SEI EXCHANGE TRADED
FUNDS
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
DATED JULY 31, 2024
THIS STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ("SAI") IS NOT A PROSPECTUS. IT SHOULD BE READ IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CURRENT PROSPECTUS (THE "PROSPECTUS") FOR THE FOLLOWING SERIES OF SEI EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS (THE "TRUST"):
Fund |
Ticker |
Listing Exchange |
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SEI Enhanced U.S. Large Cap Quality Factor ETF |
SEIQ |
Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. |
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SEI Enhanced U.S. Large Cap Momentum Factor ETF |
SEIM |
Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. |
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SEI Enhanced U.S. Large Cap Value Factor ETF |
SEIV |
Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. |
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SEI Enhanced Low Volatility U.S. Large Cap ETF |
SELV |
Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. |
This SAI expands upon and supplements the information contained in the current Prospectus for the Funds listed above, each of which is a separate series of the Trust, a Delaware statutory trust. Each of these series of the Trust represents shares of beneficial interest in a separate portfolio of securities and other assets with its own objective and policies. The Prospectus for the Funds is dated July 31, 2024, as amended and supplemented from time to time. Capitalized terms used herein that are not defined have the same meaning as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise noted. A copy of the Prospectus for the Funds may be obtained without charge by writing to the Trust's distributor, SEI Investments Distribution Co. (the "Distributor" or "SIDCo."), One Freedom Valley Drive, Oaks, Pennsylvania 19456, calling 1-800-DIAL-SEI or visiting www.seic.com/enhancedfactorETFs. The Funds' Prospectus is incorporated by reference into this SAI.
References to the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "Investment Company Act" or the "1940 Act"), or other applicable law, will include any rules promulgated thereunder and any guidance, interpretations or modifications by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, including court interpretations, and exemptive, no action or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
General Description of the Trust and the Funds |
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Exchange Listing and Trading |
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Investment Strategies and Risks |
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General Considerations and Risks |
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Proxy Voting Policy |
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Control Persons and Principal Holders of Securities |
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Portfolio Holdings Information |
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Investment Policies |
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Continuous Offering |
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Trustees and Officers of the Trust |
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Investment Advisory, Administrative and Distribution Services |
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Investment Adviser |
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Portfolio Managers |
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Code of Ethics |
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Anti-Money Laundering Requirements |
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Administrator |
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Custodian and Transfer Agent |
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Distributor |
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Determination of Net Asset Value |
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Brokerage Transactions |
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Additional Information Concerning the Trust |
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Creation and Redemption of Creation Units |
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Taxes |
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Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm |
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Appendix A—Description of Ratings |
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General Description of the Trust and the Funds
The Trust was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on October 7, 2021 and is authorized to have multiple series or portfolios. The Trust is an open-end management investment company registered with the SEC under the 1940 Act. The offering of the Trust's shares is registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act"). Each Fund is a diversified series of the Trust as defined in the 1940 Act.
The Funds offer and issue shares at their net asset value per share ("NAV") only in aggregations of a specified number of shares (each, a "Creation Unit"), generally in exchange for a designated portfolio of securities, assets or other positions (including any portion of such securities for which cash may be substituted) (the "Deposit Securities" or "Creation Basket"), together with the deposit of a specified cash payment (the "Cash Component"). Shares of the Funds are listed for trading on Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc., a national securities exchange. Shares of the Funds are traded in the secondary market and elsewhere at market prices that may be at, above or below the Funds' NAV. Unlike mutual funds, a Fund's shares are not individually redeemable securities. Instead, shares are redeemable only in Creation Units by Authorized Participants (as defined in the Creation and Redemption of Creation Units-Role of the Authorized Participant section of this SAI), and, generally, in exchange for portfolio securities and a Cash Amount (as defined in the Redemption of Creation Units section of this SAI). Creation Units typically are a specified number of shares, generally 50,000 or multiples thereof. Each Fund may charge creation/redemption transaction fees for each creation and redemption. In all cases, transaction fees will be limited in accordance with the requirements of the SEC applicable to management investment companies offering redeemable securities.
The Trust reserves the right to permit or require that creations and redemptions of shares are effected fully or partially in cash and reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of Deposit Securities in lieu of cash. Shares may be issued in advance of receipt of Deposit Securities, subject to various conditions, including a requirement that the Authorized Participant maintain with the Trust collateral as set forth in the handbook for Authorized Participants. The Trust may use such collateral at any time to purchase Deposit Securities. See the Creation and Redemption of Creation Units section of this SAI. Transaction fees and other costs associated with creations or redemptions that include a cash portion may be higher than the transaction fees and other costs associated with in-kind creations or redemptions. In all cases, conditions with respect to creations and redemptions of shares and fees will be limited in accordance with the requirements of SEC rules and regulations applicable to management investment companies offering redeemable securities.
Once created, each Fund's shares generally trade in the secondary market, at market prices that change throughout the day, in amounts less than a Creation Unit. Investors purchasing each Fund's shares in the secondary market through a brokerage account or with the assistance of a broker may be subject to brokerage commissions and charges. Unlike index-based ETFs, each Fund is "actively managed" and does not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index.
Exchange Listing and Trading
A discussion of exchange listing and trading matters associated with an investment in the Funds is contained in the Shareholder Information section of the Funds' Prospectus. The discussion below supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, that section of the Prospectus.
Shares of the Funds are listed for trading, and trade throughout the day, on the Listing Exchange and in other secondary markets. Shares of the Funds may also be listed on certain non-U.S. exchanges. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Listing Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of shares of the Funds will continue to be met. The Listing Exchange may, but is not required to, remove the shares of the Funds from listing if, among other things: (i) following the initial 12-month period beginning upon the commencement of trading of Fund shares, there are fewer than 50 record and/or beneficial owners of shares of the Funds; (ii) the Funds are no longer eligible to operate in reliance on Rule 6c-11 under the Investment Company Act; (iii) any of the other listing requirements are not continuously maintained; or (iv) any event shall occur or condition shall exist that, in the opinion of the Listing Exchange, makes further dealings on the Listing Exchange inadvisable. The Listing Exchange will also remove shares of the Funds from listing and trading upon termination of the Funds.
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As in the case of other publicly-traded securities, when you buy or sell shares of the Funds through a broker, you may incur a brokerage commission determined by that broker, as well as other charges.
In order to provide additional information regarding the intra-day value of shares of each Fund, the Listing Exchange or a market data vendor disseminates every 15 seconds through the facilities of the Consolidated Tape Association or other widely disseminated means an updated iNAV for the Fund as calculated by an information provider or market data vendor. The Trust is not involved in or responsible for any aspect of the calculation or dissemination of the iNAV and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the iNAV. Shares of each Fund trade on the Listing Exchange or in the secondary market at prices that may differ from their NAV because such prices may be affected by market forces (such as supply and demand for the Fund's shares). The Trust reserves the right to adjust the share prices of each Fund in the future to maintain convenient trading ranges for investors. Any adjustments would be accomplished through stock splits or reverse stock splits, which would have no effect on the net assets of each Fund or an investor's equity interest in the Funds.
The base and trading currency of each Fund is the U.S. dollar. The base currency is the currency in which each Fund's NAV per share is calculated and the trading currency is the currency in which shares of the Fund are listed and traded on the Listing Exchange.
Each Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold, or promoted by the Listing Exchange. The Listing Exchange makes 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 the Fund particularly or the ability of the Fund to achieve its objectives. The Listing Exchange has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing, or trading of each Fund.
Investment Strategies and Risks
The Funds are managed by SEI Investments Management Corporation ("SIMC") in accordance with the strategies described below.
SEI Enhanced U.S. Large Cap Quality Factor ETF—Under normal circumstances, the SEI Enhanced U.S. Large Cap Quality Factor ETF will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity and equity-related securities (such as convertible bonds, convertible preferred stock, depositary receipts, warrants and rights) issued by large U.S. companies. For purposes of this Fund, SIMC considers a large company to be a company with a market capitalization in the range of companies in the Russell 1000 Index (between $361 million and $3.4 trillion as of June 30, 2024) at the time of purchase. The market capitalization range and the composition of the Russell 1000 Index are subject to change. The Fund's 80% policy is not fundamental and can be changed with the approval of the Board of Trustees upon 60 days' prior notice to shareholders.
The Fund seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in U.S. common stocks with superior quality, as determined by SIMC. Quality investing is a long-term buy and hold strategy that is based on acquiring stocks with superior and stable profitability, often exhibiting high barriers of entry. The Quality factor family is described in further detail below.
SIMC uses a quantitative-based, active stock selection investment strategy combined with portfolio optimization to construct the Fund's portfolio. SIMC's quantitative model evaluates all of the securities in the investment universe of U.S. large-capitalization stocks based on various quality, profitability and risk factors, which may include various sales-based profitability ratios such as profit margins, and investment-based metrics, such as return on assets. SIMC may also evaluate balance sheet quality (such as leverage) and accounting quality (such as accruals). The optimization process seeks to build a portfolio with high primary exposure to equity securities of superior quality, while concurrently managing secondary exposures to other factors, including momentum, value and low volatility, in tandem with certain investment restrictions. SIMC may add, remove or modify certain characteristics in its model based on investment research or in response to changes in market conditions.
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SEI Enhanced U.S. Large Cap Momentum Factor ETF—Under normal circumstances, the SEI Enhanced U.S. Large Cap Momentum Factor ETF will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity and equity-related securities (such as convertible bonds, convertible preferred stock, depositary receipts, warrants and rights) issued by large U.S. companies. For purposes of this Fund, SIMC considers a large company to be a company with a market capitalization in the range of companies in the Russell 1000 Index (between $361 million and $3.4 trillion as of June 30, 2024) at the time of purchase. The market capitalization range and the composition of the Russell 1000 Index are subject to change. The Fund's 80% policy is not fundamental and can be changed with the approval of the Board of Trustees upon 60 days' prior notice to shareholders.
The Fund seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in U.S. common stocks exhibiting relatively strong recent performance (also known as momentum) as determined by SIMC. Momentum investing is a trend-following investment strategy that is based on acquiring assets with recent improvement in their price, earnings or other relevant fundamentals. The Momentum factor family is described in further detail below.
SIMC uses a quantitative-based, active stock selection investment strategy combined with portfolio optimization to construct the Fund's portfolio. SIMC's quantitative model and rules-based screening process evaluates all of the securities in the investment universe of U.S. large-capitalization stocks based on various factors, which may include share price performance over various time periods, earnings and profitability trends, unanticipated financial results, and changes to analyst outlooks. The optimization process seeks to build a portfolio with high primary exposure to equity securities of superior momentum, while concurrently managing secondary exposures to other factors, including value, quality and low volatility, in tandem with certain investment restrictions. SIMC may add, remove or modify certain characteristics in its model based on investment research or in response to changes in market conditions.
SEI Enhanced U.S. Large Cap Value Factor ETF—Under normal circumstances, the SEI Enhanced U.S. Large Cap Value Factor ETF will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity and equity-related securities (such as convertible bonds, convertible preferred stock, depositary receipts, warrants and rights) issued by large U.S. companies. For purposes of this Fund, SIMC considers a large company to be a company with a market capitalization in the range of companies in the Russell 1000 Index (between $361 million and $3.4 trillion as of June 30, 2024) at the time of purchase. The market capitalization range and the composition of the Russell 1000 Index are subject to change. The Fund's 80% policy is not fundamental and can be changed with the approval of the Board of Trustees upon 60 days' prior notice to shareholders.
The Fund seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in U.S. common stocks with lower prices relative to fundamental valuation characteristics, as determined by SIMC. Value investing is an investment strategy that seeks to acquire securities that are underpriced compared to market and sector averages, with the expectation that the price of such securities or the earnings from such securities will, over time, revert to such securities' average valuations. The Value factor family is described in further detail below.
SIMC uses a quantitative-based, active stock selection investment strategy to construct the Fund's portfolio. SIMC's quantitative model and rules-based screening process evaluates all of the securities in the investment universe of U.S. large-capitalization stocks based on various factors, which may include earnings, cash flow, sales, and asset-based valuation characteristics, such as price-to-earnings ratio or price-to-cash flows. The optimization process seeks to build a portfolio with high primary exposure to equity securities of superior value, while concurrently managing secondary exposures to other factors, including momentum, quality and low volatility, in tandem with certain investment restrictions. SIMC may add, remove or modify certain characteristics in its model based on investment research or in response to changes in market conditions.
SEI Enhanced Low Volatility U.S. Large Cap ETF—Under normal circumstances, the SEI Enhanced Low Volatility U.S. Large Cap ETF will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for
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investment purposes) in equity and equity-related securities (such as convertible bonds, convertible preferred stock, depositary receipts, warrants and rights) issued by large U.S. companies. For purposes of this Fund, SIMC considers a large company to be a company with a market capitalization in the range of companies in the Russell 1000 Index (between $361 million and $3.4 trillion as of June 30, 2024) at the time of purchase. The market capitalization range and the composition of the Russell 1000 Index are subject to change. The Fund's 80% policy is not fundamental and can be changed with the approval of the Board of Trustees upon 60 days' prior notice to shareholders.
The Fund seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in U.S. common stocks, while aiming to experience or lower volatility compared to the broad U.S. large cap equity market.
SIMC uses a quantitative-based, active stock selection investment process to construct the Fund's portfolio, utilizing a combination factor scoring model, risk model and optimization. The factor scoring model evaluates all of the securities in the investment universe of U.S. large-capitalization stocks based on measures of Value, Momentum, Quality and Low Volatility factor families. Each of the factor families is described in further detail below. The risk model predicts common factor and stock specific risks. The optimization process constructs a portfolio based on the desired exposure to certain factor characteristics and certain other investment restrictions, as weighed against the objective to achieve lower volatility than the broad U.S. large cap equity market. SIMC may add, remove or modify certain characteristics in its model based on investment research or in response to changes in market conditions.
Quantitative Model and Process
Each of the Funds use a quantitative-based, active stock selection investment strategy, which typically relies on a model-based approach to make investment decisions. The model ranks securities based on certain criteria that measure exposure to desired factors for each strategy as determined by SIMC. "Factors" are attributes used to describe potential drivers of return or risk of securities. For example, the Price/Earnings ratio is a factor that is widely believed to be a useful indicator of whether a particular security is overpriced or underpriced.
Factors
Each of the Funds incorporate factor families of Value, Momentum, Quality and Low Volatility to varying degrees. Factor families are comprised of individual factors that historically behave in a correlated way or otherwise share similar construction and characteristics.
• Value investing is based on acquiring stocks with lower prices relative to fundamental valuation characteristics derived from financial statements and analyst estimates. Multiple factors exist to describe valuation such as accounts-based metrics of Price/Book or Price/Sales, in addition to prospective measures including Price/Forward Earnings. In general, dividing a stock's price by any accounting figure, whether historical, normalized, or prospective results in a measure of valuation in that it compares a stock's market price with a more stable, fundamental anchor.
• Momentum investing is based on acquiring assets with recent improvement in their price, earnings, or other relevant fundamentals. Price momentum is measured using historical security returns measured over a particular timeframe, typically between the prior three and twelve months. Earnings momentum arises where companies deliver results that positively exceed market expectations, likely resulting in rising share prices on the news, as analysts revise up their fundamental forecasts.
• Quality investing, a long-term buy and hold strategy, is based on acquiring stocks with superior and stable profitability, often exhibiting high barriers of entry and stronger balance sheets. Quality is measured by considering asset-level and capital-based measures of profitability using metrics such as Gross Profits to Assets and Return on Invested Capital. Accounting quality is assessed through the difference between accounting earnings and cash generated, while balance sheet strength is measured by considering the amount of cash held relative to capitalization and debt-interest coverage.
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• Low Volatility investing is based on buying stocks with a more stable return profile and/or lower correlation to the to the broad U.S. large cap equity market. Low Volatility is commonly measured by historical standard deviations of stock returns over various horizons as well as the degree of their sensitivity (beta) to changes in market returns.
Models and Optimizer
The factor investing process is a systematic approach to evaluating and investing in stocks with certain desired characteristics. Through its factor investing process, SIMC relies on three key complementary components: a Factor Scoring Model, a Risk Model and an Optimizer.
• The Factor Scoring Model is a stock selection model that is used to generate factor scores for all securities encompassing the broad market. Calculating factor scores uses fundamental accounting and security return data. SIMC defines and augments the definitions and methods underlying the factor scores produced using its Factor Scoring Model.
• The Risk Model estimates risk characteristics associated with each security based on the notion that stock returns can be explained by a collection of common factors together with an idiosyncratic element that pertains to each stock. The common factors used in SIMC's Risk Model overlap with those found in the Factor Scoring Model. The Risk Model also considers risk factors that do not have positive expected returns associated with them, but rather describe risk characteristics, such as the risk associated with a particular sector or industry to which a stock belongs.
• Constructing a portfolio involves trading-off risk forecasts from the Risk Model against expected return or factor scores from the Factor Scoring Model, subject to a set of constraints—this process is performed using the Optimizer. SIMC uses optimization, risk forecasts, and its own judgement to determine what portion of a Fund's assets should be invested in each security. The optimization process combines portfolio holdings, investment universe weights and model scores with risk information to compute an optimal portfolio subject to investment constraints, which generally include individual position weightings at the stock and sector level. SIMC may also, to a lesser degree, incorporate quality, valuation, momentum, and volatility metrics that are not the focus of a Fund's principal investment strategy, to seek to improve overall portfolio risk characteristics. An additional feature of SIMC's optimization process is to control for unrewarded exposures to extreme secondary factors. Unrewarded factors are not associated with expected long-term improvement in return or risk characteristics. For example, limiting exposure to extremely expensive stocks can potentially enhance the performance of a strategy whose primary factor exposure is not value.
SIMC undertakes regular research to enhance the investment process through improvements to the screening process and portfolio construction. SIMC may add, remove or modify certain characteristics in its model based on investment research or in response to changes in market conditions.
Securities Lending
Although not expected to be a component of the Funds' principal investment strategies, each Fund may lend securities representing up to one-third of the value of its total assets (including the value of any collateral received). Each Fund may lend its securities to certain financial institutions in an attempt to earn additional income. The Funds may lend their portfolio securities to brokers, dealers, and other financial institutions provided a number of conditions are satisfied, including that the loan is fully collateralized. When a Fund lends portfolio securities, its investment performance will continue to reflect changes in the value of the securities loaned, and the Fund will also receive a fee or interest on the collateral. Securities lending involves the risk of loss of rights, including voting rights, in the loaned securities during the term of the loan or delay in recovering loaned securities if the borrower fails to return them or becomes insolvent. A Fund that lends its securities may pay lending fees to a party arranging the loan.
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General Considerations and Risks
A discussion of some of the principal risks associated with an investment in the Funds is contained in the Funds' Prospectus. An investment in the Funds should be made with an understanding that the value of the Funds' portfolio securities may fluctuate in accordance with changes in the financial condition of the issuers of the portfolio securities, and other factors that affect the market. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.
AMERICAN DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS—ADRs, as well as other "hybrid" forms of ADRs, including EDRs, CDRs and GDRs, are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. Depositary receipts may be sponsored or unsponsored. These certificates are issued by depositary banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer's home country. The depositary 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.
Investments in the securities of foreign issuers may subject a Fund to investment risks that differ in some respects from those related to investments in securities of U.S. issuers. Such risks include future adverse political and economic developments, possible imposition of withholding taxes on income, possible seizure, nationalization or expropriation of foreign deposits, possible establishment of exchange controls or taxation at the source or greater fluctuation in value due to changes in exchange rates. Foreign issuers of securities often engage in business practices different from those of domestic issuers of similar securities, and there may be less information publicly available about foreign issuers. In addition, foreign issuers are, generally, subject to less government supervision and regulation and different accounting treatment than are those in the United States.
Although the two types of depositary receipt facilities (unsponsored and sponsored) are similar, there are differences regarding a holder's rights and obligations and the practices of market participants. A depositary may establish an unsponsored facility without participation by (or acquiescence of) the underlying issuer. Typically, however, the depositary requests a letter of non-objection from the underlying issuer prior to establishing the facility. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all the costs of the facility. The depositary usually charges fees upon the deposit and withdrawal of the underlying securities, the conversion of dividends into U.S. dollars or other currency, the disposition of non-cash distributions and the performance of other services. The depositary of an unsponsored facility frequently is under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the underlying issuer or to pass through voting rights to depositary receipt holders with respect to the underlying securities.
Sponsored depositary receipt facilities are created in generally the same manner as unsponsored facilities, except that sponsored depositary receipts are established jointly by a depositary and the underlying issuer through a deposit agreement. The deposit agreement sets out the rights and responsibilities of the underlying issuer, the depositary and the depositary receipt holders. With sponsored facilities, the underlying issuer typically bears some of the costs of the depositary receipts (such as dividend payment fees of the depositary), although most sponsored depositary receipt holders may bear costs such as deposit and withdrawal fees. Depositaries of most sponsored depositary receipts agree to distribute notices of shareholder meetings, voting instructions and other shareholder communications and information to the depositary receipt holders at the underlying issuer's request.
COMMERCIAL PAPER—Commercial paper is the term used to designate unsecured short-term promissory notes issued by corporations and other entities to finance short-term credit needs. Commercial paper is usually sold on a discount basis and has a maturity at the time of issuance generally not exceeding 270 days. The value of commercial paper may be affected by changes in the credit rating or financial condition of the issuing entities. The value of commercial paper will tend to fall when interest rates rise and rise when interest rates fall.
CREDIT-LINKED NOTES—Credit-linked notes and similarly structured products typically are issued by a limited purpose trust or other vehicle that, in turn, enters into a credit protection agreement or invests in a
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derivative instrument or basket of derivative instruments, such as credit default swaps or interest rate swaps, to obtain exposure to certain fixed-income markets or to remain fully invested when more traditional income producing securities are not available. Additional information about derivatives and the risks associated with them is provided under "Swaps, Caps, Floors, Collars and Swaptions." Like an investment in a bond, an investment in credit-linked notes represents the right to receive periodic income payments (in the form of distributions) and payment of principal at the end of the term of the security. However, these payments are conditioned on the issuer's receipt of payments from, and the issuer's potential obligations to, the counterparties to certain credit protection agreements or derivative instruments entered into by the issuer of the credit-linked note. For example, the issuer may sell one or more credit default swaps entitling the issuer to receive a stream of payments over the term of the swap agreements provided that no event of default has occurred with respect to the referenced debt obligation upon which the swap is based. If a default occurs, the stream of payments may stop and the issuer would be obligated to pay the counterparty the par (or other agreed upon value) of the referenced debt obligation. An investor holding a credit-linked note generally receives a fixed or floating coupon and the note's par value upon maturity, unless the referenced creditor defaults or declares bankruptcy, in which case the investor receives the amount recovered. In effect, investors holding credit-linked notes receive a higher yield in exchange for assuming the risk of a specified credit event.
CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS RISK—Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of the Funds in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions. As a means to fight inflation, which remains at elevated levels, the Federal Reserve and certain foreign central banks have raised interest rates and expect to continue to do so, and the Federal Reserve has announced that it intends to reverse previously implemented quantitative easing. U.S. regulators have proposed several changes to market and issuer regulations that could directly impact the Funds, and any regulatory changes could adversely impact the Funds' ability to achieve their investment strategies or make certain investments. Recent and potential future bank failures could result in disruption to the broader banking industry or markets generally and reduce confidence in financial institutions and the economy as a whole, which may also heighten market volatility and reduce liquidity. The ongoing adversarial political climate in the United States, as well as political and diplomatic events both domestic and abroad, have and may continue to have an adverse impact on the U.S. regulatory landscape, markets and investor behavior, which could have a negative impact on the Funds' investments and operations. Other unexpected political, regulatory and diplomatic events within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy. For example, ongoing armed conflicts between Russia and Ukraine in Europe and among Israel, Hamas and other militant groups in the Middle East, have caused and could continue to cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in Russia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions resulting from those hostilities have and could continue to have a significant impact on certain Fund investments as well as Fund performance and liquidity. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as the financial markets generally, may be adversely impacted by trade disputes and other matters. If geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets and individual securities may be adversely affected, and the value of the Funds' assets may go down. The COVID-19 global pandemic, or any future public health crisis, and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against emerging future variants of the disease. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. Advancements in technology may also adversely impact markets and the overall performance of the Funds. For instance, the economy may be significantly impacted by the advanced development and increased regulation of artificial intelligence. These events, and any other future events, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Funds' portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.
DERIVATIVES—In an attempt to reduce systemic and counterparty risks associated with OTC derivative transactions, the Dodd-Frank Act requires that a substantial portion of OTC derivatives be executed in regulated markets and submitted for clearing to regulated clearinghouses. The CFTC also requires a substantial portion of derivative transactions that have historically been executed on a bilateral basis in the OTC markets to be executed through a regulated swap execution facility or designated contract market. The SEC is expected to
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eventually impose a similar requirement with respect to security-based swaps. Such requirements could limit the ability of the Funds to invest or remain invested in derivatives and may make it more difficult and costly for investment funds, including the Funds, to enter into highly tailored or customized transactions. They may also render certain strategies in which a Fund might otherwise engage impossible or so costly that they will no longer be economical to implement.
OTC trades submitted for clearing will be subject to minimum initial and variation margin requirements set by the relevant clearinghouse, as may be adjusted to a higher amount by a Fund's Futures Commission Merchant, as well as possible SEC- or CFTC-mandated margin requirements. With respect to uncleared swaps, swap dealers are required to collect variation margin from a Fund and may be required to collect initial margin from a Fund pursuant to the CFTC's or the Prudential Regulators' uncleared swap margin rules. Both initial and variation margin must be in the form of eligible collateral, and may be composed of cash and/or securities, subject to applicable regulatory haircuts. These rules also mandate that collateral in the form of initial margin be posted to cover potential future exposure attributable to uncleared swap transactions for certain entities, which may include the Funds. In the event a Fund is required to post collateral in the form of initial margin in respect of its uncleared swap transactions, all such collateral will be posted with a third-party custodian pursuant to a triparty custody agreement between the Fund, its dealer counterparty and an unaffiliated custodian.
Although the Dodd-Frank Act requires many OTC derivative transactions previously entered into on a principal-to-principal basis to be submitted for clearing by a regulated clearinghouse, certain of the derivatives that may be traded by a Fund may remain principal-to-principal or OTC contracts between the Fund and third parties. The risk of counterparty non-performance can be significant in the case of these OTC instruments, and "bid-ask" spreads may be unusually wide in these markets. To the extent not mitigated by implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act, if at all, the risks posed by such instruments and techniques, which can be complex, may include: (1) credit risks (the exposure to the possibility of loss resulting from a counterparty's failure to meet its financial obligations), as further discussed below; (2) market risk (adverse movements in the price of a financial asset or commodity); (3) legal risks (the characterization of a transaction or a party's legal capacity to enter into it could render the transaction unenforceable, and the insolvency or bankruptcy of a counterparty could pre-empt otherwise enforceable contract rights); (4) operational risk (inadequate controls, deficient procedures, human error, system failure or fraud); (5) documentation risk (exposure to losses resulting from inadequate documentation); (6) liquidity risk (exposure to losses created by inability to prematurely terminate derivative transactions); (7) systemic risk (the risk that financial difficulties in one institution or a major market disruption will cause uncontrollable financial harm to the financial system); (8) concentration risk (exposure to losses from the concentration of closely related risks such as exposure to a particular industry or exposure linked to a particular entity); and (9) settlement risk (the risk faced when one party to a transaction has performed its obligations under a contract but has not yet received value from its counterparty).
Swap dealers and major swap participants that are registered with the CFTC and with whom a Fund may trade are subject to minimum capital and margin requirements. These requirements may apply irrespective of whether the OTC derivatives in question are traded bilaterally or cleared. OTC derivatives dealers are subject to business conduct standards, disclosure requirements, reporting and recordkeeping requirements, transparency requirements, position limits, limitations on conflicts of interest, and other regulatory burdens. These requirements may increase the overall costs for OTC derivative dealers, which are likely to be passed along, at least partially, to market participants in the form of higher fees or less advantageous dealer marks. The full impact of the Dodd-Frank Act on the Funds remains uncertain, and it is unclear how the OTC derivatives markets will ultimately adapt to this new regulatory regime.
Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act governs a Fund's use of derivative instruments and certain other transactions that create future payment and/or delivery obligations by the Fund. Rule 18f-4 permits a Fund to enter into Derivative Transactions (as defined below) and certain other transactions notwithstanding the restrictions on the issuance of "senior securities" under Section 18 of the 1940 Act. Section 18 of the 1940 Act, among other things, prohibits open-end funds, including a Fund, from issuing or selling any "senior security," other than borrowing from a bank (subject to a requirement to maintain 300% "asset coverage"). In connection with the adoption of Rule 18f-4, the SEC eliminated the asset segregation framework arising from prior SEC guidance for covering Derivative Transactions and certain financial instruments.
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Under Rule 18f-4, "Derivative Transactions" include the following: (1) any swap, security-based swap (including a contract for differences), futures contract, forward contract, option (excluding purchased options), any combination of the foregoing, or any similar instrument, under which a Fund is or may be required to make any payment or delivery of cash or other assets during the life of the instrument or at maturity or early termination, whether as margin or settlement payment or otherwise; (2) any short sale borrowing; (3) reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions, if a Fund elects to treat these transactions as Derivative Transactions under Rule 18f-4; and (4) when-issued or forward-settling securities (e.g., firm and standby commitments, including to-be-announced ("TBA") commitments, and dollar rolls) and non-standard settlement cycle securities, unless the Fund intends to physically settle the transactions and the transaction will settle within 35 days of its trade date.
Rule 18f-4 requires that a Fund that invests in Derivative Transactions above a specified amount adopt and implement a derivatives risk management program administered by a derivatives risk manager that is appointed by and overseen by the Funds' Board, and comply with an outer limit on Fund leverage risk based on value at risk. A Fund that uses Derivative Transactions in a limited amount are considered "limited derivatives users," as defined in Rule 18f-4, will not be subject to the full requirements of Rule 18f-4, but will have to adopt and implement policies and procedures reasonably designed to manage the Funds' derivatives risk. A Fund will be subject to reporting and recordkeeping requirements regarding its use of Derivative Transactions.
The requirements of Rule 18f-4 may limit a Fund's ability to engage in Derivative Transactions as part of its investment strategies. These requirements may also increase the cost of a Fund's investments and cost of doing business, which could adversely affect the value of the Fund's investments and/or the performance of the Fund. The rule also may not be effective to limit a Fund's risk of loss. In particular, measurements of VaR rely on historical data and may not accurately measure the degree of risk reflected in a Fund's derivatives or other investments. There may be additional regulation of the use of Derivatives Transactions by registered investment companies, which could significantly affect their use. The ultimate impact of the regulations remains unclear. Additional regulation of Derivative Transactions may make them more costly, limit their availability or utility, otherwise adversely affect their performance or disrupt markets.
More information about particular types of derivatives instruments is included below in the sections titled "Futures Contracts and Options on Futures Contracts," "Options," and "Swaps, Caps, Floors, Collars and Swaptions."
DISTRESSED SECURITIES—Distressed securities are securities of issuers that are in transition, out of favor, financially leveraged or troubled or potentially troubled, and may be, or have recently been, involved in major strategic actions, restructurings, bankruptcy, reorganization or liquidation. Distressed securities are considered risky investments, although they may also offer the potential for correspondingly high returns.
Such issuers' securities may be considered speculative, and the ability of such issuers to pay their debts on schedule could be affected by adverse interest rate movements, changes in the general economic climate, economic factors affecting a particular industry or specific developments within such issuers.
EQUITY-LINKED WARRANTS—Equity-linked warrants provide a way for investors to access markets where entry is difficult and time consuming due to regulation. Typically, a broker issues warrants to an investor and then purchases shares in the local market and issues a call warrant hedged on the underlying holding. If the investor exercises his call and closes his position, the shares are sold and the warrant is redeemed with the proceeds.
Each warrant represents one share of the underlying stock. Therefore, the price, performance and liquidity of the warrant are all directly linked to the underlying stock. The warrant can be redeemed for 100% of the value of the underlying stock (less transaction costs). As American-style warrants, they can be exercised at any time. The warrants are U.S. dollar-denominated and priced daily on several international stock exchanges.
There are risks associated with equity-linked warrants. The investor will bear the full counterparty risk to the issuing broker; however, an adviser may select to mitigate this risk by only purchasing from issuers with high credit ratings. Equity-linked warrants also have a longer settlement period because they go through the
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same registration process as the underlying shares (about three weeks) and during this time the shares cannot be sold. There is currently no active trading market for equity-linked warrants. Certain issuers of such warrants may be deemed to be "investment companies" as defined in the 1940 Act.
As a result, a Fund's investment in such warrants may be limited by certain investment restrictions contained in the 1940 Act.
EQUITY SECURITIES—Equity securities represent ownership interests in a company and include common stocks, preferred stocks, warrants to acquire common stock and securities convertible into common stock.
In general, investments in equity securities are subject to market risks, which may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. Fluctuations in the value of equity securities in which a Fund invests will cause the NAV of the Fund to fluctuate. The Funds purchase and sell equity securities in various ways, including through recognized foreign exchanges, registered exchanges in the United States or the OTC market. Equity securities are described in more detail below:
Common Stock. Common stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock.
Preferred Stock. Preferred stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock. A Fund may purchase preferred stock of all ratings as well as unrated stock.
Warrants. Warrants are instruments that entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss. Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
Convertible Securities. Convertible securities are bonds, debentures, notes, preferred stocks or other securities that may be converted or exchanged by the holder or by the issuer into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by a Fund is called for redemption or conversion, the Fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields that are higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at a price above their "conversion value," which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be
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interest rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk and are often lower-quality securities. The Funds that invest in convertible securities may purchase convertible securities of all ratings, as well as unrated securities.
Small and Medium Capitalization Issuers. Investing in equity securities of small and medium capitalization companies often involves greater risk than is customarily associated with investments in larger capitalization companies. This increased risk may be due to the greater business risks of smaller size, limited markets and financial resources, narrow product lines and the frequent lack of depth of management associated with small and medium capitalization companies. The securities of small and medium capitalization companies typically have lower trading volumes than large capitalization companies and consequently are often less liquid. Such securities may also have less market stability and may be subject to more severe, abrupt or erratic market movements than securities of larger, more established companies or the market averages in general.
Initial Public Offerings ("IPOs"). Certain Funds may purchase securities of companies that are offered pursuant to an IPO. An IPO is a company's first offering of stock to the public in the primary market, typically to raise additional capital. Like all equity securities, IPO securities are subject to market risk and liquidity risk, but those risks may be heightened for IPO securities. The market value of IPO securities may fluctuate considerably due to factors such as the absence of a prior public market for the security, unseasoned trading of the security, the small number of shares available for trading, limited information about the issuer, and aberrational trading activity and market interest surrounding the IPO. There is also the possibility of losses resulting from the difference between the issue price and potential diminished value of the security once it is traded in the secondary market. In addition, the purchase of IPO securities may involve high transaction costs. The Funds' investment in IPO securities may have a significant positive or negative impact on the Funds' performance and may result in significant capital gains.
EXCHANGE-TRADED PRODUCTS—Certain Funds may directly purchase shares of or interests in ETPs (including ETFs, ETNs and exchange-traded commodity pools). A Fund will only invest in ETPs to the extent consistent with its investment objectives, policies, strategies and limitations.
The risks of owning interests of ETPs generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying securities or other instruments that the ETP is designed to track. The shares of certain ETPs may trade at a premium or discount to their intrinsic value (i.e., the market value may differ from the NAV of an ETP's shares). For example, supply and demand for shares of an ETF or market disruptions may cause the market price of the ETF to deviate from the value of the ETF's investments, which may be emphasized in less liquid markets. The value of an ETN may also differ from the valuation of its reference market or instrument due to changes in the issuer's credit rating. By investing in an ETP, a Fund indirectly bears the proportionate share of any fees and expenses of the ETP in addition to the fees and expenses that the Fund and its shareholders directly bear in connection with the Fund's operations. Because certain ETPs may have a significant portion of their assets exposed directly or indirectly to commodities or commodity-linked instruments, developments affecting commodities may have a disproportionate impact on such ETPs and may subject the ETPs to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities.
ETFs. ETFs are investment companies that are registered under the 1940 Act as open-end funds or unit investment trusts. ETFs are actively traded on national securities exchanges and are generally based on specific domestic and foreign market indexes. An "index-based ETF" seeks to track the performance of an index by holding in its portfolio either the contents of the index or a representative sample of the securities in the index. Because ETFs are based on an underlying basket of stocks or an index, they are subject to the same market fluctuations as these types of securities in volatile market swings.
ETNs. ETNs are generally senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt securities issued by a sponsor. ETNs are designed to provide investors with a different way to gain exposure to the returns of market benchmarks, particularly those in the natural resource and commodity markets. An ETN's returns are based on the performance of a market index minus fees and expenses. ETNs are not equity investments or investment companies, but they do share some characteristics with those investment vehicles. As with equities, ETNs can be shorted, and as with ETFs and index funds, ETNs are designed to track the total return performance of a
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benchmark index. Like ETFs, ETNs are traded on an exchange and can be bought and sold on the listed exchange. However, unlike an ETF, an ETN can be held until the ETN's maturity, at which time the issuer will pay a return linked to the performance of the market index to which the ETN is linked minus certain fees. Unlike regular bonds, ETNs do not make periodic interest payments, and principal is not protected. The market value of an ETN is determined by supply and demand, the current performance of the market index to which the ETN is linked and the credit rating of the ETN issuer.
The market value of ETN shares may differ from their NAV. This difference in price may be due to the fact that the supply and demand in the market for ETN shares at any point in time is not always identical to the supply and demand in the market for the securities/commodities/instruments underlying the index that the ETN seeks to track. The value of an ETN may also change due to a change in the issuer's credit rating. As a result, there may be times when an ETN share trades at a premium or discount to its NAV.
Certain ETNs may not produce qualifying income for purposes of the Qualifying Income Test (as defined below in the section titled "Taxes"), which must be met in order for a Fund to maintain its status as regulated investment company (a "RIC") under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Internal Revenue Code"). The Funds intend to monitor such investments to ensure that any non-qualifying income does not exceed permissible limits, but the Funds may not be able to accurately predict the non-qualifying income from these investments (see more information in the "Taxes" section of this SAI).
Exchange-Traded Commodity Pools. Exchange-traded commodity pools are similar to ETFs in some ways, but are not structured as registered investment companies. Shares of exchange-traded commodity pools trade on an exchange and are registered under the 1933 Act. Unlike mutual funds, exchange-traded commodity pools generally will not distribute dividends to shareholders. There is a risk that the changes in the price of an exchange-traded commodity pool's shares on the exchange will not closely track the changes in the price of the underlying commodity or index that the pool is designed to track. This could happen if the price of shares does not correlate closely with the pool's NAV, the changes in the pool's NAV do not correlate closely with the changes in the price of the pool's benchmark, or the changes in the benchmark do not correlate closely with the changes in the cash or spot price of the commodity that the benchmark is designed to track. Exchange-traded commodity pools are often used as a means of investing indirectly in a particular commodity or group of commodities, and there are risks involved in such investments. Commodity prices are inherently volatile, and the market value of a commodity may be influenced by many unpredictable factors which interrelate in complex ways, such that the effect of one factor may offset or enhance the effect of another. Supply and demand for certain commodities tends to be particularly concentrated. Commodity markets are subject to temporary distortions or other disruptions due to various factors, including periodic illiquidity in the markets for certain positions, the participation of speculators, and government regulation and intervention. In addition, U.S. futures exchanges and some foreign exchanges have regulations that limit the amount of fluctuation in some futures contract prices that may occur during a single business day. These and other risks and hazards that are inherent in a commodity or group of commodities may cause the price of that commodity or group of commodities to fluctuate widely, which will, in turn, affect the price of the exchange-traded commodity pool that invests in that commodity or group of commodities. The regulation of commodity interest transactions in the United States is a rapidly changing area of law and is subject to ongoing modification by governmental and judicial action. Considerable regulatory attention has been focused on non-traditional investment pools that are publicly distributed in the United States. There is a possibility of future regulatory changes within the United States altering, perhaps to a material extent, the nature of an investment in exchange-traded commodity pools or the ability of an exchange-traded commodity pool to continue to implement its investment strategy. In addition, various national governments outside of the United States have expressed concern regarding the disruptive effects of speculative trading in the commodities markets and the need to regulate the derivatives markets in general. The effect of any future regulatory change on exchange-traded commodity pools is impossible to predict, but could be substantial and adverse.
Exchange-traded commodity pools generally do not produce qualifying income for purposes of the Qualifying Income Test (as defined below in the section titled "Taxes"), which must be met in order for a Fund to maintain its status as a RIC under the Internal Revenue Code. The Funds intend to monitor such investments
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to ensure that any non-qualifying income does not exceed permissible limits, but the Funds may not be able to accurately predict the non-qualifying income from these investments (see more information in the "Taxes" section of this SAI).
FIXED INCOME SECURITIES—Fixed income securities consist primarily of debt obligations issued by governments, corporations, municipalities and other borrowers, but may also include structured securities that provide for participation interests in debt obligations. The market value of the fixed income securities in which a Fund invests will change in response to interest rate changes and other factors. During periods of falling interest rates, the value of outstanding fixed income securities generally rises. Conversely, during periods of rising interest rates, the value of such securities generally declines. Moreover, while securities with longer maturities tend to produce higher yields, the prices of longer maturity securities are also subject to greater market fluctuations as a result of changes in interest rates. Changes by recognized agencies in the rating of any fixed income security and in the ability of an issuer to make payments of interest and principal also affect the value of these investments. Changes in the value of these securities will not necessarily affect cash income derived from these securities, but will affect a Fund's NAV.
Securities held by a Fund that are guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities guarantee only the payment of principal and interest and do not guarantee the yield or value of the securities or the yield or value of the Fund's shares.
There is a risk that the current interest rate on floating and variable rate instruments may not accurately reflect existing market interest rates.
Additional information regarding fixed income securities is described below:
Duration. Duration is a measure of the expected life of a fixed income security that is used to determine the sensitivity of a security's price to changes in interest rates. For example, if a fixed income security has a five-year duration, it will decrease in value by approximately 5% if interest rates rise 1% and increase in value by approximately 5% if interest rates fall 1%. Fixed income instruments with longer duration typically have higher risk and higher volatility. Longer-term fixed income securities in which a portfolio may invest are more volatile than shorter-term fixed income securities. A portfolio with a longer average portfolio duration is typically more sensitive to changes in interest rates than a portfolio with a shorter average portfolio duration.
Investment Grade Fixed Income Securities. Fixed income securities are considered investment grade if they are rated in one of the four highest rating categories by a NRSRO, or, if not rated, are determined to be of comparable quality by SIMC, as applicable. See "Appendix A-Description of Ratings" for a description of the bond rating categories of several NRSROs. Ratings of each NRSRO represent its opinion of the safety of principal and interest payments, not the market risk, of bonds and other fixed income securities it undertakes to rate at the time of issuance. Ratings are not absolute standards of quality and may not reflect changes in an issuer's creditworthiness. Securities rated Baa3 or higher by Moody's or BBB- or higher by S&P are considered by those rating agencies to be "investment grade" securities, although securities rated Baa3 or BBB- lack outstanding investment characteristics and have speculative characteristics. Although issuers of bonds rated BBB by S&P are considered to have adequate capacity to meet their financial commitments, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity to pay interest and principal for debt in this category than debt in higher-rated categories. In the event a security owned by a Fund is downgraded below investment grade, SIMC, as applicable, will review the situation and take appropriate action with regard to the security.
Lower-Rated Securities. Lower-rated bonds or non-investment grade bonds are commonly referred to as "junk bonds" or high yield/high-risk securities. Lower-rated securities are defined as securities rated below the fourth highest rating category by an NRSRO. Such obligations are speculative and may be in default.
Fixed income securities are subject to the risk of an issuer's ability to meet principal and interest payments on the obligation (known as "credit risk") and may also be subject to price volatility due to such factors as interest rate sensitivity, market perception of the creditworthiness of the issuer and general market liquidity (known as "market risk"). Lower-rated or unrated (i.e., high yield) securities are more likely to react to
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developments affecting market and credit risk than are more highly rated securities, which primarily react to movements in the general level of interest rates. Yields and market values of high yield securities will fluctuate over time, reflecting not only changing interest rates but also the market's perception of credit quality and the outlook for economic growth. When economic conditions appear to be deteriorating, medium- to lower-rated securities may decline in value due to heightened concern over credit quality, regardless of prevailing interest rates.
Investors should carefully consider the relative risks of investing in high yield securities and understand that such securities are not generally meant for short-term investing.
Adverse economic developments can disrupt the market for high yield securities and severely affect the ability of issuers, especially highly leveraged issuers, to service their debt obligations or to repay their obligations upon maturity, which may lead to a higher incidence of default on such securities. In addition, the secondary market for high yield securities may not be as liquid as the secondary market for more highly rated securities. As a result, it may be more difficult for a Fund to sell these securities, or a Fund may only be able to sell the securities at prices lower than if such securities were highly liquid. Furthermore, a Fund may experience difficulty in valuing certain high yield securities at certain times. Under these circumstances, prices realized upon the sale of such lower-rated or unrated securities may be less than the prices used in calculating the Fund's NAV. Prices for high yield securities may also be affected by legislative and regulatory developments.
Lower-rated or unrated fixed income obligations also present risks based on payment expectations. If an issuer calls the obligations for redemption, a Fund may have to replace the security with a lower-yielding security, resulting in a decreased return for investors. If a Fund experiences unexpected net redemptions, it may be forced to sell its higher-rated securities, resulting in a decline in the overall credit quality of the Fund's investment portfolio and increasing the Fund's exposure to the risks of high yield securities.
A Fund may invest in securities rated as low as "C" by Moody's or "D" by S&P and may invest in unrated securities that are of comparable quality as "junk bonds."
Sensitivity to Interest Rate and Economic Changes. Lower-rated bonds are very sensitive to adverse economic changes and corporate developments. During an economic downturn, highly leveraged issuers may experience financial stress that would adversely affect their ability to service their principal and interest payment obligations, to meet projected business goals and to obtain additional financing. If the issuer of a bond defaulted on its obligations to pay interest or principal or entered into bankruptcy proceedings, a Fund may incur losses or expenses in seeking recovery of amounts owed to it. In addition, periods of economic uncertainty and change can be expected to result in increased volatility of market prices of high-yield, high-risk bonds and a Fund's NAV.
Payment Expectations. High-yield, high-risk bonds may contain redemption or call provisions. If an issuer exercised these provisions in a declining interest rate market, a Fund would have to replace the security with a lower-yielding security, resulting in a decreased return for investors. Conversely, a high-yield, high-risk bond's value may decrease in a rising interest rate market, as will the value of a Fund's assets. If a Fund experiences significant unexpected net redemptions, it may be forced to sell high-yield, high-risk bonds without regard to their investment merits, thereby decreasing the asset base upon which expenses can be spread and possibly reducing the Fund's rate of return.
Liquidity and Valuation. There may be little trading in the secondary market for particular bonds, which may adversely affect a Fund's ability to value accurately or dispose of such bonds. Adverse publicity and investor perception, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may decrease the value and liquidity of high-yield, high-risk bonds, especially in a thin market.
Taxes. A Fund may purchase debt securities (such as zero coupon or pay-in-kind securities) that contain original issue discount. Original issue discount that accretes in a taxable year is treated as earned by a Fund and is therefore subject to the distribution requirements applicable to RICs under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code. Because the original issue discount earned by a Fund in a taxable year may not be represented by cash income, the Fund may have to dispose of other securities and use the proceeds to make distributions to shareholders.
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FUTURES CONTRACTS AND OPTIONS ON FUTURES CONTRACTS—Futures contracts (also called "futures") provide for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specified amount of a specific security at a specified future time and at a specified price. An option on a futures contract gives the purchaser the right, in exchange for a premium, to assume a position in a futures contract at a specified exercise price during the term of the option. An index futures contract is a bilateral agreement pursuant to which two parties agree to take or make delivery of an amount of cash equal to a specified dollar amount times the difference between the index value at the close of trading of the contract and the price at which the futures contract is originally struck. No physical delivery of the securities comprising the index is made, and generally contracts are closed out prior to the expiration date of the contract.
A Fund may also invest in Treasury futures, interest rate futures, interest rate swaps, and interest rate swap futures. A Treasury futures contract involves an obligation to purchase or sell Treasury securities at a future date at a price set at the time of the contract. The sale of a Treasury futures contract creates an obligation by the Fund to deliver the amount of certain types of Treasury securities called for in the contract at a specified future time for a specified price. A purchase of a Treasury futures contract creates an obligation by the Fund to take delivery of an amount of securities at a specified future time at a specific price. Interest rate futures can be sold as an offset against the effect of expected interest rate increases and purchased as an offset against the effect of expected interest rate declines. Interest rate swaps are an agreement between two parties where one stream of future interest rate payments is exchanged for another based on a specified principal amount. Interest rate swaps often exchange a fixed payment for a floating payment that is linked to a particular interest rate. Interest rate swap futures are instruments that provide a way to gain swap exposure and the structure features of a futures contract in a single instrument. Swap futures are futures contracts on interest rate swaps that enable purchasers to cash settle at a future date at the price determined by the benchmark rate at the end of a fixed period.
A Fund will reduce the risk that it will be unable to close out a futures contract by only entering into futures contracts that are traded on national futures exchanges regulated by the CFTC (generally, futures must be traded on such exchanges). Subject to their permitted investment strategies, certain Funds may use futures contracts and related options for either hedging purposes or risk management purposes, or to gain exposure to currencies, as well as to enhance the Fund's returns. Instances in which a Fund may use futures contracts and related options for risk management purposes include: (i) attempting to offset changes in the value of securities held or expected to be acquired or be disposed of; (ii) attempting to minimize fluctuations in foreign currencies; (iii) attempting to gain exposure to a particular market, index or instrument; or (iv) other risk management purposes. A Fund may use futures contracts for cash equitization purposes, which allows a Fund to invest consistent with its investment strategy while managing daily cash flows, including significant client inflows and outflows.
There are significant risks associated with a Fund's use of futures contracts and options on futures contracts, including: (i) the success of a hedging strategy may depend on an adviser's ability to predict movements in the prices of individual securities, fluctuations in markets and movements in interest rates; (ii) there may be an imperfect or no correlation between the changes in market value of the securities held by a Fund and the prices of futures and options on futures; (iii) there may not be a liquid secondary market for a futures contract or option; (iv) trading restrictions or limitations may be imposed by an exchange; and (v) government regulations or exchange requirements may restrict trading in futures contracts and options on futures contracts. In addition, some strategies reduce a Fund's exposure to price fluctuations, while others tend to increase its market exposure.
ILLIQUID SECURITIES—Illiquid securities are investments that cannot be sold or disposed of in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment. If, subsequent to purchase, a security held by a Fund becomes illiquid, the Fund may continue to hold the security. Because of their illiquid nature, illiquid securities must be priced at fair value as determined in good faith pursuant to procedures approved by the Board. Despite such good faith efforts to determine fair value prices, a Fund's illiquid securities are subject to the risk that the security's fair value price may differ from the actual price that the Fund may ultimately realize upon its sale or disposition. Difficulty in selling illiquid securities may result in a loss or may be costly to a Fund. Under the supervision of the Board, SIMC determines the liquidity
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of a Fund's investments. In determining the liquidity of a Fund's investments, SIMC may consider various factors, including: (i) the frequency and volume of trades and quotations; (ii) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace; (iii) dealer undertakings to make a market; and (iv) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades (including any demand, put or tender features, the mechanics and other requirements for transfer, any letters of credit or other credit enhancement features, any ratings, the number of holders, the method of soliciting offers, the time required to dispose of the security, and the ability to assign or offset the rights and obligations of the security).
INTERFUND LENDING AND BORROWING ARRANGEMENTS—The SEC has granted an exemption that permits the Funds to participate in the Program with the SEI Funds. The Program allows the SEI Funds to lend money to and borrow money from each other for temporary or emergency purposes. Participation in the Program is voluntary for both borrowing and lending funds. Interfund loans may be made only when the rate of interest to be charged is more favorable to the lending fund than the Repo Rate and more favorable to the borrowing fund than the Bank Loan Rate. The Bank Loan Rate will be determined using a formula approved by the SEI Funds' Board of Trustees. The interest rate imposed on interfund loans is the average of the Repo Rate and the Bank Loan Rate.
All interfund loans and borrowings must comply with the conditions set forth in the exemption, which are designed to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all participating funds. Each Fund's participation in the Program must be consistent with its investment policies and limitations and is subject to certain percentage limitations. SIMC administers the Program according to procedures approved by the SEI Funds' Board of Trustees. In addition, the Program is subject to oversight and periodic review by the SEI Funds' Board of Trustees.
INVESTMENT COMPANIES—Securities of other investment companies, including shares of closed-end investment companies, unit investment trusts, open-end investment companies and REITs, represent interests in professionally managed portfolios that may invest in various types of instruments. Investing in other investment companies involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the underlying instruments, but may involve additional expenses at the investment company-level, such as portfolio management fees and operating expenses. When a Fund invests in an affiliated or unaffiliated investment company, it will bear a pro rata portion of the investment company's expenses in addition to directly bearing the expenses associated with its own operations. Certain types of investment companies, such as closed-end investment companies, issue a fixed number of shares that trade on a stock exchange or over-the-counter at a premium or a discount to their NAV. Others are continuously offered at NAV, but may also be traded in the secondary market at a premium or discount to their NAV.
Because of restrictions on direct investment by U.S. entities in certain countries, investment in other investment companies may be the most practical or the only manner in which an international and global fund can invest in the securities markets of those countries. A Fund also may be subject to adverse tax consequences to the extent it invests in the stock of a foreign issuer that constitutes a "passive foreign investment company."
Generally, the federal securities laws limit the extent to which investment companies can invest in securities of other investment companies, subject to certain statutory, regulatory and other exceptions. For example, an investment company is generally prohibited under Section 12(d)(1)(A) of the 1940 Act from acquiring the securities of another investment company if, as a result of such acquisition: (i) the acquiring investment company would own more than 3% of the total voting stock of the other company; (ii) securities issued by any one investment company represent more than 5% of the acquiring investment company's total assets; or (iii) securities (other than treasury stock) issued by all investment companies represent more than 10% of the total assets of the acquiring investment company, subject to certain statutory, regulatory or other exceptions. Pursuant to Rule 12d1-1 under the 1940 Act and the conditions set forth therein, the Funds may invest in one or more affiliated or unaffiliated investment companies that operate in compliance with Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act in excess of the limits of Section 12(d)(1)(A). A Fund may invest in investment companies to the extent permitted by any rule or regulation of the SEC or any order or interpretation thereunder. A Fund may invest in Rule 2a-7 compliant investment companies for cash management purposes and to serve as collateral for derivatives positions.
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In addition, Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act permits an investment company to invest in other investment companies beyond the statutory limits of Section 12(d)(1)(A), subject to certain conditions. Among other conditions, Rule 12d1-4 prohibits a fund from acquiring control of another investment company (other than an investment company in the same group of investment companies), including by acquiring more than 25% of its voting securities. In addition, Rule 12d1-4 imposes certain voting requirements when a fund's ownership of another investment company exceeds particular thresholds. If shares of a fund are acquired by another investment company, the "acquired" fund may not purchase or otherwise acquire the securities of an investment company or private fund if immediately after such purchase or acquisition, the securities of investment companies and private funds owned by that acquired fund have an aggregate value in excess of 10% of the value of the total assets of the fund, subject to certain exceptions. These restrictions may limit the Fund's ability to invest in other investment companies to the extent desired. In addition, other unaffiliated investment companies may impose other investment limitations or redemption restrictions which may also limit the Fund's flexibility with respect to making investments in those unaffiliated investment companies.
Exchange-Traded Funds. ETFs are investment companies that are registered under the 1940 Act as open-end funds or unit investment trusts. ETFs are actively traded on national securities exchanges and are generally based on specific domestic and foreign market indexes. An index-based ETF seeks to track the performance of an index by holding in its portfolio either the contents of the index or a representative sample of the securities in the index. Because ETFs are based on an underlying basket of stocks or an index, they are subject to the same market fluctuations as these types of securities in volatile market swings.
Leveraged ETFs contain all of the risks that non-leveraged ETFs present. Additionally, to the extent a Fund invests in ETFs that achieve leveraged exposure to their underlying indexes through the use of derivative instruments, the Fund will indirectly be subject to leverage risk and other risks associated with derivatives. The more these ETFs invest in derivative instruments that give rise to leverage, the more this leverage will magnify any losses on those investments. Because leverage tends to exaggerate the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of an ETF's portfolio securities or other investments, leverage will cause the value of an ETF's shares to be more volatile than if the ETF did not use leverage. A leveraged ETF will engage in transactions and purchase instruments that give rise to forms of leverage, including, among others, the use of reverse repurchase agreements and other borrowings, the investment of collateral from loans of portfolio securities, the use of when issued, delayed-delivery or forward commitment transactions or short sales. The use of leverage may also cause a leveraged ETF to liquidate portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so in order to satisfy its obligations or to meet segregation requirements. Certain types of leveraging transactions, such as short sales that are not "against the box," could theoretically be subject to unlimited losses in cases where a leveraged ETF, for any reason, is unable to close out the transaction. In addition, to the extent a leveraged ETF borrows money, interest costs on such borrowed money may not be recovered by any appreciation of the securities purchased with the borrowed funds and could exceed the ETF's investment income, resulting in greater losses. Such ETFs often "reset" daily, meaning that they are designed to achieve their stated objectives on a daily basis. Due to the effect of compounding, their performance over longer periods of time can differ significantly from the performance (or inverse of the performance) of their underlying index or benchmark during the same period of time, which may be enhanced during the periods of increased market volatility. Consequently, leveraged ETFs may not be suitable as long-term investments.
Leveraged inverse ETFs contain all of the risks that regular ETFs present. Additionally, to the extent a Fund invests in ETFs that seek to provide investment results that match a negative multiple of the performance of an underlying index, the Fund will indirectly be subject to the risk that the performance of such ETF will fall as the performance of that ETF's benchmark rises-a result that is the opposite from traditional mutual funds. Leveraged inverse ETFs contain all of the risks that regular ETFs present, but also pose all of the risks associated with other leveraged ETFs as well as other inverse ETFs. These investment vehicles may be extremely volatile and can expose an investing Fund to losses.
An investment company may invest in ETFs in excess of the limitations prescribed by Section 12(d)(1)(A), provided that such investment company otherwise complies with certain conditions imposed through Rule 12d1-4. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an investment company that is an acquired fund of a registered
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investment company in reliance on Section 12(d)(1)(G) of the 1940 Act, generally will not be permitted to invest in shares of an ETF beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1)(A), other than in the limited circumstances set forth in Rule 12d1-4. Neither such ETFs nor their investment advisers make any representations regarding the advisability of investing in the ETFs.
Certain ETFs that in general do not register as investment companies under the 1940 Act may not produce qualifying income for purposes of the "Qualifying Income Test" or the shares of such ETFs may not be considered "securities" for purposes of the "Asset Test" (as defined below under the heading "Taxes"), which must be met in order for a Fund to maintain its status as a RIC under the Internal Revenue Code. If one or more ETFs generate more non-qualifying income for purposes of the Qualifying Income Test or if a Fund is not considered to be holding sufficient amounts of "securities" than the advisers expect, it could cause a Fund to inadvertently fail the Qualifying Income Test or Asset Test, thereby causing the Fund to inadvertently fail to qualify as a RIC under the Internal Revenue Code, unless certain relief provisions (described in more detail under the heading "Taxes") are available to the Fund.
MONEY MARKET SECURITIES—Money market securities include: (i) short-term U.S. Government securities; (ii) custodial receipts evidencing separately traded interest and principal components of securities issued by the U.S. Treasury; (iii) commercial paper determined by an adviser to be of the highest short-term credit quality at the time of purchase; (iv) short-term bank obligations (certificates of deposit, time deposits and bankers' acceptances) of U.S. commercial banks with assets of at least $1 billion as of the end of their most recent fiscal year; and (v) repurchase agreements involving such securities. For a description of ratings, see Appendix A to this SAI.
OBLIGATIONS OF DOMESTIC BANKS, FOREIGN BANKS AND FOREIGN BRANCHES OF U.S. BANKS—Investments in bank obligations include obligations of domestic branches of foreign banks and foreign branches of domestic banks. Such investments in domestic branches of foreign banks and foreign branches of domestic banks may involve risks that are different from investments in securities of domestic branches of U.S. banks. These risks may include future unfavorable political and economic developments, possible withholding taxes on interest income, seizure or nationalization of foreign deposits, currency controls, interest limitations, or other governmental restrictions that might affect the payment of principal or interest on the securities held by a Fund. Additionally, these institutions may be subject to less stringent reserve requirements and to different accounting, auditing, reporting and recordkeeping requirements than those applicable to domestic branches of U.S. banks. Bank obligations include the following:
Bankers' Acceptances. Bankers' acceptances are bills of exchange or time drafts drawn on and accepted by a commercial bank. Corporations use bankers' acceptances to finance the shipment and storage of goods and to furnish dollar exchange. Maturities are generally six months or less.
Bank Notes. Bank notes are notes used to represent debt obligations issued by banks in large denominations.
Certificates of Deposit. Certificates of deposit are interest-bearing instruments with a specific maturity. They are issued by banks and savings and loan institutions in exchange for the deposit of funds and can normally be traded in the secondary market prior to maturity. Certificates of deposit with penalties for early withdrawal will be considered illiquid. Additional information about illiquid securities is provided under the section "Illiquid Securities" above.
Time Deposits. Time deposits are non-negotiable receipts issued by a bank in exchange for the deposit of funds. Like a certificate of deposit, a time deposit earns a specified rate of interest over a definite period of time; however, it cannot be traded in the secondary market. Time deposits with a withdrawal penalty or that mature in more than seven days are considered to be illiquid. Additional information about illiquid securities is provided under the section "Illiquid Securities" above.
OPTIONS—A Fund may purchase and write put and call options on indexes and enter into related closing transactions. A put option on a security gives the purchaser of the option the right to sell, and the writer of the option the obligation to buy, the underlying security at any time during the option period, or for certain types
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of options, at the conclusion of the option period or only at certain times during the option period. A call option on a security gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy, and the writer of the option the obligation to sell, the underlying security at any time during the option period, or for certain types of options, at the conclusion of the option period or only at certain times during the option period. The premium paid to the writer is the consideration for undertaking the obligations under the option contract.
A Fund may purchase and write put and call options on foreign currencies (traded on U.S. and foreign exchanges or OTC markets) to manage its exposure to exchange rates.
Put and call options on indexes are similar to options on securities except that options on an index give the holder the right to receive, upon exercise of the option, an amount of cash if the closing level of the underlying index is greater than (or less than, in the case of puts) the exercise price of the option. This amount of cash is equal to the difference between the closing price of the index and the exercise price of the option, expressed in dollars multiplied by a specified number. Thus, unlike options on individual securities, all settlements are in cash, and gain or loss depends on price movements in the particular market represented by the index generally rather than the price movements in individual securities. Options on indexes may, depending on circumstances, involve greater risk than options on securities. Because stock index options are settled in cash, when a Fund writes a call on an index it may not be able to provide in advance for its potential settlement obligations by acquiring and holding the underlying securities.
Each Fund may trade put and call options on securities, securities indexes and currencies, as an adviser determines is appropriate in seeking to achieve the Fund's investment objective, unless otherwise restricted by the Fund's investment limitations.
The initial purchase (sale) of an option contract is an "opening transaction." In order to close out an option position, a Fund may enter into a "closing transaction," which is simply the sale (purchase) of an option contract on the same security with the same exercise price and expiration date as the option contract originally opened. If a Fund is unable to effect a closing purchase transaction with respect to an option it has written, it will not be able to sell the underlying security until the option expires or the Fund delivers the security upon exercise.
A Fund may purchase put and call options on securities for any lawful purpose, including to protect against a decline in the market value of the securities in its portfolio or to anticipate an increase in the market value of securities that the Fund may seek to purchase in the future. A Fund purchasing put and call options pays a premium for such options. If price movements in the underlying securities are such that exercise of the options would not be profitable for the Fund, loss of the premium paid may be offset by an increase in the value of the Fund's securities or by a decrease in the cost of the acquisition of securities by the Fund.
A Fund may write (i.e., sell) "covered" call options on securities for any lawful purpose, including as a means of increasing the yield on its assets and as a means of providing limited protection against decreases in its market value. Certain Funds may engage in a covered call option writing (selling) program in an attempt to generate additional income or provide a partial hedge to another position of the Fund. A call option is "covered" if the Fund either owns the underlying instrument or has an absolute and immediate right (such as a call with the same or a later expiration date) to acquire that instrument. The underlying instruments of such covered call options may consist of individual equity securities, pools of equity securities, ETFs or indexes.
The writing of covered call options is a more conservative investment technique than writing of naked or uncovered options, but capable of enhancing the Fund's total return. When a Fund writes a covered call option, it profits from the premium paid by the buyer but gives up the opportunity to profit from an increase in the value of the underlying security above the exercise price. At the same time, the Fund retains the risk of loss from a decline in the value of the underlying security during the option period. Although the Fund may terminate its obligation by executing a closing purchase transaction, the cost of effecting such a transaction may be greater than the premium received upon its sale, resulting in a loss to the Fund. If such an option expires unexercised, the Fund realizes a gain equal to the premium received. Such a gain may be offset or exceeded by a decline in the market value of the underlying security during the option period. If an option is exercised, the exercise price, the premium received and the market value of the underlying security determine the gain or loss realized by the Fund.
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When a Fund writes an option, if the underlying securities do not increase or decrease, as applicable, to a price level that would make the exercise of the option profitable to the holder thereof, the option will generally expire without being exercised and the Fund will realize as profit the premium received for such option. When a call option of which a Fund is the writer is exercised, the Fund will be required to sell the underlying securities to the option holder at the strike price and will not participate in any increase in the price of such securities above the strike price. When a put option of which a Fund is the writer is exercised, the Fund will be required to purchase the underlying securities at a price in excess of the market value of such securities.
A Fund may purchase and write options on an exchange or OTC. OTC options differ from exchange-traded options in several respects. They are transacted directly with dealers and not with a clearing corporation or futures commission merchant, and therefore entail the risk of non-performance by the dealer. OTC options are available for a greater variety of securities and for a wider range of expiration dates and exercise prices than are available for exchange-traded options. Because OTC options are not traded on an exchange, pricing is normally done by reference to information from a market maker. It is the SEC's position that OTC options are generally illiquid. The market value of an option generally reflects the market price of an underlying security. Other principal factors affecting market value include supply and demand, interest rates, the pricing volatility of the underlying security and the time remaining until the expiration date.
Risks. Risks associated with options transactions include: (i) the success of a hedging strategy may depend on an ability to predict movements in the prices of individual securities, fluctuations in markets and movements in interest rates; (ii) there may be an imperfect correlation between the movement in prices of options and the securities underlying them; (iii) there may not be a liquid secondary market for options; and (iv) though a Fund will receive a premium when it writes covered call options, it may not participate fully in a rise in the market value of the underlying security.
PARTICIPATION NOTES—P-Notes are participation interest notes that are issued by banks or broker-dealers and are designed to offer a return linked to a particular underlying equity, debt, currency or market. When purchasing a P-Note, the posting of margin is not required because the full cost of the P-Note (plus commission) is paid at the time of purchase. When the P-Note matures, the issuer will pay to, or receive from, the purchaser the difference between the minimal value of the underlying instrument at the time of purchase and that instrument's value at maturity. Investments in P-Notes involve the same risks associated with a direct investment in the underlying foreign companies or foreign securities markets that they seek to replicate.
In addition, there can be no assurance that the trading price of P-Notes will equal the underlying value of the foreign companies or foreign securities markets that they seek to replicate. The holder of a P-Note that is linked to a particular underlying security is entitled to receive any dividends paid in connection with an underlying security or instrument. However, the holder of a P-Note does not receive voting rights as it would if it directly owned the underlying security or instrument. P-Notes are generally traded OTC. P-Notes constitute general unsecured contractual obligations of the banks or broker-dealers that issue them and the counterparty. There is also counterparty risk associated with these investments because the Fund is relying on the creditworthiness of such counterparty and has no rights under a P-Note against the issuer of the underlying security. In addition, a Fund will incur transaction costs as a result of investment in P-Notes.
PRIVATIZATIONS—Privatizations are foreign government programs for selling all or part of the interests in government owned or controlled enterprises. The ability of a U.S. entity to participate in privatizations in certain foreign countries may be limited by local law, or the terms on which a Fund may be permitted to participate may be less advantageous than those applicable for local investors. There can be no assurance that foreign governments will continue to sell their interests in companies currently owned or controlled by them or that privatization programs will be successful.
PUT TRANSACTIONS—A Fund may purchase securities at a price that would result in a yield to maturity lower than generally offered by the seller at the time of purchase when the Fund can simultaneously acquire the right to sell the securities back to the seller, the issuer or a third party (the "writer") at an agreed-upon price at any time during a stated period or on a certain date. Such a right is generally denoted as a "standby commitment" or a "put." The purpose of engaging in transactions involving puts is to maintain flexibility and liquidity to permit a Fund to meet redemptions and remain as fully invested as possible in municipal securities.
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The right to put the securities depends on the writer's ability to pay for the securities at the time the put is exercised. A Fund would limit its put transactions to institutions that an adviser believes present minimum credit risks, and an adviser would use its best efforts to initially determine and continue to monitor the financial strength of the sellers of the options by evaluating their financial statements and such other information as is available in the marketplace. It may, however, be difficult to monitor the financial strength of the writers because adequate current financial information may not be available. In the event that any writer is unable to honor a put for financial reasons, a Fund would be a general creditor (i.e., on a parity with all other unsecured creditors) of the writer. Furthermore, particular provisions of the contract between a Fund and the writer may excuse the writer from repurchasing the securities; for example, a change in the published rating of the underlying municipal securities or any similar event that has an adverse effect on the issuer's credit or a provision in the contract that the put will not be exercised except in certain special cases, such as to maintain Fund liquidity. A Fund could, however, at any time sell the underlying portfolio security in the open market or wait until the portfolio security matures, at which time it should realize the full par value of the security.
The securities purchased subject to a put may be sold to third persons at any time, even though the put is outstanding, but the put itself, unless it is an integral part of the security as originally issued, may not be marketable or otherwise assignable. Therefore, the put would have value only to that particular Fund. Sale of the securities to third parties or lapse of time with the put unexercised may terminate the right to put the securities. Prior to the expiration of any put option, a Fund could seek to negotiate terms for the extension of such an option. If such a renewal cannot be negotiated on terms satisfactory to the Fund, the Fund could, of course, sell the portfolio security. The maturity of the underlying security will generally be different from that of the put. For the purpose of determining the "maturity" of securities purchased subject to an option to put, and for the purpose of determining the dollar-weighted average maturity of a Fund including such securities, the Fund will consider "maturity" to be the first date on which it has the right to demand payment from the writer of the put (although the final maturity of the security is later than such date).
QUANTITATIVE INVESTING—A quantitative investment style generally involves the use of computers to implement a systematic or rules-based approach to selecting investments based on specific measurable factors. Due to the significant role technology plays in such strategies, they carry the risk of unintended or unrecognized issues or flaws in the design, coding, implementation or maintenance of the computer programs or technology used in the development and implementation of the quantitative strategy. These issues or flaws, which can be difficult to identify, may result in the implementation of a portfolio that is different from that which was intended, and could negatively impact investment returns. Such risks should be viewed as an inherent element of investing in an investment strategy that relies heavily upon quantitative models and computerization.
REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS ("REITs")—REITs are entities that invest primarily in commercial real estate or real estate-related loans. A U.S. REIT is not taxed on income distributed to its shareholders or unitholders if it complies with certain requirements under the Internal Revenue Code relating to its organization, ownership, assets and income, as well as with a requirement that it distribute to its shareholders or unitholders at least 90% of its taxable income for each taxable year. Generally, REITs can be classified as Equity REITs, Mortgage REITs and Hybrid REITs. Equity REITs invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive their income primarily from rents and capital gains from appreciation realized through property sales. Mortgage REITs invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgages and derive their income primarily from interest payments. Hybrid REITs combine the characteristics of both Equity and Mortgage REITs. By investing in REITs indirectly through a Fund, shareholders will bear not only the proportionate share of the expenses of the Fund, but also, indirectly, similar expenses of underlying REITs.
A Fund may be subject to certain risks associated with the direct investments of REITs. REITs may be affected by changes in the value of their underlying properties and by defaults by borrowers or tenants. Mortgage REITs may be affected by the quality of the credit extended. Furthermore, REITs are dependent on specialized management skills. Some REITs may have limited diversification and may be subject to risks inherent in financing a limited number of properties. REITs generally depend on their ability to generate cash flow to make distributions to shareholders or unitholders and may be subject to defaults by borrowers and to self-liquidations. In addition, a U.S. REIT may be affected by its failure to qualify for tax-free pass-through of income under the Internal Revenue Code or its failure to maintain exemption from registration under the 1940 Act.
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REAL ESTATE OPERATING COMPANIES ("REOCs")—REOCs are real estate companies that engage in the development, management or financing of real estate. Typically, REOCs provide services such as property management, property development, facilities management and real estate financing. REOCs are publicly traded corporations that have not elected to be taxed as REITs. The three primary reasons for such an election are: (i) availability of tax loss carryforwards, (ii) operation in non-REIT-qualifying lines of business, and (iii) the ability to retain earnings.
REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS—A repurchase agreement is an agreement in which one party sells securities to another party in return for cash, with an agreement to repurchase equivalent securities at an agreed-upon price and on an agreed-upon future date. A Fund may enter into repurchase agreements with financial institutions. The Funds follow certain procedures designed to minimize the risks inherent in such agreements. These procedures include effecting repurchase transactions only with large, well-capitalized and well-established financial institutions deemed creditworthy by SIMC. The repurchase agreements entered into by a Fund will provide that the underlying collateral at all times shall have a value at least equal to 102% of the resale price stated in the agreement at all times. SIMC monitors compliance with this requirement as well as the ongoing financial condition and creditworthiness of the counterparty.
Under all repurchase agreements entered into by a Fund, the Fund's custodian or its agent must take possession of the underlying collateral. In the event of a default or bankruptcy by a selling financial institution, a Fund will seek to liquidate such collateral. However, the exercising of a Fund's right to liquidate such collateral could involve certain costs or delays and, to the extent that proceeds from any sale upon a default of the obligation to repurchase are less than the repurchase price, the Fund could suffer a loss. A Fund may enter into "tri-party" repurchase agreements. In "tri-party" repurchase agreements, an unaffiliated third party custodian maintains accounts to hold collateral for the Fund and its counterparties and, therefore, the Fund may be subject to the credit risk of those custodians. At times, the investments of a Fund in repurchase agreements may be substantial when, in the view of SIMC, liquidity or other considerations so warrant.
RESTRICTED SECURITIES—Restricted securities are securities that may not be sold freely to the public without registration under the 1933 Act or an exemption from registration. Restricted securities, including securities eligible for re-sale under Rule 144A of the 1933 Act, that are determined to be liquid are not subject to a Fund's limitation on investing in illiquid securities. The determination of whether a restricted security is illiquid is to be made by an adviser pursuant to guidelines adopted by the Board. Under these guidelines, the particular adviser will consider the frequency of trades and quotes for the security, the number of dealers in, and potential purchasers for, the security, dealer undertakings to make a market in the security, and the nature of the security and of the marketplace trades. In purchasing such restricted securities, each adviser intends to purchase securities that are exempt from registration under Rule 144A under the 1933 Act and Section 4(a)(2) commercial paper issued in reliance on an exemption from registration under Section 4(a)(2) of the 1933 Act, including, but not limited to, Rules 506(b) or 506(c) under Regulation D.
Private Investments in Public Equity—A Fund may purchase PIPEs, which are equity securities in a private placement that are issued by issuers that have outstanding publicly-traded equity securities of the same class. Shares in PIPEs generally are not publicly registered until after a certain time period from the date the private sale is completed, which can last many months. Until the public registration process is completed, PIPEs are restricted as to resale and cannot be freely traded. Generally, such restrictions cause PIPEs to be illiquid during this restricted period. PIPEs may contain provisions that the issuer will pay specified financial penalties to the holder if the issuer does not publicly register the restricted equity securities within a specified period of time, but there is no assurance that the restricted equity securities will be publicly registered or that the registration will remain in effect.
REVERSE REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS AND SALE-BUYBACKS—Reverse repurchase agreements are transactions in which a Fund sells portfolio securities to financial institutions, such as banks and broker-dealers, and agrees to repurchase them at a mutually agreed-upon date and price that is higher than the original sale price. Reverse repurchase agreements are similar to a fully collateralized borrowing by a Fund. Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act permits a Fund to enter into reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions, notwithstanding the limitation on the issuance of senior securities in Section 18 of the 1940 Act. The Rule permits
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a Fund to elect whether to treat a reverse repurchase agreement as a borrowing, subject to the asset coverage requirements of Section 18 of the Act, or as a Derivative Transactions under Rule 18f-4. The Funds have elected to treat all reverse repurchase agreements as Derivative Transactions.
Reverse repurchase agreements involve risks. Reverse repurchase agreements are a form of leverage, and the use of reverse repurchase agreements by a Fund may increase the Fund's volatility. Reverse repurchase agreements are also subject to the risk that the other party to the reverse repurchase agreement will be unable or unwilling to complete the transaction as scheduled, which may result in losses to a Fund. Reverse repurchase agreements also involve the risk that the market value of the securities sold by a Fund may decline below the price at which it is obligated to repurchase the securities. In addition, when a Fund invests the proceeds it receives in a reverse repurchase transaction, there is a risk that those investments may decline in value. In this circumstance, the Fund could be required to sell other investments in order to meet its obligations to repurchase the securities.
In a sale-buyback transaction, a Fund sells an underlying security for settlement at a later date. A sale-buyback is similar to a reverse repurchase agreement, except that in a sale-buyback the counterparty who purchases the security is entitled to receive any principal or interest payments made on the underlying security pending settlement of the Fund's repurchase of the underlying security.
RISKS OF CYBER-ATTACKS—As with any entity that conducts business through electronic means in the modern marketplace, the Funds, and their service providers, may be susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from cyber-attacks. Cyber-attacks include, among other behaviors, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, denial of service attacks on websites, the unauthorized monitoring, release, misuse, loss, destruction or corruption of confidential information, unauthorized access to relevant systems, compromises to networks or devices that the Funds and their service providers use to service the Funds' operations, ransomware, operational disruption or failures in the physical infrastructure or operating systems that support the Funds and their service providers, or various other forms of cyber security breaches. Cyber-attacks affecting a Fund, SIMC, a Fund's distributor, custodian, transfer agent, or any other of a Fund's intermediaries or service providers may adversely impact the Fund and its shareholders, potentially resulting in, among other things, financial losses or the inability of Fund shareholders to transact business. For instance, cyber-attacks may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact the Fund's ability to calculate its NAV, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential business information, impede trading, subject the Fund to regulatory fines or financial losses and/or cause reputational damage. The Funds may also incur additional costs for cyber security risk management purposes designed to mitigate or prevent the risk of cyber-attacks. Such costs may be ongoing because threats of cyber-attacks are constantly evolving as cyber attackers become more sophisticated and their techniques become more complex. Similar types of cyber security risks are also present for issuers of securities in which a Fund may invest, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Fund's investment in such companies to lose value. There can be no assurance that the Funds, the Funds' service providers, or the issuers of the securities in which the Funds invest will not suffer losses relating to cyber-attacks or other information security breaches in the future. A Fund may also experience losses due to systems failures or inadequate system back-up or procedures at the brokerage firm(s) carrying the Fund's positions.
SECURITIES LENDING—Each Fund may lend portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial organizations that meet capital and other credit requirements or other criteria established by the Board. These loans, if and when made, may not exceed 331/3% of the total asset value of the Fund (including the loan collateral). No Fund will lend portfolio securities to its advisers or their affiliates unless it has applied for and received specific authority to do so from the SEC. Loans of portfolio securities will be fully collateralized by cash, letters of credit or U.S. Government securities, and the collateral will be maintained in an amount equal to at least 100% of the current market value of the loaned securities by marking to market daily, although the borrower will be required to deliver collateral of 102% and 105% of the market value of borrowed securities for domestic and foreign issuers, respectively. Any gain or loss in the market price of the securities loaned that might occur during the term of the loan would be for the account of the Fund.
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A Fund may pay a part of the interest earned from the investment of collateral or other fee to an unaffiliated third party for acting as the Fund's securities lending agent.
By lending its securities, a Fund may increase its income by receiving payments from the borrower that reflect the amount of any interest or any dividends payable on the loaned securities, as well as by either investing cash collateral received from the borrower in short-term instruments or obtaining a fee from the borrower when U.S. Government securities or letters of credit are used as collateral. Each Fund will adhere to the following conditions whenever its portfolio securities are loaned: (i) the Fund must receive at least 100% cash collateral or equivalent securities of the type discussed in the preceding paragraph from the borrower; (ii) the borrower must increase such collateral whenever the market value of the securities rises above the level of such collateral; (iii) the Fund must be able to terminate the loan on demand; (iv) the Fund must receive reasonable interest on the loan, as well as any dividends, interest or other distributions on the loaned securities and any increase in market value; (v) the Fund may pay only reasonable fees in connection with the loan (which may include fees payable to the lending agent, the borrower, the administrator and the custodian); and (vi) voting rights on the loaned securities may pass to the borrower, provided, however, that if a material event adversely affecting the investment occurs, the Fund must terminate the loan and regain the right to vote the securities. The Board has adopted procedures reasonably designed to ensure that the foregoing criteria will be met. Loan agreements involve certain risks in the event of default or insolvency of the borrower, including possible delays or restrictions upon the Fund's ability to recover the loaned securities or dispose of the collateral for the loan, which could give rise to loss because of adverse market action, expenses and/or delays in connection with the disposition of the underlying securities.
A Fund may invest the cash received as collateral through loan transactions in other eligible securities, which may include shares of an affiliated or unaffiliated registered money market fund or of an affiliated or unaffiliated unregistered money market fund that complies with the requirements of Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act to the extent required by the 1940 Act (see the "Investment Companies" section above). Money market funds may or may not seek to maintain a stable NAV of $1.00 per share. Investing the cash collateral subjects the Fund to market risk. A Fund remains obligated to return all collateral to the borrower under the terms of its securities lending arrangements even if the value of the investments made with the collateral has declined. Accordingly, if the value of a security in which the cash collateral has been invested declines, the loss would be borne by the Fund, and the Fund may be required to liquidate other investments in order to return collateral to the borrower at the end of a loan.
SHORT SALES—Short sales may be used by a Fund as part of its overall portfolio management strategies or to offset (hedge) a potential decline in the value of a security. A Fund may engage in short sales that are either "against the box" or "uncovered." A short sale is "against the box" if, at all times during which the short position is open, the Fund owns at least an equal amount of the securities or securities convertible into, or exchangeable without further consideration for, securities of the same issue as the securities that are sold short. A short sale against the box is a taxable transaction to a Fund with respect to the securities that are sold short. Uncovered short sales are transactions under which a Fund sells a security it does not own. To complete such a transaction, the Fund must borrow the security to make delivery to the buyer. The Fund is then obligated to replace the security borrowed by purchasing the security at the market price at the time of the replacement. The price at such time may be more or less than the price at which the security was sold by the Fund. Until the security is replaced, the Fund is required to pay the lender amounts equal to any dividends or interest that accrue during the period of the loan. To borrow the security, the Fund may also be required to pay a premium, which would increase the cost of the security sold. The proceeds of the short sale may be retained by the broker, to the extent necessary to meet margin requirements, until the short position is closed out.
When a Fund sells securities short, it may use the proceeds from the sales to purchase long positions in additional equity securities that it believes will outperform the market or its peers. This strategy may effectively result in the Fund having a leveraged investment portfolio, which results in greater potential for loss. Leverage can amplify the effects of market volatility on a Fund's share price and make a Fund's returns more volatile. This is because leverage tends to exaggerate the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of a Fund's portfolio
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securities. The use of leverage may also cause a Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so in order to satisfy its obligations.
A Fund must comply with Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act with respect to its short sale borrowings, which are considered Derivatives Transactions under the Rule. See "Derivatives" above.
STRUCTURED SECURITIES—Certain Funds may invest a portion of their assets in entities organized and operated solely for the purpose of restructuring the investment characteristics of sovereign debt obligations of emerging market issuers. This type of restructuring involves the deposit with, or purchase by, an entity, such as a corporation or trust, of specified instruments (such as commercial bank loans or Brady Bonds) and the issuance by that entity of one or more classes of securities ("Structured Securities") backed by, or representing interests in, the underlying instruments. The cash flow on the underlying instruments may be apportioned among the newly issued Structured Securities to create securities with different investment characteristics, such as varying maturities, payment priorities and interest rate provisions, and the extent of the payments made with respect to Structured Securities is dependent on the extent of the cash flow on the underlying instruments. Because Structured Securities of the type in which the Funds anticipate they will invest typically involve no credit enhancement, their credit risk will generally be equivalent to that of the underlying instruments. A Fund is permitted to invest in a class of Structured Securities that is either subordinated or unsubordinated to the right of payment of another class. Subordinated Structured Securities typically have higher yields and present greater risks than unsubordinated Structured Securities. Structured Securities are typically sold in private placement transactions, and there currently is no active trading market for Structured Securities. Certain issuers of such Structured Securities may be deemed to be "investment companies" as defined in the 1940 Act. As a result, a Fund's investment in such securities may be limited by certain investment restrictions contained in the 1940 Act.
SWAPS, CAPS, FLOORS, COLLARS AND SWAPTIONS—Swaps are centrally-cleared or OTC derivative products in which two parties agree to exchange payment streams calculated by reference to an underlying asset, such as a rate, index, instrument or securities (referred to as the "underlying") and a predetermined amount (referred to as the "notional amount"). The underlying for a swap may be an interest rate (fixed or floating), a currency exchange rate, a commodity price index, a security, group of securities or a securities index, a combination of any of these, or various other rates, securities, instruments, assets or indexes. Swap agreements generally do not involve the delivery of the underlying or principal, and a party's obligations are generally equal to only the net amount to be paid or received under the agreement based on the relative values of the positions held by each party to the swap agreement.
A great deal of flexibility is possible in the way swaps may be structured. For example, in a simple fixed-to-floating interest rate swap, one party makes payments equivalent to a fixed interest rate, and the other party makes payments calculated with reference to a specified floating interest rate, such as SOFR or the prime rate. In a currency swap, the parties generally enter into an agreement to pay interest streams in one currency based on a specified rate in exchange for receiving interest streams denominated in another currency. Currency swaps may involve initial and final exchanges of the currency that correspond to the agreed upon notional amount. The use of currency swaps is a highly specialized activity which involves special investment techniques and risks, including settlement risk, non-business day risk, the risk that trading hours may not align, and the risk of market disruptions and restrictions due to government action or other factors.
A Fund may engage in simple or more complex swap transactions involving a wide variety of underlying assets for various reasons. For example, a Fund may enter into a swap (i) to gain exposure to investments (such as an index of securities in a market) or currencies without actually purchasing those stocks or currencies; (ii) to make an investment without owning or taking physical custody of securities or currencies in circumstances in which direct investment is restricted for legal reasons or is otherwise impracticable; (iii) to hedge an existing position; (iv) to obtain a particular desired return at a lower cost to the Fund than if it had invested directly in an instrument that yielded the desired return; or (v) for various other reasons.
Certain Funds may enter into credit default swaps as a buyer or a seller. The buyer in a credit default contract is obligated to pay the seller a periodic stream of payments over the term of the contract provided no
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event of default has occurred. If an event of default occurs, the seller must pay the buyer the full notional value ("par value") of the underlying in exchange for the underlying. If a Fund is a buyer and no event of default occurs, the Fund will have made a stream of payments to the seller without having benefited from the default protection it purchased. However, if an event of default occurs, the Fund, as a buyer, will receive the full notional value of the underlying that may have little or no value following default. As a seller, a Fund receives a fixed rate of income throughout the term of the contract, provided there is no default. If an event of default occurs, the Fund would be obligated to pay the notional value of the underlying in return for the receipt of the underlying. The value of the underlying received by the Fund, coupled with the periodic payments previously received, may be less than the full notional value it pays to the buyer, resulting in a loss of value to the Fund. Credit default swaps involve different risks than if a Fund invests in the underlying directly. For example, credit default swaps would increase credit risk by providing the Fund with exposure to both the issuer of the referenced obligation (typically a debt obligation) and the counterparty to the credit default swap. Credit default swaps may in some cases be illiquid. Furthermore, the definition of a "credit event" triggering the seller's payment obligations under a credit default swap may not encompass all of the circumstances in which the buyer may suffer credit-related losses on an obligation of a referenced entity.
The Funds may enter into total return swap agreements. Total return swap agreements are contracts in which one party agrees to make periodic payments based on the change in market value of underlying assets, which may include a specified security, basket of securities, defined portfolios of bonds, loans and mortgages, or securities indexes during the specified period, in return for periodic payments based on a fixed or variable interest rate or the total return from other underlying assets. Total return swap agreements may be used to obtain exposure to a security or market without owning or taking physical custody of such security or market.
Total return swap agreements may effectively add leverage to a Fund's portfolio because, in addition to its total net assets, a Fund would be subject to investment exposure on the notional amount of the swap. Total return swaps are a mechanism for the user to accept the economic benefits of asset ownership without utilizing the balance sheet. The other leg of the swap is spread to reflect the non-balance sheet nature of the product. Total return swaps can be designed with any underlying asset agreed between two parties. Typically, no notional amounts are exchanged with total return swaps. Total return swap agreements entail the risk that a party will default on its payment obligations to the Fund thereunder. Swap agreements also entail the risk that a Fund will not be able to meet its obligation to the counterparty. Generally, a Fund will enter into total return swaps on a net basis (i.e., the two payment streams are netted out with the Fund receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments). Fully funded total return swaps have economic and risk characteristics similar to credit-linked notes, which are described above.
Caps, floors, collars and swaptions are privately-negotiated option-based derivative products. Like a put or call option, the buyer of a cap or floor pays a premium to the writer. In exchange for that premium, the buyer receives the right to a payment equal to the differential if the specified index or rate rises above (in the case of a cap) or falls below (in the case of a floor) a pre-determined strike level. Like swaps, obligations under caps and floors are calculated based upon an agreed notional amount, and, like most swaps (other than foreign currency swaps), the entire notional amount is not exchanged. A collar is a combination product in which one party buys a cap from and sells a floor to another party. Swaptions give the holder the right to enter into a swap. A Fund may use one or more of these derivative products in addition to or in lieu of a swap involving a similar rate or index.
Under current market practice, swaps, caps, collars and floors between the same two parties are generally documented under a "master agreement." In some cases, options and forward contracts between the parties may also be governed by the same master agreement. In the event of a default, amounts owed under all transactions entered into under, or covered by, the same master agreement would be netted, and only a single payment would be made.
Generally, a Fund would calculate the obligations of the swap agreements' counterparties on a "net basis." Consequently, a Fund's current obligation (or rights) under a swap agreement will generally be equal only to the net amount to be paid or received under the agreement based on the relative values of the positions held
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by each counterparty to the swap agreement (the "net amount"). A Fund's current obligation under a swap agreement will be accrued daily (offset against any amounts owed to the Fund).
Each Fund will not enter into a swap agreement with any single party if the net amount owed or to be received under the existing agreements with that party would exceed 5% of the Fund's assets.
The swap market has grown substantially in recent years with a large number of banks and investment banking firms acting both as principals and as agents using standardized swap agreements. As a result, the use of swaps has become more prevalent in comparison with the markets for other similar instruments that are also traded in OTC markets.
Swaps and other derivatives involve risks. One significant risk in a swap, cap, floor, collar or swaption is the volatility of the specific interest rate, currency or other underlying that determines the amount of payments due to and from a Fund. This is true whether these derivative products are used to create additional risk exposure for a Fund or to hedge, or manage, existing risk exposure. If under a swap, cap, floor, collar or swaption agreement a Fund is obligated to make a payment to the counterparty, the Fund must be prepared to make the payment when due. A Fund could suffer losses with respect to such an agreement if the Fund is unable to terminate the agreement or reduce its exposure through offsetting transactions. Further, the risks of caps, floors and collars, like put and call options, may be unlimited for the seller if the cap or floor is not hedged or covered, but is limited for the buyer.
Because under swap, cap, floor, collar and swaption agreements a counterparty may be obligated to make payments to a Fund, these derivative products are subject to risks related to the counterparty's creditworthiness, in addition to other risks discussed in this SAI. If a counterparty defaults, a Fund's risk of loss will consist of any payments that the Fund is entitled to receive from the counterparty under the agreement (this may not be true for currency swaps that require the delivery of the entire notional amount of one designated currency in exchange for the other). Upon default by a counterparty, however, a Fund may have contractual remedies under the swap agreement.
A Fund will enter into swaps only with counterparties that an adviser believes to be creditworthy.
The swap market is a relatively new market for which regulations are still being developed. The Dodd-Frank Act has substantially altered and increased the regulation of swaps. Swaps are broadly defined in the Dodd-Frank Act, CFTC rules and SEC rules, and also include commodity options and NDFs. Additionally, the Dodd-Frank Act divided the regulation of swaps between commodity swaps (such as swaps on interest rates, currencies, physical commodities, broad based stock indexes, and broad based credit default swap indexes), regulated by the CFTC, and security based swaps (such as equity swaps and single name credit default swaps), regulated by the SEC. The CFTC will determine which categories of swaps will be required to be traded on regulated exchange-like platforms, such as swap execution facilities, and which will be required to be centrally cleared. Cleared swaps must be cleared through futures commission merchants registered with the CFTC, and such futures commission merchants will be required to collect margin from customers for such cleared swaps. Additionally, all swaps are subject to reporting to a swap data repository. Dealers in swaps are required to register with the CFTC as swap dealers and are required to comply with extensive regulations regarding their external and internal business conduct practices, regulatory capital requirements, and rules regarding the holding of counterparty collateral.
U.S. GOVERNMENT SECURITIES—Examples of types of U.S. Government obligations in which a Fund may invest include U.S. Treasury obligations and the obligations of U.S. Government agencies or U.S. Government sponsored entities such as Federal Home Loan Banks, Federal Farm Credit Banks, Federal Land Banks, the FHA, the Farmers Home Administration, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Small Business Administration, Fannie Mae, GNMA, the General Services Administration, the Student Loan Marketing Association, the Central Bank for Cooperatives, Freddie Mac, Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, the Maritime Administration and other similar agencies. Whether backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury or not, U.S. Government securities are not guaranteed against price movements due to fluctuating interest rates.
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If the total public debt of the U.S. Government as a percentage of gross domestic product reaches high levels as a result of combating financial downturn or otherwise, such high levels of debt may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented. A high national debt level may increase market pressures to meet government funding needs, which may increase borrowing costs and cause a government to issue additional debt, thereby increasing the risk of refinancing. A high national debt also raises concerns that a government may be unable or unwilling to repay the principal or interest on its debt when due. Unsustainable debt levels can decline the valuation of currencies, can prevent a government from implementing effective counter-cyclical fiscal policy during economic downturns, and can contribute to market volatility.
An increase in national debt levels may also necessitate the need for the U.S. Congress to negotiate adjustments to the statutory debt ceiling to increase the cap on the amount the U.S. Government is permitted to borrow to meet its existing obligations and finance current budget deficits. Future downgrades could increase volatility in domestic and foreign financial markets, result in higher interest rates, lower prices of U.S. Treasury securities and increase the costs of different kinds of debt. Any controversy or ongoing uncertainty regarding statutory debt ceiling negotiations may impact the U.S. long-term sovereign credit rating and may cause market uncertainty. As a result, market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government may be adversely affected. Although remote, it is at least theoretically possible that under certain scenarios the U.S. Government could default on its debt, including U.S. Treasury securities.
Receipts. Receipts are interests in separately-traded interest and principal component parts of U.S. Government obligations that are issued by banks or brokerage firms and are created by depositing U.S. Government obligations into a special account at a custodian bank. The custodian holds the interest and principal payments for the benefit of the registered owners of the certificates or receipts. The custodian arranges for the issuance of the certificates or receipts evidencing ownership and maintains the register. TRs and STRIPS are interests in accounts sponsored by the U.S. Treasury. Receipts are sold as zero coupon securities, which means that they are sold at a substantial discount and redeemed at face value at their maturity date without interim cash payments of interest or principal.
U.S. Treasury Obligations. U.S. Treasury obligations consist of bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury and separately traded interest and principal component parts of such obligations that are transferable through the federal book-entry systems known as STRIPS and TRs.
U.S. Government Zero Coupon Securities. STRIPS and receipts are sold as zero coupon securities; that is, fixed income securities that have been stripped of their unmatured interest coupons. Zero coupon securities are sold at a (usually substantial) discount and redeemed at face value at their maturity date without interim cash payments of interest or principal. The amount of this discount is accreted over the life of the security, and the accretion constitutes the income earned on the security for both accounting and tax purposes. Because of these features, the market prices of zero coupon securities are generally more volatile than the market prices of securities that have similar maturity but that pay interest periodically. Zero coupon securities are likely to respond to a greater degree to interest rate changes than are non-zero coupon securities with similar maturities and credit qualities.
U.S. Government Agencies. Some obligations issued or guaranteed by agencies of the U.S. Government are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury (e.g., Treasury bills, notes and bonds, and securities guaranteed by GNMA), others are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury (e.g., obligations of Federal Home Loan Banks), while still others are supported only by the credit of the instrumentality (e.g., obligations of Fannie Mae). Guarantees of principal by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. Government may be a guarantee of payment at the maturity of the obligation so that, in the event of a default prior to maturity, there might not be a market and thus no means of realizing on the obligation prior to maturity. Guarantees as to the timely payment of principal and interest neither extend to the value or yield of these securities nor to the value of a Fund's shares.
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Proxy Voting Policy
The Funds have delegated proxy voting responsibilities to SIMC, subject to the Board's general oversight. As required by applicable regulations, SIMC must vote proxies in a manner consistent with the best interest of each investment advisory client who delegates voting responsibility to SIMC, which includes the Funds (each a "Client") and must not place its own interests above those of its Clients. SIMC has adopted its own written proxy voting policies, procedures and guidelines that are reasonably designed to meet this purpose (the "Procedures"). The Procedures may be changed as necessary to remain current with regulatory requirements and internal policies and procedures.
SIMC has elected to retain an independent proxy voting service (the "Service") to vote proxies with respect to its Clients. The Service votes proxies in accordance with guidelines (the "Proxy Guidelines") approved by SIMC's Proxy Voting Committee (the "Proxy Committee") with certain limited exceptions as outlined below. The Proxy Guidelines set forth the manner in which SIMC will vote, or the manner in which SIMC shall determine how to vote, with respect to matters that may come up for shareholder vote. The Service will review each matter on a case-by-case basis and, in most cases, vote the proxies in accordance with the Proxy Guidelines.
Prior to voting a proxy, the Service makes available to SIMC its recommendation on how to vote in light of the Proxy Guidelines. SIMC retains the authority to overrule the Service's recommendation in certain scenarios (as listed below) and instruct the Service to vote in a manner in variance with the Service's recommendation:
• Recommendations by Engagement Vendor. In addition to retaining the Service, SIMC has also engaged a third party vendor to assist with engagement services (the "Engagement Service"). The Engagement Service strives to help investors manage reputational risk and increase corporate accountability through proactive, professional and constructive engagement. It does so by collaborating with investors, facilitating avenues of active ownership (including direct, constructive dialogue with companies) and assisting with shareholder resolutions and proxy voting decisions. As a result of this process, the Engagement Service will at times provide SIMC with proxy voting recommendations that may conflict with the Proxy Guidelines. Recommendations from the Engagement Service to potentially override the Service's recommendation are expected to be limited to companies with which the Engagement Service is engaged on SIMC's behalf, and limited to proxy matters that bear on the subject of the engagement with that issuer.
In all circumstances identified above, the Proxy Committee shall convene and adhere to the conflicts provisions of the Procedures. For any proposal where the Proxy Committee determines that SIMC does not have a material conflict of interest, the Proxy Committee may overrule the Service's recommendation if the Proxy Committee reasonably determines that doing so is in the best interest of the Clients. For any proposal where the Proxy Committee determines that SIMC has a material conflict of interest, SIMC must vote in accordance with the Service's recommendation unless it has first fully disclosed to each Client holding the security at issue the nature of the conflict and obtained each Client's consent as to how SIMC will vote on the proposal. If the Proxy Committee decides to overrule the Service's recommendation, the Proxy Committee shall maintain a written record setting forth the basis of its decision.
In some circumstances, SIMC may determine it is in the best interest of its Clients to abstain from voting certain proxies. These include (but are not necessarily limited to) the following circumstances:
• Proxy Guidelines do not cover an issue;
• The Service does not make a recommendation on the issue;
• SIMC determines that the costs of voting exceed the expected benefits to Clients;
• The accounts engage in securities lending;
• The vote is subject to "share blocking," which requires investors who intend to vote to surrender the right to dispose of their shares until after the shareholder meeting, potentially creating liquidity issues; and
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• The Proxy Committee is unable to convene to determine whether the proposal would be in the Client's best interests.
With respect to proxies of an affiliated investment company or series thereof, SIMC will vote such proxies in the same proportion as the vote of all other shareholders of the investment company or series thereof (i.e., "echo vote" or "mirror vote").
With respect to proxies in foreign jurisdictions, certain countries or issuers may require SIMC to have a duly executed power of attorney in place with such country or issuer in order to vote a proxy. The Service may execute, on behalf of SIMC, power of attorney requirements in order to satisfy these requirements. Under circumstances where the issuer, not the jurisdiction, requires an issuer-specific, shareholder-specific or other limited power of attorney in order to vote a proxy, the Service will coordinate with SIMC in order to execute such power of attorney. In these instances, it may not be convenient or practicable to execute a power of attorney in sufficient time to vote proxies in that meeting, and SIMC may abstain from voting.
For each proxy, SIMC maintains all related records as required by applicable law. The Trust is required to file how all proxies were voted with respect to portfolio securities held by the Funds. A Client may obtain, without charge, a copy of SIMC's Procedures and Proxy Guidelines, or information regarding how the Funds voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended March 31, by calling SIMC at 1-800-DIAL-SEI, by writing to SIMC at One Freedom Valley Drive, Oaks, Pennsylvania 19456 or on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov.
Control Persons and Principal Holders of Securities
As of July 16, 2024, the following persons were the only persons who were record owners (or to the knowledge of the Trust, beneficial owners) of 5% and 25% or more of the shares of the Funds. Persons who own of record or beneficially more than 25% of a Fund's outstanding shares may be deemed to control the Fund within the meaning of the 1940 Act. Shareholders controlling the Fund could have the ability to vote a majority of the shares of the Fund on any matter requiring the approval of shareholders of the Fund.
Name and Address |
Number of Shares |
Percent of Fund |
|||||||||
SEI Enhanced U.S. Large Cap Quality Factor ETF |
|||||||||||
SEI Private Trust
Company One Freedom Valley Drive Oaks, PA 19456-9989 |
6,724,248 |
93.72 |
% |
||||||||
SEI Enhanced U.S. Large Cap Momentum Factor ETF |
|||||||||||
SEI Private Trust
Company One Freedom Valley Drive Oaks, PA 19456-9989 |
13,450,543 |
93.73 |
% |
||||||||
SEI Enhanced U.S. Large Cap Value Factor ETF |
|||||||||||
SEI Private Trust
Company One Freedom Valley Drive Oaks, PA 19456-9989 |
14,095,248 |
93.81 |
% |
||||||||
SEI Enhanced Low Volatility U.S. Large Cap ETF |
|||||||||||
SEI Private Trust
Company One Freedom Valley Drive Oaks, PA 19456-9989 |
4,237,182 |
92.11 |
% |
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Portfolio Holdings Information
Each business day, prior to the opening of regular trading on the primary exchange, a Fund is required to prominently disclose, on its website (www.seic.com/enhancedfactorETFs), publicly available and free of charge, all holdings in the Fund's portfolio that will form the basis for next calculation of NAV per share. The Funds have delegated the responsibility to post such holdings to SIMC.
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings in Accordance with Regulatory Requirements. At the end of each business day, each Fund's portfolio holdings information is provided to the Fund's custodian or other agent for dissemination through the facilities of the NSCC and/or other fee-based subscription services to NSCC members and/or subscribers to entities that publish and/or analyze such information in connection with the process of purchasing or redeeming Creation Units or trading shares of the Fund in the secondary market. This information typically reflects each Fund's anticipated holdings on the following business day. In addition, on each business day before commencement of trading in shares on the Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc., each Fund will disclose on www.seic.com/enhancedfactorETFs the identities and quantities of each portfolio position held by the Fund that will form the basis for the Fund's next calculation of the NAV.
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings to Certain Parties. Portfolio holdings information made available in connection with the creation/redemption process may be provided to other entities that provide services to the Funds in the ordinary course of business after it has been disseminated to the NSCC. From time to time, information concerning portfolio holdings other than portfolio holdings information made available in connection with the creation/redemption process, as discussed above, may be provided to other entities that provide services to the Funds.
Portfolio holdings information may be provided to independent third-party fund reporting services (e.g., Lipper, Broadridge or Morningstar) for a legitimate business purpose, but will be delivered no earlier than the date such information is posted on the website, unless the reporting service executes a confidentiality agreement with the Trust that is satisfactory to the Trust's officers and that provides that the reporting service will not trade on the information.
Portfolio holdings information may also be provided for a legitimate business purpose at any time and as frequently as daily to the Funds' Trustees, SIMC, the Distributor, the Administrator and certain other service providers, as well as additional contractors and vendors that may include, but are not limited to: the custodian and sub-custodian, the transfer agent, attorneys, independent auditors, securities lending agents, tax filing and reclamation vendors, class-action monitoring and filing vendors, printing and filing vendors, proxy vendors and providers of portfolio monitoring and analytical tools. Service providers will be subject to a duty of confidentiality with respect to any portfolio holdings information, whether imposed by a confidentiality agreement, the provisions of the service provider's contract with the Trust, or by the nature of its relationship with the Trust, and such service providers will be prohibited from trading on the information.
Portfolio holdings of a Fund may also be provided to a prospective service provider for that Fund, so long as the prospective service provider executes a confidentiality agreement with the Fund in such form as deemed acceptable by an officer of the Fund.
The Board exercises on-going oversight of the disclosure of Fund portfolio holdings by overseeing the implementation of the Funds' policies and procedures by the CCO.
Neither the Funds, SIMC, nor any other service provider to the Funds may receive compensation or other consideration for providing portfolio holdings information.
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings as Required by Applicable Law. The Trust files a complete schedule of the Funds' investments within 60 days after the end of each fiscal quarter pursuant to Form N-PORT or as part of Form N-CSR. These reports (i) are available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov and at www.seic.com/enhancedfactorETFs; and (ii) are available without charge, upon request, by calling a SIDCo. representative at 1-800-DIAL-SEI (toll free).
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Investment Policies
The following investment limitations are fundamental policies of the Funds and cannot be changed with respect to a Fund without the consent of the holders of a majority of such Fund's outstanding shares. The term "majority of outstanding shares" means the vote of: (i) 67% of the Fund's shares present at a meeting, if more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund are present or represented by proxy; or (ii) more than 50% of the Fund's outstanding shares, whichever is less. The following policies are fundamental policies of each Fund.
Each Fund may not:
1. Concentrate its investments in a particular industry or group of industries, as concentration is defined under the 1940 Act, the rules or regulations thereunder or any exemption therefrom, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended or interpreted from time to time, except that each Fund may invest without limitation in: (i) securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities; and (ii) tax-exempt obligations of state or municipal governments and their political subdivisions.
2. Purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this limitation shall not prevent each Fund from purchasing or selling foreign currencies, options, futures, swaps, forward contracts, or other derivative instruments, or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).
3. Lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than one-third of each Fund's total assets would be lent to other parties (but this limitation does not apply to investments in repurchase agreements, commercial paper, debt securities, or loans, including assignments and participation interests).
4. Act as an underwriter of securities issued by others, except to the extent that each Fund may be deemed an underwriter in connection with the disposition of its portfolio securities.
5. Borrow money, except as permitted under the 1940 Act, the rules or regulations thereunder or other governing statute, or any exemption therefrom, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended or interpreted from time to time, or otherwise as permitted by the SEC or other regulatory agency with authority over each Fund. This policy shall not prohibit short sales transactions, or futures, options, swaps, repurchase transactions (including reverse repurchase agreements), or forward transactions. Each Fund may not issue "senior securities" in contravention of the 1940 Act.
6. Invest directly in real estate or interests in real estate; however, each Fund may own debt or equity securities issued by companies engaged in those businesses.
The Board has adopted additional investment restrictions for each Fund. These restrictions are operating policies of each Fund and may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval. The additional restrictions adopted by the Trustees to date include the following:
1. If a Fund is an underlying fund in a fund of funds, the Fund may not acquire securities of other investment companies in reliance on Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act and securities of open-end investment companies or registered unit investment trusts in reliance on Section 12(d)(1)(G) of the 1940 Act.
2. Each Fund may not acquire any illiquid investment if, immediately after the acquisition, the Fund would have invested more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments that are assets.
For purposes of the Funds' policy on borrowing, in determining whether a particular investment in portfolio instruments or participation in portfolio transactions is subject to this borrowing policy, the accounting treatment of such instrument or participation shall be considered, but shall not by itself be determinative. Whether a particular instrument or transaction constitutes a borrowing shall be determined after consideration of all of the relevant circumstances. In applying the borrowing limitation, in accordance with Section 18(f)(1) of the 1940 Act and current SEC rules and guidance, a Fund is permitted to borrow money, directly or indirectly, provided that immediately after any such borrowing, the Fund has asset coverage of at least 300% for all of the Fund's borrowings. The foregoing interpretation applies to, but is not part of, the Funds' fundamental policy on borrowing. Short-term credits necessary for the settlement of securities transactions and arrangements with
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respect to securities lending will not be considered to be borrowings under the policy. Practices and investments that may involve leverage but are not considered to be borrowings are not subject to the policy.
For purposes of each Fund's fundamental policy related to investments in real estate, the policy does not prohibit the purchase of securities directly or indirectly secured by real estate or interests therein, or issued by entities that invest in real estate or interests therein, such as, but not limited to, corporations, partnerships, REITs, and other REIT-like entities, such as foreign entities that have REIT characteristics. Except for each Fund's policies with respect to borrowing, the percentage limitations included in these policies and elsewhere in this SAI and/or the Fund's Prospectus normally apply only at the time of initial purchase of a security. So, for example, if a Fund exceeds a limit as a result of market fluctuations or the sale of other securities, it will not be required to dispose of any securities. For purposes of each Fund's policies on investing in particular industries, the Fund relies primarily on industry or industry group classifications under the Global Industry Classification Standard ("GICS") developed by MSCI. To the extent that the above classifications are so broad that the primary economic characteristics in a single class are materially different, each Fund may further classify issuers in accordance with industry classifications consistent with relevant SEC staff ("Staff") interpretations. Each Fund may change any source used for determining industry classifications without prior shareholder notice or approval.
With respect to the fundamental policy relating to concentration set forth in (1) above, each Fund will, to the extent feasible or practicable, consider certain publicly-available information about any underlying funds in which it invests to assess the Fund's concentration in a particular industry, however, the Funds generally will not quantitatively assess an underlying fund's portfolio holdings on a holding-by-holding basis.
With respect to the fundamental policy relating to lending set forth in (3) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a Fund from making loans (including lending its securities); however, SEC staff interpretations currently prohibit funds from lending more than one-third of their total assets (including lending its securities), except through the purchase of debt obligations or the use of repurchase agreements. In addition, collateral arrangements with respect to options, forward currency and futures transactions and other derivative instruments (as applicable), as well as delays in the settlement of securities transactions, will not be considered loans.
Continuous Offering
The method by which Creation Units are created and traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Units are issued and sold by the Funds on an ongoing basis, at any point a "distribution," as such term is used in the 1933 Act, may occur. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner that could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus delivery requirement and liability provisions of the 1933 Act.
For example, a broker-dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory underwriter if it takes Creation Units after placing an order with the Distributor, breaks them down into constituent shares and sells such shares directly to customers or if it chooses to couple the creation of new shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for shares. A determination of whether one is an underwriter for purposes of the 1933 Act must take into account all of the facts and circumstances pertaining to the activities of the broker-dealer or its client in the particular case and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could lead to a categorization as an underwriter.
Broker-dealer firms should also note that dealers who are not "underwriters" but are effecting transactions in shares, whether or not participating in the distribution of shares, generally are required to deliver a prospectus. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(a)(3) of the 1933 Act is not available in respect of such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. Firms that incur a prospectus delivery obligation with respect to shares of the Funds are reminded that, pursuant to Rule 153 under the 1933 Act, a prospectus delivery obligation under Section 5(b)(2) of the 1933 Act owed to an exchange member in connection with a sale on the Listing Exchange generally is satisfied by the fact that the prospectus is available at the Listing
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Exchange upon request. The prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is available only with respect to transactions on an exchange.
Trustees and Officers of the Trust
Board Responsibilities. The management and affairs of the Trust and its series, including the Funds described in this SAI, are overseen by the Trustees. The Board has approved contracts, as described above, under which certain companies provide essential management services to the Trust.
The day-to-day business of the Trust, including the management of risk, is performed by third party service providers, such as SIMC, the Distributor and the Administrator. The Trustees are responsible for overseeing the Trust's service providers and therefore have oversight responsibility with respect to risk management performed by those service providers. Risk management seeks to identify and address risks, i.e., events or circumstances that could have adverse material effects on the business, operations, shareholder services, investment performance or reputation of the Funds. The Funds and their service providers employ a variety of processes, procedures and controls to identify risks, to lessen the probability of their occurrence and/or to mitigate the effects of such risks if they do occur. Each service provider is responsible for one or more discrete aspects of the Trust's business (e.g., SIMC is responsible for the investment performance of the Funds) and, consequently, for managing the risks associated with that business. The Board has emphasized to the Funds' service providers the importance of maintaining vigorous risk management.
The Trustees' role in risk oversight begins before the inception of a Fund, at which time SIMC presents to the Board information concerning the investment objectives, strategies and risks of the Fund as well as proposed investment limitations for the Fund. Additionally, SIMC provides the Board with an overview of, among other things, its investment philosophy, brokerage practices and compliance infrastructure. Thereafter, the Board continues its oversight function as various personnel, including the Trust's Chief Compliance Officer, as well as personnel of SIMC and other service providers, such as the Fund's independent accountants, make periodic reports to the Audit Committee or to the Board with respect to various aspects of risk management. The Board and the Audit Committee oversee efforts by management and service providers to manage risks to which the Funds may be exposed.
The Board is responsible for overseeing the nature, extent and quality of the services provided to the Funds by the Adviser and receives information about those services at its regular meetings. In addition, in connection with its consideration of whether to annually renew the Advisory Agreement between the Trust, on behalf of the Funds, the Board annually meets with SIMC to review such services.
The Trust's Chief Compliance Officer regularly reports to the Board to review and discuss compliance issues and Fund and Adviser risk assessments. At least annually, the Trust's Chief Compliance Officer provides the Board with a report reviewing the adequacy and effectiveness of the Trust's policies and procedures and those of its service providers, including the Adviser. The report addresses the operation of the policies and procedures of the Trust and each service provider since the date of the last report, any material changes to the policies and procedures since the date of the last report, any recommendations for material changes to the policies and procedures and any material compliance matters since the date of the last report.
The Board receives reports from Valuation Designee and the Funds' service providers regarding operational risks and risks related to the valuation and liquidity of portfolio securities. The Trust's Valuation Designee provides quarterly reports to the Board concerning investments for which market prices are not readily available or may be unreliable. The independent registered public accounting firm reviews with the Audit Committee its audit of the Funds' financial statements annually, focusing on major areas of financial statement risk encountered by the Funds and noting any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses that were identified in the Funds' internal controls. Additionally, in connection with its oversight function, the Board oversees Fund management's implementation of disclosure controls and procedures, which are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Trust in its periodic reports with the SEC are recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the required time periods. The Board also oversees the Trust's internal controls over financial
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reporting, which comprise policies and procedures designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of the Trust's financial reporting and the preparation of the Trust's financial statements.
From their respective reviews of these reports and discussions with SIMC, the Chief Compliance Officer, the independent registered public accounting firm and other service providers, the Board and the Audit Committee learn about the material risks of the Funds, thereby facilitating a dialogue about how management and service providers identify and mitigate those risks.
The Board recognizes that not all risks that may affect the Funds can be identified and/or quantified, that it may not be practical or cost-effective to eliminate or mitigate certain risks, that it may be necessary to bear certain risks (such as investment-related risks) to achieve the Funds' goals and that the processes, procedures and controls employed to address certain risks may be limited in their effectiveness. Reports received by the Trustees as to risk management matters are typically summaries of the relevant information. Most of the Funds' investment management and business affairs are carried out by or through SIMC and the Funds' other service providers, each of which has an independent interest in risk management and each of which has policies and methods by which one or more risk management functions are carried out. These risk management policies and methods may differ in the setting of priorities, the resources available or the effectiveness of relevant controls. As a result of the foregoing and other factors, the Board's ability to monitor and manage risk, as a practical matter, is subject to limitations.
Trustees and Officers
The management and affairs of the Trust and its series, including the Funds described in this SAI, are overseen by the Trustees. The Board has approved contracts, as described above, under which certain companies provide essential management services to the Trust.
There are eight members of the Board, six of whom are not interested persons of the Trust, as that term is defined in the 1940 Act ("independent Trustees"). Robert A. Nesher, an interested person of the Trust, serves as Chairman of the Board. James M. Williams, an independent Trustee, serves as the lead independent Trustee. The Trust has determined its leadership structure is appropriate given the specific characteristics and circumstances of the Trust. The Trust made this determination in consideration of, among other things, the fact that the independent Trustees constitute a super-majority (75%) of the Board, the fact that the chairperson of each Committee of the Board is an independent Trustee, the amount of assets under management in the Trust and the number of funds (and classes of shares) overseen by the Board. The Board also believes that its leadership structure facilitates the orderly and efficient flow of information to the independent Trustees from Fund management.
The Board has two standing committees: the Audit Committee and the Governance Committee. The Audit Committee and Governance Committee are each chaired by an independent Trustee and composed of all of the independent Trustees.
In his role as lead independent Trustee, Mr. Williams, among other things: (i) presides over Board meetings in the absence of the Chairman of the Board; (ii) presides over executive sessions of the independent Trustees; (iii) along with the Chairman of the Board, oversees the development of agendas for Board meetings; (iv) facilitates dealings and communications between the independent Trustees and management and among the independent Trustees; and (v) has such other responsibilities as the Board or independent Trustees determine from time to time.
Set forth below are the names, years of birth, position with the Trust, the year in which the Trustee was elected, and the principal occupations and other directorships held during at least the last five years of each of the persons currently serving as a Trustee of the Trust. There is no stated term of office for the Trustees of the Trust. However, each Trustee who is not an interested person of the Trust must retire from the Board by the end of the calendar year in which the Trustee attains the age of 75 years. Current members of the Board may, upon the unanimous vote of the Governance Committee and a majority vote of the full Board, continue to serve on the Board for a maximum of five successive one calendar year terms after attaining the age of 75 years. Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each Trustee is SEI Investments Company, One Freedom Valley Drive, Oaks, Pennsylvania 19456.
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Interested Trustees
ROBERT A. NESHER (Born: 1946)—Chairman of Board of Trustees* (since 2022)—President and Chief Executive Officer of the Trust since 2012. SEI employee since 1974; currently performs various services on behalf of SEI Investments for which Mr. Nesher is compensated. President and Director of SEI Structured Credit Fund, LP. Director of SEI Global Master Fund plc, SEI Global Assets Fund plc, SEI Global Investments Fund plc, SEI Investments—Global Funds Services, Limited, SEI Investments Global, Limited, SEI Investments (Europe) Ltd., SEI Investments—Unit Trust Management (UK) Limited, SEI Multi-Strategy Funds PLC and SEI Global Nominee Ltd. Trustee of The Advisors' Inner Circle Fund, The Advisors' Inner Circle Fund II, Bishop Street Funds, Frost Family of Funds and Catholic Responsible Investments Funds. President, Chief Executive Officer and Trustee of SEI Daily Income Trust, SEI Tax Exempt Trust, SEI Institutional Managed Trust, SEI Institutional International Trust, SEI Institutional Investments Trust, SEI Asset Allocation Trust, Adviser Managed Trust, New Covenant Funds, SEI Catholic Values Trust and SEI Alternative Income Fund. President, Chief Executive Officer and Trustee of SEI Insurance Products Trust from 2013 to 2020. Trustee of The KP Funds from 2013 to 2020. Vice Chairman of Schroder Series Trust and Schroder Global Series Trust from 2017 to 2018. Vice Chairman of Gallery Trust from 2015 to 2018. Vice Chairman of Winton Diversified Opportunities Fund from 2014 to 2018. Vice Chairman of The Advisors' Inner Circle Fund III from 2014 to 2018. Vice Chairman of Winton Series Trust from 2014 to 2017. Vice Chairman of O'Connor EQUUS (closed-end investment company) from 2014 to 2016. President, Chief Executive Officer and Trustee of SEI Liquid Asset Trust from 1989 to 2016. President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of SEI Alpha Strategy Portfolios, LP, from 2007 to 2013.
WILLIAM M. DORAN (Born: 1940)—Trustee* (since 2022)—Self-employed consultant since 2003. Counsel to the Trust, SEI Investments, SIMC, the Administrator and the Distributor. Director of the Distributor since 2003. Director of SEI Investments since 1985. Secretary of SEI since 1978. Director of SEI Investments—Global Funds Services, Limited, SEI Investments Global, Limited, SEI Investments (Europe), Limited, SEI Investments (Asia) Limited, SEI Global Nominee Ltd. and SEI Investments—Unit Trust Management (UK) Limited. Trustee of The Advisors' Inner Circle Fund III, Gallery Trust, Delaware Wilshire Private Markets Fund, Delaware Wilshire Private Markets Master Fund, Delaware Wilshire Private Markets Tender Fund, SEI Daily Income Trust, SEI Institutional International Trust, SEI Institutional Investments Trust, SEI Institutional Managed Trust, SEI Asset Allocation Trust, SEI Tax Exempt Trust, Adviser Managed Trust, New Covenant Funds and SEI Catholic Values Trust. Trustee of Schroder Global Series Trust and Schroder Series Trust from 2017 to 2021. Trustee of SEI Insurance Products Trust from 2013 to 2020. Trustee of Winton Diversified Opportunities Fund (closed-end investment company) from 2014 to 2018. Trustee of The KP Funds from 2013 to 2018. Trustee of Bishop Street Funds from 2006 to 2018. Trustee of The Advisors' Inner Circle Fund and The Advisors' Inner Circle Fund II from 1991 to 2018. Trustee of Winton Series Trust from 2014 to 2017. Trustee of O'Connor EQUUS (closed-end investment company) from 2014 to 2016. Trustee of SEI Liquid Asset Trust from 1982 to 2016. Director of SEI Alpha Strategy Portfolios, LP from 2007 to 2013. Partner of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP (law firm) from 1976 to 2003.
There are currently 7 Funds in the Trust and 101 funds in the Fund Complex.
Independent Trustees
NINA LESAVOY (Born: 1957)—Trustee (since 2022)—Founder and Managing Director, Avec Capital (strategic fundraising firm), since April 2008. Trustee/Director of SEI Structured Credit Fund, LP, SEI Asset Allocation Trust, SEI Daily Income Trust, SEI Institutional International Trust, SEI Institutional Investments Trust, SEI Institutional Managed Trust, SEI Tax Exempt Trust, Adviser Managed Trust, New Covenant Funds, SEI Catholic Values Trust and SEI Alternative Income Fund. Trustee of SEI Insurance Products Trust from 2013 to 2020. Trustee of SEI Liquid Asset Trust from 2003 to 2016. Director of SEI Alpha Strategy Portfolios, LP from 2007 to 2013. Managing Director, Cue Capital (strategic fundraising firm) from March 2002 to March 2008.
* Messrs. Nesher and Doran are Trustees deemed to be "interested persons" (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) of the Funds by virtue of their relationships with SEI.
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JAMES M. WILLIAMS (Born: 1947)—Trustee (since 2022)—Retired since June 2024. Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of J. Paul Getty Trust, Non-Profit Foundation for Visual Arts, from December 2002 to June 2024. Trustee/Director of Ariel Mutual Funds, SEI Structured Credit Fund, LP, SEI Asset Allocation Trust, SEI Daily Income Trust, SEI Institutional International Trust, SEI Institutional Investments Trust, SEI Institutional Managed Trust, SEI Tax Exempt Trust, Adviser Managed Trust, New Covenant Funds, SEI Catholic Values Trust and SEI Alternative Income Fund. Trustee/Director of SEI Insurance Products Trust from 2013 to 2020. Trustee of SEI Liquid Asset Trust from 2004 to 2016. Director of SEI Alpha Strategy Portfolios, LP from 2007 to 2013. President of Harbor Capital Advisors and Harbor Mutual Funds from 2000 to 2002. Manager of Pension Asset Management for Ford Motor Company from 1997 to 1999.
SUSAN C. COTE (Born: 1954)—Trustee (since 2022)—Retired since July 2015. Trustee/Director of SEI Structured Credit Fund, LP, SEI Tax Exempt Trust, SEI Daily Income Trust, SEI Institutional International Trust, SEI Institutional Managed Trust, SEI Asset Allocation Trust, SEI Institutional Investments Trust, Adviser Managed Trust, New Covenant Funds, SEI Catholic Values Trust and SEI Alternative Income Fund. Trustee of SEI Insurance Products Trust from 2015 to 2020. Treasurer and Chair of Finance of the Investment and Audit Committee of the New York Women's Foundation from 2012 to 2017. Member of the Ernst & Young LLP Retirement Investment Committee from 2009 to 2015. Global Asset Management Assurance Leader, Ernst & Young LLP from 2006 to 2015. Partner of Ernst & Young LLP from 1997 to 2015. Americas Director of Asset Management of Ernst & Young LLP from 2006 to 2013. Employee of Prudential from 1983 to 1997.
JAMES B. TAYLOR (Born: 1950)—Trustee (since 2022)—Retired since December 2017. Trustee of SEI Daily Income Trust, SEI Tax Exempt Trust, SEI Institutional Managed Trust, SEI Institutional International Trust, SEI Institutional Investments Trust, SEI Asset Allocation Trust, Adviser Managed Trust, New Covenant Funds and SEI Catholic Values Trust. Trustee of SEI Insurance Products Trust from 2018 to 2020. Chief Investment Officer, Georgia Tech Foundation from 2008 to 2017. Director, Assistant Vice President, and Chief Investment Officer, Delta Air Lines from 1983 to 2007. Member of the Investment Committee of Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers from 1999 to 2004. President, Vice President and Treasurer for Southern Benefits Conference from 1998 to 2000.
CHRISTINE REYNOLDS (Born: 1958)—Trustee (since 2022)—Retired since December 2016. Trustee of SEI Tax Exempt Trust, SEI Daily Income Trust, SEI Institutional Managed Trust, SEI Institutional International Trust, SEI Asset Allocation Trust, SEI Institutional Investments Trust, Adviser Managed Trust, New Covenant Funds and SEI Catholic Values Trust. Trustee of SEI Insurance Products Trust from 2019 to 2020. Executive Vice President at Fidelity Investments from 2014 to 2016. President at Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services ("FPCMS") and Chief Financial Officer of Fidelity Funds from 2008 to 2014. Chief Operating Officer of FPCMS from 2007 to 2008. President, Treasurer at Fidelity Funds from 2004 to 2007. Anti-Money Laundering Officer at Fidelity Funds in 2004. Executive Vice President at Fidelity Funds from 2002 to 2004. Audit Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers from 1992 to 2002.
THOMAS MELENDEZ (Born 1959)—Trustee (since 2022)—Retired since April 2019. Trustee of SEI Tax Exempt Trust, SEI Daily Income Trust, SEI Institutional Managed Trust, SEI Institutional International Trust, SEI Asset Allocation Trust, SEI Institutional Investments Trust and Adviser Managed Trust. Independent Consultant of New Covenant Funds and SEI Catholic Values Trust. Trustee of Boston Children's Hospital, The Partnership Inc. (non-profit organizations) and Brae Burn Country Club. Investment Officer and Institutional Equity Portfolio Manager at MFS Investment Management from 2002 to 2019. Director of Emerging Markets Group, General Manager of Operations in Argentina and Portfolio Manager for Latin America at Schroders Investment Management from 1994 to 2002.
Individual Trustee Qualifications. The Trust has concluded that each of the Trustees should serve on the Board because of their ability to review and understand information about the Funds provided to them by management, to identify and request other information they may deem relevant to the performance of their duties, to question management and other service providers regarding material factors bearing on the management and administration of the Funds, and to exercise their business judgment in a manner that serves the best interests of the Funds' shareholders. The Trust has concluded that each of the Trustees should serve as a Trustee based on their own experience, qualifications, attributes and skills as described below.
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The Trust has concluded that Mr. Nesher should serve as Trustee because of the experience he has gained in his various roles with SEI Investments Company, which he joined in 1974, his knowledge of and experience in the financial services industry, and the experience he has gained serving as Trustee of the SEI Funds Complex since 1989.
The Trust has concluded that Mr. Doran should serve as Trustee because of the experience he gained serving as a Partner in the Investment Management and Securities Industry Practice of a large law firm, his experience in and knowledge of the financial services industry, and the experience he has gained serving as Trustee of the SEI Funds Complex since 1982.
The Trust has concluded that Ms. Lesavoy should serve as Trustee because of the experience she gained as a Director of several private equity fundraising firms and marketing and selling a wide range of investment products to institutional investors, her experience in and knowledge of the financial services industry, and the experience she has gained serving as Trustee of the SEI Funds Complex since 2003 and the various SEI Trusts' Governance Chair since 2014.
The Trust has concluded that Mr. Williams should serve as Trustee because of the experience he gained as Chief Investment Officer of a non-profit foundation, the President of an investment management firm, the President of a registered investment company and the Manager of a public company's pension assets, his experience in and knowledge of the financial services industry, and the experience he has gained serving as Trustee of the SEI Funds Complex since 2004.
The Trust has concluded that Ms. Cote should serve as Trustee because of her education, knowledge of financial services and investment management, and the experience she has gained as a partner at a major accounting firm, where she served as both the Global Asset Management Assurance Leader and the Americas Director of Asset Management, and other professional experience gained through her prior employment and directorships.
The Trust has concluded that Mr. Taylor should serve as Trustee because of his education, knowledge of financial services and investment management, and the experience he has gained as a Chief Investment Officer at an endowment of a large university, and other professional experience gained through his prior employment and leadership positions.
The Trust has concluded that Ms. Reynolds should serve as Trustee because of the experience she has gained in her various roles with Fidelity, which she joined in 2002, including Chief Financial Officer of Fidelity Funds, her experience as a partner of a major accounting firm, and her experience in and knowledge of the financial services industry.
The Trust has concluded that Mr. Melendez should serve as Trustee because of the experience he has gained as an executive and portfolio manager of an investment management firm, his experience in and knowledge of the financial services industry, and other professional experience gained through his prior employment and leadership positions.
In its periodic assessment of the effectiveness of the Board, the Board considers the complementary individual skills and experience of the individual Trustees primarily in the broader context of the Board's overall composition so that the Board, as a body, possesses the appropriate (and appropriately diverse) skills and experience to oversee the business of the Funds. Moreover, references to the qualifications, attributes and skills of Trustees are pursuant to requirements of the SEC, do not constitute holding out of, or reflect any conclusion that, the Board or any Trustee has any special expertise or experience, and shall not be deemed to impose any greater responsibility or liability on any such person or on the Board by reason thereof.
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Board Standing Committees. The Board has established the following standing committees:
Audit Committee. The Board has a standing Audit Committee that is composed of each of the independent Trustees of the Trust. The Audit Committee operates under a written charter approved by the Board. The principal responsibilities of the Audit Committee include: (i) recommending which firm to engage as the Trust's independent auditor and whether to terminate this relationship; (ii) reviewing the independent auditor's compensation, the proposed scope and terms of its engagement and the firm's independence; (iii) pre-approving audit and non-audit services provided by the Trust's independent auditor to the Trust and certain other affiliated entities; (iv) serving as a channel of communication between the independent auditor and the Trustees; (v) reviewing the results of each external audit, including any qualifications in the independent auditor's opinion, any related management letter, management's responses to recommendations made by the independent auditor in connection with the audit, reports submitted to the Audit Committee by the internal auditing department of the Trust's Administrator that are material to the Trust as a whole, if any, and management's responses to any such reports; (vi) reviewing the Trust's audited financial statements and considering any significant disputes between the Trust's management and the independent auditor that arose in connection with the preparation of those financial statements; (vii) considering, in consultation with the independent auditor and the Trust's senior internal accounting executive, if any, the independent auditor's report on the adequacy of the Trust's internal financial controls; (viii) reviewing, in consultation with the Trust's independent auditor, major changes regarding auditing and accounting principles and practices to be followed when preparing the Trust's financial statements; and (ix) other audit related matters. In addition, the Audit Committee is responsible for the oversight of the Trust's compliance program. Messrs. Williams, Taylor and Melendez and Mmes. Lesavoy, Cote and Reynolds currently serve as members of the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee meets periodically, as necessary.
Governance Committee. The Board has a standing Governance Committee that is composed of each of the Independent Trustees of the Trust. The Governance Committee operates under a written charter approved by the Board. The principal responsibilities of the Governance Committee include: (i) considering and reviewing Board governance and compensation issues; (ii) conducting a self-assessment of the Board's operations; (iii) selecting and nominating all persons to serve as independent Trustees and evaluating the qualifications of "interested" (as that term is defined under the 1940 Act) Trustee candidates; and (iv) reviewing shareholder recommendations for nominations to fill vacancies on the Board if such recommendations are submitted in writing and addressed to the Governance Committee at the applicable Trust's offices. Messrs. Williams, Taylor and Melendez and Mmes. Lesavoy, Cote and Reynolds currently serve as members of the Governance Committee. The Governance Committee shall meet at the direction of its Chair as often as appropriate to accomplish its purpose. In any event, the Governance Committee shall meet at least once each year and shall conduct at least one meeting in person. The Governance Committee meets periodically, as necessary.
Fund Shares Owned by Board Members. The following table shows the dollar amount range of each Trustee's "beneficial ownership" of shares of each of the Funds and shares of funds in the Fund Complex as of the end of the most recently completed calendar year. Dollar amount ranges disclosed are established by the SEC. "Beneficial ownership" is determined in accordance with Rule 16a-1(a)(2) under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "1934 Act"). The Trustees and officers of the Trust own less than 1% of the outstanding shares of the Trust.
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Name |
Dollar Range of
Fund Shares (Fund)* |
Aggregate Dollar
Range of Shares (Fund Complex)*† |
|||||||||
Interested |
|||||||||||
Mr. Nesher |
None |
Over $100,000 |
|||||||||
Mr. Doran |
None |
Over $100,000 |
|||||||||
Independent |
|||||||||||
Ms. Lesavoy |
Over $100,000 |
Over $100,000 |
|||||||||
Mr. Williams |
None |
$50,001-$100,000 | |||||||||
Ms. Cote |
None |
None |
|||||||||
Mr. Taylor |
None |
$50,001-$100,000 | |||||||||
Ms. Reynolds |
None |
Over $100,000 |
|||||||||
Mr. Melendez |
None |
None |
* Valuation date is December 31, 2023.
† The Fund Complex currently consists of 101 portfolios of the following trusts: SEI Asset Allocation Trust, SEI Daily Income Trust, SEI Institutional International Trust, SEI Institutional Investments Trust, SEI Institutional Managed Trust, SEI Tax Exempt Trust, Adviser Managed Trust, New Covenant Funds, SEI Catholic Values Trust and SEI Exchange Traded Funds.
Board Compensation. The Trust and Fund Complex are expected to pay the below fees to the Trustees during the upcoming fiscal year.
Name |
Aggregate
Compensation |
Pension or
Retirement Benefits Accrued as Part of Fund Expenses |
Estimated
Annual Benefits Upon Retirement |
Total
Compensation from the Trust and Fund Complex* |
|||||||||||||||
Interested |
|||||||||||||||||||
Mr. Nesher |
$ |
0 |
$ |
0 |
$ |
0 |
$ |
0 |
|||||||||||
Mr. Doran |
$ |
0 |
$ |
0 |
$ |
0 |
$ |
0 |
|||||||||||
Independent |
|||||||||||||||||||
Ms. Lesavoy |
$ |
778 |
$ |
0 |
$ |
0 |
$ |
347,500 |
|||||||||||
Mr. Williams |
$ |
800 |
$ |
0 |
$ |
0 |
$ |
357,500 |
|||||||||||
Mr. Harris^ |
$ |
174 |
$ |
0 |
$ |
0 |
$ |
240,000 |
|||||||||||
Ms. Cote |
$ |
778 |
$ |
0 |
$ |
0 |
$ |
347,500 |
|||||||||||
Mr. Taylor |
$ |
723 |
$ |
0 |
$ |
0 |
$ |
322,500 |
|||||||||||
Ms. Reynolds |
$ |
723 |
$ |
0 |
$ |
0 |
$ |
322,500 |
|||||||||||
Mr. Melendez |
$ |
723 |
$ |
0 |
$ |
0 |
$ |
322,500 |
^ Mr. Hubert L. Harris retired from the Board of Trustees effective December 31, 2023, after having dutifully served on the SEI Funds' Board since 2008.
* The Fund Complex currently consists of 101 portfolios of the following trusts: SEI Asset Allocation Trust, SEI Daily Income Trust, SEI Institutional International Trust, SEI Institutional Investments Trust, SEI Institutional Managed Trust, SEI Tax Exempt Trust, Adviser Managed Trust, New Covenant Funds, SEI Catholic Values Trust and SEI Exchange Traded Funds.
Trust Officers. Set forth below are the names, years of birth, position with the Trust and the principal occupations for the last five years of each of the persons currently serving as officers of the Trust. There is no stated term of office for officers of the Trust. Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each officer is SEI Investments Company, One Freedom Valley Drive, Oaks, Pennsylvania 19456. None of the officers, except for Stephen Panner, the Chief Compliance Officer ("CCO") of the Trust, receives compensation from the Trust for his or her services. The Trust's CCO serves in the same capacity for the other SEI trusts included in the Fund Complex, and the Trust pays its pro rata share of the aggregate compensation payable to the CCO for his services.
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Certain officers of the Trust also serve as officers to one or more mutual funds for which SEI or its affiliates act as investment adviser, administrator or distributor.
The officers of the Trust have been elected by the Board. Each officer shall hold office until the election and qualification of his or her successor, or until earlier resignation or removal.
ROBERT A. NESHER (Born: 1946)—President and Chief Executive Officer (since 2022)—See biographical information above under the heading "Interested Trustees."
TIMOTHY D. BARTO (Born: 1968)—Vice President and Secretary (since 2022)—Vice President and Secretary of SEI Institutional Transfer Agent, Inc. since 2009. General Counsel and Secretary of SIMC since 2004. Vice President and Assistant Secretary of SEI since 2001. Vice President of SIMC and the Administrator since 1999.
GLENN KURDZIEL (Born: 1974)—Controller and Chief Financial Officer (since 2023)—Controller and Chief Financial Officer of SEI Daily Income Trust, SEI Tax Exempt Trust, SEI Institutional Managed Trust, SEI Institutional International Trust, SEI Asset Allocation Trust, SEI Institutional Investments Trust, Adviser Managed Trust, New Covenant Funds, SEI Catholic Values Trust and SEI Alternative Income Fund since August 2023. Assistant Controller of SEI Daily Income Trust, SEI Tax Exempt Trust, SEI Institutional Managed Trust, SEI Institutional International Trust, SEI Asset Allocation Trust, SEI Institutional Investments Trust, Adviser Managed Trust, New Covenant Funds and SEI Catholic Values Trust from 2017 to 2023. Assistant Controller of SEI Exchange Traded Funds from 2022 to 2023. Senior Manager of Funds Accounting of SEI Investments Global Funds Services from 2005 to 2023.
STEPHEN F. PANNER (Born: 1970)—Chief Compliance Officer (since 2022)—Chief Compliance Officer of SEI Asset Allocation Trust, SEI Daily Income Trust, SEI Tax Exempt Trust, SEI Institutional Investments Trust, SEI Institutional International Trust, SEI Institutional Managed Trust, Adviser Managed Trust, New Covenant Funds, SEI Catholic Values Trust, SEI Structured Credit Fund LP, The Advisors' Inner Circle Fund, The Advisors' Inner Circle Fund II, Bishop Street Funds, Frost Family of Funds, The Advisors' Inner Circle Fund III, Gallery Trust, Delaware Wilshire Private Markets Fund, Delaware Wilshire Private Markets Master Fund, Delaware Wilshire Private Markets Tender Fund and Catholic Responsible Investments Funds since September 2022. Chief Compliance Officer of SEI Alternative Income Fund since 2023. Fund Compliance Officer of SEI Investments Company from February 2011 to September 2022. Fund Accounting Director and CFO and Controller for the SEI Funds from July 2005 to February 2011.
STEPHEN G. MACRAE (Born: 1967)—Vice President (since 2022)—Director of Global Investment Product Management, January 2004 to present. Vice President of SEI Insurance Products Trust from 2013 to 2020.
DAVID F. MCCANN (Born: 1976)—Vice President and Assistant Secretary (since 2022)—General Counsel and Secretary of SEI Institutional Transfer Agent, Inc. from 2020 to 2023. Vice President and Assistant Secretary of SIMC since 2008. Vice President and Assistant Secretary of SEI Insurance Products Trust from 2013 to 2020. Attorney at Drinker Biddle & Reath, LLP (law firm) from May 2005 to October 2008.
KATHERINE MASON (Born: 1979)—Vice President and Assistant Secretary (since 2022)—Consulting Attorney at Hirtle, Callaghan & Co. (investment company) from October 2021 to June 2022. Attorney at Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP (law firm) from September 2007 to July 2012.
BRIDGET E. SUDALL (Born: 1980)—Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer and Privacy Officer (since April 2024 and previously from November 2022 to June 2023)—Chief Compliance Officer of SEI Operations from May 2022 to November 2022 and June 2023 to present. Senior Associate and AML Officer at Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners from April 2011 to March 2015. Investor Services Team Lead at Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners from July 2007 to April 2011.
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Investment Advisory, Administrative and Distribution Services
Investment Adviser. SIMC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SEI (NASDAQ: SEIC), a leading global provider of outsourced asset management, investment processing and investment operations solutions. The principal business address of SIMC and SEI is One Freedom Valley Drive, Oaks, Pennsylvania 19456. SEI was founded in 1968, and is a leading provider of investment solutions to banks, institutional investors, investment advisers and insurance companies. As of March 31, 2024, SIMC had approximately $197.57 billion in assets under management.
Compensation. SIMC compensates the portfolio managers for their management of the Funds. Each of the portfolio managers' compensation consists of a fixed annual salary, plus a discretionary annual bonus determined generally as follows.
With respect to the bonus, twenty percent of each portfolio managers' compensation is tied to the corporate performance of SEI (SIMC's ultimate parent company), as measured by the earnings per share earned for a particular year. This is set at the discretion of SEI and not SIMC.
The remaining percentage is based upon each Fund's performance (pre-tax) versus its respective benchmark over a one and three year period.
Ownership of Fund Shares. As of March 31, 2024, the portfolio managers beneficially owned shares of the Funds they manage, as follows:
Portfolio Manager |
Dollar Range
of Fund Shares |
||||||
Eugene Barbaneagra, CFA |
None |
||||||
Jianan Chen, CFA |
None |
||||||
Dante D'Orazio, CFA |
None |
||||||
Qi (Victor) Shang, PhD |
None |
||||||
George Tyrakis, FIA |
None |
||||||
Tianyu Xu, CFA |
None |
Other Accounts. As of March 31, 2024, in addition to the Funds, the portfolio managers were responsible for the day-to-day management of certain other accounts, as follows:
Registered
Investment Companies |
Other Pooled
Investment Vehicles |
Other Accounts |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Portfolio Manager |
Number of Accounts |
Total Assets
(in millions) |
Number of Accounts |
Total Assets
(in millions) |
Number of Accounts |
Total Assets
(in millions) |
|||||||||||||||||||||
Eugene Barbaneagra, CFA |
15 |
$ |
17,264.3 |
8 |
$ |
4,076.4 |
3 |
$ |
23.0 |
||||||||||||||||||
Jianan Chen, CFA |
0 |
$ |
0 |
0 |
$ |
0 |
0 |
$ |
0 |
||||||||||||||||||
Dante D'Orazio, CFA |
0 |
$ |
0 |
0 |
$ |
0 |
0 |
$ |
0 |
||||||||||||||||||
Qi (Victor) Shang, PhD |
0 |
$ |
0 |
0 |
$ |
0 |
0 |
$ |
0 |
||||||||||||||||||
George Tyrakis, FIA |
0 |
$ |
0 |
0 |
$ |
0 |
0 |
$ |
0 |
||||||||||||||||||
Tianyu Xu, CFA |
0 |
$ |
0 |
0 |
$ |
0 |
0 |
$ |
0 |
No account listed above is subject to a performance-based advisory fee.
Conflicts of Interest. The portfolio managers' management of other accounts may give rise to actual or potential conflicts of interest in connection with their day-to-day management of the Funds' investments. The other accounts might have similar investment objectives as the Funds or hold, purchase or sell securities that are eligible to be held, purchased or sold by the Funds.
While the portfolio managers' management of the other accounts may give rise to the following potential conflicts of interest, SIMC does not believe that the conflicts, if any, are material or, to the extent any such conflicts are material, SIMC believes that it has designed policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to manage such conflicts in an appropriate way.
Knowledge of the Timing and Size of Fund Trades. A potential conflict of interest may arise as a result of the portfolio managers' day-to-day management of the Funds. Because of their positions with the Funds, the
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portfolio managers know the size, timing and possible market impact of Fund trades. It is theoretically possible that the portfolio managers could use this information to the advantage of the other accounts and to the possible detriment of the Funds. However, SIMC has adopted policies and procedures reasonably designed to allocate investment opportunities on a fair and equitable basis over time.
Investment Opportunities. A potential conflict of interest may arise as a result of the portfolio managers' management of the Funds and other accounts, which, in theory, may allow them to allocate investment opportunities in a way that favors the other accounts over the Funds. This conflict of interest may be exacerbated to the extent that SIMC or the portfolio managers receive, or expect to receive, greater compensation from their management of the other accounts than the Funds. Notwithstanding this theoretical conflict of interest, it is SIMC's policy to manage each account based on its investment objectives and related restrictions and, as discussed above, SIMC has adopted policies and procedures reasonably designed to allocate investment opportunities on a fair and equitable basis over time and in a manner consistent with each account's investment objectives and related restrictions.
Codes of Ethics. The Trust, SIMC and the Distributor have adopted codes of ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act. The codes of ethics permit personnel subject to the codes of ethics to invest in securities, subject to certain limitations, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Fund. Each code of ethics is available by contacting SIMC at the telephone number on the back cover of the Funds' Prospectus or by accessing the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at http://www.sec.gov, and copies may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by e-mail at [email protected].
Anti-Money Laundering Requirements. The Funds are subject to the USA PATRIOT Act (the "Patriot Act"). The Patriot Act is intended to prevent the use of the U.S. financial system in furtherance of money laundering, terrorism or other illicit activities. Pursuant to requirements under the Patriot Act, the Funds may request information from Authorized Participants to enable it to form a reasonable belief that it knows the true identity of its Authorized Participants. This information will be used to verify the identity of Authorized Participants or, in some cases, the status of financial professionals; it will be used only for compliance with the requirements of the Patriot Act.
The Funds reserve the right to reject purchase orders from persons who have not submitted information sufficient to allow the Funds to verify their identity. The Funds also reserve the right to redeem any amounts in the Funds from persons whose identity it is unable to verify on a timely basis. It is the Funds' policy to cooperate fully with appropriate regulators in any investigations conducted with respect to potential money laundering, terrorism or other illicit activities.
Administrator. SEI Investments Global Funds Services (the "Administrator"), a Delaware statutory trust, has its principal business offices at One Freedom Valley Drive, Oaks, Pennsylvania 19456. SIMC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SEI Investments Company ("SEI"), is the owner of all beneficial interest in the Administrator. SEI and its subsidiaries and affiliates, including the Administrator, are leading providers of fund evaluation services, trust accounting systems and brokerage and information services to financial institutions, institutional investors and money managers. The Administrator and its affiliates also serve as administrator or sub-administrator to other mutual funds.
Custodian and Transfer Agent. Brown Brother Harriman & Co. located 50 Post Office Square, Boston, MA 02110, serves as custodian (the "Custodian") and transfer agent (the "Transfer Agent") for the Trust. The Custodian maintains in separate accounts cash, securities and other assets of the Funds, keeps all necessary accounts and records, and provides other services. The Custodian is required, upon the order of the Trust, to deliver securities held by it, in its capacity as custodian, and to make payments for securities purchased by the Trust for the Funds.
The Transfer Agent authorizes and issues shares of beneficial interest and as dividend disbursing agent of the Trust.
Distributor. SEI Investments Distribution Co. (the "Distributor") serves as each Fund's distributor. The Distributor, a wholly owned subsidiary of SEI, has its principal business address at One Freedom Valley Drive, Oaks, Pennsylvania 19456.
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Distribution Agreement. The Distributor serves as each Fund's Distributor pursuant to a distribution agreement (the "Distribution Agreement") with the Trust. The Distribution Agreement shall be reviewed and ratified at least annually by: (i) either the vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust, or the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Trust; and (ii) the vote of a majority of those Trustees of the Trust who are not parties to the Distribution Agreement or interested persons of any such party, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on the approval. The terms "vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities" and "interested persons" shall have the respective meanings specified in the 1940 Act. The Distribution Agreement will terminate in the event of any assignment, as defined in the 1940 Act, and is terminable with respect to a particular Fund on not less than 60 days' notice by the Trust's Trustees, by vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of such Fund or by the Distributor.
Determination of Net Asset Value
The per share NAV of each Fund is computed by dividing the total value of the Fund's portfolio, less any liabilities, by the total number of outstanding shares of the Fund. Each Fund's NAV is calculated as of the close of the regular trading session of the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") (normally 4:00 p.m. New York time) each day that the NYSE is open. Additional information on how NAV is determined is set forth in the Prospectus.
Brokerage Transactions
Although much of the Funds' investment exposure will be effected through the creation and redemption process, SIMC will also effect portfolio trades for the ETFs from time to time. It is expected that the Funds will execute a substantial portion of their brokerage or other agency transactions (i.e., portfolio transactions, not creation and redemption transactions) through the Distributor, a registered broker-dealer acting as introducing broker, for a commission, in conformity with the 1940 Act, the 1934 Act and rules of the SEC. An unaffiliated third-party broker selected by SIMC provides execution and clearing services with respect to such trades, and is compensated for such services out of the commission paid to the Distributor on the trades. Under these provisions, the Distributor is permitted to receive and retain compensation for effecting fund transactions for a Fund on an exchange. These provisions further require that commissions paid to the Distributor by the Trust for exchange transactions not exceed "usual and customary" brokerage commissions. The rules define "usual and customary" commissions to include amounts which are "reasonable and fair compared to the commission, fee or other remuneration received or to be received by other brokers in connection with comparable transactions involving similar securities being purchased or sold on a securities exchange during a comparable period of time." In addition, a Fund may direct commission business to one or more designated broker-dealers, including the Distributor, in connection with such broker-dealer's payment of certain of the Fund's expenses. The Trustees, including those who are not "interested persons" (as defined under the 1940 Act) of the Trust, have adopted procedures for evaluating the reasonableness of commissions paid to the Distributor and will review these procedures periodically.
Subject to policies established by the Board, SIMC is primarily responsible for the execution of the Funds' portfolio transactions and the allocation of brokerage. When effecting portfolio trades, SIMC seeks to obtain the best net results for the Funds, taking into account such factors as price (including the applicable brokerage commission or dealer spread), size of order, difficulty of execution, operational facilities of the firm and the firm's risk and skill in positioning blocks of securities. Although SIMC generally seeks reasonable trade execution costs, the Funds do not necessarily pay the lowest spread or commission available, and payment of the lowest commission or spread is not necessarily consistent with obtaining the best price and execution in particular transactions. SIMC does not currently have any "soft dollar" relationships in place with any broker-dealer firms and does not pay for investment research with client brokerage commissions. Brokers with which SIMC trades may provide proprietary research materials or technology to SIMC, which can represent a conflict of interest with respect to SIMC's selection of brokers to effect portfolio trades.
In selecting brokers or dealers to execute portfolio transactions, SIMC has an obligation to obtain best execution for the Funds and may take into account a variety of factors including, but not limited to: (i) the execution capabilities the transactions require; (ii) electronic routing capabilities to underlying brokers; (iii) the
S-44
ability and willingness of the broker-dealer or bank to facilitate the accounts' portfolio transactions by participating for its own account; (iv) the importance to the account of speed, efficiency, and confidentiality; (v) the apparent familiarity of the broker-dealer or bank with sources from or to whom particular securities might be purchased or sold; (vi) the reputation and perceived soundness of the broker-dealer or bank; and (vii) other matters relevant to the selection of a broker-dealer or bank for portfolio transactions for any account. Brokers may also be selected because of their ability to handle special or difficult executions, such as may be involved in large block trades, thinly traded securities, or other circumstances. Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act ("Section 28(e)") permits a U.S. investment adviser, under certain circumstances, to cause an account to pay a broker or dealer a commission for effecting a transaction in securities that exceeds the amount another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting the same transaction in recognition of the value of brokerage and research services provided by that broker or dealer. This includes commissions paid on riskless principal transactions in securities under certain conditions. Subject to SIMC's duty of best execution as set forth above, the Funds can effect portfolio transactions, including in connection with creation or redemption orders, through broker-dealers that are Authorized Participants and/or market makers of the Funds.
From time to time, the Funds may purchase new issues of securities in a fixed price offering. In these situations, the broker may be a member of the selling group that will, in addition to selling securities, provide SIMC with research services. FINRA has adopted rules expressly permitting these types of arrangements under certain circumstances. Generally, the broker will provide research "credits" in these situations at a rate that is higher than that available for typical secondary market transactions. These arrangements may not fall within the safe harbor of Section 28(e).
OTC issues, including most fixed-income securities such as corporate debt and U.S. Government securities, are normally traded on a "net" basis without a stated commission, through dealers acting for their own account and not as brokers. Although the Funds are not expected to invest in fixed income securities as part of their principal investment strategies, if a Fund engages in such a transaction it would typically engage with a dealer or directly with the issuer unless a better price or execution could be obtained by using a broker. Prices paid to a dealer with respect to both foreign and domestic securities will generally include a "spread," which is the difference between the prices at which the dealer is willing to purchase and sell the specific security at the time, and includes the dealer's normal profit.
Under the 1940 Act, persons affiliated with the Funds and persons who are affiliated with such affiliated persons are prohibited from dealing with the Funds as principal in the purchase and sale of securities unless a permissive order allowing such transactions is obtained from the SEC. Since transactions in the OTC market usually involve transactions with the dealers acting as principal for their own accounts, the Funds will not deal with affiliated persons and affiliated persons of such affiliated persons in connection with such transactions. The Funds will not purchase securities during the existence of any underwriting or selling group relating to such securities of which SIMC, the Custodian or any affiliated person (as defined in the 1940 Act) thereof is a member except pursuant to procedures adopted by the Board in accordance with Rule 10f-3 under the 1940 Act.
Any purchases of money market instruments by the Funds are made from dealers, underwriters and issuers. The Funds do not currently expect to incur any brokerage commission expense on such transactions because money market instruments are generally traded on a "net" basis with dealers acting as principal for their own accounts without a stated commission. The price of the security, however, usually includes a profit to the dealer.
Securities purchased in underwritten offerings include a fixed amount of compensation to the underwriter, generally referred to as the underwriter's concession or discount. When securities are purchased or sold directly from or to an issuer, no commissions or discounts are paid.
Because SIMC acts as investment manager for many clients, SIMC will frequently be in the position of buying or selling the same securities for more than one client account at the same time. SIMC has adopted an allocation policy that seeks to ensure that investment opportunities are allocated fairly and equitably among SIMC's client accounts over time. In addition to considering the investment objectives and restrictions of the applicable accounts, SIMC may consider a variety of other factors in making investment allocations. These factors include, but are not limited to: (i) tax considerations of an account; (ii) risk or investment concentration
S-45
parameters for an account; (iii) supply or demand for a security at a given price level; (iv) size of available investment; (v) cash availability and liquidity requirements for accounts; (vi) regulatory restrictions; (vii) minimum investment size of an account; (viii) relative size of account; and (ix) such other appropriate factors. Moreover, investments may not be allocated to one client account over another based on any of the following considerations: (i) to favor one client account at the expense of another; (ii) to generate higher fees paid by one client account over another or to produce greater performance compensation to SIMC; (iii) to develop or enhance a relationship with a client or prospective client; (iv) to compensate a client for past services or benefits rendered to SIMC or to induce future services or benefits to be rendered to SIMC; or (v) to manage or equalize investment performance among different client accounts. SIMC and the other Affiliates may deal, trade and invest for their own respective accounts in the types of securities in which the Funds may invest.
Because different accounts may have differing investment objectives and policies, SIMC may buy and sell the same securities at the same time for different clients based on the particular investment objective, guidelines and strategies of those accounts. For example, SIMC may decide that it may be entirely appropriate for a growth fund to sell a security at the same time a value fund is buying that security. To the extent that transactions on behalf of more than one client of SIMC or the other Affiliates during the same period increase the demand for securities being purchased or the supply of securities being sold, there may be an adverse effect on price. For example, sales of a security by SIMC on behalf of one or more of its clients may decrease the market price of such security, adversely impacting other SIMC clients that still hold the security.
SIMC is permitted to aggregate or "batch" orders placed at the same time for the accounts of two or more clients if it is in the best interests of its clients. By batching trade orders, SIMC seeks to obtain more favorable executions and net prices for the combined order, and ensure that no participating client is favored over any other client. Typically, SIMC will affect block orders for the purchase and sale for the same security for client accounts to facilitate best execution and to reduce transaction costs. When an aggregated order is filled in its entirety, each participating client account generally will receive the block price obtained on all such purchases or sales with respect to such order. The portfolio manager for each account must determine that the purchase or sale of the particular security involved is appropriate for the client and consistent with the client's investment objectives and with any investment guidelines or restrictions applicable to the client's account. The portfolio manager for each account must reasonably believe that the block trading will benefit, and will enable SIMC to seek best execution for each client participating in the block order. This requires a reasonable good faith judgment at the time the order is placed for execution.
The Trust is required to identify any securities of its "regular broker dealers" (as such term is defined in the 1940 Act) that the Trust has acquired during its most recent fiscal year. As of March 31, 2024, there were no holdings of regular broker dealers.
Portfolio turnover may vary from year to year, as well as within a year. High turnover rates may result in comparatively greater brokerage expenses.
Turnover Rate |
|||||||||||
Portfolio |
2023 |
2024 |
|||||||||
SEI Enhanced U.S. Large Cap Quality Factor ETF |
40 |
% |
23 |
% |
|||||||
SEI Enhanced U.S. Large Cap Momentum Factor ETF |
63 |
% |
40 |
% |
|||||||
SEI Enhanced U.S. Large Cap Value Factor ETF |
43 |
% |
32 |
% |
|||||||
SEI Enhanced Low Volatility U.S. Large Cap ETF |
24 |
% |
13 |
% |
Additional Information Concerning the Trust
Distribution of Shares. In connection with the Funds' launch, the Funds were seeded through the sale of one or more Creation Units by the Funds to one or more initial investors. Initial investors participating in the seeding may be Authorized Participants, a lead market maker or other third party investor or an affiliate of the Funds or the Funds' adviser. Each such initial investor may sell some or all of the shares underlying the Creation Unit(s) held by them pursuant to the registration statement for the Funds (each, a "Selling Shareholder"), which shares have been registered to permit the resale from time to time after purchase. The Funds will not receive any of the proceeds from the resale by the Selling Shareholders of these shares.
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Selling Shareholders may sell shares owned by them directly or through broker-dealers, in accordance with applicable law, on any national securities exchange on which the shares may be listed or quoted at the time of sale, through trading systems, in the OTC market or in transactions other than on these exchanges or systems at fixed prices, at prevailing market prices at the time of the sale, at varying prices determined at the time of sale, or at negotiated prices. These sales may be effected through brokerage transactions, privately negotiated trades, block sales, entry into options or other derivative transactions or through any other means authorized by applicable law. Selling Shareholders may redeem the shares held in Creation Unit size by them through an Authorized Participant.
Any Selling Shareholder and any broker-dealer or agents participating in the distribution of shares may be deemed to be "underwriters" within the meaning of Section 2(a)(11) of the 1933 Act, in connection with such sales.
Any Selling Shareholder and any other person participating in such distribution will be subject to applicable provisions of the 1934 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, as amended, (the "Rule") provides that an investment company may bear expenses of distributing its shares only pursuant to a plan adopted in accordance with the Rule. The Trustees have adopted a Rule 12b-1 Distribution Plan ("Rule 12b-1 Plan") pursuant to which each Fund may pay certain expenses incurred in the distribution of its shares and the servicing and maintenance of existing shareholder accounts. SIDCO., as the Funds' principal underwriter, and SIMC may have a direct or indirect financial interest in the Rule 12b-1 Plan or any related agreement. Pursuant to the Rule 12b-1 Plan, each Fund may pay a fee of up to 0.25% of the Fund's average daily net assets. No Rule 12b-1 fee is currently being charged to the Funds.
The Rule 12b-1 Plan was approved by the Board, including a majority of the Independent Trustees of the Funds. In approving each Rule 12b-1 Plan, the Trustees determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Rule 12b-1 Plan will benefit the Funds and their shareholders.
The Rule 12b-1 fee may only be imposed or increased when the Trustees determine that it is in the best interests of shareholders to do so. Because these fees are paid out of each Fund's assets on an ongoing basis, to the extent that a fee is authorized, over time they will increase the cost of an investment in the Fund. The Rule 12b-1 fee may cost an investor more than other types of sales charges.
Distribution Expenses Incurred by Adviser. Shares of the Funds are traded in the secondary market, but are also sold through independent registered investment advisers, financial planners, bank trust departments and other financial advisors ("Financial Advisors") who provide their clients with advice and services in connection with their investments in the SEI Funds. SEI Funds are typically combined into complete investment portfolios and strategies using asset allocation techniques to serve investor needs. In connection with its distribution activities, SIMC and its affiliates may provide Financial Advisors, without charge, asset allocation models and strategies, custody services, risk assessment tools, and other investment information and services to assist the Financial Advisor in providing advice to investors. SIMC may hold conferences, seminars and other educational and informational activities for Financial Advisors for the purpose of educating Financial Advisors about the Funds and other investment products offered by SIMC or its affiliates. SIMC may pay for lodging, meals and other similar expenses incurred by Financial Advisors in connection with such activities. SIMC also may pay expenses associated with joint marketing activities with Financial Advisors, including, without limitation, seminars, conferences, client appreciation dinners, direct market mailings and other marketing activities designed to further the promotion of the Funds. In certain cases, SIMC may make payments to Financial Advisors or their employer in connection with their solicitation or referral of investment business, subject to any regulatory requirements for disclosure to and consent from the investor. All such marketing expenses and solicitation payments are paid by SIMC or its affiliates out of their past profits or other available resources, and are not charged to the Funds. Many Financial Advisors may be affiliated with broker-dealers. SIMC and its affiliates may pay compensation to broker-dealers or other financial institutions for services such as, without limitation, providing the Funds with "shelf space" or a higher profile for the firm's associated Financial Advisors and their customers, placing the Funds on the firm's preferred or recommended fund list, granting the Distributor access to the firm's associated Financial Advisors, providing assistance in training and educating the firm's
S-47
personnel, allowing sponsorship of seminars or informational meetings, and furnishing marketing support and other specified services. These payments may be based on the average net assets of SEI Funds attributable to that broker-dealer, gross or net sales of SEI Funds attributable to that broker-dealer, a negotiated lump sum payment, or other appropriate compensation for services rendered. Payments may also be made by SIMC or its affiliates to financial institutions to compensate or reimburse them for administrative or other client services provided such as sub-transfer agency services for shareholders or retirement plan participants, omnibus accounting or sub-accounting, participation in networking arrangements, account set-up, recordkeeping and other shareholder services. These fees may be used by the financial institutions to offset or reduce fees that would otherwise be paid directly to them by certain account holders, such as retirement plans. The payments discussed above may be significant to the financial institutions receiving them, and may create an incentive for the financial institutions or their representatives to recommend or offer shares of the SEI Funds to their customers rather than other funds or investment products. These payments are made by SIMC and its affiliates out of its past profits or other available resources. Although the Funds may use broker-dealers that sell Fund shares to effect transactions for the Funds' portfolios, the Funds and SIMC will not consider the sale of Fund shares as a factor when choosing broker-dealers to effect those transactions and will not direct brokerage transactions to broker-dealers as compensation for the sales of Fund shares.
Creation and Redemption of Creation Units
General. The Trust issues and sells shares of the Funds only in Creation Units on a continuous basis through the Distributor or its agent, without a sales load, at a price based on the Funds' NAV next determined after receipt, on any Business Day (as defined below), of an order received by the Distributor or its agent in proper form. On days when the Listing Exchange or the bond markets close earlier than normal, the Funds may require orders to be placed earlier in the day. The following table sets forth the number of shares of the Funds that constitute a Creation Unit for the Funds and the approximate value of such Creation Unit as of the date of this SAI:
Shares Per
Creation Unit |
Approximate Value
Per Creation Unit (U.S. $) |
||||||||||
SEI Enhanced U.S. Large Cap Quality Factor ETF |
25,000 |
$ |
625,000 |
||||||||
SEI Enhanced U.S. Large Cap Momentum Factor ETF |
25,000 |
$ |
625,000 |
||||||||
SEI Enhanced U.S. Large Cap Value Factor ETF |
25,000 |
$ |
625,000 |
||||||||
SEI Enhanced Low Volatility U.S. Large Cap ETF |
25,000 |
$ |
625,000 |
In its discretion, the Trust reserves the right to increase or decrease the number of the Funds' shares that constitute a Creation Unit. The Board reserves the right to declare a split or a consolidation in the number of shares outstanding of the Funds, and to make a corresponding change in the number of shares constituting a Creation Unit, in the event that the per share price in the secondary market rises (or declines) to an amount that falls outside the range deemed desirable by the Board.
A "Business Day" with respect to the Funds is any day the Funds are open for business, including any day when it satisfies redemption requests as required by Section 22(e) of the 1940 Act. The Funds are open for business any day on which the Listing Exchange on which the Funds are listed for trading is open for business. As of the date of this SAI, the Listing Exchange observes the following holidays, as observed: 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. Additionally, the Exchange closes early on the following days: the day before Independence Day, the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.
Fund Deposit. The consideration for purchase of Creation Units of the Funds generally consists of Deposit Securities and the Cash Component computed as described below. Together, the Deposit Securities and the Cash Component constitute the "Fund Deposit." The Fund Deposit represents the minimum initial and subsequent investment amount for a Creation Unit of the Fund. Such Fund Deposit is applicable, subject to any adjustments as described below, to purchases of Creation Units of shares of a given Fund until such time as the next-announced Fund Deposit is made available.
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The "Cash Component" is an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of the shares (per Creation Unit) and the "Deposit Amount," which is an amount equal to the market value of the Deposit Securities, and serves to compensate for any differences between the NAV per Creation Unit and the Deposit Amount. Payment of any stamp duty or other similar fees and expenses payable upon transfer of beneficial ownership of the Deposit Securities are the sole responsibility of the Authorized Participant purchasing the Creation Unit.
The identity and number or par value of the Deposit Securities change pursuant to changes in the composition of the Funds' portfolio and as rebalancing adjustments and corporate action events are reflected from time to time by SIMC with a view to the investment objective of the Funds.
The Trust may require the substitution of an amount of cash (i.e., a "cash-in-lieu" amount) to replace any Deposit Security of the Funds that is a TBA transaction or an interest in a mortgage pass-through security. The amount of cash contributed will be equivalent to the price of the TBA transaction or mortgage pass-through security interest listed as a Deposit Security. A transaction fee may be charged on the cash amount contributed in lieu of the TBA transaction or mortgage pass-through security.
The Fund Deposit may also be modified to minimize the Cash Component by redistributing the cash to the Deposit Securities portion of the Fund Deposit through "systematic rounding." The rounding methodology "rounds up" position sizes of securities in the Deposit Securities (which in turn reduces the cash portion). However, the methodology limits the maximum allowed percentage change in weight and share quantity of any given security in the Fund Deposit. The Trust may, in its sole discretion, substitute a "cash in lieu" amount to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security in certain circumstances, including: (i) when instruments are not available in sufficient quantity for delivery; (ii) when instruments are not eligible for transfer through DTC or the clearing process (as discussed below); (iii) when instruments that the Authorized Participant (or an investor on whose behalf the Authorized Participant is acting) are not able to be traded due to a trading restriction; (iv) when delivery of the Deposit Security by the Authorized Participant (or by an investor on whose behalf the Authorized Participant is acting) would be restricted under applicable securities or other local laws; (v) in connection with distribution payments to be made by the Funds; or (vi) in certain other situations.
Cash Purchase Method. Although the Trust does not generally permit partial or full cash purchases of Creation Units of its funds, when partial or full cash purchases of Creation Units are available or specified for the Funds, they will be effected in essentially the same manner as in-kind purchases thereof. In the case of a partial or full cash purchase, the Authorized Participant must pay the cash equivalent of the Deposit Securities it would otherwise be required to provide through an in-kind purchase, plus the same Cash Component required to be paid by an in-kind purchaser.
Procedures for Creation of Creation Units. To be eligible to place orders with the Distributor and to create a Creation Unit of the Funds, an entity must be: (i) a "Participating Party," i.e., a broker-dealer or other participant in the clearing process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC (the "Clearing Process"), a clearing agency that is registered with the SEC, or (ii) a DTC Participant, and must have executed an agreement with the Distributor, with respect to creations and redemptions of Creation Units ("Authorized Participant Agreement") (discussed below). A member or participant of a clearing agency registered with the SEC which has a written agreement with the Funds or one of its service providers that allows such member or participant to place orders for the purchase and redemption of Creation Units is referred to as an "Authorized Participant."
Role of the Authorized Participant. Creation Units may be purchased only by or through a member or participant of a clearing agency registered with the SEC, which has a written agreement with the Funds or one of its service providers that allows such member or participant to place orders for the purchase and redemption of Creation Units. Such Authorized Participant will agree, pursuant to the terms of such Authorized Participant Agreement and on behalf of itself or any investor on whose behalf it will act, to certain conditions, including that such Authorized Participant will make available in advance of each purchase of shares an amount of cash sufficient to pay the Cash Component, once the NAV of a Creation Unit is next determined after receipt of the purchase order in proper form, together with the transaction fees described below. An Authorized Participant, acting on behalf of an investor, may require the investor to enter into an agreement with such Authorized
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Participant with respect to certain matters, including payment of the Cash Component. Investors who are not Authorized Participants must make appropriate arrangements with an Authorized Participant. Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not be a DTC Participant or may not have executed an Authorized Participant Agreement and that orders to purchase Creation Units may have to be placed by the investor's broker through an Authorized Participant. As a result, purchase orders placed through an Authorized Participant may result in additional charges to such investor. The Distributor has adopted guidelines regarding Authorized Participants' transactions in Creation Units that are made available to all Authorized Participants. These guidelines set forth the processes and standards for Authorized Participants to transact with the Distributor and its agents in connection with creation and redemption transactions. In addition, the Distributor may be appointed as the proxy of the Authorized Participant and may be granted a power of attorney under its Authorized Participant Agreement.
Placement of Creation Orders. Fund Deposits must be delivered through the Federal Reserve System (for cash and U.S. government securities), through DTC (for corporate and municipal securities) or through a central depository account, such as with Euroclear or DTC, maintained by the Custodian or a sub-custodian (a "Central Depository Account"). Any portion of a Fund Deposit that may not be delivered through the Federal Reserve System or DTC must be delivered through a Central Depository Account. The Fund Deposit transfers made through DTC must be ordered by the DTC Participant in a timely fashion so as to ensure the delivery of the requisite number of Deposit Securities through DTC to the account of the Fund generally before 3:00 p.m., Eastern time on the Settlement Date. Fund Deposit transfers made through the Federal Reserve System must be deposited by the participant institution in a timely fashion so as to ensure the delivery of the requisite number or amount of Deposit Securities or cash through the Federal Reserve System to the account of the Funds generally before 3:00 p.m., Eastern time on the Settlement Date. Fund Deposit transfers made through a Central Depository Account must be completed pursuant to the requirements established by the Custodian or a sub-custodian for such Central Depository Account generally before 2:00 p.m., Eastern time on the Settlement Date. The "Settlement Date" for all funds is generally the second business day after the Transmittal Date. All questions as to the number of Deposit Securities to be delivered, and the validity, form and eligibility (including time of receipt) for the deposit of any tendered securities, will be determined by the Trust, whose determination shall be final and binding. The amount of cash equal to the Cash Component must be transferred directly to the Transfer Agent through the Federal Reserve Bank wire transfer system in a timely manner so as to be received by the Transfer Agent generally before 3:00 p.m., Eastern time on the Settlement Date. If the Cash Component and the Deposit Securities are not received by 3:00 p.m., Eastern time on the Settlement Date, the creation order may be canceled. Upon written notice to the Distributor, such canceled order may be resubmitted the following Business Day using a Fund Deposit as newly constituted to reflect the then current NAV of the Funds. The delivery of Creation Units so created generally will occur no later than the second Business Day following the day on which the purchase order is deemed received by the Distributor, provided that the relevant Fund Deposit has been received by the Funds prior to such time.
Purchase Orders. To initiate an order for a Creation Unit, an Authorized Participant must submit to the Distributor or its agent an irrevocable order to purchase shares of the Funds, in proper form, generally before 4:00 p.m., Eastern time on any Business Day to receive that day's NAV. The Distributor or its agent will notify SIMC and the Custodian/Transfer Agent of such order. The Custodian will then provide such information to any appropriate sub-custodian. Procedures and requirements governing the delivery of the Fund Deposit are set forth in the procedures handbook for Authorized Participants and may change from time to time. Investors, other than Authorized Participants, are responsible for making arrangements for a creation request to be made through an Authorized Participant. The Distributor or its agent will provide a list of current Authorized Participants upon request. Those placing orders to purchase Creation Units through an Authorized Participant should allow sufficient time to permit proper submission of the purchase order to the Distributor or its agent by the Cutoff Time (as defined below) on such Business Day.
The Authorized Participant must also make available on or before the contractual settlement date, by means satisfactory to the Funds, immediately available or same day funds estimated by the Funds to be sufficient to pay the Cash Component next determined after acceptance of the purchase order, together with the applicable purchase transaction fees. Those placing orders should ascertain the deadline for cash transfers by contacting
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the operations department of the broker or depositary institution effectuating the transfer of the Cash Component. This deadline is likely to be significantly earlier than the Cutoff Time of the Funds. Investors should be aware that an Authorized Participant may require orders for purchases of shares placed with it to be in the particular form required by the individual Authorized Participant.
The Authorized Participant is responsible for any and all expenses and costs incurred by the Funds, including any applicable cash amounts, in connection with any purchase order.
Timing of Submission of Purchase Orders. An Authorized Participant must submit an irrevocable order to purchase shares of the Funds before 4:00 p.m., Eastern time on any Business Day in order to receive that day's NAV. Creation Orders must be transmitted by an Authorized Participant in the form required by the Funds to the Distributor or its agent pursuant to procedures set forth in the Authorized Participant Agreement. Economic or market disruptions or changes, or telephone or other communication failure, may impede the ability to reach the Distributor or its agent or an Authorized Participant. The Funds' deadline 'specified above for the submission of purchase orders is referred to as the Funds' "Cutoff Time." The Distributor or its agent, in their discretion, may permit the submission of such orders and requests by or through an Authorized Participant at any time (including on days on which the Listing Exchange is not open for business) via communication through the facilities of the Distributor's or its agent's proprietary website maintained for this purpose. Purchase orders and redemption requests, if accepted by the Trust, will be processed based on the NAV next determined after such acceptance in accordance with the Funds' Cutoff Times as provided in the Authorized Participant Agreement and disclosed in this SAI.
Acceptance of Orders for Creation Units. Subject to the conditions that (i) an irrevocable purchase order has been submitted by the Authorized Participant (either on its own or another investor's behalf) and (ii) arrangements satisfactory to the Funds are in place for payment of the Cash Component and any other cash amounts which may be due, the Funds will accept the order, subject to the Funds' right (and the right of the Distributor and SIMC) to reject any order until acceptance, as set forth below.
Once the Funds have accepted an order, upon the next determination of the NAV of the shares, the Funds will confirm the issuance of a Creation Unit, against receipt of payment, at such NAV. The Distributor or its agent will then transmit a confirmation of acceptance to the Authorized Participant that placed the order.
The Funds reserve the right to reject or revoke for any legally permissible reason a creation order transmitted to it by the Distributor or its agent, for example, if (i) the order is not in proper form; (ii) the investor(s), upon obtaining the shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding shares of the Funds; (iii) the Deposit Securities delivered do not conform to the identity and number of shares specified, as described above; (iv) acceptance of the Fund Deposit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; or (v) circumstances outside the control of the Funds, the Distributor or its agent and SIMC make it impracticable to process purchase orders. The Distributor or its agent shall notify a prospective purchaser of a Creation Unit and/or the Authorized Participant acting on behalf of such purchaser of its rejection of such order. The Funds, the Custodian and the Distributor or its agent are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of Fund Deposits nor shall any of them incur any liability for failure to give such notification.
Issuance of a Creation Unit. Except as provided herein, a Creation Unit will not be issued until the transfer of good title to the Funds of the Deposit Securities and the payment of the Cash Component have been completed. When a sub-custodian has confirmed to the Custodian that the securities included in the Fund Deposit (or the cash value thereof) have been delivered to the account of the relevant sub-custodian or sub-custodians, the Distributor or its agent and SIMC shall be notified of such delivery and the Funds will issue and cause the delivery of the Creation Unit. Creation Units are generally issued on a "T+1 basis" (i.e., one Business Day after trade date). The Funds reserve the right to settle Creation Unit transactions on a basis other than T+1, including a shorter settlement period, if necessary or appropriate under the circumstances and compliant with applicable law.
To the extent contemplated by an Authorized Participant Agreement with the Distributor, the Funds will issue Creation Units to such Authorized Participant, notwithstanding the fact that the corresponding Fund
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Deposits have not been received in part or in whole, in reliance on the undertaking of the Authorized Participant to deliver the missing Deposit Securities as soon as possible, which undertaking shall be secured by such Authorized Participant's delivery and maintenance of collateral as set forth in the handbook for Authorized Participants. The Trust may use such collateral at any time to buy Deposit Securities for the Funds. Such collateral must be delivered no later than the time specified by the Funds or its Custodian on the contractual settlement date. Information concerning the Funds' current procedures for collateralization of missing Deposit Securities is available from the Distributor or its agent. The Authorized Participant Agreement will permit the Funds to buy the missing Deposit Securities at any time and will subject the Authorized Participant to liability for any shortfall between the cost to the Funds of purchasing such securities and the collateral including, without limitation, liability for related brokerage, borrowings and other charges.
In certain cases, Authorized Participants may create and redeem Creation Units on the same trade date and in these instances, the Funds reserve the right to settle these transactions on a net basis or require a representation from the Authorized Participants that the creation and redemption transactions are for separate beneficial owners. All questions as to the number of shares of each security in the Deposit Securities and the validity, form, eligibility and acceptance for deposit of any securities to be delivered shall be determined by the Funds and the Funds' determination shall be final and binding.
Costs Associated with Creation Transactions. A standard creation transaction fee is imposed to offset the transfer and other transaction costs associated with the issuance 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. If a purchase consists solely or partially of cash, the Authorized Participant may also be required to cover (up to the maximum amount shown below) certain brokerage, tax, foreign exchange, execution, price movement and other costs and expenses related to the execution of trades resulting from such transaction (which may, in certain instances, be based on a good faith estimate of transaction costs). Authorized Participants will also bear the costs of transferring the Deposit Securities to the Funds. Certain fees/costs associated with creation transactions may be waived in certain circumstances. Investors who use the services of a broker or other financial intermediary to acquire Fund shares may be charged a fee for such services.
The following table sets forth the Funds' standard creation transaction fees and maximum additional charge (as described above):
Standard Creation Transaction Fee |
Maximum Additional Charge* |
||||||
$ |
250.00 |
4 |
bps |
* As a percentage of the net asset value per Creation Unit.
Redemption of Creation Units. Shares of the Funds may be redeemed by Authorized Participants only in Creation Units at their NAV next determined after receipt of a redemption request in proper form by the Distributor or its agent and only on a Business Day. The Funds will not redeem shares in amounts less than Creation Units. There can be no assurance, however, that there will be sufficient liquidity in the secondary market at any time to permit assembly of a Creation Unit. Investors should expect to incur brokerage and other costs in connection with assembling a sufficient number of shares to constitute a Creation Unit that could be redeemed by an Authorized Participant. Beneficial owners also may sell shares in the secondary market.
The Funds generally redeem Creation Units for Fund Securities (as defined below). Please see the Cash Redemption Method section below and the following discussion summarizing the in-kind method for further information on redeeming Creation Units of the Funds.
The designated portfolio of securities (including any portion of such securities for which cash may be substituted) that will be applicable (subject to possible amendment or correction) to redemption requests received in proper form (as defined below) on that day ("Fund Securities" or "Redemption Basket"), and an amount of cash (the "Cash Amount," as described below) (each subject to possible amendment or correction)
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are applicable, in order to effect redemptions of Creation Units of the Funds until such time as the next announced composition of the Fund Securities and Cash Amount is made available. Fund Securities received on redemption may not be identical to Deposit Securities that are applicable to creations of Creation Units. Procedures and requirements governing redemption transactions are set forth in the handbook for Authorized Participants and may change from time to time.
Unless cash redemptions are available or specified for the Funds, the redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit generally consist of Fund Securities, plus the Cash Amount, which is an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of the shares being redeemed, as next determined after the receipt of a redemption request in proper form, and the value of Fund Securities, less a redemption transaction fee (as described below).
The Trust may, in its sole discretion, substitute a "cash in lieu" amount to replace any Fund Security in certain circumstances, including: (i) when the delivery of a Fund Security to the Authorized Participant (or to an investor on whose behalf the Authorized Participant is acting) would be restricted under applicable securities or other local laws or due to a trading restriction; (ii) when the delivery of a Fund Security to the Authorized Participant would result in the disposition of the Fund Security by the Authorized Participant due to restrictions under applicable securities or other local laws; (iii) when the delivery of a Fund Security to the Authorized Participant would result in unfavorable tax treatment; (iv) when a Fund Security cannot be settled or otherwise delivered in time to facilitate an in-kind redemption; or (v) in certain other situations. The amount of cash paid out in such cases will be equivalent to the value of the substituted security listed as a Fund Security. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Trust may, in its sole discretion, substitute a "cash in lieu" amount to replace any Fund Security of the Funds that is a TBA transaction or mortgage pass-through security. In such cases, a transaction fee may be charged on the cash amount paid in lieu of the TBA transaction or mortgage pass through security. In the event that the Fund Securities have a value greater than the NAV of the shares, a compensating cash payment equal to the difference is required to be made by or through an Authorized Participant by the redeeming shareholder. The Funds generally redeem Creation Units for Fund Securities, but the Funds reserve the right to utilize a cash option for redemption of Creation Units. A Fund may, in its sole discretion, provide such redeeming Authorized Participant a portfolio of securities that differs from the exact composition of the Fund Securities, but does not differ in NAV. The Redemption Basket may also be modified to minimize the Cash Component by redistributing the cash to the Fund Securities portion of the Redemption Basket through systematically rounding. The rounding methodology allows position sizes of securities in the Fund Securities to be "rounded up," while limiting the maximum allowed percentage change in weight and share quantity of any given security in the Redemption Basket.
Cash Redemption Method. Although the Trust does not generally permit partial or full cash redemptions of Creation Units of its funds, when partial or full cash redemptions of Creation Units are available or specified for the Funds, they will be effected in essentially the same manner as in-kind redemptions thereof. In the case of partial or full cash redemption, the Authorized Participant receives the cash equivalent of the Fund Securities it would otherwise receive through an in-kind redemption, plus the same Cash Amount to be paid to an in-kind redeemer.
Costs Associated with Redemption Transactions. A standard redemption transaction fee is imposed to offset transfer and other transaction costs that may be incurred by the Funds. 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 an Authorized Participant on the applicable Business Day. If a redemption consists solely or partially of cash, the Authorized Participant may also be required to cover (up to the maximum amount shown below) certain brokerage, tax, foreign exchange, execution, price movement and other costs and expenses related to the execution of trades resulting from such transaction (which may, in certain instances, be based on a good faith estimate of transaction costs). Authorized Participants will also bear the costs of transferring the Fund Securities from the Funds to their account on their order. Certain fees/costs associated with redemption transactions may be waived in certain circumstances. Investors who use the services of a broker or other financial intermediary to dispose of Fund shares may be charged a fee for such services.
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The following table sets forth the Funds' standard redemption transaction fees and maximum additional charge (as described above):
Standard Creation Transaction Fee |
Maximum Additional Charge* |
||||||
$ |
250.00 |
4 |
bps |
* As a percentage of the net asset value per Creation Unit.
Placement of Redemption Orders. Redemption requests for Creation Units of the Funds must be submitted to the Distributor or its agent by or through an Authorized Participant. An Authorized Participant must submit an irrevocable request to redeem shares of the Funds generally before 4:00 p.m., Eastern time on any Business Day in order to receive that day's NAV. On days when the Listing Exchange closes earlier than normal, the Funds may require orders to redeem Creation Units to be placed earlier that day. Investors, other than Authorized Participants, are responsible for making arrangements for a redemption request to be made through an Authorized Participant. The Distributor or its agent will provide a list of current Authorized Participants upon request.
The Authorized Participant must transmit the request for redemption in the form required by the Funds to the Distributor or its agent in accordance with procedures set forth in the Authorized Participant Agreement. Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not have executed an Authorized Participant Agreement and that, therefore, requests to redeem Creation Units may have to be placed by the investor's broker through an Authorized Participant who has executed an Authorized Participant Agreement. At any time, only a limited number of broker-dealers will have an Authorized Participant Agreement in effect. Investors making a redemption request should be aware that such request must be in the form specified by such Authorized Participant. Investors making a request to redeem Creation Units should allow sufficient time to permit proper submission of the request by an Authorized Participant and transfer of the shares to the Funds' transfer agent; such investors should allow for the additional time that may be required to effect redemptions through their banks, brokers or other financial intermediaries if such intermediaries are not Authorized Participants.
A redemption request is considered to be in "proper form" if: (i) an Authorized Participant has transferred or caused to be transferred to the Funds' transfer agent the Creation Unit redeemed through the book-entry system of DTC so as to be effective by the Listing Exchange closing time on any Business Day on which the redemption request is submitted; (ii) a request in form satisfactory to the Funds is received by the Distributor or its agent from the Authorized Participant on behalf of itself or another redeeming investor within the time periods specified above; and (iii) all other procedures set forth in the Authorized Participant Agreement are properly followed.
Upon receiving a redemption request, the Distributor or its agent shall notify the Funds and the Custodian/Transfer Agent of such redemption request. The tender of an investor's shares for redemption and the distribution of the securities and/or cash included in the redemption payment made in respect of Creation Units redeemed will be made through DTC and the relevant Authorized Participant to the Beneficial Owner thereof as recorded on the book-entry system of DTC or the DTC Participant through which such investor holds, as the case may be, or by such other means specified by the Authorized Participant submitting the redemption request.
A redeeming Authorized Participant, whether on its own account or acting on behalf of a Beneficial Owner, must maintain appropriate security arrangements with a qualified broker-dealer, bank or other custody providers in each jurisdiction in which any of the portfolio securities are customarily traded, to which account such portfolio securities will be delivered.
Deliveries of redemption proceeds by the Funds are generally made within one Business Day (i.e., "T+1"). The Funds reserve the right to settle redemption transactions on a basis other than T+1, if necessary or appropriate under the circumstances and compliant with applicable law. If the Funds include a foreign investment in its basket, and if a local market holiday, or series of consecutive holidays, or the extended delivery cycles for transferring foreign investments to redeeming Authorized Participants prevents timely delivery of the foreign investment in response to a redemption request, the Funds may delay delivery of the foreign investment more
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than seven days if the Funds deliver the foreign investment as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 days. Delayed settlement may occur due to a number of different reasons, including, without limitation, settlement cycles for the underlying securities, unscheduled market closings, an effort to link distribution to dividend record dates and ex-dates and newly announced holidays. For example, the redemption settlement process may be extended beyond T+1 because of the occurrence of a holiday in a non-U.S. market or in the U.S. bond market that is not a holiday observed in the U.S. equity market.
To the extent contemplated by an Authorized Participant's agreement with the Distributor or its agent, in the event an Authorized Participant has submitted a redemption request in proper form but is unable to transfer all or part of the Creation Unit to be redeemed to the Funds, at or prior to the time specified by the Funds or its Custodian on the Business Day after the date of submission of such redemption request, the Distributor or its agent will accept the redemption request in reliance on the undertaking by the Authorized Participant to deliver the missing shares as soon as possible. Such undertaking shall be secured by the Authorized Participant's delivery and maintenance of collateral as set forth in the handbook for Authorized Participants. Such collateral must be delivered no later than the time specified by the Funds or its Custodian on the Business Day after the date of submission of such redemption request and shall be held by the Custodian and marked-to-market daily. The fees of the Custodian and any sub-custodians in respect of the delivery, maintenance and redelivery of the collateral shall be payable by the Authorized Participant. The Authorized Participant Agreement permits the Funds to acquire shares of the Funds at any time and subjects the Authorized Participant to liability for any shortfall between the aggregate of the cost to the Funds of purchasing such shares, plus the value of the Cash Amount, and the value of the collateral together with liability for related brokerage and other charges.
Because the portfolio securities of the Funds may trade on exchange(s) on days that the Listing Exchange is closed or are otherwise not Business Days for the Funds, shareholders may not be able to redeem their shares of the Funds, or purchase or sell shares of the Funds on the Listing Exchange on days when the NAV of the Funds could be significantly affected by events in the relevant non-U.S. markets.
The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed with respect to the Funds: (i) for any period during which the Listing Exchange is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings); (ii) for any period during which trading on the Listing Exchange is suspended or restricted; (iii) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which disposal of the shares of the Funds' portfolio securities or determination of its NAV is not reasonably practicable; or (iv) in such other circumstance as is permitted by the SEC.
Custom Baskets. Creation and Redemption baskets may differ and the Funds will accept "custom baskets." A custom basket may include any of the following: (i) a basket that is composed of a non-representative selection of the Funds' portfolio holdings; (ii) a representative basket that is different from the initial basket used in transactions on the same business day; or (iii) a basket that contains bespoke cash substitutions for a single Authorized Participant. The Funds have adopted policies and procedures that govern the construction and acceptance of baskets, consistent with Rule 6c-11 under the 1940 Act. Such policies and procedures provide the parameters for the construction and acceptance of custom baskets that are in the best interests of the Funds and their shareholders, establish processes for revisions to, or deviations from, such parameters, and specify the titles and roles of the employees of SIMC who are required to review each custom basket for compliance with those parameters. In addition, when constructing custom baskets for redemptions, the tax efficiency of the Funds may be taken into account. The policies and procedures distinguish among different types of custom baskets that may be used for the Funds and impose different requirements for different types of custom baskets in order to seek to mitigate against potential risks of conflicts and/or overreaching by an Authorized Participant. SIMC has established a governance process to oversee basket compliance for the Funds, as set forth in the Funds' policies and procedures.
Taxes
The following is a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax considerations regarding the purchase, ownership and disposition of shares of the Funds. This summary does not address all of the potential U.S. federal income tax consequences that may be applicable to the Funds or to all categories of investors,
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some of which may be subject to special tax rules. Current and prospective shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisors with respect to the specific federal, state, local and non-U.S. tax consequences of investing in the Funds. The summary is based on the laws and judicial and administrative interpretations thereof in effect on the date of this SAI, all of which are subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect.
Regulated Investment Company Qualifications. Each Fund has elected and intends to qualify for treatment each year as a separate RIC under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code. By following such a policy, each Fund expects to eliminate or reduce to a nominal amount the federal taxes to which it may be subject. If a Fund qualifies as a RIC, it will generally not be subject to federal income taxes on the net investment income and net realized capital gains that it timely distributes to its shareholders. The Board reserves the right not to maintain the qualification of a Fund as a RIC if it determines such course of action to be beneficial to shareholders.
To qualify for treatment as a RIC, each Fund must annually distribute at least 90% of its investment company taxable income (which includes dividends, interest and net short-term capital gains), computed without regard to the dividends paid deduction, and at least 90% of its net tax-exempt interest income for such year, if any, and meet several other requirements. Among such other requirements are the following: (i) at least 90% of a Fund's annual gross income must be derived from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or non-U.S. currencies, other income (including, but not limited to, gains from options, futures or forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies, and net income derived from interests in qualified publicly-traded partnerships (i.e., partnerships that are traded on an established securities market or tradable on a secondary market, other than a partnership that derives at least 90% of its income from interest, dividends, capital gains and other traditionally permitted RIC income) (the "Qualifying Income Test"); and (ii) at the close of each quarter of a Fund's taxable year, (a) at least 50% of the market value of the Fund's total assets must be represented by cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs and other securities, with such other securities limited for purposes of this calculation in respect of any one issuer to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the Fund's assets and not greater than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (b) not more than 25% of the value of the Fund's total assets may be invested in the securities of any one issuer, of two or more issuers of which 20% or more of the voting stock is held by the Fund and that are engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses or related trades or businesses (other than the securities of other RICs) or the securities of one or more qualified publicly-traded partnerships (the "Asset Test").
If a Fund fails to satisfy the Qualifying Income Test or the Asset Test, the Fund may be eligible for relief provisions if the failures are due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect and if a penalty tax is paid with respect to each failure to satisfy the applicable requirements. Additionally, relief is provided for certain de minimis failures of the Asset Test where a Fund corrects the failure within a specified period of time. In order to be eligible for the relief provisions with respect to a failure to meet the Asset Test, a Fund may be required to dispose of certain assets. If these relief provisions are not available to a Fund and it fails to qualify for treatment as a RIC for a taxable year, all of its taxable income would be subject to tax at the regular corporate income tax rate (currently 21%) without any deduction for distributions to shareholders, and its distributions (including capital gains distributions) generally would be taxable as ordinary income dividends to its shareholders to the extent of such Fund's current and accumulated earnings and profits, subject to the dividends received deduction for corporate shareholders and the lower tax rates on qualified dividend income received by noncorporate shareholders. In addition, a Fund could be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest, and make substantial distributions before requalifying as a RIC. If a Fund determines that it will not qualify for treatment as a RIC, the Fund will establish procedures to reflect the anticipated tax liability in the Fund's NAV.
Although the Funds intend to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and its capital gains for each taxable year, the Funds will be subject to U.S. federal income taxation to the extent any such income or gains are not distributed. Moreover, if the Funds fail to qualify as a RIC in any year, they must pay out their earnings and profits accumulated in that year in order to qualify again as a RIC. If the Funds fail to qualify as a RIC for a period greater than two taxable years, the Funds may be required to recognize any net built-in gains with respect to certain of its assets (i.e., the excess of the aggregate gains, including items of income, over
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aggregate losses that would have been realized with respect to such assets if the Funds had been liquidated) if it qualifies as a RIC in a subsequent year.
A Fund may elect to treat part or all of any "qualified late year loss" as if it had been incurred in the succeeding taxable year in determining the Fund's taxable income, net capital gain, net short-term capital gain, and earnings and profits. The effect of this election is to treat any such "qualified late year loss" as if it had been incurred in the succeeding taxable year in characterizing Fund distributions for any calendar year. A "qualified late year loss" generally includes net capital loss, net long-term capital loss, or net short-term capital loss incurred after October 31 of the current taxable year (commonly referred to as "post-October losses") and certain other late-year losses.
Taxation of RICs. As a RIC, the Funds will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its taxable investment income and capital gains that it distributes to its shareholders, provided that it satisfies a minimum distribution requirement. To satisfy the minimum distribution requirement, the Funds must distribute to its shareholders at least the sum of (i) 90% of its "investment company taxable income" (i.e., income other than its net realized long-term capital gain over its net realized short-term capital loss), plus or minus certain adjustments, and (ii) 90% of its net tax-exempt income for the taxable year. The Funds will be subject to income tax at regular corporate rates on any taxable income or gains that it does not distribute to its shareholders. If the Funds fail to qualify for any taxable year as a RIC or fails to meet the distribution requirement, all of its taxable income will be subject to tax at regular corporate income tax rates without any deduction for distributions to shareholders, and such distributions generally will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary dividends to the extent of the Funds' current and accumulated earnings and profits. In such event, distributions to individuals should be eligible to be treated as qualified dividend income and distributions to corporate shareholders generally should be eligible for the dividends-received deduction. Although the Funds intend to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and its capital gains for each taxable year, the Funds may decide to retain a portion of its income or gains if the Funds determine that doing so is in the interest of its shareholders. The Funds will be subject to U.S. federal income taxation to the extent any such income or gains are not distributed. Moreover, if the Funds fail to qualify as a RIC in any year, they must pay out their earnings and profits accumulated in that year in order to qualify again as a RIC. If the Funds fail to qualify as a RIC for a period greater than two taxable years, the Funds may be required to recognize any net built-in gains with respect to certain of its assets (i.e., the excess of the aggregate gains, including items of income, over aggregate losses that would have been realized with respect to such assets if the Funds had been liquidated) if it qualifies as a RIC in a subsequent year.
Net Capital Loss Carryforwards. Capital losses in excess of capital gains ("net capital losses") are not permitted to be deducted against a RIC's net investment income. Instead, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, potentially subject to certain limitations, a RIC may carry net capital losses from any taxable year forward to offset capital gains in future years. A Fund is permitted to carry net capital losses forward indefinitely. To the extent subsequent capital gains are offset by such losses, they will not result in U.S. federal income tax liability to the Fund and may not be distributed as capital gains to shareholders. Generally, a Fund may not carry forward any losses other than net capital losses.
In the event that the Funds were to experience an ownership change as defined under the Internal Revenue Code, the loss carryforwards and other favorable tax attributes of the Funds, if any, may be subject to limitation.
Excise Tax. The Funds will be subject to a 4% excise tax on certain undistributed income if it does not distribute to its shareholders in each calendar year at least 98% of its ordinary income for the calendar year plus at least 98.2% of its capital gain net income for the 12 months ended October 31 of such year. For this purpose, however, any ordinary income or capital gain net income retained by the Funds that is subject to corporate income tax will be considered to have been distributed by year-end. In addition, the minimum amounts that must be distributed in any year to avoid the excise tax will be increased or decreased to reflect any underdistribution or overdistribution, as the case may be, from the previous year. The Funds intend to declare and distribute dividends and distributions in the amounts and at the times necessary to avoid the application
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of this 4% excise tax, but can make no assurances that such tax will be completely eliminated. For example, a Fund may receive delayed or corrected tax reporting statements from its investments that cause such Fund to accrue additional income and gains after such Fund has already made its excise tax distributions for the year. In such a situation, a Fund may incur an excise tax liability resulting from such delayed receipt of such tax information statements. In addition, a Fund may in certain circumstances be required to liquidate Fund investments in order to make sufficient distributions to avoid federal excise tax liability at a time when the investment adviser might not otherwise have chosen to do so, and liquidation of investments in such circumstances may affect the ability of the Fund to satisfy the requirement for qualification as a RIC.
Taxation of U.S. Shareholders. Each Fund receives income generally in the form of dividends and interest on investments. This income, plus net short-term capital gains, if any, less expenses incurred in the operation of a Fund, constitutes a Fund's net investment income from which dividends may be paid to you. Any distributions by a Fund from such income will be taxable to you as ordinary income or at the lower capital gains rates that apply to individuals receiving qualified dividend income, whether you take them in cash or in additional shares.
Dividends and other distributions by the Funds are generally treated under the Internal Revenue Code as received by the shareholders at the time the dividend or distribution is made. However, any dividend or capital gain distribution declared by the Funds in October, November or December of any calendar year and payable to shareholders of record on a specified date in such a month shall be deemed to have been received by each shareholder on December 31 of such calendar year and to have been paid by the Funds not later than such December 31, provided such dividend is actually paid by the Funds during January of the following calendar year.
The Funds intend to distribute annually to its shareholders substantially all of its net tax-exempt income, investment company taxable income and any net realized long-term capital gains in excess of net realized short-term capital losses (including any capital loss carryovers). However, if a Fund retains for investment an amount equal to all or a portion of its net long-term capital gains in excess of its net short-term capital losses (including any capital loss carryovers), it will be subject to a corporate tax (at a flat rate of 21%) on the amount retained. In that event, a Fund will report such retained amounts as undistributed capital gains in a notice to its shareholders who (a) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gains, their proportionate shares of the undistributed amount, (b) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the tax paid by the Fund on the undistributed amount against their U.S. federal income tax liabilities, if any, and to claim refunds to the extent their credits exceed their liabilities, if any, and (c) will be entitled to increase their tax basis, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, in their shares by an amount equal to the excess of the amount in clause (a) over the amount in clause (b). Organizations or persons not subject to U.S. federal income tax on such capital gains will be entitled to a refund of their pro rata share of such taxes paid by the Funds upon filing appropriate returns or claims for refund with the Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS").
Distributions by a Fund of its net short-term capital gains will be taxable as ordinary income. Distributions of net realized long-term capital gains, if any, that the Funds report as capital gain dividends are taxable as long-term capital gains, whether paid in cash or in shares and regardless of how long a shareholder has held shares of the Funds. Distributions from capital gains are generally made after applying any available capital loss carryforwards. Long-term capital gains are eligible for taxation at a maximum rate of 20% for non-corporate shareholders.
Subject to certain limitations and requirements, dividends reported by a Fund as qualified dividend income will be taxable to non-corporate shareholders at rates of up to 20%. In general, dividends may be reported by a Fund as qualified dividend income if they are paid from dividends received by the Fund on common and preferred stock of U.S. companies or on stock of certain eligible foreign corporations, provided that certain holding period and other requirements are met by the Fund with respect to the dividend-paying stocks in its portfolio. Subject to certain limitations, eligible foreign corporations include those incorporated in possessions of the United States or in certain countries with comprehensive tax treaties with the United States, and other foreign corporations if the stock with respect to which the dividends are paid is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States. A dividend will not be treated as qualified dividend income to the extent
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that: (i) the shareholder has not held the shares on which the dividend was paid for more than 60 days during the 121-day period that begins on the date that is 60 days before the date on which the shares become "ex-dividend" (which is the day on which declared distributions (dividends or capital gains) are deducted from a Fund's assets before it calculates the net asset value) with respect to such dividend, (ii) a Fund has not satisfied similar holding period requirements with respect to the securities it holds that paid the dividends distributed to the shareholder), (iii) the shareholder is under an obligation (whether pursuant to a short sale or otherwise) to make related payments with respect to substantially similar or related property, or (iv) the shareholder elects to treat such dividend as investment income under section 163(d)(4)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code. Therefore, if you lend your shares in a Fund, such as pursuant to a securities lending arrangement, you may lose the ability to treat dividends (paid while the shares are held by the borrower) as qualified dividend income. Distributions that a Fund receives from an underlying fund taxable as a RIC or from a REIT will be treated as qualified dividend income only to the extent so reported by such underlying fund or REIT.
A Fund's participation in loans of securities may affect the amount, timing, and character of distributions to Fund shareholders. If a Fund participates in a securities lending transaction and receives a payment in lieu of dividends (a "substitute payment") with respect to securities on loan in a securities lending transaction, such income generally will not constitute qualified dividend income and thus dividends attributable to such income will not be eligible for taxation at the rates applicable to qualified dividend income for individual shareholders and will not be eligible for the dividends received deduction for corporate shareholders.
Distributions in excess of a Fund's current and accumulated earnings and profits will, as to each shareholder, be treated as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of a shareholder's basis in shares of the Fund, and as a capital gain thereafter (if the shareholder holds shares of the Fund as capital assets). Distributions in excess of a Fund's minimum distribution requirements, but not in excess of the Fund's earnings and profits, will be taxable to shareholders and will not constitute nontaxable returns of capital. Shareholders receiving dividends or distributions in the form of additional shares should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as receiving a distribution in an amount equal to the amount of money that the shareholders receiving cash dividends or distributions will receive and should have a cost basis in the shares received equal to such amount.
Investors considering buying shares just prior to a dividend or capital gain distribution should be aware that, although the price of shares purchased at that time may reflect the amount of the forthcoming distribution, such dividend or distribution may nevertheless be taxable to them. If a Fund is the holder of record of any security on the record date for any dividends payable with respect to such security, such dividends will be included in the Fund's gross income not as of the date received but as of the later of (i) the date such security became ex-dividend with respect to such dividends (i.e., the date on which a buyer of the security would not be entitled to receive the declared, but unpaid, dividends); or (ii) the date the Fund acquired such security. Accordingly, in order to satisfy its income distribution requirements, the Fund may be required to pay dividends based on anticipated earnings, and shareholders may receive dividends in an earlier year than would otherwise be the case.
Sales, Exchanges or Redemptions of Shares. Upon the sale of shares of the Funds, a shareholder will realize a taxable gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized and the shareholder's basis in shares of the Funds. Such gain or loss will be treated as capital gain or loss if the shares are capital assets in the shareholder's hands and will be long-term capital gain or loss if the shares are held for more than one year and short-term capital gain or loss if the shares are held for one year or less. Any loss realized on a sale will be disallowed to the extent the shares disposed of are replaced, including replacement through the reinvesting of dividends or capital gains distributions, or by an option, or contract to acquire substantially identical shares, within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the disposition of the shares. In such a case, the basis of the shares acquired will be increased to reflect the disallowed loss. Any loss realized by a shareholder on the sale of Fund shares held by the shareholder for six months or less will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any distributions or deemed distributions of long-term capital gains received by the shareholder with respect to such share.
An Authorized Participant who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize gain or loss from the exchange. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and the sum of the exchanger's aggregate basis in the securities surrendered
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plus the amount of cash paid for such Creation Units. The ability of Authorized Participants to receive a full or partial cash redemption of Creation Units of a Fund may limit the tax efficiency of the Fund. An Authorized Participant who redeems Creation Units will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the sum of the aggregate market value of any securities received plus the amount of any cash received for such Creation Units and the exchanger's basis in the Creation Units. IRS, however, may assert that an Authorized Participant may not be permitted to currently deduct losses realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units under the rules governing "wash sales" (for an Authorized Participant which does not mark-to-market its holdings) or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.
Any gain or loss realized upon a creation or redemption of Creation Units will be treated as capital or ordinary gain or loss, depending on the circumstances. Any capital gain or loss realized upon the creation of Creation Units will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the securities exchanged for such Creation Units have been held for more than one year and were held as capital assets in the hands of the exchanging Authorized Participant. Any capital gain or loss realized upon the redemption of Creation Units will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the shares comprising the Creation Units have been held for more than one year. Otherwise, such capital gains or losses will be treated as short-term capital gains or losses. Any capital loss realized upon a redemption of Creation Units held for six months or less should be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any amounts treated as distributions to the applicable Authorized Participant of long-term capital gains with respect to the Creation Units (including any amounts credited to the Authorized Participant as undistributed capital gains).
The Trust, on behalf of the Funds, has the right to reject an order for a purchase of shares of a Fund if the purchaser (or group of purchasers) would, upon obtaining the shares so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund and if, pursuant to Sections 351 and 362 of the Internal Revenue Code, the Fund would have a basis in the securities different from the market value of such securities on the date of deposit. If the Fund's basis in such securities on the date of deposit was less than market value on such date, the Fund, upon disposition of the securities, would recognize more taxable gain or less taxable loss than if its basis in the securities had been equal to market value. It is not anticipated that the Trust will exercise the right of rejection except in a case where the Trust determines that accepting the order could result in material adverse tax consequences to the Funds or its shareholders. The Trust also has the right to require information necessary to determine beneficial share ownership for purposes of the 80% determination.
Authorized Participants purchasing or redeeming Creation Units should consult their own tax advisors with respect to the tax treatment of any creation or redemption transaction and whether the wash sales rules apply and when a loss might be deductible.
Backup Withholding. In certain cases, a Fund will be required to withhold at a 24% rate and remit to the U.S. Treasury such amounts withheld from any distributions paid to a shareholder who: (i) has failed to provide a correct taxpayer identification number; (ii) is subject to backup withholding by the IRS; (iii) has failed to certify to the Fund that such shareholder is not subject to backup withholding; or (iv) has not certified that such shareholder is a U.S. person (including a U.S. resident alien). Backup withholding is not an additional tax and any amount withheld may be credited against a shareholder's U.S. federal income tax liability.
Cost Basis Reporting. The cost basis of shares acquired by purchase will generally be based on the amount paid for the shares and then may be subsequently adjusted for other applicable transactions as required by the Internal Revenue Code. The difference between the selling price and the cost basis of shares generally determines the amount of the capital gain or loss realized on the sale or exchange of shares. Contact the broker through whom you purchased your shares to obtain information with respect to the available cost basis reporting methods and elections for your account.
Net Investment Income Tax. U.S. individuals with adjusted gross income (subject to certain adjustments) exceeding certain threshold amounts ($250,000 if married and filing jointly or if considered a "surviving spouse" for federal income tax purposes, $125,000 if married filing separately, and $200,000 in other cases) are subject to a 3.8% tax on all or a portion of their "net investment income." This 3.8% tax also applies to all or a portion of the undistributed net investment income of certain shareholders that are estates and trusts. For these
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purposes, interest, dividends and certain capital gains (including capital gain distributions and capital gains realized on the sale of shares of a Fund or the redemption of Creation Units), among other categories of income, are generally taken into account in computing a shareholder's net investment income.
Taxation of Complex Securities. A Fund's transactions in complex securities, including zero coupon securities, non-U.S. currencies, forward contracts, options and futures contracts (including options and futures contracts on non-U.S. currencies), to the extent permitted, may be subject to special provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (including provisions relating to "hedging transactions" and "straddles") that, among other consequences, may affect the character of gains and losses realized by the Fund (i.e., may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital), accelerate recognition of income to the Fund and defer Fund losses. These rules could therefore affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to shareholders. These provisions also (a) may require a Fund to mark-to-market certain types of the positions in its portfolio (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out at the end of each year) and (b) may cause a Fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to pay dividends or make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the distribution requirements for avoiding income and excise taxes. Each Fund will monitor its transactions, intends to make the appropriate tax elections and intends to make the appropriate entries in its books and records when it acquires any zero coupon security, non-U.S. currency, forward contract, option, futures contract or hedged investment in order to mitigate the effect of these rules and prevent disqualification of the Fund as a RIC.
The Funds are required for federal income tax purposes to mark-to-market and recognize as income for each taxable year its net unrealized gains and losses on certain futures and options contracts subject to section 1256 of the Internal Revenue Code ("Section 1256 Contracts") as of the end of the year as well as those actually realized during the year. Gain or loss from futures and options contracts on broad-based indexes required to be marked to market will be 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gain or loss. Application of this rule may alter the timing and character of distributions to shareholders. The Funds may be required to defer the recognition of losses on Section 1256 Contracts to the extent of any unrecognized gains on offsetting positions held by a Fund. These provisions may also require a Fund to mark-to-market certain types of positions in their portfolios (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out), which may cause a Fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the Distribution Requirement and for avoiding the excise tax discussed above. Accordingly, in order to avoid certain income and excise taxes, a Fund may be required to liquidate its investments at a time when the Adviser might not otherwise have chosen to do so and which may result in a taxable gain or loss.
Reporting. If a shareholder recognizes a loss with respect to the Funds' shares of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder, the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on IRS Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases exempted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a RIC are not exempted. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer's treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.
Other Taxes. Dividends, distributions and redemption proceeds may also be subject to additional state, local and non-U.S. taxes depending on each shareholder's particular situation.
Taxation of Non-U.S. Shareholders. Dividends paid by the Funds to non-U.S. shareholders are generally subject to withholding tax at a 30% rate or a reduced rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty to the extent derived from investment income and short-term capital gains. Dividends paid by the Funds from net tax-exempt income or long-term capital gains are generally not subject to such withholding tax. In order to obtain a reduced rate of withholding, a non-U.S. shareholder will be required to provide an IRS Form W-8BEN or IRS Form W-8BEN-E certifying its entitlement to benefits under a treaty. The withholding tax does not apply to regular dividends paid to a non-U.S. shareholder who provides an IRS Form W-8ECI, certifying that the dividends are effectively connected with the non-U.S. shareholder's conduct of a trade or business within the U.S. Instead, the effectively connected dividends will be subject to regular U.S. income tax as if the non-U.S. shareholder were a U.S. shareholder. A non-U.S. corporation receiving effectively connected dividends may also be subject to additional "branch profits tax" imposed at a rate of 30% (or lower treaty rate). A non-U.S. shareholder who
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fails to provide an IRS Form W-8BEN, IRS Form W-8BEN-E or other applicable form may be subject to backup withholding at the appropriate rate.
Properly reported dividends are generally exempt from U.S. federal withholding tax where they (i) are paid in respect of a Fund's "qualified net interest income" (generally, the Fund's U.S. source interest income, other than certain contingent interest and interest from obligations of a corporation or partnership in which the Fund is at least a 10% shareholder or partner, reduced by expenses that are allocable to such income); or (ii) are paid in respect of a Fund's "qualified short-term capital gains" (generally, the excess of the Fund's net short-term capital gain over the Fund's long-term capital loss for such taxable year). However, depending on its circumstances, a Fund may report all, some or none of its potentially eligible dividends as such qualified net interest income or as qualified short-term capital gains and/or treat such dividends, in whole or in part, as ineligible for this exemption from withholding. In order to qualify for this exemption from withholding, a non-U.S. shareholder will need to comply with applicable certification requirements relating to its non-U.S. status (including, in general, furnishing an IRS Form W-8BEN, IRS Form W-8BEN-E or substitute Form). In the case of shares held through an intermediary, the intermediary may withhold even if the Funds report the payment as qualified net interest income or qualified short-term capital gain. Non-U.S. shareholders should contact their intermediaries with respect to the application of these rules to their accounts.
Under legislation generally known as "FATCA" (the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act), a U.S. withholding tax at a 30% rate is imposed on dividends for shareholders who own their shares through foreign accounts or foreign intermediaries if certain disclosure requirements related to U.S. accounts or ownership are not satisfied. In general, no such withholding will be required with respect to a U.S. person or non-U.S. person that timely provides the certifications required by a Fund or its agent on a valid IRS Form W-9 or applicable series of IRS Form W-8, respectively. Shareholders potentially subject to withholding include foreign financial institutions ("FFIs"), such as non-U.S. investment funds, and non-financial foreign entities ("NFFEs"). To avoid withholding under FATCA, an FFI generally must enter into an information sharing agreement with the IRS in which it agrees to report certain identifying information (including name, address, and taxpayer identification number) with respect to its U.S. account holders (which, in the case of an entity shareholder, may include its direct and indirect U.S. owners), and an NFFE generally must identify and provide other required information to the Funds or other withholding agent regarding its U.S. owners, if any. Such non-U.S. shareholders also may fall into certain exempt, excepted or deemed compliant categories as established by regulations and other guidance. A non-U.S. shareholder resident or doing business in a country that has entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the U.S. to implement FATCA will be exempt from FATCA withholding provided that the shareholder and the applicable foreign government comply with the terms of the agreement. The Funds will not pay any additional amounts in respect to any amounts withheld.
Shareholders that are nonresident aliens or foreign entities are urged to consult their own tax advisors concerning the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in a Fund.
Tax-Exempt Shareholders. Certain tax-exempt shareholders, including qualified pension plans, IRAs, salary deferral arrangements, 401(k)s, and other tax-exempt entities, generally are exempt from federal income taxation except with respect to their unrelated business taxable income ("UBTI"). Tax-exempt entities are not permitted to offset losses from one trade or business against the income or gain of another trade or business. Certain net losses incurred prior to January 1, 2018 are permitted to offset gain and income created by an unrelated trade or business, if otherwise available. Under current law, the Funds generally serve to block UBTI from being realized by their tax-exempt shareholders. However, notwithstanding the foregoing, a tax-exempt shareholder could realize UBTI by virtue of an investment in a Fund where, for example: (i) the Fund invests in residual interests of Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduits ("REMICs"), (ii) the Fund invests in a REIT that is a taxable mortgage pool ("TMP") or that has a subsidiary that is a TMP or that invests in the residual interest of a REMIC, or (iii) shares in the Fund constitute debt-financed property in the hands of the tax-exempt shareholder within the meaning of section 514(b) of the Internal Revenue Code. Charitable remainder trusts
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are subject to special rules and should consult their tax advisor. The IRS has issued guidance with respect to these issues and prospective shareholders, especially charitable remainder trusts, are strongly encouraged to consult their tax advisors regarding these issues.
A Fund's shares held in a tax-qualified retirement account will generally not be subject to federal taxation on income and capital gains distributions from the Fund until a shareholder begins receiving payments from their retirement account.
State Taxes. Depending upon state and local law, distributions by a Fund to its shareholders and the ownership of such shares may be subject to state and local taxes. Rules of state and local taxation of dividend and capital gains distributions from RICs often differ from the rules for federal income taxation described above. It is expected that the Funds will not be liable for any corporate excise, income or franchise tax in Delaware if they qualify as RICs for federal income tax purposes.
The foregoing discussion is a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax considerations only and is not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning. Purchasers of shares should consult their own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of investing in such shares, including consequences under state, local and non-U.S. income and other tax laws. Finally, the foregoing discussion is based on applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, regulations, judicial authority and administrative interpretations in effect on the date of this SAI. Changes in applicable authority could materially affect the conclusions discussed above, and such changes often occur.
The foregoing discussion is a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax considerations only and is not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning. Purchasers of shares should consult their own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of investing in such shares, including consequences under state, local and non-U.S. income and other tax laws. Finally, the foregoing discussion is based on applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, regulations, judicial authority and administrative interpretations in effect on the date of this SAI. Changes in applicable authority could materially affect the conclusions discussed above, and such changes often occur.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
KPMG LLP, located at 1735 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, serves as the Trust's independent registered public accounting firm.
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APPENDIX
A
DESCRIPTION OF RATINGS
Description of Ratings
The following descriptions of securities ratings have been published by Moody's Investors Services, Inc. ("Moody's"), S&P Global Ratings ("S&P"), and Fitch Ratings ("Fitch"), respectively.
Description of Moody's Global Ratings
Ratings assigned on Moody's global long-term and short-term rating scales are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations issued by non-financial corporates, financial institutions, structured finance vehicles, project finance vehicles, and public sector entities. Long-term ratings are assigned to issuers or obligations with an original maturity of eleven months or more and reflect both on the likelihood of a default or impairment on contractual financial obligations and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default or impairment. Short-term ratings are assigned to obligations with an original maturity of thirteen months or less and reflect both on the likelihood of a default or impairment on contractual financial obligations and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default or impairment.
Description of Moody's Global Long-Term Ratings
Aaa Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk.
Aa Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.
A Obligations rated A are judged to be upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.
Baa Obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.
Ba Obligations rated Ba are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk.
B Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.
Caa Obligations rated Caa are judged to be speculative of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk.
Ca Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.
C Obligations rated C are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.
Note: Moody's appends numerical modifiers 1, 2, and 3 to each generic rating classification from Aa through Caa. The modifier 1 indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category.
Hybrid Indicator (hyb)
The hybrid indicator (hyb) is appended to all ratings of hybrid securities issued by banks, insurers, finance companies, and securities firms. By their terms, hybrid securities allow for the omission of scheduled dividends, interest, or principal payments, which can potentially result in impairment if such an omission occurs. Hybrid securities may also be subject to contractually allowable write-downs of principal that could result in impairment. Together with the hybrid indicator, the long-term obligation rating assigned to a hybrid security is an expression of the relative credit risk associated with that security.
A-1
Description of Moody's Global Short-Term Ratings
P-1 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-2 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-3 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations.
NP Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.
Description of Moody's U.S. Municipal Short-Term Obligation Ratings
The Municipal Investment Grade ("MIG") scale is used to rate U.S. municipal cash flow notes, bond anticipation notes and certain other short-term obligations, which typically mature in three years or less. Under certain circumstances, the MIG scale is used to rate bond anticipation notes with maturities of up to five years.
Moody's U.S. municipal short-term obligation ratings are as follows:
MIG 1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing.
MIG 2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group.
MIG 3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.
Description of Moody's Demand Obligation Ratings
In the case of variable rate demand obligations ("VRDOs"), Moody's assigns both a long-term rating and a short-term payment obligation rating. The long-term rating addresses the issuer's ability to meet scheduled principal and interest payments. The short-term payment obligation rating addresses the ability of the issuer or the liquidity provider to met any purchase price payment obligation resulting from optional tenders ("on demand") and/or mandatory tenders of the VRDO. The short-term payment obligation rating uses the Variable Municipal Investment Grade ("VMIG") scale. VMIG ratings with liquidity support use as an input the short-term counterparty risk assessment of the support provider, or the long-term rating of the underlying obligor in the absence of third party liquidity support. Transitions of VMIG ratings with conditional liquidity support differ from transitions of Prime ratings reflecting the risk that external liquidity support will terminate if the issuer's long-term rating drops below investment grade. For VRDOs, Moody's typically assigns a VMIG rating if the frequency of the payment obligation is less than every three years. If the frequency of the payment obligation is less than three years, but the obligation is payable only with remarketing proceeds, the VMIG short-term rating is not assigned and it is denoted as "NR".
Moody's demand obligation ratings are as follows:
VMIG 1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by the superior short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections.
A-2
VMIG 2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Good protection is afforded by the strong short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections.
VMIG 3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Adequate protection is afforded by the satisfactory short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Demand features rated in this category may be supported by a liquidity provider that does not have a sufficiently strong short-term rating or may lack the structural or legal protections.
Description of S&P's Issue Credit Ratings
An S&P issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations, or a specific financial program (including ratings on medium-term note programs and commercial paper programs). It takes into consideration the creditworthiness of guarantors, insurers, or other forms of credit enhancement on the obligation and takes into account the currency in which the obligation is denominated. The opinion reflects S&P's view of the obligor's capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments as they come due, and this opinion may assess terms, such as collateral security and subordination, which could affect ultimate payment in the event of default.
Issue credit ratings can be either long-term or short-term. Short-term issue credit ratings are generally assigned to those obligations considered short-term in the relevant market, typically with an original maturity of no more than 365 days. Short-term issue credit ratings are also used to indicate the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to put features on long-term obligations. S&P would typically assign a long-term issue credit rating to an obligation with an original maturity of greater than 365 days. However, the ratings S&P assigns to certain instruments may diverge from these guidelines based on market practices. Medium-term notes are assigned long-term ratings.
Issue credit ratings are based, in varying degrees, on S&P's analysis of the following considerations:
• The likelihood of payment—the capacity and willingness of the obligor to meet its financial commitments on an obligation in accordance with the terms of the obligation;
• The nature and provisions of the financial obligation, and the promise S&P imputes; and
• The protection afforded by, and relative position of, the financial obligation in the event of a bankruptcy, reorganization, or other arrangement under the laws of bankruptcy and other laws affecting creditors' rights.
An issue rating is an assessment of default risk but may incorporate an assessment of relative seniority or ultimate recovery in the event of default. Junior obligations are typically rated lower than senior obligations, to reflect lower priority in bankruptcy, as noted above. (Such differentiation may apply when an entity has both senior and subordinated obligations, secured and unsecured obligations, or operating company and holding company obligations.)
NR indicates that a rating has not been assigned or is no longer assigned.
Description of S&P's Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings*
AAA An obligation rated 'AAA' has the highest rating assigned by S&P. The obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is extremely strong.
AA An obligation rated 'AA' differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is very strong.
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A An obligation rated 'A' is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is still strong.
BBB An obligation rated 'BBB' exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to weaken the obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.
BB; B;
CCC; Obligations rated 'BB', 'B', 'CCC', 'CC', and 'C' are
regarded as having significant speculative
CC; and
C characteristics. 'BB' indicates the least degree of speculation
and 'C' the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and
protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or
major exposure to adverse conditions.
BB An obligation rated 'BB' is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions that could lead to the obligor's inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.
B An obligation rated 'B' is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated 'BB', but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligor's capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.
CCC An obligation rated 'CCC' is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitments on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.
CC An obligation rated 'CC' is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The 'CC' rating is used when a default has not yet occurred but S&P expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default.
C An obligation rated 'C' is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared with obligations that are rated higher.
D An obligation rated 'D' is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the 'D' rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless S&P believes that such payments will be made within the next five business days in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated grace period or the next 30 calendar days. The 'D' rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. A rating on an obligation is lowered to 'D' if it is subject to a distressed debt restructuring.
*Ratings from 'AA' to 'CCC' may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the rating categories.
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Description of S&P's Short-Term Issue Credit Ratings
A-1 A short-term obligation rated 'A-1' is rated in the highest category by S&P. The obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitments on these obligations is extremely strong.
A-2 A short-term obligation rated 'A-2' is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is satisfactory.
A-3 A short-term obligation rated 'A-3' exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to weaken an obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.
B A short-term obligation rated 'B' is regarded as vulnerable and has significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties that could lead to the obligor's inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments.
C A short-term obligation rated 'C' is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.
D A short-term obligation rated 'D' is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the 'D' rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless S&P believes that such payments will be made within any stated grace period. However, any stated grace period longer than five business days will be treated as five business days. The 'D' rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. A rating on an obligation is lowered to 'D' if it is subject to a distressed debt restructuring.
Description of S&P's Municipal Short-Term Note Ratings
An S&P U.S. municipal note rating reflects S&P's opinion about the liquidity factors and market access risks unique to the notes. Notes due in three years or less will likely receive a note rating. Notes with an original maturity of more than three years will most likely receive a long-term debt rating. In determining which type of rating, if any, to assign, S&P's analysis will review the following considerations:
• Amortization schedule—the larger the final maturity relative to other maturities, the more likely it will be treated as a note; and
• Source of payment—the more dependent the issue is on the market for its refinancing, the more likely it will be treated as a note.
S&P's municipal short-term note ratings are as follows:
SP-1 Strong capacity to pay principal and interest. An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation.
SP-2 Satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes.
SP-3 Speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.
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D 'D' is assigned upon failure to pay the note when due, completion of a distressed debt restructuring, or the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions.
Description of Fitch's Credit Ratings
Fitch's credit ratings relating to issuers are forward looking opinions on the relative ability of an entity or obligation to meet financial commitments. Credit ratings relating to securities and obligations of an issuer can include a recovery expectation. Credit ratings are used are indications of the likelihood of repayment in accordance with the terms of the issuance.
Fitch's credit rating scale for issuers and issues is expressed using the categories 'AAA' to 'BBB' (investment grade) and 'BB' to 'D' (speculative grade) with an additional +/- for AA through CCC levels indicating relative differences of probability of default or recovery for issues. The terms "investment grade" and "speculative grade" are market conventions and do not imply any recommendation or endorsement of a specific security for investment purposes. Investment grade categories indicate relatively low to moderate credit risk, while ratings in the speculative grade categories signal either a higher level of credit risk or that a default has already occurred.
Fitch may also disclose issues relating to a rated issuer that are not and have not been rated. Such issues are also denoted as 'NR' on its web page.
Fitch's credit ratings do not directly address any risk other than credit risk. Credit ratings do not deal with the risk of market value loss due to changes in interest rates, liquidity and/or other market considerations. However, market risk may be considered to the extent that it influences the ability of an issuer to pay or refinance a financial commitment.
Ratings nonetheless do not reflect market risk to the extent that they influence the size or other conditionality of the obligation to pay upon a commitment (for example, in the case of payments linked to performance of an index).
Credit ratings are indications of the likelihood of repayment in accordance with the terms of the issuance. In limited cases, Fitch may include additional considerations (i.e. rate to a higher or lower standard than that implied in the obligation's documentation).
Description of Fitch's Long-Term Corporate Finance Obligations Ratings
AAA Highest credit quality. 'AAA' ratings denote the lowest expectation of credit risk. They are assigned only in cases of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.
AA Very high credit quality. 'AA' ratings denote expectations of very low credit risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.
A High credit quality. 'A' ratings denote expectations of low credit risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.
BBB Good credit quality. 'BBB' ratings indicate that expectations of credit risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate, but adverse business or economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity.
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BB Speculative. 'BB' ratings indicate an elevated vulnerability to credit risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial alternatives may be available to allow financial commitments to be met.
B Highly speculative. 'B' ratings indicate that material credit risk is present.
CCC Substantial credit risk. 'CCC' ratings indicate that substantial credit risk is present.
CC Very high levels of credit risk. 'CC' ratings indicate very high levels of credit risk.
C Exceptionally high levels of credit risk. 'C' ratings indicate exceptionally high levels of credit risk.
Ratings in the categories of 'CCC', 'CC' and 'C' can also relate to obligations or issuers that are in default. In this case, the rating does not opine on default risk but reflects the recovery expectation only.
Defaulted obligations typically are not assigned 'RD' or 'D' ratings, but are instead rated in the 'CCC' to 'C' rating categories, depending on their recovery prospects and other relevant characteristics. This approach better aligns obligations that have comparable overall expected loss but varying vulnerability to default and loss.
Description of Fitch's Short-Term Ratings
A short-term issuer or obligation rating is based in all cases on the short-term vulnerability to default of the rated entity and relates to the capacity to meet financial obligations in accordance with the documentation governing the relevant obligation. Short-term deposit ratings may be adjusted for loss severity. Short-Term Ratings are assigned to obligations whose initial maturity is viewed as "short term" based on market convention (a long-term rating can also be used to rate an issue with short maturity). Typically, this means up to 13 months for corporate, sovereign, and structured obligations and up to 36 months for obligations in U.S. public finance markets.
Fitch's short-term ratings are as follows:
F1 Highest short-term credit quality. Indicates the strongest intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added "+" to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature.
F2 Good short-term credit quality. Good intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.
F3 Fair short-term credit quality. The intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate.
B Speculative short-term credit quality. Minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus heightened vulnerability to near term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.
C High short-term default risk. Default is a real possibility.
RD Restricted default. Indicates an entity that has defaulted on one or more of its financial commitments, although it continues to meet other financial obligations. Typically applicable to entity ratings only.
D Default. Indicates a broad-based default event for an entity, or the default of a short-term obligation.
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