ck0001467831-20210930
497Sep.
30, 2021ETF MANAGERS TRUST0001467831FALSEN-1A7.2931.1425.4219.480001467831ck0001467831:S000058619Member2022-01-312022-01-310001467831ck0001467831:C000192552Memberck0001467831:S000058619Member2022-01-312022-01-3100014678312022-01-312022-01-31xbrli:pureiso4217:USD0001467831ck0001467831:SP500IndexreflectsnodeductionforfeesexpensesortaxesIndexMemberck0001467831:S000058619Member2022-01-312022-01-310001467831ck0001467831:C000192552Memberck0001467831:S000058619Memberrr:AfterTaxesOnDistributionsMember2022-01-312022-01-310001467831ck0001467831:C000192552Memberck0001467831:S000058619Memberrr:AfterTaxesOnDistributionsAndSalesMember2022-01-312022-01-310001467831ck0001467831:S000038223Memberck0001467831:C000117864Member2022-01-312022-01-310001467831ck0001467831:C000227690Memberck0001467831:S000072014Member2022-01-312022-01-310001467831ck0001467831:C000227691Memberck0001467831:S000072015Member2022-01-312022-01-310001467831ck0001467831:S000051172Memberck0001467831:C000161092Member2022-01-312022-01-310001467831ck0001467831:S000071726Memberck0001467831:C000227217Member2022-01-312022-01-310001467831ck0001467831:S000072019Memberck0001467831:C000227695Member2022-01-312022-01-310001467831ck0001467831:C000230373Memberck0001467831:S000073455Member2022-01-312022-01-31
AI Powered Equity ETF
(AIEQ)
Listed
on NYSE Arca, Inc.
PROSPECTUS
January
31, 2022
THE
SEC HAS NOT APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED THESE SECURITIES OR PASSED UPON THE ACCURACY
OR ADEQUACY OF THIS PROSPECTUS. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL
OFFENSE.
About
This Prospectus
This
prospectus has been arranged into different sections so that you can easily
review this important information. For detailed information about the Fund,
please see:
AI
Powered Equity ETF—Fund Summary
Investment Objective
The AI Powered Equity ETF (the
“Fund”) seeks capital appreciation.
Fees and Expenses
The
following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold,
and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You
may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial
intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example
below.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your
investment) |
|
Management
Fee |
0.75 |
% |
Distribution
and Service (12b-1) Fees |
None |
Other
Expenses |
0.00 |
% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
0.75 |
% |
Example
This Example is
intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of
investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the
Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the
end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5%
return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. This
Example does not take into account the brokerage commissions that you may pay on
your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher
or lower, based on these assumptions your cost would be:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
Year |
3
Years |
5
Years |
10
Years |
$77 |
$240 |
$417 |
$930 |
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction
costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over”
its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction
costs and may result in higher taxes when the Fund shares are held in a taxable
account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses
or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. For the fiscal year ended
September 30, 2021, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 540% of the average value of its
portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The
Fund is actively managed and invests primarily in equity securities listed on a
U.S. exchange based on the results of a proprietary, quantitative model (the
“EquBot Model”) developed by EquBot Inc. (“EquBot”) that runs on the IBM Watson™
platform. EquBot, the Fund’s sub-adviser, is a technology based company focused
on applying artificial intelligence (“AI”) based solutions to investment
analyses. As an IBM Global Entrepreneur company, EquBot leverages IBM’s Watson
AI to conduct an objective, fundamental analysis of U.S. domiciled common
stocks, including Special Purpose Acquisitions Corporations (“SPAC”), and real
estate investment trusts (“REITs”) based on up to ten years of historical data
and apply that analysis to recent economic and news data. A SPAC is a “blank
check” company with no commercial operations that is designed to raise capital
via an initial public offering for the purpose of engaging in a merger,
acquisition, reorganization, or similar business combination (a “Combination”)
with one or more operating companies (each a SPAC-derived company).
Each
day, the EquBot Model ranks each company based on the probability of the company
benefiting from current economic conditions, trends, and world events and
identifies approximately 30 to 200 companies with the greatest potential over
the next twelve months for appreciation and their corresponding weights,
targeting a maximum risk adjusted return versus the broader U.S. equity market.
The Fund may invest in the securities of companies of any market capitalization.
The EquBot model recommends a weight for each company based on its potential for
appreciation and correlation to the other companies in the Fund’s portfolio. If
a SPAC that is selected for investment by the Fund announces a Combination with
an operating company, the pre-Combination SPAC and, subsequently, the
SPAC-derived company will be screened for investment and may continue to be held
by the Fund so long as it continues to meet the requirements of the EquBot
Model. If the SPAC announces a Combination with a business which does not meet
the criteria of the EquBot Model, the SPAC will be removed from the Fund as
promptly as practicable following the determination being made. The EquBot model
limits the weight of any individual company to 10%. At times, a significant
portion of the Fund’s assets may consist of cash and cash equivalents.
IBM’s
Watson AI is a computing platform capable of answering natural language
questions by connecting large amounts of data, both structured (e.g.,
spreadsheets) and unstructured (e.g., news articles), and learning from each
analysis it conducts (e.g., by recognizing patterns) to produce a more accurate
answer with each subsequent question.
The Fund’s investment adviser
utilizes the recommendations of the EquBot Model to decide which securities to
purchase and sell, while complying with the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the
“1940 Act”) and its rules and regulations. The Fund’s sub-adviser anticipates
primarily making purchase and sale decisions based on information from the
EquBot Model. Additionally, the model will systematically take into
consideration the tax treatment of a particular transaction or series of
transactions and liquidity or other constraints relating to trading a security
selected pursuant to the EquBot Model. The Fund may frequently and actively
purchase and sell securities.
The Fund may lend its portfolio securities
to brokers, dealers, and other financial organizations. These loans, if and when
made, may not exceed 33 1/3% of the total asset value of the Fund (including the
loan collateral). By lending its securities, the Fund may increase its income by
receiving payments from the borrower.
Principal Risks
As with all funds, a shareholder is subject to the risk
that his or her investment could lose money. The principal risks
affecting shareholders’ investments in the Fund are set forth below.
An investment in the Fund is not a
bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any government
agency.
Portfolio
Turnover Risk:
The
Fund may buy and sell investments frequently. Such a strategy often involves
higher expenses, including brokerage commissions, and may increase the amount of
capital gains (in particular, short-term capital gains taxable to shareholders
at ordinary income rates) realized by the Fund.
REIT
Investment Risk: Investments
in REITs involve unique risks. REITs may have limited financial resources, may
trade less frequently and in limited volume, and may be more volatile than other
securities. REITs may be affected by changes in the value of their underlying
properties or mortgages or by defaults by their borrowers or tenants.
Furthermore, these entities depend upon specialized management skills, have
limited diversification and are, therefore, subject to risks inherent in
financing a limited number of projects. In addition, the performance of a REIT
may be affected by changes in the tax laws or by its failure to qualify for
tax-free pass-through of income.
Models
and Data Risk: The
Fund relies heavily on proprietary quantitative models as well as information
and data supplied by third parties (“Models and Data”). When Models and Data
prove to be incorrect or incomplete, any decisions made in reliance thereon
expose the Fund to potential risks.
Sector
Risk. To
the extent the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors of the economy,
its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly
affect those sectors.
Smaller
Companies Risk:
Smaller companies in which the Fund may invest may be more vulnerable to adverse
business or economic events than larger, more established companies, and may
underperform other segments of the market or the equity market as a whole. The
securities of smaller companies also tend to be bought and sold less frequently
and at significantly lower trading volumes than the securities of larger
companies. As a result, it may be more difficult for the Fund to buy or sell a
significant amount of the securities of a smaller company without an adverse
impact on the price of the company’s securities, or the Fund may have to sell
such securities in smaller quantities over a longer period of time, which may
increase the Fund’s tracking error.
The
remaining principal risks are presented in alphabetical order. Each risk
summarized below is considered a "principal risk" of investing in the Fund,
regardless of the order in which it appears.
Associated
Risks of Investments in SPACs. The
Fund invests in equity securities of SPACs, which raise assets to seek potential
acquisition opportunities. Unless and until an acquisition is completed, a SPAC
generally invests its assets in U.S. government securities, money market
securities, and cash. Because SPACs have no operating history or ongoing
business other than seeking acquisitions, the value of their securities is
particularly dependent on the ability of the entity’s management to identify and
complete a profitable acquisition. There is no guarantee that the SPACs in which
the Fund invests will complete an acquisition or that any acquisitions that are
completed will be profitable. Public stockholders of SPACs may not be afforded a
meaningful opportunity to vote on a proposed initial business combination
because certain stockholders, including stockholders affiliated with the
management of the SPAC, may have sufficient voting power, and a financial
incentive, to approve such a transaction without support from public
stockholders. As a result, a SPAC may complete a business combination even
though a majority of its public stockholders do not support such a combination.
Associated
Risks of SPAC-Derived Companies. The
Fund invests in companies that are derived from a SPAC. These companies may be
unseasoned and lack a trading history, a track record of reporting to investors,
and widely available research coverage. SPAC-derived companies are thus often
subject to extreme price volatility and speculative trading. These stocks may
have above-average price appreciation in connection with a potential business
combination with a SPAC prior to investment by the Fund. The price of stocks
invested in by the Fund may not continue to appreciate and the performance of
these stocks may not replicate the performance exhibited in the past. In
addition, SPAC-derived companies may share similar illiquidity risks of private
equity and venture capital. The free float shares held by the public in a
SPAC-derived company are typically a small percentage of the market
capitalization. The ownership of many SPAC-derived companies often includes
large holdings by venture capital and private equity investors who seek to
sell
their shares in the public market in the months following a business combination
transaction when shares restricted by lock-up are released, causing greater
volatility and possible downward pressure during the time that locked-up shares
are released.
Cash
and Cash Equivalents Risk:
Holding cash or cash equivalents rather than securities or other instruments in
which the Fund primarily invests, even strategically, may cause the Fund to risk
losing opportunities to participate in market appreciation, and may cause the
Fund to experience potentially lower returns than the Fund’s benchmark or other
funds that remain fully invested. In rising markets, holding cash or cash
equivalents will negatively affect the Fund’s performance relative to its
benchmark.
Equity
Market Risk:
The equity securities held in the Fund’s portfolio may experience sudden,
unpredictable drops in value or long periods of decline in value. This may occur
because of factors that affect securities markets generally or factors affecting
specific issuers, industries, or sectors in which the Fund invests such as
political, market and economic developments, as well as events that impact
specific issuers. Additionally, natural or environmental disasters, widespread
disease or other public health issues, war, acts of terrorism or other events
could result in increased premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV.
ETF
Risks:
Absence
of an Active Market: Although
the Fund’s shares are approved for listing on the NYSE Arca, Inc. (the
“Exchange”), there can be no assurance that an active trading market will
develop and be maintained for Fund shares. There can be no assurance that the
Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size, in which case the
Fund may ultimately liquidate.
Authorized
Participants (“APs”), Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers
Concentration: The
Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as APs. In
addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity
providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events
occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to net asset value (“NAV”) and
possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become
unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step
forward to perform these services, or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity
providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities
and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
Costs
of Buying or Selling Shares: Investors
buying or selling Fund shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage
commissions or other charges imposed by brokers as determined by that broker.
Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant
proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts
of shares.
Fluctuation
of NAV: The
NAV of Fund shares will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of
the Fund’s securities holdings. The market prices of shares will generally
fluctuate in accordance with changes in the Fund’s NAV and supply and demand of
shares on the Exchange. It cannot be predicted whether Fund shares will trade
below, at or above their NAV. During periods of unusual volatility or market
disruptions, market prices of Fund shares may deviate significantly from the
market value of the Fund’s securities holdings or the NAV of Fund shares. As a
result, investors in the Fund may pay significantly more or receive
significantly less for Fund shares than the value of the Fund’s underlying
securities or the NAV of Fund shares.
Market
Trading:
An investment in the Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the
potential lack of an active market for Fund shares, losses from trading in
secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruption in the
creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors, among others, may
lead to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV.
Trading
Issues:
Although
Fund shares are listed for trading on the Exchange, there can be no assurance
that an active trading market for such shares will develop or be maintained.
Trading in Fund shares may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons
that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. There can
be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the
listing of any Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged or that the
shares will trade with any volume, or at all. Further, secondary markets may be
subject to erratic trading activity, wide bid/ask spreads and extended trade
settlement periods in times of market stress because market makers and APs may
step away from making a market in Fund shares and in executing creation and
redemption orders, which could cause a material deviation in the Fund’s market
price from its NAV.
Management
Risk. The
Fund is subject to management risk as an actively-managed investment portfolio.
The Adviser’s investment approach may fail to produce the intended results. If
the Adviser’s implementation of the EquBot Model is inaccurate or incomplete,
the Fund may not perform as expected and your investment could lose value over
short or long-term periods. Additionally, the Adviser has not previously managed
a Fund whose strategy relies on the use of AI, which may create additional risks
for the Fund.
Natural
Disaster/Epidemic Risk:
Natural or environmental disasters, such as earthquakes, fires, floods,
hurricanes, tsunamis and other severe weather-related phenomena generally, and
widespread disease, including pandemics and epidemics, have been and may be
highly disruptive to economies and markets, adversely impacting individual
companies, sectors, industries, markets, currencies, interest and inflation
rates, credit ratings, investor sentiment, and other factors affecting the value
of the Fund’s investments. Given the increasing interdependence among global
economies and markets, conditions in one country, market, or region are
increasingly likely to adversely affect markets, issuers, and/or foreign
exchange rates in other countries, including the U.S. Any such events could have
a significant adverse impact on the value of the Fund’s
investments.
Securities
Lending Risk:
The Fund may engage in securities lending. The Fund may lose money if the
borrower of the loaned securities delays returning in a timely manner or fails
to return the loaned securities. Securities lending involves the risk that the
Fund
could lose money in the event of a decline
in the value of collateral provided for loaned securities. In addition, the Fund
bears the risk of loss in connection with its investment of the cash collateral
it receives from a borrower. To the extent that the value or return of the
Fund’s investment of the cash collateral declines below the amount owed to the
borrower, the Fund may incur losses that exceed the amount it earned on lending
the security.
Performance
Information
The following
information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the
Fund. The bar chart shows the annual return for the Fund. The
table shows how the Fund’s average annual returns for one year and since
inception periods compare with those of a broad measure of market performance.
The Fund’s past performance,
before and after taxes, is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will
perform in the future. Updated performance information is
available on the Fund’s website at www.aieqetf.com.
Calendar Year Total Returns as of December
31,
During the period of time shown
in the bar chart, the Fund’s highest return for a calendar
quarter was 26.13% (quarter ended June 30, 2020) and the
Fund’s lowest return for a calendar
quarter was -21.05% (quarter ended March 31,
2020).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average
Annual Total Returns
(for periods ended
December 31, 2021) |
1
Year |
Since
Inception
10/17/2017 |
AI
Powered Equity ETF |
|
|
Return Before
Taxes |
19.48% |
16.32% |
Return After Taxes on
Distributions |
18.99% |
15.15% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions and
Sale of Fund Shares |
11.89% |
12.44% |
S&P
500 Index
(reflects no deduction for
fees, expenses or taxes) |
28.71% |
18.05% |
After-tax returns are
calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax
rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.
Actual after-tax returns
depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown and are not
relevant if you hold your shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as
401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases, the return
after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit
from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement
period.
Investment
Adviser and Sub-Adviser
ETF
Managers Group LLC (the “Adviser”) serves as the investment adviser to the Fund.
EquBot serves as the sub-adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio
Managers
Samuel
R. Masucci, III, Chief Executive Officer of the Adviser, has been the Fund’s
portfolio manager since January 2018. Frank Vallario, Chief Investment Officer
of the Adviser, and Donal Bishnoi, Portfolio Manager of the Adviser, have been
the Fund's portfolio manager since September 2019. Devin Ryder, Portfolio
Manager of the Adviser, has been the Fund’s portfolio manager since May 2018.
Purchase
and Sale of Fund Shares
Shares
are listed on the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in
the secondary market through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because
Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price
greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
The
Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation
Units,” which only APs (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The
Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of
securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.
Except
when aggregated in Creation Units, the Fund’s shares are not redeemable
securities.
Investors
may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer
is willing to pay to purchase Shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is
willing to accept for Shares (ask) when buying or selling Shares in the
secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information about the Fund,
including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is
available on the Fund’s website at www.aieqetf.com.
Tax
Information
The
distributions made by the Fund are taxable, and will be taxed as ordinary
income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless
your investment is in an IRA or other tax-advantaged account. However,
subsequent withdrawals from such a tax-advantaged account may be subject to
federal income tax. You should consult your tax advisor about your specific tax
situation.
Financial
Intermediary Compensation
If
you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial
intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates
may pay Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including
participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more
knowledgeable about exchange traded products, including the Fund, or for other
activities, such as marketing, educational training or other initiatives related
to the sale or promotion of the Fund’s shares. These payments may create a
conflict of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to
recommend the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result
in increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s
website for more information.
Additional
Information about the Fund’s Investment Objective and Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus
borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities. The Fund defines
“equity securities” to mean common and preferred stocks, rights, warrants,
depositary receipts, equity interests in REITs, and master limited partnerships,
although the Fund only invests in common stocks and equity interests in REITs as
part of its principal investment strategy.
The
Fund’s investment objective has been adopted as a non-fundamental investment
policy and may be changed without shareholder approval upon written notice to
shareholders. Additionally, the 80% Policy has been adopted as a non-fundamental
investment policy and may be changed without shareholder approval upon 60 days’
written notice to shareholders.
The
Fund, as part of its securities lending program, may invest collateral in an
affiliated series of ETF Managers Trust, ETFMG Sit Ultra Short ETF. ETF Managers
Group LLC serves as the investment adviser to ETFMG Sit Ultra Short ETF. Other
investment companies, including Ultra Short ETF, in which a Fund may invest cash
collateral can be expected to incur fees and expenses for operations, such as
investment advisory and administration fees, which would be in addition to those
incurred by the Fund, and which, with respect to Ultra Short ETF, will be
received in full or in part by the Adviser.
Additional
Risk Information
The
following section provides additional information regarding the principal risks
identified under “Principal Risks” in each Fund’s summary.
Portfolio
Turnover Risk:
The
Fund may buy and sell investments frequently. Such a strategy often involves
higher expenses, including brokerage commissions, and may increase the amount of
capital gains (in particular, short-term capital gains taxable to shareholders
at ordinary income rates) realized by the Fund.
REITs
Investment Risk:
Investments in REITs involve unique risks. REITs may have limited financial
resources, may trade less frequently and in limited volume, and may be more
volatile than other securities. In addition, to the extent the Fund holds
interests in REITs, it is expected that investors in the Fund will bear two
layers of asset-based management fees and expenses (directly at the Fund level
and indirectly at the REIT level). The risks of investing in REITs include
certain risks associated with the direct ownership of real estate and the real
estate industry in general. These include risks related to general, regional and
local economic conditions; fluctuations in interest rates and property tax
rates; shifts in zoning laws, environmental regulations and other governmental
action such as the exercise of eminent domain; increased operating expenses;
lack of availability of mortgage funds or other limits to accessing the credit
or capital markets; losses due to natural disasters; overbuilding; losses due to
casualty or condemnation; changes in property values and rental rates; and other
factors.
In
addition to these risks, REITs are dependent upon management skills and
generally may not be diversified. REITs are also subject to heavy cash flow
dependency, defaults by borrowers or lessees and self-liquidation. In addition,
U.S. REITs are subject to special U.S. federal tax requirements. A U.S. REIT
that fails to comply with such tax requirements may be subject to U.S. federal
income taxation, which may affect the value of the REIT and the characterization
of the REIT’s distributions. The U.S. federal tax requirement that a REIT
distributes substantially all of its net income to its shareholders may result
in the REIT having insufficient capital for future expenditures. A REIT that
successfully maintains its qualification may still become subject to U.S.
federal, state and local taxes,
including
excise, penalty, franchise, payroll, mortgage recording, and transfer taxes,
both directly and indirectly through its subsidiaries. In the event of a default
by a borrower or lessee, the REIT may experience delays in enforcing its rights
as a mortgagee or lessor and may incur substantial costs associated with
protecting investments.
Models
and Data Risk:
When Models and Data prove to be incorrect or incomplete, any decisions made in
reliance thereon expose the Fund to potential risks. For example, by relying on
Models and Data, the Adviser may be induced to buy certain investments at prices
that are too high, to sell certain other investments at prices that are too low,
or to miss favorable opportunities altogether. Similarly, any hedging based on
faulty Models and Data may prove to be unsuccessful.
Models
may have aspects that are predictive in nature. The use of predictive models has
inherent risks. For example, such models may incorrectly forecast future
behavior, leading to potential losses on a cash flow and/or a mark-to-market
basis. In addition, in unforeseen or certain low-probability scenarios (often
involving a market disruption of some kind), such models may produce unexpected
results, which can result in losses for the Fund. Furthermore, because
predictive models are usually constructed based on historical data supplied by
third parties, the success of relying on such models may depend heavily on the
accuracy and reliability of the supplied historical data.
All
models rely on correct market data inputs. If incorrect market data is entered
into even a well-founded model, the resulting information will be incorrect.
However, even if market data is input correctly, “model prices” will often
differ substantially from market prices, especially for instruments with complex
characteristics, such as derivative instruments.
Sector
Risk. To
the extent the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors of the economy,
its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly
affect those sectors.
Smaller
Companies Risk:
The Fund’s portfolio may be composed primarily of, or have significant exposure
to, securities of smaller companies. As a result, the Fund may be subject to the
risk that securities of smaller companies may underperform securities of larger
companies or the equity market as a whole. In addition, in comparison to
securities of companies with larger capitalizations, securities of
smaller-capitalization companies may experience more price volatility, greater
spreads between their bid and ask prices, less frequent trading, significantly
lower trading volumes, and cyclical or static growth prospects. As a result of
the differences between the securities of smaller companies and those of
companies with larger capitalizations, it may be more difficult for a Fund to
buy or sell a significant amount of the securities of a smaller company without
an adverse impact on the price of the company’s securities, or a Fund may have
to sell such securities in smaller quantities over a longer period of time,
which may increase the Fund’s tracking error. Smaller-capitalization companies
often have limited product lines, markets or financial resources, and may
therefore be more vulnerable to adverse developments than larger capitalization
companies. These securities may or may not pay dividends.
The
remaining risks are presented in alphabetical order. Each risk summarized below
is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the
order in which it appears.
Associated
Risks of Investments in SPACs. The
Fund invests in equity securities of SPACs, which raise assets to seek potential
acquisition opportunities. Unless and until an acquisition is completed, a SPAC
generally invests its assets in U.S. government securities, money market
securities, and cash. If an acquisition that meets the requirements for the SPAC
is not completed within a pre-established period of time (e.g., two years), the
invested funds are returned to the entity’s shareholders. Because SPACs have no
operating history or ongoing business other than seeking acquisitions, the value
of their securities is particularly dependent on the ability of the entity’s
management to identify and complete a profitable acquisition. Public
stockholders of SPACs may not be afforded a meaningful opportunity to vote on a
proposed initial business combination because certain stockholders, including
stockholders affiliated with the management of the SPAC, may have sufficient
voting power, and a financial incentive, to approve such a transaction without
support from public stockholders. As a result, a SPAC may complete a business
combination even though a majority of its public stockholders do not support
such a combination. There is no guarantee that the SPACs in which the Fund
invests will complete an acquisition or that any acquisitions that are completed
will be profitable. SPACs may also encounter intense competition from other
entities having a similar business objective, such as private investors or
investment vehicles and other SPACs, competing for the same acquisition
opportunities, which could make completing an attractive business combination
more difficult.
Associated
Risks of SPAC-Derived Companies. The
Fund invests in companies that are derived from a SPAC. These companies may be
unseasoned and lack a trading history, a track record of reporting to investors,
and widely available research coverage. SPAC-derived companies are thus often
subject to extreme price volatility and speculative trading. These stocks may
have above-average price appreciation in connection with a potential business
combination with a SPAC prior to investment by the Fund. The price of stocks in
which the Fund invests may not continue to appreciate and the performance of
these stocks may not replicate the performance exhibited in the past. In
addition, SPAC-derived companies may share similar illiquidity risks of private
equity and venture capital. The free float shares held by the public in a
SPAC-derived company are typically a small percentage of the market
capitalization. The ownership of many SPAC-derived companies often includes
large holdings by venture capital and private equity investors who seek to sell
their shares in the public market in the months following a business combination
transaction when shares restricted by lock-up are released, causing greater
volatility and possible downward pressure during the time that locked-up shares
are released.
Cash
and Cash Equivalents Risk:
Holding cash or cash equivalents rather than securities or other instruments in
which the Fund primarily invests, even strategically, may cause the Fund to risk
losing opportunities to participate in market appreciation, and may cause the
Fund to experience potentially lower returns than the Fund’s benchmark or other
funds that remain fully invested. In rising markets, holding cash or cash
equivalents will negatively affect the Fund’s performance relative to its
benchmark.
Equity
Market Risk:
An investment in the Fund involves risks of investing in equity securities, such
as market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic and political
developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities
prices. The values of equity securities could decline generally or could
underperform other investments. Different types of equity securities tend to go
through cycles of out-performance and under-performance in comparison to the
general securities markets. In addition, securities may decline in value due to
factors affecting a specific issuer, market or securities markets generally.
Holders of common stocks incur more risk than holders of preferred stocks and
debt obligations because common stockholders, as owners of the issuer, have
generally inferior rights to receive payments from the issuer in comparison with
the rights of creditors of, or holders of debt obligations or preferred stocks
issued by, the issuer. Additionally, natural or environmental disasters,
widespread disease or other public health issues, war, acts of terrorism or
other events could result in increased premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV.
ETF
Risks:
Absence
of an Active Market Risk: Although
the Fund’s shares are approved for listing on the Exchange, there can be no
assurance that an active trading market will develop and be maintained for Fund
shares. There can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to or maintain an
economically viable size, in which case the Fund may ultimately
liquidate.
APs,
Market Makers and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk:
The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as APs,
none of which are obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption
transactions. In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or
liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following
events occur, there may be a significantly diminished trading market for Fund
shares and shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face
delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process
creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these
services, or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or
significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step
forward to perform their functions. The risks associated with limited APs may be
heightened in scenarios where APs have limited or diminished access to the
capital required to post collateral.
Costs
of Buying or Selling Shares Risk: Investors
buying or selling the Fund’s shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage
commissions or other charges imposed by brokers as determined by the applicable
broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant
proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts
of shares. In addition, secondary market investors will also incur the cost of
the difference between the price that an investor is willing to pay for shares
(the “bid” price) and the price at which an investor is willing to sell shares
(the “ask” price). This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as
the “spread” or “bid/ask spread.” The bid/ask spread varies over time for shares
based on trading volume and market liquidity, and is generally lower if the
Fund’s shares have more trading volume and market liquidity and higher if the
Fund’s shares have little trading volume and market liquidity. Further,
increased market volatility may cause increased bid/ask spreads. Due to the
costs of buying or selling shares, including bid/ask spreads, frequent trading
of shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in
shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small
investments.
Fluctuation
of NAV Risk: The
NAV of Fund shares will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of
the Fund’s securities holdings. The market prices of shares will generally
fluctuate in accordance with changes in the Fund’s NAV and supply and demand of
shares on the Exchange. It cannot be predicted whether Fund shares will trade
below, at or above their NAV. Price differences may be due, in large part, to
the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market
for shares will be closely related to, but not identical to, the same forces
influencing the prices of the securities of the Fund’s portfolio trading
individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. The market prices of Fund
shares may deviate significantly from the NAV of the shares during periods of
market volatility. While the creation/redemption feature is designed to make it
likely that Fund shares normally will trade close to the Fund’s NAV, disruptions
to creations and redemptions may result in trading prices that differ
significantly from the Fund’s NAV. As a result, investors in the Fund may pay
significantly more or receive significantly less for Fund shares than the value
of the Fund’s underlying securities or the NAV of Fund shares. If an investor
purchases Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV
of the shares or sells at a time when the market price is at a discount to the
NAV of the shares, then the investor may sustain losses.
Market
Trading Risk:
An investment in the Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the
potential lack of an active market for Fund shares, losses from trading in
secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruption in the
creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these
factors, among others, may lead to the Fund’s shares
trading at a premium or discount to NAV.
Trading
Issues Risk:
Although
the Fund’s shares are listed for trading on the Exchange, there can be no
assurance that an active trading market for such shares will be maintained.
Trading in the Fund’s shares may be halted due to market conditions or for
reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable.
In addition, trading in shares is subject to trading halts caused by
extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker”
rules, which temporarily halt trading on
the
Exchange when a decline in the S&P 500 Index during a single day reaches
certain thresholds (e.g.,
7%., 13% and 20%). Additional rules applicable to the Exchange may halt trading
in Fund shares when extraordinary volatility causes sudden, significant swings
in the market price of Fund shares. There can be no assurance that the
requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will
continue to be met or will remain unchanged or that the shares will trade with
any volume, or at all. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of the
Fund’s shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying
portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than the Fund’s
shares, potentially causing the market price of the Fund’s shares to deviate
from their NAV.
Further,
secondary markets may be subject to erratic trading activity, wide bid/ask
spreads and extended trade settlement periods in times of market stress because
market makers and APs may step away from making a market in Fund shares and in
executing creation and redemption orders, which could cause a material deviation
in the Fund’s market price from its NAV. Decisions by market makers or APs
to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market
stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining
the relationship between the underlying value of the Fund’s portfolio securities
and the Fund’s market price. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund
shares trading at a price which differs materially from NAV and also in greater
than normal intraday bid/ask spreads for Fund shares. During a “flash crash,”
the market prices of the Fund’s shares may decline suddenly and significantly.
Such a decline may not reflect the performance of the portfolio securities held
by the Fund. Flash crashes may cause APs and other market makers to limit or
cease trading in the Fund’s shares for temporary or longer periods. Shareholders
could suffer significant losses to the extent that they sell shares at these
temporarily low market prices.
Management
Risk: The
Fund is subject to management risk as an actively-managed investment portfolio.
The Adviser’s investment approach may fail to produce the intended results. If
the Adviser’s implementation of the Equbot Model is inaccurate or incomplete,
the Fund may not perform as expected and your investment could lose value over
short or long-term periods. Additionally, the Adviser has not previously managed
a Fund whose strategy relies on the use of AI, which may create additional risks
for the Fund.
Natural
Disaster/Epidemic Risk:
Natural
or environmental disasters, such as earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes,
tsunamis and other severe weather-related phenomena generally, and widespread
disease, including pandemics and epidemics, have been and may be highly
disruptive to economies and markets, adversely impacting individual companies,
sectors, industries, markets, currencies, interest and inflation rates, credit
ratings, investor sentiment, and other factors affecting the value of the Fund’s
investments. Given the increasing interdependence among global economies and
markets, conditions in one country, market, or region are increasingly likely to
adversely affect markets, issuers, and/or foreign exchange rates in other
countries, including the U.S. Any such events could have a significant adverse
impact on the value of the Fund’s investments.
Securities
Lending Risk:
The Fund may engage in securities lending. The Fund may lose money if the
borrower of the loaned securities delays returning in a timely manner or fails
to return the loaned securities. Securities lending involves the risk that the
Fund could lose money in the event of a decline in the value of collateral
provided for loaned securities. In addition, the Fund bears the risk of loss in
connection with its investment of the cash collateral it receives from a
borrower. When the Fund invests cash collateral in other investment companies,
such investments of cash collateral will be subject to substantially the same
risks as those associated with the direct ownership of securities held by such
investment companies. To the extent that the value or return of the Fund’s
investment of the cash collateral declines below the amount owed to the
borrower, the Fund may incur losses that exceed the amount it earned on lending
the security. The Fund may borrow money to repay the applicable borrower the
amount of cash collateral owed to the borrower upon return of the loaned
securities. This will result in financial leverage, which may cause the Fund to
be more volatile because financial leverage tends to exaggerate the effect of
any increase or decrease in the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities.
Portfolio
Holdings
Information
about the Fund’s daily portfolio holdings will be available at www.aieqetf.com.
A summarized description of the Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to
the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio holdings is available in the Fund’s
Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).
Fund
Management
Adviser.
ETF
Managers Group LLC, the investment adviser to the Fund, is a Delaware
limited liability company located at 30 Maple Street, 2nd
Floor, Summit, New Jersey 07901. The Adviser provides investment advisory
services to exchange-traded funds. The Adviser serves as investment adviser to
the Fund with overall responsibility for the day-to-day portfolio management of
the Fund, subject to the supervision of the Board. For its services, the Adviser
receives, and did receive for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year, a fee that is
equal to 0.75% per annum of the average daily net assets of the Fund, calculated
daily and paid monthly.
Under
the Investment Advisory Agreement, the Adviser has overall responsibility for
the general management and administration of the Fund and arranges for transfer
agency, custody, fund administration, securities lending, and all other
non-distribution related services necessary for the Fund to operate.
Additionally, under the Investment Advisory Agreement, the Adviser has agreed to
pay all expenses of the Fund, except for: the fee paid to the Adviser pursuant
to the Investment Advisory Agreement, interest charges on any borrowings, 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 (such
as, among
other
things and subject to Board approval, certain proxy solicitation costs and
non-standard Board-related expenses and litigation against the Board, Trustees,
Fund, Adviser, and officers of the Adviser), and distribution (12b-1) fees and
expenses (collectively, “Excluded Expenses”).
A
discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the Investment
Advisory Agreement is available in the Fund’s Semi-Annual
Report for the reporting period ended March 31, 2021.
Sub-Adviser.
EquBot
LLC, the sub-adviser to the Fund, is a Delaware limited liability company
located at 450 Townsend Street, San Francisco, California 94107. EquBot provides
investment advice using the EquBot Model to the Adviser and the Fund, as well as
with other clients. For its services, EquBot receives a fee that is equal to
0.05% per annum of the average daily net assets of the Fund, calculated daily
and paid quarterly. The Fund does not directly pay EquBot. The Adviser is
responsible for paying the entire amount of EquBot’s fee for the
Fund.
A
discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the Sub-Advisory
Agreement is available in the Fund’s Semi-Annual Report
for the reporting period ended March 31, 2021.
Manager
of Managers Structure.
The Adviser and the Trust have received an exemptive order (the “Order”) from
the SEC that permits the Adviser to enter into investment sub-advisory
agreements with sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval. The
Adviser, subject to the review and approval of the Board, may select one or more
sub-advisers for the Fund and supervise, monitor and evaluate the performance of
each sub-adviser.
The
Order also permits the Adviser, subject to the approval of the Board, to replace
sub-advisers and amend investment sub-advisory agreements, including fees,
without shareholder approval whenever the Adviser and the Board believe such
action will benefit the Fund and its shareholders. The Adviser thus has the
ultimate responsibility (subject to the ultimate oversight of the Board) to
recommend the hiring and replacement of sub-advisers as well as the discretion
to terminate any sub-adviser and reallocate the Fund’s assets for management
among any other sub-adviser(s) and itself. This means that the Adviser may be
able to reduce the sub-advisory fees and retain a larger portion of the
management fee, or increase the sub-advisory fees and retain a smaller portion
of the management fee. The Adviser will compensate each sub-adviser out of its
management fee. The Fund is required to provide shareholders with certain
information regarding any new sub-adviser within 90 days of the hiring of any
new sub-adviser. Such information generally includes the information that would
have been provided to shareholders in the form of a proxy statement in the
absence of the Order.
The
Adviser’s reliance on such Order with respect to the Fund is contingent on the
holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities approving the
Fund’s use of a manager of managers structure and the Adviser’s reliance on such
Order. Prior to the date of this Prospectus, shareholders of the Fund approved
the use by the Fund of a manager of managers structure and the Adviser’s
reliance on such Order.
Portfolio
Managers
The
Fund’s portfolio managers are primarily responsible for the day-to-day
management of the Fund. The portfolio managers are responsible for various
functions related to portfolio management, including, but not limited to,
investing cash inflows, implementing investment strategy, researching and
reviewing investment strategy.
The
Fund is managed by Samuel R. Masucci, III, Chief Executive Officer of the
Adviser, Frank Vallario, Chief Investment Officer of the Adviser, Donal Bishnoi,
Portfolio Manager of the Adviser, and Devin Ryder, Portfolio Manager of the
Adviser.
Samuel
Masucci, III has more than 25 years’ experience in investment banking,
structured product development, sales and trading. In the last 5 years, he
founded ETF Managers Group (ETFMG). Prior to ETFMG he has held senior positions
at Bear Stearns, UBS, SBC Warburg, and Merrill Lynch and has experience in
creating, building and managing businesses for the issuance, sales and trading
of: ETFs, index products, commodity products, hedge funds, ABS, and OTC
structured products in the U.S. and Europe.
Frank
Vallario serves in the role of Chief Investment Officer for the Adviser. Mr.
Vallario is responsible for the portfolio construction, trading, risk management
and portfolio analysis processes associated with ETF strategies. Prior to his
current role at the Adviser, Mr. Vallario has had a variety of senior roles over
his 25-year career in financial services. He joined Oppenheimer Funds in 2017
where he was Head of Equity Portfolio Management for Smart Beta ETFs. Prior to
that he was a Senior Portfolio Manager at Columbia Threadneedle from September
2015 to June 2017 where he was responsible for the day to day management of the
firm’s ETF business, which was acquired from his previous firm, Emerging Global
Advisors (EGA). From September 2010 to September 2015, he was relationship
manager at MSCI responsible for providing investment solutions to complex
problems using MSCI Barra’s fundamental models and portfolio construction tools.
Previously, he was a partner in a start-up asset management firm where he served
as the director of portfolio management. Mr. Vallario began his career at UBS
Global Asset Management where he spent over a decade in various quantitative
portfolio management equity roles including equity market neutral, tactical
asset allocation, structured active equities, enhanced index, passive management
and factor research. Mr. Vallario served on the Investment Committee for the
Girl Scouts of Connecticut and was a University Affiliate at the University of
Utah – David Eccles School of Business. He received a B.S. in Finance from
Lehigh University and a M.B.A. with a concentration in Finance from Rutgers
University.
Donal
A. Bishnoi, CFA, has more than 16 years of experience in portfolio management
and risk management. Prior to joining the Adviser, Mr. Bishnoi held a senior
portfolio management position with Oppenheimer Funds from 2018 to 2019 where he
was responsible for managing approximately $5 billion in assets across 20
passive strategies. Prior to joining Oppenheimer Funds in 2010, Mr. Bishnoi
managed a long/short systematic equity strategy at Moore Capital from 2007 to
2009. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston University’s Questrom School of
Business and is a CFA charter holder.
Devin
Ryder began her career with the Adviser during the summer of 2017 and re-joined
the Adviser on a permanent basis in 2018 to be a part of the Adviser’s portfolio
management team. Prior to joining the Adviser, Ms. Ryder was pursuing studies in
the quantitative aspects of risk management and finance, for which she received
a B.S. in Mathematics of Finance and Risk Management from the University of
Michigan in 2017.
The
SAI provides additional information about each Portfolio Manager’s compensation,
other accounts managed, and ownership of the Fund’s shares.
Buying
and Selling the Fund
The
Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in Creation Units. Only APs may
acquire Shares directly from the Fund, and only APs may tender their Shares for
redemption directly to the Fund, at NAV. APs must be a member or participant of
a clearing agency registered with the SEC and must execute a Participant
Agreement that has been agreed to by the Distributor (defined below), and that
has been accepted by the Fund’s transfer agent, with respect to purchases and
redemptions of Creation Units. Once created, Shares trade in the secondary
market in quantities less than a Creation Unit.
The
Fund’s shares are listed for secondary trading on the Exchange. When you buy or
sell the Fund’s shares on the secondary market, you will pay or receive the
market price. You may incur customary brokerage commissions and charges and may
pay some or all of the spread between the bid and the offered price in the
secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction.
The shares will trade on the Exchange at prices that may differ to varying
degrees from the daily NAV of the shares. The Exchange is generally open Monday
through Friday and is closed weekends and the following holidays: New Year’s
Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day,
Juneteenth Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas
Day.
NAV
per share for the Fund is computed by dividing the value of the net assets of
the Fund (i.e.,
the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by its total number of
shares outstanding. Expenses and fees, including management and distribution
fees, if any, are accrued daily and taken into account for purposes of
determining NAV. NAV is determined each business day, normally as of the close
of regular trading of the New York Stock Exchange (ordinarily 4:00 p.m., Eastern
time).
When
determining NAV, the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities is based on market
prices of the securities, which generally means a valuation obtained from an
exchange or other market (or based on a price quotation or other equivalent
indication of the value supplied by an exchange or other market) or a valuation
obtained from an independent pricing service. If a security’s market price is
not readily available or does not otherwise accurately reflect the fair value of
the security, the security will be valued by another method that the Board
believes will better reflect fair value in accordance with the Trust’s valuation
policies and procedures. Fair value pricing may be used in a variety of
circumstances, including, but not limited to, situations when the value of a
security in the Fund’s portfolio has been materially affected by events
occurring after the close of the market on which the security is principally
traded but prior to the close of the Exchange (such as in the case of a
corporate action or other news that may materially affect the price of a
security) or trading in a security has been suspended or halted. Accordingly,
the Fund’s NAV may reflect certain portfolio securities’ fair values rather than
their market prices.
Fair
value pricing involves subjective judgments and it is possible that a fair value
determination for a security will materially differ from the value that could be
realized upon the sale of the security.
Frequent
Purchases and Redemptions of Fund Shares
Unlike
frequent trading of shares of a traditional open-end mutual fund’s (i.e.,
not exchange-traded) shares, frequent trading of shares of the Fund on the
secondary market does not disrupt portfolio management, increase the Fund’s
trading costs, lead to realization of capitalization gains, or otherwise harm
the Fund’s shareholders because these trades do not involve the Fund directly.
Certain institutional investors are authorized to purchase and redeem the Fund’s
shares directly with the Fund. Because these trades are effected in-kind
(i.e.,
for securities, and not for cash), they do not cause any of the harmful effects
noted above that may result from frequent cash trades. Moreover, the Fund
imposes transaction fees on in-kind purchases and redemptions of Creation Units
to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the Fund in effecting in-kind
trades. These fees increase if an investor substitutes cash in part or in whole
for Creation Units, reflecting the fact that the Fund’s trading costs increase
in those circumstances. For these reasons, the Board has determined that it is
not necessary to adopt policies and procedures to detect and deter frequent
trading and market-timing in shares of the Fund.
Dividends,
Distributions and Taxes
Fund
Distributions
The
Fund intends to pay out dividends, if any, quarterly and distribute any net
realized capital gains to its shareholders annually.
Dividend
Reinvestment Service
Brokers
may make available to their customers who own the Fund’s shares the DTC
book-entry dividend reinvestment service. If this service is available and used,
dividend distributions of both income and capital gains will automatically be
reinvested in additional whole shares of the Fund. Without this service,
investors would receive their distributions in cash. In order to achieve the
maximum total return on their investments, investors are encouraged to use the
dividend reinvestment service. To determine whether the dividend reinvestment
service is available and whether there is a commission or other charge for using
this service, consult your broker. Brokers may require the Fund’s shareholders
to adhere to specific procedures and timetables. If this service is available
and used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be
automatically reinvested in additional whole shares issued by the Fund at NAV
per share.
Tax
Information
The
following is a summary of some important tax issues that affect the Fund and its
shareholders. The summary is based on current tax laws, which may be changed by
legislative, judicial or administrative action. You should not consider this
summary to be a detailed explanation of the tax treatment of the Fund, or the
tax consequences of an investment in the Fund. The summary is very general, and
does not address investors subject to special rules, such as investors who hold
shares through an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-deferred account. More information
about taxes is located in the SAI. You are urged to consult your tax adviser
regarding specific questions as to federal, state and local income taxes.
Tax
Status of the Fund
The
Fund is treated as a separate entity for federal tax purposes, and intends to
qualify for the special tax treatment afforded to regulated investment companies
under the Code. As long as the Fund qualifies as a regulated investment company,
it pays no federal income tax on the earnings it distributes to shareholders.
Tax
Status of Distributions
•The
Fund will, for each year, distribute substantially all of its net investment
income and net capital gains.
•The
Fund’s distributions from income will generally be taxed to you as ordinary
income or qualified dividend income. For non-corporate shareholders, dividends
reported by the Fund as qualified dividend income are generally eligible for
reduced tax rates.
•Corporate
shareholders may be entitled to a dividends-received deduction for the portion
of dividends they receive that are attributable to dividends received by the
Fund from U.S. corporations, subject to certain limitations. The Fund’s
strategies may limit its ability to distribute dividends eligible for the
dividends-received deduction for corporate shareholders.
•Any
distributions of net capital gain (the excess of the Fund’s net long-term
capital gains over its net short-term capital losses) that you receive from the
Fund are taxable as long-term capital gains regardless of how long you have
owned your shares. Long-term capital gains are currently taxed to non-corporate
shareholders at reduced maximum rates.
•Dividends
and distributions are generally taxable to you whether you receive them in cash
or in additional shares through a broker’s dividend reinvestment service. If you
receive dividends or distributions in the form of additional shares through a
broker’s dividend reinvestment service, you will be required to pay applicable
federal, state or local taxes on the reinvested dividends but you will not
receive a corresponding cash distribution with which to pay any applicable
tax.
•The
Fund may be able to pass through to you foreign tax credits for certain taxes
paid by the Fund, provided the Fund meets certain requirements.
•Distributions
paid in January but declared by the Fund in October, November or December of the
previous year may be taxable to you in the previous year.
•The
Fund will inform you of the amount of your ordinary income dividends, qualified
dividend income, foreign tax credits and net capital gain distributions received
from the Fund shortly after the close of each calendar year.
Taxes
on Exchange-Listed Share Sales. Any
capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of shares will generally be treated as
long-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than one
year and as short-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for one
year or less, except that any capital loss on the sale of shares held for six
months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of
amounts treated as distributions of long-term capital gains to the shareholder
with respect to such shares.
Medicare
Tax. U.S.
individuals with income exceeding $200,000 ($250,000 if married and filing
jointly) are subject to a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax on their “net
investment income,” including interest, dividends, and capital gains (including
capital gains realized on the sale or exchange of shares). This 3.8% tax also
applies to all or a portion of the net investment income of certain shareholders
that are estates and trusts which the estate or trust has not distributed to its
beneficiaries.
Non-U.S.
Investors. If
you are not a citizen or permanent resident of the United States, the Fund’s
ordinary income dividends will generally be subject to a 30% U.S. withholding
tax, unless a lower treaty rate applies or unless such income is effectively
connected with a U.S. trade or business. This 30% withholding tax generally will
not apply to distributions of net capital gain.
Distributions
paid to a shareholder that is a “foreign financial institution” as defined in
Section 1471 of the Code and that does not meet the requirements imposed on
foreign financial institutions by Section 1471 will generally be subject to
withholding tax at a 30% rate. Distributions to a non-U.S. shareholder that is
not a foreign financial institution will generally be subject to such
withholding tax if the shareholder fails to make certain required
certifications. A non-U.S. shareholder may be exempt from the withholding
described in this paragraph under an applicable intergovernmental agreement
between the U.S. and a foreign government, provided that the shareholder and the
applicable foreign government comply with the terms of such agreement.
Backup
Withholding. The
Fund or your broker will be required in certain cases to withhold (as “backup
withholding”) on amounts payable to any shareholder who (1) has provided
either an incorrect tax identification number or no number at all, (2) is
subject to backup withholding by the Internal Revenue Service for failure to
properly report payments of interest or dividends, (3) has failed to
certify that such shareholder is not subject to backup withholding, or
(4) has not certified that such shareholder is a U.S. person (including a
U.S. resident alien). The backup withholding rate is currently 24%. Backup
withholding will not, however, be applied to payments that have been subject to
the 30% withholding tax applicable to shareholders who are neither citizens nor
residents of the United States.
Distribution
The
Distributor, ETFMG Financial LLC, an affiliate of the Adviser, is a
broker-dealer registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The
Distributor distributes Creation Units for the Fund on an agency basis and does
not maintain a secondary market in the Fund’s shares. The Distributor has no
role in determining the policies of the Fund or the securities that are
purchased or sold by the Fund. The Distributor’s principal business address is
30 Maple Street, 2nd
Floor, Summit, New Jersey 07901.
The
Board has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan (the “Plan”) pursuant to Rule
12b-1 under the 1940 Act with respect to the Fund. In accordance with the
Plan, the Fund is authorized to pay an amount up to 0.25% of its average daily
net assets each year for certain distribution-related activities and shareholder
services.
No
Rule 12b-1 fees are currently paid by the Fund, and there are no plans to impose
these fees. However, in the event Rule 12b-1 fees are charged in the
future, because the fees are paid out of the Fund’s assets, over time these fees
will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than certain
other types of sales charges.
Fund
Service Providers
Sullivan
& Worcester LLP, 1666 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20006, serves as legal
counsel to the Fund.
WithumSmith
+ Brown, PC, with offices located at 1411 Broadway, 9th Floor, New York, New
York, 10018, serves as the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm.
The independent registered public accounting firm is responsible for auditing
the annual financial statements of the Fund.
Premium/Discount
Information
Information
regarding the number of days the Fund’s market price was a price above
(i.e.,
at a premium) or below (i.e.,
at a discount) its NAV for the most recently completed calendar year and the
most recently completed calendar quarters since that year, are provided, free of
charge, on the Fund’s website at www.aieqetf.com.
Litigation
The
Adviser and its parent, ETFMG, were defendants in a case filed on October 26,
2017 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
by NASDAQ, Inc. (“Nasdaq”) captioned Nasdaq,
Inc. v. Exchange Traded Managers Group, LLC et al.,
Case 1:17-cv-08252 (the “New York Action”). This action asserted claims for
breach of contract, conversion and certain other claims based on disputes
arising out of contractual relationships with the Adviser relating to certain
series of the Trust. The matter was the subject of a bench trial in May 2019,
and on December 20, 2019, the Court issued an Opinion and Order awarding
compensatory damages to Plaintiff in the amount of $78,403,172.36, plus
prejudgment interest (the “Judgment”). In its decision, the Court in the New
York Action stated that its damages award, which gave rise to the Judgment,
“includes the share of profits to which Nasdaq’s venture partner PureShares was
entitled[.]”
ETFMG
filed a Notice of Appeal from the Judgment in the United States Court of Appeals
for the Second Circuit on January 19, 2020, Docket No. 20-300. On October 28,
2021, Nasdaq and ETFMG entered into a Judgment Payment Agreement, which settled
the matter and satisfied the Judgment. On November 1, 2021, Nasdaq recorded a
Satisfaction of Judgment with the United States District Court for the Southern
District of New York reflecting that the Judgment was paid in full, and ETFMG
withdrew its appeal of the Judgment with prejudice before the United States
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
The
Trust, the Adviser, and certain officers and affiliated persons of the Adviser
have been named as defendants in an action filed December 21, 2021, in the
Superior Court of New Jersey, Union County, captioned PureShares,
LLC, d/b/a PureFunds et al. v. ETF
Managers
Group, LLC et al.,
Docket No. UNN-C-152-21. This action asserts breach of contract and tort claims
arising from the same facts and circumstances, and relates to the same series of
the Trust, that gave rise to the New York Action. The new action seeks damages
in unspecified amounts and injunctive relief. The defendants intend to
vigorously defend themselves in this new action and believe that Plaintiffs’
claims overlap with, and are barred by, those claims previously asserted by
Nasdaq (and resolved on PureShares’ behalf) in the New York Action that resulted
in the Judgment, which has been satisfied.
Financial
Highlights
The
financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the Fund’s
financial performance for the period of the Fund’s operations. Certain
information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. The total
returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have gained (or
lost) on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and
distributions). This information has been derived from the financial statements
audited by WithumSmith+Brown, PC, an independent registered public accounting
firm, whose report, along with the Fund’s financial statements, is included in
the Fund’s Annual Report dated September 30, 2021, which is available upon
request.
For
a capital share outstanding throughout the year/period
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year
Ended September 30, 2021 |
|
Year
Ended September 30, 2020 |
|
Year
Ended September 30, 2019 |
|
Period
Ended
September
30, 20181 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
Asset Value, Beginning of Year/Period |
$ |
30.72 |
|
|
$ |
26.19 |
|
|
$ |
29.50 |
|
|
$ |
25.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income
from Investment Operations: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income (loss) 2 |
(0.03) |
|
|
0.14 |
|
|
0.16 |
|
|
0.14 |
|
|
Net
realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments |
10.47 |
|
|
4.52 |
|
|
(1.41) |
|
|
4.49 |
|
|
Total
from investment operations |
10.44 |
|
|
4.66 |
|
|
(1.25) |
|
|
4.63 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Less
Distributions: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Distributions
from net investment income |
(0.04) |
|
|
(0.13) |
|
|
(0.17) |
|
|
(0.12) |
|
|
Net
realized gains |
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
(1.89) |
|
|
(0.01) |
|
|
Total
distributions |
(0.04) |
|
|
(0.13) |
|
|
(2.06) |
|
|
(0.13) |
|
|
Net
asset value, end of year/period |
$ |
41.12 |
|
|
$ |
30.72 |
|
|
$ |
26.19 |
|
|
$ |
29.50 |
|
|
Total
Return |
34.00 |
% |
|
17.94 |
% |
|
-2.32 |
% |
|
18.53 |
% |
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ratios/Supplemental
Data: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
assets at end of year/period (000’s) |
$ |
167,562 |
|
|
$ |
92,933 |
|
|
$ |
114,573 |
|
|
$ |
206,472 |
|
|
Expenses
to Average Net Assets |
0.75 |
% |
|
0.75 |
% |
|
0.75 |
% |
|
0.75 |
% |
4 |
Net
Investment Income (Loss) to Average Net Assets |
-0.09 |
% |
|
0.49 |
% |
|
0.64 |
% |
|
0.52 |
% |
4 |
Portfolio
Turnover Rate |
540 |
% |
|
239 |
% |
|
129 |
% |
|
260 |
% |
3 |
1Commencement
of operations on October 17, 2017.
2Calculated
based on average shares outstanding during the year/period.
3Not
annualized.
4Annualized.
ETF
Managers Trust
30
Maple Street, 2nd
Floor
Summit,
New Jersey 07901
ANNUAL/SEMI-ANNUAL
REPORTS TO SHAREHOLDERS
Additional
information about the Fund’s investments is available in the Fund’s annual
and semi-annual reports to shareholders (when available). In the Fund’s annual
reports, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment
strategies that significantly affected the Fund’s performance during its last
fiscal year.
STATEMENT
OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (SAI)
The
SAI provides more detailed information about the Fund. The SAI is incorporated
by reference into, and is thus legally a part of, this Prospectus.
FOR
MORE INFORMATION
To
request a free copy of the latest annual or semi-annual report, when available,
the SAI or to request additional information about the Fund or to make other
inquiries, please contact us as follows:
Call: 1-844-ETFMGRS
(383-6477)
Monday
through Friday
8:30
a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (Eastern time)
Write: ETF
Managers Trust
30
Maple Street, 2nd
Floor
Summit,
New Jersey 07901
Visit: www.aieqetf.com
INFORMATION
PROVIDED BY THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Reports
and other information about the Fund are available in the EDGAR Database on the
SEC’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov, or you can receive copies of this
information, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the
following e-mail address: [email protected].
The
Trust’s Investment Company Act file number: 811-22310