Prospectus

 

Innovator Loup Frontier Tech ETF

 

(NYSE Arca — LOUP)

 

 

 

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February 28, 2022

 

 

 

 

 

Innovator Loup Frontier Tech ETF (the “Fund”) is a series of Innovator ETFs Trust (the “Trust”) and an exchange-traded index fund. The Fund lists and principally trades its shares on NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca” or the “Exchange”).

 

 

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (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.

 

 

 

 

Table of Contents

 

 

Summary Information

1

   

Additional Information About the Fund’s Principal Investment Strategies

11

   

Fund Investments

11

   

Additional Risks of Investing in the Fund

12

   

Management of the Fund

18

   

How to Buy and Sell Shares

20

   

Dividends, Distributions and Taxes

22

   

Distributor

26

   

Net Asset Value

26

   

Index Information

27

   

Fund Service Providers

31

   

Premium/Discount Information

31

   

Investments by Other Investment Companies

32

   

Financial Highlights

33

ii
 

 

 

 

Innovator Loup Frontier Tech ETF

 

 

 

Investment Objective

 

The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Loup Frontier Tech Index (the “Index”).

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

 

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

   

Management Fees

0.70%

Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees

0.00%

Other Expenses

0.00%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.70%

 

Example

 

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.

 

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.

 

 

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

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

$72

$224

$390

$871

 

Portfolio Turnover

 

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 October 31, 2021, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 134% of the average value of its portfolio, excluding the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of the Fund’s in-kind creations and redemptions.

 

1
 

 

Principal Investment Strategies

 

The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets (including borrowings for investment purposes) in the securities that comprise the Index. The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. Penserra Capital Management LLC (“Penserra or the “Sub-Adviser”), the Fund’s investment sub‑adviser, seeks a correlation of 0.95 or better (before fees and expenses) between the Fund’s performance and the performance of the Index; a figure of 1.00 would represent perfect correlation.

 

The Loup Frontier Tech Index is a rules-based stock index owned, developed and maintained by Loup Ventures Management, LLC (“Loup Ventures or the “Index Provider”) that seeks to identify and track those companies identified as being on the frontier of the development of new technologies that have the potential to have an outsized influence on the future. These include, but are not limited to, companies engaged in the development and utilization of artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous vehicle technologies, virtual reality, mixed/augmented reality and other similarly disruptive technological innovations.

 

The Index is composed of common stocks, American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”). The securities comprising the Index may be issued by small, mid or large capitalization issuers operating in developing or emerging markets. The Index Provider begins the security selection process by identifying the technological sub‑themes most relevant to the Fund’s “frontier technology” investment theme. A company is eligible for inclusion in the Index if it derives 50% of its revenue from one of the identified sub-themes or if it meets two of the following three criteria: (i) the company’s revenue related to one or more identified sub-themes grew by more than 25% year-over-year in the most recent calendar year; (ii) the company’s operating expenditures related to one or more identified sub-themes grew by more than 25% year-over-year in the most recent calendar year; or (iii) the company’s capital expenditures related to one or more of the identified sub-themes grew by more than 25% year-over-year in the most recent calendar year. As of the date of the prospectus, the Index Provider has identified the following sub-themes as being relevant to the Index’s investment theme:

 

 

Artificial Intelligence. Companies that provide or are developing software services that seek to automate tasks previously requiring human intelligence or input. These services may directly automate specific processes or provide semi-automated tools as an intermediate step to full automation.

 

 

Autonomous and Electric Vehicles. Companies that provide or are developing hardware and/or software used in the development of self-driving or unmanned aerial vehicles, or other autonomous vehicles that operate on land, air or sea. The category also includes electrification, energy storage, and other companies relevant to the evolution of energy.

 

 

Fintech. Companies involved in creating transformative experiences involving the use of money. This sub-theme may include companies that enable complex commerce transactions, innovative retail experiences, new credit products, and alternative currencies.

 

 

Robotics. Companies that create or are developing robotics and related products and services for industrial, collaborative, medical and/or consumer-related automation. This includes companies that provide hardware and software related to enabling perception (vision and sound), which could include sensors, laser arrays, semiconductors, among others.

 

2
 

 

 

Virtual/Augmented Reality.  Companies that provide or are developing hardware and/or software for delivering immersive virtual reality experiences or for delivering experiences that enhance the physical world with a digital overlay, including gaming companies.

 

Once eligible companies have been identified, the investible universe is narrowed by excluding companies that do not meet certain criteria. To be included in the Index, a company or its issued securities must meet the following requirements:

 

 

All securities, including those issued by companies operating in “emerging markets” countries, must have their primary listing exchange be located in a “developed market” country (as identified by the Index Provider) or in China, India, South Korea or Taiwan.

 

 

Companies must have a minimum market capitalization of $250 million (but no more than $500 billion) and a minimum average daily liquidity of $2 million over the previous six months. In addition, a security must have traded on 90% of the eligible trading days in the previous six months. In the case of securities that do not have a six-month trading history (e.g. securities issued in recent initial public offerings), such a security must have a minimum average daily liquidity of $2 million for the last full month of trading and a stock price of at least $10.

 

 

All securities must have a minimum free float equivalent to 10% of the securities outstanding.

 

 

Securities trading at a price greater than $10,000 per share may not be included in the Index. This is not applicable to existing constituents of the Index. Existing constituents that have appreciated in value to greater than $10,000 per share may remain in the Index.

 

The Index Provider uses the thematic focus areas to narrow the frontier list to 30 securities that will comprise the Index based on its assessment of a company’s near and long-term prospects relative to frontier technology development.

 

After establishing the selection set, the Index Provider ranks companies using the following metrics: (1) revenue growth; and (2) revenue growth acceleration ranking. Each of these two rankings will be weighted by 1/2 and summed to create a composite ranking for each stock in the selection set.

 

The Index is weighted across the two ranking categories given the ranking of the selection set: a high conviction category of 5 stocks at 5% weight each, and a conviction category with 25 stocks at a weight of 3% weight each. The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted monthly.

 

The Fund is classified as “diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). To the extent the Index concentrates (i.e., holds 25% or more of its total assets) in the securities of a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent. As of the date of this prospectus, the Fund was concentrated in the information technology sector.

 

3
 

 

Principal Risks

 

You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s investment objectives will be achieved. The order of the risk factors set forth below does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.

 

Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an authorized participant (“AP”) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as APs on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that APs exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other AP is able to step forward to create or redeem “Creation Units” (large blocks of a specified number of Shares), Shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting.

 

Concentration Risk. To the extent that the Index concentrates in the securities of issuers in a particular industry or sector, the Fund will also concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent. The Fund may be susceptible to loss due to adverse occurrences to the extent that the Fund’s investments are concentrated in a particular issuer or issuers, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class.

 

Currency Risk. Changes in currency exchange rates affect the value of investments denominated in a foreign currency, and therefore the value of such investments in the Fund’s portfolio. The Fund’s NAV could decline if a currency to which the Fund has exposure depreciates against the U.S. dollar or if there are delays or limits on repatriation of such currency. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning.

 

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

 

4
 

 

Depositary Receipts Risk. Depositary receipts, such as ADRs or GDRs, may be subject to certain of the risks associated with direct investments in the securities of foreign companies, such as currency, political, economic and market risks, because their values depend on the performance of the non-dollar denominated underlying foreign securities. Certain countries may limit the ability to convert depositary receipts into the underlying foreign securities and vice versa, which may cause the securities of the foreign company to trade at a discount or premium to the market price of the related depositary receipts. Depositary receipts may be purchased through “sponsored” or “unsponsored” facilities. A sponsored facility is established jointly by a depositary and the issuer of the underlying security. A depositary may establish an unsponsored facility without participation by the issuer of the deposited security. Unsponsored receipts may involve higher expenses and may be less liquid. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all the costs of such facilities, and the depositary of an unsponsored facility frequently is under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited security or to pass through voting rights to the holders of such receipts in respect of the deposited securities.

 

Emerging Markets Risk. Emerging markets are generally more volatile than markets of more developed countries and may be more likely to experience inflation risk, political turmoil and rapid changes in economic conditions than more developed markets. Emerging market companies are also subject to a greater risk of market closure or manipulation, less liquidity, limited reliable access to capital and exchange delisting. Emerging markets often have less uniformity in accounting and reporting requirements, unreliable securities valuation and greater risk with custody of securities than developed markets. Additionally, emerging markets often have greater risk of capital controls through such measures as taxes or interest rate control than developed markets. Certain emerging market countries may also lack the required infrastructure to attract large amounts of non-U.S. trade and investment. Additionally, the rights and remedies available to investors in emerging market securities may be more limited than those available for investments in more developed markets. Finally, the limitations associated with investments in emerging market companies could impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective.

 

Equity Securities Risk. Equity securities may decline in value because of declines in the price of a particular holding or the broad stock market. Such declines may relate directly to the issuer of a security or broader economic or market events, including changes in interest rates. The value of Shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities the Fund invests in.

 

Index Provider Risk. The Fund seeks to achieve returns that generally correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of their Index, as published by their Index Provider. There is no assurance that the Index Provider will compile its Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. While the Index Provider gives descriptions of what the Index is designed to achieve, the Index Provider does not provide any warranty or accept any liability in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in its indices, and it does not guarantee that its Index will be in line with its methodology.

 

5
 

 

Information Technology Companies Risk. Information technology companies face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, which may have an adverse effect on profit margins. Like other technology companies, information technology companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. The products of information technology companies may face obsolescence due to rapid technological developments, frequent new product introduction, unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel. Companies in the information technology sector are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights. The loss or impairment of these rights may adversely affect the profitability of these companies. Information technology companies are facing increased government and regulatory scrutiny and may be subject to adverse government or regulatory action.

 

Market Maker Risk. If the Fund has lower average daily trading volumes, it may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of Shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s NAV and the price at which the Shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Shares. In addition, 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 values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. This reduced effectiveness could result in Shares trading at a discount to NAV and in greater than normal intra-day bid-ask spreads for Shares.

 

Market Risk. The Fund could lose money over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during more prolonged market downturns. Assets may decline in value due to factors affecting financial markets generally or particular asset classes or industries represented in the markets. The value of assets may also decline due to general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or other asset, or due to factors that affect a particular issuer or issuers, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class. During a general market downturn, multiple asset classes may be negatively affected. Changes in market conditions and interest rates will not have the same impact on all types of securities. Securities, including the Shares, are subject to market fluctuations and liquidity constraints that may be caused by such factors as economic, political, or regulatory developments, changes in interest rates, and/or perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of the Fund could decline in value or underperform other investments.

 

Non-U.S. Investment Risk. Investments in securities of non-U.S. companies (particularly in emerging markets) present risks beyond those of securities of U.S. issuers and can be more volatile than investments in U.S. companies. Risks of investing in securities of foreign companies include: different accounting standards; expropriation, nationalization or other adverse political or economic developments; currency devaluation, blockages or transfer restrictions; changes in foreign currency exchange rates; taxes; restrictions on non-U.S. investments and exchange of securities; and less government supervision and regulation of issuers in non-U.S. countries. Further, other diplomatic, political or economic developments can affect investments in foreign companies. Prices of non-U.S. securities may also be more volatile. Finally, the value of securities denominated in foreign currencies, and of dividends from such securities, can change significantly when foreign currencies strengthen or weaken relative to the U.S. dollar.

 

6
 

 

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

 

Portfolio Turnover Risk. High portfolio turnover (higher than 100%) may result in increased transaction costs to the Fund, including brokerage commissions, dealer markups and other transaction costs on the sale of the securities and on reinvestment in other securities, as well as possible increased taxable distributions.

 

Premium/Discount Risk. The NAV of Shares will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. The market prices of Shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with change in NAV as well as the relative supply of and demand for Shares on the Exchange. The Fund cannot predict whether Shares will trade bellow (discount), at or above (premium) 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 holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time.

 

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.

 

Small- and Mid- Capitalization Company Risk. Generally, small- or mid- capitalization companies, which are often less seasoned, have more potential for rapid growth. However, they often involve greater risk than large cap companies and these risks are passed on to funds that invest in them. These companies may not have the management experience, financial resources, product diversification and competitive strengths of larger companies.

 

Tracking Error Risk. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. In addition, the performance of the Fund and the Index may vary due to asset valuation differences and differences between the Fund’s portfolio and the Index resulting from legal restrictions, cost or liquidity constraints.

 

Trading Issues Risk. Although the 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. Shares trade on the Exchange at market prices that may be below, at or above the Fund’s NAV. Trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. Market makers are under no obligation to make a market in the Shares, and APs are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. 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. Initially, due to the small asset size of the Fund, it may have difficulty maintaining its listings on the Exchange.

 

7
 

 

Variable Interest Entity Risk. The Fund may invest in non-Chinese holding companies that have created structures known as variable interest entities (“VIEs”). VIEs allow exposure to certain Chinese companies that are unavailable for direct investment by foreign investors. In many sectors in China, companies are not allowed to have foreign ownership and cannot directly list on exchanges outside of China. Many Chinese companies have created VIE structures to enable indirect foreign ownership and raise capital from foreign investors. Under a VIE structure, a Chinese operating company establishes an offshore holding company in another jurisdiction, such as the Cayman Islands, which enters into contractual agreements with the Chinese issuer or operating company to obtain economic exposure to the Chinese company. The non-Chinese holding company then issues shares on an exchange outside of mainland China allowing investors to obtain economic exposure to the Chinese issuer or operating through contractual means rather than through formal equity ownership. Neither the holding company nor the shareholder of the VIE owns an equity interest in the Chinese operating company. However, for accounting purposes the holding company is able to consolidate the operating company into its financial statements. Neither the holding company nor the shareholder of the holding company has any voting rights or other types of control that an equity holder typically has.

 

VIEs have never formally been recognized under Chinese laws, though VIEs are well known to officials and regulators in China and are a longstanding industry practice. Intervention by the Chinese government with respect to VIEs could significantly and negatively affect the Chinese company’s performance and the enforceability of the VIE’s contractual arrangements with the Chinese company that are the basis for the economic exposure to the Chinese company. Any action by the Chinese government could considerably impact the financial condition of the VIE by limiting its ability to consolidate the financial results of the Chinese operating company into its own financial statements, as well as make the value of the shares of the VIE effectively worthless. Further, if Chinese officials determine that VIEs violate Chinese investment laws, the market value of the VIE would likely suffer significant, and possibly permanent effects, which could negatively impact the Fund’s net asset value and could result in substantial losses.

 

VIEs are also subject to the investment risks associated with the underlying Chinese issuer or operating company. Chinese companies are not subject to the same degree of regulatory requirements or accounting standards and oversight as companies in more developed countries. There also may be significant obstacles to obtaining information necessary for investigations into or litigation against Chinese companies and VIEs, and shareholders may have limited legal remedies. U.S.-listed VIEs may be delisted if they do not meet U.S. accounting standards and auditor oversight requirements. Delisting would significantly decrease the liquidity and value of the securities, decrease the ability of the Fund to invest in such securities and may increase the costs borne by the Fund if required to seek alternative markets in which to invest in such securities.

 

8
 

 

Volatility Risk. The value of a security may fluctuate due to factors affecting markets generally or particular industries. This volatility may affect the Fund's NAV. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may be subject to price volatility and their prices may be more or less volatile than the market as a whole. Events or financial circumstances affecting individual securities or sectors may increase the volatility of the Fund. Additionally, certain positions in the Fund may be susceptible to traders engaging in trading strategies that result in temporary swings and price movements. Such trading strategies could result in volatile trading prices of the Fund’s securities, and could adversely affect the Fund.

 

The Shares will change in value, and you could lose money by investing in the Fund. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective.

 

Performance

 

The bar chart and table below illustrate the annual calendar year returns of the Fund based on NAV as well as the average annual Fund and Index returns. The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns based on NAV compare to those of the Index and a broad-based market index. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.innovatoretfs.com.

 

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The Fund’s highest quarterly return was 43.85% (quarter ended December 31, 2020) and the Fund’s lowest quarterly return was (15.81)% (quarter ended March 31, 2020).

 

9
 

 

Average Annual Total Return as of December 31, 2021

Innovator Loup Frontier Tech ETF

1 Year

Since Inception

(7/24/18)

Return Before Taxes         

7.67%

24.86%

Return After Taxes on Distributions         

7.67%

24.86%

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares         

4.54%

20.02%

Loup Frontier Tech Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)         

8.44%

25.69%

Dow Jones Global Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)         

18.12%

13.27%

 

The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.

 

Returns before taxes do not reflect the effects of any income or capital gains taxes. All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of any state or local tax. Returns after taxes on distributions reflect the taxed return on the payment of dividends and capital gains.

 

Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Shares in tax-deferred accounts such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or employee-sponsored retirement plans.

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser

 

Innovator Capital Management, LLC (“Innovator” or the “Adviser”)

 

Investment Sub-Adviser

 

Penserra Capital Management LLC

 

Portfolio Managers

 

The following persons serve as the portfolio managers of the Fund.

 

 

Dustin Lewellyn

 

 

Ernesto Tong

 

 

Anand Desai

 

The portfolio managers are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund and have served in such capacity since July 2018.

 

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

 

The Fund will issue and redeem Shares at NAV only with APs that have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor and only in Creation Units or multiples thereof (“Creation Unit Aggregations”), in exchange for the deposit or delivery of a basket of securities in which the Fund invests. The Fund may issue and redeem Shares in exchange for cash at a later date but has no current intention of doing so. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the Shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund.

 

10
 

 

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.innovatoretfs.com.

 

Tax Information

 

The Fund’s distributions will generally be taxable as ordinary income, returns of capital 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), Innovator 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.

 

11
 

 

Additional Information About the Funds Principal Investment Strategies

 

The Fund’s investment objective and 80% investment policy may be changed by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”) without shareholder approval. Additionally, the Fund may liquidate and terminate at any time without shareholder approval.

 

The Fund uses an “indexing” investment approach to attempt to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The Sub-Adviser seeks correlation over time of 0.95 or better between the Fund’s performance and the performance of the Index; a figure of 1.00 would represent perfect correlation. Another means of evaluating 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 generally invests in all of the securities comprising the Index in proportion to the weightings of the securities in the Index.

 

Loup Ventures Management, LLC is the index provider to the Fund. The “Loup Ventures” mark has been licensed to the Adviser by Loup Ventures for use in connection with the Fund under certain circumstances. The Adviser, in turn, has sublicensed to the Fund its rights to use the mark pursuant to a Sublicense Agreement. The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed or sold by Loup Ventures. Loup Ventures makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in the Fund. Additional information about the construction and calculation of the Index is set forth below in the section entitled “Index Provider.”

 

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.

 

Fund Investments

 

The Fund will invest 80% of its net assets (including borrowings for investment purposes) in the securities that comprise the Index.

 

Principal Investments

 

Equity Securities

 

The Fund invests in equity securities, which primarily includes common stocks and 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. ADRs 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. Depositary receipts may be “sponsored” or “unsponsored.” Sponsored depositary receipts are established jointly by a depositary and the underlying issuer, whereas unsponsored depositary receipts may be established by a depositary without participation by the underlying issuer.

 

12
 

 

Disclosure of 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 statement of additional information (“SAI”), which is available at www.innovatoretfs.com.

 

Additional Risks of Investing in the Fund

 

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 objective. Before you invest, you should consider the following supplemental disclosure pertaining to the Principal Risks set forth above as well as additional Non-Principal Risks set forth below in this prospectus. The order of the risk factors set forth below does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.

 

Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an AP may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as APs on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that APs exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other AP is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units, Shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting.

 

Concentration Risk. In following its methodology, the Index from time to time may be concentrated to a significant degree in securities of issuers located in a single industry or a sector. To the extent that the Index concentrates in the securities of issuers in a particular industry or sector, the Fund will also concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent. By concentrating its investments in an industry or sector, the Fund faces more risks than if it were diversified broadly over numerous industries or sectors. Such industry-based risks, any of which may adversely affect the companies in which the Fund invests, may include, but are not limited to, the following: general economic conditions or cyclical market patterns that could negatively affect supply and demand in a particular industry; competition for resources, adverse labor relations, political or world events; obsolescence of technologies; and increased competition or new product introductions that may affect the profitability or viability of companies in an industry. In addition, at times, such industry or sector may be out of favor and underperform other industries or the market as a whole.

 

Currency Risk. Changes in currency exchange rates affect the value of investments denominated in a foreign currency, the value of dividends and interest earned from such securities and gains and losses realized on the sale of such securities. The Fund’s NAV could decline if a currency to which the Fund has exposure depreciates against the U.S. dollar or if there are delays or limits on repatriation of such currency. Currency exchange rates may affect the Fund’s NAV, the value of dividends and interest earned, and gains and losses realized on the sale of securities. An increase in the strength of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies may cause the value of a Fund to decline. Certain non-U.S. currencies may be particularly volatile, and non-U.S. governments may intervene in the currency markets, causing a decline in value or liquidity in a Fund’s non-U.S. holdings whose value is tied to the affected non-U.S. currency. Additionally, the prices of non-U.S. securities that are traded in U.S. dollars are often indirectly influenced by currency fluctuations.

 

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Cyber Security Risk. The Fund, Adviser, Sub-Adviser, APs, services providers, Exchange and investment industry as a whole are susceptible to operational, information security and related “cyber” risks both directly and through their service providers. Similar types of cyber security risks are also present for issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Fund’s investment in such portfolio companies to lose value. Similarly, cyber security breaches of the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as the Adviser, Sub-Adviser, distributor or other service providers (including, but not limited to, index providers, fund accountants, custodians, transfer agents and administrators), market makers, or the issuers of the securities in which the Fund invests, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. Such cyber security breaches have the ability to cause disruptions and impact business operations, potentially resulting in: financial loss, interference with the Fund’s ability to calculate its NAV, disclosure of confidential trading information, impediments to trading, submission of erroneous trades or erroneous creation or redemption orders, the inability of the Fund or its service providers to transact business, violations of applicable privacy or other laws, regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, or additional compliance costs. In addition, cyber attacks may render records of Fund assets and transactions, shareholder ownership of Shares, and other data integral to the functioning of the Fund inaccessible or inaccurate or incomplete. Unlike many other types of risks faced by the Fund, these risks typically are not covered by insurance. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cyber incidents include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to digital systems (e.g., through “hacking” or malicious software coding) for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting data, or causing operational disruption. Cyber attacks may also be carried out in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized access, such as causing denial-of-service attacks on websites (i.e., efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users). The Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security. However, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third-party service providers. The Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result.

 

Depositary Receipts Risk. Depositary receipts, such as ADRs or GDRs, may be subject to certain of the risks associated with direct investments in the securities of foreign companies, such as currency, political, economic and market risks, because their values depend on the performance of the non-dollar denominated underlying foreign securities. Certain countries may limit the ability to convert depositary receipts into the underlying foreign securities and vice versa, which may cause the securities of the foreign company to trade at a discount or premium to the market price of the related depositary receipts. Depositary receipts may be purchased through “sponsored” or “unsponsored” facilities. A sponsored facility is established jointly by a depositary and the issuer of the underlying security. A depositary may establish an unsponsored facility without participation by the issuer of the deposited security. Unsponsored receipts may involve higher expenses and may be less liquid. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all the costs of such facilities, and the depositary of an unsponsored facility frequently is under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited security or to pass through voting rights to the holders of such receipts in respect of the deposited securities.

 

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Emerging Markets Risk. Investments in emerging markets or developing countries are subject to all of the risks of international investing generally, and have additional heightened risks due to a lack of established legal, political, business and social frameworks to support securities markets, including: more restrictive national policies on foreign investment, including restrictions on investment in issuers or industries deemed sensitive to national interests; less familiarity with a capital market structure or market-oriented economy and more widespread corruption and fraud; higher rates of inflation and more rapid and extreme fluctuations in inflation rates; greater sensitivity to interest rate changes; increased volatility in currency exchange rates and potential for currency devaluations and/or currency controls; greater debt burdens relative to the size of the economy; and more delays in settling portfolio transactions and heightened risk of loss from share registration and custody practices. There is also a higher possibility of the devaluation of a country’s currency, a downgrade in the credit ratings of issuers in such country, or a decline in the value and liquidity of securities of issuers in that country if the U.S., other nations or other governmental entities (including supranational entities) impose sanctions on issuers that limit or restrict foreign investment, the movement of assets or other economic activity in the country due to political, military or regional conflicts or due to terrorism or war. Emerging market companies are also subject to a greater risk of market closure or manipulation, less liquidity, limited reliable access to capital and exchange delisting. Security prices in emerging markets can also be significantly more volatile than those in more developed markets, reflecting the greater uncertainties of investing in less established markets and economies. Additionally, the rights and remedies available to investors in emerging market securities may be more limited than those available for investments in developed markets. Finally, the limitations associated with investments in emerging market companies could impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. All of these risks are inherently passed on to the company’s shareholders, including the Fund, and in turn, to the Fund’s shareholders.

 

Equity Securities Risk. Investments in equity securities are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. The value of your investment in the Fund is based on the market prices of the securities to which the Fund has exposure. These prices change daily due to economic and other events that affect particular companies and other issuers or the market as a whole. Historically, the equity markets have moved in cycles so that the value of the Fund’s equity securities may fluctuate from day-to-day. Individual companies may report poor results or be negatively affected by industry and/or economic trends and developments and the prices of their securities may suffer a decline in response. These factors contribute to price volatility which is the principal risk of investing in the Fund.

 

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Index Provider Risk. The Fund seeks to achieve returns that generally correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of their Index, as published by their Index Provider. There is no assurance that the Index Provider will compile its Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. While the Index Provider gives descriptions of what the Index is designed to achieve, the Index Provider does not provide any warranty or accept any liability in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in its indices, and it does not guarantee that its Index will be in line with its methodology. Errors made by the Index Provider with respect to the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data within the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time, if at all. Therefore, gains, losses or costs associated with Index Provider errors will generally be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.

 

Information Technology Companies Risk. Information technology companies produce and provide hardware, software and information technology systems and services. Information technology companies are generally subject to the following risks: rapidly changing technologies and existing produce obsolescence; short product life cycles; fierce competition; aggressive pricing and reduced profit margins; the loss of patent, copyright and trademark protections; cyclical market patterns; evolving industry standards; and frequent new product introductions and new market entrants. Information technology companies may be smaller and less experienced companies, with limited product lines, markets or financial resources and fewer experienced management or marketing personnel. Information technology company stocks, particularly those involved with the internet, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that are often unrelated to their operating performance. In addition, information technology companies are particularly vulnerable to federal, state and local government regulation, and competition and consolidation, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Information technology companies are facing increased government and regulatory scrutiny and may be subject to adverse government or regulatory action. Information technology companies also face competition for services of qualified personnel and heavily rely on patents and intellectual property rights and the ability to enforce such rights to maintain a competitive advantage.

 

Market Maker Risk. If the Fund has lower average daily trading volumes, it may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of Shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s NAV and the price at which the Shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Shares. In addition, 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 values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. This reduced effectiveness could result in Shares trading at a discount to NAV and in greater than normal intra-day bid-ask spreads for Shares.

 

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Market Risk. The securities in the Index are subject to market fluctuations, and the Fund could lose money due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during market downturns. Assets may decline in value due to factors affecting financial markets generally or particular asset classes or industries represented in the markets. The value of other assets may also decline due to general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or other asset, or due to factors that affect a particular issuer or issuers, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class. During a general market downturn, multiple asset classes may be negatively affected. Changes in market conditions and interest rates will not have the same impact on all types of securities. Securities, including the Shares, are subject to market fluctuations and liquidity constraints that may be caused by such factors as economic, political, or regulatory developments, changes in interest rates, and/or perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of the Fund could decline in value or underperform other investments. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant negative impact on a Fund and its investments. Such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. Such events could adversely affect the prices and liquidity of a Fund’s portfolio securities or other instruments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of a Fund’s Shares and result in increased market volatility. During any such events, a Fund’s Shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their NAV. The outbreak of the respiratory disease designated as “COVID-19,” which was first detected in late 2019, resulted in significant disruptions to business operations, customer activity and service capabilities for companies throughout the world. The COVID-19 pandemic also greatly increased market volatility. Many countries continue to react to the COVID-19 pandemic through prevention measures and government intervention, including restrictions on travel and business operations. These measures, along with the general uncertainty caused by this pandemic, emerging variants, and the efficacy of vaccines, have resulted in a decline in consumer demand, disruptions to healthcare systems and the supply chain, ratings downgrades, defaults and has imposed significant costs on governmental and business entities. Certain markets have experienced temporary closures, extreme volatility, reduced liquidity, severe losses and increased trading costs, all of which could negatively impact the Fund. The future potential economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, or any future public health crisis, is impossible to predict and could result in adverse market conditions that impact the performance of the Fund.

 

Non-U.S. Securities Risk. Investments in securities of non-U.S. companies (particularly in emerging markets) can be more volatile than investments in U.S. companies. Diplomatic, political, or economic developments, including nationalization or appropriation, could affect investments in foreign companies. Non-U.S. securities markets generally have less trading volume and less liquidity than U.S. markets. In addition, the value of securities denominated in foreign currencies, and of dividends from such securities, can change significantly when foreign currencies strengthen or weaken relative to the U.S. dollar. Non-U.S. companies or governments generally are not subject to uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting standards comparable to those applicable to domestic U.S. companies or governments. Transaction costs are generally higher than those in the U.S. and expenses for custodial arrangements of foreign securities may be somewhat greater than typical expenses for custodial arrangements of similar U.S. securities.

 

Passive Investment Risk. The Fund is not actively managed. The Fund invests in securities included in its Index regardless of their investment merit. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not utilize an investing strategy that seeks returns in excess of the Index. Therefore, it would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.

 

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Portfolio Turnover Risk. High portfolio turnover (higher than 100%) may result in increased transaction costs to the Fund, including brokerage commissions, dealer markups and other transaction costs on the sale of the securities and on reinvestment in other securities, as well as possible increased taxable distributions.

 

Premium/Discount Risk. The NAV of Shares will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. The market prices of shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV as well as the relative supply of and demand for Shares on the Exchange. The Fund cannot predict whether Shares will trade below (discount), at or above (premium) 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 holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time.

 

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.

 

Small- and Mid- Capitalization Company Risk. Generally, small- or mid- capitalization companies, which are often less seasoned, have more potential for rapid growth. However, they often involve greater risk than large cap companies and these risks are passed on to funds that invest in them. These companies may not have the management experience, financial resources, product diversification and competitive strengths of larger companies. Therefore, the securities of small-cap and mid-cap companies are generally more volatile than the securities of larger, more established companies.

 

Tracking Error Risk. As with all index funds, the performance of the Fund and the Index may vary somewhat for a variety of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses and portfolio transaction costs, while also managing cash flows and potential operational inefficiencies, not incurred by the Index. In addition, the Fund may not be fully invested in the securities of the Index at all times or may hold securities not included in the Index or may be subject to pricing differences, differences in the timing of dividend accruals, operational inefficiencies and the need to meet various new or existing regulatory requirements. For example, it may take several business days for additions and deletions to the Index to be reflected in the portfolio composition of the Fund. The use of sampling techniques may affect the Fund’s ability to achieve close correlation with the Index. The Fund using a representative sampling strategy generally can be expected to have a greater non-correlation risk and this risk may be heightened during times of market volatility or other unusual market conditions.

 

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Trading Issues Risk. Although the 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. Shares trade on the Exchange at market prices that may be below, at or above the Fund’s NAV. Trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. Market makers are under no obligation to make a market in the Shares, and APs are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. 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. Initially, due to the small asset size of the Fund, it may have difficulty maintaining its listings on the Exchange.

 

Variable Interest Entity Risk. The Fund may invest in non-Chinese holding companies that have created structures known as VIEs. VIEs allow exposure to certain Chinese companies that are unavailable for direct investment by foreign investors. In many sectors in China, companies are not allowed to have foreign ownership and cannot directly list on exchanges outside of China. Many Chinese companies have created VIE structures to enable indirect foreign ownership and raise capital from foreign investors. Under a VIE structure, a Chinese operating company establishes an offshore holding company in another jurisdiction, such as the Cayman Islands. That holding company enters into contractual agreements with the Chinese issuer or operating company to obtain economic exposure to the Chinese company. The holding company then issues shares on an exchange outside of mainland China. U.S. investors hold stock in the non-Chinese holding company rather than directly in the Chinese issuer or operating company, allowing U.S. investors to obtain economic exposure to the Chinese issuer or operating company through contractual means rather than through formal equity ownership. Neither the holding company nor the shareholder of the VIE owns an equity interest in the Chinese operating company. However, for accounting purposes the holding company is able to consolidate the operating company into its financial statements. Neither the holding company nor the shareholder of the holding company has any voting rights or other types of control that an equity holder typically has.

 

VIEs have never formally been recognized under Chinese laws, though VIEs are well known to officials and regulators in China and are a longstanding industry practice. Intervention by the Chinese government with respect to VIEs could significantly and negatively affect the Chinese company’s performance and the enforceability of the VIE’s contractual arrangements with the Chinese company that are the basis for the economic exposure to the Chinese company. Any action by the Chinese government could considerably impact the financial condition of the VIE by limiting its ability to consolidate the financial results of the Chinese operating company into its own financial statements, as well as make the value of the shares of the VIE effectively worthless. Further, if Chinese officials determine that VIEs violate Chinese investment laws, the market value of the VIE would likely suffer significant, and possibly permanent effects, which could negatively impact the Fund’s net asset value and could result in substantial losses. It is unknown whether any new laws, rules or regulations relating to VIEs will be adopted or, if adopted, what impact such laws, rules or regulations will have on the VIEs and on the Fund.

 

VIEs are also subject to the investment risks associated with the underlying Chinese issuer or operating company. Chinese companies are not subject to the same degree of regulatory requirements or accounting standards and oversight as companies in more developed countries. As a result, information about the Chinese securities and VIEs may be less reliable and incomplete. There also may be significant obstacles to obtaining information necessary for investigations into or litigation against Chinese companies and VIEs, and shareholders may have limited legal remedies. U.S.-listed VIEs may be delisted if they do not meet U.S. accounting standards and auditor oversight requirements. Delisting would significantly decrease the liquidity and value of the securities, decrease the ability of the Fund to invest in such securities and may increase the costs borne by the Fund if required to seek alternative markets in which to invest in such securities.

 

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Volatility Risk. The value of a security may fluctuate due to factors affecting markets generally or particular industries. This volatility may affect the Fund's NAV. Securities in the Fund's portfolio may be subject to price volatility and their prices may be more or less volatile than the market as a whole. Events or financial circumstances affecting individual securities or sectors may increase the volatility of the Fund. Additionally, certain positions in the Fund may be susceptible to traders engaging in trading strategies that result in temporary swings and price movements. Such trading strategies could result in volatile trading prices of the Fund’s securities, and could adversely affect the Fund.

 

Non-Principal Risks

 

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.

 

Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. Although the Fund and the Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.

 

Securities Lending Risk. Securities lending involves a risk of loss because the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. If the Fund were unable to recover the securities loaned, it may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement security in the market. Lending securities entails a risk of loss to the Fund if and to the extent that the market value of the loaned securities increases and the collateral is not increased accordingly. Any cash received as collateral for loaned securities will be invested in readily marketable, high quality, short-term obligations. This investment is subject to market appreciation or depreciation and the Fund will bear any loss on the investment of its cash collateral.

 

Management of the Fund

 

The Fund is a series of Innovator ETFs Trust, an investment company registered under the 1940 Act. The Fund is treated as a separate fund with its own investment objectives and policies. The Trust is organized as a Delaware statutory trust. The 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.

 

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Investment Adviser

 

Innovator Capital Management, LLC, 109 North Hale Street, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, serves as the Fund’s investment adviser. In its capacity as Adviser to the Fund, Innovator has overall responsibility for selecting and monitoring the Fund’s investments and managing the Fund’s business affairs.

 

Investment Sub-Adviser

 

Penserra Capital Management LLC, 4 Orinda Way, Suite 100-A, Orinda, California 94563, serves as the Fund’s investment sub-adviser. Penserra has responsibility for managing the Fund’s investment program in pursuit of its investment objective.

 

Portfolio Managers

 

Dustin Lewellyn, Ernesto Tong and Anand Desai serve as the Fund’s portfolio managers.

 

 

Dustin Lewellyn, CFA. Mr. Lewellyn has been Chief Investment Officer with Penserra since 2012. He was President and Founder of Golden Gate Investment Consulting LLC from 2011 through 2015. Prior to that, Mr. Lewellyn was a managing director at Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. (“CSIM”), which he joined in 2009, and head of portfolio management for Schwab ETFs. Prior to joining CSIM, he worked for two years as director of ETF product management and development at a major financial institution focused on asset and wealth management. Prior to that, he was a portfolio manager for institutional clients at a financial services firm for three years. In addition, he held roles in portfolio operations and product management at a large asset management firm for more than 6 years.

 

 

Ernesto Tong, CFA. Mr. Tong has been a Managing Director with Penserra since 2015. Prior to that, Mr. Tong spent seven years a vice president at Blackrock, where he was a portfolio manager for a number of the iShares ETFs, and prior to that, he spent two years in the firm’s index research group.

 

 

Anand Desai. Mr. Desai has been an Associate with Penserra since 2015. Prior to that, Mr. Desai was a portfolio fund accountant at State Street for five years.

 

For additional information concerning Innovator and Penserra, including a description of the services provided to the Fund, please see the Fund’s SAI. Additional information regarding the portfolio manager’s compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and the portfolio managers’ ownership of Shares may also be found in the SAI.

 

Management Fee

 

Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement between Innovator and the Trust, on behalf of the Fund (the “Investment Management Agreement”), the Fund has agreed to pay an annual unitary management fee to Innovator in an amount equal to 0.70% of its average daily net assets. This unitary management fee is designed to pay the Fund’s expenses and to compensate Innovator for the services it provides to the Fund. Out of the unitary management fee, Innovator pays substantially all expenses of the Fund, including the cost of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other service and license fees. However, Innovator is not responsible for distribution and service fees payable pursuant to a Rule 12b‑1 plan, if any, brokerage commissions and other expenses connected with the execution of portfolio transactions, taxes, interest, and extraordinary expenses.

 

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Pursuant to an investment sub-advisory agreement between Innovator, Penserra and the Trust, on behalf of the Fund (the “Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement”), Innovator has agreed to pay an annual sub-advisory fee to Penserra in an amount based on the Fund’s average daily net assets. Innovator is responsible for paying the entirety of Penserra’s sub-advisory fee. The Fund does not directly pay Penserra.

 

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the Investment Management Agreement and Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement is available in the Fund’s Annual Report to shareholders for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2021.

 

Manager of Managers Structure. The Fund and Innovator have received an exemptive order from the SEC to operate under a manager of managers structure that permits Innovator, 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 (“Manager of Managers Structure”). Under the Manager of Managers Structure, Innovator has ultimate responsibility, subject to oversight by the Board, for overseeing the Fund’s sub-advisers and recommending to the Board their hiring, termination, or replacement. The SEC order does not apply to any sub-adviser that is affiliated with the Fund or Innovator.

 

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 the Sub-Adviser or the Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement. The Manager of Managers Structure does not permit an increase in the advisory fees payable by the Fund without shareholder approval. Shareholders will be notified of any changes made to the Sub-Adviser or Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement within 90 days of the change.

 

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. Share prices are reported in dollars and cents per Share. 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. Because Shares trade at market price rather than NAV, an investor may pay more than NAV when purchasing Shares and receive less than NAV when selling Shares.

 

APs may acquire Shares directly from the Fund, and APs 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.

 

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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 is 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

 

Shares may be purchased and redeemed directly from the Fund only in Creation Units by APs 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 APs and cash trades on the secondary market are unlikely to cause many of the harmful effects of frequent purchases and/or redemptions of Shares. Cash purchases and/or redemptions of Creation Units, however, can result in increased tracking error, disruption of portfolio management, dilution to the Fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objectives, and may lead to the realization of capital gains. These consequences may increase as the frequency of cash purchases and redemptions of Creation Units by APs increases. However, direct trading by APs 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 APs that Innovator 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.

 

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Dividends, Distributions and Taxes

 

The Fund expects to declare and distribute all of its net investment income and its net realized capital gains, if any, at least annually. The Fund may distribute such income dividends and capital gains more frequently, if necessary, in order to reduce or eliminate federal excise or income taxes on the Fund. The amount of any distribution will vary, and there is no guarantee the Fund will pay either an income dividend or a capital gains distribution. Distributions 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.

 

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.

 

As with any investment, you should consider how your investment in Shares will be taxed. The tax information in this prospectus is provided as general information. You should consult your own tax professional about the tax consequences of an investment in Shares.

 

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.

 

24
 

 

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.

 

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 Share at a loss after holding it 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 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) treats certain capital gains as ordinary income in special situations.

 

25
 

 

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 Shares

 

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 Purchases and Redemptions 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 any 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.

 

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.

 

26
 

 

NonU.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.

 

NonU.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.

 

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.

 

Investments in Certain NonU.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. Dividends paid by PFICs are not treated as qualified dividend income.

 

27
 

 

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 “Distributions and Taxes” in the SAI for more information.

 

Distributor

 

Foreside Fund Services, LLC serves as the distributor of Creation Units for the Fund on an agency basis. The Distributor does not maintain a secondary market in the Shares.

 

Net Asset Value

 

US Bancorp Fund Services LLC (“USBFS”), the Fund’s administrator and fund accounting agent, calculates the Fund’s NAV at the close of regular trading (ordinarily 4:00 p.m. E.S.T.) every day the New York Stock Exchange is open. The NAV for one Share is the value of that Share’s portion of all of the net assets of the Fund. In calculating NAV, the Fund generally values its investment portfolio at market price.

 

Common stocks, preferred stocks and other equity securities listed on any national or foreign exchange (excluding the NASDAQ National Market (“NASDAQ”) and the London Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market (“AIM”)) will be valued at the last sale price on the exchange on which they are principally traded or, for NASDAQ and AIM securities, the official closing price. Securities traded on more than one securities exchange are valued at the last sale price or official closing price, as applicable, at the close of the exchange representing the principal market for such securities. Securities traded in the over-the-counter market are valued at the mean of the bid and the asked price, if available, and otherwise at their closing bid price.

 

USBFS may obtain all market quotations used in valuing securities from a third-party pricing service vendor (a “Pricing Service”). If no quotation can be obtained from a Pricing Service, then USBFS will contact the Trust’s pricing committee (the “Pricing Committee”). The Pricing Committee is responsible for establishing the valuation of portfolio securities and other instruments held by the Fund in accordance with the pricing and valuation procedures adopted by the Board (the “Valuation Procedures”). The Pricing Committee will then attempt to obtain one or more broker quotes for the security daily and will value the security accordingly.

 

If no quotation is available from either a Pricing Service, or one or more brokers, or if the Pricing Committee has reason to question the reliability or accuracy of a quotation supplied or the use of amortized cost, the value of any portfolio security held by the Fund for which reliable market quotations are not readily available will be determined by the Pricing Committee in a manner that most appropriately reflects fair market value of the security on the valuation date. The use of a fair valuation method may be appropriate if, for example: (i) market quotations do not accurately reflect fair value of an investment; (ii) an investment’s value has been materially affected by events occurring after the close of the exchange or market on which the investment is principally traded (for example, a foreign exchange or market); (iii) a trading halt closes an exchange or market early; or (iv) other events result in an exchange or market delaying its normal close.

 

28
 

 

Fair valuation of an equity security will be based on the consideration of all available information, including, but not limited to, the following: (a) the type of security; (b) the size of the holding; (c) the initial cost of the security; (d) transactions in comparable securities; (e) price quotes from dealers and/or pricing services; (f) relationships among various securities; (g) information obtained by contacting the issuer, analysts, or the appropriate stock exchange; (h) an analysis of the issuer’s financial statements; and (i) the existence of merger proposals or tender offers that might affect the value of the security.

 

With respect to any non-U.S. securities held by the Fund, the Fund may take factors influencing specific markets or issuers into consideration in determining the fair value of a non-U.S. security. International securities markets may be open on days when the U.S. markets are closed. In such cases, the value of any international securities owned by the Fund may be significantly affected on days when investors cannot buy or sell Shares. In addition, due to the difference in times between the close of the international markets and the time the Fund prices its Shares, the value the Fund assigns to securities generally will not be the same as the quoted or published prices of those securities on their primary markets or exchanges. In determining fair value prices, the Fund may consider the performance of securities on their primary exchanges, foreign currency appreciation/depreciation, securities market movements in the U.S., or other relevant information as related to the securities.

 

For more information about how the Fund’s NAV is determined, please see the section in the statement of information entitled “Determination of Net Asset Value.”

 

Index Information

 

The Index is owned and operated by Loup Ventures Management, LLC. Loup Ventures is not affiliated with the Fund, Innovator, Penserra or the Distributor. The Fund is entitled to use the Index pursuant to a sublicensing arrangement with Innovator, which in turn has a licensing agreement with the Index Provider. Solactive AG serves as calculation agent for the Index (the “Index Calculation Agent”). The Index Calculation Agent is responsible for the management of the day-to-day operations of the Index, including calculating the value of the Index every 15 seconds, widely disseminating the Index values every 15 seconds and tracking corporate actions, some of which result in Index adjustments.

 

Index Composition

 

Investible Universe. To be included in the Index, a company or its issued securities must meet the following requirements:

 

 

Security must be a common stock, ADR or GDR;

 

29
 

 

 

All securities, including those issued by companies operating in “emerging markets” countries, must have their primary listing exchange be located in a “developed market” country (as identified by the Index Provider) or in China, India, South Korea or Taiwan;

 

 

Companies must have a minimum market capitalization of $250 million (but no more than $500 billion) and a minimum average daily liquidity of $2 million over the previous six months. In addition, a security must have traded on 90% of the eligible trading days in the previous six months. In the case of securities that do not have a six-month trading history (e.g. securities issued in recent initial public offerings), such a security must have a minimum average daily liquidity of $2 million for the last two weeks of trading and a stock price of at least $10;

 

 

All securities must have a minimum free float equivalent to 10% of the securities outstanding; and

 

 

Securities trading at a price greater than $10,000 per share may not be included in the Index. This is not applicable to existing constituents of the Index. Existing constituents that have appreciated in value to greater than $10,000 per share may remain in the Index.

 

Selection Set. Securities are further narrowed into a “Selection Set” by excluding those not issued by companies that are related to the technological sub-themes identified by the Index Provider as being most relevant to the Fund’s “frontier technology” investment theme. A company is eligible for inclusion in the Index if it derives 50% of its revenue from one of the identified sub-themes or if it meets two of the following three criteria: (i) the company’s revenue related to one or more identified sub-themes grew by more than 25% year-over-year in the most recent calendar year; (ii) the company’s operating expenditures related to one or more identified sub-themes grew by more than 25% year-over-year in the most recent calendar year; or (iii) the company’s capital expenditures related to one or more of the identified sub-themes grew by more than 25% year-over-year in the most recent calendar year. The Index Provider maintains an active list of companies across these thematic categories that it monitors as participants in frontier innovation, which as of January 2021 totals over 250 companies. The Index Provider has identified the following sub-themes as being relevant to the Index’s investment theme:

 

 

Artificial Intelligence. Companies that provide or are developing software services that seek to automate tasks previously requiring human intelligence or input. These services may directly automate specific processes or provide semi-automated tools as an intermediate step to full automation.

 

 

Robotics. Companies that create or are developing robotics and related products and services for industrial, collaborative, medical and/or consumer-related automation. This includes companies that provide hardware and software related to enabling perception (vision and sound), which could include sensors, laser arrays, semiconductors, among others.

 

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Autonomous and Electric Vehicles. Companies that provide or are developing hardware and/or software used in the development of self-driving or unmanned vehicles operating on land, air or sea. The category also includes electrification, energy storage, and other companies relevant to the evolution of energy.

 

 

Fintech. Companies involved in creating transformative experiences involving the use of money. This may include companies that enable complex commerce transactions, innovative retail experiences, new credit products and alternative currencies.

 

 

Virtual/Augmented Reality. Companies that provide or are developing hardware and/or software for delivering immersive virtual reality experiences or for delivering experiences that enhance the real world with digital overlay, including game companies.

 

The Index Provider uses the thematic focus areas to narrow the frontier list to 30 equities that will comprise the Index based on its assessment of the company’s near and long-term prospects relative to frontier technology development.

 

Ranking. Securities comprising the Selection Set are ranked on the following metrics:

 

 

Revenue Growth Ranking. Includes sub-rankings of trailing twelve-month year-over-year growth, as well as the consensus next two forward years of year-over-year growth. Each of the three sub-ranks will be weighted by 1/3 to make the full Revenue Growth Ranking 1-30.

 

 

Acceleration in Quarterly Revenue Growth Ranking.  Includes sub-rankings of the amount of acceleration in year-over-year revenue growth in the most recently reported quarter and the consensus amount of acceleration in year-over-year revenue growth for the next quarter to be reported. Acceleration shall be defined as the “difference in bps growth from the current quarter to the year-ago quarter.” Each of the two sub-ranks will be weighted by 1/2 to make the full growth acceleration ranking 1-30.

 

Each of these two rankings will be weighted by 1/2 and summed to create a composite ranking for each stock in the Selection Set.

 

Weighting. The Index is weighted across the two ranking categories given the ranking of the selection set: a high conviction category of 5 stocks at 5% weight each, and a conviction category with 25 stocks at a 3% weight each. Aside from the conviction weighing adjustment, the Index will have a single security cap of 8% and a single security floor of 0.3%. The aggregate weight of the top six securities is capped at 45%.

 

Buffer Rules. Buffer Rules are employed to reduce portfolio turnover. The following buffer rules are applicable:

 

 

Market Capitalization. An existing Index constituent will continue to remain in the Index even if its market capitalization doesn’t meet the previously defined minimum market capitalization criteria but remains within +/- 20% of this limit.

 

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Liquidity.  An existing Index constituent shall continue to remain in the Index even if its liquidity is below the previously defined average daily liquidity limit but remains within +/- 30% of this limit.

 

 

Rapid Price Movement.  If an equity held in the portfolio increases in value by 200% or more in any given month following a rebalance, the equity shall be removed from the index. The weight of the equity subject to the rapid movement will be redistributed equally into the top five holdings.

 

Rebalance and Reconstitution. The Index follows a monthly reconstitution and rebalancing schedule. The “Selection Day” is generally 5 business days before the rebalancing day (for these purposes a business day is any day on which the NYSE is open for trading). The rebalancing day is the 15th of each calendar month if that day is a trading day on the NYSE, LSE and Tokyo Stock Exchange. Otherwise, the next day on which all three exchanges are open for trading is the rebalancing day. The security selection and portfolio creation process start on the close of the nearest Friday falling at least one month before the effective day. The final portfolio constituents are shortlisted from a selection pool of all eligible securities selected based on the data as of the Selection Day. Weights are calculated as of the Selection Day. Index Shares are frozen using weights as of this day.

 

Disclaimers

 

The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Loup Ventures (“Licensor”). Licensor makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of trading in the Fund. Licensor’s only relationship to Innovator is the licensing of certain trademarks and trade names of Licensor and of the Loup Frontier Tech Index which is determined, composed and calculated by Licensor without regard to Innovator or the Fund, Licensor has no obligation to take the needs of Innovator or the owners of the Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Loup Frontier Tech Index. Licensor is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the Fund to be listed or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Fund are to be converted into cash. Licensor has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund.

 

LICENSOR DOES NOT GUARANTEE OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY AS TO THE ACCURACY AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE LOUP FRONTIER TECH INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN AND LICENSOR SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR INTERRUPTIONS THEREIN. THE INDEX, ANY DATA CONTAINED THEREIN AND ANY OTHER DATA OR INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY LICENSOR IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS. LICENSOR MAKES NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY INNOVATOR, OWNERS OF THE FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE LOUP FRONTIER TECH INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. LICENSOR MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE LOUP FRONTIER TECH INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN, OR ANY WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE TIMELINESS, SEQUENCE, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, CURRENTNESS, OR QUALITY OF THE INDEX, ANY DATA CONTAINED THEREIN OR ANY DATA OR INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY LICENSOR. LICENSOR SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY MISDELIVERY OF ANY DATA RELATED TO OR ASSOCIATED WITH THE INDEX OR ANY DATA CONTAINED THEREIN. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL LICENSOR HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING LOST PROFITS), EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. LICENSOR AND ITS RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES AND EACH OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS AND SOURCES (THE “LICENSOR PARTIES”) SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO INNOVATOR OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE, DIRECT, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL, ARISING FROM (A) ANY INACCURACY OR INCOMPLETENESS IN, OR DELAYS, INTERRUPTIONS, ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN THE DELIVERY OF THE INDEX OR ANY DATA CONTAINED THEREIN, OR (B) ANY DECISION MADE OR ACTION TAKEN BY INNOVATOR OR ANY THIRD PARTY IN RELIANCE UPON THE PRODUCTS, INDEX OR ANY DATA CONTAINED THEREIN. THERE ARE NO THIRD-PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN LICENSOR AND INNOVATOR.

 

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Fund Service Providers

 

US Bancorp Fund Services LLC is the administrator and transfer agent for the Trust. U.S. Bank, N.A. serves as the custodian for the Trust.

 

Chapman and Cutler LLP, 320 South Canal Street, Chicago, Illinois 60606, serves as legal counsel to the Trust.

 

Cohen & Company, Ltd. serves as the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm and is responsible for auditing the annual financial statements of the Trust.

 

Premium/Discount Information

 

Information showing the number of days the market price of the Fund’s 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.innovatoretfs.com.

 

Investments by Other Investment Companies

 

Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by investment companies in the securities of other investment companies, including Shares. The SEC adopted Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act on November 19, 2020, which became effective January 19, 2021. The Fund is required to comply with the conditions of Rule 12d1-4, which allows, subject to certain conditions, the Fund to invest in other registered investment companies and other registered investment companies to invest in the Fund beyond the limits contained in Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act.

 

33
 

 

Financial Highlights

 

The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the Fund’s financial performance. The total returns in the table represent how much an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund Share. The information below has been audited by Cohen & Company, Ltd., the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the Fund’s financial statements, are included in the Fund’s Annual Report, which is available upon request.

 

   

Per Share Operating Performance (For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 
           

Investment Operations:

   

Capital
Share
Transactions:

   

Distributions Paid to Shareholders:

                 
   

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period

   

Net investment income/(loss)(f)

   

Net realized and unrealized gain/(loss)

   

Total From Investment Operations

   

Transaction fees

   

Paid from net investment income

   

Change in Net Asset Value for the Period

   

Net Asset Value, End of Period

 

Innovator Loup Frontier Tech ETF

                                                               

For the year ended 10/31/2021

  $ 37.34       (0.14 )     18.81       18.67       0.01       -       18.68     $ 56.02  

For the year ended 10/31/2020

  $ 23.70       (0.09 )     13.73       13.64    

-

(d)     -       13.64     $ 37.34  

For the year ended 10/31/2019

  $ 22.77       (0.02 )     0.95       0.93       -       -       0.93     $ 23.70  

For the period 7/24/2018(c) - 10/31/2018

  $ 25.00       (0.01 )     (2.22 )     (2.23 )  

-

(d)     -       (2.23 )   $ 22.77  

 

   

Ratios/Supplemental Data:

 
                   

Ratio to Average Net Assets of:(a)

         
   

Total
return(b)

   

Net assets, end of period (000)

   

Expenses, before waivers/ recoupment(g)

   

Expenses, net of waivers/ recoupment(g)

   

Net investment income/(loss)(h)

   

Portfolio turnover
rate(b)(e)

 

For the year ended 10/31/2021

    50.01 %   $ 78,428       0.70 %     0.70 %     (0.27 )%     134 %

For the year ended 10/31/2020

    57.59 %   $ 16,805       0.70 %     0.70 %     (0.32 )%     97 %

For the year ended 10/31/2019

    4.07 %   $ 10,664       0.70 %     0.70 %     (0.07 )%     107 %

For the period 7/24/2018(c) - 10/31/2018

    (8.92 )%   $ 12,524       0.70 %     0.70 %     (0.23 )%     53 %

 

(a)

Annualized for periods less than one year.

(b)

Not annualized for periods less than one year.

(c)

Commencement of operations.

(d)

Amount represents less than $0.01 per share.

(e)

Excludes in-kind transactions associated with creations and redemptions of the Fund.

(f)

Net investment income/(loss) per share has been calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period.

(g)

Does not include the impact of the expenses of the underlying funds in which the Fund invests.

(h)

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

 

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Innovator Loup Frontier Tech ETF

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more detailed information on the Fund, several additional sources of information are available to you. The SAI, incorporated by reference into this Prospectus, contains detailed information on the Fund’s policies and operation. Additional information about the Fund’s investments is available in the annual and semi‑annual reports to shareholders. In the Fund’s annual reports, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly impacted the Fund’s performance during the last fiscal year. The Fund’s most recent SAI, annual or semi‑annual reports and certain other information are available free of charge by calling the Fund at (800) 208-5212, on the Fund’s website at www.innovatoretfs.com or through your financial advisor. Shareholders may call the toll‑free number above with any inquiries.

 

You may obtain this and other information regarding the Fund, including the SAI and Codes of Ethics adopted by the Adviser, Sub-Adviser, Distributor and the Trust, directly from the SEC. Information on the SEC’s website is free of charge. Visit the SEC’s on‑line EDGAR database at http://www.sec.gov. You may also request information regarding the Fund by sending a request (along with a duplication fee) to the SEC by sending an electronic request to [email protected].

 

 

 

Innovator Capital Management, LLC
109 North Hale Street
Wheaton, Illinois  60187
(800) 208-5212
www.innovatoretfs.com

SEC File #: 333‑146827
811-22135