485APOS 1 tm2126418d1_485apos.htm 485APOS

 

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 31, 2021

 

No. 333-191019

No. 811-22883

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

FORM N-1A

 

  REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
x
  Pre-Effective Amendment No.  ¨
  Post-Effective Amendment No. 28 x
and/or

 

  REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT
COMPANY ACT OF 1940

x
  Amendment No. 33 x
  (Check appropriate box or boxes)  

 

ARK ETF Trust

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

 

c/o ARK Investment Management LLC
3 East 28th Street, Seventh Floor
New York, NY 10016
(Address of Principal Executive Office)

 

Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code:  (212) 426-7040

 

  With a copy to With a copy to:
Corporation Service Company Kellen Carter, Esq. Allison Fumai, Esq.
2711 Centerville Road, Suite 400 Chief Compliance Officer Dechert LLP
Wilmington, DE 19808 ARK Investment Management LLC

1095 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10036

(Name and Address of Agent for 3 East 28th Street, Seventh Floor  
Service) New York, NY 10016  

 

IT IS PROPOSED THAT THIS FILING WILL BECOME EFFECTIVE (CHECK APPROPRIATE BOX)

 

¨ Immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)
¨ On _______________ pursuant to paragraph (b)
¨ 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
¨ On _______________ pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
x 75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)
¨ On _______________ pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of rule 485

 

IF APPROPRIATE, CHECK THE FOLLOWING BOX:

 

¨ This post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment

 

 

 

 

  

 

  

Subject to Completion 

Preliminary Prospectus dated August 31, 2021

 

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

 

Prospectus

[ ], 2021

 

ARK ETF Trust Thematic Index ETFs

 

ETF   [Exchange]
Ticker Symbol
   
ARK Transparency ETF   [ ]    

 

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

 

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

SUMMARY INFORMATION   1
ARK Transparency ETF ([ ])   1
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND’S INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS   7
Investment Objective of the Fund   7
Principal Investment Strategies   7
Principal Risks   7
Additional Investment Strategies   11
Additional Risks   12
Portfolio Holdings   13
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND   13
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION   14
Pricing of Fund Shares   14
Buying and Selling Shares   14
Distribution and Service Plan   14
Dividends and Distributions   15
Tax Consequences   15
Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Fund Shares   17
TAX-ADVANTAGED PRODUCT STRUCTURE   18
INDEX PROVIDER AND INDEX DESCRIPTION   18
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS   19
PREMIUM/DISCOUNT INFORMATION   20
GENERAL INFORMATION   20
OTHER INFORMATION   21

 

2 

 

  

SUMMARY INFORMATION

 

ARK Transparency ETF ([ ])

 

Investment Objective

 

The ARK Transparency ETF (“Fund”) seeks to provide investment results that closely correspond, before fees and taxes, to the performance of the Transparency IndexTM (“Index”).

 

Fund Fees and Expenses

 

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). Investors may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries on their purchases and sales of Shares, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)   None 
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
    
Management Fee   [ ]%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees   [ ]%
Other Expenses(a)(b)   [ ]%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses(b)   [ ]%

 

(a)Pursuant to a Supervision Agreement, ARK Investment Management LLC (“Adviser”) pays all other expenses of the Fund (other than taxes and governmental fees, brokerage fees, commissions and other transaction expenses, certain foreign custodial fees and expenses, costs of borrowing money, including interest expenses, and extraordinary expenses (such as litigation and indemnification expenses)).

 

(b)Other Expenses and Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses are based on estimated expenses 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. This example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you pay when purchasing or selling Shares.

 

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% annual return 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:

 

Year   Expenses
1   $ [ ]
3   $ [ ]

  

1 

 

 

Portfolio Turnover

 

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it purchases and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may result in higher transaction costs and higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, may affect the Fund’s performance. This Fund is newly offered. Therefore, it does not have a turnover rate to report for the most recent fiscal year.

 

Principal Investment Strategies

 

The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its total assets in securities that are included in the Fund’s benchmark Index and depositary receipts representing securities included in the Index. This 80% investment policy is non-fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.

 

The Index is designed to track the price movements of stocks of approximately 100 companies that receive high scores for transparency based on a proprietary scoring methodology developed by the Index provider, Transparency, LLC. This scoring methodology measures the transparency level of a company across various indicators, such as the company’s adoption of certain transparency standards, the company’s involvement in certain legal proceedings, and the company’s reputation. The Index has been created and licensed to the Adviser by the Index provider and is calculated, published and distributed by Solactive AG (“Solactive”). Information regarding the Index is available at http://www.solactive.com.

 

The Index is comprised of equity securities and American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) traded on U.S. public securities exchanges. Companies operating in the following industries, as determined by the Index provider, are excluded from the Index: (i) alcohol, (ii) banking, (iii) chemicals, (iv) confectionary, (v) fossil fuel transportation, (vi) gambling, (vii) metals, (viii) mineral, (ix) natural gas, (x) oil, and (xi) tobacco. To be included in the Index, a company must maintain a 30-day moving average market capitalization of at least $1 billion, and meet other criteria as established by the Index provider. Securities included in the Index are equally weighted and the Index is rebalanced quarterly.

 

The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to approximate, before fees and expenses, the investment performance of the Index by investing in a portfolio of securities that generally replicates the Index. The Fund generally will use a replication strategy. A replication strategy is an indexing strategy that involves investing in the securities of the Index in approximately the same proportions as in the Index. However, the Fund may utilize a representative sampling strategy with respect to the Index when it might not be possible or practicable to purchase all of the securities of the Index in approximately the same proportions as in the Index, such as when there are practical difficulties or substantial costs involved in compiling a portfolio of securities to replicate the Index, in instances in which a security in the Index becomes temporarily illiquid, unavailable or less liquid, or as a result of legal restrictions or limitations (such as tax diversification requirements) that apply to the Fund but not the Index. There also may be instances in which the Adviser may choose to underweight or overweight a security in the Index, purchase securities not in the Index that the Adviser believes are appropriate to substitute for certain securities in the Index or utilize various combinations of other available investment techniques in seeking to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The Fund may sell securities that are represented in the Index in anticipation of their removal from the Index or purchase securities not represented in the Index in anticipation of their addition to the Index. The Fund does not take temporary defensive positions when markets decline or appear overvalued.

 

If the Fund uses a replication strategy, it can be expected to have greater correlation to the Index than if it uses a representative sampling strategy.

 

The Fund may concentrate its investments in a particular industry or group of industries to the extent that the Index concentrates in an industry or group of industries.

 

The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), which means that it may invest a high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers.

 

Principal Risks

 

There is no assurance that the Fund will meet its investment objective. The value of your investment in the Fund, as well as the amount of return you receive on your investment in the Fund, may fluctuate significantly. You may lose part or all of your investment in the Fund or your investment may not perform as well as other similar investments. Therefore, you should consider carefully the following risks before investing in the Fund. The principal risks of investing in the Fund listed below are presented alphabetically to facilitate your ability to find particular risks and compare them with the risks of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.

 

2 

 

 

Equity Securities Risk. The value of the equity securities the Fund holds may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the issuers of securities the Fund holds participate or factors relating to specific companies in which the Fund invests. These can include stock movements, purchases or sales of securities by the Fund, government policies, litigation and changes in interest rates, inflation, the financial condition of the securities’ issuer or perceptions of the issuer, or economic conditions in general or specific to the issuer. Equity securities may also be particularly sensitive to general movements in the stock market, and a decline in the broader market may affect the value of the Fund’s equity investments.

 

Depositary Receipts Risk. ADRs are securities typically issued by a bank or trust company that evidence ownership of underlying securities issued by a foreign corporation and entitle the holder to all dividends and capital gains that are paid out on the underlying foreign securities. The issuers of certain depositary receipts are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Investment in depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. Depositary receipts may not necessarily be denominated in the same currency as the underlying securities into which they may be converted. In addition, the issuers of the stock underlying unsponsored depositary receipts are not obligated to disclose material information in the United States.

 

Authorized Participants Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants (“APs”) on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that those APs exit the business or are unable to process creation and/or redemption orders, and no other AP is able to step forward to create and redeem in either of these cases, Shares may possibly trade at a discount to net asset value (“NAV”). The AP risk may be heightened in the case of exchange traded funds (“ETFs”) investing internationally because international ETFs often require APs to post collateral, which only certain APs are able to do.

 

Index Tracking Risk.  The Fund’s return may not track the performance of the Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs a number of operating expenses not applicable to the Index and incurs costs associated with buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. The Fund also bears the costs and risks associated with buying and selling securities while such costs and risks are not factored into the return of the Index. When the Fund’s Index is rebalanced and the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio to attempt to increase the correlation between the Fund’s portfolio and its Index, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne directly by the Fund and its shareholders. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Fund’s Index, which may increase the costs to and the tracking error risk of the Fund. In addition, the Fund may not be able to invest in certain securities included in the Index, or may not be able to invest in them in the exact proportions in which they are represented in the Index, due to legal restrictions or limitations imposed by the governments of certain countries, potential adverse tax consequences or other regulatory reasons. The risk that the Fund may not track the performance of the Index may be magnified during times of heightened market volatility or other unusual market conditions. A lack of liquidity may be due to various events, including markets events, economic conditions or investor perceptions. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value and their value may be lower than market price of comparable liquid securities, which would negatively affect the Fund’s performance. To the extent the Fund calculates its NAV based on “fair value” prices for certain securities and the value of the Index is based on securities’ closing prices (i.e., the value of the Index is not based on “fair value” prices), the Fund’s ability to track the Index may be adversely affected. For tax efficiency purposes, the Fund may sell certain securities to realize losses causing it to deviate from the Index. Errors in the construction or calculation of the Index may occur from time to time and any such errors may not be immediately identified and corrected by Solactive, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders.

 

Concentration Risk. The Fund’s assets may be concentrated in a particular industry or group of industries to the extent the Index concentrates in a particular industry or group of industries. If the Fund’s assets are concentrated in a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund will be subject to the risk that economic, political or other conditions that have a negative effect on that industry or group of industries will negatively impact the Fund to a greater extent than if the Fund’s assets were invested in a wider variety of industries.

 

Cyber Security Risk. As the use of Internet technology has become more prevalent in the course of business, funds have become more susceptible to potential operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cyber security breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding, but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks through efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cyber security breaches of the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent or custodian, or issuers in which the Fund invests, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. While the Fund has established business continuity plans and risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems. Additionally, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third-party service providers.

 

3 

 

  

Emerging Market Securities Risk.   Investment in securities of emerging market issuers may present risks that are greater than or different from those associated with foreign securities due to less developed and liquid markets and such factors as increased economic, political, regulatory, or other uncertainties.

 

Foreign Securities Risk. The Fund’s investments in foreign securities can be riskier than U.S. securities investments. Investments in the securities of foreign issuers (including investments in ADRs) are subject to the risks associated with investing in those foreign markets, such as heightened risks of inflation or nationalization. The prices of foreign securities and the prices of U.S. securities have, at times, moved in opposite directions. In addition, securities of foreign issuers may lose value due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market. During periods of social, political or economic instability in a country or region, the value of a foreign security traded on U.S. exchanges could be affected by, among other things, increasing price volatility, illiquidity, or the closure of the primary market on which the security (or the security underlying the ADR) is traded. You may lose money due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market.

 

Index Construction Risk. Because the Index provider excludes stocks of companies operating in certain industries from the Index, the Fund may perform differently than other funds that do not apply similar exclusion criteria. Furthermore, there may be differences in interpretation regarding what it means for a company to operate in a particular industry. The Index provider’s assessment of a company may differ from that of another investor or investment manager.

 

Issuer Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk that the value of the Fund’s portfolio may decline due to a decline in value of the equity securities of particular issuers. The value of an issuer’s equity securities may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer, such as management performance and reduced demand for the issuer’s goods or services.

 

Large-Capitalization Companies Risk. Large-capitalization companies are generally less volatile than companies with smaller market capitalizations. In exchange for this potentially lower risk, the value of large-capitalization companies may not rise as much as that of companies with smaller market capitalizations.

 

Market Risk.   The value of the Fund’s assets will fluctuate as the markets in which the Fund invests fluctuate. The value of the Fund’s investments may decline, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably, simply because of economic changes or other events, such as inflation (or expectations for inflation), deflation (or expectations for deflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, market instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers, regulatory events, other governmental trade or market control programs and related geopolitical events. In addition, the value of the Fund’s investments may be negatively affected by the occurrence of global events such as war, terrorism, environmental disasters, natural disasters or events, exchange trading suspensions and closures (including exchanges of the Fund’s underlying securities), infectious disease outbreaks or pandemics.

 

For example, the outbreak of COVID-19, a novel coronavirus disease, has negatively affected economies, markets and individual companies throughout the world, including those in which the Fund invests. The effects of this pandemic to public health and business and market conditions, including exchange trading suspensions and closures may continue to have a significant negative impact on the performance of the Fund’s investments, increase the Fund’s volatility, negatively impact the Fund’s arbitrage and pricing mechanisms, exacerbate pre-existing political, social and economic risks to the Fund, and negatively impact broad segments of businesses and populations. The Fund’s operations may be interrupted as a result, which may contribute to the negative impact on investment performance. In addition, governments, their regulatory agencies, or self-regulatory organizations may take actions in response to the pandemic that affect the instruments in which the Fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that could have a significant negative impact on the Fund’s investment performance. The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, or other future epidemics or pandemics, is currently unknown.

 

Market Trading Risk. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including disruptions to the creation and redemption processes of the Fund, losses from trading in secondary markets, the existence of extreme market volatility or potential lack of an active trading market for Shares due to market stress, which may result in Shares trading at a significant premium or discount to their NAV. If a shareholder purchases Shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells Shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses.

 

4 

 

  

New Fund Risk. There can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size, in which case the Board may determine to liquidate the Fund if it determines that liquidation is in the best interest of shareholders. Liquidation of the Fund can be initiated without shareholder approval. As a result, the timing of the Fund’s liquidation may not be favorable.

 

Non-Diversified Risk.  The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the 1940 Act. Therefore, the Fund may invest a relatively higher percentage of its assets in a relatively smaller number of issuers or may invest a larger proportion of its assets in a single issuer. As a result, the gains and losses on a single investment may have a greater impact on the Fund’s NAV and may make the Fund more volatile than more diversified funds.

 

Portfolio Turnover Risk.   The Index is adjusted to add or remove companies once per quarter. As companies leave and enter the Index, the Fund’s portfolio will be adjusted to match the current Index composition. This practice can result in the realization of capital gains or losses and can have adverse tax consequences for you as an investor. Because the Fund will buy and sell securities as needed to maintain its correlation to the Index, portfolio turnover in the Fund may be substantial.

 

Replication Management Risk.   An investment in the Fund involves risks similar to those of investing in any fund of equity securities traded on an exchange, such as market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic and political developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in security prices. However, because the Fund is not “actively” managed, unless a specific security is removed from the Index through quarterly rebalancing or otherwise because it no longer qualifies to be included in the Index, the Fund generally will not sell a security because the security’s issuer is in financial trouble. Therefore, the Fund’s performance could be lower than funds that may actively shift their portfolio assets to take advantage of market opportunities or to lessen the impact of a market decline or a decline in the value of one or more issuers.

 

Sampling Risk.   The Fund’s use of a representative sampling approach may result in it holding a smaller number of securities than are in the Index. As a result, an adverse development respecting an issuer of securities held by the Fund could result in a greater decline in NAV than would be the case if the Fund held all of the securities in the Index. Conversely, a positive development relating to an issuer of securities in the Index that is not held by the Fund could cause the Fund to underperform the Index. To the extent the assets in the Fund are smaller, these risks will be greater. A representative sampling strategy may increase the Fund’s susceptibility to Index Tracking Risk.

 

Small- and Medium-Capitalization Companies Risk.   Small- and medium-capitalization companies may be more volatile and more likely than large-capitalization companies to have narrower product lines, fewer financial resources, less management depth and experience and less competitive strength. Returns on investments in securities of small- and medium-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies.

 

Performance

 

The Fund is newly offered. Performance history will be available for the Fund after it has been in operation for a full calendar year. Once available, the Fund’s performance information will be accessible on the Fund’s website at http://ark-funds.com.

 

Management of the Fund

 

Investment Adviser.  ARK Investment Management LLC.

 

Portfolio Manager.  The following individual has been primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio since the inception of the Fund in [ ], 2021: Catherine D. Wood.

 

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

 

The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in a large specified number of Shares each called a “Creation Unit,” or multiples thereof, and only with APs who have entered into contractual arrangements with the Fund’s distributor (“Distributor”).

 

5 

 

 

Individual Shares (rather than Creation Units) of the Fund may only be purchased and sold on a national securities exchange through a broker or dealer at market price. The prices at which individual Shares may be purchased and sold on a national securities exchange through brokers are based on market prices and, because Shares will trade at market prices rather than at NAV, individual Shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than or less than NAV. Shares of the Fund are listed on [ ].

 

An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (ask) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”).

 

Recent information, including information about the Fund’s NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads, is included on the Fund’s website at http://ark-funds.com.

 

Tax Information

 

The Fund’s distributions are taxable and generally will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

 

The Adviser and its related companies may pay broker/dealers or other financial intermediaries (such as a bank) for the sale of the Fund Shares and related services. These payments create a conflict of interest by influencing your broker/dealer, sales persons or other intermediary or its employees or associated persons to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your financial adviser or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

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6

 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND’S INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS

 

Investment Objective of the Fund

 

The Fund’s investment objective is non-fundamental and may be changed by the Board of Trustees (“Board”) of ARK ETF Trust (“Trust”) without shareholder approval. There is no assurance that the Fund will meet its investment objective.

 

Principal Investment Strategies

 

The Adviser anticipates that, generally, the Fund will hold or gain exposure to all of the securities that constitute the Index in proportion to each security’s weighting in the Index. However, under various circumstances, it may not be possible or practicable to purchase all of those securities in those weightings. In these circumstances, the Fund may purchase a sample of securities in the Index. There also may be instances in which the Adviser may choose to underweight or overweight a security in an Index, purchase securities not in the Index that the Adviser believes are appropriate to substitute for certain securities in the Index or utilize various combinations of other available investment techniques in seeking to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The Fund may sell securities that are represented in the Index in anticipation of their removal from the Index or purchase securities not represented in the Index in anticipation of their addition to the Index. The Fund may also, in order to comply with the tax diversification requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (“Internal Revenue Code”), temporarily invest in securities not included in the Index that are expected to be highly correlated with the securities included in the Index.

 

Principal Risks

 

The value of your investment in the Fund, as well as the amount of return you receive on your investment in the Fund, may fluctuate significantly. You may lose part or all of your investment in the Fund or your investment may not perform as well as other similar investments. Therefore, you should consider carefully the following risks before investing in the Fund.

 

Equity Risk.  The value of the equity securities that the Fund holds will fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the issuers of such securities participate or factors relating to specific companies in which the Fund invests. An unfavorable earnings report or a failure to make anticipated dividend payments by an issuer whose securities are held by the Fund may affect the value of the Fund’s investment. Equity securities may also be particularly sensitive to general movements in the stock market, and a decline in the broader market may affect the value of the Fund’s equity investments.

 

Depositary Receipts Risk. ADRs are securities typically issued by a bank or trust company that evidence ownership of underlying securities issued by a foreign corporation and entitle the holder to all dividends and capital gains that are paid out on the underlying foreign securities. The issuers of certain depositary receipts are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Investment in depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. Depositary receipts may not necessarily be denominated in the same currency as the underlying securities into which they may be converted. In addition, the issuers of the stock underlying unsponsored depositary receipts are not obligated to disclose material information in the United States. With respect to the Fund, investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market and, if not included in the Index, may negatively affect the Fund’s ability to replicate the performance of the Index. In addition, investments in depositary receipts that are not included in the Index may increase tracking error.

 

Authorized Participants Concentration Risk.   The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as APs on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that those APs exit the business or are unable to process creation and/or redemption orders, and no other AP is able to step forward to create and redeem in either of these cases, Shares may possibly trade at a discount to NAV. The AP risk may be heightened in the case of ETFs investing internationally because international ETFs often require APs to post collateral, which only certain APs are able to do.

 

7

 

 

Index Tracking Risk. The Fund’s return may not track the performance of the Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs a number of operating expenses not applicable to the Index and incurs costs associated with buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the applicable Index. The Fund also bears the costs and risks associated with buying and selling securities while such costs and risks are not factored into the return of the Index. When the Index is rebalanced and the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio to attempt to increase the correlation between the Fund’s portfolio and the Index, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne directly by the Fund and its shareholders. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index, which may increase the costs to and the tracking error risk of the Fund. In addition, the Fund may not be able to invest in certain securities included in the Index or may not be able to invest in them in the exact proportions in which they are represented in the Index, due to legal restrictions or limitations imposed by the governments of certain countries, potential adverse tax consequences or other regulatory reasons. The risk that the Fund may not track the performance of the Index may be magnified during times of heightened market volatility or other unusual market conditions. A lack of liquidity may be due to various events, including markets events, economic conditions or investor perceptions. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value and their value may be lower than market price of comparable liquid securities, which would negatively affect the Fund’s performance. To the extent the Fund calculates its NAV based on “fair value” prices for certain securities and the value of the Index is based on securities’ closing prices (i.e., the value of the Index is not based on “fair value” prices), the Fund’s ability to track the Index may be adversely affected. For tax efficiency purposes, the Fund may sell certain securities to realize losses causing it to deviate from the Index. Errors in the construction or calculation of the Index may occur from time to time and any such errors may not be immediately identified and corrected by Solactive, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders.

 

Concentration Risk. The Fund’s assets may be concentrated in a particular industry or group of industries to the extent the Index concentrates in a particular industry or group of industries. If the Fund’s assets are concentrated in a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund will be subject to the risk that economic, political or other conditions that have a negative effect on that industry or group of industries will negatively impact the Fund to a greater extent than if the Fund’s assets were invested in a wider variety of industries.

 

Cyber Security Risk. As the use of Internet technology has become more prevalent in the course of business, funds have become more susceptible to potential operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cyber security breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding, but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks through efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cyber security breaches of the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent or custodian, or issuers in which the Fund invests, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. While the Fund has established business continuity plans and risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems. Additionally, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third-party service providers.

 

Emerging Market Securities Risk.   Investment in securities (including depositary receipts) of emerging market issuers may present risks that are greater than or different from those associated with foreign securities due to less developed and liquid markets and such factors as increased social, economic, political, regulatory, or other uncertainties. These risks include: smaller market capitalization of and less liquidity in securities markets, significant price volatility, restrictions on foreign investment and repatriation, greater social, economic and political uncertainty and instability, civil conflicts and war, more substantial governmental involvement in the economy, less governmental supervision and regulation, sanctions or other measures by the United States or other governments, higher transaction costs, unavailability of currency hedging techniques, less stringent investor protection standards, differences in accounting, auditing, financial reporting and recordkeeping standards, which may result in unavailability of material information about issuers and less developed legal systems. In addition, the Fund is limited in its ability to exercise its legal rights or enforce a counterparty’s legal obligations in certain jurisdictions outside of the United States, in particular, in emerging markets countries. Emerging markets may also be particularly sensitive to future economic or political crises, which could lead to or exacerbate existing price controls, forced mergers, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, seizure, nationalization or creation of government monopolies. Emerging market currencies may experience significant declines against the U.S. dollar. Inflation and rapid fluctuations in inflation rates have had, and may continue to have, negative effects on the economies and securities markets of certain emerging market countries. Events and evolving conditions in certain economies or markets may alter the risks associated with investments tied to countries or regions that historically were perceived as comparatively stable becoming riskier and more volatile. These risks are magnified in emerging markets.

 

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Foreign Securities Risk.  Investment in the securities of foreign issuers involves risks beyond those associated with investments in U.S. securities. These additional risks include greater market volatility, the availability of less reliable financial information, higher transactional and custody costs, taxation by foreign governments, decreased market liquidity and political instability. Because many foreign securities markets may be limited in size, the prices of securities that trade in such markets may be influenced by large traders. Certain foreign markets that have historically been considered relatively stable may become volatile in response to changed conditions or new developments. Increased interconnectivity of world economies and financial markets increases the possibility that adverse developments and conditions in one country or region will affect the stability of economies and financial markets in other countries or regions. Foreign issuers are often subject to less stringent requirements regarding accounting, auditing, financial reporting and record keeping than are U.S. issuers, and therefore, not all material information may be available or reliable. In addition, the Fund may not receive shareholder communications or be permitted to vote the securities that it holds, as the issuers may be under no legal obligation to distribute shareholder communications.

 

Certain issuers located in foreign countries in which the Fund may invest may operate in, or have dealings with, countries subject to sanctions and/or embargoes imposed by the U.S. Government and the United Nations and/or countries identified by the U.S. Government as state sponsors of terrorism. As a result, an issuer may sustain damage to its reputation if it is identified as an issuer which operates in, or has dealings with, such countries. The Fund, as an investor in such issuers, will be indirectly subject to those risks.

 

Index Construction Risk. Because the Index provider excludes stocks of companies operating in certain industries from the Index, the Fund may perform differently than other funds that do not apply similar exclusion criteria. Furthermore, there may be differences in interpretation regarding what it means for a company to operate in a particular industry. The Index provider’s assessment of a company may differ from that of another investor or investment manager.

 

Issuer Risk.  Because the Fund may invest in a limited number of issuers, it is subject to the risk that the value of the Fund’s portfolio may decline due to a decline in value of the equity securities of particular issuers. The value of an issuer’s equity securities may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer’s goods or services. The value of an individual security or particular type of security can be more volatile than the market as a whole and can perform differently from the value of the market as a whole. The value of securities of smaller issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers. A change in the financial condition, market perception or credit rating of an issuer of securities included in the Fund’s portfolio may cause the value of its securities to decline.

 

Large-Capitalization Companies Risk.  Large-capitalization companies tend to go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions. Large-capitalization companies generally are less volatile than companies with smaller market capitalizations. In exchange for this potentially lower risk, the value of large capitalization companies may not rise as much as that of smaller-capitalization companies.

 

Market Risk. The value of the Fund’s assets will fluctuate as the markets in which the Fund invests fluctuate. The value of the Fund’s investments may decline, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably, simply because of economic changes or other events, such as inflation (or expectations for inflation), deflation (or expectations for deflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, market instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers, regulatory events, other governmental trade or market control programs and related geopolitical events. In addition, the value of the Fund’s investments may be negatively affected by the occurrence of global events such as war, terrorism, environmental disasters, natural disasters or events, country instability, and infectious disease epidemics or pandemics.

 

For example, the outbreak of COVID-19, a novel coronavirus disease, has negatively affected economies, markets and individual companies throughout the world, including those in which the Fund invests. The effects of this pandemic to public health and business and market conditions, including exchange trading suspensions and closures may continue to have a significant negative impact on the performance of the Fund’s investments, increase the Fund’s volatility, negatively impact the Fund’s arbitrage and pricing mechanisms, exacerbate pre-existing political, social and economic risks to the Fund, and negatively impact broad segments of businesses and populations. The Fund’s operations may be interrupted as a result, which may contribute to the negative impact on investment performance. In addition, governments, their regulatory agencies, or self-regulatory organizations may take actions in response to the pandemic that affect the instruments in which the Fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that could have a significant negative impact on the Fund’s investment performance. The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, or other future epidemics or pandemics, is currently unknown.

 

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Market Trading Risk.  The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including disruptions to the creation and redemption processes of the Fund, losses from trading in secondary markets, the existence of extreme market volatility or potential lack of an active trading market for Shares due to market stress that may result in Shares trading at a significant premium or discount to NAV. The NAV of Shares will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s securities holdings. The market prices of Shares will fluctuate in accordance with changes in their NAV and supply and demand on the Exchange. The Adviser cannot predict whether Shares will trade below, at or above their NAV. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for Shares will be closely related to, but not identical to, the same forces influencing the prices of the securities in the Fund’s portfolio trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. If a shareholder purchases Shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells Shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses. Any of these factors, discussed above and further below, may lead to Shares trading at a premium or discount to the Fund’s NAV.

 

While Shares are listed on an exchange (“Exchange”), there can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will be maintained. Further, secondary markets may be subject to irregular trading activity, wide bid/ask spreads and extended trade settlement periods in times of market stress because market makers and APs may step away from making a market in the Shares and in executing creation and redemption orders, which could cause a material deviation in the Fund’s market price from its NAV. The Fund’s distributor, does not maintain a secondary market in the Shares. Investors purchasing and selling shares in the secondary market may not experience investment results consistent with those experienced by those APs creating and redeeming directly with the Fund.

 

Decisions by market makers or APs to reduce their role or “step away” from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying value of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund Shares trading at a price which differs materially from NAV and also in greater than normal intraday bid/ask spreads for Fund Shares.

 

New Fund Risk. There can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size, in which case the Board may determine to liquidate the Fund if it determines that liquidation is in the best interest of shareholders. Liquidation of the Fund can be initiated without shareholder approval. As a result, the timing of the Fund’s liquidation may not be favorable.

 

Non-Diversified Risk.  Investment companies are classified as either “diversified” or “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act. The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the 1940 Act, although it is diversified for Internal Revenue Code purposes. An investment company classified as “diversified” under the 1940 Act is subject to certain limitations with respect to the value of the company’s assets invested in particular issuers. As a non-diversified investment company, the Fund is subject to the risk that it will be more volatile than a diversified fund because the Fund may invest a relatively higher proportion of its assets in a relatively smaller number of issuers or may invest a larger proportion of its assets in a single issuer. As a result, the gains and losses on a single investment may have a greater impact on the Fund’s NAV and may make the Fund more volatile than more diversified funds.

 

Operational Risk.   The Fund is exposed to operational risk arising from a number of factors, including but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third- parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or system failures. Additionally, the success of the Fund will depend in part upon the skill and expertise of certain personnel of the Adviser, and there can be no assurance that any such personnel will continue to be associated with the Fund.

 

Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Index is adjusted to add or remove companies once per quarter. As companies leave and enter the Index, the Fund’s portfolio will be adjusted to match the applicable Index’s current composition. This practice can result in the realization of capital gains or losses and can have adverse tax consequences for you as an investor. Because the Fund will buy and sell securities as needed to maintain its correlation to the applicable Index, portfolio turnover in the Fund may be substantial.

 

Replication Management Risk. The Fund is managed to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. Therefore, unless a specific security is removed from the Index on a quarterly basis or otherwise removed from the Index because it no longer qualifies to be included in the Index, the Fund generally would not sell a security because the security’s issuer is in financial trouble. If a specific security is removed from the Index, it is possible that the Fund may be forced to sell such security at an inopportune time or for prices other than at current market values, which could have a negative effect on the Fund’s performance. In addition, the Index may not contain an appropriate or a diversified mix of securities for any particular economic cycle. Because the Fund seeks to replicate the performance of its respective Index, the Adviser will not use techniques or defensive strategies designed to lessen the effects of market volatility or to reduce the impact of periods of market decline. Thus, based on market and economic conditions, the Fund’s performance could be lower than funds that actively shift their portfolio assets to take advantage of market opportunities or to lessen the impact of a market decline or a decline in the value of one or more issuers. Further, the Fund will not invest in money market instruments as part of a temporary defensive strategy to protect against potential securities market declines.

 

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Sampling Risk. The Fund’s use of a representative sampling approach may result in it holding a smaller number of securities than are in the Index. As a result, an adverse development respecting an issuer of securities held by the Fund could result in a greater decline in NAV than would be the case if the Fund held all of the securities in the Index. Conversely, a positive development relating to an issuer of securities in the Index that is not held by the Fund could cause the Index to underperform the Index. To the extent the assets in the Fund are smaller, these risks will be greater. A representative sampling strategy may increase the Fund’s susceptibility to Index Tracking Risk.

 

Shareholder Risk.   Certain shareholders may from time to time own a substantial amount of the Fund’s Shares. In addition, a third-party investor, the Adviser or an affiliate of the Adviser, an AP, a market maker, or another entity may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder would not redeem its investment. Redemptions by shareholders could have a negative impact on the Fund. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the Exchange, as applicable, and may, therefore, have a material effect on the market price of the Shares.

 

Small- and Medium-Capitalization Companies Risk.   The Fund may invest in small- and medium-capitalization companies and, therefore, will be subject to certain risks associated with small- and medium-capitalization companies. These companies are often subject to less analyst coverage and may be in early and less predictable periods of their corporate existences, with little or no record of profitability. In addition, these companies often have greater price volatility, lower trading volume and less liquidity than larger more established companies. Small- and medium-capitalization companies tend to have smaller revenues, narrower product lines, less management depth and experience, smaller shares of their product or service markets, fewer financial resources and less competitive strength than large-capitalization companies. Returns on investments in securities of small- and medium-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of larger capitalization companies.

 

Trading Issues.  Trading in Shares on the Exchange 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 the Exchange’s “circuit breaker” rules. If a trading halt or unanticipated early close of the exchange occurs, a shareholder may be unable to purchase or sell shares of the Fund. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged.

 

Additional Investment Strategies

 

The Fund is permitted to invest in securities not included in its Index but which the Adviser believes will help the Fund track the performance of its Index, including (i) certain stock index futures, options, options on stock index futures, swap contracts or other derivatives that relate to the Index and component securities, (ii) cash and cash equivalents and (iii) other investment companies.

 

Certain derivatives not included in an Index are permitted to be used by the Fund in seeking performance that corresponds to the Index, and in managing cash flows, and may count towards compliance with the Fund’s 80% policy.

 

The Fund is permitted to invest, to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act, in other affiliated and unaffiliated funds, such as open-end or closed-end management investment companies, including other exchange traded funds.

 

The Fund is permitted to lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions desiring to borrow securities to complete transactions, in pursuing arbitrage opportunities or hedging strategies or for other similar purposes. In connection with such loans, the Fund receives liquid collateral equal to at least 102% of the value of the portfolio securities being lent. This collateral is marked to market on a daily basis. The Fund may lend its portfolio securities in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its assets.

 

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The Fund will not borrow money, except to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act to meet redemptions and only up to 10% of the Fund’s net assets.

 

The Fund will not invest more than 30% of its total assets in securities issued by a single company, fund or of short-term financial products of such company.

 

The Fund will not invest in more than 20% of the total number of outstanding shares issued by a single company or fund.

 

Additional Risks

 

Derivatives Risk.  Derivatives involve risks different from, and, in certain cases, greater than, the risks presented by more traditional investments. These include credit risk, liquidity risk, management risk and leverage risk. Derivative products are highly specialized instruments that require an understanding not only of the underlying instrument but also of the derivative itself, without the benefit of observing the performance of the derivative under all possible market conditions. In particular, the use and complexity of derivatives require the maintenance of adequate controls to monitor the transactions entered into, the ability to assess the risk that a derivative adds to the Fund’s investment portfolio, and the ability to forecast price, interest rate or currency exchange rate movements correctly. The failure of another party to a derivative to comply with the terms may cause the Fund to incur a loss. The credit risk for exchange-traded or centrally cleared derivatives is generally less than for privately negotiated derivatives through the interposition of a clearinghouse to the exchange-traded or centrally-cleared derivative trade, which provides a guarantee of performance. If a derivative transaction is particularly large or if the relevant market is illiquid (as is the case with many privately negotiated derivatives), it may not be possible to initiate a transaction or liquidate a position at an advantageous price. Adverse changes in the value or level of the underlying asset, rate or index can result in a loss substantially greater than the amount invested in the derivative itself.

 

In October 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) adopted a final rule related to the use of derivatives, short sales, reverse repurchase agreements and certain other transactions by registered investment companies that will rescind and withdraw the guidance of the SEC and its staff regarding asset segregation and cover transactions. The final rule requires funds to trade derivatives and other transactions that create future payment or delivery obligations (except reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions) subject to a value-at-risk (“VaR”) leverage limit, certain derivatives risk management program and reporting requirements. Generally, these requirements apply unless a fund qualifies as a “limited derivatives user,” as defined in the final rule. Under the final rule, when a fund trades reverse repurchase agreements or similar financing transactions, including certain tender option bonds, it needs to aggregate 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 the fund’s asset coverage ratio or treat all such transactions as derivatives transactions. Reverse repurchase agreements or similar financing transactions aggregated with other indebtedness do not need to be included in the calculation of whether a fund is a limited derivatives user, but for funds subject to the VaR testing, reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions must be included for purposes of such testing whether treated as derivatives transactions or not. The SEC also provided guidance in connection with the new rule regarding use of securities lending collateral that may limit a fund’s securities lending activities. Compliance with these new requirements will be required after an eighteen-month transition period. Following the compliance date, these requirements may limit the ability of a fund to use derivatives and reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions as part of its investment strategies. These requirements may increase the cost of a fund’s investments and cost of doing business, which could adversely affect investors.

 

Leverage Risk.  To the extent that the Fund borrows money in the limited circumstances described above under “Additional Investment Strategies,” it may be leveraged. Additionally, certain transactions in which the Fund is permitted to engage may present leverage risk. The Fund may segregate or “earmark” liquid assets or otherwise cover such transactions in an effort to mitigate the leverage risk such transactions present. Leveraging generally exaggerates the effect on NAV of any increase or decrease in the market value of the Fund’s portfolio securities. Leveraging may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions to satisfy its obligations or to meet segregation requirements when it may not be advantageous to do so. Leveraging, including borrowing, may cause the Fund to be more volatile than if the Fund had not been leveraged.

 

Securities Lending Risk.  Although the Fund will receive collateral in connection with all loans of its securities holdings, the Fund would be exposed to a risk of loss should a borrower default on its obligation to return the borrowed securities (e.g., the loaned securities may have appreciated beyond the value of the collateral held by the Fund). In addition, the Fund will bear the risk of loss of any cash collateral that they invest.

 

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Portfolio Holdings

 

A description of the Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio securities is available in the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).

 

MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND

 

Investment Adviser.  ARK Investment Management LLC, located at 3 E. 28th St, Floor 7, New York, NY 10016, serves as the Fund’s investment adviser. The Adviser was formed in June 2013 and registered with the SEC in January 2014. Under the terms of an investment advisory agreement between the Trust and the Adviser with respect to the Fund (“Advisory Agreement”), the Adviser serves as the adviser to the Fund, subject to the general supervision of the Board, and is responsible for the day-to-day investment management of the Fund.

 

Pursuant to a supervision agreement between the Trust and the Adviser with respect to the Fund (“Supervision Agreement”), and subject to the general supervision of the Board, the Adviser provides or causes to be furnished, all supervisory and other services reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund and also bears the costs of various third-party services required by the Fund, including administration, certain custody, audit, legal, transfer agency, and printing costs. The Supervision Agreement also requires the Adviser to provide investment advisory services to the Fund pursuant to the Advisory Agreement.

 

The Fund pays the Adviser a fee (“Management Fee”) in return for providing investment advisory and supervisory services under a comprehensive structure. The Fund will pay a monthly Management Fee to the Adviser at an annual rate (stated as a percentage of the average daily net assets of the Fund) of [ ]%.

 

In addition, the Fund bears other fees and expenses that are not covered by the Supervision Agreement, which may vary and will affect the total expense ratio of the Fund, such as taxes and governmental fees, brokerage fees, commissions and other transaction expenses, certain foreign custodial fees and expenses, costs of borrowing money, including interest expenses, and extraordinary expenses (such as litigation and indemnification expenses).

 

A discussion regarding the Board’s approval of the Advisory Agreement with respect to the Fund will be available in the Trust’s first semi-annual or annual shareholder report for the Fund after commencement of operations for the period ending January 31 or the fiscal year ending July 31, respectively.

 

Administrator, Custodian and Transfer Agent.  The Bank of New York Mellon is the administrator for the Fund (“Administrator”), is the custodian of the Fund’s assets and provides transfer agency, fund accounting and various administrative services to the Fund. The Administrator is responsible for providing certain operational, clerical, recordkeeping and/or bookkeeping services for the Fund.

 

Distributor.  Foreside Fund Services, LLC is the distributor of the Shares of the Fund. The Distributor will not distribute Shares in less than Creation Units, and does not maintain a secondary market in Shares. The Shares are expected to be traded in the secondary market.

 

Portfolio Manager.  Catherine D. Wood serves as Chief Investment Officer of the Fund. Having completed 12 years at AllianceBernstein LP, Ms. Wood founded ARK Investment Management LLC and registered the firm with the SEC in January 2014. At AllianceBernstein LP, Ms. Wood was Chief Investment Officer of Global Thematic Strategies, with $5 billion in assets under management. Ms. Wood joined Alliance Capital in 2001 from Tupelo Capital Management. Prior to that, Ms. Wood worked for 18 years with Jennison Associates as Chief Economist, Equity Research Analyst, Portfolio Manager and Director. Ms. Wood received her B.S., summa cum laude, in Finance and Economics from the University of Southern California in 1981.

 

The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio manager’s compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio manager and the portfolio manager’s ownership of securities.

 

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SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION

 

Pricing of Fund Shares

 

The NAV per Share for the Fund is computed by dividing the value of the net assets of the Fund (i.e., the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by the total number of Shares outstanding. Expenses and fees, including the Management Fee, are accrued daily and taken into account for purposes of determining NAV. The NAV of the Fund is determined each business day as of the close of trading (ordinarily 4:00 p.m., Eastern time) on the New York Stock Exchange. Any assets or liabilities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar are converted into U.S. dollars at the current market rates on the date of valuation as quoted by one or more sources.

 

The values of the Fund’s portfolio securities will be based on market prices. Price information on listed securities and assets will be taken from the exchange where the security or asset is primarily traded. In the absence of a last reported sales price, or if no sales were reported, and for other assets for which market quotes are not readily available, values may be based on quotes obtained from a quotation reporting system, established market makers or by an outside independent pricing service. Prices obtained by an outside independent pricing service will use information provided by market makers or estimates of market values obtained from data related to investments or securities with similar characteristics and may use a computerized grid matrix of securities and its evaluations in determining what it believes is the fair value of the portfolio securities.

 

If a market quotation for a security is not readily available or the Adviser believes it does not otherwise accurately reflect the market value of the security at the time the Fund calculates its NAV, the security will be fair valued by the Adviser in accordance with the Trust’s valuation policies and procedures approved by the Board. The Fund may also use fair value pricing in a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to, situations where the value of a security in the Fund’s portfolio has been materially affected by events occurring after the close of the market on which the security is principally traded (such as a corporate action or other news that may materially affect the price of a security) or when trading in a security has been suspended or halted. Fair value pricing involves subjective judgments and it is possible that a fair value determination for a security may be materially different than the value that could be realized upon the sale of the security. In addition, fair value pricing could result in a difference between the prices used to calculate the Fund’s NAV and the prices used by the Index. This may adversely affect the Fund’s ability to track the Index.

 

Buying and Selling Shares

 

The Shares of the Fund have been approved for listing on [ ]. If you buy or sell Shares in the secondary market, you will incur customary brokerage commissions and charges and may pay some or all of the spread between the bid and the offered price in the secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction. In times of severe market disruption or low trading volume in the Fund’s Shares, this spread can increase significantly. It is anticipated that Shares will trade in the secondary market at prices that may differ to varying degrees from the NAV of Shares. During periods of disruptions to creations and redemptions or the existence of extreme market volatility, the market prices of Shares are more likely to differ significantly from Shares’ NAV.

 

The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) serves as securities depository for Shares. The Shares may be held only in book-entry form; stock certificates will not be issued. DTC, or its nominee, is the record or registered owner of all outstanding Shares. Beneficial ownership of Shares will be shown on the records of DTC or its participants. Beneficial owners of Shares are not considered the registered holder thereof and are subject to the same restrictions and procedures as any beneficial owner of stocks held in book-entry or “street name” form. For more information, see the section entitled “Book Entry Only System” in the Fund’s SAI.

 

The Exchange is open for trading Monday through Friday and are closed on weekends and the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

 

Distribution and Service Plan

 

The Board has adopted a distribution and service plan (“Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Under the Plan, the Fund is authorized to pay distribution fees in connection with the sale and distribution of their Shares and pay service fees in connection with the provision of ongoing services to shareholders.

 

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No Rule 12b-1 fees are currently paid by the Fund, and there are no current plans to impose these fees. In addition, no such fees may be paid in the future without further approval by the Board. However, in the event Rule 12b-1 fees are charged in the future, because these fees are paid out of the Fund’s assets on an ongoing basis, these fees will increase the cost of your investment in the Fund. By purchasing shares subject to distribution and service fees, you may pay more over time than you would by purchasing shares with other types of sales charge arrangements. Long-term shareholders may pay more than the economic equivalent of the maximum front-end sales charge permitted by the rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The net income attributable to the shares of the Fund will be reduced by the amount of distribution and service fees and other expenses of the Fund.

 

Dividends and Distributions

 

The Fund intends to qualify each year as a regulated investment company under the Internal Revenue Code. As a regulated investment company, the Fund generally pays no federal income tax on the income and gains it distributes. Each shareholder of the Fund is entitled to its share of the Fund’s distributions of net investment income and net realized capital gains on its investments. The Fund pays out substantially all of its net earnings to its shareholders as “distributions.”

 

The Fund typically earns income dividends from stocks and interest from debt securities. These amounts, net of expenses, are typically passed along to Fund shareholders as dividends from net investment income. The Fund realizes capital gains or losses whenever it sells securities. Net realized capital gains are distributed to shareholders as “capital gain distributions.” Distributions from the Fund’s net investment income, including net short-term capital gains, if any, are taxable to shareholders as ordinary income. Any long-term capital gains distributions a shareholder receives from the Fund are taxable as long-term capital gain.

 

Net investment income, if any, and net capital gains, if any, are typically distributed to shareholders at least annually. Dividends may be declared and paid more frequently to improve index tracking or to comply with the distribution requirements of the Internal Revenue Code. In addition, the Fund may determine to distribute at least annually amounts representing the full dividend yield net of expenses on the underlying investment securities, as if the Fund owned the underlying investment securities for the entire dividend period. If the Fund so elects, some portion of each distribution may result in a return of capital, which, for tax purposes, is treated as a return of a shareholder’s investment in Shares.

 

Distributions in cash may be reinvested automatically in additional Shares of the Fund only if the broker through whom you purchased Shares makes such option available.

 

Each year, you will receive an annual statement (Form 1099) of your account activity to assist you in completing your federal, state and local tax returns. Distributions declared in December to shareholders of record in such month, but paid in January, are taxable as if they were paid in December. The Fund makes every effort to search for reclassified income to reduce the number of corrected forms mailed to you. However, when necessary, you will receive a corrected Form 1099 to reflect reclassified information.

 

At the time you purchase your Fund Shares, the price of Shares may reflect undistributed income, undistributed capital gains, or net unrealized appreciation in value of portfolio securities held by the Fund. For taxable investors, a subsequent distribution to you of such amounts, although constituting a return of your investment, would be taxable. Buying Shares in the Fund just before it declares an income dividend or capital gains distribution is sometimes known as “buying a dividend.”

 

Tax Consequences

 

General.  As with any investment, you should consider how your Fund investment will be taxed. The tax information in this prospectus is provided as general information. You should consult your own tax professional about the tax consequences of an investment in the Fund, including the possible application of foreign, state and local taxes. Unless your investment in the Fund is through a tax-exempt entity or tax-deferred retirement account, such as a 401(k) plan, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when: (i) the Fund makes distributions, (ii) you sell Shares in the secondary market or (iii) you create or redeem Creation Units.

 

Taxes on Distributions.  As noted above, the Fund expects to distribute net investment income, if any, at least annually, and any net realized long-term or short-term capital gains, if any, annually. The Fund may also pay a special distribution at any time to comply with U.S. federal tax requirements.

 

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Distributions from the Fund’s net investment income, including any net short-term gains, are taxable to you as ordinary income. In general, your distributions are subject to U.S. federal income tax when they are paid, whether you take them in cash or reinvest them in the Fund. Whether distributions of capital gains represent long-term or short-term capital gains is determined by how long the Fund owned the investments that generated them, rather than how long you have owned your Shares. Distributions of net short-term capital gains in excess of net long-term capital losses, if any, are generally taxable as ordinary income. Distributions of net long-term capital gains in excess of net short-term capital losses, if any, that are properly reported as capital gain dividends are generally taxable as long-term capital gains. Long-term capital gains of non-corporate shareholders are generally taxable at a maximum rate of 15% or 20%, depending on whether the shareholder’s income exceeds certain threshold amounts.

 

The Fund may receive dividends, the distribution of which the Fund may designate as qualified dividends. In the event that the Fund receives such a dividend and designates the distribution of such dividend as a qualified dividend, the dividend may be taxed at the maximum capital gains rates, provided holding period and other requirements are met at both the shareholder and the Fund level. Substitute dividends received by the Fund with respect to dividends paid on securities lent out will not be qualified dividend income. There can be no assurance what portion of the Fund’s distributions will be eligible for qualified dividend treatment.

 

Distributions in excess of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits are treated as a tax-free return of your investment to the extent of your basis in Shares, and generally as capital gain thereafter. A return of capital, which for tax purposes is treated as a return of your investment, reduces your basis in Shares, thus reducing any loss or increasing any gain on a subsequent taxable disposition of Shares. A distribution will reduce the Fund’s NAV per Share and may be taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gain even though, from an economic standpoint, the distribution may constitute a return of capital.

 

The use of derivatives by the Fund may cause the Fund to realize higher amounts of ordinary income or short-term capital gain, distributions from which are taxable to individual shareholders at ordinary income tax rates rather than at the more favorable tax rates for long-term capital gain.

 

Dividends, interest and gains from non-U.S. investments of the Fund may give rise to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may, in some cases, reduce or eliminate such taxes.

 

If more than 50% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of its taxable year consist of foreign securities, the Fund may elect (the “Election”) to “pass through” to its investors certain foreign income taxes paid by the Fund, with the result that each investor will (i) include in gross income, as an additional dividend, even though not actually received, the investor’s pro rata share of the Fund’s foreign income taxes, and (ii) either deduct (in calculating U.S. taxable income) or credit (in calculating U.S. federal income), subject to certain holding period and other limitations, the investor’s pro rata share of the Fund’s foreign income taxes. There can be no assurance that the Fund will make the Election.

 

Non-U.S. investors.  Non-U.S. investors may be subject to U.S. withholding tax at a 30% or lower treaty rate and U.S. estate tax and are subject to special U.S. tax certification requirements to avoid backup withholding and claim any treaty benefits.

 

Exemptions from U.S. withholding tax are provided for certain capital gain dividends paid by the Fund from net long-term capital gains, interest-related dividends and short-term capital gain dividends, if such amounts are reported by the Fund. However, notwithstanding such exemptions from U.S. withholding at the source, any such dividends and distributions of income and capital gains will be subject to backup withholding at a rate of 24% if you fail to properly certify that you are not a U.S. person.

 

Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”), a 30% withholding tax on income dividends paid by the Fund to certain foreign entities, referred to as foreign financial institutions or nonfinancial foreign entities, that fail to comply (or be deemed compliant) with extensive reporting and withholding requirements designed to inform the U.S. Department of the Treasury of U.S.-owned foreign investment accounts. Information about a shareholder in the Fund may be disclosed to the IRS, non-U.S. taxing authorities or other parties as necessary to comply with FATCA or similar laws. Withholding also may be required if a foreign entity that is a shareholder of the Fund fails to provide appropriate certifications or other documentation concerning its status under FATCA.

 

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Non-U.S. shareholders are advised to consult their tax advisors with respect to the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in the Fund, including the possible applicability of the U.S. estate tax.

 

Backup Withholding.  The Fund may be required to withhold a percentage of your distributions and proceeds if you have not provided a taxpayer identification number or social security number or otherwise established a basis for exemption from backup withholding. The backup withholding rate for individuals is currently 24%. This is not an additional tax and may be refunded, or credited against your U.S. federal income tax liability, provided certain required information is furnished to the Internal Revenue Service.

 

Taxes on the Sale or Cash Redemption of Exchange Listed Shares.  Currently, any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Shares is generally treated as 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 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 that capital gain dividends were paid with respect to such Shares. The ability to deduct capital losses may be limited. To the extent that the Fund shareholder’s Shares are redeemed for cash, this is normally treated as a sale for tax purposes.

 

Taxes on Creations and Redemptions of Creation Units.  A person who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time of exchange and the sum of the exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and the amount of any cash paid for such Creation Units. A person who exchanges Creation Units for securities 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 the securities received. The Internal Revenue Service, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of primarily securities for Creation Units cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. Persons exchanging securities for Creation Units or redeeming Creation Units should consult their own tax advisor with respect to whether wash sale rules apply and when a loss might be deductible and the tax treatment of any creation or redemption transaction.

 

Under current U.S. federal income tax laws, any capital gain or loss realized upon a redemption (or creation) of Creation Units is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if Shares (or securities surrendered) have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if Shares (or securities surrendered) have been held for one year or less.

 

If you create or redeem Creation Units, you will be sent a confirmation statement showing how many Shares you created or sold and at what price.

 

Medicare Tax.  An additional 3.8% Medicare tax will be imposed on certain net investment income (including ordinary dividends and capital gain distributions received from the Fund and net gains from redemptions or other taxable dispositions of Fund Shares) of U.S. individuals, estates and trusts to the extent that such person’s “modified adjusted gross income” (in the case of an individual) or “adjusted gross income” (in the case of an estate or trust) exceeds certain threshold amounts.

 

The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the consequences under current U.S. federal income tax law of an investment in the Fund. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. Consult your own tax advisor about the potential tax consequences of an investment in the Fund under all applicable tax laws.

 

Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Fund Shares

 

The Board has evaluated the risks of frequent purchases and redemptions of Fund shares (“market timing”) activities by the Fund’s shareholders. The Board noted that Shares can only be purchased and redeemed directly from the Fund in Creation Units by APs and that the vast majority of trading in Shares occurs on the secondary market. Because the secondary market trades do not involve the Fund directly, it is unlikely those trades would cause many of the harmful effects of market timing, including dilution, disruption of portfolio management, increases in the Fund’s trading costs and the realization of capital gains.

 

With respect to trades directly with the Fund, to the extent effected in-kind, those trades do not cause any of the harmful effects (as previously noted) that may result from frequent cash trades. To the extent that the Trust allows or requires trades to be effected in whole or in part in cash, the Board noted that those trades could result in dilution to the Fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. However, the Board noted that direct trading by APs is critical to ensuring that Shares trade at or close to NAV. The Fund also employs fair valuation pricing to minimize potential dilution from market timing. The Fund imposes transaction fees on in-kind purchases and redemptions of Shares to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the Fund in effecting in-kind trades. These fees increase if an investor substitutes cash in part or in whole for securities, reflecting the fact that the Fund’s trading costs increase in those circumstances. Given this structure, the Board determined that it is not necessary to adopt policies and procedures to detect and deter market timing of Shares.

 

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TAX-ADVANTAGED PRODUCT STRUCTURE

 

Unlike many conventional mutual funds which are only bought and sold at closing NAVs, Shares of the Fund have been designed to be tradable in a secondary market on an intra-day basis and to be created and redeemed principally or partially in-kind in Creation Units at each day’s market close. These in-kind arrangements are designed to mitigate adverse effects on the Fund’s portfolio that could arise from frequent cash purchase and redemption transactions that affect the NAV of the Fund. Moreover, in contrast to conventional mutual funds, where frequent redemptions can have an adverse tax impact on taxable shareholders because of the need to sell portfolio securities which, in turn, may generate taxable gain, the in-kind redemption mechanism of the Fund, to the extent used, generally is not expected to lead to a tax event for the Fund or its ongoing shareholders.

 

INDEX PROVIDER AND INDEX DESCRIPTIONS

 

Transparency, LLC, which does not include any of the Adviser’s investment personnel, created the Index. Transparency, LLC has entered into an agreement with Solactive AG (“Solactive”) to calculate, publish and distribute the Index. Solactive is a leading company in the structuring and indexing business for institutional clients. Solactive indices are used by issuers worldwide as underlying indices for financial products. Solactive does not sponsor, endorse or promote the Fund and is not in any way connected to the Fund and does not accept any liability in relation to its issue, operation and trading. Solactive uses its best efforts to ensure that the Index is calculated correctly. Irrespective of its obligations towards Transparency, LLC, Solactive has no obligation to point out errors in the Index to third parties including but not limited to investors and/or financial intermediaries of the Fund. Neither the publication of the Index by Solactive nor the licensing of the Index or its trademark for the purpose of use in connection with the Fund constitutes a recommendation by Solactive to invest capital in the Fund nor does it in any way represent an assurance or opinion of Solactive with regard to any investment in the Fund. Solactive is not responsible for fulfilling the legal requirements concerning the accuracy and completeness of the prospectus of the Fund.

 

Transparency, LLC has licensed the Index to the Adviser. The Fund is entitled to use the Index pursuant to a sub-licensing arrangement with the Adviser at no charge to the Fund. Transparency, LLC makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of Shares of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Shares of the Fund particularly or the ability of the Index to track the performance of its respective securities market. Transparency, LLC has no obligation to take the needs of the Adviser or the owners of Shares of the Fund into consideration in determining or composing the Index. Transparency, LLC is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the Shares of the Fund to be issued or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Shares of the Fund are to be converted into cash. Transparency, LLC has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Shares of the Fund.

 

TRANSPARENCY, LLC DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN AND TRANSPARENCY, LLC SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR INTERRUPTIONS THEREIN. TRANSPARENCY, LLC MAKES NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY THE ADVISER, OWNERS OF SHARES OF THE FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. TRANSPARENCY, LLC MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL TRANSPARENCY, LLC HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING LOST PROFITS), EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

 

The Transparency Index is a thematic impact index that contains approximately 100 of the most transparent companies in the world as determined by a proprietary scoring methodology developed by the Index provider, Transparency, LLC. The Index provider measures the transparency level of each company based on the following six key performance indicators:

 

1.Transparency Standards – the score for this indicator depends on the existence of 10 different types of corporate documents, including privacy standards, customer standards, diversity standards, and ethical standards, and the quality of the content in those documents. Companies that make available written reports or written policies regarding these documents will receive higher scores than companies that do not.

 

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2.Terms and Conditions – the score for this indicator generally depends on the length of a company’s terms and conditions document, with higher scores assigned to companies with documents that are shorter and simpler to understand than documents that are longer or more difficult to understand.

 

3.Total Accountability – the score for this indicator is based on whether a company has been involved in certain types of lawsuits (e.g., class action lawsuits brought by shareholders). A company’s score depends on both the number of lawsuits involving the company, as well as the nature of the claims in those lawsuits. For example, companies involved in lawsuits that allege the company committed financial or accounting fraud will receive lower scores than companies that are involved in lawsuits that do not make those allegations.

 

4.Transparent Cost – the score for this indicator is determined by whether the prices and descriptions for a company’s products or services are clearly stated on the company’s website. Companies that provide more information on their websites, such as prices, costs, and product service details, will receive higher scores than companies that provide less information on their websites. Only companies that sell to consumers will receive a score for this indicator. Business to business companies will not receive score for this indicator.

 

5.Truth – the score for this indicator is based on the aggregate number of lawsuits the company was involved in during the prior 12 months. In general, companies involved in fewer lawsuits during the period will receive higher scores than companies involved in more lawsuits during the period.

 

6.Trust – the score for this indicator is based on multiple sources of corporate reputation rankings. The Index provider applies a weighted average formula to these corporate reputation rankings to determine a company’s weighted average score. Companies with higher weighted average scores receive higher scores for this indicator than companies with lower weighted average scores.

 

A company’s aggregate score across these key performance indicators must exceed a threshold established by the Index provider for the company’s securities to be eligible for inclusion in the Index.

 

Only common stocks and ADRs that are traded on public exchanges in the United States are eligible to be included in the Index. In addition, to be included in the Index, a company must maintain a 30-day moving average market capitalization of at least $1 billion and have a minimum average daily trading volume of at least 200,000 shares over a three-month period.

 

Pre-revenue companies are excluded from the Index. Additionally, companies operating in the following industries, as determined by the Index provider, are excluded from the index: (i) alcohol, (ii) banking, (iii) chemicals, (iv) confectionary, (v) fossil fuel transportation, (vi) gambling, (vii) metals, (viii) mineral, (ix) natural gas, (x) oil, and (xi) tobacco. With certain exceptions, securities that have not started to trade at least 40 days before the Index’s rebalancing date will also be excluded from the Index.

 

The Index is rebalanced on a quarterly basis, with changes becoming effective after the close of trading on the fourth Friday in March, June, September, and December, or the next business day if the market is not open on that day. The securities in the Index are equally weighted as of the rebalancing date. No single security will make up more than 5% of the overall portfolio. In general, the addition or removal of securities will occur on the rebalancing dates, and no changes will be made to the Index between rebalancing dates. The Index provider may delay or change a scheduled rebalancing or reconstitution of the Index or the implementation of certain rules at its sole discretion.

 

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

 

As of the date of this prospectus, the Fund had not yet commenced operations and, therefore, does not have financial information to report.

 

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PREMIUM/DISCOUNT INFORMATION

 

As of the date of this prospectus, the Fund had not yet commenced operations and, therefore, does not have information about the differences between the Fund’s daily market price on the Exchange and its NAV. Information regarding how often the Fund’s Shares traded on the Exchange at a price above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount) the Fund’s NAV during the most recently completed calendar year and the most recently completed calendar quarter(s) since that year (or, if shorter, the period during which the Fund has been in operation), when available, can be found at http://ark-funds.com.

 

GENERAL INFORMATION

 

Continuous Offering

 

The method by which Creation Units are created and traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Units are issued and sold by the Trust on an ongoing basis, at any point a “distribution,” as such term is used in the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“Securities Act”), may occur. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner which could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the Securities Act.

 

For example, a broker-dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory underwriter if it takes Creation Units after placing an order with the Distributor, breaks them down into constituent Shares, and sells such Shares directly to customers, or if it chooses to couple the creation of a supply of new Shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for Shares. A determination of whether a broker-dealer is an underwriter for purposes of the Securities Act must take into account all the facts and circumstances pertaining to the activities of the broker-dealer or its client in the particular case, and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could lead to a categorization as an underwriter.

 

Broker-dealers who are not “underwriters” but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted to ordinary secondary trading transactions), and thus dealing with Shares that are part of an “unsold allotment” within the meaning of Section 4(3)(C) of the Securities Act, would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(3) of the Securities Act. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(3) of the Securities Act is not available in respect of such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. As a result, broker-dealer firms should note that dealers who are not underwriters but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted with ordinary secondary market transactions) and thus dealing with the Shares that are part of an overallotment within the meaning of Section 4(3)(A) of the Securities Act would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(3) of the Securities Act. Firms that incur a prospectus delivery obligation with respect to Shares are reminded that, under Rule 153 of the Securities Act, a prospectus delivery obligation under Section 5(b)(2) of the Securities Act owed to the Exchange member in connection with a sale on the Exchange is satisfied by the fact that the prospectus is available at the Exchange upon request. The prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is only available with respect to transactions on the Exchange.

 

In addition, certain affiliates of the Fund and the Adviser may purchase and resell Fund Shares pursuant to this prospectus.

 

Other Information

 

The Trust was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on June 7, 2013. Its Declaration of Trust currently permits the Trust to issue an unlimited number of Shares of beneficial interest. If shareholders are required to vote on any matters, each Share outstanding would be entitled to one vote. Annual meetings of shareholders will not be held except as required by the 1940 Act and other applicable law. See the Fund’s SAI for more information concerning the Trust’s form of organization.

 

Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by investment companies in the securities of other investment companies, including Shares of the Fund. Registered investment companies are permitted to invest in the Fund beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1) subject to certain terms and conditions set forth in an SEC exemptive order issued to the Trust, including that such investment companies enter into an agreement with the Fund.

 

An AP that is not a “qualified institutional buyer,” as such term is defined under Rule 144A of the Securities Act will not be able to receive, as part of a redemption, restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A.

 

Dechert, LLP serves as counsel to the Trust, including the Fund.

 

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Sullivan & Worcester LLP serves as independent counsel to the independent trustees.

 

[                    ] serves as the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm and will audit the Fund’s financial statements annually.

 

OTHER INFORMATION

 

This prospectus does not contain all the information included in the registration statement filed with the SEC with respect to the Fund. The Fund’s registration statement, including this prospectus, the Fund’s SAI and the exhibits may be examined at the offices of the SEC (100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549) or on the EDGAR database at the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov), and copies may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following email address: publicinfo@sec.gov. These documents and other information concerning the Trust also may be inspected at the offices of Foreside Fund Services, LLC at Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101 or by calling 855-406-1506.

 

The SAI for the Fund, which has been filed with the SEC, provides more information about the Fund. The Fund’s SAI is incorporated herein by reference and is legally part of this prospectus. Additional information about the Fund’s investments will be available in the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In the Fund’s annual report, when available, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund’s performance during its last fiscal year. The SAI and the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports may be obtained without charge by visiting the Fund’s website at http://ark-funds.com/investor-resources, writing to the Fund at c/o ARK Investment Management LLC, 3 E. 28th St, Floor 7, New York, NY 10016 or by calling (212) 426-7040.

 

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Subject to Completion 

Preliminary Statement of Additional Information dated August 31, 2021

 

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

 

ARK ETF TRUST 

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

Dated [ ], 2021

 

This Statement of Additional Information of ARK ETF Trust (“Trust”) is not a prospectus, and should be read in conjunction with the prospectus of the ARK Transparency ETF dated [ ], 2021 (“Prospectus”) as it may be supplemented from time to time.

 

ARK ETF Trust Thematic Index ETFs

 

ETF   [Exchange] Ticker Symbol
ARK Transparency ETF   [ ]

 

Capitalized terms used herein that are not defined have the same meaning as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise noted. Copies of the Prospectus and Annual and Semi-Annual Reports, when available, may be obtained without charge at http://ark-funds.com/investor-resources, by writing to the Trust or the Trust’s distributor, Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the “Distributor”), or by calling 855-406-1506.

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST 1
EXCHANGE LISTING AND TRADING 1
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND RISKS 2
INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS 8
BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE TRUST 9
MANAGEMENT 15
PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS DISCLOSURE 18
CODE OF ETHICS 18
PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES 19
BROKERAGE TRANSACTIONS 19
BOOK ENTRY ONLY SYSTEM 19
CREATION AND REDEMPTION OF CREATION UNITS 20
DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE 26
DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS 27
DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT SERVICE 27
TAXES 27
CAPITAL STOCK AND SHAREHOLDER REPORTS 33
COUNSEL AND INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM 33
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 34
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS 34
APPENDIX A – PROXY VOTING POLICIES A-1

 

 

 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST

  

The Trust is an open-end management investment company. As of the date of this Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”), the Trust consists of nine investment portfolios: ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF, ARK Fintech Innovation ETF, ARK Genomic Revolution ETF, ARK Innovation ETF, ARK Next Generation Internet ETF, ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF, ARK Transparency ETF, The 3D Printing ETF and ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF. This SAI relates solely to ARK Transparency ETF (the “Fund”), a series of the Trust.

  

The Fund will offer and issue Shares at their net asset value (“NAV”) only in aggregations of a specified number of Shares (each, a “Creation Unit”). Similarly, Shares are redeemable by the Fund only in Creation Units. Only Authorized Participants (“APs”) who have entered into contractual arrangements with the Fund’s Distributor (defined below) may enter into Creation Unit transactions with the Fund on behalf of themselves or their customers. Creation Units of the Fund are issued and redeemed generally in exchange for specified securities held by the Fund and, if necessary, a specified cash payment. The Shares of the Fund are expected to be approved for listing, subject to notice of issuance, on [ ] ([“ ”] or “Exchange”). The individual Shares of the Fund will trade in the secondary market at market prices that may differ from the Shares’ NAV.

 

The Trust reserves the right to permit or require a “cash” option for creations and redemptions of Shares (subject to applicable legal requirements). In each instance of such cash creations or redemptions, the Trust may impose transaction fees based on transaction expenses related to the particular exchange, which fees will be higher than the transaction fees associated with in-kind purchases or redemptions.

 

EXCHANGE LISTING AND TRADING

 

A discussion of exchange listing and trading matters associated with an investment in the Fund is contained in the Prospectus under the headings “Summary Information,” “Additional Information About the Fund’s Investment Strategies and Risks,” “Shareholder Information—Buying and Selling Shares,” “Premium/Discount Information” and “General Information—Continuous Offering.” The discussion below supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, such sections of the Prospectus.

 

The Shares of the Fund are expected to be listed on [ ], and the individual Shares of the Fund will trade in the secondary market at prices that may differ to some degree from their NAV. The Exchange may, but is not required to, remove the Shares of the Fund from listing if: (1) following the initial twelve (12) month period beginning upon the commencement of trading of the Fund, there are fewer than 50 beneficial holders of the Shares for 30 or more consecutive trading days, (2) the value of the index or portfolio of securities on which the Fund is based is no longer calculated or available, (3) the intra-day NAV of the Fund is no longer calculated or available, or (3) such other event shall occur or condition exists that, in the opinion of the Exchange, makes further dealings on the Exchange inadvisable. In addition, the Exchange will remove the Shares from listing and trading upon termination of the Trust. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of Shares of the Fund will continue to be met.

  

As in the case of other securities traded on the Exchange, brokers’ commissions on transactions in Shares will be based on negotiated commission rates at customary levels.

  

In order to provide investors with a basis to gauge whether the market price (and related bid/ask spread) of individual Shares traded on the Exchange is approximately consistent with the current NAV on a per Share basis, every 15 seconds throughout the Exchange’s regular trading hours, an estimated intra-day NAV (“INAV”) is calculated and disseminated in accordance with the relevant listing standards of the Exchange. The Fund is not involved in or responsible for the calculation or dissemination of the INAV, and the Fund makes no warranty as to its accuracy. The INAV does not necessarily reflect the precise composition of the current portfolio of securities and instruments held by the Fund at a particular point in time or the best possible valuation of the current portfolio. The Fund believes that, when purchasing Shares traded on the Exchange, placing “limit orders” rather than “market orders” may help investors avoid excessive bid/ask spreads.

 

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The INAV should not be viewed as a “real-time” update of the NAV per Share of the Fund because (i) the INAV may not be calculated in the same manner as the NAV, which is computed once a day, generally, at the end of the business day; (ii) the calculation of NAV may be subject to fair valuation at different prices than those used in the calculations of the INAV; and (iii) unlike the calculation of NAV, the INAV does not take into account Fund expenses, which could affect premiums and discounts between the INAV and the market price of the Fund’s Shares. Accordingly, a shareholder purchasing Shares of the Fund at a price calculated based upon the Shares’ INAV is subject to valuation risk. If there is a mismatch between the INAV and NAV, shareholders could lose money upon redemption or could pay too much for Shares purchased.

 

INVESTMENT POLICIES AND RISKS

 

A discussion of the risks associated with an investment in the Fund is contained in the Prospectus under the headings “Summary Information—Principal Investment Strategies,” “Summary Information—Principal Risks” and “Additional Information About the Fund’s Investment Strategies and Risks.” The discussion below supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, such sections of the Prospectus.

  

General

 

An investment in the Fund should be made with an understanding that the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities may fluctuate in accordance with changes in the financial condition of the issuers of the portfolio securities, the value of securities generally and other factors.

  

An investment in the Fund should also 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 securities market may deteriorate (either of which may cause a decrease in the value of the portfolio securities and thus 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 in and perceptions of their issuers 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 and banking crises.

  

Holders of common stocks incur more risk than holders of preferred stocks and debt obligations because common stockholders, as owners of the issuer, have generally inferior rights to receive payments from the issuer in comparison with the rights of creditors of, or holders of debt obligations or preferred stocks issued by, the issuer. Further, unlike debt securities, which typically have a stated principal amount payable at maturity (whose value, however, will be 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.

  

In the event that the securities in which the Fund invests are not listed on a national securities exchange, the principal trading market for some may be in the over-the-counter market. The existence of a liquid trading market for certain securities may depend on whether dealers will make a market in such securities. There can be no assurance that a market will be made or maintained or that any such market will be or remain liquid. The price at which securities may be sold and the value of the Fund’s Shares will be adversely affected if trading markets for certain of the Fund’s portfolio securities are limited or absent or if bid/ask spreads are wide.

 

An illiquid investment is any investment that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold in seven calendar days or less without significantly changing the market value of the investment. The liquidity of a security will be determined based on relevant market, trading and investment specific considerations as set out in the Trust’s liquidity risk management program (the “Liquidity Program”) as required by Rule 22e-4 (the “Liquidity Rule”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”).

 

Because the Fund reserves the right to issue and redeem Creation Units principally for cash, the Fund may incur higher costs in buying and selling securities than if the Fund issued and redeemed Creation Units principally in-kind.

 

2

 

 

The Fund seeks to replicate the performance of its benchmark index (excluding fees and expenses) and it is the policy of the Fund to generally invest in the securities that compose the index that the Fund seeks to replicate.

 

An investment in the Fund should be made with an understanding that the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities may fluctuate in accordance with changes in the financial condition of the issuers of the portfolio securities, the value of securities generally and other factors. The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its total assets in securities included in the Fund’s benchmark index. So, it is possible that individual securities of any issuer included in the Fund’s index may not be held by the Fund since the Fund is not required to hold every security included in the index so long as the Fund seeks to replicate the performance of the index (excluding fees and expenses). Nonetheless, investors should be aware that adverse financial condition of any one issuer included in the index will not necessarily result in the elimination of that security from the index. Securities in the Fund’s index will only be changed if such securities are (i) removed from the Fund’s index on a quarterly basis or (ii) otherwise are removed from the index because the securities no longer qualify to be held by the index. Therefore, if the securities of such an issuer experiencing unfavorable financial conditions are held by the Fund, the Fund will be adversely impacted by such holding. When the Fund’s index is rebalanced and the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio to attempt to increase the correlation between the Fund’s portfolio and its index, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne directly by the Fund and its shareholders. The index provider may delay or change a scheduled rebalancing or reconstitution of the Index or the implementation of certain rules at its sole discretion. Changes to the composition of the Fund’s index in connection with a rebalancing or reconstitution of the index may cause the Fund to experience increased volatility, during which time the Fund’s index tracking risk may be heightened.

 

The Fund is also subject to the risks of an investment in a portfolio of securities in a country or in an economic sector or industry in which the Fund’s index is highly concentrated.

 

An investment in the Fund should also be made with an understanding that the Fund will not be able to replicate exactly the performance of the Fund’s benchmark index because the total return generated by the securities will be reduced by transaction costs incurred (i) in the quarterly rebalance of and other adjustments to the actual portfolio securities held by the Fund and (ii) other Fund expenses, whereas such transaction costs and expenses are not included in the calculation of the index. It is also possible that for periods of time, the Fund may not fully replicate the performance of the Fund’s benchmark index due to (i) circumstances making it impossible or impracticable to purchase all of the securities in the weightings in the index, (ii) instances in which ARK Investment Management LLC (“Adviser” or “ARK”), the Fund’s investment adviser, may choose to underweight or overweight a security in the Fund’s benchmark index, (iii) instances in which the Adviser may choose to purchase securities not in the Fund’s benchmark index that the Adviser believes are appropriate to substitute for certain securities in the Fund’s benchmark index, (iv) instances in which the Adviser may choose to utilize various combinations of other available investment techniques in seeking to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Fund’s benchmark index, (v) instances in which the Adviser may choose to sell securities that are represented in the Fund’s benchmark index in anticipation of their removal from the index or purchase securities not represented in the Fund’s benchmark index in anticipation of their addition to the index, (vi) the temporary unavailability in the secondary market of certain securities in the Fund’s benchmark index, or (vii) other extraordinary circumstances. It is also possible that the composition of the Fund may not exactly replicate the composition of the Fund’s index if the Fund has to adjust its portfolio holdings in order to continue to qualify as a “regulated investment company” under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (“Internal Revenue Code”).

 

The Fund may invest in securities not included in the Fund’s benchmark index but which the Adviser believes will help the Fund track the performance of its benchmark index, including (i) certain stock index futures, options, options on stock index futures, swap contracts or other derivatives that relate to its benchmark index and component securities, (ii) cash and cash equivalents and (iii) other investment companies. Certain derivatives not included in the Fund’s benchmark index may be used by the Fund in seeking performance that corresponds to the benchmark index and in managing cash flows. The Fund may invest, to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act, in other affiliated and unaffiliated funds, such as open-end or closed-end investment companies, including other exchange traded funds (“ETFs”). The Fund will not, however, invest in money market instruments as part of a temporary defensive strategy to protect against potential securities market declines.

 

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Borrowing

 

The Fund may borrow money from a bank to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act to meet redemptions and further only up to 10% of the Fund’s net assets.

 

Specifically, provisions of the 1940 Act require the Fund to maintain continuous asset coverage (that is, total assets including borrowings, less liabilities exclusive of borrowings) of 300% of the amount borrowed. If the 300% asset coverage should decline as a result of market fluctuations or other reasons, the Fund may be required to sell some of its portfolio holdings within three days to reduce the debt and restore the 300% asset coverage, even though it may be disadvantageous from an investment standpoint to sell securities at that time.

 

The Fund also may enter into certain transactions that can be viewed as constituting a form of borrowing or financing transaction by the Fund. To the extent the Fund “covers” its obligations or liabilities by the segregation or “earmarking” of assets determined in accordance with procedures adopted by the Trust with respect to such a transaction, it will not be considered a “senior security” by the Fund and therefore will not be subject to the 300% asset coverage requirement otherwise applicable to borrowings by the Fund. Borrowing will tend to exaggerate the effect on NAV of any increase or decrease in the market value of the Fund’s portfolio. Money borrowed will be subject to interest costs which may or may not be recovered by appreciation of the securities purchased. The Fund also may be required to maintain minimum average balances in connection with such borrowing or to pay a commitment or other fee to maintain a line of credit; either of these requirements would increase the cost of borrowing over the stated interest rate.

  

Cyber Security

 

The Fund, its service providers, the Exchange and APs are susceptible to cyber security risks that include, among other things, theft, unauthorized monitoring, release, misuse, loss, destruction or corruption of confidential and highly restricted data; denial of service attacks; unauthorized access to relevant systems, compromises to networks or devices that the Fund and its service providers use to service the Fund’s operations; or operational disruption or failures in the physical infrastructure or operating systems that support the Fund and its service providers. Cyber attacks against and/or security breakdowns of the Fund, its service providers, the Exchange or APs may adversely impact the Fund and its shareholders, potentially resulting in, among other things, financial losses; the inability of Fund shareholders to transact business and the Fund to process transactions; inability to calculate the Fund’s NAV; violations of applicable privacy and other laws; regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs; and/or additional compliance costs. The Fund may incur additional costs for cyber security risk management and remediation purposes. In addition, cyber security risks may also impact issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, which may cause the Fund’s investment in such issuers to lose value. There can be no assurance that the Fund, its service providers, the Exchange or APs will not suffer losses relating to cyber attacks and/or other information security breaches in the future.

 

Commodity Pool Operator Exclusion

 

The Adviser has claimed an exclusion from the definition of “commodity pool operator” (“CPO”) under the Commodity Exchange Act and the rules of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and, therefore, neither the Fund nor the Adviser (with respect to the Fund) are subject to CFTC registration or regulation as a CPO.

 

The terms of the CPO exclusion require the Fund, among other things, to adhere to certain limits on its investments in “commodity interests.” Commodity interests include commodity futures, commodity options, and certain swaps, which in turn include nondeliverable currency forwards, as further described below. Because the Adviser and the Fund intend to comply with the terms of the CPO exclusion, the Fund may, in the future, need to adjust its investment strategies, consistent with its investment goal, to limit its investments in these types of instruments. The Fund is not intended as a vehicle for trading in the commodity futures, commodity options, or swaps markets. The CFTC has neither reviewed nor approved the Adviser’s reliance on these exclusions, or the Fund, its investment strategies, or this SAI.

  

Generally, the exclusion from CPO regulation on which the Adviser relies, with respect to the Fund, requires the Fund to meet one of the following tests for its commodity interest positions, other than positions entered into for bona fide hedging purposes (as defined in the rules of the CFTC): either (1) the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish the Fund’s positions in commodity interests may not exceed 5% of the liquidation value of the Fund’s portfolio (after taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions); or (2) the aggregate net notional value of the Fund’s commodity interest positions, determined at the time the most recent such position was established, may not exceed the liquidation value of the Fund’s portfolio (after taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions). In addition to meeting one of these trading limitations, the Fund may not market itself as a commodity pool or otherwise as a vehicle for trading in the commodity futures, commodity options, or swaps markets. If, in the future, the Fund can no longer satisfy these requirements, the Adviser would withdraw its notice claiming an exclusion from the definition of a CPO, and the Adviser would be subject to registration and regulation as a “commodity trading advisor” with respect to the Fund; in that case, the Adviser and the Fund would need to comply with all applicable CFTC disclosure, reporting, operational, and other regulations, which could increase Fund expenses.

 

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Future Developments

  

The Fund may take advantage of opportunities in the area of options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, warrants, swaps and any other investments that are not presently contemplated for use or that are not currently available, but which may be developed, to the extent such investments are considered suitable for the Fund by the Adviser.

 

Futures Contracts and Options

 

The Fund may enter into futures contracts, options and options on futures contracts. The Fund may use futures contracts and options thereon, together with positions in cash and money market instruments, to simulate full investment in the Fund’s benchmark index. Under such circumstances, the Adviser may seek to utilize other instruments that it believes to be correlated to the Fund’s benchmark index components or a subset of the components. Liquid futures contracts may not be currently available for the Fund’s benchmark index. Futures contracts generally provide for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specified instrument, index or commodity at a specified future time and at a specified price. Stock index futures contracts are settled daily with a payment by one party to the other of a cash amount based on the difference between the level of the stock index specified in the contract from one day to the next. Futures contracts are standardized as to maturity date and underlying instrument and are traded on futures exchanges.

  

An option is a contract that provides the holder the right to buy or sell shares at a fixed price, within a specified period of time. A call option gives the option holder the right to purchase the underlying security from the option writer at the option exercise price at any time prior to the expiration of the option. A put option gives the option holder the right to sell the underlying security to the option writer at the option exercise price at any time prior to the expiration of the option.

 

Although futures contracts (other than cash settled futures contracts including most stock index futures contracts) by their terms call for actual delivery or acceptance of the underlying instrument or commodity, in most cases the contracts are closed out before the maturity date without the making or taking of delivery. Closing out an open futures position is done by taking an opposite position (“buying” a contract which has previously been “sold” or “selling” a contract previously “purchased”) in an identical contract to terminate the position. Brokerage commissions are incurred when a futures contract position is opened or closed.

  

Futures traders are required to make a good faith margin deposit in cash or government securities with a broker or custodian to initiate and maintain open positions in futures contracts. A margin deposit is intended to assure completion of the contract (delivery or acceptance of the underlying instrument or commodity or payment of the cash settlement amount) if it is not terminated prior to the specified delivery date. Brokers may establish deposit requirements which are higher than the exchange minimums. Futures contracts are customarily purchased and sold on margin deposits which may range upward from less than 5% of the value of the contract being traded.

 

After a futures contract position is opened, the value of the contract is marked-to-market daily. If the futures contract price changes to the extent that the margin on deposit does not satisfy margin requirements, payment of additional “variation” margin will be required.

 

5

 

 

Conversely, a change in the contract value may reduce the required margin, resulting in a repayment of excess margin to the contract holder. Variation margin payments are made to and from the futures broker for as long as the contract remains open. The Fund expects to earn interest income on its margin deposits.

 

Positions in futures contracts and options may be closed out only on an exchange that provides a secondary market therefor. However, there can be no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist for any particular futures contract or option at any specific time. Thus, it may not be possible to close a futures or options position. Because futures contracts project price levels in the future and not current levels of valuation, market circumstances may result in a discrepancy between the price of the future and the movement in the specified instrument, index or commodity. In the event of adverse price movements, the Fund would continue to be required to make daily cash payments to maintain its required margin. In such situations, if the Fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell portfolio securities to meet daily margin requirements at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so. In addition, the Fund may be required to make delivery of the instruments underlying futures contracts it has sold.

 

The risk of loss in trading futures contracts or uncovered call options in some strategies (e.g., selling uncovered stock index futures contracts) is potentially unlimited. The risk of a futures position may still be large as traditionally measured due to the low margin deposits required. In many cases, a relatively small price movement in a futures contract may result in immediate and substantial loss or gain to the investor relative to the size of a required margin deposit.

  

There is also the risk of loss by the Fund of margin deposits in the event of bankruptcy of a broker with whom the Fund has an open position in the futures contract or option. The purchase of put or call options could be based upon predictions as to anticipated trends, which could prove to be incorrect and a part or all of the premium paid therefore could be lost.

 

Certain financial futures exchanges limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in futures contract prices during a single trading day. The daily limit establishes the maximum amount that the price of a futures contract may vary either up or down from the previous day’s settlement price at the end of a trading session. Once the daily limit has been reached in a particular type of contract, no trades may be made on that day at a price beyond that limit. The daily limit governs only price movement during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses, because the limit may prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. It is possible that futures contract prices could move to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of future positions and subjecting the Fund to substantial losses. In the event of adverse price movements, the Fund may be required to make additional margin payments.

 

With respect to futures contracts that are not contractually required to “cash-settle,” the Fund must cover its open positions by designating or segregating on its records cash or liquid assets equal to the contract’s notional value.  For futures contracts that are contractually required to “cash-settle,” however, the Fund is permitted to designate cash or liquid assets in an amount equal to the Fund’s next daily marked-to-market (net) obligation, if any (i.e., the Fund’s daily net liability) rather than the notional value.  By designating assets equal to only its net obligation under cash-settled forwards or futures the Fund will have the ability to employ leverage to a greater extent than if the Fund were required to segregate assets equal to the full notional value of such contracts.

  

When the Fund has a long futures position, it will maintain with its custodian bank, cash or liquid securities having a value equal to the notional value of the contract (less any margin deposited in connection with the position). When the Fund has a short futures position, the Fund will maintain with its custodian bank assets substantially identical to those underlying the contract in the case of non-cash settled futures contracts or cash and liquid securities (or a combination of the foregoing) having a value equal to the net obligation of the Fund under the contract (less the value of any margin deposits in connection with the position) in the case of cash settled futures contracts.

 

In the case of writing a call option on a security, the option is “covered” if the Fund owns the security underlying the call or has an absolute and immediate right to acquire that security without additional cash consideration, such as conversion or exchange of other securities held by it, or, if additional cash consideration is required, the Fund has designated or “segregated” on its records cash or liquid assets equal in value to such amount.  A call option is covered if the Fund holds a call on the same security or index as the call written where the exercise price of the call held is (1) equal to or less than the exercise price of the call written, or (2) greater than the exercise price of the call written provided the Fund designates on its records cash or liquid assets equal to the difference. The Fund will limit its investment in uncovered put or call options purchased or written, measured by the exercise price in the case of a put or market value in the case of a call, by the Fund to 33 1/3% of the Fund’s total assets.  The Fund will write put options only if they are covered by (1) designating on its records cash or liquid assets in an amount not less than the exercise price of the option at all times during the option period or (2) selling short the underlying security at a price at least equal to the strike price or purchasing a put option with a strike price at least equal to the strike price of the put option sold.

 

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Lending Portfolio Securities

  

The Fund may lend portfolio securities to certain creditworthy borrowers. The aggregate market value of securities loaned by the Fund will not exceed 33 1/3% of the total assets of the Fund, including collateral received with respect to such loans. The borrowers provide collateral that is maintained in an amount at least equal to the current market value of the securities loaned. The following conditions must be met whenever the Fund’s portfolio securities are loaned: (i) the Fund must require the borrower to increase the collateral so that it remains equal to at least 100% of the value of the portfolio securities loaned whenever the market value of the securities loaned rises above the current level of such collateral; (ii) the Fund must be able to terminate the loan at any time; (iii) the Fund must receive reasonable interest on the loan, as well as any dividends, interest or other distributions payable on the loaned securities, and any increase in market value; (iv) the Fund may pay only reasonable custodian fees in connection with the loan; and (v) the Trust’s Board of Trustees (“Board”) must be able to recall the Fund’s loan to vote the securities if such vote involves a material event that may adversely affect the investment. The Fund receives the value of any interest or cash or non-cash distributions paid on the loaned securities.

  

With respect to loans that are collateralized by cash, the borrower will be entitled to receive a fee based on the amount of cash collateral. The Fund is compensated by the difference between the amount earned on the reinvestment of cash collateral and the fee paid to the borrower. In the case of collateral other than cash, the Fund is compensated by a fee paid by the borrower equal to a percentage of the market value of the loaned securities. Any cash collateral may be reinvested in certain short-term instruments either directly on behalf of the Fund or through one or more joint accounts or money market funds; such reinvestments are subject to investment risk. The Fund may pay a part of the interest earned from the investment of collateral, or other fee, to an unaffiliated third party for acting as the Fund’s securities lending agent.

 

Securities lending involves exposure to certain risks, including operational risk (i.e., the risk of losses resulting from problems in the settlement and accounting process), “gap” risk (i.e., the risk of a mismatch between the return on cash collateral reinvestments and the fees the Fund has agreed to pay a borrower), and credit, legal, counterparty and market risk. If a securities lending counterparty were to default, the Fund would be subject to the risk of a possible delay in receiving collateral or in recovering the loaned securities, or to a possible loss of rights in the collateral. In the event a borrower does not return the Fund’s securities as agreed, the Fund may experience losses if the proceeds received from liquidating the collateral do not at least equal the value of the loaned security at the time the collateral is liquidated plus the transaction costs incurred in purchasing replacement securities. This event could trigger adverse tax consequences for the Fund. Substitute payments for dividends received by the Fund for securities lent out by the Fund will not be qualified dividend income. The Fund takes the tax effects of this difference into account in their securities lending program.

  

The Fund pays a portion of the interest or fees earned from securities lending to a borrower as described above and to a securities lending agent who administers the lending program in accordance with guidelines approved by the Board.

 

Repurchase Agreements

 

The Fund may invest in repurchase agreements with commercial banks, brokers or dealers and to invest securities lending cash collateral. A repurchase agreement is an agreement under which the Fund acquires a money market instrument (generally a security issued by the U.S. Government or an agency thereof, a banker’s acceptance or a certificate of deposit) from a seller, subject to resale to the seller at an agreed upon price and date (normally, the next business day). A repurchase agreement may be considered a loan collateralized by securities. The resale price reflects an agreed upon interest rate effective for the period the instrument is held by the Fund and is unrelated to the interest rate on the underlying instrument.

 

7

 

 

In these repurchase agreement transactions, the securities acquired by the Fund (including accrued interest earned thereon) must have a total value at least equal to the value of the repurchase agreement and are held by the Trust’s custodian bank until repurchased. In addition, the Board has established guidelines and standards for review of the creditworthiness of any bank, broker or dealer counterparty to a repurchase agreement with the Fund. The Fund’s repurchase agreements will be fully collateralized at all times with high-quality, liquid assets maintained by a designated third party in a segregated account.

  

The use of repurchase agreements involves certain risks. For example, if the other party to the agreement defaults on its obligation to repurchase the underlying security, as a result of bankruptcy or otherwise, the Fund will seek to dispose of such security, which could involve costs, delays or loss upon disposition. If the other party to the agreement becomes insolvent and subject to liquidation or reorganization under the Bankruptcy Code or other laws, a court may determine that the underlying security is collateral not within the control of the Fund and, therefore, the Fund may incur delays in disposing of the security and/or may not be able to substantiate its interest in the underlying security and may be deemed an unsecured creditor of the other party to the agreement.

 

The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed upon market rate of interest. The collateral is marked-to-market daily.

 

Securities of Other Investment Companies

 

The Fund may invest in the securities of other investment companies, foreign or domestic, including those advised by the Adviser. As a result, the Fund will indirectly be exposed to the risks of an investment in the underlying funds. Shares of other funds have many of the same risks as direct investments in common stocks or bonds. In addition, the market value of a fund’s shares is expected to rise and fall as the value of the underlying investment rises and falls. The market value of such funds’ shares may differ from the net asset value of the particular fund. As a shareholder in a fund (as with ETFs), the Fund would bear its ratable share of that entity’s expenses. At the same time, the Fund would continue to pay its own investment management fees and other expenses. As a result, the Fund and its shareholders will be absorbing additional fees with respect to investments in other funds, including ETFs. Such fees will not, however, be counted towards the Fund’s expense cap.

 

Temporary Defensive Position

  

The Fund does not take temporary defensive positions when markets decline or appear overvalued.

 

INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS

  

The Trust has adopted the following investment restrictions as fundamental policies with respect to the Fund. These restrictions cannot be changed with respect to the Fund without the approval of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities. For purposes of the 1940 Act, a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund means the vote, at an annual or a special meeting of the security holders of the Trust, of the lesser of (1) 67% or more of the voting securities of the Fund present at such meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund are present or represented by proxy, or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. Under these restrictions, except as noted below, the Fund may not:

 

  1. Make loans, except that the Fund may: (i) lend portfolio securities; (ii) enter into repurchase agreements; (iii) purchase all or a portion of an issue of debt securities, bank loan or participation interests, bank certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances, debentures or other securities, whether or not the purchase is made upon the original issuance of the securities; and (iv) participate in an interfund lending program with other registered investment companies;

 

  2. Borrow money, except as permitted under the 1940 Act, and as interpreted or modified by regulation from time to time;

 

8

 

 

  3. Issue senior securities, except as permitted under the 1940 Act, and as interpreted or modified by regulation from time to time;

 

  4. Purchase or sell real estate, except that the Fund may: (i) invest in securities of issuers that invest in real estate or interests therein; (ii) invest in mortgage-related securities and other securities that are secured by real estate or interests therein; and (iii) hold and sell real estate acquired by the Fund as a result of the ownership of securities;

 

  5. Engage in the business of underwriting securities issued by others, except to the extent that the Fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“Securities Act”), in the disposition of restricted securities or in connection with its investments in other investment companies;

 

  6. Purchase or sell commodities, unless acquired as a result of owning securities or other instruments, but it may purchase, sell or enter into financial options and futures, forward and spot currency contracts, swap transactions and other financial contracts or derivative instruments and may invest in securities or other instruments backed by commodities; and

 

  7. Purchase any security if, as a result of that purchase, the Fund would be concentrated in securities of issuers having their principal business activities in the same industry or group of industries, except the Fund may invest 25% or more of the value of its net assets in securities of issuers in any one industry or group of industries if the index that the Fund replicates concentrates in an industry or group of industries. This concentration limit does not apply to securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities.

 

With respect to fundamental policy (7), above, if a percentage limitation is adhered to at the time of investment or contract, a later increase or decrease in percentage resulting from any change in value or total or net assets will not result in a violation of such restriction.

  

In addition to the investment restrictions adopted as fundamental policies as set forth above, the Fund observes the following restrictions as non-fundamental policies (i.e., those which may be changed by the Board without a shareholder vote). The Fund may not:

  

  1. Purchase any security on margin, except for such short-term loans as are necessary for clearance of securities transactions. The deposit or payment by the Fund or initial or variation margin in connection with futures contracts or related options thereon is not considered the purchase of a security on margin; and

 

  2. Purchase securities of open-end or closed-end investment companies except in compliance with the 1940 Act, although the Fund may not acquire any securities of registered open-end investment companies or registered unit investment trusts in reliance on Sections 12(d)(1)(F) or 12(d)(1)(G) of the 1940 Act.

 

BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE TRUST

  

Trustees and Officers of the Trust

  

The Board of the Trust consists of four Trustees, three of whom are not “interested persons” (as defined in the 1940 Act), of the Trust (“Independent Trustees”). Darlene T. DeRemer, an Independent Trustee, serves as Chair of the Board. The Board is responsible for overseeing the management and operations of the Trust, including general supervision of the duties performed by the Adviser and other service providers to the Trust. The Adviser is responsible for the day-to-day administration and business affairs of the Trust.

 

The Board believes that each Trustee’s experience, qualifications, attributes or skills on an individual basis and in combination with those of the other Trustees lead to the conclusion that the Board possesses the requisite skills and attributes to carry out its oversight responsibilities with respect to the Trust. The Board believes that the Trustees’ ability to review, critically evaluate, question and discuss information provided to them, to interact effectively with the Adviser, other service providers, counsel and independent auditors, and to exercise effective business judgment in the performance of their duties, support this conclusion. The Board also has considered the following experience, qualifications, attributes and/or skills, among others, of its members in reaching its conclusion: such person’s character and integrity; such person’s willingness to serve and willingness and ability to commit the time necessary to perform the duties of a Trustee; and as to each Trustee other than Catherine D. Wood, his or her status as not being an “interested person” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust.

 

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References to the experience, qualifications, attributes and skills of Trustees are pursuant to requirements of the SEC, do not constitute holding out of the Board or any Trustee as having any special expertise or experience, and shall not impose any greater responsibility or liability on any such person or on the Board by reason thereof.

 

The Trustees of the Trust, their addresses, positions with the Trust, ages, term of office and length of time served, principal occupations during the past five years, the number of portfolios in the Fund Complex (all open-end funds advised by ARK) overseen by each Trustee and other directorships, if any, held by the Trustees, are set forth below.

  

Independent Trustees

 

Name, Address1
and Age
Position(s)
Held with
the Trust
Term of
Office2
and
Length of
Time

Served
Principal Occupation(s)
During Past Five Years
Number
of
Portfolios
in
the Fund
Complex
Other
Directorships Held
By Trustee During
Past Five Years
Scott R. Chichester, 50 Trustee Since June 30, 2014 Chief Financial Officer, Sterling Consolidated Corp (since 2011); Director and Founder, DirectPay USA LLC (since 2006) (payroll company); Founder, Madison Park Advisors LLC (since 2011) (public company advisory); Proprietor, Scott R. Chichester CPA  (since 2001) (CPA firm). 9 Trustee and audit committee chairman of Global X ETF fund complex (2008 – 2018); Director of Sterling Consolidated Corp (since 2011).
Darlene T. DeRemer, 64 Trustee Since June 30, 2014 Managing Partner, Grail Partners LLC (2005-2019). 9 Trustee, Member of Investment and Endowment Committee of Syracuse University (since 2010); Interested Trustee, American Independence Funds (2015-2020); Trustee, Risk X Investment Funds (2016-2020); Director, United Capital Financial Planners (2008-2019); Director, Hillcrest Asset Management.
Robert G. Zack, 72 Trustee Since June 30, 2014 Adjunct Professor at the University of Virginia School of Law; Counsel, Dechert LLP (2012-2014); Executive Vice President, OppenheimerFunds, Inc. (2004 – 2011); General Counsel, OppenheimerFunds, Inc. (2002 – 2010); Secretary and General Counsel, Oppenheimer Acquisition Corp. (2001 – 2011); Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Director, OFI Trust Co. (2001 – 2011); Vice President and Secretary, Oppenheimer Funds (2002 – 2011). 9 Trustee of University of Virginia Law School Foundation (since 2011).

 

10

 

 

Interested Trustee

 

Name, Address1
and Age
Position(s)
Held with the
Trust
Term of
Officeand
Length of
Time
Served
Principal Occupation(s)
During Past Five Years
Number of Portfolios in
the Fund Complex
Other
Directorships Held
By Trustee During
Past Five Years
Catherine D. Wood, 64

Chief Executive

Officer, Chief Investment Officer and Trustee  

 

Since June 7, 2013

Managing Member, Founder and Chief Executive Officer,

ARK Investment Management LLC (since 2013); President, ARK ETF Trust (2014-2015); Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of Thematic Portfolios, AllianceBernstein L.P. (2009 – 2013).

9 None.

 

1. The address for each Trustee is 3 E. 28th St, Floor 7, New York, NY 10016.

2. Each Trustee serves until his or her resignation, death, retirement or removal.

 

Officer Information

 

The Officers of the Trust, their addresses, positions with the Trust, ages and principal occupations during the past five years are set forth below.

 

Officer’s Name,
Address1 and Age
Position(s) Held
with the Trust
Term of
Office2 and
Length of
Time
Served
Principal Occupation(s) During The Past Five
Years
Catherine D. Wood, 64 Trustee, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer Since June 30, 2014 Managing Member, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, ARK Investment Management LLC (since 2013); President, ARK ETF Trust (2014-2015).

Kellen Carter, 37

Chief Compliance Officer;

 

Secretary;

 

Chief Legal Officer

 

Since May 26, 2016

 

Since May 26, 2016

 

Since December 16, 2016

 

Chief Compliance Officer, Associate General Counsel, ARK Investment Management LLC (since April 2016); Interim General Counsel, ARK Investment Management LLC (2016-2018); Corporate Counsel, ARK Investment Management LLC (since July 2018); Management Consultant, Wealth and Asset Management Division Ernst & Young LLP (2014-2016).
William C. Cox, 54 Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

June 30, 2014 – January 16, 2018;

 

Since June 25, 20183

Principal Financial Officer, Investment Products, ARK Investment Management LLC (since June 2018); Fund Principal Financial Officer, Foreside Financial Group, LLC (2013-2018).
Thomas G. Staudt, 33

Vice President;

 

President

 

March 27, 2015 – December 16, 2016

 

Since December 16, 2016

Associate Portfolio Manager, ARK Investment Management LLC (2014-2015); Director of Product Development and Associate Operating Officer (2015-2016), Interim Chief Operating Officer, ARK Investment Management LLC (2016-2018); Chief Operating Officer, ARK Investment Management LLC (since April 2018).

 

1. The address for each officer is 3 E. 28th St, Floor 7, New York, NY 10016.

2. Officers are elected yearly by the Trustees.

3. In January 2018, William C. Cox resigned from Foreside Financial Group. In his place, Joshua G. Hunter served as Treasurer and CFO of the Trust. In June 2018, Mr. Cox was subsequently hired as an employee of the Adviser and resumed his responsibilities as Treasurer and CFO of the Trust.

 

11

 

 

Since the Fund had not yet commenced operations as of the date of this SAI, the Officers and Trustees of the Trust, in the aggregate, owned less than 1% of the Shares of the Fund as of that date.

 

The Board has an Audit Committee, consisting of three Trustees who are Independent Trustees. Scott R. Chichester currently serves as a member of the Audit Committee and has been designated as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined under Item 407 of Regulation S-K of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”). Scott R. Chichester is the Chair of the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee has the responsibility, among other things, to: (i) oversee the accounting and financial reporting processes of the Trust and its internal control over financial reporting; (ii) oversee the quality and integrity of the Trust’s financial statements and the independent audit thereof; (iii) oversee or, as appropriate, assist the Board’s oversight of the Trust’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements that relate to the Trust’s accounting and financial reporting, internal control over financial reporting and independent audit; (iv) approve prior to appointment the engagement of the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm and, in connection therewith, to review and evaluate the qualifications, independence and performance of the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm; and (v) act as a liaison between the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm and the full Board. During the fiscal year ended July 31, 2021, the Audit Committee held four meetings.

 

The Board has a Nominating Committee, consisting of three Trustees who are Independent Trustees. [ ] is the Chair of the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee has the responsibility, among other things, for the selection and nomination of candidates to serve as Trustees of the Trust. The Nominating Committee may also recommend the removal of any Trustee. Only Independent Trustees may serve as members of the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee will consider shareholder recommendations for nominees to serve as Trustees of the Trust. Recommendations, along with appropriate background material concerning the candidate that demonstrates his or her ability to serve as an Independent Trustee, should be submitted to the Chair of the Nominating Committee at the address maintained for communications with Independent Trustees. During the fiscal year ended July 31, 2021, the Nominating Committee held [ ] meetings.

 

The Board has determined that its leadership structure is appropriate given the business and nature of the Trust. In connection with its determination, the Board considered that the Chair of the Board is an Independent Trustee. The Chair of the Board can play an important role in setting the agenda of the Board and also serves as a key point person for dealings between management and the other Independent Trustees. The Independent Trustees believe that the Chair’s independence facilitates meaningful dialogue between the Adviser and the Independent Trustees. The Board also considered that the Chair of the Audit Committee is an Independent Trustee, which yields similar benefits with respect to the functions and activities of the various Board committees. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet outside the presence of management. The Board has determined that its committees help ensure that the Trust has effective and independent governance and oversight. The Board also believes that its leadership structure facilitates the orderly and efficient flow of information to the Independent Trustees from management of the Trust, including the Adviser. The Board reviews its structure on an annual basis.

 

12

 

 

As an integral part of its responsibility for oversight of the Trust in the interests of shareholders, the Board, as a general matter, oversees risk management of the Trust’s investment programs and business affairs. The function of the Board with respect to risk management is one of oversight and not active involvement in, or coordination of, day-to-day risk management activities for the Trust. The Board recognizes that not all risks that may affect the Trust can be identified, that it may not be practical or cost-effective to eliminate or mitigate certain risks, that it may be necessary to bear certain risks (such as investment-related risks) to achieve the Trust’s goals, and that the processes, procedures and controls employed to address certain risks may be limited in their effectiveness. Moreover, reports received by the Trustees that may relate to risk management matters are typically summaries of the relevant information.

 

The Board exercises oversight of the risk management process primarily through the Audit Committee, and through oversight by the Board itself. The Trust faces a number of risks, such as investment-related and compliance risks. The Adviser’s personnel seek to identify and address risks, i.e., events or circumstances that could have material adverse effects on the business, operations, shareholder services, investment performance or reputation of the Trust. Under the overall supervision of the Board or the applicable committee of the Board, the Trust and the Adviser employ a variety of processes, procedures and controls to identify such possible events or circumstances, to lessen the probability of their occurrence and/or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur. Different processes, procedures and controls are employed with respect to different types of risks. Various personnel, including the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”), as well as various personnel of the Adviser and other service providers such as the Trust’s independent accountants, may report to the Audit Committee and/or to the Board with respect to various aspects of risk management, as well as events and circumstances that have arisen and responses thereto.

 

As of December 31, 2020, for each Trustee, the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by the Trustee in the Trust and in all registered investment companies advised by the Adviser that are overseen by the Trustee is shown below.

 

TRUSTEE   FUND NAME   DOLLAR RANGE
OF
EQUITY
SECURITIES IN
THE FUNDS
  AGGREGATE DOLLAR
RANGE OF
EQUITY
SECURITIES IN ALL
REGISTERED
INVESTMENT
COMPANIES
OVERSEEN BY
TRUSTEE IN THE FAMILY
OF
INVESTMENT
COMPANIES
Scott R. Chichester   ARK Genomic Revolution ETF   None   None
    ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF   None    
    ARK Innovation ETF   None    
    ARK Next Generation Internet ETF   None    
    The 3D Printing ETF   None    
    ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF   None    
    ARK Fintech Innovation ETF   None    
    ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF*   None    
    ARK Transparency ETF**   None    

 

13

 

 

Darlene T. DeRemer   ARK Genomic Revolution ETF   $10,001-$50,000   Over $100,000
    ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF   $10,001-$50,000    
    ARK Innovation ETF   $50,001-$100,000    
    ARK Next Generation Internet ETF   $50,001-$100,000    
    The 3D Printing ETF   None    
    ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF   None    
    ARK Fintech Innovation ETF   $10,001-$50,000    
    ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF*   None    
    ARK Transparency ETF**   None    
             
Catherine D. Wood   ARK Genomic Revolution ETF   Over $100,000   Over $100,000
    ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF   Over $100,000    
    ARK Innovation ETF   Over $100,000    
    ARK Next Generation Internet ETF   Over $100,000    
    The 3D Printing ETF   None    
    ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF   None    
    ARK Fintech Innovation ETF   None    
    ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF*   None    
    ARK Transparency ETF**   None    
             
Robert G. Zack   ARK Genomic Revolution ETF   $10,001-$50,000   Over $100,000
    ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF   $10,001-$50,000    
    ARK Innovation ETF   $50,001-$100,000    
    ARK Next Generation Internet ETF   $10,001-$50,000    
    The 3D Printing ETF   $10,001-$50,000    
    ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF   $1-$10,000    
    ARK Fintech Innovation ETF   None    
    ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF*   None    
    ARK Transparency ETF**   None    

 

* ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF had not yet commenced operations as of December 31, 2020.

**ARK Transparency ETF had not yet commenced operations as of the date of this SAI.

 

As to each Independent Trustee and his or her immediate family members, no person owned beneficially or of record securities in the Adviser or the Distributor, or a person (other than a registered investment company) directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with the Adviser or the Distributor of the Fund.

 

Remuneration of Trustees

 

Effective January 1, 2020, each Independent Trustee receives an annual retainer fee of $85,000 for services provided as a Trustee of the Trust, plus out-of-pocket expenses related to attendance at Board and Committee Meetings. The Chairs of the Board and of the Audit Committee each also receive an additional annual retainer fee of $20,000 and $15,000, respectively, for service as such.

 

Prior to this each Independent Trustee received an annual retainer fee of $80,000 for services provided as a Trustee of the Trust, plus out-of-pocket expenses related to attendance at Board and Committee Meetings. An Independent Trustee who served as the Chair of the Board or the Audit Committee also received an additional annual fee of $15,000 and $12,500, respectively for such services.

 

The table below shows the compensation paid to the Trustees by the Trust for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2021. Annual Trustee fees may be reviewed periodically and changed by the Trust’s Board. Any difference in the below stated remuneration and the actual total compensation paid to the Independent Trustees is due to the fact that the remuneration is based and paid on a calendar year basis, which is different than the Trust’s fiscal year (i.e., August to July), as reported.

 

14

 

 

Name of Trustee

 

Aggregate
Compensation
from Trust

 

Pension or Retirement
Benefits Accrued as
Part
of Trust Expenses

 

Total Compensation
from Trust

Scott R. Chichester   [ ]   [ ]   [ ]
Darlene T. DeRemer   [ ]   [ ]   [ ]
Catherine D. Wood   [ ]   [ ]   [ ]
Robert G. Zack   [ ]   [ ]   [ ]

 

MANAGEMENT

 

The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Management of the Fund.”

 

Investment Adviser

 

ARK acts as investment adviser to the Fund and, subject to the general supervision of the Board, is responsible for the day-to-day investment management of the Fund pursuant to an investment advisory agreement between the Trust and the Adviser (“Investment Advisory Agreement”). The Adviser is a Delaware limited liability company with headquarters at 3 E. 28th St, Floor 7, New York, NY 10016.

 

The Investment Advisory Agreement with respect to the Fund is subject to annual approval by (1) the Board or (2) a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund, provided that in either event such continuance also is approved by a majority of the Board who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust by a vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. The Investment Advisory Agreement is terminable without penalty, on 60 days’ notice, by the Board or with respect to the Fund by a vote of the holders of a majority (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities. The Investment Advisory Agreement is also terminable upon 60 days’ notice by the Adviser and will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act). Pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement, the Trust has agreed to indemnify and hold the Adviser harmless for certain losses and liabilities, including certain liabilities arising under the federal securities laws, unless such loss or liability results from the Adviser’s willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or is the result of the Adviser’s reckless disregard of its duties and obligations.

 

Pursuant to a supervision agreement between the Trust and ARK (“Supervision Agreement”) and subject to the general supervision of the Board, the Adviser manages the Fund and provides or causes to be furnished to the Trust (and the Fund) all supervisory and other services reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund, including audit, legal, transfer agency, printing costs, certain administrative services (provided pursuant to a separate administration agreement), certain distribution services (provided pursuant to a separate distribution agreement), certain shareholder and distribution-related services (provided pursuant to a separate Rule 12b-1 Plan and related agreements), certain custodial services (provided pursuant to a separate custodian agreement), and investment advisory services (provided pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement), under what is essentially an all-in fee structure. The Fund bears other expenses that are not covered under the Supervision Agreement that may vary and will affect the total level of expenses paid by the Fund, such as taxes and governmental fees, certain transaction expenses, certain custodial fees and expenses, costs of borrowing money, including interest expenses, and extraordinary expenses (such as litigation and indemnification expenses). The Adviser may earn a profit on the fee paid pursuant to the Supervision Agreement and would benefit from any price decreases in third-party services covered by the Supervision Agreement, including decreases resulting from an increase in net assets.

 

Pursuant to the Supervision Agreement, the Fund will pay a monthly fee to ARK at an annual rate (stated as a percentage of the average daily net assets of the Fund) of [ ]% (“Management Fee”).

 

15

 

 

Administrator, Custodian and Transfer Agent

 

The Trust and The Bank of New York Mellon, located at 240 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10286 (“Administrator”), have entered into an administrative services agreement (“Administration Agreement”). Under the Administration Agreement, the Administrator provides the Trust with administrative services, including providing certain operational, clerical, recordkeeping and/or bookkeeping services.

 

The Administration Agreement provides that the Administrator shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Trust in connection with the matters to which the Administration Agreement relates, except a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of the Administrator in the performance of its duties or from reckless disregard by it of its duties and obligations thereunder.

 

The Adviser pays the Administrator for its services under the Administration Agreement.

 

The Bank of New York Mellon (“Custodian”), located at 240 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10286, serves as custodian for the Fund pursuant to a custody agreement between the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Custodian. As the Fund’s custodian, the Custodian holds the Fund’s assets. The Custodian also serves as the Fund’s transfer agent (“Transfer Agent”) pursuant to a transfer agency and service agreement. The Custodian may be reimbursed by the Fund for its out-of-pocket expenses. In addition, the Custodian provides various accounting services to the Fund pursuant to a fund accounting agreement.

 

The Distributor

 

Foreside Fund Services, LLC is the principal underwriter and distributor of Shares. Its principal address is Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101. The Distributor has entered into an agreement with the Trust which will continue from its effective date, subject to annual renewal, unless terminated by either party upon 60 days’ prior written notice to the other party by the Trust and the Adviser, or by the Distributor, or until termination of the Trust or the Fund offering its Shares (“Distribution Agreement”), pursuant to which it distributes Shares. Shares will be continuously offered for sale by the Trust through the Distributor only in Creation Units, as described below under “Creation and Redemption of Creation Units—Procedures for Creation of Creation Units.” Shares in less than Creation Units are not distributed by the Distributor. The Distributor will deliver a prospectus to persons purchasing Shares in Creation Units and will maintain records of both orders placed with it and confirmations of acceptance furnished by it. The Distributor is a broker-dealer registered under the Exchange Act and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). The Distributor has no role in determining the investment policies of the Trust or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Trust.

 

The Distributor may also enter into sales and investor services agreements with broker-dealers or other persons that are Participating Parties and DTC Participants (as defined below) to provide distribution assistance, including broker-dealer and shareholder support and educational and promotional services but must pay such broker-dealers or other persons, out of its own assets.

 

The Distribution Agreement provides that it may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty: (i) by vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees or (ii) with respect to the Fund by vote of a majority (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, on at least 60 days written notice to the Distributor. The Distribution Agreement is also terminable upon 60 days’ notice by the Distributor and will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act).

 

Distribution and Service Plan

 

The Board has adopted a distribution and service plan (“Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Under the Plan, the Fund is authorized to pay distribution fees in connection with the sale and distribution of its shares and pay service fees in connection with the provision of ongoing services to shareholders.

 

No Rule 12b-1 fees are currently paid by the Fund, and there are no current plans to impose these fees. In addition, no such fees may be paid in the future without further approval by the Board. However, in the event Rule 12b-1 fees are charged in the future, because these fees are paid out of the Fund’s assets on an ongoing basis, these fees will increase the cost of your investment in the Fund.

 

16

 

 

Other Accounts Managed by the Portfolio Manager

 

The following table provides the number of other accounts (excluding the Fund) and the total assets managed of such accounts (rounded to the nearest dollar) by the Fund’s portfolio manager within each category of accounts, as of [ ].

 

   

Other Accounts Managed

 

(as of [ ]) 

Accounts with respect to which the
advisory fee is based on the performance
of the account
           

Name of
Portfolio
Manager
Category
of
Account
Number
of
Accounts
Total Assets in Accounts Number of Accounts Total
Assets in
Accounts

Catherine D. Wood Registered investment companies        
Other pooled investment vehicles        
Other accounts      

 

Conflicts of Interest

 

The Adviser has a fiduciary duty to act in the best of interest of its clients, to treat all clients equitably, and to disclose all material facts, including potential conflicts of interest. Potential conflicts of interest may arise from time to time between a portfolio manager’s management of the investments of the Fund, on the one hand, and the management of other accounts, on the other (“side-by-side management”). Since the Adviser manages other accounts other than the Fund, its duty of loyalty to one client may conflict with its duty of loyalty to another client, particularly with respect to allocating trades. Other accounts managed by the Adviser’s portfolio manager might have similar investment objectives or strategies as the Fund or otherwise hold, purchase, or sell securities that are eligible to be held, purchased or sold by the Fund. The other accounts might also have different investment objectives or strategies as the Fund. Based on this relationship, the potential conflicts of interest that may arise from the Adviser’s side-by-side management of the Fund and other accounts include: limitation of trading based on the Adviser’s knowledge of Fund and/or other account trading; inability to take advantage of certain investment opportunities; possibility of contrary positions amongst the Fund and other accounts; issues related to aggregation and allocation of trades; and potential exposure to soft dollars.

 

To address and mitigate the potential conflicts of interest referenced above, the Adviser has adopted and implemented written policies and procedures to provide for fair and equitable treatment of all its clients. These policies and procedures include: aggregation and allocation of trades; insider trading; side-by-side management; soft dollars; and portfolio management/trading. Also, the Adviser has adopted and implemented a Code of Ethics that prohibits Adviser employees and “access persons” (as defined by the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended) from engaging in prohibited personal securities transactions and fraudulent behavior such as insider-trading. According to its policies and procedures, the Adviser, among other things, must:

 

  1. Treat each client fairly as to the securities purchased or sold for its account.
  2. Treat each client fairly with respect to priority of execution of orders.
  3. Treat each client fairly in the aggregation and allocation of investment opportunities.
  4. Review and affirm that all client trading is in compliance with each client’s investment objective.

  5. Fully disclose the nature and extent of the conflict prior to the transaction, including any direct or indirect compensation the Adviser receives in connection with the transaction.
  6. Have a reasonable belief that the investment is in the client’s best interest; and
  7. Ensure compliance with any relevant procedures set forth in the Adviser’s Code of Ethics.

 

17

 

 

Finally, the Adviser has a designated CCO who is responsible for administering the Adviser’s policies and procedures, which includes regular reviews of and reports on the adequacy of the Adviser’s compliance program to senior management and the Fund’s Board of Trustees.

 

Portfolio Manager Compensation

 

The Adviser believes that its compensation program is competitively positioned to attract and retain high-caliber investment professionals. Catherine D. Wood, Chief Investment Officer and principal owner of the Adviser, does not receive a salary, but as the significant equity holder of ARK, may receive earnings from ARK. Ms. Wood may also receive a discretionary bonus based on the quality of the advisory services and the overall financial performance of ARK. As Chief Investment Officer and principal owner of the Adviser and portfolio manager of the Fund, Catherine D. Wood may benefit economically from any profits generated by the Adviser.

 

Portfolio Manager Share Ownership

 

As of the date of this SAI, the Fund had not yet commenced operation and, therefore, the Fund’s portfolio manager did not beneficially own any Shares of the Fund.

 

PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS DISCLOSURE

 

The Fund’s portfolio holdings are publicly disseminated each day the Fund is open for business through financial reporting and news services, including publicly accessible Internet web sites. In addition, a basket composition file, which includes the security names and share quantities to deliver in exchange for Creation Units, together with estimates and actual Cash Amounts is publicly disseminated daily prior to the opening of the Exchange via the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”), a clearing agency that is registered with the SEC. The basket represents one Creation Unit of the Fund.

 

The Adviser, Administrator, Custodian, Distributor and other service providers to the Fund or the Adviser may receive non-public portfolio holdings information in the course of performing services to the Fund or the Adviser but are subject to legal obligations to not disseminate or trade on non-public information concerning the Trust.

 

CODE OF ETHICS

 

The Trust and the Adviser have each adopted a Code of Ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act, designed to monitor personal securities transactions by their personnel (“Personnel”). The Code of Ethics for the Adviser and the Trust requires that all trading in securities that are being purchased or sold, or are being considered for purchase or sale, by the Fund must be approved in advance by the Adviser’s CCO. Approval will be granted if the security has not been purchased or sold or recommended for purchase or sale for the Fund on the day that the Personnel of the Adviser or the Adviser requests pre-clearance, or otherwise if it is determined that the personal trading activity will not have a negative or appreciable impact on the price or market of the security, or is of such a nature that it does not present the dangers or potential for abuses that are likely to result in harm or detriment to the Fund. At the end of each calendar quarter, all Personnel must file a report of all transactions entered into during the quarter. These reports are reviewed by a senior officer of the Adviser.

 

Generally, all Personnel must obtain approval prior to conducting any transaction in securities. Independent Trustees, however, are not required to obtain prior approval of personal securities transactions. Personnel may purchase securities in an initial public offering or private placement, provided that he or she obtains preclearance of the purchase and makes certain representations.

 

18

 

 

  

PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

  

Proxies for the Fund’s portfolio securities are voted in accordance with the Adviser’s proxy voting policies and procedures, which are set forth in Appendix A to this SAI.

  

The Trust is required to disclose annually the Fund’s complete proxy voting record on Form N-PX covering the period July 1 through June 30 and file it with the SEC no later than August 31. Form N-PX for the Fund will be available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, the proxy voting record of the Fund will be available, without charge, upon request by writing to the Adviser at 3 E. 28th St, Floor 7, New York, NY 10016 or by calling (212) 426-7040 collect. As of the date of this SAI, the Fund had not yet commenced operations and, therefore, has not voted any proxies or been required to file a Form N-PX.

  

BROKERAGE TRANSACTIONS

 

When selecting brokers and dealers to handle the purchase and sale of portfolio securities, the Adviser looks for prompt execution of the order at a favorable price. Generally, the Adviser works with recognized dealers in these securities, except when a better price and execution of the order can be obtained elsewhere. The Fund will not deal with affiliates in principal transactions unless permitted by exemptive order or applicable rule or regulation. The Adviser owes a duty to its clients to seek best execution on trades effected. The Adviser does not currently participate in soft dollar transactions but may do so in the future.

  

The Adviser assumes general supervision over placing orders on behalf of the Trust for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities. If purchases or sales of portfolio securities of the Trust and one or more other investment companies or clients supervised by the Adviser are considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities are allocated among the several investment companies and clients in a manner deemed equitable to all by the Adviser. In some cases, this procedure could have a detrimental effect on the price or volume of the security so far as the Trust is concerned. However, in other cases, it is possible that the ability to participate in volume transactions and to negotiate lower brokerage commissions will be beneficial to the Trust. The primary consideration is best execution.

 

Portfolio turnover may vary from year to year, as well as within a year. High turnover rates are likely to result in comparatively greater brokerage expenses and taxable distributions. The overall reasonableness of brokerage commissions is evaluated by the Adviser based upon its knowledge of available information as to the general level of commissions paid by other institutional investors for comparable services.

  

BOOK ENTRY ONLY SYSTEM

  

The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Shareholder Information—Buying and Selling Shares.”

  

The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) acts as securities depositary for the Shares. Shares of the Fund are represented by securities registered in the name of DTC or its nominee and deposited with, or on behalf of, DTC. Certificates will not be issued for Shares.

 

DTC, a limited-purpose trust company, was created to hold securities of its participants (“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 (“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 herein 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.

 

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Conveyance of all notices, statements and other communications to Beneficial Owners is effected as follows. Pursuant to the Depositary Agreement between the Trust and DTC, DTC is required to make available to the Trust upon request and for a fee to be charged to the Trust a listing of the Shares holdings of each DTC Participant. The Trust shall inquire of each such DTC Participant as to 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 Shares 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 aspects of the records relating to or notices to Beneficial Owners, or payments made on account of beneficial ownership interests in such 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 Shares at any time by giving reasonable notice to the Trust and discharging its responsibilities with respect thereto under applicable law. Under such circumstances, the Trust shall take action either to find a replacement for DTC to perform its functions at a comparable cost or, if such a 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.

  

CREATION AND REDEMPTION OF CREATION UNITS

  

General

  

The Fund will issue and sell Shares only in Creation Units on a continuous basis through the Distributor, without an initial sales load, at their NAV next determined after receipt, on any Business Day (as defined herein), of an order in proper form. An AP that is not “qualified institutional buyer,” as such term is defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act, will not be able to receive, as part of a redemption, restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A.

  

A “Business Day” with respect to the Fund is any day on which the NYSE is open for business. As of the date of the Prospectus, the NYSE observes the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, President’s Day (Washington’s Birthday), Good Friday, Memorial Day (observed), Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

  

Continuous Offering

  

The method by which Creation Units are created and traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Units are issued and sold by the Fund on an ongoing basis, at any point a “distribution,” as such term is used in the Securities Act, may occur. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner that could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus delivery requirement and liability provisions of the Securities Act.

  

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For example, a broker-dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory underwriter if it takes Creation Units after placing an order with the Distributor, breaks them down into constituent shares and sells such shares directly to customers or if it chooses to couple the creation of new shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for shares. A determination of whether one is an underwriter for purposes of the Securities Act must take into account all the facts and circumstances pertaining to the activities of the broker-dealer or its client in the particular case and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could lead to a categorization as an underwriter.

  

Broker-dealer firms should also note that dealers who are not “underwriters” but are effecting transactions in shares, whether or not participating in the distribution of shares, generally are required to deliver a prospectus. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(3) of the Securities Act is not available in respect of such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. Firms that incur a prospectus delivery obligation with respect to shares of the Fund are reminded that, pursuant to Rule 153 under the Securities Act, a prospectus delivery obligation under Section 5(b)(2) of the Securities Act owed to an exchange member in connection with a sale on the Listing Exchange is satisfied by the fact that the prospectus is available at the Listing Exchange upon request. The prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is available only with respect to transactions on an exchange.

  

Creation Deposit

  

The consideration for a purchase of Creation Units generally consists of the in-kind deposit of specified securities (“Deposit Instruments”) and an amount of cash computed as described below (“Cash Amount”) or, as permitted or required by the Fund, of cash. The Cash Amount together with the Deposit Instruments, as applicable, are referred to as the “Creation Deposit,” which represents the minimum initial and subsequent investment amount for Creation Units. The Cash Amount represents the difference between the NAV of a Creation Unit and the market value of Deposit Instruments.

  

The Administrator, through the NSCC, makes available on each Business Day, immediately prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m. Eastern time), a list of the names and the required number of each Deposit Instrument that the Fund would accept as Creation Deposit that day. Such Creation Deposit is applicable, subject to any adjustments as described below, in order to effect creations of Creation Units of the Fund until such time as the next-announced Creation Deposit composition is made available.

  

The identity and number of shares of the Deposit Instruments required for the Creation Deposit for the Fund changes pursuant to the changes in the composition of the Fund’s portfolio. The Fund may determine, upon receiving a purchase order from an AP, to have the purchase be made entirely or in part in cash.

  

This includes, but is not limited to, a determination to permit the substitution of an amount of cash to replace any Deposit Security that is not available in sufficient quantity for delivery, not eligible for transfer through the systems of DTC, the Federal Reserve System or the clearing process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC, not permitted to be re-registered in the name of the trust as a result of an in-kind purchase order pursuant to local law or market convention, restricted under the securities laws or which may not be eligible for trading by an AP or the investor for which it is acting. In such cases where the Trust makes Market Purchases because a Deposit Instrument may not be permitted to be re-registered in the name of the Trust as a result of an in-kind creation order pursuant to local law or market convention, or for other reasons, the AP will reimburse the Trust for, among other things, any difference between the market value at which the securities were purchased by the Trust and the cash in lieu amount (which amount, at the Adviser’s discretion, may be capped), applicable registration fees and taxes. Brokerage commissions incurred in connection with the Trust’s acquisition of Deposit Instruments will be at the expense of the applicable Fund and will affect the value of all Shares of the Fund, but the Adviser may adjust the transaction fee to the extent the composition of the Deposit Instruments changes or cash in lieu is added to the Cash Amount to protect ongoing shareholders.

  

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The identity and number of shares of the Deposit Instruments required for the Creation Deposit for the Fund changes pursuant to the changes in the composition of the Fund’s portfolio. The Trust reserves the right to accept a basket of securities or cash that differs from Deposit Instruments or to permit or require the substitution of an amount of cash (i.e., a “cash in lieu” amount) to be added to the Cash Amount to replace any Deposit Instrument which may, among other reasons, not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery, not be permitted to be re-registered in the name of the Trust as a result of an in-kind creation order pursuant to local law or market convention or which may not be eligible for transfer through the Clearing Process (described below), or which may not be eligible for trading by a “Participating Party” ( i.e., a broker-dealer or other participant in the Clearing Process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC), or to comply with regulatory requirements. In light of the foregoing, in order to seek to replicate the in-kind creation order process, the Trust expects to purchase the Deposit Instruments represented by the cash in lieu amount in the secondary market (“Market Purchases”). In such cases where the Trust makes Market Purchases because a Deposit Instrument may not be permitted to be re-registered in the name of the Trust as a result of an in-kind creation order pursuant to local law or market convention, or for other reasons, the AP will reimburse the Trust for, among other things, any difference between the market value at which the securities were purchased by the Trust and the cash in lieu amount (which amount, at the Adviser’s discretion, may be capped), applicable registration fees and taxes. Brokerage commissions incurred in connection with the Fund’s acquisition of Deposit Instruments will be at the expense of the Fund and will affect the value of all Shares of the Fund, but the Adviser may adjust the transaction fee to the extent the composition of the Deposit Instruments changes or cash in lieu is added to the Cash Amount to protect ongoing shareholders.

  

Procedures for Creation of Creation Units

  

To be eligible to place orders with the Distributor to create Creation Units of the Fund, an entity or person either must be an “Authorized Participant” or AP, which has a written agreement with a fund or one of its service providers that allows the AP to place orders for the purchase and redemption of Creation Units. All Creation Units of the Fund, however created, will be entered on the records of the Depository in the name of Cede & Co. for the account of a DTC Participant.

 

All orders to create Creation Units, whether through the Clearing Process or outside the Clearing Process, must be received by the Distributor no later than the closing time of the regular trading session on the Exchange (“Closing Time”) (ordinarily 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on the date such order is placed in order for creation of Creation Units to be effected based on the NAV of the Fund as determined on such date. A “custom order” may be placed by an AP no later than 4 p.m. The Business Day on which a creation order (or order to redeem as discussed below) is placed is herein referred to as the “Transmittal Date.” Orders must be transmitted by telephone or other transmission method acceptable to the Distributor pursuant to procedures set forth in the agreement with the Distributor and the Transfer Agent with respect to creations and redemptions of Creation Units (“Participant Agreement”), as described below (see “Placement of Creation Orders Using Clearing Process”). Severe economic or market disruptions or changes, or telephone or other communication failure, may impede the ability to reach the Distributor, a Participating Party or a DTC Participant.

 

Creation Units may be created in advance of the receipt by the Trust of all or a portion of the Creation Deposit. In such cases, the Participating Party will remain liable for the full deposit of the missing portion(s) of the Creation Deposit and will be required to post collateral with the Trust consisting of cash at least equal to a percentage of the marked to market value of such missing portion(s) that is specified in the Participant Agreement. The Trust may use such collateral to buy the missing portion(s) of the Creation Deposit at any time and will subject such Participating Party to liability for any shortfall between the cost to the Trust of purchasing such securities and the value of such collateral.

  

Orders to create Creation Units of the Fund shall be placed with an AP in the form required by such AP. Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not have executed a Participant Agreement, and that, therefore, orders to create Creation Units of the Fund may have to be placed by the investor’s broker through an AP. At any given time there may be only a limited number of APs. Those placing orders to create Creation Units of the Fund through the Clearing Process should afford sufficient time to permit proper submission of the order to the Distributor prior to the Closing Time on the Transmittal Date.

  

Orders for creation that are effected outside the Clearing Process are likely to require transmittal by the AP earlier on the Transmittal Date than orders effected using the Clearing Process. Those persons placing orders outside the Clearing Process should ascertain the deadlines applicable to DTC and the Federal Reserve Bank wire system by contacting the operations department of the broker or depository institution effectuating such transfer of Deposit Instruments and Cash Amount.

 

 

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Placement of Creation Orders Using Clearing Process

  

Creation Deposits created through the Clearing Process, if available, must be delivered through an AP.

 

The Participant Agreement authorizes the Distributor to transmit to NSCC on behalf of the AP such trade instructions as are necessary to effect the AP’s creation order. Pursuant to such trade instructions from the Distributor to NSCC, the AP agrees to transfer the requisite Deposit Instruments (or contracts to purchase such Deposit Instruments that are expected to be delivered in a “regular way” manner by the second (2nd) Business Day) and the Cash Amount to the Trust, together with such additional information as may be required by the Distributor. An order to create Creation Units of the Fund through the Clearing Process is deemed received by the Distributor on the Transmittal Date if (i) such order is received by the Distributor not later than the Closing Time on such Transmittal Date and (ii) all other procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement are properly followed.

  

Placement of Creation Orders Outside Clearing Process – Domestic Securities

  

An AP who wishes to place an order creating Creation Units of the Fund to be effected outside the Clearing Process need not be a Participating Party, but such orders must state that the DTC Participant is not using the Clearing Process and that the creation of Creation Units will instead be effected through a transfer of securities and cash. The Creation Deposit transfer must be ordered by the AP in a timely fashion so as to ensure the delivery of the requisite number of Deposit Instruments through DTC to the account of the Trust by no later than 11:00 a.m. Eastern time, of the next Business Day immediately following the Transmittal Date. All questions as to the number of Deposit Instruments to be delivered, and the validity, form and eligibility (including time of receipt) for the deposit of any tendered securities, will be determined by the Trust, whose determination shall be final and binding. The cash equal to the Cash Amount must be transferred directly to the Distributor through the Federal Reserve wire system in a timely manner so as to be received by the Distributor no later than 2:00 p.m. Eastern time, on the next Business Day immediately following the Transmittal Date. An order to create Creation Units of the Fund outside the Clearing Process is deemed received by the Distributor on the Transmittal Date if (i) such order is received by the Distributor not later than the Closing Time on such Transmittal Date; and (ii) all other procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement are properly followed. However, if the Distributor does not receive both the requisite Deposit Instruments and the Cash Amount in a timely fashion on the next Business Day immediately following the Transmittal Date, such order will be cancelled. Upon written notice to the Distributor, such cancelled order may be resubmitted the following Business Day using the Creation Deposit as newly constituted to reflect the current NAV of the Fund. The delivery of Creation Units so created will occur no later than the second (2nd) Business Day following the day on which the creation order is deemed received by the Distributor.

  

Additional transaction fees may be imposed with respect to transactions effected outside the Clearing Process (through a DTC participant) and in circumstances in which any cash can be used in lieu of Deposit Instruments to create Creation Units. (See “Creation Transaction Fee” section below.)

  

Acceptance of Creation Orders

  

The Trust reserves the absolute right to reject a creation order transmitted to it by the Distributor if, for any reason, (a) the order is not in proper form; (b) the AP, upon obtaining the Shares, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding Shares of the Fund; (c) the Deposit Instruments delivered are not as specified by the Administrator, as described above; (d) the acceptance of the Deposit Instruments would have certain adverse tax consequences to the Fund; (e) the acceptance of the Creation Deposit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; (f) the acceptance of the Creation Deposit would otherwise, in the discretion of the Trust or the Adviser, have an adverse effect on the Trust or the rights of beneficial owners; (g) in the event that circumstances outside the control of the Trust, the Distributor and the Adviser make it for all practical purposes impossible to process creation orders; or (h) among other reasons. Examples of such circumstances include, without limitation, acts of God or public service or utility problems such as earthquakes, fires, floods, extreme weather conditions and power outages resulting in telephone, telecopy and computer failures; wars; civil or military disturbances, including acts of civil or military authority or governmental actions; terrorism; sabotage; epidemics; riots; labor disputes; market conditions or activities causing trading halts; systems failures involving computer or other information systems affecting the Trust, the Adviser, the Distributor, DTC, the NSCC or any other participant in the creation process, and similar extraordinary events. The Trust shall notify a prospective creator of its rejection of the order of such person. The Trust and the Distributor are under no duty, however, to give notification to APs of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of Creation Deposits nor shall either of them incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification.

  

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All questions as to the number of shares of each security in the Deposit Instruments 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 creation transaction fee of $[500] for the Fund payable to the Custodian may be imposed on each creation transaction regardless of the number of Creation Units purchased in the transaction. In addition, a variable charge for cash creations or for creations outside the Clearing Process may be imposed. In the case of cash creations, the creator may be assessed an additional variable charge to compensate the Fund for the costs associated with purchasing the applicable securities. (See “Creation Deposit” section above.) As a result, in order to seek to replicate the in-kind creation order process, the Trust expects to purchase, but may not do so in certain instances for regulatory or other reasons, in the secondary market or otherwise gain exposure to, the portfolio securities that could have been delivered as a result of an in-kind creation order pursuant to local law or market convention, or for other reasons. In such cases where the Trust makes Market Purchases, the AP will reimburse the Trust for, among other things, any difference between the market value at which the securities and/or financial instruments were purchased by the Trust and the cash in lieu amount (which amount, at the Adviser’s discretion, may be capped), applicable registration fees, brokerage commissions and certain taxes. The Adviser may adjust the transaction fee to the extent the composition of the creation securities changes or cash in lieu is added to the Cash Amount to protect ongoing shareholders. Creators of Creation Units are responsible for the costs of transferring the securities constituting the Deposit Instruments to the account of the Trust. To the extent that transaction fees are not recouped, those costs will be borne by the Fund’s shareholders and negatively affect the Fund’s performance. The Fund may determine not to impose a transaction fee in its sole discretion.

  

Redemption of Creation Units

  

Shares may be redeemed only in Creation Units at their NAV next determined after receipt of a redemption request in proper form by the Distributor, only on a Business Day and only through an AP. The Trust will not redeem Shares in amounts less than Creation Units. Beneficial Owners also may sell Shares in the secondary market, but must accumulate enough Shares to constitute a Creation Unit in order to have such Shares redeemed by the Trust. There can be no assurance, however, that there will be sufficient liquidity in the public trading market at any time to permit assembly of a Creation Unit. Investors should expect to incur brokerage and other costs in connection with assembling a sufficient number of Shares to constitute a redeemable Creation Unit.

  

The Administrator, through NSCC, makes available immediately prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m. Eastern time) on each day that the Exchange is open for business, the in-kind securities and instruments (“Redemption Instruments”) that will be applicable (subject to possible amendment or correction) to redemption requests received in proper form (as defined below) on that day. The redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit generally consist of Redemption Instruments as announced by the Administrator on the Business Day of the request for redemption, plus cash in an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of the Shares being redeemed, as next determined after a receipt of a request in proper form, and the value of the Redemption Instruments, less the redemption transaction fee and variable fees described below. Should the Redemption Instruments have a value greater than the NAV of the Shares being redeemed, a compensating cash payment to the Trust equal to the differential plus the applicable redemption transaction fee will be required to be arranged for by or on behalf of the redeeming shareholder. The Fund reserves the right to honor a redemption request by delivering a basket of securities or cash that differs from the Redemption Instruments.

  

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Redemption Transaction Fee

  

The basic redemption transaction fee of $[500] for the Fund is the same no matter how many Creation Units are being redeemed pursuant to any one redemption request. An additional charge will be charged with respect to redemptions outside of the Clearing Process. An additional variable charge for cash redemptions or partial cash redemptions may also be imposed to compensate the Fund for the costs associated with selling the applicable securities. As a result, in order to seek to replicate the in-kind redemption order process, the Trust expects to sell, in the secondary market, the portfolio securities or settle any financial instruments that may not be permitted to be re-registered in the name of the Participating Party as a result of an in-kind redemption order pursuant to local law or market convention, or for other reasons (“Market Sales”). In such cases where the Trust makes Market Sales, the AP will reimburse the Trust for, among other things, any difference between the market value at which the securities and/or financial instruments were sold or settled by the Trust and the cash in lieu amount (which amount, at the Adviser’s discretion, may be capped), applicable registration fees, brokerage commissions and certain taxes (“Transaction Costs”). The Adviser may adjust the transaction fee to the extent the composition of the redemption securities changes or cash in lieu is added to the Cash Amount to protect ongoing shareholders. In no event will fees charged by the Fund in connection with a redemption exceed 2% of the value of each Creation Unit. Investors who use the services of a broker or other such intermediary may be charged a fee for such services. To the extent the Fund cannot recoup the amount of Transaction Costs incurred in connection with a redemption from the redeeming shareholder because of the 2% cap or otherwise, those Transaction Costs will be borne by the Fund’s remaining shareholders and negatively affect the Fund’s performance. The Fund may determine not to impose a transaction fee in its sole discretion.

  

Placement of Redemption Orders Using Clearing Process

  

Orders to redeem Creation Units of the Fund through the Clearing Process, if available, must be delivered through an AP. An order to redeem Creation Units of the Fund using the Clearing Process is deemed received on the Transmittal Date if (i) such order is received by the Distributor not later than 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on such Transmittal Date; and (ii) all other procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement are properly followed; such order will be effected based on the NAV of the Fund as next determined. An order to redeem Creation Units of the Fund using the Clearing Process made in proper form but received by the Fund after 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, will be deemed received on the next Business Day immediately following the Transmittal Date. The requisite Redemption Instruments (or contracts to purchase such Redemption Instruments which are expected to be delivered in a “regular way” manner) and the applicable cash payment will be transferred by the second Business Day following the date on which such request for redemption is deemed received.

  

Placement of Redemption Orders Outside Clearing Process – Domestic Securities

  

Orders to redeem Creation Units of the Fund outside the Clearing Process must be delivered through an AP. An AP who wishes to place an order for redemption of Creation Units of the Fund to be effected outside the Clearing Process need not be a Participating Party, but such orders must state that the DTC Participant is not using the Clearing Process and that redemption of Creation Units of the Fund will instead be effected through transfer of Creation Units of the Fund directly through DTC. An order to redeem Creation Units of the Fund outside the Clearing Process is deemed received by the Administrator on the Transmittal Date if (i) such order is received by the Administrator not later than 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on such Transmittal Date; (ii) such order is preceded or accompanied by the requisite number of Shares of Creation Units specified in such order, which delivery must be made through DTC to the Administrator no later than 11:00 a.m. Eastern time, on such Transmittal Date; and (iii) all other procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement are properly followed.

  

After the Administrator has deemed an order for redemption outside the Clearing Process received, the Administrator will initiate procedures to transfer the requisite Redemption Instruments (or contracts to purchase such Redemption Instruments) which are expected to be delivered within two Business Days and the cash redemption payment to the redeeming Beneficial Owner by the second (2nd) Business Day following the Transmittal Date on which such redemption order is deemed received by the Administrator. An additional variable redemption transaction fee of up to four times the basic transaction fee is applicable to redemptions outside the Clearing Process.

  

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Deliveries of redemption proceeds generally will be made within two Business Days. The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed (1) for any period during which the NYSE is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings); (2) for any period during which trading on the NYSE is suspended or restricted; (3) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which disposal of the Shares of the Fund or determination of its NAV is not reasonably practicable; or (4) in such other circumstance as may be permitted by the SEC.

   

DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE

  

The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Shareholder Information—Pricing of Fund Shares.”

  

The NAV per Share for the Fund is computed by dividing the value of the net assets of the Fund (i.e., the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by the total number of Shares outstanding. Expenses and fees, including the Management Fee, are accrued daily and taken into account for purposes of determining NAV. The NAV of the Fund is determined each business day as of the close of trading (ordinarily 4:00 p.m., Eastern time) on the NYSE. Any assets or liabilities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar are converted into U.S. dollars at the current market rates on the date of valuation as quoted by one or more sources.

  

The values of the Fund’s portfolio securities will be based on market prices. Price information on listed securities and assets will be taken from the exchange where the security or asset is primarily traded. In the absence of a last reported sales price, or if no sales were reported, and for other securities and assets for which market quotes are not readily available, values may be based on quotes obtained from a quotation reporting system, established market makers or by an outside independent pricing service. Prices obtained by an outside independent pricing service will use information provided by market makers or estimates of market values obtained from data related to investments or securities with similar characteristics and may use a computerized grid matrix of securities and its evaluations in determining what it believes is the fair value of the portfolio securities.

  

For assets such as options, futures, and swaps, the Fund will utilize pricing services.

  

Non-exchange-traded derivatives, including forwards, swaps and certain options, will normally be valued on the basis of quotes obtained from brokers and dealers or pricing services using data reflecting the earlier closing of the principal markets for those assets. Prices obtained from independent pricing services use information provided by market makers or estimates of market values obtained from yield data relating to investments or securities with similar characteristics. Exchange-traded options will be valued at market closing price.

 

Futures and options on futures will be valued at the settlement price determined by the applicable exchange.

  

Fixed income securities generally trade in the over-the-counter market rather than on a securities exchange. The Fund will generally value these portfolio securities by relying on independent pricing services. The Fund’s pricing services will use valuation models or matrix pricing to determine current value. In general, pricing services use information with respect to comparable bond and note transactions, quotations from bond dealers or by reference to other securities that are considered comparable in such characteristics as rating, interest rate, maturity date, option adjusted spread models, prepayment projections, interest rate spreads and yield curves. Matrix price is an estimated price or value for a fixed-income security. Matrix pricing is considered a form of fair value pricing.

  

If a market quotation for a security is not readily available or the Adviser believes it does not otherwise accurately reflect the market value of the security at the time the Fund calculates its NAV, the security will be fair valued by the Adviser in accordance with the Trust’s valuation policies and procedures approved by the Board. The Fund may also use fair value pricing in a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to, trading in a security has been suspended or halted. Fair value pricing involves subjective judgments and it is possible that a fair value determination for a security may be materially different than the value that could be realized upon the sale of the security. In addition, fair value pricing could result in a difference between the prices used to calculate the Fund’s NAV and the prices used by the index that the Fund replicates. This may adversely affect the Fund’s ability to track the Fund’s index.

  

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DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS

 

The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Shareholder Information—Dividends and Distributions.”

 

General Policies

 

Dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid at least annually by the Fund. Distributions of net realized capital gains, if any, generally are declared and paid once a year, but the Trust may make distributions on a more frequent basis to improve the Fund’s tracking of the index it is designed to replicate or to comply with the distribution requirements of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, in all events in a manner consistent with the provisions of the 1940 Act. In addition, the Trust may distribute at least annually amounts representing the full dividend yield on the underlying portfolio securities of the Fund, net of expenses of the Fund, as if the Fund owned such underlying portfolio securities for the entire dividend period. If the Fund so elects, some portion of each distribution may result in a return of capital for tax purposes for certain shareholders.

 

Dividends and other distributions on Shares are distributed, as described below, on a pro rata basis to Beneficial Owners of such Shares. Dividend payments are made through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants to Beneficial Owners then of record with proceeds received from the Trust. The Trust makes additional distributions to the minimum extent necessary (i) to distribute the entire annual taxable income of the Trust, plus any net capital gains and (ii) to avoid imposition of the excise tax imposed by Section 4982 of the Internal Revenue Code. The Trust reserves the right to declare special dividends if, in its reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve the status of the Fund as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income.

 

DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT SERVICE

 

No reinvestment service is provided by the Trust. Broker-dealers may make available the DTC book-entry Dividend Reinvestment Service for use by Beneficial Owners of the Fund through DTC Participants for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. If this service is used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole Shares of the Fund. Beneficial Owners should contact their broker to determine the availability and costs of the service and the details of participation therein. Brokers may require Beneficial Owners to adhere to specific procedures and timetables.

 

TAXES

 

The following information also supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Shareholder Information—Tax Consequences.” The following summary of certain relevant tax provisions is subject to change, and does not constitute legal or tax advice.

 

The Fund is treated as a separate corporation for federal income tax purposes. Losses in one Fund do not offset gains in another Fund and the requirements (other than certain organizational requirements) for qualifying for RIC status as described below are determined at the Fund level rather than the Trust level.

 

The Fund intends to qualify for and to elect treatment as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code. As a RIC, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its taxable investment income and capital gains that it distributes to its shareholders. In order to qualify for treatment as a RIC, the Fund must:

 

  distribute an amount at least equal to the sum of at least 90% of its investment company taxable income and 90% of its net tax-exempt income, if any, for the tax year (including, for purposes of satisfying this distribution requirement, certain distributions made by the Fund after the close of its taxable year that are treated as made during such taxable year).

 

  derive at least 90% of its gross income from dividends, interest, certain payments with respect to securities loans, and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including, but not limited to, gains from options, futures or forward contracts) derived from its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies and net income derived from qualified publicly traded partnerships (the “Income Test”).

 

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  satisfy the following asset diversification test at the close of each quarter of the Fund’s tax year: (1) at least 50% of the value of the Fund’s assets must consist of cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other regulated investment companies, and securities of other issuers (as to which the Fund has not invested more than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets in securities of an issuer and as to which the Fund does not hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of the issuer); and (2) no more than 25% of the value of the Fund’s total assets may be invested in the securities of any one issuer (other than U.S. government securities or securities of other regulated investment companies) or of two or more issuers which the Fund controls and which are engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses, or, in the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.

 

Subject to savings provisions for certain failures to satisfy the Income Test or asset diversification requirement, which, in general, are limited to those due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect, it is possible that the Fund will not qualify as a RIC in any given tax year. Even if such savings provisions apply, the Fund may be subject to a significant monetary sanction in connection with relying on such savings provisions. If the Fund fails to qualify for any taxable year as a RIC, all of its taxable income will be subject to tax at regular corporate income tax rates without any deduction for distributions to shareholders, and such distributions generally will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary dividends to the extent of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits. Failure to qualify as a RIC would thus have a negative impact on the Fund’s income and performance.

 

The Fund will be subject to a 4% excise tax on certain undistributed income if it does not distribute to its shareholders in each calendar year at least 98% of its ordinary income (taking into account certain deferrals and elections) for the calendar year, 98.2% of its capital gain net income for the twelve months ended October 31 of such year and 100% of any undistributed amounts from the prior years. The Fund generally intends to declare and distribute dividends and distributions in the amounts and at the times necessary to generally avoid the application of this 4% excise tax.

 

The capital losses of the Fund, if any, do not flow through to shareholders. Rather, the Fund may use its capital losses, subject to applicable limitations, to offset its capital gains without being required to pay taxes on or distribute to shareholders such gains that are offset by the losses.

 

As a result of U.S. federal income tax requirements, the Trust on behalf of the Fund, has the right to reject an order for a creation of Shares if the creator (or group of creators) would, upon obtaining the Shares so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding Shares of the Fund and if, pursuant to Section 351 of the Internal Revenue Code, the Fund would have a basis in the Deposit Instruments different from the market value of such securities on the date of deposit. The Trust also has the right to require information necessary to determine beneficial share ownership for purposes of the 80% determination. See “Creation and Redemption of Creation Units—Procedures for Creation of Creation Units.”

 

Dividends, interest and gains received by the Fund from a non-U.S. investment may give rise to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes. If more than 50% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of its taxable year consist of foreign stock or securities, the Fund may elect to “pass through” to its investors certain foreign income taxes paid by the Fund, with the result that each investor will (i) include in gross income, as an additional amount, even though not actually received, the investor’s pro rata share of the Fund’s foreign income taxes, and (ii) either deduct (in calculating U.S. taxable income) or credit (in calculating U.S. federal income), subject to certain holding period and other limitations, the investor’s pro rata share of the Fund’s foreign income taxes.

 

The Fund anticipates distributing substantially all of its investment company taxable income and net capital gain for each taxable year. Distributions by the Fund will be treated in the manner described below regardless of whether such distributions are paid in cash or reinvested in additional Shares of the Fund (or of another fund). You will receive information annually as to the federal income tax consequences of distributions made (or deemed made) during the year.

 

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The Fund receives ordinary income generally in the form of dividends and/or interest on its investments. The Fund may also recognize ordinary income from other sources, including, but not limited to, certain gains on foreign currency-related transactions. This income, less expenses incurred in the operation of the Fund, constitutes the Fund’s net investment income from which dividends may be paid to you. If you are a taxable investor, distributions of net investment income generally are taxable as ordinary income to the extent of the Fund’s earnings and profits.

 

The Fund may derive capital gain and loss in connection with sales or other dispositions of its portfolio securities. Distributions derived from the excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss will be taxable to you as ordinary income. Distributions paid from the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss will be taxable to you as long-term capital gain, regardless of how long you have held your Shares in the Fund. Any net short-term or long-term capital gain realized by the Fund (net of any capital loss carryovers) generally will be distributed once each year and may be distributed more frequently, if necessary, in order to reduce or eliminate federal excise or income taxes on the Fund.

 

Distributions by the Fund that are not paid from earnings and profits will be treated as a return of capital to the extent of (and in reduction of) the shareholder’s tax basis in his Shares; any excess will be treated as gain from the sale of his Shares. Thus, the portion of a distribution that constitutes a return of capital will decrease the shareholder’s tax basis in his Fund Shares (but not below zero), and will result in an increase in the amount of gain (or decrease in the amount of loss) that will be recognized by the shareholder for tax purposes on the later sale of such Fund Shares. Return of capital distributions can occur for a number of reasons including, among others, the Fund over-estimates the income to be received from certain investments such as those classified as partnerships.

 

In general, a sale of Shares results in capital gain or loss, and for individual shareholders, is taxable at a federal rate dependent upon the length of time the Shares were held. A redemption of a shareholder’s Fund Shares is normally treated as a sale for tax purposes. Fund Shares held for a period of one year or less at the time of such sale or redemption will, for tax purposes, generally result in short-term capital gains or losses, and those held for more than one year will generally result in long-term capital gains or losses. The maximum tax rate on long-term capital gains available to non-corporate shareholders generally is 15% or 20%, depending on whether the shareholder’s income exceeds certain threshold amounts.

 

An additional 3.8% Medicare tax will be imposed on certain net investment income (including ordinary dividends and capital gain distributions received from the Fund and net gains from redemptions or other taxable dispositions of Fund Shares) of U.S. individuals, estates and trusts to the extent that such person’s “modified adjusted gross income” (in the case of an individual) or “adjusted gross income” (in the case of an estate or trust) exceeds certain threshold amounts.

 

Special tax rules may change the normal treatment of gains and losses recognized by the Fund if the Fund makes certain investments such as investments in structured notes, swaps, options, futures transactions, and non-U.S. corporations classified as “passive foreign investment companies.” Those special tax rules can, among other things, affect the treatment of capital gain or loss as long-term or short-term and may result in ordinary income or loss rather than capital gain or loss and may accelerate when the Fund has to take these items into account for tax purposes.

 

In general, option premiums received by the Fund are not immediately included in the income of the Fund. Instead, the premiums are recognized when the option contract expires, the option is exercised by the holder, or the Fund transfers or otherwise terminates the option (e.g., through a closing transaction). If an option written by the Fund is exercised and the Fund sells or delivers the underlying stock, the Fund generally will recognize capital gain or loss equal to (a) the sum of the strike price and the option premium received by the Fund minus (b) the Fund’s basis in the stock. Such gain or loss generally will be short-term or long-term depending upon the holding period of the underlying stock. If securities are purchased by the Fund pursuant to the exercise of a put option written by it, the Fund generally will subtract the premium received from its cost basis in the securities purchased. The gain or loss with respect to any termination of the Fund’s obligation under an option other than through the exercise of the option and related sale or delivery of the underlying stock generally will be short-term gain or loss depending on whether the premium income received by the Fund is greater or less than the amount paid by the Fund (if any) in terminating the transaction. Thus, for example, if an option written by the Fund expires unexercised, the Fund generally will recognize short-term gain equal to the premium received.

 

29

 

 

The tax treatment of certain futures contracts entered into by the Fund as well as listed non-equity options written or purchased by the Fund on U.S. exchanges (including options on futures contracts, broad-based equity indices and debt securities) may be governed by section 1256 of the Internal Revenue Code (“section 1256 contracts”). Gains or losses on section 1256 contracts generally are considered 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gains or losses (“60/40”), although certain foreign currency gains and losses from such contracts may be treated as ordinary in character. Also, any section 1256 contracts held by the Fund at the end of each taxable year (and, for purposes of the 4% excise tax, on certain other dates as prescribed under the Internal Revenue Code) are “marked to market” with the result that unrealized gains or losses are treated as though they were realized and the resulting gain or loss is treated as ordinary or 60/40 gain or loss, as applicable. Section 1256 contracts do not include any interest rate swap, currency swap, basis swap, interest rate cap, interest rate floor, commodity swap, equity swap, equity index swap, credit default swap, or similar agreement.

 

In addition to the special rules described above in respect of options and futures transactions, the Fund’s transactions in other derivative instruments (including options, forward contracts and swap agreements) as well as its other hedging, short sale, or similar transactions, may be subject to one or more special tax rules (including the constructive sale, notional principal contract, straddle, wash sale and short sale rules). These rules may affect whether gains and losses recognized by the Fund are treated as ordinary or capital or as short-term or long-term, accelerate the recognition of income or gains to the Fund, defer losses to the Fund, and cause adjustments in the holding periods of the Fund’s securities. These rules, therefore, could affect the amount, timing and/or character of distributions to shareholders. Moreover, because the tax rules applicable to derivative instruments are in some cases uncertain under current law, an adverse determination or future guidance by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) with respect to these rules (which determination or guidance could be retroactive) may affect whether the Fund has made sufficient distributions, and otherwise satisfied the relevant requirements, to maintain its qualification as a regulated investment company and avoid a Fund-level tax.

 

Certain of the Fund’s investments in derivatives and foreign currency-denominated instruments, and the Fund’s transactions in foreign currencies and hedging activities, may produce a difference between its book income and its taxable income. If the Fund’s book income is less than the sum of its taxable income and net tax-exempt income (if any), the Fund could be required to make distributions exceeding book income to qualify as a regulated investment company. If the Fund’s book income exceeds the sum of its taxable income and net tax-exempt income (if any), the distribution of any such excess will be treated as (i) a dividend to the extent of the Fund’s remaining earnings and profits (including current earnings and profits arising from tax-exempt income, reduced by related deductions), (ii) thereafter, as a return of capital to the extent of the recipient’s basis in the shares, and (iii) thereafter, as gain from the sale or exchange of a capital asset.

 

The Fund’s transactions in foreign currencies, foreign currency-denominated debt obligations and certain foreign currency options, futures contracts and forward contracts (and similar instruments) may give rise to ordinary income or loss to the extent such income or loss results from fluctuations in the value of the foreign currency concerned. This treatment could increase or decrease the Fund’s ordinary income distributions to you, and may cause some or all of the Fund’s previously distributed income to be classified as a return of capital. In certain cases, the Fund may make an election to treat such gain or loss as capital.

 

The requirement of the Fund to satisfy the Income Test will limit the ability of the Fund to invest in items that could result in non-qualifying income. Additionally, some of the income that the Fund might otherwise earn with respect to its investments may be non-qualifying income for purposes of such test. To manage the risk that such income might disqualify the Fund as a RIC for failure to satisfy such test, one or more subsidiary entities treated as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes may be employed to earn such income and (if applicable) hold the related asset. Such subsidiary entities may be required to pay U.S. federal income tax on their earnings, which ultimately may reduce the yield to the Fund’s shareholders on such income.

 

30

 

 

Investments in passive foreign investment companies (“PFICs”) are subject to special tax rules which may result in adverse tax consequences to the Fund and its shareholders. To the extent the Fund invests in PFICs, it generally intends to elect to “mark to market” these investments at the end of each taxable year. By making this election, the Fund will recognize as ordinary income any increase in the value of such shares as of the close of the taxable year over their adjusted basis and as ordinary loss any decrease in such investment (but only to the extent of prior income from such investment under the mark to market rules). Gains realized with respect to a disposition of a PFIC that the Fund has elected to mark to market will be ordinary income. By making the mark to market election, the Fund may recognize income in excess of the distributions that it receives from its investments. Accordingly, the Fund may need to borrow money or dispose of some of its investments in order to meet its distribution requirements. If the Fund does not make the mark to market election with respect to an investment in a PFIC, the Fund could become subject to U.S. federal income tax with respect to certain distributions from, and gain on the dispositions of, the PFIC which cannot be avoided by distributing such amounts to the Fund’s shareholders.

 

An AP who exchanges equity 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 of purchase and the exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and the Cash Component paid. A person who exchanges Creation Units for equity securities will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanger’s basis in the Creation Units and the aggregate market value of the securities received and the Cash Redemption Amount. The IRS, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. Persons exchanging securities should consult their own tax advisor with respect to whether wash sale rules apply and when a loss might be deductible.

 

Under current federal tax laws, any capital gain or loss realized upon redemption of Creation Units is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the Shares have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if the Shares have been held for one year or less.

 

If the Fund redeems Creation Units in cash, it may recognize more capital gains than it will if it redeems Creation Units in-kind. Gain or loss on the sale or redemption of Fund Shares is measured by the difference between the amount of cash received (or the fair market value of any property received) and the adjusted tax basis of the Shares. Shareholders should keep records of investments made (including Shares acquired through reinvestment of dividends and distributions) so they can compute the tax basis of their Fund Shares. A shareholder’s cost basis information will be provided on the redemption of any of the shareholder’s Shares, subject to certain exceptions for exempt recipients. Please contact the broker (or other nominee) that holds your Shares with respect to reporting of cost basis and available elections for your account.

 

A loss realized on a sale or exchange of Shares of the Fund may be disallowed if other Fund Shares or substantially identical shares are acquired (whether through the automatic reinvestment of dividends or otherwise) within a sixty-one (61) day period beginning thirty (30) days before and ending thirty (30) days after the date that the Shares are disposed of. In such a case, the basis of the Shares acquired will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss. Any loss upon the sale or exchange of Shares held for six (6) months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of any capital gain dividends received by the shareholders. Distribution of ordinary income and capital gains may also be subject to foreign, state and local taxes.

 

The Fund may make investments in which it recognizes income or gain prior to receiving cash with respect to such investment. For example, under certain tax rules, the Fund may be required to accrue a portion of any discount at which certain securities are purchased as income each year even though the Fund receives no payments in cash on the security during the year. To the extent that the Fund makes such investments, it generally would be required to pay out such income or gain as a distribution in each year to avoid taxation at the Fund level.

 

Distributions reinvested in additional Fund Shares through the means of a dividend reinvestment service (see “Dividend Reinvestment Service”) will nevertheless be taxable dividends to Beneficial Owners acquiring such additional Shares to the same extent as if such dividends had been received in cash.

 

Some shareholders may be subject to a withholding tax on distributions of ordinary income, capital gains and any cash received on redemption of Creation Units (“backup withholding”). The backup withholding rate for individuals is currently 24%. Generally, shareholders subject to backup withholding will be those for whom no certified taxpayer identification number is on file with the Fund or who, to the Fund’s knowledge, have furnished an incorrect number. When establishing an account, an investor must certify under penalty of perjury that such number is correct and that such investor is not otherwise subject to backup withholding. Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld will be allowed as a credit against shareholders’ U.S. federal income tax liabilities, and may entitle them to a refund, provided that the required information is timely furnished to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”).

 

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Non-U.S. investors (shareholders who, as to the United States, are nonresident alien individuals, foreign trusts or estates, or foreign corporations) may be subject to U.S. withholding and estate tax and are subject to special U.S. tax certification requirements. Non-U.S. investors should consult their tax advisors about the applicability of U.S. tax withholding and the use of the appropriate forms to certify their status. The United States imposes a flat 30% withholding tax (or a withholding tax at a lower treaty rate) on U.S. source dividends, including on income dividends paid to you by the Fund, subject to certain exemptions described below. However, notwithstanding such exemptions from U.S. withholding at the source, any dividends and distributions of income and capital gains, including the proceeds from the sale of your Fund Shares, will be subject to backup withholding at a rate of 24% if you fail to properly certify that you are not a U.S. person.

 

In general, capital gain dividends reported by the Fund as paid from its net long-term capital gains, other than long-term capital gains realized on disposition of U.S. real property interests, are not subject to U.S. withholding tax unless you are a nonresident alien individual present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the calendar year.

 

Dividends reported by the Fund as interest-related dividends and paid from its qualified net interest income from U.S. sources are not subject to U.S. withholding tax. “Qualified interest income” includes, in general, U.S. source (1) bank deposit interest, (2) short-term original discount, (3) interest (including original issue discount, market discount, or acquisition discount) on an obligation that is in registered form, unless it is earned on an obligation issued by a corporation or partnership in which the Fund is a 10-percent shareholder or is contingent interest, and (4) any interest-related dividend from another regulated investment company. Similarly, short-term capital gain dividends reported by the Fund as paid from its net short-term capital gains, other than short-term capital gains realized on disposition of U.S. real property interests, are not subject to U.S. withholding tax unless you were a nonresident alien individual present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the calendar year.  The Fund reserves the right to not report interest-related dividends or short-term capital gain dividends.  Additionally, the Fund’s reporting of interest-related dividends or short-term capital gain dividends may not be passed through to shareholders by intermediaries who have assumed tax reporting responsibilities for this income in managed or omnibus accounts due to systems limitations or operational constraints.

 

Ordinary dividends paid by the Fund to non-U.S. investors on the income earned on portfolio investments in (i) the stock of domestic and foreign corporations and (ii) the debt of foreign issuers continue to be subject to U.S. withholding tax.

 

Foreign shareholders may be subject to U.S. withholding tax at a rate of 30% on the income resulting from an election to pass-through foreign tax credits to shareholders, but may not be able to claim a credit or deduction with respect to the withholding tax for the foreign tax treated as having been paid by them.

 

Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”), a 30% withholding tax is imposed on income dividends paid by the Fund to certain foreign entities, referred to as foreign financial institutions or nonfinancial foreign entities, that fail to comply (or be deemed compliant) with extensive reporting and withholding requirements designed to inform the U.S. Department of the Treasury of U.S.-owned foreign investment accounts. Information about a shareholder in the Fund may be disclosed to the IRS, non-U.S. taxing authorities or other parties as necessary to comply with FATCA. Withholding also may be required if a foreign entity that is a shareholder of the Fund fails to provide the appropriate certifications or other documentation concerning its status under FATCA.

 

Non-U.S. shareholders are advised to consult their tax advisors with respect to the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in the Fund, including the possible applicability of the U.S. estate tax.

 

The foregoing discussion is a summary only and is not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning. Purchasers of Shares of the Trust should consult their own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of investing in such Shares, including under state, local and other tax laws. Finally, the foregoing discussion is based on applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, regulations, judicial authority and administrative interpretations in effect on the date hereof. Changes in applicable authority could materially affect the conclusions discussed above, and such changes often occur.

 

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Reportable Transactions

 

Under promulgated Treasury regulations, if a shareholder recognizes a loss on disposition of the Fund’s Shares of $2 million or more in any one taxable year (or $4 million or more over a period of six taxable years) for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more in any taxable year (or $20 million or more over a period of six taxable years) for a corporate shareholder, the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a RIC that engaged in a reportable transaction are not excepted. Future guidance may extend the current exception from this reporting requirement to shareholders of most or all RICs. In addition, significant penalties may be imposed for the failure to comply with the reporting requirements. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.

 

CAPITAL STOCK AND SHAREHOLDER REPORTS

  

The Trust currently is comprised of nine investment funds. The Trust issues Shares of beneficial interest with no par value. The Board may designate additional funds of the Trust.

 

Each Share issued by the Trust has a pro rata interest in the assets of the Fund. Shares have no pre-emptive, exchange, subscription or conversion rights and are freely transferable. Each Share is entitled to participate equally in dividends and distributions declared by the Board with respect to the Fund, and in the net distributable assets of the Fund on liquidation. The Fund may liquidate and terminate at any time and for any reason, including as a result of the termination of the agreement between the Adviser and the provider of the Fund’s benchmark index, without shareholder approval.

 

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 and each fractional Share has a proportional fractional vote. Shares of the funds in the Trust vote together as a single class except that if the matter being voted on affects only a particular fund, the matter will be voted on only by that fund, and if a matter affects a particular fund differently from other funds in the Trust, that fund will vote separately on such matter. Under Delaware law, the Trust is not required to hold an annual meeting of shareholders unless required to do so under the 1940 Act. The policy of the Trust is not to hold an annual meeting of shareholders unless required to do so under the 1940 Act. All Shares issued by funds in the Trust have noncumulative voting rights for the election of Trustees. Under Delaware law, Trustees of the Trust may be removed by vote of the shareholders.

 

Under Delaware law, shareholders of a statutory trust may have similar limitations on liability as shareholders of a corporation.

 

The Trust will issue through DTC Participants to its shareholders semi-annual reports containing unaudited financial statements and annual reports containing financial statements audited by an independent auditor approved by the Trust’s Trustees and by the shareholders when meetings are held and such other information as may be required by applicable laws, rules and regulations. Beneficial Owners also annually receive notification as to the tax status of the Trust’s distributions.

 

Shareholder inquiries may be made by writing to the Trust, c/o ARK Investment Management LLC, 3 E. 28th St, Floor 7, New York, NY 10016.

 

COUNSEL AND INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

 

Dechert, LLP, 1095 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036, is counsel to the Trust.

 

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Sullivan & Worcester LLP, 1666 K Street, NW Washington, DC 20006, is counsel to the Independent Trustees.

 

[                              ], is the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm and audits the Fund’s financial statements and performs other related audit services.

 

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

As of the date of this SAI, the Fund had not yet commenced operations, therefore no financial statements are provided. Financial statements for the Fund will be sent to shareholders when available.

 

CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS

 

As of the date of this SAI, the Fund had not yet commenced operation and, therefore, no entity beneficially owned any voting securities of the Fund.

 

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APPENDIX A

 

ARK INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LLC

 

PROXY VOTING POLICY

 

I. Introduction

  

ARK Investment Management LLC (“Adviser”) has adopted this Proxy Voting Policy (“Policy”) pursuant to Rule 206(4)-6 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (“Advisers Act”), Rule 30b1-4 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and other fiduciary obligations. The Policy is designed to provide guidance to portfolio managers and others in discharging the Adviser’s proxy voting duty and to seek to ensure that proxies are voted in the best interests of the Adviser’s clients.

 

II. Statement of Policy

 

It is the Adviser’s policy to vote shares owned by clients that have delegated discretionary proxy voting authority to the Adviser in the best interest of the clients without regard to the interests of the Adviser or other related parties. For purposes of the Policy, the “best interests of clients” shall mean (unless with respect to a particular client, such client has otherwise specified) the clients’ best economic interests over the long term – that is, the common interest that all clients share in seeing the value of a common investment (held by various clients or accounts) increase over time. The Adviser will accept directions from a client to vote the client’s proxies in a manner that may result in such client’s proxies being voted differently than the Adviser might vote proxies of other clients over which the Adviser has full discretionary proxy voting authority. The Adviser believes such client directions should be treated as customized proxy voting guidelines and this Policy does not generally apply to customized proxy voting guidelines.

 

It is the policy of the Adviser that complete and accurate disclosure concerning its proxy voting policies and procedures and proxy voting records, as required by the Advisers Act, be made available to those clients that have delegated discretionary proxy voting authority to the Adviser. Specific disclosure requirements as to investment company clients, such as the series of ARK ETF Trust, are described in section IV hereof and in compliance policies and procedures for the relevant funds.1

 

III. Procedures

 

Subject to the procedures set forth below, the Adviser’s portfolio managers maintain responsibility for reviewing all proxies individually and making final decisions based on the merits of each case.

 

  A. Use of Third Party Proxy Service

 

In connection with its responsibilities expressed herein, the Adviser has retained Proxy Agent to assist the Adviser in researching and voting proxies for its clients. The Adviser will utilize the research and analytical services, operational implementation and recordkeeping and reporting services provided by Proxy Agent. Proxy Agent will provide research for each proxy and a recommendation as to how to vote on each issue based on the research of a third-party research provider (e.g., Glass, Lewis & Co., LLC) (“Research Provider”) with regard to the individual facts and circumstances of the proxy issue and the Research Provider’s application of its research findings to the Research Provider’s guidelines (“Guidelines”). Adviser will instruct the Proxy Agent to cast votes in accordance with the Research Provider’s recommendations (“Recommendation”) unless otherwise instructed by the Adviser as set forth below.

 

 

1 See, e.g., the Compliance Manual for ARK ETF Trust, section VI.C.

 

A-1 

 

 

  B. Review of Recommendations

 

The Adviser’s portfolio managers (or other designated personnel) have the ultimate responsibility to accept or reject any Recommendation. Consequently, the portfolio managers or other appointed personnel are responsible for understanding and reviewing how proxies are voted for their clients, considering this Policy, the Guidelines and the best interest of the clients. A portfolio manager shall override the Recommendation if he/she does not believe that such Recommendation, based on all facts and circumstances, is in the best interests of the clients.

 

Among other things, the Adviser may choose not to vote proxies under the following circumstances:

 

  1. if the effect on the clients’ economic interests or the value of the portfolio holding is indeterminable or insignificant;

 

  2. if the cost of voting the proxy outweighs the possible benefit; or

 

  3. if a jurisdiction whose laws or regulations govern the voting of proxies with respect to the portfolio holding impose share blocking restrictions which prevent the Adviser from exercising its voting authority.

 

If for some other reason proxies are not voted for Clients, the Adviser and/or a third-party will conduct an analysis to review whether the lack of voting would have had a material impact on the outcome of the vote. The Adviser will memorialize the basis for any decision to override a Recommendation or to abstain from voting, including the resolution of any conflicts, as further discussed below.

 

  C. Addressing Material Conflicts of Interest

 

Prior to overriding a Recommendation, the portfolio manager (or other designated personnel) must memorialize the determination by filling out a Proxy Vote Override Form, attached as Exhibit A (or other document containing substantially the same information) and submit it to the Adviser’s Chief Compliance Officer or designee (“CCO”) for determination as to whether a potential material conflict of interest exists between the Adviser and the clients on whose behalf the proxy is to be voted (“Material Conflict”). Portfolio managers have an affirmative duty to disclose any potential Material Conflicts known to them related to a proxy vote. Material Conflicts may exist in situations where the Adviser is called to vote on a proxy involving an issuer or proponent of a proxy proposal regarding the issuer where the Adviser or an affiliated person of the Adviser also:

 

  1. manages the issuer’s or proponent’s pension plan;

 

  2. administers the issuer’s or proponent’s employee benefit plan;

 

  3. provides brokerage, underwriting, insurance or banking services to the issuer or proponent; or

 

  4. manages money for an employee group.

 

Additional Material Conflicts may exist if an executive of the Adviser or its control affiliates is a close relative of, or has a personal or business relationship with:

 

  1. an executive of the issuer or proponent;

 

  2. a director of the issuer or proponent;

 

  3. a person who is a candidate to be a director of the issuer;

 

  4. a participant in the proxy contest; or

 

  5. a proponent of a proxy proposal.

 

A-2 

 

 

Material Conflicts based on business relationships or dealings of affiliates of the Adviser will only be considered to the extent that the portfolio management area of the Adviser has actual knowledge of such business relationships. Whether a relationship creates a Material Conflict will depend on the facts and circumstances. Even if these parties do not attempt to influence the Adviser with respect to voting, the value of the relationship to the Adviser can create a Material Conflict.

 

Material Conflicts may exist when the Adviser manages a separate account, a fund or other collective investment vehicle that invests in affiliated funds. When the Adviser receives proxies in its capacity as a shareholder of an underlying fund, the Adviser will vote in accordance with the Recommendation. If the independent Proxy Agent does not provide a Recommendation, the Adviser then may address the conflict by “echoing” or “mirroring” the vote of the other shareholders in those underlying funds.

 

If the CCO determines that there is no potential Material Conflict, the portfolio manager may override the Recommendation and vote the proxy issue as he/she determines is in the best interest of clients. If the CCO determines that there exists or may exist a Material Conflict, the CCO will consider the facts and circumstances of the pending proxy vote and the potential or actual Material Conflict and make a determination as to how to vote the proxy – i.e., whether to permit or deny the override of the Recommendation, or whether to take other action, such as delegating the proxy vote to an independent third party or obtaining voting instructions from clients. In considering the proxy vote and potential Material Conflict, the CCO may consider the following factors:

 

  1. the percentage of outstanding securities of the issuer held on behalf of clients by the Adviser;

 

  2. the nature of the relationship of the issuer with the Adviser, its affiliates or its executive officers;

 

  3. whether there has been any attempt to directly or indirectly influence the portfolio manager’s decision;

 

  4. whether the direction (for or against) of the proposed vote would appear to benefit the Adviser or a related party; and

 

  5. whether an objective decision to vote in a certain way will still create a strong appearance of a conflict.

 

The Adviser may not abstain from voting any such proxy for the purpose of avoiding a potential conflict.

 

In the event the Research Provider has a conflict and thus, is unable to provide a Recommendation, the portfolio manager will make a voting recommendation and complete a Proxy Vote Override Form. The CCO will review the form and if the CCO determines that there is no potential Material Conflict, the portfolio manager may instruct the Proxy Agent to vote the proxy issue as he/she determines is in the best interest of clients. If the CCO determines that there exists or may exist a Material Conflict, the CCO will make a determination based on a consideration of the factors noted above.

 

  D. Lending

 

The Adviser will monitor upcoming meetings and call stock loans, if applicable, in anticipation of an important vote to be taken among holders of the securities or of the giving or withholding of their consent on a material matter affecting the investment. In determining whether to call stock loans, the relevant portfolio manager(s) shall consider whether the benefit to the client in voting the matter outweighs the benefit to the client in keeping the stock on loan. Currently, the Adviser does not participate in securities lending activities.

 

IV. Compliance Monitoring

 

The CCO will periodically review Proxy Agent reports of portfolio manager overrides to confirm that proper override and conflict checking procedures were followed.

 

A-3 

 

 

V. Client Reporting

 

  A. General

 

The Adviser will provide a copy of this Policy and the Guidelines upon request from a client.

 

The Adviser will provide any client who makes a written or verbal request with a copy of a report disclosing how the Adviser voted securities held in that client’s portfolio.

 

  B. Investment Company Clients

 

The Adviser will provide a copy of this Policy and the Guidelines, and any material amendments thereto, to the board of directors/trustees of a client that is a registered investment company, including the Board of Trustees of ARK ETF Trust.

 

With respect to proxies voted on behalf of a client that is a registered investment company, the Adviser will make available via the SEC’s EDGAR Form N-PX report of all proxies voted for such client for each twelve month period from July 1 to June 30 of the following year. The report will generally contain the following information:

 

  1. the name of the issuer of the security;

 

  2. the security’s exchange ticker symbol;

 

  3. the security’s CUSIP number;

 

  4. the shareholder meeting date;

 

  5. a brief identification of the matter voted on;

 

  6. whether the matter was proposed by the issuer or by a security holder;

 

  7. whether the Adviser cast a vote on the matter;

 

  8. how the Adviser voted; and

 

  9. whether the Adviser voted for or against management.

 

The Adviser will review that proper disclosure is made in each registered investment company client’s Statement of Additional Information describing the policies and procedures used to determine how to vote proxies relating to such client’s portfolio securities.

 

  C. Disclosure to Third Parties

 

Since the manner in which the Adviser votes proxies on behalf of its clients may be considered material non-public information, employees may not disclose the Adviser’s actual vote (until voting results are made public) or the Adviser’s voting intentions to any third party (except electronically to regulatory agencies) including, but not limited to, proxy solicitors, non-clients, and the media. The Adviser may communicate with other investors regarding a specific proposal but will not disclose its vote until such time as the subject issuer has publicly disclosed the voting results.

 

VI. Recordkeeping

 

Either the Adviser or the Proxy Agent, or both, as indicated below, will maintain the following records:

 

A-4 

 

 

  1. a copy of this Policy (Adviser);

 

  2. a copy of the Guidelines (both);

 

  3. a copy of each proxy statement received by the Adviser regarding client securities (Proxy Agent);

 

  4. a record of each vote cast by the Adviser on behalf of a client (Proxy Agent);

 

  5. a copy of all documents created by the Adviser that were material to making a decision on the proxy voting (or abstaining from voting) of client securities or that memorialize the basis for that decision including the resolution of any conflict, a copy of all Proxy Vote Override Forms and all supporting documents (Adviser); and

 

  6. a copy of each written request by a client for information on how the Adviser voted proxies on behalf of the client, as well as a copy of any written response by the Adviser to any request by a client for information on how the Adviser voted proxies on behalf of the client. Records of oral requests for information or oral responses will not be kept. (Adviser)

 

Such records must be maintained for at least six years.

 

Adopted: August 2014 

Amended: February 2, 2015 

Amended: February 16, 2016

Amended: June 12, 2017 

Amended: January 26, 2018 

Amended: January 25, 2019 

Amended: May 29, 2020

 

A-5 

 

 

Exhibit A 

ARK INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LLC 

Proxy Vote Override Form

 

 

Portfolio Manager Requesting Override: 
 
Security Issuer: 
 
CUSIP #:     Security’s exchange ticker symbol:  
       
Total Number of Shares held:     Percentage of outstanding shares held:  
         

 

Type of accounts holding security:
 
ETFs/Mutual Funds (name each fund):
     
Separate Accounts (specify number):
     
Other (describe):
     
         

 

Shareholder Meeting Date:     Response Deadline:

 

A-6 

 

 

Brief Description of the Matter to be Voted On:
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Proposal Type (check one):

 

¨ Management Proposal  

 

¨ Shareholder Proposal (identify proponent:  
  )  

 

Recommended vote by issuer’s management (check one): ¨    For ¨     Against  
       
Recommended vote by Proxy Agent (check one): ¨    For ¨     Against ¨     Abstain
       
Portfolio manager recommended vote (check one): ¨    For ¨     Against ¨     Abstain
       
Describe in detail why you believe this override is in the client’s best interest (attach supporting documentation):
       
       
       
       
       

  

Are you aware of any relationship between the issuer, or its officers or directors, and ARK Investment Management LLC (“ARK”) or any of its affiliates?

 

¨ No    ¨ Yes (describe below)

 

 

 

 

 

Are you aware of any relationship between the issuer, including its officers or directors, and any executive officers of ARK or any of its affiliates?

 

¨ No    ¨ Yes (describe below)

 
 
 
 

 

A-7 

 

 

Are you aware of any relationship between the proponents of the proxy proposal (if not the issuer) and any executive officers of ARK or any of its affiliates?

 

¨ No    ¨ Yes (describe below)

 
 
 
 

 

Has anyone (outside of your portfolio management area) contacted you in an attempt to influence your decision to vote this proxy matter?

 

¨ No    ¨ Yes

 

If yes, please describe below who contacted you and on whose behalf, the manner in which you were contacted (such as by phone, by mail, as part of group, individually etc.), the subject matter of the communication and any other relevant information, and attach copies of any written communications. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Are you aware of any facts related to this proxy vote that may present a potential conflict of interest with the interests of the client(s) on whose behalf the proxies are to be voted?

 

¨ No    ¨ Yes (describe below)

 

Certification:

 

The undersigned hereby certifies to the best of his or her knowledge that the above statements are complete and accurate, and that such override is in the client’s best interests without regard to the interests of ARK or any related parties.

 

Name:     Date:  
         
Title:        

 

Supervisor Concurrence with Override Request:

 

Name:     Date:  
         
Title:        

 

Compliance Action:

 

  Override Approved
  Override Not Approved

 

Name:     Date:  
         
Title:        

 

A-8 

 

  

ARK ETF TRUST

 

PART C. OTHER INFORMATION

 

Item 28. Exhibits

 

(a) (1) Certificate of Trust of Registrant dated June 7, 20131

 

  (2) Agreement and Declaration of Trust of Registrant2

 

(b) Amended and Restated By-Laws of the Registrant6

 

(c) See Articles IV, V and IX of the Registrant’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust previously filed with the Registrant’s Pre-Effective Amendment No. 3, SEC File No. 333-191019, filed on September 2, 2014.
   
  See also, Articles V and VII of the Registrant’s Amended and Restated By-Laws.6

 

(d) (1) Investment Advisory Agreement between Registrant and ARK Investment Management LLC10

 

(e) (1) Distribution Agreement between Registrant and Foreside Fund Services, LLC2

 

  (i) Form of Amendment #1 to Distribution Agreement between Registrant and Foreside Fund Services, LLC4
     
  (ii) Form of Novation of Distribution Agreement between Registrant and Foreside Fund Services, LLC7
     
  (iii) First Amendment to Ark ETF Trust Distribution Agreement between Registrant and Foreside Fund Services, LLC8
     
  (iv) Form of Second Amendment to Ark ETF Trust Distribution Agreement between Registrant and Foreside Fund Services, LLC9

 

(f) Not applicable
   
(g) (1) Custody Agreement between Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon5

 

  (i) Form of Amendment #1 to Custody Agreement between Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon4
     
  (ii) Form of Amendment #2 to Custody Agreement between Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon9

 

(h) (1) Supervision Agreement between Registrant and ARK Investment Management LLC10

 

  (2) Fund Administration and Accounting Agreement between Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon5

 

  (i) Form of Amendment #1 to Fund Administration and Accounting Agreement between Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon4
     
  (ii) Investment Company Reporting Modernization Services Amendment to Fund Administration and Accounting Agreement8
     
  (iii) Form of Amendment #3 to Fund Administration and Accounting Agreement between Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon9

 

 

 

  (3) Transfer Agency and Service Agreement between Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon3

 

  (i) Form of Amendment #1 to Transfer Agency and Service Agreement between Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon4
     
  (ii) Form of Amendment #2 to Transfer Agency and Service Agreement between Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon9

 

(i) Consent of Counsel11
   
(j) Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm11

 

(k) Not applicable.
   
(l) Not applicable.

 

(m) Distribution and Service Plan9
   
(n) Not applicable.
   
(o) Not applicable.

 

(p) (1) Revised Code of Ethics of Registrant and ARK Investment Management LLC7
     
  (2) Code of Ethics of Foreside Fund Services, LLC8

 

(q)  

 

  (1) Powers of Attorney2

 

  (2) Powers of Attorney6
     
  (3) Powers of Attorney7

 

1 Incorporated herein by reference to the corresponding exhibit of the Registrant’s initial Registration Statement, SEC File No. 333-191019, filed on September 6, 2013.

 

2 Incorporated herein by reference to the corresponding exhibits of the Registrant’s Pre-Effective Amendment No. 3, SEC File No. 333-191019, filed on September 2, 2014.

 

3 Incorporated herein by reference to the corresponding exhibits of the Registrant’s Pre-Effective Amendment No. 4, SEC File No. 333-191019, filed on September 11, 2014.

 

4 Incorporated herein by reference to the corresponding exhibits of the Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 3, SEC File No. 333-191019, filed on October 16, 2015.

 

5 Incorporated herein by reference to the corresponding exhibits of the Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 5, SEC File No. 333-191019, filed on December 29, 2015.

 

6 Incorporated herein by reference to the corresponding exhibits of the Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 9, SEC File No. 333-191019, filed on December 27, 2016

 

7 Incorporated herein by reference to the corresponding exhibits of the Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 11, SEC File No. 333-191019, filed on November 22, 2017.

 

8 Incorporated herein by reference to the corresponding exhibits of the Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 14, SEC File No. 333-191019, filed on November 21, 2018.

 

9 Incorporated herein by reference to the corresponding exhibits of the Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 17, SEC File No. 333-191019, filed on January 28, 2019.

 

10 Incorporated herein by reference to the corresponding exhibits of the Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 25, SEC File No. 333-191019, filed on November 25, 2020.

 

11 To be filed by further amendment.

 

 

 

Item 29. Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with the Fund

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 30. Indemnification

 

Reference is made to Article IX of the Agreement and Declaration of Trust filed as an exhibit to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form N-1A.

 

In addition, the Registrant has obtained from a major insurance carrier a trustees’ and officers’ liability policy covering certain types of errors and omissions.

 

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 may be permitted to directors, 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 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 the Investment Adviser

 

See “Management” in the Statement of Additional Information. Information as to the directors and officers of ARK Investment Management LLC, the Registrant’s investment adviser, is included in its Form ADV filed with the SEC and is incorporated herein by reference thereto.

 

Item 32. Principal Underwriters

 

(a) Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the “Distributor”) serves as principal underwriter for the following investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended:

 

1.ABS Long/Short Strategies Fund

2.Absolute Shares Trust

3.AdvisorShares Trust

4.AFA Multi-Manager Credit Fund

5.AGF Investments Trust (f/k/a FQF Trust)

6.AIM ETF Products Trust

7.Alexis Practical Tactical ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

8.AlphaCentric Prime Meridian Income Fund

9.American Century ETF Trust

10.American Customer Satisfaction ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

11.Amplify ETF Trust

12.ARK ETF Trust

13.ASYMmetric ETFs Trust

14.Bluestone Community Development Fund (f/k/a The 504 Fund)

15.Braddock Multi-Strategy Income Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust

16.Bridgeway Funds, Inc.

17.Brinker Capital Destinations Trust

18.Brookfield Real Assets Income Fund Inc.

 

 

 

19.Cabot Equity Growth ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

20.Calamos Convertible and High Income Fund

21.Calamos Convertible Opportunities and Income Fund

22.Calamos Dynamic Convertible and Income Fund

23.Calamos Global Dynamic Income Fund

24.Calamos Global Total Return Fund

25.Calamos Strategic Total Return Fund

26.Carlyle Tactical Private Credit Fund

27.Center Coast Brookfield MLP & Energy Infrastructure Fund

28.Changebridge Capital Long/Short ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

29.Changebridge Capital Sustainable Equity ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

30.Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund

31.Cliffwater Enhanced Lending Fund

32.Cohen & Steers Infrastructure Fund, Inc.

33.CornerCap Group of Funds

34.Davis Fundamental ETF Trust

35.Defiance Hotel, Airline, and Cruise ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

36.Defiance Nasdaq Junior Biotechnology ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

37.Defiance Next Gen Altered Experience ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

38.Defiance Next Gen Big Data ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

39.Defiance Next Gen Connectivity ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

40.Defiance Next Gen H2 ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

41.Defiance Next Gen SPAC Derived ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

42.Defiance Quantum ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

43.Direxion Shares ETF Trust

44.DoubleLine Opportunistic Credit Fund

45.Eaton Vance NextShares Trust

46.Eaton Vance NextShares Trust II

47.EIP Investment Trust

48.Ellington Income Opportunities Fund

49.EntrepreneurShares Series Trust

50.Esoterica Thematic ETF Trust

51.ETF Opportunities Trust

52.Evanston Alternative Opportunities Fund

53.Exchange Listed Funds Trust (f/k/a Exchange Traded Concepts Trust II)

54.Fat Tail Risk ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust

55.Fiera Capital Series Trust

56.FlexShares Trust

57.FOMO ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust

58.Forum Funds

59.Forum Funds II

60.Friess Small Cap Growth Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series

61.Guinness Atkinson Funds

62.Horizon Kinetics Inflation Beneficiaries ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

63.Infinity Core Alternative Fund

64.Innovator ETFs Trust

65.Innovator ETFs Trust II (f/k/a Elkhorn ETF Trust)

66.Ironwood Institutional Multi-Strategy Fund LLC

67.Ironwood Multi-Strategy Fund LLC

68.John Hancock Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

69.Mairs & Power Funds Trust

70.Mairs & Power Minnesota Municipal Bond ETF, Series of Trust for Professional Managers

71.Manor Investment Funds

72.Moerus Worldwide Value Fund, Series of Northern Lights Fund Trust IV

73.Morgan Creek - Exos SPAC Originated ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

74.Morningstar Funds Trust

75.OSI ETF Trust

76.Overlay Shares Core Bond ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

77.Overlay Shares Foreign Equity ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

 

 

 

78.Overlay Shares Hedged Large Cap Equity ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

79.Overlay Shares Large Cap Equity ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

80.Overlay Shares Municipal Bond ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

81.Overlay Shares Short Term Bond ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

82.Overlay Shares Small Cap Equity ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

83.Pacific Global ETF Trust

84.Palmer Square Opportunistic Income Fund

85.Partners Group Private Income Opportunities, LLC

86.PENN Capital Funds Trust

87.Performance Trust Mutual Funds, Series of Trust for Professional Managers

88.Plan Investment Fund, Inc.

89.PMC Funds, Series of Trust for Professional Managers

90.Point Bridge GOP Stock Tracker ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

91.Putnam ETF Trust

92.Quaker Investment Trust

93.Rareview Dynamic Fixed Income ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust

94.Rareview Tax Advantaged Income ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust

95.Renaissance Capital Greenwich Funds

96.Revere Sector Opportunity ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust

97.Reverse Cap Weighted U.S. Large Cap ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

98.RMB Investors Trust (f/k/a Burnham Investors Trust)

99.Robinson Opportunistic Income Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust

100.Robinson Tax Advantaged Income Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust

101.Roundhill BITKRAFT Esports & Digital Entertainment ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

102.Roundhill MVP ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

103.Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

104.Roundhill Streaming Services & Technology ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

105.Salient MF Trust

106.Securian AM Balanced Stabilization Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust

107.Securian AM Equity Stabilization Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust

108.Securian AM Real Asset Income Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust

109.SHP ETF Trust

110.Six Circles Trust

111.Sound Shore Fund, Inc.

112.Spear Alpha ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

113.Strategy Shares

114.Swan Hedged Equity US Large Cap ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

115.Syntax ETF Trust

116.The Active Dividend Stock ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust

117.The Chartwell Funds

118.The Community Development Fund

119.The De-SPAC ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust

120.The Private Shares Fund (f/k/a SharesPost 100 Fund)

121.The Relative Value Fund

122.The Short De-SPAC ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust

123.The SPAC and New Issue ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust

124.Third Avenue Trust

125.Third Avenue Variable Series Trust

126.Tidal ETF Trust

127.TIFF Investment Program

128.Timothy Plan High Dividend Stock Enhanced ETF, Series of The Timothy Plan

129.Timothy Plan High Dividend Stock ETF, Series of The Timothy Plan

130.Timothy Plan International ETF, Series of The Timothy Plan

131.Timothy Plan US Large/Mid Core Enhanced ETF, Series of The Timothy Plan

132.Timothy Plan US Large/Mid Cap Core ETF, Series of The Timothy Plan

133.Timothy Plan US Small Cap Core ETF, Series of The Timothy Plan

134.Transamerica ETF Trust

135.Trend Aggregation Aggressive Growth ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust

136.Trend Aggregation Conservative ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust

 

 

 

137.Trend Aggregation ESG ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust

138.Trend Aggregation US ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust

139.TrueShares AI & Deep Learning ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

140.TrueShares ESG Active Opportunities ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

141.TrueShares Low Volatility Equity Income ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

142.TrueShares Structured Outcome (April) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

143.TrueShares Structured Outcome (August) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

144.TrueShares Structured Outcome (December) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

145.TrueShares Structured Outcome (February) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

146.TrueShares Structured Outcome (January) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

147.TrueShares Structured Outcome (July) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

148.TrueShares Structured Outcome (June) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

149.TrueShares Structured Outcome (March) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

150.TrueShares Structured Outcome (May) ETF, Listed Funds Trust

151.TrueShares Structured Outcome (November) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

152.TrueShares Structured Outcome (October) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

153.TrueShares Structured Outcome (September) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

154.U.S. Global Investors Funds

155.Variant Alternative Income Fund

156.VictoryShares Developed Enhanced Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II

157.VictoryShares Dividend Accelerator ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II

158.VictoryShares Emerging Market High Div Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II

159.VictoryShares International High Div Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II

160.VictoryShares International Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II

161.VictoryShares NASDAQ Next 50 ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II

162.VictoryShares Protect America ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II

163.VictoryShares Top Veteran Employers ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II

164.VictoryShares US 500 Enhanced Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II

165.VictoryShares US 500 Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II

166.VictoryShares US Discovery Enhanced Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II

167.VictoryShares US EQ Income Enhanced Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II

168.VictoryShares US Large Cap High Div Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II

169.VictoryShares US Multi-Factor Minimum Volatility ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II

170.VictoryShares US Small Cap High Div Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II

171.VictoryShares US Small Cap Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II

172.VictoryShares USAA Core Intermediate-Term Bond ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II

173.VictoryShares USAA Core Short-Term Bond ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II

174.VictoryShares USAA MSCI Emerging Markets Value Momentum ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II

175.VictoryShares USAA MSCI International Value Momentum ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II

176.VictoryShares USAA MSCI USA Small Cap Value Momentum ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II

177.VictoryShares USAA MSCI USA Value Momentum ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II

178.West Loop Realty Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust (f/k/a Chilton Realty Income & Growth Fund)

179.WisdomTree Trust

180.WST Investment Trust

181.XAI Octagon Floating Rate & Alternative Income Term Trust

 

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

 

 

 

Name   Address   Position with Underwriter   Position with Registrant
Richard J. Berthy   Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME  04101   President, Treasurer and Manager   None
             
Mark A. Fairbanks   Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME  04101   Vice President   None
             
Teresa Cowan   111 E. Kilbourn Ave, Suite 2200, Milwaukee, WI 53202   Vice President   None
             
Jennifer K. DiValerio   899 Cassatt Road, 400 Berwyn Park, Suite 110, Berwyn, PA 19312   Vice President   None
             
Nanette K. Chern   Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME  04101   Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer   None
             
Jennifer E. Hoopes   Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME  04101   Secretary   None

 

(c) Not applicable.

 

Item 33. Location of Accounts and Records

 

The books, accounts and other documents required by Section 31(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder are maintained in the physical possession of The Bank of New York Mellon, 240 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10286, Foreside Fund Services, LLC, Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101 and ARK Investment Management LLC, 3 E. 28th Street, Floor 7, New York, NY 10016.

 

Item 34. Management Services

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 35. Undertakings

 

Not applicable.

 

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the City of New York, and State of New York, on the 31st day of August, 2021.

 

  ARK ETF Trust 
     
  By:   /s/ Kellen Carter
  Name: Kellen Carter
  Title: Chief Compliance Officer

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

Signature   Title
     
/s/ Scott R. Chichester*    
Scott R. Chichester   Trustee
     
/s/ Darlene T. DeRemer*    
Darlene T. DeRemer   Trustee
     
/s/ Robert G. Zack*    
Robert G. Zack   Trustee
     
/s/ Catherine D. Wood    
Catherine D. Wood   Trustee, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer
     
/s/ Kellen Carter    
Kellen Carter   Chief Compliance Officer
     
/s/ William C. Cox    
William C. Cox   Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

 

* By:  /s/ Kellen Carter  
  Kellen Carter  
  Attorney-in-Fact