Semi-Annual Report

 

October 31, 2023

  

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

Ticker: ACIO

 

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

Ticker: DRSK

 

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

Ticker: ADME

 

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

Ticker: OSCV

 

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

Ticker: JUCY

 

Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF

(Formerly, International Drawdown Managed Equity ETF)

Ticker: IDUB

 

Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

Ticker: DUBS

 

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

Page

Shareholder Letters

1

Portfolio Allocations

17

Schedules of Investments and Schedules of Written Options

20

Statements of Assets and Liabilities

37

Statements of Operations

39

Statements of Changes in Net Assets

41

Financial Highlights

48

Notes to Financial Statements

55

Expense Examples

68

Review of Liquidity Risk Management Program

70

Approval of Advisory Agreement and Board Considerations

71

Federal Tax Information

73

Information About Portfolio Holdings

73

Information About Proxy Voting

73

Information About the Funds’ Trustees

74

Frequency Distribution of Premiums and Discounts

74

 

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited)

 

Dear ACIO Shareholders,

 

Thank you for your investment in the Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF, referred to herein as “ACIO” or the “Fund”. The information presented in this letter relates to ACIO’s performance period from May 1, 2023 through October 31, 2023 (the “current fiscal period”).

 

The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve its investment objective principally by investing in a portfolio of U.S.-listed equity securities of any market capitalization and buying put options or an options collar (i.e., a mix of written (sold) call options and long (bought) put options) on the same underlying equity securities, a U.S. equity ETF, or on an index tracking a portfolio of U.S. equity securities (a “U.S. Equity Index”). The U.S. Equity Index, U.S. equity ETF, and the underlying equity securities may be of any market capitalization. The equity securities and options held by the Fund must be listed on a U.S.- exchange, and the equity securities may include common stocks of U.S. companies, American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) (i.e., receipts evidencing ownership of foreign equity securities), and real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). The Fund will typically limit investments in ADRs to approximately 20% of the Fund’s net assets.

 

We believe that ACIO continues to deliver on its structural mandate, even in a relatively challenging environment, given low market breadth. Given market conditions, ACIO posted digestible returns, especially if viewed from an overall asset allocation perspective. It was a solid annual period, but the 1-year capture has been on the lower end of full cycle expectations although we do not consider the past twelve months indicative of normal cycle behavior.

 

For the current fiscal period, ACIO was down -0.22% at market and down -0.32% at net asset value (“NAV”). Over the same period, the S&P 500® Total Return Index was up 1.39%.

 

Volatility (as measured by the VIX Index) reverted to levels last seen pre-COVID. Markets have exploded higher on the back of a new Fed Liquidity Tool, the promise of Artificial Intelligence, and a Debt Ceiling resolution during the last six months. This had created an environment where hedging was relatively cheap, and volatility compressed.

 

As this period played out, the team was able to buy cheaper hedges. Given the slight uptick to volatility during the end of the period, ACIO was able to opportunistically defend against downside and demonstrate the effectiveness of the active risk mitigation, despite the fact these sell-offs were still relatively mild.

 

With ACIO’s active implementation, the portfolio team utilized the opportunity to harvest put profits and purchase equities with the proceeds, without negating downside protection.

 

Over the last twelve months, the market experienced its narrowest breadth in history. In a strategy that sells covered calls on single stocks, with the “Magnificent 7” having driven nearly 100% of the S&P 500’s upside, it has been a difficult environment.

 

With the lower volatility levels, we either had to collect less premium or set our ceiling at a lower level.

 

We did a blend of both. Given the concentration of returns, we saw a net detraction from the written calls. We remain active as we continually weigh the pros and cons of covering rallying stocks.

 

During the fiscal period, the equity portfolio continued to deliver solid results, allowing the winners to run while selling losers quickly (the interval losers list). This structure has been value-additive for the year. Over the last twelve months, the fund added over 100bps of alpha from security selection.

 

The team’s primary directive for the equity portfolio in ACIO remains high correlation with the S&P 500 Index over longer periods of time (0.95-1.00). Delving under the hood of both the Value and Growth baskets (where positions are held at market weight), we continue to see high daily correlation which has been an indicator that we are hitting our mandate on the equity portfolio.

 

The largest positive equity contributor to return for the current fiscal period was a put option position expiring in November 2023 on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), gaining 208.53% and adding 1.12% to the return of ACIO. The second largest contributor was Nvidia Corporation (NVDA), gaining 46.99% and adding 0.93% to the return of ACIO. The third largest contributor was a put option position expiring in October 2023 on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), gaining 152.26% and adding 0.88% to the return of ACIO.

 

1

 

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited) (Continued)

 

The largest negative contributor to the return of the Fund for the current fiscal period was a put option position expiring in July 2023 on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), down -54.18% and detracting -0.75% from the return of ACIO. The second largest negative contributor was a put option position expiring in August 2023 on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), down -54.08% and detracting -0.73% from the return of ACIO. The third largest negative contributor was a put option position expiring in November 2023 on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), down -67.41% and detracting -0.54% from the return of ACIO.

 

We are excited about the opportunity to give our investors access to the Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF. We think it’s possible future returns from a traditional 60/40 portfolio may be well below recent history, at risk of being insufficient to meet the investment needs of today’s retirees. We believe we can help the math with a focus on global dividend growers. With overall valuations high, and growth difficult to project, we place great emphasis on sustainable yield in building return assumptions. The ACIO screening process takes large capitalization U.S.-listed equity securities that a) meet the filter, b) provide diversified exposure, and c) maintain an active options market from which we can sell call options on the individual names along with buying puts on the broad market index to more efficiently collar the equity portfolio. The powerful combination of a high dividend paying basket of large capitalization U.S.-listed equity securities with a collar strategy aims to deliver consistent and repeatable yield and minimal drawdown.

 

We appreciate your interest in ACIO. If we can elaborate on the underlying Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity strategy, please don’t hesitate to ask as we would love an opportunity to discuss. Thanks again for your interest.

 

Sincerely,

 

JD Gardner
Founder and Managing Member
Aptus Capital Advisors, Adviser to the Fund

 

2

 

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited) (Continued)

 

Past performance does not guarantee future performance. Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. The Fund’s use of call and put options can lead to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the underlying security, which may be magnified by certain features of the options. The Fund’s use of options may reduce the Fund’s ability to profit from increases in the value of the underlying securities. Derivatives, such as the options in which the Fund invests, can be volatile and involve various types and degrees of risks. Derivatives may entail investment exposures that are greater than their cost would suggest, meaning that a small investment in a derivative could have a substantial impact on the performance of the Fund. The Fund could experience a loss if its derivatives do not perform as anticipated, the derivatives are not correlated with the performance of their underlying security, or if the Fund is unable to purchase or liquidate a position because of an illiquid secondary market. Investments in ETFs are subject to additional risks that do not apply to conventional mutual funds, including the risks that the market price of the shares may trade at a discount to the net asset value (“NAV”), an active secondary trading market may not develop or be maintained, or trading may be halted by the exchange in which they trade, which may impact a fund’s ability to sell its shares.

 

Call options give the owner the right to buy the underlying security at the specified price within a specific time period. Put options give the owner the right to sell the underlying security at the specified price within a specific time period. A collar is an options strategy constructed by holding shares of the underlying stock while simultaneously buying put options and selling call options against that holding.

 

Shares of an ETF are bought and sold at market price (rather than NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Market returns are based on the primary exchange’s official close price at 4:00p.m. Eastern and does not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times.

 

Must be preceded or accompanied by a prospectus.

 

Fund holdings and sector allocations are subject to change and are not recommendations to buy or sell any security. Please refer to the schedule of investments in this report for complete holdings information.

 

Definitions:

 

A hedge, in finance, is to take an offsetting position in an asset or investment that reduces the price risk of an existing position. A hedge is therefore a trade that is made with the purpose of reducing the risk of adverse price movements in another asset. Normally, a hedge consists of taking the opposite position in a related security or in a derivative security based on the asset to be hedged.

 

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) is a real-time index that represents the market’s expectations for the relative strength of near-term price changes of the S&P 500 Index (SPX). Because it is derived from the prices of SPX index options with near-term expiration dates, it generates a 30-day forward projection of volatility. Volatility, or how fast prices change, is often seen as a way to gauge market sentiment, and in particular the degree of fear among market participants.

 

S&P 500® Total Return Index - a market capitalization weighted index of the 500 largest U.S. publicly traded companies by market value. The total return index is a type of equity index that tracks both the capital gains of a group of stocks over time, and assumes that any cash distributions, such as dividends, are reinvested back into the index.

 

Downside protection is meant to aim to provide a safety net if an investment starts to fall in value. Downside protection can be carried out in many ways; most common is to use options or other derivatives to limit possible losses over a period of time.

 

The Magnificent 7 refers to Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Nvidia, Meta, Microsoft and Tesla companies.

 

Basis points, otherwise known as bps or “bips,” are a unit of measure used in finance to describe the percentage change in the value of financial instruments or the rate change in an index or other benchmark. One basis point is equivalent to 0.01%.

 

Aptus Capital Advisors is the adviser to the Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF, which is distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC.

 

3

 

 

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited)

 

Dear DRSK Shareholders,

 

Thank you for your investment in the Aptus Defined Risk ETF, referred to herein as “DRSK” or the “Fund”. The information presented in this letter relates to DRSK’s performance from May 1, 2023 through October 31, 2023 (the “current fiscal period”).

 

The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve its objective through a hybrid fixed income and equity strategy. The Fund typically invests approximately 75% to 95% of its assets to obtain exposure to investment-grade corporate bonds (the “Fixed Income Strategy”) and invests the remainder of its assets to obtain exposure to U.S. stocks, while limiting downside risk (the “Equity Strategy”).

 

DRSK faced a difficult environment during the period, underperforming the Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index. Fixed income met a brutal period, as the long end of the yield curve rose aggressively. Equities struggled to maintain the upside momentum carried from the SVB Bank Collapse and AI frenzy during the first part of the period, as higher interest rates impacted lofty valuations. Even with that, volatility levels remained muted (Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) bottomed ~12) despite unfriendly markets. For reference, that’s a level well below historical averages.

 

During the period, DRSK had poor equity selection within its call book. The market (measured by the S&P 500) was down but only marginally, creating an environment where our equity calls deflated but our puts didn’t inflate enough to offset (i.e., VIX was compressed). More recent losses were led by the underperformance of our bond portfolio as rates rose and were magnified by equity market drag and muted volatility. In general, the Fund’s long volatility exposures has not been in favor with limited volatility occurring.

 

Moving forward, we believe that DRSK offers investors a diversified and differentiated long volatility exposure with bond-like deviation. DRSK offers the opportunity to create better long-term portfolios given the upside potential and correlation benefits it embeds in portfolios.

 

For the current fiscal period, DRSK was down -10.09% at market and down -9.91% at net asset value (“NAV”). Over the same period, the Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index was down -6.13%.

 

The largest positive contributor to return for the current fiscal period was a call option position expiring in October 2023 on Broadcom, Inc. (AVGO), gaining 303.33% and adding 1.52% to the return of DRSK. The second largest contributor was a put option position expiring in October 2023 on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), gaining 105.71% and adding 0.71% to the return of DRSK. The third largest contributor was a put option position expiring during December 2023 on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), gaining 162.32% and adding 0.65% to the return of DRSK.

 

The largest negative contributor to the return of the Fund for the current fiscal period was a call option position expiring in November 2023 on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), down -86.17% and detracting -1.86% from the return of DRSK. The second largest negative contributor was a call option position expiring in March 2024 on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), down -54.80% and detracting -1.70% from the return of DRSK. The third largest negative contributor was a put option position expiring in July 2023 on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), down -92.91% and detracting -0.83% from the return of DRSK.

 

We are excited about the opportunity to give our investors access to the Aptus Defined Risk ETF. We see income generation as a major issue for investors in a low interest rate environment and extending maturities or accepting poorer credit bring added risk. Our “income plus” approach utilizes call options that allows for significant upside capture in a rising market and defined risk in a declining market. The powerful combination of laddered bonds over a short duration and asymmetric payoff opportunity of the call options aims to give investors expected returns not typically seen in the traditional fixed income space.

 

We appreciate your interest in DRSK. If we can elaborate on the underlying Aptus Defined Risk strategy, please don’t hesitate to ask as we would love an opportunity to discuss. Thanks again for your interest.

 

Sincerely,

 

JD Gardner
Founder and Managing Member
Aptus Capital Advisors, Adviser to the Fund

 

4

 

 

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited) (Continued)

 

Past Performance does not guarantee future performance. Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. The Fund invests indirectly in fixed income securities through investments in Underlying Bond ETFs, which involve certain risks. Options enable the Fund to purchase exposure that is significantly greater than the premium paid. Consequently, the value of such options can be volatile, and a small investment in options can have a large impact on the performance of the Fund. Because the Fund only purchases options (as opposed to writing/selling options), the Fund’s losses from its exposure to options are limited to the amount of premiums paid.

 

Shares of an ETF are bought and sold at market price (rather than NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Market returns are based on the primary exchange’s official close price at 4:00p.m. Eastern and does not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times.

 

Must be preceded or accompanied by a prospectus.

 

Fund holdings and sector allocations are subject to change and are not recommendations to buy or sell any security. Please see the Schedule of Investments for a complete list of Fund holdings.

 

Definitions:

 

Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index – a flagship measure of global investment grade debt from twenty-four local currency markets. This multi-currency benchmark includes treasury, government related, corporate and securitized fixed-rate bonds from both developed and emerging market issuers. One cannot invest directly in an index.

 

A yield curve is a line that plots yields, or interest rates, of bonds that have equal credit quality but differing maturity dates. The slope of the yield curve can predict future interest rate changes and economic activity.

 

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) is a real-time index that represents the market’s expectations for the relative strength of near-term price changes of the S&P 500 Index (SPX). Because it is derived from the prices of SPX index options with near-term expiration dates, it generates a 30-day forward projection of volatility. Volatility, or how fast prices change, is often seen as a way to gauge market sentiment, and in particular the degree of fear among market participants.

 

S&P 500® Total Return Index - a market capitalization weighted index of the 500 largest U.S. publicly traded companies by market value. The total return index is a type of equity index that tracks both the capital gains of a group of stocks over time, and assumes that any cash distributions, such as dividends, are reinvested back into the index.

 

Duration can measure how long it takes, in years, for an investor to be repaid a bond’s price by the bond’s total cash flows. Duration can also measure the sensitivity of a bond’s or fixed income portfolio’s price to changes in interest rates.

 

Call Option: Call options are financial contracts that give the option buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy a stock, bond, commodity or other asset or instrument at a specified price within a specific time period.

 

Put Option: A put option is a contract giving the owner the right, but not the obligation, to sell–or sell short–a specified amount of an underlying security at a pre-determined price within a specified time frame.

 

Aptus Capital Advisors is the adviser to the Aptus Defined Risk ETF, which is distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC.

 

5

 

 

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited)

 

Dear ADME Shareholders,

 

Thank you for your investment in the Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF, referred to herein as “ADME” or the “Fund”. The information presented in this letter relates to ADME’s performance from May 1, 2023 through October 31, 2023 (the “current fiscal period”).

 

The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve its objective principally by investing in a portfolio of U.S.-listed equity securities, while limiting downside risk by purchasing exchange-listed put options on one or more of such equity securities or on broad-based indexes or ETFs that track the performance of the U.S. equity market. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s net assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) will be invested in equity securities.

 

Risk mitigation strategies have been the last thing on investors’ minds over the last twelve months, as the S&P 500 return was negligible, but up substantially year-to-date. While conditions didn’t favor hedging, we believe that ADME still posted digestible returns, especially if viewed from an overall asset allocation perspective.

 

ADME has two predominant return drivers:

 

1. The equity book, and

 

2. The hedges (long volatility tail hedges)

 

Let’s walk through each factor.

 

The Equity: The equity portfolio continued to perform well during the last twelve months, outpacing the S&P 500. The repeatable and consistent process, specifically surrounding the sell discipline, has allowed our winners to run, while cutting our losers quickly.

 

Left Tail Exposure: As one would expect during this period, this aspect of the fund has been a drag on performance. But, more recently towards the end of the period, the detraction from the options was somewhat muted, as we started to see a sliver of increased volatility towards the end of the fiscal year.

 

For the current fiscal period, ADME was down -1.38% at market and down -1.46% at net asset value (“NAV”). Over the same period, the S&P 500® Total Return Index was up 1.39%.

 

The largest positive equity contributor to return for the current fiscal period was Nvidia Corporation (NVDA), gaining 46.99% and adding 0.92% to the return of ADME. The second largest contributor was Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN), gaining 26.21% and adding 0.70% to the return of ADME. The third largest contributor was Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), gaining 10.51% and adding 0.69% to the return of ADME.

 

The largest negative equity contributor to the return of the Fund for the current fiscal period was a put option position expiring during October 2023 on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), down -83.15% and detracting -0.77% from the return of ADME. The second largest negative contributor was a put option position expiring during July 2023 on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), down -72.63% and detracting -0.56% from the return of ADME. The third largest negative contributor was a put option position expiring in December 2023 on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), down -52.70% and detracting -0.52% from the return of ADME.

 

We are excited about the opportunity to give our investors access to the Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF. Historically, a small group of big winners have comprised most of each year’s market gains. Rather than diluting with hundreds of mediocre holdings, we prefer to focus on selection of large, mid, or small-capitalization U.S.-listed names. We build from a Yield + Growth framework, tilting holdings to favor companies with solid fundamentals and reasonable valuations while avoiding those with negative price momentum. We believe there’s an upside to less downside behaviorally and mathematically. Rather than try to time the markets, we actively hedge our holdings in an effort to mitigate downside risk. We build a portfolio that attempts to capture market upside, with a fraction of the downside.

 

We appreciate your interest in ADME. If we can elaborate on the underlying Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity strategy, please don’t hesitate to ask as we would love an opportunity to discuss. Thanks again for your interest.

 

Sincerely,

 

JD Gardner
Founder and Managing Member
Aptus Capital Advisors, Adviser to the Fund

 

6

 

 

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited) (Continued)

 

Past performance does not guarantee future performance. Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. The Fund’s use of put options can lead to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the underlying security, which may be magnified by certain features of the options. The Fund’s use of options may reduce the Fund’s ability to profit from increases in the value of the underlying securities. Derivatives, such as the options in which the Fund invests, can be volatile and involve various types and degrees of risks. Derivatives may entail investment exposures that are greater than their cost would suggest, meaning that a small investment in a derivative could have a substantial impact on the performance of the Fund. The Fund could experience a loss if its derivatives do not perform as anticipated, the derivatives are not correlated with the performance of their underlying security, or if the Fund is unable to purchase or liquidate a position because of an illiquid secondary market. Investments in ETFs are subject to additional risks that do not apply to conventional mutual funds, including the risks that the market price of the shares may trade at a discount to the net asset value (“NAV”), an active secondary trading market may not develop or be maintained, or trading may be halted by the exchange in which they trade, which may impact a fund’s ability to sell its shares.

 

Shares of an ETF are bought and sold at market price (rather than NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Market returns are based on the primary exchange’s official close price at 4:00p.m. Eastern and does not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times.

 

Must be preceded or accompanied by a prospectus.

 

Fund holdings and sector allocations are subject to change and are not recommendations to buy or sell any security. Please see the Schedule of Investments and Schedule of Written Options for a complete list of Fund holdings.

 

Definitions:

 

“Tail risk” or “left-tail risk” refers to an investment’s most extreme downside performance periods. Most notably, these events exceed expectations of frequency, duration, and/or magnitude of losses for which an investor has planned, or for which the investor is being compensated.

 

A hedge, in finance, is to take an offsetting position in an asset or investment that reduces the price risk of an existing position. A hedge is therefore a trade that is made with the purpose of reducing the risk of adverse price movements in another asset. Normally, a hedge consists of taking the opposite position in a related security or in a derivative security based on the asset to be hedged.

 

S&P 500® Total Return Index - a market capitalization weighted index of the 500 largest U.S. publicly traded companies by market value. The total return index is a type of equity index that tracks both the capital gains of a group of stocks over time, and assumes that any cash distributions, such as dividends, are reinvested back into the index.

 

Aptus Capital Advisors is the adviser to the Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF, which is distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC.

 

7

 

 

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited)

 

Dear OSCV Shareholders,

 

Thank you for your investment in the Opus Small Cap Value ETF, referred to herein as “OSCV” or the “Fund”. The information presented in this letter relates to OSCV’s performance from May 1, 2023 through October 31, 2023 (the “current fiscal period”).

 

The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that invests under normal circumstances at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of small-capitalization U.S. companies. The Fund defines small capitalization companies as those that, at the time of investment, fall within the lowest 15% of the total U.S. equity market capitalization (excluding, for purposes of this calculation, companies with market capitalizations of less than $10 million), as calculated annually. As of April 30, 2023, there were approximately 4,372 small-capitalization companies, and those companies had market capitalizations ranging up to approximately $12.87 billion. The Fund’s equity securities primarily include common stocks, real estate investment trusts (“REITs”), and American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) representing the stock of a foreign company. The Fund will generally limit its investments in ADRs to 20% of its total assets. The Fund may invest in securities offered in an initial public offering (“IPO”) or in companies that have recently completed an IPO.

 

Small Cap, as an asset class, continued to underperform their large cap brethren during the fiscal period, as the market continued to punish any stocks other than the Magnificent Seven. That said, the gap between small caps and large caps was the third largest dating back to 1979, and the widest ever when compared to the NASDAQ 100.

 

For the current fiscal period, OSCV was down -3.56% at market and down -3.28% at net asset value (“NAV”). Over the same period, the S&P Small Cap 600 Value Index was down -7.57%.

 

This period was a prime example of the consistency of returns that we believe our active ETF provides. During quick, sporadic rallies, we do not expect to perform well, but during quick or prolonged drawdowns, we believe that the characteristics that our stocks exhibit, can help insulate and protect on the downside.

 

The holistic contribution to the fund’s relative outperformance was solely from sector allocation, as stock selection detracted from performance. Many investors may not know that lower quality factors have actually led in the small cap universe, which is very different from what we’ve witnessed in large cap land during the period.

 

The largest positive equity contributor to return for the current fiscal period was Hubbell Incorporated (HUBB), 19.67% and adding 0.36% to the return of OSCV. The second largest contributor was Casey’s General Stores, Inc., (CASY), gaining 19.22% and adding 0.36% to the return of OSCV. The third largest contributor was Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (BAH) gaining 26.33% and adding 0.34%. to the return of OSCV.

 

The largest detractor to the return of the Fund for the current fiscal period was Forward Air Corporation (FWRD), down -38.41% and detracting -0.65% to the return of OSCV. The second largest detractor was Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure plc (AY), down -29.35% and detracting -0.43% to the return of OSCV. The third largest detractor was Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation (VAC), down -32.36% and detracting -0.40%, from the return of OSCV.

 

We remain disciplined on our process, continuing to uncover companies that meet our rigorous fundamental criteria for ownership. Lately, we’ve been uncovering more names that have very strong free cash-flow profiles, alongside what we would consider to be high-quality business models that have pricing inelasticity. Over longer periods of time, we believe that our focus on quality will continue to compound shareholder capital.

 

We are excited about the opportunity to give our investors access to the Opus Small Cap Value ETF. OSCV selects stocks across a variety of sectors and industries by combining factor-based analysis with rigorous fundamental research to identify high-quality, growing companies that are believed to be undervalued. OSCV is focused on three core themes to identify companies: 1. higher quality companies with sound business models, higher returns on equity, strong balance sheets, and shareholder-friendly management. 2. higher growth companies that are well-positioned to grow sales, earnings, cash flows, and dividends. 3. lower valuation companies whose valuations reflect lower price-to-earnings and higher yields than their peers. OSCV generally sells a stock when the company is no longer believed to be high quality, when its anticipated growth rate has significantly declined, when it is no longer considered undervalued, or when it is no longer considered a small-capitalization company after a significant period of time (e.g., more than one year).

 

8

 

 

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited) (Continued)

 

We appreciate your interest in OSCV. If we can elaborate on the underlying Opus Small Cap Value ETF, please don’t hesitate to ask as we would love an opportunity to discuss. Thanks again for your interest.

 

Sincerely,

 

JD Gardner
Founder and Managing Member
Aptus Capital Advisors, Adviser to the Fund

 

9

 

 

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited) (Continued)

 

Past performance does not guarantee future performance. Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. The Fund invests 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 changes in interest rates, government regulation, borrowing costs and earnings. The value investing style may over time go in and out of favor. At times when the value investing style is out of favor, the Fund may underperform other funds that use different investing styles. Investments in ETFs are subject to additional risks that do not apply to conventional mutual funds, including the risks that the market price of the shares may trade at a discount to the net asset value (“NAV”), an active secondary trading market may not develop or be maintained, or trading may be halted by the exchange in which they trade, which may impact a fund’s ability to sell its shares.

 

Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. Shares of an ETF are bought and sold at market price (rather than NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Market returns are based on the primary exchange’s official close price at 4:00p.m. Eastern and does not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times.

 

Must be preceded or accompanied by a prospectus.

 

Fund holdings and sector allocations are subject to change and are not recommendations to buy or sell any security. Please see the Schedule of Investments for a complete list of Fund holdings.

 

Definitions:

 

The Magnificent Seven refers to Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Nvidia, Meta, Microsoft and Tesla companies.

 

The Nasdaq 100 Index is a collection of the 100 largest, most actively traded companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. The index includes companies from diverse industries like manufacturing, technology, healthcare, and others. The index excludes those in the financial sector, like commercial and investment banks.

 

A drawdown is a peak-to-trough decline during a specific period for an investment, trading account, or fund. A drawdown measures the historical risk of different investments, compares fund performance, or monitors personal trading performance. It is usually quoted as the percentage between the peak and the subsequent trough. If a trading account has $10,000 in it, and the funds drop to $9,000 before moving back above $10,000, then the trading account witnessed a 10% drawdown.

 

Cash flow – a measure of a company’s financial performance, calculated as operating cash flow minus capital expenditures.

 

Aptus Capital Advisors is the adviser to the Opus Small Cap Value ETF, which is distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC.

 

10

 

 

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited)

 

Dear JUCY Shareholders,

 

Thank you for your investment in the Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF, referred to herein as “JUCY” or the “Fund”. The information presented in this letter relates to JUCY’s performance period from May 1, 2023 through October 31, 2023 (the “current fiscal period”).

 

The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve its investment objectives through a hybrid fixed income and equity-linked note strategy. The Fund invests primarily in U.S. Treasury Bills, U.S. Treasury Notes, and the securities of U.S. government-sponsored entities (“GSEs”) (the “Fixed Income Strategy”) and invests the remainder of its assets in Equity-Linked Notes (“ELNs”) (the “ELN Strategy”).

 

The fiscal period has witnessed interest rates rise across the board. These rises coincided with market’s new focus on the “higher for longer” narrative, as the Fed continues to communicate that their fight with inflation is still ongoing, and they’re prepared to do what they must to squash it from its current elevated levels.

 

Volatility markets remained relatively muted during the period. Using the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) as a proxy, we saw it hit its period high at just below 19 and ended the quarter just off highs at 17.52. The 20-year average is 19.18.

 

The Fund returned 1.21% at market and 1.33% at NAV, in-line with the benchmark ICE U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Bond Index’s return of 0.16%. Despite a muted volatility environment and rising interest rates, the Fund was able to provide value both relative to its benchmark and overall.

 

The fixed income portfolio benefited from a lower duration profile relative to the benchmark and contributed to the total return during the period. The options overlay also contributed to the total return. We believe in the structure of the strategy and will continue to seek an attractive level of income combined with capital preservation.

 

The largest positive equity contributor to return for the current fiscal period was a U.S. Treasury Note maturing in January 2024, gaining 2.36% and adding 0.76% to the return of JUCY. The second largest contributor was a U.S. Treasury Note maturing in April 2024, gaining 2.03% and adding 0.28% to the return of JUCY. The third largest contributor was an S&P 500 Index Equity Linked Note maturing in September 2023 (SPX_33_2023), gaining 5.12% and adding 0.20% to the return of JUCY.

 

The largest negative equity contributor to the return of the Fund for the current fiscal period was an S&P 500 Index Equity Linked Note maturing in June 2023 (SPX_20_2023), down -6.88% and detracting -0.27% from the return of JUCY. The second largest negative contributor was a U.S. Treasury Note maturing on October 2027 down -3.68% and detracting -0.26% from the return of JUCY. The third largest negative contributor was an S&P 500 Index Equity Linked Note maturing in July 2023 (SPX_25_2023), down -5.27% and detracting -0.18% from the return of JUCY.

 

We are excited about the opportunity to give our investors access to Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF. JUCY provides investors an actively managed strategy that seeks attractive income with capital preservation. The strategy typically invests in a portfolio of lower-duration U.S. Treasuries and Agency Securities to provide stability and income. It then seeks to enhance the portfolio’s yield by using an option overlay to provide more distributable income.

 

We appreciate your interest in JUCY. If we can elaborate on the underlying Aptus Enhanced Yield strategy, please don’t hesitate to ask as we would love an opportunity to discuss. Thanks again for your interest.

 

Sincerely,

 

JD Gardner
Founder and Managing Member
Aptus Capital Advisors, Adviser to the Fund

 

11

 

 

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited) (Continued)

 

Past performance does not guarantee future performance. Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. The Fund is non-diversified, meaning it may concentrate its assets in fewer individual holdings than diversified funds. Therefore, the Fund is more exposed to individual stock or ETF volatility than diversified funds. The Fund’s use of call and put options can lead to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the underlying security, which may be magnified by certain features of the options. The Fund’s use of options may reduce the Fund’s ability to profit from increases in the value of the underlying securities. Derivatives, such as the options in which the Fund invests, can be volatile and involve various types and degrees of risks. Derivatives may entail investment exposures that are greater than their cost would suggest, meaning that a small investment in a derivative could have a substantial impact on the performance of the Fund. The Fund could experience a loss if its derivatives do not perform as anticipated, the derivatives are not correlated with the performance of their underlying security, or if the Fund is unable to purchase or liquidate a position because of an illiquid secondary market. Investments in ETFs are subject to additional risks that do not apply to conventional mutual funds, including the risks that the market price of the shares may trade at a discount to the net asset value (“NAV”), an active secondary trading market may not develop or be maintained, or trading may be halted by the exchange in which they trade, which may impact a fund’s ability to sell its shares.

 

Call options give the owner the right to buy the underlying security at the specified price within a specific time period. Put options give the owner the right to sell the underlying security at the specified price within a specific time period. A collar is an options strategy constructed by holding shares of the underlying stock while simultaneously buying put options and selling call options against that holding

 

Shares of an ETF are bought and sold at market price (rather than NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Market returns are based on the primary exchange’s official close price at 4:00p.m. Eastern and does not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times.

 

Must be preceded or accompanied by a prospectus.

 

Fund holdings and sector allocations are subject to change and are not recommendations to buy or sell any security. Please refer to the schedule of investments in this report for complete holdings information.

 

Definitions:

 

Government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) - a quasi-governmental entity established to enhance the flow of credit to specific sectors of the U.S. economy. Created by acts of Congress, these agencies—although they are privately-held—provide public financial services. GSEs help to facilitate borrowing for a variety of individuals, including students, farmers, and homeowners.

 

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) is a real-time index that represents the market’s expectations for the relative strength of near-term price changes of the S&P 500 Index (SPX). Because it is derived from the prices of SPX index options with near-term expiration dates, it generates a 30-day forward projection of volatility.

 

Duration can measure how long it takes, in years, for an investor to be repaid a bond’s price by the bond’s total cash flows. Duration can also measure the sensitivity of a bond’s or fixed income portfolio’s price to changes in interest rates.

 

ICE U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Bond Index is market value weighted and is designed to measure the performance of U.S. dollar-denominated, fixed rate securities with minimum term to maturity greater than one year and less than or equal to three years.

 

Aptus Capital Advisors is the adviser to the Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF, which is distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC.

 

12

 

 

Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited)

 

Dear IDUB Shareholders,

 

Thank you for your investment in the Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF (formerly, International Drawdown Managed Equity ETF), referred to herein as “IDUB” or the “Fund”. The information presented in this letter relates to IDUB’s performance period from May 1, 2023 through October 31, 2023 (the “current fiscal period”).

 

The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve its objective through a hybrid equity and equity linked note (“ELN”) strategy. The Fund invests primarily in a portfolio of other ETFs that invest in equity securities of non-U.S. (international) companies in developed and emerging markets throughout the world (the “Equity Strategy”) and invests the remainder of its assets in ELNs to generate income (the “ELN Strategy”).

 

The quarterly losing streak for international stocks continued relative to domestic U.S. stocks, and was even more pronounced over the fiscal period. The largest contributing countries during the fiscal period for the index were India and Norway. The largest detracting countries were France and Germany.

 

Volatility remained muted for the recent quarter, which is consistent with the entire period. Our proxy for volatility on EFA, the CBOE EFA ETF Volatility Index (VXEFA), had a peak of 20.72, and average of 16.17, both below the long-term average of 21.49 (2007-present). Even with the muted volatility environment, the fund was able to outpace its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex-US Index, during the period, as the premiums from the ELNs helped to benefit the fund’s overall total return.

 

For the current fiscal period, IDUB was down -6.15% at market and down -6.04% at net asset value (“NAV”). Over the same period, the MSCI All Cap World Index ex USA Net (USD) was down -7.11%.

 

The largest positive equity contributor to return for the current fiscal period was the was the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF Equity-Linked Note maturing in September 2023 (EFA_33_2023), gaining 4.06% and adding 0.13% to the return of IDUB. The second largest contributor was the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF Equity-Linked Note maturing in August 2023 (EFA_27_2023), gaining 3.57% and adding 0.09% to the return of IDUB. The third largest contributor was the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF Equity-Linked Note maturing in July 2023 (EFA_24_2023), gaining 2.65% and adding 0.08% to the return of IDUB.

 

The largest negative contributor to the return of the Fund for the current fiscal period was the iShares Core MSCI International Developed Markets ETF (IDEV), down -7.70% and detracting -5.38% from the return of IDUB. The second largest negative contributor was the SPDR Portfolio Emerging Markets ETF (SPEM), down -3.61% and detracting -1.15% from the return of IDUB. The third largest negative contributor was the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF Equity-Linked Note maturing in October 2023 (EFA_38_2023), down -3.21% and detracting -0.12% from the return of IDUB.     

 

We are excited about the opportunity to give our investors access to Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF. We believe IDUB is able to capture the upside potential of investing in an All Cap World Index ex-U.S., but with structurally less downside potential. Using cost efficient and liquid passive index ETF’s, we believe Aptus has created a portfolio intended to look very much like All Cap World Index (ACWX) on the way up but offer enhanced income and notionally hedged protection on the way down though an options overlay. We believe there is upside in capturing less downside, both behaviorally and mathematically. Rather than try to time the markets, we actively hedge our holdings in an effort to mitigate downside risk. We believe IDUB provides a solution to every Investor’s foreign equity exposures that helps provide income and mitigate geopolitical economic risks in an ever-growing divide between Developed and Emerging markets.

 

We appreciate your interest in IDUB. If we can elaborate on the underlying Aptus International Enhanced Yield strategy, please don’t hesitate to ask as we would love an opportunity to discuss. Thanks again for your interest.

 

Sincerely,

 

JD Gardner
Founder and Managing Member
Aptus Capital Advisors, Adviser to the Fund

 

13

 

 

Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited) (Continued)

 

Past performance does not guarantee future performance. Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. The Fund is non-diversified, meaning it may concentrate its assets in fewer individual holdings than diversified funds. Therefore, the Fund is more exposed to individual stock or ETF volatility than diversified funds. The Fund’s use of call and put options can lead to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the underlying security, which may be magnified by certain features of the options. The Fund’s use of options may reduce the Fund’s ability to profit from increases in the value of the underlying securities. Derivatives, such as the options in which the Fund invests, can be volatile and involve various types and degrees of risks. Derivatives may entail investment exposures that are greater than their cost would suggest, meaning that a small investment in a derivative could have a substantial impact on the performance of the Fund. The Fund could experience a loss if its derivatives do not perform as anticipated, the derivatives are not correlated with the performance of their underlying security, or if the Fund is unable to purchase or liquidate a position because of an illiquid secondary market. Investments in ETFs are subject to additional risks that do not apply to conventional mutual funds, including the risks that the market price of the shares may trade at a discount to the net asset value (“NAV”), an active secondary trading market may not develop or be maintained, or trading may be halted by the exchange in which they trade, which may impact a fund’s ability to sell its shares.

 

Call options give the owner the right to buy the underlying security at the specified price within a specific time period. Put options give the owner the right to sell the underlying security at the specified price within a specific time period. A collar is an options strategy constructed by holding shares of the underlying stock while simultaneously buying put options and selling call options against that holding

 

Shares of an ETF are bought and sold at market price (rather than NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Market returns are based on the primary exchange’s official close price at 4:00p.m. Eastern and does not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times.

 

Must be preceded or accompanied by a prospectus.

 

Fund holdings and sector allocations are subject to change and are not recommendations to buy or sell any security. Please refer to the schedule of investments in this report for complete holdings information.

 

Definitions:

 

The Cboe EFA ETF Volatility Index (VXEFA) is a VIX®-style estimate of the expected 30-day volatility of returns on the iShares MSCI EAFE, an exchange-traded product (ETP) that offers exposure to developed-market stocks in Europe, Australia, Asia and the Far East.

 

MSCI All Cap World Index ex USA Net (USD) - captures large and mid-cap representation across 22 of 23 Developed Markets (DM) countries (excluding the US) and 27 Emerging Markets (EM) countries. With 2,350 constituents, the index covers approximately 85% of the global equity opportunity set outside the U.S.

 

Aptus Capital Advisors is the adviser to the Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF, which is distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC.

 

14

 

 

Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited)

 

Dear DUBS Shareholders,

 

Thank you for your investment in the Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF, referred to herein as “DUBS” or the “Fund”. DUBS launched during the semi-annual reporting period, June 13, 2023, and operated through October 31, 2023 (the “current fiscal period”).

 

The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve its investment objective through a hybrid equity and equity-linked note (“ELN”) strategy. The Fund invests primarily in U.S.-listed large-cap equity securities (the “Equity Strategy”) and invests the remainder of its assets in ELNs to generate income (the “ELN Strategy”). The Fund considers a large cap company to be one with a market capitalization that, at the time of purchase, is within with the capitalization range of the S&P 500 Index. As of May 31, 2023, the market capitalization range represented by companies in the S&P 500 Index was approximately $1.88 billion to $2.80 trillion.

 

The Fund considers a large cap company to be one with a market capitalization that, at the time of purchase, is within with the capitalization range of the S&P 500 Index.

 

The Fund is comprised of two different segments: 1) a basket of large cap stocks within the capitalization range of the S&P 500 Index, and 2) an option overlay strategy that aims to produce a yield that is double the S&P 500.

 

Regarding this first part of the Fund, the stocks did exactly what they were supposed to, which is correlate to the S&P 500. The second aspect, the utilization of the ELNs, added value relative to the benchmark, as the market was negative during the period, even though volatility levels remained well below historical averages.

 

For the current fiscal period, DUBS was down -2.83% at market and down -2.86% at net asset value (“NAV”). Over the same period, the S&P 500® Total Return Index was down -3.47%.

 

The largest positive equity contributor to return for the current fiscal period was Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN), gaining 7.24% and adding 0.22% to the return of DUBS. The second largest contributor was Eli Lilly and Company (LLY), gaining 23.88% and adding 0.22% to the return of DUBS. The third largest contributor was Meta Platforms, Inc. (META), gaining 12.91% and adding 0.21% to the return of DUBS.

 

The largest negative equity contributor to the return of the Fund for the current fiscal period was Apple Inc. (AAPL), down -5.38% and detracting -0.38% from the return of DUBS. The second largest negative contributor was Tesla, Inc. (TSLA), down -16.80% and detracting 0.28% from the return of DUBS. The third largest negative contributor was a S&P 500 Index Equity Linked Note maturing in October 2023 (SPX_ 35D_2023), down -4.30% and detracting -0.17% from the return of DUBS.

 

We are excited about the opportunity to give our investors access to Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF. DUBS provides investors an actively managed strategy that seeks attractive income with capital preservation. The strategy typically invests in a portfolio of stocks that, as a whole, correlate to the S&P 500, i.e., not taking on any stylistic risk. It then seeks to enhance the portfolio’s yield by using an option overlay to provide more distributable income.

 

We appreciate your interest in DUBS. If we can elaborate on the underlying Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield strategy, please don’t hesitate to ask as we would love an opportunity to discuss. Thanks again for your interest.

 

Sincerely,

 

JD Gardner
Founder and Managing Member
Aptus Capital Advisors, Adviser to the Fund

 

15

 

 

Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited) (Continued)

 

Past performance does not guarantee future performance. Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. The Fund is non-diversified, meaning it may concentrate its assets in fewer individual holdings than diversified funds. Therefore, the Fund is more exposed to individual stock or ETF volatility than diversified funds. The Fund’s use of call and put options can lead to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the underlying security, which may be magnified by certain features of the options. The Fund’s use of options may reduce the Fund’s ability to profit from increases in the value of the underlying securities. Derivatives, such as the options in which the Fund invests, can be volatile and involve various types and degrees of risks. Derivatives may entail investment exposures that are greater than their cost would suggest, meaning that a small investment in a derivative could have a substantial impact on the performance of the Fund. The Fund could experience a loss if its derivatives do not perform as anticipated, the derivatives are not correlated with the performance of their underlying security, or if the Fund is unable to purchase or liquidate a position because of an illiquid secondary market. Investments in ETFs are subject to additional risks that do not apply to conventional mutual funds, including the risks that the market price of the shares may trade at a discount to the net asset value (“NAV”), an active secondary trading market may not develop or be maintained, or trading may be halted by the exchange in which they trade, which may impact a fund’s ability to sell its shares.

 

Call options give the owner the right to buy the underlying security at the specified price within a specific time period. Put options give the owner the right to sell the underlying security at the specified price within a specific time period. A collar is an options strategy constructed by holding shares of the underlying stock while simultaneously buying put options and selling call options against that holding.

 

Shares of an ETF are bought and sold at market price (rather than NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Market returns are based on the primary exchange’s official close price at 4:00p.m. Eastern and does not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times.

 

Must be preceded or accompanied by a prospectus.

 

Fund holdings and sector allocations are subject to change and are not recommendations to buy or sell any security. Please refer to the schedule of investments in this report for complete holdings information.

 

Definitions:

 

S&P 500® Total Return Index - a market capitalization weighted index of the 500 largest U.S. publicly traded companies by market value. The total return index is a type of equity index that tracks both the capital gains of a group of stocks over time, and assumes that any cash distributions, such as dividends, are reinvested back into the index.

 

Aptus Capital Advisors is the adviser to the Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF, which is distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC.

 

16

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Portfolio Allocations

As of October 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

 

Sector

Percentage of
Net Assets

Technology (a)

27.7%

Consumer, Non-cyclical

18.3

Financial

13.2

Communications

12.4

Consumer, Cyclical

8.6

Industrial

8.3

Energy

4.7

Basic Materials

2.5

Utilities

2.3

Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities

1.5

Purchased Options

0.4

Short-Term Investments

0.1

Total

100.0%

 

(a)

To the extent that the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors. See Note 9 in Notes to Financial Statements.

 

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

 

Asset Type

Percentage of
Net Assets

Exchange-Traded Funds

94.9%

Short-Term Investments

2.1

Purchased Options

2.0

Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities

1.0

Total

100.0%

 

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Sector

Percentage of
Net Assets

Technology (a)

27.9%

Consumer, Non-cyclical

18.5

Financial

13.3

Communications

12.4

Consumer, Cyclical

8.7

Industrial

8.4

Energy

4.7

Basic Materials

2.7

Utilities

2.3

Short-Term Investments

0.6

Purchased Options

0.4

Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities

0.1

Total

100.0%

 

(a)

To the extent that the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors. See Note 9 in Notes to Financial Statements.

 

17

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Portfolio Allocations

As of October 31, 2023 (Unaudited) (Continued)

 

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

 

Sector

Percentage of
Net Assets

Financial (a)

27.5%

Industrial

17.4

Consumer, Non-cyclical

15.1

Consumer, Cyclical

12.5

Energy

11.5

Utilities

5.4

Short-Term Investments

4.2

Basic Materials

2.9

Technology

2.7

Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities

0.8

Total

100.0%

 

(a)

To the extent that the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors. See Note 9 in Notes to Financial Statements.

 

Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Asset Type

Percentage of
Net Assets

Exchange-Traded Funds

84.3%

Equity-Linked Notes

14.6

Short-Term Investments

0.6

Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities

0.5

Total

100.0%

 

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Asset Type

Percentage of
Net Assets

U.S. Government Notes

81.9%

Equity-Linked Notes

14.3

Short-Term Investments

2.7

Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities

1.1

Total

100.0%

 

18

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Portfolio Allocations

As of October 31, 2023 (Unaudited) (Continued)

 

Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Sector

Percentage of
Net Assets

Technology (a)

23.4%

Consumer, Non-cyclical

16.7

Equity-Linked Notes

14.7

Communications

11.9

Financial

11.5

Consumer, Cyclical

7.4

Industrial

5.9

Energy

3.9

Utilities

1.9

Basic Materials

1.7

Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities

0.5

Short-Term Investments

0.5

Total

100.0%

 

(a)

To the extent that the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors. See Note 9 in Notes to Financial Statements.

 

19

 

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

 

Schedule of Investments
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

 

 

Shares

 

Security Description

 


Value

 
       

COMMON STOCKS — 98.0%

       
       

Basic Materials — 2.5%

       
    55,891  

Freeport-McMoRan, Inc. (a)

  $ 1,887,998  
    24,318  

Linde plc (a)

    9,293,367  
    7,959  

Sherwin-Williams Company (a)

    1,895,913  
              13,077,278  
       

Communications — 12.4%

       
    157,411  

Alphabet, Inc. - Class C (a)(b)

    19,723,598  
    130,689  

Amazon.com, Inc. (a)(b)

    17,393,399  
    62,421  

Cisco Systems, Inc. (a)

    3,254,007  
    61,617  

Comcast Corporation - Class A (a)

    2,544,166  
    31,615  

Meta Platforms, Inc. - Class A (a)(b)

    9,524,651  
    6,830  

Netflix, Inc. (a)(b)

    2,811,843  
    35,682  

T-Mobile US, Inc. (a)(b)

    5,133,213  
    28,366  

Walt Disney Company (a)(b)

    2,314,382  
              62,699,259  
       

Consumer, Cyclical — 8.6%

       
    7,414  

Costco Wholesale Corporation (a)

    4,095,790  
    31,467  

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (a)

    5,996,666  
    23,248  

Marriott International, Inc. - Class A (a)

    4,383,643  
    23,129  

McDonald’s Corporation (a)

    6,063,730  
    18,576  

NIKE, Inc. - Class B (a)

    1,909,056  
    42,711  

PulteGroup, Inc. (a)

    3,143,102  
    39,429  

Tesla, Inc. (a)(b)

    7,918,920  
    49,626  

TJX Companies, Inc. (a)

    4,370,562  
    34,221  

Walmart, Inc. (a)

    5,592,054  
              43,473,523  
       

Consumer, Non-cyclical — 18.3%

       
    46,706  

Abbott Laboratories (a)

    4,416,052  
    26,222  

AbbVie, Inc. (a)

    3,702,022  
    74,643  

Altria Group, Inc. (a)

    2,998,409  
    11,679  

Amgen, Inc. (a)

    2,986,320  
    31,433  

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (a)

    1,619,742  
    7,764  

Chemed Corporation (a)

    4,368,415  
    11,566  

Elevance Health, Inc. (a)

    5,205,741  
    11,190  

Eli Lilly & Company (a)

    6,198,477  
    39,471  

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (a)

    3,100,052  
    37,688  

Johnson & Johnson (a)

    5,590,638  
    36,883  

Merck & Company, Inc. (a)

    3,787,884  
    77,567  

Mondelez International, Inc. - Class A (a)

    5,135,711  
    35,397  

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (a)(b)

    1,833,565  
    47,249  

PepsiCo, Inc. (a)

    7,714,817  
    95,165  

Pfizer, Inc. (a)

    2,908,242  
    49,225  

Procter & Gamble Company (a)

    7,385,227  
       

COMMON STOCKS — 98.0% (Continued)

       

Consumer, Non-cyclical — 18.3% (Continued)

    32,332  

Stryker Corporation (a)

    8,736,753  
    13,967  

Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (a)

    6,212,103  
    16,523  

UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (a)

    8,849,058  
              92,749,228  
       

Energy — 4.7%

       
    116,921  

Devon Energy Corporation

    5,445,011  
    31,554  

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (a)

    5,058,737  
    104,963  

Exxon Mobil Corporation (a)

    11,110,334  
    37,974  

Schlumberger, Ltd. (a)

    2,113,633  
              23,727,715  
       

Financial — 13.2%

       
    22,944  

American Tower Corporation (a)

    4,088,391  
    151,742  

Bank of America Corporation (a)

    3,996,884  
    25,892  

Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. - Class B (a)(b)

    8,837,716  
    8,238  

BlackRock, Inc. (a)

    5,043,963  
    60,934  

Citigroup, Inc. (a)

    2,406,284  
    30,950  

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (a)

    3,325,268  
    58,864  

JPMorgan Chase & Company (a)

    8,185,628  
    27,571  

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (a)

    5,228,840  
    59,211  

Morgan Stanley (a)

    4,193,323  
    46,431  

Progressive Corporation (a)

    7,340,277  
    40,358  

Prologis, Inc. (a)

    4,066,069  
    10,044  

Public Storage (a)

    2,397,603  
    33,762  

Visa, Inc. - Class A (a)

    7,937,446  
              67,047,692  
       

Industrial — 8.3%

       
    12,016  

Boeing Company (a)(b)

    2,244,829  
    30,785  

Caterpillar, Inc. (a)

    6,958,949  
    198,105  

CSX Corporation (a)

    5,913,434  
    10,009  

Deere & Company (a)

    3,656,888  
    20,341  

FedEx Corporation (a)

    4,883,874  
    27,891  

Honeywell International, Inc. (a)

    5,111,305  
    19,985  

Northrop Grumman Corporation (a)

    9,421,530  
    23,356  

Waste Management, Inc. (a)

    3,838,091  
              42,028,900  
       

Technology — 27.7% (c)

       
    21,700  

Accenture plc - Class A (a)

    6,446,853  
    7,707  

Adobe, Inc. (a)(b)

    4,100,586  
    53,527  

Analog Devices, Inc. (a)

    8,421,403  
    211,665  

Apple, Inc. (a)

    36,146,032  
    49,623  

Applied Materials, Inc. (a)

    6,567,604  
    7,314  

Broadcom, Inc. (a)

    6,153,780  
    41,087  

Fiserv, Inc. (a)(b)

    4,673,646  
    15,194  

Intuit, Inc. (a)

    7,520,270  

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

20

 

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

 

Schedule of Investments
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited) (Continued)

 

 

Shares

 

Security Description

 


Value

 
       

COMMON STOCKS — 98.0% (Continued)

       

Technology — 27.7% (c) (Continued)

    107,059  

Microsoft Corporation (a)

  $ 36,197,719  
    35,463  

NVIDIA Corporation (a)

    14,461,811  
    13,951  

ServiceNow, Inc. (a)(b)

    8,117,389  
    12,622  

Texas Instruments, Inc. (a)

    1,792,450  
              140,599,543  
       

Utilities — 2.3%

       
    38,875  

Duke Energy Corporation

    3,455,599  
    51,074  

NextEra Energy, Inc. (a)

    2,977,614  
    78,974  

Southern Company (a)

    5,314,950  
              11,748,163  
       

TOTAL COMMON STOCKS (Cost $439,423,334)

    497,151,301  

 

Contracts         Notional
Amount
       
        PURCHASED OPTIONS (d) — 0.4%                
        Put Options — 0.4%                
  1,100     S&P 500 Index, Expiration 11/17/2023, Exercise Price: $4,050.00 (e)   $ 461,318,000       2,046,000  
        TOTAL PURCHASED OPTIONS (Cost $5,274,043)             2,046,000  

 

Shares

 

Security Description

 


Value

 
       

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS — 0.1%

    725,614  

First American Treasury Obligations Fund - Class X, 5.27% (f)

  $ 725,614  
       

TOTAL SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS (Cost $725,614)

    725,614  
       

TOTAL INVESTMENTS (Cost $445,422,991) — 98.5%

    499,922,915  
       

Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities — 1.5%

    7,450,261  
       

NET ASSETS — 100.0%

  $ 507,373,176  

 

Percentages are stated as a percent of net assets.

   

(a)

All or a portion of this security is held as collateral for written options. At October 31, 2023, the total value of securities held as collateral amounted to $487,433,718 or 96.1% of net assets.

(b)

Non-income producing security.

(c)

To the extent that the Fund invests more heavily in a particular industry or sector of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those industries or sectors. See Note 9 in Notes to Financial Statements.

(d)

Exchange traded.

(e)

Securities are held in connection with written options, see Schedule of Written Options for more details.

(f)

Rate shown is the annualized seven-day yield as of October 31, 2023.

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

21

 

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

 

Schedule of Written Options
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

 

 

Contracts

 

Security Description

 

Notional
Amount

   

Value

 
       

Written Options (a) — (0.1)%

       

Call Options — 0.0% (b)

    (300 )

Gilead Sciences, Inc., Expiration: 11/17/2023, Exercise Price: $85.00

  $ (2,356,200 )   $ (6,750 )
    (200 )

McDonald’s Corporation, Expiration: 11/17/2023, Exercise Price: $270.00

    (5,243,400 )     (22,300 )
    (500 )

Mondelez International, Inc. – Class A, Expiration: 11/17/2023, Exercise Price: $67.50

    (3,310,500 )     (47,500 )
    (400 )

PepsiCo, Inc., Expiration: 11/17/2023, Exercise Price: $170.00

    (6,531,200 )     (15,000 )
    (250 )

Procter & Gamble Company, Expiration: 11/17/2023, Exercise Price: $155.00

    (3,750,750 )     (10,250 )
    (300 )

Progressive Corporation, Expiration: 11/17/2023, Exercise Price: $165.00

    (4,742,700 )     (27,000 )
    (480 )

TJX Companies, Inc., Expiration: 11/17/2023, Exercise Price: $95.00

    (4,227,360 )     (12,960 )
    (300 )

Walmart, Inc., Expiration: 11/17/2023, Exercise Price: $170.00

    (4,902,300 )     (34,050 )
                      (175,810 )
       

Written Options (a) — (0.1)% (Continued)

       

Put Options — (0.1)%

    (1,100 )

S&P 500 Index, Expiration: 11/17/2023, Exercise Price: $3,800.00

  $ (461,318,000 )   $ (352,000 )
       

TOTAL WRITTEN OPTIONS (Premiums Received $909,881)

  $ (527,810 )

 

Percentages are stated as a percent of net assets.

 

(a)

Exchange traded.

(b)

Represents less than 0.05% of net assets.

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

22

 

 

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

 

Schedule of Investments
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

 

 

Shares

 

Security Description

 


Value

 
       

EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS — 94.9% (a)

       

Investment Grade Corporate Bonds — 94.9%

    874,482  

Invesco BulletShares 2025 Corporate Bond ETF

  $ 17,585,833  
    2,212,955  

Invesco BulletShares 2026 Corporate Bond ETF

    41,492,906  
    601,294  

Invesco BulletShares 2028 Corporate Bond ETF

    11,535,825  
    660,598  

Invesco BulletShares 2029 Corporate Bond ETF (b)

    11,434,951  
    1,721,492  

Invesco BulletShares 2030 Corporate Bond ETF (b)

    26,338,828  
    1,252,524  

Invesco BulletShares 2031 Corporate Bond ETF (b)

    18,663,109  
    851,686  

iShares iBonds Dec 2027 Term Corporate ETF (b)

    19,571,744  
    2,367,423  

iShares iBonds Dec 2028 Term Corporate ETF (b)

    56,320,993  
    1,642,831  

iShares iBonds Dec 2029 Term Corporate ETF (b)

    35,485,150  
    1,346,698  

iShares iBonds Dec 2030 Term Corporate ETF (b)

    26,933,960  
    1,974,564  

iShares iBonds Dec 2031 Term Corporate ETF (b)

    37,437,733  
    1,626,030  

iShares iBonds Dec 2032 Term Corporate ETF (b)

    37,236,087  
    314,331  

iShares iBonds Dec 2033 Term Corporate ETF (b)

    7,367,919  
              347,405,038  
       

TOTAL EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS (Cost $367,127,868)

    347,405,038  

 

Contracts         Notional
Amount
       
        PURCHASED OPTIONS (c) — 2.0%                
        Call Options — 1.7%                
  7,000     Abbott Laboratories, Expiration 2/16/2024, Exercise Price: $105.00   $ 66,185,000       1,015,000  
  15,000     iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF, Expiration 12/15/2023, Exercise Price: $125.00 (d)     125,370,000       37,500  

 

 

Contracts     Security Description    

 

Notional
Amount

      Value  
         PURCHASED OPTIONS (c) — 2.0% (Continued)                
        Call Options — 1.7% (Continued)                
  1,600     Meta Platforms, Inc., Expiration 1/19/2024, Exercise Price: $340.00 (d)   $ 48,203,200     $ 1,108,000  
  720     S&P 500 Index, Expiration 3/15/2024, Exercise Price: $4,500.00     301,953,600       3,942,000  
                      6,102,500  
        Put Options — 0.3%                
  215     S&P 500 Index, Expiration 12/15/2023, Exercise Price: $4,100.00     90,166,700       1,226,575  
        TOTAL PURCHASED OPTIONS (Cost $16,514,370)             7,329,075  

 

 

Shares

                   
       

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS — 2.1%

    7,653,355  

First American Treasury Obligations Fund - Class X, 5.27% (e)

    7,653,355  
       

TOTAL SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS (Cost $7,653,355)

    7,653,355  
       

TOTAL INVESTMENTS (Cost $391,295,593) — 99.0%

    362,387,468  
       

Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities — 1.0%

    3,682,976  
       

NET ASSETS — 100.0%

  $ 366,070,444  

 

Percentages are stated as a percent of net assets.

 

(a)

The risks of investing in investment companies, such as the underlying ETFs, typically reflect the risks of the types of investments in which the investment companies invest. See Note 9 in Notes to Financial Statements.

(b)

Affiliated Exchange Traded Fund during the period. See Note 5 in Notes to Financial Statements.

(c)

Exchange traded.

(d)

Securities are held in connection with written options, see Schedule of Written Options for more details.

(e)

Rate shown is the annualized seven-day yield as of October 31, 2023.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

23

 

 

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

 

Schedule of Written Options
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

 

 

Contracts

 

Security Description

 

Notional
Amount

   

Value

 
       

Written Options (a) — 0.0% (b)

       

Call Options — 0.0% (b)

    (15,000 )

iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF, Expiration: 12/15/2023, Exercise Price: $135.00

  $ (125,370,000 )   $ (22,500 )
    (400 )

Meta Platforms, Inc., Expiration: 1/19/2024, Exercise Price: $400.00

    (12,050,800 )     (35,200 )
              (57,700 )
       

TOTAL WRITTEN OPTIONS (Premiums Received $881,041)

  $ (57,700 )

 

Percentages are stated as a percent of net assets.

 

(a)

Exchange traded.

(b)

Represents less than 0.05% of net assets.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

24

 

 

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Schedule of Investments
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

 

 


Shares

 

Security Description

 

Value

 
       

COMMON STOCKS — 98.9%

       
       

Basic Materials — 2.7%

       
    16,770  

Freeport-McMoRan, Inc.

  $ 566,491  
    7,310  

Linde plc (a)

    2,793,590  
    2,370  

Sherwin-Williams Company (a)

    564,558  
              3,924,639  
       

Communications — 12.4%

       
    46,737  

Alphabet, Inc. - Class C (a)(b)

    5,856,146  
    38,821  

Amazon.com, Inc. (a)(b)

    5,166,687  
    18,588  

Cisco Systems, Inc.

    968,992  
    18,227  

Comcast Corporation - Class A

    752,593  
    9,417  

Meta Platforms, Inc. - Class A (b)

    2,837,060  
    2,053  

Netflix, Inc. (b)

    845,200  
    10,730  

T-Mobile US, Inc. (a)(b)

    1,543,618  
    8,481  

Walt Disney Company (a)(b)

    691,965  
              18,662,261  
       

Consumer, Cyclical — 8.7%

       
    2,249  

Costco Wholesale Corporation

    1,242,438  
    9,402  

Lowe’s Companies, Inc.

    1,791,739  
    6,977  

Marriott International, Inc. - Class A

    1,315,583  
    6,910  

McDonald’s Corporation (a)

    1,811,595  
    5,543  

NIKE, Inc. - Class B

    569,654  
    12,877  

PulteGroup, Inc. (a)

    947,618  
    11,856  

Tesla, Inc. (a)(b)

    2,381,159  
    15,048  

TJX Companies, Inc.

    1,325,277  
    10,250  

Walmart, Inc. (a)

    1,674,953  
              13,060,016  
       

Consumer, Non-cyclical — 18.5%

       
    14,164  

Abbott Laboratories (a)

    1,339,206  
    7,876  

AbbVie, Inc. (a)

    1,111,934  
    22,362  

Altria Group, Inc. (a)

    898,282  
    3,507  

Amgen, Inc.

    896,740  
    9,357  

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

    482,166  
    2,350  

Chemed Corporation

    1,322,227  
    3,459  

Elevance Health, Inc. (a)

    1,556,861  
    3,366  

Eli Lilly & Company (a)

    1,864,528  
    11,879  

Gilead Sciences, Inc.

    932,977  
    11,209  

Johnson & Johnson (a)

    1,662,743  
    11,009  

Merck & Company, Inc. (a)

    1,130,624  
    23,340  

Mondelez International, Inc. - Class A

    1,545,341  
    10,485  

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (a)(b)

    543,123  
    14,224  

PepsiCo, Inc. (a)

    2,322,495  
    28,802  

Pfizer, Inc.

    880,189  
    14,832  

Procter & Gamble Company (a)

    2,225,245  
    9,656  

Stryker Corporation

    2,609,244  
       

COMMON STOCKS — 98.9% (Continued)

       

Consumer, Non-cyclical — 18.5% (Continued)

    4,158  

Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (a)

  1,849,354  
    4,935  

UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (a)

    2,642,989  
              27,816,268  
       

Energy — 4.7%

       
    34,886  

Devon Energy Corporation

    1,624,641  
    9,432  

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (a)

    1,512,138  
    31,267  

Exxon Mobil Corporation

    3,309,612  
    11,311  

Schlumberge NV

    629,570  
              7,075,961  
       

Financial — 13.3%

       
    6,894  

American Tower Corporation

    1,228,442  
    45,265  

Bank of America Corporation (a)

    1,192,280  
    7,735  

Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. - Class B (a)(b)

    2,640,188  
    2,477  

BlackRock, Inc. (a)

    1,516,618  
    18,495  

Citigroup, Inc.

    730,368  
    9,226  

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (a)

    991,241  
    17,564  

JPMorgan Chase & Company (a)

    2,442,450  
    8,211  

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.

    1,557,216  
    17,702  

Morgan Stanley

    1,253,656  
    13,896  

Progressive Corporation (a)

    2,196,819  
    12,015  

Prologis, Inc. (a)

    1,210,511  
    2,974  

Public Storage

    709,924  
    10,060  

Visa, Inc. - Class A (a)

    2,365,106  
              20,034,819  
       

Industrial — 8.4%

       
    3,614  

Boeing Company (b)

    675,167  
    9,266  

Caterpillar, Inc. (a)

    2,094,579  
    59,426  

CSX Corporation

    1,773,866  
    3,012  

Deere & Company

    1,100,464  
    6,124  

FedEx Corporation

    1,470,372  
    8,343  

Honeywell International, Inc.

    1,528,938  
    5,968  

Northrop Grumman Corporation

    2,813,494  
    6,987  

Waste Management, Inc.

    1,148,174  
              12,605,054  
       

Technology — 27.9% (c)

       
    6,473  

Accenture plc - Class A (a)

    1,923,064  
    2,292  

Adobe, Inc. (b)

    1,219,482  
    15,995  

Analog Devices, Inc.

    2,516,493  
    62,779  

Apple, Inc. (a)

    10,720,770  
    14,787  

Applied Materials, Inc.

    1,957,059  
    2,197  

Broadcom, Inc. (a)

    1,848,490  
    12,458  

Fiserv, Inc. (b)

    1,417,097  
    4,570  

Intuit, Inc. (a)

    2,261,921  

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

25

 

 

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Schedule of Investments
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

 

 


Shares

 

Security Description

 

Value

 
       

COMMON STOCKS — 98.9% (Continued)

       

Technology — 27.9% (c) (Continued)

       
    31,744  

Microsoft Corporation (a)

  $ 10,732,964  
    10,530  

NVIDIA Corporation (a)

    4,294,134  
    4,167  

ServiceNow, Inc. (a)(b)

    2,424,569  
    3,780  

Texas Instruments, Inc.

    536,798  
              41,852,841  
       

Utilities — 2.3%

       
    11,564  

Duke Energy Corporation

    1,027,924  
    15,348  

NextEra Energy, Inc. (a)

    894,788  
    23,598  

Southern Company

    1,588,145  
              3,510,857  
       

TOTAL COMMON STOCKS (Cost $141,737,453)

    148,542,716  

 

 

Contracts

     

Notional
Amount

         
       

PURCHASED OPTIONS (d) — 0.4%

       

Put Options — 0.4%

               
    4,000  

S&P 500 Index, Expiration 12/15/2023, Exercise Price: $3,050.00 (e)

  $ 1,677,520,000       700,000  
       

TOTAL PURCHASED OPTIONS (Cost $1,225,947)

    700,000  

 


Shares

 

Security Description

 

Value

 
       

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS — 0.6%

       
    959,059  

First American Treasury Obligations Fund - Class X, 5.27% (f)

  $ 959,059  
       

TOTAL SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS (Cost $959,059)

    959,059  
       

TOTAL INVESTMENTS (Cost $143,922,459) — 99.9%

    150,201,775  
       

Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities — 0.1%

    165,765  
       

NET ASSETS — 100.0%

  $ 150,367,540  

 

Percentages are stated as a percent of net assets.

 

(a)

All or a portion of this security is held as collateral for written options. At October 31, 2023, the total value of securities held as collateral amounted to $92,090,396 or 61.2% of net assets.

(b)

Non-income producing security.

(c)

To the extent that the Fund invests more heavily in a particular industry or sector of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those industries or sectors. See Note 9 in Notes to Financial Statements.

(d)

Exchange traded.

(e)

Securities are held in connection with written options, see Schedule of Written Options for more details.

(f)

Rate shown is the annualized seven-day yield as of October 31, 2023.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

26

 

 

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Schedule of Written Options
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

 

 

Contracts

 

Security Description

 

Notional
Amount

   

Value

 
       

Written Options (a) — (0.1)%

       

Put Options — (0.1)%

    (4,000 )

S&P 500 Index, Expiration: 12/15/2023, Exercise Price: $2,500.00

  $ (1,677,520,000 )   $ (210,000 )
       

TOTAL WRITTEN OPTIONS (Premiums Received $404,403)

  $ (210,000 )

 

Percentages are stated as a percent of net assets.

 

(a)

Exchange traded.

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

27

 

 

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

 

Schedule of Investments
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

 

 

Shares

 

Security Description

 

Value

 
       

COMMON STOCKS — 95.0%

       
       

Basic Materials — 2.9%

       
    26,984  

Ashland, Inc.

  $ 2,067,784  
    125,960  

Valvoline, Inc.

    3,737,233  
              5,805,017  
       

Consumer, Cyclical — 12.5%

       
    42,217  

Boyd Gaming Corporation

    2,332,489  
    17,398  

Casey’s General Stores, Inc.

    4,730,690  
    83,155  

KB Home

    3,675,451  
    16,553  

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation

    1,487,453  
    21,832  

MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. - Class A

    2,068,582  
    7,395  

Murphy USA, Inc.

    2,682,093  
    7,321  

Pool Corporation

    2,311,752  
    36,730  

RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc.

    2,002,152  
    33,638  

Texas Roadhouse, Inc.

    3,415,603  
              24,706,265  
       

Consumer, Non-cyclical — 15.1%

       
    17,341  

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation

    2,079,706  
    24,649  

Bruker Corporation

    1,404,993  
    9,503  

Chemed Corporation

    5,346,863  
    44,279  

Encompass Health Corporation

    2,770,094  
    55,213  

Ensign Group, Inc.

    5,333,576  
    62,658  

EVERTEC, Inc.

    1,991,271  
    109,612  

Hackett Group, Inc.

    2,443,251  
    28,614  

ICF International, Inc.

    3,626,252  
    53,390  

Kforce, Inc.

    3,258,926  
    31,045  

Service Corporation International

    1,689,469  
              29,944,401  
       

Energy — 11.5%

       
    23,517  

Chord Energy Corporation

    3,887,830  
    26,532  

Civitas Resources, Inc.

    2,001,309  
    82,427  

Helmerich & Payne, Inc.

    3,261,636  
    139,896  

Kimbell Royalty Partners LP

    2,255,124  
    95,200  

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc.

    3,649,968  
    132,392  

Sitio Royalties Corporation - Class A

    3,272,730  
    158,333  

Viper Energy Partners LP

    4,509,324  
              22,837,921  
       

Financial — 27.5% (a)

       
    32,162  

Agree Realty Corporation

    1,799,142  
    60,443  

American Homes 4 Rent - Class A

    1,978,904  
    107,739  

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc.

    1,689,348  
    36,920  

Community Healthcare Trust, Inc.

    1,058,496  
    164,654  

Compass Diversified Holdings

    2,828,756  
    19,396  

EastGroup Properties, Inc.

    3,166,397  
       

COMMON STOCKS — 95.0% (Continued)

       

Financial — 27.5% (a) (Continued)

    72,369  

Enterprise Financial Services Corporation

    2,516,270  
    108,008  

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc.

    2,370,776  
    61,374  

Four Corners Property Trust, Inc.

    1,307,266  
    77,088  

German American Bancorp, Inc.

    2,106,815  
    31,073  

Hanover Insurance Group, Inc.

    3,642,066  
    16,643  

Hingham Institution for Savings

    2,472,817  
    106,485  

Home BancShares, Inc.

    2,177,618  
    35,319  

Kemper Corporation

    1,408,522  
    209,946  

Ladder Capital Corporation

    2,122,554  
    46,367  

Lakeland Financial Corporation

    2,283,575  
    44,066  

National Storage Affiliates Trust

    1,256,762  
    120,868  

NewtekOne, Inc.

    1,676,439  
    176,361  

Old Second Bancorp, Inc.

    2,391,455  
    18,066  

Primerica, Inc.

    3,453,497  
    127,836  

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

    2,583,566  
    55,142  

Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc.

    2,156,604  
    37,889  

Terreno Realty Corporation

    2,018,726  
    63,862  

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc.

    1,480,960  
    141,774  

West BanCorp, Inc.

    2,329,347  
              54,276,678  
       

Industrial — 17.4%

       
    22,197  

AptarGroup, Inc.

    2,714,027  
    46,079  

Arcosa, Inc.

    3,182,677  
    19,023  

Comfort Systems USA, Inc.

    3,459,333  
    16,995  

Franklin Electric Company, Inc.

    1,473,806  
    32,186  

Graco, Inc.

    2,393,029  
    16,392  

Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte SAB de CV - ADR

    1,002,699  
    14,505  

Kadant, Inc.

    3,191,100  
    14,768  

Landstar System, Inc.

    2,433,471  
    23,435  

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc.

    4,096,438  
    26,517  

Owens Corning

    3,006,232  
    26,282  

Tetra Tech, Inc.

    3,966,217  
    36,132  

UFP Industries, Inc.

    3,438,682  
              34,357,711  
       

Technology — 2.7%

       
    21,981  

Amdocs, Ltd.

    1,761,997  
    113,892  

Magic Software Enterprises, Ltd.

    1,141,198  
    98,633  

Sapiens International Corporation NV

    2,515,141  
              5,418,336  

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

28

 

 

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

 

Schedule of Investments
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited) (Continued)

 

 

Shares

 

Security Description

 

Value

 
       

COMMON STOCKS — 95.0% (Continued)

       

Utilities — 5.4%

    119,528  

Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure plc

  $ 2,164,652  
    62,723  

California Water Service Group

    3,053,356  
    56,540  

New Jersey Resources Corporation

    2,294,393  
    39,876  

Otter Tail Corporation

    3,068,059  
              10,580,460  
       

TOTAL COMMON STOCKS (Cost $198,286,794)

    187,926,789  
                 
       

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS — 4.2%

       
    8,298,758  

First American Treasury Obligations Fund - Class X, 5.27% (b)

    8,298,758  
       

TOTAL SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS (Cost $8,298,758)

    8,298,758  
       

TOTAL INVESTMENTS (Cost $206,585,552) — 99.2%

    196,225,547  
       

Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities — 0.8%

    1,638,837  
       

NET ASSETS — 100.0%

  $ 197,864,384  

 

Percentages are stated as a percent of net assets.

 

ADR

American Depositary Receipt.

(a)

To the extent that the Fund invests more heavily in a particular industry or sector of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those industries or sectors. See Note 9 in Notes to Financial Statements.

(b)

Rate shown is the annualized seven-day yield as of October 31, 2023.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

29

 

 

Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Schedule of Investments
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

 

 

Principal
Amount

 

Security Description

 


Value

 
       

EQUITY-LINKED NOTES — 14.6%

  $ 4,000,000  

BNP Paribas Issuance B.V., ELN, (linked to iShares MSCI EAFE ETF), 28.77%, 11/08/2023 (a)

  $ 3,928,316  
    3,600,000  

Citigroup Global Markets Holdings Inc., ELN, (linked to iShares MSCI EAFE ETF), 30.27%, 11/22/2023 (a)

    3,611,818  
    3,700,000  

GS Finance Corporation, ELN, (linked to iShares MSCI EAFE ETF), 26.44%, 11/30/2023 (a)

    3,707,770  
    4,350,000  

UBS AG, ELN, (linked to iShares MSCI EAFE ETF), 23.75%, 11/15/2023 (a)

    4,268,088  
       

TOTAL EQUITY-LINKED NOTES (Cost $15,650,000)

    15,515,992  

 

 

Shares

           
       

EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS — 84.3% (b)

       

Developed Market Equity — 57.1%

    1,072,608  

iShares Core MSCI International Developed Markets ETF (c)

    60,441,461  
                 
       

Emerging Market Equity — 27.2%

       
    888,581  

SPDR Portfolio Emerging Markets ETF (c)

    28,852,225  
       

TOTAL EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS (Cost $93,126,830)

    89,293,686  

 


Shares

 

Security Description

 


Value

 
       

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS — 0.6%

       
    625,743  

First American Treasury Obligations Fund - Class X, 5.27% (d)

  $ 625,743  
       

TOTAL SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS (Cost $625,743)

    625,743  
       

TOTAL INVESTMENTS (Cost $109,402,573) — 99.5%

    105,435,421  
       

Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities — 0.5%

    548,940  
       

NET ASSETS — 100.0%

  $ 105,984,361  

 

Percentages are stated as a percent of net assets.

 

(a)

Securities exempt from registration under Rule 144A or section 4(a)(2), of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

(b)

The risks of investing in investment companies, such as the underlying ETFs, typically reflect the risks of the types of investments in which the investment companies invest. See Note 9 in Notes to Financial Statements.

(c)

Fair value of this security exceeds 25% of the Fund’s net assets. Additional information for this security, including the financial statements, is available from the SEC’s EDGAR database at www.sec.gov.

(d)

Rate shown is the annualized seven-day yield as of October 31, 2023.

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

30

 

 

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Schedule of Investments
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

 

 

Principal
Amount

 

Security Description

 


Value

 
       

EQUITY-LINKED NOTES — 14.3%

  $ 14,100,000  

BNP Paribas Issuance B.V., ELN, (linked to S&P 500 Index) 39.40%, 11/22/2023 (a)

  $ 14,150,963  
    14,300,000  

GS Finance Corporation, ELN, (linked to S&P 500 Index) 43.22%, 11/30/2023 (a)

    14,342,900  
    15,000,000  

RBC Capital Markets, LLC, ELN, (linked to S&P 500 Index) 43.91%, 11/8/2023 (a)

    14,706,272  
    16,100,000  

UBS AG, ELN, (linked to S&P 500 Index) 40.20%, 11/15/2023 (a)

    15,718,311  
       

TOTAL EQUITY-LINKED NOTES (Cost $59,500,000)

    58,918,446  
         
       

U.S. GOVERNMENT NOTES — 81.9%

       

U.S. Treasury Notes — 81.9%

       

United States Treasury Notes

       
    96,000,000  

1/31/2024, 0.875%

    94,932,411  
    15,000,000  

2/29/2024, 1.500%

    14,806,881  
    15,000,000  

3/15/2024, 0.250%

    14,715,502  
    50,000,000  

4/15/2024, 0.375%

    48,870,221  
    25,000,000  

4/30/2024, 2.250%

    24,600,205  
    40,000,000  

6/30/2024, 3.000%

    39,345,018  
    16,625,000  

9/30/2024, 4.250%

    16,444,538  
    14,000,000  

11/30/2024, 4.500%

    13,862,360  
    25,000,000  

3/31/2025, 3.875%

    24,533,203  
    25,000,000  

9/30/2026, 1.625%

    22,818,360  
    25,000,000  

10/31/2027, 0.500%

    21,076,172  
       

TOTAL U.S. GOVERNMENT NOTES (Cost $339,023,185)

    336,004,871  

 

Shares

 

Security Description

 


Value

 
       

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS — 2.7%

    11,179,831  

First American Treasury Obligations Fund - Class X, 5.27% (b)

  $ 11,179,831  
       

TOTAL SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS (Cost $11,179,831)

    11,179,831  
       

TOTAL INVESTMENTS (Cost $409,703,016) — 98.9%

    406,103,148  
       

Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities — 1.1%

    4,318,951  
       

NET ASSETS — 100.0%

  $ 410,422,099  

 

Percentages are stated as a percent of net assets.

 

(a)

Securities exempt from registration under Rule 144A or section 4(a)(2), of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

(b)

Rate shown is the annualized seven-day yield as of October 31, 2023.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

31

 

 

Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Schedule of Investments
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

 

 

Shares

 

Security Description

 

Value

 
       

COMMON STOCKS — 84.3%

       
       

Basic Materials — 1.7%

       
    676  

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

  $ 190,929  
    243  

Albemarle Corporation

    30,808  
    2,407  

Dow, Inc.

    116,354  
    996  

DuPont de Nemours, Inc.

    72,588  
    939  

Ecolab, Inc.

    157,508  
    3,322  

Freeport-McMoRan, Inc.

    112,217  
    1,211  

Linde plc

    462,796  
    685  

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. - Class A

    61,814  
    1,641  

Newmont Corporation

    61,488  
    609  

Nucor Corporation

    90,004  
    506  

PPG Industries, Inc.

    62,122  
    787  

Sherwin-Williams Company

    187,471  
    1,791  

Southern Copper Corporation

    126,982  
              1,733,081  
       

Communications — 11.9%

       
    1,181  

Airbnb, Inc. - Class A (a)

    139,700  
    27,243  

Alphabet, Inc. - Class A (a)

    3,380,311  
    22,718  

Amazon.com, Inc. (a)

    3,023,539  
    724  

Arista Networks, Inc. (a)

    145,068  
    16,889  

AT&T, Inc.

    260,091  
    98  

Booking Holdings, Inc. (a)

    273,377  
    293  

CDW Corporation

    58,717  
    404  

Charter Communications, Inc. - Class A (a)

    162,731  
    10,228  

Cisco Systems, Inc.

    533,186  
    10,230  

Comcast Corporation - Class A

    422,397  
    1,776  

Corning, Inc.

    47,526  
    1,090  

eBay, Inc.

    42,761  
    31  

MercadoLibre, Inc. (a)

    38,463  
    5,558  

Meta Platforms, Inc. - Class A (a)

    1,674,459  
    389  

Motorola Solutions, Inc.

    108,321  
    1,148  

Netflix, Inc. (a)

    472,620  
    730  

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (a)

    177,405  
    1,422  

T-Mobile US, Inc. (a)

    204,569  
    1,160  

Trade Desk, Inc. - Class A (a)

    82,314  
    3,713  

Uber Technologies, Inc. (a)

    160,699  
    213  

VeriSign, Inc. (a)

    42,528  
    10,352  

Verizon Communications, Inc.

    363,666  
    4,401  

Walt Disney Company (a)

    359,078  
    5,019  

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (a)

    49,889  
              12,223,415  
       

Consumer, Cyclical — 7.4%

       
    592  

Aptiv plc (a)

    51,622  
    59  

AutoZone, Inc. (a)

    146,151  
    2,535  

Carnival Corporation (a)

    29,051  
       

COMMON STOCKS — 84.3% (Continued)

       

Consumer, Cyclical — 7.4% (Continued)

    70  

Casey’s General Stores, Inc.

  19,034  
    69  

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (a)

    134,012  
    2,246  

Copart, Inc. (a)

    97,746  
    1,106  

Costco Wholesale Corporation

    610,999  
    312  

Cummins, Inc.

    67,486  
    805  

D.R. Horton, Inc.

    84,042  
    1,324  

Delta Air Lines, Inc.

    41,375  
    465  

Dollar General Corporation

    55,354  
    464  

Dollar Tree, Inc. (a)

    51,546  
    1,203  

Fastenal Company

    70,183  
    445  

Ferguson plc

    66,839  
    9,128  

Ford Motor Company

    88,998  
    3,114  

General Motors Company

    87,815  
    293  

Genuine Parts Company

    37,756  
    612  

Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc.

    92,736  
    2,535  

Home Depot, Inc.

    721,689  
    1,652  

Las Vegas Sands Corporation

    78,404  
    628  

Lennar Corporation - Class A

    66,995  
    472  

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (a)

    37,769  
    1,553  

Lowe’s Companies, Inc.

    295,955  
    300  

Lululemon Athletica, Inc. (a)

    118,044  
    688  

Marriott International, Inc. - Class A

    129,729  
    1,836  

McDonald’s Corporation

    481,344  
    1,637  

Mobileye Global, Inc. - Class A (a)

    58,392  
    3,061  

NIKE, Inc. - Class B

    314,579  
    179  

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (a)

    166,549  
    1,737  

PACCAR, Inc.

    143,355  
    80  

Pool Corporation

    25,262  
    278  

PulteGroup, Inc.

    20,458  
    1,103  

Ross Stores, Inc.

    127,915  
    543  

Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. (a)

    46,008  
    1,133  

Southwest Airlines Company

    25,187  
    2,846  

Starbucks Corporation

    262,515  
    1,070  

Target Corporation

    118,545  
    6,615  

Tesla, Inc. (a)

    1,328,557  
    2,874  

TJX Companies, Inc.

    253,113  
    443  

Tractor Supply Company

    85,304  
    110  

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (a)

    41,944  
    619  

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (a)

    21,671  
    114  

W.W. Grainger, Inc.

    83,201  
    1,710  

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.

    36,047  
    3,451  

Walmart, Inc.

    563,928  
    673  

Yum! Brands, Inc.

    81,339  
              7,566,543  

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

32

 

 

Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Schedule of Investments
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited) (Continued)

 

 

Shares

 

Security Description

 

Value

 
       

COMMON STOCKS — 84.3% (Continued)

       

Consumer, Non-cyclical — 16.7%

       
    4,340  

Abbott Laboratories

  $ 410,347  
    4,340  

AbbVie, Inc.

    612,721  
    967  

Agilent Technologies, Inc.

    99,959  
    168  

Align Technology, Inc. (a)

    31,011  
    4,073  

Altria Group, Inc.

    163,612  
    1,309  

Amgen, Inc.

    334,711  
    1,881  

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company

    134,623  
    1,033  

Automatic Data Processing, Inc.

    225,421  
    231  

Avery Dennison Corporation

    40,210  
    1,018  

Baxter International, Inc.

    33,014  
    817  

Becton Dickinson & Company

    206,521  
    340  

Biogen, Inc. (a)

    80,764  
    262  

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation

    31,422  
    4,217  

Boston Scientific Corporation (a)

    215,868  
    5,278  

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

    271,975  
    491  

Brown-Forman Corporation - Class B

    27,575  
    512  

Cardinal Health, Inc.

    46,592  
    472  

Cencora, Inc.

    87,391  
    1,788  

Centene Corporation (a)

    123,336  
    507  

Church & Dwight Company, Inc.

    46,107  
    745  

Cigna Group

    230,354  
    238  

Cintas Corporation

    120,695  
    252  

Clorox Company

    29,660  
    9,660  

Coca-Cola Company

    545,693  
    1,894  

Colgate-Palmolive Company

    142,277  
    428  

Constellation Brands, Inc. - Class A

    100,216  
    1,626  

Corteva, Inc.

    78,276  
    894  

CoStar Group, Inc. (a)

    65,629  
    3,146  

CVS Health Corporation

    217,105  
    1,628  

Danaher Corporation

    312,609  
    1,440  

Dexcom, Inc. (a)

    127,915  
    1,893  

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (a)

    120,622  
    600  

Elevance Health, Inc.

    270,054  
    2,012  

Eli Lilly & Company

    1,114,507  
    262  

Equifax, Inc.

    44,427  
    819  

Estée Lauder Companies - Class A

    105,545  
    164  

FleetCor Technologies, Inc. (a)

    36,928  
    172  

Gartner, Inc. (a)

    57,111  
    959  

GE HealthCare Technologies, Inc.

    63,841  
    1,343  

General Mills, Inc.

    87,617  
    3,138  

Gilead Sciences, Inc.

    246,459  
    559  

Global Payments, Inc.

    59,377  
    803  

HCA Healthcare, Inc.

    181,590  
    696  

Hershey Company

    130,396  
    1,104  

Hormel Foods Corporation

    35,935  
       

COMMON STOCKS — 84.3% (Continued)

       

Consumer, Non-cyclical — 16.7% (Continued)

    355  

Humana, Inc.

    185,910  
    170  

ICON plc (a)

    41,473  
    196  

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (a)

    78,296  
    338  

Illumina, Inc. (a)

    36,984  
    892  

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (a)

    233,900  
    620  

IQVIA Holdings, Inc. (a)

    112,115  
    6,056  

Johnson & Johnson

    898,347  
    685  

Kellanova

    34,572  
    4,465  

Kenvue, Inc.

    83,049  
    2,034  

Keurig Dr Pepper, Inc.

    61,691  
    782  

Kimberly-Clark Corporation

    93,558  
    2,837  

Kraft Heinz Company

    89,252  
    1,502  

Kroger Company

    68,146  
    544  

McCormick & Company, Inc.

    34,762  
    401  

Mckesson Corporation

    182,599  
    3,253  

Medtronic plc

    229,532  
    6,256  

Merck & Company, Inc.

    642,491  
    859  

Moderna, Inc. (a)

    65,250  
    126  

Molina Healthcare, Inc. (a)

    41,952  
    3,348  

Mondelez International, Inc. - Class A

    221,671  
    2,435  

Monster Beverage Corporation (a)

    124,428  
    438  

Moody’s Corporation

    134,904  
    2,534  

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (a)

    131,261  
    3,391  

PepsiCo, Inc.

    553,682  
    14,022  

Pfizer, Inc.

    428,512  
    3,791  

Philip Morris International, Inc.

    338,006  
    5,779  

Procter & Gamble Company

    867,023  
    319  

Quanta Services, Inc.

    53,311  
    274  

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (a)

    213,690  
    310  

ResMed, Inc.

    43,778  
    823  

S&P Global, Inc.

    287,482  
    204  

STERIS plc

    42,836  
    846  

Stryker Corporation

    228,606  
    1,070  

Sysco Corporation

    71,144  
    952  

Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.

    423,421  
    692  

Tyson Foods, Inc. - Class A

    32,074  
    155  

United Rentals, Inc.

    62,972  
    2,272  

UnitedHealth Group, Inc.

    1,216,792  
    530  

Verisk Analytics, Inc.

    120,501  
    636  

Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (a)

    230,302  
    264  

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.

    84,029  
    171  

WK Kellogg Company (a)

    1,713  
    438  

Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.

    45,732  
    1,172  

Zoetis, Inc.

    184,004  
              17,103,771  

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

33

 

 

Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Schedule of Investments
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited) (Continued)

 

 

Shares

 

Security Description

 

Value

 
       

COMMON STOCKS — 84.3% (Continued)

       

Energy — 3.9%

       
    2,360  

Baker Hughes Company

  $ 81,231  
    559  

Cheniere Energy, Inc.

    93,029  
    4,384  

Chevron Corporation

    638,880  
    3,001  

ConocoPhillips

    356,519  
    1,567  

Coterra Energy, Inc.

    43,092  
    1,380  

Devon Energy Corporation

    64,267  
    386  

Diamondback Energy, Inc.

    61,884  
    1,692  

EOG Resources, Inc.

    213,615  
    9,930  

Exxon Mobil Corporation

    1,051,090  
    218  

First Solar, Inc. (a)

    31,054  
    2,066  

Halliburton Company

    81,276  
    724  

Hess Corporation

    104,546  
    5,151  

Kinder Morgan, Inc.

    83,446  
    1,271  

Marathon Petroleum Corporation

    192,239  
    2,068  

Occidental Petroleum Corporation

    127,823  
    953  

ONEOK, Inc.

    62,136  
    1,039  

Phillips 66

    118,519  
    545  

Pioneer Natural Resources Company

    130,255  
    3,502  

Schlumberger NV

    194,921  
    462  

Targa Resources Corporation

    38,628  
    839  

Valero Energy Corporation

    106,553  
    2,809  

Williams Companies, Inc.

    96,630  
              3,971,633  
       

Financial — 11.5%

       
    1,821  

Aflac, Inc.

    142,238  
    340  

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.

    31,664  
    556  

Allstate Corporation

    71,240  
    1,434  

American Express Company

    209,407  
    1,105  

American Homes 4 Rent - Class A

    36,178  
    2,288  

American International Group, Inc.

    140,277  
    1,347  

American Tower Corporation

    240,022  
    223  

Ameriprise Financial, Inc.

    70,149  
    557  

Aon plc - Class A

    172,336  
    656  

Apollo Global Management, Inc.

    50,801  
    793  

Arch Capital Group, Ltd. (a)

    68,737  
    612  

Arthur J Gallagher & Company

    144,120  
    372  

AvalonBay Communities, Inc.

    61,655  
    17,219  

Bank of America Corporation

    453,548  
    1,688  

Bank of New York Mellon Corporation

    71,740  
    4,394  

Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. - Class B (a)

    1,499,805  
    375  

BlackRock, Inc.

    229,605  
    2,760  

Blackstone, Inc.

    254,886  
    579  

Brown & Brown, Inc.

    40,194  
    858  

Capital One Financial Corporation

    86,907  
    654  

CBRE Group, Inc. - Class A (a)

    45,348  
       

COMMON STOCKS — 84.3% (Continued)

       

Financial — 11.5% (Continued)

       
    3,689  

Charles Schwab Corporation

  191,976  
    1,021  

Chubb, Ltd.

    219,127  
    4,454  

Citigroup, Inc.

    175,888  
    838  

CME Group, Inc.

    178,879  
    1,602  

Crown Castle, Inc.

    148,954  
    713  

Digital Realty Trust, Inc.

    88,669  
    509  

Discover Financial Services

    41,779  
    294  

Equinix, Inc.

    214,514  
    1,079  

Equity Residential

    59,701  
    436  

Extra Space Storage, Inc.

    45,165  
    1,346  

Fifth Third Bancorp

    31,914  
    33  

First Citizens BancShares, Inc - Class A

    45,564  
    812  

Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

    246,531  
    629  

Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.

    46,200  
    1,381  

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.

    148,375  
    1,930  

Invitation Homes, Inc.

    57,302  
    591  

Iron Mountain, Inc.

    34,910  
    7,119  

JPMorgan Chase & Company

    989,968  
    339  

M&T Bank Corporation

    38,222  
    29  

Markel Group, Inc. (a)

    42,645  
    1,234  

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.

    234,028  
    2,079  

Mastercard, Inc. - Class A

    782,432  
    2,119  

MetLife, Inc.

    127,161  
    3,192  

Morgan Stanley

    226,057  
    1,020  

Nasdaq, Inc.

    50,592  
    10,327  

NU Holdings, Ltd. - Class A (a)

    84,681  
    922  

PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.

    105,541  
    483  

Principal Financial Group, Inc.

    32,689  
    1,679  

Progressive Corporation

    265,433  
    2,243  

Prologis, Inc.

    225,982  
    783  

Prudential Financial, Inc.

    71,598  
    615  

Public Storage

    146,807  
    1,666  

Realty Income Corporation

    78,935  
    224  

SBA Communications Corporation

    46,733  
    759  

Simon Property Group, Inc.

    83,407  
    659  

State Street Corporation

    42,591  
    467  

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.

    42,263  
    529  

Travelers Companies, Inc.

    88,576  
    3,101  

Truist Financial Corporation

    87,944  
    3,599  

U.S. Bancorp

    114,736  
    2,150  

VICI Properties, Inc.

    59,985  
    4,135  

Visa, Inc. - Class A

    972,138  
    9,123  

Wells Fargo & Company

    362,822  
    1,860  

Welltower, Inc.

    155,515  

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

34

 

 

Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Schedule of Investments
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited) (Continued)

 

 

Shares

 

Security Description

 

Value

 
       

COMMON STOCKS — 84.3% (Continued)

       

Financial — 11.5% (Continued)

       
    1,511  

Weyerhaeuser Company

  $ 43,351  
    217  

Willis Towers Watson plc

    51,188  
              11,750,325  
       

Industrial — 5.9%

       
    1,290  

3M Company

    117,325  
    4,332  

Amcor plc

    38,511  
    503  

AMETEK, Inc.

    70,807  
    1,387  

Amphenol Corporation - Class A

    111,723  
    785  

Ball Corporation

    37,798  
    1,403  

Boeing Company (a)

    262,108  
    1,940  

Carrier Global Corporation

    92,460  
    1,278  

Caterpillar, Inc.

    288,892  
    2,213  

CSX Corporation

    66,058  
    662  

Deere & Company

    241,868  
    287  

Dover Corporation

    37,296  
    1,012  

Eaton Corporation plc

    210,405  
    1,314  

Emerson Electric Company

    116,907  
    734  

FedEx Corporation

    176,233  
    740  

Fortive Corporation

    48,307  
    389  

Garmin, Ltd.

    39,884  
    748  

General Dynamics Corporation

    180,500  
    2,665  

General Electric Company

    289,499  
    323  

Graco, Inc.

    24,015  
    253  

HEICO Corporation

    40,078  
    1,642  

Honeywell International, Inc.

    300,913  
    841  

Howmet Aerospace, Inc.

    37,088  
    895  

Illinois Tool Works, Inc.

    200,587  
    851  

Ingersoll Rand, Inc.

    51,639  
    206  

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.

    35,405  
    1,560  

Johnson Controls International plc

    76,471  
    366  

Keysight Technologies, Inc. (a)

    44,670  
    401  

L3Harris Technologies, Inc.

    71,943  
    109  

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc.

    19,053  
    558  

Lockheed Martin Corporation

    253,689  
    143  

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.

    58,478  
    63  

Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. (a)

    62,068  
    250  

Norfolk Southern Corporation

    47,697  
    433  

Northrop Grumman Corporation

    204,129  
    111  

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc.

    41,809  
    1,493  

Otis Worldwide Corporation

    115,275  
    171  

Owens Corning

    19,386  
    281  

Packaging Corporation of America

    43,007  
    305  

Parker-Hannifin Corporation

    112,518  
    726  

Republic Services, Inc.

    107,804  
    251  

Rockwell Automation, Inc.

    65,965  
    3,614  

RTX Corporation

    294,143  
       

COMMON STOCKS — 84.3% (Continued)

       

Industrial — 5.9% (Continued)

       
    736  

TE Connectivity, Ltd.

    86,738  
    101  

Teledyne Technologies, Inc. (a)

    37,834  
    528  

Trane Technologies plc

    100,484  
    136  

TransDigm Group, Inc. (a)

    112,620  
    1,514  

Union Pacific Corporation

    314,322  
    1,777  

United Parcel Service, Inc. - Class B

    251,001  
    542  

Veralto Corporation (a)

    37,398  
    293  

Vulcan Materials Company

    57,572  
    1,159  

Waste Management, Inc.

    190,458  
    362  

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation

    38,379  
    505  

Xylem, Inc.

    47,238  
              6,028,455  
       

Technology — 23.4%

       
    1,567  

Accenture plc - Class A

    465,540  
    1,193  

Adobe, Inc. (a)

    634,748  
    4,227  

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (a)

    416,359  
    212  

Amdocs, Ltd.

    16,994  
    1,247  

Analog Devices, Inc.

    196,191  
    185  

ANSYS, Inc. (a)

    51,478  
    36,485  

Apple, Inc.

    6,230,543  
    2,197  

Applied Materials, Inc.

    290,773  
    509  

Autodesk, Inc. (a)

    100,594  
    1,042  

Broadcom, Inc.

    876,708  
    507  

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.

    86,514  
    654  

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (a)

    156,862  
    1,094  

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation - Class A

    70,530  
    423  

Crowdstrike Holdings, Inc. - Class A (a)

    74,774  
    534  

Datadog, Inc. - Class A (a)

    43,505  
    1,692  

Dell Technologies, Inc. - Class C

    113,212  
    595  

Electronic Arts, Inc.

    73,655  
    55  

Fair Isaac Corporation (a)

    46,523  
    1,251  

Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.

    61,437  
    1,412  

Fiserv, Inc. (a)

    160,615  
    1,865  

Fortinet, Inc. (a)

    106,622  
    1,231  

GLOBALFOUNDRIES, Inc. (a)

    61,082  
    2,658  

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company

    40,880  
    2,080  

HP, Inc.

    54,766  
    10,580  

Intel Corporation

    386,170  
    2,254  

International Business Machines Corporation

    326,019  
    704  

Intuit, Inc.

    348,445  
    339  

KLA Corporation

    159,228  

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

35

 

 

Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Schedule of Investments
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited) (Continued)

 

 

Shares

 

Security Description

 

Value

 
       

COMMON STOCKS — 84.3% (Continued)

       

Technology — 23.4% (Continued)

       
    352  

Lam Research Corporation

    207,053  
    2,040  

Marvell Technology, Inc.

    96,329  
    1,298  

Microchip Technology, Inc.

    92,534  
    2,591  

Micron Technology, Inc.

    173,260  
    18,659  

Microsoft Corporation

    6,308,794  
    112  

Monolithic Power Systems, Inc.

    49,475  
    184  

MSCI, Inc.

    86,765  
    6,327  

NVIDIA Corporation

    2,580,151  
    614  

NXP Semiconductors NV

    105,872  
    1,029  

ON Semiconductor Corporation (a)

    64,457  
    3,711  

Oracle Corporation

    383,717  
    3,322  

Palantir Technologies, Inc. - Class A (a)

    49,166  
    1,281  

Paychex, Inc.

    142,255  
    2,739  

QUALCOMM, Inc.

    298,524  
    253  

Roper Technologies, Inc.

    123,608  
    2,481  

Salesforce, Inc. (a)

    498,259  
    515  

ServiceNow, Inc. (a)

    299,653  
    773  

Snowflake, Inc. - Class A (a)

    112,185  
    361  

Synopsys, Inc. (a)

    169,468  
    358  

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (a)

    47,882  
    2,265  

Texas Instruments, Inc.

    321,653  
    348  

Veeva Systems, Inc. - Class A (a)

    67,063  
              23,928,890  
       

Utilities — 1.9%

    528  

Ameren Corporation

    39,975  
    1,734  

American Electric Power Company, Inc.

    130,986  
    412  

American Water Works Company, Inc.

    48,472  
    1,316  

Consolidated Edison, Inc.

    115,532  
    756  

Constellation Energy Corporation

    85,368  
    2,875  

Dominion Energy, Inc.

    115,920  
    422  

DTE Energy Company

    40,672  
    1,768  

Duke Energy Corporation

    157,158  
    792  

Edison International

    49,944  
    429  

Entergy Corporation

    41,008  
    703  

Eversource Energy

    37,814  
    3,321  

Exelon Corporation

    129,320  
    1,151  

FirstEnergy Corporation

    40,976  
    4,947  

NextEra Energy, Inc.

    288,410  
    7,476  

PG&E Corporation (a)

    121,859  
    1,453  

PPL Corporation

    35,700  
    1,049  

Public Service Enterprise Group, Inc.

    64,671  
    2,027  

Sempra

    141,951  
       

COMMON STOCKS — 84.3% (Continued)

       

Utilities — 1.9% (Continued)

       
    2,493  

Southern Company

  167,779  
    661  

WEC Energy Group, Inc.

    53,799  
    1,181  

Xcel Energy, Inc.

    69,998  
              1,977,312  
       

TOTAL COMMON STOCKS (Cost $91,648,774)

    86,283,425  
                 
 

Principal
Amount

           
       

EQUITY-LINKED NOTES — 14.7%

       
  $ 4,150,000  

BNP Paribas Issuance B.V., ELN, (linked to S&P 500 Index) 18.50%, 11/8/2023 (b)

    4,026,176  
    3,500,000  

GS Finance Corporation, ELN, (linked to S&P 500 Index) 19.78%, 11/22/2023 (b)

    3,496,571  
    4,200,000  

RBC Capital Markets, LLC, ELN, (linked to S&P 500 Index) 17.06%, 11/15/2023 (b)

    4,093,465  
    3,350,000  

UBS AG, ELN, (linked to S&P 500 Index) 21.35% 11/30/2023 (b)

    3,386,180  
       

TOTAL EQUITY-LINKED NOTES (Cost $15,200,000)

    15,002,392  
                 
       

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS — 0.5%

       
    456,864  

First American Treasury Obligations Fund - Class X, 5.27% (c)

    456,864  
       

TOTAL SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS (Cost $456,864)

    456,864  
       

TOTAL INVESTMENTS (Cost $107,305,638) — 99.5%

    101,742,681  
       

Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities — 0.5%

    537,920  
       

NET ASSETS — 100.0%

  $ 102,280,601  

 

Percentages are stated as a percent of net assets.

 

(a)

Non-income producing security.

(b)

Securities exempt from registration under Rule 144A or section 4(a)(2), of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

(c)

Rate shown is the annualized seven-day yield as of October 31, 2023.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

36

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Statements of Assets and Liabilities

October 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

 

   

Aptus Collared
Investment
Opportunity ETF

   

Aptus Defined
Risk ETF

   

Aptus Drawdown
Managed
Equity ETF

 

ASSETS

                       

Investments in unaffiliated securities, at value*

  $ 499,922,915     $ 208,409,833     $ 150,201,775  

Investments in affiliated securities, at value*

          153,977,635        

Reclaims receivable

                 

Deposit at broker for options

    7,979,744       3,916,588       370,339  

Dividends and interest receivable

    366,395       49,994       109,849  

Receivable for securities sold

                 

Total assets

    508,269,054       366,354,050       150,681,963  
                         

LIABILITIES

                       

Written options, at value (premiums received, $909,881, $881,041, $404,403)

    527,810       57,700       210,000  

Payable for securities purchased

    17,422              

Management fees payable

    350,646       225,906       104,423  

Payable for capital shares redeemed

                 

Total liabilities

    895,878       283,606       314,423  
                         

NET ASSETS

  $ 507,373,176     $ 366,070,444     $ 150,367,540  
                         

Net Assets Consist of:

                       

Paid-in capital

  $ 493,995,775     $ 524,660,138     $ 226,899,909  

Total distributable earnings (accumulated deficit)

    13,377,401       (158,589,694 )     (76,532,369 )

Net assets

  $ 507,373,176     $ 366,070,444     $ 150,367,540  
                         

Net Asset Value:

                       

Net assets

  $ 507,373,176     $ 366,070,444     $ 150,367,540  

Shares outstanding ^

    16,850,000       16,100,000       4,366,755  

Net asset value, offering and redemption price per share

  $ 30.11     $ 22.74     $ 34.43  
                         

* Identified cost:

                       

Investments in unaffiliated securities

  $ 445,422,991     $ 228,162,534     $ 143,922,459  

Investment in affiliated securities

          163,133,059        

 

^

No par value, unlimited number of shares authorized.

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

37

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Statements of Assets and Liabilities

October 31, 2023 (Unaudited) (Continued)

 

   

Opus Small Cap
Value ETF

   

Aptus
International
Enhanced
Yield ETF

   

Aptus Enhanced
Yield ETF

   

Aptus
Large Cap
Enhanced
Yield ETF

 

ASSETS

                               

Investments in unaffiliated securities, at value*

  $ 196,225,547     $ 105,435,421     $ 406,103,148     $ 101,742,681  

Investments in affiliated securities, at value*

                       

Reclaims receivable

                      534  

Deposit at broker for options

          20              

Dividends and interest receivable

    143,607       181,316       2,203,320       190,345  

Receivable for securities sold

    1,629,475       5,809,734       16,625,888       6,154,049  

Total assets

    197,998,629       111,426,491       424,932,356       108,087,609  
                                 

LIABILITIES

                               

Written options, at value (premiums received, $0, $0, $0, $0)

                       

Payable for securities purchased

          3,700,000       14,300,000       3,350,000  

Management fees payable

    134,245       37,639       210,257       36,168  

Payable for capital shares redeemed

          1,704,491             2,420,840  

Total liabilities

    134,245       5,442,130       14,510,257       5,807,008  
                                 

NET ASSETS

  $ 197,864,384     $ 105,984,361     $ 410,422,099     $ 102,280,601  
                                 

Net Assets Consist of:

                               

Paid-in capital

  $ 208,706,100     $ 147,269,664     $ 425,971,830     $ 109,364,130  

Total distributable earnings (accumulated deficit)

    (10,841,716 )     (41,285,303 )     (15,549,731 )     (7,083,529 )

Net assets

  $ 197,864,384     $ 105,984,361     $ 410,422,099     $ 102,280,601  
                                 

Net Asset Value:

                               

Net assets

  $ 197,864,384     $ 105,984,361     $ 410,422,099     $ 102,280,601  

Shares outstanding ^

    6,700,000       5,725,000       17,025,000       4,225,000  

Net asset value, offering and redemption price per share

  $ 29.53     $ 18.51     $ 24.11     $ 24.21  
                                 

* Identified cost:

                               

Investments in unaffiliated securities

  $ 206,585,552     $ 109,402,573     $ 409,703,016     $ 107,305,638  

Investment in affiliated securities

                       

 

^

No par value, unlimited number of shares authorized.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

38

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Statements of Operations

For the Period Ended October 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

 

   

Aptus Collared
Investment
Opportunity ETF

   

Aptus Defined
Risk ETF

   

Aptus Drawdown
Managed
Equity ETF

 

INCOME

                       

Dividends from unaffiliated investments*

  $ 4,195,769     $ 2,678,396     $ 1,352,999  

Dividends from affiliated investments

          7,425,452        

Interest

    108,524       291,505       66,389  

Total investment income

    4,304,293       10,395,353       1,419,388  
                         

EXPENSES

                       

Management fees

    2,247,003       1,829,933       722,997  

Total expenses

    2,247,003       1,829,933       722,997  

Net investment income (loss)

    2,057,290       8,565,420       696,391  
                         

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS) ON INVESTMENTS

                       

Net realized gain (loss) on:

                       

Investments in unaffiliated securities

    (9,938,182 )     (48,546,632 )     (11,325,573 )

Investments in affiliated securities

          (4,056,381 )      

In-kind redemptions on unaffiliated securities

    28,491,698       (1,652,857 )     11,283,387  

In-kind redemptions on affiliated securities

          (3,371,597 )      

Written options

    2,231,959       11,990,635       2,612,051  

Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on:

                       

Investments in unaffiliated securities

    (24,142,595 )     4,683,291       (3,078,196 )

Investments in affiliated securities

          (14,746,152 )      

Written options

    849,125       (3,858,303 )     (1,502,772 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments

    (2,507,995 )     (59,557,996 )     (2,011,103 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

  $ (450,705 )   $ (50,992,576 )   $ (1,314,712 )

 

*

Net of foreign withholding taxes

  $     $     $  

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

39

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Statements of Operations

For the Period Ended October 31, 2023 (Unaudited) (Continued)

 

   

Opus Small Cap
Value ETF

   

Aptus
International
Enhanced
Yield ETF

   

Aptus
Enhanced
Yield ETF

   

Aptus Large Cap
Enhanced
Yield ETF
(1)

 

INCOME

                               

Dividends from unaffiliated investments*

  $ 2,741,383     $ 902,018     $     $ 344,288  

Dividends from affiliated investments

                       

Interest

    245,961       1,085,896       19,760,666       468,685  

Total investment income

    2,987,344       1,987,914       19,760,666       812,973  
                                 

EXPENSES

                               

Management fees

    946,256       170,894       1,267,264       101,049  

Total expenses

    946,256       170,894       1,267,264       101,049  

Net investment income (loss)

    2,041,088       1,817,020       18,493,402       711,924  
                                 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS) ON INVESTMENTS

                               

Net realized gain (loss) on:

                               

Investments in unaffiliated securities

    (1,839,622 )     (1,569,677 )     (9,006,283 )     (1,836,319 )

Investments in affiliated securities

                       

In-kind redemptions on unaffiliated securities

    11,914,994       1,527,291             (46,973 )

In-kind redemptions on affiliated securities

                       

Written options

                       

Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on:

                               

Investments in unaffiliated securities

    (16,239,167 )     (9,575,254 )     (3,819,416 )     (5,562,957 )

Investments in affiliated securities

                       

Written options

                       

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments

    (6,163,795 )     (9,617,640 )     (12,825,699 )     (7,446,249 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

  $ (4,122,707 )   $ (7,800,620 )   $ 5,667,703     $ (6,734,325 )

 

* Net of foreign withholding taxes   $ 26,685              

 

 

(1) The Fund commenced operations on June 13, 2023. The information presented is from June 13, 2023 to October 31, 2023.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

40

 

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

 

Statements of Changes in Net Assets

 

   

Six-Months Ended
October 31, 2023
(Unaudited)

   

Year Ended
April 30, 2023

 

OPERATIONS

               

Net investment income (loss)

  $ 2,057,290     $ 4,406,215  

Net realized gain (loss) on investments and written options

    20,785,475       (33,564,733 )

Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments and written options

    (23,293,470 )     45,452,299  

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

    (450,705 )     16,293,781  
                 

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS

               

Net distributions to shareholders

    (2,140,420 )     (7,687,025 )

Total distributions to shareholders

    (2,140,420 )     (7,687,025 )
                 

CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS

               

Proceeds from shares sold

    19,510,790       226,161,150  

Payments for shares redeemed

    (96,252,415 )     (50,295,320 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets derived from capital share transactions (a)

    (76,741,625 )     175,865,830  

Net increase (decrease) in net assets

  $ (79,332,750 )   $ 184,472,586  
                 

NET ASSETS

               

Beginning of period/year

  $ 586,705,926     $ 402,233,340  

End of period/year

  $ 507,373,176     $ 586,705,926  

 

(a)

A summary of capital share transactions is as follows:

 

   

Shares

   

Shares

 

Shares sold

    625,000       7,650,000  

Shares redeemed

    (3,125,000 )     (1,700,000 )

Net increase (decrease)

    (2,500,000 )     5,950,000  

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

41

 

 

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

 

Statements of Changes in Net Assets

 

   

Six-Months Ended
October 31, 2023
(Unaudited)

   

Year Ended
April 30, 2023

 

OPERATIONS

               

Net investment income (loss)

  $ 8,565,420     $ 18,443,526  

Net realized gain (loss) on investments and written options

    (45,636,832 )     (69,337,112 )

Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments and written options

    (13,921,164 )     28,382,277  

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

    (50,992,576 )     (22,511,309 )
                 

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS

               

Net distributions to shareholders

    (9,635,948 )     (17,431,596 )

Total distributions to shareholders

    (9,635,948 )     (17,431,596 )
                 

CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS

               

Proceeds from shares sold

    29,943,650       112,734,745  

Payments for shares redeemed

    (266,145,015 )     (313,261,710 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets derived from capital share transactions (a)

    (236,201,365 )     (200,526,965 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets

  $ (296,829,889 )   $ (240,469,870 )
                 

NET ASSETS

               

Beginning of period/year

  $ 662,900,333     $ 903,370,203  

End of period/year

  $ 366,070,444     $ 662,900,333  

 

(a)

A summary of capital share transactions is as follows:

 

   

Shares

   

Shares

 

Shares sold

    1,225,000       4,300,000  

Shares redeemed

    (10,875,000 )     (12,000,000 )

Net increase (decrease)

    (9,650,000 )     (7,700,000 )

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

42

 

 

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Statements of Changes in Net Assets

 

   

Six-Months Ended
October 31, 2023
(Unaudited)

   

Year Ended
April 30, 2023

 

OPERATIONS

               

Net investment income (loss)

  $ 696,391     $ 2,560,114  

Net realized gain (loss) on investments and written options

    2,569,865       (829,802 )

Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments and written options

    (4,580,968 )     (29,828,523 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

    (1,314,712 )     (28,098,211 )
                 

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS

               

Net distributions to shareholders

    (759,044 )     (2,468,669 )

Total distributions to shareholders

    (759,044 )     (2,468,669 )
                 

CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS

               

Proceeds from shares sold

    9,225,540       70,740,335  

Payments for shares redeemed

    (60,042,418 )     (200,934,415 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets derived from capital share transactions (a)

    (50,816,878 )     (130,194,080 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets

  $ (52,890,634 )   $ (160,760,960 )
                 

NET ASSETS

               

Beginning of period/year

  $ 203,258,174     $ 364,019,134  

End of period/year

  $ 150,367,540     $ 203,258,174  

 

(a)

A summary of capital share transactions is as follows:

 

   

Shares

   

Shares

 

Shares sold

    250,000       2,050,000  

Shares redeemed

    (1,675,000 )     (5,800,000 )

Net increase (decrease)

    (1,425,000 )     (3,750,000 )

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

43

 

 

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

 

Statements of Changes in Net Assets

 

   

Six-Months Ended
October 31, 2023
(Unaudited)

   

Year Ended
April 30, 2023

 

OPERATIONS

               

Net investment income (loss)

  $ 2,041,088     $ 3,141,816  

Net realized gain (loss) on investments

    10,075,372       (3,669,119 )

Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments

    (16,239,167 )     (60,737 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

    (4,122,707 )     (588,040 )
                 

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS

               

Net distributions to shareholders

    (2,052,076 )     (2,979,351 )

Total distributions to shareholders

    (2,052,076 )     (2,979,351 )
                 

CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS

               

Proceeds from shares sold

    16,555,498       82,471,160  

Payments for shares redeemed

    (58,161,310 )     (20,681,575 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets derived from capital share transactions (a)

    (41,605,812 )     61,789,585  

Net increase (decrease) in net assets

  $ (47,780,595 )   $ 58,222,194  
                 

NET ASSETS

               

Beginning of period/year

  $ 245,644,979     $ 187,422,785  

End of period/year

  $ 197,864,384     $ 245,644,979  

 

(a)

A summary of capital share transactions is as follows:

 

   

Shares

   

Shares

 

Shares sold

    525,000       2,650,000  

Shares redeemed

    (1,800,000 )     (650,000 )

Net increase (decrease)

    (1,275,000 )     2,000,000  

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

44

 

 

Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Statement of Changes in Net Assets

 

   

Six-Months Ended
October 31, 2023
(Unaudited)

   

Year Ended
April 30, 2023

 

OPERATIONS

               

Net investment income (loss)

  $ 1,817,020     $ 2,773,743  

Net realized gain (loss) on investments and written options

    (42,386 )     (37,705,884 )

Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments

    (9,575,254 )     26,976,397  

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

    (7,800,620 )     (7,955,744 )
                 

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS

               

Net distributions to shareholders

    (1,257,387 )     (2,767,957 )

Total distributions to shareholders

    (1,257,387 )     (2,767,957 )
                 

CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS

               

Proceeds from shares sold

    79,486,275       29,881,365  

Payments for shares redeemed

    (26,550,760 )     (98,959,565 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets derived from capital share transactions (a)

    52,935,515       (69,078,200 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets

  $ 43,877,508     $ (79,801,901 )
                 

NET ASSETS

               

Beginning of period/year

  $ 62,106,853     $ 141,908,754  

End of period/year

  $ 105,984,361     $ 62,106,853  

 

(a)

A summary of capital share transactions is as follows:

 

   

Shares

   

Shares

 

Shares sold

    4,000,000       1,500,000  

Shares redeemed

    (1,375,000 )     (5,050,000 )

Net increase (decrease)

    2,625,000       (3,550,000 )

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

45

 

 

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Statement of Changes in Net Assets

 

   

Six-Months Ended
October 31, 2023
(Unaudited)

   

Period Ended
April 30, 2023
(1)

 

OPERATIONS

               

Net investment income (loss)

  $ 18,493,402     $ 10,982,472  

Net realized gain (loss) on investments

    (9,006,283 )     (4,215,593 )

Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments

    (3,819,416 )     219,548  

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

    5,667,703       6,986,427  
                 

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS

               

Net distributions to shareholders

    (18,058,884 )     (10,144,977 )

Total distributions to shareholders

    (18,058,884 )     (10,144,977 )
                 

CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS

               

Proceeds from shares sold

    109,844,603       376,653,195  

Payments for shares redeemed

    (49,236,198 )     (11,289,770 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets derived from capital share transactions (a)

    60,608,405       365,363,425  

Net increase (decrease) in net assets

  $ 48,217,224     $ 362,204,875  
                 

NET ASSETS

               

Beginning of period

  $ 362,204,875     $  

End of period

  $ 410,422,099     $ 362,204,875  

 

(a)

A summary of capital share transactions is as follows:

 

   

Shares

   

Shares

 

Shares sold

    4,450,000       15,050,000  

Shares redeemed

    (2,025,000 )     (450,000 )

Net increase (decrease)

    2,425,000       14,600,000  

 

(1)

The Fund commenced operations on October 31, 2022. The information presented is from October 31, 2022 to April 30, 2023.

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

46

 

 

Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Statement of Changes in Net Assets

 

   

Period Ended
October 31, 2023
(1)
(Unaudited)

 

OPERATIONS

       

Net investment income (loss)

  $ 711,924  

Net realized gain (loss) on investments

    (1,883,292 )

Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments

    (5,562,957 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

    (6,734,325 )
         

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS

       

Net distributions to shareholders

    (349,204 )

Total distributions to shareholders

    (349,204 )
         

CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS

       

Proceeds from shares sold

    117,892,258  

Payments for shares redeemed

    (8,528,128 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets derived from capital share transactions (a)

    109,364,130  

Net increase (decrease) in net assets

  $ 102,280,601  
         

NET ASSETS

       

Beginning of period

  $  

End of period

  $ 102,280,601  

 

(a)

A summary of capital share transactions is as follows:

 

   

Shares

 

Shares sold

    4,575,000  

Shares redeemed

    (350,000 )

Net increase (decrease)

    4,225,000  

 

(1)

The Fund commenced operations on June 13, 2023. The information presented is from June 13, 2023 to October 31, 2023.

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

47

 

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

 

Financial Highlights

For a capital share outstanding throughout the period/year

 

   

Period
Ended
October 31,
2023

   

Year Ended April 30,

   

Period
Ended
April 30,

 
   

(Unaudited)

   

2023

   

2022

   

2021

   

2020(1)

 

Net asset value, beginning of period/year

  $ 30.32     $ 30.02     $ 29.67     $ 24.04     $ 25.00  
                                         

INCOME (LOSS) FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS:

                                       

Net investment income (loss) (2)

    0.11       0.26       0.19       0.27       0.49  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments (3)

    (0.20 )     0.47       0.34       5.61       (1.01 )

Total from investment operations

    (0.09 )     0.73       0.53       5.88       (0.52 )
                                         

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS:

                                       

From net investment income

    (0.12 )     (0.24 )     (0.18 )     (0.25 )     (0.44 )

From realized gains

          (0.19 )                  

Total distributions to shareholders

    (0.12 )     (0.43 )     (0.18 )     (0.25 )     (0.44 )
                                         

Net asset value, end of period/year

  $ 30.11     $ 30.32     $ 30.02     $ 29.67     $ 24.04  
                                         

Total return

    -0.32 %(4)     2.53 %     1.78 %     24.57 %     -2.14 %(4)
                                         

SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:

                                       

Net assets at end of period/year (000’s)

  $ 507,373     $ 586,706     $ 402,233     $ 201,742     $ 112,970  
                                         

RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS:

                                       

Expenses to average net assets

    0.79 %(5)     0.79 %     0.79 %     0.79 %     0.79 %(5)

Net investment income (loss) to average net assets

    0.72 %(5)     0.88 %     0.60 %     0.99 %     2.46 %(5)

Portfolio turnover rate (6)

    13 %(4)     69 %     48 %     46 %     170 %(4)

 

(1)

Commencement of operations on July 9, 2019.

(2)

Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period/year.

(3)

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) per share in this caption are balancing amounts necessary to reconcile the change in net asset value per share for the period, and may not reconcile with the aggregate gain (loss) in the Statements of Operations due to share transactions for the period.

(4)

Not annualized.

(5)

Annualized.

(6)

Excludes the impact of in-kind transactions.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

48

 

 

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

 

Financial Highlights
For a capital share outstanding throughout the period/year

 

   

Period
Ended
October 31,
2023

   

Year Ended April 30,

   

Period
Ended
April 30,

 
   

(Unaudited)

   

2023

   

2022

   

2021

   

2020

   

2019(1)

 

Net asset value, beginning of period/year

  $ 25.74     $ 27.01     $ 29.37     $ 29.38     $ 26.51     $ 25.00  
                                                 

INCOME (LOSS) FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS:

                                               

Net investment income (loss) (2)(3)

    0.40       0.62       0.23       0.32       0.55       0.35  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments (4)

    (2.92 )     (1.28 )     (1.86 )     1.31       3.14       1.90  

Total from investment operations

    (2.52 )     (0.66 )     (1.63 )     1.63       3.69       2.25  
                                                 

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS:

                                               

From net investment income

    (0.48 )     (0.61 )     (0.20 )     (0.33 )     (0.50 )     (0.27 )

From realized gains

                (0.53 )     (1.31 )     (0.32 )     (0.47 )

Total distributions to shareholders

    (0.48 )     (0.61 )     (0.73 )     (1.64 )     (0.82 )     (0.74 )
                                                 

Net asset value, end of period/year

  $ 22.74     $ 25.74     $ 27.01     $ 29.37     $ 29.38     $ 26.51  
                                                 

Total return

    -9.91 %(5)     -2.39 %     -5.73 %     5.62 %     14.12 %     9.23 %(5)
                                                 

SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:

                                               

Net assets at end of period/year (000’s)

  $ 366,070     $ 662,900     $ 903,370     $ 656,363     $ 260,029     $ 104,695  
                                                 

RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS:

                                               

Expenses to average net assets (6)

    0.69 %(7)     0.69 %     0.70 %(8)     0.70 %(8)     0.69 %     0.69 %(7)

Net investment income (loss) to average net assets (3)

    3.23 %(7)     2.39 %     0.79 %(8)     1.07 %(8)     1.97 %     1.86 %(7)

Portfolio turnover rate (9)

    24 %(5)     119 %     69 %     28 %     78 %     21 %(5)

 

(1)

Commencement of operations on August 7, 2018.

(2)

Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period/year.

(3)

Recognition of net investment income by the Fund is affected by the timing of the declaration of dividends by the underlying investment companies in which the Fund invests. The ratio does not include net investment income of the underlying investment companies in which the Fund invests.

(4)

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) per share in this caption are balancing amounts necessary to reconcile the change in net asset value per share for the period, and may not reconcile with the aggregate gain (loss) in the Statements of Operations due to share transactions for the period.

(5)

Not annualized.

(6)

Does not include expenses of the investment companies in which the Fund invests.

(7)

Annualized.

(8)

Includes broker interest expense of 0.01%.

(9)

Excludes the impact of in-kind transactions.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

49

 

 

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Financial Highlights
For a capital share outstanding throughout the period/year

 

   

Period
Ended
October 31,
2023

   

Year Ended April 30,

 
   

(Unaudited)

   

2023

   

2022

   

2021

   

2020

   

2019

 

Net asset value, beginning of period/year

  $ 35.09     $ 38.15     $ 38.72     $ 30.23     $ 29.82     $ 32.49  
                                                 

INCOME (LOSS) FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS:

                                               

Net investment income (loss) (1)

    0.14       0.29       0.11       0.10       0.28       0.29  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments (2)

    (0.65 )     (3.06 )     (0.58 )     8.52       0.39       (2.72 )

Total from investment operations

    (0.51 )     (2.77 )     (0.47 )     8.62       0.67       (2.43 )
                                                 

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS:

                                               

From net investment income

    (0.15 )     (0.29 )     (0.10 )     (0.12 )     (0.26 )     (0.24 )

From tax return of capital to shareholders

                      (0.01 )            

Total distributions to shareholders

    (0.15 )     (0.29 )     (0.10 )     (0.13 )     (0.26 )     (0.24 )
                                                 

Net asset value, end of period/year

  $ 34.43     $ 35.09     $ 38.15     $ 38.72     $ 30.23     $ 29.82  
                                                 

Total return

    -1.46 %(3)     -7.24 %     -1.23 %     28.59 %     2.27 %     -7.46 %
                                                 

SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:

                                               

Net assets at end of period/year (000’s)

  $ 150,368     $ 203,258     $ 364,019     $ 222,333     $ 131,249     $ 70,065  
                                                 

RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS:

                                               

Expenses to average net assets

    0.79 %(4)     0.79 %     0.79 %     0.79 %     0.79 %     0.79 %

Net investment income (loss) to average net assets

    0.76 %(4)     0.83 %     0.27 %     0.29 %     0.94 %     0.91 %

Portfolio turnover rate (5)

    11 %(3)     64 %     43 %     48 %     230 %     321 %

 

(1)

Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period/year.

(2)

Realized and unrealized gains and losses per share in this caption are balancing amounts necessary to reconcile the change in net asset value per share for the period, and may not reconcile with the aggregate gains and losses in the Statements of Operations due to share transactions for the period.

(3)

Not annualized.

(4)

Annualized.

(5)

Excludes the impact of in-kind transactions.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

50

 

 

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

 

Financial Highlights
For a capital share outstanding throughout the period/year

 

   

Period
Ended
October 31,
2023

   

Year Ended April 30,

   

Period
Ended
April 30,

 
   

(Unaudited)

   

2023

   

2022

   

2021

   

2020

   

2019(1)

 

Net asset value, beginning of period/year

  $ 30.80     $ 31.37     $ 33.07     $ 20.41     $ 25.00     $ 25.00  
                                                 

INCOME (LOSS) FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS:

                                               

Net investment income (loss) (2)

    0.27       0.46       0.22       0.21       0.48       0.38  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments (3)

    (1.27 )     (0.59 )     (1.59 )     12.69       (4.53 )     (0.08 )

Total from investment operations

    (1.00 )     (0.13 )     (1.37 )     12.90       (4.05 )     0.30  
                                                 

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS:

                                               

From net investment income

    (0.27 )     (0.44 )     (0.21 )     (0.20 )     (0.49 )     (0.30 )

From realized gains

                (0.12 )                  

From tax return of capital to shareholders

                      (0.04 )     (0.05 )      

Total distributions to shareholders

    (0.27 )     (0.44 )     (0.33 )     (0.24 )     (0.54 )     (0.30 )
                                                 

CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS

                                               

Transaction fees (Note 8)

                            0.00 (4)      0.00 (4) 
                                                 

Net asset value, end of period/year

  $ 29.53     $ 30.80     $ 31.37     $ 33.07     $ 20.41     $ 25.00  
                                                 

Total return

    -3.28 %(5)     -0.39 %     -4.25 %     63.49 %     -16.46 %     1.34 %(5)
                                                 

SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:

                                               

Net assets at end of period/year (000’s)

  $ 197,864     $ 245,645     $ 187,423     $ 106,660     $ 44,393     $ 46,877  
                                                 

RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS:

                                               

Expenses to average net assets

    0.79 %(6)     0.79 %     0.79 %     0.79 %     0.79 %     0.79 %(6)

Net investment income (loss) to average net assets

    1.70 %(6)     1.49 %     0.67 %     0.77 %     1.94 %     2.01 %(6)

Portfolio turnover rate (7)

    14 %(5)     35 %     45 %     65 %     56 %     31 %(5)

 

(1)

Commencement of operations on July 17, 2018.

(2)

Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period/year.

(3)

Realized and unrealized gains and losses per share in this caption are balancing amounts necessary to reconcile the change in net asset value per share for the period, and may not reconcile with the aggregate gains and losses in the Statements of Operations due to share transactions for the period.

(4)

Less than $0.005. See Note 8.

(5)

Not annualized.

(6)

Annualized.

(7)

Excludes the impact of in-kind transactions.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

51

 

 

Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Financial Highlights
For a capital share outstanding throughout the period/year

 

   

Period
Ended
October 31,
2023
(Unaudited)

   

Year
Ended
April 30,
2023

   

Period
Ended
April 30,
2022
(1)

 

Net asset value, beginning of period/year

  $ 20.03     $ 21.34     $ 25.00  
                         

INCOME (LOSS) FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS:

                       

Net investment income (loss) (2)(3)

    0.41       0.50       0.36  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments (4)

    (1.60 )     (1.31 )     (3.68 )

Total from investment operations

    (1.19 )     (0.81 )     (3.32 )
                         

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS:

                       

From net investment income

    (0.33 )     (0.50 )     (0.34 )

Total distributions to shareholders

    (0.33 )     (0.50 )     (0.34 )
                         

Net asset value, end of period/year

  $ 18.51     $ 20.03     $ 21.34  
                         

Total return

    -6.04 %(5)     -3.62 %     -13.46 %(5)
                         

SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:

                       

Net assets at end of period/year (000’s)

  $ 105,984     $ 62,107     $ 141,909  
                         

RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS:

                       

Expenses to average net assets (6)

    0.39 %(7)     0.59 %     0.59 %(7)

Net investment income (loss) to average net assets (3)

    4.15 %(7)     2.52 %     1.93 %(7)

Portfolio turnover rate (8)

    0 %(5)     102 %     2 %(5)

 

(1)

Commencement of operations on July 22, 2021.

(2)

Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period/year.

(3)

Recognition of net investment income by the Fund is affected by the timing of the declaration of dividends by the underlying investment companies in which the Fund invests. The ratio does not include net investment income of the underlying investment companies in which the Fund invests.

(4)

Realized and unrealized gains and losses per share in this caption are balancing amounts necessary to reconcile the change in net asset value per share for the period, and may not reconcile with the aggregate gains and losses in the Statement of Operations due to share transactions for the period.

(5)

Not annualized.

(6)

Does not include expenses of the investment companies in which the Fund invests.

(7)

Annualized

(8)

Excludes the impact of in-kind transactions.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

52

 

 

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Financial Highlights
For a capital share outstanding throughout the period

 

   

Six-Months
Ended
October 31,
2023
(Unaudited)

   

Period Ended
April 30,
2023
(1)

 

Net asset value, beginning of period

  $ 24.81     $ 25.00  
                 

INCOME (LOSS) FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS:

               

Net investment income (loss) (2)

    1.06       1.26  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments (3)

    (0.74 )     (0.52 )

Total from investment operations

    0.32       0.74  
                 

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS:

               

From net investment income

    (1.02 )     (0.93 )

Total distributions to shareholders

    (1.02 )     (0.93 )
                 

Net asset value, end of period

  $ 24.11     $ 24.81  
                 

Total return

    1.33 %(4)     2.99 %(4)
                 

SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:

               

Net assets at end of period (000’s)

  $ 410,422     $ 362,205  
                 

RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS:

               

Expenses to average net assets

    0.59 %(5)     0.59 %(5)

Net investment income (loss) to average net assets

    8.61 %(5)     10.13 %(5)

Portfolio turnover rate (6)

    14 %(4)     0 %(4)

 

(1)

Commencement of operations on October 31, 2022.

(2)

Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period.

(3)

Realized and unrealized gains and losses per share in this caption are balancing amounts necessary to reconcile the change in net asset value per share for the period, and may not reconcile with the aggregate gains and losses in the Statements of Operations due to share transactions for the period.

(4)

Not annualized.

(5)

Annualized.

(6)

Excludes the impact of in-kind transactions.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

53

 

 

Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Financial Highlights
For a capital share outstanding throughout the period

 

   

Period Ended
October 31,
2023
(1)
(Unaudited)

 

Net asset value, beginning of period

  $ 25.00  
         

INCOME (LOSS) FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS:

       

Net investment income (loss) (2)

    0.26  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments (3)

    (0.97 )

Total from investment operations

    (0.71 )
         

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS:

       

From net investment income

    (0.08 )

From realized gains

     

Total distributions to shareholders

    (0.08 )
         

Net asset value, end of period

  $ 24.21  
         

Total return

    -2.86 %(4)
         

SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:

       

Net assets at end of period (000’s)

  $ 102,281  
         

RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS:

       

Expenses to average net assets

    0.39 %(5)

Net investment income (loss) to average net assets

    2.75 %(5)

Portfolio turnover rate (6)

    13 %(4)

 

(1)

Commencement of operations on June 13, 2023.

(2)

Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period.

(3)

Realized and unrealized gains and losses per share in this caption are balancing amounts necessary to reconcile the change in net asset value per share for the period, and may not reconcile with the aggregate gains and losses in the Statements of Operations due to share transactions for the period.

(4)

Not annualized.

(5)

Annualized.

(6)

Excludes the impact of in-kind transactions.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

54

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Notes to Financial Statements

October 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

 

NOTE 1 – ORGANIZATION

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF, Aptus Defined Risk ETF, Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF, Opus Small Cap Value ETF, Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF, and Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF are each a diversified series and Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF is a non-diversified series (individually each a “Fund” or collectively the “Funds”) of ETF Series Solutions (“ESS” or the “Trust”), an open-end management investment company consisting of multiple investment series, organized as a Delaware statutory trust on February 9, 2012. The Trust is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as an open-end management investment company and the offering of the Funds’ shares is registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).

 

The investment objective of Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF is to seek current income and capital appreciation. The investment objective of Aptus Defined Risk ETF is to seek current income and capital appreciation. The investment objective of Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF is to seek capital appreciation with downside protection. The investment objective of Opus Small Cap Value ETF is to seek capital appreciation. The investment objective of Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF is to seek capital appreciation and current income. The investment objective of Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF is to seek current income and capital preservation. The investment objective of Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF is to seek capital appreciation and current income. The table below shows the date each fund commenced operations:

 

Fund

 

Date of
Commencement

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

    July 9, 2019  

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

    August 7, 2018  

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

    June 8, 2016  

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

    July 17, 2018  

Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF

    July 22, 2021  

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

    October 31, 2022  

Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

    June 13, 2023  

 

The end of the reporting period for the Funds is October 31, 2023 and the period covered by these Notes to Financial Statements is the period from May 1, 2023 to October 31, 2023 for Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF, Aptus Defined Risk ETF, Aptus Drawdown Equity ETF, Opus Small Cap Value ETF, Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF, and Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF and the period from June 13, 2023 to October 31, 2023 for Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF (each, respectively, the “current fiscal period”).

 

NOTE 2 – SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

 

The Funds are each an investment company and accordingly follow the investment company accounting and reporting guidance of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 946 Financial Services – Investment Companies.

 

The following is a summary of significant accounting policies consistently followed by the Funds. These policies are in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”).

 

 

A.

Security Valuation. All equity securities, including domestic and foreign common stocks, preferred stocks, and exchange traded funds, that are traded on a national securities exchange, except those listed on the Nasdaq Global Market®, Nasdaq Global Select Market®, and the Nasdaq Capital Market® exchanges (collectively, “Nasdaq”) are valued at the last reported sale price on the exchange on which the security is principally traded. Securities traded on Nasdaq will be valued at the Nasdaq Official Closing Price (“NOCP”). If, on a particular day, an exchange-traded or Nasdaq security does not trade, then the mean between the most recent quoted bid and asked prices will be used. All equity securities that are not traded on a listed exchange are valued at the last sale price in the over-the-counter market. If a non-exchange traded security does not trade on a particular day, then the mean between the last quoted closing bid and asked price will be used. Prices denominated in foreign currencies are converted to U.S. dollar equivalents at the current exchange rate, which approximates fair value.

 

55

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Notes to Financial Statements
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited) (Continued)

 

Investments in mutual funds, including money market funds, are valued at their net asset value (“NAV”) per share.

 

Exchange traded options are valued at the composite mean price, which calculates the mean of the highest bid price and lowest asked price across the exchanges where the option is principally traded. On the last trading day prior to expiration, expiring options will be priced at intrinsic value.

 

Debt securities, including short-term debt instruments having a maturity of less than 60 days, are valued in accordance with prices provided by a pricing service. Pricing services may use various valuation methodologies such as the mean between the bid and asked prices, matrix pricing and other analytical pricing models as well as market transactions and dealer quotation.

 

Securities for which quotations are not readily available are valued at their respective fair values in accordance with pricing procedures adopted by the Funds’ Board of Trustees (the “Board”). When a security is “fair valued,” consideration is given to the facts and circumstances relevant to the particular situation, including a review of various factors set forth in the pricing procedures adopted by the Board. The use of fair value pricing by the Funds may cause the NAV of their shares to differ significantly from the NAV that would be calculated without regard to such considerations.

 

As described above, the Funds utilize various methods to measure the fair value of their investments on a recurring basis. U.S. GAAP establishes a hierarchy that prioritizes inputs to valuation methods. The three levels of inputs are:

 

 

Level 1 –

Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Funds have the ability to access.

 

 

Level 2 –

Observable inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly. These inputs may include quoted prices for the identical instrument on an inactive market, prices for similar instruments, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, yield curves, default rates and similar data.

 

 

Level 3 –

Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability, to the extent relevant observable inputs are not available; representing the Funds’ own assumptions about the assumptions a market participant would use in valuing the asset or liability and would be based on the best information available.

 

The availability of observable inputs can vary from security to security and is affected by a wide variety of factors, including, for example, the type of security, whether the security is new and not yet established in the marketplace, the liquidity of markets, and other characteristics particular to the security. To the extent that valuation is based on models or inputs that are less observable or unobservable in the market, the determination of fair value requires more judgment. Accordingly, the degree of judgment exercised in determining fair value is greatest for instruments categorized in Level 3.

 

The inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, for disclosure purposes, the level in the fair value hierarchy within which the fair value measurement falls in its entirety, is determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety.

 

The following is a summary of the inputs used to value the Funds’ investments as of the end of the current fiscal period:

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

 

Assets^

 

Level 1

   

Level 2

   

Level 3

   

Total

 

Common Stocks

  $ 497,151,301     $     $     $ 497,151,301  

Purchased Options

          2,046,000             2,046,000  

Short-Term Investments

    725,614                   725,614  

Total Investments in Securities

  $ 497,876,915     $ 2,046,000     $     $ 499,922,915  

 

Liabilities^

 

Level 1

   

Level 2

   

Level 3

   

Total

 

Written Options

  $     $ 527,810     $     $ 527,810  

Total Written Options

  $     $ 527,810     $     $ 527,810  

 

^

See Schedule of Investments and Schedule of Written Options for further disaggregation of investment categories.

 

56

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Notes to Financial Statements
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited) (Continued)

 

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

 

Assets^

 

Level 1

   

Level 2

   

Level 3

   

Total

 

Exchange-Traded Funds

  $ 347,405,038     $     $     $ 347,405,038  

Purchased Options

          7,329,075             7,329,075  

Short-Term Investments

    7,653,355                   7,653,355  

Total Investments in Securities

  $ 355,058,393     $ 7,329,075     $     $ 362,387,468  

 

Liabilities^

 

Level 1

   

Level 2

   

Level 3

   

Total

 

Written Options

  $     $ 57,700     $     $ 57,700  

Total Written Options

  $     $ 57,700     $     $ 57,700  

 

^

See Schedule of Investments and Schedule of Written Options for further disaggregation of investment categories.

 

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Assets^

 

Level 1

   

Level 2

   

Level 3

   

Total

 

Common Stocks

  $ 148,542,716     $     $     $ 148,542,716  

Purchased Options

          700,000             700,000  

Short-Term Investments

    959,059                   959,059  

Total Investments in Securities

  $ 149,501,775       700,000     $     $ 150,201,775  

 

Liabilities^

 

Level 1

   

Level 2

   

Level 3

   

Total

 

Written Options

  $     $ 210,000     $     $ 210,000  

Total Written Options

  $     $ 210,000     $     $ 210,000  

 

^

See Schedule of Investments and Schedule of Written Options for further disaggregation of investment categories.

 

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

 

Assets^

 

Level 1

   

Level 2

   

Level 3

   

Total

 

Common Stocks

  $ 187,926,789     $     $     $ 187,926,789  

Short-Term Investments

    8,298,758                   8,298,758  

Total Investments in Securities

  $ 196,225,547     $     $     $ 196,225,547  

 

^

See Schedule of Investments for breakout of investments by sector classification.

 

Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Assets^

 

Level 1

   

Level 2

   

Level 3

   

Total

 

Equity-Linked Notes

  $     $ 15,515,992     $     $ 15,515,992  

Exchange-Traded Funds

    89,293,686                   89,293,686  

Short-Term Investments

    625,743                   625,743  

Total Investments in Securities

  $ 89,919,429     $ 15,515,992     $     $ 105,435,421  

 

^

See Schedule of Investments for further disaggregation of investment categories.

 

57

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Notes to Financial Statements
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited) (Continued)

 

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Assets^

 

Level 1

   

Level 2

   

Level 3

   

Total

 

Equity-Linked Notes

  $     $ 58,918,446     $     $ 58,918,446  

U.S. Government Notes

          336,004,871             336,004,871  

Short-Term Investments

    11,179,831                   11,179,831  

Total Investments in Securities

  $ 11,179,831     $ 394,923,317     $     $ 406,103,148  

 

^

See Schedule of Investments for further disaggregation of investment categories.

 

Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Assets^

 

Level 1

   

Level 2

   

Level 3

   

Total

 

Common Stocks

  $ 86,283,425     $     $     $ 86,283,425  

Equity-Linked Notes

          15,002,392             15,002,392  

Short-Term Investments

    456,864                   456,864  

Total Investments in Securities

  $ 86,740,289     $ 15,002,392     $     $ 101,742,681  

 

^

See Schedule of Investments for further disaggregation of investment categories.

 

During the current fiscal period, the Funds did not recognize any transfers to or from Level 3.

 

 

B.

Equity-Linked Notes (“ELNs”). Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF, Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF and Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF invested in ELNs. These are hybrid derivative-type instruments that are specially designed to combine the characteristics of one or more reference securities and a related equity derivative, such as a put or call option, in a single note form. ELNs are unsecured debt obligations of an issuer and may not be publicly listed or traded on an exchange. ELNs are valued daily, under procedures adopted by the Board, based on values provided by the adviser, based on the terms and underlying securities of the ELN. These notes have a coupon which is accrued and recorded as Interest income on the Statements of Operations. Changes in the value of ELNs are recorded as Change in net unrealized appreciation or depreciation on the Statements of Operations. A Fund realizes a gain or loss when an ELN is sold or matures, which is recorded as Net realized gain (loss) on investments in the Statements of Operations.

 

 

C.

Federal Income Taxes. The Funds’ policy is to comply with the requirements of Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute substantially all of their net investment income and net capital gains to shareholders. Therefore, no federal income tax provision is required. The Funds plan to file U.S. Federal and applicable state and local tax returns.

 

Each Fund recognizes the tax benefits of uncertain tax positions only when the position is more likely than not to be sustained. Management has analyzed each Fund’s uncertain tax positions and concluded that no liability for unrecognized tax benefits should be recorded related to uncertain tax positions. Management is not aware of any tax positions for which it is reasonably possible that the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits will change materially in the next 12 months. Income and capital gain distributions are determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations, which may differ from U.S. GAAP. The Funds recognize interest and penalties, if any, related to unrecognized tax benefits on uncertain tax positions as income tax expenses in the Statements of Operations. During the current fiscal period, the Funds did not incur any interest or penalties.

 

 

D.

Security Transactions and Investment Income. Investment securities transactions are accounted for on the trade date. Gains and losses realized on sales of securities are determined on a specific identification basis. Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date. Non-cash dividends included in dividend income or separately disclosed, if any, are recorded at the fair value of the security received. Withholdings taxes on foreign dividends, if any, have been provided for in accordance with the Funds’ understanding of the applicable tax rules and regulations. Interest income is recorded on an accrual basis. Discounts and premiums on securities purchased are accreted and amortized using the effective yield method.

 

58

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Notes to Financial Statements
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited) (Continued)

 

Distributions received from the Funds’ investments in real estate investment Trusts (“REITs”) may be characterized as ordinary income, net capital gain, or a return of capital. The proper characterization of REIT distributions is generally not known until after the end of each calendar year. As such, the Funds must use estimates in reporting the character of their income and distributions received during the current calendar year for financial statement purposes. The actual character of distributions to the Funds’ shareholders will be reflected on the Form 1099 received by shareholders after the end of the calendar year. Due to the nature of REIT investments, a portion of the distributions received by the Funds’ shareholders may represent a return of capital.

 

 

E.

Distributions to Shareholders. Distributions to shareholders from net investment income are declared and paid at least annually. Distributions to shareholders from net realized gains are declared and paid on an annual basis. Distributions are recorded on the ex-dividend date.

 

 

F.

Use of Estimates. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

 

 

G.

Share Valuation. The NAV per share of each Fund is calculated by dividing the sum of the value of the securities held by each Fund, plus cash and other assets, minus all liabilities (including estimated accrued expenses) by the total number of outstanding shares for each Fund, rounded to the nearest cent. The Funds’ shares will not be priced on the days on which the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is closed for trading. The offering and redemption price per share of each Fund is equal to each Fund’s NAV per share.

 

 

H.

Guarantees and Indemnifications. In the normal course of business, the Funds enter into contracts with service providers that contain general indemnification clauses. The Funds’ maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown as this would involve future claims that may be against the Funds that have not yet occurred. However, based on experience, the Funds expect the risk of loss to be remote.

 

 

I.

Reclassification of Capital Accounts. U.S. GAAP requires that certain components of net assets relating to permanent differences be reclassified between financial and tax reporting. These reclassifications have no effect on net assets or NAV per share.

 

The permanent differences primarily relate to differing book and tax treatment for redemptions in-kind, wash sales and REITs. For the fiscal year/period ended April 30, 2023, the following table shows the reclassifications made:

 

   

Distributable
Earnings
(Accumulated
Deficit)

   

Paid-In Capital

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

  $ (9,833,664 )   $ 9,833,664  

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

    3,584,502       (3,584,502 )

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

    (38,288,906 )     38,288,906  

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

    (5,322,416 )     5,322,416  

Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF

    407,332       (407,332 )

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

           

Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

    N/A       N/A  

 

 

J.

Subsequent Events. In preparing these financial statements, management has evaluated events and transactions for potential recognition or disclosure through the date the financial statements were issued. There were no events or transactions that occurred during the period subsequent to the end of the current fiscal period that materially impacted the amounts or disclosures in the Funds’ financial statements.

 

59

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Notes to Financial Statements
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited) (Continued)

 

NOTE 3 – COMMITMENTS AND OTHER RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

 

Aptus Capital Advisors, LLC (the “Adviser”), serves as the investment adviser to the Funds. Pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement (the “Advisory Agreement”), between the Trust, on behalf of the Funds, and the Adviser, the Adviser provides investment advice to the Funds and oversees the day-to-day operations of the Funds, subject to the direction and control of the Board and the officers of the Trust.

 

Under the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser has agreed to pay all expenses incurred by the Funds except for: the fee paid to the Adviser pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, interest charges on any borrowings, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, extraordinary expenses, and distribution (12b-1) fees and expenses. For services provided to the Funds, the Funds pay the Adviser a unified management fee which is calculated daily and paid monthly based on each Fund’s average daily net assets:

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

0.79%

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

0.69%

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

0.79%

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

0.79%

Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF

0.59%

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

0.59%

Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

0.39%

 

U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, doing business as U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, LLC (“Fund Services” or “Administrator”), acts as the Funds’ Administrator and, in that capacity, performs various administrative and accounting services for the Funds. The Administrator prepares various federal and state regulatory filings, reports and returns for the Fund, including regulatory compliance monitoring and financial reporting; prepares reports and materials to be supplied to the Board; monitors the activities of the Funds’ Custodian, transfer agent, and fund accountant. Fund Services also serves as the transfer agent and fund accountant to the Funds. U.S. Bank N.A. (the “Custodian”), an affiliate of Fund Services, serves as the Funds’ Custodian.

 

All officers of the Trust are affiliated with the Administrator and Custodian.

 

NOTE 4 – PURCHASES AND SALES OF SECURITIES

 

During the current fiscal period, purchases and sales of securities by the Funds, excluding options, short-term securities and in-kind transactions, were as follows:

 

   

Purchases

   

Sales

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

  $ 75,065,573     $ 94,305,833  

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

    116,212,007       156,181,147  

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

    20,254,775       26,430,536  

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

    31,928,422       32,393,431  

Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF

          11,267,542  

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

    109,266,211       29,327,462  

Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

    7,673,953       26,526,544  

 

60

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Notes to Financial Statements
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited) (Continued)

 

There were no purchases or sales of U.S. Government securities in Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF, Aptus Defined Risk ETF, Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF, Opus Small Cap Value ETF, Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF, and Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF during the current fiscal period. Included in the amounts for Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF there were $109,266,211 of purchases and $29,327,462 of sales of long-term U.S. Government securities during the current fiscal period.

 

During the current fiscal period, in-kind transactions associated with creations and redemptions were as follows:

 

   

In-Kind
Purchases

   

In-Kind Sales

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

  $ 19,183,072     $ 94,102,226  

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

    27,930,512       248,841,043  

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

    9,011,017       58,675,703  

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

    15,857,451       55,787,251  

Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF

    71,459,573       24,197,611  

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

           

Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

    117,896,902       6,226,601  

 

NOTE 5 – TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATED SECURITIES

 

Investments in issuers considered to be affiliate(s) of the Funds during the current fiscal period for purposes of Section 2(a)(3) of the 1940 Act were as follows:

 

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

                               

Affiliated Issuer

 

Value at
4/30/2023

   

Purchases
at Cost

   

Proceeds
from Sales

   

Net Realized
Gain (Loss)

   

Change in
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)

   

Value at
10/31/2023

 

Invesco BulletShares 2029 Corporate Bond ETF*

  $ 27,573,140     $ 1,128,433     $ (16,221,909 )   $ (64,602 )   $ (980,111 )   $ 11,434,951  

Invesco BulletShares 2030 Corporate Bond ETF

    28,980,629       14,254,736       (14,728,757 )     (92,649 )     (2,075,131 )     26,338,828  

Invesco BulletShares 2031 Corporate Bond ETF

    22,149,049       8,517,508       (10,314,928 )     (3,279 )     (1,685,241 )     18,663,109  

iShares iBonds Dec 2027 Term Corporate ETF*

    100,888,345       2,429,681       (81,713,466 )     (4,451,981 )     2,419,165       19,571,744  

iShares iBonds Dec 2028 Term Corporate ETF*

    101,347,100       4,572,264       (45,608,796 )     (1,529,737 )     (2,459,838 )     56,320,993  

iShares iBonds Dec 2029 Term Corporate ETF*

    54,988,747       6,566,405       (23,444,380 )     (748,701 )     (1,876,921 )     35,485,150  

iShares iBonds Dec 2030 Term Corporate ETF

    40,994,655       5,909,798       (17,430,519 )     (348,557 )     (2,191,417 )     26,933,960  

iShares iBonds Dec 2031 Term Corporate ETF

    34,187,354       28,405,532       (21,867,523 )     49,916       (3,337,546 )     37,437,733  

iShares iBonds Dec 2032 Term Corporate ETF

          56,827,411       (16,849,029 )     (236,770 )     (2,505,525 )     37,236,087  

iShares iBonds Dec 2033 Term Corporate ETF

          7,820,112       (396,988 )     (1,618 )     (53,587 )     7,367,919  
    $ 411,109,019 **                   $ (7,427,978 )   $ (14,746,152 )   $ 276,790,474 **

 

*

As of October 31, 2023, no longer considered to be an affiliate of the Fund.

**

Value of affiliates as of April 30, 2022 and October 31, 2023 were $411,109,020 and $153,977,635, respectively.

 

61

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Notes to Financial Statements
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited) (Continued)

 

Affiliated Issuer (continued)

 

Shares Held at
10/31/2023

   

Dividend
Income

   

Capital Gain
Distributions
from
Underlying
Funds

 

Invesco BulletShares 2029 Corporate Bond ETF*

    660,598     $ 399,051     $  

Invesco BulletShares 2030 Corporate Bond ETF

    1,721,492       567,316        

Invesco BulletShares 2031 Corporate Bond ETF

    1,252,524       448,993        

iShares iBonds Dec 2027 Term Corporate ETF*

    851,686       1,089,233        

iShares iBonds Dec 2028 Term Corporate ETF*

    2,367,423       1,748,359        

iShares iBonds Dec 2029 Term Corporate ETF*

    1,642,831       1,017,880        

iShares iBonds Dec 2030 Term Corporate ETF

    1,346,698       716,144        

iShares iBonds Dec 2031 Term Corporate ETF

    1,974,564       867,390        

iShares iBonds Dec 2032 Term Corporate ETF

    1,626,030       571,086        

iShares iBonds Dec 2033 Term Corporate ETF

    314,331              
            $ 7,425,452     $  

 

*

As of October 31, 2023, no longer considered to be an affiliate of the Fund.

 

NOTE 6 – INCOME TAX INFORMATION

 

The amount and character of tax basis distributions and composition of net assets, including distributable earnings (accumulated deficit) are finalized at fiscal year-end; accordingly, tax basis balances have not been determined for the current fiscal period.

 

The components of distributable earnings (accumulated deficit) and cost basis of investments for federal income tax purposes as of April 30, 2023 were as follows:

 

   

Aptus Collared
Investment
Opportunity
ETF

   

Aptus Defined
Risk ETF

   

Aptus
Drawdown
Managed
Equity ETF

   

Opus Small
Cap Value ETF

   

Aptus
International
Enhanced
Yield ETF

   

Aptus
Enhanced
Yield ETF

 

Tax cost of investments

  $ 510,879,530     $ 666,390,795     $ 195,707,317     $ 240,167,682     $ 56,496,069     $ 354,670,656  

Gross tax unrealized appreciation

    95,943,253       9,140,913       24,531,852       25,579,991       5,630,210       459,422  

Gross tax unrealized depreciation

    (18,194,874 )     (22,672,656 )     (16,166,797 )     (20,153,755 )     (22,327 )     (239,874 )

Net tax unrealized appreciation (depreciation)

    77,748,379       (13,531,743 )     8,365,055       5,426,236       5,607,883       219,548  

Undistributed ordinary income

    268,065       2,107,800       118,707       293,013             837,495  

Undistributed long-term capital gains

                                   

Other accumulated gain (loss)

    (62,047,918 )     (86,537,227 )     (82,942,375 )     (10,386,182 )     (37,835,179 )     (4,215,593 )

Distributable earnings (accumulated deficit)

  $ 15,968,526     $ (97,961,170 )   $ (74,458,613 )   $ (4,666,933 )   $ (32,227,296 )   $ (3,158,550 )

 

62

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Notes to Financial Statements
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited) (Continued)

 

Apus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF commenced operations on June 13, 2023, and therefore did not appear in the above table.

 

The difference between the cost basis for financial statement and federal income tax purposes was primarily due to the tax deferral of losses from wash sales and the mark-to-market on open Section 1256 options contracts. Unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on written equity options is included in gross tax unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments for Aptus Collated Investment Opportunity ETF, Aptus Defined Risk ETF and Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF.

 

A regulated investment company may elect for any taxable year to treat any portion of any qualified late year loss as arising on the first day of the next taxable year. Qualified late year losses are certain capital and ordinary losses which occur during the portion of the Funds’ taxable year subsequent to October 31 and December 31, respectively. At April 30, 2023, the Funds did not elect to defer any post-October capital losses. Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF deferred, on a tax basis, $146,370 of late-year ordinary losses.

 

As of April 30, 2023, the Funds had the following capital loss carryforwards with no expiration date:

 

   

Short-Term

   

Long-Term

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

  $ 26,527,034     $ 9,716,195  

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

    48,528,882       38,008,345  

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

    54,685,583       23,481,548  

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

    8,675,630       1,710,552  

Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF

    16,283,838       21,404,971  

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

    4,215,593        

Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

    N/A       N/A  

 

During the fiscal year/period ended April 30, 2023, the Funds did not utilize any short-term or long-term capital loss carryforwards that were available as of April 30, 2022. Utilization of capital loss carryforwards acquired by Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF in connection with the reorganization during the fiscal year ended April 30, 2020 will be subject to limitations because of an ownership change.

 

The tax character of distributions paid by the Funds during the year/period ended April 30, 2023 and year/period ended April 30, 2022 was as follows:

 

   

Year/Period(1) Ended
April 30, 2023

   

Year/Period(2) Ended
April 30, 2022

 
   

Ordinary
Income

   

Long-Term
Capital Gain

   

Return of
Capital

   

Ordinary
Income

   

Long-Term
Capital Gain

   

Return of
Capital

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

  $ 7,687,025     $     $     $ 1,918,599     $     $  

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

    17,431,596                   17,893,513       2,632,867        

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

    2,468,669                   772,332              

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

    2,979,351                   907,157       653,565        

Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF

    2,767,957                   1,732,695              

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

    10,144,977                   N/A       N/A       N/A  

Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

    N/A       N/A       N/A       N/A       N/A       N/A  

 

(1)

Information for Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF is for the period from October 31, 2022 to April 30, 2023.

(2)

Information for Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF is for the period from July 22, 2021 to April 30, 2022.

 

63

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Notes to Financial Statements
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited) (Continued)

 

NOTE 7 – ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURES ABOUT DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS

 

The following disclosures provide information on the Funds’ use of derivatives. The location and value of these instruments on the Statements of Assets and Liabilities and the realized gains and losses and changes in unrealized appreciation and depreciation on the Statements of Operations are included in the following tables.

 

The Funds may purchase put options on individual stocks, on an index tracking a portfolio of U.S. equity securities, or on one or more other ETFs that principally invest in U.S. equity securities, purchase call options on the Cboe Volatility Index®, or utilize a combination of purchased and written (sold) put options (known as a “spread”) to limit the Funds’ exposure to equity market declines. The Funds may write (sell) call options on individual stocks, on an index tracking a portfolio of U.S. equity securities, or on one or more other ETFs that principally invest in U.S. equity securities, or utilize a combination of purchased and written (sold) call options (spread) to generate premium from such options.

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF’s options collar strategy typically consists of two components: (i) selling covered call options on up to 100% of the equity securities held by the Fund to generate premium from such options, while (ii) simultaneously reinvesting a portion of such premium to buy put options on the same underlying equity securities, a U.S. equity ETF, or the U.S. Equity Index to “hedge” or mitigate the downside risk associated with owning equity securities. The Fund seeks to generate income from the combination of dividends received from the equity securities held by the Fund and premiums received from the sale of options. Additionally, the Fund may purchase put options or utilize a combination of purchased and written (sold) put options (known as a “spread”) on one or more equity securities, a U.S. equity ETF, or a U.S. Equity Index to “hedge” or mitigate the downside risk associated with owning equity securities.

 

Aptus Defined Risk ETF’s Equity Strategy seeks exposure to small-, mid-, and large-capitalization U.S. stocks by purchasing exchange-listed call options on individual stocks or depositary receipts (the “Underlying Individual Equities”), on one or more equity indexes, on one or more other ETFs that principally invest in U.S. equity securities (the “Underlying Equity ETFs”), or on one or more other U.S. fixed-income ETFs that provide exposure to either high yield or investment grade bonds (the “Underlying Bond ETFs”) (each, a “reference asset”). The Fund may utilize a combination of purchased and written (sold) call options (known as a “spread). Additionally, Underlying Equity ETFs, Underlying Bond ETFs, or equity indexes may be selected in lieu of or in addition to Underlying Individual Equities to adjust the balance of the Fund’s exposure across industries or to maintain the Fund’s equity exposure when the Adviser believes they present a better risk profile than Underlying Individual Equities. The Adviser may utilize a combination of purchased and written (sold) put or call options on the Cboe Volatility Index® (the “VIX® Index”). The VIX Index reflects a calculation designed to produce a measure of constant, 30-day expected volatility of the U.S. stock market, derived from real-time, mid-quote prices of S&P 500® Index call and put options. The Adviser generally expects to invest less than 1% of the Fund’s net assets in VIX Index call and put options at the time of investment.

 

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF seeks to limit the Fund’s exposure to equity market declines primarily by purchasing exchange-listed put options on individual equity securities or on one or more equity indexes or ETFs (each, a “reference asset”) that track a portfolio of U.S. equity securities (“Equity Puts”). In addition to purchasing Equity Puts, the Adviser may write (sell) Equity Puts. The Adviser also may purchase or write (sell) exchange-listed call options on individual equity securities or on one or more equity indexes or ETFs (each, a “reference asset”) that track a portfolio of U.S. equity securities (“Equity Calls”). In addition to or in lieu of such Equity Puts or Equity Calls, the Adviser may utilize a combination of purchased and written (sold) put or call options (known as a “spread”) on individual equity securities, one or more equity indexes or ETFs, or the Cboe Volatility Index® (the “VIX® Index”). The VIX Index reflects a calculation designed to produce a measure of constant, 30-day expected volatility of the U.S. stock market, derived from real-time, mid-quote prices of S&P 500® Index call and put options. The Adviser generally expects to invest less than 1% of the Fund’s net assets in VIX Index call options at the time of investment.

 

When the Funds purchase a call or put option, an amount equal to the premium paid is included in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities as an investment and is subsequently adjusted to reflect the value of the option. If an option expires on the stipulated expiration date or if the Fund enters into a closing sale transaction, a gain or loss is realized. If the Funds exercise a call option, the cost of the security acquired is increased by the premium paid for the call. If the Funds exercise a put option, a gain or loss is realized from the sale of the underlying security, and the proceeds from such a sale are decreased by the premium originally paid. The risk associated with purchasing options is limited to the loss of the premium paid.

 

64

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Notes to Financial Statements
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited) (Continued)

 

A written (sold) call option gives the seller the obligation to sell shares of the underlying asset at a specified price (“strike price”) at a specified date (“expiration date”). The writer (seller) of the call option receives an amount (premium) for writing (selling) the option. In the event the underlying asset appreciates above the strike price as of the expiration date, the writer (seller) of the call option will have to pay the difference between the value of the underlying asset and the strike price (which loss is offset by the premium initially received), and in the event the underlying asset declines in value, the call option may end up worthless and the writer (seller) of the call option retains the premium.

 

A written (sold) put option gives the seller the obligation to buy shares of the underlying asset at a specified price (“strike price”) at a specified date (“expiration date”). The writer (seller) of the put option receives an amount (premium) for writing (selling) the option. In the event the underlying asset depreciates below the strike price as of the expiration date, the writer (seller) of the put option pays the difference between the value of the underlying asset and the strike price (which loss is offset by the premium initially received), and in the event the underlying asset appreciates in value, the put option may end up worthless and the writer (seller) of the call option retains the premium.

 

When the Funds write an option, an amount equal to the premium received by the Funds is recorded as a liability and is subsequently adjusted to the current fair value of the option written. Premiums received from writing options that expire unexercised are treated by the Funds on the expiration date as realized gains from options written. The difference between the premium and the amount paid on effecting a closing purchase transaction, including brokerage commissions, is also treated as a realized gain, or, if the premium is less than the amount paid for the closing purchase transaction, as a realized loss. If a call option is exercised, the premium is added to the proceeds from the sale of the underlying security in determining whether the Funds have realized a gain or loss. The Funds, as a writer of an option, bear the market risk of an unfavorable change in the price of the security underlying the written option.

 

For financial statement purposes, cash held at the broker for options is included in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities as deposits at broker for written options. Broker interest received and paid by the Funds, if any, is included as interest income and expense, respectively, in the Statements of Operations. As collateral for its written options, the Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF maintains segregated assets consisting of cash, cash equivalents, or liquid securities (e.g. Permissible Assets). Segregated cash is included as restricted cash for options in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. The Adviser may earmark or instruct the Fund’s custodian to segregate Permissible Assets in an amount at least equal to the market value, calculated on a daily basis, of the written options. Alternatively, a written call option contract can be “covered” through (a) ownership of the underlying instruments or (b) ownership of an option on such instruments at an exercise price equal to or lower than the exercise price of the short option, and a written put option contract can be “covered” (a) through ownership of a put option with an exercise price at least equal to the Fund’s delivery or purchase obligation or (b) through selling short the underlying instrument at a price at least equal to the Fund’s purchase obligation.

 

The average monthly value of derivative activity during the current fiscal period was as follows:

 

Purchased Options

 

Average Value

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

  $ 4,301,729  

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

    22,150,050  

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

    807,431  

 

Written Options

       

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

  $ (2,236,472 )

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

    (1,042,492 )

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

    (510,372 )

 

65

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Notes to Financial Statements
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited) (Continued)

 

Due to the absence of a master netting agreement related to the Funds’ participation in purchasing and writing options, no additional offsetting disclosures have been made on behalf of the Funds.

 

As the Funds value their derivatives at fair value and recognize changes in fair value through the Statements of Operations, they do not qualify for hedge accounting under authoritative guidance for derivative instruments. The Funds’ investments in derivatives may represent an economic hedge; however, they are considered to be non-hedge transactions for the purpose of these disclosures.

 

The effect of derivative instruments on the Statements of Assets and Liabilities for the current fiscal period, is as follows:

 

           

Asset Derivatives

 

Fund

 

Derivatives Investment Type

   

Statement of Assets and
Liabilities Location

   

Value

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

Equity Contracts - Purchased Options

Investments in unaffiliated securities, at value

  $ 2,046,000  

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

Equity Contracts - Purchased Options

Investments in unaffiliated securities, at value

    7,329,075  

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

Equity Contracts - Purchased Options

Investments in unaffiliated securities, at value

    700,000  

 

           

Liability Derivatives

 

Fund

 

Derivatives Investment Type

   

Statement of Assets and
Liabilities Location

   

Value

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

Equity Contracts - Written Options

Written options, at value

  $ (527,810 )

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

Equity Contracts - Written Options

Written options, at value

    (57,700 )

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

Equity Contracts - Written Options

Written options, at value

    (210,000 )

 

The effect of derivative instruments on the Statements of Operations for the current fiscal period were as follows:

 

Fund

 

Derivatives Investment Type

   

Net Realized
Gain (Loss)

   

Change in
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

Equity Contracts - Purchased Options

  $ (15,804,131 )*   $ (1,493,163 )**

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

Equity Contracts - Written Options

    2,231,959       849,125  

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

Equity Contracts - Purchased Options

    (46,272,218 )*     4,353,764 **

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

Equity Contracts - Written Options

    11,990,635       (3,858,303 )

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

Equity Contracts - Purchased Options

    (11,646,216 )*     4,080,377 **

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

Equity Contracts - Written Options

    2,612,051       (1,502,772 )

 

*

Included in net realized gain (loss) on investments in unaffiliated securities as reported in the Statements of Operations.

**

Included in net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments in unaffiliated securities as reported in the Statements of Operations.

 

NOTE 8 – SHARE TRANSACTIONS

 

Shares of the Funds are listed and traded on the Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. (“Cboe”). Market prices for the shares may be different from their NAV. The Funds issue and redeem shares on a continuous basis at NAV generally in large blocks of shares, called “Creation Units.” Creation Units are issued and redeemed principally in-kind for securities included in a specified universe. Once created, shares generally trade in the secondary market at market prices that change throughout the day. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, shares are not redeemable securities of the Funds. Creation Units may only be purchased or redeemed by certain financial institutions (“Authorized Participants”). An Authorized Participant is either (i) a broker-dealer or other participant

 

66

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Notes to Financial Statements
October 31, 2023 (Unaudited) (Continued)

 

in the clearing process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the National Securities Clearing Corporation or (ii) a Depository Trust Company participant and, in each case, must have executed a Participant Agreement with the Distributor. Most retail investors do not qualify as Authorized Participants nor have the resources to buy and sell whole Creation Units. Therefore, they are unable to purchase or redeem the shares directly from the Funds. Rather, most retail investors may purchase shares in the secondary market with the assistance of a broker and are subject to customary brokerage commissions or fees.

 

The Funds each currently offer one class of shares, which has no front-end sales load, no deferred sales charge, and no redemption fee. A fixed transaction fee is imposed for the transfer and other transaction costs associated with the purchase or sale of Creation Units. The standard fixed transaction fee for the Funds is $300, each payable to the Custodian. The fixed creation fee may be waived on certain orders if the Funds’ Custodian has determined to waive some or all of the costs associated with the order or another party, such as the Adviser, has agreed to pay such fee. In addition, a variable fee may be charged on all cash transactions or substitutes for Creation Units of up to a maximum of 2% as a percentage of the value of the Creation Units subject to the transaction. Variable fees are imposed to compensate the Funds for the transaction costs associated with the cash transactions fees. Variable fees received by each Fund, if any, are displayed in the Capital Share Transactions section of the Statements of Changes in Net Assets.

 

NOTE 9 – RISKS

 

Concentration Risk. To the extent that the Funds invest more heavily in particular sectors of the economy, their performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors.

 

Other Investment Companies Risk. The risks of Aptus Defined Risk ETF and Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF investing in investment companies typically reflect the risks of the types of instruments in which the investment companies invest. By investing in another investment company, each Fund becomes a shareholder of that investment company and bears its proportionate share of the fees and expenses of the other investment company. The Funds may be subject to statutory limits with respect to the amount they can invest in other ETFs, which may adversely affect the Funds’ ability to achieve their investment objectives.

 

67

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Expense Examples

For the Six-Months/Period Ended October 31, 2023 (Unaudited)

 

As a shareholder of the Funds, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including brokerage commissions on purchases and sales of Fund shares, and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in each Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other funds. The example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period as indicated in the following Expense Example tables.

 

Actual Expenses

 

The first line of the table provides information about actual account values based on actual returns and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then, multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During the Period’’ to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.

 

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

 

The second line of the table provides information about hypothetical account values based on a hypothetical return and hypothetical expenses based on the Funds’ actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the Funds’ actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in each Fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds. Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as brokerage commissions paid on purchases and sales of Fund shares. Therefore, the second line of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. If these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

 

   

Beginning
Account Value
May 1, 2023

   

Ending
Account Value
October 31, 2023

   

Expenses
Paid During
the Period
(1)

 

Actual

    $1,000.00     $996.80       $3.97  

Hypothetical (5% annual return before expenses)

    $1,000.00     $1,021.17       $4.01  

 

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

 

   

Beginning
Account Value
May 1, 2023

   

Ending
Account Value
October 31, 2023

   

Expenses
Paid During
the Period
(2)

 

Actual

    $1,000.00     $900.90       $3.30  

Hypothetical (5% annual return before expenses)

    $1,000.00     $1,021.67       $3.51  

 

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

   

Beginning
Account Value
May 1, 2023

   

Ending
Account Value
October 31, 2023

   

Expenses
Paid During
the Period
(1)

 

Actual

    $1,000.00     $985.40       $3.94  

Hypothetical (5% annual return before expenses)

    $1,000.00     $1,021.17       $4.01  

 

 

68

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Expense Examples
For the Six-Months/Period Ended October 31, 2023 (Unaudited) (Continued)

 

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

 

   

Beginning
Account Value
May 1, 2023

   

Ending
Account Value
October 31, 2023

   

Expenses
Paid During
the Period
(1)

 

Actual

    $1,000.00     $967.20       $3.91  

Hypothetical (5% annual return before expenses)

    $1,000.00       $1,021.17       $4.01  

 

Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF

 

   

Beginning
Account Value
May 1, 2023

   

Ending
Account Value
October 31, 2023

   

Expenses
Paid During
the Period
(3)

 

Actual

    $1,000.00       $939.60       $1.90  

Hypothetical (5% annual return before expenses)

    $1,000.00       $1,023.18       $1.98  

 

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

 

   

Beginning
Account Value
May 1, 2023

   

Ending
Account Value
October 31, 2023

   

Expenses
Paid During
the Period
(4)

 

Actual

    $1,000.00       $1,013.30       $2.99  

Hypothetical (5% annual return before expenses)

    $1,000.00       $1,022.17       $3.00  

 

Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

 

   

Beginning
Account Value
June 13, 2023
(5)

   

Ending
Account Value
October 31, 2023

   

Expenses
Paid During
the Period

 

Actual

    $1,000.00       $971.40       $1.47(6)  

Hypothetical (5% annual return before expenses)

    $1,000.00       $1,023.18       $1.98(3)  

 

(1)

The dollar amount shown as expenses paid during the period is equal to the annualized expense ratio, 0.79%, multiplied by the average account value during the six-month period, multiplied by 184/366, to reflect the one-half year period.

(2)

The dollar amount shown as expenses paid during the period is equal to the annualized expense ratio, 0.69%, multiplied by the average account value during the six-month period, multiplied by 184/366, to reflect the one-half year period.

(3)

The dollar amount shown as expenses paid during the period is equal to the annualized expense ratio, 0.39%, multiplied by the average account value during the six-month period, multiplied by 184/366, to reflect the one-half year period.

(4)

The dollar amount shown as expenses paid during the period is equal to the annualized expense ratio, 0.59%, multiplied by the average account value during the six-month period, multiplied by 184/366, to reflect the one-half year period.

(5)

Fund commencement.

(6)

The dollar amount shown as expenses paid during the period is equal to the annualized expense ratio, 0.39%, multiplied by the average account value during the period, multiplied by 140/366, to reflect the period.

 

69

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Review of Liquidity Risk Management Program

(Unaudited)

 

Pursuant to Rule 22e-4 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Trust, on behalf of the series of the Trust covered by this shareholder report (the “Series”), has adopted a liquidity risk management program to govern the Trust’s approach to managing liquidity risk. Rule 22e-4 seeks to promote effective liquidity risk management, thereby reducing the risk that a fund will be unable to meet its redemption obligations and mitigating dilution of the interests of fund shareholders. The Trust’s liquidity risk management program is tailored to reflect the Series’ particular risks, but not to eliminate all adverse impacts of liquidity risk, which would be incompatible with the nature of such Series.

 

The investment adviser to the Series has adopted and implemented its own written liquidity risk management program (the “Program”) tailored specifically to assess and manage the liquidity risk of the Series.

 

At a recent meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Trust, the Trustees received a report pertaining to the operation, adequacy, and effectiveness of implementation of the Program for the period ended December 31, 2022. The report concluded that the Program is reasonably designed to assess and manage the Series’ liquidity risk and has operated adequately and effectively to manage such risk. The report reflected that there were no liquidity events that impacted the Series’ ability to timely meet redemptions without dilution to existing shareholders. The report further noted that no material changes have been made to the Program since its implementation.

 

There can be no assurance that the Program will achieve its objectives in the future. Please refer to the prospectus for more information regarding the Series’ exposure to liquidity risk and other principal risks to which an investment in the Series may be subject.

 

70

 

 

Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

 

APPROVAL OF ADVISORY AGREEMENT AND BOARD CONSIDERATIONS

(Unaudited)

 

Pursuant to Section 15(c) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), at a meeting held on January 11-12, 2023 (the “Meeting”), the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of ETF Series Solutions (the “Trust”) considered the approval of the Investment Advisory Agreement (the “Advisory Agreement”) between Aptus Capital Advisors, LLC (the “Adviser”) and the Trust, on behalf of the Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF (the “Fund”), for an initial two-year term.

 

Prior to the Meeting, the Board, including the Trustees who are not parties to the Advisory Agreement or “interested persons” of any party thereto, as defined in the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”), reviewed written materials (the “Materials”), including: information from the Adviser regarding, among other things: (i) the nature, extent, and quality of the services to be provided by the Adviser; (ii) the cost of the services to be provided and the profits expected to be realized by the Adviser or its affiliates from services rendered to the Fund; (iii) comparative fee and expense data for the Fund and other investment companies with similar investment objectives, including a report prepared by Barrington Partners, an independent third party, that compares the Fund’s proposed management fee and expenses to those of relevant peer groups (the “Barrington Report”); (iv) the extent to which any economies of scale might be realized as the Fund grows and whether the advisory fee for the Fund reflects these economies of scale for the benefit of the Fund; (v) any other financial benefits to the Adviser and its affiliates resulting from services rendered to the Fund; and (vi) other factors the Board deemed to be relevant.

 

The Board also considered that the Adviser, along with other service providers of the Fund, had provided written updates on the firm over the course of the year with respect to its role as investment adviser to other series in the Trust, including the Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF, and the Board considered that information alongside the Materials in its consideration of whether the Advisory Agreement should be approved. Additionally, representatives from the Adviser provided an oral overview of the Fund’s strategy, the services to be provided to the Fund by the Adviser, and additional information about the Adviser’s personnel and operations. The Board then discussed the Materials and the Adviser’s oral presentation, as well as any other relevant information received by the Board at the Meeting and at prior meetings, and deliberated on the approval of the Advisory Agreement in light of this information.

 

Approval of the Advisory Agreement with the Adviser

 

Nature, Extent, and Quality of Services to be Provided. The Trustees considered the scope of services to be provided under the Advisory Agreement, noting that the Adviser will be providing investment management services to the Fund. In considering the nature, extent, and quality of the services to be provided by the Adviser, the Board considered the quality of the Adviser’s compliance infrastructure and past reports from the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) regarding the CCO’s review of the Adviser’s compliance program, as well as the Board’s experience with the Adviser as the investment adviser to other series of the Trust. The Board noted that it had also previously received copies of the Adviser’s registration form and financial statements, as well as the Adviser’s response to a detailed series of questions that included, among other things, information about the Adviser’s decision-making process, the background and experience of the firm’s key personnel, and the firm’s compliance policies, marketing practices, and brokerage information, as well as details about the Fund.

 

The Board also considered the services to be provided to the Fund, such as monitoring adherence to the Fund’s investment restrictions, monitoring the Fund’s adherence to its investment restrictions and compliance with the Fund’s policies and procedures and applicable securities regulations, as well as the extent to which the Fund achieves its investment objective.

 

Historical Performance. The Board noted that the Fund will be actively managed with an investment objective of seeking capital appreciation and current income. The Board further noted that the Fund had not yet commenced operations and concluded that the performance of the Fund, thus, was not a relevant factor in the context of the Board’s deliberations on the Advisory Agreement.

 

Cost of Services to be Provided and Economies of Scale. The Board then reviewed the Fund’s proposed net expense ratio, the full amount of which was anticipated to be the “unified fee” (described below), and compared the Fund’s net expense ratio to those of its Peer Group and Selected Peer Group (each defined below). The Board noted that the Fund’s proposed net expense ratio was significantly less than the median expense ratio for the comparable funds selected by Barrington (the “Peer Group”). The Board considered that the Peer Group was comprised primarily of actively managed funds from the Derivative Income and Options Trading Morningstar categories, including three enhanced dividend funds. The Board also noted that the Fund’s proposed net expense ratio was significantly higher than the median expense ratio, but within the range of net expense ratios, for a group of the Fund’s most direct competitors, as selected by the Adviser (the “Selected Peer Group”). The Board noted, however, that the Selected Peer Group was comprised primarily of index-based U.S. large cap equity ETFs that either focus on investing in companies that replicate the S&P 500 Index or providing current income or dividend payments. Accordingly, the Board considered the expenses associated with these index strategies relative to those of the Fund’s unique principal investment strategy, which is actively managed and seeks to invest in large cap U.S. equities while also generating higher yield distributions through the use of equity-linked notes (“ELNs”). The Board noted that only one of the funds in the Selected Peer Group was actively managed, and none of the funds from the Selected Peer Group used ELNs in its principal investment strategy. In addition, the Board considered that the Fund’s proposed net expense ratio was less than that of the Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF.

 

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Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

 

APPROVAL OF ADVISORY AGREEMENT AND BOARD CONSIDERATIONS

(Unaudited) (Continued)

 

The Board took into consideration that the Adviser would charge a “unified fee,” meaning the Fund would pay no expenses other than the advisory fee and, if applicable, certain other costs such as interest, brokerage, acquired fund fees and expenses, extraordinary expenses and, to the extent it is implemented, fees pursuant to a Distribution and/or Shareholder Servicing (12b-1) Plan. The Board noted that the Adviser would be responsible for compensating the Trust’s other service providers and paying the Fund’s other expenses out of its own fee and resources.

 

The Board then considered the Adviser’s financial resources and information regarding the Adviser’s ability to support its management of the Fund and obligations under the unified fee arrangement, noting that the Adviser had provided its financial statements for the Board’s review. The Board also evaluated the compensation and benefits expected to be received by the Adviser from its relationship with the Fund, taking into account an analysis of the Adviser’s anticipated profitability with respect to the Fund at various Fund asset levels as well as the financial resources the Adviser had committed and proposed to commit to its business. The Board determined such analyses were not a significant factor given that the Fund had not yet commenced operations and, consequently, the future size of the Fund and the Adviser’s future profitability were generally unpredictable.

 

The Board considered the Fund’s expenses and the structure of the Fund’s advisory fee with respect to potential economies of scale. The Board noted that the Fund’s fee structure did not contain any breakpoint reductions as the Fund’s assets grow but considered that the Fund’s fee structure is a unified fee. The Board concluded that the current fee structure reflects a sharing of economies of scale between the Adviser and the Fund at the Fund’s current asset level. The Board also noted its intention to monitor fees as the Fund grows in size and assess whether advisory fee breakpoints may be warranted.

 

Conclusion. No single factor was determinative of the Board’s decision to approve the Advisory Agreement; rather, the Board based its determination on the total mix of information available to it. Based on a consideration of all the factors in their totality, the Board, including the Independent Trustees, unanimously determined that the Advisory Agreement, including the compensation payable under the Advisory Agreement, was fair and reasonable to the Fund. The Board, including the Independent Trustees, unanimously determined that the approval of the Advisory Agreement was in the best interests of the Fund and its shareholders.

 

72

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Federal Tax Information

(Unaudited)

 

For the fiscal year/period ended April 30, 2023, certain dividends paid by the Funds may be subject to the maximum rate of 23.8%, as provided for by the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. The percentage of dividends declared from ordinary income designated as qualified dividend income was as follows:

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

89.08%

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

0.00%

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

100.00%

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

100.00%

Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF

65.38%

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

0.00%

Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

N/A

 

For corporate shareholders, the percentage of ordinary income distributions qualified for the corporate dividend received deduction for the fiscal year/period ended April 30, 2023 was as follows:

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

85.50%

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

0.00%

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

100.00%

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

100.00%

Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF

12.20%

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

0.00%

Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

N/A

 

The percentage of taxable ordinary income distributions that are designated as short-term capital gain distributions under Internal Revenue Section 871(k)(2)(C) for each Fund were as follows:

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

45.45%

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

0.00%

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

0.00%

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

0.00%

Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF

0.00%

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

0.00%

Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

N/A

 

Information About Portfolio Holdings
(Unaudited)

 

The Funds file their complete schedules of portfolio holdings for their first and third fiscal quarters with the SEC on Part F of Form N-PORT. The Funds’ Part F of Form N-PORT is available without charge, upon request, by calling toll-free at (800) 617-0004 or by accessing the Funds’ website at www.aptusetfs.com and www.opusetfs.com. Furthermore, you may obtain Part F of Form N-PORT on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. The Funds’ portfolio holdings are posted on their website at www.aptusetfs.com and www.opusetfs.com daily.

 

Information About Proxy Voting
(Unaudited)

 

A description of the policies and procedures the Funds use to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities is provided in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”). The SAI is available without charge, upon request, by calling toll-free at (800) 617-0004, by accessing the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, or by accessing the Funds’ website at www.aptusetfs.com or www.opusetfs.com.

 

73

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Information About the Funds’ Trustees
(Unaudited)

 

When available, information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the period ending June 30 is available by calling toll-free at (800) 617-0004 or by accessing the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

 

The SAI includes additional information about the Funds’ Trustees and is available without charge, upon request, by calling (800) 617-0004 or by accessing the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or by accessing the Funds’ website at www.aptusetfs.com or www.opusetfs.com.

 

Frequency Distribution of Premiums and Discounts
(Unaudited)

 

Information regarding how often shares of the Funds trade on an exchange at a price above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount) the NAV of the Funds are available without charge, on the Funds’ website at www.aptusetfs.com or www.opusetfs.com.

 

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Adviser

Aptus Capital Advisors, LLC
265 Young Street
Fairhope, Alabama 36532

 

Distributor

Quasar Distributors, LLC
111 East Kilbourn Avenue, Suite 2200
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202

 

Custodian

U.S. Bank National Association
1555 North Rivercenter Drive, Suite 302
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212

 

Transfer Agent

U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC
615 East Michigan Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202

 

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Cohen & Company, Ltd.
342 North Water Street, Suite 830
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202

 

Legal Counsel

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

Symbol – ACIO
CUSIP – 26922A222

 

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

Symbol – DRSK
CUSIP – 26922A388

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

Symbol – ADME
CUSIP – 26922A784

 

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

Symbol – OSCV
CUSIP – 26922A446

 

Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF

Symbol – IDUB
CUSIP – 26922B709

 

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

Symbol – JUCY
CUSIP – 26922B642

 

Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF

Symbol - DUBS
CUSIP – 26922B535