Amplify ETF Trust
Amplify Etho Climate Leadership U.S. ETF
(formerly Etho Climate Leadership U.S. ETF)
(NYSE Arca — ETHO)
PROSPECTUS
Amplify Etho Climate Leadership U.S. ETF (the “Fund”) is a series of Amplify ETF Trust (the “Trust”) and a passively-managed exchange-traded fund organized as a separate series of a registered investment management company. The Fund lists and principally trades its shares on NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca” or the “Exchange”). Market prices of shares of the Fund may differ to some degree from their net asset value. The Fund issues and redeems shares at net asset value only in large blocks of shares called “Creation Units.” Except when aggregated in Creation Units, shares of the Fund are not redeemable securities of the Fund.
As permitted by regulations adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), paper copies of the Fund’s shareholder reports will no longer be sent by mail, unless you specifically request paper copies of the Fund’s reports from your financial intermediary, such as a broker-dealer or bank. Instead, the reports will be made available on a website, and you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted and provided with a website link to access the report.
If you already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and you need not take any action. Please contact your financial intermediary to elect to receive shareholder reports and other Fund communications electronically.
You may elect to receive all future reports in paper free of charge. Please contact your financial intermediary to inform them that you wish to continue receiving paper copies of shareholder reports and for details about whether your election to receive reports in paper will apply to all funds held with your financial intermediary.
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.
Contents
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Summary Information
The Amplify Etho Climate Leadership U.S. ETF seeks investment results that generally correlate (before fees and expenses) to the total return performance of the Etho Climate Leadership Index – US (the “Index”).
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.
| Management Fees | |
| Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | |
| Other Expenses | |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell 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 at current levels. This example does not include the brokerage commissions that investors may pay to buy and sell Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, your costs, based on these assumptions, would be:
| 1 YEAR | 3 YEARS | 5 YEARS | 10 YEARS |
| $ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
The
Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it purchases and sells
securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover will
cause the Fund to incur additional transaction costs and may result in higher
taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not
reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, may affect
the Fund’s performance. During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, the
portfolio turnover rate of the Predecessor Fund (as defined below) was
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The Fund uses a “passive” or indexing approach to try to achieve the Fund’s investment objective. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not try to “beat” the Index and does not seek temporary defensive positions when markets decline or appear overvalued.
The Etho Climate Leadership Index – US
The
Index tracks the performance of the equity securities of a diversified set of
U.S. companies that are leaders in their industry with respect to their carbon
impact. “Carbon impact” is calculated based on the total greenhouse gas (“GHG”)
emissions from a company’s operations, fuel use, supply chain and business
activities, divided by the company’s market capitalization. The Index primarily
includes each company with a carbon impact at least 50% better (i.e.,
lower) than the average carbon impact for a given company’s industry (“Carbon
Leaders”). The Index generally excludes companies in industries or
sub-industries or specific companies that are broadly associated with negative
environmental, social, or corporate governance (“ESG”) profiles, as described
below. Etho Capital, LLC (“Etho Capital” or the “Index Provider”) created the
Index to seek to identify a diverse portfolio of companies with a carbon impact
at least 50% better than commonly used broad-based securities indices.
Construction of the Index begins with the universe of U.S. companies with a minimum market capitalization of $100 million. “U.S. companies” are defined as companies whose equity securities are principally listed and traded on a U.S. securities exchange and who either have their headquarters located in the U.S. or who derive at least 30% of their revenues from sales in the U.S. The carbon impact of each such company and its industry average is calculated by the Index Provider based on proprietary and third-party data. The universe of U.S.-listed companies is then screened by the Index Provider to include only companies that are Carbon Leaders.
The Index universe is further screened to generally exclude (i) all companies in the fossil fuel energy sector, (ii) all companies in the tobacco industry, the aerospace and defense industry that produce weapons, and (iii) all companies in the gambling, gold and silver sub-industries. Additionally, the Index excludes certain companies generally considered by certain non-governmental organizations (“NGOs”) as having a negative environmental sustainability impact (e.g., due to deforestation activities) and includes certain companies identified by the Index Provider whose products produce sufficient downstream sustainability benefits to outweigh the companies’ exclusion based on the above criteria (e.g., solar panel manufacturers).
The Index is reconstituted annually in April. At the time of each reconstitution, the companies in the Index are equal weighted.
The Index is not limited to a minimum or maximum number of constituents; rather, it includes all companies meeting the eligibility criteria for inclusion in the Index. The Index may include companies of any market capitalization, including small capitalization companies, subject to the previously referenced minimum market capitalization of $100 million. The Index Provider anticipates that the Index will generally include between 250 and 450 companies. As of December 31, 2023, the Index included the securities of 257 companies.
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The Fund’s Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund uses a replication strategy. A replication strategy is an indexing strategy that involves investing in the securities of the Index in approximately the same proportions as in the Index. However, the Fund may utilize a representative sampling strategy with respect to the Index when a replication strategy might be detrimental to shareholders, such as when there are practical difficulties or substantial costs involved in compiling a portfolio of equity securities to follow the Index, in instances in which a security in the Index becomes temporarily illiquid, unavailable or less liquid, or as a result of legal restrictions or limitations (such as tax diversification requirements) that apply to the Fund but not the Index.
The Fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets in the component securities of the Index. As a result, under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets in U.S. companies that are leaders in their industry with respect to their carbon impact (the “80% Policy”).
The Fund rebalances its portfolio in accordance with its Index, and, therefore, any changes to the Index’s rebalance schedule will result in corresponding changes to the Fund’s rebalance schedule.
The Index was initially created by the Index Provider. The Index Provider is not affiliated with the Fund, Amplify Investments LLC (the “Adviser”) or Toroso Investments, LLC (the “Sub-Adviser”). The Index Provider does not make investment decisions, provide investment advice, or otherwise act in the capacity of an investment adviser to the Fund. The Index is calculated and maintained by Solactive AG, which is not affiliated with the Fund, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or the Index Provider
Concentration Policy. The Fund will not concentrate its investments (i.e., invest more than 25% of the value of its total assets) in securities of issuers in any industry or group of industries, except to the extent the Index is concentrated in an industry or a group of industries.
Diversification Status. The Fund is classified as “diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).
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6
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The Fund was reorganized on or about January 29,
2024 from the Etho Climate Leadership US ETF (the “Predecessor Fund”), a series
of the ETF Managers Trust, a Delaware statutory trust, into Amplify ETF Trust, a
Massachusetts business trust. The Fund is a continuation of the Predecessor Fund
and, therefore adopts the performance information of the Predecessor Fund (as
shown below), which was managed by ETF Managers Group LLC. The Predecessor Fund
commenced operations on
8
During
the period of time shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s
|
|
1 Year | 5 Years |
Since 11/18/2015 |
| Amplify Etho Climate Leadership U.S. ETF | |||
Returns
before taxes do not reflect the effects of any income or capital gains taxes.
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MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND
Investment Adviser. Amplify Investments LLC (“Amplify Investments” or the “Adviser”)
Sub-Adviser. Toroso Investments, LLC (“Toroso” or the “Sub-Adviser”)
Portfolio Managers. The following individuals serve as portfolios managers to the Fund.
| ● | Charles A. Ragauss, CFA, Head of Trading at Toroso |
| ● | Qiao Duan, CFA, Portfolio Manager at Toroso |
The portfolio managers are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. The portfolio managers have served as part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since 2024.
PURCHASE AND SALE OF SHARES
The Fund issues and redeems Shares at net asset value (“NAV”) only with authorized participants (“APs”) that have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor and only in Creation Units (large blocks of 50,000 Shares) or multiples thereof (“Creation Unit Aggregations”), in exchange for the deposit or delivery of a basket of securities in which the Fund invests and/or cash. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the Shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund.
Individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market (i.e., on a national securities exchange) through a broker or dealer at a market price. Because the Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (at a premium), at NAV, or less than NAV (at a discount). An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”).
Recent information, including information on the Fund’s NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads, is available online at www.amplifyetfs.com.
TAX INFORMATION
The Fund’s distributions will generally be taxable as ordinary income or capital gains. A sale of Shares may result in capital gain or loss.
PAYMENTS TO BROKER-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES
If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Adviser and Foreside Fund Services, LLC, the Fund’s distributor, may pay the intermediary for the sale of Shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
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Additional Information About the Fund’s Strategies and Risks
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The Fund is a series of the Trust, an investment company and a passively managed ETF. The Fund uses an “indexing” investment approach to attempt to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The investment objective of the Fund is to provide investment results that correlate generally to the price and yield (before the Fund’s fees and expenses) of the Index. In seeking to achieve this objective, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) in the securities of companies that comprise the Index. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its total assets in equity securities that are not in the Fund’s Index to the extent that the Adviser believes such investments should help the Fund’s overall portfolio to provide returns substantially similar to the Index.
The Fund generally invests in all of the securities comprising the Index in proportion to the weightings of the securities in the Index. Under various circumstances, it may not be possible or practicable to purchase all of the securities comprising the Index. In those circumstances, the Fund may purchase a representative sample of securities in the Index.
A method to evaluate the relationship between the returns of the Fund and its Index is to assess the “tracking error” between the two. Tracking error means the variation between the Fund’s annual return and the return of the Index, expressed in terms of standard deviation. The Fund seeks to have a tracking error of less than 5%, measured on a monthly basis over a one-year period by taking the standard deviation of the difference in the Fund’s returns versus the Index’s returns. There is no guarantee that the tracking error will not exceed 5%.
The Fund’s investment objective, its investment strategy and each of the policies described herein are non-fundamental policies that may be changed by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”) without shareholder approval. Certain fundamental policies of the Fund are set forth in the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) under “Investment Objective and Policies.” The Fund may liquidate and terminate at any time without shareholder approval.
Concentration Policy. The Fund will not concentrate (i.e., invests more than 25% of the value of its total assets) in securities of issuers in any industry or group of industries, except to the extent the Index is concentrated.
NON-PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
Securities Lending. The Fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions. In connection with such loans, the Fund receives liquid collateral equal to at least 102% (105% for international securities) of the value of the loaned portfolio securities. This collateral is marked-to-market on a daily basis. To the extent that the Fund receives cash collateral, it will invest such collateral in readily marketable, high quality, short-term obligations.
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Fund Investments
EQUITY SECURITIES
The Fund invests in equity securities, which will primarily include common stocks and/or depositary receipts. Equity securities represent an ownership position in a company. The prices of equity securities fluctuate based on, among other things, events specific to their issuers and market, economic, and other conditions. American depositary receipts are certificates that evidence ownership of shares of a foreign issuer and are alternatives to purchasing directly the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. Global depositary receipts are certificates issued by an international bank that generally are traded and denominated in the currencies of countries other than the home country of the issuer of the underlying shares.
NON-PRINCIPAL FUND INVESTMENTS
Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments
The Fund may invest in securities with maturities of less than one year or cash equivalents, or it may hold cash. The percentage of the Fund invested in such holdings varies and depends on several factors, including market conditions. During periods of high cash inflows or outflows or if market conditions are not favorable, the Fund may depart from its principal investment strategies and invest part or all of its assets in these securities or it may hold cash. During such periods, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective. For more information on eligible short-term investments, see the SAI.
Additional Information Regarding Fund Risks
The following provides additional information about certain of the principal risks identified under “Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund” in the Fund’s “Summary Information” section. Risk is inherent in all investing. Investing in the Fund involves risk, including the risk that you may lose all or part of your investment. There can be no assurance that the Fund will meet its stated objectives. Before you invest, you should consider the following risks in addition to the Principal Risks set forth above in this prospectus.
Concentration Risk. The Fund’s investments will be concentrated in an industry or group of industries to the extent the Index is so concentrated. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in particular industries, groups of industries, or sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those industries, groups of industries, or sectors of the economy, and the value of Shares may rise and fall more than the value of shares that invest in securities of companies in a broader range of industries or sectors.
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.
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ESG Risk. Because the Fund generally does not invest in (i) all companies in the energy sector, (ii) all companies in the tobacco, aerospace and defense industries, and (iii) all companies in the gambling, gold and silver sub-industries, the Fund may underperform the broader equity market to the extent that such companies have above-average performance.
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 experience greater tracking error to its Index than it otherwise would at higher asset levels or 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.
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Fluctuation of NAV Risk: The NAV of the Fund’s 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 the Fund’s 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 Index trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. The market prices of the Fund’s 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 the Fund’s 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 the Fund’s 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.
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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.
Index Provider Risk. The Fund seeks to achieve returns that generally correlate, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the Index, as published by their Index Provider. There is no assurance that the Index Provider will compile the Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. The composition of the Index is heavily dependent on information and data supplied by third parties over which the Adviser has no or limited ability to oversee. While the Index Provider gives descriptions of what the Index is designed to achieve, the Index Provider does not provide any warranty or accept any liability in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in its indices, and it does not guarantee that its Index will be in line with its methodology. Because of this, if the composition of the Index reflects any errors, the Fund’s portfolio can be expected to also reflect the errors.
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.
Passive Investment Risk. The Fund is not actively managed. Therefore, unless a specific security is removed from the Fund’s Index, the Fund generally would not sell a security because the security’s issuer was in financial trouble. If a specific security is removed from the Fund’s Index, the Fund may be forced to sell such security at an inopportune time or for a price other than the security’s current market value. An investment in the Fund involves risks similar to those of investing in any equity securities traded on an exchange, such as market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic and political developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in security prices. It is anticipated that the value of the Fund’s shares will decline, more or less, in correspondence with any decline in value of the Fund’s Index. The Index may not contain the appropriate mix of securities for any particular economic cycle, and the timing of movements from one type of security to another in seeking to replicate the Index could have a negative effect on the Fund. Unlike with an actively managed fund, the Adviser does not use techniques or defensive strategies designed to lessen the effects of market volatility or to reduce the impact of periods of market decline. This means that, based on market and economic conditions, the Fund’s performance could be lower than other types of funds that may actively shift their portfolio assets to take advantage of market opportunities or to lessen the impact of a market decline.
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Security Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause a security held by the Fund to be more volatile than the market generally. The value of an individual security or particular type of security may be more volatile than the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of the market as a whole.
Smaller Companies Risk. The Fund’s Index 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 represented in the Index 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 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. 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.
Tracking Error Risk. Tracking error refers to the risk that the Adviser may not be able to cause the Fund’s performance to match or correlate to that of the Fund’s Index, either on a daily or aggregate basis. There are a number of factors that may contribute to the Fund’s tracking error, such as Fund expenses, imperfect correlation between the Fund’s investments and those of the Index, rounding of share prices, changes to the composition of the Index, regulatory policies, and high portfolio turnover rate. In addition, mathematical compounding may prevent the Fund from correlating with the monthly, quarterly, annual or other period performance of the Index. In addition, in order to minimize the market impact of the Index rebalance, the Fund may begin trading to effect the rebalance in advance of the effective date of the rebalance and continue trading after the effective date of the rebalance. This may contribute to tracking error if the weights of the Fund’s portfolio securities diverge from the weights of the securities in the Index during the rebalancing. Tracking error in such circumstances may be greater if the Fund is trading in securities that are less liquid or lightly traded. Tracking error may cause the Fund’s performance to be less than expected.
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ADDITIONAL RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND
The following section provides additional risk information regarding investing in the Fund.
Legislation and Litigation Risk. Legislation or litigation that affects the value of securities held by the Fund may reduce the value of the Fund. From time to time, various legislative initiatives are proposed that may have a negative impact on certain securities in which the Fund invests. In addition, litigation regarding any of the securities owned by the Fund may negatively impact the value of the Shares. Such legislation or litigation may cause the Fund to lose value or may result in higher portfolio turnover if Fund determines to sell such a holding.
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.
Portfolio Holdings
A description of the Trust’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio holdings is available in the Fund’s SAI, which is available at www.amplifyetfs.com.
Management of the Fund
FUND ORGANIZATION
The Fund is a series of the Trust, an investment company registered under the 1940 Act. The Fund is treated as a separate fund with its own investment objective and policies. The Trust is organized as a Massachusetts business trust. Its Board is responsible for the overall management and direction of the Trust. The Board elects the Trust’s officers and approves all significant agreements, including those with the Adviser, Sub-Adviser, custodian and fund administrative and accounting agent.
Investment Adviser. Amplify Investments LLC is a registered investment adviser with its offices at 3333 Warrenville Road, Suite 350, Lisle, Illinois 60532. The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has engaged Amplify Investments to serve as the Fund’s investment adviser pursuant to an investment management agreement (the “Investment Management Agreement”). In this capacity, Amplify Investments has overall responsibility for overseeing the investment of the Fund’s assets, managing the Fund’s business affairs and providing certain clerical, bookkeeping and other administrative services for the Trust. As compensation for its services, the Fund has agreed to pay Amplify Investments an annual management fee equal to 0.45% of its average daily net assets. Out of this management fee, Amplify Investments pays substantially all expenses of the Fund, including the cost of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other service and license fees, except for distribution and service fees payable pursuant to a Rule 12b-1 plan, if any, acquired fund fees and expenses brokerage commissions and other expenses connected with the execution of portfolio transactions, taxes, interest, and extraordinary expenses.
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Investment Sub-Adviser. Toroso Investments, LLC, a Tidal Financial Group company, is a registered investment adviser with its offices at 98 North Broadway, Suite 2, Massapequa, New York, 11758. The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and Amplify Investments have engaged Toroso to serve as the Fund’s investment sub-adviser pursuant to an investment sub-advisory agreement (a “Sub-Advisory Agreement”). In this capacity, Toroso is responsible for portfolio management and 1940 Act compliance. As compensation for its services, Amplify Investments has agreed to pay Toroso an annual sub-advisory fee based upon the Fund’s average daily net assets. Amplify Investments is responsible for paying the entire amount of Toroso’s sub-advisory fee. The Fund does not directly pay Toroso.
A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the Investment Management Agreement and the Sub-Advisory Agreement will be available in the Fund’s Semi-Annual Report to shareholders for the fiscal period ended March 31, 2024.
Portfolio Managers. The portfolio management team for the Fund consists of Charles A. Ragauss and Qiao Duan.
Charles A. Ragauss, CFA. Mr. Ragauss serves as Portfolio Manager at Toroso, having joined the firm in September 2020. Prior to joining Toroso, Mr. Ragauss served as Chief Operating Officer and Director of Portfolio Management at CSAT Investment Advisory, L.P., doing business as Exponential ETFs, from April 2016 to September 2020. Previously, Mr. Ragauss was Assistant Vice President at Huntington National Bank (“Huntington”), where he was Product Manager for the Huntington Funds and Huntington Strategy Shares ETFs, a combined fund complex of almost $4 billion in assets under management. At Huntington, he led ETF development bringing to market some of the first actively managed ETFs. Mr. Ragauss joined Huntington in 2010. Mr. Ragauss attended Grand Valley State University where he received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and International Business, as well as a minor in French. He is a member of both the National and West Michigan CFA societies and holds the CFA designation.
Qiao Duan, CFA. Ms. Duan serves as Portfolio Manager at Toroso focusing on strategy implementation and trade execution, having joined the firm in October 2020. From February 2017 to October 2020, she was an execution Portfolio Manager at Exponential ETFs, where she managed research and analysis relating to all Exponential ETF strategies. Ms. Duan received a Master of Science in Quantitative Finance and Risk Management from the University of Michigan in 2016 and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Applied Mathematics from Xiamen University in 2014. She holds the CFA designation.
The Fund’s SAI provides additional information about the compensation structure for the portfolio managers, other accounts that the portfolio managers manage and the ownership of Shares by the portfolio managers.
Manager of Managers Structure. The Fund and the Adviser have received an exemptive order from the SEC to operate under a manager of managers structure that permits the Adviser, with the approval of the Board, to appoint and replace sub-advisers, enter into sub-advisory agreements, and materially amend and terminate sub-advisory agreements on behalf of the Fund without shareholder approval (the “Manager of Managers Structure”). Under the Manager of Managers Structure, the Adviser has ultimate responsibility, subject to oversight by the Board, for overseeing the Fund’s sub-adviser(s) and recommending to the Board the hiring, termination, or replacement of any such sub-adviser(s)—including Toroso, in its capacity as Sub-Adviser. The exemptive order does not apply to any sub-adviser that is affiliated with the Fund or the Adviser.
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The Manager of Managers Structure enables the Fund to operate with greater efficiency and without incurring the expense and delays associated with obtaining shareholder approvals for matters relating to sub-advisers or sub-advisory agreements. The Manager of Managers Structure does not permit an increase in the overall management and advisory fees payable by the Fund without shareholder approval. Shareholders will be notified of any changes made to sub-advisers or sub-advisory agreements within 90 days of the changes.
How to Buy and Sell Shares
The Fund issues or redeems its Shares at NAV per Share only in Creation Units. Most investors will buy and sell Shares in secondary market transactions through brokers. Shares will be listed for trading on the secondary market on the Exchange. Shares can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like other publicly traded shares. There is no minimum investment. When buying or selling Shares through a broker, you will incur customary brokerage commissions and charges, and you may pay some or all of the spread between the bid and the offered price in the secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction. Share prices are reported in dollars and cents per Share. Authorized participants may acquire Shares directly from the Fund, and authorized participants may tender their Shares for redemption directly to the Fund, at NAV per Share only in Creation Units or Creation Unit Aggregations, and in accordance with the procedures described in the SAI.
BOOK ENTRY
Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding Shares and is recognized as the owner of all Shares for all purposes.
Investors owning Shares are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for all Shares. Participants in DTC include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other institutions that directly or indirectly maintain a custodial relationship with DTC. As a beneficial owner of Shares, you are not entitled to receive physical delivery of stock certificates or to have Shares registered in your name, and you are not considered a registered owner of Shares. Therefore, to exercise any right as an owner of Shares, you must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants. These procedures are the same as those that apply to any other stocks that you hold in book entry or “street name” form.
FUND SHARE TRADING PRICES
The trading prices of Shares on the Exchange are based on market price and may differ from the Fund’s daily NAV. Market forces of supply and demand, economic conditions and other factors may affect the trading prices of Shares.
FREQUENT PURCHASES AND REDEMPTIONS OF FUND SHARES
The Fund imposes no restrictions on the frequency of purchases and redemptions, and has adopted no policies and procedures with respect to such purchases and redemptions. In making this determination, the Board considered the risks associated with frequent purchases and redemptions by the Fund’s shareholders. Such risks include dilution, disruption of portfolio management, increases in the Fund’s trading costs and the potential for the realization of capital gains.
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Shares may be purchased and redeemed directly from the Fund only when aggregated into one or more Creation Units by authorized participants that have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor. The vast majority of trading in Shares occurs on the secondary market and does not involve the Fund directly. In-kind purchases and redemptions of Creation Units by authorized participants and cash trades on the secondary market are unlikely to cause many of the harmful effects of frequent purchases and/or redemptions of Shares that are detailed above. To the extent that the Fund may affect the issuance or redemption of Creation Units in exchange wholly or partially for cash, such trades could result in dilution to the Fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objectives. These consequences may increase as the frequency of cash purchases and redemptions of Creation Units by authorized participants increases. However, direct trading by authorized participants is critical to ensuring that Shares trade at or close to NAV.
To minimize these potential consequences of frequent purchases and redemptions of Shares, the Fund imposes transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units to cover the custodial and other costs the Fund incurs in effecting trades. In addition, the Fund reserves the right to not accept orders from authorized participants that the Adviser has determined may be disruptive to the management of the Fund or otherwise are not in the best interests of the Fund. For these reasons, the Board has not adopted policies and procedures with respect to frequent purchases and redemptions of Shares.
Dividends, Distributions and Taxes
Ordinarily, dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid at least annually by the Fund. The Fund distributes its net realized capital gains, if any, to shareholders annually.
Distributions in cash may be reinvested automatically in additional whole Shares only if the broker through whom you purchased Shares makes such option available.
TAXES
This section summarizes some of the main U.S. federal income tax consequences of owning Shares of the Fund. This section is current as of the date of this prospectus. Tax laws and interpretations change frequently, and these summaries do not describe all of the tax consequences to all taxpayers. For example, these summaries generally do not describe your situation if you are a corporation, a non-U.S. person, a broker-dealer, or other investor with special circumstances. In addition, this section does not describe your state, local or non-U.S. tax consequences.
This federal income tax summary is based in part on the advice of counsel to the Fund. The Internal Revenue Service could disagree with any conclusions set forth in this section. In addition, counsel to the Fund may not have been asked to review, and may not have reached a conclusion with respect to, the federal income tax treatment of the assets to be included in the Fund. This may not be sufficient for you to use for the purpose of avoiding penalties under federal tax law.
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As with any investment, you should seek advice based on your individual circumstances from your own tax advisor.
The Fund intends to continue to qualify as a “regulated investment company” under the federal tax laws. If the Fund qualifies as a regulated investment company and distributes its income as required by the tax law, the Fund generally will not pay federal income taxes.
Unless your investment in Shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-deferred retirement account, such as an IRA plan, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when:
| • | Your Fund makes distributions, |
| • | You sell your Shares listed on the Exchange, and |
| • | You purchase or redeem Creation Units. |
TAXES ON DISTRIBUTIONS
The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable. After the end of each year, you will receive a tax statement that separates the distributions of the Fund into two categories, ordinary income distributions and capital gain dividends. Ordinary income distributions are generally taxed at your ordinary tax rate; however, as further discussed below, certain ordinary income distributions received from the Fund may be taxed at the capital gains tax rates. Generally, you will treat all capital gain dividends as long-term capital gains regardless of how long you have owned your Shares. To determine your actual tax liability for your capital gain dividends, you must calculate your total net capital gain or loss for the tax year after considering all of your other taxable transactions, as described below. In addition, the Fund may make distributions that represent a return of capital for tax purposes and thus will generally not be taxable to you; however, such distributions may reduce your tax basis in your Shares, which could result in you having to pay higher taxes in the future when Shares are sold, even if you sell the Shares at a loss from your original investment. The tax status of your distributions from the Fund is not affected by whether you reinvest your distributions in additional Shares or receive them in cash. The income from the Fund that you must take into account for federal income tax purposes is not reduced by amounts used to pay a deferred sales fee, if any. The tax laws may require you to treat distributions made to you in January as if you had received them on December 31 of the previous year.
Income from the Fund may also be subject to a 3.8% “Medicare tax.” This tax generally applies to your net investment income if your adjusted gross income exceeds certain threshold amounts, which are $250,000 in the case of married couples filing joint returns and $200,000 in the case of single individuals.
A corporation that owns Shares generally will not be entitled to the dividends received deduction with respect to many dividends received from the Fund because the dividends received deduction is generally not available for distributions from regulated investment companies. However, certain ordinary income dividends on Shares that are attributable to qualifying dividends received by the Fund from certain corporations may be reported by the Fund as being eligible for the dividends received deduction.
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If you are an individual, the maximum marginal stated federal tax rate for net capital gain is generally 20% (15% or 0% for taxpayers with taxable incomes below certain thresholds). Some capital gains, including some portion of your capital gain dividends, may be taxed at a higher maximum stated tax rate. Capital gains may also be subject to the Medicare tax described above.
Net capital gain equals net long-term capital gain minus net short-term capital loss for the taxable year. Capital gain or loss is long-term if the holding period for the asset is more than one year and is short-term if the holding period for the asset is one year or less. You must exclude the date you purchase your Shares to determine your holding period. However, if you receive a capital gain dividend from the Fund and sell your Shares at a loss after holding them for six months or less, the loss will be recharacterized as long-term capital loss to the extent of the capital gain dividend received. The tax rates for capital gains realized from assets held for one year or less are generally the same as for ordinary income. The Code treats certain capital gains as ordinary income in special situations. An election may be available to you to defer recognition of the gain attributable to a capital gain dividend if you make certain qualifying investments within a limited time. You should talk to your tax advisor about the availability of this deferral election and its requirements.
Ordinary income dividends received by an individual shareholder from a regulated investment company such as the Fund are generally taxed at the same rates that apply to net capital gain (as discussed above), provided certain holding period requirements are satisfied and provided the dividends are attributable to qualifying dividends received by the Fund itself. The Fund will provide notice to its shareholders of the amount of any distribution which may be taken into account as a dividend which is eligible for the capital gains tax rates.
TAXES ON EXCHANGE-LISTED SHARE SALES
If you sell or redeem your Shares, you will generally recognize a taxable gain or loss. To determine the amount of this gain or loss, you must subtract your tax basis in your Shares from the amount you receive in the transaction. Your tax basis in your Shares is generally equal to the cost of your Shares, generally including sales charges. In some cases, however, you may have to adjust your tax basis after you purchase your Shares.
TAXES ON PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION OF CREATION UNITS
If you exchange securities for Creation Units you will generally recognize a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time and your aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and the cash component paid. If you exchange Creation Units for securities, you will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between your basis in the Creation Units and the aggregate market value of the securities received and the cash redemption amount. The Internal Revenue Service, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units or Creation Units for securities cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.
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TREATMENT OF FUND EXPENSES
Expenses incurred and deducted by the Fund will generally not be treated as income taxable to you. In some cases, however, you may be required to treat your portion of these Fund expenses as income. You may not be able to take a deduction for some or all of these expenses, even if the cash you receive is reduced by such expenses.
BACKUP WITHHOLDING
The Fund may be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax (“backup withholding”) from dividends and capital gain distributions paid to Shareholders. Federal tax will be withheld if (1) the Shareholder fails to furnish the Fund with the Shareholder’s correct taxpayer identification number or social security number, (2) the IRS notifies the Shareholder or the Fund that the Shareholder has failed to report properly certain interest and dividend income to the IRS and to respond to notices to that effect, or (3) when required to do so, the Shareholder fails to certify to the Fund that he or she is not subject to backup withholding. The current backup withholding rate is 24%. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules may be credited against the Shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability.
NON-U.S. TAX CREDIT
If the Fund invests in non-U.S. securities, the tax statement that you receive may include an item showing non-U.S. taxes the Fund paid to other countries. In this case, dividends taxed to you will include your share of the taxes the Fund paid to other countries. You may be able to deduct or receive a tax credit for your share of these taxes.
NON-U.S. INVESTORS
If you are a non-U.S. investor (i.e., an investor other than a U.S. citizen or resident or a U.S. corporation, partnership, estate or trust), you should be aware that, generally, subject to applicable tax treaties, distributions from the Fund will generally be characterized as dividends for federal income tax purposes (other than dividends which the Fund properly reports as capital gain dividends) and will be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes, subject to certain exceptions described below. However, distributions received by a non-U.S. investor from the Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes, provided that the Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met. Distributions from the Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as an interest-related dividend attributable to certain interest income received by the Fund or as a short-term capital gain dividend attributable to certain net short-term capital gain income received by the Fund may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes when received by certain non-U.S. investors, provided that the Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met. For tax years after December 31, 2022, amounts paid to or recognized by a non-U.S. affiliate that are excluded from tax under the portfolio interest, capital gain dividends, short-term capital gains or tax-exempt interest dividend exceptions or applicable treaties, may be taken into consideration in determining whether a corporation is an “applicable corporation” subject to a 15% minimum tax on adjusted financial statement income.
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Distributions to, and gross proceeds from dispositions of shares by, (i) certain non-U.S. financial institutions that have not entered into an agreement with the U.S. Treasury to collect and disclose certain information and are not resident in a jurisdiction that has entered into such an agreement with the U.S. Treasury and (ii) certain other non-U.S. entities that do not provide certain certifications and information about the entity’s U.S. owners, may be subject to a U.S. withholding tax of 30%. However, proposed regulations may eliminate the requirement to withhold on payments of gross proceeds from dispositions.
It is the responsibility of the entity through which you hold your shares to determine the applicable withholding.
INVESTMENTS IN CERTAIN NON-U.S. CORPORATIONS
If the Fund holds an equity interest in any “passive foreign investment companies” (“PFICs”), which are generally certain non-U.S. corporations that receive at least 75% of their annual gross income from passive sources (such as interest, dividends, certain rents and royalties or capital gains) or that hold at least 50% of their assets in investments producing such passive income, the Fund could be subject to U.S. federal income tax and additional interest charges on gains and certain distributions with respect to those equity interests, even if all the income or gain is timely distributed to its shareholders. The Fund will not be able to pass through to its shareholders any credit or deduction for such taxes. The Fund may be able to make an election that could ameliorate these adverse tax consequences. In this case, the Fund would recognize as ordinary income any increase in the value of such PFIC shares, and as ordinary loss any decrease in such value to the extent it did not exceed prior increases included in income. Under this election, the Fund might be required to recognize in a year income in excess of its distributions from PFICs and its proceeds from dispositions of PFIC stock during that year, and such income would nevertheless be subject to the distribution requirement and would be taken into account for purposes of the 4% excise tax (described above). Dividends paid by PFICs are not treated as qualified dividend income.
The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the possible consequences under current federal tax law of an investment in the Fund. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. You also may be subject to state and local taxes on Fund distributions and sales of Shares.
Consult your personal tax advisor about the potential tax consequences of an investment in Shares under all applicable tax laws. See “Federal Tax Matters” in the statement of additional information for more information.
Distribution Plan
Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the “Distributor”) serves as the distributor of Creation Units for the Fund on an agency basis. The Distributor does not maintain a secondary market in Shares.
The Board has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. In accordance with its Rule 12b-1 plan, the Fund is authorized to pay an amount up to 0.25% of its average daily net assets each year to reimburse the Distributor for amounts expended to finance activities primarily intended to result in the sale of Creation Units or the provision of investor services. The Distributor may also use this amount to compensate securities dealers or other persons that are authorized participants for providing distribution assistance, including broker-dealer and shareholder support and educational and promotional services.
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The Fund does not and has no current intention of paying 12b-1 fees. However, in the event 12b-1 fees are charged in the future, because these 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.
Net Asset Value
The Fund’s net asset value is determined as of the close of trading (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time) on each day the New York Stock Exchange is open for business. Net asset value is calculated for the Fund by taking the market price of the Fund’s total assets, including interest or dividends accrued but not yet collected, less all liabilities, and dividing such amount by the total number of Shares outstanding. The result, rounded to the nearest cent, is the NAV per Share.
Section 2(a)(41) of the 1940 Act provides that when a market quotation is readily available for a fund’s portfolio investments, it must be valued at the market value. Rule 2a-5 under the 1940 Act defines a readily available market quotation as “a quoted price (unadjusted) in active markets for identical investments that the fund can access at a measurement date, provided that a quotation will not be readily available if it is not reliable.” If a market quotation is not “readily available” then the portfolio investment must be fair valued as determined in good faith by a fund’s board of trustees. Rule 2a-5 allows a fund’s board of trustees to designate the fund’s investment adviser as its “valuation designee” to perform fair value determinations subject to certain conditions. Pursuant to Rule 2a-5 under the 1940 Act, the Board has appointed Amplify as the “Valuation Designee” for all portfolio investments.
The Fund’s investments are valued daily in accordance with valuation procedures adopted by the Board, and in accordance with provisions of the 1940 Act. Certain securities in which the Fund may invest are not listed on any securities exchange or board of trade. Such securities are typically bought and sold by institutional investors in individually negotiated private transactions that function in many respects like an over-the-counter secondary market, although typically no formal market makers exist. Certain securities, particularly debt securities, have few or no trades, or trade infrequently, and information regarding a specific security may not be widely available or may be incomplete. Accordingly, determinations of the fair value of debt securities may be based on infrequent and dated information. Because there is less reliable, objective data available, elements of judgment may play a greater role in valuation of debt securities than for other types of securities. As explained below, an fair value determination will be made in accordance with Amplify’s “Valuation Procedures.” Typically, debt securities are valued using information provided by a third-party pricing service. The third-party pricing service primarily uses broker quotes to value the securities.
The Fund’s investments will be valued daily at market value or, in the absence of market value with respect to any investment, at fair value in accordance with valuation procedures adopted by the Board and in accordance with the 1940 Act. Market value prices represent last sale or official closing prices from a national or foreign exchange (i.e., a regulated market) and are primarily obtained from third-party pricing services.
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Certain securities may not be able to be priced by pre-established pricing methods. Such securities may be valued by Amplify (subject to the supervision of the Board) at fair value. The use of fair value pricing by the Fund is governed by valuation procedures adopted by Amplify and approved by, and subject to the oversight of, the Board, and in accordance with the provisions of the 1940 Act. Investments will be fair valued as determined in good faith in accordance with the policies and procedures established by Amplify as Valuation Designee pursuant to Rule 2a-5. These securities generally include, but are not limited to, certain restricted securities (securities which may not be publicly sold without registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”)) for which a pricing service is unable to provide a market price; securities whose trading has been formally suspended; a security whose market price is not available from a pre-established pricing source; a security with respect to which an event has occurred that is likely to materially affect the value of the security after the market has closed but before the calculation of the Fund’s NAV or make it difficult or impossible to obtain a reliable market quotation; and a security whose price, as provided by the pricing service, does not reflect the security’s “fair value.”
As a general principle, “fair value” represents a good faith approximation of the value of a portfolio investment and is the amount the Fund might reasonably expect to receive from the current sale of that investment in an arm’s length transaction. The use of fair value prices by the Fund may result in the prices used by the Fund that may differ from current market quotations or official closing prices on the applicable exchange. A variety of factors may be considered in determining the fair value of such securities. Valuing the Fund’s securities using fair value pricing will result in using prices for those securities that may differ from current market valuations. While the Valuation Procedures are intended to result in the Fund’s NAV calculation that fairly reflects the values as of the time of pricing, the fair value determined for a portfolio instrument may be materially different from the value that could be realized upon the sale of that instrument. See the Fund’s SAI for details.
Even when market quotations are available for portfolio securities, they may be stale or unreliable because the security is not traded frequently, trading on the security ceased before the close of the trading market or issuer-specific events occurred after the security ceased trading or because of the passage of time between the close of the market on which the security trades and the close of the Exchange and when the Fund calculates its NAV. Events that may cause the last market quotation to be unreliable include a merger or insolvency, events which affect a geographical area or an industry segment, such as political events or natural disasters, or market events, such as a significant movement in the U.S. market. Where market quotations are not readily available, including where the Adviser determines that the closing price of the security is unreliable, the Adviser will value the security at fair value in good faith using procedures approved by the Board. Fair value pricing involves subjective judgments and it is possible that a fair value determination for a security is materially different than the value that could be realized upon the sale of the security.
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Index Information
The Index was created in 2015 by Etho Capital, LLC to serve as an index for investors seeking to build a diversified portfolio of U.S. equity securities with significantly less carbon impact than traditional indices.
In calculating the carbon impact of a company or industry, the Index Provider relies on propriety and third-party company-level data, which calculates company emissions in the following three categories, known as “Scopes”:
Scope 1 Emissions. Emissions from sources owned or controlled by the applicable company, e.g. vehicles, blast furnaces, generators, refrigeration, air-conditioning units.
Scope 2 Emissions. Emissions resulting from consumption of electricity, heat or steam purchased by the applicable company.
Scope 3 Emissions. Scope 3 covers all other indirect emissions (excluding Scope 2). Scope 3 emissions are caused by business activities, but are released from sources not owned or controlled by the applicable company. Examples of Scope 3 activities upstream in supply chains include business travel such as flights and car rentals; freight transport services; and the extraction and production of purchased materials. Scope 3 also includes emissions from sold products and services, as well as from investment portfolios.
Each company with a carbon impact more than ten times (1,000%) that of its industry average is excluded from the Index universe and the applicable industry average is recalculated excluding such company(ies). The remaining companies are screened to keep only those companies determined to be Carbon Leaders in their industry.
The Index is further screened to generally exclude (i) all companies in the energy sector, (ii) all companies in the tobacco industry, companies in the aerospace and defense industry, that produce weapons, and (iii) all companies in the gambling, gold and silver sub-industries. Additionally, the Index Provider considers information from certain NGOs and other sources to identify and exclude from the Index companies that are considered to have a particularly negative environmental sustainability impact despite otherwise qualifying for inclusion in the Index, e.g., from deforestation related to palm oil plantations. The Index Provider also reviews the remaining companies to identify and exclude any companies that it believes were included due to incorrect data about the company (e.g., assigned to an incorrect industry).
The Index Provider may include certain companies that would otherwise be excluded from the Index based on quantitative or qualitative information in the following additional category of emissions not calculated by Etho Capital:
Scope 4 (Downstream Carbon Negative) Emissions. Scope 4 considers downstream carbon negative emissions or emission reductions directly related to the use of a product, but that do not occur during the product’s production. Examples of products (and consequently companies) that may generate avoided emissions or emission reductions include solar panels and wind turbines.
The Index Provider then eliminates the top five companies by carbon impact, regardless of their industry, and the remaining companies are equal weighted to constitute the Index.
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Disclaimers
Etho Climate Leadership Index – US (the “Index”) is a trademark of the Index Provider and has been licensed for use for certain purposes by the Adviser. The Index Provider is not affiliated with the Trust, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser or the Distributor. The Fund is entitled to use the Index pursuant to a sub-licensing agreement with the Adviser.
The Adviser has entered into a license agreement with the Index Provider pursuant to which the Adviser pays a fee to use the Index and the marketing names and licensed trademarks of Etho Capital. The Adviser is sub-licensing rights to the Index to the Fund.
Except as described below, no entity that creates, compiles, sponsors or maintains an index is or will be an affiliated person, as defined in Section 2(a)(3) of the 1940 Act, or an affiliated person of an affiliated person, of the Trust, the Adviser, the Distributor or a promoter of the Fund. The Index was initially created by the Index Provider. The Index Provider is not affiliated with the Fund, the Adviser or the Sub-Adviser. The Index Provider does not make investment decisions, provide investment advice, or otherwise act in the capacity of an investment adviser to the Fund. The Index is calculated and maintained by Solactive AG, which is not affiliated with the Fund, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or the Index Provider.
Fund Service Providers
U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202, is the administrator, fund accounting and transfer agent for the Fund. U.S. Bank National Association, 1555 North River Center Drive, Suite 302, Milwaukee, WI 53212, is the custodian.
Chapman and Cutler LLP, 320 South Canal Street, Chicago, Illinois 60606, serves as legal counsel to the Trust.
Cohen & Company, Ltd., 342 North Water Street, Suite 830, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202, serves as the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm and is responsible for auditing the annual financial statements of the Fund.
Premium/Discount Information
Information showing the number of days the market price of Shares was greater (at a premium) and less (at a discount) than the Fund’s NAV for the most recently completed calendar year, and the most recently completed calendar quarters since that year (or the life of the Fund, if shorter), is available at www.amplifyetfs.com.
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Other Information
INVESTMENT COMPANIES
Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by investment companies in the securities of other investment companies. The SEC adopted Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act, which outlines the requirements under which an investment company may invest in the securities of another investment company beyond the limits prescribed in Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act. Any investment by another investment company in the Fund, or by the Fund in another investment company, must comply with Rule 12d1-4 in order to exceed the limits contained in Section 12(d)(1).
DELIVERY OF SHAREHOLDER DOCUMENTS—HOUSEHOLDING
Householding is an option available to certain investors of the Fund. Householding is a method of delivery, based on the preference of the individual investor, in which a single copy of certain shareholder documents can be delivered to investors who share the same address, even if their accounts are registered under different names. Householding for the Fund is available through certain broker-dealers. If you are interested in enrolling in householding and receiving a single copy of the prospectus and other shareholder documents, please contact your broker-dealer. If you currently are enrolled in householding and wish to change your householding status, please contact your broker-dealer.
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Financial Highlights
The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the Predecessor Fund’s financial performance. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share of the Predecessor Fund. The total return in the table represents the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) or an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information in this table for the year ended September 30, 2023 and each of the prior years thereunder is derived from the Predecessor Fund’s financial statements, which have been audited by WithumSmith+Brown, PC., an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the Predecessor Fund’s financial statements, are included in the Predecessor Fund’s 2023 Annual Report. The 2023 Annual Report are incorporated by reference into the Fund’s SAI and available upon request.
For a capital share outstanding throughout the period/year
|
|
Year
Ended September 30, 2022 |
Year
Ended September 30, 2021 |
Year
Ended September 30, 2020 |
Year
Ended September 30, 2019 |
||||||||||||||||
| Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year | $ | 46.15 | $ | 59.36 | $ | 44.18 | $ | 39.58 | $ | 37.50 | ||||||||||
| Income from Investment Operations: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Net Investment Income1 | 0.63 | 0.52 | 0.47 | 0.41 | 0.33 | |||||||||||||||
| Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments | 3.87 | (13.26 | ) | 15.17 | 4.54 | 2.08 | ||||||||||||||
| Total from investment operations | 4.50 | (12.74 | ) | 15.64 | 4.95 | 2.41 | ||||||||||||||
| Less Distributions: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Distributions from net investment income | (0.64 | ) | (0.47 | ) | (0.46 | ) | (0.35 | ) | (0.33 | ) | ||||||||||
| Net realized gains | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| Total distributions | (0.64 | ) | (0.47 | ) | (0.46 | ) | (0.35 | ) | (0.33 | ) | ||||||||||
| Net asset value, end of year | $ | 50.01 | $ | 46.15 | $ | 59.36 | $ | 44.18 | $ | 39.58 | ||||||||||
| Total Return | 9.74 | % | (21.58 | )% | 35.48 | % | 12.59 | % | 6.53 | % | ||||||||||
| Ratios/Supplemental Data: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Net assets at end of year (000’s) | $ | 172,521 | $ | 147,670 | $ | 178,070 | $ | 90,561 | $ | 53,431 | ||||||||||
| Expenses to Average Net Assets | 0.45 | % | 0.45 | % | 0.45 | % | 0.45 | % | 0.45 | % | ||||||||||
| Net Investment Income to Average Net Assets | 1.22 | % | 0.92 | % | 0.83 | % | 1.00 | % | 0.88 | % | ||||||||||
| Portfolio Turnover Rate | 50 | % | 30 | % | 45 | % | 37 | % | 41 | % |
| (1) | Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the year. |
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For More Information
For more detailed information on the Trust, Fund and Shares, you may request a copy of the Fund’s SAI. The SAI provides detailed information about the Fund and is incorporated by reference into this prospectus. This means that the SAI legally is a part of this prospectus. Additional information about the Fund’s investments also will be available in the Fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to Shareholders, when available. In the Fund’s Annual Report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund’s performance during the last fiscal year. The Fund makes available its SAI and annual and semi-annual reports, free of charge, on or through its website listed below. If you have questions about the Fund or Shares or you wish to obtain the SAI, Annual Report and/or Semi-Annual Report, when available, free of charge, or to request other information about the Fund or to make shareholder inquiries, please:
| Call: | Amplify ETF Trust at
1-855-267-3837 Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central Time | |
| Write: |
Amplify ETF Trust c/o Amplify Investments
LLC Lisle, Illinois 60532 | |
| Visit: |
www.amplifyetfs.com |
Reports and other information about the Fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site at www.sec.gov, and copies of this information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: [email protected].
No person is authorized to give any information or to make any representations about the Fund or the Shares not contained in this prospectus, and you should not rely on any other information. Read and keep this prospectus for future reference.
Dealers effecting transactions in the Shares, whether or not participating in this distribution, generally are required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to any obligation of dealers to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters.
The Trust’s registration number under the 1940 Act is 811-23108.
|
PROSPECTUS
|
Amplify Etho Climate Leadership U.S. ETF |
Dated January 26, 2024
|
Amplify
ETF Trust Suite 350 Lisle, Illinois 60532 |
Phone:
1-855-267-3837 |