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Defiance Nasdaq 100 Enhanced Options Income ETF (QQQY)

 

listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market, LLC 

 

Defiance S&P 500 Enhanced Options Income ETF (JEPY)

 

Defiance R2000 Enhanced Options Income ETF (IWMY)

 

each listed on NYSE Arca, Inc.

 

PROSPECTUS

 

September 15, 2023

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

 

Summary Information 1
   
Defiance Nasdaq 100 Enhanced Options Income ETF – Fund Summary 1
Defiance S&P 500 Enhanced Options Income ETF – Fund Summary 8
Defiance R2000 Enhanced Options Income ETF – Fund Summary 14
   
Additional Information About the Funds 22
   
Portfolio Holdings 28
   
Management 29
   
How to Buy and Sell Shares 30
   
Dividends, Distributions, and Taxes 31
   
Distribution 33
   
Premium/Discount Information 34
   
Additional Notices 34
   
Financial Highlights 35

 

 

 

 

SUMMARY INFORMATION

 

DEFIANCE NASDAQ 100 ENHANCED OPTIONS INCOME ETF - FUND SUMMARY

 

Investment Objective

 

The Fund’s primary investment objective is to seek current income.

The Fund’s secondary investment objective is to seek exposure to the performance of the Nasdaq 100 Index (the “Index”) subject to a limit on potential investment gains.

 

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 (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses(1) (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
 
Management Fees 0.99%
   
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees 0.00%
   
Other Expenses(2) 0.00%
   
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.99%
   
(1) The Fund’s adviser will pay, or require a sub-adviser to pay, all of the Fund’s expenses, except for the following: advisory and sub-advisory fees, interest charges on any borrowings made for investment purposes, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, distribution fees and expenses paid by the Fund under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, litigation expenses, and other non-routine or extraordinary expenses.
(2) Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.
     

Expense Example

 

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem or hold 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 does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

1 Year 3 Years
$101 $315

 

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 Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in total annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example above, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.

 

Principal Investment Strategies

 

The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks current income while maintaining the opportunity for indirect exposure to the value of the Index, subject to a limit on potential gains from increases in the value of the Index. More precisely, the Fund aims to generate additional income from its options investments when the Index rises in value, based on the specific put options it sold.

 

The Fund will seek to employ its investment strategy as it relates to the Index regardless of whether there are periods of adverse market, economic, or other conditions and will not seek to take temporary defensive positions during such periods. As further described below, each day, the Fund uses an at-the-money and in-the-money put selling strategy to provide income and exposure to the value of the Index, subject to a limit on potential investment gains as a result of the nature of the options strategy it employs. The Fund’s options contracts provide current income from option premiums and a limit on the Fund’s indirect participation in gains, if any, of the increase in the value of the Index. In addition, the Fund’s in-the-money put options will provide some upside appreciation, also known as “intrinsic value.” As discussed in greater detail below, the Fund will not directly or fully participate in gains experienced by the Index. Please see “Additional Information about the Fund” below for a description of options terminology.

 

Every day, the Fund will sell put options that are priced either at-the-money or up to five percent in-the-money (i.e., higher than the current market price). If the Fund sells an option that’s priced above the current market price, the Fund may profit if the Index increases in value above its current price. This opportunity exists until the option’s expiration date, which is typically the next day. This happens because an option priced above the current market value has a higher premium than an option priced at the current market value. In other words, the Fund’s potential for profit (or exposure) fluctuates. This potential for profit is calculated daily over a certain time period, but it’s also balanced out by any losses that might occur during that same period.

 

The Fund seeks to make monthly distributions. To enable it to do so, the Fund seeks to generate a consistent stream of income on a daily basis. In particular, the Fund sells in-the-money put options to seek a minimum daily income of 0.25%. If the Sub-Adviser determines this 0.25% daily income is not achievable, the Fund will sell options that are priced at the current market value to try to make the most of the available daily income. If the potential daily income exceeds 0.25%, then the Sub-Adviser will select a target strike to seek an equal mix of current and potential income.

 

1 

 

 

The Fund seeks to provide an “enhanced” yield compared to traditional option-based strategies. It does this by frequently selling short-term options (typically less than one week in duration), which usually generates more income than selling longer-term options over the same period.

 

In addition to its options investments, the Fund will hold short-term U.S. Treasury securities for collateral for the options, and to generate income.

 

The Fund’s options contracts provide:

 

  exposure to changes in the value of the Index.
  current income from option premiums and, for in-the-money puts, potential income from their intrinsic value, and
  a limit on the Fund’s participation in gains, if any, of the value of the Index.
     

For more information, see the section “The Fund’s Use of Index Option Contracts” below.

 

The Fund’s investment adviser is Toroso Investments, LLC (“Toroso” or the “Adviser”) and the investment sub-adviser is ZEGA Financial, LLC (“ZEGA” or the “Sub-Adviser”).

 

Why invest in the Fund?

 

  The Fund seeks to generate monthly income, which is not dependent on the price appreciation of the Index.
  The Fund seeks to participate in a portion of the potential gains experienced by increases in the value of the Index.
     

That is, although the Fund will not fully participate in gains in the value of the Index, the Fund’s portfolio is designed to generate income.

 

An Investment in the Fund is not an investment in the Index, nor is the Fund an investment in a traditional passively managed index fund.

 

  The Fund’s strategy will cap its potential gains if the Index increases in value.
  The Fund’s strategy is subject to all potential losses if the Index losses value, which may not be offset by income received by the Fund.
  The Fund does not invest directly in the Index.
  The Fund does not invest directly in companies that comprise the Index.
  Fund shareholders are not entitled to any dividends paid by any companies that comprise the Index.
     

Additional information regarding the Index is also set forth below.

 

The Fund’s Use of Index Option Contracts

 

Each day, the Fund will sell at-the-money and in-the-money puts on the Index (or on passively managed ETFs that seek to track the Index’s performance). In particular, the Fund will sell puts with near-term expirations at a range of 0% to 5% “in-the-money” (i.e., that is where the strike price is above the current value of the Index by between 0% and 5%). The Fund will receive premium income for each put sold. In addition, the strategy will provide the Fund with the opportunity to earn both time decay (described below) and, for in-the-money puts, a limited amount of upside appreciation up to the puts’ strike price (described below) plus the puts’ intrinsic value. The expiration dates at the time of purchase for the Fund’s sold puts will range from one day to a week. The Fund’s participation in potential increases in the value of the Index is based on the level of the Index at the time the Fund sells a put option contract and the Index’s level at the time of the contract’s expiration.

 

For example, for simplicity, assume the Index is trading at 100 at the time the Fund sells an in-the-money put with a strike price of 105. If the Index’s level increases to 105 before expiration, the Fund would benefit from the increase in the Index’s value up to 105 through the receipt of the premium which was earned through the sale of the option. In addition, the Fund would benefit slightly from the in-the-money put’s extrinsic value. That is, if the Fund sold the put for 0.50% of time value (an amount paid above the put’s in-the-money value for the put’s potential to increase in value before expiration), the option in the example would earn up to 105.5. However, if the Index’s increase exceeded 105, the Fund would not participate in any of the additional upside.

 

Further, if the Index level drops below 100 at expiration minus an amount equal to the puts’ time value, the Fund would lose money. So, if the Fund sold the option for 0.50 of time value, the Fund would lose money if the Index fell below 99.5. The Fund would be obligated to pay the holder of the put option the difference between the strike price and the actual level of the Index, multiplied by the contract multiplier (usually 100 for equity index options).

 

The Fund seeks to make monthly distributions. To enable it to do so, the Fund seeks to generate a consistent stream of income on a daily basis. In particular, the Fund sells in-the-money put options to seek a minimum daily income of 0.25%. If the Sub-Adviser determines this 0.25% daily income is not achievable, the Fund will sell options that are priced at the current market value to try to make the most of the available daily income. If the potential daily income exceeds 0.25%, then the Sub-Adviser will select a target strike to seek an equal mix of current and potential income. Through this approach, the Fund seeks to provide an “enhanced” yield compared to traditional option-based strategies. It does this by frequently selling short-term options (typically less than one week in duration), which usually generates more income than selling longer-term options over the same period.

 

The Fund intends to invest only in cash-settled options, which means the holder of the option doesn’t receive securities when the option is exercised or expires. Instead, any payments are made in cash.

 

U.S. Treasuries

 

The Fund will hold short-term U.S. Treasury securities as collateral in connection with the Fund’s options strategy and to generate income.

 

2 

 

 

Fund’s Monthly Distributions

 

The Fund will seek to provide monthly income in the form of cash distributions. The Fund will seek to generate such income in the following two ways:

 

  Writing (selling) put option contracts on the Index as described above. The income, in the form of option premiums received from such option sales, will be primarily influenced by the volatility of the Index’s value, although other factors, including interest rates, will also impact the level of income.
  Investing in short-term U.S. Treasury securities. The income generated by these securities will be influenced by interest rates at the time of investment.
     

Fund’s Return Profile vs the Index

 

For the reasons stated above, the Fund’s performance will differ from that of the Index’s value. The performance differences will depend on, among other things, the value of the Index, changes in the value of Index put options contracts the Fund has sold, and changes in the value of the U.S. Treasuries.

 

The Fund’s strategy is designed to have approximately a daily, unleveraged, 100% downside notional exposure to the Index. Essentially, the value of the put options that the Fund invests in will match the value as if the Fund had directly purchased the securities included in the Index.

 

Let’s consider a scenario where the Fund has assets totaling $10 million and the Index is priced at 5,000. In this instance, the number of contracts would be 20. We calculate this by dividing the Fund’s value by the value of one contract. Here, $10,000,000 divided by $500,000 (obtained by multiplying the index price of 5,000 by the standard multiplier of 100) gives us 20.

 

However, the Fund’s notional exposure will drift during each trading day. The Fund will reallocate its portfolio at the end of each trading day. That is, the Fund will allow each day’s options to expire and then settle them in cash. The Fund will enter into new put options at the end of the trading day. By allowing the options to expire and then settling in cash, the Fund can seek to reduce execution costs and minimize trading drift.

 

Fund Portfolio

 

The Fund’s principal holdings are described below:

 

Defiance Nasdaq 100 Enhanced Options Income ETF – Principal Holdings

Portfolio Holdings

(All options are based on the value of the Index)

Investment Terms Expected Target Maturity
Sold put option contracts

“at-the money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current price of the Index at the time of sale)

 

“in-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is above the then-current price of the Index at the time of sale).

 

Sold put option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any decreases in the value experienced by the Index.

Typically, 1 day, but may extend to one-week expiration dates
U.S Treasury Securities and Cash

Multiple series of U.S. Treasury Bills supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.

 

These instruments are used as collateral for the Fund’s derivative investments.

 

They will also generate income. The Fund will generally hold US Treasuries to maturity.

6-month to 2-year maturities at the time of purchase.

 

The market value of the cash and treasuries held by the Fund is expected to comprise at least 80% of the Fund’s net assets.

 

The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).

 

Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of the value of its assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in financial instruments and economic interests that provide exposure to the value of the Index. The Fund’s “80%” policy is non-fundamental and can be changed without shareholder approval. However, Fund shareholders would be given at least 60 days’ notice prior to any such change.

 

There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment strategy will be properly implemented, and an investor may lose some or all of its investment.

 

None of the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation to you as to the performance of the Index.

 

THE FUND, TRUST, ADVISER, AND SUB-ADVISER ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH, NOR ENDORSED BY, THE INDEX.

 

Index Overview: The Nasdaq 100 Index is a benchmark index that includes 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market, based on market capitalization. This makes it a large-cap index, meaning its constituents have a high market value, often in the billions of dollars.

 

3 

 

 

The Index includes companies from various industries but is heavily weighted towards the technology sector. This reflects the Nasdaq’s historic strength as a listing venue for tech companies. Other sectors represented include consumer discretionary, health care, communication services, and industrials, among others.

 

In terms of volatility, like all stock indices, the Index experiences daily price movements and can be significantly volatile at times. This is often driven by macroeconomic factors, market sentiment, and financial results or news from its large constituents. Historical periods of significant volatility include the dot-com bubble burst around 2000 and the global financial crisis of 2007-2008, among other events. However, the specific degree of volatility can vary and is subject to change based on market conditions.

 

Principal Investment Risks

 

The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) per share, trading price, yield, total return, and/or ability to meet its objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the section in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Information About the Funds—Principal Risks of Investing in the Funds.”

 

An investment in the Fund entails risk. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective and there is a risk that you could lose all of your money invested in the Fund. The Fund is not a complete investment program. It is important that investors closely review all of the risks listed below and understand them before making an investment in the Fund.

 

Referenced Index Risk. The Fund invests in options contracts that are based on the value of the Index (or in ETFs that track the Index’s performance). This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of companies that comprised the Index or an ETF that tracks the Index, even though it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s investments in options contracts that are based on the value of the Index, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:

 

Indirect Investment Risk. The Index is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way. Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the companies that comprise the Index but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Index.

 

Index Trading Risk. The trading price of the Index may be highly volatile and could continue to be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors. The stock market in general has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of companies.

 

The Nasdaq 100 Index Risks: The Index’s major risks stem from its high concentration in the technology sector and significant exposure to high-growth, high-valuation companies. A downturn in the tech industry, whether from regulatory changes, shifts in technology, or competitive pressures, can greatly impact the index. It’s also vulnerable to geopolitical risks due to many constituent companies having substantial international operations. Since many of these tech companies often trade at high valuations, a shift in investor sentiment could lead to significant price declines.

 

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, imperfect correlation with underlying investments, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of derivatives may result in larger losses or smaller gains than directly investing in securities. When the Fund uses derivatives, there may be an imperfect correlation between the value of the Index and the derivative, which may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. Because derivatives often require only a limited initial investment, the use of derivatives may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts initially invested. In addition, the Fund’s investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:

 

Options Contracts. The use of options contracts 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, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events. For the Fund in particular, the value of the options contracts in which it invests are substantially influenced by the value of the Index. The Fund may experience substantial downside from specific option positions and certain option positions held by the Fund may expire worthless. The options held by the Fund are exercisable at the strike price on their expiration date. As an option approaches its expiration date, its value typically increasingly moves with the value of the underlying instrument. However, prior to such date, the value of an option generally does not increase or decrease at the same rate at the underlying instrument. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in values options contracts and the underlying instrument, and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options contracts. The value of the options held by the Fund will be determined based on market quotations or other recognized pricing methods.

 

Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in options contracts. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. In cleared derivatives positions, the Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to and receive payments from a clearing house through their accounts at clearing members. Customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any options contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not identified to the name of the clearing member’s individual customers. As a result, assets deposited by the Fund with any clearing member as margin for options may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing member. In addition, although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearing house, there is a risk that the assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy, as the Fund would be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds segregated on behalf of the clearing member’s customers for the relevant account class. The Fund is also subject to the risk that a limited number of clearing members are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf, which heightens the risks associated with a clearing member’s default. This risk is greater for the Fund as it seeks to hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts, which may limit the number of clearing members that are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf. If a clearing member defaults the Fund could lose some or all of the benefits of a transaction entered into by the Fund with the clearing member. If the Fund cannot find a clearing member to transact with on the Fund’s behalf, the Fund may be unable to effectively implement its investment strategy.

 

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Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of in-the-money put option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in increases in value experienced by the Index over the Call Period (typically, one day, but may range up to one week). This means that if the Index experiences an increase in value above the strike price of the sold put options during a Call Period, the Fund will likely not experience that increase to the same extent and may significantly underperform the Index over the Call Period. Additionally, because the Fund is limited in the degree to which it will participate in increases in value experienced by the Index over each Call Period, but has full exposure to any decreases in value experienced by the Index over the Call Period, the NAV of the Fund may decrease over any given time period. The Fund’s NAV is dependent on the value of each options portfolio, which is based principally upon the performance of the Index. The degree of participation in the Index gains the Fund will experience will depend on prevailing market conditions, especially market volatility, at the time the Fund enters into the sold put option contracts and will vary from Call Period to Call Period. The value of the options contracts is affected by changes in the value and dividend rates of the Index, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the Index and the remaining time to the options’ expiration, as well as trading conditions in the options market. As the price of the Index changes and time moves towards the expiration of each Call Period, the value of the options contracts, and therefore the Fund’s NAV, will change. However, it is not expected for the Fund’s NAV to directly correlate on a day-to-day basis with the returns of the Index. The amount of time remaining until the options contract’s expiration date affects the impact of the potential options contract income on the Fund’s NAV, which may not be in full effect until the expiration date of the Fund’s options contracts. Therefore, while changes in the price of the Index will result in changes to the Fund’s NAV, the Fund generally anticipates that the rate of change in the Fund’s NAV will be different than that experienced by the Index.

 

Distribution Risk. As part of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund seeks to provide current monthly income. There is no assurance that the Fund will make a distribution in any given month. If the Fund does make distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next. Additionally, the monthly distributions, if any, may consist of returns of capital, which would decrease the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.

 

NAV Erosion Risk Due to Distributions. When the Fund makes a distribution, the Fund’s NAV will typically drop by the amount of the distribution on the related ex-dividend date. The repeated payment of distributions by the Fund, if any, may significantly erode the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.

 

Put Writing Strategy Risk. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s put writing strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in the positive price returns of the Index and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold put options and over longer time periods.

 

If, for example, on a particular day, the Fund were to sell 1% in-the-money put options having a one-day term, the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Index will be capped at 1% for that day. However, over a longer period (e.g., a five-day period), the Fund should not be expected to participate fully in the first 5% (i.e., 5 days x 1%) of the positive price returns of the Index, or the Fund may even lose money, even if the Index share price has appreciated by at least that much over such period, if during any particular day or days over that period the Index had a return less than 1%. This example illustrates that both the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Index and its returns will depend not only on the price of the Index but also on the path that the Index takes over time.

 

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

 

ETF Risks.

 

Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.

 

Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. For example, the Fund may not be able to redeem in-kind certain securities held by the Fund (e.g., derivative instruments). In such a case, the Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. By paying out higher annual capital gain distributions, investors may be subjected to increased capital gains taxes. Additionally, there may be brokerage costs or taxable gains or losses that may be imposed on the Fund in connection with a cash redemption that may not have occurred if the Fund had made a redemption in-kind. These costs could decrease the value of the Fund to the extent they are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an AP.

 

Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.

 

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Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the Fund’s investment portfolio, the portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not produce the desired result. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective.

 

Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant.

 

Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as The Nasdaq Stock Market, LLC (the “Exchange”), and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or be maintained or that the Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. This risk may be greater for the Fund as it seeks to have exposure to a single underlying stock as opposed to a more diverse portfolio like a traditional pooled investment. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. Shares trade on the Exchange at a market price that may be below, at or above the Fund’s NAV. Trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. In the event of an unscheduled market close for options contracts that reference a single stock, such as the Index’s securities being halted or a market wide closure, settlement prices will be determined by the procedures of the listing exchange of the options contracts. As a result, the Fund could be adversely affected and be unable to implement its investment strategies in the event of an unscheduled closing.

 

High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in the Fund due to an increase in short-term capital gains.

 

Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.

 

Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. This risk is greater for the Fund as it will hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts. Markets for securities or financial instruments could be disrupted by a number of events, including, but not limited to, an economic crisis, natural disasters, epidemics/pandemics, new legislation or regulatory changes inside or outside the United States. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time or price, the Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain market conditions or restrictions, such as market rules related to short sales, may prevent the Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the Index. There is no assurance that a security that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Fund.

 

Money Market Instrument Risk. The Fund may use a variety of money market instruments for cash management purposes, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements are contracts in which a seller of securities agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments, including money market funds, may lose money through fees or other means.

 

New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio.

 

Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund, Adviser, and Sub-Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.

 

Recent Market Events Risk. U.S. and international markets have experienced significant periods of volatility in recent years and months due to a number of economic, political and global macro factors including the impact of COVID-19 as a global pandemic, which has resulted in a public health crisis, disruptions to business operations and supply chains, stress on the global healthcare system, growth concerns in the U.S. and overseas, staffing shortages and the inability to meet consumer demand, and widespread concern and uncertainty. The global recovery from COVID-19 is proceeding at slower than expected rates due to the emergence of variant strains and may last for an extended period of time. Continuing uncertainties regarding interest rates, rising inflation, political events, rising government debt in the U.S. and trade tensions also contribute to market volatility. As a result of continuing political tensions and armed conflicts, including the war between Ukraine and Russia, the U.S. and the European Union imposed sanctions on certain Russian individuals and companies, including certain financial institutions, and have limited certain exports and imports to and from Russia. The war has contributed to recent market volatility and may continue to do so.

 

Tax Risk. The Fund intends to elect and to qualify each year to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. As a RIC, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its net investment income and net capital gain that it distributes to Shareholders, provided that it satisfies certain requirements of the Code. If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions are not available, the Fund’s taxable income will be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. To comply with the asset diversification test applicable to a RIC, the Fund will attempt to ensure that the value of options it holds is never 25% of the total value of Fund assets at the close of any quarter. If the Fund’s investments in options were to exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of a tax quarter, the Fund, generally, has a grace period to cure such lack of compliance. If the Fund fails to timely cure, it may no longer be eligible to be treated as a RIC.

 

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U.S. Government and U.S. Agency Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. Government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, such as the U.S. Treasury. Payment of principal and interest on U.S. Government obligations may be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or may be backed solely by the issuing or guaranteeing agency or instrumentality itself. In the latter case, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) where it is not obligated to do so.

 

Performance

 

Performance information for the Fund is not included because the Fund has not completed a full calendar year of operations as of the date of this Prospectus. When such information is included, this section will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance history from year to year and showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of the Index and a broad measure of market performance. Although past performance of the Fund is no guarantee of how it will perform in the future, historical performance may give you some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Updated performance information will be available on the Fund’s website at www.defianceetfs.com/QQQY.

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser: Toroso Investments, LLC serves as investment adviser to the Fund.

 

Investment Sub-Adviser. ZEGA Financial, LLC serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers:

 

The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.

 

Mick Brokaw, Portfolio Manager for the Sub-Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2023.

 

Jay Pestrichelli, Portfolio Manager for the Sub-Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2023.

 

Qiao Duan, CFA, Portfolio Manager for Toroso, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2023.

 

Charles A. Ragauss, CFA, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2023.

 

CFA® is a registered trademark owned by the CFA Institute.

 

Purchase and Sale of Shares

The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only Authorized Participants (Aps) (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.

 

Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).

 

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

 

When available, information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a premium or discount, and bid-ask spreads can be found on the Fund’s website at www. defianceetfs.com/QQQY.

 

Tax Information

Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless an investment is in an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.

 

Financial Intermediary Compensation

If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other activities, such as marketing, educational training, or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s website for more information.

 

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SUMMARY INFORMATION

 

DEFIANCE S&P 500 ENHANCED OPTIONS INCOME ETF - FUND SUMMARY

 

Investment Objective

 

The Fund’s primary investment objective is to seek current income.

The Fund’s secondary investment objective is to seek exposure to the performance of the S&P 500 Index (the “Index”) subject to a limit on potential investment gains.

 

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 (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses(1)(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
   
Management Fees 0.99%
   
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees 0.00%
   
Other Expenses(2) 0.00%
   
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.99%
   
  (1) The Fund’s adviser will pay, or require a sub-adviser to pay, all of the Fund’s expenses, except for the following: advisory and sub-advisory fees, interest charges on any borrowings made for investment purposes, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, distribution fees and expenses paid by the Fund under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, litigation expenses, and other non-routine or extraordinary expenses.
  (2) Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.

 

Expense Example

 

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem or hold 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 does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

1 Year 3 Years
$101 $315

 

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 Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in total annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example above, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.

 

Principal Investment Strategies

 

The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks current income while maintaining the opportunity for indirect exposure to the value of the Index, subject to a limit on potential gains from increases in the value of the Index. More precisely, the Fund aims to generate additional income from its options investments when the Index rises in value, based on the specific put options it sold.

 

The Fund will seek to employ its investment strategy as it relates to the Index regardless of whether there are periods of adverse market, economic, or other conditions and will not seek to take temporary defensive positions during such periods. As further described below, each day, the Fund uses an at-the-money and in-the-money put selling strategy to provide income and exposure to the value of the Index, subject to a limit on potential investment gains as a result of the nature of the options strategy it employs. The Fund’s options contracts provide current income from option premiums and a limit on the Fund’s indirect participation in gains, if any, of the increase in the value of the Index. In addition, the Fund’s in-the-money put options will provide some upside appreciation, also known as “intrinsic value.” As discussed in greater detail below, the Fund will not directly or fully participate in gains experienced by the Index. Please see “Additional Information about the Fund” below for a description of options terminology.

 

Every day, the Fund will sell put options that are priced either at-the-money or up to five percent in-the-money (i.e., higher than the current market price). If the Fund sells an option that’s priced above the current market price, the Fund may profit if the Index increases in value above its current price. This opportunity exists until the option’s expiration date, which is typically the next day. This happens because an option priced above the current market value has a higher premium than an option priced at the current market value. In other words, the Fund’s potential for profit (or exposure) fluctuates. This potential for profit is calculated daily over a certain time period, but it’s also balanced out by any losses that might occur during that same period.

 

The Fund seeks to make monthly distributions. To enable it to do so, the Fund seeks to generate a consistent stream of income on a daily basis. In particular, the Fund sells in-the-money put options to seek a minimum daily income of 0.25%. If the Sub-Adviser determines this 0.25% daily income is not achievable, the Fund will sell options that are priced at the current market value to try to make the most of the available daily income. If the potential daily income exceeds 0.25%, then the Sub-Adviser will select a target strike to seek an equal mix of current and potential income.

 

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The Fund seeks to provide an “enhanced” yield compared to traditional option-based strategies. It does this by frequently selling short-term options (typically less than one week in duration), which usually generates more income than selling longer-term options over the same period.

 

In addition to its options investments, the Fund will hold short-term U.S. Treasury securities for collateral for the options, and to generate income.

 

The Fund’s options contracts provide: 

  exposure to changes in the value of the Index.
  current income from option premiums and, for in-the-money puts, potential income from their intrinsic value, and
  a limit on the Fund’s participation in gains, if any, of the value of the Index.
     

For more information, see the section “The Fund’s Use of Index Option Contracts” below.

 

The Fund’s investment adviser is Toroso Investments, LLC (“Toroso” or the “Adviser”) and the investment sub-adviser is ZEGA Financial, LLC (“ZEGA” or the “Sub-Adviser”).

 

Why invest in the Fund?

 

  The Fund seeks to generate monthly income, which is not dependent on the price appreciation of the Index.
  The Fund seeks to participate in a portion of the potential gains experienced by increases in the value of the Index.
     

That is, although the Fund will not fully participate in gains in the value of the Index, the Fund’s portfolio is designed to generate income.

 

An Investment in the Fund is not an investment in the Index, nor is the Fund an investment in a traditional passively managed index fund.

 

  The Fund’s strategy will cap its potential gains if the Index increases in value.
  The Fund’s strategy is subject to all potential losses if the Index losses value, which may not be offset by income received by the Fund.
  The Fund does not invest directly in the Index.
  The Fund does not invest directly in companies that comprise the Index.
  Fund shareholders are not entitled to any dividends paid by any companies that comprise the Index.
     

Additional information regarding the Index is also set forth below.

 

The Fund’s Use of Index Option Contracts

 

Each day, the Fund will sell at-the-money and in-the-money puts on the Index (or on passively managed ETFs that seek to track the Index’s performance). In particular, the Fund will sell puts with near-term expirations at a range of 0% to 5% “in-the-money” (i.e., that is where the strike price is above the current value of the Index by between 0% and 5%). The Fund will receive premium income for each put sold. In addition, the strategy will provide the Fund with the opportunity to earn both time decay (described below) and, for in-the-money puts, a limited amount of upside appreciation up to the puts’ strike price (described below) plus the puts’ intrinsic value. The expiration dates at the time of purchase for the Fund’s sold puts will range from one day to a week. The Fund’s participation in potential increases in the value of the Index is based on the level of the Index at the time the Fund sells a put option contract and the Index’s level at the time of the contract’s expiration.

 

For example, for simplicity, assume the Index is trading at 100 at the time the Fund sells an in-the-money put with a strike price of 105. If the Index’s level increases to 105 before expiration, the Fund would benefit from the increase in the Index’s value up to 105 through the receipt of the premium which was earned through the sale of the option. In addition, the Fund would benefit slightly from the in-the-money put’s extrinsic value. That is, if the Fund sold the put for 0.50% of time value (an amount paid above the put’s in the money value for the put’s potential to increase in value before expiration), the option in the example would earn up to 105.5. However, if the Index’s increase exceeded 105, the Fund would not participate in any of the additional upside.

 

Further, if the Index level drops below 100 at expiration minus an amount equal to the puts’ time value, the Fund would lose money. So, if the Fund sold the option for 0.50 of time value, the Fund would lose money if the Index fell below 99.5. The Fund would be obligated to pay the holder of the put option the difference between the strike price and the actual level of the Index, multiplied by the contract multiplier (usually 100 for equity index options).

 

The Fund seeks to make monthly distributions. To enable it to do so, the Fund seeks to generate a consistent stream of income on a daily basis. In particular, the Fund sells in-the-money put options to seek a minimum daily income of 0.25%. If the Sub-Adviser determines this 0.25% daily income is not achievable, the Fund will sell options that are priced at the current market value to try to make the most of the available daily income. If the potential daily income exceeds 0.25%, then the Sub-Adviser will select a target strike to seek an equal mix of current and potential income. Through this approach, the Fund seeks to provide an “enhanced” yield compared to traditional option-based strategies. It does this by frequently selling short-term options (typically less than one week in duration), which usually generates more income than selling longer-term options over the same period.

 

The Fund intends to invest only in cash-settled options, which means the holder of the option doesn’t receive securities when the option is exercised or expires. Instead, any payments are made in cash.

 

U.S. Treasuries

 

The Fund will hold short-term U.S. Treasury securities as collateral in connection with the Fund’s options strategy and to generate income.

 

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Fund’s Monthly Distributions

 

The Fund will seek to provide monthly income in the form of cash distributions. The Fund will seek to generate such income in the following two ways:

 

  Writing (selling) put option contracts on the Index as described above. The income, in the form of option premiums received from such option sales, will be primarily influenced by the volatility of the Index’s value, although other factors, including interest rates, will also impact the level of income.
  Investing in short-term U.S. Treasury securities. The income generated by these securities will be influenced by interest rates at the time of investment.
     

Fund’s Return Profile vs the Index

 

For the reasons stated above, the Fund’s performance will differ from that of the Index’s value. The performance differences will depend on, among other things, the value of the Index, changes in the value of Index put options contracts the Fund has sold, and changes in the value of the U.S. Treasuries.

 

The Fund’s strategy is designed to have approximately a daily, unleveraged, 100% notional exposure to the Index. Essentially, the worth of the put options that the Fund invests in will match the value as if the Fund had directly purchased the securities included in the Index.

 

Let’s consider a scenario where the Fund has assets totaling $10 million and the Index is priced at 5,000. In this instance, the number of contracts would be 20. We calculate this by dividing the Fund’s value by the value of one contract. Here, $10,000,000 divided by $500,000 (obtained by multiplying the index price of 5,000 by the standard multiplier of 100) gives us 20.

 

However, the Fund’s notional exposure will drift during each trading day. The Fund will reallocate its portfolio at the end of each trading day. That is, the Fund will allow each day’s options to expire and then settle them in cash. The Fund will enter into new put options at the end of the trading day. By allowing the options to expire and then settling in cash, the Fund can seek to reduce execution costs and minimize trading drift.

 

Fund Portfolio

 

The Fund’s principal holdings are described below:

 

Defiance S&P 500 Enhanced Options Income ETF – Principal Holdings

Portfolio Holdings

(All options are based on the value of the Index)

Investment Terms Expected Target Maturity
Sold put option contracts

“at-the money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current price of the Index at the time of sale)

 

“in-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is above the then-current price of the Index at the time of sale).

 

Sold put option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any decreases in the value experienced by the Index.

Typically, 1 day, but may extend to one-week expiration dates
U.S Treasury Securities and Cash

Multiple series of U.S. Treasury Bills supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.

 

These instruments are used as collateral for the Fund’s derivative investments.

 

They will also generate income. The Fund will generally hold US Treasuries to maturity.

6-month to 2-year maturities at the time of purchase.

 

The market value of the cash and treasuries held by the Fund is expected to comprise at least 80% of the Fund’s net assets.

 

The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).

 

Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of the value of its assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in financial instruments and economic interests that provide exposure to the value of the Index. The Fund’s “80%” policy is non-fundamental and can be changed without shareholder approval. However, Fund shareholders would be given at least 60 days’ notice prior to any such change.

 

There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment strategy will be properly implemented, and an investor may lose some or all of its investment.

 

None of the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation to you as to the performance of the Index.

 

THE FUND, TRUST, ADVISER, AND SUB-ADVISER ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH, NOR ENDORSED BY, THE INDEX.

 

Index Overview: The S&P 500 Index is a widely recognized benchmark index that tracks the performance of 500 of the largest U.S.-based companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq. These companies represent approximately 80% of the total U.S. equities market by capitalization, making it a large-cap index.

 

The S&P 500 is diversified across all sectors of the economy, including technology, healthcare, consumer discretionary, financials, industrials, and others. This distribution can vary over time as the market value of the sectors change.

 

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Regarding volatility, the S&P 500, like all market indices, has experienced periods of significant daily price movements. Historically notable periods of volatility include the Black Monday crash in 1987, the dot-com bubble burst around 2000, the financial crisis of 2008, and the market reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. However, the specific degree of volatility can vary and is subject to change based on overall market conditions. Despite these periods of volatility, the Index has shown long-term growth over its history.

 

Principal Investment Risks

 

The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) per share, trading price, yield, total return, and/or ability to meet its objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the section in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Information About the Funds—Principal Risks of Investing in the Funds.”

 

An investment in the Fund entails risk. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective and there is a risk that you could lose all of your money invested in the Fund. The Fund is not a complete investment program. It is important that investors closely review all of the risks listed below and understand them before making an investment in the Fund.

 

Referenced Index Risk. The Fund invests in options contracts that are based on the value of the Index (or in ETFs that track the Index’s performance). This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of companies that comprised the Index or an ETF that tracks the Index, even though it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s investments in options contracts that are based on the value of the Index, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:

 

Indirect Investment Risk. The Index is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way. Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the companies that comprise the Index but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Index.

 

Index Trading Risk. The trading price of the Index may be highly volatile and could continue to be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors. The stock market in general has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of companies.

 

S&P 500 Index Risks: The Index, which includes a broad swath of large U.S. companies, is primarily exposed to overall economic and market conditions. Recession, inflation, and changes in interest rates can significantly impact the index’s performance. Furthermore, despite its diverse representation, a downturn in a major sector such as technology or financials could notably affect the index. Geopolitical risks and unexpected global events, like pandemics, can introduce volatility and uncertainty.

 

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, imperfect correlation with underlying investments, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of derivatives may result in larger losses or smaller gains than directly investing in securities. When the Fund uses derivatives, there may be an imperfect correlation between the value of the Index and the derivative, which may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. Because derivatives often require only a limited initial investment, the use of derivatives may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts initially invested. In addition, the Fund’s investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:

 

Options Contracts. The use of options contracts 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, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events. For the Fund in particular, the value of the options contracts in which it invests are substantially influenced by the value of the Index. The Fund may experience substantial downside from specific option positions and certain option positions held by the Fund may expire worthless. The options held by the Fund are exercisable at the strike price on their expiration date. As an option approaches its expiration date, its value typically increasingly moves with the value of the underlying instrument. However, prior to such date, the value of an option generally does not increase or decrease at the same rate at the underlying instrument. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in values options contracts and the underlying instrument, and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options contracts. The value of the options held by the Fund will be determined based on market quotations or other recognized pricing methods.

 

Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in options contracts. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. In cleared derivatives positions, the Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to and receive payments from a clearing house through their accounts at clearing members. Customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any options contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not identified to the name of the clearing member’s individual customers. As a result, assets deposited by the Fund with any clearing member as margin for options may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing member. In addition, although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearing house, there is a risk that the assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy, as the Fund would be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds segregated on behalf of the clearing member’s customers for the relevant account class. The Fund is also subject to the risk that a limited number of clearing members are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf, which heightens the risks associated with a clearing member’s default. This risk is greater for the Fund as it seeks to hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts, which may limit the number of clearing members that are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf. If a clearing member defaults the Fund could lose some or all of the benefits of a transaction entered into by the Fund with the clearing member. If the Fund cannot find a clearing member to transact with on the Fund’s behalf, the Fund may be unable to effectively implement its investment strategy.

 

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Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of in-the-money put option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in increases in value experienced by the Index over the Call Period (typically, one day, but may range up to one week). This means that if the Index experiences an increase in value above the strike price of the sold put options during a Call Period, the Fund will likely not experience that increase to the same extent and may significantly underperform the Index over the Call Period. Additionally, because the Fund is limited in the degree to which it will participate in increases in value experienced by the Index over each Call Period, but has full exposure to any decreases in value experienced by the Index over the Call Period, the NAV of the Fund may decrease over any given time period. The Fund’s NAV is dependent on the value of each options portfolio, which is based principally upon the performance of the Index. The degree of participation in the Index gains the Fund will experience will depend on prevailing market conditions, especially market volatility, at the time the Fund enters into the sold put option contracts and will vary from Call Period to Call Period. The value of the options contracts is affected by changes in the value and dividend rates of the Index, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the Index and the remaining time to the options’ expiration, as well as trading conditions in the options market. As the price of the Index changes and time moves towards the expiration of each Call Period, the value of the options contracts, and therefore the Fund’s NAV, will change. However, it is not expected for the Fund’s NAV to directly correlate on a day-to-day basis with the returns of the Index. The amount of time remaining until the options contract’s expiration date affects the impact of the potential options contract income on the Fund’s NAV, which may not be in full effect until the expiration date of the Fund’s options contracts. Therefore, while changes in the price of the Index will result in changes to the Fund’s NAV, the Fund generally anticipates that the rate of change in the Fund’s NAV will be different than that experienced by the Index.

 

Distribution Risk. As part of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund seeks to provide current monthly income. There is no assurance that the Fund will make a distribution in any given month. If the Fund does make distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next. Additionally, the monthly distributions, if any, may consist of returns of capital, which would decrease the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.

 

NAV Erosion Risk Due to Distributions. When the Fund makes a distribution, the Fund’s NAV will typically drop by the amount of the distribution on the related ex-dividend date. The repeated payment of distributions by the Fund, if any, may significantly erode the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.

 

Put Writing Strategy Risk. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s put writing strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in the positive price returns of the Index and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold put options and over longer time periods. If, for example, on a particular day, the Fund were to sell 1% in-the-money put options having a one-day term, the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Index will be capped at 1% for that day. However, over a longer period (e.g., a five-day period), the Fund should not be expected to participate fully in the first 5% (i.e., 5 days x 1%) of the positive price returns of the Index, or the Fund may even lose money, even if the Index share price has appreciated by at least that much over such period, if during any particular day or days over that period the Index had a return less than 1%. This example illustrates that both the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Index and its returns will depend not only on the price of the Index but also on the path that the Index takes over time.

 

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

 

ETF Risks.

 

Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.

 

Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. For example, the Fund may not be able to redeem in-kind certain securities held by the Fund (e.g., derivative instruments). In such a case, the Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. By paying out higher annual capital gain distributions, investors may be subjected to increased capital gains taxes. Additionally, there may be brokerage costs or taxable gains or losses that may be imposed on the Fund in connection with a cash redemption that may not have occurred if the Fund had made a redemption in-kind. These costs could decrease the value of the Fund to the extent they are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an AP.

 

Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.

 

Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the Fund’s investment portfolio, the portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not produce the desired result. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective.

 

Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant.

 

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Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”), and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or be maintained or that the Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. This risk may be greater for the Fund as it seeks to have exposure to a single underlying stock as opposed to a more diverse portfolio like a traditional pooled investment. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. Shares trade on the Exchange at a market price that may be below, at or above the Fund’s NAV. Trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. In the event of an unscheduled market close for options contracts that reference a single stock, such as the Index’s securities being halted or a market wide closure, settlement prices will be determined by the procedures of the listing exchange of the options contracts. As a result, the Fund could be adversely affected and be unable to implement its investment strategies in the event of an unscheduled closing.

 

High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in the Fund due to an increase in short-term capital gains.

 

Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.

 

Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. This risk is greater for the Fund as it will hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts. Markets for securities or financial instruments could be disrupted by a number of events, including, but not limited to, an economic crisis, natural disasters, epidemics/pandemics, new legislation or regulatory changes inside or outside the United States. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time or price, the Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain market conditions or restrictions, such as market rules related to short sales, may prevent the Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the Index. There is no assurance that a security that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Fund.

 

Money Market Instrument Risk. The Fund may use a variety of money market instruments for cash management purposes, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements are contracts in which a seller of securities agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments, including money market funds, may lose money through fees or other means.

 

New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio.

 

Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund, Adviser, and Sub-Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.

 

Recent Market Events Risk. U.S. and international markets have experienced significant periods of volatility in recent years and months due to a number of economic, political and global macro factors including the impact of COVID-19 as a global pandemic, which has resulted in a public health crisis, disruptions to business operations and supply chains, stress on the global healthcare system, growth concerns in the U.S. and overseas, staffing shortages and the inability to meet consumer demand, and widespread concern and uncertainty. The global recovery from COVID-19 is proceeding at slower than expected rates due to the emergence of variant strains and may last for an extended period of time. Continuing uncertainties regarding interest rates, rising inflation, political events, rising government debt in the U.S. and trade tensions also contribute to market volatility. As a result of continuing political tensions and armed conflicts, including the war between Ukraine and Russia, the U.S. and the European Union imposed sanctions on certain Russian individuals and companies, including certain financial institutions, and have limited certain exports and imports to and from Russia. The war has contributed to recent market volatility and may continue to do so.

 

Tax Risk. The Fund intends to elect and to qualify each year to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. As a RIC, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its net investment income and net capital gain that it distributes to Shareholders, provided that it satisfies certain requirements of the Code. If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions are not available, the Fund’s taxable income will be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. To comply with the asset diversification test applicable to a RIC, the Fund will attempt to ensure that the value of options it holds is never 25% of the total value of Fund assets at the close of any quarter. If the Fund’s investments in options were to exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of a tax quarter, the Fund, generally, has a grace period to cure such lack of compliance. If the Fund fails to timely cure, it may no longer be eligible to be treated as a RIC.

 

U.S. Government and U.S. Agency Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. Government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, such as the U.S. Treasury. Payment of principal and interest on U.S. Government obligations may be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or may be backed solely by the issuing or guaranteeing agency or instrumentality itself. In the latter case, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) where it is not obligated to do so.

 

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Performance

 

Performance information for the Fund is not included because the Fund has not completed a full calendar year of operations as of the date of this Prospectus. When such information is included, this section will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance history from year to year and showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of the Index and a broad measure of market performance. Although past performance of the Fund is no guarantee of how it will perform in the future, historical performance may give you some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Updated performance information will be available on the Fund’s website at www.defianceetfs.com/JEPY.

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser: Toroso Investments, LLC serves as investment adviser to the Fund.

 

Investment Sub-Adviser. ZEGA Financial, LLC serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers:

 

The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.

 

Mick Brokaw, Portfolio Manager for the Sub-Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2023.

 

Jay Pestrichelli, Portfolio Manager for the Sub-Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2023.

 

Qiao Duan, CFA, Portfolio Manager for Toroso, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2023.

 

Charles A. Ragauss, CFA, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2023.

 

CFA® is a registered trademark owned by the CFA Institute.

 

Purchase and Sale of Shares

The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only Authorized Participants (Aps) (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.

 

Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).

 

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

 

When available, information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a premium or discount, and bid-ask spreads can be found on the Fund’s website at www.defianceetfs.com/JEPY.

 

Tax Information

Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless an investment is in an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.

 

Financial Intermediary Compensation

If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other activities, such as marketing, educational training, or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s website for more information.

 

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SUMMARY INFORMATION

 

DEFIANCE R2000 ENHANCED OPTIONS INCOME ETF - FUND SUMMARY

 

Investment Objective

 

The Fund’s primary investment objective is to seek current income.

The Fund’s secondary investment objective is to seek exposure to the performance of the Russell 2000 Index (the “Index”) subject to a limit on potential investment gains.

 

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 (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses(1) (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
   
Management Fees 0.99%
   
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees 0.00%
   
Other Expenses(2) 0.00%
   
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.99%
   
(1) The Fund’s adviser will pay, or require a sub-adviser to pay, all of the Fund’s expenses, except for the following: advisory and sub-advisory fees, interest charges on any borrowings made for investment purposes, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, distribution fees and expenses paid by the Fund under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, litigation expenses, and other non-routine or extraordinary expenses.
(2) Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.
   

Expense Example

 

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem or hold 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 does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

1 Year 3 Years
$101 $315

 

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 Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in total annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example above, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.

 

Principal Investment Strategies

 

The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks current income while maintaining the opportunity for indirect exposure to the value of the Index, subject to a limit on potential gains from increases in the value of the Index. More precisely, the Fund aims to generate additional income from its options investments when the Index rises in value, based on the specific put options it sold.

 

The Fund will seek to employ its investment strategy as it relates to the Index regardless of whether there are periods of adverse market, economic, or other conditions and will not seek to take temporary defensive positions during such periods. As further described below, each day, the Fund uses an at-the-money and in-the-money put selling strategy to provide income and exposure to the value of the Index, subject to a limit on potential investment gains as a result of the nature of the options strategy it employs. The Fund’s options contracts provide current income from option premiums and a limit on the Fund’s indirect participation in gains, if any, of the increase in the value of the Index. In addition, the Fund’s in-the-money put options will provide some upside appreciation, also known as “intrinsic value.” As discussed in greater detail below, the Fund will not directly or fully participate in gains experienced by the Index. Please see “Additional Information about the Fund” below for a description of options terminology.

 

Every day, the Fund will sell put options that are priced either at-the-money or up to five percent in-the-money (i.e., higher than the current market price). If the Fund sells an option that’s priced above the current market price, the Fund may profit if the Index increases in value above its current price. This opportunity exists until the option’s expiration date, which is typically the next day. This happens because an option priced above the current market value has a higher premium than an option priced at the current market value. In other words, the Fund’s potential for profit (or exposure) fluctuates. This potential for profit is calculated daily over a certain time period, but it’s also balanced out by any losses that might occur during that same period.

 

The Fund seeks to make monthly distributions. To enable it to do so, the Fund seeks to generate a consistent stream of income on a daily basis. In particular, the Fund sells in-the-money put options to seek a minimum daily income of 0.25%. If the Sub-Adviser determines this 0.25% daily income is not achievable, the Fund will sell options that are priced at the current market value to try to make the most of the available daily income. If the potential daily income exceeds 0.25%, then the Sub-Adviser will select a target strike to seek an equal mix of current and potential income.

 

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In addition to its options investments, the Fund will hold short-term U.S. Treasury securities for collateral for the options, and to generate income.

 

The Fund’s options contracts provide:

  exposure to changes in the value of the Index.
  current income from option premiums and, for in-the-money puts, potential income from their intrinsic value, and
  a limit on the Fund’s participation in gains, if any, of the value of the Index.
     

For more information, see the section “The Fund’s Use of Index Option Contracts” below.

 

The Fund’s investment adviser is Toroso Investments, LLC (“Toroso” or the “Adviser”) and the investment sub-adviser is ZEGA Financial, LLC (“ZEGA” or the “Sub-Adviser”).

 

Why invest in the Fund?

 

  The Fund seeks to generate monthly income, which is not dependent on the price appreciation of the Index.
  The Fund seeks to participate in a portion of the potential gains experienced by increases in the value of the Index.
     

That is, although the Fund will not fully participate in gains in the value of the Index, the Fund’s portfolio is designed to generate income.

 

An Investment in the Fund is not an investment in the Index, nor is the Fund an investment in a traditional passively managed index fund.

 

  The Fund’s strategy will cap its potential gains if the Index increases in value.
  The Fund’s strategy is subject to all potential losses if the Index losses value, which may not be offset by income received by the Fund.
  The Fund does not invest directly in the Index.
  The Fund does not invest directly in companies that comprise the Index.
  Fund shareholders are not entitled to any dividends paid by any companies that comprise the Index.
     

Additional information regarding the Index is also set forth below.

 

The Fund’s Use of Index Option Contracts

 

Each day, the Fund will sell at-the-money and in-the-money puts on the Index (or on passively managed ETFs that seek to track the Index’s performance). In particular, the Fund will sell puts with near-term expirations at a range of 0% to 5% “in-the-money” (i.e., that is where the strike price is above the current value of the Index by between 0% and 5%). The Fund will receive premium income for each put sold. In addition, the strategy will provide the Fund with the opportunity to earn both time decay (described below) and, for in-the-money puts, a limited amount of upside appreciation up to the puts’ strike price (described below) plus the puts’ intrinsic value. The expiration dates at the time of purchase for the Fund’s sold puts will range from one day to a week. The Fund’s participation in potential increases in the value of the Index is based on the level of the Index at the time the Fund sells a put option contract and the Index’s level at the time of the contract’s expiration.

 

For example, for simplicity, assume the Index is trading at 100 at the time the Fund sells an in-the-money put with a strike price of 105. If the Index’s level increases to 105 before expiration, the Fund would benefit from the increase in the Index’s value up to 105 through the receipt of the premium which was earned through the sale of the option. In addition, the Fund would benefit slightly from the in-the-money put’s extrinsic value. That is, if the Fund sold the put for 0.50% of time value (an amount paid above the put’s in-the-money value for the put’s potential to increase in value before expiration), the option in the example would earn up to 105.5. However, if the Index’s increase exceeded 105, the Fund would not participate in any of the additional upside.

 

Further, if the Index level drops below 100 at expiration minus an amount equal to the puts’ time value, the Fund would lose money. So, if the Fund sold the option for 0.50 of time value, the Fund would lose money if the Index fell below 99.5. The Fund would be obligated to pay the holder of the put option the difference between the strike price and the actual level of the Index, multiplied by the contract multiplier (usually 100 for equity index options).

 

The Fund seeks to make monthly distributions. To enable it to do so, the Fund seeks to generate a consistent stream of income on a daily basis. In particular, the Fund sells in-the-money put options to seek a minimum daily income of 0.25%. If the Sub-Adviser determines this 0.25% daily income is not achievable, the Fund will sell options that are priced at the current market value to try to make the most of the available daily income. If the potential daily income exceeds 0.25%, then the Sub-Adviser will select a target strike to seek an equal mix of current and potential income. Through this approach, the Fund seeks to provide an “enhanced” yield compared to traditional option-based strategies. It does this by frequently selling short-term options (typically less than one week in duration), which usually generates more income than selling longer-term options over the same period.

 

The Fund intends to invest only in cash-settled options, which means the holder of the option doesn’t receive securities when the option is exercised or expires. Instead, any payments are made in cash.

 

U.S. Treasuries

 

The Fund will hold short-term U.S. Treasury securities as collateral in connection with the Fund’s options strategy and to generate income.

 

Fund’s Monthly Distributions

 

The Fund will seek to provide monthly income in the form of cash distributions. The Fund will seek to generate such income in the following two ways:

 

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  Writing (selling) put option contracts on the Index as described above. The income, in the form of option premiums received from such option sales, will be primarily influenced by the volatility of the Index’s value, although other factors, including interest rates, will also impact the level of income.
  Investing in short-term U.S. Treasury securities. The income generated by these securities will be influenced by interest rates at the time of investment.
     

Fund’s Return Profile vs the Index

 

For the reasons stated above, the Fund’s performance will differ from that of the Index’s value. The performance differences will depend on, among other things, the value of the Index, changes in the value of Index put options contracts the Fund has sold, and changes in the value of the U.S. Treasuries.

 

The Fund’s strategy is designed to have approximately a daily, unleveraged, 100% notional exposure to the Index. Essentially, the worth of the put options that the Fund invests in will match the value as if the Fund had directly purchased the securities included in the Index.

 

Let’s consider a scenario where the Fund has assets totaling $10 million and the Index is priced at 5,000. In this instance, the number of contracts would be 20. We calculate this by dividing the Fund’s value by the value of one contract. Here, $10,000,000 divided by $500,000 (obtained by multiplying the index price of 5,000 by the standard multiplier of 100) gives us 20.

 

However, the Fund’s notional exposure will drift during each trading day. The Fund will reallocate its portfolio at the end of each trading day. That is, the Fund will allow each day’s options to expire and then settle them in cash. The Fund will enter into new put options at the end of the trading day. By allowing the options to expire and then settling in cash, the Fund can seek to reduce execution costs and minimize trading drift.

 

Fund Portfolio

 

The Fund’s principal holdings are described below:

 

Defiance R2000 Enhanced Options Income ETF – Principal Holdings

Portfolio Holdings

(All options are based on the value of the Index)

Investment Terms Expected Target Maturity
Sold put option contracts

“at-the money” (i.e., the strike price is equal to the then-current price of the Index at the time of sale)

 

“in-the-money” (i.e., the strike price is above the then-current price of the Index at the time of sale).

 

Sold put option contracts provide exposure to the full extent of any decreases in the value experienced by the Index.

Typically, 1 day, but may extend to one-week expiration dates
U.S Treasury Securities and Cash

Multiple series of U.S. Treasury Bills supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.

 

These instruments are used as collateral for the Fund’s derivative investments.

 

They will also generate income. The Fund will generally hold US Treasuries to maturity.

6-month to 2-year maturities at the time of purchase.

 

The market value of the cash and treasuries held by the Fund is expected to comprise at least 80% of the Fund’s net assets.

 

The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).

 

Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of the value of its assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in financial instruments and economic interests that provide exposure to the value of the Index. The Fund’s “80%” policy is non-fundamental and can be changed without shareholder approval. However, Fund shareholders would be given at least 60 days’ notice prior to any such change.

 

There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment strategy will be properly implemented, and an investor may lose some or all of its investment.

 

None of the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation to you as to the performance of the Index.

 

THE FUND, TRUST, ADVISER, AND SUB-ADVISER ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH, NOR ENDORSED BY, THE INDEX.

 

Index Overview: The Russell 2000 Index is a widely recognized benchmark index that tracks the performance of approximately 2000 small-cap companies in the United States. These are the smallest companies listed in the Russell 3000 Index, representing about 10% of that index’s total market capitalization.

 

The Russell 2000 Index is diversified and includes companies from various sectors such as financial services, healthcare, technology, consumer discretionary, industrials, and others. The exact distribution can fluctuate over time due to market conditions.

 

In terms of volatility, the Index, being a small-cap index, tends to be more volatile than large-cap indices like the S&P 500 or the Nasdaq 100 indices. Small-cap stocks can be more sensitive to changes in the economic climate and can experience larger price swings. Notable periods of volatility have included the dot-com bubble burst in 2000, the financial crisis in 2008, and the market turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. However, as with any index, the specific level of volatility can change based on broader market conditions.

 

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Principal Investment Risks

 

The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) per share, trading price, yield, total return, and/or ability to meet its objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the section in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Information About the Funds—Principal Risks of Investing in the Funds.”

 

An investment in the Fund entails risk. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective and there is a risk that you could lose all of your money invested in the Fund. The Fund is not a complete investment program. It is important that investors closely review all of the risks listed below and understand them before making an investment in the Fund.

 

Referenced Index Risk. The Fund invests in options contracts that are based on the value of the Index (or in ETFs that track the Index’s performance). This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of companies that comprised the Index or an ETF that tracks the Index, even though it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s investments in options contracts that are based on the value of the Index, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:

 

Indirect Investment Risk. The Index is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way. Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the companies that comprise the Index but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Index.

 

Index Trading Risk. The trading price of the Index may be highly volatile and could continue to be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors. The stock market in general has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of companies.

 

Russell 2000 Index Risks: The Index, which consists of small-cap U.S. companies, is particularly susceptible to economic changes, as these firms often have less financial resilience than larger companies. Market volatility can disproportionately affect these smaller businesses, leading to significant price swings. Additionally, these companies are often more exposed to specific industry risks and have less diverse revenue streams. They can also be more vulnerable to changes in domestic regulatory or policy environments.

 

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, imperfect correlation with underlying investments, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of derivatives may result in larger losses or smaller gains than directly investing in securities. When the Fund uses derivatives, there may be an imperfect correlation between the value of the Index and the derivative, which may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. Because derivatives often require only a limited initial investment, the use of derivatives may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts initially invested. In addition, the Fund’s investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:

 

Options Contracts. The use of options contracts 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, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events. For the Fund in particular, the value of the options contracts in which it invests are substantially influenced by the value of the Index. The Fund may experience substantial downside from specific option positions and certain option positions held by the Fund may expire worthless. The options held by the Fund are exercisable at the strike price on their expiration date. As an option approaches its expiration date, its value typically increasingly moves with the value of the underlying instrument. However, prior to such date, the value of an option generally does not increase or decrease at the same rate at the underlying instrument. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in values options contracts and the underlying instrument, and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options contracts. The value of the options held by the Fund will be determined based on market quotations or other recognized pricing methods.

 

Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in options contracts. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. In cleared derivatives positions, the Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to and receive payments from a clearing house through their accounts at clearing members. Customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any options contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not identified to the name of the clearing member’s individual customers. As a result, assets deposited by the Fund with any clearing member as margin for options may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing member. In addition, although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearing house, there is a risk that the assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy, as the Fund would be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds segregated on behalf of the clearing member’s customers for the relevant account class. The Fund is also subject to the risk that a limited number of clearing members are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf, which heightens the risks associated with a clearing member’s default. This risk is greater for the Fund as it seeks to hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts, which may limit the number of clearing members that are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf. If a clearing member defaults the Fund could lose some or all of the benefits of a transaction entered into by the Fund with the clearing member. If the Fund cannot find a clearing member to transact with on the Fund’s behalf, the Fund may be unable to effectively implement its investment strategy.

 

Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of in-the-money put option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in increases in value experienced by the Index over the Call Period (typically, one day, but may range up to one week). This means that if the Index experiences an increase in value above the strike price of the sold put options during a Call Period, the Fund will likely not experience that increase to the same extent and may significantly underperform the Index over the Call Period. Additionally, because the Fund is limited in the degree to which it will participate in increases in value experienced by the Index over each Call Period, but has full exposure to any decreases in value experienced by the Index over the Call Period, the NAV of the Fund may decrease over any given time period. The Fund’s NAV is dependent on the value of each options portfolio, which is based principally upon the performance of the Index. The degree of participation in the Index gains the Fund will experience will depend on prevailing market conditions, especially market volatility, at the time the Fund enters into the sold put option contracts and will vary from Call Period to Call Period. The value of the options contracts is affected by changes in the value and dividend rates of the Index, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the Index and the remaining time to the options’ expiration, as well as trading conditions in the options market. As the price of the Index changes and time moves towards the expiration of each Call Period, the value of the options contracts, and therefore the Fund’s NAV, will change. However, it is not expected for the Fund’s NAV to directly correlate on a day-to-day basis with the returns of the Index. The amount of time remaining until the options contract’s expiration date affects the impact of the potential options contract income on the Fund’s NAV, which may not be in full effect until the expiration date of the Fund’s options contracts. Therefore, while changes in the price of the Index will result in changes to the Fund’s NAV, the Fund generally anticipates that the rate of change in the Fund’s NAV will be different than that experienced by the Index.

 

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Distribution Risk. As part of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund seeks to provide current monthly income. There is no assurance that the Fund will make a distribution in any given month. If the Fund does make distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next. Additionally, the monthly distributions, if any, may consist of returns of capital, which would decrease the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.

 

NAV Erosion Risk Due to Distributions. When the Fund makes a distribution, the Fund’s NAV will typically drop by the amount of the distribution on the related ex-dividend date. The repeated payment of distributions by the Fund, if any, may significantly erode the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.

 

Put Writing Strategy Risk. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s put writing strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in the positive price returns of the Index and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold put options and over longer time periods. If, for example, on a particular day, the Fund were to sell 1% in-the-money put options having a one-day term, the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Index will be capped at 1% for that day. However, over a longer period (e.g., a five-day period), the Fund should not be expected to participate fully in the first 5% (i.e., 5 days x 1%) of the positive price returns of the Index, or the Fund may even lose money, even if the Index share price has appreciated by at least that much over such period, if during any particular day or days over that period the Index had a return less than 1%. This example illustrates that both the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Index and its returns will depend not only on the price of the Index but also on the path that the Index takes over time.

 

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

 

ETF Risks.

 

Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.

 

Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. For example, the Fund may not be able to redeem in-kind certain securities held by the Fund (e.g., derivative instruments). In such a case, the Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. By paying out higher annual capital gain distributions, investors may be subjected to increased capital gains taxes. Additionally, there may be brokerage costs or taxable gains or losses that may be imposed on the Fund in connection with a cash redemption that may not have occurred if the Fund had made a redemption in-kind. These costs could decrease the value of the Fund to the extent they are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an AP.

 

Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.

 

Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the Fund’s investment portfolio, the portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not produce the desired result. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective.

 

Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant.

 

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Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”), and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or be maintained or that the Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. This risk may be greater for the Fund as it seeks to have exposure to a single underlying stock as opposed to a more diverse portfolio like a traditional pooled investment. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. Shares trade on the Exchange at a market price that may be below, at or above the Fund’s NAV. Trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. In the event of an unscheduled market close for options contracts that reference a single stock, such as the Index’s securities being halted or a market wide closure, settlement prices will be determined by the procedures of the listing exchange of the options contracts. As a result, the Fund could be adversely affected and be unable to implement its investment strategies in the event of an unscheduled closing.

 

High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in the Fund due to an increase in short-term capital gains.

 

Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.

 

Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. This risk is greater for the Fund as it will hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts. Markets for securities or financial instruments could be disrupted by a number of events, including, but not limited to, an economic crisis, natural disasters, epidemics/pandemics, new legislation or regulatory changes inside or outside the United States. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time or price, the Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain market conditions or restrictions, such as market rules related to short sales, may prevent the Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the Index. There is no assurance that a security that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Fund.

 

Money Market Instrument Risk. The Fund may use a variety of money market instruments for cash management purposes, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements are contracts in which a seller of securities agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments, including money market funds, may lose money through fees or other means.

 

New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio.

 

Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund, Adviser, and Sub-Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.

 

Recent Market Events Risk. U.S. and international markets have experienced significant periods of volatility in recent years and months due to a number of economic, political and global macro factors including the impact of COVID-19 as a global pandemic, which has resulted in a public health crisis, disruptions to business operations and supply chains, stress on the global healthcare system, growth concerns in the U.S. and overseas, staffing shortages and the inability to meet consumer demand, and widespread concern and uncertainty. The global recovery from COVID-19 is proceeding at slower than expected rates due to the emergence of variant strains and may last for an extended period of time. Continuing uncertainties regarding interest rates, rising inflation, political events, rising government debt in the U.S. and trade tensions also contribute to market volatility. As a result of continuing political tensions and armed conflicts, including the war between Ukraine and Russia, the U.S. and the European Union imposed sanctions on certain Russian individuals and companies, including certain financial institutions, and have limited certain exports and imports to and from Russia. The war has contributed to recent market volatility and may continue to do so.

 

Tax Risk. The Fund intends to elect and to qualify each year to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. As a RIC, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its net investment income and net capital gain that it distributes to Shareholders, provided that it satisfies certain requirements of the Code. If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions are not available, the Fund’s taxable income will be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. To comply with the asset diversification test applicable to a RIC, the Fund will attempt to ensure that the value of options it holds is never 25% of the total value of Fund assets at the close of any quarter. If the Fund’s investments in options were to exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of a tax quarter, the Fund, generally, has a grace period to cure such lack of compliance. If the Fund fails to timely cure, it may no longer be eligible to be treated as a RIC.

 

U.S. Government and U.S. Agency Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. Government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, such as the U.S. Treasury. Payment of principal and interest on U.S. Government obligations may be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or may be backed solely by the issuing or guaranteeing agency or instrumentality itself. In the latter case, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) where it is not obligated to do so.

 

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Performance

 

Performance information for the Fund is not included because the Fund has not completed a full calendar year of operations as of the date of this Prospectus. When such information is included, this section will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance history from year to year and showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of the Index and a broad measure of market performance. Although past performance of the Fund is no guarantee of how it will perform in the future, historical performance may give you some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Updated performance information will be available on the Fund’s website at www.defianceetfs.com/IWMY.

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser: Toroso Investments, LLC serves as investment adviser to the Fund.

 

Investment Sub-Adviser. ZEGA Financial, LLC serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers:

 

The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.

 

Mick Brokaw, Portfolio Manager for the Sub-Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2023.

 

Jay Pestrichelli, Portfolio Manager for the Sub-Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2023.

 

Qiao Duan, CFA, Portfolio Manager for Toroso, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2023.

 

Charles A. Ragauss, CFA, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2023.

 

CFA® is a registered trademark owned by the CFA Institute.

 

Purchase and Sale of Shares 

The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only Authorized Participants (Aps) (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.

 

Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).

 

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

 

When available, information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a premium or discount, and bid-ask spreads can be found on the Fund’s website at www.defianceetfs.com/IWMY.

 

Tax Information 

Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless an investment is in an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.

 

Financial Intermediary Compensation 

If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other activities, such as marketing, educational training, or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s website for more information.

 

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS

 

Investment Objective

 

The primary investment objective of the Defiance Nasdaq 100 Enhanced Options Income ETF is to seek current income. The Fund’s secondary investment objective is to seek exposure to the performance of the Nasdaq 100 Index, subject to a limit on potential investment gains.

 

The primary investment objective of the Defiance S&P 500 Enhanced Options Income ETF is to seek current income. The Fund’s secondary investment objective is to seek exposure to the performance of the S&P 500 Index, subject to a limit on potential investment gains.

 

The primary investment objective of the Defiance R2000 Enhanced Options Income ETF is to seek current income. The Fund’s secondary investment objective is to seek exposure to the performance of Russell 2000 Index, subject to a limit on potential investment gains.

 

An investment objective is fundamental if it cannot be changed without the consent of the holders of a majority of the outstanding Shares. No Fund’s investment objective has been adopted as a fundamental investment policy and therefore each Fund’s investment objective may be changed without the consent of that Fund’s shareholders upon approval by the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of Tidal Trust II (the “Trust”) and written notice to shareholders.

 

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Principal Investment Strategies

 

There is no guarantee that each Fund’s investment strategy will be properly implemented, and an investor may lose some or all of its investment.

 

Each Fund’s NAV is dependent on the value of the Fund’s options contracts, which are based principally upon the value of the reference index, and the time remaining until the expiration date of the option contracts.

 

Each Fund’s participation in the potential upside in the underlying stock returns is limited by virtue of its sold option contract positions. The degree to which a shareholder may benefit from the upside exposure to the reference Index obtained by a Fund will depend on the time at which the investor purchases Shares of the Fund and the price movements of the reference Index. At any given time, there may be limited upside potential. If the value of a reference Index is near or has exceeded the strike price of a Fund’s sold put option contracts when an investor purchases Shares, such investor may have little to no upside potential remaining until the current options contracts are replaced by a new set of put contracts, as well as remain vulnerable to significant downside risk, including the loss of their entire investment.

 

Each Fund will invest significantly in short-term (6-month to 2-year) U.S. Treasury securities as collateral in connection with the Fund’s synthetic covered call strategy. U.S. Treasury securities are government debt instruments issued by the United States Department of the Treasury and are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. The Funds’ investments in U.S. Treasury securities contribute to the monthly income sought by the Funds.

 

The Funds will sell exchange-traded put options contracts. The following provides an overview of the core concepts:

 

Put Options Overview:

 

Buyer of a Put Option: Pays for the right to sell an underlying asset (like an index) at a fixed, predetermined price.

 

Seller of a Put Option (e.g., a Fund): Collects a premium and commits to potentially buying the underlying asset if the buyer exercises their option. However, because indices are intangible, index options involve cash settlements. The cash amount is based on the difference between the agreed-upon price (strike price) and the actual value of the index.

 

Profit and Loss Scenarios for the Funds:

 

Profitable: If the index remains above the strike price, the buyer likely won’t exercise the option, allowing the Fund to retain the premium.

 

Unprofitable: If the index drops below the strike price, the buyer may exercise the option. The Fund will then be required to pay the difference between the strike price and the actual index value. Depending on the difference, this may negate the premium the Fund received or even result in a loss.

 

Valuation and Regulation:

 

The Funds will use the market value of their derivatives when checking compliance with the 1940 Act and related rules.

 

Since the Funds’ options are exchange-traded, they will be valued using a mark-to-market method. If market prices are not accessible, the Funds will rely on fair value pricing as set by the Board.

 

Additional Concepts:

 

Cash-Settled Options: The Funds will only sell these. The buyer doesn’t get an actual asset but instead receives the cash difference between the index’s value and the strike price.

 

At-the-money options: The strike price equals the index’s current market price.

 

In-the-money options: The strike price is more favorable than the index’s market price.

 

Expiration: Options must be exercised or traded by a certain date; otherwise, they lapse.

 

Time Decay: The option’s value declines over time, benefitting the seller (here, a Fund). If all other factors are constant, this decreasing value could mean potential profit for the seller.

 

Terminology:

 

Current Income: The extrinsic value of a sold put option.

 

Potential Income: The potential profit if the index value rises.

 

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Example: Imagine an index priced at 5,000. A put option with a strike price of 5,025 is sold for $60. The difference between the strike price and the index value is $25 (in-the-money amount). The remaining $35 (the $60 put price minus the $25 in-the-money amount) represents the extrinsic value. Here, the current income is $25, and the potential income is $35. If the index value is 5,025 or more at the end of trading, the Fund gains the full $60. If it remains at 5,000, the Fund makes only $25.

 

Manager of Managers Structure

 

The Funds and the Adviser have received exemptive relief from the SEC permitting the Adviser (subject to certain conditions and the approval of the Board) to change or select new unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval. The relief also permits the Adviser to materially amend the terms of agreements with an unaffiliated sub-adviser (including an increase in the fee paid by the Adviser to the unaffiliated sub-adviser (and not paid by the Fund)) or to continue the employment of an unaffiliated sub-adviser after an event that would otherwise cause the automatic termination of services with Board approval, but without shareholder approval. Shareholders will be notified of any unaffiliated sub-adviser changes. The Adviser has the ultimate responsibility, subject to oversight by the Board, to oversee a sub-adviser and recommend their hiring, termination and replacement.

 

Investments by Registered Investment Companies

 

Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by investment companies in the securities of other investment companies. However, registered investment companies are permitted to invest in other investment companies beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1) in recently adopted rules under the 1940 Act, subject to certain conditions. Each Fund may rely on Rule 12d1-4 of the 1940 Act, which provides an exemption from Section 12(d)(1) that allows the Fund to invest beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1) if the Fund satisfies certain conditions specified in Rule 12d1-4, including, among other conditions, that the Fund and its advisory group will not control (individually or in the aggregate) an acquired fund (e.g., hold more than 25% of the outstanding voting securities of an acquired fund that is a registered open-end management investment company).

 

Principal Risks of Investing in the Funds

 

There can be no assurance that the Funds will achieve their respective investment objective. The following information is in addition to, and should be read along with, the description of each Fund’s principal investment risks in the section titled “Fund Summary— Principal Investment Risks” above. Following the Fund-specific underlying stock risks, the remaining principal risks are presented in alphabetical order to facilitate finding particular risks and comparing them with those of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Funds, regardless of the order in which it appears.

 

Counterparty Risk. Each Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in options contracts. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, a Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Funds are not members of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Funds will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. In cleared derivatives positions, a Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to and receive payments from a clearing house through their accounts at clearing members. Customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any options contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not identified to the name of the clearing member’s individual customers. As a result, assets deposited by a Fund with any clearing member as margin for options may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of a Fund’s clearing member. In addition, although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearing house, there is a risk that the assets of a Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy, as a Fund would be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds segregated on behalf of the clearing member’s customers for the relevant account class. Each Fund is also subject to the risk that a limited number of clearing members are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf, which heightens the risks associated with a clearing member’s default. This risk is greater for the Funds as they seek to hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts, which may limited the number of clearing members that are willing to transact on the Funds’ behalf. If a clearing member defaults a Fund could lose some or all of the benefits of a transaction entered into by the Fund with the clearing member. If a Fund cannot find a clearing member to transact with on the Fund’s behalf, the Fund may be unable to effectively implement its investment strategy.

 

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

 

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Derivatives Risk. The Funds’ derivative investments have risks, including the imperfect correlation between the value of such instruments and the underlying assets; the loss of principal, including the potential loss of amounts greater than the initial amount invested in the derivative instrument; the possible default of the other party to the transaction; and illiquidity of the derivative investments. Use of derivatives could also result in a loss if the counterparty to the transaction does not perform as promised, including because of such counterparty’s bankruptcy or insolvency. This risk may be greater during volatile market conditions. Other risks include the inability to close out a position because the trading market becomes illiquid (particularly in the OTC markets) or the availability of counterparties becomes limited for a period of time. In addition, the presence of speculators in a particular market could lead to price distortions.

 

Certain of the Funds’ transactions in derivatives could also affect the amount, timing, and character of distributions to shareholders, which may result in a Fund realizing more short-term capital gain and ordinary income subject to tax at ordinary income tax rates than it would if it did not engage in such transactions, which may adversely impact such Fund’s after-tax returns.

 

In addition, each Fund’s investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:

 

Options Contracts. The use of options contracts 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, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events. For each of the Funds, the value of the options contracts in which the Fund invests are substantially influenced by the value of the applicable underlying stock. The Funds may experience substantial downside from specific option positions and certain option positions held by a Fund may expire worthless. The options held by the Funds are exercisable at the strike price on their expiration date. As an option approaches its expiration date, its value typically increasingly moves with the value of the underlying instrument. However, prior to such date, the value of an option generally does not increase or decrease at the same rate at the underlying instrument. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in values options contracts and the reference asset, and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options contracts. The value of the options held by the Funds will be determined based on market quotations or other recognized pricing methods.

 

Distribution Risk. As part of the Funds’ investment objectives, the Funds seek to provide current monthly income. There is no assurance that the Funds will make a distribution in any given month. If a Fund makes distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next. Additionally, monthly distributions, if any, may consist of returns of capital, which would decrease the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.

 

ETF Risk.

 

Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Funds have a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.

 

Cash Redemption Risk. Each Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. For example, a Fund may not be able to redeem in-kind certain securities held by the Fund (e.g., derivative instruments). In such a case, a Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause a Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, a Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. By paying out higher annual capital gain distributions, investors may be subjected to increased capital gains taxes. Additionally, there may be brokerage costs or taxable gains or losses that may be imposed on a Fund in connection with a cash redemption that may not have occurred if the Fund had made a redemption in-kind. These costs could decrease the value of a Fund to the extent they are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an AP.

 

Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.

 

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Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the Fund’s investment portfolio, the portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not produce the desired result. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective.

 

Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant.

 

Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the applicable Exchange, and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the applicable Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or be maintained or that the Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. This risk may be greater for the Funds as they seek to have exposure to a single underlying stock as opposed to a more diverse portfolio like a traditional pooled investment. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of a Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. Shares trade on the applicable Exchange at a market price that may be below, at or above a Fund’s NAV. Trading in Shares on the applicable Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on an Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the applicable Exchange’s “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the applicable Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of a Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. In the event of an unscheduled market close for options contracts that reference a single stock, such as the Underlying Issuers’ securities being halted or a market wide closure, settlement prices will be determined by the procedures of the listing exchange of the options contracts. As a result, a Fund could be adversely affected and be unable to implement its investment strategies in the event of an unscheduled closing.

 

High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Funds may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the securities in its portfolio. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase a Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in the Funds due to an increase in short-term capital gains.

 

Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.

 

Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Funds, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. This risk is greater to the Funds as they will hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts. Markets for securities or financial instruments could be disrupted by a number of events, including, but not limited to, an economic crisis, natural disasters, epidemics/pandemics, new legislation or regulatory changes inside or outside the United States. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If a Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time or price, such Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain market conditions or restrictions, such as market rules related to short sales, may prevent a Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the applicable Underlying Issuer. There is no assurance that a security that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Funds.

 

Money Market Instrument Risk. The Funds may use a variety of money market instruments for cash management purposes, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements are contracts in which a seller of securities agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments, including money market funds, may lose money through fees or other means.

 

NAV Erosion Risk Due to Distributions. If a Fund makes a distribution, the Fund’s NAV will typically drop by the amount of the distribution on the related ex-dividend date. The repeated payment of distributions, if any, by a Fund may significantly erode the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment.

 

New Fund Risk. Each Fund is recently organized with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions. There can be no assurance that the Funds will grow to or maintain an economically viable size.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. Because each Fund is “non-diversified,” a Fund may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause a Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if such Fund held a more diversified portfolio. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and have a greater impact on such Fund’s performance.

 

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Operational Risk. Each Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Funds’ service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. Each Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect a Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Funds and the Funds’ investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.

 

Price Participation Risk. Each Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of in-the-money put option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in increases in value experienced by its reference Index over the Call Period (typically, one day, but may range up to one week). This means that if the Index experiences an increase in value above the strike price of the sold put options during a Call Period, the Fund will likely not experience that increase to the same extent and may significantly underperform the Index over the Call Period. Additionally, because the Fund is limited in the degree to which it will participate in increases in value experienced by the reference Index over each Call Period, but has full exposure to any decreases in value experienced by the Index over the Call Period, the NAV of the Fund may decrease over any given time period. The Fund’s NAV is dependent on the value of each options portfolio, which is based principally upon the performance of the reference Index. The degree of participation in the Index gains the Fund will experience will depend on prevailing market conditions, especially market volatility, at the time the Fund enters into the sold put option contracts and will vary from Call Period to Call Period. The value of the options contracts is affected by changes in the value and dividend rates of the reference Index, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the Index and the remaining time to the options’ expiration, as well as trading conditions in the options market. As the price of the reference Index changes and time moves towards the expiration of each Call Period, the value of the options contracts, and therefore the Fund’s NAV, will change. However, it is not expected for the Fund’s NAV to directly correlate on a day-to-day basis with the returns of the Index. The amount of time remaining until the options contract’s expiration date affects the impact of the potential options contract income on the Fund’s NAV, which may not be in full effect until the expiration date of the Fund’s options contracts. Therefore, while changes in the price of the Index will result in changes to the Fund’s NAV, the Fund generally anticipates that the rate of change in the Fund’s NAV will be different than that experienced by the reference Index.

 

Put Writing Strategy Risk. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s put writing strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in the positive price returns of the Index and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold put options and over longer time periods. If, for example, on a particular day, the Fund were to sell 1% in-the-money put options having a one-day term, the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Index will be capped at 1% for that day. However, over a longer period (e.g., a five-day period), the Fund should not be expected to participate fully in the first 5% (i.e., 5 days x 1%) of the positive price returns of the Index, or the Fund may even lose money, even if the Index share price has appreciated by at least that much over such period, if during any particular day or days over that period the Index had a return less than 1%. This example illustrates that both the Fund’s participation in the positive price returns of the Index and its returns will depend not only on the price of the Index but also on the path that the Index takes over time.

 

Recent Market Events Risk. U.S. and international markets have experienced significant periods of volatility in recent years and months due to a number of economic, political and global macro factors including the impact of COVID-19 as a global pandemic and related public health crisis, growth concerns in the U.S. and overseas, uncertainties regarding interest rates, rising inflation, trade tensions, and the threat of tariffs imposed by the U.S. and other countries. In particular, the global spread of COVID-19 has resulted in disruptions to business operations and supply chains, stress on the global healthcare system, growth concerns in the U.S. and overseas, staffing shortages and the inability to meet consumer demand, and widespread concern and uncertainty. The global recovery from COVID-19 is proceeding at slower than expected rates due to the emergence of variant strains and may last for an extended period of time. Health crises and related political, social and economic disruptions caused by the spread of COVID-19 may also exacerbate other pre-existing political, social and economic risks in certain countries. As a result of continuing political tensions and armed conflicts, including the war between Ukraine and Russia, the U.S. and the European Union imposed sanctions on certain Russian individuals and companies, including certain financial institutions, and have limited certain exports and imports to and from Russia. The war has contributed to recent market volatility and may continue to do so. These developments, as well as other events, could result in further market volatility and negatively affect financial asset prices, the liquidity of certain securities and the normal operations of securities exchanges and other markets, despite government efforts to address market disruptions. As a result, the risk environment remains elevated. The Adviser will monitor developments and seek to manage the Funds in a manner consistent with achieving each Fund’s investment objective, but there can be no assurance that they will be successful in doing so.

 

Significant market volatility and market downturns may limit the Funds’ ability to sell securities and obtain long exposure to securities, and a Funds’ sales and long exposures may exacerbate the market volatility and downturn. Under such circumstances, a Fund may have difficulty achieving its investment objective for one or more trading days, which may adversely impact a Fund’s returns on those days and periods inclusive of those days. Alternatively, a Fund may incur higher costs in order to achieve its investment objective and may be forced to purchase and sell securities (including other ETFs’ shares) at market prices that do not represent their fair value (including in the case of an ETF, its NAV) or at times that result in differences between the price such Fund receives for the security and the market closing price of the security. Under those circumstances, a Fund’s ability to track the applicable Underlying Issuer is likely to be adversely affected, the market price of Shares may reflect a greater premium or discount to NAV and bid-ask spreads in Shares may widen, resulting in increased transaction costs for secondary market purchasers and sellers.

 

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Referenced Index Risk. Each Fund invests in options contracts that are based on the value of the corresponding Index. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of the companies that comprised the Index, even though it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s investments in options contracts that are based on the value of its corresponding Index, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:

 

Indirect Investment in an Index Risk. Each Index is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way. Investors in the Fund will not have rights to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the underlying stocks that comprise an Index but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Index.

 

Index Trading Risk. The trading price of the Index may be highly volatile and could continue to be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors. The stock market in general has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of companies.

 

The Nasdaq 100 Index Risks: The Index’s major risks stem from its high concentration in the technology sector and significant exposure to high-growth, high-valuation companies. A downturn in the tech industry, whether from regulatory changes, shifts in technology, or competitive pressures, can greatly impact theindex. It’s also vulnerable to geopolitical risks due to many constituent companies having substantial international operations. Since many of these techcompanies often trade at high valuations, a shift in investor sentiment could lead to significant price declines.

 

S&P 500 Index Risks: The Index, which includes a broad swath of large U.S. companies, is primarily exposed to overall economic and market conditions.Recession, inflation, and changes in interest rates can significantly impact the index’s performance. Furthermore, despite its diverse representation, a downturnin a major sector such as technology or financials could notably affect the index. Geopolitical risks and unexpected global events, like pandemics, can introducevolatility and uncertainty.

 

Russell 2000 Index Risks: The Index, which consists of small-cap U.S. companies, is particularly susceptible to economic changes, as these firms often have lessfinancial resilience than larger companies. Market volatility can disproportionately affect these smaller businesses, leading to significant price swings.Additionally, these companies are often more exposed to specific industry risks and have less diverse revenue streams. They can also be more vulnerable tochanges in domestic regulatory or policy environments.

 

Tax Risk. The Funds intend to elect and to qualify each year to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. As a RIC, each Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its net investment income and net capital gain that it distributes to Shareholders, provided that it satisfies certain requirements of the Code. If a Fund does not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions are not available, the Fund’s taxable income will be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. To comply with the asset diversification test applicable to a RIC, each Fund will attempt to ensure that the value of options it holds is never 25% of the total value of Fund assets at the close of any quarter. If a Fund’s investments in options were to exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of a tax quarter, the Fund, generally, has a grace period to cure such lack of compliance. If a Fund fails to timely cure, it may no longer be eligible to be treated as a RIC.

 

U.S. Government and U.S. Agency Obligations Risk. The Funds may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. Government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, such as the U.S. Treasury. Payment of principal and interest on U.S. Government obligations may be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or may be backed solely by the issuing or guaranteeing agency or instrumentality itself. In the latter case, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) where it is not obligated to do so.

 

PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS

 

Information about each Fund’s daily portfolio holdings will be available on the Funds’ website at www.defianceetfs.com.

 

A complete description of each Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of a Fund’s portfolio holdings is available in the Fund’s SAI.

 

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MANAGEMENT

 

Investment Adviser

 

Toroso Investments, LLC (“Toroso” or the “Adviser”), located at 234 West Florida Street, Suite 203, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53204, is an SEC registered investment adviser and a Delaware limited liability company. Toroso was founded in March 2012 and is dedicated to understanding, researching and managing assets within the expanding ETF universe. As of July 31, 2023, Toroso had assets under management of approximately $7.1 billion and served as the investment adviser or sub-adviser for 110 registered funds.

 

Toroso serves as investment adviser to the Funds and has overall responsibility for the general management and administration of the Funds pursuant to an investment advisory agreement with the Trust, on behalf of each Fund (the “Advisory Agreement”). The Adviser also arranges for sub-advisory, transfer agency, custody, fund administration, and all other related services necessary for the Fund to operate. For the services provided to the Funds, each Fund pays the Adviser a unified management fee of 0.99%, which is calculated daily and paid monthly, at an annual rate based on such Fund’s average daily net assets.

 

Under the Advisory Agreement, in exchange for a single unitary management fee from the Fund, the Adviser has agreed to pay all expenses incurred by such Fund except for interest charges on any borrowings, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, extraordinary expenses, distribution fees and expenses paid by a Fund under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, and the unitary management fee payable to the Adviser (collectively, the “Excluded Expenses”).

 

Investment Sub-Adviser

 

ZEGA Financial, LLC, a Nebraska limited liability company, located at 3801 PGA Blvd, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410, serves as investment sub-adviser to the Funds pursuant to a sub-advisory agreement between the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”). ZEGA is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds’ portfolios, including determining the securities purchased and sold by each Fund and trading portfolio securities for each Fund, subject to the supervision of the Adviser and the Board. ZEGA is an independent investment advisor founded in 2011 offering discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management services to separately managed accounts. For its services, ZEGA is paid a fee by the Adviser, which fee is calculated daily and paid monthly, at an annual rate of 0.175% of each Fund’s average daily net assets. However, as Fund Sponsor, ZEGA may automatically waive all or a portion of its sub-advisory fee. See “Fund Sponsors” below for more information. As of July 31, 2023, the Sub-Adviser had approximately $1.05 billion in assets under management.

 

Advisory and Sub-Advisory Agreements

 

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of each Fund’s Advisory Agreement and Sub-Advisory Agreement will be available in the Funds’ February 2024 semi-annual report to shareholders.

 

Portfolio Managers

 

The following individuals (each, a “Portfolio Manager”) have served as portfolio managers of each Fund since inception in 2023. Mr. Brokaw and Mr. Pestrichelli are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of each Fund, and Ms. Duan and Mr. Ragauss oversee trading and execution for the Fund.

 

Mick Brokaw, Portfolio Manager for the Sub-Adviser

 

Mr. Brokaw joined the Sub-Adviser in 2015 and serves as the Chief Compliance Officer and Managing Director for the Sub-Adviser. Mr. Brokaw has over 25 years of experience in the financial markets, with the majority of his experience related to trading and trading platforms. Mr. Brokaw has a Bachelor of Finance from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

 

Jay Pestrichelli, Portfolio Manager for the Sub-Adviser

 

Mr. Pestrichelli co-founded the Sub-Adviser in 2011 and is Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Pestrichelli has over 20 years of experience in the financial markets. Mr. Pestrichelli has led the development and execution of the firm’s investment strategies since its inception in 2011. He is also the author of the best-selling book “Buy & Hedge: The Five Iron Rules for Investing Over the Long Term.” Prior to founding the Sub-Adviser in 2011, Mr. Pestrichelli spent 12 years managing and growing the online trading business for TD Ameritrade from 1999 to 2010. Mr. Pestrichelli has a Bachelor degree in Behavioral Science from Concordia College.

 

Qiao Duan, CFA, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser

 

Qiao Duan serves as Portfolio Manager at the Adviser, having joined the firm in October 2020. From February 2017 to October 2020, she was an execution Portfolio Manager at Exponential ETFs, where she managed research and analysis relating to all Exponential ETF strategies. Ms. Duan previously served as a portfolio manager for the Exponential ETFs from their inception in May 2019 until October 2020. Ms. Duan received a Master of Science in Quantitative Finance and Risk Management from the University of Michigan in 2016 and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Applied Mathematics from Xiamen University in 2014. She holds the CFA designation.

 

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Charles A. Ragauss, CFA, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser

 

Mr. Ragauss serves as Portfolio Manager of the Adviser, having joined the Adviser in September 2020. Mr. Ragauss previously served as Chief Operating Officer and in other roles at CSat Investment Advisory, L.P. from April 2016 to September 2020. Previously, Mr. Ragauss was Assistant Vice President at Huntington National Bank (“Huntington”), where he was Product Manager for the Huntington Funds and Huntington Strategy Shares ETFs, a combined fund complex of almost $4 billion in assets under management. At Huntington, he led ETF development bringing to market some of the first actively managed ETFs. Mr. Ragauss joined Huntington in 2010. Mr. Ragauss attended Grand Valley State University where he received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and International Business, as well as a minor in French. He is a member of both the National and West Michigan CFA societies and holds the CFA designation.

 

CFA® is a registered trademark owned by the CFA Institute.

 

The Funds’ SAI provides additional information about each portfolio manager’s compensation structure, other accounts that each portfolio manager manages, and each portfolio manager’s ownership of Shares.

 

Fund Sponsors

 

The Adviser has entered into a fund sponsorship agreement with ZEGA and Defiance Group Holdings LLC (“Defiance”) pursuant to which each of ZEGA and Defiance is a sponsor to the Funds. Under these arrangements, ZEGA and Defiance have agreed to provide financial support (as described below) to the Funds. Every month, unitary management fees for the Funds are calculated and paid to the Adviser, and the Adviser retains a portion of the unitary management fees from the Funds.

 

In return for their financial support for the Funds, the Adviser has agreed to pay each of ZEGA and Defiance a portion of any remaining profits generated by unitary management fee the Funds. If the amount of the unitary management fees for a Fund exceeds the Fund’s operating expenses (including the sub-advisory fee) and the Adviser-retained amount, that excess amount is considered “remaining profit.” In that case, the Adviser will pay a portion of the remaining profits to ZEGA and Defiance.

 

During months when the funds generated by the unitary management fee are insufficient to cover the entire sub-advisory fee, those fees are automatically waived. Further, if the amount of the unitary management fee for a Fund is less than the Fund’s operating expenses and the Adviser-retained amount, ZEGA and Defiance are obligated to reimburse the Adviser for a portion of the shortfall.

 

HOW TO BUY AND SELL SHARES

 

Each Fund issues and redeems Shares only in Creation Units at the NAV per share next determined after receipt of an order from an AP. Only APs may acquire Shares directly from a Fund, and only APs may tender their Shares for redemption directly to the Funds, at NAV. APs must be a member or participant of a clearing agency registered with the SEC and must execute a Participant Agreement that has been agreed to by the Distributor (defined below), and that has been accepted by a Fund’s transfer agent, with respect to purchases and redemptions of Creation Units. Once created, Shares trade in the secondary market in quantities less than a Creation Unit.

 

In order to purchase Creation Units of a Fund, an AP must generally deposit a designated portfolio of equity securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash. Purchases and redemptions of Creation Units primarily with cash, rather than through in-kind delivery of portfolio securities, may cause the Funds to incur certain costs. These costs could include brokerage costs or taxable gains or losses that it might not have incurred if it had made redemption in-kind. These costs could be imposed on a Fund, and thus decrease the Fund’s NAV, to the extent that the costs are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an AP. Most investors buy and sell Shares in secondary market transactions through brokers. Individual Shares are listed for trading on the secondary market on the applicable Exchange and can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like other publicly traded securities.

 

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 offer price in the secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction. In addition, because secondary market transactions occur at market prices, you may pay more than NAV when you buy Shares, and receive less than NAV when you sell those Shares.

 

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.

 

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. DTC’s participants 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” through your brokerage account.

 

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Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Shares

 

None of the Funds imposes any restrictions on the frequency of purchases and redemptions of Shares. In determining not to approve a written, established policy, the Board evaluated the risks of market timing activities by a Fund’s shareholders. Purchases and redemptions by APs, who are the only parties that may purchase or redeem Shares directly with a Fund, are an essential part of the ETF process and help keep Share trading prices in line with the NAV. As such, the Funds accommodate frequent purchases and redemptions by APs. However, the Board has also determined that frequent purchases and redemptions for cash may increase tracking error and portfolio transaction costs and may lead to the realization of capital gains. To minimize these potential consequences of frequent purchases and redemptions, each Fund employs fair value pricing and may impose transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by such Fund in effecting trades. In addition, the Funds and the Adviser reserve the right to reject any purchase order at any time.

 

Determination of Net Asset Value

 

Each Fund’s NAV is calculated as of the scheduled close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”), generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, each day the NYSE is open for regular business. The NAV for the Funds is calculated by dividing such Fund’s net assets by its Shares outstanding.

 

In calculating its NAV, each Fund generally value its assets on the basis of market quotations, last sale prices, or estimates of value furnished by a pricing service or brokers who make markets in such instruments. If such information is not available for a security held by a Fund or is determined to be unreliable, the security will be valued at fair value estimates under guidelines established by the Board (as described below).

 

Fair Value Pricing

 

The Board has designated the Adviser as the “valuation designee” for the Fund under Rule 2a-5 of the 1940 Act, subject to its oversight. The Adviser has adopted procedures and methodologies to fair value Fund investments whose market prices are not “readily available” or are deemed to be unreliable. For example, such circumstances may arise when: (i) an investment has been delisted or has had its trading halted or suspended; (ii) an investment’s primary pricing source is unable or unwilling to provide a price; (iii) an investment’s primary trading market is closed during regular market hours; or (iv) an investment’s value is materially affected by events occurring after the close of the investment’s primary trading market. Generally, when fair valuing an investment, the Adviser will take into account all reasonably available information that may be relevant to a particular valuation including, but not limited to, fundamental analytical data regarding the issuer, information relating to the issuer’s business, recent trades or offers of the investment, general and/or specific market conditions, and the specific facts giving rise to the need to fair value the investment. Fair value determinations are made in good faith and in accordance with the fair value methodologies included in the Adviser-adopted valuation procedures. Due to the subjective and variable nature of fair value pricing, there can be no assurance that the Adviser will be able to obtain the fair value assigned to the investment upon the sale of such investment.

 

Delivery of Shareholder Documents – Householding

 

Householding is an option available to certain investors of the Funds. Householding is a method of delivery, based on the preference of the individual investor, in which a single copy of certain shareholder documents can be delivered to investors who share the same address, even if their accounts are registered under different names. Householding for the Funds is available through certain broker-dealers. If you are interested in enrolling in householding and receiving a single copy of prospectuses and other shareholder documents, please contact your broker-dealer. If you are currently enrolled in householding and wish to change your householding status, please contact your broker-dealer.

 

DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS, AND TAXES

 

Dividends and Distributions

 

The Funds intend to pay out dividends and interest income, if any, monthly, and distribute any net realized capital gains to its shareholders at least annually.

 

The Funds will declare and pay income and capital gain distributions, if any, in cash. Distributions in cash may be reinvested automatically in additional whole Shares only if the broker through whom you purchased Shares makes such option available. Your broker is responsible for distributing the income and capital gain distributions to you.

 

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Taxes

 

The following discussion is a summary of some important U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to investments in the Funds. Your investment in a Fund may have other tax implications. Please consult your tax advisor about the tax consequences of an investment in Shares, including the possible application of foreign, state, and local tax laws.

 

Each Fund intends to qualify each year for treatment as a regulated investment company (a “RIC”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. If it meets certain minimum distribution requirements, a RIC is not subject to tax at the fund level on income and gains from investments that are timely distributed to shareholders. However, a Fund’s failure to qualify as a RIC or to meet minimum distribution requirements would result (if certain relief provisions were not available) in fund-level taxation and, consequently, a reduction in income available for distribution to shareholders.

 

Unless your investment in Shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-advantaged account, such as an IRA plan, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when a Fund makes distributions, when you sell your Shares listed on the applicable Exchange, and when you purchase or redeem Creation Units (institutional investors only).

 

The following general discussion of certain U.S. federal income tax consequences is based on provisions of the Code and the regulations issued thereunder as in effect on the date of this SAI. New legislation, as well as administrative changes or court decisions, may significantly change the conclusions expressed herein, and may have a retroactive effect with respect to the transactions contemplated herein.

 

Taxes on Distributions. Each Fund intends to pay out dividends and interest income, if any, monthly, and distribute any net realized capital gains to its shareholders at least annually. For federal income tax purposes, distributions of net investment income are generally taxable as ordinary income or qualified dividend income. Taxes on distributions of net capital gains (if any) are determined by how long the Fund owned the investments that generated them, rather than how long a shareholder has owned their Shares. Sales of assets held by a Fund for more than one year generally result in long-term capital gains and losses, and sales of assets held by such Fund for one year or less generally result in short-term capital gains and losses. Distributions of a Fund’s net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses) that are reported by such Fund as capital gain dividends (“Capital Gain Dividends”) will be taxable as long-term capital gains. Distributions of short-term capital gain will generally be taxable as ordinary income. Dividends and distributions are generally taxable to you whether you receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional Shares.

 

Distributions reported by a Fund as “qualified dividend income” are generally taxed to non-corporate shareholders at rates applicable to long-term capital gains, provided certain holding period and other requirements are met. “Qualified dividend income” generally is income derived from dividends paid by U.S. corporations or certain foreign corporations that are either incorporated in a U.S. possession or eligible for tax benefits under certain U.S. income tax treaties. In addition, dividends that a Fund receives in respect of stock of certain foreign corporations may be qualified dividend income if that stock is readily tradable on an established U.S. securities market. Corporate shareholders may be entitled to a dividends-received deduction for the portion of dividends they receive from a Fund that are attributable to dividends received by such Fund from U.S. corporations, subject to certain limitations.

 

Shortly after the close of each calendar year, you will be informed of the character of any distributions received from a Fund.

 

In addition to the federal income tax, certain individuals, trusts, and estates may be subject to a Net Investment Income (“NII”) tax of 3.8%. The NII tax is imposed on the lesser of: (i) a taxpayer’s investment income, net of deductions properly allocable to such income; or (ii) the amount by which such taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income exceeds certain thresholds ($250,000 for married individuals filing jointly, $200,000 for unmarried individuals and $125,000 for married individuals filing separately). Each Fund’s distributions are includable in a shareholder’s investment income for purposes of this NII tax. In addition, any capital gain realized by a shareholder upon a sale or redemption of shares of a Fund is includable in such shareholder’s investment income for purposes of this NII tax.

 

In general, your distributions are subject to federal income tax for the year in which they are paid. Certain distributions paid in January, however, may be treated as paid on December 31 of the prior year. Distributions are generally taxable even if they are paid from income or gains earned by a Fund before your investment (and thus were included in the Shares’ NAV when you purchased your Shares).

 

You may wish to avoid investing in a Fund shortly before a dividend or other distribution, because such a distribution will generally be taxable even though it may economically represent a return of a portion of your investment.

 

If you are neither a resident nor a citizen of the United States or if you are a foreign entity, distributions (other than Capital Gain Dividends) paid to you by a Fund will generally be subject to a U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30%, unless a lower treaty rate applies. The Funds may, under certain circumstances, report all or a portion of a dividend as an “interest-related dividend” or a “short-term capital gain dividend,” which would generally be exempt from this 30% U.S. withholding tax, provided certain other requirements are met.

 

Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”), the Funds may be required to withhold a generally nonrefundable 30% tax on (i) distributions of investment company taxable income and (ii) distributions of net capital gain and the gross proceeds of a sale or redemption of Shares of a Fund paid to (A) certain “foreign financial institutions” unless such foreign financial institution agrees to verify, monitor, and report to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) the identity of certain of its account-holders, among other items (or unless such entity is otherwise deemed compliant under the terms of an intergovernmental agreement between the United States and the foreign financial institution’s country of residence), and (B) certain “non-financial foreign entities” unless such entity certifies to the Fund that it does not have any substantial U.S. owners or provides the name, address, and taxpayer identification number of each substantial U.S. owner, among other items. This FATCA withholding tax could also affect a Fund’s return on its investments in foreign securities or affect a shareholder’s return if the shareholder holds its Fund shares through a foreign intermediary. You are urged to consult your tax adviser regarding the application of this FATCA withholding tax to your investment in a Fund and the potential certification, compliance, due diligence, reporting, and withholding obligations to which you may become subject in order to avoid this withholding tax.

 

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Each Fund (or a financial intermediary, such as a broker, through which a shareholder owns Shares) generally is required to withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury a percentage of the taxable distributions and sale or redemption proceeds paid to any shareholder who fails to properly furnish a correct taxpayer identification number, who has underreported dividend or interest income, or who fails to certify that they are not subject to such withholding.

 

Taxes When Shares are Sold on an Exchange

 

Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Shares generally is treated as a long-term capital gain or loss if Shares have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if Shares have been held for one year or less. However, any capital loss on a sale of Shares held for six months or less is treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of Capital Gain Dividends paid with respect to such Shares. Any loss realized on a sale will be disallowed to the extent Shares of a Fund are acquired, including through reinvestment of dividends, within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the sale of substantially identical Shares.

 

Taxes on Purchases and Redemptions of Creation Units

 

An AP having the U.S. dollar as its functional currency for U.S. federal income tax purposes who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally recognizes a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and the exchanging AP’s aggregate basis in the securities delivered plus the amount of any cash paid for the Creation Units. An AP who exchanges Creation Units for securities will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanging AP’s basis in the Creation Units and the aggregate U.S. dollar market value of the securities received, plus any cash received for such Creation Units. The IRS may assert, however, that a loss that is realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units may not be currently deducted under the rules governing “wash sales” (for an AP who does not mark-to-market their holdings) or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. Persons exchanging securities should consult their own tax advisor with respect to whether wash sale rules apply and when a loss might be deductible.

 

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

 

The Funds may include a payment of cash in addition to, or in place of, the delivery of a basket of securities upon the redemption of Creation Units. The Funds may sell portfolio securities to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Funds to recognize investment income and/or capital gains or losses that it might not have recognized if it had completely satisfied the redemption in-kind. As a result, the Funds may be less tax efficient if it includes such a cash payment in the proceeds paid upon the redemption of Creation Units.

 

The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the possible consequences under current federal tax law of an investment in the Funds. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. You also may be subject to foreign, state and local tax on Fund distributions and sales of Shares. Consult your personal tax advisor about the potential tax consequences of an investment in Shares under all applicable tax laws. For more information, please see the section entitled “Federal Income Taxes” in the SAI.

 

DISTRIBUTION

 

Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the “Distributor”), the Funds’ distributor, is a broker-dealer registered with the SEC. The Distributor distributes Creation Units for the Fund on an agency basis and does not maintain a secondary market in Shares. The Distributor has no role in determining the policies of the Funds or the securities that are purchased or sold by the Funds. The Distributor’s principal address is Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101.

 

The Board has adopted a Distribution (Rule 12b-1) Plan (the “Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. In accordance with the Plan, the Funds are authorized to pay an amount up to 0.25% of its average daily net assets each year to pay distribution fees for the sale and distribution of its Shares.

 

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No Rule 12b-1 fees are currently paid by the Funds, and there are no plans to impose these fees. However, in the event Rule 12b-1 fees are charged in the future, because the fees are paid out of assets of the respective Fund on an ongoing basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than certain other types of sales charges.

 

PREMIUM/DISCOUNT INFORMATION

 

When available, information regarding how often Shares of the Funds traded on the applicable Exchange at a price above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount) the NAV of such Fund can be found on the Funds’ website at www.defianceetfs.com.

 

ADDITIONAL NOTICES

 

Shares are not sponsored, endorsed, or promoted by an Exchange. The Exchanges are not responsible for, nor has any Exchange participated in the determination of, the timing, prices, or quantities of Shares to be issued, nor in the determination or calculation of the equation by which Shares are redeemable. An Exchange has no obligation or liability to owners of Shares in connection with the administration, marketing, or trading of Shares.

 

Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall any Exchange have any liability for any lost profits or indirect, punitive, special, or consequential damages even if notified of the possibility thereof.

 

The Defiance Nasdaq 100 Enhanced Options Income ETF (the “N100 Fund”) is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Nasdaq, Inc. or its affiliates (Nasdaq, with its affiliates, are referred to as the “Corporations”). The Corporations have not passed on the legality or suitability of, or the accuracy or adequacy of descriptions and disclosures relating to, the N100 Fund. The Corporations make no representation or warranty, express or implied to the owners of the N100 Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the N100 Fund particularly, or the ability of the Nasdaq 100 Index to track general stock market performance. The Corporations’ only relationship to the Adviser (“Licensee”) is in the licensing of the Nasdaq®, and certain trade names of the Corporations and the use of the Nasdaq 100 Index which is determined, composed and calculated by Nasdaq without regard to Licensee or the N100 Fund. Nasdaq 100 Index has no obligation to take the needs of the Licensee or the owners of the N100 Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Nasdaq 100 Index. The Corporations are not responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the N100 Fund to be issued or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the N100 Fund is to be converted into cash. The Corporations have no liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the N100 Fund.

 

The Corporations do not guarantee the accuracy and/or uninterrupted calculation of Nasdaq 100 Index or any data included therein. The Corporations make no warranty, express or implied, as to results to be obtained by Licensee, owners of the N100 Fund, or any other person or entity from the use of Nasdaq 100 Index or any data included therein. The Corporations make no express or implied warranties, and expressly disclaim all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or use with respect to the Nasdaq 100 Index® or any data included therein. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall the Corporations have any liability for any lost profits or special, incidental, punitive, indirect, or consequential damages, even if notified of the possibility of such damages.

 

The S&P 500 Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC or its affiliates (“SPDJI”), and has been licensed for use by the Adviser. Standard & Poor’s® and S&P®, S&P 500®, US 500 and the 500 are trademarks of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”) and Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”). The trademarks have been licensed to SPDJI and have been sublicensed for use for certain purposes by the Adviser. The Defiance S&P 500 Enhanced Options Income ETF (the “SP500 ETF”) is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P, any of their respective affiliates (collectively, “S&P Dow Jones Indices”). S&P Dow Jones Indices makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the SP500 Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the SP500 Fund particularly or the ability of the S&P 500 Index to track general market performance. S&P Dow Jones Indices only relationship to the Adviser with respect to the S&P 500 Index is the licensing of the Index and certain trademarks, service marks and/or trade names of S&P Dow Jones Indices and/or its licensors. The S&P 500 Index is determined, composed and calculated by S&P Dow Jones Indices without regard to the Adviser or the SP500 Fund. S&P Dow Jones Indices have no obligation to take the needs of the Adviser or the owners of the SP500 Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the S&P 500 Index. S&P Dow Jones Indices is not responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the prices, and amount of the SP500 Fund or the timing of the issuance or sale of the SP500 Fund or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the SP500 Fund is to be converted into cash, surrendered or redeemed, as the case may be. S&P Dow Jones Indices have no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the SP500 Fund. There is no assurance that investment products based on the S&P 500 Index will accurately track index performance or provide positive investment returns. S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC is not an investment advisor. Inclusion of a security within an index is not a recommendation by S&P Dow Jones Indices to buy, sell, or hold such security, nor is it considered to be investment advice.

 

S&P DOW JONES INDICES DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ADEQUACY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE S&P 500 Index OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO OR ANY COMMUNICATION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ORAL OR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION (INCLUDING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS) WITH RESPECT THERETO. S&P DOW JONES INDICES SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO ANY DAMAGES OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR DELAYS THEREIN. S&P DOW JONES INDICES MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE OR AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY the Adviser, OWNERS OF THE SP500 FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE S&P 500 Index OR WITH RESPECT TO ANY DATA RELATED THERETO. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT WHATSOEVER SHALL S&P DOW JONES INDICES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF PROFITS, TRADING LOSSES, LOST TIME OR GOODWILL, EVEN IF THEY HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. THERE ARE NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN S&P DOW JONES INDICES AND THE ADVISER, OTHER THAN THE LICENSORS OF S&P DOW JONES INDICES.

 

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The Adviser, Sub-Adviser, and the Funds make no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of Shares or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in any Fund particularly.

 

The Second Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust (“Declaration of Trust”) provides a detailed process for the bringing of derivative or direct actions by shareholders in order to permit legitimate inquiries and claims while avoiding the time, expense, distraction, and other harm that can be caused to a Fund or its shareholders as a result of spurious shareholder demands and derivative actions. Prior to bringing a derivative action, a demand by three unrelated shareholders must first be made on a Fund’s Trustees. The Declaration of Trust details various information, certifications, undertakings and acknowledgments that must be included in the demand. Following receipt of the demand, the trustees have a period of 90 days, which may be extended by an additional 60 days, to consider the demand. If a majority of the Trustees who are considered independent for the purposes of considering the demand determine that maintaining the suit would not be in the best interests of the Fund, the Trustees are required to reject the demand and the complaining shareholders may not proceed with the derivative action unless the shareholders are able to sustain the burden of proof to a court that the decision of the Trustees not to pursue the requested action was not a good faith exercise of their business judgment on behalf of the Fund. The Declaration of Trust further provides that shareholders owning Shares representing no less than a majority of a Fund’s outstanding shares must join in bringing the derivative action. If a demand is rejected, the complaining shareholders will be responsible for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by the Fund in connection with the consideration of the demand, if a court determines that the demand was made without reasonable cause or for an improper purpose. If a derivative action is brought in violation of the Declaration of Trust, the shareholders bringing the action may be responsible for the Fund’s costs, including attorneys’ fees, if a court determines that the action was brought without reasonable cause or for an improper purpose. The Declaration of Trust provides that no shareholder may bring a direct action claiming injury as a shareholder of the Trust, or any Fund, where the matters alleged (if true) would give rise to a claim by the Trust or by the Trust on behalf of a Fund, unless the shareholder has suffered an injury distinct from that suffered by the shareholders of the Trust, or the Fund, generally. Under the Declaration of Trust, a shareholder bringing a direct claim must be a shareholder of the Fund with respect to which the direct action is brought at the time of the injury complained of or have acquired the shares afterwards by operation of law from a person who was a shareholder at that time. The Declaration of Trust further provides that a Fund shall be responsible for payment of attorneys’ fees and legal expenses incurred by a complaining shareholder only if required by law, and any attorneys’ fees that the Fund is obligated to pay shall be calculated using reasonable hourly rates. These provisions do not apply to claims brought under the federal securities laws.

 

The Declaration of Trust also requires that actions by shareholders against a Fund be brought exclusively in a federal or state court located within the State of Delaware. This provision will not apply to claims brought under the federal securities laws. Limiting shareholders’ ability to bring actions only in courts located in Delaware may cause shareholders economic hardship to litigate the action in those courts, including paying for traveling expenses of witnesses and counsel, requiring retaining local counsel, and may limit shareholders’ ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that shareholders find favorable for disputes, which may discourage such actions.

 

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

 

This section would ordinarily include Financial Highlights for the Funds. The Financial Highlights tables are intended to help you understand the performance of each Fund for that Fund’s periods of operations. Because the Funds have not yet commenced operations as of the date of this Prospectus, no Financial Highlights are shown.

 

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Defiance Nasdaq 100 Enhanced Options Income ETF (QQQY)

 

Defiance S&P 500 Enhanced Options Income ETF (JEPY)

 

Defiance R2000 Enhanced Options Income ETF (IWMY)

 

Adviser

Toroso Investments, LLC 
234 West Florida Street, Suite 203 

Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53204

Sub-Adviser ZEGA Financial, LLC 
3801 PGA Blvd
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
Distributor Foreside Fund Services, LLC 
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100 
Portland, Maine 04101 
Administrator Tidal ETF Services LLC 
234 West Florida Street, Suite 203 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53204 
Legal Counsel Sullivan & Worcester LLP 
1633 Broadway 
New York, New York 10019 
Sub-Administrator,
Fund Accountant,
and Transfer Agent
U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, 
doing business as U.S. Bank Global Fund Services 
615 East Michigan Street 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202 
Independent
Registered Public
Accounting Firm
Cohen & Company, Ltd.
1835 Market Street, Suite 310
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Custodian U.S. Bank National Association 
1555 North Rivercenter Drive 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212 

  

Investors may find more information about the Funds in the following documents:

 

Statement of Additional Information: The Funds’ SAI provides additional details about the investments of each Fund and certain other additional information. A current SAI dated September 15, 2023, as supplemented from time to time, is on file with the SEC and is herein incorporated by reference into this Prospectus. It is legally considered a part of this Prospectus.

 

Annual/Semi-Annual Reports: Additional information about the Funds’ investments will be available in the Funds’ annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In the annual report you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected each Fund’s performance after the first fiscal year each Fund is in operation.

 

You can obtain free copies of these documents, when available, request other information or make general inquiries about the Fund by contacting the Fund at the Defiance ETFs, c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, P.O. Box 701, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-0701 or calling 833-333-9383.

 

Shareholder reports and other information about the Fund are also available:

 

  Free of charge from the SEC’s EDGAR database on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov; or
     

  Free of charge from the Fund’s Internet website at www.defianceetfs.com; or
     

  For a fee, by e-mail request to [email protected].

 

 

(SEC Investment Company Act File No. 811-23793)