Sound Enhanced Fixed Income ETF

Ticker: SDEF

Sound Equity Income ETF

Ticker: SDEI

Annual Report

November 30, 2022

Sound Income Strategies ETFs

Sound Income Strategies ETFs

The Sound Enhanced Fixed Income ETF (“SDEF” or the “Fund”)

Dear Shareholders,

Forecasting and managing securities is never an easy task, especially when moving to cash is not an option. After a bull market that lasted for more than a decade since the 2008-2009 crisis, this past year has been painful. We saw the most rapid increase in the Fed Funds rate since June 1980 - December 1980, when rates moved from 9.5% to 18%.

Higher rates, inflation, a broken supply chain, the Russian/Ukraine war, and China’s Covid lockdowns have all pushed us into, or soon to be, a domestic/global recession. There have only been five years out of the last 100 where U.S. Treasuries and the S&P 500 Index both finished in the red, and that is why pundits have started talking about the negatives of the famed 60/40 portfolio. The last bull market, from 2009-2021, was driven primarily by large revenue gains in information technology and the communication services sector, which itself was fueled by low inflation and a very low cost of capital. This, in turn, pushed equity analysts to apply high multiples to any firm that could show high growth rates in revenues or gross margins. The Covid-19 virus not only caused massive human casualties but turned out to be the death of the bull market, given the pandemic caused a global supply chain disruption, a rapid shift in demand from a service-based to a goods-based economy, and migration from large blue state cities to single-family homes in the burbs. So Covid-19 was the spark to ignite inflation which had been relatively dormant since the 1980s. This past year we have seen a rapid shift in demand back to services from goods.

For those of you that are new to the Fund, SDEF is an actively-managed portfolio of fixed-income and higher-yielding income-based securities. The primary goal of the Fund is to generate higher levels of current income with capital appreciation as a secondary focus. As with most value-focused investments, we have the burden of differentiating high-yielding securities between being a value investment versus a value trap. Investing only in traditional fixed-income securities such as government, agency, corporate, or municipal bonds would leave out many value or “valuable” asset classes such as business development companies (“BDCs”), real estate investment trusts (“REITs”), and preferred securities. Therefore, we have included these non-traditional, income-based asset classes in the Fund’s portfolio. Traditional or “core bond” portfolios are important, however, given the previous low-inflation environment over the past 20 years, until 2021, has forced income-based investors to look towards alternatives to increase yields over and above US Treasuries, Agency bonds, Mortgage Backed Securities, Municipal bonds, and even Investment Grade Corporate bonds.

This year has been the worst on record going back 40 years for bonds and the absolute worst ever for U.S. Treasuries. The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index suffered a -12.57% loss, the Bloomberg U.S. Universal Bond Index declined – 12.75%, the Bloomberg U.S. Treasury Index was down -12.45%, and SDEF was down -10.10% (NAV) (-10.24% Market) for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2022. There was no place to hide during 2022 and since The Fund’s mandate is to generate income, we could not have high cash balances, nor do we employ interest rate swaps or short securities. Given these constraints, our best option is to purchase quality companies, with strong management and collect our interest and dividends over time.

During the year, we picked up two new REITs: Alpine Income Properties Trust (PINE), which is a single-tenant commercial property trust, and Gaming & Leisure Properties Trust (GLPI), which owns and leases casinos and other entertainment facilities across the country. We did sell part of our position in the Plymouth Industrial REIT (PLYM), which focuses on managing single and multi-tenant distribution centers and warehouse properties in locations around the U.S., but still hold part of our position in the name. We also had a few securities called away from us: Commercial Metals & Mining was a high-yield bond that was called, and we replaced it with a Hilton Hotels bond, another high-yield name. United Rentals, Inc., an equipment rental company operating out of North America, was another bond we purchased for the Fund at a 6.69% yield. In the preferred security sector, our UMH-Properties preferred was called and we replaced it with Morgan Stanley preferred stocks. Overall, we continue to have a low turnover in the Fund, roughly 10%, and we do not expect the turnover to be much higher in 2023.

The Fed will likely continue to increase rates during Q1 of 2023, but there is a strong belief that we are at the tail end of this increasing cycle, and this presents a great opportunity to move the capital from our Sovereign Debt ETFs into domestic corporate bond names. However, we must keep in mind that we are facing two possible bear scenarios for next year. First, stagflation will continue if this supply-driven inflation cannot be corrected by domestic and global policymakers, and second, overly punitive Fed monetary policy can push us into a deep and prolonged recession, which can further negatively affect valuations in the Fund.

If, however, the Fed ends these rate increases in Q1 2023 and considers lowering rates again by the end of Q3 2023 we could see a nice tailwind in our income-based portfolio pushing values back up and helping to make up for the difficult 2022 period. Until then, we will look to add to our individual Investment Grade and High Yield Bond securities while rates stay high with the goal of increasing our income in the Fund.

Sound Income Strategies ETFs

Though the Fund is performing a little better than its given benchmark, we are disappointed with the Fund’s overall performance this past year. As we move through this late-stage business cycle and the Federal Reserve ends its inflation fight, we do believe the Fund will make up ground, performance-wise, this coming year and continue to produce solid income. We thank you for your patience and vote of confidence for being an investor in the Fund.

Regards,

Eric Lutton, CFA
Chief Investment Officer
Sound Income Strategies LLC

Investment advisory services offered through Sound Income Strategies, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisory firm.

Must be preceded or accompanied by a prospectus.

Sound Income Strategies ETFs

Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal. There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment strategy will be successful. Shares may trade at a premium or discount to their NAV in the secondary market. The Fund is newer and has a limited operating history. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund; and there may be a limited number of market makers or other liquidity providers in the marketplace. Since the Fund is actively-managed it does not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index. Securities rated below investment grade are often referred to as high yield securities or “junk bonds.” Investments in lower rated corporate debt securities typically entail greater price volatility and principal and income risk. High yield securities may be more susceptible to real or perceived adverse economic and competitive industry conditions than investment grade securities.

The Fund may, at times, hold illiquid securities. The Fund could lose money if it is unable to dispose of an illiquid investment at a time or price that is most beneficial to the Fund. The Fund’s investments in bonds and other debt securities will change in value based on changes in interest rates. If rates rise, the value of these investments generally declines. Securities with greater interest rate sensitivity and longer maturities generally are subject to greater fluctuations in value. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund.

The S&P 500^® Index is an index of 500 large-capitalization companies selected by Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC.

The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is a broad-based flagship benchmark that measures the investment grade, U.S. dollar-denominated, fixed-rate taxable bond market.

Bloomberg U.S. Universal Bond Index is an unmanaged index comprising U.S. dollar-denominated, taxable bonds that are rated investment grade or below investment grade.

Bloomberg U.S. Treasury Index measures U.S. dollar-denominated, fixed-rate, nominal debt issued by the U.S. Treasury.

One cannot invest directly in an index.

Fund holdings and sector allocations are subject to change. Please see the Schedule of Investments for complete holdings.

Sound Income Strategies ETFs

The Sound Equity Income ETF (“SDEI” or the “Fund”)

Dear Shareholders,

Thank you for choosing to invest in the Sound Equity Income ETF.

As required by the SEC, we would like to take a moment to recapitulate the Fund’s strategy. Then, we will discuss the fundamental elements and some of the stocks that led to our relatively strong performance this fiscal year ended November 30, 2022 versus the S&P 500 Total Return Index (“S&P 500”) and the Russell 1000 Value Index (“Russell 1000 Value”). This is the second year in a row when SDEI out-performed both of these indices.

While we do not regard either index as a representative benchmark for the Fund, on account of the structural differences between SDEI and these much larger portfolios, we do think they provide useful bases for comparison, in terms of relative yields, returns, and sector performances, as all three portfolios focus on large-capitalization, U.S.-listed stocks. Also, the Russell 1000 Value reflects a similar value-oriented investment discipline, albeit without the high yield emphasis, which provides some contrast, as does the S&P 500 with its much heavier tech concentration and growth bias. By looking at the behaviors of the three portfolios, we can get a sense if the investment regime (value versus growth), strategy (high dividend/ short duration) or stock selection led to our relatively good or bad performance.

As described in our prior letters, SDEI is a diversified, mid- and large-cap, value-oriented, U.S.-listed, common stock portfolio, whose key characteristics are that every stock must pay a dividend. The targeted portfolio yield, on a gross basis, must be at least 2.0X that of the S&P 500. The Fund’s portfolio is concentrated, holding 30 to 35 names, with a maximum weight of 6% in any one company. Unlike many other high yielding equity funds, SDEI does not invest in master limited partnerships (“MLPs”), real estate investment trusts (“REITs”), tobacco companies, business development companies (“BDCs”), preferred stocks, or ETFs. It owns common stocks that pay qualified dividends, which are currently taxed at a lower rate than dividends or interest paid by MLPs, REITs, BDCs, preferred stocks or bonds.

Because high yielding stocks tend to be more mature, with less sales and earnings growth than the average stock in the market, they tend to trade at lower valuation multiples and appreciate less than the market cap weighted S&P 500 does. We seek to offset some, or all, of this performance drag by selecting companies that have a catalyst that could lead to above average income growth or stock price appreciation, such as a recovery from a temporary problem, a new product or management team, a recapitalization, or tightness in its end markets. Because such companies are hard to find, SDEI has a fairly concentrated portfolio. Also, because it generally takes a lot of time for companies to execute on their catalyst/transformations, the Fund should have a much lower turnover than most other funds.

In the fiscal year ended November 30, 2022, SDEI again recorded a positive return of 14.88% (NAV) (+14.51% Market) growth, after fees) that exceed the S&P 500 (-9.21%) and Russell 1000 Value (+2.40%) index returns. While SDEI’s relative performance was quite strong, its absolute performance was not as large as it might otherwise have been because there were six macro factors that greatly weighed on equity returns in 2022, as outlined below.

1)The shift in consumer behaviors away from goods and into more services due to the re-opening of the U.S. and global economies, following the Covid-19 pandemic policy shutdowns led to a decline in consumer goods sales year-over-year and surge in demand for services.

2)In 2020, the Covid shutdown policies bankrupted many production and distribution components in the global economy and delayed investments. These policies led to materials, component and finished goods shortages when the world reopened in 2021, which led to higher prices, and it displaced services workers to find other jobs, and elevated the cost to provide services, so services costs rose. The result was the hyper-inflation that pinched consumers real income and led workers to demand higher wages. It is unclear how long it will take before the “global supply chain” as these problems are collectively labeled, returns to normal.

3)With the election of more pro-Green and left-leaning officials in 2021, Governments in the U.S. and Europe intensified their wars on petrochemical-based energy sources on the belief that they are causing global warming. To discourage their use, the U.S. and others have raised the cost to produce and use fossil fuels via phase-out legislation and taxes which have led energy companies to reduce their investments, such that the world is not creating enough supply to meet demand. This condition is creating regional shortages, higher fuel, materials, general operating costs and enriching Russian and Middle Eastern suppliers. Thereby, these policies are contributing to global goods and services inflation, and empowering governments whose policies are generally anti-Western and anti-democratic in nature.

Sound Income Strategies ETFs

4)In February 2022, Russia attacked and partially invaded its neighbor the Ukraine, which further exacerbated the global energy and inflation crises by cutting off significant parts of Europe’s natural gas supplies, and global mineral supplies and grain supplies. This war has not only added to global inflation, but reduced global travel and economic activities, while elevating the demand for munitions.

5)China’s position as a preferred, reliable, low-cost goods supplier to the U.S. and the Western world retreated in 2021 and 2022, and it is expected to continue to retreat as a result of Chinese Premier Xi Ping’s increasingly anti-Western, anti-business rhetoric and policies, and China’s production and supply issues, due to his draconian Zero Covid policies. Because China has become a less reliable business partner, which has exacerbated parts shortages, many Western companies have had to rebuild and resource their component supply chains, and re-domicile their production. These changes too will continue to raise the costs of goods and services in the West, which is pressuring company margins, and creating global tensions.

6)In response to the hyper-inflation that has resulted from all of the policies above, plus excessive government stimulus by the current and prior U.S. Administrations, the U.S. Federal Reserve began raising interest rates and pulling back on its quantitative easing polices in 2022. This war on inflation has led to the fastest short-term interest rate hikes in U.S. history. The effects of these policies have been a spike in home mortgage rates, which have temporarily collapsed the U.S. housing market, and reductions in most U.S. companies’ investment programs, which is reducing demand for materials and labor, and may result in global supply shortages lasting longer. Consequently, cyclical stocks and high growth stocks, which are valued large based on future income, have dropped materially.

These factors continue to weigh on the Fund’s portfolio , but there is light at the end of the tunnel because there is evidence that the rate of inflation is falling, and the U.S. Federal Reserve has lowered its tightening pace, even though more interest rate hikes are expected.

Using historical precedents of rate hikes, economic and business cycles as a guide, we expect the Federal Reserve to end its monetary tightening policies this year and the resulting economic contraction to be brief and shallow. If these macro forecasts play out as expected, U.S. economic growth will resume in the back half of 2023 and into 2024 and stock prices will likely rise six to nine months in advance of that progress, as they normally do. However, between now and when the all-clear, Fed is done, announcement is made, we expect more volatility, as company earnings estimates still need to come down and geo-political landscape remains uncertain at best.

Longer-term, we are concerned about the ballooning global budget deficits and the likelihood that income tax rates here and abroad will have to rise, while government expenditures retreat in order to prevent another global financial crisis. Since we cannot control or take advantage of this slowly developing risk, we are spending most of our time focused on trying to figure out if the Fund’s portfolio companies are doing the right things, and looking for better ideas, as best as we can.

As always, it is important to keep in mind that a portfolio of high yielding stocks has a significantly shorter mathematical duration than a portfolio of average or long duration growth stocks. In growth portfolios, where most of the value is based on an estimated discounted present value of cash flows projected to come in the future, changes in interest rates higher or lower, cause the value to change inversely, often in a dramatic fashion. Our lower duration portfolio is affected by changes in interest rates to a much lesser degree because more of its value is based on actual current cash flows being paid to investors today, in the form of dividends. Hence, in periods of rising interest rates, dividend paying value stocks like ours tend to outperform growth stocks and in periods of falling interest rates, long duration growth stocks tend to out-perform their value counterparts.

We have been fortunate in that we were able to outperform the broader index when rates fell and when they rose over the last two years, because we were able to find more stocks that were oversold than the effects of interest rates could account for alone.

In fiscal 2022, about two-thirds of the Fund’s positive NAV return was due to stock appreciation and one-third was due to the dividends, after fees. Clearly, not every stock was a winner, but there were a few large gainers, such as H&R Block, Valero Energy and Greif, Class B, that greatly boosted the Fund’s results, and a few real turkeys, like Hanesbrands, Newell Brands and Xerox that dragged on results. SDEI also benefited by a 1% goose, when First Horizon Bank got a takeover bid from Toronto Dominion at a 50% premium.

Thematically, the consumer stocks, like Hanesbrands and Newell were the biggest headwinds, as they were fundamentally affected by consumers pulling back on goods purchases and the stocks’ multiples contracted due to their relatively high balance sheet leverage, which will have to be refinanced down the road, now at higher rates. Xerox too got hit by debt refinance concerns, plus its CEO unexpectedly died, and the return to office demand catalyst that was expected has been slower in coming that we had hoped. In the case of HR Block, the stock was greatly over-sold coming into the period and the company exceeded expectations all year, which won it many followers and led to an 80% appreciation in the stock, at its peak. (Yes, we sold some.) Valero benefitted from a recovery in demand and margins, which led it to rise by ~50%, while Greif was able to not only exceed expectations, but it sold a long-time problematic business that lifted its fair value estimates by around 30%.

Sound Income Strategies ETFs

Despite a few disappointments and happy surprises along the way, SDEI reported a very low portfolio turnover rate of 20% for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2022 and we expect this trend to continue. The low turnover is a result of our high yield, value with a catalyst strategy, which limits the number of suitable names, and also requires patience to see the benefits of those chosen. However, we do expect the turnover to gradually rise, as more names mature and need replacing.

Looking ahead, we expect growth stocks to get a boost in 2023, as investors look past peak interest rates and regain conviction in some of the secular growth companies, after expectations have reset. For our names, we expect the bunker areas, like healthcare, utilities and staples to outperform early in the year and the more cyclical names, such as financial services and consumer names to benefit later in the year. Consequently, we expect a lot of volatility and anticipate that there will be some portfolio changes as stocks that do not currently meet our high yield with a catalyst fall into range, and we reduce our safety net positions and take on a higher weight in more coiled springs. This is a shift in policy from last year, when we dialed down the Fund’s portfolio’s weighted average beta from 1.1 to 0.7.

With an internal yield of 4.5% versus 1.7% for the S&P 500 and a weighted average PE of 11.4 versus 17.5 for the S&P 500, the Fund’s portfolio remains attractively priced versus the broader market. So long as investors value high yield names and we can find companies that are fundamentally improving, we should continue to offer an attractive product to clients.

Thank you again for the trust that you have placed with us in choosing the Sound Equity Income ETF. We look forward to working with you again in 2023 and beyond.

Warm regards always,

Eric Beyrich, CFA, CFP
Portfolio Manager, Sound Equity Income ETF

Must be preceded or accompanied by a prospectus.

Sound Income Strategies ETFs

Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal. There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment strategy will be successful. Shares may trade at a premium or discount to their NAV in the secondary market. The Fund is newer and has a limited operating history. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund; and there may be a limited number of market makers or other liquidity providers in the marketplace. Since the Fund is actively-managed it does not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index. Equity securities held in the Fund’s portfolio may experience sudden, unpredictable drops in value or long periods of decline in value.

The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund.

Earnings growth is a measure of the increase in a company’s income.

Cash flow, or free cash flow, represents the cash a company generates after accounting for cash outflows to support operations and maintain its capital assets.

Duration is a measure that helps approximate the degree of price sensitivity of a bond to changes in interest rates and is adjusted to account for the change in cash flows of the bond’s embedded option.

The weighted average beta is the beta of the stocks in a fund’s portfolio based on each stocks weighting in the portfolio. Beta is a measure of the volatility—or systematic risk—of a security or portfolio compared to the market as a whole.

The weighted average PE is the price/earnings ratios of the stocks in a fund’s portfolio based on each stocks weighting in the portfolio. The P/E ratio of a stock is calculated by dividing the current price of the stock by its trailing 12 months’ earnings per share.

The Russell 1000 Value Index is a widely-recognized, capitalization-weighted (companies with larger market capitalizations have more influence than those with smaller market capitalization) index of U.S. companies with lower forecasted growth rates and price-to-book ratios.

The S&P 500^® Index is an index of 500 large-capitalization companies selected by Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC.

One cannot invest directly in an index.

Fund holdings and sector allocations are subject to change. Please see the Schedule of Investments for complete holdings.

Sound Enhanced Fixed Income ETF

This chart illustrates the performance of a hypothetical $10,000 investment made on December 30, 2020 (commencement of operations), and is not intended to imply any future performance. The returns shown do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. The chart assumes reinvestment of capital gains, dividends, and return of capital, if applicable, for a fund and dividends for an index.

Performance data quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance of the Fund may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. Performance data current to the most recent month end may be obtained by calling (833) 916-9056. The Fund’s expense ratio as of the most recently filed prospectus is 1.89%.

Sound Equity Income ETF

This chart illustrates the performance of a hypothetical $10,000 investment made on December 30, 2020 (commencement of operations), and is not intended to imply any future performance. The returns shown do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. The chart assumes reinvestment of capital gains, dividends, and return of capital, if applicable, for a fund and dividends for an index.

Performance data quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance of the Fund may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. Performance data current to the most recent month end may be obtained by calling (833) 916-9056. The Fund’s expense ratio as of the most recently filed prospectus is 0.45%.

Sound Enhanced Fixed Income ETF

⁽¹⁾Represents cash, short-term investments and liabilites in excess of other assets.

Sound Equity Income ETF

⁽²⁾Represents cash, short-term investments and other assets in excess of liabilities.

Sound Enhanced Fixed Income ETF

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

Sound Enhanced Fixed Income ETF

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

Sound Equity Income ETF

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

Sound Income Strategies ETFs

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

⁽¹⁾Includes loaned securities with a value of $3,225,473 and $-, respectively.

Sound Income Strategies ETFs

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

Sound Enhanced Fixed Income ETF

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

⁽¹⁾The Fund commenced operations on December 30, 2020. The information presented is from December 30, 2020 to November 30, 2021.

⁽²⁾Summary of share transactions is as follows:

Sound Equity Income ETF

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

⁽¹⁾The Fund commenced operations on December 30, 2020. The information presented is from December 30, 2020 to November 30, 2021.

⁽²⁾Summary of share transactions is as follows:

Sound Enhanced Fixed Income ETF

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

⁽¹⁾The Fund commenced operations on December 30, 2020. The information presented is from December 30, 2020 to November 30, 2021.

⁽²⁾Calculated using average shares outstanding method.

⁽³⁾Not annualized.

⁽⁴⁾The total return is based on the Fund’s net asset value. Additional performance information is presented in the Performance Summary.

⁽⁵⁾Annualized.

Sound Equity Income ETF

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.