Services and the Trust, on behalf of the Funds. Under this service agreement, Fund Services also provides an individual to serve as Chief Compliance Officer to the Trust, subject to the approval and oversight of the Board. The Board has approved Ms. Silver as Chief Compliance Officer of the Trust.
PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS DISCLOSURE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
The Trust's Board has adopted a policy regarding the disclosure of information about the Funds' security holdings. The Funds' entire portfolio holdings are publicly disseminated each day the Funds are open for business and may be available through financial reporting and news services, including publicly available internet web sites. In addition, the composition of the Deposit Securities is publicly disseminated daily prior to the opening of the Exchange via the National Securities Clearing Corporation ("NSCC").
BROKERAGE ALLOCATION AND OTHER PRACTICES
Brokerage Transactions.The Adviser places all portfolio transactions on behalf of the Funds, selects broker-dealers for such transactions, allocates brokerage fees in such transactions and, where applicable, negotiates commissions and spreads on transactions. The Adviser has a fiduciary duty to the Funds to obtain best execution, on an overall basis, for any securities transaction.
Fixed income and convertible securities are bought and sold through broker-dealers acting on a principal basis. These trades are not charged a commission, but rather are marked up or marked down by the executing broker-dealer. The Adviser does not know the actual value of the markup/markdown. The Adviser attempts to ascertain whether the overall price of a security is reasonable through the use of market quotes and analysis. The Adviser may receive eligible brokerage or research services for fixed income or equity trades from certain broker-dealers in accordance with SEC guidance and consistent with the Adviser's best execution policy. Each Fund will bear the implicit trading cost of the bid-ask spread in fixed income transactions.
Brokers or dealers that execute the Funds' portfolio transactions may include Authorized Participants (as discussed in "Procedures for Purchase of Creation Units" below) or their affiliates as selected by the Adviser. An Authorized Participant or its affiliates may be selected to execute the Funds' 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"). As described below under "Purchase and Redemption of Shares in Creation Units-Creation Transaction Fee" and "-Redemption Transaction Fee", the Funds 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 Funds' 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 Funds' portfolio transactions in connection with such orders.
Brokerage Selection.The primary objective of the Adviser in placing orders on behalf of the Funds for the purchase and sale of securities is to obtain best execution at the most favorable prices through responsible brokers or dealers and, where the spread or commission rates are negotiable, at competitive rates. In selecting and monitoring a broker or dealer, the Adviser considers, among other things, a broker or dealer's: (i) general execution capability; (ii) operational ability to clear and settle transactions; (iii) capital positions and risk taking ability; (iv) historical trading experience in a stock; (v) personnel and their integrity; and (vi) quality of research and investment information. The Adviser may also consider any special needs required by trading staff. The Adviser executes trades on behalf of the Funds from brokers approved by the Adviser.
The Funds trade in mortgage-backed securities and other fixed income securities and their derivatives and components, which are typically traded over-the-counter. Due to the nature of over-the-counter trading, typically on
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a principal basis, brokers are usually compensated through their markups and markdowns. That is, the broker will sell a security to a Fund for more than the broker purchased the security and will purchase a security from a Fund for less than the amount it may receive from the sale of that security to a third party. The Adviser does not have transparency into the compensation being received by a broker for a transaction with a Fund in most cases. This lack of transparency can impact the Adviser's ability to seek best execution.
Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 provides that an investment adviser, under certain circumstances, lawfully may cause an account to pay a higher commission than the lowest available. Under Section 28(e), an investment adviser is required to make a good faith determination that the commissions paid are reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the investment adviser's overall responsibilities with respect to accounts as to which it exercises investment discretion. The services provided by the broker also must lawfully or appropriately assist the investment adviser in the performance of its investment decision-making responsibilities. Accordingly, in recognition of research services provided to them, the Funds may pay a higher brokerage commission than those available from another broker. Research services that the Funds obtain from a broker-dealer in connection with the payment of brokerage commissions may either be the broker-dealer's own proprietary research or third party research obtained by the broker-dealer through payment of a portion of their commissions to third parties for research products or services.
Research services received from broker-dealers supplement the Adviser's own research (and the research of any affiliates), and may include the following types of information: statistical and background information on the U.S. and foreign economies, industry groups and individual companies; forecasts and interpretations with respect to the U.S. and foreign economies, securities, markets, specific industry groups and individual companies; information on federal, state, local and foreign political developments; portfolio management strategies; performance information on securities, indexes and investment accounts; information concerning prices of securities; and information with respect to the performance, investment activities, and fees and expenses of other mutual funds.
Broker-dealers may communicate such information electronically, orally, in written form or on computer software. Research services may also include the providing of electronic communications of trade information, the arranging of meetings with management of companies, and the providing of access to consultants who supply research information. The outside research assistance is useful to the Adviser since the broker-dealers used by the Adviser tend to follow a broad universe of securities and the research provided by such broker-dealers may provide the Adviser with a diverse perspective on financial markets. Research services provided to the Adviser by broker-dealers are available for the benefit of all accounts managed or advised by the Adviser or by its affiliates. The Adviser cannot readily determine the extent to which spreads or commission rates or net prices charged by brokers or dealers reflect the value of their research, analysis, advice and similar services.
The Funds may at times invest in securities of their regular broker-dealers or the parent of their regular broker-dealers.
Allocation of Portfolio Transactions.Some of the Adviser's other clients may have investment objectives and programs similar to that of the Funds. Occasionally, recommendations made to other clients may result in their purchasing or selling securities simultaneously with the Funds. Consequently, the demand for securities being purchased or the supply of securities being sold may increase, and this could have an adverse effect on the price of those securities. It is the policy of the Adviser not to favor one client over another in making recommendations or in placing orders. In the event of a simultaneous transaction, purchases or sales are averaged as to price, transaction costs are allocated between the Funds and other clients participating in the transaction on a pro rata basis and purchases and sales are normally allocated between the Funds and the other clients as to amount according to a formula determined prior to the execution of such transactions.
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER RATE
The portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities by the average monthly value of a Fund's portfolio securities. For purposes of this calculation, portfolio securities exclude all securities having a maturity when purchased of one year or less. High portfolio turnover may result in increased brokerage costs to a Fund and also adverse tax consequences to a Fund's shareholders.
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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 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 Funds 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 Funds at any time by giving reasonable notice to the Funds and discharging its responsibilities with respect thereto under applicable law. Under such circumstances, the Funds 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.
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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 Funds 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 a 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, a 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 applicable 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).
Each 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 applicable Fund. Such Fund Deposit is subject to any applicable adjustments as described below, to effect purchases of Creation Units of the applicable 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 each Fund. .
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.
Procedures for Purchase of Creation Units. To be eligible to place orders with the Transfer Agent to purchase a Creation Unit of a 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
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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 Funds 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 orders to purchase Creation Units is 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, which time may be modified by each 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 a 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, a Fund may require orders to create Creation Units to be placed earlier in the day. In addition, if a market or markets on which a Fund's investments are primarily traded is closed, the applicable 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 Funds, 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 Funds to maintain an account into which the Authorized Participant shall deliver, on behalf of itself or the party on whose behalf it is acting, such Deposit Securities (or Deposit Cash for all or a part of such securities, as permitted or required), with any appropriate adjustments as advised by the Trust. Foreign Deposit Securities must be delivered to an account maintained at the applicable local subcustodian. A Fund Deposit transfer must be ordered by the Authorized Participant in a timely fashion so as to ensure the delivery of the requisite number of Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, to the account of the applicable 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 a 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 applicable Fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. The "Settlement Date" for a Fund is generally the second 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 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 applicable Fund.
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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 applicable 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 second Business Day following the day on which the purchase order is deemed received by the Transfer Agent.
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 a 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 applicable 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 a 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 of the applicable Fund; (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-
34
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.
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 each Fund, regardless of the number of Creation Units created in the transaction, can be found in the table below. Each 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 applicable 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 applicable Fund, of up to the maximum percentage listed in the table below 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. Each 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.
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Name of Fund
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Fixed Creation Transaction Fee
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Maximum Variable Transaction Fee
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SanJac Alpha Low Duration ETF
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$300
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2%
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SanJac Alpha Core Plus Bond ETF
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$300
|
2%
|
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 a 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 a 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 a Fund through the Transfer Agent and only on a Business Day. EXCEPT UPON LIQUIDATION OF A 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
35
incur brokerage and other costs in connection with assembling a sufficient number of Shares to constitute a redeemable Creation Unit.
With respect to the Funds, 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 each 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 a 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. Cash redemptions may cause a Fund to incur certain costs and expenses related to the execution of trades by the Fund, including taxable gains or losses it might not have incurred if the redemption had been in-kind.
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 each Fund, regardless of the number of Creation Units redeemed in the transaction, can be found in the table below. Each Fund may adjust the redemption transaction fee from time to time. The fixed redemption fee may be waived on certain orders if the applicable 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 applicable Fund, of up to the maximum percentage listed in the table below of the value of the Creation Units subject to the transaction may be imposed for cash redemptions, non-standard orders, or partial cash redemptions (when cash redemptions are available) of Creation Units. The variable charge is primarily designed to cover additional costs (e.g., brokerage, taxes) involved with selling portfolio securities to satisfy a cash redemption. Each 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.
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Name of Fund
|
Fixed Redemption Transaction Fee
|
Maximum Variable Transaction Fee
|
SanJac Alpha Low Duration ETF
|
$300
|
2%
|
SanJac Alpha Core Plus Bond ETF
|
$300
|
2%
|
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 of the Funds 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
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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 the 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 two business days of the trade date.
In addition, an investor may request a redemption in cash that a Fund may, in its sole discretion, permit. In either case, the investor will receive a cash payment equal to the NAV of its Shares based on the NAV of Shares of the applicable Fund next determined after the redemption request is received in proper form (minus a redemption transaction fee, if applicable, and additional charge for requested cash redemptions specified above, to offset the Trust's brokerage and other transaction costs associated with the disposition of Fund Securities). A 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 Funds (whether or not it otherwise permits cash redemptions) reserve the right to redeem Creation Units for cash to the extent that the Trust could not lawfully deliver specific Fund Securities upon redemptions or could not do so without first registering the Fund Securities under such laws. An Authorized Participant or an investor for which it is acting subject to a legal restriction with respect to a particular security included in the Fund Securities applicable to the redemption of Creation Units may be paid an equivalent amount of cash. The Authorized Participant may request the redeeming investor of the Shares to complete an order form or to enter into agreements with respect to such matters as compensating cash payment. Further, an Authorized Participant that is not a "qualified institutional buyer" ("QIB") as such term is defined under Rule 144A of the Securities Act, will not be able to receive Fund Securities that are restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A. An Authorized Participant may be required by the Trust to provide a written confirmation with respect to QIB status to receive Fund Securities.
Because the portfolio securities of the Funds may trade on other exchanges on days that the Exchange is closed or are otherwise not Business Days for such Fund, shareholders may not be able to redeem their Shares of the applicable Fund, or to purchase or sell Shares of the applicable Fund on the Exchange, on days when the NAV of the applicable 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 a Fund (1) for any period during which the Exchange is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings); (2) for any period during which trading on the Exchange is suspended or restricted; (3) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which disposal of the Shares of the applicable Fund or determination of the NAV of the Shares is not reasonably practicable; or (4) in such other circumstance as is permitted by the SEC.
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DESCRIPTION OF SHARES, VOTING RIGHTS AND LIABILITIES
Shares, when issued and paid for in accordance with the Prospectus, will be fully paid and non-assessable shares, with equal voting rights. Each Share is entitled to participate in dividends and other distributions as determined by the Board. Each Share is entitled to the residual assets of a Fund in the event of liquidation.
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 have non-cumulative voting rights with respect to election of Trustees, do not have preemptive or subscription rights and are transferable.
The Funds do not hold annual meetings of shareholders. A meeting of shareholders for the purpose of voting upon the question of removal of any Trustee may be called upon the demand of shareholders owning not less than 10% of the Trust's outstanding shares. Except when a larger quorum is required by the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, forty percent (40%) of the shares entitled to vote on a matter constitutes a quorum at a meeting of shareholders. Generally, subject to the 1940 Act and the specific provisions of the Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust, as amended (the "Declaration of Trust"), when a quorum is present at any meeting, a majority of the shares voted will decide any questions, except only a plurality vote is necessary to elect Trustees.
The Funds may involuntarily redeem a shareholder's shares if the shareholder owns shares of the Funds having an aggregate NAV of less than a minimum value determined from time to time by the Trustees. In addition, the Trust may call for the redemption of shares of any shareholder or may refuse to transfer or issue shares to any person to the extent that the same is necessary to comply with applicable law or advisable to further the purpose for which the Trust was established, including circumstances involving frequent or excessive trading in shares of the Funds. The Declaration of Trust also provides that if an officer or agent of the Trust has determined that a shareholder has engaged in frequent and excessive trading in shares of the Funds, the Trust may require the shareholder to redeem his or her shares.
The Trust may cause, to the extent consistent with applicable law: (a) the Trust or one or more of its series to be merged into or consolidated with another trust, series of another trust or other person; (b) the shares of the Trust or any of its series to be converted into beneficial interests in another trust or series thereof; (c) the shares to be exchanged for assets or property under or pursuant to any state or federal statute to the extent permitted by law; or (d) a sale of assets of the Trust or one or more of its series. Such merger or consolidation, share conversion, share exchange or sale of assets must be authorized by a majority of the shares voted when a quorum is present, provided that in all respects not governed by statute or applicable law, the Trustees have power to prescribe the procedure necessary or appropriate to accomplish a merger or consolidation, share conversion, share exchange, or sale of assets, including the power to create one or more separate trusts to which all or any part of the assets, liabilities, profits or losses of the Trust may be transferred and to provide for the conversion of shares of the Trust or any of its series into beneficial interests in such separate business trust or trusts or series thereof.
Notwithstanding the foregoing paragraph, the Declaration of Trust provides that the Trustees may, without the vote or consent of shareholders, cause to be organized or assist in organizing a corporation or corporations under the laws of any jurisdiction, or any trust, partnership, limited liability company, association or other organization, or any series or class of any thereof (including any series, or class of any series, of the Trust), to acquire all or a portion of the Trust property (or all or a portion of the Trust property held with respect to the Funds or allocable to a particular class) or to carry on any business in which the Trust directly or indirectly has any interest (any of the foregoing, a "Successor Entity"), and to sell, convey and transfer Trust property to any such Successor Entity in exchange for the shares or securities thereof or otherwise, and to lend money to, subscribe for the shares or securities of, and enter into any contracts with any such Successor Entity in which the Trust holds or is about to acquire shares or any other interest. The Trustees may also, without the vote or consent of shareholders, cause a merger or consolidation between the Trust and any Successor Entity if and to the extent permitted by law. However, the Declaration of Trust provides that the Trustees shall provide written notice to affected shareholders of each such transaction. Such transactions may be effected through share-for-share exchanges, transfers or sales of assets, in-kind redemptions and purchases, exchange offers, or any other method approved by the Trustees.
The Declaration of Trust provides that no shareholder shall have the right to bring or maintain any court action, proceeding or claim in the right of the Trust or the Funds or a class thereof to recover a judgment in its favor unless (a) shareholders holding at least ten percent (10%) of the outstanding shares of the Trust, a Fund or class, as
38
applicable, join in the bringing of such court action, proceeding or claim; and (b) the bringing or maintenance of such court action, proceeding or claim is otherwise in accordance with Section 3816 of the Delaware Statutory Trust Act, subject to certain additional requirements.
The Declaration of Trust provides that by virtue of becoming a shareholder of the Funds, each shareholder will be held to have expressly assented and agreed to the terms of the Declaration of Trust, the By-Laws of the Trust and the resolutions of the Board.
The Declaration of Trust provides that the Trust will indemnify and hold harmless each Trustee and officer of the Trust and each former Trustee and officer of the Trust (each hereinafter referred to as a "Covered Person") from and against any and all claims, demands, costs, losses, expenses, and damages whatsoever arising out of or related to such Covered Person's performance of his or her duties as a Trustee or officer of the Trust or otherwise relating to any act, omission, or obligation of the Trust, if, as to liability to the Trust or its investors, it is finally adjudicated that the Covered Person was not liable by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the Covered Person's offices. In the case of settlement, such indemnification will be provided if it has been determined by a court or other body approving the settlement or other disposition, or by a reasonable determination, based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial type inquiry), by vote of a majority of Independent Trustees of the Trust, or in a written opinion of independent counsel, that such officers or Trustees have not engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of their duties. Rights to indemnification or insurance cannot be limited retroactively.
The Declaration of Trust further provides that: (i) the appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee as chairperson of the Board or a member or chairperson of a committee of the Trustees, an expert on any topic or in any area (including an audit committee financial expert), or the lead Independent Trustee, or any other special appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee, shall not impose on that individual any duty, obligation or liability that is greater than the duties, obligations and liability imposed on that person as a Trustee in the absence of the appointment, designation or identification (except with respect to duties expressly imposed pursuant to the By-Laws of the Trust, a committee charter or a Trust policy statement); (ii) no Trustee who has special skills or expertise, or is appointed, designated or identified shall be held to a higher standard of care by virtue thereof; and (iii) no appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee shall affect in any way that Trustee's rights or entitlement to indemnification.
Under the Declaration of Trust, the Trustees have the power to liquidate a Fund without shareholder approval. While the Trustees have no present intention of exercising this power, they may do so for such reasons as may be determined by the Board.
DETERMINATION OF NAV
NAV per Share for a Fund is computed by dividing the value of the net assets of the applicable Fund (i.e., the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by the total number of Shares outstanding, rounded to the nearest cent. Expenses and fees, including the management fees, are accrued daily and taken into account for purposes of determining NAV. The NAV of each Fund is calculated by Fund Services and determined at the scheduled close of the regular trading session on the NYSE (ordinarily 4:00 p.m., Eastern time) on each day that the NYSE is open, provided that fixed-income assets may be valued as of the announced closing time for trading in fixed-income instruments on any day that the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association ("SIFMA") announces an early closing time.
Pursuant to Rule 2a-5 under the 1940 Act, the Board has appointed the Adviser as the Funds' valuation designee (the "Valuation Designee") to perform all fair valuations of each Fund's portfolio investments, subject to the Board's oversight. As the Valuation Designee, the Adviser has established procedures for its fair valuation of each 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 each Fund's portfolio investments. The Adviser's fair value methodologies may involve obtaining inputs and prices from third-party pricing services.
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In calculating each Fund's NAV per Share, each 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 each Fund's NAV. When fair value pricing is employed, the prices of securities used by the Adviser to calculate each 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 annually by each Fund. Distributions of net realized securities gains, if any, generally are declared and paid once a year, but a Fund may make distributions on a more frequent basis to comply with the distribution requirements of the Code to preserve a 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.
Each Fund makes additional distributions to the extent necessary (i) to distribute the entire annual taxable income of the applicable 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 a 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 Funds 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 applicable 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 a 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 a 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, foreign or local taxes.
Taxation of the Funds. Each Fund intends to elect and intends to continue to qualify each year to be treated as a separate RIC under Section 851 of the Code. As such, the Funds generally should not be subject to federal income taxes on their net investment income and net capital gains, if any, to the extent that they timely distribute such income and capital gains to their shareholders. To qualify for treatment as a RIC, a 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 applicable 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 close 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 a Fund's total assets is invested, including through corporations in which the Fund owns a 20% or more voting stock interest, in the securities of (1) any one issuer (other than U.S. government securities or securities of other RICs), (2) the securities (other than securities of other RICs) of two or more issuers which the applicable Fund controls and which are engaged in the same, similar, or related trades or businesses, or (3) the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships (the "Diversification Requirement"). The determination of the value and the identity of the issuer of derivative investments that the Fund may invest in are often unclear for purposes of the Diversification Requirement described above. Although each Fund intends to carefully monitor its investments to ensure that it is adequately diversified under the Diversification Requirement, there are no assurances that the IRS will agree with a Fund's determination of the issuer under the Diversification Requirement with respect to such derivatives.
To the extent a Fund makes investments that may generate income that is not qualifying income, including certain derivatives, the Fund will seek to restrict the resulting income from such investments so that the Fund's non-qualifying income does not exceed 10% of its gross income.
Although the Funds intend to distribute substantially all of their net investment income and may distribute their capital gains for any taxable year, the Funds will be subject to federal income taxation and excise tax to the extent any such income or gains are not distributed. Each Fund is treated as a separate corporation for federal income tax purposes. A 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 a Fund fails to satisfy the Qualifying Income Requirement or the Diversification Requirement in any taxable year, the applicable 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 minimisfailures of the Diversification Requirement where a 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, a Fund may be required to dispose of certain assets. If these relief provisions were not available to a 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 applicable Fund as ordinary income dividends, 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, a 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 applicable Fund failed to qualify for tax treatment as a RIC. If a Fund failed to qualify as a RIC for a
41
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 a 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 a Fund for treatment as a RIC if it determines such course of action to be beneficial to shareholders. If a Fund determines that it will not qualify as a RIC, the applicable Fund will establish procedures to reflect the anticipated tax liability in the Fund's NAV.
A 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, a 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 applicable Fund and may not be distributed as capital gains to its shareholders. Generally, a 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.
A 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 a Fund and subject to corporate income tax will be considered to have been distributed. The Funds intend to declare and distribute dividends and distributions in the amounts and at the times necessary to avoid the application of the excise tax, but can make no assurances that all such tax liability will be completely eliminated. A 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 a 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. A 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. Each 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). Each Fund may make distributions as frequently as quarterly. 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.
Each 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
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rates of up to 20%. Distributions from a Fund's net capital gain will be taxable to shareholders at long-term capital gains rates, regardless of how long shareholders have held their Shares.
Qualified dividend income includes, in general, subject to certain holding period and other requirements, dividend income from taxable domestic corporations and certain foreign corporations. Subject to certain limitations, eligible foreign corporations include those incorporated in possessions of the United States, those incorporated in certain countries with comprehensive tax treaties with the United States, and other foreign corporations if the stock with respect to which the dividends are paid is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States. Dividends received by a Fund from an underlying fund taxable as a RIC or from a REIT may be treated as qualified dividend income generally only to the extent so reported by such underlying fund or REIT, however, dividends received by a Fund from a REIT are generally not treated as qualified dividend income. If 95% or more of a 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 a 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 a Fund of its net short-term capital gains will be taxable as ordinary income. Distributions from a 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 a 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 a Fund from other RICs are not eligible, and dividends distributed to a Fund from REITs are generally not eligible for the 50% 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.
Although dividends generally will be treated as distributed when paid, any dividend declared by a 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 a 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 a 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 a 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
43
constitute qualified dividend income to individual shareholders and will not be eligible for the dividends received deduction for corporate shareholders.
If a 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 a 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 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, such 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 a Fund may limit the tax efficiency of such 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 Funds, 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, a 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 a 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.
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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 a 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 a Fund's ability to qualify as a RIC, 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 a 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. A 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 a 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.
Foreign Investments. Dividends and interest received by a Fund from sources within foreign countries may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by such countries. Tax treaties between certain countries and the U.S. may reduce or eliminate such taxes.
If more than 50% of the value of a Fund's assets at the close of any taxable year consists of stock or securities of foreign corporations, which for this purpose may include obligations of foreign governmental issuers, the Fund may elect, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, to treat any foreign income or withholding taxes paid by the Fund as paid by its shareholders. For any year that a Fund is eligible for and makes such an election, the Funds would treat those taxes distributions paid to their shareholders and each shareholder of the Fund will be required to include in income an amount equal to his or her allocable share of qualified foreign income taxes paid by the Fund, and shareholders will be entitled, subject to certain holding period requirements and other limitations, to credit their portions of these amounts against their U.S. federal income tax due, if any, or to deduct their portions from their U.S. taxable income, if any. No deductions for foreign taxes paid by a Fund may be claimed, however, by non-corporate shareholders who do not itemize deductions. No deduction for such taxes will be permitted to individuals in computing their alternative minimum tax liability. Shareholders that are not subject to U.S. federal income tax, and those who invest in a Fund through tax-advantaged accounts (including those who invest through individual retirement accounts or other tax-advantaged retirement plans), generally will receive no benefit from any tax credit or deduction passed through by such Fund. Each Fund does not expect to satisfy the requirements for passing through to its shareholders any share of foreign taxes paid by the Fund, with the result that shareholders will not include such taxes in their gross incomes and will not be entitled to a tax deduction or credit for such taxes on their own tax returns. Foreign taxes paid by a Fund will reduce the return from the Fund's investments.
Foreign tax credits, if any, received by a Fund as a result of an investment in another RIC (including an ETF or underlying fund which is taxable as a RIC) will not be passed through to you unless the Fund qualifies as a "qualified fund-of-funds" under the Code. If a Fund is a "qualified fund of funds" it will be eligible to file an election with the IRS that will enable the Fund to pass along these foreign tax credits to its shareholders. A Fund will be treated as a "qualified fund-of-funds" under the Code if at least 50% of the value of such Fund's total assets (at the close of each quarter of the Fund's taxable year) is represented by interests in other RICs.
If a Fund holds shares in a "passive foreign investment company" ("PFIC"), it may be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a portion of any "excess distribution" or gain from the disposition of such shares even if such income is distributed as a taxable dividend by the Fund to its shareholders. Additional charges in the nature of interest may be imposed on a Fund in respect of deferred taxes arising from such distributions or gains.
Each Fund may be eligible to treat a PFIC as a "qualified electing fund" ("QEF") under the Code in which case, in lieu of the foregoing requirements, the Fund will be required to include in income each year a portion of the ordinary earnings and net capital gains of the qualified electing fund, even if not distributed to the Fund, and such amounts will be subject to the 90% and excise tax distribution requirements described above. To make this election, a Fund
45
would be required to obtain certain annual information from the PFICs in which it invests, which may be difficult or impossible to obtain. Alternatively, a Fund may make a mark-to-market election that will result in such Fund being treated as if it had sold and repurchased its PFIC stock at the end of each year. In such case, a Fund would report any gains resulting from such deemed sales as ordinary income and would deduct any losses resulting from such deemed sales as ordinary losses to the extent of previously recognized gains. The election must be made separately for each PFIC owned by a Fund and, once made, is effective for all subsequent taxable years, unless revoked with the consent of the IRS. By making the election, a Fund could potentially ameliorate the adverse tax consequences with respect to its ownership of shares in a PFIC, but in any particular year may be required to recognize income in excess of the distributions it receives from PFICs and its proceeds from dispositions of PFIC stock. A Fund may have to distribute this excess income to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement and to avoid imposition of the 4% excise tax. To distribute this income and avoid a tax at the fund level, a Fund might be required to liquidate portfolio securities that it might otherwise have continued to hold, potentially resulting in additional taxable gain or loss. Each Fund intends to make the appropriate tax elections, if possible, and take any additional steps that are necessary to mitigate the effect of these rules. Amounts included in income each year by a Fund arising from a QEF election, will be "qualifying income" under the Qualifying Income Requirement (as described above) even if not distributed to the Fund, if the Fund derives such income from its business of investing in stock, securities or currencies.
Additional Tax Information Concerning U.S. REITs. A Fund may invest in entities treated as REITs for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Investments in REIT equity securities may require a Fund to accrue and distribute income not yet received. To generate sufficient cash to make the requisite distributions, a Fund may be required to sell securities in its portfolio (including when it is not advantageous to do so) that it otherwise would have continued to hold. A Fund's investments in REIT equity securities may at other times result in a Fund's receipt of cash in excess of the REIT's earnings; if a Fund distributes these amounts, these distributions could constitute a return of capital to such Fund's shareholders for federal income tax purposes. Dividends paid by a REIT, other than capital gain distributions, will be taxable as ordinary income up to the amount of the REIT's current and accumulated earnings and profits. Capital gain dividends paid by a REIT to a Fund will be treated as long-term capital gains by a Fund and, in turn, may be distributed by a Fund to its shareholders as a capital gain distribution. Dividends received by a Fund from a REIT generally will not constitute qualified dividend income or qualify for the dividends received deduction. If a REIT is operated in a manner such that it fails to qualify as a REIT, an investment in the REIT would become subject to double taxation, meaning the taxable income of the REIT would be subject to federal income tax at the regular corporate rate without any deduction for dividends paid to shareholders and the dividends would be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income (or possibly as qualified dividend income) to the extent of the REIT's current and accumulated earnings and profits.
REITs in which a Fund invests often do not provide complete and final tax information to a Fund until after the time that such Fund issues a tax reporting statement. As a result, a Fund may at times find it necessary to reclassify the amount and character of its distributions to you after it issues your tax reporting statement. When such reclassification is necessary, you will be sent a corrected, final Form 1099-DIV to reflect the reclassified information. If you receive a corrected Form 1099-DIV, use the information on this corrected form, and not the information on the previously issued tax reporting statement, in completing your tax returns.
"Qualified REIT dividends" (i.e., ordinary REIT dividends other than capital gain dividends and portions of REIT dividends designated as qualified dividend income eligible for capital gain tax rates) are eligible for a 20% deduction by non-corporate taxpayers. This deduction, if allowed in full, equates to a maximum effective tax rate of 29.6% (37% top rate applied to income after 20% deduction). Distributions by a Fund to its shareholders that are attributable to qualified REIT dividends received by such Fund and which the Fund properly reports as "section 199A dividends," are treated as "qualified REIT dividends" in the hands of non-corporate shareholders. A section 199A dividend is treated as a qualified REIT dividend only if the shareholder receiving such dividend holds the dividend-paying RIC shares for at least 46 days of the 91-day period beginning 45 days before the shares become ex-dividend, and is not under an obligation to make related payments with respect to a position in substantially similar or related property. A Fund is permitted to report such part of its dividends as section 199A dividends as are eligible, but is not required to do so.
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Backup Withholding. Each Fund will be required in certain cases to withhold (as "backup withholding") on amounts payable to any shareholder who (1) fails to provide a correct taxpayer identification number certified under penalty of perjury; (2) is subject to backup withholding by the IRS for failure to properly report all payments of interest or dividends; (3) fails to provide a certified statement that he or she is not subject to "backup withholding"; or (4) fails to provide a certified statement that he or she is a U.S. person (including a U.S. resident alien). The backup withholding rate is currently 24%. Backup withholding is not an additional tax and any amounts withheld may be credited against the shareholder's ultimate U.S. tax liability. Backup withholding will not be applied to payments that have been subject to the 30% withholding tax on shareholders who are neither citizens nor permanent residents of the U.S.
Non-U.S. Shareholders. Any non-U.S. investors in a Fund may be subject to U.S. withholding and estate tax and are encouraged to consult their tax advisers 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. Each 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 a 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.
Under legislation generally known as "FATCA" (the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act), each Fund is required to withhold 30% of certain ordinary dividends it pays to shareholders that fail to meet prescribed information reporting or certification requirements. In general, no such withholding will be required with respect to a U.S. person or non-U.S. person that timely provides the certifications required by a Fund or its agent on a valid IRS Form W-9 or applicable series of IRS Form W-8, respectively. Shareholders potentially subject to withholding under FATCA include foreign financial institutions ("FFIs"), such as non-U.S. investment funds, and non-financial foreign entities ("NFFEs"). To avoid withholding under FATCA, an FFI generally must enter into an information sharing agreement with the IRS in which it agrees to report certain identifying information (including name, address, and taxpayer identification number) with respect to its U.S. account holders (which, in the case of an entity shareholder, may include its direct and indirect U.S. owners), and an NFFE generally must identify and provide other required information to each Fund or other withholding agent regarding its U.S. owners, if any. Such non-U.S. shareholders also may fall into certain exempt, excepted or deemed compliant categories as established by regulations and other guidance. A non-U.S. shareholder resident or doing business in a country that has entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the United States to implement FATCA will be exempt from FATCA withholding provided that the shareholder and the applicable foreign government comply with the terms of the agreement. A non-U.S. entity that invests in each Fund will need to provide a Fund with documentation properly certifying the entity's status under FATCA in order to avoid FATCA withholding.
Non-U.S. persons are generally subject to U.S. tax on a disposition of a "United States real property interest" (a "USRPI"). Gain on such a disposition is generally referred to as "FIRPTA gain." The Code provides a look-through rule for distributions of so-called FIRPTA gain by each Fund if certain requirements are met. If the look-through rule applies, certain distributions attributable to income received by a Fund, from a REIT, may be treated as gain
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from the disposition of a USRPI, causing distributions to be subject to U.S. withholding tax at rates of up to 21%, and requiring non-U.S. investors to file nonresident U.S. income tax returns. Also, gain may be subject to a 30% branch profits tax in the hands of a foreign stockholder that is treated as a corporation for federal income tax purposes. Under certain circumstances, Fund shares may qualify as USRPIs, which could result in 15% withholding on certain distributions and gross redemption proceeds paid to certain non-U.S. shareholders.
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 a Fund should consult their tax advisers 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, each 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 a Fund if, for example, (i) the Fund invests in residual interests of Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduits ("REMICs"), (ii) the Fund invests in a REIT that is a taxable mortgage pool ("TMP") or that has a subsidiary that is a TMP or that invests in the residual interest of a REMIC, or (iii) Shares constitute debt-financed property in the hands of the tax-exempt shareholders within the meaning of section 514(b) of the Code. Charitable remainder trusts are subject to special rules and should consult their tax 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 a Fund and of Fund shareholders with respect to distributions by the Fund may differ from federal tax treatment.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Funds have not yet commenced operations and therefore have no performance history or financial information as of the date of this SAI. Each Fund's audited financial statements, when available, will be included in the Funds' Form N-CSR filed with the SEC and posted on the Funds' website. When available, you may request a copy of the Funds' financial statements at no charge by calling 1-800-617-0004, or visit the Funds' website at https://sanjacalpha.com.
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MANAGER DIRECTED PORTFOLIOS
PART C
SANJAC ALPHA LOW DURATION ETF
SANJAC ALPHA CORE PLUS BOND ETF
OTHER INFORMATION
Item 28. Exhibits.
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(a)
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Declaration of Trust.
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(1)
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(i)
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(ii)
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(2)
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(b)
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(c)
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Instruments Defining Rights of Security Holders are incorporated herein by reference to the Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust and the Amended and Restated By-laws.
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(d)
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Investment Advisory Agreement between the Trust and SanJac Alpha LP- Filed herewith.
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(e)
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(1)
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(2)
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Amendment to the ETF Distribution Agreement dated March 1, 2024- Filed herewith.
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(3)
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(f)
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Not applicable.
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(g)
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(1)
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(2)
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Amendment to the Custody Agreement dated May 10, 2024- Filed herewith.
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(h)
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Other Material Contracts.
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(1)
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ETF Distribution Services Agreement dated September 18, 2023- Filed herewith.
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(2)
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(i)
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(ii)
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Amendment to the Fund Administration Servicing Agreement dated May 10, 2024- Filed herewith.
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(iii)
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(3)
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(i)
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1
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(ii)
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Amendment to the Transfer Agent Servicing Agreement dated May 10, 2024-Filed herewith.
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(iii)
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(4)
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(i)
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(ii)
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Amendment to the Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement dated May 10, 2024- Filed herewith.
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(iii)
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(5)
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(6)
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(i)
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Opinion and Consent of Counsel- Filed herewith.
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(j)
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Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm- Filed herewith.
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(k)
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Not Applicable.
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(l)
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(m)
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Not Applicable.
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(n)
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Multiple Class Plan Pursuant to Rule 18f-3 - Not applicable.
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(o)
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Reserved.
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(p)
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(1)
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(2)
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Code of Ethics for the Adviser- Filed herewith.
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(3)
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Code of Ethics for Principal Underwriter - not applicable per Rule 17j-1(c)(3).
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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 Trust's trustees and officers are insured under a policy of insurance maintained by the Trust against certain liabilities that might be imposed as a result of actions, suits or proceedings to which they are a party by reason of having been such trustees or officers.
Pursuant to Rule 484 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Registrant furnishes the following undertaking: "Insofar as indemnification for liability arising under the Securities Act of 1933 (the "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 Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a
2
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 director, 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
SanJac Alpha LP (the "Advisor") serves as the investment adviser to the SanJac Alpha Low Duration ETF and SanJac Alpha Core Plus Bond ETF (the "Funds"). The principal business address of the Advisor is 3033 W. Alabama, Houston, Texas 77098.
With respect to the Advisor, the response to this Item is incorporated by reference to the Advisor's Uniform Application for Investment Adviser Registration (Form ADV) on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and dated November 29, 2023. The Form ADV for the Advisor may be obtained, free of charge, at the SEC's website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.
Item 32. Principal Underwriter.
(a) Quasar Distributors, LLC, the Registrant's principal underwriter, acts as principal underwriter for the following investment companies:
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
3
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
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
4
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
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 Mid Cap Value Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
126.Olstein All Cap Value Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
127.Olstein Strategic Opportunities Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
128.Port Street Quality Growth Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
129.Principal Street High Income Municipal Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
130.Principal Street Short Term Municipal Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
131.Reinhart Genesis PMV Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
132.Reinhart International PMV Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
133.Reinhart Mid Cap PMV Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
134.Tortoise Energy Infrastructure and Income Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
5
135.Tortoise Energy Infrastructure Total Return Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
136.Tortoise North American Pipeline Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
137.Tremblant Global ETF, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
138.Greenspring Income Opportunities Fund, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios
139.Hood River International Opportunity Fund, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios
140.Hood River Small-Cap Growth Fund, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios
141.Mar Vista Strategic Growth Fund, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios
142.Vert Global Sustainable Real Estate ETF, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios
143.Mason Capital Fund Trust
144.Matrix Advisors Funds Trust
145.Matrix Advisors Value Fund, Inc.
146.Monetta Trust
147.Nicholas Equity Income Fund, Inc.
148.Nicholas Fund, Inc.
149.Nicholas II, Inc.
150.Nicholas Limited Edition, Inc.
151.Oaktree Diversified Income Fund Inc.
152.Permanent Portfolio Family of Funds
153.Perritt Funds, Inc.
154.Procure ETF Trust II
155.Professionally Managed Portfolios
156.Prospector Funds, Inc.
157.Provident Mutual Funds, Inc.
158.Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
159.Abbey Capital Multi-Asset Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
160.Adara Smaller Companies Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
161.Aquarius International Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
162.Boston Partners All Cap Value Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
163.Boston Partners Emerging Markets Dynamic Equity Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
164.Boston Partners Emerging Markets Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
165.Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
166.Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
167.Boston Partners Global Sustainability Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
168.Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
169.Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
170.Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
171.Campbell Systematic Macro Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
172.F/m 10-Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
173.F/m 2-Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
174.F/m 3-Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
175.F/m Opportunistic Income ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
176.Motley Fool 100 Index ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
177.Motley Fool Capital Efficiency 100 Index ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
178.Motley Fool Global Opportunities ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
179.Motley Fool Mid-Cap Growth ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
180.Motley Fool Next Index ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
181.Motley Fool Small-Cap Growth ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
182.Optima Strategic Credit Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
183.SGI Dynamic Tactical ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
184.SGI Enhanced Core ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
185.SGI Enhanced Global Income ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
186.SGI Global Equity Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
6
187.SGI Peak Growth Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
188.SGI Prudent Growth Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
189.SGI Small Cap Core Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
190.SGI U.S. Large Cap Core ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
191.SGI U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
192.SGI U.S. Small Cap Equity Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
193.US Treasury 10 Year Note ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
194.US Treasury 12 Month Bill ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
195.US Treasury 2 Year Note ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
196.US Treasury 20 Year Bond ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
197.US Treasury 3 Month Bill ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
198.US Treasury 3 Year Note ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
199.US Treasury 30 Year Bond ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
200.US Treasury 5 Year Note ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
201.US Treasury 6 Month Bill ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
202.US Treasury 7 Year Note ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
203.WPG Partners Select Hedged Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
204.WPG Partners Select Small Cap Value Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
205.WPG Partners Small Cap Value Diversified Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
206.The RBB Fund Trust
207.RBC Funds Trust
208.Series Portfolios Trust
209.Thompson IM Funds, Inc.
210.TrimTabs ETF Trust
211.Bright Rock Mid Cap Growth Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
212.Bright Rock Quality Large Cap Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
213.CrossingBridge Low Duration High Yield Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
214.CrossingBridge Responsible Credit Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
215.CrossingBridge Ultra-Short Duration Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
216.RiverPark Strategic Income Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
217.Dearborn Partners Rising Dividend Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
218.Jensen Global Quality Growth Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
219.Jensen Quality Value Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
220.Rockefeller Climate Solutions Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
221.Rockefeller US Small Cap Core Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
222.Terra Firma US Concentrated Realty Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
223.USQ Core Real Estate Fund
224.Wall Street EWM Funds Trust
225.Wisconsin Capital Funds, Inc.
7
(b)To the best of Registrant's knowledge, the managers and executive officers of Quasar Distributors, LLC are as follows:
|
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 and Chief Compliance Officer and 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
|
(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, as amended, 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
615 East Michigan Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
|
Advisor
|
SanJac Alpha, LP
3033 W. Alabama
Houston, Texas 77098
|
Registrant's Custodian
|
U.S. Bank, National Association
1555 North River Center Drive, Suite 302
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212
|
Registrant's Distributor
|
Quasar Distributors, LLC
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101
|
Item 34. Management Services
All management-related service contracts entered into by Registrant are discussed in Parts A and B of this Registration Statement.
Item 35. Undertakings
The Registrant hereby undertakes to furnish each person to whom a Prospectus for one or more of the series of the Registrant is delivered with a copy of the relevant latest annual report to shareholders, upon request and without charge.
8
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the Registrant certifies that this Post-Effective Amendment No. 158 to its Registration Statement meets all of the requirements for effectiveness pursuant to Rule 485(b) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Registrant has duly caused this Post-Effective Amendment No. 158 to its Registration Statement on Form N-1A to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, on August 27, 2024.
MANAGER DIRECTED PORTFOLIOS
By: /s/ Scott M. Ostrowski
Scott M. Ostrowski
President
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Post-Effective Amendment No. 158 to its Registration Statement has been signed below on August 27, 2024by the following persons in the capacities indicated.
|
Signature
|
Title
|
James R. Schoenike*
James R. Schoenike
|
Trustee
|
Gaylord B. Lyman*
Gaylord B. Lyman
|
Trustee
|
Scott Craven Jones*
Scott Craven Jones
|
Trustee
|
Lawrence T. Greenberg*
Lawrence T. Greenberg
|
Trustee
|
/s/ Scott M. Ostrowski
Scott M. Ostrowski
|
President (Principal Executive Officer)
|
/s/ Ryan S. Frank
Ryan S. Frank
|
Treasurer (Principal Financial Officer)
|
* By: /s/ Scott M. Ostrowski
Scott M. Ostrowski
* Attorney-in-Fact pursuant to Power of Attorneypreviously filed with Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-14 with the SEC on September 6, 2023 and is incorporated by reference.
|
9
EXHIBIT INDEX
|
Exhibit
|
Exhibit No.
|
Investment Advisory Agreement between the Trust and SanJac Alpha LP
|
EX.99(d)
|
Amendment to the ETF Distribution Agreement dated March 1, 2024
|
EX.99(e)(2)
|
Amendment to the Custody Agreement dated May 10, 2024
|
EX.99(g)(2)
|
ETF Distribution Services Agreement dated September 18, 2023
|
EX.99(h)(1)
|
Amendment to the Fund Administration Servicing Agreement May 10, 2024
|
EX.99(h)(2)(ii)
|
Amendment to the Transfer Agent Servicing Agreement May 10, 2024
|
EX.99(h)(3)(ii)
|
Amendment to the Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement May 10, 2024
|
EX.99(h)(4)(ii)
|
Opinion and Consent of Counsel
|
EX.99(i)
|
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
|
EX.99(j)
|
Code of Ethics of Adviser
|
EX.99(p)(2)
|