INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

 

PRINCIPAL RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND

 

FUND PERFORMANCE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income, qualified dividend income or capital gains (or a combination thereof), unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account (“IRA”), which may be taxed upon withdrawal.

 

Investors purchasing shares in the secondary market through a brokerage account or with the assistance of a broker may be subject to brokerage commissions and charges. If you purchase Fund shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Advisor may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing broker-dealers or other intermediaries and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

AdvisorShares Trust (the “Trust”) is a Delaware statutory trust offering a number of professionally managed investment portfolios or funds.

 

Creation Units of the Fund are issued and redeemed principally in-kind for portfolio securities along with a specified cash payment.

 

 

The Fund is an actively managed ETF and, thus, does not seek to replicate the performance of a specified passive index of securities. Instead, it uses an active investment strategy in seeking to meet its investment objective. The Advisor, subject to the oversight of the Board, has discretion on a daily basis to manage the Fund’s portfolio in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective and investment policies. The Fund will not change the 80% investment policy included in its principal investment strategy without providing 60 days notice to shareholders. The Fund’s principal investment strategy is based on the security selection methodology published annually since 2006 as the “Buy List.”

 

The Fund is subject to a number of risks that may affect the value of its shares. This section provides additional information about the Fund’s principal risks. The degree to which a risk applies to the Fund varies according to its investment allocation. Each investor should review the complete description of the principal risks before investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund may not be appropriate for certain investors. As with investing in other securities whose prices increase and decrease in market value, you may lose money by investing in the Fund.

Depositary receipts have the same currency and economic risks as the underlying shares they represent. They are affected by the risks associated with the underlying non-U.S. securities, such as changes in political or economic conditions of other countries, changes in the exchange rates of, or exchange control regulations associated with, foreign currencies, and differing accounting, auditing, financial reporting, and legal standards and practices. The value of depositary receipts will rise and fall in response to the activities of the non-U.S. entity that issued the securities represented by the depositary receipts, regulatory actions undertaken by a foreign government, and general market and/or economic conditions. Also, if there is a rise in demand for the underlying security and it becomes less available to the market, the price of the depositary receipt may rise, causing the Fund to pay a premium in order to obtain the desired depositary receipt. Conversely, changes in foreign market conditions or access to the underlying securities could result in a decline in the value of the depositary receipt

The prices of equity securities in which the Fund invests rise and fall daily. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual companies, industries or the securities market as a whole. Individual companies may report poor results or be negatively affected by the industry and/or economic trends and developments. The prices of securities issued by such companies may decline in response. In addition, the equity market tends to move in cycles which may cause stock prices to fall over short or extended periods of time.

 

 

The large-cap segment of the market may underperform other segments of the equity market or the equity market as a whole. The underperformance of large-cap securities may cause a Fund’s performance to be less than expected.

The Advisor continuously evaluates the Fund’s holdings, purchases and sales with a view to achieving the Fund’s investment objective. However, achievement of the stated investment objective cannot be guaranteed. The Advisor’s judgment about the markets, the economy, or companies may not anticipate actual market movements, economic conditions or company performance, and these factors may affect the return on your investment. In fact, no matter how good a job the Advisor does, you could lose money on your investment in the Fund, just as you could with other investments. If the Advisor is incorrect in its assessment of the income, growth or price realization potential of the Fund’s holdings or incorrect in its assessment of general market or economic conditions, then the value of the Fund’s shares may decline.

Investments in securities, in general, are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. The Fund’s investments may decline in value due to factors affecting securities markets generally, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions or changes in interest or currency rates, or particular countries, segments, economic sectors, industries or companies within those markets. Local, regional, or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the market generally and on specific securities. For example, since December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus has spread globally, which has resulted in the temporary closure of many corporate offices, retail stores, manufacturing facilities and factories, and other businesses across the world. As the extent of the impact on global markets from the coronavirus is difficult to predict, the extent to which the coronavirus may negatively affect the Fund’s performance or the duration of any potential business disruption is uncertain. Any potential impact on performance will depend to a large extent on future developments and new information that may emerge regarding the duration and severity of the coronavirus and the actions taken by authorities and other entities to contain the coronavirus or treat its impact.

 

Changes in market conditions and interest rates generally do not have the same impact on all types of securities and instruments. Fluctuations in the value of securities and financial instruments in which the Fund invests will cause the NAV of the Fund to fluctuate. Historically, the markets have moved in cycles, and the value of the Fund’s securities may fluctuate drastically from day to day. Because of its link to the markets, an investment in the Fund may be more suitable for long-term investors who can bear the risk of short-term principal fluctuations, which at times may be significant.

 

Security prices of mid-cap companies may be based in substantial part on future expectations rather than current achievements and may move sharply, especially during market upturns and downturns. Mid-cap companies themselves may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies. During a period when the performance of mid-cap securities falls behind that of other types of investments, such as large-cap stocks or the equity market as whole, the Fund’s performance could be reduced.

To the extent a model does not perform as designed or as intended, the Fund’s strategy may not be successfully implemented and a Fund may lose value. If the model or data are incorrect or incomplete, any decisions made in reliance thereon may lead to the inclusion or exclusion of securities that would have been excluded or included had the model or data been correct and complete. The use of predictive models has inherent risks. For example, such models may incorrectly forecast future behavior, leading to potential losses. In addition, in unforeseen or certain low-probability scenarios (often involving a market disruption of some kind), such models may produce unexpected results, which can result in losses for the Fund. Furthermore, because predictive models are usually constructed based on historical data supplied by third parties, the success of relying on such models may depend heavily on the accuracy and reliability of the supplied historical data.

 

Security prices of small cap companies may be more volatile than those of larger companies. Security prices of small-cap companies are generally more vulnerable than those of large-cap companies to adverse business and economic developments. The securities of small-cap companies may be thinly traded, making it difficult for the Fund to buy and sell them. In addition, small-cap companies are typically less stable financially than larger, more established companies and may depend on a small number of essential personnel, making them more vulnerable to loss of personnel. Small-cap companies also normally have less diverse product lines than larger cap companies and are more susceptible to adverse developments concerning their products. These risks are even greater for micro-cap companies. Micro-cap companies are followed by relatively few securities analysts and there tends to be less information about them. Their securities generally have limited trading volumes and are subject to even more abrupt, erratic price movements. Micro-cap companies are even more vulnerable to adverse business and market developments.

Shares of the Fund may trade above or below their NAV. The NAV of shares will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. The trading prices of shares will fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV, as well as market supply and demand. When the market price of the Fund’s shares deviates significantly from NAV, you may pay significantly more or receive significantly less than the underlying value of the Fund’s shares. However, given that shares can be created and redeemed only in Creation Units at NAV, the Advisor does not believe that large discounts or premiums to NAV will exist for extended periods of time. Although the Fund’s shares are currently listed on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for shares will develop or be maintained. In addition, trading in shares of the Fund may be halted because of market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable.

To respond to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions, the Fund may invest up to 100% of its total assets, without limitation, in high-quality, short-term debt securities and money market instruments. The Fund may be invested in this manner for extended periods, depending on the Advisor’s assessment of market conditions. Debt securities and money market instruments include shares of other mutual funds, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances, U.S. government securities, repurchase agreements, and bonds that are rated BBB or higher. While the Fund is in a defensive position, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective. Furthermore, to the extent that the Fund invests in money market funds, the Fund would bear its pro rata portion of each such money market fund’s advisory fees and operational expenses.

The Fund may lend portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial organizations that meet capital and other credit requirements or other criteria established by the Fund’s Board. These loans, if and when made, may not exceed 33 / % of the total asset value of the Fund (including the loan collateral). Such loans may be terminated at any time. Any such loans must be continuously secured by collateral maintained on a current basis in an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities loaned by the Fund. In a loan transaction, as compensation for lending its securities, the Fund will receive a portion of the dividends or interest accrued on the securities held as collateral or, in the case of cash collateral, a portion of the income from the investment of such cash. In addition, the Fund will receive the amount of all dividends, interest and other distributions on the loaned securities. However, the borrower has the right to vote the loaned securities. The Fund will call loans to vote proxies if a material issue affecting the investment is to be voted upon. Loans are made only to borrowers that are deemed by the securities lending agent to be of good financial standing. Should the borrower of the securities fail financially, the Fund may experience delays in recovering the securities or exercising its rights in the collateral. In a loan transaction, the Fund will also bear the risk of any decline in value of securities acquired with cash collateral. The Fund will attempt to minimize this risk by limiting the investment of cash collateral to high quality instruments of short maturity.

 

 

 

A description of the Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of Fund portfolio securities is available (i) in the SAI and (ii) on the Trust’s website at www.advisorshares.com. The Fund’s daily portfolio holdings information also is available on the Trust’s website.

 

The Advisor, subject to the supervision of the Board, provides an investment management program for the Fund and manages the investment of the Fund’s assets. Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement between the Trust and the Advisor, the Advisor is entitled to receive, on a monthly basis, an annual advisory fee based on the average daily net assets of the Fund. The Advisor’s advisory fee has two components -- the base fee and the performance fee adjustment. The base fee is the pre-determined rate at which the Advisor is paid when the Fund’s net performance is in line with Fund’s pre-determined performance benchmark. The base fee is subject to an upward or downward adjustment by the performance fee. If the Fund outperforms the performance benchmark, the Advisor may receive an upward fee adjustment. If the Fund underperforms the performance benchmark, the Advisor may receive a downward fee adjustment. The Advisor’s annual base fee is 0.75% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. The performance fee adjustment is derived by comparing the Fund’s performance over a rolling twelve-month period to its performance benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The base fee is adjusted at a rate of 0.02% for every 0.25% to 0.50% of out-performance or under-performance compared to the performance benchmark, but only up to 2.00% of the performance benchmark. As a result, the maximum possible performance fee adjustment, up or down, to the base fee is 0.10%. Accordingly, the Advisor’s annual advisory fee may range from 0.65% to 0.85% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. The following table illustrates how the effective annual rate of the advisory fee would vary under this arrangement, which is commonly referred to as a “fulcrum” fee arrangement:

 

 

 

The Advisor bears all of its own costs associated with providing these advisory services and the expenses of the members of the Board who are affiliated with the Advisor. The Advisor may make payments from its own resources to broker-dealers and other financial institutions in connection with the sale of Fund shares.

 

 

The Advisor has contractually agreed to waive its fees and/or reimburse expenses in order to keep net expenses (excluding amounts payable pursuant to any plan adopted in accordance with Rule 12b-1, interest expense, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and extraordinary expenses) from exceeding a percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets equal to the annual rate of the management fee, which can range from 0.65% to 0.85%, for at least one year from the date of this Prospectus. The expense limitation agreement may be terminated without payment of any penalty (i) by the Trust for any reason and at any time and (ii) by the Advisor, for any reason, upon ninety (90) days’ prior written notice to the Trust, such termination to be effective as of the close of business on the last day of the then-current one-year period. If at any point it becomes unnecessary for the Advisor to waive fees or reimburse expenses, the Board may permit the Advisor to retain the difference between the Fund’s total annual operating expenses and the expense limitation currently in effect, or, if lower, the expense limitation that was in effect at the time of the waiver and/or reimbursement, to recapture all or a portion of its prior fee waiver or expense reimbursements within three years of the date they were waived or reimbursed.

 

The Advisor may hire one or more sub-advisors to oversee the day-to-day investment activities of the Fund. The sub-advisors would be subject to oversight by the Advisor. Pursuant to an exemptive order from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), the Advisor, subject to certain conditions, has the right, without shareholder approval, to hire a new unaffiliated sub-advisor or materially amend the terms of a sub-advisory agreement with an unaffiliated sub-advisor when the Board and the Advisor believe that a change would benefit the Fund. The Prospectus will be supplemented if a sub-advisor is hired for the Fund.

 

The following portfolio manager is primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.

Mr. Ahrens is a Managing Director and the Chief Operating Officer of the Advisor. Prior to joining the Advisor in 2008, Mr. Ahrens founded Ahrens Advisors, L.P., an SEC-registered investment advisor, where he acted as portfolio manager to a mutual fund. Before forming Ahrens Advisors, he was President of a mutual fund company, where he launched and served as portfolio manager to multiple funds. During that time, he also was President and Chief Compliance Officer of the funds’ advisor, and acted as President, Treasurer and Financial & Operations Officer of an affiliated broker-dealer firm. He is a published author and has appeared on numerous financial programs, including CNBC, CNN, Fox Business, ABC News and Bloomberg. He has been featured, along with funds under his management, in major national and trade publications including The Economist, New York Times, Financial Times, and The Wall Street Journal. He earned a Bachelor in Business Administration in Finance from Texas Tech University.

 

Additional information about the portfolio manager’s compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio manager, and the portfolio manager’s ownership of securities in the Fund is available in the SAI.

Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the “Distributor”) is the principal underwriter and distributor of the Fund’s shares. The Distributor’s principal address is Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101. The Distributor will not distribute shares in less than whole Creation Units, and it does not maintain a secondary market in the shares. The Distributor is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”). The Distributor is not affiliated with the Advisor, The Bank of New York Mellon or any of their respective affiliates.

 

The Bank of New York Mellon, located at 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286, serves as the administrator, custodian, transfer agent and fund accounting agent for the Fund.

 

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, located at 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004, serves as legal counsel to the Trust.

 

 

Tait, Weller & Baker LLP, located at Two Liberty Place, 50 South 16 Street, Suite 2900, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102, serves as the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm. The independent registered public accounting firm is responsible for auditing the annual financial statements of the Fund.

The Fund calculates NAV by (i) taking the current market value of its total assets, (ii) subtracting any liabilities, and (iii) dividing that amount by the total number of shares owned by shareholders.

 

The Fund calculates NAV once each business day as of the regularly scheduled close of normal trading on the New York Stock Exchange, LLC (the “NYSE”) (normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time). The NYSE is typically closed on weekends and most national holidays.

 

In calculating NAV, the Fund generally values its portfolio investments at market prices. If market prices are unavailable or the Fund thinks that they are unreliable, or when the value of a security has been materially affected by events occurring after the relevant market closes, the Fund will price those securities at fair value as determined in good faith using methods approved by the Board. With respect to investments in U.S.-traded securities with readily available pricing, it is expected that there would be limited circumstances in which the Fund would use fair value pricing – for example, if the exchange on which a portfolio security is principally traded closed early or if trading in a particular security was halted during the day and did not resume prior to the time the Fund calculated its NAV.

 

The use of fair valuation in pricing a security involves the consideration of a number of subjective factors and, therefore, is susceptible to the unavoidable risk that the valuation may be higher or lower than the price at which the security might actually trade if a reliable market price were readily available.

 

More information about the valuation of the Fund’s holdings can be found in the SAI.

The Fund pays out dividends and distributes its net capital gains, if any, to shareholders at least annually.

 

Investors owning shares of the Fund are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for all shares. Participants in DTC include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other institutions that directly or indirectly maintain a custodial relationship with DTC. As a beneficial owner of shares, you are not entitled to receive physical delivery of stock certificates or to have shares registered in your name, and you are not considered a registered owner of shares. Therefore, to exercise any right as an owner of shares, you must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants ( , broker-dealers, banks, trust companies, or clearing companies). These procedures are the same as those that apply to any stocks that you hold in book entry or “street name” through your brokerage account.

For more information on how to buy and sell shares of the Fund, call the Trust at 877.843.3831 or visit the Fund’s website at www.advisorshares.com.

 

The Fund has adopted a Distribution Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 that allows the Fund to pay distribution fees to the Distributor and other firms that provide distribution services. The Fund will pay distribution fees to the Distributor at an annual rate not to exceed 0.25% of its average daily net assets. If a service provider provides distribution services, the Distributor will pay the service provider out of its distribution fees.

 

No distribution fees are currently charged to the Fund; there are no plans to impose distribution fees, and no distribution fees will be charged for at least one year from the date of this Prospectus. However, to the extent distribution fees are charged in the future, because the Fund would pay these fees out of assets on an ongoing basis, over time these fees may cost you more than other types of sales charges and would increase the cost of your investment. At such time as distribution fees are charged, the Fund will notify investors by adding disclosure to the Fund’s website and in the Fund’s Prospectus. Any distribution fees will be approved by the Board.

 

The following is a summary of some important tax issues that affect the Fund and its shareholders. The summary is based on current tax law, which may be changed by legislative, judicial or administrative action. The summary is very general, and does not address investors subject to special rules, such as investors who hold shares through an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-advantaged account. More information about taxes is located in the SAI.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Fund will be required in certain cases to withhold (as “backup withholding”) on amounts payable to any shareholder who (1) has provided the Fund either an incorrect tax identification number or no number at all, (2) is subject to backup withholding by the Internal Revenue Service for failure to properly report payments of interest or dividends, (3) has failed to certify to the Fund that such shareholder is not subject to backup withholding, or (4) has not certified that such shareholder is a U.S. person (including a U.S. resident alien). The backup withholding rate is 24%. Backup withholding will not, however, be applied to payments that have been subject to the 30% withholding tax applicable to shareholders who are neither citizens nor residents of the United States.

 

 

The Fund has the right to reject an order for Creation Units if the purchaser (or a group of purchasers) would, upon obtaining the shares so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund and if, pursuant to section 351 of the Internal Revenue Code, the Fund would have a basis in the deposit securities different from the market value of such securities on the date of deposit. The Fund also has the right to require information necessary to determine beneficial share ownership for purposes of the 80% determination. If the Fund does issue Creation Units to a purchaser (or a group of purchasers) that would, upon obtaining the Creation Units so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund, the purchaser (or a group of purchasers) will not recognize gain or loss upon the exchange of securities for Creation Units.

 

 

The Fund may include cash when paying the redemption price for Creation Units in addition to, or in place of, the delivery of a basket of securities. The Fund may be required to sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize investment income and/or capital gains or losses that it might not have recognized if it had completely satisfied the redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may be less tax efficient if it includes such a cash payment than if the in-kind redemption process was used.

 

Persons exchanging securities or non-U.S. currency for Creation Units should consult their own tax advisors with respect to the tax treatment of any creation or redemption transaction. If you purchase or redeem Creation Units, you will be sent a confirmation statement showing how many Fund shares you purchased or redeemed and at what price.

 

The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the consequences under current federal tax law of an investment in the Fund. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. Consult your personal tax advisor about the potential tax consequences to you of an investment in the Fund under all tax laws applicable to you.

 

The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the Fund’s financial performance since the Fund commenced operations. Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned or lost, on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been derived from the financial statements audited by Tait, Weller & Baker LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the Fund’s financial statements, are included in the Fund’s Annual Report, which is available upon request.

 

 

 

 

The Trust’s SEC Investment Company Act File Number is 811-22110.