PROSPECTUS

January 1, 2024

 

WisdomTree Currency Strategy, Fixed Income, Alternative and Capital Efficient ETFs

 

 

WisdomTree Trust

 
 
WisdomTree Currency Strategy, Fixed Income, Alternative and Capital Efficient ETFs*
 

WisdomTree Currency Strategy ETFs

Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Bullish Fund (USDU)

Emerging Currency Strategy Fund (CEW)

WisdomTree Fixed Income ETFs

Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fund (EMCB)

Emerging Markets Local Debt Fund (ELD)

Floating Rate Treasury Fund (USFR)

Interest Rate Hedged High Yield Bond Fund (HYZD)

Interest Rate Hedged U.S. Aggregate Bond Fund (AGZD)

Mortgage Plus Bond Fund (MTGP)

Yield Enhanced U.S. Aggregate Bond Fund (AGGY)

Yield Enhanced U.S. Short-Term Aggregate Bond Fund (SHAG)

Voya Yield Enhanced USD Universal Bond Fund (UNIY)

WisdomTree Alternative ETFs

PutWrite Strategy Fund (PUTW)

Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund (GCC)

Managed Futures Strategy Fund (WTMF)

Alternative Income Fund (HYIN)

Target Range Fund (GTR)

WisdomTree Capital Efficient ETFs

Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund (GDMN)

Efficient Gold Plus Equity Strategy Fund (GDE)

 

* Principal U.S. Listing Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc. (except AGZD, HYZD, GTR, EMCB, and UNIY are listed on NASDAQ and SHAG, GDMN, GDE and HYIN are listed on Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.)

 

THE U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (“SEC”) AND THE COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION HAVE NOT APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED THESE SECURITIES OR PASSED UPON THE ADEQUACY OF THIS PROSPECTUS. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.

 

   
 

 

WisdomTree Trust

 

Table of Contents  

 

 

WisdomTree Currency Strategy ETFs  
WisdomTree Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Bullish Fund 2
WisdomTree Emerging Currency Strategy Fund 8
WisdomTree Fixed Income ETFs  
WisdomTree Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fund 14
WisdomTree Emerging Markets Local Debt Fund 21
WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund 27
WisdomTree Interest Rate Hedged High Yield Bond Fund 32
WisdomTree Interest Rate Hedged U.S. Aggregate Bond Fund 39
WisdomTree Mortgage Plus Bond Fund 45
WisdomTree Yield Enhanced U.S. Aggregate Bond Fund 51
WisdomTree Yield Enhanced U.S. Short-Term Aggregate Bond Fund 57

WisdomTree Voya Yield Enhanced USD Universal Bond Fund

63
WisdomTree Alternative ETFs  
WisdomTree PutWrite Strategy Fund 69
WisdomTree Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund 76
WisdomTree Managed Futures Strategy Fund 82
WisdomTree Alternative Income Fund 89
WisdomTree Target Range Fund 96
WisdomTree Capital Efficient ETFs  
WisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund 103
WisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Equity Strategy Fund 110
Additional Information About the Funds 115
Additional Information About the Funds’ Investment Objectives 115
Additional Information About the Currency Strategy and Fixed Income Funds' Investment Strategies 115
Additional Information About the Alternative Funds' Investment Strategies 117
Additional Information About the Capital Efficient Funds' Investment Strategies 120
Non-Principal Information About the Funds' Investment Strategies 120
Additional Principal Risk Information About the Funds 121
Additional Non-Principal Risk Information 148
Portfolio Holdings Information 149
Management 150
Investment Adviser 150
Sub-Advisers 151
Portfolio Managers 152
Additional Information on Buying and Selling Fund Shares 156
Share Trading Prices 156
Determination of Net Asset Value 156
Dividends and Distributions 156
Book Entry 157
Delivery of Shareholder Documents  – Householding 157
Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Fund Shares 157
Investments by Investment Companies 158
Additional Tax Information 159
Taxes on Distributions 159
Taxes When You Sell Fund Shares 161
Taxes on Creation and Redemption of Creation Units 161
Foreign Investments by the Funds 161
Commodity Investments 162
Foreign Currency Investments by the Funds 163
Distribution 164
Premium/Discount and NAV Information 164
Additional Notices 164
Financial Highlights 166

 

   
 

 

WisdomTree Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Bullish Fund

 

Investment Objective

The WisdomTree Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Bullish Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to provide total returns, before fees and expenses, that exceed the performance of the Bloomberg Dollar Total Return Index (the “Index”).

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below. The fees are expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average net assets.

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)  
Management Fees  0.50%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees None
Other Expenses  0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses  0.50%

 

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 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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
  $ 51 $ 160 $ 280 $ 628

 

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Fund’s Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 78% of the average value of its portfolio, excluding the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares.

 

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

The Fund is an actively managed exchange traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to provide total returns, before fees and expenses, that exceed the performance of the Index. The Index is structured to potentially benefit as the U.S. dollar appreciates relative to a basket of global currencies. The Index tracks a long position in the U.S. dollar measured against a basket of developed and emerging market currencies which (i) have the highest liquidity in the currency markets and (ii) represent countries that make the largest contribution to trade flows with the United States. The Index also incorporates levels and differences in short-term interest rates between the U.S. and the countries (or regions) represented by the foreign currencies. To implement its methodology, the Index combines a basket of one-month currency forward contracts between the U.S. dollar and the individual constituent currencies of the Index and a U.S. dollar cash component invested at the 4-week Treasury Bill funding rate.

 

The Fund will seek exposure to both the U.S. dollar and global currencies held by the Index through investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its assets in money market securities and other liquid securities, such as short-term investment grade government and corporate debt securities, combined with currency forward contracts in the individual constituent currencies of the Index (a currency forward contract is an agreement to buy or sell a specific currency at a future date at a price set at the time of the contract). If a sufficiently liquid futures contract on the Index or related index is later developed, the Fund may invest in such futures contract as a substitute for or in combination with forward contracts on the individual currencies. The Fund also may enter into repurchase agreements, which are transactions in which the Fund purchases securities or other obligations from a bank or securities dealer and simultaneously commits to resell them to a counterparty at an agreed-upon date or upon demand and at a price reflecting a market rate of interest unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased obligations. If, subsequent to an investment, the 80% requirement is no longer met, the Fund’s future investments will be made in a manner that will bring the Fund into compliance with this policy.

 

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The Fund’s positioning for a stronger U.S. dollar through a mixture of securities and financial instruments is intended to provide a return reflective of the change in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to the basket of global currencies while incorporating differences in money market rates between the U.S. and the countries (or regions) represented by the foreign currencies. The Fund can also generate return from investments into high quality, short-term U.S. fixed income investments held in support of its currency positions. The Fund expects its holdings to represent approximately ten (10) currencies at any given time, with the euro expected to represent the largest exposure in the global basket of currencies, but at no time is the Fund’s exposure expected to exceed twenty (20) currencies (Index maximum). The Fund, similar to the Index, is not designed to benefit if the value of the basket of global currencies appreciates relative to the U.S. dollar.

 

The Fund generally will maintain a weighted average portfolio maturity with respect to short-term investment grade government and corporate debt securities of two (2) years or less and money market securities of 180 days or less on average (not to exceed 18 months) and will not purchase any money market securities with a remaining maturity of more than 397 calendar days. The “average portfolio maturity” of the Fund will be the average of all current maturities of the individual securities in the Fund’s portfolio. The Fund’s actual portfolio duration may be longer or shorter depending on market conditions.

 

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. While certain of the risks are prioritized in terms of their relevance to the Fund’s investment strategies, most risks are presented in alphabetical order. This ordering approach is designed to both facilitate an investor’s understanding of the Fund’s risks and enable an investor to easily locate and compare risks among funds. Further, although the Fund invests primarily in money market securities, the Fund is NOT a money market fund and does NOT seek to maintain a stable net asset value per share (“NAV”). Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s NAV, trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its investment objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the sections in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Principal Risk Information About the Funds” and “Additional Non-Principal Risk Information.”

 

Currency Exchange Rate Risk. Changes in currency exchange rates and the relative value of non-U.S. currencies will affect the value of the Fund’s investment and the value of your Fund shares. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may also change quickly, unpredictably, and without warning, and you may lose money.

 

Investment Risk. As with all investments, an investment in the Fund is subject to loss, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount of an investment, over short or long periods of time.

 

Market Risk. The trading prices of securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors, such as economic, financial or political events that impact the entire market, market segments, or specific issuers. The Fund’s NAV and market price may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time.

 

Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of the Fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from the Fund’s daily NAV, and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV (premium) or less than the NAV (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines. Because securities held by the Fund trade on, or have exposure to, foreign exchanges that are closed when the Fund’s primary listing exchange is open, the Fund is likely to experience premiums and discounts greater than those of domestic ETFs. Additionally, in stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings.

 

Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed using proprietary investment strategies and processes. There can be no guarantee that these strategies and processes will be successful or that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.

 

 

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Capital Controls and Sanctions Risk. Economic conditions, such as volatile currency exchange rates and interest rates, political events, military action and other conditions may, without prior warning, lead to foreign government intervention (including intervention by the U.S. government with respect to foreign governments, economic sectors, foreign companies and related securities and interests) and the imposition of capital controls and/or sanctions, which may also include retaliatory actions of one government against another government, such as seizure of assets. Capital controls and/or sanctions include the prohibition of, or restrictions on, the ability to own or transfer currency, securities or other assets, which may potentially include derivative instruments related thereto. Capital controls and/or sanctions may also impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell, transfer, receive, deliver or otherwise obtain exposure to, foreign securities or currency, negatively impact the value and/or liquidity of such instruments, adversely affect the trading market and price for shares of the Fund, and cause the Fund to decline in value.

 

Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund generally redeems shares for cash or otherwise includes cash as part of its redemption proceeds. 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 Fund redeemed shares in kind.

 

Counterparty and Issuer Credit Risk. As a result of its financial condition, the issuer of a debt security or other instrument, or the counterparty to a derivative or other contract, may default, become unable to pay interest or principal due or otherwise fail to honor its obligations or be perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as being in such situations. The value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning in response to issuer or counterparty defaults, changes in the credit ratings of the Fund’s portfolio investments and/or perceptions related thereto.

 

Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from a breach in cybersecurity, including cyber-attacks. A breach in cybersecurity, intentional or unintentional, may adversely impact the Fund in many ways, including, but not limited to, disruption of the Fund’s operational capacity, loss of proprietary information, theft or corruption of data, denial-of-service attacks on websites or network resources, and the unauthorized release of confidential information. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund’s third-party service providers, market makers, institutional investors authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund (i.e., Authorized Participants), or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches.

 

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive their performance from an underlying reference asset, such as a commodity, index, interest rate or inflation rate. Generally, derivatives are sophisticated investments that may pose risks that are different from or greater than those posed by investing directly in the underlying reference asset. For example, the return on a derivative instrument may not correlate with that of its underlying reference asset, and minimal requisite initial investments necessary to purchase derivatives positions may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts. Derivatives also can be volatile and may be less liquid than other investments. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money. The Fund expects to use forward currency contracts and futures contracts to implement its principal investment strategies. The successful use of forward currency contracts, in particular, depends in large part on the adviser’s and the sub-adviser’s ability to predict movements in the prices of relevant currencies, fluctuations in relevant markets, and movements in interest rates. Other risks specific to these types of derivatives instruments, as well as other risks of derivatives, generally, such as counterparty and issuer credit risk, interest rate risk, market risk and issuer-specific risk, are described in greater detail elsewhere in the Fund’s Prospectus.

 

Emerging Markets Risk. Investments in securities and instruments traded in developing or emerging markets, or that provide exposure to such securities or markets, can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions not associated with investments in U.S. securities and instruments or investments in more developed international markets. Such conditions may impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell or otherwise transfer securities, adversely affect the trading market and price for Fund shares and cause the Fund to decline in value.

 

Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in non-U.S. securities involve political, regulatory, and economic risks that may not be present in investments in U.S. securities. For example, investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations, political or economic instability, or geographic events that adversely impact issuers of foreign securities. Investments in non-U.S. securities also may be subject to withholding or other taxes and may be subject to additional trading, settlement, custodial, and operational risks.

 

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These and other factors can make investments in the Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments. These risks may be heightened to the extent the Fund invests in companies domiciled in or otherwise tied to developing or emerging market countries.

   
Geographic Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a single country or region, it is more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country or region.

 

Geopolitical Risk. Some countries and regions in which the Fund invests may experience security concerns, war, threats of war, aggression and/or conflict, terrorism, economic uncertainty, sanctions or the threat of sanctions, natural and environmental disasters, the spread of infectious illness, widespread disease or other public health issues and/or systemic market dislocations that lead to increased short-term market volatility and have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and markets generally, each of which may negatively impact the Fund’s investments.

 

Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that fixed income securities will decline in value because of an increase in interest rates and changes to other factors, such as perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness. Interest rates may change suddenly or unexpectedly and have unpredictable impacts on the financial markets and the Fund’s investments. To the extent that the Fund holds fixed income securities with longer durations, such securities generally are subject to greater interest rate risk.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the actual or perceived financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in those few issuers, and may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence. As a result, changes in the market value of a single security could cause greater fluctuations in the value of Fund shares than would occur in a diversified fund.

 

Repurchase Agreement Risk. The Fund’s investment in repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk with respect to the collateral securing the repurchase agreements. Investments in repurchase agreements also may be subject to the risk that the market value of the underlying obligations may decline prior to the expiration of the repurchase agreement term.

 

Sovereign Debt Risk. The debt securities issued by sovereign entities may decline as a result of default or other adverse credit event resulting from a sovereign debtor’s unwillingness or inability to repay principal and pay interest in a timely manner, which may be affected by a variety of factors, including its cash flows, the extent of its reserves, the availability of sufficient foreign exchange on the date a payment is due, the relative size of the debt service burden to the economy as a whole, the sovereign debtor’s policy toward international lenders, and the political constraints to which a sovereign debtor may be subject. The risk associated with sovereign debt is heightened with respect to emerging market issuers.

 

Fund Performance

Historical Fund performance, which varies over time, can provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart that follows shows the annual total returns of the Fund for each full calendar year since the Fund commenced operations, or the past 10 calendar years, as applicable. The table that follows the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual total returns, both before and after taxes. This table also shows how the Fund’s performance compares to that of the Index and the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, a relevant broad-based securities index. Index returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. All returns assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information for the Fund is available online on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

 

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Year

The Fund’s year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2023 was 5.95%.

 

Best and Worst Quarter Returns (for the periods reflected in the bar chart above)

 

  Return Quarter/Year
Highest Return 7.05% 4Q/2016
Lowest Return (5.68)% 4Q/2022

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown and are not relevant if you hold your shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases, the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period.

 

Average Annual Total Returns for the periods ending December 31, 2022

 

WisdomTree Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Bullish Fund 1 Year 5 Years Since Inception
December 18, 2013
Return Before Taxes Based on NAV 7.78% 2.58% 2.64%
Return After Taxes on Distributions 5.27% 1.72% 1.90%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares 5.30% 1.70% 1.82%
Bloomberg Dollar Total Return Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 7.70% 2.51% 2.79%
Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 6.23% 1.46% 2.24%

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser

WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. (“WisdomTree Asset Management” or the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Mellon Investments Corporation (the “Sub-Adviser”) serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers

The Fund is managed by the Sub-Adviser's Fixed Income Portfolio Management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are identified below.

 

David Nieman, Vice President and Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since November 2020.

 

Nancy Rogers, CFA, Managing Director and Head of Fixed Income Index Portfolio Management, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since December 2020. 

 

Gregg Lee, CFA, Senior Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since January 2021.

 

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William Newton, CFA, Vice President, Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since January 2024.

 

Buying and Selling Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. This means that individual shares of the Fund are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, currently NYSE Arca, and may only be purchased and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). In addition, an investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares (“Creation Units”), which only certain institutions or large investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities and/or U.S. cash.

 

Tax Information

The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), WisdomTree Asset Management 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 Fund 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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WisdomTree Emerging Currency Strategy Fund

 

Investment Objective

The WisdomTree Emerging Currency Strategy Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to achieve total returns reflective of both money market rates in selected emerging market countries available to foreign investors and changes to the value of these currencies relative to the U.S. dollar.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below. The fees are expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average net assets.

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)  
Management Fees  0.55%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees None
Other Expenses  0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses  0.55%

 

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 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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
  $ 56 $ 176 $ 307 $ 689

 

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Fund’s Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 0% of the average value of its portfolio, excluding the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares.

 

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

The Fund is an actively managed exchange traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in short-term securities and instruments designed to provide exposure to the currencies and money market rates of selected emerging market countries.

 

The Fund seeks to provide exposure to currencies and money market rates from emerging and developing economies in three regions of the world: (i) Asia, (ii) Latin America and (iii) Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Within these regions, the Fund intends to invest in a subset of the following countries: Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey. This list may change based on market developments. The Fund attempts to achieve exposure to the most liquid currencies within each of the three broad regions, while at the same time maintaining geographic and economic diversity across these regions. The specific set of currencies is generally selected annually, typically in July or August. The selected currencies are equally weighted in terms of U.S. dollar value. The Fund is rebalanced quarterly in order to maintain this equal weighting. In order to maintain geographic diversity, the Fund’s exposure to each of the three broad geographic regions is limited to 60% of its total asset value on the annual assessment date and at each quarterly rebalancing. More frequent rebalancing may occur in response to significant market events. A significant event might include, for example, market conditions that significantly disrupt liquidity or result in the reclassification of a currency (from emerging to developed, for example). Currencies that generally would be considered liquid may be ineligible for investment or dropped from the Fund as a result of government action or other market events if the Fund’s adviser believes doing so would be in the best interest of the Fund.

 

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Because the market for money market securities in the selected emerging markets generally is less liquid and accessible to foreign investors than corresponding markets in more developed countries, the Fund intends to achieve exposure to these markets by investing primarily in short-term U.S. money market securities and forward currency contracts and swaps of the constituent currencies. The combination of U.S. money market securities with forward currency contracts and currency swaps is designed to provide exposure equivalent to money market securities denominated in currencies of the selected markets in which the Fund invests. In aggregate, the Fund’s investments should create exposure that is economically similar to a basket of money market securities denominated in each of the selected currencies. The Fund also may enter into repurchase agreements.

 

The Fund generally will maintain a weighted average portfolio maturity of 90 days or less with respect to the money market securities in its portfolio. The Fund will not purchase any security with a remaining maturity of more than 397 calendar days. All U.S. money market securities acquired by the Fund will be rated in the upper two short-term ratings by at least two nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (“NRSROs”) or, if unrated, deemed to be of equivalent quality. The Fund does not seek to preserve capital in U.S. dollars.

 

The Fund will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in investments whose combined performance is tied economically to selected emerging market countries. If, subsequent to an investment, the 80% requirement is no longer met, the Fund’s future investments will be made in a manner that will bring the Fund into compliance with this policy. The Trust will provide shareholders with sixty (60) days’ prior notice of any change to this policy for the Fund.

 

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. While certain of the risks are prioritized in terms of their relevance to the Fund’s investment strategies, most risks are presented in alphabetical order. This ordering approach is designed to both facilitate an investor’s understanding of the Fund’s risks and enable an investor to easily locate and compare risks among funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its investment objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the sections in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Principal Risk Information About the Funds” and “Additional Non-Principal Risk Information.”

 

Currency Exchange Rate Risk. Changes in currency exchange rates and the relative value of non-U.S. currencies will affect the value of the Fund’s investment and the value of your Fund shares. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may also change quickly, unpredictably, and without warning, and you may lose money.

 

Emerging Markets Risk. Investments in securities and instruments traded in developing or emerging markets, or that provide exposure to such securities or markets, can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions not associated with investments in U.S. securities and instruments or investments in more developed international markets. Such conditions may impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell or otherwise transfer securities, adversely affect the trading market and price for Fund shares and cause the Fund to decline in value.

 

Investment Risk. As with all investments, an investment in the Fund is subject to loss, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount of an investment, over short or long periods of time.

 

Market Risk. The trading prices of securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors, such as economic, financial or political events that impact the entire market, market segments, or specific issuers. The Fund’s NAV and market price may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time.

 

Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of the Fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from the Fund’s daily NAV, and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV (premium) or less than the NAV (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines. Because securities held by the Fund trade on, or have exposure to, foreign exchanges that are closed when the Fund’s primary listing exchange is open, the Fund is likely to experience premiums and discounts greater than those of domestic ETFs. Additionally, in stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings.

 

 

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Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed using proprietary investment strategies and processes. There can be no guarantee that these strategies and processes will be successful or that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.

 

Capital Controls and Sanctions Risk. Economic conditions, such as volatile currency exchange rates and interest rates, political events, military action and other conditions may, without prior warning, lead to foreign government intervention (including intervention by the U.S. government with respect to foreign governments, economic sectors, foreign companies and related securities and interests) and the imposition of capital controls and/or sanctions, which may also include retaliatory actions of one government against another government, such as seizure of assets. Capital controls and/or sanctions include the prohibition of, or restrictions on, the ability to own or transfer currency, securities or other assets, which may potentially include derivative instruments related thereto. Capital controls and/or sanctions may also impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell, transfer, receive, deliver or otherwise obtain exposure to, foreign securities or currency, negatively impact the value and/or liquidity of such instruments, adversely affect the trading market and price for shares of the Fund, and cause the Fund to decline in value.

 

Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund generally redeems shares for cash or otherwise includes cash as part of its redemption proceeds. 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 Fund redeemed shares in kind.

 

Counterparty and Issuer Credit Risk. As a result of its financial condition, the issuer of a debt security or other instrument, or the counterparty to a derivative or other contract, may default, become unable to pay interest or principal due or otherwise fail to honor its obligations or be perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as being in such situations. The value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning in response to issuer or counterparty defaults, changes in the credit ratings of the Fund’s portfolio investments and/or perceptions related thereto.

 

Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from a breach in cybersecurity, including cyber-attacks. A breach in cybersecurity, intentional or unintentional, may adversely impact the Fund in many ways, including, but not limited to, disruption of the Fund’s operational capacity, loss of proprietary information, theft or corruption of data, denial-of-service attacks on websites or network resources, and the unauthorized release of confidential information. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund’s third-party service providers, market makers, institutional investors authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund (i.e., Authorized Participants), or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches.

 

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive their performance from an underlying reference asset, such as a commodity, index, interest rate or inflation rate. Generally, derivatives are sophisticated investments that may pose risks that are different from or greater than those posed by investing directly in the underlying reference asset. For example, the return on a derivative instrument may not correlate with that of its underlying reference asset, and minimal requisite initial investments necessary to purchase derivatives positions may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts. Derivatives also can be volatile and may be less liquid than other investments. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money. The Fund expects to use forward currency contracts and currency swaps to implement its principal investment strategies. A currency swap generally is an agreement between two parties to exchange fixed or floating interest rate, and sometimes principal, amounts in one currency for another on predetermined dates. The successful use of forward currency contracts, in particular, depends in large part on the adviser’s and sub-adviser’s ability to predict movements in the prices of relevant currencies, fluctuations in relevant markets, and movements in interest rates. Swaps are particularly subject to counterparty credit, valuation and liquidity risks. Other risks specific to these types of derivatives instruments, as well as other risks of derivatives, generally, such as counterparty and issuer credit risk, interest rate risk, market risk and issuer-specific risk, are described in greater detail elsewhere in the Fund’s Prospectus.

 

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Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in non-U.S. securities involve political, regulatory, and economic risks that may not be present in investments in U.S. securities. For example, investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations, political or economic instability, or geographic events that adversely impact issuers of foreign securities. Investments in non-U.S. securities also may be subject to withholding or other taxes and may be subject to additional trading, settlement, custodial, and operational risks. These and other factors can make investments in the Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments. These risks may be heightened to the extent the Fund invests in companies domiciled in or otherwise tied to developing or emerging market countries.

 

Geographic Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a single country or region, it is more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country or region.

 

Geopolitical Risk. Some countries and regions in which the Fund invests may experience security concerns, war, threats of war, aggression and/or conflict, terrorism, economic uncertainty, sanctions or the threat of sanctions, natural and environmental disasters, the spread of infectious illness, widespread disease or other public health issues and/or systemic market dislocations that lead to increased short-term market volatility and have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and markets generally, each of which may negatively impact the Fund’s investments.

 

Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that fixed income securities will decline in value because of an increase in interest rates and changes to other factors, such as perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness. Interest rates may change suddenly or unexpectedly and have unpredictable impacts on the financial markets and the Fund’s investments. To the extent that the Fund holds fixed income securities with longer durations, such securities generally are subject to greater interest rate risk.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the actual or perceived financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in those few issuers, and may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence. As a result, changes in the market value of a single security could cause greater fluctuations in the value of Fund shares than would occur in a diversified fund.

 

Repurchase Agreement Risk. The Fund’s investment in repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk with respect to the collateral securing the repurchase agreements. Investments in repurchase agreements also may be subject to the risk that the market value of the underlying obligations may decline prior to the expiration of the repurchase agreement term.

 

Sovereign Debt Risk. The debt securities issued by sovereign entities may decline as a result of default or other adverse credit event resulting from a sovereign debtor’s unwillingness or inability to repay principal and pay interest in a timely manner, which may be affected by a variety of factors, including its cash flows, the extent of its reserves, the availability of sufficient foreign exchange on the date a payment is due, the relative size of the debt service burden to the economy as a whole, the sovereign debtor’s policy toward international lenders, and the political constraints to which a sovereign debtor may be subject. The risk associated with sovereign debt is heightened with respect to emerging market issuers.

 

Fund Performance

Historical Fund performance, which varies over time, can provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart that follows shows the annual total returns of the Fund for each full calendar year since the Fund commenced operations, or the past 10 calendar years, as applicable. The table that follows the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual total returns, both before and after taxes. This table also shows how the Fund’s performance compares to that of the JP Morgan Emerging Local Markets Index Plus, a relevant broad-based securities index. In addition, performance also is shown for the Equal-Weighted Emerging Currency Composite, another comparative index that also represents the asset class in which the Fund invests. Index returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. All returns assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information for the Fund is available online on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

 

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Year

The Fund’s year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2023 was 3.50%.

 

Best and Worst Quarter Returns (for the periods reflected in the bar chart above)

 

  Return Quarter/Year
Highest Return 7.50% 4Q/2020
Lowest Return (11.06)% 1Q/2020

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown and are not relevant if you hold your shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases, the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period.

 

Average Annual Total Returns for the periods ending December 31, 2022

 

WisdomTree Emerging Currency Strategy Fund 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years
Return Before Taxes Based on NAV (1.37)%

(1.76)%

(1.68)%

Return After Taxes on Distributions (1.68)%

(2.17)%

(1.88)%

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares (0.81)%

(1.49)%

(1.33)%

JP Morgan Emerging Local Markets Index Plus (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (7.14)%

(1.42)%

(1.00)%

Equal-Weighted Emerging Currency Composite (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (6.85)%

(2.09)%

(1.48)%

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser

WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. (“WisdomTree Asset Management” or the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Mellon Investments Corporation (the “Sub-Adviser”) serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers

The Fund is managed by the Sub-Adviser's Fixed Income Portfolio Management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are identified below.

 

David Nieman, Vice President and Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since November 2020.

 

Nancy Rogers, CFA, Managing Director and Head of Fixed Income Index Portfolio Management, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since December 2020.

 

Gregg Lee, CFA, Senior Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since January 2021.

 

William Newton, CFA, Vice President, Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since January 2024.

 

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Buying and Selling Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. This means that individual shares of the Fund are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, currently NYSE Arca, and may only be purchased and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). In addition, an investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares (“Creation Units”), which only certain institutions or large investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities and/or U.S. cash.

 

Tax Information

The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), WisdomTree Asset Management 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 Fund 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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WisdomTree Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fund

 

Investment Objective

The WisdomTree Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fund (the “Fund”) seeks a high level of total return consisting of both income and capital appreciation.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below. The fees are expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average net assets.

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)  
Management Fees  0.60%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees None
Other Expenses  0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses  0.60%

 

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 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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

 

  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
  $ 61 $ 192 $ 335 $ 750

 

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Fund’s Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 142% of the average value of its portfolio, excluding the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares.

 

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

The Fund is an actively managed exchange traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve its investment objective through investment in debt securities issued by corporate entities (“Corporate Debt”) that are domiciled in, or economically tied to, emerging market countries. The issuers of such Corporate Debt will include public, private, and state-owned or sponsored corporations. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in Corporate Debt. For these purposes, Corporate Debt includes fixed income securities, such as bonds, notes, money market securities and other debt obligations (such as loan participation notes) of emerging market issuers. Corporate Debt does not include derivatives.

 

The Fund intends to focus its investment on Corporate Debt issued in U.S. dollars. The Fund also may invest in Corporate Debt denominated in the local currency of emerging market countries. Non-U.S. dollar denominated debt is sometimes referred to as “local debt.” Local debt provides exposure to changes in the value of such non-U.S. currencies against the U.S. dollar. Corporate Debt includes debt securities issued by supranational organizations, such as the European Investment Bank, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development or International Finance Corporation, or other regional development banks. The Fund may invest to a limited extent in debt securities of emerging market governments (also known as “sovereign debt”) and debt securities linked to inflation rates in emerging market countries.

 

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The Fund intends to seek exposure to Corporate Debt from the following regions: Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Within these regions, the Fund may invest in countries such as: Argentina, Bahrain, Barbados, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Arab Emirates. This list may change based on market developments. The Fund employs a structured investment approach that utilizes “top down” analysis of macroeconomic factors and “bottom up” analysis of emerging market countries and issuers. The Fund’s credit exposures are monitored and may be modified, reduced or eliminated. The Fund’s exposure to any single issuer generally will be limited to 10% of the Fund’s net assets. The Fund’s exposure to any single country generally will be limited to 30% of the Fund’s net assets. The percentage of Fund assets invested in a specific region, country or issuer will change from time to time.

 

The universe of emerging market Corporate Debt currently includes securities that are rated “investment grade” as well as “non-investment grade” (commonly referred to as “junk bonds”). The Fund intends to provide a broad exposure to emerging market Corporate Debt and therefore will invest in both investment grade and non-investment grade securities. Securities rated investment grade generally are considered to be of higher credit quality and subject to lower default risk. Although securities rated below investment grade may offer the potential for higher yields, they generally are subject to a higher potential risk of loss.

 

The Fund attempts to maintain an aggregate portfolio duration of between two and ten years under normal market conditions. Aggregate portfolio duration is important to investors as an indication of the Fund’s sensitivity to changes in interest rates. The Fund’s actual portfolio duration may be longer or shorter depending upon market conditions. The Fund may also invest in short-term money market securities denominated in U.S. dollars or the currencies of countries in which the Fund invests.

 

The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in derivatives, such as swaps, U.S. Treasury futures, and forward currency contracts. The Fund’s use of derivatives will be underpinned by investments in cash or other liquid assets (typically short-term, high-quality money market securities). The Fund also may enter into repurchase agreements, which are transactions in which the Fund purchases securities or other obligations from a bank or securities dealer and simultaneously agrees to resell them to a counterparty at an agreed-upon date or upon demand and at a price reflecting a market rate of interest unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased obligations.

 

The Fund must invest at least 80% of its net assets directly in Corporate Debt. The decision to secure exposure through direct investment in Corporate Debt or indirectly through derivative transactions will be a function of, among other things, market accessibility, credit exposure, tax ramifications and regulatory requirements applicable to U.S. investment companies. If, subsequent to an investment, the Fund’s 80% requirement is no longer met, the Fund’s future investments will be made in a manner that will bring the Fund into compliance with this policy. The Trust will provide shareholders with sixty (60) days’ prior notice of any change to this policy for the Fund.

 

As of September 30, 2023, companies assigned to the Energy, Financials and Industrials sectors comprised a significant portion (i.e., approximately 15% or more) of the Fund’s assets. The sectors represented in the Fund, as well as the extent of such representation, are expected to vary over time.

 

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. While certain of the risks are prioritized in terms of their relevance to the Fund’s investment strategies, most risks are presented in alphabetical order. This ordering approach is designed to both facilitate an investor’s understanding of the Fund’s risks and enable an investor to easily locate and compare risks among funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its investment objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the sections in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Principal Risk Information About the Funds” and “Additional Non-Principal Risk Information.”

 

Emerging Markets Risk. Investments in securities and instruments traded in developing or emerging markets, or that provide exposure to such securities or markets, can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions not associated with investments in U.S. securities and instruments or investments in more developed international markets. Such conditions may impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell or otherwise transfer securities, adversely affect the trading market and price for Fund shares and cause the Fund to decline in value.

 

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     15

 

Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that fixed income securities will decline in value because of an increase in interest rates and changes to other factors, such as perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness. Interest rates may change suddenly or unexpectedly and have unpredictable impacts on the financial markets and the Fund’s investments. To the extent that the Fund holds fixed income securities with longer durations, such securities generally are subject to greater interest rate risk. For example, the price of a security with a ten-year duration would be expected to drop by approximately 10% in response to a 1% increase in interest rates.

 

Investment Risk. As with all investments, an investment in the Fund is subject to loss, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount of an investment, over short or long periods of time.

 

Market Risk. The trading prices of securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors, such as economic, financial or political events that impact the entire market, market segments, or specific issuers. The Fund’s NAV and market price may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time.

 

Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of the Fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from the Fund’s daily NAV, and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV (premium) or less than the NAV (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines. Because securities held by the Fund trade on, or have exposure to, foreign exchanges that are closed when the Fund’s primary listing exchange is open, the Fund is likely to experience premiums and discounts greater than those of domestic ETFs. Additionally, in stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings.
 

Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed using proprietary investment strategies and processes. There can be no guarantee that these strategies and processes will be successful or that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.

 

Capital Controls and Sanctions Risk. Economic conditions, such as volatile currency exchange rates and interest rates, political events, military action and other conditions may, without prior warning, lead to foreign government intervention (including intervention by the U.S. government with respect to foreign governments, economic sectors, foreign companies and related securities and interests) and the imposition of capital controls and/or sanctions, which may also include retaliatory actions of one government against another government, such as seizure of assets. Capital controls and/or sanctions include the prohibition of, or restrictions on, the ability to own or transfer currency, securities or other assets, which may potentially include derivative instruments related thereto. Capital controls and/or sanctions may also impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell, transfer, receive, deliver or otherwise obtain exposure to, foreign securities or currency, negatively impact the value and/or liquidity of such instruments, adversely affect the trading market and price for shares of the Fund, and cause the Fund to decline in value.

 

Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund generally redeems shares for cash or otherwise includes cash as part of its redemption proceeds. 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 Fund redeemed shares in kind.

 

Counterparty and Issuer Credit Risk. As a result of its financial condition, the issuer of a debt security or other instrument, or the counterparty to a derivative or other contract, may default, become unable to pay interest or principal due or otherwise fail to honor its obligations or be perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as being in such situations. The value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning in response to issuer or counterparty defaults, changes in the credit ratings of the Fund’s portfolio investments and/or perceptions related thereto.

 

Currency Exchange Rate Risk. Changes in currency exchange rates and the relative value of non-U.S. currencies will affect the value of the Fund’s investment and the value of your Fund shares. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may also change quickly, unpredictably, and without warning, and you may lose money.

 

16     WisdomTree Trust Prospectus

 

 

Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from a breach in cybersecurity, including cyber-attacks. A breach in cybersecurity, intentional or unintentional, may adversely impact the Fund in many ways, including, but not limited to, disruption of the Fund’s operational capacity, loss of proprietary information, theft or corruption of data, denial-of-service attacks on websites or network resources, and the unauthorized release of confidential information. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund’s third-party service providers, market makers, institutional investors authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund (i.e., Authorized Participants), or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches.

 

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive their performance from an underlying reference asset, such as a commodity, index, interest rate or inflation rate. Generally, derivatives are sophisticated investments that may pose risks that are different from or greater than those posed by investing directly in the underlying reference asset. For example, the return on a derivative instrument may not correlate with that of its underlying reference asset, and minimal requisite initial investments necessary to purchase derivatives positions may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts. Derivatives also can be volatile and may be less liquid than other investments. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money. The Fund may invest in swaps, futures contracts, and forward currency contracts to a limited extent (i.e., up to 20% of its net assets) to implement its principal investment strategies. Swaps are particularly subject to counterparty credit, valuation and liquidity risks. The successful use of forward currency contracts depends in large part on the adviser’s and sub-adviser’s ability to predict movements in the prices of relevant currencies, fluctuations in relevant markets, and movements in interest rates. Other risks specific to these types of derivatives instruments, as well as other risks of derivatives, generally, such as counterparty and issuer credit risk, interest rate risk, market risk and issuer-specific risk, are described in greater detail elsewhere in the Fund’s Prospectus.

 

Energy Sector Risk. The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in the Energy sector, and therefore, the Fund’s performance could be negatively impacted by events affecting this sector. The Energy sector includes, for example, companies engaged in exploration, production, refining, marketing, storage, and transportation of oil, gas, coal, and consumable fuels as well as related equipment and services. This sector can be significantly affected by, among other things, worldwide economic growth, worldwide demand, political instability in the Middle East, eastern Europe or other oil or gas producing regions, and volatile oil prices.

 

Financials Sector Risk. The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in the Financials sector, and therefore, the Fund’s performance could be negatively impacted by events affecting this sector. The Financials sector includes, for example, companies engaged in banking, financial services, consumer finance, capital markets and insurance activities as well as financial exchanges, financial data providers and mortgage real estate investment trusts. This sector can be significantly affected by, among other things, changes in interest rates, government regulation, the rate of defaults on corporate, consumer and government debt, and the availability and cost of capital.

 

Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in non-U.S. securities involve political, regulatory, and economic risks that may not be present in investments in U.S. securities. For example, investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations, political or economic instability, or geographic events that adversely impact issuers of foreign securities. Investments in non-U.S. securities also may be subject to withholding or other taxes and may be subject to additional trading, settlement, custodial, and operational risks. These and other factors can make investments in the Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments. These risks may be heightened to the extent the Fund invests in companies domiciled in or otherwise tied to developing or emerging market countries.

 

Geographic Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a single country or region, it is more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country or region.

 

Geopolitical Risk. Some countries and regions in which the Fund invests may experience security concerns, war, threats of war, aggression and/or conflict, terrorism, economic uncertainty, sanctions or the threat of sanctions, natural and environmental disasters, the spread of infectious illness, widespread disease or other public health issues and/or systemic market dislocations that lead to increased short-term market volatility and have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and markets generally, each of which may negatively impact the Fund’s investments.

 

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     17

 

High Yield Securities Risk. Higher yielding, high risk debt securities, sometimes referred to as junk bonds, may present additional risk because these securities may be less liquid and present more credit risk than investment grade bonds. The price of high yield securities tends to be more susceptible to issuer-specific operating results and outlook and to real or perceived adverse economic and competitive industry conditions. High yield securities may be regarded as predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s continuing ability to meet principal and interest payments.

 

Industrials Sector Risk. The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in the Industrials sector, and therefore, the Fund’s performance could be negatively impacted by events affecting this sector. The Industrials sector includes, for example, aerospace and defense, non-residential construction, engineering, machinery, transportation, and commercial and professional services companies. This sector can be significantly affected by, among other things, business cycle fluctuations, worldwide economy growth, international political and economic developments, exchange rates, commodity prices, environmental issues, government and corporate spending, supply and demand for specific products and manufacturing, and government regulation.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the actual or perceived financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in those few issuers, and may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence. As a result, changes in the market value of a single security could cause greater fluctuations in the value of Fund shares than would occur in a diversified fund.

 

Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may result in a high portfolio turnover rate. Higher portfolio turnover may result in the Fund paying higher transaction costs and the distribution of additional capital gains, which may generate greater tax liabilities for shareholders who hold the shares in taxable accounts. Increased transaction costs and distributions of capital gains may negatively affect the Fund’s performance.

 

Repurchase Agreement Risk. The Fund’s investment in repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk with respect to the collateral securing the repurchase agreements. Investments in repurchase agreements also may be subject to the risk that the market value of the underlying obligations may decline prior to the expiration of the repurchase agreement term.

 

Sovereign Debt Risk. The debt securities issued by sovereign entities may decline as a result of default or other adverse credit event resulting from a sovereign debtor’s unwillingness or inability to repay principal and pay interest in a timely manner, which may be affected by a variety of factors, including its cash flows, the extent of its reserves, the availability of sufficient foreign exchange on the date a payment is due, the relative size of the debt service burden to the economy as a whole, the sovereign debtor’s policy toward international lenders, and the political constraints to which a sovereign debtor may be subject. The risk associated with sovereign debt is heightened with respect to emerging market issuers.

 

Fund Performance

Historical Fund performance, which varies over time, can provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart that follows shows the annual total returns of the Fund for each full calendar year since the Fund commenced operations, or the past 10 calendar years, as applicable. The table that follows the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual total returns, both before and after taxes. This table also shows how the Fund’s performance compares to that of the JP Morgan CEMBI Diversified Index, a relevant broad-based securities index. Index returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. All returns assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information for the Fund is available online on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

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Year

 

The Fund’s year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2023 was 3.06%.

 

Best and Worst Quarter Returns (for the periods reflected in the bar chart above)

 

  Return Quarter/Year
Highest Return 12.57% 2Q/2020
Lowest Return (11.51)% 1Q/2020

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown and are not relevant if you hold your shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases, the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period.

 

Average Annual Total Returns for the periods ending December 31, 2022

 

WisdomTree Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fund 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years
Return Before Taxes Based on NAV

(12.97)%

0.64%

1.66%

Return After Taxes on Distributions

(14.36)%

(0.97)%

(0.14)%

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares

(7.68)%

(0.16)%

0.48%

JP Morgan CEMBI Diversified Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

(12.92)%

0.95%

3.29%

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser

WisdomTree Asset Management serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Voya Investment Management Co. LLC (“Voya IM”) serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers

The Fund is managed by Voya IM’s Emerging Markets Debt Portfolio Management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are identified below.

 

Anil Katarya, CFA, Global Head of the Investment Grade Credit Team and Senior Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since May 2022.

 

Anthony A. Routh, Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since August 2017. 

 

Buying and Selling Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. This means that individual shares of the Fund are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, currently NASDAQ, and may only be purchased and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). In addition, an investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

 

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The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares (“Creation Units”), which only certain institutions or large investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities and/or U.S. cash.

 

Tax Information

The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains. 

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), WisdomTree Asset Management 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 Fund 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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WisdomTree Emerging Markets Local Debt Fund

 

Investment Objective

The WisdomTree Emerging Markets Local Debt Fund (the “Fund”) seeks a high level of total return consisting of both income and capital appreciation.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below. The fees are expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average net assets.

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)  
Management Fees  0.55%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees None
Other Expenses  0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses  0.55%

 

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 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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
  $ 56 $ 176 $ 307 $ 689

 

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Fund’s Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 21% of the average value of its portfolio, excluding the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares.

 

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

The Fund is an actively managed exchange traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve its investment objective through investment in bonds and other debt instruments (“Local Debt”) denominated in the local currencies of emerging market countries. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in Local Debt. For these purposes, Local Debt includes fixed income securities, such as bonds, notes or other debt obligations denominated in local currencies of emerging market countries, as well as certain derivatives and other instruments described herein.

 

The Fund is designed to provide exposure to Local Debt of issuers from a broad range of emerging market regions and countries. The Fund intends to focus its investment on fixed income securities issued by emerging market governments, government agencies, and corporations. The Fund also may invest in fixed income securities denominated in an emerging market currency and issued by supranational organizations, such as the European Investment Bank, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Finance Corporation, or other regional development banks. The Fund also may invest in debt securities linked to inflation rates outside the U.S., including securities or instruments linked to rates in emerging market countries. 

 

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     21

 

The Fund intends to provide exposure across several geographic regions and countries. The Fund intends to invest in Local Debt from the following regions: Asia, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Within these regions, the Fund may invest in countries such as: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and Uruguay. This list may change based on market developments. The Fund uses a structured investment approach that analyzes multiple factors. Countries are grouped into differentiated tiers based on an analysis of these factors. Subject to the Fund’s general investment requirement to provide broad regional and country exposure, the Fund generally invests a higher percentage of its assets in countries that have larger and more liquid debt markets and that WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc., the Fund’s investment adviser, believes are pursuing sustainable fiscal and monetary policies in light of economic and market conditions. The country exposures are monitored and may be modified, reduced or eliminated. The Fund’s exposure to any single country generally will be limited to 20% of the Fund’s assets. The percentage of Fund assets invested in a specific region, country or issuer will change from time to time.

 

The universe of Local Debt currently includes securities that are rated “investment grade” as well as “non-investment grade” (commonly referred to as “junk bonds”). The Fund intends to provide a broad-based exposure to emerging market debt and therefore will invest in both investment grade and non-investment grade securities. Securities rated investment grade generally are considered to be of higher credit quality and subject to lower default risk. Although securities rated below investment grade may offer the potential for higher yields, they generally are subject to a higher potential risk of loss.

 

The Fund attempts to maintain an aggregate portfolio duration of between two and ten years under normal market conditions. Aggregate portfolio duration is important to investors as an indication of the Fund’s sensitivity to changes in interest rates. The Fund’s actual portfolio duration may be longer or shorter depending upon market conditions. The Fund may also invest in short-term money market securities denominated in the currencies of countries in which the Fund invests.

 

The Fund may invest up to 30% of its net assets in derivatives such as forward currency contracts and swaps. The Fund’s use of forward contracts and swaps will be underpinned by investments in cash or other liquid assets (typically short-term, high- quality U.S. money market securities) and is designed to provide exposure similar to investments in local currency debt. The Fund also may enter into repurchase agreements. Local Debt also includes fixed income securities denominated in an emerging market currency and issued by a supranational organization or regional development bank. Assets not invested in Local Debt generally will be invested in U.S. government securities and investment grade money market instruments. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in debt instruments denominated in U.S. dollars issued by emerging market governments, government agencies, corporations, regional development banks and supranational issuers, as well as derivatives based on such instruments.

 

The decision to secure exposure through direct investment in bonds or indirectly through derivative transactions will be a function of, among other things, market accessibility, credit exposure, tax ramifications and regulatory requirements applicable to U.S. investment companies. If, subsequent to an investment, the 80% requirement is no longer met, the Fund’s future investments will be made in a manner that will bring the Fund into compliance with this policy. The Trust will provide shareholders with sixty (60) days’ prior notice of any change to this policy for the Fund.

 

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. While certain of the risks are prioritized in terms of their relevance to the Fund’s investment strategies, most risks are presented in alphabetical order. This ordering approach is designed to both facilitate an investor’s understanding of the Fund’s risks and enable an investor to easily locate and compare risks among funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its investment objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the sections in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Principal Risk Information About the Funds” and “Additional Non-Principal Risk Information.”

 

Emerging Markets Risk. Investments in securities and instruments traded in developing or emerging markets, or that provide exposure to such securities or markets, can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions not associated with investments in U.S. securities and instruments or investments in more developed international markets. Such conditions may impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell or otherwise transfer securities, adversely affect the trading market and price for Fund shares and cause the Fund to decline in value.

 

Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that fixed income securities will decline in value because of an increase in interest rates and changes to other factors, such as perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness. Interest rates may change suddenly or unexpectedly and have unpredictable impacts on the financial markets and the Fund’s investments. To the extent that the Fund holds fixed income securities with longer durations, such securities generally are subject to greater interest rate risk. For example, the price of a security with a ten-year duration would be expected to drop by approximately 10% in response to a 1% increase in interest rates.

 

22     WisdomTree Trust Prospectus

 

 

Investment Risk. As with all investments, an investment in the Fund is subject to loss, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount of an investment, over short or long periods of time.

 

Market Risk. The trading prices of securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors, such as economic, financial or political events that impact the entire market, market segments, or specific issuers. The Fund’s NAV and market price may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time.

 

Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of the Fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from the Fund’s daily NAV, and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV (premium) or less than the NAV (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines. Because securities held by the Fund trade on, or have exposure to, foreign exchanges that are closed when the Fund’s primary listing exchange is open, the Fund is likely to experience premiums and discounts greater than those of domestic ETFs. Additionally, in stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings.

 

Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed using proprietary investment strategies and processes. There can be no guarantee that these strategies and processes will be successful or that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.

 

Capital Controls and Sanctions Risk. Economic conditions, such as volatile currency exchange rates and interest rates, political events, military action and other conditions may, without prior warning, lead to foreign government intervention (including intervention by the U.S. government with respect to foreign governments, economic sectors, foreign companies and related securities and interests) and the imposition of capital controls and/or sanctions, which may also include retaliatory actions of one government against another government, such as seizure of assets. Capital controls and/or sanctions include the prohibition of, or restrictions on, the ability to own or transfer currency, securities or other assets, which may potentially include derivative instruments related thereto. Capital controls and/or sanctions may also impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell, transfer, receive, deliver or otherwise obtain exposure to, foreign securities or currency, negatively impact the value and/or liquidity of such instruments, adversely affect the trading market and price for shares of the Fund, and cause the Fund to decline in value.

 

Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund generally redeems shares for cash or otherwise includes cash as part of its redemption proceeds. 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 Fund redeemed shares in kind.

 

Counterparty and Issuer Credit Risk. As a result of its financial condition, the issuer of a debt security or other instrument, or the counterparty to a derivative or other contract, may default, become unable to pay interest or principal due or otherwise fail to honor its obligations or be perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as being in such situations. The value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning in response to issuer or counterparty defaults, changes in the credit ratings of the Fund’s portfolio investments and/or perceptions related thereto.

 

Currency Exchange Rate Risk. Changes in currency exchange rates and the relative value of non-U.S. currencies will affect the value of the Fund’s investment and the value of your Fund shares. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may also change quickly, unpredictably, and without warning, and you may lose money.

 

Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from a breach in cybersecurity, including cyber-attacks. A breach in cybersecurity, intentional or unintentional, may adversely impact the Fund in many ways, including, but not limited to, disruption of the Fund’s operational capacity, loss of proprietary information, theft or corruption of data, denial-of-service attacks on websites or network resources, and the unauthorized release of confidential information. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund’s third-party service providers, market makers, institutional investors authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund (i.e., Authorized Participants), or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches.

 

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     23

 

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive their performance from an underlying reference asset, such as a commodity, index, interest rate or inflation rate. Generally, derivatives are sophisticated investments that may pose risks that are different from or greater than those posed by investing directly in the underlying reference asset. For example, the return on a derivative instrument may not correlate with that of its underlying reference asset, and minimal requisite initial investments necessary to purchase derivatives positions may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts. Derivatives also can be volatile and may be less liquid than other investments. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money. The Fund expects to invest in derivatives, including in particular, swaps and forward currency contracts, to a limited extent (i.e., up to 30% of its net assets) to implement its principal investment strategies. Swaps are particularly subject to counterparty credit, valuation and liquidity risks. The successful use of forward currency contracts depends in large part on the adviser’s and sub-adviser’s ability to predict movements in the prices of relevant currencies, fluctuations in relevant markets, and movements in interest rates. Other risks specific to these types of derivatives instruments, as well as other risks of derivatives, generally, such as counterparty and issuer credit risk, interest rate risk, market risk and issuer-specific risk, are described in greater detail elsewhere in the Fund’s Prospectus.

 

Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in non-U.S. securities involve political, regulatory, and economic risks that may not be present in investments in U.S. securities. For example, investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations, political or economic instability, or geographic events that adversely impact issuers of foreign securities. Investments in non-U.S. securities also may be subject to withholding or other taxes and may be subject to additional trading, settlement, custodial, and operational risks. These and other factors can make investments in the Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments. These risks may be heightened to the extent the Fund invests in companies domiciled in or otherwise tied to developing or emerging market countries.

 

Geographic Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a single country or region, it is more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country or region.

 

Geopolitical Risk. Some countries and regions in which the Fund invests may experience security concerns, war, threats of war, aggression and/or conflict, terrorism, economic uncertainty, sanctions or the threat of sanctions, natural and environmental disasters, the spread of infectious illness, widespread disease or other public health issues and/or systemic market dislocations that lead to increased short-term market volatility and have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and markets generally, each of which may negatively impact the Fund’s investments.

 

High Yield Securities Risk. Higher yielding, high risk debt securities, sometimes referred to as junk bonds, may present additional risk because these securities may be less liquid and present more credit risk than investment grade bonds. The price of high yield securities tends to be more susceptible to issuer-specific operating results and outlook and to real or perceived adverse economic and competitive industry conditions. High yield securities may be regarded as predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s continuing ability to meet principal and interest payments.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the actual or perceived financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in those few issuers, and may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence. As a result, changes in the market value of a single security could cause greater fluctuations in the value of Fund shares than would occur in a diversified fund.

 

Repurchase Agreement Risk. The Fund’s investment in repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk with respect to the collateral securing the repurchase agreements. Investments in repurchase agreements also may be subject to the risk that the market value of the underlying obligations may decline prior to the expiration of the repurchase agreement term.

 

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Sovereign Debt Risk. The debt securities issued by sovereign entities may decline as a result of default or other adverse credit event resulting from a sovereign debtor’s unwillingness or inability to repay principal and pay interest in a timely manner, which may be affected by a variety of factors, including its cash flows, the extent of its reserves, the availability of sufficient foreign exchange on the date a payment is due, the relative size of the debt service burden to the economy as a whole, the sovereign debtor’s policy toward international lenders, and the political constraints to which a sovereign debtor may be subject. The risk associated with sovereign debt is heightened with respect to emerging market issuers.

 

Fund Performance

Historical Fund performance, which varies over time, can provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart that follows shows the annual total returns of the Fund for each full calendar year since the Fund commenced operations, or the past 10 calendar years, as applicable. The table that follows the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual total returns, both before and after taxes. This table also shows how the Fund’s performance compares to that of the JP Morgan GBI-EM Global Diversified Index Unhedged USD, a relevant broad-based securities index. Index returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. All returns assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information for the Fund is available online on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

 

 

Year

The Fund’s year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2023 was 6.09%.

 

Best and Worst Quarter Returns (for the periods reflected in the bar chart above)

 

  Return Quarter/Year
Highest Return 10.00% 4Q/2020
Lowest Return (14.87)% 1Q/2020

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown and are not relevant if you hold your shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases, the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period.

 

Average Annual Total Returns for the periods ending December 31, 2022

 

WisdomTree Emerging Markets Local Debt Fund 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years
Return Before Taxes Based on NAV (9.26)%

(2.75)%

(2.37)%

Return After Taxes on Distributions

(9.88)%

(3.72)%

(3.43)%

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares

(5.47)%

(2.40)%

(2.11)%

JP Morgan GBI-EM Global Diversified Index Unhedged USD (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

(11.69)%

(2.51)%

(2.03)%

 

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     25

 Table of Contents

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser

WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. (“WisdomTree Asset Management” or the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Mellon Investments Corporation (the “Sub-Adviser”) serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers

The Fund is managed by the Sub-Adviser's Fixed Income Portfolio Management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are identified below.

 

David Nieman, Vice President and Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since November 2020.

 

Nancy Rogers, CFA, Managing Director and Head of Fixed Income Index Portfolio Management, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since December 2020.

 

Gregg Lee, CFA, Senior Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since January 2021.

 

William Newton, CFA, Vice President, Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since January 2024.

 

Buying and Selling Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. This means that individual shares of the Fund are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, currently NYSE Arca, and may only be purchased and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). In addition, an investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares (“Creation Units”), which only certain institutions or large investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities and/or U.S. cash.

 

Tax Information

The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), WisdomTree Asset Management 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 Fund 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.

 

26     WisdomTree Trust Prospectus

 
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WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund

 

Investment Objective

The WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of an index that measures the performance of the market for floating rate public obligations of the U.S. Treasury.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below. The fees are expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average net assets.

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)  
Management Fees  0.15%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees None
Other Expenses  0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses  0.15%

 

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 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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
  $ 15 $ 48 $ 85 $ 192

 

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Fund’s Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 167% of the average value of its portfolio, excluding the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares.

 

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

The Fund employs a “passive management” – or indexing – investment approach designed to track the performance of the Bloomberg U.S. Treasury Floating Rate Bond Index (the “Index”). The Fund generally uses a representative sampling strategy to achieve its investment objective, meaning it generally will invest in a sample of the securities in the Index whose risk, return and other characteristics resemble the risk, return and other characteristics of the Index as a whole. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) will be invested in the constituent securities of the Index and investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially identical to the economic characteristics of such constituent securities.

 

Bloomberg Index Services Limited, the Index Provider, designed the Index to measure the performance of floating rate public obligations of the U.S. Treasury (“Floating Rate Notes” or “FRNs”). Unlike fixed-rate U.S. Treasury bonds, FRNs have interest rates that adjust periodically. FRN interest rates may be higher or lower than the interest rates of fixed-rate bonds of comparable quality with similar maturities. The FRN interest rate is the sum of an index (or coupon) rate and a spread. The FRN index rate is based on the highest accepted discount rate of the most recent 13-week T-bill and is reset daily based on a weekly rate according to the result of the most recent 13-week T-bill auction. The spread applied to an FRN is determined at its initial auction and is the highest accepted discount margin in that auction. The spread remains the same for the life of an FRN. Because FRN index rates reset daily based on a weekly rate, the value of an FRN generally fluctuates much less than that of a fixed-rate bond in response to market interest rate movements. FRN values, however, will decline if their index rates do not rise as much, or as quickly, as interest rates in general.

 

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     27

 

The Index is rules-based and market capitalization weighted and comprised of FRNs that have a minimum amount outstanding of one billion as of the monthly rebalancing date, which falls on the last business day of each month. FRNs eligible for inclusion in the Index must have an issue date on or before the Index rebalancing date. The Index excludes fixed-rate securities, Treasury inflation-protected securities, convertible bonds and bonds with survivor put options. Both the FRNs and the FRNs’ coupon and principal payments must be denominated in U.S. dollars. FRNs pay interest rates quarterly until maturity.

 

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. While certain of the risks are prioritized in terms of their relevance to the Fund’s investment strategies, most risks are presented in alphabetical order. This ordering approach is designed to both facilitate an investor’s understanding of the Fund’s risks and enable an investor to easily locate and compare risks among funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its investment objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the sections in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Principal Risk Information About the Funds” and “Additional Non-Principal Risk Information.”

 

Floating Rate Notes Risk. Securities with floating rates can be less sensitive to interest rate changes than securities with fixed interest rates but may decline in value and negatively affect the Fund’s NAV, particularly if changes in prevailing interest rates are sudden or more frequent than the rate changes for the Floating Rate Notes, which occur weekly currently.

 

Investment Risk. As with all investments, an investment in the Fund is subject to loss, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount of an investment, over short or long periods of time.

 

Market Risk. The trading prices of securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors, such as economic, financial or political events that impact the entire market, market segments, or specific issuers. The Fund’s NAV and market price may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time.

 

Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of the Fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from the Fund’s daily NAV, and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV (premium) or less than the NAV (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines.

 

Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund generally redeems shares for cash or otherwise includes cash as part of its redemption proceeds. 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 Fund redeemed shares in kind.

 

Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from a breach in cybersecurity, including cyber-attacks. A breach in cybersecurity, intentional or unintentional, may adversely impact the Fund in many ways, including, but not limited to, disruption of the Fund’s operational capacity, loss of proprietary information, theft or corruption of data, denial-of-service attacks on websites or network resources, and the unauthorized release of confidential information. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund’s third-party service providers, market makers, institutional investors authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund (i.e., Authorized Participants), or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches.

 

Index and Data Risk. The Fund is not “actively” managed and seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Index. The Index may not perform as intended. The Index Provider has the right to make adjustments to the composition and/or operation of the Index or to cease making the Index available without regard to the particular interests of the Fund or its shareholders. If the computers or other facilities of the Index Provider, Index calculation agent, data providers and/or relevant stock exchange malfunction for any reason, calculation and dissemination of Index values may be delayed and trading in Fund shares may be suspended for a period of time. Errors in Index data, Index calculations and/or the construction of the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and/or corrected by the Index Provider, Index calculation agent or other applicable party for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. The potential risk of a continuing error may be particularly heightened in the case of the Index, which is generally not used as a benchmark by other funds or managers.

 

28     WisdomTree Trust Prospectus

 

 

Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that fixed income securities will decline in value because of an increase in interest rates and changes to other factors, such as perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness. Interest rates may change suddenly or unexpectedly and have unpredictable impacts on the financial markets and the Fund’s investments. To the extent that the Fund holds fixed income securities with longer durations, such securities generally are subject to greater interest rate risk.

 

Investment Style Risk. The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, the Index regardless of their investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform the Index or take defensive positions in declining markets. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to the Index.

 

Issuer Credit Risk. The financial condition of an issuer of a debt security or other instrument may cause such issuer to default, become unable to pay interest or principal due or otherwise fail to honor its obligations or cause such issuer to be perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as being in such situations. The value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning in response to issuer defaults, changes in the credit ratings of the Fund’s portfolio investments and/or perceptions related thereto.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the actual or perceived financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

 

Non-Correlation Risk. As with all index funds, the performance of the Fund and that of the Index may differ from each other for a variety of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses and portfolio transaction costs, while also managing cash flows and potential operational inefficiencies, not incurred by its Index. In addition, when markets are volatile, the ability to sell securities at fair market prices may be adversely affected and may result in additional trading costs and/or increase the non-correlation risk. The Fund’s use of sampling techniques also may affect its ability to achieve close correlation with its Index.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in those few issuers, and may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence. As a result, changes in the market value of a single security could cause greater fluctuations in the value of Fund shares than would occur in a diversified fund.

 

Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may result in a high portfolio turnover rate. Higher portfolio turnover may result in the Fund paying higher transaction costs and the distribution of additional capital gains, which may generate greater tax liabilities for shareholders who hold the shares in taxable accounts. Increased transaction costs and distributions of capital gains may negatively affect the Fund’s performance.

 

Fund Performance

Historical Fund performance, which varies over time, can provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart that follows shows the annual total returns of the Fund for each full calendar year since the Fund commenced operations, or the past 10 calendar years, as applicable. The table that follows the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual total returns, both before and after taxes. This table also shows how the Fund’s performance compares to that of the Index and the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, a relevant broad-based securities index. Index returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. All returns assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. If WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. (“WisdomTree Asset Management” or the “Adviser”) had not waived certain fees during certain periods, the Fund’s returns would have been lower. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information for the Fund is available online on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     29

 Table of Contents

 

 

 

Year

The Fund’s year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2023 was 3.95%.

 

Best and Worst Quarter Returns (for the periods reflected in the bar chart above)

 

  Return Quarter/Year
Highest Return 0.93% 4Q/2022
Lowest Return (0.08)% 3Q/2015

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown and are not relevant if you hold your shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases, the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period.

 

Average Annual Total Returns for the periods ending December 31, 2022

 

WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund 1 Year 5 Years Since Inception
February 4, 2014
Return Before Taxes Based on NAV

1.88%

1.26%

0.87%

Return After Taxes on Distributions

1.14%

0.77%

0.53%

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares

1.11%

0.75%

0.52%

Bloomberg U.S. Treasury Floating Rate Bond Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

2.07%

1.44%

1.04%

Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

(13.01)%

0.02%

1.23%

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser

WisdomTree Asset Management serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Mellon Investments Corporation (the “Sub-Adviser”) serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers

The Fund is managed by the Sub-Adviser's Fixed Income Portfolio Management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are identified below.

 

David Nieman, Vice President and Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since November 2020.

 

Nancy Rogers, CFA, Managing Director and Head of Fixed Income Index Portfolio Management, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since December 2020.

 

Gregg Lee, CFA, Senior Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since January 2021.

 

William Newton, CFA, Vice President, Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since January 2024.

 

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 Table of Contents

 

Buying and Selling Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. This means that individual shares of the Fund are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, currently NYSE Arca, and may only be purchased and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). In addition, an investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares (“Creation Units”), which only certain institutions or large investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities and/or U.S. cash.

 

Tax Information

The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), WisdomTree Asset Management 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 Fund 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.

 

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     31

 Table of Contents

 

WisdomTree Interest Rate Hedged High Yield Bond Fund

 

Investment Objective

The WisdomTree Interest Rate Hedged High Yield Bond Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the WisdomTree U.S. High Yield Corporate Bond, Zero Duration Index (the “Index”).

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below. The fees are expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average net assets.

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)  
Management Fees  0.43%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees None
Other Expenses  0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses  0.43%

 

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 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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
  $ 44 $ 138 $ 241 $ 542

 

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Fund’s Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 21% of the average value of its portfolio, excluding the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares.

 

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

The Fund employs a “passive management” – or indexing – investment approach designed to track the performance of the Index. The Fund generally uses a representative sampling strategy to achieve its investment objective, meaning it generally will invest in a sample of the securities in the Index whose risk, return and other characteristics resemble the risk, return and other characteristics of the Index as a whole. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) will be invested in the constituent securities of the Index and investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially identical to the economic characteristics of such constituent securities.

 

WisdomTree, Inc., the Index Provider and parent company of the Fund’s investment adviser, WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. (“WisdomTree Asset Management” or the “Adviser”), designed the Index to provide long exposure to the performance of selected issuers in the U.S. non-investment-grade corporate bond (“junk bonds”) market that are deemed to have favorable fundamental and income characteristics while seeking to manage interest rate risk through the use of short positions in U.S. Treasury securities (“U.S. Treasuries”).

 

The Index is comprised of long and short positions. The long positions of the Index (the “Long Basket”) intends to replicate the WisdomTree U.S. High Yield Corporate Bond Index. The Index employs a multi-step process, which screens based on fundamentals to identify bonds with favorable characteristics and then tilts to those individual securities which offer favorable income characteristics. The goal is to improve the risk-adjusted performance of traditional market capitalization-weighted approaches of high-yield corporate bond indexes.

 

32     WisdomTree Trust Prospectus

 

 

The Long Basket of the Index is comprised of corporate bonds of public issuers domiciled in the United States. To be eligible for inclusion in the Index, bonds must meet the following criteria: (i) pay fixed-rate coupons; (ii) have at least $500 million in par amount outstanding; (iii) have a remaining maturity of at least one year; and (iv) rated non-investment grade by Moody’s or S&P Global Ratings. In addition, the issuer cannot have defaulted or be in distress. For the purposes of the Index, bonds issued under Regulation S are excluded from eligibility. All bonds are denominated in U.S. dollars.

 

The Long Basket of the Index utilizes a “screen and tilt” rules-based approach to isolate bonds that have favorable fundamentals and tilts to those bonds with favorable income and valuation characteristics. Once the Index universe is defined from the eligibility criteria, individual bonds are assigned a factor score against their broad sector peers (e.g., industrials, financials, utilities, consumer and energy) based on rules-based fundamental metrics distinguishing cash flow characteristics and discards the securities with poor cash flow performance. Remaining bonds are ranked within each sector based on liquidity scores and then screened so that the bonds receiving the lowest 5% of liquidity scores in each sector are removed from the Index. Each remaining bond is then assigned an income tilt score based on its probability of default relative to the other remaining bonds in its sector. Income tilt scores are then used to determine a bond’s weight in the Index, with bonds receiving higher income tilt scores being more heavily weighted. Issuer exposure is capped at 2%, with excess exposure distributed to the remaining bonds on a pro-rata basis.

 

The short positions of the Index (the “Short Basket”) holds short positions in U.S. Treasuries (or futures providing exposure to U.S. Treasuries in the case of the Fund) that seek to correspond to a duration exposure matching the duration of the Long Basket, with a targeted total duration exposure of approximately zero years (e.g., if the average duration of bonds in the Long Basket is approximately two years, the Short Basket will seek an average duration of approximately two years among its short holdings of U.S. Treasuries, with an aggregate targeted Index duration of approximately zero years). Duration is a measure used to determine the sensitivity of a portfolio to changes in interest rates with a longer duration portfolio being more sensitive to changes in interest rates. The Fund may also short U.S. Treasuries.

 

The Index weights the short exposure to U.S. Treasuries of differing maturities in an attempt to offset the sensitivity of the long exposure to overall moves in interest rates across the yield curve. The Long Basket and Short Basket of the Index are rebalanced on a monthly basis.

 

The Index is designed to have greater returns than an equivalent non-interest rate hedged investment when U.S. Treasury rates are rising significantly. Conversely, the Index is designed to have lower returns than an equivalent non-interest rate hedged investment when U.S. Treasury rates are falling significantly.

 

To the extent the Index concentrates (i.e., holds more than 25% of its total assets) in the securities of a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent as its Index.

 

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. While certain of the risks are prioritized in terms of their relevance to the Fund’s investment strategies, most risks are presented in alphabetical order. This ordering approach is designed to both facilitate an investor’s understanding of the Fund’s risks and enable an investor to easily locate and compare risks among funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its investment objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the sections in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Principal Risk Information About the Funds” and “Additional Non-Principal Risk Information.”

 

Hedging Risk. The Index seeks to mitigate the potential negative impact of using U.S. Treasury rates on the performance of bonds in the long portfolio of the Index. The Index’s short positions in U.S. Treasuries, as well as the Fund’s holdings to obtain such exposure, are not intended to mitigate credit risk or mitigate changes in bond values associated with investor perceptions regarding, or premiums placed on, credit risk (i.e., credit risk premiums) or otherwise mitigate risks associated with other factors influencing the price of such bonds, which may have a greater impact than rising or falling interest rates. There is no guarantee that the short positions will completely eliminate the interest rate risk of the long bond positions. The Index’s short positions also may fail to provide the targeted duration in light of changes in the shape of the U.S. Treasury curve. The interest rate profile between the long and short exposures of the Index and Fund could also evolve significantly between monthly rebalancing. This could lead to temporary dislocations between the Fund’s intended and actual sensitivity to interest rates, which could impact performance. There may also be significant differences between the bond markets and U.S. Treasury markets (including futures markets for U.S. Treasuries) that could result in the Fund’s short positions performing ineffectively, exacerbating losses or causing greater tracking error. In addition, when interest rates fall, an unhedged investment in the same long portfolio of bonds will outperform the Fund.

 

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     33

 

High Yield Securities Risk. Higher yielding, high risk debt securities, sometimes referred to as junk bonds, may present additional risk because these securities may be less liquid and present more credit risk than investment grade bonds. The price of high yield securities tends to be more susceptible to issuer-specific operating results and outlook and to real or perceived adverse economic and competitive industry conditions. High yield securities may be regarded as predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s continuing ability to meet principal and interest payments.

 

Investment Risk. As with all investments, an investment in the Fund is subject to loss, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount of an investment, over short or long periods of time.

 

Market Risk. The trading prices of securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors, such as economic, financial or political events that impact the entire market, market segments, or specific issuers. The Fund’s NAV and market price may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time.

 

Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of the Fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from the Fund’s daily NAV, and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV (premium) or less than the NAV (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines.

 

Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund generally redeems shares for cash or otherwise includes cash as part of its redemption proceeds. 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 Fund redeemed shares in kind.

 

Counterparty and Issuer Credit Risk. The financial condition of an issuer of a debt security or other instrument or a counterparty to a derivative or other contract may cause such issuer or counterparty to default, become unable to pay interest or principal due or otherwise fail to honor its obligations or cause such issuer or counterparty to be perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as being in such situations. Because the issuers of junk bonds may be in uncertain financial health, the prices of their debt securities could be more vulnerable to bad economic news, or even the expectation of bad news than investment grade debt securities. The value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning in response to issuer or counterparty defaults, changes in the credit ratings of the Fund’s portfolio investments and/or perceptions related thereto.

 

Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from a breach in cybersecurity, including cyber-attacks. A breach in cybersecurity, intentional or unintentional, may adversely impact the Fund in many ways, including, but not limited to, disruption of the Fund’s operational capacity, loss of proprietary information, theft or corruption of data, denial-of-service attacks on websites or network resources, and the unauthorized release of confidential information. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund’s third-party service providers, market makers, institutional investors authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund (i.e., Authorized Participants), or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches.

 

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive their performance from an underlying reference asset, such as a commodity, index, interest rate or inflation rate. Generally, derivatives are sophisticated investments that may pose risks that are different from or greater than those posed by investing directly in the underlying reference asset. For example, the return on a derivative instrument may not correlate with that of its underlying reference asset, and minimal requisite initial investments necessary to purchase derivatives positions may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts. Derivatives also can be volatile and may be less liquid than other investments. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money. The Fund expects to use futures contracts to implement its principal investment strategies. Other risks specific to futures contracts, as well as other risks of derivatives, generally, such as counterparty and issuer credit risk, interest rate risk, market risk and issuer-specific risk, are described in greater detail elsewhere in the Fund’s Prospectus.

 

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Geopolitical Risk. The United States may experience security concerns, war, threats of war, aggression and/or conflict, terrorism, economic uncertainty, sanctions or the threat of sanctions, natural and environmental disasters, the spread of infectious illness, widespread disease or other public health issues and/or systemic market dislocations that lead to increased short-term market volatility and have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and markets generally, each of which may negatively impact the Fund’s investments.

 

Index and Data Risk. The Fund is not “actively” managed and seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Index. The Index may not perform as intended. The Index Provider has the right to make adjustments to the composition and/or operation of the Index or to cease making the Index available without regard to the particular interests of the Fund or its shareholders. If the computers or other facilities of the Index Provider, Index calculation agent, data providers and/or relevant stock exchange malfunction for any reason, calculation and dissemination of Index values may be delayed and trading in Fund shares may be suspended for a period of time. Errors in Index data, Index calculations and/or the construction of the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and/or corrected by the Index Provider, Index calculation agent or other applicable party for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. The potential risk of a continuing error may be particularly heightened in the case of the Index, which is generally not used as a benchmark by other funds or managers.

 

Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk with respect to the Fund is the risk that short exposure to fixed income securities will decline in value because of decreases in interest rates and changes to other factors, such as perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness.

 

Investment Style Risk. The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, the Index regardless of their investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform the Index or take defensive positions in declining markets. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to the Index.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the actual or perceived financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

 

Non-Correlation Risk. As with all index funds, the performance of the Fund and that of the Index may differ from each other for a variety of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses and portfolio transaction costs, while also managing cash flows and potential operational inefficiencies, not incurred by its Index. In addition, when markets are volatile, the ability to sell securities at fair market prices may be adversely affected and may result in additional trading costs and/or increase the non-correlation risk. The Fund’s use of sampling techniques also may affect its ability to achieve close correlation with its Index.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in those few issuers, and may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence. As a result, changes in the market value of a single security could cause greater fluctuations in the value of Fund shares than would occur in a diversified fund.

 

Short Sales Risk. The Fund will engage in “short sale” transactions. The Fund will lose value if the security or instrument that is the subject of a short sale increases in value. The Fund also may enter into short positions in U.S. Treasuries as well as a short derivative position through futures contracts on U.S. Treasuries. If the price of the security or derivative that is the subject of a short sale increases, then the Fund will incur a loss equal to the increase in price from the time that the short sale was entered into plus any premiums and interest paid to a third party in connection with the short sale. The risk of loss on a shorted position arises from the increase in value of the security sold short and is potentially unlimited unlike the risk of loss on a long position, which is limited to the amount paid for the investment plus transaction costs. Therefore, short sales involve the risk that losses may be exaggerated, potentially losing more money than the actual cost of the investment. Also, there is the risk that the third party to the short sale may fail to honor its contract terms, causing a loss to the Fund. Further, in times of unusual or adverse economic, market or political conditions, the Fund may not be able to fully or partially implement its short selling strategy.

 

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     35

 

U.S. Treasury Exposure Risk. The methodology used to select U.S. Treasuries for the Index (or U.S. Treasuries or U.S. Treasury futures, in the case of the Fund) for different maturities within the short exposure could produce performance that is dissimilar from other U.S. Treasuries of similar maturities. For example, unique supply and demand conditions could create a market whereby selected U.S. Treasuries or positions trade either more or less expensively than other U.S. Treasuries or positions of the same maturity, which could negatively impact the performance of the Fund.

 

Yield Curve Risk. The Index and Fund will have short exposure to U.S. Treasuries with different maturity dates and weightings. Interest rates do not change uniformly for U.S. Treasuries of differing lengths of maturity in response to market and economic conditions. For example, interest rates for shorter maturity U.S. Treasuries may rise or fall more or less than interest rates for longer maturity U.S. Treasuries and rates may rise for U.S. Treasuries of certain maturities but fall for U.S. Treasuries of different maturities. Changes in interest rates among U.S. Treasuries with different maturities could impact returns produced both by the long exposures and short exposures of the Index and Fund in different ways, which could lead to unexpected performance, including Fund losses. The methodology of the Index and the investment approach of the Fund seek to address this risk, but are subject to the constraints of providing the desired overall interest rate profile and evolving market conditions, and there is no guarantee that any such risk will be reduced or the desired outcome will occur.

 

Fund Performance

Historical Fund performance, which varies over time, can provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart that follows shows the annual total returns of the Fund for each full calendar year since the Fund commenced operations, or the past 10 calendar years, as applicable. The table that follows the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual total returns, both before and after taxes. This table also shows how the Fund’s performance compares to that of the Index and the ICE BofA Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield Index, a relevant broad-based securities index. Index returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. All returns assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information for the Fund is available online on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

The Fund’s objective, strategies and index changed effective June 1, 2020. Prior to June 1, 2020, Fund performance reflects the Fund’s former investment objective and strategies, which tracked the performance, before fees and expenses, of the ICE BofA Merrill Lynch 0-5 Year U.S. High Yield Constrained, Zero Duration Index.

 

 

 

Year

The Fund’s year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2023 was 7.17%.

 

Best and Worst Quarter Returns (for the periods reflected in the bar chart above)

 

  Return Quarter/Year
Highest Return 5.48% 2Q/2016
Lowest Return (13.59)% 1Q/2020

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown and are not relevant if you hold your shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases, the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period.

 

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Average Annual Total Returns for the periods ending December 31, 2022

 

WisdomTree Interest Rate Hedged High Yield Bond Fund* 1 Year 5 Years Since Inception
December 18, 2013
Return Before Taxes Based on NAV (2.34)% 2.00% 2.69%
Return After Taxes on Distributions (4.33)% (0.06)% 0.66%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares (1.39)% 0.65% 1.15%
ICE BofA Merrill Lynch 0-5 Year U.S. High Yield Constrained, Zero Duration Index/ WisdomTree U.S. High Yield Corporate Bond, Zero Duration Spliced Index** (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (2.03)% 2.89% 3.43%
ICE BofA Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

(11.22)%

2.12%

3.59%

* The Fund’s objective changed effective June 1, 2020. Prior to that date, the Fund sought to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the ICE BofA Merrill Lynch 0-5 Year U.S. High Yield Constrained, Zero Duration Index. As of June 1, 2020, the Fund’s objective seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the WisdomTree U.S. High Yield Corporate Bond, Zero Duration Index.
** ICE BofA Merrill Lynch 0-5 Year U.S. High Yield Constrained, Zero Duration Index through June 1, 2020; WisdomTree U.S. High Yield Corporate Bond, Zero Duration Index thereafter.

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser

WisdomTree Asset Management serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Voya Investment Management Co. LLC (“Voya IM”) serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers

The Fund is managed by Voya IM’s High Yield Portfolio Management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are identified below.

 

Randall Parrish, CFA, Managing Director and Head of Public Credit, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since June 2020.

 

Mohamed Basma, CFA, Managing Director and Head of Leveraged Credit, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since June 2023.

 

Buying and Selling Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. This means that individual shares of the Fund are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, currently NASDAQ, and may only be purchased and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). In addition, an investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares (“Creation Units”), which only certain institutions or large investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities and/or U.S. cash.

 

Tax Information

The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.

 

 

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Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), WisdomTree Asset Management 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 Fund 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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WisdomTree Interest Rate Hedged U.S. Aggregate Bond Fund

 

Investment Objective

The WisdomTree Interest Rate Hedged U.S. Aggregate Bond Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Bloomberg Rate Hedged U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, Zero Duration (the “Index”).

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below. The fees are expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average net assets. 

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)  
Management Fees 0.23%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees None
Other Expenses 0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.23%

 

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 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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
  $ 24 $ 74 $ 130 $ 293

 

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Fund’s Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 171% of the average value of its portfolio, including TBA Transactions (as defined below), and 132% of the average value of its portfolio (excluding TBA Transactions).

 

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

The Fund employs a “passive management” – or indexing – investment approach designed to track the performance of the Index. The Fund generally uses a representative sampling strategy to achieve its investment objective, meaning it generally will invest in a sample of the securities in the Index whose risk, return and other characteristics resemble the risk, return and other characteristics of the Index as a whole. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) will be invested in the constituent securities of the Index and investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially identical to the economic characteristics of such constituent securities.

 

Bloomberg Index Services Limited, the Index Provider, designed the Index to provide long exposure to the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index while seeking to manage interest rate risk through the use of short positions in U.S. Treasury securities (“U.S. Treasuries”). The Index is comprised of a long portfolio and short portfolio. The “long portfolio” of the Index intends to replicate the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, which broadly captures the U.S. investment grade, fixed income securities market and is comprised of U.S. Treasuries and U.S. Government-related bonds (e.g., obligations of the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities), corporate bonds, mortgage-backed pass-through securities, commercial mortgage-backed securities and asset-backed securities that are publicly offered for sale in the United States. The “short portfolio” of the Index holds short positions in U.S. Treasuries (or futures providing exposure to U.S. Treasuries in the case of the Fund) that seek to correspond to a duration exposure matching the duration of the long portfolio, with a targeted total duration exposure of approximately zero years (e.g., if the average duration of bonds in the long portfolio is approximately five years, the short portfolio will seek an average duration of approximately five years among its short holdings of U.S. Treasuries, with an aggregate targeted duration of Index holdings of approximately zero years). Duration is a measure used to determine the sensitivity of a portfolio to changes in interest rates with a longer duration portfolio being more sensitive to changes in interest rates.

 

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     39

 

The Index methodology weights the short exposure to U.S. Treasuries of differing maturities in an attempt to offset the sensitivity of the long exposure to overall moves in interest rate. Additionally, the Index seeks to mitigate, to the extent possible, relative moves in interest rates across the yield curve. The long portfolio and short portfolio of the Index are rebalanced on a monthly basis.

 

The Index is designed to have greater returns than an equivalent non-interest rate hedged investment when U.S. Treasury rates are rising significantly. Conversely, the Index is designed to have lower returns than an equivalent non-interest rate hedged investment when U.S. Treasury rates are falling significantly.

 

A significant portion of the bonds represented in the long portion of the Index are U.S. agency mortgage-backed pass-through securities. U.S. agency mortgage-backed pass-through securities are securities issued by entities such as Government National Mortgage Association (“GNMA”) and Federal National Mortgage Association (“FNMA”) that are backed by pools of mortgages. Most transactions in mortgage-backed pass-through securities occur through standardized contracts for future delivery in which the exact mortgage pools to be delivered are not specified until a few days prior to settlement, referred to as a “to-be-announced transaction” or “TBA Transaction.” In a TBA Transaction, the buyer and seller agree upon general trade parameters such as agency, settlement date, par amount and price. The actual pools delivered generally are determined two days prior to the settlement date; however, it is not anticipated that the Fund will receive pools, but instead will participate in rolling TBA Transactions. The Fund expects to enter into such contracts on a regular basis. The Fund, pending settlement of such contracts, will invest its assets in high-quality, liquid short term instruments.

 

In seeking to track the short portfolio of the Index, the Fund will invest in short positions in futures contracts on U.S. Treasuries. The Fund may also short U.S. Treasuries.

 

To the extent the Index concentrates (i.e., holds more than 25% of its total assets) in the securities of a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent as its Index.

 

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. While certain of the risks are prioritized in terms of their relevance to the Fund’s investment strategies, most risks are presented in alphabetical order. This ordering approach is designed to both facilitate an investor’s understanding of the Fund’s risks and enable an investor to easily locate and compare risks among funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its investment objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the sections in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Principal Risk Information About the Funds” and “Additional Non-Principal Risk Information.”

 

Hedging Risk. The Index seeks to mitigate the potential negative impact of using U.S. Treasury rates on the performance of bonds in the long portfolio of the Index. The Index’s short positions in U.S. Treasuries, as well as the Fund’s holdings to obtain such exposure, are not intended to mitigate credit risk or mitigate changes in bond values associated with investor perceptions regarding, or premiums placed on, credit risk (i.e., credit risk premiums) or otherwise mitigate risks associated with other factors influencing the price of such bonds, which may have a greater impact than rising or falling interest rates. There is no guarantee that the short positions will completely eliminate the interest rate risk of the long bond positions. The Index’s short positions also may fail to provide the targeted duration in light of changes in the shape of the U.S. Treasury curve. The interest rate profile between the long and short exposures of the Index and Fund could also evolve significantly between monthly rebalancing. This could lead to temporary dislocations between the Fund’s intended and actual sensitivity to interest rates, which could impact performance. There may also be significant differences between the bond markets and U.S. Treasury markets (including futures markets for U.S. Treasuries) that could result in the Fund’s short positions performing ineffectively, exacerbating losses or causing greater tracking error. In addition, when interest rates fall, an unhedged investment in the same long portfolio of bonds will outperform the Fund.

 

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Investment Risk. As with all investments, an investment in the Fund is subject to loss, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount of an investment, over short or long periods of time.

 

Market Risk. The trading prices of securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors, such as economic, financial or political events that impact the entire market, market segments, or specific issuers. The Fund’s NAV and market price may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time.

 

Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of the Fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from the Fund’s daily NAV, and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV (premium) or less than the NAV (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines.

 

Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund generally redeems shares for cash or otherwise includes cash as part of its redemption proceeds. 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 Fund redeemed shares in kind.

 

Counterparty and Issuer Credit Risk. As a result of its financial condition, the issuer of a debt security or other instrument, or the counterparty to a derivative or other contract, may default, become unable to pay interest or principal due or otherwise fail to honor its obligations or be perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as being in such situations. The value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning in response to issuer or counterparty defaults, changes in the credit ratings of the Fund’s portfolio investments and/or perceptions related thereto.

 

Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from a breach in cybersecurity, including cyber-attacks. A breach in cybersecurity, intentional or unintentional, may adversely impact the Fund in many ways, including, but not limited to, disruption of the Fund’s operational capacity, loss of proprietary information, theft or corruption of data, denial-of-service attacks on websites or network resources, and the unauthorized release of confidential information. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund’s third-party service providers, market makers, institutional investors authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund (i.e., Authorized Participants), or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches.

 

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive their performance from an underlying reference asset, such as a commodity, index, interest rate or inflation rate. Generally, derivatives are sophisticated investments that may pose risks that are different from or greater than those posed by investing directly in the underlying reference asset. For example, the return on a derivative instrument may not correlate with that of its underlying reference asset, and minimal requisite initial investments necessary to purchase derivatives positions may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts. Derivatives also can be volatile and may be less liquid than other investments. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money. The Fund expects to use futures contracts to implement its principal investment strategies. Other risks specific to futures contracts, as well as other risks of derivatives, generally, such as counterparty and issuer credit risk, interest rate risk, market risk and issuer-specific risk, are described in greater detail elsewhere in the Fund’s Prospectus.

 

Geopolitical Risk. The United States may experience security concerns, war, threats of war, aggression and/or conflict, terrorism, economic uncertainty, sanctions or the threat of sanctions, natural and environmental disasters, the spread of infectious illness, widespread disease or other public health issues and/or systemic market dislocations that lead to increased short-term market volatility and have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and markets generally, each of which may negatively impact the Fund’s investments.

 

Index and Data Risk. The Fund is not “actively” managed and seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Index. The Index may not perform as intended. The Index Provider has the right to make adjustments to the composition and/or operation of the Index or to cease making the Index available without regard to the particular interests of the Fund or its shareholders. If the computers or other facilities of the Index Provider, Index calculation agent, data providers and/or relevant stock exchange malfunction for any reason, calculation and dissemination of Index values may be delayed and trading in Fund shares may be suspended for a period of time. Errors in Index data, Index calculations and/or the construction of the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and/or corrected by the Index Provider, Index calculation agent or other applicable party for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. The potential risk of a continuing error may be particularly heightened in the case of the Index, which is generally not used as a benchmark by other funds or managers.

 

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     41

 

Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk with respect to the Fund is the risk that short exposure to fixed income securities will decline in value because of decreases in interest rates.

 

Investment Style Risk. The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, the Index regardless of their investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform the Index or take defensive positions in declining markets. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to the Index.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the actual or perceived financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

 

Mortgage- and Asset-Backed Securities Risk. Movements in interest rates (both increases and decreases) may quickly and significantly reduce the value of certain types of mortgage- and asset-backed securities. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities can also be subject to the risk of default on the underlying mortgages or other assets. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities are subject to fluctuations in yield due to prepayment rates that may be faster or slower than expected. Default or bankruptcy of a counterparty to a mortgage-related transaction would expose the Fund to possible loss.

 

Non-Correlation Risk. As with all index funds, the performance of the Fund and that of the Index may differ from each other for a variety of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses and portfolio transaction costs, while also managing cash flows and potential operational inefficiencies, not incurred by its Index. In addition, when markets are volatile, the ability to sell securities at fair market prices may be adversely affected and may result in additional trading costs and/or increase the non-correlation risk. The Fund’s use of sampling techniques also may affect its ability to achieve close correlation with its Index.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in those few issuers, and may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence. As a result, changes in the market value of a single security could cause greater fluctuations in the value of Fund shares than would occur in a diversified fund.

 

Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may result in a high portfolio turnover rate. Higher portfolio turnover may result in the Fund paying higher transaction costs and the distribution of additional capital gains, which may generate greater tax liabilities for shareholders who hold the shares in taxable accounts. Increased transaction costs and distributions of capital gains may negatively affect the Fund’s performance.

 

Short Sales Risk. The Fund will engage in “short sale” transactions. The Fund will lose value if the security or instrument that is the subject of a short sale increases in value. The Fund also may enter into short positions in U.S. Treasuries as well as a short derivative position through futures contracts on U.S. Treasuries. If the price of the security or derivative that is the subject of a short sale increases, then the Fund will incur a loss equal to the increase in price from the time that the short sale was entered into plus any premiums and interest paid to a third party in connection with the short sale. The risk of loss on a shorted position arises from the increase in value of the security sold short and is potentially unlimited unlike the risk of loss on a long position, which is limited to the amount paid for the investment plus transaction costs. Therefore, short sales involve the risk that losses may be exaggerated, potentially losing more money than the actual cost of the investment. Also, there is the risk that the third party to the short sale may fail to honor its contract terms, causing a loss to the Fund. Further, in times of unusual or adverse economic, market or political conditions, the Fund may not be able to fully or partially implement its short selling strategy.

 

TBA Transactions Risk. The Fund may enter into “TBA Transactions” to purchase or sell mortgage-backed securities for a fixed price at a future date. In a TBA Transaction, a seller, for example, agrees to deliver a mortgage-backed security to the Fund at a future date, but the seller does not specify the particular security to be delivered. Instead, the Fund agrees to accept any security that meets specified terms. There can be no assurance that a security purchased on a forward commitment basis will ultimately be issued or delivered by the counterparty. During the settlement period, the Fund will still bear the risk of any decline in the value of the security to be delivered. Because TBA Transactions do not require the purchase and sale of identical securities, the characteristics of the security delivered to the Fund may be less favorable than the security delivered to the dealer. If the counterparty to a transaction fails to deliver the securities, the Fund could suffer a loss. At the time of its acquisition, a TBA security may be valued at less than the purchase price.

 

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U.S. Treasury Exposure Risk. The methodology used to select U.S. Treasuries for the Index (or U.S. Treasuries or U.S. Treasury futures, in the case of the Fund) for different maturities within the short exposure could produce performance that is dissimilar from other U.S. Treasuries of similar maturities. For example, unique supply and demand conditions could create a market whereby selected U.S. Treasuries or positions trade either more or less expensively than other U.S. Treasuries or positions of the same maturity, which could negatively impact the performance of the Fund.

 

Yield Curve Risk. The Index and Fund will have short exposure to U.S. Treasuries with different maturity dates and weightings. Interest rates do not change uniformly for U.S. Treasuries of differing lengths of maturity in response to market and economic conditions. For example, interest rates for shorter maturity U.S. Treasuries may rise or fall more or less than interest rates for longer maturity U.S. Treasuries and rates may rise for U.S. Treasuries of certain maturities but fall for U.S. Treasuries of different maturities. Changes in interest rates among U.S. Treasuries with different maturities could impact returns produced both by the long exposures and short exposures of the Index and Fund in different ways, which could lead to unexpected performance, including Fund losses. The methodology of the Index and the investment approach of the Fund seek to address this risk, but are subject to the constraints of providing the desired overall interest rate profile and evolving market conditions, and there is no guarantee that any such risk will be reduced or the desired outcome will occur.

 

Fund Performance

Historical Fund performance, which varies over time, can provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart that follows shows the annual total returns of the Fund for each full calendar year since the Fund commenced operations, or the past 10 calendar years, as applicable. The table that follows the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual total returns, both before and after taxes. This table also shows how the Fund’s performance compares to that of the Index and the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, a relevant broad-based securities index. Index returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. All returns assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information for the Fund is available online on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

 

 

Year

 

The Fund’s year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2023 was 4.75%.

 

Best and Worst Quarter Returns (for the periods reflected in the bar chart above) 

 

  Return Quarter/Year
Highest Return 2.34% 2Q/2020
Lowest Return (3.33)% 1Q/2020

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown and are not relevant if you hold your shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases, the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period.

 

 

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Average Annual Total Returns for the periods ending December 31, 2022

 

WisdomTree Interest Rate Hedged U.S. Aggregate Bond Fund 1 Year 5 Years Since Inception
December 18, 2013
Return Before Taxes Based on NAV

1.04%

1.43%

1.23%

Return After Taxes on Distributions

(1.64)%

0.12%

0.14%

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares

1.26%

0.62%

0.50%

Bloomberg Rate Hedged U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, Zero Duration (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

0.95%

1.44%

1.47%

Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

(13.01)%

0.02%

1.37%

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser

WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. (“WisdomTree Asset Management” or the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Mellon Investments Corporation (the “Sub-Adviser”) serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers

The Fund is managed by the Sub-Adviser's Fixed Income Portfolio Management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are identified below.

 

David Nieman, Vice President and Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since November 2020.

 

Nancy Rogers, CFA, Managing Director and Head of Fixed Income Index Portfolio Management, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since December 2020.

 

Gregg Lee, CFA, Senior Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since January 2021.

 

William Newton, CFA, Vice President, Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since January 2024.

 

Buying and Selling Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. This means that individual shares of the Fund are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, currently NASDAQ, and may only be purchased and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). In addition, an investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares (“Creation Units”), which only certain institutions or large investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities and/or U.S. cash.

 

Tax Information

The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains. 

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), WisdomTree Asset Management 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 Fund 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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WisdomTree Mortgage Plus Bond Fund

 

Investment Objective

The WisdomTree Mortgage Plus Bond Fund (the “Fund”) seeks income and capital appreciation.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below. The fees are expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average net assets. 

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)  
Management Fees 0.45%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees None
Other Expenses 0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.45%

 

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 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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
  $ 46 $ 144 $ 252 $ 567

 

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Fund’s Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 93% of the average value of its portfolio, including TBA Transactions (as defined below), and 41% of the average value of its portfolio (excluding TBA Transactions).

 

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

The Fund is an actively managed exchange traded fund (“ETF”) that utilizes an investment process combining both macro and fundamental research by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings, in mortgage-related debt and other securitized debt.

 

The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by primarily investing in mortgage-related fixed income securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities (collectively, “Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities”), such as the Government National Mortgage Association (“GNMA”), the Federal National Mortgage Association (“FNMA”) or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“FHLMC”). Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities include residential mortgage-backed securities, commercial mortgage-backed securities, and structured products such as collateralized mortgage obligations and real estate mortgage investment conduits (“REMICs”).

 

The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings, in other securitized credit securities such as non-agency or privately issued residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, collateralized loan obligations and credit risk transfer securities (collectively, “Securitized Credit Securities”).

 

 

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The Fund may purchase mortgage-backed securities through standardized contracts for future delivery in which the exact mortgage pools to be delivered are not specified until a few days prior to settlement, referred to as a “to-be-announced transaction” or “TBA Transaction.” In a TBA Transaction, the buyer and seller agree upon general trade parameters such as agency, settlement date, par amount and price. The actual pools delivered generally are determined two days prior to the settlement date and the Fund has the option to either accept delivery or roll into another TBA Transaction. The Fund, pending settlement of such TBA Transaction, will invest its assets in high quality, liquid short-term instruments such as U.S. Treasury securities, securities issued by government agencies, repurchase agreements and commercial paper.

 

The universe of mortgage-related debt and other securitized debt currently includes securities that are rated “investment grade” as well as “non-investment grade” (commonly referred to as “junk bonds” or “high yield bonds,” which are considered to be speculative). The Fund intends to provide a broad-based exposure and therefore intends to invest in both investment grade and non-investment grade securities, but will not invest more than 20% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings, in non-investment grade securities. Securities rated investment grade generally are considered to be of higher credit quality and subject to lower default risk. Although securities rated below investment grade may offer the potential for higher yields, they generally are subject to a higher potential risk of loss.

 

The Fund may invest in securities of varying maturity or duration and with either fixed or adjustable rates. The Fund attempts to maintain an aggregate portfolio duration of up to seven years under normal market conditions. Aggregate portfolio duration is important to investors as an indication of the Fund’s sensitivity to changes in interest rates. The Fund’s actual portfolio duration may be longer or shorter depending on market conditions.

 

The Fund’s investments in mortgage-related debt and other securitized debt may be represented by derivatives such as futures contracts. The Fund may invest in derivatives for various investment purposes, including to hedge interest rate risk, as a substitute for, or to gain exposure to, a position in an underlying asset, to reduce transaction costs, to maintain full market exposure (i.e., adjust investment characteristics to more closely approximate the characteristics of the market in which the Fund invests), to manage cash flows, or to preserve capital. The Fund’s use of derivatives will be collateralized by investments in liquid assets.

 

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. While certain of the risks are prioritized in terms of their relevance to the Fund’s investment strategies, most risks are presented in alphabetical order. This ordering approach is designed to both facilitate an investor’s understanding of the Fund’s risks and enable an investor to easily locate and compare risks among funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its investment objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the sections in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Principal Risk Information About the Funds” and “Additional Non-Principal Risk Information.”

 

Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk. The Fund primarily invests in mortgage-related fixed income securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities such as GNMA, FNMA and FHLMC. FNMA and FHLMC are generally backed only by the general creditworthiness and reputation of the U.S. government agency, government-sponsored entity, or government corporation issuing the security and are not guaranteed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury or backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. As a result, there is uncertainty as to the current status of many obligations of FNMA or FHLMC and other agencies that are placed under conservatorship of the U.S. government. GNMA securities are generally backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Agency mortgage-backed securities may be more sensitive to changes in interest rates than other types of debt securities. Movements in interest rates (both increases and decreases) may quickly and significantly reduce the value of agency mortgage-backed securities. Agency mortgage-backed securities are subject to fluctuations in yield due to prepayment rates that may be faster or slower than expected. Agency mortgage-backed securities can also be subject to the risk of default on the underlying mortgages. Default or bankruptcy of a counterparty to a mortgage-related transaction would expose the Fund to possible loss. These risks may reduce the Fund’s returns.

 

Investment Risk. As with all investments, an investment in the Fund is subject to loss, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount of an investment, over short or long periods of time.

 

Market Risk. The trading prices of securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors, such as economic, financial or political events that impact the entire market, market segments, or specific issuers. The Fund’s NAV and market price may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time.

 

Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of the Fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from the Fund’s daily NAV, and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV (premium) or less than the NAV (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines.

 

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Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed using proprietary investment strategies and processes. There can be no guarantee that these strategies and processes will be successful or that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.

 

Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund generally redeems shares for cash or otherwise includes cash as part of its redemption proceeds. 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 Fund redeemed shares in kind.

 

Counterparty and Issuer Credit Risk. As a result of its financial condition, the issuer of a debt security or other instrument, or the counterparty to a derivative or other contract, may default, become unable to pay interest or principal due or otherwise fail to honor its obligations or be perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as being in such situations. The value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning in response to issuer or counterparty defaults, changes in the credit ratings of the Fund’s portfolio investments and/or perceptions related thereto.

 

Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from a breach in cybersecurity, including cyber-attacks. A breach in cybersecurity, intentional or unintentional, may adversely impact the Fund in many ways, including, but not limited to, disruption of the Fund’s operational capacity, loss of proprietary information, theft or corruption of data, denial-of-service attacks on websites or network resources, and the unauthorized release of confidential information. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund’s third-party service providers, market makers, institutional investors authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund (i.e., Authorized Participants), or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches.

 

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive their performance from an underlying reference asset, such as a commodity, index, interest rate or inflation rate. Generally, derivatives are sophisticated investments that may pose risks that are different from or greater than those posed by investing directly in the underlying reference asset. For example, the return on a derivative instrument may not correlate with that of its underlying reference asset, and minimal requisite initial investments necessary to purchase derivatives positions may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts. Derivatives also can be volatile and may be less liquid than other investments. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money. The Fund expects to use futures contracts to implement its principal investment strategies. Other risks specific to futures contracts, as well as other risks of derivatives, generally, such as counterparty and issuer credit risk, interest rate risk, market risk and issuer-specific risk, are described in greater detail elsewhere in the Fund’s Prospectus.

 

Geopolitical Risk. The United States may experience security concerns, war, threats of war, aggression and/or conflict, terrorism, economic uncertainty, sanctions or the threat of sanctions, natural and environmental disasters, the spread of infectious illness, widespread disease or other public health issues and/or systemic market dislocations that lead to increased short-term market volatility and have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and markets generally, each of which may negatively impact the Fund’s investments.

 

High Yield Securities Risk. Higher yielding, high risk debt securities, sometimes referred to as junk bonds, may present additional risk because these securities may be less liquid and present more credit risk than investment grade bonds. The price of high yield securities tends to be more susceptible to issuer-specific operating results and outlook and to real or perceived adverse economic and competitive industry conditions. High yield securities may be regarded as predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s continuing ability to meet principal and interest payments.

 

Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that fixed income securities will decline in value because of an increase in interest rates and changes to other factors, such as perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness. Interest rates may change suddenly or unexpectedly and have unpredictable impacts on the financial markets and the Fund’s investments. To the extent that the Fund holds fixed income securities with longer durations, such securities generally are subject to greater interest rate risk. For example, the price of a security with a seven-year duration would be expected to drop by approximately 7% in response to a 1% increase in interest rates.

 

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     47

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the actual or perceived financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

 

Liquidity Risk. The Fund may be unable to sell illiquid or less liquid securities at an advantageous time or price or achieve its desired level of exposure. Liquidity risk may result from the lack of an active market, reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed income securities, and may be magnified in a rising interest rate environment and/or with respect to particular types of securities, such as Securitized Credit Securities.

 

Non-Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk. Non-agency mortgage-backed securities are subject to heightened risks as compared to agency mortgage-backed securities, including that non-agency mortgage-backed securities are not subject to the same underwriting requirements for the underlying mortgages that are applicable to those mortgage-backed securities that have a government or government-sponsored entity guarantee. As a result, the mortgage loans underlying non-agency mortgage-backed securities may, and frequently do, have less favorable collateral, credit risk, or other underwriting characteristics than government or government-sponsored mortgage-backed securities and have wider variances in a number of terms including interest rate, term, size, purpose, and borrower characteristics. There may be a limited market for such securities.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in those few issuers, and may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence. As a result, changes in the market value of a single security could cause greater fluctuations in the value of Fund shares than would occur in a diversified fund.

 

Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may result in a high portfolio turnover rate. Higher portfolio turnover may result in the Fund paying higher transaction costs and the distribution of additional capital gains, which may generate greater tax liabilities for shareholders who hold the shares in taxable accounts. Increased transaction costs and distributions of capital gains may negatively affect the Fund’s performance.

 

Prepayment Risk and Extension Risk. Many issuers have a right to prepay their fixed income securities. Issuers may be more likely to prepay their securities if interest rates fall. If this happens, the Fund will not benefit from the rise in the market price of the securities that normally accompanies a decline in interest rates and will be forced to reinvest prepayment proceeds at a time when yields on securities available in the market are lower than the yield on prepaid securities. The Fund may also lose any premium it paid on prepaid securities. Many issuers have a right to prepay their fixed income securities. Issuers may be more likely to prepay their securities if interest rates fall. If this happens, the Fund will not benefit from the rise in the market price of the securities that normally accompanies a decline in interest rates and will be forced to reinvest prepayment proceeds at a time when yields on securities available in the market are lower than the yield on prepaid securities. If interests rate rise, then issuers may extend the duration of a fixed income security so that it is paid off more slowly than expected and the value of the security may decline.

 

Repurchase Agreement Risk. In the event that the other party to a repurchase agreement defaults on its obligations, the Fund would generally seek to sell the underlying security serving as collateral for the repurchase agreement. However, the value of collateral may be insufficient to satisfy the counterparty's obligation and/or the Fund may encounter delay and incur costs before being able to sell the security. Such a delay may involve loss of interest or a decline in price of the security, which could result in a loss. In addition, if the Fund is characterized by a court as an unsecured creditor, it would be at risk of losing some or all of the principal and interest involved in the transaction.

 

Securitized Credit Securities Risk. Movements in interest rates (both increases and decreases) may quickly and significantly reduce the value of other types of Securitized Credit Securities, such as asset-backed securities, collateralized loan obligations and credit risk transfer securities. Securitized Credit Securities can also be subject to the risk of default on the underlying assets, while also being subject to greater liquidity risk than other types of asset-backed securities. Many Securitized Credit Securities are also subject to prepayment risk in a declining interest rate environment and extension risk in an increasing rate environment.

 

TBA Transactions Risk. The Fund may enter into “TBA Transactions” to purchase or sell mortgage-backed securities for a fixed price at a future date. In a TBA Transaction, a seller, for example, agrees to deliver a mortgage-backed security to the Fund at a future date, but the seller does not specify the particular security to be delivered. Instead, the Fund agrees to accept any security that meets specified terms. There can be no assurance that a security purchased on a forward commitment basis will ultimately be issued or delivered by the counterparty. During the settlement period, the Fund will still bear the risk of any decline in the value of the security to be delivered. Because TBA Transactions do not require the purchase and sale of identical securities, the characteristics of the security delivered to the Fund may be less favorable than the security delivered to the dealer. If the counterparty to a transaction fails to deliver the securities, the Fund could suffer a loss. At the time of its acquisition, a TBA security may be valued at less than the purchase price.

 

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Fund Performance

Historical Fund performance, which varies over time, can provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart that follows shows the annual total returns of the Fund for each full calendar year since the Fund commenced operations, or the past 10 calendar years, as applicable. The table that follows the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual total returns, both before and after taxes. This table also shows how the Fund’s performance compares to that of the Bloomberg U.S. Securitized MBS/ABS/CMBS Index, a relevant broad-based securities index. Index returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. All returns assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information for the Fund is available online on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

 

 

Year

The Fund’s year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2023 was (1.79)%.

 

Best and Worst Quarter Returns (for the periods reflected in the bar chart above) 

 

  Return Quarter/Year
Highest Return 2.78% 2Q/2020
Lowest Return (4.85)% 3Q/2022

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown and are not relevant if you hold your shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases, the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period.

 

Average Annual Total Returns for the periods ending December 31, 2022 

 

WisdomTree Mortgage Plus Bond Fund 1 Year Since Inception
November 14, 2019
Return Before Taxes Based on NAV

(11.68)%

(2.50)%

Return After Taxes on Distributions

(12.54)%

(3.37)%

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares

(6.90)%

(2.22)%

Bloomberg U.S. Securitized MBS/ABS/CMBS Index (Reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses or taxes)

(11.67)%

(2.84)%

 

 

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Management

 

Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser

WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. (“WisdomTree Asset Management” or the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Voya Investment Management Co. LLC (the “Voya IM” or the “Sub-Adviser”) serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers

The Fund is managed by Voya IM's Securitized Credit and Agency RMBS Portfolio Management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are identified below.

 

Dave Goodson, Managing Director, Head of Securitized Fixed Income and Senior Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in November 2019.

 

Jonathan Abshire, CFA, Portfolio Manager, Structured Finance, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in November 2019.

 

Jeff Dutra, CFA, Senior Portfolio Manager, Structured Finance, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in November 2019.

 

Justin McWhorter, CFA, CPA, Senior Portfolio Manager, Structured Finance, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in November 2019.

 

Buying and Selling Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. This means that individual shares of the Fund are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, currently NYSE Arca, and may only be purchased and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). In addition, an investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares (“Creation Units”), which only certain institutions or large investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities and/or U.S. cash.

 

Tax Information

The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), WisdomTree Asset Management 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 Fund 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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WisdomTree Yield Enhanced U.S. Aggregate Bond Fund

 

Investment Objective

The WisdomTree Yield Enhanced U.S. Aggregate Bond Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Enhanced Yield Index (the “Index”).

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below. The fees are expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average net assets. 

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)  
Management Fees 0.12%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees None
Other Expenses 0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.12%

 

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 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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
  $ 12 $ 39 $ 68 $ 154

 

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Fund’s Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 117% of the average value of its portfolio, including TBA Transactions (as defined below), and 50% of the average value of its portfolio (excluding TBA Transactions).

 

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

The Fund employs a “passive management” – or indexing – investment approach designed to track the performance of the Index. The Fund generally uses a representative sampling strategy to achieve its investment objective, meaning it generally will invest in a sample of the securities in the Index whose risk, return and other characteristics resemble the risk, return and other characteristics of the Index as a whole. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) will be invested in constituent securities of the Index and investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially identical to the economic characteristics of such constituent securities.

 

Bloomberg Index Services Limited, the Index Provider, designed the Index to broadly capture the U.S. investment grade, fixed income securities market while seeking to enhance yield within desired risk parameters and constraints. Rather than re-weight individual securities, the Index uses a rules-based approach to re-weight subgroups of the Bloomberg US Aggregate Index with the aim of earning a higher yield while broadly retaining the risk characteristics of the Bloomberg US Aggregate Index. The subgroups identified in the Bloomberg US Aggregate Index generally reflect the different risk dimensions of investment grade securities such as sector (asset class) exposure (i.e., treasuries, agency, credit, and securitized), interest rate risk (i.e., duration) and credit risk (i.e., spread). Yield can typically be increased by shifting exposure among any of a number of these risk dimensions and re-weighting the Index constituents. At the security level, the Index draws from the universe defined by the Bloomberg US Aggregate Index, which consists of investment grade debt securities denominated in U.S. dollars. To be eligible for inclusion in the Index, debt securities must have at least $250 million in par amount outstanding with the exception of asset-backed securities and commercial mortgage-backed securities which must have an original deal size of $500 million, a minimum tranche size of $25 million, and at least $300 million of the original transaction still outstanding. The Index consists of U.S. Treasuries and U.S. Government-related bonds (e.g., obligations of the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities), corporate bonds, mortgage-backed pass- through securities, commercial mortgage-backed securities, and asset-backed securities that are publicly offered for sale in the United States. Index constituents are U.S. dollar-denominated debt securities with fixed rate coupons that have at least one year to final maturity.

 

 

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The Index segments the eligible universe of U.S. investment grade fixed income securities into subgroups defined by sector, quality and maturity characteristics. The subgroups cover the treasury sector, agency sector, credit markets, and securitized securities. The Index employs a proprietary weighting methodology that seeks to enhance yield by allocating more weight to subgroups with higher yields while maintaining defined risk constraints designed to mitigate volatility and turnover drift from the eligible U.S. investment grade fixed income universe. Subgroups with higher yields are identified based on a subgroup’s yield to worst measurements, rather than its yield to maturity. Yield to worst refers to the lowest potential yield that can be received on a bond without issuer default. The Index uses yield to worst measurements to determine the yield of each subgroup, except the mortgage-backed securities subgroups, which use yield to worst calculations of Treasury bonds whose maturities match the average life of their mortgage securities plus their option-adjusted spreads. However, to retain the broad risk characteristics of the Bloomberg US Aggregate Index, the Index also employs constraints that include caps on tracking error volatility, duration, sector and subgroup weights, and turnover. The Index’s constraints are capped relative to the constraints of the Bloomberg US Aggregate Index. The weights are determined at the subgroup level (negative weights are not permitted) and passed down to the individual security level, where each security’s weight is equal to the subgroup weight multiplied by its market capitalization weight within the subgroup. The Index is rebalanced on a monthly basis.

 

The duration range of the Index is expected to be within one year of the duration of the Bloomberg US Aggregate Index. Historically, such universe has had a duration range between approximately three and seven years. Duration is a measure used to determine the sensitivity of a portfolio to changes in interest rates with a longer duration portfolio being more sensitive to changes in interest rates. For example, the value of a fund with a portfolio duration of seven years would be expected to drop by 7% for every 1% increase in interest rates.

 

A significant portion of the bonds represented in the Index are U.S. agency mortgage-backed pass-through securities. U.S. agency mortgage-backed pass-through securities are securities issued by entities such as Government National Mortgage Association (“GNMA”) and Federal National Mortgage Association (“FNMA”) that are backed by pool of mortgages. Most transactions in mortgage-backed pass-through securities occur through standardized contracts for future delivery in which the exact mortgage pools to be delivered are not specified until a few days prior to settlement, referred to as a “to-be-announced transaction” or “TBA Transaction.” In a TBA Transaction, the buyer and seller agree upon general trade parameters such as agency, settlement date, par amount and price. The actual pools delivered generally are determined two days prior to the settlement date; however, it is not anticipated that the Fund will receive pools, but instead will participate in rolling TBA Transactions. The Fund expects to enter into such contracts on a regular basis. The Fund, pending settlement of such contracts, will invest its assets in high-quality, liquid short term instruments.

 

The Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in other fixed income securities and/or such other investments, including other exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) that invest in fixed income securities with characteristics similar to the Index constituents, that WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. (“WisdomTree Asset Management” or the “Adviser”) and/or Mellon Investments Corporation (“Mellon” or the “Sub-Adviser”) believe will help the Fund track the performance of the Index. Other fixed income securities will consist primarily of investment grade securities with similar risk characteristics as the Index constituents, but up to 5% of the Fund’s total assets may be held in non-investment grade securities with credit ratings deemed to be of no less than BB.

 

To the extent the Index concentrates (i.e., holds more than 25% of its total assets) in the securities of a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent as the Index.

 

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Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. While certain of the risks are prioritized in terms of their relevance to the Fund’s investment strategies, most risks are presented in alphabetical order. This ordering approach is designed to both facilitate an investor’s understanding of the Fund’s risks and enable an investor to easily locate and compare risks among funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its investment objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the sections in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Principal Risk Information About the Funds” and “Additional Non-Principal Risk Information.”

 

Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that fixed income securities will decline in value because of an increase in interest rates and changes to other factors, such as perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness. Interest rates may change suddenly or unexpectedly and have unpredictable impacts on the financial markets and the Fund’s investments. To the extent that the Fund holds fixed income securities with longer durations, such securities generally are subject to greater interest rate risk. For example, the price of a security with a seven-year duration would be expected to drop by approximately 7% in response to a 1% increase in interest rates.

 

Investment Risk. As with all investments, an investment in the Fund is subject to loss, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount of an investment, over short or long periods of time.

 

Market Risk. The trading prices of securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors, such as economic, financial or political events that impact the entire market, market segments, or specific issuers. The Fund’s NAV and market price may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time.

 

Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of the Fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from the Fund’s daily NAV, and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV (premium) or less than the NAV (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines.

 

Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund generally redeems shares for cash or otherwise includes cash as part of its redemption proceeds. 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 Fund redeemed shares in kind.

 

Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from a breach in cybersecurity, including cyber-attacks. A breach in cybersecurity, intentional or unintentional, may adversely impact the Fund in many ways, including, but not limited to, disruption of the Fund’s operational capacity, loss of proprietary information, theft or corruption of data, denial-of-service attacks on websites or network resources, and the unauthorized release of confidential information. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund’s third-party service providers, market makers, institutional investors authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund (i.e., Authorized Participants), or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches.

 

Index and Data Risk. The Fund is not “actively” managed and seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Index. The Index may not perform as intended. The Index Provider has the right to make adjustments to the composition and/or operation of the Index or to cease making the Index available without regard to the particular interests of the Fund or its shareholders. If the computers or other facilities of the Index Provider, Index calculation agent, data providers and/or relevant stock exchange malfunction for any reason, calculation and dissemination of Index values may be delayed and trading in Fund shares may be suspended for a period of time. Errors in Index data, Index calculations and/or the construction of the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and/or corrected by the Index Provider, Index calculation agent or other applicable party for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. The potential risk of a continuing error may be particularly heightened in the case of the Index, which is generally not used as a benchmark by other funds or managers.

 

 

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Investment Style Risk. The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, the Index regardless of their investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform the Index or take defensive positions in declining markets. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to the Index.

 

Issuer Credit Risk. The financial condition of an issuer of a debt security or other instrument may cause such issuer to default, become unable to pay interest or principal due or otherwise fail to honor its obligations or cause such issuer to be perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as being in such situations. The value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning in response to issuer defaults, changes in the credit ratings of the Fund’s portfolio investments and/or perceptions related thereto.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the actual or perceived financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

 

Mortgage- and Asset-Backed Securities Risk. Movements in interest rates (both increases and decreases) may quickly and significantly reduce the value of certain types of mortgage- and asset-backed securities. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities can also be subject to the risk of default on the underlying mortgages or other assets. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities are subject to fluctuations in yield due to prepayment rates that may be faster or slower than expected. Default or bankruptcy of a counterparty to a mortgage-related transaction would expose the Fund to possible loss.

 

Non-Correlation Risk. As with all index funds, the performance of the Fund and that of the Index may differ from each other for a variety of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses and portfolio transaction costs, while also managing cash flows and potential operational inefficiencies, not incurred by its Index. In addition, when markets are volatile, the ability to sell securities at fair market prices may be adversely affected and may result in additional trading costs and/or increase the non-correlation risk. The Fund’s use of sampling techniques also may affect its ability to achieve close correlation with its Index.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in those few issuers, and may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence. As a result, changes in the market value of a single security could cause greater fluctuations in the value of Fund shares than would occur in a diversified fund.

 

Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may result in a high portfolio turnover rate. Higher portfolio turnover may result in the Fund paying higher transaction costs and the distribution of additional capital gains, which may generate greater tax liabilities for shareholders who hold the shares in taxable accounts. Increased transaction costs and distributions of capital gains may negatively affect the Fund’s performance.

 

TBA Transactions Risk. The Fund may enter into “TBA Transactions” to purchase or sell mortgage-backed securities for a fixed price at a future date. In a TBA Transaction, a seller, for example, agrees to deliver a mortgage-backed security to the Fund at a future date, but the seller does not specify the particular security to be delivered. Instead, the Fund agrees to accept any security that meets specified terms. There can be no assurance that a security purchased on a forward commitment basis will ultimately be issued or delivered by the counterparty. During the settlement period, the Fund will still bear the risk of any decline in the value of the security to be delivered. Because TBA Transactions do not require the purchase and sale of identical securities, the characteristics of the security delivered to the Fund may be less favorable than the security delivered to the dealer. If the counterparty to a transaction fails to deliver the securities, the Fund could suffer a loss. At the time of its acquisition, a TBA security may be valued at less than the purchase price.

 

Fund Performance

Historical Fund performance, which varies over time, can provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart that follows shows the annual total returns of the Fund for each full calendar year since the Fund commenced operations, or the past 10 calendar years, as applicable. The table that follows the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual total returns, both before and after taxes. This table also shows how the Fund’s performance compares to that of the Index and the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, a relevant broad-based securities index. Index returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. All returns assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information for the Fund is available online on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

 

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Year

The Fund’s year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2023 was (0.01)%.

 

Best and Worst Quarter Returns (for the periods reflected in the bar chart above) 

 

  Return Quarter/Year
Highest Return 4.47% 2Q/2020
Lowest Return (6.89)% 1Q/2022

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown and are not relevant if you hold your shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases, the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period.

 

Average Annual Total Returns for the periods ending December 31, 2022

 

WisdomTree Yield Enhanced U.S. Aggregate Bond Fund 1 Year 5 Years Since Inception
July 9, 2015
Return Before Taxes Based on NAV

(15.21)%

(0.59)%

0.80%

Return After Taxes on Distributions

(16.12)%

(1.72)%

(0.38)%

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares

(8.99)%

(0.86)%

0.14%

Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Enhanced Yield Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

(15.06)%

(0.40)%

1.00%

Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

(13.01)%

0.02%

0.90%

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser

WisdomTree Asset Management serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Mellon serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers

The Fund is managed by the Sub-Adviser's Fixed Income Portfolio Management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are identified below.

 

David Nieman, Vice President and Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since November 2020.

 

Nancy Rogers, CFA, Managing Director and Head of Fixed Income Index Portfolio Management, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since December 2020.

 

Gregg Lee, CFA, Senior Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since January 2021. 

 

William Newton, CFA, Vice President, Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since January 2024.

 

 

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Buying and Selling Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. This means that individual shares of the Fund are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, currently NYSE Arca, and may only be purchased and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). In addition, an investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares (“Creation Units”), which only certain institutions or large investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities and/or U.S. cash.

 

Tax Information

The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), WisdomTree Asset Management 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 Fund 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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WisdomTree Yield Enhanced U.S. Short-Term Aggregate Bond Fund

 

Investment Objective

The WisdomTree Yield Enhanced U.S. Short-Term Aggregate Bond Fund (the “Fund”) will seek to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Bloomberg U.S. Short Aggregate Enhanced Yield Index (the “Index”).

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below. The fees are expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average net assets. 

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)  
Management Fees 0.12%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees None
Other Expenses 0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.12%

 

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 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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
  $ 12 $ 39 $ 68 $ 154

 

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Fund’s Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 124% of the average value of its portfolio, including TBA Transactions (as defined below), and 19% of the average value of its portfolio (excluding TBA Transactions).

 

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

The Fund employs a “passive management” – or indexing – investment approach designed to track the performance of the Index. The Fund generally uses a representative sampling strategy to achieve its investment objective, meaning it generally will invest in a sample of the securities in the Index whose risk, return and other characteristics resemble the risk, return and other characteristics of the Index as a whole. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) will be invested in constituent securities of the Index and investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially identical to the economic characteristics of such constituent securities.

 

Bloomberg Index Services Limited, the Index Provider, designed the Index to broadly capture the short-term U.S. investment grade, fixed income securities market while seeking to enhance yield within desired risk parameters and constraints. The Index is comprised of those subgroups of the Bloomberg US Aggregate Index (i.e., Treasuries, agencies, credit and securitized) with effective maturities generally shorter than five years (“ST Agg Universe”). The Index uses a rules-based approach to re-weight these subgroups to achieve higher yields, while managing risk through constraints on expected tracking error and turnover, as well as sector, duration, and credit exposure relative to the market value-weighted ST Agg Universe. Individual securities within a subgroup are market value-weighted within the subgroup. The Index is rebalanced on a monthly basis.

 

 

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The Index draws from the ST Agg Universe, which consists of U.S. dollar-denominated securities, including U.S. Treasuries, U.S. Government-related bonds, corporate bonds, mortgage-backed pass-through securities, commercial mortgage-backed securities, and asset-backed securities that are publicly offered for sale in the United States. These securities feature fixed rate coupons and have at least $300 million in par amount outstanding and one year to final maturity, with the exception of asset-backed securities and commercial mortgage-backed securities, which must have an original deal size of $500 million, a minimum tranche size of $25 million, and at least $300 million of the original transaction still outstanding.

 

The duration of the Index is generally expected not to exceed the duration of the ST Agg Universe by more than 0.5 years. The ST Agg Universe has historically had a duration range between approximately two and three years. Duration is a measure used to determine the sensitivity of a portfolio to changes in interest rates with a longer duration portfolio being more sensitive to changes in interest rates. For example, the value of a fund with a portfolio duration of three years would be expected to drop by 3% for every 1% increase in interest rates.

 

The Index includes U.S. agency mortgage-backed pass-through securities, which are securities issued by entities such as Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“FHLMC”) and Federal National Mortgage Association (“FNMA”) that are backed by pools of mortgages. Most transactions in mortgage-backed pass-through securities occur through standardized contracts for future delivery in which the exact mortgage pools to be delivered are not specified until a few days prior to settlement, referred to as a “to-be-announced transaction” or “TBA Transaction.” In a TBA Transaction, the buyer and seller agree upon general trade parameters such as agency, settlement date, par amount and price. The actual pools delivered generally are determined two days prior to the settlement date; however, it is not anticipated that the Fund will receive pools, but instead will participate in rolling TBA Transactions. The Fund expects to enter into such contracts on a regular basis. The Fund, pending settlement of such contracts, will invest its assets in high-quality, liquid short-term instruments.

 

The Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in other fixed income securities and/or such other investments, with characteristics similar to the Index constituents, that WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. (“WisdomTree Asset Management” or the “Adviser”) and/or Voya Investment Management Co. LLC (“Voya IM”), the investment sub-adviser, believe will help the Fund track the performance of the Index. Other fixed income securities will consist primarily of investment grade securities with similar risk characteristics as the Index constituents, but up to 5% of the Fund’s total assets may be held in non-investment grade securities (“junk bonds”) with credit ratings deemed to be of no less than BB.

 

To the extent the Index concentrates (i.e., holds more than 25% of its total assets) in the securities of a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent as the Index.

 

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. While certain of the risks are prioritized in terms of their relevance to the Fund’s investment strategies, most risks are presented in alphabetical order. This ordering approach is designed to both facilitate an investor’s understanding of the Fund’s risks and enable an investor to easily locate and compare risks among funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its investment objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the sections in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Principal Risk Information About the Funds” and “Additional Non-Principal Risk Information.”

 

Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that fixed income securities will decline in value because of an increase in interest rates and changes to other factors, such as perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness. Interest rates may change suddenly or unexpectedly and have unpredictable impacts on the financial markets and the Fund’s investments. To the extent that the Fund holds fixed income securities with longer durations, such securities generally are subject to greater interest rate risk. For example, the price of a security with a three-year duration would be expected to drop by approximately 3% in response to a 1% increase in interest rates.

 

Investment Risk. As with all investments, an investment in the Fund is subject to loss, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount of an investment, over short or long periods of time.

 

Market Risk. The trading prices of securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors, such as economic, financial or political events that impact the entire market, market segments, or specific issuers. The Fund’s NAV and market price may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time.

 

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Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of the Fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from the Fund’s daily NAV, and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV (premium) or less than the NAV (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines.

 

Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund generally redeems shares for cash or otherwise includes cash as part of its redemption proceeds. 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 Fund redeemed shares in kind.

 

Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from a breach in cybersecurity, including cyber-attacks. A breach in cybersecurity, intentional or unintentional, may adversely impact the Fund in many ways, including, but not limited to, disruption of the Fund’s operational capacity, loss of proprietary information, theft or corruption of data, denial-of-service attacks on websites or network resources, and the unauthorized release of confidential information. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund’s third-party service providers, market makers, institutional investors authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund (i.e., Authorized Participants), or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches.

 

Index and Data Risk. The Fund is not “actively” managed and seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Index. The Index may not perform as intended. The Index Provider has the right to make adjustments to the composition and/or operation of the Index or to cease making the Index available without regard to the particular interests of the Fund or its shareholders. If the computers or other facilities of the Index Provider, Index calculation agent, data providers and/or relevant stock exchange malfunction for any reason, calculation and dissemination of Index values may be delayed and trading in Fund shares may be suspended for a period of time. Errors in Index data, Index calculations and/or the construction of the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and/or corrected by the Index Provider, Index calculation agent or other applicable party for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. The potential risk of a continuing error may be particularly heightened in the case of the Index, which is generally not used as a benchmark by other funds or managers.

 

Investment Style Risk. The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, the Index regardless of their investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform the Index or take defensive positions in declining markets. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to the Index.

 

Issuer Credit Risk. The financial condition of an issuer of a debt security or other instrument may cause such issuer to default, become unable to pay interest or principal due or otherwise fail to honor its obligations or cause such issuer to be perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as being in such situations. The value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning in response to issuer defaults, changes in the credit ratings of the Fund’s portfolio investments and/or perceptions related thereto.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the actual or perceived financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

 

Mortgage- and Asset-Backed Securities Risk. Movements in interest rates (both increases and decreases) may quickly and significantly reduce the value of certain types of mortgage- and asset-backed securities. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities can also be subject to the risk of default on the underlying mortgages or other assets. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities are subject to fluctuations in yield due to prepayment rates that may be faster or slower than expected. Default or bankruptcy of a counterparty to a mortgage-related transaction would expose the Fund to possible loss.

 

Non-Correlation Risk. As with all index funds, the performance of the Fund and that of the Index may differ from each other for a variety of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses and portfolio transaction costs, while also managing cash flows and potential operational inefficiencies, not incurred by its Index. In addition, when markets are volatile, the ability to sell securities at fair market prices may be adversely affected and may result in additional trading costs and/or increase the non-correlation risk. The Fund’s use of sampling techniques also may affect its ability to achieve close correlation with its Index.

 

 

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Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in those few issuers, and may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence. As a result, changes in the market value of a single security could cause greater fluctuations in the value of Fund shares than would occur in a diversified fund.

 

Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may result in a high portfolio turnover rate. Higher portfolio turnover may result in the Fund paying higher transaction costs and the distribution of additional capital gains, which may generate greater tax liabilities for shareholders who hold the shares in taxable accounts. Increased transaction costs and distributions of capital gains may negatively affect the Fund’s performance.

 

TBA Transactions Risk. The Fund may enter into “TBA Transactions” to purchase or sell mortgage-backed securities for a fixed price at a future date. In a TBA Transaction, a seller, for example, agrees to deliver a mortgage-backed security to the Fund at a future date, but the seller does not specify the particular security to be delivered. Instead, the Fund agrees to accept any security that meets specified terms. There can be no assurance that a security purchased on a forward commitment basis will ultimately be issued or delivered by the counterparty. During the settlement period, the Fund will still bear the risk of any decline in the value of the security to be delivered. Because TBA Transactions do not require the purchase and sale of identical securities, the characteristics of the security delivered to the Fund may be less favorable than the security delivered to the dealer. If the counterparty to a transaction fails to deliver the securities, the Fund could suffer a loss. At the time of its acquisition, a TBA security may be valued at less than the purchase price.

 

Fund Performance

Historical Fund performance, which varies over time, can provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart that follows shows the annual total returns of the Fund for each full calendar year since the Fund commenced operations, or the past 10 calendar years, as applicable. The table that follows the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual total returns, both before and after taxes. This table also shows how the Fund’s performance compares to that of the Index and the Bloomberg U.S. Short Aggregate Composite Index, a relevant broad-based securities index. Index returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. All returns assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information for the Fund is available online on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

 

 

Year

The Fund’s year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2023 was 1.30%.

 

Best and Worst Quarter Returns (for the periods reflected in the bar chart above) 

 

  Return Quarter/Year
Highest Return 3.67% 2Q/2020
Lowest Return (3.86)% 1Q/2022

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown and are not relevant if you hold your shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases, the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period.

 

 

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Average Annual Total Returns for the periods ending December 31, 2022

 

WisdomTree Yield Enhanced U.S. Short-Term Aggregate Bond Fund 1 Year 5 Years Since Inception
May 18, 2017
Return Before Taxes Based on NAV (6.36)% 0.76% 0.75%
Return After Taxes on Distributions (6.87)% (0.04)% (0.06)%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares (3.76)% 0.26% 0.24%
Bloomberg U.S. Short Aggregate Enhanced Yield Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (6.80)% 0.60% 0.64%
Bloomberg U.S. Short Aggregate Composite Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (5.79)% 0.80% 0.74%

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser

WisdomTree Asset Management serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Voya IM serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers

The Fund is managed by Voya IM’s Multi-Sector Fixed Income Portfolio Management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are identified below.

 

Sean Banai, CFA, Head of Portfolio Management, Fixed Income, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in May 2017. 

 

Randall Parrish, CFA, Managing Director and Head of Public Credit, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in May 2017.

 

Dave Goodson, Managing Director, Head of Securitized Fixed Income and Senior Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in May 2017.

 

Brian Timberlake, CFA, PhD, Head of Fixed Income Research, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in May 2017.

 

Vinay Viralam, CFA, Multi-Sector Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since January 2024.

 

Buying and Selling Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. This means that individual shares of the Fund are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, currently Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc., and may only be purchased and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). In addition, an investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares (“Creation Units”), which only certain institutions or large investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities and/or U.S. cash.

 

Tax Information

The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.

 

 

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Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), WisdomTree Asset Management 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 Fund 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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WisdomTree Voya Yield Enhanced USD Universal Bond Fund

 

 

Investment Objective

The WisdomTree Voya Yield Enhanced USD Universal Bond Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Bloomberg US Universal Enhanced Yield Index (the “Index”).

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below. The fees are expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average net assets.

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)  
Management Fees 0.15%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees None
Other Expenses 0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.15%

 

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 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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
  $15 $48 $85 $192

 

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Fund’s Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal period, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 57% of the average value of its portfolio, including TBA Transactions (as defined below), and 53% of the average value of its portfolio (excluding TBA Transactions).

 

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

The Fund employs a “passive management” – or indexing – investment approach designed to track the performance of the Index. The Fund generally uses a representative sampling strategy to achieve its investment objective, meaning it generally will invest in a sample of the securities in the Index whose risk, return and other characteristics resemble the risk, return and other characteristics of the Index as a whole. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, will be invested in the constituent securities of the Index and investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially similar to the economic characteristics of such constituent securities, which may include to-be-announced (“TBA”) transactions in mortgage-backed securities, U.S. Treasury futures, and credit default swaps.

 

Bloomberg Index Services Limited, the Index Provider, designed the Index to seek to provide comprehensive exposure to the U.S. dollar (USD)-denominated bond market, while enhancing yield within desired risk parameters and constraints, as described below.

 

The Index is comprised of USD-denominated bonds. The Index deconstructs the USD-denominated bond market, as represented by USD-denominated, taxable bonds that are rated either investment grade (i.e., rated Baa3/BBB-/BBB- or above by Moody’s, S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”), and Fitch, respectively) or high yield (i.e., rated Ba1/BB+/BB+ or below by Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch, respectively), into one of the five categories of debt described below. The constituents in each category, except for US Investment Grade Debt, are weighted by market capitalization. The weighting of the constituents in the US Investment Grade Debt category is determined by the Index Provider’s proprietary weighting methodology, which is described below.

 

 

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US Investment Grade Debt – This category is designed to broadly capture the USD-denominated investment grade bond market, which consists of Treasuries, government-related and corporate bonds, mortgage-backed securities, and asset-backed securities publicly issued in the U.S. or global markets.
   
  The weight of this category is determined by assigning 50% of a weight determined in accordance with the Index Provider’s proprietary, rules-based weighting methodology to those issuers assigned to the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index and the other 50% of the weight to those issuers assigned to the Bloomberg US Aggregate Enhanced Yield Index. This proprietary weighting methodology is designed to earn a greater yield while generally seeking to maintain the risk characteristics of the market capitalization-weighted US Investment Grade Debt exposure.
   
Restricted Securities – This category consists of investment grade, USD-denominated privately-placed securities, including those sold in reliance on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (the “SEC”) Rule 144A and Regulation S, each of which is an exemption from the SEC registration requirements prescribed in Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) permitting, subject to certain conditions, the public resale of restricted securities.
   
Eurodollar Debt – Designed to broadly capture the USD-denominated investment grade Eurobond market, this category consists of investment grade debt denominated in U.S. dollars and publicly issued in non-U.S. developed/Eurobond markets.
   
US Corporate High Yield Debt – This category seeks to broadly capture the market of USD-denominated corporate bonds rated below investment grade, including debt issued by speculative issuers.
   
US Emerging Markets Debt – This category captures USD-denominated fixed-rate sovereign and corporate debt issued in emerging markets.

 

To be eligible for inclusion in the Index, Treasuries, government-related bonds, and investment grade corporate bonds must have at least $300 million par amount outstanding. Mortgage-backed securities must have at least $1 billion par amount outstanding. Commercial mortgage-backed securities must have at least a $500 million minimum deal size with at least $300 million outstanding remaining in the deal and a $25 million minimum tranche size. Asset-backed securities must have at least a $500 million minimum deal size and a $25 million minimum tranche size. Restricted securities and Eurodollar issues must have at least $300 million par outstanding. High yield corporate bonds must have at least $150 million par amount outstanding. Emerging markets issues must have at least $500 million par outstanding at the security level, and the corporate issuers of emerging market bonds must have at least $1 billion in outstanding debt trading in the market.

 

To the extent the Index concentrates (i.e., holds more than 25% of its total assets) in the securities of a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent as the Index. The Index is rebalanced on a monthly basis.

 

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. While certain of the risks are prioritized in terms of their relevance to the Fund’s investment strategies, most risks are presented in alphabetical order. This ordering approach is designed to both facilitate an investor’s understanding of the Fund’s risks and enable an investor to easily locate and compare risks among funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its investment objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the sections in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Principal Risk Information About the Funds” and “Additional Non-Principal Risk Information.”

 

Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that fixed income securities will decline in value because of an increase in interest rates and changes to other factors, such as perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness. Interest rates may change suddenly or unexpectedly and have unpredictable impacts on the financial markets and the Fund’s investments. To the extent that the Fund holds fixed income securities with longer durations, such securities generally are subject to greater interest rate risk.
   
Investment Risk. As with all investments, an investment in the Fund is subject to loss, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount of an investment, over short or long periods of time.

 

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Market Risk. The trading prices of securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors, such as economic, financial or political events that impact the entire market, market segments, or specific issuers. The Fund’s NAV and market price may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time.
   
Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of the Fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from the Fund’s daily NAV, and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV (premium) or less than the NAV (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines. Because securities held by the Fund may trade on, or have exposure to, foreign exchanges that are closed when the Fund’s primary listing exchange is open, the Fund is likely to experience premiums and discounts greater than those of domestic ETFs. Additionally, in stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings.
   
Capital Controls and Sanctions Risk. Economic conditions, such as volatile currency exchange rates and interest rates, political events, military action and other conditions may, without prior warning, lead to foreign government intervention (including intervention by the U.S. government with respect to foreign governments, economic sectors, foreign companies and related securities and interests) and the imposition of capital controls and/or sanctions, which may also include retaliatory actions of one government against another government, such as seizure of assets. Capital controls and/or sanctions include the prohibition of, or restrictions on, the ability to own or transfer currency, securities or other assets, which may potentially include derivative instruments related thereto. Capital controls and/or sanctions may also impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell, transfer, receive, deliver or otherwise obtain exposure to, foreign securities or currency, negatively impact the value and/or liquidity of such instruments, adversely affect the trading market and price for shares of the Fund, and cause the Fund to decline in value.
   
Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund generally redeems shares for cash or otherwise includes cash as part of its redemption proceeds. 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 Fund redeemed shares in kind.
   
Counterparty and Issuer Credit Risk. As a result of its financial condition, the issuer of a debt security or other instrument, or the counterparty to a derivative or other contract, may default, become unable to pay interest or principal due or otherwise fail to honor its obligations or be perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as being in such situations. The value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning in response to issuer or counterparty defaults, changes in the credit ratings of the Fund’s portfolio investments and/or perceptions related thereto.
   
Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from a breach in cybersecurity, including cyber-attacks. A breach in cybersecurity, intentional or unintentional, may adversely impact the Fund in many ways, including, but not limited to, disruption of the Fund’s operational capacity, loss of proprietary information, theft or corruption of data, denial-of-service attacks on websites or network resources, and the unauthorized release of confidential information. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund’s third-party service providers, market makers, institutional investors authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund (i.e., Authorized Participants), or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches.
   
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive their performance from an underlying reference asset, such as a commodity, index, interest rate or inflation rate. Generally, derivatives are sophisticated investments that may pose risks that are different from or greater than those posed by investing directly in the underlying reference asset. For example, the return on a derivative instrument may not correlate with that of its underlying reference asset, and minimal requisite initial investments necessary to purchase derivatives positions may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts. Derivatives also can be volatile and may be less liquid than other investments. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money. The Fund expects to use credit default swaps and Treasury futures to implement its principal investment strategies. Credit default swaps are particularly subject to counterparty credit, valuation and liquidity risks. Other risks specific to these types of derivatives instruments, as well as other risks of derivatives, generally, such as market risk and issuer-specific risk, are described in greater detail elsewhere in the Fund’s Prospectus.

 

 

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Emerging Markets Risk. Investments in securities and instruments traded in developing or emerging markets, or that provide exposure to such securities or markets, can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions not associated with investments in U.S. securities and instruments or investments in more developed international markets. Such conditions may impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell or otherwise transfer securities, adversely affect the trading market and price for Fund shares and cause the Fund to decline in value.
   
Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in non-U.S. securities involve political, regulatory, and economic risks that may not be present in investments in U.S. securities. For example, investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations, political or economic instability, or geographic events that adversely impact issuers of foreign securities. Investments in non-U.S. securities also may be subject to withholding or other taxes and may be subject to additional trading, settlement, custodial, and operational risks. These and other factors can make investments in the Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments. These risks may be heightened to the extent the Fund invests in companies domiciled in or otherwise tied to developing or emerging market countries.
   
Geopolitical Risk. Some countries and regions in which the Fund invests may experience security concerns, war, threats of war, aggression and/or conflict, terrorism, economic uncertainty, sanctions or the threat of sanctions, natural and environmental disasters, the spread of infectious illness, widespread disease or other public health issues and/or systemic market dislocations that lead to increased short-term market volatility and have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and markets generally, each of which may negatively impact the Fund’s investments.
   
High Yield Securities Risk. Higher yielding, high risk debt securities, sometimes referred to as junk bonds, may present additional risk because these securities may be less liquid and present more credit risk than investment grade bonds. The price of high yield securities tends to be more susceptible to issuer-specific operating results and outlook and to real or perceived adverse economic and competitive industry conditions. High yield securities may be regarded as predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s continuing ability to meet principal and interest payments.
   
Index and Data Risk. The Fund is not “actively” managed and seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Index. The Index may not perform as intended. The Index Provider has the right to make adjustments to the composition and/or operation of the Index or to cease making the Index available without regard to the particular interests of the Fund or its shareholders. If the computers or other facilities of the Index Provider, Index calculation agent, data providers and/or relevant stock exchange malfunction for any reason, calculation and dissemination of Index values may be delayed and trading in Fund shares may be suspended for a period of time. Errors in Index data, Index calculations and/or the construction of the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and/or corrected by the Index Provider, Index calculation agent or other applicable party for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. The potential risk of a continuing error may be particularly heightened in the case of the Index, which is generally not used as a benchmark by other funds or managers.
   
Investment Style Risk. The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, the Index regardless of their investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform the Index or take defensive positions in declining markets. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to the Index.
   
Large Shareholder Risk. Certain shareholders, including other funds or accounts advised by WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. (“WisdomTree Asset Management” or the “Adviser”) or Voya Investment Management Co. LLC (“Voya IM” or the “Sub-Adviser”), may from time to time own a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. Certain funds sub-advised by the Sub-Adviser and advised by an affiliate of the Sub-Adviser are expected to own a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder would not redeem its investment, that the size of the Fund would be maintained at such levels, or that the Fund would continue to meet applicable listing requirements. Redemptions by large shareholders could have a significant negative effect on the Fund. The need to meet such redemptions also could cause the Fund to increase its cash holdings, diluting its investment returns. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a significant percentage of the trading volume in the secondary market and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the Fund’s shares. Further, such sales may accelerate the realization of taxable income and/or gains to shareholders.

 

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Mortgage- and Asset-Backed Securities Risk. Movements in interest rates (both increases and decreases) may quickly and significantly reduce the value of certain types of mortgage- and asset-backed securities. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities can also be subject to the risk of default on the underlying mortgages or other assets. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities are subject to fluctuations in yield due to prepayment rates that may be faster or slower than expected. Default or bankruptcy of a counterparty to a mortgage-related transaction would expose the Fund to possible loss.
   
Non-Correlation Risk. As with all index funds, the performance of the Fund and that of the Index may differ from each other for a variety of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses and portfolio transaction costs, while also managing cash flows and potential operational inefficiencies, not incurred by its Index. In addition, when markets are volatile, the ability to sell securities at fair market prices may be adversely affected and may result in additional trading costs and/or increase the non-correlation risk. The Fund’s use of sampling techniques also may affect its ability to achieve close correlation with its Index.
   
Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in those few issuers, and may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence. As a result, changes in the market value of a single security could cause greater fluctuations in the value of Fund shares than would occur in a diversified fund.
   
Restricted Securities Risk. Restricted securities generally cannot be sold to the public and as a result, typically are subject to heightened liquidity risk. Restricted securities also may involve a high degree of business and financial risk, which may result in losses to the Fund.
   
Sovereign Debt Risk. The debt securities issued by sovereign entities may decline as a result of default or other adverse credit event resulting from a sovereign debtor’s unwillingness or inability to repay principal and pay interest in a timely manner, which may be affected by a variety of factors, including its cash flows, the extent of its reserves, the availability of sufficient foreign exchange on the date a payment is due, the relative size of the debt service burden to the economy as a whole, the sovereign debtor’s policy toward international lenders, and the political constraints to which a sovereign debtor may be subject. The risk associated with sovereign debt is heightened with respect to emerging market issuers.
   
TBA Transactions Risk. The Fund may enter into “TBA Transactions” to purchase or sell mortgage-backed securities for a fixed price at a future date. In a TBA Transaction, a seller, for example, agrees to deliver a mortgage-backed security to the Fund at a future date, but the seller does not specify the particular security to be delivered. Instead, the Fund agrees to accept any security that meets specified terms. There can be no assurance that a security purchased on a forward commitment basis will ultimately be issued or delivered by the counterparty. During the settlement period, the Fund will still bear the risk of any decline in the value of the security to be delivered. Because TBA Transactions do not require the purchase and sale of identical securities, the characteristics of the security delivered to the Fund may be less favorable than the security delivered to the dealer. If the counterparty to a transaction fails to deliver the securities, the Fund could suffer a loss. At the time of its acquisition, a TBA security may be valued at less than the purchase price.
   
U.S. Government Securities Risk. It is possible that the U.S. Government would not provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities if it is not required to do so by law. The ability of foreign governments to repay their obligations is adversely impacted by default, insolvency, bankruptcy or by political instability, including authoritarian and/or military involvement in governmental decision-making, armed conflict, civil war, social instability and the impact of these events and circumstances on a country’s economy and its government’s revenues.

 

Fund Performance

The Fund commenced operations on February 7, 2023, and therefore does not yet have performance history for a full calendar year. Once the Fund has completed a full calendar year of operations, a bar chart and table will be included that will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing the variability of the Fund’s return based on net assets and comparing the Fund’s performance to a broad measure of market performance. Updated performance information for the Fund is available online on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

 

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Management

 

Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser

WisdomTree Asset Management serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Voya IM serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers

The Fund is managed by Voya IM’s Fixed Income Portfolio Management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are identified below.

 

Sean Banai, CFA, Head of Portfolio Management, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in February 2023.

 

Dave Goodson, a Managing Director, Head of Securitized Investments and Senior Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in February 2023.

 

Randall Parrish, CFA, a Managing Director and Head of Public Credit, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in February 2023.

 

Brian Timberlake, CFA, PhD, Head of Fixed Income Research, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in February 2023.

 

Vinay Viralam, CFA, Multi-Sector Portfolio Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since January 2024.

 

Buying and Selling Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. This means that individual shares of the Fund are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, currently NASDAQ, and may only be purchased and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). In addition, an investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares (“Creation Units”), which only certain institutions or large investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities and/or U.S. cash.

 

Tax Information

The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), WisdomTree Asset Management 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 Fund 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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WisdomTree PutWrite Strategy Fund

 

Investment Objective

The WisdomTree PutWrite Strategy Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Volos U.S. Large Cap Target 2.5% PutWrite Index (the “Index”).

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below. The fees are expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average net assets.

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)  
Management Fees 0.44%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees None
Other Expenses 0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.44%

 

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 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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
  $ 45 $ 141 $ 246 $ 555

 

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Fund’s Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 12% of the average value of its portfolio, excluding the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares.

 

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

The Fund employs a “passive management” – or indexing – investment approach designed to track the performance of the Index. The Fund generally uses a representative sampling strategy to achieve its investment objective, meaning it generally will invest in a sample of the securities in the Index whose risk, return and other characteristics resemble the risk, return, and other characteristics of the Index as a whole. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) will be invested in constituent securities of the Index and investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially identical to the economic characteristics of such constituent securities.

 

The Index is provided by Volos Portfolio Solutions, Inc. (“Volos” or the “Index Provider”). The Index tracks the value of a cash-secured (i.e., collateralized) put option sales strategy, which consists of (1) selling (or “writing”) put options on the SPDR S&P 500® ETF Trust (“SPY”) (the “SPY Puts”) and (2) a cash collateral account that accrues interest at a theoretical three-month Treasury bill rate on a daily basis. SPY Puts are derivative instruments that typically rise in value when the price of SPY falls because SPY Puts are options to sell SPY at a designated strike price. All SPY Puts are exchange-listed standardized options. The Index’s put option sales strategy is designed to generate income when SPY exhibits neutral to positive performance with low volatility, as such performance is expected to decrease the hypothetical price of the sold SPY Puts. The Index selects SPY Puts that target a premium of 2.5% (i.e., the SPY Put costs approximately 2.5% of the official daily price of SPY). At any given time, the Index references two SPY Puts with expiration dates that are two weeks apart.

 

 

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In seeking to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Index, the Fund sells SPY Puts and holds U.S. Treasury bills. By selling a SPY Put, the Fund receives a premium from the option buyer. The premium will increase the Fund’s return if the sold SPY Put has decreased in price on the Roll Date (as defined in the next paragraph) relative to the premium received by the Fund from writing the option. The SPY Put will decrease in price if SPY has positive performance because the put option is more valuable when SPY decreases in price and/or experiences high volatility. If, however, the price of the sold SPY Put increases compared to the price of the SPY Put when written by the Fund (e.g., in response to SPY decreasing in price and/or experiencing high volatility), the Fund pays the buyer the difference between the SPY Put price on the Roll Date and the SPY Put price when written by the Fund. The Fund’s sale of cash-secured SPY Puts serves to partially offset a decline in the price of SPY to the extent of the premiums received. However, if the price of SPY increases beyond the premiums received, Fund returns would not be expected to increase accordingly. The Fund’s potential return is limited to the amount of the option premiums it receives.

 

The SPY Puts bought by the Fund are selected to target a premium of 2.5% (i.e., the cash received by the Fund from the buyer of the SPY Put is approximately 2.5% of the official daily price of SPY). At any given time, the Fund holds two SPY Puts with different expiration dates two weeks apart. The Fund closes out the SPY Puts one week prior to their expiration dates, either the first Friday or third Friday of each month, and newly selected SPY Puts are sold by the Fund on the same day (the “Roll Date”) in a process known as “rolling”. Rolling refers to the practice of closing out one options position and opening another with a different expiration date and/or a different strike price. When a SPY Put is closed out by the Fund on the Roll Date, the Fund selects a new SPY Put with a target expiration date of either the first Friday or third Friday of the following month. Each new SPY Put will also have a strike price that is the higher of (i) the “at the money” strike price (i.e., a strike price that is closest to but greater than the current market price of SPY), or (ii) the strike price for a SPY Put that has a premium closest to 2.5%.

 

By following the Index’s put option sales strategy, as described above, the Fund expects to operate in a manner similar to, and subject to the same risks as, the Index. The number of SPY Puts sold by the Fund varies but is limited by the amount held by the Fund in Treasury bills. At each Roll Date, any settlement from the existing SPY Puts is paid from the Treasury bill investments and new SPY Puts are sold. The revenue from their sale is added to the Fund’s Treasury bill account.

 

The Fund is managed in a way that seeks, under normal circumstances, to provide monthly distributions at a relatively stable level.

 

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. While certain of the risks are prioritized in terms of their relevance to the Fund’s investment strategies, most risks are presented in alphabetical order. This ordering approach is designed to both facilitate an investor’s understanding of the Fund’s risks and enable an investor to easily locate and compare risks among funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its investment objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the sections in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Principal Risk Information About the Funds” and “Additional Non-Principal Risk Information.”

 

Put Options Risk. Options may be subject to volatile swings in price influenced by changes in the value of the underlying instrument. The SPY Puts sold by the Fund may have imperfect correlation to the returns of the Index. Although the Fund collects premiums on the SPY Puts it writes, the Fund’s risk of loss if the price of SPY falls below the strike price and the SPY Puts are exercised as of the Roll Date (i.e., the Fund, as the seller of the SPY Puts, owes the buyer of the SPY Puts) may outweigh the gains to the Fund from the receipt of such option premiums. The potential return to the Fund is limited to the amount of option premiums it receives; however, the Fund can potentially lose up to the entire strike price of each option it sells.

 

Limited Upside Return Risk. By virtue of its put option sales strategy, Fund returns will be subject to an upside limitation on returns attributable to SPY, and the Fund will not participate in gains beyond such upside limitation. In the event an investor purchases Fund shares in between Roll Dates, and the share price of SPY falls in value to a level near or below the strike price, there may be little or no ability for that investor to experience a gain on an investment in Fund shares until the next Roll Date.

 

Rolling Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy is subject to risks related to rolling. To the extent the Fund’s portfolio managers are unable to roll the SPY Puts as described in the Fund’s principal investment strategy, the Fund may be unable to achieve its investment objective. In addition, because of the frequency with which the Fund expects to roll option contracts, this risk may be greater than the impact would otherwise be if the Fund experienced less portfolio turnover. The price of options contracts further from expiration may be higher, which can impact the Fund’s returns.

 

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Investment Risk. As with all investments, an investment in the Fund is subject to loss, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount of an investment, over short or long periods of time.

 

Market Risk. The trading prices of securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors, such as economic, financial or political events that impact the entire market, market segments, or specific issuers. The Fund’s NAV and market price may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time.

 

Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of the Fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from the Fund’s daily NAV, and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV (premium) or less than the NAV (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines. Additionally, in stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings.

 

Assignment Risk. In response to a notification of an option holder’s desire to exercise the option held, the Options Clearing Corporation (“OCC”) may randomly assign the exercise notice to a clearing member, which must then assign, randomly or on a first-in-first-out basis, the obligation to a customer who has written that particular option. If the Fund is assigned an exercise notice, it must buy shares of SPY from the owner of the option. As a result, the Fund may be forced to settle a written option position at an inopportune time and at a cost to the Fund, both of which could adversely affect the Fund’s performance and ability to track the Index.

 

Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund generally redeems shares for cash or otherwise includes cash as part of its redemption proceeds. 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 Fund redeemed shares in kind.

 

Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from a breach in cybersecurity, including cyber-attacks. A breach in cybersecurity, intentional or unintentional, may adversely impact the Fund in many ways, including, but not limited to, disruption of the Fund’s operational capacity, loss of proprietary information, theft or corruption of data, denial-of-service attacks on websites or network resources, and the unauthorized release of confidential information. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund’s third-party service providers, market makers, institutional investors authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund (i.e., Authorized Participants), or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches.

 

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive their performance from an underlying reference asset, such as a commodity, index, interest rate or inflation rate. Generally, derivatives are sophisticated investments that may pose risks that are different from or greater than those posed by investing directly in the underlying reference asset. For example, the return on a derivative instrument may not correlate with that of its underlying reference asset, and minimal requisite initial investments necessary to purchase derivatives positions may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts. Derivatives also can be volatile and may be less liquid than other investments. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money. The Fund expects to use put options to implement its principal investment strategies. Other risks specific to put options, as well as other risks of derivatives, generally, such as counterparty and issuer credit risk, interest rate risk, market risk and issuer-specific risk, are described in greater detail elsewhere in the Fund’s Prospectus.

 

Equity Securities Risk. Equity securities may be more volatile than other asset classes, and their market prices may change quickly and without warning. The value of an equity security may decrease as a result of the issuer or due to general industry or market conditions unrelated to the issuer. If the value of equity securities held by SPY decrease or fluctuate, causing the price of SPY on the Roll Date to fall below the strike price of the SPY Puts sold by the Fund, the NAV of the Fund will decrease or fluctuate, respectively, as the SPY Puts increase in value to their owners.

 

 

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Geopolitical Risk. The United States may experience security concerns, war, threats of war, aggression and/or conflict, terrorism, economic uncertainty, sanctions or the threat of sanctions, natural and environmental disasters, the spread of infectious illness, widespread disease or other public health issues and/or systemic market dislocations that lead to increased short-term market volatility and have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and markets generally. Any one of these geopolitical risks could contribute to a decline in the price of SPY, which in turn could increase the price of the SPY Puts sold by the Fund, adversely affecting Fund performance.

 

Implied Volatility Risk. Upon selling a SPY Put, the Fund gains the amount of premium it receives; however, the Fund also incurs a liability that represents the value of the SPY Put it has sold until the SPY Put is exercised or expires. The value of the SPY Puts in which the Fund invests is partly based on the volatility used by market participants to price such options (i.e., implied volatility). Consequently, increases in the implied volatility of the SPY Puts will cause the value of such options to increase (even if the prices of SPY’s stocks do not change), which will result in a corresponding increase in the liabilities of the Fund under the SPY Puts and thus decrease the Fund’s NAV. The Fund is therefore exposed to implied volatility risk before the SPY Puts expire or are struck at-the-money. The implied volatility of the SPY Puts sold by the Fund may increase due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the issuers of SPY stocks participate or factors relating to specific SPY companies.

 

Index and Data Risk. The Fund is not “actively” managed and seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Index. The Index, in turn, seeks to track the performance of a cash-secured put option sales strategy. The Index may not successfully track the value of the strategy and, as a result, may not achieve its objective, potentially causing losses to the Fund, which generally seeks to follow the same strategy. There is also no assurance that the Index Provider will determine, compose or calculate the Index accurately. The Index Provider has the right to make adjustments to the Index or to the strategy, or to cease making the Index available without regard to the particular interests of the Fund or its shareholders. If the computers or other facilities of the Index Provider, data providers and/or relevant stock exchange malfunction for any reason, calculation and dissemination of Index values may be delayed and trading in Fund shares may be suspended for a period of time. Errors in Index data, Index calculations and/or the construction of the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and/or corrected by the Index Provider or other applicable party for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Index, as well as the Fund and its shareholders. The potential risk of a continuing error may be particularly heightened in the case of the Index, which is currently not used as a benchmark by other funds or managers.

 

Investment Style Risk. The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, the Index regardless of their investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform the Index or take defensive positions in declining markets. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to the Index.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the actual or perceived financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

 

Non-Correlation Risk. As with all index funds, the performance of the Fund and that of the Index may differ from each other for a variety of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses and portfolio transaction costs, while also managing cash flows and potential operational inefficiencies, not incurred by its Index. In addition, when markets are volatile, the ability to sell securities at fair market prices may be adversely affected and may result in additional trading costs and/or increase the non-correlation risk. The Fund’s use of sampling techniques also may affect its ability to achieve close correlation with its Index.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in those few issuers and may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence. As a result, changes in the market value of a single security could cause greater fluctuations in the value of Fund shares than would occur in a diversified fund.

 

Purchase and Sale Timing Risk. Although the Fund seeks to implement a strategy similar to that used by the Index, the Fund has multiple Roll Dates each month and, as a result, no matter when an investor purchases Fund shares, even on a Roll Date, the value of the investor’s investment in the Fund may not be protected against a decline in the value of SPY and may not benefit from a gain in the value of SPY. The value of the options written by the Fund is dependent on various factors, including, but not limited to, the value and implied volatility of SPY. Each of these factors may vary significantly during the period between Roll Dates and affect the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective between Roll Dates.

 

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Return of Capital Risk. The Fund expects to make monthly distributions regardless of its performance. All or a portion of such distributions may represent a return of capital. A return of capital is the portion of the distribution representing the return of your investment in the Fund. A return of capital is generally tax-free to the extent of a shareholder’s basis in the Fund’s shares and reduces the shareholder’s basis in their shares and results in a higher capital gain or lower capital loss when the shares on which the return of capital distribution was received are sold. After a shareholder’s basis in the shares has been reduced to zero, return of capital distributions will be treated as gain from the sale of the shareholder’s shares.

 

U.S. Treasury Bill Risk. Treasury bills may differ from other debt securities in their interest rates, maturities, times of issuance and other characteristics and may provide relatively lower returns than those other securities. Similar to other issuers, changes to the financial condition or credit rating of the U.S. government may cause the value of the Fund’s Treasury bill holdings to decline.

 

Fund Performance

Historical Fund performance, which varies over time, can provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart that follows shows the annual total returns of the Fund for each full calendar year since the Fund commenced operations, or the past 10 calendar years, as applicable. The table that follows the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual total returns, both before and after taxes. This table also shows how the Fund’s performance compares to that of the Index and the S&P 500® Index, a relevant broad-based securities index. Index returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. All returns assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information for the Fund is available online on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

The Fund’s name, objective and strategies changed effective October 24, 2022. Fund performance prior to October 24, 2022 reflects the Fund’s objective and strategies when it sought to provide returns that corresponded to the performance of the CBOE S&P 500® PutWrite Index.

 

 

Year

The Fund’s year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2023 was 9.70%.

 

Best and Worst Quarter Returns (for the periods reflected in the bar chart above)

 

  Return Quarter/Year
Highest Return 10.89% 2Q/2020
Lowest Return (20.65)% 1Q/2020

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown and are not relevant if you hold your shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases, the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period.

 

 

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Average Annual Total Returns for the periods ending December 31, 2022

 

WisdomTree PutWrite Strategy Fund* 1 Year 5 Years Since Inception
February 24, 2016
Return Before Taxes Based on NAV (10.38)%  3.11%  5.34%
Return After Taxes on Distributions (11.54)%  2.21%  4.39%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares (6.14)%  2.04%  3.83%
Cboe S&P 500® PutWrite Index/Volos US Large Cap Target 2.5% PutWrite Spliced Index** (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (9.30)%  3.79%  6.00%
S&P 500® Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (18.11)% 9.42% 12.62%
*

Prior to October 24, 2022, the Fund’s performance reflects the strategies of the Fund when it sought to provide returns that correspond to the performance of the CBOE S&P 500 PutWrite Index. As of October 24, 2022, the Fund's objective seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Volos U.S Large Cap Target 2.5% PutWrite Index.

**

CBOE S&P 500 PutWrite Index through October 24, 2022; Volos US Large Cap Target 2.5% PutWrite Index thereafter.

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser

WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. (“WisdomTree Asset Management” or the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Newton Investment Management North America, LLC (“NIMNA”) serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers

The Fund is managed by NIMNA’s Multi-Asset Solutions Portfolio Management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are described below.

 

James Stavena, Head of Portfolio Management, Multi-Asset Solutions, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in February 2016.

 

Dimitri Curtil, Global Head of Multi-Asset Solutions, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since September 2021.

 

Torrey Zaches, a Portfolio Manager, Multi-Asset Solutions team, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since September 2021.

 

Buying and Selling Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. This means that individual shares of the Fund are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, currently NYSE Arca, and may only be purchased and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). In addition, an investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares (“Creation Units”), which only certain institutions or large investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities and/or U.S. cash.

 

Tax Information

The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.

 

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Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), WisdomTree Asset Management 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 Fund 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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WisdomTree Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund

 

Investment Objective

The WisdomTree Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to achieve positive total returns in rising or falling markets that are not directly correlated to broad market equity or fixed income returns.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below. The fees are expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average net assets.

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)  
Management Fees 0.55%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees None
Other Expenses 0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.55%

 

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 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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
  $ 56 $ 176 $ 307 $ 689

 

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Fund’s Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 0% of the average value of its portfolio, excluding the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares.

 

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

The Fund is an actively managed exchange traded fund (“ETF”) that intends to provide broad-based exposure to the following four commodity sectors: Energy, Agriculture, Industrial Metals, and Precious Metals primarily through investments in futures contracts. Within these four sectors, the Fund intends to invest in the following commodities: Brent Crude Oil, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude Oil, Natural Gas, RBOB Gasoline, Low Sulfur Gas Oil, ULS Diesel, Live Cattle, Feeder Cattle, Lean Hogs, Soybeans, Soybean Oil, Soybean Meal, Wheat, Kansas Wheat (Hard Red Wheat), Sugar, Corn, Coffee, Cocoa, Cotton, Copper, Tin, Aluminum, Zinc, Nickel, Lead, Gold, Platinum, and Silver. Weighting among the commodities focuses on liquidity (i.e., commodities with more liquid futures contracts will generally have a higher weighting) combined with qualitative considerations and applicable market views derived from WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. (“WisdomTree Asset Management” or the “Adviser”) in seeking broad-based exposure among the Energy, Agriculture, Industrial Metals and Precious Metals sectors. Exposure to any particular commodity, as well as potentially additional commodities, are generally determined annually but will vary over time based on the foregoing considerations. The Fund will not invest directly in physical commodities.

 

Futures contracts on commodities generally are agreements between two parties where one party agrees to buy, and the counterparty to sell, a set amount of a physical commodity (or, in some contracts, the cash equivalent) at a pre-determined future date and price. The value of commodity futures contracts is based upon the price movements of the underlying commodities.

 

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The Fund may also invest up to 5% of its net assets in bitcoin futures contracts. The Fund will only invest in cash-settled bitcoin futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which is a futures exchange registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Bitcoin is a digital asset (i.e., a cryptocurrency) whose ownership and behavior are determined by participants in an online, peer-to-peer network that connects computers that run publicly accessible, or “open source,” software that follows the rules and procedures governing the Bitcoin network. References to commodities and commodity-linked derivatives in this Prospectus include bitcoin and bitcoin futures, respectively. The Fund will not invest in bitcoin directly.

 

In order to maintain exposure to a futures contract on a particular commodity, the Fund must sell the position in the expiring contract and buy a new position in a contract with a later delivery month, which is referred to as “rolling.” The Fund expects to employ an “enhanced roll” process by attempting to roll from an expiring futures contract to another futures contract in seeking to generate a greater yield for the Fund. This roll process, generally implemented monthly, aims to maximize the potential roll benefits in backwardated markets and minimize potential losses in contango markets by rolling, as applicable, to the futures contract on a particular commodity which generates the maximum implied yield. Commodity futures contracts trade either in contango, where forward month futures contracts cost more than the current month (leading to negative roll yield) or in backwardation, where forward month futures contracts trade at a discount to the current month (leading to positive roll yield). It is generally the supply and demand factor that determines whether a commodity futures contract is in contango or backwardation.

 

The Fund may invest in Treasury securities and other liquid short-term investments as collateral for its commodity futures contracts.

 

The Fund seeks to gain exposure to commodity markets, in whole or in part, through investments in a subsidiary organized in the Cayman Islands (the “WisdomTree Subsidiary”). The WisdomTree Subsidiary is wholly-owned and controlled by the Fund. The Fund’s investment in the WisdomTree Subsidiary may not exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at each quarter-end of the Fund’s fiscal year. The Fund’s investment in the WisdomTree Subsidiary is intended to provide the Fund with exposure to commodity returns while enabling the Fund to satisfy source-of-income requirements that apply to regulated investment companies (“RICs”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). Except as noted, references to the investment strategies and risks of the Fund include the investment strategies and risks of the WisdomTree Subsidiary. References to the Fund include the WisdomTree Subsidiary.

 

The Fund is “non-diversified,” meaning that a relatively high percentage of its assets may be invested in a limited number of issuers.

 

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. While certain of the risks are prioritized in terms of their relevance to the Fund’s investment strategies, most risks are presented in alphabetical order. This ordering approach is designed to both facilitate an investor’s understanding of the Fund’s risks and enable an investor to easily locate and compare risks among funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its investment objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the sections in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Principal Risk Information About the Funds” and “Additional Non-Principal Risk Information.”

 

Commodity Risk. The value of commodities and commodity-linked derivative instruments typically is based upon the price movements of a physical commodity or an economic variable linked to such price movements. The prices of commodities and commodity-related investments may fluctuate quickly and dramatically and may not correlate to price movements in other asset classes. An active trading market may not exist for certain commodities. Prices of commodity-linked derivatives instruments have a historically low correlation with the returns of the stock and bond markets and are subject to change based on a variety of factors that may not be anticipated. In addition, bitcoin and bitcoin futures are a relatively new asset class. They are subject to unique and substantial risks, and historically, have been subject to significant price volatility. The market for bitcoin futures is also relatively new and commenced trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 2017. As a result, the market for bitcoin futures may be less developed, and potentially less liquid and more volatile, than more established futures markets. While the bitcoin futures market has grown substantially since bitcoin futures commenced trading, there can be no assurance that this growth will continue. The price of bitcoin could drop precipitously (including to zero), which would be expected to have a similar impact on the bitcoin futures price. Each of these factors and events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund.

 

 

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Futures Rolling Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy is subject to risks related to rolling (i.e., replacing expiring futures contracts with new futures contracts). The price of futures contracts further from expiration may be higher (a condition known as “contango”) or lower (a condition known as “backwardation”), which can impact the Fund’s returns. Because of the frequency with which the Fund expects to roll futures contracts, the impact of such contango or backwardation may be greater than the impact would be if the Fund experienced less portfolio turnover.

 

Investment Risk. As with all investments, an investment in the Fund is subject to loss, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount of an investment, over short or long periods of time.

 

Market Risk. The trading prices of securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors, such as economic, financial or political events that impact the entire market, market segments, or specific issuers. The Fund’s NAV and market price may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time.

 

Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of the Fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from the Fund’s daily NAV, and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV (premium) or less than the NAV (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines. Additionally, in stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings.

 

Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed using proprietary investment strategies and processes. There can be no guarantee that these strategies and processes will be successful or that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.

 

Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy will require it to redeem shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. 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 Fund redeemed shares in kind.

 

Counterparty and Issuer Credit Risk. As a result of its financial condition, the issuer of a debt security or other instrument, or the counterparty to a derivative or other contract, may default, become unable to pay interest or principal due or otherwise fail to honor its obligations or be perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as being in such situations. The value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning in response to issuer or counterparty defaults, changes in the credit ratings of the Fund’s portfolio investments and/or perceptions related thereto.

 

Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from a breach in cybersecurity, including cyber-attacks. A breach in cybersecurity, intentional or unintentional, may adversely impact the Fund in many ways, including, but not limited to, disruption of the Fund’s operational capacity, loss of proprietary information, theft or corruption of data, denial-of-service attacks on websites or network resources, and the unauthorized release of confidential information. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund’s third-party service providers, market makers, institutional investors authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund (i.e., Authorized Participants), or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches.

 

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive their performance from an underlying reference asset, such as a commodity, index, interest rate or inflation rate. Generally, derivatives are sophisticated investments that may pose risks that are different from or greater than those posed by investing directly in the underlying reference asset. For example, the return on a derivative instrument may not correlate with that of its underlying reference asset, and minimal requisite initial investments necessary to purchase derivatives positions may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts. Derivatives also can be volatile and may be less liquid than other investments. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money. The Fund expects to use futures contracts to implement its principal investment strategies. Other risks specific to futures contracts, as well as other risks of derivatives, generally, such as counterparty and issuer credit risk, interest rate risk, market risk and issuer-specific risk, are described in greater detail elsewhere in the Fund’s Prospectus.

 

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Geopolitical Risk. The United States may experience security concerns, war, threats of war, aggression and/or conflict, terrorism, economic uncertainty, sanctions or the threat of sanctions, natural and environmental disasters, the spread of infectious illness, widespread disease or other public health issues and/or systemic market dislocations that lead to increased short-term market volatility and have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and markets generally, each of which may negatively impact the Fund’s investments.

 

Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that fixed income securities will decline in value because of an increase in interest rates and changes to other factors, such as perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness. Interest rates may change suddenly or unexpectedly and have unpredictable impacts on the financial markets and the Fund’s investments. To the extent that the Fund holds fixed income securities with longer durations, such securities generally are subject to greater interest rate risk.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the actual or perceived financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

 

Liquidity Risk. The Fund may invest in derivatives and other instruments that may be less liquid than other types of investments. The derivatives in which the Fund invests may not always be liquid. This could have a negative effect on the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective and may result in losses to Fund shareholders.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in those few issuers, and may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence. As a result, changes in the market value of a single security could cause greater fluctuations in the value of Fund shares than would occur in a diversified fund.

 

Subsidiary Investment Risk. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Fund and the WisdomTree Subsidiary are organized, respectively, could result in the inability of the WisdomTree Subsidiary to operate as intended and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders.

 

Tax Risk. To qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment accorded to RICs, the Fund must, among other things, derive in each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from certain prescribed sources. The Fund may obtain exposure to the commodities markets by directly entering into commodity-linked derivative instruments, such as listed futures contracts, forward currency contracts, swaps, and structured notes. Income from certain commodity-linked derivative instruments in which the Fund invests may not be considered qualifying income under the 90% test noted above. The Fund intends to invest in such commodity-linked derivative instruments indirectly through the WisdomTree Subsidiary. The Fund’s investment in the WisdomTree Subsidiary is expected to provide the Fund with exposure to the commodities markets within the limitations of the federal tax requirements of the Code for qualification as a RIC. The “Subpart F” income (defined in Section 951 of the Code to include passive income, including from commodity-linked derivatives and futures) of the Fund attributable to the Fund’s investment in the WisdomTree Subsidiary is “qualifying income” to the Fund to the extent that such income is derived with respect to the Fund’s business of investing in stock, securities or currencies. The Fund expects its “Subpart F” income attributable to its investment in the WisdomTree Subsidiary to be derived with respect to the Fund’s business of investing in stock, securities or currencies and to be treated as “qualifying income”. The Fund’s investment adviser intends to conduct the Fund’s investments in the WisdomTree Subsidiary in a manner consistent with the terms and conditions of the regulations promulgated by the U.S. Treasury, and will monitor the Fund’s investments in the WisdomTree Subsidiary to ensure that no more than 25% of the Fund’s assets are invested in the WisdomTree Subsidiary. To the extent the Fund makes a direct investment in commodity-linked derivative instruments, it will seek to restrict the resulting income from such instruments so that, when combined with its other non-qualifying income, the Fund’s non-qualifying income is less than 10% of its gross income. However, the Fund may generate more non-qualifying income than anticipated, may not be able to generate qualifying income in a particular taxable year at levels sufficient to meet the 90% test noted above, or may not be able to accurately predict the non-qualifying income from these investments. Failure to comply with this restriction would have significant negative tax consequences to Fund shareholders.

 

 

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Fund Performance

Historical Fund performance, which varies over time, can provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart that follows shows the annual total returns of the Fund for each full calendar year since the Fund commenced operations, or the past 10 calendar years, as applicable. The table that follows the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual total returns, both before and after taxes. This table also shows how the Fund’s performance compares to that of the S&P GSCI Index, a relevant broad-based securities index. In addition, performance also is shown for the Bloomberg Commodity Index Total Return, another comparative index that also represents the asset class in which the Fund invests. Index returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. All returns assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information for the Fund is available online on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

 

Year

The Fund’s year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2023 was (1.21)%.

 

Best and Worst Quarter Returns (for the periods reflected in the bar chart above)

 

  Return Quarter/Year
Highest Return 21.85% 1Q/2022
Lowest Return (8.82)% 3Q/2022

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown and are not relevant if you hold your shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases, the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period.

 

Average Annual Total Returns for the periods ending December 31, 2022

 

WisdomTree Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund 1 Year Since Inception
December 21, 2020
Return Before Taxes Based on NAV

7.55%

14.27%

Return After Taxes on Distributions

(0.65)%

7.92%

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares

4.38%

8.29%

S&P GSCI Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

25.99%

32.55%

Bloomberg Commodity Index Total Return (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

16.09%

21.63%

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser

WisdomTree Asset Management serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Newton Investment Management North America, LLC (“NIMNA”) serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers

The Fund is managed by NIMNA’s Multi-Asset Solutions Portfolio Management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are described below.

 

James Stavena, Head of Portfolio Management, Multi-Asset Solutions, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in December 2020.

 

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Dimitri Curtil, Global Head of Multi-Asset Solutions, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since September 2021.

 

Torrey Zaches, a Portfolio Manager, Multi-Asset Solutions team, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since September 2021.

 

Buying and Selling Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. This means that individual shares of the Fund are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, currently NYSE Arca, and may only be purchased and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). In addition, an investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares (“Creation Units”), which only certain institutions or large investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities and/or U.S. cash. 

 

Tax Information

The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), WisdomTree Asset Management 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 Fund 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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WisdomTree Managed Futures Strategy Fund

 

Investment Objective

The WisdomTree Managed Futures Strategy Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to provide investors with positive total returns in rising or falling markets.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below. The fees are expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average net assets.

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)  
Management Fees 0.65%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees None
Other Expenses 0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.65%

 

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 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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
  $ 66 $ 208 $ 362 $ 810

 

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Fund’s Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 16% of the average value of its portfolio, excluding the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares.

 

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

The Fund is an actively managed exchange traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve positive total returns in rising or falling markets that are not directly correlated to broad market equity or fixed income returns. The Fund is managed using a quantitative, rules-based strategy designed to capture rising and falling price trends in the commodity, currency, equity, and U.S. Treasury futures markets through long and short positions on U.S. listed futures contracts.

 

The Fund can invest in U.S. listed futures contracts on the following twenty-one (21) commodities: West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude Oil, Brent Crude Oil, Heating Oil, Gasoil, RBOB Gasoline, Natural Gas, Gold, Silver, Copper, Aluminum, Lead, Nickel, Tin, Zinc, Live Cattle, Feeder Cattle, Lean Hogs, SRW Wheat, HRW Wheat, Corn, and Unrefined Sugar. A model that evaluates momentum signals specific to each commodity sector is used to select commodity futures and to determine whether a long or short position is taken by the Fund.

 

The Fund may also invest up to 5% of its net assets in bitcoin futures contracts. The Fund will only invest in cash-settled bitcoin futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which is a futures exchange registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Bitcoin is a digital asset (i.e., a cryptocurrency) whose ownership and behavior are determined by participants in an online, peer-to-peer network that connects computers that run publicly accessible, or “open source,” software that follows the rules and procedures governing the Bitcoin network. References to commodities and commodity-linked derivatives in this Prospectus include bitcoin and bitcoin futures, respectively. As noted above, the model that evaluates momentum signals specific to each commodity sector is used to determine whether the Fund should take a long position in bitcoin futures or not invest in bitcoin futures. The Fund will not invest in bitcoin directly.

 

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The Fund may also hold financial futures contracts on developed and emerging markets currencies as well as on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes and 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds.

 

The Fund relies on a risk indicator, a correlation signal, and a short-term momentum signal to determine its allocation to equity futures contracts. The Fund has the ability to enter into both long and short positions on equity futures contracts. Excess cash after determining effective weights for equity contracts is allocated to U.S. Treasury futures contracts.

 

The Fund is rebalanced monthly.

 

The Fund invests substantially all of its assets in a combination of commodity, currency, and equity-linked investments, U.S. government securities and money market instruments. The Fund’s commodity and currency-linked investments generally are limited to investments in listed futures contracts, forward currency contracts and swap transactions that provide exposure to commodity and non-U.S. currency returns. The Fund will invest in listed equity and U.S. Treasury futures and also may invest directly in U.S. Treasury notes and bonds. The Fund also may enter into repurchase agreements with counterparties that are deemed to present acceptable credit risks. The Fund also may invest in structured notes based on commodities. The Fund does not invest directly in physical commodities.

 

The Fund seeks to gain exposure to commodity, currency, fixed income, and equity markets, in whole or in part, through investments in a subsidiary organized in the Cayman Islands (the “WisdomTree Subsidiary”). The WisdomTree Subsidiary is wholly-owned and controlled by the Fund. The Fund’s investment in the WisdomTree Subsidiary may not exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at each quarter-end of the Fund’s fiscal year. The Fund’s investment in the WisdomTree Subsidiary is intended to provide the Fund with exposure to commodity returns while enabling the Fund to satisfy source-of-income requirements that apply to regulated investment companies (“RICs”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). Except as noted, references to the investment strategies and risks of the Fund include the investment strategies and risks of the WisdomTree Subsidiary.

 

The Fund will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in “managed futures.” For these purposes, “managed futures” are investments in equity-linked, commodity-linked, currency-linked and financial-linked instruments, as well as U.S. government securities and money market instruments, that taken together have economic characteristics similar or equivalent to those of the listed equity, commodity, currency and financial futures contracts described in the Fund’s Prospectus. If, subsequent to an investment, the 80% requirement is no longer met, the Fund’s future investments will be made in a manner that will bring the Fund into compliance with this policy. The Trust will provide shareholders with sixty (60) days’ prior notice of any change to this policy for the Fund.

 

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. While certain of the risks are prioritized in terms of their relevance to the Fund’s investment strategies, most risks are presented in alphabetical order. This ordering approach is designed to both facilitate an investor’s understanding of the Fund’s risks and enable an investor to easily locate and compare risks among funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its investment objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the sections in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Principal Risk Information About the Funds” and “Additional Non-Principal Risk Information.”

 

Futures Contracts Risk. A futures contract may generally be described as an agreement for the future sale by one party and the purchase by another of a specified currency, commodity, security or other instrument at a specified price and time. The risks of futures contracts include but are not limited to: (1) the success of the adviser’s and sub-adviser’s ability to predict movements in the prices of individual currencies, commodities or securities, fluctuations in markets and movements in interest rates; (2) an imperfect or no correlation between the changes in market value of the currencies, commodities or securities and the prices of futures contracts; and (3) no guarantee that an active market will exist for the contracts at any particular time.

 

 

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Commodity Risk. The value of commodities and commodity-linked derivative instruments typically is based upon the price movements of a physical commodity or an economic variable linked to such price movements. The prices of commodities and commodity-related investments may fluctuate quickly and dramatically and may not correlate to price movements in other asset classes. An active trading market may not exist for certain commodities. Prices of commodity-linked derivatives instruments have a historically low correlation with the returns of the stock and bond markets and are subject to change based on a variety of factors that may not be anticipated. In addition, bitcoin and bitcoin futures are a relatively new asset class. They are subject to unique and substantial risks, and historically, have been subject to significant price volatility. The market for bitcoin futures is also relatively new and commenced trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 2017. As a result, the market for bitcoin futures may be less developed, and potentially less liquid and more volatile, than more established futures markets. While the bitcoin futures market has grown substantially since bitcoin futures commenced trading, there can be no assurance that this growth will continue. The price of bitcoin could drop precipitously (including to zero), which would be expected to have a similar impact on the bitcoin futures price. Each of these factors and events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund.

 

Investment Risk. As with all investments, an investment in the Fund is subject to loss, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount of an investment, over short or long periods of time.

 

Market Risk. The trading prices of securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors, such as economic, financial or political events that impact the entire market, market segments, or specific issuers. The Fund’s NAV and market price may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time.

 

Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of the Fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from the Fund’s daily NAV, and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV (premium) or less than the NAV (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines. Because securities held by the Fund trade on, or have exposure to, foreign exchanges that are closed when the Fund’s primary listing exchange is open, the Fund is likely to experience premiums and discounts greater than those of domestic ETFs. Additionally, in stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings.

 

Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed using proprietary investment strategies and processes. There can be no guarantee that these strategies and processes will be successful or that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.

 

Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund generally redeems shares for cash or otherwise includes cash as part of its redemption proceeds. 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 Fund redeemed shares in kind.

 

Counterparty and Issuer Credit Risk. As a result of its financial condition, the issuer of a debt security or other instrument, or the counterparty to a derivative or other contract, may default, become unable to pay interest or principal due or otherwise fail to honor its obligations or be perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as being in such situations. The value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning in response to issuer or counterparty defaults, changes in the credit ratings of the Fund’s portfolio investments and/or perceptions related thereto.

 

Currency Exchange Rate Risk. Changes in currency exchange rates and the relative value of non-U.S. currencies will affect the value of the Fund’s investment and the value of your Fund shares. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may also change quickly, unpredictably, and without warning, and you may lose money.

 

Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from a breach in cybersecurity, including cyber-attacks. A breach in cybersecurity, intentional or unintentional, may adversely impact the Fund in many ways, including, but not limited to, disruption of the Fund’s operational capacity, loss of proprietary information, theft or corruption of data, denial-of-service attacks on websites or network resources, and the unauthorized release of confidential information. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund’s third-party service providers, market makers, institutional investors authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund (i.e., Authorized Participants), or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches.

 

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Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive their performance from an underlying reference asset, such as a commodity, index, interest rate or inflation rate. Generally, derivatives are sophisticated investments that may pose risks that are different from or greater than those posed by investing directly in the underlying reference asset. For example, the return on a derivative instrument may not correlate with that of its underlying reference asset, and minimal requisite initial investments necessary to purchase derivatives positions may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts. Derivatives also can be volatile and may be less liquid than other investments. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money. The Fund expects to use futures contracts and structured notes to implement its principal investment strategies. Structured notes are particularly subject to counterparty credit, valuation and liquidity risks. Other risks specific to these derivatives, as well as other risks of derivatives, generally, such as counterparty and issuer credit risk, interest rate risk, market risk and issuer-specific risk, are described in greater detail elsewhere in the Fund’s Prospectus.

 

Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in non-U.S. securities involve political, regulatory, and economic risks that may not be present in investments in U.S. securities. For example, investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations, political or economic instability, or geographic events that adversely impact issuers of foreign securities. Investments in non-U.S. securities also may be subject to withholding or other taxes and may be subject to additional trading, settlement, custodial, and operational risks. These and other factors can make investments in the Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments. These risks may be heightened to the extent the Fund invests in companies domiciled in or otherwise tied to developing or emerging market countries.

 

Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that fixed income securities will decline in value because of an increase in interest rates and changes to other factors, such as perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness. Interest rates may change suddenly or unexpectedly and have unpredictable impacts on the financial markets and the Fund’s investments. To the extent that the Fund holds fixed income securities with longer durations, such securities generally are subject to greater interest rate risk.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the actual or perceived financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

 

Liquidity Risk. The Fund may invest in derivatives and other instruments that may be less liquid than other types of investments. The derivatives in which the Fund invests may not always be liquid. This could have a negative effect on the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective and may result in losses to Fund shareholders.

 

Models and Data Risk. While the Fund is actively managed, the Fund’s investment process is expected to be heavily dependent on quantitative models and the models may not perform as intended. Errors in data used in the models may occur from time to time and may not be identified and/or corrected, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in those few issuers, and may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence. As a result, changes in the market value of a single security could cause greater fluctuations in the value of Fund shares than would occur in a diversified fund.

 

Repurchase Agreement Risk. The Fund’s investment in repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk with respect to the collateral securing the repurchase agreements. Investments in repurchase agreements also may be subject to the risk that the market value of the underlying obligations may decline prior to the expiration of the repurchase agreement term.

 

Short Sales Risk. The Fund may engage in “short sale” transactions. The Fund will lose value if the security or instrument that is the subject of a short sale increases in value. The Fund also may enter into a short derivative position through a futures contract, swap agreement, structured note, or short positions on currency forwards. If the price of the security or derivative that is the subject of a short sale increases, then the Fund will incur a loss equal to the increase in price from the time that the short sale was entered into plus any premiums and interest paid to a third party in connection with the short sale. The risk of loss on a shorted position arises from the increase in value of the security sold short and is potentially unlimited unlike the risk of loss on a long position, which is limited to the amount paid for the investment plus transaction costs. Therefore, short sales involve the risk that losses may be exaggerated, potentially losing more money than the actual cost of the investment. Also, there is the risk that the third party to the short sale may fail to honor its contract terms, causing a loss to the Fund.

 

 

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Subsidiary Investment Risk. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Fund and the WisdomTree Subsidiary are organized, respectively, could result in the inability of the WisdomTree Subsidiary to operate as intended and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders.

 

Tax Risk. To qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment accorded to RICs, the Fund must, among other things, derive in each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from certain prescribed sources. The Fund may obtain exposure to the commodities markets by directly entering into commodity-linked derivative instruments, such as listed futures contracts, forward currency contracts, swaps, and structured notes. Income from certain commodity-linked derivative instruments in which the Fund invests may not be considered qualifying income under the 90% test noted above. The Fund intends to invest in such commodity-linked derivative instruments indirectly through the WisdomTree Subsidiary. The Fund’s investment in the WisdomTree Subsidiary is expected to provide the Fund with exposure to the commodities markets within the limitations of the federal tax requirements of the Code for qualification as a RIC. The “Subpart F” income (defined in Section 951 of the Code to include passive income, including from commodity-linked derivatives and futures) of the Fund attributable to the Fund’s investment in the WisdomTree Subsidiary is “qualifying income” to the Fund to the extent that such income is derived with respect to the Fund’s business of investing in stock, securities or currencies. The Fund expects its “Subpart F” income attributable to its investment in the WisdomTree Subsidiary to be derived with respect to the Fund’s business of investing in stock, securities or currencies and to be treated as “qualifying income”. The Fund’s investment adviser intends to conduct the Fund’s investments in the WisdomTree Subsidiary in a manner consistent with the terms and conditions of the regulations promulgated by the U.S. Treasury, and will monitor the Fund’s investments in the WisdomTree Subsidiary to ensure that no more than 25% of the Fund’s assets are invested in the WisdomTree Subsidiary. To the extent the Fund makes a direct investment in commodity-linked derivative instruments, it will seek to restrict the resulting income from such instruments so that, when combined with its other non-qualifying income, the Fund’s non-qualifying income is less than 10% of its gross income. However, the Fund may generate more non-qualifying income than anticipated, may not be able to generate qualifying income in a particular taxable year at levels sufficient to meet the 90% test noted above, or may not be able to accurately predict the non-qualifying income from these investments. Failure to comply with this restriction would have significant negative tax consequences to Fund shareholders.
   
Volatility Risk. The Fund is designed to capture the long-term economic benefits of rising or declining market trends. Frequent or significant short-term price movements could adversely impact the performance of the Fund.

 

Fund Performance

Historical Fund performance, which varies over time, can provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart that follows shows the annual total returns of the Fund for each full calendar year since the Fund commenced operations, or the past 10 calendar years, as applicable. The table that follows the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual total returns, both before and after taxes. This table also shows how the Fund’s performance compares to that of the ICE BofA US 3-Month Treasury Bill Index, a relevant broad-based securities index. In addition, performance also is shown for the 60% S&P 500® Index / 40% Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Index Composite, a blended index that represents a 60/40 allocation to the large cap stock market and the U.S. bond market, respectively. Index returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. All returns assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. If WisdomTree Asset Management had not waived certain fees during certain periods, the Fund’s returns would have been lower. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information for the Fund is available online on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

On June 4, 2021, the Fund’s principal investment strategies were revised; therefore, the performance and average annual total returns shown for periods prior to that date may have differed had the Fund’s current principal investment strategies been in effect during those periods. Fund performance prior to June 4, 2021, reflects the Fund’s previous investment strategy when it sought to provide returns that corresponded to the performance of the WisdomTree Managed Futures Index.

 

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Year

The Fund’s year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2023 was 11.51%.

 

Best and Worst Quarter Returns (for the periods reflected in the bar chart above)

 

  Return Quarter/Year
Highest Return 6.35% 4Q/2020
Lowest Return (3.72)% 1Q/2017

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown and are not relevant if you hold your shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases, the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period.

 

Average Annual Total Returns for the periods ending December 31, 2022

 

WisdomTree Managed Futures Strategy Fund* 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years
Return Before Taxes Based on NAV  (5.81)%  0.11%  (0.02)%
Return After Taxes on Distributions  (7.67)%  (1.79)%  (0.98)%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares  (3.39)%  (0.66)%  (0.39)%
ICE BofA US 3-Month Treasury Bill Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)  1.46%  1.26%  0.76%
60% S&P 500® Index / 40% Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Index Composite (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (16.17)% 5.83% 8.02%
*

Prior to June 4, 2021, Fund performance reflects the strategies of the Fund when it sought to provide returns that correspond to the performance of the WisdomTree Managed Futures Index.

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser

WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. (“WisdomTree Asset Management” or the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Newton Investment Management North America, LLC (“NIMNA”) serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers

The Fund is managed by NIMNA’s Multi-Asset Solutions Portfolio Management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are described below.

 

James Stavena, Head of Portfolio Management, Multi-Asset Solutions, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in January 2011.

 

Dimitri Curtil, Global Head of Multi-Asset Solutions, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since September 2021.

 

Torrey Zaches, a Portfolio Manager, Multi-Asset Solutions team, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since September 2021.

 

 

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Buying and Selling Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. This means that individual shares of the Fund are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, currently NYSE Arca, and may only be purchased and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). In addition, an investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares (“Creation Units”), which only certain institutions or large investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities and/or U.S. cash.

 

Tax Information

The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), WisdomTree Asset Management 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 Fund 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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WisdomTree Alternative Income Fund

 

Investment Objective

The WisdomTree Alternative Income Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Gapstow Liquid Alternative Credit Index (the “Index”).

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below. The fees are expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average net assets.

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)  
Management Fees 0.50%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees None
Other Expenses 0.00%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses 3.79%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 4.29%1
1

The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses in this fee table may not correlate to the expense ratios in the Fund’s financial highlights and financial statements because the financial highlights and financial statements reflect only the operating expenses of the Fund and do not include Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, which are fees and expenses incurred indirectly by the Fund through its investments in certain underlying investment companies.

 

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 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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
  $ 431 $ 1,301 $ 2,183 $ 4,445

 

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Fund’s Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 33% of the average value of its portfolio, excluding the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares.

 

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

The Fund employs a “passive management” – or indexing – investment approach designed to track the performance of the Index. The Fund generally uses a representative sampling strategy to achieve its investment objective, meaning it generally will invest in a sample of the securities in the Index whose risk, return and other characteristics resemble the risk, return and other characteristics of the Index as a whole. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) will be invested in constituent securities of the Index and investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially identical to the economic characteristics of such constituent securities.

 

The Index is provided by Gapstow Capital Partners, L.P. (the “Index Provider”) and is designed to provide diversified exposure to alternative credit sectors. The Index is comprised of registered closed-end investment companies (“CEFs”), including CEFs that have elected to be regulated as “business development companies” (“BDCs” and, together with CEFs, the “Underlying Funds”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), and real estate investment trusts (“REITs” and, together with Underlying Funds, the “Vehicles”) that are listed and publicly traded on a major U.S. stock exchange.

 

 

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To be eligible for inclusion in the Index, a Vehicle must: (i) be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), (ii) be listed and publicly traded on a major U.S. stock exchange, (iii) have intra-day pricing provided by such exchange, (iv) have traded for at least the most recent 90 calendar days, (v) have a permanent capital structure (i.e., Vehicles that have a relatively stable number of shares outstanding, such as a CEF that rarely issues new shares or redeems existing shares), (vi) be perpetual (i.e., without set maturity or termination dates such as target or term funds), (vii) not invest primarily in other Vehicles (e.g., not be a CEF that invests primarily in other CEFs), (viii) have a stated objective of investing primarily in public high-yield corporate bonds (“junk bonds”) and broadly-syndicated loans, private middle market corporate loans, collateralized loan obligations, mortgage-backed securities, other asset-backed securities and/or real estate loans, (ix) have a six-month average daily market capitalization of greater than $100 million, and (x) have a six-month average daily trading volume greater than $750,000.

 

Vehicles meeting the foregoing requirements are classified based on the Vehicle’s investment holdings in the following alternative credit sectors: (i) private corporate lending, (ii) public corporate debt, (iii) commercial real estate lending, (iv) agency real estate debt, (v) non-agency real estate debt, and (vi) multi-sector alternative credit. To meet classification requirements, at least 75% of a Vehicle’s investment holdings must provide exposure to a foregoing sector to be classified within that sector. Within each sector, eligible Vehicles are selected based on market capitalization until approximately thirty-five (35) Vehicles spanning the foregoing sectors are included as constituents. Constituents in the Index are equal-weighted. The Index is rebalanced quarterly and reconstituted semi-annually.

 

To the extent the Index concentrates (i.e., holds more than 25% of its total assets) in the securities of a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent as the Index.

 

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. While certain of the risks are prioritized in terms of their relevance to the Fund’s investment strategies, most risks are presented in alphabetical order. This ordering approach is designed to both facilitate an investor’s understanding of the Fund’s risks and enable an investor to easily locate and compare risks among funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund (either incurred directly or through its investments in Underlying Funds), regardless of the order in which it appears. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its investment objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the sections in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Principal Risk Information About the Funds” and “Additional Non-Principal Risk Information.”

 

CEF and BDC Investing Risk. The value of the underlying securities held by a CEF could decrease or the portfolio could become illiquid. CEFs that are financially leveraged may create an opportunity for greater total return, but with more volatility than other investments, and greater potential for loss. Shares of CEFs frequently trade at a discount from their NAV. There can be no assurance that the market discount on shares of any CEF purchased by the Fund will ever decrease. In fact, it is possible that this market discount may increase, and the Fund may suffer realized or unrealized capital losses due to further decline in the market price of the securities of such CEF, thereby adversely affecting the Fund’s NAV. In addition to the foregoing risks with respect to CEFs, federal securities laws impose restraints upon the organization and operations of BDCs that can limit or negatively impact the performance of a BDC. BDCs generally invest in less mature private companies, which involve greater risk than well-established, publicly traded companies, and BDCs are subject to high failure rates among the companies in which they invest. BDCs may have relatively concentrated portfolios, which include a small number of investments. A significant portion of a BDC’s investments are recorded at fair value as determined by its board of directors, which may potentially result in material differences between a BDC’s NAV and its market price. As a result, shares of BDCs may trade at a discount from their NAV. There can be no assurance that the market discount on shares of any BDC purchased by the Fund will ever decrease. In fact, it is possible that this market discount may increase, and the Fund may suffer realized or unrealized capital losses due to further decline in the market price of the securities of such BDC, thereby adversely affecting the Fund’s NAV.

 

Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that fixed income securities will decline in value because of an increase in interest rates and changes to other factors, such as perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness. Interest rates may change suddenly or unexpectedly and have unpredictable impacts on the financial markets and the Fund’s investments. To the extent that the Fund holds fixed income securities with longer durations, such securities generally are subject to greater interest rate risk.

 

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REIT Investing Risk. By investing in REITs, the Fund will be exposed to the risks of owning real estate, such as decreases in real estate values, overbuilding, increased competition and other risks related to local or general economic conditions, increases in operating costs and property taxes, changes in zoning laws, casualty or condemnation losses, possible environmental liabilities, regulatory limitations on rent and fluctuations in rental income. In addition, U.S. REITs are subject to the possibility of failing to qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment generally available to them under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and failing to maintain exemption from the registration requirements of the 1940 Act. REITs may use leverage (and some may be highly leveraged), which increases risk and could adversely affect a REIT’s operations and market value in periods of rising interest rates.

 

Investment Risk. As with all investments, an investment in the Fund is subject to loss, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount of an investment, over short or long periods of time.

 

Market Risk. The trading prices of securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors, such as economic, financial or political events that impact the entire market, market segments, or specific issuers. The Fund’s NAV and market price may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time.

 

Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of the Fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from the Fund’s daily NAV, and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV (premium) or less than the NAV (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines.

 

Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in mortgage-related fixed income securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities such as the Government National Mortgage Association (“GNMA”), the Federal National Mortgage Association (“FNMA”) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“FHLMC”). FNMA and FHLMC are generally backed only by the general creditworthiness and reputation of the U.S. government agency, government-sponsored entity, or government corporation issuing the security and are not guaranteed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury or backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. As a result, there is uncertainty as to the current status of many obligations of FNMA or FHLMC and other agencies that are placed under conservatorship of the U.S. government. GNMA securities are generally backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Agency mortgage-backed securities may be more sensitive to changes in interest rates than other types of debt securities. Movements in interest rates (both increases and decreases) may quickly and significantly reduce the value of agency mortgage-backed securities. Agency mortgage-backed securities are subject to fluctuations in yield due to prepayment rates that may be faster or slower than expected. Agency mortgage-backed securities can also be subject to the risk of default on the underlying mortgages. Default or bankruptcy of a counterparty to a mortgage-related transaction would expose the Fund to possible loss. These risks may reduce the Fund’s returns.

 

Asset-Backed Securities Risk. Movements in interest rates (both increases and decreases) may quickly and significantly reduce the value of certain types of asset-backed securities. Asset-backed securities can also be subject to the risk of default on underlying assets. Asset-backed securities are subject to fluctuations in yield due to prepayment rates that may be faster or slower than expected.

 

Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from a breach in cybersecurity, including cyber-attacks. A breach in cybersecurity, intentional or unintentional, may adversely impact the Fund in many ways, including, but not limited to, disruption of the Fund’s operational capacity, loss of proprietary information, theft or corruption of data, denial-of-service attacks on websites or network resources, and the unauthorized release of confidential information. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund’s third-party service providers, market makers, institutional investors authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund (i.e., Authorized Participants), or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches.

 

Dividend Paying Securities Risk. Securities that pay dividends, as a group, may be out of favor with the market and underperform the overall equity market or stocks of companies that do not pay dividends. In addition, changes in the dividend policies of the companies held by the Fund or the capital resources available for such company’s dividend payments may adversely affect the Fund.

 

 

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Geopolitical Risk. The United States may experience security concerns, war, threats of war, aggression and/or conflict, terrorism, economic uncertainty, sanctions or the threat of sanctions, natural and environmental disasters, the spread of infectious illness, widespread disease or other public health issues and/or systemic market dislocations that lead to increased short-term market volatility and have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and markets generally, each of which may negatively impact the Fund’s investments.

 

Illiquid Investments Risk. Illiquid investments may be difficult to sell at an acceptable price, they may be subject to greater volatility and may result in a loss to the Fund. Investments acquired by the Fund that are liquid at the time of purchase may subsequently become illiquid due to events relating to the issuer of the securities, market events, economic conditions and/or investor perception.

 

Index and Data Risk. The Fund is not “actively” managed and seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Index. The Index may not perform as intended. The Index Provider has the right to make adjustments to the composition and/or operation of the Index or to cease making the Index available without regard to the particular interests of the Fund or its shareholders. If the computers or other facilities of the Index Provider, Index calculation agent, data providers and/or relevant stock exchange malfunction for any reason, calculation and dissemination of Index values may be delayed and trading in Fund shares may be suspended for a period of time. Errors in Index data, Index calculations and/or the construction of the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and/or corrected by the Index Provider, Index calculation agent or other applicable party for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. The potential risk of a continuing error may be particularly heightened in the case of the Index, which is generally not used as a benchmark by other funds or managers.

 

Investments in Underlying Funds Risk. Because the Fund invests in Underlying Funds, its investment performance largely depends on the investment performance of the Underlying Funds in which it invests. The Fund will pay indirectly a proportional share of the fees and expenses of the Underlying Funds in which it invests, including their investment advisory and administration fees, in addition to its own fees and expenses. In addition, at times certain segments of the market represented by constituent Underlying Funds may be out of favor and underperform other segments. Investments by the Fund in an Underlying Fund are subject to, among other risks, the risk that the listing exchange may halt trading of the Underlying Fund’s shares. In addition, the Fund may be subject to the following risks as a result of investments and strategies pursued by the Underlying Funds:

 

  Collateralized Loan Obligation Risk. A collateralized loan obligation is a trust collateralized by a pool of credit-related assets. Accordingly, collateralized loan obligation securities present risks similar to those of other types of credit investments, including credit and interest rate risks. The extent of these risks depend largely on the type of securities used as collateral and the class of the collateralized loan obligation in which the Fund invests. Collateralized loan obligations are typically leveraged, and such leverage will magnify the loss on collateralized loan obligation investments, which may result in investment loss experienced by the Fund. The cumulative effect of the use of leverage with respect to any investments in a market that moves adversely to such investments could result in a substantial loss that would be greater than if the Fund’s investments were not leveraged.

 

  High Yield Securities Risk. Higher yielding securities, sometimes referred to as junk bonds, may present additional risk because these securities may be less liquid and present more credit risk than investment grade bonds. The price of high yield securities tends to be more susceptible to issuer-specific operating results and outlook and to real or perceived adverse economic and competitive industry conditions. High yield securities may be regarded as predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s continuing ability to meet principal and interest payments.

 

  Issuer Credit Risk. The financial condition of an issuer of a debt security or other instrument may cause such issuer to default, become unable to pay interest or principal due or otherwise fail to honor its obligations or cause such issuer to be perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as being in such situations. The value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning in response to issuer defaults, changes in the credit ratings of the Fund’s portfolio investments and/or perceptions related thereto.

 

  Micro-Capitalization Investing Risk. Micro cap companies may be newly formed or in the early stages of development with limited product lines, markets or financial resources. Micro cap companies may be less financially secure and may be more vulnerable to key personnel losses. Micro cap stock prices may be more volatile than large-, mid- and small-capitalization companies and such stocks may be more thinly traded and thus difficult for the Fund to buy and sell in the market.

 

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  Private Credit Risk. Investments in private securities are not traded in public markets, are illiquid, can be subject to various restrictions on resale, and there can be no assurance that the Fund will be able to realize the value of such investments in a timely manner. Additionally, private credit investments can range in credit quality depending on security-specific factors, including total leverage, amount of leverage senior to the security in question, variability in the issuer’s cash flows, the size of the issuer, the quality of assets securing debt and the degree to which such assets cover the subject company’s debt obligations. The companies in which the Fund invests may be leveraged, often as a result of leveraged buyouts or other recapitalization transactions, and often will not be rated by national credit rating agencies.

 

  Senior Loan Investing Risk. Substantial increases in interest rates may cause an increase in loan defaults as borrowers may lack resources to meet higher debt service requirements. The value of the Fund’s assets may also be affected by other uncertainties such as economic developments affecting the market for senior secured term loans or affecting borrowers generally. Moreover, the security for the Fund’s investments in secured debt may not be recognized for a variety of reasons, including the failure to make required filings by lenders, trustees or other responsible parties and, as a result, the Fund may not have priority over other creditors as anticipated.

 

Investment Style Risk. The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, the Index regardless of their investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform the Index or take defensive positions in declining markets. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to the Index.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the actual or perceived financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

 

Non-Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk. Non-agency mortgage-backed securities are subject to heightened risks as compared to agency mortgage-backed securities, including that non-agency mortgage-backed securities are not subject to the same underwriting requirements for the underlying mortgages that are applicable to those mortgage-backed securities that have a government or government-sponsored entity guarantee. As a result, the mortgage loans underlying non-agency mortgage-backed securities may, and frequently do, have less favorable collateral, credit risk, or other underwriting characteristics than government or government-sponsored mortgage-backed securities and have wider variances in a number of terms including interest rate, term, size, purpose, and borrower characteristics. There may be a limited market for such securities.

 

Non-Correlation Risk. As with all index funds, the performance of the Fund and that of the Index may differ from each other for a variety of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses and portfolio transaction costs, while also managing cash flows and potential operational inefficiencies, not incurred by its Index. In addition, when markets are volatile, the ability to sell securities at fair market prices may be adversely affected and may result in additional trading costs and/or increase the non-correlation risk. The Fund’s use of sampling techniques also may affect its ability to achieve close correlation with its Index.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in those few issuers, and may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence. As a result, changes in the market value of a single security could cause greater fluctuations in the value of Fund shares than would occur in a diversified fund.

 

Small-Capitalization Investing Risk. The Fund may invest a relatively large percentage of its assets in the securities of small-capitalization companies. As a result, the Fund may be more volatile than funds that invest in larger, more established companies. The securities of small-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole. Small-capitalization companies may be particularly sensitive to adverse economic developments as well as changes in interest rates, government regulation, borrowing costs and earnings.

 

 

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Fund Performance

Historical Fund performance, which varies over time, can provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart that follows shows the annual total returns of the Fund for each full calendar year since the Fund commenced operations, or the past 10 calendar years, as applicable. The table that follows the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual total returns, both before and after taxes. This table also shows how the Fund’s performance compares to that of the Index and the ICE BofA Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield Index, a relevant broad-based securities index. In addition, performance also is shown for the S&P 500® Index, another comparative index that also represents the asset class in which the Fund invests. Index returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. All returns assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information for the Fund is available online on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

 

 

Year

The Fund’s year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2023 was 13.10%.

 

Best and Worst Quarter Returns (for the periods reflected in the bar chart above)

 

  Return Quarter/Year
Highest Return 9.34% 4Q/2022
Lowest Return (14.83)% 2Q/2022

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown and are not relevant if you hold your shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases, the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period.

 

Average Annual Total Returns for the periods ending December 31, 2022

 

WisdomTree Alternative Income Fund 1 Year Since Inception
May 6, 2021
Return Before Taxes Based on NAV (21.13)% (12.02)%
Return After Taxes on Distributions (23.60)% (14.50)%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares (12.29)% (9.83)%
Gapstow Liquid Alternative Credit Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (20.84)% (11.59)%
ICE BofA Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (11.22)% (5.18)%
S&P 500® Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (18.11)% (3.33)%

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser

WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. (“WisdomTree Asset Management” or the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Mellon Investments Corporation (the “Sub-Adviser”) serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

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Portfolio Managers

The Fund is managed by the Sub-Adviser's Equity Index Strategies Portfolio Management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are identified below.

 

Marlene Walker-Smith, a Director, Head of Equity Index Portfolio Management, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in May 2021.

 

David France, CFA, a Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager and Team Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since June 2021.

 

Todd Frysinger, CFA, a Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager and Team Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since June 2021.

 

Vlasta Sheremeta, CFA, a Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager and Team Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since June 2021.

 

Michael Stoll, a Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager and Team Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since June 2021.

 

Buying and Selling Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. This means that individual shares of the Fund are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, currently Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc., and may only be purchased and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). In addition, an investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares (“Creation Units”), which only certain institutions or large investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities and/or U.S. cash.

 

Tax Information

The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), WisdomTree Asset Management 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 Fund 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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WisdomTree Target Range Fund

 

Investment Objective

The WisdomTree Target Range Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to provide capital appreciation, with a secondary objective of hedging risk.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below. The fees are expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average net assets.

 

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)  
Management Fees 0.70%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees None
Other Expenses 0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.70%

 

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 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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
  $ 72 $ 224 $ 390 $ 871

 

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Fund’s Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 5% of the average value of its portfolio, excluding the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares.

 

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

In pursuing its investment objectives, the Fund seeks to follow the methodology of the TOPS® Global Equity Target Range® Index (the “Index”) created by Valmark Advisers, Inc. (“Valmark”), the Index Provider. However, the Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”). Therefore, the Fund’s returns are expected to be similar to the returns of the Index but will not match the Index’s returns due to the amount and timing of assets that flow in and out of the Fund and the Fund’s fees and expenses. The Index tracks the performance of a cash-secured (i.e., collateralized) call spread strategy which consists of (1) buying long call options and selling short call options on a portfolio of four ETFs that track the performance of large- and mid-capitalization companies in the United States, developed market countries and emerging market countries, respectively, consisting of the SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust (“SPY”), iShares Russell 2000 ETF (“IWM”), iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (“EFA”), and iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (“EEM”) (collectively, the “Underlying ETFs”); and (2) cash collateral. The target exposure of the Index, excluding cash collateral, as described below, is: SPY (50%), IWM (20%), EFA (20%), and EEM (10%) though the Fund’s exposure may differ from time to time due to market movements and cash flows in and out of the Fund. Due to changes in the Index or discretionary changes by the Fund’s investment adviser, WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. (“WisdomTree Asset Management” or the “Adviser”) and/or sub-adviser, Newton Investment Management North America, LLC (“NIMNA” or the “Sub-Adviser”), the target exposure among the Underlying ETFs may change over time.

 

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Each January the Index selects call options with a target expiration date of approximately one year. The long call options have a strike price that is approximately 85% of the current market price of the Underlying ETF at the time of purchase, and the short call options have a strike price that is approximately 115% of the current market price of the Underlying ETF at the time of sale. The Adviser maintains the ability to purchase and sell underlying call spread positions opportunistically on dates determined by the Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser also may restrike underlying call spread positions more frequently than the Index. Restriking underlying positions more frequently than the Index may cause different payoff profiles for underlying positions than those of the Index.

 

Under normal conditions, approximately 80-85% of the Fund’s assets are expected to be invested in the cash collateral component upon the annual roll date in January. As the value of the options fluctuate, the percentage of overall fund value represented by the cash collateral component will fluctuate as well. The cash collateral component of the Fund not invested in long and short call options on Underlying ETFs may be invested in options that differ from those included in the Index (e.g., an S&P Index option instead of S&P 500® ETF option), FLexible EXchange® Options (“FLEX Options”), which are customizable exchange-traded option contracts guaranteed for settlement by the Options Clearing Corporation, index futures contracts and ETFs that provide investment exposure comparable to the options used by the Index, fixed-income securities, including U.S. Treasury or other short-term instruments, such as commercial paper, and cash.

 

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

 

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. While certain of the risks are prioritized in terms of their relevance to the Fund’s investment strategies, most risks are presented in alphabetical order. This ordering approach is designed to both facilitate an investor’s understanding of the Fund’s risks and enable an investor to easily locate and compare risks among funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund (either incurred directly or through its investments in Underlying ETFs), regardless of the order in which it appears. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its investment objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the sections in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Principal Risk Information About the Funds” and “Additional Non-Principal Risk Information.”

 

Call Options Risk. Call options may be subject to volatile swings in price influenced by changes in the value of the Underlying ETF or other reference asset. The call options purchased and sold by the Fund may have imperfect correlation to the returns of the Underlying ETFs, which may in turn adversely affect the Fund’s ability achieve its investment objective. With respect to the “in the money” call options purchased by the Fund, if the price of the Underlying ETF’s shares or other reference asset does not appreciate above the strike price prior to the expiration date, the Fund may lose the entire amount of the premium that it paid for the call options. With respect to any “out of the money” call options written (sold) by the Fund, if the price of the Underlying ETF’s shares or other reference asset appreciate above the strike price prior to the expiration date, the Fund’s risk of loss from its obligation to deliver shares of the Underlying ETF or other reference asset to the buyer are limited to the extent the Fund purchased call options on the same Underlying ETF or other reference asset through its call spread strategy, but the Fund’s losses may outweigh the gains to the Fund from the receipt of options premiums.

 

Rolling Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy is subject to risks related to rolling. Because of the frequency with which the Fund expects to roll option contracts, this risk may be greater than the impact would be if the Fund experienced less portfolio turnover. The price of options contracts further from expiration may be higher, which can impact the Fund’s returns.

 

Limited Upside Return Risk. By virtue of its cash-secured call spread option strategy, Fund returns will be subject to an upside limitation on returns attributable to an Underlying ETF or other reference asset and the Fund will not participate in gains beyond such upside limitation. In the event an investor purchases Fund shares after the date on which the Fund implements the call spread strategy and the share price of the relevant Underlying ETF or other reference asset has risen in value to a level near the strike price, there may be little or no ability for that investor to experience an investment gain on an investment in Fund shares with respect to that Underlying ETF or other reference asset.

 

Downside Loss Risk. There can be no guarantee that an investor in the Fund will experience limited downside protection, particularly short-term investors, investors that seek to time the market and/or investors that invest over a period other than the annual period. The Fund does not protect an investor against the loss of principal, and an investor may experience significant losses on its investment in the Fund, including the loss of his or her entire investment.

 

 

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Investment Risk. As with all investments, an investment in the Fund is subject to loss, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount of an investment, over short or long periods of time.

 

Market Risk. The trading prices of securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors, such as economic, financial or political events that impact the entire market, market segments, or specific issuers. The Fund’s NAV and market price may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time.

 

Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of the Fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from the Fund’s daily NAV, and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV (premium) or less than the NAV (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines. Because securities held by the Fund trade on, or have exposure to, foreign exchanges that are closed when the Fund’s primary listing exchange is open, the Fund is likely to experience premiums and discounts greater than those of domestic ETFs. Additionally, in stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings.

 

Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed using proprietary investment strategies and processes. There can be no guarantee that these strategies and processes will be successful or that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.

 

Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund generally redeems shares for cash or otherwise includes cash as part of its redemption proceeds. The Fund may be required to sell or unwind Fund investments in order 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.

 

Commercial Paper Risk. The value of the Fund’s investment in commercial paper, which is an unsecured promissory note that generally has a maturity date between one and 270 days and is issued by a U.S. or foreign entity, is susceptible to changes in the issuer’s financial condition or credit quality. Investments in commercial paper are usually discounted from their value at maturity. Commercial paper can be fixed-rate or variable rate and can be adversely affected by changes in interest rates.

 

Currency Exchange Rate Risk. Changes in currency exchange rates and the relative value of non-U.S. currencies will affect the value of certain of the Fund’s investments and the value of your Fund shares. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may also change quickly, unpredictably, and without warning, and you may lose money.

 

Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from a breach in cybersecurity, including cyber-attacks. A breach in cybersecurity, intentional or unintentional, may adversely impact the Fund in many ways, including, but not limited to, disruption of the Fund’s operational capacity, loss of proprietary information, theft or corruption of data, denial-of-service attacks on websites or network resources, and the unauthorized release of confidential information. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund’s third-party service providers, market makers, institutional investors authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund (i.e., Authorized Participants), or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches.

 

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive their performance from an underlying reference asset, such as a commodity, index, interest rate or inflation rate. Generally, derivatives are sophisticated investments that may pose risks that are different from or greater than those posed by investing directly in the underlying reference asset. For example, the return on a derivative instrument may not correlate with that of its underlying reference asset, and minimal requisite initial investments necessary to purchase derivatives positions may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts. Derivatives also can be volatile and may be less liquid than other investments. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money. The Fund expects to use call options and futures contracts to implement its principal investment strategies. Other risks specific to these derivatives, as well as other risks of derivatives, generally, such as counterparty and issuer credit risk, interest rate risk, market risk and issuer-specific risk, are described in greater detail elsewhere in the Fund’s Prospectus.

 

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Emerging Markets Risk. Investment exposure to securities and instruments traded in developing or emerging markets, or that provide exposure to such securities or markets, can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions not associated with investments in U.S. securities and instruments or investments in more developed international markets. Such conditions may impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell or otherwise transfer securities, adversely affect the trading market and price for Fund shares and cause the Fund to decline in value.

 

FLEX Options Risk. The Fund may invest in FLEX Options issued and guaranteed for settlement by The Options Clearing Corporation (the “OCC”). The Fund bears the risk that the OCC will be unable or unwilling to perform its obligations under the FLEX Options contracts. In the unlikely event that the OCC becomes insolvent or is otherwise unable to meet its settlement obligations, the Fund could suffer significant losses. Additionally, FLEX Options may become illiquid, and in such cases, the Fund may have difficulty closing out certain FLEX Options positions at desired times and prices.

 

Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in non-U.S. securities involve political, regulatory, and economic risks that may not be present in investments in U.S. securities. For example, investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations, political or economic instability, or geographic events that adversely impact issuers of foreign securities. Investments in non-U.S. securities also may be subject to withholding or other taxes and may be subject to additional trading, settlement, custodial, and operational risks. These and other factors can make investments in the Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments. These risks may be heightened to the extent the Fund invests in companies domiciled in or otherwise tied to developing or emerging market countries.

 

Geographic Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a single country or region, it is more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country or region.

 

Geopolitical Risk. Some countries and regions in which the Fund invests may experience security concerns, war, threats of war, aggression and/or conflict, terrorism, economic uncertainty, sanctions or the threat of sanctions, natural and environmental disasters, the spread of infectious illness, widespread disease or other public health issues and/or systemic market dislocations that lead to increased short-term market volatility and have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and markets generally, each of which may negatively impact the Fund’s investments.

 

Index Construction Risk. The Index, and consequently the Fund, may not succeed in its objective and may not be optimal in its construction, causing losses to the Fund.

 

Index Provider Risk. The Fund generally seeks to follow the methodology of the Index. There is no assurance that the Index Provider will compile the Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. While the Index Provider gives descriptions of what the Index is designed to achieve, the Index Provider does not provide any warranty or accept any liability in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the Index, and does not guarantee that the Index will be in line with its methodology.

 

Issuer Credit Risk. The financial condition of an issuer of a debt security or other instrument may cause such issuer to default, become unable to pay interest or principal due or otherwise fail to honor its obligations or cause such issuer to be perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as being in such situations. The value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning in response to issuer defaults, changes in the credit ratings of the Fund’s portfolio investments and/or perceptions related thereto.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the actual or perceived financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of shares of the Underlying ETFs as well as the Fund.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in those few issuers, and may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence. As a result, changes in the market value of a single security could cause greater fluctuations in the value of Fund shares than would occur in a diversified fund.

 

 

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Purchase and Sale Timing Risk. Although the Fund seeks to implement a strategy similar to that used by the Index, if an investor purchases Fund shares on any day other than the roll date at the beginning of an annual period or holds shares for more or less than the annual period, the value of the investor’s investment in the Fund may not be protected against a decline in the value of an Underlying ETF or other reference asset and may not benefit from a gain in the value of the Underlying ETF or other reference asset. The value of the options purchased (and written) by the Fund is dependent on various factors, including, but not limited to, the value, implied volatility, and implied dividend rate of the Underlying ETFs and interest rates. Each of these factors may vary significantly during the annual period and affect the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective between roll dates.

 

Underlying Fund Risk. Each Underlying Fund is subject to specific risks, depending on its investments. Underlying Funds are also subject to investment advisory fees and other expenses, which are indirectly borne by the Fund. As a result, your overall cost of investing in the underlying stocks, bonds and other basic assets will be higher than the cost of investing directly in them, and may be higher than other mutual funds that invest directly in stocks and bonds.

 

U.S. Government Securities Risk. It is possible that the U.S. Government would not provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities if it is not required to do so by law. The ability of foreign governments to repay their obligations is adversely impacted by default, insolvency, bankruptcy or by political instability, including authoritarian and/or military involvement in governmental decision-making, armed conflict, civil war, social instability and the impact of these events and circumstances on a country’s economy and its government’s revenues.

 

U.S. Treasury Bill Risk. Treasury bills may differ from other debt securities in their interest rates, maturities, times of issuance and other characteristics and may provide relatively lower returns than those other securities. Similar to other issuers, changes to the financial condition or credit rating of the U.S. government may cause the value of the Fund’s Treasury bill holdings to decline.

 

Fund Performance

Historical Fund performance, which varies over time, can provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart that follows shows the annual total returns of the Fund for each full calendar year since the Fund commenced operations, or the past 10 calendar years, as applicable. The table that follows the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual total returns, both before and after taxes. This table also shows how the Fund’s performance compares to that of the Index and the MSCI AC World Index, a relevant broad-based securities index. Index returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. All returns assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information for the Fund is available online on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

 

 

Year

The Fund’s year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2023 was 3.27%.

 

Best and Worst Quarter Returns (for the periods reflected in the bar chart above)

 

  Return Quarter/Year
Highest Return (0.11)% 4Q/2022
Lowest Return (10.76)% 2Q/2022

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown and are not relevant if you hold your shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases, the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period.

 

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Average Annual Total Returns for the periods ending December 31, 2022

 

WisdomTree Target Range Fund 1 Year Since Inception
October 7, 2021
Return Before Taxes Based on NAV (18.99)% (12.71)%
Return After Taxes on Distributions (19.15)% (12.84)%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares (11.24)% (9.70)%
TOPS® Global Equity Target Range® Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (17.68)% (11.39)%
MSCI AC World Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (18.36)% (10.62)%

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser

WisdomTree Asset Management serves as investment adviser to the Fund. NIMNA serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers

The Fund is managed by NIMNA’s Multi-Asset Solutions Portfolio Management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are described below.

 

James Stavena, Head of Portfolio Management, Multi-Asset Solutions, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in October 2021.

 

Dimitri Curtil, Global Head of Multi-Asset Solutions, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in October 2021.

 

Torrey Zaches, a Portfolio Manager, Multi-Asset Solutions team, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in October 2021.

 

Buying and Selling Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. This means that individual shares of the Fund are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, currently NASDAQ, and may only be purchased and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). In addition, an investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares (“Creation Units”), which only certain institutions or large investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities and/or U.S. cash.

 

Tax Information

The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains.

 

 

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Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), WisdomTree Asset Management 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 Fund 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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WisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund

 

Investment Objective

The WisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund (the “Fund”) seeks total return.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below. The fees are expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average net assets.

 

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)  
Management Fees 0.45%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees None
Other Expenses 0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.45%

 

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 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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
  $ 46 $ 144 $ 252 $ 567

 

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Fund’s Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 16% of the average value of its portfolio, excluding the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares.

 

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

The Fund is actively managed using a model-based approach. The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, either directly or through a wholly-owned subsidiary, in a portfolio comprised of (i) U.S.-listed gold futures contracts and (ii) global equity securities issued by companies that derive at least 50% of their revenue from the gold mining business (“Gold Miners”). The Fund uses U.S.-listed gold futures contracts to enhance the capital efficiency of the Fund. Capital efficiency is the ability for an investment to gain exposure to a particular market while using fewer assets.

 

The Fund will invest in a representative basket of global equity securities issued by Gold Miners generally weighted by market capitalization. To be eligible for inclusion in the Fund, Gold Miners, including companies in developed and emerging market countries throughout the world, must be listed on an eligible global stock exchange. As of September 30, 2023, the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in Gold Miners domiciled in Canada and the United States.

 

Under normal circumstances, the Fund will have approximately equal exposure to U.S.-listed gold futures contracts and global equity securities issued by Gold Miners. The Fund generally will invest approximately 90% of its net assets in global equity securities issued by Gold Miners, while the Fund’s aggregate U.S.-listed gold futures contracts typically will represent a notional exposure (i.e., the total underlying amount of exposure created by a derivatives trade) of approximately 90% of the Fund’s net assets. The Fund’s portfolio will be rebalanced quarterly to implement the results of the model. As a result, between quarterly rebalances, the Fund’s allocations to U.S.-listed gold futures contracts and global equity securities by Gold Miners will vary from the targeted equal exposure, and the Fund’s basket of global equity securities issued by Gold Miners will vary from the targeted market capitalization weighting. To the extent exposure of the Fund deviates from this targeted allocation by greater than 5%, it is anticipated that the Fund will be rebalanced intra-quarter to more closely align its portfolio with the target allocations.

 

 

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The Fund may invest in U.S. Treasury securities and other liquid short-term investments as collateral for its U.S.-listed gold futures contracts. The Fund will not invest directly in physical commodities.

 

The Fund seeks to gain exposure to the commodity market for gold, in whole or in part, through investments in a subsidiary organized in the Cayman Islands (the “WisdomTree Subsidiary”). To provide such exposure, the WisdomTree Subsidiary will invest primarily in U.S.-listed gold futures contracts. The WisdomTree Subsidiary is wholly owned and controlled by the Fund. The Fund’s investment in the WisdomTree Subsidiary may not exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at each quarter-end of the Fund’s fiscal year. The Fund’s investment in the WisdomTree Subsidiary is intended to provide the Fund with exposure to the investment returns of gold while enabling the Fund to satisfy source-of-income requirements that apply to regulated investment companies (“RICs”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). Except as noted, references to the investment strategies and risks of the Fund include the investment strategies and risks of the WisdomTree Subsidiary.

 

WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. (“WisdomTree Asset Management” or the “Adviser”) currently uses the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®), a widely recognized industry classification methodology developed by MSCI, Inc. and Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC, to assign companies to a given sector or industry and identify the sectors represented in the Fund. A sector typically is composed of multiple industries. For example, the Energy Sector is composed of, among others, the Energy Equipment and Services Industry and the Oil, Gas and Consumable Fuels Industry. As of September 30, 2023, companies assigned to the Materials Sector comprised a significant portion (i.e., approximately 15% or more) of the Fund’s assets.

 

The Fund will concentrate (i.e., invest more than 25% of its net assets) in securities in the metals and mining industry and the gold mining sub-industry.

 

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. While certain of the risks are prioritized in terms of their relevance to the Fund’s investment strategies, most risks are presented in alphabetical order. This ordering approach is designed to both facilitate an investor’s understanding of the Fund’s risks and enable an investor to easily locate and compare risks among funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its investment objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the sections in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Principal Risk Information About the Funds” and “Additional Non-Principal Risk Information.”

 

Gold Commodity Risk. The value of commodities, such as gold, and commodity-linked derivative instruments, such as gold futures contracts, typically is based upon the price movements of the physical commodity or an economic variable linked to such price movements. Price movements in gold and gold futures contracts may fluctuate quickly and dramatically, have a historically low correlation with the returns of the stock and bond markets, and may not correlate to price movements in other asset classes. Some factors that impact the price of gold and gold futures contracts include, but are not limited to, overall market movements, changes in interest rates, changes in the global supply and demand for gold, the quantity of gold imports and exports, factors that impact gold production, such as drought, floods and weather conditions, technological advances in the processing and mining of gold, an increase in the hedging of precious metals, such as gold, and changes in economic and/or political conditions, including regulatory developments.

 

Gold Mining Companies Risk. By investing in the equity securities of Gold Miners, the Fund may be susceptible to financial, economic, political, or market events that impact the gold mining industry. Additional factors that affect Gold Miners and the gold mining industry include, but are not limited to: commodity prices; tax and government regulations, central bank operations; competitive pressures; the success of exploration projects; and adverse environmental developments. The profitability of Gold Miners can be dramatically affected by the fluctuation in the price of gold, which can be impacted by the factors set forth under Gold Commodity Risk.

 

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive their performance from an underlying reference asset, such as a commodity, index, interest rate or inflation rate. Generally, derivatives are sophisticated investments that may pose risks that are different from or greater than those posed by investing directly in the underlying reference asset. For example, the return on a derivative instrument may not correlate with that of its underlying reference asset, and minimal requisite initial investments necessary to purchase derivatives positions may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts. Derivatives also can be volatile and may be less liquid than other investments. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money. The Fund expects to use futures contracts to implement its principal investment strategies. Other risks specific to futures contracts, as well as other risks of derivatives, generally, such as counterparty and issuer credit risk, interest rate risk, market risk and issuer-specific risk, are described in greater detail elsewhere in the Fund’s Prospectus.

 

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Leveraging Risk. Certain transactions of the Fund, such as the use of derivative instruments, will give rise to leverage, magnifying gains and losses and causing the Fund to be more volatile than if it had not been leveraged. This means that leverage entails a heightened risk of loss.

 

Investment Risk. As with all investments, an investment in the Fund is subject to loss, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount of an investment, over short or long periods of time.

 

Market Risk. The trading prices of securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors, such as economic, financial or political events that impact the entire market, market segments, or specific issuers. The Fund’s NAV and market price may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time.

 

Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of the Fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from the Fund’s daily NAV, and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV (premium) or less than the NAV (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines. Because securities held by the Fund trade on, or have exposure to, foreign exchanges that are closed when the Fund’s primary listing exchange is open, the Fund is likely to experience premiums and discounts greater than those of domestic ETFs. Additionally, in stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings.

 

Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed using proprietary investment strategies and processes. There can be no guarantee that these strategies and processes will be successful or that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.

 

Capital Controls and Sanctions Risk. Economic conditions, such as volatile currency exchange rates and interest rates, political events, military action and other conditions may, without prior warning, lead to foreign government intervention (including intervention by the U.S. government with respect to foreign governments, economic sectors, foreign companies and related securities and interests) and the imposition of capital controls and/or sanctions, which may also include retaliatory actions of one government against another government, such as seizure of assets. Capital controls and/or sanctions include the prohibition of, or restrictions on, the ability to own or transfer currency, securities or other assets, which may potentially include derivative instruments related thereto. Capital controls and/or sanctions may also impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell, transfer, receive, deliver or otherwise obtain exposure to, foreign securities or currency, negatively impact the value and/or liquidity of such instruments, adversely affect the trading market and price for shares of the Fund, and cause the Fund to decline in value.

 

Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund generally redeems shares for cash or otherwise includes cash as part of its redemption proceeds. 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 Fund redeemed shares in kind.

 

Concentration Risk. The Fund will concentrate in securities in the metals and mining industry and the gold mining sub-industry, and the Fund may be more susceptible to loss due to adverse occurrences that affect the price of gold and the metals and mining industry more than the market as a whole.

 

Currency Exchange Rate Risk. Changes in currency exchange rates and the relative value of non-U.S. currencies will affect the value of the Fund’s investment and the value of your Fund shares. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may also change quickly, unpredictably, and without warning, and you may lose money.

 

Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from a breach in cybersecurity, including cyber-attacks. A breach in cybersecurity, intentional or unintentional, may adversely impact the Fund in many ways, including, but not limited to, disruption of the Fund’s operational capacity, loss of proprietary information, theft or corruption of data, denial-of-service attacks on websites or network resources, and the unauthorized release of confidential information. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund’s third-party service providers, market makers, institutional investors authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund (i.e., Authorized Participants), or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches.

 

 

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Emerging Markets Risk. Investments in securities and instruments traded in developing or emerging markets, or that provide exposure to such securities or markets, can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions not associated with investments in U.S. securities and instruments or investments in more developed international markets. Such conditions may impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell or otherwise transfer securities, adversely affect the trading market and price for Fund shares and cause the Fund to decline in value.

 

Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in non-U.S. securities involve political, regulatory, and economic risks that may not be present in investments in U.S. securities. For example, investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations, political or economic instability, or geographic events that adversely impact issuers of foreign securities. Investments in non-U.S. securities also may be subject to withholding or other taxes and may be subject to additional trading, settlement, custodial, and operational risks. These and other factors can make investments in the Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments. These risks may be heightened to the extent the Fund invests in companies domiciled in or otherwise tied to developing or emerging market countries.

 

Geographic Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a single country or region, it is more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country or region.

 

Investments in Canada
Although Canada is a major producer of commodities, including gold, Canada’s economy is heavily dependent on the demand for natural resources and agricultural products, and a change in the supply and demand of these resources, both domestically and internationally, can have a significant effect on Canadian market performance. In particular, the U.S. is Canada’s largest trading partner and foreign investor and, as a result, changes to the U.S. economy may significantly affect the Canadian economy.

 

Investments in the United States
The economic, political, regulatory and other events and conditions that affect issuers and investments in the United States differ significantly from those associated with other countries and regions. For example, routine political events, such as a presidential election, can have a significant effect on the U.S. markets and lead to periods of increased volatility. U.S. financial markets also have become increasingly globalized, hosting participants from all over the world and on a more macro level, becoming more tightly integrated with financial markets around the world. As a result, U.S. financial markets are also increasingly vulnerable to the risks that may affect non-U.S. financial markets. Any event or condition that affects the U.S. economy, whether originating from within or outside of the United States may have an adverse effect on the Fund’s investments in the United States and thus, the Fund’s performance.

 

Geopolitical Risk. Some countries and regions in which the Fund invests may experience security concerns, war, threats of war, aggression and/or conflict, terrorism, economic uncertainty, sanctions or the threat of sanctions, natural and environmental disasters, the spread of infectious illness, widespread disease or other public health issues and/or systemic market dislocations that lead to increased short-term market volatility and have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and markets generally, each of which may negatively impact the Fund’s investments.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the actual or perceived financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

 

Large-Capitalization Investing Risk. The Fund may invest in the securities of large-capitalization companies. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected if securities of these companies underperform securities of smaller capitalization companies or the market as a whole. Large-capitalization companies may adapt more slowly to new competitive challenges and be subject to slower growth during times of economic expansion.

 

Materials Sector Risk. The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in the Materials Sector. This sector includes, for example, metals and mining, chemicals, construction materials, glass, paper and related packaging products and forest product companies. This sector can be significantly affected by, among other things, commodity price volatility, demand for basic materials, world economic growth, depletion of natural resources, technological progress, and government regulations.

 

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Mid-Capitalization Investing Risk. The Fund may invest in the securities of mid-capitalization companies. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected if securities of these companies underperform securities of other capitalization ranges or the market as a whole. Securities of mid-capitalization companies are often less stable and more vulnerable to market volatility and adverse economic developments than securities of larger companies, but mid-capitalization companies may also underperform the securities of small-capitalization companies because medium capitalization companies are more mature and are subject to slower growth during economic expansion.

 

Models and Data Risk. While the Fund is actively managed, the Fund’s investment process is expected to be heavily dependent on quantitative models and the models may not perform as intended. Errors in data used in the models may occur from time to time and may not be identified and/or corrected, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in those few issuers, and may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence. As a result, changes in the market value of a single security could cause greater fluctuations in the value of Fund shares than would occur in a diversified fund.

 

Subsidiary Investment Risk. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Fund and the WisdomTree Subsidiary are organized, respectively, could result in the inability of the WisdomTree Subsidiary to operate as intended and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders.

 

Tax Risk. To qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment accorded to RICs, the Fund must, among other things, derive in each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from certain prescribed sources. The Fund may obtain exposure to the commodities markets by directly entering into commodity-linked derivative instruments, such as listed futures contracts. Income from certain commodity-linked derivative instruments in which the Fund invests may not be considered qualifying income under the 90% test noted above. The Fund intends to invest in such commodity-linked derivative instruments indirectly through the WisdomTree Subsidiary. The Fund’s investment in the WisdomTree Subsidiary is expected to provide the Fund with exposure to the commodities markets within the limitations of the federal tax requirements of the Code for qualification as a RIC. The “Subpart F” income (defined in Section 951 of the Code to include passive income, including from commodity-linked derivatives and futures) of the Fund attributable to the Fund’s investment in the WisdomTree Subsidiary is “qualifying income” to the Fund to the extent that such income is derived with respect to the Fund’s business of investing in stock, securities or currencies. The Fund expects its “Subpart F” income attributable to its investment in the WisdomTree Subsidiary to be derived with respect to the Fund’s business of investing in stock, securities or currencies and to be treated as “qualifying income”. The Fund’s investment adviser intends to conduct the Fund’s investments in the WisdomTree Subsidiary in a manner consistent with the terms and conditions of the regulations promulgated by the U.S. Treasury, and will monitor the Fund’s investments in the WisdomTree Subsidiary to ensure that no more than 25% of the Fund’s assets are invested in the WisdomTree Subsidiary. To the extent the Fund makes a direct investment in commodity-linked derivative instruments, it will seek to restrict the resulting income from such instruments so that, when combined with its other non-qualifying income, the Fund’s non-qualifying income is less than 10% of its gross income. However, the Fund may generate more non-qualifying income than anticipated, may not be able to generate qualifying income in a particular taxable year at levels sufficient to meet the 90% test noted above, or may not be able to accurately predict the non-qualifying income from these investments. Failure to comply with this restriction would have significant negative tax consequences to Fund shareholders.

 

Fund Performance

Historical Fund performance, which varies over time, can provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart that follows shows the annual total returns of the Fund for each full calendar year since the Fund commenced operations, or the past 10 calendar years, as applicable. The table that follows the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual total returns, both before and after taxes. This table also shows how the Fund’s performance compares to that of the NYSE ARCA Gold Miners Index, a relevant broad-based securities index. Index returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. All returns assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information for the Fund is available online on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

 

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Year

The Fund’s year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2023 was (9.61)%.

 

Best and Worst Quarter Returns (for the periods reflected in the bar chart above)

 

  Return Quarter/Year
Highest Return 26.33% 4Q/2022
Lowest Return (31.11)% 2Q/2022

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown and are not relevant if you hold your shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases, the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period.

 

Average Annual Total Returns for the periods ending December 31, 2022

 

WisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund 1 Year Since Inception
December 16, 2021
Return Before Taxes Based on NAV (14.72)% (4.33)%
Return After Taxes on Distributions (15.06)% (4.69)%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares (8.54)% (3.34)%
NYSE ARCA Gold Miners Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (8.09)% 0.85%

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser

WisdomTree Asset Management serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Mellon Investments Corporation (the “Sub-Adviser”) serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers

The Fund is managed by the Sub-Adviser's Equity Index Strategies Portfolio Management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are identified below.

 

Marlene Walker-Smith, a Director, Head of Equity Index Portfolio Management, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in December 2021.

 

David France, CFA, a Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager and Team Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in December 2021.

 

Todd Frysinger, CFA, a Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager and Team Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in December 2021.

 

Vlasta Sheremeta, CFA, a Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager and Team Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in December 2021.

 

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Michael Stoll, a Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager and Team Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in December 2021.

 

Buying and Selling Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. This means that individual shares of the Fund are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, currently Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc., and may only be purchased and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). In addition, an investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares (“Creation Units”), which only certain institutions or large investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities and/or U.S. cash.

 

Tax Information

The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), WisdomTree Asset Management 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 Fund 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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WisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Equity Strategy Fund

 

Investment Objective

The WisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Equity Strategy Fund (the “Fund”) seeks total return.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below. The fees are expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average net assets.

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)  
Management Fees 0.20%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees None
Other Expenses 0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.20%

 

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 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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
  $ 20 $ 64 $ 113 $ 255

 

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Fund’s Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 20% of the average value of its portfolio, excluding the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares.

 

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

The Fund is actively managed using a model-based approach. The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, either directly or through a wholly-owned subsidiary, in a portfolio comprised of (i) U.S.-listed gold futures contracts and (ii) U.S. equity securities. The Fund uses U.S.-listed gold futures contracts to enhance the capital efficiency of the Fund. Capital efficiency is the ability for an investment to gain exposure to a particular market while using fewer assets.

 

The Fund will invest in a representative basket of U.S. equity securities of large-capitalization companies generally weighted by market capitalization.

 

Under normal circumstances, the Fund will have approximately equal exposure to U.S.-listed gold futures contracts and U.S. equity securities. The Fund’s portfolio will be rebalanced quarterly to implement the results of the model. As a result, between quarterly rebalances, the Fund’s allocations to U.S.-listed gold futures contracts and U.S. equity securities will vary from the targeted equal exposure, and the Fund’s basket of equity securities will vary from the targeted market capitalization weighting. To the extent exposure of the Fund deviates from the targeted allocation by greater than 5%, it is anticipated that the Fund will be rebalanced intra-quarter to more closely align its portfolio with the target allocations.

 

The Fund may invest in U.S. Treasury securities and other liquid short-term investments as collateral for its U.S.-listed gold futures contracts. The Fund will not invest directly in physical commodities.

 

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The Fund seeks to gain exposure to the commodity market for gold, in whole or in part, through investments in a subsidiary organized in the Cayman Islands (the “WisdomTree Subsidiary”). To provide such exposure, the WisdomTree Subsidiary will invest primarily in U.S.-listed gold futures contracts. The WisdomTree Subsidiary is wholly owned and controlled by the Fund. The Fund’s investment in the WisdomTree Subsidiary may not exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at each quarter-end of the Fund’s fiscal year. The Fund’s investment in the WisdomTree Subsidiary is intended to provide the Fund with exposure to the investment returns of gold while enabling the Fund to satisfy source-of-income requirements that apply to regulated investment companies (“RICs”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). Except as noted, references to the investment strategies and risks of the Fund include the investment strategies and risks of the WisdomTree Subsidiary.

 

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. While certain of the risks are prioritized in terms of their relevance to the Fund’s investment strategies, most risks are presented in alphabetical order. This ordering approach is designed to both facilitate an investor’s understanding of the Fund’s risks and enable an investor to easily locate and compare risks among funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its investment objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the sections in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Principal Risk Information About the Funds” and “Additional Non-Principal Risk Information.”

 

Gold Commodity Risk. The value of commodities, such as gold, and commodity-linked derivative instruments, such as gold futures contracts, typically is based upon the price movements of the physical commodity or an economic variable linked to such price movements. Price movements in gold and gold futures contracts may fluctuate quickly and dramatically, have a historically low correlation with the returns of the stock and bond markets, and may not correlate to price movements in other asset classes. Some factors that impact the price of gold and gold futures contracts include, but are not limited to, overall market movements, changes in interest rates, changes in the global supply and demand for gold, the quantity of gold imports and exports, factors that impact gold production, such as drought, floods and weather conditions, technological advances in the processing and mining of gold, an increase in the hedging of precious metals, such as gold, and changes in economic and/or political conditions, including regulatory developments.

 

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive their performance from an underlying reference asset, such as a commodity, index, interest rate or inflation rate. Generally, derivatives are sophisticated investments that may pose risks that are different from or greater than those posed by investing directly in the underlying reference asset. For example, the return on a derivative instrument may not correlate with that of its underlying reference asset, and minimal requisite initial investments necessary to purchase derivatives positions may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts. Derivatives also can be volatile and may be less liquid than other investments. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money. The Fund expects to use futures contracts to implement its principal investment strategies. Other risks specific to futures contracts, as well as other risks of derivatives, generally, such as counterparty and issuer credit risk, interest rate risk, market risk and issuer-specific risk, are described in greater detail elsewhere in the Fund’s Prospectus.

 

Leveraging Risk. Certain transactions of the Fund, such as the use of derivative instruments, will give rise to leverage, magnifying gains and losses and causing the Fund to be more volatile than if it had not been leveraged. This means that leverage entails a heightened risk of loss.

 

Investment Risk. As with all investments, an investment in the Fund is subject to loss, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount of an investment, over short or long periods of time.

 

Market Risk. The trading prices of securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors, such as economic, financial or political events that impact the entire market, market segments, or specific issuers. The Fund’s NAV and market price may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time.

 

Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of the Fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from the Fund’s daily NAV, and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV (premium) or less than the NAV (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines. Because securities held by the Fund trade on, or have exposure to, foreign exchanges that are closed when the Fund’s primary listing exchange is open, the Fund is likely to experience premiums and discounts greater than those of domestic ETFs. Additionally, in stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings.

 

 

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Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed using proprietary investment strategies and processes. There can be no guarantee that these strategies and processes will be successful or that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.

 

Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund generally redeems shares for cash or otherwise includes cash as part of its redemption proceeds. 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 Fund redeemed shares in kind.

 

Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from a breach in cybersecurity, including cyber-attacks. A breach in cybersecurity, intentional or unintentional, may adversely impact the Fund in many ways, including, but not limited to, disruption of the Fund’s operational capacity, loss of proprietary information, theft or corruption of data, denial-of-service attacks on websites or network resources, and the unauthorized release of confidential information. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund’s third-party service providers, market makers, institutional investors authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund (i.e., Authorized Participants), or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches.

 

Geopolitical Risk. The United States may experience security concerns, war, threats of war, aggression and/or conflict, terrorism, economic uncertainty, sanctions or the threat of sanctions, natural and environmental disasters, the spread of infectious illness, widespread disease or other public health issues and/or systemic market dislocations that lead to increased short-term market volatility and have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and markets generally, each of which may negatively impact the Fund’s investments.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the actual or perceived financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

 

Large-Capitalization Investing Risk. The Fund invests in the securities of large-capitalization companies. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected if securities of these companies underperform securities of smaller capitalization companies or the market as a whole. Large-capitalization companies may adapt more slowly to new competitive challenges and be subject to slower growth during times of economic expansion.

 

Models and Data Risk. While the Fund is actively managed, the Fund’s investment process is expected to be heavily dependent on quantitative models and the models may not perform as intended. Errors in data used in the models may occur from time to time and may not be identified and/or corrected, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in those few issuers, and may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence. As a result, changes in the market value of a single security could cause greater fluctuations in the value of Fund shares than would occur in a diversified fund.

 

Subsidiary Investment Risk. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Fund and the WisdomTree Subsidiary are organized, respectively, could result in the inability of the WisdomTree Subsidiary to operate as intended and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders.

 

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Tax Risk. To qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment accorded to RICs, the Fund must, among other things, derive in each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from certain prescribed sources. The Fund may obtain exposure to the commodities markets by directly entering into commodity-linked derivative instruments, such as listed futures contracts. Income from certain commodity-linked derivative instruments in which the Fund invests may not be considered qualifying income under the 90% test noted above. The Fund intends to invest in such commodity-linked derivative instruments indirectly through the WisdomTree Subsidiary. The Fund’s investment in the WisdomTree Subsidiary is expected to provide the Fund with exposure to the commodities markets within the limitations of the federal tax requirements of the Code for qualification as a RIC. The “Subpart F” income (defined in Section 951 of the Code to include passive income, including from commodity-linked derivatives and futures) of the Fund attributable to the Fund’s investment in the WisdomTree Subsidiary is “qualifying income” to the Fund to the extent that such income is derived with respect to the Fund’s business of investing in stock, securities or currencies. The Fund expects its “Subpart F” income attributable to its investment in the WisdomTree Subsidiary to be derived with respect to the Fund’s business of investing in stock, securities or currencies and to be treated as “qualifying income”. The Fund’s investment adviser intends to conduct the Fund’s investments in the WisdomTree Subsidiary in a manner consistent with the terms and conditions of the regulations promulgated by the U.S. Treasury, and will monitor the Fund’s investments in the WisdomTree Subsidiary to ensure that no more than 25% of the Fund’s assets are invested in the WisdomTree Subsidiary. To the extent the Fund makes a direct investment in commodity-linked derivative instruments, it will seek to restrict the resulting income from such instruments so that, when combined with its other non-qualifying income, the Fund’s non-qualifying income is less than 10% of its gross income. However, the Fund may generate more non-qualifying income than anticipated, may not be able to generate qualifying income in a particular taxable year at levels sufficient to meet the 90% test noted above, or may not be able to accurately predict the non-qualifying income from these investments. Failure to comply with this restriction would have significant negative tax consequences to Fund shareholders.

 

Fund Performance

The Fund commenced operations on March 17, 2022, and therefore does not yet have performance history for a full calendar year. Once the Fund has completed a full calendar year of operations, a bar chart and table will be included that will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing the variability of the Fund’s return based on net assets and comparing the Fund’s performance to a broad measure of market performance. Updated performance information for the Fund is available online on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser

WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. (“WisdomTree Asset Management” or the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Mellon Investments Corporation (the “Sub-Adviser”) serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers

The Fund is managed by the Sub-Adviser's Equity Index Strategies Portfolio Management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are identified below.

 

Marlene Walker-Smith, a Director, Head of Equity Index Portfolio Management, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in March 2022.

 

David France, CFA, a Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager and Team Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in March 2022.

 

Todd Frysinger, CFA, a Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager and Team Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in March 2022.

 

Vlasta Sheremeta, CFA, a Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager and Team Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in March 2022.

 

Michael Stoll, a Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager and Team Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in March 2022.

 

Buying and Selling Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. This means that individual shares of the Fund are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, currently Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc., and may only be purchased and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). In addition, an investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the

“bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

 

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The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares (“Creation Units”), which only certain institutions or large investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities and/or U.S. cash.

 

Tax Information

The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), WisdomTree Asset Management 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 Fund 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

 

Additional Information About the Funds’ Investment Objectives

Each Fund’s investment objective may be changed without a vote of shareholders upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders.

 

Additional Information About the Currency Strategy and Fixed Income Funds’ Investment Strategies

Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Bullish Fund. The Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Bullish Fund may invest in additional instruments and below is a brief description of these instruments:

 

  Futures contract  –  a standardized contract traded on a recognized exchange in which two parties agree to exchange either a specified financial asset or the cash equivalent of said asset of standardized quantity and quality for a price agreed to today (the futures price or the strike price) with delivery occurring at a specified future date.

 

  Listed currency option  –  a call or put option on a foreign currency, either on an exchange or in the over-the-counter market, that gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy or sell, respectively, the foreign currency at the exercise price until the option expires.

 

The Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Bullish Fund’s investments in listed currency options and futures contracts will be backed by investments in U.S.-issued money market securities, U.S. government securities or other liquid assets in an amount equal to the exposure of such contracts. The Fund may invest directly in foreign currencies in the form of bank and financial institution deposits, certificates of deposit, and bankers acceptances denominated in a specified non-U.S. currency and may enter into foreign currency exchange transactions. The Fund may also conduct its foreign currency exchange transactions on a spot (i.e., cash) basis at the spot rate prevailing in the foreign currency exchange market.

 

Although the Fund may invest in listed currency options, currency swaps and spot currencies, investments in such instruments are expected to be limited, in each case to not more than 20% of the Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Bullish Fund’s net assets.

 

Emerging Currency Strategy Fund. The decision to secure investment exposure directly or indirectly will be a function of, among other things, market accessibility, credit exposure, and tax ramifications for foreign investors. If the Fund pursues direct investment, eligible investments include short- term securities issued by emerging market governments and their agencies or instrumentalities, bank debt obligations and time deposits, bankers’ acceptances, commercial paper, short-term corporate debt obligations, mortgage-backed securities, and asset-backed securities.

 

Fixed Income Active Funds. Emerging Markets Local Debt Fund, Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fund, and Mortgage Plus Bond Fund may sometimes be referred to together as the “Fixed Income Active Funds.” The Emerging Markets Local Debt Fund intends to provide a broad-based exposure to local currency debt. The Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fund intends to provide a broad-based exposure to emerging market corporate debt and therefore will invest in both investment grade and non- investment grade securities. The degree of credit risk for a particular security may be reflected in its credit rating. Investment grade debt securities are generally those rated Baa3 or higher by Moody’s Investors Services, Inc. (“Moody’s”), or equivalently rated by S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or Fitch, and typically subject to less credit risk than non-investment grade debt securities. The Emerging Markets Local Debt Fund generally does not expect to have more than 35% of its assets invested in non-investment grade securities, and the Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fund expects to have 50% or more of its net assets invested in investment grade securities and not more than 50% of its net assets invested in non-investment grade securities. This may change from time to time, including to a higher percentage of non-investment grade securities, based on market conditions and the condition of specific issuers and securities. Within the non-investment grade category, some issuers and instruments are considered to be of lower credit quality and at higher risk of default (commonly referred to as “junk bonds”).

 

The Mortgage Plus Bond Fund may invest in other investments that the Fund believes will help it achieve its investment objective, including cash and cash equivalents, as well as in shares of other investment companies (including WisdomTree ETFs).

 

Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fund. The Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fund may invest in loan participation notes. A loan participation note is a type of short-term debt instrument. They typically are issued by an offshore special purpose vehicle for the purpose of funding a loan by the special purpose vehicle to an offshore corporation or other entity. Loan participation notes are sometimes used by companies in non-U.S. markets to raise money because tax regulations or other laws make it difficult or expensive for such companies to issue debt directly into the global bond market. If the company fails to repay the loan received from the special purpose vehicle, the special purpose vehicle generally will not be able to honor its obligation to repay the notes.

 

 

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The decision to secure exposure through direct investment in Corporate Debt or indirectly through derivative transactions will be a function of, among other things, market accessibility, credit exposure, tax ramifications and regulatory requirements applicable to U.S. investment companies. If, subsequent to an investment, the Fund’s 80% requirement is no longer met, the Fund’s future investments will be made in a manner that will bring the Fund into compliance with this policy. The Fund will provide shareholders with sixty (60) days’ prior written notice of any change to this policy.

 

Fixed Income Index Funds. The Interest Rate Hedged U.S. Aggregate Bond Fund and Interest Rate Hedged High Yield Bond Fund may sometimes be referred to together as the “Duration Funds”. The Duration Funds, Floating Rate Treasury Fund, Yield Enhanced U.S. Aggregate Bond Fund, Yield Enhanced U.S. Short-Term Aggregate Bond Fund and Voya Yield Enhanced USD Universal Bond Fund may sometimes be referred to collectively as the “Fixed Income Index Funds.”

 

WisdomTree Asset Management expects that, over time, the correlation between each Fixed Income Index Fund’s performance and that of its underlying Index, before fees and expenses, will be 95% or better. A number of factors may affect each Fixed Income Index Fund’s ability to achieve a high degree of correlation with its underlying Index, and there can be no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation.

 

The quantity of holdings in each Fixed Income Index Fund using a representative sampling strategy will be based on a number of factors, including asset size of the Fund. In addition, from time to time, securities are added to or removed from each Fund’s underlying Index and consequently the attributes of the underlying Index may change. Each Fixed Income Index Fund may sell securities that are represented in its underlying Index, or purchase securities that are not yet represented in its underlying Index, in anticipation of their removal from or addition to the underlying Index or to reflect various other changes to the underlying Index.

 

Further, each Fixed Income Index Fund may overweight or underweight securities in its underlying Index, purchase or sell securities not in its underlying Index, or utilize various combinations of other available techniques, in seeking to track its underlying Index.

 

Each Fixed Income Index Fund may invest in other investments (generally up to 20% of its assets) that the Fund believes will help it track its Index, including cash and cash equivalents, and other fixed income securities, as well as in shares of other investment companies (including WisdomTree ETFs), forward contracts, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, options and swaps.

 

Voya Yield Enhanced USD Universal Bond Fund. The Fund will normally invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in the types of securities suggested by its name (i.e., investments connoted by the Index). The Fund anticipates meeting this policy because, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) will be invested in constituent securities of the Index and investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially similar to the economic characteristics of such constituent securities, such as TBA transactions in mortgage-backed securities.

 

For purposes of the Fund’s investment strategy, the Fund defines an “emerging market” country consistently with the Index, which defines an emerging market country to include: (i) a country that meets one of the following two criteria: (1) World Bank Income group classifications of low/middle income or (2) International Monetary Fund (“IMF”) classification as a non-advanced country, or (ii) additional countries that bond investors classify as emerging markets due to factors such as investability concerns, the presence of capital controls, and/or geographic considerations. The Index Provider reviews this definition on an annual basis and it is subject to change based on such reviews.

 

WisdomTree Asset Management and Voya IM collaborated on the creation of the Fund, which is designed, in part, to meet certain of the investment needs of the Voya Index Solution Portfolios. As such, the Fund expects the Voya Index Solution Portfolios to be significant investors in the Fund. The Fund, Voya Index Solution Portfolios, and their respective service providers will collectively coordinate the provision of investor services with respect to the shareholders of the Voya Index Solution Portfolios. Voya Investments, LLC, an affiliate of Voya IM, and Voya IM serve as adviser and sub-adviser, respectively, to the Voya Index Solution Portfolios. Due to the investment and servicing relationship between the Fund and the Voya Index Solution Portfolios and their common sub-adviser, Voya IM, the Fund and the Voya Index Solution Portfolios are considered to be part of the “same group of investment companies” or “related funds” for purposes of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”) and the rules thereunder.

 

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Additional Information About the Alternative Funds' Investment Strategies

PutWrite Strategy Fund. WisdomTree Asset Management expects that, over time, the correlation between the performance of the Fund and its Index, before fees and expenses, will be 95% or better. A number of factors may affect the Fund’s ability to achieve a high degree of correlation with its Index, and there can be no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation. The quantity of holdings in the Fund, which generally uses a representative sampling strategy, will be based on a number of factors, including asset size of the Fund.

 

The Index. The Index tracks the performance of a systematic collateralized PutWrite strategy. At any point in time the strategy has two short put options on SPY, with different expiration dates, and a collateral account that accrues interest at a theoretical Treasury bill rate on a daily basis.

 

Information about SPY. The SPDR S&P 500® ETF Trust (SPY) seeks to provide investment results that, before expenses, correspond generally to the performance of the S&P 500® Index, which measures the performance of the large capitalization sector of the U.S. equity market.

 

Managed Futures Strategy Fund. The Fund will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in “managed futures.” If, subsequent to an investment, the Fund is no longer able to meet this 80% investment policy, the Fund’s future investments will be made in a manner that will bring the Fund into compliance with this policy. The Fund will provide shareholders with sixty (60) days’ prior written notice of any change to this policy. The Fund may invest in other investments that the Fund believes will help it achieve its investment objective, including cash and cash equivalents, as well as in shares of other investment companies (including WisdomTree ETFs).

 

Unlike the Fund, the WisdomTree Subsidiary is not an investment company registered under the 1940 Act, and therefore may invest in commodities and commodity-linked derivatives to a greater extent than the Fund. The WisdomTree Subsidiary, however, is required to invest in commodity-linked derivatives in a manner consistent with the terms of its private letter ruling and certain provisions of the 1940 Act. The WisdomTree Subsidiary is otherwise subject to the same general investment policies and investment restrictions as the Fund.

 

Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund. The Fund will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in commodity and commodity-related futures contracts, U.S. government securities and money market instruments that collectively will provide exposure to the commodities markets. If, subsequent to an investment, the Fund is no longer able to meet this 80% investment policy, the Fund’s future investments will be made in a manner that will bring the Fund into compliance with this policy. The Fund will provide shareholders with sixty (60) days’ prior written notice of any change to this policy.

 

The Fund may invest in other investments that the Fund believes will help it achieve its investment objective, including cash and cash equivalents, as well as in shares of other investment companies (including WisdomTree ETFs).

 

Unlike the Fund, the WisdomTree Subsidiary is not an investment company registered under the 1940 Act, and therefore may invest in commodities and commodity-linked derivatives to a greater extent than the Fund. The WisdomTree Subsidiary, however, is required to invest in commodity-linked derivatives in a manner consistent with the terms of its private letter ruling and certain provisions of the 1940 Act. The WisdomTree Subsidiary is otherwise subject to the same general investment policies and investment restrictions as the Fund.

 

Alternative Income Fund. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) will be invested in constituent securities of the underlying Index and investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially identical to the economic characteristics of such constituent securities, such as depositary receipts based on constituent securities. The Adviser expects that, over time, the correlation between the Fund’s performance and that of its Index, before fees and expenses, will be 95% or better. A number of factors may affect the Fund’s ability to achieve a high degree of correlation with its Index, and there can be no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation.

 

The quantity of holdings in the Fund, by using a representative sampling strategy, will be based on a number of factors, including asset size of the Fund. In addition, from time to time, securities are added to or removed from the Index and consequently the attributes of the Index, such as sectors, industries or countries represented in the Index and weightings, may change. The Fund may sell securities that are represented in the Index, or purchase securities that are not yet represented in the Index, in anticipation of their removal from or addition to the Index or to reflect various corporate actions or other changes to the Index. Further, the Fund may overweight or underweight securities in the Index, purchase or sell securities not in the Index, or utilize various combinations of other available techniques, in seeking to track the Index.

 

 

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The Index is an equal-weighted index that tracks the performance of 35 publicly-traded closed-end funds (“CEFs”), business development companies (“BDCs”), and real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) (CEFs, BDCs, and REITs are collectively referred to as “Vehicles”) selected because of their individual exposure to a range of U.S. alternative credit sectors. The Vehicles in the Index are classified based on their investment holdings into one of the six alternative credit sectors defined in the table below:

 

 

Alternative Credit Sector Primary Alternative Credit Investments
   
Private Corporate Lending Private loans made to middle market corporations and/or any other type of private middle market corporate lending or financing
   
Public Corporate Debt High yield bonds (“junk bonds”), broadly syndicated loans and/or collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”)
   
Commercial Real Estate Lending Commercial real estate-backed loans, non-agency commercial mortgage-backed securities, and/or commercial real estate CLOs
   
Agency Real Estate Debt Agency residential mortgage-backed securities (including mortgage servicing rights) and/or agency commercial mortgage-backed securities
   
Non-Agency Real Estate Debt Real estate-backed debt including residential and commercial real estate loans and/or non-agency mortgage-backed securities
   
Multi-Sector Alternative Credit Combination of investments in the above-referenced five sectors

 

Sector reclassifications of Vehicles occur annually and reclassification with respect to a Vehicle generally occurs only if the Vehicle has less than 63.75% exposure to the applicable sector (75% with respect to non-agency real estate debt), among other factors, for the last two reclassification cycles.

 

Under the 1940 Act, the Fund's investments in BDCs and CEFs are subject to the aggregate limits contained in Section 12(d)(1)(A)(iii). In order for the Fund’s investment strategy to be fully implemented, the Fund intends to rely on either Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act or Rule 12d1-4 thereunder to permit the Fund to invest in BDCs and/or CEFs in excess of this limitation, subject to certain conditions.

 

Target Range Fund. The TOPS® Global Equity Target Range® Index’s cash-secured call spread option strategy consists of buying and selling call options on each of the Underlying ETFs, each of which is described below.

 

Information About the Underlying ETFs

 

SPDR S&P 500® ETF Trust (SPY) - SPY seeks to provide investment results that, before expenses, correspond generally to the performance of the S&P 500® Index, which measures the performance of the large capitalization sector of the U.S. equity market.

 

iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) - IWM seeks to provide investment results that, before expenses, correspond generally to the performance of the Russell 2000 Index, which measures the performance of the small capitalization sector of the U.S. equity market.

 

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA) - EFA seeks to provide investment results that, before expenses, correspond generally to the performance of the MSCI EAFE Index, which measures the performance of large- and mid-capitalization developed market equities, excluding the U.S. and Canada.

 

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iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) - EEM seeks to provide investment results that, before expenses, correspond generally to the performance of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, which measures the performance of large- and mid-capitalization emerging market equities.

 

A call spread includes the purchase and sale of a call option on the same Underlying ETF with the same expiration date but the written (i.e., sold short) call option has a higher strike price (i.e., the price at which the Underlying ETF is bought or sold). When a call option is sold, the Fund will receive a premium. The premium received from the sale of a call option generally is expected to offset the cost to the Fund of the purchased call option. As a general example (not indicative of actual cost, which will vary), if the premium received for selling a call option was 1.5% and the marginal cost of purchasing a long call option (difference between the options premium and the intrinsic value) was 2.0%, the net cost of the call spread strategy would be assumed to be near 0.50%. The buyer of a long call option (e.g., the Index or the Fund) pays a premium for the right to purchase shares of the Underlying ETF at a specified price (“strike price”) until a specified date (“expiration date”). By writing call options as part of the strategy, maximum returns will be limited compared to what maximum returns could be if the Fund held only long call options. However, if shares of the Underlying ETF do not appreciate above the strike price prior to the expiration date, the call option may become worthless and the buyer’s loss is limited to the amount of premium it paid. For example, if a 2% premium were received for writing a 15% out of the money call and the Underlying ETF does not appreciate beyond the original strike price, then the Fund would have no further obligation regarding the option and it would expire worthless (a call option is “out of the money” if the price of the Underlying ETF is less than the strike price of the option). The assumed return to the Fund for writing in this particular option, in this example, would be the 2% premium received less any reflected brokerage expenses.

 

The seller (writer) of a call option (e.g., the Index or the Fund) receives a premium from the buyer and, in turn, the short call option obligates the seller to deliver shares of the Underlying ETF to the buyer at the strike price until the expiration date. If shares of the Underlying ETF appreciate above the strike price at the time of the expiration date, the option may be exercised against the seller, and the seller may have to deliver shares of the Underlying ETF or close the position. However, if shares of the Underlying ETF do not appreciate above the strike price prior to the expiration date, the call option may become worthless and the seller retains the premium it received.

 

As options expire, new options are purchased by the Index (and the Fund as well) on the same date, a process known as “rolling.” However, in between annual roll dates the Index determines, on a monthly basis, whether to sell the call spread and purchase a new call spread at a different strike price, a process known as “restriking.” Restriking refers to the practice of selling an options position and purchasing a new position with a different strike price. Each month the options of each Underlying ETF may be restruck if the price of such Underlying ETF is greater than the strike price of the relevant short call option as of the last business day of each month, excluding the months of January and December (a “Restrike Event”). Following a Restrike Event for an Underlying ETF, new options are selected for such Underlying ETF as of the last business day of the month using the same process as used in January for the annual restrike.

 

Definition of Target Range. The Fund does not offer what other types of funds refer to as “target outcome” strategies. Target outcome strategies generally seek to produce pre-determined investment outcomes based upon the performance of an underlying security or index and include a buffer against a certain percentage of losses and a cap on potential returns over a defined “Outcome Period” based upon the fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”) at the beginning of an Outcome Period.

 

Because the Fund targets returns only within a prescribed range, in the event that the price of an Underlying ETF were to decline over the annual period, the Fund would typically sustain losses of up to the sum of the total value of the long call option and the short option per the value of the target allocation to each Underlying ETF (before fees, expenses, and taxes), i.e., the lower boundary. Each Underlying ETF will perform differently and may or may not reach its lower boundary during the annual period.

 

If an Underlying ETF appreciates during the annual period and causes a Restrike Event, the Fund will continue to benefit from the potential for further capital appreciation during the annual period within the upper and lower bounds of the revised range.

 

The value of an Underlying ETF relative to the Target Range can affect shareholder returns depending on the time of purchase of Fund shares. An investor acquiring Fund shares after the start of the annual period will typically have a different return potential than an investor who purchased Fund shares at the start of the annual period if the position of an Underlying ETF relative to its floor has changed. If during an annual period the price of an Underlying ETF has declined below the floor, the allocation to that Underlying ETF exposure will not realize any appreciation during that time. However, an investor also could potentially earn greater returns relative to an investor that owned shares at the start of the annual period because the investor may experience gains from an exposure to an Underlying ETF from the floor if the Fund recovers the value it lost from the beginning of the annual period through the date the investor purchased his or her Shares.

 

 

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An illustration of the Index’s target range payoff over an annual period is included below. In the table below, Investor Return amounts are shown in percentages and Price of the ETF amounts are in U.S. dollars.

 

 

 

 

Additional Information About the Capital Efficient Funds’ Investment Strategies

Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund. The Fund will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in the types of securities suggested by the Fund’s name, including a combination of U.S.- listed gold futures contracts and equity securities issued by Gold Miners, as well as other investments that, combined, have economic characteristics similar or equivalent to those of gold and equity securities issued by Gold Miners. If, subsequent to an investment, the 80% requirement is no longer met, the Fund’s future investments will be made in a manner that will bring the Fund into compliance with this policy. The Fund will provide shareholders with sixty (60) days’ prior written notice of any change to this policy.

 

Unlike the Fund, the WisdomTree Subsidiary is not an investment company registered under the 1940 Act, and therefore may invest in commodities and commodity-linked derivatives to a greater extent than the Fund. The WisdomTree Subsidiary, however, is required to invest in commodity-linked derivatives in a manner consistent with the terms of applicable Treasury Regulations and certain provisions of the 1940 Act. The WisdomTree Subsidiary is otherwise subject to the same general investment policies and investment restrictions as the Fund.

 

Efficient Gold Plus Equity Strategy Fund. The Fund will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in the types of securities suggested by the Fund’s name, including a combination of U.S.- listed gold futures contracts and U.S. equity securities, as well as other investments that, combined, have economic characteristics similar or equivalent to those of gold and U.S. equity securities. If, subsequent to an investment, the 80% requirement is no longer met, the Fund’s future investments will be made in a manner that will bring the Fund into compliance with this policy. The Fund will provide shareholders with sixty (60) days’ prior written notice of any change to this policy.

 

Unlike the Fund, the WisdomTree Subsidiary is not an investment company registered under the 1940 Act, and therefore may invest in commodities and commodity-linked derivatives to a greater extent than the Fund. The WisdomTree Subsidiary, however, is required to invest in commodity-linked derivatives in a manner consistent with the terms of applicable Treasury Regulations and certain provisions of the 1940 Act. The WisdomTree Subsidiary is otherwise subject to the same general investment policies and investment restrictions as the Fund.

 

Non-Principal Information About the Funds’ Investment Strategies

Each Fund may invest in other investments that the Fund believes will help it achieve its investment objective, consistent with the Fund's principal investment strategy, including shares of other investment companies, certain of which may be affiliated investment companies.

 

PutWrite Strategy Fund. The PutWrite Strategy Fund may also invest in short-term, high-quality securities issued or guaranteed by non-U.S. governments, agencies and instrumentalities, repurchase agreements backed by U.S. government and non-U.S. government securities, money market mutual funds, deposits and other obligations of U.S. and non-U.S. banks and financial institutions (“Money Market Securities”). All Money Market Securities acquired by the Fund will be rated investment grade, except that the Fund may invest in unrated Money Market Securities that are deemed by the Adviser or Sub-Adviser to be of comparable quality to Money Market Securities rated investment grade. The term “investment grade,” for purposes of Money Market Securities only, is intended to mean securities rated A1 or A2 by one or more nationally recognized statistical rating organizations.

 

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The PutWrite Strategy Fund may also invest in one or more of the following derivative instruments or other investments not included in its Index, which the Adviser or Sub-Adviser believes will help the Fund to track its Index and whose collective performance is intended to correspond to its Index: S&P 500® Index put options (including those traded over-the-counter), total return swaps on the S&P 500® Index, S&P 500® Index futures, and options on S&P 500® Index futures. For example, the Fund may invest in total return swaps that create positions equivalent to investments in SPY Puts and three-month Treasury bills.

 

Temporary Defensive Strategies. Each of the Fixed Income Active Funds, Target Range Fund, Efficient Gold Plus Equity Strategy Fund, Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund, Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund, and Managed Futures Strategy Fund (together, the “Actively Managed Funds”) reserves the right to invest in U.S. government securities, money market instruments, and cash, without limitation, as determined by the Adviser or Sub-Adviser in response to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions. However, the investment processes of the Efficient Gold Plus Equity Strategy Fund and Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund are heavily dependent on quantitative models, which do not adjust to take temporary defensive positions. The investment process of the Target Range Fund provides exposure to a cash-secured call spread option strategy similar to its Index, which does not adjust to take temporary defensive positions. Each Actively Managed Fund, except the Target Range Fund, Efficient Gold Plus Equity Strategy Fund, and Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund, also may “hedge” or minimize its exposure to one or more foreign currencies in response to such conditions. In the event that an Actively Managed Fund engages in temporary defensive strategies that are inconsistent with its investment strategies, the Actively Managed Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective may be limited.

 

Securities Lending. Each Fund participates in a securities lending program administered by a third-party securities lending agent, State Street Bank and Trust Company, pursuant to which it may lend its portfolio securities in an amount not to exceed one-third (33 1/3%) of the value of its total assets to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions desiring to borrow those securities for a variety of reasons, including to facilitate the pursuit of certain investment strategies or to complete transactions to which the borrower may be committed. To protect a Fund, in part, from the risk of borrower default, the borrowing party provides collateral in an amount at least equal to the value of the borrowed securities that will be maintained and marked to market daily by the Fund’s securities lending agent, who will request any shortfall from the borrower. Each Fund has permitted the securities lending agent to invest any collateral received in an investment vehicle sponsored by the securities lending agent that invests in short-term, highly liquid investments. The terms of the securities lending program provide that a Fund will receive a portion of the income generated from the loan of its securities and the investment of the collateral received in connection with such loan. In exchange for its services, the securities lending agent also receives a portion of the revenue generated by the securities lending program. While a Fund’s portfolio securities are on loan, the borrower has the right to exercise any voting rights associated with those securities and the right to receive dividends and other distributions on those securities. However, each Fund has the right to recall loaned securities in time to vote on any matter of importance to it, and a borrower is obligated to repay to the Fund the amount of any dividends or distributions received on the loaned securities. Generally, a Fund would recall a loaned security to vote a proxy only if the matter to be voted on could potentially affect the Fund’s economic interests to a material extent.

 

Additional Principal Risk Information About the Funds

This section provides additional information regarding the principal risks described under “Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund” in the Fund Summaries. Risk information may not be applicable to each Fund. Please consult each Fund's Summary sections to determine which risks are applicable to a particular Fund. Each of the factors below could have a negative impact on Fund performance and trading prices.

 

Active Management Risk

All of the Actively Managed Funds are actively managed using proprietary investment strategies and processes. Each Actively Managed Fund is subject to active management or security-selection risk and its performance therefore will reflect, in part, the ability of the Sub-Adviser to select investments and to make investment decisions that are suited to achieving a Fund’s investment objective. The Sub-Adviser’s assessment of a particular investment, company, sector or country and/or assessment of broader economic, financial or other macro views, may prove incorrect, including because of factors that were not adequately foreseen, and the selection of investments may not perform as well as expected when those investments were purchased or as well as the markets generally, resulting in Fund losses or underperformance. There can be no guarantee that these strategies and processes will produce the intended results and no guarantee that the Actively Managed Funds will achieve their investment objectives or outperform other investment strategies over the short- or long-term market cycles. This risk is exacerbated when an investment or multiple investments made as a result of such decisions are significant relative to an Actively Managed Fund’s net assets.

 

 

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Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk

Certain Funds may invest in agency mortgage-backed securities. Fixed income securities issued by U.S. government agencies, government-sponsored entities, or government corporations, including, among others, FNMA and FHLMC, are generally backed only by the general creditworthiness and reputation of the U.S. government agency, government-sponsored entity, or government corporation issuing the security and are not guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury or backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. As a result, there is uncertainty as to the current status of many obligations of FNMA, FHLMC and other agencies that are placed under conservatorship of the U.S. government. Ginnie Mae securities are generally backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Some U.S. government agencies, including FNMA and FHLMC, purchase and guarantee residential mortgages and form mortgage-backed securities that they issue to the market. These securities are subject to more credit risk than U.S. government securities that are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. (e.g., U.S. Treasury bonds). If a U.S. government agency that is the issuer of securities in which a Fund invests is unable to meet its obligations or ceases to exist and no plan is made for repayment of securities, the performance of the Fund will be adversely impacted. Defaults on, or low credit quality or liquidity of the underlying assets of the mortgage-backed securities may impair the value of these securities and result in losses. These securities also present a higher degree of prepayment and extension risk and interest rate risk than do other types of debt instruments. Because of prepayment risk and extension risk, small movements in interest rates (both increases and decreases) may quickly and significantly reduce the value of mortgage-backed securities. The value of longer-term securities generally changes more in response to changes in market interest rates than shorter term securities. These securities may be significantly affected by government regulation, market interest rates, market perception of the creditworthiness of an issuer servicer, and loan-to-value ratio of the underlying mortgages. During an economic downturn, the mortgages may experience an increase in defaults as borrowers experience difficulties in repaying their loans which may cause the valuation of such securities to be more volatile and may reduce the value of such securities.

 

Asset-Backed Securities Risk

Certain Funds may invest in asset-backed securities. Movements in interest rates (both increases and decreases) may quickly and significantly reduce the value of certain types of asset-backed securities. Asset-backed securities can also be subject to the risk of default on the underlying assets. Asset-backed securities are subject to fluctuations in yield due to prepayment rates that may be faster or slower than expected.

 

Assignment Risk

PutWrite Strategy Fund Only: In response to a notification of an option holder’s desire to exercise the option held, the OCC may randomly assign the exercise notice to a clearing member, which must then assign, randomly or on a first-in-first-out basis, the obligation to a customer who has written that particular option. If the Fund is assigned an exercise notice, it must buy shares of SPY from the owner of the option. An exercise notice may be assigned on an open short option position at any time prior to expiration, but more commonly occurs when the option is in the money. As a result, the Fund may be forced to settle a written option position at an inopportune time and at a cost to the Fund, both of which could adversely affect the Fund’s performance and ability to track its Index.

 

Call Options Risk

Target Range Fund Only: Call options may be subject to volatile swings in price influenced by changes in the value of the Underlying ETF. The call options purchased and sold by the Fund may have imperfect correlation to the returns of their Underlying ETFs, which may in turn adversely affect a Fund’s ability achieve its investment objective. With respect to the “in the money” call options purchased by the Fund, if the price of the Underlying ETF’s shares do not appreciate above the strike price prior to the expiration date, the Fund may lose the entire amount of the premium that it paid for the call options. With respect to any “out of the money” call options written (sold) by the Fund, if the price of the Underlying ETF’s shares appreciate above the strike price prior to the expiration date, the Fund’s risk of loss from its obligation to deliver shares of the Underlying ETF to the buyer are limited to the extent the Fund purchased call options on the same Underlying ETF through its call spread strategy, but the Fund’s losses may outweigh the gains to the Fund from the receipt of options premiums. In addition, there is no guarantee that an active market will exist for the options at any particular time. Further, trading restrictions or limitations may be imposed on options by an exchange or as a result of government regulations.

 

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Capital Controls and Sanctions Risk

Economic conditions, such as volatile currency exchange rates and interest rates, political events, military action, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and other conditions, may, without prior warning, lead to government intervention (including intervention by the U.S. government with respect to foreign governments, economic sectors, foreign companies and related securities and interests) and the imposition of capital controls and/or sanctions, which may also include retaliatory actions of one government against another government, such as seizure of assets. Capital controls and/or sanctions include the prohibition of, or restrictions on, the ability to own or transfer currency, securities or other assets, which may potentially include derivative instruments related thereto. Levies may be placed on profits repatriated by foreign entities (such as the Funds). Capital controls and/or sanctions may also impact the ability of a Fund to buy, sell, transfer, receive, deliver or otherwise obtain exposure to, foreign securities or currency, negatively impact the value and/or liquidity of such instruments, adversely affect the trading market and price for shares of a Fund, and cause a Fund to decline in value. A Fund may also be forced to sell or otherwise dispose of foreign investments at inopportune times or prices due to sanctions. The type and severity of sanctions and other similar measures, including counter sanctions and other retaliatory actions, that have been imposed against Russia and other countries and that may further be imposed could vary broadly in scope, and their impact is impossible to predict. Sanctions and other similar measures may be in place for a substantial period of time and enacted with limited advanced notice.

 

Cash Redemption Risk

When a Fund redeems shares for cash or otherwise includes cash as part of its redemption proceeds, it may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause a Fund to recognize capital gains that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind (i.e., distribute securities as payment of redemption proceeds). As a result, the Funds may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. Additionally, the sale of non-U.S. denominated securities by the Fixed Income Funds triggered by such redemptions may generate realized foreign exchange losses that could impact the income distributions paid by such Funds.

 

CEF and BDC Investing Risk

Certain Funds may invest in CEFs and BDCs. The value of the underlying securities held by a CEF could decrease or the portfolio could become illiquid. CEFs may issue senior securities (including preferred stock and debt obligations) for the purpose of leveraging the CEF’s common shares in an attempt to enhance the current return to such CEF’s common shareholders. The Fund’s investment in the common shares of CEFs that are financially leveraged may create an opportunity for greater total return, but with more volatility than other investments, and greater potential for loss. CEFs are also able to utilize leverage to a greater degree than other investment companies, such as mutual funds or ETFs. As a result, the Fund may be exposed indirectly to leverage through an investment in CEFs, which may expose the Fund to higher volatility in the market value of such securities and the possibility that the Fund’s long-term returns may be lower. Shares of CEFs frequently trade at a discount from their NAV. There can be no assurance that the market discount on shares of any CEF purchased by the Fund will ever decrease. In fact, it is possible that this market discount may increase, and the Fund may suffer realized or unrealized capital losses due to further decline in the market price of the securities of such CEF, thereby adversely affecting the Fund’s NAV.

 

There are certain risks inherent in investing in BDCs, whose principal business is to invest in and lend capital to privately held companies. The 1940 Act imposes certain restraints upon the operations of a BDC. For example, BDCs are required to invest at least 70% of their total assets primarily in securities of private companies or thinly traded U.S. public companies, cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and high-quality debt investments that mature in one year or less. With investments in debt instruments, there is a risk that the issuer may default on its payments or declare bankruptcy.

 

Additionally, a BDC may incur indebtedness only in amounts such that the BDC’s asset coverage equals at least 200% after such incurrence. BDCs generally invest in less mature private companies, which involve greater risk than well-established, publicly traded companies. Investments made by BDCs generally are less liquid than publicly traded securities. The illiquidity of these investments may make it difficult to sell such investments, and the Fund may realize a loss on its investments. BDCs may have relatively concentrated investment portfolios, consisting of a relatively small number of holdings. A consequence of this limited number of investments is that the aggregate returns realized may be disproportionately impacted by the investment performance of a small number of investments, or even a single investment. Market disruptions, including a downturn in capital markets in general, or a downgrade of the credit rating of a BDC held by the Fund may increase the cost of borrowing to that company, thereby adversely impacting the Fund’s returns. Credit downgrades also may result in requirements on a company to provide additional support in the form of letters of credit or cash or other collateral to various counterparties.

 

 

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Since many of the assets of BDCs do not have readily ascertainable market values, such assets are most often recorded at fair value, in good faith, in accordance with valuation procedures adopted by such companies. Due to the absence of a readily ascertainable market value, and because of the inherent uncertainty of fair valuation, fair value of a BDC’s investments may differ significantly from the values that would be reflected if the securities were traded in an established market, potentially resulting in material differences between a BDC’s NAV per share and its market value. As a result, shares of BDCs may trade at a discount from their NAV. There can be no assurance that the market discount on shares of any BDC purchased by the Fund will ever decrease. In fact, it is possible that this market discount may increase, and the Fund may suffer realized or unrealized capital losses due to further decline in the market price of the securities of such BDC, thereby adversely affecting the Fund’s NAV.

 

Investment advisers to BDCs may be entitled to compensation based on the BDC’s performance, which may result in riskier or more speculative investments in an effort to maximize incentive compensation and higher fees.

 

Commercial Paper Risk

Target Range Fund Only: The value of the Target Range Fund’s investment in commercial paper, which is an unsecured promissory note that generally has a maturity date between one and 270 days and is issued by a U.S. or foreign entity, is susceptible to changes in the issuer’s financial condition or credit quality. Commercial paper is typically repaid with the proceeds from the issuance of new commercial paper. Thus, investments in commercial paper are subject to the risk (commonly referred to as rollover risk) that the issuer will be unable to issue sufficient new commercial paper to meet the repayment obligations under its outstanding commercial paper. Investments in commercial paper are usually discounted from their value at maturity. Commercial paper can be fixed-rate or variable rate and can be adversely affected by changes in interest rates. As with other debt securities, there is a risk that the issuer of commercial paper will default completely on its obligations, which risk is heightened under current conditions. Commercial paper is generally unsecured and, thus, is subject to increased credit risk. The Fund may have limited or no recourse against the issuer of commercial paper in the event of default.

 

Commodity Risk

Certain Funds may invest in commodities. The value of commodities and commodity-linked derivative instruments typically is based upon the price movements of a physical commodity or an economic variable linked to such price movements. Therefore, the value of commodities and commodity-linked derivative instruments may be affected by, for example, changes in overall market movements, economic conditions, changes in interest rates, or factors affecting a particular commodity or industry, such as production, supply, demand, drought, floods, weather, political, economic and regulatory developments. The prices of commodities and commodity-related investments may fluctuate quickly and dramatically and may not correlate to price movements in other asset classes, such as stocks, bonds and cash. An active trading market may not exist for certain commodities. These factors may impair the ability of a Fund to sell its portfolio holdings quickly or for full value. Commodity derivatives, such as commodity-linked swaps and notes, are subject to the risk that the counterparty to the transaction may default or otherwise fail to perform. Each of these factors and events could have a significant negative impact on the Managed Futures Strategy and Enhanced Commodity Strategy Funds.

 

In addition to the factors set forth above, each commodity has risks that are inherent in the investment in such commodity:

 

Metals Commodities: Price movements in commodity futures held by the Fund in metals commodities such as gold, silver, platinum and copper are affected by many specific additional factors. Some of these metal specific factors include, but are not limited to:

 

  A change in economic conditions, such as a recession, can adversely affect the price of both industrial and precious metals. An economic downturn may have a negative impact on the usage and demand of metals, which may result in a loss for the Fund.

 

  A sudden shift in political conditions of the world’s leading metal producers may have a negative effect on the global pricing of metals.

 

  An increase in the hedging of precious metals may result in a decline in the price of precious metals.

 

  Changes in global supply and demand for industrial and precious metals.

 

  The price and quantity of imports and exports of industrial and precious metals.

 

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  Technological advances in the processing and mining of industrial and precious metals.

 

Agricultural Commodities: Price movements in commodity futures held by the Fund in agricultural commodities, such as wheat, corn and soybeans, are affected by many factors. Some of these agricultural specific factors include, but are not limited to:

 

  Farmer planting decisions, and general economic, market and regulatory factors all influence the price of agricultural commodities.

 

  Weather conditions, including hurricanes, tornadoes, storms and droughts, may have a material adverse effect on crops, live cattle, live hogs and lumber, which may result in significant fluctuations in prices in such commodities.

 

  Changes in global supply and demand for agriculture products.

 

  The price and quantity of imports and exports of agricultural commodities.

 

  Political conditions, including embargoes and war, in or affecting agricultural production, imports and exports.

 

  Technological advances in agricultural production.

 

  The price and availability of alternative agricultural commodities.

 

Energy Commodities: Price movements in commodity futures held by the Fund in energy commodities, such as crude oil, heating oil and natural gas, are subject to risks due to frequent and often substantial fluctuations in energy commodity prices. In the past, the prices of natural gas and crude oil have been extremely volatile, and volatility is expected to continue. The markets and prices for energy commodities are affected by many factors. Some of those factors include, but are not limited to:

 

  Changes in global supply and demand for oil and natural gas. By way of example, the oil market has recently experienced fluctuations in supply and demand, significantly impacting the price and volatility of oil.

 

  The price and quantity of imports and exports of oil and natural gas.

 

  Political conditions, including embargoes and war, in or affecting other oil producing activities.

 

  The level of global oil and natural gas exploration, inventories, production or pricing.

 

  Weather conditions.

 

  Technological advances effecting energy consumption.

 

  The price and availability of alternative fuels.

 

Bitcoin. Bitcoin is a relatively new innovation and the market for bitcoin is subject to rapid price swings, changes and uncertainty. Bitcoin’s lack of a physical form, reliance on technology for its creation, existence and transactional validation and its decentralization may subject its integrity to the threat of malicious attacks and technological obsolescence. Bitcoin is subject to the risk of fraud, theft, manipulation or security failures, operational or other problems that impact bitcoin trading venues. In particular, the market for bitcoin futures is relatively new and commenced trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in December 2017. As a result, the market for bitcoin futures may be less developed, and potentially less liquid and more volatile, than more established futures markets. These factors may increase the likelihood that the price of bitcoin futures will be volatile and/or will deviate from the price of bitcoin. Bitcoin futures may experience significant price volatility. Exchange-specified collateral for bitcoin futures is substantially higher than for most other futures contracts, and collateral may be set as a percentage of the value of the contract, which means that collateral requirements for long positions can increase if the price of the contract rises. While the bitcoin futures market has grown substantially since the futures commenced trading, there can be no assurance that it will continue to grow. This may increase the chance that the Fund will experience increased trading costs when it sells bitcoin futures that are near expiration and purchases bitcoin futures that are further from expiration (a process known as “rolling”).

 

None of these specific commodity factors can be controlled in managing a Fund. Even if current and correct information as to substantially all factors are known or thought to be known, prices still will not always react as predicted.

 

 

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Concentration Risk

Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund Only: The Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund will concentrate in securities in the metals and mining industry and gold mining sub-industry, and the Fund may be more susceptible to loss due to adverse occurrences that affect the price of gold and the metals and mining industry more than the market as a whole.

 

Counterparty and Issuer Credit Risk

To the extent that each Fund engages in investment transactions or enters into derivative or other contracts with third parties (i.e., “counterparties”) then each Fund bears the risk that the counterparty to such contracts may default on its obligations or otherwise fail to honor its obligations or be perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as being in such situations. If a counterparty defaults on its payment obligations, a Fund will lose money and the value of an investment in Fund shares may decrease. In addition, a Fund may engage in such investment transactions with a limited number of counterparties, which may increase a Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk. Listed futures contracts can be traded on futures exchanges without material counterparty credit. After a trade is cleared, the exchange is the ultimate counterparty for all contracts, so the counterparty risk on a listed futures contract ultimately is the creditworthiness of the exchange’s clearing corporation.

 

The financial condition of an issuer of a debt security or other issuer may cause it to default or become unable to pay interest or principal due on the security. A Fund cannot collect interest and principal payments on a security if the issuer defaults. Recent events in the financials sector have resulted in increased concerns about credit risk and exposure. Well-known financial institutions have experienced significant liquidity and other problems and have defaulted on their debt. The degree of credit risk for a particular debt security or other issuer may be reflected in its credit rating. A credit rating is a measure of a bond issuer’s ability to make timely payments of interest and principal. Rating agencies (such as Moody’s, S&P, or Fitch) assign letter designations typically ranging from AAA to A- (lower default risk) through CCC to C (higher default risk) or D (in default). A credit rating of BBB- or higher generally is considered “investment grade.” Credit ratings are subjective, do not remove market risk, and represent the opinions of the rating agencies as to the quality of the securities they rate. Credit ratings can change quickly and may not accurately reflect the risk of an issuer. Generally, investment risk and price volatility increase as the credit rating of a security declines. The value of securities of smaller, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers. The value of an investment in a Fund may change quickly and without warning in response to issuer defaults, changes in the credit ratings of the Fund’s portfolio investments and/or perceptions related thereto.

 

Currency Exchange Rate Risk

Changes in currency exchange rates and the relative value of non-U.S. currencies will affect the value of a Fund’s investments and the value of a Fund’s shares. Because each Fund’s NAV is determined on the basis of U.S. dollars, the U.S. dollar value of your investment in a Fund may go down if the value of the local currency of the non-U.S. markets in which the Fund invests depreciates against the U.S. dollar. This is true even if the local currency value of securities in the Fund’s holdings goes up. Conversely, the dollar value of your investment in the Fund may go up if the value of the local currency appreciates against the U.S. dollar.

 

The value of the U.S. dollar measured against other currencies is influenced by a variety of factors. These factors include interest rates, national debt levels and trade deficits, changes in balances of payments and trade, domestic and foreign interest and inflation rates, global or regional political, economic or financial events, monetary policies of governments, actual or potential government intervention, and global energy prices. Political instability, the possibility of government intervention and restrictive or opaque business and investment policies may also reduce the value of a country’s currency. Government monetary policies and the buying or selling of currency by a country’s government may also influence exchange rates. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in a Fund may change quickly, unpredictably, and without warning, and you may lose money.

 

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Cybersecurity Risk

The Funds and their service providers may be susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from a breach in cybersecurity, including cyber-attacks. A breach in cybersecurity, intentional or unintentional, may adversely impact the Funds in many ways, including, but not limited to, disruption of a Fund’s operational capacity, loss of proprietary information, theft or corruption of data maintained online or digitally, denial-of-service attacks on websites or network resources, and the unauthorized release of confidential information. Cyber-attacks affecting a Fund’s third-party service providers, including the Adviser, Sub-Adviser, administrator, custodian, and transfer agent, may subject a Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches and adversely impact the Fund. For instance, cyber-attacks may impact a Fund’s ability to calculate its NAV, cause the release of confidential business information, impede trading, cause a Fund to incur additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures, subject a Fund to regulatory fines or other financial losses, and/or cause reputational damage to a Fund. Cybersecurity breaches of market makers, Authorized Participants, or the issuers of securities in which a Fund invests also could have material adverse consequences on a Fund’s business operations and cause financial losses for a Fund and its shareholders. While the Funds and their service providers have established business continuity plans and risk management systems designed to address cybersecurity risks, prevent cyber-attacks and mitigate the impact of cybersecurity breaches, there are inherent limitations on such plans and systems. In addition, the Funds have no control over the cybersecurity protections put in place by their service providers or any other third parties whose operations may affect the Funds or their shareholders.

 

Derivatives Risk

Certain Funds may invest in derivatives, such as forward contracts, futures contracts and/or swaps, to pursue their investment objectives and implement their principal investment strategies. The use of such derivatives may expose the Fund to risks in addition to and greater than those associated with investing directly in the instruments underlying those derivatives, including risks relating to leverage, correlation (imperfect correlations with underlying instruments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings), volatility, lack of availability, counterparty credit, liquidity, and valuation. The use of such derivatives also may expose the Funds to the performance of investments that they do not own. To the extent a Fund engages in derivatives in an attempt to hedge certain exposures or risks, there can be no assurance that such hedging investments or transactions will be effective. In addition, hedging investments or transactions involve costs and may reduce gains or result in losses, which may adversely affect the Funds. The skills necessary to successfully execute derivatives strategies may be different from those for more traditional portfolio management techniques, and if the Sub- Adviser is incorrect about its expectations of market conditions, the use of derivatives also could result in a loss, which in some cases may be unlimited.

 

Funds that invest in derivatives are also subject to the risk that a change in U.S. law and related regulations will impact the way they operate, increase the particular costs of their operation and/or change the competitive landscape. In October 2020, the SEC adopted a new rule governing a fund’s use of derivatives. The rule, among other things, generally requires a fund to adopt a derivatives risk management program, appoint a derivatives risk manager to oversee the program and comply with an outer limit on fund leverage risk based on value at risk, or “VaR.” The rule significantly changes the regulatory framework applicable to a fund’s use of derivatives, including by replacing the existing asset segregation regulatory framework in its entirety. It is not currently clear what impact, if any, the new rule will have on the availability, liquidity or performance of derivatives.

 

Forward Contracts

A forward contract is a private, customizable agreement to buy or sell a specified security or instrument at a future date at a price set at the time of the contract. Forward contracts settle at the end of the agreement and trade over-the-counter. A forward currency contract is an agreement to buy or sell a specific currency at a future date at a price set at the time of the contract. A non-deliverable forward currency contract is a contract where there is no physical settlement of two currencies at maturity. Rather, based on the movement of the currencies, a net cash settlement will be made by one party to the other. The risks of forward contracts include, but are not limited to: (1) the success of the adviser’s and sub-adviser’s ability to predict movements in the prices of individual currencies or securities, fluctuations in markets and movements in interest rates; (2) an imperfect or no correlation between the changes in market value of the currencies or securities and the prices of such contracts; and (3) the risk that the counterparty will default on its obligations.

 

Futures Contracts

A futures contract may generally be described as an agreement for the future sale by one party and the purchase by another of a specified security or instrument at a specified price and time. Futures contracts have standardized terms and trade on an exchange, where prices are settled on a daily basis until the end of the contract. A currency futures contract is a contract to exchange one currency for another at a specified date in the future at an agreed upon exchange rate. An interest rate futures contract is an agreement between a buyer and seller for the future delivery of an interest-bearing asset at a specified date in the future at an agreed upon exchange rate. The risks of futures contracts include, but are not limited to: (1) the success of the adviser’s and sub-adviser’s ability to predict movements in the prices of individual currencies or securities, fluctuations in markets and movements in interest rates; (2) an imperfect or no correlation between the changes in market value of the currencies or securities and the prices of futures contracts; and (3) there is no guarantee that an active market will exist for the contracts at any particular time.

 

 

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In addition, for the Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund, as the Fund’s futures contracts near expiration, they are replaced by contracts that have a later expiration. For example, a contract purchased and held in December 2021 may specify a February 2022 expiration. As that contract nears expiration, it may be replaced by selling the February 2022 contract and purchasing the contract expiring in April 2022. This process is referred to as “rolling.” Historically, the prices of crude oil and heating oil have frequently been higher for contracts with shorter-term expirations than for contracts with longer-term expirations, which is referred to as “backwardation.” In these circumstances, absent other factors, the sale of the February 2022 contract would take place at a price that is higher than the price at which the April 2022 contract is purchased, thereby creating a gain in connection with rolling. While crude oil and heating oil have historically exhibited consistent periods of backwardation, backwardation will likely not exist in these markets at all times. For instance, in May 2020, futures for oil to be delivered in June 2020 traded at times at approximately half of the value of futures for oil to be delivered in January 2021 – or in “contango”, as further described below. The absence of backwardation in crude oil and heating oil could adversely affect the value of a Fund.

 

Conversely, gold, corn, soybeans and wheat historically exhibit “contango” markets rather than backwardation. Contango markets are those in which the prices of contracts are higher in the distant delivery months than in the nearer delivery months due to the costs of long-term storage of a physical commodity prior to delivery or other factors. Although gold, corn, soybeans and wheat have historically exhibited consistent periods of contango, contango will likely not exist in these markets at all times. The persistence of contango in gold, corn, soybeans and wheat could adversely affect the value of a Fund.

 

Structured Notes

Commodity-linked structured notes provide exposure, which may include long and/or short exposure, to the investment returns of individual commodities or commodities markets without investing directly in the underlying physical commodities. The performance of these notes is determined by the price movement of the commodities or commodity indexes underlying the note. The commodities markets are volatile, and small movements in market prices could cause large losses. Further, the prices of commodity-linked structured notes have a historically low correlation with the returns of the stock and bond markets and are subject to change based on a variety of factors that may not be anticipated by the Fund’s adviser or sub-adviser. Structured notes are subject to the credit risk of the issuing party and may be less liquid than other types of securities. This means that a Fund may lose all, or substantially all, of its money invested in a commodity-linked structured note if the issuer of the note defaults. If this occurs, a Fund may not be able to readily close out its investment in such note without incurring losses. A Fund may not invest more than 30% of its net assets in swaps and structured notes.

 

Swaps

A swap is an agreement between two parties to exchange the cash flows or values of one asset for another. A currency swap is an agreement between two parties to exchange one currency for another at a future rate. An interest rate swap typically involves the exchange of a floating interest rate payment for a fixed interest payment. A total return swap is an agreement between two parties in which one party agrees to make payments of the total return of a reference asset in return for payments equal to a rate of interest on another reference asset. The risks of swaps include but are not limited to the potential to increase or decrease the overall volatility of the Fund’s investments and its share price.

 

A credit default swap is an agreement between two parties: a buyer of credit protection and a seller of credit protection. The Voya Yield Enhanced USD Universal Bond Fund may be either the buyer of credit protection against a designated event of default, restructuring or other credit related event (each a “Credit Event”) or the seller of credit protection in a credit default swap. The buyer of credit protection in a credit default swap agreement is obligated to pay the seller a periodic stream of payments over the term of the swap agreement. If no Credit Event occurs, the seller of credit protection will have received a fixed rate of income throughout the term of the swap agreement. If a Credit Event occurs, the seller of credit protection must pay the buyer of credit protection the full notional value of the reference obligation either through physical settlement or cash settlement. If no Credit Event occurs, the buyer of credit protection will have made a series of periodic payments through the term of the swap agreement. However, if a Credit Event occurs, the buyer of credit protection will receive the full notional value of the reference obligation either through physical settlement or cash settlement from the seller of credit protection. A credit default swap may involve greater risks than if the Fund invested directly in the underlying reference obligations. Like all swaps, credit default swaps are particularly vulnerable to counterparty credit, correlation, valuation (i.e., they may require fair valuation involving subjective analysis), liquidity (i.e., they may be considered less liquid or illiquid at times) and leverage (i.e., certain swaps may give rise to leverage which can magnify gains and losses and increase the Fund’s sensitivity to market volatility) risks. In addition, a credit default swap may increase the Fund’s credit risk because it has exposure to both the issuer of the underlying reference obligation and the counterparty to the credit default swap. Valuation risk also may be increased if there is not an active market for the credit default swaps in which the Fund invests, which makes the credit default swaps more difficult for the Fund to value accurately.

 

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Downside Loss Risk

Target Range Fund Only: There can be no guarantee that an investor in the Target Range Fund will experience limited downside protection, particularly short-term investors, investors that seek to time the market and/or investors that invest over a period other than the annual period. The Fund does not protect an investor against the loss of principal, and an investor may experience significant losses on its investment in the Fund, including the loss of his or her entire investment. The Fund seeks to provide the limited downside protection prior to taking into account the Fund’s fees and expenses and costs of investment.

 

Equity Securities Risk

Certain Funds may invest in equity securities. The value of the equity securities may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the markets in which the issuers of equity securities participate, or factors relating to specific issuers of equity securities. For example, an adverse event, such as an unfavorable earnings report, may result in a decline in the value of an issuer’s equity securities; the price of an issuer’s equity securities may be particularly sensitive to general movements in the securities markets; or a drop in the securities markets may depress the price of an issuer’s equities securities. In addition, the equity securities of an issuer may decline in price if the issuer fails to make anticipated dividend payments. Equity securities are subordinated to preferred securities and debt in a company’s capital structure with respect to priority in right to a share of corporate income, and therefore will be subject to greater dividend risk than preferred securities or debt instruments. In addition, while broad market measures of equity securities have historically generated higher average returns than fixed income securities, equity securities have generally also experienced significantly more volatility in those returns, although under certain market conditions fixed income securities may have comparable or greater price volatility. A change in the financial condition, market perception or the credit rating of an issuer of securities may cause the value of its securities to decline. With respect to the PutWrite Strategy Fund, if the value of equity securities held by SPY decrease or fluctuate, causing the price of SPY on the Roll Date to fall below the strike price of the SPY Puts sold by the Fund, the NAV of the Fund will decrease or fluctuate, respectively, as the SPY Puts increase in value to their owners.

 

FLEX Options Risk

Target Range Fund Only: The Target Range Fund may invest in FLEX Options issued and guaranteed for settlement by the OCC. The Fund bears the risk that the OCC will be unable or unwilling to perform its obligations under the FLEX Options contracts. In the unlikely event that the OCC becomes insolvent or is otherwise unable to meet its settlement obligations, the Fund could suffer significant losses. Additionally, FLEX Options may be illiquid, and in such cases, the Fund may have difficulty closing out certain FLEX Options positions at desired times and prices. Also, since the Fund is not a member of the OCC (a “clearing member”), and only clearing members can participate directly in the OCC, the Fund will hold FLEX Options through commingled omnibus accounts at clearing members. As a result, Fund assets deposited with a clearing member as margin for FLEX Options may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing member. Although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the OCC, there is a risk that Fund assets might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy.

 

Floating Rate Notes Risk

Floating Rate Treasury Fund Only: The Floating Rate Treasury Fund invests in floating rate public obligations of the U.S. Treasury (“Floating Rate Notes”). Securities with floating rates can be less sensitive to interest rate changes than securities with fixed interest rates but may decline in value and negatively affect the Fund’s NAV, particularly if changes in prevailing interest rates are sudden or more frequent than the rate changes for the Floating Rate Notes, which occur weekly currently. Unlike fixed-rate notes, Floating Rate Notes will not generally increase in value if interest rates decline. A decline in interest rates may result in a reduction in income received from Floating Rate Notes held by the Floating Rate Treasury Fund and may adversely affect the Fund’s NAV per share. Generally, Floating Rate Notes carry lower yields than fixed-rate securities of the same maturity. The first Floating Rate Note was issued in 2014 making the issuance of Floating Rate Notes relatively new compared to the broader offering of U.S. Treasury instruments. As a result, the market for Floating Rate Notes generally is not as developed as the markets for certain of the other U.S. Treasury instruments. In addition, there is no guarantee that an active trading market will be maintained.

 

 

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Foreign Securities Risk

Certain Funds may invest in foreign securities. Investments in non-U.S. securities and instruments involve political, regulatory, and economic risks that may not be present in U.S. securities. For example, investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations, political or economic instability, or geographic events that adversely impact issuers of foreign securities. There may be less information publicly available about a non-U.S. issuer than a U.S. issuer. Non-U.S. issuers may be subject to different accounting, auditing, financial reporting and investor protection standards than U.S. issuers. Investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to withholding or other taxes and may be subject to additional trading, settlement, custodial, and operational risks. With respect to certain countries, there is the possibility of government intervention and expropriation or nationalization of assets. Because legal systems differ, there is also the possibility that it will be difficult to obtain or enforce legal judgments in certain countries. Since foreign exchanges may be open on days when a Fund does not price its shares, the value of the securities in a Fund’s portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell a Fund’s shares. Conversely, Fund shares may trade on days when foreign exchanges are closed. Each of these factors can make investments in a Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments These risks may be heightened to the extent the Fund invests in companies domiciled in or otherwise tied to developing or emerging market countries. Foreign securities also include American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), which are U.S. dollar-denominated receipts representing shares of foreign-based corporations. ADRs are issued by U.S. banks or trust companies and entitle the holder to all dividends and capital gains that are paid out on the underlying foreign shares. Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”), which are similar to ADRs, represent shares of foreign-based corporations and are generally issued by international banks in one or more markets around the world. Investments in ADRs and GDRs may be less liquid and more volatile than underlying shares in their primary trading markets.

 

Futures Rolling Risk

Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund Only: The Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund invests in or has exposure to commodities futures contracts and is subject to costs associated with and risks related to “rolling.” The contractual obligations of a buyer or seller holding a futures contract to expiration may be satisfied by settling in cash as designated in the contract specifications. Alternatively, futures contracts may be closed out prior to expiration by making an offsetting sale or purchase of an identical futures contract on the same or linked exchange before the designated date of settlement. Once this date is reached, the futures contract “expires.” As the futures contracts held by the Fund near expiration, they are generally closed out and replaced by contracts with a later expiration. This process is referred to as “rolling.”

 

When the market for these contracts is such that the prices are higher in the more distant delivery months than in the nearer delivery months, the sale during the course of the “rolling process” of the more nearby contract would take place at a price that is lower than the price of the more distant contract. This pattern of higher futures prices for longer expiration futures contracts is often referred to as “contango.” Alternatively, when the market for these contracts is such that the prices are higher in the nearer months than in the more distant months, the sale during the course of the “rolling process” of the more nearby contract would take place at a price that is higher than the price of the more distant contract. This pattern of higher futures prices for shorter expiration futures contracts is referred to as “backwardation.” The presence of contango in the relevant futures contracts at the time of rolling would be expected to adversely affect the Fund. Similarly, the presence of backwardation in certain futures contracts at the time of rolling such contracts would be expected to positively affect the Fund.

 

There have been extended periods in which contango or backwardation has existed in the futures contracts markets, and such periods can be expected to occur in the future. These extended periods can cause significant losses for the Fund.

 

Additionally, because of the frequency with which the Fund expects to roll its futures contracts, the impact of such contango or backwardation may be greater than the impact would be if the Fund experienced less portfolio turnover.

 

Geographic Investment Risk

To the extent that a Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in the securities of companies of a single country or region, it is more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country or region. For example, political and economic conditions and changes in regulatory, tax, or economic policy in a country could significantly affect the market in that country and in surrounding or related countries and have a negative impact on the Fund’s performance. Currency developments or restrictions, political and social instability, and changing economic conditions have resulted in significant market volatility.

 

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Emerging Markets Risk

Investments in securities and instruments traded in developing or emerging markets, or that provide exposure to such securities or markets, can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions not associated with investments in U.S. securities and instruments or investments in more developed international markets. For example, emerging markets may be subject to (i) greater market volatility, (ii) lower trading volume and liquidity, (iii) greater social, political and economic uncertainty, (iv) governmental controls on foreign investments, market manipulation concerns, and limitations on repatriation of invested capital, (v) lower disclosure, corporate governance, accounting, auditing, financial reporting and recordkeeping standards, (vi) fewer protections of property rights, (vii) limited investor rights and legal or practical remedies available to the Fund against portfolio companies, (viii) restrictions on the transfer of securities or currency or payment of dividends and (ix) settlement and trading practices that differ from U.S. markets. Each of these factors may impact a Fund’s ability to buy, sell, transfer, receive, deliver or otherwise obtain exposure to, emerging market securities or currency, negatively impact the value and/or liquidity of such instruments, adversely affect the trading market and price for shares of the Fund and cause a Fund to decline in value. The volatility of emerging markets may be heightened by the actions (such as significant buying and selling) of a few major investors. For example, substantial increases or decreases in cash flows of funds investing in these markets could significantly affect local securities’ prices and cause Fund share prices to decline. For these and other reasons, investments in emerging markets are often considered speculative.

 

Investments in Canada

The economy of Canada is heavily dependent on the demand for natural resources and agricultural products. Canada is a major producer of commodities such as forest products, metals, agricultural products, and energy related products like oil, gas, and hydroelectricity. Canada is also a top producer of gold as well as nickel, aluminum and lead. Accordingly, a change in the supply and demand of these resources, both domestically and internationally, can have a significant effect on Canadian market performance. The U.S. is Canada’s largest trading partner and foreign investor. As a result, changes to the U.S. economy may also significantly affect the Canadian economy.

 

Investments in the United States

The economic, political, regulatory and other events and conditions that affect issuers and investments in the United States differ significantly from those associated with other countries and regions. For example, routine political events, such as a presidential election, can have a significant effect on the U.S. markets and lead to periods of increased volatility. U.S. financial markets also have become increasingly globalized, hosting participants from all over the world and on a more macro level, becoming more integrated with financial markets around the world. As a result, U.S. financial markets are also increasingly vulnerable to the risks that may affect non-U.S. financial markets. The Fund’s investments in the United States are particularly subject to the risk that they, and the U.S. economy more generally, will be adversely affected by a decrease in imports or exports, changes in trade regulations, inflation and/or an economic recession in the United States. Relatedly, the extensive economic sanctions levied against Russia by a multilateral coalition, including the United States, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, have adversely affected and may continue to adversely affect specific U.S. companies and sectors that previously engaged with Russia, such as certain financial institutions with exposure to Russia and companies dependent on raw materials previously sourced from Russia. There also remains a concern that reduced energy supplies from Russia could lead to higher gas prices and exacerbate inflation in the United States. In addition, proposed and adopted policy and legislative changes in the United States have changed and may continue to change many aspects of financial, public health, environmental, and other regulation. Certain of these changes may have a significant effect, either positive or negative, on U.S. markets and issuers, including issuers in which the Fund may invest. The Fund’s investments in the United States also may be adversely affected by any one of several geopolitical risks to which the United States is subject, including its precarious strategic competitive relationship with China, increasing environmental and climate risk, and the ever-increasing threat of damaging cyberattacks. The United States has also experienced elevated debt levels and increased internal political discord, as well as significant challenges in managing and containing the outbreak of COVID-19. If these trends were to continue or any of the other risks were to manifest, whether due to conditions or an event originating from within or outside of the United States, it may have an adverse effect on the Fund’s investments in the United States and thus, the Fund’s performance.

 

 

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Geopolitical Risk

Some countries and regions in which the Fund invests have experienced security concerns, war, threats of war, aggression and/or conflict, terrorism, economic uncertainty, sanctions or the threat of sanctions, natural and environmental disasters, the spread of infectious illness, widespread disease or other public health issues and/or systemic market dislocations (including due to events outside of such countries or regions) that have led, and in the future may lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and markets generally. Such geopolitical and other events also may disrupt securities markets and, during such market disruptions, a Fund’s exposure to the other risks described herein will likely increase. For example, a market disruption may adversely affect the orderly functioning of the securities markets. Each of the foregoing may negatively impact the Fund’s investments.

 

Gold Commodity Risk

Capital Efficient Funds Only: The value of commodities, such as gold, and commodity-linked derivative instruments, such as gold futures contracts, typically is based upon the price movements of the physical commodity or an economic variable linked to such price movements. Price movements in gold and gold futures contracts may fluctuate quickly and dramatically, have a historically low correlation with the returns of the stock and bond markets, and may not correlate to price movements in other asset classes. Some factors that impact the price of gold and gold futures contracts include, but are not limited to, overall market movements, changes in interest rates, changes in the global supply and demand for gold, the quantity of gold imports and exports, factors that impact gold production, such as drought, floods and weather conditions, technological advances in the processing and mining of gold, and changes in economic and/or political conditions, including regulatory developments. A change in economic conditions, such as a recession or economic downturn, may adversely affect the price of precious metals, such as gold, and have a negative impact on the usage and demand for gold, which may result in a loss for the Fund. In addition, a sudden shift in political conditions of the world’s leading gold producers may have a negative effect on the global pricing of gold. Further, an increase in the hedging of precious metals, such as gold, may also result in a decline in the price of gold. Each of these factors and events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund. None of these specific commodity factors can be controlled in managing the Fund. Even if current and correct information as to substantially all factors are known or thought to be known, prices still will not always react as predicted.

 

Gold Mining Companies Risk

Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund Only: By investing in the equity securities of Gold Miners, the Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund may be susceptible to financial, economic, political, or market events that impact the gold mining industry. Additional factors that affect Gold Miners and the gold mining industry include, but are not limited to: commodity prices; tax and government regulations, central bank operations; competitive pressures; the success of exploration projects; and adverse environmental developments. The profitability of Gold Miners can be dramatically affected by the fluctuation in the price of gold, which can be impacted by the factors set forth under Gold Commodity Risk. The price of gold bullion fluctuates substantially over short periods, and as such the Fund’s share price may be more volatile than other types of investments.

 

Hedging Risk

Interest Rate Hedged U.S. Aggregate Bond Fund Interest Rate Hedged High Yield Bond Fund Only: The Duration Funds are subject to hedging risk. The short positions in U.S. Treasuries contained in each Duration Fund’s underlying Index, as well as the Duration  Funds' holdings to obtain such exposure, are not intended to mitigate credit risk or mitigate changes in bond values associated with investor perceptions regarding, or premiums placed on, credit risk (i.e., credit risk premiums) or otherwise mitigate risks associated with other factors influencing the price of such bonds, which may have a greater impact than rising or falling interest rates.

 

The underlying Index of each Duration Fund seeks to mitigate the potential negative impact of rising U.S. Treasury rates on the performance of bonds in the long portfolio of the Index. There is no guarantee that the short positions will completely eliminate the interest rate risk of the long bond positions.

 

Each Duration Fund’s underlying Index’s short positions also may fail to provide the targeted duration in light of changes in the shape of the U.S. Treasury curve. The interest rate profile between the long and short exposures of an index and fund could also evolve significantly between monthly rebalancing. This could lead to temporary dislocations between a Fund’s intended and actual sensitivity to interest rates, which could impact performance. There may also be significant differences between the bond markets and U.S. Treasury markets (including futures markets for U.S. Treasuries) that could result in a Fund’s short positions performing ineffectively, exacerbating losses or causing greater tracking error. In addition, when interest rates fall, an unhedged investment in the same long portfolio of bonds will outperform the Fund.

 

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High Yield Securities Risk

Certain Funds may invest in high yield securities. The Interest Rate Hedged High Yield Bond Fund invests primarily in high yield securities, rated lower than Baa3 by Moody’s, or equivalently rated by S&P or Fitch. Such securities are sometimes referred to as “high yield securities” or “junk bonds.” In addition, each Fixed Income Active ETF and the Voya Yield Enhanced USD Universal Bond Fund may invest a limited portion of their assets in securities rated lower than Baa3 by Moody’s, or equivalently rated by S&P or Fitch. Investing in these securities involves special risks in addition to the risks associated with investments in higher-rated fixed income securities. While offering a greater potential for capital appreciation and higher yields, high yield securities typically entail higher price volatility and may be less liquid than securities with higher ratings. Less liquid high yield securities may be more difficult to value accurately and more challenging to sell at an advantageous price or time. The price of high yield securities tends to be more susceptible to issuer-specific operating results and outlook as well as real or perceived adverse economic and competitive industry conditions and, therefore, subject to greater volatility. High yield securities may be regarded as predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s continuing ability to meet principal and interest payments. Issuers of securities in default may fail to resume principal or interest payments, in which case the Fund may lose its entire investment.

 

Illiquid Investments Risk

Illiquid investments may be difficult to sell at an acceptable price, they may be subject to greater volatility and may result in a loss to the Fund. Investments acquired by the Fund that are liquid at the time of purchase may subsequently become illiquid due to events relating to the issuer of the investments, market events, economic conditions and/or investor perception.

 

Implied Volatility Risk

PutWrite Strategy Fund Only: When the PutWrite Strategy Fund sells a SPY Put, the Fund gains the amount of premium it receives; however, the Fund also incurs a liability that represents the value of the SPY Put it has sold until the SPY Put is exercised or expires. The value of the SPY Puts in which the Fund invests is partly based on the volatility used by market participants to price such options (i.e., implied volatility). Consequently, increases in the implied volatility of the SPY Puts will cause the value of such options to increase (even if the prices of SPY stocks do not change), which will result in a corresponding increase in the liabilities of the Fund under the SPY Puts and thus decrease the Fund’s NAV. The Fund is therefore exposed to implied volatility risk before the SPY Puts expire or are struck at-the-money. The implied volatility of the SPY Puts sold by the Fund may increase due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the issuers of SPY stocks participate or factors relating to specific SPY companies.

 

Index and Data Risk

The Index Funds that employ a “passive management” – or indexing – investment approach (the Fixed Income Index Funds, PutWrite Strategy Fund and Alternative Income Fund, collectively, the “Index Funds”) seek to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of its applicable Index. Each Index Provider has developed an index methodology that describes both the objective of the Index and the rules pursuant to which the Index is constructed and maintained to seek to achieve its objective. The Index, however, may not achieve its objective or perform as intended for a variety of reasons, even when constructed and maintained consistently with its rules-based index methodology. As a result, none of the Index Provider, its affiliates, agents or any contributor of data considered in determining the composition or price of the Index provide any warranty or accept any liability with regard to the quality, accuracy or completeness of the Index, its calculation, its valuation, or any related data, nor does any such entity guarantee that the Index will achieve its objective. While the Index Provider to the WisdomTree U.S. High Yield Corporate Bond, Zero Duration Index is related to the Adviser, no Index Provider is obligated to consider a Fund’s interests or those of its shareholders when administering the Index. In addition, each Index Provider may make adjustments to the Index or cease making the Index available without regard to the particular interests of the Fund or its shareholders. Any such decision by the Index Provider may be disruptive to the management of the Fund and adversely affect its performance. The structure and composition of the Index will affect the performance, volatility, and risk of the Index, but also the Fund. Errors in Index data, Index computations, or the construction or adjustment of the Index in accordance with its index methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider or other appropriate party for a significant period of time or at all, which may adversely affect the Fund and its shareholders. The Index may be particularly vulnerable to the risk of an ongoing or sustained error because it generally is not used as a benchmark by other funds or managers. An Index error may result in the inclusion or exclusion of constituent securities in the Index or the weighting of constituent securities in the Index that would have been different had data or other information been correct or complete, which may lead to a different investment outcome than would have been the case had such error not occurred. Index errors, as well as the length of time between the Index’s and the Fund’s regular rebalance and/or reconstitution events, may result in the Fund holding for a period of time, securities or other investments that have become inconsistent with its investment strategies and/or investment criteria. The Adviser and Sub-Adviser seek to manage each Fund to track the performance of the Index even in circumstances where it may be determined that the Index composition was not accurate. Consequently, losses or costs associated with an Index error and other related risks may be borne by the applicable Fund and its shareholders, and neither the Adviser nor its affiliates or agents make any representations or warranties regarding the performance or administration of an Index. The management of each Fund is dependent on the operation of its Index. If the computers or other facilities of the Index Provider, Index calculation agent, Index data providers, if any, and/or other Index-related service provider malfunction for any reason, calculation and dissemination of Index values and any scheduled adjustments to the composition of the Index may be delayed. Depending on the duration of the delay, such event may necessitate suspending trading in a Fund’s shares until normal operation of the Index resumes.

 

 

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Index Construction and Provider Risk

Target Range Fund Only: The TOPS® Global Equity Target Range® Index, and consequently the Target Range Fund, may not succeed in its objective and may not be optimal in its construction, causing losses to the Fund. The applicable Index Provider has the right to make adjustments to the Index or to cease making the Index available without regard to the particular interests of the Fund or the Fund’s shareholders. While the Index Provider provides a rules-based methodology that describes what the Index is designed to achieve within a particular set of rules, neither the Index Provider, its agents nor data providers provide any warranty or accept any liability in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of the Index, its calculation, valuation or its related data, and they do not guarantee that the Index will be in line with the Index Provider’s methodology. There is no assurance that the Index Provider will compile the index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. If the computers or other facilities of the Index Provider, Index calculation agent, and/or data providers malfunction for any reason, calculation and dissemination of Index values may be delayed, which may adversely affect the Fund’s implementation of its principal investment strategy. Similarly, if there are errors in Index data, Index computations and/or the construction of the Index, such errors may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders.

 

Interest Rate Risk

The market value of fixed income securities, and financial instruments related to fixed income securities, will change in response to changes in interest rates and may change in response to other factors, such as perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness. As interest rates rise, the value of certain fixed income securities is likely to decrease. Similarly, if interest rates decline, the value of fixed income securities is likely to increase. While securities with longer maturities tend to produce higher yields, the prices of longer maturity securities tend to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates and thus subject to greater volatility than securities with shorter maturities. The “average portfolio maturity” of a Fund is the average of all the current maturities of the individual securities in the Fund’s portfolio. Average portfolio maturity is important to investors as an indication of the Fund’s sensitivity to changes in interest rates. Funds with longer portfolio maturities generally are subject to greater interest rate risk.

 

Investment in Underlying Funds Risk

Alternative Income Fund Only: Because the Alternative Income Fund invests in Underlying Funds, its investment performance largely depends on the investment performance of the Underlying Funds in which it invests. The Fund will pay indirectly a proportional share of the fees and expenses of the Underlying Funds in which it invests, including their investment advisory and administration fees, in addition to its own fees and expenses. In addition, at times certain segments of the market represented by constituent Underlying Funds may be out of favor and underperform other segments. Investments by the Fund in an Underlying Fund are subject to, among other risks, the risk that the listing exchange may halt trading of the Underlying Fund’s shares. In addition, the Fund may be subject to the following risks as a result of investments and strategies pursued by the Underlying Funds:

 

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Collateralized Loan Obligation Risk

Collateralized loan obligations are investment vehicles typically collateralized by a pool of loans, which may include, among others, senior secured loans, senior unsecured loans, and subordinate corporate loans, including loans that may be rated below investment grade or equivalent unrated loans. Collateralized loan obligations are subject to the risks of substantial losses due to actual defaults by borrowers of the loans underlying the collateralized loan obligations, which will be greater during periods of economic or financial stress. Collateralized loan obligations may also lose value due to collateral defaults and disappearance of subordinate tranches, market anticipation of defaults, and investor aversion to collateralized loan obligation securities as a class. The Fund, through its investments in the Vehicles, may invest in collateralized loan obligations that hold loans of uncreditworthy borrowers or in subordinate tranches of a collateralized loan obligation, which may absorb losses from underlying borrower defaults before senior tranches. Investments in such collateralized loan obligations present a greater risk of loss. In addition, collateralized loan obligations are subject to interest rate risk and credit risk.

 

High Yield Securities Risk

Investing in high yield securities or junk bonds involves special risks in addition to the risks associated with investments in higher-rated fixed income securities. While offering a greater potential for capital appreciation and higher yields, high yield securities typically entail higher price volatility and may be less liquid than securities with higher ratings. High yield securities may be regarded as predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s continuing ability to meet principal and interest payments. Issuers of securities in default may fail to resume principal or interest payments, in which case the Fund may lose its entire investment.

 

Issuer Credit Risk

The financial condition of an issuer of a debt security or other instrument may cause such issuer to default, become unable to pay interest or principal due on the security, or otherwise fail to honor its obligations or cause such issuer to be perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as being in such situations. The Fund cannot collect interest and principal payments on a security if the issuer defaults. Recent events in the financial sector have resulted in increased concerns about credit risk and exposure. Well-known financial institutions have experienced significant liquidity and other problems and have defaulted on their debt. The degree of credit risk for a particular debt security or other issuer may be reflected in its credit rating. A credit rating is a measure of a bond issuer’s ability to make timely payments of interest and principal. Rating agencies (such as Moody’s, S&P, or Fitch) assign letter designations typically ranging from AAA to A- (lower default risk) through CCC to C (higher default risk) or D (in default). A credit rating of BBB- or higher generally is considered “investment grade.” Credit ratings are subjective, do not remove market risk, and represent the opinions of the rating agencies as to the quality of the securities they rate. Credit ratings can change quickly and may not accurately reflect the risk of an issuer. Generally, investment risk and price volatility increase as the credit rating of a security declines. The value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning in response to issuer defaults and changes in the credit ratings of the Fund's portfolio investments.

 

Micro-Capitalization Investing Risk

Micro cap companies may be newly formed or in the early stages of development with limited product lines, markets or financial resources. Therefore, micro cap companies may be less financially secure than large-, mid- and small-capitalization companies and may be more vulnerable to key personnel losses due to reliance on a smaller number of management personnel. In addition, there may be less public information available about these companies. Micro cap stock prices may be more volatile than large-, mid- and small-capitalization companies and such stocks may be more thinly traded and thus difficult for the Fund to buy and sell in the market.

 

Private Credit Risk

Private credit investments are restricted securities that are not traded in public markets and subject to substantial holding periods, so that the Fund may not be able to resell some of its holdings for extended periods, which may be several years. The Fund may, from time to time or over time, focus its private credit investments in a particular industry or sector or select industries or sectors. Investment performance of such industries or sectors may thus at times have an out-sized impact on the performance of the Fund. The Fund’s investments are also subject to the risks associated with investing in private securities. Investments in private securities are not traded in public markets, are illiquid, can be subject to various restrictions on resale, and there can be no assurance that the Fund will be able to realize the value of such investments in a timely manner. Additionally, private credit investments can range in credit quality depending on security-specific factors, including total leverage, amount of leverage senior to the security in question, variability in the issuer’s cash flows, the size of the issuer, the quality of assets securing debt and the degree to which such assets cover the subject company’s debt obligations. The companies in which the Fund invests may be leveraged, often as a result of leveraged buyouts or other recapitalization transactions, and often will not be rated by national credit rating agencies.

 

 

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Senior Loan Investing Risk

Substantial increases in interest rates may cause an increase in loan defaults as borrowers may lack resources to meet higher debt service requirements. The value of the Fund’s assets may also be affected by other uncertainties such as economic developments affecting the market for senior secured term loans or affecting borrowers generally. Moreover, the security for the Fund’s investments in secured debt may not be recognized for a variety of reasons, including the failure to make required filings by lenders, trustees or other responsible parties and, as a result, the Fund may not have priority over other creditors as anticipated. Senior loans usually include restrictive covenants, which must be maintained by the borrower. The Fund may have an obligation with respect to certain senior secured term loan investments to make additional loans upon demand by the borrower.

 

Senior loans generally are not registered with the SEC and are not listed on any national securities exchange. There is less readily available or reliable information about most senior loans than is the case for many other types of securities, including securities issued in transactions registered under the Securities Act, or registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. No active trading market may exist for some senior loans, and some senior loans may be subject to restrictions on resale. A secondary market may be subject to irregular trading activity, which may impair the Fund’s ability to realize full value and thus cause a material decline in the Fund’s NAV. In addition, the Fund may not be able to readily dispose of its senior loans at prices that approximate those at which the Fund could sell such loans.

 

Investment Risk

As with all investments, an investment in a Fund is subject to loss. Investors in a Fund could lose money, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount of an investment, over short or long periods of time. An investment in a Fund is not a bank deposit and it is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

 

Investment Style Risk

Each Index Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, its Index regardless of their investment merit. An Index Fund does not attempt to outperform its Index or take defensive positions in declining markets unless the Index is taking similar positions. As a result, each Index Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to its Index. The returns from the types of securities in which an Index Fund invests may underperform returns from the various general securities markets or different asset classes. This may cause an Index Fund to underperform other investment vehicles that invest in different asset classes. Different types of securities (e.g., large-, mid- and small-capitalization stocks) tend to go through cycles of doing better – or worse – than the general securities markets. In the past, these periods have lasted for as long as several years.

 

Dividend Paying Securities Risk

There is a chance that the ability to pay dividends by the issuer of a preferred stock held by the Alternative Income Fund may deteriorate or the issuer may default (i.e., fail to make scheduled dividend payments on the preferred stock or scheduled interest payments on other obligations of the issuer not held by the Fund), which would negatively affect the value of any such holding.

 

Issuer Credit Risk

The financial condition of an issuer of a debt security or other instrument may cause such issuer to default, become unable to pay interest or principal due on the security, or otherwise fail to honor its obligations or cause such issuer to be perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as being in such situations. The Funds cannot collect interest and principal payments on a security if the issuer defaults. Recent events in the financials sector have resulted in increased concerns about credit risk and exposure. Well-known financial institutions have experienced significant liquidity and other problems and have defaulted on their debt. The degree of credit risk for a particular debt security or other issuer may be reflected in its credit rating. A credit rating is a measure of a bond issuer’s ability to make timely payments of interest and principal. Rating agencies (such as Moody’s, S&P, or Fitch) assign letter designations typically ranging from AAA to A- (lower default risk) through CCC to C (higher default risk) or D (in default). A credit rating of BBB- or higher generally is considered “investment grade.” Credit ratings are subjective, do not remove market risk, and represent the opinions of the rating agencies as to the quality of the securities they rate. Credit ratings can change quickly and may not accurately reflect the risk of an issuer. Generally, investment risk and price volatility increase as the credit rating of a security declines. The value of an investment in the Funds may change quickly and without warning in response to issuer defaults and changes in the credit ratings of the Funds' portfolio investments.

 

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Issuer-Specific Risk

Changes in the actual or perceived financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular type of security or issuer, and changes in general economic or political conditions can affect a security’s or instrument’s value. The value of securities of smaller, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers. Issuer-specific events can have a negative impact on the value of a Fund.

 

Large Shareholder Risk

Voya Yield Enhanced USD Universal Bond Fund Only: Certain shareholders, including other funds or accounts advised by the Adviser or Sub-Adviser, may from time to time own a substantial amount of the shares of Voya Yield Enhanced USD Universal Bond Fund. Certain funds sub-advised by the Sub-Adviser and advised by an affiliate of the Sub-Adviser are expected to own a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. In addition, a third-party investor, the Adviser or its affiliate, the Sub-Adviser or its affiliate, an Authorized Participant, a lead market maker, or another entity may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time solely to facilitate commencement of the Fund or to facilitate the Fund achieving a specified size or scale (i.e., a seed investor). There can be no assurance that any large shareholder would not redeem its investment, that the size of the Fund would be maintained at such levels, or that the Fund would continue to meet applicable listing requirements. Redemptions by large shareholders could have a significant negative effect on the Fund. Such redemptions could adversely affect the ability of the Fund to conduct its investment program, including by causing the Fund to dispose of investments at unfavorable times or its more liquid investments to raise cash sufficient to meet a large redemption, in which case the Fund’s remaining assets may be less liquid, more volatile, and more difficult to price. The need to meet such redemptions also could cause the Fund to increase its cash holdings, diluting its investment returns. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a significant percentage of the trading volume in the secondary market and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the Fund’s shares. Further, such sales may accelerate the realization of taxable income and/or gains to shareholders. To the extent the Fund permits cash purchases, large cash purchases of shares may adversely affect the Fund’s performance if the Fund is not able to invest the cash in a timely manner and required to maintain a larger cash position than it would ordinarily.

 

Leveraging Risk

Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund and Efficient Gold Plus Equity Strategy Fund Only: Certain transactions of the Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund and Efficient Gold Plus Equity Strategy Fund, such as the use of derivative instruments, will give rise to leverage, magnifying gains and losses and causing these Funds to be more volatile than if they had not been leveraged. This means that leverage entails a heightened risk of loss.

 

Limited Upside Return Risk

Target Range Fund Only: To the extent the Target Range Fund employs a call spread strategy by selling an “out of the money” short call option on an Underlying ETF, its returns will be limited in the event the Underlying ETF’s share price exceeds the strike price of the short call option sold. In the event an investor purchases Fund shares after the date on which the Fund implements the call spread strategy and the share price of the relevant Underlying ETF has risen in value to a level near the cap, there may be little or no ability for that investor to experience an investment gain on an investment in Fund shares with respect to that Underlying ETF, but such investor will remain vulnerable to downside risks. The maximum potential upside return will be further reduced by the Fund’s fees and expenses, costs of investment and any shareholder transaction fees.

 

PutWrite Strategy Fund Only: By virtue of its put option sales strategy, PutWrite Strategy Fund’s returns will be subject to an upside limitation on returns attributable to SPY, and the Fund will not participate in gains beyond such upside limitation. In the event an investor purchases Fund shares in between Roll Dates, and the share price of SPY falls in value to a level near or below the strike price, there may be little or no ability for that investor to experience a gain on an investment in Fund shares until the next Roll Date.

 

Liquidity Risk

The Funds may invest in derivatives and other instruments that may be less liquid than other types of investments. Investments that are less liquid or that trade less can be more difficult or more costly to buy, or to sell, compared to other more liquid or active investments. This liquidity risk is a factor of the trading volume of a particular investment, as well as the size and liquidity of the market for such an investment. The derivatives in which the Fund invests may not always be liquid. This could have a negative effect on the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective and may result in losses to Fund shareholders.

 

 

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Market Capitalization Risk

 

Large-Capitalization Investing

The securities of large-capitalization companies may underperform securities of smaller companies or the market as a whole. The securities of large-capitalization companies may be relatively mature compared to smaller companies and therefore subject to slower growth during times of economic expansion. Large-capitalization companies may also be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology and consumer tastes.

 

Mid-Capitalization Investing

The securities of mid-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse issuer, market, political, or economic developments than securities of large-capitalization companies, but mid-capitalization companies may also underperform the securities of small-capitalization companies because medium capitalization companies are more mature and are subject to slower growth during economic expansion. The securities of mid-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than large capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole. Some medium capitalization companies have limited product lines, markets, financial resources, and management personnel and tend to concentrate on fewer geographical markets relative to large-capitalization companies.

 

Small-Capitalization Investing

The securities of small-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse issuer, market, political, or economic developments than securities of larger-capitalization companies. The securities of small-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole. Some small-capitalization companies have limited product lines, markets, and financial and managerial resources and tend to concentrate on fewer geographical markets relative to larger capitalization companies. There is typically less publicly available information concerning smaller-capitalization companies than for larger, more established companies. Small-capitalization companies also may be particularly sensitive to changes in interest rates, government regulation, borrowing costs and earnings.

 

Market Risk

The trading prices of securities, currencies, and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors. These factors include events impacting the entire market or specific market segments, such as political, market and economic developments, including, but not limited to, changes in interest rates, government regulation, and the outlook for economic growth or recession, as well as events that impact specific issuers, such as changes to an issuer’s actual or perceived creditworthiness. A Fund’s NAV and market price, like security and commodity prices generally, may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time.

 

Recent Events

Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the resulting responses by the United States and other countries, and the potential for wider conflict could increase volatility and uncertainty in the financial markets and adversely affect regional and global economies for the foreseeable future. In response to Russia’s actions, the governments of the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and many other countries collectively imposed broad-ranging economic sanctions on Russia, certain Russian individuals, banking entities and corporations, and Belarus as a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and may impose sanctions on other countries that provide military or economic support to Russia. The sanctions restrict companies from doing business with Russia and Russian companies, prohibit transactions with the Russian central bank and other key Russian financial institutions and entities, ban Russian airlines and ships from using many other countries’ airspace and ports, respectively, and place a freeze on certain Russian assets. The sanctions also removed some Russian banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT), the electronic network that connects banks globally to facilitate cross-border payments. In addition, the United States and the United Kingdom have banned oil and other energy imports from Russia, as well as other popular Russian exports, such as diamonds, seafood and vodka. The European Union, the United Kingdom and other countries have also placed restrictions on certain oil, energy and luxury good imports from Russia. The extent and duration of Russia’s military actions and the repercussions of such actions (including any retaliatory actions or countermeasures that may be taken by those subject to sanctions, including cyber-attacks) are impossible to predict, but could result in significant market disruptions, including in certain industries or sectors, such as the oil and natural gas markets, and may negatively affect global supply chains, inflation and global growth. These and any related events could significantly impact the Fund’s performance and the value of an investment in the Fund, even if the Fund does not have direct exposure to Russian issuers or issuers in other countries affected by the invasion.

 

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Financial markets around the world may experience extreme volatility, depressed valuations, decreased liquidity and heightened uncertainty and turmoil resulting from major cybersecurity events, geopolitical events (including wars, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, terror attacks, and disruptions to foreign economic and trade relationships), public health emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, measures to address budget deficits, downgrading of sovereign debt, and public sentiment, among other events. Resulting market volatility, dramatic changes to interest rates, and otherwise unfavorable economic conditions may negatively impact Fund performance or impair a Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective.

 

In March 2023, the financial distress of certain financial institutions raised economic concerns over disruption in the U.S. banking system and regarding the solvency of certain financial services firms. There can be no certainty that the actions taken by the U.S. government to strengthen public confidence in the U.S. banking system will be effective in mitigating the effects of financial institution failures on the economy and restoring public confidence in the U.S. banking system.

 

Models and Data Risk

The Capital Efficient Funds and Managed Futures Strategy Fund (the “Active Model Funds”) are actively managed based upon the Adviser’s quantitative model, which is heavily dependent on data from one or more third parties and may not perform as intended. If the computers or other facilities of the data providers malfunction for any reason, model calculation and dissemination may be delayed, and trading of Fund shares may be suspended for a period of time. Errors in the model data, calculations and/or the construction of the model may occur from time to time and may not be identified and/or corrected by the Adviser or other applicable party for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on a Fund and its shareholders. The potential risk of continuing error may be particularly heightened in the case of the model, which will likely not be used by other funds or managers.

 

Mortgage- and Asset-Backed Securities Risk

Certain Funds may invest in mortgage- and asset-backed securities. Movements in interest rates (both increases and decreases) may quickly and significantly reduce the value of certain types of mortgage- and asset-backed securities. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities can also be subject to the risk of default on the underlying mortgages or other assets. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities are subject to fluctuations in yield due to prepayment rates that may be faster or slower than expected. The Funds may invest in mortgage- and asset-backed securities issued by legal entities that are sponsored by banks, investment banks, other financial institutions, or funds and are specifically created for the purpose of issuing such asset-backed securities. Investors in asset-backed securities generally receive payments that are part interest and part return of principal. Certain asset-backed securities may be interest-only securities or principal-only securities. These payments typically depend upon the cash flows generated by an underlying pool of assets and vary based on the rate at which the underlying obligors pay off their liabilities with respect to those underlying assets. The pooled assets provide cash flow to the issuer, which then makes interest and principal payments to investors. Investments in asset-backed securities are subject to many of the same risks that are applicable to investments in fixed income securities generally, including high yield and unrated securities risk, leverage risk, prepayment and extension risk, and regulatory risk. However, asset-backed securities are particularly subject to interest rate, credit, liquidity, and valuation risks. With respect to liquidity and valuation risks, asset-backed securities may be difficult to value accurately or sell at an advantageous time or price and involve greater transaction costs and wider bid/ask spreads than certain other instruments. In addition, the assets or collateral underlying an asset-backed security may be insufficient or unavailable in the event of a default and enforcing and investor’s rights with respect to these assets or collateral may be difficult and costly. These risks may be heightened under current economic and market conditions. Investments in asset-backed securities also are subject to risks relating to the underlying pools of assets, including credit risk, default risk (such as a borrower’s default on its mortgage obligation and the default or failure of a guarantee underlying the asset-backed security) and prepayment and extension risk with respect to the underlying pool or individual assets represented in the pool. With respect to a mortgage loan backing mortgage-backed securities, when an underlying obligor, such as a homeowner, makes a prepayment, an investor in the securities receives a larger portion of its principal investment back, which means that there will be a decrease in monthly interest payments and the investor may not be able to reinvest the principal it receives as a result of such prepayment in a security with a similar risk, return or liquidity profile. In addition to prepayments, the underlying assets are subject to the risk of defaults, and both defaults and prepayments may shorten the securities’ weighted average life and may lower their return, which, in turn, may adversely affect a Fund’s investment in the asset-backed securities. The value of asset-backed securities held by a Fund also may change because of actual or perceived changes in the creditworthiness of the underlying asset obligors, the originators, the servicing agents, the financial institutions, if any, providing credit support, or swap counterparties in the case of synthetic asset-backed securities. In addition, there is no guarantee that the insurer or guarantor of mortgage or mortgage-related securities, such as mortgage-backed securities, will meet their obligations.

 

 

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Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities

Commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”) are collateralized by one or more commercial mortgage loans. Commercial mortgage loans may be secured by office properties, retail properties, hotels, mixed use properties or multi-family apartment buildings. Investments in CMBS are subject to the risks of asset-backed securities generally and particularly subject to credit risk, interest rate risk, and liquidity and valuation risk. These risks may be significantly heightened under the current economic and market conditions. Economic downturns, rises in unemployment and other events that limit the activities of and demand for commercial retail and office spaces (including the expansion of employees working from home, such as during the current economic and public health situation) adversely impact the value of such securities. In addition, adverse developments in local, regional and national economies generally adversely affect consumer spending, which, in turn, can have a significant negative effect on the economic success of retail space. Retail properties also are subject to other conditions that generally negatively affect the retail sector, such as increased unemployment, increased federal income and payroll taxes, increased health care costs, increased state and local taxes, increased real estate taxes, industry slowdowns, lack of availability of consumer credit, weak income growth, increased levels of consumer debt, poor housing market conditions, adverse weather conditions, natural disasters, plant closings, and other factors. CMBS also are subject to the risk that the value of such securities will decline because, among other things, the securities are not issued or guaranteed as to principal or interest by the U.S. government or a government sponsored enterprise. CMBS often are issued in multiple tranches, each typically characterized by a different seniority. Depending on their respective seniority, individual tranches are subject to increased (and sometimes different) credit, prepayment, liquidity and valuation risks as compared to other tranches. CMBS may experience greater price volatility than other types of asset-backed securities or mortgage-backed securities.

 

Mortgage-Backed Securities

Mortgage loans are typically grouped into pools by banks and other lending institutions, and interests in these pools are then sold to investors, allowing the bank or other lending institution to have more money available to loan to borrowers. Some of these pools are guaranteed by U.S. government agencies or by government sponsored private corporations (e.g., “Ginnie Mae,” “Fannie Mae” and “Freddie Mac”) (referred to as “agency” mortgage-backed securities) and others are created by non-governmental issuers without such guarantees (referred to as “non-agency” mortgage-backed securities). Non-agency mortgage-backed securities are subject to the risk that the value of such securities will decline because, among other things, the securities are not guaranteed as to principal or interest by the U.S. government or a government sponsored enterprise. Non-agency mortgage-backed securities often are issued in multiple tranches for which the credit, prepayment, liquidity, and valuation risks vary as compared to the other tranches. These securities are often subject to greater credit, prepayment, and liquidity and valuation risks than agency mortgage-backed securities. In addition, these securities may be subject to greater price fluctuation than agency mortgage-backed securities, especially during periods of weakness or perceived weakness in the mortgage and real estate sectors. Mortgage-backed securities are particularly sensitive to changes in interest rates. Rising interest rates, for example, tend to extend the duration of fixed-rate mortgage-backed securities. As a result, a rising interest rate environment can cause the prices of mortgage-backed securities to be increasingly volatile and increase the risk that payments on principal may occur more quickly or earlier than expected, each of which may adversely affect a Fund’s holdings of mortgage-backed securities. Rising interest rates generally result in a decline in the value of mortgage-backed securities. In addition, in general, a decline of housing values and other economic developments, such as a rise in unemployment rates or a slowdown in the overall economy, may cause delinquencies or non-payment in mortgages, particularly sub-prime and non-prime mortgages, underlying mortgage-backed securities, which would likely adversely impact the ability of the issuer to make principal and/or interest payments timely or at all to holders of the mortgage-backed securities and negatively affect a Fund’s investments in such securities. These risks may be heightened under current economic and market conditions.

 

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Non-Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk

Certain Funds may invest in non-agency mortgage-backed securities. Non-agency mortgage-backed securities are mortgage-backed securities issued or guaranteed by private issuers. Non-agency issued mortgage-backed securities are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and must rely only on the creditworthiness of the issuer and the underlying mortgages for repayment. As a result, non-agency mortgage-backed securities are subject to heightened risks as compared to agency mortgage-backed securities, including that non-agency mortgage-backed securities are not subject to the same underwriting requirements for the underlying mortgages that are applicable to those mortgage-backed securities that have a government or government-sponsored entity guarantee. Therefore, the mortgage loans underlying non-agency mortgage-backed securities may, and frequently do, have less favorable collateral, credit risk, or other underwriting characteristics than government or government-sponsored mortgage-backed securities and have wider variances in a number of terms including interest rate, term, size, purpose, and borrower characteristics. There may be a limited market for such securities.

 

Non-Correlation Risk

As with all index funds, the performance of an Index Fund and its Index may vary somewhat for a variety of reasons. For example, each Index Fund incurs operating expenses and portfolio transaction costs, while also managing cash flows and potential operational inefficiencies, not incurred by its Index. In addition, an Index Fund may not be fully invested in the securities of its Index at all times or may hold securities not included in its Index or may be subject to pricing differences, differences in the timing of dividend accruals, tax gains or losses, currency convertibility and repatriation, operational inefficiencies and the need to meet various new or existing regulatory requirements. For example, it may take several business days for additions and deletions to an Index to be reflected in the portfolio composition of an Index Fund. The use of sampling techniques may affect an Index Fund’s ability to achieve close correlation with its Index. By using a representative sampling strategy, an Index Fund generally can be expected to have a greater non-correlation risk and this risk may be heightened during times of market volatility or other unusual market conditions. In addition, when markets are volatile, the ability to sell securities at fair value prices may be adversely impacted and may result in additional trading costs and/or increase the Index tracking risk.

 

Non-Diversification Risk

Each Fund is considered to be non-diversified. This means that each Fund may invest more 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 Fund may be more exposed to the risks associated with and developments affecting an individual issuer or a smaller number of issuers than a fund that invests more widely. This may increase a Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on a Fund’s performance. However, each Fund intends to satisfy the asset diversification requirements under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, (the “Internal Revenue Code”) for qualification as a regulated investment company (“RIC”). See the “Taxes – Qualification as a Regulated Investment Company” section of the Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”) for detail regarding the asset diversification requirements.

 

Portfolio Turnover Risk

The investment strategies of the Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fund, Floating Rate Treasury Fund, Interest Rate Hedged U.S. Aggregate Bond Fund, Yield Enhanced U.S. Aggregate Bond Fund, Yield Enhanced U.S. Short-Term Aggregate Bond Fund and Mortgage Plus Bond Fund may result in high portfolio turnover rates. High portfolio turnover would result in correspondingly greater transaction expenses and may result in the distribution to shareholders of additional capital gains for tax purposes. These factors may negatively affect a Fund’s performance.

 

Prepayment Risk and Extension Risk

Many fixed income securities give the issuer the option to repay or call the security prior to its maturity date. Issuers often exercise this right when interest rates fall. Accordingly, if a Fund holds a fixed income security subject to prepayment or call risk, it will not benefit fully from the increase in value that other fixed income securities generally experience when interest rates fall. Upon prepayment of the security, a Fund would also be forced to reinvest the proceeds at then current yields, which would be lower than the yield of the security that was paid off. This may adversely affect a Fund’s net asset value. In addition, if a Fund purchases a fixed income security at a premium (at a price that exceeds its stated par or principal value), a Fund may lose the amount of the premium paid in the event of prepayment. Many issuers have a right to prepay their fixed income securities. Issuers may be more likely to prepay their securities if interest rates fall. If this happens, the Fund will not benefit from the rise in the market price of the securities that normally accompanies a decline in interest rates and will be forced to reinvest prepayment proceeds at a time when yields on securities available in the market are lower than the yield on prepaid securities. If interests rate rise, then issuers may extend the duration of a fixed income security so that it is paid off more slowly than expected and the value of the security may decline.

 

 

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Purchase and Sale Timing Risk

PutWrite Strategy Fund Only: Although the PutWrite Strategy Fund seeks to implement a strategy similar to that used by its Index, the Fund has multiple Roll Dates each month and, as a result, no matter when an investor purchases Fund shares, even on a Roll Date, the value of the investor’s investment in the Fund may not be protected against a decline in the value of SPY and may not benefit from a gain in the value of SPY. For example, if an investor purchases Fund shares in between Roll Dates for one of the SPY Puts and the price of SPY had already decreased below the strike price for those SPY Puts, the Fund would not seek to protect the investor from any additional decline in SPY’s price with respect to that SPY Put. The value of the options written by the Fund is dependent on various factors, including, but not limited to, the value and implied volatility of SPY. Each of these factors may vary significantly during the period between Roll Dates and affect the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective between Roll Dates.

 

Target Range Fund Only: Although the Target Range Fund seeks to implement a strategy similar to that used by the Index, which seeks to provide downside protection against Underlying ETF price declines of 15% or less during the annual period while also providing for participation in Underlying ETF gains subject to the upside return limit discussed herein, if an investor purchases Fund shares on any day other than the roll date at the beginning of an annual period or holds shares for more or less than the annual period, the value of the investor’s investment in the Fund may not be protected against a decline in the value of an Underlying ETF or other reference asset and may not benefit from a gain in the value of the Underlying ETF or other reference asset. For example, if an investor purchases Fund shares in between roll dates and the price of the shares of each Underlying ETF held by the Fund had already decreased by 10% since the last roll date, the Fund would not seek to protect the new investor from an additional 15% decline in the Underlying ETFs’ prices because the Fund strategy to provide limited downside protection is based on the performance of the Underlying ETFs during the annual period, not a shorter or longer period based on when an investor purchases Fund shares. In addition, if there is significant intra-month volatility in the market price of an Underlying ETF (e.g., a significant increase followed by a significant decrease) and an investor purchases and sells the Fund’s shares within that month, the investor may experience losses that are greater than the target range performance it seeks. The value of the options purchased (and written) by the Fund is dependent on various factors, including, but not limited to, the value, implied volatility, and implied dividend rate of the Underlying ETFs and interest rates. Each of these factors may vary significantly during the annual period and affect the Fund’s ability to implement its strategy and to exceed the performance of the Index in between roll dates.

 

Put Options Risk

PutWrite Strategy Fund Only: Options may be subject to volatile swings in price influenced by changes in the value of the underlying instrument. Although the PutWrite Strategy Fund collects premiums on the SPY Puts that it writes, the Fund’s risk of loss if the price of SPY falls below the strike price and the SPY Puts are exercised as of the Roll Date (i.e., the Fund, as the seller of the SPY Puts, owes the buyer of the SPY Puts) may outweigh the gains to the Fund from the receipt of such option premiums. The potential return to the Fund is limited to the amount of option premiums it receives, while the Fund can potentially lose up to the entire strike price of each option it sells. Furthermore, it could be the case that the SPY Puts sold by the Fund may not perfectly correlate with the returns of their underlying stocks.

 

REIT Investing Risk

By investing in REITs, the Alternative Income Fund will be exposed to the risks of owning real estate, such as decreases in real estate values, overbuilding, increased competition and other risks related to local or general economic conditions, increases in operating costs and property taxes, changes in zoning laws, casualty or condemnation losses, possible environmental liabilities, regulatory limitations on rent and fluctuations in rental income. In addition, U.S. REITs are subject to the possibility of failing to qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment generally available to them under the Code, and failing to maintain exemption from the registration requirements of the 1940 Act. REITs may use leverage (and some may be highly leveraged), which increases risk and could adversely affect a REIT’s operations and market value in periods of rising interest rates. As the demand for, or prices of, real estate increase, the value of the Fund’s investments in REITs generally would be expected to also increase. Conversely, declines in the demand for, or prices of, real estate generally would be expected to contribute to declines in the value of the real estate market and REITs. Such declines may occur quickly and without warning and may negatively impact the value of the Fund and your investment.

 

Repurchase Agreement Risk

Certain Funds may invest in repurchase agreements. A repurchase agreement is a transaction in which a Fund purchases securities or other obligations from a bank or securities dealer and simultaneously commits to resell them to a counterparty at an agreed-upon date or upon demand and at a price reflecting a market rate of interest unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased obligations. The Funds will enter into repurchase agreements only with counterparties that are deemed to present acceptable credit risks, and the collateral securing the repurchase agreements generally will be limited to U.S. government securities and cash. If the market value of the underlying obligations of a repurchase agreement declines, the counterparty must provide additional collateral so that at all times the value of the collateral is greater than the repurchase price of the underlying obligations. Nonetheless, should a counterparty become insolvent or otherwise default, there could be a delay before a Fund is able to liquidate the collateral, which would subject the collateral and the Fund to market risk during that period.

 

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Restricted Securities Risk

Certain Funds may invest in restricted securities. Restricted securities cannot be sold to the public without registration with the SEC pursuant to the Securities Act. Unless registered, restricted securities can be sold only in privately negotiated transactions or pursuant to an exemption from registration requirements. There is no guarantee that an active trading market will exist at any time for a particular restricted security and as a result, restricted securities may be classified as illiquid investments. The lack of an active trading market may cause the Voya Yield Enhanced USD Universal Bond Fund to be unable to sell its restricted securities at an advantageous time or at all. The lack of liquidity also may cause restricted securities to be more difficult to value. In addition, to the extent the Fund sells a restricted security holding in a privately negotiated transaction, the price realized from any such sale may be less than that paid by the Fund for such restricted security. Restricted securities also may involve a high degree of business and financial risk, which may result in substantial losses. The Fund may invest in restricted securities, including securities initially offered and sold without registration pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act (“Rule 144A Securities”) and securities of U.S. and non-U.S. issuers initially offered and sold outside the United States without registration with the SEC pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act (“Regulation S Securities”). Rule 144A Securities and Regulation S Securities generally may be traded freely among certain qualified institutional investors, such as the Fund, and non-U.S. persons. However, the sale of such securities to other U.S. investors is permitted only under limited circumstances, may give rise to resale-related costs, and may take a considerable amount of time to complete.

 

Return of Capital Risk

PutWrite Strategy Fund Only: The Fund expects to make monthly distributions regardless of its performance. All or a portion of such distributions may represent a return of capital. A return of capital is the portion of the distribution representing the return of your investment in the Fund. A return of capital is generally tax-free to the extent of a shareholder’s basis in the Fund’s shares and reduces the shareholder’s basis in their shares and results in a higher capital gain or lower capital loss when the shares on which the return of capital distribution was received are sold. After a shareholder’s basis in the shares has been reduced to zero, return of capital distributions will be treated as gain from the sale of the shareholder’s shares.

 

Rolling Risk

PutWrite Strategy Fund and Target Range Fund Only: Each Fund’s investment strategy is subject to risks related to rolling options. Each Fund may engage in rolling to adjust the strike price or the expiration date of the Fund’s options and may roll the options positions in different ways depending on market conditions. Each Fund’s ability to realize benefits from rolling its options positions depends in large part on the skill of the Fund’s adviser and sub-adviser and their ability to accurate gauge market conditions and forecast market movements. Each Fund expects to frequently roll its options contracts, which will result in increased transaction costs for the Fund. These costs may be further increased to the extent a Fund purchases options contracts farther from expiration, which generally are priced higher than options approaching their expiration. When holding options approaching their expiration, a Fund bears the risk that it may be required to post additional margin for such options positions despite its declining value. In addition, to the extent a Fund elects to roll its options contracts by adjusting its strike prices downward thereby extending its time until expiration, the Fund risks limiting its ability to fully realize upside returns. There is no guarantee that a Fund’s options rolling will produce the desired results or expected returns and it may cause the Fund to lose value or fail to meet its investment objective.

 

Sector Risks

 

Energy Sector Risk

The Energy Sector includes, for example, companies engaged in exploration, production, refining, marketing, storage, and transportation of oil, gas, coal, and consumable fuels, as well as related equipment and services. The Energy Sector can be significantly affected by, among other things, worldwide economic growth, worldwide demand, political instability in the Middle East, eastern Europe or other oil or gas producing regions, and volatile oil prices. Securities’ prices for these types of companies are affected by supply and demand, exploration and production spending, world events and economic conditions, swift price and supply fluctuations, energy conservation, the success of exploration projects, exchange rates, interest rates, increased competition and technological advances, liabilities for environmental damage and general civil liabilities and tax and other governmental regulatory policies. Companies in this sector may be subject to substantial government regulation and contractual fixed pricing, which may increase the cost of doing business and limit these companies’ earnings. A significant portion of revenues of these companies depends on a relatively small number of customers, including governmental entities and utilities. As a result, governmental budget constraints may have a material adverse effect on the stock prices of companies in this sector. Energy companies may also operate in or engage in transactions involving countries with less developed regulatory regimes or a history of expropriation, nationalization or other adverse policies. As the demand for, or prices of, energy increase, the value of the Fund’s investments generally would be expected to also increase. Conversely, declines in the demand for, or prices of, energy generally would be expected to contribute to declines in the value of such securities. Such declines may occur quickly and without warning and may negatively impact the value of a Fund and your investment.

 

 

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Financials Sector Risk

To the extent a Fund invests significantly in securities of, or financial instruments tied to the performance of, companies in the Financials Sector, it is subject to the risk that the Financials Sector will underperform the market as a whole due to adverse regulatory developments, market conditions or similar events affecting the Financials Sector. The Financials Sector includes companies involved in a wide variety of financial activities, including, for example, banking, consumer finance, asset management, investment banking and brokerage, insurance brokerage, reinsurance, residential and commercial mortgage servicing, and the operation of financial exchanges. Companies in the Financials Sector are subject to extensive government regulation and intervention, adverse market conditions, and increased competition, all of which may adversely affect the scope of their activities, the fees and interest rates they can charge, the amount of capital and liquid assets they must maintain, the financial commitments that they can make, profitability, and, potentially, their size. Adverse regulation or market conditions may affect the Financials Sector as a whole or specific industries or sub-industries within the Financials Sector. For example, companies in the Banks Industry, a separate industry within the Financials Sector, were particularly affected by recent market conditions that contributed to the failure of multiple regional banks. In addition, the deterioration of particular segments of the market, such as the credit market, may have particularly far-reaching and adverse effects across the Financials Sector. Events affecting the Financials Sector in the recent past resulted in an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, both domestic and foreign, and caused certain companies within the sector to incur large losses further exacerbating the adverse performance of the sector as a whole. The Financials Sector is also a target for cyberattacks. Cybersecurity incidents and technology malfunctions and failures have become increasingly frequent and have caused significant losses to companies in the Financials Sector.

 

Industrials Sector Risk

The Industrials Sector includes, for example, aerospace and defense, non-residential construction, engineering, machinery, transportation, and commercial and professional services companies. This sector can be significantly affected by, among other things, business cycle fluctuations, worldwide economic growth, exchange rates, commodity prices, government and corporate spending, supply and demand for specific products and manufacturing, rapid technological developments, international political and economic developments, environmental issues, and tax and governmental regulatory policies. As the demand for, or prices of, industrials increase, the value of a Fund’s investments generally would be expected to also increase. Conversely, declines in the demand for, or prices of, industrials generally would be expected to contribute to declines in the value of such securities. Such declines may occur quickly and without warning and may negatively impact the value of a Fund and your investment.

 

Materials Sector Risk

The Materials Sector includes, for example, metals and mining, chemicals, construction materials, glass, paper and related packaging products and forest product companies. This sector can be significantly affected by, among other things, swift fluctuations in supply and demand for basic materials, commodity price volatility, world economic growth, depletion of natural resources and energy conservation, technological progress, and government regulations, including international political and economic developments, the environmental impact of energy and basic materials operations and tax and other governmental regulatory policies. As the demand for, or prices of, basic materials increase, the value of a Fund’s investments generally would be expected to also increase. Conversely, declines in the demand for, or prices of, basic materials generally would be expected to contribute to declines in the value of such securities. Such declines may occur quickly and without warning and may negatively impact the value of a Fund and your investment.

 

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Securitized Credit Securities Risk

Mortgage Plus Bond Fund Only: Securitized Credit Securities are securities typically collateralized by pools of obligations or assets. The value of the Mortgage Plus Bond Fund’s investments in Securitized Credit Securities (other than mortgage-backed securities), such as asset-backed securities, collateralized loan obligations and credit risk transfer securities, may be adversely affected by changes in interest rates (whether increasing or decreasing), factors concerning the interests in and structure of the issuer or originator of the receivables, the creditworthiness of the entities that provide any supporting letters of credit, surety bonds, or other credit or liquidity enhancements, and/or the market’s assessment of the quality of the underlying assets. Securitized Credit Securities can also be subject to the risk of default on the underlying assets, while also being subject to greater liquidity risk than other types of asset-backed securities, and a Fund could incur losses. Many Securitized Credit Securities are also subject to prepayment risk in a declining interest rate environment and extension risk in an increasing rate environment.

 

Shares of the Funds May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV

As with all ETFs, Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of the shares of a Fund will not materially differ from a Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price and the NAV vary significantly, including due to timing reasons, perceptions about the NAV, supply and demand of a Fund’s shares (including disruptions in the creation/redemption process), during periods of market volatility and/or other factors. Because securities held by Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Bullish Fund, Emerging Currency Strategy Fund, Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fund, Emerging Markets Local Debt Fund, Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund, Efficient Gold Plus Equity Strategy Fund, Managed Futures Strategy Fund, and Target Range Fund (collectively, the “Foreign Funds”) trade on foreign exchanges that are closed when the Foreign Funds’ primary listing exchange is open, there are likely to be deviations between the current price of an underlying security and the security’s last quoted price from the closed foreign market. This may result in premiums and discounts that are greater than those experienced by domestic ETFs. Thus, you may pay more (or less) than NAV when you buy shares of a Fund in the secondary market, and you may receive more (or less) than NAV when you sell those shares in the secondary market. If an investor purchases Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV of the Fund’s shares or sells at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV of the Fund’s shares, an investor may sustain losses. Additionally, in stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings.

 

Short Sales Risk

The Duration Funds will, and the Managed Futures Strategy Fund may, engage in “short sale” transactions. A short sale involves the sale by a Fund of an instrument or security that it does not own with the hope of purchasing the same security at a later date at a lower price. Short sales are designed to profit from a decline in the price of a security or instrument. A Fund will lose value if the security or instrument that is the subject of a short sale increases in value. This is the opposite of traditional “long” investments where the value of the Fund increases as the value of a portfolio security or instrument increases. A Fund may enter into short positions in U.S. Treasuries as well as short derivative positions through futures contracts on U.S. Treasuries. The Managed Futures Strategy Fund may enter into a short derivative position through a futures contract, swap agreement, structured note, or short positions on currency forwards. If the price of the security or derivative that is the subject of a short sale increases, then a Fund will incur a loss equal to the increase in price from the time that the short sale was entered into plus any premiums and interest paid to a third party in connection with the short sale. The risk of loss on a shorted position arises from the increase in value of the security sold short and is potentially unlimited unlike the risk of loss on a long position, which is limited to the amount paid for the investment plus transaction costs. Therefore, short sales involve the risk that losses may be exaggerated, potentially losing more money than the actual cost of the investment. Also, there is the risk that the third party to the short sale may fail to honor its contract terms, causing a loss to a Fund. Further, in times of unusual or adverse economic, market or political conditions, the Fund may not be able to fully or partially implement its short selling strategy.

 

 

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Sovereign Debt Risk

The Currency Strategy Funds, Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fund, Emerging Markets Local Debt Fund and Voya Yield Enhanced USD Universal Bond Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in sovereign debt. Investments in sovereign debt securities, such as foreign government debt, involve special risks, including the availability of sufficient foreign exchange on the date a payment is due, the relative size of the debt service burden to the relevant foreign economy as a whole, the government debtor’s policy toward the International Monetary Fund or international lenders, any political constraints to which the debtor may be subject and other political considerations. Periods of economic and political uncertainty may result in the illiquidity and increased price volatility of sovereign debt securities held by the Fund. The governmental authority that controls the repayment of sovereign debt may be unwilling or unable to repay the principal and/or interest in accordance with the terms of such securities for a variety of reasons, including if its foreign reserves are limited or otherwise constrained. If an issuer of sovereign debt defaults on payments of principal and/or interest, the Fund may have limited or no legal recourse against the issuer and/or guarantor. In certain cases, remedies must be pursued in the courts of the defaulting party itself. For example, there may be no bankruptcy or similar proceedings through which all or part of the sovereign debt that a governmental entity has not repaid may be collected. Certain issuers of sovereign debt may be dependent on disbursements from foreign governments, multilateral agencies and others abroad to reduce principal and interest arrearages on their debt. Such disbursements may be conditioned upon a debtor’s implementation of economic reforms and/or economic performance and the timely service of such debtor’s obligations. A failure on the part of the debtor to implement such reforms, achieve such levels of economic performance or repay principal or interest when due may result in the cancellation of such third parties’ commitments to lend funds to the debtor, which may impair the debtor’s ability to service its debts on a timely basis. As a holder of sovereign debt, the Fund may be requested to participate in the restructuring of such sovereign indebtedness, including the rescheduling of payments and the extension of further loans to debtors, which may adversely affect the Fund, and there can be no assurance that such restructuring will result in the repayment of all or even part of the debt. Sovereign debt risk is increased for emerging market issuers and certain emerging market countries have declared moratoria on the payment of principal and interest on external debt.

 

Subsidiary Investment Risk

The WisdomTree Subsidiaries are not registered under the 1940 Act and are not subject to all of the investor protections of the 1940 Act. Thus, the Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund, Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund, Efficient Gold Plus Equity Strategy Fund, and Managed Futures Strategy Fund (together, the “Subsidiary Strategy Funds”), each an investor in its corresponding WisdomTree Subsidiary, will not have all of the protections offered to investors in registered investment companies. In addition, changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Subsidiary Strategy Funds and the WisdomTree Subsidiaries are organized, respectively, could result in the inability of an Subsidiary Strategy Fund and/or a WisdomTree Subsidiary to operate as intended and could negatively affect an Subsidiary Strategy Fund and its shareholders.

 

Tax Risk

The Subsidiary Strategy Funds expect to obtain exposure to the commodities markets by entering into commodity-linked derivative instruments, such as listed futures contracts, forward currency contracts, swaps and structured notes. The Subsidiary Strategy Funds each intend to invest in such commodity-linked derivative instruments, in whole or in part, indirectly through its WisdomTree Subsidiary. In order for a Fund to qualify as a RIC, a Fund must, amongst other requirements detailed in the SAI, derive at least 90% of its gross income each taxable year from “qualifying income.” Income from certain commodity-linked derivative instruments in which a Fund invests may not be considered qualifying income. To the extent a Fund makes direct investments in commodity-linked derivative instruments, it will seek to restrict the resulting income from such instruments so that, when combined with its other non-qualifying income, a Fund’s non-qualifying income is less than 10% of its gross income. A Fund might generate more non-qualifying income than anticipated, might not be able to generate qualifying income in a particular taxable year at levels sufficient to meet the qualifying income test, or might not be able to determine the percentage of qualifying income it derives for a taxable year until after year-end. Failure to comply with the qualifying income test would have significant negative tax consequences to Fund shareholders. Under certain circumstances, a Fund may be able to cure a failure to meet the qualifying income test, but in order to do so a Fund may incur significant Fund-level taxes, which would effectively reduce (and could eliminate) a Fund’s returns. Important tax information is described in more detail below in the section on “Additional Tax Information.”

 

TBA Transactions Risk

The Interest Rate Hedged U.S. Aggregate Bond Fund, Yield Enhanced U.S. Aggregate Bond Fund, Yield Enhanced U.S. Short-Term Aggregate Bond Fund, Mortgage Plus Bond Fund and Voya Yield Enhanced USD Universal Bond Fund may enter into “TBA Transactions” to purchase or sell mortgage-backed securities for a fixed price at a future date. In a TBA Transaction, a seller, for example, agrees to deliver a mortgage-backed security to the Fund at a future date, but the seller does not specify the particular security to be delivered. Instead, the Fund agrees to accept any security that meets specified terms. TBA Transactions involving purchase commitments are subject to a risk of loss if the value of the securities to be purchased declines prior to the settlement date or if the counterparty does not deliver the securities as promised. TBA Transactions involving sale commitments are subject to a risk of loss if the value of the securities to be sold goes up prior to the settlement date. At the time of its acquisition, a TBA security may be valued at less than the purchase price. TBA Transactions also are subject to regulatorily-imposed mandatory margin requirements that will require the Fund to post collateral in connection with its TBA Transactions, which could increase the Fund’s cost of investment.

 

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Underlying Fund Risk

Each Underlying Fund of the Target Range Fund is subject to specific risks, depending on its investments. Underlying Funds also are subject to investment advisory fees and other expenses, which are indirectly borne by the Target Range Fund. As a result, your overall cost of investing in the underlying stocks, bonds and other basic assets will be higher than the cost of investing directly in them and may be higher than other mutual funds that invest directly in stocks and bonds.

 

Investment in ETFs Risk

The Target Range Fund may purchase shares of ETFs to gain exposure comparable to that of its Index or certain options while awaiting an opportunity to purchase the options in the Index or when such investments present a beneficial alternative to investing directly in such options. When the Fund invests in an ETF, in addition to directly bearing the expenses associated with its own operations, it will bear a pro rata portion of the ETF’s expenses. Further, in part because of these additional expenses, the performance of an ETF may differ from the performance the Fund would achieve if it invested directly in the underlying investments of the ETF or the options in the Index. While the risks of owning shares of an ETF generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying investments of the investment company, the Fund may be subject to additional or different risks than if the Fund had invested directly in the underlying investments. For example, while shares of an ETF generally trade at market prices that are at or near the NAV of the ETF’s underlying investments, shares may trade below their NAV. The NAV of shares will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the ETF’s holdings. The trading prices of shares will fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV as well as market supply and demand. The difference between the bid price and ask price, commonly referred to as the “spread,” also will vary for an ETF depending on the ETF’s trading volume and market liquidity. Generally, the greater the trading volume and market liquidity, the smaller the spread is and vice versa. Any of these factors may lead to an ETF’s shares trading at a premium or a discount to NAV.

 

U.S. Government Securities Risk

Voya Yield Enhanced USD Universal Bond Fund and Target Range Fund Only: It is possible that the U.S. Government would not provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities if it is not required to do so by law. The ability of foreign governments to repay their obligations is adversely impacted by default, insolvency, bankruptcy or by political instability, including authoritarian and/or military involvement in governmental decision-making, armed conflict, civil war, social instability and the impact of these events and circumstances on a country’s economy and its government’s revenues.

 

U.S. Treasury Bill Risk

PutWrite Strategy Fund and Target Range Fund Only: Treasury bills may differ from other debt securities in their interest rates, maturities, times of issuance and other characteristics and may provide relatively lower returns than those other securities. Similar to other issuers, changes to the financial condition or credit rating of the U.S. government may cause the value of the Fund’s Treasury bill holdings to decline.

 

U.S. Treasury Exposure Risk

The methodology used to select U.S. Treasuries for the underlying Indexes of the Duration Funds (or U.S. Treasuries or U.S. Treasury futures, in the case of the Duration Funds) for different maturities within the short exposure could produce performance that is dissimilar from other U.S. Treasuries of similar maturities. For example, unique supply and demand conditions could create a market whereby selected U.S. Treasuries or positions trade either more or less expensively than other U.S. Treasuries or positions of the same maturity, which could negatively impact the performance of the Duration Funds.

 

Volatility Risk

Managed Futures Strategy Fund Only: The Managed Futures Strategy Fund is designed to capture the long-term economic benefits of rising or declining market trends. Frequent or significant short-term price movements could adversely impact the performance of the Fund. “Whipsaw” markets (as opposed to choppy or stable markets), in which significant price movements develop but then repeatedly reverse, could cause substantial losses due to prices moving against the Fund’s long or short positions (which are based on prior trends) and generally are not adjusted on an intra-month basis.

 

 

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Yield Curve Risk

The Duration Funds and their underlying Indexes will have short exposure to U.S. Treasuries with different maturity dates and weightings. Interest rates do not change uniformly for U.S. Treasuries of differing lengths of maturity in response to market and economic conditions. For example, interest rates for shorter maturity U.S. Treasuries may rise or fall more or less than interest rates for longer maturity U.S. Treasuries and rates may rise for U.S. Treasuries of certain maturities but fall for U.S. Treasuries of different maturities. Changes in interest rates among U.S. Treasuries with different maturities could impact returns produced both by the long exposures and short exposures of the Index and Fund in different ways, which could lead to unexpected performance, including Fund losses. The methodology of each Duration Fund Index and the investment approach of the Duration Funds seek to address this risk, but are subject to the constraints of providing the desired overall interest rate profile and evolving market conditions, and there is no guarantee that any such risk will be reduced or the desired outcome will occur.

 

Additional Non-Principal Risk Information

Trading. Although each Fund’s shares are listed for trading on NYSE Arca, Inc., NASDAQ or Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. (each, a “Listing Exchange”) and may be listed or traded on U.S. and non-U.S. stock exchanges other than the Listing Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will develop or be maintained. The trading market in a Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for a Fund’s holdings or due to irregular trading activity in the markets. Trading in shares may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Listing Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in shares on the Listing Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to Listing Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Listing Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of a Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged or that Fund shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange.

 

Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Investors buying or selling a Fund’s shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers, as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of a Fund’s shares. In addition, secondary market investors also will incur the cost of the difference between the price that an investor is willing to buy shares (the “bid” price) and the price at which an investor is willing to sell shares (the “ask” price). This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “spread” or “bid/ask spread.” The bid/ask spread for a Fund’s shares varies over time based on the trading volume and market liquidity of a Fund’s shares and in some cases, the trading volume and market liquidity of a Fund’s holdings. Increased trading volume and market liquidity generally have the effect of reducing a fund’s bid/ask spread. Further, a relatively small investor base, asset swings and/or increased market volatility may increase a fund’s bid/ask spread. Shares of the Funds, similar to shares of other issuers listed on a securities exchange, may be sold short and are therefore subject to the risk of increased volatility associated with short selling. Due to the costs of buying or selling a Fund’s shares, including bid/ask spreads, frequent trading of a Fund’s shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly trading small investments.

 

Securities Lending. Securities lending subjects the Funds to the risk that the borrower of its securities may fail to return the loaned securities or deliver the proper amount of collateral, which may result in a loss to the Funds. In addition, in the event of the bankruptcy of or other default by the borrower, the Funds could experience losses or delays in recovering the loaned securities or foreclosing on collateral. In some cases, these risks may be mitigated by the indemnification provided by a Fund’s securities lending agent. It also is possible that a Fund’s securities lending agent could experience financial difficulties or bankruptcy, should such circumstances arise, the Funds may not receive the fees it has earned and is owed under the securities lending program, and may have difficulty and confront delays in retrieving its loaned securities and/or collateral. In addition, although a Fund receives and invests cash collateral in a conservative manner, it is possible that it could lose money from such an investment or fail to earn sufficient income from its investment to cover the fee or rebate that it has agreed to pay the borrower.

 

Authorized Participants, Market Makers and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Funds have a limited number of financial institutions that may serve as Authorized Participants. In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. A Fund’s shares may trade at a prolonged and material premium or discount to NAV (or not trade at all) and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting if either of the following events occur: (i) Authorized Participants exit the business, experience a significant business disruption (including through the types of disruptions described under “Cybersecurity Risk” and “Operational Risk”), or otherwise become unable or unwilling to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other Authorized Participants step forward to perform these services, or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business, experience a significant business disruption (including through the types of disruptions described under “Cybersecurity Risk” and “Operational Risk”), or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to make and support markets in a Fund’s shares or otherwise facilitate liquidity in the markets.

 

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This risk may be heightened for Funds that invest in markets that require foreign securities settlement and/or because Authorized Participants may be required to post collateral in relation to securities settlement, which only certain Authorized Participants may be able to do.

 

Operational Risk. The Funds and their service providers, including the Adviser, Sub-Adviser, administrator, custodian, and transfer agent, may experience disruptions that arise from human error, processing and communications errors, counterparty or third-party errors, and technology or systems failures, any of which may have an adverse effect on the management or operations of the Funds, including its ability to create and redeem shares. Although the Funds and their service providers seek to mitigate these operational risks through their internal controls and operational risk management processes, these measures may not identify or may be inadequate to address all such risks.

 

Portfolio Holdings Information

Information about each Fund’s daily portfolio holdings, including their identities and quantities, is available at www.wisdomtree.com/investments. Each Fund also discloses its complete portfolio holdings as of the end of its fiscal year (August 31) and its second fiscal quarter (February 28) in its reports to shareholders. Each Fund files its complete portfolio holdings as of the end of its first and third fiscal quarters (November 30 and May 31, respectively) with the SEC in Part F of Form N-PORT no later than 60 days after the relevant fiscal period. You can find the SEC filings on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov, or by calling WisdomTree Trust at 1-866-909-WISE (9473). A summary of the Funds’ portfolio holdings disclosure policies and procedures is included in the SAI.

 

 

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Management

 

Investment Adviser

As the investment adviser, WisdomTree Asset Management has overall responsibility for the general management and administration of the WisdomTree Trust (the “Trust”), including each of its separate investment portfolios called “Funds.” WisdomTree Asset Management is a registered investment adviser with offices located at 250 West 34th Street, 3rd Floor, New York, New York 10119, and is a leader in ETF management. As of November 30, 2023, WisdomTree Asset Management had assets under management totaling approximately $72.8 billion. WisdomTree, Inc. (“WisdomTree”)* is the parent company of WisdomTree Asset Management.

 

WisdomTree Asset Management provides and oversees the implementation of an investment program for each Fund. WisdomTree Asset Management also provides proactive oversight of the Sub-Adviser, defined below, including daily monitoring of the Sub-Adviser’s purchase and sale of Fund holdings, and regular review of the Sub-Adviser’s investment performance. In addition, WisdomTree Asset Management arranges for sub-advisory, transfer agency, custody, fund administration, securities lending, and all other non-distribution-related services necessary for the Funds to operate.

 

* “WisdomTree” is a registered mark of WisdomTree and has been licensed for use by the Trust.

 

For the fiscal year or period ended August 31, 2023, the Funds paid advisory fees to the Adviser, as a percentage of average daily net assets, in the amounts listed below.

 

Name of Fund Management Fee
Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Bullish Fund 0.50%
Emerging Currency Strategy Fund 0.55%
Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fund 0.60%
Emerging Markets Local Debt Fund 0.55%
Floating Rate Treasury Fund 0.15%
Interest Rate Hedged High Yield Bond Fund 0.43%
Interest Rate Hedged U.S. Aggregate Bond Fund 0.23%
Mortgage Plus Bond Fund 0.45%
Yield Enhanced U.S. Aggregate Bond Fund 0.12%
Yield Enhanced U.S. Short-Term Aggregate Bond Fund 0.12%
Voya Yield Enhanced USD Universal Bond Fund 0.15%
PutWrite Strategy Fund 0.44%
Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund 0.55%
Managed Futures Strategy Fund 0.65%
Alternative Income Fund 0.50%
Target Range Fund 0.70%
Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund 0.45%
Efficient Gold Plus Equity Strategy Fund 0.20%

 

Under the Investment Advisory Agreement for each Fund, WisdomTree Asset Management has agreed to pay generally all expenses of each Fund, subject to certain exceptions. For a detailed description of the Investment Advisory Agreement for each Fund, please see the “Management of the Trust” section of the SAI. Pursuant to a separate contractual arrangement, WisdomTree Asset Management arranges for the provision of chief compliance officer (“CCO”) services with respect to each Fund, and is liable and responsible for, and administers, payments to the CCO, the Independent Trustees and counsel to the Independent Trustees. WisdomTree Asset Management receives a fee of up to 0.0044% of each Fund’s average daily net assets for providing such services and paying such expenses. WisdomTree Asset Management provides CCO services to the Trust.

 

The basis for the Board of Trustees’ approval of the Investment Advisory Agreement for each Fund is available in the Trust’s Semi-Annual Report to Shareholders for the period ended February 28, 2023.

 

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WisdomTree Asset Management is also responsible for the general management and administration of each WisdomTree Subsidiary’s investment program pursuant to a separate investment advisory agreement between the Adviser and each WisdomTree Subsidiary. Under the advisory agreements, the Adviser provides each WisdomTree Subsidiary with the same type of management, for the same fee and under essentially the same terms, as is provided to the Fund. Each WisdomTree Subsidiary has also entered into separate contracts for the provision of custody, transfer agency, and accounting services with the same service providers that provide those services to the Funds.

 

Sub-Advisers

Mellon Investments Corporation (“Mellon”): Mellon is responsible for the day-to-day management of each fund, except for the Voya IM Managed Funds and NIMNA Managed Funds (as defined below) (collectively, the “Mellon Funds”). Mellon, a registered investment adviser, is a leading innovator in the investment industry and manages global quantitative-based investment strategies for institutional and private investors. Its principal office is located at 201 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02108. As of August 31, 2023, Mellon had assets under management totaling approximately $815.3 billion. Mellon is an independently operated indirect subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, a publicly traded financial holding company. Mellon chooses each Fund’s portfolio investments and places orders to buy and sell the portfolio investments. WisdomTree Asset Management pays Mellon for providing sub-advisory services to the Mellon Funds.

 

Voya Investment Management Co. LLC (“Voya IM”): Voya IM is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fund, Interest Rate Hedged High Yield Bond Fund, Mortgage Plus Bond Fund, Yield Enhanced U.S. Short-Term Aggregate Bond Fund and Voya Yield Enhanced USD Universal Bond Fund (collectively, the “Voya IM Managed Funds”). Voya IM, a registered investment adviser, is a leading innovator in the investment industry and manages global quantitative-based investment strategies for institutional and private investors. Its principal office is located at 230 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10169. As of September 30, 2023, Voya IM had assets under management totaling approximately $306.0 billion.* Voya IM is a wholly owned subsidiary of Voya Investment Management LLC, a registered investment adviser, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of VIM Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. Voya Financial, Inc., a publicly traded company, holds a 76% economic stake in VIM Holdings LLC through its subsidiary Voya Holdings Inc. As of July 25, 2022, Allianz SE, a stock corporation organized and existing under the laws of the European Union and the Federal Republic of Germany, holds an indirect 24% economic stake in VIM Holdings LLC. Voya IM is responsible for the day-to-day management of each Voya IM Managed Fund. Voya IM chooses the portfolio investments of the Voya IM Managed Funds and places orders to buy and sell each such Fund’s portfolio investments. WisdomTree Asset Management pays Voya IM for providing sub-advisory services to the Voya IM Managed Funds.

 

Newton Investment Management North America, LLC (“NIMNA”): NIMNA is responsible for the day-to-day management of the PutWrite Strategy Fund, Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund, Managed Futures Strategy Fund, and Target Range Fund (collectively, the “NIMNA Managed Funds”). NIMNA also serves as sub-adviser for each WisdomTree Subsidiary and is responsible for each WisdomTree Subsidiary’s day-to-day management. NIMNA chooses each WisdomTree Subsidiary’s portfolio investments and place orders to buy and sell each WisdomTree Subsidiary’s portfolio investments. NIMNA, a registered investment adviser, is an indirect subsidiary of BNY Mellon, a banking and financial services company. Its offices are located at 201 Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02108. As of October 31, 2023, NIMNA’s assets under management totaled approximately $53.6 billion. NIMNA is part of a group of affiliated companies that provide investment advisory services under the brand name “Newton Investment Management.” Investment advisory services are provided in the United States by NIMNA and in the United Kingdom by Newton Investment Management Ltd. WisdomTree Asset Management pays NIMNA for providing sub-advisory services to the NIMNA Managed Funds.

 

All Funds. The basis for the Board of Trustees’ approval of the Sub-Advisory Agreement for each Fund is available in the Trust’s Semi-Annual Report to Shareholders for the period ended February 28, 2023.

 

WisdomTree Asset Management may hire one or more sub-advisers to perform the day-to-day portfolio management activities for the Funds, subject to its oversight. WisdomTree Asset Management and the Trust have received an exemptive order from the SEC that permits, among other things, WisdomTree Asset Management, with the approval of the Independent Trustees of the Trust, to hire unaffiliated investment sub-advisers for each Fund, except the Alternative Income Fund, Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund and Efficient Gold Plus Equity Strategy Fund, without submitting the sub-advisory agreement to a vote of the Fund’s shareholders. The Trust, however, would notify shareholders in the event a new sub-adviser is hired or an existing sub-adviser is terminated and/or replaced. WisdomTree Asset Management has ultimate responsibility for the investment performance of the Funds due to its responsibility to oversee any sub-adviser and recommend its hiring, termination and replacement.

 

* Data is as of 09/30/2023. Voya IM assets are calculated on a market value basis and include proprietary insurance general account assets of $32 billion.

 

 

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Portfolio Managers

 

Mellon

Mellon utilizes teams of investment professionals acting together to manage the assets of the Mellon Funds. The teams meet regularly to review portfolio holdings and to discuss purchase and sale activity. The teams adjust holdings in each Fund’s portfolio as they deem appropriate in the pursuit of the Fund’s investment objective.

 

The individual members of the team who are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of each Mellon Fund’s portfolio, except the Alternative Income Fund and Capital Efficient Funds, are listed below.

 

David Nieman, a Vice President and Portfolio Manager, has been with the Sub-Adviser since 2013. Mr. Nieman is responsible for managing global aggregate, high yield and emerging market local currency funds, as well as duration hedged strategies. Prior to joining the Sub-Adviser, Mr. Nieman worked for State Street Global Advisors where he managed credit and interest rate strategies. Mr. Nieman earned a Master’s Degree in International Economics and Finance from Brandeis University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Brigham Young University.

 

Nancy Rogers, CFA, a Managing Director and Head of Fixed Income Index Portfolio Management, has been with the Sub-Adviser’s affiliates since 1987. Ms. Rogers is responsible for the management of domestic and international fixed income portfolios. Ms. Rogers earned an MBA in investments from Drexel University, holds a CFA designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society of Pittsburgh.

 

Gregg Lee, CFA, a Senior Portfolio Manager, has been with the Sub-Adviser since 1989. Mr. Lee is responsible for domestic and international fixed income portfolios. He oversees the MBS/securitized sector and helps with the refinement and implementation of the portfolio management process. Mr. Lee also manages global aggregate portfolios, including all components and custom indexes, and fixed income ETFs. Previously, Mr. Lee managed and traded active fixed income portfolios, with an emphasis on MBS and asset-backed securities, and co-managed fixed income hedge funds. Prior to that, he served as head of fixed income trading, managed credit portfolios, worked in equity and multi-strategy portfolio management, and traded equities and derivatives. Mr. Lee joined the investment industry in 1989. Mr. Lee earned a BS in managerial economics from the University of California at Davis. He holds the CFA® designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society San Francisco.

 

William Newton, CFA, a Vice President and Portfolio Manager, has been with the Sub-Adviser since 2012. Mr. Newton is responsible for domestic and international fixed income index portfolio management. Mr. Newton began at the Sub-Adviser as a portfolio analyst responsible for overseeing implementation across emerging market debt, core and core plus fixed income, and interest rate strategies. Prior to becoming a portfolio manager, Mr. Newton worked as a quantitative research analyst responsible for modeling valuations and asset allocations as well as modeling risk, ratings, and ESG factors for developed and emerging market economies. Mr. Newton has been in the investment industry since 2006 and began his career as a trading assistant for Rampart Investment Management, Co. Mr. Newton earned his BA from St. Lawrence University and holds the CFA® designation.

 

The Alternative Income Fund and Capital Efficient Funds are managed by Mellon’s Equity Index Strategies portfolio management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds’ portfolios are described below.

 

Marlene Walker-Smith, a Director, Head of Equity Index Portfolio Management, has been with the Sub-Adviser since 1995. Ms. Walker-Smith leads a team of portfolio managers covering domestic and international index portfolios, as well as corporate actions. Previously, she served as an equity index portfolio manager and equity trader for the Sub-Adviser. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Walker-Smith was a trader for Banc One Investment Advisors Corporation and a brokerage services manager for Mid Atlantic Capital Corporation. She has been in the investment industry since 1990. Ms. Walker-Smith earned an MBA in finance from the University of Pittsburgh and a BA in history and Russian from Washington & Jefferson College.

 

David France, CFA, a Vice President, has been with the Sub-Adviser since 2009. Mr. France is a senior portfolio manager and team manager in the equity index portfolio management group. He manages and leads a team of portfolio managers responsible for US and non-US equity index portfolios. Prior to joining the firm, he was an investment advisor with PNC Wealth Management. Previously, he worked as an investment analyst with Greycourt, an independent advisory firm serving wealthy families and foundations, and before that he held various fixed income and equity support positions at T. Rowe Price. He has been in the investment industry since 1995. Mr. France earned an MS in finance from Loyola University Maryland and a BSBA in accounting from Duquesne University. He holds the CFA® designation and is a member of CFA Institute and CFA Society Pittsburgh.

 

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Todd Frysinger, CFA, a Vice President, has been with the Sub-Adviser since 2007. Mr. Frysinger is a senior portfolio manager and team manager in the equity index portfolio management group. He manages and leads a team of portfolio managers responsible for US and non-US equity index portfolios. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Frysinger served as assistant portfolio manager for Mellon Financial Corporation’s Corporate Treasury group, managing fixed income investment portfolios. He has been in the investment industry since 1996. Mr. Frysinger earned an MS in finance from Boston College and a BS in finance and management from Elizabethtown College. He holds the CFA® designation and is a member of CFA Institute and CFA Society Pittsburgh.

 

Vlasta Sheremeta, CFA, a Vice President, has been with the Sub-Adviser since 2011. Ms. Sheremeta is a senior portfolio manager and team manager in the equity index portfolio management group. She manages and leads a team of portfolio managers responsible for US and non-US equity index portfolios. Prior to joining the firm, she provided trade execution support to the FX trading desk at BNY Mellon. She has been in the investment industry since 2010. Ms. Sheremeta earned an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University and a BS in business administration from the University of Pittsburgh. She holds the CFA® designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Pittsburgh.

 

Michael Stoll, a Vice President, has been with the Sub-Adviser since 2005. Mr. Stoll is a senior portfolio manager and team manager in equity index portfolio management group. He manages and leads a team of portfolio managers responsible for US and non-US equity index portfolios. Prior to joining the firm, he was a senior manager in consulting engineering at Northgate Environmental Management. He has been in the investment industry since 2005. Mr. Stoll earned an MBA and an MS in geotechnical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and a BS in civil engineering from the University of California at Irvine.

 

Voya IM

The Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fund is managed by Voya IM’s Emerging Markets Debt Portfolio Management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are Anil Katarya and Anthony Routh.

 

The Interest Rate Hedged High Yield Bond Fund is managed by Voya IM’s High Yield Portfolio Management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are Randall Parrish and Mohamed Basma.

 

The Mortgage Plus Bond Fund is managed by Voya IM’s Securitized Credit and Agency RMBS Portfolio Management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are Dave Goodson, Jonathan Abshire, Jeff Dutra and Justin McWhorter.

 

The Yield Enhanced U.S. Short-Term Aggregate Bond Fund is managed by Voya IM’s Multi-Sector Fixed Income Portfolio Management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are Sean Banai, Randall Parrish, Dave Goodson, Brian Timberlake and Vinay Viralam.

 

The Voya Yield Enhanced USD Universal Bond Fund is managed by Voya IM’s Fixed Income Strategies Portfolio Management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are Sean Banai, Dave Goodson, Randall Parrish, Brian Timberlake and Vinay Viralam.

 

Jonathan Abshire, CFA, Portfolio Manager, Structured Finance, is a portfolio manager on the non-agency RMBS and ABS securities team at Voya IM, focusing on European ABS. Previously, Mr. Abshire completed a four-year expatriate assignment with the European ABS team in the Netherlands, overseeing a €9 billion structured finance portfolio. Mr. Abshire began his career with Voya IM in the structured finance group, working on the non-agency RMBS and credit card ABS portfolios. Prior to joining Voya IM, Mr. Abshire worked as an intern for Merrill Lynch and UBS. He received a BBA with a concentration in finance from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.

 

Sean Banai, CFA, Head of Portfolio Management for the fixed income platform at Voya IM. Previously, Mr. Banai was a senior portfolio manager and before that head of quantitative research for proprietary fixed income. Prior to joining Voya IM in 1999, he was a partner in a private sector company. Mr. Banai received a BA and an MS in actuarial science from Georgia State University. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.

 

 

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Mohamed Basma, CFA, is a Managing Director and Head of Leveraged Credit at Voya IM. Mr. Basma also chairs the leveraged credit investment committee. Previously at Voya IM, Mr. Basma was managing director, head of senior loans and global collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”) for leveraged credit, responsible for all aspects of the team’s senior loan and global CLO business and the team’s CLO investing strategies. Prior to joining Voya IM, Mr. Basma was a senior auditor and consultant in the audit and business advisory group with Arthur Andersen, LLP, responsible for executing corporate audits and financial consulting engagements. Mr. Basma earned a BBA from American University of Beirut, Lebanon and an MBA from Arizona State University. He is a CFA® Charterholder.

 

Jeff Dutra, CFA, is a Senior Portfolio Manager at Voya IM, primarily responsible for the mortgage-backed securities/collateralized mortgage obligation portfolios. Previously at Voya, Mr. Dutra ran the operations and accounting groups at the firm, responsible for financial derivatives and mortgage derivatives. Mr. Dutra earned an MBA from the University of Tampa and a BA in mathematics from the University of South Florida. He is a CFA® Charterholder.

 

Dave Goodson, a Managing Director, Head of Securitized Fixed Income and a Senior Portfolio Manager for nonagency and agency mortgage-backed securities, commercial mortgage-backed securities and asset-backed securities strategies at Voya IM. Prior to joining Voya IM, he was a principal at an independent investment bank focused on asset-backed commercial paper transactions. Previously, Mr. Goodson began his career as a vice president in Wachovia Securities’ asset-backed finance group, marketing and executing securitizations for the bank’s corporate clients. He earned a BS in management from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

 

Anil Katarya, CFA, is Global Head of the Investment Grade Credit Team and Senior Portfolio Manager at Voya IM. Previously, Mr. Katarya was the head of credit portfolio management and also served as a portfolio manager and credit analyst on the investment grade team. Prior to joining Voya, Mr. Katarya was a financial analyst for Mirant Inc. He earned an MBA from Georgia State University and a BS in mechanical engineering from Kurukshetra University, India. He is a CFA® Charterholder.

 

Justin McWhorter, CFA, CPA, is a Senior Portfolio Manager at Voya IM. For most of his investment career, he has specialized in agency mortgage-backed securities and collateralized mortgage obligations. Currently, Mr. McWhorter manages several mortgage-only funds, in addition to the agency mortgage sleeves of multi-sector fixed income products for Voya. Current and previous areas of focus include mortgage derivatives, agency debentures, mortgage repurchase agreements, dollar rolls, and the mortgage financing desk. Mr. McWhorter earned both an MA and a BS from the University of Georgia. He is a CFA® Charterholder and Certified Public Accountant.

 

Randall Parrish, CFA, is a Managing Director and Head of Public Credit at Voya IM, overseeing the investment grade, emerging market and leveraged credit teams. Previously at Voya, Mr. Parrish was head of high yield and served as a portfolio manager and analyst on the high yield team. Prior to joining Voya, he was a corporate banker in leveraged finance with SunTrust Bank and predecessors to Bank of America. Mr. Parrish earned a BBA in business administration from the University of Georgia and is a CFA® Charterholder.

 

Anthony Routh is a Portfolio Manager on the emerging markets debt team at Voya IM. Previously at Voya, he was a portfolio manager on the structured finance team, covering non-agency mortgages and asset-backed securities. Prior to that, Mr. Routh was an analyst for the non-agency MBS trading desk at Voya. He earned a BBA in finance from the University of Georgia.

 

Brian Timberlake, CFA, PhD, the Head of Fixed Income Research at Voya IM, is responsible for managing the organization’s global fixed income research analysts as well as the coordination of macroeconomic data across the fixed income platform. His team is responsible for macro and quantitative fixed income research and provides additional assistance to individual sector groups and the risk management team. In addition, Mr. Timberlake is a named portfolio manager on several global and opportunistic fixed income products. Previously at Voya IM, he was the head of quantitative research where he helped develop an integrated, automated tool for interest rate hedging, created multifactor risk models, and was integral to the design and monitoring of customized client portfolios. Prior to that at Voya IM, he was a senior quantitative analyst. Mr. Timberlake earned a PhD in chemical engineering and an MS in quantitative and computational finance from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a BS in chemical engineering from the University of Maryland.

 

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Vinay Viralam, CFA, Multi-Sector Portfolio Manager has been a macro strategist and member of our Macro/Quantitative Research team. Mr. Viralam is assuming Multi-Sector portfolio management responsibilities over Q4 2023 and will be reporting to Sean Banai. Prior to joining Voya, he worked at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, focused on cross-sector research and portfolio management. Mr. Viralam earned a BS in finance, economics, and electrical & systems engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a CFA® Charterholder.

 

NIMNA

NIMNA utilizes teams of investment professionals acting together to manage the assets of the NIMNA Managed Funds. The individual members of the team who are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of each NIMNA Managed Funds’ portfolio, are listed below.

 

James Stavena is Head of Portfolio Management, Multi-Asset Solutions at NIMNA since September 2021. Prior thereto, Mr. Stavena was a managing director and portfolio manager, asset allocation, with Mellon. He received his M.B.A. from Rice University and has over 30 years of investment experience.

 

Dimitri Curtil is Global Head of Multi-Asset Solutions at NIMNA since September 2021. Prior thereto, Mr. Curtil was Chief Investment Officer, Head of Multi-Asset strategies at Mellon. He received a B.Sc. and M.Sc. degree from Zurich Federal Institute of Technology and an M.Sc. degree from Imperial College.

 

Torrey Zaches is a Portfolio Manager, Multi-Asset Solutions team at NIMNA since September 2021. Prior thereto, Mr. Zaches was a director and portfolio manager, asset allocation, with Mellon. Mr. Zaches earned an MBA from the University of Southern California and a BA in economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He holds the CFA® designation and is a member of the CFA Institute.

 

The Funds’ SAI provides additional information about the Portfolio Managers’ compensation, other accounts managed by the Portfolio Managers, and the Portfolio Managers’ ownership of shares in the Funds.

 

 

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Additional Information on Buying and Selling Fund Shares

 

Most investors will buy and sell shares of the Funds in secondary market transactions through broker-dealers at market prices, which may be greater than (premium) or less than (discount) the NAV of the Funds' shares. Shares of the Funds trade on the Listing Exchange and elsewhere during the trading day and can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like other shares of publicly traded securities. When buying or selling shares through a broker, most investors will incur customary brokerage commissions and charges, and you may pay some or all of the spread between the bid and the offered prices in the secondary market for Shares. Shares of the Funds trade under the trading symbols listed on the cover of this Prospectus. Recent information regarding a Fund’s NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads is available on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

Share Trading Prices

Transactions in Fund shares will be priced at NAV only if you are an institutional investor (e.g., broker-dealer) that has signed an agreement with the Distributor (as defined below) and you thereafter purchase or redeem shares directly from a Fund in Creation Units. As with other types of securities, the trading prices of shares in the secondary market can be affected by market forces such as supply and demand, economic conditions and other factors. The price you pay or receive when you buy or sell your shares in the secondary market may be more or less than the NAV of such shares.

 

Determination of Net Asset Value

The NAV of each Fund’s shares is calculated each day the national securities exchanges are open for trading as of the close of regular trading on the Listing Exchange, generally 4:00 p.m., New York Time (the “NAV Calculation Time”). NAV per share is calculated by dividing a Fund’s net assets by the number of Fund shares outstanding.

 

In calculating its NAV, a Fund generally values: (i) equity securities (including preferred stock) traded on any recognized U.S. or non-U.S. exchange at the last sale price or official closing price on the exchange or system on which they are principally traded; (ii) unlisted equity securities (including preferred stock) at the last quoted sale price or, if no sale price is available, at the mean between the highest bid and lowest ask price; and (iii) fixed income securities at current market quotations or mean prices obtained from broker-dealers or independent pricing service providers. In addition, a Fund may invest in money market funds which are valued at their NAV per share and affiliated ETFs which are valued at their last sale or official closing price on the exchange on which they are principally traded or at their NAV per share in instances where the affiliated ETF has not traded on its principal exchange.

 

Pursuant to Board-approved valuation procedures established by the Trust and the Adviser, the Board has appointed the Adviser as each Fund’s valuation designee (the “Valuation Designee”) to perform all fair valuations of the Funds’ portfolio investments, subject to the Board’s oversight. As the Valuation Designee, the Adviser has established procedures for its fair valuation of each Fund’s portfolio investments. These procedures address, among other things, determining when market quotations are not readily available or reliable and the methodologies to be used for determining the fair value of investments, as well as the use and oversight of third-party pricing services for fair valuation.

 

Fair value pricing is used by the Valuation Designee when reliable market quotations are not readily available or are not deemed to reflect current market values and when the instrument to be priced is not a security. Securities that may be valued using “fair value” pricing may include, but are not limited to, securities for which there are no current market quotations or whose issuer is in default or bankruptcy, securities subject to corporate actions (such as mergers or reorganizations), securities subject to non-U.S. investment limits or currency controls, and securities affected by “significant events.” An example of a significant event is an event occurring after the close of the market in which a security trades but before a Fund’s next NAV Calculation Time that may materially affect the value of the Fund’s investment (e.g., government action, natural disaster, or significant market fluctuation). When fair value pricing is employed by the Valuation Designee, the prices of securities used by a Fund to calculate its NAV may differ from quoted or published prices for the same securities.

 

Dividends and Distributions

Each of the Fixed Income Funds, the PutWrite Strategy Fund, and the Alternative Income Fund intends to pay out dividends, if any, on a monthly basis but in any event no less frequently than annually. The Target Range Fund intends to pay out dividends, if any, on a quarterly basis but in any event no less frequently than annually. Each of the Currency Strategy Funds, the Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund, the Managed Futures Strategy Fund, and each of the Capital Efficient Funds intends to pay out dividends, if any, on an annual basis.

 

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Each Fund intends to distribute its net realized capital gains to investors annually. On occasion, a Fund may be required or determine to make one or more supplemental distributions of its net realized capital gains during the year. Distributions in cash may be reinvested automatically in additional whole shares of a Fund only if the broker through whom you purchased shares makes such option available. Your broker is responsible for distributing any income and capital gain distributions to you.

 

PutWrite Strategy Fund. The Fund seeks to maintain relatively stable monthly distributions, although the amount of income earned by the Fund typically varies from period to period. Each month, the Fund determines the amount of distribution to pay based on a combination of the amount of premium generated from writing SPY Puts for the applicable month and the accrued interest from the cash collateral account during that period. As a result of such distribution strategy, the Fund’s distributions are expected to exceed its earnings and profits in some or all tax years, and consequently, all or a portion of the distributions made for a taxable year may be characterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable but will reduce each shareholder’s cost basis in the Fund and result in a higher capital gain or lower capital loss when the Fund shares on which the distribution was received are sold. After a shareholder’s basis in the Fund shares has been reduced to zero, distributions in excess of earnings and profits will be treated as gain from the sale of the shareholder’s shares of the Fund.

 

Book Entry

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

 

Investors owning shares of the Funds are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for all shares of the Funds. Participants include DTC, 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 securities that you hold in book-entry or “street name” form. Your broker will provide you with account statements, confirmations of your purchases and sales, and tax information.

 

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.

 

Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Fund Shares

The Funds have adopted policies and procedures with respect to frequent purchases and redemptions of Creation Units of Fund shares. Only Authorized Participants are authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Funds, and their purchase and redemption transactions are essential to the operation of the Funds. In addition to helping to ensure there is an adequate supply of Fund shares to meet secondary market trading demand, Authorized Participants’ purchase and redemption transactions also generally help to keep the trading prices of the Funds shares in line with their NAV per share. Moreover, many of the Funds transact with Authorized Participants on an in-kind basis. In-kind purchase and redemption transactions generally do not give rise to the adverse consequences commonly associated with frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares because they do not require a fund to sell portfolio holdings to raise cash to meet redemptions, which may increase portfolio transaction costs and potentially result in adverse tax consequences, such as the realization of capital gains, or to hold a significant amount of cash to meet redemptions or while awaiting investment opportunities to invest share purchase proceeds, which can lead to increased tracking error or reduced returns. Accordingly, it is the policy of each Fund to accommodate frequent purchases and redemptions of Fund shares by Authorized Participants. To mitigate any adverse consequences of frequent purchases and redemptions, particularly for those Funds that transact with Authorized Participants on a cash-basis, the Funds employ fair value pricing and imposes transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units to cover the costs incurred by the Funds in executing such trades. In addition, each Fund reserves the right to impose restrictions on disruptive, excessive, or short-term trading as well as to reject any purchase order at any time.

 

 

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Investments by Investment Companies

Section 12(d)(1) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), restricts investments by investment companies in the securities of other investment companies, including shares of each Fund. Registered investment companies are permitted to invest in another registered investment company, an acquired fund, beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act subject to certain terms and conditions set forth in Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act, including that such registered investment companies enter into an agreement with the acquired fund setting forth the material terms of investment in the acquired fund. However, registered investment companies generally may not rely on Rule 12d1-4 to invest in an acquired fund beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1) if the acquired fund also invests significantly in other investment companies in reliance on and compliance with the conditions set forth in Rule 12d1-4. To the extent a Fund invests in other ETFs to a significant extent, other investment companies will not be permitted to invest in these Funds beyond the Section 12(d)(1) limits in reliance on Rule 12d1-4. Any investment company interested in purchasing shares of the Funds beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1) should contact the Trust. With respect to the Alternative Income Fund, which invests in Underlying Funds, investing funds must adhere to the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act when investing in the Alternative Income Fund.

 

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Additional Tax Information

 

The following discussion is a summary of certain 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 Fund shares, including the possible application of foreign, state, and local tax laws.

 

Each Fund has elected or intends to elect to qualify each year for treatment as a RIC. 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 you are a tax-exempt entity or your investment in Fund shares is made through a tax-deferred retirement account, such as an individual retirement account, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when:

 

  A Fund makes distributions;

 

  You sell Fund shares; and

 

  You purchase or redeem Creation Units (Authorized Participants only).

 

Taxes on Distributions

For federal income tax purposes, distributions of investment income are generally taxable as ordinary income or qualified dividend income. Taxes on distributions of capital gains (if any) are determined by how long a Fund owned the assets that generated them, rather than how long a shareholder has owned Fund 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 a 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 properly reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends (“Capital Gain Dividends”) will be taxable as long-term capital gains. For non-corporate shareholders, long-term capital gains are generally subject to tax at reduced rates. Distributions of short-term capital gain will generally be taxable as ordinary income. 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 holding period and other requirements are met. Distributions that an applicable Fund receives from an Underlying Fund will be treated as qualified dividend income only to the extent so designated by such Underlying Fund. “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 received 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. However, to the extent a Fund lends its securities and receives substitute dividend payments, such payments are not expected to generate qualified dividend income when distributed to shareholders and will not be eligible for the dividends received deduction for corporate shareholders. Since the income of each Fund is derived primarily from investments other than stock of U.S. corporations, it is not expected that dividends paid by the Funds will qualify for the reduced rates applicable to qualified dividend income for individual shareholders or the dividends received deduction for corporate shareholders.

 

A RIC that receives business interest income may pass through its net business interest income for purposes of the tax rules applicable to the interest expense limitations under Section 163(j) of the Code. A RIC’s total “Section 163(j) Interest Dividend” for a tax year is limited to the excess of the RIC’s business interest income over the sum of its business interest expense and its other deductions properly allocable to its business interest income. A RIC may, in its discretion, designate all or a portion of ordinary dividends as Section 163(j) Interest Dividends, which would allow the recipient shareholder to treat the designated portion of such dividends as interest income for purposes of determining such shareholder’s interest expense deduction limitation under Section 163(j). This can potentially increase the amount of a shareholder’s interest expense deductible under Section 163(j). In general, to be eligible to treat a Section 163(j) Interest Dividend as interest income, you must have held your shares in a Fund for more than 180 days during the 361-day period beginning on the date that is 180 days before the date on which the share becomes ex-dividend with respect to such dividend. Section 163(j) Interest Dividends, if so designated by a Fund, will be reported to your financial intermediary or otherwise in accordance with the requirements specified by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”).

 

In general, your distributions are subject to federal income tax for the year in which they are paid. Certain distributions paid in January, but declared by a Fund in October, November or December of the previous year, 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 price you paid for your shares).

 

 

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Dividends and distributions from the Funds and capital gain on the sale of Fund shares are generally taken into account in determining a shareholder’s “net investment income” for purposes of the 3.8% tax on net investment income applicable to certain individuals, estates and trusts.

 

A Fund may include cash when paying the redemption price for Creation Units in addition to, or in place of, the delivery of a basket of securities. A Fund and/or its WisdomTree Subsidiary may be required to sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause such 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, such Funds may be less tax efficient if it includes such a cash payment than if the in-kind redemption process was used.

 

Certain positions undertaken by the Funds, including its variable hedging strategy and its use of derivatives may result in “straddles” for federal income tax purposes. Because application of the straddle rules may affect the character of gains or losses, defer losses and/or accelerate the recognition of gains or losses from the affected straddle positions, the amount which must be distributed to shareholders as ordinary income or long-term capital gain may be increased or decreased substantially as compared to a Fund that did not engage in such transactions.

 

Distributions (other than Capital Gain Dividends) paid to shareholders that are neither citizens nor residents of the U.S. or to foreign entities will generally be subject to a U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30%, unless a lower treaty rate applies, but Capital Gain Dividends generally are not subject to U.S. taxation, unless you are a nonresident alien individual who is physically present in the United States for 183 days or more per year. A Fund 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. Different tax consequences may result if you are a non-U.S. shareholder engaged in a trade or business within the United States.

 

You should note that if you purchase shares just before a distribution, the purchase price would reflect the amount of the upcoming distribution. In this case, you would be taxed on the entire amount of the distribution received, even though, as an economic matter, the distribution simply constitutes a return of your investment. This is known as “buying a dividend” and generally should be avoided by taxable investors.

 

The Alternative Income Fund may invest in U.S. REITs. “Qualified REIT dividends” (i.e., ordinary REIT dividends other than capital gain dividends and portions of REIT dividends designated as qualified dividend income eligible for capital gain tax rates) are eligible for a 20% deduction by non-corporate taxpayers. This deduction, if allowed in full, equates to a maximum effective tax rate of 29.6% (37% top rate applied to income after 20% deduction). Distributions by a Fund to its shareholders that are attributable to qualified REIT dividends received by such Fund and which such Fund properly reports as “section 199A dividends,” are treated as “qualified REIT dividends” in the hands of non-corporate shareholders. A section 199A dividend is treated as a qualified REIT dividend only if the shareholder receiving such dividend holds the dividend-paying RIC shares for at least 46 days of the 91-day period beginning 45 days before the shares become ex-dividend, and is not under an obligation to make related payments with respect to a position in substantially similar or related property. A Fund is permitted to report such part of its dividends as section 199A dividends as are eligible, but is not required to do so. Unless later extended or made permanent, this 20% deduction will no longer be available for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025.

 

REITs in which a Fund invests often do not provide complete and final tax information to the Funds until after the time that the Funds issue a tax reporting statement. As a result, a Fund may at times find it necessary to reclassify the amount and character of its distributions to you after it issues your tax reporting statement. When such reclassification is necessary, a Fund (or its administrative agent) will send you a corrected, final Form 1099-DIV to reflect the reclassified information. If you receive a corrected Form 1099-DIV, use the information on this corrected form, and not the information on the previously issued tax reporting statement, in completing your tax returns.

 

The Funds (or financial intermediaries, such as brokers, through which shareholders own Fund shares) generally are required to withhold and to remit to the U.S. Treasury a percentage of the taxable distributions and the sale or redemption proceeds paid to any shareholder who fails to properly furnish a correct taxpayer identification number, who has under-reported dividend or interest income, or who fails to certify that he, she or it is not subject to such withholding.

 

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Taxes When You Sell Fund Shares

Assuming you hold Fund shares as capital assets, any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Fund shares is generally treated as a long-term gain or loss if you held the shares you sold for more than one year. Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Fund shares held for one year or less is generally treated as a short-term gain or loss, except that any capital loss on a sale of shares held for six months or less is treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of Capital Gain Dividends paid with respect to such shares. The ability to deduct capital losses may be limited depending on your circumstances.

 

Taxes on Creation and Redemption of Creation Units

An Authorized Participant having the U.S. dollar as its functional currency for U.S. federal income tax purposes that exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between (i) the sum of the market value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and any amount of cash received by the Authorized Participant in the exchange and (ii) the sum of the exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and any amount of cash paid for such Creation Units. A person who redeems Creation Units will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanger’s basis in the Creation Units and the sum of the aggregate U.S. dollar market value of the securities plus the amount of any cash received for such Creation Units. The IRS, however, may assert that a loss that is realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units may not be permitted to be currently deducted under the rules governing “wash sales” (for a person who does not mark-to-market their holdings), or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.

 

Gain or loss recognized by an Authorized Participant upon an issuance of Creation Units in exchange for non-U.S. currency will generally be treated as ordinary income or loss. Gain or loss recognized by an Authorized Participant upon an issuance of Creation Units in exchange for securities, or upon a redemption of Creation Units, may be capital or ordinary gain or loss depending on the circumstances. Any capital gain or loss realized upon an issuance of Creation Units in exchange for securities will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the securities have been held for more than one year. Any capital gain or loss realized upon the redemption of a Creation Unit will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the Fund shares comprising the Creation Unit have been held for more than one year. Otherwise, such capital gains or losses are treated as short-term capital gains or losses.

 

A person subject to U.S. federal income tax with the U.S. dollar as its functional currency who receives non-U.S. currency upon a redemption of Creation Units and does not immediately convert the non-U.S. currency into U.S. dollars may, upon a later conversion of the non-U.S. currency into U.S. dollars, recognize any gains or losses resulting from fluctuations in the value of the non-U.S. currency relative to the U.S. dollar since the date of the redemption. Any such gains or losses will generally be treated as ordinary income or loss.

 

Persons exchanging securities or non-U.S. currency for Creation Units should consult their own tax advisors with respect to the tax treatment of any creation or redemption transaction and whether the wash sales rules apply and when a loss might be deductible. If you purchase or redeem Creation Units, you will be sent a confirmation statement showing how many Fund shares you purchased or redeemed and at what price.

 

More information about taxes related to each Fund and its investments is included in the SAI.

 

Foreign Investments by the Funds

Dividends, interest and other income received by a Fund and/or its WisdomTree Subsidiary with respect to foreign securities may give rise to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes. The Funds may need to file special claims for refunds to secure the benefits of a reduced rate. If as of the close of a taxable year more than 50% of the total assets of a Fund consist of stock or securities of foreign corporations, the Fund intends to elect to “pass through” to investors the amount of foreign income and similar taxes (including withholding taxes) paid by the Fund during that taxable year. If a Fund elects to “pass through” such foreign taxes, then investors will be considered to have received as additional income their respective shares of such foreign taxes, but may be entitled to either a corresponding tax deduction in calculating taxable income, or, subject to certain limitations, a credit in calculating federal income tax.

 

The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the consequences under current U.S. federal income tax law of an investment in a Fund. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. Consult your personal tax advisor about the potential tax consequences of an investment in a Fund under all applicable tax laws.

 

 

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Commodity Investments

One of the requirements for qualification as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code is that each Fund must derive at least 90% of its gross income for each taxable year from “qualifying income.” Qualifying income includes dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies, and net income derived from an interest in a qualified publicly traded partnership (the “90% Test”).

 

In 2006, the IRS issued a revenue ruling which concludes that income derived from certain commodity-linked swaps is not qualifying income under Subchapter M of the Code. In a subsequent revenue ruling, the IRS provided that income from certain alternative investments that create commodity exposure, such as certain commodity index-linked or structured notes, may be considered qualifying income under Subchapter M of the Code. The Subsidiary Strategy Funds, however, will invest in certain commodity-linked notes only to the extent it obtains an opinion of counsel confirming that income from such investments should be qualifying income. However, a Fund may generate more non-qualifying income than anticipated, may not be able to generate qualifying income in a particular taxable year at levels sufficient to meet the qualifying income requirement, or may not be able to accurately predict the non-qualifying income from these investments. Accordingly, the extent to which a Fund invests in commodities or commodity-linked derivative instruments directly may be limited by the requirements of Subchapter M of the Code, which each Fund must continue to satisfy to maintain its status as a RIC. Failure to comply with such requirements would have significant negative tax consequences. Under certain circumstances, a Fund may be able to cure a failure to meet the qualifying income requirement, but in order to do so the Fund may incur significant Fund-level taxes, which would effectively reduce (and could eliminate) the Fund’s returns.

 

In addition, a RIC may gain exposure to commodities through an investment in a qualified publicly traded partnership, such as an ETF that is classified as a partnership or trust and which invests in commodities, or through investment in a wholly-owned subsidiary that is treated as a controlled foreign corporation (a “CFC”) for federal income tax purposes, such as a WisdomTree Subsidiary. References herein to “the WisdomTree Subsidiary” refer to the applicable WisdomTree Subsidiary of each of the Subsidiary Strategy Funds. A U.S. person, including a Fund, who owns (directly or indirectly) 10% or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of 10% or more of the total value of shares of all classes of stock of a foreign corporation is a “U.S. Shareholder” for purposes of the CFC provisions of the Code. A CFC is a foreign corporation that, on any day of its taxable year, is owned (directly, indirectly, or constructively) more than 50% (measured by voting power or value) by U.S. Shareholders. Because of their investments in the WidsomTree Subsidiary, the Subsidiary Strategy Funds are U.S. Shareholders in a CFC. As U.S. Shareholders, the Subsidiary Strategy Funds are required to include in gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes for each taxable year their pro rata share of the CFC’s “Subpart F” income (discussed further below) and any “global intangible low-taxed income” or (“GILTI”) for the CFC’s taxable year ending within the Subsidiary Strategy Funds’ taxable years whether or not such income is actually distributed by the CFC. GILTI generally includes the active operating profits of the CFC, reduced by a deemed return on the tax basis of the CFC’s depreciable tangible assets. A Subsidiary Strategy Fund’s investment in the WisdomTree Subsidiary is expected to provide a Subsidiary Strategy Fund with exposure to the commodities markets within the limitations of the federal tax requirements of the Code. The “Subpart F” income (defined in Section 951 of the Code to include passive income, including from commodity-linked derivatives) of a Subsidiary Strategy Fund attributable to its investment in the WisdomTree Subsidiary is “qualifying income” to the Subsidiary Strategy Fund to the extent that such income is derived with respect to the Subsidiary Strategy Fund’s business of investing in stock, securities or currencies and, as a result, the Subsidiary Strategy Fund expects its “Subpart F” income attributable to its investment in the WisdomTree Subsidiary to be treated as “qualifying income”. The Adviser intends to conduct the Subsidiary Strategy Funds’ investments in the WisdomTree Subsidiary in a manner consistent with the terms and conditions of the applicable Treasury Regulations, and will monitor the Subsidiary Strategy Funds’ investments in the WisdomTree Subsidiary to ensure that no more than 25% of a Fund’s assets are invested in the WisdomTree Subsidiary.

 

Subpart F income and GILTI are treated as ordinary income, regardless of the character of the CFC’s underlying income. Net losses incurred by a CFC during a tax year do not flow through to a Fund and thus will not be available to offset income or capital gain generated from a Fund’s other investments. In addition, net losses incurred by a CFC during a tax year generally cannot be carried forward by the CFC to offset gains realized by it in subsequent taxable years. To the extent the Subsidiary Strategy Funds invest in the WisdomTree Subsidiary and recognize “Subpart F” income or GILTI in excess of actual cash distributions from the WisdomTree Subsidiary, if any, such Funds may be required to sell assets (including when it is not advantageous to do so) to generate the cash necessary to distribute as dividends to their shareholders all of their income and gains and therefore to eliminate any tax liability at the Fund level.

 

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Recognition of any “Subpart F” income or GILTI from an investment in the WisdomTree Subsidiary will increase a Subsidiary Strategy Fund’s tax bases in the WisdomTree Subsidiary. Distributions by the WisdomTree Subsidiary to a Subsidiary Strategy Fund, including in redemption of the WisdomTree Subsidiary’s shares, will be tax free, to the extent of the WisdomTree Subsidiary’s previously undistributed “Subpart F” income or GILTI, and will correspondingly reduce the Subsidiary Strategy Fund’s tax bases in the WisdomTree Subsidiary, and any distributions in excess of the Subsidiary Strategy Fund’s tax bases in the WisdomTree Subsidiary will be treated as realized gain. Any losses with respect to a Subsidiary Strategy Fund’s shares of the WisdomTree Subsidiary will not be currently recognized. A Subsidiary Strategy Fund’s investment in the WisdomTree Subsidiary will potentially have the effect of accelerating the Fund’s recognition of income and causing their income to be treated as ordinary income, regardless of the character of the WisdomTree Subsidiary’s income. If a net loss is realized by the WisdomTree Subsidiary, such loss is generally not available to offset the income earned by the Subsidiary Strategy Fund. In addition, the net losses incurred during a taxable year by the WisdomTree Subsidiary cannot be carried forward by the WisdomTree Subsidiary to offset gains realized by it in subsequent taxable years. A Subsidiary Strategy Fund will not receive any credit in respect of any non-U.S. tax borne by the WisdomTree Subsidiary.

 

The extent to which a Subsidiary Strategy Fund invests in commodities or commodity-linked derivatives directly or through the WisdomTree Subsidiary may be limited by the 90% Test, which the Fund must continue to satisfy to maintain its status as a RIC. As such, a Subsidiary Strategy Fund might cease to qualify as a RIC or could be required to reduce the exposure to such investments, which may result in difficulty in implementing the Fund’s investment strategy. 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. If a Fund fails to qualify as a RIC in any year, it would be required to pay out its earnings and profits accumulated in that year in order to qualify again as a RIC. Under certain circumstances, a Fund may be able to cure a failure to qualify as a RIC, but in order to do so the Fund may incur significant Fund-level taxes and may be forced to dispose of certain assets. If a Fund fails to qualify as a RIC for a period greater than two taxable years, the Fund will generally be required to recognize any net built-in gains with respect to certain of its assets upon a disposition of such assets within five years of qualifying as a RIC in a subsequent year. A failure to qualify as a RIC could cause investors to incur higher tax liabilities than they otherwise would have incurred and could have a negative impact on Fund returns. In such event, a Fund’s Board of Trustees may determine to reorganize or close the Fund or materially change the Fund’s investment objective and strategies.

 

Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which a Subsidiary Strategy Fund and each WisdomTree Subsidiary is organized, respectively, could result in the inability of the Fund and/or the WisdomTree Subsidiary to operate as described in this Prospectus and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders. For example, Cayman Islands law does not currently impose any income, corporate or capital gains tax, estate duty, inheritance tax, gift tax or withholding tax on the WisdomTree Subsidiary. If Cayman Islands law changes such that the WisdomTree Subsidiary must pay Cayman Islands governmental authority taxes, the Subsidiary Strategy Funds’ shareholders would likely suffer decreased investment returns. There remains a risk that the tax treatment of swap agreements and other derivative instruments, such as commodity-linked notes, commodity options, futures, and options on futures, may be affected by future regulatory or legislative changes that could affect the character, timing and/or amount of the Subsidiary Strategy Funds’ taxable income or gains and distributions.

 

Foreign Currency Investments by the Funds

As described above, each Fund intends to qualify as a RIC as defined in Section 851 of the Code. Gains from the sale or other disposition of foreign currencies and other income (including but not limited to gains from options, futures or forward contracts) derived from investing in stock, securities, or foreign currencies generally are included as qualifying income in applying the 90% Test described above. It should be noted, however, that for purposes of the 90% Test, the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to issue Treasury Regulations that would exclude from qualifying income foreign currency gains which are not directly related to a RIC’s principal business of investing in stock or securities (or options and futures with respect to stock or securities). No Treasury Regulations have been issued pursuant to this authorization. It is possible, however, that such Treasury Regulations may be issued in the future and that such Treasury Regulations could have a negative impact on a Fund’s ability to qualify as a RIC.

 

 

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Under the Code, special rules are provided for certain transactions in a foreign currency other than the taxpayer’s functional currency (i.e., unless certain special rules apply, currencies other than the U.S. dollar). In general, foreign currency gains or losses from forward contracts, from futures contracts that are not “regulated futures contracts,” and from unlisted options will be treated as ordinary income or loss under the Code. Also, certain foreign exchange gains derived with respect to foreign fixed-income securities are subject to special treatment. In general, any such gains or losses will increase or decrease the amount of a Fund’s net investment income available to be distributed to shareholders as ordinary income, rather than increasing or decreasing the amount of the Fund’s net capital gains. Additionally, if such losses exceed other investment income during a taxable year, the Fund would not be able to make any ordinary dividend distributions.

 

Distribution

 

Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the “Distributor”) serves as the distributor of Creation Units for each Fund on an agency basis. The Distributor does not maintain a secondary market in shares of the Funds. The Distributor’s principal address is Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101. The Distributor has no role in determining the policies of any Fund or the securities that are purchased or sold by any Fund.

 

Premium/Discount and NAV Information

 

Information regarding a Fund’s NAV and how often shares of each Fund traded on the Listing Exchange at a price above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount) the NAV of the Fund during the past calendar year and most recent calendar quarter is available at www.wisdomtree.com/investments.

 

Additional Notices

 

Listing Exchange

Shares of the Funds are not sponsored, endorsed, or promoted by the Listing Exchange. The Listing Exchange makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the shares of any Fund or any member of the public regarding the ability of a Fund to track the total return performance of any Index or the ability of any Index identified herein to track stock market performance. The Listing Exchange is not responsible for, nor has it participated in, the determination of the compilation or the calculation of any Index, nor in the determination of the timing of, prices of, or quantities of the shares of any Fund to be issued, nor in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the shares are redeemable. The Listing Exchange has no obligation or liability to owners of the shares of any Fund in connection with the administration, marketing, or trading of the shares of the Fund.

 

The Listing Exchange does not guarantee the accuracy and/or the completeness of any Index or any data included therein. The Listing Exchange makes no warranty, express or implied, as to results to be obtained by the Trust on behalf of the Funds, owners of the shares, or any other person or entity from the use of the subject Indexes or any data included therein. The Listing Exchange makes no express or implied warranties, and hereby expressly disclaims all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose with respect to any Index or any data included therein. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall the Listing Exchange have any liability for any lost profits or indirect, punitive, special, or consequential damages even if notified of the possibility thereof.

 

WisdomTree and the Funds

WisdomTree and WisdomTree Asset Management (together, “WT”) and the Funds make no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of shares of the Funds or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in shares of the Funds particularly or, with respect to the Index Funds, the ability of any Index to track general stock market performance. WisdomTree is the licensor of of the WisdomTree U.S. High Yield Corporate Bond, Zero Duration Index, and all WisdomTree trademarks, service marks, and trade names of the Funds. WisdomTree is not obligated to take the needs of the Interest Rate Hedged High Yield Bond Fund or the owners of shares of the Interest Rate Hedged High Yield Bond Fund into consideration in determining, composing, or calculating the Index. WisdomTree is not responsible for, and has not participated in, the determination of the timing, prices, or quantities of shares of the Interest Rate Hedged High Yield Bond Fund to be issued, or the determination or calculation of the equation by which shares of the Interest Rate Hedged High Yield Bond Fund are redeemable. Neither WT nor any of the Funds guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or performance of any Index or the data included therein or related thereto and neither shall have any liability in connection with any Index, including its calculation. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall WT have any liability for any special, punitive, indirect, or consequential damages (including but not limited to, lost profits), even if notified of the possibility of such damages. WisdomTree has contracted with an independent calculation agent to calculate each WisdomTree Index.

 

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Bloomberg

“Bloomberg®” and each of the Bloomberg Dollar Total Return Index, Bloomberg US Treasury Floating Rate Bond Index, Bloomberg Rate Hedged U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, Zero Duration, Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Enhanced Yield Index, Bloomberg U.S. Short Aggregate Enhanced Yield Index, Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Index and the Bloomberg US Universal Enhanced Yield Index (the “Bloomberg Indexes”) are service marks of Bloomberg Finance L.P. and its affiliates, including Bloomberg Index Services Limited (“BISL”), the administrator of each Bloomberg Index (collectively, “Bloomberg”), and have been licensed for use for certain purposes by WisdomTree (the “Licensee”).

 

The Funds are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Bloomberg. Bloomberg does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of or counterparties to the Funds or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Funds particularly. The only relationship between Bloomberg and the Licensee is the licensing of certain trademarks, trade names and service marks and of the Bloomberg Indexes, each of which is determined, composed and calculated by BISL without regard to the Licensee or the Funds. Bloomberg has no obligation to take the needs of the Licensee or the owners of the Funds into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Bloomberg Indexes. Bloomberg is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the Funds to be issued. Bloomberg shall not have any obligation or liability, including, without limitation, to the customers of the Funds, or in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Funds.

 

BLOOMBERG DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE BLOOMBERG INDEXES OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO AND SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS OR INTERRUPTIONS THEREIN. BLOOMBERG DOES NOT MAKE ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY LICENSEE, OWNERS OF THE FUNDS OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE BLOOMBERG INDEXES OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO. BLOOMBERG DOES NOT MAKE ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE BLOOMBERG INDEXES OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, BLOOMBERG, ITS LICENSORS, AND ITS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, AGENTS, SUPPLIERS, AND VENDORS SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY WHATSOEVER FOR ANY INJURY OR DAMAGES – WHETHER DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, CAUSED BY NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE – ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH THE FUNDS OR BLOOMBERG INDEXES OR ANY DATA OR VALUES RELATING THERETO – WHETHER ARISING FROM THEIR NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY THEREOF.

 

Gapstow Capital Partners L.P.

The Alternative Income Fund’s underlying Index, the Gapstow Liquid Alternative Credit Index (the “Gapstow Index”) is a registered service mark of Gapstow Capital Partners L.P. and has been licensed for use by WisdomTree Asset Management and WisdomTree Trust as the issuer of the Fund. The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold, or promoted by Gapstow Capital Partners L.P., and it makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in the Fund. GAPSTOW CAPITAL PARTNERS L.P. AND ITS AFFILIATES MAKE NO WARRANTIES AND BEAR NO LIABILITY WITH RESPECT TO THE FUND. Gapstow contracts with a calculation agent to independently calculate and publish the Gapstow Index, and Gapstow cannot assure its accuracy. The publication of the Gapstow Index does not constitute a recommendation by Gapstow Capital Partners L.P. to invest in the Fund. Gapstow Capital Partners L.P. offers no guarantee or assurance with regard to the results of using the Gapstow Index.

 

Volos

Neither Volos nor any other party guarantees the accuracy and/or the completeness of the Index or any Index data included herein. Neither Volos nor any other party makes any warranty, express or implied, as to results to be obtained from the use of the Index or any Index data included herein. Volos expressly disclaims any liability for any errors or omissions in the Index or Index data and no party may rely on the Index or Index data contained in this communication. Volos does not promote, sponsor or endorse the content of this communication.

 

Valmark

 

Neither Valmark nor any other party makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, to the shareholders of the Target Range Fund, regarding its performance or the ability of the Index to track general stock market performance. Valmark is the licensor of certain trademarks, service marks and trade names of Valmark, including TOPS®, and of the Index which is created, maintained and published without regard to the issuer of the Target Range Fund. Valmark is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the timing, prices, or quantities of the Target Range Fund to be issued or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Target Range Fund is redeemable for cash. Valmark does not have any obligation or liability to shareholders of the Target Range Fund in connection with the advisory, administration, marketing or trading of the Target Range Fund.

 

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     165

 Table of Contents

 

Financial Highlights

 

The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand each Fund's financial performance for the past five fiscal years or, if shorter, the period since a Fund’s inception. The total return in the table represents the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the respective Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been derived from the financial statements audited by Ernst & Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the Funds' financial statements, are included in the Funds' Annual Report, which is available upon request.

 

166     WisdomTree Trust Prospectus

 
 Table of Contents

 

Financial Highlights

 

Selected data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout the period is presented below:

 

WisdomTree Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Bullish Fund   For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2023
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2022
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2021
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2020
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2019
 
Net asset value, beginning of year   $ 28.81     $ 25.57     $ 26.23     $ 28.11     $ 26.73  
Investment operations:                                        
Net investment income (loss)1     0.96       0.06       (0.12 )     0.05       0.47  
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)     (0.80 )     3.18       (0.37 )     (1.11 )     1.15  
Net increase from payment by affiliate           0.00 2                   
Total from investment operations     0.16       3.24       (0.49 )     (1.06 )     1.62  
Dividends and distributions to shareholders:                                        
Net investment income     (0.28 )           (0.17 )     (0.82 )     (0.24 )
Capital gains     (1.76 )                        
Total dividends and distributions to shareholders     (2.04 )           (0.17 )     (0.82 )     (0.24 )
Net asset value, end of year   $ 26.93     $ 28.81     $ 25.57     $ 26.23     $ 28.11  
TOTAL RETURN3     0.71 %     12.67 %4     (1.85 )%     (3.87 )%     6.09 %
RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:                                        
Net assets, end of year (000’s omitted)   $ 196,577     $ 397,582     $ 143,168     $ 83,951     $ 44,974  
Ratios to average net assets of:                                        
Expenses5,6     0.50 %     0.50 %     0.50 %     0.50 %     0.50 %
Net investment income (loss)6     3.52 %     0.21 %     (0.45 )%     0.19 %     1.71 %
Portfolio turnover rate7,8     78 %     156 %     55 %     266 %     23 %

1 Based on average shares outstanding.
2 Amount represents less than $0.005.
3 Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period and redemption on the last day of the period. For the periods in which the investment advisor waived advisory fees, the total return would have been lower if certain expenses had not been waived.
4 Includes a voluntary reimbursement from the sub-advisor for investment losses on certain foreign exchange transactions during the period. Excluding this voluntary reimbursement, total return would have been unchanged.
5 The expense ratio includes investment advisory fee waivers. Without these investment advisory fee waivers, the expense ratio would have been unchanged.
6 The ratios to average net assets do not include net investment income (loss) or expenses of other funds in which the Fund invests.
7 Portfolio turnover rate excludes the value of the portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares. Short-term securities with maturities less than or equal to 365 days are excluded from the portfolio turnover calculation.
8 During the periods noted, the WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund was the only security held or transacted during the period. It is considered a long-term security for portfolio turnover calculation and therefore the variability in the portfolio turnover was primarily caused by transactions in this security alone (see the “Investment in Affiliates” supplementary table included in the Schedule of Investments for transaction activity related to this security for the current fiscal period).

 

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     167

 Table of Contents

 

Financial Highlights (continued)

 

Selected data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout the period is presented below: 

 

WisdomTree Emerging Currency Strategy Fund   For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2023
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2022
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2021
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2020
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2019
 
Net asset value, beginning of year   $ 16.47     $ 18.19     $ 17.55     $ 18.19     $ 17.97  
Investment operations:                                        
Net investment income (loss)1     0.63       (0.04 )     (0.09 )     0.12       0.31  
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)     0.71       (1.68 )     0.85       (0.41 )     0.25  
Total from investment operations     1.34       (1.72 )     0.76       (0.29 )     0.56  
Dividends to shareholders:                                        
Net investment income     (0.13 )           (0.12 )     (0.35 )     (0.34 )
Net asset value, end of year   $ 17.68     $ 16.47     $ 18.19     $ 17.55     $ 18.19  
TOTAL RETURN2     8.20 %     (9.46 )%     4.31 %     (1.68 )%     3.12 %
RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:                                        
Net assets, end of year (000’s omitted)   $ 8,839     $ 8,235     $ 12,732     $ 10,532     $ 20,009  
Ratios to average net assets of:                                        
Expenses3,4     0.55 %     0.55 %     0.55 %     0.55 %     0.55 %
Net investment income (loss)4     3.67 %     (0.21 )%     (0.51 )%     0.65 %     1.68 %
Portfolio turnover rate5     0 %     36 %6     26 %6     0 %     0 %

1 Based on average shares outstanding.
2 Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period and redemption on the last day of the period. For the periods in which the investment advisor waived advisory fees for the WisdomTree Emerging Currency Strategy Fund, the total return would have been lower if certain expenses had not been waived.
3 The expense ratio includes investment advisory fee waivers. Without these investment advisory fee waivers, the expense ratio would have been unchanged.
4 The ratios to average net assets do not include net investment income (loss) or expenses of other funds in which the Fund invests.
5 Portfolio turnover rate excludes the value of the portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares. Short-term securities with maturities less than or equal to 365 days are excluded from the portfolio turnover calculation.
6 During the periods noted, the WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund was the only security held or transacted during the period. It is considered a long-term security for portfolio turnover calculation and therefore the variability in the portfolio turnover was primarily caused by transactions in this security alone (see the “Investment in Affiliates” supplementary table included in the Schedule of Investments for transaction activity related to this security for the current fiscal period).

 

168     WisdomTree Trust Prospectus

 
 Table of Contents

 

Financial Highlights (continued)

 

Selected data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout the period is presented below: 

 

WisdomTree Emerging Markets Corporate Bond
Fund
  For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2023
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2022
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2021
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2020
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2019
 
Net asset value, beginning of year   $ 61.95     $ 76.11     $ 74.14     $ 72.72     $ 68.58  
Investment operations:                                        
Net investment income1     2.74       2.53       2.63       2.99       3.00  
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)     0.33       (14.16 )     1.94       1.47 4      4.17  
Total from investment operations     3.07       (11.63 )     4.57       4.46       7.17  
Dividends to shareholders:                                        
Net investment income     (2.75 )     (2.53 )     (2.60 )     (3.04 )     (3.03 )
Net asset value, end of year   $ 62.27     $ 61.95     $ 76.11     $ 74.14     $ 72.72  
TOTAL RETURN2     5.11 %     (15.52 )%     6.26 %     6.37 %     10.69 %
RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:                                        
Net assets, end of year (000’s omitted)   $ 40,474     $ 52,655     $ 53,279     $ 29,655     $ 36,362  
Ratios to average net assets of:                                        
Expenses     0.60 %     0.60 %     0.60 %     0.60 %     0.60 %
Net investment income     4.45 %     3.70 %     3.48 %     4.13 %     4.26 %
Portfolio turnover rate3     142 %     36 %     56 %     43 %     54 %

1 Based on average shares outstanding.
2 Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period and redemption on the last day of the period. For the periods in which the investment advisor waived advisory fees for the WisdomTree Emerging Currency Strategy Fund, the total return would have been lower if certain expenses had not been waived.
3 Portfolio turnover rate excludes the value of the portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares. Short-term securities with maturities less than or equal to 365 days are excluded from the portfolio turnover calculation.
4 The amount of net realized and unrealized gain per share does not correspond with the amounts reported within the Statements of Changes due to the timing of capital share transactions of Fund shares and fluctuating market values during the fiscal year.

 

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     169

 Table of Contents

 

Financial Highlights (continued)

 

Selected data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout the period is presented below: 

 

WisdomTree Emerging Markets Local Debt Fund   For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2023
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2022
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2021
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2020
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2019
 
Net asset value, beginning of year   $ 25.75     $ 32.48     $ 32.70     $ 34.35     $ 32.47  
Investment operations:                                        
Net investment income1     1.50       1.57       1.64       1.83       1.96  
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)     1.46       (6.89 )     (0.33 )     (1.76 )2     1.72  
Total from investment operations     2.96       (5.32 )     1.31       0.07       3.68  
Dividends and distributions to shareholders:                                        
Net investment income     (0.79 )     (0.48 )     (0.52 )     (0.60 )     (0.82 )
Tax return of capital     (0.53 )     (0.93 )     (1.01 )     (1.12 )     (0.98 )
Total dividends and distributions to shareholders     (1.32 )     (1.41 )     (1.53 )     (1.72 )     (1.80 )
Net asset value, end of year   $ 27.39     $ 25.75     $ 32.48     $ 32.70     $ 34.35  
TOTAL RETURN3     11.83 %     (16.69 )%     4.06 %     0.20 %     11.54 %
RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:                                        
Net assets, end of year (000’s omitted)   $ 102,701     $ 87,544     $ 134,784     $ 127,519     $ 195,783  
Ratios to average net assets of:                                        
Expenses     0.55 %     0.55 %     0.55 %     0.55 %     0.55 %
Net investment income     5.68 %     5.47 %     4.97 %     5.42 %     5.77 %
Portfolio turnover rate4     21 %     31 %     31 %     29 %     27 %

1 Based on average shares outstanding.
2 The amount of net realized and unrealized loss per share does not correspond with the amounts reported within the Statements of Changes due to the timing of capital share transactions of Fund shares and fluctuating market values during the fiscal year.
3 Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period and redemption on the last day of the period.
4 Portfolio turnover rate excludes the value of the portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares. Short-term securities with maturities less than or equal to 365 days are excluded from the portfolio turnover calculation.

 

170     WisdomTree Trust Prospectus

 
 Table of Contents

 

Financial Highlights (continued)

 

Selected data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout the period is presented below: 

 

WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund   For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2023
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2022*
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2021*
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2020*
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2019*
 
Net asset value, beginning of year   $ 50.24     $ 50.21     $ 50.23     $ 50.11     $ 50.15  
Investment operations:                                        
Net investment income (loss)1     2.37       0.56       (0.01 )     0.48       1.12  
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)     (0.04 )2     (0.24 )     0.01       0.13       (0.10 )
Total from investment operations     2.33       0.32       0.005       0.61       1.02  
Dividends and distributions to shareholders:                                        
Net investment income     (2.26 )     (0.29 )     (0.01 )     (0.49 )     (1.06 )
Capital gains     (0.00 )5     (0.00 )5     (0.01 )            
Total dividends and distributions to shareholders     (2.26 )     (0.29 )     (0.02 )     (0.49 )     (1.06 )
Net asset value, end of year   $ 50.31     $ 50.24     $ 50.21     $ 50.23     $ 50.11  
TOTAL RETURN3     4.75 %     0.63 %     0.00 %6     1.26 %     2.06 %
RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:                                        
Net assets, end of year (000’s omitted)   $ 18,055,898     $ 8,052,243     $ 1,086,455     $ 1,491,940     $ 1,652,361  
Ratios to average net assets of:                                        
Expenses     0.15 %     0.15 %     0.15 %     0.15 %     0.15 %
Net investment income (loss)     4.71 %     1.12 %     (0.02 )%     0.95 %     2.22 %
Portfolio turnover rate4     167 %     170 %     147 %     163 %     170 %

* Per share amounts were adjusted to reflect a 1:2 reverse share split effective March 24, 2022.
1 Based on average shares outstanding.
2 The amount of net realized and unrealized loss per share does not correspond with the amounts reported within the Statements of Changes due to the timing of capital share transactions of Fund shares and fluctuating market values during the fiscal year.
3 Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period and redemption on the last day of the period.
4 Portfolio turnover rate excludes the value of the portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares. Short-term securities with maturities less than or equal to 365 days are excluded from the portfolio turnover calculation.
5 Amount represents less than $0.005.
6 Amount represents less than 0.005%.

 

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     171

 Table of Contents

 

Financial Highlights (continued)

 

Selected data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout the period is presented below: 

 

WisdomTree Interest Rate Hedged High Yield
Bond Fund
  For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2023
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2022
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2021
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2020
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2019
 
Net asset value, beginning of year   $ 20.57     $ 22.19     $ 21.40     $ 23.13     $ 24.07  
Investment operations:                                        
Net investment income1     1.20       0.98       0.96       1.20       1.30  
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)     0.74       (1.65 )2     0.78       (1.73 )     (0.91 )
Net increase from payment by affiliate                 0.01              
Total from investment operations     1.94       (0.67 )     1.75       (0.53 )     0.39  
Dividends and distributions to shareholders:                                        
Net investment income     (1.22 )     (0.95 )     (0.96 )     (1.20 )     (1.30 )
Capital gains                             (0.03 )
Total dividends and distributions to shareholders     (1.22 )     (0.95 )     (0.96 )     (1.20 )     (1.33 )
Net asset value, end of year   $ 21.29     $ 20.57     $ 22.19     $ 21.40     $ 23.13  
TOTAL RETURN3     9.74 %     (3.11 )%     8.33 %4     (2.26 )%     1.68 %
RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:                                        
Net assets, end of year (000’s omitted)   $ 151,181     $ 183,042     $ 166,447     $ 128,377     $ 247,466  
Ratios to average net assets of:                                        
Expenses     0.43 %     0.43 %     0.43 %     0.43 %     0.43 %
Net investment income     5.77 %     4.53 %     4.40 %     5.43 %     5.52 %
Portfolio turnover rate5     21 %     23 %     40 %     101 %6,7     61 %

1 Based on average shares outstanding.
2 The amount of net realized and unrealized loss per share does not correspond with the amounts reported within the Statements of Changes due to the timing of capital share transactions of Fund shares and fluctuating market values during the fiscal year.
3 Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period and redemption on the last day of the period.
4 Includes a voluntary reimbursement from the sub-advisor for an operational error that resulted in investment transaction losses. Excluding the voluntary reimbursement, total return would have been 0.05% lower.
5 Portfolio turnover rate excludes the value of the portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares. Short-term securities with maturities less than or equal to 365 days are excluded from the portfolio turnover calculation.
6 The increase in the portfolio turnover rate was primarily a result of the change in investment objective and strategy on June 1, 2020.
7 On June 4, 2020, Voya Investment Management Co., LLC replaced Mellon Investments Corporation as sub-advisor to the Fund.

 

172     WisdomTree Trust Prospectus

 
 Table of Contents

 

Financial Highlights (continued)

 

Selected data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout the period is presented below: 

 

WisdomTree Interest Rate Hedged U.S.
Aggregate Bond Fund
  For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2023
5
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2022
5
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2021
5
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2020
5
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2019
5
Net asset value, beginning of year   $ 22.90     $ 23.41     $ 23.52     $ 23.85     $ 23.91  
Investment operations:                                        
Net investment income1     0.74       0.42       0.35       0.56       0.68  
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)     0.63       (0.51 )2     (0.03 )     (0.30 )     (0.05 )
Total from investment operations     1.37       (0.09 )     0.32       0.26       0.63  
Dividends and distributions to shareholders:                                        
Net investment income     (0.77 )     (0.42 )     (0.43 )     (0.59 )     (0.69 )
Capital gains     (1.31 )                        
Total dividends and distributions to shareholders     (2.08 )     (0.42 )     (0.43 )     (0.59 )     (0.69 )
Net asset value, end of year   $ 22.19     $ 22.90     $ 23.41     $ 23.52     $ 23.85  
TOTAL RETURN3     6.35 %     (0.39 )%     1.34 %     1.08 %     2.69 %
RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:                                        
Net assets, end of year (000’s omitted)   $ 200,830     $ 366,368     $ 215,330     $ 94,088     $ 76,337  
Ratios to average net assets of:                                        
Expenses     0.23 %     0.23 %     0.23 %     0.23 %     0.23 %
Net investment income     3.34 %     1.79 %     1.47 %     2.36 %     2.86 %
Portfolio turnover rate4     171 %     131 %     81 %     70 %     39 %
Portfolio turnover rate excluding TBA roll transactions4     132 %     42 %     23 %     33 %     12 %

1 Based on average shares outstanding.
2 The amount of net realized and unrealized loss per share does not correspond with the amounts reported within the Statements of Changes due to the timing of capital share transactions of Fund shares and fluctuating market values during the fiscal year.
3 Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period and redemption on the last day of the period.
4 Portfolio turnover rate excludes the value of the portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares. Short-term securities with maturities less than or equal to 365 days are excluded from the portfolio turnover calculation.
5 Per share amounts were adjusted to reflect a 2:1 share split effective August 10, 2023.

 

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     173

 Table of Contents

 

Financial Highlights (continued)

 

Selected data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout the period is presented below: 

 

WisdomTree Mortgage Plus Bond Fund   For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2023
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2022
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2021
    For the Period
November 14, 2019*
through
August 31, 2020
 
Net asset value, beginning of period   $ 45.57     $ 50.94     $ 51.64     $ 50.26  
Investment operations:                                
Net investment income1     1.21       0.50       0.45       0.66  
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)     (2.51 )     (5.19 )     0.06       1.55  
Total from investment operations     (1.30 )     (4.69 )     0.51       2.21  
Dividends and distributions to shareholders:                                
Net investment income     (1.45 )     (0.68 )     (0.88 )     (0.83 )
Capital gains                 (0.32 )      
Tax return of capital                 (0.01 )      
Total dividends and distributions to shareholders     (1.45 )     (0.68 )     (1.21 )     (0.83 )
Net asset value, end of period   $ 42.82     $ 45.57     $ 50.94     $ 51.64  
TOTAL RETURN2     (2.87 )%     (9.27 )%     0.99 %     4.45 %
RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:                                
Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)   $ 25,691     $ 36,458     $ 40,754     $ 30,986  
Ratios to average net assets of:                                
Expenses     0.45 %     0.45 %     0.45 %     0.45 %3
Net investment income     2.77 %     1.02 %     0.88 %     1.64 %3
Portfolio turnover rate4     93 %     373 %     430 %     278 %
Portfolio turnover rate excluding TBA roll transactions4     41 %     19 %     47 %     70 %

* Commencement of operations. The commencement of operations date is considered to be the date that the Fund began trading in the secondary market.
1 Based on average shares outstanding.
2 Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period and redemption on the last day of the period. Total return calculated for a period of less than one year is not annualized.
3 Annualized.
4 Portfolio turnover rate is not annualized for fiscal periods less than one year and excludes the value of the portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares. Short-term securities with maturities less than or equal to 365 days are excluded from the portfolio turnover calculation.

 

174     WisdomTree Trust Prospectus

 
 Table of Contents

 

Financial Highlights (continued)

 

Selected data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout the period is presented below: 

 

WisdomTree Voya Yield Enhanced USD Universal Bond Fund   For the Period
February 7, 2023*
through
August 31, 2023
 
Net asset value, beginning of period   $ 49.64  
Investment operations:        
Net investment income1     1.24  
Net realized and unrealized loss     (1.54 )
Total from investment operations     (0.30 )
Dividends to shareholders:        
Net investment income     (1.20 )
Net asset value, end of period   $ 48.14  
TOTAL RETURN2     (0.61 )%
RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:        
Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)   $ 1,153,363  
Ratios to average net assets of:        
Expenses     0.15 %3
Net investment income     4.51 %3
Portfolio turnover rate4     57 %
Portfolio turnover rate excluding TBA roll transactions4     53 %

* Commencement of operations. The commencement of operations date is considered to be the date that the Fund began trading in the secondary market.
1 Based on average shares outstanding.
2 Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period and redemption on the last day of the period. Total return calculated for a period of less than one year is not annualized.
3 Annualized.
4 Portfolio turnover rate is not annualized for fiscal periods less than one year and excludes the value of the portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares. Short-term securities with maturities less than or equal to 365 days are excluded from the portfolio turnover calculation.

 

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     175

 Table of Contents

 

Financial Highlights (continued)

 

Selected data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout the period is presented below: 

 

WisdomTree Yield Enhanced U.S. Aggregate
Bond Fund
  For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2023
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2022
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2021
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2020
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2019
 
Net asset value, beginning of year   $ 44.46     $ 52.61     $ 53.93     $ 52.71     $ 48.68  
Investment operations:                                        
Net investment income1     1.49       0.96       0.85       1.28       1.61  
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)     (1.80 )     (8.05 )     (0.76 )     1.38       4.05  
Total from investment operations     (0.31 )     (7.09 )     0.09 2      2.66       5.66  
Dividends and distributions to shareholders:                                        
Net investment income     (1.52 )     (1.04 )     (1.14 )     (1.44 )     (1.63 )
Capital gains           (0.02 )     (0.27 )            
Total dividends and distributions to shareholders     (1.52 )     (1.06 )     (1.41 )     (1.44 )     (1.63 )
Net asset value, end of year   $ 42.63     $ 44.46     $ 52.61     $ 53.93     $ 52.71  
TOTAL RETURN3     (0.66 )%     (13.62 )%     0.18 %     5.14 %     11.92 %
RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:                                        
Net assets, end of year (000’s omitted)   $ 899,548     $ 951,406     $ 1,089,075     $ 1,315,856     $ 880,193  
Ratios to average net assets of:                                        
Expenses, net of expense waivers     0.12 %     0.12 %     0.12 %4     0.12 %     0.12 %
Expenses, prior to expense waivers     0.12 %     0.12 %     0.15 %     0.20 %     0.20 %
Net investment income     3.46 %     1.97 %     1.61 %     2.43 %     3.25 %
Portfolio turnover rate5     117 %     293 %     148 %     88 %     54 %
Portfolio turnover rate excluding TBA roll transactions5     50 %     40 %     41 %     65 %     44 %

1 Based on average shares outstanding.
2 The total from investment operations per share does not correspond with the amount reported within the Statements of Changes due to the timing of capital share transactions of Fund shares and fluctuating market values during the fiscal year.
3 Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period and redemption on the last day of the period. For the periods in which the investment advisor waived advisory fees, the total return would have been lower if certain expenses had not been waived.
4 The investment advisor had contractually agreed to limit the advisory fee to 0.12% through December 31, 2020. On December 31, 2020, the contractual waiver expired and the advisory fee was permanently reduced to 0.12%.
5 Portfolio turnover rate excludes the value of the portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares. Short-term securities with maturities less than or equal to 365 days are excluded from the portfolio turnover calculation.

 

176     WisdomTree Trust Prospectus

 
 Table of Contents

 

Financial Highlights (continued)

 

Selected data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout the period is presented below: 

 

WisdomTree Yield Enhanced U.S. Short-Term
Aggregate Bond Fund
  For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2023
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2022
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2021
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2020
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2019
 
Net asset value, beginning of year   $ 47.32     $ 51.23     $ 51.60     $ 50.58     $ 48.88  
Investment operations:                                        
Net investment income1     1.19       0.49       0.50       1.19       1.40  
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)     (0.74 )     (3.81 )     (0.14 )     1.05       1.69  
Total from investment operations     0.45       (3.32 )     0.36       2.24       3.09  
Dividends and distributions to shareholders:                                        
Net investment income     (1.13 )     (0.53 )     (0.51 )     (1.22 )     (1.39 )
Capital gains           (0.06 )     (0.22 )            
Total dividends and distributions to shareholders     (1.13 )     (0.59 )     (0.73 )     (1.22 )     (1.39 )
Net asset value, end of year   $ 46.64     $ 47.32     $ 51.23     $ 51.60     $ 50.58  
TOTAL RETURN2     0.96 %     (6.52 )%     0.69 %     4.51 %     6.43 %
RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:                                        
Net assets, end of year (000’s omitted)   $ 97,944     $ 94,645     $ 199,802     $ 113,529     $ 91,052  
Ratios to average net assets of:                                        
Expenses, net of expense waivers     0.12 %     0.12 %     0.12 %3     0.12 %     0.12 %
Expenses, prior to expense waivers     0.12 %     0.12 %     0.15 %     0.20 %     0.20 %
Net investment income     2.54 %     1.00 %     0.97 %     2.34 %     2.83 %
Portfolio turnover rate4     124 %     193 %     224 %     106 %     49 %
Portfolio turnover rate excluding TBA roll transactions4     19 %     21 %     49 %     46 %     24 %

1 Based on average shares outstanding.
2 Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period and redemption on the last day of the period. For the periods in which the investment advisor waived advisory fees, the total return would have been lower if certain expenses had not been waived.
3 The investment advisor had contractually agreed to limit the advisory fee to 0.12% through December 31, 2020. On December 31, 2020, the contractual waiver expired and the advisory fee was permanently reduced to 0.12%.
4 Portfolio turnover rate excludes the value of the portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares. Short-term securities with maturities less than or equal to 365 days are excluded from the portfolio turnover calculation.

 

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     177

 Table of Contents

 

Financial Highlights (continued)

 

Selected data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout the period is presented below: 

 

WisdomTree Alternative Income Fund   For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2023
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2022
    For the Period
May 6, 2021*
through
August 31, 2021
 
Net asset value, beginning of period   $ 20.39     $ 25.79     $ 24.96  
Investment operations:                        
Net investment income1     1.94       1.49       0.43  
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)     (1.15 )     (4.82 )     0.40  
Total from investment operations     0.79       (3.33 )     0.83  
Dividends and distributions to shareholders:                        
Net investment income     (1.97 )     (1.66 )      
Capital gains           (0.01 )      
Tax return of capital     (0.36 )     (0.40 )      
Total dividends and distributions to shareholders     (2.33 )     (2.07 )      
Net asset value, end of period   $ 18.85     $ 20.39     $ 25.79  
TOTAL RETURN2     5.28 %     (13.50 )%     3.33 %
RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:                        
Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)   $ 12,063     $ 10,193     $ 10,315  
Ratios to average net assets of:                        
Expenses     0.50 %     0.50 %     0.50 %3
Net investment income     10.64 %     6.35 %     5.39 %3
Portfolio turnover rate4     33 %     52 %     2 %

* Commencement of operations. The commencement of operations date is considered to be the date that the Fund began trading in the secondary market.
1 Based on average shares outstanding.
2 Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period and redemption on the last day of the period. Total return calculated for a period of less than one year is not annualized.
3 Annualized.
4 Portfolio turnover rate is not annualized for fiscal periods less than one year and excludes the value of the portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares. Short-term securities with maturities less than or equal to 365 days are excluded from the portfolio turnover calculation.

 

178     WisdomTree Trust Prospectus

 
 Table of Contents

 

Financial Highlights (continued)

 

Selected data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout the period is presented below: 

 

WisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Equity Strategy Fund (consolidated)   For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2023
    For the Period
March 17, 2022*
through
August 31, 2022
 
Net asset value, beginning of period   $ 20.89     $ 25.31  
Investment operations:                
Net investment income1     0.34       0.13  
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)     4.24       (4.55 )
Total from investment operations     4.58       (4.42 )
Dividends to shareholders:                
Net investment income     (0.17 )      
Net asset value, end of period   $ 25.30     $ 20.89  
TOTAL RETURN2     22.14 %     (17.46 )%
RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:                
Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)   $ 11,386     $ 3,133  
Ratios to average net assets of:                
Expenses     0.20 %     0.20 %3
Net investment income     1.46 %     1.26 %3
Portfolio turnover rate4     20 %     12 %

* Commencement of operations. The commencement of operations date is considered to be the date that the Fund began trading in the secondary market.
1 Based on average shares outstanding.
2 Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period and redemption on the last day of the period. Total return calculated for a period of less than one year is not annualized.
3 Annualized.
4 Portfolio turnover rate is not annualized for fiscal periods less than one year and excludes the value of the portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares. Short-term securities with maturities less than or equal to 365 days are excluded from the portfolio turnover calculation.

 

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     179

 Table of Contents

 

Financial Highlights (continued)

 

Selected data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout the period is presented below: 

 

WisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund (consolidated)   For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2023
    For the Period
December 16, 2021*
through
August 31, 2022
 
Net asset value, beginning of period   $ 18.90     $ 24.49  
Investment operations:                
Net investment income1     0.38       0.26  
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)     4.65       (5.85 )
Total from investment operations     5.03       (5.59 )
Dividends to shareholders:                
Net investment income     (0.33 )      
Net asset value, end of period   $ 23.60     $ 18.90  
TOTAL RETURN2     26.95 %     (22.83 )%
RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:                
Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)   $ 7,080     $ 6,616  
Ratios to average net assets of:                
Expenses     0.45 %     0.45 %3
Net investment income     1.62 %     1.40 %3
Portfolio turnover rate4     16 %     27 %

* Commencement of operations. The commencement of operations date is considered to be the date that the Fund began trading in the secondary market.
1 Based on average shares outstanding.
2 Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period and redemption on the last day of the period. Total return calculated for a period of less than one year is not annualized.
3 Annualized.
4 Portfolio turnover rate is not annualized for fiscal periods less than one year and excludes the value of the portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares. Short-term securities with maturities less than or equal to 365 days are excluded from the portfolio turnover calculation.

 

180     WisdomTree Trust Prospectus

 
 Table of Contents

 

Financial Highlights (continued)

 

Selected data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout the period is presented below: 

 

WisdomTree Enhanced
Commodity Strategy Fund
(consolidated)*
  For the
Year Ended
August 31,2023
    For the
Year Ended
August 31,2022
    For the Period
December 19, 2020
through
August 31, 2021
    For the Period
January 1, 2020
through
December 18, 2020
    For the
Year Ended
December 31, 2019
    For the
Year Ended
December 31, 2018
 
    Post-Reorganization     Pre-Reorganization  
Net asset value, beginning of period   $ 22.74     $ 22.12     $ 18.74     $ 18.80     $ 17.50     $ 19.25  
Investment operations:                                                
Net investment income (loss)1     0.53       (0.01 )     (0.08 )     (0.03 )     0.23       0.18  
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)     (1.14 )     2.66       3.46       (0.03 )     1.07       -1.93  
Net increase from payment by affiliate                 0.002       0.002              
Total from investment operations     (0.61 )     2.65       3.38       (0.06 )     1.30       (1.75 )
Dividends and distributions to shareholders:                                                
Net investment income     (4.10 )     (2.03 )                        
Capital gains           (0.00 )2                        
Total dividends and distributions to shareholders     (4.10 )     (2.03 )                        
Net asset value, end of period   $ 18.03     $ 22.74     $ 22.12     $ 18.74     $ 18.80     $ 17.50  
TOTAL RETURN3     (2.56 )%     12.81 %     18.04 %4     (0.32 )%4     7.43 %     -9.09 %
RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:                                                
Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)   $ 166,737     $ 296,724     $ 193,552     $ 99,333     $ 127,836     $ 154,855  
Ratios to average net assets of:                                                
Expenses, net of expense waivers     0.55 %5     0.55 %5     0.55 %5,6     0.75 %6     0.75 %     0.75 %
Expenses, prior to expense waivers     0.55 %5     0.55 %5     0.55 %5,6     0.85 %6     0.85 %     0.85 %
Net investment income (loss)     2.87 %5     (0.06 )%5     (0.52 )%5,6     (0.18 )%6     1.30 %     0.94 %
Portfolio turnover rate7     0 %     47 %8     22 %8     0 %     0 %     0 %

* After the close of business on December 18, 2020, the WisdomTree Continuous Commodity Index Fund (the “Predecessor Fund”), a commodity pool that was not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (“1940 Act”), was reorganized into the WisdomTree Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund (the “Successor Fund”), an investment company registered under the 1940 Act. The Successor Fund adopted the financial information for the Predecessor Fund. Accordingly, information presented prior to the close of business on December 18, 2020 is that of the Predecessor Fund prior to the reorganization into a regulated investment company under the 1940 Act.
1 Based on average shares outstanding.
2 Amount represents less than $0.005.
3 Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period and redemption on the last day of the period. Total return calculated for a period of less than one year is not annualized. For the periods in which the investment advisor (or the Managing Owner, with respect to the Predecessor Fund) waived advisory fees, the total return would have been lower if certain expenses had not been waived.
4 Includes a voluntary reimbursement from the advisor for brokerage commissions incurred in connection with the Reorganization. Excluding this reimbursement, total return would have been unchanged.
5 The ratios to average net assets do not include net investment income (loss) or expenses of other funds in which the Fund invests.
6 Annualized.
7 Portfolio turnover rate is not annualized for fiscal periods less than one year and excludes the value of the portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares. Short-term securities with maturities less than or equal to 365 days are excluded from the portfolio turnover calculation.
8 During the periods noted, the WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund was the only security held or transacted during the period. It is considered a long-term security for portfolio turnover calculation and therefore the variability in the portfolio turnover was primarily caused by transactions in this security alone (see the “Investment in Affiliates” supplementary table included in the Schedule of Investments for transaction activity related to this security for the current fiscal period).

 

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     181

 Table of Contents

 

Financial Highlights (continued)

 

Selected data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout the period is presented below: 

 

WisdomTree Managed Futures Strategy Fund
(consolidated)
  For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2023
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2022
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2021
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2020
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2019
 
Net asset value, beginning of year   $ 34.72     $ 41.41     $ 35.31     $ 39.08     $ 40.57  
Investment operations:                                        
Net investment income (loss)1     1.02       (0.09 )     (0.23 )     0.17       0.55  
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)     0.96       (1.39 )     6.50       (3.34 )     (0.65 )
Net increase from payment by affiliate                 0.00 2             
Total from investment operations     1.98       (1.48 )     6.27       (3.17 )     (0.10 )
Dividends to shareholders:                                        
Net investment income     (1.67 )     (5.21 )     (0.17 )     (0.60 )     (1.39 )
Net asset value, end of year   $ 35.03     $ 34.72     $ 41.41     $ 35.31     $ 39.08  
TOTAL RETURN3     6.00 %     (3.91 )%     17.83 %4     (8.17 )%     (0.22 )%
RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:                                        
Net assets, end of year (000’s omitted)   $ 154,145     $ 140,599     $ 147,001     $ 112,993     $ 216,875  
Ratios to average net assets of:                                        
Expenses, net of expense waivers     0.65 %5     0.65 %5     0.65 %5,6     0.65 %5     0.65 %
Expenses, prior to expense waivers     0.65 %5     0.65 %5     0.68 %5     0.75 %5     0.75 %
Net investment income (loss)     3.05 %5     (0.24 )%5     (0.60 )%5     0.46 %5     1.40 %
Portfolio turnover rate7     16 %8     7 %8     25 %8     97 %8     0 %

1 Based on average shares outstanding.
2 Amount represents less than $0.005.
3 Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period and redemption on the last day of the period. For the periods in which the investment advisor waived advisory fees, the total return would have been lower if certain expenses had not been waived.
4 Includes a voluntary reimbursement from the sub-advisor for investment losses on certain futures contract transactions during the period. Excluding this voluntary reimbursement, total return would have been unchanged.
5 The ratios to average net assets do not include net investment income (loss) or expenses of other funds in which the Fund invests.
6 The investment advisor had contractually agreed to limit the advisory fee to 0.65% through December 31, 2020. On December 31, 2020, the contractual waiver expired and the advisory fee was permanently reduced to 0.65%.
7 Portfolio turnover rate excludes the value of the portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares. Short-term securities with maturities less than or equal to 365 days are excluded from the portfolio turnover calculation.
8 During the periods noted, the WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund was the only security held or transacted during the period. It is considered a long-term security for portfolio turnover calculation and therefore the variability in the portfolio turnover was primarily caused by transactions in this security alone (see the “Investment in Affiliates” supplementary table included in the Schedule of Investments for transaction activity related to this security for the current fiscal period).

 

182     WisdomTree Trust Prospectus

 
 Table of Contents

 

Financial Highlights (continued)

 

Selected data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout the period is presented below: 

 

WisdomTree PutWrite Strategy Fund   For the
Year Ended
August 31, 20236
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2022
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2021
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2020
    For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2019
 
Net asset value, beginning of year   $ 31.61     $ 32.79     $ 26.64     $ 27.45     $ 30.57  
Investment operations:                                        
Net investment income (loss)1     1.14       0.01       (0.11 )     0.24       0.49  
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)     2.14       (1.19 )7     6.67       (0.63 )7     (1.96 )
Total from investment operations     3.28       (1.18 )     6.56       (0.39 )     (1.47 )
Dividends and distributions to shareholders:                                        
Net investment income     (1.09 )           (0.41 )     (0.42 )     (0.25 )
Capital gains                             (1.40 )
Tax return of capital     (1.93 )                        
Total dividends and distributions to shareholders     (3.02 )           (0.41 )     (0.42 )     (1.65 )
Net asset value, end of year   $ 31.87     $ 31.61     $ 32.79     $ 26.64     $ 27.45  
TOTAL RETURN2     11.06 %     (3.60 )%     24.87 %     (1.52 )%     (4.72 )%
RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:                                        
Net assets, end of year (000’s omitted)   $ 98,797     $ 104,322     $ 63,940     $ 117,225     $ 211,350  
Ratios to average net assets of:                                        
Expenses, net of expense waivers     0.44 %3     0.44 %3     0.44 %3     0.41 %3     0.38 %
Expenses, prior to expense waivers     0.44 %3     0.44 %3     0.44 %3     0.44 %3     0.44 %
Net investment income (loss)     3.64 %3     0.02 %3     (0.38 )%3     0.90 %3     1.78 %
Portfolio turnover rate4     12 %5,6     8 %5     18 %5     72 %5     0 %

1 Based on average shares outstanding.
2 Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period and redemption on the last day of the period. For the periods in which the investment advisor waived advisory fees, the total return would have been lower if certain expenses had not been waived.
3 The ratios to average net assets do not include net investment income (loss) or expenses of other funds in which the Fund invests.
4 Portfolio turnover rate excludes the value of the portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares. Short-term securities with maturities less than or equal to 365 days are excluded from the portfolio turnover calculation.
5 During the periods noted, the WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund was the only security held or transacted during the period. It is considered a long-term security for portfolio turnover calculation and therefore the variability in the portfolio turnover was primarily caused by transactions in this security alone (see the “Investment in Affiliates” supplementary table included in the Schedule of Investments for transaction activity related to this security for the current fiscal period).
6 The information reflects the investment objective and strategy of the WisdomTree CBOE S&P 500 PutWrite Strategy Fund through October 24, 2022 and the investment objective and strategy of the WisdomTree PutWrite Strategy Fund thereafter.
7 The amount of net realized and unrealized loss per share does not correspond with the amounts reported within the Statements of Changes due to the timing of capital share transactions of Fund shares and fluctuating market values during the fiscal year.

 

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     183

 Table of Contents

 

Financial Highlights (continued)

 

Selected data for a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout the period is presented below: 

 

WisdomTree Target Range Fund   For the
Year Ended
August 31, 2023
    For the Period
October 7, 2021*
through
August 31, 2022
 
Net asset value, beginning of period   $ 21.99     $ 24.99  
Investment operations:                
Net investment income (loss)1     0.53       (0.01 )
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)     0.05       (2.99 )
Total from investment operations     0.58       (3.00 )
Dividends to shareholders:                
Net investment income     (0.10 )      
Net asset value, end of period   $ 22.47     $ 21.99  
TOTAL RETURN2     2.65 %     (12.00 )%
RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:                
Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)   $ 64,046     $ 51,675  
Ratios to average net assets of:                
Expenses     0.70 %     0.70 %3
Net investment income (loss)     2.42 %     (0.06 )%3
Portfolio turnover rate4     5 %     0 %

* Commencement of operations. The commencement of operations date is considered to be the date that the Fund began trading in the secondary market.
1 Based on average shares outstanding.
2 Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period and redemption on the last day of the period. Total return calculated for a period of less than one year is not annualized.
3 Annualized.
4 Portfolio turnover rate is not annualized for fiscal periods less than one year and excludes the value of the portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares. Short-term securities with maturities less than or equal to 365 days are excluded from the portfolio turnover calculation.

 

184     WisdomTree Trust Prospectus

 
 Table of Contents

 

WisdomTree Trust

250 West 34th Street, 3rd Floor

New York, NY 10119 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     
     
     

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Funds' current SAI provides additional detailed information about the Funds. The Trust has electronically filed the SAI with the SEC. It is incorporated by reference in this Prospectus.

 

Additional information about the Funds' investments is 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 the Funds' performance during the last fiscal year.

 

To make shareholder inquiries, for more detailed information on the Funds, or to request the SAI or annual or semi-annual shareholder reports, as applicable, free of charge, please:

   
           
           
Call: 1-866-909-9473
Monday through Friday
9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
(Eastern time)
Write: WisdomTree Trust
c/o Foreside Fund Services, LLC
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101
   
           
Visit: www.wisdomtree.com/investments        
           
           

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

 

No person is authorized to give any information or to make any representations about any Fund and its shares not contained in this Prospectus and you should not rely on any other information. Read and keep this Prospectus for future reference.

 

© 2024 WisdomTree Trust

 

WisdomTree Funds are distributed in the U.S. by
Foreside Fund Services, LLC
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101

 

WisdomTree® is a registered mark of WisdomTree, Inc.

 

 

INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT FILE NO. 811-21864
WIS-PR-002-0124