EXCHANGE LISTED FUNDS TRUST
Saba Closed-End Funds ETF (CEFS)
Annual Report
November 30, 2022
Exchange
Listed Funds Trust |
November
30,
2022 |
Saba Closed-End Funds ETF |
||
1 | ||
3 | ||
7 | ||
8 | ||
9 | ||
10 | ||
11 | ||
12 | ||
13 | ||
23 | ||
24 | ||
Board Consideration of Continuance of Advisory and Sub-Advisory Agreements |
25 | |
27 | ||
28 | ||
29 |
Before investing you should carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. This and other information is available in the Fund’s prospectus, a copy of which may be obtained by visiting the Fund’s website at www.sabaetf.com. Please read the prospectus carefully before you invest.
There are risks involved with investing, including possible loss of principal, and there is no guarantee the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The Fund is classified as a diversified investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”).
Individual shares of the Fund may be purchased or sold in the secondary market throughout the regular trading day on the Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. (the “Cboe” or the “Exchange”) through a brokerage account. However, shares are not individually redeemable directly from the Fund. The Fund issues and redeems shares on a continuous basis, at net asset value (“NAV”), only in large blocks of shares (“Creation Units”).
Distributor: Foreside Fund Services, LLC
i
Dear Shareholders,
Thank you for your investment in the Saba Closed-End Funds ETF (the “Fund”). The information presented in this report relates to the operations of the Fund for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2022.
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund that seeks to provide capital appreciation and dividend income by investing in securities issued by closed-end funds (the “Underlying Funds”). The Fund’s sub-adviser, Saba Capital Management, L.P., uses an investment process that combines fundamental analysis, quantitative analysis, and proprietary screening tools to identify and rank closed-end fund investment opportunities. The Fund normally invests in Underlying Funds that pursue high yield and/or equity opportunities and trade at a discount to net asset value. The Fund also seeks to hedge the portfolio’s exposure to rising interest rates by engaging in short sales of U.S. Treasury securities and ETFs that seek to track the performance of bond indices or by entering into various types of derivatives transactions including futures contracts, swaps (including total return swaps), and options (including swaptions).
The Fund’s performance during the fiscal year was positively impacted by substantial discount tightening (i.e., the narrowing of the discount between the market price and net asset value) in several Underlying Funds. The Fund’s performance was negatively impacted by the broader market decline in prices for both equity and fixed income assets. This decline was partially offset by the Fund’s use of hedging transactions to limit the Fund’s exposure to rising interest rates.
For the fiscal year ended November 30, 2022, the Fund’s market price decreased 1.46%, and the net asset value decreased 1.76%, while the broad market high yield index, the iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield Index, returned negative 7.85% and the broad market equity index, the S&P 500® Index returned negative 9.21%.
The Fund commenced operations on March 20, 2017, with outstanding shares of 5,100,001 as of November 30, 2022. We appreciate your investment in the Saba Closed-End Funds ETF.
Sincerely,
J. Garrett Stevens,
Chief Executive Officer
Exchange Traded Concepts, LLC, Adviser to the Fund
1
Saba Closed-End Funds ETF MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION OF FUND PERFORMANCE (Concluded) |
November 30, 2022 (Unaudited) |
Growth of a $10,000 Investment
(at net asset value)
|
|
Average
Annual Return |
| |||
Inception
Date |
One Year |
Five Year |
Since
|
Expense Ratio* | ||
Gross |
Net | |||||
Saba Closed-End Funds ETF (Net Asset Value) |
3/20/2017 |
-1.76% |
6.60% |
7.86% |
2.90% |
2.90% |
Saba Closed-End Funds ETF (Market Price) |
-1.46% |
6.80% |
8.10% |
|||
S&P 500® Index |
-9.21% |
10.98% |
11.97% |
* The expense ratios in this table reflect the total annual fund operating expenses as presented in the Fund’s Prospectus dated April 1, 2022. The 2.90% is inclusive of the Management Fee of 1.10%, Other Expenses (including interest expense) of 0.08% and Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses of 1.72%. In addition to this timing difference, the expense ratios in this table do not correlate to the Fund’s expense ratio as presented in the Fund’s financial highlights because 1) interest expense is variable and 2) the operating expenses of the Fund do not include Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, which are fees and expenses incurred indirectly by the Fund through its investments in certain underlying investment companies.
The performance data quoted herein represents past performance and the return and value of an investment in the Fund will fluctuate so that shares, when redeemed or sold in the market, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Returns shown do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption or sale of Fund shares. Past performance is no guarantee of future performance and should not be considered as a representation of the future results of the Fund. The Fund’s performance assumes the reinvestment of all dividends and all capital gains.
Current performance may be lower or higher than performance data quoted. For the Fund’s most recent month end performance, please visit www.sabaetf.com.
There are no assurances that the Fund will meet its stated objectives.
The Fund’s holdings and allocations are subject to change and should not be considered recommendations to buy individual securities. The information provided herein represents the opinion of Exchange Traded Concepts, LLC for the period stated and is subject to change at any time.
The S&P 500® Index is a capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks. The index is designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries.
The Fund’s shares are listed on an exchange. The price of the Fund’s shares is based on market price, and because exchange-traded fund shares trade at market prices rather than net asset value, shares may trade at a price greater than net asset value (premium) or less than net asset value (discount).
Net asset value (“NAV”) — The dollar value of a single share is calculated by taking the value of the underlying assets of the fund minus its liabilities, divided by the number of shares outstanding. NAV is calculated at the end of each business day.
2
Number
of |
Value | ||||
CLOSED-END FUNDS — 130.2% |
|||||
EQUITY — 36.8% |
|
||||
Aberdeen Emerging Markets Equity Income Fund Inc |
5,367 |
$ |
27,533 | ||
Aberdeen Standard Global Infrastructure Income Fund |
15,316 |
|
280,283 | ||
BlackRock Health Sciences Trust II |
33 |
|
538 | ||
BlackRock Innovation & Growth Trust |
59,180 |
|
444,442 | ||
BlackRock Science & Technology Trust II |
120 |
|
2,066 | ||
Center Coast Brookfield MLP & Energy Infrastructure Fund(a) |
146,912 |
|
2,662,045 | ||
ClearBridge Energy Midstream Opportunity Fund, Inc.(a) |
256,867 |
|
7,816,463 | ||
ClearBridge MLP & Midstream Total Return Fund, Inc.(a) |
187,434 |
|
5,774,841 | ||
Cushing MLP & Infrastructure Total Return Fund (The)(a) |
59,901 |
|
2,110,911 | ||
GAMCO Natural Resources Gold & Income Trust |
6 |
|
30 | ||
Kayne Anderson NextGen Energy & Infrastructure, Inc. |
13,548 |
|
108,790 | ||
Macquarie Global Infrastructure Total Return Fund, Inc. |
9,876 |
|
239,493 | ||
MainStay CBRE Global Infrastructure Megatrends Fund |
24,476 |
|
351,965 | ||
Neuberger Berman MLP & Energy Income Fund, Inc. |
22,066 |
|
159,096 | ||
Neuberger Berman Next Generation Connectivity Fund, Inc.(a) |
522,541 |
|
5,225,410 | ||
New Ireland Fund, Inc. (The)(a) |
47,261 |
|
438,109 | ||
Nuveen Real Asset Income and Growth Fund |
76 |
|
929 | ||
NXG NextGen Infrastructure Income Fund(a) |
60,013 |
|
2,552,353 | ||
Principal Real Estate Income Fund(a) |
140,762 |
|
1,604,687 | ||
Taiwan Fund, Inc. (The) |
7,184 |
|
176,008 | ||
Templeton Emerging Markets Fund |
3,479 |
|
42,061 | ||
Tortoise Energy Independence Fund, Inc.(a) |
13,622 |
|
441,489 | ||
Tortoise Energy Infrastructure Corp. |
2,624 |
|
88,009 | ||
Tortoise Midstream Energy Fund, Inc.(a) |
35,631 |
|
1,342,932 |
Number
of |
Value | ||||
CLOSED-END FUNDS (Continued) |
|||||
Tortoise Pipeline & Energy Fund, Inc. |
5,540 |
$ |
158,333 | ||
Voya Asia Pacific High Dividend Equity Income Fund |
5,534 |
|
34,975 | ||
Voya Emerging Markets High Income Dividend Equity Fund(a) |
276,178 |
|
1,507,932 | ||
Voya Global Advantage and Premium Opportunity Fund |
2,862 |
|
26,073 | ||
Voya Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund |
9,313 |
|
51,501 | ||
Voya Infrastructure Industrials and Materials Fund(a) |
63,722 |
|
622,564 | ||
|
34,291,861 | ||||
FIXED INCOME — 81.9% |
|
||||
Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Fund, Inc. |
2,637 |
|
6,909 | ||
Angel Oak Financial Strategies Income Term Trust(a) |
54,857 |
|
713,690 | ||
Apollo Senior Floating Rate Fund, Inc. |
4,227 |
|
54,232 | ||
Apollo Tactical Income Fund, Inc.(a) |
266,525 |
|
3,304,910 | ||
Ares Dynamic Credit Allocation Fund, Inc.(a) |
85,500 |
|
1,049,085 | ||
Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund(a) |
195,881 |
|
2,667,899 | ||
BlackRock California Municipal Income Trust(a) |
275,437 |
|
3,032,561 | ||
BlackRock Credit Allocation Income Trust |
1,290 |
|
13,777 | ||
Blackrock ESG Capital Allocation Trust(a) |
870,914 |
|
12,488,907 | ||
BlackRock MuniHoldings New York Quality Fund, Inc. |
3,256 |
|
34,123 | ||
BlackRock MuniYield New York Quality Fund, Inc. |
15,932 |
|
161,710 | ||
BlackRock MuniYield Pennsylvania Quality Fund |
110 |
|
1,257 | ||
BlackRock New York Municipal Income Trust |
16 |
|
168 | ||
Blackstone Long-Short Credit Income Fund |
26,362 |
|
298,418 | ||
Blackstone Strategic Credit Fund(a) |
120,407 |
|
1,326,885 | ||
BNY Mellon Municipal Income, Inc. |
4,695 |
|
31,034 | ||
BrandywineGLOBAL Global Income Opportunities Fund, Inc.(a) |
72,375 |
|
594,199 |
3
Saba Closed-End Funds ETF SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Continued) |
November
30,
2022 |
Number
of |
Value | ||||
CLOSED-END FUNDS (Continued) |
|||||
FIXED INCOME (Continued) |
|
||||
Delaware Investments National Municipal Income Fund(a) |
624,509 |
$ |
7,169,363 | ||
Delaware Ivy High Income Opportunities Fund |
9,300 |
|
103,416 | ||
DWS Municipal Income Trust |
1 |
|
9 | ||
DWS Strategic Municipal Income Trust |
1,057 |
|
8,815 | ||
Eaton Vance California Municipal Bond Fund(a) |
84,686 |
|
749,471 | ||
Eaton Vance California Municipal Income Trust |
12,224 |
|
122,973 | ||
Eaton Vance New York Municipal Bond Fund(a) |
382,073 |
|
3,495,968 | ||
Ellsworth Growth and Income Fund Ltd.(a) |
192,128 |
|
1,610,033 | ||
Federated Hermes Premier Municipal Income Fund |
137 |
|
1,504 | ||
First Trust Aberdeen Global Opportunity Income Fund |
1,790 |
|
10,525 | ||
First Trust High Income Long/Short Fund(a) |
151,286 |
|
1,771,559 | ||
First Trust High Yield Opportunities 2027 Term Fund |
10,989 |
|
161,319 | ||
Invesco High Income Trust II |
814 |
|
8,742 | ||
Invesco Pennsylvania Value Municipal Income Trust |
1,501 |
|
15,145 | ||
Invesco Senior Income Trust |
4,000 |
|
15,760 | ||
Invesco Trust for Investment Grade New York Municipals |
606 |
|
6,442 | ||
KKR Income Opportunities Fund |
19,691 |
|
227,825 | ||
MFS High Income Municipal Trust |
7,405 |
|
27,176 | ||
MFS High Yield Municipal Trust |
138,313 |
|
442,602 | ||
MFS Investment Grade Municipal Trust |
91,284 |
|
665,917 | ||
MFS Municipal Income Trust |
440 |
|
2,288 | ||
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Debt Fund, Inc.(a) |
337,270 |
|
2,239,473 | ||
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Domestic Debt Fund, Inc.(a) |
1,311,158 |
|
5,834,653 | ||
Neuberger Berman California Municipal Fund, Inc. |
620 |
|
6,839 | ||
Neuberger Berman New York Municipal Fund, Inc. |
793 |
|
7,867 | ||
New America High Income Fund, Inc. (The) |
24,525 |
|
175,599 | ||
Nuveen Core Plus Impact Fund(a) |
367,744 |
|
4,034,152 |
Number
of |
Value | ||||
CLOSED-END FUNDS (Continued) |
|||||
Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund(a) |
241,909 |
$ |
1,294,213 | ||
Nuveen Mortgage and Income Fund |
3,190 |
|
51,519 | ||
Nuveen New Jersey Quality Municipal Income Fund |
8,924 |
|
104,500 | ||
Nuveen New York AMT-Free Quality Municipal Income Fund(a) |
57,354 |
|
608,526 | ||
Nuveen New York Quality Municipal Income Fund |
5,110 |
|
56,006 | ||
Nuveen Ohio Quality Municipal Income Fund(a) |
53,972 |
|
691,381 | ||
Nuveen Pennsylvania Quality Municipal Income Fund |
11,443 |
|
130,794 | ||
Nuveen Senior Income Fund |
273 |
|
1,340 | ||
PGIM Global High Yield Fund, Inc.(a) |
45,201 |
|
512,127 | ||
PGIM Short Duration High Yield Opportunities Fund(a) |
137,751 |
|
2,108,968 | ||
Pioneer High Income Fund, Inc. |
19,035 |
|
132,864 | ||
Pioneer Municipal High Income Opportunities Fund, Inc.(a) |
130,109 |
|
1,466,328 | ||
Templeton Global Income Fund(a) |
2,436,198 |
|
10,329,480 | ||
Vertical Capital Income Fund(a) |
99,957 |
|
918,065 | ||
Virtus Convertible & Income Fund II(a) |
289,539 |
|
903,362 | ||
Western Asset Diversified Income Fund(a) |
148,400 |
|
2,019,724 | ||
Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund, Inc. |
1,500 |
|
6,090 | ||
Western Asset Intermediate Muni Fund, Inc. |
27,024 |
|
208,625 | ||
Western Asset Municipal Partners Fund, Inc. |
835 |
|
10,262 | ||
|
76,249,373 | ||||
HYBRID — 11.5% |
|
||||
Blackrock Capital Allocation Trust(a) |
101,090 |
|
1,482,990 | ||
Calamos Long/Short Equity & Dynamic Income Trust |
1,580 |
|
25,628 | ||
Delaware Enhanced Global Dividend & Income Fund(a) |
91,680 |
|
708,686 | ||
Ecofin Sustainable and Social(a) |
162,175 |
|
2,246,124 | ||
First Trust Aberdeen Emerging Opportunity Fund(a) |
112,469 |
|
1,074,113 |
4
Saba Closed-End Funds ETF SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Continued) |
November
30,
2022 |
Number
of |
Value | |||||
CLOSED-END FUNDS (Continued) |
||||||
HYBRID (Continued) |
|
| ||||
Goldman Sachs MLP Energy and Renaissance Fund |
1,093 |
$ |
14,909 |
| ||
Guggenheim Active Allocation Fund |
811 |
|
11,370 |
| ||
Nuveen Multi-Asset Income Fund(a) |
391,052 |
|
4,829,492 |
| ||
Thornburg Income Builder Opportunities Trust |
13,779 |
|
199,244 |
| ||
Virtus Dividend Interest & Premium Strategy Fund |
12,815 |
|
154,549 |
| ||
|
10,747,105 |
| ||||
REAL ESTATE — 0.0% |
|
| ||||
Cohen & Steers Real Estate Opportunities and Income Fund |
1,676 |
|
24,654 |
| ||
TOTAL INVESTMENTS
— 130.2% |
|
121,312,993 |
| |||
Liabilities in Excess of Other Assets — (30.2%) |
|
(28,173,983 |
) | |||
TOTAL NET ASSETS — 100.0% |
$ |
93,139,010 |
|
(a) All or a portion of this security is pledged as collateral for borrowings. As of November 30, 2022, the aggregate value of those securities was $63,735,844, representing 68.4% of net assets.
5
Saba Closed-End Funds ETF SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Concluded) |
November
30,
2022 |
FUTURES CONTRACTS
Expiration |
Number
of |
Notional |
Value |
Unrealized | |||||||||
Bond Futures (Short Position) |
|
|
|
||||||||||
CBOT 10-Year U.S. Treasury Note |
March 2023 |
(44) |
$ |
(4,986,370) |
$ |
(4,994,000) |
$ |
(7,630) | |||||
CBOT 5-Year U.S. Treasury Note |
March 2023 |
(214) |
|
(23,161,741) |
|
(23,234,047) |
|
(72,306) | |||||
TOTAL FUTURES CONTRACTS |
$ |
(28,148,111) |
$ |
(28,228,047) |
$ |
(79,936) |
Other Affiliated Investments
Fiscal period to date transactions with investments which are or were affiliates are as follows:
Affiliate |
Value at
|
Purchases
|
Sales
|
Net
|
Net Change
|
Value at
|
Number of
|
Dividend
|
Capital Gain
| |||||||||||||||||
Delaware Investments National Municipal Income Fund(a)(b) |
$ |
— |
$ |
8,371,639 |
$ |
— |
$ |
(25) |
$ |
— |
$ |
— |
— |
$ |
263,627 |
$ |
— | |||||||||
High Yield ETF(a)(c) |
|
— |
|
264,871 |
|
(243,573) |
|
(21,298) |
|
— |
|
— |
— |
|
6,968 |
|
— | |||||||||
Total |
$ |
— |
$ |
8,636,510 |
$ |
(243,573) |
$ |
(21,323) |
$ |
— |
$ |
— |
— |
$ |
270,595 |
$ |
— |
(a) Security is no longer an affiliated company at period end.
(b) Affiliated issuer as the beneficial owners of 5% or more of total outstanding shares of the Fund.
(c) Affiliated fund managed by Exchange Traded Concepts, LLC.
6
Security Type/Sector |
Percent
of | ||
Closed-End Funds |
| ||
Equity |
36.8 |
% | |
Fixed Income |
81.9 |
% | |
Hybrid |
11.5 |
% | |
Real Estate |
0.0 |
% | |
Total Closed-End Funds |
130.2 |
% | |
Total Investments |
130.2 |
% | |
Liabilities in Excess of Other Assets |
(30.2 |
)% | |
Total Net Assets |
100.0 |
% |
7
|
Saba Closed-End
| |||
Assets: |
| |||
Investments, at value |
$ |
121,312,993 |
| |
Cash |
|
1,027,999 |
| |
Deposit at broker for futures contracts |
|
459,580 |
| |
Dividends receivable |
|
65,456 |
| |
Investment securities sold |
|
42,191 |
| |
Total Assets |
|
122,908,219 |
| |
|
| |||
Liabilities: |
|
| ||
Advisory fee payable |
|
80,354 |
| |
Credit Facility payable |
|
29,342,086 |
| |
Investment securities purchased |
|
227,113 |
| |
Variation margin on futures contracts |
|
119,656 |
| |
Total Liabilities |
|
29,769,209 |
| |
Net Assets |
$ |
93,139,010 |
| |
Net Assets Consist of: |
|
| ||
Paid-in capital |
$ |
97,761,060 |
| |
Distributable earnings (loss) |
|
(4,622,050 |
) | |
Net Assets |
$ |
93,139,010 |
| |
|
| |||
Net Assets |
$ |
93,139,010 |
| |
Shares of
Beneficial Interest Outstanding |
|
5,100,001 |
| |
Net Asset Value, Offering and Redemption Price Per Share |
$ |
18.26 |
| |
Investments, at cost |
$ |
125,380,304 |
|
8
Saba
Closed-End | ||||
Year
Ended | ||||
Investment Income: |
|
| ||
Unaffiliated dividends |
$ |
3,965,023 |
| |
Affiliated dividends |
|
270,595 |
| |
Total Investment Income |
|
4,235,618 |
| |
Expenses: |
|
| ||
Advisory fees |
|
953,967 |
| |
Interest expense: |
|
| ||
Line of credit |
|
173,380 |
| |
Total Expenses |
|
1,127,347 |
| |
Net Investment Income (Loss) |
|
3,108,271 |
| |
Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) |
|
| ||
Net realized gain (loss) from: |
|
| ||
Unaffiliated investments |
|
713,776 |
| |
Affiliated investments |
|
(21,323) |
| |
Futures |
|
1,834,843 |
| |
Capital gain distributions from underlying funds |
|
1,091,551 |
| |
Net realized gain (loss) |
|
3,618,847 |
| |
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on: |
|
| ||
Investments |
|
(8,063,414 |
) | |
Futures |
|
(55,039 |
) | |
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) |
|
(8,118,453 |
) | |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) |
|
(4,499,606 |
) | |
Net Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets Resulting from Operations |
$ |
(1,391,335 |
) |
9
Saba Closed-End Funds ETF | ||||||||
Year
Ended |
Year
Ended | |||||||
From Investment Activities: |
|
|
|
| ||||
Operations: |
|
|
|
| ||||
Net investment income (loss) |
$ |
3,108,271 |
|
$ |
1,818,324 |
| ||
Net realized gain (loss) |
|
3,618,847 |
|
|
6,810,912 |
| ||
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) |
|
(8,118,453 |
) |
|
1,715,571 |
| ||
Net Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets Resulting from Operations |
|
(1,391,335 |
) |
|
10,344,807 |
| ||
Distributions to Shareholders: |
|
|
|
| ||||
Distributions |
|
(9,532,754 |
) |
|
(5,831,002 |
) | ||
Return of capital |
|
(596,570 |
) |
|
— |
| ||
Total Distributions to Shareholders |
|
(10,129,324 |
) |
|
(5,831,002 |
) | ||
Capital Transactions: |
|
|
|
| ||||
Proceeds from shares issued |
|
27,047,662 |
|
|
26,011,238 |
| ||
Cost of shares redeemed |
|
(8,126,550 |
) |
|
— |
| ||
Net Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets Resulting from Capital Share Transactions |
|
18,921,112 |
|
|
26,011,238 |
| ||
Total Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets |
|
7,400,453 |
|
|
30,525,043 |
| ||
Net Assets: |
|
|
|
| ||||
Beginning of period |
|
85,738,557 |
|
|
55,213,514 |
| ||
End of period |
$ |
93,139,010 |
|
$ |
85,738,557 |
| ||
Change in Shares Outstanding: |
|
|
|
| ||||
Shares outstanding, beginning of period |
|