AdvisorShares Trust
 
          
dwapros_002.jpg
 
dwapros_001.jpg
 
NASDAQ Ticker: 
DWUS
NASDAQ Ticker: 
DWAW
NASDAQ Ticker: 
DWEQ
 
   dwapros_003.jpg
 
 
Managed by:
 
AdvisorShares Investments, LLC
 
ADVISORSHARES TRUST
4800 Montgomery Lane ● Suite 150
Bethesda, Maryland 20814
www.advisorshares.com
877.843.3831
 
Prospectus dated November 1, 2021
  
This Prospectus provides important information about the AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright FSM US Core ETF, AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright FSM All Cap World ETF and AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright Alpha Equal Weight ETF, each a series of AdvisorShares Trust. Before you invest, please read this Prospectus and the Funds’ Statement of Additional Information carefully and keep them for future reference.
 
The shares of the Funds have not been approved or disapproved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nor has the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
 
 
 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS
  
FUND SUMMARIES
1
 
 
ADVISORSHARES DORSEY WRIGHT FSM US CORE ETF
1
 
 
ADVISORSHARES DORSEY WRIGHT FSM ALL CAP WORLD ETF
7
 
 
ADVISORSHARES DORSEY WRIGHT ALPHA EQUAL WEIGHT ETF
13
 
 
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE TRUST AND THE FUNDS
18
 
 
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS’ INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES
18
 
 
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS’ PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
18
 
 
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT PRINCIPAL RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUNDS
18
 
 
OVERVIEW OF THE PRINCIPAL RISKS OF ETFs
20
 
 
OTHER INVESTMENT PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
22
 
 
PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
23
 
 
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUNDS
23
 
 
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
24
 
 
DISTRIBUTION PLAN
26
 
 
ADDITIONAL TAX INFORMATION
26
 
 
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
29
 
 
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
33
 
 
 
 
 
FUND SUMMARIES 
 
ADVISORSHARES
Dorsey
Wright
FSM US CORE ETF
NASDAQ Ticker: DWUS
 
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE 
 
The AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright FSM US
Core
ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation
with
capital
preservation as a secondary objective.
​​​​​​​
 
FUND FEES AND EXPENSES
 
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund.
You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table below.
 
SHAREHOLDER FEES
(fees paid directly from your investment)
None
ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
MANAGEMENT FEES
0.75%
DISTRIBUTION (12b-1) FEES
0.00%
OTHER EXPENSES
0.14%
ACQUIRED FUND FEES AND EXPENSES
(a)
0.18%
TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES
1.07%
FEE /EXPENSE RECAPTURE
(b)
0.03%
TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES AFTER RECAPTURE
1.10%
 
 
(a)
Total Annual Operating Expenses and Total Annual Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement in this fee table may not correlate to the expense ratios in the Fund’s financial highlights (and the Fund’s financial statements) because the financial highlights include only the Fund’s direct operating expenses and do not include Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, which represent the Fund’s pro rata share of the fees and expenses of the exchange-traded funds (each, an “ETF”) in which it invests.
 
 
(b)
AdvisorShares Investments, LLC (the “Advisor”) has contractually agreed to waive its fees and/or reimburse expenses to keep net expenses (excluding amounts payable pursuant to any plan adopted in accordance with Rule 12b-1, interest expense, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and extraordinary expenses) from exceeding 0.99% of the Fund’s average daily net assets for at least one year from the date of this Prospectus. The expense limitation agreement may be terminated without payment of any penalty (i) by the Trust for any reason and at any time and (ii) by the Advisor, for any reason, upon ninety (90) days’ prior written notice to the Trust, such termination to be effective as of the close of business on the last day of the then-current one-year period. If it becomes unnecessary for the Advisor to waive fees or reimburse expenses, the Trust’s Board of Trustees may permit the Advisor to retain the difference between the Fund’s total annual operating expenses and the expense limitation currently in effect, or, if lower, the expense limitation that was in effect at the time of the waiver and/or reimbursement, to recapture all or a portion of its prior fee waivers or expense reimbursements within three years of the date they were waived or reimbursed.
 
EXAMPLE
 
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. This Example does not take into account brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries that you may pay when purchasing or selling shares of the Fund. If these fees were included, your costs would be higher.
 
1
 
 
The 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 the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
 
 
1 YEAR
3 YEARS
5 YEARS
10 YEARS
AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright FSM US Core ETF
$112
$343
$593
$1,308
  
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER
 
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. This rate excludes the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s shares. During the most recent fiscal year ended June 30, 2021, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 64% of the average value of its portfolio.
 
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES  
 
The Fund is an actively managed ETF that is primarily a “fund of funds.” The Advisor seeks to achieve the Fund’s investment objective by investing in ETFs that invest primarily in domestic large capitalization equity securities. During periods in which the Advisor believes the market indicates broad equity weakness and cash strength, the Fund invests in fixed income ETFs with a short or ultra-short duration, money market funds, cash and cash equivalents (“Defensive Investments”). The Fund may invest in affiliated and unaffiliated ETFs. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in US investments.
 
The Advisor allocates the Fund’s portfolio investments using research obtained from the FSM Core Solution US Core Model (the “FSM US Core Model”), a proprietary model developed by Dorsey, Wright and Associates, LLC (“DWA”). The FSM US Core Model applies a proprietary ranking system based on certain technical indicators to a pre-determined universe of US large-cap ETFs, selected by DWA. Each ETF within the universe that ranks in a top tier is included in the model. If an ETF in the portfolio no longer ranks in a top tier at the time of rebalancing, then that ETF is removed and the position is allocated to a Defensive Investment.
 
The Advisor uses the FSM US Core Model to measure the relative ranking of the Fund’s core portfolio. When the model identifies broad equity weakness and cash strength, the Advisor will sell equity positions in order to allocate some or all of the portfolio to Defensive Investments. When the Fund is invested in Defensive Investments, the Advisor will shorten the Fund’s rebalancing frequency to seek to move back into equity ETF positions once the model again identifies favorable equity market conditions.
 
The Fund also may invest in repurchase agreements.
 
PRINCIPAL RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND  
 
The Fund is subject to a number of risks, described below, that may affect the value of its shares including the possible loss of money. As with any fund, there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.
 
Allocation Risk.
The Fund’s particular allocations may have a significant effect on the Fund’s performance. Allocation risk is the risk that the selection of ETFs and the allocation of assets among such ETFs will cause the Fund to underperform other funds with a similar investment objective that do not allocate their assets in the same manner or the market as a whole.
 
2
 
 
Equity Risk.
The prices of equity securities rise and fall daily. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual issuers, industries or the securities market as a whole. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles which may cause stock prices to fall over short or extended periods of time.
 
ETF Market Risk.
In stressed market conditions, the market for certain ETF shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the ETF’s underlying portfolio holdings. This adverse effect on liquidity for the ETF’s shares in turn can lead to differences between the market price of the ETF’s shares and the underlying value of those shares. In addition, there are a limited number of institutions that act as authorized participants. If these institutions exit the business or are, for any reason, unable to process creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund, or purchase and sell securities in connection with creation and/or redemption orders, as applicable, and no other authorized participant steps forward to create or redeem, or purchase or sell securities, as applicable, Fund shares may trade at a premium or discount to their net asset value (“NAV”) and possibly face operational issues such as trading halts and/or delisting. The absence of an active market in the Fund’s shares could lead to a heightened risk of differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and the underlying value of those shares.
 
Management Risk.
The Advisor continuously evaluates the Fund’s holdings, purchases and sales with a view to achieving the Fund’s investment objective. However, achievement of the stated investment objective cannot be guaranteed. The Advisor’s judgment about the markets, the economy, or companies may not anticipate actual market movements, economic conditions or company performance, and these factors may affect the return on your investment.
 
Market Risk.
Due to market conditions, the value of the Fund’s investments may fluctuate significantly from day to day. Price fluctuations may be temporary or may last for extended periods. This volatility may cause the value of your investment in the Fund to decrease. Local, regional, or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the market generally and on specific securities. The market value of a security may also decline because of factors that affect a particular industry or industries, such as labor shortages or increased production costs and competitive conditions within an industry. Because of its link to the markets, an investment in the Fund may be more suitable for long-term investors who can bear the risk of short-term principal fluctuations, which at times may be significant.
 
Repurchase Agreement Risk.
 The Fund will be subject to credit risk with respect to the counterparties with which the Fund enters into repurchase agreements, including with respect to recovering or realizing on collateral.
 
Trading Risk.
Shares of the Fund may trade above or below their NAV. The trading price of the Fund’s shares may deviate significantly from their NAV during periods of market volatility and, in such instances, you may pay significantly more or receive significantly less than the underlying value of the Fund’s shares. There can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Fund’s shares will develop or be maintained. In addition, trading in shares of the Fund may be halted because of market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (the “Exchange”), make trading in shares inadvisable.
 
Underlying ETF Risk.
Through its investments in ETFs, the Fund is subject to the risks associated with the ETFs’ investments or reference assets/benchmark components, including the possibility that the value of the securities or instruments held by or linked to an ETF could decrease. These risks include any combination of the risks described below, as well as certain of the other risks described in this section. The Fund’s exposure to a particular risk will be proportionate to the Fund’s overall allocation to the ETFs and the ETFs’ asset allocation.
 
 
Concentration Risk
. An ETF may, at various times, concentrate in the securities of a particular industry, group of industries, or sector, and when a fund is over-weighted in an industry, group of industries, or sector, it may be more sensitive to any single economic, business, political, or regulatory occurrence than a fund that is not over-weighted in an industry, group of industries, or sector.
 
 
Credit Risk
. Certain of the ETFs are subject to the risk that a decline in the credit quality of a portfolio investment or reference asset could cause the ETF’s share price to fall. The ETFs could lose money if the issuer or guarantor of a
portfolio
investment or the counterparty to a derivatives contract fails to make timely principal or interest payments or otherwise honor its obligations.
 
3
 
 
 
Equity Risk
. The prices of equity securities rise and fall daily. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual issuers, industries or the stock market as a whole. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles which may cause stock prices to fall over short or extended periods of time.
 
 
Fixed Income Securities Risk
. An ETF’s investments in, or exposure to, fixed income securities are subject to the risk that the securities may be paid off earlier or later than expected. Either situation could cause the ETF to hold securities paying lower- than-market rates of interest, which could hurt the Fund’s yield or share price.
 
 
High-Yield Risk
. An ETF may invest in, or be exposed to, high-yield securities and unrated securities of similar credit quality (commonly known as “junk bonds”). High-yield securities generally pay higher yields (greater income) than investment in higher quality securities; however, high-yield securities and junk bonds may be subject to greater levels of interest rate, credit and liquidity risk than funds that do not invest in such securities, and are considered predominantly speculative with respect to an issuer’s continuing ability to make principal and interest payments.
 
 
Income Risk
An ETF may derive dividend and interest income from certain of its investments. This income can vary widely over the short- and long-term. If prevailing market interest rates drop, distribution rates of an ETF’s income producing investments may decline which then may adversely affect the Fund’s value.
 
 
Interest Rate Risk
. An ETF’s investments in or exposure to fixed income securities are subject to the risk that interest rates rise and fall over time. As with any investment whose yield reflects current interest rates, an ETF’s yield will change over time. During periods when interest rates are low, an ETF’s yield (and total return) also may be low. To the extent that the investment advisor or issuer of an ETF anticipates interest rate trends imprecisely, the ETF could miss yield opportunities or its share price could fall.
 
 
Large-Capitalization Ris
k. The large-cap segment of the market may underperform other segments of the equity market or the equity market as a whole. The underperformance of large-cap securities may cause the ETF’s performance to be less than expected.
 
FUND PERFORMANCE  
 
The bar chart and table that follow show how the Fund has performed on a calendar year basis and provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund.​​​​​​​ The table also shows how the Fund’s performance compares to the S&P 500 Index, which is a broad-based, unmanaged measurement of changes in stock market conditions based on the average of 500 widely held common stocks.  Both the bar chart and the table assume the reinvestment of all dividends and distributions.  Past performance (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how the Fund will perform in the future.
 
Updated performance information is available on the Fund’s website at www.advisorshares.com.
 
4
 
 
Calendar Year Total Returns
 
dwapros_004a.jpg 
 
The Fund’s year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2021 was 8.61%.
 
Best and Worst Quarter Returns (for the period reflected in the bar chart above)
 
Return
Quarter/Year
Highest Return
26.41%
2Q/2020
Lowest Return
-13.44%
1Q/2020
 
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2020
ADVISORSHARES DORSEY WRIGHT FSM US CORE ETF
1 Year
Since Inception
(12/26/2019)
Return Before Taxes Based on NAV
36.46%
35.90%
Return After Taxes on Distributions
36.38%
35.82%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares
21.61%
27.35%
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
18.40%
17.82%
  
After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown and are not relevant if you hold your shares through tax
-
advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
In some cases the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period.
 
MANAGEMENT
 
Name
Title
AdvisorShares Investments, LLC
Advisor
 
 
PORTFOLIO MANAGER
 
Name and Title
Length of Service with the Advisor
Dan S. Ahrens
,
Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer and Portfolio Manager
since November 2008
 
5
 
 
PURCHASE AND SALE OF FUND SHARES
 
The Fund issues and redeems shares on a continuous basis at NAV only in a large specified number of shares called a “Creation Unit.” Only institutional investors that are acting as the Fund’s authorized participants (typically broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem Creation Units. A Creation Unit transaction generally is conducted in exchange for a basket of securities closely approximating the holdings of the Fund along with and a specified amount of cash.
 
Individual Fund shares may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through brokers. The shares of the Fund are listed on the Exchange and, because shares trade at market price rather than at NAV, shares may trade at a value greater than (premium) or less than (discount) NAV. When buying or selling shares in the secondary market, you may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads will be available on the Fund’s website at www.advisorshares.com.
 
TAX INFORMATION 
 
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income, qualified dividend income or capital gains (or a combination thereof), unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account (“IRA”), which may be taxed upon withdrawal.
 
PAYMENTS TO BROKER-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES 
 
Investors purchasing shares in the secondary market through a brokerage account or with the assistance of a broker may be subject to brokerage commissions and charges. If you purchase Fund shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Advisor may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing broker-dealers or other intermediaries and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
 
6
 
 
ADVISORSHARES
Dorsey Wright
FSM ALL CAP WORLD ETF 
NASDAQ Ticker: DWAW
 
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE  
 
The AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright FSM All Cap World ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to
provide
long-term capital appreciation
with
capital
preservation as a secondary objective.
 
FUND FEES AND EXPENSES  
 
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund.
You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table below.
 
SHAREHOLDER FEES
(fees paid directly from your investment)
None
ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
MANAGEMENT FEES
0.75%
DISTRIBUTION (12b-1) FEES
0.00%
OTHER EXPENSES
0.11%
ACQUIRED FUND FEES AND EXPENSES
(a)
0.26%
TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES
1.12%
FEE /EXPENSE RECAPTURE
(b)
0.02%
TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES AFTER RECAPTURE
1.14%
 
 
(a)
Total Annual Operating Expenses and Total Annual Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement in this fee table may not correlate to the expense ratios in the Fund’s financial highlights (and the Fund’s financial statements) because the financial highlights include only the Fund’s direct operating expenses and do not include Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, which represent the Fund’s pro rata share of the fees and expenses of the exchange-traded funds (each, an “ETF”) in which it invests.
 
 
(b)
AdvisorShares Investments, LLC (the “Advisor”) has contractually agreed to waive its fees and/or reimburse expenses to keep net expenses (excluding amounts payable pursuant to any plan adopted in accordance with Rule 12b-1, interest expense, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and extraordinary expenses) from exceeding 0.99% of the Fund’s average daily net assets for at least one year from the date of this Prospectus. The expense limitation agreement may be terminated without payment of any penalty (i) by the Trust for any reason and at any time and (ii) by the Advisor, for any reason, upon ninety (90) days’ prior written notice to the Trust, such termination to be effective as of the close of business on the last day of the then-current one-year period. If it becomes unnecessary for the Advisor to waive fees or reimburse expenses, the Trust’s Board of Trustees may permit the Advisor to retain the difference between the Fund’s total annual operating expenses and the expense limitation currently in effect, or, if lower, the expense limitation that was in effect at the time of the waiver and/or reimbursement, to recapture all or a portion of its prior fee waivers or expense reimbursements within three years of the date they were waived or reimbursed.
  
EXAMPLE
 
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. This Example does not take into account brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries that you may pay when purchasing or selling shares of the Fund. If these fees were included, your costs would be higher.
 
7
 
 
The 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 the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
 
 
1 YEAR
3 YEARS
5 YEARS
10 YEARS
AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright FSM All Cap World ETF
$116
$358
$619
$1,365
 
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER
 
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. This rate excludes the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s shares. During the most recent fiscal year ended June 30, 2021, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 209% of the average value of its portfolio.
 
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
 
The Fund is an actively managed ETF that is primarily a “fund of funds.” The Advisor seeks to achieve the Fund’s investment objective by investing in ETFs that invest primarily in domestic and foreign equity securities of any capitalization, including in emerging markets. During periods in which the Advisor believes the market indicates broad equity weakness and cash strength, the Fund invests in fixed income ETFs with a short or ultra-short duration, money market funds, cash and cash equivalents (“Defensive Investments”). The Fund may invest in affiliated and unaffiliated ETFs.
 
The Advisor allocates the Fund’s portfolio investments using research obtained from the FSM Core Solution All Cap World Core Model (the “FSM All Cap World Model”), a proprietary model developed by Dorsey, Wright and Associates, LLC (“DWA”). The FSM All Cap World Model applies a proprietary ranking system based on certain technical indicators to a pre-determined universe of domestic and foreign equity ETFs, selected by DWA. Each ETF within the universe that ranks in a top tier is identified for inclusion in the model. If an ETF no longer ranks in a top tier at the time of rebalancing, then that ETF is removed and the position is allocated to a Defensive Investment.
 
The Advisor uses the FSM All Cap World Model to measure the relative ranking of the Fund’s core portfolio. When the model identifies broad equity weakness and cash strength, the Advisor will sell equity positions in order to allocate some or all of the portfolio to Defensive Investments. When the Fund is invested in Defensive Investments, the Advisor will shorten the Fund’s rebalancing frequency to seek to move back into equity ETF positions once the model again identifies favorable equity market conditions. The Fund’s strategy may involve frequent buying and selling securities, which may lead to relatively high portfolio turnover.
 
The Fund also may invest in repurchase agreements.
 
PRINCIPAL RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND  
 
The Fund is subject to a number of risks, described below, that may affect the value of its shares including the possible loss of money.​​​​​​​ As with any fund, there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.
 
Allocation Risk.
The Fund’s particular allocations may have a significant effect on the Fund’s performance. Allocation risk is the risk that the selection of ETFs and the allocation of assets among such ETFs will cause the Fund to underperform other funds with a similar investment objective that do not allocate their assets in the same manner or the market as a whole.
 
Equity Risk.
The prices of equity securities rise and fall daily. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual issuers, industries or the stock market as a whole. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles which may cause stock prices to fall over short or extended periods of time.
 
8
 
 
ETF Market Risk.
In stressed market conditions, the market for certain ETF shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the ETF’s underlying portfolio holdings. This adverse effect on liquidity for the ETF’s shares in turn can lead to differences between the market price of the ETF’s shares and the underlying value of those shares. In addition, there are a limited number of institutions that act as authorized participants. If these institutions exit the business or are, for any reason, unable to process creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund, or purchase and sell securities in connection with creation and/or redemption orders, as applicable, and no other authorized participant steps forward to create or redeem, or purchase or sell securities, as applicable, Fund shares may trade at a premium or discount to their net asset value (“NAV”) and possibly face operational issues such as trading halts and/or delisting. The absence of an active market in the Fund’s shares could lead to a heightened risk of differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and the underlying value of those shares.
 
Foreign Investment Risk.
 The Fund’s investments in securities of foreign issuers, including ADRs, may involve certain risks that are greater than those associated with investments in securities of U.S. issuers. These include risks of adverse changes in foreign economic, political, regulatory and other conditions; changes in currency exchange rates or exchange control regulations (including limitations on currency movements and exchanges); differing accounting, auditing, financial reporting, and legal standards and practices; differing securities market structures; and higher transaction costs. In addition, the securities of some foreign companies may be less liquid and, at times, more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. companies.
 
Management Risk.
The Advisor continuously evaluates the Fund’s holdings, purchases and sales with a view to achieving the Fund’s investment objective. However, achievement of the stated investment objective cannot be guaranteed. The Advisor’s judgment about the markets, the economy, or companies may not anticipate actual market movements, economic conditions or company performance, and these factors may affect the return on your investment.
 
Market Risk.
Due to market conditions, the value of the Fund’s investments may fluctuate significantly from day to day. Price fluctuations may be temporary or may last for extended periods. This volatility may cause the value of your investment in the Fund to decrease. Local, regional, or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the market generally and on specific securities. The market value of a security may also decline because of factors that affect a particular industry or industries, such as labor shortages or increased production costs and competitive conditions within an industry. Because of its link to the markets, an investment in the Fund may be more suitable for long-term investors who can bear the risk of short-term principal fluctuations, which at times may be significant.
 
Portfolio Turnover Risk.
The Fund may experience relatively high portfolio turnover, which may result in increased transaction costs and Fund performance that is lower than expected.
 
Repurchase Agreement Risk.
 The Fund will be subject to credit risk with respect to the counterparties with which the Fund enters into repurchase agreements, including with respect to recovering or realizing on collateral.
 
Trading Risk.
Shares of the Fund may trade above or below their NAV. The trading price of the Fund’s shares may deviate significantly from their NAV during periods of market volatility and, in such instances, you may pay significantly more or receive significantly less than the underlying value of the Fund’s shares. There can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Fund’s shares will develop or be maintained. In addition, trading in shares of the Fund may be halted because of market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (the “Exchange”), make trading in shares inadvisable.
 
9
 
 
Underlying ETF Risk.
Through its investments in ETFs, the Fund is subject to the risks associated with the ETFs’ investments or reference assets/benchmark components, including the possibility that the value of the securities or instruments held by or linked to an ETF could decrease. These risks include any combination of the risks described below, as well as certain of the other risks described in this section. The Fund’s exposure to a particular risk will be proportionate to the Fund’s overall allocation to the ETFs and the ETFs’ asset allocation.
 
 
Concentration Risk
. An ETF may, at various times, concentrate in the securities of a particular industry, group of industries, or sector, and when a fund is over-weighted in an industry, group of industries, or sector, it may be more sensitive to any single economic, business, political, or regulatory occurrence than a fund that is not over-weighted in an industry, group of industries, or sector.
 
 
Credit Risk
. Certain of the ETFs are subject to the risk that a decline in the credit quality of a portfolio investment or reference asset could cause the ETF’s share price to fall. The ETFs could lose money if the issuer or guarantor of a portfolio investment or the counterparty to a derivatives contract fails to make timely principal or interest payments or otherwise honor its obligations.
 
 
Currency Risk
. An ETF’s direct and indirect exposure to foreign currencies subjects it to the risk that those currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar.
 
 
Emerging Markets Risk
. Emerging markets, which consist of countries or markets with low to middle income economies as classified by the World Bank and other countries or markets with similar characteristics as determined by the Advisor, can be subject to greater social, economic, regulatory, and political uncertainties and can be extremely volatile.
 
 
Equity Risk
. The prices of equity securities rise and fall daily. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual issuers, industries or the stock market as a whole. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles which may cause stock prices to fall over short or extended periods of time.
 
 
Fixed Income Securities Risk
. An ETF’s investments in, or exposure to, fixed income securities are subject to the risk that the securities may be paid off earlier or later than expected. Either situation could cause the ETF to hold securities paying lower- than-market rates of interest, which could hurt the Fund’s yield or share price.
 
 
Foreign Securities Risk
. An ETF’s investments in, or exposure to, foreign issuers involve certain risks including, but not limited to, risks of adverse changes in foreign economic, political, regulatory and other conditions, or changes in currency exchange rates or exchange control regulations (including limitations on currency movements and exchanges). In certain countries, legal remedies available to investors may be more limited than those available with respect to investments in the United States. In addition, the securities of some foreign companies may be less liquid and, at times, more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. companies.
 
 
High-Yield Risk
. An ETF may invest in, or be exposed to, high-yield securities and unrated securities of similar credit quality (commonly known as “junk bonds”). High-yield securities generally pay higher yields (greater income) than investment in higher quality securities; however, high-yield securities and junk bonds may be subject to greater levels of interest rate, credit and liquidity risk than funds that do not invest in such securities, and are considered predominantly speculative with respect to an issuer’s continuing ability to make principal and interest payments.
 
 
Income Risk
An ETF may derive dividend and interest income from certain of its investments. This income can vary widely over the short- and long-term. If prevailing market interest rates drop, distribution rates of an ETF’s income producing investments may decline which then may adversely affect the Fund’s value.
 
 
Interest Rate Risk
. An ETF’s investments in or exposure to fixed income securities are subject to the risk that interest rates rise and fall over time. As with any investment whose yield reflects current interest rates, an ETF’s yield will change over time. During periods when interest rates are low, an ETF’s yield (and total return) also may be low. To the extent that the investment advisor or issuer of an ETF anticipates interest rate trends imprecisely, the ETF could miss yield opportunities or its share price could fall.
10
 
 
FUND PERFORMANCE  
 
The bar chart and table that follow show how the Fund has performed on a calendar year basis and provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The table also shows how the Fund’s performance compares to the MSCI All Country World Index (Net), which is an unmanaged free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed and emerging markets. Both the bar chart and the table assume the reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. Past performance (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how the Fund will perform in the future.
 
Updated performance information is available on the Fund’s website at www.advisorshares.com.
 
Calendar Year Total Returns
 
dwapros_005a.jpg
 
The Fund’s year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2021 was -4.16%.
 
Best
and
Wors
t Quarter Returns (for the period reflected in the bar chart above)
 
Return
Quarter/Year
Highest Return
27.97%
2Q/2020
Lowest Return
-12.21%
1Q/2020
  
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2020
ADVISORSHARES
Dorsey Wright
FSM ALL CAP WORLD ETF
1 Year
Since Inception
(12/26/2019)
Return Before Taxes Based on NAV
48.84%
47.28%
Return After Taxes on Distributions
48.74%
47.19%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares
28.91%
36.01%
MSCI All Country World Index (Net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
16.25%
16.03%
  
After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown and are not relevant if you hold your shares through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period.
 
11
 
 
MANAGEMENT
 
Name
Title
AdvisorShares Investments, LLC
Advisor
 
PORTFOLIO MANAGER 
 
Name and Title
Length of Service with Advisor
Dan S. Ahrens
,
Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer and Portfolio Manager
since November 2008
  
PURCHASE AND SALE OF FUND SHARES 
 
The Fund issues and redeems shares on a continuous basis at NAV only in a large specified number of shares called a “Creation Unit.” Only institutional investors that are acting as the Fund’s authorized participants (typically broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem Creation Units. A Creation Unit transaction generally is conducted in exchange for a basket of securities closely approximating the holdings of the Fund along with a specified amount of cash.
 
Individual Fund shares may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through brokers. The shares of the Fund are listed on the Exchange and, because shares trade at market prices rather than at NAV, shares may trade at a value greater than (premium) or less than (discount) NAV. When buying or selling shares in the secondary market, you may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads will be available on the Fund’s website at www.advisorshares.com.
 
TAX INFORMATION 
 
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income, qualified dividend income or capital gains (or a combination thereof), unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account (“IRA”), which may be taxed upon withdrawal.
 
PAYMENTS TO BROKER-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES 
 
Investors purchasing shares in the secondary market through a brokerage account or with the assistance of a broker may be subject to brokerage commissions and charges. If you purchase Fund shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Advisor may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing broker-dealers or other intermediaries and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
 
12
 
 
ADVISORSHARES
Dorsey Wright
ALPHA EQUAL WEIGHT ETF
 
Nasdaq Ticker: DWEQ
 
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
 
 
The AdvisorShares Dorsey
Wright
Alpha Equal Weight ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to
provide
long-term capital appreciation.
 
FUND FEES AND EXPENSE​​​​​​​S
 
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund.
You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table below.
 
SHAREHOLDER FEES
(fees paid directly from your investment)
None
ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
MANAGEMENT FEES
0.75%
DISTRIBUTION (12b-1) FEES
0.00%
OTHER EXPENSES
0.16%
TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES
0.91%
FEE /EXPENSE RECAPTURE
*
0.05%
TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES RECAPTURE
0.96%
  
 
*
AdvisorShares Investments, LLC (the “Advisor”) has contractually agreed to waive its fees and/or reimburse expenses to keep net expenses (excluding amounts payable pursuant to any plan adopted in accordance with Rule 12b-1, interest expense, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and extraordinary expenses) from exceeding 0.99% of the Fund’s average daily net assets for at least one year from the date of this Prospectus. The expense limitation agreement may be terminated without payment of any penalty (i) by the Trust for any reason and at any time and (ii) by the Advisor, for any reason, upon ninety (90) days’ prior written notice to the Trust, such termination to be effective as of the close of business on the last day of the then-current one-year period. If it becomes unnecessary for the Advisor to waive fees or reimburse expenses, the Trust’s Board of Trustees may permit the Advisor to retain the difference between the Fund’s total annual operating expenses and the expense limitation currently in effect, or, if lower, the expense limitation that was in effect at the time of the waiver and/or reimbursement, to recapture all or a portion of its prior fee waivers or expense reimbursements within three years of the date they were waived or reimbursed.​​​​​​​
 
EXAMPLE
 
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. This Example does not take into account brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries that you may pay when purchasing or selling shares of the Fund. If these fees were included, your costs would be higher.
 
The 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 the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
 
 
1 YEAR
3 YEARS
5 YEARS
10 YEARS
AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright Alpha Equal Weight ETF
$98
$295
$509
$1,124
 
13
 
 
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER  
 
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. This rate excludes the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s shares. During the most recent fiscal year ended June 30, 2021, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 372% of the average value of its portfolio.
 
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
 
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in a concentrated portfolio of U.S. equity securities selected from a universe of the largest 1,000 U.S. equity securities based on market capitalization.
 
The Advisor allocates the Fund’s portfolio using research from a disciplined and quantitative proprietary model (the “U.S. Equal Weight Model”) developed by Dorsey, Wright and Associates, LLC (“DWA”). The U.S. Equal Weight Model utilizes a two-factor approach to invest generally in the top-ranked 40-50 large-cap equity securities on an equal-weighted basis. In constructing the model, industry sectors are first measured and ranked based on their relative strength, and individual equity securities are then selected from the top three sectors. The individual securities selections are also based on relative strength, with securities demonstrating both a buy or bullish signal and rising price momentum ranked higher by the model. The Fund’s portfolio is rebalanced monthly and may experience high turnover.
 
The Fund’s investment focus follows a core philosophy of relative strength. Relative strength investing involves buying securities that have appreciated in price more than the other securities in the investment universe and holding those securities until they underperform. The strategy is entirely based on market movement of the securities and there is no company fundamental data involved in the analysis. The Advisor’s process is systematic and removes emotion from the day-to-day decision making. In implementing the strategy, stock selection is strictly based on identifying the highest ranked securities as measured by the relative strength investment process.
 
The Fund also may invest in repurchase agreements.
 
PRINCIPAL RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND  
 
The Fund is subject to a number of risks, described below, that may affect the value of its shares including the possible loss of money. As with any fund, there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.
 
Equity Risk.
The prices of equity securities rise and fall daily. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual issuers, industries or the stock market as a whole. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles which may cause stock prices to fall over short or extended periods of time.
 
ETF Market Risk.
In stressed market conditions, the market for certain ETF shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the ETF’s underlying portfolio holdings. This adverse effect on liquidity for the ETF’s shares in turn can lead to differences between the market price of the ETF’s shares and the underlying value of those shares. In addition, there are a limited number of institutions that act as authorized participants. If these institutions exit the business or are, for any reason, unable to process creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund, or purchase and sell securities in connection with creation and/or redemption orders, as applicable, and no other authorized participant steps forward to create or redeem, or purchase or sell securities, as applicable, Fund shares may trade at a premium or discount to their net asset value (“NAV”) and possibly face operational issues such as trading halts and/or delisting. The absence of an active market in the Fund’s shares could lead to a heightened risk of differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and the underlying value of those shares.
 
Large-Capitalization Risk.
The large-cap segment of the market may underperform other segments of the equity market or the equity market as a whole. The underperformance of large-cap securities may cause the Fund’s performance to be less than expected.
 
14
 
 
Management Risk.
The Advisor continuously evaluates the Fund’s holdings, purchases and sales with a view to achieving the Fund’s investment objective. However, achievement of the stated investment objective cannot be guaranteed. The Advisor’s judgment about the markets, the economy, or companies may not anticipate actual market movements, economic conditions or company performance, and these factors may affect the return on your investment.
 
Market Risk.
Due to market conditions, the value of the Fund’s investments may fluctuate significantly from day to day. Price fluctuations may be temporary or may last for extended periods. This volatility may cause the value of your investment in the Fund to decrease. Local, regional, or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the market generally and on specific securities. The market value of a security may also decline because of factors that affect a particular industry or industries, such as labor shortages or increased production costs and competitive conditions within an industry. Because of its link to the markets, an investment in the Fund may be more suitable for long-term investors who can bear the risk of short-term principal fluctuations, which at times may be significant.
 
Portfolio Turnover Risk.
 The Fund may experience relatively high portfolio turnover, which may result in increased transaction costs and performance that is lower than expected and potentially greater tax exposure.
 
Repurchase Agreement Risk.
 The Fund will be subject to credit risk with respect to the counterparties with which the Fund enters into repurchase agreements, including with respect to recovering or realizing on collateral.
 
Sector Focus Risk.
When the Fund focuses its investments in a particular sector, financial, economic, business, and other developments affecting issuers in that sector will have a greater effect on the Fund than if it had not done so.
 
Trading Risk.
Shares of the Fund may trade above or below their NAV. The trading price of the Fund’s shares may deviate significantly from their NAV during periods of market volatility and, in such instances, you may pay significantly more or receive significantly less than the underlying value of the Fund’s shares. There can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Fund’s shares will develop or be maintained. In addition, trading in shares of the Fund may be halted because of market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (the “Exchange”), make trading in shares inadvisable.
 
FUND PERFORMANCE  
 
The bar chart and table that follow show how the Fund has performed on a calendar year basis and provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The table also shows how the Fund’s performance compares to the S&P 500 Index, which is a broad-based, unmanaged measurement of changes in stock market conditions based on the average of 500 widely held common stocks. Both the bar chart and the table assume the reinvestment of all dividends and distributions.  Past performance (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how the Fund will perform in the future.
 
Updated performance information is available on the Fund’s website at www.advisorshares.com.
 
15
 
 
Calendar Year Total Returns
 
dwapros_006a.jpg 
 
The Fund’s year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2021 was -5.95%.
 
Best and Worst Quarter Returns (for the period reflected in the bar
chart
above)
 
Return
Quarter/Year
Highest Return
17.90%
3Q/2020
Lowest Return
-26.09%
1Q/2020
 
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2020
ADVISORSHARES
Dorsey Wright
ALPHA EQUAL WEIGHT ETF
1 Year
Since Inception
(12/26/2019)
Return Before Taxes Based on NAV
11.16%
10.61%
Return After Taxes on Distributions
11.15%
10.59%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares
6.60%
8.08%
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
18.40%
17.82%
 
After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown and are not relevant if you hold your shares through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period.
 
MANAGEMENT  
 
Name
Title
AdvisorShares Investments, LLC
Advisor
  
PORTFOLIO MANAGER
 
Name and Title
Length of Service with Advisor
Dan S. Ahrens
,
Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer and Portfolio Manager
since November 2008
 
16
 
 
PURCHASE AND SALE OF FUND SHARES 
 
The Fund issues and redeems shares on a continuous basis at NAV only in a large specified number of shares called a “Creation Unit.” Only institutional investors that are acting as the Fund’s authorized participants (typically broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem Creation Units. A Creation Unit transaction generally is conducted in exchange for a deposit of cash totaling the NAV of the Creation Units.
 
Individual Fund shares may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through brokers. The shares of the Fund are listed on the Exchange and, because shares trade at market price rather than at NAV, shares may trade at a value greater than (premium) or less than (discount) NAV. When buying or selling shares in the secondary market, you may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads will be available on the Fund’s website at www.advisorshares.com.
 
TAX INFORMATION
 
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income, qualified dividend income or capital gains (or a combination thereof), unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account (“IRA”), which may be taxed upon withdrawal.
 
PAYMENTS TO BROKER-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES 
 
Investors purchasing shares in the secondary market through a brokerage account or with the assistance of a broker may be subject to brokerage commissions and charges. If you purchase Fund shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Advisor may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing broker-dealers or other intermediaries and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
 
17
 
 
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE TRUST AND THE FUNDS
 
 
AdvisorShares Trust (the “Trust”) is a Delaware statutory trust offering a number of professionally managed investment portfolios or funds.
 
Section 12(d)(1) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”) restricts investments by investment companies in the securities of other investment companies, including shares of each Fund and, with respect to the AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright FSM US Core ETF and AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright FSM All Cap World ETF, underlying ETFs. However, under certain circumstances and subject to certain terms and conditions, a registered investment company may invest in other investment companies (“underlying investment companies”) beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1). In particular, if an underlying investment company has obtained a Section 12(d)(1) exemptive order from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) or is relying on Rule 12d1-4, a Fund may enter into an agreement with the underlying investment company pursuant to which the Fund may invest in the underlying investment company beyond the Section 12(d)(1) limits subject to the terms and conditions of the underlying investment company’s exemptive order or Rule 12d1-4, as applicable. The Fund also may enter into such agreements with certain underlying ETFs to permit the Fund to invest in the underlying ETFs to an unlimited extent.
 
Creation Units of the Funds are issued and redeemed principally in-kind for portfolio securities along with a specified cash payment.
 
EXCEPT WHEN AGGREGATED IN CREATION UNITS, SHARES OF EACH FUND ARE NOT REDEEMABLE SECURITIES.
 
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS’ INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES
 
 
The AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright FSM US Core ETF and AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright FSM All Cap World ETF seek to provide long-term capital appreciation with capital preservation as a secondary objective. The AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright Alpha Equal Weight ETF seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation. Each Fund’s investment objective is non-fundamental and may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) without a shareholder vote.
 
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS’ PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
 
 
Each Fund is an actively managed ETF and, thus, does not seek to replicate the performance of a specified passive index of securities. Instead, each Fund uses an active investment strategy in seeking to meet its investment objective. The Advisor, subject to the oversight of the Board, has discretion on a daily basis to manage each Fund’s portfolio in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective and investment policies. The AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright FSM US Core ETF will not change the 80% investment policy included in its principal investment strategy without providing 60 days’ notice to shareholders.
 
If a Fund invests in and, therefore, is a shareholder of another investment company, the Fund’s shareholders will indirectly bear the Fund’s proportionate share of the fees and expenses paid by such other investment company, including advisory fees, in addition to both the advisory fee payable directly by the Fund to the Fund’s own investment advisor and the other expenses that the Fund bears directly in connection with the Fund’s own operations. When a Fund invests in an affiliated investment company, the Adviser may receive advisory and other fees from the affiliated investment company in which the Fund invests, as well as the advisory fee for managing the Fund. In addition, the Adviser may have an incentive to take into account the effect on the affiliated investment company in determining whether to purchase or sell shares in the affiliated investment company. Although the Adviser takes steps to address conflicts of interest, it is possible that the conflicts could impact the Fund.
 
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PRINCIPAL RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUNDS 
 
Each Fund is subject to a number of risks that may affect the value of its shares. This section provides additional information about the Funds’ principal risks. The principal risks specific to each Fund are listed in the Fund’s summary section above. The degree to which a risk applies to a Fund varies according to its investment allocation. Each investor should review the complete description of the principal risks before investing in a Fund. An investment in a Fund may not be appropriate for certain investors. As with investing in other securities whose prices increase and decrease in market value, you may lose money by investing in a Fund.
 
18
 
 
Allocation Risk.
A Fund’s particular allocations may have a significant effect on the Fund’s performance. Allocation risk is the risk that the selection of ETFs and the allocation of assets among such ETFs will cause a Fund to underperform other funds with a similar investment objective that seek to achieve their investment objectives by investing directly in the securities or instruments held by ETFs, by investing in a different selection of ETFs, or by pursuing a different allocation of assets among such ETFs. Because the risks and returns of different ETFs can vary widely over any given time period, a Fund’s performance could suffer if a particular ETF does not perform as expected.
 
Equity Risk.
The prices of equity securities in which a Fund invests rise and fall daily. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual companies, industries or the securities market as a whole. Individual companies may report poor results or be negatively affected by industry and/or economic trends and developments. The prices of securities issued by such companies may decline in response. In addition, the equity market tends to move in cycles which may cause stock prices to fall over short or extended periods of time.
 
ETF Market Risk.
In stressed market conditions, the market for certain ETF shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the ETF’s underlying portfolio holdings. This adverse effect on liquidity for the ETF’s shares in turn can lead to a difference between the market price of the ETF’s shares and the underlying value of those shares. This difference can be reflected as a spread between the bid and ask prices quoted during the day or a premium or discount in the closing price from the Fund’s NAV.
 
Because the Fund’s shares trade in the secondary market, a broker may charge a commission to execute a transaction in shares and an investor may incur the cost of the spread between the price at which a dealer will buy shares (bid) and the somewhat higher price at which a dealer will sell shares (ask). In addition, not only are there a limited number of institutions that act as authorized participants, direct trading by authorized participants is critical to ensuring that the Fund’s shares trade at or close to NAV. However, market makers are not obligated to make a market in the Fund’s shares nor are authorized participants obligated to execute purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units, and in times of market stress circumstances could develop that could cause them to refrain from these activities or reduce their role. The absence of an active market could lead to a heightened risk of differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and the underlying value of those shares.
 
Large-Capitalization Risk.
The large-cap segment of the market may underperform other segments of the equity market or the equity market as a whole. The underperformance of large-cap securities may cause a Fund’s performance to be less than expected.
 
Management Risk.
The Advisor continuously evaluates a Fund’s holdings, purchases and sales with a view to achieving the Fund’s investment objective. However, achievement of the stated investment objective cannot be guaranteed. The Advisor’s judgment about the markets, the economy, or companies may not anticipate actual market movements, economic conditions or company performance, and these factors may affect the return on your investment. In fact, no matter how good a job the Advisor does, you could lose money on your investment in a Fund, just as you could with other investments. If the Advisor is incorrect in its assessment of the income, growth or price realization potential of a Fund’s holdings or incorrect in its assessment of general market or economic conditions, then the value of the Fund’s shares may decline.
 
19
 
 
Market Risk.
Investments in securities, in general, are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. A Fund’s and an ETF’s investments may decline in value due to factors affecting securities markets generally, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions or changes in interest or currency rates, or particular countries, segments, economic sectors, industries or companies within those markets. Local, regional, or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the market generally and on specific securities. For example, since December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus has spread globally, which has resulted in the temporary closure of many corporate offices, retail stores, manufacturing facilities and factories, and other businesses across the world. As the extent of the impact on global markets from the coronavirus is difficult to predict, the extent to which the coronavirus may negatively affect the Fund’s performance or the duration of any potential business disruption is uncertain. Any potential impact on performance will depend to a large extent on future developments and new information that may emerge regarding the duration and severity of the coronavirus and the actions taken by authorities and other entities to contain the coronavirus or treat its impact.
 
Changes in market conditions and interest rates generally do not have the same impact on all types of securities and instruments. Fluctuations in the value of securities and financial instruments in which a Fund or an ETF invests will cause the NAV of the Fund or the ETF to fluctuate. Historically, the markets have moved in cycles, and the value of a Fund’s and an ETF’s securities or reference asset may fluctuate drastically from day to day. Because of its link to the markets, an investment in a Fund may be more suitable for long-term investors who can bear the risk of short-term principal fluctuations, which at times may be significant.
 
Portfolio Turnover Risk.
 A Fund’s strategy may frequently involve buying and selling securities, which may lead to relatively high portfolio turnover. Higher portfolio turnover may result in a Fund paying increased transaction costs and generating greater tax liabilities for shareholders. Portfolio turnover also may cause a Fund’s performance to be lower than expected.
 
Repurchase Agreement Risk. 
A Fund will be subject to credit risk with respect to the counterparties with which the Fund enters into repurchase agreements. If a counterparty fails to meet its contractual obligations, a Fund may be unable to terminate or realize any gain on the transaction, or to recover collateral posted to the counterparty, resulting in a loss to the Fund. If a Fund holds collateral posted by its counterparty, it may be delayed or prevented from realizing on the collateral in the event of a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding relating to the counterparty. Due to the limited number of banks handling clearing and settlement of certain repurchase agreements, parties entering into repurchase agreement transactions also could have increased exposure to risks associated with cyberattacks.
 
Sector Focus Risk.
While the Fund’s sector exposure is expected to vary over time, when the Fund focuses its investments in a particular sector, financial, economic, business, and other developments affecting issuers in that sector will have a greater effect on the Fund than if it had not done so.
 
Trading Risk.
Shares of a Fund may trade above or below their NAV. The NAV of shares will fluctuate with changes in the market value of a Fund’s holdings. The trading prices of shares will fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV, as well as market supply and demand. When the market price of a Fund’s shares deviates significantly from NAV, you may pay significantly more or receive significantly less than the underlying value of the Fund’s shares. However, given that shares can be created and redeemed only in Creation Units at NAV, the Advisor does not believe that large discounts or premiums to NAV will exist for extended periods of time. Although each Fund’s shares are currently listed on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for shares will develop or be maintained. In addition, trading in shares of a Fund may be halted because of market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable.
 
OVERVIEW OF THE PRINCIPAL RISKS OF ETFs 
 
The value of your investment in the AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright FSM US Core ETF or AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright FSM All Cap World ETF is based primarily on the prices of the ETFs that the Fund purchases. In turn, the price of each ETF is based on the value of its securities. The prices of these securities change daily and each ETF’s performance reflects the risks of investing in a particular asset class or classes. ETFs also may trade below their NAV or at a discount, which may adversely affect a Fund’s performance. An overview of certain of the principal risks of the ETFs is provided below. ETFs also may be subject to certain of the risks described above. The degree to which the risks described below apply to a Fund varies according to its asset allocation. A complete list of each ETF in which a Fund invests can be found daily on the Trust’s website. A prospective investor should review the complete description of the principal risks of the ETFs prior to investing in a Fund.
 
20
 
 
Concentration Risk. 
An ETF may, at various times, concentrate in the securities of a particular industry, group of industries, or sector, and when a fund is over-weighted in an industry, group of industries, or sector, it may be more sensitive to any single economic, business, political, or regulatory occurrence than a fund that is not over-weighted in an industry, group of industries, or sector.
 
Credit Risk. 
Certain of the ETFs are subject to the risk that a decline in the credit quality of a portfolio investment or reference asset could cause the ETFs’ share price to fall. The ETFs could lose money if the issuer or guarantor of a portfolio investment or the counterparty to a derivatives contract fails to make timely principal or interest payments or otherwise honor its obligations. Below investment-grade bonds (junk bonds) involve greater risks of default or downgrade and are more volatile than investment-grade bonds. Below investment-grade bonds also involve greater risk of price declines than investment-grade securities due to actual or perceived changes in an issuer’s creditworthiness. In addition, issuers of below investment-grade bonds may be more susceptible than other issuers to economic downturns. Such bonds are subject to the risk that the issuer may not be able to pay interest or dividends and ultimately to repay principal upon maturity. Discontinuation of these payments could substantially adversely affect the market value of the bonds.
 
Currency Risk. 
An ETF’s indirect and direct exposure to foreign currencies subjects the ETF to the risk that those currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar. Currency rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for a number of reasons, including changes in interest rates and the imposition of currency controls or other political developments in the U.S. or abroad.
 
Emerging Markets Risk.
 Emerging markets, which consist of countries that have an emerging stock market as defined by Standard & Poor’s, countries or markets with low- to middle-income economies as classified by the World Bank, and other countries or markets with similar characteristics as determined by the Advisor, can be more volatile than the U.S. market due to increased risks of adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market, or economic developments and can perform differently from the U.S. market. Emerging markets are often dependent upon commodity prices and international trade, and can be subject to greater social, economic, regulatory, and political uncertainties potentially resulting in extreme market volatility. As a result, an ETF investing in the securities of emerging market issuers may present market, credit, currency, liquidity, legal, political and other risks different from, or greater than, the risks of investing in securities of developed foreign countries. For example, investments in emerging markets are subject to a greater risk of loss due to expropriation, nationalization, confiscation or assets and other property. In addition, the risks associated with investing in a narrowly defined geographic area are generally more pronounced with respect to investments in emerging market countries.
 
Equity Risk.
The prices of equity securities in which an ETF invests rise and fall daily. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual companies, industries or the securities market as a whole. Individual companies may report poor results or be negatively affected by industry and/or economic trends and developments. The prices of securities issued by such companies may decline in response. In addition, the equity market tends to move in cycles which may cause stock prices to fall over short or extended periods of time.
 
Fixed Income Securities Risk.
  An ETF’s investments in, or exposure to, fixed income securities are subject to the risk that the securities may be paid off earlier or later than expected. Either situation could cause the ETF to hold securities paying lower-than-market rates of interest, which could hurt the fund’s yield or share price. In addition, rising interest rates tend to extend the duration of certain fixed income securities, making them more sensitive to changes in interest rates. As a result, in a period of rising interest rates, an ETF that holds these securities may exhibit additional volatility. This is known as extension risk. When interest rates decline, borrowers may pay off their fixed income securities sooner than expected. This can reduce the returns of an ETF because it will have to reinvest that money at the lower prevailing interest rates. This is known as prepayment risk.
 
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Foreign Securities Risk. 
An ETF’s investments in or exposure to securities of foreign issuers involve certain risks that are greater than those associated with investments in securities of U.S. issuers. These include risks of adverse changes in foreign economic, political, regulatory and other conditions, or changes in currency exchange rates or exchange control regulations (including limitations on currency movements and exchanges). In certain countries, legal remedies available to investors may be more limited than those available with respect to investments in the United States. The securities of some foreign companies may be less liquid and, at times, more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. companies. An ETF with exposure to foreign investments may also experience more rapid or extreme changes in value than a fund that invests solely in securities of U.S. companies because the securities markets of many foreign countries are relatively small, with a limited number of companies representing a small number of industries. Where all or a portion of an ETF’s underlying securities trade in a market that is closed when the market on which the ETF’s shares are listed is open, there may be changes between the last quote from the closed foreign market and the value of such security during the ETF’s domestic trading day. In addition, this in turn could lead to differences between the market price of the ETF’s shares and the underlying value of those shares. Foreign withholding taxes may be imposed on income earned by an ETF’s investment in or exposure to foreign securities, which may reduce the return on such investments. There also is a risk that the cost of buying, selling, and holding foreign securities, including brokerage, tax, and custody costs, may be higher than those involved in domestic transactions.
 
High-Yield Risk.
 An ETF may invest in, or have exposure to, high-yield securities and unrated securities of similar credit quality (commonly known as “junk bonds”). High-yield securities generally pay higher yields (greater income) than investment in higher quality securities; however, high-yield securities and junk bonds may be subject to greater levels of interest rate, credit and liquidity risk than funds that do not invest in such securities, and are considered predominantly speculative with respect to an issuer’s continuing ability to make principal and interest payments. The value of these securities often fluctuates in response to company, political or economic developments and declines significantly over short periods of time or during periods of general economic difficulty. An economic downturn or period of rising interest rates could adversely affect the market for these securities and reduce the ability of certain of the underlying funds to sell these securities (liquidity risk). These securities can also be thinly traded or have restrictions on resale, making them difficult to sell at an acceptable price. If the issuer of a security is in default with respect to interest or principal payments, the ETF may lose its entire investment.
 
Income Risk.
 
An ETF may derive dividend and interest income from certain of its investments. This income can vary widely over the short- and long-term. If prevailing market interest rates drop, distribution rates of an ETF’s income producing investments may decline which then may adversely affect its value. The dividend and interest income produced by certain of the ETF’s portfolio holdings or reference assets also may be adversely affected by the particular circumstances and performance of the individual issuers of such investments.
 
Interest Rate Risk. 
An ETF’s investments in, or exposure to, fixed income securities are subject to the risk that interest rates rise and fall over time. As with any investment whose yield reflects current interest rates, an ETF’s yield will change over time. During periods when interest rates are low, an ETF’s yield (and total return) also may be low. Changes in interest rates also may affect an ETF’s share price: a sharp rise in interest rates could cause its share price to fall. This risk is greater when the ETF holds bonds with longer maturities. To the extent that the investment advisor or issuer of an ETF or the issuer of an underlying ETF anticipates interest rate trends imprecisely, the ETF could miss yield opportunities or its share price could fall.
 
OTHER INVESTMENT PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES 
 
Temporary Defensive Positions.
To respond to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions, a Fund may invest up to 100% of its total assets, without limitation in high-quality debt securities and money market instruments. A Fund may be invested in this manner for extended periods, depending on the Advisor’s assessment of market conditions. Debt securities and money market instruments include shares of other mutual funds, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances, U.S. government securities, repurchase agreements, and bonds that are rated BBB or higher. While a Fund is in a defensive position, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective. Furthermore, to the extent that a Fund invests in money market funds, the Fund would bear its pro rata portion of each such money market fund’s advisory fees and operational expenses.
 
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Lending of Portfolio Securities.
A Fund may lend portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial organizations that meet capital and other credit requirements or other criteria established by the Fund’s Board. These loans, if and when made, may not exceed 33
1
/
3
% of the total asset value of the Fund (including the loan collateral). Such loans may be terminated at any time. Any such loans must be continuously secured by collateral maintained on a current basis in an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities loaned by the Fund. In a loan transaction, as compensation for lending its securities, a Fund will receive a portion of the dividends or interest accrued on the securities held as collateral or, in the case of cash collateral, a portion of the income from the investment of such cash. In addition, the Fund will receive the amount of all dividends, interest and other distributions on the loaned securities. However, the borrower has the right to vote the loaned securities. A Fund will call loans to vote proxies if a material issue affecting the investment is to be voted upon. Loans are made only to borrowers that are deemed by the securities lending agent to be of good financial standing. Should the borrower of the securities fail financially, the Fund may experience delays in recovering the securities or exercising its rights in the collateral. In a loan transaction, a Fund will also bear the risk of any decline in value of securities acquired with cash collateral. Each Fund will attempt to minimize this risk by limiting the investment of cash collateral to high quality instruments of short maturity.
 
Please see the Funds’ Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”) for a more complete list of portfolio investment strategies, permitted investments and related risks.
 
PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS 
 
A description of the Funds’ policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of Fund portfolio securities is available (i) in the SAI and (ii) on the Trust’s website at www.advisorshares.com. Each Fund’s daily portfolio holdings information also is available on the Trust’s website.
 
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUNDS  
 
INVESTMENT ADVISOR 
AdvisorShares Investments, LLC, located at 4800 Montgomery Lane, Suite 150, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, serves as investment advisor of the Funds. As of September 30, 2021, the Advisor had approximately $2 billion in assets under management.
 
The Advisor, subject to the supervision of the Board, provides an investment management program for each Fund and manages the investment of each Fund’s assets. Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement between the Trust and the Advisor, the Advisor is entitled to receive an annual advisory fee of 0.75% based on the average daily net assets of each Fund. For the most recent fiscal year, the AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright FSM US Core ETF, AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright FSM All Cap World ETF and AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright Alpha Equal Weight ETF each paid the Advisor 0.79%, 0.77% and 0.80%, respectively, after waivers based on its respective average daily net assets.
 
The Advisor bears all of its own costs associated with providing these advisory services and the expenses of the members of the Board who are affiliated with the Advisor. The Advisor may make payments from its own resources to broker-dealers and other financial institutions in connection with the sale of Fund shares.
 
The Advisor has contractually agreed to waive its fees and/or reimburse expenses in order to keep net expenses (excluding amounts payable pursuant to any plan adopted in accordance with Rule 12b-1, interest expense, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and extraordinary expenses) from exceeding 0.99% of each Fund’s average daily net assets for at least one year from the date of this Prospectus. The expense limitation agreement may be terminated without payment of any penalty (i) by the Trust for any reason and at any time and (ii) by the Advisor, for any reason, upon ninety (90) days’ prior written notice to the Trust, such termination to be effective as of the close of business on the last day of the then-current one-year period. If at any point it becomes unnecessary for the Advisor to waive fees or reimburse expenses, the Board may permit the Advisor to retain the difference between a Fund’s total annual operating expenses and the expense limitation currently in effect, or, if lower, the expense limitation that was in effect at the time of the waiver and/or reimbursement, to recapture all or a portion of its prior fee waivers or expense reimbursements within three years of the date they were waived or reimbursed.
 
The Advisor may hire one or more sub-advisors to conduct the day-to-day portfolio management activities of a Fund. The sub-advisors would be subject to oversight by the Advisor. Pursuant to an exemptive order from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), the Advisor, subject to certain conditions, has the right, without shareholder approval, to hire a new unaffiliated sub-advisor or materially amend the terms of a sub-advisory agreement with an unaffiliated sub-advisor when the Board and the Advisor believe that a change would benefit a Fund. The Prospectus will be supplemented when there is a significant change in a Fund’s sub-advisory arrangement.
 
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A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s most recent approval of the Funds’ investment advisory agreement is available in the Trust’s Annual Report to Shareholders dated June 30, 2021.
 
PORTFOLIO MANAGER
The following portfolio manager is primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds.
 
Dan S. Ahrens, 
Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer & Portfolio Manager
 
Mr. Ahrens is a Managing Director and the Chief Operating Officer of the Advisor. Prior to joining the Advisor in 2008, Mr. Ahrens founded Ahrens Advisors, L.P., an SEC-registered investment advisor, where he acted as portfolio manager to a mutual fund. Before forming Ahrens Advisors, he was President of a mutual fund company, where he launched and served as portfolio manager to multiple funds. During that time, he also was President and Chief Compliance Officer of the funds’ advisor, and acted as President, Treasurer and Financial & Operations Officer of an affiliated broker-dealer firm. He is a published author and has appeared on numerous financial programs, including CNBC, CNN, Fox Business, ABC News and Bloomberg. He has been featured, along with funds under his management, in major national and trade publications including The Economist, New York Times, Financial Times, and The Wall Street Journal. He earned a Bachelor in Business Administration in Finance from Texas Tech University.
 
Additional information about the portfolio manager’s compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio manager, and the portfolio manager’s ownership of securities in a Fund is available in the SAI.
 
OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS 
Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the “Distributor”) is the principal underwriter and distributor of the Funds’ shares. The Distributor’s principal address is Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101. The Distributor will not distribute shares in less than whole Creation Units, and it does not maintain a secondary market in the shares. The Distributor is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”). The Distributor is not affiliated with the Advisor, The Bank of New York Mellon or any of their respective affiliates.
 
The Bank of New York Mellon, located at 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286, serves as the administrator, custodian, transfer agent and fund accounting agent for the Funds.
 
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, located at 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004, serves as legal counsel to the Trust.
 
Tait, Weller & Baker LLP, located at Two Liberty Place, 50 South 16
th
 Street, Suite 2900, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102, serves as the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm. The independent registered public accounting firm is responsible for auditing the annual financial statements of the Funds.
 
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION 
 
CALCULATING NET ASSET VALUE  
Each Fund calculates NAV by (i) taking the current market value of its total assets, (ii) subtracting any liabilities, and (iii) dividing that amount by the total number of shares owned by shareholders.
 
Each Fund calculates NAV once each business day as of the regularly scheduled close of normal trading on the Exchange (normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time). The Exchange is typically closed on weekends and most national holidays.
 
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In calculating NAV, each Fund generally values its portfolio investments at market prices. If market prices are unavailable or a Fund thinks that they are unreliable, or when the value of a security has been materially affected by events occurring after the relevant market closes, the Fund will price those securities at fair value as determined in good faith using methods approved by the Board. With respect to U.S.-traded securities with readily available pricing, it is expected that there would be limited circumstances in which a Fund would use fair value pricing – for example, if the exchange on which a portfolio security is principally traded closed early or if trading in a particular security was halted during the day and did not resume prior to the time the Fund calculated its NAV.
 
The use of fair valuation in pricing a security involves the consideration of a number of subjective factors and, therefore, is susceptible to the unavoidable risk that the valuation may be higher or lower than the price at which the security might actually trade if a reliable market price were readily available.
 
More information about the valuation of each Fund’s holdings can be found in the SAI.
 
PREMIUM/DISCOUNT AND BID-ASK SPREAD INFORMATION
The price of the Fund’s shares is based on market price, which may differ from the Fund’s daily NAV per share and can be affected by market forces of supply and demand, economic conditions and other factors.
 
Information showing the number of days that the market price of a Fund’s shares was greater than the Fund’s NAV per share (
i.e.,
at a premium) and the number of days it was less than the Fund’s NAV per share (
i.e.,
at a discount) for various time periods is available by visiting the Funds’ website at http://www.advisorshares.com. Also available on the Fund’s website is information about bid-ask spreads.
 
DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS 
Each Fund pays out dividends and distributes its net capital gains, if any, to shareholders at least annually.
 
ACTIVE INVESTORS AND MARKET TIMING
Shares of each Fund are listed for trading on the Exchange, which allows retail investors to purchase and sell individual shares at market prices throughout the trading day similar to other publicly traded securities. Because these secondary market trades do not involve a Fund directly, it is unlikely that secondary market trading would cause any harmful effects of market timing, such as dilution, disruption of portfolio management, increases in the Fund’s trading costs or realization of capital gains. The Board has determined not to adopt policies and procedures designed to prevent or monitor for frequent purchases and redemptions of the Funds’ shares because each Fund sells and redeems its shares at NAV only in Creation Units pursuant to the terms of a participant agreement between the Distributor and an authorized participant, principally in exchange for a basket of securities that mirrors the composition of the Fund’s portfolio and a specified amount of cash. The Funds also impose transaction fees on such Creation Unit transactions that are designed to offset the Funds’ transfer and other transaction costs associated with the issuance and redemption of the Creation Unit shares.
 
BOOK-ENTRY 
Shares of each Fund are held in book-entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. Depository Trust Company (“DTC”), or its nominee, is the record owner of all outstanding shares of the Funds and is recognized as the owner of all shares.
 
Investors owning shares of a Fund 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 (
e.g.
, broker-dealers, banks, trust companies, or clearing companies). These procedures are the same as those that apply to any stocks that you hold in book-entry or “street name” through your brokerage account.
 
INVESTING IN A FUND
 
For more information on how to buy and sell shares of a Fund, call the Trust at 877.843.3831 or visit the Funds’ website at www.advisorshares.com.
 
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DISTRIBUTION PLAN  
 
The Funds have adopted a Distribution Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act that allows each Fund to pay distribution fees to the Distributor and other firms that provide distribution services. A Fund will pay distribution fees to the Distributor at an annual rate not to exceed 0.25% of its average daily net assets. If a service provider provides distribution services, the Distributor will pay the service provider out of its distribution fees.
 
No distribution fees are currently charged to each Fund; there are no plans to impose distribution fees, and no distribution fees will be charged for at least one year from the date of this Prospectus. However, to the extent distribution fees are charged in the future, because a Fund would pay these fees out of assets on an ongoing basis, over time these fees may cost you more than other types of sales charges and would increase the cost of your investment. At such time as distribution fees are charged, a Fund will notify investors by adding disclosure to the Fund’s website and in the Fund’s Prospectus. Any distribution fees will be approved by the Board.
 
ADDITIONAL TAX INFORMATION 
 
The following is a summary of some important tax issues that affect the Funds and their shareholders. The summary is based on current tax law, which may be changed by legislative, judicial or administrative action. The summary is very general, and does not address investors subject to special rules, such as investors who hold shares through an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-advantaged accounts. More information about taxes is located in the SAI.
 
You are urged to consult your tax advisor regarding specific questions as to U.S. federal, state and local income taxes.
 
Tax Status of the Funds
Each Fund is treated as a separate entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes has elected and intends to qualify for the special tax treatment afforded to regulated investment companies (“RICs”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Internal Revenue Code”). As long as a Fund qualifies for treatment as a RIC, it pays no federal income tax on the earnings it timely distributes to shareholders. However, a Fund’s failure to qualify as a RIC or to meet minimum distribution requirements would result (if certain relief provisions were not available) in fund-level taxation and, consequently, a reduction in income available for distribution to shareholders.
 
Unless you are a tax-exempt entity or your investment in Fund shares is made through a tax-deferred retirement account, such as an IRA, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when:
 
a Fund makes distributions;
you sell Fund shares; and
you purchase or redeem Creation Units (authorized participants only).
 
Tax Status of Distributions
 
Each Fund intends to distribute, at least annually, substantially all of its net investment income and net capital gains income.
 
The income dividends you receive from a Fund will generally be taxed to you as either ordinary income or “qualified dividend income.” For non-corporate shareholders, dividends reported by a Fund as qualified dividend income are generally eligible for reduced tax rates applicable to long-term capital gains, provided holding period and other requirements are met. Qualified dividend income generally is income derived from dividends paid by U.S. corporations or certain foreign corporations that are either incorporated in a U.S. possession or eligible for tax benefits under certain U.S. income tax treaties. In addition, dividends that a Fund receives in respect of stock of certain foreign corporations may be qualified dividend income if that stock is readily tradable on an established U.S. securities market. For such dividends to be taxed as qualified dividend income to a non-corporate shareholder, a Fund must satisfy certain holding period requirements with respect to the underlying stock and the non-corporate shareholder must satisfy holding period requirements with respect to his or her ownership of the Fund’s shares. Holding periods may be suspended for these purposes for stock that is hedged. In general, dividends received by a Fund from an ETF taxable as a RIC may be distributed and reported as qualified dividend income by the Fund to the extent of the dividend distributions distributed and reported as qualified dividend income by the ETF. Certain of the Funds’ investment strategies may limit their ability to report distributions as qualified dividend income.
 
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Corporate shareholders may be entitled to a dividends received deduction for the portion of dividends they receive that are attributable to dividends received by a Fund (directly or in some cases indirectly) from U.S. corporations, subject to certain limitations. Certain of the Funds’ investment strategies may limit their ability to report distributions as eligible for the dividends received deduction.
 
Taxes on distributions of capital gains (if any) are determined by how long a Fund owned the investments that generated them, rather than how long a shareholder has owned their shares. Sales of assets held by a Fund for more than one year generally result in long-term capital gains and losses, and sales of assets held by a Fund for one year or less generally result in short-term capital gains and losses. Distributions from a Fund’s short-term capital gains are generally taxable as ordinary income. Any distributions of net capital gain (the excess of a Fund’s net long-term capital gains over its net short-term capital losses) that you receive from a Fund generally are taxable as long-term capital gains regardless of how long you have owned your shares. Long-term capital gains are taxed to non-corporate shareholders at reduced tax rates.
 
Dividends and distributions are generally taxable to you whether you receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional shares.
 
In general, your distributions are subject to federal income tax for the year in which they are paid. However, distributions paid in January but declared by a Fund in October, November or December of the previous year may be taxable to you in the previous year.
 
Shortly after the close of each calendar year, each Fund in which you invest (or your broker) will inform you of the amount of your ordinary income dividends, qualified dividend income, foreign tax credits, and net capital gain distributions received from the Fund.
 
You may wish to avoid investing in a Fund shortly before a dividend or other distribution, because such a distribution will generally be taxable even though it may economically represent a return of a portion of your investment.
 
Taxes on Exchange-Listed Share Sales
Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of shares is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than one year and as short-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for one year or less, except that any capital loss on the sale of shares held for six months or less is treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of amounts treated as distributions of long-term capital gains to the shareholder with respect to such shares. Any loss realized on a sale will be disallowed to the extent shares of a Fund are acquired, including through reinvestment of dividends, within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the disposition of Fund shares. The ability to deduct capital losses may be limited.
 
Foreign Taxes
 
Dividends, interest, and other income received by the Funds and the ETFs in which a Fund invests with respect to foreign securities may give rise to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes. The Funds may need to file special claims for refunds to secure the benefits of a reduced rate.
 
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If as of the close of a taxable year more than 50% of the value of a Fund’s assets consists of certain foreign stock or securities, the Fund will be eligible to elect to “pass through” to investors the amount of foreign income and similar taxes (including withholding taxes) paid by the Fund during that taxable year. This means that investors will be considered to have received as additional income their respective shares of such foreign taxes, but may be entitled to either a corresponding tax deduction in calculating taxable income, or, subject to certain limitations, a credit in calculating federal income tax. If a Fund does not so elect, it will be entitled to claim a deduction for certain foreign taxes incurred by the Fund. A Fund (or a financial intermediary, such as a broker, through which a shareholder owns shares) will notify you if it makes such an election and provide you with the information necessary to reflect foreign taxes paid on your income tax return.
 
Foreign tax credits, if any, received by a Fund as a result of an investment in another RIC (including an ETF which is taxable as a RIC) will not be passed through to you unless the Fund qualifies as a “qualified fund-of-funds” under the Internal Revenue Code. If a Fund is a “qualified fund-of-funds” it will be eligible to file an election with the IRS that will enable the Fund to pass along these foreign tax credits to its shareholders. A Fund will be treated as a “qualified fund-of-funds” under the Internal Revenue Code if at least 50% of the value of the Fund’s total assets (at the close of each quarter of the Fund’s taxable year) is represented by interests in other RICs.
 
Net Investment Income Tax
U.S. individuals with income exceeding certain thresholds are subject to a 3.8% tax on all or a portion of their “net investment income,” including interest, dividends (but not any exempt-interest dividends), and certain capital gains (generally including capital gain distributions and capital gains realized on the sale or exchange of shares). This 3.8% tax also applies to all or a portion of the undistributed net investment income of certain shareholders that are estates and trusts.
 
Non-U.S. Investors
 
If you are not a citizen or permanent resident of the United States, the Funds’ ordinary income dividends will generally be subject to a 30% U.S. withholding tax, unless a lower treaty rate applies or unless such income is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business. The 30% withholding tax generally will not apply to distributions of net capital gain. The Funds may, under certain circumstances, report all or a portion of a dividend as an “interest-related dividend” or a “short-term capital gain dividend,” which would generally be exempt from this 30% U.S. withholding tax, provided certain other requirements are met. Short-term capital gain dividends received by a nonresident alien individual who is present in the U.S. for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the taxable year are not exempt from this 30% withholding tax. Different tax consequences may result if you are a foreign shareholder engaged in a trade or business within the United States or if you are a foreign shareholder entitled to claim the benefits of a tax treaty.
 
Backup Withholding
 
Each Fund will be required in certain cases to withhold (as “backup withholding”) on amounts payable to any shareholder who (1) has provided the Fund either an incorrect tax identification number or no number at all, (2) is subject to backup withholding by the Internal Revenue Service for failure to properly report payments of interest or dividends, (3) has failed to certify to the Fund that such shareholder is not subject to backup withholding, or (4) has not certified that such shareholder is a U.S. person (including a U.S. resident alien). The backup withholding rate is 24%. Backup withholding will not, however, be applied to payments that have been subject to the 30% withholding tax applicable to shareholders who are neither citizens nor residents of the United States.
 
Taxes on Creation and Redemption of Creation Units
An authorized participant who purchases a Creation Unit by exchanging securities in-kind generally will recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between (a) the sum of the market value of the Creation Units at the time and any net cash received, and (b) the sum of the purchaser’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and any net cash paid for the Creation Units. An authorized participant who redeems Creation Units will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between (x) the sum of the redeemer’s basis in the Creation Units and any net cash paid, and (y) the sum of the aggregate market value of the securities received and any net cash received. The Internal Revenue Service, however, may assert that a loss that is realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units may not be currently deducted under the rules governing “wash sales” by an authorized participant that does not mark-to-market its holdings, or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. Authorized participants should consult their own tax advisor with respect to whether wash sales rules apply and when a loss might be deductible.
 
28
 
 
Each Fund has the right to reject an order for Creation Units if the purchaser (or a group of purchasers) would, upon obtaining the shares so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund and if, pursuant to section 351 of the Internal Revenue Code, the Fund would have a basis in the deposit securities different from the market value of such securities on the date of deposit. Each Fund also has the right to require information necessary to determine beneficial share ownership for purposes of the 80% determination. If a Fund does issue Creation Units to a purchaser (or a group of purchasers) that would, upon obtaining the Creation Units so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund, the purchaser (or a group of purchasers) will not recognize gain or loss upon the exchange of securities for Creation Units.
 
A Fund may include cash when paying the redemption price for Creation Units in addition to, or in place of, the delivery of a basket of securities. A Fund may be required to sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause such Fund to recognize investment income and/or capital gains or losses that it might not have recognized if it had completely satisfied the redemption in-kind. As a result, a Fund may be less tax efficient if it includes such a cash payment than if the in-kind redemption process was used.
 
Persons exchanging securities or non-U.S. currency for Creation Units should consult their own tax advisors with respect to the tax treatment of any creation or redemption transaction. If you purchase or redeem Creation Units, you will be sent a confirmation statement showing how many Fund shares you purchased or redeemed and at what price.
 
The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the consequences under current federal tax law of an investment in the Funds. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. Consult your personal tax advisor about the potential tax consequences to you of an investment in the Funds under all tax laws applicable to you.
 
More information about taxes is in the SAI.
 
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS 
 
The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the Funds’ financial performance since the Funds commenced operations. Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned or lost on an investment in the Funds (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been derived from the financial statements audited by Tait, Weller & Baker LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with each Fund’s financial statements, are included in the Fund’s Annual Report, which is available upon request.
 
29
 
 
ADVISORSHARES TRUST — Financial Highlights
 
AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright FSM US Core ETF
 
Year ended
June 30, 2021
 
 
For the
period
December 26,
2019* to
June 30, 2020
 
Selected Data for a Share of Capital Stock Outstanding
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year/Period
 
$
27.51
 
 
$
25.14
 
Investment Operations
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net Investment Income (Loss)
(1)
 
 
(0.07
)
 
 
0.05
 
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain
 
 
9.72
 
 
 
2.32
 
Net Increase in Net Assets Resulting from Investment Operations
(2)
 
 
9.65
 
 
 
2.37
 
Distributions from Net Investment Income
 
 
(0.03
)
 
 
 
Distributions from Realized Capital Gains
 
 
(0.04
)
 
 
 
Total Distributions
 
 
(0.07
)
 
 
 
Net Asset Value, End of Year/Period
 
$
37.09
 
 
$
27.51
 
Market Value, End of Year/Period
 
$
37.16
 
 
$
27.46
 
Total Return
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Total Investment Return Based on Net Asset Value
(3)
 
 
35.08
%
 
 
9.43
%
Total Investment Return Based on Market
(3)
 
 
35.59
%
 
 
9.23
%
Ratios/Supplemental Data
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net Assets, End of Year/Period (000’s omitted)
 
$
93,649
 
 
$
46,767
 
Ratio to Average Net Assets of:
(4)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Expenses, net of expense waivers and reimbursements
(5)
 
 
0.92
%
 
 
0.99
%
Expenses, prior to expense waivers and reimbursements
(5)
 
 
0.89
%
 
 
1.15
%
Net Investment Income (Loss)
(5)
 
 
(0.22
)%
 
 
0.37
%
Portfolio Turnover Rate
(6)
 
 
64
%
 
 
53
%
 
 
 
*
Commencement of operations.
 
(1)
Based on average shares outstanding.
 
(2)
The amount shown for a share distribution throughout the period may not correlate with the Statement of Operations for the period due to the timing of sales and repurchases of Fund Shares in relation to income earned and/or fluctuating fair value of the investments of the Fund.
 
(3)
Net asset value total investment return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions on ex-date, if any, at net asset value during the period, and redemption on the last day of the period. Periods less than one year are not annualized. Market value total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the market value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at market value during the period on pay date, and sale at the market value on the last day of the period.
 
(4)
The Fund invests in other funds and indirectly bear their proportionate shares of fees and expenses incurred by the funds in which the Fund is invested. These ratios do not include these indirect fees and expenses.
 
(5)
Ratios of periods of less than one year have been annualized. Excludes expenses incurred by the underlying investments in other funds.
 
(6)
Portfolio turnover rate is not annualized and excludes the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares.
 
30
 
 
ADVISORSHARES TRUST — Financial Highlights
 
AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright FSM All Cap World ETF
 
Year ended
June 30, 2021
 
 
For the
period
December 26,
2019* to
June 30, 2020
 
Selected Data for a Share of Capital Stock Outstanding
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year/Period
 
$
28.07
 
 
$
25.12
 
Investment Operations
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net Investment Loss
(1)
 
 
(0.12
)
 
 
(0.02
)
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain
 
 
8.74
 
 
 
2.97
 
Net Increase in Net Assets Resulting from Investment Operations
(2)
 
 
8.62
 
 
 
2.95
 
Distributions from Realized Capital Gains
 
 
(0.06
)
 
 
 
Total Distributions
 
 
(0.06
)
 
 
 
Net Asset Value, End of Year/Period
 
$
36.63
 
 
$
28.07
 
Market Value, End of Year/Period
 
$
36.67
 
 
$
28.07
 
Total Return
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Total Investment Return Based on Net Asset Value
(3)
 
 
30.70
%
 
 
11.76
%
Total Investment Return Based on Market
(3)
 
 
30.85
%
 
 
11.74
%
Ratios/Supplemental Data
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net Assets, End of Year/Period (000’s omitted)
 
$
155,673
 
 
$
73,685
 
Ratio to Average Net Assets of:
(6)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Expenses, net of expense waivers and reimbursements
(4)
 
 
0.88
%
 
 
0.99
%
Expenses, prior to expense waivers and reimbursements
(4)
 
 
0.86
%
 
 
1.12
%
Net Investment Loss
(4)
 
 
(0.34
)%
 
 
(0.17
)%
Portfolio Turnover Rate
(5)
 
 
209
%
 
 
46
%
 
 
 
*
Commencement of operations.
 
(1)
Based on average shares outstanding.
 
(2)
The amount shown for a share distribution throughout the period may not correlate with the Statement of Operations for the period due to the timing of sales and repurchases of Fund Shares in relation to income earned and/or fluctuating fair value of the investments of the Fund.
 
(3)
Net asset value total investment return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions on ex-date, if any, at net asset value during the period, and redemption on the last day of the period. Periods less than one year are not annualized. Market value total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the market value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at market value during the period on pay date, and sale at the market value on the last day of the period.
 
(4)
Ratios of periods of less than one year have been annualized. Excludes expenses incurred by the underlying investments in other funds.
 
(5)
Portfolio turnover rate is not annualized and excludes the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares.
 
(6)
The Fund invests in other funds and indirectly bear their proportionate shares of fees and expenses incurred by the funds in which the Fund is invested. These ratios do not include these indirect fees and expenses.
 
31
 
 
ADVISORSHARES TRUST — Financial Highlights
 
AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright Alpha Equal Weight ETF
 
Year ended
June 30, 2021
 
 
For the
period
December 26,
2019* to
June 30, 2020
 
Selected Data for a Share of Capital Stock Outstanding
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year/Period
 
$
20.43
 
 
$
25.09
 
Investment Operations
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net Investment Income (Loss)
(1)
 
 
(0.11
)
 
 
0.01
 
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)
 
 
7.55
 
 
 
(4.67
)
Net Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets Resulting from Investment Operations
(2)
 
 
7.44
 
 
 
(4.66
)
Distributions from Net Investment Income
 
 
(0.01
)
 
 
 
Total Distributions
 
 
(0.01
)
 
 
 
Net Asset Value, End of Year/Period
 
$
27.86
 
 
$
20.43
 
Market Value, End of Year/Period
 
$
27.90
 
 
$
20.44
 
Total Return
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Total Investment Return Based on Net Asset Value
(3)
 
 
36.36
%
 
 
(18.57
)%
Total Investment Return Based on Market
(3)
 
 
36.52
%
 
 
(18.53
)%
Ratios/Supplemental Data
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net Assets, End of Year/Period (000’s omitted)
 
$
79,394
 
 
$
39,333
 
Ratio to Average Net Assets of:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Expenses, net of expense waivers and reimbursements
(4)
 
 
0.96
%
 
 
0.99
%
Expenses, prior to expense waivers and reimbursements
(4)
 
 
0.91
%
 
 
1.19
%
Net Investment Income (Loss)
(4)
 
 
(0.42
)%
 
 
0.09
%
Portfolio Turnover Rate
(5)
 
 
372
%
 
 
147
%
 
 
 
*
Commencement of operations.
 
(1)
Based on average shares outstanding.
 
(2)
The amount shown for a share distribution throughout the period may not correlate with the Statement of Operations for the period due to the timing of sales and repurchases of Fund Shares in relation to income earned and/or fluctuating fair value of the investments of the Fund.
 
(3)
Net asset value total investment return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions on ex-date, if any, at net asset value during the period, and redemption on the last day of the period. Periods less than one year are not annualized. Market value total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the market value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at market value during the period on pay date, and sale at the market value on the last day of the period.
 
(4)
Ratios of periods of less than one year have been annualized. Excludes expenses incurred by the underlying investments in other funds.
 
(5)
Portfolio turnover rate is not annualized and excludes the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as in-kind creations or redemptions of the Fund’s capital shares.
  
32
 
 
ADVISORSHARES
Dorsey Wright
FSM US CORE ETF
ADVISORSHARES DORSEY WRIGHT FSM ALL CAP WORLD ETF
ADVISORSHARES DORSEY WRIGHT ALPHA EQUAL WEIGHT ETF
 
Advisor
AdvisorShares Investments, LLC
4800 Montgomery Lane, Suite 150
Bethesda, Maryland 20814
Distributor
Foreside Fund Services, LLC
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101
Legal Counsel
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004
Administrator, Custodian & Transfer Agent
The Bank of New York Mellon
240 Greenwich Street
New York, New York 10286
 
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION  
 
Additional and more detailed information about each Fund is included in the Funds’ SAI. The SAI has been filed with the SEC and is incorporated by reference into this Prospectus and, therefore, legally forms a part of this Prospectus. The SEC maintains the EDGAR database on its website (http://www.sec.gov), which contains the SAI, material incorporated by reference, and other information about the Funds. You may request documents from the SEC, upon payment of a duplication fee, by emailing the SEC at [email protected].
 
You may obtain a copy of the SAI and the Annual and Semi-Annual Reports without charge by calling 877.843.3831, visiting the website at www.advisorshares.com, or writing to the Trust at 4800 Montgomery Lane, Suite 150, Bethesda, Maryland 20814. Additional information about each Fund’s investments is available in the Fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports. Also in each Fund’s Annual Report is a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund’s performance during the last fiscal year.
 
No one has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations not contained in this Prospectus or in the SAI in connection with the offering of Fund shares. Do not rely on any such information or representations as having been authorized by a Fund. This Prospectus does not constitute an offering by a Fund in any jurisdiction where such an offering is not lawful.
 
The Trust’s SEC Investment Company Act File Number is 811-22110.
 
33