0001587982 false 2023-03-31 497 INVESTMENT MANAGERS SERIES TRUST II N-1A 2023-08-04 2023-08-04
~ http://imstii/role/OperatingExpensesData column period compact * column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact imstii_S000075836Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~
~ http://imstii/role/ExpenseExample column period compact * column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact imstii_S000075836Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~
~ http://imstii/role/OperatingExpensesData column period compact * column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact imstii_S000076096Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~
~ http://imstii/role/ExpenseExample column period compact * column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact imstii_S000076096Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~
~ http://imstii/role/OperatingExpensesData column period compact * column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact imstii_S000076107Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~
~ http://imstii/role/ExpenseExample column period compact * column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact imstii_S000076107Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~
~ http://imstii/role/OperatingExpensesData column period compact * column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact imstii_S000076095Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~
~ http://imstii/role/ExpenseExample column period compact * column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact imstii_S000076095Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~
~ http://imstii/role/OperatingExpensesData column period compact * column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact imstii_S000076585Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~
~ http://imstii/role/ExpenseExample column period compact * column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact imstii_S000076585Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~
~ http://imstii/role/BarChartData column period compact * column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact imstii_S000076585Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~
~ http://imstii/role/PerformanceTableData column period compact * column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact imstii_S000076585Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~
0001587982 2023-07-31 2023-07-31 0001587982 imstii:S000075836Member imstii:C000235149Member 2023-07-31 2023-07-31 0001587982 imstii:S000075836Member 2023-07-31 2023-07-31 0001587982 imstii:S000076096Member imstii:C000235537Member 2023-07-31 2023-07-31 0001587982 imstii:S000076096Member 2023-07-31 2023-07-31 0001587982 imstii:S000076107Member imstii:C000235548Member 2023-07-31 2023-07-31 0001587982 imstii:S000076107Member 2023-07-31 2023-07-31 0001587982 imstii:S000076095Member imstii:C000235536Member 2023-07-31 2023-07-31 0001587982 imstii:S000076095Member 2023-07-31 2023-07-31 0001587982 imstii:S000076585Member imstii:C000236570Member 2023-07-31 2023-07-31 0001587982 imstii:S000076585Member 2023-07-31 2023-07-31 0001587982 imstii:S000076585Member imstii:C000236570Member rr:AfterTaxesOnDistributionsMember 2023-07-31 2023-07-31 0001587982 imstii:S000076585Member imstii:C000236570Member rr:AfterTaxesOnDistributionsAndSalesMember 2023-07-31 2023-07-31 0001587982 imstii:S000076585Member imstii:Index1Member 2023-07-31 2023-07-31 iso4217:USD xbrli:pure

PROSPECTUS

 

AXS 2X Innovation ETF
(Ticker: TARK)

 

AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF
(Ticker: TSLQ)

 

AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF
(Ticker: NVDS)

 

AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF
(Ticker: PYPT)

 

AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF
(Ticker: SARK)

 

July 31, 2023

 

 

 

Each of the above funds (each a “Fund” and collectively the “Funds”), is a series of Investment Managers Series Trust II (the “Trust”), and each is listed and principally trades its shares on The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (the “Exchange”). Shares of the Funds trade on the Exchange at market prices that may be below, at or above the respective Fund’s net asset value.

 

Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nor the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

The Funds are not suitable for all investors and are designed to be utilized only by sophisticated investors who understand the risks associated with the use of derivatives, are willing to assume a high degree of risk, and intend to actively monitor and manage their investments in the Funds.

 

The Funds seek daily inverse, inverse leveraged or long leveraged investment results and are intended to be used as short-term trading vehicles.

 

The AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF attempts to provide daily investment results that correspond to the respective long leveraged multiple of the performance of an underlying security and is referred to as the “Bull Fund.”. The AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF and AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF each attempts to provide daily investment results that correspond to the inverse (or opposite), or respective inverse leveraged multiple of the performance of an underlying security and are collectively referred to as the “Bear Funds.”

 

The AXS 2X Innovation ETF (the “Innovation Fund”) attempts to provide the daily investment results that correspond to two times the performance of ARK Innovation ETF. The AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF (the “Short Innovation Fund”) attempts to provide the daily investment results that correspond to the inverse (or opposite) of the performance of ARK Innovation ETF.

 

 

The Funds are not intended to be used by, and are not appropriate for, investors who do not intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios. The Funds are very different from most mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. Investors should note that:

 

(1) The Funds that seek daily inverse leveraged or long leveraged investment objectives are riskier than alternatives that do not use leverage because the Funds magnify the performance of their underlying security.

 

(2) Each Bear Fund pursues a daily investment objective that is inverse to the performance of its underlying security, a result opposite of most mutual funds and exchange-traded funds.

 

(3) The Innovation Fund pursues a daily leveraged objective that is two times the performance of the ARK Innovation ETF, which means the Innovation Fund is riskier than alternatives that do not use leverage because the Innovation Fund magnifies the performance of the ARK Innovation ETF.

 

(4) The Short Innovation Fund pursues a daily investment objective that is inverse to the performance of the ARK Innovation ETF, a result opposite of most mutual funds and exchange-traded funds.

 

(5) With respect to each Bull and Bear Fund, the pursuit of daily investment objectives means that the return of a Fund for a period longer than a full trading day will be the product of a series of daily inverse or leveraged returns for each trading day during the relevant period. As a consequence, especially in periods of market volatility, the volatility of the underlying security may affect a Fund’s return as much as, or more than, the return of the underlying security. Further, the return for investors that invest for periods less than a full trading day will not be the product of the return of a Fund’s stated daily long leveraged, inverse or inverse leveraged investment objective and the performance of the underlying security for the full trading day. During periods of high volatility, the Funds may not perform as expected and the Funds may have losses when an investor may have expected gains if the Funds are held for a period that is different than one trading day.

 

(6) The Innovation Fund and the Short Innovation Fund seek daily investment results that are subject to compounding and market volatility risk. The pursuit of its daily investment objective means that the return of each of the Innovation Fund and the Short Innovation Fund for a period longer than a full trading day will be the product of a series of daily returns, with daily repositioned exposure, for each trading day during the relevant period. As a consequence, especially in periods of market volatility, the volatility of the ARK Innovation ETF may affect each Fund’s return as much as, or more than, the return of the ARK Innovation ETF. Further, the return for investors that invest for periods less than a full trading day will not be the product of the return of the Fund’s stated daily investment objective and the performance of ARK Innovation ETF for the full trading day. During periods of high volatility, the Funds may not perform as expected and the Fund may have losses when an investor may have expected gains if the Fund is held for a period that is different than one trading day.

 

The Funds are not suitable for all investors. The Funds are designed to be utilized only by sophisticated investors, such as traders and active investors employing dynamic strategies. Investors in the Funds should:

 

(a) understand the risks associated with the use of inverse strategies and leverage;

 

(b) understand the consequences of seeking daily inverse and leveraged investment results;

 

(c) for the Short Innovation Fund, understand the risk of shorting; and

 

(d) intend to actively monitor and manage their investments.

 

Investors who do not understand the Funds, or do not intend to actively manage their funds and monitor their investments, should not buy the Funds.

 

There is no assurance that any Fund will achieve its investment objective and an investment in a Fund could lose money. No single Fund is a complete investment program.

 

With respect to the Bull Fund and Bear Funds, the Funds’ investment advisor, AXS Investments, LLC, will not attempt to position each Fund’s portfolio to ensure that a Fund does not gain or lose more than a maximum percentage of its net asset value on a given trading day. As a consequence, if a Fund’s underlying security moves more than 50% (for a Fund seeking two times daily performance), 67% (for a Fund seeking one and a half times daily performance) or 80% (for a Fund seeking one and a quarter times daily performance), as applicable, on a given trading day in a direction adverse to the Fund, the Fund’s investors would lose all of their money.

 

 

The Innovation Fund and the Short Innovation Fund, Investment Managers Series Trust II (the “Trust”), and AXS Investments LLC are not affiliated with the ARK ETF Trust, the ARK Innovation ETF, or ARK Investment Management LLC.

 

 

AXS 2X Innovation ETF
AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF
AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF
AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF
AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF
Each a series of Investment Managers Series Trust II (the “Trust”)

 

 

Table of Contents

 

   

AXS 2X Innovation ETF - Summary Information

1

AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF - Summary Information

16

AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF - Summary Information

27

AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF - Summary Information

39

AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF - Summary Information

51

Additional Information Regarding the Funds’ Investment Objectives

61

Additional Information About the Funds’ Principal Investment Strategies

61

Additional Information About the Risks of Investing in the Funds

81

Management of the Funds

101

Buying and Selling Fund Shares

103

Dividends, Distributions and Taxes

104

Distributor

106

Fund Service Providers

106

Additional Information

107

Financial Highlights

109

 

 

 

TARK AXS 2X Innovation ETF Shares

SUMMARY SECTION - AXS 2X Innovation ETF

 

Important Information About the Fund

 

The AXS 2X Innovation ETF (the “Fund” or the “Innovation Fund”) seeks daily leveraged investment results and is very different from most other exchange-traded funds. As a result, the Fund may be riskier than alternatives that do not use leverage because the Fund’s objective is to magnify (200%) the daily performance of the ARK Innovation ETF. The return for investors that invest for periods longer or shorter than a trading day should not be expected to be 200% of the performance of the ARK Innovation ETF for the period. The return of the Fund for a period longer than a trading day will be the result of each trading day’s compounded return over the period, which will very likely differ from 200% of the return of the ARK Innovation ETF for that period. Longer holding periods, higher volatility of the ARK Innovation ETF and leverage increase the impact of compounding on an investor’s returns. During periods of higher ARK Innovation ETF volatility, the volatility of the ARK Innovation ETF may affect the Fund’s return as much as, or more than, the return of the ARK Innovation ETF.

 

The Fund is not suitable for all investors. The Fund is designed to be utilized only by knowledgeable investors who understand the potential consequences of seeking daily leveraged (2X) investment results, understand the risks associated with the use of leverage and are willing to monitor their portfolios frequently. The Fund is not intended to be used by, and is not appropriate for, investors who do not intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios. For periods longer than a single day, the Fund will lose money if the ARK Innovation ETF’s performance is flat, and it is possible that the Fund will lose money even if the ARK Innovation ETF’s performance increases over a period longer than a single day. An investor could lose the full principal value of his/her investment within a single day if the ARK Innovation ETF loses more than 50% in one day.

 

Investment Objective

 

The AXS 2X Innovation ETF seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, of 200% of the daily performance of the ARK Innovation ETF. The Fund does not seek to achieve its stated investment objective for a period of time different than a trading day.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

 

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

 

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

 

Management fees

0.95%

Distribution and Service (Rule 12b-1) fees

0.00%

Other expenses

0.48%

Total annual fund operating expenses1

1.43%

Fee waiver and expense reimbursement2

(0.28)%

Total annual fund operating expenses after fee waiver and reimbursement1,2

1.15%

 

1

The cost of investing in swaps, including the embedded cost of the swap and the operating expenses of the referenced assets, is an indirect expense that is not included in the above fee table and is not reflected in the expense example. The total indirect cost of investing in swaps, including the embedded cost of the swap and the operating expenses of the referenced assets, is estimated to be 0.50% for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024.

 

2

The Fund’s investment advisor has contractually agreed to waive its fees and/or pay for operating expenses of the Fund to ensure that total annual fund operating expenses (exclusive of any (i) front-end or contingent deferred loads, (ii) brokerage fees and commission, (iii) acquired fund fees and expenses, (iv) fees and expenses associated with instruments in other collective investment vehicles or derivative instruments (including for example options and swap fees and expenses), (v) borrowing costs (such as interest and dividend expense on securities sold short), (vi) taxes, (vii) other fees related to underlying investments (such as option fees and expenses or swap fees and expenses), or (viii) extraordinary expenses such as litigation (which may include indemnification of Fund officers and trustees or contractual indemnification of Fund service providers (other than the Fund’s advisor)) will not exceed 1.15%. This agreement is effective until July 31, 2024 and it may be terminated before that date only by IMST II’s Board of Trustees. The advisor is permitted to seek reimbursement from the Fund, subject to certain limitations, of fees waived or payments made by the advisor to the Fund for a period ending three years after the date of the waiver or payment. Such reimbursement may be requested from the Fund if the reimbursement will not cause the Fund’s annual expense ratio to exceed the lesser of (a) the expense limitation in effect at the time such fees were waived or payments made, or (b) the expense limitation in effect at the time of the reimbursement. Reimbursements of fees waived or payments made will be made on a “first in, first out” basis so that the oldest fees waived or payments are satisfied first.

 


1

 

 

  

Example

 

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain at current levels. The example reflects the Fund’s contractual fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement only for the term of the contractual fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement. This example does not include the brokerage commissions that investors may pay to buy and sell Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, your costs, based on these assumptions, would be:

 

One Year

Three Years

Five Years

Ten Years

$117

$425

$755

$1,689

 

Portfolio Turnover

 

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it purchases and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover will cause the Fund to incur additional transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, may affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 0% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

Principal Investment Strategies

 

The Fund is an actively managed exchange traded fund that seeks to achieve on a daily basis, before fees and expenses, 200% performance of the ARK Innovation ETF for a single day, not for any other period, by entering into one or more swaps on the ARK Innovation ETF. A “single day” is measured from the time the Fund calculates its net asset value (“NAV”) to the time of the Fund’s next NAV calculation.

 

The Fund will enter into one or more swaps with major global financial institutions for a specified period ranging from a day to more than one year whereby the Fund and the global financial institution will agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on the ARK Innovation ETF. The gross return to be exchanged or “swapped” between the parties is calculated with respect to a “notional amount,” e.g., the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount representing the ARK Innovation ETF. The Advisor attempts to consistently apply leverage to increase the Fund’s exposure to 200% of the ARK Innovation ETF, and expects to rebalance the Fund’s holdings daily to maintain such exposure.

 

Additionally, the Fund may invest between 40-80% of the Fund’s portfolio depending on the amount of collateral required by the Fund’s counterparties in (1) U.S. Government securities, such as bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury; (2) money market funds; (3) short term bond ETFs and/or (4) corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper and other short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses that are rated investment grade or of comparable quality (“Collateral Investments”).

 


2

 

 

 

The ARK Innovation ETF is an actively managed exchange traded fund that seeks long-term growth of capital by investing under normal circumstances primarily (at least 65% of its assets) in domestic and foreign equity securities of companies that are relevant to the ARK Innovation ETF’s investment theme of disruptive innovation. It is typically comprised of 35-55 companies.

 

This document relates only to the securities offered hereby and does not relate to the underlying stock or other securities of the ARK Innovation ETF. The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding the ARK Innovation ETF from the publicly available documents. In connection with the offering of the securities, neither the Fund, the Trust nor the Advisor has participated in the preparation of such documents or made any due diligence inquiry with respect to the ARK Innovation ETF. Neither the Fund, the Trust nor the Advisor makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding the ARK Innovation ETF is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date hereof (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of the ARK Innovation ETF (and therefore the price of the ARK Innovation ETF at the time we price the securities) have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of or failure to disclose material future events concerning the ARK Innovation ETF could affect the value received with respect to the securities and therefore the value of the securities.

 

Neither the Fund nor any of its affiliates makes any representation to you as to the performance of the ARK Innovation ETF.

 

THE AXS 2X INNOVATION ETF, INVESTMENT MANAGERS SERIES TRUST II, AND AXS INVESTMENTS LLC ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE ARK ETF TRUST, THE ARK INNOVATION ETF, OR ARK INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LLC.

 

Principal Risks

 

You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s investment objectives will be achieved.

 

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives include instruments and contracts that are based on and valued in relation to one or more underlying securities, financial benchmarks, indices, or other reference obligations or measures of value. Major types of derivatives include futures, options, swaps and forward contracts. Using derivatives exposes the Fund to additional or heightened risks, including leverage risk, liquidity risk, valuation risk, market risk, counterparty risk, and credit risk. Derivatives transactions can be highly illiquid and difficult to unwind or value, they can increase Fund volatility, and changes in the value of a derivative held by the Fund may not correlate with the value of the underlying instrument or the Fund’s other investments. Many of the risks applicable to trading the instruments underlying derivatives are also applicable to derivatives trading. However, derivatives are subject to additional risks such as operational risk, including settlement issues, and legal risk, including that underlying documentation is incomplete or ambiguous. For derivatives that are required to be cleared by a regulated clearinghouse, other risks may arise from the Fund’s relationship with a brokerage firm through which it submits derivatives trades for clearing, including in some cases from other clearing customers of the brokerage firm.

 

 

Swaps Risk. The Fund expects to use swaps as a means to achieve its investment objective. Swaps are generally traded in over-the-counter (“OTC”) markets and have only recently become subject to regulation by the CFTC. CFTC rules, however, do not cover all types of swaps. Investors, therefore, may not receive the protection of CFTC regulation or the statutory scheme of the Commodity Exchange Act in connection with the Fund’s swaps. The lack of regulation in these markets could expose investors to significant losses under certain circumstances, including in the event of trading abuses or financial failure by participants. Unlike in futures contracts, the counterparty to uncleared OTC swaps is generally a single bank or other financial institution, rather than a clearing organization backed by a group of financial institutions. As a result, the Fund is subject to increased counterparty risk with respect to the amount it expects to receive from counterparties to uncleared swaps. If a

 


3

 

 

 

counterparty becomes bankrupt or otherwise fails to perform its obligations due to financial difficulties, the Fund could suffer significant losses on these contracts and the value of an investor’s investment in the Fund may decline. OTC swaps of the type that may be utilized by the Fund are less liquid than futures contracts because they are not traded on an exchange, do not have uniform terms and conditions, and are generally entered into based upon the creditworthiness of the parties and the availability of credit support, such as collateral, and in general, are not transferable without the consent of the counterparty. Swaps are also subject to the risk of imperfect correlation between the value of the reference asset underlying the swap and the swap. Leverage inherent in derivatives will tend to magnify the Fund’s gains and losses. Moreover, with respect to the use of swaps, if the ARK Innovation ETF has a dramatic intraday move that causes a material decline in the Fund’s net assets, the terms of a swaps between the Fund and its counterparty may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the transaction with the Fund. In that event, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swaps or invest in other derivatives to achieve the desired exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This, in turn, may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective, even if the ARK Innovation ETF reverses all or a portion of its intraday move by the end of the day. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning.

 

Leverage Risk. Leverage increases the risk of a total loss of an investor’s investment, may increase the volatility of the Fund, and may magnify any differences between the performance of the Fund and the ARK Innovation ETF. Because the Fund includes a multiplier of two times (2x) the ARK Innovation ETF, a single day movement in the ARK Innovation ETF approaching 50% at any point in the day could result in the total loss of an investor’s investment if that movement is contrary to the investment objective of the Fund, even if the ARK Innovation ETF subsequently moves in an opposite direction, eliminating all or a portion of the earlier movement. This would be the case with any such single day movements in the ARK Innovation ETF, even if the ARK Innovation ETF maintains a level greater than zero at all times.

 

Compounding Risk. The Fund has a single day investment objective, and the Fund’s performance for any other period is the result of its return for each day compounded over the period. The performance of the Fund for periods longer than a single day will very likely differ in amount, and possibly even direction, from 200% of the daily return the ARK Innovation ETF for the same period, before accounting for fees and expenses. Compounding affects all investments, but has a more significant impact on a leveraged fund. This effect becomes more pronounced as the ARK Innovation ETF volatility and holding periods increase. Fund performance for a period longer than a single day can be estimated given any set of assumptions for the following factors: (a) the ARK Innovation ETF volatility; (b) the ARK Innovation ETF performance; (c) period of time; (d) financing rates associated with leveraged exposure; and (e) other Fund expenses. The chart below illustrates the impact of two principal factors — the ARK Innovation ETF volatility and the ARK Innovation ETF performance — on Fund performance. The chart shows estimated Fund returns for a number of combinations of the ARK Innovation ETF volatility and the ARK Innovation ETF performance over a one-year period. Actual volatility, the ARK Innovation ETF and Fund performance may differ significantly from the chart below. Performance shown in the chart assumes: (a) no Fund expenses; and (b) borrowing/lending rates (to obtain leveraged exposure) of zero percent. If Fund expenses and/or actual borrowing/ lending rates were reflected, the Fund’s performance would be different than shown.

 

Areas shaded red (or dark gray) represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return less than 200% of the performance of the ARK Innovation ETF and those shaded green (or light gray) represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return more than 200% of the performance of the ARK Innovation

 


4

 

 

 

ETF. The Fund’s actual returns may be significantly better or worse than the returns shown below as a result of any of the factors discussed above or in “Correlation Risk” below.

 

Estimated Fund Returns

 

One
Year
ARK Innovation ETF

200% One Year ARK Innovation ETF

Volatility Rate

Return

Return

10%

25%

50%

75%

100%

-60%

-120%

-84.2%

-85.0%

-87.5%

-90.9%

-94.1%

-50%

-100%

-75.2%

-76.5%

-80.5%

-85.8%

-90.8%

-40%

-80%

-64.4%

-66.2%

-72.0%

-79.5%

-86.8%

-30%

-60%

-51.5%

-54.0%

-61.8%

-72.1%

-82.0%

-20%

-40%

-36.6%

-39.9%

-50.2%

-63.5%

-76.5%

-10%

-20%

-19.8%

-23.9%

-36.9%

-53.8%

-70.2%

0%

0%

-1.0%

-6.1%

-22.1%

-43.0%

-63.2%

10%

20%

19.8%

13.7%

-5.8%

-31.1%

-55.5%

20%

40%

42.6%

35.3%

12.1%

-18.0%

-47.0%

30%

60%

67.3%

58.8%

31.6%

-3.7%

-37.8%

40%

80%

94.0%

84.1%

52.6%

11.7%

-27.9%

50%

100%

122.8%

111.4%

75.2%

28.2%

-17.2%

60%

120%

153.5%

140.5%

99.4%

45.9%

-5.8%

 

The foregoing table is intended to isolate the effect of the ARK Innovation ETF volatility and the ARK Innovation ETF performance on the return of the Fund and is not a representation of actual returns. For example, the Fund may incorrectly be expected to achieve a 40% return on a yearly basis if the ARK Innovation ETF return were 20%, absent the effects of compounding. As the table shows, with the ARK Innovation ETF volatility of 50%, the Fund could be expected to return 12.1% under such a scenario. The Fund’s actual returns may be significantly better or worse than the returns shown above as a result of any of the factors discussed above or in “Principal Risks — Correlation Risk” below.

 

The ARK Innovation ETF’s annualized historical volatility rate for the five-year period ended December 31, 2022, was 39.13% The ARK Innovation ETF’s highest volatility rate for any one calendar year for the period from March 29, 2019 through December 31, 2022 was 42.57% and volatility for a shorter period of time may have been substantially higher. The ARK Innovation ETF’s annualized performance for the period from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022 was -2.20%. Historical ARK Innovation ETF volatility and performance are not indications of what the ARK Innovation ETF volatility and performance will be in the future. The volatility of ETFs or instruments that reflect the value of the ARK Innovation ETF, such as swaps, may differ from the volatility of the ARK Innovation ETF.

 

Total Loss Risk. Because the Fund utilizes leverage in seeking to achieve its investment objective, it will lose more money in market environments adverse to its daily investment objective than funds that do not employ leverage. The use of leveraged positions increases risk and could result in the total loss of an investor’s investment within a single day. The Fund’s investments in leveraged positions generally requires a small investment relative to the amount of investment exposure assumed. As a result, such investments may give rise to losses that far exceed the amount invested in those instruments.

 

Correlation Risk. A number of factors may affect the Fund’s ability to achieve a high degree of correlation with the ARK Innovation ETF, and there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation. Failure to achieve a high degree of correlation may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective, and the percentage change of the Fund’s NAV each day may differ, perhaps significantly in amount, and possibly even direction, from 200% of the percentage change of the ARK Innovation ETF on such day.

 


5

 

 

 

In order to achieve a high degree of correlation with the ARK Innovation ETF, the Fund seeks to rebalance its portfolio daily to keep exposure consistent with its investment objective. Being materially under- or overexposed to the ARK Innovation ETF may prevent the Fund from achieving a high degree of correlation with the ARK Innovation ETF and may expose the Fund to greater leverage risk. Market disruptions or closure, regulatory restrictions, market volatility, illiquidity in the markets for the financial instruments in which the Fund invests, and other factors will adversely affect the Fund’s ability to adjust exposure to requisite levels. The target amount of portfolio exposure is impacted dynamically by the ARK Innovation ETF’s movements, including intraday movements. Because of this, it is unlikely that the Fund will have perfect 200% exposure during the day or at the end of each day and the likelihood of being materially under- or overexposed is higher on days when the ARK Innovation ETF is volatile, particularly when the ARK Innovation ETF is volatile at or near the close of the trading day.

 

A number of other factors may also adversely affect the Fund’s correlation with the ARK Innovation ETF, including fees, expenses, transaction costs, financing costs associated with the use of derivatives, income items, valuation methodology, accounting standards and disruptions or illiquidity in the markets for the securities or financial instruments in which the Fund invests. The Fund may take or refrain from taking positions in order to improve tax efficiency, comply with regulatory restrictions, or for other reasons, each of which may negatively affect the Fund’s correlation with the ARK Innovation ETF. The Fund may also be subject to large movements of assets into and out of the Fund, potentially resulting in the Fund being under- or overexposed to the ARK Innovation ETF and may be impacted by reconstitutions of the ARK Innovation ETF and the ARK Innovation ETF rebalancing events. Additionally, the Fund’s underlying investments and/or reference assets may trade on markets that may not be open on the same day as the Fund, which may cause a difference between the changes in the daily performance of the Fund and changes in the level of the ARK Innovation ETF. Any of these factors could decrease correlation between the performance of the Fund and the ARK Innovation ETF and may hinder the Fund’s ability to meet its daily investment objective on or around that day.

 

Rebalancing Risk. If for any reason the Fund is unable to rebalance all or a portion of its portfolio, or if all or a portion of the portfolio is rebalanced incorrectly, the Fund’s investment exposure may not be consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. In these instances, the Fund may have investment exposure to the ARK Innovation ETF that is significantly greater or less than its stated multiple. As a result, the Fund may be more exposed to leverage risk than if it had been properly rebalanced and may not achieve its investment objective.

 

Counterparty Risk. A counterparty (the other party to a transaction or an agreement or the party with which the Fund executes transactions) to a transaction with the Fund may be unable or unwilling to make timely principal, interest or settlement payments, or otherwise honor its obligations. If the counterparty or its affiliate becomes insolvent, bankrupt or defaults on its payment obligations to the Fund, the value of an investment held by the Fund may decline. Additionally, if any collateral posted by the counterparty for the benefit of the Fund is insufficient or there are delays in the Fund’s ability to access such collateral, the Fund may not be able to achieve its inverse investment objective. In addition, the Fund may enter into transactions with a limited number of counterparties, which may increase the Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk. Further, there is a risk that no suitable counterparties will be willing to enter into, or continue to enter into, transactions with the Fund and, as a result, the Fund may not be able to achieve its inverse investment objective or may decide to change its inverse investment objective.

 

Financial Technology Risk. The ARK Innovation ETF may invest in financial technology companies. Companies that are developing financial technologies that seek to disrupt or displace established financial institutions generally face competition from much larger and more established firms. Financial technology companies may not be able to capitalize on their disruptive technologies if they face political and/or legal attacks from competitors, industry groups or local and national governments. Laws generally vary by country, creating some challenges to achieving scale. A financial technology company may not currently derive any revenue, and there is no assurance that such company will derive any revenue from innovative technologies in the future. Additionally, financial technology companies may be adversely impacted by potential rapid product obsolescence, cybersecurity attacks, increased regulatory oversight and disruptions in the technology they depend on.

 


6

 

 

 

Disruptive Innovation Risk. The ARK Innovation ETF may invest in disruptive innovation companies. Companies that the advisor of the ARK Innovation ETF believes are capitalizing on disruptive innovation and developing technologies to displace older technologies or create new markets may not in fact do so. Companies that initially develop a novel technology may not be able to capitalize on the technology. Companies that develop disruptive technologies may face political or legal attacks from competitors, industry groups or local and national governments. These companies may also be exposed to risks applicable to sectors other than the disruptive innovation theme for which they are chosen, and the securities issued by these companies may underperform the securities of other companies that are primarily focused on a particular theme. The ARK Innovation ETF may invest in a company that does not currently derive any revenue from disruptive innovations or technologies, and there is no assurance that a company will derive any revenue from disruptive innovations or technologies in the future. A disruptive innovation or technology may constitute a small portion of a company’s overall business. As a result, the success of a disruptive innovation or technology may not affect the value of the equity securities issued by the company.

 

Communications Sector Risk. The ARK Innovation ETF may invest in companies in the communication sector. Communication companies are particularly vulnerable to the potential obsolescence of products and services due to technological advancement and the innovation of competitors. Companies in the communications sector may also be affected by other competitive pressures, such as pricing competition, as well as research and development costs, substantial capital requirements and government regulation. Additionally, fluctuating domestic and international demand, shifting demographics and often unpredictable changes in consumer tastes can drastically affect a communication company’s profitability. While all companies may be susceptible to network security breaches, certain companies in the communications sector may be particular targets of hacking and potential theft of proprietary or consumer information or disruptions in service, which could have a material adverse effect on their businesses.

 

Health Care Sector Risk. The ARK Innovation ETF may invest in companies in the health care sector. The health care sector may be affected by government regulations and government health care programs, restrictions on government reimbursement for medical expenses, increases or decreases in the cost of medical products and services and product liability claims, among other factors. Many health care companies are: (i) heavily dependent on patent protection and intellectual property rights and the expiration of a patent may adversely affect their profitability; (ii) subject to extensive litigation based on product liability and similar claims; and (iii) subject to competitive forces that may make it difficult to raise prices and, in fact, may result in price discounting. Many health care products and services may be subject to regulatory approvals. The process of obtaining such approvals may be long and costly, and delays or failure to receive such approvals may negatively impact the business of such companies. Additional or more stringent laws and regulations enacted in the future could have a material adverse effect on such companies in the health care sector. In addition, issuers in the health care sector include issuers having their principal activities in the biotechnology industry, medical laboratories and research, drug laboratories and research and drug manufacturers.

 

Biotechnology Company Risk. The ARK Innovation ETF may invest in biotechnology companies. A biotechnology company’s valuation can often be based largely on the potential or actual performance of a limited number of products and can accordingly be greatly affected if one of its products proves, among other things, unsafe, ineffective or unprofitable. Biotechnology companies are subject to regulation by, and the restrictions of, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, state and local governments, and foreign regulatory authorities.

 

Pharmaceutical Company Risk. The ARK Innovation ETF may invest in pharmaceutical companies. Companies in the pharmaceutical industry can be significantly affected by, among other things, government approval of products and services, government regulation and reimbursement rates, product liability claims, patent expirations and protection and intense competition.

 

Information Technology Sector Risk. The ARK Innovation ETF may invest in companies in the information technology sector. The information technology sector includes companies engaged in internet software and services, technology hardware and storage peripherals, electronic equipment instruments and components, and semiconductors and semiconductor equipment. Information technology companies face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, which may have an adverse effect on profit margins. Information technology

 


7

 

 

 

companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. The products of information technology companies may face rapid product obsolescence due to technological developments and frequent new product introduction, unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel. Failure to introduce new products, develop and maintain a loyal customer base, or achieve general market acceptance for their products could have a material adverse effect on a company’s business. Companies in the information technology sector are heavily dependent on intellectual property and the loss of patent, copyright and trademark protections may adversely affect the profitability of these companies.

 

Internet Company Risk. The ARK Innovation ETF may invest in Internet companies. Many Internet-related companies have incurred large losses since their inception and may continue to incur large losses in the hope of capturing market share and generating future revenues. Accordingly, many such companies expect to incur significant operating losses for the foreseeable future, and may never be profitable. The markets in which many Internet companies compete face rapidly evolving industry standards, frequent new service and product announcements, introductions and enhancements, and changing customer demands. The failure of an Internet company to adapt to such changes could have a material adverse effect on the company’s business. Additionally, the widespread adoption of new Internet, networking, telecommunications technologies, or other technological changes could require substantial expenditures by an Internet company to modify or adapt its services or infrastructure, which could have a material adverse effect on an Internet company’s business.

 

Semiconductor Company Risk. The ARK Innovation ETF may invest in semiconductor companies. Competitive pressures may have a significant effect on the financial condition of semiconductor companies and, as product cycles shorten and manufacturing capacity increases, these companies may become increasingly subject to aggressive pricing, which hampers profitability. Reduced demand for end-user products, under-utilization of manufacturing capacity, and other factors could adversely impact the operating results of companies in the semiconductor sector. Semiconductor companies typically face high capital costs and may be heavily dependent on intellectual property rights. The semiconductor sector is highly cyclical, which may cause the operating results of many semiconductor companies to vary significantly. The stock prices of companies in the semiconductor sector have been and likely will continue to be extremely volatile.

 

Software Industry Risk. The ARK Innovation ETF may invest in software companies. The software industry can be significantly affected by intense competition, aggressive pricing, technological innovations, and product obsolescence. Companies in the software industry are subject to significant competitive pressures, such as aggressive pricing, new market entrants, competition for market share, short product cycles due to an accelerated rate of technological developments and the potential for limited earnings and/or falling profit margins. These companies also face the risks that new services, equipment or technologies will not be accepted by consumers and businesses or will become rapidly obsolete. These factors can affect the profitability of these companies and, as a result, the value of their securities. Also, patent protection is integral to the success of many companies in this industry, and profitability can be affected materially by, among other things, the cost of obtaining (or failing to obtain) patent approvals, the cost of litigating patent infringement and the loss of patent protection for products (which significantly increases pricing pressures and can materially reduce profitability with respect to such products). In addition, many software companies have limited operating histories. Prices of these companies’ securities historically have been more volatile than other securities, especially over the short term.

 

Bitcoin Risk. The ARK Innovation ETF may have exposure to bitcoin indirectly through investment in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (“GBTC”), a privately offered, investment vehicle, the shares of which are also available over-the-counter, that invests in bitcoin. The ARK Innovation ETF will not have exposure to bitcoin other than through GBTC and will not have exposure to other cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies (also referred to as “virtual currencies” and “digital currencies”) are digital assets designed to act as a medium of exchange. There are thousands of cryptocurrencies, the most well-known of which is bitcoin. The market price of bitcoin has been subject to extreme fluctuations. The price of bitcoin could fall sharply (potentially to zero) for various reasons, including, but not limited to, regulatory changes, issues impacting the bitcoin network, events involving entities that facilitate transactions in bitcoin, or changes in user preferences in favor of alternative cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, events that impact one cryptocurrency may lead to a decline in the value of other cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin.

 


8

 

 

 

The ARK Innovation ETF’s investments in GBTC exposes the Fund to all of the risks related to bitcoin described above and also expose the Fund to risks related to GBTC directly. Shares of GBTC may trade at a significant premium or discount to NAV. To the extent GBTC trades at a discount to NAV, the value of the ARK Innovation ETF’s investment in GBTC would typically decrease. Similar to fiat currencies (i.e., a currency that is backed by a central bank or a national, supra-national or quasi-national organization), cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, are susceptible to theft, loss and destruction. If GBTC experiences theft, loss, or destruction of its bitcoin holdings, the ARK Innovation ETF’s investments in GBTC could be harmed. Furthermore, because there is no guarantee that an active trading market for GBTC will exist at any time, the ARK Innovation ETF’s investments in GBTC may also be subject to liquidity risk, which can impair the value of the ARK Innovation ETF’s investments in GBTC. Investors in the Fund may experience losses if the value of the ARK Innovation ETF’s investments in GBTC decline. The Fund will only have indirect exposure to GBTC through its exposure to the ARK Innovation ETF.

 

Equity Securities Risk. The value of the equity securities the ARK Innovation ETF holds may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the issuers of securities the ARK Innovation ETF holds participate or factors relating to specific companies in which the ARK Innovation ETF invests. These can include stock movements, purchases or sales of securities by the ARK Innovation ETF, government policies, litigation and changes in interest rates, inflation, the financial condition of the securities’ issuer or perceptions of the issuer, or economic conditions in general or specific to the issuer. Equity securities may also be particularly sensitive to general movements in the stock market, and a decline in the broader market may affect the value of the ARK Innovation ETF’s equity investments.

 

Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs). The ARK Innovation ETF may invest in stock of, warrants to purchase stock of, and other interests in SPACs or similar special purposes entities. A SPAC is a publicly traded company that raises investment capital for the purpose of acquiring or merging with an existing company. Investments in SPACs and similar entities are subject to a variety of risks beyond those associated with other equity securities. Because SPACs and similar entities do not have any operating history or ongoing business other than seeking acquisitions, the value of their securities is particularly dependent on the ability of the SPAC’s management to identify a merger target and complete an acquisition. Until an acquisition or merger is completed, a SPAC generally invests its assets, less a portion retained to cover expenses, in U.S. government securities, money market securities and cash and does not typically pay dividends in respect of its common stock. As a result, it is possible that an investment in a SPAC may lose value.

 

Internet Information Provider Company Risk. The ARK Innovation ETF may invest in Internet information provider companies. Companies. Internet information provider companies provide Internet navigation services and reference guide information and publish, provide or present proprietary advertising and/or third party content. Such companies often derive a large portion of their revenues from advertising, and a reduction in spending by or loss of advertisers could seriously harm their business. This business is rapidly evolving and intensely competitive, and is subject to changing technologies, shifting user needs, and frequent introductions of new products and services. The research and development of new, technologically advanced products is a complex and uncertain process requiring high levels of innovation and investment, as well as the accurate anticipation of technology, market trends and consumer needs. The number of people who access the Internet is increasing dramatically and a failure to attract and retain a substantial number of such users to a company’s products and services or to develop products and technologies that are more compatible with alternative devices, could adversely affect operating results. Concerns regarding a company’s products, services or processes that may compromise the privacy of users or other privacy related matters, even if unfounded, could damage a company’s reputation and adversely affect operating results.

 

Catalog and Mail Order House Company Risk. The ARK Innovation ETF may invest in Catalog and mail order house companies. Catalog and mail order house companies may be exposed to significant inventory risks that may adversely affect operating results due to, among other factors: seasonality, new product launches, rapid changes in product cycles and pricing, defective merchandise, changes in consumer demand and consumer spending patterns, or changes in consumer tastes with respect to products. Demand for products can change significantly between the time inventory or components are ordered and the date of sale. The acquisition of certain types of inventory or components may require significant lead-time and prepayment and they may not be returnable. Failure

 


9

 

 

 

to adequately predict customer demand or otherwise optimize and operate distribution centers could result in excess or insufficient inventory or distribution capacity, result in increased costs, impairment charges, or both. The business of catalog and mail order house companies can be highly seasonal and failure to stock or restock popular products in sufficient amounts during high demand periods could significantly affect revenue and future growth. Increased website traffic during peak periods could cause system interruptions which may reduce the volume of goods sold and the attractiveness of a company’s products and services.

 

Foreign Securities Risk. The ARK Innovation ETF’s investments in foreign securities can be riskier than U.S. securities investments. Investments in the securities of foreign issuers (including investments in ADRs and GDRs) are subject to the risks associated with investing in those foreign markets, such as heightened risks of inflation or nationalization. The prices of foreign securities and the prices of U.S. securities have, at times, moved in opposite directions. In addition, securities of foreign issuers may lose value due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market. During periods of social, political or economic instability in a country or region, the value of a foreign security traded on U.S. exchanges could be affected by, among other things, increasing price volatility, illiquidity, or the closure of the primary market on which the security (or the security underlying the ADR or GDR) is traded. You may lose money due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market. The ARK Innovation ETF normally will not hedge any foreign currency exposure.

 

Emerging Market Securities Risk. The ARK Innovation ETF’s investment in securities of emerging market issuers may present risks that are greater than or different from those associated with foreign securities due to less developed and liquid markets and such factors as increased economic, political, regulatory, or other uncertainties. Certain emerging market countries may be subject to less stringent requirements regarding accounting, auditing, financial reporting and record keeping and therefore, material information related to an investment may not be available or reliable. In addition, the ARK Innovation ETF is limited in its ability to exercise its legal rights or enforce a counterparty’s legal obligations in certain jurisdictions outside of the United States, in particular, in emerging markets countries.

 

Large-Cap Company Risk. Larger, more established companies may be unable to attain the high growth rates of successful, smaller companies during periods of economic expansion.

 

Small-Cap and Mid-Cap Company Risk. The securities of small-capitalization and mid-capitalization companies may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements and may have lower trading volumes or more erratic trading than securities of larger, more established companies or market averages in general. In addition, such companies typically are more likely to be adversely affected than large capitalization companies by changes in earning results, business prospects, investor expectations or poor economic or market conditions.

 

Micro-Capitalization Company Risk. Micro-capitalization companies are subject to substantially greater risks of loss and price fluctuations because their earnings and revenues tend to be less predictable (and some companies may be experiencing significant losses). Their share prices tend to be more volatile and their markets less liquid than companies with larger market capitalizations. The shares of micro-capitalization companies tend to trade less frequently than those of larger, more established companies, which can adversely affect the pricing of these securities and the future ability to sell these securities.

 

Intraday Price Performance Risk. The intraday performance of shares of the Fund traded in the secondary market generally will be different from the performance of the Fund when measured from one NAV calculation-time to the next. When shares are bought intraday, the performance of the Fund’s Shares relative to the ARK Innovation ETF until the Fund’s next NAV calculation time will generally be greater than or less than the Fund’s stated multiple times the performance of the ARK Innovation ETF.

 

Liquidity Risk. The Fund may not be able to sell some or all of the investments that it holds due to a lack of demand in the marketplace or other factors such as market turmoil, or if the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid asset to meet redemption requests or other cash needs it may only be able to sell those investments at a loss. Illiquid assets may also be difficult to value.

 


10

 

 

 

Market Risk. The market price of a security or instrument may decline, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic or political conditions throughout the world, changes in the general outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates, or adverse investor sentiment generally. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, or other events could have a significant impact on a security or instrument. The market value of a security or instrument also may 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.

 

Volatility Risk. Volatility is the characteristic of a security or other asset, an index or a market to fluctuate significantly in price within a short time period. The value of the Fund’s investments in swaps – and therefore the value of an investment in the Fund – could decline significantly and without warning, including to zero. If you are not prepared to accept significant and unexpected changes in the value of the Fund and the possibility that you could lose your entire investment in the Fund, you should not invest in the Fund.

 

Cybersecurity Risk. Cybersecurity incidents may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, or cause the Fund, the Advisor, and/or other service providers (including custodians, sub-custodians, transfer agents and financial intermediaries) to suffer data breaches, data corruption or loss of operational functionality. In an extreme case, a shareholder’s ability to exchange or redeem Fund shares may be affected. Issuers of securities in which the Fund invests are also subject to cybersecurity risks, and the value of those securities could decline if the issuers experience cybersecurity incidents.

 

Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively-managed and its performance reflects investment decisions that the Adviser makes for the Fund. Such judgments about the Fund’s investments may prove to be incorrect. If the investments selected and the strategies employed by the Fund fail to produce the intended results, the Fund could underperform as compared to other funds with similar investment objectives and/or strategies, or could have negative returns.

 

Operational Risk. The Fund is exposed to operational risks arising from a number of factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund and the Advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.

 

ETF Structure Risks. The Fund is an ETF, and, as a result of an ETF’s structure, it is exposed to the following risks:

 

Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as authorized participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other authorized participant is able to step forward to create or redeem, in either of these cases, shares may trade at a discount to the Fund’s net asset value and possibly face delisting.

 

Cash Transaction Risk. To the extent the Fund sells portfolio securities to meet some or all of a redemption request with cash, the Fund may incur taxable gains or losses that it might not have incurred had it made redemptions entirely in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used.

 

Costs of Buying or Selling Shares: Investors buying or selling shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers, as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of shares. In addition, secondary market investors will also incur the cost of the difference between the price at which an investor is willing to buy Shares (the “bid” price) and the price at which an investor is willing to sell Shares (the “ask” price). This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the

 


11

 

 

 

“spread” or “bid-ask spread.” The bid-ask spread varies over time for shares based on trading volume and market liquidity, and the spread is generally lower if shares have more trading volume and market liquidity and higher if shares have little trading volume and market liquidity. Further, a relatively small investor base in the Fund, asset swings in the Fund, and/or increased market volatility may cause increased bid-ask spreads. Due to the costs of buying or selling shares, including bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.

 

Fluctuation of Net Asset Value Risk: As with all ETFs, shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market prices of shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market prices of shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount). Differences in market price and NAV may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related to, but not identical to, the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. These differences can be especially pronounced during times of market volatility or stress. During these periods, the demand for Fund shares may decrease considerably and cause the market price of Fund shares to deviate significantly from the Fund’s NAV.

 

Market Maker Risk. If the Fund has lower average daily trading volumes, it may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of Fund shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s NAV and the price at which the Fund shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund shares. In addition, decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a discount to NAV and also in greater than normal intra-day bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.

 

Shares are Not Individually Redeemable. Shares are only redeemable by the Fund at NAV if they are tendered in Creation Units. Only Authorized Participants may engage in such creation and redemption transactions directly with the Fund. Individual Shares may be sold on a stock exchange at their current market prices, which may be less, more, or equal to their NAV.

 

Trading Issues Risk: Although the Fund shares are listed for trading on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such Fund shares will develop or be maintained. Trading in Fund shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Fund shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Fund shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. Market makers are under no obligation to make a market in the Fund shares, and authorized participants are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. Initially, due to the small asset size of the Fund, it may have difficulty maintaining its listings on the Exchange.

 

Limited Operating History. The Fund is recently organized and has a limited operating history. As a result, prospective investors have a limited track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is classified as “non-diversified,” which means the Fund may invest a larger percentage of its assets in the securities of a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund. Investment in securities of a limited number of issuers exposes the Fund to greater market risk and potential losses than if its assets were diversified among the securities of a greater number of issuers. The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by entering into one or more swaps. The Fund may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number

 


12

 

 

 

of issuers and/or in swaps with a single counterparty or a few counterparties. As a result, the Fund may experience increased volatility and be more susceptible to a single economic or regulatory occurrence affecting one or more of these issuers and/or counterparties.

 

Collateral Investments Risk. The Fund’s use of Collateral Investments may include obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities, including bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury, money market funds and corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper.

 

Some securities issued or guaranteed by federal agencies and U.S. Government-sponsored instrumentalities may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, in which case the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the security for ultimate repayment, and may not be able to assert a claim against the United States itself in the event that the agency or instrumentality does not meet its commitment. The U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities do not guarantee the market value of their securities, and consequently, the value of such securities may fluctuate. Although the Fund may hold securities that carry U.S. Government guarantees, these guarantees do not extend to shares of the Fund.

 

Money market funds are subject to management fees and other expenses. Therefore, investments in money market funds will cause the Fund to bear indirectly a proportional share of the fees and costs of the money market funds in which it invests. At the same time, the Fund will continue to pay its own management fees and expenses with respect to all of its assets, including any portion invested in the shares of the money market fund. It is possible to lose money by investing in money market funds.

 

Corporate debt securities such as commercial paper generally are short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses. Corporate debt may be rated investment-grade or below investment-grade and may carry variable or floating rates of interest. Corporate debt securities carry both credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk is the risk that the Fund could lose money if the issuer of a corporate debt security is unable to pay interest or repay principal when it is due. Some corporate debt securities that are rated below investment-grade generally are considered speculative because they present a greater risk of loss, including default, than higher quality debt securities.

 

Debt Securities Risk. Investments in debt securities subject the holder to the credit risk of the issuer. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer or other obligor of a security will not be able or willing to make payments of interest and principal when due. Generally, the value of debt securities will change inversely with changes in interest rates. To the extent that interest rates rise, certain underlying obligations may be paid off substantially slower than originally anticipated and the value of those securities may fall sharply. During periods of falling interest rates, the income received by the Fund may decline. If the principal on a debt security is prepaid before expected, the prepayments of principal may have to be reinvested in obligations paying interest at lower rates. Debt securities generally do not trade on a securities exchange making them generally less liquid and more difficult to value than common stock.

 

Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of the debt securities in the Fund’s portfolio will decline because of rising market interest rates. Interest rate risk is generally lower for shorter term debt securities and higher for longer-term debt securities. The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates than would normally be the case due to the current period of historically low rates and the effect of potential government fiscal policy initiatives and resulting market reaction to those initiatives. Duration is a reasonably accurate measure of a debt security’s price sensitivity to changes in interest rates and a common measure of interest rate risk. Duration measures a debt security’s expected life on a present value basis, taking into account the debt security’s yield, interest payments and final maturity. In general, duration represents the expected percentage change in the value of a security for an immediate 1% change in interest rates. For example, the price of a debt security with a three-year duration would be expected to drop by approximately 3% in response to a 1% increase in interest rates. Therefore, prices of debt securities with shorter durations tend to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than debt securities with longer durations. As the value of a debt security changes over time, so will its duration.

 


13

 

 

 

Call Risk. Some debt securities may be redeemed, or “called,” at the option of the issuer before their stated maturity date. In general, an issuer will call its debt securities if they can be refinanced by issuing new debt securities which bear a lower interest rate. The Fund is subject to the possibility that during periods of falling interest rates an issuer will call its high yielding debt securities. The Fund would then be forced to invest the proceeds at lower interest rates, likely resulting in a decline in the Fund’s income.

 

Credit Risk. Debt securities are subject to credit risk. Credit risk is the risk that the inability or perceived inability of the issuer to make interest and principal payments will cause the value of the securities to decrease. As a result the Funds’ NAV could also decrease. Changes in the credit rating of a debt security held by the Fund could have a similar effect.

 

Valuation Risk. The Fund may hold securities or other assets that may be valued on the basis of factors other than market quotations. This may occur because the asset or security does not trade on a centralized exchange, or in times of market turmoil or reduced liquidity. There are multiple methods that can be used to value a portfolio holding when market quotations are not readily available. The value established for any portfolio holding at a point in time might differ from what would be produced using a different methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations. Portfolio holdings that are valued using techniques other than market quotations, including “fair valued” assets or securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their valuations from one day to the next than if market quotations were used. In addition, there is no assurance that the Fund could sell or close out a portfolio position for the value established for it at any time, and it is possible that the Fund would incur a loss because a portfolio position is sold or closed out at a discount to the valuation established by the Fund at that time. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.

 

Recent Market Events. Periods of market volatility may occur in response to market events and other economic, political, and global macro factors. For example, in recent years the COVID-19 pandemic, the large expansion of government deficits and debt as a result of government actions to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the rise of inflation have resulted in extreme volatility in the global economy and in global financial markets. These and other similar events could be prolonged and could adversely affect the value and liquidity of the Fund’s investments, impair the Fund’s ability to satisfy redemption requests, and negatively impact the Fund’s performance.

 

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

 

Performance

 

The Fund is new and does not have a full calendar year performance record to compare against other funds or broad measures of securities market performance such as indices. Performance information will be available after the Fund has been in operation for one calendar year.

 

 

Management

 

Investment Advisor

 

AXS Investments LLC (“AXS Investments” or the “Advisor”)

 

Portfolio Managers

 

Travis Trampe, Managing Director, Portfolio Management of the Advisor, and Parker Binion, Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, have served as the portfolio managers of the Fund since its inception in May 2022. Messrs. Trampe and Binion are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio.

 


14

 

 

 

Purchase and Sale of Shares

 

The Fund issues and redeems Shares on a continuous basis, at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called “Creation Units.” Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the Shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund. Individual Shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold on the secondary market through a broker-dealer. Since Shares of the Fund trade on securities exchanges in the secondary market at their market price rather than their net asset value, the Fund’s Shares may trade at a price greater than (premium) or less than (discount) the Fund’s net asset value. An investor 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) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information, including the Fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads, is available online at www.axsinvestments.com.

 

Tax Information

 

The Fund’s distributions will generally be taxable as ordinary income, returns of capital or capital gains. A sale of Shares may result in capital gain or loss.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

 

If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), AXS Investments and ALPS Distributors, Inc., the Fund’s distributor, may pay the intermediary for the sale of Shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 


15

 

 

 

TSLQ AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF Shares

SUMMARY SECTION - AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF

 

Important Information About the AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF

 

The AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF (the “Fund”) seeks daily inverse investment results and is very different from most other exchange-traded funds. As a result, the Fund may be riskier than alternatives that do not seek daily inverse investment results because the Fund’s objective is the inverse (-100%) daily performance of the common shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) (“TSLA”). The return for investors that invest for periods longer or shorter than a trading day should not be expected to be -100% of the performance of TSLA for the period. The return of the Fund for a period longer than a trading day will be the result of each trading day’s compounded return over the period, which will very likely differ from -100% of the return of TSLA for that period. Longer holding periods and higher volatility of TSLA increase the impact of compounding on an investor’s returns. During periods of higher TSLA volatility, the volatility of TSLA may affect the Fund’s return as much as, or more than, the return of TSLA.

 

The Fund is not suitable for all investors. The Fund is designed to be utilized only by knowledgeable investors who understand the potential consequences of seeking daily inverse (-100%) investment results and are willing to monitor their portfolios frequently. The Fund is not intended to be used by, and is not appropriate for, investors who do not intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios. For periods longer than a single day, the Fund will lose money if TSLA’s performance is flat, and it is possible that the Fund will lose money even if TSLA’s performance decreases over a period longer than a single day.

 

Investment Objective

 

The AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to the inverse (-100%) of the daily performance of the common shares of Tesla, Inc. The Fund does not seek to achieve its stated investment objective for a period of time different than a trading day.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

 

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

 

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

 

Management fees

0.95%

Distribution and Service (Rule 12b-1) fees

0.00%

Other expenses

0.26%

Total annual fund operating expenses1

1.21%

Fees waived and/or reimbursed2

(0.06)%

Total annual fund operating expenses after waiving fees and/or reimbursing expenses

1.15%

 

1

The cost of investing in swaps, including the embedded cost of the swap and the operating expenses of the referenced assets, is an indirect expense that is not included in the above fee table and is not reflected in the expense example. The total indirect cost of investing in swaps, including the embedded cost of the swap and the operating expenses of the referenced assets, is estimated to be 0.50% for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024.

 

2

The Fund’s investment advisor has contractually agreed to waive its fees and/or pay for operating expenses of the Fund to ensure that total annual fund operating expenses (exclusive of any (i) leverage interest, (ii) brokerage fees and commission, (iii) acquired fund fees and expenses, (iv) fees and expenses associated with instruments in other collective investment vehicles or derivative instruments (including for example options and swap fees and expenses), (v) interest and dividend expense on short sales, (vi) taxes, (vii) other fees related to underlying investments (such as option fees and expenses or swap fees and expenses), (viii) expenses incurred in connection with any merger or reorganization or (ix) extraordinary expenses such as litigation) will not exceed 1.15%. This agreement is effective until July 31, 2024 and it may be terminated before that date only by the Trust’s Board of Trustees. The advisor is permitted to seek reimbursement from the Fund, subject to certain limitations, of fees waived or payments made by the advisor to the Fund for a period ending three years after the date of the waiver or payment. Such reimbursement may be requested from the Fund if the reimbursement will not cause the Fund’s annual expense ratio to exceed the lesser of (a) the expense limitation in effect at the time such fees were waived or payments made, or (b) the expense limitation in effect at the time of the reimbursement. Reimbursements of fees waived or payments made will be made on a “first in, first out” basis so that the oldest fees waived or payments are satisfied first.

 


16

 

 

 

Example

 

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain at current levels. The example reflects the Fund’s contractual fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement only for the term of the contractual fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement. This example does not include the brokerage commissions that investors may pay to buy and sell Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, your costs, based on these assumptions, would be:

 

One Year

Three Years

Five Years

Ten Years

$117

$378

$659

$1,461

 

Portfolio Turnover

 

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it purchases and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover will cause the Fund to incur additional transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, may affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 0% of the average value of its portfolio turnover rate.

 

Principal Investment Strategies

 

Under normal market circumstances, the Fund will maintain at least 80% exposure to financial instruments that provide inverse exposure to the daily performance of TSLA. The Fund is an actively-managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve on a daily basis, before fees and expenses, -100% performance of TSLA for a single day, not for any other period, by entering into one or more swaps on TSLA. A “single day” is measured from the time the Fund calculates its net asset value (“NAV”) to the time of the Fund’s next NAV calculation.

 

The Fund will enter into one or more swaps with major global financial institutions for a specified period ranging from a day to more than one year whereby the Fund and the global financial institution will agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on TSLA. The gross return to be exchanged or “swapped” between the parties is calculated with respect to a “notional amount,” e.g., the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount representing TSLA. The Advisor expects to rebalance the Fund’s holdings daily in an attempt to maintain short exposure for the Fund equal to -100% of TSLA. As a result of its investment strategies, the Fund will be concentrated in the industry assigned to TSLA (i.e., hold 25% or more of its total assets in investments that provide inverse exposure to the industry assigned to TSLA). As of the date of this prospectus, TSLA is assigned to the automotive industry.

 

Additionally, the Fund may invest between 40-80% of the Fund’s portfolio depending on the amount of collateral required by the Fund’s counterparties in (1) U.S. Government securities, such as bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury; (2) money market funds; (3) short term bond ETFs and/or (4) corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper and other short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses that are rated investment grade or of comparable quality (“Collateral Investments”).

 

Tesla, Inc. designs, manufactures and sells electric vehicles and electric vehicle powertrain components. TSLA is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Tesla, Inc. pursuant to the Exchange Act can be located by reference to

 


17

 

 

 

the Securities and Exchange Commission file number 001-34756 through the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, information regarding Tesla, Inc. may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents.

 

The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding Tesla, Inc. from the publicly available documents described above. In connection with the offering of the Fund’s securities, neither the Fund, the Trust nor the Advisor or any of its respective affiliates has participated in the preparation of such documents or made any due diligence inquiry with respect to Tesla, Inc. Neither the Fund, the Trust nor the Advisor or any of its respective affiliates makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding Tesla, Inc. is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date hereof (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of TSLA have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of or failure to disclose material future events concerning Tesla, Inc. could affect the value of the Fund’s investments with respect to TSLA and therefore the value of the Fund.

 

Neither the Trust, the Fund nor any of its respective affiliates makes any representation to you as to the performance of TSLA.

 

Principal Risks

 

You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s investment objectives will be achieved.

 

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives include instruments and contracts that are based on and valued in relation to one or more underlying securities, financial benchmarks, indices, or other reference obligations or measures of value. Major types of derivatives include futures, options, swaps and forward contracts. Using derivatives exposes the Fund to additional or heightened risks, including leverage risk, liquidity risk, valuation risk, market risk, counterparty risk, and credit risk. Derivatives transactions can be highly illiquid and difficult to unwind or value, they can increase Fund volatility, and changes in the value of a derivative held by the Fund may not correlate with the value of the underlying instrument or the Fund’s other investments. Many of the risks applicable to trading the instruments underlying derivatives are also applicable to derivatives trading. However, derivatives are subject to additional risks such as operational risk, including settlement issues, and legal risk, including that underlying documentation is incomplete or ambiguous. For derivatives that are required to be cleared by a regulated clearinghouse, other risks may arise from the Fund’s relationship with a brokerage firm through which it submits derivatives trades for clearing, including in some cases from other clearing customers of the brokerage firm.

 

 

Swaps Risk. The Fund expects to use swaps as a means to achieve its investment objective. Swaps are generally traded in over-the-counter (“OTC”) markets and have only recently become subject to regulation by the CFTC. CFTC rules, however, do not cover all types of swaps. Investors, therefore, may not receive the protection of CFTC regulation or the statutory scheme of the Commodity Exchange Act of 1936, as amended (the “Commodity Exchange Act”) in connection with the Fund’s swaps. The lack of regulation in these markets could expose investors to significant losses under certain circumstances, including in the event of trading abuses or financial failure by participants. Unlike in futures contracts, the counterparty to uncleared OTC swaps is generally a single bank or other financial institution, rather than a clearing organization backed by a group of financial institutions. As a result, the Fund is subject to increased counterparty risk with respect to the amount it expects to receive from counterparties to uncleared swaps. If a counterparty becomes bankrupt or otherwise fails to perform its obligations due to financial difficulties, the Fund could suffer significant losses on these contracts and the value of an investor’s investment in the Fund may decline. OTC swaps of the type that may be utilized by the Fund are less liquid than futures contracts because they are not traded on an exchange, do not have uniform terms and conditions, and are generally entered into based upon the creditworthiness of the parties and the availability of credit support, such as collateral, and in general, are not transferable without the consent of the

 


18

 

 

 

counterparty. Swaps are also subject to the risk of imperfect correlation between the value of the reference asset underlying the swap and the swap. Leverage inherent in derivatives will tend to magnify the Fund’s gains and losses. Moreover, with respect to the use of swaps, if TSLA has a dramatic intraday move that causes a material decline in the Fund’s net assets, the terms of a swap between the Fund and its counterparty may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the transaction with the Fund. In that event, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swap or invest in other derivatives to achieve the desired exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This, in turn, may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective, even if TSLA reverses all or a portion of its intraday move by the end of the day. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning.

 

The Fund will be subject to regulatory constraints relating to level of value at risk that the Fund may incur through its derivative portfolio. To the extent the Fund exceeds these regulatory thresholds over an extended period, the Fund may determine that it is necessary to make adjustments to the Fund’s investment strategy, including the desired daily inverse performance for the Fund.

 

Compounding Risk. The Fund has a single day investment objective, and the Fund’s performance for any other period is the result of its return for each day compounded over the period. The performance of the Fund for periods longer than a single day will very likely differ in amount, and possibly even direction, from -100% of the daily return of TSLA for the same period, before accounting for fees and expenses. Compounding affects all investments, but has a more significant impact on funds that are inverse and that rebalance daily. This effect becomes more pronounced as TSLA volatility and holding periods increase. Fund performance for a period longer than a single day can be estimated given any set of assumptions for the following factors: (a) TSLA volatility; (b) TSLA performance; (c) period of time; (d) financing rates associated with inverse exposure; and (e) other Fund expenses. The chart below illustrates the impact of two principal factors — TSLA volatility and TSLA performance — on Fund performance. The chart shows estimated Fund returns for a number of combinations of TSLA volatility and TSLA performance over a one-year period. Actual volatility, TSLA and Fund performance may differ significantly from the chart below. Performance shown in the chart assumes: (a) no Fund expenses; and (b) borrowing/lending rates (to obtain inverse exposure) of zero percent. If Fund expenses and/or actual borrowing/ lending rates were reflected, the Fund’s performance would be lower than shown.

 

Areas shaded red (or dark gray) represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return less than -100% of the performance of TSLA and those shaded green (or light gray) represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return more than -100% of the performance of TSLA. The Fund’s actual returns may be significantly better or worse than the returns shown below as a result of any of the factors discussed above or in “Correlation Risk” below.

 

Estimated Fund Returns

 

One
Year
TSLA

-100% One Year TSLA

Volatility Rate

Return

Return

10%

25%

50%

75%

100%

-60%

60%

148.55%

134.42%

95.28%

43.98%

-5.83%

-50%

50%

99.13%

87.77%

56.26%

15.23%

-24.77%

-40%

40%

66.08%

56.57%

30.21%

-4.08%

-37.57%

-30%

45%

42.43%

34.25%

11.56%

-17.98%

-46.76%

-20%

20%

24.67%

17.47%

-2.47%

-28.38%

-53.72%

-10%

10%

10.83%

4.44%

-13.28%

-36.52%

-58.79%

0%

0%

-0.25%

-6.04%

-22.08%

-42.90%

-63.23%

10%

-10%

-9.32%

-14.64%

-29.23%

-48.27%

-66.67%

20%

-20%

-16.89%

-21.75%

-35.24%

-52.72%

-69.67%

30%

-30%

-23.29%

-27.84%

-56.41%

-71.94%

-71.94%

40%

-40%

-28.78%

-33.01%

-44.63%

-59.81%

-74.23%

50%

-50%

-33.55%

-37.52%

-48.57%

-62.60%

-76.19%

60%

-60%

-37.72%

-41.51%

-51.96%

-65.19%

-78.12%

 


19

 

 

 

The foregoing table is intended to isolate the effect of TSLA volatility and TSLA performance on the return of the Fund and is not a representation of actual returns. For example, the Fund may incorrectly be expected to achieve a -20% return on a yearly basis if TSLA return were 20%, absent the effects of compounding. As the table shows, with TSLA volatility of 50%, the Fund could be expected to return –35.24% under such a scenario. The Fund’s actual returns may be significantly better or worse than the returns shown above as a result of any of the factors discussed above or in “Principal Risks — Correlation Risk” below.

 

TSLA’s annualized historical volatility rate for the five- year period ended December 31, 2022 was 74.76%. TSLA’s highest volatility rate for any one calendar year during the five-year period was 105.05%. TSLA’s annualized total return performance for the five-year period ended December 31, 2022 was 42.78%. Historical TSLA volatility and performance are not indications of what TSLA volatility and performance will be in the future. The volatility of U.S. exchange-traded securities or instruments that reflect the value of TSLA may differ from the volatility of TSLA.

 

Correlation Risk. A number of factors may affect the Fund’s ability to achieve a high degree of correlation with TSLA, and there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation. Failure to achieve a high degree of correlation may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective, and the percentage change of the Fund’s NAV each day may differ, perhaps significantly in amount, and possibly even direction, from -100% of the percentage change of TSLA on such day.

 

In order to achieve a high degree of correlation with TSLA, the Fund seeks to rebalance its portfolio daily to keep exposure consistent with its investment objective. Being materially under- or overexposed to TSLA may prevent the Fund from achieving a high degree of correlation with TSLA and may expose the Fund to greater leverage risk. Market disruptions or closure, regulatory restrictions, market volatility, illiquidity in the markets for the financial instruments in which the Fund invests, and other factors will adversely affect the Fund’s ability to adjust exposure to requisite levels. The target amount of portfolio exposure is impacted dynamically by TSLA’s movements, including intraday movements. Because of this, it is unlikely that the Fund will have perfect -100% exposure during the day or at the end of each day and the likelihood of being materially under- or overexposed is higher on days when TSLA is volatile, particularly when TSLA is volatile at or near the close of the trading day.

 

A number of other factors may also adversely affect the Fund’s correlation with TSLA, including fees, expenses, transaction costs, financing costs associated with the use of derivatives, income items, valuation methodology, accounting standards and disruptions or illiquidity in the markets for the securities or financial instruments in which the Fund invests. The Fund may take or refrain from taking positions in order to improve tax efficiency, comply with regulatory restrictions, or for other reasons, each of which may negatively affect the Fund’s correlation with TSLA. The Fund may also be subject to large movements of assets into and out of the Fund, potentially resulting in the Fund being under- or overexposed to TSLA. Additionally, the Fund’s underlying investments and/or reference assets may trade on markets that may not be open on the same day as the Fund, which may cause a difference between the changes in the daily performance of the Fund and changes in the performance of TSLA. Any of these factors could decrease correlation between the performance of the Fund and TSLA and may hinder the Fund’s ability to meet its daily investment objective on or around that day.

 

Rebalancing Risk. If for any reason the Fund is unable to rebalance all or a portion of its portfolio, or if all or a portion of the portfolio is rebalanced incorrectly, the Fund’s investment exposure may not be consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. In these instances, the Fund may have investment exposure to TSLA that is significantly greater or less than its stated multiple. As a result, the Fund may be more exposed to leverage risk than if it had been properly rebalanced and may not achieve its investment objective.

 

Trading Halt Risk. Shares of Tesla, Inc. and the Fund are listed on Nasdaq. Securities exchanges may apply different rules with respect to trading halts. In addition, exchanges may treat stocks differently than shares of ETFs with respect to trading halts. Although Tesla, Inc.’s and the Fund’s shares are listed for trading on an exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will be available at all times and the exchange may halt trading of such shares in certain circumstances. In the event of a trading halt for an extended period of time in Tesla, Inc.’s and/or the Fund’s shares, the Fund may be unable to execute arrangements with swap counter parties that are necessary to implement the Fund’s investment strategy. Trading halts of Tesla, Inc.’s and/or the Fund’s shares can occur for “regulatory” or

 


20

 

 

 

“non-regulatory” reasons. A regulatory halt may occur when a company has pending news that may affect the security’s price, when there is uncertainty over whether the security continues to meet an exchange’s listing standards, or when a regulator specifically suspends trading in a security. When a regulatory halt is imposed by a security’s primary exchange, the other U.S. exchanges that also trade the security will usually honor this halt. A non-regulatory halt generally occurs when there is a significant imbalance in the pending buy and sell orders in a security or because of extraordinary market volatility pursuant to exchange “circuit breaker” rules. A non-regulatory trading halt or delay on one exchange does not necessarily mean that other exchanges will halt a security from trading. Regulatory trading halts of Tesla, Inc.’s shares are expected to result in a halt in the trading in the Fund’s shares. However, not all non-regulatory trading halts affecting Tesla, Inc.’s shares will result in a trading halt of the Fund’s shares. To the extent trading in Tesla, Inc.’s shares is halted while the Fund’s shares continue to trade, the Fund may not perform as intended.

 

Counterparty Risk. A counterparty (the other party to a transaction or an agreement or the party with whom the Fund executes transactions) to a transaction with the Fund may be unable or unwilling to make timely principal, interest or settlement payments, or otherwise honor its obligations. If the counterparty or its affiliate becomes insolvent, bankrupt or defaults on its payment obligations to the Fund, the value of an investment held by the Fund may decline. Additionally, if any collateral posted by the counterparty for the benefit of the Fund is insufficient or there are delays in the Fund’s ability to access such collateral, the Fund may not be able to achieve its inverse investment objective. In addition, the Fund may enter into transactions with a limited number of counterparties, which may increase the Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk. Further, there is a risk that no suitable counterparties will be willing to enter into, or continue to enter into, transactions with the Fund and, as a result, the Fund may not be able to achieve its inverse investment objective or may decide to change its inverse investment objective.

 

Short Sale Exposure Risk. The Fund will seek inverse or “short” exposure through financial instruments, which would cause the Fund to be exposed to certain risks associated with selling short. These risks include, under certain market conditions, an increase in the volatility and decrease in the liquidity of the instruments underlying the short position, which may lower the Fund’s return, result in a loss, have the effect of limiting the Fund’s ability to obtain inverse exposure through financial instruments, or require the Fund to seek inverse exposure through alternative investment strategies that may be less desirable or more costly to implement. To the extent that, at any particular point in time, the instruments underlying the short position may be thinly traded or have a limited market, including due to regulatory action, the Fund may be unable to meet its investment objective due to a lack of available securities or counterparties. During such periods, the Fund’s ability to issue additional Creation Units may be adversely affected. Obtaining inverse exposure through these instruments may be considered an aggressive investment technique. Any income, dividends or payments by any assets underlying the Fund’s short positions, if any, would negatively impact the Fund.

 

Inverse Correlation Risk. Short (inverse) positions are designed to profit from a decline in the price of a particular reference asset. Investors will lose money when TSLA rises, which is the opposite result from that of traditional funds. A single day or intraday increase in the performance of TSLA may result in the total loss or almost total loss of an investor’s investment, even if TSLA subsequently moves lower. Like leveraged funds, inverse funds may be considered to be aggressive. Such instruments may experience imperfect negative correlation between the price of the investment and the underlying security or index. The use of inverse instruments may expose the Fund to additional risks that it would not be subject to if it invested only in “long” positions.

 

Indirect Investment Risk. Tesla, Inc. is not affiliated with the Trust, the Advisor, or any affiliates thereof and is not involved with this offering in any way, and has no obligation to consider the Fund in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. The Advisor has not made any due diligence inquiry with respect to the publicly available information of Tesla, Inc. in connection with this offering. Investors in the Shares will not have voting rights or rights to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the common shares of Tesla, Inc.

 

Intraday Price Performance Risk. The intraday performance of shares of the Fund traded in the secondary market generally will be different from the performance of the Fund when measured from one NAV calculation-time to the next. When shares are bought intraday, the performance of the Fund’s Shares relative to TSLA until the Fund’s next NAV calculation time will generally be greater than or less than the Fund’s stated multiple times the performance of TSLA.

 


21

 

 

 

Automotive Companies Risk. The automotive industry can be highly cyclical, and companies in the industry may suffer periodic operating losses. Automotive companies can be significantly affected by labor relations and fluctuating component prices. Developments in automotive technologies (e.g., autonomous vehicle technologies) may require significant capital expenditures that may not generate profits for several years, if ever. Automotive companies may be significantly subject to government policies and regulations regarding imports and exports of automotive products. Governmental policies affecting the automotive industry, such as taxes, tariffs, duties, subsidies, and import and export restrictions on automotive products can influence industry profitability. In addition, such companies must comply with environmental laws and regulations, for which there may be severe consequences for non-compliance. While most of the major automotive manufacturers are large companies, certain others may be non-diversified in both product line and customer base and may be more vulnerable to certain events that may negatively impact the automotive industry.

 

ETF Structure Risks. The Fund is an ETF, and, as a result of an ETF’s structure, it is exposed to the following risks:

 

Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as authorized participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other authorized participant is able to step forward to create or redeem, in either of these cases, shares may trade at a discount to the Fund’s net asset value and possibly face delisting.

 

Cash Transaction Risk. To the extent the Fund sells portfolio securities to meet some or all of a redemption request with cash, the Fund may incur taxable gains or losses that it might not have incurred had it made redemptions entirely in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used.

 

Costs of Buying or Selling Shares: Investors buying or selling shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers, as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of shares. In addition, secondary market investors will also incur the cost of the difference between the price at which an investor is willing to buy Shares (the “bid” price) and the price at which an investor is willing to sell Shares (the “ask” price). This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “spread” or “bid-ask spread.” The bid-ask spread varies over time for shares based on trading volume and market liquidity, and the spread is generally lower if shares have more trading volume and market liquidity and higher if shares have little trading volume and market liquidity. Further, a relatively small investor base in the Fund, asset swings in the Fund, and/or increased market volatility may cause increased bid-ask spreads. Due to the costs of buying or selling shares, including bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.

 

Fluctuation of Net Asset Value Risk: As with all ETFs, shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market prices of shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market prices of shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount). Differences in market price and NAV may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related to, but not identical to, the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. These differences can be especially pronounced during times of market volatility or stress. During these periods, the demand for Fund shares may decrease considerably and cause the market price of Fund shares to deviate significantly from the Fund’s NAV.

 

Market Maker Risk. If the Fund has lower average daily trading volumes, it may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of Fund shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s NAV and the price at which the Fund shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund shares. In addition, decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role

 


22

 

 

 

or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a discount to NAV and also in greater than normal intra-day bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.

 

Shares are Not Individually Redeemable. Shares are only redeemable by the Fund at NAV if they are tendered in Creation Units. Only Authorized Participants may engage in such creation and redemption transactions directly with the Fund. Individual Shares may be sold on a stock exchange at their current market prices, which may be less, more, or equal to their NAV.

 

Trading Issues Risk: Although the Fund shares are listed for trading on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such Fund shares will develop or be maintained. Trading in Fund shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Fund shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Fund shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. Market makers are under no obligation to make a market in the Fund shares, and authorized participants are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. Initially, due to the small asset size of the Fund, it may have difficulty maintaining its listings on the Exchange.

 

Liquidity Risk. The Fund may not be able to sell some or all of the investments that it holds due to a lack of demand in the marketplace or other factors such as market turmoil, or if the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid asset to meet redemption requests or other cash needs it may only be able to sell those investments at a loss. Illiquid assets may also be difficult to value.

 

Market Risk. The market price of a security or instrument may decline, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic or political conditions throughout the world, changes in the general outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates, or adverse investor sentiment generally. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, or other events could have a significant impact on a security or instrument. The market value of a security or instrument also may 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.

 

Valuation Risk. The Fund may hold securities or other assets that may be valued on the basis of factors other than market quotations. This may occur because the asset or security does not trade on a centralized exchange, or in times of market turmoil or reduced liquidity. There are multiple methods that can be used to value a portfolio holding when market quotations are not readily available. The value established for any portfolio holding at a point in time might differ from what would be produced using a different methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations. Portfolio holdings that are valued using techniques other than market quotations, including “fair valued” assets or securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their valuations from one day to the next than if market quotations were used. In addition, there is no assurance that the Fund could sell or close out a portfolio position for the value established for it at any time, and it is possible that the Fund would incur a loss because a portfolio position is sold or closed out at a discount to the valuation established by the Fund at that time. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.

 

Concentration Risk. The Fund will be concentrated in the industry assigned to Tesla, Inc. (i.e., hold more than 25% of its total assets in investments that provide inverse exposure to the industry assigned to Tesla, Inc.). A portfolio concentrated in a particular industry may present more risks than a portfolio broadly diversified over several industries.

 

Collateral Investments Risk. The Fund’s use of Collateral Investments may include obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities, including bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury, money market funds, short term bond ETFs and corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper.

 


23

 

 

 

Some securities issued or guaranteed by federal agencies and U.S. Government-sponsored instrumentalities may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, in which case the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the security for ultimate repayment, and may not be able to assert a claim against the United States itself in the event that the agency or instrumentality does not meet its commitment. The U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities do not guarantee the market value of their securities, and consequently, the value of such securities may fluctuate. Although the Fund may hold securities that carry U.S. Government guarantees, these guarantees do not extend to shares of the Fund.

 

Money market funds are subject to management fees and other expenses. Therefore, investments in money market funds will cause the Fund to bear indirectly a proportional share of the fees and costs of the money market funds in which it invests. At the same time, the Fund will continue to pay its own management fees and expenses with respect to all of its assets, including any portion invested in the shares of the money market fund. It is possible to lose money by investing in money market funds.

 

Short term bond ETFs will generally invest in short-term instruments (i.e., duration of less than one year). The amount of time until a fixed-income security matures can lead to various risks, including changes in interest rates over the life of a bond. Short-term fixed income securities generally provide lower returns than longer-term fixed income securities. The average maturity of an ETF’s investments will affect the volatility of the ETF’s share price.

 

Corporate debt securities such as commercial paper generally are short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses. Corporate debt may be rated investment-grade or below investment-grade and may carry variable or floating rates of interest. Corporate debt securities carry both credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk is the risk that the Fund could lose money if the issuer of a corporate debt security is unable to pay interest or repay principal when it is due. Some corporate debt securities that are rated below investment-grade generally are considered speculative because they present a greater risk of loss, including default, than higher quality debt securities.

 

Debt Securities Risk. Investments in debt securities subject the holder to the credit risk of the issuer. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer or other obligor of a security will not be able or willing to make payments of interest and principal when due. Generally, the value of debt securities will change inversely with changes in interest rates. To the extent that interest rates rise, certain underlying obligations may be paid off substantially slower than originally anticipated and the value of those securities may fall sharply. During periods of falling interest rates, the income received by the Fund may decline. If the principal on a debt security is prepaid before expected, the prepayments of principal may have to be reinvested in obligations paying interest at lower rates. Debt securities generally do not trade on a securities exchange making them generally less liquid and more difficult to value than common stock.

 

Call Risk. Some debt securities may be redeemed, or “called,” at the option of the issuer before their stated maturity date. In general, an issuer will call its debt securities if they can be refinanced by issuing new debt securities which bear a lower interest rate. The Fund is subject to the possibility that during periods of falling interest rates an issuer will call its high yielding debt securities. The Fund would then be forced to invest the proceeds at lower interest rates, likely resulting in a decline in the Fund’s income.

 

Large-Cap Company Risk. Larger, more established companies may be unable to attain the high growth rates of successful, smaller companies during periods of economic expansion.

 

Volatility Risk. Volatility is the characteristic of a security or other asset, an index or a market to fluctuate significantly in price within a short time period. The value of the Fund’s investments in swaps – and therefore the value of an investment in the Fund – could decline significantly and without warning, including to zero. If you are not prepared to accept significant and unexpected changes in the value of the Fund and the possibility that you could lose your entire investment in the Fund, you should not invest in the Fund.

 

Interest Rate Risk. Generally fixed income securities decrease in value if interest rates rise and increase in value if interest rates fall, with longer-term securities being more sensitive than shorter-term securities. For example, the price of a security with a three-year duration would be expected to drop by approximately 3% in response to a 1% increase in interest rates. Generally, the longer the maturity and duration of a bond or fixed rate loan, the more sensitive it is to this

 


24

 

 

 

risk. Falling interest rates also create the potential for a decline in the Fund’s income. Changes in governmental policy, rising inflation rates, and general economic developments, among other factors, could cause interest rates to increase and could have a substantial and immediate effect on the values of the Fund’s investments. In addition, a potential rise in interest rates may result in periods of volatility and increased redemptions that might require the Fund to liquidate portfolio securities at disadvantageous prices and times.

 

Cybersecurity Risk. Cybersecurity incidents may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, or cause the Fund, the Advisor, and/or other service providers (including custodians, sub-custodians, transfer agents and financial intermediaries) to suffer data breaches, data corruption or loss of operational functionality. In an extreme case, a shareholder’s ability to exchange or redeem Fund shares may be affected. Issuers of securities in which the Fund invests are also subject to cybersecurity risks, and the value of those securities could decline if the issuers experience cybersecurity incidents.

 

Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively-managed and its performance reflects investment decisions that the Adviser makes for the Fund. Such judgments about the Fund’s investments may prove to be incorrect. If the investments selected and the strategies employed by the Fund fail to produce the intended results, the Fund could underperform as compared to other funds with similar investment objectives and/or strategies, or could have negative returns.

 

Operational Risk. The Fund is exposed to operational risks arising from a number of factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund and the Advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.

 

Credit Risk. Debt securities are subject to credit risk. Credit risk is the risk that the inability or perceived inability of the issuer to make interest and principal payments will cause the value of the securities to decrease. As a result, the Fund’s NAV could also decrease. Changes in the credit rating of a debt security held by the Fund could have a similar effect.

 

Limited Operating History. The Fund is recently organized and has a limited operating history. As a result, prospective investors have a limited track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is classified as “non-diversified,” which means the Fund may invest a larger percentage of its assets in the securities of a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund. Investment in securities of a limited number of issuers exposes the Fund to greater market risk and potential losses than if its assets were diversified among the securities of a greater number of issuers. The Fund seeks to achieve daily results that correspond to a multiple of the daily performance of a single issuer by entering into one or more swaps. In seeking this objective, the Fund may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in swaps with a single counterparty or a few counterparties. As a result, the Fund may experience increased volatility and be more susceptible to a single economic or regulatory occurrence affecting the issuer or one or more of the counterparties.

 

Tax Risk. In order to qualify for the favorable tax treatment generally available to regulated investment companies, the Fund must satisfy certain diversification and other requirements. In particular, the Fund generally may not acquire a security if, as a result of the acquisition, more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s assets would be invested in (a) issuers in which the Fund has, in each case, invested more than 5% of the Fund’s assets and (b) issuers more than 10% of whose outstanding voting securities are owned by the Fund. The application of these requirements to certain investments (including swaps) that may be entered into by the Fund is unclear. In addition, the application of these requirements to the Fund’s investment objective is not clear, particularly because the Fund’s investment objective focuses on the performance of the stock of a single issuer. If the Fund were to fail to qualify as a regulated investment company, it would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation, and distributions to its shareholders would not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income.

 

Security Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause a security held by the Fund to be more volatile than the market generally. The value of an individual security or particular type of security may be more volatile than the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of the market as a whole.

 


25

 

 

 

Recent Market Events. Periods of market volatility may occur in response to market events and other economic, political, and global macro factors. For example, in recent years the COVID-19 pandemic, the large expansion of government deficits and debt as a result of government actions to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the rise of inflation have resulted in extreme volatility in the global economy and in global financial markets. These and other similar events could be prolonged and could adversely affect the value and liquidity of the Fund’s investments, impair the Fund’s ability to satisfy redemption requests, and negatively impact the Fund’s performance.

 

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

 

Performance

 

The Fund is new and does not have a full calendar year performance record to compare against other funds or broad measures of securities market performance such as indices. Performance information will be available after the Fund has been in operation for one calendar year.

 

 

Management

 

Investment Advisor

 

AXS Investments LLC (“AXS Investments” or the “Advisor”)

 

Portfolio Managers

 

Travis Trampe, Managing Director, Portfolio Management of the Advisor, and Parker Binion, Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, have served as the portfolio managers of the Fund since its inception in July 2022. Messrs. Trampe and Binion are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio.

 

Purchase and Sale of Shares

 

The Fund issues and redeems Shares on a continuous basis, at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called “Creation Units.” Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the Shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund.

 

Individual Shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold on the secondary market through a broker-dealer. Since Shares of the Fund trade on securities exchanges in the secondary market at their market price rather than their net asset value, the Fund’s Shares may trade at a price greater than (premium) or less than (discount) the Fund’s net asset value. An investor 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) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information, including the Fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads, is available online at www.axsinvestments.com.

 

Tax Information

 

The Fund’s distributions will generally be taxable as ordinary income or capital gains. A sale of Shares may result in capital gain or loss.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

 

If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), AXS Investments and ALPS Distributors, Inc., the Fund’s distributor, may pay the intermediary for the sale of Shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 


26

 

 

 

NVDS AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF Shares

SUMMARY SECTION - AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF

 

Important Information About the AXS 1.25x NVDA Bear Daily ETF

 

The AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF (the “Fund”) seeks daily inverse leveraged investment results and is very different from most other exchange-traded funds. As a result, the Fund may be riskier than alternatives that do not use leverage because the Fund’s objective is to magnify the inverse (-125%) daily performance of the common shares of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) (“NVDA”). The return for investors that invest for periods longer or shorter than a trading day should not be expected to be -125% of the performance of NVDA for the period. The return of the Fund for a period longer than a trading day will be the result of each trading day’s compounded return over the period, which will very likely differ from -125% of the return of NVDA for that period. Longer holding periods, higher volatility of NVDA and leverage increase the impact of compounding on an investor’s returns. During periods of higher NVDA volatility, the volatility of NVDA may affect the Fund’s return as much as, or more than, the return of NVDA.

 

The Fund is not suitable for all investors. The Fund is designed to be utilized only by knowledgeable investors who understand the potential consequences of seeking daily inverse leveraged (-125%) investment results, understand the risks associated with the use of leverage and are willing to monitor their portfolios frequently. The Fund is not intended to be used by, and is not appropriate for, investors who do not intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios. For periods longer than a single day, the Fund will lose money if NVDA’s performance is flat, and it is possible that the Fund will lose money even if NVDA’s performance decreases over a period longer than a single day. An investor could lose the full principal value of his/her investment within a single day if NVDA gains more than 80% in one day.

 

Investment Objective

 

The AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to one and a quarter times the inverse (-125%) of the daily performance of the common shares of NVIDIA Corporation. The Fund does not seek to achieve its stated investment objective for a period of time different than a trading day.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

 

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

 

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

 

Management fees

0.95%

Distribution and Service (Rule 12b-1) fees

0.00%

Other expenses

0.86%

Total annual fund operating expenses1

1.81%

Fees waived and/or reimbursed2

(0.66)%

Total annual fund operating expenses after waiving fees and/or reimbursing expenses1,2

1.15%

 

1

The cost of investing in swaps, including the embedded cost of the swap and the operating expenses of the referenced assets, is an indirect expense that is not included in the above fee table and is not reflected in the expense example. The total indirect cost of investing in swaps, including the embedded cost of the swap and the operating expenses of the referenced assets, is estimated to be 0.50% for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024.

 

2

The Fund’s investment advisor has contractually agreed to waive its fees and/or pay for operating expenses of the Fund to ensure that total annual fund operating expenses (exclusive of any (i) leverage interest, (ii) brokerage fees and commission, (iii) acquired fund fees and expenses, (iv) fees and expenses associated with instruments in other collective investment vehicles or derivative instruments (including for example options and swap fees and expenses), (v) interest and dividend expense on short sales, (vi) taxes, (vii) other fees related to underlying investments (such as option fees and expenses or swap fees and expenses), (viii) expenses incurred in connection with any merger or reorganization or (ix) extraordinary expenses such as litigation) will not exceed 1.15%. This agreement is effective until July 31, 2024 and it may be terminated before that date only by the Trust’s Board of Trustees. The advisor is permitted to seek reimbursement from the Fund, subject to certain limitations, of fees waived or payments made by the advisor to the Fund for a period ending three years after the date of the waiver or payment. Such reimbursement may be requested from the Fund if the reimbursement will not cause the Fund’s annual expense ratio to exceed the lesser of (a) the expense limitation in effect at the time such fees were waived or payments made, or (b) the expense limitation in effect at the time of the reimbursement. Reimbursements of fees waived or payments made will be made on a “first in, first out” basis so that the oldest fees waived or payments are satisfied first.

 


27

 

 

 

Example

 

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain at current levels. The example reflects the Fund’s contractual fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement only for the term of the contractual fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement. This example does not include the brokerage commissions that investors may pay to buy and sell Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, your costs, based on these assumptions, would be:

 

One Year

Three Years

Five Years

Ten Years

$117

$505

$918

$2,072

 

Portfolio Turnover

 

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it purchases and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover will cause the Fund to incur additional transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, may affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 0% of the average value of its portfolio turnover rate.

 

Principal Investment Strategies

 

Under normal market circumstances, the Fund will maintain at least 80% exposure to financial instruments that provide one and a quarter times inverse leveraged exposure to the daily performance of NVDA. The Fund is an actively-managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve on a daily basis, before fees and expenses, -125% performance of NVDA for a single day, not for any other period, by entering into one or more swaps on NVDA. A “single day” is measured from the time the Fund calculates its net asset value (“NAV”) to the time of the Fund’s next NAV calculation.

 

The Fund will enter into one or more swaps with major global financial institutions for a specified period ranging from a day to more than one year whereby the Fund and the global financial institution will agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on NVDA. The gross return to be exchanged or “swapped” between the parties is calculated with respect to a “notional amount,” e.g., the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount representing NVDA. The Advisor attempts to consistently apply leverage to increase the Fund’s exposure to -125% of NVDA, and expects to rebalance the Fund’s holdings daily to maintain such exposure. As a result of its investment strategies, the Fund will be concentrated in the industry assigned to NVDA (i.e., hold 25% or more of its total assets in investments that provide inverse leveraged exposure to the industry assigned to NVDA). As of the date of this prospectus, NVDA is assigned to the semiconductor industry.

 

Additionally, the Fund may invest between 40-80% of the Fund’s portfolio depending on the amount of collateral required by the Fund’s counterparties in (1) U.S. government securities, such as bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury; (2) money market funds; (3) short term bond ETFs and/or (4) corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper and other short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses that are rated investment grade or of comparable quality (“Collateral Investments”).

 


28

 

 

 

NVIDIA Corporation pioneers accelerated computing to help solve the most challenging computational problems. NVIDIA Corporation expanded its focus from personal computer graphics to include several other large and important computationally intensive field, such as artificial intelligence, data science, autonomous vehicles, robotics and augmented and virtual reality. NVDA is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by NVIDIA Corporation pursuant to the Exchange Act can be located by reference to the Securities and Exchange Commission file number 001-34756 through the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, information regarding NVIDIA Corporation may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents.

 

The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding NVIDIA Corporation from the publicly available documents described above. In connection with the offering of the Fund’s securities, neither the Fund, the Trust nor the Advisor or any of its respective affiliates has participated in the preparation of such documents or made any due diligence inquiry with respect to NVIDIA Corporation. Neither the Fund, the Trust nor the Advisor or any of its respective affiliates makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding NVIDIA Corporation is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date hereof (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of NVDA have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of or failure to disclose material future events concerning NVIDIA Corporation could affect the value of the Fund’s investments with respect to NDA and therefore the value of the Fund.

 

Neither the Trust, the Fund nor any of its respective affiliates makes any representation to you as to the performance of NVDA.

 

Principal Risks

 

You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s investment objectives will be achieved.

 

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives include instruments and contracts that are based on and valued in relation to one or more underlying securities, financial benchmarks, indices, or other reference obligations or measures of value. Major types of derivatives include futures, options, swaps and forward contracts. Using derivatives exposes the Fund to additional or heightened risks, including leverage risk, liquidity risk, valuation risk, market risk, counterparty risk, and credit risk. Derivatives transactions can be highly illiquid and difficult to unwind or value, they can increase Fund volatility, and changes in the value of a derivative held by the Fund may not correlate with the value of the underlying instrument or the Fund’s other investments. Many of the risks applicable to trading the instruments underlying derivatives are also applicable to derivatives trading. However, derivatives are subject to additional risks such as operational risk, including settlement issues, and legal risk, including that underlying documentation is incomplete or ambiguous. For derivatives that are required to be cleared by a regulated clearinghouse, other risks may arise from the Fund’s relationship with a brokerage firm through which it submits derivatives trades for clearing, including in some cases from other clearing customers of the brokerage firm.

 

 

Swap Risk. The Fund expects to use swaps as a means to achieve its investment objective. Swaps are generally traded in OTC markets and have only recently become subject to regulation by the CFTC. CFTC rules, however, do not cover all types of swaps. Investors, therefore, may not receive the protection of CFTC regulation or the statutory scheme of the Commodity Exchange Act in connection with the Fund’s swaps. The lack of regulation in these markets could expose investors to significant losses under certain circumstances, including in the event of trading abuses or financial failure by participants. Unlike in futures contracts, the counterparty to uncleared OTC swaps is generally a single bank or other financial institution, rather than a clearing organization backed by a group of financial institutions. As a result, the Fund is subject to increased counterparty risk with respect to the amount it expects to receive from counterparties to uncleared swaps. If a counterparty becomes bankrupt or

 


29

 

 

 

otherwise fails to perform its obligations due to financial difficulties, the Fund could suffer significant losses on these contracts and the value of an investor’s investment in the Fund may decline. OTC swaps of the type that may be utilized by the Fund are less liquid than futures contracts because they are not traded on an exchange, do not have uniform terms and conditions, and are generally entered into based upon the creditworthiness of the parties and the availability of credit support, such as collateral, and in general, are not transferable without the consent of the counterparty. Swaps are also subject to the risk of imperfect correlation between the value of the reference asset underlying the swap and the swap. Leverage inherent in derivatives will tend to magnify the Fund’s gains and losses. Moreover, with respect to the use of swaps, if NVDA has a dramatic intraday move that causes a material decline in the Fund’s net assets, the terms of a swap between the Fund and its counterparty may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the transaction with the Fund. In that event, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swap or invest in other derivatives to achieve the desired exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This, in turn, may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective, even if NVDA reverses all or a portion of its intraday move by the end of the day. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning.

 

The Fund will be subject to regulatory constraints relating to level of value at risk that the Fund may incur through its derivative portfolio. To the extent the Fund exceeds these regulatory thresholds over an extended period, the Fund may determine that it is necessary to make adjustments to the Fund’s investment strategy, including the desired daily leveraged performance for the Fund.

 

Leverage Risk. Leverage increases the risk of a total loss of an investor’s investment, may increase the volatility of the Fund, and may magnify any differences between the performance of the Fund and NVDA. Because the Fund includes a multiplier of negative one and a quarter times (-125%) NVDA, a single day movement in NVDA approaching 80% at any point in the day could result in the total loss of an investor’s investment if that movement is contrary to the investment objective of the Fund, even if NVDA subsequently moves in an opposite direction, eliminating all or a portion of the earlier movement. This would be the case with any such single day movements in NVDA, even if NVDA maintains a level greater than zero at all times.

 

Compounding Risk. The Fund has a single day investment objective, and the Fund’s performance for any other period is the result of its return for each day compounded over the period. The performance of the Fund for periods longer than a single day will very likely differ in amount, and possibly even direction, from -125% of the daily return of NVDA for the same period, before accounting for fees and expenses. Compounding affects all investments, but has a more significant impact on a leveraged fund. This effect becomes more pronounced as NVDA volatility and holding periods increase. Fund performance for a period longer than a single day can be estimated given any set of assumptions for the following factors: (a) NVDA volatility; (b) NVDA performance; (c) period of time; (d) financing rates associated with leveraged exposure; and (e) other Fund expenses. The chart below illustrates the impact of two principal factors — NVDA volatility and NVDA performance — on Fund performance. The chart shows estimated Fund returns for a number of combinations of NVDA volatility and NVDA performance over a one-year period. Actual volatility, NVDA and Fund performance may differ significantly from the chart below. Performance shown in the chart assumes: (a) no Fund expenses; and (b) borrowing/lending rates (to obtain leveraged exposure) of zero percent. If Fund expenses and/or actual borrowing/ lending rates were reflected, the Fund’s performance would be lower than shown.

 


30

 

 

 

Areas shaded red (or dark gray) represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return less than -125% of the performance of NVDA and those shaded green (or light gray) represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return more than -125% of the performance of NVDA. The Fund’s actual returns may be significantly better or worse than the returns shown below as a result of any of the factors discussed above or in “Correlation Risk” below.

 

Estimated Fund Returns

 

One
Year
NVDA

-125% One Year NVDA

Volatility Rate

Return

Return

10%

25%

50%

75%

100%

-60%

75%

210%

187.9%

121.2%

42.5%

-23.0%

-50%

62.5%

134.5%

117.8%

67.3%

7.8%

-41.7%

-40%

50%

86.7%

73.4%

33.2%

-14.1%

-53.6%

-30%

37.5%

54.0%

43.0%

9.9%

-29.2%

-61.7%

-20%

25%

30.3%

21.1%

-7.0%

-40.1%

-67.6%

-10%

12.5%

12.5%

4.5%

-19.7%

-48.3%

-72.0%

0%

0%

-1.4%

-8.4%

-29.6%

-54.7%

-75.5%

10%

-12.5%

-12.5%

-18.7%

-37.5%

-59.8%

-78.2%

20%

-25%

-21.5%

-27.1%

-44.0%

-63.9%

-80.5%

30%

-37.5%

-29.0%

-34.0%

-49.3%

-67.3%

-82.3%

40%

-50%

-35.3%

-39.9%

-53.8%

70.2%

-83.9%

50%

-62.5%

-40.6%

-44.8%

-57.6%

-72.7%

-85.2%

60%

-75%

-45.2%

-49.1%

-60.9%

-74.8%

-86.4%

 

The foregoing table is intended to isolate the effect of NVDA volatility and NVDA performance on the return of the Fund and is not a representation of actual returns. For example, the Fund may incorrectly be expected to achieve a -25% return on a yearly basis if NVDA return were 20%, absent the effects of compounding. As the table shows, with NVDA volatility of 50%, the Fund could be expected to return -44% under such a scenario. The Fund’s actual returns may be significantly better or worse than the returns shown above as a result of any of the factors discussed above or in “Principal Risks — Correlation Risk” below.

 

NVDA’s annualized historical volatility rate for the five- year period ended December 31, 2022 was 49.55%. NVDA’s highest volatility rate for any one calendar year during the five-year period was 62.83%. NVDA’s annualized total return performance for the five-year period ended December 31, 2022 was 25.00%. Historical NVDA volatility and performance are not indications of what NVDA volatility and performance will be in the future. The volatility of U.S. exchange-traded securities or instruments that reflect the value of NVDA may differ from the volatility of NVDA.

 

Correlation Risk. A number of factors may affect the Fund’s ability to achieve a high degree of correlation with NVDA, and there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation. Failure to achieve a high degree of correlation may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective, and the percentage change of the Fund’s NAV each day may differ, perhaps significantly in amount, and possibly even direction, from -125% of the percentage change of NVDA on such day.

 

In order to achieve a high degree of correlation with NVDA, the Fund seeks to rebalance its portfolio daily to keep exposure consistent with its investment objective. Being materially under- or overexposed to NVDA may prevent the Fund from achieving a high degree of correlation with NVDA and may expose the Fund to greater leverage risk. Market disruptions or closure, regulatory restrictions, market volatility, illiquidity in the markets for the financial instruments in which the Fund invests, and other factors will adversely affect the Fund’s ability to adjust exposure to requisite levels. The target amount of portfolio exposure is impacted dynamically by NVDA’s movements, including intraday movements.

 


31

 

 

 

Because of this, it is unlikely that the Fund will have perfect -125% exposure during the day or at the end of each day and the likelihood of being materially under- or overexposed is higher on days when NVDA is volatile, particularly when NVDA is volatile at or near the close of the trading day.

 

A number of other factors may also adversely affect the Fund’s correlation with NVDA, including fees, expenses, transaction costs, financing costs associated with the use of derivatives, income items, valuation methodology, accounting standards and disruptions or illiquidity in the markets for the securities or financial instruments in which the Fund invests. The Fund may take or refrain from taking positions in order to improve tax efficiency, comply with regulatory restrictions, or for other reasons, each of which may negatively affect the Fund’s correlation with NVDA. The Fund may also be subject to large movements of assets into and out of the Fund, potentially resulting in the Fund being under- or overexposed to NVDA. Additionally, the Fund’s underlying investments and/or reference assets may trade on markets that may not be open on the same day as the Fund, which may cause a difference between the changes in the daily performance of the Fund and changes in the performance of NVDA. Any of these factors could decrease correlation between the performance of the Fund and NVDA and may hinder the Fund’s ability to meet its daily investment objective on or around that day.

 

Rebalancing Risk. If for any reason the Fund is unable to rebalance all or a portion of its portfolio, or if all or a portion of the portfolio is rebalanced incorrectly, the Fund’s investment exposure may not be consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. In these instances, the Fund may have investment exposure to NVDA that is significantly greater or less than its stated multiple. As a result, the Fund may be more exposed to leverage risk than if it had been properly rebalanced and may not achieve its investment objective.

 

Trading Halt Risk. Shares of NVIDIA Corporation and the Fund are listed on Nasdaq. Securities exchanges may apply different rules with respect to trading halts. In addition, exchanges may treat stocks differently than shares of ETFs with respect to trading halts. Although NVIDIA Corporation’s and the Fund’s shares are listed for trading on an exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will be available at all times and the exchange may halt trading of such shares in certain circumstances. In the event of a trading halt for an extended period of time in NVIDIA Corporation’s and/or the Fund’s shares, the Fund may be unable to execute arrangements with swap counterparties that are necessary to implement the Fund’s investment strategy. Trading halts of NVIDIA Corporation’s and/or the Fund’s shares can occur for “regulatory” or “non-regulatory” reasons. A regulatory halt may occur when a company has pending news that may affect the security’s price, when there is uncertainty over whether the security continues to meet an exchange’s listing standards, or when a regulator specifically suspends trading in a security. When a regulatory halt is imposed by a security’s primary exchange, the other U.S. exchanges that also trade the security will usually honor this halt. A non-regulatory halt generally occurs when there is a significant imbalance in the pending buy and sell orders in a security or because of extraordinary market volatility pursuant to exchange “circuit breaker” rules. A non-regulatory trading halt or delay on one exchange does not necessarily mean that other exchanges will halt a security from trading. Regulatory trading halts of NVIDIA Corporation’s shares are expected to result in a halt in the trading in the Fund’s shares. However, not all non-regulatory trading halts affecting NVIDIA Corporation’s shares will result in a trading halt of the Fund’s shares. To the extent trading in NVIDIA Corporation’s shares is halted while the Fund’s shares continue to trade, the Fund may not perform as intended.

 

Counterparty Risk. A counterparty (the other party to a transaction or an agreement or the party with whom the Fund executes transactions) to a transaction with the Fund may be unable or unwilling to make timely principal, interest or settlement payments, or otherwise honor its obligations. If the counterparty or its affiliate becomes insolvent, bankrupt or defaults on its payment obligations to the Fund, the value of an investment held by the Fund may decline. Additionally, if any collateral posted by the counterparty for the benefit of the Fund is insufficient or there are delays in the Fund’s ability to access such collateral, the Fund may not be able to achieve its inverse investment objective. In addition, the Fund may enter into transactions with a limited number of counterparties, which may increase the Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk. Further, there is a risk that no suitable counterparties will be willing to enter into, or continue to enter into, transactions with the Fund and, as a result, the Fund may not be able to achieve its inverse investment objective or may decide to change its inverse investment objective.

 


32

 

 

 

Short Sale Exposure Risk. The Fund will seek inverse or “short” exposure through financial instruments, which would cause the Fund to be exposed to certain risks associated with selling short. These risks include, under certain market conditions, an increase in the volatility and decrease in the liquidity of the instruments underlying the short position, which may lower the Fund’s return, result in a loss, have the effect of limiting the Fund’s ability to obtain inverse exposure through financial instruments, or require the Fund to seek inverse exposure through alternative investment strategies that may be less desirable or more costly to implement. To the extent that, at any particular point in time, the instruments underlying the short position may be thinly traded or have a limited market, including due to regulatory action, the Fund may be unable to meet its investment objective due to a lack of available securities or counterparties. During such periods, the Fund’s ability to issue additional Creation Units may be adversely affected. Obtaining inverse exposure through these instruments may be considered an aggressive investment technique. Any income, dividends or payments by any assets underlying the Fund’s short positions, if any, would negatively impact the Fund.

 

Inverse Correlation Risk. Short (inverse) positions are designed to profit from a decline in the price of a particular reference asset. Investors will lose money when NVDA rises, which is the opposite result from that of traditional funds. A single day or intraday increase in the performance of NVDA may result in the total loss or almost total loss of an investor’s investment, even if NVDA subsequently moves lower. Like leveraged funds, inverse funds may be considered to be aggressive. Inverse positions may also be leveraged. Such instruments may experience imperfect negative correlation between the price of the investment and the underlying security or index. The use of inverse instruments may expose the Fund to additional risks that it would not be subject to if it invested only in “long” positions.

 

Indirect Investment Risk. NVIDIA Corporation is not affiliated with the Trust, the Advisor, or any affiliates thereof and is not involved with this offering in any way, and has no obligation to consider the Fund in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. The Advisor has not made any due diligence inquiry with respect to the publicly available information of NVIDIA Corporation in connection with this offering. Investors in the Shares will not have voting rights or rights to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the common shares of NVIDIA Corporation.

 

Intraday Price Performance Risk. The intraday performance of shares of the Fund traded in the secondary market generally will be different from the performance of the Fund when measured from one NAV calculation-time to the next. When shares are bought intraday, the performance of the Fund’s Shares relative to NVDA until the Fund’s next NAV calculation time will generally be greater than or less than the Fund’s stated multiple times the performance of NVDA.

 

Semiconductor Company Risk. Competitive pressures may have a significant effect on the financial condition of semiconductor companies and, as product cycles shorten and manufacturing capacity increases, these companies may become increasingly subject to aggressive pricing, which hampers profitability. Reduced demand for end-user products, under-utilization of manufacturing capacity, and other factors could adversely impact the operating results of companies in the semiconductor sector. Semiconductor companies typically face high capital costs and may be heavily dependent on intellectual property rights. The semiconductor sector is highly cyclical, which may cause the operating results of many semiconductor companies to vary significantly. The stock prices of companies in the semiconductor sector have been and likely will continue to be extremely volatile.

 

ETF Structure Risks. The Fund is an ETF, and, as a result of an ETF’s structure, it is exposed to the following risks:

 

Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as authorized participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other authorized participant is able to step forward to create or redeem, in either of these cases, shares may trade at a discount to the Fund’s net asset value and possibly face delisting.

 


33

 

 

 

Cash Transaction Risk. To the extent the Fund sells portfolio securities to meet some or all of a redemption request with cash, the Fund may incur taxable gains or losses that it might not have incurred had it made redemptions entirely in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used.

 

Costs of Buying or Selling Shares: Investors buying or selling shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers, as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of shares. In addition, secondary market investors will also incur the cost of the difference between the price at which an investor is willing to buy Shares (the “bid” price) and the price at which an investor is willing to sell Shares (the “ask” price). This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “spread” or “bid-ask spread.” The bid-ask spread varies over time for shares based on trading volume and market liquidity, and the spread is generally lower if shares have more trading volume and market liquidity and higher if shares have little trading volume and market liquidity. Further, a relatively small investor base in the Fund, asset swings in the Fund, and/or increased market volatility may cause increased bid-ask spreads. Due to the costs of buying or selling shares, including bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.

 

Fluctuation of Net Asset Value Risk: As with all ETFs, shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market prices of shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market prices of shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount). Differences in market price and NAV may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related to, but not identical to, the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. These differences can be especially pronounced during times of market volatility or stress. During these periods, the demand for Fund shares may decrease considerably and cause the market price of Fund shares to deviate significantly from the Fund’s NAV.

 

Market Maker Risk. If the Fund has lower average daily trading volumes, it may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of Fund shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s NAV and the price at which the Fund shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund shares. In addition, decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a discount to NAV and also in greater than normal intra-day bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.

 

Shares are Not Individually Redeemable. Shares are only redeemable by the Fund at NAV if they are tendered in Creation Units. Only Authorized Participants may engage in such creation and redemption transactions directly with the Fund. Individual Shares may be sold on a stock exchange at their current market prices, which may be less, more, or equal to their NAV.

 

Trading Issues Risk: Although the Fund shares are listed for trading on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such Fund shares will develop or be maintained. Trading in Fund shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Fund shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Fund shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. Market makers are under no obligation to make a market in the Fund shares, and authorized participants are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. Initially, due to the small asset size of the Fund, it may have difficulty maintaining its listings on the Exchange.

 


34

 

 

 

Liquidity Risk. The Fund may not be able to sell some or all of the investments that it holds due to a lack of demand in the marketplace or other factors such as market turmoil, or if the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid asset to meet redemption requests or other cash needs it may only be able to sell those investments at a loss. Illiquid assets may also be difficult to value.

 

Market Risk. The market price of a security or instrument may decline, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic or political conditions throughout the world, changes in the general outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates, or adverse investor sentiment generally. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, or other events could have a significant impact on a security or instrument. The market value of a security or instrument also may 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.

 

Valuation Risk. The Fund may hold securities or other assets that may be valued on the basis of factors other than market quotations. This may occur because the asset or security does not trade on a centralized exchange, or in times of market turmoil or reduced liquidity. There are multiple methods that can be used to value a portfolio holding when market quotations are not readily available. The value established for any portfolio holding at a point in time might differ from what would be produced using a different methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations. Portfolio holdings that are valued using techniques other than market quotations, including “fair valued” assets or securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their valuations from one day to the next than if market quotations were used. In addition, there is no assurance that the Fund could sell or close out a portfolio position for the value established for it at any time, and it is possible that the Fund would incur a loss because a portfolio position is sold or closed out at a discount to the valuation established by the Fund at that time. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.

 

Concentration Risk. The Fund will be concentrated in the industry assigned to NVIDIA Corporation (i.e., hold more than 25% of its total assets in investments that provide inverse leveraged exposure to the industry assigned to NVIDIA Corporation). A portfolio concentrated in a particular industry may present more risks than a portfolio broadly diversified over several industries.

 

Collateral Investments Risk. The Fund’s use of Collateral Investments may include obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities, including bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury, money market funds, short term bond ETFs and corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper.

 

Some securities issued or guaranteed by federal agencies and U.S. Government-sponsored instrumentalities may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, in which case the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the security for ultimate repayment, and may not be able to assert a claim against the United States itself in the event that the agency or instrumentality does not meet its commitment. The U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities do not guarantee the market value of their securities, and consequently, the value of such securities may fluctuate. Although the Fund may hold securities that carry U.S. Government guarantees, these guarantees do not extend to shares of the Fund.

 

Money market funds are subject to management fees and other expenses. Therefore, investments in money market funds will cause the Fund to bear indirectly a proportional share of the fees and costs of the money market funds in which it invests. At the same time, the Fund will continue to pay its own management fees and expenses with respect to all of its assets, including any portion invested in the shares of the money market fund. It is possible to lose money by investing in money market funds.

 

Short term bond ETFs will generally invest in short-term instruments (i.e., duration of less than one year). The amount of time until a fixed-income security matures can lead to various risks, including changes in interest rates over the life of a bond. Short-term fixed income securities generally provide lower returns than longer-term fixed income securities. The average maturity of an ETF’s investments will affect the volatility of the ETF’s share price.

 


35

 

 

 

Corporate debt securities such as commercial paper generally are short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses. Corporate debt may be rated investment-grade or below investment-grade and may carry variable or floating rates of interest. Corporate debt securities carry both credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk is the risk that the Fund could lose money if the issuer of a corporate debt security is unable to pay interest or repay principal when it is due. Some corporate debt securities that are rated below investment-grade generally are considered speculative because they present a greater risk of loss, including default, than higher quality debt securities.

 

Debt Securities Risk. Investments in debt securities subject the holder to the credit risk of the issuer. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer or other obligor of a security will not be able or willing to make payments of interest and principal when due. Generally, the value of debt securities will change inversely with changes in interest rates. To the extent that interest rates rise, certain underlying obligations may be paid off substantially slower than originally anticipated and the value of those securities may fall sharply. During periods of falling interest rates, the income received by the Fund may decline. If the principal on a debt security is prepaid before expected, the prepayments of principal may have to be reinvested in obligations paying interest at lower rates. Debt securities generally do not trade on a securities exchange making them generally less liquid and more difficult to value than common stock.

 

Call Risk. Some debt securities may be redeemed, or “called,” at the option of the issuer before their stated maturity date. In general, an issuer will call its debt securities if they can be refinanced by issuing new debt securities which bear a lower interest rate. The Fund is subject to the possibility that during periods of falling interest rates an issuer will call its high yielding debt securities. The Fund would then be forced to invest the proceeds at lower interest rates, likely resulting in a decline in the Fund’s income.

 

Large-Cap Company Risk. Larger, more established companies may be unable to attain the high growth rates of successful, smaller companies during periods of economic expansion.

 

Volatility Risk. The Fund may have investments that appreciate or decrease significantly in value over short periods of time. This may cause the Fund’s NAV per share to experience significant increases or declines in value over short periods of time. Volatility is a statistical measurement of the magnitude of up and down asset price fluctuations over time. Rapid and dramatic price swings will result in high volatility. The Fund’s returns are expected to be volatile; however, the actual or realized volatility level for longer or shorter periods may be materially higher or lower depending on market conditions and investors may suffer a significant and possibly a complete loss on their investment in the Fund.

 

Interest Rate Risk. Generally fixed income securities decrease in value if interest rates rise and increase in value if interest rates fall, with longer-term securities being more sensitive than shorter-term securities. For example, the price of a security with a three-year duration would be expected to drop by approximately 3% in response to a 1% increase in interest rates. Generally, the longer the maturity and duration of a bond or fixed rate loan, the more sensitive it is to this risk. Falling interest rates also create the potential for a decline in the Fund’s income. Changes in governmental policy, rising inflation rates, and general economic developments, among other factors, could cause interest rates to increase and could have a substantial and immediate effect on the values of the Fund’s investments. In addition, a potential rise in interest rates may result in periods of volatility and increased redemptions that might require the Fund to liquidate portfolio securities at disadvantageous prices and times.

 

Cybersecurity Risk. Cybersecurity incidents may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, or cause the Fund, the Advisor, and/or other service providers (including custodians, sub-custodians, transfer agents and financial intermediaries) to suffer data breaches, data corruption or loss of operational functionality. In an extreme case, a shareholder’s ability to exchange or redeem Fund shares may be affected. Issuers of securities in which the Fund invests are also subject to cybersecurity risks, and the value of those securities could decline if the issuers experience cybersecurity incidents.

 

Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively-managed and its performance reflects investment decisions that the Adviser makes for the Fund. Such judgments about the Fund’s investments may prove to be incorrect. If the investments selected and the strategies employed by the Fund fail to produce the intended results, the Fund could underperform as compared to other funds with similar investment objectives and/or strategies, or could have negative returns.

 


36

 

 

 

Operational Risk. The Fund is exposed to operational risks arising from a number of factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund and the Advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.

 

Credit Risk. Debt securities are subject to credit risk. Credit risk is the risk that the inability or perceived inability of the issuer to make interest and principal payments will cause the value of the securities to decrease. As a result, the Fund’s NAV could also decrease. Changes in the credit rating of a debt security held by the Fund could have a similar effect.

 

Limited Operating History. The Fund is recently organized and has a limited operating history. As a result, prospective investors have a limited track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is classified as “non-diversified,” which means the Fund may invest a larger percentage of its assets in the securities of a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund. Investment in securities of a limited number of issuers exposes the Fund to greater market risk and potential losses than if its assets were diversified among the securities of a greater number of issuers. The Fund seeks to achieve daily results that correspond to a multiple of the daily performance of a single issuer by entering into one or more swaps. In seeking this objective, the Fund may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in swaps with a single counterparty or a few counterparties. As a result, the Fund may experience increased volatility and be more susceptible to a single economic or regulatory occurrence affecting the issuer or one or more of the counterparties.

 

Tax Risk. In order to qualify for the favorable tax treatment generally available to regulated investment companies, the Fund must satisfy certain diversification and other requirements. In particular, the Fund generally may not acquire a security if, as a result of the acquisition, more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s assets would be invested in (a) issuers in which the Fund has, in each case, invested more than 5% of the Fund’s assets and (b) issuers more than 10% of whose outstanding voting securities are owned by the Fund. The application of these requirements to certain investments (including swaps) that may be entered into by the Fund is unclear. In addition, the application of these requirements to the Fund’s investment objective is not clear, particularly because the Fund’s investment objective focuses on the performance of the stock of a single issuer. If the Fund were to fail to qualify as a regulated investment company, it would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation, and distributions to its shareholders would not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income.

 

Security Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause a security held by the Fund to be more volatile than the market generally. The value of an individual security or particular type of security may be more volatile than the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of the market as a whole.

 

Recent Market Events. Periods of market volatility may occur in response to market events and other economic, political, and global macro factors. For example, in recent years the COVID-19 pandemic, the large expansion of government deficits and debt as a result of government actions to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the rise of inflation have resulted in extreme volatility in the global economy and in global financial markets. These and other similar events could be prolonged and could adversely affect the value and liquidity of the Fund’s investments, impair the Fund’s ability to satisfy redemption requests, and negatively impact the Fund’s performance.

 

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

 

Performance

 

The Fund is new and does not have a full calendar year performance record to compare against other funds or broad measures of securities market performance such as indices. Performance information will be available after the Fund has been in operation for one calendar year.

 


37

 

 

 

 

Management

 

Investment Advisor

 

AXS Investments LLC (“AXS Investments” or the “Advisor”)

 

Portfolio Managers

 

Travis Trampe, Managing Director, Portfolio Management of the Advisor, and Parker Binion, Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, have served as the portfolio managers of the Fund since its inception in July 2022. Messrs. Trampe and Binion are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio.

 

Purchase and Sale of Shares

 

The Fund issues and redeems Shares on a continuous basis, at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called “Creation Units.” Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the Shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund.

 

Individual Shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold on the secondary market through a broker-dealer. Since Shares of the Fund trade on securities exchanges in the secondary market at their market price rather than their net asset value, the Fund’s Shares may trade at a price greater than (premium) or less than (discount) the Fund’s net asset value. An investor 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) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information, including the Fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads, is available online at www.axsinvestments.com.

 

Tax Information

 

The Fund’s distributions will generally be taxable as ordinary income or capital gains. A sale of Shares may result in capital gain or loss.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

 

If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), AXS Investments and ALPS Distributors, Inc., the Fund’s distributor, may pay the intermediary for the sale of Shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 


38

 

 

 

PYPT AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF Shares

SUMMARY SECTION - AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF

 

Important Information About the AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF

 

The AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF (the “Fund”) seeks daily leveraged investment results and is very different from most other exchange-traded funds. As a result, the Fund may be riskier than alternatives that do not use leverage because the Fund’s objective is to magnify (150%) the daily performance of the common shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) (“PYPL”). The return for investors that invest for periods longer or shorter than a trading day should not be expected to be 150% of the performance of PYPL for the period. The return of the Fund for a period longer than a trading day will be the result of each trading day’s compounded return over the period, which will very likely differ from 150% of the return of PYPL for that period. Longer holding periods, higher volatility of PYPL and leverage increase the impact of compounding on an investor’s returns. During periods of higher PYPL volatility, the volatility of PYPL may affect the Fund’s return as much as, or more than, the return of PYPL.

 

The Fund is not suitable for all investors. The Fund is designed to be utilized only by knowledgeable investors who understand the potential consequences of seeking daily leveraged (150%) investment results, understand the risks associated with the use of leverage and are willing to monitor their portfolios frequently. The Fund is not intended to be used by, and is not appropriate for, investors who do not intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios. For periods longer than a single day, the Fund will lose money if PYPL’s performance is flat, and it is possible that the Fund will lose money even if PYPL’s performance increases over a period longer than a single day. An investor could lose the full principal value of his/her investment within a single day if PYPL loses more than 67% in one day.

 

Investment Objective

 

The AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to one and a half times (150%) the daily performance of the common shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. The Fund does not seek to achieve its stated investment objective for a period of time different than a trading day.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

 

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

 

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

 

Management fees

0.95%

Distribution and Service (Rule 12b-1) fees

0.00%

Other expenses

11.89%

Total annual fund operating expenses1

12.84%

Fees waived and/or reimbursed2

(11.69)%

Total annual fund operating expenses after waiving fees and/or reimbursing expenses1,2

1.15%

 

1

The cost of investing in swaps, including the embedded cost of the swap and the operating expenses of the referenced assets, is an indirect expense that is not included in the above fee table and is not reflected in the expense example. The total indirect cost of investing in swaps, including the embedded cost of the swap and the operating expenses of the referenced assets, is estimated to be 0.50% for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024.

 

2

The Fund’s investment advisor has contractually agreed to waive its fees and/or pay for operating expenses of the Fund to ensure that total annual fund operating expenses (exclusive of any (i) leverage interest, (ii) brokerage fees and commission, (iii) acquired fund fees and expenses, (iv) fees and expenses associated with instruments in other collective investment vehicles or derivative instruments (including for example options and swap fees and expenses), (v) interest and dividend expense on short sales, (vi) taxes, (vii) other fees related to underlying investments (such as option fees and expenses or swap fees and expenses), (viii) expenses incurred in connection with any merger or reorganization or (ix) extraordinary expenses such as litigation) will not exceed 1.15%. This agreement is effective until July 31, 2024 and it may be terminated before that date only by the Trust’s Board of Trustees. The advisor is permitted to seek reimbursement from the Fund, subject to certain limitations, of fees waived or payments made by the advisor to the Fund for a period ending three years after the date of the waiver or payment. Such reimbursement may be requested from the Fund if the reimbursement will not cause the Fund’s annual expense ratio to exceed the lesser of (a) the expense limitation in effect at the time such fees were waived or payments made, or (b) the expense limitation in effect at the time of the reimbursement. Reimbursements of fees waived or payments made will be made on a “first in, first out” basis so that the oldest fees waived or payments are satisfied first.

 


39

 

 

 

Example

 

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain at current levels. The example reflects the Fund’s contractual fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement only for the term of the contractual fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement. This example does not include the brokerage commissions that investors may pay to buy and sell Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, your costs, based on these assumptions, would be:

 

One Year

Three Years

Five Years

Ten Years

$117

$2,579

$4,670

$8,621

 

Portfolio Turnover

 

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it purchases and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover will cause the Fund to incur additional transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, may affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 0% of the average value of its portfolio turnover rate.

 

Principal Investment Strategies

 

Under normal market circumstances, the Fund will maintain at least 80% exposure to financial instruments that provide one and a half times leveraged exposure to the daily performance of PYPL. The Fund is an actively-managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve on a daily basis, before fees and expenses, 150% performance of PYPL for a single day, not for any other period, by entering into one or more swaps on PYPL. A “single day” is measured from the time the Fund calculates its net asset value (“NAV”) to the time of the Fund’s next NAV calculation.

 

The Fund will enter into one or more swaps with major global financial institutions for a specified period ranging from a day to more than one year whereby the Fund and the global financial institution will agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on PYPL. The gross return to be exchanged or “swapped” between the parties is calculated with respect to a “notional amount,” e.g., the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount representing PYPL. The Advisor attempts to consistently apply leverage to increase the Fund’s exposure to 150% of PYPL, and expects to rebalance the Fund’s holdings daily to maintain such exposure. As a result of its investment strategies, the Fund will be concentrated in the industry assigned to PYPL (i.e., hold 25% or more of its total assets in investments that provide leveraged exposure to the industry assigned to PYPL). As of the date of this prospectus, PYPL is assigned to the payments industry.

 

Additionally, the Fund may invest between 40-80% of the Fund’s portfolio depending on the amount of collateral required by the Fund’s counterparties in (1) U.S. government securities, such as bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury; (2) money market funds; (3) short term bond ETFs and/or (4) corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper and other short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses that are rated investment grade or of comparable quality (“Collateral Investments”).

 


40

 

 

 

PayPal Holdings, Inc. is a leading technology platforms and digital payments company that enables digital and mobile payments on behalf of merchants and consumers worldwide. PYPL is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by PayPal Holdings, Inc. pursuant to the Exchange Act can be located by reference to the Securities and Exchange Commission file number 001-34756 through the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, information regarding PayPal Holdings, Inc. may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents.

 

The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding PayPal Holdings, Inc. from the publicly available documents described above. In connection with the offering of the Fund’s securities, neither the Fund, the Trust nor the Advisor or any of its respective affiliates has participated in the preparation of such documents or made any due diligence inquiry with respect to PayPal Holdings, Inc. Neither the Fund, the Trust nor the Advisor or any of its respective affiliates makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding PayPal Holdings, Inc. is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date hereof (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of PYPL have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of or failure to disclose material future events concerning PayPal Holdings, Inc. could affect the value of the Fund’s investments with respect to PYPL and therefore the value of the Fund.

 

Neither the Trust, the Fund nor any of its respective affiliates makes any representation to you as to the performance of PYPL.

 

Principal Risks

 

You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s investment objectives will be achieved.

 

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives include instruments and contracts that are based on and valued in relation to one or more underlying securities, financial benchmarks, indices, or other reference obligations or measures of value. Major types of derivatives include futures, options, swaps and forward contracts. Using derivatives exposes the Fund to additional or heightened risks, including leverage risk, liquidity risk, valuation risk, market risk, counterparty risk, and credit risk. Derivatives transactions can be highly illiquid and difficult to unwind or value, they can increase Fund volatility, and changes in the value of a derivative held by the Fund may not correlate with the value of the underlying instrument or the Fund’s other investments. Many of the risks applicable to trading the instruments underlying derivatives are also applicable to derivatives trading. However, derivatives are subject to additional risks such as operational risk, including settlement issues, and legal risk, including that underlying documentation is incomplete or ambiguous. For derivatives that are required to be cleared by a regulated clearinghouse, other risks may arise from the Fund’s relationship with a brokerage firm through which it submits derivatives trades for clearing, including in some cases from other clearing customers of the brokerage firm.

 

 

Swap Risk. The Fund expects to use swaps as a means to achieve its investment objective. Swaps are generally traded in OTC markets and have only recently become subject to regulation by the CFTC. CFTC rules, however, do not cover all types of swaps. Investors, therefore, may not receive the protection of CFTC regulation or the statutory scheme of the Commodity Exchange Act in connection with the Fund’s swaps. The lack of regulation in these markets could expose investors to significant losses under certain circumstances, including in the event of trading abuses or financial failure by participants. Unlike in futures contracts, the counterparty to uncleared OTC swaps is generally a single bank or other financial institution, rather than a clearing organization backed by a group of financial institutions. As a result, the Fund is subject to increased counterparty risk with respect to the amount it expects to receive from counterparties to uncleared swaps. If a counterparty becomes bankrupt or otherwise fails to perform its obligations due to financial difficulties, the Fund could suffer significant losses on these contracts and the value of an investor’s investment in the Fund may decline. OTC swaps of the type that

 


41

 

 

 

may be utilized by the Fund are less liquid than futures contracts because they are not traded on an exchange, do not have uniform terms and conditions, and are generally entered into based upon the creditworthiness of the parties and the availability of credit support, such as collateral, and in general, are not transferable without the consent of the counterparty. Swaps are also subject to the risk of imperfect correlation between the value of the reference asset underlying the swap and the swap. Leverage inherent in derivatives will tend to magnify the Fund’s gains and losses. Moreover, with respect to the use of swaps, if PYPL has a dramatic intraday move that causes a material decline in the Fund’s net assets, the terms of a swap between the Fund and its counterparty may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the transaction with the Fund. In that event, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swap or invest in other derivatives to achieve the desired exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This, in turn, may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective, even if PYPL reverses all or a portion of its intraday move by the end of the day. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning.

 

The Fund will be subject to regulatory constraints relating to level of value at risk that the Fund may incur through its derivative portfolio. To the extent the Fund exceeds these regulatory thresholds over an extended period, the Fund may determine that it is necessary to make adjustments to the Fund’s investment strategy, including the desired daily leveraged performance for the Fund.

 

Leverage Risk. Leverage increases the risk of a total loss of an investor’s investment, may increase the volatility of the Fund, and may magnify any differences between the performance of the Fund and PYPL. Because the Fund includes a multiplier of one and a half times (150%) PYPL, a single day movement in PYPL approaching 67% at any point in the day could result in the total loss of an investor’s investment if that movement is contrary to the investment objective of the Fund, even if PYPL subsequently moves in an opposite direction, eliminating all or a portion of the earlier movement. This would be the case with any such single day movements in PYPL, even if PYPL maintains a level greater than zero at all times.

 

Compounding Risk. The Fund has a single day investment objective, and the Fund’s performance for any other period is the result of its return for each day compounded over the period. The performance of the Fund for periods longer than a single day will very likely differ in amount, and possibly even direction, from 150% of the daily return PYPL for the same period, before accounting for fees and expenses. Compounding affects all investments, but has a more significant impact on a leveraged fund. This effect becomes more pronounced as PYPL volatility and holding periods increase. Fund performance for a period longer than a single day can be estimated given any set of assumptions for the following factors: (a) PYPL volatility; (b) PYPL performance; (c) period of time; (d) financing rates associated with leveraged exposure; and (e) other Fund expenses. The chart below illustrates the impact of two principal factors — PYPL volatility and PYPL performance — on Fund performance. The chart shows estimated Fund returns for a number of combinations of PYPL volatility and PYPL performance over a one-year period. Actual volatility, PYPL and Fund performance may differ significantly from the chart below. Performance shown in the chart assumes: (a) no Fund expenses; and (b) borrowing/lending rates (to obtain leveraged exposure) of zero percent. If Fund expenses and/or actual borrowing/ lending rates were reflected, the Fund’s performance would be lower than shown.

 


42

 

 

 

Areas shaded red (or dark gray) represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return less than 150% of the performance of PYPL and those shaded green (or light gray) represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return more than 150% of the performance of PYPL. The Fund’s actual returns may be significantly better or worse than the returns shown below as a result of any of the factors discussed above or in “Correlation Risk” below.

 

Estimated Fund Returns

 

One
Year
PYPL

150% One Year PYPL

Volatility Rate

Return

Return

10%

25%

50%

75%

100%

-60%

-90%

-74.8%

-75.3%

-77.0%

-79.5%

-82.6%

-50%

-75%

-64.8%

-65.5%

-67.8%

-71.4%

-75.7%

-40%

-60%

-53.7%

-54.6%

57.7%

-62.4%

-68.1%

-30%

-45%

-41.7%

-42.8%

-46.7%

-52.6%

-59.7%

-20%

-30%

-28.7%

-30.1%

-34.8%

-42.1%

-50.8%

-10%

-15%

-14.9%

-16.6%

-22.3%

-30.9%

-41.3%

0%

0%

-0.4%

-2.3%

-8.9%

-19.0%

-31.3%

10%

15%

14.9%

12.7%

5.0%

-6.6%

-20.7%

20%

30%

31.0%

28.4%

19.7%

6.5%

-9.7%

30%

45%

47.7%

44.8%

35.0%

20.0%

1.9%

40%

60%

65.0%

61.8%

50.8%

34.1%

13.8%

50%

75%

83.0%

79.5%

67.3%

48.8%

26.3%

60%

90%

101.6%

97.9%

84.3%

63.9%

39.1%

 

The foregoing table is intended to isolate the effect of PYPL volatility and PYPL performance on the return of the Fund and is not a representation of actual returns. For example, the Fund may incorrectly be expected to achieve a 30% return on a yearly basis if PYPL return were 20%, absent the effects of compounding. As the table shows, with PYPL volatility of 50%, the Fund could be expected to return 19.7% under such a scenario. The Fund’s actual returns may be significantly better or worse than the returns shown above as a result of any of the factors discussed above or in “Principal Risks — Correlation Risk” below.

 

PYPL’s annualized historical volatility rate for the five- year period ended December 31, 2022 was 38.79%. PYPL’s highest volatility rate for any one calendar year during the five-year period was 52.37%. PYPL’s annualized total return performance for the five-year period ended December 31, 2022 was -0.66%. Historical PYPL volatility and performance are not indications of what PYPL volatility and performance will be in the future. The volatility of U.S. exchange-traded securities or instruments that reflect the value of PYPL may differ from the volatility of PYPL.

 

Correlation Risk. A number of factors may affect the Fund’s ability to achieve a high degree of correlation with PYPL, and there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation. Failure to achieve a high degree of correlation may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective, and the percentage change of the Fund’s NAV each day may differ, perhaps significantly in amount, and possibly even direction, from 150% of the percentage change of PYPL on such day.

 

In order to achieve a high degree of correlation with PYPL, the Fund seeks to rebalance its portfolio daily to keep exposure consistent with its investment objective. Being materially under- or overexposed to PYPL may prevent the Fund from achieving a high degree of correlation with PYPL and may expose the Fund to greater leverage risk. Market disruptions or closure, regulatory restrictions, market volatility, illiquidity in the markets for the financial instruments in which the Fund invests, and other factors will adversely affect the Fund’s ability to adjust exposure to requisite levels. The target amount of portfolio exposure is impacted dynamically by PYPL’s movements, including intraday movements.

 


43

 

 

 

Because of this, it is unlikely that the Fund will have perfect 150% exposure during the day or at the end of each day and the likelihood of being materially under- or overexposed is higher on days when PYPL is volatile, particularly when PYPL is volatile at or near the close of the trading day.

 

A number of other factors may also adversely affect the Fund’s correlation with PYPL, including fees, expenses, transaction costs, financing costs associated with the use of derivatives, income items, valuation methodology, accounting standards and disruptions or illiquidity in the markets for the securities or financial instruments in which the Fund invests. The Fund may take or refrain from taking positions in order to improve tax efficiency, comply with regulatory restrictions, or for other reasons, each of which may negatively affect the Fund’s correlation with PYPL. The Fund may also be subject to large movements of assets into and out of the Fund, potentially resulting in the Fund being under- or overexposed to PYPL. Additionally, the Fund’s underlying investments and/or reference assets may trade on markets that may not be open on the same day as the Fund, which may cause a difference between the changes in the daily performance of the Fund and changes in the performance of PYPL. Any of these factors could decrease correlation between the performance of the Fund and PYPL and may hinder the Fund’s ability to meet its daily investment objective on or around that day.

 

Rebalancing Risk. If for any reason the Fund is unable to rebalance all or a portion of its portfolio, or if all or a portion of the portfolio is rebalanced incorrectly, the Fund’s investment exposure may not be consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. In these instances, the Fund may have investment exposure to PYPL that is significantly greater or less than its stated multiple. As a result, the Fund may be more exposed to leverage risk than if it had been properly rebalanced and may not achieve its investment objective.

 

Trading Halt Risk. Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. and the Fund are listed on Nasdaq. Securities exchanges may apply different rules with respect to trading halts. In addition, exchanges may treat stocks differently than shares of ETFs with respect to trading halts. Although PayPal Holdings, Inc.’s and the Fund’s shares are listed for trading on an exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will be available at all times and the exchange may halt trading of such shares in certain circumstances. In the event of a trading halt for an extended period of time in PayPal Holdings, Inc.’s and/or the Fund’s shares, the Fund may be unable to execute arrangements with swap counterparties that are necessary to implement the Fund’s investment strategy. Trading halts of PayPal Holdings, Inc.’s and/or the Fund’s shares can occur for “regulatory” or “non-regulatory” reasons. A regulatory halt may occur when a company has pending news that may affect the security’s price, when there is uncertainty over whether the security continues to meet an exchange’s listing standards, or when a regulator specifically suspends trading in a security. When a regulatory halt is imposed by a security’s primary exchange, the other U.S. exchanges that also trade the security will usually honor this halt. A non-regulatory halt generally occurs when there is a significant imbalance in the pending buy and sell orders in a security or because of extraordinary market volatility pursuant to exchange “circuit breaker” rules. A non-regulatory trading halt or delay on one exchange does not necessarily mean that other exchanges will halt a security from trading. Regulatory trading halts of PayPal Holdings, Inc.’s shares are expected to result in a halt in the trading in the Fund’s shares. However, not all non-regulatory trading halts affecting PayPal Holdings, Inc.’s shares will result in a trading halt of the Fund’s shares. To the extent trading in PayPal Holdings, Inc.’s shares is halted while the Fund’s shares continue to trade, the Fund may not perform as intended.

 

Counterparty Risk. A counterparty (the other party to a transaction or an agreement or the party with whom the Fund executes transactions) to a transaction with the Fund may be unable or unwilling to make timely principal, interest or settlement payments, or otherwise honor its obligations. If the counterparty or its affiliate becomes insolvent, bankrupt or defaults on its payment obligations to the Fund, the value of an investment held by the Fund may decline. Additionally, if any collateral posted by the counterparty for the benefit of the Fund is insufficient or there are delays in the Fund’s ability to access such collateral, the Fund may not be able to achieve its inverse investment objective. In addition, the Fund may enter into transactions with a limited number of counterparties, which may increase the Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk. Further, there is a risk that no suitable counterparties will be willing to enter into, or continue to enter into, transactions with the Fund and, as a result, the Fund may not be able to achieve its inverse investment objective or may decide to change its inverse investment objective.

 


44

 

 

 

Indirect Investment Risk. PayPal Holdings, Inc. is not affiliated with the Trust, the Advisor, or any affiliates thereof and is not involved with this offering in any way, and has no obligation to consider the Fund in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. The Advisor has not made any due diligence inquiry with respect to the publicly available information of PayPal Holdings, Inc. in connection with this offering. Investors in the Shares will not have voting rights or rights to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the common shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc.

 

Intraday Price Performance Risk. The intraday performance of shares of the Fund traded in the secondary market generally will be different from the performance of the Fund when measured from one NAV calculation-time to the next. When shares are bought intraday, the performance of the Fund’s Shares relative to PYPL until the Fund’s next NAV calculation time will generally be greater than or less than the Fund’s stated multiple times the performance of PYPL.

 

Payments Industry Risk. Companies in the payments industry are subject to major changes in technology, security considerations, taxes, government regulation, general economic conditions, competition and potential political influences. Competition is a threat to payments companies, much of which is derived from related technology risks. Competitors in this industry include financial institutions and well-established payment processing companies, but the industry is also facing new competitive pressure from non-traditional participants in the payments industry. Keeping up with technology changes requires a significant amount of research, software and product development, which may be costly. This investment in technology is not guaranteed to earn a positive return, depending on the success of the technology developed. While digital payments are expected to continue to grow as an overall portion of transactions as a whole, the payments industry is cyclical and a material and/or sustained downturn in the economy may materially impact the business models of such companies.

 

ETF Structure Risks. The Fund is an ETF, and, as a result of an ETF’s structure, it is exposed to the following risks:

 

Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as authorized participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other authorized participant is able to step forward to create or redeem, in either of these cases, shares may trade at a discount to the Fund’s net asset value and possibly face delisting.

 

Cash Transaction Risk. To the extent the Fund sells portfolio securities to meet some or all of a redemption request with cash, the Fund may incur taxable gains or losses that it might not have incurred had it made redemptions entirely in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used.

 

Costs of Buying or Selling Shares: Investors buying or selling shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers, as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of shares. In addition, secondary market investors will also incur the cost of the difference between the price at which an investor is willing to buy Shares (the “bid” price) and the price at which an investor is willing to sell Shares (the “ask” price). This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “spread” or “bid-ask spread.” The bid-ask spread varies over time for shares based on trading volume and market liquidity, and the spread is generally lower if shares have more trading volume and market liquidity and higher if shares have little trading volume and market liquidity. Further, a relatively small investor base in the Fund, asset swings in the Fund, and/or increased market volatility may cause increased bid-ask spreads. Due to the costs of buying or selling shares, including bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.

 

Fluctuation of Net Asset Value Risk: As with all ETFs, shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market prices of shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market prices of shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV

 


45

 

 

 

intra-day (discount). Differences in market price and NAV may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related to, but not identical to, the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. These differences can be especially pronounced during times of market volatility or stress. During these periods, the demand for Fund shares may decrease considerably and cause the market price of Fund shares to deviate significantly from the Fund’s NAV.

 

Market Maker Risk. If the Fund has lower average daily trading volumes, it may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of Fund shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s NAV and the price at which the Fund shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund shares. In addition, decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a discount to NAV and also in greater than normal intra-day bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.

 

Shares are Not Individually Redeemable. Shares are only redeemable by the Fund at NAV if they are tendered in Creation Units. Only Authorized Participants may engage in such creation and redemption transactions directly with the Fund. Individual Shares may be sold on a stock exchange at their current market prices, which may be less, more, or equal to their NAV.

 

Trading Issues Risk: Although the Fund shares are listed for trading on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such Fund shares will develop or be maintained. Trading in Fund shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Fund shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Fund shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. Market makers are under no obligation to make a market in the Fund shares, and authorized participants are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. Initially, due to the small asset size of the Fund, it may have difficulty maintaining its listings on the Exchange.

 

Liquidity Risk. The Fund may not be able to sell some or all of the investments that it holds due to a lack of demand in the marketplace or other factors such as market turmoil, or if the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid asset to meet redemption requests or other cash needs it may only be able to sell those investments at a loss.

 

Market Risk. The market price of a security or instrument may decline, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic or political conditions throughout the world, changes in the general outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates, or adverse investor sentiment generally. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, or other events could have a significant impact on a security or instrument. The market value of a security or instrument also may 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.

 

Valuation Risk. The Fund may hold securities or other assets that may be valued on the basis of factors other than market quotations. This may occur because the asset or security does not trade on a centralized exchange, or in times of market turmoil or reduced liquidity. There are multiple methods that can be used to value a portfolio holding when market quotations are not readily available. The value established for any portfolio holding at a point in time might differ from what would be produced using a different methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations. Portfolio holdings that are valued using techniques other than market quotations, including “fair valued” assets or securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their valuations from one day to the next than if market quotations were used. In addition, there is no assurance that the Fund could sell or close out a portfolio position for the value established for it

 


46

 

 

 

at any time, and it is possible that the Fund would incur a loss because a portfolio position is sold or closed out at a discount to the valuation established by the Fund at that time. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.

 

Concentration Risk. The Fund will be concentrated in the industry assigned to PayPal Holdings, Inc. (i.e., hold more than 25% of its total assets in investments that provide leveraged exposure to the industry assigned to PayPal Holdings, Inc.). A portfolio concentrated in a particular industry may present more risks than a portfolio broadly diversified over several industries.

 

Collateral Investments Risk. The Fund’s use of Collateral Investments may include obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities, including bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury, money market funds, short term bond ETFs and corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper.

 

Some securities issued or guaranteed by federal agencies and U.S. Government-sponsored instrumentalities may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, in which case the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the security for ultimate repayment, and may not be able to assert a claim against the United States itself in the event that the agency or instrumentality does not meet its commitment. The U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities do not guarantee the market value of their securities, and consequently, the value of such securities may fluctuate. Although the Fund may hold securities that carry U.S. Government guarantees, these guarantees do not extend to shares of the Fund.

 

Money market funds are subject to management fees and other expenses. Therefore, investments in money market funds will cause the Fund to bear indirectly a proportional share of the fees and costs of the money market funds in which it invests. At the same time, the Fund will continue to pay its own management fees and expenses with respect to all of its assets, including any portion invested in the shares of the money market fund. It is possible to lose money by investing in money market funds.

 

Short term bond ETFs will generally invest in short-term instruments (i.e., duration of less than one year). The amount of time until a fixed-income security matures can lead to various risks, including changes in interest rates over the life of a bond. Short-term fixed income securities generally provide lower returns than longer-term fixed income securities. The average maturity of an ETF’s investments will affect the volatility of the ETF’s share price.

 

Corporate debt securities such as commercial paper generally are short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses. Corporate debt may be rated investment-grade or below investment-grade and may carry variable or floating rates of interest. Corporate debt securities carry both credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk is the risk that the Fund could lose money if the issuer of a corporate debt security is unable to pay interest or repay principal when it is due. Some corporate debt securities that are rated below investment-grade generally are considered speculative because they present a greater risk of loss, including default, than higher quality debt securities.

 

Debt Securities Risk. Investments in debt securities subject the holder to the credit risk of the issuer. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer or other obligor of a security will not be able or willing to make payments of interest and principal when due. Generally, the value of debt securities will change inversely with changes in interest rates. To the extent that interest rates rise, certain underlying obligations may be paid off substantially slower than originally anticipated and the value of those securities may fall sharply. During periods of falling interest rates, the income received by the Fund may decline. If the principal on a debt security is prepaid before expected, the prepayments of principal may have to be reinvested in obligations paying interest at lower rates. Debt securities generally do not trade on a securities exchange making them generally less liquid and more difficult to value than common stock.

 

Call Risk. Some debt securities may be redeemed, or “called,” at the option of the issuer before their stated maturity date. In general, an issuer will call its debt securities if they can be refinanced by issuing new debt securities which bear a lower interest rate. The Fund is subject to the possibility that during periods of falling interest rates an issuer will call its high yielding debt securities. The Fund would then be forced to invest the proceeds at lower interest rates, likely resulting in a decline in the Fund’s income.

 


47

 

 

 

Large-Cap Company Risk. Larger, more established companies may be unable to attain the high growth rates of successful, smaller companies during periods of economic expansion.

 

Volatility Risk. The Fund may have investments that appreciate or decrease significantly in value over short periods of time. This may cause the Fund’s NAV per share to experience significant increases or declines in value over short periods of time. Volatility is a statistical measurement of the magnitude of up and down asset price fluctuations over time. Rapid and dramatic price swings will result in high volatility. The Fund’s returns are expected to be volatile; however, the actual or realized volatility level for longer or shorter periods may be materially higher or lower depending on market conditions and investors may suffer a significant and possibly a complete loss on their investment in the Fund.

 

Interest Rate Risk. Generally fixed income securities decrease in value if interest rates rise and increase in value if interest rates fall, with longer-term securities being more sensitive than shorter-term securities. For example, the price of a security with a three-year duration would be expected to drop by approximately 3% in response to a 1% increase in interest rates. Generally, the longer the maturity and duration of a bond or fixed rate loan, the more sensitive it is to this risk. Falling interest rates also create the potential for a decline in the Fund’s income. Changes in governmental policy, rising inflation rates, and general economic developments, among other factors, could cause interest rates to increase and could have a substantial and immediate effect on the values of the Fund’s investments. In addition, a potential rise in interest rates may result in periods of volatility and increased redemptions that might require the Fund to liquidate portfolio securities at disadvantageous prices and times.

 

Cybersecurity Risk. Cybersecurity incidents may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, or cause the Fund, the Advisor, and/or other service providers (including custodians, sub-custodians, transfer agents and financial intermediaries) to suffer data breaches, data corruption or loss of operational functionality. In an extreme case, a shareholder’s ability to exchange or redeem Fund shares may be affected. Issuers of securities in which the Fund invests are also subject to cybersecurity risks, and the value of those securities could decline if the issuers experience cybersecurity incidents.

 

Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively-managed and its performance reflects investment decisions that the Adviser makes for the Fund. Such judgments about the Fund’s investments may prove to be incorrect. If the investments selected and the strategies employed by the Fund fail to produce the intended results, the Fund could underperform as compared to other funds with similar investment objectives and/or strategies, or could have negative returns.

 

Operational Risk. The Fund is exposed to operational risks arising from a number of factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund and the Advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.

 

Credit Risk. An issuer or other obligated party of a debt security may be unable or unwilling to make dividend, interest and/or principal payments when due. In addition, the value of a debt security may decline because of concerns about the issuer’s ability or unwillingness to make such payments.

 

Limited Operating History. The Fund is recently organized and has a limited operating history. As a result, prospective investors have a limited track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is classified as “non-diversified,” which means the Fund may invest a larger percentage of its assets in the securities of a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund. Investment in securities of a limited number of issuers exposes the Fund to greater market risk and potential losses than if its assets were diversified among the securities of a greater number of issuers. The Fund seeks to achieve daily results that correspond to a multiple of the daily performance of a single issuer by entering into one or more swaps. In seeking this objective, the Fund may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in swaps with a single counterparty or a few counterparties. As a result, the Fund may experience increased volatility and be more susceptible to a single economic or regulatory occurrence affecting the issuer or one or more of the counterparties.

 


48

 

 

 

Tax Risk. In order to qualify for the favorable tax treatment generally available to regulated investment companies, the Fund must satisfy certain diversification and other requirements. In particular, the Fund generally may not acquire a security if, as a result of the acquisition, more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s assets would be invested in (a) issuers in which the Fund has, in each case, invested more than 5% of the Fund’s assets and (b) issuers more than 10% of whose outstanding voting securities are owned by the Fund. The application of these requirements to certain investments (including swaps) that may be entered into by the Fund is unclear. In addition, the application of these requirements to the Fund’s investment objective is not clear, particularly because the Fund’s investment objective focuses on the performance of the stock of a single issuer. If the Fund were to fail to qualify as a regulated investment company, it would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation, and distributions to its shareholders would not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income.

 

Security Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause a security held by the Fund to be more volatile than the market generally. The value of an individual security or particular type of security may be more volatile than the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of the market as a whole.

 

Recent Market Events. Periods of market volatility may occur in response to market events and other economic, political, and global macro factors. For example, in recent years the COVID-19 pandemic, the large expansion of government deficits and debt as a result of government actions to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the rise of inflation have resulted in extreme volatility in the global economy and in global financial markets. These and other similar events could be prolonged and could adversely affect the value and liquidity of the Fund’s investments, impair the Fund’s ability to satisfy redemption requests, and negatively impact the Fund’s performance.

 

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

 

Performance

 

The Fund is new and does not have a full calendar year performance record to compare against other funds or broad measures of securities market performance such as indices. Performance information will be available after the Fund has been in operation for one calendar year.

 

 

Management

 

Investment Advisor

 

AXS Investments LLC (“AXS Investments” or the “Advisor”)

 

Portfolio Managers

 

Travis Trampe, Managing Director, Portfolio Management of the Advisor, and Parker Binion, Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, have served as the portfolio managers of the Fund since its inception in July 2022. Messrs. Trampe and Binion are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio.

 

Purchase and Sale of Shares

 

The Fund issues and redeems Shares on a continuous basis, at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called “Creation Units.” Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the Shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund.

 

Individual Shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold on the secondary market through a broker-dealer. Since Shares of the Fund trade on securities exchanges in the secondary market at their market price rather than their net asset value, the Fund’s Shares may trade at a price greater than (premium) or less than (discount) the Fund’s net asset value. An investor 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) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information, including the Fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads, is available online at www.axsinvestments.com.

 


49

 

 

 

PYPT AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF Shares

Tax Information

 

 

The Fund’s distributions will generally be taxable as ordinary income or capital gains. A sale of Shares may result in capital gain or loss.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

 

If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), AXS Investments and ALPS Distributors, Inc., the Fund’s distributor, may pay the intermediary for the sale of Shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 


50

 

 

 

SUMMARY SECTION - AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF

 

Important Information About the Fund

 

The AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF (the “Fund”) seeks the daily inverse investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to the inverse (-1x) of the return of the ARK Innovation ETF for a single day (and not for any other time period) by entering into a swap on the ARK Innovation ETF. A “single day” is measured from the time the Fund calculates its net asset value (“NAV”) to the time of the Fund’s next NAV calculation. The return of the Fund for periods longer than a single day will be the result of its return for each day compounded over the period. The Fund’s returns for periods longer than a single day will very likely differ in amount, and possibly even direction, from the Fund’s stated multiple (-1x) times the return of the Index for the same period. For periods longer than a single day, the Fund will lose money if the ARK Innovation ETF’s performance is flat, and it is possible that the Fund will lose money even if the level of the ARK Innovation ETF’s performance decreases. Longer holding periods, higher volatility, and greater inverse exposure each exacerbate the impact of compounding on an investor’s returns. During periods of higher volatility, the volatility of the ARK Innovation ETF may affect the Fund’s return as much as or more than the return of the ARK Innovation ETF.

 

The Fund is not intended to be used by, and is not appropriate for, investors who do not intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios. The Fund is very different from most mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. Investors should note that:

 

(1) The Fund pursues a daily investment objective that is inverse to the performance of the ARK Innovation ETF, a result opposite of most mutual funds and exchange-traded funds.

 

(2) The Fund seeks daily inverse investment results that are subject to compounding and market volatility risk. The pursuit of its daily investment objective means that the return of the Fund for a period longer than a full trading day will be the product of a series of daily returns, with daily repositioned exposure, for each trading day during the relevant period. As a consequence, especially in periods of market volatility, the volatility of the ARK Innovation ETF may affect the Fund’s return as much as, or more than, the return of the ARK Innovation ETF. Further, the return for investors that invest for periods less than a full trading day will not be the product of the return of the Fund’s stated daily inverse investment objective and the performance of ARK Innovation ETF for the full trading day. During periods of high volatility, the Fund may not perform as expected and the Fund may have losses when an investor may have expected gains if the Fund is held for a period that is different than one trading day.

 

The Fund presents different risks than other types of funds. The Fund is not suitable for all investors and should be used only by knowledgeable investors, such as traders and active investors employing dynamic strategies, who understand the consequences of seeking daily inverse (-1x) investment results, including the impact of compounding on Fund performance. Investors in the Fund should: (a) understand the consequences of seeking daily inverse investment results; (b) understand the risk of shorting; and (c) intend to actively monitor and manage their investments, as frequently as daily.

 

Investors who do not understand the Fund, or do not intend to actively manage their funds and monitor their investments, should not invest in the Fund.

 

There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its daily inverse investment objective and an investment in the Fund could lose money. An investor in the Fund could potentially lose the full principal value of their investment within a single day. The Fund is not a complete investment program.

 

THE AXS SHORT INNOVATION DAILY ETF, INVESTMENT MANAGERS SERIES TRUST II (THE “TRUST”), AND AXS INVESTMENTS LLC ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE ARK ETF TRUST, THE ARK INNOVATION ETF, OR ARK INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LLC.

 


51

 

 

 

SARK AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF Shares

ARK Innovation ETF Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

Investment Objective

 

The AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to provide investment results that are approximately the inverse (or opposite) of, before fees and expenses, to the daily price and yield performance of the ARK Innovation ETF. The Fund does not seek to achieve its stated investment objective for a period of time different than a trading day.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

 

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

 

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

 

Management fees

0.75%

Distribution and Service (Rule 12b-1) fees

0.00%

Other expenses1

0.26%

Total annual fund operating expenses

1.01%

Fees waived and/or reimbursed2

(0.26)%

Total annual fund operating expenses after waiving fees and/or reimbursing expenses1,2

0.75%

 

1

The Fund’s advisor, has agreed to cap the management fees for the Fund to 0.65% for a period of two years from the date of the reorganization (the “Reorganization”) of the Tuttle Capital Short Innovation ETF, a series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust (the “Predecessor Fund”), which occurred on August 5, 2022. After the two-year period from the date of the Reorganization, the Fund’s management fee will be 0.75%.

 

2

The Fund’s investment advisor has contractually agreed to waive its fees and/or pay for operating expenses of the Fund to ensure that total annual fund operating expenses (exclusive of any (i) brokerage fees and commission, (ii) acquired fund fees and expenses, (iii) fees and expenses associated with instruments in other collective investment vehicles or derivative instruments (including for example options and swap fees and expenses), (iv) leverage interest,(v) interest and dividend expense on securities sold short, (vi) taxes, (vii) other fees related to underlying investments (such as option fees and expenses or swap fees and expenses), (viii) expenses incurred in connection with any merger or reorganization, or (ix) extraordinary expenses such as litigation expenses) will not exceed 0.75%. This agreement is effective until August 5, 2024, and it may be terminated before that date only by the Trust’s Board of Trustees. The advisor is permitted to seek reimbursement from the Fund, subject to certain limitations, of fees waived or payments made by the advisor to the Fund for a period ending three years after the date of the waiver or payment. Such reimbursement may be requested from the Fund if the reimbursement will not cause the Fund’s annual expense ratio to exceed the lesser of (a) the expense limitation in effect at the time such fees were waived or payments made, or (b) the expense limitation in effect at the time of the reimbursement. Reimbursements of fees waived or payments made will be made on a “first in, first out” basis so that the oldest fees waived or payments are satisfied first.

 

Example

 

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain at current levels. The example reflects the Fund’s contractual fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement only for the term of the contractual fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement. This example does not include the brokerage commissions that investors may pay to buy and sell Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, your costs, based on these assumptions, would be:

 

One Year

Three Years

Five Years

Ten Years

$77

$296

$533

$1,213

 


52

 

 

 

Portfolio Turnover

 

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it purchases and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover will cause the Fund to incur additional transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, may affect the Fund’s performance. As a result of the Reorganization, the Fund acquired all of the assets, subject to the liabilities, of the Predecessor Fund. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 0% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

Principal Investment Strategies

 

The Fund is an actively managed exchange traded fund that attempts to achieve the inverse (-1x) of the return of the ARK Innovation ETF for a single day (and not for any other period) by entering into a swap on the ARK Innovation ETF. A “single day” is measured from the time the Fund calculates its NAV to the time of the Fund’s next NAV calculation.

 

The Fund will enter into one or more swaps with major global financial institutions for a specified period ranging from a day to more than one year whereby the Fund and the global financial institution will agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on the ARK Innovation ETF. The gross return to be exchanged or “swapped” between the parties is calculated with respect to a “notional amount,” e.g., the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount representing the ARK Innovation ETF. The ARK Innovation ETF is an actively managed exchange traded fund that seeks long-term growth of capital by investing under normal circumstances primarily (at least 65% of its assets) in domestic and foreign equity securities of companies that are relevant to the Fund’s investment theme of disruptive innovation. It is typically comprised of 35-55 companies.

 

Additionally, the Fund may invest between 40-80% of the Fund’s portfolio depending on the amount of collateral required by the Fund’s counterparties in (1) U.S. Government securities, such as bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury; (2) money market funds; (3) short term bond ETFs and/or (4) corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper and other short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses that are rated investment grade or of comparable quality.

 

Because of daily rebalancing and the compounding of each day’s return over time, the return of the Fund for periods longer than a single day will be the result of each day’s returns compounded over the period, which will very likely differ from -100% of the return of the ARK Innovation ETF over the same period. The Fund will lose money if the ARK Innovation ETF’s performance is flat over time, and as a result of daily rebalancing, the ARK Innovation ETF’s volatility and the effects of compounding, it is even possible that the Fund will lose money over time while the ARK Innovation ETF’s performance decreases over a period longer than a single day.

 

Principal Risks

 

You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. The Fund may not achieve its inverse investment objective and there is a risk that you could lose all of your money invested in the Fund. The Fund is not a complete investment program. The Fund presents risks not traditionally associated with other mutual funds and ETFs. It is important that investors closely review all of the risks listed below and understand them before making an investment in the Fund.

 

Effects of Compounding and Market Volatility Risk. The Fund has a daily investment objective and the Fund’s performance for periods greater than a trading day will be the result of each day’s returns compounded over the period, which is very likely to differ from -100% of the ARK Innovation ETF’s performance, before fees and expenses. Compounding affects all investments, but has a more significant impact on funds that are inverse and that rebalance daily. For an inverse Fund, if adverse daily performance of the ARK Innovation ETF reduces the amount of a shareholder’s investment, any further adverse daily performance will lead to a smaller dollar loss because the shareholder’s investment had already been reduced by the prior adverse performance. Equally, however, if favorable daily performance of the ARK Innovation ETF increases the amount of a shareholder’s investment, the dollar amount lost due to future adverse performance will increase because the shareholder’s investment has increased.

 


53

 

 

 

The effect of compounding becomes more pronounced as the ARK Innovation ETF’s volatility and the holding period increase. The impact of compounding will impact each shareholder differently depending on the period of time an investment in the Fund is held and the volatility of the ARK Innovation ETF during shareholder’s holding period of an investment in the Fund.

 

The chart below provides examples of how the ARK Innovation ETF’s volatility could affect the Fund’s performance. Fund performance for periods greater than one single day can be estimated given any set of assumptions for the following factors: a) ARK Innovation ETF’s volatility; b) ARK Innovation ETF’s performance; c) period of time; d) financing rates associated with inverse exposure; e) other Fund expenses; and f) dividends or interest paid with respect to securities in the ARK Innovation ETF. The chart below illustrates the impact of two principal factors – ARK Innovation ETF’s volatility and ARK Innovation ETF’s performance – on Fund performance. The chart shows estimated Fund returns for a number of combinations of ARK Innovation ETF’s volatility and ARK Innovation ETF’s performance over a one-year period. Performance shown in the chart assumes that: (i) no dividends were paid with respect to the securities included in the ARK Innovation ETF; (ii) there were no Fund expenses; and (iii) borrowing/lending rates (to obtain inverse exposure) of 0%. If Fund expenses and/or actual borrowing/lending rates were reflected, the estimated returns would be different than those shown. Particularly during periods of higher ARK Innovation ETF volatility, compounding will cause results for periods longer than a trading day to vary from -100% of the performance of the ARK Innovation ETF.

 

As shown in the chart below, the Fund would be expected to lose 6.04% if the ARK Innovation ETF provided no return over a one year period during which the ARK Innovation ETF experienced annualized volatility of 25%. At higher ranges of volatility, there is a chance of a significant loss of value in the Fund, even if the ARK Innovation ETF’s return is flat. For instance, if the ARK Innovation ETF’s annualized volatility is 100%, the Fund would be expected to lose 63.23% of its value, even if the cumulative ARK Innovation ETF’s return for the year was 0%. Areas shaded red represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return less than -100% of the performance of the ARK Innovation ETF and those shaded gray represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return more than -100% of the performance of the ARK Innovation ETF. The Fund’s actual returns may be significantly better or worse than the returns shown below.

 

One
Year
ARK
Innovation
ETF

-100% One
Year ARK
Innovation
ETF

Volatility Rate

Return

Return

10%

25%

50%

75%

100%

-60%

60%

148.55%

134.42%

95.28%

43.98%

-5.83%

-50%

50%

99.13%

87.77%

56.26%

15.23%

-24.77%

-40%

40%

66.08%

56.57%

30.21%

-4.08%

-37.57%

-30%

30%

42.43%

34.25%

11.56%

-17.98%

-46.76%

-20%

20%

24.67%

17.47%

-2.47%

-28.38%

-53.72%

-10%

10%

10.83%

4.44%

-13.28%

-36.52%

-58.79%

0%

0%

-0.25%

-6.04%

-22.08%

-42.90%

-63.23%

10%

-10%

-9.32%

-14.64%

-29.23%

-48.27%

-66.67%

20%

-20%

-16.89%

-21.75%

-35.24%

-52.72%

-69.67%

30%

-30%

-23.29%

-27.84%

-40.25%

-56.41%

-71.94%

40%

-40%

-28.78%

-33.01%

-44.63%

-59.81%

-74.32%

50%

-50%

-33.55%

-37.52%

-48.57%

-62.60%

-76.19%

60%

-60%

-37.72%

-41.51%

-51.96%

-65.19%

-78.12%

 

The ARK Innovation ETF’s annualized historical volatility rate for the five-year period ended December 31, 2022, was 39.13%. The ARK Innovation ETF’s highest volatility rate for any one calendar year during the five-year period was 42.57% and volatility for a shorter period of time may have been substantially higher. The ARK Innovation ETF’s annualized performance for the five-year period ended December 31, 2022, was -2.20%. Historical ARK Innovation

 


54

 

 

 

ETF volatility and performance are not indications of what the ARK Innovation ETF’s volatility and performance will be in the future. The volatility of the securities that reflect the value of the ARK Innovation ETF, such as swaps, may differ from the volatility of the ARK Innovation ETF.

 

Market Risk. The market price of a security or instrument may decline, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic or political conditions throughout the world, changes in the general outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates, or adverse investor sentiment generally. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, or other events could have a significant impact on a security or instrument. The market value of a security or instrument also may 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.

 

Correlation Risk. A number of factors may impact the Fund’s ability to achieve a high degree of inverse correlation with the ARK Innovation ETF. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of inverse correlation with the ARK Innovation ETF.

 

Counterparty Risk. A counterparty (the other party to a transaction or an agreement or the party with whom the Fund executes transactions) to a transaction with the Fund may be unable or unwilling to make timely principal, interest or settlement payments, or otherwise honor its obligations. If the counterparty becomes insolvent, bankrupt or defaults on its payment obligations to the Fund, the value of an investment held by the Fund may decline. Additionally, if any collateral posted by the counterparty for the benefit of the Fund is insufficient or there are delays in the Fund’s ability to access such collateral, the Fund may not be able to achieve its inverse investment objective. In addition, the Fund may enter into transactions with a limited number of counterparties, which may increase the Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk. Further, there is a risk that no suitable counterparties will be willing to enter into, or continue to enter into, transactions with the Fund and, as a result, the Fund may not be able to achieve its inverse investment objective or may decide to change its inverse investment objective.

 

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives include instruments and contracts that are based on and valued in relation to one or more underlying securities, financial benchmarks, indices, or other reference obligations or measures of value. Major types of derivatives include futures, options, swaps and forward contracts. Using derivatives exposes the Fund to additional or heightened risks, including leverage risk, liquidity risk, valuation risk, market risk, counterparty risk, and credit risk. Derivatives transactions can be highly illiquid and difficult to unwind or value, they can increase Fund volatility, and changes in the value of a derivative held by the Fund may not correlate with the value of the underlying instrument or the Fund’s other investments. Many of the risks applicable to trading the instruments underlying derivatives are also applicable to derivatives trading. However, derivatives are subject to additional risks such as operational risk, including settlement issues, and legal risk, including that underlying documentation is incomplete or ambiguous. For derivatives that are required to be cleared by a regulated clearinghouse, other risks may arise from the Fund’s relationship with a brokerage firm through which it submits derivatives trades for clearing, including in some cases from other clearing customers of the brokerage firm.

 

Swap Risk. The Fund expects to use swaps as a means to achieve its investment objective. Swaps are generally traded in over-the-counter (“OTC”) markets and have only recently become subject to regulation by the CFTC. CFTC rules, however, do not cover all types of swaps. Investors, therefore, may not receive the protection of CFTC regulation or the statutory scheme of the Commodity Exchange Act in connection with the Fund’s swaps. The lack of regulation in these markets could expose investors to significant losses under certain circumstances, including in the event of trading abuses or financial failure by participants.  Unlike in futures contracts, the counterparty to uncleared OTC swaps is generally a single bank or other financial institution, rather than a clearing organization backed by a group of financial institutions. As a result, the Fund is subject to increased counterparty risk with respect to the amount it expects to receive from counterparties to uncleared swaps. If a counterparty becomes bankrupt or otherwise fails to perform its obligations due to financial difficulties, the Fund could suffer significant losses on these contracts and the value of an investor’s investment in the Fund may decline.  OTC swaps of the type that may be utilized by the Fund are less liquid than futures contracts because they are not traded on an exchange, do not have uniform terms and conditions, and are generally entered into based upon the creditworthiness of the parties and the availability of credit support, such as collateral, and in general, are not transferable without the consent of the counterparty. Swaps are also subject to the risk of imperfect correlation between the value of the reference asset underlying the swap and the swap. Leverage inherent in derivatives will tend to magnify the Fund’s gains and losses.

 

ETF Structure Risks. The Fund is an ETF, and, as a result of an ETF’s structure, it is exposed to the following risks:

 

Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as authorized participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other authorized participant is able to step forward to create or redeem, in either of these cases, shares may trade at a discount to the Fund’s net asset value and possibly face delisting.

 

Cash Transaction Risk. To the extent the Fund sells portfolio securities to meet some or all of a redemption request with cash, the Fund may incur taxable gains or losses that it might not have incurred had it made redemptions entirely in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used.

 


55

 

 

 

Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Investors buying or selling shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers, as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of shares. In addition, secondary market investors will also incur the cost of the difference between the price at which an investor is willing to buy Shares (the “bid” price) and the price at which an investor is willing to sell Shares (the “ask” price). This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “spread” or “bid-ask spread.” The bid-ask spread varies over time for shares based on trading volume and market liquidity, and the spread is generally lower if shares have more trading volume and market liquidity and higher if shares have little trading volume and market liquidity. Further, a relatively small investor base in the Fund, asset swings in the Fund, and/or increased market volatility may cause increased bid-ask spreads. Due to the costs of buying or selling shares, including bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.

 

Fluctuation of Net Asset Value Risk. As with all ETFs, shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market prices of shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market prices of shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount). Differences in market price and NAV may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related to, but not identical to, the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. These differences can be especially pronounced during times of market volatility or stress. During these periods, the demand for Fund shares may decrease considerably and cause the market price of Fund shares to deviate significantly from the Fund’s NAV.

 

Market Maker Risk. If the Fund has lower average daily trading volumes, it may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of Fund shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s NAV and the price at which the Fund shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund shares. In addition, decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a discount to NAV and also in greater than normal intra-day bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.

 

Shares are Not Individually Redeemable. Shares are only redeemable by the Fund at NAV if they are tendered in Creation Units. Only Authorized Participants may engage in such creation and redemption transactions directly with the Fund. Individual Shares may be sold on a stock exchange at their current market prices, which may be less, more, or equal to their NAV.

 

Trading Issues Risk. Although the Fund shares are listed for trading on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such Fund shares will develop or be maintained. Trading in Fund shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Fund shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Fund shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. Market makers are under no obligation to make a market in the Fund shares, and authorized participants are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. Initially, due to the small asset size of the Fund, it may have difficulty maintaining its listings on the Exchange.

 

Fixed Income Securities Risk. The prices of fixed income securities respond to economic developments, particularly interest rate changes, as well as to changes in an issuer’s credit rating or market perceptions about the creditworthiness of an issuer. Generally fixed income securities decrease in value if interest rates rise and increase in value if interest rates fall, and longer-term and lower rated securities are more volatile than shorter-term and higher rated securities.

 


56

 

 

 

Inverse Risk. Short (inverse) positions are designed to profit from a decline in the price of particular securities, investments in securities or indices. The Fund will lose value if and when the Index’s price rises – a result that is the opposite from traditional mutual funds and ETFs. Like leveraged investments, inverse positions may be considered aggressive and may result in significant losses. Inverse positions may also be leveraged. Such instruments may experience imperfect negative correlation between the price of the investment and the underlying security or index. The use of inverse instruments may expose the Fund to additional risks that it would not be subject to if it invested only in “long” positions.

 

Large-Cap Company Risk. Larger, more established companies may be unable to attain the high growth rates of successful, smaller companies during periods of economic expansion.

 

Leverage Risk. Certain Fund transactions, such as entering into futures contracts, options and short sales, may give rise to a form of leverage. Leverage can magnify the effects of changes in the value of the Fund’s investments and make the Fund more volatile. Leverage creates a risk of loss of value on a larger pool of assets than the Fund would otherwise have had, potentially resulting in the loss of all assets. The Fund may also have to sell assets at inopportune times to satisfy its obligations in connection with such transactions.

 

Liquidity Risk. The Fund may not be able to sell some or all of the investments that it holds due to a lack of demand in the marketplace or other factors such as market turmoil, or if the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid asset to meet redemption requests or other cash needs it may only be able to sell those investments at a loss. Illiquid assets may also be difficult to value.

 

Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively-managed and its performance reflects investment decisions that the Adviser makes for the Fund. Such judgments about the Fund’s investments may prove to be incorrect. If the investments selected and the strategies employed by the Fund fail to produce the intended results, the Fund could underperform as compared to other funds with similar investment objectives and/or strategies, or could have negative returns.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is classified as “non-diversified,” which means the Fund may invest a larger percentage of its assets in the securities of a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund. Investment in securities of a limited number of issuers exposes the Fund to greater market risk and potential losses than if its assets were diversified among the securities of a greater number of issuers.

 

Small-Cap and Mid-Cap Company Risk. The securities of small-capitalization and mid-capitalization companies may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements and may have lower trading volumes or more erratic trading than securities of larger, more established companies or market averages in general. In addition, such companies typically are more likely to be adversely affected than large-capitalization companies by changes in earning results, business prospects, investor expectations or poor economic or market conditions.

 

Micro-Capitalization Company Risk. Micro-capitalization companies are subject to substantially greater risks of loss and price fluctuations because their earnings and revenues tend to be less predictable (and some companies may be experiencing significant losses). Their share prices tend to be more volatile and their markets less liquid than companies with larger market capitalizations. The shares of micro-capitalization companies tend to trade less frequently than those of larger, more established companies, which can adversely affect the pricing of these securities and the future ability to sell these securities.


57

 

 

 

Government-Sponsored Entities Risk. The Fund’s investment in U.S. government obligations may include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. government, or its agencies or instrumentalities. There can be no assurance that the U.S. government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) when it is not obligated to do so.

 

Cybersecurity Risk. Cybersecurity incidents may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, or cause the Fund, the Advisor and/or other service providers (including custodians, sub-custodians, transfer agents and financial intermediaries) to suffer data breaches, data corruption or loss of operational functionality. In an extreme case, a shareholder’s ability to exchange or redeem Fund shares may be affected. Issuers of securities in which the Fund invests are also subject to cybersecurity risks, and the value of those securities could decline if the issuers experience cybersecurity incidents.

 

Recent Market Events. Periods of market volatility may occur in response to market events and other economic, political, and global macro factors. For example, in recent years the COVID-19 pandemic, the large expansion of government deficits and debt as a result of government actions to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the rise of inflation have resulted in extreme volatility in the global economy and in global financial markets. These and other similar events could be prolonged and could adversely affect the value and liquidity of the Fund’s investments, impair the Fund’s ability to satisfy redemption requests, and negatively impact the Fund’s performance.

 

Performance

 

The Fund adopted the performance of the Predecessor Fund following the reorganization of the Predecessor Fund which occurred on August 5, 2022. The Predecessor Fund had substantially similar investment objectives, strategies and policies, portfolio management team and contractual arrangements, including the same contractual fees and expenses, as the Fund as of the date of the reorganization. The Fund is the accounting successor of the Predecessor Fund. Performance results shown in the bar chart and the performance table below for the periods prior to August 5, 2022 reflect the performance of the Predecessor Fund prior to commencement of the Fund’s operations.

 

The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year and by showing how the average annual total returns of the Fund compare with the average annual total returns of the ARK Innovation ETF Index. The bar chart shows the performance of the Fund’s shares. The Fund’s past performance, before and after taxes, is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at the Fund’s website, www.axsinvestments.com or by calling the Fund at 1-303-623-2577.

 

 


58

 

 

 

Calendar-Year Total Return (before taxes)
For each calendar year at NAV

 

 

 

The year-to-date total return for the Fund as of June 30, 2023, was (33.69)%.

 

 

Highest Calendar Quarter Return at NAV

39.35%

Quarter ended 06/30/2022

Lowest Calendar Quarter Return at NAV

(4.11)%

Quarter ended 09/30/2022

 

Average Annual Total Returns
(for Period Ended December 31, 2022)

One Year

Since
Inception
(11/5/2021)

Return Before Taxes

82.21%

102.35%

Return After Taxes on Distributions*

67.83%

88.44%

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares*

49.10%

73.26%

ARK Innovation ETF Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

(66.97)%

(69.37)%

 

*

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

 

Management

 

Investment Advisor

 

AXS Investments LLC (the “Advisor”)

 

Portfolio Managers

 

Parker Binion, Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has served as a portfolio manager of the Fund since its reorganization into the Trust in August 2022, and Travis Trampe, Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has served as a portfolio manager of the Fund since November 2022. Messrs. Binion and Trampe are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio.

 


59

 

 

 

Purchase and Sale of Shares

 

The Fund issues and redeems Shares on a continuous basis, at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called “Creation Units.” The Fund may issue and redeem Shares in exchange for cash at a later date but has no current intention of doing so. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the Shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund.

 

Individual Shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold on the secondary market through a broker-dealer. Since Shares of the Fund trade on securities exchanges in the secondary market at their market price rather than their net asset value, the Fund’s Shares may trade at a price greater than (premium) or less than (discount) the Fund’s net asset value. An investor 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) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information, including the Fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads, is available online at www.axsinvestments.com.

 

Tax Information

 

The Fund’s distributions will generally be taxable as ordinary income, returns of capital or capital gains. A sale of Shares may result in capital gain or loss.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

 

If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Advisor and ALPS Distributors, Inc., the Fund’s distributor, may pay the intermediary for the sale of Shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 


60

 

 

 

Additional Information Regarding the Funds’ Investment Objectives

 

The AXS 2X Innovation ETF seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, of 200% of the daily performance of the ARK Innovation ETF. The Innovation Fund does not seek to achieve its stated investment objective for a period of time different than a trading day.

 

The AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to the inverse (-100%) the daily performance of TSLA. The AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF does not seek to achieve its stated investment objective for a period of time different than a single trading day.

 

The AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to one and a quarter times the inverse (-125%) the daily performance of NVDA. The AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF does not seek to achieve its stated investment objective for a period of time different than a single trading day.

 

The AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to one and a half times (150%) the daily performance of PYPL. The AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF does not seek to achieve its stated investment objective for a period of time different than a single trading day.

 

The AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to provide investment results that are approximately the inverse (or opposite) of, before fees and expenses, to the daily price and yield performance of the ARK Innovation ETF. The Fund does not seek to achieve its stated investment objective for a period of time different than a trading day.

 

The Funds’ investment objectives are non-fundamental, meaning that they may be changed by the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of the Trust without the approval of Fund investors. The Fund will generally seek to provide 60 days’ notice to investors, however, there may be circumstances outside the control of a Fund (e.g., changes related to the underlying ETF) that preclude being able to provide 60 days’ notice. The Funds reserves the right to substitute a different ETF, index or security for the underlying ETFs.

 

The Funds are not suitable for all investors. The Funds are designed to be utilized only by sophisticated investors, such as traders and active investors employing dynamic strategies. Such investors are expected to monitor and manage their portfolios frequently. Investors in the Funds should: (a) understand the risks associated with the use of leverage; (b) understand the consequences of seeking daily leveraged investment results; and (c) intend to actively monitor and manage their investments. Investors who do not understand the Funds or do not intend to actively manage their funds and monitor their investments should not buy the Funds.

 

There is no assurance that the Funds will achieve their investment objectives and an investment in the Funds could lose money.

 

Additional Information About the Funds’ Principal Investment Strategies

 

Each of the AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF and AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF, (each a “Bear Fund,” and collectively the “Bear Funds”), AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF, (the “Bull Fund,”) the AXS 2X Innovation ETF and AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF, (collectively with the Bear Funds and Bull Fund the “Funds,” and each individually, a “Fund”) is a series of Investment Managers Series Trust II (the “Trust”) and each is regulated as an “investment company” under the 1940 Act. The Funds’ investment objectives are non-fundamental and may be changed without approval by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the respective Fund. Unless an investment policy is identified as being fundamental, all investment policies included in this prospectus and the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) for the Funds are non-fundamental and may be changed by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”) without shareholder approval. If there is a material change to a Fund’s investment objective or principal investment strategies, you should consider whether the Fund remains an appropriate investment for you. There is no guarantee that the Funds will achieve their investment objective.

 


61

 

 

 

AXS 2X INNOVATION ETF

 

The Fund is an actively managed ETF. The Fund’s primary investment strategies described in this prospectus are the strategies that the Advisor believes are most likely to be important in trying to achieve the Fund’s investment objective. You should note, however, that the Fund may use other non-principal strategies and invest in other securities not described in this prospectus, which are disclosed in detail in the Fund’s SAI. For a copy of the SAI please call toll free at 1-303-623-2577 or visit the Fund’s website at www.axsinvestments.com.

 

The Innovation Fund seeks to achieve on a daily basis, before fees and expenses, 200% performance of the ARK Innovation ETF for a single day, not for any other period, by entering into one or more swaps on the ARK Innovation ETF. A “single day” is measured from the time the Innovation Fund calculates its net asset value (“NAV”) to the time of the Innovation Fund’s next NAV calculation.

 

The Innovation Fund will enter into swaps with major global financial institutions for a specified period ranging from one day to more than one year whereby the Innovation Fund and the global financial institution will agree to exchange the return earned or realized on the ARK Innovation ETF. The gross returns to be exchanged or “swapped” between the parties is calculated with respect to a “notional amount,” e.g., the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount representing the ARK Innovation ETF. Each trading day the Advisor adjusts the Innovation Fund’s exposure to the ARK Innovation ETF consistent with the Innovation Fund’s daily leveraged investment objective. The impact of market movements during the day determines whether the portfolio needs to be repositioned. If the value of the ARK Innovation ETF has risen on a given day, the value of the Innovation Fund’s net assets should rise, meaning its exposure will typically need to be increased. Conversely, if the value of the ARK Innovation ETF has fallen on a given day, the value of the Innovation Fund’s net assets should fall, meaning its exposure will typically need to be reduced.

 

The time and manner in which the Innovation Fund rebalances its portfolio may vary from day to day at the sole discretion of the Advisor depending upon market conditions and other circumstances. Generally, at or near the close of the market at each trading day, the Innovation Fund will position its portfolio to ensure that the Innovation Fund’s exposure to the ARK Innovation ETF is consistent with its stated investment objective. The Innovation Fund reviews its notional exposure under each of its swap, which reflects the extent of the Innovation Fund’s total investment exposure under the swap, to ensure that the Innovation Fund’s exposure is in-line with its stated investment objective. The gross returns to be exchanged are calculated with respect to the notional amount and the ARK Innovation ETF returns to which the swap is linked. Swaps are typically closed out on a net basis. Thus, while the notional amount reflects the Innovation Fund’s total investment exposure under the swap, the net amount is the Innovation Fund’s current obligations (or rights) under the swap. That is the amount to be paid or received under the agreement based on the relative values of the positions held by each party to the agreement. If for any reason the Innovation Fund is unable to rebalance all or a portion of its portfolio, or if all or a portion of the portfolio is rebalanced incorrectly, the Innovation Fund’s investment exposure may not be consistent with the Innovation Fund’s investment objective. As a result, the Innovation Fund may be more or less exposed to leverage risk than if it had been properly rebalanced and may not achieve its investment objective. To the extent that the Innovation Fund needs to “roll” its swap positions (i.e., enter into new swap positions with a later expiration date as the current positions approach expiration), it could be subjected to increased costs, which could negatively impact the Innovation Fund’s performance.

 

The ARK Innovation ETF is an actively managed exchange traded fund that seeks long-term growth of capital by investing under normal circumstances primarily (at least 65% of its assets) in domestic and foreign equity securities of companies that are relevant to the ARK Innovation ETF’s investment theme of disruptive innovation. It is typically comprised of 35-55 companies.

 

Additionally, the Innovation Fund may invest between 40-80% of the Fund’s portfolio depending on the amount of collateral required by the Fund’s counterparties in (1) U.S. Government securities, such as bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury; (2) money market funds; (3) short term bond ETFs and/or (4) corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper and other short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by Collateral Investments.

 

The AXS 2X Innovation ETF, Investment Managers Series Trust II, and AXS Investments LLC are not affiliated with the ARK Trust ETF, the ARK Innovation ETF, or ARK Investment Management LLC.

 


62

 

 

 

AXS SHORT INNOVATION DAILY ETF

 

Fund is an actively managed ETF. The Fund’s primary investment strategies described in this prospectus are the strategies that the Advisor believes are most likely to be important in trying to achieve the Fund’s investment objective. You should note, however, that the Fund may use other non-principal strategies and invest in other securities not described in this prospectus, which are disclosed in detail in the Fund’s SAI. For a copy of the SAI please call toll free at 1-303-623-2577 or visit the Fund’s website at www.axsinvestments.com.

 

The Fund attempts to achieve the inverse (-1x) of the return of the ARK Innovation ETF for a single day (and not for any other period) by entering into a swap on the ARK Innovation ETF. A “single day” is measured from the time the Fund calculates its NAV to the time of the Fund’s next NAV calculation.

 

The Fund will enter into one or more swaps with major global financial institutions for a specified period ranging from a day to more than one year whereby the Fund and the global financial institution will agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on the ARK Innovation ETF. The gross return to be exchanged or “swapped” between the parties is calculated with respect to a “notional amount,” e.g., the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount representing the ARK Innovation ETF.

 

The ARK Innovation ETF is an actively managed exchange traded fund that seeks long-term growth of capital by investing under normal circumstances primarily (at least 65% of its assets) in domestic and foreign equity securities of companies that are relevant to the Fund’s investment theme of disruptive innovation. It is typically comprised of 35-55 companies.

 

Additionally, the Fund may invest between 40-80% of the Fund’s portfolio depending on the amount of collateral required by the Fund’s counterparties in (1) U.S. Government securities, such as bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury; (2) money market funds; (3) short term bond ETFs and/or (4) corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper and other short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses that are rated investment grade or of comparable quality.

 

The Trust, the AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF and AXS are not affiliated with the ARK Innovation ETF, the ARK Innovation ETF’s investment advisor, or the ARK ETF Trust.

 

AXS TSLA BEAR DAILY ETF AND AXS 1.25X NVDA BEAR DAILY ETF

 

In seeking to achieve each Bear Fund’s investment objective, the Advisor invests in a manner that is designed to correspond to the respective inverse multiple of the daily performance of such Bear Fund’s underlying security. Each Bear Fund attempts to achieve its investment objective by investing a substantial amount of its assets in financial instruments that provide exposure to its underlying security.

 

The Advisor does not invest the assets of the Bear Funds in securities or financial instruments based on the Advisor’s view of the investment merit of a particular security, instrument, or company, other than for cash management purposes, nor does it conduct conventional investment research or analysis (other than in determining counterparty creditworthiness), or forecast market movement or trends, in managing the assets of the Bear Funds. Each Bear Fund generally seeks to remain fully invested at all times in securities and/or financial instruments that, in combination, provide exposure to its underlying security consistent with its investment objective, without regard to market conditions, trends, direction, or the financial condition of a particular issuer.

 

On a daily basis, each Bear Fund will seek to position its portfolio so that the Bear Fund’s investment exposure is consistent with its investment objective. In general, changes to the level of an underlying security each day will determine whether a Bear Fund’s portfolio needs to be repositioned. For example, if an underlying security has fallen on a given day, net assets of a Bear Fund should rise. As a result, a Bear Fund’s exposure will need to be increased. Conversely, if an underlying security has risen on a given day, net assets of a Bear Fund should fall. As a result, a Bear Fund’s exposure will need to be decreased.

 


63

 

 

 

The time and manner in which a Bear Fund rebalances its portfolio may vary from day to day at the sole discretion of the Advisor depending upon market conditions and other circumstances. If for any reason a Bear Fund is unable to rebalance all or a portion of its portfolio, or if all or a portion of the portfolio is rebalanced incorrectly, the Bear Fund’s investment exposure may not be consistent with the Bear Fund’s investment objective. In these instances, a Bear Fund may have investment exposure to its underlying security that is significantly greater or less than its stated multiple. As a result, a Bear Fund may be more or less exposed to leverage risk than if it had been properly rebalanced and may not achieve its investment objective.

 

There can be no assurance that a Bear Fund will achieve its investment objective or avoid substantial losses. The Bear Funds do not seek to achieve their stated investment objectives over a period of time greater than a single day because mathematical compounding prevents the Bear Funds from achieving such results. Results for a Bear Fund over periods of time greater than a single day should not be expected to be a simple inverse return times the respective multiple of its underlying security. A Bear Fund’s returns will likely differ in amount and possibly even direction from inverse the return of the underlying security times the applicable multiple over the same period. These differences can be significant. A Bear Fund will lose money if the underlying security’s performance is flat over time, and a Bear Fund can lose money regardless of the performance of its underlying security, as a result of daily rebalancing, fees, the underlying security’s volatility, compounding and other factors. Daily compounding of a Bear Fund’s investment returns can dramatically and adversely affect its longer-term performance, especially during periods of high volatility. Volatility has a negative impact on a Bear Fund’s performance and may be at least as important to a Bear Fund’s return for a period as the return of its underlying security.

 

In seeking to achieve the Bear Funds’ investment objectives, the Advisor uses a mathematical approach to investing. Using this approach, the Advisor determines the type, quantity and mix of investment positions that the Advisor believes, in combination, should produce daily returns consistent with each Bear Fund’s objectives.

 

Each Bear Fund intends to meet its investment objective by investing a significant portion of its assets in swaps on investment vehicles with exposure to its underlying security, in any one of, or combinations of financial instruments, such that the Bear Fund has exposure equal to its respective multiple to its underlying security at the time of its NAV calculation. The number of financial instruments a Bear Fund invests in will change day-to-day.

 

Each Bear Fund will enter into swaps with major global financial institutions for a specified period ranging from one day to more than one year whereby the respective Bear Fund and the global financial institution will agree to exchange the return earned or realized on the underlying security. The gross returns to be exchanged or “swapped” between the parties is calculated with respect to a “notional amount,” e.g., the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount representing the underlying security. Each trading day the Advisor adjusts each Bear Fund’s exposure to its underlying security consistent with the Bear Fund’s daily inverse investment objective. The impact of market movements during the day determines whether the portfolio needs to be repositioned. If the value of the underlying security has risen on a given day, the value of the Bear Fund’s net assets should fall, meaning its exposure will typically need to be reduced. Conversely, if the value of the underlying security has fallen on a given day, the value of the Bear Fund’s net assets should rise, meaning its exposure will typically need to be increased.

 

The time and manner in which a Bear Fund rebalances its portfolio may vary from day to day at the sole discretion of the Advisor depending upon market conditions and other circumstances. Generally, at or near the close of the market at each trading day, each Bear Fund will position its portfolio to ensure that the Bear Fund’s exposure to its underlying security is consistent with its stated investment objective. Each Bear Fund reviews its notional exposure under each of its swap, which reflects the extent of the Bear Fund’s total investment exposure under the swap, to ensure that the Bear Fund’s exposure is in-line with its stated investment objective. The gross returns to be exchanged are calculated with respect to the notional amount and the underlying security returns to which the swap is linked. Swaps are typically closed out on a net basis. Thus, while the notional amount reflects a Bear Fund’s total investment exposure under the swap, the net amount is the Bear Fund’s current obligations (or rights) under the swap. That is the amount to be paid or received under the agreement based on the relative values of the positions held by each party to the agreement. If for any reason a Bear Fund is unable to rebalance all or a portion of its portfolio, or if all or a portion of the portfolio is rebalanced incorrectly, the Bear Fund’s investment exposure may not be consistent with the Bear Fund’s investment objective. As a result, a

 


64

 

 

 

Bear Fund may be more or less exposed to leverage risk than if it had been properly rebalanced and may not achieve its investment objective. To the extent that a Bear Fund needs to “roll” its swap positions (i.e., enter into new swap positions with a later expiration date as the current positions approach expiration), it could be subjected to increased costs, which could negatively impact the Bear Fund’s performance.

 

As a result of the above investment strategies, each Bear Fund will be concentrated in the industry assigned to its underlying security (i.e., hold 25% or more of its total assets in investments that provide inverse leveraged exposure to the industry assigned to the underlying security).

 

In addition to the investment financial instruments, each Bear Fund will invest its remaining assets directly in Collateral Investments. The Collateral Investments may consist of high-quality securities, which include: (1) U.S. Government securities, such as bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury; (2) money market funds; and/or (3) corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper and other short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses that are rated investment grade or determined by the Advisor to be of comparable quality. For these purposes, “investment grade” is defined as investments with a rating at the time of purchase in one of the four highest categories of at least one nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (e.g., BBB- or higher from S&P Global Ratings or Baa3 or higher from Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.).

 

Each Bear Fund seeks to remain fully invested at all times in financial instruments and Collateral Investments that, in combination, provide exposure to its underlying security consistent with its investment objective without regard to market conditions, trends or direction.

 

Each Bear Fund seeks to position its portfolio so that its exposure to its underlying security is consistent with its investment objective. The time and manner in which a Bear Fund rebalances its portfolio may vary from day to day depending upon market conditions and other circumstances at the discretion of the Advisor. The impact of an underlying security’s movements each day will affect whether a Bear Fund’s portfolio needs to be rebalanced and the amount of such rebalance.

 

The amount of exposure a Bear Fund has to a specific combination of financial instruments may differ and may be changed without shareholder approval at any given time. The amount of a Bear Fund’s exposure should be expected to change from time to time at the discretion of the Advisor based on market conditions and other factors. In addition, the Advisor has the power to change a Bear Fund’s investment objective, benchmark, or investment strategy at any time, without shareholder approval, subject to applicable regulatory requirements.

 

AXS 1.5X PYPL BULL DAILY ETF

 

In seeking to achieve the Bull Fund’s investment objective, the Advisor invests in a manner that is designed to correspond to the respective multiple of the daily performance of such Bull Fund’s underlying security. The Bull Fund attempts to achieve its investment objective by investing a substantial amount of its assets in financial instruments that provide exposure to its underlying security.

 

The Advisor does not invest the assets of the Bull Fund in securities or financial instruments based on the Advisor’s view of the investment merit of a particular security, instrument, or company, other than for cash management purposes, nor does it conduct conventional investment research or analysis (other than in determining counterparty creditworthiness), or forecast market movement or trends, in managing the assets of the Bull Fund. The Bull Fund generally seeks to remain fully invested at all times in securities and/or financial instruments that, in combination, provide exposure to its underlying security consistent with its investment objective, without regard to market conditions, trends, direction, or the financial condition of a particular issuer.

 

On a daily basis, the Bull Fund will seek to position its portfolio so that the Bull Fund’s investment exposure is consistent with its investment objective. In general, changes to the level of an underlying security each day will determine whether a Bull Fund’s portfolio needs to be repositioned. For example, if an underlying security has risen on a given day, net assets

 


65

 

 

 

of a Bull Fund should rise. As a result, a Bull Fund’s exposure will need to be increased. Conversely, if an underlying security has fallen on a given day, net assets of a Bull Fund should fall. As a result, a Bull Fund’s exposure will need to be decreased.

 

The time and manner in which a Bull Fund rebalances its portfolio may vary from day to day at the sole discretion of the Advisor depending upon market conditions and other circumstances. If for any reason a Bull Fund is unable to rebalance all or a portion of its portfolio, or if all or a portion of the portfolio is rebalanced incorrectly, the Bull Fund’s investment exposure may not be consistent with the Bull Fund’s investment objective. In these instances, a Bull Fund may have investment exposure to its underlying security that is significantly greater or less than its stated multiple. As a result, a Bull Fund may be more or less exposed to leverage risk than if it had been properly rebalanced and may not achieve its investment objective.

 

There can be no assurance that a Bull Fund will achieve its investment objective or avoid substantial losses. The Bull Fund does not seek to achieve its stated investment objectives over a period of time greater than a single day because mathematical compounding prevents the Bull Fund from achieving such results. Results for a Bull Fund over periods of time greater than a single day should not be expected to be a simple return times the respective multiple of its underlying security. A Bull Fund’s returns will likely differ in amount and possibly even direction from the return of the underlying security times the applicable multiple over the same period. These differences can be significant. A Bull Fund will lose money if the underlying security’s performance is flat over time, and a Bull Fund can lose money regardless of the performance of its underlying security, as a result of daily rebalancing, fees, the underlying security’s volatility, compounding and other factors. Daily compounding of a Bull Fund’s investment returns can dramatically and adversely affect its longer-term performance, especially during periods of high volatility. Volatility has a negative impact on a Bull Fund’s performance and may be at least as important to a Bull Fund’s return for a period as the return of its underlying security.

 

In seeking to achieve the Bull Fund’s investment objectives, the Advisor uses a mathematical approach to investing. Using this approach, the Advisor determines the type, quantity and mix of investment positions that the Advisor believes, in combination, should produce daily returns consistent with the Bull Fund’s objective.

 

The Bull Fund intends to meet its investment objective by investing a significant portion of its assets in swaps on investment vehicles with exposure to its underlying security, in any one of, or combinations of financial instruments, such that the Bull Fund has exposure equal to its respective multiple to its underlying security at the time of its NAV calculation. The number of financial instruments a Bull Fund invests in will change day-to-day.

 

The Bull Fund will enter into swaps with major global financial institutions for a specified period ranging from one day to more than one year whereby the Bull Fund and the global financial institution will agree to exchange the return earned or realized on the underlying security. The gross returns to be exchanged or “swapped” between the parties is calculated with respect to a “notional amount,” e.g., the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount representing the underlying security. Each trading day the Advisor adjusts each Bull Fund’s exposure to its underlying security consistent with the Bull Fund’s daily inverse investment objective. The impact of market movements during the day determines whether the portfolio needs to be repositioned. If the value of the underlying security has risen on a given day, the value of the Bull Fund’s net assets should rise, meaning its exposure will typically need to be increased. Conversely, if the value of the underlying security has fallen on a given day, the value of the Bull Fund’s net assets should fall, meaning its exposure will typically need to be reduced.

 

The time and manner in which the Bull Fund rebalances its portfolio may vary from day to day at the sole discretion of the Advisor depending upon market conditions and other circumstances. Generally, at or near the close of the market at each trading day, each Bull Fund will position its portfolio to ensure that the Bull Fund’s exposure to its underlying security is consistent with its stated investment objective. The Bull Fund reviews its notional exposure under each of its swap, which reflects the extent of the Bull Fund’s total investment exposure under the swap, to ensure that the Bull Fund’s exposure is in-line with its stated investment objective. The gross returns to be exchanged are calculated with respect to the notional amount and the underlying security returns to which the swap is linked. Swaps are typically closed out on a net basis. Thus, while the notional amount reflects a Bull Fund’s total investment exposure under the

 


66

 

 

 

swap, the net amount is the Bull Fund’s current obligations (or rights) under the swap. That is the amount to be paid or received under the agreement based on the relative values of the positions held by each party to the agreement. If for any reason a Bull Fund is unable to rebalance all or a portion of its portfolio, or if all or a portion of the portfolio is rebalanced incorrectly, the Bull Fund’s investment exposure may not be consistent with the Bull Fund’s investment objective. As a result, a Bull Fund may be more or less exposed to leverage risk than if it had been properly rebalanced and may not achieve its investment objective. To the extent that a Bull Fund needs to “roll” its swap positions (i.e., enter into new swap positions with a later expiration date as the current positions approach expiration), it could be subjected to increased costs, which could negatively impact the Bull Fund’s performance.

 

As a result of the above investment strategies, the Bull Fund will be concentrated in the industry assigned to its underlying security (i.e., hold 25% or more of its total assets in investments that provide leveraged exposure to the industry assigned to the underlying security).

 

In addition to the investment financial instruments, the Bull Fund will invest its remaining assets directly in Collateral Investments. The Collateral Investments may consist of high-quality securities, which include: (1) U.S. Government securities, such as bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury; (2) money market funds; and/or (3) corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper and other short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses that are rated investment grade or determined by the Advisor to be of comparable quality. For these purposes, “investment grade” is defined as investments with a rating at the time of purchase in one of the four highest categories of at least one nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (e.g., BBB- or higher from S&P Global Ratings or Baa3 or higher from Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.).

 

The Bull Fund seeks to remain fully invested at all times in financial instruments and Collateral Investments that, in combination, provide exposure to its underlying security consistent with its investment objective without regard to market conditions, trends or direction.

 

The Bull Fund seeks to position its portfolio so that its exposure to its underlying security is consistent with its investment objective. The time and manner in which the Bull Fund rebalances its portfolio may vary from day to day depending upon market conditions and other circumstances at the discretion of the Advisor. The impact of an underlying security’s movements each day will affect whether the Bull Fund’s portfolio needs to be rebalanced and the amount of such rebalance.

 

The amount of exposure the Bull Fund has to a specific combination of financial instruments may differ and may be changed without shareholder approval at any given time. The amount of the Bull Fund’s exposure should be expected to change from time to time at the discretion of the Advisor based on market conditions and other factors. In addition, the Advisor has the power to change the Bull Fund’s investment objective, benchmark, or investment strategy at any time, without shareholder approval, subject to applicable regulatory requirements.

 

Fund Investments

 

Principal Investments

 

Swaps

 

The Funds will enter into swaps to pursue their investment objectives. The swaps may include as a reference asset investment vehicles that seek exposure to the applicable underlying security.

 

Swaps are contracts entered into primarily with major financial institutions for a specified period ranging from a day to more than one year. In a standard “swap” transaction, two parties agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments. The gross return to be exchanged or “swapped” between the parties is calculated with respect to a “notional amount,” e.g., the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a “basket” of securities or an ETF representing a particular index. The Funds may use a combination of swaps on the underlying securities and swaps on various investment vehicles that are designed to

 


67

 

 

 

track the performance of the underlying securities. The underlying investment vehicle may not track the performance of an underlying security due to embedded costs and other factors, which may increase a Fund’s correlation risk and impact a Fund’s ability to correlate with its underlying security.

 

With respect to the use of swaps, if an underlying security has a dramatic intraday move that causes a material decline in net assets, the terms of a swaps between a Fund and its counterparties may permit the counterparties to immediately close out the transaction with the Fund. In that event, a Fund may be unable to enter into another swap or invest in other derivatives to achieve the desired exposure consistent with its investment objective. This, in turn, may prevent a Fund from achieving its investment objective, even if the reference asset reverses all or a portion of its intraday move by the end of the day. Any costs associated with using swaps may also have the effect of lowering a Fund’s return.

 

Additional Information Regarding Investment Techniques and Policies

 

The Effects of Fees and Expenses on the Return of a Bear Fund for a Single Trading Day. To create the necessary exposure a Bear Fund uses inverse or inverse leveraged investment techniques, which necessarily incur brokerage and financing charges. In light of these charges and a Bear Fund’s operating expenses, the expected return of a Bear Fund over one trading day is equal to the gross expected return, which is the daily return of the underlying security multiplied by the Bear Fund’s daily inverse or inverse leveraged investment objective, minus (i) financing charges incurred by the portfolio and (ii) daily operating expenses. For instance, if a hypothetical underlying security returns 2% on a given day, the gross expected return of a 1.25X Bear Fund would be -2.5%, but the net expected return, which factors in the cost of financing the portfolio and the impact of operating expenses, would be lower. A Bear Fund will reposition its portfolio at the end of every trading day. Therefore, if an investor purchases a 1.25X Bear Fund’s shares at close of the markets on a given trading day, the investor’s exposure to the hypothetical underlying security would reflect 125% of the inverse performance of the hypothetical underlying security during the following trading day, subject to the charges and expenses noted above.

 

The Effects of Fees and Expenses on the Return of a Bull Fund for a Single Trading Day. To create the necessary exposure, the Bull Fund uses leveraged investment techniques, which necessarily incur brokerage and financing charges. In light of these charges and the Bull Fund’s operating expenses, the expected return of the Bull Fund over one trading day is equal to the gross expected return, which is the daily return of the underlying security multiplied by the Bull Fund’s daily leveraged investment objective, minus (i) financing charges incurred by the portfolio and (ii) daily operating expenses. For instance, if a hypothetical underlying security returns 2% on a given day, the gross expected return of a 1.5X Bull Fund would be 3%, but the net expected return, which factors in the cost of financing the portfolio and the impact of operating expenses, would be lower. The Bull Fund will reposition its portfolio at the end of every trading day. Therefore, if an investor purchases the 1.5X Bull Fund’s shares at close of the markets on a given trading day, the investor’s exposure to the hypothetical underlying security would reflect 150% of the performance of the hypothetical underlying security during the following trading day, subject to the charges and expenses noted above.

 

A Cautionary Note to Investors Regarding Dramatic Movement. The Advisor will not attempt to position each Leveraged Bear Fund’s and Bull Fund’s portfolio to ensure that the a Fund does not gain or lose more than maximum percentage of its NAV on a given day. A Leveraged Bear Fund or Bull Fund could lose an amount greater than its net assets in the event of a movement of an underlying security in excess of 67% for the AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF, 80% for the AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF, and 91% for the AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF, in a direction adverse to the Fund (meaning a decline in the value of the underlying security for a Bull Fund and a gain in the value of the underlying security for a Leveraged Bear Fund). As a result, the risk of total loss exists.

 

If an underlying security has a dramatic adverse move that causes a material decline in a Fund’s net assets, the terms of a Fund’s swaps may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the swap transaction. In that event, a Fund may be unable to enter into another swap or invest in other derivatives to achieve exposure consistent with a Fund’s investment objective. This may prevent a Fund from achieving its leveraged, inverse, or inverse leveraged investment objective, even if it underlying security later reverses all or a portion the move, and result in significant losses.

 


68

 

 

 

Examples of the Impact of Daily Leverage and Compounding. Because each Fund’s exposure to its underlying security is repositioned on a daily basis, for a holding period longer than one day, the pursuit of a daily investment objective will result in daily long leveraged, inverse or inverse leveraged compounding for the Funds. This means that the return of an underlying security over a period of time greater than one day multiplied by a Fund’s daily long leveraged, inverse, or inverse leveraged investment objective generally will not equal a Fund’s performance over that same period. As a consequence, investors should not plan to hold the Funds unmonitored for periods longer than a single trading day. This deviation increases with higher volatility in an underlying security and longer holding periods. Further, the return for investors that invest for periods less than a full trading day or for a period different than a trading day will not be the product of the return of a Fund’s stated daily investment objective and the performance of its underlying security for the full trading day. The actual exposure will largely be a function of the performance of the underlying security from the end of the prior trading day.

 

Consider the following examples of a hypothetical fund that seeks 150% of the daily performance of a hypothetical underlying security:

 

Mary is considering investments in two funds, Funds A and B. Fund A is an ETF which seeks (before fees and expenses) to match the performance of the hypothetical underlying security. Fund B is a leveraged ETF and seeks daily leveraged investment results (before fees and expenses) that correspond to 150% of the daily performance of the hypothetical underlying security.

 

On Day 1, the hypothetical underlying security increases in value from $100 to $108, a gain of 8%. On Day 2, the hypothetical underlying security declines from $108 back to $100, a loss of 7.41%. In the aggregate, the hypothetical underlying security has not moved.

 

An investment in Fund A would be expected to gain 8% on Day 1 and lose 7.41% on Day 2 to return to its original value. The following example assumes a $100 investment in Fund A when the hypothetical underlying security is also valued at $100:

 

Day

 

Underlying Security Value

   

Underlying Security Performance

 

Value of Fund A Investment

 

 

  $ 100.00             $ 100.00  

1

  $ 108.00       8.00 %   $ 108.00  

2

  $ 100.00       -7.41 %   $ 100.00  

 

The same $100 investment in Fund B, however, would be expected to gain in value on Day 1 but decline in value on Day 2.

 

The $100 investment in Fund B would be expected to gain 12% on Day 1 (150% of 8%) but decline 11.12% on Day 2.

 

Day

 

Underlying Security Performance

   

150% of Underlying Security
Performance

 

Value of Fund B Investment

 

 

       

 

  $ 100.00  

1

    8.00 %     12.0 %   $ 112.00  

2

    -7.41 %     -11.12 %   $ 99.551  

 

Although the percentage decline in Fund B is smaller on Day 2 than the percentage gain on Day 1, the loss is applied to a higher principal amount, so the investment in Fund B experiences a loss even when the aggregate underlying security value for the two-day period has not declined. (These calculations do not include the charges for expense ratios and financing charges.)

 

As you can see, an investment in Fund B has additional risks due to the effects of leverage and compounding.

 


69

 

 

 

An investor who purchases shares of a Fund intra-day will generally receive more, or less, than 150% exposure to the hypothetical underlying security from that point until the end of the trading day. The actual exposure will be largely a function of the performance of the underlying security from the end of the prior trading day. If a Fund’s shares are held for a period longer than a single trading day, the Fund’s performance is likely to deviate from 150% or -150% of the return of the underlying security’s performance for the longer period. This deviation will increase with higher underlying security volatility and longer holding periods.

 

Consider the following examples of a hypothetical fund that seeks 125% of the daily performance of a hypothetical underlying security:

 

Mary is considering investments in two funds, Funds A and B. Fund A is an ETF which seeks (before fees and expenses) to match the performance of the hypothetical underlying security. Fund B is a leveraged ETF and seeks daily leveraged investment results (before fees and expenses) that correspond to 125% of the daily performance of the hypothetical underlying security.

 

On Day 1, the hypothetical underlying security increases in value from $100 to $108, a gain of 8%. On Day 2, the hypothetical underlying security declines from $108 back to $100, a loss of 7.41%. In the aggregate, the hypothetical underlying security has not moved.

 

An investment in Fund A would be expected to gain 8% on Day 1 and lose 7.41% on Day 2 to return to its original value. The following example assumes a $100 investment in Fund A when the hypothetical underlying security is also valued at $100:

 

Day

 

Underlying Security Value

   

Underlying Security Performance

 

Value of Fund A Investment

 

 

  $ 100.00             $ 100.00  

1

  $ 108.00       8.00 %   $ 108.00  

2

  $ 100.00       -7.41 %   $ 100.00  

 

The same $100 investment in Fund B, however, would be expected to gain in value on Day 1 but decline in value on Day 2.

 

The $100 investment in Fund B would be expected to gain 10% on Day 1 (125% of 8%) but decline 9.26% on Day 2.

 

Day

 

Underlying Security Performance

   

125% of Underlying Security
Performance

 

Value of Fund B Investment

 

 

       

 

  $ 100.00  

1

    8.00 %     10.0 %   $ 110.00  

2

    -7.41 %     -9.26 %   $ 99.81  

 

Although the percentage decline in Fund B is smaller on Day 2 than the percentage gain on Day 1, the loss is applied to a higher principal amount, so the investment in Fund B experiences a loss even when the aggregate underlying security value for the two-day period has not declined. (These calculations do not include the charges for expense ratios and financing charges.)

 

As you can see, an investment in Fund B has additional risks due to the effects of leverage and compounding.

 

An investor who purchases shares of a Fund intra-day will generally receive more, or less, than 125% exposure to the hypothetical underlying security from that point until the end of the trading day. The actual exposure will be largely a function of the performance of the underlying security from the end of the prior trading day. If a Fund’s shares are held for a period longer than a single trading day, the Fund’s performance is likely to deviate from 125% or -125% of the return of the underlying security’s performance for the longer period. This deviation will increase with higher underlying security volatility and longer holding periods.

 


70

 

 

 

Consider the following examples of a hypothetical fund that seeks inverse of the daily performance of a hypothetical underlying security:

 

Mary is considering investments in two funds, Funds A and B. Fund A is an ETF which seeks (before fees and expenses) to match the performance of the hypothetical underlying security. Similar to the AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF, Fund B is an ETF that seeks daily investment results (before fees and expenses) that correspond to -100% of the daily performance of the underlying security.

 

On Day 1, the underlying security increases in value from $100 to $105, a gain of 5%. On Day 2, the underlying security decreases in value from $105 back to $100, a loss of 4.76%. In the aggregate, the underlying security has not moved.

 

An investment in Fund A would be expected to gain 5% on Day 1 and lose 4.76% on Day 2, returning the investment to its original value. The following example assumes a $100 investment in Fund A when the underlying security is also valued at $100:

 

Day

 

Underlying Security Value

   

Underlying Security Performance

 

Value of Fund A Investment

 

 

  $ 100.00             $ 100.00  

1

  $ 105.00       5.00 %   $ 105.00  

2

  $ 100.00       -4.76 %   $ 100.00  

 

The same $100 investment in Fund B would be expected to lose 5% on Day 1 (-100% of 5%) but gain 4.76% on Day 2.

 

Day

 

Underlying Security Performance

   

-100% of Underlying Security
Performance

 

Value of Fund B Investment

 

 

       

 

  $ 100.00  

1

    5.00 %     -5.00 %   $ 95.00  

2

    -4.76 %     4.76 %   $ 99.42  

 

In the case of Fund B, although the percentage decrease on Day 2 is sufficient to bring the value of the underlying security back to its starting point, because the inverse of that percentage is applied to a lower principal amount on Day 2, Fund B has a loss. (These calculations do not include the charges for fund fees and expenses.)

 

As you can see, an investment in Fund B has additional risks than Fund A due to the effects of compounding on Fund B.

 

An investor who purchases shares of the AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF intra-day will generally receive more, or less, than -100% exposure to the underlying security from that point until the end of the trading day. The actual exposure will be largely a function of the performance of the underlying security from the end of the prior trading day. If the AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF’s shares are held for a period longer than a single trading day, the AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF’s performance is likely to deviate from -100% of the return of the underlying security performance for the longer period. This deviation will increase with higher index volatility and longer holding periods.

 

Examples of the Impact of Volatility. Each Fund rebalances its portfolio on a daily basis, increasing exposure in response to that day’s gains or reducing exposure in response to that day’s losses. Daily rebalancing will typically cause a Fund to lose money if the underlying security experiences volatility. A volatility rate is a statistical measure of the magnitude of fluctuations in the underlying security’s returns over a defined period. For periods longer than a trading day, volatility in the performance of the underlying security from day to day is the primary cause of any disparity between a Fund’s actual returns and the returns of the underlying security for such period. Volatility causes such disparity because it exacerbates the effects of compounding on a Fund’s returns. In addition, the effects of volatility are magnified in the Funds due to leverage. Consider the following three examples that demonstrate the effect of volatility on a hypothetical fund:

 


71

 

 

 

Example 1 – Underlying Security Experiences Low Volatility

 

Mary invests $10.00 in a hypothetical 1.5X Bull Fund at the close of trading on Day 1. During Day 2, the underlying security rises from 100 to 106, a 6% gain. Mary’s investment rises 9% to $10.90. Mary holds her investment through the close of trading on Day 3, during which the underlying security rises from 106 to 110, a gain of 3.77%. Mary’s investment rises to $11.52, a gain during Day 3 of 5.66%. For the two day period since Mary invested in the hypothetical 1.5X Bull Fund, the underlying security gained 10% although Mary’s investment increased by 15.2%. Because the underlying security continued to trend upwards with low volatility, Mary’s return closely correlates to 150% of the return of the underlying security for the period.

 

John invests $10.00 in a hypothetical 1.25X Bear Fund at the close of trading on Day 1. During Day 2, the underlying security gains 6%, and John’s investment falls by 7.5% to $9.25. On Day 3, the underlying security rises from 106 to 110, a gain of 3.77%, and the hypothetical 1.25X Bear Fund falls by 4.71% to $8.82. For the two day period the underlying security returned 10% while the hypothetical 1.25X Bear Fund lost 11.8%. John’s return still correlates to -125% return of the underlying security, but not as closely as a corresponding hypothetical 1.25X Bull Fund.

 

Now assume John invests $10.00 in the hypothetical 1X Bear Fund at the close of trading on Day 1. During Day 2, the underlying security decreases from 100 to 98, a 2% loss. Mary’s investment rises 2% to $10.20. Mary holds her investment through the close of trading on Day 3, during which the underlying security decreases from 98 to 96, a loss of 2.04%. Mary’s investment rises to $10.41, a gain during Day 3 of 2.04%. For the two day period since Mary invested in the hypothetical 1X Bear Fund, the underlying security lost 4% although a corresponding 1X Bull Fund would increase by 4.1%. Because the underlying security continued to trend upwards with low volatility, a 1X Bull Fund return closely correlates to the -100% return of the return of the underlying security for the period.

 

Example 2 – Underlying Security Experiences High Volatility

 

Mary invests $10.00 in the hypothetical 1.5X Bull Fund after the close of trading on Day 1. During Day 2, the underlying security rises from 100 to 106, a 6% gain, and Mary’s investment rises 9% to $10.90. Mary continues to hold her investment through the end of Day 3, during which the underlying security declines from 106 to 96, a loss of 9.44%. Mary’s investment declines by 14.16%, from $10.90 to $9.36. For the two day period since Mary invested in the hypothetical 1.5X Bull Fund, the underlying security lost 4% while Mary’s investment decreased from $10 to $9.36, a 6.4% loss. The volatility of the underlying security affected the correlation between the underlying security’s return for the two day period and Mary’s return. In this situation, Mary lost more than 150% of the return of the underlying security.

 

Conversely, John invests $10.00 in a hypothetical 1.25X Bear Fund after the close of trading on Day 1. During Day 2, the underlying security rises from 100 to 106, a 6% gain, and John’s investment falls 7.5% to $9.25. John continues to hold his investment through the end of Day 3, during which the underlying security declines from 106 to 96, a loss of 9.44%. John’s investment rises by 11.80%, to $10.34. For the two day period since John invested in the hypothetical 1.25X Bear Fund, the underlying security lost 2% while John’s investment increased from $10 to $10.34, a 3.4% gain. The volatility of the underlying security affected the correlation between the underlying security’s return for the two day period and John’s return. In this situation, John gained more than 1.25% of the return of the underlying security due to compounding.

 

Now assume John invests $10.00 in a hypothetical 1X Bear Fund after the close of trading on Day 1. During Day 2, the underlying security decreases from 100 to 98, a 2% loss, and John’s investment rises 2% to $10.20. John continues to hold her investment through the end of Day 3, during which the underlying security increases from 98 to 102, a gain of 4.08%. John’s investment declines by 4.08%, from $10.20 to $9.78. For the two day period since John invested in the hypothetical 1X Bear Fund, the underlying security gained 2% while John’s investment decreased from $10 to $9.78, a 2.20% loss. The volatility of the underlying security affected the correlation between the underlying security’s return for the two day period and John’s return. In this situation, John lost more than -100% the return of the underlying security.

 


72

 

 

 

Example 3 – Intra-day Investment with Volatility

 

The examples above assumed that Mary purchased the hypothetical Bull Fund at the close of trading on Day 1 and sold her investment at the close of trading on a subsequent day. However, if she made an investment intra-day, she would have received a beta determined by the performance of the hypothetical underlying security from the end of the prior trading day until her time of purchase on the next trading day. Consider the following example.

 

Mary invests $10.00 in the hypothetical 1.5X Bull Fund at 11 a.m. on Day 2. From the close of trading on Day 1 until 11 a.m. on Day 2, the underlying security moved from 100 to 94, a 6% loss. In light of that loss, the hypothetical 1.5X Bull Fund beta at the point at which Mary invests is 155%. During the remainder of Day 2, the Fund’s underlying security rises from 94 to 97, a gain of 3.19%, and Mary’s investment rises 4.95% (which is the underlying security’s gain of 3.19% multiplied by the 155% beta that she received) to $10.49. Mary continues to hold her investment through the close of trading on Day 3, during which the hypothetical underlying security declines from 110 to 90, a loss of 18.18%. Mary’s investment declines by 27.27%, from $10.49 to $7.63. For the period of Mary’s investment, the hypothetical underlying security declined from 102 to 90, a loss of 11.76%, while Mary’s investment decreased from $10.00 to $7.63, a 23.7% loss. The volatility of the hypothetical underlying security affected the correlation between the hypothetical underlying security’s return for period and Mary’s return. In this situation, Mary lost more than two times the return of the hypothetical underlying security. Mary was also hurt because she missed the first 2% move of the hypothetical underlying security and had a beta of 155% for the remainder of Day 2.

 

Market Volatility. Each Fund seeks to provide a return which is a multiple of the daily performance of an underlying security. The Funds do not attempt to, and should not be expected to, provide returns which are a multiple of the return of an underlying security for periods other than a single day. Each Fund rebalances its portfolio on a daily basis, increasing exposure in response to that day’s gains or reducing exposure in response to that day’s losses.

 

Daily rebalancing will impair a Fund’s performance if its underlying security experiences volatility. For instance, a 1.5X Bull Fund would be expected to lose 6.4% (as shown in Table 1 below) if its underlying security provided no return over a one-year period and experienced annualized volatility of 25%. A 1.5X Bear Fund would be expected to lose 11.1% (as shown in Table 1 below) if its underlying security provided no return over a one-year period and had annualized volatility of 25%. If an underlying security provided no return over a one-year period and experienced annualized volatility of 50%, the hypothetical loss for a one-year period for a 1.5X Bull Fund rises to 19.4% while the loss for a 1.5X Bear Fund rises to 37.4% (as shown in Table 1 below).

 

Table 1

 

Volatility Range

1.5X Bull Funds Loss

10%

-1.1%

25%

-6.4%

50%

-19.4%

75%

-33.3%

100%

-43.1%

 

Volatility Range

1.25X Bear Funds Loss

10%

 -0.8%

25%

 -4.4%

50%

 -13.8%

75%

 -23.9%

100%

 -31.7%

 


73

 

 

 

Volatility Range

1X Bear Funds Loss

10%

-1%

30%

-9%

50%

-22%

80%

-47%

100%

-63%

 

Note that at higher volatility levels, there is a chance of a complete loss of Fund assets even if the underlying security is flat. For instance, if annualized volatility of an underlying security were 75%, a 1.5X Bull Fund based on such underlying security would be expected to lose 33.3% and a 1.25X Bear Fund based such underlying security would be expected to lose 23.9% of its value, even if the underlying security returned 0% for the year.

 

Table 2 shows the annualized historical volatility rate for the underlying securities over the five year period ended December 31, 2021. Since market volatility has negative implications for funds which rebalance daily, investors should be sure to monitor and manage their investments in the Funds particularly in volatile markets. The negative implications of volatility in Table 1 can be combined with the recent volatility in Table 2 to give investors some sense of the risks of holding the Funds for longer periods over the past five years. Historical volatility and performance are not likely indicative of future volatility and performance.

 

Table 2 – Historic Volatility

 

 

5-Year Historical Volatility Rate

TSLA

74.76%

NVDA

49.55%

PYPL

38.79%

 

The Projected Returns of Funds for Intra-Day Purchases. Because the Funds rebalance their portfolio once daily, an investor who purchases shares during a day will likely have more, or less, than the respective long leveraged, inverse or inverse leveraged investment exposure to an underlying security. The exposure to an underlying security received by an investor who purchases a Fund intra-day will differ from the Fund’s stated daily investment objective by an amount determined by the movement of the underlying security from its value at the end of the prior day. If the underlying security moves in a direction favorable to the Fund between the close of the market on one trading day through the time on the next trading day when the investor purchases the Fund shares, the investor will receive less exposure to the underlying security than the stated Fund daily investment objective. Conversely, if the underlying security moves in a direction adverse to the Fund, the investor will receive more exposure to the underlying security than the stated Fund daily investment objective.

 

Table 3 below indicates the exposure to an underlying security that an intra-day purchase of a Bull Fund would be expected to provide based upon the movement in the value of the underlying security from the close of the market on the prior trading day. Such exposure holds until a subsequent sale on that same trading day or until the close of the market on that trading day. For instance, if an underlying security has moved 5% in a direction favorable to a 1.5X Bull Fund, the investor would receive exposure to the performance of the underlying security from that point until the investor sells later that day or the end of the day equal to approximately 146.51% of the investor’s investment.

 

Conversely, if the underlying security has moved 5% in a direction unfavorable to a 1.5X Bull Fund, an investor at that point would receive exposure to the performance of the underlying security from that point until the investor sells later that day or the end of the day equal to approximately 154.05% of the investor’s investment.

 


74

 

 

 

The table includes a range of underlying security moves from 20% to -20% for a Bull Fund. Movement of an underlying security beyond the range noted below will result in exposure further from a Bull Fund’s daily leveraged investment objective.

 

Table 3

 

Underlying Security

1.5X Bull Fund

-20%

171.43%

-15%

164.52%

-10%

158.82%

-5%

154.05%

0%

150.00%

5%

146.51%

10%

143.48%

15%

140.82%

20%

138.46%

 

Table 4 below indicates the exposure to an underlying security that an intra-day purchase of a Bear Fund would be expected to provide based upon the movement in the value of the underlying security from the close of the market on the prior trading day. Such exposure holds until a subsequent sale on that same trading day or until the close of the market on that trading day. Table 4 indicates that, if an underlying security has moved 5% in a direction favorable to a 1.25X Bear Fund, the investor would receive exposure to the performance of the underlying security from that point until the investor sells later that day or the end of the day equal to approximately 111.76% of the investor’s investment.

 

Conversely, if the underlying security has moved 5% in a direction unfavorable to a 1.25X Bear Fund, an investor would receive exposure to the performance of the underlying security from that point until the investor sells later that day or the end of the day equal to approximately 140.0% of the investor’s investment.

 

The table includes a range of underlying security moves from 20% to -20% for a Bear Fund. Movement of an underlying security beyond the range noted below will result in exposure further from a Bear Fund’s daily inverse or inverse leveraged investment objective.

 

Table 4

 

Underlying Security

1.25X Bear Fund

-20%

-80.00%

-15%

-89.47

-10%

-100.00

-5%

-111.76

0%

-125.00

5%

-140.00

10%

-157.14

15%

-176.92

20%

-200.00

 


75

 

 

 

Underlying Security

1X Bear Fund

-5%

-90%

-4%

-92%

-3%

-94%

-2%

-96%

-1%

-98%

0%

-100%

1%

-102%

2%

-104%

3%

-106%

4%

-108%

5%

-110%

 

The Projected Returns of the Funds for Periods Other Than a Single Trading Day. The Funds seek long leveraged, inverse, or inverse leveraged investment results on a daily basis — from the close of regular trading on one trading day to the close on the next trading day — which should not be equated with seeking a long leveraged, inverse or inverse leveraged investment objective for any other period. For instance, if an underlying security gains 10% for a week, a 1.5X Bull Fund should not be expected to provide a return of 15% for the week even if it meets its daily leveraged investment objective throughout the week. This is true because of the financing charges noted above but also because the pursuit of daily goals may result in daily leveraged compounding, which means that the return of an underlying security over a period of time greater than one day multiplied by a Fund’s daily leveraged investment objective or inverse daily leveraged investment objective will not generally equal a Fund’s performance over that same period. In addition, the effects of compounding become greater the longer Shares are held beyond a single trading day.

 

The following tables set out a range of hypothetical daily performances during a given 10 trading days of an underlying security and demonstrate how changes in an underlying security impact the Funds’ hypothetical performance for a trading day and cumulatively up to, and including, the entire 10 trading day period. The charts are based on a hypothetical $100 investment in the Funds over a 10-trading day period and do not reflect fees or expenses of any kind.

 

Table 5 – Lacks a Clear Trend

 

Underlying Security

1.5X Bull Fund

 

Value

Daily
Performance

Cumulative
Performance

NAV

Daily
Performance

Cumulative
Performance

 

100

 

 

$100.00

 

 

Day 1

105

5.00%

5.00%

$107.50

7.50%

7.50%

Day 2

110

4.76%

10.00%

$115.18

7.14%

15.18%

Day 3

100

-9.09%

0.00%

$99.47

-13.64%

-0.53%

Day 4

90

-10.00%

-10.00%

$84.55

-15.00%

-15.45%

Day 5

85

-5.56%

-15.00%

$77.49

-8.34%

-22.51%

Day 6

100

17.65%

0.00%

$98.02

26.48%

-1.98%

Day 7

95

-5.00%

-5.00%

$90.66

-7.50%

-9.34%

Day 8

100

5.26%

0.00%

$97.82

7.89%

-2.18%

Day 9

105

5.00%

5.00%

$105.15

7.50%

5.15%

Day 10

100

-4.76%

0.00%

$97.65

-7.14%

-2.35%

 


76

 

 

 

Underlying Security

1.25X Bear Fund

 

Value

Daily
Performance

Cumulative
Performance

NAV

Daily
Performance

Cumulative
Performance

 

100

 

 

$100.00

   

Day 1

105

5.00%

5.00%

$93.75

-6.25%

-6.25%

Day 2

110

4.76%

10.00%

$88.17

-5.95%

-11.83%

Day 3

100

-9.09%

0.00%

$98.19

11.36%

-1.81%

Day 4

90

-10.00%

-10.00%

$110.46

12.50%

10.46%

Day 5

85

-5.56%

-15.00%

$118.14

6.95%

18.14%

Day 6

100

17.65%

0.00%

$92.08

-22.06%

-7.92%

Day 7

95

-5.00%

-5.00%

$97.83

6.25%

-2.17%

Day 8

100

5.26%

0.00%

$91.39

-6.58%

-8.61%

Day 9

105

5.00%

5.00%

$85.68

-6.25%

-14.31%

Day 10

100

-4.76%

0.00%

$90.78

5.95%

-9.22%

 

Underlying Security

1X Bear Fund

 

Value

Daily
Performance

Cumulative
Performance

NAV

Daily
Performance

Cumulative
Performance

 

100

 

 

$100.00

   

Day 1

105

5.00%

5.00%

$95.00

-5.00%

-5.00%

Day 2

110

4.76%

10.00%

$90.47

-4.76%

-9.53%

Day 3

100

-9.09%

0.00%

$98.69

9.09%

-1.31%

Day 4

90

-10.00%

-10.00%

$108.55

10.00%

8.55%

Day 5

85

-5.56%

-15.00%

$114.58

5.56%

14.58%

Day 6

100

17.65%

0.00%

$94.35

-17.65%

-5.65%

Day 7

95

-5.00%

-5.00%

$99.06

5.00%

-0.94%

Day 8

100

5.26%

0.00%

$93.84

-5.26%

-6.16%

Day 9

105

5.00%

5.00%

$89.14

-5.00%

-10.86%

Day 10

100

-4.76%

0.00%

$93.38

4.76%

-6.62%

 

The cumulative performance of the underlying security in Table 5 is 0% for 10 trading days. The hypothetical return for the 10-trading day period is -2.35% for a 1.5X Bull Fund, -9.22% for a 1.25X Bear Fund and -6.62% for a AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF. The volatility of the underlying security’s performance and lack of a clear trend results in performance for each Fund for the period which bears little relationship to the performance of the underlying security for the 10-trading day period.

 


77

 

 

 

Table 6 – Rises in a Clear Trend

 

Underlying Security

1.5X Bull Fund

 

Value

Daily
Performance

Cumulative
Performance

NAV

Daily
Performance

Cumulative
Performance

 

100

 

 

$100.00

 

 

Day 1

102

2.00%

2.00%

$103.00

3.00%

3.00%

Day 2

104

1.96%

4.00%

$106.03

2.94%

6.03%

Day 3

106

1.92%

6.00%

$109.08

2.88%

9.08%

Day 4

108

1.89%

8.00%

$112.18

2.84%

12.18%

Day5

110

1.85%

10.00%

$115.30

2.78%

15.30%

Day 6

112

1.82%

12.00%

$118.45

2.73%

18.45%

Day 7

114

1.79%

14.00%

$121.63

2.69%

21.63%

Day 8

116

1.75%

16.00%

$124.83

2.63%

24.83%

Day 9

118

1.72%

18.00%

$128.05

2.58%

28.05%

Day 10

120

1.69%

20.00%

$131.30

2.54%

31.30%

 

Underlying Security

1.25X Bear Fund

 

Value

Daily
Performance

Cumulative
Performance

NAV

Daily
Performance

Cumulative
Performance

 

100

 

 

$100.00

   

Day 1

102

2.00%

2.00%

$97.50

-2.50%

-2.50%

Day 2

104

1.96%

4.00%

$95.11

-2.45%

-4.89%

Day 3

106

1.92%

6.00%

$92.83

-2.40%

-7.17%

Day 4

108

1.89%

8.00%

$90.64

-2.36%

-9.36%

Day5

110

1.85%

10.00%

$88.54

-2.31%

-11.46%

Day 6

112

1.82%

12.00%

$86.53

-2.28%

-13.47%

Day 7

114

1.79%

14.00%

$84.59

-2.24%

-15.41%

Day 8

116

1.75%

16.00%

$82.73

-2.19%

-17.27%

Day 9

118

1.72%

18.00%

$80.96

-2.15%

-19.04%

Day 10

120

1.69%

20.00%

$79.25

-2.11%

-20.75%

 


78

 

 

 

Underlying Security

1X Bear Fund

 

Value

Daily
Performance

Cumulative
Performance

NAV

Daily
Performance

Cumulative
Performance

 

100

 

 

$100.00

   

Day 1

102

2.00%

2.00%

$98.00

-2.00%

-2.00%

Day 2

104

1.96%

4.00%

$96.07

-1.96%

-3.93%

Day 3

106

1.92%

6.00%

$94.22

-1.92%

-5.78%

Day 4

108

1.89%

8.00%

$92.43

-1.89%

-7.57%

Day5

110

1.85%

10.00%

$90.72

-1.85%

-9.28%

Day 6

112

1.82%

12.00%

$89.06

-1.82%

-10.94%

Day 7

114

1.79%

14.00%

$87.46

-1.79%

-12.54%

Day 8

116

1.75%

16.00%

$85.92

-1.75%

-14.08%

Day 9

118

1.72%

18.00%

$84.44

-1.72%

-15.56%

Day 10

120

1.69%

20.00%

$83.01

-1.69%

-16.91%

 

The cumulative performance of the underlying security in Table 6 is 20% for 10 trading days. The hypothetical return for the 10-trading day period is 43.50% for a 2x Bull Fund, 31.30% for a 1.5X Bull Fund, 25.52% for a 1.25X Bull Fund and 22.17% for a 1.1X Bull Fund and -31.25% for a 2X Bear Fund, -20.75% for a 1.5X Bear Fund, -20.75% for a 1.25X Bear Fund and -16.91% for a AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF. In this case, because of the positive hypothetical underlying security trend, each Bull Fund’s hypothetical gain is greater than the applicable multiple of the hypothetical underlying security gain for the 10-trading day period and each Bear Fund’s hypothetical decline is less than the applicable multiple of the hypothetical underlying security gain for the 10-trading day period.

 

Table 7 – Declines in a Clear Trend

 

Underlying Security

1.5X Bull Fund

 

Value

Daily
Performance

Cumulative
Performance

NAV

Daily
Performance

Cumulative
Performance

 

100

 

 

$100.00

 

 

Day 1

98

-2.00%

-2.00%

$ 97.00

-3.00%

-3.00%

Day 2

96

-2.04%

-4.00%

$ 94.03

-3.06%

-5.97%

Day 3

94

-2.08%

-6.00%

$ 91.10

-3.12%

-8.90%

Day 4

92

-2.13%

-8.00%

$ 88.18

-3.20%

-11.82%

Day 5

90

-2.17%

-10.00%

$ 85.31

-3.26%

-14.69%

Day 6

88

-2.22%

-12.00%

$ 82.47

-3.33%

-17.53%

Day 7

86

-2.27%

-14.00%

$ 79.66

-3.41%

-20.34%

Day 8

84

-2.33%

-16.00%

$ 76.87

-3.50%

-23.13%

Day 9

82

-2.38%

-18.00%

$ 74.12

-3.57%

-25.88%

Day 10

80

-2.44%

-20.00%

$ 71.42

-3.66%

-28.59%

 


79

 

 

 

Underlying Security

1.25X Bear Fund

 

Value

Daily
Performance

Cumulative
Performance

NAV

Daily
Performance

Cumulative
Performance

 

100

 

 

$100.00

   

Day 1

98

-2.00%

-2.00%

$102.5

2.50%

2.50%

Day 2

96

-2.04%

-4.00%

$105.11

2.55%

5.11%

Day 3

94

-2.08%

-6.00%

$107.85

2.60%

7.85%

Day 4

92

-2.13%

-8.00%

$110.72

2.66%

10.72%

Day 5

90

-2.17%

-10.00%

$113.72

2.71%

13.72%

Day 6

88

-2.22%

-12.00%

$116.88

2.78%

16.88%

Day 7

86

-2.27%

-14.00%

$120.20

2.84%

20.20%

Day 8

84

-2.33%

-16.00%

$123.69

2.91%

23.69%

Day 9

82

-2.38%

-18.00%

$127.38

2.98%

27.38%

Day 10

80

-2.44%

-20.00%

$131.27

3.05%

31.27%

 

Underlying Security

1X Bear Fund

 

Value

Daily
Performance

Cumulative
Performance

NAV

Daily
Performance

Cumulative
Performance

 

100

 

 

$100.00

   

Day 1

98

-2.00%

-2.00%

$102.00

2.00%

2.00%

Day 2

96

-2.04%

-4.00%

$104.08

2.04%

4.08%

Day 3

94

-2.08%

-6.00%

$106.24

2.08%

6.24%

Day 4

92

-2.13%

-8.00%

$108.50

2.13%

8.50%

Day 5

90

-2.17%

-10.00%

$110.85

2.17%

10.85%

Day 6

88

-2.22%

-12.00%

$113.31

2.22%

13.31%

Day 7

86

-2.27%

-14.00%

$115.88

2.27%

15.88%

Day 8

84

-2.33%

-16.00%

$118.58

2.33%

18.58%

Day 9

82

-2.38%

-18.00%

$121.40

2.38%

21.40%

Day 10

80

-2.44%

-20.00%

$124.36

2.44%

24.36%

 

The cumulative performance of the underlying security in Table 7 is -20% for 10 trading days. The hypothetical return for the 10-trading day period is -36.32% for a 2X Bull Fund, -28.59% for a 1.5X Bull Fund, -24.39% for a 1.25X Bull Fund and -21.78% for a 1.1X Bull Fund and 53.99% for a 2X Bear Fund, 38.50% for a1.5X Bear Fund, 31.27% for a 1.25X Bear Fund and 24.36 for a 1X Bear Fund. In this case, because of the negative hypothetical underlying security trend, each Bull Fund’s hypothetical decline is less than the applicable multiple of the hypothetical underlying security decline for the 10-trading day period and each Bear Fund’s hypothetical gain is greater than applicable multiple of the hypothetical underlying security decline for the 10-trading day period.

 

Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments

 

The Funds may invest in securities with maturities of less than one year or cash equivalents, or they may hold cash. The percentage of the Funds invested in such holdings varies and depends on several factors, including market conditions. For more information on eligible short-term investments, see the SAI.

 


80

 

 

 

U.S. Government Securities

 

The Funds may invest in short-term U.S. government securities. U.S. government securities include U.S. Treasury obligations and securities issued or guaranteed by various agencies of the U.S. government, or by various instrumentalities that have been established or sponsored by the U.S. government. U.S. Treasury obligations are backed by the “full faith and credit” of the U.S. government. Securities issued or guaranteed by federal agencies and U.S. government sponsored instrumentalities may or may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.

 

Additional Information About the Risks of Investing in the Funds

 

Risk is inherent in all investing. Investing in the Funds involves risk, including the risk that you may lose all or part of your investment. There can be no assurance that the Funds will meet their stated objectives. Before you invest, you should consider the following supplemental disclosure pertaining to the Principal Risks set forth above as well as additional Non-Principal Risks set forth below in this prospectus.

 

PRINCIPAL RISKS

 

Market Risk (All Funds). The market price of a security or instrument may decline, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic or political conditions throughout the world, changes in the general outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates, or adverse investor sentiment generally. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, or other events could have a significant impact on a security or instrument. For example, the financial crisis that began in 2007 caused a significant decline in the value and liquidity of many securities; in particular, the values of some sovereign debt and of securities of issuers that invest in sovereign debt and related investments fell, credit became more scarce worldwide and there was significant uncertainty in the markets. More recently, higher inflation, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic have negatively affected the worldwide economy, as well as the economies of individual countries, the financial health of individual companies and the market in general in significant and unforeseen ways. Such environments could make identifying investment risks and opportunities especially difficult for the Advisor. In response to the crises, the United States and other governments have taken steps to support financial markets. The withdrawal of this support or failure of efforts in response to a crisis could negatively affect financial markets generally as well as the value and liquidity of certain securities. In addition, policy and legislative changes in the United States and in other countries are changing many aspects of financial regulation. The impact of these changes on the markets, and the practical implications for market participants, may not be fully known for some time. The market value of a security or instrument also may 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.

 

ETF Structure Risks (All Funds). The Fund is an ETF, and, as a result of an ETF’s structure, it is exposed to the following risks:

 

Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as authorized participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other authorized participant is able to step forward to create or redeem, in either of these cases, shares may trade at a discount to the Fund’s net asset value and possibly face delisting.

 

Cash Transaction Risk. To the extent the Fund sells portfolio securities to meet some or all of a redemption request with cash, the Fund may incur taxable gains or losses that it might not have incurred had it made redemptions entirely in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used.

 


81

 

 

 

Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Investors buying or selling shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers, as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of shares. In addition, secondary market investors will also incur the cost of the difference between the price at which an investor is willing to buy Shares (the “bid” price) and the price at which an investor is willing to sell Shares (the “ask” price). This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “spread” or “bid-ask spread.” The bid-ask spread varies over time for shares based on trading volume and market liquidity, and the spread is generally lower if shares have more trading volume and market liquidity and higher if shares have little trading volume and market liquidity. Further, a relatively small investor base in the Fund, asset swings in the Fund, and/or increased market volatility may cause increased bid-ask spreads. Due to the costs of buying or selling shares, including bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.

 

Fluctuation of Net Asset Value Risk. As with all ETFs, shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market prices of shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market prices of shares is more than the NAV (premium) or less than the NAV (discount). Differences in market price and NAV may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related to, but not identical to, the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. These differences can be especially pronounced during times of market volatility or stress. During these periods, the demand for Fund shares may decrease considerably and cause the market price of Fund shares to deviate significantly from the Fund’s NAV.

 

Market Maker Risk. If the Fund has lower average daily trading volumes, it may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of Fund shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s NAV and the price at which the Fund shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund shares. In addition, decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a discount to NAV and also in greater than normal intra-day bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.

 

Shares are Not Individually Redeemable. Shares are only redeemable by the Fund at NAV if they are tendered in Creation Units. Only Authorized Participants may engage in such creation and redemption transactions directly with the Fund. Individual Shares may be sold on a stock exchange at their current market prices, which may be less, more, or equal to their NAV.

 

Trading Issues Risk. Although the Fund shares are listed for trading on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such Fund shares will develop or be maintained. Trading in Fund shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Fund shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Fund shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. Market makers are under no obligation to make a market in the Fund shares, and authorized participants are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. Initially, due to the small asset size of the Fund, it may have difficulty maintaining its listings on the Exchange.

 

Derivatives Risk (All Funds). Derivatives include instruments and contracts that are based on and valued in relation to one or more underlying securities, financial benchmarks, indices, or other reference obligations or measures of value. Major types of derivatives include futures, options, swaps and forward contracts. Using derivatives exposes the Fund to additional or heightened risks, including leverage risk, liquidity risk, valuation risk, market risk, counterparty risk, and credit risk. Derivatives transactions can be highly illiquid and difficult to unwind or value, they can increase Fund

 


82

 

 

 

volatility, and changes in the value of a derivative held by the Fund may not correlate with the value of the underlying instrument or the Fund’s other investments. Many of the risks applicable to trading the instruments underlying derivatives are also applicable to derivatives trading. However, derivatives are subject to additional risks such as operational risk, including settlement issues, and legal risk, including that underlying documentation is incomplete or ambiguous. For derivatives that are required to be cleared by a regulated clearinghouse, other risks may arise from the Fund’s relationship with a brokerage firm through which it submits derivatives trades for clearing, including in some cases from other clearing customers of the brokerage firm. The Fund would also be exposed to counterparty risk with respect to the clearinghouse. Financial reform laws have changed many aspects of financial regulation applicable to derivatives. Once implemented, new regulations, including margin, clearing, and trade execution requirements, may make investment in derivatives more costly, may limit their availability, may present different risks or may otherwise adversely affect the value or performance of these instruments. The extent and impact of these regulations are not yet fully known and may not be known for some time.

 

In October 2020, the SEC adopted Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act (the “Derivatives Rule”), which provides a comprehensive regulatory framework for the use of derivatives by registered investment companies, such as the Fund, and sets an outer limit on leverage based on value-at-risk (or “VaR”). The effect of the Derivatives Rule could, among other things, make investment in derivatives more costly, limit the availability or reduce the liquidity of derivatives, or otherwise adversely affect the value or performance of derivatives. Any such adverse future developments could impair the effectiveness or raise the costs of the Fund’s derivative transactions, impede the employment of the Fund’s derivatives strategies, or adversely affect the Fund’s performance.

 

 

Swap Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF, AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF, AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF). The Funds expect to use swaps as a means to achieve their investment objectives. Swaps are generally traded in OTC markets and have only recently become subject to regulation by the CFTC. CFTC rules, however, do not cover all types of swaps. Investors, therefore, may not receive the protection of CFTC regulation or the statutory scheme of the Commodity Exchange Act in connection with the Funds’ swaps. The lack of regulation in these markets could expose investors to significant losses under certain circumstances, including in the event of trading abuses or financial failure by participants. Unlike in futures contracts, the counterparty to uncleared OTC swaps is generally a single bank or other financial institution, rather than a clearing organization backed by a group of financial institutions. As a result, the Funds are subject to increased counterparty risk with respect to the amount they expect to receive from counterparties to uncleared swaps. If a counterparty becomes bankrupt or otherwise fails to perform its obligations due to financial difficulties, the Funds could suffer significant losses on these contracts and the value of an investor’s investment in the Funds may decline. OTC swaps of the type that may be utilized by the Funds are less liquid than futures contracts because they are not traded on an exchange, do not have uniform terms and conditions, and are generally entered into based upon the creditworthiness of the parties and the availability of credit support, such as collateral, and in general, are not transferable without the consent of the counterparty. Swaps are also subject to the risk of imperfect correlation between the value of the reference asset underlying the swap and the swap. Leverage inherent in derivatives will tend to magnify a Fund’s gains and losses. Moreover, with respect to the use of swaps, if the underlying security has a dramatic intraday move that causes a material decline in a Fund’s net assets, the terms of a swap between a Fund and its counterparty may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the transaction with the Fund. In that event, a Fund may be unable to enter into another swap or invest in other derivatives to achieve the desired exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This, in turn, may prevent a Fund from achieving its investment objective, even the underlying security reverses all or a portion of its intraday move by the end of the day. As a result, the value of an investment in a Fund may change quickly and without warning.

 

Each Fund will be subject to regulatory constraints relating to level of risk the Fund may incur through its derivative portfolio. To the extent this risk exceeds these regulatory thresholds over an extended period, a Fund may determine that it is necessary to make adjustments to the Fund’s investment strategy, including the desired leveraged performance for the Fund.

 


83

 

 

 

Leverage Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF, AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF, AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF). Certain Fund transactions, such as entering into futures contracts, options and short sales, may give rise to a form of leverage. Leverage can magnify the effects of changes in the value of the Fund’s investments and make the Fund more volatile. Leverage creates a risk of loss of value on a larger pool of assets than the Fund would otherwise have had, potentially resulting in the loss of all assets. The Fund may also have to sell assets at inopportune times to satisfy its obligations in connection with such transactions.

 

Compounding Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF, AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF). The Funds have a single day investment objective, and the Funds’ performance for any other period is the result of its return for each day compounded over the period. The performance of the Funds for periods longer than a single day will very likely differ in amount, and possibly even direction, from their stated multiple of the daily return of the underlying security for the same period, before accounting for fees and expenses. Compounding affects all investments, but has a more significant impact on an inverse or leveraged fund that rebalances daily. This effect becomes more pronounced as underlying security volatility and holding periods increase. The Funds’ performance for a period longer than a single day can be estimated given any set of assumptions for the following factors: (a) underlying security volatility; (b) underlying security performance; (c) period of time; (d) financing rates associated with inverse or leveraged exposure; and (e) other Fund expenses. The charts below illustrates the impact of two principal factors — underlying security volatility and underlying security performance — on Fund performance. The charts shows estimated returns for each Fund for a number of combinations of underlying security volatility and underlying security performance over a one-year period. Actual volatility, underlying security and Fund performance may differ significantly from the charts below. Performance shown in the charts assumes: (a) no Fund expenses; and (b) borrowing/lending rates (to obtain leveraged exposure) of zero percent. If Fund expenses and/or actual borrowing/ lending rates were reflected, the Funds’ performance would be lower than shown.

 

In the graph below, areas shaded red (or dark gray) represent those scenarios where a 1.5X Bull Fund can be expected to return less than 150% of the performance of the underlying security and those shaded green (or light gray) represent those scenarios where a 1.5X Bull Fund can be expected to return more than 150% of the performance of the underlying security. A 1.5X Bull Fund’s actual returns may be significantly better or worse than the returns shown below as a result of any of the factors discussed above or in “Correlation Risk” below.

 

Estimated 1.5X Bull Fund Returns

 

One
Year
Underlying Security

150% One Year Underlying Security

Volatility Rate

Return

Return

10%

25%

50%

75%

100%

-60%

-90%

-74.8%

-75.3%

-77.0%

-79.5%

-82.6%

-50%

-75%

-64.8%

-65.5%

-67.8%

-71.4%

-75.7%

-40%

-60%

-53.7%

-54.6%

57.7%

-62.4%

-68.1%

-30%

-45%

-41.7%

-42.8%

-46.7%

-52.6%

-59.7%

-20%

-30%

-28.7%

-30.1%

-34.8%

-42.1%

-50.8%

-10%

-15%

-14.9%

-16.6%

-22.3%

-30.9%

-41.3%

0%

0%

-0.4%

-2.3%

-8.9%

-19.0%

-31.3%

10%

15%

14.9%

12.7%

5.0%

-6.6%

-20.7%

20%

30%

31.0%

28.4%

19.7%

6.5%

-9.7%

30%

45%

47.7%

44.8%

35.0%

20.0%

1.9%

40%

60%

65.0%

61.8%

50.8%

34.1%

13.8%

50%

75%

83.0%

79.5%

67.3%

48.8%

26.3%

60%

90%

101.6%

97.9%

84.3%

63.9%

39.1%

 


84

 

 

 

The foregoing table is intended to isolate the effect of underlying security volatility and underlying security performance on the return of the 1.5X Bull Fund and is not a representation of actual returns. For example, a 1.5X Bull Fund may incorrectly be expected to achieve a 30% return on a yearly basis if the underlying security return were 20%, absent the effects of compounding. As the table shows, with underlying security volatility of 50%, a 1.5X Bull Fund could be expected to return 19.7% under such a scenario. A 1.5X Bull Fund’s actual returns may be significantly better or worse than the returns shown above as a result of any of the factors discussed above or in “Principal Risks — Correlation Risk” below.

 

In the graph below, areas shaded red (or dark gray) represent those scenarios where a 1.25X Bear Fund can be expected to return less than -125% of the performance of the underlying security and those shaded green (or light gray) represent those scenarios where a 1.25X Bear Fund can be expected to return more than -125% of the performance of the underlying security. A 1.25X Bear Fund’s actual returns may be significantly better or worse than the returns shown below as a result of any of the factors discussed above or in “Correlation Risk” below.

 

Estimated 1.25X Bear Fund Returns

 

One
Year
Underlying Security

-125% One Year Underlying Security

Volatility Rate

Return

Return

10%

25%

50%

75%

100%

-60%

75%

210%

187.9%

121.2%

42.5%

-23.0%

-50%

62.5%

134.5%

117.8%

67.3%

7.8%

-41.7%

-40%

50%

86.7%

73.4%

33.2%

-14.1%

-53.6%

-30%

37.5%

54.0%

43.0%

9.9%

-29.2%

-61.7%

-20%

25%

30.3%

21.1%

-7.0%

-40.1%

-67.6%

-10%

12.5%

12.5%

4.5%

-19.7%

-48.3%

-72.0%

0%

0%

-1.4%

-8.4%

-29.6%

-54.7%

-75.5%

10%

-12.5%

-12.5%

-18.7%

-37.5%

-59.8%

-78.2%

20%

-25%

-21.5%

-27.1%

-44.0%

-63.9%

-80.5%

30%

-37.5%

-29.0%

-34.0%

-49.3%

-67.3%

-82.3%

40%

-50%

-35.3%

-39.9%

-53.8%

70.2%

-83.9%

50%

-62.5%

-40.6%

-44.8%

-57.6%

-72.7%

-85.2%

60%

-75%

-45.2%

-49.1%

-60.9%

-74.8%

-86.4%

 

The foregoing table is intended to isolate the effect of underlying security volatility and underlying security performance on the return of a 1.25X Bear Fund and is not a representation of actual returns. For example, a 1.25X Bear Fund may incorrectly be expected to achieve a -25% return on a yearly basis if the underlying security return were 20%, absent the effects of compounding. As the table shows, with underlying security volatility of 50%, a 1.25X Bear Fund could be expected to return -44% under such a scenario. A 1.25X Bear Fund’s actual returns may be significantly better or worse than the returns shown above as a result of any of the factors discussed above or in “Principal Risks — Correlation Risk” below.

 

In the graph below, areas shaded red (or dark gray) represent those scenarios where a 1X Bear Fund can be expected to return less than -100% of the performance of the underlying security and those shaded green (or light gray) represent those scenarios where a 1X Bear Fund can be expected to return more than -100% of the performance of the underlying security. A 1X Bear Fund’s actual returns may be significantly better or worse than the returns shown below as a result of any of the factors discussed above or in “Correlation Risk” below.

 

Estimated 1X Bear Fund Returns

 

One
Year
 Underlying Security
-100% One Year  Underlying Security Volatility Rate
Return Return 10% 25% 50% 75% 100%
-60% 60% 148.55% 134.42% 95.28% 43.98% -5.83%
-50% 50% 99.13% 87.77% 56.26% 15.23% -24.77%
-40% 40% 66.08% 56.57% 30.21% -4.08% -37.57%
-30% 45% 42.43% 34.25% 11.56% -17.98% -46.76%
-20% 20% 24.67% 17.47% -2.47% -28.38% -53.72%
-10% 10% 10.83% 4.44% -13.28% -36.52% -58.79%
0% 0% -0.25% -6.04% -22.08% -42.90% -63.23%
10% -10% -9.32% -14.64% -29.23% -48.27% -66.67%
20% -20% -16.89% -21.75% -35.24% -52.72% -69.67%
30% -30% -23.29% -27.84% -56.41% -71.94% -71.94%
40% -40% -28.78% -33.01% -44.63% -59.81% -74.23%
50% -50% -33.55% -37.52% -48.57% -62.60% -76.19%
60% -60% -37.72% -41.51% -51.96% -65.19% -78.12%

 

Estimated AXS 2X Innovation ETF Returns

 

The Fund has a single day investment objective, and the Fund’s performance for any other period is the result of its return for each day compounded over the period. The performance of the Fund for periods longer than a single day will very likely differ in amount, and possibly even direction, from their stated multiple (e.g. 200% or -100%) of the daily return of its underlying ETF for the same period, before accounting for fees and expenses. Compounding affects all investments, but has a more significant impact on a leveraged fund. This effect becomes more pronounced as underlying ETF volatility and holding periods increase. The Fund’s performance for a period longer than a single day can be

 


85

 

 

 

estimated given any set of assumptions for the following factors: (a) underlying ETF volatility; (b) underlying ETF performance; (c) period of time; (d) financing rates associated with leveraged exposure; and (e) other Fund expenses. The charts below illustrates the impact of two principal factors — underlying ETF volatility and underlying ETF performance — on Fund performance. The charts shows estimated returns for the Fund for a number of combinations of underlying ETF volatility and underlying ETF performance over a one-year period. Actual volatility, underlying ETF and Fund performance may differ significantly from the charts below. Performance shown in the charts assumes: (a) no Fund expenses; and (b) borrowing/lending rates (to obtain leveraged exposure) of zero percent. If Fund expenses and/or actual borrowing/ lending rates were reflected, the Fund’s performance would be different than shown.

 

Areas shaded red (or dark gray) represent those scenarios where the Innovation Fund can be expected to return less than 200% of the performance of the ARK Innovation ETF and those shaded green (or light gray) represent those scenarios where the Innovation Fund can be expected to return more than 200% of the performance of the ARK Innovation ETF. The Innovation Fund’s actual returns may be significantly better or worse than the returns shown below as a result of any of the factors discussed above or in “Correlation Risk” below.

 

One
Year
ARK Innovation ETF

200% One Year ARK Innovation ETF

Volatility Rate

Return

Return

10%

25%

50%

75%

100%

-60%

-120%

-84.2%

-85.0%

-87.5%

-90.9%

-94.1%

-50%

-100%

-75.2%

-76.5%

-80.5%

-85.8%

-90.8%

-40%

-80%

-64.4%

-66.2%

-72.0%

-79.5%

-86.8%

-30%

-60%

-51.5%

-54.0%

-61.8%

-72.1%

-82.0%

-20%

-40%

-36.6%

-39.9%

-50.2%

-63.5%

-76.5%

-10%

-20%

-19.8%

-23.9%

-36.9%

-53.8%

-70.2%

0%

0%

-1.0%

-6.1%

-22.1%

-43.0%

-63.2%

10%

20%

19.8%

13.7%

-5.8%

-31.1%

-55.5%

20%

40%

42.6%

35.3%

12.1%

-18.0%

-47.0%

30%

60%

67.3%

58.8%

31.6%

-3.7%

-37.8%

40%

80%

94.0%

84.1%

52.6%

11.7%

-27.9%

50%

100%

122.8%

111.4%

75.2%

28.2%

-17.2%

60%

120%

153.5%

140.5%

99.4%

45.9%

-5.8%

 

The foregoing table is intended to isolate the effect of the ARK Innovation ETF volatility and the ARK Innovation ETF performance on the return of the Innovation Fund and is not a representation of actual returns. For example, the Innovation Fund may incorrectly be expected to achieve a 40% return on a yearly basis if the ARK Innovation ETF return were 20%, absent the effects of compounding. As the table shows, with the ARK Innovation ETF volatility of 50%, the Innovation Fund could be expected to return 12.1% under such a scenario. The Innovation Fund’s actual returns may be significantly better or worse than the returns shown above as a result of any of the factors discussed above or in “Principal Risks — Correlation Risk” below.

 

Estimated AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF Returns

 

The Fund has a daily investment objective and the Fund’s performance for periods greater than a trading day will be the result of each day’s returns compounded over the period, which is very likely to differ from -100% of the ARK Innovation ETF’s performance, before fees and expenses. Compounding affects all investments, but has a more significant impact on funds that are inverse and that rebalance daily. For an inverse Fund, if adverse daily performance of the ARK Innovation ETF reduces the amount of a shareholder’s investment, any further adverse daily performance will lead to a smaller dollar loss because the shareholder’s investment had already been reduced by the prior adverse performance. Equally, however, if favorable daily performance of the ARK Innovation ETF increases the amount of a shareholder’s investment, the dollar amount lost due to future adverse performance will increase because the shareholder’s investment has increased.

 


86

 

 

 

The effect of compounding becomes more pronounced as the ARK Innovation ETF’s volatility and the holding period increase. The impact of compounding will impact each shareholder differently depending on the period of time an investment in the Fund is held and the volatility of the ARK Innovation ETF during shareholder’s holding period of an investment in the Fund.

 

The chart below provides examples of how the ARK Innovation ETF’s volatility could affect the Fund’s performance. Fund performance for periods greater than one single day can be estimated given any set of assumptions for the following factors: a) ARK Innovation ETF’s volatility; b) ARK Innovation ETF’s performance; c) period of time; d) financing rates associated with inverse exposure; e) other Fund expenses; and f) dividends or interest paid with respect to securities in the ARK Innovation ETF. The chart below illustrates the impact of two principal factors – ARK Innovation ETF’s volatility and ARK Innovation ETF’s performance – on Fund performance. The chart shows estimated Fund returns for a number of combinations of ARK Innovation ETF’s volatility and ARK Innovation ETF’s performance over a one-year period. Performance shown in the chart assumes that: (i) no dividends were paid with respect to the securities included in the ARK Innovation ETF; (ii) there were no Fund expenses; and (iii) borrowing/lending rates (to obtain inverse exposure) of 0%. If Fund expenses and/or actual borrowing/lending rates were reflected, the estimated returns would be different than those shown. Particularly during periods of higher ARK Innovation ETF volatility, compounding will cause results for periods longer than a trading day to vary from -100% of the performance of the ARK Innovation ETF.

 

As shown in the chart below, the Fund would be expected to lose 6.04% if the ARK Innovation ETF provided no return over a one-year period during which the ARK Innovation ETF experienced annualized volatility of 25%. At higher ranges of volatility, there is a chance of a significant loss of value in the Fund, even if the ARK Innovation ETF’s return is flat. For instance, if the ARK Innovation ETF’s annualized volatility is 100%, the Fund would be expected to lose 63.23% of its value, even if the cumulative ARK Innovation ETF’s return for the year was 0%. Areas shaded red represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return less than -100% of the performance of the ARK Innovation ETF and those shaded gray represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return more than -100% of the performance of the ARK Innovation ETF. The Fund’s actual returns may be significantly better or worse than the returns shown below.

 

One
Year
ARK
Innovation
ETF

-100% One
Year ARK
Innovation
ETF

Volatility Rate

Return

Return

10%

25%

50%

75%

100%

-60%

60%

148.55%

134.42%

95.28%

43.98%

-5.83%

-50%

50%

99.13%

87.77%

56.26%

15.23%

-24.77%

-40%

40%

66.08%

56.57%

30.21%

-4.08%

-37.57%

-30%

30%

42.43%

34.25%

11.56%

-17.98%

-46.76%

-20%

20%

24.67%

17.47%

-2.47%

-28.38%

-53.72%

-10%

10%

10.83%

4.44%

-13.28%

-36.52%

-58.79%

0%

0%

-0.25%

-6.04%

-22.08%

-42.90%

-63.23%

10%

-10%

-9.32%

-14.64%

-29.23%

-48.27%

-66.67%

20%

-20%

-16.89%

-21.75%

-35.24%

-52.72%

-69.67%

30%

-30%

-23.29%

-27.84%

-40.25%

-56.41%

-71.94%

40%

-40%

-28.78%

-33.01%

-44.63%

-59.81%

-74.32%

50%

-50%

-33.55%

-37.52%

-48.57%

-62.60%

-76.19%

60%

-60%

-37.72%

-41.51%

-51.96%

-65.19%

-78.12%

 

The ARK Innovation ETF’s annualized historical volatility rate for the five-year period ended December 31, 2022, was 39.13%. The ARK Innovation ETF’s highest volatility rate for any one calendar year during the five-year period was 42.57% and volatility for a shorter period of time may have been substantially higher. The ARK Innovation ETF’s annualized performance for the five-year period ended December 31, 2022, was -2.20%. Historical ARK Innovation

 


87

 

 

 

ETF volatility and performance are not indications of what the ARK Innovation ETF’s volatility and performance will be in the future. The volatility of the securities that reflect the value of the ARK Innovation ETF, such as swaps, may differ from the volatility of the ARK Innovation ETF.

 

Effects of Compounding and Market Volatility Risk (AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF). The Fund has a daily investment objective and the Fund’s performance for periods greater than a trading day will be the result of each day’s returns compounded over the period, which is very likely to differ from -100% of the ARK Innovation ETF’s performance, before fees and expenses. Compounding affects all investments, but has a more significant impact on funds that are inverse and that rebalance daily. For an inverse Fund, if adverse daily performance of the ARK Innovation ETF reduces the amount of a shareholder’s investment, any further adverse daily performance will lead to a smaller dollar loss because the shareholder’s investment had already been reduced by the prior adverse performance. Equally, however, if favorable daily performance of the ARK Innovation ETF increases the amount of a shareholder’s investment, the dollar amount lost due to future adverse performance will increase because the shareholder’s investment has increased.

 

The effect of compounding becomes more pronounced as the ARK Innovation ETF’s volatility and the holding period increase. The impact of compounding will impact each shareholder differently depending on the period of time an investment in the Fund is held and the volatility of the ARK Innovation ETF during shareholder’s holding period of an investment in the Fund.

 

The chart below provides examples of how the ARK Innovation ETF’s volatility could affect the Fund’s performance. Fund performance for periods greater than one single day can be estimated given any set of assumptions for the following factors: a) ARK Innovation ETF’s volatility; b) ARK Innovation ETF’s performance; c) period of time; d) financing rates associated with inverse exposure; e) other Fund expenses; and f) dividends or interest paid with respect to securities in the ARK Innovation ETF. The chart below illustrates the impact of two principal factors – ARK Innovation ETF’s volatility and ARK Innovation ETF’s performance – on Fund performance. The chart shows estimated Fund returns for a number of combinations of ARK Innovation ETF’s volatility and ARK Innovation ETF’s performance over a one-year period. Performance shown in the chart assumes that: (i) no dividends were paid with respect to the securities included in the ARK Innovation ETF; (ii) there were no Fund expenses; and (iii) borrowing/lending rates (to obtain inverse exposure) of 0%. If Fund expenses and/or actual borrowing/lending rates were reflected, the estimated returns would be different than those shown. Particularly during periods of higher ARK Innovation ETF volatility, compounding will cause results for periods longer than a trading day to vary from -100% of the performance of the ARK Innovation ETF.

 

As shown in the chart below, the Fund would be expected to lose 6.04% if the ARK Innovation ETF provided no return over a one year period during which the ARK Innovation ETF experienced annualized volatility of 25%. At higher ranges of volatility, there is a chance of a significant loss of value in the Fund, even if the ARK Innovation ETF’s return is flat. For instance, if the ARK Innovation ETF’s annualized volatility is 100%, the Fund would be expected to lose 63.23% of its value, even if the cumulative ARK Innovation ETF’s return for the year was 0%. Areas shaded red represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return less than -100% of the performance of the ARK

 


88

 

 

 

Innovation ETF and those shaded gray represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return more than -100% of the performance of the ARK Innovation ETF. The Fund’s actual returns may be significantly better or worse than the returns shown below.

 

One
Year
ARK
Innovation
ETF

-100% One
Year ARK
Innovation
ETF

Volatility Rate

Return

Return

10%

25%

50%

75%

100%

-60%

60%

148.55%

134.42%

95.28%

43.98%

-5.83%

-50%

50%

99.13%

87.77%

56.26%

15.23%

-24.77%

-40%

40%

66.08%

56.57%

30.21%

-4.08%

-37.57%

-30%

30%

42.43%

34.25%

11.56%

-17.98%

-46.76%

-20%

20%

24.67%

17.47%

-2.47%

-28.38%

-53.72%

-10%

10%

10.83%

4.44%

-13.28%

-36.52%

-58.79%

0%

0%

-0.25%

-6.04%

-22.08%

-42.90%

-63.23%

10%

-10%

-9.32%

-14.64%

-29.23%

-48.27%

-66.67%

20%

-20%

-16.89%

-21.75%

-35.24%

-52.72%

-69.67%

30%

-30%

-23.29%

-27.84%

-40.25%

-56.41%

-71.94%

40%

-40%

-28.78%

-33.01%

-44.63%

-59.81%

-74.32%

50%

-50%

-33.55%

-37.52%

-48.57%

-62.60%

-76.19%

60%

-60%

-37.72%

-41.51%

-51.96%

-65.19%

-78.12%

 

The ARK Innovation ETF’s annualized historical volatility rate for the five-year period ended December 31, 2022, was 39.13%. The ARK Innovation ETF’s highest volatility rate for any one calendar year during the five-year period was 48.89% and volatility for a shorter period of time may have been substantially higher. The ARK Innovation ETF’s annualized performance for the five-year period ended December 31, 2022, was -2.20%. Historical ARK Innovation ETF volatility and performance are not indications of what the ARK Innovation ETF’s volatility and performance will be in the future. The volatility of the securities that reflect the value of the ARK Innovation ETF, such as swaps, may differ from the volatility of the ARK Innovation ETF.

 

Correlation Risk (All Funds). A number of factors may affect a Fund’s ability to achieve a high degree of correlation with its underlying security, and there is no guarantee that the Funds will achieve a high degree of correlation. Failure to achieve a high degree of correlation may prevent the Funds from achieving their investment objectives, and the percentage change of a Fund’s NAV each day may differ, perhaps significantly in amount, and possibly even direction, from their stated multiple of the percentage change of the underlying security on such day.

 

In order to achieve a high degree of correlation with its underlying security, each Fund seeks to rebalance its portfolio daily to keep exposure consistent with its investment objective. Being materially under- or overexposed to its underlying security may prevent a Fund from achieving a high degree of correlation with its underlying security and may expose the Fund to greater leverage risk. Market disruptions or closure, regulatory restrictions, market volatility, illiquidity in the markets for the financial instruments in which a Fund invests, and other factors will adversely affect a Fund’s ability to adjust exposure to requisite levels. The target amount of portfolio exposure is impacted dynamically by an underlying security’s movements, including intraday movements. Because of this, it is unlikely that a Fund will have perfect exposure during the day or at the end of each day and the likelihood of being materially under- or overexposed is higher on days when the underlying security is volatile, particularly when the underlying security is volatile at or near the close of the trading day.

 

A number of other factors may also adversely affect a Fund’s correlation with its underlying security, including fees, expenses, transaction costs, financing costs associated with the use of derivatives, income items, valuation methodology, accounting standards and disruptions or illiquidity in the markets for the securities or financial instruments in which a Fund invests. The Funds may take or refrain from taking positions in order to improve tax efficiency, comply with

 


89

 

 

 

regulatory restrictions, or for other reasons, each of which may negatively affect the Funds’ correlation with the underlying securities. The Funds may also be subject to large movements of assets into and out of the Funds, potentially resulting in the Funds being under- or overexposed to the underlying securities. Additionally, the Funds’ underlying investments and/or reference assets may trade on markets that may not be open on the same day as the Funds, which may cause a difference between the changes in the daily performance of the Funds and changes in the level of the underlying securities. Any of these factors could decrease correlation between the performance of the Funds and the underlying securities and may hinder a Fund’s ability to meet its daily investment objective on or around that day.

 

Total Loss Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF). Because the Innovation Fund utilizes leverage in seeking to achieve its investment objective, it will lose more money in market environments adverse to its daily investment objective than funds that do not employ leverage. The use of leveraged positions increases risk and could result in the total loss of an investor’s investment within a single day. The Innovation Fund’s investments in leveraged positions generally requires a small investment relative to the amount of investment exposure assumed. As a result, such investments may give rise to losses that far exceed the amount invested in those instruments.

 

Rebalancing Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF, AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF). If for any reason a Fund is unable to rebalance all or a portion of its portfolio, or if all or a portion of the portfolio is rebalanced incorrectly, a Fund’s investment exposure may not be consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. In these instances, a Fund may have investment exposure to its underlying security that is significantly greater or less than its stated multiple. As a result, a Fund may be more exposed to leverage risk than if they had been properly rebalanced and may not achieve its investment objective.

 

Trading Halt Risk (AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF). Shares of an underlying issuer and the Fund are listed on Nasdaq. Securities exchanges may apply different rules with respect to trading halts. In addition, exchanges may treat stocks differently than shares of ETFs with respect to trading halts. Although an underlying issuer and the Fund’s shares are listed for trading on an exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will be available at all times and the exchange may halt trading of such shares in certain circumstances. In the event of a trading halt for an extended period of time in the underlying issuer’s and/or the Fund’s shares, the Fund may be unable to execute arrangements with swap counterparties that are necessary to implement the Fund’s investment strategy. Trading halts of an underlying issuer’s and/or the Fund’s shares can occur for “regulatory” or “non-regulatory” reasons. A regulatory halt may occur when a company has pending news that may affect the security’s price, when there is uncertainty over whether the security continues to meet an exchange’s listing standards, or when a regulator specifically suspends trading in a security. When a regulatory halt is imposed by a security’s primary exchange, the other U.S. exchanges that also trade the security usually honor this halt. A non-regulatory halt generally occurs when there is a significant imbalance in the pending buy and sell orders in a security or because of extraordinary market volatility pursuant to exchange “circuit breaker” rules. A non-regulatory trading halt or delay on one exchange does not necessarily mean that other exchanges will halt a security from trading. Regulatory trading halts of an underlying issuer’s shares are expected to result in a halt in the trading in the Fund’s shares. However, not all non-regulatory trading halts affecting an underlying issuer’s shares will result in a trading halt of the Fund’s shares. To the extent trading in an underlying issuer’s shares is halted while the Fund’s shares continue to trade, the Fund may not perform as intended.

 

Counterparty Risk (All Funds). A counterparty (the other party to a transaction or an agreement or the party with whom the Fund executes transactions) to a transaction with the Fund may be unable or unwilling to make timely principal, interest or settlement payments, or otherwise honor its obligations. If the counterparty becomes insolvent, bankrupt or defaults on its payment obligations to the Fund, the value of an investment held by the Fund may decline. Additionally, if any collateral posted by the counterparty for the benefit of the Fund is insufficient or there are delays in the Fund’s ability to access such collateral, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective. In addition, the Fund may enter into transactions with a limited number of counterparties, which may increase the Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk. Further, there is a risk that no suitable counterparties will be willing to enter into, or continue to enter into, transactions with the Fund and, as a result, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective.

 


90

 

 

 

Short Sale Exposure Risk (AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF). The Bear Funds will seek inverse or “short” exposure through financial instruments, which would cause a Bear Fund to be exposed to certain risks associated with selling short. These risks include, under certain market conditions, an increase in the volatility and decrease in the liquidity of the instruments underlying the short position, which may lower a Bear Fund’s return, result in a loss, have the effect of limiting a Bear Fund’s ability to obtain inverse exposure through financial instruments, or require a Bear Fund to seek inverse exposure through alternative investment strategies that may be less desirable or more costly to implement. To the extent that, at any particular point in time, the instruments underlying the short position may be thinly traded or have a limited market, including due to regulatory action, a Bear Fund may be unable to meet its investment objective due to a lack of available securities or counterparties. During such periods, a Bear Fund’s ability to issue additional Creation Units may be adversely affected. Obtaining inverse exposure through these instruments may be considered an aggressive investment technique. Any income, dividends or payments by any assets underlying a Bear Fund’s short positions, if any, would negatively impact a Bear Fund.

 

Inverse Correlation Risk (AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF). Short (inverse) positions are designed to profit from a decline in the price of a particular reference asset. Investors in the Bear Funds will lose money when an underlying security rises, which is the opposite result from that of traditional funds. A single day or intraday increase in the performance of an underlying security may result in the total loss or almost total loss of an investor’s investment, even if the underlying security subsequently moves lower. Like leveraged funds, inverse funds may be considered to be aggressive. Inverse positions may also be leveraged. Such instruments may experience imperfect negative correlation between the price of the investment and the underlying security or index. The use of inverse instruments may expose a Bear Fund to additional risks that it would not be subject to if it invested only in “long” positions.

 

Indirect Investment Risk (AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF). The issuers of the underlying securities are not affiliated with the Trust, the Advisor, or any affiliates thereof and is not involved with this offering in any way, and has no obligation to consider the Fund in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. The Advisor has not made any due diligence inquiry with respect to the publicly available information of the underlying issuers in connection with this offering. Investors in the Shares will not have voting rights or rights to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the common shares of the underlying issuers.

 

Intraday Price Performance Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF, AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF). The intraday performance of shares of the Funds traded in the secondary market generally will be different from the performance of the Funds when measured from one NAV calculation-time to the next. When shares are bought intraday, the performance of a Fund’s shares relative to its underlying security until the Fund’s next NAV calculation time will generally be greater than or less than the Fund’s stated multiple times the performance of the underlying security.

 

Automotive Companies Risk (AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF). The automotive industry can be highly cyclical, and companies in the industry may suffer periodic operating losses. Automotive companies can be significantly affected by labor relations and fluctuating component prices. Developments in automotive technologies (e.g., autonomous vehicle technologies) may require significant capital expenditures that may not generate profits for several years, if ever. Automotive companies may be significantly subject to government policies and regulations regarding imports and exports of automotive products. Governmental policies affecting the automotive industry, such as taxes, tariffs, duties, subsidies, and import and export restrictions on automotive products can influence industry profitability. In addition, such companies must comply with environmental laws and regulations, for which there may be severe consequences for non-compliance. While most of the major automotive manufacturers are large companies, certain others may be non-diversified in both product line and customer base and may be more vulnerable to certain events that may negatively impact the automotive industry.

 

Semiconductor Company Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF, AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF). Competitive pressures may have a significant effect on the financial condition of semiconductor companies and, as product cycles shorten and manufacturing capacity increases, these companies may become increasingly subject to aggressive pricing, which hampers profitability. Reduced demand for end-user products, under-utilization of manufacturing capacity, and other

 


91

 

 

 

factors could adversely impact the operating results of companies in the semiconductor sector. Semiconductor companies typically face high capital costs and may be heavily dependent on intellectual property rights. The semiconductor sector is highly cyclical, which may cause the operating results of many semiconductor companies to vary significantly. The stock prices of companies in the semiconductor sector have been and likely will continue to be extremely volatile.

 

Payments Industry Risk (AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF). Companies in the payments industry are subject to major changes in technology, security considerations, taxes, government regulation, general economic conditions, competition and potential political influences. Competition is a threat to payments companies, much of which is derived from related technology risks. Competitors in this industry include financial institutions and well-established payment processing companies, but the industry is also facing new competitive pressure from non-traditional participants in the payments industry. Keeping up with technology changes requires a significant amount of research, software and product development, which may be costly. This investment in technology is not guaranteed to earn a positive return, depending on the success of the technology developed. While digital payments are expected to continue to grow as an overall portion of transactions as a whole, the payments industry is cyclical and a material and/or sustained downturn in the economy may materially impact the business models of such companies.

 

Pharmaceuticals Company Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF). Companies in the pharmaceuticals industry are subject to competitive forces that may make it difficult to raise prices and, in fact, may result in price discounting. The profitability of some companies in the pharmaceuticals industry may be dependent on a relatively limited number of products. In addition, their products can become obsolete due to industry innovation, changes in technologies, or other market developments. Many new products in the pharmaceuticals industry are subject to government approvals, regulation, and reimbursement rates. The process of obtaining government approvals may be long and costly. Many companies in the pharmaceuticals industry are heavily dependent on patents and intellectual property rights. The loss or impairment of these rights may adversely affect the profitability of these companies.

 

Liquidity Risk (All Funds). The Fund may not be able to sell some or all of the investments that it holds due to a lack of demand in the marketplace or other factors such as market turmoil, or if the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid asset to meet redemption requests or other cash needs it may only be able to sell those investments at a loss. Illiquid assets may also be difficult to value.

 

Valuation Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF, AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF). The Funds may hold securities or other assets that may be valued on the basis of factors other than market quotations. This may occur because the asset or security does not trade on a centralized exchange, or in times of market turmoil or reduced liquidity. There are multiple methods that can be used to value a portfolio holding when market quotations are not readily available. The value established for any portfolio holding at a point in time might differ from what would be produced using a different methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations. Portfolio holdings that are valued using techniques other than market quotations, including “fair valued” assets or securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their valuations from one day to the next than if market quotations were used. In addition, there is no assurance that the Funds could sell or close out a portfolio position for the value established for it at any time, and it is possible that the Funds would incur a loss because a portfolio position is sold or closed out at a discount to the valuation established by the Funds at that time. The Funds’ ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.

 

Concentration Risk (AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF). Each Fund will be concentrated in the industry assigned to its underlying issuer (i.e., hold more than 25% of its total assets in investments that provide long leveraged, inverse or inverse leveraged exposure, as applicable, to the industry assigned to the underlying issuer). A portfolio concentrated in a particular industry may present more risks than a portfolio broadly diversified over several industries.

 

Collateral Investments Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF, AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF). The Funds’ use of Collateral Investments may include obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities, including bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury, money market funds, short term bond ETFs and corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper.

 


92

 

 

 

Some securities issued or guaranteed by federal agencies and U.S. Government-sponsored instrumentalities may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, in which case the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the security for ultimate repayment, and may not be able to assert a claim against the United States itself in the event that the agency or instrumentality does not meet its commitment. The U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities do not guarantee the market value of their securities, and consequently, the value of such securities may fluctuate. Although the Funds may hold securities that carry U.S. Government guarantees, these guarantees do not extend to shares of the Funds.

 

Money market funds are subject to management fees and other expenses. Therefore, investments in money market funds will cause the Funds to bear indirectly a proportional share of the fees and costs of the money market funds in which they invests. At the same time, the Funds will continue to pay their own management fees and expenses with respect to all of its assets, including any portion invested in the shares of the money market fund. It is possible to lose money by investing in money market funds.

 

Short term bond ETFs will generally invest in short-term instruments (i.e., duration of less than one year). The amount of time until a fixed-income security matures can lead to various risks, including changes in interest rates over the life of a bond. Short-term fixed income securities generally provide lower returns than longer-term fixed income securities. The average maturity of an ETF’s investments will affect the volatility of the ETF’s share price.

 

Corporate debt securities such as commercial paper generally are short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses. Corporate debt may be rated investment-grade or below investment-grade and may carry variable or floating rates of interest. Corporate debt securities carry both credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk is the risk that the Funds could lose money if the issuer of a corporate debt security is unable to pay interest or repay principal when it is due. Some corporate debt securities that are rated below investment-grade generally are considered speculative because they present a greater risk of loss, including default, than higher quality debt securities.

 

Disruptive Innovation Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF). The AXS 2X Innovation ETF may invest in disruptive innovation companies. Companies that the advisor of the AXS 2X Innovation ETF believes are capitalizing on disruptive innovation and developing technologies to displace older technologies or create new markets may not in fact do so. Companies that initially develop a novel technology may not be able to capitalize on the technology. Companies that develop disruptive technologies may face political or legal attacks from competitors, industry groups or local and national governments. These companies may also be exposed to risks applicable to sectors other than the disruptive innovation theme for which they are chosen, and the securities issued by these companies may underperform the securities of other companies that are primarily focused on a particular theme. The AXS 2X Innovation ETF may invest in a company that does not currently derive any revenue from disruptive innovations or technologies, and there is no assurance that a company will derive any revenue from disruptive innovations or technologies in the future. A disruptive innovation or technology may constitute a small portion of a company’s overall business. As a result, the success of a disruptive innovation or technology may not affect the value of the equity securities issued by the company.

 

Financial Technology Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF). The AXS 2X Innovation ETF may invest in financial technology companies. Companies that are developing financial technologies that seek to disrupt or displace established financial institutions generally face competition from much larger and more established firms. Financial technology companies may not be able to capitalize on their disruptive technologies if they face political and/or legal attacks from competitors, industry groups or local and national governments. Laws generally vary by country, creating some challenges to achieving scale. A financial technology company may not currently derive any revenue, and there is no assurance that such company will derive any revenue from innovative technologies in the future. Additionally, financial technology companies may be adversely impacted by potential rapid product obsolescence, cybersecurity attacks, increased regulatory oversight and disruptions in the technology they depend on.

 

Communications Sector Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF). The AXS 2X Innovation ETF may invest in companies in the communication sector. Communication companies are particularly vulnerable to the potential obsolescence of products and services due to technological advancement and the innovation of competitors. Companies in the communications sector may also be affected by other competitive pressures, such as pricing competition, as well as

 


93

 

 

 

research and development costs, substantial capital requirements and government regulation. Additionally, fluctuating domestic and international demand, shifting demographics and often unpredictable changes in consumer tastes can drastically affect a communication company’s profitability. While all companies may be susceptible to network security breaches, certain companies in the communications sector may be particular targets of hacking and potential theft of proprietary or consumer information or disruptions in service, which could have a material adverse effect on their businesses.

 

Health Care Sector Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF). The AXS 2X Innovation ETF may invest in companies in the health care sector. The health care sector may be affected by government regulations and government health care programs, restrictions on government reimbursement for medical expenses, increases or decreases in the cost of medical products and services and product liability claims, among other factors. Many health care companies are: (i) heavily dependent on patent protection and intellectual property rights and the expiration of a patent may adversely affect their profitability; (ii) subject to extensive litigation based on product liability and similar claims; and (iii) subject to competitive forces that may make it difficult to raise prices and, in fact, may result in price discounting. Many health care products and services may be subject to regulatory approvals. The process of obtaining such approvals may be long and costly, and delays or failure to receive such approvals may negatively impact the business of such companies. Additional or more stringent laws and regulations enacted in the future could have a material adverse effect on such companies in the health care sector. In addition, issuers in the health care sector include issuers having their principal activities in the biotechnology industry, medical laboratories and research, drug laboratories and research and drug manufacturers.

 

Biotechnology Company Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF). The AXS 2X Innovation ETF may invest in biotechnology companies. A biotechnology company’s valuation can often be based largely on the potential or actual performance of a limited number of products and can accordingly be greatly affected if one of its products proves, among other things, unsafe, ineffective or unprofitable. Biotechnology companies are subject to regulation by, and the restrictions of, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, state and local governments, and foreign regulatory authorities.

 

Information Technology Sector Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF). The underlying ETFs may invest in companies in the information technology sector. The information technology sector includes companies engaged in internet software and services, technology hardware and storage peripherals, electronic equipment instruments and components, and semiconductors and semiconductor equipment. Information technology companies face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, which may have an adverse effect on profit margins. Information technology companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. The products of information technology companies may face rapid product obsolescence due to technological developments and frequent new product introduction, unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel. Failure to introduce new products, develop and maintain a loyal customer base, or achieve general market acceptance for their products could have a material adverse effect on a company’s business. Companies in the information technology sector are heavily dependent on intellectual property and the loss of patent, copyright and trademark protections may adversely affect the profitability of these companies.

 

Internet Company Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF). The underlying ETFs may invest in Internet companies. Many Internet-related companies have incurred large losses since their inception and may continue to incur large losses in the hope of capturing market share and generating future revenues. Accordingly, many such companies expect to incur significant operating losses for the foreseeable future, and may never be profitable. The markets in which many Internet companies compete face rapidly evolving industry standards, frequent new service and product announcements, introductions and enhancements, and changing customer demands. The failure of an Internet company to adapt to such changes could have a material adverse effect on the company’s business. Additionally, the widespread adoption of new Internet, networking, telecommunications technologies, or other technological changes could require substantial expenditures by an Internet company to modify or adapt its services or infrastructure, which could have a material adverse effect on an Internet company’s business.

 


94

 

 

 

Software Industry Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF). The ARK Innovation ETF may invest in software companies. The software industry can be significantly affected by intense competition, aggressive pricing, technological innovations, and product obsolescence. Companies in the software industry are subject to significant competitive pressures, such as aggressive pricing, new market entrants, competition for market share, short product cycles due to an accelerated rate of technological developments and the potential for limited earnings and/or falling profit margins. These companies also face the risks that new services, equipment or technologies will not be accepted by consumers and businesses or will become rapidly obsolete. These factors can affect the profitability of these companies and, as a result, the value of their securities. Also, patent protection is integral to the success of many companies in this industry, and profitability can be affected materially by, among other things, the cost of obtaining (or failing to obtain) patent approvals, the cost of litigating patent infringement and the loss of patent protection for products (which significantly increases pricing pressures and can materially reduce profitability with respect to such products). In addition, many software companies have limited operating histories. Prices of these companies’ securities historically have been more volatile than other securities, especially over the short term.

 

Bitcoin Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF). The ARK Innovation ETF may have exposure to bitcoin indirectly through investment in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (“GBTC”), a privately offered, investment vehicle, the shares of which are also available over-the-counter, that invests in bitcoin. The ARK Innovation ETF will not have exposure to bitcoin other than through GBTC and will not have exposure to other cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies (also referred to as “virtual currencies” and “digital currencies”) are digital assets designed to act as a medium of exchange. There are thousands of cryptocurrencies, the most well-known of which is bitcoin. Cryptocurrency generally operates without central authority (such as a bank) and is not backed by any government, corporation, or other entity. Cryptocurrency is not generally accepted as legal tender. Regulation of cryptocurrency is still developing. Federal, state and/or foreign governments may restrict the development, use, or exchange of cryptocurrency. The market price of bitcoin has been subject to extreme fluctuations. The price of bitcoin could fall sharply (potentially to zero) for various reasons, including, but not limited to, regulatory changes, issues impacting the bitcoin network, events involving entities that facilitate transactions in bitcoin, or changes in user preferences in favor of alternative cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, events that impact one cryptocurrency may lead to a decline in the value of other cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin. Cryptocurrency exchanges and other trading venues on which cryptocurrencies trade are relatively new and, in most cases, largely unregulated. Therefore, cryptocurrency exchanges may be more exposed to fraud and failure than established, regulated exchanges for securities, derivatives and other currencies. Cryptocurrency exchanges may not have the same features as traditional exchanges to enhance the stability of trading on the exchange, such as measures designed to prevent sudden price swings such as “flash crashes.” As a result, the prices of cryptocurrencies on exchanges may be subject to more volatility than traditional assets traded on regulated exchanges. Cryptocurrency exchanges are also subject to cyber security risks. Cryptocurrency exchanges have experienced cyber security breaches in the past and may be breached in the future, which could result in the theft and/or loss of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and impact the value of bitcoin. Furthermore, cyber security events, legal or regulatory actions, fraud, and technical glitches, may cause a cryptocurrency exchange to shut down temporarily or permanently, which may also affect the value of bitcoin. The ARK Innovation ETF’s investments in GBTC exposes the Innovation Fund to all of the risks related to bitcoin described above and also expose the Innovation Fund to risks related to GBTC directly. Shares of GBTC may trade at a significant premium or discount to NAV. To the extent GBTC trades at a discount to NAV, the value of the ARK Innovation ETF’s investment in GBTC would typically decrease. Similar to fiat currencies (i.e., a currency that is backed by a central bank or a national, supra-national or quasi-national organization), cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, are susceptible to theft, loss and destruction. If GBTC experiences theft, loss, or destruction of its bitcoin holdings, the ARK Innovation ETF’s investments in GBTC could be harmed. Furthermore, because there is no guarantee that an active trading market for GBTC will exist at any time, the ARK Innovation ETF’s investments in GBTC may also be subject to liquidity risk, which can impair the value of the ARK Innovation ETF’s investments in GBTC. Investors in the Innovation Fund may experience losses if the value of the ARK Innovation ETF’s investments in GBTC decline. The Innovation Fund will only have indirect exposure to GBTC through its exposure to the ARK Innovation ETF.

 

Equity Securities Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF). The value of the equity securities the underlying ETFs hold may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the issuers of securities the underlying ETFs hold participate or factors relating to specific companies in which the underlying ETFs invest.

 


95

 

 

 

These can include stock movements, purchases or sales of securities by the underlying ETFs, government policies, litigation and changes in interest rates, inflation, the financial condition of the securities’ issuer or perceptions of the issuer, or economic conditions in general or specific to the issuer. Equity securities may also be particularly sensitive to general movements in the stock market, and a decline in the broader market may affect the value of the underlying ETF’s equity investments.

 

Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) (AXS 2X Innovation ETF). The ARK Innovation ETF may invest in stock of, warrants to purchase stock of, and other interests in SPACs or similar special purposes entities. A SPAC is a publicly traded company that raises investment capital for the purpose of acquiring or merging with an existing company. Investments in SPACs and similar entities are subject to a variety of risks beyond those associated with other equity securities. Because SPACs and similar entities do not have any operating history or ongoing business other than seeking acquisitions, the value of their securities is particularly dependent on the ability of the SPAC’s management to identify a merger target and complete an acquisition. Until an acquisition or merger is completed, a SPAC generally invests its assets, less a portion retained to cover expenses, in U.S. government securities, money market securities and cash and does not typically pay dividends in respect of its common stock. As a result, it is possible that an investment in a SPAC may lose value.

 

Internet Information Provider Company Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF). The ARK Innovation ETF may invest in Internet information provider companies. Companies. Internet information provider companies provide Internet navigation services and reference guide information and publish, provide or present proprietary advertising and/or third-party content. Such companies often derive a large portion of their revenues from advertising, and a reduction in spending by or loss of advertisers could seriously harm their business. This business is rapidly evolving and intensely competitive, and is subject to changing technologies, shifting user needs, and frequent introductions of new products and services. The research and development of new, technologically advanced products is a complex and uncertain process requiring high levels of innovation and investment, as well as the accurate anticipation of technology, market trends and consumer needs. The number of people who access the Internet is increasing dramatically and a failure to attract and retain a substantial number of such users to a company’s products and services or to develop products and technologies that are more compatible with alternative devices, could adversely affect operating results. Concerns regarding a company’s products, services or processes that may compromise the privacy of users or other privacy related matters, even if unfounded, could damage a company’s reputation and adversely affect operating results.

 

Catalog and Mail Order House Company Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF). The ARK Innovation ETF may invest in Catalog and mail order house companies. Catalog and mail order house companies may be exposed to significant inventory risks that may adversely affect operating results due to, among other factors: seasonality, new product launches, rapid changes in product cycles and pricing, defective merchandise, changes in consumer demand and consumer spending patterns, or changes in consumer tastes with respect to products. Demand for products can change significantly between the time inventory or components are ordered and the date of sale. The acquisition of certain types of inventory or components may require significant lead-time and prepayment and they may not be returnable. Failure to adequately predict customer demand or otherwise optimize and operate distribution centers could result in excess or insufficient inventory or distribution capacity, result in increased costs, impairment charges, or both. The business of catalog and mail order house companies can be highly seasonal and failure to stock or restock popular products in sufficient amounts during high demand periods could significantly affect revenue and future growth. Increased website traffic during peak periods could cause system interruptions which may reduce the volume of goods sold and the attractiveness of a company’s products and services.

 

Foreign Securities Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF). The underlying ETF’s investment in foreign securities can be riskier than U.S. securities investments. Investments in the securities of foreign issuers (including investments in ADRs and GDRs) are subject to the risks associated with investing in those foreign markets, such as heightened risks of inflation or nationalization. The prices of foreign securities and the prices of U.S. securities have, at times, moved in opposite directions. In addition, securities of foreign issuers may lose value due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market. During periods of social, political or economic instability in a country or region, the value of a foreign security traded on U.S. exchanges could be affected by, among other things, increasing price

 


96

 

 

 

volatility, illiquidity, or the closure of the primary market on which the security (or the security underlying the ADR or GDR) is traded. You may lose money due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market. The ARK Innovation ETF normally will not hedge any foreign currency exposure.

 

Emerging Market Securities Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF). The underlying ETFs’ investment in securities of emerging market issuers may present risks that are greater than or different from those associated with foreign securities due to less developed and liquid markets and such factors as increased economic, political, regulatory, or other uncertainties. Certain emerging market countries may be subject to less stringent requirements regarding accounting, auditing, financial reporting and record keeping and therefore, material information related to an investment may not be available or reliable. In addition, the underlying ETFs are limited in their ability to exercise their legal rights or enforce a counterparty’s legal obligations in certain jurisdictions outside of the United States, in particular, in emerging markets countries.

 

Government-Sponsored Entities Risk (AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF). The Fund’s investment in U.S. government obligations may include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. government, or its agencies or instrumentalities. There can be no assurance that the U.S. government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) when it is not obligated to do so.

 

Fixed Income Securities Risk (AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF). The prices of fixed income securities respond to economic developments, particularly interest rate changes, as well as to changes in an issuer’s credit rating or market perceptions about the creditworthiness of an issuer. Prices of fixed income securities tend to move inversely with changes in interest rates. Generally fixed income securities decrease in value if interest rates rise and increase in value if interest rates fall, and longer-term and lower rated securities are more volatile than shorter-term and higher rated securities. The longer the effective maturity and duration of the Fund’s portfolio, the more the Fund’s share price is likely to react to changes in interest rates. (Duration is a weighted measure of the length of time required to receive the present value of future payments, both interest and principal, from a fixed income security.) Recent and potential future changes in monetary policy made by central banks and/or governments are likely to affect the level of interest rates. Some fixed income securities give the issuer the option to call, or redeem, the securities before their maturity dates. If an issuer calls its security during a time of declining interest rates, the Fund might have to reinvest the proceeds in an investment offering a lower yield, and therefore might not benefit from any increase in value of the security as a result of declining interest rates. During periods of market illiquidity or rising interest rates, prices of callable issues are subject to increased price fluctuation. In addition, the Fund may be subject to extension risk, which occurs during a rising interest rate environment because certain obligations may be paid off by an issuer more slowly than anticipated, causing the value of those securities held by the Fund to fall.

 

Debt Securities Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF, AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF). Investments in debt securities subject the holder to the credit risk of the issuer. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer or other obligor of a security will not be able or willing to make payments of interest and principal when due. Generally, the value of debt securities will change inversely with changes in interest rates. To the extent that interest rates rise, certain underlying obligations may be paid off substantially slower than originally anticipated and the value of those securities may fall sharply. During periods of falling interest rates, the income received by the Funds may decline. If the principal on a debt security is prepaid before expected, the prepayments of principal may have to be reinvested in obligations paying interest at lower rates. Debt securities generally do not trade on a securities exchange making them generally less liquid and more difficult to value than common stock.

 

Call Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF, AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF). Some debt securities may be redeemed, or “called,” at the option of the issuer before their stated maturity date. In general, an issuer will call its debt securities if they can be refinanced by issuing new debt securities which bear a lower interest rate. The Funds are subject to the possibility that during periods of falling interest rates an issuer will call its high yielding debt securities. The Funds would then be forced to invest the proceeds at lower interest rates, likely resulting in a decline in the Funds’ income.

 


97

 

 

 

Micro-Capitalization Company Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF, AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF). Micro-capitalization companies are subject to substantially greater risks of loss and price fluctuations because their earnings and revenues tend to be less predictable (and some companies may be experiencing significant losses). Their share prices tend to be more volatile and their markets less liquid than companies with larger market capitalizations. The shares of micro-capitalization companies tend to trade less frequently than those of larger, more established companies, which can adversely affect the pricing of these securities and the future ability to sell these securities.

 

Large-Cap Company Risk (All Funds). Larger, more established companies may be unable to attain the high growth rates of successful, smaller companies during periods of economic expansion.

 

Volatility Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF, AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF). Volatility Risk. The Fund may have investments that appreciate or decrease significantly in value over short periods of time. This may cause the Fund’s NAV per share to experience significant increases or declines in value over short periods of time. Volatility is a statistical measurement of the magnitude of up and down asset price fluctuations over time. Rapid and dramatic price swings will result in high volatility. The Fund’s returns are expected to be volatile; however, the actual or realized volatility level for longer or shorter periods may be materially higher or lower depending on market conditions and investors may suffer a significant and possibly a complete loss on their investment in the Fund.

 

Interest Rate Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF, AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF). Prices of fixed income securities tend to move inversely with changes in interest rates. Generally fixed income securities decrease in value if interest rates rise and increase in value if interest rates fall, with longer-term securities being more sensitive than shorter-term securities. For example, the price of a security with a three-year duration would be expected to drop by approximately 3% in response to a 1% increase in interest rates. Duration is a weighted measure of the length of time required to receive the present value of future payments, both interest and principal, from a fixed income security. Generally, the longer the maturity and duration of a bond or fixed rate loan, the more sensitive it is to this risk. Falling interest rates also create the potential for a decline in the Fund’s income. Changes in governmental policy, rising inflation rates, and general economic developments, among other factors, could cause interest rates to increase and could have a substantial and immediate effect on the values of the Fund’s investments. These risks are greater during periods of rising inflation. In addition, a potential rise in interest rates may result in periods of volatility and increased redemptions that might require the Fund to liquidate portfolio securities at disadvantageous prices and times.

 


98

 

 

 

Active Management Risk (All Funds). The Funds are actively-managed and their performance reflects investment decisions that the Adviser makes for the Funds. Such judgments about the Funds’ investments may prove to be incorrect. If the investments selected and the strategies employed by the Funds fail to produce the intended results, the Funds could underperform as compared to other funds with similar investment objectives and/or strategies, or could have negative returns.

 

Inverse Risk (AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF, AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF). Short (inverse) positions are designed to profit from a decline in the price of particular securities, investments in securities or indices. The Fund will lose value if and when the Index’s price rises – a result that is the opposite from traditional mutual funds and ETFs. Like leveraged investments, inverse positions may be considered aggressive and may result in significant losses. Inverse positions may also be leveraged. Such instruments may experience imperfect negative correlation between the price of the investment and the underlying security or index. The use of inverse instruments may expose the Fund to additional risks that it would not be subject to if it invested only in “long” positions.

 

Small-Cap and Mid-Cap Company Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF, AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF). Investing in small-capitalization and mid-capitalization companies generally involves greater risks than investing in large-capitalization companies. The securities of small-capitalization and mid-capitalization companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources or may depend on the expertise of a few people and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements and may have lower trading volumes or more erratic trading than securities of larger, more established companies or market averages in general. In addition, such companies typically are more likely to be adversely affected than large-capitalization companies by changes in earning results, business prospects, investor expectations or poor economic or market conditions. Many small-capitalization companies may be in the early stages of development. Since equity securities of smaller companies may lack sufficient market liquidity and may not be regularly traded, it may be difficult or impossible to sell securities at an advantageous time or a desirable price.

 

Operational Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF, AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF). The Funds are exposed to operational risks arising from a number of factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Funds’ service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Funds and the Advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.

 

Credit Risk (AXS 2X Innovation ETF, AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF). An issuer or other obligated party of a debt security may be unable or unwilling to make dividend, interest and/or principal payments when due. In addition, the value of a debt security may decline because of concerns about the issuer’s ability or unwillingness to make such payments.

 

Limited Operating History (AXS 2X Innovation ETF, AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF). The Fund is recently organized and has a limited operating history. As a result, prospective investors have a limited track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.

 

Non-Diversification Risk (All Funds). The Fund is classified as “non-diversified,” which means the Fund may invest a larger percentage of its assets in the securities of a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund. Investment in securities of a limited number of issuers exposes the Fund to greater market risk and potential losses than if its assets were diversified among the securities of a greater number of issuers. The Funds seek to achieve daily results that correspond to a multiple of the daily performance of a single issuer by entering into one or more swaps. In seeking this objective, the Funds may invest a relatively high percentage of their assets in swaps with a single counterparty or a few counterparties. As a result, the Funds may experience increased volatility and be more susceptible to a single economic or regulatory occurrence affecting the issuer or one or more of the counterparties.

 

Tax Risk (AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF). In order to qualify for the favorable tax treatment generally available to regulated investment companies, the Funds must satisfy certain diversification and other requirements. In particular, a Fund generally may not acquire a security if, as a result of the acquisition, more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s assets would be invested in (a) issuers in which the Fund has, in

 


99

 

 

 

each case, invested more than 5% of the Fund’s assets and (b) issuers more than 10% of whose outstanding voting securities are owned by the Fund. The application of these requirements to certain investments (including swaps) that may be entered into by the Funds is unclear. In addition, the application of these requirements to the Fund’s investment objective is not clear, particularly because the Fund’s investment objective focuses on the performance of the stock of a single issuer. If a Fund were to fail to qualify as a regulated investment company, it would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation, and distributions to its shareholders would not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income.

 

Security Issuer Risk (AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF). Issuer-specific attributes may cause a security held by the Funds to be more volatile than the market generally. The value of an individual security or particular type of security may be more volatile than the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of the market as a whole.

 

Recent Market Events (All Funds). Periods of market volatility may occur in response to market events and other economic, political, and global macro factors. The COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and higher inflation have resulted in extreme volatility in the financial markets, economic downturns around the world, and severe losses, particularly to some sectors of the economy and individual issuers, and reduced liquidity of certain instruments. These events have caused significant disruptions to business operations, including business closures; strained healthcare systems; disruptions to supply chains and employee availability; large fluctuations in consumer demand; large expansion of government deficits and debt as a result of government actions to mitigate the effects of such events; and widespread uncertainty regarding the long-term effects of such events.

 

Governments and central banks, including the Federal Reserve in the United States, took extraordinary and unprecedented actions to support local and global economies and the financial markets in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including by keeping interest rates at historically low levels for an extended period. The Federal Reserve concluded its market support activities in 2022 and began to raise interest rates in an effort to fight inflation. The Federal Reserve may determine to raise interest rates further. This and other government intervention into the economy and financial markets to address the pandemic, inflation, or other significant events in the future, may not work as intended, particularly if the efforts are perceived by investors as being unlikely to achieve the desired results.

 

Such events could be prolonged and could adversely affect the value and liquidity of the Fund’s investments, impair the Fund’s ability to satisfy redemption requests, and negatively impact the Fund’s performance. Other market events may cause similar disruptions and effects.

 

Cybersecurity Risk (All Funds). Cybersecurity incidents may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, or cause the Fund, the Advisor, and/or other service providers (including custodians, sub-custodians, transfer agents and financial intermediaries) to suffer data breaches, data corruption or loss of operational functionality. A cybersecurity incident may disrupt the processing of shareholder transactions, impact the Fund’s ability to calculate its net asset value, and prevent shareholders from redeeming their shares. Issuers of securities in which the Fund invests are also subject to cybersecurity risks, and the value of those securities could decline if the issuers experience cybersecurity incidents.

 

Non-Principal Risks

 

Inflation Risk (AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF). Inflation may reduce the intrinsic value of increases in the value of the Funds. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the value of the Funds’ assets can decline as can the value of the Funds’ distributions.

 

Legislation and Litigation Risk (AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF, AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF). Legislation or litigation that affects the value of securities held by the Funds may reduce the value of the Funds. From time to time, various legislative initiatives are proposed that may have a negative impact on certain securities in which the Funds invest. In addition, litigation regarding any of the securities owned by the Funds may negatively impact the value of the Shares. Such legislation or litigation may cause the Funds to lose value or may result in higher portfolio turnover if the Advisor determines to sell such a holding.

 


100

 

 

 

DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS

 

A description of the Trust’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Funds’ portfolio holdings is available in the SAI for the Funds, which is available at www.axsinvestments.com.

 

Management of the Funds

 

Each Fund is a series of Investment Managers Series Trust II, an investment company registered under the 1940 Act. Each Fund is treated as a separate fund with its own investment objectives and policies. The Trust is organized as a Delaware statutory trust. The Board is responsible for the overall management and direction of the Trust. The Board elects the Trust’s officers and approves all significant agreements, including those with the Advisor, custodian and fund administrative and accounting agent.

 

Investment Advisor

 

AXS Investments LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, serves as the Funds’ advisor pursuant to an investment management agreement (the “Investment Advisory Agreement”). The principal office of the Advisor is located at 181 Westchester Ave, Suite 402, Port Chester, New York 10573. The Advisor has approximately $1.38 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2023.

 

In its capacity as Advisor, AXS manages the Fund’s investments subject to the supervision of the Board. The Advisor also arranges for sub-advisory, transfer agency, custody, fund administration, distribution and all other services necessary for the Fund to operate. Further, the Advisor continuously reviews, supervises, and administers the Fund’s investment program.

 

Pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement, for its services, the Advisor is entitled to receive an annual management fee as listed below of each Fund’s average daily net assets, calculated daily and payable monthly.

 

Fund

Contractual Advisory Fees
As a Percentage of Average
Daily Net Assets

AXS 2X Innovation ETF

0.95%

AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF

0.95%

AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF

0.95%

AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF

0.95%

AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF

0.75%*

 

*

AXS has agreed to cap the advisory fee to 0.65% for the AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF for a period of two years from August 5, 2022, the date of the reorganization of the Predecessor Fund, after which period the advisory fee for the Fund will be 0.75%.

 

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the Investment Advisory Agreement on behalf of the Funds will be available in the Funds’ Annual Report to shareholders for the fiscal period ended March 31, 2023.

 

Portfolio Managers

 

Parker Binion, Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, serves as portfolio manager for the Funds. Mr. Binion joined AXS in January 2021. Prior to joining AXS, Mr. Binion was a portfolio manager of Kerns Capital Management, Inc. since September 2014, and was responsible for managing the firm’s separately managed account strategies and hedging/net exposure strategies. Prior to 2014, Mr. Binion was an investment advisor representative with Heritage Capital from 2012 to 2014. He holds an A.B. in political science with a concentration in economics from Duke University and a J.D. with honors from the University of Texas at Austin.

 

Travis Trampe, Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, serves as portfolio manager for Funds. Mr. Trampe joined AXS in 2022. Prior to joining AXS, Mr. Trampe was a portfolio manager with ETF issuers and asset management firms for over 15 years, where he was responsible for managing ETFs, mutual funds, UCITS and other fund vehicles. Mr. Trampe’s

 


101

 

 

 

asset management tenure includes longtime experience in portfolio management, trade execution and fund operations in U.S. and global securities markets. Mr. Trampe holds a B.S. in finance and mathematics from Nebraska Wesleyan University.

 

Manager of Managers Structure

 

The Funds and the Advisor have received an exemptive order from the SEC to operate under a manager of managers structure that permits the Advisor, with the approval of the Board, to appoint and replace sub-advisors, enter into sub-advisory agreements, and materially amend and terminate sub-advisory agreements on behalf of each Fund without shareholder approval (the “Manager of Managers Structure”). Under the Manager of Managers Structure, the Advisor has ultimate responsibility, subject to oversight by the Board, for overseeing a Fund’s sub-advisor(s) and recommending to the Board the hiring, termination, or replacement of any such sub-advisor(s). The exemptive order does not apply to any sub-advisor that is affiliated with a Fund or the Advisor.

 

The Manager of Managers Structure enables each Fund to operate with greater efficiency and without incurring the expense and delays associated with obtaining shareholder approvals for matters relating to sub-advisors or sub-advisory agreements. The Manager of Managers Structure does not permit an increase in the overall management and advisory fees payable by a Fund without shareholder approval. Shareholders will be notified of any changes made to sub-advisors or sub-advisory agreements within 90 days of the changes.

 

Fund Expenses

 

Each Fund is responsible for its own operating expenses (all of which will be borne directly or indirectly by the Fund’s shareholders), including among others, legal fees and expenses of counsel to the Fund and the Fund’s independent trustees; insurance (including trustees’ and officers’ errors and omissions insurance); auditing and accounting expenses; taxes and governmental fees; listing fees; fees and expenses of the Fund’s custodians, administrators, transfer agents, registrars and other service providers; expenses for portfolio pricing services by a pricing agent, if any; expenses in connection with the issuance and offering of shares; brokerage commissions and other costs of acquiring or disposing of any portfolio holding of the Fund and any litigation expenses.

 

The Advisor has contractually agreed to waive its fees and/or pay for operating expenses of each Fund to ensure that the total annual fund operating expenses (exclusive of any (i) front-end or contingent deferred loads, (ii) brokerage fees and commission, (iii) acquired fund fees and expenses, (iv) fees and expenses associated with instruments in other collective investment vehicles or derivative instruments (including for example options and swap fees and expenses), (v) borrowing costs (such as interest and dividend expense on securities sold short), (vi) taxes, (vii) other fees related to underlying investments (such as option fees and expenses or swap fees and expenses), or (viii) extraordinary expenses such as litigation (which may include indemnification of Fund officers and trustees or contractual indemnification of Fund service providers (other than the Fund’s advisor) do not exceed the following. These agreements are in effect until the dates indicated in the table below and it may be terminated before that date only by the Trust’s Board of Trustees.

 

Fund

Expense Cap as
percent of average
daily net assets

Fee waiver effective
through:

AXS 2X Innovation ETF

1.15%

July 31, 2024

AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF

1.15%

July 31, 2024

AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF

1.15%

July 31, 2024

AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF

1.15%

July 31, 2024

AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF

0.75%

August 5, 2024

 

Any reduction in advisory fees or payment of fund expenses made by AXS in a fiscal year may be reimbursed by the Funds for a period ending three years after the date of reduction or payment if AXS so requests. Such reimbursement may be requested from a Fund if the reimbursement will not cause the Fund’s annual expense ratio to exceed the lesser of (a) the expense limitation in effect at the time such fees were waived or payments made, or (b) the expense limitation

 


102

 

 

 

in effect at the time of the reimbursement. Reimbursement of fees waived or payments made will be made on a “first in, first out” basis so that the oldest fees waived or payments are satisfied first. All other reimbursement is contingent upon the Board’s subsequent review of the reimbursed amounts. Each Fund must pay current ordinary operating expenses before the Advisor is entitled to any reimbursement of fees and/or fund expenses.

 

Buying and Selling Fund Shares

 

Fund shares are listed for trading on the Exchange. When you buy or sell the Funds’ shares on the secondary market, you will pay or receive the market price. You may incur customary brokerage commissions and charges and may pay some or all of the spread between the bid and the offered price in the secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction. The shares of the Funds will trade on the Exchange at prices that may differ to varying degrees from the daily NAV of such shares. A “Business Day” with respect to the Funds is any day on which the Exchange is open for business. The Exchange is generally open Monday through Friday and is closed on weekends and the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

 

Each Fund’s NAV is calculated as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, the normal close of regular trading on the NYSE, on each day the NYSE is open for trading. If for example, the NYSE closes at 1:00 p.m. New York time, the Funds’ NAVs would still be determined as of 4:00 p.m. New York time. In this example, portfolio securities traded on the NYSE would be valued at their closing prices unless the Advisor determines that a “fair value” adjustment is appropriate due to subsequent events. The NAV is determined by dividing the value of a Fund’s portfolio securities, cash and other assets (including accrued interest), less all liabilities (including accrued expenses), by the total number of outstanding shares. A Fund’s NAV may be calculated earlier if permitted by the SEC. The NYSE is closed on weekends and most U.S. national holidays. However, foreign securities listed primarily on non-U.S. markets may trade on weekends or other days on which the Fund does not value its shares, which may significantly affect a Fund’s NAV on those days.

 

Each Fund’s securities generally are valued at market price. Securities are valued at fair value when market quotations are not readily available. The Board has designated the Advisor as each Fund’s valuation designee (the “Valuation Designee”) to make all fair value determinations with respect to the Fund’s portfolio investments, subject to the Board’s oversight. As the Valuation Designee, the Advisor has adopted and implemented policies and procedures to be followed when a Fund must utilize fair value pricing, including when reliable market quotations are not readily available, when a Fund’s pricing service does not provide a valuation (or provides a valuation that, in the judgment of the Advisor, does not represent the security’s fair value), or when, in the judgment of the Advisor, events have rendered the market value unreliable (see, for example, the discussion of fair value pricing of foreign securities in the paragraph below). Valuing securities at fair value involves reliance on the judgment of the Advisor, and may result in a different price being used in the calculation of a Fund’s NAV from quoted or published prices for the same securities. Fair value determinations are made by the Advisor, in good faith, in accordance with procedures approved by the Board. There can be no assurance that a Fund will obtain the fair value assigned to a security if it sells the security.

 

In certain circumstances, the Advisor employs fair value pricing to ensure greater accuracy in determining a Fund’s daily NAV and to prevent dilution by frequent traders or market timers who seek to exploit temporary market anomalies. Fair value pricing may be applied to foreign securities held by a Fund upon the occurrence of an event after the close of trading on non-U.S. markets but before the close of trading on the NYSE when a Fund’s NAV is determined. If the event may result in a material adjustment to the price of a Fund’s foreign securities once non-U.S. markets open on the following business day (such as, for example, a significant surge or decline in the U.S. market), the Advisor may value such foreign securities at fair value, taking into account the effect of such event, in order to calculate the Fund’s NAV.

 

Other types of portfolio securities that the Advisor may fair value include, but are not limited to: (1) investments that are illiquid or traded infrequently, including “restricted” securities and private placements for which there is no public market; (2) investments for which, in the judgment of the Advisor, the market price is stale; (3) securities of an issuer that has entered into a restructuring; (4) securities for which trading has been halted or suspended; and (5) fixed income securities for which there is not a current market value quotation.

 


103

 

 

 

Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Fund Shares

 

The Funds do not impose any restrictions on the frequency of purchases and redemptions of Creation Units; however, the Funds reserve the right to reject or limit purchases at any time as described in the SAI. When considering that no restriction or policy was necessary, the Board evaluated the risks posed by arbitrage and market timing activities, such as whether frequent purchases and redemptions would interfere with the efficient implementation of the Funds’ investment strategies, or whether they would cause a Fund to experience increased transaction costs. The Board considered that, unlike traditional mutual funds, shares of the Funds are issued and redeemed only in large quantities of shares known as Creation Units available only from the Funds directly to Authorized Participants, and that most trading in the Funds occurs on the Exchange at prevailing market prices and does not involve the Funds directly. Given this structure, the Board determined that it is unlikely that trading due to arbitrage opportunities or market timing by shareholders would result in negative impact to the Funds or their shareholders. In addition, frequent trading of shares of the Funds done by Authorized Participants and arbitrageurs is critical to ensuring that the market price remains at or close to NAV.

 

Availability of Information

 

Each Business Day, the following information will be available at www.axsinvestments.com with respect to each Fund: (i) information for each portfolio holding that will form the basis of the next calculation of a Fund’s net asset value per share; (ii) a Fund’s net asset value per share, market price, and premium or discount, each as of the end of the prior Business Day; (iii) a table showing the number of days a Fund’s shares traded at a premium or discount during the most recently completed calendar year and the most recently completed calendar quarter since that year; (iv) a line graph showing Fund share premiums or discounts for the most recently completed calendar year and the most recently completed calendar quarter since that year; (v) a Fund’s median bid-ask spread over the last thirty calendar days; and (vi) if during the past year a Fund’s premium or discount was greater than 2% for more than seven consecutive trading days, a statement that a Fund’s premium or discount, as applicable, was greater than 2% and a discussion of the factors that are reasonably believed to have materially contributed to the premium or discount.

 

Dividends, Distributions and Taxes

 

Fund Distributions

 

The Funds pay out dividends from their net investment income annually and distributes their net capital gains, if any, to investors at least annually.

 

Dividend Reinvestment Service

 

Brokers may make available to their customers who own shares of the Funds the Depository Trust Company book-entry dividend reinvestment service. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and capital gains will automatically be reinvested in additional whole shares of the respective Fund purchased on the secondary market. Without this service, investors would receive their distributions in cash. To determine whether the dividend reinvestment service is available and whether there is a commission or other charge for using this service, consult your broker. Brokers may require a Fund’s shareholders to adhere to specific procedures and timetables.

 

Federal Income Tax Consequences

 

The following discussion is very general and does not address investors subject to special rules, such as investors who hold Fund shares through an IRA, 401(k) plan or other tax-advantaged account. The Statement of Information contains further information about taxes. Because each shareholder’s circumstances are different and special tax rules may apply, you should consult your tax advisor about your investment in a Fund.

 

You will generally have to pay federal income taxes, as well as any state or local taxes, on distributions received from a Fund, whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares. If you sell Fund shares, it is generally considered a taxable event. Distributions of net investment income, other than distributions a Fund reports as “qualified dividend income,” are taxable for federal income tax purposes at ordinary income tax rates. Distributions of net short-term capital gains are

 


104

 

 

 

also generally taxable at ordinary income tax rates. Distributions from a Fund’s net capital gain (i.e., the excess of its net long-term capital gain over its net short-term capital loss) are taxable for federal income tax purposes as long-term capital gain, regardless of how long the shareholder has held Fund shares.

 

Dividends paid by a Fund (but none of a Fund’s capital gain distributions) may qualify in part for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders, provided certain holding period and other requirements are satisfied. Distributions that a Fund reports as “qualified dividend income” may be eligible to be taxed to non-corporate shareholders at the reduced rates applicable to long-term capital gain if derived from the Fund’s qualified dividend income and if certain other requirements are satisfied. “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.

 

Since each Fund’s income is derived primarily from sources that do not pay dividends, it is not expected that a substantial portion of the dividends paid by the Funds will qualify either for the dividends-received deduction for corporations or for any favorable U.S. federal income tax rate available to non-corporate shareholders on “qualified dividend income.”

 

You may want to avoid buying shares of a Fund just before it declares a distribution (on or before the record date), because such a distribution will be taxable to you even though it may effectively be a return of a portion of your investment.

 

Although distributions are generally taxable when received, dividends declared in October, November or December to shareholders of record as of a date in such month and paid during the following January are treated as if received on December 31 of the calendar year when the dividends were declared.

 

Information on the federal income tax status of dividends and distributions is provided annually.

 

Dividends and distributions from a Fund and net gain from sales of Fund shares will generally be taken into account in determining a shareholder’s “net investment income” for purposes of the Medicare contribution tax applicable to certain individuals, estates and trusts.

 

If you do not provide your Fund with your correct taxpayer identification number and any required certifications, you will be subject to backup withholding on your dividends and other distributions. The backup withholding rate is currently 24%.

 

Dividends and certain other payments made by a Fund to a non-U.S. shareholder are subject to withholding of federal income tax at the rate of 30% (or such lower rate as may be determined in accordance with any applicable treaty). Dividends that are reported by a Fund as “interest-related dividends” or “short-term capital gain dividends” are generally exempt from such withholding. In general, a Fund may report interest-related dividends to the extent of its net income derived from U.S.-source interest and a Fund may report short-term capital gain dividends to the extent its net short-term capital gain for the taxable year exceeds its net long-term capital loss. Backup withholding will not be applied to payments that have been subject to the 30% withholding tax described in this paragraph.

 

Under legislation commonly referred to as “FATCA,” unless certain non-U.S. entities that hold shares comply with requirements of the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) that will generally require them to report information regarding U.S. persons investing in, or holding accounts with, such entities, a 30% withholding tax may apply to Fund distributions payable to such entities. A non-U.S. shareholder may be exempt from the withholding described in this paragraph under an applicable intergovernmental agreement between the United States and a foreign government, provided that the shareholder and the applicable foreign government comply with the terms of the agreement.

 

An Authorized Participant who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time and the sum of the exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered plus the amount of any cash paid for such Creation Units. A person who redeems Creation Units will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanger’s basis in the Creation Units and the sum of the aggregate market value of any securities received plus the amount of any

 


105

 

 

 

cash received for such Creation Units. The IRS, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.

 

Any gain or loss realized upon a creation of Creation Units will be treated as capital gain or loss if the Authorized Participant holds the securities exchanged therefor as capital assets, and otherwise will be ordinary income or loss. Similarly, any gain or loss realized upon a redemption of Creation Units of a Fund will be treated as capital gain or loss if the Authorized Participant holds the shares of the Fund comprising the Creation Units as capital assets, and otherwise will be ordinary income or loss. Any capital gain or loss realized upon the creation of Creation Units will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the securities exchanged for such Creation Units have been held for more than one year, and otherwise will be short-term capital gain or loss. Any capital gain or loss realized upon the redemption of Creation Units of a Fund will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the shares of the Fund comprising the Creation Units have been held for more than one year, and otherwise, will generally be short-term capital gain or loss. Any capital loss realized upon a redemption of Creation Units held for 6 months or less will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any amounts treated as distributions to the applicable Authorized Participant of long-term capital gains with respect to the Creation Units (including any amounts credited to the Authorized Participant as undistributed capital gains).

 

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 of the Fund so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund and if, pursuant to Section 351 of the Code, the Fund would have a basis in any 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 shares of the Fund so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund, the purchaser (or a group of purchasers) may not recognize gain or loss upon the exchange of securities for Creation Units.

 

Persons purchasing or redeeming Creation Units should consult their own tax advisors with respect to the tax treatment of any creation or redemption transaction.

 

Distributor

 

ALPS Distributors, Inc. (the “Distributor”) serves as the distributor of Creation Units for the Funds on an agency basis. The Distributor does not maintain a secondary market in Shares.

 

The Board has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. In accordance with its Rule 12b-1 plan, the Funds, except for the AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF, are authorized to pay an amount up to 0.25% of their average daily net assets each year to reimburse the Distributor for amounts expended to finance activities primarily intended to result in the sale of Creation Units or the provision of investor services. The Distributor may also use this amount to compensate securities dealers or other persons that are APs for providing distribution assistance, including broker-dealer and shareholder support and educational and promotional services. The Funds do not and have no current intention of paying 12b-1 fees. However, in the event 12b-1 fees are charged in the future, because these fees are paid out of a Fund’s assets, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than certain other types of sales charges.

 

Fund Service Providers

 

Co-Administrators. UMB Fund Services, Inc. (“UMBFS”), 235 West Galena Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212, and Mutual Fund Administration, LLC (“MFAC”), 2220 E. Route 66, Suite 226, Glendora, California 91740 (collectively the “Co-Administrators”), act as co-administrators for the Funds. Pursuant to the Co-Administration Agreement, the Co-Administrators receive a fee for administration services based on each Fund’s average daily net assets, which is paid by the Advisor.

 


106

 

 

 

Transfer Agent. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., located at 50 Post Office Square, Boston, Massachusetts 02110, serves as the Funds’ transfer agent. The transfer agent provides record keeping and shareholder services.

 

Custodian. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., located at 50 Post Office Square, Boston, Massachusetts 02110, serves as the Funds’ custodian. The custodian holds the securities, cash and other assets of the Fund.

 

Fund Accounting Agent. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., located at 50 Post Office Square, Boston, Massachusetts 02110, serves as the fund accounting agent for the Funds. The fund accounting agent calculates each Fund’s daily NAV.

 

Legal Counsel. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP (“Morgan Lewis”), 600 Anton Boulevard, Suite 1800, Costa Mesa, California 92626, serves as legal counsel to the Trust and to the Independent Trustees. Chapman and Cutler LLP, 320 South Canal Street, Chicago, Illinois 60606, serves as legal counsel to the Advisor.

 

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. Tait, Weller & Baker LLP, Two Liberty Place, 50 South 16th Street, Suite 2900, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102-2529, serves as the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm and is responsible for auditing the annual financial statements of each Fund.

 

Additional Information

 

Investments by Other Registered Investment Companies

 

For purposes of the 1940 Act, each Fund is treated as a registered investment company. Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by investment companies in the securities of other investment companies, including shares of the Funds. Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act permits registered investment companies to invest in exchange-traded funds offered by the Trust, including the Funds, beyond the limits of Section 12(d)(1) subject to certain terms and conditions, including that such registered investment companies enter into an agreement with the Trust.

 

Continuous Offering

 

The method by which Creation Units are purchased and traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Units are issued and sold by each Fund on an ongoing basis, at any point a “distribution,” as such term is used in the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), may occur. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner which could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the Prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the Securities Act.

 

For example, a broker-dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory underwriter if it takes Creation Units after placing an order with the transfer agent, breaks them down into individual shares, and sells such shares directly to customers, or if it chooses to couple the creation of a supply of new shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for shares. A determination of whether one is an underwriter for purposes of the Securities Act must take into account all the facts and circumstances pertaining to the activities of the broker-dealer or its client in the particular case, and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could lead to categorization as an underwriter.

 

Broker dealer firms should also note that dealers who are not “underwriters” but are effecting transactions in shares of the Funds, whether or not participating in the distribution of shares of the Funds, are generally required to deliver a prospectus. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act is not available with respect to such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. As a result, broker-dealer-firms should note that dealers who are not underwriters but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted with ordinary secondary market transactions) and thus dealing with shares of the Funds that are part of an unsold allotment within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the Securities Act would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act. Firms that incur a prospectus delivery obligation with respect to shares of the Funds are reminded that under Rule 153 under the Securities Act, a prospectus delivery obligation under Section

 


107

 

 

 

5(b)(2) of the Securities Act owed to an exchange member in connection with a sale on the Exchange is satisfied by the fact that the Funds’ Prospectus is available on the SEC’s electronic filing system. The prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is only available with respect to transactions on an exchange.

 


108

 

 

 

Financial Highlights

 

The following tables are intended to help you understand each Fund’s financial performance, including the AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF’s Predecessor Fund’s financial performance for the period of the Predecessor Fund’s operations. Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share or a single Predecessor Fund share, with respect to the AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF. The total return figures represent the percentage that an investor in each Fund and the Predecessor Fund would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the Fund and Predecessor Fund, with respect to the AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). The financial information shown below for the period ended March 31, 2023, has been audited by Tait, Weller & Baker LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm whose report, along with each Fund’s financial statements, is included in the Funds’ annual report, which is available upon request (see back cover). The financial information with respect to the AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022 and prior, was audited by the Predecessor Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the Predecessor Fund’s financial statements, is included in the Predecessor Fund’s annual report, which is available upon request (see back cover).

 

Information provided to or filed with the SEC by Tesla, Inc. pursuant to the Exchange Act, including the financial statements of Tesla, Inc. in its Form 10-K, can be located by reference to the SEC file number 001-34756 through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

 

Information provided to or filed with the SEC by NVIDIA Corporation pursuant to the Exchange Act, including the financial statements of NVIDIA Corporation in its Form 10-K, can be located by reference to the SEC file number 001-34756 through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

 

Information provided to or filed with the SEC by PayPal Holdings, Inc. pursuant to the Exchange Act, including the financial statements of PayPal Holdings, Inc. in its Form 10-K, can be located by reference to the SEC file number 001-34756 through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

 

 


109

 

 

 

AXS 2X Innovation ETF

 

Per share operating performance.
For a capital share outstanding throughout each period.

 

 

 

For the
Period Ended
March 31,
2023*
,**

 

Net asset value, beginning of period

  $ 150.00  

Income from Investment Operations:

       

Net investment income (loss)1

    0.41  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    (86.07 )

Total from investment operations

    (85.66 )

 

       

Net asset value, end of period

  $ 64.34  
         

Total return2,3

    (57.11 )%4

 

       

Total return at market price3,5

    (57.11 )%4

 

       

Ratios and Supplemental Data:

       

Net assets, end of period (in thousands)

  $ 50,871  

 

       

Ratio of expenses to average net assets:

       

Before fees waived and expenses absorbed/recovered

    1.43 %6

After fees waived and expenses absorbed/recovered

    1.15 %6

Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets:

       

Before fees waived and expenses absorbed/recovered

    0.36 %6

After fees waived and expenses absorbed/recovered

    0.64 %6

 

       

Portfolio turnover rate7

    %4

 

*

The Fund commenced operations on April 28, 2022.

 

**

The Fund had a 1-5 reverse stock split after the close of business November 30, 2022.

 

1

Based on average shares outstanding during the period.

 

2

Net asset value total 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 at net asset value during the period, if any, and redemption on the last day of the period at net asset value. This percentage is not an indication of the performance of a shareholder’s investment in the Fund based on market value due to the differences between the market price of the shares and the net asset value per share of the Fund.

 

3

Total return would have been lower had fees not been waived or absorbed by the Advisor. These returns do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on the Fund distributions or redemption of Fund shares.

 

4

Not annualized.

 

5

Market value total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at market value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period, if any, and redemption on the last day of the period at market value. Market value is determined by the composite closing price. Composite closing security price is defined as the last reported sale price on Nasdaq. The composite closing price is the last reported sale, regardless of volume, and not an average price, and may have occurred on a date prior to the close of the reporting period. Market value may be greater or less than net asset value, depending on the Fund’s closing price on Nasdaq.

 

6

Annualized.

 

7

Excludes the impact of in-kind transactions related to the processing of capital share transactions in Creation Units.

 


110

 

 

 

AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF

 

Per share operating performance.
For a capital share outstanding throughout each period.

 

 

 

For the
Period Ended
March 31,
2023*

 

Net asset value, beginning of period

  $ 50.00  

Income from Investment Operations:

       

Net investment income (loss)1

    0.37  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    (32.06 )

Total from investment operations

    (31.69 )

 

       

Less Distributions:

       

From net investment income

    (0.27 )

From net realized gain

    (1.99 )

Total distributions

    (2.26 )

Net asset value, end of period

  $ 16.05  

 

       

Total return2,3

    (66.14 )%4

 

       

Total return at market price3,5

    (66.14 )%4

 

       

Ratios and Supplemental Data:

       

Net assets, end of period (in thousands)

  $ 91,474  

 

       

Ratio of expenses to average net assets:

       

Before fees waived and expenses absorbed/recovered

    1.81 %6

After fees waived and expenses absorbed/recovered

    1.15 %6

Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets:

       

Before fees waived and expenses absorbed/recovered

    1.69 %6

After fees waived and expenses absorbed/recovered

    2.35 %6
         

Portfolio turnover rate7

    %4

 

*

The Fund commenced operations on July 13, 2022.

1

Based on average shares outstanding during the period.

2

Net asset value total 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 at net asset value during the period, if any, and redemption on the last day of the period at net asset value. This percentage is not an indication of the performance of a shareholder’s investment in the Fund based on market value due to the differences between the market price of the shares and the net asset value per share of the Fund.

3

Total return would have been lower had fees not been waived or absorbed by the Advisor. These returns do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on the Fund distributions or redemption of Fund shares.

4

Not annualized.

5

Market value total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at market value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period, if any, and redemption on the last day of the period at market value. Market value is determined by the composite closing price. Composite closing security price is defined as the last reported sale price on Nasdaq. The composite closing price is the last reported sale, regardless of volume, and not an average price, and may have occurred on a date prior to the close of the reporting period. Market value may be greater or less than net asset value, depending on the Fund’s closing price on Nasdaq.

6

Annualized.

7

Excludes the impact of in-kind transactions related to the processing of capital share transactions in Creation Units.

 


111

 

 

 

AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF

 

Per share operating performance.
For a capital share outstanding throughout each period.

 

 

 

For the
Period Ended
March 31,
2023*

 

Net asset value, beginning of period

  $ 30.00  

Income from Investment Operations:

       

Net investment income (loss)1

    0.20  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    (0.67 )

Total from investment operations

    (0.47 )

 

       

Less Distributions:

       

From net realized gain

    (8.78 )

Total distributions

    (8.78 )

Net asset value, end of period

  $ 20.75  

 

       

Total return2,3

    2.55 %4

 

       

Total return at market price3,5

    2.64 %4

 

       

Ratios and Supplemental Data:

       

Net assets, end of period (in thousands)

  $ 1,349  

 

       

Ratio of expenses to average net assets:

       

Before fees waived and expenses absorbed/recovered

    9.03 %6

After fees waived and expenses absorbed/recovered

    1.15 %6

Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets:

       

Before fees waived and expenses absorbed/recovered

    (7.02 )%6

After fees waived and expenses absorbed/recovered

    0.86 %6
         

Portfolio turnover rate7

    %4

 

*

The Fund commenced operations on July 13, 2022.

 

1

Based on average shares outstanding during the period.

 

2

Net asset value total 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 at net asset value during the period, if any, and redemption on the last day of the period at net asset value. This percentage is not an indication of the performance of a shareholder’s investment in the Fund based on market value due to the differences between the market price of the shares and the net asset value per share of the Fund.

 

3

Total return would have been lower had fees not been waived or absorbed by the Advisor. These returns do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on the Fund distributions or redemption of Fund shares.

 

4

Not annualized.

 

5

Market value total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at market value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period, if any, and redemption on the last day of the period at market value. Market value is determined by the composite closing price. Composite closing security price is defined as the last reported sale price on Nasdaq. The composite closing price is the last reported sale, regardless of volume, and not an average price, and may have occurred on a date prior to the close of the reporting period. Market value may be greater or less than net asset value, depending on the Fund’s closing price on Nasdaq.

 

6

Annualized.

 

7

Excludes the impact of in-kind transactions related to the processing of capital share transactions in Creation Units.

 


112

 

 

 

AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF

 

Per share operating performance.
For a capital share outstanding throughout each period.

 

 

 

For the
Period Ended
March 31,
2023*

 

Net asset value, beginning of period

  $ 50.00  

Income from Investment Operations:

       

Net investment income (loss)1

    0.82  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    (6.23 )

Total from investment operations

    (5.41 )

 

       

Less Distributions:

       

From net investment income

    (0.46 )

From net realized gain

    (1.57 )

Total distributions

    (2.03 )

 

       

Net asset value, end of period

  $ 42.56  

 

       

Total return2,3

    (12.97 )%4

 

       

Total return at market price3,5

    (13.02 )%4

 

       

Ratios and Supplemental Data:

       

Net assets, end of period (in thousands)

  $ 112,371  

 

       

Ratio of expenses to average net assets:

       

Before fees waived and expenses absorbed/recovered

    1.21 %6

After fees waived and expenses absorbed/recovered

    1.15 %6

Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets:

       

Before fees waived and expenses absorbed/recovered

    2.21 %6

After fees waived and expenses absorbed/recovered

    2.27 %6
         

Portfolio turnover rate7

    %4

 

*

The Fund commenced operations on July 13, 2022.

 

1

Based on average shares outstanding during the period.

 

2

Net asset value total 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 at net asset value during the period, if any, and redemption on the last day of the period at net asset value. This percentage is not an indication of the performance of a shareholder’s investment in the Fund based on market value due to the differences between the market price of the shares and the net asset value per share of the Fund.

 

3

Total return would have been lower had fees not been waived or absorbed by the Advisor. These returns do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on the Fund distributions or redemption of Fund shares.

 

4

Not annualized.

 

5

Market value total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at market value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period, if any, and redemption on the last day of the period at market value. Market value is determined by the composite closing price. Composite closing security price is defined as the last reported sale price on Nasdaq. The composite closing price is the last reported sale, regardless of volume, and not an average price, and may have occurred on a date prior to the close of the reporting period. Market value may be greater or less than net asset value, depending on the Fund’s closing price on Nasdaq.

 

6

Annualized.

 

7

Excludes the impact of in-kind transactions related to the processing of capital share transactions in Creation Units.

 


113

 

 

 

AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF^

 

Per share operating performance.
For a capital share outstanding throughout each period.

 

   

For the
Period Ended
March 31,
2023*

   

For the
Period Ended
September 30,
2022**

 

Net asset value, beginning of period

  $ 61.89     $ 30.00  

Income from Investment Operations:

               

Net investment income (loss)1

    0.57       (0.24 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    (8.69 )     32.13  

Total from investment operations

    (8.12 )     31.89  

 

               

Less Distributions:

               

From net realized gain

    (13.75 )      

Total distributions

    (13.75 )      

Net asset value, end of period

  $ 40.02     $ 61.89  

 

               

Total return2,3

    (19.82 )%4     106.28 %4

 

               

Total return at market price2,5

    (19.69 )%4     106.23 %4

 

               

Ratios and Supplemental Data:

               

Net assets, end of period (in thousands)

  $ 310,158     $ 374,405  

 

               

Ratio of expenses to average net assets:

               

Before fees waived and expenses absorbed/recovered

    1.01 %6     0.83 %6

After fees waived and expenses absorbed/recovered

    0.75 %6     0.75 %6

Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets:

               

Before fees waived and expenses absorbed/recovered

    2.03 %6     (0.58 )%6

After fees waived and expenses absorbed/recovered

    2.29 %6     (0.50 )%6
                 

Portfolio turnover rate7

    %4     %4

 

^

Financial information from November 5, 2021 through August 5, 2022 is for Tuttle Capital Short Innovation ETF, which was reorganized into the AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF as of the close of business on August 5, 2022.

 

*

Fiscal year end changed to March 31, effective October 1, 2022.

 

**

The Fund commenced operations on November 5, 2021.

 

1

Based on average shares outstanding during the period.

 

2

Net asset value total 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 at net asset value during the period, if any, and redemption on the last day of the period at net asset value. This percentage is not an indication of the performance of a shareholder’s investment in the Fund based on market value due to the differences between the market price of the shares and the net asset value per share of the Fund.

 

3

Total return would have been lower had fees not been waived or absorbed by the Advisor. These returns do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on the Fund distributions or redemption of Fund shares.

 

4

Not annualized.

 

5

Market value total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at market value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period, if any, and redemption on the last day of the period at market value. Market value is determined by the composite closing price. Composite closing security price is defined as the last reported sale price on Nasdaq. The composite closing price is the last reported sale, regardless of volume, and not an average price, and may have occurred on a date prior to the close of the reporting period. Market value may be greater or less than net asset value, depending on the Fund’s closing price on Nasdaq.

 

6

Annualized.

 

7

Excludes the impact of in-kind transactions related to the processing of capital share transactions in Creation Units.

 


114

 

 

 

 

AXS 2X Innovation ETF
(Ticker: TARK)

 

AXS TSLA Bear Daily ETF
(Ticker: TSLQ)

 

AXS 1.25X NVDA Bear Daily ETF
(Ticker: NVDS)

 

AXS 1.5X PYPL Bull Daily ETF
(Ticker: PYPT)

 

AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF
(Ticker: SARK)

 

Each a series of Investment Managers Series Trust II

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

Statement of Additional Information (SAI)

 

The SAI provides additional details about the investments and techniques of the Funds and certain other additional information. A current SAI is on file with the SEC and is incorporated into this Prospectus by reference. This means that the SAI is legally considered a part of this Prospectus even though it is not physically within this Prospectus.

 

Shareholder Reports

 

Additional information about the Funds’ investments will be available in the Funds’ annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In the Funds’ annual report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Funds’ performance during its most recent fiscal year.

 

The Funds’ SAI is available and annual and semi-annual reports will be available, free of charge, on the Funds’ website at www.axsinvestments.com. You can also obtain a free copy of the Funds’ SAI or annual and semi-annual reports, request other information, or inquire about the Funds by contacting a broker that sells shares of the Funds or by calling the Funds (toll-free) at 303-623-2577 or by writing to the Funds’ distributor, ALPS Distributors, Inc. at 1290 Broadway, Suite 1000, Denver, Colorado 80203.

 

Reports and other information about the Funds are also available:

 

 

Free of charge, on the SEC’s EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov; or

 

 

For a duplication fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: [email protected].

 

SEC File #: 333-191476
811-22894