LOGO

PGIM QUANT SOLUTIONS STRATEGIC ALPHA

INTERNATIONAL EQUITY ETF

Formerly known as PGIM QMA Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

 

    

SEMIANNUAL REPORT

FEBRUARY 28, 2022

 

LOGO

 

    To enroll in e-delivery, go to pgim.com/investments/resource/edelivery


Table of Contents

 

Letter from the President                  3  
Your Fund’s Performance                  4  
Fees and Expenses                  6  
Holdings and Financial Statements                  7  

This report is not authorized for distribution to prospective investors unless preceded or accompanied by a current prospectus.

The information about the Fund’s portfolio holdings is for the period covered by this report and is subject to change thereafter.

The accompanying financial statements as of February 28, 2022 were not audited and, accordingly, no auditor’s opinion is expressed on them.

Exchange-traded funds are distributed by Prudential Investment Management Services LLC, a Prudential Financial company, member SIPC. PGIM Quantitative Solutions is the primary business name of PGIM Quantitative Solutions LLC (formerly known as QMA LLC), a wholly owned subsidiary of PGIM, Inc. (PGIM), a registered investment adviser and Prudential Financial company. © 2022 Prudential Financial, Inc. and its related entities. PGIM and the PGIM logo are service marks of Prudential Financial, Inc. and its related entities, registered in many jurisdictions worldwide.

 

2    Visit our website at pgim.com/investments


Letter from the President

 

LOGO   

Dear Shareholder:

 

We hope you find the semiannual report for PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF informative and useful. The report covers performance for the six-month period ended February 28, 2022.

 

Regarding your investments with PGIM, we believe it is important to maintain a diversified portfolio of funds consistent with your tolerance for risk, time horizon, and financial goals.

Your financial advisor can help you create a diversified investment plan that may include funds covering all the basic asset classes and that reflects your personal investor profile and risk tolerance. However, diversification and asset allocation strategies do not assure a profit or protect against loss in declining markets.

At PGIM Investments, we consider it a great privilege and responsibility to help investors participate in opportunities across global markets while meeting their toughest investment challenges. PGIM is a top-10 global investment manager with more than $1 trillion in assets under management. This investment expertise allows us to deliver actively managed funds and strategies to meet the needs of investors around the globe.

Thank you for choosing our family of funds.

Sincerely,

 

LOGO

Stuart S. Parker, President

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

April 15, 2022

 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF    3


Your Fund’s Performance (unaudited)

Performance data quoted represent past performance. Past performance 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 may be lower or higher than the past performance data quoted. An investor may obtain performance data as of the most recent month-end by visiting our website at pgim.com/investments or by calling (800) 225-1852.

 

     Total Returns as of 2/28/22    Average Annual Total Returns as of 2/28/22
     Six Months* (%)    One Year (%)    Since Inception(%)

Net Asset Value (NAV)

     -6.49     2.92      7.06 (12/04/2018)

Market Price**

     -5.97     2.59      7.26 (12/04/2018)

MSCI EAFE Index

        
       -6.78     2.83      8.46

*Not annualized

**The market price is determined using the midpoint between the highest bid and the lowest offer on the listing exchange, as of the time that the Fund’s NAV is calculated. The first day of secondary market trading is typically several days after the date on which the Fund commenced investment operations; therefore, the NAV of the Fund is used as a proxy for the period from inception of investment operations to the first day of secondary market trading to calculate the market price returns.

Since inception returns for the Index are measured from the closest month-end to the Fund’s inception date.

The returns in the table do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or following the sale or redemption of Fund shares.

Market returns do not include brokerage commissions that may be payable on secondary market transactions. If brokerage commissions were included, market returns would be lower. Market and NAV returns assume that dividends and capital gain distributions, if any, have been reinvested in the Fund at market price and NAV, respectively.

Benchmark Definition

MSCI EAFE Index—The MSCI EAFE Index is a free-float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure the equity performance of developed markets, excluding the U.S. and Canada.

Investors cannot invest directly in an index. The returns for the Index would be lower if they included the effects of operating expenses or taxes that may be paid by an investor.

 

4    Visit our website at pgim.com/investments


        

 

Presentation of Fund Holdings as of 2/28/22

 

  Ten Largest Holdings    Line of Business    Country    % of Net Assets

Shell plc

   Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels    United Kingdom    0.60%

BHP Group Ltd.

   Metals & Mining    Australia    0.50%

Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd.

   Metals & Mining    Japan    0.30%

BAE Systems plc

   Aerospace & Defense    United Kingdom    0.30%

Klepierre SA

  

Equity Real Estate Investment

Trusts (REITs)

   France    0.30%

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.

   Software    Israel    0.30%

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.

   Machinery    Japan    0.30%

Thales SA

   Aerospace & Defense    France    0.30%

Ipsen SA

   Pharmaceuticals    France    0.30%

HSBC Holdings plc

   Banks    United Kingdom    0.30%

 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF    5


Fees and Expenses (unaudited)

As a shareholder of a Fund, you incur ongoing costs, including investment management fees. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in a Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other funds.

The example is based on an investment of $1,000 held through the six-month period ended February 28, 2022. The example is for illustrative purposes only.

Actual Expenses

The first line in the tables below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information on this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value ÷ $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number on the first line under the heading “Expenses Paid During the Six-Month Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

The second line in the tables below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on a Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not a Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in a Fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

Please note that the expenses shown in the tables are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, brokerage commissions paid on purchases and sales of Fund shares. Therefore, the ending account values and expenses paid for the period are useful in comparing ongoing costs only and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

       

PGIM Quant Solutions
Strategic Alpha
International Equity

ETF

   Beginning
Account Value
September 1, 2021
   Ending
Account Value
February 28, 2022
   Annualized Expense
Ratio Based on  the
Six-Month Period
   Expenses Paid
During the
Six-Month Period*
       

                Actual

   $1,000.00    $   935.10    0.29%    $1.39
       

                Hypothetical

   $1,000.00    $1,023.36    0.29%    $1.45

*Fund expenses (net of fee waivers or subsidies, if any) are equal to the annualized expense ratio (provided in the table), multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by the 181 days in the six-month period ended February 28, 2022, and divided by the 365 days in the Fund’s fiscal year ending August 31, 2022 (to reflect the six-month period). Expenses presented in the table include the expenses of any underlying portfolios in which the Fund may invest.

 

6    Visit our website at pgim.com/investments


Schedule of Investments (unaudited)

as of February 28, 2022

 

Description                                     Shares     Value  
LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS    98.7%                        
COMMON STOCKS    98.0%                        
Australia    6.3%                            

Ampol Ltd.

        4,146     $ 88,741  

Aristocrat Leisure Ltd.

        2,660       72,004  

Aurizon Holdings Ltd.

        38,172       97,035  

Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.

        4,324       81,685  

BHP Group Ltd.

        5,808       196,828  

Brambles Ltd.

        11,150       80,173  

Coles Group Ltd.

        7,478       94,395  

Dexus

        11,619       92,153  

Fortescue Metals Group Ltd.

        6,172       81,361  

Goodman Group

        4,529       73,124  

GPT Group (The)

        22,032       79,049  

Mirvac Group

        41,977       78,964  

Newcrest Mining Ltd.

        5,367       100,063  

REA Group Ltd.

        703       67,234  

Reece Ltd.

        4,534       63,786  

Rio Tinto Ltd.

        1,198       102,821  

Scentre Group

        41,966       93,573  

SEEK Ltd.

        3,518       68,145  

Sonic Healthcare Ltd.

        2,567       65,348  

Stockland

        26,028       78,641  

Suncorp Group Ltd.

        10,737       83,988  

Telstra Corp. Ltd.

        28,615       82,301  

Transurban Group

        8,624       79,485  

Treasury Wine Estates Ltd.

        10,459       88,270  

Vicinity Centres

        75,234       98,356  

Wesfarmers Ltd.

        2,277       79,696  

Woolworths Group Ltd.

        3,314       85,423  
       

 

 

 
          2,352,642  
Austria    0.2%                            

voestalpine AG

        2,376       78,431  
Belgium    0.5%                            

Proximus SADP

        4,389       87,400  

Solvay SA

        793       88,666  
       

 

 

 
          176,066  
Denmark    1.0%                            
AP Moller - Maersk A/S,                        

(Class A Stock)

        26       78,004  

(Class B Stock)

        25       79,225  

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

    7  


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

as of February 28, 2022

 

Description                                     Shares     Value  
COMMON STOCKS (Continued)                        
Denmark (cont'd.)                            

Carlsberg A/S (Class B Stock)

        518     $ 75,924  

Novo Nordisk A/S (Class B Stock)

        843       86,689  

Pandora A/S

        688       71,113  
       

 

 

 
          390,955  
Finland    0.9%                            

Elisa OYJ

        1,479       82,170  

Nokia OYJ*

        13,509       73,273  

Nordea Bank Abp

        7,635       85,183  

Orion OYJ (Class B Stock)

        2,087       98,259  
       

 

 

 
          338,885  
France    8.5%                            

Amundi SA, 144A

        1,138       79,621  

Arkema SA

        617       82,256  

AXA SA

        3,236       88,079  

BioMerieux

        616       67,770  

BNP Paribas SA

        1,406       82,781  

Bouygues SA

        2,447       87,853  

Bureau Veritas SA

        2,874       82,689  

Capgemini SE

        396       83,608  

Carrefour SA

        5,351       107,397  

Cie de Saint-Gobain

        1,227       76,974  

Cie Generale des Etablissements Michelin SCA

        525       72,993  

Covivio

        1,128       92,885  

Credit Agricole SA

        6,706       86,214  

Danone SA

        1,342       81,721  

Eiffage SA

        872       89,286  

Electricite de France SA

        7,384       67,311  

Engie SA

        6,450       103,187  

EssilorLuxottica SA

        440       77,318  

Eurazeo SE

        1,078       83,703  

Gecina SA

        698       88,829  

Hermes International

        49       68,237  

Ipsen SA

        938       109,643  

Kering SA

        109       77,864  

Klepierre SA

        3,958       113,877  

Legrand SA

        740       70,377  

L’Oreal SA

        180       71,648  

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE

        104       76,951  

Orange SA

        8,720       105,732  

Orpea SA

        876       36,381  

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

 

8  


 

Description                                     Shares     Value  
COMMON STOCKS (Continued)                        
France (cont'd.)                            

Pernod Ricard SA

        407     $ 89,285  

Publicis Groupe SA

        1,405       93,954  

Sanofi

        952       99,773  

Schneider Electric SE

        439       68,804  

SEB SA

        615       90,127  

Societe Generale SA

        2,821       81,100  

Thales SA

        966       111,454  

TotalEnergies SE

        1,679       85,827  

Vivendi SE

        6,364       80,704  
       

 

 

 
          3,214,213  
Germany    5.3%                            

Allianz SE

        379       86,393  

BASF SE

        1,326       88,092  

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG

        837       81,235  

Bechtle AG

        1,239       63,974  

Brenntag SE

        978       82,112  

Covestro AG, 144A

        1,480       78,343  

Deutsche Post AG

        1,395       70,637  

Deutsche Telekom AG

        4,988       89,653  

Evonik Industries AG

        2,656       80,079  

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA

        1,433       92,099  

Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA

        2,138       74,949  

GEA Group AG

        1,581       69,259  

HeidelbergCement AG

        1,267       82,595  

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA

        1,113       85,609  

KION Group AG

        773       62,543  

LANXESS AG

        1,394       68,117  

LEG Immobilien SE

        636       82,222  

Mercedes-Benz Group AG

        1,092       85,917  

Merck KGaA

        331       65,895  

Puma SE

        760       69,859  

Rational AG

        85       62,712  

SAP SE

        646       73,389  

Siemens AG

        537       76,263  

Telefonica Deutschland Holding AG

        35,034       96,044  

Uniper SE

        1,805       57,680  

United Internet AG

        2,172       73,937  
       

 

 

 
          1,999,607  
Hong Kong    5.0%                            

CK Asset Holdings Ltd.

        14,217       89,782  

CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd.

        14,176       99,319  

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

    9  


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

as of February 28, 2022

 

Description                                     Shares     Value  
COMMON STOCKS (Continued)                        
Hong Kong (cont'd.)                            

CK Infrastructure Holdings Ltd.

        15,058     $ 93,455  

CLP Holdings Ltd.

        8,441       85,927  

ESR Cayman Ltd., 144A*

        25,371       78,406  

Hang Lung Properties Ltd.

        42,336       88,739  

Henderson Land Development Co. Ltd.

        22,820       94,906  

HK Electric Investments & HK Electric Investments Ltd.

        96,956       95,658  

HKT Trust & HKT Ltd.

        66,768       90,054  

Hongkong Land Holdings Ltd.

        17,139       92,379  

Link REIT

        10,177       82,175  

New World Development Co. Ltd.

        22,343       89,348  

Power Assets Holdings Ltd.

        13,613       85,793  

Sino Land Co. Ltd.

        75,990       95,588  

SITC International Holdings Co. Ltd.

        22,743       93,421  

Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd.

        7,323       85,182  

Swire Pacific Ltd. (Class A Stock)

        15,496       85,664  

Swire Properties Ltd.

        36,335       94,387  

WH Group Ltd., 144A

        137,845       96,135  

Wharf Real Estate Investment Co. Ltd.

        16,376       73,450  

Xinyi Glass Holdings Ltd.

        35,985       95,550  
       

 

 

 
          1,885,318  
Ireland    1.3%                            

CRH PLC

        1,857       84,556  

DCC PLC

        1,094       86,001  

Experian PLC

        1,790       70,430  

James Hardie Industries PLC

        2,402       77,895  

Kingspan Group PLC

        757       73,709  

Smurfit Kappa Group PLC

        1,806       90,294  
       

 

 

 
          482,885  
Israel    1.2%                            

Bank Hapoalim BM

        8,357       88,208  

Bank Leumi Le-Israel BM

        7,903       85,361  

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.*

        772       111,847  

Israel Discount Bank Ltd. (Class A Stock)

        12,735       83,610  

Mizrahi Tefahot Bank Ltd.

        2,255       87,860  
       

 

 

 
          456,886  
Italy    2.5%                            

Assicurazioni Generali SpA

        4,351       86,497  

Enel SpA

        11,439       84,639  

Eni SpA

        6,704       103,973  

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

 

10  


 

Description                                     Shares     Value  
COMMON STOCKS (Continued)                        
Italy (cont'd.)                            

Ferrari NV

        374     $ 80,829  

Intesa Sanpaolo SpA

        35,327       90,847  

Mediobanca Banca di Credito Finanziario SpA

        8,314       86,938  

Poste Italiane SpA, 144A

        6,607       76,118  

Prysmian SpA

        2,290       75,797  

Recordati Industria Chimica e Farmaceutica SpA

        1,473       72,274  

Snam SpA

        14,332       79,786  

Terna - Rete Elettrica Nazionale

        10,653       87,698  
       

 

 

 
          925,396  
Japan    37.8%                            

Advantest Corp.

        891       70,294  

AGC, Inc.

        1,897       83,988  

Aisin Corp.

        2,232       81,250  

Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

        2,792       81,090  

Asahi Kasei Corp.

        8,855       82,993  

Astellas Pharma, Inc.

        5,369       89,596  

Azbil Corp.

        1,863       70,167  

Bandai Namco Holdings, Inc.

        1,057       76,955  

Bridgestone Corp.

        1,933       79,445  

Brother Industries Ltd.

        4,399       79,818  

Canon, Inc.

        3,423       80,346  

Capcom Co. Ltd.

        3,592       86,703  

Chiba Bank Ltd. (The)

        15,477       98,141  

Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc.

        9,232       92,589  

Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.

        2,595       85,774  

Concordia Financial Group Ltd.

        24,054       98,547  

CyberAgent, Inc.

        5,584       72,177  

Dai Nippon Printing Co. Ltd.

        3,382       87,871  

Daikin Industries Ltd.

        372       68,614  

Daiwa House Industry Co. Ltd.

        3,257       92,612  

Daiwa House REIT Investment Corp. (Class A Stock)

        29       78,576  

Daiwa Securities Group, Inc.

        15,035       89,165  

Denso Corp.

        1,037       72,585  

Dentsu Group, Inc.

        2,346       93,358  

Disco Corp.

        280       78,302  

Eisai Co. Ltd.

        1,483       73,760  

ENEOS Holdings, Inc.

        22,596       89,193  

FANUC Corp.

        399       73,421  

Fuji Electric Co. Ltd.

        1,554       79,211  

FUJIFILM Holdings Corp.

        1,209       76,369  

Fujitsu Ltd.

        499       71,900  

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

    11  


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

as of February 28, 2022

 

Description                                     Shares     Value  
COMMON STOCKS (Continued)                        
Japan (cont'd.)                            

Hakuhodo DY Holdings, Inc.

        4,985     $ 65,735  

Hamamatsu Photonics KK

        1,322       66,580  

Hikari Tsushin, Inc.

        621       76,703  

Hino Motors Ltd.

        9,971       93,409  

Hirose Electric Co. Ltd.

        497       74,140  

Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. Ltd.

        2,984       72,754  

Hitachi Ltd.

        1,620       79,616  

Hitachi Metals Ltd.*

        5,075       90,363  

Hoya Corp.

        624       80,629  

Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd.

        3,364       90,124  

Iida Group Holdings Co. Ltd.

        3,619       66,830  

Inpex Corp.

        9,662       99,591  

Isuzu Motors Ltd.

        6,843       92,676  

ITOCHU Corp.

        2,807       91,390  

Itochu Techno-Solutions Corp.

        2,656       68,361  

Japan Metropolitan Fund Invest

        101       81,791  

Japan Post Bank Co. Ltd.

        9,377       82,706  

Japan Post Holdings Co. Ltd.*

        11,645       96,642  

Japan Post Insurance Co. Ltd.

        6,036       103,641  

Japan Real Estate Investment Corp.

        16       85,313  

Japan Tobacco, Inc.

        4,145       76,435  

Kajima Corp.

        7,177       96,388  

Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. (The)

        10,232       103,419  

Kao Corp.

        1,599       74,828  

KDDI Corp.

        3,211       104,906  

Kikkoman Corp.

        994       73,838  

Kirin Holdings Co. Ltd.

        5,440       90,261  

Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.

        1,065       90,969  

Komatsu Ltd.

        3,475       79,874  

Konami Holdings Corp.

        1,729       97,455  

Kubota Corp.

        3,822       68,551  

Kyocera Corp.

        1,533       87,728  

Lawson, Inc.

        1,862       77,742  

Lion Corp.

        6,245       81,753  

Lixil Corp.

        3,128       69,517  

Marubeni Corp.

        8,787       91,986  

Mazda Motor Corp.*

        11,408       84,941  

McDonald’s Holdings Co. Japan Ltd.

        2,117       90,967  

Medipal Holdings Corp.

        4,860       88,648  

MEIJI Holdings Co. Ltd.

        1,545       92,863  

MINEBEA MITSUMI, Inc.

        3,037       65,936  

MISUMI Group, Inc.

        2,314       73,769  

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

 

12  


 

Description                                     Shares     Value  
COMMON STOCKS (Continued)                        
Japan (cont'd.)                            

Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp.

        11,486     $ 81,665  

Mitsubishi Corp.

        2,987       100,576  

Mitsubishi Electric Corp.

        7,194       86,448  

Mitsubishi Estate Co. Ltd.

        6,333       96,787  

Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co., Inc.

        4,857       86,058  

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.

        3,776       111,541  

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.

        15,769       97,770  

Mitsui & Co. Ltd.

        3,630       90,478  

Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.

        3,235       82,672  

Miura Co. Ltd.

        2,463       67,164  

Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.

        6,543       86,792  

MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Inc.

        2,987       101,459  

Murata Manufacturing Co. Ltd.

        1,060       71,798  

NEC Corp.

        2,005       86,416  

NGK Insulators Ltd.

        5,023       77,771  

Nintendo Co. Ltd.

        179       90,337  

Nippon Express Holdings, Inc.

        1,540       93,500  

Nippon Sanso Holdings Corp.

        4,164       81,205  

Nippon Shinyaku Co. Ltd.

        1,221       79,124  

Nippon Steel Corp.

        5,307       97,332  

Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp.

        3,155       90,370  

Nippon Yusen KK

        1,132       105,062  

Nissan Chemical Corp.

        1,449       81,925  

Nisshin Seifun Group, Inc.

        5,845       82,872  

Nissin Foods Holdings Co. Ltd.

        1,250       99,704  

Nitto Denko Corp.

        1,097       79,676  

Nomura Real Estate Holdings, Inc.

        3,895       97,066  

Nomura Research Institute Ltd.

        1,963       67,872  

NTT Data Corp.

        3,985       75,322  

Oji Holdings Corp.

        19,311       98,600  

Olympus Corp.

        3,730       74,606  

Omron Corp.

        845       57,036  

Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.

        3,464       85,165  

ORIX Corp.

        4,739       94,108  

Osaka Gas Co. Ltd.

        5,176       94,952  

Otsuka Holdings Co. Ltd.

        2,394       82,524  

Panasonic Corp.

        8,402       86,969  

Persol Holdings Co. Ltd.

        2,907       64,580  

Recruit Holdings Co. Ltd.

        1,407       58,977  

Resona Holdings, Inc.

        23,720       106,834  

Rinnai Corp.

        986       80,791  

Rohm Co. Ltd.

        914       71,791  

Ryohin Keikaku Co. Ltd.

        5,664       83,212  

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

    13  


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

as of February 28, 2022

 

Description                                     Shares     Value  
COMMON STOCKS (Continued)                        
Japan (cont'd.)                            

Santen Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.

        6,639     $ 75,303  

SBI Holdings, Inc.

        3,065       79,981  

Secom Co. Ltd.

        1,218       89,227  

Seiko Epson Corp.

        5,299       81,261  

Sekisui Chemical Co. Ltd.

        5,698       93,228  

Sekisui House Ltd.

        3,954       80,686  

Seven & i Holdings Co. Ltd.

        1,940       94,346  

SG Holdings Co. Ltd.

        3,673       77,700  

Shimadzu Corp.

        1,983       70,806  

Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd.

        559       85,918  

Shionogi & Co. Ltd.

        1,200       79,756  

Shizuoka Bank Ltd. (The)

        11,774       87,564  

SMC Corp.

        127       75,174  

SoftBank Corp.

        7,494       94,551  

Sohgo Security Services Co. Ltd.

        2,252       81,097  

Square Enix Holdings Co. Ltd.

        1,705       82,458  

Stanley Electric Co. Ltd.

        3,344       79,321  

Subaru Corp.

        4,575       75,351  

SUMCO Corp.

        4,134       67,854  

Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd.

        18,492       88,467  

Sumitomo Corp.

        5,790       94,381  

Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd.

        2,492       124,551  

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc.

        2,497       89,507  

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings, Inc.

        2,544       90,948  

Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd.

        2,566       102,671  

Suzuki Motor Corp.

        2,236       88,942  

Sysmex Corp.

        634       50,316  

T&D Holdings, Inc.

        6,659       97,541  

Taisei Corp.

        2,811       93,280  

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.

        3,371       102,656  

TDK Corp.

        2,135       85,426  

TIS, Inc.

        2,832       66,511  

Toho Co. Ltd.

        2,046       85,157  

Tokio Marine Holdings, Inc.

        1,530       87,489  

Tokyo Electron Ltd.

        147       71,310  

Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd.

        4,772       97,461  

Toppan, Inc.

        4,571       89,738  

Toray Industries, Inc.

        15,077       86,516  

Toshiba Corp.

        2,219       88,343  

Tosoh Corp.

        5,409       84,124  

TOTO Ltd.

        2,023       85,080  

Toyo Suisan Kaisha Ltd.

        1,991       83,821  

Toyota Industries Corp.

        1,134       86,210  

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

 

14  


 

Description                                     Shares     Value  
COMMON STOCKS (Continued)                        
Japan (cont'd.)                            

Toyota Motor Corp.

        4,620     $ 85,938  

Toyota Tsusho Corp.

        1,987       82,356  

Trend Micro, Inc.

        1,475       82,112  

USS Co. Ltd.

        5,631       93,258  

Yakult Honsha Co. Ltd.

        1,747       94,671  

Yamaha Corp.

        1,690       78,793  

Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd.

        3,247       72,755  

Yamato Holdings Co. Ltd.

        3,909       76,436  

Yaskawa Electric Corp.

        1,693       67,299  

Yokogawa Electric Corp.

        4,851       77,851  
       

 

 

 
          14,226,982  
Jordan    0.2%                            

Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC

        2,723       76,090  
Luxembourg    0.2%                            

ArcelorMittal SA

        2,652       82,382  
Netherlands    2.6%                            

ABN AMRO Bank NV, 144A

        6,405       85,188  

EXOR NV

        995       75,641  

ING Groep NV

        6,203       73,015  

Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize NV

        2,505       77,184  

Koninklijke KPN NV

        29,666       101,452  

Koninklijke Philips NV

        2,316       78,787  

NN Group NV

        1,576       75,596  

QIAGEN NV*

        1,742       87,504  

Randstad NV

        1,361       92,630  

Stellantis NV

        4,729       86,800  

Universal Music Group NV

        3,008       68,568  

Wolters Kluwer NV

        736       74,948  
       

 

 

 
          977,313  
New Zealand    0.6%                            

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp. Ltd.

        4,213       78,418  

Ryman Healthcare Ltd.

        10,357       70,075  

Spark New Zealand Ltd.

        29,808       90,857  
       

 

 

 
          239,350  
Norway    0.8%                            

Equinor ASA

        3,143       99,273  

Orkla ASA

        9,620       90,070  

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

    15  


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

as of February 28, 2022

 

Description                                     Shares     Value  
COMMON STOCKS (Continued)                        
Norway (cont'd.)                            

Yara International ASA

        1,809     $ 91,929  
       

 

 

 
          281,272  
Portugal    0.5%                            

EDP - Energias de Portugal SA

        15,713       76,886  

Jeronimo Martins SGPS SA

        4,203       91,542  
       

 

 

 
          168,428  
Russia    0.0%                            

Raspadskaya OJSC^

        4,493       12,248  
Singapore    1.7%                            

Capitaland Investment Ltd.*

        34,335       93,455  

DBS Group Holdings Ltd.

        3,554       88,660  

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. Ltd.

        11,527       99,226  

Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd.

        32,818       92,472  

Singapore Telecommunications Ltd.

        49,530       92,067  

United Overseas Bank Ltd.

        4,327       95,464  

Wilmar International Ltd.

        26,763       86,466  
       

 

 

 
          647,810  
Spain    2.1%                            

ACS Actividades de Construccion y Servicios SA

        3,344       81,813  

Enagas SA

        3,679       78,067  

Endesa SA

        4,150       91,505  

Grifols SA

        4,300       82,035  

Iberdrola SA

        8,185       93,426  

Industria de Diseno Textil SA

        2,695       71,314  

Red Electrica Corp. SA

        4,029       80,525  

Repsol SA

        7,742       100,922  

Telefonica SA

        19,336       92,706  
       

 

 

 
          772,313  
Sweden    4.4%                            

Alfa Laval AB

        2,224       72,786  

Assa Abloy AB (Class B Stock)

        2,798       74,321  
Atlas Copco AB,                        

(Class A Stock)

        1,239       64,670  

(Class B Stock)

        1,462       66,786  

Electrolux AB (Class B Stock)

        3,562       64,211  

Epiroc AB,

       

(Class A Stock)

        3,372       63,740  

(Class B Stock)

        4,049       65,872  

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

 

16  


 

Description                                     Shares     Value  
COMMON STOCKS (Continued)                        
Sweden (cont'd.)                            

Essity AB (Class B Stock)

        2,855     $ 73,755  

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (Class B Stock)

        4,370       74,029  

Husqvarna AB (Class B Stock)

        5,367       64,848  

Industrivarden AB (Class A Stock)

        2,776       77,136  
Investor AB,                        

(Class A Stock)

        3,270       72,876  

(Class B Stock)

        3,418       70,040  

Sandvik AB

        3,053       66,687  

Securitas AB (Class B Stock)

        6,022       73,080  

Skanska AB (Class B Stock)

        3,474       79,037  

SKF AB (Class B Stock)

        3,977       73,812  

Swedbank AB

        4,339       70,324  

Swedish Match AB

        10,260       75,107  

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (Class B Stock)

        8,800       81,663  

Telia Co. AB

        24,050       89,666  
Volvo AB,                        

(Class A Stock)

        3,968       77,792  

(Class B Stock)

        3,798       73,689  
       

 

 

 
          1,665,927  
Switzerland    4.6%                            

Adecco Group AG

        1,875       89,017  

Barry Callebaut AG

        36       83,219  

Coca-Cola HBC AG*

        2,835       72,412  

Geberit AG

        105       68,855  

Kuehne + Nagel International AG

        271       74,288  

Logitech International SA

        1,015       76,255  

Nestle SA

        612       79,932  

Novartis AG

        975       85,412  

Roche Holding AG,

       

(Bearer Shares)

        190       79,638  

(Genusschein)

        205       78,202  

Schindler Holding AG

        319       72,002  

SGS SA

        26       74,703  

STMicroelectronics NV

        1,957       83,251  

Straumann Holding AG

        44       70,023  

Swatch Group AG (The),

       

(Bearer Shares)

        282       87,666  

(Ordinary Shares)

        1,475       88,137  

Swiss Life Holding AG

        140       85,548  

Swiss Prime Site AG

        920       90,435  

Swisscom AG

        173       103,864  

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

    17  


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

as of February 28, 2022

 

Description                                     Shares     Value  
COMMON STOCKS (Continued)                        
Switzerland (cont'd.)                            

UBS Group AG

        5,189     $ 95,536  

Zurich Insurance Group AG

        195       89,643  
       

 

 

 
          1,728,038  
United Kingdom    9.8%                            

3i Group PLC

        4,397       78,775  

abrdn PLC

        27,604       76,543  

Anglo American PLC

        2,103       107,854  

Ashtead Group PLC

        1,063       69,532  

Associated British Foods PLC

        3,214       82,782  

Auto Trader Group PLC, 144A

        8,830       78,535  

Aviva PLC

        16,352       92,088  

BAE Systems PLC

        12,556       121,209  

Barclays PLC

        37,999       93,224  

Barratt Developments PLC

        8,660       70,982  

Berkeley Group Holdings PLC

        1,335       69,774  

British American Tobacco PLC

        2,326       101,770  

British Land Co. PLC (The)

        12,147       86,299  

Bunzl PLC

        2,205       87,823  

Burberry Group PLC

        3,650       94,992  

Croda International PLC

        639       64,154  

Diageo PLC

        1,593       79,604  

Evraz PLC

        10,559       20,504  

Ferguson PLC

        488       74,729  

GlaxoSmithKline PLC

        4,481       92,898  

HSBC Holdings PLC

        15,835       109,315  

Imperial Brands PLC

        4,216       92,698  

J Sainsbury PLC

        23,269       86,061  

JD Sports Fashion PLC

        30,258       61,293  

Kingfisher PLC

        19,800       81,332  

Land Securities Group PLC

        8,379       89,271  

Legal & General Group PLC

        21,559       80,170  

Melrose Industries PLC

        40,370       80,287  

Mondi PLC

        3,826       80,659  

National Grid PLC

        5,911       89,668  

Next PLC

        844       77,693  

Persimmon PLC

        2,259       73,125  

RELX PLC

        3,031       92,747  

Rio Tinto PLC

        1,314       102,080  

Schroders PLC

        1,835       75,425  

Segro PLC

        4,593       80,192  

Shell PLC

        8,210       217,190  

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

 

18  


 

Description                                     Shares     Value  
COMMON STOCKS (Continued)                        
United Kingdom (cont'd.)                            

Smith & Nephew PLC

        5,446     $ 97,679  

Smiths Group PLC

        4,051       83,092  

SSE PLC

        4,316       98,689  

Tesco PLC

        22,218       86,361  

Vodafone Group PLC

        56,839       100,222  
       

 

 

 
          3,679,320  
       

 

 

 

TOTAL COMMON STOCKS
(cost $35,523,216)

          36,858,757  
       

 

 

 
PREFERRED STOCKS    0.7%                        
Germany    0.7%                            

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG

        996       81,412  

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA

        1,032       81,971  

Volkswagen AG

        447       89,234  
       

 

 

 

TOTAL PREFERRED STOCKS
(cost $250,576)

          252,617  
       

 

 

 

TOTAL LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS
(cost $35,773,792)

          37,111,374  
       

 

 

 
   

Interest
Rate

   

Maturity
Date

   

Principal
Amount (000)#

       
SHORT-TERM INVESTMENT    0.2%              
TIME DEPOSIT    0.2%                

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (Sweden)
(cost $93,686)

    0.005     03/01/22       94       93,686  
       

 

 

 

TOTAL INVESTMENTS    98.9%
(cost $35,867,478)

 

      37,205,060  

Other assets in excess of liabilities    1.1%

 

      408,383  
   

 

 

 

NET ASSETS    100.0%

 

    $  37,613,443  
   

 

 

 

Below is a list of the abbreviation(s) used in the semi-annual report:

144A-Security was purchased pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933 and, pursuant to the requirements of Rule 144A, may not be resold except to qualified institutional buyers.

OJSC-Open Joint-Stock Company

#

Principal or notional amount is shown in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated.

*

Non-income producing security.

^

Indicates a Level 3 instrument. The aggregate value of Level 3 instruments is $12,248 and 0.0% of net assets.

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

    19  


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

as of February 28, 2022

 

Fair Value Measurements:

 

Various inputs are used in determining the value of the Fund’s investments. These inputs are summarized in the three broad levels listed below.

 

Level 1—unadjusted quoted prices generally in active markets for identical securities.

 

Level 2—quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates and yield curves, prepayment speeds, foreign currency exchange rates and other observable inputs.

 

Level 3—unobservable inputs for securities valued in accordance with Board approved fair valuation procedures.

 

The following is a summary of the inputs used as of February 28, 2022 in valuing such portfolio securities:

 

       Level 1            Level 2             Level 3      
Investments in Securities                  
Assets                  
Long-Term Investments                  
Common Stocks                  

Australia

  $ 2,352,642     $     $  

Austria

    78,431              

Belgium

    176,066              

Denmark

    390,955              

Finland

    338,885              

France

    3,214,213              

Germany

    1,999,607              

Hong Kong

    1,885,318              

Ireland

    482,885              

Israel

    456,886              

Italy

    925,396              

Japan

    14,226,982              

Jordan

    76,090              

Luxembourg

    82,382              

Netherlands

    977,313              

New Zealand

    239,350              

Norway

    281,272              

Portugal

    168,428              

Russia

                12,248  

Singapore

    647,810              

Spain

    772,313              

Sweden

    1,665,927              

Switzerland

    1,728,038              

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

 

20  


 

       Level 1            Level 2             Level 3      
Investments in Securities (continued)                  
Assets (continued)                  
Long-Term Investments (continued)                  
Common Stocks (continued)                  

United Kingdom

  $ 3,679,320     $     $  
Preferred Stocks                  

Germany

    252,617              
Short-Term Investment                  

Time Deposit

          93,686        
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

  $ 37,099,126     $ 93,686     $ 12,248  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

The industry classification of investments and other assets in excess of liabilities shown as a percentage of net assets as of February 28, 2022 were as follows:

 

Industry Classification:      

Banks

    6.6

Machinery

    5.2  

Pharmaceuticals

    4.5  

Chemicals

    4.2  

Real Estate Management & Development

    4.0  

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)

    3.9  

Diversified Telecommunication Services

    3.6  

Insurance

    3.5  

Electric Utilities

    3.3  

Food Products

    3.2  

Metals & Mining

    3.2  

Automobiles

    2.7  

Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels

    2.6  

Trading Companies & Distributors

    2.5  

Food & Staples Retailing

    2.1  

Household Durables

    2.1  

Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods

    1.9  

Professional Services

    1.9  

Building Products

    1.9  

Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components

    1.8  

Beverages

    1.6  

Health Care Equipment & Supplies

    1.6  

Industrial Conglomerates

    1.6  

IT Services

    1.6  

Capital Markets

    1.5  

Construction & Engineering

    1.4  

Entertainment

    1.4  

Commercial Services & Supplies

    1.3  

Diversified Financial Services

    1.3  

Specialty Retail

    1.2  

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment

    1.2  

Marine

    1.1  

Health Care Providers & Services

    1.1  

Media

    1.1  

Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals

    1.1  

Auto Components

    1.0  

Electrical Equipment

    1.0  

Gas Utilities

    0.9  

Tobacco

    0.9  

Aerospace & Defense

    0.9  

Household Products

    0.9  

Wireless Telecommunication Services

    0.8  

Software

    0.7  

Construction Materials

    0.7  

Multiline Retail

    0.6  

Personal Products

    0.6  

Air Freight & Logistics

    0.6  

Interactive Media & Services

    0.6  

Multi-Utilities

    0.5  

Road & Rail

    0.5  

Paper & Forest Products

    0.5  

Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure

    0.4  

Leisure Products

    0.4  

Communications Equipment

    0.4  

Time Deposit

    0.2  

Containers & Packaging

    0.2  

Life Sciences Tools & Services

    0.2  

Biotechnology

    0.2  

Transportation Infrastructure

    0.2  

Independent Power & Renewable Electricity Producers

    0.2  
 

 

 

 
    98.9  

Other assets in excess of liabilities

    1.1  
 

 

 

 
    100.0
 

 

 

 

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

    21  


Statement of Assets & Liabilities (unaudited)

as of February 28, 2022

 

Assets

        

Investments at value:

  

Unaffiliated investments (cost $35,867,478)

   $ 37,205,060  

Foreign currency, at value (cost $293,147)

     286,164  

Interest and dividends receivable

     127,813  

Other assets

     3,410  
  

 

 

 

Total Assets

     37,622,447  
  

 

 

 
Liabilities        

Management fee payable

     8,587  

Other liabilities

     417  
  

 

 

 

Total Liabilities

     9,004  
  

 

 

 

Net Assets

   $ 37,613,443  
  

 

 

 
          

Net assets were comprised of:

  

Common stock, at par

   $ 700  

Paid-in capital in excess of par

     34,905,030  

Total distributable earnings (loss)

     2,707,713  
  

 

 

 

Net assets, February 28, 2022

   $ 37,613,443  
  

 

 

 

Net asset value, offering price and redemption price per share,
($37,613,443 / 700,000 shares of common stock issued and outstanding)

   $ 53.73  
  

 

 

 

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

 

22  


Statement of Operations (unaudited)

Six Months Ended February 28, 2022

 

Net Investment Income (Loss)

        

Income

  

Unaffiliated dividend income (net of $53,803 foreign withholding tax)

   $ 383,964  

Income from securities lending, net (including affiliated income of $25)

     8,143  

Miscellaneous Income

     26  
  

 

 

 

Total income

     392,133  
  

 

 

 

Expenses

  

Management fee

     59,667  

Miscellaneous expenses

     227  
  

 

 

 

Total expenses

     59,894  
  

 

 

 

Net investment income (loss)

     332,239  
  

 

 

 
Realized And Unrealized Gain (Loss) On Investments and Foreign Currency Transactions        

Net realized gain (loss) on:

  

Investment transactions (including affiliated of $(10))

     1,743,961  

Foreign currency transactions

     (6,598
  

 

 

 
     1,737,363  
  

 

 

 

Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on:

  

Investments

     (4,705,898

Foreign currencies

     (9,258
  

 

 

 
     (4,715,156
  

 

 

 

Net gain (loss) on investment and foreign currency transactions

     (2,977,793
  

 

 

 

Net Increase (Decrease) In Net Assets Resulting From Operations

   $ (2,645,554
  

 

 

 

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

    23  


Statements of Changes in Net Assets

 

    

Six Months

Ended
February 28, 2022

(Unaudited)

    

Year

Ended

August 31, 2021

 

Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets

                 

Operations

     

Net investment income (loss)

   $ 332,239      $ 1,005,336  

Net realized gain (loss) on investments

     1,737,363        4,315,646  

Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments and foreign currencies

     (4,715,156      3,348,057  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

     (2,645,554      8,669,039  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Dividends and Distributions

     

Distributions from distributable earnings

     (3,330,313      (940,968
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total increase (decrease)

     (5,975,867      7,728,071  
Net Assets:                

Beginning of period

     43,589,310        35,861,239  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

End of period

   $ 37,613,443      $ 43,589,310  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

 

24  


Financial Highlights

 

    

Six Months
Ended
February 28,
2022

(Unaudited)

           Year
Ended
August 31,
2021
           Year
Ended
August 31,
2020
           December 4,
2018(e)
through
August 31,
2019
 
Per Share Operating Performance(a):                                                        
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period     $62.27               $51.23               $49.55               $50.00  
Income (loss) from investment operations:                                                        
Net investment income (loss)     0.47               1.44               1.09               1.16  
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments and foreign currency transactions     (4.25             10.94               1.88               (0.63
Total from investment operations     (3.78             12.38               2.97               0.53  
Less Dividends and Distributions:                                                        
Dividends from net investment income     (1.38             (1.34             (1.29             (0.98
Distributions from net realized gains     (3.38             -               -               -  
Total Dividends and Distributions     (4.76             (1.34             (1.29             (0.98
Net asset value, end of period     $53.73               $62.27               $51.23               $49.55  
Total Return(b):     (6.49)%               24.43%               6.05%               1.09%  
             
Ratios/Supplemental Data:                                          
Net assets, end of period (000)     $37,613               $43,589               $35,861               $34,687  
Average net assets (000)     $41,491               $40,415               $34,722               $27,908  
Ratios to average net assets(c):                                                        
Expenses after waivers and/or expense reimbursement     0.29% (d)              0.29%               0.29%               0.29% (d) 
Expenses before waivers and/or expense reimbursement     0.29% (d)              0.29%               0.29%               0.29% (d) 
Net investment income (loss)     1.61% (d)              2.49%               2.20%               3.12% (d) 
Portfolio turnover rate(f)(g)     39%               79%               92%               63%  

 

(a)

Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period.

(b)

Total return is calculated assuming a purchase of a share on the first day and a sale on the last day of the period reported and includes reinvestment of dividends and distributions, if any. Total returns may reflect adjustments to conform to generally accepted accounting principles. Total returns for periods less than one full year are not annualized.

(c)

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

(d)

Annualized.

(e)

Commencement of operations.

(f)

The Fund’s portfolio turnover rate is calculated in accordance with regulatory requirements, without regard to transactions involving short-term investments and certain derivatives. If such transactions were included, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate may be higher.

(g)

Portfolio turnover excludes the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind fund share transactions, if any.

 

See Notes to Financial Statements.

 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

    25  


Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited)

 

1. Organization

 

PGIM ETF Trust (the “Trust”) is an open-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (“1940 Act”). The Trust is organized as a Delaware Statutory Trust and currently consists of five separate Funds: PGIM Ultra Short Bond ETF, PGIM Active High Yield Bond ETF, PGIM Active Aggregate Bond ETF, PGIM Total Return Bond ETF and PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF. Each Fund operates as an exchange-traded fund.

 

These financial statements relate only to PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF (the “Fund”), which commenced investment operations on December 4, 2018. The Fund is classified as a diversified fund for purposes of the 1940 Act.

 

The investment objective of the Fund is to seek long-term growth of capital.

 

2. Accounting Policies

 

The Fund follows the investment company accounting and reporting guidance of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standard Codification (“ASC”) Topic 946 Financial Services—Investment Companies. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Fund in the preparation of their financial statements. The policies conform to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). The Fund consistently follows such policies in the preparation of their financial statements.

 

Securities Valuation: The Fund holds securities and other assets and liabilities that are fair valued as of the close of each day (generally, 4:00 PM Eastern time) the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for trading. As described in further detail below, the Fund’s investments are valued daily based on a number of factors, including the type of investment and whether market quotations are readily available. The Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) has adopted valuation procedures for security valuation under which fair valuation responsibilities have been delegated to PGIM Investments LLC (“PGIM Investments” or the “Manager”). Pursuant to the Board’s delegation, the Manager has established a Valuation Committee responsible for supervising the fair valuation of portfolio securities and other assets and liabilities. The valuation procedures permit the Fund to utilize independent pricing vendor services, quotations from market makers, and alternative valuation methods when market quotations are either not readily available or not deemed representative of fair value. Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. A record of the Valuation Committee’s actions is subject to the Board’s review at its first quarterly meeting following the quarter in which such actions take place.

 

26  


For the fiscal reporting year-end, securities and other assets and liabilities were fair valued at the close of the last U.S. business day. Trading in certain foreign securities may occur when the NYSE is closed (including weekends and holidays). Because such foreign securities trade in markets that are open on weekends and U.S. holidays, the values of some of the Fund’s foreign investments may change on days when investors cannot purchase or redeem Fund shares.

 

Various inputs determine how the Fund’s investments are valued, all of which are categorized according to the three broad levels (Level 1, 2, or 3) detailed in the Schedule of Investments and referred to herein as the “fair value hierarchy” in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 820—Fair Value Measurement.

 

Common or preferred stocks, exchange-traded funds and derivative instruments, if applicable, that are traded on a national securities exchange are valued at the last sale price as of the close of trading on the applicable exchange where the security principally trades. Securities traded via NASDAQ are valued at the NASDAQ official closing price. To the extent these securities are valued at the last sale price or NASDAQ official closing price, they are classified as Level 1 in the fair value hierarchy. In the event that no sale or official closing price on valuation date exists, these securities are generally valued at the mean between the last reported bid and ask prices, or at the last bid price in the absence of an ask price. These securities are classified as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy.

 

Investments in open-end funds (other than exchange-traded funds) are valued at their net asset values as of the close of the NYSE on the date of valuation. These securities are classified as Level 1 in the fair value hierarchy since they may be purchased or sold at their net asset values on the date of valuation.

 

Securities and other assets that cannot be priced according to the methods described above are valued based on pricing methodologies approved by the Board. In the event that unobservable inputs are used when determining such valuations, the securities will be classified as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy. Altering one or more unobservable inputs may result in a significant change to a Level 3 security’s fair value measurement.

 

When determining the fair value of securities, some of the factors influencing the valuation include: the nature of any restrictions on disposition of the securities; assessment of the general liquidity of the securities; the issuer’s financial condition and the markets in which it does business; the cost of the investment; the size of the holding and the capitalization of the issuer; the prices of any recent transactions or bids/offers for such securities or any comparable securities; any available analyst media or other reports or information deemed reliable by the Manager regarding the issuer or the markets or industry in which it operates. Using fair value to price securities may result in a value that is different from a security’s most recent closing price and from the price used by other unaffiliated mutual funds to calculate their net asset values.

 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

    27  


Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) (continued)

 

Foreign Currency Translation: The books and records of the Fund are maintained in U.S. dollars. Foreign currency amounts are translated into U.S. dollars on the following basis:

 

(i) market value of investment securities, other assets and liabilities—at the exchange rate as of the valuation date;

 

(ii) purchases and sales of investment securities, income and expenses—at the rates of exchange prevailing on the respective dates of such transactions.

 

Although the net assets of the Fund are presented at the foreign exchange rates and market values at the close of the period, the Fund does not generally isolate that portion of the results of operations arising as a result of changes in the foreign exchange rates from the fluctuations arising from changes in the market prices of long-term portfolio securities held at the end of the period. Similarly, the Fund does not isolate the effect of changes in foreign exchange rates from the fluctuations arising from changes in the market prices of long-term portfolio securities sold during the period. Accordingly, holding period unrealized and realized foreign currency gains (losses) are included in the reported net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments and net realized gains (losses) on investment transactions on the Statements of Operations.

 

Net realized gains (losses) on foreign currency transactions (where applicable) represent net foreign exchange gains (losses) from the disposition of holdings of foreign currencies, currency gains (losses) realized between the trade and settlement dates on forward currency transactions, and the difference between the amounts of interest, dividends and foreign withholding taxes recorded on each Fund’s books and the U.S. dollar equivalent amounts actually received or paid. Net unrealized currency gains (losses) from valuing foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities (other than investments) at period end exchange rates are reflected as a component of net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on foreign currencies (where applicable).

 

Rights: The Fund holds rights acquired either through a direct purchase or pursuant to corporate actions. Rights entitle the holder to buy a proportionate amount of common stock, or such other security that the issuer may specify, at a specific price and time through the expiration dates. Such rights are held as long positions by the Fund until exercised, sold or expired. Rights are valued at fair value in accordance with the Board approved fair valuation procedures.

 

Master Netting Arrangements: The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, is subject to various Master Agreements, or netting arrangements, with select counterparties. These are agreements

 

28  


which a subadviser may have negotiated and entered into on behalf of all or a portion of the Fund. A master netting arrangement between a Fund and the counterparty permits the Fund to offset amounts payable by the Fund to the same counterparty against amounts to be received; and by the receipt of collateral from the counterparty by the Fund to cover the Fund’s exposure to the counterparty. However, there is no assurance that such mitigating factors are easily enforceable. In addition to master netting arrangements, the right to set-off exists when all the conditions are met such that each of the parties owes the other determinable amounts, the reporting party has the right to set-off the amount owed with the amount owed by the other party, the reporting party intends to set-off and the right of set-off is enforceable by law.

 

Equity and Mortgage Real Estate Investment Trusts (collectively REITs): The Fund invested in REITs, which report information on the source of their distributions annually. Based on current and historical information, a portion of distributions received from REITs during the period is estimated to be dividend income, capital gain or return of capital and recorded

accordingly. When material, these estimates are adjusted periodically when the actual source of distributions is disclosed by the REITs.

 

Securities Lending: The Fund lends its portfolio securities to banks and broker-dealers. The loans are secured by collateral at least equal to the market value of the securities loaned. Collateral pledged by each borrower is invested in an affiliated money market fund and is marked to market daily, based on the previous day’s market value, such that the value of the collateral exceeds the value of the loaned securities. In the event of significant appreciation in value of securities on loan on the last business day of the reporting period, the financial statements may reflect a collateral value that is less than the market value of the loaned securities. Such shortfall is remedied as described above. Loans are subject to termination at the option of the borrower or the Fund. Upon termination of the loan, the borrower will return to the Fund securities identical to the loaned securities. The remaining maturities of the securities lending transactions are considered overnight and continuous. Should the borrower of the securities fail financially, the Fund has the right to repurchase the securities in the open market using the collateral.

 

The Fund recognizes income, net of any rebate and securities lending agent fees, for lending its securities in the form of fees or interest on the investment of any cash received as collateral. The borrower receives all interest and dividends from the securities loaned and such payments are passed back to the lender in amounts equivalent thereto, which are reflected in interest income or unaffiliated dividend income based upon the nature of the payment on the Statement of Operations. The Fund also continues to recognize any unrealized gain (loss) in the market price of the securities loaned and on the change in the value of the collateral invested that may occur during the term of the loan. In addition, realized gain (loss) is recognized on changes in the value of the collateral invested upon liquidation of the collateral. Net earnings from securities lending are disclosed in the Statement of Operations.

 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

    29  


Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) (continued)

 

Securities Transactions and Net Investment Income: Securities transactions are recorded on the trade date. Realized gains (losses) from investment and currency transactions are calculated on the specific identification method. Dividend income is recorded on the ex-date, or for certain foreign securities, when a Fund becomes aware of such dividends. Interest income, including amortization of premium and accretion of discount on debt securities, as required, is recorded on the accrual basis. Expenses are recorded on an accrual basis, which may require the use of certain estimates by management that may differ from actual.

 

Taxes: It is the Fund’s policy to continue to meet the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute all of its taxable net investment income and capital gains, if any, to its shareholders. Therefore, no federal income tax provision is required. Withholding taxes on foreign dividends, interest and capital gains, if any, are recorded, net of reclaimable amounts, at the time the related income is earned.

 

Dividends and Distributions: The Fund expects to pay dividends from net investment income quarterly. Distributions of net realized capital and currency gains, if any, are declared and paid at least annually. Dividends and distributions to shareholders, which are determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations and which may differ from generally accepted accounting principles, are recorded on the ex-date. Permanent GAAP/tax differences relating to income and gain (loss) are reclassified between total distributable earnings (loss) and paid-in capital in excess of par, as appropriate.

 

Estimates: The preparation of financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

 

3. Agreements

 

Pursuant to a management agreement with the Trust on behalf of the Fund (the Management Agreement), PGIM Investments manages each Fund’s investment operations and administers its business affairs. PGIM Investments is also responsible for supervising each Fund’s subadviser.

 

Pursuant to the management agreement relating to the Fund, there is a unitary fee structure for the fund whereby PGIM Investments is responsible for substantially all expenses of the Fund, except taxes, brokerage expenses, interest expenses, distribution

 

30  


fees or expenses, expenses incident to shareholder meetings and extraordinary expenses. The Fund may also pay for any costs or expenses of investing in other funds. For more information on the unitary management fee structure please refer to the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information.

 

The unitary fee paid to the Manager is accrued daily and payable monthly, at an annual rate of the Fund’s average daily net assets specified below. The Manager has contractually agreed, beginning from the Fund’s inception date, to waive any management fees it receives from the Fund in an amount equal to the subadvisory fees paid by the Fund to the PGIM Institutional Money Market Fund due to the Fund’s investment of its excess overnight cash in the PGIM Institutional Money Market Fund. This waiver will remain in effect for as long as the Fund remains invested or intends to invest in the PGIM Institutional Money Market Fund.

 

Fund

   Unitary fee rate  

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

     0.29

 

The Manager has entered into a subadvisory agreement (Subadvisory Agreement) with PGIM Quantitative Solutions LLC (formerly known as QMA LLC), (“PGIM Quantitative Solutions”) (the “subadviser”). The Manager pays for the services of the subadviser.

 

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (“BBH”) serves as the Custodian, Transfer Agent, Administrative Agent and Securities Lending Agent for the Trust. The Manager is responsible for compensating BBH under the Custodian and Administrative and Transfer Agency Agreements. As securities lending agent, BBH is responsible for marketing to approved borrowers available securities from the Fund’s portfolio. BBH receives as compensation for its services a portion of the amount earned by the Fund for lending securities.

 

In September 2021, BBH entered into an agreement with State Street Corporation (“State Street”) under which State Street will acquire BBH’s Investor Services business, which includes its custody, fund accounting and administration, transfer agency, depositary services, foreign exchange and securities lending services. The transaction is expected to be completed during 2022, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

 

Prudential Investment Management Services LLC (“PIMS” or the “Distributor”), acts as the distributor of the Fund, pursuant to the terms of a distribution agreement (“Distribution Agreement”) between the Trust and the Distributor. The Distributor is a subsidiary of Prudential. Shares are continuously offered for sale by the Distributor only. Although the Distributor does not receive any fees under the Distribution Agreement, the Manager or its affiliates may pay the Distributor for certain distribution related services.

 

PGIM Investments, PGIM, Inc., PIMS and PGIM Quantitative Solutions are indirect, wholly-owned subsidiaries of Prudential Financial, Inc. (“Prudential”).

 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

    31  


Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) (continued)

 

4. Other Transactions with Affiliates

 

The Fund may invest its securities lending cash collateral in the PGIM Institutional Money Market Fund (the “Money Market Fund”), a Fund of Prudential Investment Portfolios 2, registered under the 1940 Act and managed by PGIM Investments. In addition to the realized and unrealized gains on investments in the Money Market Fund, earnings from such investments are disclosed on the Statement of Operations as “Income from securities lending, net”.

 

The Fund may enter into certain securities purchase or sale transactions under Board approved Rule 17a-7 procedures. Rule 17a-7 is an exemptive rule under the 1940 Act, that subject to certain conditions, permits purchase and sale transactions among affiliated investment companies, or between an investment company and a person that is affiliated solely by reason of having a common (or affiliated) investment adviser, common directors, and/or common officers. For the period ended February 28, 2022, no 17a-7 transactions were entered into by the Fund.

 

5. Portfolio Securities

 

The aggregate cost of purchases and proceeds from sales of portfolio securities (excluding short-term investments, U.S. Government securities and in-kind transactions) for the reporting period ended February 28, 2022, were as follows:

 

Fund

   Cost of
Purchases
     Proceeds
from Sales
 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

   $ 15,242,764      $ 17,807,704  

 

A summary of the cost of purchases and proceeds from sales of shares of affiliated mutual funds for the reporting period ended February 28, 2022, is presented as follows:

 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

 

Value

Beginning

of Period

  Cost of
Purchases
    Proceeds
from Sales
    Change in
Unrealized
Gain
(Loss)
    Realized
Gain
(Loss)
    Value,
End of
Period
     Shares,
End of
Period
     Income  

Short-Term Investments - Affiliated Mutual Fund:

 

PGIM Institutional Money Market Fund(1)(b)(wa)

 

$95,793

  $ 791,462     $ 887,245     $         —     $ (10   $         —             $ 25 (2) 

(1)

The Fund did not have any capital gain distributions during the reporting period.

(2)

The amount, or a portion thereof, represents the affiliated securities lending income shown on the Statement of Operations.

(wa)

PGIM Investments LLC, the manager of the Fund, also serves as manager of the PGIM Core Ultra Short Bond Fund and PGIM Institutional Money Market Fund, if applicable.

(b)

Represents security purchased with cash collateral received for securities on loan and includes dividend reinvestment.

 

32  


6. Tax Information

 

The United States federal income tax basis of the Fund’s investments and the net unrealized appreciation as of February 28, 2022 were as follows:

 

Fund

  Tax Basis     Gross
Unrealized
Appreciation
    Gross
Unrealized
Depreciation
    Net Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF(a)(b)

  $ 34,955,183     $ 4,473,092     $ (2,223,216   $ 2,249,876  

(a)

The difference between book basis and tax basis was primarily attributable to deferred losses on wash sales and other book to tax adjustments.

(b)

The difference between book basis and tax basis was primarily attributable to investments in passive foreign investment companies and other book to tax adjustments.

 

The Fund utilized its capital loss carryforward to offset net taxable gains realized in the fiscal year ended August 31, 2021.

 

Fund

   Capital Loss
Carryforward
Utilized
 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

   $ 1,842,000  

 

The Manager has analyzed the Fund’s tax positions taken on federal, state and local income tax returns for all open tax years and has concluded that no provision for income tax is required in the Fund’s financial statements for the current reporting period. Since tax authorities can examine previously filed tax returns, the Fund’s U.S. federal and state tax returns for each of the three fiscal years up to the most recent fiscal year ended August 31, 2021 are subject to such review.

 

7. Capital and Ownership

 

The Fund is an exchange-traded fund, commonly known as an “ETF”. Individual shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through brokers or other financial intermediaries. Shares of the Fund are listed for trading on the NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”), and because the shares of the Fund trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount). The Fund will issue and redeem its shares at NAV only in aggregations of a specified number of shares called a “Creation Unit”. An Authorized Participant is a member or participant of a clearing agency registered with the SEC, which has a written agreement with the Fund or one of their service providers that allows the Authorized Participant to place orders for the purchase and redemption of Creation Units.

 

A creation transaction, which is subject to acceptance by the Distributor and the Fund, generally takes place when an Authorized Participant deposits into the Fund a designated portfolio of securities, assets or other positions (a “creation basket”, and an amount of cash

 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

    33  


Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) (continued)

 

(including any cash representing the value of substituted securities, assets or other positions), if any, which together approximate the holdings of the Fund in exchange for a specified number of Creation Units. Similarly, shares can be redeemed only in Creation Units, generally for a designated portfolio of securities, assets or other propositions (the “redemption basket”) held by the Fund and an amount of cash (including any portion of such securities for which cash may be substituted). The Fund may, in certain circumstances, offer Creation Units partially or solely for cash. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, shares are not redeemable by the Fund. Creation and redemption baskets may differ and the Fund may accept “custom baskets”. A Creation Unit of PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF consists of 100,000 shares of the Fund.

 

Authorized Participants generally are required to pay a fixed creation transaction fee and/or a fixed redemption transaction fee, as applicable, for each transaction in a Creation Unit regardless of the number of Creation Units created or redeemed on that day. The Fund may adjust the transaction fee from time to time. An additional charge or a variable charge may be applied to certain creation and redemption transactions, including non-standard orders and whole or partial cash purchases or redemptions when deemed appropriate.

 

The Trust is authorized to issue an unlimited number of shares of beneficial interest, $0.001 par value per share.

 

As of February 28, 2022, Prudential, through its affiliated entities, including affiliated funds (if applicable), owned shares of the Fund as follows:

 

Fund

   Number of Shares      Percentage of
Outstanding Shares
 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

   $ 695,050        99.3

 

At the reporting period end, the number of shareholders holding greater than 5% of the Fund is as follows:

 

    Affiliated     Unaffiliated  

Fund

  Number of
Shareholders
    Percentage of
Outstanding Shares
    Number of
Shareholders
    Percentage of
Outstanding Shares
 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

    3       99.3     0       0.0

 

There were no transactions in shares of beneficial interest for the periods ended February 28, 2022 and August 31, 2021.

 

34  


The Fund may make payment for Fund shares redeemed and contributed wholly or in part by distributing portfolio securities to shareholders. For the period ended February 28, 2022, the Fund had no subscriptions in-kind and redemptions in-kind.

 

8. Borrowings

 

The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, along with other affiliated registered investment companies (the “Participating Funds”), is a party to a Syndicated Credit Agreement (“SCA”) with a group of banks. The purpose of the SCA is to provide an alternative source of temporary funding for capital share redemptions. The table below provides details of the current SCA in effect at the reporting period-end as well as the prior SCA.

 

    

Current SCA

  

Prior SCA

Term of Commitment

   10/1/2021 – 9/29/2022    10/2/2020 – 9/30/2021

Total Commitment

   $ 1,200,000,000    $ 1,200,000,000

Annualized Commitment Fee on the Unused Portion of the SCA

   0.15%    0.15%

Annualized Interest Rate on Borrowings

   1.20% plus the higher of (1) the effective federal funds rate, (2) the one-month LIBOR rate or (3) zero percent    1.30% plus the higher of (1) the effective federal funds rate, (2) the one-month LIBOR rate or (3) zero percent

 

Certain affiliated registered investment companies that are parties to the SCA include portfolios that are subject to a predetermined mathematical formula used to manage certain benefit guarantees offered under variable annuity contracts. The formula may result in large scale asset flows into and out of these portfolios. Consequently, these portfolios may be more likely to utilize the SCA for purposes of funding redemptions. It may be possible for those portfolios to fully exhaust the committed amount of the SCA, thereby requiring the Manager to allocate available funding per a Board-approved methodology designed to treat the Participating Funds in the SCA equitably.

 

The Fund did not utilize the SCA during the reporting period ended February 28, 2022.

 

9. Risks of Investing in the Fund

 

The Fund’s risks include, but are not limited to, some or all of the risks discussed below. For further information on each Fund’s risks, please refer to the Fund’s Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information.

 

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 intermediaries that act as Authorized Participants and none of these Authorized Participants is or will be obligated to engage in creation or redemption transactions. To the extent that these Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to or choose not to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other

 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

    35  


Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) (continued)

 

Authorized Participant creates or redeems, shares of the Fund may trade at a substantial discount or premium to net asset value (NAV), may trade at larger spreads, and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting.

 

Currency Risk: The Fund’s net asset value could decline as a result of changes in exchange rates, which could adversely affect the Fund’s investments in currencies, or in securities that trade in, and receive revenues related to, currencies, or in derivatives that provide exposure to currencies. Certain foreign countries may impose restrictions on the ability of issuers of foreign securities to make payment of principal and interest or dividends to investors located outside the country, due to blockage of foreign currency exchanges or otherwise.

 

Economic and Market Events Risk: Events in the U.S. and global financial markets, including actions taken by the U.S. Federal Reserve or foreign central banks to stimulate or stabilize economic growth or the functioning of the securities markets, may at times result in unusually high market volatility, which could negatively impact performance. Relatively reduced liquidity in credit and fixed income markets could adversely affect issuers worldwide.

 

Equity and Equity-Related Securities Risks: Equity and equity-related securities may be subject to changes in value, and their values may be more volatile than those of other asset classes. In addition to an individual security losing value, the value of the equity markets or a sector in which the Fund invests could go down. Different parts of a market can react differently to adverse issuer, market, regulatory, political and economic developments.

 

ETF Shares Trading Risk: Fund shares are listed for trading on NYSE Arca, Inc. (the Exchange) and the shares are bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of the shares of the Fund are expected to fluctuate in response to changes in the Fund’s NAV, the intraday value of the Fund’s holdings and supply and demand for shares of the Fund. We cannot predict whether shares of the Fund will trade above, below or at their NAV. Trading on the Exchange, including trading of Fund shares, may be halted in certain circumstances and shareholders may not be able to sell Fund shares at the time or price desired. During periods of stressed market conditions, the market for the shares of the Fund may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the Fund’s portfolio investments. This adverse effect on the liquidity of the Fund’s shares could lead to differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and the NAV of those shares. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange to maintain the listing of shares of the Fund will continue to be met. At times, trading in the securities of ETFs has become volatile and unpredictable and the price of ETF shares has diverged from market driven fundamentals.

 

36  


Disruptions to creations and redemptions, the existence of significant market volatility or potential lack of an active trading market for the shares of the Fund (including through a trading halt), as well as other factors, may result in the Fund’s shares trading on the Exchange significantly above (at a premium) or below (at a discount) to NAV or to the intraday value of the Fund’s holdings. Premiums and discounts relate to differences between the market price and NAV of the Fund’s shares. During such periods, you may incur significant losses if you sell your shares of the Fund.

 

The securities held by the Fund may be traded in markets that close at a different time than the Exchange and may trade outside of a collateralized settlement system. Liquidity in those securities may be reduced after the applicable closing times. Accordingly, during the time when the Exchange is open but after the applicable market closing, fixing or settlement times, bid-ask spreads for the Fund’s shares on the Exchange and the corresponding premium or discount between the market price for Fund shares and their NAV may widen. Additionally, during times when the Exchange is open but after the applicable market is closed, there may be changes between the last quote from the closed foreign market and the value of such security during the Fund’s trading day on the Exchange and this may lead to differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and the underlying value of those shares.

 

    Cost of Buying or Selling Shares: When you buy or sell shares of the Fund through a broker, you will likely incur a brokerage commission or other charges imposed by brokers. In addition, the market price of shares of the Fund, like the price of any exchange-traded security, includes a “bid-ask spread” charged by the market makers or other participants that trade the particular security. The spread of the Fund’s shares varies over time based on the Fund’s trading volume, the spread of the Fund’s underlying securities, and market liquidity and may increase if the Fund’s trading volume, the spread of the Fund’s underlying securities, or market liquidity decreases. In times of severe market disruption, including when trading of the Fund’s holdings may be halted, the bid-ask spread may increase significantly. This means that the shares may trade at a discount to the Fund’s NAV, and the discount is likely to be greatest during significant market volatility.
    No Guarantee of Active Trading Market Risk: While shares of the Fund are listed on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that active trading markets for the shares will develop or be maintained by market makers or by Authorized Participants. The distributor of the Fund’s shares does not maintain a secondary market in the shares.

 

Foreign Securities Risk: Investments in securities of non-U.S. issuers (including those denominated in U.S. dollars) generally involve more risk than investing in securities of U.S. issuers. Foreign political, economic and legal systems, especially those in developing and emerging market countries, may be less stable and more volatile than in the U.S. Foreign legal systems generally have fewer regulatory requirements than the U.S. legal system. In general, less information is publicly available about non-U.S. companies than about U.S. companies. Non-U.S. companies generally are not subject to the same accounting, auditing, and financial reporting standards as are U.S. companies. Additionally, the

 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

    37  


Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) (continued)

 

changing value of foreign currencies and changes in exchange rates could also affect the value of the assets the Fund holds and the Fund’s performance. Certain foreign countries may impose restrictions on the ability of issuers of foreign securities to make payment of principal and interest or dividends to investors located outside the country, due to blockage of foreign currency exchanges or otherwise. Investments in emerging markets are subject to greater volatility and price declines.

 

In addition, the Fund’s investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to the risks of nationalization or expropriation of assets, imposition of currency exchange controls or restrictions on the repatriation of non-U.S. currency, confiscatory taxation and adverse diplomatic developments. Special U.S. tax considerations may apply.

 

Geographic Concentration Risk: The Fund’s performance may be closely tied to the market, economic, political, regulatory or other conditions in the countries or regions in which the Fund invests. This can result in more pronounced risks based upon conditions that impact one or more countries or regions more or less than other countries or regions.

 

Large Shareholder and Large Scale Redemption Risk: Certain individuals, accounts, funds (including funds affiliated with the Manager) or institutions, including the Manager and its affiliates, may from time to time own or control a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. There is no requirement that these entities maintain their investment in the Fund. There is a risk that such large shareholders or that the Fund’s shareholders generally may redeem all or a substantial portion of their investments in the Fund in a short period of time, which could have a significant negative impact on the Fund’s NAV, liquidity, and brokerage costs. Large redemptions could also result in tax consequences to shareholders and impact the Fund’s ability to implement its investment strategy. The Fund’s ability to pursue its investment objective after one or more large scale redemptions may be impaired and, as a result, the Fund may invest a larger portion of its assets in cash or cash equivalents.

 

Management Risk: The value of your investment may decrease if judgments by the subadviser about the attractiveness, value or market trends affecting a particular security, industry or sector or about market movements are incorrect.

 

Market Capitalization Risk: The Fund may invest in companies of any market capitalization. Generally, the stock prices of small- and mid-cap companies are less stable than the prices of large-cap stocks and may present greater risks. Large capitalization companies as a group could fall out of favor with the market, causing the Fund to underperform compared to investments that focus on smaller capitalized companies.

 

38  


Market Disruption and Geopolitical Risks: Market disruption can be caused by economic, financial or political events and factors, including but not limited to, international wars or conflicts (including Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine), geopolitical developments (including trading and tariff arrangements, sanctions and cybersecurity attacks), instability in regions such as Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East, terrorism, natural disasters and public health epidemics (including the outbreak of COVID-19 globally).

 

The extent and duration of such events and resulting market disruptions cannot be predicted, but could be substantial and could magnify the impact of other risks to the Fund. These and other similar events could adversely affect the U.S. and foreign financial markets and lead to increased market volatility, reduced liquidity in the securities markets, significant negative impacts on issuers and the markets for certain securities and commodities and/or government intervention. They may also cause short- or long-term economic uncertainties in the United States and worldwide. As a result, whether or not the Fund invests in securities of issuers located in or with significant exposure to the countries directly affected, the value and liquidity of the Fund’s investments may be negatively impacted. Further, due to closures of certain markets and restrictions on trading certain securities, the value of certain securities held by the Fund could be significantly impacted, which could lead to such securities being valued at zero.

 

COVID-19 and the related governmental and public responses have had and may continue to have an impact on the Fund’s investments and net asset value and have led and may continue to lead to increased market volatility and the potential for illiquidity in certain classes of securities and sectors of the market. They have also had and may continue to result in periods of business disruption, business closures, inability to obtain raw materials, supplies and component parts, and reduced or disrupted operations for the issuers in which the Fund invests. The occurrence, reoccurrence and pendency of public health epidemics could adversely affect the economies and financial markets either in specific countries or worldwide.

 

Market Risk: Securities markets may be volatile and the market prices of the Fund’s securities may decline. Securities fluctuate in price based on changes in an issuer’s financial condition and overall market and economic conditions. If the market prices of the securities owned by the Fund fall, the value of your investment in the Fund will decline.

 

Model Design Risk: The subadviser uses certain quantitative models to help guide its investment decisions. The design of the underlying models may be flawed or incomplete. The investment models the subadviser uses are based on historical and theoretical underpinnings that it believes are sound. There can be no guarantee, however, that these underpinnings will correlate with security price behavior in the manner assumed by the subadviser’s models. Additionally, the quantitative techniques that underlie the subadviser’s portfolio construction processes may fail to fully anticipate important risks.

 

Model Implementation Risk: While the subadviser strives to mitigate the likelihood of material implementation errors, it is impossible to completely eliminate the risk of error in

 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

    39  


Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) (continued)

 

the implementation of the computer models that guide the subadviser’s quantitative investment processes. Additionally, it may be difficult to implement model recommendations in volatile and rapidly changing market conditions.

 

Small Fund Risk: When the Fund’s size is small, the Fund may experience low trading volume and wide bid/ask spreads. The Fund may face the risk of being delisted if it does not meet certain conditions of the listing exchange due to small size. Any resulting liquidation of the Fund could cause the Fund to incur elevated transaction costs for the Fund and negative tax consequences for its shareholders.

 

Value Style Risk: Historically, value stocks have performed best during periods of economic recovery. There is the risk that the value style may be out of favor for a period of time, that the market will not recognize a security’s intrinsic value for a long time or that a stock judged to be undervalued may not be undervalued. Issuers of value stocks may have experienced adverse business developments or may be subject to special risks that have caused the stock to be out of favor. In addition, the Fund’s value investment style may go out of favor with investors, negatively affecting the Fund’s performance.

 

10. Recent Regulatory Developments

 

On December 3, 2020, the SEC announced that it voted to adopt a new rule that establishes an updated regulatory framework for fund valuation practices (the “Rule”). The Rule, in part, provides (i) a framework for determining fair value in good faith and (ii) provides for a fund Board’s assignment of its responsibility for the execution of valuation-related activities to a fund’s investment adviser. Further, the SEC is rescinding previously issued guidance on related issues. The Rule took effect on March 8, 2021, with a compliance date of September 8, 2022. Management is currently evaluating the Rule and its impact to the Fund.

 

40  


     
 MAIL     TELEPHONE     WEBSITE
     

    655 Broad Street

  

    (800) 225-1852

  

    pgim.com/investments

    Newark, NJ 07102

           

 

PROXY VOTING

The Board of Trustees of the Fund has delegated to the Fund’s subadviser the responsibility for voting any proxies and maintaining proxy recordkeeping with respect to the Fund. A description of these proxy voting policies and procedures is available without charge, upon request, by calling (800) 225-1852 or by visiting the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at sec.gov. Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available on the Fund’s website and on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website.

 

TRUSTEES

Ellen S. Alberding · Kevin J. Bannon · Scott E. Benjamin · Linda W. Bynoe · Barry H. Evans · Keith F. Hartstein · Laurie Simon Hodrick · Stuart S. Parker · Brian K. Reid · Grace C. Torres

 

OFFICERS

Stuart S. Parker, President · Scott E. Benjamin, Vice President · Christian J. Kelly, Treasurer and Principal Financial and Accounting Officer · Claudia DiGiacomo, Chief Legal Officer · Isabelle Sajous, Chief Compliance Officer · Dana E. Cordes, Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer · Andrew R. French, Secretary · Melissa Gonzalez, Assistant Secretary · Diana N. Huffman, Assistant Secretary · Patrick E. McGuinness, Assistant Secretary · Debra Rubano, Assistant Secretary · Lana Lomuti, Assistant Treasurer · Russ Shupak, Assistant Treasurer · Elyse M. McLaughlin, Assistant Treasurer · Deborah Conway, Assistant Treasurer

 

MANAGER

   PGIM Investments LLC   

655 Broad Street

Newark, NJ 07102

     

SUBADVISER

   PGIM Quantitative Solutions LLC   

Gateway Center Two

100 Mulberry Street

Newark, NJ 07102

     

DISTRIBUTOR

  

Prudential Investment

Management Services LLC

  

655 Broad Street

Newark, NJ 07102

     

CUSTODIAN/TRANSFER AGENT

  

Brown Brothers

Harriman & Co.

  

50 Post Office Square

Boston, MA 02110

     

INDEPENDENT REGISTERED

PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

   PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP   

300 Madison Avenue

New York, NY 10017

     

FUND COUNSEL

   Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP   

787 Seventh Avenue

New York, NY 10019


An investor should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of the Funds carefully before investing. The prospectus and summary prospectus contain this and other information about the Funds. An investor may obtain the prospectus and summary prospectus for the Fund by visiting our website at pgim.com/investments or by calling (800) 225-1852. The prospectus and summary prospectus for the Fund should be read carefully before investing.

 

E-DELIVERY

To receive your fund documents online, go to pgim.com/investments/resource/edelivery and enroll. Instead of receiving printed documents by mail, you will receive notification via email when new materials are available. You can cancel your enrollment or change your email address at any time by visiting the website address above.

 

SHAREHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS WITH TRUSTEES

Shareholders can communicate directly with the Board of Trustees by writing to the Chair of the Board, PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF, PGIM Investments, Attn: Board of Trustees, 655 Broad Street, Newark, NJ 07102. Shareholders can communicate directly with an individual Trustee by writing to that Trustee at the same address. Communications are not screened before being delivered to the addressee.

 

AVAILABILITY OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS

On each business day, before commencement of trading on the Exchange, the Fund will disclose on www.pgim.com/investments the Fund’s portfolio holdings that will form the basis for the Fund’s calculation of NAV at the end of the business day. The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year as an exhibit to its reports on Form N-PORT. The Fund’s Form N-PORT filings are available on the Commission’s website at sec.gov.

 

 Funds:

     

ARE NOT INSURED BY THE FDIC OR ANY

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY

       MAY LOSE VALUE       

ARE NOT A DEPOSIT OF OR GUARANTEED

BY ANY BANK OR ANY BANK AFFILIATE


LOGO

 

 

 

 

PGIM QUANT SOLUTIONS STRATEGIC ALPHA INTERNATIONAL EQUITY ETF

 

 

Fund

 

 

Ticker Symbol 

PGIM Quant Solutions Strategic Alpha International Equity ETF

  PQIN

ETF1002E2