Gabelli ETFs Trust
Gabelli Growth Innovators ETF
Gabelli Financial Services Opportunities ETF
Gabelli Equity Income ETF
Gabelli Small & Mid Cap ETF
Gabelli Micro Cap ETF
Gabelli Love Our Planet & People ETF
Gabelli Automation ETF
Gabelli Commercial Aerospace and Defense ETF
Gabelli Green Energy ETF
(each a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”)
One Corporate Center
Rye, New York 10580-1422
800-GABELLI
(800-422-3554)
fax: 914-921-5118
website: www.gabelli.com
email: [email protected]
Questions? Call 800-GABELLI or your investment representative.
|
Gabelli ETFs Trust
(the “Trust”)
Fund | Ticker Symbol | |
Gabelli Growth Innovators ETF | ||
Gabelli Financial Services Opportunities ETF | ||
Gabelli Equity Income ETF | ||
Gabelli Small & Mid Cap ETF | ||
Gabelli Micro Cap ETF | ||
Gabelli Love Our Planet & People ETF | ||
Gabelli Automation ETF | ||
Gabelli Commercial Aerospace and Defense ETF | ||
Gabelli Green Energy ETF | ||
Listing Exchange: NYSE Arca |
PROSPECTUS DATED
This Exchange-Traded Fund (“ETF”) is different from traditional ETFs.
Unlike traditional ETFs, these ETFs will not tell the public what assets they hold each day. This may create additional risks for your investment. For example:
● | You may have to pay more money to trade an ETF’s shares. These ETFs will provide less information to traders, who tend to charge more for trades when they have less information about the underlying holdings. |
● | The price you pay to buy ETF shares on an exchange may not match the value of an ETF’s portfolio. The same is true when you sell shares. These price differences may be greater for the ETFs offered pursuant to this Prospectus compared to other ETFs because these ETFs provide less information to traders with respect to the underlying portfolio holdings. |
● | These additional risks may be even greater in bad or uncertain market conditions. |
The differences between these ETFs and other ETFs may also have advantages. By keeping certain information about an ETF secret, the ETF may face less risk that other traders can predict or copy its investment strategy. This may improve an ETF’s performance. If other traders are able to copy or predict an ETF’s investment strategy, however, this may hurt the ETF’s performance.
For additional information regarding the unique attributes and risks of the Funds, see the “Non-Transparent Exchange-Traded Fund (“ETF”) Structure Risk,” “Early Close/Trading Halt Risk” and “Authorized Participant and AP Representative Concentration Risk” in the “Principal Risks” section of this Prospectus below.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved the shares described in this prospectus or determined whether this prospectus is accurate or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
(the “Growth
Innovators Fund” or the “Fund”)
The Fund’s primary investment objective is to seek to provide capital appreciation.
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. The investment advisory agreement between Gabelli ETFs Trust (the “Trust”) and Gabelli Funds, LLC (the “Adviser”) provides that the Adviser will pay all operating expenses of the Fund, except the management fees, interest expenses, taxes, expenses incurred with respect to the acquisition and disposition of portfolio securities and the execution of portfolio transactions, including brokerage commissions, distribution fees or expenses, litigation expenses, and any extraordinary expenses. You may also incur usual and customary brokerage commissions and other charges when buying and selling shares that are not reflected in the fee table and expense example below.
(fees paid directly from your investment): |
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment): |
||||||
Management Fees | % | |||||
Other Expenses | % | |||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | % |
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.
The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods shown and then sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |||||
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
The
Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may
indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when the Fund’s
shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in
the annual Fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s
performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Growth Innovators Fund’s
portfolio turnover rate was
2 |
The Fund will primarily invest in common stocks of companies that are relevant to the Fund’s investment theme of innovation. The Adviser defines “innovation” as the introduction of new technologies, products or services that redefines how businesses operate. The Fund seeks to invest in companies whose prospects for earnings growth remain undervalued. The Fund may also invest in foreign securities by investing in American Depositary Receipts. The Adviser will sell any Fund investments that lose their perceived value when compared with other investment alternatives in the judgment of the portfolio managers.
The Adviser uses fundamental security analysis to develop earnings forecasts for companies and to identify investment opportunities. The Adviser bases its analysis on general economic and industry data provided by the U.S. Government, various trade associations and other sources, and published corporate financial data such as annual reports, 10-Ks, and quarterly statements as well as direct interviews with company management. Generally, the Adviser makes investment decisions first by looking at individual companies and then by scrutinizing their growth prospects in relation to their industries and the overall economy. The Adviser seeks to invest in companies with high future earnings potential relative to their current market valuations.
The Fund’s assets will be invested primarily in a broad range of readily marketable equity securities consisting of U.S. exchange-listed common stock and preferred stock. The Fund may invest in companies without regard to market capitalization. Many of these common stocks will not pay dividends; instead, stocks will be bought for the potential that their prices will increase, providing capital appreciation for the Fund. The value of equity securities will fluctuate due to many factors, including the past and predicted earnings of the issuer, the quality of the issuer’s management, general market conditions, the forecasts for the issuer’s industry, and the value of the issuer’s assets. Holders of equity securities only have rights to value in the company after all issuer debts have been paid, and they could lose their entire investment in a company that encounters financial difficulty.
You may want to invest in the Fund if:
● | you are a long term investor |
● | you seek both growth of capital and some income |
● | you believe that the market will favor growth over value stocks over the long term |
● | you wish to include a growth strategy as a portion of your overall investments |
The
Fund’s share price will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s
portfolio securities.
Investing in the Fund involves the following risks:
● | Non-Transparent Exchange-Traded Fund (“ETF”) Structure Risk. Unlike most actively managed ETFs the Fund does not provide daily disclosure of its portfolio holding. Instead, the Fund provides a verified intraday indicative value (“VIIV”), calculated and disseminated every |
3 |
second throughout the trading day. The VIIV is intended to provide investors and other market participants with a highly correlated per share value of the underlying portfolio that can be compared to the current market price. There is, however, a risk that shares of the Fund may trade at a wider bid/ask spread than ETFs that publish their portfolios on a daily basis, especially during periods of market disruption or volatility, and therefore, may cost investors more to trade. Because the Fund trades on the basis of the VIIV, it may trade at a wider bid/ask spread than traditional ETFs that publish their portfolios on a daily basis. Accordingly, the Adviser or its designee will monitor on an ongoing basis how shares of the Fund trade, including the level of any market price premium or discount to net asset value (“NAV”) and the bid/ask spreads on market transactions. Should there be extended periods of unusually high bid/ask spreads, the Board will consider the continuing viability of the Fund, whether shareholders are being harmed, and what, if any, action would be appropriate to among other things, narrow the premium/discount or spread, as applicable. Potential actions may include, but are not limited to, changing lead market makers, listing the Fund on a different exchange, changing the size of Creation Units (as defined below), changing the Fund’s investment objective or strategy, and liquidating the Fund. There is also a risk that the market price may vary significantly from the NAV and, thus, the underlying value of the Fund significantly from the underlying NAV of the Fund. There is also a risk that, despite not disclosing the portfolio holdings each day, some market participants may seek to use publically available information, including the VIIV, to identify the Fund’s investment strategy and engage in certain predatory trading practices that may have the potential to harm the Fund. |
● | Early Close/Trading Halt Risk. An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses. In addition, due to the non-transparency of the portfolio a trading halt in a portfolio security could cause discrepancies between the VIIV and NAV of the Fund resulting in uncertainty on the part of the AP that results in wider, less liquid markets. Any security for which trading has been halted for an extended period of time will be disclosed on the Fund’s website, www.gabelli.com. |
● | Authorized Participant and AP Representative Concentration Risk. The creation and redemption process for the Fund occurs through a confidential brokerage account with an agent, called an “AP Representative,” on behalf of an authorized participant permitted to engage in creation or redemption transactions (each, an “Authorized Participant”). Each day, the AP Representative will be given the names and quantities of the securities to be deposited, in the case of a creation, or redeemed, in the case of a redemption, allowing the AP Representative to buy and sell positions in the portfolio securities to permit creations or redemptions on the Authorized Participant’s behalf, without disclosing the information to the Authorized Participant. The Fund may have a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants and AP Representatives, none of which are obligated to engage in creation or redemption transactions. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to process creation and/or redemption orders, Fund shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. This risk may be more pronounced in |
4 |
volatile markets, potentially where there are significant redemptions in ETFs, generally. The fact that the Fund is offering a novel and unique structure may affect the number of entities willing to act as Authorized Participants and AP Representatives. During times of market stress, Authorized Participants may be more likely to step away from this type of ETF than a traditional ETF. |
● | Large Shareholder Risk. Certain shareholders, including the Adviser and its affiliates, may own a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. The disposition of shares by large shareholders, resulting in redemptions through or by Authorized Participants, could have a significant negative impact on the Fund. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on NYSE Arca (as defined below) and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the Fund’s shares. The form of a large shareholder’s contribution and any redemption activity in the Fund can adversely affect the tax efficiency of the Fund. |
● | Absence of an Active Market. Although shares of the Fund are listed for trading on one or more stock exchanges, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will develop or be maintained by market makers or Authorized Participants. Authorized Participants are not obligated to execute purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. Because this is a novel and unique structure, this could influence the number of entities willing to act as Authorized Participants. In periods of market volatility, market makers and/or Authorized Participants may be less willing to transact in Fund shares. The absence of an active market for the Fund’s shares may contribute to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV. If a shareholder purchases Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses. |
● | New Fund Risk. The Fund is new with a limited operating history and may have higher expenses. There can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size. The Fund could cease operations, and investors may be required to liquidate or transfer their assets at a loss. |
● | Equity Risk. Equity risk is the risk that the prices of the equity securities held by the Fund will change due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the companies issuing the securities participate, and the issuer company’s particular circumstances. Holders of equity securities only have rights to value in the company after all issuer debts have been paid, and they could lose their entire investment in a company that encounters financial difficulty. |
● | American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) Risk. Investment in ADRs does not eliminate all the risks inherent in investing in securities of non-U.S. issuers. The market value of ADRs is dependent upon the market value of the underlying securities and fluctuations in the relative value of the currencies in which the ADRs and the underlying securities are quoted. |
● | Growth Stock Risk. Securities of growth companies may be more volatile since such companies usually invest a high portion of earnings in their business, and they may lack the dividends of value stocks that can cushion stock prices in a falling market. |
5 |
● | Infectious Illness Risk. A widespread outbreak of an infectious illness, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may result in travel restrictions, disruption of healthcare services, prolonged quarantines, cancellations, supply chain disruptions, business closures, lower consumer demand, layoffs, ratings downgrades, defaults and other significant economic, social and political impacts. Such events may adversely affect the Fund, its investments, and the value of your investment in the Fund. The fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent variants, and the long-term impact on economies, markets, industries and individual issuers, are not known. |
● | Issuer Risk. The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons that directly relate to an issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage, and reduced demand for the issuer’s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets or factors unrelated to the issuer’s value, such as investor perception. |
● | Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be worth less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the real value of the Fund’s shares and distributions thereon can decline. Inflation risk is linked to increases in the prices of goods and services and a decrease in the purchasing power of money. Inflation often is accompanied or followed by a recession, or period of decline in economic activity, which may include job loss and other hardships and may cause the value of securities to go down generally. Inflation risk is greater for fixed-income instruments with longer maturities. In addition, this risk may be significantly elevated compared to normal conditions because of recent monetary policy measures and the current interest rate environment. Inflation has recently increased and it cannot be predicted whether and to what extent it may decline. |
● | Market Risk. Global economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in general financial markets, a particular financial market, or other asset classes due to a number of factors, including 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. |
● | Management Risk. If the portfolio managers are incorrect in their assessment of the growth prospects of the securities the Fund holds, then the value of the Fund’s shares may decline. |
● | Market Trading Risk. Individual Fund shares may be purchased and sold only on a national securities exchange or alternative trading system through a broker-dealer, and may not be directly purchased or redeemed from the Fund. There can be no guarantee that an active trading market for shares will develop or be maintained, or that their listing will continue unchanged. Buying and selling shares may require you to pay brokerage commissions and expose you to |
6 |
other trading costs. Due to brokerage commissions and other transaction costs that may apply, frequent trading may detract from realized investment returns. Trading prices of shares may be above, at, or below the Fund’s NAV, will fluctuate in relation to NAV based on supply and demand in the market for shares and other factors, and may vary significantly from NAV during periods of market volatility. The return on your investment will be reduced if you sell shares at a greater discount or narrower premium to NAV than when you acquired shares. |
● | Technology Sector Risk. Technology companies, may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. Technology companies typically face intense competition and potentially rapid product obsolescence. They are also heavily dependent on intellectual property rights and may be adversely affected by the loss or impairment of those rights. Companies in the technology sector are facing increased government and regulatory scrutiny and may be subject to adverse government or regulatory action. |
● | Preferred Stock Risk. Preferred stocks are susceptible to general market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence in and perceptions of their issuers change. The dividend on a preferred stock may be changed or omitted by the issuer, and participation in the growth of an issuer may be limited. |
● | Trading Issues Risk. Trading in Fund shares on NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) may be halted in certain circumstances. There can be no assurance that the requirements of NYSE Arca necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met. |
● | Geopolitical Risk. Occurrence of global events such as war, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, country instability, infectious disease epidemics, pandemics and other public health issues, market instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers and other governmental trade or market control programs, the potential exit of a country from its respective union and related geopolitical events, may result in market volatility and may have long-lasting impacts on both the U.S. and global financial markets. |
7 |
(Total returns for the Year
Ended December 31)
Years | Returns |
---|---|
2022 | - |
2023 |
During the calendar year shown in the bar chart, the was (quarter ended ) and the was (quarter ended ).
(for the period ended December 31, 2023, with the maximum sales charges, if applicable) |
Past One Year |
Since
Inception ( ) |
||||||||||
Growth Innovators Fund | ||||||||||||
Return Before Taxes | % | ( |
)% | |||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions | % | ( |
)% | |||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | % | ( |
)% | |||||||||
Nasdaq
Composite Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
% | % |
8 |
Management
The Adviser. Gabelli Funds, LLC
The Portfolio Managers. Mr. Howard F. Ward, CFA, portfolio manager of the Adviser and Chief Investment Officer of Growth Products for GAMCO Investors, Inc., has served as portfolio manager of the Fund since inception.
Other Information
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded Fund (commonly referred to as an “ETF”). Individual shares of the Fund are listed on a national securities exchange, and individual Fund shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a broker or dealer at market price. These transactions, which do not involve the Fund, are made at market prices that may vary throughout the day, rather than at NAV. Shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than the Fund’s NAV (premium) or less than the Fund’s NAV (discount). An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying or selling Fund shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). The Fund will only issue or redeem shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 5,000 shares or multiples thereof (“Creation Units”) to Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor. The Fund generally will issue or redeem Creation Units in return for a designated portfolio of securities (and an amount of cash) that the Fund specifies each day.
Tax Information
The Fund expects that distributions will generally be taxable as ordinary income or long term capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an IRA.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
9 |
(the
“Financial Services Fund” or the “Fund”)
The Fund seeks to provide capital appreciation.
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. The investment advisory agreement between Gabelli ETFs Trust (the “Trust”) and Gabelli Funds, LLC (the “Adviser”) provides that the Adviser will pay all operating expenses of the Fund, except the management fees, interest expenses, taxes, expenses incurred with respect to the acquisition and disposition of portfolio securities and the execution of portfolio transactions, including brokerage commissions, distribution fees or expenses, litigation expenses, and any extraordinary expenses. You may also incur usual and customary brokerage commissions and other charges when buying and selling shares that are not reflected in the fee table and expense example below.
(fees paid directly from your investment): |
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment): |
||||||
Management Fees | % | |||||
Other Expenses(1) | % | |||||
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses | % | |||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | % | |||||
Less Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(2) | ( |
)% | ||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver | % |
(1) | ||
(2) |
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.
The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods shown and then sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |||||
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
10 |
The
Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may
indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when the Fund’s
shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in
the annual Fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s
performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Financial Services Fund’s
portfolio turnover rate was
Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of the value of its net assets, in the securities of companies principally engaged in the group of industries comprising the financial services sector. As a fundamental policy, the Fund will concentrate (invest at least 25% of the value of its net assets) in the securities of companies principally engaged in the group of industries comprising the financial services sector. The Fund may invest in the equity securities of such companies, such as common stock, or preferred stock of such companies in accordance with the foregoing 80% policy. The Fund may also invest in foreign securities by investing in American Depositary Receipts. The Fund may invest in companies without regard to market capitalization.
The Fund considers a company to be principally engaged in the group of industries comprising the financial services sector if it devotes a significant portion of its assets to, or derives a significant portion of its revenues from, providing financial services. The Fund considers a company to be principally engaged in the group of industries comprising the financial services sector if it devotes 50% of its assets to, or derives 50% of its revenues from, providing financial services. Such services include but are not limited to the following: commercial, consumer, and specialized banking and financing; asset management; publicly-traded, government sponsored financial enterprises; insurance; accountancy; mortgage REITs; brokerage; securities exchanges and electronic trading platforms; financial data, technology, and analysis; and financial transaction and other financial processing services.
The Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) restricts the Fund from acquiring the securities of any company that derives more than 15% of its gross revenues from securities related activities, such as a broker, dealer, underwriter or a federally registered investment adviser (a “Securities Related Issuer”), subject to exception. Under Rule 12d3-1 under the 1940 Act, however, the Fund may generally purchase up to 5% of any class of equity securities of a Securities Related Issuer, or up to 10% of the outstanding principal amount of debt securities of a Securities Related Issuer, so long as, in each case, no more than 5% of the Fund’s total assets are invested in the Securities Related Issuer. These limitations are measured at the time of investment. Rule 12d3-1 may operate to limit the size of the Fund’s investment position with respect to one or more Securities Related Issuers. The 1940 Act also restricts the Fund from acquiring any security issued by an insurance company if the Fund owns, or will own as a result of the acquisition, more than 10% of the total outstanding voting stock of the insurance company. The 1940 Act may operate to limit the size of the Fund’s investment position with respect to one or more insurance companies.
The Adviser’s investment philosophy with respect to buying and selling equity securities is to identify assets that are selling in the public market at a discount to their private market value (“PMV”). The Adviser defines PMV as the value informed purchasers are willing to pay to acquire assets with similar characteristics. The
11 |
Adviser considers factors such as price, earnings expectations, earnings and price histories, balance sheet characteristics, and perceived management skills. The Adviser also considers changes in economic and political outlooks as well as individual corporate developments. Further, the Adviser looks for a catalyst, something indigenous to the company, its industry or geographic positioning that may surface additional value, including, but not limited to, industry developments, regulatory changes, changes in management, sale or spin-off of a division, or the development of a profitable new business. The Adviser expects to seek to sell any Fund investments that lose their perceived value relative to other investments, which could occur because of, among other things, a security reaching a predetermined price target, a change to a company’s fundamentals that make the risk/reward profile unattractive, or a need to improve the overall risk/reward profile of the Fund.
You may want to invest in the Fund if:
● | you are a long term investor |
● | you seek capital appreciation |
● | you believe that the market will favor financial services companies over the long term |
The
Fund’s share price will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s
portfolio securities.
Investing in the Fund involves the following risks:
● | Non-Transparent Exchange-Traded Fund (“ETF”) Structure Risk. Unlike most actively managed ETFs the Fund does not provide daily disclosure of its portfolio holding. Instead, the Fund provides a verified intraday indicative value (“VIIV”), calculated and disseminated every second throughout the trading day. The VIIV is intended to provide investors and other market participants with a highly correlated per share value of the underlying portfolio that can be compared to the current market price. There is, however, a risk that shares of the Fund may trade at a wider bid/ask spread than ETFs that publish their portfolios on a daily basis, especially during periods of market disruption or volatility, and therefore, may cost investors more to trade. Because the Fund trades on the basis of the VIIV, it may trade at a wider bid/ask spread than traditional ETFs that publish their portfolios on a daily basis. Accordingly, the Adviser or its designee will monitor on an ongoing basis how shares of the Fund trade, including the level of any market price premium or discount to net asset value (“NAV”) and the bid/ask spreads on market transactions. Should there be extended periods of unusually high bid/ask spreads, the Board will consider the continuing viability of the Fund, whether shareholders are being harmed, and what, if any, action would be appropriate to among other things, narrow the premium/discount or spread, as applicable. Potential actions may include, but are not limited to, changing lead market makers, listing the Fund on a different exchange, changing the size of Creation Units (as defined below), changing the Fund’s investment objective or strategy, and liquidating the Fund. There is also a risk that the market price may vary significantly from the NAV and, thus, the underlying value of the Fund significantly from the underlying NAV of the Fund. There is also a risk that, |
12 |
despite not disclosing the portfolio holdings each day, some market participants may seek to use publically available information, including the VIIV, to identify the Fund’s investment strategy and engage in certain predatory trading practices that may have the potential to harm the Fund. |
● | Early Close/Trading Halt Risk. An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses. In addition, due to the non-transparency of the portfolio a trading halt in a portfolio security could cause discrepancies between the VIIV and NAV of the Fund resulting in uncertainty on the part of the AP that results in wider, less liquid markets. Any security for which trading has been halted for an extended period of time will be disclosed on the Fund’s website, www.gabelli.com. |
● | Authorized Participant and AP Representative Concentration Risk. The creation and redemption process for the Fund occurs through a confidential brokerage account with an agent, called an “AP Representative,” on behalf of an authorized participant permitted to engage in creation or redemption transactions (each, an “Authorized Participant”). Each day, the AP Representative will be given the names and quantities of the securities to be deposited, in the case of a creation, or redeemed, in the case of a redemption, allowing the AP Representative to buy and sell positions in the portfolio securities to permit creations or redemptions on the Authorized Participant’s behalf, without disclosing the information to the Authorized Participant. The Fund may have a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants and AP Representatives, none of which are obligated to engage in creation or redemption transactions. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to process creation and/or redemption orders, Fund shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. This risk may be more pronounced in volatile markets, potentially where there are significant redemptions in ETFs, generally. The fact that the Fund is offering a novel and unique structure may affect the number of entities willing to act as Authorized Participants and AP Representatives. During times of market stress, Authorized Participants may be more likely to step away from this type of ETF than a traditional ETF. |
● | Large Shareholder Risk. Certain shareholders, including the Adviser and its affiliates, may own a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. The disposition of shares by large shareholders, resulting in redemptions through or by Authorized Participants, could have a significant negative impact on the Fund. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on NYSE Arca (as defined below) and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the Fund’s shares. The form of a large shareholder’s contribution and any redemption activity in the Fund can adversely affect the tax efficiency of the Fund. |
● | Absence of an Active Market. Although shares of the Fund are listed for trading on one or more stock exchanges, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will develop or be maintained by market makers or Authorized Participants. Authorized Participants are not obligated to execute purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. |
13 |
Because this is a novel and unique structure, this could influence the number of entities willing to act as Authorized Participants. In periods of market volatility, market makers and/or Authorized Participants may be less willing to transact in Fund shares. The absence of an active market for the Fund’s shares may contribute to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV. If a shareholder purchases Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses. |
● | New Fund Risk. The Fund is new with a limited operating history and may have higher expenses. There can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size. The Fund could cease operations, and investors may be required to liquidate or transfer their assets at a loss. However, the fee waiver in place limits this risk for the periods that such fee waiver is effective. |
● | Equity Risk. Equity risk is the risk that the prices of the equity securities held by the Fund will change due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the companies issuing the securities participate, and the issuer company’s particular circumstances. Holders of equity securities only have rights to value in the company after all issuer debts have been paid, and they could lose their entire investment in a company that encounters financial difficulty. |
● | Growth Stock Risk. Securities of growth companies may be more volatile since such companies usually invest a high portion of earnings in their business, and they may lack the dividends of value stocks that can cushion stock prices in a falling market. |
● | American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) Risk. Investment in ADRs does not eliminate all the risks inherent in investing in securities of non-U.S. issuers. The market value of ADRs is dependent upon the market value of the underlying securities and fluctuations in the relative value of the currencies in which the ADRs and the underlying securities are quoted. |
● | Concentration Risk. The Fund concentrates its assets (i.e., invests 25% or more of its net assets) in securities of companies in the financial services sector, and, as a result, the Fund may be subject to greater volatility with respect to its portfolio securities than the Fund that is more broadly diversified. Accordingly, the Fund is subject to the risk that its performance may be hurt disproportionately by the poor performance of relatively few securities. |
● | Infectious Illness Risk. A widespread outbreak of an infectious illness, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may result in travel restrictions, disruption of healthcare services, prolonged quarantines, cancellations, supply chain disruptions, business closures, lower consumer demand, layoffs, ratings downgrades, defaults and other significant economic, social and political impacts. Such events may adversely affect the Fund, its investments, and the value of your investment in the Fund. The fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent variants, and the long-term impact on economies, markets, industries and individual issuers, are not known. |
● | Financial Services Risk. The Fund will concentrate its investments in securities issued by financial services companies. Financial services companies can be significantly affected by changing economic conditions, demand for consumer loans, refinancing activity and intense competition, including price competition. Profitability can be largely dependent on the availability and cost of capital and the rate of consumer debt defaults, and can fluctuate significantly when |
14 |
interest rates change; unstable and/or rising interest rates may have a disproportionate effect on companies in the financial services sector. Financial services companies are subject to extensive government regulation, which can change frequently and may adversely affect the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and the amount of capital they must maintain, or may affect them in other ways that are unforeseeable. In the past, financial services companies in general experienced considerable financial distress, which led to the implementation of government programs designed to ease that distress. |
● | Issuer Risk. The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons that directly relate to an issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage, and reduced demand for the issuer’s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets or factors unrelated to the issuer’s value, such as investor perception. |
● | Large Capitalization Companies Risk. Companies with $10 billion or more in market capitalization are considered by the Adviser to be large capitalization companies. Large capitalization companies generally experience slower rates of growth in earnings per share than do mid and small capitalization companies. |
● | Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be worth less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the real value of the Fund’s shares and distributions thereon can decline. Inflation risk is linked to increases in the prices of goods and services and a decrease in the purchasing power of money. Inflation often is accompanied or followed by a recession, or period of decline in economic activity, which may include job loss and other hardships and may cause the value of securities to go down generally. Inflation risk is greater for fixed-income instruments with longer maturities. In addition, this risk may be significantly elevated compared to normal conditions because of recent monetary policy measures and the current interest rate environment. Inflation has recently increased and it cannot be predicted whether and to what extent it may decline. |
● | Market Risk. Global economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in general financial markets, a particular financial market, or other asset classes due to a number of factors, including 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. |
● | Management Risk. If the portfolio managers are incorrect in their assessment of the growth prospects of the securities the Fund holds, then the value of the Fund’s shares may decline. |
● | Market Trading Risk. Individual Fund shares may be purchased and sold only on a national securities exchange or alternative trading system through a broker-dealer, and may not be directly purchased or redeemed from the Fund. There can be no guarantee that an active trading |
15 |
market for shares will develop or be maintained, or that their listing will continue unchanged. Buying and selling shares may require you to pay brokerage commissions and expose you to other trading costs. Due to brokerage commissions and other transaction costs that may apply, frequent trading may detract from realized investment returns. Trading prices of shares may be above, at, or below the Fund’s NAV, will fluctuate in relation to NAV based on supply and demand in the market for shares and other factors, and may vary significantly from NAV during periods of market volatility. The return on your investment will be reduced if you sell shares at a greater discount or narrower premium to NAV than when you acquired shares. |
● | Non-Diversification
Risk. |
● | Preferred Stock Risk. Preferred stocks are susceptible to general market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence in and perceptions of their issuers change. The dividend on a preferred stock may be changed or omitted by the issuer, and participation in the growth of an issuer may be limited. |
● | Small- and Mid-Capitalization Companies Risk. Investing in securities of small and mid-capitalization companies may involve greater risks than investing in larger, more established issuers. Small and mid-capitalization companies may be less well established and may have a more highly leveraged capital structure, less liquidity, a smaller investor base, limited product lines, greater dependence on a few customers, or a few key personnel and similar factors that can make their business and stock market performance susceptible to greater fluctuation and volatility. |
● | Trading Issues Risk. Trading in Fund shares on NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) may be halted in certain circumstances. There can be no assurance that the requirements of NYSE Arca necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met. |
● | Value Investing Risk. The Fund invests in “value” stocks. The portfolio manager may be wrong in the assessment of a company’s value and the stocks the Fund holds may not reach what the portfolio manager believes are their full values. From time to time “value” investing falls out of favor with investors. During those periods, the Fund’s relative performance may suffer. |
● | Geopolitical Risk. Occurrence of global events such as war, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, country instability, infectious disease epidemics, pandemics and other public health issues, market instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers and other governmental trade or market control programs, the potential exit of a country from its respective union and related geopolitical events, may result in market volatility and may have long-lasting impacts on both the U.S. and global financial markets. |
16 |
(Total returns for the Year
Ended December 31)
Years | Returns |
---|---|
2023 |
During the calendar year shown in the bar chart, the was (quarter ended ) and the was (quarter ended ).
(for the period ended December 31, 2023, with the maximum sales charges, if applicable) |
Past One Year |
Since
Inception ( ) |
||||||||||
Return Before Taxes | % | % | ||||||||||
Return After Taxes On Distributions | % | % | ||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | % | % | ||||||||||
S&P 500 Financials Index | % | % | ||||||||||
S&P 500 Index | % | % |
17 |
Management
The Adviser. Gabelli Funds, LLC
The Portfolio Manager. Mr. Macrae Sykes, a portfolio manager for the Adviser, has served as portfolio manager of the Fund since inception.
Other Information
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded Fund (commonly referred to as an “ETF”). Individual shares of the Fund are listed on a national securities exchange, and individual Fund shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a broker or dealer at market price. These transactions, which do not involve the Fund, are made at market prices that may vary throughout the day, rather than at NAV. Shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than the Fund’s NAV (premium) or less than the Fund’s NAV (discount). An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying or selling Fund shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). The Fund will only issue or redeem shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 5,000 shares or multiples thereof (“Creation Units”) to Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor. The Fund generally will issue or redeem Creation Units in return for a designated portfolio of securities (and an amount of cash) that the Fund specifies each day.
Tax Information
The Fund expects that distributions will generally be taxable as ordinary income or long term capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an IRA.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
18 |
(the “Equity Income
Fund” or the “Fund”)
The Fund seeks to provide high level of total return on its assets with an emphasis on income.
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. The investment advisory agreement between Gabelli ETFs Trust (the “Trust”) and Gabelli Funds, LLC (the “Adviser”) provides that the Adviser will pay all operating expenses of the Fund, except the management fees, interest expenses, taxes, expenses incurred with respect to the acquisition and disposition of portfolio securities and the execution of portfolio transactions, including brokerage commissions, distribution fees or expenses, litigation expenses, and any extraordinary expenses. You may also incur usual and customary brokerage commissions and other charges when buying and selling shares that are not reflected in the fee table and expense example below.
(fees paid directly from your investment): |
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment): |
||||||
Management Fees | % | |||||
Other Expenses(1) | % | |||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | % | |||||
Less Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(2) | ( |
)% | ||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver | % |
(1) | ||
(2) |
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods shown and then sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year | 3 Years | |||
$ |
$ |
19 |
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when the Fund’s shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the annual Fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. No portfolio turnover is included for the Fund because the Fund has not yet commenced operations.
The Fund will seek to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its net assets (including any assets purchased using borrowings for investment purposes) in income producing equity. The Fund may also invest in foreign securities by investing in American Depositary Receipts. In making stock selections, the Adviser looks for securities that have a better yield than the average of the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index (the “S&P 500 Index”), as well as capital gains potential. In selecting investments for the Fund, the Adviser focuses on issuers that:
● | have strong free cash flow and pay regular dividends; |
● | have potential for long term earnings per share growth; |
● | may be subject to a value catalyst, such as industry developments, regulatory changes, changes in management, sale or spin-off of a division, or the development of a profitable new business are well managed; and |
● | will benefit from sustainable long term economic dynamics, such as globalization of an issuer’s industry or an issuer’s increased focus on productivity or enhancement of services |
The Adviser also believes preferred stock of selected companies offer opportunities for capital appreciation as well as periodic income and may invest a portion of the Fund’s assets in such securities. This is particularly true in the case of companies that have performed below expectations. If a company’s performance has been poor enough, its preferred stock will trade more like common stock than like a fixed income security and may result in above average appreciation if performance improves. This leads to the possibility of capital appreciation if the price of the common stock recovers.
You may want to invest in the Fund if:
● | you are a long term investor |
● | you are seeking income as well as capital appreciation |
The
Fund’s share price will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s
portfolio securities.
20 |
Investing in the ETF involves the following risks:
● | Non-Transparent Exchange-Traded Fund (“ETF”) Structure Risk. Unlike most actively managed ETFs the Fund does not provide daily disclosure of its portfolio holding. Instead, the Fund provides a verified intraday indicative value (“VIIV”), calculated and disseminated every second throughout the trading day. The VIIV is intended to provide investors and other market participants with a highly correlated per share value of the underlying portfolio that can be compared to the current market price. There is, however, a risk that shares of the Fund may trade at a wider bid/ask spread than ETFs that publish their portfolios on a daily basis, especially during periods of market disruption or volatility, and therefore, may cost investors more to trade. Because the Fund trades on the basis of the VIIV, it may trade at a wider bid/ask spread than traditional ETFs that publish their portfolios on a daily basis. Accordingly, the Adviser or its designee will monitor on an ongoing basis how shares of the Fund trade, including the level of any market price premium or discount to net asset value (“NAV”) and the bid/ask spreads on market transactions. Should there be extended periods of unusually high bid/ask spreads, the Board will consider the continuing viability of the Fund, whether shareholders are being harmed, and what, if any, action would be appropriate to among other things, narrow the premium/discount or spread, as applicable. Potential actions may include, but are not limited to, changing lead market makers, listing the Fund on a different exchange, changing the size of Creation Units (as defined below), changing the Fund’s investment objective or strategy, and liquidating the Fund. There is also a risk that the market price may vary significantly from the NAV and, thus, the underlying value of the Fund significantly from the underlying NAV of the Fund. There is also a risk that, despite not disclosing the portfolio holdings each day, some market participants may seek to use publically available information, including the VIIV, to identify the Fund’s investment strategy and engage in certain predatory trading practices that may have the potential to harm the Fund. |
● | Early Close/Trading Halt Risk. An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses. In addition, due to the non-transparency of the portfolio a trading halt in a portfolio security could cause discrepancies between the VIIV and NAV of the Fund resulting in uncertainty on the part of the AP that results in wider, less liquid markets. Any security for which trading has been halted for an extended period of time will be disclosed on the Fund’s website, www.gabelli.com. |
● | Authorized Participant and AP Representative Concentration Risk. The creation and redemption process for the Fund occurs through a confidential brokerage account with an agent, called an “AP Representative,” on behalf of an authorized participant permitted to engage in creation or redemption transactions (each, an “Authorized Participant”). Each day, the AP Representative will be given the names and quantities of the securities to be deposited, in the case of a creation, or redeemed, in the case of a redemption, allowing the AP Representative to buy and sell positions in the portfolio securities to permit creations or redemptions on the Authorized Participant’s behalf, without disclosing the information to the Authorized Participant. The Fund may have a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants and AP Representatives, none of which are obligated to engage in creation or redemption transactions. |
21 |
To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to process creation and/or redemption orders, Fund shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. This risk may be more pronounced in volatile markets, potentially where there are significant redemptions in ETFs, generally. The fact that the Fund is offering a novel and unique structure may affect the number of entities willing to act as Authorized Participants and AP Representatives. During times of market stress, Authorized Participants may be more likely to step away from this type of ETF than a traditional ETF. |
● | Large Shareholder Risk. Certain shareholders, including the Adviser and its affiliates, may own a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. The disposition of shares by large shareholders, resulting in redemptions through or by Authorized Participants, could have a significant negative impact on the Fund. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on NYSE Arca (as defined below) and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the Fund’s shares. The form of a large shareholder’s contribution and any redemption activity in the Fund can adversely affect the tax efficiency of the Fund. |
● | Absence of an Active Market. Although shares of the Fund are listed for trading on one or more stock exchanges, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will develop or be maintained by market makers or Authorized Participants. Authorized Participants are not obligated to execute purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. Because this is a novel and unique structure, this could influence the number of entities willing to act as Authorized Participants. In periods of market volatility, market makers and/or Authorized Participants may be less willing to transact in Fund shares. The absence of an active market for the Fund’s shares may contribute to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV. If a shareholder purchases Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses. |
● | New Fund Risk. The Fund is new with a limited operating history and may have higher expenses. There can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size. The Fund could cease operations, and investors may be required to liquidate or transfer their assets at a loss. However, the fee waiver in place limits this risk for the periods that such fee waiver is effective. |
● | Equity Risk. Equity risk is the risk that the prices of the equity securities held by the Fund will change due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the companies issuing the securities participate, and the issuer company’s particular circumstances. Holders of equity securities only have rights to value in the company after all issuer debts have been paid, and they could lose their entire investment in a company that encounters financial difficulty. |
● | American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) Risk. Investment in ADRs does not eliminate all the risks inherent in investing in securities of non-U.S. issuers. The market value of ADRs is dependent upon the market value of the underlying securities and fluctuations in the relative value of the currencies in which the ADRs and the underlying securities are quoted. |
22 |
● | Infectious Illness Risk. A widespread outbreak of an infectious illness, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may result in travel restrictions, disruption of healthcare services, prolonged quarantines, cancellations, supply chain disruptions, business closures, lower consumer demand, layoffs, ratings downgrades, defaults and other significant economic, social and political impacts. Such events may adversely affect the Fund, its investments, and the value of your investment in the Fund. The fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent variants, and the long-term impact on economies, markets, industries and individual issuers, are not known. |
● | Issuer Risk. The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons that directly relate to an issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage, and reduced demand for the issuer’s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets or factors unrelated to the issuer’s value, such as investor perception. |
● | Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be worth less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the real value of the Fund’s shares and distributions thereon can decline. Inflation risk is linked to increases in the prices of goods and services and a decrease in the purchasing power of money. Inflation often is accompanied or followed by a recession, or period of decline in economic activity, which may include job loss and other hardships and may cause the value of securities to go down generally. Inflation risk is greater for fixed-income instruments with longer maturities. In addition, this risk may be significantly elevated compared to normal conditions because of recent monetary policy measures and the current interest rate environment. Inflation has recently increased and it cannot be predicted whether and to what extent it may decline. |
● | Market Risk. Global economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in general financial markets, a particular financial market, or other asset classes due to a number of factors, including 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. |
● | Management Risk. If the portfolio manager is incorrect in his assessment of the growth prospects of the securities the ETF holds, then the value of the Fund’s shares may decline. |
● | Market Trading Risk. Individual Fund shares may be purchased and sold only on a national securities exchange or alternative trading system through a broker-dealer, and may not be directly purchased or redeemed from the Fund. There can be no guarantee that an active trading market for shares will develop or be maintained, or that their listing will continue unchanged. Buying and selling shares may require you to pay brokerage commissions and expose you to other trading costs. Due to brokerage commissions and other transaction costs that may apply, |
23 |
frequent trading may detract from realized investment returns. Trading prices of shares may be above, at, or below the Fund’s NAV, will fluctuate in relation to NAV based on supply and demand in the market for shares and other factors, and may vary significantly from NAV during periods of market volatility. The return on your investment will be reduced if you sell shares at a greater discount or narrower premium to NAV than when you acquired shares. |
● | Non-Diversification
Risk. |
● | Preferred Stock Risk. Preferred stocks are susceptible to general market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence in and perceptions of their issuers change. The dividend on a preferred stock may be changed or omitted by the issuer, and participation in the growth of an issuer may be limited. |
● | Trading Issues Risk. Trading in Fund shares on NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) may be halted in certain circumstances. There can be no assurance that the requirements of NYSE Arca necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met. |
● | Value Investing Risk. The Fund invests in “value” stocks. The portfolio manager may be wrong in the assessment of a company’s value and the stocks the Fund holds may not reach what the portfolio manager believes are their full values. From time to time “value” investing falls out of favor with investors. During those periods, the Fund’s relative performance may suffer. |
● | Geopolitical Risk. Occurrence of global events such as war, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, country instability, infectious disease epidemics, pandemics and other public health issues, market instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers and other governmental trade or market control programs, the potential exit of a country from its respective union and related geopolitical events, may result in market volatility and may have long-lasting impacts on both the U.S. and global financial markets. |
Management
The Adviser. Gabelli Funds, LLC
The Portfolio Managers. Mr. Mario J. Gabelli, CFA, Chief Investment Officer — Value Portfolios, and Robert Leininger have served as portfolio managers of the Fund since its inception.
24 |
Other Information
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded Fund (commonly referred to as an “ETF”). Individual shares of the Fund are listed and traded on a national securities exchange, and individual Fund shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a broker or dealer at market price. These transactions, which do not involve the Fund, are made at market prices that may vary throughout the day, rather than at NAV. Shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than the Fund’s NAV (premium) or less than the Fund’s NAV (discount). An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying or selling Fund shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). The Fund will only issue or redeem shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 5,000 shares or multiples thereof (“Creation Units”) to Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor. The Fund generally will issue or redeem Creation Units in return for a designated portfolio of securities (and an amount of cash) that the Fund specifies each day.
Tax Information
The Fund expects that distributions will generally be taxable as ordinary income or long term capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an IRA.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
25 |
(the “Small and
Mid Cap Fund” or the “Fund”)
The Fund seeks long term capital growth.
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. The investment advisory agreement between Gabelli ETFs Trust (the “Trust”) and Gabelli Funds, LLC (the “Adviser”) provides that the Adviser will pay all operating expenses of the Fund, except the management fees, interest expenses, taxes, expenses incurred with respect to the acquisition and disposition of portfolio securities and the execution of portfolio transactions, including brokerage commissions, distribution fees or expenses, litigation expenses, and any extraordinary expenses. You may also incur usual and customary brokerage commissions and other charges when buying and selling shares that are not reflected in the fee table and expense example below.
(fees paid directly from your investment): |
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment): |
||||||
Management Fees | % | |||||
Other Expenses(1) | % | |||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | % |
(1) |
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.
The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods shown and then sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year | 3 Years | |||
$ |
$ |
26 |
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when the Fund’s shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the annual Fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. No portfolio turnover is included for the Fund because the Fund has not yet commenced operations.
Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities (such as U.S. exchange-listed common stock and preferred stock) of companies with small or medium sized market capitalizations (“small-cap” and “mid-cap” companies, respectively). The Fund may also invest in foreign securities by investing in American Depositary Receipts. A company’s market capitalization is generally calculated by multiplying the number of a company’s shares outstanding by its stock price. The Fund defines “small-cap companies” as those with a market capitalization generally less than $3 billion at the time of investment, and “mid-cap companies” as those with a market capitalization between $3 billion and $12 billion at the time of investment. The Fund may invest in equity securities of companies of any market capitalization, subject to its policy of investing at least 80% of its net assets in the equity securities of small-cap and/or mid-cap companies at the time of investment. The Fund may invest up to 25% of its net assets in securities of issuers in a single industry.
The Adviser’s investment philosophy with respect to equity securities is to identify assets that are selling in the public market at a discount to their private market value (“PMV”). The Adviser defines PMV as the value informed purchasers are willing to pay to acquire assets with similar characteristics. The Adviser also normally evaluates an issuer’s free cash flow and long term earnings trends. Finally, the Adviser looks for a catalyst, something indigenous to the company, its industry or country that will surface additional value, including, but not limited to, industry developments, regulatory changes, changes in management, sale or spin-off of a division, or the development of a profitable new business.
The Fund is intended for investors seeking long term growth of capital. It is not intended for those who wish to play short term swings in the stock market.
You may want to invest in the Fund if:
● | you are a long term investor |
● | you seek long term growth of capital |
The
Fund’s share price will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s
portfolio securities.
27 |
Investing in the Fund involves the following risks:
● | Non-Transparent Exchange-Traded Fund (“ETF”) Structure Risk. Unlike most actively managed ETFs the Fund does not provide daily disclosure of its portfolio holding. Instead, the Fund provides a verified intraday indicative value (“VIIV”), calculated and disseminated every second throughout the trading day. The VIIV is intended to provide investors and other market participants with a highly correlated per share value of the underlying portfolio that can be compared to the current market price. There is, however, a risk that shares of the Fund may trade at a wider bid/ask spread than ETFs that publish their portfolios on a daily basis, especially during periods of market disruption or volatility, and therefore, may cost investors more to trade. Because the Fund trades on the basis of the VIIV, it may trade at a wider bid/ask spread than traditional ETFs that publish their portfolios on a daily basis. Accordingly, the Adviser or its designee will monitor on an ongoing basis how shares of the Fund trade, including the level of any market price premium or discount to net asset value (“NAV”) and the bid/ask spreads on market transactions. Should there be extended periods of unusually high bid/ask spreads, the Board will consider the continuing viability of the Fund, whether shareholders are being harmed, and what, if any, action would be appropriate to among other things, narrow the premium/discount or spread, as applicable. Potential actions may include, but are not limited to, changing lead market makers, listing the Fund on a different exchange, changing the size of Creation Units (as defined below), changing the Fund’s investment objective or strategy, and liquidating the Fund. There is also a risk that the market price may vary significantly from the NAV and, thus, the underlying value of the Fund. There is also a risk that, despite not disclosing the portfolio holdings each day, some market participants may seek to use publically available information, including the VIIV, to identify the Fund’s investment strategy and engage in certain predatory trading practices that may have the potential to harm the Fund. |
● | Early Close/Trading Halt Risk. An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses. In addition, due to the non-transparency of the portfolio a trading halt in a portfolio security could cause discrepancies between the VIIV and NAV of the Fund resulting in uncertainty on the part of the AP that results in wider, less liquid markets. Any security for which trading has been halted for an extended period of time will be disclosed on the Fund’s website, www.gabelli.com. |
● | Authorized Participant and AP Representative Concentration Risk. The creation and redemption process for the Fund occurs through a confidential brokerage account with an agent, called an “AP Representative,” on behalf of an authorized participant permitted to engage in creation or redemption transactions (each, an “Authorized Participant”). Each day, the AP Representative will be given the names and quantities of the securities to be deposited, in the case of a creation, or redeemed, in the case of a redemption, allowing the AP Representative to buy and sell positions in the portfolio securities to permit creations or redemptions on the Authorized Participant’s behalf, without disclosing the information to the Authorized Participant. The Fund may have a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants and AP Representatives, none of which are obligated to engage in creation or redemption transactions. |
28 |
To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to process creation and/or redemption orders, Fund shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. This risk may be more pronounced in volatile markets, potentially where there are significant redemptions in ETFs, generally. The fact that the Fund is offering a novel and unique structure may affect the number of entities willing to act as Authorized Participants and AP Representatives. During times of market stress, Authorized Participants may be more likely to step away from this type of ETF than a traditional ETF. |
● | Large Shareholder Risk. Certain shareholders, including the Adviser and its affiliates, may own a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. The disposition of shares by large shareholders, resulting in redemptions through or by Authorized Participants, could have a significant negative impact on the Fund. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on NYSE Arca (as defined below) and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the Fund’s shares. The form of a large shareholder’s contribution and any redemption activity in the Fund can adversely affect the tax efficiency of the Fund. |
● | Absence of an Active Market. Although shares of the Fund are listed for trading on one or more stock exchanges, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will develop or be maintained by market makers or Authorized Participants. Authorized Participants are not obligated to execute purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. Because this is a novel and unique structure, this could influence the number of entities willing to act as Authorized Participants. In periods of market volatility, market makers and/or Authorized Participants may be less willing to transact in Fund shares. The absence of an active market for the Fund’s shares may contribute to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV. If a shareholder purchases Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses. |
● | New Fund Risk. The Fund is new with a limited operating history and may have higher expenses. There can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size. The Fund could cease operations, and investors may be required to liquidate or transfer their assets at a loss. |
● | Equity Risk. Equity risk is the risk that the prices of the equity securities held by the Fund will fluctuate, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably, due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the companies issuing the securities participate, and the issuer companies’ particular circumstances. Holders of equity securities only have rights to value in the company after all issuer debts have been paid, and they could lose their entire investment in a company that encounters financial difficulty. |
● | American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) Risk. Investment in ADRs does not eliminate all the risks inherent in investing in securities of non-U.S. issuers. The market value of ADRs is dependent upon the market value of the underlying securities and fluctuations in the relative value of the currencies in which the ADRs and the underlying securities are quoted. |
29 |
● | Infectious Illness Risk. A widespread outbreak of an infectious illness, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may result in travel restrictions, disruption of healthcare services, prolonged quarantines, cancellations, supply chain disruptions, business closures, lower consumer demand, layoffs, ratings downgrades, defaults and other significant economic, social and political impacts. Such events may adversely affect the Fund, its investments, and the value of your investment in the Fund. The fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent variants, and the long-term impact on economies, markets, industries and individual issuers, are not known. |
● | Issuer Risk. The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons that directly relate to an issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage, and reduced demand for the issuer’s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets or factors unrelated to the issuer’s value, such as investor perception. |
● | Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be worth less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the real value of the Fund’s shares and distributions thereon can decline. Inflation risk is linked to increases in the prices of goods and services and a decrease in the purchasing power of money. Inflation often is accompanied or followed by a recession, or period of decline in economic activity, which may include job loss and other hardships and may cause the value of securities to go down generally. Inflation risk is greater for fixed-income instruments with longer maturities. In addition, this risk may be significantly elevated compared to normal conditions because of recent monetary policy measures and the current interest rate environment. Inflation has recently increased and it cannot be predicted whether and to what extent it may decline. |
● | Market Risk. Global economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in general financial markets, a particular financial market, or other asset classes due to a number of factors, including 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. |
● | Management Risk. If the Adviser is incorrect in its assessment of the investment prospects of the securities the Fund holds, then the value of the Fund’s shares may decline. |
● | Market Trading Risk. Individual Fund shares may be purchased and sold only on a national securities exchange or alternative trading system through a broker-dealer, and may not be directly purchased or redeemed from the Fund. There can be no guarantee that an active trading market for shares will develop or be maintained, or that their listing will continue unchanged. Buying and selling shares may require you to pay brokerage commissions and expose you to other trading costs. Due to brokerage commissions and other transaction costs that may apply, |
30 |
frequent trading may detract from realized investment returns. Trading prices of shares may be above, at, or below the Fund’s NAV, will fluctuate in relation to NAV based on supply and demand in the market for shares and other factors, and may vary significantly from NAV during periods of market volatility. The return on your investment will be reduced if you sell shares at a greater discount or narrower premium to NAV than you acquired shares. |
● | Mid-Capitalization Company Risk. Mid-cap company risk is the risk that investing in securities of mid-cap companies could entail greater risks than investments in larger, more established companies. Mid-cap companies tend to have narrower product lines, more limited financial resources and a more limited trading market for their stocks, as compared with larger companies. As a result, their stock prices may decline more significantly or more rapidly than stocks of larger companies as market conditions change. |
● | Preferred Stock Risk. Preferred stocks are susceptible to general market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence in and perceptions of their issuers change. The dividend on a preferred stock may be changed or omitted by the issuer, and participation in the growth of an issuer may be limited. |
● | Small-Capitalization Company Risk. Investing in securities of small-capitalization companies may involve greater risks than investing in larger, more established issuers. Smaller capitalization companies typically have relatively lower revenues, limited product lines and lack of management depth, and may have a smaller share of the market for their products or services, than larger capitalization companies. The stocks of smaller capitalization companies tend to have less trading volume than stocks of larger capitalization companies. Less trading volume may make it more difficult for the Adviser to sell securities of smaller capitalization companies at quoted market prices. Finally, there are periods when investing in smaller capitalization stocks falls out of favor with investors and the stocks of smaller capitalization companies underperform. |
● | Trading Issues Risk. Trading in Fund shares on NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) may be halted in certain circumstances. There can be no assurance that the requirements of NYSE Arca necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met. |
● | Value Investing Risk. The Fund invests in “value” stocks. Value investing refers to buying securities that the Adviser believes are out of favor and/or undervalued in comparison to their peers or their prospects for growth. From time to time, “value” investing falls out of favor with investors. During those periods, the Fund’s relative performance may suffer. |
● | Geopolitical Risk. Occurrence of global events such as war, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, country instability, infectious disease epidemics, pandemics and other public health issues, market instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers and other governmental trade or market control programs, the potential exit of a country from its respective union and related geopolitical events, may result in market volatility and may have long-lasting impacts on both the U.S. and global financial markets. |
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Management
The Adviser. Gabelli Funds, LLC
The Portfolio Managers. Mr. Mario J. Gabelli, CFA, Chief Investment Officer — Value Portfolios; Mr. Kevin V. Dreyer, Managing Director and Co-Chief Investment Officer of the Value Team of GAMCO Investors, Inc., LLC; Mr. Christopher J. Marangi, Managing Director and Co-Chief Investment Officer of the Value Team of GAMCO Investors, Inc.; and Mr. Jeffrey J. Jonas, CFA, Vice President of GAMCO Investors, Inc., have served as portfolio managers of the Fund since its inception.
Other Information
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded Fund (commonly referred to as an “ETF”). Individual shares of the Fund are listed and traded on a national securities exchange, and individual Fund shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a broker or dealer at market price. These transactions, which do not involve the Fund, are made at market prices that may vary throughout the day, rather than at NAV. Shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than the Fund’s NAV (premium) or less than the Fund’s NAV (discount). An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying or selling Fund shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). The Fund will only issue or redeem shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 5,000 shares or multiples thereof (“Creation Units”) to Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor. The Fund generally will issue or redeem Creation Units in return for a designated portfolio of securities (and an amount of cash) that the Fund specifies each day.
Tax Information
The Fund expects that distributions will generally be taxable as ordinary income or long term capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an IRA.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
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(the “Micro Cap Fund” or
the “Fund”)
The Fund primarily seeks to provide investors with long term capital appreciation.
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. The investment advisory agreement between Gabelli ETFs Trust (the “Trust”) and Gabelli Funds, LLC (the “Adviser”) provides that the Adviser will pay all operating expenses of the Fund, except the management fees, interest expenses, taxes, expenses incurred with respect to the acquisition and disposition of portfolio securities and the execution of portfolio transactions, including brokerage commissions, distribution fees or expenses, litigation expenses, and any extraordinary expenses. You may also incur usual and customary brokerage commissions and other charges when buying and selling shares that are not reflected in the fee table and expense example below.
(fees paid directly from your investment): |
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment): |
||||||
Management Fees | % | |||||
Other Expenses(1) | % | |||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | % |
(1) |
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.
The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods shown and then sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year | 3 Years | |||
$ |
$ |
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when the Fund’s shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the annual Fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. No portfolio turnover is included for the Fund because the Fund has not yet commenced operations.
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Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of companies that are considered micro-cap companies at the time the Micro Cap Fund makes its investment. The Fund defines as companies that have a market capitalization (defined as shares outstanding multiplied by the current market price) of $250 million or less at the time of the Fund’s investment. Equity securities include common stocks (including indirect holdings of common stock of foreign securities through American Depositary Receipts), as well as preferred stocks. The Fund will not purchase any securities that are illiquid at the time of purchase. Micro-cap companies may be engaged in new and emerging industries. Micro-cap companies are generally not well-known to investors and have less of an investor following than larger companies. The Adviser’s investment philosophy with respect to buying and selling equity securities is to identify assets that are selling in the public market at a discount to their private market value (“PMV”), and the Fund focuses on micro-cap companies that appear to be underpriced relative to their PMV. PMV is the value the Adviser believes informed purchasers would be willing to pay to acquire a company or other assets with similar characteristics. The Adviser considers factors such as price, earnings expectations, earnings and price histories, balance sheet characteristics, and perceived management skills. The Adviser also considers changes in economic and political outlooks as well as individual corporate developments. Further, the Adviser looks for catalysts, factors indigenous to the company, its industry or geographic positioning that may surface additional value, including, but not limited to, industry developments, regulatory changes, changes in management, sale or spin-off of a division, or the development of a profitable new business.
You may want to invest in the Fund if:
● | you seek exposure to the micro-capitalization market segment despite the potential vitality of micro-capitalization stocks |
● | you are a long term investor |
● | you seek long term growth of capital |
The
Fund’s share price will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s
portfolio securities.
Investing in the Fund involves the following risks:
● | Non-Transparent Exchange-Traded Fund (“ETF”) Structure Risk. Unlike most actively managed ETFs the Fund does not provide daily disclosure of its portfolio holding. Instead, the Fund provides a verified intraday indicative value (“VIIV”), calculated and disseminated every second throughout the trading day. The VIIV is intended to provide investors and other market participants with a highly correlated per share value of the underlying portfolio that can be compared to the current market price. There is, however, a risk that shares of the Fund may trade at a wider bid/ask spread than ETFs that publish their portfolios on a daily basis, especially during periods of market disruption or volatility, and therefore, may cost investors more to trade. |
34 |
Because the Fund trades on the basis of the VIIV, it may trade at a wider bid/ask spread than traditional ETFs that publish their portfolios on a daily basis. Accordingly, the Adviser or its designee will monitor on an ongoing basis how shares of the Fund trade, including the level of any market price premium or discount to net asset value (“NAV”) and the bid/ask spreads on market transactions. Should there be extended periods of unusually high bid/ask spreads, the Board will consider the continuing viability of the Fund, whether shareholders are being harmed, and what, if any, action would be appropriate to among other things, narrow the premium/discount or spread, as applicable. Potential actions may include, but are not limited to, changing lead market makers, listing the Fund on a different exchange, changing the size of Creation Units (as defined below), changing the Fund’s investment objective or strategy, and liquidating the Fund. There is also a risk that the market price may vary significantly from the NAV and, thus, the underlying value of the Fund significantly from the underlying NAV of the Fund. There is also a risk that, despite not disclosing the portfolio holdings each day, some market participants may seek to use publically available information, including the VIIV, to identify the Fund’s investment strategy and engage in certain predatory trading practices that may have the potential to harm the Fund. |
● | Early Close/Trading Halt Risk. An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses. In addition, due to the non-transparency of the portfolio a trading halt in a portfolio security could cause discrepancies between the VIIV and NAV of the Fund resulting in uncertainty on the part of the AP that results in wider, less liquid markets. Any security for which trading has been halted for an extended period of time will be disclosed on the Fund’s website, www.gabelli.com. |
● | Authorized Participant and AP Representative Concentration Risk. The creation and redemption process for the Fund occurs through a confidential brokerage account with an agent, called an “AP Representative,” on behalf of an authorized participant permitted to engage in creation or redemption transactions (each, an “Authorized Participant”). Each day, the AP Representative will be given the names and quantities of the securities to be deposited, in the case of a creation, or redeemed, in the case of a redemption, allowing the AP Representative to buy and sell positions in the portfolio securities to permit creations or redemptions on the Authorized Participant’s behalf, without disclosing the information to the Authorized Participant. The Fund may have a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants and AP Representatives, none of which are obligated to engage in creation or redemption transactions. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to process creation and/or redemption orders, Fund shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. This risk may be more pronounced in volatile markets, potentially where there are significant redemptions in ETFs, generally. The fact that the Fund is offering a novel and unique structure may affect the number of entities willing to act as Authorized Participants and AP Representatives. During times of market stress, Authorized Participants may be more likely to step away from this type of ETF than a traditional ETF. |
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● | Large Shareholder Risk. Certain shareholders, including the Adviser and its affiliates, may own a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. The disposition of shares by large shareholders, resulting in redemptions through or by Authorized Participants, could have a significant negative impact on the Fund. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on NYSE Arca (as defined below) and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the Fund’s shares. The form of a large shareholder’s contribution and any redemption activity in the Fund can adversely affect the tax efficiency of the Fund. |
● | Absence of an Active Market. Although shares of the Fund are listed for trading on one or more stock exchanges, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will develop or be maintained by market makers or Authorized Participants. Authorized Participants are not obligated to execute purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. Because this is a novel and unique structure, this could influence the number of entities willing to act as Authorized Participants. In periods of market volatility, market makers and/or Authorized Participants may be less willing to transact in Fund shares. The absence of an active market for the Fund’s shares may contribute to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV. If a shareholder purchases Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses. |
● | New Fund Risk. The Fund is new with a limited operating history and may have higher expenses. There can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size. The Fund could cease operations, and investors may be required to liquidate or transfer their assets at a loss. |
● | Equity Risk. Equity risk is the risk that the prices of the equity securities held by the Fund will change due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the companies issuing the securities participate, and the issuer company’s particular circumstances. Holders of equity securities only have rights to value in the company after all issuer debts have been paid, and they could lose their entire investment in a company that encounters financial difficulty. |
● | Growth Stock Risk. Securities of growth companies may be more volatile since such companies usually invest a high portion of earnings in their business, and they may lack the dividends of value stocks that can cushion stock prices in a falling market. |
● | American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) Risk. Investment in ADRs does not eliminate all the risks inherent in investing in securities of non-U.S. issuers. The market value of ADRs is dependent upon the market value of the underlying securities and fluctuations in the relative value of the currencies in which the ADRs and the underlying securities are quoted. |
● | Infectious Illness Risk. A widespread outbreak of an infectious illness, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may result in travel restrictions, disruption of healthcare services, prolonged quarantines, cancellations, supply chain disruptions, business closures, lower consumer demand, layoffs, ratings downgrades, defaults and other significant economic, social and political impacts. Such events may adversely affect the Fund, its investments, and the value |
36 |
of your investment in the Fund. The fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent variants, and the long-term impact on economies, markets, industries and individual issuers, are not known. |
● | Issuer Risk. The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons that directly relate to an issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage, and reduced demand for the issuer’s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets or factors unrelated to the issuer’s value, such as investor perception. |
● | Micro Cap Company Risk. Although micro cap companies may offer greater potential for capital appreciation than larger companies, investing in securities of micro cap companies may involve greater risks than investing in larger, more established issuers. Micro cap companies generally have limited product lines, markets, and financial resources. Their securities may trade less frequently and in more limited volume than the securities of larger, more established companies. The securities of micro cap companies tend to be more volatile and less liquid than securities of larger companies. Also, micro cap companies are typically subject to greater changes in earnings and business prospects than larger companies. Consequently, micro cap company stock prices tend to rise and fall in value more than other stocks. |
● | Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be worth less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the real value of the Fund’s shares and distributions thereon can decline. Inflation risk is linked to increases in the prices of goods and services and a decrease in the purchasing power of money. Inflation often is accompanied or followed by a recession, or period of decline in economic activity, which may include job loss and other hardships and may cause the value of securities to go down generally. Inflation risk is greater for fixed-income instruments with longer maturities. In addition, this risk may be significantly elevated compared to normal conditions because of recent monetary policy measures and the current interest rate environment. Inflation has recently increased and it cannot be predicted whether and to what extent it may decline. |
● | Market Risk. Global economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in general financial markets, a particular financial market, or other asset classes due to a number of factors, including 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. |
● | Management Risk. If the portfolio managers are incorrect in their assessment of the growth prospects of the securities the Fund holds, then the value of the Fund’s shares may decline. |
● |
Market Trading Risk. Individual Fund shares may be purchased and sold only on a national securities exchange or alternative trading system through a broker-dealer, and may not be |
37 |
directly purchased or redeemed from the Fund. There can be no guarantee that an active trading market for shares will develop or be maintained, or that their listing will continue unchanged. Buying and selling shares may require you to pay brokerage commissions and expose you to other trading costs. Due to brokerage commissions and other transaction costs that may apply, frequent trading may detract from realized investment returns. Trading prices of shares may be above, at, or below the Fund’s NAV, will fluctuate in relation to NAV based on supply and demand in the market for shares and other factors, and may vary significantly from NAV during periods of market volatility. The return on your investment will be reduced if you sell shares at a greater discount or narrower premium to NAV than when you acquired shares. |
● | Non-Diversification
Risk. |
● | Preferred Stock Risk. Preferred stocks are susceptible to general market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence in and perceptions of their issuers change. The dividend on a preferred stock may be changed or omitted by the issuer, and participation in the growth of an issuer may be limited. |
● | Trading Issues Risk. Trading in Fund shares on NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) may be halted in certain circumstances. There can be no assurance that the requirements of NYSE Arca necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met. |
● | Geopolitical Risk. Occurrence of global events such as war, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, country instability, infectious disease epidemics, pandemics and other public health issues, market instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers and other governmental trade or market control programs, the potential exit of a country from its respective union and related geopolitical events, may result in market volatility and may have long-lasting impacts on both the U.S. and global financial markets. |
Management
The Adviser. Gabelli Funds, LLC
The Portfolio Managers. Mr. Mario J. Gabelli, CFA, Chief Investment Officer — Value Portfolios of the Adviser, and Ms. Sarah Donnelly, Senior Vice President of GAMCO Investors Inc., have served as portfolio managers of the Fund and have been jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund since its inception. Mr. Gabelli and Ms. Donnelly are assisted by a team of associate portfolio managers comprised of Mr. Ashish Sinha, Assistant Vice President of GAMCO Asset Management UK, Mr. Hendi Susanto, Vice President of Gabelli Funds, LLC, and Mr. Chong-Min Kang, Senior Vice President of GAMCO Investors Inc.
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Other Information
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded Fund (commonly referred to as an “ETF”). Individual shares of the Fund are listed and traded on a national securities exchange, and individual Fund shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a broker or dealer at market price. These transactions, which do not involve the Fund, are made at market prices that may vary throughout the day, rather than at NAV. Shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than the Fund’s NAV (premium) or less than the Fund’s NAV (discount). An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying or selling Fund shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). The Fund will only issue or redeem shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 5,000 shares or multiples thereof (“Creation Units”) to Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor. The Fund generally will issue or redeem Creation Units in return for a designated portfolio of securities (and an amount of cash) that the Fund specifies each day.
Tax Information
The Fund expects that distributions will generally be taxable as ordinary income or long term capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an IRA.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
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(the
“Love Our Planet Fund” or the “Fund”)
The Fund’s investment objective is capital appreciation.
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. The investment advisory agreement between Gabelli ETFs Trust (the “Trust”) and Gabelli Funds, LLC (the “Adviser”) provides that the Adviser will pay all operating expenses of the Fund, except the management fees, interest expenses, taxes, expenses incurred with respect to the acquisition and disposition of portfolio securities and the execution of portfolio transactions, including brokerage commissions, distribution fees or expenses, litigation expenses, and any extraordinary expenses. You may also incur usual and customary brokerage commissions and other charges when buying and selling shares that are not reflected in the fee table and expense example below.
(fees paid directly from your investment): |
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment): |
||||||
Management Fees | % | |||||
Other Expenses | % | |||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | % | |||||
Less Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(1) | ( |
)% | ||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver | % |
(1) |
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.
The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods shown and then sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |||||
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
40 |
The
Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may
indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when the Fund’s
shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in
the annual Fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s
performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Love Our Planet Fund’s
portfolio turnover rate was
The Fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing substantially all, and in any case no less than 80%, of its assets in U.S. exchange-listed common and preferred stocks of companies that meet the Fund’s guidelines for sustainability at the time of investment. The Fund may also invest in foreign securities by investing in American Depositary Receipts. Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests its assets in stocks that are listed on a national securities exchange or similar market, such as the National Market System of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”). The Fund focuses on investments in companies whose securities are trading at a material discount to their private market value (“PMV”). PMV is the value the Adviser believes informed investors would be willing to pay for a company.
Sustainability Criteria. The Fund combines a differentiated, value oriented investment philosophy with consideration of certain factors used to deliver returns in a manner that promotes environmental sustainability. In determining the sustainability factors of a particular company, the investment team looks for companies that, among other actions, have initiated programs to reduce the carbon footprint and/or waste profile of their products, services or operations or that produce goods or services that promote attributes such as energy and water conservation, recycling, the reduction of greenhouse gases and harmful chemicals and sustainable agriculture and clean-label food. The Fund relies primarily on proprietary research conducted by the Adviser to reach a judgement on the sustainability of each investment candidate but may also employ third-party data services. Pursuant to the guidelines, the Fund will not invest in publicly traded fossil fuel (coal, oil, and gas) companies, or in companies that derive more than 10% of their revenues from the following areas: tobacco, cannabis, alcohol, gambling, and defense/weapons production.
After identifying companies that satisfy these criteria, the Adviser then will invest in securities of companies that the Adviser believes are trading at a material discount to PMV. The Adviser will monitor each holding on a regular basis to ensure its compliance with the Fund’s guidelines. Securities that no longer meet these guidelines will be sold within a reasonable period of time after the Adviser makes such a determination. Securities may also be sold if the Adviser believes the securities no longer appear to be underpriced relative to their PMV, or if there is a change to an underlying industry or company that the Adviser believes may negatively affect the value of such securities.
41 |
You may want to invest in the Fund if:
● | you are a long term investor |
● | you seek capital appreciation |
● | you want exposure to equity investments in companies that meet the Fund’s socially responsible guidelines |
● | you seek long term growth of capital |
The
Fund’s share price will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s
portfolio securities.
Investing in the Fund involves the following risks:
● | Non-Transparent Exchange-Traded Fund (“ETF”) Structure Risk. Unlike most actively managed ETFs the Fund does not provide daily disclosure of its portfolio holding. Instead, the Fund provides a verified intraday indicative value (“VIIV”), calculated and disseminated every second throughout the trading day. The VIIV is intended to provide investors and other market participants with a highly correlated per share value of the underlying portfolio that can be compared to the current market price. There is, however, a risk that shares of the Fund may trade at a wider bid/ask spread than ETFs that publish their portfolios on a daily basis, especially during periods of market disruption or volatility, and therefore, may cost investors more to trade. Because the Fund trades on the basis of the VIIV, it may trade at a wider bid/ask spread than traditional ETFs that publish their portfolios on a daily basis. Accordingly, the Adviser or its designee will monitor on an ongoing basis how shares of the Fund trade, including the level of any market price premium or discount to net asset value (“NAV”) and the bid/ask spreads on market transactions. Should there be extended periods of unusually high bid/ask spreads, the Board will consider the continuing viability of the Fund, whether shareholders are being harmed, and what, if any, action would be appropriate to among other things, narrow the premium/discount or spread, as applicable. Potential actions may include, but are not limited to, changing lead market makers, listing the Fund on a different exchange, changing the size of Creation Units (as defined below), changing the Fund’s investment objective or strategy, and liquidating the Fund. There is also a risk that the market price may vary significantly from the NAV and, thus, the underlying value of the Fund significantly from the underlying NAV of the Fund. There is also a risk that, despite not disclosing the portfolio holdings each day, some market participants may seek to use publically available information, including the VIIV, to identify the Fund’s investment strategy and engage in certain predatory trading practices that may have the potential to harm the Fund. |
● | Early Close/Trading Halt Risk. An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses. In addition, due to the non-transparency of the portfolio a trading halt in a portfolio security could |
42 |
cause discrepancies between the VIIV and NAV of the Fund resulting in uncertainty on the part of the AP that results in wider, less liquid markets. Any security for which trading has been halted for an extended period of time will be disclosed on the Fund’s website, www.gabelli.com. |
● | Authorized Participant and AP Representative Concentration Risk. The creation and redemption process for the Fund occurs through a confidential brokerage account with an agent, called an “AP Representative,” on behalf of an authorized participant permitted to engage in creation or redemption transactions (each, an “Authorized Participant”). Each day, the AP Representative will be given the names and quantities of the securities to be deposited, in the case of a creation, or redeemed, in the case of a redemption, allowing the AP Representative to buy and sell positions in the portfolio securities to permit creations or redemptions on the Authorized Participant’s behalf, without disclosing the information to the Authorized Participant. The Fund may have a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants and AP Representatives, none of which are obligated to engage in creation or redemption transactions. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to process creation and/or redemption orders, Fund shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. This risk may be more pronounced in volatile markets, potentially where there are significant redemptions in ETFs, generally. The fact that the Fund is offering a novel and unique structure may affect the number of entities willing to act as Authorized Participants and AP Representatives. During times of market stress, Authorized Participants may be more likely to step away from this type of ETF than a traditional ETF. |
● | Large Shareholder Risk. Certain shareholders, including the Adviser and its affiliates, may own a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. The disposition of shares by large shareholders, resulting in redemptions through or by Authorized Participants, could have a significant negative impact on the Fund. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on NYSE Arca (as defined below) and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the Fund’s shares. The form of a large shareholder’s contribution and any redemption activity in the Fund can adversely affect the tax efficiency of the Fund. |
● | Absence of an Active Market. Although shares of the Fund are listed for trading on one or more stock exchanges, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will develop or be maintained by market makers or Authorized Participants. Authorized Participants are not obligated to execute purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. Because this is a novel and unique structure, this could influence the number of entities willing to act as Authorized Participants. In periods of market volatility, market makers and/or Authorized Participants may be less willing to transact in Fund shares. The absence of an active market for the Fund’s shares may contribute to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV. If a shareholder purchases Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses. |
● | New Fund Risk. The Fund is new with a limited operating history and may have higher expenses. There can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to or maintain an economically |
43 |
viable size. The Fund could cease operations, and investors may be required to liquidate or transfer their assets at a loss. However, the fee waiver in place limits this risk for the periods that such fee waiver is effective. |
● | Equity Risk. Equity risk is the risk that the prices of the equity securities held by the Fund will change due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the companies issuing the securities participate, and the issuer company’s particular circumstances. Holders of equity securities only have rights to value in the company after all issuer debts have been paid, and they could lose their entire investment in a company that encounters financial difficulty. |
● | American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) Risk. Investment in ADRs does not eliminate all the risks inherent in investing in securities of non-U.S. issuers. The market value of ADRs is dependent upon the market value of the underlying securities and fluctuations in the relative value of the currencies in which the ADRs and the underlying securities are quoted. |
● | Infectious Illness Risk. A widespread outbreak of an infectious illness, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may result in travel restrictions, disruption of healthcare services, prolonged quarantines, cancellations, supply chain disruptions, business closures, lower consumer demand, layoffs, ratings downgrades, defaults and other significant economic, social and political impacts. Such events may adversely affect the Fund, its investments, and the value of your investment in the Fund. The fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent variants, and the long-term impact on economies, markets, industries and individual issuers, are not known. |
● | Issuer Risk. The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons that directly relate to an issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage, and reduced demand for the issuer’s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets or factors unrelated to the issuer’s value, such as investor perception. |
● | Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be worth less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the real value of the Fund’s shares and distributions thereon can decline. Inflation risk is linked to increases in the prices of goods and services and a decrease in the purchasing power of money. Inflation often is accompanied or followed by a recession, or period of decline in economic activity, which may include job loss and other hardships and may cause the value of securities to go down generally. Inflation risk is greater for fixed-income instruments with longer maturities. In addition, this risk may be significantly elevated compared to normal conditions because of recent monetary policy measures and the current interest rate environment. Inflation has recently increased and it cannot be predicted whether and to what extent it may decline. |
● | Market Risk. Global economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in general financial markets, a particular financial market, or other asset classes due to a number of factors, including 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, |
44 |
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. |
● | Management Risk. If the portfolio managers are incorrect in their assessment of the growth prospects of the securities the Fund holds, then the value of the Fund’s shares may decline. |
● | Market Trading Risk. Individual Fund shares may be purchased and sold only on a national securities exchange or alternative trading system through a broker-dealer, and may not be directly purchased or redeemed from the Fund. There can be no guarantee that an active trading market for shares will develop or be maintained, or that their listing will continue unchanged. Buying and selling shares may require you to pay brokerage commissions and expose you to other trading costs. Due to brokerage commissions and other transaction costs that may apply, frequent trading may detract from realized investment returns. Trading prices of shares may be above, at, or below the Fund’s NAV, will fluctuate in relation to NAV based on supply and demand in the market for shares and other factors, and may vary significantly from NAV during periods of market volatility. The return on your investment will be reduced if you sell shares at a greater discount or narrower premium to NAV than when you acquired shares. |
● | Preferred Stock Risk. Preferred stocks are susceptible to general market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence in and perceptions of their issuers change. The dividend on a preferred stock may be changed or omitted by the issuer, and participation in the growth of an issuer may be limited. |
● | Sector Risk. Although the Fund does not employ a sector focus, its exposure, from time to time, to specific sectors will increase based on the Adviser’s perception of available investment opportunities. If the Fund focuses on a particular sector, the Fund may face an increased risk that the value of its portfolio will decrease because of events disproportionately affecting that sector. Furthermore, investments in particular sectors may be more volatile than the broader market as a whole. |
● | Socially Responsible Investment Risk. The application of the Adviser’s socially responsible criteria will affect the Fund’s exposure to certain issuers, industries, sectors, regions, and countries and may impact the relative financial performance of the Fund—positively or negatively—depending on whether such investments are in or out of favor. |
● | Trading Issues Risk. Trading in Fund shares on NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) may be halted in certain circumstances. There can be no assurance that the requirements of NYSE Arca necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met. |
● | Geopolitical Risk. Occurrence of global events such as war, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, country instability, infectious disease epidemics, pandemics and other public health issues, market instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers and other governmental trade or market control programs, the potential exit of a country from its respective union and related geopolitical events, may result in market volatility and may have long-lasting impacts on both the U.S. and global financial markets. |
45 |
(Total returns for the Year
Ended December 31)
Years | Returns |
---|---|
2022 | - |
2023 |
During the calendar year shown in the bar chart, the was (quarter ended ) and the was (quarter ended ).
(for the period ended December 31, 2023, with the maximum sales charges, if applicable) |
Past One Year |
Since
Inception ( ) |
||||||||||
Love Our Planet Fund | ||||||||||||
Return Before Taxes | % | % | ||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions | % | % | ||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | % | % | ||||||||||
S&P
500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
% | % |
46 |
Management
The Adviser. Gabelli Funds, LLC
The Portfolio Managers. Mr. Christopher J. Marangi, a Managing Director and Co-Chief Investment Officer for the Value team of GAMCO Investors, Inc., has served as a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception. Mr. Timothy M. Winter joined Gabelli & Company in 2009 and has served as a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception. Ms. Melody Bryant joined GAMCO Investors, Inc. in September 2018 and has served as a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception.
Other Information
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded Fund (commonly referred to as an “ETF”). Individual shares of the Fund are listed and traded on a national securities exchange, and individual Fund shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a broker or dealer at market price. These transactions, which do not involve the Fund, are made at market prices that may vary throughout the day, rather than at NAV. Shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than the Fund’s NAV (premium) or less than the Fund’s NAV (discount). An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying or selling Fund shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). The Fund will only issue or redeem shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 5,000 shares or multiples thereof (“Creation Units”) to Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor. The Fund generally will issue or redeem Creation Units in return for a designated portfolio of securities (and an amount of cash) that the Fund specifies each day.
Tax Information
The Fund expects that distributions will generally be taxable as ordinary income or long term capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an IRA.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
47 |
(the “Automation Fund”
or the “Fund”)
The Fund primarily seeks to provide growth of capital.
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. The investment advisory agreement between Gabelli ETFs Trust (the “Trust”) and Gabelli Funds, LLC (the “Adviser”) provides that the Adviser will pay all operating expenses of the Fund, except the management fees, interest expenses, taxes, expenses incurred with respect to the acquisition and disposition of portfolio securities and the execution of portfolio transactions, including brokerage commissions, distribution fees or expenses, litigation expenses, and any extraordinary expenses. You may also incur usual and customary brokerage commissions and other charges when buying and selling shares that are not reflected in the fee table and expense example below.
(fees paid directly from your investment): |
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment): |
||||||
Management Fees | % | |||||
Other Expenses(1) | % | |||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | % | |||||
Less Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(2) | ( |
)% | ||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver | % |
(1) | ||
(2) |
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.
The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods shown and then sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |||||
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
48 |
The
Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may
indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when the Fund’s
shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in
the annual Fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s
performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Automation Fund’s portfolio
turnover rate was
The Fund will primarily invest in U.S. exchange-listed common stock and preferred stock. The Fund may also invest in foreign securities by investing in American Depositary Receipts. The Fund focuses on companies which appear underpriced relative to their private market value (“PMV”). PMV is the value the Adviser believes informed investors would be willing to pay for a company.
Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in stocks that are listed on a national securities exchange as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. The portfolio manager will invest in companies that, in the public market, are selling at a significant discount to the portfolio manager’s assessment of their PMV. The portfolio manager considers factors such as price, earnings expectations, earnings and price histories, balance sheet characteristics, and perceived management skills. The portfolio manager also considers changes in economic and political outlooks as well as individual corporate developments. The portfolio manager will sell any Fund investments that lose their perceived value relative to other investments.
The Fund defines Automation Companies as any company that is engaged in designing, developing, supporting, or manufacturing automation equipment, related technology, or processes, and firms that use these to automate in their own businesses. These firms include industrial and service automation, cobotics, robotics, artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, and related equipment, technology, and services. In pursuing the investment theme, the Fund may invest in firms in any economic sector and in any geographic region. Many of the common stocks the Fund will buy will not pay dividends; instead, stocks will be bought for the potential that their prices will increase, providing capital appreciation for the Fund. The value of equity securities will fluctuate due to many factors, including the past and predicted earnings of the issuer, the quality of the issuer’s management, general market conditions, the forecasts for the issuer’s industry, and the value of the issuer’s assets. Holders of equity securities only have rights to value in the company after all issuer debts have been paid, and they could lose their entire investment in a company that encounters financial difficulty.
For purposes of the 80% Policy, the Fund’s investments in Automation Companies include equity securities of U.S. and non-U.S. companies that have at least 50% of their assets, income, earnings, sales, or profits committed to, or derived from automation technologies, equipment, and/or processes.
Automation includes, but is not limited to, the following:
● | Industrial and Service Automation |
● | Cobotics and Robotics |
● | Artificial Intelligence |
● | Autonomous Driving |
49 |
You may want to invest in the Fund if:
● | you are a long term investor |
● | you seek growth of capital |
● | you believe that the market will favor value over growth stocks over the long term |
● | you wish to include a value strategy as a portion of your overall investments |
The
Fund’s share price will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s
portfolio securities.
Investing in the ETF involves the following risks:
● | Non-Transparent Exchange-Traded Fund (“ETF”) Structure Risk. Unlike most actively managed ETFs the Fund does not provide daily disclosure of its portfolio holding. Instead, the Fund provides a verified intraday indicative value (“VIIV”), calculated and disseminated every second throughout the trading day. The VIIV is intended to provide investors and other market participants with a highly correlated per share value of the underlying portfolio that can be compared to the current market price. There is, however, a risk that shares of the Fund may trade at a wider bid/ask spread than ETFs that publish their portfolios on a daily basis, especially during periods of market disruption or volatility, and therefore, may cost investors more to trade. Because the Fund trades on the basis of the VIIV, it may trade at a wider bid/ask spread than traditional ETFs that publish their portfolios on a daily basis. Accordingly, the Adviser or its designee will monitor on an ongoing basis how shares of the Fund trade, including the level of any market price premium or discount to net asset value (“NAV”) and the bid/ask spreads on market transactions. Should there be extended periods of unusually high bid/ask spreads, the Board will consider the continuing viability of the Fund, whether shareholders are being harmed, and what, if any, action would be appropriate to among other things, narrow the premium/discount or spread, as applicable. Potential actions may include, but are not limited to, changing lead market makers, listing the Fund on a different exchange, changing the size of Creation Units (as defined below), changing the Fund’s investment objective or strategy, and liquidating the Fund. There is also a risk that the market price may vary significantly from the NAV and, thus, the underlying value of the Fund significantly from the underlying NAV of the Fund. There is also a risk that, despite not disclosing the portfolio holdings each day, some market participants may seek to use publically available information, including the VIIV, to identify the Fund’s investment strategy and engage in certain predatory trading practices that may have the potential to harm the Fund. |
● | Early Close/Trading Halt Risk. An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses. In addition, due to the non-transparency of the portfolio a trading halt in a portfolio security could |
50 |
cause discrepancies between the VIIV and NAV of the Fund resulting in uncertainty on the part of the AP that results in wider, less liquid markets. Any security for which trading has been halted for an extended period of time will be disclosed on the Fund’s website, www.gabelli.com. |
● | Authorized Participant and AP Representative Concentration Risk. The creation and redemption process for the Fund occurs through a confidential brokerage account with an agent, called an “AP Representative,” on behalf of an authorized participant permitted to engage in creation or redemption transactions (each, an “Authorized Participant”). Each day, the AP Representative will be given the names and quantities of the securities to be deposited, in the case of a creation, or redeemed, in the case of a redemption, allowing the AP Representative to buy and sell positions in the portfolio securities to permit creations or redemptions on the Authorized Participant’s behalf, without disclosing the information to the Authorized Participant. The Fund may have a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants and AP Representatives, none of which are obligated to engage in creation or redemption transactions. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to process creation and/or redemption orders, Fund shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. This risk may be more pronounced in volatile markets, potentially where there are significant redemptions in ETFs, generally. The fact that the Fund is offering a novel and unique structure may affect the number of entities willing to act as Authorized Participants and AP Representatives. During times of market stress, Authorized Participants may be more likely to step away from this type of ETF than a traditional ETF. |
● | Large Shareholder Risk. Certain shareholders, including the Adviser and its affiliates, may own a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. The disposition of shares by large shareholders, resulting in redemptions through or by Authorized Participants, could have a significant negative impact on the Fund. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on NYSE Arca (as defined below) and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the Fund’s shares. The form of a large shareholder’s contribution and any redemption activity in the Fund can adversely affect the tax efficiency of the Fund. |
● | Absence of an Active Market. Although shares of the Fund are listed for trading on one or more stock exchanges, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will develop or be maintained by market makers or Authorized Participants. Authorized Participants are not obligated to execute purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. Because this is a novel and unique structure, this could influence the number of entities willing to act as Authorized Participants. In periods of market volatility, market makers and/or Authorized Participants may be less willing to transact in Fund shares. The absence of an active market for the Fund’s shares may contribute to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV. If a shareholder purchases Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses. |
● | New Fund Risk. The Fund is new with a limited operating history and may have higher expenses. There can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to or maintain an economically |
51 |
viable size. The Fund could cease operations, and investors may be required to liquidate or transfer their assets at a loss. However, the fee waiver in place limits this risk for the periods that such fee waiver is effective. |
● | Equity Risk. Equity risk is the risk that the prices of the equity securities held by the Fund will change due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the companies issuing the securities participate, and the issuer company’s particular circumstances. Holders of equity securities only have rights to value in the company after all issuer debts have been paid, and they could lose their entire investment in a company that encounters financial difficulty. |
● | American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) Risk. Investment in ADRs does not eliminate all the risks inherent in investing in securities of non-U.S. issuers. The market value of ADRs is dependent upon the market value of the underlying securities and fluctuations in the relative value of the currencies in which the ADRs and the underlying securities are quoted. |
● | Infectious Illness Risk. A widespread outbreak of an infectious illness, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may result in travel restrictions, disruption of healthcare services, prolonged quarantines, cancellations, supply chain disruptions, business closures, lower consumer demand, layoffs, ratings downgrades, defaults and other significant economic, social and political impacts. Such events may adversely affect the Fund, its investments, and the value of your investment in the Fund. The fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent variants, and the long-term impact on economies, markets, industries and individual issuers, are not known. |
● | Issuer Risk. The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons that directly relate to an issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage, and reduced demand for the issuer’s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets or factors unrelated to the issuer’s value, such as investor perception. |
● | Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be worth less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the real value of the Fund’s shares and distributions thereon can decline. Inflation risk is linked to increases in the prices of goods and services and a decrease in the purchasing power of money. Inflation often is accompanied or followed by a recession, or period of decline in economic activity, which may include job loss and other hardships and may cause the value of securities to go down generally. Inflation risk is greater for fixed-income instruments with longer maturities. In addition, this risk may be significantly elevated compared to normal conditions because of recent monetary policy measures and the current interest rate environment. Inflation has recently increased and it cannot be predicted whether and to what extent it may decline. |
● | Market Risk. Global economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in general financial markets, a particular financial market, or other asset classes due to a number of factors, including 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, |
52 |
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. |
● | Management Risk. If the portfolio manager is incorrect in his assessment of the growth prospects of the securities the ETF holds, then the value of the Fund’s shares may decline. |
● | Market Trading Risk. Individual Fund shares may be purchased and sold only on a national securities exchange or alternative trading system through a broker-dealer, and may not be directly purchased or redeemed from the Fund. There can be no guarantee that an active trading market for shares will develop or be maintained, or that their listing will continue unchanged. Buying and selling shares may require you to pay brokerage commissions and expose you to other trading costs. Due to brokerage commissions and other transaction costs that may apply, frequent trading may detract from realized investment returns. Trading prices of shares may be above, at, or below the Fund’s NAV, will fluctuate in relation to NAV based on supply and demand in the market for shares and other factors, and may vary significantly from NAV during periods of market volatility. The return on your investment will be reduced if you sell shares at a greater discount or narrower premium to NAV than when you acquired shares. |
● | Automation Risk. The Fund invests primarily in the equity securities of automation companies and, as such, is particularly vulnerable to risks inherent to those types of companies. These risks include, but are not limited to, small or limited markets for such securities, changes in business cycles, world economic growth, technological progress, rapid obsolescence and government regulation. |
● | Technology Sector Risk. Technology companies, may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. Technology companies typically face intense competition and potentially rapid product obsolescence. They are also heavily dependent on intellectual property rights and may be adversely affected by the loss or impairment of those rights. Companies in the technology sector are facing increased government and regulatory scrutiny and may be subject to adverse government or regulatory action. |
● | Preferred Stock Risk. Preferred stocks are susceptible to general market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence in and perceptions of their issuers change. The dividend on a preferred stock may be changed or omitted by the issuer, and participation in the growth of an issuer may be limited. |
● | Trading Issues Risk. Trading in Fund shares on NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) may be halted in certain circumstances. There can be no assurance that the requirements of NYSE Arca necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met. |
● | Geopolitical Risk. Occurrence of global events such as war, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, country instability, infectious disease epidemics, pandemics and other public health issues, market instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers and other governmental trade or market control programs, the potential exit of a country from its respective union and related geopolitical events, may result in market volatility and may have long-lasting impacts on both the U.S. and global financial markets. |
53 |
(Total returns for the Year Ended
December 31)
Years | Returns |
---|---|
2023 |
During the calendar year shown in the bar chart, the
(for the period ended December 31, 2023, with the maximum sales charges, if applicable) |
Past One Year |
Since
Inception ( ) |
||||||||||
Return Before Taxes | % | ( |
% | |||||||||
Return After Taxes On Distributions | % | ( |
% | |||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | % | ( |
% | |||||||||
S&P 500 Index | % | % |
54 |
Management
The Adviser. Gabelli Funds, LLC
The Portfolio Managers. Mr. Hendi Susanto, Vice President of Gabelli Funds, LLC, and Mr. Justin Bergner, CFA, Portfolio Manager of the Adviser and Vice President at Gabelli & Company, have served as portfolio managers of the Fund since its inception.
Other Information
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded Fund (commonly referred to as an “ETF”). Individual shares of the Fund are listed and traded on a national securities exchange, and individual Fund shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a broker or dealer at market price. These transactions, which do not involve the Fund, are made at market prices that may vary throughout the day, rather than at NAV. Shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than the Fund’s NAV (premium) or less than the Fund’s NAV (discount). An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying or selling Fund shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). The Fund will only issue or redeem shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 5,000 shares or multiples thereof (“Creation Units”) to Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor. The Fund generally will issue or redeem Creation Units in return for a designated portfolio of securities (and an amount of cash) that the Fund specifies each day.
Tax Information
The Fund expects that distributions will generally be taxable as ordinary income or long term capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an IRA.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
55 |
(the “Aerospace and
Defense Fund” or the “Fund”)
The Fund seeks a high level of total return on its assets with an emphasis on income.
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. The investment advisory agreement between Gabelli ETFs Trust (the “Trust”) and Gabelli Funds, LLC (the “Adviser”) provides that the Adviser will pay all operating expenses of the Fund, except the management fees, interest expenses, taxes, expenses incurred with respect to the acquisition and disposition of portfolio securities and the execution of portfolio transactions, including brokerage commissions, distribution fees or expenses, litigation expenses, and any extraordinary expenses. You may also incur usual and customary brokerage commissions and other charges when buying and selling shares that are not reflected in the example.
(fees paid directly from your investment): |
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment): |
||||||
Management Fees | % | |||||
Other Expenses(1) | % | |||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | % | |||||
Less Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(2) | ( |
)% | ||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver | % |
(1) | ||
(2) |
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.
The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |||||
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
56 |
The
Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may
indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when the Fund’s
shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in
the annual Fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s
performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Aerospace and Defense
Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was
The Fund will seek to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its net assets in income producing equity securities including securities in the aerospace and defense sectors. Aerospace companies include manufacturers, assemblers and distributors of aircraft and aircraft parts. Defense companies include producers of components and equipment for the defense industry, such as military aircraft, radar equipment and weapons. The Fund defines an “aerospace and defense” company as a company that derives at least 50% of its revenues from, or devotes 50% of its assets to, aerospace and/or defense related activities, or has an identified business line that derives at least 50% of its revenues from, or devotes 50% of its assets to, aerospace and/or defense related activities. Income producing equity securities include U.S. exchange-listed common stock and preferred stock. The Fund may also invest in foreign securities by investing in American Depositary Receipts. In making stock selections, the Adviser looks for securities that have a better yield than the average of the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index (the “S&P 500 Index”), as well as capital gains potential. In selecting investments for the Fund, the Adviser focuses on issuers that:
● | have strong free cash flow and pay regular dividends; |
● | have potential for long term earnings per share growth; |
● | may be subject to a value catalyst, such as industry developments, regulatory changes, changes in management, sale or spin-off of a division, or the development of a profitable new business are well managed; and |
● | will benefit from sustainable long term economic dynamics, such as globalization of an issuer’s industry or an issuer’s increased focus on productivity or enhancement of services |
The Adviser also believes preferred stock of selected companies offer opportunities for capital appreciation as well as periodic income and may invest a portion of the Fund’s assets in such securities. This is particularly true in the case of companies that have performed below expectations. If a company’s performance has been poor enough, its preferred stock will trade more like common stock than like a fixed income security and may result in above average appreciation if performance improves. This leads to the possibility of capital appreciation if the price of the common stock recovers.
57 |
You may want to invest in the Fund if:
● | you are a long term investor |
● | you are seeking income as well as capital appreciation |
The
Fund’s share price will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s
portfolio securities.
Investing in the Fund involves the following risks:
● | Non-Transparent Exchange-Traded Fund (“ETF”) Structure Risk. Unlike most actively managed ETFs the Fund does not provide daily disclosure of its portfolio holding. Instead, the Fund provides a verified intraday indicative value (“VIIV”), calculated and disseminated every second throughout the trading day. The VIIV is intended to provide investors and other market participants with a highly correlated per share value of the underlying portfolio that can be compared to the current market price. There is, however, a risk that shares of the Fund may trade at a wider bid/ask spread than ETFs that publish their portfolios on a daily basis, especially during periods of market disruption or volatility, and therefore, may cost investors more to trade. Because the Fund trades on the basis of the VIIV, it may trade at a wider bid/ask spread than traditional ETFs that publish their portfolios on a daily basis. Accordingly, the Adviser or its designee will monitor on an ongoing basis how shares of the Fund trade, including the level of any market price premium or discount to net asset value (“NAV”) and the bid/ask spreads on market transactions. Should there be extended periods of unusually high bid/ask spreads, the Board will consider the continuing viability of the Fund, whether shareholders are being harmed, and what, if any, action would be appropriate to among other things, narrow the premium/discount or spread, as applicable. Potential actions may include, but are not limited to, changing lead market makers, listing the Fund on a different exchange, changing the size of Creation Units (as defined below), changing the Fund’s investment objective or strategy, and liquidating the Fund. There is also a risk that the market price may vary significantly from the NAV and, thus, the underlying value of the Fund significantly from the underlying NAV of the Fund. There is also a risk that, despite not disclosing the portfolio holdings each day, some market participants may seek to use publically available information, including the VIIV, to identify the Fund’s investment strategy and engage in certain predatory trading practices that may have the potential to harm the Fund. |
● | Aerospace Industry Risk. Government aerospace regulation and spending policies can significantly affect the aerospace industry because many companies involved in the aerospace industry rely to a large extent on U.S. (and other) Government demand for their products and services. There are significant inherent risks in government contracting, which could have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition and results of operations of industry participants. Government spending in aerospace generally is not correlated with any economic cycle, but rather, on the cycle of general political support for this type of spending. However, there is no assurance that future levels of aerospace and defense spending will increase or |
58 |
that levels of aerospace and defense spending will not decrease in the future. In addition, the aerospace industry in particular has recently been affected by adverse economic conditions and consolidation within the industry. Furthermore, competition in the airline industry continues to increase as a result of airline deregulation. |
● | Defense Industry Risk. Companies in the defense industry are subject to numerous risks, including fierce competition, consolidation, adverse political, economic and governmental developments (both in the U.S. and abroad), compliance with varying regulation across international markets, substantial research and development costs, cuts in government funding, product and technology obsolescence, limited numbers of potential customers and decreased demand for new equipment. Since defense companies derive significant revenue from government contracts, they face a number of specific risks that may adversely affect a company’s financial condition and outlook. The government may terminate a contract with an issuer as a result of an issuer’s default, resulting in possible issuer liability to the government. The government may also terminate a contract for its own convenience, which may lead to difficulty for the issuer in recovering costs incurred prior to termination. Such contracts may also be modified or terminated due to changes in congressional funding levels. Government contractors are also subject to stringent routine audits and reviews, which may lead to significant price adjustments for products and services. The highly competitive bidding environment in which government contractors operate may also reduce the profitability of certain government contracts. Companies involved in the commercial aerospace industry are subject to risks including aircraft order cancellations, excess capacity, cutbacks in profitable business travel, fuel price hikes, labor union settlements, adverse changes in international politics and relations, intense global competition, government regulation and cyclical market patterns. |
● | Concentration Risk. The Fund may be susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to adverse events that affect the Fund’s investments more than the market as a whole, to the extent that the Fund’s investments are concentrated in the securities and/or other assets of a particular issuer or issuers, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector, market segment or asset class. |
● | Early Close/Trading Halt Risk. An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses. In addition, due to the non-transparency of the portfolio a trading halt in a portfolio security could cause discrepancies between the VIIV and NAV of the Fund resulting in uncertainty on the part of the AP that results in wider, less liquid markets. Any security for which trading has been halted for an extended period of time will be disclosed on the Fund’s website, www.gabelli.com. |
● | Large-Capitalization Companies Risk. Large-capitalization companies may be less able than smaller capitalization companies to adapt to changing market conditions. Large-capitalization companies may be more mature and subject to more limited growth potential compared with smaller capitalization companies. During different market cycles, the performance of large capitalization companies has trailed the overall performance of the broader securities markets. |
59 |
● | Non-Diversification
Risk. |
● | Authorized Participant and AP Representative Concentration Risk. The creation and redemption process for the Fund occurs through a confidential brokerage account with an agent, called an “AP Representative,” on behalf of an authorized participant permitted to engage in creation or redemption transactions (each, an “Authorized Participant”). Each day, the AP Representative will be given the names and quantities of the securities to be deposited, in the case of a creation, or redeemed, in the case of a redemption, allowing the AP Representative to buy and sell positions in the portfolio securities to permit creations or redemptions on the Authorized Participant’s behalf, without disclosing the information to the Authorized Participant. The Fund may have a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants and AP Representatives, none of which are obligated to engage in creation or redemption transactions. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to process creation and/or redemption orders, Fund shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. This risk may be more pronounced in volatile markets, potentially where there are significant redemptions in ETFs, generally. The fact that the Fund is offering a novel and unique structure may affect the number of entities willing to act as Authorized Participants and AP Representatives. During times of market stress, Authorized Participants may be more likely to step away from this type of ETF than a traditional ETF. |
● | Large Shareholder Risk. Certain shareholders, including the Adviser and its affiliates, may own a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. The disposition of shares by large shareholders, resulting in redemptions through or by Authorized Participants, could have a significant negative impact on the Fund. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on NYSE Arca (as defined below) and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the Fund’s shares. The form of a large shareholder’s contribution and any redemption activity in the Fund can adversely affect the tax efficiency of the Fund. |
● | Absence of an Active Market. Although shares of the Fund are listed for trading on one or more stock exchanges, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will develop or be maintained by market makers or Authorized Participants. Authorized Participants are not obligated to execute purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. Because this is a novel and unique structure, this could influence the number of entities willing to act as Authorized Participants. In periods of market volatility, market makers and/or Authorized Participants may be less willing to transact in Fund shares. The absence of an active market for the Fund’s shares may contribute to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV. If a shareholder purchases Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses. |
60 |
● | New Fund Risk. The Fund is new with a limited operating history and may have higher expenses. There can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size. The Fund could cease operations, and investors may be required to liquidate or transfer their assets at a loss. However, the fee waiver in place limits this risk for the periods that such fee waiver is effective. |
● | Equity Risk. Equity risk is the risk that the prices of the equity securities held by the Fund will fluctuate, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably, due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the companies issuing the securities participate, and the issuer companies’ particular circumstances. Holders of equity securities only have rights to value in the company after all issuer debts have been paid, and they could lose their entire investment in a company that encounters financial difficulty. |
● | American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) Risk. Investment in ADRs does not eliminate all the risks inherent in investing in securities of non-U.S. issuers. The market value of ADRs is dependent upon the market value of the underlying securities and fluctuations in the relative value of the currencies in which the ADRs and the underlying securities are quoted. |
● | Infectious Illness Risk. A widespread outbreak of an infectious illness, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may result in travel restrictions, disruption of healthcare services, prolonged quarantines, cancellations, supply chain disruptions, business closures, lower consumer demand, layoffs, ratings downgrades, defaults and other significant economic, social and political impacts. Such events may adversely affect the Fund, its investments, and the value of your investment in the Fund. The fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent variants, and the long-term impact on economies, markets, industries and individual issuers, are not known. |
● | Issuer Risk. The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons that directly relate to an issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage, and reduced demand for the issuer’s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets or factors unrelated to the issuer’s value, such as investor perception. |
● | Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be worth less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the real value of the Fund’s shares and distributions thereon can decline. Inflation risk is linked to increases in the prices of goods and services and a decrease in the purchasing power of money. Inflation often is accompanied or followed by a recession, or period of decline in economic activity, which may include job loss and other hardships and may cause the value of securities to go down generally. Inflation risk is greater for fixed-income instruments with longer maturities. In addition, this risk may be significantly elevated compared to normal conditions because of recent monetary policy measures and the current interest rate environment. Inflation has recently increased and it cannot be predicted whether and to what extent it may decline. |
● |
Market Risk. Global economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in general financial markets, a particular financial market, or other asset classes due to a number of factors, including inflation (or expectations |
61 |
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. |
● | Management Risk. If the Adviser is incorrect in its assessment of the investment prospects of the securities the Fund holds, then the value of the Fund’s shares may decline. |
● | Market Trading Risk. Individual Fund shares may be purchased and sold only on a national securities exchange or alternative trading system through a broker-dealer, and may not be directly purchased or redeemed from the Fund. There can be no guarantee that an active trading market for shares will develop or be maintained, or that their listing will continue unchanged. Buying and selling shares may require you to pay brokerage commissions and expose you to other trading costs. Due to brokerage commissions and other transaction costs that may apply, frequent trading may detract from realized investment returns. Trading prices of shares may be above, at, or below the Fund’s NAV, will fluctuate in relation to NAV based on supply and demand in the market for shares and other factors, and may vary significantly from NAV during periods of market volatility. The return on your investment will be reduced if you sell shares at a greater discount or narrower premium to NAV than when you acquired shares. |
● | Preferred Stock Risk. Preferred stocks are susceptible to general market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence in and perceptions of their issuers change. The dividend on a preferred stock may be changed or omitted by the issuer, and participation in the growth of an issuer may be limited. |
● | Trading Issues Risk. Trading in Fund shares on NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) may be halted in certain circumstances. There can be no assurance that the requirements of NYSE Arca necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met. |
● | Value Investing Risk. The Fund invests in “value” stocks. Value investing refers to buying securities that the Adviser believes are out of favor and/or undervalued in comparison to their peers or their prospects for growth. From time to time, “value” investing falls out of favor with investors. During those periods, the Fund’s relative performance may suffer. |
● | Geopolitical Risk. Occurrence of global events such as war, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, country instability, infectious disease epidemics, pandemics and other public health issues, market instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers and other governmental trade or market control programs, the potential exit of a country from its respective union and related geopolitical events, may result in market volatility and may have long-lasting impacts on both the U.S. and global financial markets. |
62 |
The
Fund commenced operations on January 3, 2023, under its prior name, Gabelli
Equity Income ETF. The Fund’s prior name reflected its former investment
strategy seeking to attain a high level of total return, with an emphasis on
income, through investing at least 80% of its net assets in income producing
equity securities.
Management
The Adviser. Gabelli Funds, LLC
The Portfolio Manager. Lieutenant Colonel G. Anthony (Tony) Bancroft, USMCR, has served as the team leader and portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception and commencement of operations on January 3, 2023.
Other Information
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded Fund (commonly referred to as an “ETF”). Individual shares of the Fund are listed and traded on a national securities exchange, and individual Fund shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a broker or dealer at market price. These transactions, which do not involve the Fund, are made at market prices that may vary throughout the day, rather than at NAV. Shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than the Fund’s NAV (premium) or less than the Fund’s NAV (discount). An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying or selling Fund shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). The Fund will only issue or redeem shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 5,000 shares or multiples thereof (“Creation Units”) to Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor. The Fund generally will issue or redeem Creation Units in return for a designated portfolio of securities (and an amount of cash) that the Fund specifies each day.
Tax Information
The Fund expects that distributions will generally be taxable as ordinary income or long term capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an IRA.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
63 |
(the “Green Fund” or the
“Fund”)
The Fund seeks total return through current income and capital appreciation.
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. The investment advisory agreement between Gabelli ETFs Trust (the “Trust”) and Gabelli Funds, LLC (the “Adviser”) provides that the Adviser will pay all operating expenses of the Fund, except the management fees, interest expenses, taxes, expenses incurred with respect to the acquisition and disposition of portfolio securities and the execution of portfolio transactions, including brokerage commissions, distribution fees or expenses, litigation expenses, and any extraordinary expenses. You may also incur usual and customary brokerage commissions and other charges when buying and selling shares that are not reflected in the fee table and expense example below.
(fees paid directly from your investment): |
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment): |
||||||
Management Fees | % | |||||
Other Expenses(1) | % | |||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | % |
(1) |
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.
The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods shown and then sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year | 3 Years | |||
$ |
$ |
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when the Fund’s shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the annual Fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. No portfolio turnover is included for the Fund because the Fund has not yet commenced operations.
64 |
The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (measured at the time of purchase) in U.S. equity securities and American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) issued by clean energy companies which should benefit from evolution of the global energy industry to a cleaner and more environmentally responsible one. In order to generate current income, the Adviser also seeks to identity companies that have favorable income-paying histories and for which income payments are expected to continue to increase.
The Fund invests in clean energy production, transmission and distribution companies, and clean energy equipment and technology providers. For these purposes, “clean energy” sources include biomass, geothermal energy, hydroelectricity, solar and wind energy. The Fund considers nuclear and gas to be fuel sources that enable a low-carbon transition and thus will count toward the Fund’s 80% policy discussed above. For purposes of that policy, the Fund’s investments in clean energy companies may include: U.S. and depositary receipts of non-U.S. companies that have at least 50% of their assets, income, earnings, sales, or profits committed to, or derived from clean energy (or transmitting and delivering clean energy). The Fund may invest in companies that provide energy-saving solutions to companies engaged in the production or delivery of clean water and/or treating wastewater. In addition, the Fund may invest outside of its 80% policy in companies that transmit or deliver clean water and/or treat wastewater. The Fund cannot invest in coal, oil, or petroleum drillers or producers.
Clean energy companies include electric and gas utilities which have made a commitment to environmentally responsible energy (significant carbon reduction goals) and are in the process of a material transformation from some portion of fossil-fired or coal-fired generation to a more significant renewable energy and lower-carbon mix. In addition, some clean energy companies are considered to be industrials as they supply equipment, towers, solar panels, turbines, motors, pumps, or valves to the production generation or distribution of clean energy. The Adviser considers energy storage, battery storage, and battery storage companies to be an important element to optimizing renewable energy. Some information technology companies that provide or communicate valuable data resulting in efficiencies or conservation of energy may also be considered clean energy stocks. The Fund can invest in domestic or foreign companies (through ADRs) that are involved to a substantial extent in clean energy related businesses.
You may want to invest in the Fund if:
● | you are a long term investor |
● | you seek current income and capital appreciation |
The
Fund’s share price will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s
portfolio securities.
65 |
Investing in the Fund involves the following risks:
● | Non-Transparent Exchange-Traded Fund (“ETF”) Structure Risk. Unlike most actively managed ETFs the Fund does not provide daily disclosure of its portfolio holding. Instead, the Fund provides a verified intraday indicative value (“VIIV”), calculated and disseminated every second throughout the trading day. The VIIV is intended to provide investors and other market participants with a highly correlated per share value of the underlying portfolio that can be compared to the current market price. There is, however, a risk that shares of the Fund may trade at a wider bid/ask spread than ETFs that publish their portfolios on a daily basis, especially during periods of market disruption or volatility, and therefore, may cost investors more to trade. Because the Fund trades on the basis of the VIIV, it may trade at a wider bid/ask spread than traditional ETFs that publish their portfolios on a daily basis. Accordingly, the Adviser or its designee will monitor on an ongoing basis how shares of the Fund trade, including the level of any market price premium or discount to net asset value (“NAV”) and the bid/ask spreads on market transactions. Should there be extended periods of unusually high bid/ask spreads, the Board will consider the continuing viability of the Fund, whether shareholders are being harmed, and what, if any, action would be appropriate to among other things, narrow the premium/discount or spread, as applicable. Potential actions may include, but are not limited to, changing lead market makers, listing the Fund on a different exchange, changing the size of Creation Units (as defined below), changing the Fund’s investment objective or strategy, and liquidating the Fund. There is also a risk that the market price may vary significantly from the NAV and, thus, the underlying value of the Fund significantly from the underlying NAV of the Fund. There is also a risk that, despite not disclosing the portfolio holdings each day, some market participants may seek to use publically available information, including the VIIV, to identify the Fund’s investment strategy and engage in certain predatory trading practices that may have the potential to harm the Fund. |
● | Early Close/Trading Halt Risk. An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses. In addition, due to the non-transparency of the portfolio a trading halt in a portfolio security could cause discrepancies between the VIIV and NAV of the Fund resulting in uncertainty on the part of the AP that results in wider, less liquid markets. Any security for which trading has been halted for an extended period of time will be disclosed on the Fund’s website, www.gabelli.com. |
● | Authorized Participant and AP Representative Concentration Risk. The creation and redemption process for the Fund occurs through a confidential brokerage account with an agent, called an “AP Representative,” on behalf of an authorized participant permitted to engage in creation or redemption transactions (each, an “Authorized Participant”). Each day, the AP Representative will be given the names and quantities of the securities to be deposited, in the case of a creation, or redeemed, in the case of a redemption, allowing the AP Representative to buy and sell positions in the portfolio securities to permit creations or redemptions on the Authorized Participant’s behalf, without disclosing the information to the Authorized Participant. The Fund may have a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants and AP |
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Representatives, none of which are obligated to engage in creation or redemption transactions. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to process creation and/or redemption orders, Fund shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. This risk may be more pronounced in volatile markets, potentially where there are significant redemptions in ETFs, generally. The fact that the Fund is offering a novel and unique structure may affect the number of entities willing to act as Authorized Participants and AP Representatives. During times of market stress, Authorized Participants may be more likely to step away from this type of ETF than a traditional ETF. |
● | Large Shareholder Risk. Certain shareholders, including the Adviser and its affiliates, may own a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. The disposition of shares by large shareholders, resulting in redemptions through or by Authorized Participants, could have a significant negative impact on the Fund. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on NYSE Arca (as defined below) and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the Fund’s shares. The form of a large shareholder’s contribution and any redemption activity in the Fund can adversely affect the tax efficiency of the Fund. |
● | Absence of an Active Market. Although shares of the Fund are listed for trading on one or more stock exchanges, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will develop or be maintained by market makers or Authorized Participants. Authorized Participants are not obligated to execute purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. Because this is a novel and unique structure, this could influence the number of entities willing to act as Authorized Participants. In periods of market volatility, market makers and/or Authorized Participants may be less willing to transact in Fund shares. The absence of an active market for the Fund’s shares may contribute to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV. If a shareholder purchases Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses. |
● | New Fund Risk. The Fund is new with a limited operating history and may have higher expenses. There can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size. The Fund could cease operations, and investors may be required to liquidate or transfer their assets at a loss. |
● | Equity Risk. Equity risk is the risk that the prices of the equity securities held by the Fund will change due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the companies issuing the securities participate, and the issuer company’s particular circumstances. Holders of equity securities only have rights to value in the company after all issuer debts have been paid, and they could lose their entire investment in a company that encounters financial difficulty. |
● | American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) Risk. Investment in ADRs does not eliminate all the risks inherent in investing in securities of non-U.S. issuers. The market value of ADRs is dependent upon the market value of the underlying securities and fluctuations in the relative value of the currencies in which the ADRs and the underlying securities are quoted. |
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● | Clean Energy Company Risk. Renewable and alternative energy companies can be significantly affected by the following factors: obsolescence of existing technology, short product cycles, legislation resulting in more strict government regulations and enforcement policies, fluctuations in energy prices and supply and demand of alternative energy fuels, energy conservation, the success of exploration projects, the supply of and demand for oil and gas, world events and economic conditions. In addition, shares of clean energy companies have been significantly more volatile than shares of companies operating in other more established industries and the securities included in the Fund may be subject to sharp price declines. This industry is relatively nascent and under-researched in comparison to more established and mature sectors, and should therefore be regarded as having greater investment risk. |
● | Infectious Illness Risk. A widespread outbreak of an infectious illness, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may result in travel restrictions, disruption of healthcare services, prolonged quarantines, cancellations, supply chain disruptions, business closures, lower consumer demand, layoffs, ratings downgrades, defaults and other significant economic, social and political impacts. Such events may adversely affect the Fund, its investments, and the value of your investment in the Fund. The fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent variants, and the long-term impact on economies, markets, industries and individual issuers, are not known. |
● | Issuer Risk. The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons that directly relate to an issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage, and reduced demand for the issuer’s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets or factors unrelated to the issuer’s value, such as investor perception. |
● | Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be worth less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the real value of the Fund’s shares and distributions thereon can decline. Inflation risk is linked to increases in the prices of goods and services and a decrease in the purchasing power of money. Inflation often is accompanied or followed by a recession, or period of decline in economic activity, which may include job loss and other hardships and may cause the value of securities to go down generally. Inflation risk is greater for fixed-income instruments with longer maturities. In addition, this risk may be significantly elevated compared to normal conditions because of recent monetary policy measures and the current interest rate environment. Inflation has recently increased and it cannot be predicted whether and to what extent it may decline. |
● | Market Risk. Global economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in general financial markets, a particular financial market, or other asset classes due to a number of factors, including 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 |
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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. |
● | Management Risk. If the portfolio managers are incorrect in their assessment of the growth prospects of the securities the Fund holds, then the value of the Fund’s shares may decline. |
● | Market Trading Risk. Individual Fund shares may be purchased and sold only on a national securities exchange or alternative trading system through a broker-dealer, and may not be directly purchased or redeemed from the Fund. There can be no guarantee that an active trading market for shares will develop or be maintained, or that their listing will continue unchanged. Buying and selling shares may require you to pay brokerage commissions and expose you to other trading costs. Due to brokerage commissions and other transaction costs that may apply, frequent trading may detract from realized investment returns. Trading prices of shares may be above, at, or below the Fund’s NAV, will fluctuate in relation to NAV based on supply and demand in the market for shares and other factors, and may vary significantly from NAV during periods of market volatility. The return on your investment will be reduced if you sell shares at a greater discount or narrower premium to NAV than when you acquired shares. |
● | Non-Diversification
Risk. |
● | Trading Issues Risk. Trading in Fund shares on NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) may be halted in certain circumstances. There can be no assurance that the requirements of NYSE Arca necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met. |
● | Geopolitical Risk. Occurrence of global events such as war, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, country instability, infectious disease epidemics, pandemics and other public health issues, market instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers and other governmental trade or market control programs, the potential exit of a country from its respective union and related geopolitical events, may result in market volatility and may have long-lasting impacts on both the U.S. and global financial markets. |
The
Fund has not yet commenced operations, therefore, performance information is not
yet available.
Management
The Adviser. Gabelli Funds, LLC
The Portfolio Managers. Mario J. Gabelli and Timothy M. Winter have been portfolio managers of the Fund since its inception.
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Other Information
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded Fund (commonly referred to as an “ETF”). Individual shares of the Fund are listed and traded on a national securities exchange, and individual Fund shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a broker or dealer at market price. These transactions, which do not involve the Fund, are made at market prices that may vary throughout the day, rather than at NAV. Shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than the Fund’s NAV (premium) or less than the Fund’s NAV (discount). An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying or selling Fund shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). The Fund will only issue or redeem shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 5,000 shares or multiples thereof (“Creation Units”) to Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor. The Fund generally will issue or redeem Creation Units in return for a designated portfolio of securities (and an amount of cash) that the Fund specifies each day.
Tax Information
The Fund expects that distributions will generally be taxable as ordinary income or long term capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an IRA.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
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INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, INVESTMENT STRATEGIES, AND RELATED RISKS
The Funds may also use the following investment techniques:
● | Temporary Defensive Investments. When opportunities for capital appreciation do not appear attractive or when adverse market or economic conditions exist, the Fund may temporarily invest all or a portion of its assets in defensive investments only outside normal market conditions. Such investments include obligations of the U.S. government and its agencies and instrumentalities and short term money market investments. When following a defensive strategy, the Fund will be less likely to achieve its investment goal of capital appreciation. |
The Funds may also engage in other investment practices in order to achieve its investment objectives. These are discussed in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”), which may be obtained by calling 800-GABELLI (800-422-3554), your financial intermediary, or free of charge through the Fund’s website at www.gabelli.com.
Gabelli Growth Innovators ETF
The Fund’s primary investment objective is to provide capital appreciation.
The Fund will primarily invest in common stocks of companies that are relevant to the Fund’s investment theme of innovation. The Adviser defines “innovation” as the introduction of new technologies, products or services that redefines how businesses operate. The Fund seeks to invest in companies whose prospects for earnings growth remain undervalued. The Adviser will sell any Fund investments that lose their perceived value when compared with other investment alternatives in the judgment of the portfolio managers.
The Adviser uses fundamental security analysis to develop earnings forecasts for companies and to identify investment opportunities. The Adviser bases its analysis on general economic and industry data provided by the U.S. Government, various trade associations and other sources, and published corporate financial data such as annual reports, 10-Ks, and quarterly statements as well as direct interviews with company management. Generally, the Adviser makes investment decisions first by looking at individual companies and then by scrutinizing their growth prospects in relation to their industries and the overall economy. The Adviser seeks to invest in companies with high future earnings potential relative to their current market valuations.
The Fund’s assets will be invested primarily in a broad range of readily marketable equity securities consisting of U.S. exchange-listed common stock and preferred stock. Many of these common stocks will not pay dividends; instead, stocks will be bought for the potential that their prices will increase, providing capital appreciation for the Fund. The value of equity securities will fluctuate due to many factors, including the past and predicted earnings of the issuer, the quality of the issuer’s management, general market conditions, the forecasts for the issuer’s industry, and the value of the issuer’s assets. Holders of equity securities only have rights to value in the company after all issuer debts have been paid, and they could lose their entire investment in a company that encounters financial difficulty.
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Gabelli Financial Services Opportunities ETF
The investment objective of the Fund is to provide capital appreciation.
In selecting investments for the Fund, the Adviser seeks issuers that:
● | are principally engaged in the financial services sector; |
● | are well managed; |
● | are undervalued; and |
● | may be subject to a catalyst, such as industry developments, regulatory changes, changes in management, sale or spin-off of a division, or the development of a profitable new business. |
The Adviser believes that the current market, economic and regulatory environment is favorable for financial services companies. The Adviser believes that there are opportunities available in the financial services sector in light of the regulatory environment, potential consolidation, expanding technological innovation, growth in global payments, and continuing demand for wealth management services.
Gabelli Equity Income ETF
The Fund’s investment objective is to seek a high level of total return on its assets with an emphasis on income.
The Fund will seek to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its net assets in income producing equity securities. Income producing equity securities include U.S. exchange-listed common stock and preferred stock. The Fund may also invest in foreign securities by investing in American Depositary Receipts. In making stock selections, the Adviser looks for securities that have a better yield than the average of the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index (the “S&P 500 Index”), as well as capital gains potential. In selecting investments for the Equity Income Fund, the Adviser focuses on issuers that:
● | have strong free cash flow and pay regular dividends; |
● | have potential for long term earnings per share growth; |
● | may be subject to a value catalyst, such as industry developments, regulatory changes, changes in management, sale or spin-off of a division, or the development of a profitable new business are well managed; and |
● | will benefit from sustainable long term economic dynamics, such as globalization of an issuer’s industry or an issuer’s increased focus on productivity or enhancement of services. |
The Adviser also believes preferred stock of selected companies offer opportunities for capital appreciation as well as periodic income and may invest a portion of the Equity Income Fund’s assets in such securities. This is particularly true in the case of companies that have performed below expectations. If a company’s performance has been poor enough, its preferred will trade more like common stock than like a fixed income security and may result in above average appreciation if performance improves.
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Gabelli Small and Mid Cap ETF
The investment objective of the Fund is long term capital growth.
Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities (such as U.S. exchange-listed common stock and preferred stock) of companies with small or medium-sized market capitalizations (“small-cap” and “mid-cap” companies, respectively). A company’s market capitalization is generally calculated by multiplying the number of a company’s shares outstanding by its stock price. The Fund defines “small-cap companies” as those with a market capitalization generally less than $3 billion at the time of investment and “mid-cap companies” as those with a market capitalization between $3 billion and $12 billion at the time of investment. The Fund may invest in the equity securities of companies of any market capitalization, subject to its policy of investing at least 80% of its net assets in the equity securities of small-cap and/or mid-cap companies at the time of investment. The Fund may invest up to 25% of its net assets in securities of issuers in a single industry.
The Adviser’s investment philosophy with respect to equity securities is to identify assets that are selling in the public market at a discount to their private market value (“PMV”). The Adviser defines PMV as the value informed purchasers are willing to pay to acquire assets with similar characteristics. The Adviser also normally evaluates an issuer’s free cash flow and long term earnings trends. Finally, the Adviser looks for a catalyst, something indigenous to the company, its industry or country that will surface additional value, including, but not limited to, industry developments, regulatory changes, changes in management, sale or spin-off of a division, or the development of a profitable new business. In selecting securities for the Fund, the Adviser will use a bottom-up, value approach. The Adviser will primarily focus on company-specific criteria rather than on political, economic or other factors.
Gabelli Micro Cap ETF
The investment objective of the Fund is to provide long term capital appreciation.
Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of companies that are considered micro-cap companies at the time the Micro Cap Fund makes its investment. The Fund defines as companies that have a market capitalization (defined as shares outstanding multiplied by the current market price) of $250 million or less at the time of the Fund’s investment. Equity securities include common stocks (including indirect holdings of common stock through ADRs), as well as preferred stocks. Micro-cap companies may be engaged in new and emerging industries. Micro-cap companies are generally not well-known to investors and have less of an investor following than larger companies.
The Adviser’s investment philosophy with respect to buying and selling equity securities is to identify assets that are selling in the public market at a discount to their private market value (“PMV”), and the Fund focuses on companies that appear to be underpriced relative to their PMV. PMV is the value the Adviser believes informed purchasers would be willing to pay to acquire a company or other assets with similar characteristics. The Adviser considers factors such as price, earnings expectations, earnings and price histories, balance sheet characteristics, and perceived management skills. The Adviser also considers changes in economic and political outlooks as well as individual corporate developments. Further, the Adviser looks for catalysts, factors indigenous to the company, its industry or geographic positioning that may surface additional value, including, but not limited to, industry developments, regulatory changes, changes in management, sale or spin-off of a division, or the development of a profitable new business.
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Additionally, the Adviser may also consider the securities of companies that appear to have favorable yet undervalued prospects for earnings growth and price appreciation. In this regard, the Adviser may invest the Fund’s assets in companies that it believes have above average or expanding market shares, profit margins, and returns on equity. In evaluating growth prospects, the Adviser uses fundamental security analysis to develop earnings forecasts for companies and to identify investment opportunities. The Adviser bases its analysis on general economic and industry data provided by the U.S. Government, various trade associations and other sources, and published corporate financial data such as annual reports and quarterly statements as well as direct interviews with company management. When applying a growth strategy, the Adviser seeks to invest in companies with high future earnings potential relative to their current market valuations.
The Adviser expects to seek to sell investments that lose their perceived value relative to other investments, which could occur because of, among other things, a security reaching a predetermined price target, a change to a company’s fundamentals that make the risk/reward profile unattractive, or a need to improve the overall risk/reward profile of the Fund.
Gabelli Love Our Planet & People ETF
The investment objective of the Fund is capital appreciation.
The Fund seeks to provide capital appreciation. The Fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing substantially all, and in any case no less than 80%, of its assets in U.S. exchange-listed common and preferred stocks of companies that meet the Fund’s guidelines for social responsibility at the time of investment. Your investment in the Fund is not guaranteed and you could lose some or all of the amount you invested.
The Adviser will invest in companies that are selling in the public market at a significant discount to the Adviser’s assessment of their PMV or “fair value.” The Adviser considers factors such as price, earnings expectations, earnings and price histories, balance sheet characteristics, and perceived management skills. The Adviser also considers changes in economic and political outlooks as well as individual corporate developments. The Adviser will sell any Fund investments that, in the Adviser’s judgment, lose their perceived value relative to other investments.
Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests its assets in stocks that are listed on a national securities exchange. The Adviser will invest in companies that are selling in the public market at a significant discount to the Adviser’s assessment of their PMV or “fair value.” The Adviser considers factors such as price, earnings expectations, earnings and price histories, balance sheet characteristics, and perceived management skills. The Adviser also considers changes in economic and political outlooks as well as individual corporate developments. The Adviser will sell any Fund investments that, in the Adviser’s judgment, lose their perceived value relative to other investments.
The Fund’s assets will be invested primarily in a broad range of readily marketable equity securities consisting of common stock, and preferred stock. Many of the common stocks the Fund will buy will not pay dividends; instead, stocks will be bought for the potential that their prices will increase, providing capital appreciation for the Fund. The value of equity securities will fluctuate due to many factors, including the past and predicted earnings of the issuer, the quality of the issuer’s management, general market
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conditions, the forecasts for the issuer’s industry, and the value of the issuer’s assets. Holders of equity securities have rights to value in the company only after all debts have been paid, and they could lose their entire investment in a company that encounters financial difficulty.
Sustainability Criteria. The Fund combines a differentiated, value oriented investment philosophy with consideration of certain factors used to deliver returns in a manner that promotes environmental sustainability. In determining the sustainability factors of a particular company, the investment team looks for companies that, among other actions, have initiated programs to reduce the carbon footprint and/or waste profile of their products, services or operations or that produce goods or services that promote attributes such as energy and water conservation, recycling, the reduction of greenhouse gases and harmful chemicals and sustainable agriculture and clean-label food. The Fund relies primarily on proprietary research conducted by the Adviser to reach a judgement on the sustainability of each investment candidate but may also employ third-party data services. Pursuant to the guidelines, the Fund will not invest in publicly traded fossil fuel (coal, oil, and gas) companies, or in companies that derive more than 10% of their revenues from the following areas: tobacco, cannabis, alcohol, gambling, and defense/weapons production.
After identifying companies that satisfy these social criteria, the Adviser then will invest in securities of companies that the Adviser believes are trading at a material discount to PMV. The Adviser will monitor each holding on a regular basis to ensure its compliance with the Fund’s guidelines. Securities that no longer meet these guidelines will be sold within a reasonable period of time after the Adviser makes such a determination. Securities may also be sold if the Adviser believes the securities no longer appear to be underpriced relative to their PMV, or if there is a change to an underlying industry or company that the Adviser believes may negatively affect the value of such securities.
Gabelli Automation ETF
The Fund will primarily invest in U.S. exchange-listed common stock and preferred stock. The Fund may also invest in foreign securities by investing in American Depositary Receipts. The Fund focuses on companies which appear underpriced relative to their private market value (“PMV”). PMV is the value the Adviser believes informed investors would be willing to pay for a company.
Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in stocks that are listed on a national securities exchange. The portfolio managers will invest in companies that, in the public market, are selling at a significant discount to the portfolio managers’ assessment of their PMV. The portfolio manager considers factors such as price, earnings expectations, earnings and price histories, balance sheet characteristics, and perceived management skills. The portfolio managers also consider changes in economic and political outlooks as well as individual corporate developments. The portfolio managers will sell any Fund investments that lose their perceived value relative to other investments.
The Fund will seek to identify and invest in leading firms that design, develop, support, or manufacture automation equipment, related technology, or processes, and firms that use these to automate in their own businesses. These include industrial and service automation, cobotics, robotics, artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, and related equipment, technology, and services. In pursuing the investment theme, the Fund may investing firms in any economic sector and in any geographic region.
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The Fund’s assets will be invested primarily in a broad range of readily marketable equity securities consisting of U.S. exchange-listed common stock, and preferred stock. Many of the common stocks the Fund will buy will not pay dividends; instead, stocks will be bought for the potential that their prices will increase, providing capital appreciation for the Fund. The value of equity securities will fluctuate due to many factors, including the past and predicted earnings of the issuer, the quality of the issuer’s management, general market conditions, the forecasts for the issuer’s industry, and the value of the issuer’s assets. Holders of equity securities only have rights to value in the company after all issuer debts have been paid, and they could lose their entire investment in a company that encounters financial difficulty.
Gabelli Commercial Aerospace and Defense ETF
The Fund’s investment objective is to seek a high level of total return on its assets with an emphasis on income.
The Fund will seek to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its net assets in income producing equity securities including securities in the aerospace and defense sectors.
Aerospace companies include manufacturers, assemblers and distributors of aircraft and aircraft parts. Defense companies include producers of components and equipment for the defense industry, such as military aircraft, radar equipment and weapons. The Fund defines an “aerospace and defense” company as a company that derives at least 50% of its revenues from, or devotes 50% of its assets to, aerospace and/or defense related activities, or has an identified business line that derives at least 50% of its revenues from, or devotes 50% of its assets to, aerospace and/or defense related activities. Income producing equity securities include U.S. exchange-listed common stock and preferred stock. The Fund may also invest in foreign securities by investing in American Depositary Receipts. In making stock selections, the Adviser looks for securities that have a better yield than the average of the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index (the “S&P 500 Index”), as well as capital gains potential. In selecting investments for the Fund, the Adviser focuses on issuers that:
● | have strong free cash flow and pay regular dividends; |
● | have potential for long term earnings per share growth; |
● | may be subject to a value catalyst, such as industry developments, regulatory changes, changes in management, sale or spin-off of a division, or the development of a profitable new business are well managed; and |
● | will benefit from sustainable long term economic dynamics, such as globalization of an issuer’s industry or an issuer’s increased focus on productivity or enhancement of services. |
The Adviser also believes preferred stock of selected companies offer opportunities for capital appreciation as well as periodic income and may invest a portion of the Fund’s assets in such securities. This is particularly true in the case of companies that have performed below expectations. If a company’s performance has been poor enough, its preferred stock will trade more like common stock than like a fixed income security and may result in above average appreciation if performance improves. This leads to the possibility of capital appreciation if the price of the common stock recovers.
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Gabelli Green Energy ETF
The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (measured at the time of purchase) in U.S. equity securities and ADRs issued by clean energy companies which should benefit from evolution of the global energy industry to a cleaner and more environmentally responsible one.
The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (measured at the time of purchase) in U.S. equity securities and ADRs issued by clean energy companies which should benefit from, or contribute to, the evolution of the global energy industry to a cleaner and more environmentally responsible one.
The Fund invests in clean energy production, transmission and distribution companies, and clean energy equipment and technology providers. For these purposes, “clean energy” sources include biomass, geothermal energy, hydroelectricity, solar and wind energy. The Fund considers nuclear and gas to be fuel sources that enable a low-carbon transition and thus will count toward the Fund’s 80% policy discussed above. For purposes of that policy, the Fund’s investments in clean energy companies may include: U.S. companies and ADRs of non-U.S. companies that have at least 50% of their assets, income, earnings, sales, or profits committed to, or derived from clean energy (or transmitting and delivering clean energy). The Fund may invest in companies that provide energy-saving solutions to companies engaged in the production or delivery of clean water and/or treating wastewater. In addition, the Fund may invest outside of its 80% policy in companies that transmit or deliver clean water and/or treat wastewater. The Fund cannot invest in coal, oil, or petroleum drillers or producers.
Clean energy companies include electric and gas utilities which have made a commitment to environmentally responsible energy (significant carbon reduction goals) and are in the process of a material transformation from some portion of fossil-fired or coal-fired generation to a more significant renewable energy and lower-carbon mix. In addition, some clean energy companies are considered to be industrials as they supply equipment, towers, solar panels, turbines, motors, pumps, or valves to the production, generation or distribution of clean energy. The Adviser considers energy storage, battery storage, and battery storage companies to be an important element to optimizing renewable energy. Some information technology companies that provide or communicate valuable data resulting in efficiencies or conservation of energy may also be considered clean energy stocks. The Fund can invest in domestic or foreign companies (through ADRs) that are involved to a substantial extent in clean energy related businesses.
Investing in the Funds involves the following risks:
● | Non-Transparent Exchange-Traded Fund (“ETF”) Structure Risk. All Funds — Unlike most actively managed ETFs the Funds do not provide daily disclosure of their portfolio holdings. Instead, the Funds provide a verified intraday indicative value (“VIIV”), calculated and disseminated every second throughout the trading day. The VIIV is intended to provide investors and other market participants with a highly correlated per share value of the underlying portfolio that can be compared to the current market price. There is, however, a risk that shares of the Funds may trade at a wider bid/ask spread than ETFs that publish their portfolios on a daily basis, especially during periods of market disruption or volatility, and therefore, may cost investors more to trade. Because the Funds trade on the basis of the VIIV, they may trade at a wider bid/ask spread than traditional ETFs that publish their portfolios on a daily basis. Accordingly, the Funds’ Adviser or their designee will monitor on an ongoing basis how |
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shares of the Funds trade, including the level of any market price premium or discount to net asset value (“NAV”) and the bid/ ask spreads on market transactions. Should there be extended periods of unusually high bid/ask spreads, the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”) will consider the continuing viability of the Funds, whether shareholders are being harmed, and what, if any, action would be appropriate to, among other things, narrow the premium/discount or spread, as applicable. Potential actions may include, but are not limited to, changing lead market makers, listing the Funds on a different exchange, changing the size of Creation Units (as defined below), changing the Funds’ investment objectives or strategies, and liquidating the Funds. There is also a risk that the market price may vary significantly from the NAV and, thus, the underlying value of the Funds significantly from the underlying NAV of the Funds. There is also a risk that, despite not disclosing the portfolio holdings each day, some market participants may seek to use publically available information, including the VIIV, to identify the Funds’ investment strategies and engage in certain predatory trading practices that may have the potential to harm the Funds. |
● | Early Close/Trading Halt Risk. All Funds — An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in a Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Funds may be unable to rebalance their portfolios, may be unable to accurately price their investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses. In addition, due to the non-transparency of the portfolio a trading halt in a portfolio security could cause discrepancies between the VIIV and NAV of the Funds resulting in uncertainty on the part of the AP that results in wider, less liquid markets. Any security for which trading has been halted for an extended period of time will be disclosed on the Funds’ website, www.gabelli.com. |
● | Authorized Participant and AP Representative Concentration Risk. All Funds — The creation and redemption process for the Funds occurs through a confidential brokerage account (“Confidential Account”) with an agent, called an “AP Representative,” on behalf of an authorized participant permitted to engage in creation or redemption transactions (each, an “Authorized Participant”). Each day, the AP Representative will be given the names and quantities of the securities to be deposited, in the case of a creation, or redeemed, in the case of a redemption, allowing the AP Representative to buy and sell positions in the portfolio securities to permit creations or redemptions on the Authorized Participant’s behalf, without disclosing the information to the Authorized Participant. The Funds may have a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants and AP Representatives, none of which are obligated to engage in creation or redemption transactions. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Funds and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to process creation and/or redemption orders, Fund shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. This risk may be more pronounced in volatile markets, potentially where there are significant redemptions in ETFs, generally. The fact that the Funds are offering a novel and unique structure may affect the number of entities willing to act as Authorized Participants and AP Representatives. During times of market stress, Authorized Participants may be more likely to step away from this type of ETF than a traditional ETF. |
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● | Large Shareholder Risk. All Funds — Certain shareholders, including the Adviser and its affiliates, may own a substantial amount of the Funds’ shares. The disposition of shares by large shareholders, resulting in redemptions through or by Authorized Participants, could have a significant negative impact on the Funds. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on NYSE Arca, Inc. and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the Funds’ shares. The form of a large shareholder’s contribution and any redemption activity in the Funds can adversely affect the tax efficiency of the Funds. |
● | Absence of an Active Market. All Funds — Although shares of the Funds are listed for trading on one or more stock exchanges, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will develop or be maintained by market makers or Authorized Participants. Authorized Participants are not obligated to execute purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. Because this is a novel and unique structure, this could influence the number of entities willing to act as Authorized Participants. In periods of market volatility, market makers and/or Authorized Participants may be less willing to transact in the Funds’ shares. The absence of an active market for the Funds’ shares may contribute to the Funds’ shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV. If a shareholder purchases a Fund’s shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells a Fund’s shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses. |
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Inflation Risk. All Funds — Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be worth less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the real value of each Fund’s shares and distributions thereon can decline. Inflation risk is linked to increases in the prices of goods and services and a decrease in the purchasing power of money. Inflation often is accompanied or followed by a recession, or period of decline in economic activity, which may include job loss and other hardships and may cause the value of securities to go down generally. Inflation risk is greater for fixed-income instruments with longer maturities. In addition, this risk may be significantly elevated compared to normal conditions because of recent monetary policy measures and the current interest rate environment. Inflation has recently increased and it cannot be predicted whether and to what extent it may decline.
Although the Federal Reserve has raised the federal funds rate, there is no guarantee that such increases will be effective at lowering inflation. Unanticipated or persistent inflation may have a material and adverse impact on the financial conditions or operating results of issuers in which the Funds may invest, which may cause the value of each Fund’s investments to decline. In addition, higher interest rates that often accompany or follow periods of high inflation may cause investors to favor asset classes other than common stocks, which may lead to broader market declines not necessarily related to the performance of any specific investments or specific issuers. |
● | Infectious Illness Risk. All Funds — A widespread outbreak of an infectious illness, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may result in travel restrictions, disruption of healthcare services, prolonged quarantines, cancellations, supply chain disruptions, business closures, lower consumer demand, layoffs, ratings downgrades, defaults and other significant economic, social and political impacts. Markets may experience temporary closures, extreme volatility, severe losses, reduced liquidity and increased trading costs. Such events may adversely affect the Funds, their investments, and the value of your investment in the Funds. The fallout from the |
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COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent variants, and the long-term impact on economies, markets, industries and individual issuers, are not known. Some sectors of the economy and individual issuers have experienced, and could continue to experience, particularly large losses as a result of new variants of COVID-19. |
● | New Fund Risk. All Funds — Each Fund is new with a limited operating history and may have higher expenses. There can be no assurance that a Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size. Each Fund could cease operations, and investors may be required to liquidate or transfer their assets at a loss. However, the fee waivers in place with respect to certain of the Funds limits this risk for the periods that such fee waivers are effective. |
● | Aerospace Industry Risk. Aerospace and Defense Fund only — Government aerospace regulation and spending policies can significantly affect the aerospace industry because many companies involved in the aerospace industry rely to a large extent on U.S. (and other) Government demand for their products and services. There are significant inherent risks in government contracting, which could have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition and results of operations of industry participants. Government spending in aerospace generally is not correlated with any economic cycle, but rather, on the cycle of general political support for this type of spending. However, there is no assurance that future levels of aerospace and defense spending will increase or that levels of aerospace and defense spending will not decrease in the future. In addition, the aerospace industry in particular has recently been affected by adverse economic conditions and consolidation within the industry. Furthermore, competition in the airline industry continues to increase as a result of airline deregulation. |
● | Defense Industry Risk. Aerospace and Defense Fund only — Companies in the defense industry are subject to numerous risks, including fierce competition, consolidation, adverse political, economic and governmental developments (both in the U.S. and abroad), compliance with varying regulation across international markets, substantial research and development costs, cuts in government funding, product and technology obsolescence, limited numbers of potential customers and decreased demand for new equipment. Since defense companies derive significant revenue from government contracts, they face a number of specific risks that may adversely affect a company’s financial condition and outlook. The government may terminate a contract with an issuer as a result of an issuer’s default, resulting in possible issuer liability to the government. The government may also terminate a contract for its own convenience, which may lead to difficulty for the issuer in recovering costs incurred prior to termination. Such contracts may also be modified or terminated due to changes in congressional funding levels. Government contractors are also subject to stringent routine audits and reviews, which may lead to significant price adjustments for products and services. The highly competitive bidding environment in which government contractors operate may also reduce the profitability of certain government contracts. Companies involved in the commercial aerospace industry are subject to risks including aircraft order cancellations, excess capacity, cutbacks in profitable business travel, fuel price hikes, labor union settlements, adverse changes in international politics and relations, intense global competition, government regulation and cyclical market patterns. |
● | Equity Risk. All Funds — Equity risk is the risk that the prices of the equity securities held by the Funds will change due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the companies issuing the securities participate, and the issuer companies’ |
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particular circumstances. These fluctuations may cause an equity security to be worth less than it was worth when it was purchased by the Funds. Because the value of equity securities, and thus shares of the Funds, could decline, you could lose money. |
● | Growth Stock Risk. Growth Innovators Fund, Financial Services Fund, Micro Cap Fund only — Securities of growth companies may be more volatile since such companies usually invest a high portion of earnings in their business, and they may lack the dividends of value stocks that can cushion stock prices in a falling market. Stocks of companies the Adviser believes are fast-growing may trade at a higher multiple of current earnings than other stocks. The values of these stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the values of other stocks. Earnings disappointments often lead to sharply falling prices because investors buy growth stocks in anticipation of superior earnings growth. If the Adviser’s assessment of the prospects for a company’s earnings growth is wrong, or if the Adviser’s judgment of how other investors will value the company’s earnings growth is wrong, then the price of the company’s stock may fall or may not approach the value that the Adviser has placed on it. |
● | American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) Risk. All Funds — Investment in ADRs does not eliminate all the risks inherent in investing in securities of non-U.S. issuers. The market value of ADRs is dependent upon the market value of the underlying securities and fluctuations in the relative value of the currencies in which the ADRs and the underlying securities are quoted. The depository bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. ADRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. However, ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities. |
● | Automation Risk. Automation Fund only — The Fund invests primarily in the equity securities of automation companies and, as such, is particularly vulnerable to risks inherent to those types of companies. These risks include, but are not limited to, small or limited markets for such securities, changes in business cycles, world economic growth, technological progress, rapid obsolescence and government regulation. |
● | Clean Energy Company Risk. Green Fund only — Renewable and alternative energy companies can be significantly affected by the following factors: obsolescence of existing technology, short product cycles, legislation resulting in more strict government regulations and enforcement policies, fluctuations in energy prices and supply and demand of alternative energy fuels, energy conservation, the success of exploration projects, the supply of and demand for oil and gas, world events and economic conditions. In addition, shares of clean energy companies have been significantly more volatile than shares of companies operating in other more established industries and the securities included in the Fund may be subject to sharp price declines. This industry is relatively nascent and under-researched in comparison to more established and mature sectors, and should therefore be regarded as having greater investment risk. |
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Concentration Risk. Aerospace and Defense Fund only — The Aerospace and Defense Fund may concentrate its investments in securities issued by aerospace companies and defense companies which means that the Fund is less diversified than the Fund investing in a broader range of industries, and is particularly sensitive to general market conditions and other risks of |
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the aerospace and defense industries, including that the aerospace industry and the defense industry can be significantly affected by government regulation and spending policies because companies involved in this industry rely, to a significant extent, on government demand for their products and services. The financial condition of these companies is heavily influenced by government defense spending, which may be reduced in efforts to control government budgets. The aerospace industry in particular has recently been affected by adverse economic conditions and consolidation within the industry. |
● | Concentration Risk. Financial Services Fund only — The Fund will concentrate its investments in securities issued by financial services companies which means that the Fund is less diversified than the Fund investing in a broader range of industries, and is particularly sensitive to general market conditions and other risks of the financial services industry, including: |
● | Financial services companies can be significantly affected by changing economic conditions, demand for consumer loans, refinancing activity and intense competition, including price competition. Profitability can be largely dependent on the availability and cost of capital and the rate of consumer debt defaults, and can fluctuate significantly when interest rates change; unstable and/or rising interest rates may have a disproportionate effect on companies in the financial services sector. Financial services companies are subject to extensive government regulation, which can change frequently and may adversely affect the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and the amount of capital they must maintain, or may affect them in other ways that are unforeseeable. In the past, financial services companies in general experienced considerable financial distress, which led to the implementation of government programs designed to ease that distress. Different areas of the overall financial services sector tend to be highly correlated and particularly vulnerable to certain factors. |
● | Additional risks of investing in the financial services sector include: (i) systemic risk: factors outside the control of a particular financial institution may adversely affect the ability of the financial institution to operate normally or may impair its financial condition; (ii) non-diversified loan portfolios: financial services companies may have concentrated portfolios that makes them vulnerable to economic conditions that affect an industry; (iii) credit: financial services companies may have exposure to investments or agreements that may lead to losses; (iv) governmental limitations on a company’s loans, other financial commitments, product lines and other operations; (v) recent ongoing changes in the financial services industry (including consolidations, development of new products and changes to the industry’s regulatory framework); and (vi) rapidly rising inflation. Some financial services companies have recently experienced significant losses in value and the possible recapitalization of such companies may present greater risks of loss. |
● | Insurance companies have additional risks, such as heavy price competition, claims activity and marketing competition, and can be particularly sensitive to specific events such as manmade and natural disasters, terrorism, mortality risks and morbidity rates. Individual insurance companies may be exposed to reserve inadequacies, problems in investment portfolios (for example, due to real estate or “junk” bond holdings) and failures of reinsurance carriers. |
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Federal or state law and regulations require banks, bank holding companies, broker dealers and insurance companies to maintain minimum levels of capital and liquidity. Bank regulators have broad authority and can impose sanctions, including conservatorship or receivership, on non-complying banks even when these banks continue to be solvent, thereby possibly resulting in the elimination of stockholders’ equity. Commercial banks (including “money center” regional and community banks), savings and loan associations and holding companies of the foregoing are especially subject to adverse effects of volatile interest rates, concentrations of loans in particular industries (such as real estate) and significant competition. The profitability of these businesses is to a significant degree dependent upon the availability and cost of capital funds. Economic conditions in the real estate market may have a particularly strong effect on certain banks and savings associations. |
● | The Fund may invest in financial services companies that invest in real estate, such as commercial banks, savings and loan associations (each discussed above) and Mortgage REITs. REITs are financial vehicles that pool investors’ capital to purchase or finance real estate. Mortgage REITs invest the majority of their assets in real property mortgages and generally derive income primarily from interest payments thereon. Like investment companies, REITs are typically dependent on management skills and subject to management fees and other expenses, and so the Fund that invests in REITs will bear its proportionate share of the costs of the REITs’ operations. REITs may be highly leveraged and financial covenants may affect the ability of REITs to operate effectively. REITs are subject to a highly technical and complex set of provisions in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”). No assurances can be given that a REIT will be able to continue to qualify as a REIT or that complying with the REIT requirements under the Code will not adversely affect such REIT’s ability to execute its business plan. Issuers with exposure to the real estate, mortgage and credit markets are particularly affected by volatility in both foreign and domestic equity markets. REITs (especially mortgage REITs) are subject to the possibility of adverse changes in interest rates and in the credit markets and the possibility of borrowers paying off mortgages sooner than expected (which may lead to reinvestment of assets at lower prevailing interest rates). In addition to these market and financial risks, REITs are subject to risks associated with the ownership of real estate, including possible adverse changes in zoning laws, limitations on rents, the risk of casualty or condemnation losses and terrorist attacks, and war or other acts that destroy real property. |
● | Financial Services Risk. Financial Services Fund only — Companies in the financial services sector are subject to certain risk factors, including changes in regulations applicable to financial companies, economic conditions, interest rates, technological innovations, credit rating downgrades, and decreased liquidity in certain markets. Regulation of any individual financial company, or of the financial services sector as a whole, cannot be predicted and may negatively affect financial companies. Cyber-attacks and technology malfunctions and failures may result in significant losses for a financial company, which may negatively impact Fund investments. Technological innovations and implementation of the same may have a disruptive effect on certain established financial companies. |
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● | Issuer Risk. All Funds — The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons that directly relate to an issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage, and reduced demand for the issuer’s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets or factors unrelated to the issuer’s value, such as investor perception. |
● | Large Capitalization Company Risk. Aerospace and Defense Fund and Financial Services Fund — Companies with $10 billion or more in market capitalization are considered by the Adviser to be large capitalization companies. Large capitalization companies generally experience slower rates of growth in earnings per share than do mid and small capitalization companies. |
● | Market Risk. All Funds — Global economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. Securities in the Funds’ portfolios may underperform in comparison to securities in general financial markets, a particular financial market, or other asset classes due to a number of factors, including 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 Funds’ 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, there is significant uncertainty around how the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the conflict in Israel and Gaza will evolve, as well as the potential economic impacts to the U.S. that could result from the conflicts. Other securities or markets could be similarly affected by past or future geopolitical or other events or conditions. In addition, the outbreak of COVID-19 has negatively affected economies, markets and individual companies throughout the world, including the United States. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, or other future epidemics or pandemics 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 Funds’ investments, increase each Fund’s volatility, exacerbate pre-existing political, social and economic risks to the Funds, and negatively impact broad segments of businesses and populations. The Funds’ 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 each Fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that could have a significant negative impact on each Fund’s investment performance. The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, or other future epidemics or pandemics, is currently unknown and cannot be predicted. |
● | Management Risk. All Funds — If the portfolio managers are incorrect in their assessment of the investment prospects of the securities a Fund holds, then the value of that Fund’s shares may decline. In addition, the Adviser’s strategy may produce returns that are different from other funds that invest in similar securities. |
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Market Trading Risk. All Funds — Individual Fund shares may be purchased and sold only on a national securities exchange or alternative trading system through a broker-dealer, and |
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may not be directly purchased or redeemed from a Fund. There can be no guarantee that an active trading market for shares will develop or be maintained, or that their listing will continue unchanged. Buying and selling shares may require you to pay brokerage commissions and expose you to other trading costs. Due to brokerage commissions and other transaction costs that may apply, frequent trading may detract from realized investment returns. Trading prices of shares may be above, at, or below a Fund’s NAV, will fluctuate in relation to NAV based on supply and demand in the market for shares and other factors, and may vary significantly from NAV during periods of market volatility. The return on your investment will be reduced if you sell shares at a greater discount or narrower premium to NAV than you acquired shares. |
● | Mid-Capitalization Company Risk. Small and Mid Cap Fund and Financial Services Fund only — Mid-cap company risk is the risk that investing in securities of mid-cap companies could entail greater risks than investments in larger, more established companies. Mid-cap companies tend to have narrower product lines, more limited financial resources and a more limited trading market for their stocks, as compared with larger companies. As a result, their stock prices may decline more significantly or more rapidly than stocks of larger companies as market conditions change. |
● | Micro Cap Company Risk. Micro Cap Fund only — Although micro cap companies may offer greater potential for capital appreciation than larger companies, investing in securities of such companies may involve greater risks than investing in larger, more established companies, including the risk of loss and the risk that the returns may differ significantly from returns of the Fund investing in larger-cap companies or other asset classes. Micro cap companies may be new or unseasoned companies which are in their very early stages of development. Micro cap companies generally have limited product lines, markets, management personnel, competitive strengths, research, and financial resources, and may be more vulnerable to adverse business or market developments. Their securities may trade less frequently and in more limited volume, and are subject to more abrupt or erratic market price movements, than the securities of larger, more established companies. The Fund may be able to deal with only a few market-makers when purchasing and selling micro cap securities, and may need a considerable amount of time to purchase or sell its positions in these securities. Also, micro cap companies are typically subject to greater changes in earnings and business prospects than larger companies. The securities of micro cap companies tend to be more volatile and less liquid than the securities of larger companies. Consequently, micro cap company stock prices tend to rise and fall in value more than other stock prices. Micro cap securities are highly volatile, and these companies may fail to execute their business plans and go out of business. Micro cap companies carry additional risks because of the tendency of their earnings and revenues to be less predictable. Micro cap companies may be more vulnerable than larger companies to key personnel losses due to reliance on a smaller number of management personnel. These conditions, which create greater opportunities to find securities trading below the Adviser’s estimate of the company’s current worth, also involve increased risk. The shares of micro-cap companies may require fair-value pricing, which is subjective and requires judgment by the Adviser, and may be at risk for de-listing from a securities exchange, making it difficult for the Fund to buy and sell shares of a particular company. The actual market prices for a security may differ from the fair value of that security as determined by the Adviser, and there is no assurance that the Fund will realize fair |
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valuation upon the sale of a security. In addition, there may be less public information available about micro cap companies. It may take a long time before the Fund realizes a gain, if any, on an investment in a micro cap company. Micro cap companies may have limited financial resources and little or no access to additional credit and therefore may be more susceptible to market downturns or rising credit costs than larger, more established companies. |
● | Non-Diversification Risk. Equity Income Fund, Aerospace and Defense Fund, Financial Services Fund, Micro Cap Fund, and Green Fund only — Each Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” Fund. As a non-diversified Fund, more of a Fund’s assets may be focused in the securities of a small number of issuers, which may make the value of each Fund’s shares more sensitive to changes in the market value of a single issuer or industry than shares of a diversified Fund. The ability to invest in a more limited number of securities may increase the volatility of each Fund’s investment performance, as each Fund may be more susceptible to risks associated with a single economic, political, or regulatory event than a diversified Fund. If the securities in which each Fund invests perform poorly, each Fund could incur greater losses than it would have had if it had been invested in a greater number of securities. |
● | Preferred Stock Risk. Growth Innovators Fund, Financial Services Fund, Small and Mid Cap Fund, Micro Fund, Love Our Planet Fund, Automation Fund, and Equity Income Fund only — A preferred stock is a blend of the characteristics of a bond and common stock. It can offer the higher yield of a bond and has priority over common stock in equity ownership, but does not have the seniority of a bond and, unlike common stock, its participation in the issuer’s growth may be limited. Preferred stock has preference over common stock in the receipt of dividends and in any residual assets after payment to creditors should the issuer be dissolved. Although the dividend is set at a fixed annual rate, in some circumstances it can be changed or omitted by the issuer. |
● | Sector Risk. Aerospace and Defense Fund only — Under normal circumstances, the Aerospace and Defense Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in aerospace and defense companies, and thus its investments will be focused in a particular sector. By investing a significant portion of its assets in a particular sector, the Fund will be subject to the risk that companies in the same sector are likely to react similarly to legislative or regulatory changes, adverse market conditions, increased competition, or other factors affecting that market segment. In such cases, the Fund would be exposed to an increased risk that the value of its overall portfolio will decrease because of events that disproportionately and negatively affect that sector. In addition, investments in a particular sector may be more volatile than the broader market as a whole, and the Fund’s investments in such a sector may be disproportionately susceptible to losses. |
● | Sector Risk. Love Our Planet Fund only — Although the Fund does not employ a sector focus, the percentage of the Fund’s assets invested in a particular sector can increase from time to time based on the Adviser’s perception of available investment opportunities. If the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a particular sector, the Fund will be subject to the risk that companies in the same sector are likely to react similarly to legislative or regulatory changes, adverse market conditions, increased competition, or other factors affecting that market segment. In such cases, the Fund would be exposed to an increased risk that the value of its overall portfolio will decrease because of events that disproportionately and negatively affect |
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that sector. In addition, investments in a particular sector may be more volatile than the broader market as a whole, and the Fund’s investments in such a sector may be disproportionately susceptible to losses. |
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Small Capitalization Company Risk. Financial Services Fund and Small and Mid Cap Fund only — Investing in securities of small capitalization companies may involve greater risks than investing in larger, more established issuers. Smaller capitalization companies typically have relatively lower revenues, limited product lines and lack of management depth, and may have a smaller share of the market for their products or services, than larger capitalization companies. The stocks of smaller capitalization companies tend to have less trading volume than stocks of larger capitalization companies. Less trading volume may make it more difficult for the portfolio managers to sell securities of smaller capitalization companies at quoted market prices. Finally, there are periods when investing in smaller capitalization stocks fall out of favor with investors and the stocks of smaller capitalization companies underperform. |
● | Socially Responsible Investment Risk. Love Our Planet Fund only — The application of the Adviser’s socially responsible criteria will affect the Fund’s exposure to certain issuers, industries, sectors, regions, and countries and may impact the relative financial performance of the Fund – positively or negatively – depending on whether such investments are in or out of favor. The Fund’s investment strategy limits the types of investments the Fund can make. Consequently, the Fund may underperform the market as a whole or other funds that are not subject to the same limitations. |
● | Technology Sector Risk. Growth Innovators Fund and Automation Fund only — Technology companies, may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. Technology companies typically face intense competition and potentially rapid product obsolescence. They are also heavily dependent on intellectual property rights and may be adversely affected by the loss or impairment of those rights. Companies in the technology sector are facing increased government and regulatory scrutiny and may be subject to adverse government or regulatory action. |
● | Trading Issues Risk. All Funds — Shares of a Fund may trade in the secondary market at times when a Fund does not accept orders to purchase or redeem shares. At such times, shares may trade in the secondary market with more significant premiums or discounts than might be experienced at times when a Fund accepts purchase and redemption orders. Secondary market trading in a Fund’s shares may be halted by a stock exchange because of market conditions or for other reasons. In addition, trading in a Fund’s shares on a stock exchange or in any market may be subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to “circuit breaker” rules on the stock exchange or market. |
● | Value Investing Risk. Aerospace and Defense Fund, Financial Services Fund, Small and Mid Cap Fund, and Equity Income Fund only — Each Fund invests in “value” stocks. The portfolio manager may be wrong in the assessment of a company’s value and the stocks each Fund holds may not reach what the portfolio manager believes are their full values. From time to time “value” investing falls out of favor with investors. During those periods, each Fund’s relative performance may suffer. |
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Geopolitical Risk. All Funds — Occurrence of global events such as war, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, country instability, infectious disease epidemics, pandemics and other public health issues, market instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers and other governmental trade or market control programs, the potential exit of a country from its respective union and related geopolitical events, may result in market volatility and may have long-lasting impacts on both the U.S. and global financial markets. For example, Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, the resulting responses by the United States and other countries, and the potential for wider conflict have increased volatility and uncertainty in the financial markets and adversely affected regional and global economies. In addition, the conflict between Israel and Hamas and the involvement of the United States and other countries could present material uncertainty and risk with respect to each Fund and the performance of each Fund’s investments or operations. These events, as well as other recent geopolitical events, such as rising tensions between the Chinese government and Taiwan and Brexit, and related changes in foreign and domestic political and economic conditions, could adversely affect individual issuers or related groups of issuers, securities markets, interest rates, secondary trading, credit ratings, inflation, investor sentiment and other factors affecting the value of the Funds’ investments. |
Portfolio Holdings. A description of each Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of its portfolio securities is available in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”), which may be obtained by calling 800-GABELLI (800-422-3554), your financial intermediary, or free of charge through the Funds’ website at www.gabelli.com.
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUNDS
The Adviser. Gabelli Funds, LLC, with its principal offices located at One Corporate Center, Rye, New York 10580-1422, serves as investment adviser to the Funds. The Adviser makes investment decisions for each Fund and continuously reviews and administers each Fund’s investment programs and manages the operations of the Funds under the general supervision of the Trust’s Board. The Adviser also manages several other open-end and closed-end investment companies in the Gabelli family of Funds (“Gabelli Fund Complex” or “Fund Complex”). The Adviser is a New York limited liability company organized in 1999 and a wholly owned subsidiary of GAMCO Investors, Inc. (“GAMI”), a publicly held company listed on the OTCQX.
As compensation for its services and the related expenses borne by the Adviser, each Fund is contractually obligated to pay the Adviser an advisory fee computed daily and payable monthly equal to 0.90% of the value of such Fund’s average daily net assets, except as provided in the fee waiver arrangements described below. The investment advisory agreement between Gabelli ETFs Trust (the “Trust”) and Gabelli Funds, LLC (the “Adviser”) provides that the Adviser will pay all operating expenses of the Funds, except the management fees, interest expenses, taxes, expenses incurred with respect to the acquisition and disposition of portfolio securities and the execution of portfolio transactions, including brokerage commissions, distribution fees or expenses, litigation expenses, and any extraordinary expenses. A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the investment advisory agreement for each of the Funds will be provided in each Fund’s next available shareholder report.
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Fee Waivers. The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive (1) the Love Our Planet Fund’s management fee of 0.90% on the first $100 million in net assets and (2) each of the Automation Fund’s, the Financial Services Fund’s, the Equity Income Fund’s, and the Aerospace and Defense Fund’s management fees of 0.90% on each Fund’s first $25 million in net assets. Each fee waiver agreement will continue until at least April 30, 2025. The fee waiver agreements may be terminated only by, or with the consent of, the Board.
The Portfolio Managers. Mr. Mario J. Gabelli, CFA, has been primarily responsible for the day to day management of the Equity Income Fund, Micro Cap Fund, Small and Mid Cap Fund, and Green Energy Fund since their inception. Mr. Gabelli is Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of GAMI and Executive Chairman of Associated Capital Group, Inc.; Chief Investment Officer — Value Portfolios of GAMI, Gabelli Funds, LLC, and GAMCO Asset Management, Inc., another wholly-owned subsidiary of GAMI; Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of GGCP: and an officer or director of other companies affiliated with GAMI. Mr. Gabelli serves as portfolio manager for and is a director of several funds in the Gabelli Fund Complex. The Adviser relies to a considerable extent on the expertise of Mr. Gabelli, who may be difficult to replace in the event of his death, disability, or resignation.
Mr. Robert D. Leininger, CFA, has served as portfolio manager of the Equity Income Fund since its inception. Mr. Leininger joined GAMCO Investors, Inc. in 1993 as an equity analyst. Subsequently, he was a partner and portfolio manager at Rorer Asset Management before rejoining GAMCO in 2010 where he currently serves as a portfolio manager of Gabelli Funds, LLC. Mr. Leininger is a magna cum laude graduate of Amherst College with a degree in Economics and holds an MBA degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Kevin V. Dreyer has been primarily responsible for the day to day management of the Small and Mid Cap Fund since its inception. Mr. Dreyer joined GAMI in 2005 as a research analyst and currently serves as a Managing Director and Co-Chief Investment Officer of its Value Team. Mr. Dreyer is a portfolio manager of the Adviser, managing several funds within the Gabelli Fund Complex, and GAMCO, on its institutional and high net worth separate account team.
Mr. Christopher J. Marangi has been primarily responsible for the day to day management of the Love Our Planet Fund and the Small and Mid Cap Fund since their inception. Mr. Marangi joined GAMI in 2003 and currently serves as a Managing Director and Co-Chief Investment Officer of its Value Team. Mr. Marangi is a portfolio manager of the Adviser, managing several funds within the Gabelli Fund Complex, and GAMCO, on its institutional and high net worth accounts team.
Mr. Howard F. Ward, CFA, has been primarily responsible for the day to day investment management of the Growth Innovators Fund’s investments since its inception. Mr. Ward joined the Adviser in 1995 and currently serves as GAMI’s Chief Investment Officer of Growth Products. Mr. Ward is also a portfolio manager of several funds in the Gabelli Fund Complex.
Mr. Macrae Sykes has served as a portfolio manager of the Financial Services Fund since its inception. Mr. Sykes joined Gabelli in 2008 as a research analyst. He currently covers the investment services industry, and is a member of the portfolio management team of another fund within the Gabelli Fund Complex. Mr. Sykes holds a B.A. in economics from Hamilton College and an M.B.A. in finance from Columbia Business School.
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Mr. Jeffrey J. Jonas, CFA, has been primarily responsible for the day to day management of the Small and Mid Cap Fund since its inception. Mr. Jonas, joined GAMI in 2003 as a research analyst and has focused on companies in the cardiovascular, healthcare services, and pharmacy benefits management sectors, among others. He currently serves as a Vice President of GAMI and portfolio manager of the Adviser, managing several funds within the Gabelli Fund Complex, and GAMCO, on its institutional and high net worth separate accounts team. In addition, he serves as a portfolio manager for Gabelli & Company Investment Advisers, Inc. and its Medical Opportunities Fund, a healthcare focused partnership.
Ms. Sarah Donnelly, Senior Vice President of GAMCO Investors Inc., has been jointly and primarily responsible for the day to day investment management of the Micro Cap Fund since its inception. Ms. Donnelly joined GAMCO in 1999 as a junior analyst working with the consumer staples and media analysts. She received a BS degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and minor in History from Fordham University and currently serves on the advisory board on the Gabelli Center for Global Security Analysis at Fordham University. Ms. Donnelly is also a portfolio manager of several funds in the Gabelli Fund Complex.
Ms. Melody Prenner Bryant joined GAMCO Investors, Inc. in September 2018 and has been jointly and primarily responsible for the day to day investment management of the Love Our Planet Fund since its inception. She has almost thirty years of experience as a portfolio manager. Most recently, Ms. Prenner Bryant was a managing director and chief investment officer for Trevor, Stewart, Burton & Jacobsen Inc., a New York based registered investment adviser. She has held senior and portfolio management positions at Neuberger Berman, LLC, John A. Levin & Co., and Kempner Asset Management. Ms. Bryant is also a portfolio manager of several funds in the Gabelli Fund Complex.
Mr. Chong-Min Kang, Senior Vice President of GAMCO Investors Inc., has been an associate portfolio manager for the Micro Cap Fund since its inception. Mr. Kang joined the firm in 2007 as a research analyst. Mr. Kang received a BA degree from Boston College and an MBA from the Columbia Business School. Mr. Kang is also an associate portfolio manager of The Gabelli Global Mini Mites Fund, a series of GAMCO Global Series, Inc.
Mr. Hendi Susanto, Vice President of Gabelli Funds, LLC has been an associate portfolio manager for the Micro Cap Fund and a portfolio manager for the Automation Fund since their inception. Mr. Susanto joined Gabelli in 2007 as a research analyst. He currently covers the global technology industry. Mr. Susanto received a BS degree summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota, a MS from M.I.T., and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business. Mr. Susanto is also a portfolio manager of several funds in the Gabelli Fund Complex.
Mr. Timothy M. Winter, CFA, has been the portfolio manager of the Love Our Planet Fund and Green Energy Fund since their inception. Mr. Winter joined Gabelli & Company in April of 2009 and covers the utility industry. He has over 20 years’ experience as an equity research analyst covering this industry, including the years 1992-2007 at AG Edwards from where he received industry recognition as a 3 time Wall Street Journal All-Star and was a senior member of the Institutional Investor (I.I.) #1 ranked Electric Utility Team for the years 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. He was most recently recognized in the 2017 Thomson Reuters US Analyst Awards as a “Top Stock Picker” in the gas utility industry. Mr. Winter received his B.A. in Economics in 1991 from Rollins College and MBA in Finance from Notre Dame in 1992. Mr. Winter is also a portfolio manager of several funds in the Gabelli Fund Complex.
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Mr. Ashish Sinha, Assistant Vice President of GAMCO Asset Management UK, joined the firm in 2012 as a research analyst. He is based in London and serves as a portfolio manager for the Adviser and is focused on European equities in a generalist role. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Sinha was an equity research analyst at Morgan Stanley in London for several years during which he covered European Technology, European mid-caps and European Business Services sector. Prior to that, he worked in planning and strategy at Birla Sun Life Insurance in India. Mr. Sinha has holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from IMS, India and a Master of International Business from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, India. He is a CFA charterholder. Mr. Sinha is also a portfolio manager of several funds in the Gabelli Fund Complex.
Mr. Justin Bergner, CFA, has been a portfolio manager for the Automation Fund since its inception. He is currently a portfolio manager for the Adviser and a Vice President at Gabelli & Company, having rejoined Gabelli & Company in June 2013 as a research analyst covering Diversified Industrials, Home Improvement, and Transport companies. He began his investment career at Gabelli & Company in 2005 as a metals and mining analyst, and subsequently spent five years at Axiom International Investors as a senior analyst focused on industrial and healthcare stocks. Before entering the investment profession, Justin worked in management consulting at both Bain & Company and Dean & Company. Justin graduated cum laude from Yale University with a B.A. in Economics & Mathematics and received an MBA in Finance and Accounting from Wharton Business School.
Lieutenant Colonel G. Anthony (Tony) Bancroft, USMCR, has served as the team leader and portfolio manager of the Aerospace and Defense Fund since its inception. Lieutenant Colonel Bancroft joined Gabelli Funds in 2009 as an associate in the alternative investments division and is currently an analyst covering the aerospace and defense and environmental services sectors, with a focus on suppliers to the commercial, military and regional jet aircraft industry and waste services. He previously served in the United States Marine Corps as an F/A-18 Hornet fighter pilot. Tony graduated with distinction from the United States Naval Academy with a BS in systems engineering and holds an MBA in finance and economics from Columbia Business School.
The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio managers’ compensation, other accounts managed by them, and their ownership of securities in the Funds.
INDEX DESCRIPTIONS
The S&P 500 Index is a widely recognized, unmanaged index of common stock prices. The index figures do not reflect any deductions for fees, expenses, or taxes. You cannot invest directly in the S&P 500 Index.
The S&P 500 Financials Index comprises those companies included in the S&P 500 that are classified as members of the GICS® Financials Sector. Dividends are considered reinvested. You cannot invest directly in an index.
The Nasdaq Composite Index is an unmanaged indicator of stock market performance. Dividends are considered reinvested. You cannot invest directly in an index.
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PURCHASE AND SALE OF SHARES
Trading in the Secondary Market. Shares of the Funds are listed and available for trading on the Listing Exchange during its core trading session (generally 9:30 am until 4:00 pm Eastern time). Shares may also be bought and sold on other national securities exchanges and alternative trading systems that have obtained appropriate licenses, adopted applicable rules, and developed systems to support trading in the Funds’ shares. There can be no guarantee that an active trading market will develop or be maintained, or that the Funds’ listings will continue or remain unchanged. The Funds do not impose any minimum investment for shares of the Funds purchased in the secondary market.
The Funds’ shares may be purchased and sold in the secondary market only through a broker-dealer. When buying or selling shares, you may incur trading commissions or other charges determined by your broker-dealer. Due to applicable brokerage charges and other trading costs, frequent trading may detract from realized investment returns. Frequent trading may also result in adverse tax consequences. Trading commissions are frequently a fixed dollar amount, and therefore may be proportionately more costly when buying or selling small amounts of shares.
Each Fund is an actively managed non-transparent exchange-traded fund (commonly referred to as an “ETF”). Individual shares of a Fund are listed on the Listing Exchange, which is a national securities exchange. Most investors will buy and sell shares of a Fund through a broker-dealer. The price of Fund shares is based on market price, and because ETF shares trade at market prices rather than at NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount). The Funds will only issue or redeem shares that have been aggregated into blocks or multiples thereof to Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Funds’ distributor. The Funds generally will issue or redeem Creation Units in return for a designated portfolio of securities (and an amount of cash) that the Funds specify each day.
Shares of a Fund are not sponsored, endorsed, or promoted by any Listing Exchange. The Listing Exchange makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the shares of the Funds. The Listing Exchange is not responsible for, nor has it participated in, the determination of the timing of, prices of, or quantities of the shares of a Fund to be issued, nor in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the shares are redeemable. The Listing Exchange has no obligation or liability to owners of the shares of a Fund in connection with the administration, marketing, or trading of the shares of a Fund. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall the Listing Exchange have any liability for any lost profits or indirect, punitive, special, or consequential damages even if notified of the possibility thereof.
The Adviser, the distributor and the Funds make no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of shares of each Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in a Fund particularly.
The Verified Intraday Indicative Value. Information regarding the intraday value of shares of the Funds, also known as the VIIV, is calculated and disseminated every second throughout each trading day by the Listing Exchange or by market data vendors or other information providers. It is available on websites that publish updated market quotations during the trading day, like Yahoo Finance (https:// finance.yahoo.com), by searching for a Fund’s ticker plus the extension .IV, though some websites require their own unique extensions. The VIIV is based on the current market value of the securities in a Fund’s portfolio that day. The VIIV is intended to provide investors and other market participants with a highly correlated per share
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value of the underlying portfolio that can be compared to the current market price. To calculate the VIIV, the Funds employ two separate calculation engines to provide two independently calculated sources of intraday indicative values (calculation engines). The Funds then use a pricing verification agent to continuously compare the data from both the calculations engines on a real time basis. If during the process of real time price verification, the indicative values from the calculation engines differ by more than 25 basis points for 60 consecutive seconds, the pricing verification agent will alert the Adviser and the Adviser will request that the Listing Exchange halt trading of a Fund’s shares until the two indicative values come back into line. The specific methodology for calculating a Fund’s VIIV, which will be overseen by the Funds’ board, is available on the Funds’ website (www.gabelli.com).
Although the VIIV is intended to provide investors with enough information to allow for an effective arbitrage mechanism that will keep the market price of each Fund at or close to the underlying NAV per share of each Fund, there is a risk (which may increase during periods of market disruption or volatility) that market prices will vary significantly from the underlying NAV of a Fund. ETFs trading on the basis of a published VIIV may trade at a wider bid/ask spread than ETFs that publish their portfolios on a daily basis, especially during periods of market disruption or volatility, and therefore, may cost investors more to trade. Although the Funds seek to benefit from not disclosing its portfolio information daily, market participants may attempt to use the VIIV to identify a Fund’s trading strategy, which if successful, could result in such market participants engaging in certain predatory trading practices that may have the potential to harm that Fund and its shareholders. If at any time 10% or more of the securities in a Fund’s portfolio become subject to a trading halt or otherwise do not have readily available market quotations, the advisor will ask the Listing Exchange to halt trading of that Fund. Trading halts may have a greater impact on the Funds compared to other ETFs because it is less transparent.
PAYMENTS TO BROKER/DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES
If you purchase shares of a Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay the intermediary for marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems or other services related to the sale or promotion of a Fund. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend any of the Funds over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
PRICING OF FUND SHARES
The NAV is calculated separately for the shares of each Fund on each Business Day. The New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) is open Monday through Friday, but currently is scheduled to be closed on New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day and on the preceding Friday or subsequent Monday when a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, respectively.
Each Fund’s NAV is determined as of the close of regular trading on the NYSE, normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time. The NAV of each Fund is computed by dividing the value of the applicable Fund’s net assets, i.e., the value of its securities and other assets less its liabilities, including expenses payable or accrued by the total number of shares outstanding at the time the determination is made. As discussed in
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the “Purchase and Sale of Shares” section, although a Fund’s NAV is only computed once each regular trading day, each Fund’s VIIV will be broadcast each second throughout the course of a regular trading day. Equity securities listed or traded on a national securities exchange or traded in the U.S. over-the counter market where trades are reported contemporaneously and for which market quotations are readily available are valued at the last quoted sale or a market’s official closing price at the close of the exchange’s or other market’s regular trading hours, as of or prior to the time and day as of which such value is being determined. Portfolio securities traded on more than one national securities exchange or market are valued according to the broadest and most representative market as determined by the Adviser. If there has been no sale on the day the valuation is made, the securities are valued at the mean of the closing bid and ask prices on the principal market for such security on such day. If no ask prices are quoted on such day, then the security is valued at the closing bid price on the principal market for such security on such day. If no bid or ask prices are quoted on such day, a Fund’s accounting agent will notify the Adviser and the security will be valued based on written or standing instructions from the Adviser.
Initial public offering securities are initially valued at cost. Upon commencement of trading, these securities are valued like any other equity security.
The table that follows presents information about the differences between the daily market price on secondary markets for shares of the Funds that have commenced operations and such Funds’ NAV. NAV is the price at which a Fund issues and redeems shares. It is calculated in accordance with the standard formula for valuing mutual fund shares. The market price of a Fund generally is determined using the midpoint between the highest bid and the lowest ask on the primary securities exchange on which shares of the Fund are listed for trading, as of the time that the Fund’s NAV is calculated. A Fund’s market price may be at, above or below its NAV. The NAV of a Fund will fluctuate with changes in the value of its portfolio holdings. The market price of a Fund will fluctuate in accordance with changes in its NAV, as well as market supply and demand.
Premiums or discounts are the differences (expressed as a percentage) between the NAV and market price of a Fund on a given day, generally at the time the NAV is calculated. A premium is the amount that a Fund is trading above the reported NAV, expressed as a percentage of the NAV. A discount is the amount that a Fund is trading below the reported NAV, expressed as a percentage of the NAV.
The following information shows the frequency of distributions of premiums and discounts for the relevant Funds for the most recently completed calendar year ended December 31, 2023, and the first quarter of 2024. The information for the Aerospace and Defense Fund shows the frequency of distributions of premiums and discounts for the period January 3, 2023 (commencement of operations) through December 31, 2023, and the first quarter of 2024.
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Growth Innovators Fund
Premium/Discount | # of Days | % of Days | ||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023 | ||||||
Premium | 119 | 47.6% | ||||
Discount | 131 | 52.4% | ||||
At NAV | 0 | 0.0% | ||||
Q1 2024 | ||||||
Premium | 15 | 24.6% | ||||
Discount | 46 | 75.4% | ||||
At NAV | 0 | 0.0% |
Financial Services Opportunities Fund
Premium/Discount | # of Days | % of Days | ||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023 | ||||||
Premium | 144 | 57.6% | ||||
Discount | 106 | 42.4% | ||||
At NAV | 0 | 0.0% | ||||
Q1 2024 | ||||||
Premium | 44 | 72.1% | ||||
Discount | 17 | 27.9% | ||||
At NAV | 0 | 0.0% |
Love Our Planet Fund
Premium/Discount | # of Days | % of Days | ||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023 | ||||||
Premium | 110 | 44.0% | ||||
Discount | 140 | 56.0% | ||||
At NAV | 0 | 0.0% | ||||
Q1 2024 | ||||||
Premium | 34 | 55.7% | ||||
Discount | 27 | 44.0% | ||||
At NAV | 0 | 0.0% |
Automation Fund
Premium/Discount | # of Days | % of Days | ||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023 | ||||||
Premium | 109 | 43.6% | ||||
Discount | 141 | 56.4% | ||||
At NAV | 0 | 0.0% | ||||
Q1 2024 | ||||||
Premium | 35 | 57.4% | ||||
Discount | 26 | 42.6% | ||||
At NAV | 0 | 0.0% |
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Aerospace and Defense Fund
Premium/Discount | # of Days | % of Days | ||||
January 3, 2023 through December 31, 2023 | ||||||
Premium | 133 | 53.2% | ||||
Discount | 116 | 46.4% | ||||
At NAV | 0 | 0.0% | ||||
Q1 2024 | ||||||
Premium | 59 | 96.7% | ||||
Discount | 2 | 3.3% | ||||
At NAV | 0 | 0.0% |
Because shares of the Funds may trade at a premium or discount, as demonstrated by the tables above, shareholders may pay more than NAV when they buy shares of the Funds and receive less than NAV when they sell those shares, because the shares are bought and sold at current market prices.
DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS
Brokers may make available the Depository Trust Company book-entry dividend reinvestment service to their customers who own the Funds’ Shares. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and capital gains will automatically be reinvested in additional whole Shares of the Funds purchased on the secondary market, at the then current market price. Without this service, investors would receive their distributions in cash. To determine whether the dividend reinvestment service is available and whether there is a commission or other charge for using this service, consult your broker. Brokers may require Funds’ shareholders to adhere to specific procedures and timetables. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole Shares of the Funds purchased in the secondary market.
TAX INFORMATION
The Funds expect that distributions will consist primarily of investment company taxable income and net capital gain. Capital gains may be taxed at different rates for individuals depending on the length of time a Fund holds the securities giving rise to such capital gains. Dividends from investment company taxable income (including distributions of net short term capital gains, i.e., gains from securities held by a Fund for one year or less) are generally taxable to you as ordinary income if you are a U.S. shareholder, except certain qualified dividends that are discussed below. Properly designated distributions of net capital gain, i.e., net long term capital gains minus net short term capital loss (“Capital Gain Dividends”), are taxable to you at long term capital gain rates no matter how long you have owned your shares. A Fund’s distributions, whether you receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional shares of a Fund, generally will be subject to federal and, if applicable, state and local taxes. Although dividends (including dividends from short term capital gains) are generally taxable as ordinary income, individual shareholders who satisfy certain holding periods and other requirements are taxed on such dividends at long term capital gain rates to the extent the dividends are attributable to “qualified dividend income” received by a Fund. Qualified dividend income generally consists of dividends received from U.S. corporations (other than certain dividends from real estate investment trusts and regulated investment companies) and certain foreign corporations. The amount of qualified dividend income distributed by a Fund in any year depends on its investments and cannot be predicted. Corporations may be able to take a dividends-received deduction for a portion of the
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income dividends they receive. A redemption of Fund shares or an exchange of Fund shares for shares of another Fund will be treated for tax purposes as a sale of Fund shares, and any gain you realize on such a transaction generally will be taxable. A Fund may be required to withhold, as federal backup withholding, a percentage (currently 24%) of the dividends, distributions, and redemption proceeds payable to shareholders who fail to provide the Funds they have invested in with their correct taxpayer identification number or to make required certifications, or who have been notified by the Internal Revenue Service that they are subject to backup withholding. Also, dividends, distributions, and redemption proceeds payable to foreign shareholders may be subject to a federal withholding tax.
A dividend declared by the Funds in October, November, or December to shareholders of record on a specific date in such a month and paid during January of the following year will be treated as paid in December for tax purposes.
After the end of each year, the Funds you have invested in will provide you with the information regarding any shares you redeemed and the federal tax status of any dividends or distributions you received during the previous year.
Under current law, interest, dividends and capital gains from the Funds generally will be subject to the 3.8 percent federal tax that is imposed on net investment income of U.S. individuals with modified adjusted gross income exceeding $200,000 (or $250,000 if married filing jointly), and of estates and trusts.
If you sell your Fund shares, it is considered a taxable event for you. Depending on the purchase price and the sale price of the shares you sell, you may have a gain or a loss on the transaction. You are responsible for any tax liabilities generated by your transaction.
This summary of tax consequences is intended for general information only and is subject to change by legislative, judicial, or administrative action, and any such change may be retroactive. It is applicable only to shareholders who are U.S. persons. A Fund may make taxable distributions during periods in which the share price has declined. A more complete discussion of the tax rules applicable to you and the Funds can be found in the SAI that is incorporated by reference into this Prospectus. You should consult a tax adviser concerning the federal, state, and local tax consequences of your investment in the Funds.
CREATIONS AND REDEMPTIONS
Prior to trading in the secondary market, shares of a Fund are “created” at NAV by market makers, large investors and institutions only in block-size Creation Units or multiples thereof. The following table sets forth the number of shares of the applicable Fund that constitute a Creation Unit:
Name of the Fund | Creation Unit Size | |||||
Gabelli Growth Innovators ETF | 5,000 | |||||
Gabelli Financial Services Opportunities ETF | 5,000 | |||||
Gabelli Equity Income ETF | 5,000 | |||||
Gabelli Small & Mid Cap ETF | 5,000 | |||||
Gabelli Micro Cap ETF | 5,000 | |||||
Gabelli Love Our Planet & People ETF | 5,000 | |||||
Gabelli Automation ETF | 5,000 | |||||
Gabelli Aerospace and Defense ETF | 5,000 | |||||
Gabelli Green Energy ETF | 5,000 |
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Each “creator” or “Authorized Participant” enters into an authorized participant agreement with G.distributors, LLC, the Funds’ distributor (the “Distributor”). Each Authorized Participant creates or redeems Creation Units through an AP Representative. An AP Representative is an unaffiliated broker dealer with which the Authorized Participant has signed an agreement (the “Confidential Account Agreement”) to establish a Confidential Account for the benefit of such Authorized Participant and that will deliver or receive, on behalf of the Authorized Participant, all consideration to or from a Fund in a creation or redemption transaction.
Each day, the custodian will transmit the composition of each Fund’s Creation Basket (as defined below) to each AP Representative. Acting on execution instructions from an Authorized Participant, the AP Representative may purchase or sell the securities in the Creation Basket for purposes of effecting in-kind creation and redemption activity during the day. Authorized Participants are responsible for all order instructions and associated profit and loss, and will be able to monitor the execution quality of the AP Representative by comparing the price at which they purchase or sell Creation Baskets with the VIIV and the end of day NAV.
A creation transaction, which is subject to acceptance by the Distributor generally begins when an Authorized Participant enters into an irrevocable creation order with a Fund and delivers to the AP Representative the cash necessary to purchase a designated portfolio of securities in the Confidential Account. The AP Representative then delivers the purchased portfolio of securities (“Deposit Instruments”) to a Fund in exchange for a specified number of Creation Units.
Similarly, shares are redeemed only in Creation Units. A redemption transaction generally begins when an Authorized Participant enters into an irrevocable redemption order with a Fund. That Fund then instructs its custodian to deliver a designated portfolio of securities (“Redemption Instruments”) to the appropriate Confidential Account in exchange for the Creation Units being redeemed. The Authorized Participant will instruct the AP Representative when to liquidate the securities in the Confidential Account, which will be liquidated no later than the end of the day, so that the Confidential Account holds no positions at the end of day.
On any given Business Day, the name and quantities of the instruments that constitute Deposit Instruments and the names and quantities of the instruments that constitute Redemption Instruments will correspond pro rata to the positions in a Fund’s portfolio (including cash positions) used to calculate a Fund’s NAV for that day, and will be identical. These instruments are referred to, in the case of either a purchase or a redemption, as the “Creation Basket.”
An AP Representative will not trade securities in the Confidential Account on behalf of an Authorized Participant other than buying or selling the securities included in a Creation Basket to be delivered to or received from, respectively, a Fund. Pursuant to the Confidential Account Agreement, the AP Representative is restricted from disclosing the Creation Basket. In addition, the AP Representative undertakes an obligation not to use the identity or weighting of the securities in the Creation Basket for any purpose other than executing creations and redemptions for a Fund. The purpose of this arrangement is to protect the identity and weightings of a Fund’s portfolio holdings.
The prices at which creations and redemptions occur are based on the next calculation of NAV after a creation or redemption order is received in an acceptable form under the authorized participant agreement. In the event of a system failure or other interruption, including disruptions at market makers, Authorized
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Participants or AP Representatives, orders to purchase or redeem Creation Units either may not be executed according to a Fund’s instructions or may not be executed at all, or a Fund may not be able to place or change orders.
To the extent a Fund engages in in-kind transactions, a Fund intends to comply with the U.S. federal securities laws in accepting securities for deposit and satisfying redemptions with redemption securities by, among other means, assuring that any securities accepted for deposit and any securities used to satisfy redemption requests will be sold in transactions that would be exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “1933 Act”). Further, an Authorized Participant that is not a “qualified institutional buyer” as such term is defined in Rule 144A under the 1933 Act, will not be able to receive restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A.
Information about the procedures regarding creation and redemption of Creation Units (including the cutoff times for receipt of creation and redemption orders) is included in a Fund’s SAI.
Because new shares may be created and issued on an ongoing basis, at any point during the life of a Fund a “distribution,” as such term is used in the 1933 Act, may be occurring. 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 subject to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the 1933 Act. Any determination of whether one is an underwriter must take into account all the relevant facts and circumstances of each particular case.
Broker-dealers should also note that dealers who are not “underwriters,” but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted to ordinary secondary transactions), and thus dealing with shares that are part of an “unsold allotment” within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the 1933 Act, would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the 1933 Act. For delivery of prospectuses to exchange members, the prospectus delivery mechanism of Rule 153 under the 1933 Act is available only with respect to transactions on a national securities exchange. Authorized Participants are charged standard creation and redemption transaction fees to offset transfer and other transaction costs associated with the issuance and redemption of Creation Units. The standard creation transaction fee is charged to the Authorized Participant on the day such Authorized Participant creates a Creation Unit, and is the same regardless of the number of Creation Units purchased by the Authorized Participant on the applicable business day.
Similarly, the standard redemption transaction fee is charged to the Authorized Participant on the day such Authorized Participant redeems a Creation Unit, and is the same regardless of the number of Creation Units redeemed by the Authorized Participant on the applicable business day. Creations and redemptions for cash (when cash creations and redemptions (in whole or in part) are available or specified) are also subject to an additional charge (up to the maximum amounts shown in the table below). This charge is intended to compensate for brokerage, tax, foreign exchange, execution, market impact and other costs and expenses related to cash transactions. Investors who use the services of a broker or other financial intermediary to acquire or dispose of Fund shares may pay fees for such services.
99 |
MAILINGS AND E-DELIVERY TO SHAREHOLDERS
In our continuing efforts to reduce duplicative mail and Fund expenses, we currently send a single copy of prospectuses and shareholder reports to your household even if more than one member in your household owns the same Fund or Funds described in the prospectus or report. Additional copies of our prospectuses and reports may be obtained by calling 800-GABELLI (800-422-3554). If you do not want us to continue to consolidate your Fund mailings and would prefer to receive separate mailings at any time in the future, please call us at the telephone number above and we shall resume separate mailings, in accordance with your instructions, within thirty days of your request. Each Fund offers electronic delivery of Fund documents. Shareholders of a Fund can elect to receive each Fund’s annual, semiannual, and quarterly reports, as well as manager commentaries and prospectuses via e-delivery. For more information or to sign up for e-delivery, please visit a Fund’s website at www.gabelli.com. Shareholders who purchased shares of a Fund through a financial intermediary should contact their financial intermediary to sign up for e-delivery of the Fund documents, if available.
As permitted by regulations adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), paper copies of the Funds’ annual and semiannual shareholder reports will no longer be sent by mail, unless you specifically request paper copies of the reports. Instead, the reports will be made available on the Funds’ website (https://gabelli.com), and you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted and provided with a website link to access the report. If you already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and you need not take any action. To elect to receive all future reports in paper free of charge, please contact your financial intermediary, or, if you invest directly with the Funds, you may call 800-422-3554 or send an email request to [email protected]. Your election to receive reports in paper will apply to all Funds held in your account if you invest through your financial intermediary or all Funds held within the Fund complex if you invest directly with the Funds.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The Financial Highlights tables are intended to help you understand the financial performance of Gabelli Growth Innovators ETF, Gabelli Financial Services Opportunities ETF, Gabelli Love Our Planet & People ETF, Gabelli Automation ETF, and Gabelli Commercial Aerospace and Defense ETF for each of the past five fiscal years, or since inception if shorter. The total returns in the tables represent the percentage amount that an investor would have earned or lost on an investment in each Fund (assuming reinvestment of all distributions). This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with each Fund’s financial statements and related notes, is included in each Fund’s annual report, which are available upon request. Financial information, when available, will be included in each Fund’s next annual or semiannual report.
100 |
Gabelli Automation ETF
Financial Highlights
Selected data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout the period:
Year Ended | Period Ended | |||||||
December 31, | December 31, | |||||||
2023 | 2022(a) | |||||||
Operating Performance: | ||||||||
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period | $ | 20.85 | $ | 25.00 | ||||
Net Investment Income(b) | 0.19 | 0.16 | ||||||
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain/(Loss) on Investments | 3.62 | (4.15 | ) | |||||
Total from Investment Operations | 3.81 | (3.99 | ) | |||||
Distributions to Shareholders: | ||||||||
Net Investment Income | (0.21 | ) | (0.16 | ) | ||||
Net Asset Value, End of Period | $ | 24.45 | $ | 20.85 | ||||
NAV total return† | 18.23 | % | (15.90 | )% | ||||
Market price, End of Period | $ | 24.44 | $ | 20.86 | ||||
Investment total return†† | 18.14 | % | (15.90 | )% | ||||
Net Assets, End of Period (in 000’s) | $ | 4,646 | $ | 4,379 | ||||
Ratio to average net assets of: | ||||||||
Net Investment Income | 0.84 | % | 0.78 | %(c) | ||||
Operating Expenses Before Waiver | 0.90 | % | 0.90 | %(c) | ||||
Operating Expenses Net of Waiver | 0.00 | % | 0.00 | %(c) | ||||
Portfolio Turnover Rate | 13 | % | 28 | % |
† | Total return represents aggregate total return of a hypothetical investment at the beginning of the period and sold at the end of the period. Total return for a period of less than one year is not annualized. Based on net asset value per share, adjusted for reinvestment of distributions at net asset value on the ex-dividend dates. | |
†† | Based on market price per share. Total return for a period of less than one year is not annualized. | |
(a) | The Fund commenced investment operations on January 5, 2022. The Fund first sold shares on January 3, 2022. | |
(b) | Per share data are calculated using the average shares outstanding method. | |
(c) | Annualized. |
101 |
Gabelli Financial Services Opportunities ETF
Financial Highlights
Selected data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout the period:
Year Ended | Period Ended | |||||||
December 31, | December 31, | |||||||
2023 | 2022(a) | |||||||
Operating Performance: | ||||||||
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period | $ | 24.77 | $ | 25.00 | ||||
Net Investment Income(b) | 0.51 | 0.33 | ||||||
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain/(Loss) on Investments | 9.12 | (0.23 | ) | |||||
Total from Investment Operations | 9.63 | 0.10 | ||||||
Distributions to Shareholders: | ||||||||
Net Investment Income | (1.62 | ) | (0.33 | ) | ||||
Net Asset Value, End of Period | $ | 32.78 | $ | 24.77 | ||||
NAV total return† | 38.83 | % | 0.41 | % | ||||
Market price, End of Period | $ | 32.79 | $ | 24.77 | ||||
Investment total return†† | 38.89 | % | 0.41 | % | ||||
Net Assets, End of Period (in 000’s) | $ | 9,013 | $ | 5,202 | ||||
Ratio to average net assets of: | ||||||||
Net Investment Income | 1.77 | % | 2.01 | %(c) | ||||
Operating Expenses Before Waiver | 0.90 | % | 0.90 | %(c) | ||||
Operating Expenses Net of Waiver | 0.00 | % | 0.00 | %(c) | ||||
Portfolio Turnover Rate | 31 | % | 72 | % |
† | Total return represents aggregate total return of a hypothetical investment at the beginning of the period and sold at the end of the period. Total return for a period of less than one year is not annualized. Based on net asset value per share, adjusted for reinvestment of distributions at net asset value on the ex-dividend dates. | |
†† | Based on market price per share. Total return for a period of less than one year is not annualized. | |
(a) | The Fund commenced investment operations on May 10, 2022. The Fund first sold shares on May 9, 2022. | |
(b) | Per share data are calculated using the average shares outstanding method. | |
(c) | Annualized. |
102 |
Gabelli Growth Innovators ETF
Financial Highlights
Selected data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout the period:
Year Ended | Year Ended | Period Ended | ||||||||||
December 31, | December 31, | December 31, | ||||||||||
2023 | 2022 | 2021(a) | ||||||||||
Operating Performance: | ||||||||||||
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period | $ | 14.86 | $ | 26.46 | $ | 25.00 | ||||||
Net Investment Loss(b) | (0.10 | ) | (0.11 | ) | (0.15 | ) | ||||||
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain/(Loss) on Investments | 6.36 | (11.49 | ) | 1.61 | ||||||||
Total from Investment Operations | 6.26 | (11.60 | ) | 1.46 | ||||||||
Net Asset Value, End of Period | $ | 21.12 | $ | 14.86 | $ | 26.46 | ||||||
NAV total return† | 42.16 | % | (43.86 | )% | 5.84 | % | ||||||
Market price, End of Period | $ | 21.11 | $ | 14.84 | $ | 26.47 | ||||||
Investment total return†† | 42.25 | % | (43.94 | )% | 5.88 | % | ||||||
Net Assets, End of Period (in 000’s) | $ | 3,168 | $ | 2,080 | $ | 4,102 | ||||||
Ratio to average net assets of: | ||||||||||||
Net Investment Loss | (0.54 | )% | (0.59 | )% | (0.68 | )%(c) | ||||||
Operating Expenses | 0.90 | % | 0.90 | % | 0.90 | %(c) | ||||||
Portfolio Turnover Rate | 87 | % | 77 | % | 56 | % |
† | Total return represents aggregate total return of a hypothetical investment at the beginning of the period and sold at the end of the period. Total return for a period of less than one year is not annualized. Based on net asset value per share, adjusted for reinvestment of distributions at net asset value on the ex-dividend dates. | |
†† | Based on market price per share. Total return for a period of less than one year is not annualized. | |
(a) | The Fund commenced investment operations on February 16, 2021. | |
(b) | Per share data are calculated using the average shares outstanding method. | |
(c) | Annualized. |
103 |
Gabelli Love Our Planet & People ETF
Financial Highlights
Selected data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout the period:
Year Ended | Year Ended | Period Ended | ||||||||||
December 31, | December 31, | December 31, | ||||||||||
2023 | 2022 | 2021(a) | ||||||||||
Operating Performance: | ||||||||||||
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period | $ | 24.58 | $ | 29.53 | $ | 25.00 | ||||||
Net Investment Income(b) | 0.51 | 0.53 | 0.39 | |||||||||
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain/(Loss) on Investments | 0.68 | (4.99 | ) | 4.51 | ||||||||
Total from Investment Operations | 1.19 | (4.46 | ) | 4.90 | ||||||||
Distributions to Shareholders: | ||||||||||||
Net Investment Income | (0.50 | ) | (0.46 | ) | (0.37 | ) | ||||||
Return of Capital | (0.06 | ) | (0.03 | ) | — | |||||||
Total Distributions | (0.56 | ) | (0.49 | ) | (0.37 | ) | ||||||
Net Asset Value, End of Period | $ | 25.21 | $ | 24.58 | $ | 29.53 | ||||||
NAV total return† | 4.85 | % | (15.08 | )% | 19.62 | % | ||||||
Market price, End of Period | $ | 25.19 | $ | 24.58 | $ | 29.51 | ||||||
Investment total return†† | 4.75 | % | (15.02 | )% | 19.52 | % | ||||||
Net Assets, End of Period (in 000’s) | $ | 11,598 | $ | 12,536 | $ | 11,370 | ||||||
Ratio to average net assets of: | ||||||||||||
Net Investment Income | 2.06 | % | 2.08 | % | 1.51 | %(c) | ||||||
Operating Expenses Before Waiver | 0.90 | % | 0.90 | % | 0.90 | %(c) | ||||||
Operating Expenses Net of Waiver | 0.00 | % | 0.00 | % | 0.00 | %(c) | ||||||
Portfolio Turnover Rate | 24 | % | 19 | % | 13 | % |
† | Total return represents aggregate total return of a hypothetical investment at the beginning of the period and sold at the end of the period. Total return for a period of less than one year is not annualized. Based on net asset value per share, adjusted for reinvestment of distributions at net asset value on the ex-dividend dates. | |
†† | Based on market price per share. Total return for a period of less than one year is not annualized. | |
(a) | The Fund commenced investment operations on February 1, 2021. | |
(b) | Per share data are calculated using the average shares outstanding method. | |
(c) | Annualized. |
104 |
Gabelli Commercial Aerospace and Defense ETF
Financial Highlights
Selected data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout the period:
Period Ended | ||||
December 31, | ||||
2023(a) | ||||
Operating Performance: | ||||
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period | $ | 25.00 | ||
Net Investment Income(b) | 0.28 | |||
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain on Investments | 3.26 | |||
Total from Investment Operations | 3.54 | |||
Distributions to Shareholders: | ||||
Net Investment Income | (0.27 | ) | ||
Net Asset Value,End of Period | $ | 28.27 | ||
NAV total return† | 14.14 | % | ||
Market price, End of Period | $ | 28.31 | ||
Investment total return†† | 14.31 | % | ||
Net Assets, End of Period (in 000’s) | $ | 4,382 | ||
Ratio to average net assets of: | ||||
Net Investment Income | 1.11 | %(c) | ||
Operating Expenses Before Waiver | 0.90 | %(c) | ||
Operating Expenses Net of Waiver | 0.00 | %(c) | ||
Portfolio Turnover Rate | 28 | % |
† | Total return represents aggregate total return of a hypothetical investment at the beginning of the period and sold at the end of the period. Total return for a period of less than one year is not annualized. Based on net asset value per share, adjusted for reinvestment of distributions at net asset value on the ex-dividend dates. | |
†† | Based on market price per share. Total return for a period of less than one year is not annualized. | |
(a) | The Fund commenced investment operations on January 3, 2023. | |
(b) | Per share data are calculated using the average shares outstanding method. | |
(c) | Annualized. |
105 |
Gabelli ETFs Trust
Gabelli
Growth Innovators ETF
Gabelli Financial Services Opportunities ETF
Gabelli
Equity Income ETF
Gabelli Small & Mid Cap ETF
Gabelli Micro Cap
ETF
Gabelli Love Our Planet & People ETF
Gabelli Automation
ETF
Gabelli Commercial Aerospace and Defense ETF
Gabelli Green Energy
ETF
For More Information:
For more information about each Fund, the following documents will be available free upon request:
Annual/Semiannual Reports:
Each Fund’s semiannual and audited annual reports to shareholders will contain additional information on the Funds’ investments. In the Funds’ annual report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected each Fund’s performance during its last fiscal year.
Statement of Additional Information (SAI):
The SAI provides more detailed information about each Fund, including their operations and investment policies. It is incorporated by reference, and is legally considered a part of this prospectus.
You can obtain free copies of these documents and prospectuses of other Funds in the Gabelli
Fund Complex, or request other information and discuss your questions
about a Fund by mail, Gabelli ETFs Trust One Corporate Center Rye, NY 10580-1422 Telephone: 800-GABELLI (800-422-3554) www.gabelli.com
|
You can also review and/or copy a Fund’s prospectuses, annual/semiannual reports, and SAI at the Public Reference Room of the SEC in Washington, DC. You can obtain text-only copies:
● | Free from the Fund’s website at www.gabelli.com. |
● | For a fee, by electronic request at [email protected], by writing to the Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, DC 20549-1520, or by calling 202-551-8090. |
● | Free from the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. |
(Investment Company Act File No. 811-23568)