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TOEWS AGILITY SHARES MANAGED RISK ETF

 

Ticker Symbol: MRSK

 

Primary Listing Exchange for the Fund: Cboe BZX Exchange Inc.

 

 

PROSPECTUS

 

August 29, 2022

 

  Advised by:
  Toews Corporation
  1750 Zion Road, Suite 201
  Northfield, NJ 08225

 

https://toewsetfs.com 1-888-604-5506

 

This Prospectus provides important information about the Fund that you should know before investing. Please read it carefully and keep it for future reference. These securities have not been approved or disapproved by the Securities and Exchange Commission nor has the Securities and Exchange Commission passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

 

FUND SUMMARY:  TOEWS AGILITY SHARES MANAGED RISK ETF 1
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RELATED RISKS 5
Investment Objectives 5
Principal Investment Strategies 5
Principal Investment Risks 6
Temporary Investments 9
Portfolio Holdings Disclosure 9
Cybersecurity 9
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND 10
Investment Adviser 10
Portfolio Managers 10
NET ASSET VALUE 11
HOW TO BUY AND SELL SHARES 12
FREQUENT PURCHASES AND REDEMPTIONS OF FUND SHARES 12
DISTRIBUTION AND SERVICE PLAN 13
DIVIDENDS, OTHER DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES 13
OTHER INFORMATION 15
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS 16
PRIVACY NOTICE 17

 

 

FUND SUMMARY: TOEWS AGILITY SHARES MANAGED RISK ETF

 

 

Investment Objectives:

The Fund seeks to provide long-term growth of capital and income, while limiting risk.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund:

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)  
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load)   None
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends and Other Distributions None
Redemption Fee None

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
 
Management Fees 0.85%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees 0.00%
Other Expenses 0.93%
Interest Expense 0.01%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses(1) 0.02%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 1.81%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(2) (0.83)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement 0.98%

 

(1) Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, which are estimated for the Fund’s current fiscal year, are the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies. The operating expenses in this fee table will not correlate to the expense ratio in the Fund’s financial highlights because the financial statements include only the direct operating expenses incurred by the Fund.

 

(2) The Fund’s adviser has contractually agreed to reduce its fees and/or absorb expenses of the Fund, through at least August 31, 2023, to ensure that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Reimbursement (exclusive of any (i) front-end or contingent deferred loads; (ii) brokerage fees and commissions; (iii) acquired fund fees and expenses; (iv) taxes; or (v) extraordinary expenses such as litigation (which may include indemnification of Fund officers and Trustees or contractual indemnification of Fund service providers (other than the adviser)) will not exceed 0.95%; subject to possible recoupment from the Fund in future years on a rolling three year basis (within the three years after the fees have been waived or reimbursed), if such recoupment can be achieved within the foregoing expense limits. This agreement may be terminated only by the Fund’s Board of Trustees, on 60 days’ written notice to the adviser.

 

Example:

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

 

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example further assumes that the Fund’s operating expense limitation agreement will only be in place for the term specified above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based upon these assumptions your costs would be:

 

  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
  $100 $489 $902 $2,058

 

Portfolio Turnover:

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, may adversely affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal period, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 335% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

Principal Investment Strategies:

 

The Fund seeks exposure to the large-cap U.S. equity market primarily through investment in S&P 500 Index futures contracts, ETFs that track the S&P 500 Index, and/or the component stocks of the S&P 500 Index. The Fund buys put options against these positions to offset the risk of adverse price movements, and buys and writes call and/or put options against the same positions to reduce volatility and to receive income from written call options.

 

The Fund’s adviser (the “Adviser”) seeks to achieve the Fund’s investment objective by investing in: 1) equity and equity index futures, 2) equity index options, 3) options on equity index futures, 4) options on exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), 5) ETFs that invest primarily in common stocks, 6) ETFs that invest primarily in fixed income securities, 7) common stocks, 8) fixed income securities and 9) cash or cash equivalents.

1

 

Principal Risks:

As with all funds, there is the risk that you could lose money through your investment in the Fund. Many factors affect the Fund’s net asset value and performance.

 

Allocation Risk: The risk that if the Fund’s strategy for allocating assets among different assets classes does not work as intended, the Fund may not achieve its objective or may underperform other funds with the same or similar investment strategy

 

Equity Risk: The price of equity securities may rise or fall because of changes in the broad market or changes in a company’s financial condition, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual companies, sectors or industries selected for the Fund’s portfolio or the securities market as a whole, such as changes in economic or political conditions. To the extent that the Fund has investment exposure to large cap company securities, it may underperform other funds during periods when large cap company securities are out of favor.

 

ETF Underlying Fund Risk: ETFs are subject to investment advisory fees and other expenses, which will be indirectly paid by the Fund. As a result, your cost of investing in the Fund will be higher than the cost of investing directly in ETFs and may be higher than other exchange-traded funds that invest directly in securities. Each ETF is subject to specific risks, depending on its investments. Investment in the Fund should be made with the understanding that the ETFs in which the Fund invests will not be able to replicate exactly the performance of the indices they track because the total return generated by the securities will be reduced by transaction costs incurred in adjusting the actual balance of the securities. The market value of the ETF shares may differ from their net asset value. Accordingly, there may be times when an ETF share trades at a premium or discount to its net asset value.

 

ETF Structure Risk: The Fund is structured as an ETF and as a result is subject to special risks, including:

 

○ Not Individually Redeemable. Shares are not individually redeemable and may be redeemed by the Fund at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units.” You may incur brokerage costs purchasing enough Shares to constitute a Creation Unit.

 

○ Trading Issues. Trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable, such as extraordinary market volatility. There can be no assurance that Shares will continue to meet the listing requirements of the Exchange. An active trading market for the Fund’s shares may not be developed or maintained. If the Fund’s shares are traded outside a collateralized settlement system, the number of financial institutions that can act as authorized participants that can post collateral on an agency basis is limited, which may limit the market for the Fund’s shares. To the extent that those authorized participants exit the business or are unable to process creation or redemption orders and no other authorized participants are able to step forward to do so, there may be a significantly diminished trading market for the Fund’s shares. This could lead to differences between market price and underlying value of shares.

 

○ Liquidity Risk. In stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the market for the Fund’s underlying holdings. This adverse effect on the liquidity of the Fund’s shares may, in turn, lead to differences between the market value of the Fund’s shares and the Fund’s net asset value.

 

○ Cash Transaction Risk. Purchases and redemptions of creation units that are made primarily with cash, rather than through in-kind delivery of portfolio securities may cause the Fund to incur additional costs including brokerage costs and taxable capital gains or losses that the Fund may not have incurred if the Fund had made redemptions in-kind.

 

○ Market Price Variance Risk. Individual Shares of the Fund that are listed for trading on the Exchange can be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of Shares will fluctuate in response to changes in NAV and supply and demand for Shares. There may be times when the market price and the NAV vary significantly and you may pay more than NAV when buying Shares on the secondary market, and you may receive less than NAV when you sell those Shares. The market price of Shares, like the price of any exchange-traded security, includes a “bid-ask spread” charged by the exchange specialists, market makers or other participants that trade the particular security. In times of severe market disruption, the bid-ask spread often increases significantly. This means that Shares may trade at a discount to NAV and the discount is likely to be greatest when the price of Shares is falling fastest, which may be the time that you most want to sell your Shares. The Fund’s investment results are measured based upon the daily NAV of the Fund over a period of time. Investors purchasing and selling Shares in the secondary market may not experience investment results consistent with those experienced by those creating and redeeming directly with the Fund.

 

Derivatives Risk: The Fund’s use of derivatives involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. These risks include leverage risk and correlation or tracking risk.

 

Fixed Income Risk: When the Fund invests in fixed income securities, the value of your investment in the Fund will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities. In general, the market price of debt securities with longer maturities will increase or decrease more in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term securities. Other risk factors include credit risk (the debtor may default) and prepayment risk (the debtor may pay its obligation early, reducing the amount of interest payments). These risks could affect the value of a particular investment, possibly causing the Fund’s share price and total return to be reduced and fluctuate more than other types of investments.

2

 

Fluctuation of Net Asset Value Risk: The NAV of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. The market prices of the shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV as well as the relative supply of and demand for the shares on the Exchange. The Adviser cannot predict whether the shares will trade below, at or above their NAV. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for the shares will be closely related to, but not identical to, the same forces influencing the prices of the Fund’s holdings trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. In addition, unlike conventional ETFs, the Fund is not an index fund. The Fund is actively managed and does not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index. Index based ETFs have generally traded at prices which closely correspond to NAV per share. Actively managed ETFs have a limited trading history and, therefore, there can be no assurance as to whether and/or the extent to which the shares will trade at premiums or discounts to NAV.

 

Futures Risk: The Fund’s use of futures contracts involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. These risks include leverage risk and correlation or tracking risk. Because futures require only a small initial investment in the form of a deposit or margin, they involve a high degree of leverage. Under certain market conditions, futures contracts may become illiquid. As a result, the Fund may be unable to close out its futures contracts at a time which is advantageous or take an offsetting defensive position, potentially resulting in significant losses for the Fund.

 

Issuer Risk: Fund value might decrease in response to the activities and financial prospects of an individual company or issuer in the Fund’s portfolio. The value of an individual issuer can be more volatile than the market as a whole and can perform differently from the value of the market as a whole. The value of certain types of companies or issuers can be more volatile due to increased sensitivity to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market, or economic developments.

 

Large Capitalization Stock Risk: Large-capitalization companies may be less able than smaller capitalization companies to adapt to changing market conditions. Large-capitalization companies may be more mature and subject to more limited growth potential compared with smaller capitalization companies. During different market cycles, the performance of large capitalization companies has trailed the overall performance of the broader securities markets.

 

Limited History of Operations Risk: The Fund is a new ETF with a limited history of operations for investors to evaluate.

 

Management Risk: The ability of the Fund to meet its investment objective is directly related to the adviser’s investment model. The models used by the adviser to determine or guide investment decisions may not achieve the objectives of the Fund. The adviser’s assessment of the attractiveness and potential appreciation of particular investments or markets in which the Fund invests may prove to be incorrect and there is no guarantee that the adviser’s investment strategy will produce the desired results. The returns generated by the Fund’s strategy may be volatile and may result in material losses for the Fund.

 

Market and Geopolitical Risk: The increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. Securities in the Fund may underperform due to inflation (or expectations for inflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, natural disasters, climate change or climate -related events,pandemics, epidemics, terrorism, regulatory events and governmental or quasi-governmental actions. The occurrence of global events similar to those in recent years, such as terrorist attacks around the world, natural disasters, social and political discord or debt crises and downgrades, among others, may result in market volatility and may have long term effects on both the U.S. and global financial markets. It is difficult to predict when similar events affecting the U.S. or global financial markets may occur, the effects that such events may have and the duration of those effects. Any such event(s) could have a significant adverse impact on the value and risk profile of the Fund. The current novel coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic and the aggressive responses taken by many governments, including closing borders, restricting international and domestic travel, and the imposition of prolonged quarantines or similar restrictions, as well as the forced or voluntary closure of, or operational changes to, many retail and other businesses, has had negative impacts, and in many cases severe negative impacts, on markets worldwide. It is not known how long such impacts, or any future impacts of other significant events described above, will or would last, but there could be a prolonged period of global economic slowdown, which may impact your investment. Therefore, the Fund could lose money over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during more prolonged market downturns. During a general market downturn, multiple asset classes may be negatively affected. Changes in market conditions and interest rates can have the same impact on all types of securities and instruments. In times of severe market disruptions you could lose your entire investment.

 

Options Risk: Options are subject to changes in the underlying securities or index of securities on which such instruments are based. Typically, the seller (writer) of a covered put or call option assumes the risk of a decline in the market price of the underlying security below the strike price of the underlying security less the premium received, and gives up the opportunity for gain on the underlying security above the exercise price of the option and the buyer of a put or call option, risks losing the entire premium invested in the option if it does not exercise the option.

 

Portfolio Turnover Risk: Portfolio turnover results in higher brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and other transaction costs and may result in taxable capital gains. Higher costs associated with increased portfolio turnover may offset gains in the Fund’s performance.

3

 

Performance:

The bar chart and performance table below show the variability of the Fund’s returns, which is some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s shares for each full calendar year since the Fund’s inception. The performance table compares the performance of the Fund’s shares over time to the performance of a broad-based securities market index. You should be aware that the Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) may not be an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at no cost by calling 1-888-604-5506.

 

Performance Bar Chart

Calendar Years Ended December 31

 

(BAR CHART)

 

   
Annual Return 2021 20.45%

Best Quarter: 12/31/2021 8.35%
Worst Quarter: 9/30/2021 (0.03)%

 

The total return for Fund shares from January 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022 was (11.89)%.

 

Performance Table

Average Annual Total Returns

(For periods ended December 31, 2021)

 

  One
Year
Since Inception
of the Fund
Return before taxes 20.45% 25.08%
Return after taxes on distributions 15.94% 20.93%
Return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares 13.73% 18.33%

CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite Index*

(reflects no deduction for fees, expense or taxes)

20.47% 24.95%

 

* CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite Index is a benchmark index designed to show the hypothetical performance of a portfolio that engages in a buywrite strategy using S&P 500 index call options. Investor cannot invest directly in an index.

 

Adviser: Toews Corporation is the Fund’s investment adviser.

 

Portfolio Managers: Phillip Toews, President, Randall Schroeder, Chief Operating Officer, Jason Graffius, Head of Research, and Charles Collins, Head of Trading, of the adviser, serve as the Fund’s Co-Portfolio Managers and are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Messrs. Toews, Schroeder, Graffius and Collins have each served the Fund in this capacity since the Fund commenced operations in June 2020.

 

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares: The Fund will issue and redeem Shares at net asset value per Share (“NAV”) only in large blocks of 25,000 Shares (each block of Shares is called a “Creation Unit”). Creation Units are issued and redeemed for cash and/or in-kind for securities. Individual Shares may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through brokers. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the Shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund.

 

Shares of the Fund are listed for trading on Cboe BZX Exchange Inc. (the “Exchange”) and trade at market prices rather than NAV. Shares of the Fund may trade at a price that is greater than, at, or less than NAV.

 

Tax Information: Dividends and capital gain distributions you receive from the Fund, whether you reinvest your distributions in additional Fund shares or receive them in cash, are taxable to you at either ordinary income or capital gains tax rates unless you are investing through a tax-free plan. If you are investing through a tax-free plan, you will be taxed upon withdrawal from your account.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries: If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

4

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RELATED RISKS

 

 

Investment Objectives 

  

The Fund seeks to provide long-term growth of capital and income, while limiting risk. The Fund’s investment objective(s) is/are a non-fundamental policy and may be changed by the Fund’s Board of Trustees upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders. 

 

Principal Investment Strategies 

 

The Fund’s adviser (the “Adviser”) seeks to achieve the Fund’s investment objective by investing in: 1) equity and equity index futures, 2) equity index options, 3) options on equity index futures, 4) options on exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), 5) ETFs that invest primarily in common stocks, 6) ETFs that invest primarily in fixed income securities, 7) common stocks, 8) fixed income securities and 9) cash or cash equivalents.

 

As to fixed income investments, the Fund invests primarily in investment grade fixed income securities of domestic issuers without restriction as to maturity or type of issuer. The Fund may invest in US Treasury bills, notes, and bonds of any duration or length until maturity. The Fund may invest in futures contracts that derive the value from US Treasury bills, notes, and bonds of any duration or length until maturity. The Fund may allocate 85% to fixed income ETFs and/or other fixed income securities.

 

The Adviser may engage in frequent trading of the Fund’s portfolio investment, resulting in a higher portfolio turnover rate for the Fund.

 

The Adviser’s strategy in managing the Fund consists of two components: an equity market strategy and a fixed income market strategy. Each strategy is discussed in greater detail below.

 

Equity Market Strategy:

 

Under the Fund’s equity market strategy, the Fund seeks exposure to the large-cap U.S. equity market primarily through investment in S&P 500 Index futures contracts, ETFs that track the S&P 500 Index, and the component stocks of the S&P 500 Index. The Fund buys put options against these positions to offset the risk of adverse price movements, and buys and writes call and/or put options against the same positions to reduce volatility and to receive income from written call/put options. The Adviser selects a combination of securities and derivatives that it believes will produce economic exposure along a continuum similar to that of the securities of the S&P 500 Index. Through the Fund’s equity market strategy, the Fund’s level of notional exposure to the S&P 500 Index ranges from 0% to 125% of the Fund’s assets.

 

A futures contract provides for the future sale of a specified amount of a specific financial instrument for a specified price, date, time and place designated at the time the contract is made. The Adviser’s strategy typically targets futures contracts with the shortest duration available, but futures contracts with any expiration date may be utilized. A call option on a security is a contract that gives the holder of the option, in return for a premium, the right, but not the obligation, to buy from the writer of the option the security underlying the option at a specified exercise or “strike” price by or before the contract’s expiration. A put option on a security is a contract that gives the holder of the option, in return for a premium, the right to sell to the writer of the option the security underlying the option at a specified exercise or “strike” price. The writer of an option on a security has the obligation upon exercise of the option to purchase the underlying security at the exercise price. Options of any exercise price or maturity may be utilized.

 

Fixed Income Market Strategy:

 

Under the Fund’s fixed income market strategy, the Fund seeks exposure to the U.S. investment grade bond market primarily through the Adviser’s tactical selection of US Treasury bills, notes, and bonds of any duration or length until maturity. The Fund may also invest in derivatives or futures contracts that derive the value from US Treasury bills, notes, and bonds of any duration or length until maturity. The Fund’s allocation to fixed income ETFs and/or other fixed income securities may be significant.

 

The adviser uses technical analysis, including monitoring price movements and momentum, of fixed income markets in an effort to identify the proper weighting of the Fund’s portfolio. The adviser buys and sells securities to increase or decrease the Fund’s exposure to the investment-grade fixed income market. The adviser’s decision to buy or sell the fixed income security will be made based on current market conditions and the adviser’s determination of the appropriate exposure level to the equity and fixed income markets.

5

 

Principal Investment Risks

 

There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The Fund’s share price will fluctuate with changes in the market value of its portfolio securities. When you sell your Fund shares, they may be worth less than what you paid for them and, accordingly, you can lose money investing in the Fund. The following risks could adversely affect the net asset value, total return and the value of the Fund and your investment. The risk descriptions below provide a more detailed explanation of the principal investment risks that correspond to the risks described in the Fund’s Summary section of this Prospectus.

 

Derivatives Risk: The Fund’s use of derivatives involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. These risks include leverage risk and correlation or tracking risk.

 

Equity Risk: The price of equity securities may rise or fall because of changes in the broad market or changes in a company’s financial condition, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual companies, sectors or industries selected for the Fund’s portfolio or the securities market as a whole, such as changes in economic or political conditions. To the extent that the Fund has investment exposure to large cap company securities, it may underperform other funds during periods when large cap company securities are out of favor.

 

ETF Underlying Fund Risk: ETFs are subject to investment advisory fees and other expenses, which will be indirectly paid by the Fund. As a result, your cost of investing in the Fund will be higher than the cost of investing directly in ETFs and may be higher than other exchange-traded funds that invest directly in securities such as stocks and bonds. ETFs are listed on national stock exchanges and are traded like stocks listed on an exchange. ETF shares may trade at a discount or a premium in market price if there is a limited market in such shares. ETFs are also subject to brokerage and other trading costs, which could result in greater expenses to the Fund. ETFs may employ leverage, which magnifies the changes in the value of the ETFs. Finally, because the value of ETF shares depends on the demand in the market, the adviser may not be able to liquidate the Fund’s holdings at the most optimal time, adversely affecting performance. The Fund invests in ETFs. You will indirectly bear fees and expenses charged by the ETFs in addition to the Fund’s direct fees and expenses.

 

Each ETF is subject to specific risks, depending on the nature of the ETF. These risks could include liquidity risk, sector risk, foreign and emerging market risk, as well as risks associated with fixed-income securities, real estate investments, and commodities. Additional risks of investing in ETFs are described below:

 

○ Net Asset Value and Market Price Risk: The market value of the ETF shares may differ from their net asset value. This difference in price may be due to the fact that the supply and demand in the market for ETF shares at any point in time is not always identical to the supply and demand in the market for the underlying basket of securities. Accordingly, there may be times when an ETF share trades at a premium or discount to its net asset value. Such price differences may be significant, especially in times of market stress.

 

○ Tracking Risk: Investment in the Fund should be made with the understanding that the ETFs in which the Fund invests, if passively managed, will not be able to replicate exactly the performance of the indices they track because the total return generated by the securities will be reduced by transaction costs incurred in adjusting the actual balance of the securities. In addition, the ETFs in which the Fund invests will incur expenses not incurred by their applicable indices. Certain securities comprising the indices tracked by the ETFs may, from time to time, temporarily be unavailable, which may further impede the ETFs’ ability to track their applicable indices.

 

ETF Structure Risks: The Fund is structured as an ETF and as a result is subject to the special risks, including:

 

○ Not Individually Redeemable: Shares are not individually redeemable and may be redeemed by the Fund at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units.” You may incur brokerage costs purchasing enough Shares to constitute a Creation Unit.

 

○ Trading Issues: Trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable, such as extraordinary market volatility. There can be no assurance that Shares will continue to meet the listing requirements of the Exchange. An active trading market for the Fund’s shares may not be developed or maintained. If the Fund’s shares are traded outside a collateralized settlement system, the number of financial institutions that can act as authorized participants that can post collateral on an agency basis is limited, which may limit the market for the Fund’s shares. To the extent that those authorized participants exit the business or are unable to process creation or redemption orders and no other authorized participants are able to step forward to do so, there may be a significantly diminished trading market for the Fund’s shares. Purchases and redemptions of creation units that are made primarily with cash, rather than through in-kind delivery of portfolio securities may cause the Fund to incur additional costs including brokerage costs and taxable capital gains or losses that the Fund may not have incurred if the Fund had made redemptions in-kind. This could lead to differences between market price and underlying value of shares”

6

 

○ Market Price Variance Risk: Individual Shares of the Fund that are listed for trading on the Exchange can be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of Shares will fluctuate in response to changes in NAV and supply and demand for Shares. There may be times when the market price and the NAV vary significantly and you may pay more than NAV when buying Shares on the secondary market, and you may receive less than NAV when you sell those Shares. The market price of Shares, like the price of any exchange-traded security, includes a “bid-ask spread” charged by the exchange specialists, market makers or other participants that trade the particular security. In times of severe market disruption, the bid-ask spread often increases significantly. This means that Shares may trade at a discount to NAV and the discount is likely to be greatest when the price of Shares is falling fastest, which may be the time that you most want to sell your Shares. The Fund’s investment results are measured based upon the daily NAV of the Fund over a period of time. Investors purchasing and selling Shares in the secondary market may not experience investment results consistent with those experienced by those creating and redeeming directly with the Fund.

 

In times of market stress, market makers may step away from their role market making in shares of ETFs and in executing trades, which can lead to differences between the market value of Fund shares and the Fund’s net asset value.

 

The market price for the Fund’s shares may deviate from the Fund’s net asset value, particularly during times of market stress, with the result that investors may pay significantly more or significantly less for Fund shares than the Fund’s net asset value, which is reflected in the bid and ask price for Fund shares or in the closing price.

 

When all or a portion of an ETFs underlying securities trade in a market that is closed when the market for the Fund’s shares is open, there may be changes from the last quote of the closed market and the quote from the Fund’s domestic trading day, which could lead to differences between the market value of the Fund’s shares and the Fund’s net asset value.

 

In stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to the deteriorating liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio. This adverse effect on the liquidity of the Fund’s shares may, in turn, lead to differences between the market value of the Fund’s shares and the Fund’s net asset value.

 

Fixed Income Risk: When the Fund invests in fixed income securities, the value of your investment in the Fund will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities. In general, the market price of debt securities with longer maturities will increase or decrease more in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term securities. Other risk factors include credit risk (the debtor may default) and prepayment risk (the debtor may pay its obligation early, reducing the amount of interest payments). These risks could affect the value of a particular investment, possibly causing the Fund’s share price and total return to be reduced and fluctuate more than other types of investments.

 

Fluctuation of Net Asset Value Risk: The NAV of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. The market prices of the shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV as well as the relative supply of and demand for the shares on the Exchange. The Adviser cannot predict whether the shares will trade below, at or above their NAV. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for the shares will be closely related to, but not identical to, the same forces influencing the prices of the Fund’s holdings trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. In addition, unlike conventional ETFs, the Fund is not an index fund. The Fund is actively managed and does not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index. Index based ETFs have generally traded at prices which closely correspond to NAV per share. Actively managed ETFs have a limited trading history and, therefore, there can be no assurance as to whether and/or the extent to which the shares will trade at premiums or discounts to NAV.

 

Futures Risk: The Fund’s use of futures contracts involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. These risks include (i) leverage risk; (ii) correlation or tracking risk and (iii) liquidity risk. Because futures require only a small initial investment in the form of a deposit or margin, they involve a high degree of leverage. Accordingly, the fluctuation of the value of futures in relation to the underlying assets upon which they are based is magnified. Thus, the Fund may experience losses that exceed losses experienced by funds that do not use futures contracts. There may be imperfect correlation, or even no correlation, between price movements of a futures contract and price movements of investments for which futures are used as a substitute, or which futures are intended to hedge. Lack of correlation (or tracking) may be due to factors unrelated to the value of the investments being hedged, such as speculative or other pressures on the markets in which these instruments are traded. Consequently, the effectiveness of futures as a security substitute or as a hedging vehicle will depend, in part, on the degree of correlation between price movements in the futures and price movements in underlying securities. While futures contracts are generally liquid instruments, under certain market conditions they may become illiquid. As a result, the Fund may be unable to close out its futures contracts at a time which is advantageous or take an offsetting defensive position, potentially resulting in significant losses for the Fund. Futures

7

 

  exchanges may impose daily or intra-day price change limits and/or limit the volume of trading. Additionally, government regulation may further reduce liquidity through similar trading restrictions. The successful use of futures depends upon a variety of factors, particularly the ability of the adviser to predict movements of the underlying securities markets, which requires different skills than predicting changes in the prices of individual securities. There can be no assurance that any particular futures strategy adopted will succeed. The commitment of Fund assets to cover certain futures positions may impede the adviser’s ability to manage the Fund’s portfolio effectively and may restrict the Fund’s ability to enter into offsetting or defensive positions, potentially resulting in significant losses for the Fund.

 

Issuer Risk: Fund value might decrease in response to the activities and financial prospects of an individual company in the Fund’s portfolio. The value of an individual company can be more volatile than the market as a whole and can perform differently from the value of the market as a whole. The value of certain types of companies can be more volatile due to increased sensitivity to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market, or economic developments.

 

Large Capitalization Stock Risk: Large-capitalization companies may be less able than smaller capitalization companies to adapt to changing market conditions. Large-capitalization companies may be more mature and subject to more limited growth potential compared with smaller capitalization companies. During different market cycles, the performance of large capitalization companies has trailed the overall performance of the broader securities markets.

 

Limited History of Operations Risk: The Fund is a new ETF with a limited history of operations for investors to evaluate.

 

Management Risk: The ability of the Fund to meet its investment objective is directly related to the Adviser’s investment model. The models used by the adviser to determine or guide investment decisions may not achieve the objectives of the Fund. The Adviser’s assessment of the attractiveness and potential appreciation of particular investments or markets in which the Fund invests may prove to be incorrect and there is no guarantee that the Adviser’s investment strategy will produce the desired results. The returns generated by the Fund’s strategy may be volatile and may result in material losses for the Fund.

 

Market and Geopolitical Risk: The increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. Securities in the Fund may underperform due to inflation (or expectations for inflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, natural disasters, climate change or climate-related events, pandemics, epidemics, terrorism, regulatory events and governmental or quasi-governmental actions. The occurrence of global events similar to those in recent years, such as terrorist attacks around the world, natural disasters, social and political discord or debt crises and downgrades, among others, may result in market volatility and may have long term effects on both the U.S. and global financial markets. It is difficult to predict when similar events affecting the U.S. or global financial markets may occur, the effects that such events may have and the duration of those effects. Any such event(s) could have a significant adverse impact on the value and risk profile of the Fund. The current novel coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic and the aggressive responses taken by many governments, including closing borders, restricting international and domestic travel, and the imposition of prolonged quarantines or similar restrictions, as well as the forced or voluntary closure of, or operational changes to, many retail and other businesses, has had negative impacts, and in many cases severe negative impacts, on markets worldwide. It is not known how long such impacts, or any future impacts of other significant events described above, will or would last, but there could be a prolonged period of global economic slowdown, which may impact your investment. Therefore, the Fund could lose money over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during more prolonged market downturns. During a general market downturn, multiple asset classes may be negatively affected. Changes in market conditions and interest rates can have the same impact on all types of securities and instruments. In times of severe market disruptions you could lose your entire investment.

 

Options Risk: The use of options involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, or in interest or currency exchange rates, including the anticipated volatility (known as implied volatility), which in turn are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political and economic events. As such, prior to the exercise or expiration of the option, the Fund is exposed to implied volatility risk, meaning the value, as based on implied volatility, of an option may increase due to market and economic conditions or views based on the sector or industry in which issuers of the underlying instrument participate, including company-specific factors. By writing call and put option spreads on underlying instruments, the Fund’s returns over each will be determined by the performance of the underlying instrument. If the underlying instrument appreciates or depreciates sufficiently over the period to offset the net premium received, the Fund may incur losses. Increases in implied volatility of options may cause the value of an option to increase, even if the value of the underlying instrument does not change, which could result in a reduction in the Fund’s share price. In unusual market circumstances where implied volatility sharply increases or decreases causing options spreads to be significantly correlated to the underlying instrument, the Fund’s strategy may not perform as anticipated. By writing put options, the Fund takes on the risk of declines in the value of the underlying instrument, including the

8

 

  possibility of a loss up to the entire strike price of each option it sells but without the corresponding opportunity to benefit from potential increases in the value of the underlying instrument. When the Fund writes a put option, it assumes the risk that it must purchase the underlying instrument at a strike price that may be higher than the market price of the instrument. If there is a broad market decline and the Fund is not able to close out its written put options, it may result in substantial losses to the Fund. The Fund will receive a premium from writing options, but the premium received may not be sufficient to offset any losses sustained from exercised put options. By writing a call option, the Fund may be obligated to deliver instruments underlying an option at less than the market price. In the case of an uncovered call option, there is a risk of unlimited loss. When an uncovered call is exercised, the Fund must purchase the underlying instrument to meet its call obligations and the necessary instruments may be unavailable for purchase.

 

Portfolio Turnover Risk: A higher portfolio turnover may result in higher transactional and brokerage costs associated with the turnover which may reduce the Fund’s return, unless the securities traded can be bought and sold without corresponding commission costs. Active trading of securities may also increase the Fund’s realized capital gains or losses, which may affect the taxes you pay as a Fund shareholder. The Fund’s portfolio turnover rate may exceed 100% annually.

 

Temporary Investments: To respond to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions, the Fund may invest 100% of its total assets, without limitation, in high-quality short-term debt securities and/or money market instruments. These short-term debt securities and money market instruments include: shares of money market mutual funds, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances, U.S. Government securities and repurchase agreements. While the Fund is in a defensive position, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective. Furthermore, to the extent that the Fund invests in money market mutual funds for cash positions, there will be some duplication of expenses because the Fund pays its pro-rata portion of such money market funds’ advisory fees and operational fees. The Fund may also invest a substantial portion of its assets in high-quality short-term debt securities and/or money market instruments, at any time to maintain liquidity or pending selection of investments in accordance with its policies.

 

Portfolio Holdings Disclosure: A description of the Fund’s policies regarding the release of portfolio holdings information is available in the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information.

 

Cybersecurity: The computer systems, networks and devices used by the Fund and its service providers to carry out routine business operations employ a variety of protections designed to prevent damage or interruption from computer viruses, network failures, computer and telecommunication failures, infiltration by unauthorized persons and security breaches. Despite the various protections utilized by the Fund and their service providers, systems, networks, or devices potentially can be breached. The Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result of a cybersecurity breach.

 

Cybersecurity breaches can include unauthorized access to systems, networks, or devices; infection from computer viruses or other malicious software code; and attacks that shut down, disable, slow, or otherwise disrupt operations, business processes, or website access or functionality. Cybersecurity breaches may cause disruptions and impact the Fund’s business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses; interference with the Fund’s ability to calculate its NAV; impediments to trading; the inability of the Fund, the Advisor, and other service providers to transact business; violations of applicable privacy and other laws; regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, or additional compliance costs; as well as the inadvertent release of confidential information.

 

Similar adverse consequences could result from cybersecurity breaches affecting issuers of securities in which the Fund invests; counterparties with which the Fund engages in transactions; governmental and other regulatory authorities; exchange and other financial market operators, banks, brokers, dealers, insurance companies, and other financial institutions (including financial intermediaries and service providers for the Fund’s shareholders); and other parties. In addition, substantial costs may be incurred by these entities in order to prevent any cybersecurity breaches in the future.

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MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND 

 

 

Investment Adviser 

 

Toews Corporation (“Toews”), located at, 1750 Zion Road, Suite 201, Northfield, NJ 08225, serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Subject to the authority of the Board of Trustees, the Toews is responsible for the overall management of the Fund’s business affairs. Toews is responsible for selecting the Fund’s investments according to the Fund’s investment objective, polices, and restrictions. Toews was established in 1994 and serves as an investment adviser primarily for individual investors. As of April 30, 2022, it had approximately $1.25 billion in assets under management.

 

Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement between the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and Toews (the “Investment Advisory Agreement”), the Fund pays the adviser, on a monthly basis, an annual advisory fee of 0.85% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2022, Toews received a net advisory fee in an amount equal to 0.02% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s renewal of the Investment Management Agreement is available in the Fund’s annual shareholder report dated April 30, 2022.

 

Toews has contractually agreed to reduce its fees and to reimburse expenses, at least through August 31, 2023 to ensure that Net Annual Fund Operating Expenses (exclusive of any (i) front-end or contingent deferred loads, (ii) brokerage fees and commissions, (iii) acquired fund fees and expenses, (iv) taxes, or (v) extraordinary expenses such as litigation (which may include indemnification of Fund officers and Trustees or contractual indemnification of Fund service providers (other than the adviser)) will not exceed 0.95%.

 

Fee waivers and expense reimbursements are subject to possible recoupment from the Fund in future years on a rolling three-year basis (within the three years after the fees have been waived or reimbursed) if such recoupment can be achieved within the foregoing expense limits. Fee waiver and reimbursement arrangements can decrease the Fund’s expenses and boost its performance.

 

Portfolio Managers

 

Mr. Phillip Toews, Mr. Randall Schroeder, Mr. Jason Graffius and Mr. Charles Collins are Co-Portfolio Managers jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.

 

Mr. Toews received a BS in Business and Economics from Bethel College in Newton, Kansas in 1986. From 1987 to 1994, Mr. Toews was a financial counselor at IDS/American Express and Dorset Financial Services. In 1994, Mr. Toews founded the Adviser and has served as its President and Chief Executive Officer since inception.

 

Mr. Schroeder received a BA from Bethel College in Newton, Kansas in 1988 and a MA from Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York in 1994. Mr. Schroeder has been associated with Toews Corporation since 1998 and has served as its Chief Operating Officer since 2006.

 

Mr. Graffius received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Rutgers University in Camden, NJ in 2002. He began working with Toews Corporation in October 2013. Mr. Graffius oversees the day to day operations and researching of investment opportunities Funds. Prior to working with Toews Corporation, Mr. Graffius was a Vice President at BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. (2005-2013) where he worked on the Structured Finance Team, overseeing Collateralized Debt Obligations along with various Hedge Funds and Government Mandated Projects. He has also previously worked at JP Morgan.

 

Mr. Collins received a Bachelor of Science in Finance from LaSalle University in 2002. He began working at Toews Corporation in May of 2016. Mr. Collins currently oversees the daily management of the Toews Funds. Previous to working at Toews Corporation, Mr. Collins was an equity derivatives broker with Tullett Prebon where he worked specifically with index and single stock options and well as trading cash. He started his career in finance with working on the floor at the NYSE as a specialist clerk and advanced on to being a distinguished member of the exchange as a floor broker.

 

Messrs. Toews, Schroeder, Graffius and Collins have served as Co-Portfolio managers for the Fund since its inception in June 2020.

 

The Fund’s Statement of Additional Information provides additional information about the portfolio managers’ compensation structure, other accounts managed by each portfolio manager, and the portfolio managers’ ownership of Fund shares.

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NET ASSET VALUE

 

 

The net asset value (“NAV”) and offering price (NAV plus any applicable sales charges) of each class of shares is determined as of the close of the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) (normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time) on each day the NYSE is open for business (the “Valuation Time”). NAV is computed by determining, on a per class basis, the aggregate market value of all assets of the Fund, less its liabilities, divided by the total number of shares outstanding ((assets-liabilities)/number of shares = NAV). The NYSE is closed on weekends and New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. The NAV takes into account, on a per class basis, the expenses and fees of the Fund, including management, administration, and distribution fees, which are accrued daily. The determination of NAV for a share class for a particular day is applicable to all applications for the purchase of shares, as well as all requests for the redemption of shares, received by the Fund (or an authorized broker or agent, or its authorized designee) before the close of trading on the NYSE on that day.

 

The Fund’s securities or other investment assets for which market quotations are readily available will be valued at current market value based upon such market quotations as of the Valuation Time. The Fund may use independent pricing agents to provide current market values. Generally, a Fund’s securities are valued each day at the last quoted sales price on each security’s primary exchange. Securities traded or dealt in upon one or more securities exchanges (whether domestic or foreign) for which market quotations are readily available and not subject to restrictions against resale shall be valued at the last quoted sales price on the primary exchange or, in the absence of a sale on the primary exchange, at the mean between the current bid and ask prices on such exchange. If market quotations are not readily available, securities will be valued at their fair market value as determined in good faith and evaluated as to the reliability of the fair value method used by the Board on a quarterly basis, in accordance with procedures approved by the Board. Securities primarily traded in the National Association of Securities Dealers’ Automated Quotation System (“NASDAQ”) National Market System for which market quotations are readily available shall be valued using the NASDAQ Official Closing Price. If market quotations are not readily available, securities will be valued at their fair market value as determined using the “fair value” procedures approved by the Board. Fair value pricing involves subjective judgments and it is possible that the fair value determined for a security may be materially different than the value that could be realized upon the sale of that security. The fair value prices can differ from market prices when they become available or when a price becomes available. The Board has delegated execution of these procedures to a fair value team composed of one or more representatives from each of the (i) Trust, (ii) administrator, and (iii) adviser. The team may also enlist third party consultants such as an audit firm or financial officer of a security issuer on an as-needed basis to assist in determining a security-specific fair value. The Board reviews and ratifies the execution of this process and the resultant fair value prices at least quarterly to assure the process produces reliable results.

 

The Fund may use independent pricing services to assist in calculating the value of the Fund’s securities. In addition, market prices for foreign securities are not determined at the same time of day as the NAV for a Fund. The Fund may invest in foreign securities that are primarily listed on foreign exchanges that may trade on weekends or other days when the Fund does not price its shares, the value of the Fund’s portfolio may change on days when you may not be able to buy or sell Fund shares. In computing the NAV, the Fund values foreign securities held by the Fund at the latest closing price on the exchange in which they are traded immediately prior to closing of the NYSE. Prices of foreign securities quoted in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars at current rates. If events materially affecting the value of a security in a Fund’s portfolio, particularly foreign securities, occur after the close of trading on a foreign market but before the Fund prices its shares, the securities will be valued at fair value. For example, if trading in a portfolio security is halted and does not resume before the Fund calculates its NAV, the adviser may need to price the security using the Fund’s fair value pricing guidelines. Without a fair value price, short-term traders could take advantage of the arbitrage opportunity and dilute the NAV of long-term investors. Fair valuation of the Fund’s portfolio securities can serve to reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders, but there is no assurance that fair value pricing policies will prevent dilution of the Fund’s NAV by short term traders. The determination of fair value involves subjective judgments. As a result, using fair value to price a security may result in a price materially different from the prices used by other exchange-traded funds to determine net asset value or the price that may be realized upon the actual sale of the security.

 

With respect to any portion of a Fund’s assets that are invested in one or more open-end management investment companies that are registered under the 1940 Act, the Fund’s net asset value is calculated based upon the net asset values of the registered open-end management investment companies in which the Fund invests, and the prospectuses for these companies explain the circumstances under which those companies will use fair value pricing and the effects of using fair value pricing.

 

Premium/Discount Information

 

Most investors will buy and sell Shares of the Fund in secondary market transactions through brokers at market prices and the Fund’s Shares will trade at market prices. The market price of Shares of the Fund may be greater than, equal to, or less than NAV. Market forces of supply and demand, economic conditions and other factors may affect the trading prices of Shares of the Fund.

 

Information regarding how often the Shares of the Fund traded at a price above (at a premium to) or below (at a discount to) the NAV of the Fund during the past four calendar quarters, when available, can be found at https://toewsetfs.com.

11

 

HOW TO BUY AND SELL SHARES

 

 

Shares of the Fund are listed for trading on Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. under the symbol MRSK. Share prices are reported in dollars and cents per Share. Shares can be bought and sold on the secondary market throughout the trading day like other publicly traded shares, and Shares typically trade in blocks of less than a Creation Unit. There is no minimum investment required. Shares may only be purchased and sold on the secondary market when the Exchange is open for trading. The Exchange is open for trading Monday through Friday and is closed on weekends and the following holidays, as observed: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Juneteenth, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

 

When buying or selling Shares through a broker, you will incur customary brokerage commissions and charges, and you may pay some or all of the spread between the bid and the offered price in the secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction.

 

Authorized participants (“APs”) may acquire Shares directly from the Fund, and APs may tender their Shares for redemption directly to the Fund, at NAV per Share only in large blocks, or Creation Units, of 25,000 Shares. Purchases and redemptions directly with the Fund must follow the Fund’s procedures, which are described in the SAI.

 

The Fund may liquidate and terminate at any time without shareholder approval.

 

Share Trading Prices

 

The approximate value of Shares of the Fund, an amount representing on a per share basis the sum of the current market price of the securities accepted by the Fund in exchange for Shares of the Fund and an estimated cash component will be disseminated every 15 seconds throughout the trading day through the facilities of the Consolidated Tape Association. This approximate value should not be viewed as a “real-time” update of the NAV per Share of the Fund because the approximate value may not take into account certain Fund expenses and may not be calculated in the same manner as the NAV, which is computed once a day, generally at the end of the business day. The approximate value is generally determined by using both current market quotations and/ or price quotations obtained from broker-dealers and other market intermediaries that may trade in the portfolio securities or other assets held by the Fund. The quotations of certain Fund holdings may not be updated during U.S. trading hours if such holdings do not trade in the United States. The Fund is not involved in, or responsible for, the calculation or dissemination of the approximate value of the Shares, and the Fund does not make any warranty as to the accuracy of these values.

 

Book Entry

 

Shares are held in book entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding Shares of the Fund and is recognized as the owner of all Shares for all purposes.

 

Investors owning Shares are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for all Shares. Participants in DTC include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other institutions that directly or indirectly maintain a custodial relationship with DTC. As a beneficial owner of Shares, you are not entitled to receive physical delivery of stock certificates or to have Shares registered in your name, and you are not considered a registered owner of Shares. Therefore, to exercise any right as an owner of Shares, you must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants. These procedures are the same as those that apply to any other securities that you hold in book entry or “street name” form.

 

FREQUENT PURCHASES AND REDEMPTIONS OF FUND SHARES

 

 

The Fund’s Shares can only be purchased and redeemed directly from the Fund in Creation Units by APs, and the vast majority of trading in the Fund’s Shares occurs on the secondary market. Because the secondary market trades do not directly involve the Fund, it is unlikely those trades would cause the harmful effects of market timing, including dilution, disruption of portfolio management, increases in the Fund’s trading costs and the realization of capital gains. With regard to the purchase or redemption of Creation Units directly with the Fund, to the extent effected in-kind (i.e., for securities), those trades do not cause the harmful effects that may result from frequent cash trades. To the extent trades are effected in whole or in part in cash, those trades could result in dilution to the Fund and increased transaction costs, which may affect the Fund’s NAV negatively unless offset by an authorized participant. Such trades could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. However, direct trading by APs is critical to ensuring that the Fund’s Shares trade at or close to NAV. The Fund also employ fair valuation pricing to minimize potential dilution from market timing. In addition, the Fund impose transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Fund Shares to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the Fund in effecting trades. These fees increase if an investor substitutes cash in part or in whole for securities, reflecting the fact that a Fund’s trading costs increase in those circumstances. Given this structure, the Trust has determined that it is not necessary to adopt policies and procedures to detect and deter market timing of the Fund’s Shares.

12

 

DISTRIBUTION AND SERVICE PLAN

 

 

The Fund has adopted a distribution and service plan (“Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Under the Plan, the Fund is authorized to pay distribution fees to the distributor and other firms that provide distribution and shareholder services (“Service Providers”). If a Service Provider provides these services, the Fund may pay fees at an annual rate not to exceed 0.25% of average daily net assets, pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act.

 

No distribution or service fees are currently paid by the Fund, and there are no current plans to impose these fees. In the event Rule 12b-1 fees were charged, over time they would increase the cost of an investment in the Fund and may over time, not only increase your costs but cost more than other charges.

 

DIVIDENDS, OTHER DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES

 

 

Unlike interests in conventional mutual funds, which typically are bought and sold from and to the fund only at closing NAVs, the Fund’s Shares are traded throughout the day in the secondary market on a national securities exchange on an intra-day basis and are created and redeemed in-kind and/or for cash in Creation Units at each day’s next calculated NAV. In-kind arrangements are designed to protect ongoing shareholders from the adverse effects on a Fund’s portfolio that could arise from frequent cash redemption transactions. In a conventional mutual fund, redemptions can have an adverse tax impact on taxable shareholders if the mutual fund needs to sell portfolio securities to obtain cash to meet net fund redemptions. These sales may generate taxable gains for the ongoing shareholders of the mutual fund, whereas the Shares’ in-kind redemption mechanism generally will not lead to a tax event for the Fund or its ongoing shareholders.

 

Ordinarily, dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid annually by the Fund. The Fund distributes its net realized capital gains, if any, to shareholders annually.

 

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

 

Taxes

 

As with any investment, you should consider how your investment in Shares will be taxed. The tax information in this Prospectus is provided as general information. You should consult your own tax professional about the tax consequences of an investment in Shares.

 

Unless your investment in Shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-deferred retirement account, such as an individual retirement account, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when:

 

The Fund makes distributions,

 

You sell your Shares listed on the Exchange, and

 

You purchase or redeem Creation Units.

 

The Fund must report to the IRS and furnish to shareholders the cost basis information for shares purchased and sold. The Fund has chosen average cost as its standing (default) tax lot identification method for all shareholders, which means this is the method the Fund will use to determine which specific shares are deemed to be sold when there are multiple purchases on different dates at differing NAVs, and the entire position is not sold at one time. Shareholders may, however, choose a method other than the Fund’s standing method at the time of their purchase or upon sale of covered shares. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the best IRS-accepted cost basis method for their tax situation and to obtain more information about how cost basis reporting applies to them. Shareholders also should carefully review the cost basis information provided to them by the Fund and make any additional basis, holding period or other adjustments that are required when reporting these amounts on their federal income tax returns.

 

Taxes on Distributions

 

As stated above, dividends from net investment income, if any, ordinarily are declared and paid monthly by the Fund. The Fund may also pay a special distribution at the end of a calendar year to comply with federal tax requirements. Distributions from the Fund’s net investment income, including net short-term capital gains, if any, are taxable to you as ordinary income, except that the Fund’s dividends attributable to its “qualified dividend income” (i.e., dividends received on stock of most domestic and certain foreign corporations with respect to which the Fund satisfies certain holding period and other restrictions), if any, generally are subject to federal income tax for non-corporate shareholders who satisfy those restrictions with respect to their Fund shares at the rate for net capital gain -- a maximum of 15% for taxable years beginning before 2013. A part of the Fund’s dividends also may be eligible for the dividends-received deduction allowed to corporations -- the eligible portion may not exceed the aggregate dividends the Fund receives from domestic corporations subject to federal income tax (excluding REITs) and excludes dividends from foreign corporations -- subject to similar restrictions. However, dividends a corporate shareholder deducts pursuant to that deduction are subject indirectly to the federal alternative minimum tax.

13

 

In general, your distributions are subject to federal income tax when they are paid, whether you take them in cash or reinvest them in the Fund (if that option is available). Distributions reinvested in additional Shares of a Fund through the means of a dividend reinvestment service, if available, will be taxable to shareholders acquiring the additional Shares to the same extent as if such distributions had been received in cash. Distributions of net long-term capital gains, if any, in excess of net short-term capital losses are taxable as long-term capital gains, regardless of how long you have held the Shares.

 

Distributions in excess of a Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits are treated as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of your basis in the Shares and as capital gain thereafter. A distribution will reduce a Fund’s NAV per Share and may be taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gain (as described above) even though, from an investment standpoint, the distribution may constitute a return of capital.

 

By law, the Fund is required to withhold 28% of your distributions and redemption proceeds if you have not provided the Fund with a correct Social Security number or other taxpayer identification number and in certain other situations.

 

Taxes on Exchange-Listed Share Sales

 

Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Shares is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the Shares have been held for more than one year and as short-term capital gain or loss if the Shares have been held for one year or less. The ability to deduct capital losses from sales of Shares may be limited.

 

Taxes on Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units

 

An AP who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or a loss 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 plus any Cash Component it pays. An AP who exchanges Creation Units for securities will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanger’s basis in the Creation Units and the sum of the aggregate market value of the securities received plus any cash equal to the difference between the NAV of the Shares being redeemed and the value of the securities. The Internal Revenue Service (“Service”), however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales” or for other reasons. Persons exchanging securities should consult their own tax advisor with respect to whether wash sale rules apply and when a loss might be deductible.

 

Any capital gain or loss realized upon redemption of Creation Units is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the Shares have been held for more than one year and as short-term capital gain or loss if the Shares have been held for one year or less.

 

If you purchase or redeem Creation Units, you will be sent a confirmation statement showing how many Shares you purchased or sold and at what price. See “Tax Status” in the SAI for a description of the newly effective requirement regarding basis determination methods applicable to Share redemptions and the Fund’s obligation to report basis information to the Service.

 

The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the possible consequences under current federal tax law of an investment in the Fund. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. Consult your personal tax advisor about the potential tax consequences of an investment in the Shares under all applicable tax laws. See “Tax Status” in the SAI for more information.

 

Fund Service Providers

 

Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC is the Fund’s administrator and fund accountant. It has its principal office 4221 North 203rd Street, Suite 100 Elkhorn, NE 68022, and is primarily in the business of providing administrative, fund accounting and transfer agent services to retail and institutional mutual funds. It is an affiliate of the Distributor.

 

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. is the Fund’s transfer agent and custodian.

 

Northern Lights Distributors, LLC (the “Distributor”), 4221 North 203rd Street, Suite 100, Elkhorn, NE 68022, is the distributor for the shares of the Fund. The Distributor is a registered broker-dealer and member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”).

 

Thompson Hine LLP, 41 South High Street, Suite 1700, Columbus, Ohio 43215, serves as legal counsel to the Trust.

 

RSM US LLP, located at 555 Seventeenth Street, Suite 1200 Denver, Colorado 80202, serves as the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm. The independent registered public accounting firm is responsible for auditing the annual financial statements of the Fund.

14

 

OTHER INFORMATION

 

 

Continuous Offering

 

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

 

For example, a broker-dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory underwriter if it takes Creation Units after placing an order with the Distributor, breaks them down into constituent Shares and sells the Shares directly to customers or if it chooses to couple the creation of a supply of new Shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for Shares. A determination of whether one is an underwriter for purposes of the Securities Act must take into account all the facts and circumstances pertaining to the activities of the broker-dealer or its client in the particular case, and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could lead to a characterization 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, are generally required to deliver a prospectus. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(3) of the Securities Act is not available in respect of such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. As a result, broker-dealer firms should note that dealers who are not “underwriters” but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted with engaging in ordinary secondary market transactions) and thus dealing with the Shares that are part of an overallotment within the meaning of Section 4(3)(C) of the Securities Act, will be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(3) of the Securities Act. For delivery of prospectuses to exchange members, the prospectus delivery mechanism of Rule 153 under the Securities Act is only available with respect to transactions on a national exchange.

 

Dealers effecting transactions in the Shares, whether or not participating in this distribution, are generally required to deliver a Prospectus. This is in addition to any obligation of dealers to deliver a Prospectus when acting as underwriters.

 

Householding: To reduce expenses, the Fund mails only one copy of the prospectus and each annual and semi-annual report to those addresses shared by two or more accounts. If you wish to receive individual copies of these documents, please call the Fund at 1-888-604-5506 on days the Fund is open for business or contact your financial institution. The Fund will begin sending you individual copies thirty days after receiving your request.

15

 

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

 

 

The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the Fund’s financial performance for the period of the Fund’s operations. Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. The financial highlights for the Fund are presented below. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information for the Fund has been derived from the financial statements audited by RSM US LLP, whose report, along with the Fund’s financial statements, are included in the Fund’s April 30, 2022 annual report, which is available upon request.

 

Per Share Data and Ratios for a Share of Beneficial Interest Outstanding Throughout Each Period Presented

 

    Year Ended     Period Ended  
    April 30, 2022     April 31, 2021 (a)  
             
Net asset value, beginning of period   $ 30.11     $ 25.00  
Activity from investment operations:                
Net investment income (loss) (b)     (0.01 )     0.04  
Net realized and unrealized gain on investments (c)     1.48       6.27  
Total from investment operations     1.47       6.31  
Less distributions from:                
Net investment income     (0.04 )     (0.08 )
Net realized gains     (4.15 )     (1.12 )
Total distributions     (4.19 )     (1.20 )
Net asset value, end of period   $ 27.39     $ 30.11  
Market price, end of period   $ 27.33     $ 30.11  
Total return (d)     4.06 %     25.69 % (e)
Market Price Total return (d)     3.82 %     25.70 % (e)
Net assets, end of period (000s)   $ 30,819     $ 6,775  
Ratio of gross expenses to average net assets (g)(h)(k)     1.79 %     3.46 % (f)
Ratio of net expenses to average net assets (g)(k)     0.96 %     0.96 % (f)
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets (i)(k)     (0.05 )%     0.17 % (f)
Portfolio Turnover Rate (j)     335 %     522 % (e)
                 
(a) The Toews Agility Shares Managed Risk ETF commenced operations on June 24, 2020.
   
(b) Per share amounts calculated using the average shares method, which more appropriately presents the per share data for the period.
   
(c) Realized and unrealized gain (loss) per share in this caption are balancing amounts necessary to reconcile the change in net asset value per share for the period, and may not reconcile with aggregate gains and losses in the Statement of Operations due to timing of share transactions during the year.
   
(d) Total return is calculated assuming a purchase of shares at net asset value on the first day and a sale at net asset value on the last day of the period. Distributions are assumed, for the purpose of this calculation, to be reinvested at the ex-dividend date net asset value per share on their respective payment dates. Total return would have been lower absent fee waiver/expense reimbursement.
   
(e) Not annualized.
   
(f) Annualized.
   
(g) Does not include the expenses of other investment companies in which the Fund invests.
   
(h) Represents the ratio of expenses to average net assets absent fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements by the Adviser.
   
(i) Recognition of net investment income by the Fund is affected by the timing of the declaration of dividends by the underlying investment companies in which the Fund invests.
   
(j) Portfolio turnover rate excludes portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of processing capital share transactions in creation units.
   
(k) Excluding interest expense, the following ratios would have been:

 

Gross expenses to average net assets     1.78 %     3.45 (e)
Net expenses to average net assets     0.95 %     0.95 (e)
Net investment income (loss) to average net assets     (0.04 )%     0.18 (e)

16

 

PRIVACY NOTICE

 

Northern Lights Fund Trust

 

Rev. April 2021

 

FACTS WHAT DOES NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST DO WITH YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?

 

Why? Financial companies choose how they share your personal information.  Federal law gives consumers the right to limit some, but not all sharing.  Federal law also requires us to tell you how we collect, share, and protect your personal information.  Please read this notice carefully to understand what we do.

 

What?

The types of personal information we collect and share depends on the product or service that you have with us. This information can include:

 

●      Social Security number and wire transfer instructions

 

●      account transactions and transaction history

 

●      investment experience and purchase history

 

When you are no longer our customer, we continue to share your information as described in this notice.

 

How? All financial companies need to share customers’ personal information to run their everyday business.  In the section below, we list the reasons financial companies can share their customers’ personal information; the reasons Northern Lights Fund Trust chooses to share; and whether you can limit this sharing.
Reasons we can share your
personal information:
Does Northern Lights Fund
Trust share information?
Can you limit this sharing?
For our everyday business purposes - such as to process your transactions, maintain your account(s), respond to court orders and legal investigations, or report to credit bureaus. YES NO
For our marketing purposes - to offer our products and services to you. NO We don’t share
For joint marketing with other financial companies. NO We don’t share
For our affiliates’ everyday business purposes - information about your transactions and records. NO We don’t share
For our affiliates’ everyday business purposes - information about your credit worthiness. NO We don’t share
For nonaffiliates to market to you NO We don’t share

 

QUESTIONS?   Call 1-631-490-4300

17

 

PRIVACY NOTICE

 

Northern Lights Fund Trust

 

What we do:
How does Northern Lights Fund Trust protect my personal information?

To protect your personal information from unauthorized access and use, we use security measures that comply with federal law. These measures include computer safeguards and secured files and buildings.

 

Our service providers are held accountable for adhering to strict policies and procedures to prevent any misuse of your nonpublic personal information.

 

How does Northern Lights Fund Trust collect my personal information?

We collect your personal information, for example, when you

 

●     open an account or deposit money

 

●     direct us to buy securities or direct us to sell your securities

 

●     seek advice about your investments

 

We also collect your personal information from others, such as credit bureaus, affiliates, or other companies.

 

Why can’t I limit all sharing?

Federal law gives you the right to limit only:

 

●     sharing for affiliates’ everyday business purposes – information about your creditworthiness.

 

●     affiliates from using your information to market to you.

 

●     sharing for nonaffiliates to market to you.

 

State laws and individual companies may give you additional rights to limit sharing.

 

   
Definitions
Affiliates

Companies related by common ownership or control. They can be financial and nonfinancial companies.

 

Northern Lights Fund Trust does not share with our affiliates.

 

Nonaffiliates

Companies not related by common ownership or control. They can be financial and nonfinancial companies.

 

    Northern Lights Fund Trust does not share with nonaffiliates so they can market to you.

 

Joint marketing

A formal agreement between nonaffiliated financial companies that together market financial products or services to you.

 

Northern Lights Fund Trust doesn’t jointly market.

 

18

 

TOEWS AGILITY SHARES MANAGED RISK ETF

 


Adviser

Toews Corporation 

1750 Zion Road, Suite 201 

Northfield, NJ 08225 

Distributor

Northern Lights Distributors, LLC 

4221 North 203rd Street, Suite 100 

Elkhorn, NE 68022 

Legal Counsel

Thompson Hine LLP
41 South High Street, Suite 1700 

Columbus, OH 43215 

Administrator/ 

Fund Account 

Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC 

4221 North 203rd Street, Suite 100 

Elkhorn, NE 68022 

Independent
Registered Public
Accounting Firm

RSM US LLP 

555 Seventeenth Street, Suite 1200 

Denver, CO 80202 

Custodian/

Transfer Agent 

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. 

50 Post Office Square 

Boston, MA 02110 

 

Additional information about the Fund, including the Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio holdings, is included in the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information dated August 29, 2022 (the “SAI”). The SAI is incorporated into this Prospectus by reference (i.e., legally made a part of this Prospectus). The SAI provides more details about the Fund’s policies and management. Additional information about the Fund’s investments is also available in the Fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to Shareholders.

 

To obtain a free copy of the SAI or other information about the Fund, or to make shareholder inquiries about the Fund, please call 1-888-604-5506 or visit https://toewsetfs.com. You may also write to:

 

Toews Funds 

c/o Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC 

P.O. Box 541150 

Omaha, Nebraska 68154

 

or over night 

4221 North 203rd Street, Suite 100 

Elkhorn, Nebraska 68022-3474

 

Reports and other information about the Fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of the information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following E-mail address: [email protected].

 

Investment Company Act File #811-21720